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Forty years of friendship deserve a proper celebration. For Neil Morrissey and Martin Clunes, that means a road trip through the picturesque landscapes of southern France. “Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage,” premiering this Tuesday, reunites the “Men Behaving Badly” stars for a journey down memory lane – with a few new adventures thrown in for […]

Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage Series Premiere...

Neil Morrissey and Martin Clunes, stars of the classic sitcom Men Behaving Badly, are back together for a new travel series on Gold, Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage. The three-part show will see Morrissey showing Clunes the best of southern France, with Gold now confirming it starts at 9pm on Tuesday, 25 March. Here’s the […]

Clunes and Morrissey Reunite! Men Behaving Badly Stars Set for French Road Trip...

Martin Clunes has been adoring our screen for decades, be it in comedy or drama, and he’s at the top of his game in new agriculture-thriller (the famous sub-genre) Out There, which launched on ITV on Sunday January 19. Playing a Welsh farmer in a show about a widowed father and his son (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), who gets caught up in county lines drug dealing, we had the pleasure of speaking to Clunes to discuss this latest project.

We speak about his research and his process, and working with his wife, who serves as a producer on the series. He discusses the positive reviews, and whether he still sits down and watches his shows when they are televised. We also get onto the subject of Men Behaving Badly and his upcoming road-doc with former co-star and friend Neil Morrissey, called Bon Voyage – while we simply couldn’t let this opportunity...

Pub- based comedy drama Mother’s Pride will be in cinemas next year, and the cast has now been confirmed.

The British film industry has been releasing a steady stream of comedy dramas over the last few years, full of homegrown talent both in front of and behind the camera.

In 2018, Stephen Graham and comedian Dave Johns led the cast of wrestling comedy Walk Like A Panther, although perhaps the most notable example is the Fisherman’s Friends series, which chronicled the unlikely story of a group of fisherman who form a band and release an album of sea shanties to critical and commercial acclaim.

This led to life imitating art, as the actual band the film was based on saw a huge surge in popularity, with albums climbing up the charts and multiple sell out national tours.

According to the British Comedy Guide, the team behind Fisherman’s Friends is now producing...

Bob the Builder is heading to the big screen, courtesy of Amazon and Jennifer Lopez, here are the details.

We can’t be the only ones who never expected to type the words Bob The Builder and Jennifer Lopez in the same sentence, but here we are.

Background first. Bob The Builder began life as an animated television series, created by Keith Chapman in 1990 – Chapman went on to create the hugely successful Paw Patrol. Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey voiced the titular character for a whopping eighteen series between 1999 and 2011. It followed the jovial Bob and his anthropomorphic building manchines as they solved construction problems around the villiage.

Can We Fix It?, the show’s earworm of a theme song written by Paul K. Joyce, even made its way to the top of the charts, beating Westlife’s What Makes A Man to Christmas number one in 2000.

The rights...

A new Bob the Builder movie is now officially in development at Amazon. The classic construction had its roots in the late 1990s as a classic British television series featuring the titular fixer upper. The original stop-motion animated series ran for 18 seasons and nearly 300 episodes, going off the air in 2012. Bob the Builder featured a leading voice cast including Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Neil Morrissey, Lorelei King, and Alan Marriott. Since the initial series, Bob the Builder has also gotten the CGI animated treatment in a reboot show and the special Bob the Builder: Mega Machines.

As per Deadline, a new Bob the Builder animated feature film will now be officially developed at Amazon MGM Studios. The studio has reportedly won an intense bidding war that also included Netflix and DreamWorks. The Mattel project will now be produced by Nuyorican Pictures and ShadowMachine.

More to come...

Source: Deadline...

Come, sit, and hear sad stories of what it was like to be a young British millennial nerd. The nineties were, in many ways, a dark age for British science fiction. Doctor Who was gone, apart from one Children in Need crossover with EastEnders – Dimensions in Time in 1993 – and an American co-produced movie simply called “Doctor Who” (which we would all pretend to hate while treasuring our VHS recording and commemorative Radio Times issue).

Over the pond, TV sci-fi was in the middle of a golden age, with three Star Trek series, Babylon 5, Farscape, The X-Files and Stargate Sg-1 only marking the tip of a science fictional iceberg. But British fans could only watch these episodes months or even years after the fact, particularly if they had only access to terrestrial television, and were forced to paw through magazines and websites for reviews and plot summaries to sate their hunger.

Thank goodness for no-shows. Had the controller of what was then BBC Choice turned up to the ‘rehearsed read’ for a potential studio sitcom in the very late 1990s and liked what they’d seen, we wouldn’t have Peep Show. As it reportedly went: BBC Two passed on it. BBC Choice didn’t see it. And everything ended happily ever after.

Peep Show creators Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain first met the show’s stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb on a BBC comedy writing project in 1998. That went nowhere, but sparked a partnership that led to the acclaimed nine-series sitcom on Channel 4. Before it led there, it almost led to “All Day Breakfast”, the rejected comedy out of which Peep Show grew.

As Robert Webb describes it in the introduction to 2008’s Peep Show: The Scripts and More, “All Day Breakfast” was about “two men in their mid-twenties,...

He’s acted with Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Oliver, had two No1 singles and fooled the nation in a spoof documentary. Ask him anything, but keep it respectful

There’s a lot more to Neil Morrissey than you might think. His first ever film role was opposite Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier in 1984 historical mariner drama, The Bounty. He’s appeared with Martin Clunes as a fictitious former new romantic pop group in Hunting Venus and was in the film adaptation of the John Godber rubbish-rugby team drama Up ‘n’ Under. On stage, he’s tackled Robin Hood, Guy and Dolls and Oliver. And he’s had two No 1 singles, Can We Fix It and Mambo No 5, under his guise as the voice of a certain children’s TV character, Bob the Builder.

Morrissey appears in I Am Urban, a memoir of lost children in Leeds with Anna Friel...

Jennifer Lopez is bringing Bob the Builder to the big screen.The singer and actress, 54, has been producing a film adaptation of the British animated construction worker with toymaker Mattel, which owns the brand, seeking to capitalise on the box office success of the ‘Barbie’ film by putting more of its mascots into cinemas.Bob – whose catchphrase is “Can we fix it?” – will be seen in the movie going to Puerto Rico for a huge construction job, according to producers, and will be voiced by the ‘In the Heights’ star Anthony Ramos, 32.The American actor of Puerto Rican descent told The Times the adaptation would carry an “important message” and that aspects of the film were inspired by his own life.He added: “For years, Bob the Builder’s characters have inspired young people around the world.“A movie about friends working together, a celebration of a beautiful home they share,...

Last October, the Tombstone frozen pizza brand offered anyone who lived on an Elm Street the chance to win free pizza. This year, they’re celebrating the Halloween season with another free pizza giveaway – but instead of A Nightmare on Elm Street, it’s the Friday the 13th franchise that has inspired their new giveaway. Tombstone has announced that they’re giving anyone who shares their first name with Jason Voorhees, his home turf of Crystal Lake, or his mother Pamela the chance to win one free pizza and “a spooky weekend trip”!

A press release notes that fans of horror and pizza can participate at your own risk by entering online at tombstone.com/pizzaforjason. Through October 31, those named Jason can enter for a chance to win. Despite its frightful associations, Jason has been consistently popular for decades with more than 900,000 individuals going by the name.

The horror film...

Last year, Tombstone Pizza got into the Halloween spirit with A Nightmare on Elm Street themed giveaway for those that lived on an Elm Street. This year, the Official Pizza of Halloween embraces October’s Friday the 13th with a ghastly giveaway open to those that share a first name with Jason Voorhees.

That’s right, anyone named Jason can enter to win free pizza. And few things pair as well with horror than pizza.

One lucky grand prize winner will receive a spooky weekend trip plus free Tombstone® Pizza.

From the press release, “Participate at your own risk by entering online at tombstone.com/pizzaforjason. Through Oct. 31, those named Jason can enter for a chance to win. Despite its frightful associations, Jason has been consistently popular for decades with more than 900,000 individuals1 going by the name.”

If you’re not named Jason, fret not; the official rules also state...

Burning Body is an intense crime thriller miniseries created by Laura Sarmiento. The Spanish is also known as El cuerpo en llamas and it is set in 2017 and it follows the fictionalized version of Crime of the Guàrdia Urbana. The series revolves around an investigation that starts after a burned body is found and it delves deep into toxic relationships, cheating, violence, and sex scandals. Burning Body stars Money Heist‘s famed actress Úrsula Corberó and The Neighbor‘s Quim Gutiérrez in the lead roles. So, if you loved Burning Body here are some similar shows you could watch next.

True Detective (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – HBO

Synopsis: Touch darkness and darkness touches you. From creator/executive producer Nic Pizzolato comes this searing crime drama series that follows troubled cops and the intense investigations that drive them to the edge. Each season features a star-studded new cast involved in...

Who needs Bob the Builder when you can call Jeremy Renner for your repair needs? The Avenger, musician, actor, and fix-it man, is proud to partner with Disney+ to launch Rennervations, a four-part Original series from Disney Branded Television. In Rennervations, Renner and his team of expert builders use their skills to reimagine decommissioned vehicles and rebuild them into mind-blowing creations that serve communities worldwide. Every build has a purpose—all episodes of Rennervations premiere on Wednesday, April 12, exclusively on Disney+. You can check out the official Rennervations trailer above.

Per Disney’s official press release for Rennervations:

Behind the big screen, Renner is a construction veteran with a passion for purchasing and reimagining huge vehicles with the help of his connections in the worldwide fabricator culture. With his best friend and business partner, Rory Millikin, and an all-star build crew, Renner travels the globe to reimagine decommissioned vehicles...

Neighbours certainly knows how to go big on drama. Last year, the long-running Aussie soap was cancelled and bowed out in style with an emotional finale episode, but in a shocking twist less than four months later it was announced the show was returning, with new episodes set to air on Amazon Freevee later this year. Strewth!

Meanwhile, Freevee is offering a taste of Neighbours’ greatness, having released 50 classic episodes for fans to enjoy, plus the entire 2012 series, with more episodes on the way each month. You can currently relive iconic moments like Scott and Charlene’s poptastic wedding, poor Harold Bishop being lost at sea and then turning up with amnesia five years later, and Dee and Toadie accidentally driving off a cliff on their wedding day.

You can also revisit Neighbours power-couple Karl and Susan Kennedy’s eventful trip to London back in 2007, a bizarre sequence of episodes...

Exclusive: Animation studio Snipple Originals has won a mega Sky Kids order for a pre-school singalong show.

The Singalings will air on the new Sky Kids linear channel later this year and is one of the first shows to emerge from the original content arm of Snipple Animation.

The show, which kicks off each episode with a song, centers on three inquisitive and eager extra-terrestrials who are here to discover all they can about Earth, visiting the zoo, the beach and a funfair. It is comprised of 26 x 1 ’45’ songs, 26 x 5’ episodes, 2 x song compilations and 5 x episode compilations.

Snipple Originals Director Karina Stanford-Smith said The Singalings has a “bold and eye-catching style,” adding: “It’s a simple and hilarious animation with songs that are infectious.”

Snipple Originals has 10 shows in development across comedy, action, adventure and edutainment, having launched three years ago following a £6M (7.4M) investment from investor Bgf.

Lava Media has acquired the rights to bestselling children’s book series ‘Gajapati Kulapati’ and is building an immersive world of animation, toys, games and apps based on the beloved elephant. The story of a funny, kind-hearted elephant, Gajapati Kulapati won the Best of Indian Children’s Writing (Bicw) Award in 2018 and is a publishing phenomenon. A perennial bestseller in 9 languages including English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu, the beloved elephant has become one of India’s best-known original characters.

‘The White Tiger’, featuring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Rajkummar Rao, and Adarsh Gourav, was a global sensation, reaching number one on Netflix in over 60 countries. Produced by Mukul Deora and Lava Media, the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated film has been viewed by over 27 million households.

Lava is developing the series with BAFTA and Emmy-nominated writer Sam Barlow, known for his work on such iconic children’s properties as Bob the Builder,...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

On Friday 23, LadBaby broke a record they were previously tied for with The Beatles, achieving their fifth consecutive Christmas No 1.

The Beatles had been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

LadBaby have now vaulted to the top with their fifth No 1, “Food Aid”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

The Beatles have been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for low-income families as the cost of living crisis bites.

The original enjoys the distinction of being the only...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

The Beatles have been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for low-income families as the cost of living crisis bites.

The original enjoys the distinction of being the only...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

The Beatles have been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for low-income families as the cost of living crisis bites.

The original enjoys the distinction of being the only...

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that “there are no second acts in American lives.” By returning to the Walt Disney Company and resuming his former role as chief executive officer, Bob Iger will attempt to disprove that maxim.

But if Iger’s first stint at Disney was marked by growth and an exciting wave of transformative acquisitions, his comeback will require a different set of skills. Bob the Builder must become Bob the Manager. And that’s a whole lot less fun.

Take the situation that Disney and many other media companies find themselves in right now. Wall Street has soured on the idea of streaming subscription growth at all costs, preferring instead to focus on pesky things like profits. In this climate, the sheer expense of creating more and more premium content for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ has imperiled the company’s stock price. In its most recent quarter,...

Mediawan Kids & Family’s animation label Somewhere Animation is set to produce its first show, “Chefclub Adventures,” a colorful comedy series set in the world of cooking.

The Paris-based company, which is dedicated to 2D animation, is partnering up with the popular brand and studio Chefclub to create the series.

Founded in 2016 by three brothers, Chefclub runs an online digital cooking channel and website drawing 2.5 billion views each month worldwide, including 390 million views each month in France and one billion in the U.S., according to Mediawan.

The family-owned business, whose mantra is to introduce young audiences to cooking in a way that is accessible, fun and entertaining, currently boasts more than 110 million subscribers worldwide.

Somewhere Animation, founded and headed by Arthur Colignon, is one of the latest additions to Mediawan Kids & Family. The large group is behind a flurry of series based on new and iconic brands, from “The Little Prince,...

Hearing the phrase “debut release from a TikTok star” doesn’t often inspire confidence in what’s about to follow, but Bella Poarch, who posted a lip-syncing clip of herself in the summer of 2020 that remains TikTok’s most-viewed video to this day, has gone her own way for her debut EP, Dolls. Poarch’s debut single, the Danny Elfman-in-emoji flip-off “Build a Bitch,” laid the groundwork for the 25-year-old’s aesthetic; it combines insouciant, pop-culture-referencing lyrics with a lip-sync-ready chorus and kiddie-music detailing, and it drives home its...

Ghost Dog Films, the British independent film and video game company has released a new version of their award-nominated retro-style gothic thriller Crucible of the Vampire. The 2022 Director’s Cut features new footage and a remastered soundtrack of the imaginative British gothic chiller which has strong echoes of Tigon, Hammer and M R James ghost stories. Theatrically released in the UK through Showcase cinemas in early 2019, Crucible of the Vampire was then released via UK Home Entertainment and nominated for Best Thriller at the National UK Film Awards 2020.

Director Iain Ross-McNamee said:

When Crucible of the Vampire was released in 2019 I realised not everyone was understanding the tone of the film. Lockdown was a great opportunity to go back and rework it in a way that explained the story more clearly. As well as re-cutting the picture edit, I wanted to go further with the atmosphere by changing the colour...

Beryl Vertue, the renowned British television producer and founder of Hartswood Films, died on Saturday, her family has confirmed. She was 90.

No cause of death has been given but her daughters, Sue and Debbie Vertue, who worked with her at Hartswood Films, confirmed she died “peacefully” and surrounded by family.

“It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we have to share the sad news that mum/Beryl passed away peacefully last night,” her daughters and Hartswood Films co-producers Sue and Debbie said in a statement. “It wasn’t Covid, it was just her nearly 91-year-old body saying enough is enough.”

“We were there so the passing was as good as one could hope for. Nothing wrong with her brain – even earlier this week she was grilling us both about work. It’s really impossible to believe that she has gone though, because I know we’re not alone in...

Created by Chris Lang, ITV’s Unforgotten pairs Nicola Walker’s Dci Cassie Stuart with Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Di Sunil Khan. Along with their team, those two investigate decades-old murder cases, piecing together events that transpired many years ago to deliver justice and closure to the victim and their relatives.

Series one saw the duo called to investigate the remains of a man long-buried under the foundations of a London home, while series two began with the discovery of a skeleton dredged up from the River Lea. Series three was the distressing story of a missing teenager whose body was discovered under the central reservation of a motorway.

Series four, which starts with the discovery of a body stored for decades in a domestic freezer, will star New Tricks’ Sheila Hancock, Killing Eve’s Susan Lynch, Wanderlust’s Andy Nyman and more. See below for the full cast and plot details.

The Bletchley Circle star Julie Graham and Line of Duty’s Neil Morrissey are to star in psychological thriller Penance for Viacom’s Channel 5.

The pair will be joined by Nico Mirallegro (The Village), Tallulah Greive (Millie in Between), Art Malik (The Woman in White) and Wanda Ventham (Sherlock) in the three-part drama.

The series, which was unveiled as part of Channel 5’s first major drama slate earlier this year, is written by Mr Selfridge writer Kate O’Riordan.

A psychological thriller that follows the lives of Rosalie, played by Graham, and Luke Douglas, played by Morrissey, and their teenage daughter, Maddie (Greive). Following the loss of their son, Rosalie and Luke find their marriage under immense strain. Maddie and Rosalie find themselves in the caring hands of Nico Mirallegro’s Jed, a charming and charismatic young man that they encounter at bereavement counselling who is also suffering under the weight of his own grief.

Stars: Katie Goldfinch, Florence Cady, Neil Morrissey, Charles O’Neill, Brian Croucher, Aaron Jeffcoate, Larry Rew, Babette Barat, Lisa Martin, John Stirling, Angela Carter, Phil Hemming | Written by Darren Lake, Iain Ross-McNamee, John Wolskel | Directed by Iain Ross-McNamee

[Note: With the film now available on Blu-ray, here's a reposting of my original review of the fantastic British gothic horror Crucible of the Vampire - Phil]

“British horror”, as a genre, has never really gone away but in recent years it seems that this small corner of our cinematic shores has found itself once again. Shying away from the Carry On-esque mixture of dick and fart gags and horror that once marked out British-made fare, filmmakers have instead returned to the genres more gothic roots, taking inspiration from the likes of Hammer and Tigon – yet stil bringing modern sensibilites and concerns to the fore. It’s that mixture that has borne out some great films over the past few years: The Sleeping Room, The Forgotten, Darkness Wakes, Ghost Ship, Ghosts of Darkness… And you can now add Crucible of the Vampire...

Making its World Premiere at Cannes Film Festival and garnering rave reviews at other major festivals and even right here on Nerdly, Iain Ross-McNamee’s gothic chiller Crucible of the Vampire comes to UK cinemas today, 1 February 2019, followed by its home entertainment release on 4 February 2019 in dual format DVD and Blu-ray and on digital platforms courtesy of Screenbound Entertainment.

Starring British acting favourite Neil Morrissey, alongside rising stars Katie Goldfinch and Florence Cady, this brooding vampire tale gives a strong nod to classic British horror greats and the genre defining Hammer Horror films.

A young museum curator Isabelle (Katie Goldfinch) is sent to look at an ancient artefact, discovered in the basement of a stately home in Shropshire, to verify its authenticity. If it is, what she hopes it is, it would be a major discovery. Isabelle finds herself welcomed into the sprawling manor house by a seemingly hospitable family...

Welcome to the latest installment of Trailer Park, our semi-regular look at the latest trailers to hit the interwebs. This edition features a gaggle of trailers for both forthcoming movies And video games… including: Kingdom Hearts 3, Glass, Nippon Marathon, Crucible of the Vampire, Netflix’s Kingdom, Doom Room and more!

Kingdom Hearts III

As unexpected events began to unfold in the Disney worlds at the hands of the enemy’s dark ambitions, the heroic trio of Sora, Donald, and Goofy find adventures ahead, from aquatic battles in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean to dances with the townspeople in the Kingdom of Corona from Tangled. The new footage also showcases Stitch from Lilo and Stitch as a special “link” (summon), as well as cooking-themed Ratatouille Keyblade attacks. Footage of Kairi wielding a Keyblade, as well as heartfelt conversations between members of Organization Xiii, and glimpses of Sora’s Nobody...

Greenlit means a project is officially a go, so all you have to do is follow these leads to stay up to date. You never know where you’ll find an opportunity to land an audition! “The Good Karma Hospital”Popular Sunday night drama “The Good Karma Hospital” had a third series confirmed last week after an emotional end to Series 2. Amrita Acharia, James Krishna Floyd, Amanda Redman, and Neil Morrissey star in the series, which begins shooting its third season in August on location in Sri Lanka. Casting director Andy Morgan is attached. “Temple”Sky Atlantic’s English language remake of the critically acclaimed Norwegian drama “Valkyrien” begins shooting this September. The eight-episode drama stars Mark Strong as a surgeon whose attempts to save his wife become increasingly desperate. “Temple” shoots on location in London beginning Sept. 3 and casting director Jina Jay is attached. “Inside No. 9”The dark comedy...

Stars: Katie Goldfinch, Florence Cady, Neil Morrissey, Charles O’Neill, Brian Croucher, Aaron Jeffcoate, Larry Rew, Babette Barat, Lisa Martin, John Stirling, Angela Carter, Phil Hemming | Written by Darren Lake, Iain Ross-McNamee, John Wolskel | Directed by Iain Ross-McNamee

“British horror”, as a genre, has never really gone away but in recent years it seems that this small corner of our cinematic shores has found itself once again. Shying away from the Carry On-esque mixture of dick and fart gags and horror that once marked out British-made fare, filmmakers have instead returned to the genres more gothic roots, taking inspiration from the likes of Hammer and Tigon – yet stil bringing modern sensibilites and concerns to the fore. It’s that mixture that has borne out some great films over the past few years: The Sleeping Room, The Forgotten, Darkness Wakes, Ghost Ship, Ghosts of Darkness… And you can now add Crucible...

Screenbound International Pictures have announce that they have made an exclusive representation agreement for world sales of the latest movie from Ghost Dog Films, the British vampire film Crucible of the Vampire This Hammer-esque new movie comes from director Iain Ross-McNamee (The Singing Bird Will Come), who continues his passion for strong female leads in a psychological horror setting which helps give the gothic vampire story a thoroughly modern twist as love and sexual repression are compellingly intertwined throughout the film.

Crucible of the Vampire see Isabelle (Katie Goldfinch) as a naive, university researcher who is sent to a foreboding, gothic manor house in rural Shropshire to verify that an ancient crucible is that of a Sorcerer from the 17th Century who was executed for bringing the dead back to life. As Katie delves further into the crucible’s history, it soon becomes apparent that the house holds more than one dark secret…...

Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder have found a new home on Starz. As part of its outreach to what it considers underserved audiences, the premium cable net has added the popular kids shows to its app and Ott/on-demand programming, along with nearly 300 Spanish-language movies and telenovela episodes, including the Colombia’s El Cartel de los Sapos and La Promesa. Thomas and Friends and Bob the Builder join such other children’s fare as Care Bears: Adventures in Ca…...

Louisa Mellor Apr 9, 2017

Line Of Duty series 4 reaches the halfway point. Major spoilers from the off in our review…

This review contains spoilers.

See related Better Call Saul season 3: new clip teases returning character Better Call Saul season 2 episode 10 review: Klick The subtle rise of good prequels

If we’ve learned anything from Line Of Duty, it’s that stuff isn’t always how it looks. Good police lurk under bad fringes. The lanky chilli-making Di who seems so laid back is secretly sweating in the pocket of organised crime. Neil Morrissey didn't even need a walking stick. And that enthusiastic new secondment who keeps popping her head around the door to say “Sorry ma’am, I couldn’t help but overhear…” isn’t just keen; she’s there to prove you’re bent.

But there’s no getting away from how this looks: Dci Huntley’s husband is...

Curious to know what movies and TV shows are coming to Netflix over the next few weeks? Get a head start and mark your calendars using the list below, just released to us by Netflix. But first, here are our editors' 10 must-see recommendations from below's incoming crop of movies: 1. Paddington (2014) 2. Burn After Reading (2008) 3. Ravenous (1999) 4. Boyhood (2014) 5. The Jungle Book (2016) 6. Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (2016) 7. The African Queen (1951) 8. Cujo (1983) 9. The Doors (1991) 10. Stephen King’s Thinner (1996) Arriving November 1 The African Queen (1951) Alfie (2004) Bob the Builder: White...

Read More...

Next month, Netflix has a wide variety of films — modern to classic, animated to live action, Oscar winners to romantic comedies — and we’ve picked seven that you should watch once they’re made available on the streaming service. Enjoy.

1. “Under the Sun” (available November 11)

Directed by Vitaly Manski, the documentary follows a year in the life of a family in Pyongyang, North Korea as their eight-year-old daughter, Zin-mi, prepares to join the Korean Children’s Union on the Day of the Shining Star.

2. “The Ivory Game” (available November 14)

Directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the documentary sheds a light on the seedy underbelly of elephant poaching in Africa and black market ivory trading in China.

Read More: ‘The Ivory Game,’ Produced By Leonardo DiCaprio, Is a Shocking Look at an Underground Marketplace — Telluride Review

3. “Just Friends” (available November 14)

On a lighter note, who...

Rollings to focus on Peppa Pig and Pj Masks.

Entertainment One (eOne) has announced the appointment of Katie Rollings as head of UK licensing for eOne Family and eOne Licensing, effective September 13, 2016.

Based in eOne’s London headquarters, Rollings will be responsible for all commercial activity for its licensed properties in the UK, including licensing, brand strategy, retail sales and retail marketing.

Leading a team of five licensing executives, Rollings is charged with spearheading the continued growth and expansion of the company’s UK licensing programmes across its portfolio of family, lifestyle and film properties, with a strategic focus on Peppa Pig and Pj Masks.

Rollings will manage key alliances with UK licensees and retailers - identifying new licensing opportunities and retail channels - in addition to developing brand strategies and retail marketing initiatives to drive commercial growth in the market.

She joins the company with 20 years’ experience working on leading preschool properties, including Thomas...

Acorn Media Enterprises is continuing its move into originals, teaming with Blinder Films, Dcd Rights and RTÉ as the North American co-producing partner on Irish legal drama Striking Out. The series will premiere on Ireland’s RTÉ in early 2017 and make its U.S. debut on Acorn TV next year.

The four-part drama is eyed as a returnable and centers on the tumultuous professional and personal life of Dublin-based solicitor Tara (Moone Boy‘s Amy Huberman) and her fledgling law firm. Also starring are Rory Keenan (Peaky Blinders), Emmet Byrne, Fiona O’Shaughnessy (Utopia) and Neil Morrissey (The Night Manager).

When Tara discovers her fiancé and fellow solicitor Eric (Keenan) has been cheating with a colleague, she leaves him and their prestigious law firm to set up her own practice specializing in family and divorce law. Working alongside her new team, including mentor and friend Vincent (Morrissey) and tech guru and...

Llinos Cathryn Thomas Aug 5, 2016

Thirty years since it ended, we revisit much-loved 80s historical fantasy series Robin Of Sherwood...

The Robin Hood legend has been retold in countless ways, but one of the most memorable of modern times is Richard Carpenter’s hugely influential 1980s imagining, telling the story of Sherwood’s band of outlaws with a combination of realism and luminous fantasy with its roots in British folklore.

Made by Htv in association with production company Goldcrest Films (which was also behind Chariots Of Fire and Gandhi), its 26 episodes ran on ITV from 1984 to 1986, garnering a positive critical reception and inspiring a fan following that’s still enthusiastically active today.

Much of the success of the show was down to the spot-on casting and the chemistry between the performers. Michael Praed’s charismatic-yet-otherworldly presence as Robin was the perfect match for the show’s aesthetic, and the more down-to-earth Little John,...

[caption id="attachment_49969" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Bear Grylls: Mission Survive TV show cancelled by ITV after second series; no season three. Image via ITV./caption]

Mission aborted. The Bear Grylls: Mission Survive TV show has been cancelled by ITV after its second season. Digital Spy reports ITV has confirmed it is done with the survivalist competition. Chin up, Bear Grylls fans. ITV has, "... a number of projects with Bear in the pipeline." When announced, we will let you know.

DJ/model Vogue Williams won the first season of Bear Grylls: Mission Survive. Alex Scott, right-back for Arsenal in the Fa Women's Super League and the England women's national football team, won the second series. Also competing in season two were: Samantha Barks, Michelle Collins, Jason Gardiner, Chelsee Healey, Neil Morrissey, and Stuart Pearce MBE.

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Six episodes were provided prior to broadcast.

I stand by my praise of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s peerlessly bizarre freshman season. Co-creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock created a world that not only felt weirdly truthful as its characters ran rampant through satisfying emotional beats, but was just plain weird. Robot maids were killed off, Don Draper was a maniacal cult leader, and ATMs gave out negative dollar bills. To put it plainly, Netflix saved a show that undoubtedly would never have seen its due on NBC. The cherry on top was a central theme of individuality, polished to a shine thanks to some welcomely diverse personalities that could have veered into grating stereotypes in lesser hands.

Now that Fey and Carlock have the canvas to run rampant with Netflix’s nebulous time restraints, not to mention a newly devout fanbase that knows the ins and outs of every Peeno...

Netflix enters Versailles; BBC One drama Capitol inks deals; Roots world premiere; Walter Presents buys Spanish drama for UK; Hulu reads The Book Of Negroes; Olivier Megaton doc gets sales deal.

Fremantle inks deals for BBC One drama Capital

FremantleMedia has struck three deals for three-part drama Capital, which is produced by Kudos, part of Endemol Shine Group, for BBC One. Participant Media’s Pivot has taken Us rights, Shaw has taken Canada rights, and BBC Worldwide will air the programme in Australia and New Zealand.

Toby Jones, Rachael Stirling and Gemma Jones star in the series, which Peter Bowker adapted from John Lanchester’s novel. Matt Strevens produced, executive producers were Derek Wax and Lucy Richer.

Walter Presents takes Spanish drama Locked Up for UK

Foreign-language drama Svod brand Walter Presents, which is available in the UK exclusively on Channel 4’s All Four streaming platform, has taken rights to Globomedia’s Spanish-language women prison series...

Leeds Young Film festival | Essay film festival

Just in time for Easter, the largest family film event in the land is a pick-and-mix of trusted names and new work aimed at the over-fives, with animation to the fore. Disney’s Zootropolis opens proceedings, and there are workshops, masterclasses, free activities and previews involving Minecraft, Lego, Clangers, Bob The Builder and Adventure Time (a special first look that includes a new stop-motion episode). For older viewers there’s new anime such as Studio Ghibli’s Oscar-nominated When Marnie Was There, a Salma Hayek-produced version of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, plus live-action features old and new. And, at Leeds Town Hall, there are immersive screenings themed around The Shawshank Redemption (where you’re literally a captive audience) and Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (where you’re literally a kid in a candy store).

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As Russell Howard's Good News enters its 10th series, could he be tempted to break the Us?

The British comic has already appeared on Stateside TV when starring on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, while he recently completed a successful tour across the Atlantic.

Russell told Digital Spy that while he would "never say never" to the idea, he thinks there already too many great stars doing brilliant work over there, including his friend and fellow Brit John Oliver.

"They've got that sown up," he said. "I'm good mates with John Oliver, and I think those guys [including Stephen Colbert] are very good at that kind of thing.

"I just don't see where we would fit. They already have their versions of it."

The comedian also spoke to us about his upcoming one-off BBC movie A Gert Lush Christmas, in which he stars alongside his sister Kerry Howard for the first time.

ITV has hit a mighty milestone - first launched on September 22, 1955, the home of The X Factor, Downton Abbey and more is 60 years old today.

In its six decades, ITV has produced some of the biggest, best and most memorable TV shows in British broadcasting history.

But while everyone else is talking up Gladiators, Coronation Street and Blind Date, we wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate a few of the channel's less celebrated gems.

1. The Krypton Factor (1977-1995)

"Television's Toughest Quiz!" boomed the announcer back when the show launched in 1977. And even almost forty years later, nothing has quite matched Granada's brutal search for a UK superperson since.

Resembling a cross between a byzantine parlour game and a Soviet-era punishment for shoplifting, each week saw four more contestants subjected to a variety of cruel and unusual tests – from terrifying memory tests to landing a Boeing 747 (albeit on a simulator).

But worst of all?...

ITV has hit a mighty milestone - first launched on September 22, 1955, the home of The X Factor, Downton Abbey and more is 60 years old today.

In its six decades, ITV has produced some of the biggest, best and most memorable TV shows in British broadcasting history.

But while everyone else is talking up Gladiators, Coronation Street and Blind Date, we wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate a few of the channel's less celebrated gems.

1. The Krypton Factor (1977-1995)

"Television's Toughest Quiz!" boomed the announcer back when the show launched in 1977. And even almost forty years later, nothing has quite matched Granada's brutal search for a UK superperson since.

Resembling a cross between a byzantine parlour game and a Soviet-era punishment for shoplifting, each week saw four more contestants subjected to a variety of cruel and unusual tests – from terrifying memory tests to landing a Boeing 747 (albeit on a simulator).

But worst of all?...

Bob the Builder is back and you can see the new-look character in action below.

A new trailer for the revamped series has been unveiled ahead of its premiere on Channel 5.

The new-look Bob was unveiled towards the end of 2014, and fans of the show - as well as original star Neil Morrissey - voiced their disapproval on Twitter.

The handyman and his friends, who made their first appearance on CBeebies, have been given a makeover and 'digified', losing their stop-motion look.

Channel 5 has signed an agreement with producer Hit Entertainment for 104 new 11-minute episodes, with Harry Potter star Lee Ingleby replacing Morrissey as Bob.

Downton Abbey's Joanne Froggatt and The Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison are also lending their talents to the show.

Bob the Builder will return to screens later this year. Can he still fix it? We'll have to wait and see.

Neil Morrissey is starring in series two of ITV's period drama Grantchester.

The actor will appear alongside James Norton and Robson Green, who star as clergyman Sidney Chambers and police inspector Geordie Keating investigating crimes in the 1950s-set village.

Morrissey will play Harding Redmond, the father of teenage girl Abigail (Grace Holley) who is found dead in Grantchester under suspicious circumstances.

He accuses Chambers of having an inappropriate relationship with his daughter - forcing the clergyman to both investigate the girl's murder and clear his name.

But is it too late to save his reputation amongst the residents of Grantchester?

Morrissey said of his new role: "I'm really excited to be joining the cast of Grantchester. It's great to work with James Norton, Robson Green and the rest of the cast, and I can't wait to film in the actual village of Grantchester, which I know is beautiful.

"I'm also...