Death in Paradise's Don Warrington says fans are "right to worry" about Selwyn following major decision
"Is he going to change his mind? Is he not?"
When we last left Selwyn in Death in Paradise, he had turned his back on the police force he had served with for 50 years. After initially being replaced by a young buck, he was eventually offered his job back by the powers that be, who came to realise what they'd be losing without him at the helm. But even though he was clearly miserable without his commissioner's uniform, Selwyn decided to reject that offer. "It felt wrong to say yes, too much has happened," he told Catherine in the series, "And right now, I can't see a way to get back to how things were." And it seems he remains committed to that decision for the time being. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com ahead of this year's Death in Paradise Christmas special, actor Don Warrington said that fans of the show are "right to worry" that they might have seen the last of the commissioner. "He made a decision, and who knows. Is he going to change his mind? Is he not? Is something going to happen to help him one way or the other? I’ve no idea." Warrington also responded to Tobi Bakare's previous comments regarding the show's potential future without Selwyn in the cast. "Don is an integral part of the show, Bakare stated, "but I always say this show has this very unique way of surviving...they've tapped into a formula that they can constantly work around...so I think it can definitely survive." "Well, I don't think so," said Warrington, with smile. "Toby is entitled to his opinion, but I'll ring him up later and talk to him about what he said." In a separate interview with RadioTimes.com and other press, Don Gilet (DI Mervin Wilson) said it's "a very interesting thing" to think that "the beating heart of this whole thing... may not be there anymore". "Because I suppose, in terms of family, he's the closest thing Mervin's had to a father figure. And just when he's starting to embrace what Saint Marie has to offer — and that he is now part of it — the guy that's sort of been behind keeping him there, and that understands him, may not be around anymore. "Are we ever going to see him again? And what's this place going to be like without him? And can Mervin cope with that pressure, because I just think he needs somebody there that's grounded, and is going to ground him. "So it's a strange one to think about him not being there. It's something that the characters have to embrace.” But while Selwyn is still very much retired, the rest of Saint Marie PD are hard at work in the upcoming festive episode. "The office Christmas party of a lifetime takes a dark turn when four co-workers wake up to find a stranger dead in the pool of their Caribbean villa," reads the official synopsis. "DI Mervin Wilson and the team identify the murder weapon, but they’re left baffled when they find that it was locked in a drawer when the murder took place... thousands of miles away from the crime scene, in Swindon! "Stuck in Saint Marie, the team calls on the help of a familiar face to crack the case..." Mervin is once again forced to juggle the professional with the personal while he "anxiously waits to hear back from his newly discovered brother, which prevents him from embracing Saint Marie's Christmas celebrations". "Can Mervin resolve his family situation and get into the festive spirit – for the sake of his team and the island?" Alongside Don Gilet as the DI, the special features Shantol Jackson (Naomi Thomas) Élizabeth Bourgine (Catherine Bordey), Ginny Holder (Darlene Curtis) and Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (Sebastian Rose). Guest stars include Josie Lawrence (EastEnders), Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead, Sanditon) Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who, The Diplomat), James Baxter (Waterloo Road, Still Open All Hours, Emmerdale), Billy Harris (Ted Lasso) and Alix Serman. The Death in Paradise Christmas special will air on 28th December at 8:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer. Add Death in Paradise to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The War Between the Land and the Sea stars break down "risky" romance reveal in new Doctor Who spin-off
*Warning: Spoilers ahead for The War Between the Land and the Sea episodes 1-2.* Already, Doctor Who spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea has offered up multiple twists and turns, including the reveal of a relationship that has been a long time coming. After some chemistry-filled moments in Doctor Who season 15, the first episodes of The War Between confirm Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Colonel Ibrahim's (Alexander Devrient) relationship and give a glimpse into the pair's home life together – with all of its complications. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Redgrave gave her insight into that reveal, explaining that the two characters feel very differently about the relationship. "I think the conflict for her is the thing that struck me about the relationship…. I don't believe that she thinks [the relationship] has a future because of the age difference, because of the power imbalance – but mainly for the age difference," she pointed out. "What we discussed was how differently they both felt about it and that being interesting. It's there in the script, it's there in the episodes that Pete [McTighe] and Russell [T Davies] wrote, the deep differences between the way they feel about this relationship and what the future is for both of them. "I think there's a very key line in episode 2 about [Colonel Ibrahim's] father. [Kate] says ‘He sounds very wise,’ and he says, ‘You should meet him.’ And I think in her mind, that seems impossible. But also she has no time at this minute, there's no time to talk about it. There's no time, really, for their relationship. And I think that's the other difficulty, is that she's so driven, and her work is so important. It's the most important thing that runs through her life." Meanwhile, Devrient added: "There were a lot of little moments that were placed throughout the seasons [of Doctor Who]. And to be honest with you, we weren't even sure, me and Jemma, whether this was going to go any further or not. Initially, we held back a little bit. "Obviously, there is the hierarchy element, when you work in a sort of context that we work in within UNIT, that's quite important. There's an important age gap. There are various different factors that meant that this is quite a tricky and risky potential relationship. "But, in the end, I think also with with what Russell wrote and how he wrote it, we just thought, 'Okay, we're going to go for it.' These two, there is something behind that element of stoicism and respect and loyalty and discipline, something really pure and beautiful, a connection that they can't really fight against. Let's just go with that and explore what that looks like when you're in the midst of yet another catastrophe." As Devrient points out, the relationship is revealed as humanity is faced with a crisis, with classic Who monster the Sea Devils (also known as Homo Aqua in the spin-off), emerge from the oceans and reveal their presence to the entire world. Their leader, Salt (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) appoints Russell Tovey's Barclay as ambassador for humanity (despite his lacking experience), and the pair are charged with preventing a world-ending war on Earth. As for what's next? "[Humanity] is going to try everything," Devrient teased. "And I think that's what's really interesting is, when your backs are against the wall, you see how different players react, and what the points of interest are for each of these players. "Maybe that works perfectly in unison to be one voice, or, potentially, there is conflict there as well – and what does that conflict look like? It's tense. It's not a nice environment to be in." He added: "There are still lots of thrills, and lots of twists and turns to come, epic stunts, massive production design. They've really sort of pulled out all the stops for this one, and it looks great." The War Between the Land and the Sea continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 14th December. Add The War Between the Land and the Sea to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Neighbours producer teases "optimistic" finale and reflects on soap's legacy after 40 years
Jason Herbison exclusively reflects on the end of an era – and what he regrets about the final weeks...
After more than 40 years on air, the time has come to bid farewell to Neighbours – again. The iconic Australian soap survived the axe from 5 in 2022 and was revived by Amazon a year later, only for the streaming giant to announce in February that it was pulling the plug on the reboot. As the show’s loyal fans commiserate the end of an era, anticipation is high for the Neighbours finale’s release on 11th December. In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, the soap’s executive producer Jason Herbison teases what viewers can expect, and candidly reflects on the challenge of crafting a second swansong, his feelings on the show’s demise and what he would have done differently. Did you approach the 2025 finale differently from the 2022 one? I approached the ending very differently this time. I knew I couldn’t compete with 2022 or do the same thing twice. What can you tell us about the final scene? It’s somewhat of an homage to the finale 2022 scene, however it involves a small cast this time. Jackie Woodburne (aka Susan Kennedy) made me cry in 2022 and she’s done it again in 2025! I was on set when we shot it. How would you describe the atmosphere on the final day of filming? We all hugged and shed a tear – it was very emotional. After the final scene, we gathered in Studio A, exactly as we did in 2022. For those of us present on both occasions, it was incredibly surreal. You can’t go through the same thing twice and feel exactly the same way, I believe. Most of all, this time, we felt a sense of gratitude. We all thought the show ended for good in 2022 and the Amazon era has been a wonderful bonus. Paul and Terese are at the centre of the final week, what makes this couple work so well? The all-important X-factor! Some pairings just have great chemistry, while others don’t. We have tried putting them with other people but they always end up back together. I think these obstacles are what makes them work, too. If they were together and happy all the time, it would be boring. Full credit to Stefan Dennis and Rebekah Elmaloglou, who bring their own real-life charm and naughtiness to the roles – and I do mean naughty! Stefan Dennis gets the last line in the finale – was it hard to choose which actor had that honour? Stefan asked me if he could have the last line long before I’d even written the episode. It wasn’t a tough decision – he’s a legend and he deserves it. How important was it to return to the Ramsay/Robinson feud for the finale? I’m a big believer in honouring the history of the show. The Ramsay/Robinson feud has been a great foundation for conflict over the years and it felt full-circle to come back to it. I was hoping to bring all of Paul’s living kids back for the finale but when that didn’t work, I realised it would be fun to have Jimmy and Max as young rivals – chips off the old block and the next generation. In the way that Mike and Clive sparring was old-school Neighbours in the 2022 finale, the hijinks here are intentional throwbacks to the style of the '80s. Without spoiling too much, what can you tease about how the show ends? The mood is optimism. We shot the finale back in July so of course, there are lots of spoilers out there already, but the actual dialogue itself hasn’t leaked so hopefully that will be a surprise to viewers. I couldn’t help but play with that sense of deja-vu. We have been here before, right? The threat to the street is an echo of what is happening to the show itself. Unlike last time, we were actively starting to pack up our studios in Nunawading as the last episodes were shot. I personally found this very emotional and wanted to bring that sentiment to the finale. Which storyline from the Amazon era are you proudest of? I enjoyed the recent return of Darcy Tyler and how it dovetailed into Jane and Amanda’s story arc. It was always great to give Karl a big, dramatic arc. Similarly, I loved the way Holly and Andrew’s affair dovetailed into Cara and Greg’s story. I always strive to fold in every character in the street and have long-lasting repercussions for every major event that happens. Were you worried about the reaction to the Holly/Andrew affair? No more than I would be for any controversial story. Soaps aren’t meant to please audiences all the time, you have to take risks. Characters need to be flawed and there has to be conflict, drama and shocks along the way. If there’s not, you are rightly criticised for being boring and predictable. I do regret we were unable to secure Natalie Bassingthwaighte to reprise her role as Izzy – there was a return planned but the story arc still played without it. Holly came into her own as a leading lady in this era, why did the audience respond to her so strongly? Lucinda Armstrong-Hall did an incredible job bringing Holly back to life in the reboot, complete with the character’s glorious imperfections. I loved how she was a chip off the Izzy block and trying to be herself, yet her worst instincts kept getting the better of her. We had the Andrew affair storyline planned a while ago and started to chip away at Holly’s self-esteem to get her in the right emotional place. The story was meant to launch in the 40th anniversary week but we had to delay it. Holly’s a great soap character – trouble finds her and Lucinda played the role in a very real, multi-dimensional way. The Varga-Murphys were breakout stars of the Amazon era, what made them so popular? We were incredibly fortunate to cast two amazing actors, Sara West and Naomi Rukavina, as Cara and Remi, along with two new talents, Marley Williams (Dex) and Riley Bryant (JJ) , as the boys. They all worked hard to make the family feel authentic and it paid off. I know there was some criticism of Remi’s recent amnesia storyline and that’s valid, no fault of the actors. We had a much bigger story planned but ran out of time to play out the full scope. There is a nice ending for the family and I’m sure they’ll be long remembered. Across the 40 years, is there a single character that defines Neighbours for you? I can only single out the street. It’s the glue that keeps everyone together – the connective tissue. A few months on, how do you feel about Neighbours ending in this way? I’m in a very different head space now and feel very at peace with it all. The ending was a challenge but I hope the loyal fans can appreciate why I’ve gone the way I did. My only regret is that I didn’t have another week of the show – it was a squeeze to wrap up all the stories. Very much like the last time. You’ve already worked with Jackie Woodburne since Neighbours ended on The Imposter – which other cast would you like to collaborate with again in the future? That’s a long list! The great thing about The Imposter is that Jackie is playing a role that is the total opposite of Susan. Wouldn’t it be great to see Stefan or Alan Fletcher (aka Karl) in a new kind of role too? One of my absolute favourites from over the years is Morgana O’Reilly (aka Naomi Canning), who was recently in The White Lotus. I would love to work with her again. Which UK soap would you like to work on and why? EastEnders – so I can live in London! I have a British passport through my parents but have never put it to use. Finally, how would you sum up the legacy of Neighbours? Neighbours changed the landscape of serial television in both Australia and the UK. We had stripped serials down under before, but never with the blend of comedy, romance and drama that Neighbours served up. The show tapped into something and Home and Away and all the British soaps followed, at least in terms of weekly output. I’m often told that Neighbours is one of the few shows to retain its original DNA and I like that. We’ve stayed true to our roots but also moved with the times. I’m personally very proud of how progressive the show has become. Our motto is that everyone is welcome on Ramsay Street and I have tried to stand by that. I thank the fans for sticking with us – we will always have those memories. Read more: Neighbours finale week: Tragedy strikes as a further 9 old faces return to say goodbye to Ramsay Street Neighbours spoilers reveal finale story as 9 old characters return to Ramsay Street Neighbours wraps after 40 years - as boss drops hint of "hopeful" future Neighbours star teases Terese and Paul's future and 40th anniversary cast comebacks Neighbours star reveals whether they think axed soap can be saved again Neighbours is available to stream on Prime Video. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Percy Jackson season 2 stars reassure fans about book changes - but admit they’re still “nervous”
The stars of Percy Jackson and the Olympians have made sure to reassure fans about the changes made from the books for season 2. The upcoming season will see Percy sail to the Sea of Monsters to rescue his friend Grover and save Camp Half-Blood, and is based on the second beloved novel in Rick Riordan's fantasy series. It's been established that there are a few more changes this time round compared to season 1, however, actors Dior Goodjohn (who plays Clarisse La Rue, the daughter of Ares) and Daniel Diemer (who plays Tyson, Percy's cyclops half-brother), have assured fans that they have nothing to worry about. Goodjohn exclusively told Radio Times: "I think [fans will be] very, very pleased. You always get a little bit nervous, at least I do when I see a change just because I know how much these books are the fans' baby, they're the fans' parent, they're the fans' son, they're everything. "So you get nervous like, 'Oh, I wonder how they're going to respond?' But then you continue to read and you're like, It's executed so phenomenally. I think when the fans that have read the book see it, they'll just be so pleasantly surprised." Diemer added: "Even if things are changing, the heart of the books and the heart of the characters, that remains the same. I think that's the most important part. "It doesn't feel like they're trying to make something that's their own. It all has to do with putting together an entire show. But they're trying to keep the heart and soul of Percy Jackson very, very much alive throughout. I think if that's the priority for the fans, then they're going to be very, very happy." The author of the series, Rick Riordan echoed this during a chat with Radio Times, saying: "I think we were fairly confident that most of the tweaks that we had done would be well received. We had many, many conversations about that. "And I will say this, I think everyone on the team is very mindful of the legacy of the books and the audience and what they're expecting. So while I don't think we feel imprisoned by that, I do think that we all feel a sense of obligation and respect toward the material. So everyone's coming at it from the same point of view, which is really lovely. I mean, anytime you translate from one media to another, you have to make changes." As for what those changes are, and what the fans think, only time will tell! But one thing's for sure, everyone is very ready to return to Camp Half-Blood. Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 will return to Disney Plus on 10th December. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Fallout season 2 has a "delicious idea" to avoid confirming a canon ending for New Vegas
If you've been following the build up in hype for Fallout season 2, you will have seen a lot of chatter about this question: will the Amazon Prime Video showrunners have to decide a 'canon ending' for the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas? After all, the games and the TV series are all set in the same canonical timeline, and this will be the first time that the main characters in the show have spent any meaningful amount of time in a location that players have already explored and left their stamp on. And with Fallout: New Vegas being a game with lots of different factions for players to choose between, events can play out very differently from one person's save file to the next. Ahead of the arrival of Fallout season 2, we were able to put this question to one of its key producers, Jonathan Nolan, at the press junket. Did Nolan and company, as the rumour mill would have you believe, have to decide a canon ending to the game? View oEmbed on the source website "Turns out, no," Nolan told us. "I think [this is] one of the most delicious ideas that [showrunners] Geneva [Robertson-Dworet] and Graham [Wagner] and the rest of the team came up with for season two... "Knowing that, you know, that game, maybe more than any of the other games in the franchise, is sort of defined by the factionalism, the choices, the way it's all gonna work out... I'm old enough now to have seen that there is no definitive ending to anything in the real world, right? "You have these factions rise and fall, and all these sorts of things. So this delicious idea that when we're encountering Vegas 10 to 15 years after the events of the game, every faction thinks they won. And that's how the real world works, right? There is no end. There is no definitive happily ever after. "I think it's one of the things that the whole franchise has to say. It's one of the things that defines Fallout is, it's set after the end of the world. And yet what you're watching is all these different worlds being ushered into existence. You know, for me, from the beginning, it's actually not about the end of the world. "It's about the beginning of a whole new world. So, we took that ethos and kind of applied it to New Vegas. I think it's done with love, and with respect, and hopefully everyone who played the game will feel that love in the series." Fallout season 2 will arrive on 17th December on Prime Video. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that. Read more on Fallout: Walton Goggins has arrived in Fallout 76: "We don't really explain why he's there" Who is Justin Theroux playing in Fallout season 2? Robert House character explained Macaulay Culkin announced for mysterious Fallout season 2 role Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Adolescence duo's upcoming film tipped to surprise viewers as Ashley Walters makes "beautiful" directorial debut
Animol marks Ashley Walters's feature film directorial debut.
It's been quite the whirlwind year for Ashley Walters, with the former Top Boy star kicking off 2025 as one of the leads in Harlan Coben's Missing You and the revered Netflix hit Adolescence. That's just on top of balancing a music career and releasing a memoir this year. But it looks as though the future continues to burn bright for Walters, with the star set to make his feature film directorial debut next year with Animol. The upcoming film, which is written by Nick Love, has been described as a "raw and poignant coming-of-age story" that "highlights the power of humanity in the midst of adversity." The film has been developed by Film4 in collaboration with Joi Productions, which is founded by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor. Upon the release of Gharoro-Akpojotor's own directorial debut Dreamers, she sat down for an exclusive Pass the Mic interview and revealed some details of what we can all expect with Animol. "That man doesn't sleep," Gharoro-Akpojotor laughs when reflecting on the year he's had. Animol officially kicked off production at the start of the year but since that announcement, Adolescence has obviously landed into the world to widespread critical acclaim and multiple award wins. So, how has it been working with Walters on Animol, especially after the release and whirlwind of Adolescence? "It's been great. I think the joy of it is actually, selfishly, it's meant more publicity for the film which is great because that means next year when it comes out, everyone gets to watch it or will go watch it," Gharoro-Akpojotor says. "The good thing about Ashley doing all these things is that he's a professional and he's quite collaborative. He's very open to 'What's your idea?' and he'll take that, take this. I think that comes from when you work across multiple fields of music or as an actor, you learn to work with people. You learn to appreciate everyone's opinion. "Working with him within that context, there's the hype of the film that we're all excited about and we can't wait to release it. But also, his schedule's been crazy." She continues: "He has been like 'No guys, this is a priority for me' so making things work for us as and when because Adolescence, he went for the Emmys, now he's in Dune: Prophecy and had to shoot that. He shot a different film in summer time. But he's always making Animol a priority. "It's been actually quite a wild time but I'm very excited, I can't wait for people to see it because it's so beautiful, it's very unexpected from him and I think it will really announce him as a voice that people should listen to visually, creatively. I don't think people are going to expect what the film is going to do." While Walters has directed multiple episodes of A Thousand Blows, Animol does mark his first time directing a full length feature – and he'll be reunited with Adolescence co-star Stephen Graham in it. The film itself draws on Walters's own experience, with Animol set to be "a searing portrayal of life within the confines of a Young Offenders’ Institution." Graham joins the supporting cast as a Welfare Officer tasked with supporting the young offenders during their incarceration while Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune: Part One) also stars alongside leads Tut Nyuot and Vladyslav Baliuk. At the time of Animol entering production, Walters said in a statement regarding the film's inception: “Nick and I have worked together before and always wanted to create something bold—something that sparks conversation while delivering visual beauty. Animol is deeply personal to me. "It explores the struggle of being your authentic self in a world that often pressures you to conform—one of life’s greatest challenges. At its heart, this is a story about survival and the safety found in true connection. It’s not about the ‘what’; it’s about the ‘why.’ I couldn’t be more excited to bring my debut feature to life with such an incredible team.” Read more: Eternity stars reveal they're already living in their idea of hell in the afterlife: "America right now" Divisive James Bond film confirmed to air across Christmas ITV schedules As of now, a release date for Animol has not yet been confirmed but Gharoro-Akpojotor serves as producer on the film along with Tom Hawkins under Joi Productions, which is a film and TV company focused on Black, queer and female-led stories. Speaking about the wider UK film landscape in her Pass the Mic interview and the state of diversity right now, Gharoro-Akpojotor said: "I'm excited but also scared because it's a film that I hope a lot of people see. "But also, it's a film that I want to challenge people, but the scary part is that you want people to engage in their love story and the immigration of it. I think it's the second Black lesbian film in cinemas in the UK. For me, that's a big deal just in terms of representation on so many levels. I'm excited about that but I'm also like 'are people going to go and watch it because of that?'. At the same time, I think people should watch it for that, if anything." Dreamers is in cinemas from Friday 5th December and Animol will be coming soon. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Dreamers director Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor: "In cinema, after you come out, it's like you stop existing"
Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor chats to Pass the Mic about her feature directorial debut Dreamers, the conversations the film prompts about immigration, and the state of Black queer cinema in the UK.
With her directorial debut Dreamers having premiered at London Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, as well as having spoken at multiple pre-release screenings of the film, you'd think that Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor may have possibly tired a little talking about her movie. Sure, she jokes that she'd love to sleep after its release, but it's abundantly clear that she's beaming with happiness and gratitude at just being able to make a film like this one. Dreamers is Gharoro-Akpojotor's feature film debut, which she has also written, and is a semi-autobiographical story that is underpinned by love. The film follows Isio (Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo), a Nigerian woman who is detained after living undocumented in the UK for two years. She is remanded at Hatchworth Removal Centre and there, meets Farah (Ann Akinjirin) who keeps her spirits high as the possibility of her asylum pleas being rejected looms. Isio is seeking asylum in the UK because there is a very real threat of danger if she were to return to Nigeria, something that Gharoro-Akpojotor had similar experiences of. While at the crux of Dreamers is very much a love story, it still must be hard to bare your soul on the big screen like this, I remark. "I watch the film sometimes and I'm very proud and happy because for me, it's a part of my life that made me a whole lot stronger," Gharoro-Akpojotor tells me. "I went through so much therapy in the process, during the filming. Not everything in the film happened to me but some things could've. The scene where Isio's with the case worker talking, it was much longer before, but that scene is verbatim what happened in my session. "When the guy at the end asks, 'How do I know you're gay?', that's the same thing that my guy said to me at the end. Making it and going through the emotions everyday, it becomes different, it reminds you where you've been but also how much I've grown. There were times on set that were very intense and I asked myself, 'Why am I doing this?' but that's what therapy's for." The director adds: "The journey of Isio freeing her mind or realising her own voice, I think that was my journey of having to learn that immigration doesn't have to define you." Although Gharoro-Akpojotor has been doing the screening circuit throughout various points of the year now, the prospect of the film being released to the public brings its own unique set of emotions. "I'm excited but also scared because it's a film that I hope a lot of people see," she says. "But also, it's a film that I want to challenge people, but the scary part is that you want people to engage in their love story and the immigration of it. I think it's the second Black lesbian film in cinemas in the UK. "For me, that's a big deal just in terms of representation on so many levels. I'm excited about that but I'm also like 'are people going to go and watch it because of that?'. At the same time, I think people should watch it for that, if anything." When Gharoro-Akpojotor learnt that Dreamers fell into such a small statistic, how did that make the debut director feel? "It's wild. There are some stats that you never think about until somebody tells you. We made the film and knew 'They're queer, Black, it's about immigration' but that was it. "Then someone who I work with had done some research for something else and had said he'd been looking for Black lesbian films out of the UK and he could only find Stud Life. That was over 20 years ago. "We come from a period where people talk about diversity in film and TV, we talk about making a difference and then you suddenly realise it's a surface level thing. In my mind, you look at Black cinema for instance and you see the lack of." The founder of Joi Productions, Gharoro-Akpojotor is in a better position than most to know what's actually being done to further representation within UK cinema right now. That being said, the director and producer is clear that there's still more that needs to be done. "I made Blue Story, I made Boxing Day. I look at the landscape and there hasn't been a lot of Black cinema anyway that people can go 'Let me go see myself in it'. "Then you look at queer cinema separately, there's not a lot of queer cinema in the UK and that's just before getting to being a Black woman. The things that frustrate me the most is when people are like 'Oh, maybe you haven't got audiences for your film' but I think the issue is that maybe you don't know how to market to these audiences. So therefore, you don't even want to put money behind marketing for these audiences to go and watch the film." She adds: "When I first found out about [that statistic], I was quite shocked because I didn't realise how terrible the stats were, just around queerness and Black queerness on screen. Part of the reason why I got into films was just because I wanted to see myself on screen." Around the age of 19, Gharoro-Akpojotor was on a mission to find just that as a film fan. She wanted to find films that could speak to her sexuality, race and also being from Nigeria. She wasn't looking for these films purely for her own amusement, it was also in a bid to help her come out to her mother at the time. "I was trying to gather research and see how [these characters] did it," she laughs but admits that every film she managed to find was American with nothing from the UK. Through her work as a producer and now, as a feature film director and writer, Gharoro-Akpojotor is hoping to change all of that – but it's no easy feat. She's unashamed in the fact that she wants to create work that shows people that their stories matter, with that being one of the reasons why she went into filmmaking in the first place. "It's nice to be part of that representation and growing the catalogue but it's also terrible that ... there's nothing. It's awful," she says, reflecting on Dreamers space in the somewhat non-existent queer Black cinema strand coming out of the UK. When Dreamers was screened at an event in Ghana, a man accosted Gharoro-Akpojotor in the audience Q&A asking whether the film was "pushing the gay agenda in Africa". He'd said that if it went to National Film Board in Ghana then it would be deemed illegal, seeing as the country had just last year passed a bill making identifying as LGBTQ+ illegal. The moderator had said that Gharoro-Akpojotor didn't have to answer but she wanted to, saying that it was a good conversation to have. "I'm not pushing an agenda, I'm just showing people that it exists," the director says as she reflects on how she answered at the time. "What you choose to do with that information is really up to you. This film cannot make you gay. But why are you so concerned with what everyone is doing in their bedrooms?" While that's just one negative instance of some heckling from the sidelines (although it turns out that the man in question loved Dreamers), one of the best things Gharoro-Akpojotor has been confronted with after screenings are audience members beaming and saying "I saw myself on screen, thank you". But also, a glaringly obvious undercurrent that has come out of the film being screened is the fact that one of the topic's explored in the film is still something that many don't know a lot about. "What I've realised taking the film around is that a lot of people don't know anything about immigration," Gharoro-Akpojotor tells me. She describes a woman in one of the screenings who acknowledged her own privilege before asking the director how exactly someone becomes an illegal immigrant. "She had no idea how you could. Immigration is something where people are like, 'Oh immigrants' but there's no explanation, you don't understand the complexities of the immigration system," Gharoro-Akpojotor says. But she welcomes those questions because that's the point of the film, she explains. "Maybe people will begin to question the rhetorics around immigration or even just question their own belief as to what immigration is and who immigrants are." View oEmbed on the source website We joke rather than despair over the fact that when you add on levels of intersections within one's identity, it only lessens the probability of seeing your stories reflected on the big screen these days. But why is it so hard to bring a breadth of diverse storytelling to life in UK cinema? "I think, for me, I find that there's an unconscious bias. I don't think a lot of people realise that they're doing it. One thing we do at Joi Productions is we say we're Black, queer, female-led and everything in between. But when you come to us, you don't have to sell your Blackness or your queerness. We encourage the fact that we don't need to explain to audiences that this is a queer character or this is a Black character. "In Dreamers, I made a point that they never come out to each other, they just fall in love and that's it. When you live the experience, you just are. I got tired of seeing so many coming out stories because after you come out, in cinema, it's like you just stop existing. It's like I'm out... but you don't live." Gharoro-Akpojotor continues: "I think sometimes with the people in power... when it comes to you being a person of colour or a person from an underrepresented group, if the person you're speaking to doesn't understand that, they ask you to dig deeper into whatever experience you have in order for them to understand. "Whereas if you're in a room and everyone there has different lived experiences, they wouldn't be asking you to explain 'What does it mean to be queer? What does it mean to be Black? What does it mean to be working class?'. They would accept that it just is what it is. It's more about the story, less about the identity of the person. I think a lot of times in cinema, people spend more time wanting you to explain why you do A, B, C, D as a Black person. A lot of writers get frustrated." It's that process of explanation that can often be drawn out and take away a sense of creative freedom for many budding writers from underrepresented backgrounds. "When you think of any other film with 'insert white man', it just happens. My man is just living in the woods, assassin, we don't need to know how he got there," Gharoro-Akpojotor laughs. "Why does he live there? Is there a shower? But there's never questions about his trauma or what led him there. He's just there. Then you insert a Black man and it's like 'Why is he there? What led him there?'. But I think that's a very unconscious thing where [if] you don't understand the other person, you spend more time trying to understand. Sometimes people conflate understanding character with understanding the character's backstory or experience for them to find a way for them to relate." While we laugh about assassins in trees, Gharoro-Akpojotor does reflect on the fact that this very instance rings true for Dreamers. "There was a producer years ago when I first was doing Dreamers, he was like 'I'm more interested in their story of coming to the UK, what was that journey and what did they have to fight for?'. "That's because you're so used to hearing these painful, traumatic stories – go and read the paper, you'll find those stories, it's nothing new. I'm trying to tell a story of women and they're just in a place where they have to survive but that was hard for him to understand. 'How do you make me feel for them if you don't show their pain?' but again, with the man in the forest, you're not going 'Where's his trauma?'." Gharoro-Akpojotor continues: "In the film, I didn't talk about immigration, I spoke about it twice and that was a conscious decision. If you feel that at the end of the film that she should've got out, more should've happened or you're angry at the system then good. That's many people's lives. Many people that you know nothing about because you've never bothered to think who are these people and what are they going through." While the director has crafted a film that is very much centred on love, it does obviously also shine a light on the asylum process in the UK. How has it been fielding questions about immigration as if she's the sole beacon of information on it? "I always tell people that I have no solution, I know nothing but I do really believe that we as individuals have choices that we can make. Our choices affect policies. If we want any sort of real change, we have to make different choices. The thing about immigration is that it's such low-hanging fruit ... it's something the government uses all the time," she says. Gharoro-Akpojotor tells me that living in Dagenham 20 years ago, it was the rise of the British National Party and the English Defence League. Then, the rhetoric was that people are "coming over and taking our jobs", she says, "but 20 years later, we're still having the same conversations. Why are we? What is it about immigration that means you can't get a job?" "These asylum hotels you're protesting outside, nobody just turns up and checks in for two weeks, they got put there. The people who are coming, I think sometimes we forget to think about why they're coming, where they're coming from, what situation they're running from. But also, we should stop framing immigrants in that way because expats do the same thing – they go somewhere for a better life, for sunshine in Spain or wherever it is. "The only difference is there's an economic differentiation because when you're an expat, you've got a bit of money, you can buy a house. When you're an immigrant coming over, the assumption is that you're very poor, you have nothing so therefore, you can't contribute. When in reality, people who come in seeking asylum used to be doctors, accountants, teachers, have all these skills that we don't bother to think about." Releasing the film at this time when those tensions are seemingly at fever pitch is part of the scariness of Dreamers coming out, Gharoro-Akpojotor tells me. "The people I really want to watch the film are people who I want to be engaged with the immigration aspect of it too. I want the gays to go and watch it, I want women to go and watch it, people of any colour to go and watch it. Also, people who wouldn't normally watch a film about immigration and have their own questions." As for the future, Gharoro-Akpojotor is looking to adapt Diana Evans's Ordinary People which is "a beautiful, poetic unromantic romance" that follows two middle-class Black couples in Crystal Palace. "It's all about an affair that saves a marriage. It's adult and different to Dreamers but still soft." She continues: "I have a thing where I'm like 'How can we expand Black cinema and it's not just in the hood or it's not just solely based on your culture?' It's just about people with lives and things that we all experience in life. That's one of the things I'm very passionate about, the expansion of Blackness in genre – horror, action, romance because I don't think we have enough of that. I want to see more Blackness across the board, in every shape and form." Gharoro-Akpojotor is also serving as producer on Ashley Walters's Animol, which is his feature film directorial debut. "This man doesn't sleep," she laughs as we speak briefly about the post-Adolescence haze that has been 2025 for him. "He's always making Animol a priority. It's been actually quite a wild time but I'm very excited, I can't wait for people to see it because it's so beautiful, it's very unexpected from him and I think it will really announce him as a voice that people should listen to visually, creatively. I don't think people are going to expect what the film is going to do." For Gharoro-Akpojotor though, the future continues to beam bright as she confidently assures me that she'll continue doing all three – producing, writing and directing – going forward. In America, they seem to do it all, she says, so why not over here too? "I have stories to tell and I feel like I should be able to tell them. In the UK, we're so used to putting people in boxes but what happens when we just take them away?" Dreamers is in cinemas from Friday 5th December. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
£40,000 costumes and 19 Christmases sacrificed: What it really takes to keep Britain's glitziest tradition alive
The London Palladium panto is back for another year, but how exactly do they manage do pull such a show together?
Speaking to Chariots of Fire actor Nigel Havers over a crackling phone, as he hurriedly drives to pantomime rehearsal in the West End, is not how I imagined our interview going. Over a fuzzy speaker, he cheerily tells me in one breathe that he's flown over the London Palladium more than anyone else in the theatre's history, in the other, that he's not had a proper Christmas for 19 years, all before dashing out the car in under 15 minutes. It was after this hasty chat however, that I learned that this is, in fact, the perfect encapsulation of what life in pantomime is. Great, grand, British tradition... on speed; a multi-million pound industry dating back to the 16th century with a one-week rehearsal period; hundreds of jobs, props and actors, stuffed into a backstage designed for small variety theatre; and thousands of young families piling in only for the highlight to be Julian Clary's excellent innuendo. This year, the venue is set to host a three-week run of Sleeping Beauty, with Havers and Clary returning alongside Doctor Who's own Catherine Tate. The performance is also doubly special as it marks 10 years since panto returned to the Palladium, or as producer Michael Harrison puts it: "10 years of King Julian on the throne." <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/12/GettyImages-2188949634-625f687.jpg" width="5000" height="3333" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 12: Chrissy Brooke and Julian Clary bow at the curtain call during the press night pantomime performance of "Robin Hood," at The London Palladium, on December 12, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)" title="The London Palladium Pantomime "Robin Hood" - Press Night - Curtain Call" /> Michael Harrison has produced literally hundreds of pantomimes over the past two decades, neatly starting off with Sleeping Beauty at the Kings Theatre Glasgow. At the time, the producer was completely new to professional panto and "blagged" (his words) his way in by telling theatre organisers that if his show didn't get at least four stars in The Scotsman, they could pay him just £1. From there, he has put together dozens of pantos in Newcastle, Birmingham, and now London, becoming known for the way his shows push the boundaries with extra stunts and special effects. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, I asked what it takes to pull these enormous productions together. "It's a year round business, we start the prep a year in advance for, you know, the designs of the costumes, the scenery. It's a Victorian tradition that there has to be some kind of big magical moment at the end of Act One, like Cinderella going to the ball, Aladdin in the cave, and you've got to find ways to reinvigorate and reinvent that early." He continued: "I mean, for London the design and making process of Julian Clary's costume has a bigger budget than some West End shows, you can spend £30-£40,000 on a costume for him. "Then, sometimes they're so big when he steps out of them they have to be flown up to the grid to get them out of the way because nobody would get past them on the floor." <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/12/GettyImages-1845654215-7b1e31e.jpg" width="5000" height="3333" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Julian Clary performs as Seaman Smee as Donny Osmond makes a surprise appearance in "Peter Pan" at The London Palladium on December 13, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sama Kai/Dave Benett/Getty Images)" title="Donny Osmond Makes A Surprise Appearance In "Peter Pan" At The London Palladium" /> However, he added that despite the huge amount of prep needed, the rehearsal time for a panto can be as short as a week, and the technical run as little as four days before the first performance, compared to the three to four weeks most West End musicals get. It's lucky then, as Harrison says, that the magic of Julian Clary and Nigel Havers pulled it together from the very first run: "The notion of Julian Clary being angry with Nigel Havers for just being there happened on that first performance and the audience loved it." It's a thought Havers wholeheartedly echoed: "The tradition is that Julian treats me really badly. He's incredibly rude to me. Last year he called me 'the poster boy for assisted dying.' "But being on stage with him is the highlight every single year, he is an extraordinary and a sort of comedy genius." Behind-the-scenes, both Harrison and Havers confirmed it's extremely regimented, with pin point lighting and sound queues to keep things on track. "You want them to be tight and fast-paced," said Harrison – but, does that mean it never goes wrong? "Well, once a bit of scenery dropped on Julian's head," he laughed, "We were doing Aladdin and it was the very first performance. He was supposed to walk to the front of the stage, but he didn't quite do it quick enough and the curtain came down behind him, hit him on the back of the head and took him out – it really hurt him but the audience thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen." While, thankfully, that never happened again, there's always a danger of things getting interesting on stage. "There was a funny moment between Julian and Donny Osmond when they were singing and it all got a little bit rude, and let's just say the audience were a few steps ahead of what was happening – but it's all innuendo and it's all good fun." It will please fans to know too, that the fun carries on backstage, with Nigel Havers describing it as a "family environment". "You get a great rush from the audience because they're so psyched up for it. It's Christmas and you get big laughs and a round of applause, so you come off the stage and it's a real family feeling." Plus, pantomime has a real unsung magic in the amount of jobs it generates, not just in London, but in theatres across the UK. As Harrison said: "It's a big cast: 16 dancers, 10 principles, 12 in the orchestra and all of the backstage team. Then pantomime gets people through the doors of a theatre when they're unlikely to for the rest of the year. "You might have a piece of drama or dance commissioned in a local theatre that's only financially viable because of the money made in panto season, so it's hugely important." And why, really do we as Brits love pantomimes so much? "It really is a unique British tradition and it's a rare occasion where the entire family can collectively come together where you're not there to be challenged, you're there for joy and entertainment." Meanwhile, Havers said: "They have a little bit of something for everyone. That's the key to it, there's a lot of colour and movement and a lot of jokes and a little bit of pathos – and a very small amount of plot, we don't really bother with a plot." Of course, neither of them could tell me much about this year's 10th anniversary performance at the Palladium, other than the fact it's "bigger and better than ever," plus Nigel Havers guaranteed me he would be flying again this year. Buy Sleeping Beauty tickets from £37.50 at LW Theatres Shop pantomime tickets at ATG Tickets Check out the best UK concerts and tours coming in 2026, as well as how to get Kevin Bridges's tickets.
How Dancing with the Stars plans its themed weeks and beyond – from flying producers to fighting for fairness
Inside the well-oiled machine behind the biggest show on television.
The Strictly Come Dancing format is currently licensed to 61 territories worldwide, and while each is inherently similar, there's something different about all of them – and it's no walk in the park ensuring each and every one of them goes to plan every year. Strictly Come Dancing is the brainchild of the BBC, with the series first beginning in May 2004, before Australia aired its version later that same year. Since then, roughly 20 variations of Strictly are on air every year worldwide. As to be expected, there is an entire team covering all bases ensuring the series go ahead without any hitches – and this is where Sumi Connock, Global Creative Lead at BBC Studios, comes in. Letting us in on the behind-the-scenes work that goes into putting on the shows from scratch, Connock exclusively told RadioTimes.com: "I have a team of flying producers that work with me. So whenever we get a new sale, let's pretend it's Belgium, we've got two flying producers who specifically work across Dancing with the Stars. "So between them, they split all the territories and they will work really closely with that new partner, which could be the producer, and with the broadcaster as well. "And they'll basically work with them from the start to make sure that they fully understand the DNA of the show and how to deliver it, and they'll work with them on sort of creative solutions in terms of they've got to solve challenges. "So it might be budgetary, not everybody has got the budgets of the US or the UK version or even the bigger territories, some of them are working to much tighter budgets. "But I think that when you're pushed into a corner, it can really be inspiring creatively and we've seen so many amazing creatives come out of countries that don't have as big budgets. So they will work really closely with them." Afterwards, their attention is turned to the duration of the show, which can run for either two or three hours, before moving onto which dances to focus on. What makes the Strictly format stand out from other televised dancing competitions is its focus on Ballroom and Latin, allowing for those behind the scenes to put their attention on the 10 key dances – Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Cha-cha-cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. Connock added: "We do allow other styles where they can sort of lean into local tastes or a traditional dance, but probably not in the first couple of weeks, because that's our USP and [is what] differentiates us from all the other dance shows is that we're rooted in Ballroom and Latin, we like the focus to always be on the celebrity and their celebrity journey and showing growth and improvement. "We're about focusing on the fun, the funny, the positive, giving takeaway for the viewers. That's another really important attribute that we try and instil in all of our versions." When it comes to the judges, there is always an important role to play in helping educate the audience in a way they can understand, and before each series the flying producers hold a judges' workshop with each of the judges to help them when it comes to "talking about creativity, talking about posture, giving constructive feedback", with there being one golden rule... "We want to see a build of scores across the season," Connock explained. "So you don't want to see 10s in week one, because then there's nothing to work towards and they're not professional dancers, so they need to have something to build on. But we really don't like to see any zeros. "We don't have a zero paddle, because there's always something good to find in whatever performance someone has done. So you might see a one, but there'll be something there to hold on to and take forward into the next week." It's also important in regards to the judges that they are "honest, transparent and fair" in their voting. "Fairness is really important. We need to make sure that we're really hot on our duty of care when it comes to training and injuries, and how to prevent that, and all that sort of stuff," Connock told RadioTimes.com. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/Untitled-design-25-10fe294.jpg" width="1200" height="840" alt="A brightly lit TV studio shows four judges seated behind a sparkly judging desk. They each hold up score paddles: the first judge displays a 9 and looks serious, while the other three judges hold up 10s, smiling and cheering. Colourful stage lights and an audience are visible in the background." title="Strictly Come Dancing judges" /> And then it's time for the music, which must be "unashamedly mainstream". Connock told RadioTimes.com: "We always think it's a bit like being at a wedding where there's something for every age, but there might be a different take on a classic. Obviously we don't have a live band or live singers in every territory, because, again, that can be a budgetary thing, but it is really exciting when you can have live singers. "And again, that builds the whole atmosphere, and it means that you can do that specific take on a song, and do something different with it." Strictly Come Dancing is loyal to its themes each year, with Halloween, Movie and Musicals Week all being staples for the BBC programme, with the new addition of Icons Week. And it's not as straightforward as it may seem to put on a themed night, or even a themed dance. Connock explained: "If you're doing a specific themed night or a specific theme dance, first of all, you're going to have to get the rights to make sure that you can do it depending on what it is. "So if you're using the music, they need the rights. If you're doing a whole themed night, like a Wicked night, then you need to work with the IP owner to create all of that. But we do find that territories are inspired by each other. But it's the costume, the music, the finding the right dance that goes with each track. "So [if] you've got Wicked then they're going to lend themselves to different dance styles. So it's about the timing of those. But then you've got to make sure that you've got to give everyone the fair amount of time to dance. They'll work with the musical director to create a length of music that's going to include the bit that everybody knows. "You've got the chorus and the verse, whether it's one and a half minutes, or one minute 50, or whatever it is, so everyone has the same duration of dance to do just so that it's fair." But as Strictly fans will know, themed weeks aren't introduced until a little later in the run, with the exception of US Dancing with the Stars, which has a themed night each week other than the launch. "It depends in different versions, but you tend to sort of start with your classic dance, [you're] probably not doing a theme in your first couple of weeks," Connock told RadioTimes.com. "In most territories around the world we do that, and then you start bringing themes in. You can also build the themes to include more props, more dancers as you go on, bringing more lifts, etc, so that you see a progression in terms of both what you're seeing visually in terms of what surrounds the dance, but also in terms of their sort of technicalities as well." On the other side of the pond, there are plenty of differing themed nights, with the US Dancing with the Stars recently dominating headlines with its Dedication and TikTok nights, with the latter having potential to be seen in more formats. Speaking of whether a new theme is likely to be introduced in a territory each year, Connock added: "We've had Prince [night], we've had Taylor Swift [night], or there might be a local artist that the territory will really lean into, but it was the first time that we had done a TikTok night this year. "And I think that might be something that we see more of within that as well." Dancing With The Stars is a multi-award winning format and is now in over 60 territories around the globe. The format is distributed by BBC Studios Global Production. Read more: Strictly fans call for "iconic" format twist to become regular feature after chaotic scenes Alan Carr reacts to Strictly Come Dancing host speculation - and reveals whether he wants the job Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday 6th December at 6:50pm. Add Strictly Come Dancing to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
"I had no idea who Hugh Grant was": Love Actually child stars talk film's legacy
Child stars Olivia Olson, Will Wadham and Tiffany Boiselle spoke to RadioTimes.com about their experiences filming one of the most popular Christmas romcoms of all-time.
Despite arriving in cinemas more than 20 years ago, Love Actually remains one of the biggest Christmas films (both in popularity and box office numbers) to date. From Hugh Grant's No 10 dance number that he secretly hated filming, to Emma Thompson wiping away tears over Alan Rickman's infidelity, to the stirring sound of Joni Mitchell, it was the Richard Curtis comedy's star-studded cast that initially drew in audiences – and the same big names have kept them talking for two decades. However, as much as Love Actually is all about Keira "I Look Quite Pretty" Knightley, turtleneck king Colin Firth and a consistently semi-naked Billy Nighy, a lot of it actually revolves around children. Whether they're the crustaceans in the school nativity, singing in the concert crashed by the prime minister, or Liam Neeson's stepson who learns the drums to impress his American crush, the Christmas flick features a number of young actors. Back in 2022, three of Love Actually's child stars sat down with RadioTimes.com to chat about the BAFTA-winning festive film all those years later. "When people find out that I was in [Love Actually], the first thing they say is, 'Are you the octopus?' and I go, 'No.' And then they say, 'Are you the lobster?' And I go, 'No,'" says Will Wadham, who played Bernie – the son of Harry (Rickman) and Karen (Thompson). "They just can't quite work out what my part was and then at that stage, I have to explain, 'Well, a lot of it was deleted – but you can see me for a split second under the Christmas tree, or dressed as an angel, I think.'" While the role of Harry and Karen's youngest son Bernie is fairly minor in the film, Wadham – who is now in his thirties and was pursuing a career in film composition at the time of the interview – was originally meant to be the focus of a wider narrative linked to his parents' strained relationship. "I had to be a grumpy teenager which is basically what I was – I guess I didn't struggle too much with that," he says. "There was a whole character to Bernie. He has this moment with his mum where he's written these stupid essays about seeing people's farts because I think he's trying to get the attention of his parents. View Green Video on the source website "He gets in trouble with the headmistress at the school and [Thompson's character] is summoned to the office and sits with him and there's the scene where they read out his essay and instead of scolding him afterwards she says, 'I think it's absolutely brilliant.'" Although the scenes were left on the cutting room floor ("I can completely see why"), Curtis did send Wadham a letter to say sorry. "They were just incredibly apologetic and sweet. They didn't have to do that." Wadham landed the part of Bernie after the casting director for PJ Hogan's Peter Pan visited his school. While he was originally cast as one of the Lost Boys, he was unable to travel to Australia, where the shooting for the film would take place. "I was 11 and doing my common entrance exams and obviously, I was desperate to go but my parents were having none of it. But then the casting director sweetly said, 'Well, there's a final call for a Richard Curtis film and they're looking for the part of Bernie. Do you want to go up for that instead?' I did an audition with Richard and he gave me the job." It was a similar process for Olivia Olson, who played Joanna – the American girl in a crochet beanie who gives Mariah Carey a run for her money towards the end of the film. "Love Actually actually was the first role I ever went out for," she tells RadioTimes.com. "I had just signed with my first agent and this was my first big audition. You hardly ever get lucky like that! My parents weren't sure about the whole showbiz thing, so landing a movie on my first try definitely changed their minds." The audition process went on for several months for Olson, who has gone on to become a successful voice actor with roles on Adventure Time and Phineas and Ferb. She decided to sing Alicia Keys's Fallin' at the audition; unfortunately, so did the three other girls in front of her. "You could hear the other girls singing through the wall [at the open casting] and the three girls in front of me all sang the same song!" The final five girls in the running were flown out to New York, where they read for Curtis and producer Duncan Kenworthy, however, Olson's mum received the good news as they boarded the plane back to LA. "She had to keep quiet as some of the other girls were sitting next to us on the flight. She told me I landed the role in baggage claim. I like to think that's a sweet parallel to the movie plot." While the climactic musical scene, in which Joanna performs, All I Want for Christmas Is You at a school concert, took two days to shoot, filming in London was "like a dream". "Most of my memories from around that age all circle around Love Actually. First time out of the country, first time on a set, in a recording studio, etc," she says. "We recorded the song at Abbey Road Studios, which my Dad was flipping out over." The actor even recorded an extra song for the film, a rendition of The Pointer Sisters' Jump, but it didn't feature in the end. "I think they weren't sure if they'd get clearance of Jump – the infamous Hugh dancing scene – so there's a version I recorded floating somewhere out there in the ether." While her experience on Love Actually was overall positive, Olson remembers a few "awkward" moments as well, particularly the scene in which the adorably precocious Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) catches up with Joanna at Heathrow Airport. "What sticks out is having Billy Mack's guitar strip tease scene blasted across 10 screens in the background while I'm anxiously anticipating my first kiss." As for one of the youngest actors in the film, there's not a huge amount Tiffany Boisselle can remember from filming her scene as the little girl in a feather boa on Harris Street. Although she can recall meeting her scene partner Hugh Grant – and having no clue how famous he was. "My nan always says obviously I had no idea who Hugh Grant was, it just completely went over me. All the adults when we filmed the scene with Hugh Grant were starstruck, like, 'Oh, wow – there he is!' And all of us kids were like, 'It's just a normal person.'" Boisselle auditioned for Love Actually when she was six and while she played an unnamed character, fans will remember her as one-third of the tiny tot trio who convince Grant to sing on their doorstep. "We had to come back another day to record the sound in a studio and I remember I was wearing a really trendy outfit that day because you had to look amazing," she says. "We all got to watch a little preview of our scene, which is really cool, but obviously in the scene straight after, Martine McCutcheon says a swear. They had to warn our parents and be like, 'She's going to swear after this scene – are you all OK with that?'" Although many of Wadham's scenes were cut, he filmed a lot with his on-screen parents, Thompson and Rickman, and "couldn't have asked to spend time with nicer, warmer, more lovely people". Unsurprisingly, Thompson was "really sweet" on set – "it was so nice to have someone effectively hold my hand through it" – although, she wasn't the biggest fan of his mum's cooking. "We were sat in the corridor outside the headmaster's office that we'd done the scene in and she started asking me about myself, what life was like at home. "I told her, 'My mum's quite a good cook,' and she asked, 'What's your favourite thing that she cooks for you.' I proceeded to describe this vegetarian lasagne that's made with grated carrot rather than mince. She said, 'That sounds rather disgusting.'" Outside of filming, Wadham would join Brodie-Sangster in Liam Neeson's trailer ("he was very kind of father-like and fun") to play cards – something the two child actors remembered when reuniting in South London a few years ago. "By the most incredible coincidence, just after I moved (to Camberwell), I was leaving my front door and suddenly saw Tom Brodie-Sangster. He was in the middle of my road. Eventually, I realised he lived two doors down." While the composer didn't initially say anything to Brodie-Sangster, who went on to star in The Queen's Gambit and The Maze Runner, he did eventually get in touch. "I said, 'You probably don't remember me but how are you? Do you remember all those years ago?' And he said, 'Oh my God, I do because there was one stage where we became friends on set.'" Wadham wasn't the only Love Actually star to catch up with Brodie-Sangster, with Olson co-starring with the 32-year-old on the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb. "It was such a weird coincidence to both be cast on P&F. We only ever got a chance to speak over the studio intercom about it, seeing as he recorded in London and I in Los Angeles. "The writers had their fun with that parallel and I think it's really sweet that in the end, Sam/Ferb got the girl!" On 16th November 2003, Martine McCutcheon, Colin Firth, Laura Linney and a host of the film's stars descended on the red carpet at The Odeon Leicester Square and while Wadham got to attend, Boiselle missed out. "My family went but I couldn't because I was too young to watch it," she says. "I never got to go and see the premiere but my family went and apparently when it came on my scene and I said my line, everyone was like, 'Aww' in the theatre so that's cute." Unfortunately, as the credits rolled, they realised that the six-year-old was listed as 'Tiffany Boysell' instead of 'Tiffany Boiselle' in the credits. "I don't know if you noticed this but they actually spelt my surname wrong in the movie, which is so bizarre." Meanwhile, Wadham showed up on the red carpet in a leather jacket borrowed from his mum's godson. "I got out of the car and I suddenly heard people screaming, 'Will!' and I thought, 'What on earth? Who knows who I am?' I didn't even have a signature at the time. I just sort of went over and scribbled on some paper, I can't even remember." As for life afterwards, the young actor was surprised to learn that he'd picked up some international fans. "I got a letter from a boy in Japan at one stage. It's so crazy how high-profile these things are and how widely shown they are. It's very hard to get used to and I just had a very little taste of it really." Returning to school was "strange and surreal" for Olson, who attended the film's New York premiere. "I suddenly had a lot of attention on me I wasn't prepared for. Mostly positive, like in my career, but definitely some negative from classmates making me an easy target for a laugh." Despite the major role, she's rarely recognised for playing Joanna – aka 'the coolest girl in school and everyone worships her because she's heaven' – however the experience gave her the confidence to pursue her dreams. "My power has always been my voice so falling into voice-over and being a part of iconic cartoons where I get to use not only my singing voice but written as well has been extremely rewarding," she says. "I'm still releasing my own music and am developing an original animated series I can't wait to share more about soon!" However, for Boiselle – who'd previously filmed 2002's Crime and Punishment in Russia and went to Jackie Palmer stage school – her classmates weren't too bothered about the festive romcom. "I think it was just like a cool little fact. All my classmates were just used to me leaving school and doing shows and then coming back a week later because I was always out of school auditioning," she adds. "I think the teachers were probably more impressed than my classmates, to be honest." After Love Actually, the Oxfordshire-based performer continued down the entertainment route and went on to study musical theatre. "I've going to film a short film in January 2023, which I know is going to be pitched to BBC and ITV and all of that, so that's cool. I think [Love Actually] just sort of pushed me in the direction that I'm in now." The only person not to pursue acting was Wadham, who says his heart ultimately wasn't in it. "I had a few auditions, none of which I got and I felt that the writing was on the wall there. I think one of the roles I went up for was Master and Commander. There's the blonde kid who has his arm blown up." At the time interview, he was studying a Master's Degree in Electronic and Computer Music at Guildhall and wants to be a film composer. "I've written for documentary and short film and a lot of advertising but my attachment to film is still strong in the sense that I want to write for film." With Wadham finishing off his Master's portfolio and his album, Fragments of Memory, has he thought about offering to score Curtis's next film? "Sure, I mean why not? I hadn't even thought of that, stupidly." As for Olson and Boiselle, they'd both be up for returning to the world of Love Actually for a long-awaited sequel (if you don't count the one-off Red Nose Day special) – however, Olson has one request. "Richard if you’re reading this. NO MORE SILLY HATS!" Read more: Love Actually soundtrack: Every song featured in the Christmas classic Love Factually: 46 things you may not know about the Christmas classic Love Actually is available to rent or buy now. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Eternity stars reveal they're already living in their idea of hell in the afterlife: "America right now"
Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, John Early and Da'Vine Joy Randolph spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the inventive new romcom.
David Freyne’s new film Eternity contemplates what heaven (or hell) might feel like if you had to spend an eternity there – and the options are endless. Tired of living with men? 'Men Free World' is a good option. Ready to retreat into a stunning landscape? 'Mountain World' might be a good move for you. Always wanted to go to Paris? Well, how about you spend an eternity there? The Irish writer-director imagines that death is not the end, as after your time in the real world is done, you arrive by a retro-fitted train to the afterlife where you meet your AC (afterlife consultant) who will help you choose how to spend your eternity. Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early play Anna and Ryan, the ACs of Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Larry (Miles Teller). Instead of opting for eternal uptopian relaxation, Anna and Ryan have chosen to spend their afterlife in service of everyone else’s happy ever afterlives (if you will). Joy Randolph has already thought about what afterlife she’d choose, if a system like the one in the retro-futuristic world of Eternity exists. "Just luxury," she told RadioTimes.com. "Not super lux, but like when you go on a really nice holiday and you’re like 'You know what? I did the research and I found a great hotel.' You know that feeling when you open the door to the hotel and you’re like, 'Yes.' I want a nice holiday." Early is more influenced by the fact it’s already past lunchtime when we chat. "Mac and Cheese World," he responds. "But that's just because I'm starving right now. There's lots of different kinds of mac and cheese!" Though he doesn’t tend to watch romcoms himself, Early does have one film he could watch for an eternity. "I just rewatched The Way We Were with my mom and seeing the way that it just worked on her, it was so sweet," he says, "She was like, by the end [wipes tear], we were both like [wipes tear]… I’d choose that maybe. I love that." In the film, there are also many discontinued eternities that are either inherently problematic or just creepy and unpopular, such as 'Clown World', that would feel like hell if you had to experience them for ever more. For Joan, it’s 'Beach World', for Larry, it’s living for an eternity without Joan. When asked what would be hell to them if they had to experience it for an eternity, Joy Randolph replied: "America right now." "Yeah, we’re living in it," Early adds, exclaiming that an eternity where there is "no Mac and Cheese World, where it's banned" would also be far from ideal. Meanwhile, what Olsen loved about the script was how it reinvented the idea of the afterlife through the modern lens of capitalism – as eternity is now something that has been packaged up and marketed to us. "This idea of the afterlife presenting not really a spiritual option, but more consumerism and capitalism and trying to force people to buy into an idea or something, I just thought it was a really funny reflection back at what culture has become," she tells us. "And because of it feeling so bleak in a way, it allowed for the relationships and what matters most to, in my opinion, really shine through. You can decorate whatever you need in your life to have the best version of this or that, but the only thing that really matters are the people you have these relationships with while you're alive and that is what I love most about the film." Olsen and Teller had the fun challenge of playing eighty-something souls in thirty-something bodies, as Larry and Joan arrive at their eternity in the happiest version of themselves. View Green Video on the source website The actors took different approaches to crafting their character, with Teller being influenced by his grandma’s outlook as a young soul in an 85-year-old body. "My grandma, she’s always considered herself a vampire of the youth," he says. "She does not like hanging out with old people, even though she's 85 herself. But when I've asked her questions about getting older, she says. 'Well, Miles, first of all, I remember when I was your age. I felt like I was your age yesterday and I also still feel like I am 35, and I wonder who this old person is looking back at me'. "So, for her, even though she's been through some of life's most tragic of circumstances, she hasn't really aged. She's been – I imagine – that same personality long before I even got to know her. I was just excited with Larry to explore what that would feel like when he finally doesn't have the aches and pains and how exciting that would be, even though he's dead." Meanwhile, Olsen dived into historical research to find touchstones within film and TV of what would have influenced Joan’s character to build out her old soul. She explains: "It was Shirley MacLaine films with Billy Wilder and things like that that were fun to watch and think about that woman being an aspirational type of woman for Joan in her life growing up. I really enjoy prep work because I think it helps just find ideas, even if they're not useful in some ways." Eternity also breaks the mould of many romantic comedies with a compelling love triangle that moves away from a prescriptive idea of what love should and can be. "I loved reading this script," Olsen says. "I felt very comforted by meeting Joan and Larry in their old age. It was something that to me is aspirational when it comes to romantic comedies — growing old with someone and that bickering and familiarity." She added that she enjoyed that each love was "equally valid" in the film from a five-year crush to a 60-year-long marriage as "those experiences are so real and also so valid. They stay with you as well." The romantic comedy also champions 'ordinary love' over fireworks and grand gestures, which Joy Randolph emphasised was important to see on-screen. "You don’t see that," she says. "I remember when I was younger and I used to watch romcoms, I used to make a little list in my brain and I was like, 'OK, who I date needs to do this based off of that movie'. Early on in my dating career, I was like, 'I'm disappointed because people don't do those things.'" In each eternity, there’s an opportunity for people to revisit some old memories from their life on Earth in the archives. If that power existed in reality, Joy Randolph knows exactly which moment in her career she’d like to relive. "Maybe High Fidelity and get that second season," Joy Randolph says, "I'm not playing, that was a blast. It's fun to film in New York in the summer. You just feel on fire." Meanwhile, Early would return to one of the most ‘surreal’ moments of his career: "I have to say for me, when I did the Wet Hot American Summer reboot, that was one of my favourite movies growing up, and so it was really surreal. "That's the weird thing about reboot culture. You literally get to enter into the whole thing that you loved. Wow." Eternity is released in UK cinemas on Friday 5th December 2025. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Robert Webb reveals his verdict on whether Peep Show will get a film or could return for a revival series
Peep Show fans have long wondered whether they’ll see a movie version of the hit series – and now the show’s star Robert Webb has had his say. Revealing his verdict on whether we’ll see his character, Jeremy ‘Jez’ Usbourne, and David Mitchell's Mark Corrigan on the big screen in the future, Webb explained he’s not sure the show’s unique format – which is filmed from a 1st person perspective – would translate. "I think Sam [Bain] and Jesse [Armstrong], the writers, talked about it for a while," Webb told RadioTimes.com. "Because of the POV thing and the way the camera moves around, I think it would just make everyone feel sick – even more than the content of Mark and Jeremy’s behaviour makes people feel sick!" "Just the camera swinging around like that on a big screen would be quite difficult to watch, so I think that’s why Sam and Jesse have always been a bit tentative about it." Webb, who recently reunited with his Peep Show co-star David Mitchell for their Channel 4 series Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping, also went on to say that he would have to think twice about returning for a film. "Those half hour things that turn into 90 minute things, it doesn’t always come off," he said. "Sometimes it can, but Peep Show sort of lives in that format and it’d be a shame to do something a bit balls just for the sake of doing a movie." But could diehard fans ever see a TV reboot of the series that came to an end in 2015? "David and I are tremendously old so it would be a very different show," added Webb at the Rose d’or Awards 2025. “It was about two people in their thirties and 'are they going to get it together/ aren’t they going to get it together.' "If they’re still in their fifties living together, and they hate each other and they’re romantically and professionally unfulfilled, the jury isn’t out anymore – it’s been decided and there’s no jeopardy, they’ve blown it." Read more: Peep Show's most excruciating episodes: from Christmas to weddings David Mitchell and Robert Webb talk reviving their sketch show and why Peep Show is a no-go for Webb’s daughters However, despite seemingly ruling out a return to the small or silver screen, Webb said he’s extremely "proud" to have been part of such a hit, and doesn’t mind when people quote iconic lines back to him in the street. "I’ll always be very happy and proud to be associated with that show. I was very lucky to be there and it’s a brilliant show," said Webb. "[Being recognised for Peep Show] sort of ebbs and flows. Sometimes it’s: ‘Hello Mr Webb, sorry to bother you.’ And sometimes it’s: ‘Oi, Peep Show!’ So it kind of varies." "I wouldn’t walk into a student bar and expect a quiet drink, put it that way, but there are other places where I’m completely invisible." Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Robert Webb reveals why he's not competing in the Peep Show Bake Off special with Olivia Colman and David Mitchell
Peep Show fans are currently counting down the days until the cast of the hit sitcom reunite for a Christmas episode of The Great British Bake Off. The one-off festive special was recently announced by Channel 4 and will see Peep Show stars David Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Isy Suttie, Matt King and Sophie Winkleman donning their aprons in a bid to win over judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. But many have been wondering why Robert Webb, who played Jeremy 'Jez' Usbourne until the show wrapped in 2015, isn't heading into the Bake Off tent as well. Webb has now explained to RadioTimes.com why he isn't taking part – and it was all down to a prior filming commitment. "I couldn't do it, I was working," the 53-year-old explained. "I do a kids' show called High Hoops, which is about a girls' basketball team for CBBC, and I was in Yorkshire doing that. "I was already being very mean about my availability for them, so if I’d asked for another three days off, I think it would have been very unfair." However, the star went on to say that it was a shame to have missed out on the fun – despite not being a keen baker himself. "I was sad to miss out, it would have been great," added Webb when speaking at the recent Rose d’Or Awards. "[But] I've never baked a thing in my life! "I quite like cooking, but I’ve never baked much. It wasn’t that that stopped me though, I was working." Webb then added with his tongue firmly in his cheek: “Some of us have got to work for a living – not like Olivia Colman!” It was recently confirmed that The Great Celebrity Bake Off will air on Christmas Day at 7:40pm. The special, hosted by Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding, promises "laughter and chaos" as the famous bakers take on various challenges that pay homage to Peep Show. Other highlights across Channel 4’s Christmas schedules include Finding Father Christmas, The Great Festive Pottery Throwdown, and not one, but two Taskmaster specials. The fourth Champion of Champions will be broadcast on 22nd December at 9pm, and will see past winners Sam Campbell, John Robins, Andy Zaltzman, Mathew Baynton and Maisie Adam going up against each other. Meanwhile, the New Year Treat will air its first episode of two on Friday 2nd January at 9pm, and will star Big Zuu, Jill Scott, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Sam Ryder and Susie Dent. Plus, viewers can look forward to First Dates (23rd December at 9pm), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (24th December at 9pm) and The Last Leg (24th December at 10pm). The Great Celebrity Bake Off will air on Wednesday 25th December at 7:45pm on Channel 4. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Witcher's Joey Batey reveals how his new novel embraces his Northern identity and being "forgotten" by those in power
Joey Batey's ambitious new novel shows life in the North - and the creativity that stems from there.
If anyone sings the ditty "Toss a coin to your Witcher", you'd immediately hear the voice and see the face of Joey Batey. The 36-year-old was propelled to fame after his appearance in the hit Netflix series where he performed the catchy tune. But acting is purely one string to Batey's impressive bow; he's one half of indie folk band The Amazing Devil and he's also an author, with his remarkable debut novel the topic of conversation with RadioTimes.com when we caught up. It's Not A Cult is an ambitious folk horror novel, centred around a rebellious band in the North East of England. Callum, Melusine and Al have no band name, but they take their sound across pubs in the locality which tell stories of the 'Solkats', fictional gods of small things. While no one really knows what they're singing about, the band is happiest when they're playing music together - until an act of violence at a pub catches the eye of an influencer and the band suddenly go from having a cult following to having that cult following them. Callum insists the Solkats just want to have an effect on the world, but as their music grows far and wide, and their gigs become more tumultuous, they soon discover that the fictional mischief they've been singing about might just be real after all - and in demand of a sacrifice. It's ambitious and expensive, potentially owing to the fact it had been sitting with Batey for a long time. "When I was about 19, I had met these characters," Batey explained. "I knew the outline of what I wanted to write, but for some reason I was hesitant to put it to paper. I ended up writing a number of other novels throughout my 20s and 30s, just to cut my teeth. I got to a couple of years ago and thought, 'This story's been banging on the door for so long that I think now's the time'. In those years, with the introduction of social media, the story suddenly felt like it was relevant. "I felt like I got all the ingredients for it but I just hadn't put the oven on. When I started cooking on this book, it was a really quick process." Batey laughs when asked if he was glad he waited, adding: "If I'd written it at the age of 19/20, I think it would have been almost unbelievable, whereas the book now incorporates huge themes that are now very palpable and could happen - but would have been slightly alien to an audience of 15/20 years ago." The novel is set in the North East of England, particularly Northumberland, where the scenery is beautiful but wild and mischievous - the perfect setting for the Solkats. Batey explained: "I wanted to return to the North East because it become quite representative of this mythology. Playful but malevolent, quite ethereal in some ways. In this story, [the Solkats] have a sense of joy and threat at the same time - and that's how I feel about my personal relationship with the North East." There's a wealth of books being adapted into TV shows at the moment, and something so inventive as It's Not a Cult would be hard to ignore. But Batey's very humble about his chances - though has some pre-requisites if he were to see it translated for the small screen. "I've no sort of aspiration of grandeur when it comes to the book, but it obviously has a framework that I built into it from day one; there are only maybe three or four scenes in the entire book that don't take place down a camera lens. It might read like I was gunning for it to get made into a film, but that certainly wasn't my intention!" Batey explains. He adds: "If it did get made, I would be first of all overjoyed, but I would hope to have as much creative control as I could, and to ensure that the North East was represented properly by people who were from the North East, who understood what it's like to grow up there, to live there, to be slightly forgotten by the rest of the country and certainly by previous governments. "There's a wealth of togetherness in the North East and in the North in general that comes from being forgotten by people in power. So I would want as many people from the North as possible involved in the project." For all the latest RT Book Club news, interviews, Q&As with the authors, reviews of previous books and more, visit The Radio Times Book Club sponsored by Dr. Oetker Ristorante.
Is Batman Returns a Christmas movie? Michelle Pfeiffer gives definitive response
The iconic actress was speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about her new Christmas film Oh. What. Fun.
Every Christmas, film fans will inevitably debate whether a couple of iconic movies can really be counted as a Christmas films. Die Hard is, of course, the most obvious example, but another film that can lead to some contentious debate is Batman Returns. Tim Burton's superhero sequel starring Michael Keaton as The Caped Crusader is set over the festive period, with plenty of snow and Yuletide decorations in sight, but some claim that the setting alone is not enough for it to warrant Christmas movie status. So when RadioTimes.com exclusively spoke to the film's iconic Catwoman star Michelle Pfeiffer about her new Prime Video movie Oh. What. Fun – which most definitely is a Christmas film – we had to ask her if she felt the superhero flick qualified. Read more: Back to the Future's Michael J Fox reveals his casting for classic film may have cost one actor a key role Avatar: Fire and Ash first reactions are in as critics single out "unimaginable" and "bold" sequel filmmaking Her initial response was one of slight bafflement, to put it mildly, but she eventually reached a definitive conclusion. " Hmm," she said after a long pause. "I don't really think of it as a Christmas film." After pausing further she added: "Um, no... I don't really.... Yeah I really wouldn't consider it that." At that point, her Oh. What. Fun co-star Denis Leary cut in to say that he was a big Batman fan and so, "If we can call that a Christmas film. I'm in". Pfeiffer then added: " Well, it's the Tim Burton version of Christmas. Well, I'd say Nightmare before Christmas is... yeah," before tapering off. So it seems Catwoman is very much not in the 'Batman Returns is a Christmas movie' camp. In Oh. What. Fun – which also stars Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz and Jason Schwartzman among its star-studded cast – Pfeiffer plays Claire Clauster, a woman whose hard work over the festive period goes unnoticed by her children and grandchildren until they suddenly realise she is missing. The film opens by explaining that while there are countless Christmas movies about fathers, there are relatively few about mothers – and Pfeiffer hopes this will strike a chord with viewers. "I just think this is really going to resonate with with everyone," she said. "I think everyone will see a little bit of themselves in this film." She continued: "Being a mum, I really could and can relate to how much work and effort goes into these holidays. Ut's not just Christmas, it's Thanksgiving, and really, just about any holiday and it's months of preparation, you know? And it's just all that behind the scenes stuff that moms just don't get the credit for." Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Walton Goggins has arrived in Fallout 76, and The Ghoul needs your help
Walton Goggins has arrived in Fallout 76. Yep, you read that right! Prime Video's Fallout TV show is crossing over with the video game franchise that birthed it in a pretty major way. Goggins's iconic TV character The Ghoul is hosting a new bounty hunting feature, which is available in the game now (ahead of Fallout season 2). That bounty hunting feature dropped in a big new update, Burning Springs, which also adds a new region to the north-west area of the map. This new region, Ohio, has been inspired by Fallout 3 and New Vegas, to make sure it thematically resonates with the vibe of Fallout season 2. View oEmbed on the source website One of the key points of interest in this new region is Highway Town, where you’ll find The Ghoul doing some shady business in a bar called The Last Resort. He has a huge stack of bounties to hunt, and you’re gonna help him do exactly that. To get ahead of the game on this one, Radio Times Gaming travelled to New York City to chat with two of the key developers of Fallout 76 about this exciting new development. So, how did they end up getting The Ghoul himself? Fallout 76 creative director Jonathan Rush told us: “So, it kind of happened organically. You know, with the new region, we wanted to figure out what the tentpole feature of the new update would be, and something that captured the spirit of that region and also the broader strokes of player feedback came to be bounty hunting, right?” Rush continued: “And so, who better to host a bounty hunting feature than Walton Goggins? As The Ghoul. I mean, there's nothing better. So yeah, Walton Goggins, of course, being a big fan of Fallout, being a big fan of the games, this was a very, very easy fit to have this character be in this update. “It was great getting the script written out. There were some writers on our side and a writer on the show side, and they were collaborating there and getting the script into a good place. And, of course, that all comes together once Walton Goggins has that, as like a starting point, and he then really crafts that into his own character, which is The Ghoul.” What was it like, then, actually seeing Goggins in the booth delivering lines as The Ghoul? “It's amazing,” Rush admitted. “It was amazing watching him record these lines. I found it just astonishing, seeing how quickly he could just transform into The Ghoul, and you're not hearing Walton Goggins anymore. You're hearing The Ghoul. To me, that was just magical.” Jumping into the game ourselves, we tried to exhaust the dialogue options with The Ghoul to see what has brought him to Appalachia. After some probing, he did obliquely refer to a bounty that he followed out here, but he doesn’t get into details. “We don't really explain why he's there,” Rush told us. “He's simply there being The Ghoul. He's The Ghoul, as we would expect. He's The Ghoul, doing something that The Ghoul would do, with bounty hunting. “And so, taking it even further than that for this patch, for this update, didn't really seem wholly necessary. That's not to say that, perhaps, down the road, we learn more, or maybe we don't. But that's part of, I think, the allure, it's the mystery of The Ghoul. During our couple of hours of playtime with the new update, the bounty system revolving around The Ghoul proved to be very playable and enjoyable indeed. There are two different types of bounties you can pick up from The Ghoul — there are smaller ‘grunt hunts’ that you could happily handle on your own, and there are larger ‘head hunts’ that function more like raid battles, with other online players joining you to take on a more powerful enemy as a group. In both of these bounty types, there was a lot of humour to be found in the gameplay. The first grunt hunt we took on was just a scientist wandering around (very Fallout season 1 vibes), who didn’t put up much of a fight. This, in itself, was quite comical as we turned our very well-armed level 300 characters against him. One of the most memorable head hunts that we faced featured a very powerful old lady in a suit of souped up power armour. This was much trickier, even with a whole group of level 300 players. It’s a very good sign that, every time someone started a head hunt, I immediately wanted to drop what I was doing and join in with the fun. Certainly, The Ghoul feels right at home in Fallout 76, and it makes sense in the Fallout timeline that he would be alive and active at this point in the overarching story. Bring it on! View oEmbed on the source website Fallout 76: Burning Springs is out now. Read More: Is Fallout 76 good now? We asked its producer this trending question Fallout 5 release date speculation: Latest news on the next Fallout game Ella Purnell reacts to Fallout's "overwhelming" success Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Doctor Who star hints Kate Lethbridge-Stewart might not survive The War Between the Land and the Sea
Jemma Redgrave is back in action in The War Between the Land and the Sea.
Whovians considering skipping the upcoming spinoff series The War Between the Land and the Sea may have to think again following the latest tease from a major fan favourite Doctor Who star. In the Doctor’s absence, UNIT’s Commander-in-Chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) steps up to try to halt an impending attack from the Sea Devils in this five-part standalone story. Likened to Independence Day, The War Between the Land and the Sea explores a growing conflict between humanity and the ocean dwellers, who are enraged by the state of the sea due to the pollution and the climate crisis. To try and avert the looming international conflict, Lethbridge-Stewart and her team - in particular, low-level UNIT operative and unlikely ambassador Barclay Pierre-DuPont (Russell Tovey) - attempt to reason with the Classic era villains. But will everyone make it out alive? Star Jemma Redgrave isn’t so sure, as she exclusively told RadioTimes.com: “If she survives this series, I don't know where she can go next…” The Doctor Who star continued: “But I've had a most extraordinary time and journey with this character and through different series of Doctor Who and now through this series.” “And every time I get the call, it feels like another gift. Long may it last.” Writer Pete McTighe added: “The character of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart... I think if you're a huge fan of Doctor Who and you know that legacy character and you love that character like I do, I think you'll be very surprised about the journey that she goes on through the show. Her character arc, in particular for Doctor Who fans, is probably the most surprising.” The fan favourite character was first portrayed by Beverley Cressman back in 1995, before Jemma Redgrave debuted in the reintroduced role in the 2012 episode "The Power of Three". She’ll also be joined by fellow UNIT colleagues Colonel Christofer Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient) and Scientific Advisor Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley), along with General Austin Pierce, with Colin McFarlane reprising his role from Torchwood: Children of Earth. We have no idea what the Doctor - and any of their many companions - would do without the help of the illustrious UNIT leader, (her double-bluff against the Zygons remains a real highlight) so we’ll be crossing our fingers that she makes it through the events of the upcoming miniseries! Stay tuned for more about The War Between the Land and the Sea, including news, interviews, features and more. The War Between the Land and the Sea is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7th December. Add The War Between the Land and the Sea to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The War Between the Land and the Sea writer promises Easter Eggs for fans of classic Doctor Who
Fans of the Whoniverse will no doubt be keeping their eyes peeled for any familiar faces and nods to the wider Doctor Who franchise when spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea debuts on the BBC next week. The Earth-based drama explores an impending conflict between mankind and returning foes the Sea Devils, as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) are forced to step up in the Doctor’s absence. The series features the return of a whole host of characters, including Jemma Redgrave, Alexander Devrient and Ruth Madeley reprising their UNIT roles, along with Colin McFarlane returning as General Austin Pierce from Torchwood: Children of Earth. And with the focus on the Sea Devils - who were last seen clashing with Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in the 2022 special Legend of the Sea Devils - fans are finally set to discover more about this formidable but somewhat mysterious foe. When asked about ties to the wider Doctor Who universe, writer Pete McTighe revealed: “There are absolutely Easter eggs to be seen – if you get the pause button ready, you'll be seeing plenty of stuff.” <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/541153-8570b41.jpg" width="5197" height="3465" alt="Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt in The War Between the Land and the Sea. He is in front of an orange, firey background on the left and she is in front of a blue, sea background on the right. Their hands are touching in the middle." title="541153" /> “What's great about the Sea Devils as a civilisation is we didn't really know much about them before,” Davies explains. “Essentially, they were monsters on a beach in Portsmouth, or in Sea Base, we didn't really delve into their culture and their society, and that's what we're able to do a lot more of here.” And it looks like Whovians will finally get a glimpse at their home world. “We spend a lot more time with them, we actually go to their world in episode 3, which is incredible,” he continues. “You get to see how they live and their environment and all the different species, so that's been a huge amount of fun to expand the backstory.” First debuting in the 1972 serial The Sea Devils alongside Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor, the species has certainly had quite the makeover since its original appearance. They’ve dwelled in the Earth’s oceans for millions of years, but upon awakening to find that mankind has polluted the seas, they soon take action. Stay tuned for more about The War Between the Land and the Sea, including news, interviews, features, and more. The War Between the Land and the Sea is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7th December. Add The War Between the Land and the Sea to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
David Dimbleby reveals why he’s investigating the monarchy as royal institution must "adapt or die"
The veteran broadcaster on the monarchy's power, wealth and public role and how it may evolve ahead of his new BBC series, What's the Monarchy For?
Over the years, I’ve broadcast on many royal events –jubilees and weddings, state occasions and funerals. In my BBC series, What’s the Monarchy For?, I’m doing something quite different – looking in depth at the institution, how it works, its power, its privileges and how it tries to retain public support. The late Queen, in a famous speech, once said that no institution – including the monarchy – should expect to be free from scrutiny. I am taking her at her word. I have always been curious about the role of the monarchy in Britain’s public life. My father, Richard Dimbleby, who provided the commentary on the Queen’s coronation in 1953, was both an admirer of the Queen and an ardent monarchist. He called it, “the enduring strength of Britain and the wonder and envy of a large part of the world”. His passion was founded on the belief that the monarchy was a powerful force in keeping Britain united against the misery and chaos he had witnessed as a reporter during the Second World War. I came to monarchy from a different angle. I did not revere it in the way he did and I never understood the bowing and scraping that seemed to accompany the Queen wherever she went. That said, I followed in my father’s footsteps by accepting the job of commentator on a variety of formal state occasions, all of which provided fascinating challenges as a broadcaster – how much information to give, when to speak and when to stay silent. You could say I accepted the idea of monarchy without endorsing the flattery and flummery that went along with it. So, my enquiry into the nature of monarchy is not into whether Britain should be a monarchy or a republic, though inevitably I touch on that. It is a look at the institution itself, the powers and influence it wields, the inordinate wealth it has accumulated and the way it goes about creating an acceptable public image. This last being crucial, since only by retaining the support of a sufficient number of its citizens can it ensure its survival. In making this series, I learnt how Buckingham Palace devotes great energy to keeping abreast of public opinion and how sometimes – as with the death of the Princess of Wales, or the Andrew saga – they’ve misjudged public feeling. Over the past two years I have interviewed a wide variety of people, both those who support monarchy and those who do not. I have talked to the Sovereign’s closest advisers, including former private secretaries and press officers at the palace, as well as senior politicians. It is not as easy to get people to open up about what they do as you might think. The palace, in particular, has always seemed to adopt the Mafia principle of omertà. Speaking out was not of course met by death, although in earlier reigns it would have been. The modern punishment is exclusion from the enchanted circle, whether as a friend or an employee. It took some persuasion to find politicians who would agree to be interviewed. David Cameron bravely stepped forward and talked about his audiences with the late Queen Elizabeth. George Osborne robustly defended giving the Sovereign Grant, a generous financial settlement that meant the royals’ spending would no longer be scrutinised yearly by the House of Commons. Two powerful private secretaries to the late Queen talk about crises the monarchy has faced – though you have to concentrate to catch their admission of failures to keep in step with public opinion. In this three-part series, I explore the influence the monarch has and at Charles’s attempt to abandon the role of an opinionated Prince of Wales for that of an opinion-free king. I look at the much-vaunted constitutional powers of the Sovereign to appoint prime ministers and to open and close Parliament, and how, when Boris Johnson was prime minister, that went catastrophically wrong. I also look at the impact of the institution at home and abroad, where the royal family has celebrity status; an international brand used by successive governments for their own purposes, whether wooing Donald Trump, repairing relations with Ireland, or insisting on state visits from dictators it thinks it politic to woo. We start the series with a reminder of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s invitation to President Trump to come to Britain on a second state visit, producing an envelope from his inside pocket like a magician producing a rabbit from a hat for the astonished children at a birthday party. “This is really special,” he cooed. “This is unprecedented.” Like a good conjuror, Starmer knew how to grab the attention of his audience. But what is most interesting is what goes on behind the scenes, hidden from public view. I did not realise, for instance, that the monarchy has the power to see any proposed legislation that affects its private interests before it goes to Parliament – and has the prerogative power to suggest amendments to anything that it believes may adversely affect it. The late Queen saw over a thousand such pieces of legislation and saw changes made to at least 160 of them. Some of these exclusions are from important laws that affect everyone else: the Race Relations Act, for example – which guarantees equal employment rights for everyone – does not apply to royal staff, whether working at the top of the tree or employed as a cleaner in one of the palaces. The same with the Equality Act and Health and Safety regulations. Royal finances have always been murky territory to explore, with obfuscation seeming the easiest resort when awkward questions are asked. The two Duchies – Cornwall, whose profits go to the Prince of Wales, and Lancaster, which goes to the King – are often portrayed as benign landlords and champions of the local economies. There was a telling confrontation in 2005, when a parliamentary committee tried to understand how the two Duchies ran their operations. Faced with public scrutiny, their representatives answered in a somewhat opaque fashion. And little wonder, given the revelation that the Duchy of Cornwall – which owns land in 23 counties and in London – charges market rents for the use of its land by NHS trusts, charities, the prison service, the armed forces and schools. You might wonder why they need further public funding at all, let alone the settlement invented by George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer, which guaranteed an income stream based on the profits of the Crown Estate. Read more: King Charles III confirmed to star in all-new documentary special for Prime Video Channel 4 documentary on AI in the workplace reveals unprecedented presenter twist This is another curious institution. It is made up of lucrative property given up by George III in 1760 in return for a fixed royal salary, the Civil List. If you ask who the Crown Estate belongs to, you are assured that it is not the private property of the monarch to dispose of as they wish, but it is nevertheless owned by the monarch “in right of the Crown”. The distinction may elude many. Its declared aim is to maximise profit for the good of the whole nation. Whether leasing a huge house to Andrew for a peppercorn rent lasting 75 years maximises profit for the nation is for them to explain. I had not realised that while in recent years the Sovereign has paid income tax and capital gains tax, it is all on a purely voluntary basis and they don’t have to pay other taxes to which everyone else is subject, including death duties. Royal wealth, therefore, grows year by year. The King is the first billionaire to take the throne. The public mood is all important to monarchy, for obvious reasons. Once the monarchy had abandoned its executive role, gradually giving it up to Parliament (no more executions of opponents), it existed only with the consent of the public. Keeping in step with public feeling became a matter of pressing concern for the Sovereign and the Sovereign’s advisers. But judging the public mood is notoriously difficult. It is subject to irrational shifts and, with their first response to the death of Diana and the snail’s pace abandonment of Andrew in the face of his relationship with Epstein, the palace can get – as they put it – “behind the curve”. The series has been a fascinating voyage of discovery into the workings of the institution. At a time when opposition to the very idea of monarchy is rejected by small majorities in Scotland and Wales and is growing across the UK as a whole, an in-depth examination of the institution is timely. As the old adage goes, “Adapt or die”. Watch this space. The next issue of Radio Times is out on Saturday 29th November – <a class="_mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz14q2 _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj14q2 _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l314q2 _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h16c2 _1053w7te _1ienw7te _n0fxw7te _1vhvg3x0" title="https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/radio-times-magazine-subscription" href="https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/radio-times-magazine-subscription" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">subscribe here. 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Celebrity Traitors fan favourite makes surprise entrance in exclusive look at epic TV event with comedy legends
Warning: the clip below contains strong language.
Cult comedy wrestling event Clash of the Comics is set to be broadcast on TV for the first time ever – and RadioTimes.com has an exclusive look at Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler’s surprise cameo. The live show, which has been a staple at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe under the title The Wrestling, pits stand-up comedians against each other in the wrestling ring – with some pro wrestlers getting involved too. In this sneak peek at the show, which was filmed at the Eventim Apollo last month and is now available to stream on U, Ed Gamble introduces James Acaster’s mystery opponent – and it’s none other than former England rugby player turned fan-favourite Faithful, Marler. However, Joe Lycett soon appears and protests: "James said he challenged somebody from the world of comedy or wrestling. This is very clearly a beautiful former rugby player." Ed says: "That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been training him up." Watch the clip above to find out how Marler's comedy training has paid off. Good luck, Acaster... Other comedians taking part in the event include a number of Taskmaster alumni, such as Maisie Adam, Rosie Jones and Phil Wang. Meanwhile, Lycett serves as event CEO, Ivo Graham as host and Greg James, Sara Pascoe and Nish Kumar are on commentary. Clash of the Comics is now available to stream on U, and will air on U& Dave at 9pm on 5th December. Add Clash of the Comics to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Avatar: Fire and Ash could be the end of the franchise, reveals director James Cameron
The director has designed a failsafe in case he doesn't get the chance to make more Avatar movies.
Avatar director James Cameron has revealed the series' latest instalment, Fire and Ash, could mark the end of the franchise. Fire and Ash, Cameron's third Avatar film, is due to be released next month after a three-year wait, significantly shorter than the eight-year gap between the first and second films. Fire and Ash is technically the midpoint in an ambitious five-part film series, but in an interview for an upcoming issue of Radio Times Magazine (due out on Thursday 4th December 2025), Cameron revealed he designed the series so that its first three films feel like a complete trilogy. "If it all ends with this film that’s OK," he says. "Because it’s not a cliffhanger ending. It all resolves in a very satisfying way." The film is set only one year after the events of The Way of Water, and opens with the Sully family still living with the Metkayina clan whilst they grieve Neteyam's death. It will then introduce us to a new Na'vi tribe known as the Ash People, who live in a volatile volcanic region of Pandora and are in alliance with the human RDA causing conflict to escalate. If further entries do happen, however, Cameron already knows the direction they'll take. He explained that the fourth and fifth Avatar films would involve a six-year time jump and would feature Neytiri making her way to a dystopian Earth. The scripts are written ("they’re pretty good!"), and a portion of Avatar 4 has been filmed, but for now their fate depends on the box-office performance of Fire and Ash. "I would love to make those movies," says Cameron, sounding uncharacteristically cautious. "But I’m a bit more pessimistic than I normally would have been." His fear is that the media landscape has changed. "Cinema has become a few selected films that people believe will be an experience that’s worth leaving their homes for," he says. "Post-Covid and post-streaming, it’s a depressed industry right now. And it doesn’t seem to be bouncing back." Avatar: Fire and Ash will debut in cinemas on Friday 19th December 2025 in the UK. The next issue of Radio Times is out on Saturday 29th November – <a class="_mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz14q2 _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj14q2 _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l314q2 _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h16c2 _1053w7te _1ienw7te _n0fxw7te _1vhvg3x0" title="https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/radio-times-magazine-subscription" href="https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/radio-times-magazine-subscription" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">subscribe here. Check out more of our Film 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.
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc is one of "most iconic" performances of our time, argue Wake Up Dead Man cast
The stars of the latest Knives Out film – including Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny and Andrew Scott – have lavished praise on the former James Bond star.
Given his incredibly popular turn as James Bond across five films and 15 years, few cinemagoers would ever have guessed there might one day be a debate as to who Daniel Craig's most iconic big screen character is. But three films into Rian Johnson's Knives Out series, the former 007 star has added another truly beloved character to his repertoire: sharp Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc. In Wake Up Dead Man, which arrives in select UK cinemas today ahead of a Netflix release next month, the detective has another tantalising case on his hands, this time against the backdrop of a small Catholic parish in upstate New York. As ever, the suspect list comprises a who's who of Hollywood talent – with Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close and Jeremy Renner among the potential culprits this time around – and it seems that all of those who took part greatly enjoyed watching Craig disappear into his role for a third time. "We had front row seats to one of the most iconic performances of our time, right?" said Kerry Washington, who stars as a church-going lawyer in the movie. "He's playing this character that has become his own universe. And so it was really fun to get to see it up close." She added that Craig worked the hardest of the whole cast – with the possible exception of O'Connor – and that he always showed up for every scene more prepared than anybody else in the ensemble. "And with more grace and kindness and goodwill than anybody else," she continued. "He's such a generous, kind, leader – and it made for an environment where we all wanted to do our best and be our best. "We knew we were on a championship team and we didn't want to drop the ball, so it was fun to have somebody like Daniel as your creative leader, your team captain." View oEmbed on the source website Meanwhile, Priscilla and Alien: Romulus star Cailee Spaeny, who plays a former concert cellist, laughed that it was "quite jarring" watching him go from embodying Blanc to "snap[ping] right back into being Daniel Craig". "And there was a moment where we're all sitting in the church watching him do this incredible monologue, and it really felt like I was watching a play," she recalled. Not everyone in the cast was working with Craig for the first time, and for Andrew Scott – who plays a best-selling author on a downward spiral – the film served as a reunion of sorts after they had previously worked together on 2015 Bond flick Spectre. "He's just a spectacular human being," he said of his co-star. "He's really good, because in an ensemble film, it's great to have an ensemble, but of course, he's at the centre of it. And you know, he establishes alongside Rian [Johnson], this really beautiful atmosphere to work in, because there's a lot of intimidating people on the first day!" Read more: Benedict Cumberbatch reveals how his new film hopes to change the ways we think about grief Joel Edgerton reveals how new Netflix film could get close to answering the meaning of life Daryl McCormack – who plays an aspiring politician-turned-online conspiracy nut – agreed with Scott's assessment. "My biggest takeaway from Daniel is just like his humility as a person and as an actor," he said. "And I think they have not failed to set a tone that has been the most welcoming. "I think, in turn, that really does just create an atmosphere for you as an actor, to come in and feel free and a part of the process in a real, genuine way. And then just to witness him portray this iconic character in person is really something." Reviews have once again been firmly on the positive side – with our own 4-star verdict suggesting that it could even be the best of the bunch – and both Johnson and Craig have already expressed a willingness to give Blanc some further cases to solve in the future. Only two more to go until he equals his output as 007... Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is released in cinemas on 26th November and coming to Netflix on 12th December. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Take a trip back through 62 years of Doctor Who in Radio Times covers
When it comes to the history of Doctor Who, Radio Times has got it covered. From the earliest days of the iconic sci-fi through to its cancellation in 1989 and revival in 2005, Radio Times has documented everything. Most recently Doctor Who has celebrated a massive 62 years on screen – so, to mark the milestone, we're looking back on our Doctor Who-themed Radio Times covers and the icons who featured. Check out the gallery below for some of our favourites: View Gallery on the source website It's a busy time for Doctor Who, with the upcoming spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, set to air this December. The BBC also recently confirmed the future of the main show, revealing that the deal with Disney is no longer in place. However, the Doctor and the TARDIS will be back in action next Christmas, with showrunner Russell T Davies set to pen a new festive special. Recently chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Davies revealed the status of that special. Asked whether he's started writing the special, Davies told us: "Not at the moment because I'm busy on [The War Between the Land and the Sea]. I'm also shooting a show in Manchester, so next year my plate clears and we'll get to work on that." While he's keeping quiet on the details, Davies also confirmed he's got the plot all worked out, saying: "I know exactly what happens in it, don't worry about that." The War Between the Land and the Sea is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7th December. Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Add The War Between the Land and the Sea to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Blue Moon true story: How Richard Linklater tackles Rodgers and Hart story with "fanciful imagination"
Ethan Hawke stars as the legendary lyricist in this excellent drama, which has just opened in UK cinemas.
Whenever the greatest songwriting collaborations of all time are discussed – certainly as far as musical theatre is concerned – the partnership between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III is invariably one of the first to come up. The pair dreamed up a number of musicals which are now considered undeniable parts of the canon, with the likes of Oklahoma!, The King and I and The Sound of Music all standing among the most beloved shows of all time. But of course, this was not Rodgers's first songwriting partnership. For years before, he had worked closely with Lorenz 'Larry' Hart on several Broadway productions, with the duo creating classic American songbook standards like The Lady Is a Tramp, Manhattan, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered and My Funny Valentine. The ending of that partnership, right when Rodgers's new collaboration with Hammerstein was on the ascendancy, is now the subject of a new film from director Richard Linklater, which is named after perhaps Hart's most iconic number: Blue Moon. The film is all set on one evening after the Broadway premiere of Oklahoma!, and sees Ethan Hawke take on the role of Hart, with Andrew Scott on impeccable form as Rodgers, and Margaret Qualley stepping into a key role as Elizabeth Weiland – a Yale art student with home Hart was besotted. The script by Robert Kaplow (Me and Orson Welles) is actually adapted from letters between Weiland and Hart, although Linklater stresses that the film is "inspired by", rather than based on, those letters. "The source is Larry's life," he explained. "And certainly you get to know a lot about that – these letters do exist. They're from her, and, you know, she's kind of self absorbed, but she's referencing time she spent with Larry. "So Robert just took that as an inspiration for a big jumping off point to express something else. This whole thing's kind of a fanciful imagination of what could have happened on this night? It did happen [in that] there was this night Oklahoma opened. Larry Hart was there. He went with his mum. And what was he feeling? So, you know, he takes a run at that." Read more: Blue Moon review: Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott shine in tender portrait of an artist Daniel Craig reveals why he thinks the Knives Out films are not "whodunnits" at all One of the things that was so fascinating about Hart – and makes him a great subject for a film – is that you could ask two different people for their opinions on him and get what appeared to be two diametrically opposed answers. The inherent contradictions in his personality are illustrated at the very beginning of the film, when two quotes from his contemporaries briefly flash up on screen. The first of those quotes comes from Hammerstein, who describes his fellow lyricist as "alert and dynamic and fun to be around". The other comes from Mabel Mercer – an iconic cabaret singer – and declares Hart as "the saddest man I ever knew". Perhaps unsurprisingly, this seeming contradiction within the real Hart was something that Hawke was excited to dig into. "There's some old expression I remember reading once about the correlation of opposites," he explained. "Like, a very overweight person who is beautiful in their movement – a great dancer who's heavy – is a really fascinating thing. And I started seeing Larry Hart as this amazing example of the correlation of opposites." He continued: "He's the smallest person in the room and the largest person in the room. He's gay and in love with a woman. He can be bitter and jealous and warm and encompassing and empathetic, and he's experiencing a positive and a negative at every moment. "And so yes, that question was the key to him, I thought, and the quotes at the opening of the movie says everything." View oEmbed on the source website Much like Rodgers and Hart, Linklater and Hawke have been close creative collaborators for a number of years, with Blue Moon marking the ninth time they have worked together on a feature film, following such classics as the Before trilogy and Boyhood. And Linklater explained that working on a film about a breakdown of a creative partnership had given him a newfound "appreciation" for his own dynamic with the actor. "Ethan's still the same guy I met when in 1992 largely, and I probably haven't changed that much either," he said. "If one of us took on a huge addiction and their life fell apart, it might be different. But, you know, we're just kind of... there's a commonality." "I do think our appreciation of what artistic intimacy is and how violent it would be to lose it, I think we're maybe sensitive and keyed into that," added Hawke. "But Rogers and Hart collaboration was so intense because they didn't work with anyone else. It would be like if we'd never made a movie with anybody else!" Blue Moon is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film 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.
Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster reveal how one Christy scene was "ruined" while filming
Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster shared how one particular tiny cast member derailed a moment on set.
Christy Martin's self-titled biopic Christy is now available to watch in UK cinemas several weeks after its US release, telling the inspiring and, at times, deeply harrowing story of Martin, who rose to boxing stardom in the '90s and early '00s – and does not shy away from depicting the most intense parts of Martin's life. Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney leads the cast, and gives a career-best performance as the titular boxer. She is joined by actor Ben Foster, who plays Christy's ex-husband James V Martin – who was convicted of the attempted second-degree murder of his wife in 2010. Among the film's gentler presences are Christy Martin's Pomeranian dogs – one first named Casey, and now, one named Champ – the latter of whom is often pictured with Martin at premieres and other public events. And it appears that the canine certainly made his presence known behind-the-scenes of Christy, as Sweeney and Foster shared in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. Foster recalled: "Christy and I didn't speak on set, and that's very appropriate. But I'll say that a beautiful backwards compliment was that she was nearby in a scene holding Champ, the real dog. "And when I walked in, the dog ruined the take by barking over [Sweeney's] dialogue. "And I was like, 'Oh okay, good. It's making people uncomfortable in the right ways'." Smiling, Sweeney added: "The dog knew." Sweeney herself also shared some of her memories working with the dog actor in the film and who, as it seems, had very little interest in stardom. "The dog did not wanna bond with anyone," Sweeney laughed. "This dog was not aware that the dog was in a movie. "Honestly, the shot when I'm like shadowboxing outside the trailer. We got so lucky that Casey stayed in frame, because the dog did not want to be in any scene, unfortunately. "Casey thought she was just there for more friends and just wanted to hang out." She also added: "I think the dog was the wrong gender. I can't pinpoint exactly, but I want to say the dog was the wrong gender for the film, but it was the only dog who looked like [her]." Read more: Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney gives update on season 3 Sydney Sweeney stars in first look trailer for "sexy, seductive" film based on mammoth best-seller Sweeney further shared that Christy Martin "visited set a lot" throughout the making of Christy, and the two of them became "real good friends" as filming went on. Martin herself has lavished praise on Sweeney's performance in the film, telling Flickering Myth: "She did a great job." She continued: "What's interesting that maybe a lot of people don't know is that [Sweeney] actually has an MMA background from when she was a teenager. So she already has that competitive spirit. The boxing, she enjoyed." Christy is out now in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Doctor Who boss reveals how new spin-off is linked to Torchwood: Children of Earth
There's one big link between the two spin-offs.
As Doctor Who fans prepare to dive head-first into a brand new spin-off with the forthcoming five-part series The War Between the Land and the Sea, the show’s creator and franchise stalwart – has opened up about any further Whoniverse connections. The mini series features UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) commander-in-chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Colonel Christofer Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient) and newcomer Barclay (Russell Tovey), as they attempt to halt the growing international crisis between mankind and the Doctor’s old enemy, The Sea Devils. Along with spotlighting the iconic ancient foes – who first faced off against Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor back in 1972 – the new chapter has direct links to early noughties spin-off Torchwood, particularly its third season, Children of Earth, most prominently, the return of Colin McFarlane's General Austin Pierce. When asked about potential ties, showrunner and writer Russell T Davies exclusively told RadioTimes.com: “I think you’ll have fun if you watch this and Children of Earth together, because they’re both about alien species – or otherworldly species – encountering the human race in an ambassadorial context.” Eagle-eyed Torchwood fans will undoubtedly want to move this to the top of their watchlist, as Davies confirmed: “We use a lot of the same sets as we used in Children of Earth… you’ll see a lot of the same staircases appear, a lot of the same corridors… It’s in the same world.” In one of the spin-off show’s darkest arcs, the hugely popular third instalment saw the alien race known as 456 return to Earth, demanding the British government hand over 10 per cent of the world's children – or they would destroy the human race. As a result, the government ordered the assassination of all Torchwood members in an attempt to cover up their past involvement with the aliens dating back to 1965, with disastrous consequences for the covert team. The upcoming UNIT-centric spin-off features a similarly tense showdown between mankind and another species, with Davies noting: “It is how I think we would approach an alien species, as ambassadors, for formal talks, so [it’s a] very different show, very different things happening, but I hope someone splices together the scenes that take place in the same corridors.” We can’t wait to see the inevitable fan edit of the crossover when The War Between the Land and the Sea splash-lands on our screens this December! Stay tuned for more about The War Between the Land and the Sea, including news, interviews, features, and more. The War Between the Land and the Sea is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7th December. Add The War Between the Land and the Sea to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The 5 films that influenced Vecna's chilling transformation in Stranger Things season 5 – revealed by star Jamie Campbell Bower
*Warning: Major spoilers for Stranger Things season 5 episodes 1-4 ahead.* With the arrival of Stranger Things season 5 comes the return of the villainous Vecna, played by Jamie Campbell Bower – only, this time, he's got a very different air about him. Now, Vecna is targeting the children of Hawkins, starting with Holly Wheeler (now played by new cast member Nell Fisher). It's giving major Child Catcher vibes, with Bower opening up about some of the major films that influenced him and the Duffer Brothers when creating the Vecna/Henry Creel of season 5. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Bower teased that Vecna has "unfinished business" with Noah Schnapp's Will Byers. He added: "For this season, I think it's important for me to remember and to talk about the idea that this is a presentation. This is not Henry in real life, because there is no Henry in real life now. So this is very much like, how much of myself can I show you, and be nice with you, in order to win? "[That] is a terrifying thing to be playing as an actor, because [usually] you want to be handing over that truth as much as possible, but obviously you have to be burying that, and hopefully the person opposite you doesn't see that you're burying that as well. "Matt and Ross [Duffer] have a a huge pool of reference to pull from, and I found myself pulling from that reference as well, and I had a great time doing it." So, if you want to fully understand Vecna's chilling transformation for the final season of Stranger Things, here's every film you need to watch. If you've already raced through the season, check out our ending explained, or relive the music of the season 5 soundtrack! 1. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) Bower explained that he used both the real version of Mister Rogers, and the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, to as a reference for season 5's Henry Creel. 2019 movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a biographical drama, which sees Hanks star as the iconic host of the preschool TV show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. It's not hard to see how Mister Rogers influenced the actor for the early episodes of season 5, with Henry becoming a trusted figure to various children in Hawkins. 2. The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957) Bower also revealed that he was influenced by the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which is brought to life in the 1957 musical film – among other adaptations. The legend follows a piper who, after being hired to rid the town of Hamelin of a rat infestation, instead lures all of the children away. The parallels with Henry Creel in Stranger Things season 5 are clear, as he begins to target all of the children in Hawkins, branding them "weak of body and mind", and declaring them easy to control, after using Schnapp's Will Byers as a spy. 3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) The figure of Willy Wonka, played by Gene Wilder in the 1971 musical film, and by Johnny Depp in the 2005 remake, also acted as the basis for Vecna's season 5 transformation. Again, the parallels between the maniac chocolatier and the Henry we see in season 5 are clear, with Henry luring young Holly Wheeler to his house which, at first glance, seems to be a paradise for girl of her age, full of music, new outfits, games, and presents. However, when you look beneath the surface, it soon becomes clear that it's all a facade – and there are more nefarious things really happening. 4. The Shining (1980) Bower also listed Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance in The Shining as a big influence for Vecna/Henry in season 5. Considered one of the greatest film villains of all time, Jack slowly descends into madness thanks to the supernatural forces at play in the hotel, that take advantage of his vulnerabilities and past trauma – something that Vecna/Henry understands all too well. 5. Dark City (1998) View oEmbed on the source website The Duffer Brothers suggested Bower watch neo-noir science fiction Dark City in his preparation to return to Vecna/Henry for season 5. The film follows a man with amnesia, played by Rufus Sewell, who finds himself suspected of murder, and attempts to clear his name while on the run from the police and a mysterious group known as the Strangers. Along the way, it's revealed that the Strangers aren't quite what they seem, and are experimenting on humans – a clear parallel with Stranger Things and Vecna/Henry's backstory. Bonus influences from the Duffer Brothers The show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, also revealed to RadioTimes.com that they studied various successful TV finales to ensure theirs would hit the mark with fans. "We were looking mostly at the ones that were successful," Ross Duffer explained. "There are probably more whiffs and misses than there are people that have stuck the landing, because I think it's hard when you've been running for a long time – there are so many expectations. "But we looked at Six Feet Under, which is one of the great finales that I've ever seen. We looked at Breaking Bad, we looked at Friday Night Lights, so there was definitely a handful of them that we looked and studied. Not for the plot specifically, but just like, why did that work for us and other fans of those shows?" Matt Duffer added of the Stranger Things finale: "There's a sense of inevitability. When you're looking at shows that don't work, or the endings that don't work, it is when it feels like sometimes the shows are trying too hard to surprise fans or do something different. "So we want it to feel very much in line with the show and the endings for each of the characters to feel inevitable. That's what we're striving for." Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is available on Netflix now. Further episodes follow on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin TV. Add Stranger Things to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Doctor Who boss reveals future of new spin-off – and promises "powerful" credits scene
"Stay tuned for the very end, keep watching.”
As Doctor Who fans count down the days to spin-off series The War Between the Land and the Sea, the show’s creator and stars have shared an intriguing new teaser about the five-part BBC drama. Billed as a miniseries launching on BBC One and iPlayer, the upcoming UNIT-centric (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) show – starring Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jemma Redgrave – will feature a “powerful” end-credits scene that is sure to excite Whovians. Asked whether The War Between the Land and the Sea is strictly a standalone series, showrunner and writer Russell T Davies exclusively told RadioTimes.com: "It's a complete story – it absolutely ends... and I will say, stay tuned for the very end, keep watching.” While the Doctor Who stalwart is keeping quiet on the exact specifics, he confirmed that fans should temper their expectations regarding a potential cameo from the Time Lord, clarifying: “That doesn't mean... that sounds like the Doctor appears – that's not what happens! But within the story, the credits start to roll... keep watching!” As we await the next slice of timey-wimey adventure following that huge Billie Piper-shaped cliffhanger ahead of the 2026 Christmas special, it’s encouraging to see the BBC continue to expand the franchise with another spin-off, joining beloved shows Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Class. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/541153-8570b41.jpg" width="5197" height="3465" alt="Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt in The War Between the Land and the Sea. He is in front of an orange, firey background on the left and she is in front of a blue, sea background on the right. Their hands are touching in the middle." title="541153" /> With a powerful geopolitical eco-thriller plot spotlighting the effects of pollution and the climate crisis within the iconic Sea Devils’ (aka Homo Aqua) realm, fans can look forward to a compelling drama set within the beloved universe and driven by a star-studded cast. The relationship between Tovey’s UNIT worker Barclay and Mbatha-Raw’s Sea Devil, Salt, is set to form the emotional core of the series – with the pair “changing each other forever”. And Davies is certainly full of praise for the performances, teasing: “It's one of the most powerful endings within the most amazing performance from one of this cast you'll ever see.” We’re sold! Star Mbatha-Raw also opened up about her experience on the show, telling RadioTimes.com “it's been an amazing journey”. When asked about the future of the spin-off, the Loki star added: “I think this particular chapter of the story feels fully-formed as its own thing, but there's a whole world out there under the sea, so who knows what Russell has in mind?” Stay tuned for more about The War Between the Land and the Sea, including news, interviews, features and more. The War Between the Land and the Sea is coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7th December. Add The War Between the Land and the Sea to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Daniel Craig reveals why he thinks the Knives Out films are not "whodunnits" at all
With Wake Up Dead Man now in cinemas, audiences are getting to enjoy the latest addition to Rian Johnson's series of Knives Out mysteries, starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. This latest film, which also stars Josh O'Connor, sees Blanc investigating the murder of a charismatic priest, with a line-up of suspects played by Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church. However, speaking in the upcoming issue of Radio Times magazine alongside O'Connor and Close, Craig has been quick to shut down the idea that the Knives Out films are Whodunnits – and he has explained why. In the interview, which will be included in the magazine released on Saturday 29th November, Close described the film as "Shakespearean", adding: "There’s a certain kind of order, then disorder comes in, and then it’s restored, either comically or with drama. And I love the ending of this movie. I think it will surprise people." When it was then put to Craig that perhaps audiences like whodunnits so much because they allow us to confront weighty topics while also being entertained, the actor was quick to cut in and say that "these movies are not whodunnits". "Those are the worst kind of movies," Craig said. "Yes, there is a denouement at the end, but it’s a denouement with a twist. And that’s part of its genius." Wake Up Dead Man, which will arrive on Netflix in December, is the third instalment in the franchise, and while there isn't a fourth currently in development, Johnson has said there's a good chance he will return to the series in future. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the BFI London Film Festival, Johnson said he would come back "as long as Daniel and I have fun doing it, and he wants to do them, as long as audiences like them, and also as long as we can keep challenging ourselves and coming up with something that’s genuinely new." The next issue of Radio Times is out on Saturday 29th November – subscribe here. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is in UK cinemas now and is coming to Netflix on 12th November. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Shetland's Ashley Jensen said her arrival as new DI could have "gone one way or another"
"When I got this, I just thought, 'I'm doing a six part series with this character and that's it.'"
Joining a show in its 8th season, and as a replacement for a lead character who's loved by fans, is not for the faint of heart. But when Ashley Jensen joined Shetland as Douglas Henshall's replacement, she had no expectations about her future on the BBC crime drama. "I think when you've started at the bottom in your career, which is what I did, going in and doing two lines in something, and doing a play where you take the set in the back of a van, put it up, do the show, take it down and go to the next, I think when you started there, it's actually a very good grounding to taking nothing for granted," she told RadioTimes.com. "And when I got this, I just thought, 'I'm doing a six-part series with this character and that's it,' – and I wasn't under option to do any more than that. So when we did the first one and then it suddenly got two [more seasons] off the back of that, it was a nice feeling because it could have gone one way or another." Jensen went on to praise the manner in which her character DI Ruth Calder was introduced – a moment she believes could have been make or break for Shetland. "I think what they did very cleverly was they kept very much the essence of the show, and Calder's whole super objective of the first series was, 'I want to get the hell away from here.' She never came on and was Billy big boots going, 'I've come to take over.' Everyone would be like that, 'Who are you?' And I think the audience would have done that. But instead, it led them in, it teased them in a wee bit more. "It kept everything and it elevated you [gestures to Alison O'Donnell], which I think the audience were crying out for. They wanted to know a bit more of Tosh." O'Donnell, who plays Calder's partner, DI "Tosh" McIntosh, echoed those comments. "They got both, didn't they?" she said. "Anyone who was feeling, 'My heart's with Perez,' they could go on the journey with her – like, 'Oh, who's this newcomer, and she doesn't even want to be here.' "There was this softly, softly approach. They were never pressing her onto anybody. But then, just by sleight of hand, she made her way into the thing. It was really clever." Two seasons on from Jensen's debut, Calder and Tosh are still hard at work solving crimes on the islands – this time, they're investigating the murder of former social worked Eadie Tulloch. "The murder itself is a peculiar death as the victim is an older woman and she’s positioned in a rather macabre way," said Jensen. What makes it worse is she’s outside her house, exposed to the elements and she’s been out there for a few days. And because it’s a small community, everyone’s a bit suspicious." Read more: Shetland's Alison O'Donnell reveals why she cried after watching first episode following Douglas Henshall's exit Jensen also described season 10 as "the best storyline out of the three I’ve been involved in". "I love the detail of this one and the fact that all the locals are suspects in the murder case. And another fascinating element of this storyline is that the personal lives of the police officers become embroiled in this case, which has been interesting for us all to play. "There are relationships in the station which become fraught and fractious." Shetland season 10 airs on Wednesdays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Seasons 1-9 are available to stream on iPlayer now. Ann Cleeves's Shetland novels are available to buy. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.