Bergerac season 3: Release date speculation and latest news
Will there be another season of the Jersey-set detective show?
The reboot of eighties detective drama Bergerac has returned for a second season on UK&Drama, with Damien Molony once again starring as cop Jim Bergerac, who is investigating another murder on the picturesque Channel Island of Jersey. As yet, UKTV have yet to confirm whether a third series is in the works, but the show has been a hit with fans, more than 30 years after the original series featuring John Nettles in the lead role first aired. Fans likely hope that the new Bergerac – which covers one crime per series, whereas the original show had a crime per episode – will run as long as the Nettles-starring drama, which aired for 87 episodes between 1981 and 1991. So, will there be more episodes? Here are all the updates on a potential Bergerac season 3. Will there be a third season of Bergerac? UKTV hasn’t renewed Bergerac for a third season yet, but the popularity of the show means it’s looking likely the widowed detective could return to solve another crime. The first season, which premiered in February 2025, was one of the highest rated shows on the UKTV network. It also boosted tourism to Jersey, with Tricia Warwick, the CEO of Visit Jersey, noting that the number of people visiting the island’s website for tourist information increased 70% on the previous month after the first episode aired. She told BBC News: "The first series has significantly raised Jersey's profile as a must-visit destination." When filming the second season, star Damien Molony commented on how much he enjoyed filming the series, so hopefully he could be tempted back. "I love any excuse to get back to Jersey," he said. "The fact that we were back in Jersey to shoot Bergerac series two makes it even better. I really love going there." However, the actor is pretty busy at the moment. The Being Human and Brassic star has a new BBC thriller series, Two Weeks In August, out later this year, and he is currently starring as physicist Werner Heisenberg alongside Richard Schiff and Alex Kingston in a production of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen at the Hampstead Theatre in London. When could a potential Bergerac season 3 be released? The first season aired in February 2025, and was renewed for a second season just two months later in April 2025. Filming took place in Jersey between August and October last year, and you can see the second season on U&Drama from 16 April. If a third season is commissioned and follows the same pattern, expect the renewal announcement to be made soon. Filming could then take place later this year, and a third series could potentially air in spring 2027. Who could star in Bergerac season 3? If Bergerac returns for a third season, it would have to star Damien Molony as the widowed Jersey policeman, alongside Zoe Wanamaker as his mother-in-law Charlie. Chloe Sweetlove, who plays Jim’s daughter, Kim, could also return, along with Robert Gilbert as Jersey police officer and thorn-in-Jim’s side Barney Crozier. Each season also introduces well known guest actors to the mix, with Adrian Edmondson and Lesley Sharp joining for season two, and fans continue to hope that the original Bergerac, John Nettles, could one day make a cameo appearance, although he has said he is "too old" to return. Speaking to BBC News Jersey in 2024, the 82-year-old actor said: "I’m not going to do it because I can’t do it - I’m too old and I’d just get in the way." What will happen in Bergerac season 3? Unlike the original eighties series, which featured a crime per week, each season of the Bergerac reboot concentrates on one crime – as well as putting the spotlight on Jim's complicated personal life. In the first season, Bergerac had to solve the murder of a wealthy woman, while in the current season he is investigating the stabbing of a groom at a wedding on the island. If there is another series, there is bound to be another perplexing murder for the detective to solve. Even though the island has a small population of just over 100,000 people, it appears it can be very deadly to live there. There could be more developments in Jim’s home life, too. The policeman mourned his late wife during the first series, but by season two he was dating (although a date in the first episode doesn’t go too well). It remains to be seen if Jim could find a lasting romance, or whether he will be more like the original Bergerac and become something of an island Lothario. Is there a trailer for Bergerac season 3? Not yet. The second season of Bergerac has only just been released, and a third season has not yet been confirmed. We’ll update this page with updates as they come in. For now, revisit the trailer for season two below to get build your excitement for a hopeful season three. View oEmbed on the source website Bergerac returns to U&DRAMA at 9pm on Thursday 16 April 2026. Add Bergerac to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Testaments soundtrack: Every song featured in The Handmaid's Tale sequel series
This dystopian Handmaid's Tale story comes with a angst-ridden, female-driven soundtrack.
We're now four episodes in to The Testaments, the new sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, has been shaking things up in the world of Gilead – with a powerful, women-led soundtrack to boot. The Disney+ series has made several changes from the Margaret Atwood novel it's based on, sending viewers down a winding road of what it's like to be a young woman being primed to be a wife, mother and subservient to her husband in this dystopian society. Told through the eyes of Agnes (Chase Infiniti), the series has a natural knack of making you feel a sense of dread, as what we see on screen continues to get more and more horrifying. But throughout it all is a female-led, angst-ridden soundtrack of the rebellion and fear that is stirring underneath. Curated by music supervisor Brittany Whyte, who has previously worked on The Handmaid's Tale, Riverdale and Station 19, The Testaments continues the tradition of using meaningful songs from different eras in the new series. Here's everything you need to know about the music filling The Testaments' soundtrack. What is the song featured in the trailer for The Testaments? The theme song featured in the trailer for the new series is Dreams by The Cranberries, which is also heard over the end credits of the first episode. You can hear it during the trailer here. View oEmbed on the source website The Testaments soundtrack: Every song featured in the Disney+ series so far Episode 1 Summer Song – Remy Bond Dreaming – Blondie Dreams – The Cranberries Episode 2 Chapel of Love – The Dixie Cups Episode 3 California Dreamin' – Scala & Kolacny Brothers Zep Step – The Wytches Cherry on Top – Tabitha Meeks Episode 4 Magix – Catey Shaw & Today Kid (You Keep Me) Hanging On – Ann Peebles Who composed the score for The Testaments? The original score for The Testaments was composed by Adam Taylor. Taylor is a Grammy Award winner for the contemporary blues album After the Rain. He also previously wrote the score for The Handmaid’s Tale, earning two Emmy nominations, and worked on projects including Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the TV adaptation of The Right Stuff. After the release of every episode of The Testaments, Taylor has been uploading the orchestral songs he's created for the show onto his YouTube channel. You can find the latest episode here, featuring piano-led pieces Serving the Aunts, violin and choir-led An Opportunity To Learn, and the sinister-sounding Speaking In The Shadows. View oEmbed on the source website The Testaments is available to watch now on Disney+. Add The Testaments to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Testaments release schedule: When is episode 5 out on Disney+ ?
The Handmaid’s Tale sequel series is here.
The fourth episode of The Testaments is now available to stream on Disney+, plummeting us right back into the totalitarian republic of Gilead that was first explored in the Emmy award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale. Created by The Handmaid’s Tale showrunner Bruce Miller, the new spin-off is set years after the events of the original series and is a coming-of-age story that focuses on a new generation of women in Gilead. Among them are Agnes, played by One Battle After Another star Chase Infiniti, who is the daughter of a high-ranking Gilead commander, and new arrival Daisy (Lucy Halliday), who has travelled from Canada to become one of the students at Aunt Lydia’s elite preparatory school for future wives. While the original series didn't shy away from airing some nauseating violent scenes, The Testaments show creator has admitted that questioning the amount of violence shown in this new drama was a central question to crafting the story. Speaking to Radio Times, Bruce Miller said: "I mean, if you look how much skin we show, there's almost none. And also almost no violence, it's almost all implied. But I think that we had those discussions out front... we just wanted to make sure that we were going forward mindfully." Now that the first four episodes are available, when can fans expect to see the next instalment? Read on for everything you need to know about the release schedule for The Testaments. When is The Testaments season 1 episode 5 released on Disney+ ? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/04/1771200155RT-329c97b.jpg" width="3000" height="2000" alt="Rowan Blanchard, Mattea Conforti, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday and Isolde Ardies star in The Testaments; a group of young women stand on a balcony looking down at someone and yelling" title="ROWAN BLANCHARD, MATTEA CONFORTI, CHASE INFINITI, LUCY HALLIDAY, ISOLDE ARDIES" /> The Testaments season 1 episode 5 will be released on Wednesday 22 April on Disney+ The episode is called Ball and is written by Sam Rubinek and Nate Burke. Rubinek is known for his work on Daisy Jones & The Six, Riverdale and The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox while Burke has also worked on the latter two titles, as well as The Blacklist. The Testaments season 1 release schedule – When are new episodes out? Disney+ released the first three episodes of The Testaments together on Wednesday 8 April. The remaining episodes of the 10 part series will be released on a weekly basis, with a new episode each Wednesday. You can find the full release schedule of the first season here: The Testaments episode 1 – Precious Flowers – Wednesday 8 April 2026 (out now) The Testaments episode 2 – Perfect Teeth – Wednesday 8 April 2026 (out now) The Testaments episode 3 – Daisy – Wednesday 8 April 2026 (out now) The Testaments episode 4 – Green Tea – Wednesday 15 April 2026 (out now) The Testaments episode 5 – Ball – Wednesday 22 April 2026 The Testaments episode 6 – title TBC – Wednesday 29 April 2026 The Testaments episode 7 – title TBC – Wednesday 6 May 2026 The Testaments episode 8 – title TBC – Wednesday 13 May 2026 The Testaments episode 9 – title TBC – Wednesday 20 May 2026 The Testaments episode 10 – title TBC – Wednesday 27 May 2026 What is The Testaments about? The Testaments is described as a “new chapter” in The Handmaid’s Tale story and is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood that is also set in Gilead. Agnes is one the students at Aunt Lydia’s elite school there, where teenage girls are taught how to be dutiful future wives for the commanders and prominent members of Gilead society. She is the adopted daughter of Commander MacKenzie and his wife Tabitha, and also June’s stolen first daughter, who was originally named Hannah. The synopsis for the new series indicates there will be trouble ahead for Agnes and her fellow students: “The series follows young teens Agnes, dutiful and pious, and Daisy, a new arrival and convert from beyond Gilead’s borders. "As they navigate the gilded halls of Aunt Lydia’s elite preparatory school for future wives, a place where obedience is instilled brutally and always with divine justification, their bond becomes the catalyst that will upend their past, their present, and their future.” The Testaments trailer You can watch the trailer for The Testaments here. View oEmbed on the source website The Testaments continues to air on Disney+ every Wednesday. Add The Testaments to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Scrubs season 2: Release date speculation and latest news
Will the updated sitcom return for another season?
Hospital comedy drama Scrubs originally aired for nine seasons between 2002 and 2010, and detailed the lives of medical interns (who later qualified as fully fledged doctors during the show’s run) played by Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison. The series was revived earlier this year, with Braff, Chalke and Faison returning to their roles of JD, Elliot and Turk. John C McGinley, who played their boss, Perry Cox, and Judy Reyes, who was head nurse Carla, have also popped back to grace the halls and wards of Sacred Heart Hospital in the new season. The show's return has been a success, but creator Bill Lawrence and 20th Television, who came on board for the revival, have yet to confirm whether there will be a second season. So will we see more of JD and the gang? Here are all the updates on a potential Scrubs season 2. Will there be a second season of Scrubs? The first season of the revived Scrubs (otherwise known as season 10) is made up of nine episodes, with the final one airing on Thursday 16 April. A second season has yet to be confirmed, but the cast are hopeful. John C McGinley, who returned to the show in episode 8 of the new series, feels there is a lot more to learn about his character, Dr Cox, who is being treated for an auto immune disease. "I think that Cox will come back a lot more in Season 2," he said (via Deadline). "There’s been a big outcry, that’s very flattering. But I also think structurally, I was sharing this with a friend of mine the other day. I don’t know if you remember [literary professor] Joe Campbell and his exploration of myth and the structure of myth." Continuing, he added: "I think Zach’s character as the hero in this three-act tale, as it pertains to Joe Campbell, the hero needs consequences and a threat and jeopardy, and without Ken Jenkins [who played Kelso and has not returned for the new season] and not enough of the Janitor, it falls on; the threat would be failure with the interns this season, and that’s great. "But he needs a threat, he needs consequence. There has to be jeopardy, and that jeopardy is Cox, however Billy writes it. I think Cox will be more thickly woven into the tapestry of Season 2. I’m completely speculating." Star Zach Braff has also expressed hopes for a new season that can feature more of John, and also Neil Flynn who briefly returns as the hospital janitor. "I'll say to the fans who miss Neil that we get it — we only had nine episodes and we had so much to do," Braff said (via TV Line). "I know some people are like, 'Wait, I want more Johnny, I want more Neil, I want more Judy [Reyes, who plays Carla].' We get it, and we're working on it." "If and when we're lucky enough to get a full order, our plan is to set up situations where Neil can recur and Johnny can be there a whole lot more," Braff added. "I just want all the fans to know that we're on the same page with you." When could a potential Scrubs season 2 be released? The revival was officially announced in July 2025, and was filmed between October and December last year in Vancouver. If a second season followed the same pattern, expect the renewal announcement to be made soon. Filming could then take place later this year, and a second series could potentially air in spring 2027. Who could star in Scrubs season 2? Zach Braff (JD), Sarah Chalke (Elliott) and Donald Faison (Turk) would all likely return for a second season, and it sounds like other favourites would also be back, including John C McGinley (Cox), Judy Reyes (Carla), Christa Miller (Jordan, Cox’s former wife) and Neil Flynn (Janitor). However, juggling schedules could be tricky, as Braff is also a director on the Steve Carell-starring comedy series Rooster, which has just been renewed for a second season, and Judy Reyes stars as Selena in crime comedy drama High Potential, which has also just been renewed for a third season. What will happen in Scrubs season 2? Speaking to TV Line, Zach Braff hinted that he has an idea where the storyline between JD and his ex-wife Elliott could go. "They're settling into a friendship," Braff said. "Of course, it's still hard. Everyone who's had this experience knows you can still go, 'This isn't right, we aren't compatible,' but it still hurts your heart when you see them flirting with someone. And that's going to be tricky for them. Their friendship is going to continue to evolve, because they both really respect each other as doctors and as parents." He also notes that there is more about their personal lives to explore on the show. "We didn't get [to tell stories about] the kids just because we didn't have the bandwidth [with nine episodes], but there will be more of that. Some couples get divorced and they hate each other, and then some couples get divorced and, because they're co-parents, learn how to be good friends. That's the direction we're going to head with it." Is there a trailer for Scrubs season 2? Not yet. The first season of Scrubs has only just aired, and a second season has not yet been confirmed. We’ll update this page with updates as they come in. For now, enjoy the trailer for the celebrated first season of the reboot below. View Green Video on the source website Scrubs season 10 (season 1 reboot) is available on Disney+ UK. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month. Add Scrubs to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Shetland season 11 gets major update from BBC as flurry of new guest stars confirmed
The popular murder mystery series is currently filming new episodes.
Filming has started on the 11th season of Shetland, with stars Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell returning to their roles as DI Ruth Calder and DI Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh. The BBC has confirmed that series regulars Steven Robertson (DC Sandy Wilson), Samuel Anderson (Procurator Fiscal Matt Blake), Steven Miller (Rev Alan Calder), Anne Kidd (pathologist Cora McLean), Angus Miller (Tosh’s partner Donnie), Conor McCarry (PC Alex Grant) and Eubha Akilade (PC Lorna Burns) are back for the new episodes, which will film in Scotland and the Shetland Isles over the next few months. Fans will be pleased to learn that Sergeant Billy McCabe (played by Lewis Howden) will also return, after his future was left unclear at the end of season 10, when he handed himself into professional standards over mistakes he made 20 years earlier. Based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, each season of Shetland focuses on one crime that Ruth’s team has to solve, and season 11 will be no exception. The synopsis says that "the forthcoming new series centres around an historic murder which will forever change the lives of all those connected in the present day". The synopsis continues: "When a car is pulled from the water, a grim discovery is made – crammed in the boot are the decomposed, skeletal remains of an unknown male. The team’s search to uncover the victim’s identity, begins with a hunt for the vehicle’s owner – a respected, local GP who left the Isles under a cloud of troubled rumours nine years ago. "As Calder and Tosh dig deeper into the enigmatic GP's state-of-mind and the lives of the loved ones he left behind, the investigation takes them to dark and dangerous places in their quest for the truth." The BBC has also announced some of the guest actors who will appear in the new season. Sherwood's Christine Bottomley will appear alongside This City Is Ours actor Kevin Harvey and Holby City star Stella Gonet. Joining them are Rab C Nesbitt comedian Gregor Fisher, Crime’s Gavin Mitchell and Summerwater’s Charlene Boyd. Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google. Gaynor Holmes, the commissioning editor for the BBC, teased what fans should expect from the new run, saying: "This new series of Shetland is brimming with twists, turns and the kind of emotional punch that keeps viewers hooked. "Paul Logue has once again spun a gripping, atmospheric story, with the wild beauty of the Shetland Isles at its heart. Alison and Ashley lead our stellar core cast who are joined by a brilliant line‑up of guest stars and supported by a crew whose craft and passion shine through in every frame – together showcasing Scotland on screen at its very best." Watch the Shetland season 10 trailer below: View Green Video on the source website Shetland seasons 1-10 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. <a style="font-weight: inherit" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cleeves-Shetland-Collection-Books-Book/dp/B00K8QUW18?tag=radtim0b-21&ascsubtag=radiotimes-2420266" target="_blank" rel="sponsored" data-geniuslink="https://buy.geni.us/Proxy.ashx?TSID=114542&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FCleeves-Shetland-Collection-Books-Book%2Fdp%2FB00K8QUW18%3Ftag%3Dradtim0b-21%26ascsubtag%3Dradiotimes-2169705&dtb=1">Ann Cleeves's Shetland novels are available to buy. Add Shetland to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Philomena Cunk return confirmed by BBC for all-new series with a very different focus
Diane Morgan’s comedic character is back filming a new mockumentary.
Comedian Diane Morgan’s deliciously dim-witted character Philomena Cunk is coming back to the BBC for a new series. Morgan, who recently appeared in the second season of Last One Laughing, first portrayed documentarian Cunk in Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe back in 2013. The ill-informed interviewer returned in acclaimed shows including Cunk on Britain and Cunk on Life, where she asked real historians and experts such important questions as "Which was more culturally significant? The Renaissance or Single Ladies by Beyoncé?" and, to an expert on nuclear warheads, "Can we talk about something a bit more cheerful? Do you like ABBA?" For Philomena Cunk's latest endeavour, Morgan is reuniting with Black Mirror creator Brooker on a three-part BBC series entitled Cunk on Cinema, in which the clueless reporter will examine the world’s love affair with movies. Filming began this week on the show which, according to the synopsis, is Cunk’s "most glamorous series to date". It continues: "Philomena (Diane Morgan) will be asking experts all of the hard-hitting questions about the history of cinema, from the invention of the camera, to the New Wave filmmakers of the 60s, right up to entrance of CGI and what the future of AI holds. "Cunk will attempt to demystify it all while sitting in lumpy seats with stale popcorn, asking herself where did cinema come from? And why? What does it want? And why can’t it tell us?" The synopsis also includes an interview with Philomena Cunk herself. "Cinema has given the world some of the most profound, memorable and moving visual moments in its unswerving depiction of the human condition: the shower scene in Psycho, Death playing chess in that Swedish thing, and Tom Selleck's glistening moustache in Three Men and a Little Lady, to name but all three of the only examples I can think of at the moment. "There will, unfortunately, be some bits in black and white, but we'll keep that to the barest minimum," she promised. Writer Brooker added: "Now that Sora has killed off Hollywood and itself (presumably as part of a murder-suicide pact), it's the perfect time to look back at 200 centuries of cinema, in the company of an idiot we’re apparently cursed to employ: Philomena Cunk." The series, which is executive produced by Brooker, Morgan and Sam Ward, is expected to air on BBC Two later this year. Philomena Cunk’s previous ‘documentaries’, including Cunk on Life, Cunk on Shakespeare and Cunk on Earth are available on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Euphoria season 3 gets early Rotten Tomatoes score revealed after flurry of first reviews and reactions
The critically acclaimed teen drama isn’t quite so praised for its third season.
The first two seasons of teenage drama Euphoria, which aired between 2019 and 2022, received numerous accolades, including Emmy Awards for Zendaya and co-star Colman Domingo. After a lengthy gap, the highly-anticipated third season launches on 13 April on Sky Atlantic, but reviewers who have seen the first three episodes are more mixed in their reactions this time around. The new season, which is set four years on from season 2, picks up the story of drug addict Rue (Zendaya), her best friend Lexi (Maude Apatow), and fellow former high school students Jules (Hunter Schafer), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi). Nate and Cassie, who makes sexy influencer videos for a living, are getting married. Meanwhile, Jules is an art student and Rue is working off her debt to drug dealer Laurie in Mexico, before moving on to Texas to work as a club manager. Though, with this season being a major departure from the previous two, with the adolescent characters all grown up, critics aren’t all that convinced. The new season, written by showrunner Sam Levinson, currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 48% from 21 reviews (at the time of writing), which is the lowest rating in the show’s history. (Season 1 is currently scoring 80%, while season 2’s score is 78%). Both the show’s plot and the characters themselves have been criticised in reviews. Lauren Sarner of New York Post was particularly disparaging, calling the season an "unhinged disaster" filled with characters in situations that are like "Breaking Bad meets Looney Tunes". Sarner was certainly not alone in her 'rotten' review, with the general consensus seeming to be that the beloved HBO show may have outstayed its welcome. View Green Video on the source website The season isn't without its supporters, however, with Nick Hilton of The Independent being a little more positive. Giving the season four out of five stars, Hilton calls it a "generation-defining" show that paints a "clear-eyed, unflattering portrait of modern America". Delayed by tragic deaths, extensive script re-writes and the conflicting schedules of its in-demand lead cast, the third and supposedly final instalment of Euphoria has been a long time coming since season 2 concluded in 2022. Euphoria season 3 premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Monday 13 April at 9pm. Euphoria seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Shrinking boss reveals Harrison Ford's future in the show after season 3 finale and teases season 4
Creator Bill Lawrence promises the Star Wars icon is "not leaving".
Harrison Ford’s character in Shrinking, Paul Rhoades, may have moved away in the season 3 finale of the comedy drama, but co-creator Bill Lawrence has promised fans that the beloved character "is not disappearing" and will be back for season 4. The final episode of the season featured a few changes for therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) and his friends and family. While Jimmy finally accepted his grief for his late wife and realised he was ready to pursue a relationship with Sofi (Cobie Smulders), his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell American) headed off to college in Connecticut. Meanwhile, Paul and his wife Julie (Wendie Malick) moved to the same state, which Lawrence admits is not a coincidence. "It’s not an accident that Alice goes to school at Wesleyan University and that in the end of the finale, she's going by to have dinner at Paul’s house," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Time passage changes a lot of things — as to where people are, where they’re living and how things have progressed. So, yes, Harrison’s back on the show." <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/Shrinking-Apple-0207777.jpg" width="8640" height="5760" alt="An older man and woman wearing sunglasses walk side by side along a sunny park trail. The man wears a grey T-shirt, dark jacket and black leggings with a light blue waist pouch, carrying a large water bottle, while the woman wears a beige sweater and shorts and holds a pink water bottle. Trees and greenery line the path behind them." title="Shrinking Apple" /> In an additional conversation with Deadline, he added: "I would be insane not to find a way for Harrison Ford to be in the show in perpetuity. He is not disappearing... We tell another story. We’re gonna jump ahead a couple years and see where everybody’s at, and we have a new story to tell. [Harrison Ford] will be part of it. He’s not leaving." Colleagues and friends Paul and Jimmy did have a falling out in the penultimate episode of the season, and Ford’s character, who has Parkinson’s Disease, also retired, which could have worked as a conclusion for the show. However, Lawrence explained that it was always the plan to have a three season story arc and then change direction for Paul if the show returned for a fourth season. View Green Video on the source website "Part of the fun is, if this three story [arc] ends and he’s gonna go try and be with his family in Connecticut, I’m fascinated, along with the writing staff, of what does that look like a couple of years from now?” he added. "Did it work? Is it hard? Does he miss people? Is he doing better? Is he doing worse? And the one thing I can tell you, Harrison’s such an inspiring guy as a performer, to watch him play that character. We’re going to make sure that it reads the same way." Shrinking seasons 1-3 are available to watch on Apple TV. You can sign up to Apple TV now. Add Shrinking to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Euphoria showrunner pays tribute to "those we lost" from cast and crew at season 3 premiere
The new series is dedicated to Angus Cloud, Eric Dane and producer Kevin Turen.
Writer and creator Sam Levinson has dedicated the upcoming third season of Euphoria to the memory of three cast and crew members who died in the four years since the second season aired in 2022. Speaking at the premiere of the long-awaited third season of the teen drama, Levinson said (via Deadline): "Some people ask why it took so long between seasons two and three. There were obvious factors — the strikes, trying to make a schedule work with our very in-demand cast, but the real time was in trying to figure out how to find a way to pay respect to those who we lost." Angus Cloud, who played Rue’s (Zendaya) friend Fezco in the first two seasons and also starred in the hit horror movie Abigail, died at the age of 25 on July 31, 2023. The show also lost executive producer Kevin Turen, who died in November of the same year. Eric Dane, who played Cal, the father of Jacob Elordi’s character Nate, was able to return to film his role for the third season of the show following a diagnosis of ALS. The actor, who was also known for his role as Doctor Mark Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy, died on February 19. "When Angus died, it was tough," Levinson said at the premiere. "I loved him deeply, and I fought hard to keep him clean. The year he died, in 2023, he was one of 73,000 people in America who died of a fentanyl overdose. I learned a whole lot that year, but what I realised more than anything is that death is what gives life meaning. "You can’t be arrogant about existence. You’re forced to reckon with the fact that life itself is a wonder, a gift, a profound blessing." The third season is dedicated to "those who we lost, Angus, Kevin, and Eric," Levinson said. "The Rebbe [spiritual leader] says, 'The only way to see great light is to pass through great darkness.' Well, it feels good to be on the other side." The first season of Euphoria premiered back in 2019, and boosted the careers of its stars, including Zendaya, who won an Emmy for her performance, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schafer and Jacob Elordi. View Green Video on the source website While the first two seasons followed Rue and her friends at East Highland High School, the third season has a five year time jump that finds Rue in trouble with Laurie, the drug dealer from season two. Meanwhile, Cassie is now an adult content creator and is married to Nate, Jules is an art student and Lexi is working as an assistant to a showrunner, played by new cast member Sharon Stone. She is joined by Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne, actor/director Eli Roth, True Blood’s Sam Trammell and singer Rosalia in the eight episode season. Euphoria season 3 premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Monday 13 April at 9pm. Euphoria seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Sally Bretton on Beyond Paradise, Not Going Out and the one thing about Death in Paradise that made her scream
The actress talks exclusively about the new season of Beyond Paradise and why she loves the detective show so much.
Detective drama Beyond Paradise is back for a fourth outing, continuing the adorable love story between Martha Lloyd and Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman that began on Death in Paradise in 2016. The pair, played by Sally Bretton and Kris Marshall, finally tied the knot in the Christmas 2025 episode, and are now beginning married life together. However, it’s not plain sailing for the newlyweds, as the new season opens with them waking up to discover their houseboat home has drifted away from its moorings and is ominously taking on water. For Bretton, moving the Goodmans off the boat and potentially into a home on dry land was something of a mixed blessing. “I do love the boat, and it is fun, but it’s so hard to film inside it,” she says. “I did like sitting on the deck and doing the scenes there, but it is a bit clustered inside. So it’s bittersweet. “We were also at the mercy of the tides. Sometimes, that beautiful vista outside Anne’s [Martha’s mother] cottage that looks so idyllic would just be mud flats. You’re trying to fit filming in when the water’s high enough, as well as the weather being in the right place and all of that stuff.” Another challenge for the Beyond Paradise cast and crew is the growing popularity of the series has meant that their shooting locations in and around Looe in Cornwall – doubling for the fictional town of Shipton Abbott – are often filled with fans wanting to sneak a look at the cast while they are filming. “Now people know that Shipton Abbott is Looe, and because it is so beautiful, I think there has been an uplift in tourism,” Sally says. “There are more people around, they know what we’re up to, there’s more interest in the show. If Kelby (Dylan Llewellyn) and Humphrey are filming on the beach, then you will get quite a lot of people looking over. “But it’s a warm-hearted, gentle show, and so people just come with that energy. They are often families, and they just want a quick picture and they’ve just seen it on the telly and thought they’d have a look. It’s a very gentle interest, as opposed to anything that feels overwhelming or crowded.” Sally understands that the sweet relationship between her character and Humphrey is one of the reasons fans love the show so much, and why it’s so popular with people of all ages. “They genuinely love each other, they’re thrilled to be around each other,” she says. “You don’t often get to see that in a main pair on screen, because often this happens, or that happens, to make it dramatic. "Instead, Martha and Humphrey are very respectful, but still have lots of fun. I’m relieved that they have found their person, and their person is as wonderful as they think. I think watching that is lovely.” Of course, the now-married Goodmans have had some difficulties over the first three seasons of the show, including the looming presence of Martha’s ex-fiancé, Archie (Jamie Bamber), and the couple experiencing fertility difficulties that eventually led them to explore fostering. While Sally can’t reveal whether their fostering continues in the new season (“I can’t say, it’s on my ‘do not reveal’ red list,” she laughs), she is pleased with how the fertility storyline has been handled in the show so far. “Often on the television there’s a big fertility journey, but with a happy ending,” she explains. “What happens when there isn’t [a neat ending], and the choices you make then? Is two enough, and how does two feel? And that story, which is less seen than the happy ending one, I thought it was really interesting and liked that a lot.” <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/beyond-paradise-season-4-kris-marshall-sally-bretton-ee5bc10.jpg" width="4284" height="2856" alt="Kris Marshall as Humphrey Goodman and Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd in Beyond Paradise. They are both clapping and she is looking at him, smiling." title="Kris Marshall as Humphrey Goodman and Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd in Beyond Paradise" /> There will still be some ups and downs in this season – “we go house hunting and the place we settle on needs a worrying amount of work, so they get stuck into that with various capers and disasters” – but fans can be assured that Humphrey and Martha’s strong relationship remains the beating heart of the show. It’s all the more impressive when you realise that Martha was originally brought into Death in Paradise simply as a device to explain why Humphrey was leaving the island of Saint Marie when star Kris Marshall wanted to exit the Caribbean-set series. “I did two episodes in series 5, and I’m not sure, but I think I was being tested to see if I was a good exit storyline,” Sally says. “I was brought in for that purpose. I did the two episodes and then I was called back to do more for the next series to finish Humphrey’s story.” The Hertfordshire-based actress loved her time filming in Guadeloupe. “I never understand anyone who comes back and says, ‘I didn’t like it very much. I didn’t really like the weather.’ For me, I couldn’t believe I was working somewhere so beautiful. I thought it was unbelievable and stunning. "They do have those Scolopendra things [giant centipedes], you scream a lot with them. But you can get by with a few millipedes to look at, can’t you?” View oEmbed on the source website The longevity of Death in Paradise – it’s now been on air for 15 seasons – raises the question of whether Sally would like Beyond Paradise to run for as many years as the show it was spun off from. “I love this job. I would be extremely happy for that to happen. The show is right up my street. My children watch it, not because I’m in it, because they don’t watch other things I’ve been in, but because they genuinely love settling down and watching something so heartwarming,” says the mum of three daughters. “So yes please!” Even if Beyond Paradise continues for more than a decade, it wouldn’t be the longest-running show Sally has worked on, as she has played Lee Mack’s wife Lucy in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out since the second season of the series back in 2007. With a 15th on the way this June, Sally admits that she shares some characteristics with both her most famous roles. “I think I’m more like Martha than Lucy,” she says. “Maybe I would be a bit exasperated at times like Lucy if I was living with Lee’s character and all the scrapes we get into. But I think Lucy is a bit harsher than me. If she can skip out of any responsibility, she will, and she’ll put it onto him. She doesn’t mind having confrontation with him but she can’t bear it anywhere else, so she tries to get him to fix everything like that. “I think Martha takes responsibility for more things in her life, though she does freak out sometimes. So I’d say I am probably more Martha.” While both roles have made Sally a household name, the 45-year-old actress already had an impressive list of film, TV and theatre credits that stretches back to her first performance, aged just seven, in the mini-series Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story, in which she appeared alongside Jacqueline Bisset as Josephine’s young daughter. After training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Sally honed her comedic timing on shows with Harry Enfield and Armstrong & Miller and on the medical sitcom Green Wing, and won acclaim for her stage performances in productions including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, In Extremis and King Lear. Theatre remains a passion but one of the roles Sally is most proud of is that of Donna, a new employee at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg in The Office, in which she starred alongside Ricky Gervais, Mackenzie Crook and Martin Freeman. “I really love that I got to be part of something as incredible as The Office, and I got to be in that set with all these people who weren’t very well known at the time, who were all being brilliant, and we were all just hanging out in an office in Slough, creating something that ended up being quite amazing,” Sally says. “I’m not taking any responsibility for that, but to have been part of it and to have seen it, I think that is pretty special.” Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google. Beyond Paradise season 4 begins on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday 27 March at 8pm. Add Beyond Paradise to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Farewell, Outlander: It's time to say goodbye to one of the best period dramas on TV
When Outlander began in 2014, no one could have predicted what a phenomenal success the fantasy period drama would become. Sure, there were fans of the Diana Gabaldon novels who were so thrilled to learn of the upcoming TV adaptation that they worked out where it was filming and proceeded to regularly deliver homemade cakes to the cast and crew on location. But for anyone who didn’t know the books, the premise – a married World War II English nurse named Claire travels back in time to the 18th century and falls for Scottish highlander Jamie – didn’t necessarily sound like a show that would ultimately run for over 10 years, eight seasons and more than 100 episodes, or be credited with creating a tourism boom in Scotland. The reason for Outlander’s success and almost obsessive fan following is the series – which ends with a final eighth season on MGM+ from March 7 – may at its core be a passionate romance, but it is also a gripping historical drama, heart-wrenching family saga, and a beautiful love letter to the Highlands and Scottish culture. The show, filmed in Scotland even in later seasons when the action moved to America, follows the story of headstrong 1940s nurse Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe). While visiting the Highlands on her post-war honeymoon with husband Frank (Tobias Menzies), she comes across a circle of standing stones and hears a strange buzzing sound that draws her towards them. The stone circle transports her back in time to 1743, and while trying to protect herself from a violent English captain named Black Jack Randall (an ancestor of her husband’s, brilliantly played by Menzies), she falls in with a passing group of Scots from the Clan MacKenzie. Among them is young Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), and while Claire initially tries to resist his charms and find a way to return to her time, she eventually realises that the devoted attentions of the hunky highlander make the prospect of life in a century without flushable toilets oddly appealing. Read more: Outlander: Blood of My Blood star teases "much more epic" season 2 after acclaimed first run Why and how Outlander is ending with season 8 when the Diana Gabaldon books haven't finished yet In the first season, much of the action involves clashes between the Laird of the MacKenzie clan, Colum and his war chief brother Dougal (Gary Lewis and Graham McTavish, who are both deliciously feisty in their roles), fascinating details about clan life, and the growing attraction between Claire and Jamie, who has his own reasons for hiding from the sinister Black Jack. But as the show progresses, so does the scope. In season 2 the couple are in Paris trying to change history and prevent the Jacobite Rising, while in season 3 they’re separated by time after Claire returns to the 20th century to safely raise their daughter Brianna, leaving Jamie behind (he can’t time travel, you see) to likely die in the Battle of Culloden in a scene at the stones that ranks as one of the most heartbreaking of all time. “I’ll find you,” Jamie tells Claire. “If I have to endure 200 years of purgatory, 200 years without you, then that is my punishment.” Before we have time to wallow in that gorgeous moment, there’s a 20-year time jump, an absolutely adorable reunion for our lovers when Claire travels back to Jamie after discovering he survived Culloden, and a relocation of the story to America, bringing the couple to the land of opportunity just as the American Revolutionary War looms. One of the joys of the show is that detailed historical backdrop. It encompasses the experiences of the Highland clans in the 1740s, Claire’s life (back with Frank) in Boston during the 1950s and 1960s (and later, daughter Brianna’s time in the 1970s), and the growth of America when she and Jamie settle there in the 1760s. Like kilt and corset-wearing versions of Forrest Gump, Jamie and Claire also cross paths with some impressive historical figures along the way, from Prince Charles Edward Stuart (brought to brilliantly petulant life by Andrew Gower) to George Washington, King Louis XV and Benedict Arnold. If that all sounds completely bonkers, well, it is, especially when you add in the time travelling and how many times they have survived shootings, drownings, whippings, stabbings and even a brutal hanging during the show’s run. It’s a testament to the cast, directors and writers that even the most unlikely twists are gripping, and the show moves effortlessly from jaw-dropping moments like Claire being tried as a witch or Jamie being poisoned by a snake to full scale, gritty depictions of historical battles such as Alamance. Throughout, the ensemble cast shine. They’re all superb, but special shout-outs should go to John Bell as Jamie’s nephew Young Ian, David Berry as Lord John Grey and Duncan Lacroix as Murtaugh, as well as Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin as the show’s other main couple, Bree and Roger – who have all delivered gut-wrenching performances during their time on the series. View Green Video on the source website And Outlander would not be Outlander without the two leads, Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan. Jamie and Claire’s love is unmatched on TV – sorry, period drama fans, but none of the Bridgerton couples come close – because it is devoted, fiery, and also utterly believable thanks to the show’s stars. Balfe’s Claire is a strong, determined 20th century heroine who knows what she wants and is just as likely to rescue her husband as he is to rescue her. Heughan’s Jamie, meanwhile, is honest, loyal, stubborn and given to declarations of love that have earned him the title King of Men (“I am your master and you’re mine. Seems I cannot possess your soul without losing my own.”) Together, they are simply lovely. Heughan and Balfe have not only led the cast and the show, they have navigated their way through scenes of extreme violence – Outlander never holds back and some of the scenes in season 1 especially are truly harrowing – and high emotion with equal skill while also convincingly delivering the numerous raunchy sex scenes that have become as much a part of Outlander as kilts and whisky. With Diana Gabaldon’s final Outlander novel yet to be published, and show producer Matthew B Roberts teasing that more than one final scene for the series has been filmed, it’s not yet known how Jamie and Claire’s story will conclude. But after eight seasons of love, sex, betrayal, heartache, war and perilous time travel, one thing is for sure – like Outlander itself, the end is going to be epic. Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google. Outlander season 8 premieres on STARZ in the US on Friday 6 March and on MGM+ in the UK on Saturday 7 March. You can buy Diana Gabaldon's books on Amazon. Add Outlander to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
TV shows returning after a long hiatus are often disappointing, but this is why Doctor Foster has all the ingredients to work
The Suranne Jones-starring series is about to start filming a third instalment.
Add Doctor Foster to your watchlist Nine years after the second season aired, it has been announced that a third season of Doctor Foster is about to start production. Fans of the BBC twisty revenge series are right to be thrilled, but after such a long wait between seasons, should they be nervous as well? There are certainly more than a handful of shows that have excited us by coming back following a long hiatus, only to leave audiences crushingly disappointed when the return finally airs. One of the best – or should that be worst – examples is Sex and the City and its sequel, And Just Like That…, which arrived on our screens 17 years after the original series finished and 11 years after the second Sex and the City movie (which wasn’t exactly a success either). And Just Like That… fell into every pitfall of a series reboot you can possibly imagine, so the makers of Doctor Foster part III would be wise to use that as an example of what not to do. First, the show killed off a major character (Chris Noth’s Mr Big), turning life-loving lead Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) into a widow and thus dramatically changing the show’s tone and alienating fans who had tuned in hoping for more Sex and the City fun. Then, they seemingly forgot the quirky characteristics of the SATC women (Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda and Kristin Davis’s Charlotte) that made us love the original series. During the hiatus, skilled, on-the-ball lawyer Miranda somehow turned into an out of touch, bumbling fool and, even worse, in the sequel Charlotte become the butt of every joke, and suddenly had debilitating vertigo that had never once been mentioned in the 100+ episodes of SATC and And Just Like That…. Of course, And Just Like That…’s biggest sin was removing one of the core SATC characters completely – Kim Cattrall’s Samantha – which meant that the sequel show could not equal, and certainly never eclipse, the original. While her absence was reportedly due to Cattrall not wanting to return, it did leave the show devoid of the sexy joy Samantha used to bring to every episode, and references to her character in AJLT only served to emphasise her absence. Missing cast members is one of the main reasons why another reboot, the classic sitcom Frasier, also didn’t work as well as the original. Nearly 20 years after the series about psychiatrist Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), his grumpy dad Martin (John Mahoney), brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Martin’s caregiver Daphne (Jane Leeves) first aired, Paramount+ revived it – but forgot that it was those characters’ relationships that made it shine. Martin sadly had to be killed off for the new series following the death of actor John Mahoney in 2018, but David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves didn’t return either (though Daphne and Niles's now adult son David is a recurring character), while Frasier’s former producer Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin) and ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) popped up just enough to remind us why the original series worked and the reboot, well, didn’t. The show ran for two seasons before being cancelled. Unsurprisingly, no one else has decided to pick it up. Of course, not every revival has been a disaster. While the recently released return of Scrubs has divided fans – some are loving it, some are not happy that JD (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) are now divorced, which in Scrubs-world is akin to splitting up Ross and Rachel – there are other returns that have been greater successes. Cult series Veronica Mars, which ran for three seasons from 2004 and 2007 (plus a 2014 film), followed high school student and wannabe private investigator Veronica (Kristen Bell) as she navigated life in the California seaside town of Neptune. Witty, sharp and twisting, the show skilfully mixed teen drama with mystery, throwing in a romance with brooding Logan (Jason Dohring). A 2019 return showed that Veronica, now all grown up, had become a private detective like her dad (Enrico Colantoni), and her current investigation meant the return of many fan favourite characters, including Francis Capra’s Weevil and cop Leo (Max Greenfield). The show kept the same tone as the original series – Veronica was just as feisty as we remembered, her dad just as loveable, and her believable romance with Logan continued too (sadly, the sequel series does kill him off, but it is handled so expertly we’ll forgive the producers for breaking the don’t-kill-off-one-of-the-main-characters rule). The X-Files also got it right. Originally on air for more than 200 episodes between 1993 and 2002, the sci-fi show featuring investigators Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) returned for two spin-off movies and then two new series between 2016 and 2018. The return featured both the mythology and characters (including the Cigarette Smoking Man, the Lone Gunmen and FBI director Skinner) that fans loved, and best of all, the final season wrapped up some of the mysteries viewers had been waiting more than a decade to be explained. While not much is currently known about the upcoming new season of Doctor Foster, the initial announcement suggests that, like The X-Files, cliffhangers will finally be resolved, including the biggest one of all – what happened to Gemma Foster’s son Tom, who disappeared at the end of the 2017 season. The synopsis for the new episodes begins: “10 years ago, on discovering her husband Simon was having an affair, Gemma Foster enacted a masterful revenge. But the fallout was devastating when her 15-year-old son Tom disappeared. Now, in series 3, Gemma is still a GP, still in the same house, but on the brink of a fresh start: she has met someone new and is getting married…” The BBC have also confirmed that all three of the main cast – Suranne Jones as Gemma, Bertie Carvel as Simon and Tom Taylor as Tom – are set to return, along with writer and creator Mike Bartlett. (Sadly, it’s unlikely Jodie Comer will be back as Simon’s mistress-turned-wife Kate as she left him partway through the second season, but we’d be up for that twisted reunion). These are all good signs that Doctor Foster season 3 could be a success, and a tease from Suranne Jones about what the series will focus on makes it even more appealing. “When I got the call to ask if I wanted to return as Gemma Foster, I knew the time was right. We needed space from the first two series, and we needed Tom – Gemma and Simon’s runaway son – to return as an adult with questions,” she said. “For me, this time around it’s about accountability and questioning – can we ever truly sever ties with our past and the damage or traumas that haunt us, so we can fully move forward? Gemma and Simon have so much to unpick!” The fact that Doctor Foster still generates so much buzz nine years on is testament to what came before. Whether season 3 can match that remains to be seen, but the early signs suggest it might just do it again.
Shows returning after a long hiatus are often disappointing, but this is why Doctor Foster has all the ingredients to work
Nine years after the second season aired, it has been announced that a third season of Doctor Foster is about to start production. Fans of the BBC twisty revenge series are right to be thrilled, but after such a long wait between seasons, should they be nervous as well? There are certainly more than a handful of shows that have excited us by coming back following a long hiatus, only to leave audiences crushingly disappointed when the return finally airs. One of the best – or should that be worst – examples is Sex and the City and its sequel, And Just Like That…, which arrived on our screens 17 years after the original series finished and 11 years after the second Sex and the City movie (which wasn’t exactly a success either). And Just Like That… fell into every pitfall of a series reboot you can possibly imagine, so the makers of Doctor Foster part III would be wise to use that as an example of what not to do. First, the show killed off a major character (Chris Noth’s Mr Big), turning life-loving lead Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) into a widow and thus dramatically changing the show’s tone and alienating fans who had tuned in hoping for more Sex and the City fun. Then, they seemingly forgot the quirky characteristics of the SATC women (Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda and Kristin Davis’s Charlotte) that made us love the original series. During the hiatus, skilled, on-the-ball lawyer Miranda somehow turned into an out of touch, bumbling fool and, even worse, in the sequel Charlotte become the butt of every joke, and suddenly had debilitating vertigo that had never once been mentioned in the 100+ episodes of SATC and And Just Like That…. Of course, And Just Like That…’s biggest sin was removing one of the core SATC characters completely – Kim Cattrall’s Samantha – which meant that the sequel show could not equal, and certainly never eclipse, the original. While her absence was reportedly due to Cattrall not wanting to return, it did leave the show devoid of the sexy joy Samantha used to bring to every episode, and references to her character in AJLT only served to emphasise her absence. Missing cast members is one of the main reasons why another reboot, the classic sitcom Frasier, also didn’t work as well as the original. Nearly 20 years after the series about psychiatrist Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), his grumpy dad Martin (John Mahoney), brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Martin’s caregiver Daphne (Jane Leeves) first aired, Paramount+ revived it – but forgot that it was those characters’ relationships that made it shine. Martin Sadly had to be killed off for the new series following the death of actor John Mahoney in 2018, but David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves didn’t return either (though Daphne and Niles's now adult son David is a recurring character), while Frasier’s former producer Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin) and ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) popped up just enough to remind us why the original series worked and the reboot, well, didn’t. The show ran for two seasons before being cancelled. Unsurprisingly, no one else has decided to pick it up. Of course, not every revival has been a disaster. While the recently released return of Scrubs has divided fans – some are loving it, some are not happy that JD (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) are now divorced, which in Scrubs-world is akin to splitting up Ross and Rachel – there are other returns that have been greater successes. Cult series Veronica Mars, which ran for three seasons from 2004 and 2007 (plus a 2014 film), followed high school student and wannabe private investigator Veronica (Kristen Bell) as she navigated life in the California seaside town of Neptune. Witty, sharp and twisting, the show skilfully mixed teen drama with mystery, throwing in a romance with brooding Logan (Jason Dohring). A 2019 return showed that Veronica, now all grown up, had become a private detective like her dad (Enrico Colantoni), and her current investigation meant the return of many fan favourite characters, including Francis Capra’s Weevil and cop Leo (Max Greenfield). The show kept the same tone as the original series – Veronica was just as feisty as we remembered, her dad just as loveable, and her believable romance with Logan continued too (sadly, the sequel series does kill him off, but it is handled so expertly we’ll forgive the producers for breaking the don’t-kill-off-one-of-the-main-characters rule). The X-Files also got it right. Originally on air for more than 200 episodes between 1993 and 2002, the sci-fi show featuring investigators Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) returned for two spin-off movies and then two new series between 2016 and 2018. The return featured both the mythology and characters (including the Cigarette Smoking Man, the Lone Gunmen and FBI director Skinner) that fans loved, and best of all, the final season wrapped up some of the mysteries viewers had been waiting more than a decade to be explained. While not much is currently known about the upcoming new season of Doctor Foster, the initial announcement suggests that, like The X-Files, cliffhangers will finally be resolved, including the biggest one of all – what happened to Gemma Foster’s son Tom, who disappeared at the end of the 2017 season. The synopsis for the new episodes begins: "10 years ago, on discovering her husband Simon was having an affair, Gemma Foster enacted a masterful revenge. But the fallout was devastating when her 15-year-old son Tom disappeared. Now, in series 3, Gemma is still a GP, still in the same house, but on the brink of a fresh start: she has met someone new and is getting married…" The BBC have also confirmed that all three of the main cast – Suranne Jones as Gemma, Bertie Carvel as Simon and Tom Taylor as Tom – are set to return, along with writer and creator Mike Bartlett. (Sadly, it’s unlikely Jodie Comer will be back as Simon’s mistress-turned-wife Kate as she left him partway through the second season, but we’d be up for that twisted reunion). These are all good signs that Doctor Foster season 3 could be a success, and a tease from Suranne Jones about what the series will focus on makes it even more appealing. "When I got the call to ask if I wanted to return as Gemma Foster, I knew the time was right. We needed space from the first two series, and we needed Tom – Gemma and Simon’s runaway son – to return as an adult with questions,” she said. "For me, this time around it’s about accountability and questioning – can we ever truly sever ties with our past and the damage or traumas that haunt us, so we can fully move forward? Gemma and Simon have so much to unpick!” The fact that Doctor Foster still generates so much buzz nine years on is testament to what came before. Whether season 3 can match that remains to be seen, but the early signs suggest it might just do it again. Doctor Foster season 3 will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Seasons 1-2 are available to stream on iPlayer now. Add Doctor Foster to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why weren't three major Brassic stars in the show's finale?
Brassic has come to an end after seven seasons, but some fan favourite characters didn’t make it to the final episode.
Hit Sky comedy series Brassic has come to an end after seven seasons of mayhem from the Hawley gang of amateur thieves led by Joe Gilgun’s Vinnie O’Neill. The final episode left some questions unanswered, such as who fired the shot in the woods that injured Vinnie, but the biggest mystery for many fans is why fan favourites Carol, Cardi and Erin weren’t in the finale at all. The reason Michelle Keegan, who plays Erin, was absent for much of the season is that she was pregnant during production in late 2024 and early 2025. She filmed some early scenes – in the school reunion episode you can see she is wearing a big coat to hide her pregnancy bump – and then returned after giving birth to daughter Palma to make her final appearance. Erin isn’t in the finale, but in the penultimate episode, she calls Vinnie and has a heartfelt chat with him when she gets stuck in a lift, leaving fans with a long awaited romantic moment between the pair, even if it is over the phone. And while Keegan has other projects in the pipeline, including ITV crime drama The Blame, she doesn’t rule out a return for Erin in the future. “I love this show and for me it’s felt like home,” she said before filming the final episodes of Brassic. “Every year, I’d go off and do other projects and then I’d come back home to Brassic as it was always at the same time every year. "It was the nicest job to do because it was like seeing all your mates again. It’s going to hit me more this year when it’s not coming back, but part of me believes it is still coming back again.” Also absent from the finale are Cardi and Carol (played by Tom Hanson and Bronagh Gallagher) and in fact they barely feature in the final season at all, and don’t reappear for the last episode. It is explained via a video call early on that they are in Ireland, working on their marriage, and the couple aren’t seen again. Part of the reason for their absence is that both Hanson and Gallagher were committed to other projects that clashed with the filming of the final season of Brassic – Hanson was making a new Irish series called These Sacred Vows, while singer and actress Gallagher has filmed How to Get to Heaven from Belfast for Netflix, and has also been performing on tour with her band. Read more: Brassic alternate ending revealed by star as closing scenes sparked big debate Brassic future teased by star Ryan Sampson as series comes to a close In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, their co-star, Ryan Samson, who plays Tommo, revealed what it was like on set without them. “We really missed them,” he said. “I love the pair of them so much, and it was really sad that they weren’t there. But I think they were just like, we've done it for seven years now, so enough's enough. But then, as it turned out, that was last series anyway. It was a bit sad for them not to be in it fully. "And I think that's the thing about it doing something for ages, you can't go on forever, and there has to be a point when you start going, ‘okay, I wanna do something else.’” Of course, many other favourites from the show did return for the final season, including Dominic West, who plays Dr Chris, Vinnie’s highly unethical GP. He joined the series after becoming friends with Joe Gilgun during the filming of the movie Pride in 2014, where he encouraged Joe to write down the stories from his life that would become the inspiration for Brassic. View oEmbed on the source website “Joe is the funniest man I have ever met,” West said. “He is a brilliant actor and performer. I remember seeing him first in the opening scenes of This Is England as the character Woody. It’s one of the greatest scenes of all time. It’s all him, the whole time, he was improvising the whole thing. “Brassic is like an extended version of that, he’s one of the great actors of this country. I would have done a lot better in Pride if I hadn’t been hanging around with him. He was just making me cry with laughter the whole time we filmed. But out of that film came our friendship and then came this!” “I’m going to miss it,” he added. “I can’t quite believe it’s the last series. I’ve enjoyed every second and I hope you [the fans] have. Joe is a genius, and I hope we have shown the world that. The Gilgun genius!” Brassic seasons 1-7 are available to stream now on Sky. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Add Brassic to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Brassic alternate ending revealed by star as closing scenes sparked big debate
Tommo star Ryan Sampson talks to RadioTimes.com about the Brassic finale.**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE BRASSIC FINALE**
**Warning: Major Brassic finale spoilers ahead.** Sky TV’s hugely popular comedy series Brassic has ended with a literal bang, but actor Ryan Sampson, who plays Tommo, has revealed the final scene could have been very different. Episode 6 of Brassic’s final season has Vinnie (Joe Gilgun), Tommo and the gang meeting rival criminals Davey MacDonagh (Neil Ashton) and Joey Kittens (Dylan Baldwin) for lunch at a remote countryside pub in the snow. Before they arrived, Davey removed the staff and placed his own cousins behind the bar. He also shot Joey, and once everyone is settled in for the meal, he holds them all hostage. Trying to save his friends, Vinnie goes with an unhinged (and armed) Davey into the woods, and after the rest of the gang overpower Davey’s cousins, they head off to find him. Unfortunately, Joey’s niece Fay, who also has a rifle, finds her uncle’s body in the snow and blames Vinnie, aiming the gun at him and then at Davey. Vinnie pulls out the vintage gun he found in the pub, and a stand-off follows when Davey refuses to put his gun down. The search party then hear a gunshot echo through the trees, and viewers see Vinnie lying in the snow, with blood by his side. As the camera draws close, we see flashbacks to Vinnie’s life with his friends, and his love for Erin (Michelle Keegan) and their son Tyler, before he sits up and the end credits roll. “There was a lot of debate over what the exact last second should be,” Sampson confessed in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. “Should he sit up? Should he have the flashbacks? Should someone else? Was it someone else who was going to get shot at one point? It went round in the drafts we had," he explained. "There were so many, and I think they wanted to leave it open, just in case they want to do more Brassic later. So that's why Vinnie opens his eyes and stuff and sits up.” Read more: Brassic future teased by star Ryan Sampson as series comes to a close Farewell to Brassic – one of the funniest and rudest shows on TV “I think at one point he was meant to get shot in the head, and then he didn't and I seem to remember Joe [Gilgun] being like, ‘I don't want to be dying in last scene,’” Sampson added. “So obviously, he's got an idea about maybe we don't want it to end, but to be honest, there's no concrete plan yet. It just feels like it's definitely ended. But now there's a door being left open, you know?” Sampson also noted that Danny Brocklehurst, who co-created the show with Joe Gilgun, may have his own plans for Brassic in the future, which meant that Vinnie had to survive the shooting. “I think there's a sneaky idea that Danny’s mentioned that he'd kind of like to write a film of it at some point. So who knows if that will happen? I don't know, but it's obviously in the back of his head.” View oEmbed on the source website The final episode, entitled The Carvery (the remote pub is chosen as a meeting place because it has a good carvery) is already pretty cinematic. It pays homage to Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 movie The Hateful Eight, which starred Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh as a group of strangers who seek refuge in a stagecoach inn during a blizzard a few years after the American Civil War. “Episode 6, I think is one of the most cinematic episodes we've done,” Sampson said. “The CGI budget, apparently, is just through the roof with the snow. So I'm really proud of that. I think it looks really amazing. "But also there's all these little Easter eggs in it. The whole episode is meant to be like The Hateful Eight. So Darren [Finch], the costume designer, has snuck in all these little references in the costumes. Kurt Russell wears this huge bear skin coat in the movie, and so I'm wearing this big, like fur number, just to like echo it. I thought it was really clever.” The wintry effects in the episode had to be added using computer imagery as there was no snow when the cast and crew were filming. “The really mad thing is, at the beginning of the series, we had loads of snow and we were fighting to film stuff that didn't have any snow in it,” Sampson said. “For the bit where the second half of the bus is going over the cliff [in the first episode], there was snow all around. So they had to melt all the snow, and then we had to come back when it wasn't there to film. And then when they were doing the snow scenes in the final episode, they had to just put all this snow in. So this is the nonsense of making TV.” Sampson's next project post-Brassic is the third season of the comedy series Mr Bigstuff, which he is currently writing and stars in with Danny Dyer. While both series are known for being rude and adventurous on screen, he said there are big differences behind the scenes between Brassic and Mr Bigstuff. “Every set has got its own different flavour,” he explained. “It's like every workplace you go into, it's got its own sort of set of rules and so on. On Brassic, it's very much led by Joe [Gilgun] so it's raucous and sweary and a bit chaotic sort of thing. Mr Big Stuff is mainly led by Danny, who is like, ‘We're a fucking team’. And it's a big loving sort of thing.” While Sampson doesn’t always enjoy writing the show — “I'm meant to be writing it right now, but I'm enjoying not doing it and talking to you instead, coming up with the outline and getting it all right is just a bloody nightmare” — he loves the series and hopes for more Mr Bigstuff in the future. “In my head, there's an overall story where we're going to in Mr Bigstuff. I would say it is a five-series arc, but we'll see if we get there.” Brassic seasons 1-7 are available to stream now on Sky. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Add Brassic to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Brassic future teased by star Ryan Sampson as series comes to a close
The Mr Bigstuff creator and star has played Tommo since 2019. ***Major Brassic finale spoilers ahead***
**Warning: Major Brassic finale spoilers ahead.** After seven seasons of friendship, mad heists, exploding bodies and the bonkers monologues of Farmer Jim, Sky’s hit comedy series Brassic has come to an end. The final episode leaves the fate of Vinnie (Joe Gilgun), Ash (Aaron Heffernan), Tommo (Ryan Sampson) and the rest of the Hawley band of amateur thieves up in the air. All of the main cast survive a trip to a remote pub, despite a few fraught moments and a gunshot heard before the end credits. In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Ryan Sampson told us that while the finale is definitely the end of the series, it may not be the last we see of the Brassic gang. “I would have been a fan of killing us all off, because I just think, if you're gonna do it, do it,” he said. “But I think there's a sneaky idea that Danny’s [writer Danny Brocklehurst] mentioned that he'd kind of like to write a film of it at some point. So who knows if that will happen? I don't know, but it's obviously in the back of his head.” “Would I want it to happen? I can't really add anything, because we've done a lot, you know? I don't think there's any stones that we haven't turned, so I'm kind of happy with it.” However, Sampson doesn’t rule out returning to the role of Rat & Cutter pub manager Tommo, although he wouldn’t want to leave it too long. “Maybe we’ll see Tommo again, but maybe not. I don't know. I think sometimes it's quite good to leave everything when they're quite youthful characters. I can't really see them in their fifties. Tommo with mortgages and gambling debts. Yeah, that might be a bit sad.” The 39-year-old star, who is currently writing the third season of his comedy series Mr Bigstuff, revealed that he’s really going to miss filming the Yorkshire-set series and hanging out with the cast, who have all become close friends during Brassic’s six-year run. “I sort of wish Tommo was real because I'm gonna miss this character that we've made over the years,” he said. “It's weird, and it's sad that I'm not going to see the cast as much. I will see them, but it's really weird that I won't ever see those characters again. Because we improvise a bit in character, and because we hang out for so long, I feel like I know those people [the characters] as well, and I won't ever get to see them again, obviously.” View oEmbed on the source website “Like, I'm gonna miss Carol so much for her insane outfits, her just saying the weirdest things. Bronagh Gallagher's improvisation as Carol is just mad. For one whole series, she was obsessed with mentioning in all her improvs this black fox. And I don't know, it's just funny to think that I'm never gonna see those people again.” Sampson also shared the one thing he won’t miss about filming Brassic now the series is over. “I don't know if you noticed, but Tommo always gets doused in like, oil or s**t or petrol, or whatever it is. Every single episode, there's always something. So I'm really not gonna miss that. "I'm not gonna miss filming in the most stupid locations, spending six months a year up a mountain with it pissing rain. It is always raining when we film it, and you have to just work it in, and it looks great on camera. So we're not gonna miss that.” Brassic seasons 1-7 are available to stream now on Sky. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Add Brassic to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jodie Whittaker gives update on Attack the Block sequel - and whether she would be part of it
Years before she was the Doctor, Whittaker starred in another hit sci-fi project.
Pretty much ever since it was released to rave reviews all the way back in 2011, there have been rumours that Joe Cornish could return to make a sequel to his south London-set sci-fi Attack the Block. Those rumours went up a notch in 2021, when it appeared to be confirmed that John Boyega would be reprising his role as Moses in a follow-up, and then again earlier this year, when the star explained that he had read Cornish's "phenomenal" draft for the sequel (via Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz). So when RadioTimes.com recently spoke to Jodie Whittaker for a Big RT Interview about her new ITV drama Frauds, we couldn't help but ask if she'd heard any more news on a timeline for a new film – and if she would be back in her role as Samantha Adams. "There’s been talk of it for years, and I know no more than last time," was her answer. "Which is, is there going to be one? When is it shooting?" She added: "Absolutely I would do it. I think something like Attack the Block, there's always that chat. So hopefully that continues. I need to organise myself, send a self tape to Joe Cornish. I can definitely pop up again – maybe I should send him an aggressive email!" Speaking more generally about her experience making that first film, she described it as one of her "happiest times". "As a kid, I was hugely influenced by all the '80s creature features, the '90s adventure films," she said. "I was in our version of that, and I adored it." Back in 2023, Boyega told RadioTimes.com that the idea of coming back to London to shoot a sequel and revisit his character "just fills me with joy". He added: "It just feels like a treat, a nice treat for myself. Like honestly, sometimes I like to see actors where they've revisited a story because it's something that they hold dear in their heart. "And it's good to know that we have an audience out there that is waiting for this as well, and a new audience that is going to be exposed to all the madness. And I just can't wait to be a Brit in something again!" More recently he claimed that, with a first draft written, the creative team were now "just cooking it to make it right for everyone". "We obviously need more money for those aliens," he said. "We want it to look real good for that 2026 crowd. "But for us, it's just about developing the story and making sure Moses and the rest of the characters that we have left are fully hashed out before bringing it out and going to shoot. "But I'm very passionate and very willing that we will shoot Attack the Block 2. It will happen. You're going to have to see, but the story is crazy. I've got to get in the gym." In addition to Boyega and Whittaker, Attack the Block starred Nick Frost, Franz Drameh and Alex Ismail and followed a teenage street gang who are forced to defend themselves from alien invaders who arrive in their council estate on Guy Fawkes Night. Frauds is available to stream on ITVX now and Attack the Block is streaming on Prime Video. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Outlander: Blood of my Blood cast tease season 2 – and say fans will "lose their minds"
The first season of Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood may have just come to an end, but the cast, including Harriet Slater (Ellen), Jamie Roy (Brian), Jeremy Irvine (Henry) and Hermione Corfield (Julia) are already back in Scotland and well under way filming the second season of the period fantasy drama. Season 1 ended with Ellen and Brian together at last, on the run from her family (including volatile Mackenzie brothers Dougal and Colum) and the Grants. The show’s other couple, time travelling husband and wife Julia and Henry, meanwhile, were reunited and, with baby William in tow, ended the episode standing at the Craig Na Dun stones, hoping to travel back to the 20th century. While any season 2 plot twists are very carefully guarded secrets, the four stars of the series hinted in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com what fans may expect to happen when the show returns for a second season next year. “I can tell you this, season 2 starts in a place that even I couldn’t figure out how that character had got there,” teased Irvine. Corfield added: “We’re now filming episode seven of season 2, and I could not tell you what is about to happen to Julia. I’ve got no idea myself!” Read more: Outlander: Blood of My Blood showrunner teases potential future spin-offs Outlander: Blood of my Blood cast react to "shocking" season 1 finale: 'Nobody saw that one coming' While Irvine joked that “what I’ve learned from this show is no one is safe — are we going to get killed off?,” he also noted that season 2 promises to be even better than season 1. “What you have with season one is you’re setting up all these characters, so a lot of it is about a person and their bit of backstory. So we really get free rein in season 2. "There are some days on set where I just went, ‘where did they get the budget for this?’ This season, it’s gone up a level, and there’s some wild, wild stuff. And I’ve really enjoyed filming this season. I think it’s going to be very exciting.” For the show’s other couple, Ellen and Brian, the final episode of season 1 did hint at what would happen next — that Brian now faces a hard decision on what to do as the first Jacobite Rising is about to start, symbolised by the crosses that are set on fire on the hills at the end of the episode. “The fiery crosses are lit, and it’s given them [Ellen and Brian] an ultimatum, a crossroads,” explained Roy. “They think they’re safe but does Brian go and do the right thing, which is report back to his Laird for war and get ready for that, or does he choose to stay with Ellen and they run away and become fugitives and leave Scotland forever?” “Ellen must be thinking ‘what have I got myself into? I’ve just left the castle, I had a lovely bed, it was warm, and now I’m in a hole in the ground, and you’re leaving me, potentially.’” Slater added: “She ran away without a change of clothes, and there’s a lot for Ellen to get used to. She’s lived quite a Bougie lifestyle up until now, but he’s worth it.” Having already met beloved Outlander characters such as Colum, Dougal, Ned Gowan, Murtagh and even young Angus and Rupert in the first season of the prequel series, fans are hoping that season two will also introduce other familiar faces — perhaps even Brian and Ellen’s son, Jamie Fraser himself. When asked about the possibility of baby Jamie or his sister Jenny making an appearance, Roy would only offer a teasing response. “Well, everyone has to be born at some point. Take that as you will!” he said, laughing. “There is one [character name] I saw the other day in a script that we just got and I thought, oh people are going to lose their minds over this one!” Outlander: Blood of My Blood is available to stream on MGM+ in the UK. You can buy Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books on Amazon. Add Outlander: Blood of My Blood to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jodie Whittaker reveals new drama Frauds includes moments you never usually see on TV
The actor spoke to RadioTimes.com about the drama's unusual central dynamic.
Frauds star Jodie Whittaker has praised the ITV thriller for including moments that women often don't get to perform in mainstream dramas. The Doctor Who alum plays Sam in the new series, a British expat and retired con artist living in Spain, whose former partner-in-crime is released from prison on compassionate grounds. Sam and Bert (Suranne Jones) haven't spoken in years, partly due to the latter being a tremendously reckless influence; naturally, she's looking to pull off one more epic heist before succumbing to a terminal illness. Frauds explores the volatile relationship between these two women, which at times escalates beyond vicious words to physical violence, such as a swimming pool scrap that Whittaker recalled in a chat with RadioTimes.com. "The idea of them is always more fun than the reality," she said of on-screen fights, "but I suppose that [pool] scene made me want to take the job, in a way, because you don't see that. "You don't see women of that age having that kind of response to each other – that response is as normal as crying and cuddling each other, but we only see the crying and the cuddling." Whittaker recalled that shooting the suspenseful sequence – in which Sam holds Bert's head under the water, causing her to struggle desperately and cough up blood – took several hours, with "a massive amount of choreography". "It feels really satisfying, because it becomes this rhythmical dance between the two of you," she explained. "And once you've got that down, then you can add all the elements of the dramatisation, the tension, and the humour. "That's one thing I love about every scene [in Frauds]. There was always something in it that kind of had that tone, where you sit in what you think it is, and then the tone slightly shifts, and it's something completely different." Previously, Whittaker and co-star Jones reflected on how rare it is to see women leading the typically male-dominated heist genre, with the former particularly relishing showing a "different side" after years spent inhabiting The Doctor. Frauds is available to stream on ITVX. Episodes air Sundays and Mondays at 9pm on ITV1. Add Frauds to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood cast react to "shocking" season 1 finale: "Nobody saw that coming"
"I honestly think it is going to split fans."
Warning: contains major spoilers for the Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1 finale. The first season of Blood of My Blood has come to an end in typically jaw-dropping Outlander fashion, with the prequel series boasting a time-travelling cliffhanger and a shocking death. While most fans expected that the series’ two romantic pairs – 18th century Highlanders Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie, and 20th century English married couple Julia and Henry Beauchamp – would be reunited by the finale (at least for the time being), there was one plot twist that surprised even the cast when they were first given the scripts. In the first season of Outlander, Jamie Fraser told his new wife Claire how his parents, Brian and Ellen, had escaped Castle Leoch, saying: “They slipped out of the castle, right under the noses of three hundred clansmen!” And in the first season finale of Blood of My Blood, viewers finally saw that happen, as Brian came to spirit Ellen away before her wedding to Malcolm Grant could take place. Unfortunately, Malcolm discovered them in a Leoch hallway and refused to let Ellen go without a fight, resulting in a violent and bloody confrontation between Malcolm and Brian that ended in Malcolm’s death. Speaking about the shock scene, Harriet Slater, who plays Ellen, told RadioTimes.com exclusively: “Everything to do with Malcolm was a huge surprise. Nobody saw that coming. So when we all read that, it was like, ‘What? Sweet, sweet Malc!’ “It’s so satisfying because I feel like we’ve waited for it. We’ve waited 10 whole episodes for them to finally be free and have each other, and for Ellen to be free of that betrothal that she never wanted in the first place. I think killing Malcolm was the only way they were ever going to get out of that.” She continued: “They didn’t want to kill him. Brian says a couple of times, ‘Please don’t do this,’ because he knows how it’s going to end. They give him opportunities to back down but he’s hell bent on revenge instilled in him by his nasty uncle. So it was unfortunately the only way out – it was kill or be killed.” “That was unfortunate for old Malcy, but you gotta do what you gotta do,” added Jamie Roy (Brian). “I would imagine fans will be surprised. Because most people know how the story ends, they know we get together, we have children, Jamie Fraser, and all that stuff, but it’s the ‘how’ which is the most fun part. “I don’t think anybody is going to see that coming with Malcolm. I think it is going to be a huge shock. And I know Malcolm is such a likeable guy as well, so I honestly think it is going to split fans.” Read more: Outlander: Blood of My Blood showrunner teases potential future spin-offs Outlander: Blood of My Blood's Jeremy Irvine was initially sceptical about character romance Jeremy Irvine and Hermione Corfield, who play Henry and Julia, were also surprised by Malcolm’s death when they first learned of it. “I think the death is pretty shocking,” said Hermione. “It will be quite shocking to fans.” Jeremy agreed. “I was so gutted about that. Jhon [Lumsden, who plays Malcolm], he’s just such a lovely actor to work with. That hurt, reading that script.” Outlander: Blood of My Blood is available to stream on MGM+ in the UK. You can buy Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books on Amazon. Add Outlander: Blood of My Blood to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jodie Whittaker reveals the iconic TV role she would have shaved her head for
Currently starring in Frauds on ITV, and having had many notable roles in series including Toxic Town, Time, Broadchurch and Doctor Who, there is still one part that Jodie Whittaker has revealed she wished she had gotten to play. Speaking with RadioTimes.com for The Big RT Interview, Whittaker has said that she would have happily shaved her head, if she had been able to play Eleven in the first season of Stranger Things. She said: "I would have loved to have been Eleven in Stranger Things. I would have loved to have been a kid with a shaved head!” "When I saw the first series I thought, 'Oh my God, to be Millie Bobby Brown right now, what a part,'" Whittaker continued. "The first season of that show was incredible. It homages everything I adore, and that part is incredible. If I could have been a child with a skinhead, that would be the role for me, but I don’t think I was in the running." Whittaker laughed as she said: "So, no animosity to Millie Bobby Brown," before suggesting that "Maybe if I had tried a little bit of sellotape to make me look a bit younger?" Stranger Things fans are currently waiting for the show's fifth and final season, which will be released in three parts starting later this year, while Whittaker can currently be seen playing con-woman Sam in ITV's Frauds, opposite Suranne Jones. Explaining what drew her to Frauds, Whittaker previously said: "When I read it, I was just blown away by how different these characters felt [and] this particular relationship, and the world that we were in… but it still felt authentic. I felt like I knew these people. "As extreme as some of the characters are – we're all pretty heightened – but there's some kind of familiarity with it, and within this specific friendship." She also made a return to her role as the Doctor on Doctor Who earlier this year, for a cameo appearance in Ncuti Gatwa's final episode, and has said she "wouldn't hesitate" to come back again in future. "It’s just my absolute happiness, Doctor Who," she told The Times. "If someone said to me in 20 years, ‘I’ve written an episode and the Thirteenth comes back,’ I just wouldn’t hesitate. It’s absolute joy." Frauds is available to stream on ITVX now. Stranger Things seasons 1-4 are available on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add Frauds to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Jodie Whittaker on forgiving Suranne Jones, keeping Doctor Who secrets and the role she would have loved to play
Three years on from Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker swaps the TARDIS for Tenerife in ITV’s darkly comic heist drama Frauds, a tale of friendship, betrayal – and a few bruising fight scenes.
In the three years since she retired her sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker has tackled serious roles in gritty Australian drama One Night, Jimmy McGovern’s acclaimed prison series Time and the fact-based miniseries Toxic Town. Jodie’s latest role, however, gives her the chance to mix the dark scenes she often plays with funnier ones as she teams up with Suranne Jones to play Sam and Bert, two old friends and former partners in crime who embark on one last money-making heist together in ITV’s Frauds. Co-created by Jones (who plays Bert) and writer Anne-Marie O’Connor, the project appealed to Jodie, 43, because it was so different from anything she had done before. “I think what is amazing about Frauds is having Suranne as one of the creators and she’s telling stories that she doesn’t feel that she’s been a part of before,” Jodie says, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. Filmed in Tenerife (doubling for mainland Spain), the series begins with the pair reconnecting when Bert is released from prison after serving time for a crime they were both involved in. While Sam is pleased to see her friend, she is also wary of their relationship (which Jodie describes as “toxic”), especially when Bert uses devious means to convince her to commit a dangerous robbery. “Sam is such a different kind of role for me to play within this dynamic,” Jodie explains. “It was a wonderful challenge to have that kind of repressed rage that she has, and also there’s such a complicated back story between them, and having the moments where it flashes. It’s like someone trying to contain this, and contain Bert, but also themselves. "I’m used to playing a lot of different types of roles, but I would say that a lot of the time I play people where their emotions are quite quick to the surface, and Sam is the opposite of that.” The role of Sam is also quite physical, with Jodie and Suranne’s characters having a play fight in a bull ring in the first episode that involved Suranne wielding a shirt like a bullfighter’s cape close to her co-star’s face. “I think there was many a time we were kicking or accidentally bashing into each other, and there were definitely some close calls, but it’s all fine and I can forgive her instantly,” Jodie laughs. Read more: Jodie Whittaker and Suranne Jones on what makes Frauds "fresh" – and the impact they hope it has Jodie Whittaker on showing a 'different side' in Frauds – and why she hasn't worked with Suranne Jones before Another action scene involved the pair fighting in a swimming pool after Sam discovers that Bert has betrayed her. “That was the scene that made me want to take the job, in a way, because you don’t usually see that. You don’t see women of that age having that kind of response to each other, but that response is as normal as crying and cuddling each other, but we only normally see the crying and cuddling,” she says. “What I loved about Frauds is it explores fear, the relationship between these two women, and it shows the versions that are within all of us but aren’t necessarily shown on television.” “So when we got to film that, I was really super excited. Obviously, once you are four hours in, you’re a bit like, ‘oh, god!’ but they are really fun to do. I love the fact that within a stunt scene there’s always a massive amount of choreography so it feels really satisfying, because it becomes this rhythmical dance between you. And once you’ve got that down, then you can add all the elements, the dramatisation, the tension and the humour. That’s one thing I love about every scene in this. There was always something in it that kind of had that tone, where you sit in what you think it is, and then the tone slightly shifts, and it’s something completely different.” During the making of Frauds, Jodie had to pull off her own secret operation – a quick return to Cardiff to film scenes for the surprise return of her Thirteenth Doctor in the series 15 finale of Doctor Who that was broadcast in May this year and marked Ncuti Gatwa’s final regular appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor. “Suranne and the production team on Frauds didn’t know I was going to shoot it as it was under a complete pseudonym,” she explains. “They knew it was a pick up [the filming of extra footage after a main production has wrapped] on something. Of course, it wasn’t a pick up, it was a brand new day. "It had a whole level of secrecy, because Doctor Who has to have its pool so tight. Wonderfully for me, Frauds released me to film it, I got to get there and no one leaked it.” Jodie admits that her time on Doctor Who has meant she is “brilliant at keeping secrets”. “I think I loved how secretive it was, because I understood the sadness when you’ve spent six to 10 months working on something, and for someone to not even casually, to intentionally leak a spoiler, and you’ve worked so hard on it.” “I’m the least affected, it’s the art department, it’s the writers, it’s all the creatives and also the real fans and the Whovians, the most loyal and wonderful group of fans you could ever encounter. They love Doctor Who because it can go in any direction and be a surprise, so to have the spoilers is just frustrating. So I understood the level of secrecy, and I love a rule! If you say, ‘don’t tell me, don’t tell anyone,’ I won’t tell anyone. I am a vault. I was a good Doctor because I never leaked anything.” Jodie inhabited the role of the Thirteenth Doctor from 2017 until 2022, and it’s clear that playing the Time Lord holds a special place in her heart. “I love Doctor Who more than I can ever describe,” she says. “Our seasons were longer than any other job I’ve ever done and I moved to Wales to film it, so it wasn’t just the job, it was the people, it was the life.” There are other past roles she is particularly fond of, especially trainee nurse Samantha in writer/director Joe Cornish’s cult sci-fi comedy horror movie Attack The Block, where she starred alongside John Boyega, battling aliens invading a south London council estate. “Attack The Block was one of my happiest times,” she remembers. “As a kid, I was hugely influenced by all the 80s creature features, and the 90s adventure films. I was in our version of that, and I adored it.” Fans have been calling for a sequel since the film was released in 2011, and Jodie admits she is one of them. “There’s been talk of a sequel for years and I know no more than last time [it was rumoured]. I would absolutely do it. There’s probably no job I wouldn’t go back to. If someone said ‘do you want to do Black Mirror again?’ I’d say yes. I don’t think I have had an experience I wouldn’t revisit and I think with Attack The Block there is always that chat. So hopefully that continues. Maybe I should be sending a self-tape to Joe Cornish as I could definitely pop up again. I could send him an aggressive email!” West Yorkshire-born Jodie was 29 when she was cast in Attack The Block, and just 23 when she made her big screen debut in the movie Venus, for which her co-star Peter O’Toole was nominated for his eighth Oscar at the age of 74. Looking back, it’s a role she describes as “such a gift” that has shaped her view on acting in the years since. “It was one of the last roles he played in his life and he was at the end of what can only be described as a phenomenal, inspiring career,” she says. “He’s one of the great British or Irish acting legends, and he was a wonderful human who was such a joy to be around. I was fresh out of drama school and it was a master class with people like Vanessa Redgrave, Peter O’Toole, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips and director Roger Michell. "And it goes to show that you can still be doing phenomenal parts in your seventies, and I think what an exciting thing that is.” With a career that has included the aforementioned Black Mirror (the 2011 episode The Entire History of You), acclaimed drama Broadchurch, medical series Trust Me and the upcoming Dear England, as well as stage performances in Antigone and The Duchess, Jodie Whittaker has already played a rich variety of roles, but admits there is one part that she would have loved to have taken on… though sadly she wasn’t quite the right age for it. “I would have loved to have been Eleven in Stranger Things,” she reveals. “I would have loved to have been a kid with a shaved head!” “When I saw the first series I thought, ‘Oh my God, to be Millie Bobby Brown right now, what a part. The first season of that show was incredible. It homages everything I adore, and that part is incredible. If I could have been a child with a skinhead, that would be the role for me, but I don’t think I was in the running. So, no animosity to Millie Bobby Brown,” she laughs. “Maybe if I had tried a little bit of sellotape to make me look a bit younger?” Frauds premieres on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Sunday 5th October. Add Frauds to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jodie Whittaker on forgiving Suranne Jones, Doctor Who secrets and the role she wishes she'd played
Add Frauds to your watchlist In the three years since she retired her sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker has tackled serious roles in gritty Australian drama One Night, Jimmy McGovern’s acclaimed prison series Time and the fact-based miniseries Toxic Town. Jodie’s latest role, however, gives her the chance to mix the dark scenes she often plays with funnier ones as she teams up with Suranne Jones to play Sam and Bert, two old friends and former partners in crime who embark on one last money-making heist together in ITV’s Frauds. Co-created by Jones (who plays Bert) and writer Anne-Marie O’Connor, the project appealed to Jodie, 43, because it was so different from anything she had done before. “I think what is amazing about Frauds is having Suranne as one of the creators and she’s telling stories that she doesn’t feel that she’s been a part of before,” Jodie says, speaking exclusively to RT. View Green Video on the source website Filmed in Tenerife (doubling for mainland Spain), the series begins with the pair reconnecting when Bert is released from prison after serving time for a crime they were both involved in. While Sam is pleased to see her friend, she is also wary of their relationship (which Jodie describes as “toxic”), especially when Bert uses devious means to convince her to commit a dangerous robbery. “Sam is such a different kind of role for me to play within this dynamic,” Jodie explains. “It was a wonderful challenge to have that kind of repressed rage that she has, and also there’s such a complicated back story between them, and having the moments where it flashes. It’s like someone trying to contain this, and contain Bert, but also themselves. "I’m used to playing a lot of different types of roles, but I would say that a lot of the time I play people where their emotions are quite quick to the surface, and Sam is the opposite of that.” The role of Sam is also quite physical, with Jodie and Suranne’s characters having a play fight in a bull ring in the first episode that involved Suranne wielding a shirt like a bullfighter’s cape close to her co-star’s face. “I think there was many a time we were kicking or accidentally bashing into each other, and there were definitely some close calls, but it’s all fine and I can forgive her instantly,” Jodie laughs. Another action scene involved the pair fighting in a swimming pool after Sam discovers that Bert has betrayed her. “That was the scene that made me want to take the job, in a way, because you don’t usually see that. You don’t see women of that age having that kind of response to each other, but that response is as normal as crying and cuddling each other, but we only normally see the crying and cuddling,” she says. “What I loved about Frauds is it explores fear, the relationship between these two women, and it shows the versions that are within all of us but aren’t necessarily shown on television.” “So when we got to film that, I was really super excited. Obviously, once you are four hours in, you’re a bit like, ‘oh, god!’ but they are really fun to do. I love the fact that within a stunt scene there’s always a massive amount of choreography so it feels really satisfying, because it becomes this rhythmical dance between you. And once you’ve got that down, then you can add all the elements, the dramatisation, the tension and the humour. That’s one thing I love about every scene in this. There was always something in it that kind of had that tone, where you sit in what you think it is, and then the tone slightly shifts, and it’s something completely different.” During the making of Frauds, Jodie had to pull off her own secret operation – a quick return to Cardiff to film scenes for the surprise return of her Thirteenth Doctor in the series 15 finale of Doctor Who that was broadcast in May this year and marked Ncuti Gatwa’s final regular appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor. “Suranne and the production team on Frauds didn’t know I was going to shoot it as it was under a complete pseudonym,” she explains. “They knew it was a pick up [the filming of extra footage after a main production has wrapped] on something. Of course, it wasn’t a pick up, it was a brand new day. "It had a whole level of secrecy, because Doctor Who has to have its pool so tight. Wonderfully for me, Frauds released me to film it, I got to get there and no one leaked it.” Jodie admits that her time on Doctor Who has meant she is “brilliant at keeping secrets”. “I think I loved how secretive it was, because I understood the sadness when you’ve spent six to 10 months working on something, and for someone to not even casually, to intentionally leak a spoiler, and you’ve worked so hard on it.” “I’m the least affected, it’s the art department, it’s the writers, it’s all the creatives and also the real fans and the Whovians, the most loyal and wonderful group of fans you could ever encounter. They love Doctor Who because it can go in any direction and be a surprise, so to have the spoilers is just frustrating. So I understood the level of secrecy, and I love a rule! If you say, ‘don’t tell me, don’t tell anyone,’ I won’t tell anyone. I am a vault. I was a good Doctor because I never leaked anything.” Jodie inhabited the role of the Thirteenth Doctor from 2017 until 2022, and it’s clear that playing the Time Lord holds a special place in her heart. “I love Doctor Who more than I can ever describe,” she says. “Our seasons were longer than any other job I’ve ever done and I moved to Wales to film it, so it wasn’t just the job, it was the people, it was the life.” There are other past roles she is particularly fond of, especially trainee nurse Samantha in writer/director Joe Cornish’s cult sci-fi comedy horror movie Attack The Block, where she starred alongside John Boyega, battling aliens invading a south London council estate. “Attack The Block was one of my happiest times,” she remembers. “As a kid, I was hugely influenced by all the 80s creature features, and the 90s adventure films. I was in our version of that, and I adored it.” Fans have been calling for a sequel since the film was released in 2011, and Jodie admits she is one of them. “There’s been talk of a sequel for years and I know no more than last time [it was rumoured]. I would absolutely do it. There’s probably no job I wouldn’t go back to. If someone said ‘do you want to do Black Mirror again?’ I’d say yes. I don’t think I have had an experience I wouldn’t revisit and I think with Attack The Block there is always that chat. So hopefully that continues. Maybe I should be sending a self-tape to Joe Cornish as I could definitely pop up again. I could send him an aggressive email!” West Yorkshire-born Jodie was 29 when she was cast in Attack The Block, and just 23 when she made her big screen debut in the movie Venus, for which her co-star Peter O’Toole was nominated for his eighth Oscar at the age of 74. Looking back, it’s a role she describes as “such a gift” that has shaped her view on acting in the years since. “It was one of the last roles he played in his life and he was at the end of what can only be described as a phenomenal, inspiring career,” she says. “He’s one of the great British or Irish acting legends, and he was a wonderful human who was such a joy to be around. I was fresh out of drama school and it was a master class with people like Vanessa Redgrave, Peter O’Toole, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips and director Roger Michell. "And it goes to show that you can still be doing phenomenal parts in your seventies, and I think what an exciting thing that is.” With a career that has included the aforementioned Black Mirror (the 2011 episode The Entire History of You), acclaimed drama Broadchurch, medical series Trust Me and the upcoming Dear England, as well as stage performances in Antigone and The Duchess, Jodie Whittaker has already played a rich variety of roles, but admits there is one part that she would have loved to have taken on… though sadly she wasn’t quite the right age for it. “I would have loved to have been Eleven in Stranger Things,” she reveals. “I would have loved to have been a kid with a shaved head!” “When I saw the first series I thought, ‘Oh my God, to be Millie Bobby Brown right now, what a part. The first season of that show was incredible. It homages everything I adore, and that part is incredible. If I could have been a child with a skinhead, that would be the role for me, but I don’t think I was in the running. So, no animosity to Millie Bobby Brown,” she laughs. “Maybe if I had tried a little bit of sellotape to make me look a bit younger?”
Farewell to Brassic – one of TV's funniest and rudest shows
After seven seasons, the Sky series created by Joe Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst is coming to an end.
Add season seven of Brassic to your watchlist After seven gloriously debauched seasons, it is time to say goodbye to Sky TV’s hit comedy crime series Brassic. Created by Shameless and Fool Me Once writer Danny Brocklehurst and This Is England and Misfits star Joe Gilgun, Brassic has followed the lives of Vinnie O’Neill (Gilgun) and his band of friends/petty thieves who live in the fictional northern town of Hawley where they all scrape together a living by growing weed and stealing everything from a prize Shetland pony to an entire wedding. While their capers – which usually go hilariously wrong – are a highlight of each episode, the heart of the series belongs to the characters themselves, each brought to glorious and sweary life by the show’s stars. There is single mum Erin (Michelle Keegan), whom Vinnie has always adored, Vinnie’s childhood best friend Dylan (Damien Molony, who left in series four to go and be Bergerac), gentle and sweet Cardi (Tom Hanson) and his fiery wife Carol (Bronagh Gallagher), Irish amateur boxer Ash (Aaron Heffernan), mechanic and podcast obsessive JJ (Parth Thakerar), Erin’s best friend Sugar (Joanna Higson), and entrepreneur Tommo (Ryan Sampson), whose various business enterprises have included local nightclub/sex den The Rat & Cutter and a van he converted into an "erotic love bus" that is so iconic to Brassic fans that it’s now available to rent via Airbnb. The core cast are backed up by some cracking supporting players. Steve Evets, who is best known for his lead role in the Ken Loach movie Looking For Eric, turned what started out as a minor role as grumpy Farmer Jim into a shabbily-dressed, foul-mouthed legend of the show, most memorably in a scene where he offensively rants about a rave (“who wants a disco biscuit?” is the only line we can share, but check out season 2 episode 5 and you won’t regret it). There’s also Ramon Tikaram (as Terence McCann), Neil Ashton (as Davey MacDonagh) and Rachid Sabitri (as Manolito), who have all delivered their own quirky slices of menace as the career criminals and drug lords that Vinnie and his friends have fallen foul of over the years. And no praise for Brassic could ever neglect to mention Dominic West, who plays Vinnie’s GP Chris Coxley, a doctor with a love of fine wine and cannabis, and a fixation for women’s knees. (“Knees, shins, thighs, but mainly knees, I had this marriage, she was my soul mate, but I couldn’t stop wanting to see other women’s knees, to kiss them, to lick them, so I tried it on with a couple of her friends, just getting close to their knees at parties,” is not a phrase you would ever imagine the man who played McNulty in The Wire and Prince Charles in The Crown would utter on screen, but it’s utterly marvellous). There’s so much more to Brassic than crime and rude humour, however. There are nods to classic British movies like Trainspotting and The Italian Job, and terrific guest stars including Lee Mack, Greg Davies, Imelda Staunton (as Dr Chris’s aunt in Brassic’s one and only Christmas episode), and Bill Paterson (whose demise in the show is memorably absurd). Even the music is pitch-perfect, from the choice of Barrett Strong’s Money (That’s What I Want) as the theme, to the use of songs from The Black Keys, Tom Petty, Etta James, The Slits, T-Rex and ABBA, among many others. Recognising how important the music is to the show, in 2022, Joe Gilgun and executive producer David Livingstone went so far as to launch ‘Brassic Unsigned,’ choosing an unsigned artist to feature on the soundtrack of the fourth season, with the winning song Narcissist by Anti!i used in a key scene. It’s also smartly written by Brocklehurst and his team, who try interesting ways to handle some of the storylines, such as an episode featuring a monologue about Vinnie’s relationship with his dad being played out by puppets rather than as a flashback, which is more powerful than you’d expect. In fact, the show triumphs in the way it tackles the more poignant or serious plot lines. Over seven seasons, this has included school bullying, abortion, sexual assault and even modern slavery, while some of the most moving moments – yes, Brassic can break your heart as well as make you snort with laughter – have come from Joe Gilgun’s superb portrayal of Vinnie, who struggles with depression and bipolar disorder (“I’m lonely yet I can’t stand being with people,” he tells Dr Chris). Gilgun, who has spoken in interviews about his own bipolar disorder and how the character of Vinnie is semi-autobiographical, has been nominated four times for a BAFTA but has sadly not yet won, something Brocklehurst noted when he spoke to press announcing that season seven would be the final season for Brassic. “When Joe Gilgun and I sat down to create Brassic, we couldn’t have imagined, in our wildest dreams, that we would do seven series and gather such a loyal and loving fan base,” he said. “It’s been a complete joy to create this eccentric world, but all good things must come to an end, and we want to stop while we are still riding high. Maybe they can finally give us that BAFTA!” And if they don’t, we can only hope that Vinnie, Tommo, Ash, JJ, Cardi, Carol, Sugar and Erin’s final adventure has them stealing one.
Farewell to Brassic – one of the funniest and rudest shows on TV
After seven gloriously debauched seasons, it is time to say goodbye to Sky TV’s hit comedy crime series Brassic. Created by Shameless and Fool Me Once writer Danny Brocklehurst and This Is England and Misfits star Joe Gilgun, Brassic has followed the lives of Vinnie O’Neill (Gilgun) and his band of friends/petty thieves who live in the fictional northern town of Hawley where they all scrape together a living by growing weed and stealing everything from a prize Shetland pony to an entire wedding. While their capers – which usually go hilariously wrong – are a highlight of each episode, the heart of the series belongs to the characters themselves, each brought to glorious and sweary life by the show’s stars. There is single mum Erin (Michelle Keegan), whom Vinnie has always adored, Vinnie’s childhood best friend Dylan (Damien Molony, who left in series four to go and be Bergerac), gentle and sweet Cardi (Tom Hanson) and his fiery wife Carol (Bronagh Gallagher), Irish amateur boxer Ash (Aaron Heffernan), mechanic and podcast obsessive JJ (Parth Thakerar), Erin’s best friend Sugar (Joanna Higson), and entrepreneur Tommo (Ryan Sampson), whose various business enterprises have included local nightclub/sex den The Rat & Cutter and a van he converted into an ‘erotic love bus’ that is so iconic to Brassic fans that it’s now available to rent via Airbnb. The core cast are backed up by some cracking supporting players. Steve Evets, who is best known for his lead role in the Ken Loach movie Looking For Eric, turned what started out as a minor role as grumpy Farmer Jim into a shabbily-dressed, foul-mouthed legend of the show, most memorably in a scene where he offensively rants about a rave (“who wants a disco biscuit?” is the only line we can share, but check out season 2 episode 5 and you won’t regret it). There’s also Ramon Tikaram (as Terence McCann), Neil Ashton (as Davey MacDonagh) and Rachid Sabitri (as Manolito), who have all delivered their own quirky slices of menace as the career criminals and drug lords that Vinnie and his friends have fallen foul of over the years. And no praise for Brassic could ever neglect to mention Dominic West, who plays Vinnie’s GP Chris Coxley, a doctor with a love of fine wine and cannabis, and a fixation for women’s knees. (“Knees, shins, thighs, but mainly knees, I had this marriage, she was my soul mate, but I couldn’t stop wanting to see other women’s knees, to kiss them, to lick them, so I tried it on with a couple of her friends, just getting close to their knees at parties,” is not a phrase you would ever imagine the man who played McNulty in The Wire and Prince Charles in The Crown would utter on screen, but it’s utterly marvellous). There’s so much more to Brassic than crime and rude humour, however. There are nods to classic British movies like Trainspotting and The Italian Job, and terrific guest stars including Lee Mack, Greg Davies, Imelda Staunton (as Dr Chris’s aunt in Brassic’s one and only Christmas episode), and Bill Paterson (whose demise in the show is memorably absurd). Even the music is pitch-perfect, from the choice of Barrett Strong’s Money (That’s What I Want) as the theme, to the use of songs from The Black Keys, Tom Petty, Etta James, The Slits, T-Rex and ABBA, among many others. Recognising how important the music is to the show, in 2022, Joe Gilgun and executive producer David Livingstone went so far as to launch ‘Brassic Unsigned,’ choosing an unsigned artist to feature on the soundtrack of the fourth season, with the winning song Narcissist by Anti!i used in a key scene. It’s also smartly written by Brocklehurst and his team, who try interesting ways to handle some of the storylines, such as an episode featuring a monologue about Vinnie’s relationship with his dad being played out by puppets rather than as a flashback, which is more powerful than you’d expect. In fact, the show triumphs in the way it tackles the more poignant or serious plot lines. Over seven seasons, this has included school bullying, abortion, sexual assault and even modern slavery, while some of the most moving moments – yes, Brassic can break your heart as well as make you snort with laughter – have come from Joe Gilgun’s superb portrayal of Vinnie, who struggles with depression and bipolar disorder (“I’m lonely yet I can’t stand being with people,” he tells Dr Chris). Read more: Brassic stars tease ending may leave fans "furious" with "harrowing" finale Brassic’s Michelle Keegan hopes Erin gets happy ending after season 6 cliffhanger Gilgun, who has spoken in interviews about his own bipolar disorder and how the character of Vinnie is semi-autobiographical, has been nominated four times for a BAFTA but has sadly not yet won, something Brocklehurst noted when he spoke to press announcing that season seven would be the final season for Brassic. “When Joe Gilgun and I sat down to create Brassic, we couldn’t have imagined, in our wildest dreams, that we would do seven series and gather such a loyal and loving fan base,” he said. “It’s been a complete joy to create this eccentric world, but all good things must come to an end, and we want to stop while we are still riding high. Maybe they can finally give us that BAFTA!” And if they don’t, we can only hope that Vinnie, Tommo, Ash, JJ, Cardi, Carol, Sugar and Erin’s final adventure has them stealing one. Brassic season 7 launches on Sky and NOW from Wednesday 25th September, with episodes dropping weekly. Seasons 1-6 are available to stream now. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Ridley's Adrian Dunbar reveals how a friend's tragedy is at the heart of police drama
The actor spoke to RadioTimes.com as the ITV detective series returns.
Adrian Dunbar is back on our screens as a no-nonsense policeman, but this time he’s not playing Line of Duty’s iconic Ted Hastings. Instead, Dunbar has returned to the role of retired detective turned police consultant (and jazz club owner and singer) Alex Ridley in four new feature-length episodes of ITV’s north of England-set crime drama Ridley. Set two years after the original 2022 season, the new episodes follow Alex as he works with his former protégée DI Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh), while still coping with his grief following the death of his wife and adult daughter four years before — a grief that causes him to imagine his daughter is still alive when he sees a woman who looks similar to her. That heartbreaking scene in the first episode is directly inspired by one of Dunbar’s friends. "I remembered there was someone I knew, whose daughter had died tragically in a car crash, and he never quite got over it," Dunbar said in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. "He never got over it to the extent that he didn’t quite believe that she was dead, and that somehow he would turn a corner and she'd be there. It’s a kind of strange reluctance of the mind to accept something. "So I thought, when a young girl shows up at the start [of the first episode], why don't we try and let Ridley immediately project onto her? Because I know this person did this, he would meet a young woman who was so close to the attributes of his daughter and it was almost like she had shown up." "These things can be disturbing. So I thought, let’s use that element. I didn’t want to leave his grief behind," explained Dunbar. "The first series was set two years beyond that moment [when his wife and daughter died], and then at the start of the second series it is another two years along, but that particular incident of losing his wife and daughter, that is the noise in the background for the rest of his life, and so it’s never going to leave him. "At the same time, I think it’s important for audiences that there is an element of being able to move on from grief, because we have to, as humans. But I’m trying to do it in a gradual way. And if we get another series, we’ll be able to move him on further." As well as revealing his hopes for a third season of Ridley, Dunbar shares that a new seventh season of Line of Duty with Martin Compston and Vicky McClure is definitely on the way in 2026, though no date has yet been set for filming to begin. "I wish I could give you a definite date we're starting, you know, like January 18th. I wish I could tell you that, but I don't know," he said. "I do know that Jed [Mercurio, creator] has written lots of stuff. I do know that the three of us have been contacted, and we've all said yes, and then it's down to our friends at the BBC to make the announcement as to when we're going to start filming. "But I think it's more or less on the cards that next year we will be working back in Belfast. Fantastic, yes, hopefully solving another few cases." Despite his singing in jazz club scenes in Ridley and having taken to the musical stage earlier this year as the lead in Kiss Me Kate, Dunbar doesn’t think his vocal talents will be put to use in the next Line of Duty run, however. "You can't imagine Ted Hastings really getting up and grabbing the mic, can you?" he laughed. "I think he'd have to have a few glasses of whiskey first. I do think a Line of Duty musical episode would be good, but I can't see Jed writing it. "Might have to hand the writing over of it to someone else — I don't think Jed has got the kind of humorous chops to deal with that. If he wrote it, 'Leave That Dead Girl Alone' would be one of the songs!" Ridley returns to ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 10th August 2025. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add Ridley to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
How TV classic Poldark paved the way for Bridgerton and Rivals
The Aidan Turner-led series is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Ten years ago, a new adaptation of Winston Graham’s historical Poldark novels arrived on our screens. The books had previously been made into a beloved TV series in the 1970s, but the new version offered more than just dreamy images of the Cornish coastline and the twisting tale of a British army captain who returns home from the American Revolutionary War to find the woman he loves is to marry his cousin, and his father has left the family estate in ruins. As tousle-haired star Aidan Turner skinny-dipped in the second episode and waved around his manly scythe while bare-chested in episode 3, it was clear that the BBC had finally discovered that prime time period dramas didn’t have to be prim and proper literature adaptations — they could be sexy, and just a little bit trashy too. While some viewers’ hearts may have skipped a beat when Colin Firth emerged from a lake in a wet shirt a decade before in 1995’s Pride & Prejudice, prior to Poldark most mainstream period dramas on terrestrial TV were stuffy adaptations in which the only chests on display were the ones spilling out of the heroine’s corsets. (Sorry, Downton Abbey fans - that show, which debuted in 2010, is utterly lovely, but it will never, ever be sexy.) Poldark changed all that. It doesn’t actually have explicit sex scenes — the show was on BBC One on Sunday evenings, and we wouldn’t want granny to pass out from shock in front of the TV — but it does have sexiness at every turn. It’s most obvious in the budding romance between Turner’s Ross Poldark and his kitchen maid Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson), and also in the smouldering looks between Ross and his former love Elizabeth (Heida Reed), but flirtatious plots involving villainous George Warleggan (Jack Farthing), Dr Dwight Enys (Luke Norris) and Caroline Penvenen (Gabriella Wilde) all contribute to the general feeling that the county of Cornwall is far steamier than any travel show would have you believe. Of course, the BBC’s delicious historical romp was made at a time when non-UK TV producers and streaming services had already realised that period dramas could be erotic and irreverent and didn’t have to be based on the classic works of literature you’re made to read for your English GCSE. The Borgias, The Tudors (both very loosely based on historical figures) and the infamously explicit Outlander (based on Diana Gabaldon’s steamy novels) already existed, but the huge success of the British-made Poldark paved the way for even more period dramas that mixed sexiness and silliness with history, including Harlots, The Great and, of course, Bridgerton, based on Julia Quinn’s series of romance novels. (Indeed, Entertainment Weekly’s review of Bridgerton described it as "a wonderful diversion for those who love Pride & Prejudice but wish it had more stairway sex".) Bridgerton’s brooding leading men - from Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony and Rege-Jean Page’s Simon to Luke Newton’s Colin and Luke Thompson’s Benedict - also all owe a debt to Aidan Turner’s Poldark, a fully realised character with flaws, humour and even simmering anger, not just a tanned and muscular man who looks good with his shirt off. It can be argued that last year’s Disney+ hit Rivals should give thanks to Poldark, too. Based on Jilly Cooper’s 1988 ‘bonkbuster’ novel, the raunchy Rivals was promoted as a period drama because it is set in the 1980s, and it also features all the elements that made Poldark such a hit back in 2015 – it’s sexy, it’s got an interesting villain, a flawed hero (Alex Hassell’s Rupert) and plot twists aplenty. (Yes, it does have shirtless men as well.) And let’s not forget that it has another, extra special ingredient borrowed straight from our favourite Cornish drama — Aidan Turner himself. He brings his likeable charm to the role of TV journalist Declan O’Hara in Rivals and, along with Danny Dyer, is one of the high points of the series. Turner described the show to RadioTimes.com last year by saying: "It’s bold and it’s naughty and it’s a lot of fun." A phrase that could describe Poldark, too. Poldark is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Add Poldark to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Call the Midwife isn't ending yet – but should it end soon?
Creator Heidi Thomas has no plans to stop anytime soon, but is that the right call?
At the end of last month, Call the Midwife fans were hit with the upsetting news that the 15th season, due in early 2026, could be the last full run of the beloved period drama, which has been a mainstay of the BBC schedule since 2012. The broadcaster was quick to dispel the rumours, however, confirming that viewers could look forward to "two Christmas specials, a new series, a film and prequel series, before a 16th series in due course. Call the Midwife isn’t going anywhere". That’s great news, of course, but with the 15th instalment being set in 1971 and the spin-off film following some of the characters on an overseas break from Poplar in 1972, the nostalgic nursing drama is already a long way from its late 1950s origins. During its impressive 13-year run, the show has already had to adapt to explore advances in NHS care and changes in attitudes to parenthood, relationships and the roles of nuns and midwives across the various decades, but if the show wades further into the 1970s, there will more sizeable developments on the cards, which could alter the tone of the show and subsequently turn it into something else entirely. So — as much as we love Call the Midwife — would it be better for the original series to come to an end sooner rather than later, before it becomes too modern? Should the now-confirmed 16th season, which will presumably be set in 1972 or 1973, be the final goodbye to the midwives at Nonnatus House? For those who loved the historic charm of the earlier seasons, the answer is yes. If the series carries on (and on), future storylines could include maternity breakthroughs such as IVF (the first test tube baby was born in 1978), the rise of doulas and the routine use of ultrasound tests in pregnancy. And as it moves towards later decades, when many more audience members would have been alive, it may feel less like a warm period drama and more like Casualty, which confusingly now has ex-Call the Midwife star Olly Rix among its cast. Moving further into the 1970s and 1980s would also mean that the heart of the show — the Nonnatus House midwives and nuns — could be lost, as in the real world during this time period. More births moved to hospitals, and home births and newer approaches such as water births tended to be overseen by midwives based at big institutions, rather than cosy local practices. There is also the cast to consider. Midwives have come and gone over the years, and the show has survived the departure of beloved characters such as Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine), Miranda Hart’s Chummy and Patsy Mount (Emerald Fennell) by introducing new and interesting replacements (although one of those, Megan Cusack’s Nancy, has also now departed). But there are core characters, including Jenny Agutter’s adored Sister Julienne, Stephen McGann’s Patrick Turner, Helen George’s Trixie and Laura Main’s Shelagh, who are as much of the Poplar landscape as Fred and Violet’s shop, but who can’t be expected to remain in their medical jobs forever. Dr Patrick Turner must surely be ready for retirement soon, though we suppose his son Tim could become the new Doctor Turner in a few years, with his dad providing sage advice and rambling old war stories from his comfy armchair. And while nuns are nuns for life, Sister Julienne would probably love to hang up her forceps, put her accounting book away, and finally step down as midwife and sister-in-charge at Nonnatus House. Call us sentimental, but the series wouldn’t be the same without her in charge, dispensing wise words over a cup of tea and a nice piece of cake, and it’s hard to imagine tuning in to watch anyone else leading the midwives in future series. Read more: Call the Midwife favourite reveals look behind the scenes filming in scorching heatwave Call the Midwife reveals young star's return for season 15 in BTS pic In the end, though, the decision about when to call time on Call the Midwife lies with the BBC and creator Heidi Thomas, who said that there could be much more to come when the spin-off film and World War II-set prequel series were both announced. "I have never run out of stories for our midwives, and I never will," she promised. But while there is no shortage of viewers desperate for the show to continue for many more seasons, the BBC and Thomas owe it to Call the Midwife to stop sooner rather than later. Call the Midwife seasons 1-14 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Add Call the Midwife to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why Selwyn's Death in Paradise departure isn't as disappointing as it initially appeared
Commissioner Selwyn Patterson quietly left Saint Marie in the season finale, but that's exactly how it should have been.
Detective inspectors may come and go in Saint Marie, but if there was one constant Death in Paradise viewers could count on, it was the larger-than-life presence of the island’s Commissioner Selwyn Patterson. His wise words, sly moments and grumpy demeanour, superbly brought to life by actor Don Warrington, have been one of the true joys of the murder mystery series since it first began airing in 2011. So, when it was rumoured that Selwyn would be departing the island this year, presumably moving somewhere with fewer murders, it was naturally assumed that the character would get a big on-screen send-off. However, Selwyn's departure in the season 14 finale didn’t involve a party, a big speech, or even a goodbye cake. There were no former detective inspectors returning to bid him a fond farewell either, as much as we may have wanted to see Kris Marshall, Ardal O’Hanlon and Ralf Little together on-screen with newbie Don Gilet (sorry, Ben Miller, but one downside to your character being killed off is you don’t get to pop up at Saint Marie reunions). Instead, it was all surprisingly low-key. Selwyn, whose Commissioner position has been hanging in the balance all season, finally got his job back... and then decided not to take it. He also kept his big decision pretty quiet, only telling Catherine of his plans to leave Saint Marie when he turned up at her bar for one last chat while everyone else was off celebrating solving another case. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/03/death-in-paradise-selwyn-patterson-don-warrington-97c8076.jpg" width="1605" height="1070" alt="Don Warrington as Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, wearing a bright blue shirt with orange foliage design. There are palm trees in the background and he is looking at the camera scowling." title="Don Warrington as Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in Death in Paradise" /> After she asked why he had decided to turn down his boss's offer, he told her: “I don’t know, but it felt wrong to say yes. Too much has happened and right now, I can’t see a way to get back to how things were.” But aside from spending time with his daughter Andrina, he told Catherine that he had no future plans – and even agreed to say “Au revoir” to her rather than a final goodbye. He then climbed into a black taxi – that old EastEnders chestnut – and headed off to who knows where, in a way that initially seemed far less momentous than we have come to expect when a DI departs the island. Previously, Richard Poole was murdered (sorry again, Ben Miller), Humphrey Goodman moved to England to be with Martha (and solve crimes in Beyond Paradise), Jack Mooney returned to London for his daughter, and Neville Parker sailed off into the sunset with true love Florence. Selwyn, by contrast, didn’t get anything quite so romantic, sweet or even deadly. But instead, he may have got something far better. In the final scene of the season, he popped by Mervin’s place to drop one final bombshell: that the man leaving flowers at his mother’s grave was actually Mervin's brother. In that one moment, as his taxi idled by the roadside, Selwyn made a huge impact on Mervin and the series itself, prompting the detective inspector, who was about to head back to London, to change his plans and stay on to solve his latest family mystery. Once again, Selwyn has had a God-like hand in his detective inspector's decision-making, which could be considered a fitting goodbye. But it was also a clever move from the writers. It may have been a grand departing gesture for him to help Mervin, but since he didn’t actually tell his DI that he was leaving Saint Marie for good, it may not actually mean Selwyn’s departure after all. In fact, the door has been left so wide open that it’s hard to definitively state that Selwyn has actually gone. The loveable ex-Commissioner could just need a few months away before he returns, refreshed and ready for season 15, or he could come back in a year or two, perhaps if his successor meets an untimely end, or if Mervin runs out of family members to uncover and needs further incentive to stay on Saint Marie. Or, heaven forbid, Selwyn could have just slipped away, never to return. Whatever the writers and Warrington choose to do, for the moment Selwyn’s future has become Death in Paradise’s biggest mystery. And for our unforgettable Commissioner, that’s the most fitting exit storyline of all. Death in Paradise seasons 1-14 are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Blue Bloods season 14: Release date, cast and latest news
Everything you need to know about the long-running police drama.
It's a bittersweet time for fans of Blue Bloods - while new episodes have been airing weekly on both sides of the pond, the show is coming to an end, with the series finale about to arrive in the US. UK fans have a couple more weeks to prepare themselves for the series's climax on Sky Witness and NOW, but it's a major moment, as it brings the show to a close after 14 years on air. The long-running procedural stars Tom Selleck as a police commissioner and patriarch of the Reagan family, who have a long history of working in the police force, while other stars include Bridget Moynahan and Donnie Wahlberg. The cast and crew have teased an emotional send-off (and have made clear that they're not entirely happy with the series being brought to an end by broadcaster CBS. But how will it all turn out for the Reagans and what do we know about the show's final episodes? Read on for everything you need to know about Blue Bloods season 14. Will Blue Bloods season 14 be the show's final season? Sadly, it will. It has already been announced that the 14th season of the long-running series will be its last. Tom Selleck said: "For the past 13 years it has been an honour and a privilege to work on a show that not only celebrates the men and women who protect and serve in New York City, but also displayed the importance of family. "Working alongside these incredible actors, writers, producers, directors and crew has been a dream come true and I'm grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary group for over 275 episodes. "Thank you to CBS Studios and CBS Network for their steadfast support, and we offer heartfelt gratitude to the fans who gathered with us for dinner every Friday night." Selleck later went on to admit he was "kind of frustrated" by CBS's decision to end the series, saying: "My frustration is the show was always taken for granted because it performed from the get-go. So how do I feel? It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out. "I remember after the weekend [of the final episode’s shoot], I said, ‘I’ve got to get to bed early tonight because I have to do my dialogue for Monday.’ Well, there was no Monday. It’s just going to take a while." Meanwhile, Selleck's co-star Abigail Hawk has said she's still hoping the show could be revived at the last minute, and return for season 15 - although there has been no official word to suggest that will happen. When will Blue Bloods season 14 air? Blue Bloods season 14 part 2 premiered on CBS on Friday 18th October 2024 at 10pm ET/PT. Episodes are also available to stream on Paramount Plus. The first batch of 10 episodes aired in the US back in February, with American viewers having only eight more left before they say goodbye to the show for good. Here in the UK, we're a bit further behind! Blue Bloods season 14 finally premiered over here on Sky Witness at 9pm on Wednesday 4th September. The new episodes are also available to stream on NOW. Filming on Blue Bloods officially wrapped in July, with star Donnie Wahlberg (who plays Danny Reagan) marking the momentous occasion with a reflective post on Instagram. He said: "Last day of Blue Bloods. Not sure I have the words to describe how I feel about today, or the last 14 years on this special Blue Bloods journey, but I do know how incredibly thankful I am for every moment of it. "To the cast, the crew, the guest cast, every background actor, writer, producer and every member of every single dept — thank you. To the people of New York, in every neighbourhood and borough, thank you for always showing your love. "To the NYPD, thank you for your support and sacrifice, I hope we did you proud." Blue Bloods season 14 cast: Who’s returning? TV legend Tom Selleck stars as Frank, the patriarch of the Reagan family, and returned for season 14 along with: Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Bridget Moynahan as Erin Will Estes as Jamie Len Cariou as Henry Marisa Ramirez as Maria Baez Vanessa Ray as Eddie Janko-Reagan Meanwhile, Edward James Olmos is set to guest star in the series finale. Blue Bloods season 14 plot: What will happen in the finale? When it comes to the series finale, showrunner Kevin Wade told TVLine that the episode would largely be business as usual, explaining he wanted to make a "great show" which then had a little pivot to explain it was the finale. He said: "I rewatched the series finales of great shows, going back to M*A*S*H and Cheers and even Mary Tyler Moore, certainly The Sopranos, Deadwood. I watched a lot of them for what they might have in common, and what they basically had in common, it seemed to me, if I boiled it down, is they did a great show. "And in the last few minutes, they did some little pivot towards, 'This is also the last show'.” He added that he hoped the fans would be "pleased and satisfied" by the episode, explaining: "We tried to do all we could do, which is to put on the very best Blue Bloods episode that we can make, while knowing, obviously, that it’s the last one. We’re tipping our hat to 14 years of storytelling with these same characters and these same actors playing them." Meanwhile, star Bridget Moynahan has said the finale will leave fans "wanting more", calling it "bittersweet". The episode will be called End of Tour, and according to the synopsis it will see "all hands on deck for the Reagan family, as they race to stop deadly mayhem in the city when the gangs of New York unite together to demand amnesty for the release of their imprisoned members and those awaiting trial". Is there a Blue Bloods season 14 trailer? You can watch a promo for the Blue Bloods series finale right here but if you're watching in the UK, beware - we're still a few episodes behind, so you might get some spoilers. View oEmbed on the source website Blue Bloods airs on Sky and NOW in the UK. You can also watch it on Paramount Plus – get a seven-day free trial of Paramount Plus on Amazon Prime Video. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.