TV

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…

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…

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…

TV- Remote Control roundup

17 Jul 2008

Allan Radcliffe frets over the sickly state of terrestrial television

West Wing actor signs up for BBC Burn Up

10 Oct 2007

West Wing star Bradley Whitford is among the top names expected to appear in a new political thriller for the BBC. Whitford, who also boasts Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip among his acting credits, will be joined by Neve Campbell and Spooks actor…

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…

Remote Control

4 Jan 2008

Brian Donaldson finds that amid the many new Beeb dramas, the best ones have a gaggle of ball-busting females After all the rough and ready excitement of the festive Doctor Who and Extras specials, what ticklish delights would the BBC lay before us…

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…

LGBT TV Special

8 May 2008

Televised gay kisses may have come a long way since Beth Jordache on Brookside but mainstream programming still lacks fair representation (for the supposed 10% of us) with only the occasional out and proud offering, mainly The L Word and Queer as Folk.

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…

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…

Colin and Justin tie the knot at last

16 Apr 2008

After 22 years together, celebrity Scots property developers Colin McAllister, 40, and Justin Ryan, 41, have married. The pair, who shot to fame hosting The Million Pound Property Experiment in 2003 and were engaged last December, married in a civil…

Remote Control

8 May 2007

What on earth could be funny about a man who slaughtered millions of people and influenced many a nutter in the post-cyanide years? Quite a lot, according to Jacques Peretti in his very fine Hitler: The Comedy Years (Channel 4, Thu 10 May, 11.05pm, 4…

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…

Remote Control

10 Apr 2008

Nostalgia is currently big business, and television producers have always been quick to take advantage of our romantic yearning for times gone by, whether endlessly revisiting classic programmes or winding the clock back to our political and cultural…

Tutti Frutti - feature

Cult fiction

12 Sep 2006

Sometimes, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. 19 years after it was shown on television, Tutti Frutti has come to occupy a very special place in Scotland’s collective memory. The exuberant, hilariously dark drama, written by the inimitable…

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…

Shrink Rap

24 Apr 2008

TALK SHOW More4, Mon 28 Apr, 10pm Alongside Billie Piper’s transformation from pop pixie and booze-sodden celebrity missus to respected TV actress, the most unexpected showbusiness career shift of our times has to have been Pamela Stephenson’s…

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…

The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

13 Mar 2008

If there is still such a thing as ‘appointment television’ in this multi-channel age, The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is it. The adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith’s much- loved novel arrives on the small screen this fortnight thanks to a wealth of…

ITV axes Rebus

22 Feb 2008

ITV has reportedly pulled the plug on Edinburgh-set detective drama Rebus. It is believed that the broadcaster is not keen to continue the Ian Rankin drama without Ken Stott, who says he doesn't want to continue in the role. John Hannah played the…

Boy A

15 Nov 2007

DRAMA Channel 4, Mon 26 Nov, 9pm As Channel 4 looks forward after glancing back at its first quarter of a century, there’s one area of programming where it seems to be especially strong: the one-off trauma drama. In recent times we’ve had Matthew…

Remote Control - TV round-up

Remote Control

11 Dec 2006

It may well be set in the Big Smoke and had a working title of ‘London’, but Dominic Savage’s Born Equal (BBC1, Sun 17 Dec, 9pm) explores such universal and painful truths that it would be wrong for it to have been fully metropolised. With Robert…

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…

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…

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.

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…

Rab C Nesbitt to return for Christmas?

15 Apr 2008

Ian Pattison, creator of television's Glaswegian street philosopher Rab C Nesbitt, has written a new script for a Christmas special of the show. The show's original producer and director Colin Gilbert said, 'The likelihood is, that, unless they…

The Quest for the Lost Ark

10 Apr 2008

DOCUMENTARY Channel 4, Mon 14 Apr, 9pm As Harrison Ford prepares to dust off his fedora, khaki shirt and bullwhip for the belated fourth instalment of Steven Spielberg’s swashbuckling Indiana Jones adventure series, a documentary about a non-fiction…

Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach

4 Jan 2008

COMEDY/SOAP ITV1, Thu 10 Jan, 9pm OK, I’m confused now. Having checked and then double checked the TV schedules, it appears to be true; Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach are on ITV1. Yes, ITV1. They’re the people who last year washed us away on a sea…

Ricky and Bianca in return to The Square

30 Oct 2007

Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer are coming back to Walford Square, reprising their roles as Ricky Butcher and Bianca Jackson in BBC soap EastEnders. They married in the soap and enjoyed a tumultuous relationship, mainly characterised by Bianca’s screams of…

Low Winter Sun

Channel 4, Thu 14, 21 Sep, 9pm

7 Sep 2006

CRIME DRAMA Corrupt cops have been ten a penny down the TV years. Everything from The Sweeneyto The Shieldhave focussed on gung-ho anti-heroes who bent the rules to their own ends, usually to net the baddies but not always for reasons which…

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…

Remote Control

17 Jan 2008

So, having kicked off the year in fine style with the inventive and cheeky Moving Wallpaper, it looked like things were on the up for all those on the good ship ITV. Well, hold your horses because normal service has been thoroughly resumed with the…

Wonderland

17 Jan 2008

DOCUMENTARY SEASON BBC2, Wed, 9.50pm Being on the margins can be horribly uncomfortable, a conscious choice or a place to inhabit in blissful ignorance. All three scenarios crop up in this intriguing new BBC2 season. The Secret Life of Norman…

The Not Dead

1 Nov 2007

DOCUMENTARY Channel 4, Mon 12 Nov, 9pm There’s always a danger that with the constant barrage of rolling news coverage, dramas and documentaries that we may become immune to the horrors of the world, particularly the terror of warfare. But while…

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.

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…

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…

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: Drama & Comedy Reviews

13 Dec 2007

There’s a moment in the Extras finale when Andy Millman shows his disgust that George Michael is appearing in a certain other Christmas comedy. It initially sounds like a joke for its own sake, but you’ll discover it’s based on hard fact when you tune…

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…

Good autumn TV to stay in for

4 Oct 2007

Old stories being retold is the thrust of the new season in British drama with Dickens, Kipling, Shelley and the Bible all being dipped into. EastEnders writer Sarah Phelps is let loose on Oliver Twist (BBC1, mid Dec) with Timothy Spall as Fagin and Tom…

Two new names join Scottish Broadcasting Commission

14 Aug 2007

The new commission formed to look at the future of Scotland’s broadcast industry will include input from actress Elaine C Smith and playwright Chris Ballance. The investigation into the state of television and production north of the border was ordered…

Forgiven

Channel 4, Thu 16 Aug, 10.30pm

9 Aug 2007

FAMILY DRAMA Following in the footsteps of paedophilia drama Secret Life, this is another related single work which will make you feel pain long after the closing credits have gone. Based on a real case, Forgiven stars Derek Riddell (The Book Group…

Cape Wrath

3 Jul 2007

DRAMA Channel 4 haven’t been too lucky of late with their new British serial dramas what with the dire sub-Footballers Wives romp Goldplated and the wildly overblown and overrated Skins. So, when news arrived of this witness protection drama, it…

Brits Get Rich in China

22 May 2007

BUSINESS DOCUMENTARY Paul Merton recently recalled with some anxiety how he forced down a portion of cooked donkey penis in the name of travel shows. And in this documentary, a marginally traumatised businessman dines briefly on the same delicacy.

Feature - Ashley Jensen

Funny lady

12 Mar 2007

Who would have thought that Ashley Jensen, the mild-mannered, meek Maggie from Extras, would have a guilty secret from her dark past as a student in Edinburgh? ‘I got banned from a pub on the Grassmarket,’ she admits with a barely hidden mix of remorse…