Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2025-06-10T13:43:27.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: The Mitford sisters were Outrageous – the title of new TV biopic is justified, say cast
items: Van der Valk's Maimie McCoy: "I want us to be allowed to age on screen"
items: "Mother’s Day is true to what happened" – Wendy and Colin Parry reflect on BBC's new Warrington bombing drama
items: Benedict Cumberbatch: Why I keep coming back to play Sherlock
items: She sang for JFK and flirted with Elvis – David Walliams hails his friend Shirley Bassey
items: It's Not Rocket Science – meet the presenters
items: Kara Tointon on bringing the hills alive with The Sound of Music
items: Henry Winkler on being a Peaky Blinders fanboy, starstruck by John Lennon and wanting to be a Strictly judge
items: Harry Hill on how a childhood with stink bombs inspired his performance as Professor Branestawm
items: Alison Steadman: I’m there if a Gavin & Stacey movie happens
items: How posh are the cast of Blandings?
items: Greg Davies on why he couldn't go back to teaching
items: James Nesbitt: why peace matters more than a united Ireland

The Mitford sisters were Outrageous – the title of new TV biopic is justified, say cast
type: item
date: 2025-06-09T23:01:29.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The new period drama is based on the true story of the aristocratic English family.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. The Mitford sisters flirted with fascism, communism, infamy and scandal – now a new drama, based on their biography by Mary Lovell, brings their outrageous behaviour to the screen. Radio Times speaks to stars Bessie Carter (Nancy) and Joanna Vanderham (Diana) about the new U&Drama series. “How did these six women raised under one roof end up so different?” wonders 31-year-old Bessie Carter. “What we do in the show is look at those early years when they’re about to step out into the world and make their mark. They’re refusing to conform to what was expected of them at the time, which was to be wives and mothers. “They were definitely women who didn’t want to just do the debutante balls,” adds the actor most familiar from Bridgerton. “They wanted to work and to exercise their brains.” However, apart from Nancy, who made a bit of money from writing, “they either had to rely on rich husbands or allowances from Papa. And if you’re not giving people a place in society where they feel valued, they’re going to turn to places where they feel that they’re contributing. For some of these sisters, that ended up in problematic areas. When their voices weren’t being heard, that built up their anger and frustration. If we don’t listen to the voiceless, they’ll just scream louder.” These self-reliant women feel decades ahead of their time. “The Mitfords were modern women,” agrees Carter, “they were really progressive. They always asked, ‘Why can’t I do that?’” That independent-mindedness, Carter believes, was down to the Mitfords’ “fierce determination. Although their father said that women shouldn’t be at school he let them read every book in his library. So they were extremely resourceful.” At its heart, Outrageous charts the relationship between Nancy and Diana, which broke down after Diana’s marriage to Oswald Mosley. “Nancy had to take a stand,” Carter explains. “We’ve all probably had that moment when you have a sibling who…

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Van der Valk's Maimie McCoy: "I want us to be allowed to age on screen"
type: item
date: 2022-08-07T09:45:52.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Drama
subject: TV
description: Filming Van der Valk in Amsterdam is a dream job for Maimie McCoy – but will those great roles keep coming?
encoded: We very nearly lost her to baking. After leading roles in much-loved series like The Musketeers, All Creatures Great and Small, A Confession, DCI Banks and Van Der Valk, the actress Maimie McCoy is an established TV name. But she has not always been so high-profile; in fact, a dozen years ago she almost quit acting altogether. The 43-year-old recalls now that, “When I was 30, I had a proper crossroads moment in my career. My agent at the time said, ‘I think we've gone as far as we can go’. Nothing was really happening.” So, McCoy started baking. “I set up a cake business doing private afternoon tea parties. I loved it. It really tapped into something creative.” She was particularly skilled at making wedding cakes. “I did one for a friend and her partner. What they wanted was quite bonkers - a five-tier psychedelic rainbow. When you cut into it, it had all of these mad colours inside. It was like some acid trip. And as they got married at the end of a pier, I shoved a fake seagull on the top!” Despite her success as a psychedelic cake-maker, McCoy continued to secure acting jobs - but they were not always particularly fulfilling. She recollects, for instance, reading for a movie role opposite Tom Hardy - “A particularly bad audition for a lost classic film called ‘Minotaur’. After I finished reading a few scenes, the director said, ‘Ok great… do you think you could try reading another part for me?’ "I was super green and young, so I said yes. I was rather baffled when he handed me a script for the only character who didn’t speak, due to an early trauma. I just had to look and listen. I felt pretty stupid that my speaking wasn’t good enough, but I did get the part, so not a total disaster!” Her story obviously has a happy ending. After a few more years of struggle, McCoy’s fortunes were finally transformed in 2014, when she landed the leading role of the scheming, seductive Milady de Winter in BBC1’s The Musketeers. Portraying the most charismatic woman in 17th Centur…

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"Mother’s Day is true to what happened" – Wendy and Colin Parry reflect on BBC's new Warrington bombing drama
type: item
date: 2018-09-03T09:56:29.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Wendy and Colin Parry lost their 12-year-old son Tim during the IRA attack in 1993
encoded: I have no political or religious message to give you,” Colin Parry says, solemnly. “It seems to me that I’m not qualified to do that. But people have said that Tim hasn’t died in vain, that good must come from this. I hope that’s true because if my son becomes a symbol of peace and gives everyone a new sense of hope after so much tragedy…” There is a long pause as his voice audibly breaks. “Then that will be Tim’s unique achievement.” The emotional moment sits at the heart of Mother’s Day, a new drama set in the wake of the 1993 Warrington bombings. It’s hard to imagine what Colin Parry (played by Daniel Mays) is going through. What is beyond debate is that he delivers an astonishingly moving oration at the funeral of his 12-year-old son, who days earlier had lost his life in the IRA attack. Everything you need to know about Mother's Day The best TV dramas airing in autumn 2018 Stay up to date with the RadioTimes.com newsletter Mother’s Day, written by Nick Leather, who grew up in Warrington and was on his way into town on the day of the attack, focuses on the impact the bombings had on the families affected. The one-off drama begins by conveying the mounting sense of horror as it dawns on Colin and his wife Wendy (Anna Maxwell Martin) that Tim has been caught in the blast while shopping on Saturday 20 March 1993, the day before Mother’s Day. View oEmbed on the source website He sustained “battlefield injuries” in the explosion and, after an agonising five days in hospital, his parents switched off his life support. He left behind two siblings, Abbi and Dominic. Three-year-old Johnathan Ball also lost his life in the attack; 56 others were injured. Mother’s Day is profoundly affecting and hard to watch. Were the Parrys concerned about it reopening emotional wounds, I wonder? No, 60-year-old Wendy says. Things like that cannot touch them now, as they have already suffered far greater emotional trauma. “The wounds never go away,” she says. “Every anniversary, every Ch…

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Benedict Cumberbatch: Why I keep coming back to play Sherlock
type: item
date: 2017-01-01T08:00:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Drama
subject: News
subject: TV
description: "The level of invention and imagination and darkness and joy just gets better and better"
encoded: Fans are hanging out of the windows of the buildings bordering 221B Baker Street. On the other side of the road, by Euston Station in London, thousands more aficionados are penned in behind temporary metal fences. As their hero strides into view, wearing his trademark Belstaff “Milford” coat, the crowd – vast numbers of whom have travelled from China and Japan and slept here overnight specifically for this very moment – start screaming. Very soon they are doing a pretty passable impersonation of Justin Bieber followers, or “Beliebers”, as they are known in the trade. By this point, people in neighbouring counties will surely have heard the news: Sherlock is in town. Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes in BBC1’s global hit drama, has arrived to film a short exterior scene outside the consulting detective’s flat. The sleuth must march to his front door through a monsoon, the ferocity of which has probably not been seen this side of The Tempest. The downpour is being created by three gigantic rain machines. The poor crewmember holding these enormous devices steady must have the worst job in showbiz. You might have thought that these decidedly inclement conditions would pour cold water on the fans’ enthusiasm. But in fact the crowd seems to thrive on the spirit of adversity. Sherlockians are nothing if not determined. The wetter they get, the more they cheer. Absolutely nothing is going to rain on their parade. Before his storm scene, Cumberbatch sits in the warm and dry of a nearby hotel. He is taking time out to discuss the new series of Sherlock, perhaps the most eagerly anticipated event since the birth of the last royal baby. To reinforce the global popularity of the show, which begins its fourth series on New Year’s Day, our chat is interrupted by a Japanese fan eager to present the actor with a gift: a beautifully produced graphic novel based on a previous episode of Sherlock. Cumberbatch is bowled over by the exquisite nature of the present, which ha…

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She sang for JFK and flirted with Elvis – David Walliams hails his friend Shirley Bassey
type: item
date: 2016-12-24T08:00:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Documentaries
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Celebrating the iconic singer's 80th birthday in a new show
encoded: Only Santa’s elves have been working harder than David Walliams this Christmas. He will be appearing in an astonishing four Christmas specials in the next two weeks: starring opposite Hugh Bonneville in a festive edition of Walliams & Friend; hosting a special Blankety Blank; providing voices for Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes; and presenting a tribute to his friend Shirley Bassey. All of which he has taken in his stride while also promoting his latest children’s novel, The Midnight Gang; overseeing a touring stage adaptation of a previous book, The First Hippo on the Moon; and finally, early next year, he’ll be the first host of ITV’s new weeknight entertainment programme, The Nightly Show. Phew. In David Walliams Celebrates Dame Shirley Bassey he marks the dame’s 80th birthday. “Shirley and I first met on The Graham Norton Show,” says Walliams. “Graham set it up that I was a great singer, but in reality I’m the world’s worst. Then I sang Moonraker to Shirley – she didn’t like it much! But we got on really well. She’s very down- to-earth. My family came to see that show. I imaginged that afterwards Shirley would be whisked straight off to the Ritz, but she spent ages in the green room chatting to my mum, sister and brother-in-law and taking selfies with them. I was surprised – does Shirley Bassey really do selfies?” In fact, Walliams declares, “She’s a real laugh. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s not someone who expects everyone to bow down before her. We go out to dinner and spend the whole time laughing. She’s a hoot!” The duo’s chemistry is evident from the mutual twinkling on the show. They have a ball together performing sketches and a very entertaining duet of Anything You Can Do. Bassey’s recording career began in 1956 when she was 19 – a full 15 years before Walliams was born. He says the reason Bassey has remained so popular for so long is that, “She’s unforgettable. When you see her perform and hear her voice, it stays with you. Goldfinger is …

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It's Not Rocket Science – meet the presenters
type: item
date: 2016-02-16T10:30:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Entertainment
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Rachel Riley, Ben Miller and Romesh Ranganathan join ITV for a new science entertainment show – but how nerdy are they in real life?
encoded: Rachel Riley Studied mathematics at Oxford, before being selected as co-host on Countdown Why do you love science? The fact that science is always evolving and answering questions is fascinating. We feature a man who got cancer and was told he wouldn’t be able to walk again. But two scientists made him a pair of bionic trousers and he was soon walking around. There was a problem there – so a scientist came along and solved it. How far would you go to get everyone excited about science? I had to zip-wire through 450° flames with my bare skin showing. Before I did it they sprinkled water on my skin, so that the flame would burn the water off and not hurt my skin. We were in this huge aircraft hangar. But just before I was about to get on the zip wire, a fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate. If ever there was a sign telling me not to do it, that was it! Favourite science fact? I’m amazed that the placebo effect works in surgery. I talked to an expert about someone who had placebo shoulder surgery – opening someone up, not doing anything to them then sewing them back up again – and is now better. That’s the power of the mind. It’s crazy! Ben Miller Studied natural sciences at Cambridge, before becoming a sketch comedian Why is science important? Science is not something separate from everyday life. It’s really an amazing thing to explore. It’s a spiritual thing for me. It takes me to places I wouldn’t get to otherwise. It takes me out of everyday life and into a world of science fiction and imagination. It’s almost like a religion. It’s somewhere I go to cheer myself up, and what could be better than that? Do you worry science has a nerdy image? No. This is a very exciting time for science. It has cast off that image through the amazing advances that are being made. It’s all changed in recent years. Science is now as much a part of the culture as football. Have you learnt anything presenting the show? I went down a disused mine in Anglesey to find this life form c…

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Kara Tointon on bringing the hills alive with The Sound of Music
type: item
date: 2015-12-20T09:35:00.000Z
subject: Entertainment
subject: News
subject: TV
subject: Christmas
description: The former EastEnders actress is looking forward to her starring role in a TV-first: a live musical
encoded: Kara Tointon is taking a break from rehearsing the timeless Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favourite Things,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” and of course the show’s famous title song, at an East London studio. But not for too long, because the 32-year-old star will soon be on our television screens, performing as Maria in the original stage musical… Live! Tointon is endowed with exactly the right kind of elfin charm to play the delightful singing nun who becomes governess to seven children before falling in love with their widowed father. The musical also has a very special place in the actress’ heart. As an 11-year-old she auditioned for the part of Louisa in the Westcliff-on-Sea Operatic Society’s production of the musical. “I’d just started doing drama and I went for the part and got it. It was the first time I’d done anything that professional. That was the moment where I thought, ‘Yeah, this is what I want to do for a living’.” Returning to the musical two decades later - this time in the lead role - is a lot of pressure, admits Tointon, who played Dawn in EastEnders before going on to take leading roles in Mr Selfridge on TV and Pygmalion on stage, and winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. Not only is it her first professional musical, but she is also having to follow in the footsteps of Dame Julie Andrews. So does Tointon feel the burden of taking on the mantle (habit?) of Maria? “Julie Andrews is my absolute idol and one of the all-time greats, so you can’t make any comparisons. I went for a part in a piece I love. I never dreamed I’d get it. But I did. What do you say then? ‘I can’t do this’? Do I sit on the sofa at home watching it on TV and thinking, ‘Oh damn, I wish I was there’? Or do I say, ‘Damn it, I’m going to give it a go and do it’? “It’s like Strictly. I was a massive fan, but it wasn’t something I really wanted to do because I was scared of it. But I ended up doing it. I let go and had the best time. I’ve learnt that sometimes it’s OK…

Henry Winkler on being a Peaky Blinders fanboy, starstruck by John Lennon and wanting to be a Strictly judge
type: item
date: 2015-08-27T05:30:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: The Fonz turns on the TV for Cillian Murphy and loses two notches on his belt every time he does panto...
encoded: Henry Winkler talks Peaky Blinders, panto and why he'd like to join the Strictly judging panel... Who makes you turn on the telly? Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders. He has never been better. I adore everything about that show – the setting, the drama, the romance. What other programmes can’t you live without? I love Banshee [Sky Atlantic], about a man who has served time in prison and comes back to Banshee, a small town in Pennsylvania, to find that his girlfriend is now married to the district attorney and his best friend is a cross-dressing hairdresser-cum- assassin. I also can’t wait for the return of Strictly. Would I appear on it? Only as a judge – I know my limitations. It would break my heart to be voted off in week three. Would you ever appear on I’m a Celebrity... ? No. It’s fun to watch, but I’d never go on it. I need to wash. Also, I know that cockroach would get caught in my throat. It would not go down like filet mignon. What’s your perfect night in? It would involve hot tea and shortbread cookies and the box set of Episodes. That show is so funny. Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan are brilliant. They’re like Lucy and Desi [from I Love Lucy]. Episodes is a very accurate portrayal of Hollywood, which is pretty scary. Has anyone left you starstruck? John Lennon came to a recording of Happy Days with his son Julian in 1974. John was very quiet and shy. I didn’t know how to engage him in conversation till I started talking about how much I loved his first solo album. Then he opened up like a flower. Do you ever meet up with the cast of Happy Days? No, but I call Marion Ross [who played Marion Cunningham] and our guru Garry Marshall [the series creator] all the time. And I see a lot of Ron Howard [who played Richie Cunningham and is now a successful Hollywood director]. You’ve done a lot of panto in the UK. How do you find it? It’s one of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever done. Broadway is eight performances a week – panto is 12! I call it my “panto diet” – I …

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Harry Hill on how a childhood with stink bombs inspired his performance as Professor Branestawm
type: item
date: 2014-12-24T06:59:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
description: The comedian reveals his childhood Christmas memories now he is a dad
encoded: Christmas Day was always a big family do. I’m one of five children, and there were always a lot of us crammed into a really small house. Our sofa could only seat five people comfortably. I always remember sitting on the arm. I am the second oldest child, but I’m a peacemaker. What can I tell you? As a child, I used to love charades because it was an opportunity to show off. Nowadays I feel very self-conscious about it. It’s a busman’s holiday! My favourite ever gift as a child was a chemistry set because I loved inventing things. With two pals, we set up our own company. We manufactured smoke bombs, stink bombs and invisible ink that sadly never disappeared. One mother banned her son from using our services because one of our smoke bombs had filled their house with smoke – which seemed to us to be an excellent endorsement! I was that kid. That’s why I was so eager to play Professor Branestawm in BBC1’s version of the books. He was the ultimate nutty professor! When you have your own children [he has three daughters], the magic of Christmas returns. I’ve been transferring hours of home video to my hard drive. When they were growing up, I would carry a video camera everywhere, and I’ve got all their Christmasses on film. Watching the children opening their presents is sweet. It’s rather sobering, too. I’ve also got 20 New Year’s Eves on home video, and the last 15 are just me and my wife watching Jools Holland’s Hootenanny on our own. Professor Branestawm is on Christmas Eve at 8.30pm on BBC1

Alison Steadman: I’m there if a Gavin & Stacey movie happens
type: item
date: 2014-06-24T14:20:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Comedy
subject: Documentaries
subject: News
subject: TV
description: But before all that, Steadman is getting up close and personal with puffins
encoded: It takes at least an hour of brisk walking up a steep incline to reach the summit of the Hermaness National Nature Reserve, which overlooks the felicitously named Muckle Flugga, the most northerly point in the UK, just off the coast of Unst in Shetland. But, boy, is it worth it when you get to the top. When Alison Steadman arrives at the summit and looks down at the spectacular sight of some 33,000 gannets nesting in the immense, rugged cliff-face, she simply exclaims: “If I were to live another thousand years, I don’t think I’d ever see anything as amazing as this. The sight and sound of these beautiful birds is truly mesmerising. It’s something I shall never forget.” The actress is best known for starring in such memorable work as Abigail’s Party, Gavin & Stacey, The Singing Detective, Nuts in May, Pride and Prejudice and Fat Friends. But she reveals that for the past six decades she has been harbouring another secret passion: bird watching. Reflecting on that moment at the top of the remote and windswept hill from the relative comfort of her north London sitting room, the 67-year-old actress still can’t quite get over the majesty of the spectacle. “It’s quite a walk up there, but my God, when you get up there, what an absolute thrill! “You’re seeing thousands of gannets finding their nests from previous years, meeting their old mates, screeching and chattering. They’re not bothered whether you’re there or not – they’re too busy. They all have a purpose. They’re not fighting or pushing each other off the cliff – it’s all very ordered. It’s wonderful.” Making this documentary in Shetland – an austerely beautiful archipelago of more than 100 islands, which in the spring and summer is home to more than a million birds and has one of the largest avian populations in the UK – has clearly struck a chord with Steadman. The actress, who was born and bred in Liverpool, recalls that her passion for “birding” was first ignited as a nine-year-old. “We were on a school trip do…

How posh are the cast of Blandings?
type: item
date: 2014-02-16T07:00:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: Meet Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders, Tim Vine and Celia Imrie, the cast of BBC1's PG Wodehouse comedy Blandings
encoded: Timothy Spall plays Lord Clarence Emsworth What class do you consider yourself? Upper working-class. My parents had jobs and we never starved. Our house had holes in the roof, but at least we had nice furniture around the saucepans catching the rainwater. Do you live in a castle? No, but as our kids have now grown up and gone away, we have moved from south London into the centre of town. I love it because I can walk everywhere. Who serves you tea? If I behave myself, Mrs Spall might make me a cup, but in general we share the tea-making. Do you like champagne? Yes, but it gives me heartburn. So now I imbibe liquids that are not so bubbly. What’s the poshest thing you’ve ever done? I met the Queen once. She put a dangly gong [an OBE] around my neck. I felt very pleased because my mum was very pleased. I was touched by the occasion, because of the thousand other people there, ranging from lollypop ladies to people who ran the district post office. They were ordinary people who’d done selfless things for the community. Who do you base Clarence on? The various Etonians and Harrovians who you can see disseminating their aristocratic wisdom via the medium of television. I jumble them all up. You can probably guess who they are! How do you travel? I often travel by leg! Loo or toilet? Bog – or something more unprintable. Mauritius or Magaluf? Mauritius – I’m not very keen on Magaluf. Denim or tweed? I haven’t worn jeans since I was 11 – and they didn’t suit me even then. Fortnum & Mason or Sainsbury’s? I recently discovered Aldi, which is rather nice. I always go in disguise – only joking! The Daily Telegraph or The Sun? I sometimes read the Telegraph. There’s no point reading a paper you agree with – there’s nothing to shout about, and that’s no fun. Jennifer Saunders plays Lady Connie How posh are you? The weird thing is, as a forces kid, you’re classless and accentless. You never pick up an accent because you move around so much. But when I listen to my voice, I think, “…

Greg Davies on why he couldn't go back to teaching
type: item
date: 2013-10-18T12:03:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Comedy
subject: News
subject: TV
description: "After everything I've said about teaching; the profession wouldn't have me back," says the Man Down star
encoded: When we meet at a studio in south London, comedian Greg Davies is beaming with delight. “I can’t tell you how proud my mum is that this interview is going in Radio Times. This is The Big One.” With that, he grins at me like a big kid. Which is quite appropriate, really. For a big kid is exactly what Davies is playing in Man Down, a new Channel 4 sitcom he has written and stars in as Dan, a teacher who is far more immature than his pupils. Davies knows whereof he speaks. A rare example of a comedian who is as funny off stage as on it, he spent his 20s and early 30s up to his elbows in chalk. After studying English and drama at Brunel University, the comedy fan envisaged a career in stand-up. Instead, he recalls, “My dad, who had spent his life as a lecturer, said, ‘That’s all very well, but you need to earn a living, so why don’t you teach?’ I did, and 13 years later, I woke up.” Urged by his “very pragmatic” girlfriend at the time to stop complaining and follow his dream, he took the plunge as a stand-up 11 years ago. Those 13 years’ teaching at comprehensives were not wasted, however, because they provided Davies with no end of material for his stand-up routines and now, Man Down. At the start of the first episode, finally tiring of his puerile behaviour, his long-suffering girlfriend ends their six-year relationship. She encourages him to grow up and leave his flat, which adjoins his parents’ home. That way, his mother might stop letting herself in to wash his underwear. Dan’s behaviour is no more adult at work. As a drama teacher, his lessons consist of him extemporising an imaginary “Space Mission”, in which the pupils travel to the mysterious planet of Todd Carty to – as a child decorously puts it – “butcher some alien scum”. If it hadn’t already been taken, a good title for this show would have been Arrested Development. Davies, who is 6ft 8in in his socks, reflects that, “There are several scenes in Man Down where Dan is attempting to move things on in the cl…

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James Nesbitt: why peace matters more than a united Ireland
type: item
date: 2013-03-18T16:34:00.000Z
creator: James Rampton
subject: Documentaries
subject: News
subject: TV
description: "As long as it continues to be a trouble-free Ireland, the North and the South will sit very comfortably together"
encoded: Imagine, for a second, that you’re an ITV commissioning editor. You want a famous Irish person to present a series. You’re looking for someone prepared to sample brandy made in County Cork, swim with dolphins at Dingle, take a seaweed bath in Strandhill, go spearfishing off the west coast and root for the Irish hopeful at the World Oyster Opening Championship in Galway. Who you gonna call? James Nesbitt, of course. He is one of the world’s best-known Ulstermen. Not least because his latest movie, The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey, in which he plays the dwarf Bofur, has already taken a billion dollars at the box office worldwide. And he also came in at number 34 in a recent list of “100 reasons to love Northern Ireland”. In person, Nesbitt, 48, is just as you might hope: a beguiling combination of warmth, wit and wisdom. He is also canny enough to realise that a series in which he explores the island of his birth could easily become a case of the bland leading the bland. “At first I was wary, because I didn’t want the programme to be seen as twee or patronising. But after 18 months away doing The Hobbit, I thought it would be a great opportunity to go back and revisit wonderful places I’d been to long ago. I also wanted to find new places and to meet new people. Above all, I wanted to celebrate Ireland for the Irish, as well as hopefully opening a few eyes across the water and challenging people’s preconceptions.” Nesbitt, who once persuaded the producers of 1990s comedy drama Cold Feet to film his character Adam’s stag weekend in Portrush, has idyllic memories of his own childhood in Northern Ireland. “Of course, when you go up the west coast, you can’t help seeing the effect of the boom and bust. Edna O’Brien refers to all those huge incomplete buildings as ‘ghosts’. But despite that, there is still so much there that is so beautiful and untouched. We still have that innate sense of connection with nature that I remember very clearly.” More specifically, Nesbitt re…