Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2026-01-30T11:01:07.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: The Traitors star Faraaz reveals he was left in tears after billionaire's touching gift
items: Claudia Winkleman's stylist on the star's impeccable Traitors style and the brands she's faithful to
items: The Lakes' hidden gems
items: Harlan Coben picks his top 10 thrillers of all time
items: Harlan Coben’s Run Away cast and author tease "emotionally devastating ending" and talk "insidiousness" of addiction
items: Prepare to be thrilled
items: A Guide to Netflix's Harlan Coben Collection
items: Harlan Coben's Top 10 Thrillers
items: Beary Christmas
items: How 2025's Radio Times Christmas issue cover – featuring Aardman favourites – came to life
items: Meet the miniaturists shrinking Christmas for RT this year
items: Bringing Back the Ice Age
items: 7 reasons to watch Tom Hiddleston's new documentary series Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
items: We played Squid Game: The Challenge – and learned how brutal it really is
items: Is Squid Game: the Challenge really that hard?
items: I'm a Hunter on Channel 4's Hunted and this is what it's really like to chase down fugitives
items: 10 Questions with Paul & Prue
items: GBBO's Prue Leith reveals why she was labelled a "fattist" - as she and Paul Hollywood share best advice to bakers
items: Toy Story at 30: John Morris on voicing Andy from aged 7 – and whether he'll appear in the fifth movie
items: On the beat in Belfast
items: 10 Questions with Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots
items: All of You's Brett Goldstein and Imogen Potts on soulmates, crying at films – and why social media is ruining romance
items: Blue Lights writer on police force's "hidden trauma" – and why show's will-they, won't-they story had to end
items: The secrets of casting the next breakout child star – from Adolescence to the new Harry Potter series
items: What's it like to be a Traitor or take part in Squid Game and Race Across the World?
items: View from my Sofa: Chris O'Dowd
items: View from my sofa: Emily Atack
items: The Paper's Domhnall Gleeson on what makes The Office spin-off "stand on its own"
items: Rivals' Emily Atack reveals what shows she's watching and what she hopes to teach her son
items: Let them eat cake!

The Traitors star Faraaz reveals he was left in tears after billionaire's touching gift
type: item
date: 2026-01-30T11:00:21.000Z
creator: Katelyn Mensah
subject: Entertainment
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: BBC One
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
subject: Radio Times Covers Party 2026
description: "I'm so grateful."
encoded: Faraaz Noor may not have won The Traitors prize money to take his family on a pilgrimage to Hajj, but the opportunity to do so may come sooner than he thinks. Faraaz was a fan favourite on this year's series, often for his quiet and sometimes incorrect contributions to the roundtable. He made it to the final episode but was ultimately banished by Traitors Stephen and Rachel. Ahead of the final, Faraaz said if he were to win the prize he would "love to be able to spend it on me and my family to make a religious pilgrimage". "To go to Umrah, to go to Hajj, would be really nice. For me to do that for my family would be great. If there's a bit of left over, I wouldn't mind putting a bit away for a new car but treating my family is my main goal." Following the whirlwind of The Traitors, Umar Kamani, the CEO of PrettyLittleThing, shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), that he "would love to send Faraaz from Traitors and his family to Hajj". View oEmbed on the source website Reacting to the news at the Radio Times Covers Party 2026, Faraaz shared that he was "in tears" after seeing the post. "I came back and I was talking to my mum and I was like, I just can't... to Umar, I'm so grateful, Alhamdulillah, I was literally crying my eyes out honestly. I couldn't believe it." View Green Video on the source website While details on whether Faraaz and Umar are in touch are not known, the breakout Traitors star is keen to still make the pilgrimage. He told BBC News: "The love and support I've been getting is unbelievable... Inshallah, one day I'll be able to hopefully take them to Hajj or even complete Umrah. I'm looking forward to that." The Traitors season 1-4 are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now. Check out more of our Entertainment 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.

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Claudia Winkleman's stylist on the star's impeccable Traitors style and the brands she's faithful to
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Plus, Sinead McKeefry uncloaks her top looks from every series.
encoded: Add The Traitors to your watchlist The original brief given to Claudia Winkleman’s stylist, Sinead McKeefry, for the first series of The Traitors was providing 12 outfits for 12 episodes, with just four weeks to pull everything together. “We didn’t really know what we were doing,” she recalls. “Everyone was working out what the format was. There was talk of Claud wearing a parrot on her shoulder. She’s up for anything, but I was like, ‘I don't think we should make it pantomime.’ I believe there are enough beautiful things out there.” The celebrity stylist, who is based in London, was introduced to Winkleman by Fearne Cotton, who McKeefry was working with at the time, during a photoshoot. They’ve now worked together for almost 20 years. “Strictly was the most glamorous we’d ever go, but it still had a masculine edge to it and we kept it quite chic and pared back. The Piano is where you'll see the real Claudia. That's how Claudia would naturally dress, just a little more polished. She loves a Uniqlo jumper, and that's what she gets,” McKeefry explains. “With The Traitors, we can be a lot more editorial, edgy and creative.” For series 1, she focused on textures and patterns and, far from parrots and pantomime, she turned to high-quality heritage brands including Barbour, Brora, Dubarry of Ireland, and Johnstons of Elgin for countryside chic, keeping it “quite neat and obvious” to suit the backdrop of Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, where you could “wear anything and look amazing”. It’s there that 22 contestants compete for up to £120,000, with the Faithful attempting to banish the Traitors. With the show now in its fourth series, Winkleman requires 36 outfits, three per episode, with breakfast, the mission and the round table all being treated differently. They take three months to prepare, with loads of back-up options and wet weather gear for any eventuality. “We lock everything down in London,” McKeefry says. “It's almost like prepping for a catwalk show a…

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The Lakes' hidden gems
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: RT's Laura Rutkowski heads behind the scenes of Lost and Found in the Lakes
encoded: Add Lost and Found in the Lakes to your watchlist While looking out at the glistening, expansive waters of the Lake District, you might think that anything dropped in there would be gone forever, alongside anything misplaced on the picturesque fells in the background. But Lost and Found in the Lakes, which returns for a second series this week, proves otherwise. In the programme, a team of dedicated scuba divers, freedivers and detectorists (on land) attempt to reunite people with their treasured possessions, whether it’s a ring, a drone, a phone (only the ones in waterproof cases, mind you) or a sentimental heirloom. RT visited Ullswater to watch one search take place, and later witnessed a reunion from a previous successful one, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. When something can’t be located, the owners are instead gifted with a piece made by a local craftsperson out of objects found by the divers in the lakes — turning trash into treasure. The team also clean up the lakes as they go, disposing of bottles, fishing tackle, scrap metal and disposable vapes. Helen Skelton, from Carlisle, who now lives near Penrith, is the perfect host for the show. “I love being in the lake, I love being on mountains, but I also like what people would call tat,” she says. “My house is full of stuff where other people are like, ‘What is that?’ “When I was growing up, being outdoorsy and in nature wasn’t cool. My parents farmed, and the farming kids were not the cool kids. Now, people appreciate and understand the benefits of having your feet in the soil, and sustainability. It’s a privilege to have grown up with this as my backdrop.” Mysteries of the deep Helen debriefs with the divers after their search in Ullswater. Renée Goulet, a Canadian who now lives in the Lake District, has been freediving since 2021. The most common thing people lose are phones, but “they’re replaceable”, she says. “The most meaningful finds are the things people never think they’re going to get back…

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Harlan Coben picks his top 10 thrillers of all time
type: item
date: 2026-01-02T07:00:20.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
description: The king of the TV thriller selects his top 10 exclusively for Radio Times.
encoded: New Jersey native Harlan Coben is the internationally bestselling author of more than 25 books, known for their twists and turns. His work has been made into multiple TV adaptations. The latest one, Run Away, is the 12th for Netflix. Clearly, he knows a thing or two about thrillers. So we asked Coben to give us his top 10 from TV and film, and some of them feature actors he’s then gone on to feature in his own series. “I want to be surprised. I want to be entertained. I want to be moved. I want something that's going to stir my heart,” he says of his criteria. “I don't think a twist that surprises you is enough. The twist has to generate something inside of you and move you.” 1) Strangers on a Train “I love Alfred Hitchcock, obviously. He's been a major influence on me – the ordinary man and the extraordinary circumstance, or woman, and in this case, Strangers on a Train happens to be my favourite. "It's just a chance meeting between two people and some of the great, iconic scenes of all time, and we intentionally paid homage to it in (Netflix adaptation) Stay Close – the tennis scene when all the heads are moving back and forth, and one head is looking straight ahead. I used that one to represent my Hitchcock love. "If you asked me tomorrow, I could have picked Vertigo, I could have picked Rear Window, Psycho, a bunch of them.” 2) The Secret in Their Eyes “This is the original Argentinian one, do not watch the American remake! It's gripping, it's moving, it's a love story. I was so in love with this movie that we decided to make a Netflix South America show. We made one in Argentina where this is filmed, and the lead in Caught on Netflix is the lead in The Secret in Their Eyes, but it's dark, it's surprising. "It's got a wonderful twist at the end and a true, true heart. And there's one great film sequence when they scoop you into a stadium. Even with today's AI and things like that, I'm not sure you can duplicate it or make it as compelling as it is in that movie.…

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Harlan Coben’s Run Away cast and author tease "emotionally devastating ending" and talk "insidiousness" of addiction
type: item
date: 2025-12-29T17:00:44.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
subject: Netflix
description: From a panicked parental "what if?" to Netflix’s next big thriller, Harlan Coben and James Nesbitt dig into addiction, obsession and the terrifying lengths a father will go to when his child disappears.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. All of Harlan Coben’s book ideas begin with a "What if…?" – Run Away's is, "What if my daughter was taking drugs?" – The New Jersey author explains his thinking: "When my daughter Charlotte was young, I found some cannabis paraphernalia in her room, and my mind spiralled and went out of control. "One day I was sitting in New York’s Central Park on Strawberry Fields, which is where the John Lennon Memorial is, thinking, 'How do I open up this book? How do I get into the story?' One of the buskers was playing a John Lennon tune and I thought to myself, 'What would I do if the person playing that tune was my missing daughter?'" Luckily for Coben, Charlotte is far from missing and is actually the associate producer on Run Away. She also worked on the series as a writer, and has contributed to previous adaptations of her father’s books, Shelter, Stay Close and Fool Me Once. Coben is very involved in the casting of his series – this is his 12th for Netflix – watching audition tapes and approving everybody. "I would rather change the character to fit the actor than change the actor to fit the character," he says. At the front and centre of Run Away, written for the screen by frequent collaborator Danny Brocklehurst, is James Nesbitt, no stranger to the Coben-verse, having also appeared in Stay Close and Missing You. "He gives off good 'distressed dad' vibes," says Coben. In Run Away, Nesbitt plays wealth manager Simon Greene, who shares two daughters and a son with his wife, paediatrician Ingrid (Minnie Driver). When daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) goes missing, Ingrid thinks she’ll come home when she’s ready, but Simon won’t stop looking, blaming her drug-dealer boyfriend for getting her hooked on drugs. Then one day he sees her in a park, singing and strumming away on a guitar… RT visited the Run Away set in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, where between takes Nesbitt said, "I’m the worst on-screen parent and the worst …

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Prepare to be thrilled
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Run Away is the latest twisty Harlan Coben mystery to be adapted for the screen – and James Nesbitt has come along for the ride
encoded: Add Run Away to your watchlist All of Harlan Coben’s book ideas begin with a “What if…?” Run Away’s is, “What if my daughter was taking drugs?” The New Jersey author explains his thinking: “When my daughter Charlotte was young, I found some cannabis paraphernalia in her room, and my mind spiralled and went out of control. “One day I was sitting in New York’s Central Park on Strawberry Fields, which is where the John Lennon Memorial is, thinking, ‘How do I open up this book? How do I get into the story?’ One of the buskers was playing a John Lennon tune and I thought to myself, ‘What would I do if the person playing that tune was my missing daughter?’” Luckily for Coben, Charlotte is far from missing and is actually the associate producer on Run Away. She also worked on the series as a writer, and has contributed to previous adaptations of her father’s books, Shelter, Stay Close and Fool Me Once. Coben is very involved in the casting of his series – this is his 12th for Netflix – watching audition tapes and approving everybody. “I would rather change the character to fit the actor than change the actor to fit the character,” he says. At the front and centre of Run Away, written for the screen by frequent collaborator Danny Brocklehurst, is James Nesbitt, no stranger to the Coben-verse, having also appeared in Stay Close and Missing You. “He gives off good ‘distressed dad’ vibes,” says Coben. In Run Away, Nesbitt plays wealth manager Simon Greene, who shares two daughters and a son with his wife, paediatrician Ingrid (Minnie Driver). When daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) goes missing, Ingrid thinks she’ll come home when she’s ready, but Simon won’t stop looking, blaming her drug-dealer boyfriend for getting her hooked on drugs. Then one day he sees her in a park, singing and strumming away on a guitar… RT visited the Run Away set in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, where between takes Nesbitt said, “I’m the worst on-screen parent and the worst on-screen cop ever. Of all…

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A Guide to Netflix's Harlan Coben Collection
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: …by the man himself!
encoded: With Harlan Coben, it’s clear that all of his ideas for his books start with a “What if…” “There’s always something that happens in my regular life that I turn around in some way,” he says. There’s currently 12 book adaptations you can watch on Netflix, with the latest one being Run Away, starring James Nesbitt as a dad searching for his daughter who’s addicted to drugs and has run away from home. The king of the thriller genre says, “I want the ‘WTF’ when you watch my shows, I want the jaw to drop. That's fun.” There’s no better person to walk you through his collection than Coben himself, so we asked him to explain all of his “What ifs…”

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Harlan Coben's Top 10 Thrillers
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features

Beary Christmas
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: A new festive animation brings Pudsey to life with Tom Fletcher
encoded: Pudsey and the Thread of Hope, book available now and on BBC One on Christmas Eve at 10.20am. Add it to your collection Tom Fletcher has been having a bear-y busy year. “I must have been manifesting bears!” says the McFly singer and bestselling children’s author, who has not only written the music for Paddington the Musical, but has also brought another very special bear to life, Children in Need’s mascot, Pudsey. “Both of them stand for wonderful things: Pudsey for hope and Paddington for kindness. My version of Pudsey is a bit clumsy and is driven by a desire to help children.” The animation and book Pudsey and the Thread of Hope is based on Fletcher’s story about a boy called Jai who has lost his dad. He meets other kids who have been supported by Pudsey, with the thread of hope tying them together. Fletcher has three sons, aged 11, nine and seven, with his wife Giovanna. “They are my main source of inspiration. My middle child, Buddy, is home-schooled and he practically lives at the skatepark. It’s been this amazing journey with him, and so much of that I was able to put into Jai.” Fletcher’s eldest son Buzz sings Thread of Hope on the animation’s soundtrack with his father. “It felt like a lovely way to heighten the emotion of that moment and a special thing for me to be able to share with my son.”

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How 2025's Radio Times Christmas issue cover – featuring Aardman favourites – came to life
type: item
date: 2025-12-19T12:38:25.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Movies
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Magazine
description: Two iconic animated pals reunite on the Radio Times Christmas cover, as Nick Park brings festive clay magic to life.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. This year, RT's Christmas cover stars are two award-winning film and TV favourites. But unusually in the cut-throat world of showbiz, they are also old pals going back 30 years. In fact, the cover, conceived and designed by Nick Park, celebrates Shaun’s screen debut in A Close Shave. Back then, Shaun walked into Wallace and Gromit’s home and ate everything in sight. Now he has a taste for Radio Times… hopefully, without swallowing any crucial TV listings! It’s a busy time for Aardman Animations. There’s a Christmas Day episode of Shaun the Sheep on BBC One called Fleece Navidad, and in 2026, to mark the studio’s 50th anniversary, a big Aardman exhibition at London’s Young V&A, plus a film outing for Shaun, The Beast of Mossy Bottom. So, what better time for a reunion? While the beloved pair say "cheese" for their cover shoot – remaining characteristically silent, yet with a mischievous glint in their eye – RT sits down with Park at Aardman’s Bristol HQ to discuss making Christmas out of clay... A grand cover It’s a pleasure to be asked to design another cover. We’ve had a few: my downstairs bathroom is full of framed ones. I leapt at the opportunity and it was a privilege to get involved. Radio Times has been an iconic magazine since way before I was born, and you can’t have Christmas without it, so I just couldn’t resist having my characters on the cover. My aim was to make it as Christmassy as possible and evoke feelings of warmth. View oEmbed on the source website Cracking ideas I think through sketching – more so than through writing. I like to draw on paper, but I have an iPad Pro, which I love. I probably spend three days to a week doodling different ideas. That’s where a lot of film ideas come from. Wallace and Gromit are my favourite characters to sketch. I draw them in my sleep. They’re just very natural now – I’ve been doing them for so many years. Season's bleatings I played around with this idea of Gro…

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Meet the miniaturists shrinking Christmas for RT this year
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Crafting a fantastic snowy landscape for RT's 2025 Christmas features was a real labour of love for Hannah Lemon and Abi Trotman
encoded: The Marvellous Miniature Workshop is on iPlayer. Add it to your watchlist Making miniatures is no small task. Hannah Lemon and Abi Trotman, who star in The Marvellous Miniature Workshop spent a combined 200 hours creating the Christmas snowscape for our Christmas interviews with stars of Death in Paradise, Call the Midwife, Strictly, The Archers and Amandaland. Trotman, from south Wales, specialises in 1/12th scale miniatures for doll’s houses and dioramas and started making miniatures with her gran for her doll’s house when she was 11. Lemon, who’s from Japan and now based in the UK, started making tiny houseplants in lockdown on a break from work. Both have now made it their full-time career. View Green Video on the source website Using toolkits containing tweezers, brushes, paints and glues — not to mention a steady hand — Lemon explains that RT’s snowy scene (all compiled and photographed by her in her living room) is Styrofoam, so it’s light and easy to stick items into and to carve with a blade. Then she used frost and snow effect spray and placed fake snow powder on top. The tree is made out of tinsel wrapped together to create different-sized branches. The snowmen and their miniature carrot noses are made from clay, with black glass “caviar beads” for eyes — but what about their knitted hats? “I used my old socks, but I promise I washed them!” Lemon laughs. Lemon’s biggest challenge was the reindeer — “I wanted to make something realistic, so I needed to study their anatomy.” She started with wire to create a skeleton, then wrapped masking tape around it to mimic tissue, and applied modelling paste to create the body shape. Once that was dry, she coated it with acrylic paint and applied fake fur. “Working on the face is always challenging in miniature. I wanted him to look straight at the camera, happy and proud, like he owns the place.” Trotman’s gingerbread house, meanwhile, proved to be a real construction project. “Measurements and getting the angles of …

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Bringing Back the Ice Age
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: How the team behind Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age brought animals like dwarf elephants and predatory marsupials to life
encoded: Add Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age to your watchlist Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age features animals that have never been seen on screen before — marsupial lions (essentially carnivorous koalas), kangaroos so huge they can’t hop and dwarf elephants only three feet tall. Narrated by Tom Hiddleston and executive produced by Hollywood film-maker Jon Favreau alongside creative director of the BBC’s Natural History Unit and long-term David Attenborough collaborator Mike Gunton, the Apple TV series was a (woolly) mammoth effort. The production took three years, was filmed in 15 countries, and for the first time used technical reference puppets — Gunton was convinced after seeing the puppet of the baby stegodon. These could be filmed on location, thereby providing essential references for visual effects company Framestore to create the CGI (computer-generated imagery) animals. Crucially, everything seen is backed by science — as well as gut feeling. “If you’ve spent your life watching animals, when you see one of these creatures brought to life on screen, there’s this final filter where it looks weirdly right… or rightly weird,” Gunton tells RT. That’s what lead scientific consultant Dr Darren Naish, who has been the show’s palaeontologist since the first series in 2022, was in charge of. Here, he explains how he helped bring the unusual animals of the Ice Age to vivid life. THE MAN FOR THE JOB I’m an expert on the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period, which we featured in seasons one and two of Prehistoric Planet, but I’ve also published enough on Ice Age animals to be considered an expert for season three. I also provide detailed, specific information to the people at Framestore building the digital animal models. SKETCH TO SCREEN We consulted with more than 50 Ice Age specialists, using their expertise to compile asset packs on the animals, containing up to 30 pages of diagrams, drawings and information. I draw tons of stuff, and we work with various concept artists and paleo a…

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7 reasons to watch Tom Hiddleston's new documentary series Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
type: item
date: 2025-11-28T17:01:49.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age features animals that have never been seen on screen before – marsupial lions (essentially carnivorous koalas), kangaroos so huge they can’t hop and dwarf elephants only three feet tall. Narrated by Tom Hiddleston and executive produced by Hollywood film-maker Jon Favreau alongside creative director of the BBC’s Natural History Unit and long-term David Attenborough collaborator Mike Gunton, the Apple TV series was a (woolly) mammoth effort. The production took three years, was filmed in 15 countries, and for the first time used technical reference puppets – Gunton was convinced after seeing the puppet of the baby stegodon. These could be filmed on location, thereby providing essential references for visual effects company Framestore to create the CGI (computer-generated imagery) animals. Crucially, everything seen is backed by science – as well as gut feeling. “If you’ve spent your life watching animals, when you see one of these creatures brought to life on screen, there’s this final filter where it looks weirdly right… or rightly weird,” Gunton tells RT. That’s what lead scientific consultant Dr Darren Naish, who has been the show’s palaeontologist since the first series in 2022, was in charge of. Here, he explains how he helped bring the unusual animals of the Ice Age to vivid life. View oEmbed on the source website The man for the job "I’m an expert on the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period, which we featured in seasons one and two of Prehistoric Planet, but I’ve also published enough on Ice Age animals to be considered an expert for season three. I also provide detailed, specific information to the people at Framestore building the digital animal models." Sketch to screen "We consulted with more than 50 Ice Age specialists, using their expertise to compile asset packs on the animals, containing up to 30 pages of diagrams, drawings and information. I draw tons of stuff, and we work …

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We played Squid Game: The Challenge – and learned how brutal it really is
type: item
date: 2025-11-19T13:45:38.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
subject: Video
description: As season 2 comes to a dramatic end, a pair of intrepid Radio Times reporters recount their gruelling experiences on the set of Squid Game: The Challenge.
encoded: Many people have watched a reality competition on the telly and thought to themselves, 'I could do that.' Radio Times writers David Craig and Laura Rutkowski are not among that group. Nevertheless, they were sent to Reading's Shinfield Studios to see the real sets of Squid Game: The Challenge and take part in two devious game demos, which were nothing if not humbling. Dragging their aching bodies home at the end of a long day, it was clear that the tournament is physically draining – and that's to say nothing of the psychological stress added by that eye-popping $4.56 million jackpot. As immersive as it was, David and Laura didn't have any cash on the line during their grand day out, but the risk of humiliation in front of one's peers did loom large – and quickly became a reality. This is their story. Welcome to Squid Game Laura Rutkowski: Nothing really could have prepared me for walking into the dorm, and my mouth falls open in shock. It’s as massive as you would imagine to accommodate 456 beds for 456 players. I quickly claim a bottom bunk, thinking it’s easier to hop out of in a hurry! I'm player 255, kitted out with my tracksuit (which was in fact made in Korea – I checked) and thermals on underneath; white slip-ons; a water bottle and a black bag (with a toothbrush and toothpaste labelled 255 inside). There's a gigantic red 'X' and blue 'O' on the ground, which was used in the drama for players to indicate whether they wanted to stop or continue the games. Very quickly, I can see cliques forming into little groups dotted around the dorm, alliances already developing from the offset. Before our games begin, I'm served curry and rice by the intimidating guards in pink. I thank them, in case politeness is rewarded. Naturally, they don't respond, and it makes me question my relationship to authority figures. My inclination is very much to obey them and stay on their good side, but it probably won't make a difference in Squid Game. Just keep a low profile, I think!…

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Is Squid Game: the Challenge really that hard?
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: How to play the game – and live!
encoded: Add Squid Game: the Challenge to your watchlist In 2021, South Korean drama Squid Game became a cultural phenomenon — so much so that viewers were desperate to join in. So two years later, a reality show version was created called Squid Game: the Challenge, bringing the deadly games to life with real members of the public competing. Now, its second series is in full swing, with almost 110,000 people from around the world applying to be one of 456 people chosen to compete for a prize of $4.56 million (about £3.5 million). People are clearly dying to play it — without the actual dying part. All you can hurt in this version is your pride, as RT can confirm after our own visit to the set. In every other way, however, it feels authentic. Upon entering the vast dorm, my mouth falls open — it’s huge, and looks identical to the series. Soon I’m kitted out in the iconic tracksuit, with intimidating masked guards watching my every move as player 255. The reality series has had the blessing and help of Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, but while his drama ended with series three, The Challenge has no plans to call game over. “We’d like to go on for as long as possible,” says executive producer Stephen Yemoh. “As long as we can keep finding new, interesting games and 456 people who are willing to put a tracksuit on and come and play.” With that, I zip up my green jacket and face a host of games, some from the TV show, some newly created. Ready or not… MINGLE In Squid Game series two, players stand on a spinning carousel for Mingle. When it stops, a number is called out and they must form groups of that number and enter the surrounding rooms, then close the door. Onscreen it’s chaotic and dangerous, so when replicating it, the health and safety briefing, as with all the games, was paramount. Stephen Yemoh says, “We had soft closing doors to make sure no one was trapped in any way.” Anna Kidd adds, “The games go through rigorous testing, internally and with supporting artists.”…

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I'm a Hunter on Channel 4's Hunted and this is what it's really like to chase down fugitives
type: item
date: 2025-10-28T00:01:37.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: Channel 4
subject: Magazine
description: "We would never let anyone get away for TV purposes. It’s our reputation!"
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Former soldier Jordan Wylie, 42, from Blackpool is a hunter on Channel 4’s Hunted and Celebrity Hunted, where people go on the run and try to evade capture by a team of intelligence experts. He’s also an ambassador for the Army Cadet Force and is embarking on an expedition to Antarctica in late November. Here he tells us about his life pre-Hunted and what it's really like to chase down fugitives... FROM THE SEA TO TV I joined the Army at 16 and was a frontline soldier for 10 years in The King’s Royal Hussars, doing multiple tours of Iraq and Northern Ireland. After I left, I went into maritime security, where I protected ships from pirates off the Somali coast. I was later asked to become a consultant on the film Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks — advising on tactics, what the pirates wore, and their strategies. Out of nowhere, Channel 4 called me about Hunted, which I’ve now done for eight years. It’s one thing to know your stuff, but a lot of it is being OK on camera and entertaining the audience. HOW TO HUNT You need surveillance skills, discipline and patience, and you have to be vigilant and alert for long periods of time. We’re in the car for 16–18 hours a day with the same people for six to seven weeks. I might be watching someone’s house for 24 hours. Before the show starts, we do a week’s worth of training where all the hunters discuss the latest technology — surveillance devices, bugging systems and cameras you can put on a lapel. MISSING IN ACTION Hunted shows that it’s incredibly difficult to go missing in England. We’re under surveillance and being tracked in everything we do — spending money, making calls, posting on social media. People who go missing are probably only not found because the authorities haven’t allocated the resources. THE BEST PLAN IS NO PLAN Our team quickly recognise a pattern, so the fugitives need to be difficult to predict. Most reach out to their friends and family, who we’re p…

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10 Questions with Paul & Prue
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The Great British Bake Off judges on why making the series is just like being in a Carry On film
encoded: Add The Great British Bake Off to your watchlist When RT meets The Great British Bake Off judges Paul Hollywood, 59, and Prue Leith, 85, at the famous white tent in Berkshire’s Welford Park, we shake hands. This technically means that I’ve had a coveted Hollywood handshake, although Paul is quick to point out that he also gives that “to builders and my dentist”. Bake Off has been running for 16 series — has what you look for in a baker changed in that time? PRUE LEITH I vacillate – I never really know whether I’m after massive innovation or really classic, traditional, good baking. It’s so exciting when a baker comes up with something you’ve never eaten before, or a combination of flavours that is really imaginative. Then somebody bakes a good old favourite that you absolutely love, like rhubarb crumble, and it’s so wonderful because it’s homely, real and familiar. PAUL HOLLYWOOD One of the things we’ve had a lot this series is overcomplicating a recipe with too many flavours – you need a hero flavour and a couple to back it up. The innovation this year has really surprised, impressed and disappointed me at the same time. What cake should someone bake to win you over? PRUE One that has a lot of ground almonds in it. We had a really good polenta cake this series that was gluten free. PAUL Any cake with cream and fruit. What advice would you give to someone coming on the show? PAUL Ignore Noel and Alison when they try to make conversation. PRUE Sometimes the bakers long for them to go away, because they’re against the clock and want to get on with it. Do you ever disagree while judging? PRUE The discussion in Cake Corner [where they talk about the bakes] is more to inform and remind the audience, because Paul and I could do it in two seconds. The audience often say that I’m kind and Paul’s horrible, but if you look at our scores out of 10, we’re never more than one point apart. I think I’ve given one 10 in nine years... I can’t remember to who though! I used to say, “…

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GBBO's Prue Leith reveals why she was labelled a "fattist" - as she and Paul Hollywood share best advice to bakers
type: item
date: 2025-10-06T23:01:20.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Entertainment
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The Great British Bake Off judges on why making the series is just like being in a Carry-On film.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. When RT meets The Great British Bake Off judges Paul Hollywood, 59, and Prue Leith, 85, at the famous white tent in Berkshire’s Welford Park, we shake hands. This technically means that I’ve had a coveted Hollywood handshake, although Paul is quick to point out that he also gives that “to builders and my dentist”. Bake Off has been running for 16 series — has what you look for in a baker changed in that time? PRUE LEITH I vacillate – I never really know whether I’m after massive innovation or really classic, traditional, good baking. It’s so exciting when a baker comes up with something you’ve never eaten before, or a combination of flavours that is really imaginative. Then somebody bakes a good old favourite that you absolutely love, like rhubarb crumble, and it’s so wonderful because it’s homely, real and familiar. PAUL HOLLYWOOD One of the things we’ve had a lot this series is overcomplicating a recipe with too many flavours – you need a hero flavour and a couple to back it up. The innovation this year has really surprised, impressed and disappointed me at the same time. What cake should someone bake to win you over? PRUE One that has a lot of ground almonds in it. We had a really good polenta cake this series that was gluten free. PAUL Any cake with cream and fruit. What advice would you give to someone coming on the show? PAUL Ignore Noel and Alison when they try to make conversation. PRUE Sometimes the bakers long for them to go away, because they’re against the clock and want to get on with it. Alison Hammond, Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith Do you ever disagree while judging? PRUE The discussion in Cake Corner [where they talk about the bakes] is more to inform and remind the audience, because Paul and I could do it in two seconds. The audience often say that I’m kind and Paul’s horrible, but if you look at our scores out of 10, we’re never more than one point apart. I think I’ve given one 10 …

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Toy Story at 30: John Morris on voicing Andy from aged 7 – and whether he'll appear in the fifth movie
type: item
date: 2025-09-29T23:01:06.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Movies
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The voice actor has appeared in every film in the beloved Pixar franchise so far.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. The film that confirmed what we believed as children — that our toys are real — celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Not only was Toy Story Pixar’s first feature-length film, but it was also the world’s first feature-length CGI animation. John Morris was there from the beginning at the age of seven, first auditioning and then lending his voice to the character of Andy Davis, who plays with his favourite toy, Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks), his shiny new toy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and many others. Unbeknown to him, when he’s not watching, they get up to all sorts of mischief. Morris was asked to bring his favourite toy to the audition. "I brought all my X-Men action figures in a big case," he laughs. "I was voicing Wolverine, Professor X, Storm… like we see at the beginning of Toy Story when Andy is playing with his toys. "Coming home from the recording sessions, I’d look around, like, 'Is everyone in the same place? What happened while I was away?'" Morris, who’s now 40, and has made a career in voice acting, has played Andy from Toy Story 1—4, including the heart-wrenching scene where Andy goes to college and gives his toys away to a young girl called Bonnie. "I was definitely teary recording it,” he recalls on Zoom, wearing a Pixar cap and a shirt featuring Toy Story characters. "Andy was saying goodbye to the toys, and it was also like a goodbye for me, too, because he potentially wouldn’t be back in the series — but I would love to see Andy return in the future.” "Some of us on the film-making side were more like Sid than Andy," says Bob Pauley, who was a character designer on the first film, art and technical consultant on the second and has been production designer on the rest, including the forthcoming Toy Story 5. "I definitely took apart toys, repainted them and blew up army men. I think Sid’s actually more creative in general, because he did those things," he says, referring to Andy’s neighbour who …

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On the beat in Belfast
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Hard-hitting police drama Blue Lights is back and RT was given exclusive access to the set and its stars
encoded: Add Blue Lights to your watchlist When Radio Times is invited to visit the set of Blue Lights in Belfast, series two has just won a Bafta for best drama and the cast and crew are understandably in high spirits while filming the third. The award is even proudly on show today at Netherleigh House – the former headquarters of the Department for the Economy, which acts as the fictional Blackthorn Station in modern Belfast. The recreation room, the briefing room, the offices, the interview room – they’re all located within these halls. “The set makes our job so much easier because we don’t have to imagine anything. The police cars are literally parked outside,” says Nathan Braniff, who plays Constable Tommy Foster. “It’s basically like a real police station.” He’s not wrong – it very much feels that way. On a pinboard in the recreation room, which has dartboards, a TV and DVDs, there are polaroids of the cast in character and handwritten cards addressed to the officers. There are even padlocks on the fridges because, during their research, the production designers noticed this quirk in real police stations… the officers don’t want anyone stealing their food. View Green Video on the source website “Once you slip on the uniform and walk on to the set, you’re back at it… people have thought I was a cop. It’s easier to just play along than explain,” says Frank Blake, who stars as unpredictable police officer Shane Bradley. “The [bulletproof] vests don’t get any easier,” adds Katherine Devlin, referring to the heavy uniform she wears as Annie Conlon. “There are so many props to think about… We hate to see our continuity script adviser coming. He’ll be like, ‘Your earpiece wasn’t in.’” The attention to detail is impeccable, which comes as no surprise. It’s written by Northern Irish screenwriters Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, former journalists for Panorama and BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight. They spend about three months researching a new series, speaking to around 25 poli…

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10 Questions with Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Their new film All of You mixes sci-fi and romance. But how do they feel about a romcom grand gesture?
encoded: Add All of You to your watchlist Brett Goldstein, 45, is known as the foul-mouthed footballer Roy Kent in Ted Lasso — but in All of You, he shows off his softer side. He is co-writer and co-producer of the film and stars as Simon, who’s in love with his best friend Laura, played by 36-year-old Imogen Poots (28 Week Later). Unfortunately, she’s about to take a futuristic test to discover her true soulmate… All of You started as a short film 10 years ago. What appeals about the romantic genre? BRETT GOLDSTEIN I love that genre. The only thing I’m interested in writing is relationships. It’s what connects me to any story. All the big TV shows are stuffed with romantic comedy but it’s just not been in the cinema for a while. IMOGEN POOTS Romance is often dismissed as silly or adolescent, reserved for teenagers, but it’s what great music and poems are written about. Brett, as on Ted Lasso you’re a writer, producer and actor here — how do you juggle it all? BRETT I prefer it that way, because I’m thinking about every aspect anyway. When you’re hired as an actor, there are times when you’re frustrated because you think a scene should change a bit, but it’s not your place to do that. This way I write a script, and it’s perfect to me, but then I start filming and see things, so I can adapt it to become better. Have any romcoms shaped how you believe relationships are in real life? IMOGEN Notting Hill! BRETT The problem with a lot of those films is that it would be psychotic if you turned up at an airport or got out a boombox and made a big speech. IMOGEN No, it wouldn’t! That’s what I expect and it’s not happening! Then again, I always wanted a cowboy and then I dated a few of them… some things are better as a myth. BRETT My fantasy was living under the sea with a mermaid, so all these things have their issues… Do you believe in soulmates? IMOGEN It changes all the time, but there are moments in my life that have shifted by meeting another person. I don’t necessarily think i…

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All of You's Brett Goldstein and Imogen Potts on soulmates, crying at films – and why social media is ruining romance
type: item
date: 2025-09-22T23:01:07.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Movies
subject: Apple TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The new Apple TV+ film – which Goldstein also co-wrote – explores a test which allows the user to discover their soulmate.
encoded: Brett Goldstein, 45, is known as the foul-mouthed footballer Roy Kent in Ted Lasso — but in All of You, he shows off his softer side. He is co-writer and co-producer of the film and stars as Simon, who’s in love with his best friend Laura, played by 36-year-old Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later). Unfortunately, she’s about to take a futuristic test to discover her true soulmate… All of You started as a short film 10 years ago. What appeals about the romantic genre? BRETT GOLDSTEIN: I love that genre. The only thing I’m interested in writing is relationships. It’s what connects me to any story. All the big TV shows are stuffed with romantic comedy but it’s just not been in the cinema for a while. IMOGEN POOTS: Romance is often dismissed as silly or adolescent, reserved for teenagers, but it’s what great music and poems are written about. Brett, as on Ted Lasso you’re a writer, producer and actor here – how do you juggle it all? BRETT: I prefer it that way, because I’m thinking about every aspect anyway. When you’re hired as an actor, there are times when you’re frustrated because you think a scene should change a bit, but it’s not your place to do that. This way I write a script, and it’s perfect to me, but then I start filming and see things, so I can adapt it to become better. Have any romcoms shaped how you believe relationships are in real life? IMOGEN: Notting Hill BRETT: The problem with a lot of those films is that it would be psychotic if you turned up at an airport or got out a boombox and made a big speech. IMOGEN: No, it wouldn’t! That’s what I expect and it’s not happening! Then again, I always wanted a cowboy and then I dated a few of them… some things are better as a myth. BRETT: My fantasy was living under the sea with a mermaid, so all these things have their issues... Do you believe in soulmates? IMOGEN: It changes all the time, but there are moments in my life that have shifted by meeting another person. I don’t necessarily think it’s always a good thing…

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Blue Lights writer on police force's "hidden trauma" – and why show's will-they, won't-they story had to end
type: item
date: 2025-09-22T23:01:03.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC One
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Hard-hitting police drama Blue Lights is back and RT was given exclusive access to the set and its stars
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. When Radio Times is invited to visit the set of Blue Lights in Belfast, series two has just won a Bafta for best drama and the cast and crew are understandably in high spirits while filming the third. The award is even proudly on show today at Netherleigh House – the former headquarters of the Department for the Economy, which acts as the fictional Blackthorn Station in modern Belfast. The recreation room, the briefing room, the offices, the interview room – they’re all located within these halls. “The set makes our job so much easier because we don’t have to imagine anything. The police cars are literally parked outside,” says Nathan Braniff, who plays Constable Tommy Foster. “It’s basically like a real police station.” He’s not wrong – it very much feels that way. On a pinboard in the recreation room, which has dartboards, a TV and DVDs, there are polaroids of the cast in character and handwritten cards addressed to the officers. There are even padlocks on the fridges because, during their research, the production designers noticed this quirk in real police stations… the officers don’t want anyone stealing their food. “Once you slip on the uniform and walk on to the set, you’re back at it… people have thought I was a cop. It’s easier to just play along than explain,” says Frank Blake, who stars as unpredictable police officer Shane Bradley. “The [bulletproof] vests don’t get any easier,” adds Katherine Devlin, referring to the heavy uniform she wears as Annie Conlon. “There are so many props to think about… We hate to see our continuity script adviser coming. He’ll be like, ‘Your earpiece wasn’t in.’” The attention to detail is impeccable, which comes as no surprise. It’s written by Northern Irish screenwriters Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, former journalists for Panorama and BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight. They spend about three months researching a new series, speaking to around 25 police officers for each…

The secrets of casting the next breakout child star – from Adolescence to the new Harry Potter series
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Stacey Burrows founded the Bradford-based Articulate drama school and casting agency, which secures significant film and television roles for children and young adults.
encoded: Add Adolescence to your watchlist. Articulate drama school and casting agency in Bradford, set up by Stacey Burrows, provided 150 child extras for Netflix hit Adolescence, which swept this year's Emmy Awards. Amélie Pease (who plays Lisa, Jamie’s sister), Fatima Bojang (Jade) and Austin Haynes (Fredo) also all came through the drama school – as did Austin’s brother Rocco, who is seen in the opening of 28 Years Later, and Rory Wilmot, who has been cast as Neville Longbottom in the new Harry Potter series in an eight-year deal. Here Burrows tells RT how she helps to nurture young talent. CHANGING CAREER In 2013, I was working as a barrister in county courts and magistrates’ courts across the North working on low-level cases, but I was doing a lot of public speaking in courtrooms. I was looking to give back, so I set up a public speaking school for kids one night a week and created a website for parents to track their children’s progress. CBeebies came across it and asked me to do a bit of vocal coaching on a series and I agreed as long as I could get some of the kids in as extras. Then they just kept calling me back asking for more children. I dropped the legal stuff and the agency really took off in 2015. SUPPORTING YOUNG PERFORMERS We've just opened up to adults, but our focus is on children and young performers up to the age of 25. We represent kids from all over the country, but a lot of them are generally from disadvantaged or diverse backgrounds. Yesterday, one of my actors couldn't afford to get to a recall, so we booked their train tickets and said, “Pay us back when you're rich and famous.” Our drama classes are about £8 a week, and we offer loads of scholarships. We also go to schools and run free workshops to teach people about what it's like to be an actor. WORKING WITH CASTING DIRECTORS We’ve got all the regulars on Waterloo Road and Emmerdale and a lot of people come to us for the gritty Northern dramas. A casting director sends us a detailed brief of al…

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What's it like to be a Traitor or take part in Squid Game and Race Across the World?
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Radio Times'sLaura Rutkowski tests out the live experiences from three popular TV game shows...
encoded: It’s not enough to just watch TV any more — we need to experience it. As people increasingly choose to prioritise and pay for interactive “experiences” over material things, and live, sleep and breathe all things entertainment, production companies have seen an opening — what if you could actually step into the world of your favourite TV show, even if it’s just for a couple of hours? It seems to have all started with Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience, which debuted in Brisbane, Australia in 1997, and has since gone global. The Crystal Maze Live Experience launched in 2016 and arguably made these types of events mainstream. If you name a TV show, there’s probably been an experience for it: Friends, Doctor Who, Taskmaster, The Cube. In the US, Netflix House is launching later this year as a free year-round entertainment venue for fans to step inside the worlds of their favourite shows, from Stranger Things to Squid Game. In August, the dating app Thursday partnered up with Love Is Blind: UK in London, Manchester and Glasgow to allow singletons to go on blind dates in “pods”, just like they do in the series. Clearly, some shows really are just crying out to be experienced firsthand. So, along with my friends, family and colleagues, I put these three to the test… THE TRAITORS GAME FACE ON I’m playing the game with 13 other players — most of whom are strangers — across two hours. Our host (sadly not Claudia Winkleman) instructs us at the Round Table (exactly like the one in the show) in tasks where we work together to win gold. Everything you do once you step into the room counts, and a good poker face is crucial. 100% FAITHFUL The game is surprisingly tense and follows the rules of The Traitors very closely — of all the TV experiences, this one is probably the closest to the real thing. My heart’s pounding, I’m nervous, and I’m lying terribly! I nearly go out at the very first Round Table because a few people, including a sweet woman called Gemma, vote for me. I’m to…

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View from my Sofa: Chris O'Dowd
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The Irish star on romcoms and regional identity — and why his dog is a Puffin
encoded: Add Puffin Rock to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? A dark-green wallpapered wall, then a big TV over the fireplace, which I know you’re not supposed to do. Our two dogs, Meatloaf and Puffin, and two cats, Boo and Myrtle, are usually on the sofa. We also have a tortoise called Sandwich. Puffin as in Puffin Rock, the kids’ animated series you narrate about the marine birds on the coast of Ireland? Yes, Puffin is named in tribute, because the kids [O’Dowd has two sons with his wife, writer/presenter Dawn O’Porter] were watching a lot of it at the time. It’s basically me reading them a story! What have you been watching lately? I really enjoyed Bad Sisters and Colin from Accounts. My kids just finished watching all of The Simpsons. It’s been fun explaining some of those jokes. I’m also in an episode! We watch old movies with them, but I made a mistake… they were too young for Arachnophobia. Luckily, the younger one said, “I need to stop watching this now.” He’s absolutely obsessed with insects, so he watches a lot of YouTube videos about how to build terrariums. We’ve got a little pond in the garden and he’s been going bananas for all these newts and salamanders, and now the frogs have started coming. Puffin Rock features regional Irish accents. Do you think we’re hearing them more often on screen? We’re going through such a great phase for Irish actors achieving success, and it’s becoming more and more normalised. Regional accents are important because it’s all about representation. There’s no point everybody just sounding like posh English people, because that’s not what everybody’s like. Can you speak any Irish? Bits, but not well. I have been using Duolingo since the Celtic revival has been happening. I think the resurgence is wonderful, because through the suppression of language we’ve lost so much knowledge about ourselves. The last century in Ireland was just about the state standing on its own two feet and the actual identity underneath all of tha…

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View from my sofa: Emily Atack
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The actor on her lost childhood, the benefits of intimacy coordinators — and her obsession with aliens
encoded: Add The Rumour to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? Years ago, I was skint and had a tiny telly in my flat. The guy I was dating then said, “Emily, for someone who’s on TV, you should have a bigger TV.” I was mortified so I overcompensated and now I have this ridiculously massive, over-the-top television that’s half in the kitchen, half in the living room. What have you watched recently? I’m quite late to the party but I’m really into Grey’s Anatomy right now. Since becoming a mother [to one-year-old son Barney with her fiancé Dr Alistair Garner], TV time is even more sacred. Who controls the remote at home? Al and I usually find a drama we want to watch together – if we see an episode without each other, it’s like cheating. We’ve been watching The Perfect Couple and Unforgivable, and we’re about to start Alien: Earth. I’m obsessed with aliens and UFOs. I’m a believer – who’s to say there isn’t life elsewhere? Al is a scientist, so you might think he’d not believe in all that, but he does. What do you watch with Barney? We love Bluey, In the Night Garden and Mr Tumble. I’m really good at sign language now because CBeebies features Makaton and BSL. Barney has even started to sign! There are so many lovely inclusive, diverse programmes that are teaching him positive messages. The CBeebies presenters are brilliant – I’d be really starstruck if I met them. What’s your first TV memory? My mum [Kate Robbins] has always been on TV. My late uncle Simon [Shelton] played Tinky Winky in Teletubbies, so my childhood was spent going to Teletubbyland and to the studios where my mum was working, seeing behind the scenes, but it kind of destroyed my childhood. I saw Barney the dinosaur with his head off. Mum was on Spitting Image and kept some of the puppets in the house. If my siblings and I were naughty, she’d say, “You have to sit in the room with the Margaret Thatcher puppet,” which I was really scared of. So really, I should hate TV! In The Rumour, a convicted chi…

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The Paper's Domhnall Gleeson on what makes The Office spin-off "stand on its own"
type: item
date: 2025-09-02T13:40:34.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
subject: Video
description: The new sitcom is about "fighting the good fight – even if it feels like you're losing".
encoded: The Paper star Domhnall Gleeson has explained why the spin-off from massively successful sitcom The Office (US), which was itself inspired by the UK version, stands on its own from those two preceding shows. Both the UK and US editions focused on employees at a mundane paper merchant – Wernham Hogg in Slough, Berkshire, and Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania, respectively – where outlandish bosses sparked farcical scenarios. This spiritual successor shifts focus to a fictional local newspaper operating out of the American midwestern town of Toledo, Ohio, which idealistic incoming editor Ned Sampson (Gleeson) is attempting to restore to its former glory. Ned is certainly more reasonable and self-aware than David Brent or Michael Scott, but the show does boast two characters more akin to those nightmare bosses in the form of Tim Key's Ken Davies and Sabrina Impacciatore's Esmeralda Grand. On what differentiates The Paper from The Office's most famous incarnations, Gleeson told RadioTimes.com: "There was a cringe humour that happened with [David Brent and Michael Scott], but that was part of what made them great. "If you look at how different those two characters are to each other – they're totally different, those actors made them totally [their own]. And the humour of each of those programmes is different from each other." Gleeson continued: "And in a similar way, this is [different, but] probably closer to the American Office in terms of the tone. "I think it's very hopeful in loads of ways, and all about fighting the good fight, even if it feels like you're losing. I loved that about it and I hope that's one of the things that makes it stand on its own two feet." The Office (US) creator Greg Daniels is behind this spin-off, teaming up with Nathan for You's Michael Koman, while Chelsea Frei (The Life List), Melvin Gregg (Snowfall), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Black Ops) and a returning Óscar Núñez round out the cast. The Paper premieres on Sky Max and NOW on Friday 5th…

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Rivals' Emily Atack reveals what shows she's watching and what she hopes to teach her son
type: item
date: 2025-09-01T21:00:22.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
description: The Rivals star sits down with Radio Times to discuss her new thriller series The Rumour and being a new mum.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What’s the view from your sofa? Years ago, I was skint and had a tiny telly in my flat. The guy I was dating then said, “Emily, for someone who’s on TV, you should have a bigger TV.” I was mortified so I overcompensated and now I have this ridiculously massive, over-the-top television that’s half in the kitchen, half in the living room. What have you watched recently? I’m quite late to the party but I’m really into Grey’s Anatomy right now. Since becoming a mother [to one-year-old son Barney with her fiancé Dr Alistair Garner], TV time is even more sacred. Who controls the remote at home? Al and I usually find a drama we want to watch together – if we see an episode without each other, it’s like cheating. We’ve been watching The Perfect Couple and Unforgivable, and we’re about to start Alien: Earth. I’m obsessed with aliens and UFOs. I’m a believer – who’s to say there isn’t life elsewhere? Al is a scientist, so you might think he’d not believe in all that, but he does. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/08/THE-RUMOURFirst-Look-Rachel-Shenton-as-Joanne-and-Emily-Atack-as-Debbie-with-cast--a3cc795.jpg" width="3800" height="2533" alt="Rachel Shenton and Emily Atack star in The Rumour; Rachel's character, Joanna, is talking to a group of women sat in front of her, with concerned and unwelcoming expressions on their faces" title="THE RUMOUR - (Firt Look)" /> What do you watch with Barney? We love Bluey, In the Night Garden and Mr Tumble. I’m really good at sign language now because CBeebies features Makaton and BSL. Barney has even started to sign! There are so many lovely inclusive, diverse programmes that are teaching him positive messages. The CBeebies presenters are brilliant – I’d be really starstruck if I met them. What’s your first TV memory? My mum [Kate Robbins] has always been on TV. My late uncle Simon [Shelton] played Tinky Winky in Teletubbies, so my childhood was sp…

Let them eat cake!
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Paul, Prue, Alison and Noel get the new series off to a stylish start…
encoded: Add season 16 of The Great British Bake Off to your watchlist. The Great British Bake Off tent smells exactly as you would imagine — buttery, sweet, toasty. RT joins the set in Welford Park in Berkshire, where it’s been located since series five, and it’s not hard to see why thousands apply every year. Today, the bakers for series 16 are working on a signature challenge of… well, you’ll have to watch to find out. But RT can confirm they all taste delicious — judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith have their work cut out. Alison Hammond, who has co-hosted with Noel Fielding since 2023, agrees. “I will taste the thing that didn’t do well and say, ‘I don’t know what Paul and Prue are talking about. Everything’s amazing!’ I told one of the bakers and he was like, ‘We don’t really care about what you think, Alison!’” “It’s a stressful situation,” adds Fielding. “The bakers’ chats with us are a little escape from the pressure of the actual baking.” Other parts of the Bake Off recipe are getting a refresh this series. “We’ve experimented with the technical challenges,” says executive producer Kieran Smith. “People thought the technicals were getting more complicated, so we reined that in to focus on traditional baking.” Other new ideas include challenges where key ingredients have to be combined with two other bakers’-choice flavours, or where the bakers use their hands instead of utensils. “We’ve also moved away from international weeks — we’d say we’re making this country’s signature dish and then people with that heritage would go, ‘You’d never put those flavours in it!’” says Smith. “We certainly listen to viewers’ feedback — we just want to keep it within the confines of what people love about Bake Off. Everyone will let us know if we mess with it too much.”

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