News

A new glimpse at Doctor Who's upcoming 2024 Christmas special "Joy to the World" has been unveiled by the BBC, teasing Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor facing a terrifying prehistoric threat. Set in a hotel full of time-travelling rooms, the adventure is penned by former showrunners Steven Moffat and follows the events of season 14. While Gatwa's Doctor will be travelling alone following him parting ways with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), he will soon be joined by Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan as guest companion Joy.

The official Doctor Who YouTube channel has shared a new clip from "Joy to the World" following it's premiere during the BBC Children in Need telethon event.

In the clip, The Doctor and Joy investigate a terrifying new contraption developed by Villengard from season 14's "Boom", though a surprise guest interferes...

This is a developing story...

Source: Doctor Who

Doctor Who 5/10

The latest season of Doctor Who introduces the Fifteenth Doctor,...

On November 16, 2019, the BBC got a “scoop” that just might have saved Britain’s premier network for news. That is the night it aired its seemingly impossible “get” of Hrh Prince Andrew actually sitting down with the BBC’s signature news show, Newsnight, to talk about the raging scandal over his relationship with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his alleged sexual encounters with Virginia Roberts. However, the facts of the matter, such as they were, are not at all what the new Netflix film Scoop is all about.

Instead, much like She Said, The Post, Spotlight and All the President’s Men, the emphasis here is on the reporters, four key woman journalists who incredibly negotiated a sit-down interview with Andrew when such a thing would be unthinkable. They pulled it all off just at a time when facts themselves were on trial and the future of legitimate newsgathering...

Netflix released the official trailer for Scoop as social media is flooded with rumors about Kate Middleton’s disappearance from public life. Manipulated photos and ridiculous denials have done nothing to quell reports the Royal Family is in chaos. So now seems the perfect time to drop a trailer for a film about Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis.

Rufus Sewell stars as Prince Andrew, Billie Piper plays Sam McAlister, and Gillian Anderson is Emily Maitlis. The cast also includes Keeley Hawes and Romola Garai.

Scoop is based on McAlister’s memoir Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interview and was adapted by Peter Moffatt and Geoff Bussetil. Philip Martin directs and The Lighthouse Film & TV’s Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville produced. McAlister executive produced along with Voltage TV’s Sanjay Singhal.

“Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the...

One interview can change everything according to the new one-sheet poster of Scoop. Scoop is the new political drama from Netflix, which is based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interview. The new film features an ensemble cast that includes Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes, Romola Garai & Rufus Sewell. The movie is directed by Philip Martin from a screenplay by Peter Moffatt & Geoff Bussetil. Scoop is set to release on Netflix Friday, which is April 5.

The official synopsis from Netflix reads,

“Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earthshattering interview – Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight appearance. From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis’ jaw dropping, forensic showdown with the Prince, Scoop takes us inside the story,...

As conspiracy theories continue to swirl snd the Telegraph fills with irritated harrumphing about KateGate (are we calling it that?), the Royal Family is probably not exactly thrilled that Netflix has chosen today to launch the full trailer for Scoop, which digs into another not-so-stellar moment for The Firm: Prince Andrew's nail-chewingly awkward Newsnight interview with the Beeb's Emily Maitlis about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Take a look:

Adapted from former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: Behind The Scenes Of The BBC’s Most Shocking Interview, the new film will see Billie Piper as McAlister, who led the high-stakes negotiations to secure the interview as allegations about sexual misconduct with a minor swirled around Andrew. Gillian Anderson is Maitlis, who would go on to conduct the no-holds barred one-on-one, which ended up covering the Prince's bizarre pizza-based alibi and his claim that thanks to his service in the Falklands,...

The biggest scoop of the century is pinning the British royal family to a sex trafficking scandal, as relived in Netflix film “Scoop.”

The feature, directed by Philip Martin and based on former “Newsnight” producer Sam McAlister’s memoir “Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interview,” stars Gillian Anderson as BBC anchor Emily Maitlis, who infamously interviewed a disgraced Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.

“Scoop” is written by Peter Moffatt and Geoff Bussetil, with Billie Piper starring as producer/author McAlister. Keeley Hawes and Romola Garai co-star.

The film debuts on Netflix, following the conclusion of royal family drama “The Crown” in 2023. To note, “Scoop” lead star Anderson appeared on “The Crown” as Margaret Thatcher.

“Scoop” centers on the behind-the-scenes push to land an interview with Prince Andrew after the royal was listed in court papers as part of a U.

Netflix’s first teaser trailer for Scoop declares that one interview can change everything as Prince Andrew (Emmy nominee Rufus Sewell) and Emily Maitlis (two-time Emmy winner Gillian Anderson) sit down for the Royal’s disastrous 2019 interview. Directed by Philip Martin and based on the memoir of an insider, Scoop is set to premiere on Netflix on April 5, 2024.

In addition to Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell, the drama’s cast includes Billie Piper, Keeley Hawes, and Romola Garai. Peter Moffatt and Geoff Bussetil wrote the screenplay, and The Lighthouse Film & TV’s Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville served as producers.

Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell in ‘Scoop’ (Photo Credit: Netflix)

“Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earth-shattering interview – Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight appearance,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace,...

Netflix gives a look at Gillian Anderson’s transformation into BBC Newsnight‘s Emily Maitlis in the first teaser for its upcoming film Scoop.

Anderson stars alongside Rufus Sewell, Billie Piper and Keely Hawes in the upcoming film, which provides a behind-the-scenes look into how the November 2019 Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came to be.

“This is the story. The only story. I want it for us,” Maitlis tells the news program’s producer Sam McAlister (Piper) after the women uncover details about the Duke of York’s alleged involvement in Epstein’s scandal. Once the interview is secured, McAlister shares the details in a voiceover: “Thursday, 2 p.m., the palace. Two chairs in the middle of the floor, six feet apart.”

Shortly before her bombshell chat with Prince Andrew, Maitlis nervously touches up her makeup a bathroom at Buckingham Palace alongside McAlister.

Another royal scandal is getting the Netflix treatment.

After “The Crown” concluded in 2023, the streaming platform is releasing film “Scoop” about the infamous 2019 BBC “Newsnight” interview between anchor Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew. “The Crown” alum Gillian Anderson portrays Maitlis in the movie based on the former “Newsnight” editor Sam McAlister’s book “Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interview.” Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew, the Duke of York at Buckingham Palace.

“Scoop” centers on the behind-the-scenes flurry to land an interview with Prince Andrew after the royal was listed in court papers as part of a U.S. civil case against convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. During the “Newsnight” broadcast, Prince Andrew addressed the allegations made by Epstein and his victims. Prince Andrew alleged that he only knew Epstein through socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted on sex-trafficking charges in December 2021. Maxwell’s story...

ScoopPhoto: Peter Mountain/Netflix

The Crown covered a lot, but it didn’t get to the biggest scandal in modern royal history: Prince Andrew’s association with “billionaire pedophile” Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent fallout. But Netflix’s commitment to making fictionalized Windsor drama is unparalleled, and so they’ve...

Scoop Photo: Peter Mountain/Netflix The Crown covered a lot, but it didn’t get to the biggest scandal in modern royal history: Prince Andrew’s association with “billionaire pedophile” Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent fallout. But Netflix’s commitment to making fictionalized Windsor drama is unparalleled, and so they...

Prince Andrew‘s infamous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview is being adapted into a new scripted drama for Netflix, which will provide an inside account of how the earth-shattering interview came to be. Directed by Philip Martin and written by Peter Moffatt (Your Honor), Scoop is an adaptation of former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister’s book Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interview. The series centers on the controversial royal’s memorable BBC Newsnight appearance in 2019, where he addressed his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations of sex with a teenage girl. Gillian Anderson stars as real-life journalist and TV presenter Emily Maitlis, while Billie Piper portrays McAlister as the producer in the middle of high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace. In addition, Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew, Keeley Hawes portrays the prince’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk, and Romola Garai plays journalist Esme Wren.

Bonafide Films, the award-winning production company behind “Mood” and “The Last Post,” has revealed a development and distribution deal with BBC Studios.

As part of the agreement, BBC Studios will invest in Bonafide’s development slate, and will also have first look agreement on distribution rights for all projects.

“Mood,” Nicôle Lecky’s BAFTA and Rts-winning TV adaptation of her acclaimed play, “Superhoe” was a co-commission from BBC and AMC and BBC Studios brokered the co-production deal for Bonafide with AMC and also secured sales to 12 territories internationally. “The Last Post” is by screenwriter Peter Moffatt (“Your Honor”).

In addition to their relationship with Moffatt and Lecky, Bonafide is currently developing projects with Peter Straughan (“Wolf Hall”), Sarah Gavron (“Rocks”), Veronica Gleeson (“Below”), Miranda Bowen (“Killing Eve”), Pete Jackson (“Somewhere Boy”) and Meadhbh McHugh (“Conversations with Friends”). The outfit is also working with emerging talent such as Sharma Walfall, Nas Saraei,...

Three fantastic shows are dropping this week.

Prime Video has Outer Range, a family drama about the west with a distinctively otherworldly vibe about it. Apple TV+ gives women's voices a chance to shine with incredible stars and behind-the-scenes talent in Roar, and The Roku Channel releases its first series that makes a great first impression with Swimming with Sharks.

Find about all three series and so much more below!

Saturday, April 9

8/7c Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons (Lifetime)

The Fallen Angels Murder Club Members must band together yet again as they look into the death of one of their own.

Unfortunately, once a reporter looking into the death also turns up dead, Hollis is placed in the center of the investigation as a suspect.

The fun murder-mystery series continues with an all-new installment.

Sunday, April 10

8/7c When Calls the Heart (Hallmark)

There’s a lot more to...

Spoiler Alert: This story contains details of last night’s final episode of The Night Manager on BBC One in the UK.

Spy thriller The Night Manager capped off a terrific run on BBC One in the UK last night, three weeks ahead of its April 19 Stateside debut on AMC. Ratings have been strong for the John Le Carré adaptation across the six parts, averaging 6.3M overnight viewers. Sunday’s finale took 6.61M for the mini’s best overnight score, and a 28 share. Live+7s roundly added about 2M viewers to each of the first four episodes.

As far as new UK series go, this one ranks up there with the first seasons of shows like Broadchurch and Happy Valley in terms of how it grabbed British viewers and kept them hooked through to an explosive finale. The lush $30M series has drawn comparisons to a James Bond movie — with...

Along with its just-announced epic event series, Troy – Fall Of A City, BBC One has ordered a raft of new dramas. Talent behind the projects includes Hanif Kureshi, Matt Charman and Peter Moffatt. The adaptation of Jk Rowling's secretly-penned post-Harry Potter series of detective novels is also going forward after being announced in December. At an event in London on Tuesday evening, BBC Director-General Tony Hall and BBC One chief Charlotte Moore unveiled the slate on…...

From the Queen Vic to the Tardis. As Eastenders prepares to mark its 30th anniversary, we look back at its encounters with Doctor Who...

Back in the mid-eighties an actor who played "Third Assistant" in a Doctor Who story called The Savages (1966) and the director of another Doctor Who adventure, The Underwater Menace (1967), came together to create one of the BBC’s most successful television shows.

And when they got together, it was murder. Well, not quite. (Though the first episode did feature a victim who would later die, fact fans.) But what they did create was Eastenders.

Broadcast on February the 19th 1985 (in between episodes one and two of The Two Doctors), this creation of Who alumni would go on to share numerous links with the long-running science-fiction for years to come. Even its time-slot owes much to the adventures of everyone’s favourite Gallifreyan.

In an interview in...

Digital Spy presents Doctor Who Week - seven days of special features celebrating the return of the world's favourite sci-fi series, and the arrival of a brand new Doctor - on August 23.

We've known he was coming since August 2013 - and he's officially been our Doctor since Christmas - but in a mere three days, Doctor Who fans will finally get the chance to size up Peter Capaldi's debut as a new, "more mysterious" Time Lord.

Between 1963 and 2014, the show's had 11 stabs at introducing a new Doctor - so before Steven Moffat's 'Deep Breath' is unveiled to the general public, let's take a look back at those other attempts - from the awesome to the audacious to the seriously misjudged.

The musical world of Doctor Who: From Ron Grainer to The Klf

An Unearthly Child

Aired November 23-December 14, 1963

Doctor Who fans accustomed to David Tennant...

British film and television director Antonia Bird has died aged 54.

Bird was best known for directing films including Priest (1994), Face (1997) and Ravenous (1999), all starring actor Robert Carlyle.

The Scottish star of Trainspotting and The Full Monty said on Twitter: “Such a sad day today. Rip Antonia Bird. Farewell my beautiful friend.”

Bird, who had a rare anaplastic thyroid cancer, died peacefully in her sleep according to a statement from her partner.

The statement added that she had an operation to remove a large tumour in April but “despite a determined fight, she had come to terms with the inevitable in the last few weeks and died peacefully in her sleep.”

Bird worked in TV in more recent years on series including Spooks, Cracker and BBC drama The Village.

She began her career at London’s Royal Court as a theatre director before making episodes of BBC soap EastEnders and medical drama Casualty in the mid-1980s.

Bird...

'Home Away from Home' film goes back 150 years to explore origins of Simon family in years leading up to 1848 revolutions

At 53 hours and 25 minutes, it was already the longest series of feature-length films in cinema history. And now it is getting a four-hour prequel. This week the fourth instalment in Edgar Reitz's arthouse saga, Die Andere Heimat (Home Away from Home), will open in German cinemas.

Heimat, which loosely translates as "home" or "homeland", premiered on German television in 1984 and followed the life of the Simon family in the fictional village of Schabbach in the Hunsrück area of the Rhineland. Having set out to write one feature-length film, Reitz produced 11 interlocking screenplays, depicting village life from the end of the first world war to 1982. BBC Two screened the original series over 11 consecutive nights in 1987 and it became an unlikely cult hit.

Then came the sequels: a second part, released...

Hello all. This week we have a new take on a classic by Andrew Davies, a cookery show outstaying its welcome, and a new legal drama from Peter Moffatt. Dem's the shows: let's get right to the bitchy take-down of them, eh?

South Riding

The scene: the office of Andrew Davies, famous screenwriter behind the adaptations of "Bleak House," "Middlemarch," and "Pride & Prejudice" (the one with Colin Firth and the pond). Andrew Davies is sitting at a desk piled high with Penguin Classics.

Andrew Davies: (Sigh)

A young man enters. It's Peter, Andrew Davies' assistant.

Andrew Davies: Well, what have you got?

Peter: Mr Davies, sir, I...

Andrew Davies (shouting): Call me Andy! So? What classics have you got for me?

Peter: Well, I've been reading Tolstoy like you told me to, and...

Andrew Davies: Yes, boy, yes, yes? Can I adapt him? Is he any good?...

How many times have you been promised the world but have never received the goods? Like the time that you were promised an a la carte menu in your local restaurant – when in fact all you received was a tiny plate of pretentiously-assembled food that wouldn't satisfy a hamster (all to the tune of £50-plus prices of course). Or like when you're shown around a house that's supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime palace and it turns out to be the sort of hovel that you might see in an episode of Shameless. Heck, LordSirBaronDukeKingAlanSugar gets this on a weekly basis with The Apprentice, as a small army of incompetent wannabes promise the universe and a gaggle of ponies, but always end up failing to deliver. No wonder Sugar's face is in perpetual scowl mode.

So what happened?

In the long term, The Two Doctors didn't quite live up to its...

From the sublime to the ridiculous. The Caves Of Androzani – one of the finest examples of Doctor Who – was always going to stand tall when compared to the following story. But when that story's The Twin Dilemma, it's like comparing the Bfg with Ronnie Corbett.

The Twin Dilemma has – um – not exactly been welcomed by open arms with the fans of Doctor Who. It's frequently languishing at the bottom of Most Popular Story polls and has been subjected to the sort of scorn that a simpleton yokel would have got in the stocks back in the days of yore. So feel free to hurl a rotten tomato at the following. The lousy script. The tacky production. The weak direction. The monsters. The twins. It's a complete and utter disaster, but the problem is it shouldn't be, since it's the first story for the brand new Doctor.

Oh, god, that outfit.

Roll up! Roll up! Welcome to The Big Dipper that is season 19 of Doctor Who. Marvel at the swanky production values! Shield your eyes and protect your ears from the horror that is the terrible trio of companions! Gasp in wonder at how the season lurches giddily from one extreme to the other!

Season 19 has so many ups and downs, so many polar opposites that I feel queasy just typing this. Although it could have been the chicken curry that I had for tea. So far we've had the introspective, intelligent Castrovalva followed by Four To Doomsday - a story about overgrown, talking frogs. Then we have the multi-layered, surreal tour-de-force that is Kinda. And what do you know, we then head for The Visitation, which is generally about as sophisticated as an episode of Neighbours.

Actually, maybe that's not a bad thing. Brilliant though Kinda is, can you imagine...

Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaahhh!!! Writing this review for State Of Decay in Autumn is highly appropriate, since October's traditionally linked with gothic chills and vampire thrills.

And State Of Decay is very much a thrill-a-minute gothic horror tale, which managed to both look to the old Hammer Horror movies for inspiration and pre-empt some of the future vampire TV programmes like Buffy, True Blood and Who's very own Vampires Of Venice. In fact, Vampires Of Venice could have learnt a trick or two here, since its 1980 stablemate is far more atmospheric and creepier. New director Peter Moffatt starts his Who career in cracking style, and adds a big dollop of gothic flavour to the script from returning fan favourite Terrance Dicks.

Behind the scenes though, Uncle Terrance's script had had quite a turbulent ride. It was originally commissioned as the Season 15 opener, at least until the BBC adaptation of Count Dracula aired. Now languishing in a dusty pile,...

Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaahhh!!! Writing this review for State Of Decay in Autumn is highly appropriate, since October's traditionally linked with gothic chills and vampire thrills.

And State Of Decay is very much a thrill-a-minute gothic horror tale, which managed to both look to the old Hammer Horror movies for inspiration and pre-empt some of the future vampire TV programmes like Buffy, True Blood and Who's very own Vampires Of Venice. In fact, Vampires Of Venice could have learnt a trick or two here, since its 1980 stablemate is far more atmospheric and creepier. New director Peter Moffatt starts his Who career in cracking style, and adds a big dollop of gothic flavour to the script from returning fan favourite Terrance Dicks.

Behind the scenes though, Uncle Terrance's script had had quite a turbulent ride. It was originally commissioned as the Season 15 opener, at least until the BBC adaptation of Count Dracula aired. Now languishing in a dusty pile,...

Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaahhh!!! Writing this review for State Of Decay in Autumn is highly appropriate, since October's traditionally linked with gothic chills and vampire thrills.

And State Of Decay is very much a thrill-a-minute gothic horror tale, which managed to both look to the old Hammer Horror movies for inspiration and pre-empt some of the future vampire TV programmes like Buffy, True Blood and Who's very own Vampires Of Venice. In fact, Vampires Of Venice could have learnt a trick or two here, since its 1980 stablemate is far more atmospheric and creepier. New director Peter Moffatt starts his Who career in cracking style, and adds a big dollop of gothic flavour to the script from returning fan favourite Terrance Dicks.

Behind the scenes though, Uncle Terrance's script had had quite a turbulent ride. It was originally commissioned as the Season 15 opener, at least until the BBC adaptation of Count Dracula aired. Now languishing in a dusty pile,...

Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaahhh!!! Writing this review for State Of Decay in Autumn is highly appropriate, since October's traditionally linked with gothic chills and vampire thrills.

And State Of Decay is very much a thrill-a-minute gothic horror tale, which managed to both look to the old Hammer Horror movies for inspiration and pre-empt some of the future vampire TV programmes like Buffy, True Blood and Who's very own Vampires Of Venice. In fact, Vampires Of Venice could have learnt a trick or two here, since its 1980 stablemate is far more atmospheric and creepier. New director Peter Moffatt starts his Who career in cracking style, and adds a big dollop of gothic flavour to the script from returning fan favourite Terrance Dicks.

Behind the scenes though, Uncle Terrance's script had had quite a turbulent ride. It was originally commissioned as the Season 15 opener, at least until the BBC adaptation of Count Dracula aired. Now languishing in a dusty pile,...