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Update 21/05/24: As confirmed on the latest edition of Richard Osman and Marina Hyde’s The Rest is Entertainment podcast, the latest cast member to be confirmed is Celia Imrie in the role of Joyce Meadowcroft. Joyce would love that, we feel.

As previously reported by Variety in April 2024, Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan are also attached to The Thursday Murder Club film adaptation, which is being directed by Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone director Chris Columbus. Mirren will of course play former spy Elizabeth, Kingsley will play psychiatrist Ibrahim, and in something of a casting curveball, Pierce Brosnan will play former union organiser Ron. That just leaves police officers Donna and Chris, and handyman/fixer Bogdan as main characters still to be announced.

Original Article: “Everyone shouts out ‘Helen Mirren! Julie Walters! Dame Judi Dench!’ in the street at me all the time,...

It’s natural that, while you may want to stay on the cutting edge of prestige TV drama and join in all those “How great is Shogun?!” conversations of the moment, there are also times when the world makes you want to shrink down to the size of a Subbuteo player, step into a book illustration from a copy of Thumbelina you owned as a child, and go to sleep underneath a single feather inside a walnut shell.

Those walnut shell moments demand a TV accompaniment that isn’t noisy or confrontational. There should be no difficult thoughts there, just a gentle tide of ‘everything’s okay-ness’ lapping at your brain’s shore. These British TV shows all provide exactly that sense of comfort. Please recommend your own picks below.

The Good Life

Stream on: BritBox (UK & US)

Tom and Barbara, Jerry and Margo. Repeat those names as a mantra...

The wait is almost over: the BBC has confirmed that the eighth series of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s horror-comedy anthology Inside No. 9 will start on Thursday the 27th of April at 10 p.m. on BBC Two and iPlayer.

The official summary for the new series (which will be the penultimate run for the Bafta-winning show as its creators plan to take an indefinite break from it after series nine), is as follows: “From the top deck of a London bus to a remote lakeside cabin, from online dating to a late-night summoning, all life (and death) is here. Thrills, spills, chills and kills from the fertile minds of Shearsmith and Pemberton.”

With the release news came the first official teaser trailer (see below), with glimpses of all five episodes arriving in the wake of excellent festive special ‘The Bones of St Nicholas‘. That story was set in...

This list applies to UK streaming services

If you’ve had a tough day and need a laugh, this list’ll see you right. These are the British big guns. Big comedy guns, firing… laughter-bullets! Ak-47s of mirth, spraying chuckles through… look, yes, okay, that’s terrible. A stop to that. Agreed. We’re all just trying to do our best here.

Helping us to keep a grip when the world seems a scary place are these excellent British comedies, all available to stream on the UK’s various platforms. Find a bunch of comforting and familiar favourites and some newer arrivals below.

We’ll keep this list updated as shows enter and exit the streaming catalogues. Parents may also like a look at our best kids’ TV streaming recommendations, while here are our picks of the best British TV dramas to stream in the UK.

After Life

Ricky Gervais...

The intertwining of people’s professional and personal lives often leaves a powerful influence on their general outlook on society. That’s certainly the case for the main characters of the popular late 1990s British sitcom, ‘Dinnerladies.’ The program was created, written and co-produced by lead actress, Victoria Wood. The filmmaker-performer played Brenda “Bren” Furlong, the deputy […]

The post Victoria Wood is Coached For Her Television Appearance on Dinnerladies appeared first on Shockya.com.

The intertwining of people’s professional and personal lives often leaves a powerful influence on their general outlook on society. That’s certainly the case for the main characters of the popular late 1990s British sitcom, ‘Dinnerladies.’ The program was created, written and co-produced by lead actress, Victoria Wood. The filmmaker-performer played Brenda “Bren” Furlong, the deputy […]

The post Julie Walters Causes Mayhem in the Office with Her Ill-Considered Romance on Dinnerladies appeared first on Shockya.com.

Louisa Mellor Sep 26, 2016

When life hurts, well-crafted, traditional sitcom like Count Arthur Strong can be an indispensable salve…

There’s a period a little while after a family death, after the days spent in a traffic jam of errands, decisions and phone calls, when you have to merge back into the regular lane. Normal life demands to re-start. The fridge needs filling and the lawn needs mowing, even if, impossibly, the person who usually does both has vanished forever.

For my family like most others, normal life means watching television. Telly is the cradle that rocked us through the decades. Whatever happened to us happened against a backdrop of soaps and sitcoms.

Losing our dad though, changed things. In the flayed-skin sensitivity of the days around his funeral, flicking through the channels meant running a gauntlet. A murder on EastEnders brought unwelcome ambulances and coroners back into our living room.

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Very sad news: comedian Victoria Wood has died following a battle with cancer...

Some extremely sad news. Writer, musician, actor and comedy hero Victoria Wood has died following a short battle with cancer.

The news was confirmed this afternoon by her publicist. 

One of the most gifted writers and performers in UK comedy, and an inspiration to so many who followed her into the profession, her loss will be deeply, deeply felt.

Wood's writing, performing and composing career began almost forty years ago and her success made her a familiar face on television since the 1980s. From Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV to her many collaborations with Julie Walters, to nineties comedy series Dinnerladies to 2014 comedy drama screenplay That Day We Sang, to everything in between, her work was guaranteed to combine sharp wit, warmth and laughter.

Our thoughts are with her family and friends at...

Julie Walters is such a legendary actress - who's been in all sorts of beloved films and TV Shows - that it's no surprise she was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship earlier this year. And now, her career will be examined in a new TV show airing tonight (Christmas Eve).

We caught up with Julie recently to chat about her varied career, so read on to find out why she wishes she'd kept something from the Harry Potter set, why slippers with bobbles bring back bad memories, and why she wants to be a Bond villain...

Was getting the Fellowship a nice chance to look back at the highs and lows of your career?

"Yes. Well, you don't really look at the lows. To be perfectly honest, when you get it, I don't look back at anything really. There were clips, weren't there? Yes, of course there were, on the night.

Julie Walters, the multi-bafta-winning actress with almost four decades of appearances on U.K. TV and film, will be the star of the first in a new live series from BAFTA entitled 'Life in Television' , to be held in London on Dec. 3. Alongside renowned film roles in titles such as Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia, Calendar Girls and seven of eight Harry Potter titles, Walters is much-loved in the U.K. for her television appearances, in particularly alongside comedy actress, writer and director Victoria Wood in shows including Dinnerladies, Wood and Walters and Patt and Margaret. Read

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Actor criticises lack of grants for drama students as she wins outstanding achievement prize at South Bank Sky Arts awards

Julie Walters has criticised government cuts in arts funding, saying she might not have made it as an actor if she was starting out as a performer now because of the lack of grants.

Walters, 63, who got her big break starring opposite Michael Caine in 1983's Educating Rita and has since featured in films including the Harry Potter franchise, said there were no grants now for budding actors to attend drama school and urged the government to change tack.

"If I was coming out into the business now I would never get into drama school," she said, after accepting the outstanding achievement prize at the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts awards in London on Tuesday.

"It would have been a really hard journey if I had ever made it at all,...

London, Mar h 9: Former Corrie star Shobna Gulati has joined the cast of Loose Women.

The 46-year-old actress, who played Sunita Alahan in the ITV1 soap, said she's delighted to be joining the Loose Women team, as it's a show she's watched and loved for years, the Sun reported.

Shobna is best known for playing Sunita in ITV's Coronation Street and her role as Anita in Victoria Wood's BBC sitcom Dinnerladies. (Ani)...

A dignified comic actor in farce and on TV, and a dedicated disability campaigner alongside her husband, Brian Rix

The acting career of Elspet Gray, who has died aged 83, was obscured but not extinguished by being so closely bound up with her marriage to the farceur Brian Rix. In 1951, Gray gave birth to a daughter, Shelley, who had Down's syndrome. In later life she was active alongside her actor-manager husband after he left the stage in 1977 to work for people with learning disabilities – initially through presenting a BBC television series, and then as secretary general of Mencap. However, she made periodic returns to the stage and maintained a screen presence: in 1979, for instance, she was a paediatrician guest in Fawlty Towers, and in 1994 the first bride's mother in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

As well as bringing up her subsequent three children, she visited Shelley every week in the residential...

Washington, Nov 17: Danny Boyle was honoured with Britain's Writers' Guild Awards on Nov 16.

The 55-year-old filmmaker and his collaborator Simon Beaufoy landed the Best Film Screenplay prize for '127 Hours' at the London ceremony.

Meanwhile, actress/comedienne Victoria Wood took home the evening's top TV prize.

She was recognised for her outstanding contribution to writing, which includes her work on beloved British TV comedy 'Dinnerladies', Contactmusic reported.

Wood is the first female to receive the award. (Ani)...

Director Danny Boyle added to his trophy cabinet on Wednesday night after winning a top honour at Britain's Writers' Guild Awards.

The Slumdog Millionaire moviemaker and his collaborator Simon Beaufoy landed the Best Film Screenplay prize for 127 Hours at the London ceremony, while actress/comedienne Victoria Wood took home the evening's top TV prize.

She was recognised for her outstanding contribution to writing, which includes her work on beloved British TV comedy Dinnerladies.

Wood is the first female to receive the award.

'My feet are the stuff of nightmares'

Maxine Peake, 36, was born and brought up in Bolton. She studied performing arts at Salford Tech and was awarded a scholarship to Rada. In 1998 she was cast in Victoria Wood's TV sitcom Dinnerladies, and went on to play Veronica in Shameless and Myra Hindley in See No Evil. Most recently she played the lead in BBC1's legal drama Silk. Her stage credits include The Cherry Orchard at the National Theatre and Miss Julie at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. She is currently in Loyalty at Hampstead Theatre until 13 August. She lives in Salford.

When were you happiest?

The mid- to late 80s, summers spent at Park End Farm in Atherton – ankle deep in horse manure and soaking wet from falls from badly constructed rope swings across streams.

What is your greatest fear?

Political apathy.

What is your earliest memory?

Losing the fancy-dress...

Celia Imrie, much-loved British actress and star of stage and screen, has officially launched a £1M public appeal for funds to create a new lifeboat station in Cowes.

The leading British actress, well known for her work Nanny McPhee, Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies, with Victoria Wood, is the patron of the appeal, which will lead to a greatly improved lifeboat station serving the Solent.

Read more...

Industry blighted by ignorance and lack of female working class roles, says Bolton-born actor

Actor Maxine Peake has complained about the lack of working class female film roles and the enduring class barriers that exists in Britain.

In an interview with Radio Times magazine, the Bolton-born actor, who is best known for playing Veronica in Channel 4's Shameless, said: "It's still rife. We're still obsessed with accent and class in this country. If you look at actors, loads are working class. But look at women and there's only Samantha Morton, really. All the others - Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Emily Blunt, Rebecca Hall - they're all brilliant, but there's no female working class.

"I remember feeling at drama school that if you were male and working class you were a bit of a poet, a working class hero, but if you were female you were just a bit gobby...

Victoria Wood took home the 'Outstanding Contribution' gong from last night's 2011 Chortle Awards. The Dinnerladies star was handed the accolade by friend Richard E Grant at the end of last night's show. Other winners at the event, which was voted for by readers of the comedy website, included Michael McIntyre who won the 'Best TV and Radio' title and Richard Herring, who took home the 'Best Internet' award. Guests at the London event included Stuart Baggs, James May and Paul Daniels. The full list of Cortle winners: Best Newcomer: Diane Spencer Breakthrough Act: The Boy With Tape On His Face Best Headliner: Milton (more)...

Pozzitive.co.uk is billed as a new online ‘Encyclopaedia Of British Comedy’ and was launched by Pozzitive owners David Tyler and Geoff Posner with the aim of providing a friendly, insider’s-eye view to the wealth of information they have, all of which is now at your fingertips.

Pozzitive is a multi-award winning comedy production company (6 BAFTAs, 6 Sony Awards and 2 International Emmys), and over the years have produced and directed such classic TV , Radio and Online projects as “Spitting Image”, “Coogan’s Run”, “Not The Nine O’Clock News”, “French & Saunders”, “Harry Enfield & Chums”, “Dinnerladies”, “Little Britain”, “The Paul & Pauline Calf Video Diaries”, “Saturday Live Again”, “Radio Active”, “Carrott’s Lib” and “The Young Ones”.

They continue to work on comedy projects such as Armando Iannucci’s ‘Charm Offensive’ and ‘Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation’. They are also currently producing the second series of popular sitcom “Cabin Pressure...