When will The Durrells return for series three?
The Keeley Hawes drama is set for a third series on ITV
It won't be long before The Durrells is back on our TV screens: our favourite Corfu-based dysfunctional family returns to ITV on Sunday 18th March at 8pm. The Durrells to end after series four Here’s how The Durrells could continue – even when the family leaves Corfu What do we know about the real-life Durrells and their adventures in Corfu? View oEmbed on the source website So what have we got in store? "More of the usual, just sort of monkeying around in Corfu having a blast," Leslie Durrell actor Callum Woodhouse told us at the Radio Times Covers Party. "It's just a really fun series and it carries on being fun. But with a few emotional moments along the way as well." He adds: “There’s a lot of exciting stuff for Leslie going on. He starts the series, basically he’s a bit of a casanova. And has a bit of a journey of self-discovery through the series.” And there will be romance for Margo Durrell too, says Daisy Waterstone: “Margo’s going out with Zoltan in this series, who comes at the end of series two and I think it’s Margo’s first love.” When was the third series of The Durrells announced? Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival in 2017 as he premiered series two, Simon Nye revealed that this would not be Keeley Hawes' last outing as widowed single mother Louisa Durrell. Addressing the old adage "never work with children and animals," he told the audience: "They got some exotic new - that's series three, some exotic new animals." Nye had let the proverbial cat out of the bag. Kirsty Lang, who hosted the session with Hawes as well as executive producers Lee Morris and Sally Woodward Gentle, asked: "You mentioned series three. It hasn't actually been announced. Is there going to be a series three?" Nye confirmed that the script was written and production was about to start, with Hawes due to fly out to Corfu in three weeks' time to continue the adventures of the Durrell family. The Durrells airs on Sundays at 8pm on ITV. It airs in the US as "The Durrells in Corfu" on PBS Masterpiece. View oEmbed on the source website The Durrells in Corfu season 3 airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Masterpiece on PBS
Did you know the actor who plays Spiros in The Durrells is an A-List celebrity in Greece?
The real star of the show, as far as the Greeks are concerned, is Alexis Georgoulis
When The Durrells is filming in Corfu, you might expect it would be star Keeley Hawes (Louisa Durrell) or Hollywood icon Leslie Caron (Countess Mavrodaki) at the centre of any autograph scrum. But though the ITV drama is hugely popular on the Greek Island, the locals only have eyes for one man: Alexis Georgoulis. The Durrells to end after series four The Durrells series 3: will Spiro and Louisa get together? Star Alexis Georgoulis has his say The Durrells: The true story of Lawrence's friendship with his literary hero Henry Miller The supporting actor, who plays the Durrells' friend Spiros Hakaiopoulos, is a massive star in his home country and a major local celebrity. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, Sally Woodward Gentle explained: "He's a massive star in Greece. He's huge, it's just like, he can't go anywhere. He's a huge star." While everyone else is standing around unrecognised, she said, Georgoulis "shuts bars, he goes behind the bar, the bar's open for everybody. Free drinks all round!" (Hawes quickly added: "Not that we go to many bars! We've got work to do.") Georgoulis has starred in many Greek films and TV shows, including the hugely successful sitcom Eisai to tairi mou which made him a household name. Bizarrely, back in the 80s when Gerald Durrell's trilogy of novels was first adapted for TV, the part of Spiros was played by Brian Blessed with a Greek accent (yes, really). For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 And when it was adapted again for 2005 TV movie My Family and Other Animals, British Iranian actor Omid Djalili stepped into the role. This time, producers were determined to actually cast Greek actors as Greek characters. "It's very old-fashioned not to," Woodward Gentle told the audience. "And there are fantastic local actors, it felt quite bizarre to do a British Greek. So it was a no brainer." View oEmbed on the source website
We finally know the name of Shelagh and Dr Turner's newborn son in Call the Midwife
The series six finale delivered a special new arrival to the cast of Call the Midwife cast – and now we can reveal his name
Call the Midwife's series six finale brought a very special new addition to the BBC1 family, as Shelagh Turner gave birth to a healthy baby boy after years thinking she would not be able to conceive. In the episode itself, the name of Shelagh and her husband Dr Patrick Turner's newborn was not mentioned – but now Call the Midwife's creator Heidi Thomas has revealed to us the name of the lovely baby boy. "His name is Edward Patrick Turner, but he’s known as 'baby Teddy'," Thomas revealed at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. 'Patrick' of course is the first name of baby Teddy's father. We're next set to see Shelagh, Dr Turner and baby Teddy in the Call the Midwife 2017 Christmas special, followed by series seven in the new year. From left to right: BFI & Radio Times Television Festival host Jane Garvey, Call the Midwife executive producer Pippa Harris, producer Ann Tricklebank, writer Heidi Thomas and actor Stephen McGann In series three of Call the Midwife, Shelagh was initially told that she would not be able to conceive after contracting tuberculosis. However, Thomas explained that she thought series six would be the right time to return to that storyline. BFI & Radio Times Television Festival – full schedule “We have been very struck during our research by women who are told they are infertile make accommodations with that situation," she said. "I had great difficulty having a child myself. You come to an accommodation, and then to have that belief turned on its head can be challenging. “Laura [Main, who plays Shelagh] is such a wonderful actress, and I wanted to give her a journey to go on. And I think, deep down, I like to think that there’s hope for women who believe they can’t conceive. I think that is an important part of the fertility experience that we all share.” Heidi Thomas was speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. View oEmbed on the source website
Call the Midwife is set for a big freeze in 2017 Christmas Special
A cold wind is blowing in Poplar's direction...
Last Christmas the midwives were battling heat in a South African mission hospital but December 2017 will be a far colder one for the residents of Nonnatus House. At least that’s what Call The Midwife's executive producer Pippa Harris hinted at when we caught up with her at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. “There’s come great material coming up,” said Harris of series seven (which will introduce the show's first West Indian midwife) and the upcoming festive offering. “As we move through the 60s each year brings new developments: social developments, medical developments and musical developments! “Of course, there was the Big Freeze which took place during the period we’ll be covering in the next Christmas Special,” Harris teased, “so that’s something to watch out for.” The Big Freeze occurred during the winter of 1962/3, which was one of the coldest on record in the United Kingdom. There were blizzard-like conditions in the south thanks to heavy snowfall in the latter half of December – and we’re sure that’ll have quite the impact down Poplar way. Here’s hoping it won’t cause the midwives too much trouble. Call The Midwife returns to BBC1 in December 2017 View Green Video on the source website
Victoria creator Daisy Goodwin teases snowy Christmas special for Jenna Coleman's queen
There'll be a "Christmas-zilla" lurking in the palace - but who?
ITV’s Victoria is set for its own Christmas special this year and writer/creator Daisy Goodwin promises that it’ll be suitably festive. “I haven’t written the Christmas special yet,” Goodwin told RadioTimes.com at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, “I imagine it’s going to be quite taxing but I know it’s going to be utterly brilliant and there’ll be a lot of snow in it”. The festive outing for Jenna Coleman’s queen will be made all the more special thanks to her historical husband Albert’s (Tom Hughes) well-documented love of the winter celebration. “All his children had individual Christmas trees”, she explained, “so he was the original 'Christmas-zilla', I think is the word!” Fans will have to wait until December to unwrap Goodwin’s festive delight, but they’ll have plenty of ‘Vicbert’ delights to keep them ticking over if series two - which is currently filming - airs in the autumn as planned. View Green Video on the source website
Call The Midwife's Stephen McGann has two very different words to describe series seven
What's in store for Doctor Turner, Shelagh and their new arrival?
It's just been voted the greatest TV drama of the 21st century but Call The Midwife's stars haven't got too much time to celebrate because they'll soon be back in action working on a Christmas special and the upcoming series seven. What can we expect when they're back on our screens? "Challenge, more challenge," says Stephen McGann when we meet him at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. "Oh, and can I say one more word? Beehive", he grins. "I think there’s going to be beehives and it isn’t going to be Doctor Turner. I don’t think I can carry the beehive off, but we’re getting closer to your classic sixties look.” McGann is particularly excited about the upcoming series because it takes us through the year of his birth, 1963. “It’s my living history as well," he says. "The part we’re filming next is the first year of my life, so now, those scratchy photographs, they’re me!" The actor, who's been playing Doctor Turner since the show first aired, is still riding high on the touching series six finale scenes during which his on-screen wife, Shelagh, gave birth to a baby boy. The former nun had been thought to be infertile but finally managed to conceive and – after a tricky pregnancy – safely delivered her son. “Wasn’t that wonderful? And the response of our fans was just brilliant. It involved a big birth scene for us and we were both fully involved in the birth scene. I even SANG! I mean come on! I even SANG out at the end", he laughs. "But it was so lovely. One of the nicest parts for me was the bit I wasn’t in, when it was just the two women doing what women have done for centuries,” McGann adds. He can't tell us much about what's to come for Patrick and Shelagh, but does hint that it's "all lovely" now that baby Teddy (Heidi Thomas revealed his name during the TV Festival's Call The Midwife panel) is on the scene. McGann is also pretty delighted with the show's continued success off air. 2017 has seen the series pick up the National Television Award for Best Period Drama, the Radio Times Best 21st Century Period Drama award, and that aforementioned Best Drama of the 21st Century overall title. "We just keep winning awards, accolades, recognition, the series was received so incredibly well," McGann smiled. "We were gobsmacked by the response but we were also greatly gratified. We work so hard to keep up the standard." "As the years go by with Call The Midwife – every series moves forward – there are more challenges in the sixties and so there were so many interesting different grounds to cover, socially and in medicine and for women. And it was just received so well, we’re just so pleased." Call The Midwife returns to BBC1 in December 2017 View Green Video on the source website
Jenna Coleman's Queen Victoria won't be re-cast any time soon
ITV's diminutive monarch won't be following in the footsteps of The Crown's Queen Elizabeth II
Claire Foy may be ready to hang up her titular headwear after series two of Netflix’s The Crown, but Jenna Coleman doesn’t need to worry about her ITV throne. Daisy Goodwin, the creator of Sunday night favourite Victoria, has assured RadioTimes.com that there are no plans to search for a new leading lady to play an ageing monarch any time soon. “I think we’ve got quite a long way to go before we need to re-cast Jenna; we’re moving quite slowly through the 1840s,” Goodwin explained at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. “We haven’t even caught up with her real age,” she continued, “so I think Jenna will be on our screens for some time to come”. Coleman’s definitely sure to star in the ITV drama for at least another series (series two is currently filming) and a Christmas special will take her right the way through to the end of 2017. Goodwin hasn’t ruled out the possibility of continuing Victoria’s tale in a third series either, meaning we could well still be bowing to Queen Coleman for many years to come. View Green Video on the source website
"The course of true love does not run smooth" in Victoria series two
Daisy Goodwin says the course of true love won’t run smooth for Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes
When last we saw Queen Victoria on ITV she’d just given birth to a baby girl but when we catch up with her in series two the monarch won’t exactly be playing house. “Victoria and Albert are facing the challenge of being new parents and Victoria is not very keen on motherhood,” series creator Daisy Goodwin told RadioTimes.com at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. But it sounds as though her lack of maternal instincts won’t be the only thing troubling the queen when she returns to our TV screens. “The situation in the country is very dicey, there’s the biggest depression there’s been for twenty years, there are political movements calling for the abolition of the monarchy, there’s unrest in Ireland, there is all kinds of, there’s warfare in Afghanistan, it all sounds quite familiar, doesn’t it?”, Goodwin teased. “It’s a time of great unrest, personal unrest and political unrest. What could possibly go wrong?” We can’t wait to find out. And to see if Rufus Sewell's Lord M might actually return... View Green Video on the source website
"Unseasonably wet" year made filming The Durrells a logistical nightmare - except when they needed a downpour
It rains when you need sun, and it's sunny when you need rain
Here is a fine example of irony: Keeley Hawes and the cast of The Durrells were hit with torrential rain while filming series two on the Greek island of Corfu – but for the one episode where they actually needed a downpour, the weather cleared right up and the rain clouds stubbornly stayed away. Episode four of the ITV drama centres around a terrible storm which keeps the Durrells cooped up inside for days, with grumpy Larry suffering from mumps, Gerry insisting on keeping his animals inside, Margo mournfully nursing her spots and Leslie going stir crazy. But speaking at the Radio Times & BFI Television Festival in April, the team revealed how tricky it was to handle Corfu's weather. The rain usually doesn't start up until the winter, but executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle explained: "Well second season, actually it was raining much earlier than near Christmas. "It was unseasonably wet. When you fly over Corfu it's very green, and there is a reason why it's very green, because once it starts raining it doesn't stop." "Literally, there's the crew looking up to work out when the sun might be coming out, and you go: 'Okay it's coming!' And everybody's ready to go for it." The rain they experienced filming series one inspired writer Simon Nye to build a whole episode around a rainstorm for series two. But of course the weather had other ideas. "I wrote one single episode where it rains a lot," Nye explained, joking: "But of course it never rains at that time. We had to import rain." As the Greek god of thunder and rain, Zeus must be laughing at them from the top of Mount Olympus. The Durrells airs on Sunday nights on ITV at 8pm
Will Rufus Sewell return to Victoria as Lord M? Daisy Goodwin drops an intriguing clue
Apparently you need to track down an obscure out-of-print biography
Rufus Sewell set hearts a-beating as Prime Minister Lord Melbourne in ITV’s Victoria, with many fans hoping he would defy historical reality and act on his undeniable chemistry with the Queen. The affectionately-nicknamed “Lord M” backed off from his role as political mentor to Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman) once she started to fall for Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) and was conspicuously absent from later episodes. But could he be set for a return in series two? After all, he was still Prime Minister until 1841. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, creator and writer Daisy Goodwin was coy – but she did drop one intriguing hint. “Do you know, one of the great things about writing this series is that we seem to have transformed a hitherto fairly obscure Prime Minister into the subject of enormous interest and, dare I say, fan fiction,” she said. “And all I can say to you is that if you really want to know the answer to that question, I suggest that you go and buy a very, very good book about Lord Melbourne by David Cecil, it's out of print but you can get it at your local library, and that may help you try to understand what's going to happen in series two.” The book in question is a two-part biography of Melbourne by Lord David Cecil, first published in 1948. So far it has been hard to get hold of a copy, but readers are encouraged to track it down and see what this hint really means. Goodwin, Coleman, Hughes and executive producer Damien Timmer also gave some clues about what is next for Victoria and Albert in series two. An exclusive clip shown to the audience at the BFI in London revealed the couple’s first-born being christened, while another showed Victoria trying to explain to her husband why she’s not too thrilled to be pregnant again almost immediately after giving birth. “Can you imagine what it's like to swell up like a pumpkin and have everyone treat you as an imbecile because you've given birth? It's the shadow side of our marriage,” she tells him. “I didn't spend all those years in Kensington shut up in a nursery only to be confined into another one.” Is this the real Victoria, mother to nine children? Did she really resent pregnancy so much? “She hates babies, she doesn't like the way their arms move around like frogs,” Goodwin explained. “She absolutely refuses to breastfeed, she thinks it's disgusting, she says ‘That's what cows do and I'm not a cow.’ She likes the bit that gets her pregnant, but she doesn't like what she calls the shadow side of marriage, and that's what she means by childbirth and bringing up children.” Coleman added: “I don't think I've ever seen it on screen before where pregnancy isn't a choice, and actually to see her resenting a pregnancy not because she doesn't love her children but because it's not a choice - she falls pregnant and that's the shadow side.” So series two is in production. How about a series three? And – as with Netflix’s royal drama The Crown – are producers planning on taking the story all the way to the end of the reign? “We could go on indefinitely. I think she will outlive us all, possibly,” said Goodwin, while Timmer added: “One would like to get to the end, that's the truthful answer.” That is something one would very much like to see.
What can we expect from the return of Maigret?
Rowan Atkinson reveals the mystery Jules Maigret will be taking on in Night at the Crossroads
Rowan Atkinson is back on Easter Sunday for another tale of murder and deceit in Maigret's Night at the Crossroads – though for those who can't wait any longer, he'll be discussing Maigret and revealing clips from the TV drama on Friday at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. This time the fictional French detective Jules Maigret will be trying to get to the bottom of a tricky case involving a dead diamond merchant – with an additional complication when he finds himself drawn to the suspect's glamorous sister. Like last year's standalone episodes Maigret Sets a Trap and Maigret's Dead Man, this is another Stewart Harcourt adaptation of a classic Georges Simenon novel. Later in 2017 it will be followed by a fourth instalment, Maigret in Montmartre. What is Maigret's Night At The Crossroads about? "Maigret has been interrogating a mysterious Dane, Carl Andersen, for hours without a confession," says ITV's synopsis. "Why was the body of a diamond merchant found in his car at his isolated mansion? He's either innocent or a very good liar. What does his beautiful but vulnerable sister know? And what compels everyone at the Three Widows Crossroads to be so secretive? Maigret sets out to find his killer which ultimately leads to a thrilling climax." We also know from Atkinson himself that we'll meet the detective in a somber and self-reflective mood. The actor reveals: "Maigret is at the funeral of an old colleague who died, forgotten by those who once loved him. It makes him think about the lot of a police officer. The officer who died was a drinker who drank himself to death. He had separated from his wife, his whole life had collapsed and he died alone." However, "Maigret is very reassured, as he always is, by his home life. Which is rooted in tragedy. It was stated in the first film how he and his wife lost a child in infancy. So they are childless but they are very close and rely very much on each other." But who is mysterious new character Else? Maigret may be very close to his wife, but in Night at the Crossroads we will see what happens when he becomes attracted to someone else. Danish actress Mia Jexen, best known for playing PC Ingrid Witry in Fortitude, plays the suspect's sister Else. Atkinson explains: “Else has influenced, not always to the good, an awful lot of men. She is clearly someone who is a damaged but attractive individual. "Else is very glamorous and seductive, using her femininity to her own ends. There is no doubt Maigret feels himself being drawn to her. It’s an interesting dilemma for him because we haven’t seen that before. The degree to which, in the end, Maigret is human. He’s human and he’s male.” John Simenon, son of Georges and executive producer on Maigret, adds: "There is quite an intense relationship between Maigret and Else, a very attractive woman trying to charm Maigret, who is not entirely insensitive to that.” Who else is in the cast? Aidan McCardle returns as Judge Comeliau, Shaun Dingwall is Inspector Janvier, Lucy Cohu is Madame Maigret, and Leo Starr is back as Inspector LaPointe. Joining the cast of Maigret for the first time is Pirates of the Caribbean actor Kevin McNally as Inspector Louis Grandjean, while Game of Thrones star Tom Wlaschiha will play Carl Andersen. Also lined up to star in this episode are Stephen Wight, Mark Heap and Robin Weaver. Where is it set – and where was it filmed? This story is set between 1950s Paris and a little place 20 or 30 miles outside town. But like upcoming Maigret in Montmartre, it was filmed in Budapest – where the team reports temperatures hitting minus 20 degrees. Atkinson says: “The location is very interesting. The crossroads in the middle of nowhere, through which fruit trucks pass going into the markets of Paris in the early morning. And they stop at this isolated crossroads on the way. At the crossroads there are just three dwellings - the garage, the Michonnet house and then the Andersen house. “It’s quite a way out of Maigret’s patch because it’s not Paris. It’s a good 20 or 30 miles outside town. But he decides to take it on because the local cop Grandjean, played by Kevin McNally, is an old colleague and Maigret decides to take an interest. It’s a very complex web of villainy all rooted in this crossroads.” John Simenon adds: "Night At The Crossroads is mainly set outside of Paris and allowed us to treat this isolated place as a character of its own with its very specific atmosphere of the French countryside... If you go back into the 50s, a distance of 30 kilometres away from Paris you were the middle of nowhere. Now it’s the suburbs. "After the war I won’t say such a place was exactly a jungle but all sorts of things were taking place that city people were not very much aware of. There was less law and order than what we would think today. And that reminded the writer a bit of the Far West of the late 1800s." What can we expect from Maigret in Montmartre? According to Atkinson, the next episode – due on ITV later this year – also involves a fantasy woman... “Maigret In Montmartre revolves around a woman again," he explains. "Which was very much Georges Simenon’s infatuation. I suspect he was depicting a fantasy woman of his own in this story. That’s my feeling. She has a very startling effect on a wide range of men. And it’s got her into a lot of trouble. It all feeds into the great seediness of the time and of the place. And of this nightclub in particular, Le Picratt.” When is Maigret's Night at the Crossroads on TV? The two-hour episode will air on 16th April at 8pm on ITV.
"It takes over your mind!" – Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin discuss creating Doctor Who
What's it really like to be at the centre of one of the biggest TV shows in the world? The four key players gathered together to talk series 10 and more at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival
How does it really feel to create Doctor Who, a show so popular, so scrutinised, so loved, so cared for and argued over for so many different people? It's probably impossible to really know unless you're in the centre making it, but if you want some idea of exactly what went in to filming Doctor Who series 10, outgoing star Peter Capaldi, new companion Pearl Mackie, departing showrunner Steven Moffat and producer Brian Minchin are just the people to ask. The video below is a full recording of the Doctor Who panel at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival earlier this April, just one week before the launch of series 10 on BBC1. View oEmbed on the source website In it, the four panellists talk with journalist Samira Ahmed about the making of series 10 – and what it feels like now it's about to go out into the world. Peter Capaldi describes it as having to go through something like a "compression chamber", moving from life on the set of Doctor Who to the 'real world' outside. Peter Capaldi had this to say to the cyberbullies targeting a Doctor Who fan Pearl Mackie says she now can't hear water in the pipes without thinking of Doctor Who monsters. "It takes over your mind!" she says. Wonder whether she was warned of the psychological implications of being the new companion before she took the job? But the best moments come when the audience ask the questions, and Capaldi contemplates the responsibility of playing this "mythic figure". If you can't wait for series 10 to start, there's no better way of passing the time than watching this. Doctor Who series 10 begins Saturday 15 April at 7.20pm on BBC1
Mark Gatiss isn't sure if he'll continue writing for Doctor Who after Steven Moffat leaves
Moffat and Gatiss have enjoyed a remarkable working relationship on both Sherlock and Doctor Who – but will Gatiss still be a part of Who when new showrunner Chris Chibnall takes over?
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have between them cultivated two of the 21st century's greatest television series – but when Moffat ends his tenure as Doctor Who showrunner after series 10, will Sherlock co-creator Gatiss stay on with new Who showrunner Chris Chibnall? That was the question we put to Gatiss at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival this weekend. We already know that Moffat and Gatiss have mulled over new show ideas together, but when it comes to Gatiss's future on Doctor Who, the future is less clear. “I hope so, I’ve no idea," he said when asked whether he would continue writing for Doctor Who. "It’s a funny thing, an end of an era. "Obviously working very closely with Steven I feel it more than when Russell [T Davies, previous showrunner on Doctor Who] left. I suppose there was more of a sense of continuity there, but I’ve no idea," he added. Steven Moffat reveals why he brought John Simm’s Master back to Doctor Who Gatiss claims he has no insider knowledge on how new showrunner Chris Chibnall plans to carry on the Doctor Who legacy, with talk of a fresh start and a new writing team. Luckily, Gatiss is someone who is not afraid of being left in the dark. "I think Chris has got an entirely new writing team," Gatiss said. I don’t think anyone knows any details, which is kind of exciting!" The interview – which you can watch in full above – took place on 9th April, which also happens to be a very important date in Gatiss's personal Who history. "It’s 12 years ago today since my first episode, The Unquiet Dead, went out, which is amazing," he said. "12 years; unbelievable. But I’ve had a fantastic run on my favourite show, so if I don’t do anymore then I’m perfectly sanguine. But who knows?” Who knows. Doctor Who series 10 begins on BBC1 at 7:20pm on Saturday 15th April. Gatiss's episode, The Empress of Mars, will be the ninth episode in the run. View Green Video on the source website
Lee Mack, Barry Cryer and Richard Osman talk Trump, comedy and the Nightly Show
The three comedians and presenters think comedy can come in the darkest of times – even if it hasn’t quite managed to permeate ITV’s new late-night format
In our increasingly unstable world it’s tempting to try and write off comedy as an indulgence, something suited to less depressing times when there weren’t more serious matters to attend to. However, veteran funnymen Barry Cryer, Lee Mack and Richard Osman think such an attitude is nonsense, telling RadioTimes.com that in dark times there’s only one thing to do: “mock and mock and mock.” “In a world of Trump, you have to mock,” I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue mainstay Cryer told us at the BFI & Radio Times festival last weekend alongside Mack and Osman. “The great man Mel Blanc did Springtime for Hitler, a jolly musical scene. He was much criticised at the time, and he said you don’t reason and debate with monsters, you mock them. So we’re just the court jesters. “The sick joke is over. It is President Trump. But what we gonna do? We’re just gonna mock and mock and mock.” “There’s no shortage of opinions in the world, that’s for sure,” Osman added. “There’s no shortage of people who’d defend him or have a go at him. But there is a shortage of people like these two gentlemen, who whatever happens are making you laugh. That’s my opinion.” “That was a fiver well spent that I bunged him earlier!” quipped Cryer. Video The trio also weighed in on the fortunes of ITV’s belagured Nightly Show, an attempt to adopt the US format of evening talkshows in the UK that has met with a mixed critical response and falling ratings. “I think it’s interesting that a Nightly Show has NEVER worked over here,” Osman told us. “But in the same way, there’s no panel shows in the USA. They’ve never worked, have they?” “Yeah it’s interesting this, because they used to say ‘Stand-up never works on British television.’ And yet it suddenly started working,” Mack said. “And I wonder if panel games could work in America, and I wonder if nightly chatshows could work here.” And naturally, all three had plenty of ideas on how to make the format work in the UK. “You’ve gotta get the right people in charge, who know how to do it,” Cryer suggested. “I always say it’s the writers. You’ve got to start with the writers. You don’t start with the presenters,” Mack added. “And don’t make a big song and dance about it,” Osman concluded. “Do it organically. “Look at The Last Leg, which is a hit – because it started out as a show about the Paralympics, and by the time it was three seasons in they’d worked out their schtick.” We can only hope The Nightly Show takes the criticism on board and find its own groove when the time comes - assuming human civilisation hasn't already ended, of course. The Nightly Show airs weeknights on ITV at 10.00pm In our increasingly unstable world it’s tempting to try and write off comedy as an indulgence, something suited to less depressing times when there weren’t more serious matters to attend to. However, veteran funnymen Barry Cryer, Lee Mack and Richard Osman think such an attitude is nonsense, telling RadioTimes.com that in dark times there’s only one thing to do: “mock and mock and mock.” “In a world of Trump, you have to mock,” I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue mainstay Cryer told us at the BFI & Radio Times festival last weekend alongside Mack and Osman. “The great man Mel Blanc did Springtime for Hitler, a jolly musical scene. He was much criticised at the time, and he said you don’t reason and debate with monsters, you mock them. So we’re just the court jesters. “The sick joke is over. It is President Trump. But what we gonna do? We’re just gonna mock and mock and mock.” “There’s no shortage of opinions in the world, that’s for sure,” Pointless co-host Osman added. “There’s no shortage of people who’d defend him or have a go at him. But there is a shortage of people like these two gentlemen, who whatever happens are making you laugh. That’s my opinion.” “That was a fiver well spent that I bunged him earlier!” quipped Cryer. The trio also weighed in on the fortunes of ITV’s beleagured Nightly Show, an attempt to adopt the US format of evening talkshows in the UK that has met with a mixed critical response and falling ratings. “I think it’s interesting that a Nightly Show has NEVER worked over here,” Osman told us. “But in the same way, there’s no panel shows in the USA. They’ve never worked, have they?” “Yeah it’s interesting this, because they used to say ‘Stand-up never works on British television.’ And yet it suddenly started working,” Mack said. “And I wonder if panel games could work in America, and I wonder if nightly chatshows could work here.” And naturally, all three had plenty of ideas on how to make the format work in the UK. “You’ve gotta get the right people in charge, who know how to do it,” Cryer suggested. “I always say it’s the writers. You’ve got to start with the writers. You don’t start with the presenters,” Mack added. “And don’t make a big song and dance about it,” Osman concluded. “Do it organically. Look at The Last Leg, which is a hit – because it started out as a show about the Paralympics, and by the time it was three seasons in they’d worked out their schtick.” We can only hope The Nightly Show takes the criticism on board and find its own groove when the time comes – assuming human civilisation hasn't already ended, of course. The Nightly Show airs weeknights on ITV at 10.00pm View Green Video on the source website
Richard Madeley wouldn't touch The Nightly Show "with a bargepole"
The former This Morning and Richard & Judy presenter would take the job on one condition, though...
He's one of the nation's longest serving TV presenters but chances are you'll never see Richard Madeley taking over ITV's The Nightly Show. The former This Morning presenter and Richard & Judy star, appearing at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival with Susie Dent, told us he wouldn't touch the series "with a bargepole" because he doesn't think the format works. “It’s got nothing to do with the presenters – they’re getting it in the neck,” Madeley explained while discussing the show's ratings struggles as it temporarily occupies the ITV News at Ten's slot. “You could get Letterman to come in and do it and it wouldn’t work because the format is wrong.” However, there is one thing that could tempt him to take the host's chair for five nights. “I’d do it for a week for nothing if they spent the money on a room full of script writers," Madeley said, "because the shows that it’s meant to ape, like the Letterman Show, Jay Leno and the Late Late Show in America, they exist on roomfuls of writers. There are about twenty to thirty writers working every day on those shows. I don’t think this one’s got any. That’s what it’s about, it’s about the writers." Over to you ITV. Perhaps for that rumoured second run? View Green Video on the source website
Here's the time travel sitcom Charlie Brooker never got to make
The Black Mirror creator once penned a show that saw a group of punk rockers transported through the space-time continuum
Charlie Brooker may have had a Prime Minister getting it on with a pig on Channel 4, but there’s still a show the Black Mirror creator couldn't get on the box. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, the Weekly Wipe writer revealed the comedy the broadcasters turned down. “I wrote a sitcom called God Save the Queen. The storyline was that a punk band that were basically the Sex Pistols get killed in a mass hanging – they’re hanged by a Tory MP in 1977,” explained Brooker. “And then they slip through a hole in the space-time continuum and wake up in 2004, when I wrote it. All the punks end up moaning about ringtones – God, that dates it!” Fans of Brooker might map the sitcom perpendicular to Nathan Barley, the 2005 comedy that dialled into the rise of "urban imbeciles" and their obsession with phone technology and the internet. And while that show, co-written with Chris Morris, proved a zeitgeisty success, Brooker wasn't convinced it would ever get off the ground: “[Morris and I] discussed Nathan Barley for about four or five years. The process was taking so long I thought ‘this is clearly never going to happen, but I’m enjoying all these meetings that I’m having with him’”. View oEmbed on the source website Julian Barratt's 'Rise of the Idiots' reading in Nathan Barley It also turns out that police procedural pastiche A Touch of Cloth (“you’re coming apart at the seams, Cloth!”) almost never hit screens either, with Brooker revealing that the show was pitched to the BBC five years before Sky picked it up. View oEmbed on the source website Lesson learned: even if the first pitch fails, a commission may beckon a few years down the line. So there’s still a chance we’ll see a cast of 1970s punk rockers facing off against generation Spotify…
Charlie Brooker: "Satire is counter-productive"
In the wake of the rise of Donald Trump, the Weekly Wipe and Black Mirror creator says "satire and mockery have changed nothing"
2016 was a good year for Charlie Brooker – up to a point. It saw the launch, to critical acclaim, of the third series of his dystopian anthology Black Mirror as well as the commission of a fourth season – but then Donald Trump became US president. Speaking on stage at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, Brooker said Trump’s election success almost stalled his Review of the Year 2016 show: “When we were doing that show I remember going in the day after he won and I was so depressed – really. I thought I might not be able to do the show,” he explained. “I felt frightened and alarmed. I felt sick.” Trump’s victory meant Brooker and the Review of the Year team had to sift through “hundreds of hours” of news footage featuring the president-to-be, unsurprisingly leaving him “genuinely very depressed by the end”. View oEmbed on the source website But there was reason to finish the huge task of taking down Trump: “The one thing that kept me going is that if I was watching I’d want to feel a bit more sane about the world," Brooker told a packed audience at the BFI IMAX. "I think maybe that satire – although I don’t like the word – makes you feel a bit more sane. When I watched Spitting Image or Not the Nine O’clock News – anything that pointed out the world was demented – it made me feel a little more hopeful and a little less alone. Now it’s weird to be on the other end of that and feel completely terrified.” View oEmbed on the source website Nevertheless, Brooker is dubious about the positive impact of satire as a whole: "I do think that satire is probably counter-productive. Clearly satire and mockery have changed nothing. The hopelessness that I was expressing about [Donald Trump in the 2016 Wipe – see above] was real. I think that feeling of ‘there are other people in the world feeling as alone as me’ scratches an itch that probably shouldn’t be scratched. The only thing that changes anything is mass peaceful civil disobedience, which is probably what should happen.” However he soon followed that with: “but I’ve got no idea how the world should work. And to be a true idealist you need to have a plan – which would probably be wrong anyway. Nobody should ever bother doing anything!” In summary: we’re doomed with or without satire, and idealism inevitably leads to failure. Now go away.
Peter Capaldi tries to avoid using the words ‘he’ or ‘she’ about the new Doctor
"That person is the luckiest acting human being on the planet..."
Does Peter Capaldi know something we don’t? Well, almost certainly. But does he know who his Doctor Who replacement is going to be? Does he at least know whether it will be a man or a woman? One thing's for sure, when he was asked this weekend about who could step into the Tardis when he departs at the end of the year, Capaldi was at great pains not to specify whether it would be a he or a she – much to the amusement of an audience at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. "I think that person is the luckiest… the luckiest acting human being on the planet," teased Capaldi. "They’re going to have a wonderful time and I’m sure they’ll be fabulous, whoever… they are." They don't call him Doctor Mysterio for nothing...
We never knew just HOW much Tom Hiddleston loves John Le Carré's The Night Manager
The real-life Jonathan Pine shared his thoughts about the original novel at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival
If ever you needed a reason to love The Night Manager even more, we’ve got one: Tom Hiddleston is an expert on the original novel. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, Hiddleston praised John le Carré’s original novel (from which the series takes its name), in particular how central character hotelier-turned-spy Jonathan Pine was described. “The character was so appealing: a lost soul looking for a cause,” Hiddleston began. “In the opening paragraph of the third chapter Jonathan Pine is described as a ‘graduate of an archipelago of orphanages, foster homes, half mothers and cadet units. A sometime army wolf-child in a special unit. A chef, catering, itinerant, hotelier, perpetual escapee of emotional entanglement. A Collector of other people’s languages, a-self exiled creature of the night. A sailor without a destination.’ That was my diving board from which I jumped.” Now, yes, it is an actor’s jobs to cement a myriad of lines into their memory banks. But to still remember a description not in the script almost two years after filming? There’s no doubt about it: Hiddleston a) has a terrific memory, and b) he put a lot of thought into the character. So far, so admirable. But later in the session, Hiddleston also offered a concise analysis of Jonathan Pine. “The whole character, for me, centres on the malleability of identity,” the Thor star began. “The idea that somehow there is something blank and broken about Pine is something that is unique to him. That something is repressed in him from his military service, his tragic love affair. “All this grief has been tied up with him for so long. He’s been hiding: that’s why he’s the night manager. He hides behind the uniform, he hides behind the cover of darkness –literally. He doesn’t have a character apart from the moral compunction that Olivia Colman’s character [Angela Burr] latches onto and says ‘come and do the right thing’.” View oEmbed on the source website Despite Hiddleston’s fluency with the novel, meeting the author himself led to a brilliant misunderstanding. During the restaurant scene where Corky (Tom Hollander) punches the waiter, John le Carré was on set and made a cameo as an agitated diner – a little too agitated. Although the script required Hiddleston to calm the diner, le Carré improvised his lines. “I don’t know if John had read the par in the screenplay giving him direction for the scene. But he refused to be settle,” explained Hiddleston. “Like any great actor, he made me try harder to achieve my objective, which I almost didn’t achieve.” After le Carré kept on insisting that Hiddleston’s character should apologise to the beaten waiter, director Susanne Bier (who appeared alongside Hiddleston at the festival) had to speak to the author to move the scene along. View oEmbed on the source website But, of course, that didn’t deter Hiddleston’s admiration of the writer: “It was amazing to be in a scene with John,” he said. “It was a remarkable honour for all of us.” Tom Hiddleston is an expert on The Night Manager. And we don't just mean the TV series – the actor's memory of the novel it is based on is remarkable... Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, Hiddleston praised John le Carré’s 1993 thriller (from which the BBC series takes its name), in particular how his hotelier-turned-spy Jonathan Pine was written. “The character was so appealing: a lost soul looking for a cause,” Hiddleston began. “In the opening paragraph of the third chapter Jonathan Pine is described as a ‘graduate of an archipelago of orphanages, foster homes, half mothers and cadet units. A sometime army wolf-child in a special unit. A chef, catering, itinerant, hotelier, perpetual escapee of emotional entanglement. A collector of other people’s languages, a self-exiled creature of the night. A sailor without a destination.’ That was my diving board from which I jumped.” Yes, it is an actor’s business to cement myriad lines into their memory banks. But to still remember a description not in the script almost two years after filming finished? There’s no doubt about it: Hiddleston a) has a terrific memory, and b) put a lot of thought into his character. View oEmbed on the source website So far, so impressive. But later in the session, Hiddleston also offered the audience a concise analysis of Jonathan Pine. “The whole character, for me, centres on the malleability of identity,” the Thor star began. “The idea that somehow there is something blank and broken about Pine is something that is unique to him. That something is repressed in him from his military service, his tragic love affair. “All this grief has been tied up with him for so long. He’s been hiding: that’s why he’s the night manager. He hides behind the uniform, he hides behind the cover of darkness – literally. He doesn’t have a character apart from the moral compunction that Olivia Colman’s character [Angela Burr] latches onto and says ‘come and do the right thing’.” View oEmbed on the source website Despite Hiddleston’s fluency with the novel, meeting the author himself led to a brilliant misunderstanding. During the restaurant scene where Corky (Tom Hollander) punches the waiter, John le Carré was on set and made a cameo as an agitated diner – a little too agitated. Although the script required Hiddleston to calm his character, le Carré improvised his lines to the extreme. “I don’t know if John had read the part in the screenplay giving him direction for the scene. But he refused to settle,” explained Hiddleston. “Like any great actor, he made me try harder to achieve my objective, which I almost didn’t achieve.” After le Carré persistently insisted that Pine should apologise to the beaten waiter, director Susanne Bier (who appeared alongside Hiddleston at the festival) had to speak to the author to move the scene along. View oEmbed on the source website But, ever the gentleman, that didn’t deter Hiddleston’s admiration of the writer: “It was amazing to be in a scene with John,” he said. “It was a remarkable honour for all of us.” Tom Hiddleston was speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival in a panel alongside Night Manager co-star Alistair Petrie, director Susanne Bier and executive producer Simon Cornwell. View Green Video on the source website
Peter Capaldi had this to say to the cyberbullies targeting a Doctor Who fan
The Doctor Who session at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival was a feel-good affair, featuring plenty of fun and laughter as fans dressed as their favourite characters and gathered to hear showrunner Steven Moffat, producer Brian Minchin and stars Peter Capaldi and new companion Pearl Mackie share a taster of the new series, give their thoughts on the world of Doctor Who and field questions from the audience. But there was one reminder that even the most positive and inclusive fandom can attract one or two misguided individuals. When a fan revealed they had been the victim of cyberbullying on a Doctor Who forum, the panellists were dismayed. Steven Moffat, who has been open about the fact that he was bullied as a child, said "There are people in this world who are so wretched that they can only feel good about themselves by making somebody else feel less good. You could pity them. You have to suffer their attention, but think of this – you don’t have to be them, imagine how wretched that is." But it was the Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi, who reminded anyone who needed it just how far from the ethos of Doctor Who such behaviour is. "The essence of Doctor Who is kindness," said Capaldi, "that is what really is underneath all of this. "This is a person who moves through time and space and history, and all kinds of situations, and reacts to them, ultimately – despite the way the different versions of him may appear – he reacts with kindness. "And that is how everyone involved with Doctor Who should be and how everyone who is a fan of it should be. "If they’re not kind, they’re not receiving the show in the proper way and they’re not really a fan of it. Real Doctor Who fans are going to miss him when he's gone. Doctor Who returns to BBC1 on Saturday 15th April at 7:20pm
The best moments from the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival
From Tom Hiddleston's talk on The Night Manager, to a look into the making of Doctor Who - #TVFest had something for everyone
The Night Manager. Doctor Who. Poldark. Sherlock. Last weekend’s BFI & Radio Times Television Festival delved deep into each of these shows and plenty more, guiding fans through the TV gems of today with stars such as Peter Capaldi, Aiden Turner and Tom Hiddleston himself. Yes, festival-goers were over the moon to see the Hollywood star (and his purple socks) for a talk about his hit BBC drama, alongside his Night Manager co-stars... View oEmbed on the source website ...Dame Maggie Smith talking over her legendary career... View oEmbed on the source website Claire Foy, star of hit Netflix blockbuster series The Crown, talked how one of the most expensive dramas got made... View oEmbed on the source website The Call the Midwife cast roamed the festival before revealing behind-the-scenes secrets and being declared the best drama of the 21st century... View oEmbed on the source website The makers of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing also unveiled the backstage happenings of everything Ed Balls... View oEmbed on the source website Plus, Charlie Brooker revealed the secrets of his career and what's in store for the next season of Black Mirror... View oEmbed on the source website Susie Dent discussed her first time on Countdown with Richard Madeley... View oEmbed on the source website Social media masters and fitness gurus Joe Wicks and the Hemsley Sisters delivered a masterclass... View oEmbed on the source website Lee Mack, Barry Cryer and Richard Osman got crowds laughing about comedies of past, present and future... View oEmbed on the source website The Archers' Louiza Patikas (Helen) and Timothy Watson (Rob) told the full story of their harrowing abusive relationship storyline... View oEmbed on the source website The Last Leg's Adam Hills joined Paralympic gold medalists Libby Clegg and (big Hiddleston fan) Susie Rodgers for an insightful look how TV can change attitudes to parasports and disability... View oEmbed on the source website Revered Italian producer Walter Iuzzolino talked fans through his new international TV drama service Walter Presents, before previewing Brazilian drama Merciless... View oEmbed on the source website TV celeb chef Tom Kerridge served up his favourite archive gems of cookery shows past... View oEmbed on the source website Aardman fans got a masterclass in making their own Gromit from the animation experts... View oEmbed on the source website Children's author Jacqueline Wilson gave the audience a look at new CBBC show Hetty Feather, based on her books... View oEmbed on the source website Jon Culshaw spoke to Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock in a celebration of The Sky at Night reaching 60-years-old... View oEmbed on the source website And the whole festival was topped off with a special screening of the start of Idris Elba's new series Guerrilla, starring Daniel Mays... View oEmbed on the source website In summary: Thank you for the #TVFest. I had THE best time! @RadioTimes @RTBenPreston @BFI @RadioTimesFest — Rakshita Patel (@MycroftBrolly) April 10, 2017 We'll see you next time!
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat given standing ovation at BFI & Radio Times Television Festival
The departing Doctor Who head writer took an entertaining look back over his career in conversation with Frank Skinner
Steven Moffat received a standing ovation after he was inducted into the Radio Times Hall of Fame at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival on Sunday. The Sherlock co-creator and departing Doctor Who showrunner was in conversation with Who superfan Frank Skinner in a session that covered Moffat’s wide-ranging career, from his start as a screenwriter on ITV children's drama Press Gang via semi-autobiographical sitcoms Coupling and Joking Apart to his more recent successes on two of the biggest dramas on British TV. After an entertaining hour and a quarter of reminiscences, anecdotes and audience questions, Moffat was officially inaugurated into the Radio Times Hall of Fame by the magazine's editor Ben Preston. "He has championed and made television of the highest quality," said Preston, "raised the bar for all broadcasters, brought pleasure to millions. "Sherlock and Doctor Who are two of the biggest shows of the last eight years, not just in Britain but across the world. They are the epitome of quality for British television and Steven is behind them both, and it's with love and respect that we would like to coronate you into the Radio Times Hall of Fame." As Preston presented Moffat with the accolade, the audience spontaneously got to their feet to applaud. Moffat is currently writing this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, after which he will hand over the reigns to Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall. Asked about his future writing plans, he said he had "a few ideas", including one potential project with Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss, but that it would be hard to top his success with Doctor Who and Sherlock. "I'm aware that I've lived through my highlights," said Moffat. "I'm never going to top being the guy who does Doctor Who and Sherlock at the same time – I'm not sure I even want to, it's an amazing thing." Moffat joins Sir David Attenborough and Michael Palin in the Radio Times Hall of Fame. Palin was inducted on Friday, the opening night of the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival.
Call the Midwife named the best drama of the 21st Century
BBC1 period drama is announced as the winner on the final evening of the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival after nearly 25,000 voters took part in the poll
Call The Midwife has been named the best TV drama of the 21st Century at the closing night of the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival in London. The hit BBC1 drama, which had already been named Best Period Drama of the 21st Century by readers of Radio Times, won the final vote on RadioTimes.com from a shortlist of six category winners, including Best Crime Drama, Best US Drama, Best Foreign Language Drama, Best Sci-fi Drama and Best Contemporary Drama. The final received over 23,000 votes, with Call The Midwife beating sci-fi winner, Merlin, in second place, and The Bridge, winner of the Best Foreign Language Drama, into third. Dame Pippa Harris, Call The Midwife executive producer, said, "It's an extraordinary ho‎nour to have topped this poll, and the whole Call the Midwife team are delighted. "It's a tribute not only to the brilliance of our ensemble cast but to the skill and passion of Heidi Thomas's writing and to the range and diversity of stories the series has covered. I'm personally thrilled that a show which takes an unflinching look at the lives of women and is created by and stars so many talented women, should have struck a chord such a large audience" Best Drama of the 21st Century results: 1. Call the Midwife 2. Merlin 3. The Bridge 4. The Night Manager 5. The West Wing 6. Happy Valley Written by Heidi Thomas, the hit BBC1 drama, first broadcast in January 2012, follows the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950 and 60s and was originally based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth. The first series, set in 1957, was broadcast in January 2012 and became an immediate critical and popular success. The sixth series, which was broadcast earlier this year, was set in 1962. Pippa Harris and Heidi Thomas, appeared alongside the programme’s producer Ann Tricklebank and actor Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Patrick Turner, at the BFI & Radio Times Festival on Saturday afternoon.
Lee Mack really, really wants to be Doctor Who
“I’ll do anything,” the actor and comedian tells the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival audience in London
Lee Mack has revealed that he will “do anything” to play Doctor Who – or even to get on the show as an extra. The comedian recently made his West End debut in The Miser, in which he stars alongside Griff Rhys Jones. At a comedy masterclass with Mack and Barry Cryer at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, Richard Osman asked Mack whether he would like to do more acting. “Yeah," replied Mack. "Genuinely my big thing and the reason I’m in The Miser is because I always ask myself one simple question when I'm offered anything: Will it get me nearer to being Doctor Who or further away? "I genuinely do. Because it’s the only show we [my family] all absolutely watch, we don’t watch it on catch up, we watch it on TV. "It’s always been my favourite show and I am on a mission to get on Doctor Who.” View oEmbed on the source website Osman also asked Mack whether he would play a baddie if he couldn’t be the Time Lord. “I’ll be a hand,” said Mack. “A green thing coming on the screen, just to say I’ve been in it. I’ll do anything. If I’m in a play they might go: ‘Oh, he’s an actor, let’s get him in Doctor Who.’ "I think very simplistically.” Lee Mack was speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival alongside Barry Cryer and Richard Osman
Claire Foy reveals why she can't stay on as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown
The actress discusses her reasons for abdicating her crown after just two series
Claire Foy sure knows how to quit when she's ahead. The star of Netflix's The Crown previously announced plans to step down from playing Queen Elizabeth after just two seasons - and it seems she has no regrets whatsoever, calling the short-lived nature of her role a "real plus". Far from being reluctant to abdicate from her Golden Globe-winning Netflix series, Foy and Prince Phillip actor Matt Smith have said they will do two series and no more. Both roles will then be re-cast. Discussing the "substitution" at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, Foy joked, "That's it, I'm on the bench. I'm not even on the bench; I'm just in a different team on my own, unemployed! We're gone, we're gone." But, she added, "That's not a shock; we always knew when we signed up to it, and also not to be funny but it's also a real plus. "As an actor there's nothing worse than the sound of 'seven years'. I'm sure to some people it sounds amazing but to us it's like, seven years of playing the same person? And this is a tough job, you know? It's long, a good nine-monther. And that's a lot of your life that you sign over to it." However, despite her relief at saying goodbye to The Crown, she added: "I'm going to miss it terribly. But I just can't wait to see where it goes, I just can't wait."
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue was nearly made into a TV show – with younger panellists
Barry Cryer reveals that the BBC radio show almost moved to television
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue has been a stalwart of radio comedy since it began airing 45 years ago, but one of its permanent panellists, Barry Cryer, has revealed how "the antidote to panel games" very nearly ended up on television. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, with Lee Mack and Richard Osman, the veteran comic said that the I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue group approached Carlton Television “years ago in secret”. View oEmbed on the source website “The BBC didn’t want to know about us for telly and so we crept to Nottingham," Cryer revealed. "The great Humphrey Lyttelton didn’t want to use autocue – he was reading cards. "They decided they would want to do it on television, but with younger people!" he said. “We told them: ‘Forget it.’” I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue has been on since 1972, Cryer joked: “We’ll do it ’til we get it right.” Barry Cryer was speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival alongside Lee Mack and Richard Osman
Michael Morpurgo children's book Kensuke's Kingdom to be made into animated movie
The story sees a small boy and his dog becoming stranded on an island with an old Japanese soldier
Michael Morpurgo novel Kensuke's Kingdom is set to become an animated movie from the makers of Ethel and Ernest and We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Lupus Films previously brought Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Raymond Briggs' Ethel and Ernest to the small screen, and now they are turning Morpurgo's 1999 award-winning children's book into a feature film. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival in London alongside The Tiger Who Came to Tea author Judith Kerr, Morpurgo revealed: "We are going to make a full-length animated film." The script is by fellow children's author Frank Cottrell-Boyce. But though the movie has been a long time in the making, so far it exists only as a 55-second trailer. The clip reveals a small boy and his dog who fall overboard during their family's round-the-world sailing trip. Stranded on an island in the Pacific, they think they are all alone - but the island is actually the territory of Kensuke, an old Japanese soldier. Author Michael Morpurgo "They've started now, and they took it to a festival in Bordeaux, and now the search is on for the money," War Horse author Morpurgo said. "I think it will be made in about two years' time. The people who are making it are called Lupus Films, who are the people who made that wonderful production of Raymond Briggs' Ethel and Ernest at Christmas. And also the other one, that wonderful Michael Rosen book We're Going on a Bear Hunt. If Michael Rosen can do it, I can do it!" The collaboration between Cottrell-Boyce and Morpurgo dates back to a conversation many years ago, according to Sunday Times children's books editor Nicolette Jones, who was chairing the panel. She explained: "Some years ago I was chairing an event at the Oxford Literary Festival with both Michael and Frank on the platform, and Michael turned to Frank and said, 'Make a film of my Kensuke's Kingdom - go on, make a film of it.' And Frank looked as though he was too busy with something at the time - but I think that was the moment."
Camilla Parker Bowles to appear in The Crown series three
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is set to be introduced in the third instalment of the Netflix drama reveals producer Suzanne Mackie
Netflix drama The Crown is preparing to introduce a major new figure into its tale of the British monarchy: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Producer Suzanne Mackie revealed at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival that creator Peter Morgan has already planned how to introduce Camilla Parker Bowles, bringing Prince Charles's now-wife in to the story as early as series three. "Peter's already talking about the most wonderful things," Mackie told the audience at the BFI in London where she appeared alongside Queen Elizabeth actress Claire Foy and director Philip Martin. "You start meeting Camilla Parker Bowles in season three," she added. "We have to be honest, season three and four are being mapped out." Camilla and Charles first met in the early 1970s, but Camilla went on to marry her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles in July 1973. Prince Charles married Princess Diana on 29 July 1981. However, Camilla and Andrew divorced in 1995; later that year Princess Diana referred to Camilla during her infamous interview with Martin Bashir, saying, "There were three of us in this marriage." On 9 April 2005, almost 30 years after they first met, Charles and Camilla were married in a civil ceremony, with Camilla taking the title HRH Duchess of Cornwall. Martin and Mackie were tight-lipped on details about season two, but they did reveal where the next instalment will begin and end: in 1956 with the Suez Crisis, and in 1963 with the resignation of Prime Minister Howard Macmillan. "It has a different flavour," producer Mackie said. "It feels like the 60s are with us and it has a slight shock of the new." Director Martin added: "The first season happened in a bubble; I think that Elizabeth and Phillip and Margaret are all in a world and everybody is in some ways supportive of them. "And I think in the second season the world comes crashing in." The Crown producer Suzanne Mackie was speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival.
Call the Midwife to introduce new West Indian midwife for series seven
Heidi Thomas says the new regular character will bring a "fresh new energy to life at Nonnatus House"
Call the Midwife will introduce an exciting new member of the Nonnatus House team in series seven: the first West Indian midwife to feature as a regular character in the BBC1 drama. The character, called Lucille, has yet to be cast, although creator Heidi Thomas says introducing a midwife from outside of the UK will bring "a fresh new energy to life at Nonnatus House". "My research is continually bringing up new things. One thing we’re really looking forward to in series seven is my research has made me very aware of the contributions made by West Indian and Caribbean nurses to the NHS in the early 1960s," she explained at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival. "We’ll be introducing our first West Indian young regular midwife to Nonnatus House in series seven," Thomas continued. "She’s going to bring stories with her, and a different cultural point of view, and that’s very exciting." BFI & Radio Times Television Festival – full schedule Like the thalidomide and female genital mutilation storylines of earlier series, Thomas said that choosing to develop the ethnic diversity of Nonnatus House was based on her own historical research of the period. "During my research into nursing in the early 1960's, I was both moved and impressed to learn about the contribution of Caribbean nurses to the National Health Service at that time," she said, adding that new character Lucille will quickly become part of the fabric of the show. "Elegant, funny and clever, Lucille is swift to settle in, and brings a fresh new energy to life at Nonnatus House. Casting is currently underway, and we look forward to introducing Lucille to our ten million fans very soon." Thomas revealed the casting news at a special Call the Midwife panel at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, along with executive producer Pippa Harris, producer Ann Tricklebank and actor Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Patrick Turner (above). Thomas also revealed the name of Dr Turner and his wife Shelagh's son, who was born during the series six finale. His full name is Edward Patrick Turner, but he will be known as 'baby Teddy' when the drama returns for the 2017 Christmas special. Call the Midwife will return to BBC1 for a Christmas special, before series seven kicks off in the new year. Heidi Thomas was speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival.
Carol Vorderman didn’t think Countdown would continue without Richard Whiteley, says Susie Dent
The lexicographer also spoke about how the Countdown team came together after the show's first host passed away
Carol Vorderman didn’t think that Countdown would continue without its original host Richard Whiteley, according to Susie Dent. Speaking at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, the Dictionary Corner stalwart spoke about what happened when she discovered that Whiteley, who presented the programme for 23 years, had passed away. “I remember Carol Vorderman ringing me saying ‘The press are going to be on to you. We’ve just lost our dear Richard.’ and then we just had a good cry,” explained Dent of the moment when she was told the news by the former co-host. She also remembered the whole Countdown team coming together immediately afterwards. “Carol just said ‘I’m going to go up to Leeds, will you come with me?’ and in fact the entire team went up to Leeds. We had nothing to do, nothing to film and we just sat together for two days and just talked. It was our release valve. “But I don’t think at any point we talked about the future of Countdown – it just wasn’t the place. Countdown was so much about Richard…I don’t think Carol thought it was going to carry on if I think about it now. “The beauty of Countdown is the format and even though Richard laid the way for the most fantastic programme, he will always be the king of Countdown, it’s the format that matters.” Dent was also asked by host of the session Richard Madeley whether she was ever sent any rude items in the post, and although she said that she didn’t, she also did reveal that she was once written a letter by a fan signed in blood. “It was a really nice letter… signed in his blood,” she laughed. “I haven’t had knickers thrown at me Tom Jones style – or boxers.” After 25 years on Countdown, she also rebuffed the idea that she would leave at any time soon. “I would love to stay as long as they’ll have me,” she said. “I still get nervous, when the clock goes I still get full of adrenaline.”