Louis Theroux's new Netflix documentary tackling 'Manosphere' finally confirms release date with first look
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere will be released next month.
Almost a year after the last documentary he fronted, The Settlers, aired on BBC Two, the release date has been confirmed for Louis Theroux's next documentary film. The 90-minute film, titled Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, will be released on Netflix on Wednesday 11th March 2026, with a trailer also having been released. The short teaser shows Theroux watching clips of 'Manosphere' influencers speak about their time being interviewed by him, with one impersonating his voice. You can watch it right here now. View oEmbed on the source website The film, which is Theroux’s first feature-length documentary for Netflix, will see him travelling to Miami, New York and Marbella to meet influencers and content creators at the extreme end of the 'Manosphere'. The synopsis for the film says: "The 90-minute film explores how key figures, including Harrison Sullivan (AKA HS Tikky Tokky), Myron Gaines, Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy (AKA Sneako), Justin Waller and Ed Matthews, are helping to reshape young men’s ideas about masculinity and fuelling a resurgent global men’s rights movement. "Louis immerses himself in their ecosystem, encountering prominent figures within the movement, each presenting their own interpretations of traditional gender roles and values. "He becomes familiar with some of their language, including terms such as 'red-pilling', and examines the appeal of these ideas and attitudes, as well as the perspectives of the women in their lives who appear to support them." Last year, Theroux denied reports that he was stopping working with the BBC, confirming that it was simply the case that Louis Theroux Interviews would be coming to an end "for the foreseeable future". Addressing the report in The Sun during an interview with Deadline, Theroux explained that given his work on The Louis Theroux Podcast, it didn't make sense to have a similar format on television. He said: "They don't sit that well alongside each other, but what I got from that article was that I am not making programmes for the BBC anymore, which is not true. "The bottom line is I am still making programmes for the BBC - I am making a documentary for the BBC at the moment. I also make programmes outside the BBC, and am making a documentary [for another platform] at the moment. We've put that to bed, haven't we?" Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere will be released on Wednesday 11th March on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Add Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Let's not call Melania Trump's film a documentary - Channel 4’s The Tony Blair Story is the real deal
A much-hyped film about the US First Lady only skims the surface.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. An alignment of the stars this week meant I watched, back to back, two films that could fall into the category of "political documentary". Both profile instantly recognisable, highly polarising figures and both offer glimpses into great rooms of power. But that's where any similarity ends. First, we need to talk about Melania. Reviews have been harsh of the Amazon-funded portrait of the US First Lady during the 20 days prior to her husband's second inauguration in 2025, but I thought I'd give it a fair crack. The Melbourne cinema where I watched it was almost packed (it was a 15-seater) with an all-female crowd presumably curious, like me, as to who or what lies under the hat. The opening credits give immediate warning: I’ve not seen one name mentioned so many times since Barbra Streisand’s magnum opus Yentl. Melania Trump is producer, star, all-round muse – making her responsible for the 15 minutes of footage in which she discusses, with fawning stylists, the shoulder pads on her inauguration suit, after which I’m ready to stick the much-discussed hatpin into my own forehead. The rest of the film focuses either on Melania’s stiletto heels – stepping out of a limousine, onto a private jet, through the doors of her gold-plated Trump Tower home – or on the back of her head, so we get to see her golden tresses and the silencing effect she has on bystanders. As a study in iconography, it is fascinating, the only problem being icons don’t stand up to extended scrutiny. Just as a car’s value decreases the minute it drives off the forecourt, Melania’s effect diminishes the longer she stays in the room, and we're here for 104 minutes. So yes, fascinating, but let’s not call it a documentary. "One-woman Robert Palmer video" would be more accurate. View Green Video on the source website There has been a stream of "access-all-areas" docs lately – the Beckhams, Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift – and we’re all au fait with the deal: let the cameras in, speak only in praise and awe. But surely, the closer you are to the political epicentre – and there’s no one closer than Melania Trump – the more accountable you must be. And yet, from titles to credits, not one word of explanation, justification or circumspection is solicited or offered. The nearest we get is her husband’s verdict that "she’s very difficult, but there’s no one like her". There is no hint of how she squares her pursuit of people's rights, never mind her own immigrant history, with the actions of her spouse, or how she justifies being a feminist purely by virtue of putting all her chips on marital orange. Every sentence she utters tells us less. In contrast, Channel 4’s The Tony Blair Story doesn’t have the man himself as an executive producer, he didn’t have editorial control and he won’t have seen it before it airs. Instead, he’s just one of the many contributors – including wife, children, political friends and foes – shedding light on his story. For one hour devoted to his rise and success revolutionising the Labour Party and leading it to power in three general elections, there are two more devoted to Iraq and his ignominious departure from Downing Street. Critics, from Jeremy Corbyn to Clare Short, queue up to bury Caesar, and Blair answers every question, even those that begin, “Now, be honest with me…” It is sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary viewing, and deserves to be called a documentary. The Melania show is equally uncomfortable, but unnecessary – even if it does tell us exactly what’s under the hat. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I'm a documentary filmmaker and have met Tony Blair, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky – this is what they all had in common
Michael Waldman reveals what he’s learnt from interviewing our global leaders.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Over three decades as a documentary-maker, I’ve been able to get up close to – and even under the skin of – some of the most powerful figures of our time, from President Zelensky and Donald Trump to, most recently, Sir Tony Blair. Power is irresistibly fascinating for those of us who don’t possess it. But what have I learnt from interviewing some of the most powerful people in the world? Tony Blair, who I interviewed for the three-part Channel 4 series The Tony Blair Story, kept me on my toes. His self-assurance rarely cracks, even when interrogated about what many view as his gravest mistake, the invasion of Iraq. Despite this conviction, what emerges is a level of emotion and psychological introspection that’s rarely been seen on camera. I was also able to speak with his wife Cherie, and – unprecedentedly – three of their grown-up children, Euan, Kathryn and Leo, which added a more intimate perspective on a man whose decade in power has shaped Britain and the world. It was evident, power can be a solitary business. “One of the things you learn,” he told me, “is that ultimately you sit in the seat. You’ve got to take the decision.” His former spin doctor Alastair Campbell recalls how, late into the night after the invasion of Iraq, he found Blair at his desk in Number 10: “It was one of those moments when I wished I could paint. It was an absolute portrait in the isolation of power.” President Zelensky, who I interviewed in 2023 for BBC Two series The Zelensky Story, presented a different challenge. Head of state of a country at war, it was a tall order to get him to give an interview and then open up about himself. It required two trips to Kyiv to secure, with sleep interrupted by descents into the air-raid shelter as sirens blared. Despite unimaginable pressures, Zelensky proved to be engaging, thoughtful, touching and funny. My encounter with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2022 – after the end of his first presidency – started coolly. He was head down, signing papers, gesturing to my colleague and me to sit down on the other side of his large, untidy desk. There to discuss the remote possibility of an observational documentary, within minutes he indicated that he was very unlikely to agree, and he still hasn’t. But the trip to Palm Beach was not unproductive. The conversation suddenly turned to Putin and Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth (about whom he believed I was an expert), the then Princes Charles and William, and why he and I were both lucky to have a full head of hair – yes, really! It demonstrated the power of charisma and ceaseless confidence. Despite his record of outlandish statements, I could almost see how he had been able to seduce millions of voters. Queen Elizabeth, of course, never gave interviews, but in making Our Queen for ITV during her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, we gained permission to film the beginning of her audience at Balmoral with then Prime Minister David Cameron. Near dusk, we were ushered into her sitting room, with its dog-beds and cushion embroidered “It’s good to be Queen”. Amateur photographer that she was, she asked me, “Is the light all right? The sun goes down so quickly.” And joked about Queen Victoria – it felt like gold. She wielded her strange form of power with an entrancing serenity. What did Queen Elizabeth and Blair talk about every week for the 10 years of his premiership? That I couldn’t ask him. But about almost everything else I did. There’s no doubt power changes a person, as Cherie Blair reflected when she discussed her husband leaving office in 2007: “Your skill as a politician is about knowing about the people and living with the people and understanding what the people want. Ten years of living in the goldfish bowl, you kind of lose contact with reality.” Words that, perhaps, anyone in power should heed. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. The Tony Blair Story is on Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 at 9pm on Channel 4. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Vinnie Jones explains why Clarkson's Farm comparisons are "upsetting" as he returns with In the Country
The footballer turned actor on playing gangsters, the great outdoors and coping with loneliness and grief.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. After a headline-grabbing football career, Vinnie Jones burst onto the big screen in Guy Ritchie’s 1998 debut Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Since then, he’s played soldiers, supervillains and enough gangsters to fill a crime family. But Vinnie Jones in the Country, now in its third series, follows the actor’s true passion: preserving and exploring the countryside from his 2,000-acre estate in West Sussex. Just don’t compare it to Clarkson’s Farm… When did your love of the outdoors begin? I caught my first trout with my dad when I was seven. He was always a passionate country man – we had fishing rods and guns and bred working dogs. We were in Watford, and I still remember finding my first lapwing nest in a field. If I were on Mastermind, my specialist subject would be British nature – not many people would beat me. You’ve moved from football to acting to country living — is it in your nature to reinvent yourself? I couldn’t just sit on my arse watching daytime TV. I get anxiety attacks if I don’t have plans for every day of the week. Doing all of this is where I’m in my element. For me, it’s 1988 every day: playing Liverpool in front of 100,000 people at Wembley. It’s like reliving my childhood, which was all countryside and football. Now it’s all countryside and acting. You had the idea for Vinnie Jones in the Country before Covid — did the pandemic change your approach to the show? I’d just lost my wife [Tanya died in 2019] going into the pandemic, so I couldn’t have been lonelier. I spent lockdown watching Netflix box sets. When we came out, the first thing I wanted was to dive into the countryside. It felt like being on the top board with the ladder taken away – I had no choice but to jump in. The show was the same: I dived straight in. How would you describe the show? It’s a show without an agenda, and it’s not a farm show – it’s an in-the-country show. Everyone’s tried to hang it on Clarkson’s Farm, which I find a bit upsetting. Jeremy’s done a fantastic job raising awareness for farmers, but ours is a different little show. After our second series, I think we were given a sponsored rake. Look at Clarkson’s Farm: tractors, combines – everything! Did you set out to explore grief and male friendship this series, or did that emerge naturally? It was never planned, but we’ve let the show take its own course, like a river: if it hits a dam, it goes another way. There’s a lot to be said for discussing mental health in the countryside, because it can be a lonely job. Are people surprised by your interest in nature and mental health? In the past, many newspapers were filled with stories about me being a lunatic, but a lot of that I brought on myself with the drinking. But I’m 12 years sober this April, and I wanted to show people what I actually do in my spare time. Yesterday, I sat for six hours just to see a kingfisher. I’m not a south-London gangster, never have been. After 15 years in the US, did you miss the British countryside? We moved there for my acting career and were up in Burbank, across the valley from Beverly Hills. I saw lots of wildlife – although mostly on golf courses! I’d also go up to Canada two or three times a year to fly fish and see the eagles. My favourite place on earth is just north of Vancouver. It’s a different world up there. What’s next for your partnership with film-maker Guy Ritchie? The new series of The Gentlemen, and I’m pretty heavy in this one. I may have another big movie with Guy this year, too. [Jones has just been confirmed as one of the leads in Ritchie’s new film Viva la Madness, based on the Layer Cake book series, alongside Jason Isaacs and Jonny Lee Miller]. There’s no time to stop swinging, but for me, and my mental health, that helps. In the show, you call your manor house “the new Yellowstone”. What else have you been watching on TV lately? We’ve watched MobLand and I’ll always watch Attenborough, he’s one of my heroes. I also like Grand Designs and The Chase. But other than football, we don’t watch a lot of telly. The countryside takes it out of you, so we’re often knackered and in bed before 9pm. We’ve got a little puppy too, so that also keeps us busy! Will there be more In the Country? We haven’t decided yet. I don’t want it to drag – three was our magic number. We’re building the lake house now and filming that, but do we want a construction series? When I played football, I wanted to finish at the top, not go back down through the leagues. We’ve had fun, but look at Clarkson’s Farm – there’s lots of politics there. I never want our little show to get like that. Ours is more of a hobby. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
"Landmark" Tony Blair documentary with interview with former PM gets release date confirmed
The series will feature an in-depth interview with the former prime minister.
Channel 4's landmark documentary series about Tony Blair will air in a couple of weeks, offering audiences a look into the former prime minister's meteoric rise, his years in Downing Street and his career post politics. The Tony Blair Story will begin on Tuesday 17th February at 9pm on Channel 4, with the latter two episodes to follow on the 18th and 19th. After the first episode airs, the full series will be available to stream on Channel4.com. The documentary series was announced in May last year, with Channel 4 confirming it would feature and in-depth interview with Blair himself, as well as have his story told by those who knew him best – friends, allies and opponents. The synopsis reads: "Peeling back the layers of political spin and tabloid sensationalism, the programme offers a fresh perspective on the man who transformed the Labour Party and reshaped Britain. "The series goes beyond the headlines to explore the key moments that shaped Blair’s leadership, providing a gripping insight into one of the most influential Prime Ministers of the modern era." The series has been made by 72 films, the makers behind The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson and more recently, The Zelensky Story which aired on BBC Two. Their other productions include Vietnam: The War That Changed America and Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America. This also won't be the first documentary made about the former prime minister, with the BBC producing one in 2021, Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution. The Tony Blair Story begins on Tuesday 17th February at 9pm on Channel 4. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Where is Lucy Letby now? Trial, sentencing and appeals explained
The former neonatal nurse's crimes are being re-examined in a new documentary.
Earlier this year, Netflix announced it would be releasing a documentary about Lucy Letby, the former neonatal nurse who is the UK’s most prolific child murderer in modern times. The feature length documentary, now available to watch on Netflix, includes never-before-seen footage and exclusive access to those central to the story. As per Netflix, the detectives who built the case, the families seeking answers, the hospital consultants who initially raised the alarm, as well as lawyers and medical experts who question the evidence, all feature in the documentary, "providing a comprehensive look at one of Britain's most notorious crimes". Upon its release on Netflix, read on to learn more about Lucy Letby's convictions and updates on her appeal. Did Lucy Letby plead guilty? In October 2021, Lucy Letby pleaded not guilty to the murder of eight babies and the attempted murder of 10 others. Letby repeated "not guilty" 18 times at Manchester Crown Court as the charges were read out, as per ITV News. What was Lucy Letby convicted of? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/GettyImages-1623222103-99f22f9-e1770117681915.jpg" width="2178" height="1452" alt="CHESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 3: In this frame from a video provided by Cheshire Constabulary, Lucy Letby is questioned following her arrest on July 3, 2018 in Chester, England. Letby, a former nurse at Countess of Cheshire Hospital, was convicted on August 18, 2023 of murdering seven babies, and attempting to murder six more, in the hospital's neonatal ward between 2015 and 2016. She was found not guilty of two counts of attempted murder, while the jury did not reach verdicts on six further counts of attempted murder. (Handout photo by Cheshire Constabulary via Getty Images)" title="Nurse Found Guilty Of Murdering Seven Babies At Countess Of Chester Hospital" /> In August 2023, Letby was found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and the attempted murder of six. The jury found Letby not guilty of two counts of attempted murder and couldn't reach the verdicts on six other charges. She was given a whole life term for each offence and following a recent retrial, she was also handed another whole life term, totalling to 15 life sentences. Will Lucy Letby's case be appealed? Since her convictions in 2023, Letby has sought permission to file an appeal, the first of which was applied for in September 2023, but her permission to appeal was refused. In February 2025, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) confirmed it had received an application on behalf of Lucy Letby, though a decision is yet to be made. A CCRC spokesperson said: "We are aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and commentary surrounding Lucy Letby's case, much of it from parties with only a partial view of the evidence. We ask that everyone remembers the families affected by events at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. "We have received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letby’s case, and work has begun to assess the application. We anticipate further submissions being made to us. "It is not for the CCRC to determine innocence or guilt in a case, that’s a matter for the courts. It is for the CCRC to find, investigate and if appropriate, refer potential miscarriages of justice to the appellate courts when new evidence or new argument means there is a real possibility that a conviction will not be upheld, or a sentence reduced. "At this stage it is not possible to determine how long it will take to review this application. A significant volume of complicated evidence was presented to the court in Ms Letby’s trials. "The CCRC is independent. We do not work for the government, courts, police, the prosecution or for anyone applying for a review of their case. This helps us investigate alleged miscarriages of justice impartially." Where is Lucy Letby now? As of January 2024, Lucy Letby is currently imprisoned in HMP Bronzefield. The Investigation of Lucy Letby is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I'm Susie Dent and in the age of AI I believe being a geek may never have been so important
We need to encourage our kids to celebrate, not mock, their intelligence, says Susie Dent.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. As someone who has spent decades charting language, I’ve learnt to push aside any personal bugbears when it comes to the evolution of our words. English has always been a democracy, going its own merry way without government from above. But one recent development has found its way under my skin, for very personal reasons. It is the appearance of the word “neek”, a blend of “nerd” and “geek” that describes someone with a strong – and, by extension, “uncool” – interest in a particular subject. It takes me back to my childhood, when I discovered that a love of learning was something to hide rather than celebrate, for fear of being labelled a swot. For a long time, I hid it away as something shameful, despite the pleasure it gave me and the encouragement of my teachers. Decades later, while filming our new series Secret Genius, Alan Carr and I discovered that not a lot has changed when it comes to the desire to fit in. The aim of our show was simple: to illustrate how genius can be found in any walk of life. Mensa estimates that there are over a million secret geniuses walking among us, which means most of us will know one of them: the friend who gets to the punchline of a joke way before the rest of us; the colleague who can make complicated calculations at the drop of a hat; or the partner who spots a pattern in an apparently random sequence. They might be a stay-at-home parent or a bus driver, pharmacist, paramedic, carpenter, train guard or singer – all professions represented in Secret Genius by people who have little idea just how brilliant they are. We are not talking about academic cleverness here, but rather an innate intelligence that sets someone apart from the crowd. Time and time again, the individuals (ranging in age from 20 to 63) we invited onto the show to participate in fiendishly clever and immersive puzzles told us of their struggles at school, of how they wanted desperately to fit in and so suppressed their natural intelligence, becoming instead the class joker, the constant interrupter or the quiet one who didn’t dare to engage. Each of them felt different, but each was unsure what to do with that difference other than to pretend it didn’t exist. All they needed from their peers was validation, but for many of our secret geniuses, the recognition they received on the show had come agonisingly late. It’s true that the trajectory of many of the words once used to belittle people for their intelligence is looking promising. “Geek” in particular has undergone one of the most dramatic shifts of any word in the dictionary, having started out as a 19th-century description of a performer of extreme acts at freak shows, including biting the heads off live snakes and chickens. The word broadened to include any kind of extreme behaviour, particularly an interest in a single subject, before arriving at today’s keen pursuer of knowledge who is no longer bizarre, but classy. So far so good, but the arrival of “neek” threatens to take us backwards. Ask any teenager: no one wants to be a neek. It’s time that intelligence in all its forms – especially the natural, curious kind – is shown to be cool. We need to encourage our children to celebrate, not mock, it and to feel fearless when it comes to expressing their interests and ambitions. In the age of AI, being a geek may never have been so important. There’s no doubt we’ve come a long way in recent years, yet as Secret Genius shows, there is still much to be done. As for Alan, I’ve long suspected he may be a genius himself. And if Celebrity Traitors taught us anything, it’s that he is extremely good at keeping secrets. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Dame Joanna Lumley set to star in new ITV documentary show for a new travel adventure ahead of 80th birthday
The iconic actress will turning 80-years-old this spring.
Joanna Lumley is set to make another travelogue for ITV, and filming is already underway. The actress, who will turn 80 years old in May, has jetted off to South America with a production crew to film her latest travel documentary in Argentina. Lumley made her first travelogue in 2010 entitled Joanna Lumley’s Nile and in the 16 years since then has made 16 other travel shows, all in similar nature and name, visiting countries such as India, the Caribbean, Greece and Japan. In 2022, Joanna Lumley's Great Cities of the World was released where she visited three of the most famous European capitals - Berlin, Paris and Rome. Last year saw the airing of Joanna Lumley's Danube where she followed along the world-famous river, from its source in the Black Forest mountains to its border at the Black Sea, travelling through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania in doing so. The actress, who was knighted in the Queen's New Year Honours List in 2021, is yet to make a travelogue about any country in the South American continent so Joanna Lumley's adventure in Argentina will be her first. Lumley started her career in the 1960s as a model, working with designer Jean Muir before transitioning to acting three years later. Her breakthrough role was as Purdey in the 1976 ITV series The New Avengers, however she is most known for playing Patsy, alongside Jennifer Saunders' Edina, in Absolutely Fabulous. Ab Fab ran for five seasons over a period of 20 years from 1992 to 2012, and received critical acclaim. During its time on screen it featured a plethora of special celebrity guests, including Hollywood legend Helena Bonham Carter, international pop star Elton John and world-renowned supermodel Naomi Campbell. Joanna Lumley's Argentina is set to air this spring. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add Joanna Lumley's Argentina to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Channel 4 confirms Beckham family feud documentary following Brooklyn Beckham social media posts
Rumours of strained relationships between the mogul family first began four years ago.
A new one-off documentary is coming to Channel 4 tonight (28th January) following the ongoing reports of a feud within the Beckham family. Rumours of tensions between Victoria and David Beckham and their son Brooklyn and his wife, Nicola Peltz, have been circling since their wedding in 2022 – but in the past month, things came to a head when Brooklyn addressed them publicly on his social media. Now Channel 4 will be examining the highly publicised claims in Beckham: Family at War – UNTOLD, produced by MultiStoryMedia. In 2022, Peltz denied that there was friction in the family following claims that she didn't wear the dress Victoria had designed for her at her wedding. She told Cosmopolitan at the time: "I’ve said this so many times: There’s no feud. "I think it all started, and I’ve said this before, because I didn’t end up wearing Victoria’s wedding dress. "But the real truth is, I really, really wanted to wear it and I thought it was so beautiful that Brooklyn’s mom got to make that for me!" The speculation subsided for a few years until May 2025, when neither Brooklyn nor Nicola attended David's 50th birthday party, and in turn the Beckhams were absent when the younger couple renewed their vows in August. Later in the year, the entire Beckham unit attended the premiere for Victoria's new Netflix documentary, but again Brooklyn and Nicola were not in attendance. Things ramped up in December when Cruz, the Beckham's youngest son, shared an article on his Instagram Story which reported the family had unfollowed Brooklyn, with the caption: "NOT TRUE... My mum and dad would never unfollow their son.. Let’s get the facts right. They woke up blocked… as did I." This month (January 2025), Brooklyn broke his silence on the long-rumoured family dispute with a six-page Instagram Story statement which garnered widespread attention and thrust the strained relations with his parents into the spotlight once again, with his famous parents yet to respond. The new Channel 4 documentary will hear from experts in PR, showbiz personalities and psychologists, to get to the heart of how and why this family feud has hooked the attention of both the UK and wider world. Beckham: Family at War – UNTOLD will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 at 10pm on Wednesday 28th January. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
What happened to Jason Orange? Absence from Take That documentary explained
Jason Orange and Robbie Williams do not feature in new interviews in the documentary.
The highly-anticipated Take That documentary has been released on Netflix, with the streamer previously promising it would tell the story "of the UK's most iconic boy band". The three-part series launched today (27th January), and goes behind the scenes with current band members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, featuring archived interviews with Jason Orange and Robbie Williams, as they reveal their personal experiences in a band that had millions of fans and sold over 45 million records worldwide. While many will know Williams's reasoning for leaving the band from his own self-titled documentary and later biopic, Better Man, Jason Orange's may not be as widely known. As you tuck into the new documentary, read on to learn more about Jason Orange's exit from Take That. Why isn't Jason Orange in the new Take That documentary? While Jason Orange's voice can be heard throughout the documentary, he doesn't directly feature like the other three current band members. It had been previously confirmed by Netflix that Jason Orange would not feature in a new interview in the documentary. Why did Jason Orange leave Take That? Jason Orange was a member of Take That from 1990 until 1996 following their split, though he later rejoined the band for the reunion tour in 2005. He then remained in the band until 2014, before announcing he planned to retire from music altogether. In a statement at the time, Orange said: "I have spent some of the best years of my life with Take That and I'd like to thank everyone who has been part of my journey, including my band mates, who I feel like are brothers to me, "At the end of The Progress Tour, I began to question whether it might be the right time for me to not continue on with Take That. "At the start of this year and with my full knowledge and blessing, the guys began writing new material. There have been no fallings out, only a decision on my part that I no longer wish to do this." In an interview in 2023, band member Mark Owen told The Times: "I think [Jason] felt like he didn’t want to do it any more. But I’m not going to speak for him." He then added: "He’s still here anyway. The other day we were trying to work out who the best joke-teller in the band is and remembered how Jason always laughed before he got to the punchline." What is Jason Orange up to now? After leaving the band and quitting the entertainment industry in 2014, Jason Orange has led quite a private life and is rarely seen in public. In 2023, Howard Donald told press that he didn't think Orange would ever rejoin the band. Asked if the group would ever be a five piece again, he said (via The Sun): "Five of us? Oh there’s only three of us now! I don’t think Jason ever, maybe possibly Robbie, but not Jason I don’t think." Take That is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I'm Clive Myrie, and my new BBC ancestry series left me angry about history – but with a constructive way to use it
Use your identity as a positive force, writes Clive Myrie, who has embraced his African roots.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. In a confusing world, we search for our origins. Within many of us there is a deep yearning to find our roots, to discover where our own unique stories begin. This yearning is behind the remarkable popularity of ancestry DNA tests and the success of television shows like Who Do You Think You Are? In making my series African Adventure, I’ve fed penguins in South Africa and explored the wonderful and chaotic exuberance of Lagos in Nigeria. But I’ve also experienced a traditional naming ceremony in Ghana, where I was metaphorically welcomed back into the African fold and given an African name – an origin. As well as this new name, I had a flag made by a craftsman of the Fante people, who still practice this ancient folk-art in Ghana. It’s beautiful, vibrant with colour and designs that include symbols representing my Jamaican history. It’s hanging above my desk at home and I take pleasure in this layer being added to my identity. You might think I have enough identity already. I was born in Bolton in Lancashire, so I’m a Northerner and proud of it. But I’m also very proud of being British and then there are my Caribbean roots, that come courtesy of my Jamaican parents. Thanks to them I remain Caribbean in my bones; I love West Indian food and Jamaican culture. So, do I have room for another Clive Myrie? My answer is yes, for if you want to be true to who you are, then you really do need to know who you are. In my case, I have parents from Jamaica but before them my ancestors were African. I’m not sure exactly where from, but a DNA test suggests somewhere on what was once called the Gold Coast, most likely modern Ghana or Nigeria. Whichever it was, they were sent across the Atlantic as slaves on the terrible Middle Passage journey to the Caribbean. In my new series, I’ve visited the slave fort in Ghana where my ancestors could well have been kept in appalling conditions before they were taken through the “Gate of No Return” and loaded onto ships. Unlike my ancestors, I was free to come and go as I wished; being there was painful for me and some of the American tour group I joined at the fort were in tears. Experiences like that can make you very angry about history, about how your ancestors have been treated. But what is that anger going to do for you? Instead, I prefer to use my emotions constructively, to find out more about those people, keep their stories alive (for we should never forget what happened) but also to find out more about who I am. Today identity is often used in a negative way; you can see it in the ethno-nationalism playing out across the western world. But you can also use identity as a positive force, to say, “This is who I am, just as important and as individual as anybody else.” And you can afford the same privilege to others; respect their right to the same dignity you would claim for yourself. For we are all essentially the same flesh and blood. As the Jewish Shylock says to his Christian tormentors in The Merchant of Venice, “If you prick me, do I not bleed?” Making African Adventure has been emotional and powerful. We’ve all come from somewhere and I may well have come from this part of West Africa; knowing that makes me feel a little more grounded, a little more connected to the people of Africa and more knowledgeable about who I am. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Clive Myrie's African Adventure begins on BBC Two and iPlayer from Monday 26 January at 6:30pm. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Good Omens star Michael Sheen confirms all-new BBC series and it's "deeply personal"
The documentary will build on the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 podcast, Buried: The Last Witness.
Michael Sheen is set to lead a new BBC documentary about the claims of chemical contamination in South Wales, close to where the actor grew up. The series, which is titled Buried, will build on the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 podcast, Buried: The Last Witness, revisiting the findings of Douglas Gowan, a researcher and whistleblower who discovered high levels of a toxic chemical escaping a landfill near farmland in South Wales. The plot synopsis adds: "Douglas believed the dumping of these chemicals could have a lasting impact on the people of Wales, but died before his warnings were heeded. Now Michael wants to find out if Douglas was right." The two-part series will feature families from the affected communities, local councillors, environmental investigative journalists, forensic scientists and medical experts. Sheen, who is known for starring in Good Omens as angel Aziraphale, said in a statement that he first met Gowan nearly ten years ago, "and his warnings about these chemicals stayed with me." "In this series, we try to uncover the truth about what is beneath our feet, hear from the communities affected, and understand how something so insidious could stay buried for so long. It’s about seeking answers, but also about responsibility - what we do now matters for the future of these communities." Buried has been commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning for Specialist Factual and Nick Andrews, Head of Commissioning for BBC Cymru Wales. Bootle said that as soon as he heard that Sheen "was so personally invested in the story, I knew this was a unique opportunity to create a series to captivate viewers and get them talking about this important environmental issue." Andrews added: "This is a hugely important series anchored by Michael and his extraordinary connection the story. It builds on the award-winning podcast and is an important investigation which will shock many, both inside and outside of Wales." The documentary has been co-produced by Wall to Wall and Smoke Trail Productions. Buried will air on BBC Two, BBC One Wales and BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Skyscraper Live challenge delayed by Netflix as new date announced
Skyscraper Live will now be broadcast on Netflix on Saturday night.
Netflix’s coverage of free solo climber Alex Honnold’s attempt to scale one of Asia’s tallest skyscrapers has been delayed, with a new date announced. The two-hour live event was originally scheduled for Friday night (23rd January) but has been postponed until Saturday night due to wet weather conditions in Taipei. The US climber's attempt to ascend the 1,677-foot Taipei 101 skyscraper – without ropes or safety gear – will now be live-streamed on Saturday at 8pm ET/ 1pm GMT. “Due to weather, we are unable to proceed with today’s SkyscraperLIVE event,” a spokesperson for Netflix said just 30 minutes before the ascent was due to begin on Friday night. “It has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 24 at 8 PM ET | 5 PM PT. Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding.” Built in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2004, the 101 skyscraper – made of steel, glass and concrete – is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Its name refers to the height of the building, which consists of 101 floors. The 101 skyscraper was the world’s tallest building from the time it opened until the construction of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2010. Honnold was previously the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, which tracked the US climber’s rope-free climb of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan in 2017. He has said that scaling the building was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. Asked why he took on the challenge by Netflix, he said: "Why not? Taipei 101 because it's amazing and it's an incredible building. It's possible, which a lot of skyscrapers aren't - it's uniquely suited for climbing." He continued: "Now, because it’s really hard to get permission to climb a building and I have permission, I have to take advantage of it and climb the building. Basically, it’s just rare to get this kind of opportunity, so you gotta jump when you can." Skyscraper Live will air on Friday 23rd January on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guideand Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Who is Alex Honnold? Free solo climber taking on a terrifying challenge in Netflix's Skyscraper Live
If you're afraid of heights, divert your eyes now...
Netflix is no stranger to hosting live events on its platform but Skyscraper Live is the first of its kind, including for those involved. As teased by the streamer, Alex Honnold will step onto the exterior of Taipei 101 - a 1,667 feet skyscraper of glass, steel and concrete - as he attempts to climb all 101 floors without ropes, all while being live streamed on Netflix. "I'm not really worried about the spectators," Honnold said ahead of the climb. "Plus, no matter how many people are watching, I'm never going to see the people watching. It's not like an auditorium of people watching me." So, just who is Alex Honnold? Scroll on to learn more about the climber and his biggest challenge yet. Who is Alex Honnold? Alex Honnold is a rock climber best known for his free solo climbing up big walls. Growing up, Honnold competed in national and international youth climbing championships, previously admitting he hadn't been a "great climber." "There were a lot of other climbers who were much, much stronger than me, who started as kids and were, like, instantly freakishly strong," he said. "Like they just have a natural gift. And that was never me. I just loved climbing, and I've been climbing all the time ever since, so I've naturally gotten better at it, but I've never been gifted." He first gained recognition for his climbing in 2008, when he free soloed the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome, with his achievement being publicised in the documentary Alone on the Wall. He then rose to further notoriety in 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a full route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. This climb was captured by filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for the documentary Free Solo, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2018. What is Skyscraper Live? Skyscraper Live is a two hour livestream that'll follow Alex Honnold and his ascent of one of the world's tallest skyscrapers in Taipei, Taiwan. What has Alex Honnold said about Skyscraper Live? It's safe to say, Honnold is rather excited about his next free solo adventure. Asked why he wants to take on a skyscraper, Honnold told Netflix: "Why not? Taipei 101 because it's amazing and it's an incredible building. It's possible, which a lot of skyscrapers aren't - it's uniquely suited for climbing. "Now, because it’s really hard to get permission to climb a building and I have permission, I have to take advantage of it and climb the building. Basically, it’s just rare to get this kind of opportunity, so you gotta jump when you can." Skyscraper Live will air on Friday 23rd January on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Netflix confirms Investigation of Lucy Letby documentary featuring family member of victim involved
The documentary will premiere on Netflix in February.
Netflix has released a trailer for a new documentary feature on Lucy Letby, the former neonatal nurse who was found guilty of murdering seven babies under her care. The Investigation of Lucy Letby, which according to the streamer will feature “new materials and testimony from the British police who investigated the case and never-before-seen footage of Letby during her arrest and questioning”, will launch on the platform on 4th February 2026. The new documentary, which is being produced by ITN Productions, will also feature the mother of one of the victims speaking about her experiences and involvement in Letby’s trial. This will mark the first time that a family member involved in the prosecution has spoken in a documentary. The Investigation of Lucy Letby will also include interviews with experts and lawyers from both sides of the case, and promises to give “the most comprehensive look at one of Britain's most notorious crimes”. You can watch the trailer below: View oEmbed on the source website Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life terms for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others. Her crimes, which were committed between June 2015 and June 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital, make her the UK’s most prolific child murderer in modern times. The case both gripped the nation and divided opinion, with some expressing doubt about the medical and statistical evidence used to convict her. Letby’s case was previously examined in documentaries by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5. Read more: "I'm the Making a Murderer lawyer – what you didn't see changed my life" Fred and Rose West detective recalls what it took to solve the case – and get confession The Investigation of Lucy Letby will premiere on Netflix on 4th February 2026. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Netflix's Being Gordon Ramsay documentary finally gets release date confirmed with first look trailer
The six-part series is arriving next month.
The release date has been confirmed for Netflix's highly anticipated six-part docuseries Being Gordon Ramsay - and there isn't long for subscribers to wait. The series will debut on Wednesday 18th February 2026, with the news being confirmed alongside the release of a first-look trailer. The trailer sees Ramsay embarking on his most ambitious project yet, while he also delves into his history and his childhood, and his wife Tana gives us personal insights into the famous chef and restauranteur. You can watch the full trailer right here now. View oEmbed on the source website The synopsis for the series promises a "new documentary series following one of the world’s most famous chefs in the lead-up to his biggest restaurant ventures to date: the opening of five culinary experiences in one of London’s tallest buildings, 22 Bishopsgate." The synopsis continues: "This is Gordon as we have never seen him before as he opens the doors to his home and businesses. Over a 6 month window, the expansion of his restaurant empire begins to take shape and, with the official launch fast approaching, we see Gordon balance the challenges that come with it with his life as a husband to Tana, and father to their six children." Ramsay's most recent TV project before the documentary was Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service, an American reality series that debuted on Fox in May 2025. Being Gordon Ramsay is the latest in a long-line of documentaries about famous British individuals, with previous titles focusing on David and Victoria Beckham, as well as Robbie Williams, Lewis Capaldi and more. Being Gordon Ramsay will be released on Wednesday 18th February on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Add Being Gordon Ramsay to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
When did TV documentaries become all about celebrities and 'being' and stop being about people actually doing something?
The good news is that there are green shoots of fresh geek-dom on our screens.
My friend and I used to be fans of a big documentary festival until about a decade ago. After yet more films about a boy wearing mascara, or a girl holding a Kalashnikov, we walked out after a screening and she said, "It’s all about being. When did people stop doing stuff?" To be fair, documentaries remain a crucial platform for investigative journalism, but when it comes to our TV screens, my friend was right. We aren’t short of what TV commissioners call "factual entertainment", but it feels like a million variations on a single premise: two celebrities in a car swapping their "stories", between stops where they buy a house and a surprisingly valuable bit of art. Or, if it's Channel 4, an intentionally provocative session with some kind of sex practitioner. If an expert is called upon, it’s to answer the questions of yet another celebrity. Where are the people doing stuff? It wasn’t always this way. I grew up watching people like Keith Floyd, Ann Ladbury and Fred Dibnah and their infectious enthusiasms for, respectively, cooking without a recipe (but with a glass of red), cutting sewing patterns and demolishing chimneys. They were all doing it anyway; fame came through their passions, not the other way round. The word "geek" – which just means a deep, tireless interest in a subject, often niche – has been given a bad rap, associated with a bad haircut and passion for planes over personal grooming. Well, give me an unsmoothed expert enthused to share over a slick celebrity paid to learn any day of the week. The good news is that there are green shoots of fresh geek-dom on our screens. With a doffed cap to the storytelling talents of scientist Dr Hannah Fry, the numero uno of nerds is Guy Martin. First spotted by TV producers on his bike in a 2009 TT race, the Grimsby-born presenter brings his love for all things mechanical to TV, from building a boat to breaking the world record for the fastest toboggan. Refreshingly averse to celebrity over substance (he said no to hosting Top Gear), Martin must navigate authenticity with keeping producers happy. His latest series explores "proper jobs"– which I’m guessing means those requiring pre-dawn starts and dirty hands (strangely, I’ve not yet received the call), and it’s something he clearly admires. Nearly two decades after stardom beckoned, he still turns down TV work in favour of mending lorries and driving tractors. There are plenty out there. If you don’t recognise the name Wintergatan, you’re not one of the 276 million who have tuned into YouTube to watch this Swedish band’s frontman Martin Molin play an instrument he built using 2,000 marbles. Subsequently, Molin abandoned the project, calling it unreliable for the planned world tour. Like Martin, this techie is not for turning. On paper, Francis Bourgeois sounds dreadful: "TikTok content producer, brand ambassador, model." But at heart, he's a trainspotter, whose enthusiasm for all things locomotive has garnered millions of followers on social media. View oEmbed on the source website For a Channel 4 doc, he flirts with the idea of going to space and has a reality check when he prepares to meet a real astronaut: "I have to carry my engineering expertise to this meeting. The power of social media, that can only take one so far." Well, indeed, but in an age where we no longer learn how to mend a Land Rover, sew a dress or demolish a chimney, it is the modern mastery of such self-promotion that is key to promoting these skills and passions past, and where we’re reminded that there is no happier companionship than a shared niche. When Guy Martin's host family of dairy farmers throw him a party, the bubbly is popped, the burgers are turned, but where’s Guy? In a corner, showing the farmer’s son what ChatGPT has to say about hydraulic engine fluids. Doing stuff. Enthralled, enthralling. Mission to Space with Francis Bourgeois begins on Sunday 25 January at 6:50pm on Channel 4. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
What happened to Elizabeth Smart? Subject of Netflix's Kidnapped
The new documentary is available to watch now.
This article contains mention of sexual assault that some reads may find distressing. When 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted in 2002, it ignited one of the most intense and widely-covered missing persons cases America has ever seen. Now, told through exclusive interviews with Elizabeth herself and her family, new documentary Kidnapped traces the months during her captivity and the rescue that took place nine months later. Netflix has confirmed the film will dive into the "psychological and emotional toll on Elizabeth and her family, as well as their community's tireless search for answers". Read on to learn more about Elizabeth Smart and her harrowing ordeal. What happened to Elizabeth Smart? Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knifepoint from her home in the early hours of Wednesday 5th June 2002. During her captivity, Elizabeth was sexually assaulted and often starved. To stop her from escaping, she was shackled to a tree with a metal cable around her leg, as per Elizabeth's autobiography. Who abducted Elizabeth Smart? Brian David Mitchell abducted 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart. Mitchell broke into the home of Ed and Lois Smart and threatened Elizabeth with a knife before forcing her to walk four miles in her nightgown into the woods outside of Salt Lake City, where she was met by his wife, Wanda Barzee. How was Elizabeth Smart rescued? In March 2003, Smart was found miles from her home, walking the streets of Utah. She was spotted by a couple who recognised her. "We think we found a homeless girl that might be Elizabeth," Smart's father recalled the police telling him at the time. He wrote in his book: "She looked like a homeless girl … I wasn't certain at first that it was her. I went over and put my arms around her and just started bawling. I held her back, looked her in the eyes, and said, 'Is it really you, Elizabeth?'" Where is Elizabeth Smart now? Elizabeth Smart is a child safety activist and commentator for ABC News and has been an advocate for missing persons and spoken out against abstinence-only education. She is married, and is a mother of three children. "My children have brought so much happiness and joy. To me, they’re the very definition of love," Smart told People shortly after welcoming her child. "After I was rescued, when I first got home, I did not want to talk about what happened with anyone," she told Tudum. "And when the trial finally happened, I remember sitting up on the stand, giving these answers, and feeling like there was no context around them. "I remember thinking that if all of this was going to be out there anyway, I wanted it to have some meaning, and for it to serve a purpose. I wanted to have some ownership over my story. That helped me decide to share it." She continued: "There will be victims and survivors who watch this, and I hope they realise they’re not alone, and that they don’t have to be ashamed of what happened to them. And I hope that people who watch this can gain compassion and understanding for other families who are going through this. "I also hope it brings comfort that there are happy endings — and that even after terrible things happen, you can still have a wonderful life." Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Pete Wicks: "I don't understand why more people who have a platform don't give a voice to the voiceless"
The presenter of For Dogs' Sake discusses crying, not watching reality TV and why dogs and motorbikes are his happy place.
Pete Wicks is very much a dog person. In fact, he thinks they’re “better than people”, he tells Radio Times exclusively. In Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake, now in its third series, he follows the work of the Dogs Trust centre in Basildon, where he rescued his French bulldog Eric in 2016. His French bulldog Peggy, who he adopted in 2018, recently passed away, and he revealed he’s adopted four-month old Rodney from Dogs Trust. “Whatever love you give dogs, you get back tenfold. People are quite cruel. I cannot abide by people who don't treat animals with respect. I don't understand why more people who have a bit of a platform don't give a voice to the voiceless. That’s what I try to do in any way I possibly can. It means a lot to me,” Wicks says. Series one of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake was awarded the Best Popular Factual Programme at the Broadcast Digital Awards. At the rehoming centre, the 37-year-old works with the staff who he calls “heroes”. In tonight’s episode, which airs on U&W at 9pm, he helps them rescue three puppies who were illegally brought into the country. He also meets new mum Keira (in the video below), who has arrived on the brink of starvation. She’s given immediate care, but her case becomes even more complicated. View Green Video on the source website It makes for a tear-jerking watch, and Wicks doesn’t mind crying on camera when he’s touched by the stories. “It's something I didn't grow up with – that being the right response to things. It was: men are supposed to be a certain way, but it's absolutely wrong. Being vulnerable is one of the bravest things you can do. That release is important. Men cry too.” When was the last time he cried? “About a week ago [at the time of interview], but I’m not gonna say over what. “I imagine a lot of people think I'm quite arrogant, and I would hope that I'm not, because it's a horrible trait to have. I think people probably misjudge me based on the way I look, the tattoos and everything else. Actually, really, I'm just a big softie. I spend more time crying than I do anything else.” Wicks made his first TV appearance in The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) in 2015 and was a main cast member until 2021. He’s since appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebs Go Dating. “Back then, there was only Geordie Shore, TOWIE and Made in Chelsea. It wasn’t necessarily a career many of us were doing. I didn’t really know what I was getting into. The TV landscape was completely different then,” Wicks reflects. “I didn't have any social media when I first joined TV. I'm not a big fan of it. I do it because it's kind of work, but if I didn't do this job, I wouldn't have any at all. I'd just live in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dogs and goats.” He’s not a fan of reality TV and has never watched any of the shows he’s starred in, only For Dogs’ Sake, because as associate producer, he sees the cuts and edits. He explains, “You sometimes start to self-edit and then look at all the things you think are wrong with yourself." His team keep telling him he needs to go on The Celebrity Traitors and Race Across the World – shows he’s also never seen. “They sound like fun!” Wicks also co-hosts the podcast Staying Relevant with best mate Sam Thompson. “I think Sam and I are still trying to figure out how to f**king stay relevant,” he jokes. “It's just two mates catching up. Selfishly, started the project so we could do that. He’s annoying, but he’s my annoying.” Wicks also has Man Made, a podcast on YouTube, where he discusses masculinity with his guests, but what’s the one question he’d like to be asked? “No one has ever asked me what makes me happy. The answer to that is motorbikes and dogs. “Being on the motorbike is the only time I don't really have anything else in my brain. It’s like meditation for me – and being around dogs is when I am the most happy, the most content, and when I feel the most safe. They're my happy places.” Wicks calls himself a workaholic and says he always has to be busy. He’s also had bad insomnia since he was a child. “I don’t sleep very much. I only really get three, four hours a night. My body’s just kind of used to it now. My brain is quite overactive with a lot of different things." Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google. Wicks has also written three books, For the Love of Frenchies: The Dogs that Changed My Life, Never Enough, and Staying Relevant: The Book with Thompson. While juggling various projects, he ensures he shows up as his authentic self for them all. “If you start being what everyone else wants you to be, then you kind of lose who you are. That's a really dangerous place to be in for so many reasons. “I've made so many mistakes over the years, but I've never forgotten who I am. I think it's really, really important to be very selective about the people you have around you. They're the ones that will notice changes if you start to lose yourself, if you get carried away with the noise. “I've got a close group of people that I've known for a really long time who will always tell me when I'm wrong. Their opinion matters to me. What someone who's never met me but has seen me on TV thinks of me, I don't really care. You put yourself in a position where you're in the public eye, everyone is going to have opinions, and you can't moan about that, but not everyone's opinions are relevant to you. “If you can put your head on the pillow at the end of the day and think you're a good person, then you're doing something right.” Brand new episodes of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake are available to stream for free on U right now. Episode three airs tonight, 19 January, on U&W at 9pm. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I'm Ben Fogle and this is how my small breakdown made me stronger – and why I no longer strive for perfection
Writing in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, TV presenter Ben Fogle says he changed his life by limiting social media and embracing nature.
I used to strive for perfection. It was, partly, my own drive for personal achievement, but also an ever-increasing societal pressure – borne through social media – to be faster, better and to have more. In 2023, overwhelmed by noise and chaos and the negativity of social media, I had a wobble, a small breakdown, experiencing anxiety and paranoia for the very first time. There’s a mental health epidemic and its tentacles reach us all. Unfortunately, there remains a stigma that, if you admit to having ever struggled with your mental health, you’re somehow weak and fragile; a precious fruit that must be handled with great delicacy. But, just like a broken bone, our brains can heal with time and patience. Our experiences form a part of who we are and that does not make us weak or vulnerable. We’re moulded and shaped by our past, both good and bad. My own mental health challenges have made me stronger and more resilient. Those challenges have also given me compassion, a heightened awareness of our fragility and a shared experience with the people I visit in my series New Lives in the Wild, who have often fled a conventional life, turning their backs on the rat race, due to their own mental health struggles. Some 25 years ago, I was on one of the first reality shows, Castaway, and marooned for a year on a remote Scottish island. That also gave me an empathy for those who have chosen to live a simpler, humbler life. Filming New Lives in the Wild – which is back for a 20th series – I’ve seen how living off-grid in the wilderness has been a help following illness, bereavement, financial troubles or difficulties with mental health. Our contributors have found a sense of purpose, whether that’s living alone on a crocodile- and snake-infested remote island in Uganda; spending day and night in a small, simple narrowboat on the edge of the Peak District; or moving their family to a “wild west” mountaintop in Montana, USA, where daily life can be a matter of survival. Often they are living a more financially frugal life, some on just a few thousand pounds a year. The beauty of the series and the reason for its longevity is in its aspirational qualities. That doesn’t mean I hope viewers follow suit and move to Outer Mongolia, but you can take metaphors from our show. The metaphor that I’ve adopted in the past two years is that of simplifying life. We are all in danger of being overwhelmed with noise, materialism and fear. Social media, which has become an avalanche of negativity, fuels hate, encourages constant comparison and adds to the cacophony. I was an early adopter of social media, but now I use it less and less. I’ve spiked most of my social media apps. I limit the amount of news and current affairs I consume, I listen to upbeat podcasts and watch positive TV shows. Most importantly, I turn off my phone and go for long walks in the countryside with my dogs. I go for runs and I allow my brain to switch off and reboot. I find myself calmer and happier. I worry less, stress less, anger less, fixate less. Suddenly life becomes so much more achievable. I try to live in the now and focus on the present, but I don’t always succeed. One day I’d like to find a little off-grid cabin of my own, perhaps somewhere in Norway or Sweden – an island in the Arctic Circle sounds nice – where I can disappear into nature. There will be wood to chop and stack, cold early-morning swims, paddles on my Canadian canoe, plenty of dogs and maybe some new skills to learn, like painting or boat-building. In the meantime, I’ll try to shut out the noise and keep my life simple and happy. Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild airs Thursdays at 9pm on 5. Ben Fogle: Wild UK tour 2026 — book tickets at nothird.co.uk/live-shows/ben-fogle. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now - subscribe here. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? to air on 5 tonight following death of Queen legend's "secret daughter"
Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? will air tonight on 5 following the news that the Queen frontman's alleged secret child has died. The documentary first aired back in 2025, offering audiences "intriguing revelations about Freddie Mercury", after a biography claimed that Mercury had a secret child who had been conceived during an affair with the wife of a close friend in 1976. The documentary features Mercury's biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, who details her investigation into whether the rock legend could have fathered a child in the '70s and kept it from those closest to him. Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? will air on Friday 16th January at 10pm on 5. Lesley-Ann Jones, the author of Love, Freddie, told The Telegraph: "I can say now that I knew all along, while we were writing the book, that she may not live to see it published. The fact that she did was a miracle. "Her childhood chordoma, a rare cancer that affected the base of her spine, had long been in remission. It then reared. She always knew that it would. "The illness was the deciding factor in her decision to contact me, to tell me Freddie's story. She did not do it for money. Nor did she pay me. Nor would I have accepted payment from her. The mission was always to give her father back his truth... as it were, warts and all." In the biography titled Love, Freddie, the woman, who was called 'Bibi' by the Queen frontman (per the Daily Mail), said: "Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. "He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession." Doubts have been raised as to whether Mercury did have a secret child, with Mary Austin telling The Sunday Times: "Freddie had a glorious openness, and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him." Read more: Claudia Winkleman: Behind the Fringe documentary confirmed as "ultimate tribute" with family, friends and colleagues Si King reaffirms end of The Hairy Bikers as he grieves late Dave Myers: "There's no Hairy Bikers without my mate" The woman, whose identity is anonymised, died at the age of 48 after a long battle with cancer. B's husband told the Daily Mail in a statement: "B is now with her beloved and loving father in the world of thoughts. Her ashes were scattered to the wind over the Alps." She is survived by her husband and their two sons. Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? airs on Friday 16th January at 10pm on 5. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Sir Ian McKellen to lip-sync to newly discovered tapes as legendary British artist for "landmark" documentary-drama
Sir Ian McKellen has described the role as a "privilege".
Sir Ian McKellen is set to portray L.S. Lowry in a forthcoming BBC Arts Arena documentary, L.S. Lowry: The Unheard Tapes. Marking 50 years since Lowry's death, the immersive film will highlight the touching and often surprising exchange between the enigmatic artist and Angela Barratt, a young fan whose interviews capture Lowry's most intimate and reflective moments. Recording in the artist's very own living room, the tapes reveal Lowry's authentic voice, which Ian McKellen will lip-sync on screen. Ian McKellen said: "To give play to Lowry through his own voice has been a unique privilege. These tapes reveal an intimate insight into the artist’s thoughts - his ambitions, regrets and his humour. Anyone like me, who admires his paintings and drawings, will be intrigued and delighted that the artist is brought back to life through his own words." The synopsis continues: "Across these candid conversations, Lowry traces his journey from childhood through to his final days, sharing the memories and experiences that shaped both the artist and the man. "Alongside this deeply personal account, Arena: L.S Lowry: The Unheard Tapes also explores the dramatic transformation of Salford and Greater Manchester, the region Lowry depicted so prolifically and whose shifting industrial landscape profoundly influenced his work." The role of Angela will be played by Annabel Smith, who is currently appearing at The Royal Court Theatre in The Shitheads. Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor at BBC Arts, commented: "Marking 50 years since Lowry’s death, and celebrating Arena’s own 50-year tradition of ambitious, intelligent storytelling, this film comes at very special moment. The inspired casting of Ian McKellen and Annabel Smith - an echo of the age and energy between Lowry and Angela - feels like life imitating art in the best possible way. But this film isn’t just about the life of the artist, it also provides an insight into the realities of urban life in Greater Manchester in the 20th century." Richard Grossick, on behalf of the Lowry Estate, added: "The estate is delighted that 50 years on from the death of L.S.Lowry the BBC has chosen to commission L.S.Lowry: The Unheard Tapes as part of Arena’s birthday celebrations. It is good fortune that these compelling recordings of interviews conducted by the young Angela Barratt have survived and are being used in this way. "Wall to Wall have brought together a remarkable team of creatives to meticulously shape the programme, it has been a great pleasure collaborating with them. The involvement of Ian McKellen completes what might be considered a dream team. As an admirer and champion of the artist’s work it is hard to imagine any other actor better equipped to channel the rhythmical allure of Mr Lowry’s distinctive bygone Lancastrian tones." L.S. Lowry: The Unheard Tapes will air on BBC Two and iPlayer soon. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Claudia Winkleman: Behind the Fringe documentary confirmed as "ultimate tribute" with family, friends and colleagues
"We want this to feel like the ultimate tribute from her many fans, collaborators and friends."
5 has commissioned a brand-new documentary charting the meteoric rise to fame of none other than Claudia Winkleman. The 90-minute special, Claudia Winkleman: Behind the Fringe, will explore how the presenter has reshaped some of Britain's biggest entertainment formats, including Strictly Come Dancing and her hilarious chemistry with Dave Arch. Featuring interviews with friends, collaborators and colleagues from across her remarkable career, the documentary will also examine her daring and often outrageous costumes on The Traitors, which have made her a global fashion icon. The synopsis continues: "Beyond the studio lights, the programme asks a deeper question: what makes Claudia, Claudia? With contributions from leading PR and brand experts, the film analyses the unique blend of traits that make her so irresistible to audiences and broadcasters alike. "From her instantly recognisable fringe and unapologetic devotion to fake tan, to her healthy and hilarious self-deprecation and her rare ability to be both glamorous and completely relatable." Special interviewees include Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas, Strictly celebrities Angela Rippon and Richard Arnold, along with dancers Kai Widdrington and Karen Hauer. We'll also hear from The Traitors stars Wilfred Webster and Diane Carson, along with Janet Street Porter, who gave Claudia her first on screen gig, Stuart Murphy, Katie Puckrik and Boyd Hilton. Greg Barnett, Commissioning Editor at 5, said: "Claudia Winkleman is quite simply one of the most important broadcasters of her generation. She has an extraordinary ability to connect with audiences in a way that feels both completely natural and utterly unique. "This film is a joyful, affectionate and insightful celebration of everything that makes her such a compelling presence on our screens, and we’re delighted to be working with Middlechild to bring this story to life." Emma Clarke, Executive Producer at Middlechild, added: "Claudia is endlessly fascinating she is hilarious, self-aware, brilliantly talented and completely herself. This documentary allows us to look beyond the fringe and explore not just her incredible career, but the personality and values that have made her such a defining figure in British television. We want this to feel like the ultimate tribute from her many fans, collaborators and friends." Claudia Winkleman: Behind the Fringe will air on 5. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lorraine Kelly reveals why you won't see her naked in a sauna for Norwegian Odyssey: "Nobody wanted to see that from me"
The TV star is making the most of what Norway has to offer in her new Channel 4 series.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “There are a lot of similarities with Scotland,” says Lorraine Kelly after visiting Norway for her new travelogue. The Glasgow-born presenter should know thanks to her background, and also because her Norwegian Odyssey for Channel 4 involved multiple trips, in both winter and summer, and her advice is unequivocal: “It’s expensive – I’d say that to anybody who’s thinking of going there – but my goodness me, it’s well worth it.” So what was the highlight of your trip, Lorraine? The Northern Lights were unbelievable. I’ve tried to see them before, in Sweden, Finland and Orkney, and never had any luck. In fact, when I was in Sweden, staying at the Ice Hotel, people were able to see them in Dundee but we saw nothing! So I was desperate to see them in Norway, but we only had a three-day window. Then suddenly we saw this wall of green with a sort of pink tinge. The whole sky was green, with this light going right back over our heads, like a kind of green rainbow. So famous people get a special performance, huh? Well, obviously, of course! But no, we were just incredibly lucky. Even Tom, our “aurora hunter” – that’s his actual job – said, “Wow, this is spectacular!”, so we knew we were seeing something special. Where were you? We were just out beyond Nordkapp, which is a cape at the very top of Norway. And we were on a Hurtigruten ship – one of those that you can cruise on for a holiday, but they’re also working vessels, which connect all the little towns along the fjords. They’re the best way to get around, because the coastline is so rugged and looks like animals have chewed bits off the edges. You’re right in the middle of things, too, and you see so much: we saw orcas, sea eagles, everything. You sailed into Hjørundfjord, too – which locals say is the most beautiful fjord in the world. Are they right? Oh, that was really something. The ship goes right in up this narrow fjord, and the captain then has to turn it around very skillfully because there’s not much room. You get so very close to the cliffs that you feel you could stretch your hand out and touch them. There’s something about the landscape there that makes you feel very small – which is no bad thing, actually, because it helps you really appreciate the glory of the planet. That blue sea, the white snow, and the crags – oh, it’s glorious! That area, the Sunnmøre Alps, is famous for mountain hiking. Did you strap your boots on, or get a body double for the cliff-edge bits? No, it’s not dangerous at all. The trails are pretty easy, and they’ve got lots of these lovely little huts along the way so if the weather gets really bad, there’s somewhere to shelter. But it’s the smell that I remember: that lovely, fresh, sharp pine scent. It really reminded me of when I used to go hiking in the hills of Perthshire. We see you foraging on the shores of the Lofoten Islands. You wouldn’t try that in Britain, though, right? But it’s so clear and clean up there. So yes, I went out with these wonderful girls – they’re like mermaids – harvesting seaweed off the beach. They make food and skincare products out of it. Did you put it on your face or in your mouth? Both! There are specific types of seaweed they make into seasonings, and others for beauty products. It felt very soothing and healing. But almost everything in Norway feels pure and wholesome. I did a cold water plunge, and you feel so glowing afterwards: energised, enthusiastic, like you can do anything because your brain’s fizzing and your body’s tingling. You start off in the sauna, where all the Norwegians are sitting around having a laugh and a singsong and a few wee drams, then you come out and jump in. But isn’t the traditional sauna culture in Norway… naked? There was no nakedness involved; nobody wanted to see that from me! I think me in a swimming costume is enough for everyone – we wouldn’t want to inflict any more than that on the world. Is there anything there for those of us who are less rugged than you? I was really surprised by the cities. Tromsø is so far north, but it was a real eye-opener to see how gorgeous and sophisticated it is, and I loved its Polar Museum because I’m a real geek about those heroic explorers – Sir Ernest Shackleton is my big hero. Then in Trondheim I went kayaking on the river Nid, which was a brilliant way to see the town because historically the river is the heart of any city, and you get such a different view. You see so much more than if you were just driving around. The water was pristine too, so if you did fall in, it wouldn’t be disgusting like the Thames – just a bit… chilly! The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Lorraine Kelly's Norwegian Odyssey begins on Channel 4 at 8pm on Thursday 15 January. Visit our TV guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I'm Winterwatch ornithologist Jack Baddams and this is why feeding birds might be doing more harm than good
Writing for Radio Times magazine, the Winterwatch star explains why the common practice might not be for the best...
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. I’ve fed the birds for as long as I can remember, and I’m not alone. We love seeing birds on our windowsills and balconies and in our gardens, and want to help them. In the UK, it’s estimated that every year 17 million households spend £250 million, collectively, on bird food. There is, however, growing chatter among conservationists about whether feeding the birds is all it’s cracked up to be. It’s an issue we’ll address on this year’s Winterwatch – might we be doing more harm than good? One of the biggest concerns is that bird feeders spread disease, sometimes with devastating consequences. In 2005, the disease trichomonosis made the jump from pigeons to greenfinches after they shared feeding stations. The greenfinch population crashed by 62 per cent and the species is now on the red list. Their close cousin, the chaffinch, is suffering a similar fate, with almost 40 per cent disappearing in just 11 years. The RSPB has stopped selling bird tables and other flat-surface feeders while it awaits the outcome of a review into the issue. We should also consider the staggering quantity of food we leave out for birds. In the UK we buy more than 150,000 tons of bird food every year. Where does it all come from? Bird food is farmed, like any other crop. The ground is worked and often sprayed with chemicals to suppress native plants that might compete. Some of our favourite bird food, like peanuts, is grown in warm climates and so shipped here from around the world. A third issue is the ecological effect of all that bird food. Does feeding favour all birds equally? Some of our garden bird populations are thriving, with 40 per cent more great tits and 152 per cent more goldfinches than 30 years ago. Other populations, though, like that of the pied flycatcher, are plummeting. After flying to Africa for winter, the pied flycatchers should return to UK woodlands to find that the colder months have knocked back numbers of some of their nest-hole competitors, like blue tits and great tits. With a constant supply of bird food, however, competitor populations have risen, while theirs – which doesn’t benefit from feeders, as they prefer insects – has decreased by 38 per cent in three decades. Scientists are working to increase our understanding of how feeding might alter bird populations, but it appears that we could also be changing birds’ bodies. A study into the beak lengths of great tits found that British birds’ bills are becoming longer. The researchers’ best guess as to why this change is happening is that they’re evolving a longer beak to help them get food from bird feeders. We’ve all been encouraged to feed the birds for years, including by us on Winterwatch, where this year we’ll feature red squirrels, pine martens, badgers and songbirds at our new base of Mount Stewart, a National Trust estate in County Down. But if feeding might be more problematic than we thought, what can we do instead to help birds get through the winter? You can bring them to your garden or balcony with plants that produce berries, nuts and seeds. Replicate nature as best as you can, in whatever outdoor space you’ve got to work with. Sunflowers are a great option, providing nectar for insects in the summer and tasty seeds when the flowers have finished. Plant native bushes and trees, like oak, birch, guelder rose or hawthorn, that provide home for lots of insects for birds to eat, or make a pond that will catapult the biodiversity in your garden through the roof. Put simply, when it comes to helping our feathered friends, think about how you can build an ecosystem, not just a fast-food restaurant. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Winterwatch returns at 7pm on Tuesday 20 January on BBC Two and iPlayer. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Where is Jodi Hildebrandt now? Subject of Netflix's Evil Influencer series
The new documentary is available on the streamer now.
From the director behind Unknown Number: The High School Catfish comes yet another deeply shocking documentary – Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story. The feature-length documentary traces Hildebrandt's rise within her community and the events that uncovered the abuse and rescue of two young children. "All of these things were happening in full view and broadcast to the world," director Skye Borgman told Tudum. "This kind of manipulative behaviour and coercive control can happen right in front of your eyes. It's essential to understand that if we want to prevent this from happening again." Read on to learn further about Jodi Hildebrandt and her crimes, and where she is as of 2026. Who is Jodi Hildebrandt? Jodi Hildebrandt is a former therapist and counsellor. Though much of her personal life has been kept private, Hildebrandt got married in 1993 and had two children with her now ex-husband. Upon their divorce in 1996, Hildebrandt returned to university and studied English, before obtaining her master's degree in psychology in 2003. She soon rose to prominence with her relationship counselling business, the now defunct ConneXions, a programme designed to help people "learn to successfully navigate life and relationships". As per People, ConneXions offered individual, group, couple and family therapy, as well as week-long programmes and workshops. It was estimated that Hildebrandt was earning approximately $46,000 per month. How did Jodi Hildebrandt know Ruby Franke? In 2019, Jodi Hildebrandt met Ruby Franke after Ruby and her former husband Kevin turned to Jodi for counselling. Soon, Ruby became a prominent figure in a number of classes and videos for ConneXions and the pair often collaborated. It was around this time when viewers of Ruby's now defunct YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, grew suspicious of some of the published content. In one video, Franke told the camera that her daughter "needed" to go hungry after she forgot to take her lunch to school that day. "Hopefully nobody gives her food and nobody steps in and gives her a lunch, because then she's not going to learn," she said in the video (via BBC News). In 2023, Hildebrandt and Ruby moved Ruby's youngest children to Hildebrandt's home in Utah, in which strict punishments were enforced. "Ms. Franke and Ms. Hildebrandt held Franke's 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter in a work-camp like setting," the Washington County Attorney’s Office previously said in a statement. "The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment." When did Jodi Hildebrandt get arrested? Hildebrandt was arrested in August 2023, after Ruby's 12-year-old son climbed out of a window and ran to a neighbour's home, asking for food and water. The boy appeared emaciated and had duct tape on his ankles and wrists. The neighbour went on to call the police. What was Jodi Hildebrandt charged with? Jodi Hildebrandt was charged with six counts of felony child abuse. In December 2023, she pleaded guilty to four felony counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse. What was Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced to? Hildebrandt was sentenced to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years in February 2024. Her first parole hearing is set for December 2026. Where is Jodi Hildebrandt now? Jodi Hildebrandt is currently serving time at Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City. Ruby Franke also pleaded guilty. She and Hildebrandt received the same sentence and are serving time in the same prison, though in separate sections. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lucy Worsley: Sarah Everard case makes me fear we are not somehow "better" than the Victorians
Victorian crimes against women have unsettling parallels with the present.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Thinking about what happened in 2021 to Londoner Sarah Everard sends a shiver down every woman’s spine. The 33-year-old was walking home at night when she was tricked into getting in the car of an off-duty police officer, a man she probably felt she could trust. She was raped and murdered. Just over 130 years earlier, despite the passage of time between the two women’s lives, there’s a depressing sense of déjà vu with another Londoner, also named Sarah. In 1889, Sarah Warburton was raped by a waterman, the Victorian equivalent of a taxi driver. Sarah Warburton had been in a pub south of the river, but her home was on the north bank. The new Tower Bridge, intended to solve this problem, was still only half finished. As Sarah got into this friendly waterman’s boat, another woman reassured her that “she would be perfectly safe with him.” I believe Sarah Warburton’s attacker was the Victorian serial killer known as the Thames Torso Murderer. He was the most notorious killer you’ve probably never heard of, because Jack the Ripper overshadows him. It sounds shocking that two killers could be living in the same city at the same time. Yet overcrowded, transient communities – like the poorer parts of 1880s London – enable serial killers to operate. The Torso Murderer dismembered his victims, leaving body parts in and around the river. By the time Sarah Warburton got into that boat in October 1889, four headless female torsos had been found: at Rainham, Essex (1887), Whitehall (1888), Battersea (June 1889) and Whitechapel (September 1889). The murders remained unsolved for 130 years. But in our new series Victorian Murder Club, we showcase the work of a third Sarah: a researcher called Sarah Bax Horton, who has – to my satisfaction – discovered the culprit. The evidence wouldn’t stand up in a court of law, but it’s still compelling. Bax Horton’s breakthrough was to use something the Victorian police could not: a digital newspaper database. She searched it using two filters: one for the Thames, and another for violent crimes against women, and deduced that the Torso Murderer had probably also committed a string of lesser crimes, just as Sarah Everard’s killer had been accused of multiple incidents of indecent exposure. Out of her search popped the rape of Sarah Warburton, and the name of the waterman who assaulted her: James Crick. He fits the profile, and the timeline, and had something crucial for these river-based crimes: the privacy and mobility of his boat. Sarah Warburton’s testimony in court, reported in the newspapers, claimed Crick told her that if she made a noise, he would “settle” her, “as I have done other women that have been found in the Thames". The newspapers revealed that despite previous accusations of domestic violence and rape, the police had failed to convict Crick. If they’d done so, perhaps his murder victims might have lived. Just as opportunities were missed to stop Sarah Everard’s killer. But after Crick picked up Sarah Warburton, his luck turned. A passing police officer heard her screams and arrested him, and Sarah’s courtroom testimony put him away in prison. And after that, the Thames Torso Murders stopped. For me, the most chilling thing is the way the women who got into Crick’s boat must have trusted him. I hate advising other women to be careful at night. The people who should change their behaviour aren’t women, but the men who want to kill them. But as the just-published inquiry into Sarah Everard’s death reveals, it “remains the case that women in public spaces are at risk from those men who choose to predate upon them". You’d expect us to be somehow “better” than the Victorians. I fear we’re not. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Lucy Worsley: Victorian Murder Club begins Monday 5 January at 9pm on BBC Two. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
David Baddiel explains why he's pushing back on cat stereotypes in new show with Ricky Gervais and Jonathan Ross
From his three pet cats to Three Lions, the comedian is a feline-obsessive.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. What’s the view from your sofa? We’ve got quite a big sofa, in front of the telly and a gas fire. Normally there are two or three cats on or around it and a mix of family. I like to decide what to watch around 8pm. If we leave it to half nine, I’ll be falling asleep, as will my wife [writer Morwenna Banks], and the kids will be FaceTiming friends. Do you agree on what to watch together? She won’t thank me for mentioning this, because it sounds a bit self-indulgent, but Morwenna has showrun Down Cemetery Road [the Apple TV thriller starring Emma Thompson] and likes us all to watch it together. That can be quite complicated, because if we start talking, she’s like, “Shhh, this is a good bit!” My son Ezra and I watch football together, and my daughter Dolly and I recently watched Severance with Frank Skinner, who lives on the same street. Morwenna and I are keener on documentaries. You’ve also written a new TV drama? Yeah, I love storytelling and I really enjoyed writing Hunting Alice Bell [an upcoming C4 thriller], which is about four women who are mistaken for being the lover of a notorious serial killer and come out fighting against the mob. It’s a metaphor for the disinformation and madness we’re seeing now and also a fairly low-budget thriller, so seeing a helicopter blow up on Down Cemetery Road stirred some complicated feelings. Do your cats watch telly? Tiger really likes telly, although Ron and Zelda are less bothered. Tiger loves sport and sometimes music, especially the Bee Gees. They’re all from the same mum, but we gave Zelda to my parents as a kitten. When my dad got dementia and my mum died, Zelda was mainly living in the garden. By the time she came back to us, it wasn’t like Long Lost Family, unless Long Lost Family had an episode where someone spat and hissed at their new mum. Zelda [pictured above] is very high maintenance, Tiger loves you unconditionally and Ron is a weirdo, although he’s become more friendly since his mum died. What is David Baddiel: Cat Man about? It’s a polemic, in a way, pushing back on stereotypes that cats don’t do anything, that they’re mean and selfish and have no empathy compared to dogs. The programme has paddleboarding cats, cats that go for walks, cats that help out at hospitals, and I have Jonathan Ross, Ricky Gervais, Dawn O’Porter and other people speaking about cats in a very emotional way. Have you always been a cat person? My dad was a Welsh working-class bloke whose top note was irritation. I said at his funeral that he was a man who liked football, food and shouting, “Who the f**king hell is this now?” every time the phone rang. The one place he showed affection was towards our cat, which was foundational for my brothers and me because we’ve all ended up as cat people. The relationship you might have with a cat is possibly more complex than with a dog, and cats are more like humans. You’ve been called the voice of football, alternative comedy, laddism, British Jews... Would you drop all those to be the voice of cats? Absolutely! I’ve always been obsessed, to some extent, with cats. I don’t feel very happy unless there’s a cat in the vicinity. I also don’t particularly like being seen as one thing. When I’m asked to speak about antisemitism, I tend to say no now – not because it’s not still a very important issue, but because I’ve decided to not be seen as an activist. Your 1996 single Three Lions will be rolled out at the World Cup this year. Does that still make you proud? Well, there’s been a concerted effort by the FA to supplant it with Sweet Caroline, which is weird, given it’s an American anthem and not about football. In the Gareth Southgate era, there was a sense of needing to move on, especially because our 1998 version had audio footage of him missing the penalty, so I understood why he found that difficult! But I’m very proud of Three Lions. The music’s great and the lyrics do connect with football fans. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. David Baddiel: Cat Man begins on Friday 16th January at 8pm on Channel 4. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Si King reaffirms end of The Hairy Bikers as he grieves late Dave Myers: "There's no Hairy Bikers without my mate"
"Nobody’s ever going to take his place."
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. "It's done," says Si King. "That’s it. The Bikers were plural. There’s no Hairy Bikers without my mate." That emphatic loyalty to his late co-presenter, Dave Myers – and the sharp left-turn King's career is now taking because of it – makes profound sense when you know their shared history. The pair had been close friends for three decades when Myers died of cancer in 2024 – "He doesn’t stop being your best mate just because he’s passed away. That’s never going to go. We were like brothers: we drove each other mad, because we were two very different people, but we absolutely adored each other." Their friendship was forged over a shared passion for food and motorbikes, while working behind the camera (King as an assistant director and Myers as a make-up artist) on a TV drama in 1992 – and they went on to make more than 30 series together as the Hairy Bikers. "So nobody’s ever going to take his place," sighs King."I don’t want to look in the rear-view mirror of my motorcycle and see anyone else there. It’s Dave, you know? And the same when he was leading: I drove hundreds of miles looking at his ugly ass. That’s my memory, that’s what I want to keep. That’s what it was about." Right now, King seems to have one eye on the road ahead – and his new show for More4, Britain’s Favourite Railway Stations with Si King – and one still looking back over his shoulder. "You have to move forward, but the only way you can do that is by cherishing the memories. Dave and I did 650,000 miles in the saddle together. That's more than to the Moon and back. "And the experiences we had? I used to say we were probably the two most overstimulated middle-aged men on the planet. We’d be waiting for the drone camera to go up, say, sat at the top of a mountain on two motorcycles with the most incredible views. We’d have walkie-talkies and somebody would come on and go, ‘Right, lads, on you come.’ And we’d just look at each other, and look skywards and say, ‘I don’t know what we’ve done to deserve this. But thanks!'" The 59-year-old comes over as genuinely grateful, too, to his Hairy Bikers fans. Indeed it’s partly viewers, he says, who have pushed him on into a post- Bikers future and his first major solo project since the death of his beloved friend: “It’s incredibly humbling that people ask, ‘What are you going to do next? We’re really looking forward to it.’ There’s love in that, and there’s an energy.” It turns out that what he did next was abandon bikes and food altogether to make a four-part series about railway stations. Which is funny, because the nation never had this rock-star-maned, six-foot-two, leather-wearing trencherman down as the trainspotter type. So is he really trying to tell us he’ll be snapping up that Senior Railcard as soon as he qualifies, on his next birthday? “I’m constantly on trains!” he insists. “Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have children [three grown-up sons with his ex-wife] and a dog, so anytime I go anywhere I can’t use my bike, I’m on the railway. I still live in the North East, so I’m back and forth to London quite regularly. And I like being on trains because you get to see stuff. “My Uncle George used to say we’ve forgotten about the ancient art of just sitting, so I loved being able to do that, instead of charging around everywhere.” (What he didn’t love so much was “trying to do a long piece-to-camera in between the platform announcements”.) “If you’re riding a bike, you’re concentrating on people trying to kill you. My brother and sister live in Italy, and I’d rather take the train and have that time and space than be corralled onto an aircraft and then dumped – it’s a more civilised way of travel, and it’s a different pace. I genuinely love trains and stations.” His enthusiasm is as infectious as a sneeze on a crowded commuter train. “The architecture, the atmosphere, the movement of people, that grandeur from the Industrial Revolution, the sense of momentum, the way they’re central to their communities, the way every single social stratum, colour and creed goes through that station… I loved standing there, whether it was York or Glasgow Central or Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast, and seeing the character and personality of wherever I was without even stepping out of the station.” So next season, will he be waxing just as lyrical about other parts of Britain’s transport infrastructure? Motorway service stations maybe, or Premier Inns on roundabouts? “I’d be happy! I stay at one of those when I go down to see my grandkids. It’s great because the staff have got no idea who I am, as they’re seeing me completely out of context. I can just go down to the vending machine and get a Picnic bar.” Back on track, he won’t name his favourite among Britain’s Favourite Railway Stations, but there’s clearly a special place in his heart for the old rack-and-pinion line up Mount Snowdon – for reasons both historical and personal. “First of all, the railway was all about coal, then slate. But then it became about leisure. These wealthy industrialists thought, ‘Hold on, we’ve got a thousand-metre mountain in the middle of nowhere,’ so they decided to branch the line. And the men took 14 months to build that railway, with picks and shovels and dynamite.” Meanwhile, his own history with the Snowdon Mountain Railway goes back to the death of his father, when King was a child: “After my dad died, to give my mam a break, I went to stay at my Uncle Gordon’s in Everton. He was a big rambler, so we walked the path up Snowdon on numerous occasions. I was about 12, so I was always asking, ‘Can we get the train up?’ because I knew you could get cakes on the train. This went on for years and eventually I just thought, ‘I’m never going to get on this bloody train.’ It’s taken me till I’m nearly 60, but thanks to TV, I’ve finally made it.” The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Britain's Favourite Railway Stations with Si King begins on Thursday 8th January at 9pm on More4. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
"I'm the Making a Murderer lawyer – what you didn't see changed my life"
Steven Avery's attorney reflects on the Netflix documentary a decade after it was released.
When Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi made a short film for their Master of Fine Arts in Film course at Columbia University, they didn’t expect it to turn into a Netflix viral juggernaut. Making a Murderer is a 2015 documentary about Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, filmed over 10 years. At the age of 22, Avery served 18 years in prison from 1985-2003 after his wrongful conviction for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Ann Beerntsen, before being exonerated through DNA testing. In 2005, 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach was murdered. Avery and Dassey were convicted in separate trials and were both sentenced to life in prison for this crime. However, the documentary presents the possibility that Avery and Dassey, who was 16 at the time and has learning difficulties, were not responsible for Halbach's death. Lawyers Dean Strang and Jerry Buting defended Avery, and became cult heroes, with more than 19 million people in the US watching the series in its first five weeks. Now Strang, who has a new podcast, I Rest My Case with Jonathan Goldberg KC, explains how it impacted his life, 10 years after the documentary was released. Why did you want to become a lawyer? I didn't want to become a lawyer. Since being young, I had my heart set on being an editorial cartoonist, but my dad was never excited about it – he thought it was doodling. During my undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College [in New Hampshire], I realised as much as I love cartooning, it wasn’t a full-time job. My dad’s sister was a lawyer and he pushed law school, and at the time there was a huge demand for new lawyers. I got into University of Virginia School of Law [he graduated in 1985]. During my first year, I got a call from the editor of the Milwaukee morning paper I had freelanced for offering me the cartoonist role as theirs was leaving. I already really liked law school. Within a week or two, I was like, “Wow, I had no idea this would be so interesting,” so I turned down my dream job. In 1990, I had my first high-profile trial that the media called the Dairy Princess murder. There was no internet and no social media, but it got intense television and radio coverage, and a made-for-TV movie made about it later. How did you get involved in Making a Murderer? There was a civil lawsuit going on [Avery filed a $36 million civil lawsuit against Manitowoc County for his wrongful conviction in the 1985 assault case], and the two lawyers who were representing Steven, Walt Kelly and Steve Glenn, gave Steven mine and Jerry’s name, and a few others. Steve called to say, “I don’t know if they’ll call you, but if you get in, you should know there's these two student filmmakers on the scene, they're great, they're smart, they're likeable, nice, interesting people, but just be aware they're there all the time.” I did get in, and then I suggested bringing Jerry in and the two of us doing it together. We could split the fee and make it work better than either one of us alone. How did your first meeting go with filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi? They had already been in Manitowoc for three months, talked with Steven via phone from jail, met all his family and established a good rapport. Jerry and I met with them in 2006/2007 and sounded out their project, what they were doing and their goal. They were really impressive, bright people. We said we have a murder case to defend, we can’t be distracted, and we have lawyer-client privilege. Laura practised law for a couple of years, so she understood and said they wouldn’t interfere or get in the way, so that was reassuring lawyer to lawyer. We struck an agreement with them on what the terms of our cooperation would be and they kept their word. There's no murder porn in this, and that was really important to us and them. There's no reenactment or spooky music. They weren't going to make theatrical someone's death. They were going to pursue a documentarian's vantage point and try to query how this system is working for everybody affected by it. I have fewer qualms about Making a Murderer than I do about the [true crime] genre in general. Are you a fan of true crime? Not at all. I think there's a lot that's unhealthy about it. At its worst, it exploits human pain for profit. It’s some of the most intense pain people can feel – for instance, losing a child to murder or seeing a son, a brother, a husband go off to prison for the rest of his life. Other than the lawyers, the cops and the paid volunteer participants in the system, all the involuntary participants are having the worst experience of their lives, which lasts, especially in a murder. You're never getting that loved one back. There is legitimate public interest in how the system functions. Is it failing victims? Is it failing the accused? Is it failing the public more broadly? It's about walking the line between allowing a broader public to gauge how ethically, accurately, responsibly the system is working on the one hand, and then simply exploiting pain and tragedy and peering voyeuristically into people on the other. It's treacherous territory from my perspective. Do you think Making a Murderer sparked a new interest in true crime? The podcast Serial came out first [in October 2014], then The Jinx [February 2015], then Making a Murderer [December 2015]. I think the coalescence of those three things, at least in North America, produced a resurgence of interest in true crime. I think one of the reasons for the uptake of Making a Murderer is that very few countries in the world allow cameras in their courtrooms – they started being allowed in the US in the 1980s and still photography was allowed back in the 1930s. During the Steven Avery trial, even in a small-town America courthouse, it had a soundproof room at the back of the courtroom with a glass wall where the media could shoot through the glass and there were remote cameras on the ceiling. The rule is you just can’t film the jurors. Outside the courtroom, there’s still the scrum where people run up to you with cameras and microphones – it can be a little disorienting, but it just becomes part of what you have to do. Did you ever think the series would reach as many people as it did? I thought this was a very low-risk, low stakes undertaking for us, that the chances anybody outside of a classroom at Columbia would see or hear me were very low. Moira and Laura had to make a final 15 or 20-minute short film to get their master’s degree, and they did hope for more than that, which they described to us as a documentary. To me, it meant 90 to 120 minutes in an arthouse theatre with a total audience of 30 people, 18 of whom were family members and filmmakers. They got their master's degrees, and then maybe a year later, they entered a 30-minute version in the Tribeca Film Festival under the name 18 to Life, and it got accepted. My wife and I, and Jerry and his wife, went out. We'd never been to a film festival and we had a nice weekend in New York, hanging out in Tribeca and trying to be cool and all. In this short film, I'm not sure either one of us was in that at all – I don't remember the lawyers playing any significant role. Then we didn't hear a thing from them for years. What happened next? In 2014, Laura and Moira called up out of the blue and said, “We’re still working on this, and we want to shoot some follow-up footage.” They came out to Wisconsin for half a day or something, shot some footage, and then we didn't hear anything until November 2015. I got a call saying they had sold the film and they were turning it into 10 episodes, which would be out right before Christmas. I snorted and laughed – a murder trial in an obscure corner of Wisconsin... what great Christmas fare! It sounded like the dumbest marketing scheme to me. Moira and Laura said they’d send Jerry and me a watermarked DVD of all the episodes, but I passed. I had lived it. It was and is painful. We lost the case we should have won. I don’t like watching videos or seeing photos of myself. Jerry watched it and we went to see Steven in prison before it came out, because he would never be able to see it. Jerry said, “It’s pretty good, it’s basically fair to you, there’s no cheap shots, there’s nothing libellous or wrong with it.” My wife made me watch it two or three weeks after it came out because it was blowing up. I’m not sure I watched the whole second season. What was the initial response like? It sort of was a catapult, because it came out on 18 December 2015, and I got my first email from a stranger in South Carolina that night who had gone to the trouble to find my email through my firm website and write me this long, thoughtful, well-written email. By Monday, I had hundreds of emails. I would say foremost in Ireland, followed by Australia, then England, the reaction was, “Oh my God, all the bad stuff that happens here also happens in the US. We thought the US justice system was supposed to be so great, because you're always telling us it is, but wow, you’ve got the same problems we have.” In the Scandinavian countries, it was a very different reaction on the whole. There was this really high confidence of: “This wouldn’t have happened here.” I would write back saying, “Good, and maybe you're exactly right, but just be careful, because criminologists will tell you the system misfires everywhere, no matter how your system is structured.” That same Monday, our assistant said a guy claiming to be Alec Baldwin wanted to leave a voicemail for me. I thought one of my college friends was playing a prank on me, but it was him. He was very kind to me, and continued to be. Right before his movie career took off, he was going to apply to law school, and was still interested in law. How long would you say the interest lasted after the show came out? Only about two years, but that can seem like a long time, but mostly it was a great ride. I was away from home 250 days a year for the first couple of years, so I had to drop back dramatically from practising law. It became hard to get back in full throttle. Other lawyers who referred me cases would say I was too busy or was off speaking somewhere, and so the phone stopped ringing. I've been teaching full-time since 2019. I've gone from almost every student in my classroom having seen Making a Murderer to zero students having heard of it. The collective memory is very short. What was your hope after Making a Murderer came out? For the Avery family, the Halbach family, and the cops and lawyers involved, this is a really, really important case. For everybody else on the entire planet, it’s not. If you don't like what you saw happening in one tiny rural community in one country, ask yourself, what's happening in the courthouses near me, in an area where I could do something about it? Wrongful convictions and wrongful acquittals happen everywhere. Watch seasons 1 & 2 of Making a Murderer on Netflix. Episodes of I Rest My Case are released weekly from Thursday 8 January. Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.