Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2024-11-24T15:20:33.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Jack Thorne on how true National Treasure is: 'I wrote it to understand Operation Yewtree – but I'm just as troubled as before'
items: VE Day Facts: rogue royals, bargain bunting and fiery street parties
items: How Mrs Brown's Boys took over the comedy world
items: The best podcasts of 2019 – and who the hosts love listening to…
items: When is Poldark season five going to air on TV? Who's in the cast, and what could happen?
items: Nicholas Hytner’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge Theatre is politically sound but lacks coherence and magic
items: Catching up with the cast of 63 Up
items: When will Doc Martin be back on TV?
items: Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell review: Cold Feet's Robert Bathurst is a funny and poignant old soak
items: Doctor Foster episode 3 recap: departures, betrayals and intrigue – has Gemma left Parminster for good?
items: Doctor Foster series 2 episode 4 recap: Is this the end of the road for Simon?
items: Doctor Foster series 2 episode 1 review: Gemma faces the party from hell
items: Doctor Foster series 2 episode 2 recap: The custody battle gets serious as Gemma goes to war
items: Poldark series 4 finale recap: Another major character dies as grief and joy envelop Cornwall
items: Meet the cast of Poldark series four
items: Doctor Foster writer Mike Bartlett: There is “potential” for a third series
items: Doctor Foster episode 5 recap: finally, the spotlight falls on Tom
items: BBC1 drama Rellik is told backwards – but it takes the genre forwards in leaps and bounds
items: Meet the characters and cast of Fearless
items: Fearless review: Helen McCrory is a brilliant crusading lawyer but the jury's still out on her ITV drama
items: Will there be a second series of Hold the Sunset?
items: When is new Martin Clunes sitcom Warren on TV? Who's in the cast? What's it about?
items: The story behind the Victoria theme tune
items: Fans react with dismay to BBC axing of The Coroner – but writer says it may live on
items: Killing Eve and A Very English Scandal win big at Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2019
items: Meet the cast of National Treasure
items: National Treasure: Is Paul Finchley guilty?
items: National Treasure delivers its verdict on Robbie Coltrane’s Paul Finchley
items: What time is True Detective series 3 on TV? What is it about, and who is in the cast?
items: When does BBC Scotland launch? How can I watch? What programmes will air?

Jack Thorne on how true National Treasure is: 'I wrote it to understand Operation Yewtree – but I'm just as troubled as before'
type: item
date: 2020-07-15T12:10:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: The writer of Channel 4's new drama says the issues thrown up by Operation Yewtree continue to elude easy answers
encoded: Jack Thorne’s Channel 4 drama National Treasure – originally aired in 2016 – is about a fictional faded entertainer called Paul Finchley (played by Robbie Coltrane) accused of grotesque historic sexual crimes. His wife Marie (Julie Walters) has always been aware that he has never been a faithful husband; but the claims made against him rock both their worlds (and that of their daughter, Andrea Riseborough's Dee) when he is put on trial. While Finchley and his story is entirely made up, the drama's production team has made no secret that it is influenced by many of the real life cases that have rocked the British entertainment industry, from Jimmy Savile to Operation Yewtree. Thorne (pictured, below) tells RadioTimes.com that he wanted to write the drama in order to explore questions he didn’t fully understand about the many real life cases of historic sexual abuse – cases where people have been convicted, and those where they have been acquitted. But the writer believes that even after penning four hours of gruelling drama and seeing it rendered on the small screen, he is just "as confused" as he was before. "It’s something that really confuses me, about power and sex and the abuse of power," says Thorne, whose other credits include Skins, This is England, The Fades and His Dark Materials. "Yewtree is a journey into the past. It was the opportunity to shed light on something I didn’t understand, this whole question about whether you publicise names, how justice is pursued in these cases, the difficulties of memory, the way that these cases are put together... "These all felt like things that I didn’t understand, and I always sort of feel like that is a very good place to start from as a writer. So I went on a journey to try and understand it and pose the questions along the way. "You know what? I’m still just as, I um…" he trails off and thinks carefully about what he is about to say next. He continues: "Robbie [Coltrane]’s come out and said he feels like these name…

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VE Day Facts: rogue royals, bargain bunting and fiery street parties
type: item
date: 2020-05-08T09:03:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Current Affairs
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Here's what happened when the allies finally defeated Nazi Germany - and more facts about VE Day on its 75th anniversary
encoded: The first Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) was on May 8th 1945, officially ending World War II in Europe. On Monday May 7th at 2.41am, German General Jodl signed the unconditional surrender document in Reims, France, which formally ended war in Europe. He did so on the orders of Admiral Karl Dönitz who had become the Third Reich’s president after Adolf Hitler killed himself on April 30th, 1945. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was informed of the event at 7am. After hearing rumours, large crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace shouting “We want the King!” before an official announcement was made. The delay in making the announcement was caused by the Soviet leader Josef Stalin. He didn’t have anyone senior enough to sign the treaty in Reims so held a surrender ceremony in Berlin the following day. But by the evening of 7th, Churchill decided he was not going to allow Stalin to hold up proceedings any longer, and at 7.40pm the Ministry of Information made a short announcement: “In accordance with arrangements between the three great powers, tomorrow, Tuesday, will be treated as Victory in Europe Day and will be regarded as a holiday.” Within minutes of this announcement, tens of thousands of people gathered on the streets of central London to celebrate. People gathered in Parliament Square, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus and boats along the Thames sounded their horns in celebration. The celebrations only ended when a thunderstorm and heavy rain drenched the revellers – just before midnight. Here are a few things you may not know: VE Day means Victory in Europe VE Day stands for Victory in Europe Day - 8th May, 1945 - the very moment when the German armed forces signed an unconditional surrender, and WW2 in Europe came to an end. Bargain bunting The Home Office issued a circular (before any official announcement had been made) instructing the nation on how they could celebrate: “Bonfires will be allowed, but the government trusts that only material wi…

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How Mrs Brown's Boys took over the comedy world
type: item
date: 2020-01-01T11:35:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Ben Dowell follows the story of Brendan O'Carroll's comedy hit, from the radio waves of Dublin to the centrepiece of the BBC1 Christmas schedule, as he talks to those who helped make it happen
encoded: It was the middle of 2009. I was in the office of senior BBC comedy executive Mark Freeland and my gaze alighted on a poster on the wall. It featured a strange looking woman in her living room with what looked like her family. “What's that all about?” I asked. “That,” said Freeland. “Is a comedy in which a man plays a Dublin housewife and it’s going to be huge.” He wasn’t wrong. The comedy that came out in 2011 was Mrs Brown’s Boys – and it did indeed go on to be a massive success. Probably not what you might expect of a show featuring a late middle-aged man playing the matriarch of a raucous family making jokes about genitals, and slapstick humour. But millions loved it. The ratings grew steadily and over the past three years (2015, 2016 and 2017) the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas specials have become a centrepiece of the BBC festive schedule, delivering some of the biggest audiences across the holiday season. The Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special on 25th December 2017 was the biggest comedy episode of the year across all TV channels, attracting a consolidated average audience of 9 million. In an age of fragmented viewing these are enormous numbers that most shows, especially comedies, could only dream of. So how did it all happen? How did this show take over the British TV comedy world? The early days… The character of Mrs Brown started life in 1992 in an Irish radio series. Brendan O’Carroll was filling in a slot on RTE radio for a friend and thought it might be funny to play a character based on some of the women he met growing up near the markets and streets of north Dublin. O'Carroll – so goes the legend – had no intention of playing Agnes himself, until the actress (name unknown) he'd hired failed to show up to the first recording. Whether this is true or not – one friend says “Brendan is full of stories, so who knows?” – a legend was born. On radio, this working-class Dublin matriarch was an instant hit – and yet O'Carroll didn’t commit to the character full t…

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The best podcasts of 2019 – and who the hosts love listening to…
type: item
date: 2019-11-19T09:00:34.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: audio
subject: News
subject: Podcasts
subject: Radio
description: The best podcasters of the year reveal which shows they never miss
encoded: It's getting to that point of the year where we look back with misty eyes on the best stuff from the past 12 months. As part of this process, we spoke to the hosts of some of 2019's best podcasts to ask them about their own shows as well as which other audio treats they just can't get enough of. The High Low – Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes My podcast (by Pandora Sykes): Dolly Alderton and I started The High Low in early 2017. We didn't feel like there was a podcast out there, particularly a female-helmed one, that discussed the high brow and the low brow - of the news, pop-culture, current affairs - all in the same breath. We wanted to cut through the week and offer both a palate cleanser and a pause-for-thought, all in one. The podcast I love: The Week Unwrapped. I love The Week and I learn loads from their spin-off podcast which is about three news stories from the last week that may not have made headline news but nevertheless have ramifications for the way we live. It's smart, entertaining and informative. The Adam Buxton Podcast – Adam Buxton My podcast: The Adam Buxton podcast is mostly me talking to friends and other interesting people. Some are funny (episode 100 with my school friends Joe Cornish and Louis Theroux or episode 82 with comedian Tash Demetriou for example) and others are more serious (episode 98 with human rights activist Maya Foa, or episode 102 with writer Philip Pullman). Most of the interviews are bookended with me walking my dog Rosie in the fields out in East Anglia where I live. On the 100th episode I told Joe and Louis that I’d been given a box set of early David Bowie demos that none of us had yet heard. We had a go at imagining what the songs sounded like based on the titles and Joe did an amazing one. The title Joe chose was ‘Goodbye 3D Joe’ and he recorded a great song about 3D film technology. It didn’t sound anything like Bowie’s song, but it was very good. The podcast I love: I was trying to think of a podcast I listen to that…

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When is Poldark season five going to air on TV? Who's in the cast, and what could happen?
type: item
date: 2019-08-18T19:30:29.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: The next season of Poldark will be the last – but who will be in it, what's the plot... and exactly how old will Ross be?
encoded: Poldark season five will be its last. After four series galloping across the cliffs of Cornwall, Aidan Turner will hang up his tricorn for good. "As far as we’re concerned it’s going to be the last,” said writer Debbie Horsfield of the next series, which will air on BBC1 in summer 2019. But what will the final series look like? What will the new stories be? And who is in the cast? Poldark could return in later years with Ross "in his 40s" Where is Poldark filmed? If you like Poldark, why not try Jamestown on NOW TV? Watch now (sponsored link) When is the final season of Poldark on TV? CONFIRMED: Poldark series 5 begins on Sunday 14th July at 9pm on BBC1. The eight-episode series will continue on Sunday evenings. The final two episodes of the show will air over the August Bank Holiday weekend. While the penultimate instalment of the Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson show will be broadcast on 8pm on Sunday 25th August, the last ever episode will be shown the following night at 8.30pm. In the US, Poldark will launch on Sunday 29th September at 9/8c on PBS Masterpiece. Filming concluded in February, with the cast sharing plenty of bittersweet snaps to mark the final day of shooting: View oEmbed on the source website Is there a trailer for Poldark series 5? Yes! Take a look at this... View oEmbed on the source website What will happen in the final season of Poldark? Initially, it was presumed that Horsfield would look to author Winston Graham's next Poldark novel, The Stranger From the Sea, to inspire series five. But that book is set ten years on from the events of book seven, The Angry Tide, which included the sudden death of Elizabeth Warleggan and was adapted for series four. The BBC has since revealed that, rather than time-jump a decade, the fifth and final TV series would fill in the missing events leading up to The Stranger From the Sea which begins in 1810 (thus avoiding ageing Aidan Turner's Ross Poldark to 50 years old). "In The Stranger from the Sea, Winston…

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Nicholas Hytner’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge Theatre is politically sound but lacks coherence and magic
type: item
date: 2019-06-11T21:00:37.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Going Out
subject: News
description: Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie performs Titania with Oberon's lines and it doesn’t really come off says Ben Dowell. But it's visually stunning... ★★★
encoded: Does A Midsummer Night’s Dream need tinkering with? Director Nicholas Hytner seems to think so in the veteran’s first stab at Shakespeare’s play of sylvan love-play, fairy magic and the potentially lethal perils of love. But he does more than tinker with it – he turns it on his head. One of the beauties of the play is its perfect construction – the Athenian King and Queen finding their parallels in their fairy world, Theseus and his kidnapped bride Hippolyta mirrored by the fairy Monarchs Oberon and Titania. But what Hytner does is invert the fairy Kingdom. Oberon (Oliver Chris) becomes King of the fairies, speaking Titania’s lines, and Titania (Gwendoline Christie) speaks Oberon’s lines. It’s a drastic re-ordering which means that Titania (and not Oberon) controls the mischievous Puck, putting love juice in the mortals’ eyes and creating the chaos that threatens tragedy before the comic resolution. It also gives a very different spin on the moment Titania falls in love with Bottom, after he is “translated” into an ass. Yes, Oberon very much is the Queen of the fairies in this working. It’s a witty idea, but I am not sure it works. Of course it plays with gusto to our gender fluid, woke, progressive age and there is a lot of comedy in watching Oberon fall for Bottom, played with the right level of bumptious buffoonery by the excellent Hammed Animashaun (below). But we had that without the switch. And of course there’s nothing wrong in giving Titania more of the power in the play. But Hytner makes sound political points without adding much to the drama. And I can’t say he really resolves these basic structural problems in the second half. Having said that the show is a visual and physical delight. It’s played in immersive style, like the brilliant recent production of Julius Caesar at this same venue, with a seated area round the space, and room for the groundlings to interact and follow the action. The stages rise up and down, beds upon which fairies sleep or frolic…

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Catching up with the cast of 63 Up
type: item
date: 2019-06-06T19:25:35.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Documentaries
subject: News
subject: TV
description: As Seven Up! returns to our screens, Radio Times caught up with three of its cast members as they contemplate ageing, death, and how much (or little) they've changed ahead of 63 Up
encoded: Back in 1964, Granada TV assembled 20 boys and girls from all walks of life for a series about growing up in the UK. Among the earliest scenes to be filmed were sequences of the seven-year-olds playing at London Zoo – and later in a nearby playground. That footage (complete with a polar bear) still features in the programme, which, under the benevolent gaze of director Michael Apted, has followed their lives with updates every seven years. Now, 56 years later, Seven Up! has become 63 Up, the age of its remaining 11 active cast members. The best TV shows airing in 2019 15 books you need to read before they become TV series and movies in 2019 Stay up to date with the RadioTimes.com newsletter Among those children were Tony Walker, a cheeky little East End boy with dreams of being a jockey; Bruce Balden, a pre-prep-school boarder whose old-before-his-years air instantly evaporated the moment he voiced his dearest wish: to see his father who was soldiering in Rhodesia, “6,000 miles away”; and Sue Davis, the East End girl who was filmed with her schoolfriends Jackie and Lynn. Lynn died in 2013, the first of the cast (as they tend to call themselves) to pass away, but her family are taking part in this series. Tony’s dreams of being a jockey didn’t work out (although he did race at Kempton Park alongside Lester Piggott) and he became a London cabbie; university administrator Sue married early, divorced by the age of 35 and has been with a new partner since 42 Up. And Bruce, who did get to see his dad again, studied maths at Oxford, worked in Bangladesh, taught at a London comprehensive before moving to his current job at a private school in St Albans. But is the child, as the Jesuits believed, the father of the man? Were their paths already set by the age of seven? And what’s it been like to take part in this series? We took Bruce, Sue and Tony back to London Zoo to find out… Do you remember filming at the zoo? Surely you do, Tony, with your cabbie’s knowledge… TONY I rem…

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When will Doc Martin be back on TV?
type: item
date: 2019-05-31T06:32:11.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: There will be a series every other year now according to the actor
encoded: Martin Clunes’ popular ITV drama Doc Martin will return with series nine in 2019. The actor had previously said that the show would finish its run with its eighth series which finished in November 2017. But it appears he was jumping the gun (or stethoscope in his case) and has now promised a series every other year. Clunes told RadioTimes.com that he is filming a new run of episodes featuring the uptight but brilliant GP in 2019. “I’m un-ending it,” he laughed when we asked him to explain the confusion. “We probably plan to do one every other year now….” Martin Clunes: I’m not bossy or posh – I’m nothing like Doc Martin! Meet the cast of Doc Martin series 8 Doc Martin stars Sigourney Weaver and Selina Cadell reveal their 40-year friendship The news will be welcomed by fans of the show, which is one of ITV’s most popular dramas, regularly pulling in audiences of more than six million per episode. It stars Clunes as the eponymous Doc, a brilliant surgeon who has been forced to move to Cornwall and work as a GP because he developed a fear of blood. His abrupt manner has led to various run-ins with the locals, but his medical brilliance has earned him their grudging respect. A recurrent thread also involves his on-off relationship with local primary school teacher Louisa Glasson (Caroline Catz, see picture below) with whom his character has a child. The series started in 2004 and eight series, plus a 2006 film, have aired so far. It is made by Buffalo Pictures, the independent production company run by Clunes and his wife Philippa Braithwaite.

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Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell review: Cold Feet's Robert Bathurst is a funny and poignant old soak
type: item
date: 2019-05-15T11:36:56.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: You can get a boozy taste of old Soho at the actual pub where the 1989 play is set in a funny night that never gets too misty-eyed ★★★★
encoded: The Coach and Horses, the famous West End boozer associated with many a dewlapped patron, legendary drinking session, Private Eye lunch and also, of course, down-at-heel Spectator journalist Jeffrey Bernard is under threat. The current landlords are facing eviction by a huge brewery and as part of their campaign to keep it in local hands they have hit on the idea of reviving Keith Waterhouse’s famous 1989 play in the actual venue where it’s set. The oft-revived work, culled from lines of Bernard’s own journalism, imagines the cantankerous old soak locked into the pub having fallen asleep in the gents. As he tries to rouse its famous (and even grumpier) landlord Norman Balon he reflects on his life (which at the time the play was written was still being lived – Bernard died in 1997) and many loves. It’s a role made famous by Peter O’Toole, and latterly Tom Conti among others, but tumbling onto the floor of the pub this time is the rather unlikely figure of Cold Feet actor Robert Bathurst. Bathurst’s comic timing is pretty good and it’s an impressive effort on his part to play it all solo (this play does feature other characters including Bernard’s former lovers and an uptight customs officer, but we hear them as recordings – Stephen Fry voices the customs officer). And while it’s hard to imagine the polite and refined Bathurst blotto and clutching drunkenly to a toilet bowl on a cigarette-strewn floor, he rises to the challenge admirably. We may have lost the diverting drama of his interactions with other characters but the experience of feeling we are locked in the pub with Bernard - the actual pub from the play – is exhilarating enough. Waterhouse’s text is also very funny and potent, replete with a rat-a-tat arsenal of quick-fire lines. One story concerns the time a nurse asked Bernard (during one of his many stays in hospital) why he keeps on drinking and his reply is “to stop me from jogging.” In another moment he delivers a mock obituary of himself, reflecting …

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Doctor Foster episode 3 recap: departures, betrayals and intrigue – has Gemma left Parminster for good?
type: item
date: 2019-05-15T10:18:56.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: In the best episode of the series so far Gemma is down but in no way out for the count…
encoded: “You win,” Suranne Jones’ Gemma Foster texted her oily ex-husband Simon as she drove out of Parminster for a new life. “We’ve gone.” I wouldn’t bet on it. This is not a woman to hold aloft the white flag of surrender: she’s more likely to ram the pole up Simon’s backside. And with two episodes to go of this sensationally schlocky series, this could just mark the beginning of the final stages of her campaign of revenge on the man who has turned her life upside down. In perhaps the most action-packed (and certainly the best) episode of the series so far, we saw the flawed brilliance of this woman. Doctor Foster series 2 episode 2 recap: The custody battle gets serious as Gemma goes to war Where is Parminster? Is the town in Doctor Foster a real place? Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter She stood up for Isobel (Hope Lloyd), the teenage girl whom we learned (in the biggest discovery of the evening) that her son Tom had made unwelcome sexual advances towards at Simon and Kate’s party in episode one; whatever trials she goes through, Gemma knows right from wrong. “It doesn’t matter what he’s been through,” Gemma told Isobel. “He should have stopped.” But she also stood by her son, despite the unpleasantness of his actions (and the fact that Isobel’s parents might even involve the police); Simon, by glaring contrast, seemed to use Tom's actions as an opportunity to wash his hands of his old family. New wife Kate (Jodie Comer) didn’t want Tom around their toddler Amelie and Simon acquiesced, accepting that his son’s drunken assault on a girl his own age – and his subsequent violent behaviour – could indeed make him a threat to his half-sister. So Tom was rejected on the doorstep by a dad who has started again with a new family. The young lad (an excellent and mature performance by young Tom Taylor) left with his mum to begin a new life, while Simon was last seen playing happily in a sun-soaked living room with his baby daughter. But of course, that’s not everyth…

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Doctor Foster series 2 episode 4 recap: Is this the end of the road for Simon?
type: item
date: 2019-05-15T10:18:08.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: A sensational and dramatic climax in the penultimate episode of the series sees Simon’s world fall apart
encoded: Outrageous, melodramatic, utterly addictive, Doctor Foster surpassed even its own schlocky standards with a humdinger of a penultimate episode which saw Gemma seek to take Simon's life away from him – in every sense possible. Suranne Jones' brilliant doc conspired to see him lose not just his new wife and young child. The last we saw she was driving towards him full pelt on a quiet suburban road intent on, what? Killing him? Will she swerve out of the way? Or career into him? We’ll find out in the next episode, of course, by which time we may finally have caught our breath. Doctor Foster episode 3 recap: departures, betrayals and intrigue – has Gemma left Parminster for good? Where is Parminster? Is the town in Doctor Foster a real place? Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter Blimey. The final, heart-stopping sequence began with slippery Simon on the doorstep of his fancy glass-laden home, his wife (Jodie Comer’s Kate) and young child Amelie having deserted him; he had no cash in his account, no car to drive. Hell, Kate’s vengeful parents would have even taken the clothes off his back if they could have been bothered. And it was all down to Gemma who managed to pull off a daring, and rather formidably implausible, coup by telling Gemma about Simon’s infidelity and then persuading Kate that he was still obsessed with his ex-wife. Initially, Gemma lured Kate to the hotel she and son Tom were staying at by means of an elaborate ruse: paying an estate agent to let her have a "snoop" (the agent's words) and to leave the address of her hotel lying around. Somehow she counted on Kate being as obsessive as her – takes one to know one, I guess. She also got Anna to tell her about Simon’s infidelity. As a way of getting an audience with Kate it was as weirdly complicated as it was compelling. When she got to speak to her a second time, Gemma constructed a bizarre argument woven around things he said at her wedding, the way she posed for him, their shared love of boot…

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Doctor Foster series 2 episode 1 review: Gemma faces the party from hell
type: item
date: 2019-05-09T08:37:59.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Revenge takes a different twist in the first episode of the second series as a custody battle opens up
encoded: After the dinner party from hell in series one, Suranne Jones’ Gemma Foster begins series two by wading into the wedding party from hell. And, just as with that unforgettable get-together in series one of Doctor Foster, she was a wolf once more. Though by the end of episode one, she appears to be very much on the back foot, dissolving her wedding ring in a tub of acid as she considers her next move in a field of limited options. Where is Parminster? Is the town in Doctor Foster a real place? Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter Gemma's marriage disappeared in series one, but now it looks like her wayward ex-husband Simon has designs on their son Tom who was whisked away at the end of the episode and appeared happily ensconced in the home of his dad, new wife Kate (Jodie Comer) and their young child. The series one story of Gemma’s fightback against Simon’s infidelity has morphed into a series two fight-to-the-death custody battle. Events began rather sedately with a snapshot of life in the commuter town. It was a red-letter day – bright missives were being sent round the place – but it didn’t take much to guess that they heralded Gemma’s worst nightmare. And there it was, just about the smuggest message to get her teeth grinding: “We’re back and we’re married”. The jolt that Simon was returning to Parminster after two years away with new bride Kate and a baby. Gathered together in his “£1m house” in The Acres were all the people Gemma knew, including her colleague Roz (who had promised she wasn’t going) and she was having none of it. Enlisting her hunky date, who just happened to teach her son Tom, she turned up to the party desperate to cause as much havoc as possible, swigging wine, wandering around the house, even snooping in Kate’s drawers and playing with her sex aid. At one point she brushed up close to Simon, teasing him sexually, “playing games" as she put it in a way which she probably wanted to demonstrate her elusiveness and panache but rather s…

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Doctor Foster series 2 episode 2 recap: The custody battle gets serious as Gemma goes to war
type: item
date: 2019-05-09T08:37:19.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Suranne Jones’ vengeful spouse finds a new lover – but ex-husband Simon is proving a more than capable adversary
encoded: “That might be the best sex I ever had,” puffed an exhausted James (Prasanna Puwanarajah), the hunky schoolteacher who found himself in Gemma’s bed following a particularly vigorous moment of intimacy in episode two of Doctor Foster. “Yeah, it was good,” flat-batted Suranne Jones’ GP who, on this evidence, clearly isn’t one to gild the lily when it comes to boosting the egos of her bedfellows. She told James about a recent squeeze who she paid in order to ward off intimacy. He only did it two times and then stopped because he felt "insulted". Doctor Foster series 2 episode 1 review: Gemma faces the party from hell Where is Parminster? Is the town in Doctor Foster a real place? Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter These are not the kind of things any prospective new lover ever wants to hear and it does make you wonder what James sees in her. To date he has been rather doe-eyed where Gemma is concerned, overlooking all her irrational behaviour (he came upon her stalking her son outside the school gates tonight) and heavy drinking. Does he enjoy the uncertainty and danger? Because there’s been a lot of that. As for the boozing, those goldfish bowl wine glasses that these feckless Parminster types prefer has always been something of a Doctor Foster leitmotif. And tonight Gemma’s fondness for the sauce is looking like it's a real problem. She brought two bottles to dinner with her colleague Sian and then got hammered at a nightclub (bumping into Simon who took a photo of her). “I’m winning,” sneered the slimeball. And he's not wrong. We're nearly half way through this series and Gemma is yet to land a proper punch. We did get a flash of the old Doc Fos when she saved a comatose man in the club by putting him in the recovery position beflre spurning the advances of his heartless mate. But while her lack of control is good for pushing the plot along, as we saw last week, it’s watch-through-your-fingers stuff at times. She got her new colleague Sian to reveal what…

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Poldark series 4 finale recap: Another major character dies as grief and joy envelop Cornwall
type: item
date: 2019-05-07T09:18:04.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Series four ended with tragedy, a wedding, and some stunning moments of drama – but where could series five go next? (SPOILERS)
encoded: Elizabeth is dead. Ross Poldark’s former love killed by… what exactly? Her own folly? Her own ambition? Or… Ross himself? As Doctor Enys ruefully observed, with her dead body still warm in the Trenwith master bedroom: “What killed her was seeded long ago”. Ross certainly is the seed, quite literally if you think about it. His night of passion with Elizabeth back in series two resulted in the birth of young Valentine, the floppy-haired elephant in the drawing room, a Ross mini-me if every there was one, with his flowing dark locks and skill on a (rocking) horse. Poldark series 4 episode 5 recap: Ossie dies in a horse riding accident Poldark series 4 episode 6 recap: Ross foils George but sets up a bloody reckoning with Monk Adderley Poldark series 4 episode 7 recap: Ross risks all in his duel with Monk View oEmbed on the source website And it was Elizabeth’s desperation to prove to husband George that eight-month pregnancies were the norm for her that seeded her death. Her swallowing of a London-bought potion hastened the pregnancy, did something disastrous to her arteries, and caused her to die soon after giving George his daughter, Ursula Warleggan. That cataclysmic plot event closed the series four finale and cast a dark shadow over Cornwall. The look of shattered, furious grief etched on George’s face suggests that he will not be giving up a thirst for vengeance on Ross, whom he may well soon blame for the disaster. In some ways too, Elizabeth’s son Geoffrey Charles’ little joke about young Valentine looking like Uncle Ross was another seed, though probably not the one Dr Enys had in mind. It convinced George of the paternity question and set things in motion. So it was folly, yes, but looked at another way, Elizabeth died for her children. She wanted to secure Valentine a future, a place in society. And that could never have happened with George huffing about and treating the poor child like dirt as he had earlier in the episode. Heida Reed’s character will be m…

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Meet the cast of Poldark series four
type: item
date: 2019-05-07T09:18:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Find out more about the stars of season four of the hit drama, including Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson
encoded: Passions are as intense as ever in the fourth season of Poldark. Aidan Turner's Ross is facing up to the fact that his beloved wife Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) betrayed their wedding vows with her romp among the sand dunes with Hugh Armitage in the last series. And he has to face the fact that it was his neglect which caused it. Have Ross and Demelza reconciled in romantic first look at Poldark series four? Is it sexist to lust after Aidan Turner in Poldark? It seems that he will have been more enemies this series, as he embraces a new political career in London. As well as long-standing foe George Warleggan and ghastly cleric Osborne Whitworth, there is Monk Adderley to add to the mix. Politician Adderley is a well-to-do friend of George's and very clever and charming. Which makes him so dangerous. Here are the main cast members - and what they are up to... View oEmbed on the source website Ross Poldark – Aidan Turner Who is Ross Poldark? Our hero opens series four with more than an inkling that his wife Demelza enjoyed love among the sand dunes with dashing, lovelorn poet Hugh Armitage at the end of the last series. As well as processing that betrayal he needs to heal his relationship with his neglected wife while also fighting injustice in Cornwall. To that end, we last saw him, finally, promising to accept the offer of becoming a politician if asked again… What is Aidan Turner famous for? BBC3 drama Being Human was his big break, with The Hobbit director Peter Jackson subsequently casting him as dwarf Kili in The Hobbit trilogy. But for his many fans he is simply Ross Poldark... Demelza Poldark – Eleanor Tomlinson Who is Demelza? Ross' charismatic and fiery wife had a dalliance with her sand dune lover and poet Hugh at the end of the last series and her admirer continues to get in touch. As the advances continue, will Demelza be able to retain her husband’s trust? And will he do his bit to mend their marriage? What is Eleanor Tomlinson famous for? Known for larg…

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Doctor Foster writer Mike Bartlett: There is “potential” for a third series
type: item
date: 2019-05-06T00:57:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: As the gripping relationship saga concludes, the show’s creator looks tentatively ahead to ANOTHER run
encoded: **WARNING: spoilers if you haven't seen Doctor Foster series 2 episode 5** Doctor Foster series two ended with Gemma and Simon’s son going missing after an eventful episode where Bertie Carvel's wayward spouse was saved from suicide and the divorced couple continued to be at each other’s throats. But where does that leave a possible series three? With the action concluding as Suranne Jones’ Gemma broke the fourth wall and told her missing son Tom that he would always be welcome back, surely a third run involving a hunt for Tom is on the cards? And what about more on Gemma and Simon’s toxic relationship? Will Simon attempt to get back his wife Kate and baby daughter Amelie? View oEmbed on the source website Well, there's only one person who knows and that's writer Mike Bartlett, who spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com. “You can see the ending," says Bartlett. "Tom’s gone. So there’s a question mark. In a way that is a question mark at the end. And I think it works as an end to this series and all the things that have been going on. Clearly there’s potential there. But obviously there would have to be lots of conversations. "We need to talk – Suranne and I and lots of other people need to have lots of conversations and we’ll see." Sounds promising. But Bartlett is also a writer who is keen to stay in the present. He says he originally had a different ending, only formulating the disappearance of Tom as he was writing it. “The ending of the show unfolded as I was writing it,” he reveals. “In the plan he’s in the car at the end. They go back to her house and get a new kitchen and try to build a life. It was only when I went to write it that she goes back to the car and he’s not there. But that happened very organically from what he has been through I think. “I was so involved in Gemma and Simon’s story, that's all I was thinking about when writing it. It sounds mad, this. But she comes out of the hotel and he’s not there. That’s the moment you look for as a writer, when…

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Doctor Foster episode 5 recap: finally, the spotlight falls on Tom
type: item
date: 2019-05-02T09:47:31.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: In a gripping series finale we witness the fallout to everything Gemma and Simon's son has endured
encoded: First things first, the series finale of Doctor Foster began with the answer to the question on everyone's lips since last week: Simon is alive. Gemma swerved her car towards her cheating ex-spouse, but at the last minute veered past him and ploughed on to steal their son from his father's grasp. But in the end, we have focused so much on the bitter custody battle between Gemma and Simon that we viewers – like his parents – may have forgotten about poor Tom. The maltreated son of the warring Fosters, so brilliantly played by young actor Tom Taylor, stood front and centre of the show at the end of series two by disappearing, vowing never to see his parents again. Doctor Foster series 2 episode 4 recap: Is this the end of the road for Simon? Where is Parminster? Is the town in Doctor Foster a real place? Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter So Doctor Foster – which started as an infidelity drama in series one – became a vengeful break up custody battle in series two, before finally morphing into something else entirely. If we get a series three (and Mike Bartlett suggests he's thinking about it), it will be about a missing person. It was an inspired turn to take after the breathless events of the concluding episode which took in Simon's desperate pleas to Tom, his attempted suicide on a main road in front of his son and Gemma, and his interrupted second attempt to end his life using a syringe provided by his ex-wife. Yes, just before the close Simon was in his hotel room, ready to inject a deadly poison provided by Gemma, when she returned in the nick of time and managed to talk him out of it. But as Gemma reappeared – after talking Simon back from the edge – Tom was gone. When she finally listened to her son's voicemail message (and it was fitting that this busy woman had two messages on her phone to get through before finally hitting upon the most important one) she heard the dreaded words: “Mum, I’m going… I was going to move out anyway. I have got no sch…

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BBC1 drama Rellik is told backwards – but it takes the genre forwards in leaps and bounds
type: item
date: 2019-04-26T11:37:58.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Ben Dowell is impressed by Jack and Harry Williams’ brainy new series which finds Fortitude and Game of Thrones actor Richard Dormer on top form
encoded: A serial killer whose modus operandi is acid has been found and killed by a police marksman – so it’s case closed, right? His fingerprints were discovered on one of the victims, he was smeared in blood and he had a history of violence and mental illness. The only terrible thing about his capture was the fact that the police shot him when he was reaching for his phone and not a gun. The strange thing is that all this happens at the start of new BBC1 drama Rellik, an intriguing, extremely dark piece from the writing powerhouse of Jack and Harry Williams. Sign up to the RadioTimes.com email newsletter And if you thought their other BBC1 drama The Missing was a clever inversion of the form with its leaps in time, then you ain't seen nothing yet. Rellik is told backwards – showing the case's climax then spooling back, with a time signature telling us how far into the past we've lurched. Rellik is Killer spelled backwards. Geddit? But it’s important to say from the outset that the narrative device of telling the story in this way isn’t a gimmick – and most importantly, it works. The writers admit that it was a tall order – in fact they didn’t think it would work, even after the script was commissioned by the BBC. They were so anxious they toyed with the idea of handing it back. But what they have produced is a very clever way of unpeeling a story. It's told in reverse but the momentum is forward, always forward and we’re constantly finding things out. Rather than going from cause to effect, as in a normal linear show, we go from effect to cause – and it's fascinating to behold. Rellik also benefits from an excellent performance from Richard Dormer as lead investigator DCI Gabriel Markham in what may be his best work to date. Scarred by an attack from the supposed killer, we’ll no doubt head back in time to find out how he got those horrific wounds (that the actor tells RadioTimes.com make him "look like Freddy Krueger") and what it means to be a victim of the crime that h…

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Meet the characters and cast of Fearless
type: item
date: 2019-04-26T10:13:46.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory appears alongside John Bishop, Michael Gambon, Jonathan Forbes and Wunmi Mosaku in the ITV thriller
encoded: ITV thriller Fearless is about a human rights lawyer called Emma Banville known for doggedly defending lost causes. But when her interest is sparked by the case of Kevin Russell - who was convicted for the murder of a schoolgirl, Linda Simms, 14 years before the action starts – she provokes a hornet's nest with powerful forces within the police and intelligence services who want to stop her uncovering the truth. Here are the main characters…. Helen McCrory as Emma Banville Who does she play? Human rights lawyer Emma starts the drama determined to prove the innocence of Kevin Russell, who was convicted for the murder of schoolgirl Linda Simms 14 years earlier. It’s a crime which Kevin maintains he didn’t commit. Firmly believing there has been a miscarriage of justice, Emma is determined to uncover the truth behind Linda’s death and is prepared to go to whatever lengths she needs to discover what happened and free Kevin. However, as Emma digs deeper into the case, risking her career, personal life and reputation, she begins to sense powerful forces at play within the police and intelligence services who want to stop her … Where have I seen Helen before? Helen McCrory is a firm favourite of TV casting directors, her most recent high profile work being in the series Peaky Blinders and Penny Dreadful. She also did a pretty good Cherie Blair in Peter Morgan’s films The Queen and The Special Relationship and has won a trove of accolades for her stage work, most recently appearing in Medea and The Deep Blue Sea. Jonathan Forbes as Dominic Truelove Who does he play? A former police officer, Dominic Truelove now works alongside and assists Emma. They have a close, trusting relationship. Says Forbes: “Emma could run rings around Dominic when it comes to the legal system. He is almost an apprentice from that point of view. What we imagined was they probably met each other through a case. They may have been on opposing sides and saw something in each other’s dynamism or a spark…

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Fearless review: Helen McCrory is a brilliant crusading lawyer but the jury's still out on her ITV drama
type: item
date: 2019-04-26T10:13:18.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Ben Dowell hopes the legal thriller steps up a gear in later episodes
encoded: I suppose it was the montage of major politicians – Thatcher, Blair, then Trump in the opening credits – that first sounded the alarm. It was a bold statement to make about a new thriller – the sense of scale, the relevance of world events, weighty subjects. But did ITV’s new drama Fearless starring Helen McCrory deliver on its promise? Not quite. Not to say there weren’t good things about this story following the intrigues of McCrory’s Emma Banville, a tenacious human rights lawyer investigating the case of Kevin Russell (Sam Swainsbury), a man jailed 14 years ago for the murder of a schoolgirl. Stay up to date with the RadioTimes.com newsletter As Emma, Helen McCrory produced a quite dazzling performance of a woman who is clearly smart, no-nonsense, funny and down to earth. It’s just that Homeland writer Patrick Harbinson’s script let her down a bit, desperately piling on the character quirks until there were far too many. There was the red leather jacket, the liquorice-flavoured roll ups, the battered car and the unusual marriage. Just one of these things would have been enough to blare out the message that she's someone who doesn’t give up the fight or bend to the rules. Add them all together and it felt a bit crowded – especially when Emma started taking batteries out of smoke alarms so she could puff away in the cheap hotels she stayed in. It felt at times as if Harbinson had seen all those Scandi noir thrillers and thought, 'well Saga had a Porsche in The Bridge, Sarah Lund had her jumpers in The Killing, we’ll give Emma a clapped-out Volvo as her little thing'. The exposition in the opening episode felt a tad clunky at times and some of the lines whiffed a little of cliché. We’re told Emma will defend anyone whether they are “sex offenders “or “Mad Mullahs”. Who says Mad Mullahs these days? Her efforts to clear the supposed killer's name came to the attention of the victim’s family and they lined up a press photographer to catch her in the act of fighting in…

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Will there be a second series of Hold the Sunset?
type: item
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: It heralded the long-awaited return of John Cleese to BBC comedy, divided critics but performed well in the ratings. Is the BBC up for more?
encoded: The BBC comedy, Hold the Sunset, starring John Cleese and Alison Steadman, finishes its first series on Sunday 25th March – but will it return for more? At the moment there are no immediate plans to announce a second series, according to BBC sources, but a recommission is not being ruled out. According to one source the broadcaster is keen to bring it back, but a deal has still to be reached. View oEmbed on the source website The show saw Monty Python and Fawlty Towers legend Cleese appearing in his first sitcom for Auntie since Basil F’s hotel closed its doors in 1979. He plays Phil in Hold the Sunset, an old boyfriend of Edith (portrayed by Steadman) who dreams of marrying his lady love and moving to the sun. Just as Edith finally says yes to his proposal, there’s a knock on the door – and there on the step, with a large suitcase, is her 50-year-old son Roger (Line of Duty star Jason Watkins) to spoil their plans. Written by Charles McKeown, the show has performed credibly in the ratings. It opened with an audience of 6.2 million viewers on BBC1 last month, with last week’s episode getting a 3.6 million overnight audience which will rise once the figures are consolidated. But it has split the critics. The Telegraph wrote: “This was one of those wonderful programmes about everything and nothing – love, getting on with getting on, and simply taking a deep breath and adjusting as best you can when things don’t quite turn out the way you’d hoped.” However the Mail countered: "It remains to be seen whether audiences still have an appetite for laboured slapstick where ageing men get into scrapes and women cluck over them." But the sun has not gone down on this show. Not yet, anyway. Meet the cast of Hold the Sunset 6 million watch John Cleese comeback sitcom Hold the Sunset – but reviews are mixed This article was originally published on 23 March 2018

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When is new Martin Clunes sitcom Warren on TV? Who's in the cast? What's it about?
type: item
date: 2019-04-01T19:07:35.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: The Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly star is returning to sitcom after a decade away - but is his new show any good?
encoded: Martin Clunes is starring in a sitcom for the first time in a decade. Yes, we know his most famous regular gig of recent years (as ITV’s Doc Martin) has a certain comedic bent to it. But his new series Warren will be his first straight comedy for ten years – since the ill-fated Reggie Perrin remake aired on BBC1. Here’s everything you need to know about the new show... Martin Clunes to play pedantic driving instructor in new BBC1 sitcom Warren Martin Clunes praised for tough Manhunt role Watch full series of Patrick Melrose, Save Me and In the Long Run for FREE on RadioTimes.com When is Warren on TV? Warren airs on BBC1 on Mondays at 9pm, starting on Monday 25th February and airing just before the hotly anticipated This Time with Alan Partridge. Or as Clunes told RadioTimes.com with a laugh: “I suppose I’ll have to weather a few unkind comparisons.” What is Warren about? Penned by upcoming writers Paul McKenna and Jimmy Donny Cosgrove, the comedy centres around the life of Warren Thompson, a pedantic, mean-spirited and tight-fisted driving instructor who thinks the world is against him. Warren is a classic fish-out-of-water character – a southerner who is forced to move up north to Preston when his partner Anne’s father falls ill. He likes neither the area, the job, nor having to look after his two teenage stepsons. But he loves Anne – who always seems to see the good in him. Who is in the cast of Warren? Clunes plays Warren, with Lisa Millett (Early Doors, Blackpool) taking on the role of Anne. Newcomer Tim Preston plays the role of her son Charlie and (another newcomer) Oscar Morgan is Danny. The family’s cocky neighbours are played by Neil Edmond (as Ian) and Line of Duty's Maya Sondhi as Ian's socially ambitious wife Paula. Is there a trailer for Warren? There sure is… View oEmbed on the source website What does Martin Clunes say about his new character? “I like him… he’s not admirable in any way but you can see his motives, and how his mind works,” Clunes told …

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The story behind the Victoria theme tune
type: item
date: 2019-03-20T00:22:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: TV
description: What is that mesmerising singing? And how did it come about? We have all the answers...
encoded: It’s the tune that is in everybody’s head – the haunting and uplifting title theme to ITV's hit Jenna Coleman drama Victoria that is used again during her wedding to Albert. But what is it? And how did it come about? View oEmbed on the source website The theme tune, Alleluia, and incidental music for the first episodes of the series were composed by Martin Phipps, the musician who also worked on BBC1 shows War and Peace and Peaky Blinders. Victoria series 3 will be released in the US before airing in the UK – and fans are in a right royal fury Phipps was shown an early version of episode one of Victoria and instantly fell in love with the drama, changing his holiday plans to get to work on the composition, executive producer Dan McCulloch tells RadioTimes.com “Martin loved the character. Particularly her tenacity, her humanity and youth. He wanted to score something that literally came from the heart,” says McCulloch. In fact, adds, in some of the scenes "you can hear a beat that’s a lot like Victoria’s heart thumping away.” For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides. The singing was performed by the classical choral ensemble The Medieval Baebes, who recorded the theme tune (which re-occurs in various motifs as incidental music) following a creative collaboration with Phipps in his East London studio. But Victoria-watchers may detect a slight difference to the sound in later episodes. That's because Phipps later handed the conductor’s baton to Ruth Barrett. And as McCulloch notes, the incidental music will have a different feel... “You’ll see – as Victoria’s life moves on so does the score. Albert has his own theme…” View oEmbed on the source website

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Fans react with dismay to BBC axing of The Coroner – but writer says it may live on
type: item
date: 2019-03-15T12:22:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: TV
description: The daytime drama's creator Sally Abbott says she still wants to make more episodes: "The Coroner doesn't feel dead to me"
encoded: Fans of BBC1 daytime drama The Coroner have reacted with anger to the news that the BBC is cancelling the show after two series. BBC axes daytime drama The Coroner Do you want to see a third series of The Coroner? RadioTimes.com newsletter: get the latest TV and entertainment news direct to your inbox The BBC explained the decision by saying it wanted to "look for opportunities to bring through new programmes for the BBC1 daytime audience", but that wasn't enough for the viewers taking to Twitter to protest the news. View oEmbed on the source website Another wrote: View oEmbed on the source website Poldark actress Beatie Edney, who also stars in The Coroner, criticised the BBC for failing to recommission a drama with such a strong female cast: View oEmbed on the source website She added: View oEmbed on the source website The Coroner's writer Sally Abbott thanked the fans for their encouraging words and said she thought the show could live on: "I'm sure every writer feels this but The Coroner doesn't feel dead to me," she wrote online. "There are so many more stories and God how I love our characters." View oEmbed on the source website A petition has also been launched by fans of the show urging the BBC to reconsider the decision. Yesterday the BBC confirmed it would not be commissioning a third series of the show. “After two fantastic series, The Coroner won’t be returning as we look for opportunities to bring through new programmes for the BBC1 daytime audience," a statement explained. "We’d like to thank the brilliant cast and production team for all of their hard work.” The hit daytime show stars Claire Goose as single mum Jane Kennedy who returns to her hometown of Lighthaven in south Devon to investigate murders alongside former childhood sweetheart Detective Sergeant Davey Higgins (Matt Bardock). For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 Edney, who also plays Ross’ servan…

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Killing Eve and A Very English Scandal win big at Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2019
type: item
date: 2019-03-15T12:00:41.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Entertainment
subject: News
subject: Radio
subject: TV
subject: audio
description: The BBC America drama earns yet more awards ahead of its highly anticipated second series
encoded: Killing Eve has earned yet more major awards ahead of its highly anticipated second series. The BBC drama was voted Best Drama Series and its star Jodie Comer was named best actress at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2019. Killing Eve, which stars Sandra Oh alongside Comer, also won the Best Online First/Streaming Award. Everything you need to know about Killing Eve series two A Very English Scandal gets a sequel focusing on first public ‘slut-shaming’ case Another BBC drama, A Very English Scandal won the award for Best Single Drama/Mini Series. Hugh Grant, who played former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, was named Best Actor, while screenwriter Russell T Davies won the Best Writer award. Lauren Laverne was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year, for her work on BBC Radio 6 Music as well as her Radio 4 shows Desert Island Discs and Late Night Woman’s Hour. The awards, which are the only ones of their kind judged solely by UK journalists specialising in TV and radio, took place at a ceremony at Banking Hall in the City of London on Friday 15th March. Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2019 – winners in full Best Single Drama/Mini-series A Very English Scandal Best Drama Series Killing Eve Best Single Documentary Grenfell Best Documentary Series Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation Best Entertainment Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing Best Online First/ Streaming Killing Eve Best Comedy Derry Girls Best of Multichannel Patrick Melrose Radio Broadcaster of the Year Lauren Laverne Radio Programme of the Year Tara and George Podcast of the Year Hip Hop Saved My Life - Romesh Ranganathan Best Actor Hugh Grant for A Very English Scandal (BBC1) Best Actress Jodie Comer for Killing Eve (BBC America) Best Writer Russell T Davies for A Very English Scandal (BBC1) Innovation Award Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, for a ground-breaking form of storytelling Breakthrough Award Alex Scott BPG Chairman’s Prize Big Brother Harvey Lee Award Nicholas Parsons CBE Actor, presenter & game …

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Meet the cast of National Treasure
type: item
date: 2019-03-15T09:54:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Jack Thorne's Channel 4 drama about a fictional entertainer at the centre of historic sex allegations features a stellar cast, including Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters and Andrea Riseborough
encoded: Channel 4's powerful drama National Treasure, about a faded entertainer called Paul Finchley being accused of historic sex crimes, boasts a stellar cast. Robbie Coltrane plays the accused Paul Finchley, with Julie Walters his stoic, unhappy wife and Andrea Riseborough his troubled daughter Dee. View oEmbed on the source website The writer is Skins, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and soon-to-be His Dark Materials writer Jack Thorne. National Treasure starts Tuesday 20th September at 9pm on Channel 4. Here are the main players... Paul Finchley (Robbie Coltrane) Paul is a much-loved, ageing entertainer, one half of a very successful double act who have been on our screens for over 30 years. Paul is avuncular, witty and popular, both as the national treasure of the title and an inspiration to the younger generations of comics. Yet there’s also a troubling side to Paul. Away from the limelight he hasn’t always been a good (or faithful) husband to his wife, Marie, or the best father to his daughter, Dee. When he faces questioning over an alleged historic sex crime, all these demons will resurface. A giant of TV and screen, Robbie's best known TV role is as the hard-living maverick forensic psychologist Fitz from Cracker. He is also a Harry Potter favourite for his turn as Hagrid, and is known to Bond fans as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in the films Goldeneye and The World is Not Enough. Marie Finchley (Julie Walters) Marie has been Paul’s wife for 40 years and has stuck by him through all his career highs and lows. A steely, dryly funny, strong and religious woman, she has always been fiercely protective of her family. However, as the pressure of the legal case mounts and old family secrets start to emerge, Marie questions her own faith in her husband. Like her co-star Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters is another Harry Potter alumnus, much loved for her role as Ron's lovely Mum Molly Weasley. She won a Golden Globe and a Bafta and was nominated for an Academy Award for h…

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National Treasure: Is Paul Finchley guilty?
type: item
date: 2019-03-15T09:54:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Ben Dowell analyses the evidence ahead of the final episode of Jack Thorne’s dark drama
encoded: “We're not a sort of whodunit, we’re not a sort of thriller by any means,” National Treasure writer Jack Thorne told RadioTimes.com recently about his new drama. “But it is a character study and it is one where we want the audience to feel like a jury in order to engage them in this issue.” It’s an interesting point which shows that the scriptwriter has a clear grasp of how some viewers are likely to respond to his drama about Robbie Coltrane’s faded entertainer Paul Finchley who is arrested for a series of alleged sexual offences. Just as with the real-life Operation Yewtree (which the writer and production team are clear is the inspiration for this) there are no easy, absolutely clear answers, but there is one big question. Amid all the hints and evasions (Finchley seems very good at not giving much of himself away, doesn’t he?) the same nagging words burrow away: did he commit those awful crimes against vulnerable women? Is Paul Finchley guilty? Well, after three episodes the answer seems to be on a knife-edge and we will find out tonight in the courtroom showdown of episode four if he is. All the way through the drama it is as if Thorne is offering subtle clues, tiny bits of evidence for the prosecution, but then immediately mitigating them, as if he suddenly becomes a defence barrister popping up to destroy the case. First on the prosecution's side there is the high number of people – seven – who have made accusations against Finchley. But, as we know, real life juries have exonerated people in these circumstances. How can we be sure Finchley’s accusers aren’t, as he claims, after fame and money? Finchley suggests the police have succeeded with their fishing operation – making sure the first accusation is made public so others come forward. Are they doing so because it happened – or because of the high profile nature of the case? Considering his habit of cavorting with prostitutes, it’s clear he is a man with a high libido and a low opinion of his wedding vows.…

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National Treasure delivers its verdict on Robbie Coltrane’s Paul Finchley
type: item
date: 2019-03-15T09:54:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Jack Thorne’s Operation Yetwree drama starring the Harry Potter star and Julie Walters ends leaving viewers in no doubt about the fictional entertainer
encoded: So now we know. National Treasure has revealed the truth about Paul Finchley. Spoilers follow for anyone who hasn't watched the series finale. Robbie Coltrane’s character Paul was a rapist and paedophile, but he was acquitted of all charges by the court in a stunning climax to Channel 4's National Treasure. His defence team skilfully destroyed the cases of the two main witnesses who accused him of historic sex crimes. They successfully painted babysitter Christina (Susan Lynch) as a fantasist keen to make money from her story. And Kate Hardie’s Rebecca Thornton had her claims torn apart after it was revealed she wrote the entertainer a fan letter a year after the alleged rape. But, while the flashback suggested that 15-year-old Christina appeared to have submitted willingly to Finchley's sexual advances, he seems to be guilty of having sexual relations with a minor in that case. And there was also nothing alleged about his attack on Rebecca. It clearly was rape, and not only that, Finchley’s comedy partner Karl (Tim McInnerny) knew it. He came upon his friend in his trailer while he was committing the offence, his victim's cries and struggles obvious to anyone with a set of ears, and did not intervene. Nor did he speak out when he could in court. As he disclosed, Karl knew that if Finchley were brought down, he too would have been destroyed by association. It was a mesmerising and tense hour of drama that skillfully laid bare the important truths of this compelling story, but leaving just enough grey area and unanswered questions. The courtroom scenes were harrowing to watch as the claims and counter claims were presented with unflinching brutality. There was nowhere to hide for Finchley and the two women. Strangely, the key character in the whole episode, perhaps the whole drama, wasn't in the dock: Marie, Finchley’s wife, superbly played by Julie Walters, emerged as the through line on which this whole drama hinged. Her journey from trust of her husband’s word to …

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What time is True Detective series 3 on TV? What is it about, and who is in the cast?
type: item
date: 2019-03-04T20:17:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
subject: HBO
subject: Sky Atlantic
description: HBO’s time-shifting detective drama is back and Ben Dowell is pleased to note that it has returned to the form and dizzying heights of series one…
encoded: Nic Pizzolatto's anthology crime series True Detective is back for a third series, with Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff heading up a brand new cast. Here's everything you need to know about it... Is True Detective on Netflix? HBO boss explains what went wrong with True Detective series two When is True Detective series three on TV and how can I watch? True Detective series three starts on Sky Atlantic on Monday 14th January with a double bill of episodes one and two starting at 9pm Is there a trailer for True Detective series three? There sure is... View oEmbed on the source website Who is in the cast of True Detective series three? The new story is set in three overlapping time periods in 1980, 1990 and 2015. It stars Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff as lead detectives, Wayne Hays and Roland West, investigating the disappearance of two young children in rural Arkansas. Carmen Ejogo plays schoolteacher Amelia Reardon (below) who becomes Hays’ wife in later time periods. Other stars include Mamie Gummer as Lucy Purcell, the mother of the missing children, with Scoot McNairy playing their forlorn father Tom. Ray Fisher plays Henry Hays, the grown-up son of Wayne in the 2015 timelines. What is True Detective about? This is the third instalment of Nic Pizzolatto’s’s time-layered anthology crime saga. Series one starred Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, while the second (completely different story) starred Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn. The less said about series two the better... All three series are told over different periods and series three concerns a child abduction case set in the beautiful but impoverished Ozarks region of Arkansas in the southern United States. We first encounter Ali’s Wayne Hays and Dorff’s Roland West in 1980 as boozy cops roused to action by the disappearance of a young brother and sister from a broken home. They are Will and Julie Purcell, the children of feuding parents Tom and Lucy Purcell, who have gone missing ne…

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When does BBC Scotland launch? How can I watch? What programmes will air?
type: item
date: 2019-03-03T08:12:00.000Z
creator: Ben Dowell
subject: Entertainment
subject: News
subject: TV
description: The Corporation is launching a bespoke channel for Scotland – here’s what is going to be on it and how you can watch it
encoded: In February the BBC is launching a dedicated Scottish television channel with a new daily hour-long news programme and bespoke drama, arts and entertainment coverage. The new channel, called BBC Scotland, will have a prominent slot on Electronic Programme Guides (EPGs) in Scotland, and will be available across the UK via BBC iPlayer. Here’s everything you need to know about it... When does BBC Scotland launch? BBC Scotland will officially launch on Sunday 24th February. How can I watch BBC Scotland? Will it replace existing channels? The new channel’s place on the EPG will be “prominent” in Scotland. It will show on channel 9 on Freeview and YouView, 115 on Sky, 106 on Freesat and 108 on Virgin Media north of the border. To watch in HD on Freeview and YouView, head to 115. Full listings will be available in the Scottish edition of the print Radio Times. It will be available on iPlayer in the rest of the country. Will Scottish viewers still have access to BBC4? For Freeview and YouView users, BBC Scotland's new home on channel 9 is in a spot currently occupied by BBC4. But fear not, Scottish BBC4 fans will still have access to the channel – on 18th February it moved to its new home on channel 82. The switch may happen automatically, but some viewers may need to retune their TVs to get the new line-up. What sort of programmes will BBC Scotland show? The plan is to air 50% original content and 50% repeats. Each weeknight there will be an hour-long news programme at 9pm featuring national, UK and international news. Called The Nine, it will be anchored from Scotland by presenters Martin Geissler and Rebecca Curran (pictured). Existing BBC Scotland TV programmes will be showcased on the channel including Scottish drama River City which will feature each Monday night at 10pm and will continue to keep its 8pm Tuesday evening slot on BBC1 Scotland. The new channel will also air existing shows like police comedy Scot Squad and will premiere the final series of Scottish sitco…

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