TV

Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman

7 Aug 2008

DOCUMENTARY BBC4, Wed 13 Aug, 10pm Wouldn’t we all love to be handed a camera, go off wandering across the globe on the flimsiest of motives and stick our lens into people’s lives? But most people would at least try to capture some of the fun bits…

High Emergency

31 Jul 2008

DOCUMENTARY Five, Tue 5 Aug, 7.30pm One of the last places you’d want to find yourself stranded in the British Isles is up in the Highlands. If you thought any different you’ll change your mind after watching the first instalment of this documentary…

Car Bomb

31 Jul 2008

DOCUMENTARY Channel 4, Sun 3 Aug, 7pm The scary question posed at the end of this two-part documentary is ‘will we ever see an end to the car bomb?’ The answer is a resounding ‘no’, not unless we ditch our motors for good and walk everywhere. Even…

The Kevin Bishop Show

31 Jul 2008

COMEDY Channel 4, Fri 1 Aug, 10pm Like the mighty Bobby Davro, Kevin Bishop can do a fair old impersonation or two (his Jonathan Ross and Gary Lineker are awesome) but can’t get any material around them to save his life. There have been boasts made…

Inside the box

Edinburgh International Television Festival

22 Jul 2008

Nestled at the end of August is the Edinburgh International Television Festival which, frustratingly, is still an industry shindig but it’s good to know the calibre of celebrities you may be bumping into around town. This year’s line-up includes Doctor…

Emmys 2008 - the nominations

18 Jul 2008

The list of nominees for the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards to be held in Los Angeles on September 21. The Emmy's are often thought of as the television equivalent to the Oscars, and the list features some the best and most successful shows from…

TV- Remote Control roundup

17 Jul 2008

Allan Radcliffe frets over the sickly state of terrestrial television

Burn Up

17 Jul 2008

DRAMA BBC1, Wed 23 & Fri 25 Jul, 9pm Meet Tom McConnell (Rupert Penry-Jones), VP of Arrow Oil, the most powerful business in the world. He’s square-jawed, blue-eyed with a cut glass accent and a line in motivational patter to rival stick-thumping…

Remote Control

3 Jul 2008

When it comes to making new TV dramas, being brave and original can either make or break the show. Sometimes just playing it straight off the bat and keeping things safe can help your programme reap the rewards. Two hot and hyped BBC affairs go for the…

Superstars

3 Jul 2008

SPORT Five, Fri 11 Jul, 8pm Sporting life was very different in the 1970s. Kevin Keegan had bubblier hair, the only athletes who used artificial enhancement to boost their performance seemed to be born female in East Germany and it was still possible…

Remote Control

19 Jun 2008

In an age where some people believe that the Royal Family have a secret assassination wing, it’s perhaps not a good idea to have an indiscriminate dig at those guys. So, here goes: does the estate of Princess Margaret have some incriminating photos of…

The People's Story - Days Like This project launched

19 Jun 2008

Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Arts Council and BBC Radio Scotland join forces for groundbreaking book and radio project Days Like This. People the length and breadth of Scotland are being offered the chance to share their stories, as part of a unique…

Fallout

19 Jun 2008

DRAMA Channel 4, Thu 3 Jul, 9pm The issue of young people and crime is such a hot topic that it was only a matter of time before documentary-makers got in gear and happy slapped Channel 4 commissioners into submission with a series to mark the sorry…

No Holds Bard - Mocumentary to honour Robert Burns

19 Jun 2008

Ugly Betty and Extras actress Ashley Jensen is just one of many Scottish celebrities set to star in No Holds Bard, a 60-minute comedy mocumentary, due to begin filming next week. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Jensen…

Remote Control

5 Jun 2008

Andrea Riseborough must have a thing about playing scary people. While she wafted in to view as a spectral ghost in the BBC3 pilot of Being Human (a one-off that was the subject of such a frenzied online petition that the show was eventually…

Peter Kosminksy

5 Jun 2008

DOCUMENTARY/DRAMA SEASON More4, Sat 14–Sun 20 Jun In the era of Play for Today, the rabblerousing TV dramatist lurked in every nook and cranny of the BBC, cropping up on primetime slots to frighten the horses. Now though, the nation’s broadcasting…

Winners of Amnesty Scottish Media Awards announced

5 Jun 2008

The winners of the 2008 Amnesty Scottish Media Awards were announced in The Scottish Parliament last night. The awards, which focus upon human rights, are run in association with Amnesty.

Remote Control

22 May 2008

Flicking through the TV schedules can often give the impression that we are living life like the eponymous character in big kids sci-fi series Kyle XY (BBC2, Sat 24 May, noon •••) Not only can we not quite understand what is in front of us, we probably…

Remote Control

8 May 2008

It’s difficult not to come round to the conclusion that the BBC is utterly obsessed with teenage pregnancy. In recent times, we’ve had Baby Borrowers, Britain’s Youngest Grannies and Adolescent Brunette Mothers on Crack with Guns. OK, maybe one of those…

Midnight Man

8 May 2008

CRIME DRAMA STV, Thu 8 May, 9pm Were James Nesbitt to be handed a script featuring the worst excesses of humanity, it would be difficult not to imagine him desperately looking for the jokes. Asides from his role as Ivan Cooper, the real-life civil…

Remote Control

24 Apr 2008

It’s the end of the world as we know it and not even Hamish Macbeth or Hercule Poirot can save us. Or rather, Robert Carlyle doing a dodgy cockney accent as a hotshot engineer or David Suchet coming over all governmental as the beleaguered deputy PM in…

The Mighty Boosh launch their own festival

18 Apr 2008

Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett, the comedy duo otherwise known as The Mighty Boosh, are to launch their own festival, it was reported today. Billed as 'a day in the country' which they will 'drag a load of friends and comedians and bands' along to…

Ian Wright quits the BBC

18 Apr 2008

Ex-England and Arsenal player Ian Wright has quit the BBC's live commentary team, claiming he no longer wants to be seen as a 'comedy jester' 'Times are changing. I don't know how long young people are going to want to sit down and watch that same…

Richard and Judy to leave Channel 4 for UKTV

17 Apr 2008

After announcing their departure from Channel 4 after seven years, it has been announced that daytime TV stars Richard and Judy are to sign with the UKTV network. Available only through satellite and freeview, the UKTV channels include Dave and UKTV…

Russell Brand turned down for Peep Show

17 Apr 2008

Russell Brand was turned down for a part in cult sitcom Peep Show before becoming famous, according to the show's star David Mitchell. Mitchell said: 'Apparently Russell auditioned for the part of Super Hans before he was well known on the first…