Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2025-12-07T12:07:56.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Meet the man who inspired Ralph Fiennes’s Conclave character - and learn the true secrets of selecting a Pope
items: From the archive: A bond betrayed
items: Radio Times Screen Test Awards 2024 reveals nominations shortlist
items: This week's Radio Times is an Olympics special
items: Tom Bradby on surviving Election Night: 'You feel like you've been punched in the face for eight hours'
items: Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson star on this week's Radio Times with 3 special covers
items: The Piano's Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika are on this week's Radio Times cover
items: Chris Packham is this week's Radio Times cover star and guest editor for Earth Day
items: Abba star on this week's Radio Times cover
items: Scoop's Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes star on this week's Radio Times
items: Ewan McGregor is this week's Radio Times cover star
items: Star Wars' Carrie Fisher features on this week's Radio Times cover
items: Comic Relief's Lenny Henry is on the cover of this week's Radio Times
items: Samantha Bond, Meera Syal and Sally Lindsay appear on Radio Times crime special covers
items: Rod Stewart and Jools Holland appear on this week's Radio Times
items: David Tennant stars on cover of Radio Times BAFTA Film Awards special
items: This week's Radio Times cover features special fashion illustration for Apple TV+'s The New Look
items: This week's Radio Times is a 2024 Six Nations special
items: Masters of the Air cast star on this week's Radio Times cover
items: Best new shows of 2024 in this week's Radio Times magazine
items: The Traitors' Claudia Winkleman is this week's Radio Times cover star
items: Chicken Run's Rocky, Ginger and Molly star on this week's Radio Times cover
items: Doctor Who's David Tennant and Catherine Tate are on this week's Radio Times cover
items: This week’s Radio Times cover features the late Dame Deborah James
items: Introducing your new and improved Radio Times magazine
items: Zoe Ball on taking over Radio 2's Breakfast Show: "I've got my work cut out – but I'm ready for it"
items: Who is Zharnel Hughes? Meet the England sprint star running for gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
items: Commonwealth Games 2018: Scotland's Beth Potter goes for gold in women's triathlon
items: Zoë Ball on how the loss of boyfriend Billy Yates motivated her Sport Relief challenge
items: Bear Grylls on education, never giving up and whether he'd take Donald Trump on one of his adventures

Meet the man who inspired Ralph Fiennes’s Conclave character - and learn the true secrets of selecting a Pope
type: item
date: 2025-12-07T16:00:13.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Magazine
description: As the world watched the Vatican chimney, Cardinal Vincent Nichols was sealed inside – and now he tells the story of electing Pope Leo XIV.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. For a man who helped inspire Ralph Fiennes's masterful performance in the Oscar-winning movie Conclave, Cardinal Vincent Nichols is remarkably relaxed about watching himself on screen. "I haven't seen the film yet," says the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, to give the spiritual leader of the four million Catholics in England and Wales his full title, as he welcomes me into his study, an enclave of tranquillity tucked behind the neo- Byzantine grandeur of Westminster Cathedral. "But we did have a long chat before he played the part. He came here and we talked for three hours. Then I said, 'Do you want to try on the kit?' I went to get it and he got dressed, looked in the mirror and said, 'OK, I feel all right now.' It's amazing being able to switch character like that. He's a remarkable man." Nichols also hasn't asked to see a preview of the BBC Two documentary Secrets of the Conclave, in which he plays a leading role recounting what happened behind closed doors during the real conclave that took place in Rome to choose a successor to Pope Francis. For Nichols, it was the highlight of his life in the Church. A tall, softly spoken 80-year-old, born and brought up in Crosby and still carrying enough of a Merseyside accent to make sense of the framed Liverpool FC shirt hanging above his study door, Nichols radiates the same quiet charisma in person that he does on television. He may not have seen Hollywood's take on Robert Harris's 2016 novel about the power plays, political wrangling and court intrigue surrounding the election of a fictional pope, but why would he need to, having been part of the centuries-old process that elected Pope Leo XIV? For two days in May, with millions around the world watching the Vatican chimney on news networks and YouTube, it was one of the biggest live television events of the year. Not that Nichols knew that at the time. Because, along with the other 132 cardinals who took part in…

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From the archive: A bond betrayed
type: item
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: App
subject: App features
description: With the passing of former F1 boss and broadcaster Eddie Jordan, revisit this RT interview from 2009, when the charismatic commentator reflected on his public persona — and how scandal strained his friendship with a racing legend
encoded: This article was first published in RT in October 2009. With two races to go in an F1 season of extraordinary highs and lows, it is reassuring to discover that the canary in the BBC’s commentary cage, Eddie Jordan, is still singing loudly seven months on. A consistently provocative voice during the BBC’s race coverage, the upbeat Dubliner, who once lit up the pit lane in his yellow shirt and slacks, has distinguished a first year in the box with his straight talking, some of it wonderfully off-key in a world where you offend the powers that be at your peril. From Jenson Button leaving mid-grid mediocrity behind with six wins in the first seven races – more victories than Lewis Hamilton managed in all of last season – to the continuing aftershock of the Renault scandal, where team boss Flavio Briatore was found to have ordered a driver to crash deliberately, Jordan has been telling it like it is. “I have always had a very low concentration level. I say what is in my mind at the time. If it’s controversial it’s controversial, if it’s fun it’s fun and if it is stupid it is stupid. I’m not one of these people who are cloned. You get Eddie Jordan as he comes,” he says, slipping into a moment of third-person pomposity uncharacteristic for a man who breezily ran his Jordan team from 1991 to 2005 as a private venture. “He absolutely let himself down,” he says of one-time rival and friend Briatore. “I do not know any other person that has abused the management of one of their drivers to this level. It’s not anything I would have thought of. “Do I believe he has let that friendship down? I do believe that. It was a grave error and I’m sure he understands that now. I haven’t spoken to him since. When I speak to him, we will discuss it. Nothing has changed from that point of view, other than I do want him to explain to me why he did it. He needs to come out and make a full apology.” The Briatore affair overshadowed not only Button’s early-season heroics, which have given him a …

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Radio Times Screen Test Awards 2024 reveals nominations shortlist
type: item
date: 2024-09-16T23:01:38.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: TV
subject: News
description: The special awards examine how our favourite programmes make us feel.
encoded: Last month we asked you to vote for your favourite programmes in our annual Screen Test Awards and now we can reveal the nominees in all seven categories. The only television awards based on science, the Radio Times Screen Test Awards grew out of a survey of 22,000 readers and users that we carried out last year with the department of psychology at the University of Sussex. The categories reflect the profound impact TV has on the way we feel, from our levels of happiness, to empathy, to trust and even stress. Because our Screen Test study showed that watching TV, far from being a passive pastime, is an activity that engages not only brain but our emotions too. Study the shortlisted shows and you will see the programme that you voted for as having played a powerful part in our lives in 2024. But which do we judge to be the best in all seven categories? Our jury of academics, psychologists, TV critics and Radio Times editors will unveil the winners at an awards dinner in central London on 5th November. Happy TV Award From murder-solving podcasters to lying British comedians, these are the shows that put the biggest smile on your faces. Changing Ends (ITV1/ITVX) Ghosts (BBC One/iPlayer) Inside No. 9 (BBC Two/iPlayer) Only Murders in the Building (Disney Plus) Would I Lie to You? (BBC One/iPlayer) Empathy Award for Drama These are the characters who touched you, inspired you and moved you to walk in another person's shoes. Chris Carson (Martin Freeman) – The Responder (BBC One/iPlayer) Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) – Bridgerton (Netflix) Jo Hamilton (Monica Dolan) – Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1/ITVX) Dr Abbey Henderson (Joanne Froggatt) – Breathtaking (ITV1/ITVX) Lali Sokolov (Harvey Keitel/Jonah Hauer-King) – The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Sky Atlantic/NOW) Watercooler Award At its best, television stops us in our tracks and gets us all talking. These programmes connected us in 2024. Baby Reindeer (Netflix) Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1/ITVX) Beckham (…

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This week's Radio Times is an Olympics special
type: item
date: 2024-07-16T09:45:30.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: Sport
subject: TV
subject: Olympics
description: Your complete 16-day TV guide to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
encoded: The Olympic Games begin on Friday 26 July as the River Seine offers up a waterborne overture for the greatest show on Earth. It’s as ambitious as it is fanciful – and an entirely appropriate way to herald the 16 days of the XXXIII Olympiad. Is there anything else quite like the Olympics? As the ultimate test for so many sports, it’s a true measure of greatness. But it’s the mix of events, enhanced these days by an ever-expanding list of novel additions – from surfing to break dancing – that makes this the most inclusive of sporting jamborees. Over 16 days, you will be able to watch every event, from athletics to weightlifting, without having to move a muscle, other than to switch channel on the remote control. Many, no doubt, will choose to follow the Games on the BBC, which will broadcast over 250 hours of live coverage. But for those who want to watch every event live, then Eurosport and Discovery+ offer the chance to see all 10,500 athletes and an opportunity to catch all 329 medal moments. If you keep your wits about you. Our 68-page guide in next week's Radio Times includes day-by day listings of the BBC’s coverage and an A-Z daily guide to each sport. Plus, we have the pick of the action chosen by our pundits. With 12 gold, six silver and ten bronze medals between them, there can be no voices better qualified to steer you to the best of the action. Let the Games begin! The Olympics Special issue of Radio Times magazine is out now – subscribe here. Also in this week's Radio Times: We still have our regular listings for the week leading up to Friday’s Opening Ceremony, plus our eight-page streaming section is a sport-free zone. A preview of the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1980s romp, Rivals. We talk to Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon about his role in Roland Emmerich’s Roman-era gladiator drama Those About to Die. In the Radio Times Podcast, Emma Gannon on writing, the joys of slowing down and Ctrl-Alt-Delete View oEmbed on the source website Visit our TV Gu…

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Tom Bradby on surviving Election Night: 'You feel like you've been punched in the face for eight hours'
type: item
date: 2024-06-25T16:20:11.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: Current Affairs
subject: TV
subject: Interview
description: ITN’s anchor Tom Bradby tells Radio Times magazine he has learnt from the best when it comes to Election Night. But how has he survived so long? And why does he no longer care about being at the top of the tree?
encoded: Who would you trust to bring you the news on Election Night? Viewers of a certain age might hark back to the 1970s, choosing perhaps Alastair Burnet’s gravelly staccato barely missing a beat as he juggled Robin Day’s dogged questioning of a future cabinet minister with the animated interventions of the ever-present analysts, the politics professor with a Canadian drawl, Robert McKenzie, and donnish psephologist of swing David Butler. But for Tom Bradby, aged 57, there is only one man to learn from as he prepares for his biggest night in years. “David Dimbleby is the best broadcaster I’ve seen in my lifetime,” says the host of ITV News at Ten and the anchor of their general election coverage this week. “For the last ten years I’ve studied how he does things. He’s completely unflappable. So I’ve tried to be like him, piloting the ship… clear, calm and engaging.” Unlike Burnet, Day, or so many of the greats of Election Nights past, Dimbleby is, of course, still very much with us, even if the BBC dispensed with his services in 2019. Do they talk about their shared trade, master to apprentice? “Yes, he lives just round the corner. I bump into him all the time. We chat for hours. I wouldn’t say he gives me feedback, but we always have long and funny chats.” Does he think Dimbleby will be tuned to ITV come 10pm Thursday? “I wouldn’t dream of making any assumptions about where he was going to watch Election Night,” he says, his eyes twinkling behind a pair of oversized tortoiseshell spectacles. It sounds like a yes. We’re talking in Bradby’s London flat, five floors up in a stuccoed Victorian terrace, a brisk 15-minute walk from Westminster. He has just flown in to London after seeing family abroad, a brief stopover on his way to Winchester where he lives with his jewellery designer wife Claudia, their house now an empty nest since his three 20-something children – two sons and a daughter – left home. He’s as laid-back as he appears on screen – “Don’t Panic, Captain Mainwar…

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Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson star on this week's Radio Times with 3 special covers
type: item
date: 2024-04-30T08:30:10.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
description: The TARDIS travellers on chemistry, mischief, dancing at the Oscars and racing across time and space.
encoded: Sixty years of Doctor Who adventures have provided limitless possibilities for generations of febrile imaginations, whether they belong to its viewers or its writers. After all, how many television heroes can travel wherever they choose in time and space? The new season doesn’t disappoint on either front, with the TARDIS touching down in Regency-era England, the Swinging Sixties and, since it can’t all be grounded on planet Earth, a universe populated by space babies. Unlike previous Doctors, who might arrive in a different epoch or galaxy wearing a second-hand overcoat, multi-coloured scarf, or even a crushed-velvet dinner jacket, this one has the courtesy to dress appropriately. At least in the sense that there is a new outfit for nearly every adventure. It helps, of course, that the man who plays him, Ncuti Gatwa, is described by his stylist, Pam Downe, as a "clothes horse". He needs to be to pull off some of these looks – not least the tight, white Regency breeches. But there is more to the new season than a considerably larger wardrobe bill. The adventures are bigger and bolder, the ambition seems to have grown to match the budgets that come from the BBC joining forces with Disney, and at the heart of the series is a winning relationship between Gatwa’s Doctor and his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). To mark this new start for the latest Doctor, we sent lifelong fan – and Radio 3 arts presenter – Matthew Sweet to test their chemistry. Read his interview with the new Doctor and his latest fellow traveller in this issue, which has three special covers. Also in this week's Radio Times: Martin Freeman on BBC’s The Responder, breaking his rule on doing a second season and anxiety around his character’s accent, plus author and screenwriter Tony Schumacher on leaving the police force, and how writing The Responder saved his life BBC Radio journalist Sue Mitchell chats about Radio 4’s podcast To Catch a Scorpion and migrant smuggling Ahead of BBC Two’s Salman Rus…

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The Piano's Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika are on this week's Radio Times cover
type: item
date: 2024-04-23T11:17:01.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
description: The stars of Channel 4's musical success story reveal the secrets of the most joyful show on TV.
encoded: The story of how The Piano began life may be apocryphal, but it’s worth repeating. A TV executive on his commute walked past an old piano, installed at St Pancras Station to amuse passing passengers, and found the sound of those brave enough to sit on the stool and start playing so uplifting, he decided it must make a television show. That the show then became one of last year’s most unlikely hits – and Channel 4’s biggest ratings success of recent years – is testament to live music’s power to move an audience. Not to mention our love of plucky amateurs ready to have a go at entertaining us that goes back long before TV talent shows such as The Voice and The X Factor. But unlike those shows, the contestants in The Piano had no idea they were part of a competition. They thought they were merely playing for the hell of it, thinking they were being filmed for a documentary about people who play pianos in public spaces for the fleeting entertainment of passers-by. What made the series such a success? In our interview in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine, The Piano’s trio of Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika have their say. To their eyes – and ears – the show worked precisely because it didn’t set out to entertain using all the usual props of TV entertainment: shiny floors and showbiz glitz twinned with fake pathos and jeopardy. But there may have been another key to its success: the simple joy that music can bring, performed at the highest level or by a tinkler of the bar-room ivories. Last September, C4 boss Ian Katz told RT that 2023 spelt the end of mean television. And that he was ready to pronounce a new era of Happy TV. Which may explain why The Piano is back for a second run – especially since he said all this before cycling off to attend a piano lesson. Once you have fallen for The Piano, it’s hard to forget it. The new issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe to Radio Times here. Also in this week's Radio Times: Idris Elba on never h…

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Chris Packham is this week's Radio Times cover star and guest editor for Earth Day
type: item
date: 2024-04-16T08:30:01.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Climate - Intentional focused content
description: The naturalist and broadcaster guest edits our special edition, marking Earth Day on 22nd April.
encoded: It's not often we hand over Radio Times to a third party. But this month's Earth Day gave us an opportunity to call on an old friend of the magazine, Chris Packham, to ask him to grace our cover and also sit in the editor's chair for one week. The result is this week's special edition of RT in which many of the features are devoted to some of the issues that Chris holds dear. Elsewhere, the rest of the magazine remains as it should: at your service, with all the usual guidance for TV, radio and streaming. The Earth Day special issue of Radio Times magazine is out now – subscribe to Radio Times here. Also in this week's Radio Times: Chris Packham meets former punk singer Feargal Sharkey, who's making a big noise about the state of our rivers Making simple changes to your diet is an easy way to help protect the planet – here's how to do it The stories of three young climate campaigners – including one who's prepared to go to jail for her ideals Megan McCubbin picks her top 10 environmental podcasts Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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Abba star on this week's Radio Times cover
type: item
date: 2024-04-09T12:57:47.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: Eurovision
description: From nul points to pop idols, the night Britain fell for Sweden's Fab Four – and why we still love them 50 years on.
encoded: Back in the days when there were just three television channels, the biggest star of Saturday-night TV was an impersonator and a novelty band inspired by a children’s animation could top the singles charts, the Eurovision Song Contest was a very serious competition indeed. In 1974, Britain had the honour of hosting the event, not because we’d won the previous year (Cliff Richard came third), but because the actual winners, Luxembourg, were not prepared to host it. So it was that on 6 April, Abba took to the stage in Brighton to announce themselves to the world. Not that the British jurors were impressed at the time. In fact, they gave the Swedes nul points – unlike the millions watching all over Europe, in particular the other Eurovision juries, who quickly installed Abba and their song Waterloo as the winners. In the latest issue of Radio Times magazine – out now – we remember that night and hear from those who were there, from Benny Andersson of Abba to Mike Batt of the Wombles, who had donned his furry suit to provide the half-time entertainment. All this nostalgia is good clean fun, but of course Abba, who have long resisted demands to reform, remain part of our pop-cultural world. Their songs top playlists, inspire musicals and Hollywood movies and indeed their avatars still sell out shows half a century later. We explore all this and more in our feature. Also in this week's Radio Times: Molly Ringwald and Chloë Sevigny discuss Ryan Murphy's Feud: Capote vs the Swans, playing the original housewives, showbiz fallouts and navigating a male-dominated industry Siân Brooke chats about the new series of Blue Lights, support from Northern Ireland and dealing with fame Sian Gibson on nearly quitting her acting career, her interest in 1970s style, and signing with new agents Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast

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Scoop's Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes star on this week's Radio Times
type: item
date: 2024-04-02T15:38:58.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Movies
subject: TV
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
description: The Netflix film provides the inside story of the explosive TV interview that ended Prince Andrew's career.
encoded: Making television about television must be tempting. After all, television as an industry is as self-absorbed as any other. But unlike, say, The Hour, the 2011 BBC drama series that looked back at the early days of BBC TV, or the BBC spoof W1A, the latest addition to this genre could never be accused of excessive navel gazing. Firstly, it’s a drama about a Newsnight story, made by Netflix. Secondly, it’s centred on the travails of the royal family, which means it has a broad appeal when it comes to finding an audience. Since the first season of The Crown in 2016, dramas about the House of Windsor have proved good business for Netflix. This latest drama, Scoop, which tells the story of Prince Andrew’s 2019 interview with then Newsnight star Emily Maitlis, shares The Crown’s production values and features a big-name cast – Gillian Anderson plays Maitlis, Billie Piper the Newsnight fixer Sam McAlister and Keeley Hawes is Amanda Thirsk, Prince Andrew’s PR minder. The shaming of a prince provides the story. The fact he stuck by a convicted paedophile for far too long, appearing shifty and uncomfortable on screen and failing to express any regret, gives the drama its moral authority. But it’s the tale of the women who brought about his downfall that powers the narrative. Read our interview with McAlister, plus the rest of the cast on making a drama out of a royal crisis. Also in this week's Radio Times: Mary Beard and Bettany Hughes chat about their experience working in TV, receiving death threats and dealing with social media abuse Stacey Solomon discusses her physical appearance, celebrity status, and dealing with trolls online Eddie Marsan on playing Amy Winehouse’s dad, his views on masculinity and using his platform for good Scoop is available to stream on Netflix from Friday 5th April 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming G…

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Ewan McGregor is this week's Radio Times cover star
type: item
date: 2024-03-19T11:04:52.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: On demand
subject: Paramount Plus
description: On his Russian Revolution drama, relationships and why sex scenes are tricky – even with your wife!
encoded: The Russian Revolution and the turmoil that followed once proved rich territory for film-makers, from David Lean's Doctor Zhivago to Warren Beatty's Reds. But we haven't seen that much of revolutionary Russia on screen in recent years, possibly because the Russia we know today has more than enough drama going on in real time. But that changes this week on Paramount+ when Ewan McGregor becomes Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, the leading man in Amor Towles's bestseller A Gentleman in Moscow. McGregor makes a wonderful Count, who is locked in a gilded cage after he strikes a deal with his Bolshevik captors to escape the firing squad as long as he doesn’t leave his grand hotel. It's a story of confinement and romance as Rostov falls for a film star, Anna Urbanova, who is played by McGregor's wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. What's it like to play opposite your other half on screen? And how does that affect your performance, not least your approach to sex scenes? McGregor answers all these questions in a revealing interview in this issue, in which he also talks about family, his four daughters, accents and, of course, Star Wars. Also in this week's Radio Times: Diane Morgan on her pet peeves in comedy dramas, working with David Bowie's son and not learning any lines for new sci-fi film Rogue Trooper Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson chat about Channel 4's Ricky, Sue and a Trip or Two, whether The Royle Family's Barbara and Jim would still be together and achievements throughout their career Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast: Bryony Gordon discusses eating disorders, the impact of writing books, alcoholism and the role gender plays in media consumption View oEmbed on the source website A Gentleman in Moscow will debut on Friday 29th March on Paramount+. Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Rad…

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Star Wars' Carrie Fisher features on this week's Radio Times cover
type: item
date: 2024-03-12T16:50:03.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Star Wars (franchise)
description: She found fame aged 19 as Princess Leia, but that's just the start of her fascinating life story, as told in the BBC's Carrie Fisher: A Life in Ten Pictures.
encoded: Star Wars landed on planet Earth in 1977. But looking back nearly half a century, those times feel like they came from a galaxy far far away. It was, in many ways, the first of its kind. A film that broke new ground and helped create the model for the blockbuster sci-fi and fantasy films that dominate Hollywood today. Without Star Wars breaking the mould back then and creating the first sci-fi film franchise would we have the Marvel universe? Not on film we wouldn’t. Because here was a winning formula that could bear being repeated. A film aimed at youngsters that captured the imagination of millions of fans of all ages. A movie whose unexpected box office success spawned two follow-up films almost immediately. Not to mention a set of characters so memorable that they could be easily monetised as merchandise... But the real star of the film was a teenage girl whose parents were famous but who was virtually unheard of as an actress in her own right. Carrie Fisher may have known what to expect from fame, but that didn't mean she was prepared for it. The temptations of stardom combined with her bipolar disorder led to a lifelong battle with addiction. In the end, Fisher all but turned her back on the film business, forging a successful career as a writer instead. This week, Fisher's story is told in A Life in Ten Pictures on BBC Two. You can see the pick of those photographs, some more famous than others, in our feature in this issue. Fisher sadly died in 2016. But aside from her writing, Star Wars was her legacy. It was a film that not only made her, but also broke her. However, without it, the entertainment world would be a very different – and much poorer – place. Also in this week's Radio Times: Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice discuss the new series Adventures in Spain, practising Spanish dancing, and their 10-year friendship Kris Marshall on the success of the BBC's Beyond Paradise, why he quit Death in Paradise in 2017 and what the crit…

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Comic Relief's Lenny Henry is on the cover of this week's Radio Times
type: item
date: 2024-03-05T11:33:29.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
description: The star discusses rude comedy, the politics of charity and saying goodbye to Red Nose Day.
encoded: For those too young to remember, it's hard to explain the extraordinary impact of the first Red Nose Day in 1986. Children in Need had introduced us to the idea of the telethon in 1980, Live Aid had been the music industry's response to the famine in Ethiopia in 1985. Then came the comedians doing their bit for charity. Lenny Henry was there at the beginning, inspired, like Bob Geldof, by the television pictures coming out of Ethiopia to use his skills and contacts to raise money for famine relief. Now, 39 years on from founding the charity alongside film-maker Richard Curtis, he's preparing to hand over the baton of Red Nose Day host to a new generation. "Me, Billy Connolly, Victoria Wood, French and Saunders, the Young Ones, we were like a little gang," he tells our writer Jimi Famurewa in this week's Radio Times magazine, recalling the first few years of the raucous telethon, when he once staged a seduction of Delia Smith as Theophilus P Wildebeeste in a "two-tonne codpiece". Much has changed since then and not just in what we consider good-humoured comedy. The politics of charity has changed, too. In 2017, Comic Relief ran into hot water when it was accused of perpetuating unhelpful stereotypes, summed up by some as "white saviour syndrome". Again, times have changed since. Sir Lenny addresses all this, plus where his instincts to offer a helping hand come from and why "it's time for a new gang now", in our revealing interview in this issue. Also in this week's Radio Times: Daisy Ridley chats about her time filming the Star Wars movies, doing more comedy and romcoms, working with husband Tom Bateman and her issue with WiFi on aeroplanes AJ Odudu discusses the new Celebrity Big Brother, being told to take elocution lessons due to her Blackburn accent, and the lack of TV opportunities for young people outside of London Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast: Theo James on the Netflix series The Gentlemen, the current economic and financial climate, the success of HBO…

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Samantha Bond, Meera Syal and Sally Lindsay appear on Radio Times crime special covers
type: item
date: 2024-02-27T10:17:22.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Drama
subject: TV
description: Lorna Watson, Kerry Godliman and Greta Scacchi also discuss what it's like playing the lead in some of the UK's biggest crime dramas.
encoded: Our fascination with crime is not new, as our columnist David Hepworth reminds us in this issue, referring to George Orwell’s essay Decline of the English Murder, written in 1946. But neither is television’s appetite for covering the crime beat. Of course, crime stories come in many guises, from cosy flights of fancy where no one dies horrifically and everybody gathers in the drawing room for a final reckoning over afternoon tea, to terrible accounts of the human cost of real-life murder. As our cover story suggests, there is a new crime wave unfolding on television in which female sleuths, often of a certain age, bring criminals to book in a style that owes much to Agatha Christie. To some this is perfect comfort viewing – exactly what crime on TV should be. Although beware of labelling them “cosy”. As the star of The Marlow Murder Club, Samantha Bond, tells us: “There isn’t much that’s cosy about The Marlow Murder Club – it’s a really complex, funny, intriguing murder mystery.” At the other end of the spectrum is the true story that the Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black tells us in his drama Under the Banner of Heaven. Researching the story of a killing in a tight-knot Mormon community in Utah in the 1980s, he came face to face with a murderer. It proved to be a moment of revelation and reckoning. “I understood what sociopathy looks like,” he says. “I could see how pleased he was to have the opportunity to tell his story again.” This, of course, is the trap that awaits anyone consuming a crime story. In real life it’s the victims’ stories that are not often told. To that end, in this week's Radio Times magazine, we also hear the harrowing account of a mother who lost her daughter in a brutal murder. Read Yasmin Javed’s story in this issue. Also in this week’s Radio Times: Ray Winstone discusses filming The Gentlemen with director Guy Ritchie, young actors in Hollywood, and his time in Marvel movie Black Widow Author and historian Benjamin Woolley chats about…

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Rod Stewart and Jools Holland appear on this week's Radio Times
type: item
date: 2024-02-20T13:09:47.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
description: The stars on big bands, TV talent shows and the death of pub rock.
encoded: Sir Roderick Stewart has come a long way since growing up above the family newsagent’s at 507 Archway Road in north London. It was while he was recording his new album, thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, that he decided he needed to do something different. Which is where south Londoner Jools Holland came in. "What Rod was saying is that he wanted it to sound a bit rough around the edges," says the pianist. "Well, you've come to the right bloke..." The result is Swing Fever, the pair's new big band-influenced album. If Rod Stewart has learnt one thing in his 60-year career it's how to confound the critics and have hit after hit. Whether it was kicking footballs into the crowd with the Faces or providing the theme to Sailor, the 1976 documentary about HMS Ark Royal, Rod has a knack of capturing the public imagination as well as a reputation for having a good time whilst doing it. In this issue of Radio Times Magazine, read what happened when we got Rod and Jools in a room to talk about everything from politics to pubs to the new Amy Winehouse. Also in this week's Radio Times: Journalist and television presenter Esther Rantzen reflects on her career on screen, older women being invisible, living in a world of fake news, her views on assisted dying and the power of TV to change lives forever Comedian Rosie Jones discusses surviving school, addressing diversity challenges in early stand-up, and the importance of her role in Call the Midwife Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast: Martin Compston on breaking into acting, nudity, running with wolves and his Line of Duty friends keeping him grounded View oEmbed on the source website Looking for something else to watch? Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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David Tennant stars on cover of Radio Times BAFTA Film Awards special
type: item
date: 2024-02-13T15:58:21.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Movies
description: David Tennant faces his scariest role ever – playing himself as he hosts this year's BAFTAs.
encoded: The film BAFTAs have long been a grand night for British television: a chance to stage our own Oscars a few weeks before the real thing. Sometimes a dress rehearsal for Hollywood's big night, at others a celebration of British cinema with a sprinkling of foreign stars, and occasionally both, the evening has been an important date in the film industry's calendar since 1949. For years the ceremony was hosted by Stephen Fry, who left viewers at home and any Hollywood stars in the audience in no doubt that when it comes to class, charming self-deprecation and sheer brainpower you can never beat a theatrical Brit. Fry has, of course, moved on to other things now, his place these days taken by a changing cast of home-grown actors, the latest being David Tennant. Readers of Radio Times will need no persuading of Tennant's right to assume the crown. He ticks all the boxes. Read our interview in this week's issue. What has changed in recent years is the relationship between TV and film. Once this was the small screen's chance to host a night of cinema in which television felt very much the junior partner. Nowadays, of course, the dividing line between film and TV is vanishingly thin. This has as much to do with technology as it does the availability of talent and the budgets of the streaming platforms. But these days you can watch pretty much any film you want to on TV, if you're prepared to pay for it. To that end, in the latest issue we also provide our guide to the top 12 films nominated for BAFTAs and point you towards the streaming services where films are available at the click of a button. It may not capture the magic of going to the cinema, but there's something to be said for watching the best films of the year without having to leave your sofa. Also in this week's Radio Times: Doctor turned whistleblower Rachel Clarke recorded the reality of life in the NHS during the pandemic in a shocking memoir – now with Jed Mercurio, she's telling her story on screen in ITV1's…

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This week's Radio Times cover features special fashion illustration for Apple TV+'s The New Look
type: item
date: 2024-02-06T17:01:59.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Apple TV
subject: On demand
description: Corsets, couture and Nazi collaboration – the real story behind fashion's fiercest rivalry between Christian Dior and Coco Chanel.
encoded: When Christian Dior shocked the fashion world in 1947 with his New Look collection, he was expressing a desire for beauty after the horror of war. He was also giving France a chance to look to the future while triggering memories of the belle epoque. It was for many a massive relief after the privations they had so recently endured. But two years on from the Nazi occupation of Paris, French fashion was not in the mood to reflect on its more recent past, some of which was far from glorious. Many of the leading figures of mid-20th century haute couture had kept open their ateliers and carried on designing rarefied creations for new clients, plenty of whom were German. A new drama on Apple TV+ this week tells the story of Dior as seen through the prism of wartime Paris and Dior’s rivalry with that other towering figure of French fashion, Coco Chanel. To say Chanel’s wartime record was more chequered is an understatement. Dior carried on designing for German clients, but he also sheltered his sister, who was a member of the French Resistance. Chanel, on the other hand, took a room at the Ritz and moved in with her Nazi lover. All this makes for a gripping drama that’s stunning to look at, although many of the moral questions are shades of grey. As Juliette Binoche, who plays Coco Chanel, tells us in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine: “It’s easy to call her a collaborator but it’s way more complex than that.” This week we also celebrate the TV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office – with two pages devoted to the former sub postmistress Jo Hamilton and the actor who played her, Monica Dolan. Both women were among the famous faces who attended our covers party at Claridge’s. Needless to say, all present agreed there was only one real star in our midst. And that was Jo. Also in this week's Radio Times: Andi Oliver on being host of BBC’s Great British Menu, her daughter Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen being best friends, and growing up as a Black girl in 1970s Suffolk Lorr…

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This week's Radio Times is a 2024 Six Nations special
type: item
date: 2024-01-30T15:49:51.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Rugby Union
subject: Sport
subject: TV
description: Your complete TV and radio guide to the rugby competition.
encoded: Rugby's Six Nations Championship arrives just when we need it most. As we crawl out of January, and February stretches ahead like a month of grey Sundays, suddenly high-impact sport bursts into our sitting rooms to jolt us out of hibernation and enliven even the dreariest afternoon. Time was when all Six Nations matches – or Five Nations as it once was – kicked off at the same time on the same day. Now, thanks to the demands of television, the action is spread over a weekend so you can watch one match, then another and another. Which is something of a grand slam (or should that be a Triple Crown?) for the armchair fan. Now matches are scheduled from Friday nights to Sunday evenings, although nothing quite beats the pleasure of settling down to watch the Six Nations on a Saturday afternoon. It was once rugby union's equivalent to the FA Cup final, the only time of the year when your sport would be broadcast live, on the BBC or ITV. It's where many of us first found our love for the game. What can we expect from the home nations this year? Ireland are the favourites, Wales are backing youth, England are rebuilding and Scotland are making a fresh start with a strong team. But don't take our word for it – listen to the experts. Because inside this week's special issue of Radio Times magazine, we've spoken to the captains of England, Scotland and Ireland, plus the Wales scrum half. We also hear from England's coach, Steve Borthwick, and a line-up of rugby royalty in the form of ITV's pundits, including such legends as Shane Williams, Brian O'Driscoll, Lawrence Dallaglio and Sir Ian McGeechan. Read our seven-page guide to all the teams, players and matches in this issue. Stick with the action and the Six Nations will see you through to March. By then we'll be crowning the champions – and just two weeks away from Easter. Let the games begin. Also in this week's Radio Times: As Death in Paradise reaches its 100th episode, original star Ben Miller meets the latest detective …

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Masters of the Air cast star on this week's Radio Times cover
type: item
date: 2024-01-23T16:58:39.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Apple TV
subject: On demand
description: Ben Radcliffe, Anthony Boyle, Raff Law, Callum Turner and Austin Butler and many more appear in the spectacular new Apple TV+ drama about the men who flew in the US Air Force's 100th Bomb Group.
encoded: The Second World War is fast becoming history for all but a handful of survivors. Those who experienced the horror of that war are now so few as to be celebrated as rarities, witnesses to a conflict that has almost slipped out of living memory. In this issue we talk to one such witness. John “Lucky” Luckadoo is now 101 and lives in Dallas. But in the summer of 1943, fresh out of Tennessee, he arrived at Thorpe Abbotts air base in Norfolk, straight from pilot training and with orders to fly a B-17 bomber on daytime missions over Germany. In our interview in the new issue of Radio Times magazine, he talks of the overwhelming sense of fear that consumed the American crews every time they took off. How he and his band of “citizen soldiers” found themselves in the heat of battle, flying at altitudes so high the temperature inside the unpressurised cockpit fell to -40°C, pitted against a war-hardened enemy. Lucky lived up to his name, flying the 25 missions he needed to complete before he could go home. Others weren’t so fortunate. Every time a B-17 took off the crew pushed at the edges of life expectancy. He tells us of a comrade who died on his 24th mission. In all, the American Eighth Air Force lost 18,800 aircrew in the run-up to D-Day. Now a version of Lucky’s story – or at least the story of the men who flew with him in the Bloody 100th – is coming to television in Masters of the Air, a nine-part series on Apple TV+, adapted and executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. It is the latest and possibly final chapter in Spielberg’s trilogy that includes Band of Brothers and The Pacific. This is America’s war as fought in the air. “In air war, when a crew goes down, there is no memorial,” Lucky tells us. In that single respect, he is wrong. Television has just provided one. Also in this week’s Radio Times: Johnny Vegas on the pleasure and pain of running a campsite – and how he deals with his ADHD diagnosis When not foiling bad cops and terrorists, Vicky McCl…

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Best new shows of 2024 in this week's Radio Times magazine
type: item
date: 2024-01-09T13:27:41.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Drama
subject: TV
description: Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, Keeley Hawes, James Norton and Ncuti Gatwa star in a year of unmissable television.
encoded: It has become a cliché to claim we are living in a golden age of television. People have been saying it for years. But we are living in a golden age of choice. Never have so many programmes been available to watch, admittedly in some cases, by so few. Not every show is good – how could they all be? But there’s still a huge amount of quality TV to watch and the biggest challenge for viewers in the age of multiple channels, catch-up and streaming services is how to find it. Which is where Radio Times comes in. It’s became an RT tradition to start the year with a pleasingly poetic round-up of the best shows to look forward to – 24 for 2024. But it soon became apparent to us that this year it would be an impossible task. There is simply too much good television out there. Which is why we have ended up with the 65 shows you won’t want to miss this year. Also in this week's Radio Times: Peter Capaldi and his executive producer wife Elaine Collins discuss working together on new Apple TV+ drama Criminal Record, Collins’ driving role in the drama, and why Capaldi is nervous about viewer reactions to the series Wildlife TV presenter Michaela Strachan on Winterwatch’s role in providing an uplifting alternative to global crises, her relationship with Chris Packham, and why she’s happy being labelled as “the soft underbelly of wildlife telly” Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast: Joe Wicks chats about childhood traumas impacting his parents’ behaviour, finding solace in exercise, and being pleased to turn down the BBC and Channel 4 View oEmbed on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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The Traitors' Claudia Winkleman is this week's Radio Times cover star
type: item
date: 2024-01-02T15:43:12.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Entertainment
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
description: Prepare for betrayal... the host is back with a new round of Britain's most treacherous TV show.
encoded: It was the surprise television hit of the year. The Traitors descended on our screens in an orgy of back-stabbing that gripped millions last winter before the winners were unveiled just in time for Christmas. This time round the BBC has let us digest our figgy pudding before serving up a new feast of deception that begins this week, in which we will watch 22 contestants plunge into the depths of despair as they pick each other off before breakfast. The action unfolds against the backdrop of the 19th-century Ardross Castle near Inverness. The air is thick with intrigue and a hint of menace and over it all presides Claudia Winkleman in a cloak, doing her best not to be the cuddly Claudia we know from Strictly. It is perfect mid-winter fare. In this issue Claudia tells us how the success of the first series took her by surprise, and how this second series will be more tricky – and more beastly – than ever. We also meet two of last year's contestants who share their strategies for winning the show. Because it is, after all, just a game. Also in this week's Radio Times: Jamie Dornan on the unexpected return of The Tourist, how, as a former model, he doesn't like having his picture taken, and his hopes for a unified Ireland New stars of Call the Midwife Renee Bailey and Natalie Quarry reveal how they reacted when they got the part and discuss their first birth scenes Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast: Ed Gamble, who has type 1 diabetes, speaks about the new diet fad that uses diabetic medication to suppress the appetite View oEmbed on the source website The Traitors season 2 starts at 9pm on Wednesday 3rd January on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Looking for something else to watch? Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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Chicken Run's Rocky, Ginger and Molly star on this week's Radio Times cover
type: item
date: 2023-11-28T10:03:04.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Movies
subject: TV
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
description: Six years in the making, Aardman’s Chicken Run sequel is proud to be handmade in Britain – and kicks off Radio Times magazine's festive TV preview.
encoded: Cheese, sidecars, tank tops and heroic hens. Could there be a more quintessentially British world than that created by the Aardman Animations studio? It is, of course, a world that harks back to a charming and heart-warming past that didn’t really exist. But considering the grim realities of life in the world today, is it any surprise that millions of us find it irresistible? What is remarkable is that more than 30 years on from the creation of Wallace and Gromit, the Aardman magic still works. Despite a flirtation with Hollywood that ended after three films, the Bristol-based animation studio still does things the way it always has: with characters hand-crafted out of modelling clay, much as they were when Aardman first made Morph in the '70s. That commitment to stop-motion animation is as much part of Aardman’s DNA today as it was then, even in the age of CGI and AI. But it takes time. 23 years after the launch of Chicken Run – the story of chickens breaking free of their farm, inspired by The Great Escape – Aardman is about to unleash the sequel on Netflix. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is just as daft and charming as the original. “The whole notion is totally absurd,” Peter Lord, co-founder of the studio, tells us in this week's Radio Times magazine. “We do what makes us laugh: silent comedy and slapstick.” As such, a new Aardman adventure if the perfect way to launch our preview of the best Christmas TV for all the family. Also in this week’s Radio Times: Saoirse-Monica Jackson of Derry Girls fame chats about the “bittersweet” end of the show, how she’d love to revisit her character and how the show helped revive a town with a troubled past Steve Backshall on the forgiving nature of whales, how to tackle “conservation fatigue” and why he hopes to move into politics Speaking to the Radio Times Podcast: Bear Grylls discusses the scary experience of going to Eton, the dark time following a parachuting accident that nearly led to paralysis and the importance of l…

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Doctor Who's David Tennant and Catherine Tate are on this week's Radio Times cover
type: item
date: 2023-11-21T12:13:17.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
description: The stars step back inside the TARDIS as the BBC is giving us time and space to enjoy the Doctor's 60th anniversary with the first of three birthday specials.
encoded: For a certain generation, Tom Baker is the one and only Doctor. Obviously, it’s sacrilege to say that in the Whovian universe of regeneration, which, as the original director of the show Waris Hussein tells us in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, provided the magic ingredient that transformed a '60s sci-fi drama into a BBC classic for the ages. But Baker’s years were memorable, his performance magisterial, and his tenure of the TARDIS the longest in the show's history. In this issue we celebrate a TV landmark with a special issue largely devoted to Doctor Who. David Tennant reveals what it took to persuade him to return to the role, having done so much to revive the show alongside showrunner Russell T Davies, and explains why he and Davies have teamed up again for three fresh adventures. Davies himself joins us for a conversation with Hussein. And we also bring together a companion from the past – Bonnie Langford – with a companion from the future, Millie Gibson, who will make her Who debut as Ruby Sunday this Christmas. Together they swap notes on what it takes to accompany a Time Lord across time and space. Which brings us back to Baker, who gave Radio Times the rare honour of an interview just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday. We sent broadcaster and Who fan Matthew Sweet to meet Baker. Like your editors, Sweet grew up with Baker's Doctor and found his childhood hero in charmingly mischievous form. As Baker puts it, “Knowing anything is a bit dangerous when you play Doctor Who.” But don’t take that to mean he didn’t know what he was doing. As he makes clear in a candid interview, he has long enjoyed the power that came with the role. So to what does he attribute his success? “I found this performance, which I’ve done non-stop ever since... It’s been very successful so far.” Also in this week's Radio Times: Snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan reflects on the challenges he faces, how psychologist Steve Peters has helped him manage his emotions and his frie…

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This week’s Radio Times cover features the late Dame Deborah James
type: item
date: 2023-04-11T13:04:51.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
description: Friends of the late cancer campaigner and fundraiser recall a vivacious one-off who was a force of nature ahead of new BBC documentary Deborah James: Bowelbabe in Her Own Words.
encoded: Like thousands of others in the UK, Dame Deborah James had to live with the fear and uncertainty of cancer. In her case it was stage three bowel cancer, a form of the disease that's much less publicised. Cancer isn't something people like to talk about. Bowel cancer even less so. Deborah died last summer aged 40, five years after her diagnosis. But in the intervening time her mission to raise awareness of the disease saw her start a taboo-breaking BBC podcast – You, Me and the Big C – that became the launchpad for her Bowelbabe campaign that, as of today, has raised more than £11 million for research into the disease. What was it that made this deputy headteacher and mum of two such an inspiration? This week, BBC Two revisits her life and examines the impact she had in a powerful and poignant documentary – Deborah James: Bowelbabe in Her Own Words. In the new issue of Radio Times magazine, we talk to her Big C co-host Lauren Mahon, Radio 5 Live presenter Tony Livesey, and her friend and fellow cancer sufferer Emma Campbell. All of them point to her frank approach. She was determined to draw attention to her cancer, to campaign for people to be aware of the symptoms and to raise money for research into a cure. But she also refused to be defined by it. As Emma tells us: "She showed me that, among the fear and darkness, there is room for joy." That defiance is evident in so much of what Deborah did. It drew the admiration of many, including Prince William, who conferred on her a damehood in her parents' garden a few days before she died. The photographs of that occasion show her pride, mixed with an inevitable sadness. The images she routinely shared on her social media – such as the one on our cover – did the same. But they also capture something else. The joy she found in living. It may have been too short, but hers was a life well lived. Also in this week's Radio Times: Jim Moir (AKA Vic Reeves) reveals his love for birds, no longer being interested in TV, and not t…

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Introducing your new and improved Radio Times magazine
type: item
date: 2022-10-03T23:01:26.000Z
creator: Shem Law
subject: TV
description: This week, we have made some changes to our magazine - here's how to get the best out of the new additions to RT.
encoded: In its near 100-year history, television has never been this big - or this varied. The choice of programmes, even on free to air TV, is surely richer than it has ever been before. But when you add in the explosion of shows offered by the streaming platforms, the options facing a viewer when deciding what to watch are simply dizzying. Radio Times has always aspired to guide you to the best programmes, without too much spin, and our mission today is no different from the one we embarked on 99 years ago when Lord Reith launched the magazine: to point you towards the best of broadcasting. But to do that in 2022 requires not just judgement and time - we set out to watch every programme we preview - it also requires rather more pages. Which is why this week we are unveiling some changes to your regular magazine. The first thing you will notice is that we have devoted more space to the streaming services. Television's digital revolution shows no signs of slowing and with more shows to watch and more services to cover, we think we can now offer you the best guidance in more detail than ever before. On traditional TV our aim remains the same: to list your favourite channels in as much detail as possible. But we're delighted to have been able to include two more channels, as requested by you – and also to include more detailed choices. We have also embedded our film reviews on the listings pages, so that you can more easily find the movies you want to watch on any given day. With a new This Week section to preview some of the best entertainment in store for you over the next seven days, we think these changes add up to a better magazine. But, of course, we will let you be the judge of that. Do get in touch and let us know what you think on RTeditor@radiotimes.com. We hope you enjoy the issue. Tom Loxley & Shem Law – Editors, Radio Times What's new in this week's Radio Times magazine? STREAMING – More shows, more previews, more choice Keep up to speed with the streaming revolu…

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Zoe Ball on taking over Radio 2's Breakfast Show: "I've got my work cut out – but I'm ready for it"
type: item
date: 2019-01-18T06:03:00.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: News
subject: Radio
subject: audio
description: She may have had missed a few early stars during her Radio 1 present days, but Radio 2's new breakfast show host says she's 'not the same Zoe from 20 years ago'
encoded: When Zoe Ball finished her final Radio 1 breakfast show in 2000, after two-and-a-half years of burning the candle at both ends, Greg Dyke, then director-general of the BBC, presented her with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and packed her off for a champagne breakfast. The woman whose reputation for partying had given the tabloids reason enough – as if one were needed during the 90s heyday of lads-mag Britain – to coin the noun “ladette”, told the world she was off to have a family. No more would her driver John “have to literally bash the door in to get me up”, as she later confessed to her Radio 1 successor Sara Cox. Nor would she be late again: “The worst thing was being in the car and hearing someone else do your show. Three records in, ‘She’s still not here.’ Four records in, ‘She’s still not here.’ I did get told off a couple of times.” How things change. Nineteen years on and it won’t be her BBC driver tasked with making sure Ball makes it out of bed – it’ll be her eight-year-old daughter Nelly. “I hope getting up will be much easier this time round,” she tells me, speaking before she takes over from Chris Evans on the Radio 2 breakfast show on Monday 14th January 2019. “It’s going to be just like my old school days, especially on a Sunday night. You remember when the Songs of Praise music came on and you’d feel forlorn because it was nearly time to go to bed? I was telling my daughter how our roles will be reversed at bedtime. She will have to read me a story and make sure I’m not going on the telephone or reading a book sneakily under the duvet. I am, in fact, going to sleep at nine o’clock in the evening. Nelly is well up for that!” View oEmbed on the source website Zoe, 48, and Nelly live in Sussex, in a small village in the South Downs near Brighton, where Ball and her family – she also has an 18-year-old son, Woody – lived for many years, before she split up with her husband, the DJ Norman Cook, in 2016. Which begs the question: what time will she actually ge…

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Who is Zharnel Hughes? Meet the England sprint star running for gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
type: item
date: 2018-04-09T05:00:02.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: News
subject: Sport
subject: TV
subject: Commonwealth Games
description: BBC pundit Steve Cram picks out Zharnel Hughes as the one to watch
encoded: "England’s Zharnel Hughes may not be as well known as some of the other home country sprinters, but I think he’s one that will step up and make a big name for himself at these games,” says BBC pundit Steve Cram, who knows a thing or two about making your name at the Commonwealth Games — he won the gold medal in the 1500m in Brisbane in 1982, his first victory at a major championships. “Hughes is a huge talent and has based himself in Jamaica, which has really helped to get him in great shape already.” How to watch the Commonwealth Games on TV Commonwealth Games athletes to watch View oEmbed on the source website Hughes, 22, made the semi-finals of the 200m at the World Championships in London last summer, having missed the Olympic Games in Rio the year before. “The two-year cycle towards the next Olympics starts right here,” says Cram. “But people shouldn’t assume the home nations are going to win a haul of medals. We didn’t win any individual medals on the track at the last Commonwealth Games. They are really hard to come by because you’ve got some big athletic powerhouses there: South Africa, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean nations, Kenya and a lot of the other African sprinters, too.” But Cram believes Hughes, who ran for Anguilla until 2015, having been born and brought up in the British Overseas Territory, is now ready to take on the best in the 200m and 4x100m relay. “Zharnel has warmed up with a couple of races in Jamaica and has run really quick, so he’s fast heading up the world rankings. I expect his fellow England sprinter Adam Gemili to go well in the 100m, but these Games are where Zharnel could announce himself as England’s next sprint star.” Hughes will compete in the 200m heats on Monday 9th April on BBC1 and in the 4x100m relay heats on Thursday 12th April

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Commonwealth Games 2018: Scotland's Beth Potter goes for gold in women's triathlon
type: item
date: 2018-04-04T10:20:24.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: News
subject: Sport
subject: TV
subject: Commonwealth Games
description: The Scottish athlete takes on the women's triathlon and the 10,000m at this year's games
encoded: "All eyes will be on the Brownlee brothers in the men’s triathlon, but don’t miss Scotland’s Beth Potter going in the women’s event,” says Steve Cram of one of the highlights of the opening day. A 10,000m finalist at the Rio Olympics, Potter is busy making the transition from track to triathlon. She quit her job as a physics teacher last year to train full time with Jonny and Alistair Brownlee in Yorkshire. How to watch the Commonwealth Games on TV View oEmbed on the source website “It has worked out really well,” she told the BBC after she qualified for the triathlon World Championships last summer. “I’m up in Leeds, living with Jonny Brownlee and training up there.” As well as the Brownlees, Potter’s training group included one of her main rivals for Commonwealth gold, Non Stanford of Wales, who won at the World Championships in 2013. Commonwealth Games athletes to watch Unlike Stanford, though, the 26-year-old from Glasgow is new to the gruelling school of stamina that is triathlon. “Incredibly, she’ll also compete in the 10,000m on the track just a few days later,” says Cram. Does he think a little of the Brownlee gold dust has rubbed off on their unsung pupil? “Even for a gutsy character like Beth, it’s a hectic schedule. She’s British champion at 10k, but moved to the triathlon a couple of years ago and this is her first major championships in the event. If she’s in contention towards the end, she has the speed to surprise us all.” Women's triathlon: Wednesday 4th April, 12.15am BBC1 Women's 10,000m: Monday 9th April BBC1

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Zoë Ball on how the loss of boyfriend Billy Yates motivated her Sport Relief challenge
type: item
date: 2018-03-23T17:45:46.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: News
subject: TV
subject: Sport Relief
description: "If me doing this challenge helps one other person seek help, then it has been worth it," she says ahead of documentary Zoë's Hardest Road Home
encoded: It’s barely 20 miles as the crow flies from Darwen in Lancashire to Blackpool. High on the moor above the old mill town perches Darwen Tower, an 85-foot tall Victorian landmark built of solid blocks of sandstone that stands guard over what locals call the Happy Valley. On a good day, with clear skies, you can see Blackpool Tower glinting in the sunshine on the coast. As landmarks go, the two towers are in different leagues, but when Zoë Ball set off from Blackpool beach two weeks ago on her 350-mile Sport Relief bike ride, she would have looked for Darwen on the horizon and her thoughts would have turned to her boyfriend, Billy Yates. Sport Relief 2018: everything you need to know Greg James completes delayed Sport Relief challenge BBC and ITV celebrities go head to head Sport Relief 2018 Boat Race View oEmbed on the source website This time last year, Zoë and Billy were an item. The Radio 2 DJ and Strictly presenter had, in her father’s words, found a new lease of life with the television cameraman, who hailed from Darwen but who lived in London and worked on Antiques Roadshow. After the trauma of the breakdown of her 17-year marriage to superstar DJ Norman Cook in 2016, Zoë was rebuilding her life. But then, shockingly, Billy ended his. View oEmbed on the source website Billy Yates died alone at his Putney home in May last year. Zoë was among the first to discover what had happened. In the aftershock, she left the airwaves, reappearing four weeks later to open her Radio 2 show with a Northern Soul classic dedicated to Billy: Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson. Aged just 40 when he took his own life, Billy had suffered with depression. “At the time Billy came into my life, I didn’t know how to help,” she says. “I knew he had lived with depression for a long time. But he was a big strong guy. He did the Iron Man, he loved cycling 50 miles a day, he was the life and soul of the party when he was on the crew, he was so much fun. To see a man like that crumble…

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Bear Grylls on education, never giving up and whether he'd take Donald Trump on one of his adventures
type: item
date: 2017-04-23T09:00:00.000Z
creator: Tom Loxley
subject: Entertainment
subject: News
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
description: 'Obama liked stepping out of his comfort zone... Trump likes to be king'
encoded: I am on a mission with Bear Grylls. “Are your shoes OK?” he asks, urgently, and gestures to my feet. They’re fine, I tell him. A quick glance to check the coast is clear and he beckons me on. Can we make it to the other side? Or will his wife Shara suddenly appear, in which case, I suspect, we’re sunk. Because we are attempting to cross his pristine cream carpets WITHOUT GETTING MUD ON THE FLOOR! Unlike the contestants stranded by Grylls in the Pacific in the latest series of The Island, we are bobbing around comfortingly close to civilisation. Battersea, to be precise. We are on board Grylls’s houseboat, which is moored permanently just down the road from the power station. The recently refurbished old barge is the family home where he, Shara and his boys – Jesse, 14, Huckleberry, ten, and Marmaduke, eight – stay when they aren’t living on a remote island off the coast of north Wales. Why am I surprised the great adventurer’s living quarters are pristine? The bedroom looks like a showroom, the galley/kitchen, too. The boys’ berth is a suitably nautical bunk-bed affair, but even here everything is a startling bright white. There is clearly a strictly enforced No Shoes policy. Impressive with three boys, is all I can say. Or perhaps they never really stay here. With his sons Marmaduke and Jesse in 2011 Do the kids go to school in Wales? “No, no,” he says. “Huckleberry has just done a term with us in the Alps – we do a few months there every year – in a little international school. Marmaduke is at prep school and Jesse’s just started at boarding school. So it’s a whole new journey for everyone.” Is he missing his eldest? “I loved it when we walked down the road and, even though he had all his schoolmates passing by, we were holding hands. It’s wonderful. Long may that last.” I tell him to enjoy it while he can, because in my experience, as a father of three boys, I know young Jesse isn’t going to want to be seen with Dad much longer. But, then I realise, he is Bear Gr…

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