TV

Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy

The Boosh performer's latest TV effort abounds in surrealism but lacks coherence... and jokes

2 Feb 2012

Ahead of his new gaudily-coloured clutter-fest, Noel Fielding admitted that making this solo series left him feeling a bit unhinged. After ingesting just a few minutes of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy (E4, Thu, 10pm) only the most avid Boosh fan will…

Tracy Beaker Returns

7 Jan 2010

Anyone who tunes in to CBBC from time to time might not know it, but it’s five years since the last new episode of the show featuring the abandoned and shouty Tracy Beaker. But that constant loop of archive 20-minute snapshots of life within the…

Interview: Zach Braff, writer, director and star of All New People

The Scrubs and Garden State star discusses his new theatre production

2 Feb 2012

‘I’m still Jenny from the block,’ says Zach Braff after a moment’s reflection. ‘Even now I feel a bit underground in the acting world.’ For those who enjoyed Braff (and 20 million viewers around the world did) as the lovable JD in US comedy drama…

Why Sex and the City prequel sounds death knell for Carrie and co

Self-confessed fan bears the bad news of a prequel to the series

3 Feb 2012

List writer, and self-confessed Sex and the City fan, Lauren Mayberry bears the bad news of a prequel to the series The TV phenomenon that was Sex and the City was pronounced dead about halfway through film one, roughly at the part where Carrie’s…

Interview: Noel Fielding of Mighty Boosh on new sketch show Luxury Comedy

New sketch show explores the comedian's surreal subconcious

6 Jan 2012

Noel Fielding arrives at the Groucho Club in Soho wearing his favourite cape. It’s black with red details – very Ripper chic – and when he sits down, it balloons over the sides of his armchair. By the time the comedian and Never Mind the Buzzcocks…

The Hot 100 2011 - No. 56: Freya Mavor

Moving on after being Mini McGuinness in Skins

16 Dec 2011

All good things, they say, must come to an end. So with the Skins policy of changing casts every two series, Freya Mavor may well be currently filming her final scenes of the popular E4 show. ‘I feel petrified of leaving my baby behind,’ Edinburgh’s…

Zach Braff: Ten things you might not know

The star of Scrubs, Garden State and All New People also voices the US Andrex puppy

2 Feb 2012

1 He is the youngest of four children. He has two brothers, Adam and Joshua, and a sister, Shoshanna. His mother and father are divorced and have both remarried. He says he now spends Thanksgiving with his ‘four parents’. 2 He had an ‘American…

Interview: Kaya Scodelario on Skins, Wuthering Heights and Now Is Good

Former star Skins takes lead in Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights

21 Oct 2011

You were in line to work with Red Road and Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold on Wuthering Heights, yet you missed your first audition for the role? How come? ‘I was incredibly nervous about doing a period drama. I thought that to play period you had…

Perfect Vagina

Channel 4, Sun 17 Aug, 10pm

14 Aug 2008

Get set to cross your legs and grit your teeth as Lisa Rogers fronts a very different kind of scrapheap challenge as part of Channel 4’s The G-Spot strand. We’ve all read the headlines and overheard the news that women are literally queuing up round the…

Corrie's Tommy and Tina to find love in 2012

TV Gossip

29 Dec 2011

Coronation Street's Tommy Duckworth and Tina McIntyre will find love in 2012. The lady-loving lothario and the brunette bombshell - played by Chris Fountain and Michelle Keegan respectively - will finally get together in the new year, and soap bosses…

Michel Faber interview - The Crimson Petal and the White

The author and his wife Eva Youren on the forthcoming BBC adaptation

24 Mar 2011

‘As consumers of culture, we’re both quite cold fish,’ says Michel Faber, linking eyes over the living room with his wife, Eva Youren. She’s stretched out on a windowseat a few feet away. She nods in agreement. ‘We tend to see what the author or…

Glasgow-set Lip Service may have more than just homophobes turning it off

Is new BBC3 drama just The L Word with rain?

17 Feb 2011

A recent poll by the BBC found that one in five people felt ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘very uncomfortable’ with gay people having their stories told on television. A mere 16 years after the ‘Brookside kiss’, such a stat can either be read as slow progress or…

The Hot 100 2011: 100-50

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

100: Gordon Ferris. Kilmarnock crime author makes good. The already packed Scottish crime writing field has finally found a bit of elbow room for another burgeoning talent. Joining the likes of Rankin, Brookmyre, McDermid and co is this Ayrshire-born…

Peep Show's David Mitchell speaks out over new series premiering online

Series 7 Episode 1 now screening at 4oD

22 Nov 2010

In the run up to the new series of Peep Show, David Mitchell has been left defending himself after expressing his disappointment at the decision to release the first episode online, prior to its TV premiere. Series seven of the comedy starring David…

Q&A: Katy Brand

29 Apr 2010

A former theology student at Oxford, Katy Brand is now a queen of the comedy world, having scooped a captive audience through her ITV2 Big Ass Show. Here, she remembers watching My Girl and squeaking at Jay-Z...

Wallace and Gromit Present: A World of Cracking Ideas

31 Mar 2010

Oscar-winning characters Wallace and Gromit take centre stage at this Aardman Animations exhibition, as visitors get the chance to tour around Wallace and Gromit’s 62 West Wallaby Street home, as well as looking at, and interacting with, their most…

Mum Heroin and Me

16 Oct 2008

DOCUMENTARY A loving mother is driving her daughter into town for a special 21st birthday treat. In between a massage and hairdresser appointment, Hannah asks her mum to make a quick stop. But she’s not popping to the shops for a chocolate bar or a…

The Muppets' most memorable moments

A gallery of clips from our favourite frog and his friends

1 Feb 2012

The Muppets have a string of movies to their names already, including The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Christmas Carol, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper. Never ones to shirk away from serious film, darling, they’ve also had cameos in…

Queen of quirk Zooey Deschanel stars in formulaic geeky comedy New Girl

The sitcom falls in neatly with The Big Bang Theory, Scrubs et al

5 Jan 2012

Adorkability. ‘Jess Daly’ has this in spades, and it’s the x-factor that led US executives to immediately order up a bunch of extra episodes after New Girl (Channel 4, Fri 6 Jan, 8.35pm) became the Fox network’s highest-rated autumn sitcom debut in a…

Scottish BAFTA awards 2011 shortlist announced

Peter Mullan's NEDS receives four nominations in this year's shortlist

18 Oct 2011

The Scottish BAFTA Awards have returned after a one-year absence, with the nominations shortlist announced yesterday by Karen Dunbar. Peter Mullan's NEDS, a film telling the story of a teenage boy growing up in 1970s Glasgow, received four…

Mafia drama Romanzo Criminale - preview

The Italian crime series follows in the footsteps of Wallander, The Killing and Spiral

19 Sep 2011

A trio of tough guys beat up an old man with a full wallet. Except they picked on the wrong pensioner as his immediate act of bloody retribution proves, before we are swept back in time to 1977 and to a Rome burning with political murders, bombs…

Martine McCutcheon 'too old' for TV roles

TV Gossip

13 May 2011

Martine McCutcheon thinks she is "too old" to be a TV leading lady. The 'Love Actually' actress - who shot to fame in the 90s playing Tiffany Mitchell in 'EastEnders' - thinks she is at a "funny age" where she is not old enough to play a mum, but too…

In The Night Garden - live in Glasgow

Toddlers TV favourite come to Glasgow Green

7 Sep 2010

Walking past Glasgow Green over the next few weeks, you’d be forgiven for thinking that aliens had landed. In fact, it’s a far more innocuous gang of visitors from CBeebies’ land of charm, the Night Garden. Taking place in a stunning, purpose-built…

T in the Park: Info

9 Jul 2009

Amy Taylor provides you with all manner of sensible information to take the hassle out of the weekend

A History of Scotland

BBC1, Sun 9 Nov, 9pm

30 Oct 2008

Following recent criticism about the lack of native history being taught in Scottish schools and widespread whinging about BBC Scotland spending increasingly less cash on home-grown fare, the corporation has risen to both challenges with this ambitious…

Dead Set - Charlie Brooker

16 Oct 2008

In George A Romero’s seminal 1980 horror Dawn of the Dead, a group of mismatched survivors of the zombie apocalypse take shelter in a deserted mall. Famously, the film is Romero’s thinly veiled up-yours to consumerist Western society, to the ‘zombies…

Merlin

18 Sep 2008

DRAMA It would perhaps be unfair to describe this new BBC1 post-teatime ‘is it ok to let the kids watch?’ show as ‘Robin Hood meets Doctor Who’, but you can see what the schedulers were going for when they plopped this fresh take on the Arthurian…

Interview - David Hasselhoff

The knightriding, baywatching, car-jumping icon discusses hitting the water and ending the Cold War

1 Feb 2012

First record you ever bought ‘She Wore Blue Velvet’ by Bobby Vincent. [sings] ‘She wore bluuuue velvet’ – either that, or ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ by The Beatles. Last extravagant purchase you made Some earrings for my girlfriend. First film you…

Bill Bailey's guide to scary film soundtracks

The comedian and orchestra appreciator on what makes for good malevolent music

21 Oct 2011

What’s your favourite score to a scary movie? The Bernard Herrmann score to The Day the Earth Stood Still [1951]. It’s quite futuristic and incredibly orchestral and atmospheric. He uses the Theremin [an early electronic instrument that can be played…

The Governor, Being Human and Traffik among DVD highlghts

The old school fares well against newbies in TV drama releases

29 Jun 2011

The Governor ●●●● features a curious performance from Janet McTeer, just four years before her 1999 Oscar nomination for Tumbleweeds. In the first season of Lynda La Plante’s excellent prison drama, she switches between giggling schoolgirl and feisty…

We need new ‘gritty’ American cop show Southland like a hole in the head

Channel Hopper

24 Jun 2010

Imagine The Wire hadn’t been created through years of painstaking research and sweat-filled toil by David Simon. Imagine, instead, that Jerry CSI/Cold Case Bruckheimer had ordered every writer he has ever known (dead or alive) to come up with a shiny…

Lauren Pope to have PIP breast implants removed on TOWIE?

TV Gossip

19 Jan 2012

Lauren Pope is to have her breast implants removed on the next series of 'The Only Way Is Essex'. The 28-year-old beauty - who recently discovered she was one of the 40,000 women in the UK to have been fitted with French PIP implants that doctors…

'Too little too late' for Corrie's Steve and Becky?

TV Gossip

19 Jan 2012

Steve McDonald's last-minute attempts to win back ex-wife Becky could be "too little too late". The 'Coronation Street' barman - portrayed by Simon Gregson - will be shocked when the bolshie blonde turns up on his wedding day to conniving Tracy…

Interview: Stephen Graham BBC Christmas comedy Lapland

Star of Shane Meadows’ This is England

13 Dec 2011

First record you ever bought Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Last extravagant purchase you made A cashmere hat. £80 is extravagant, isn’t it? First film you saw that really moved you Kes. Last lie you told It was a few days ago. I’m not gonna tell…

US TV boxsets: DVD round-up

Bored to Death, The Killing, Weeds and In Treatment reviewed

16 Sep 2011

If you thought that Ted Danson had delivered career-remoulding performances as ‘himself’ in Curb Your Enthusiasm, you should check out the dazzle he brings to the first series of Bored to Death (Warner Home Video ●●●●). Jonathan Ames’ Brooklyn-set…

DVD review - Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

Uncompromising, awkward and confrontational style and content cements reputation

28 Jun 2011

(2entertain) The second series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle will do very little to alter the entrenched opinions on both sides of his critical fence. Those detractors will switch off in their droves at the uncompromising, awkward and…

As Taggart calls it a day, we look at the stars who have been linked to the 'murdurs'

Featuring Robert Carlyle, Dougray Scott and more

23 May 2011

After 26 years, Glasgow’s Mean City bids farewell, as Taggart gets axed. To celebrate the demise of one of Scotland’s greatest exports, we showcase the great and the good of the guest stars who helped to light up our screens. Robert Carlyle Long…

Greg McHugh on pizza, Beverly Hills Cop II and X Factor

The comedian and star of Gary: Tank Commander

11 Jan 2011

First record you ever bought The Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack, aged 8. I hadn’t even seen the film. First film you saw that really moved you Philadelphia. Last lie you told That all the food on holiday was made of chopsticks. First…

Neil Richardson, composer of Mastermind theme tune, dies aged 80

21 Oct 2010

Neil Richardson, the English composer and arranger most well-known for writing the piece of music used as the theme tune to TV quiz show Mastermind, has died. He was 80. The iconic theme, which is suitably titled 'Approaching Menace', has been used…

Twin Peaks complete series released on DVD - Mark Frost interview - complete transcript

5 Mar 2010

To mark release of the Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold DVD Box Set, Murray Robertson interviews the seminal TV series’ co-creator and producer Mark Frost. This is the complete unedited transcript of the interview.

Twin Peaks boxset released on DVD - Mark Frost interview

2 Mar 2010

Almost twenty years to the day since Twin Peaks first aired, the long-awaited conclusion to David Lynch and Mark Frost’s seminal series is finally released on DVD. Series co-creator and executive producer Frost tells Murray Robertson what took so…

Limmy and Rab, welcomed onto TV

3 Feb 2010

Are we actually in the midst of a halcyon period for Scottish telly comedy? Or is it easy to get carried away when, to use the vernacular of their main figureheads, two current shows aren’t actually pish. Ringing in the new is Limmy’s Show (BBC2, Mon…

TV: Rab C Nesbit: Christmas Special

11 Dec 2008

BBC2, Tue 23 Dec, 9pm With his dishevelled demeanour and manky string vest, Rab C Nesbitt may look exactly the same as he did when we last eyeballed him staggering from our screens in the summer of 1999, but the wise old nutter fae Govan is a…

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…

Remote Control

29 Nov 2007

They say that getting hitched is one of the most stressful events in anyone’s life. But what if you are sharing your big day with a woman you barely love while another 2000 weddings are going on in the same city? Probably happens in most major…

Lovespring International

Sky One, Sun 12 Aug, 10.30pm

9 Aug 2007

COMEDY Ricky Gervais can be criticised for many things, such as his mad cackle and the popularity of Karl Pilkington. And here’s a third thing. Lovespring International would most likely never have been made had the US not fallen in love with The…

Countdown contestant scores with rude word

TV Gossip

19 Jan 2012

A 'Countdown' contestant sparked laughter when he used the word "wanker" to win a round. IT consultant Mark Murphy left new host Nick Hewer red-faced when he submitted the word after being presented with the letters R, A, E, P, K, W, A, E, N and gave…

Chesney Hawkes replaced by Chico on Dancing On Ice

TV Gossip

4 Jan 2012

Chesney Hawkes has pulled out of 'Dancing On Ice' after injuring himself during training. The 'One and Only' singer had been due to take part in the ITV1 celebrity skating competition - which launches this Sunday (08.01.12) - but has now left the…

Shaun Ryder to hunt aliens on TV

TV Gossip

3 Nov 2011

Shaun Ryder is going to hunt aliens for a new TV show. The Happy Mondays singer has signed up to front History Channel series 'Shaun Ryder On UFOs' on which he will travel the world looking for extra-terrestrial activity. Among the countries the…

Sir Jimmy Savile has died

TV Gossip

30 Oct 2011

Sir Jimmy Savile has died. The legendary 'Jim'll Fix It' and 'Top of the Pops' presenter was found dead at his home in Leeds yesterday afternoon (29.10.11) by his doctor, two days before his 85th birthday. While the cause of death is unknown, it…

Interview - Rob Brydon

The comic actor answers our questions ahead of the release of his autobiography, Small Man in a Book

17 Oct 2011

First record you ever bought Apart from Rupert Bear, Propaganda by Sparks. Last extravagant purchase you made A cashmere scarf. First film you saw that really moved you Barney’s Version. Last lie you told I never lie. First movie you…

Wonderland: The Men Who Won't Stop Marching

Intriguing documentary subject that avoids asking challenging questions

23 May 2011

While the men of the Shankill Road blast away on their flutes and bang against their bass drums, it acts as a stark contrast with the inner turmoil that results in many of them living in silence, the worst stirrings of their memories leaving them mute…

The James Nesbitt-starring 'Monroe' is sharp enough to keep operating (Channel Hopper)

7 Mar 2011

‘Get it right and no one is impressed. Get it wrong and it’s catastrophic’. We could be flies on the wall at an ITV drama commissioners meeting, but in fact it’s one of several memorable lines from the opening episode of 'Monroe' (ITV1, Thu 10 Mar…

Limmy has a new BBC2 series on the way - interview

Glaswegian funnyman on Doop, Yazz and sounding like a fanny

16 Feb 2011

First record you ever bought The Only Way Is Up, by Yazz and the Plastic Population. First film you saw that really moved you Watership Down. Last lie you told An email where I said I was too busy to do something, when I’m not. First…

'Comedy about a comedy' Episodes stars Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan

Channel Hopper

11 Jan 2011

Here comes one of those ‘wonder why no one had thought of that before?’ ideas. The ever-increasing number of British comedies (from The Office to Shameless starring William H Macy) flying their way Stateside for a transatlantic overhaul is a scenario…

5 Comedy Shows Worth Watching On Telly

7 Sep 2010

Him and Her Ex-Cowards chap Stefan Golaszewski brings us his own ‘anti-romantic comedy’ about a young couple who are madly in love but with little appetite for the outside world. So the outside world decides to come to them. Russell Tovey, Sarah…

The Men Who Jump off Buildings - Base jumping

Channel Hopper

23 Jul 2010

‘I think I might die, every time’. When base jumper Dan Witchalls tells his Danish girlfriend how he feels before launching himself from one of London’s many landmark buildings, it looks like she might knock him out flat. ‘Is it worth it?’ she scowls.

Profile: Ian Hart

22 Apr 2010

Name Ian Hart Born Liverpool, 1964 Background Ian Hart’s role as Professor Quirninus Quirrell in the ongoing Harry Potter saga is only a footnote in a role-call of strong supporting performances. Hart started out with a Play for Today…

Doctor Who - Space Oddity

19 Mar 2009

In four years time Doctor Who will be 50 years old, but still it remains one of the most popular and imagination-grabbing shows on television. While the best of British actors and television writers are lining up to work on it, the series’ first…

The Devil’s Whore

13 Nov 2008

DRAMA Having coped admirably with the distasteful task of bringing the early political career of Margaret Thatcher to fruition during The Long Walk to Finchley, Andrea Riseborough steps into the shoes of another headstrong historical female. Born…

Pierrepoint

21 Aug 2008

DRAMA Every now and again, the general public, as represented by the reactionary tabloid press, will rise up and demand a debate on the return of capital punishment. Fortunately, the process has never gone any further than some screeching headlines…

Robert Carlyle set for role in feature-length 24: Exile film

21 Aug 2008

Robert Carlyle has a major role in the highly-anticipated 24 feature-length film 24: Exile. Featuring the first new material in over a year-and-a-half, the film picks up from the last time audiences saw Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), standing by a…

The Cup

14 Aug 2008

COMEDY DRAMA BBC2, Thu 21 Aug, 9.30pm Do we really need another fly-on-the-wall docu-comedy-drama about flawed individuals living out their largely miserable lives? Apparently so, as The Cup smashes its way towards us with more ‘subtle’ humour and…

Last Word - Tina Malone

22 May 2008

First record you ever bought ‘Build me Up Buttercup’ by The Temptations. Last time you were chatted up Oh, every day! (laughs) Usually by guys who are younger than me, strangely enough, and I end up saying I’ve got bras older than you, and if I…

BBC search for Lottery show contestants

1 May 2008

The BBC are now inviting applications for their new Saturday night Lottery game show This Time Tomorrow. Auditions will take palce in Glasgow in May, and applicants with 'big personalities' are advised to get in touch now. Further information and…

Martin Kihn

27 Mar 2008

A year ago, Martin Kihn was a textbook ‘nice guy’. He was polite, thoughtful and hard working, but his life was going nowhere. He lived in a poky apartment, had a dead-end job and everyone, including his dog, treated him like a bitch. When he hit 40, he…

Remote Control

28 Feb 2008

What could the worlds of American contemporary mobsters and 1960s ad men possibly have in common? Actually, more than you’d imagine after you’ve seen a couple of episodes of Mad Men (BBC4, Sun 2 Mar, 10pm •••). Creator Matthew Weiner earned his stripes…

Remote Control

14 Feb 2008

The internet is a wonderful, wonderful place. Where else can you tap a few buttons and see men lip-synching to Romanian hit songs or witness dogs interfering with cats or watch a yardful of hardnut prisoners do the ‘Thriller’ dance or gasp in amazement…

Remote Control: Documentary Reviews

13 Dec 2007

Brian Donaldson uncovers some fine documentaries about daredevils, dancers and daggers There’s a special poignancy about Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel (BBC2, Sun 23 Dec, 9pm) now that we know the subject of the show has since died. The Top Gear…

Remote Control

15 Nov 2007

It’s probably not Jack Dee’s fault that comparisons with Curb Your Enthusiasm have been made to his Lead Balloon (BBC2, Thu 15 Nov, 9.30pm ••). Sure, Curb’s ‘Larry David’ and Lead’s Rick Spleen work in similar areas of the entertainment industry and…

Remote Control

18 Oct 2007

As tragic as Rod Hull’s death was (falling off his roof while attempting to fix the TV aerial), it’s not a patch on seeing his son flailing around to try and recapture the old man’s glory. When Toby Hull first walks into view with the patched-up Emu…

Hidden Palms

4 Oct 2007

Hidden Palms certainly starts with a bang with a gruesome fatality kicking proceedings off. But Kevin Williamson’s latest bash at teen drama after previous scripted glories such as Scream and Dawson’s Creek eventually fades to black with a whimper.

My New Home

Channel 4, Mon 13 Aug, 9pm

9 Aug 2007

SOCIAL DOCUMENTARY Stung by the claims of racism which dogged them over the Celebrity Big Bigot scandal, Channel 4 must be glad they can still make programmes like this one. My New Home catches up with three immigrant children who they first featured…

The Diana Years

Sky One, Sun 5 Aug, 9pm

1 Aug 2007

As the tenth anniversary of Diana’s violent death roars into view, the memorial overload is being cranked up on TV and in the papers. Amid the raft of paperback biographies, we’ve even had a couple of novels which dramatise her death.

Remote Control

17 Jul 2007

Remote Control Allan Radcliffe finds that, while reality doesn’t necessarily suck, it often lacks bite The old adage that the truth is stranger than fiction appears more crucial to programme-makers now than ever before. While reality shows…

Remote Control

Brian Donaldson finds some new dramas about madnes

13 Mar 2007

Without wishing to be cruel, Jessie Wallace isn’t the kind of actress you’d associate with roles which anyone could dub as ‘classy’, not in the stereotypically glamour sense of the word anyway. Maybe feisty, shouty and boozy, but never ever classy. The…

Remote Control

Brian Donaldson finds some new dramas verging on t

27 Feb 2007

It’s never been an easy task to translate the work of Harold Pinter onto the small screen. Some wags might suggest it’s difficult enough trying to make sense of it on stage. As part of More4’s mini-Pinter extravaganza, Celebration (More4, Sat 3 Mar, 9pm…

Preview of the year 2007

2007 is about the future. And about the past. It’

3 Jan 2007

THE FUTURE Cyberspace invaders We may not be flying around in hover cars or wearing spangly all-silver outfits, but thanks to the internet the future has truly arrived. And the revolution will continue apace in 2007, argues Suzanne Black. A…

Red Road - feature

Red or dead

2 Oct 2006

In these lean times for Scottish film it is women who are at the vanguard of quality, truth and all that should be right in cinema. Think of Lynne Ramsay, who made Morvern Callar, or Shona Auerbach, who was responsible for Dear Frankie, or Alison…

Tutti Frutti - feature

Cult fiction

12 Sep 2006

Steve Cramer talks to John Byrne about history, our relationship with the past and his new stage adaptation of his cult television hit, Tutti Frutti.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber eyes Nicole Scherzinger for Superstar

TV Gossip

19 Jan 2012

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber has approached Nicole Scherzinger to be a judge on 'Superstar'. The musicals supremo - who will scour the UK for a new actor to play the role of Jesus in an upcoming arena tour of rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar' - is…

Lydia Bright eyes Strictly Come Dancing

TV Gossip

19 Jan 2012

Lydia Bright thinks appearing in 'Strictly Come Dancing' would be "really fun". The 20-year-old star explained while she has no plans to leave 'The Only Way Is Essex' at the moment, she would love to take part in the BBC One celebrity dance…

Corrie's Ian Puleston-Davies defends smacking storyline

TV Gossip

19 Jan 2012

Coronation Street's Ian Puleston-Davies has hit back at criticism of the show's child smacking storyline. The ITV1 soap receive a barrage of complaints after Ian's character - builder Owen Armstrong - slapped girlfriend Anna Windass' (Debbie Rush…

Aaron Livesy set for Emmerdale happiness

TV Gossip

13 Jan 2012

Aaron Livesy is finally set for happiness before he leaves 'Emmerdale'. Danny Miller - who plays the troubled gay character in the ITV1 show - recently announced his intention to quit the soap but series producer Stuart Blackburn has promised some…

The Hot 100 2011 - No. 22: Steven Moffat interview

Writer behind Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes and Tintin

16 Dec 2011

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block the latest series of Doctor Who hit this year were complaints in some quarters that it was becoming too complex. Yet Paisley-born showrunner Steven Moffat is rightly unrepentant about a storyline which began and ended…

The Hot 100 2011 - No. 25: Greg McHugh interview

Man behind Fresh Meat and Gary: Tank Commander

16 Dec 2011

When it comes to arresting openings in new TV comedy-dramas during 2011, it’s unlikely that anything came close to Channel 4’s Fresh Meat. The sight of Greg McHugh, naked from the waist down, blow-drying a row of Peking ducks won’t leave many witness…

What to watch this Christmas: TV highlights

Little Crackers, Great Expectations, Hacks and True Stories: Sarah Palin among the top TV Xmas picks

13 Dec 2011

When it comes to Christmas television traditions, you could rely on a Morecambe & Wise special, The Great Escape on Boxing Day and trying to guess who would fall asleep first at HM’s shrill message-sending. It may have some way to go to be considered a…

Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights

The comedian's TV show is a mix of decent stand-up material and woeful sketches

15 Nov 2011

Curious thing the moral barometer. After the faecal flood which surrounded the original Channel 4 showing of Tramadol Nights this time last year, some judicious cutting has been made to the DVD version. Gone is the Jordan/Harvey routine from episode two…

Channel Hopper - Life's Too Short

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant team up with short actor Warwick Davis for new comedy mock-doc

15 Nov 2011

When Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant set about their next major BBC project, they must have wondered whether to go for the docu-drama fakery of The Office or the celeb-heavy naturalism of Extras. In the end they squashed the two together for Life’s…

Channel Hopper - Top Boy

Affecting urban ensemble drama starring Ashley Walters and Kierston Wareing

17 Oct 2011

Vaulting ambition and its often dire consequence are at the heart of London-set Top Boy (Channel 4, Mon 31 Oct–Thu 3 Nov, 10pm) just as it is inherent in every drama from Macbeth to The Sopranos. Some observers will no doubt draw parallels between this…

Rab C Nesbitt interview

Glasgow's most outspoken resident talks TV licenses, tofu and Brad Pitt

19 Sep 2011

First record you ever bought Bought? You didn’t buy records in my day, you liberated them at parties. To this day the intro to ‘Light My Fire’ can cause me a soiling issue through excitement. Last extravagant purchase you made A TV Licence in…

Dappy Contostavlos wants fishing show

TV Gossip

19 Sep 2011

Dappy Contostavlos wants his own fishing show. The N-Dubz star admits one of his biggest passions in life is angling and he has vowed to eclipse the success of Robson Green, who has also appeared in programmes about the pastime. He said: "I love…

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Larry David's groundbreaking sitcom stays at the top of its game for an eighth season

16 Sep 2011

After the high watermark of season seven’s Seinfeld-reunion storyline, Larry David brings us dragging and cringing back into his world of petty obsessions, chronic misunderstandings and friendships permanently teetering on the brink of abrasive…

BUG Hosted by Adam Buxton

Entertaining but unchallenging music video presentation

26 Aug 2011

The usually BFI-based BUG organisation’s remit is to celebrate ‘global creativity in music video’, and in that respect, this show succeeds admirably. Videos from acts as diverse as US indie-rockers Manchester Orchestra, electro artists The Chase and…

Channel 4 show Chickens set during WW1 stars Simon Bird and Jonny Sweet

Channel Hopper

24 Aug 2011

It might not have quite the resonance of ‘briefcase wanker!’ but Simon Bird’s character in Chickens (Channel 4, Fri 2 Sep, 10.30pm) has to take the slur of ‘shame on you’ like a man. But being a man is half the problem here. Or at least the kind of man…

The Apprentice's Stuart ‘The Brand’ Baggs to appear at the Fringe

Informal lunch chat at 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

23 Aug 2011

‘I’m alive: there are so many people that aren’t alive or have died, unfortunately. I’m alive; that’s a gift, frankly. I wake up early every morning once I’ve had the sleep I need. I go out and make money. Everything I touch turns to sold.’ Oh Lord.

The Inbetweeners - We meet some real Glasgow teenagers

Are Scottish teens anything like the loveable social misfits on screen?

18 Aug 2011

The old crusties amongst us probably don’t know much about ‘real’ teenagers. We get most of our understanding of the acne-addled angst-mongers when gasping aloud at the ruddy rudeness of Skins and chin-scratching over the almost impenetrable lingo in…

Celebrity Big Brother contestants enter house

TV Gossip

18 Aug 2011

Kerry Katona is one of 10 housemates who have entered the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house tonight (18.08.11). The mother-of-four - who has battled drug and drink addiction in the past - was first to enter the infamous house followed by 'American Pie…

Sex and the City to return to TV

TV Gossip

15 Aug 2011

'Sex and the City' could return to TV screens. The hit TV series - which ended in 2004 after six series before being turned into two movies - is being lined up for a new run after creator Darren Star and the show's main star Sarah Jessica Parker…

Channel Hopper: The Hour

Taut, Abi Morgan-penned period news drama starring Ben Wishaw, Romola Garai and Dominic West

21 Jul 2011

Let’s get this straight: here we have a modern BBC drama about a 1950s BBC news programme called ‘The Hour’ with each of its six episodes lasting an hour? Yes, The Hour (BBC2, Tue, 9pm) may originate from a confusing place, but through the spandex-tight…