Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2025-12-24T08:01:06.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: I'm Mark Gatiss and these are the ingredients of A Ghost Story for Christmas
items: Julia Donaldson reveals poignant reason she loves The Scarecrows' Wedding – and why she'll be thinking about her late husband while watching
items: 12 underrated TV gems from 2025 – from The Assembly to Worlds Apart
items: Dame Mary Berry reveals her dos and don'ts for the perfect Christmas dinner
items: How The Marvellous Miniature Workshop spent a combined 200 hours on making this Radio Times feature
items: How 2025's Radio Times Christmas issue cover – featuring Aardman favourites – came to life
items: The Repair Shop star reveals what happened when Helen Mirren stepped into the show for a heartwarming reason
items: Loved Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery? 6 locked-room mysteries to enjoy next
items: Wake Up Dead Man cast reveal their favourite detectives and whether they’d make good murderers
items: Harry Potter TV series star Johnny Flynn on how his new film role compares to playing Lucius Malfoy
items: Doctor Who favourite Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe spill on Strictly journey and finale return
items: The Archers stars David and William Troughton talk being father and son in iconic radio soap and in real-life
items: Lord Alan Sugar dishes on Celebrity Apprentice and why he allowed Thomas Skinner to return for it
items: David Suchet reveals why Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol remains so prescient – and what he'd say to Agatha Christie
items: Kate Winslet reveals why her film Goodbye June is so personal for her "brilliant, clever" screenwriting son
items: Daniel Craig reveals love of Strictly Come Dancing and why he's hoping to leave Narnia before Christmas
items: Amadeus star Paul Bettany reveals how a fan's selfie intruded on a tragic family moment
items: Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock speaks on space travel future and aliens: "I'm not sure about alien abduction"
items: Mishal Husain talks her new chapter, pressing Nigel Farage on Russia and the recent BBC troubles
items: Death in Paradise's Don Warrington teases he doesn't know Christmas 2025 special plot as Selwyn future remains unclear
items: The Night Manager season 2 writer reveals why new episodes are perfect for this Trump era – and talks plans for a trilogy
items: Dame Joanna Lumley reveals her vegetarian Christmas plans: "Wouldn't it be lovely if we didn't kill things at Christmas?"
items: Legendary photographer Martin Parr looks back on his work and recalls the way we were
items: Kiefer Sutherland offers fresh 24 update as producer completes pitch for revival
items: Dame Judi Dench opens up on her declining eyesight, family history, and having a temper: "Oh yes, I’m sometimes very cross"
items: Kiefer Sutherland talks wrestling with Danny Dyer and recalls Christmases with his late father Donald
items: Call the Midwife star reveals she wants a damehood as cast tease much-anticipated 2025 Christmas special
items: Meet the man who inspired Ralph Fiennes’s Conclave character - and learn the true secrets of selecting a Pope
items: Fallout season 2 will see Lucy's moral compass "eroding" amid surprising choices, reveals Ella Purnell
items: Alan Cumming teases "prescient" new show from Russell T Davies about rage faced by "marginalised people"

I'm Mark Gatiss and these are the ingredients of A Ghost Story for Christmas
type: item
date: 2025-12-24T08:00:30.000Z
creator: Mark Gatiss
subject: Fantasy
subject: TV
subject: Christmas
subject: Comment
subject: Magazine
description: Writing for Radio Times, Gatiss previews this year's festive chiller The Room in the Tower.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What are the ingredients of A Ghost Story for Christmas? For me, it’s a combination: finding an appropriate and contained story with a richness, a patina of antiquity, that makes it feel Christmassy. It’s a pleasing terror, not upsettingly ghastly or gory, but one that still produces the right kind of shiver. Above all else, it has to be scary with a slow accumulation of dread. This year, we start during the Blitz. Roger Winstanley – played by Tobias Menzies – is taking shelter from the bombs in a Tube station, and falls into a conversation with a Wren, played by Nancy Carroll. He tells her about a dream he’s had since childhood, in which he arrives at a big, stately home where a schoolfriend, Jack Stone, introduces him to his terrifying mother. She’s played by the incomparable Joanna Lumley, who was just fantastic. What a trouper. The recurring dream always culminates with Mrs Stone intoning, “Jack will show you your room. I have given you the room in the tower.” And when Roger goes up to the room, he knows there’s something dreadful there, waiting for him. But one day, the dream comes true… Read our guide to the best Christmas TV for 2025 I’ve always wanted to adapt an EF Benson story. He’s most famous for Mapp and Lucia, but in his day, he was known for his ghost stories – or “spook stories”, as he called them. And The Room in the Tower is one of his best. I’ve always liked it. I remember it’s one that, early in my life, really scared me. It still does. The story is a strange combination of things. I have a feeling it might be based on a real experience of Benson’s. It has a whiff of that – perhaps it might have been his own recurring dream. We all know what that kind of nightmare is like and the story has a very convincing air of that. There’s also something awfully terrifying about that line: “Jack will show you your room. I have given you the room in the tower.” It’s like a sentence of death... The latest is…

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Julia Donaldson reveals poignant reason she loves The Scarecrows' Wedding – and why she'll be thinking about her late husband while watching
type: item
date: 2025-12-24T08:00:26.000Z
creator: Julia Donaldson
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Christmas
subject: Comment
subject: Magazine
description: Writing for Radio Times, the author shares how the story reminds her of her own big day…
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Malcolm and I were married in Hampstead, London, in September 1972. As the reception was only a short distance from the church, I thought it would be nice to have a procession with the bride and groom in a horse-drawn carriage and the guests following behind. But where to find the horse and carriage? Someone suggested a funeral director, so I phoned one but was told that it would cost £300. I then hit on the idea of a rag-and-bone man. Somehow, I managed to track down the one whose horse and cart had been used in the sitcom Steptoe and Son. “I’ll do it,” he said, “but it’ll cost you a fiver.” I booked him on the spot. On the day, it all worked out perfectly. The cart was decked out with flowers and also contained the rag-and-bone man’s daughter, which hadn’t been part of the plan but didn’t really matter. Malcolm and I sat in front beside him and learnt a lot about the rising cost of hay. The reception was at a lovely old house called Burgh House. I knew it quite well because my father was involved with the Hampstead Music Club, which often held their concerts there, and he’d even done a lot of research into Mr Burgh and subsequent residents of the house. We didn’t have a sit-down meal – just canapés and wine – but the main event was a short operetta, which I’d written. There were songs for ourselves, plus the bridesmaids, the matron of honour (my sister), the ushers and the best man, Colin Sell. Colin, who had been Malcolm’s roommate at Bristol University, is now best known for being the pianist on Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. He played the piano for all the songs and gave a brilliant performance of the one I’d written for him. This was a Noël Coward-style patter number, with lots of lines ending in a rhyme for “best man”, including, “I can do it so much better than the rest can,” “The biggest brain, the thickest skin, the widest chest span,” and (my favourite), “My ability to suck an egg impressed Gran.…

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12 underrated TV gems from 2025 – from The Assembly to Worlds Apart
type: item
date: 2025-12-23T08:00:38.000Z
creator: Caroline Frost
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: List
subject: Magazine
description: The best of the small screen over the past 12 months that you might have missed.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. As well as this year’s biggest TV juggernauts – Adolescence (Netflix), The White Lotus (Sky Atlantic), The Celebrity Traitors (iPlayer) et al – we have been spoilt with some relatively undiscovered gems. Here’s my Deserving Dozen… 1. Confessions of a Brain Surgeon - iPlayer Pioneering neurosurgeon Henry Marsh quotes French doctor René Leriche, who wrote, “Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery… a place of bitterness and regret.” Now retired, Marsh’s regrets are both professional and personal, humble and honest. 2. Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action - Netflix How did the former Mayor of Cincinnati create a TV phenomenon that pitched itself as a champion of free speech yet stood accused of ruining US culture? Comparing himself to Oprah Winfrey, Springer said, “She does a talk show, I do a circus. Just no lions.” 3. Worlds Apart - Channel 4 Six young Brits each team up with a pensioner to travel across Japan, solve puzzles and try to win a £50,000 prize. They trade energy and wisdom in a reality show not about age, but compassion and comradeship. 4. Last One Laughing - Amazon Prime Video Ten comedians try to make each other laugh, while not smiling themselves. More proof that there’s nothing funnier than watching someone trying to keep a straight face. 5. Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius - iPlayer A fascinating two-part documentary follows Austen’s own personal rebellion: only by rejecting an offer of marriage without love and putting herself in financial peril could she dodge a woman of her time’s lot and instead become its greatest-ever chronicler. 6. Once Upon a Time in Space - iPlayer The awe-inspiring triumphs and devastating tragedies of the two-decade space race, as remembered by those involved. Among them is Anna Fisher, the first mother in space, who told RT, “I didn’t want to be a female astronaut, just an astronaut.” 7. Live Aid at 40 - iPlayer <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/produ…

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Dame Mary Berry reveals her dos and don'ts for the perfect Christmas dinner
type: item
date: 2025-12-21T08:00:23.000Z
creator: Rosie Millard
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: We asked Mary Berry how she spends Christmas and she shared her favourite festive traditions, family moments and turkey tips.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. How will you be spending Christmas Day this year? At my son Tom’s, with his wife Sarah and their family. I bring the turkey – I have it ready by 11am and then I wrap it in foil, old clean towels and a sleeping bag without a zip, and put it in the boot of the car for the drive to my son’s house. It stays piping hot and the meat is rested, even after four or five hours, because of the bulk of the thing. Sarah’s mother will bake the Christmas cake and her father will do a topical quiz with pictures, all about what has happened during the year. After the King’s Christmas message at 3pm we will all go for a walk, with torches for the way back because it will be dark by then. What do you remember about Christmas as a child? Stockings – they were full of lots of little things, like playing cards, pencils and notebooks and a tangerine in the toe. Each gift was wrapped up by our mother, as a surprise. I received the present I treasured most when I was about eight. Our house was very cold and I always wanted a pair of gloves with a fur trim. I was so excited to get them. Do you have any dos and don’ts for Christmas dinner? I always use fresh herbs for the stuffing. I don’t like packet stuffing because the dry herbs are too strong. I make an open dish of apricots and chestnuts for vegetarians, it’s delicious. To give Christmas cake a difference from the pudding, I make it on the lighter side and fill it with apricots soaked in brandy. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/12/A-Mary-Berry-Christmas-bd65af9.jpg" width="1802" height="1202" alt="TX DATE:17-11-2025,TX WEEK:46,EMBARGOED UNTIL:01-12-2025 00:01,DESCRIPTION:with her Fillet of Beef,COPYRIGHT:Banijay UK,CREDIT LINE:BBC/Sidney Street Productions for Darlow Smithson Productions/Banijay UK/Richard Hill" title="546588,TITLE:A Mary Berry Christmas" /> Do you approve of culinary shortcuts? Oh, yes. People don’t always grate their own chees…

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How The Marvellous Miniature Workshop spent a combined 200 hours on making this Radio Times feature
type: item
date: 2025-12-20T11:00:22.000Z
creator: Laura Rutkowski
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Hannah Lemon and Abi Trotman reveal the painstaking skill and creativity behind their enchanting Christmas miniature snowscape.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Making miniatures is no small task. Hannah Lemon and Abi Trotman, who star in The Marvellous Miniature Workshop (iPlayer) spent a combined 200 hours creating the Christmas snowscape for Radio Times' Christmas double issue (on sale now). Trotman, from south Wales, specialises in 1/12th scale miniatures for doll’s houses and dioramas and started making miniatures with her gran for her doll’s house when she was 11. Lemon, who’s from Japan and now based in the UK, started making tiny houseplants in lockdown on a break from work. Both have now made it their full-time career. Using toolkits containing tweezers, brushes, paints and glues – not to mention a steady hand – Lemon explains that RT’s snowy scene (all compiled and photographed by her in her living room) is Styrofoam, so it’s light and easy to stick items into and to carve with a blade. Then she used frost and snow effect spray and placed fake snow powder on top. The tree is made out of tinsel wrapped together to create different-sized branches. The snowmen and their miniature carrot noses are made from clay, with black glass “caviar beads” for eyes – but what about their knitted hats? “I used my old socks, but I promise I washed them!” Lemon laughs. Lemon’s biggest challenge was the reindeer – “I wanted to make something realistic, so I needed to study their anatomy.” She started with wire to create a skeleton, then wrapped masking tape around it to mimic tissue, and applied modelling paste to create the body shape. Once that was dry, she coated it with acrylic paint and applied fake fur. “Working on the face is always challenging in miniature. I wanted him to look straight at the camera, happy and proud, like he owns the place.” Trotman’s gingerbread house, meanwhile, proved to be a real construction project. “Measurements and getting the angles of the roof right took a lot of time,” she says. “You want things to look in proportion, so it’s important to scale …

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

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The Repair Shop star reveals what happened when Helen Mirren stepped into the show for a heartwarming reason
type: item
date: 2025-12-19T11:00:11.000Z
creator: Robin Parker
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: BBC One
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Dame Helen Mirren’s treasured cello, damaged during the Kindertransport, is lovingly restored by The Repair Shop's Becky Houghton.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Dame Helen Mirren is a huge fan of The Repair Shop. “It’s heart-warming and brings such positivity in what sometimes is a very negative world,” she says before arriving at the barn with a cello that had belonged to her late friend, the theatre impresario Martin Landau. It was broken by Nazi guards when he fled to Britain, aged 14, on the Kindertransport. Even though its neck had been snapped in two, Landau looked after the cello before gifting it to Denville Hall, a care home Dame Helen supports, for those who worked in the entertainment industries. Luthier Becky Houghton explains how she got the instrument singing again. How was the cello when you received it? My heart sank. It’s a beautiful piece of wood, made in the early 1800s, but it had no neck and everything was coming apart. It was paint- and plaster-splattered, dry and brittle. I opened up the front and there were cracks everywhere, and everything needed glueing. The button connecting the neck to the back had snapped off. It was a scary repair. Did you feel emotional repairing it? Wood is such a tactile material, it seems to soak up things. I could feel that it needed some TLC to bring it back again. It’s the hardest repair I’ve done. I ate, slept, lived, breathed the cello, staying up until 2am. There was no way I wasn’t going to fix it. What was Dame Helen’s reaction when she came to collect it? She was amazed at how beautiful the barn looks and she greeted this cello like it was an old friend. It was so emotional. It was lovely to surprise her by having cellist Raphael Wallfisch come to the barn to play it. How did it feel to hear it played? I was nervous, but it just sang. You don’t know if you’ve done the job right until the instrument is played — and I can’t play cello. If I hadn’t repaired every crack properly, it would have buzzed. I looked at it not only with a sense of relief, but absolute achievement — and joy. Read our guide to the best Christ…

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Loved Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery? 6 locked-room mysteries to enjoy next
type: item
date: 2025-12-12T08:00:16.000Z
creator: Huw Fullerton
subject: Movies
subject: Magazine
subject: Netflix
description: A list of the essential locked-room mysteries every crime fan should know.
encoded: With Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery now streaming on Netflix, here's a list of some of the seminal locked-room mysteries from literature. Some of the titles may even be familiar to viewers of the new movie, with a certain reading list playing a key part in Benoit Blanc's investigations... 1. The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr A key influence on Wake Up Dead Man came from this 1935 novel by American author John Dickson Carr. Today, it’s renowned for both the ingenuity of its central locked-room mystery – whereby a murderous visitor seemingly disappears into thin air – and a fourth-wall-stretching speech by sleuth Dr Gideon Fell, who lays out the various methods often used by writers to explain such “impossible crimes”. Can I watch it? Unlike others on the list below, there are no major adaptations of this work outside of a few radio dramas – perhaps re-creating Carr’s solution is an impossible task in and of itself. 2. The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes and Watson tackle a fiendish criminal in this eerie 1892 short story, about a young woman who dies alone in her locked room a few days after hearing a low whistle. Soon, her surviving sister hears the same noise and understandably believes her time is up. But what could a house full of animals, an unconnected bell cord and a saucer of milk have to do with either murder attempt? Can I watch it? The Speckled Band features as an episode of the classic adaptation Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes, and is available to stream on ITVX. View Green Video on the source website 3. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie The Queen of Crime didn’t often go in for “classic” locked-room murder mysteries of the sort laid out by Dickson Carr. Still, this influential 1926 novel does provide what could be considered the Christie take on the idea, when the titular wealthy landowner apparently perishes just moments after being left alone in his study. Can I watch it? The obligato…

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Wake Up Dead Man cast reveal their favourite detectives and whether they’d make good murderers
type: item
date: 2025-12-11T17:01:22.000Z
creator: Michael Hodges
subject: Movies
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
subject: Netflix
description: Daniel Craig and the Wake Up Dead Man cast talk perfect murders, imperfect detectives and everything in between.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “I am hoping to get out of Narnia in time for Christmas,” says Daniel Craig. We’re supposed to be talking about the former James Bond star’s performance as Benoit Blanc, the mannered, sometimes manic, private detective from the Deep South of the US in Rian Johnson’s Netflix Knives Out mysteries. The new film, Wake Up Dead Man, is set in and around a neo-Gothic church in upstate New York where Benoit enlists the help of Josh O’Connor’s Catholic priest Father Jud Duplenticy to solve “a classic impossible crime”. But Craig’s mind is already a movie ahead of me. He’s presently filming The Magician’s Nephew, Greta Gerwig’s take on CS Lewis’s Narnia novel, in which he plays the eponymous magician, Uncle Andrew. It’s a role as un-Bond-like, in its way, as the unhinged gay author he played in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer last year (based on William Burroughs). Or, for that matter, Blanc, the driving intellectual and dramatic force of Johnson’s three Knives Out films. “I suppose I started freeing myself up from any convention,” says the 57-year-old Craig. “I’m not saying no to things that I might have been a little bit wary about before. When the Bond thing was going on in my life, the juxtaposition between that and another role would sometimes feel self-conscious. I’m working harder than I ever have, but I’m also just enjoying it more than I ever have. I get to do really interesting, different stuff.” No Time to Die was in 2021. That’s four years away from Bond now; has it made him happy? “I love my job but does it make me happy? Not always,” he muses. “It’s very complicated. It’s an incredibly tough job. It’s kept me away from my family over the years, and that has its downsides.” View Green Video on the source website Craig is married to the actor Rachel Weisz. They have a daughter, Grace, born in 2018 (Craig has another daughter, 33-year-old actor Ella Loudon, from his previous marriage to actor Fiona Loudon) and homes in n…

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Harry Potter TV series star Johnny Flynn on how his new film role compares to playing Lucius Malfoy
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:01:55.000Z
creator: Pete Paphides
subject: Movies
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
subject: Netflix
description: The Goodbye June star has a very different role lined up next.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. On the day we meet, Johnny Flynn confesses to feelings of anxiety about the prospect of his family attending the premiere of Goodbye June, in which the 42-year-old turns in a quietly devastating performance as youngest brother Connor, who simply cannot cope with his mother’s terminal illness. As Flynn sees it, “This is somebody who doesn’t have a mask to put on in those situations. His mum is his guiding star, whereas his sisters have their kids and families.” Which brings us back to Flynn’s anxieties about the premiere. In attendance will be his own mother — “and for anyone of that generation, you know this is something that not far away”. This feels like new territory for Flynn, perhaps best known for his roles as Ian Fleming in Operation Mincemeat and Mr Knightley in the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, as well as his parallel career as an acclaimed singer/songwriter who’s made six albums. And as he felt his way into the role, he inevitably ended up drawing on memories of the passing of his own father when he was 18. “It totally brought back memories of waiting in hospital corridors and that hushed atmosphere that a family comes to around the death of a loved one. There was also a lot of me in moments when I’m thinking I haven’t got my s**t together. Like many people in my profession, I grapple with imposter syndrome.” And what did starring in a film alongside Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall and Toni Collette do for his imposter syndrome? “Well, it went through the roof, of course,” he says with a sheepish smile. “This is literally a bunch of names who would all be in my top ten favourite actors. But what can you do? You just have to go, ‘If this is it and I mess this up and this is the only chance I get to be with these wonderful people, then so be it.’” All of which couldn’t be more different to the job he’s just finished, playing Lucius Malfoy in the first instalment of th…

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Doctor Who favourite Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe spill on Strictly journey and finale return
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:01:54.000Z
creator: Huw Fullerton
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: BBC One
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: From first steps to standing ovations: Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe reflect on dancing, friendship, and their post-Strictly Christmas plans.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. At 62, actor Alex Kingston is only three years younger than the mother of her Strictly Come Dancing partner, 38-year-old professional Johannes Radebe. But in this partnership, she was the one learning from him. Over the past few months, they went from tentative first steps to earning standing ovations. And now, despite their Strictly journey ending, they vow they’ll stay on the dance floor one way or another… Alex, what was it like learning from someone younger? ALEX: Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine anyone else being my dance partner. The problem is, now my Strictly journey has come to an end, I will have to carry on dancing and I don’t know who will ever come close to Johannes. JOHANNES: Oh my goodness, we’ll have to book some lessons. I’ve always said that partnerships are special because they grow, and that I always teach like a marriage – even though I have never been married. ALEX: And I’ve been married three times! Did you have a mentor or someone you looked up to earlier in your careers? JOHANNES: As a boy, there was an Australian dancer I watched from a distance from my township in South Africa. His name is Jason Gilkison. I modelled my career on his, and now I am in the same room as him – he’s the creative director of Strictly Come Dancing. It’s an honour to work with him. Nowadays, I go back home to South Africa and run workshops teaching kids to dance. That’s my way of giving back. ALEX: My English teacher saw that I wasn’t academic in the sciences, but she made sure I had an opportunity to begin acting, devising plays where I was the lead. Her name was Margaret Kirk. She’s no longer with us, but I’m forever thankful to her. Are you looking forward to the final, where every Strictly couple returns for a reunion? ALEX: Oh yes, one hundred per cent. Looking at the opening credits of Strictly, seeing all the contestants, you realise how few are left. The first week does seem a long time ago now. It will be rea…

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The Archers stars David and William Troughton talk being father and son in iconic radio soap and in real-life
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:01:44.000Z
creator: Libby Purves
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: David and William Troughton on life as father and son – on The Archers and at home.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. David Troughton and his real-life son William have played father and son Tony and Tom in The Archers since 2014. They are the son and grandson of the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton. As father and son, is it easier to play that relationship? DAVID: At the beginning it felt odd, because Tom and Tony don’t get on! Tony is still hankering after his dead son, John. Tom’s never lived up to John. WILLIAM: Tom’s constantly chasing his father’s praise, wanting him to be proud of him... DAVID: And that is so unlike our real relationship. WILLIAM: It really is. It’s great that I get to spend this time with my dad. And because it’s outside the rest of the family, it’s special. Does that make other family members feel a bit jealous? DAVID: They’re probably thankful not to be part of Tony and Tom! WILLIAM: There’s no competition. My brother Sam is also an actor and the other one, Jim, is a cricketer. DAVID: That’s performing, too. It has to be in the genes. Have any of your storylines made you gasp? DAVID: Not yet… But remember your audition, Will? You came to see me [as Tony] in hospital when I seemed to be dying because I’d been hit by the bull. After the audition, Sean O’Connor, the editor, rang me up and said, “David, how would you feel if a member of your family joined The Archers?” WILLIAM: Growing up watching him onstage, there were quite a few of those moments. I remember watching you get poisoned and die in one production… DAVID: And before that, in 1989 when I played Bottom at the RSC, I stabbed myself fairly dramatically, and all I could hear from the front row was, “Bye bye, Mr Dad.” Isn’t that sweet? WILLIAM: Growing up watching you die – not the most usual of childhoods. David, have you ever given William any acting advice? DAVID: When we started, I gave him a bit of advice about the microphone. On stage you look at each other but in radio you use it as the person. Although I’m always being told [does huge v…

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Lord Alan Sugar dishes on Celebrity Apprentice and why he allowed Thomas Skinner to return for it
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:01:37.000Z
creator: Michael Hodges
subject: Entertainment
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: BBC One
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: From Lapland tasks to childhood chestnuts, Lord Sugar reveals what makes a very Apprentice-style Christmas.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Merry Christmas, Sugar Claus! If you were Father Christmas, which public figures would you put on your naughty list? I would have to say no comment on this whatsoever, my friend. As you will know, the BBC has guidelines. I have to keep my big mouth shut and not make personal or political comments like that. In that case, can we assume the contestants in your Celebrity Apprentice Christmas specials went straight on the nice list? Nah! That’s the excitement of it. Most of the time, they’re schmoozed by everybody, told how marvellous they are. Then they get a gig where I’m telling them what a load of rubbish they are. They’re masochists, really. Still, it’s worth remembering they don’t get paid anything at all. They do it for charity and that is very, very commendable. What will you be making the brave contestants do in the two festive episodes? They’re going up to Lapland and meeting Father Christmas. There was snow and ice, as you can imagine, reindeers and sledges. The contestants were split into two teams and each team had to create a special Christmas biscuit. Then they came back to London and presented their biscuits to big supermarkets and the best biscuit won. The interesting thing is, for the first time ever, the products created in the programme are actually going on sale in the supermarkets. All the money is going to Children in Need. Does the show create its own celebrities now? Did you decide whether Thomas Skinner could come back as a “celebrity”? I’m not sure over the 20 years how many people who have appeared on my show have actually made a name for themselves. I can think of maybe three: Saira Khan did quite well, then Katie Hopkins, who everybody loves to hate, and Thomas Skinner, who ended up on Strictly. But I don’t have any input. I’m presented with these celebrities; the BBC seek these people out and find them. And it’s not easy, because you can imagine that some of them are working and can’t ta…

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David Suchet reveals why Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol remains so prescient – and what he'd say to Agatha Christie
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:01:19.000Z
creator: Anna Jones
subject: audio
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: As he voices a new Dickens podcast, David Suchet reflects on timeless storytelling and the hope Christmas brings.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Nothing brings us together like a festive ghost story and, since its publication in 1843, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol has never been out of print. It is the seasonal chiller. Sir David Suchet is delighted to be narrating it, alongside some of the author’s lesser-known tales, for a new podcast series. “These aren’t merely creepy stories — they’re ghostly reflections of the human soul.” We know about your devotion to Agatha Christie, but how well do you know Dickens? I don’t claim to be a Dickens expert, but he has always held up for me as the master of the English language. Reading these ghost stories has just been one of the most enjoyable and exciting pieces of audio work I’ve done. I’ve been blown away by how he writes. He’s very theatrical. Why do you think Dickens remains so prescient? I would say the same thing about Shakespeare and, if I’m allowed to, Agatha Christie. They all write about the human condition: love, jealousy, greed, hate, envy, crimes. They talk about poverty and society. They have managed to write about various aspects of our lives as human beings and make them into dramatic tales. That’s why they will never date. Why do you think that we enjoy being scared at Christmas? Well, if you go back to when you were a little child and somebody scared you, what was the first thing you did? You screamed and giggled. We love mystery, we love being scared. I mean, look at Doctor Who! We love to be taken outside of ourselves into realms that we don’t quite understand, and being a little bit frightened can be very enjoyable. Is A Christmas Carol the ultimate seasonal ghost story? A Christmas Carol is a work of genius. It’s just got everything. Not only the most extraordinary characters, but Scrooge himself going through that redemption... It’s what Christmas is all about, which is generosity, kindness, family if you have one, friends if you haven’t. Being social, being warm to each other. Ultimate…

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Kate Winslet reveals why her film Goodbye June is so personal for her "brilliant, clever" screenwriting son
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:01:17.000Z
creator: Pete Paphides
subject: Movies
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
subject: Netflix
description: How Kate Winslet turned her son’s script into a moving family drama – and found a new creative calling.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “I promise you, I didn’t plan it this way,” exclaims Kate Winslet, and for a second, her slightly brisk response leads me to wonder if she has taken umbrage at my suggestion that, as Christmas approaches, she seems to have achieved full omnipresence. As we speak, a TikTok trend to land her the coveted Christmas number one spot is well under way, thanks to hundreds of clips of millennial Winslet fans miming to What If, the ballad featured on the soundtrack of her 2001 animated film Christmas Carol: the Movie. Another milestone from her past that looms large at this time of year is her 2006 romcom The Holiday, whose wholesome succour has turned it into something of a cult classic. Meanwhile, in cinemas from 19 December, you can catch her in the long-awaited third instalment of the Avatar franchise, Fire and Ash. Oh, and if you tune in to Radio 4 as you wrap your presents on 21 December, you can hear her selections on Desert Island Discs. But the reason she’s set aside a chunk of her afternoon to speak with Radio Times is a project that’s clearly closer to her heart. The film Goodbye June marks two significant firsts for Winslet and her family. The script was written by her 22- year-old son Joe Anders. And, as well as producing the film and starring in it, the movie also marks her directorial debut. If you’ve never found yourself blubbing at a film trailer, it might also mark a first for you. The sight of a dying Helen Mirren in a hospital bed, with her screen family – Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Johnny Flynn and Toni Collette – all trying to come to terms with their imminent loss should just about do it. Winslet brightens at such an outcome. She’s fine with all of it, of course – even the revival of What If, which her husband, Edward Abel Smith, sometimes plays “for a laugh when we’re on family holidays and I least want him to do it.” She beams. “I’m lucky that I got to be across all of these things.…

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Daniel Craig reveals love of Strictly Come Dancing and why he's hoping to leave Narnia before Christmas
type: item
date: 2025-12-09T17:00:59.000Z
creator: James Hibbs
subject: Movies
subject: Christmas
subject: Exclusive
subject: Magazine
subject: News
description: Craig was speaking in the 2025 Christmas issue of Radio Times magazine.
encoded: While some Knives Out fans will have seen the latest film in the murder mystery franchise starring Daniel Craig, Wake Up Dead Man will be available for many more to watch when it arrives on Netflix this week. That no doubt means that plenty of viewers will be watching the movie over the Christmas period – but it turns out that Craig himself will be sitting down to watch something else on 25th December. Speaking in a wider conversation for the Christmas issue of Radio Times magazine, which is out now, Craig said he likes nothing better than "watching Strictly [Come Dancing] with the kids – it’s a joy". On celebrating Christmas with his family, Craig clarified that it's "not in a religious way, but celebrating the fact that it’s a family get-together". He continued: "Much in a way like the Americans have Thanksgiving, Christmas is an English kind of thanksgiving. And saying thanks for having family is really what it’s about." Craig is currently filming Greta Gerwig's version of The Magician’s Nephew, the CS Lewis Narnia novel, in which he played the eponymous magician, Uncle Andrew. His Strictly watching and festive celebrations therefore depend on his scheduling for that film, but he said that he is "hoping to get out of Narnia in time for Christmas". On taking on new roles stretching himself far away from James Bond, such as Knives Out's Benoit Blanc or The Magician's Nephew's Andrew, Craig said: "I suppose I started freeing myself up from any convention. I’m not saying no to things that I might have been a little bit wary about before. "When the Bond thing was going on in my life, the juxtaposition between that and another role would sometimes feel self-conscious. I’m working harder than I ever have, but I’m also just enjoying it more than I ever have. I get to do really interesting, different stuff." In Wake Up Dead Man, Benoit Blanc takes on his most dangerous case yet, when investigating the seemingly impossible murder of a priest. The Christmas issue of Radio T…

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Amadeus star Paul Bettany reveals how a fan's selfie intruded on a tragic family moment
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T17:01:50.000Z
creator: Michael Hodges
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
subject: NOW
subject: Sky
description: Paul Bettany on how he balances Hollywood fame with family fun in Vermont.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Paul Bettany is far from being too cool for Yule. “I love Christmas so much,” he enthuses in advance of the festive celebrations at his home in the USA. “Our Christmas Day is a very English affair with crackers and turkey, and then, when people start showing up after Boxing Day, the party just continues. Last year we had 40 people.” Bettany, co-star of Amadeus, Sky Atlantic’s five-part adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s 1979 play, lives with his wife, actor Jennifer Connolly, in a timber house in rural Vermont, New England, where “it snows every year”. So, the 54-year-old London-born actor will be having a picturesque Christmas – but also a loud one. “I have a band room with drums and piano and PA system and loads of guitars. Lots of people come up and play. We do a gig on New Year’s Eve.” You might be thinking, rather him than me. But Bettany likes to go at things full throttle, whether that’s entertaining friends at Christmas or in his performance as the scheming court composer Salieri in Amadeus, who dedicates his life to destroying Mozart. It’s one of those roles where Bettany, who has lived in America since 2003, pops back to the UK to remind us just how good he is. He did it before in 2021 when he played the alcoholic Duke of Argyll in the period drama A Very British Scandal. Now he’s facing off with Will Sharpe’s Mozart in 18th-century Vienna; an arrangement Bettany is charmed by. “I have enormous admiration for Will. He’s funny, gentle and kind – an attractive combination and rare. Usually, actors are working out how they can triumph against the opposition rather than how to make each other better.” Bettany is a thoughtful, compelling actor; even as android superhero The Vision in the Marvel universe where, since 2015, he has been wearing a catsuit and firing lasers out of his forehead. He does this so convincingly I ask him to explain what it feels like. “I have no frame of reference for laser beams coming out…

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Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock speaks on space travel future and aliens: "I'm not sure about alien abduction"
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T17:01:39.000Z
creator: Sherna Noah
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock tells us why the future of space exploration matters and how she hopes to inspire the next generation.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock has been blown off course by cancelled trains. She has finally arrived at the Royal Institution in London to rehearse her Christmas Lectures on the furthest reaches of the known cosmos, but the journey was challenging. She laughs at the irony: “I was stranded. I was like, ‘Beam me up, Scotty’, but no one was listening.” The Sky at Night presenter – whose dream of becoming a space scientist took root after watching an episode of Clangers – has slept for just three hours, but she’s fizzing with the energy that both fuels her insomnia and has made her a household name. “I have dyslexia and ADHD, my head is a-buzz with ideas. Sometimes it’s overwhelming,” she explains. She’ll be pouring a slice of those thoughts into her three-lecture series, entitled Is There Life beyond Earth? and showing on BBC Four, covering Nasa’s plan to return humans to the Moon, potential signs of life on exoplanets, whether future human settlements could survive in space and how the James Webb Space Telescope – on which she worked in the design stages – is rewriting the story of the Big Bang. Dame Maggie’s story is compelling – her parents separated when she was four, she was diagnosed with dyslexia at eight and attended 13 different schools. But she made her name in science because, she says, “I was lucky to have a powerful dream.” She also wants to hammer home the message that space is for everyone. “Growing up, I thought space and astronomy were done by white guys in togas. You hear about the Greeks and Romans, you don’t really hear about everybody else. But every culture has looked up at the night sky. It’s the heritage of all of us,” she says. However, our ancestors could never have imagined this current era of billionaire-fuelled galactic adventure, led by the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson. While Dame Maggie is optimistic that “more of us will get out there” despite the eye-popping c…

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Mishal Husain talks her new chapter, pressing Nigel Farage on Russia and the recent BBC troubles
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T17:01:36.000Z
creator: Simon Hattenstone
subject: audio
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Leaving the BBC has been a challenge for Mishal Husain, but at least she now gets to express her opinions – and have a Christmas lie-in!
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. After 26 years at the BBC, Mishal Husain left in 2025 to join Bloomberg. It’s been the greatest challenge of her career. “I have had to reinvent myself and that’s scary because you wonder, ‘Am I going to make a success of it?’” Husain presented the Today programme on Radio 4 for her final 11 years at the Beeb and was my favourite presenter on the show. While others tried to shout down interviewees, she researched meticulously, listened intensely, probed forensically and got results. Husain exposed inconsistencies, hypocrisies and plain old lies, fairly and without fanfare. But now she’s swapped short-form interviews for a weekly 40-minute podcast called The Mishal Husain Show, which started in October. Husain insists they’re worlds apart. “I’m discovering that doing one deep, really thoughtful interview a week is completely different and harder than being in daily news and getting up at 3am.” Harder? “It really is. But I’m loving it.” Off air, she still speaks with that limpid, head-girl voice, but her tone is a bit more sing-song; a bit more fun. What scared her most? “Starting from scratch. Starting from zero viewers and listeners.” The change in job has also meant a change in lifestyle. Workwise, Husain and her husband Meekal Hashmi (who have three sons born 18 months apart – the youngest two are twins – at university) are now in sync. “My husband’s finding it quite curious that for the first time in our married life I have normal office hours and we both have to share the bathroom in the morning. Suddenly we have parallel routines, which we’ve never had.” Does he like that? “I think he’s probably… we’re probably, adjusting to it.” Husain is a ridiculously youthful 52, and petite. With the familiar big bob, and a slight, strong frame, she’s got something of the superhero about her. Today, she’s racing up and down the extremely challenging stairs at Bloomberg, introducing me to the top floor with its magnificent…

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Death in Paradise's Don Warrington teases he doesn't know Christmas 2025 special plot as Selwyn future remains unclear
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T17:01:31.000Z
creator: Kay Ribeiro
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: BBC One
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Don Gilet and Don Warrington reveal what fans can expect from Death in Paradise’s festive showdown.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. As we prepare to unwrap the eagerly anticipated festive instalment of Death in Paradise — Don Gilet’s second as DI Mervin Wilson following his debut this time last year — fans will be hoping that, by some Christmas miracle, it’s not the last we’ve seen of Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, played by series stalwart Don Warrington. At the end of the last series, the long-serving commissioner was unceremoniously replaced, in a bid to cut costs, by an arrogant young upstart, causing major upset among Honoré’s police officers and locals, not to mention Death in Paradise viewers. RT brought the two Dons together to mull over their time on screen together and their yuletide plans. What were your first impressions of each other? DON WARRINGTON: Well, I knew him before Death in Paradise. DON GILET: Even though he denies remembering working with me. WARRINGTON: I knew he’d bring this up! GILET: He was the lead in a radio show [Deacon, Radio 4] and I was one of the guests. I was so happy at the Death in Paradise audition to say, “I know you – we’ve worked together.” Don said, “Did we?” and I thought, “OK, this is probably not going to go as well as I hoped!” But working with Don – there’s the writing, but there’s also the why. Why are these people together? How do they relate? We can all learn our lines and be good actors, but he pushes me to deep-dive into my character. The Commissioner was a guiding force for Mervin. Did anyone inspire you to become an actor? WARRINGTON: For me, it was Marlon Brando. As a kid living in Trinidad with my grandmother, there was an Asian family who used to put on movies. One day they put on On the Waterfront and I thought, “That’s what I want to do.” The Christmas episode is a festive tradition. Will you be tuning in? WARRINGTON: [with a smile] I’ll be watching to see what the story is… GILET: It’s the payoff, for me, to go, “This is it. It’s the Christmas special and I’m in it.” Not from a vanit…

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The Night Manager season 2 writer reveals why new episodes are perfect for this Trump era – and talks plans for a trilogy
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T17:01:29.000Z
creator: Mark Lawson
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Screenwriter David Farr tells us how a vivid dream and a decade of global upheaval brought The Night Manager back to life.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. After its huge success, audiences and producers wanted a second series. But despite The Night Manager winning three Emmys, a pair of Baftas and Golden Globes and selling to 180 countries, it will have been almost a decade since the February 2016 UK premiere that the second series arrives on our screens this winter. The main reason for this is that the initial six episodes – featuring the pursuit of arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) by reluctant hotelier-turned-spy Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) – were based on a novel by John le Carré, and no second book existed. “No one has ever taken le Carré beyond le Carré source material [on screen] before,” says David Farr, screenwriter of both series. “And so there’s a humility. We finished the first one and no one knew it would be such a big success.” Once it was, there were discussions about a sequel, though not involving Farr. “I was engaged in doing a TV version of Hanna, the film I wrote for Joe Wright. So there were chats about a Night Manager 2 and they came to me about it, but I wasn’t available,” Farr says. The 2022 book A Private Spy: the Letters of John le Carré include a letter in December 2018 to the playwright Sir Tom Stoppard reporting that: “The sequel to The Night Manager is suddenly happening… with the old gang minus Tom Hollander, whose part I so carelessly despatched.” Hollander played “Corky”, Roper’s quirkily vicious sidekick. The novelist killing off such a memorable character might be seen as a clue that he envisaged no continuation. But le Carré, who loved the TV version of The Night Manager, may have also become pernickety about television, telling Stoppard that he was “very disappointed” with the BBC’s 2018 adaptation of his novel The Little Drummer Girl. For whatever reason, the Night Manager sequel went to sleep. As, in late 2020, did Farr, waking early from a vivid dream: “I knew that le Carré and his wife, Jane, were ill, so perhaps they…

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Dame Joanna Lumley reveals her vegetarian Christmas plans: "Wouldn't it be lovely if we didn't kill things at Christmas?"
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T17:01:25.000Z
creator: Caroline Frost
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: Christmas
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Two decades after Ella Enchanted, Dame Joanna Lumley and Lucy Punch reflect on festive traditions, family fun and their on-screen reunion.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Joanna Lumley and Lucy Punch first played mother and daughter in the 2004 film Ella Enchanted. Some 20 years later, Punch plays social climber Amanda with Lumley her scene-stealing mother Felicity, first in Motherland, and now in its spin-off Amandaland. While filming the festive special, the pair reflected on their reunion, Christmases past and present, and what gift they’d buy for each other… Lucy, what were your first impressions of Joanna? LUCY: In Ella Enchanted, we played a ghastly stepmother and stepsister to the heroine, then we were reunited for Motherland, which was lovely, and now this. All this time later, I’m a very different person, but I believe Joanna’s exactly the same: so smart and funny. She charms everyone. When you’re doing comedy, you need lots of good energy, and hers is infectious. Joanna, what have you learnt working with Lucy? JOANNA: I couldn’t admire Lucy more. I remember her playing my daughter, but I’m not sure they [the Motherland producers] even knew that. She’s blossomed in this. A lot of acting by many of us is interchangeable, but some people stand out, and Lucy’s always been slightly different. She brings something extra. What are your fondest memories of Christmas growing up? JOANNA: We were in hot countries so we never saw snow, but Mummy would get balls of cotton wool to put on the windows like snowflakes. We were out in the Malayan Mari when the Disney film of Alice in Wonderland came out. I was given an Alice doll, and it was as beautiful a thing as I’ve ever seen, with yellow hair and a hair band, a blue dress with a little white apron – thrilling. Isn’t it lovely what we remember visually? What gift would you buy each other for Christmas? LUCY: I’d buy something very little, discreet and lovely, maybe a teeny, tiny book. Joanna likes little things. JOANNA: Lucy lives in California and has two boys, so I think I’d get her something that money can’t buy – an experience of s…

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Legendary photographer Martin Parr looks back on his work and recalls the way we were
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T15:02:25.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Magazine
description: Speaking to Gareth McLean in Radio Times magazine back in August 2025, Martin Parr shared his singular vision of Britain.
encoded: This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine in August 2025 – just months ahead of Parr’s death on Saturday 6th December 2025. “Yellow card!” Martin Parr admonishes. “You’re intellectualising these things a bit too much for my liking.” I have earned his reproach for suggesting that the razing of the Lido in New Brighton — as featured in The Last Resort, the series of photographs that made his name — could be seen as a metaphor for the hollowing-out of Britain’s working-class communities over the past 40 years. “There’s politics in my images if you want to find it, but I don’t push it down people’s throats,” Parr proclaims. “People should just sit back and enjoy the images, really.” People certainly do enjoy Parr’s photography. As well as chronicling changing life in Britain, Parr’s work has transformed photography itself, with his garish but gritty signature style influencing everything from fashion editorials to war-zone reportage. Why does he take photographs? “It’s just what I do naturally,” he says. “I have a desire to go out and capture these images, and the crazier the scene in front of me, the happier I am.” The subject of a BBC4 documentary and co-author of an upcoming memoir, Utterly Lazy and Inattentive, which looks at his life by reflecting on 150 of his best-known photographs, Parr says that of the hundreds of thousands of photographs he’s taken, not one of them has been perfect — though he’s got close. “You know when you’re out shooting that most pictures you take aren’t going to be perfect or great. But you keep shooting to have that momentum so, as and when, things start to fall into place.” Parr ponders. “It’s just the luck of finding a scene.” Mayor of Todmorden’s Inaugural Banquet, West Yorkshire 1977 “Between 1975 and 1980, I lived in Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire and would attend all the different social events that were going on. This photograph was taken at the inauguration of the mayor of Todmorden, and it’s the best buffet sce…

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Kiefer Sutherland offers fresh 24 update as producer completes pitch for revival
type: item
date: 2025-12-08T11:46:55.000Z
creator: Molly Moss
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: Magazine
subject: News
description: "Hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later!”
encoded: Kiefer Sutherland has provided a big update on the revival of Fox’s hit real-time thriller 24. A new 24 project was recently confirmed to be in development by showrunner Howard Gordon, following teases by Sutherland about a new script that could bring back Jack Bauer and revive the franchise. Speaking exclusively to Radio Times Magazine in a new interview, Sutherland revealed that Gordon has completed an outline for the potential revival. Asked whether he ever reminisces about his character Jack Bauer and considers ‘what if?’, Sutherland said: “I’ve had conversations with [series producer] Howard Gordon.” He added: “He’s come up with an outline, which I think is an exciting step forward. We’ll see what happens. But I’m very open to it. And hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later!” 24 premiered in 2001 and ran for nine seasons as well as a two-hour movie, becoming hugely successful with viewers. The show followed counter-terrorist federal agent Jack Bauer as he raced to defend the United States from various threats. The feature that set the series apart from other thrillers was its use of real time, with each episode covering an hour in a day in the life of Bauer. "It’s absolutely in process, there’s something we are developing," Gordon told Deadline of the revival last month, although he noted that Disney, which now owns the rights to 24 following its acquisition of 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television), has not yet committed to the project. He continued: "I have such a nostalgia for that show, and I think Kiefer does too. One thing we couldn't figure out for a long time was a direction that ever held water, that sustained itself. This feels like it could be, but it’s not formal, it’s not done." He added that he had reservations about reviving the franchise. "What I really don't want to happen is that it's not good because I don't think that's fair to the show. It's not fair to the fans, not fair to, frankly, to myself,” he said. "So it has to b…

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Dame Judi Dench opens up on her declining eyesight, family history, and having a temper: "Oh yes, I’m sometimes very cross"
type: item
date: 2025-12-07T16:00:29.000Z
creator: Ginny Dougary
subject: Documentaries
subject: TV
subject: Channel 4
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: At 91, acting legend Judi Dench speaks candidly about sight loss, memory worries, her inherited temper, and the comfort of Shakespeare.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. The snow is falling sluggishly, barely settling, as we drive down ever-more-winding country lanes and draw up to Dame Judi Dench’s fairy-tale cottage, with its heavy wooden door. It emerges beyond a barn and outbuildings, a lake, swimming pool and six acres of her beloved woodland in which, each time a dear friend dies (and there are a lot of them by now), a tree is planted with their name attached: recent additions being Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg. The grounds are tended by a friendly young man (the son of one of the longstanding group of women who help the actor), dressed in tweeds, a bounding dog at his side. Dench would doubtless demur at "grounds" – being the least given to airs and graces of any interviewee of her stature. Last time we met, in 2017, she told me how much she loathes being called an "icon" and actively despises "national treasure", relishing Tracey Ullman’s hilarious portrayal of her (available to watch on YouTube) as a swearing, boozing, shoplifting, dog-poo-throwing tearaway hiding behind her revered status. Outside is perishing, but inside all is warmth and good cheer. Indeed, it feels Christmassy, down to the glass of champagne from which Dench takes the occasional sip. Age has not withered her. Jude – as she is known to her friends – is so warm and fun (God, is she fun! And so game!), as well as funny, making spontaneous quips that reveal a still-lively mind even if she worries about losing her marbles. But on 9 December she turns 91 and the passing of time has had an impact. Her bright blue eyes, which can turn to steel when playing a part like M in the Bond films, no longer see. Her sight has been declining for some years, due to age-related macular degeneration. When I ask whether she can see my face – we are seated very close to one another, she at the head of her kitchen table – peering intently, she says, "You’re in a fog." She suffers from both eyes being "wet", the worst conditio…

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Kiefer Sutherland talks wrestling with Danny Dyer and recalls Christmases with his late father Donald
type: item
date: 2025-12-07T16:00:19.000Z
creator: Craig McLean
subject: Movies
subject: Magazine
subject: Sky
description: Sutherland on bruising new thriller Father Joe, facing off against Al Pacino – and swapping gunfights for panto with Danny Dyer.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. It's croissant o'clock in Paris. Kiefer Sutherland is up early, 24 hours away from the start of filming on a job that lets him do one of the things he does best: kick some butt. Father Joe is a "full-on, really violent, aggressive movie" written by Luc Besson. Sutherland plays the titular priest who wages holy - and actual - war against a ruthless mob boss, played by Al Pacino. It's set in 1990s Manhattan, but the French capital and Bulgaria are standing in for New York. Yes, admits this action star who turns 59 four days before Christmas, the script calls for physical exertion "that's going to be a real challenge" - even if you spent a decade taking down terrorists against a merciless clock in nine series of 24. "But you get a little bit of a moment where you go: 'Oh my God, I'm so fortunate!'" Although he quickly adds, "Then, before you know it, you're getting your ass kicked in the middle of a scene. And you sprain an ankle, or you pop a wrist or a rib, and still have to go to work." Luckily, his "heavy-duty prep" for Father Joe's physical exertions had something of a warm-up nine months ago, on the forecourt of a garage in Yorkshire. There he found himself wrestling on the ground with Danny Dyer. The pair were filming a frankly pathetic fight scene for Sky's all-star Christmas comedy film Tinsel Town, in which Sutherland plays an arrogant Hollywood star called Bradley Mac who inadvertently finds himself starring in a British pantomime, with Dyer as the lairy ex-husband of his love interest, Rebel Wilson, the choreographer. "I'm a huge fan of Danny's, and he's a fantastic actor," says the gracious Sutherland, before pointing out the larky, meta aspect of Tinsel Town's script. "I did Jack Bauer, who was considered a tough character. And Danny Dyer's played a number of tough characters. So, to be two guys at a filling station who fight - but then quickly realise neither can fight very well - was a little wink to …

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Call the Midwife star reveals she wants a damehood as cast tease much-anticipated 2025 Christmas special
type: item
date: 2025-12-07T16:00:17.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Magazine
description: As Call the Midwife returns for Christmas, Judy Parfitt and Helen George talk friendship, fame and festive traditions after more than a decade at Nonnatus House.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Judy Parfitt, 90, plays Sister Monica Joan, the Keats-quoting grande dame of Nonnatus House. Devoted to her calling, she has an abiding love of cake and an interest in astrology. Helen George, 41, plays Trixie Aylward, the troubled party girl – but formidable midwife – who married a baronet. The pair have worked together since the drama began in 2012. Helen, when did you first meet Judy? Helen: At the first-ever read-through, and she looked every bit the star she is: sparkling blue eyes, fiery red curls, beautiful cashmere and pearls complementing her porcelain skin. I introduced myself – nervously – and she was delightful. I was terrified initially because she has such a strong presence, but she quickly took me under her wing. She’s been a wonderful friend and confidante over the years, be it in work or in my private life. I love her dearly. Working with Judy and Jenny Agutter and watching the way they conduct themselves on set – how fun they are and how naughty they can be, but how professional and how dedicated they are to their craft – has been an exemplary education. Judy, were you aware you were such an inspiration? Judy: Monica Joan is such a wonderful character and I’ve been having so much fun; I didn’t think I was teaching anyone anything. I was educated in a convent, you see, and I always wanted to play a nun. Helen: What I admire most about Judy is that she gets the work done, but with such innate talent. She doesn’t suffer fools – she’s very direct, unapologetically, and I really appreciate that, especially as a woman. I used to always apologise for myself. Now I think, ‘I’ll be a bit more Judy!’ I just say it. Without a sorry at the end. She gets away with so much because of that sparkle in her eyes! She’s an icon. Do you feel iconic, Judy? Judy: Well, I haven’t got anything after my name to say that I am! Would you like something? Judy: I’d like to be Dame Judy, for my family and for me. So many acto…

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

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Fallout season 2 will see Lucy's moral compass "eroding" amid surprising choices, reveals Ella Purnell
type: item
date: 2025-12-03T17:01:51.000Z
creator: Elle Osili Wood
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Amazon Prime Video
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: She may be fighting monsters in a post-apocalyptic world in US video-game adaptation Fallout, but all British star Ella Purnell wants is an early night and a cup of tea.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Fallout is one of those shows that lays waste to your sleep schedule; a big-budget, post-apocalyptic adventure that’s far more fun than the end of the world has any right to be, and almost impossible to turn off. But as you’re halfway through a late-night binge, watching Lucy MacLean fight mutants and dodge bullets, the woman who plays her, Ella Purnell, will already be asleep. “I’m like an old lady who’s in bed at nine o’clock every night,” the 29-year-old actor laughs. “If you’d told me that ten years ago, I’d have said, ‘No way.’ But now, it’s a foam roller and a cup of tea. That’s all I need.” It’s a far cry from her on-screen antics, but Purnell could be forgiven for wanting to slow down after filming Amazon’s high-profile adaptation of the video game franchise Fallout. Since 1997, that game has seen more than 50 million players explore a post-nuclear-war America, trading bottle caps for currency, fighting off irradiated monsters and aligning with – or avoiding – the warring factions formed by survivors. But for all its fanfare, the TV version of Fallout landed in Purnell’s inbox like any other role. She’d never wandered its wastelands, strapped on a Pip-Boy computer or even heard of the game. “I really didn’t know much about the project,” she admits. “I was bad, and didn’t even google it, because I was busy filming [the US survival drama] Yellowjackets.” So what convinced her wasn’t Fallout’s mythos or millions of fans, but the human nature of Lucy MacLean, the show’s sheltered yet spirited lead, exploring this wild new world after growing up in an underground bunker (called a Vault). “They said to me she’s the kind of person that could star in a toothpaste commercial, but also could maybe kill you,” says Purnell. “And I was, like, yeah, that sounds like me.” Of course, once she signed on, everything became real. “It wasn’t until I got the job, and I started doing my research and my prep for the character, t…

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Alan Cumming teases "prescient" new show from Russell T Davies about rage faced by "marginalised people"
type: item
date: 2025-12-03T17:01:35.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The actor and presenter on The Traitors, speaking out – and being a superhero.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Over an illustrious 40-year career, Alan Cumming, 60, has appeared in an eclectic range of TV shows, films and stage plays — from the Emcee, full of licentious glee, in Sam Mendes’ productions of Cabaret to the weapons-grade camp host of The Traitors USA. Grammy-nominated, he has won Emmy, Tony and Olivier awards and was named by Time magazine as one of the three most fun people in showbusiness (alongside Stanley Tucci and Cher, apparently). He’s played God and the Devil, sold out Carnegie Hall and written seven books. Now, the actor-writer-singer-activist-photographer has added artistic director to his talents, taking charge at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland where he recently announced his inaugural season next year. You have quite a CV – have you ever been presented with an opportunity and thought “I’ll pass”? I believe in saying yes – and why not? If you have the pizazz and passion for it, give it a go. I feel like the most successful things I’ve done are things I haven’t overthought. I’ve just had a funny feeling in my tummy, excited and inspired, which is what I’ve got about Pitlochry. It’s about celebrating Scottish talent and bringing new ideas and international stuff to Scotland. When you were on Desert Island Discs, you said, “I do things I might fail at”. You’re not frightened of failure then? I’m not. I mean, it’s not my favourite thing, but Patti Smith said to me, “Alan, it won’t be a failure if you’ve done your best”. It could be a failure in financial terms, but those things don’t matter to me. The biggest and most important critic to me is myself. I’ve found in my life that if you believe in something, your passion can inspire other people. This is why I think I’d make a good cult leader. It feels harder than ever to be hopeful these days. As someone who lives in America, how do you remain optimistic? Depressed isn’t quite the right word to describe how I feel about American politics. I’m di…

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