Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2026-03-27T16:54:47.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Sally Bretton on Beyond Paradise, Not Going Out and the one thing about Death in Paradise that made her scream
items: The Other Bennet Sister's Ella Bruccoleri on stepping into Austen's world and stepping away from Call the Midwife
items: Classic EastEnders star teases potential future comebacks for Clare Bates as she resurfaces for Nigel’s story: "When he passes it will be so sad"
items: EastEnders' Jake Wood on flash-forward secrets and why Max has his eye on Jasmine
items: Louis Emerick on his Hollyoaks future after Brookside crossover twist
items: Jodie Whittaker on forgiving Suranne Jones, keeping Doctor Who secrets and the role she would have loved to play
items: From Emmerdale vicar to Hollyoaks villain – John Middleton on his surprising soap return
items: Emmerdale's Joe Absolom teases bad boy Ray’s future and mystery link to the village
items: Dexter's Michael C Hall on resurrecting TV's favourite serial killer
items: Emmerdale's Oliver Farnworth teases killer John's future after wedding week nightmare
items: Is this the end for Nicola Mitchell? EastEnders’ Laura Doddington on what’s next after murder bombshell
items: Coronation Street’s Channique Sterling-Brown on Dee-Dee’s fight for justice and if she regrets giving her baby away
items: EastEnders' Natalie Cassidy on Sonia's emotional exit and final mystery twist
items: Hans Zimmer: 'I'm not a composer at all – I just make stuff up!'
items: Neighbours' Rebekah Elmaloglou on 40th anniversary "mayhem" and how she wants Terese's story to end
items: Paddy McGuinness on Tempting Fortune: "It took me back to doing Top Gear"
items: Jack Quaid on Companion: 'Humans usually make the wrong choice with technology'
items: Michelle Yeoh is in her villain era: 'There's a dark side in us all'
items: Andrew Garfield: "I needed to recalibrate, reassess and refill my own cup"
items: Mark Gatiss on Doctor Who, Sherlock and how Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without any ghosts
items: Wallace & Gromit creator on bringing characters back for iconic Christmas Day return
items: Your Monster's Melissa Barrera on trusting her Scream team, 'mortifying' shoots and wanting to become the villain
items: Jimmy Akingbola on Sorry, I Didn't Know: "Black history is everyone’s history"
items: James Norton on bursting into tears reading Joy script and Happy Valley memories
items: EastEnders' Louisa Lytton on Ruby's baby lie and what the future holds for her and Martin
items: Emmerdale's Eden Taylor-Draper on Belle's breakdown and when abusive Tom will get his comeuppance
items: Tanya Reynolds on Timestalker, the "fantastic" Alice Lowe and life after Sex Education
items: Emmerdale's Natalie J Robb on Moira's brain tumour battle and the return of Ross Barton
items: Wolfs' Amy Ryan on comedy-dramas, Pitt and Clooney and working with "insanely funny" Steve Carell
items: Neighbours' Ryan Moloney on Toadie's emotional exit and why the character had to be axed

Sally Bretton on Beyond Paradise, Not Going Out and the one thing about Death in Paradise that made her scream
type: item
date: 2026-03-27T08:00:03.000Z
creator: Jo Berry
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The actress talks exclusively about the new season of Beyond Paradise and why she loves the detective show so much.
encoded: Detective drama Beyond Paradise is back for a fourth outing, continuing the adorable love story between Martha Lloyd and Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman that began on Death in Paradise in 2016. The pair, played by Sally Bretton and Kris Marshall, finally tied the knot in the Christmas 2025 episode, and are now beginning married life together. However, it’s not plain sailing for the newlyweds, as the new season opens with them waking up to discover their houseboat home has drifted away from its moorings and is ominously taking on water. For Bretton, moving the Goodmans off the boat and potentially into a home on dry land was something of a mixed blessing. “I do love the boat, and it is fun, but it’s so hard to film inside it,” she says. “I did like sitting on the deck and doing the scenes there, but it is a bit clustered inside. So it’s bittersweet. “We were also at the mercy of the tides. Sometimes, that beautiful vista outside Anne’s [Martha’s mother] cottage that looks so idyllic would just be mud flats. You’re trying to fit filming in when the water’s high enough, as well as the weather being in the right place and all of that stuff.” Another challenge for the Beyond Paradise cast and crew is the growing popularity of the series has meant that their shooting locations in and around Looe in Cornwall – doubling for the fictional town of Shipton Abbott – are often filled with fans wanting to sneak a look at the cast while they are filming. “Now people know that Shipton Abbott is Looe, and because it is so beautiful, I think there has been an uplift in tourism,” Sally says. “There are more people around, they know what we’re up to, there’s more interest in the show. If Kelby (Dylan Llewellyn) and Humphrey are filming on the beach, then you will get quite a lot of people looking over. “But it’s a warm-hearted, gentle show, and so people just come with that energy. They are often families, and they just want a quick picture and they’ve just seen it on the telly an…

Sally-Bretton-009888d.jpg
width: 2856
height: 1904

The Other Bennet Sister's Ella Bruccoleri on stepping into Austen's world and stepping away from Call the Midwife
type: item
date: 2026-03-15T08:00:10.000Z
creator: Geoffrey Bunting
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The Other Bennet Sister star talks about stepping into a lead role for the first time, discovering Austen late, and moving on from Call the Midwife.
encoded: “I love doing something different every few months.” That makes Mary Bennet, lead in the BBC’s 10-part drama The Other Bennet Sister an interesting move for actress Ella Bruccoleri. Nebbish, bookish, and, at least outwardly, pious, the middle sister of Pride and Prejudice’s Bennet doesn’t have change in her bones. You’d be forgiven for thinking that piety comes naturally to Bruccoleri, who was brought up Roman Catholic but tells Radio Times she’s now agnostic. She’ll be familiar to many as Sister Frances in Call the Midwife, others might have recognised her in a small role as Sister Rosita in Paddington in Peru. Those roles don’t find her because of her upbringing, however. “I just have this kind of nun-like face!” she says. “I maybe find it more difficult to play pious characters than would be expected because I've broken away from [Catholicism], and maybe I feel a bit of guilt because my family is still very Catholic,” she continues. “It would feel easier maybe to play a role that's more cynical of, or being worn down by, organised religion.” Appropriately, Mary Bennet’s relationship with religion is hard to decipher, even as the BBC’s adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name expands her beyond Pride and Prejudice. It grants Mary a complexity lacking in other adaptations but for Bruccoleri, in her first lead role, it was a new experience. “I was filming every day, sometimes six days a week, for four months,” she says. “It tested my stamina in ways that I’d never experienced.” For which, she suggests, Call the Midwife was the perfect training ground. Read more: The Other Bennet Sister star reveals why she left Call the Midwife and talks beloved Pride & Prejudice character Ruth Jones reveals what she told Gavin & Stacey icon Alison Steadman about the beloved Jane Austen role they now share Drama school hadn’t prepared Bruccoleri for interacting with the camera, so she learned on set. The fast-paced production of Call the Midwife – 15 seasons in 15 years …

WEBSITEBIGINTERVIEWELLABRUCCOLERI-3715400.jpg
width: 1600
height: 1067

Classic EastEnders star teases potential future comebacks for Clare Bates as she resurfaces for Nigel’s story: "When he passes it will be so sad"
type: item
date: 2026-03-02T18:58:02.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: EastEnders
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: Interview
subject: News
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The soap icon talks exclusively to Radio Times about growing up on screen and her contribution to two continuing dramas.
encoded: When Nigel Bates returned to EastEnders in 2024 after 26 years, fans with fond memories of the 90s hoped stepdaughter Clare would follow. It may have taken Nigel’s worsening dementia to bring the character back to Walford, but at last the time has come. It’s not just the audience who’ve been waiting for this emotional reunion; Gemma Bissix herself admits that since Paul Bradley rejoined the cast as her fictional father, she’s been poised to reprise the role of Clare, who she first played back in 1993 when she was just nine years old. “I was definitely hoping, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she begins, speaking exclusively to Radio Times. “This time last year, when I went back to Hollyoaks (where she plays devious Clare Devine, more of her later) my agent contacted EastEnders about my potential availability, and they said they’d been thinking about bringing Clare back but much further down the line. I never told anyone in case it didn’t happen.” Thankfully, it has, and at a point in the story that makes Clare’s presence even more heartbreaking. Nigel’s condition has deteriorated to the point where his wife Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn) and best friend Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) can no longer provide the care he needs, meaning he needs to go into a home. Even though confused Nigel has asked to see his daughter, despite years of estrangement, when she appears at his hospital bed he doesn’t even recognise her. “Julie has told Clare over the phone that Nigel is ill, but not how far gone he is,” continues Bissix. “Clare thinks Julie has deliberately kept this from her to be hurtful. Julie is bitter as to why Clare hasn’t been in contact with Nigel, but Clare also feels abandoned as he didn’t reach out to her. “Clare felt pushed out when Nigel married Julie. For many years it was just Clare and Nigel, she lost her mum Debbie at an early age, had no relationship with her biological father Liam who was in prison. Nigel was her stepdad and Clare saw him as her proper da…

WEBSITEBIGINTERVIEWGEMMABISSIX-0b1857e.jpg
width: 1600
height: 1067

EastEnders' Jake Wood on flash-forward secrets and why Max has his eye on Jasmine
type: item
date: 2026-01-20T20:00:27.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: EastEnders
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The actor talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about his 20 years in Walford.
encoded: New Year’s resolutions are always made with the best intentions, but as the months roll by they can be hard to maintain – just ask Max Branning. EastEnders’ tormented lothario vowed to atone for his sins in 2026 and be a better dad, but a flash-forward to January 1st 2027 showed the character embroiled in all manner of chaos. Exactly how Max gets himself into these mysterious multiple scrapes will be explained as we get closer to New Year’s Day. It’s not just fans entering into a year-long guessing game, actor Jake Wood is just as in the dark as to what’s to come for his chaotic character. “There are so many questions and directions they can take it in, it’s almost open-ended,” begins the star, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. “I was surprised when I read the script for the flash-forward and found out what Max was up to – did he really plan to murder someone or has he been framed? Is he the father of that woman’s baby? Who is he marrying? We just don’t know. Max is one of those characters who is almost capable of anything.” The soap has explored similar territory before with ‘The Six’ murder mystery pegged on a single scene set 10 months ahead, but this much-hyped gaze into the crystal ball is the first time EastEnders has devoted an entire episode to a flash-forward, and gone as far into the future. It’s an audacious concept with many logistical challenges, not least of which is the actors having no context as to their motivation, but Wood praises the ambition of the team pulling together to make it work. “Everyone has to be connected and on the same page. Although actors are feeling their way through because we don’t have the specifics, each department has enough information that allows us to tell the story in this way. It’s an incredible thing to be part of.” One of the main talking points was the identity of Max’s anonymous bride. Several potential Mrs Brannings were posited, some of whom Max has romantic history with – Linda Carter and Cindy Beale – and …

WEBSITEBIGINTERVIEWJAKEWOOD-dfab546.jpg
width: 1600
height: 1067

Louis Emerick on his Hollyoaks future after Brookside crossover twist
type: item
date: 2025-10-22T18:30:52.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Hollyoaks
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The actor talks to exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about Mick, Donny and going back to the Close.
encoded: There was more to the much-hyped return to Brookside Close than pure nostalgia, as the special crossover with Hollyoaks for its 30th anniversary revealed an almighty twist that uncovered an epic plot with decades of dramatic backstory. Detective Donny Clark, who arrived in Hollyoaks village 18 months ago to reconnect with long-lost daughter Vicky Grant, has actually been Mick Johnson from Brookside all along. If this audacious development has shocked the audience, imagine how Louis Emerick felt when he was told he’d been playing his most famous role in plain sight, and didn’t have a clue? “I was summoned by our executive producer Hannah Cheers for a meeting, but she wanted to walk and talk in the park, not in her office,” recalls Emerick, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the day he was let in on one of the biggest soap secrets of the year. “It was all quite covert, like a spy film. She pitched the whole thing: the Brookie crossover, the storyline that connected it, and Donny turning out to be Mick. I was waiting for her to say it was an April fool, only this was July! “Before she actually told me, Hannah was going round the houses trying to explain it and seemed to be soft soaping me, to prepare me for what she was about to say. I wondered whether Donny was going to turn gay in his middle age or something unexpected – I was ready for anything! The whole idea was so far out of left field, but I was really excited.” Explanatory dialogue tells us that 20 years ago, in the shared Brookie-Oaks universe, Mick Johnson had an ill-advised affair with gangster Froggy Black’s wife. Vengeful Froggy planned to have Mick murdered, so to protect his family, Mr Johnson faked his death and made a fresh start under the new identity Donny Clark. With Froggy now living in the same village as ‘Donny’ – what are the chances? – the detective’s past has come back to haunt him and his identity has been compromised. This forced a return to Brookside Close to warn daughter Gemma, …

WEBSITEBIGINTERVIEWLOUISEMERICK-b06ec84.jpg
width: 1600
height: 1067

Jodie Whittaker on forgiving Suranne Jones, keeping Doctor Who secrets and the role she would have loved to play
type: item
date: 2025-10-05T06:00:29.000Z
creator: Jo Berry
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: ITV
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: Three years on from Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker swaps the TARDIS for Tenerife in ITV’s darkly comic heist drama Frauds, a tale of friendship, betrayal – and a few bruising fight scenes.
encoded: In the three years since she retired her sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker has tackled serious roles in gritty Australian drama One Night, Jimmy McGovern’s acclaimed prison series Time and the fact-based miniseries Toxic Town. Jodie’s latest role, however, gives her the chance to mix the dark scenes she often plays with funnier ones as she teams up with Suranne Jones to play Sam and Bert, two old friends and former partners in crime who embark on one last money-making heist together in ITV’s Frauds. Co-created by Jones (who plays Bert) and writer Anne-Marie O’Connor, the project appealed to Jodie, 43, because it was so different from anything she had done before. “I think what is amazing about Frauds is having Suranne as one of the creators and she’s telling stories that she doesn’t feel that she’s been a part of before,” Jodie says, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. Filmed in Tenerife (doubling for mainland Spain), the series begins with the pair reconnecting when Bert is released from prison after serving time for a crime they were both involved in. While Sam is pleased to see her friend, she is also wary of their relationship (which Jodie describes as “toxic”), especially when Bert uses devious means to convince her to commit a dangerous robbery. “Sam is such a different kind of role for me to play within this dynamic,” Jodie explains. “It was a wonderful challenge to have that kind of repressed rage that she has, and also there’s such a complicated back story between them, and having the moments where it flashes. It’s like someone trying to contain this, and contain Bert, but also themselves. "I’m used to playing a lot of different types of roles, but I would say that a lot of the time I play people where their emotions are quite quick to the surface, and Sam is the opposite of that.” The role of Sam is also quite physical, with Jodie and Suranne’s characters having a play fight in a bull ring in the first episode that involved Suranne wield…

WEBSITEBIGINTERVIEWJODIEWHITTAKER-2109301.jpg
width: 1600
height: 1067

From Emmerdale vicar to Hollyoaks villain – John Middleton on his surprising soap return
type: item
date: 2025-08-06T10:00:17.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Emmerdale
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Channel 4
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The actor talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about his villainous new role.
encoded: For 21 years, he was affable Ashley Thomas, Emmerdale’s resident vicar who provided guidance and support to his parishioners and was a stable stalwart of the close-knit community. Now, actor John Middleton has swapped the dog collar for a prison tabard to make a surprising return to the world of soap, as Hollyoaks’ newest villain, Fraser 'Froggy' Black. The granddad of devilish Clare Devine, glamorous gangster Grace Black and roguish Rex Gallagher, as well as being the father of feared Fraser Black Junior (RIP), Froggy joins one of Hollyoaks’ most notorious clans and might just be the nastiest of the lot – you couldn’t get any further away from Reverend Thomas if you tried. “It was a great attraction that Froggy is a total contrast to Ashley,” begins Middleton, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com as his first Hollyoaks scenes air. “People have said it would be good to see me in a different light after playing the same role for 21 years, when this opportunity came along my agent and myself were very keen. It’s totally different to anything I’ve done before. “Ashley was the pillar of the community, an upright person, and before him I’d played numerous clerical, medical and professional types. Now I’m a moral degenerate descending on Hollyoaks!” We first meet Froggy in prison, fittingly, where he rules the roost on the same wing where Tom Cunningham is doing time. Froggy is a career criminal who has been inside for decades, and as a visit from estranged granddaughter Clare teases, his relationship with the family is somewhat fractured. “Froggy is top dog, people live in fear of him. At the same time, he is also quite well read and bookish, and runs the prison library! He’s been locked up for 21 years, one imagines he’s done something heinous. “He’s a seriously bad character, but there is a something in his family’s past he feels guilty about – he should’ve intervened but he didn’t. Froggy feels terribly vindictive towards Clare, as it emerges she and her father, Fro…

WEBSITEBIGINTERVIEWJOHNMIDDLETON-6157936.jpg
width: 1600
height: 1067

Emmerdale's Joe Absolom teases bad boy Ray’s future and mystery link to the village
type: item
date: 2025-08-05T06:00:49.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Emmerdale
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The actor talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about returning to soap 25 years after EastEnders.
encoded: The dangerous world of county lines drug dealing has infiltrated the sleepy village of Emmerdale, with newcomer Ray Walters grooming local teenagers into a life of crime. Menacing Ray has been lurking in the shadows for several weeks, but viewers are slowly learning the full extent of his illegal operation and just how nasty he can be. Forcing April Windsor into becoming a drugs mule as she celebrates turning 16 is a pretty clear indication of Ray’s ruthlessness, one of the many unredeeming features that attracted Joe Absolom to the role. “I really liked the concept of coming into the village as a bad guy,” reveals the actor, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. “He’s this Fagin-type presence, a lot of my scenes end with me peeling off wads of cash to various young actors, their eyes light up and I drive off in my sleek car. “It’s creepy. Ray’s business model is to find vulnerable teenagers who are impressed with cash and gifts and attention, all they have to do is take a rucksack somewhere and they’ll get 50 quid.” Ray was introduced as an old mate of Mackenzie Boyd, tapped up to sell Lewis Barton’s hefty consignment of medicinal marijuana. It later transpired one of Ray’s young foot soldiers was homeless teen Dylan Penders. When Dylan returned to the village to pursue his romance with April Windsor, who he met while she was living on the streets, Ray followed – and instantly spied an opportunity. “Ray sees Dylan and April share this romantic kiss in the rain. If he can get Dylan on board as part of his workforce he could get April too, then he can use and manipulate them both. “People like Ray in this county lines world trap kids into what they call ‘debt bondage’, buying them expensive trainers and making them take payment for delivering drugs, then telling them the amount they’ve collected isn’t enough so now they owe him – these vulnerable young people are working to pay off a supposed debt. It’s a very dark situation.” There’s more to Ray than meets the eye…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-75acef5.png
width: 620
height: 413

Dexter's Michael C Hall on resurrecting TV's favourite serial killer
type: item
date: 2025-07-11T18:00:41.000Z
creator: Tilly Pearce
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: On demand
subject: Paramount Plus
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: Hall chats exclusively about 20 years of playing Dexter Morgan, his career to date, and what to expect as the killer returns.
encoded: When it comes to serial killers, Michael C Hall’s Dexter Morgan has had more lives than a cat – and nearly 20 years since we were first introduced to the introspective murderer, he’s still going strong as he returns for Dexter: Resurrection. The slick drama, much like its main character, has had a resurgence in the face of certain death over the past five years. While the original series ending in 2013 was largely panned, 2021’s Dexter: New Blood was considered the finale the show deserved. So big was its success that prequel Dexter: Original Sin aired last year, and the main man himself has had new life breathed into him with Dexter: Resurrection… despite being shot in the chest. Speaking to RadioTimes.com, the irony is not lost on actor Michael C Hall, who laughs as he declares Dexter "a resilient fellow". When we speak, it’s early morning in Mexico City, shortly before the team launched Resurrection’s first trailer at fan event CCXP. Still not entirely awake (and who could blame him), Hall still has the disarming friendliness of his on-screen counterpart. It’s not lost on Hall that Dexter is a character that will be a pinnacle moment in his career. Having first caught public attention in HBO’s director drama Six Feet Under, which ran from 2001 to 2005, he made his debut as the blood spatter analyst and serial killer a year later, in October 2006, this time leading the team rather than being part of the ensemble. Since then, he’s captivated audiences thanks to Dexter’s self-aware inner monologue, told through voice-over as he navigated his own murderous moral code – only killing those that truly deserve to die, and have evaded traditional routes of justice. The series ran for eight seasons. "It would have blown my mind to think that we would do eight seasons," Hall admits. "Let alone return after however many years it was and do another season, let alone be doing it again." Read more: Dexter boss admits sequel Resurrection isn't "necessary" but says it's "welcome"…

1-5ca85ba.png
width: 620
height: 413

Emmerdale's Oliver Farnworth teases killer John's future after wedding week nightmare
type: item
date: 2025-05-23T23:01:26.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Emmerdale
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The actor talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about the accidental killer's past returning to haunt him.
encoded: It’s perfectly natural to have the odd anxiety dream in the run-up to your wedding, but Emmerdale’s John Sugden is imagining a series of next-level nightmare scenarios in which the past rears its head to ruin his and Aaron Dingle’s impending nuptials. Jittery John has a lot on his mind, including covering up an accidental murder, poisoning the village water supply and being responsible for putting his ex-lover in a coma – Oliver Farnworth isn’t surprised his alter ego is having sleepless nights. “John is all about control and is terrified of losing it,” begins the actor, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. “In his waking thoughts he can compartmentalise and rationalise what he’s done, but in his subconscious he is wracked with guilt.” Viewers get a peek into that mercurial mind in a series of stylised dream sequences playing out across the week. Each episode begins with a different nightmare showing how the wedding could go wrong, relating to John’s various misdemeanours. Utmost in his mind is the potential discovery of Nate Robinson’s corpse – accidentally killed by John eight months ago and dumped in the lake, which now needs dredging due an incident with some slurry orchestrated by Mr Sugden to discredit arch rival Mackenzie Boyd. Everyone thinks Nate did a runner to Scotland, so there’s bound to be questions when the corpse is inevitably fished out of the water. “The discovery of Nate’s body is absolutely terrifying,” continues Farnworth. “Obviously there would have to be a criminal investigation, the consequences of which would be huge. John would be disowned by everyone, go to prison, or get in his van and have to move on somewhere else. He could lose everything.” Alongside Nate’s fate is the threat posed by Aidan Moore, John’s former lover and army colleague he claims he tried to save, and who has been in a coma for the last few years. Aidan is now wide awake, which appears to be bad news for John for reasons we’re not yet clear on. “We’re getting fragmen…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-ed101c5.png
width: 620
height: 413

Is this the end for Nicola Mitchell? EastEnders’ Laura Doddington on what’s next after murder bombshell
type: item
date: 2025-05-01T16:28:39.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: EastEnders
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The star speaks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about Walford’s menacing matriarch.
encoded: Blackmail, drug-dealing, assault – now we can officially add murder to Nicola Mitchell’s catalogue of crimes following her confession that she was responsible for the death of her son Harry’s girlfriend. EastEnders’ newest bad girl on the block has been forced to finally come clean to husband Teddy about Shireen’s mysterious fate. Viewers have known her sinister secret for a while, but now the truth is out does this mean Nic’s days are numbered and she’ll be swapping her designer wardrobe for a prison tabard? “I panicked this could be the end for the character,” reveals Laura Doddington, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about her alter ego’s gruesome backstory being dug up – quite literally. “I only found out she was a killer when I got the script for the scene where she talked to Benji about moving the body. Though I wasn’t massively surprised, I always knew Nicola would be a handful, just not to what extent. It was double-edged as I’m enjoying myself and hope to be around a bit longer! But at the same time what a joy to play – so juicy, so complex.” Nasty Nic has made such an enormous impact on EastEnders it’s safe to assume she’s not going anywhere for a while. The exposure of her killer past is just the start of exploring just how far the menacing matriarch will go to keep her family together, as long as she’s calling the shots of course. Now Teddy is aware of what his wife is covering up he’s holding all the cards, meaning Nicola is not completely in control for a change. In the coming weeks, increasingly intense friction and mistrust could tear the clan apart. “There is that fear Teddy could shop her to the police,” observes Doddington. “But it’s also the fear of losing him and that he won’t love her anymore. In her own toxic way, Nicola loves her boys and will do anything to protect them.” In highly-charged scenes that really tested the mettle of Walford’s latest branch of the Mitchell family tree in terms of plot and performance, horrified Harry confro…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-46753e4.png
width: 1085
height: 723

Coronation Street’s Channique Sterling-Brown on Dee-Dee’s fight for justice and if she regrets giving her baby away
type: item
date: 2025-04-18T11:00:28.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Coronation Street
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The star speaks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about what the future holds after her powerful storyline.
encoded: Giving birth for the first time was a far from happy occasion for Coronation Street’s Dee-Dee Bailey, as it turned into a traumatic ordeal ending in emergency surgery that left her unable to carry any more children. The storyline has drawn attention to racial injustice in maternity care, with the strong-willed solicitor so stung by her experience she’s on a crusade for accountability. Confronting hospital staff over negligence and unconscious bias may bring closure for Dee-Dee and highlight a wider issue, but it could also make it harder for the character to move on… “Dee-Dee is very conflicted, she doesn’t know if she’s coming or going,” reveals Channique Sterling-Brown, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about her alter ego’s plight. “She knows she wants some form of change so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Confronting what happened is huge, but pursuing the negligence case is a way of avoiding the different trauma of having the baby adopted, which she has put in a box and is definitely not dealing with. “She has spent the last year sacrificing so much for the people around her, and has ended up butchered and lonely. Trying to fix what happened to her in hospital means she doesn’t have to think about the pain of giving baby Laila away.” Dee-Dee’s distressing childbirth last month saw her concerns of being in pain in the lead-up to her due date dismissed, only to later be diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia and rushed in for an emergency delivery. After suffering a huge haemorrhage, surgeons had to perform a hysterectomy in order to save her life. Feeling mistakes were made that were avoidable, and linked to her ethnicity, Dee-Dee launched an official complaint of gross negligence. In powerful scenes on Friday 18 April, she finally confronted Zoe, the midwife on duty at the time, about the treatment she received. “I think there is a sense of closure for Dee-Dee after that,” Sterling-Brown reflects. “It doesn’t necessarily make it right or that the story is…

Big-RT-Web-Article-82d4bd2.png
width: 1395
height: 929

EastEnders' Natalie Cassidy on Sonia's emotional exit and final mystery twist
type: item
date: 2025-04-12T06:00:37.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: EastEnders
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The soap legend talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about growing up in Walford.
encoded: It’s already been a year of emotional exits in EastEnders, and we’re about to get another one as Sonia Fowler prepares to depart Walford for good, or at least for now. Natalie Cassidy is leaving the role she has played on and off for 32 years and her beloved alter ego is getting the full soap send-off treatment: heartbreaking decisions that shape the future, tearful farewells, nods to the past, and one final, game-changing bombshell that no one will see coming, as the star reveals in our exclusive interview… “Albert Square is no longer Sonia’s happy place,” she begins. “Bianca doing the true crime podcast about Sonia’s relationship with Reiss really angered her. She’s hurt and frustrated, and the thought of people knowing her business and hanging around outside her front door taking pictures makes her feel unsafe. “There are ghosts around every corner. She’s lost Martin, who meant so much, the dream of being a happy family unit with Reiss and the baby obviously hasn’t happened. She’s also vulnerable after just having a baby. The idea of a fresh start away from Walford becomes appealing to her.” The gruesome story of evil Reiss, who murdered his comatose wife and framed Sonia for it, has made the Square stalwart something of a celebrity. True crime fans are flocking to see where the late villain lived, it’s no wonder Son feels driven out of her own home. But it’s not just obsessed fans wanting to catch a glimpse of the woman engaged to the killer, someone else is lurking in the shadows desperate to speak to Sonia. The identity of the mystery man is under wraps for now, but Cassidy hints he plays an important part in her soap swan song. “This is a real shock for the viewers,” she teases. “Someone we’ve never seen before comes out of the woodwork which is a surprise for Sonia, Bianca and a few other characters. Sometimes in life you wonder, ‘why has the universe brought me that person at this moment?’ That’s where Sonia is. Maybe their arrival is a sign as to what to d…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-59de62f.png
width: 620
height: 413

Hans Zimmer: 'I'm not a composer at all – I just make stuff up!'
type: item
date: 2025-03-18T19:00:54.000Z
creator: Patrick Cremona
subject: Movies
subject: The Big RT Interview
subject: Video
description: The German musician speaks to RadioTimes.com about his new concert film, whether he'll reunite with Christopher Nolan and the joy of working on Dune.
encoded: Over the last four decades, few – if any – people have contributed more to the world of film music than Hans Zimmer. The German has won two Oscars (from 12 nominations), worked with many of cinema's finest directors including Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, and provided scores for everything from Thelma & Louise and The Lion King to Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean. It's certainly not a bad CV. Given that wealth of iconic music, it's no surprise that Zimmer's live tours – which he has been taking on the road alongside a band and orchestra since 2016 – have proven a major success. And now, that tour is set to become more accessible than ever thanks to a new film that brings one of his grand shows to cinema screens, alongside interviews with a number of key collaborators including Nolan, Villeneuve, Billie Eilish, Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr. Filmed over several nights at various locations in Dubai – "just around the corner" from where Villeneuve was shooting Dune – the film includes performances of a number of his most celebrated works. And speaking exclusively to RadioTimes,com, the composer reveals why now was the right time to get the show on film. "I felt that the band was about as good as they would ever get during this show, and I wanted to capture that for posterity," he explains. "[And] the other thing I thought was that we [have to] drag our show around, in 15 articulated lorries and 13 buses, so we can't go everywhere, but the film could go everywhere. "We are very expensive as a live show for tickets, but I think cinema tickets can be cheaper – so people could see it." View oEmbed on the source website As is revealed in a conversation with Marr towards the beginning of the documentary, Zimmer has done something of a 180 regarding live shows over the years. Where once he was a man resistant to the idea of life on the road, he is now someone who enjoys nothing more than the thrill of these live performances. This view changed pretty early…

Hans-Zimmer-Big-RT-4e6903a.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Neighbours' Rebekah Elmaloglou on 40th anniversary "mayhem" and how she wants Terese's story to end
type: item
date: 2025-03-18T14:33:48.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Neighbours
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Amazon Prime Video
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The star speaks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about the bittersweet celebrations for the Aussie soap.
encoded: Celebrations for Neighbours’ 40th anniversary risked being somewhat marred by news of the Australian soap being axed – again. Last month, Amazon announced it would not be renewing the show it saved from the grave in 2022 when 5 pulled the plug. The Amazon era means Neighbours has at least lived to see its ruby jubilee before it ends in December, but with storylines planned months in advance, before the imminent axing, the soap had already lined up a spectacular week of drama to mark the milestone for fans to enjoy including a fire, a wedding, and the bombshell that original character Paul Robinson had fathered yet another secret love child, jeopardising his relationship with soul mate Terese Willis… "That pesky baby!" laughs Rebekah Elmaloglou, aka Terese, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about all things Erinsborough. "Paul’s ex Chelsea shows up with this child almost a year after she left town, which causes absolute mayhem. Is Terese threatened? Absolutely. She doesn’t like Chelsea one bit." As soap tradition dictates, there is a question mark over the baby boy’s paternity. During her relationship with Paul, gold-digging minx Chelsea seduced computer nerd Jeffrey Swain behind her lover’s back to shut down a blackmail plot her over her secret scheming. Eventually, a DNA test confirms Paul is the daddy, which Elmaloglou reveals makes Terese even more uptight and angry than usual (if that’s possible). "It’s a crazy situation. Terese gets very territorial as Chelsea causes havoc for her and Paul. Chelsea wheedles her way back into Paul’s life by using the baby, Terese can see straight through that woman!" It’s the latest of numerous bumps in the road for Erinsborough power couple Terese and Paul, who have been on and off pretty much since Elmaloglou’s alter ego arrived in 2013. Terese came in as part of a new branch of the beloved Willis clan, whose history on Ramsay Street dates back to the early 1990s. Even though Terese was married to Brad, there was always a…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-1-ed6ab69.jpg
width: 1085
height: 723

Paddy McGuinness on Tempting Fortune: "It took me back to doing Top Gear"
type: item
date: 2025-03-16T09:00:11.000Z
creator: Katelyn Mensah
subject: Entertainment
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
subject: Channel 4
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: McGuinness is back hosting a new season of the Channel 4 reality series.
encoded: Paddy McGuinness is dusting off his hosting shoes for a brand new season of Tempting Fortune. After a successful first season, viewers can prepare themselves for yet another filled with dramatic twists and turns, conflict and, of course, a whole lot of temptation. It's in the name, after all. This time, the series has moved from South Africa and is set in Langkawi in Malaysia, as 12 strangers give up all of their luxuries in the ultimate test of willpower. As they take on a gruelling 18-day trek, they are faced with temptation after temptation that knocks off money from the whopping £300,000 cash prize. So, where does Paddy McGuinness come into all of this? As host, McGuinness guides the contestants along each checkpoint, offering a major temptation along the way. "I'd try to be a team player as much as I can but I think in somewhere like Langkawi, you're just uncomfortable," McGuinness tells RadioTimes.com. "There's one temptation where there's a full swimming pool, cool water refreshments, fruit, cold drinks. "That'd be another one where I think after a couple of days of trekking through the jungle, it would be very tempting to go skinny dipping in that." It's been almost two years since Tempting Fortune was first on Channel 4, with just six episodes filled with with secrecy, backstabbing and betrayal, and with it being so highly lauded, viewers will be keen to see if season 2 matches up. "We went to a different part of the world this time," McGuinness explained. "The first series was in South Africa, which brought its own challenges for the people taking part. And rather than the next lot of people sort of thinking they know what to expect, it's totally flipped it on its head and filmed in Langkawi. "So it was a different set of difficulties and things for them to adapt to there, as well. So I think after the first series went on and everyone really got on board, especially on social media, talking about the different people and what they'd do if they're in that …

paddy-mcguinness-big-rt-interview-9dec8e0.png
width: 620
height: 413

Jack Quaid on Companion: 'Humans usually make the wrong choice with technology'
type: item
date: 2025-01-31T10:00:59.000Z
creator: Adam Davidson
subject: Movies
subject: The Big RT Interview
subject: Video
description: Quaid discusses his new movie Companion, playing a villain and his public service announcement to Billy Joel.
encoded: With Valentine’s Day around the corner, you might want to think twice about taking your loved ones to see the dark and twisted love story Companion. From the mind of Drew Hancock, the film centres around a couple, Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid), as their seemingly perfect weekend turns bloody and violent when life-changing secrets are revealed. Quaid was instantly drawn to the project, explaining in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com that became "obsessed" with the script and was excited about the opportunity of portraying the antagonist, Josh. "It’s one of the best scripts that I have ever read. It really set a new bar for me in terms of what a good script means," he said. "I read it and I became obsessed with the story. If I want to be a part of something, a good bar for me is, would I be a fan of this if I wasn’t involved? This was true for The Boys and it’s definitely true for [Companion]." Throughout his career, Quaid has proven himself as a versatile actor who can play anyone from nice guys like Hughie Campbell in The Boys and Brad Boimler in Star Trek: Lower Decks to twisted characters such as Richie Kirsch in Scream. The actor showcases both qualities with his performance in Companion, as the "ideal boyfriend" turns villainous and deceptive. "Josh is complicated," he said. "When you play a villain of any kind, you don’t want to be moustache-twirly in any way, you want to make sure he feels like a real person. "From his perspective, everything is going wrong, and he views himself as a romantic, but he’s delusional. It was really cool to step into the role of a villain who really believes that they are the hero of their own story." He added that the ideal preparation for the character was to watch a lot of John Cusack movies from the '80s, because "that’s who I think Josh thinks he is". "[He's] definitely one of the most insecure characters that I’ve played in my whole life," he continued. The movie is a sci-fi thriller set in a near futu…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-4021240.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Michelle Yeoh is in her villain era: 'There's a dark side in us all'
type: item
date: 2025-01-22T17:00:08.000Z
creator: Louise Griffin
subject: Movies
subject: Sci-fi
subject: Paramount Plus
subject: Star Trek (franchise)
subject: The Big RT Interview
subject: Video
description: The Oscar winner is taking on a run of "deliciously wicked" roles - and she's relishing it.
encoded: "Thank you, Jon M Chu - every time you think of someone wicked, you think of Michelle Yeoh!" As she reflects on her recent run of "deliciously wicked" roles, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh jokes about being in her villain era following her highly acclaimed outing as Madame Morrible in the film adaptation of Wicked. While her career was thriving well before her Best Actress gong in 2023, ever since she's been unstoppable. Recently, that's culminated in a series of gloriously villainous roles, with her return to Star Trek as Philippa Georgiou being perhaps the most long-awaited of them all. Following on from Star Trek: Discovery, Paramount Plus's new film Section 31 follows Yeoh's Emperor Georgiou as she teams up with a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets. But can she be trusted? Clearly, Yeoh had an absolute blast returning to the character, glamming up in red carpet-worthy costumes, dripping with diamonds and sarcasm alike, and giving looks that could (and sometimes do) kill in the action-packed romp. Somehow, despite her chilling backstory, Philippa Georgiou is a villain you just can't hate, and that's all down to the complexity that Yeoh brings to her villains and anti-heroes. "I think that's why it's interesting and important to have those kind of roles, because you can't just always be the good guy," Yeoh points out. "What is good and bad? There can't be light without darkness. It can't be just one tone. So, as a storyteller, as an actor, it's very important to be able to explore that side of it - just don't go into method acting with those kind of characters! "It shines a light on the complexities of these people. It doesn't mean that you have to be those people, you can recognise that's the kind of path they have chosen, and you have a choice as someone that watches the movies. I hope it opens your eyes and inspires you to be mindful of how you can be sucked into that dark side." She adds of Georgiou: "There's alway…

Copy-of-Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-162f187.png
width: 620
height: 413

Andrew Garfield: "I needed to recalibrate, reassess and refill my own cup"
type: item
date: 2025-01-01T09:00:17.000Z
creator: James Mottram
subject: Movies
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: Garfield chats exclusively to RadioTimes.com about his role in We Live in Time and why he needed to take a short career break.
encoded: Andrew Garfield is on what you might call a restorative journey. When we meet on a balmy afternoon, the Hollywood actor is attending the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Yesterday, he was on the red carpet posing with Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor, whom he’d just met at the festival, and he seems overwhelmed by this historical Middle Eastern city. “It’s a very magical place,” he says. “We were having dinner under the stars last night on a rooftop in the old town. I feel very welcomed here.” Shortly before that, Garfield was in North Africa, serving on the jury of the Marrakesh International Film Festival in Morocco. “I was watching two films every day with these amazing filmmakers as part of the jury,” he explains. Among them, Challengers director Luca Guadagnino, who served as jury president; Ali Abbasi, the Iranian filmmaker behind recent Donald Trump film The Apprentice; and India’s Zoya Akhtar. “That was really inspiring, and a reminder of how many stories there are to be told.” Garfield, 41, is back himself with a story to tell, the heartbreaking romantic drama We Live in Time. He plays Tobias, a divorcee who falls for a chef, Almut, played by Florence Pugh. “It’s a story about loss,” says Garfield, “It’s a story about the cost of loving someone and the courage to move towards a life of fullness and meaning, even if it’s a simple life, and it’s a very beautiful love story between two very simple, ordinary people. It feels like a very universal love story for everyone.” The film comes directed by John Crowley, who previously collaborated with Garfield on Boy A, the harrowing 2007 drama that saw the actor claim a television BAFTA for his role as a troubled youngster sent to prison for a violent crime. The two projects couldn’t be more different; Boy A is stark and jarring; We Live in Time is warm and heartfelt. Ever since it received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s been gaining fans in love with its…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-1-36caeda.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Mark Gatiss on Doctor Who, Sherlock and how Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without any ghosts
type: item
date: 2024-12-24T08:00:28.000Z
creator: Louise Griffin
subject: Fantasy
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: BBC Two
subject: The Big RT Interview
subject: Video
description: The iconic writer and actor chats all things spooky and festive as A Ghost Story for Christmas returns.
encoded: For Mark Gatiss, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without any ghosts. It's no secret that the British writer and actor, known for his work on Doctor Who, Sherlock, Wolf Hall and more, knows that the festive season is also the best time for just a touch of spookiness and sadness - which is why he was the perfect man to resurrect the BBC's Ghost Story for Christmas, TV adaptations of iconic short stories which first began airing in the 1970s. This year, for his seventh Ghost Story, he's adapting E Nesbit's Man-Size in Marble for the tale Woman of Stone, which is airing on BBC Two on Christmas Eve. But keeping the supernatural tradition alive hasn't been easy. "The first [Ghost Story] came about because the BBC asked to do a documentary about MR James, and it was the busiest year I've ever had," Gatiss exclusively tells RadioTimes.com. "I wrote two episodes of Doctor Who and An Adventure in Space and Time and I was doing a play. It was crazy. I said there's nothing I'd like more but I haven't got the time, and they kept asking. Eventually, I said I'll do it on one condition, which is that I can make an adaptation of one of his stories. "We actually siphoned as much money away from the documentary as possible to the drama, and it's extraordinary. We had a whole week to do it, we had a steam train, we shot it in Manchester. It was a big success, and I obviously wanted to carry on." However, he adds: "The problem is the half-hour play slot doesn't really exist anymore. It is a '70s slot. It's gone. So trying to get the money to do a half-hour of non-anthology television is very hard. "I kept asking and persisting, and eventually Cassian Harrison, who was controller of BBC Four, said, 'Can you do it for X amount?' I won't say how much it was, because it wasn't very much. "The Dead Room [was done] in three days with a cast of three in 2018, and it's kind of been reestablished since then, apart from Covid. It's been a very interesting journey, to keep that tradition alive and…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-18cb59c.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Wallace & Gromit creator on bringing characters back for iconic Christmas Day return
type: item
date: 2024-12-16T00:01:35.000Z
creator: Katelyn Mensah
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: BBC One
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: "It's an iconic place to be with our characters."
encoded: Wallace and Gromit are back for another exciting adventure this Christmas Day, and for longtime fans of the best friend duo, they'll be pleased to know one of the most revered villains is making a comeback too. In Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the pair are faced with an enemy they haven't come across in years... Feathers McGraw. Fans across the nation rejoiced when it was announced Feathers would be coming back, and he's on a mission, with a vengeance - you guessed it - most foul. RadioTimes.com sits down with creator Nick Park and director Merlin Crossingham to discuss all things about the wacky inventor and his best pal. "They've never gone away for us," says Nick Park, who first introduced the world to Wallace & Gromit back in 1989 in A Grand Day Out. "We've just been away from the bigger screen for quite a while. The key thing is we're always waiting for a bigger format, we're always waiting for that idea that really lands and really grabs you by the scruff of the neck and demands to be made." And that was certainly the case when it came to Vengeance Most Fowl. Fans last saw Wallace and Gromit back in 2008 in A Matter of Loaf and Death, but as for Feathers, he hasn't been sniffing around since 1993 in The Wrong Trousers. So why, after 30 years, is now the right time to bring back Feathers? Initially, the new Wallace & Gromit adventure was pitched as a 30-minute story in which Wallace "just invented a smart gnome and all the antics that would follow", but Park felt something was "lacking". He told RadioTimes.com: "It was lacking in terms of it needed some sense of menace, it needed real motivation, and there was Feathers on the shelf with his beady eyes - the perfect gift. That's what the story needed." Vengeance Most Fowl sees Gromit's concerns grow as Wallace becomes overdependent on his inventions, and while it seems that Gromit may be slightly overthinking, his worries are soon justified when Wallace invents a smart gnome that develops an evil mind o…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-1-c789221.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Your Monster's Melissa Barrera on trusting her Scream team, 'mortifying' shoots and wanting to become the villain
type: item
date: 2024-11-29T11:30:11.000Z
creator: George White
subject: Movies
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: "I would love to be an epic Disney villain type. Just iconic. Just evil."
encoded: She's been stabbed by Ghostface, haunted by a dead serial killer, attacked by a vampire ballerina - but what really scares Melissa Barrera, star of new horror/romcom (horromcom?) Your Monster, is something far more relatable: meeting new people. After collaborating with the directing duo collectively known as Radio Silence, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, for several years on two Scream movies and this year’s Abigail, the 34-year-old has got used to being rather comfortable both in front of and behind the camera. And Barrera, who is quickly becoming a major player in the horror game through those Radio Silence films and now Your Monster, admits that stepping outside of that comfort zone on new projects is pretty daunting. While few of us have stared down sharp knives, teeth or claws, most can at least relate to that. "It's always scary [to enter a new set]. I've been working with the same people for the last three years, basically with the same group of people. "And now I'm shooting this show in Toronto for Peacock, and I realised when I got there, I was like, 'Oh, I don't know anybody.' And I immediately got mortified, because I'm so not used to that anymore. "I'm used to showing up and knowing everybody, and so it was like, wow. I mean, it's fun, because you get to know different people and get to make different relationships. But it's scary, you know, because you never know if you're going to get along well or work well together. "It's a coin toss. And you hope that you do and then everything flows, but you never really know." View oEmbed on the source website Luckily for Barrera, that coin toss worked out well with Your Monster, a passion project of writer-director Caroline Lindy, which sees main character Lucy develop a somewhat unorthodox relationship with the monster in her wardrobe (Tommy Dewey), all while recovering from cancer and trying to break through on Broadway. Hefty stuff. Befitting of such a wild concept, the fun new film blends elements o…

Melissa-Barrera-Big-RT-a37563e.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Jimmy Akingbola on Sorry, I Didn't Know: "Black history is everyone’s history"
type: item
date: 2024-11-24T09:00:53.000Z
creator: Katelyn Mensah
subject: Entertainment
subject: TV
subject: ITV
subject: ITVX
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: "We've only just scratched the surface."
encoded: Sorry, I Didn't Know has broken barriers and made history like no quiz show has done before. The series, which first launched in 2020, has become ITV's longest-running show from a production company led by black creatives, with Jimmy Akingbola at the helm as host. Launching off the back of the Black Lives Matter protests four years ago, the series has gone from strength to strength, taking the comedians taking part and audiences tuning in on an eye-opening tour of Black history. But it's important to know, this show isn't simply a "Black show", with host Jimmy Akingbola wanting it to be clear that it should be seen "as a show on its own". In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Akingbola explained further: "This is a comedic entertainment show about history and Black history, but it's watched by everyone. "We feel very proud and yet we also feel we've only just scratched the surface. There are so many more heroes, inventors, iconic legends that are being treated as hidden figures and we want to dismiss that." The new season features an an array of guest panellists that many will know and love from their illustrious careers, whether it be in television or through their comedy work and beyond. Just some of the panellists this season include Adjoa Andoh, Nina Wadia, Munya Chawawa and Richard Blackwood to name a few, with Akingbola beaming with pride over the talent who step through the studio doors. "I say we have the new school but there's also a lot of talent that have been in the business for many years that should have their own shows," he explained. "I'm talking [about] people like Eddie Nestor, Curtis Walker, Adjoa Andoh." Akingbola makes the interesting point that if Netflix weren't around, would Andoh "be getting her flowers in the UK" as she should have been prior to joining the cast of Bridgerton? He continued: "I feel like our show is definitely banging the drum loud in this area, about honouring and trying to trip the dial. We've always as a producti…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-1-9eafda2.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

James Norton on bursting into tears reading Joy script and Happy Valley memories
type: item
date: 2024-11-22T12:00:14.000Z
creator: Patrick Cremona
subject: Movies
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The versatile actor plays eccentric scientist Robert Edwards in the new Netflix film about the invention of IVF.
encoded: You know you're dealing with a versatile actor when they appear equally at home playing one of the most chilling TV villains of the last decade and starring as an eccentric real-life visionary responsible for one of the most meaningful scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. And versatile is certainly a word that applies to James Norton. A year and a half after his performance as Tommy Lee Royce in the final season of Happy Valley terrified and captivated the nation – and with an acclaimed theatre turn in the devastating A Little Life and key role in Bob Marley biopic One Love in between – he's now starring in Joy, a Netflix original movie penned by Jack Thorne and Rachel Mason. Norton plays Robert Edwards, one of three scientists who teamed up in the 1960s and '70s to invent the process of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), in the face of much opposition from the press, Church and even other scientists. Thorne and Mason – and director Ben Taylor – are themselves beneficiaries of the vital work that Edwards, Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy) and Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie) achieved, so it's a film incredibly dear to those who made it. And speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Norton reveals he was so moved by the script that he delayed a summer holiday to star in it. "It was sort of early in a summer where I was coming off the back of a job, and it was a long and very, very stressful play," he explains. Everyone he spoke with had told him he was clearly in need of a break, but as soon as the script landed on his desk, he knew the "delicious" combination of writers, director and cast mates was going to be too good to turn down, even if he admits to a couple of early doubts regarding just how entertaining the story might be on screen. "I read the tagline, I think, 'This is about these scientists who discovered IVF... it's got to be pretty boring.' Like, how are you going to find a drama in that? There's no conflict, there's no kind of antagonist," he says. "[Then] ob…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-8fe56a7.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

EastEnders' Louisa Lytton on Ruby's baby lie and what the future holds for her and Martin
type: item
date: 2024-11-20T07:00:44.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: EastEnders
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The star talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about her 20 year history in Walford.
encoded: Deceit and manipulation come easily to a character like Ruby Allen, the daughter of a ruthless gangster who’s developed a steely survival instinct having had to fend for herself for most of her life. But lying to her ex-husband that she put the baby he never knew they had up for adoption, when in actual fact the little boy is fighting for his life in hospital, is next level even for the merciless Ms Allen. As Ruby’s return to EastEnders after a three year-absence continues to deliver a deluge of twists, what does actress Louisa Lytton make of her alter ego’s dishonesty? "There were probably loads of reasons in Ruby’s head as to why she lied to Martin," she considers, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about reprising the role she first played almost 20 years ago. "She didn’t even tell him she gave birth, which is obviously not the right thing to do – unless you live in a soap! Ruby spent her whole life pretty much on her own after losing her mum, her sister and her dad at a young age. All of her relationships have failed. She ended up pregnant and isolated in prison, and having a child has become her sole purpose. "Reintroducing Martin into her life could’ve upset her own applecart. Being a mum is what she’s wanted all along but Martin didn’t believe her when she told him about the pregnancy when she got sent to jail three years ago. He forgot about her so she feels totally within her right to move forward without him." As for pretending Mr Fowler’s long-lost offspring had been given away, Lytton defends that particular fib and insists it wasn’t as calculated as it seems. "That was quite an off-the-cuff decision, I don’t think she planned to say it. Ruby wasn’t even planning on seeing Martin at all, she only came to Walford to find the birth certificate that Sharon and Phil had stolen as proof her child existed. Faced with all these questions she came up with the adoption lie so she can get back to her son. "Now we know he’s seriously ill in hospital, Ruby lied …

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-947f851.png
width: 620
height: 413

Emmerdale's Eden Taylor-Draper on Belle's breakdown and when abusive Tom will get his comeuppance
type: item
date: 2024-10-22T11:32:32.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Emmerdale
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The star talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about her two decades in the Dales.
encoded: This article contains discussion of domestic abuse, including coercive control, that some readers may find upsetting. As if she wasn’t already having a tough year, the loss of her beloved father pushes beleaguered Belle King over the edge this week, into another psychological breakdown. It’s no wonder the Emmerdale favourite is struggling with her ongoing mental health issues, considering the ordeal she’s suffered at the hands of her abusive husband, Tom. After months of coercive control, sinister gas-lighting and physical aggression, Belle has finally escaped her miserable marriage. Sadly, as Eden Taylor-Draper tells us, that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of her alter ego’s problems. "Everything she’s going through with Tom is hard enough, but Zak was such a big part of her life," says the star, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. "Also, she thought she’d kept her abuse private from her dad, [so] when she finds out he knew about it, that’s what really tips her into the breakdown. Her hallucinations and voices are all centred on Zak, she wants to get to him and find some comfort. "A similar situation happened when her mum Lisa passed away, so Zak’s death is really triggering for her, and is what ends up making her spiral. Moments like losing a parent can shape you forever." There are traumatic scenes in store as the full extent of Belle’s breakdown becomes heartbreakingly apparent to her family. As vulnerable Belle reaches rock bottom, and Taylor-Draper continues to deliver the performance of a lifetime, the close-knit Dingle clan realise this is a problem they can’t solve among themselves. The saga of Tom’s creepy coercion has been a slow burn for the soap, building from a cute courtship and fairy tale wedding before evolving into micro-manipulations and full-blown violence. It’s one of Emmerdale’s most engaging and talked-about stories in recent memory. "Everyone here wanted to get this story right," Taylor-Draper continues. "From the reaction we’ve had, an…

Copy-of-Big-RT-Web-Article-2-a4b2df4.png
width: 620
height: 413

Tanya Reynolds on Timestalker, the "fantastic" Alice Lowe and life after Sex Education
type: item
date: 2024-10-12T17:52:08.000Z
creator: Jess Bacon
subject: Movies
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: "Just the mention of Alice's name, I was like, 'I'll do anything she tells me to.' I am such a big fan of hers."
encoded: There’s no doubt among anyone who watched Sex Education that Tanya Reynolds has a natural magic about her. Starting out in series such as Delicious, Outlander and Death in Paradise, Reynolds has played some of the quirkiest, sweetest characters around, which is true of her latest role, too, in Alice Lowe’s dazzlingly delightful romcom Timestalker. Its quality speaks for itself, as Reynolds didn’t even read a line of the script before signing up for the role of Meg. Instead, she was instantly sold on the project as it had Lowe’s name attached to it as the director, writer and lead actor too. "My agent emailed me and said that Alice Lowe had sent me a letter along with the script asking me to do it," she explains, "and honestly, just the mention of Alice's name, I was like, 'I'll do anything she tells me to.' I am such a big fan of hers. "I think she's brilliant. I have so much faith in her as a filmmaker. Then I read the script and within, I don't know, four pages, I was just like, 'This is great,' and it just got better and better." The film follows Lowe as Agnes, an "incurable romantic", as she stalks her crush Alex (Aneurin Barnard) through time from Scotland in the 1600s up until New York in the 1980s. Every century, she’s reincarnated as a slightly more deluded version of herself, with her friends in tow, before her own stalker, George (Nick Frost), murders her in every lifetime. View oEmbed on the source website And so, the toxic cycle repeats itself, where everyone is in love with the wrong person and pursuing them to an unhealthy end, that is until Agnes changes the narrative… or so she thinks. At the centre of this pink-pastel dark comedy, underneath the beheadings and meta analogy of an artist’s obsession with their own art, is sweet Meg ("I love Meg, bless her"), a heartbreakingly loyal companion to Agnes who gradually evolves from a stranger to a maid to her best friend in each reincarnation. Speaking about the various iterations of Meg, Reynolds said: "I…

Tanya-Reynolds-Big-RT-66ad755.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Emmerdale's Natalie J Robb on Moira's brain tumour battle and the return of Ross Barton
type: item
date: 2024-09-30T06:00:30.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Emmerdale
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The star talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about the dramatic future ahead.
encoded: She’s survived devastating grief, endless dramas, numerous burning barns and marriage to Cain Dingle – now Emmerdale’s Moira Dingle is facing her greatest challenge yet after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The fierce farmer is one of the strongest women in soap, and has literally killed to protect her loved ones. For a character we thought had done it all, this storyline is a genuine curveball – and is giving Natalie J Robb a chance to show sides of her tough-talking alter ego that have never been explored. "Moira is scared," begins the actress, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. "You start to see a vulnerability and a fear she is losing her identity. Everyone is worried about her and she feels quite smothered, but she’s just in denial. This is the start of a long journey for Moira, and the family." The creeping sense all was not well with the matriarch of Butler’s farm has built over a number of weeks, as Moira’s behaviour became progressively strange. Sudden, angry outbursts, forgetfulness and paranoia led to an initial assumption of what was happening, which ultimately revealed something more sinister. "A lot of the symptoms mirror menopause, and in real life a lot of women don’t get diagnosed until later because of that," explains Robb. "She was in a daze, as if she was in a daydream, and had no idea she was actually having what’s called absence seizures, where you zone out." The symptoms worsened to the point where Moira began convulsing, and was finally diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumour called a meningioma. Now Mrs Dingle is wrestling with the difficult decision as to whether to have surgery to remove the tumour, or manage it in different ways. Either way carries an element of risk, heightening the emotional stakes as the family attempt to come to terms with the bombshell. "The comments on social media have been overwhelming," shares Robb. "People have who’ve had the surgery or are waiting for it, or had loved ones go through this and lose…

moira-4e37fb0.png
width: 620
height: 413

Wolfs' Amy Ryan on comedy-dramas, Pitt and Clooney and working with "insanely funny" Steve Carell
type: item
date: 2024-09-27T10:00:24.000Z
creator: George White
subject: Movies
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: Ryan stars in Jon Watts's first film post-Marvel Cinematic Universe – alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
encoded: What gets you out of bed in the morning? The thought of that first overpriced coffee of the day? The chance to catch up with friends? The buzz you get from a nice sunrise jog? (Yeah, me neither.) Well, for Amy Ryan, it’s work. Well, the right work, at least. "I feel like, 32 years in, when that alarm clock goes off at 5:30 in the morning to go to a job, one of the first criteria for me is that it has to be fun." Luckily for the New Yorker, fun is the name of the game in Jon Watts's first post-Marvel big-screen outing, Wolfs, which follows Hollywood up-and-comers George Clooney and Brad Pitt as a couple of 'fixers' who take on a crime that's slightly more complex than they anticipated. Sure, Ryan's role in the movie, as a powerful politician who calls for help when her sexual conquest ends up seemingly dead in her hotel room, may not seem "fun" on the surface. But even among the drama, Pitt, Clooney and Ryan find comedic beats from the moment they share the screen together - and that chemistry came easy for the trio. "They have such a beautiful rhythm," Ryan says of the movie's A-list odd couple. "You can't deny that friendship that's there, that history. "And they leave room for each other. It doesn't feel – even though their characters are competitive – the two actors on set don't appear to be competitive, you know, trying to win the scene from one another. "Maybe they were, and I just didn't see it... But, you know, there was support for each other, which extended to me too. It very much felt like [we were] a trio in that scene." While only present in the opening stages of the movie, which plays out as much as a play as it does an extended big-screen sequence, Ryan’s Margaret leaves her mark. There's a mystery to her that sets the tone for the film from the off. While Margaret insists that she "doesn't do this sort of thing" (i.e. one-night stands with young conquests, and presumably getting mixed up in the criminal underworld), the audience gets a sense of her po…

Amy-Ryan-Big-RT-1a83b29.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Neighbours' Ryan Moloney on Toadie's emotional exit and why the character had to be axed
type: item
date: 2024-09-25T08:00:04.000Z
creator: Johnathon Hughes
subject: Neighbours
subject: Soaps
subject: TV
subject: The Big RT Interview
description: The Aussie soap icon talks exclusively to Johnathon Hughes about saying goodbye to Ramsay Street.
encoded: It’s the end of an era on Ramsay Street this week, as Toadie Rebecchi leaves Neighbours after 29 years today (Wednesday 25th September). The character has grown up on screen from a tearaway teenager to a responsible middle-aged dad, and made actor Ryan Moloney one of the Australian soap’s most identifiable faces. After such a long stint, you’d assume Moloney himself chose to move on, but surprisingly the decision came from the producers. It’s hard to imagine Neighbours without the inimitable Toadfish, but the actor admits this was a long time coming, and probably should’ve happened a while ago. "I’ve wanted to leave a number of times over the years, but if someone keeps offering you this amazing job, it’s hard to turn it down," explains Moloney, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. "The producers decided they didn’t want to renew my next 12-month contract, and the biggest gift they could give me is to take that decision out of my hands, so I thank them. I’d always thought 'what if?' when it came to contract time, whereas now it’s a case of 'what now?', and it’s really exciting." Toadie’s consistent popularity presumably meant Moloney was never bored in terms of getting his fair share of storylines over the last three decades: multiple failed marriages, heartbreaking bereavements, lost loves coming back from the dead, not to mention more light-hearted material such as a Full Monty-style striptease and a love of wrestling. So, what inspired the moments where he considered quitting prior to this year? "It was various reasons of either wanting to do something else, the adventure of life and needing new experiences. Other times it was about feeling valued and wanting to be paid more. I’ve come really close to leaving, and now it’s a reality I’m super excited and can’t wait." Toadie’s exit storyline has been unusually dark and deep for Neighbours, which is synonymous with sunshine and optimism. The happy-go-lucky joker has suffered a mental health crisis as numerous pa…

toadie-big-rt-8cb5514.png
width: 620
height: 413