Category Archives: Television & radio

Men watch Love Island to hear women’s conversations, says ITV boss

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Show offers young men insight into female counterparts, says Kevin Lygo, as channel adds Big Brother to roster

Cynics have suggested Love Island’s popularity is built on the opportunity to watch contestants walking around a villa in swimwear. But according to ITV’s boss, the show’s real appeal for young men is the insight it offers into the mentality of women.

Kevin Lygo, who oversees ITV’s programme output, said the hit dating show allows straight men to hear conversations that they are usually excluded from.

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Steve Toussaint reveals racist abuse after being cast in House of the Dragon

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Actor tells Radio Times of social media backlash after landing part in Game of Thrones prequel

Steve Toussaint has revealed he received racist abuse online after he was cast as Corlys Velaryon in the upcoming Game Of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.

The 57-year-old British actor has previously starred in Doctor Who, Line of Duty and Death in Paradise.

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Paul O’Grady says he can ‘run free’ after hosting his final Radio 2 show

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Presenter also admits the reason for his departure was new BBC schedule for Sunday afternoon show

Paul O’Grady thanked his listeners and said he can now “run free” as he signed off from his final BBC Radio 2 show on Sunday.

O’Grady, 67, had hosted the Sunday afternoon programme for nearly 14 years, before a schedule shake-up meant he shared the hosting role with comic Rob Beckett, swapping every 13 weeks.

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Only ‘ideology or fear’ would push a government to attack ABC, Anthony Albanese says

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PM marks public broadcaster’s 90th birthday with a defence of its importance and thinly veiled attack on former government

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Only a government ruled by ideology or fear would attack the ABC, Anthony Albanese has said at the 90th birthday celebration of the public broadcaster in Sydney.

In a thinly veiled attack on the former Coalition government’s fraught relationship with the ABC, the prime minister on Friday evening said a strong independent broadcaster was vital to democracy and brought Australia together as a nation.

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Commercial radio beats BBC in summer numbers for first time since 1990s

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Rise in listening hours down to BBC budget cuts and rivals’ investment in marketing

Radio fans spent more time listening to commercial stations than the BBC over the first part of the summer – for the first time since the 1990s – as deep-pocketed rivals invest heavily in marketing, poaching talent and launching new services.

Continued budget cuts at the BBC have hampered the corporation’s ability to invest in its own services and retain talent with big names from Chris Moyles, Chris Evans, Eddie Mair and, more recently, Andrew Marr, Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis signing lucrative deals to move to commercial radio rivals.

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Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti voted Love Island winners

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Turkish actor and Italian business owner, both 27, share £50,000 prize after poll among viewers

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti have been crowned the winners of Love Island 2022, winning the £50,000 prize money after a public vote.

Cülcüloğlu, a Turkish actor from Essex, 27, and Italian business owner, Sanclimenti, also 27, arrived in the Love Island villa early on in the series as bombshell contestants and won over viewers with their fiery but passionate relationship.

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Pat Carroll, voice of Disney villain Ursula in The Little Mermaid, dies aged 95

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The comedy actor, who started out as a regular on variety shows and became a prolific voice actor, died at home on Saturday of pneumonia

Pat Carroll, the Emmy award-winning actor and voice of the memorable Disney villain Ursula in The Little Mermaid, has died aged 95.

Carroll died on Saturday of pneumonia at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her daughter Kerry Karsian told the Hollywood Reporter.

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Call the Midwife voted best show in last 25 years by RadioTimes.com readers

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Winner took 25% of the vote, with Doctor Who in second place and Line of Duty and Sherlock tying in third

Call the Midwife has been voted the best show of the last 25 years in a poll.

The BBC period drama, which is loosely based on real events, follows a group of midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s as they cope with the pressures of their everyday lives as well as the changing times they are living through.

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Wagatha Christie: big-budget drama joins race to bring libel trial to screen

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Poldark creator among writers and film-makers lining up to reconstruct spat between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney

A big-budget drama featuring major characters in the Wagatha Christie case is to join the slew of documentaries already in production, as the race to bring to the small screen the rancorous details of the high court battle that ended on Friday hots up.

The row between two high-profile footballers’ wives, which ended last week when the judge ruled in favour of Coleen Rooney, is to be turned into television serial by one of Britain’s leading screenwriters. Debbie Horsfield, who adapted Poldark for the 2015-19 BBC series, is to write a drama chronicling the notorious public row between Rebekah Vardy, wife of leading Leicester goal scorer Jamie Vardy, and Coleen Rooney, wife of Wayne, the renowned former England player and, until last month, manager of Derby County.

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Thailand’s gay-romance TV dramas help revive flagging tourism industry

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The popularity of ‘boy-love’ series sends fans from home and abroad flocking to filming locations across the country

There is a table in Soontaree Thiprat’s Phuket cafe that is always fully booked. Most of her customers at the Dibuk restaurant want to sit in the corner, at the spot with the red tablecloth and purple flower.

It is the table where the male student characters Teh and Oh-aew, played by the actors Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul and Krit “PP” Amnuaydechkorn, would sit together and flirt in I Told Sunset About You and its sequel, I Promised You the Moon, a romantic Thai series that has proved hugely popular in its home country and abroad.

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Final Neighbours episode watched by 3 million viewers in UK

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Australian soap ends after nearly four decades with double-episode special on Channel 5

Three million viewers tuned in to say goodbye to Ramsay Street as Neighbours came to a close after almost four decades of constant drama.

The final episode of the Australian soap aired on Friday night in the UK on Channel 5, with stars including Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie making one last appearance on the show that brought them fame.

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‘If there is anywhere that can put on a party’: UK cities bid to host Eurovision

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Sheffield, Glasgow and others tell why they should play host after decision not to hold event in Ukraine

In 1956 Sheffield became, it is believed, the first UK city to officially twin with one behind the iron curtain, partnering with a similar steel and mining-rich place then called Stalino, but later Donetsk.

It is the reason that there is a Shefield Square on the banks of the River Kalmius. In Sheffield there’s a long, busy road called Donetsk Way. And it those links that are one reason the Yorkshire city is now bidding to host next year’s Eurovision song contest, which is coming to the UK but, everyone agrees, should really be in Ukraine.

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UK to host Eurovision song contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine

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BBC says programme will have ‘glorious Ukraine at its heart’, with cities invited to bid to host event

The Eurovision song contest will be hosted in the UK next year after Ukraine’s public broadcaster dropped its objections and agreed to work with the BBC on the event.

Ukraine won this year’s Eurovision with the song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra, earning the right to host the 2023 edition. However, organisers concluded this could not be done safely while the country was at war with Russia – angering the Ukrainian government, which said it had submitted a workable safety plan.

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English pottery a hit in Asia thanks to Squid Game

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Denby’s star is on the rise since its Halo teacup featured in Netflix’s South Korean blockbuster

A 200-year-old English pottery has seen its brand enhanced in South Korea thanks to the lockdown hit Squid Game.

Denby Pottery, named after the Derbyshire village where it was set up by Joseph Bourne in 1809, has been steadily increasing its business in Asia. It is now on sale with a reported £50m valuation, and seeking new investors to expand ever further.

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Margot Robbie returns to Ramsay Street for Neighbours finale

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Hollywood actor will play Donna Freedman one more time as Australian soap comes to an end

The Oscar-nominated actor Margot Robbie will join a handful of international stars returning to Ramsay Street for the final episode of the long-running Australian soap Neighbours.

The 32-year-old, who starred in The Suicide Squad and is playing Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming film, will return to her role as Donna Freedman in the Australian soap.

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Neighbours stalwarts tell of tears on set after 28-year stint on soap

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Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne – who play Karl and Susan – reflect as fans prepare for final episode to air

The Neighbours stalwarts Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne, who played Karl and Susan Kennedy in the Australian soap opera, have said they shared “a few tears and a lot of hugs” as their 28-year stint on the show came to an end.

With the Neighbours finale due to air later this month, some of the show’s longest-standing actors have been reflecting on their time on set and working alongside future Hollywood stars.

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Emmys 2022: Succession leads the way with 25 nominations

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HBO’s hit drama is out in front with The White Lotus, Ted Lasso, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building running close behind

Succession is leading the way in this year’s Emmys race after today’s announcement that the acclaimed HBO drama picked up 25 nominations.

The hit show, which has previously won nine Emmys, was nominated for best drama series, with stars including Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin all receiving noms.

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Kwame Alexander to present new reality show America’s Next Great Author

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Contestants will enter a writers’ retreat and be given 30 days to write a novel while completing ‘live-wire’ challenges

Reality TV producers have exhausted singers, dancers, drag artists, potters, tailors, and beautiful young people hoping to find love. Now, it seems, the spotlight has fallen on writers. This week, a call has appeared on social media for contestants to apply to be on the pilot of a new show called America’s Next Great Author (ANGA).

Billed as “the groundbreaking reality TV show for writers”, ANGA will give its contestants one minute to pitch their novels to a panel of judges that includes New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, Fox5 TV presenter Angie Goff, and stage writer and comedian Marga Gomez.

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Ex-Cheer star Jerry Harris sentenced to 12 years in prison for child sexual abuse images charges

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22-year-old breakout star on Netflix’s cheerleading show had pleaded guilty to crimes relating to child abuse images and soliciting sex from minors

Jerry Harris, the star of hit Netflix series Cheer, has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars in the US for crimes relating to child sexual abuse images and soliciting sex from minors.

Prosecutors had urged the lengthy sentence, saying that Harris’s status as a celebrity had enabled him to “persuade and entice” his young victims to engage in sexual conduct.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

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Friends co-creator to donate $4m amid embarrassment over show’s whiteness

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Marta Kauffman will fund professorship in African and African American studies at her alma mater

The co-creator of the TV sitcom Friends is planning to donate $4m to an African and African American studies project because she’s so “embarrassed” by – and feels such “guilt” at – the white homogeneity of the characters on the classic coming of age series.

Marta Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times that she intends for her planned gift to fund the Marta F Kauffman ’78 Professorship in African and African American Studies at her alma mater, Brandeis University, a liberal arts college in Massachusetts.

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