Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2026-02-19T16:39:58.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: A 'toxic fairy tale'
items: The Lady writer explains new Sarah Ferguson TV drama and how series handles Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
items: Under Salt Marsh’s Rafe Spall talks impact of nepotism in his career: "That’s called an advantage"
items: In the transcendent
items: Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly reveals why she was ready for Under Salt Marsh after "violence and revenge" of Beth Dutton
items: Riot Women cast reveal season 2 is set to take a turn "no one will see coming"
items: 'I love being in nature'
items: 'I didn't want to be the patronised older actor'
items: Slow Horses' Jonathan Pryce on returning to his Welsh roots with new drama: "I left it physically, but emotionally, I've never left"
items: True to her calling
items: Call the Midwife legend Judy Parfitt reveals the show’s upcoming hiatus "shakes" her a bit: "It'll be hard for all of us"
items: 'We are doing our own thing'
items: Martin Compston: 'As Brits, we need to fight for our NHS and BBC'
items: Red Eye star Jing Lusi reveals the pressures to deliver with season 2 and the importance of being the series lead
items: Martin Compston on going "bigger and bolder" in Red Eye season 2 - and Line of Duty season 7
items: Lynley star Leo Suter clarifies how new series is "updated" and "fresh" – and not a remake of classic drama
items: Buckle up!
items: 'I’ve forgotten the bits I did!'
items: Legendary photographer Martin Parr looks back on his work and recalls the way we were
items: Call the Midwife star reveals she wants a damehood as cast tease much-anticipated 2025 Christmas special
items: 10 Questions with Alan Cumming
items: Alan Cumming teases "prescient" new show from Russell T Davies about rage faced by "marginalised people"
items: View from My Sofa: Mandip Gill
items: Doctor Who favourite Mandip Gill teases "furthering" relationship between Thirteen and Yaz in new adventures
items: 'I'm not tremendous on gore but I do love frightening stories'
items: Hark the Poplar angels sing!
items: Joanna Lumley dishes on Ghost Story for Christmas: "I'm not tremendous on gore but I do love frightening stories"
items: Call the Midwife 2025 Christmas preview as Trixie's marriage gets a major update
items: Caught in the crossfire
items: Prisoner 951 writer reveals why Boris Johnson wasn't cast with "buffoon" performance in Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama

A 'toxic fairy tale'
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Inside ITV's new drama about the former dresser to the once Duchess of York, The Lady
encoded: Add The Lady to your watchlist “Andrew does not feature,” writer Debbie O’Malley says emphatically of the royal formerly known as Prince and his presence, or lack thereof, in ITV1’s four-parter The Lady. The drama tells the story of Jane Andrews (former dresser to the once Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson), who killed her partner Thomas Cressman in 2000. O’Malley says The Lady isn’t “interested in the royal world because it’s very much about the female, domestic world of Sarah [Natalie Dormer] and Jane’s part in it. We only ever see the Sarah that Jane got to see.” The Lady’s attention to Andrews’s relationship with Ferguson — “a fascinating dynamic as close as friends but with a difference in status that will never go away” — forms part of what O’Malley calls Andrews’s “toxic fairy tale”. “You’ve got this girl who comes from ordinary beginnings and ends up mixing with the greatest in the land at Buckingham Palace — before things take a sad and upsetting turn. It’s an interesting way to explore one woman’s journey as well as British society at the time.” Of course, it’s not a fairy tale, though. It’s a true story, or at least based on one. “If you’re writing true crime, there are things you can never know, and we wanted to be transparent about that. So wherever possible we’ve tried to show key moments of Jane and Tommy’s relationship through the eyes of the friends that were around them. There was no way we could necessarily please everyone, but we weren’t setting out to upset anyone.” O’Malley says she takes the “enormous” responsibility involved seriously. “When you’re trying to understand a complex protagonist, it’s easy to lose sight of the victim. And that was something that was important from the beginning — to remember that a man lost his life and his family and his friends are still grieving that loss. You just have to approach it with integrity.”

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The Lady writer explains new Sarah Ferguson TV drama and how series handles Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
type: item
date: 2026-02-16T17:01:58.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Why The Lady, the new drama telling the story of Sarah Ferguson's former dresser Jane Andrews, is a "toxic fairy-tale".
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “Andrew does not feature,” writer Debbie O’Malley says emphatically of the royal formerly known as Prince and his presence, or lack thereof, in ITV1’s four-parter The Lady. The drama tells the story of Jane Andrews (former dresser to the once Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson), who killed her partner Thomas Cressman in 2000. O’Malley says The Lady isn’t “interested in the royal world because it’s very much about the female, domestic world of Sarah [Natalie Dormer] and Jane’s part in it. We only ever see the Sarah that Jane got to see.” The Lady’s attention to Andrews’s relationship with Ferguson — “a fascinating dynamic as close as friends but with a difference in status that will never go away” — forms part of what O’Malley calls Andrews’s “toxic fairy tale”. “You’ve got this girl who comes from ordinary beginnings and ends up mixing with the greatest in the land at Buckingham Palace – before things take a sad and upsetting turn. It’s an interesting way to explore one woman’s journey as well as British society at the time.” Of course, it’s not a fairy tale, though. It’s a true story, or at least based on one. “If you’re writing true crime, there are things you can never know, and we wanted to be transparent about that. So wherever possible we’ve tried to show key moments of Jane and Tommy’s relationship through the eyes of the friends that were around them. There was no way we could necessarily please everyone, but we weren’t setting out to upset anyone.” O’Malley says she takes the “enormous” responsibility involved seriously. “When you’re trying to understand a complex protagonist, it’s easy to lose sight of the victim. And that was something that was important from the beginning – to remember that a man lost his life and his family and his friends are still grieving that loss. You just have to approach it with integrity.” The Lady will launch on Sunday (22nd February) at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. The latest issue of …

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Under Salt Marsh’s Rafe Spall talks impact of nepotism in his career: "That’s called an advantage"
type: item
date: 2026-02-16T17:00:12.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Balancing fatherhood and a successful screen career is challenging, but he’s trying…
encoded: What’s the view from your sofa? It’s an open-plan TV area that has the TV, obviously, and a record player with lots of records beside it. And lots of baby toys, because we have an 18-month-old. You have four children. Do you enjoy being a dad? Being a father is my proudest achievement. My kids are 14, 13, 10 and 18 months, which is quite a big stretch, and sometimes the sense of responsibility is pretty crushing. But it’s what sustains me; it’s what keeps me going. It’s really defined by what you get wrong. I get a lot wrong and I find it difficult sometimes, but I show up and I try. Looking after these kids and giving them as nice a life as I can is really the only thing of any worth I’ve ever done. Eric Bull, your character in Under Salt Marsh, has entered the pantheon of British detectives. Tell us about him. He’s awkward. Brusque. Into mushrooms. He’s a gay man – or a man who happens to be gay. A lot of that stuff was on the page, but I had free rein to decide where he was from because he needed to be not from there, not Welsh, so I decided to go West Midlands. My partner [and Trying co-star] Esther Smith is from Stourbridge, and I like the idea of the Black Country. It’s geographically close to north Wales and you don’t hear the accent much on television. Given that Bull’s been conducting his murder investigation under the threat of an almighty, evidence-destroying storm that finally hits this week, how was filming Under Salt Marsh? It was one of the most difficult pieces of shooting I’ve ever done. Given that the show is, essentially, about a storm, it meant being under rain machines from November through to March in north Wales and Cardiff – and that’s physically quite demanding. There were a lot of wetsuits involved. But we’re well paid, and it beats digging a hole in the road. Trying, your Apple TV sitcom that’s now being shown on BBC One, must be a cakewalk, comparatively? When I go home after a day of Trying, I’m much more exhausted than I would be after …

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In the transcendent
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Louisa Harland plays Louisa May Alcott in a drama about a 19th-century American spiritual movement
encoded: Transcendental Wild Oats is on Saturday at 3pm on Radio 4. Add it to your collection Among Louisa Harland’s many talents, albeit not showcased in Channel 4’s Derry Girls or in BBC1’s upcoming adaptation of Marian Keyes’s The Walsh Sisters, is that she can think and breathe in cockney. “I’ve been doing accents since I was a child and a role with an accent is a dream role for me,” she says, explaining that the modulation and indeed subsuming of her own Dublin tones is just part of perfecting an accent. “How you breathe or laugh as a character with an accent is maybe not the same as how I would myself. “When I did Renegade Nell [Sally Wainwright’s period romp about a highwaywoman], I had to do old-school cockney, so I would try and think in the accent as opposed to just sending out the right sounds, because then I feel that it’s more in my body.” Harland says she loves the transformative nature of doing an accent and admits that she’d love to take on an American one in a long-running US series. “Playing anything far away from myself is my dream. I love doing animation voiceovers, too, and I’d love to do more. A Bojack Horseman or something like it would be ideal.” We’re discussing accents on account of Harland’s polished American in Radio 4’s new drama Transcendental Wild Oats, in which she plays its author and narrator, Louisa May Alcott. First published two years after Little Women, in 1873, Transcendental Wild Oatsis an account of the Alcott family’s disastrous involvement with the Transcendentalist movement in New England in the 1840s. Under the influence of dour Englishman Charles Lane, her idealistic father moved the family to a commune where veganism, celibacy and general parsimony were the order of the day. At Fruitlands, they eschewed artificial light and heat, personal property was abolished and a “consociate” family was created out of the farm’s 14 residents, replacing the pre-existing family units. The utopia lasted all of seven months. In the original vers…

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Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly reveals why she was ready for Under Salt Marsh after "violence and revenge" of Beth Dutton
type: item
date: 2026-02-06T12:20:07.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
subject: NOW
subject: Sky Atlantic
description: "I love Beth to bits – but Beth is quite far removed from who I am and how I live my life."
encoded: Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly has said that she was “definitely ready” to play the lead in Sky Atlantic’s new thriller Under Salt Marsh after six years playing the mad, bad and dangerous to know Beth Dutton in the hit US show. “I was working on the last season of Yellowstone when I read [Under Salt Marsh] and I was really in the throes of Beth's violence and revenge. It's quite an interesting vibe to hold in yourself and it's not something that's particularly comfortable.” Reilly told Radio Times that getting into the right headspace to play Beth takes a psychological “boot camp” and exploring the psychology of Under Salt Marsh’s protagonist, Jackie Ellis, felt like a change of gear. "Jackie feels like she’s hiding, like she doesn’t want to take up space,” she explained of the character who, upon discovering the body of a murdered child three years after her own niece disappeared, starts her own covert investigation into the deaths. According to Reilly, the more contained Jackie is "more aligned to myself and easier to access than Beth”. “I love Beth to bits – I’m playing her now [in Yellowstone spin-off The Dutton Ranch, due 2027] – but Beth is quite far removed from who I am and how I live my life,” she says. “I love leaning into that aspect of myself, but I could never speak like Beth or do what Beth does.” Read more: Where was Under Salt Marsh filmed? Under Salt Marsh's Jonathan Pryce explains why thriller is "much deeper" than your average murder mystery Slow Horses' Jonathan Pryce on returning to his Welsh roots with new drama: "I left it physically, but emotionally, I've never left" As for Beth’s appeal, and her transformation from a character in a TV show into something of an iconic cultural figure complete with her own merch – you too can own a Don’t Make Me Go All Beth Dutton On Your Ass t-shirt if there’s a dearth in your wardrobe – Reilly is reflective: “I think people loved Beth's audacity. There was something about her in full ownership of herself that…

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Riot Women cast reveal season 2 is set to take a turn "no one will see coming"
type: item
date: 2026-02-03T10:51:54.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
description: The Riot Women cast joked about what's to come in season 2.
encoded: It was confirmed late last year that BBC's Riot Women would be returning for more episodes, with the Sally Wainwright drama clearly striking a chord with audiences everywhere for its exploration of the power of music and also, female friendship. While we'll just have to wait and see what the new season will bring, the Riot Women cast did stop by the Radio Times Covers Party 2026 and teased what's to come. Underlining the fact that the Happy Valley creator will return to helm the series, Amelia Bullmore said: "Sally's going to write it." "Sally's going to have her own band in it, that's what I think," Rosalie Craig also offered. Tamsin Greig, who stars as Holly Gaskell, also joked: "Hopefully, some of us are in it." Bullmore went on to map out the second season according to her, saying: "This is what I think, right? I think there's gonna be some good times, some bad times, I think there's gonna be some obstacles, there's gonna be some gigs ..." Greig added: "And there's gonna be a crafty midpoint that nobody's going to see coming." Bullmore then continued: "A very, very crushingly low point and then some sort of unequivocal resolution. "And then a very peculiar sex act," Greig concluded. You can watch the video for yourself below. View Green Video on the source website While we'll take what the Riot Women have to say with a considerable amount of salt, it's clear that the leading cast are all pumped for what's to come. On the announcement of the second season, Sally Wainwright said in a statement: "Oh, this is where the fun really starts!" "We've all been so deeply moved by the huge, overwhelming, joyous, emotional response to series one, and now we're able to take the Riot Women extravaganza onto the next level!" said the show's creator, writer, lead director and executive producer. "We hope you’ll all join us on the series two rollercoaster!" Read more: Taskmaster's Alex Horne teases new series with intriguing format change: "We've got something up our sleeve" Harr…

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'I love being in nature'
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Under Salt Marsh star Kelly Reilly on the great outdoors
encoded: Add Under Salt Marsh to your watchlist When Kelly Reilly was in her 20s, she embarked on what might well be a rite of passage for every young British actor with ambition: she went out to Los Angeles to take meetings, perhaps to audition, to see and be seen. Or, as she puts it, “to hustle”. “I remember going and there being so much sun! And I love the rain. I love rain and being out in nature. It’s one of my favourite things about my jobs, and location is something I definitely take into consideration,” she says. “I don’t think I’d be very good on a procedural, on a set every day. I’ve got to feel like my soul’s on fire a bit.” And so, last winter — October through to February, in fact — Reilly found herself in the cold and the rain in the wilds of north Wales, playing the lead in the superlative thriller Under Salt Marsh. “You’re immersed in the place, in the land, and it can’t help but have an effect on you. You feel the energy of it.” For a significant amount of time, Reilly was also immersed in freezing cold, chest-high water for a scene in which her character Jackie, a police officer turned primary school teacher, discovers the body of one of her pupils. And let’s not forget the scenes in which an impending storm fulfils its potential, makes land fall and devastates the town, drenching, and indeed drowning, many of its residents. Reilly, 48, is unrepentant. “I’ve been filming in Montana for years and years [on Yellowstone, the US TV show turned cultural phenomenon in which she plays the violent, vengeful, occasionally tender Beth Dutton]. And then I get to go film in these mountains in Britain. And it was really quite an emotional thing. “I have a real love for north Wales from when I was a kid. We used to go there on holidays, and when I was in primary school, I had this wonderful head teacher who took us on a school trip to climb Mount Snowdon. It was so formative for me. You give yourself over to something greater and you feel humbled by nature and in awe of …

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'I didn't want to be the patronised older actor'
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Sir Jonathan Pryce once said he’d retire at 60, but at 78 he shows no signs of slowing down. And now he’s finally back in Wales, where he has always belonged
encoded: Add Under Salt Marsh to your watchlist Had Jonathan Pryce retired at 60, as he once proclaimed he would when he was a young actor, his last movie would have been Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. He’d never have played the scheming High Sparrow in Game of Thrones, or Cardinal Wolsey in the BBC’s Wolf Hall. Though he probably would still have received his 2009 CBE for services to drama, it’s unlikely he’d have been knighted in 2021 for those services (presumably provided in the years from 2009 onwards). He’d still have his two Tony awards (one for Miss Saigon, despite controversy over his casting as an Asian character) and his two Olivier awards (his first, in 1980, for a radical production of Hamlet). But he wouldn’t have been nominated for an Oscar for best actor, as he was for 2019’s The Two Popes, in which he starred as the future Pope Francis opposite fellow Welshman Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict. Nor would he have been Emmy-nominated twice in the same year – 2024 – for two very different performances: the Duke of Edinburgh in the final seasons of The Crown and David Cartwright in Slow Horses. More of the latter later. Chances are, had Pryce given up acting in 2007, he would be best known for playing Juan Perón to Madonna’s Evita in 1996, or the Bond villain in Tomorrow Never Dies. He would never have given some of the best performances of his career. Pryce would have sold himself short. “When I said it, 60 was quite old and I didn’t want to be the older actor that the rest of the cast and crew patronised – which is what I’d seen happening on jobs that I’d been on,” the 78-year-old says now. “That hasn’t started happening yet and, on the whole, people are very kind to me so I’ll keep going. It might retire me, but at the moment, I don’t have to retire.” Does he ever worry that if you stop, you drop? “I very much think that, yes,” Pryce says, firmly. “That’s true for everybody in any walk of life. You’ve got to either keep going or definitely find some…

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Slow Horses' Jonathan Pryce on returning to his Welsh roots with new drama: "I left it physically, but emotionally, I've never left"
type: item
date: 2026-01-19T17:00:20.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Sir Jonathan Pryce once said he’d retire at 60, but at 78 he shows no signs of slowing down. And now he’s finally back in Wales, where he has always belonged.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Had Jonathan Pryce retired at 60, as he once proclaimed he would when he was a young actor, his last movie would have been Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. He’d never have played the scheming High Sparrow in Game of Thrones, or Cardinal Wolsey in the BBC’s Wolf Hall. Though he probably would still have received his 2009 CBE for services to drama, it’s unlikely he’d have been knighted in 2021 for those services (presumably provided in the years from 2009 onwards). He’d still have his two Tony awards (one for Miss Saigon, despite controversy over his casting as an Asian character) and his two Olivier awards (his first, in 1980, for a radical production of Hamlet). But he wouldn’t have been nominated for an Oscar for best actor, as he was for 2019’s The Two Popes, in which he starred as the future Pope Francis opposite fellow Welshman Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict. Nor would he have been Emmy-nominated twice in the same year – 2024 – for two very different performances: the Duke of Edinburgh in the final seasons of The Crown and David Cartwright in Slow Horses. More of the latter later. Chances are, had Pryce given up acting in 2007, he would be best known for playing Juan Perón to Madonna’s Evita in 1996, or the Bond villain in Tomorrow Never Dies. He would never have given some of the best performances of his career. Pryce would have sold himself short. “When I said it, 60 was quite old and I didn’t want to be the older actor that the rest of the cast and crew patronised – which is what I’d seen happening on jobs that I’d been on,” the 78-year-old says now. “That hasn’t started happening yet and, on the whole, people are very kind to me so I’ll keep going. It might retire me, but at the moment, I don’t have to retire.” Does he ever worry that if you stop, you drop? “I very much think that, yes,” Pryce says, firmly. “That’s true for everybody in any walk of life. You’ve got to either keep going or defini…

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True to her calling
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Judy Parfitt always wanted to play a nun. Now, as Call the Midwife is put on hold after 15 years, she’s finding it a hard habit to break
encoded: Add Call the Midwife to your watchlist Judy Parfitt is in a reflective mood. It would be strange if she wasn’t. When we meet, on the wintry and sprawling Surrey set of Call the Midwife, Parfitt and the rest of the cast and crew are filming the final episode of the stalwart Sunday-night drama before it’s “paused”. It isn’t being axed, cancelled or canned – everyone is very emphatic about that. Rather, it’s being rested, so that a prequel series, set during the Second World War, can be made, along with a spin-off movie, set overseas in 1972. How long that rest lasts is undefined, so even though the BBC says that it “will remain at the heart” of the Corporation for years to come, it is undeniably an end of era for Call the Midwife. “This time of year, you thank God you’re nearly finished because you’re so tired,” Parfitt explains as she recounts the rhythm of the last 15 years during which she has played the magnificent, fragile, cerebral and mischievous nun, Sister Monica Joan. “From about the beginning of March, you start thinking how lovely it’ll be to see everyone and start working again. Then it’s April and I usually look forward to April. So for it not to be there really shakes me a bit. This company has been through so much together that we are a family. It’ll be hard for all of us.” Parfitt turned 90 in November last year and she’s found this last block of filming especially challenging – partly because of the circumstances, partly because of the storylines and partly because that’s the kind of actress she is. “I have to be a character and inhabit them,” she explains. “I can’t act any other way. I can’t sort of be external and watch myself. In these episodes, I’m playing scenes that there’s no way I can leave behind. It’s been horrendous, on occasion. For an actor, a vivid imagination is wonderful to have – and hell to live with.” So how has she found inhabiting Monica Joan over the years? “I’ve always wanted to play a nun because I was educated by nuns – and I…

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Call the Midwife legend Judy Parfitt reveals the show’s upcoming hiatus "shakes" her a bit: "It'll be hard for all of us"
type: item
date: 2026-01-05T17:01:09.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Judy Parfitt always wanted to play a nun. Now, as Call the Midwife is put on hold after 15 years, she’s finding it a hard habit to break.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Judy Parfitt is in a reflective mood. It would be strange if she wasn’t. When we meet, on the wintry and sprawling Surrey set of Call the Midwife, Parfitt and the rest of the cast and crew are filming the final episode of the stalwart Sunday-night drama before it’s “paused”. It isn’t being axed, cancelled or canned – everyone is very emphatic about that. Rather, it’s being rested, so that a prequel series, set during the Second World War, can be made, along with a spin-off movie, set overseas in 1972. How long that rest lasts is undefined, so even though the BBC says that it “will remain at the heart” of the Corporation for years to come, it is undeniably an end of era for Call the Midwife. “This time of year, you thank God you’re nearly finished because you’re so tired,” Parfitt explains as she recounts the rhythm of the last 15 years during which she has played the magnificent, fragile, cerebral and mischievous nun, Sister Monica Joan. “From about the beginning of March, you start thinking how lovely it’ll be to see everyone and start working again. Then it’s April and I usually look forward to April. So for it not to be there really shakes me a bit. This company has been through so much together that we are a family. It’ll be hard for all of us.” Parfitt turned 90 in November last year and she’s found this last block of filming especially challenging – partly because of the circumstances, partly because of the storylines and partly because that’s the kind of actress she is. “I have to be a character and inhabit them,” she explains. “I can’t act any other way. I can’t sort of be external and watch myself. In these episodes, I’m playing scenes that there’s no way I can leave behind. It’s been horrendous, on occasion. For an actor, a vivid imagination is wonderful to have – and hell to live with.” View oEmbed on the source website So how has she found inhabiting Monica Joan over the years? “I’ve always wanted to p…

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'We are doing our own thing'
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Inspector Lynley is back! But not as you know him, say the stars of the BBC remake, Leo Suter and Sofia Barclay
encoded: Add Lynley to your watchlist Leo Suter is at pains to point out that the BBC detective drama Lynley is not a remake of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. “These are new Lynley stories and the show we’re making is based on other books that weren’t adapted previously. It’s updated and it’s fresh.” This choice of source material isn’t the only difference between the new Lynley and the turn-of-the-century adaptation that starred Nathaniel Parker as peer-of-the-realm police detective Thomas Lynley, with Sharon Small co-starring as his scruffy, tough, working-class sidekick Barbara Havers. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/01/Lynley-BBC-9886da6.jpg" width="4285" height="2857" alt="Two adults walk side by side along a coastal path beside calm water. One wears a smart jacket and open-collar shirt and carries a pair of green wellington boots, while the other wears a casual vest over a long-sleeved top. Trees, shoreline, and blue sky form the background in bright daylight." title="Lynley" /> “Our series is contemporary, and in the 20 years or so that’s passed since the previous show was made, UK society looks very different,” says Suter. “Class – this mismatch between upper-class Lynley and working-class Havers – is such a central feature of our show and class is always complicated and difficult to define. Even more so in a contemporary Britain and Norfolk [where Lynley is set] where the prisons are overcrowded and there’s drugs coming in from Europe onto the beaches. The social fabric of our Lynley is a very different one to Nat Parker’s 25 years ago and indeed to those original books that Elizabeth George wrote even before that.” Suter, who is 32 and best known for his leading role in Netflix’s visceral and violent historical drama Vikings: Valhalla, as well as period dramas Victoria, Beecham House and Sanditon, was seven years old when The Inspector Lynley Mysteries was first broadcast and hadn’t seen the previous series or read the boo…

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Martin Compston: 'As Brits, we need to fight for our NHS and BBC'
type: item
date: 2025-12-30T07:00:49.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
description: Martin Compston is the new action hero lead – and he's worried about the state of the world.
encoded: Martin Compston is feeling combative. This is, in part, attributable to his latest role, in Red Eye, ITV’s high-octane, high-altitude, thoroughly daft conspiracy thriller. In it, he plays Clay Brody, CIA agent attached to the US Embassy in London who strides around regenerated Battersea, looking very hench in an extremely tailored three-piece suit. He wears the suit almost as well as the thousand-yard stare he sports for scenes in which he isn’t beating up baddies – old-fashioned fisticuffs, throwing them through windows and such – or muttering into his sleeve. “It’s always fun playing the haunted man,” Compston says, “and Brody’s history is murky. We think he’s the good guy, and he does some good things, but who is he really?” There are lots of fight scenes in Red Eye Fiercely choreographed frenetic ballets in which each of the ‘dancers’ is at the peak of physical fitness. “We had a terrific stunt co-ordinator and stunt guys who are just great to collaborate with on those scenes,” Compston enthuses. “The trust that you build when you’re throwing guys through stuff.” It isn’t just trust that you build. There’s muscle too. Since I last interviewed him in 2020, for The Nest, Nicole Taylor’s surrogacy-goes-awry thriller (does surrogacy ever go right in a thriller?), Compston has been working out. “I have,” he says, slightly sheepishly, “but I do anyway. I enjoy working out - I think it's coming from a soccer background - but I am very fond of a pint and a pizza as well so really I need to work out a lot because my diet is not the best.” He really threw himself into the physical side of the role, training regularly with the director of Red Eye, Kieron Hawkes. “He’s one of my best friends and he got me into Krav Maga, the Israeli martial art. I train four or five times a week so when we were doing Red Eye, Kieran and I lived in the same apartment block with its own gym space, so we’d train at night.” Of Compston’s regime, his co-star and Red Eye lead Jing Lusi told me “W…

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Red Eye star Jing Lusi reveals the pressures to deliver with season 2 and the importance of being the series lead
type: item
date: 2025-12-29T17:00:07.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: As Red Eye takes off for a second series, lead Jing Lusi talks ratings, representation and filling big shoes.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. When someone tells you that they had “a moment” at London’s Euston station, you assume, not unreasonably, that it was a moment of despair, or rage, or a combination of the two, in response to some train-related tribulation. Not for Jing Lusi, who plays DI Hana Li in Red Eye, ITV’s high-octane, thoroughly daft, edge-of-your-seat-compelling thriller. Her moment at Euston was a joyful one. “When Trigger Point [the bomb disposal drama starring Vicky McClure] came out, I remember it was all over the big billboards in Waterloo station. I took a video of it and sent it as a joke to my producer asking: ‘Can this be us?’. Fast-forward a year, and it was us, at Euston. Seeing it was quite a moment. Pretty amazing, actually.” The amazing part wasn’t that her giant face was plastered all over billboards – although, “That is surreal,” the 40-year-old says, “especially when you don’t expect it”. What thrilled Lusi was what the billboards meant. “That ITV were doing all this marketing was a real vote of confidence. I had such a good time making it that, for me personally, I was already winning regardless of the reception it was going to get. Anything else is a bonus.” The broadcaster’s confidence was, it seems, well-placed. Despite attracting what we might diplomatically call mixed reviews, and launching in the shadow of Hijack on Apple TV, which was a similarly-themed thriller at 35,000 feet, albeit with double the budget and Idris Elba as the lead, Red Eye was a hit. “I’ve never worried about ratings before,” Lusi explains. “But I’ve never led a show before – I was like ‘It’s on the lead. It’s their funeral…’ With this, I cared. It probably wasn’t the healthiest habit but I was looking at ratings as soon as they were announced every week. I was so surprised and overwhelmed that the audience grew every week.” Red Eye’s popularity meant that chief among the “anything else” of bonuses coming Lusi’s way was, inevitably, a second s…

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Martin Compston on going "bigger and bolder" in Red Eye season 2 - and Line of Duty season 7
type: item
date: 2025-12-29T17:00:07.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: ITV
subject: Magazine
description: From filling Richard Armitage’s shoes to throwing himself into full-blown action hero mode, the Red Eye star talks stunts, training and taking the thriller to new heights.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. How nerve-wracking is it stepping into Richard Armitage’s shoes as the male lead of Red Eye? They are big shoes to fill because he’s a big fella, and he’s a bona fide movie star – I loved The Hobbit movies. Plus, the first series was a massive success. But it’s my job to try and take it to the next level, to make it bigger and bolder. You do a bit of running about in Line of Duty but in Red Eye, you’re practically a proper action hero. Harrison Ford said in an interview to do as many of your own stunts as you can because when you see the jeopardy of the stunt on the actor’s face, you can relate to it. That’s why Tom Cruise is the best in the business — he does his own stunts. On Red Eye, they let you do as much as you can, which is great. Did you start working out in preparation? Yes, but I did anyway. I enjoy working out, but I’m very fond of a pint and a pizza, so I need to exercise a lot because my diet isn’t the best. How much discipline does that take? It helped that the director Kieron Hawkes is one of my best friends. He got me into Krav Maga, the Israeli martial art, so I train several times a week. While filming, Kieron and I lived in an apartment block with a gym, so we’d train at night. View Green Video on the source website How was working with Jing [Lusi, who plays Detective Hana Li]? Jing is a great number one [on the call sheet]. She really cared about her show, was protective of it and wanted the best for it. I’ve been in that position and sometimes you can take too much on, so I kept saying, "Just remember, this is fun". Is it fun? We’re grown-ups playing cops and robbers. Peter A Dowling, the writer, grew up on films like Die Hard, Speed and The Fugitive, which don’t make sense but are a lot of fun. As this show goes on, it gets more unbelievable — but it’s escapism. That’s what people want sometimes. How do you feel about Line of Duty returning? We always knew we’d work together again, but Jed M…

Lynley star Leo Suter clarifies how new series is "updated" and "fresh" – and not a remake of classic drama
type: item
date: 2025-12-29T17:00:05.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Inspector Lynley is back! But not as you know him, say the star of the BBC remake Leo Suter.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Leo Suter is at pains to point out that the BBC detective drama Lynley is not a remake of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. “These are new Lynley stories and the show we’re making is based on other books that weren’t adapted previously. It’s updated and it’s fresh.” This choice of source material isn’t the only difference between the new Lynley and the turn-of-the-century adaptation that starred Nathaniel Parker as peer-of-the-realm police detective Thomas Lynley, with Sharon Small co-starring as his scruffy, tough, working-class sidekick Barbara Havers. “Our series is contemporary, and in the 20 years or so that’s passed since the previous show was made, UK society looks very different,” says Suter. “Class – this mismatch between upper-class Lynley and working-class Havers – is such a central feature of our show and class is always complicated and difficult to define. Even more so in a contemporary Britain and Norfolk [where Lynley is set] where the prisons are overcrowded and there’s drugs coming in from Europe onto the beaches. The social fabric of our Lynley is a very different one to Nat Parker’s 25 years ago and indeed to those original books that Elizabeth George wrote even before that.” View Green Video on the source website Suter, who is 32 and best known for his leading role in Netflix’s visceral and violent historical drama Vikings: Valhalla, as well as period dramas Victoria, Beecham House and Sanditon, was seven years old when The Inspector Lynley Mysteries was first broadcast and hadn’t seen the previous series or read the books. In preparation for the role, he admits that he “did dip his toe into the first book” but his toe is as far as he got. While he acknowledges that an awareness of Lynley’s previous iteration is useful, he explains, “I respect it and am grateful for it, but there comes a point when you have to say, ‘We’re doing our own thing’ and plough on with your own interpretation.” As Suter …

Buckle up!
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: As Red Eye takes off for a second series, stars Jing Lusi and Martin Compston talk ratings, representation and filling big shoes
encoded: Add season two of Red Eye to your watchlist When someone tells you that they had “a moment” at London’s Euston station, you assume, not unreasonably, that it was a moment of despair, or rage, or a combination of the two, in response to some train-related tribulation. Not for Jing Lusi, who plays DI Hana Li in Red Eye, ITV’s high-octane, thoroughly daft, edge-of-your-seat-compelling thriller. Her moment at Euston was a joyful one. “When Trigger Point [the bomb disposal drama starring Vicky McClure] came out, I remember it was all over the big billboards in Waterloo station. I took a video of it and sent it as a joke to my producer asking: ‘Can this be us?’. Fast-forward a year, and it was us, at Euston. Seeing it was quite a moment. Pretty amazing, actually.” The amazing part wasn’t that her giant face was plastered all over billboards – although, “That is surreal,” the 40-year-old says, “especially when you don’t expect it”. What thrilled Lusi was what the billboards meant. “That ITV were doing all this marketing was a real vote of confidence. I had such a good time making it that, for me personally, I was already winning regardless of the reception it was going to get. Anything else is a bonus.” View Green Video on the source website The broadcaster’s confidence was, it seems, well-placed. Despite attracting what we might diplomatically call mixed reviews, and launching in the shadow of Hijack on Apple TV, which was a similarly-themed thriller at 35,000 feet, albeit with double the budget and Idris Elba as the lead, Red Eye was a hit. “I’ve never worried about ratings before,” Lusi explains. “But I’ve never led a show before – I was like ‘It’s on the lead. It’s their funeral…’ With this, I cared. It probably wasn’t the healthiest habit but I was looking at ratings as soon as they were announced every week. I was so surprised and overwhelmed that the audience grew every week.” Red Eye’s popularity meant that chief among the “anything else” of bonuses coming Lusi’s w…

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'I’ve forgotten the bits I did!'
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Judy Parfitt and Helen George have worked together on Call the Midwife for 13 years. But will they watch the Christmas special?
encoded: Call the Midwife is on Christmas Day at 8.15pm and Boxing Day at 8.30pm on BBC One. Add it to your watchlist Judy Parfitt, 90, plays Sister Monica Joan, the Keats-quoting grande dame of Nonnatus House. Devoted to her calling, she has an abiding love of cake and an interest in astrology. Helen George, 41, plays Trixie Aylward, the troubled party girl — but formidable midwife — who married a baronet. The pair have worked together since the drama began in 2012. Helen, when did you first meet Judy? Helen At the first-ever read-through, and she looked every bit the star she is: sparkling blue eyes, fiery red curls, beautiful cashmere and pearls complementing her porcelain skin. I introduced myself – nervously – and she was delightful. I was terrified initially because she has such a strong presence, but she quickly took me under her wing. She’s been a wonderful friend and confidante over the years, be it in work or in my private life. I love her dearly. Working with Judy and Jenny Agutter and watching the way they conduct themselves on set – how fun they are and how naughty they can be, but how professional and how dedicated they are to their craft – has been an exemplary education. Judy, were you aware you were such an inspiration? Judy Monica Joan is such a wonderful character and I’ve been having so much fun; I didn’t think I was teaching anyone anything. I was educated in a convent, you see, and I always wanted to play a nun. Helen What I admire most about Judy is that she gets the work done, but with such innate talent. She doesn’t suffer fools – she’s very direct, unapologetically, and I really appreciate that, especially as a woman. I used to always apologise for myself. Now I think, ‘I’ll be a bit more Judy!’ I just say it. Without a sorry at the end. She gets away with so much because of that sparkle in her eyes! She’s an icon. Do you feel iconic, Judy? Judy Well, I haven’t got anything after my name to say that I am! Would you like something? Judy I’d like to b…

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Legendary photographer Martin Parr looks back on his work and recalls the way we were
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T15:02:25.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
description: Speaking to Gareth McLean in Radio Times magazine back in August 2025, Martin Parr shared his singular vision of Britain.
encoded: This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine in August 2025 – just months ahead of Parr’s death on Saturday 6th December 2025. “Yellow card!” Martin Parr admonishes. “You’re intellectualising these things a bit too much for my liking.” I have earned his reproach for suggesting that the razing of the Lido in New Brighton — as featured in The Last Resort, the series of photographs that made his name — could be seen as a metaphor for the hollowing-out of Britain’s working-class communities over the past 40 years. “There’s politics in my images if you want to find it, but I don’t push it down people’s throats,” Parr proclaims. “People should just sit back and enjoy the images, really.” People certainly do enjoy Parr’s photography. As well as chronicling changing life in Britain, Parr’s work has transformed photography itself, with his garish but gritty signature style influencing everything from fashion editorials to war-zone reportage. Why does he take photographs? “It’s just what I do naturally,” he says. “I have a desire to go out and capture these images, and the crazier the scene in front of me, the happier I am.” The subject of a BBC4 documentary and co-author of an upcoming memoir, Utterly Lazy and Inattentive, which looks at his life by reflecting on 150 of his best-known photographs, Parr says that of the hundreds of thousands of photographs he’s taken, not one of them has been perfect — though he’s got close. “You know when you’re out shooting that most pictures you take aren’t going to be perfect or great. But you keep shooting to have that momentum so, as and when, things start to fall into place.” Parr ponders. “It’s just the luck of finding a scene.” Mayor of Todmorden’s Inaugural Banquet, West Yorkshire 1977 “Between 1975 and 1980, I lived in Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire and would attend all the different social events that were going on. This photograph was taken at the inauguration of the mayor of Todmorden, and it’s the best buffet sce…

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Call the Midwife star reveals she wants a damehood as cast tease much-anticipated 2025 Christmas special
type: item
date: 2025-12-07T16:00:17.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Magazine
description: As Call the Midwife returns for Christmas, Judy Parfitt and Helen George talk friendship, fame and festive traditions after more than a decade at Nonnatus House.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Judy Parfitt, 90, plays Sister Monica Joan, the Keats-quoting grande dame of Nonnatus House. Devoted to her calling, she has an abiding love of cake and an interest in astrology. Helen George, 41, plays Trixie Aylward, the troubled party girl – but formidable midwife – who married a baronet. The pair have worked together since the drama began in 2012. Helen, when did you first meet Judy? Helen: At the first-ever read-through, and she looked every bit the star she is: sparkling blue eyes, fiery red curls, beautiful cashmere and pearls complementing her porcelain skin. I introduced myself – nervously – and she was delightful. I was terrified initially because she has such a strong presence, but she quickly took me under her wing. She’s been a wonderful friend and confidante over the years, be it in work or in my private life. I love her dearly. Working with Judy and Jenny Agutter and watching the way they conduct themselves on set – how fun they are and how naughty they can be, but how professional and how dedicated they are to their craft – has been an exemplary education. Judy, were you aware you were such an inspiration? Judy: Monica Joan is such a wonderful character and I’ve been having so much fun; I didn’t think I was teaching anyone anything. I was educated in a convent, you see, and I always wanted to play a nun. Helen: What I admire most about Judy is that she gets the work done, but with such innate talent. She doesn’t suffer fools – she’s very direct, unapologetically, and I really appreciate that, especially as a woman. I used to always apologise for myself. Now I think, ‘I’ll be a bit more Judy!’ I just say it. Without a sorry at the end. She gets away with so much because of that sparkle in her eyes! She’s an icon. Do you feel iconic, Judy? Judy: Well, I haven’t got anything after my name to say that I am! Would you like something? Judy: I’d like to be Dame Judy, for my family and for me. So many acto…

10 Questions with Alan Cumming
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The actor and presenter on The Traitors, speaking out — and being a superhero
encoded: Over an illustrious 40-year career, Alan Cumming, 60, has appeared in an eclectic range of TV shows, films and stage plays — from the Emcee, full of licentious glee, in Sam Mendes’ productions of Cabaret to the weapons-grade camp host of The Traitors USA. Grammy-nominated, he has won Emmy, Tony and Olivier awards and was named by Time magazine as one of the three most fun people in showbusiness (alongside Stanley Tucci and Cher, apparently). He’s played God and the Devil, sold out Carnegie Hall and written seven books. Now, the actor-writer-singer-activist-photographer has added artistic director to his talents, taking charge at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland where he recently announced his inaugural season next year. You have quite a CV — have you ever been presented with an opportunity and thought “I’ll pass”? I believe in saying yes – and why not? If you have the pizazz and passion for it, give it a go. I feel like the most successful things I’ve done are things I haven’t overthought. I’ve just had a funny feeling in my tummy, excited and inspired, which is what I’ve got about Pitlochry. It’s about celebrating Scottish talent and bringing new ideas and international stuff to Scotland. When you were on Desert Island Discs, you said, “I do things I might fail at”. You’re not frightened of failure then? I’m not. I mean, it’s not my favourite thing, but Patti Smith said to me, “Alan, it won’t be a failure if you’ve done your best”. It could be a failure in financial terms, but those things don’t matter to me. The biggest and most important critic to me is myself. I’ve found in my life that if you believe in something, your passion can inspire other people. This is why I think I’d make a good cult leader. It feels harder than ever to be hopeful these days. As someone who lives in America, how do you remain optimistic? Depressed isn’t quite the right word to describe how I feel about American politics. I’m disgusted. Appalled. I recently hosted The Jimmy Kimmel…

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Alan Cumming teases "prescient" new show from Russell T Davies about rage faced by "marginalised people"
type: item
date: 2025-12-03T17:01:35.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The actor and presenter on The Traitors, speaking out – and being a superhero.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Over an illustrious 40-year career, Alan Cumming, 60, has appeared in an eclectic range of TV shows, films and stage plays — from the Emcee, full of licentious glee, in Sam Mendes’ productions of Cabaret to the weapons-grade camp host of The Traitors USA. Grammy-nominated, he has won Emmy, Tony and Olivier awards and was named by Time magazine as one of the three most fun people in showbusiness (alongside Stanley Tucci and Cher, apparently). He’s played God and the Devil, sold out Carnegie Hall and written seven books. Now, the actor-writer-singer-activist-photographer has added artistic director to his talents, taking charge at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland where he recently announced his inaugural season next year. You have quite a CV – have you ever been presented with an opportunity and thought “I’ll pass”? I believe in saying yes – and why not? If you have the pizazz and passion for it, give it a go. I feel like the most successful things I’ve done are things I haven’t overthought. I’ve just had a funny feeling in my tummy, excited and inspired, which is what I’ve got about Pitlochry. It’s about celebrating Scottish talent and bringing new ideas and international stuff to Scotland. When you were on Desert Island Discs, you said, “I do things I might fail at”. You’re not frightened of failure then? I’m not. I mean, it’s not my favourite thing, but Patti Smith said to me, “Alan, it won’t be a failure if you’ve done your best”. It could be a failure in financial terms, but those things don’t matter to me. The biggest and most important critic to me is myself. I’ve found in my life that if you believe in something, your passion can inspire other people. This is why I think I’d make a good cult leader. It feels harder than ever to be hopeful these days. As someone who lives in America, how do you remain optimistic? Depressed isn’t quite the right word to describe how I feel about American politics. I’m di…

View from My Sofa: Mandip Gill
type: item
subject: App
subject: App features
description: She’s currently a copper in the Peak District, but this city girl would love to play a villain
encoded: Add Cooper and Fry to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? A massive pouffe to put my legs on and a lovely-sized TV. But what I really like to look at are memorabilia from shows that I’ve done, because when I think of the show, I think of the people. What kind of memorabilia? By the TV, there’s a gold frame from Can You Keep a Secret?, a sitcom that I filmed this year with Dawn French and Mark Heap [coming to BBC One in early 2026]. I’m really proud of it. I’ve seen bits of it five or six times and they still make me laugh. As a wrap gift, Dawn bought us each a lovely plate with Can You Keep a Secret? written around the rim, so I’ve got that out, too. Any other notable pieces? One of the presents that Jodie Whittaker bought me when we were doing Doctor Who [Gill played the Doctor’s companion Yasmin Khan] was this gorgeous lamp with a massive round bulb.The bulb has blown now and I can’t afford to replace it, but it’s not just an ornament because it wasn’t just a lamp. I look at it and I think of the show and of Jodie. In the kitchen, I’ve got a piece of fan art. Someone engraved Jodie and me in the last scene of Doctor Who onto a piece of cork, and it’s so beautiful. You reunited with Jodie to do Doctor Who audio dramas. How was that? So good. You’ve gone back to characters you adore, you’re working with these amazing people and also having such a laugh. They don’t need a budget for location so these stories can go anywhere – and you don’t need to learn your lines. And I get to spend 72 hours in a room with one of my best friends! We further that relationship between the Doctor and Yas that I know a lot of people cared about and invested in. I know I did. Your current TV drama series, Cooper & Fry, is adapted from the novels of Stephen Booth about an odd couple of Peak District detectives. Are you an avid reader? I started reading self-help books as an adult and everyone was like, “Are you OK?” Now I’m reading what I would call “warm books” – self-help, bu…

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Doctor Who favourite Mandip Gill teases "furthering" relationship between Thirteen and Yaz in new adventures
type: item
date: 2025-11-28T17:01:38.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: "I know a lot of people cared about and invested in [it]. I know I did."
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What’s the view from your sofa? A massive pouffe to put my legs on and a lovely-sized TV. But what I really like to look at are memorabilia from shows that I’ve done, because when I think of the show, I think of the people. What kind of memorabilia? By the TV, there’s a gold frame from Can You Keep a Secret?, a sitcom that I filmed this year with Dawn French and Mark Heap [coming to BBC One in early 2026]. I’m really proud of it. I’ve seen bits of it five or six times and they still make me laugh. As a wrap gift, Dawn bought us each a lovely plate with Can You Keep a Secret? written around the rim, so I’ve got that out, too. Any other notable pieces? One of the presents that Jodie Whittaker bought me when we were doing Doctor Who [Gill played the Doctor’s companion Yasmin Khan] was this gorgeous lamp with a massive round bulb. The bulb has blown now and I can’t afford to replace it, but it’s not just an ornament because it wasn’t just a lamp. I look at it and I think of the show and of Jodie. In the kitchen, I’ve got a piece of fan art. Someone engraved Jodie and me in the last scene of Doctor Who onto a piece of cork, and it’s so beautiful. You reunited with Jodie to do Doctor Who audio dramas. How was that? So good. You’ve gone back to characters you adore, you’re working with these amazing people and also having such a laugh. They don’t need a budget for location so these stories can go anywhere – and you don’t need to learn your lines. And I get to spend 72 hours in a room with one of my best friends! We further that relationship between the Doctor and Yas that I know a lot of people cared about and invested in. I know I did. Your current TV drama series, Cooper & Fry, is adapted from the novels of Stephen Booth about an odd couple of Peak District detectives. Are you an avid reader? I started reading self-help books as an adult and everyone was like, “Are you OK?” Now I’m reading what I would call “warm books…

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height: 4088

'I'm not tremendous on gore but I do love frightening stories'
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The Ab Fab and Amandaland star dishes on ghosts, ghouls, and gore.
encoded: Add A Ghost Story for Christmas to your watchlist The day Radio Times visited the set of the Ghost Story for Christmas, The Room in the Tower, Dame Joanna Lumley was filming a pivotal scene, unrecognisable under impressive prosthetics. It is only between takes that her trademark plummy timbre confirmed that, yes, it was her under the make-up. “I do like a scary story. I’m not tremendous on gore but I do love frightening stories,” she enthuses afterwards. This is probably just as well, given her acquaintance with the genre. In the 1973 Hammer horror The Satanic Rites of Dracula, where Christopher Lee’s titular Transylvanian plotted to exterminate humanity, Lumley played Jessica Van Helsing, the often-screaming object of the count’s affections. This year, she appeared in Netflix’s Addams Family reboot Wednesday as Morticia’s mother, Hester. And in between, there was also the slightly terrifying Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous. “She can’t be killed,” Lumley says, merrily. “She lives off air and alcohol and smoke and drugs.” To that oeuvre, she now adds Mark Gatiss’ adaptation of the EF Benson story for what is the Sherlock writer’s eighth chilling tale for Yuletide. In it, Tobias Menzies plays a man haunted by a recurring dream of being invited to stay in a house that hides an unseen terror. Lumley plays its sinister mistress. It is The New Avengers and Amandaland star as you’ve never seen her before. I ask the most obvious question: does she believe in ghosts? “I do believe that there are ghosts. We know what happens to our bodies — to bones, to dust, then gone — but I can’t believe that the rest of it, the soul or the mind or the spark, just goes too. It goes somewhere…” She also believes in God — or something bigger than us at least. “I adore classical music and I’m so lucky to be married to a musician [conductor Stephen Barlow] because I learn from him all the time, and I do believe that there is such a thing as ‘the divine spark’.” She carries on with enthusias…

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Hark the Poplar angels sing!
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: From lunchtime carols to Michael Bublé, boozy cakes and EastEnders – Renee Bailey, Helen George and Natalie Quarry share their seasonal secrets
encoded: Add Call the Midwife to your watchlist Helen George plays Trixie Aylward <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/CMT-Christmas-92d8eab.jpg" width="7236" height="4824" alt="Two women dressed as angels walk through a snowy street at night, smiling as they take part in a festive parade. They wear white coats with fluffy collars and large feathered wings. One pushes a decorated pram covered in white fabric and gold stars, while the other waves at onlookers. Snow falls heavily around them, and a brass band plays in the background beneath strings of laundry hanging overhead." title="Call the Midwife" /> How is Trixie this festive season? Even though there’s a huge distance between Trixie and her husband, things feel more stable than they possibly ever have. For once, she feels settled, strong even, and in a space, psychologically and literally, where she feels at home. But you do wonder how Trixie would react if her whole world were to change, if Nonnatus House faced a fresh threat to its very existence. Trixie deserves stability after all the tumult but, as an actor, do you wonder where the drama is going to come from if she’s content? It’s quite a relief, actually. I’ve spent so much time enduring, going through things and being desperately heartbroken all the time, it’s really fun that now she’s fighting other people’s battles and not her own. Given this is the 14th Yuletide edition of Call the Midwife, there must be a great feeling of camaraderie! It’s a family and I absolutely adore them all. It’s Judy Parfitt’s (Sister Monica Joan) birthday today; it’s lovely that she’s here so we’re celebrating together and have filled her trailer with balloons and flowers. I had a Halloween party – I went as a banshee and my daughters [she has two, aged eight and four, whom she shares with her ex-partner Jack Ashton] were clowns so were terrifying – and Hilda, a focus puller on the crew, came with her husband and her son, and Victoria Yeates wh…

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Joanna Lumley dishes on Ghost Story for Christmas: "I'm not tremendous on gore but I do love frightening stories"
type: item
date: 2025-11-25T11:10:23.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Fantasy
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The Ab Fab and Amandaland star dishes on ghosts, ghouls, and gore.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. The day Radio Times visited the set of the Ghost Story for Christmas, The Room in the Tower, Dame Joanna Lumley was filming a pivotal scene, unrecognisable under impressive prosthetics. It is only between takes that her trademark plummy timbre confirmed that, yes, it was her under the make-up. “I do like a scary story. I’m not tremendous on gore but I do love frightening stories,” she enthuses afterwards. This is probably just as well, given her acquaintance with the genre. In the 1973 Hammer horror The Satanic Rites of Dracula, where Christopher Lee’s titular Transylvanian plotted to exterminate humanity, Lumley played Jessica Van Helsing, the often-screaming object of the count’s affections. This year, she appeared in Netflix’s Addams Family reboot Wednesday as Morticia’s mother, Hester. And in between, there was also the slightly terrifying Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous. “She can’t be killed,” Lumley says, merrily. “She lives off air and alcohol and smoke and drugs.” To that oeuvre, she now adds Mark Gatiss’ adaptation of the EF Benson story for what is the Sherlock writer’s eighth chilling tale for Yuletide. In it, Tobias Menzies plays a man haunted by a recurring dream of being invited to stay in a house that hides an unseen terror. Lumley plays its sinister mistress. It is The New Avengers and Amandaland star as you’ve never seen her before. I ask the most obvious question: does she believe in ghosts? “I do believe that there are ghosts. We know what happens to our bodies – to bones, to dust, then gone – but I can’t believe that the rest of it, the soul or the mind or the spark, just goes too. It goes somewhere…” She also believes in God – or something bigger than us at least. “I adore classical music and I’m so lucky to be married to a musician [conductor Stephen Barlow] because I learn from him all the time, and I do believe that there is such a thing as ‘the divine spark’.” She carries on with enthus…

Call the Midwife 2025 Christmas preview as Trixie's marriage gets a major update
type: item
date: 2025-11-25T00:00:38.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Ahead of the annual Call the Midwife Christmas special, Helen George lifts the lid on Trixie and Matthew.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Ahead of this year's Call the Midwife Christmas special, Helen George sat down with Radio Times to discuss what's going on with Trixie and Matthew, her love of the festive season, and her upcoming stint as the Fairy Godmother in the Richmond Theatre's Cinderella pantomime. How is Trixie this festive season? Even though there’s a huge distance between Trixie and her husband, things feel more stable than they possibly ever have. For once, she feels settled, strong even, and in a space, psychologically and literally, where she feels at home. But you do wonder how Trixie would react if her whole world were to change, if Nonnatus House faced a fresh threat to its very existence. Trixie deserves stability after all the tumult but, as an actor, do you wonder where the drama is going to come from if she’s content? It’s quite a relief, actually. I’ve spent so much time enduring, going through things and being desperately heartbroken all the time, it’s really fun that now she’s fighting other people’s battles and not her own. Given this is the 14th Yuletide edition of Call the Midwife, there must be a great feeling of camaraderie! It’s a family and I absolutely adore them all. It’s Judy Parfitt’s (Sister Monica Joan) birthday today; it’s lovely that she’s here so we’re celebrating together and have filled her trailer with balloons and flowers. I had a Halloween party – I went as a banshee and my daughters [she has two, aged eight and four, whom she shares with her ex-partner Jack Ashton] were clowns so were terrifying – and Hilda, a focus puller on the crew, came with her husband and her son, and Victoria Yeates who played Sister Winifred came along, too. It’s just so nice to be in each other’s lives, and for so long. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/CMT-Christmas-92d8eab.jpg" width="7236" height="4824" alt="Two women dressed as angels walk through a snowy street at night, smiling…

Caught in the crossfire
type: item
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held prisoner in Iran for six years, while her husband fought for her freedom. A new BBC drama tries to do their story justice
encoded: Add Prisoner 951 to your watchlist Among the myriad delicate, difficult and perplexing questions that Stephen Butchard had to ask himself while writing Prisoner 951, was whether or not to feature Boris Johnson. As Foreign Secretary, Johnson played a pivotal part in the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained and imprisoned by Iran for six years from 2016, and her husband Richard, who kept her name in the news in the UK by any means he could, including going on hunger strike. In November 2017, Johnson incorrectly told a Foreign Affairs Select Committee that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in Iran “simply teaching people journalism” and although immediately refuted (she was visiting relatives), the Iranian authorities claimed that Johnson’s blunder was proof that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was engaged in propaganda against the regime. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/Prisoner-951-Nazanin-Zaghari-Ratcliffe-Richard-Ratcliffe-d7857da.jpg" width="4582" height="3055" alt="Narges Rashidi as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Joseph Fiennes as Richard Ratcliffe in Prisoner 951, sitting on a park bench with her head resting on his shoulder." title="Narges Rashidi as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Joseph Fiennes as Richard Ratcliffe in Prisoner 951." /> Undoubtedly, Johnson’s remarks endangered Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case, increased risk for her in detention and raised the spectre of Iran adding years to her sentence. When, in 2022, she met Johnson after her release, Zaghari-Ratcliffe told the then prime minister that she had “lived in the shadow” of his words for the past four and a half years. So Butchard couldn’t ignore the part that Johnson played. But casting someone to play him could become a distracting sideshow that both pulled focus and changed the timbre of the drama. “I decided we shouldn’t have an actor,” Butchard says. “Boris Johnson is almost a caricature himself, and if you bring in an actor to play that caricature, you get a buffoon…

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height: 2134

Prisoner 951 writer reveals why Boris Johnson wasn't cast with "buffoon" performance in Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama
type: item
date: 2025-11-18T00:01:20.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held prisoner in Iran for six years, while her husband fought for her freedom. A new BBC drama tries to do their story justice.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Among the myriad delicate, difficult and perplexing questions that Stephen Butchard had to ask himself while writing Prisoner 951, was whether or not to feature Boris Johnson. As Foreign Secretary, Johnson played a pivotal part in the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained and imprisoned by Iran for six years from 2016, and her husband Richard, who kept her name in the news in the UK by any means he could, including going on hunger strike. In November 2017, Johnson incorrectly told a Foreign Affairs Select Committee that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in Iran “simply teaching people journalism” and although immediately refuted (she was visiting relatives), the Iranian authorities claimed that Johnson’s blunder was proof that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was engaged in propaganda against the regime. Undoubtedly, Johnson’s remarks endangered Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case, increased risk for her in detention and raised the spectre of Iran adding years to her sentence. When, in 2022, she met Johnson after her release, Zaghari-Ratcliffe told the then prime minister that she had “lived in the shadow” of his words for the past four and a half years. So Butchard couldn’t ignore the part that Johnson played. But casting someone to play him could become a distracting sideshow that both pulled focus and changed the timbre of the drama. “I decided we shouldn’t have an actor,” Butchard says. “Boris Johnson is almost a caricature himself, and if you bring in an actor to play that caricature, you get a buffoon. You might want to do it, but it wouldn’t be truthful.” Instead, Butchard opted for a smarter solution: he cast Johnson as himself. “You look for archive footage – from the news, say – and you play what he said off other characters.” This choice is informed by, and informs, answers to other questions that are fundamental to the nature of Prisoner 951 and the story that Butchard, director Philippa Lowthorpe and actors Joseph Fiennes a…