Category Archives: Television & radio

Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon price rises in western Europe ‘highest in world’

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World’s largest streaming services have also increased subscription costs repeatedly in US, research finds

Subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe have faced higher price increases than in any other market in recent years, according to research.

Over the past four years the world’s largest subscription video streaming services have dramatically changed their business models introducing lower-priced, basic advertising tiers to attract new subscribers, while also increasingly monetising users willing to pay more for a premium experience.

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‘Biased’ Channel 4 programme on ADHD misrepresented my views, says expert

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Prof Katya Rubia withdraws support for The Great ADHD Myth? as other leading figures voice criticisms

A contributor to a controversial Channel 4 documentary on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has withdrawn her support for the programme, saying it was biased and could lead to an increased suicide risk by encouraging parents to take their children off medication.

Katya Rubia, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, also said The Great ADHD Myth? misrepresented her views.

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Hayden Panettiere, actor in Heroes and Nashville, dies aged 36

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Panettiere’s death was announced by her father, who called her ‘an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy’

Hayden Panettiere, the actor known for her roles in television shows such as Heroes and Nashville, has died at the age of 36.

Panettiere’s death was confirmed in a statement from her representative to the Guardian on Sunday night, after it was first reported on US network ABC News. No cause of death was given.

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Logies 2026: Sam Pang wins gold and Sam Neill wins posthumous best actor at Australia’s TV awards

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Neill won for his performance in legal thriller The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, at a ceremony dominated by wins for the ABC

Sam Neill has won a posthumous best actor award at Australia’s biggest television awards, the Logies, with comedian Sam Pang taking home the night’s top honour, the Gold Logie award for most popular personality.

Neill, who died in July, won his posthumous Logie for best lead actor in a drama, for his performance in legal thriller The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer. His close friend, the actor Heather Mitchell, accepted the award on his behalf.

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John Oliver on police surveillance: ‘Big Brother on steroids’

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The host tore into ‘wildly invasive’ cameras, microphones and license plate readers that police use to track Americans

John Oliver discussed the tools that police are using to keep track of Americans on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight.

In recent years, the use of surveillance technology has exploded among local police forces due to decreasing prices and federal funding, with one local mayor comparing modern systems to “Big Brother on steroids”.

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‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ Romesh Ranganathan reboots corporation’s 1985 licence fee plea

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As with the John Cleese original, comedian is supported by famous faces from Claudia Winkleman to David Jason

John Cleese’s 1985 advert for the BBC in which he asks a pub full of stars “What has the BBC ever given us?” is one of the most famous examples of the corporation making the case to the public for the value of paying the licence fee.

In the advert, Cleese is complaining to the bartender that he has just bought his TV licence. “Fifty-eight quid for the privilege of sitting in your own home, watching your own television set. It’s diabolical. I mean, what’s the BBC ever given us for 58 quid?” he says, before being put right by a string of punters, ranging from David Attenborough and John Humphrys to Terry Wogan and David Jason.

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Brenda Fricker, Oscar winner for My Left Foot, dies aged 81

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The acclaimed Irish actor started her career in Coronation Street and Casualty before a string of high-profile Hollywood roles

Brenda Fricker, who became the first female Irish Oscar winner for acting with My Left Foot, has died aged 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told the BBC in a statement: “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her … I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”

In My Left Foot, Fricker plays the mother of Christy Brown, whose cerebral palsy means he only has muscular control over one of his feet. The film, directed by Jim Sheridan, was released to enormous acclaim in 1989, winning the best actor Oscar for Daniel Day-Lewis as well as best supporting actress for Fricker.

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The Pitt, Hacks and newcomers Widow’s Bay and Pluribus lead 2026 Emmy nominations

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HBO and Apple shows head up this year’s nominations while Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer follow-up Half-Man only receives one nod

The second season of hit hospital drama The Pitt and the final season of Hacks dominate this year’s Emmy nominations, announced on Wednesday.

The Pitt leads with 25 nominations while Hacks has 24, both scoring a big win for HBO, the latter series also breaking an Emmy record for most nods ever received by a comedy in a single year.

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Canada to ​join Eurovision song contest from 2027

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Country is first to join since Australia in 2015 as event director says it ‘continues to welcome the world’

Canada will ​join the Eurovision song contest in 2027, becoming the first new ⁠participant since Australia in 2015, organisers have announced.

Participation is not limited to countries in geographic Europe and instead is open to all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which Canada joined last week. Australia is an associate member.

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JD Vance claims US holds all the cards in Iran and will win ‘either way’

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Vice-president appeared on Bill Maher’s show hours before more military strikes were exchanged in strait of Hormuz

JD Vance said on Friday that the US wins “either way” regarding negotiations with Iran, pointing to what he called the destruction of its nuclear program and diminishment as a country.

“If we make the final deal, then great,” the US vice-president told HBO’s Bill Maher. “If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They’re still much weaker as a country, so my attitude is America wins either way.”

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Longtime New York City TV anchor announces retirement after revealing Alzheimer’s diagnosis

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Bill Ritter, anchor on WABC since 2001, said he’s stepping down but will continue to report on the disease

A longtime New York City television news anchor has announced his sudden retirement from the airwaves after revealing that he has the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Bill Ritter, a veteran of ABC New York station WABC, has presented the main evening news in New York since 2001 and become a familiar face to millions of its residents.

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‘Deep unease’ at BBC Radio Scotland as majority of axed presenters are women

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Changes are part of sweeping shake-up by Victoria Easton Riley, BBC Scotland’s new head of audio and events

There is a “deep sense of unease” among staff at BBC Radio Scotland after a succession of respected arts presenters, more than half of them women, were dropped from schedules.

The changes have prompted questions about diversity of coverage amid an apparent shift to a “more commercial sensibility” for the public broadcaster.

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Grizz Chapman, actor who played Grizz in 30 Rock, dies aged 52

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The actor, who played Tracy Jordan’s gentle bodyguard in 80 episodes of the beloved comedy, died in his sleep after years of health problems

Grizz Chapman, best known for his role as Grizz on the hit comedy 30 Rock, has died aged 52.

His cousin, the Harlem Globetrotter Donte Harrison, confirmed Chapman’s death on social media on Saturday.

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Canada is welcome to join Eurovision, says song contest director

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‘We know that Mark Carney wants to sort of embrace Europe,’ says competition director Martin Green

Canada is welcome to join Eurovision if it wishes, its director has said, months after the country revealed it wanted to “explore” joining the song contest in its federal budget.

Eurovision director Martin Green told the BBC on Wednesday that Canada hadn’t yet applied, but would be welcome to.

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Martin Short opens up about ‘nightmare’ death of his daughter Katherine

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Actor and comedian speaks for the first time since his 42-year-old daughter died by suicide in February

Martin Short has spoken for the first time about the death of his daughter, Katherine Short, saying her death has been “a nightmare for the family”.

Katherine died in February aged 42, at her home in the Hollywood Hills. The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office confirmed she died by suicide.

In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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‘I was in a terrible state’: actor David Morrissey tells how social anxiety led him to alcoholism

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Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Liverpool-born actor says depression and anxiety followed death of his father when he was 15

The actor David Morrissey has spoken of how “terrible” social anxiety contributed to him becoming an alcoholic.

“I am a recovering alcoholic,” Morrissey, who has been sober for 21 years, told Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. “Drinking first was about anxiety. I’ve had this terrible social anxiety and that helped me get through it.”

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Official lineup confirmed for second series of The Celebrity Traitors

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Actors Richard E Grant, Michael Sheen and Bella Ramsey among star-studded cast hoping for victory as BBC’s hit spin-off series returns to screens

Considering the Traitors is a game of murderous treachery played out in a castle, the Shakespearian actors in the cast of the new celebrity spin-off series should be well set.

Oscar-winner Richard E Grant, acclaimed actor Michael Sheen and The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey are among the thespians vying for victory this year, all of who have the Bard on their CV.

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‘He’s probably good’: Donald Trump Jr gets muted endorsement from his father for The Apprentice reboot

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Speculative reports say Amazon is considering relaunching the reality show once hosted by the US president, with his eldest son floated as a possible host

Amid speculative reports that Donald Trump Jr is being considered by Amazon to lead a reboot of The Apprentice, he’s already received a slightly muted endorsement from the reality show’s former host: his father.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Amazon was considering rebooting The Apprentice, which was hosted by the now US president Donald Trump between 2004 and 2015, for its streaming service Prime Video.

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Slovenia to air films about Palestine instead of Eurovision song contest

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Ireland and Spain will also not broadcast Eurovision after decision to boycott live event over Israel’s participation

National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia will not air the Eurovision song contest this year, after they decided to boycott the event over Israel’s participation.

Having announced it would not submit a national entry, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it would implement a broadcasting blackout of the world’s largest live music event and instead show a series of films about Palestine.

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Nathalie Baye, prolific star of French and Hollywood cinema, dies aged 77

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Actor who worked with the great French auteurs in the 1970s and 80s and starred in Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can died of Lewy body dementia, says family

The French film star Nathalie Baye, who starred in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, has died at the age of 77, her family said on Saturday.

Baye, a stalwart of French cinema, starred in about 80 films and took home the best actress César, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, four times, including three years running from 1981 to 1983. She died on Friday evening at her home in Paris from Lewy body dementia, her family told AFP.

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