Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2025-12-08T17:54:34.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Meet the miniaturists shrinking Christmas for RT this year
items: Wallace and Gromit creator reveals whether Aardman Animations will use AI in future - and what they won’t compromise on
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!
items: Ten Questions with Tom Cullen
items: Former Downton Abbey star Tom Cullen recalls "very fun" but "scary" experience on show
items: View from my sofa: Alex Lawther
items: Alien: Earth star Alex Lawther explains Xenomorph effects and talks joining iconic franchise
items: View from my sofa: Bill Bailey
items: Bill Bailey argues why AI will not replace humans - and what this means for the future of live performances
items: What's it like to bring dragons to life?
items: What's it like to perform surgery with Netflix watching?
items: View from My sofa: Victoria Coren Mitchell

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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Wallace and Gromit creator reveals whether Aardman Animations will use AI in future - and what they won’t compromise on
type: item
date: 2025-12-07T16:00:25.000Z
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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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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Ten Questions with Tom Cullen
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The suave star of Downton and The Gold turns Welsh crime boss — but why was he kicked out of drama school?
encoded: Add Mudtown to your watchlist Period drama favourite Tom Cullen, 40, who’s starred in Downton Abbey, Knightfall and The Gold, has left the past behind to star in Mudtown, set in Newport Magistrates’ Court in the present day. The in-demand Welshman will also appear in upcoming series Trespasses with Gillian Anderson and season three of House of the Dragon — but from now on, he says, he’s putting family before fame. Why did you recently move from London back to Wales? When you’ve got two kids [daughters aged two and four with his partner, actress/musician Alison Sudol], your world becomes smaller. The things I loved about London – its intensity, bars, gigs and theatre – I wasn’t able to do as much. I grew up in the mountains, swimming in rivers, and I had so much autonomy. My kids didn’t have that in London. Now, my elder daughter is about to go to Welsh school, so I’ve been learning the language. For the last ten years, I’ve had this real sense of hiraeth, a Welsh word for a yearning for where you’re from. Now I’m home, I feel calm again, like I can breathe. Would you encourage your daughters to pursue creative careers? I want them to do whatever makes them happy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one becomes an actress, and the other a musician. They’re showing early signs already! My parents [who worked at a theatre company in Llandrindod Wells, Powys] never earned a lot of money, but they never tried to put me off doing it. I saw how much joy a creative life brought them. Does having a young family impact the jobs you take? Before, I could film in Jordan or live in Prague for a year, and that was really exciting, but the focus shifts. It’s about making choices for my family now. I’m about to shoot a film in North Wales and they’re coming with me. I love being a father. It’s the most important part of my life – I don’t want to miss a second! Is that why you joined Mudtown — to tell Welsh stories? Wales has often been very underrepresented as part of the UK. Growing up…

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Former Downton Abbey star Tom Cullen recalls "very fun" but "scary" experience on show
type: item
date: 2025-08-18T23:01:15.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
description: The suave star of Downton and The Gold turns Welsh crime boss — but why was he kicked out of drama school?
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Period drama favourite Tom Cullen, 40, who’s starred in Downton Abbey, Knightfall and The Gold, has left the past behind to star in Mudtown, set in Newport Magistrates’ Court in the present day. The in-demand Welshman will also appear in upcoming series Trespasses with Gillian Anderson and season three of House of the Dragon — but from now on, he says, he’s putting family before fame. Why did you recently move from London back to Wales? When you’ve got two kids [daughters aged two and four with his partner, actress/musician Alison Sudol], your world becomes smaller. The things I loved about London – its intensity, bars, gigs and theatre – I wasn’t able to do as much. I grew up in the mountains, swimming in rivers, and I had so much autonomy. My kids didn’t have that in London. Now, my elder daughter is about to go to Welsh school, so I’ve been learning the language. For the last ten years, I’ve had this real sense of hiraeth, a Welsh word for a yearning for where you’re from. Now I’m home, I feel calm again, like I can breathe. Would you encourage your daughters to pursue creative careers? I want them to do whatever makes them happy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one becomes an actress, and the other a musician. They’re showing early signs already! My parents [who worked at a theatre company in Llandrindod Wells, Powys] never earned a lot of money, but they never tried to put me off doing it. I saw how much joy a creative life brought them. Does having a young family impact the jobs you take? Before, I could film in Jordan or live in Prague for a year, and that was really exciting, but the focus shifts. It’s about making choices for my family now. I’m about to shoot a film in North Wales and they’re coming with me. I love being a father. It’s the most important part of my life – I don’t want to miss a second! Is that why you joined Mudtown — to tell Welsh stories? Wales has often been very underrepresented as par…

View from my sofa: Alex Lawther
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: From Andor to Alien, the actor has travelled worlds away from Winchester…
encoded: Add Alien: Earth to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? A blank wall! A video projector sits on the floor by a big grey sofa, and it’s the most expensive, but best, purchase I’ve ever made. During Covid, I spent every evening in front of it. What have you been watching on it? Series three of Big Boys is excellent. British comedy is good at toeing the line between having strongly drawn, quite silly characters, then also being really moving. It’s the same with Alma’s Not Normal. The recent series of Black Mirror was one of my favourites. I love/resent that I was part of the same series as the San Junipero episode, which they shot in Cape Town, and we shot ours, Shut Up and Dance, in Watford. Who controls the remote? My partner and I are very indecisive – we’ll sometimes end up not watching anything! We draw up little lists for each other, like, “OK, here are five things to watch. What do you most want to see?” The new series Alien: Earth is set two years before the film Alien and you play Hermit, a medic who has lost his whole family, or so he thinks. What was your first experience of the Alien franchise? My mum was obsessed with Sigourney Weaver. I remember the characters and interactions more than the scary alien! The material world of the spaceship also really stuck in my head – I was struck by the beauty and strangeness. I thought, “That’s what the world of sci-fi is.” Is the Xenomorph CGI in Alien: Earth? No, it is played by a guy in a rubber suit, a tall New Zealander called Cam, who was probably the most committed to his role out of all of us. We filmed for six months in Thailand, so he was overheating most of the time! You made your professional debut at the age of 16 in the play South Downs. How did that come about? Every Thursday, my English teacher ran an improv club and it was my favourite day of the week. Then she left the school, but we all kept meeting up as this renegade group of unsupervised children. I was singled out as the ringleader and…

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Alien: Earth star Alex Lawther explains Xenomorph effects and talks joining iconic franchise
type: item
date: 2025-08-04T23:01:22.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
description: From Andor to Alien, the actor has travelled worlds away from Winchester…
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What’s the view from your sofa? A blank wall! A video projector sits on the floor by a big grey sofa, and it’s the most expensive, but best, purchase I’ve ever made. During Covid, I spent every evening in front of it. What have you been watching on it? Series three of Big Boys is excellent. British comedy is good at toeing the line between having strongly drawn, quite silly characters, then also being really moving. It’s the same with Alma’s Not Normal. The recent series of Black Mirror was one of my favourites. I love/resent that I was part of the same series as the San Junipero episode, which they shot in Cape Town, and we shot ours, Shut Up and Dance, in Watford. Who controls the remote? My partner and I are very indecisive – we’ll sometimes end up not watching anything! We draw up little lists for each other, like, “OK, here are five things to watch. What do you most want to see?” The new series Alien: Earth is set two years before the film Alien and you play Hermit, a medic who has lost his whole family, or so he thinks. What was your first experience of the Alien franchise? My mum was obsessed with Sigourney Weaver. I remember the characters and interactions more than the scary alien! The material world of the spaceship also really stuck in my head – I was struck by the beauty and strangeness. I thought, “That’s what the world of sci-fi is.” Is the Xenomorph CGI in Alien: Earth? No, it is played by a guy in a rubber suit, a tall New Zealander called Cam, who was probably the most committed to his role out of all of us. We filmed for six months in Thailand, so he was overheating most of the time! You made your professional debut at the age of 16 in the play South Downs. How did that come about? Every Thursday, my English teacher ran an improv club and it was my favourite day of the week. Then she left the school, but we all kept meeting up as this renegade group of unsupervised children. I was singled out as …

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View from my sofa: Bill Bailey
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The comedian on day beds, dancing, skydives and the electronic hurdy-gurdy
encoded: Add My Life Is Murder to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? My wife [Kristin Bailey] and I have an antique bed that we picked up when we were travelling in Indonesia. There’s a tradition of day beds there, and we were most taken with this thing. We have a telly on the wall and we only use it to watch films, or occasionally a show we really like. We arrange ourselves with cushions and everything – viewing is very much an occasion. No snacks allowed – no crumbs in the bed! But we might allow a discreet bowl of peanuts. What have you been watching while reclining on your day bed recently? Severance was ingenious, well acted and so darkly funny. I’m a big fan of science fiction, so I loved the adaptation of the Silo books – Rebecca Ferguson’s absolutely brilliant. Andor is my favourite of all the Star Wars spin-offs. It’s visually thrilling and exciting. In the crime series My Life Is Murder [the series finale is this week], you guest-starred as a courier. How would you murder someone? Is this a real interview? Am I being screened through my answers? I’m not a violent person. I don’t think I’m capable of doing that. I’d probably do it accidentally. I’m quite clumsy, so maybe I’d be on the top of a cliff or something and swing my arm around and go, “It’s a lovely view over there! Oh… sorry!” You won Strictly Come Dancing in 2020. Are you still busting moves? I’ve always loved dancing. If there’s an event where dancing is allowed, I’ve always flung myself into it with reckless abandon, but to know how to do it properly with the steps is just fantastic. It’s not a skill I ever want to lose. I always incorporate it into my show, whether it’s a bit of charleston or a bit of paso doble. Strictly took me out of my comfort zone, but it was a great way to increase my confidence. It was such a joyous thing to do. I read that you can play 63 musical instruments. Is that number accurate? Somebody apparently worked it out, but since that random number was plucked from th…

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Bill Bailey argues why AI will not replace humans - and what this means for the future of live performances
type: item
date: 2025-07-28T23:01:58.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The comedian on day beds, dancing, skydives and the electronic hurdy-gurdy.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What’s the view from your sofa? My wife [Kristin Bailey] and I have an antique bed that we picked up when we were travelling in Indonesia. There’s a tradition of day beds there, and we were most taken with this thing. We have a telly on the wall and we only use it to watch films, or occasionally a show we really like. We arrange ourselves with cushions and everything – viewing is very much an occasion. No snacks allowed – no crumbs in the bed! But we might allow a discreet bowl of peanuts. What have you been watching while reclining on your day bed recently? Severance was ingenious, well acted and so darkly funny. I’m a big fan of science fiction, so I loved the adaptation of the Silo books – Rebecca Ferguson’s absolutely brilliant. Andor is my favourite of all the Star Wars spin-offs. It’s visually thrilling and exciting. In the crime series My Life Is Murder [the series finale is this week], you guest-starred as a courier. How would you murder someone? Is this a real interview? Am I being screened through my answers? I’m not a violent person. I don’t think I’m capable of doing that. I’d probably do it accidentally. I’m quite clumsy, so maybe I’d be on the top of a cliff or something and swing my arm around and go, “It’s a lovely view over there! Oh… sorry!” You won Strictly Come Dancing in 2020. Are you still busting moves? I’ve always loved dancing. If there’s an event where dancing is allowed, I’ve always flung myself into it with reckless abandon, but to know how to do it properly with the steps is just fantastic. It’s not a skill I ever want to lose. I always incorporate it into my show, whether it’s a bit of charleston or a bit of paso doble. Strictly took me out of my comfort zone, but it was a great way to increase my confidence. It was such a joyous thing to do. I read that you can play 63 musical instruments. Is that number accurate? Somebody apparently worked it out, but since that random number was pl…

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height: 2000

What's it like to bring dragons to life?
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Puppeteer and Tom Wilton "creature actor" Tom Wilton on creating How to Train Your Dragon
encoded: Add How to Train Your Dragon to your watchlist The giraffe in Wonka, a velociraptor in the Jurassic World franchise, John Cena’s mermaid tail for Barbie — in his career as a puppeteer and “creature actor” Tom Wilton has brought many weird and wonderful creations to our screens. His latest is Toothless the Night Fury in the live-action film How to Train Your Dragon, a remake of the animated version (based on the Cressida Cowell book). As creature puppetry supervisor, Wilton and his team brought the winged animals to life on the island of Berk, where Vikings have spent centuries fighting dragons until the chief’s teenage son Hiccup (Mason Thames) befriends one. Here’s how Wilton’s performances, combined with the technical wizardry of visual effects company Framestore, make for movie magic… View Green Video on the source website A STABLE JOB I was working in regional theatre and was given a tiny part in War Horse. Then I asked to be one of the horse puppeteers and had a two-week puppetry crash course. The first film I worked on was Star Wars Episode VII: the Force Awakens, which renewed interest in practical creature effects. They wanted War Horse puppeteers on the movie — the Luggabeast was directly inspired by Joey the horse. NO BALLS, PLEASE Everyone’s heard the cliché of using a tennis ball on the end of a stick for an eyeline for an actor to act opposite. With a puppet, we’re there to provide actors with a scene partner. The more they believe the creature is real, the easier it is, and the quality of their performance is better. FROM PROPS TO PUPPETS Typically, the prop modelling department would make something to represent a creature, but it was a prop that didn’t move. So we’d try to breathe life into this thing. The tipping point was [Harry Potter spin-off] Fantastic Beasts, when I got puppet and creature makers Stitches and Glue involved, who also designed all the puppets for How to Train Your Dragon. THE SCALES FALL We introduced Mason and Nico [Parker, who p…

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What's it like to perform surgery with Netflix watching?
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
description: In Critical: Between Life and Death, cameras follow the work of NHS trauma teams.
encoded: Add Critical: Between Life and Death to your watchlist In the engrossing and shocking new Netflix documentary series Critical: Between Life and Death, 40 cameras are embedded for 21 days across the entire London Major Trauma System, which includes major trauma centres at The Royal London Hospital, St George's Hospital, King's College Hospital and St Mary's Hospital. Mr Ibraheim El-Daly, 41, who grew up in northwest London, has been a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at King's College Hospital for five years. Here he tells RT how it feels to be filmed on the job. I studied at City St George's, University of London, and during my rotations, I fell in love with orthopaedic surgery. I liked the power tools – the screwdriver, mallet, and my favourite, the drill! I did my five-year orthopaedic training at the Royal London Hospital. I then spent a year at Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, a major trauma centre in Paris. I came back to a job at King’s College and it was very fast-paced. I thrive on stress. I appeared in Channel 4’s Emergency and 24 hours in A&E. The same production company behind those shows told us Netflix loved them and would like to do their own medical series. With Netflix it’s a great opportunity to expose the NHS to the world. A lot of the problems you hear in the media about the NHS are true, like trying to get an appointment, but our major trauma network is second to none. We even have WhatsApp groups with all the major trauma surgeons – there’s a national pelvic group and a national upper limb group. We post cases and discuss them. I feel sad that we don't promote ourselves, because we have such amazing experience and expertise that we should be selling our services. The NHS could benefit by going to countries and helping them create the same level of trauma care that we deliver for citizens of the UK. The camera crew followed me everywhere I went, but they never got in my way. They were constantly checking they weren’t doing anything…

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View from My sofa: Victoria Coren Mitchell
type: item
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: App
subject: App features
subject: App archive 100
description: Poirot, Claudia Winkleman and Bluey — the Only Connect presenter is a fan of them all
encoded: This article was first published in Radio Times magazine in July 2025. Add Only Connect to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? We have quite a small TV and a lot of bookshelves, so whatever I’m watching, I always feel simultaneously a bit guilty that I’m not reading. On reflection, it was a mistake to put the “highbrow books” section right behind the TV set. If the Beano annuals were there, I wouldn’t feel guilty at all. What have you enjoyed watching recently? I loved LOL: Last One Laughing UK on Prime Video. It was given edge by the cultural fear about what we are and aren’t allowed to laugh at – but just watching comedians do silly things, through the filter of others trying to keep a straight face, made it one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Who controls the remote at home? There seem to be a lot of remotes. I know one of them’s for the telly and one’s for the other box, where you choose iPlayer or whatever, and then three more of uncertain provenance or role. I’m not sure if anybody really “controls” these remotes but it’s certainly not me. With a young daughter and a baby, what’s your approach to screen time? My ten-year-old loves The Masked Singer and old episodes of Poirot, just like her mother. The baby doesn’t have any screen time; she’s only 18 months old. She loves Bluey – an excellent TV show – but she doesn’t know it’s a TV show. She just thinks it’s a source of really great plastic dog Weebles. What did you watch growing up? We were grateful for anything. Occasionally I dig out programmes I loved, to show my daughter, banging on about how exciting they were, and then we both sit there puzzled in front of something surprisingly beige and slow. But enough about my husband… You write a TV column. How do you stay unbiased when you have to review something your husband is in? Well, I’m not a critic. When Ludwig [the BBC series starring her husband, David Mitchell] came out, I just wrote a column about puzzles, but I knew it was a great se…

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