Category Archives: Television & radio

Alan Titchmarsh’s jeans blurred by North Korean TV censors

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Footage of green-fingered BBC presenter obscured from waist down to hide ‘symbol of US imperialism’

His calm demeanour and wholesome vocation have apparently endeared him to one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world. But there is something about Alan Titchmarsh that North Korea’s censors can’t quite forgive – his jeans.

The green-fingered broadcaster and author of raunchy novels has been a fixture on state television since 2022, albeit with the addition of a blurred effect from the waist down.

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‘Flat and shallow’: Netflix’s 3 Body Problem divides viewers in China

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Eight-episode series based on Liu Cixin novels triggers accusations of ‘Americanisation’ of a Chinese story

Netflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.

The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series spanning civilisation from the 1960s to the end of humanity.

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Cara Delevingne’s Los Angeles home reportedly destroyed by a fire

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The model and actor wrote on Instagram ‘My heart is broken’ after house in Studio City apparently collapsed after a fire broke out

A Los Angeles home that appears to belong to the model and actor Cara Delevingne was destroyed in a fire Friday.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital in fair condition with unspecified injuries, and a housesitter who was inside at the time was treated for minor injuries, a Los Angeles fire department spokesperson, Nicholas Prange, said.

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Squid Game actor O Yeong-su convicted of sexual harassment

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The 79-year-old actor who won a Golden Glove for his role as Oh II-nam on the hit Netflix show has been handed a suspended prison sentence

South Korean actor O Yeong-su, who starred in the first season of the hit Netflix series Squid Game, was convicted on Friday on charges of sexual harassment and handed a suspended prison sentence, a court official said.

The Seongnam branch of the Suwon district court sentenced O to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, as well as 40 hours of attendance at a sexual violence treatment programme, the court official said by telephone.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.

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Holly Willoughby to make Netflix show in first major move since This Morning

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Jungle-based competition in which celebrities try to evade Bear Grylls part of a wide-ranging new Netflix slate

Holly Willoughby has made her first major move since leaving This Morning, signing up to host a new Netflix show, Bear Hunt with Bear Grylls.

In October she announced she was quitting the ITV show after 14 years “for me and my family” after it emerged she was the target of an alleged kidnap and murder plot.

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Up documentary series voted most influential UK TV show of last 50 years

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Programme that follows the lives of 14 children at seven-year intervals tops Broadcasting Press Guild’s 50th anniversary chart

The groundbreaking Up documentary series has been voted the programme that changed television the most over the past 50 years in a poll of the country’s leading TV writers.

The series, which follows a group of children from different social backgrounds and documents their progress every seven years, topped a list of the the most influential shows from the last five decades compiled by the Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG).

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Israel to compete at Eurovision song contest after changing lyrics to its entry

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Song amended after organisers banned entry for seeming references to 7 October attacks, which broke rules on political neutrality

Israel will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed.

Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year’s competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However, the entry was barred on the grounds of breaking rules on political neutrality.

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Baywatch: ‘action-packed’ reboot set for the small screen

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The hugely successful beach-set drama is returning to television after an underwhelming response to 2017 movie

A reboot of the highly successful drama Baywatch is heading to television.

The original series became one of the most watched shows in the world running for 11 seasons in the late 80s and 90s. The new version will again follow a group of Los Angeles county lifeguards as they deal with various emergencies.

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Has anybody seen the Wombles? The hunt is on for TV’s favourite puppets and props

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Bagpuss, the Clangers and Paddington are among the icons of childhood that fans are determined to save

Are you sitting comfortably? Bagpuss is, but Mother Clanger is not. Dougal may be – nobody is quite sure. And the Wombles – well, they haven’t been seen for years.

Not all of these icons of childhood have been given the care they deserve and now some of the leading lights of children’s TV and animation have called for them to be given their own home.

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BBC move to axe Doctors is ‘disastrous’, says screenwriter

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Soap has given opportunities to actors, writers and production staff, says Philip Ralph on last day of filming

A screenwriter has described the decision to axe the daytime drama Doctors as “disastrous” and said soaps are collapsing as he marked the last day of filming the show.

The BBC announced in October the show would end in December this year due to “super inflation in drama production”.

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Disney’s Shōgun breaks mould with careful respect for Japanese culture

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High-budget series with largely Japanese cast avoids well-worn western orientalist fantasies and wins plaudits in Japan

Japanese audiences could have been forgiven for bracing themselves when Disney announced Shōgun, a 10-part adaptation of James Clavell’s classic 1975 novel.

With few exceptions, Hollywood depictions of Japan and the Japanese have relied on one-dimensional characters whose purpose is to confirm cultural stereotypes, set against the backdrop of an inscrutable archipelago whose people have much to learn from the western hero.

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Euphoria star Hunter Schafer arrested at pro-Palestine protest during Joe Biden TV appearance

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The 25-year-old actor was among 30 demonstrators taken into custody during Joe Biden’s appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, organisers confirmed

Euphoria actor Hunter Schafer was among dozens of protesters arrested at NBC’s headquarters in Manhattan during the president Joe Biden’s appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers earlier this week, organisers confirmed Wednesday.

The 25-year-old star was part of a group of more than 100 demonstrators who packed the lobby at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Monday afternoon to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war, the group Jewish Voice for Peace said.

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ITV announces drama on contaminated blood scandal after Post Office series success

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Peter Moffat will write show about what is considered one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in NHS history

ITV has announced a drama on the contaminated blood scandal, widely considered to be one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in NHS history, after the success of its series on the Post Office.

The drama, which is being written by the Bafta award-winning screenwriter Peter Moffat, will show how people with haemophilia and other blood disorders were contaminated with blood infected with HIV and Hepatitis C, the American media site Deadline reported.

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‘We’re going back to silly’: what’s the next turn for British comedy in era of nostalgia?

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It’s no joke for new shows as classic favourites live on while investment in sitcoms and sketches falters

There is a quip beloved of comedians, when asked if their industry is going down the pan: “Nostalgia? It ain’t what it used to be.”

But for fans of well-worn jokes, and the shows in which they appear, 2024 could be truly a golden era.

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Gavin & Stacey to return for Christmas special after five years

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Popular British comedy ended in 2019 with unanswered marriage proposal

The beloved British TV sitcom Gavin and Stacey is reportedly set to return to the BBC for a Christmas special, five years on from a dramatic cliffhanger, according to reports.

Created by James Corden and Ruth Jones, the comedy followed the two titular characters, played by Matthew Horne and Joanna Page, as they pursued a relationship across Essex and Wales.

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Return of the zing: Jon Stewart is back at The Daily Show, amid a changed world

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Will Stewart’s satire still cut through in a post-pandemic world of disinformation, polarisation and fragmented media?

Barack Obama was US president. Britain was a lynchpin of the European Union. Harvey Weinstein was a powerful movie mogul. Meghan Markle was starring in Suits. “TikTok” did not mean anything and fake news meant a satirical TV program with pretend reporters.

That was the world Jon Stewart left behind when he hosted his last episode of The Daily Show on the Comedy Central network on 6 August 2015, denying a legion of fans his lacerating take on the election, presidency, impeachment, defeat, impeachment again and comeback of Donald Trump.

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‘What do you mean, the tower is gone?’: thieves steal 200ft structure from Alabama radio station

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Small radio station forced to go silent after ‘unbelievable’ theft of giant tower, which would cost over $100,000 to replace

An Alabama radio station has been forced to temporarily shut down after thieves stole a 200ft radio tower.

WJLX, a station in Jasper, Alabama, was ordered to go off air by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after thieves took the station’s AM tower last week, the Guardian first learned.

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Crew member dies on set of new Marvel TV series Wonder Man

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Investigation under way as unidentified worker dies after falling from the rafters at CBS Radford Studios

A crew member on the upcoming Marvel TV series Wonder Man has died following an on-set accident.

The unidentified worker, a rigger at CBS Radford Studios, died after falling from the rafters on Tuesday morning. The accident did not occur during filming, but the rigger was working on the set of the Marvel television series, which resumed production in January after several strike-related delays.

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HBO hit TV series the White Lotus drops actor Miloš Biković over Russia ties

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Network says role will be recast after Ukraine hit out over casting of Serbian for new season

The makers of hit TV show the White Lotus have dropped actor Miloš Biković from the upcoming series after criticism from Ukraine over the Serbian native’s ties to Russia.

Biković, who was cast for the third season of the award-winning dark comedy just weeks ago, has protested against HBO’s decision as “the triumph of absurdity and the defeat of art”.

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Amazon’s Expats series not available in Hong Kong, where it is set

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First two episodes inaccessible to viewers in city, with some attributing censorship to umbrella protest scenes

Amazon’s big-ticket series Expats, set and filmed in Hong Kong, is not available for viewing in the city despite being billed as a worldwide release.

The first two episodes of the drama, starring Nicole Kidman and directed by The Farewell’s Lulu Wang, were released on Friday but listed as “currently unavailable” for viewers in Hong Kong. The series, based on a 2016 novel, The Expatriates, focuses on the lives of three American women in Hong Kong.

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