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Monday 29 April 2019

Competition: Win Line of Duty - Series 1-5 Boxset DVD


Line of Duty - Series 1-5 is released on 6th May

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and a copy to give away.

Synopsis
Line of Duty Series Five sees the return of AC-12 investigators Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), Detective Inspector Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) to tackle another major case of police corruption. The team are joined by some familiar faces, alongside a stellar line up of new characters, but who can they trust?

One of Britain’s great acting talents Stephen Graham gives an awe-inspiring turn as John Corbett, the ruthless leader of an Organised Crime Group (OCG) who hijack a seized drugs convoy. When three police officers are shot dead during the heist, AC-12 move in to investigate possible police collusion.  As the body count rises, AC-12 realise they could be facing their most vicious adversary yet.

With its intricate plots, and shocking twists that keep everyone guessing, there’s huge excitement building for the new series of the gripping Line of Duty, the show that everybody is talking about.

Click here to buy from Amazon (Opens in a new window)

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

Which actor plays Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty?

Send you name, address and of course the answer to competition@jonn.co.uk

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 13-05-19
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Friday 26 April 2019

DARK Season 2 launches globally on Netflix Friday, June 21, 2019


Jonas finds himself trapped in the future and desperately tries to return to 2020. Meanwhile, his friends Martha, Magnus, and Franziska are trying to uncover how Bartosz’ is involved in the mysterious incidents occurring in their small hometown of Winden. More and more people are drawn into the events orchestrated by an obscure figure who seemingly controls everything that is connected throughout different time zones.


About Dark
Children start disappearing from the fictional German town of Winden, bringing to light the fractured relationships, double lives, and dark past of four families living there, and revealing a mystery that spans three generations. The series follows Jonas Kahnwald, a teenager struggling to cope with his father's suicide; police officer Ulrich Nielsen, whose brother disappeared 33 years earlier; and police chief Charlotte Doppler.

The story begins in 2019 but spreads to include storylines in 1986 and 1953 via time travel, as certain characters of the show's core families grow aware of the existence of a wormhole in the cave system beneath the local nuclear power plant, which is under the management of the influential Tiedemann family. During the first season, secrets begin to be revealed concerning the Kahnwald, Nielsen, Doppler, and Tiedemann families, and their lives start to crumble as the ties become evident between the missing children and the history of the town and its citizens.

Love Island to launch in Hungary


Love Island will launch in Hungary on RTL Klub this year, while MTV3 has also confirmed it will return for a second series in Finland.

Love Island Hungary, which will be produced by Paprika, takes the total number of original commissions of the format to 13. It has also been recommissioned by MTV3, produced by ITV Studios Finland, following a successful first series on SUBTV last year which averaged a 6.2% share overall (up 15% on the slot share) and an average share among 15-34s of 22.6%.

Since the beginning of 2018, Love Island has tripled its overall number of international production hours. On air in seven territories last year, with all versions produced by ITV Studios’ local production labels in those countries, the format is now launching in six more countries in 2019. In addition to Hungary, the show is set to debut in the U.S. on CBS this summer, as well as in Belgium (SBS), Holland (RTL) Poland (Polsat) and New Zealand (Three). Love Island will also return for a fifth series in the UK on ITV2, a second series in both Australia and Sweden on Nine and TV4 respectively, and a third run in Germany on RTL II.

Mike Beale, MD Nordics and Global Creative Network at ITV Studios, said: “We’ve consistently said that the essence of Love Island is about romance and finding love, and this is something audiences the world over can relate to. This is evident in the show’s ongoing global reach and we are really excited about the new international launches coming this year. ”

Viewing records were smashed in several territories last year, with Germany joining the UK and Australia in achieving huge ratings success. In Australia, the first episode secured the highest-ever Video Player Measurement (VPM) ratings of any Australian reality series on catch-up service 9Now within 24 hours of broadcast, while the second series on RTL II became the most streamed show on Germany’s TV Now catch-up service. In the UK, the launch of series four delivered ITV2’s highest overnight ratings since records began and was the highest-rated show across ALL channels in the 9.00PM slot.

Full of flirting, jealousy, rejection and fun, Love Island sees its occupants living in a stunning villa in a beautiful location. They are on the lookout for romance but as always, the road to love never runs smoothly, as they must not only choose their partner wisely but also win the hearts of the public. It’s up to the viewers to decide who they want to stay in the show as they watch the relationships develop and ultimately which pair they want to crown the hottest couple on the island.

Filming begins on the second series of Liar. Who killed Andrew Earlham?


The second series of ITV and Sundance TV’s award-winning six-part thriller Liar, written by Harry and Jack Williams, returns.

9.1m viewers were left reeling at the discovery of Andrew Earlham’s murdered body at the climax of season 1.  Series 2 picks up three weeks after an arrest warrant was issued for Andrew Earlham for the sexual assault of 19 women.  When Andrew’s body is found in the Kent marshes, Detective Renton alongside DS Rory Maxwell are tasked with uncovering clues about Andrew’s past and unpacking the events of the three crucial weeks leading up to his murder.

Joining Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd for this final chapter are a number of new characters including Katherine Kelly (Cheat, Mr Selfridge, The Night Manager) as DI Karen Renton, Howard Charles (The Widow, Musketeers) as Carl Peterson and Amy Nuttall (Downton Abbey, My Fair Lady) as Winnie Peterson.

Harry & Jack Williams commented:
“It has been a joy returning to Liar and our reunion with Joanne and Ioan. Equally we are thrilled to have Katherine Kelly on board as DI Renton after her stellar performance in Cheat.”

Liar is commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama, Polly Hill. Commented Polly Hill:
“We’re delighted both Joanne and Ioan are returning to Liar as Laura and Andrew with Katherine Kelly joining the cast as DI Karen Renton.  We’re sure audiences will once again be gripped by the story as Harry and Jack Williams keep you guessing over who killed Andrew.”

“We are thrilled to be working once again with our partners at ITV, Harry and Jack Williams and this exceptionally talented cast on a thrilling new season that will dive deeper into the complicated relationship between Laura and Andrew and the mystery surrounding his death,” said Jan Diedrichsen, Executive Director, SundanceTV and Sundance Now.

The first series of Liar was ITV’s highest rated new drama of 2017. The final episode consolidated to 9.1m and a 34% audience share.  The series averaged 8.3m viewers. The first series is also available in the US and Canada on Sundance Now, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service.

Tuesday 23 April 2019

Good Trouble Season 2 Teaser Promo (HD) The Fosters spinoff


Good Trouble will return for more trouble in its highly anticipated sophomore season on TUESDAY, JUNE 18, at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform. “Good Trouble” follows Callie (Maia Mitchell) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) as they embark on the next phase of their young adult lives in Los Angeles, as Mariana tackles the male-dominated world of tech and Callie faces the harsh realities of the federal legal system clerking for a federal judge.

After moving to The Coterie in Downtown Los Angeles, Callie and Mariana realize that living on their own is not all that it's cracked up to be.

Friday 19 April 2019

Four to the Floor returns to C4 for fifth series


Four To The Floor returns Friday 26th April at 12:05am on Channel 4

The award-winning, late night music and entertainment series, Four to the Floor is returning for a fifth series on Channel 4 accompanied by brand-new digital first programming across social platforms.

The series (6x30’) will blur the lines between live performance, documentary and animation to give a fresh look at UK music right now. Four to the Floor gives a voice to the alternative mainstream, bringing new perspectives from emerging, and often ignored, young voices from across the nation on themes such as - systems and power, transcendence, quantum physics and universal truths, alongside an eclectic and diverse soundtrack from emerging acts and well-known artists.

This series features the likes of UNKNOWN T, HAK BAKER, JAMIE ISAAC, SAM FENDER, NOVELIST, OCTAVIAN, GEORGIA, RAGZ ORIGINALE, BIIG PIIG, MIRAA MAY, SKINNY PELEMBE and many more.

In addition to the new series, Channel 4 are transforming Four to the Four (FTTF) into a truly digital brand, with a full slate of original ideas on YouTube, Instagram and more.

Inheriting the unique tone and all the innovative storytelling of the main series, the new digital brand will play with well-known tropes and digital formats to play the YouTube and Instagram game through the very special FTTF lens. Launch titles on YouTube will feature “Grime Gran”, a twist on the interview format with the real surrogate gran of the whole grime scene and “Rave Tales” which will bring animated anecdotes from legends of the UK’s DIY club culture.

Thom Gulseven, Channel 4 Commissioner (Digital), says “The FTTF digital project is really exciting and a real leap towards a C4 future of building strong digital communities around our young brands. This expansion gives us the opportunity to reach people that the TV just isn’t by putting the content where they are and playing with forms they recognise, all through a completely unique, unmistakably FTTF mindset and tone. And once we’ve done that, we can work with new partners, develop new ideas and talent and talk to an audience in a new way. It all starts with building that community.”

Wednesday 17 April 2019

Gripping Channel 4 political thriller 'Chimerica' starring Alessandro Nivola & Sophie Okonedo


EARNING PLAUDITS galore and described as an ‘electrifying thriller’ by The Guardian, Olivier award-winning playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s stage play Chimerica is set for the small screen treatment, as a powerful and timely four-part series. Airing on Channel 4 this Spring, this unique drama is set to arrive on DVD and digital from Acorn Media International.

Adapted by Kirkwood for TV, this fictional story about true events has been brought up to date using the notorious 2016 US Presidential election as a back drop. It explores the murky borders between fact and fiction, truth and censorship, political manipulation and personal sacrifice.

Award-winning actor Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle, Disobedience) stars as Lee Berger, the photographer behind the seminal Tank Man of Tiananmen Square photo, captured during the deadly 1989 protests in China. Now working as a dedicated photojournalist in America, accusations of fake news are levelled against him, and he sets out to reclaim his credibility by searching for the subject of his most famous picture.

Joining Lee on his frantic search are seasoned reporter Mel Kincaid (Cherry Jones - Transparent, The Handmaid’s Tale), corporate market researcher Tess Kendrick (Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda, The Hollow Crown) and cynical newspaper boss Frank Sams (F. Murray Abraham - Homeland, The Grand Budapest Hotel). Lee also enlists the help of an old friend, Chinese activist Zhang Lin (Terry Chen - Jessica Jones, Birth of the Dragon), who has troubles of his own. Can he uncover the elusive truth before it is too late?

Exploring not just the relationship between East and West, but also some of the most pressing and important issues affecting society today, the series delves deep into the new world of fake news, censorship and the power of political protest, with the rise of Trump and the suppression of Chinese human rights protests mirroring each other in unexpected and unsettling ways.

Gotham Season 5 "No Man's Land" Trailer (HD) Series Finale


As Bane (guest star Shane West) enacts his final plan for Gotham's destruction, Gordon rallies his former enemies to save the city. Meanwhile, Nyssa al Ghul (guest star Jaime Murray) kidnaps Barbara's newborn daughter, with ambitions to raise her as her own. Then, Bruce's decision to leave Gotham points him to his destiny, while devastating Selina in the all-new “They Did What?” episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, April 18th on FOX.

Tuesday 16 April 2019

John Bishop's Ireland


Fri 26 Apr 2019
8.00pm - 8.30pm
ITV

Series overview
Ireland will always mean a huge amount to the comedian John Bishop.  It was whilst gigging the small clubs and bars there that he decided to quit his job in pharmaceuticals and give stand-up comedy a proper go - a decision that changed his life beyond recognition.
 
In this brand new series, John will embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, 600 mile road trip around the Emerald Isle, taking a deep dive into Irish culture. 
 
It’s a rollicking and hilarious voyage that will not only follow John discovering iconic sights and quirky customs, but will also see him perform his comedy along the way, from a small and cramped gig in a Limerick pub, through to the biggest stage in all of Ireland.
 
Episode 1
In episode one, John goes to watch the All Ireland Gaelic football final. Like an Irish Super Bowl, it’s a match that sees over half the country crowd around the TV in pubs and living rooms for the culmination of a competition involving all of the 32 counties in the north and south. Since winning in 1951, Mayo has lost the final seven times which many put down to a curse – Is this the year they will finally lift the curse?
 
Next, John travels on to Cork, where he goes to the local university for a lecturer on Folk law and fairies and meets a fisherman, who like him, has met the Queen.

Monday 15 April 2019

Fosse/Verdon 1x02 Promo "Who's Got the Pain?" (HD) Michelle Williams, Sam Rockwell FX Limited series


Spanning five decades, "Fosse/Verdon" explores the singular romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. Bob is a visionary filmmaker and one of the theater's most influential choreographers and directors, and Gwen is the greatest Broadway dancer of all time. Only Bob can create the groundbreaking musicals that allow Gwen to showcase her greatness. Only Gwen can realize the unique vision in Bob's head. Together, they will change the face of American entertainment -- at a perilous cost.

Fosse/Verdon 1x02 "Who's Got the Pain?" Season 1 Episode 2 Promo - Rising Broadway star Gwen Verdon meets ambitious young choreographer Bob Fosse. Their lives will never be the same. Written by Steven Levenson; Directed by Thomas Kail.


Sunday 14 April 2019

Sky One announces Alan Carr as the host of brand new panel show, ‘There’s Something About Movies’


From the makers of Sky One’s BAFTA winning ‘A League of Their Own’ comes a brand new celebrity panel show, ‘There’s Something About Movies’, launching on Thursday 2 May 2019. The Sky original production, produced by CPL Productions and Motion Content Group, will be anchored by funny man Alan Carr as he invites some of the UK’s favourite actors and comics to test their film trivia and blockbuster knowledge on-screen.

Filmed in front of a live studio audience, ‘There’s Something About Movies’ will be Alan’s first hosting gig with the Sky family. The show promises laughs in abundance with guest stars each week who will battle it out to prove they know the most about the industry that made them, all with a dose of chat, humour and some gentle ridicule from Alan himself.

Phil Edgar-Jones, Head of Entertainment at Sky, says: “We are somewhere over the rainbow with excitement to have Alan Carr taking a leading role in There’s Something About Movies. It feels like a show only Sky could make and we aim to do for films what A League of their Own has done for sport... make it funny!”

Alan Carr says: “Super excited to be hosting ‘There’s Something About Movies’ - with the unique mix of famous comedy faces and actual movie stars on one panel show together it’s going to be must see TV. Grab your popcorn as we test the stars on their cinema knowledge, get all the Hollywood gossip behind the scenes and with some acting master classes I see if I’ve got what it takes to make it in tinsel town (spoiler alert - I haven’t). It’s going to be so much fun”

There’s Something About Movies is the latest in a raft of recent commissions as Sky continues its investment in original content with the best of British talent, such as Helen Mirren (Catherine the Great), Idris Elba (In the Long Run 2), Tim Roth (Tin Star 2) and Romesh Ranganathan (A League of their Own, The Reluctant Landlord 2).

It also follows a record 16 BAFTA nominations for Sky this year, including a nomination for the CPL produced A League of Their Own for Comedy Entertainment programme.

‘There’s Something About Movies’ is a Sky original production produced by BAFTA-winning CPL Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company, and producers of hit US/UK panel show ‘Safeword’, Motion Content Group. The six part series (6 x 60’) will go into production imminently and is due to air 2 May 2019 on Sky One and streaming service NOW TV.

Saturday 13 April 2019

The Rookie 1x20 Promo "Free Fall" (HD) Season Finale Nathan Fillion series


Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan, who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of becoming an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he's met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can't keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he'll be risking lives -- including his own -- but if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humour to give him an edge, he may just become successful in this new chapter of his life.

The Rookie 1x20 "Free Fall" Season 1 Episode 20 Promo (Season Finale) - As the rookies prepare for a big exam to see who moves on to the next stage of training, Officer Nolan and Officer Bishop are called to the scene of a murder and learn that the victim may be tied to a potential terrorist attack on the city of Los Angeles.

Wednesday 10 April 2019

Derry Girls to return for series three


Channel 4 is buzzing to announce that following a cracker second series, which came to an emotional close on Tuesday night, the award-winning hit comedy Derry Girls, has been commissioned for a third series (6x30’) by Ian Katz, Channel 4 Director of Programmes, Head of Comedy Fiona McDermott and Commissioning Editor Jack Bayles.

Derry Girls series two launched with a consolidated audience of 3.2m viewers for episode one, which makes it Channel 4’s biggest UK comedy launch episode for 15 years. In Northern Ireland, the series two launch has been the most watched programme across all channels since series one. The second series has so far part-consolidated at 2.7m viewers (after 4 episodes). Series one averaged at 2.5m viewers. Happy days!

Derry Girls is the creation of acclaimed writer Lisa McGee who has mined her own experiences to create a candid, one-of-a-kind, family-centred comedy. While series one saw the gang navigating their teens in 1990’s Derry against a backdrop of The Troubles, series two saw them navigating their parents, parties, love interests and school against the backdrop of a precarious peace process. Northern Ireland is growing up - this gang of eejits certainly aren't anytime soon.

Derry Girls takes a warm and hilarious look at the everyday lives of ordinary people living in extraordinary times. The series follows Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland) and friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell) and Michelle’s tag along English cousin, aka The Wee English Fella, James (Dylan Llewellyn). The series also stars Tommy Tiernan as Erin’s long-suffering father, Tara Lynne O’Neill as Erin’s mother, Ian McElhinney as Granda Joe and Kathy Kiera Clarke as Aunt Sarah. Siobhan McSweeney also stars as Sister Michael, the straight-talking Headmistress of Lady Immaculate College, where the gang attend.

Ian Katz, Director of Programmes at Channel 4, says: “At a time of great uncertainty about the future of the country thank God we have one unequivocally good piece of news to look forward to: the Derry Girls will be back to make our lives a bit brighter and more fun.”

Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, says: “It’s no surprise that Derry Girls continues to delight a growing legion of fans – a combination of magical writing and adorable characters make this show both timely and timeless. We’re delighted to confirm a third series -  don’t tell Ma Mary, but I’m breaking open the Christmas cupboard in celebration.”

Lisa McGee, writer of Derry Girls, says: “I love writing this show and I'm so thrilled to be able to continue the Derry Girls story, thank you Channel 4, Erin and the eejits live to fight another day!"

Jimmy Mulville, MD of Hat Trick Productions, says: “We’ve been brilliantly supported by Channel 4 on the Derry Girls’ journey and I’m just thrilled we’re still on it and heading for series three.”

Tuesday 9 April 2019

Britain's Most Dangerous Woman - Joanne Dennehy: Serial Killer


“Attempted murder and murder is nothing. It’s like going down for a Sunday roast… Easy.” - Joanne Dennehy

In this new documentary in ITV’s Crime & Punishment strand, Susanna Reid gains exclusive access to police evidence from the investigation into one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, Joanne Dennehy, who murdered three men on a killing spree.

Over two weeks in 2013, 30-year-old Dennehy murdered three men and attempted to kill two others. At trial, she showed no remorse for her victims, and became one of only three British women ever to be sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Five years on from Dennehy’s conviction, Susanna Reid speaks to the lead detective, the father of her two children, family members of victims, a man who was present when two of the attacks took place, school friends and experts to paint a picture of how an intelligent and privileged young girl transformed into a dangerous, bloodthirsty psychopath.

The first body to be discovered was that of Kevin Lee, a local landlord, whose body was found in a Cambridgeshire ditch, naked from the waist down with a black sequin dress on his top half. Mobile phone data placed one of his tenantsnear his burning car - Joanne Dennehy. Dr Jeremy Coid, an expert on the minds of psychopaths, says: “His body was placed in that way to degrade him and get excitement and pleasure from humiliation of him even after he was dead.”

Dennehy and accomplice Gary Stretch had gone missing - getting as far as Hereford before forcing a contact of his, Mark Lloyd, into their car. Mark says:“Joanne's gone right in front of me, pulled the knife out of her bra and said, ‘you know Gary, he’s the taxi driver, he dumps the bodies, I go around killing people.’ I was terrified. I had to convince her I was onside. I think she would have killed me without hesitation.”

Dennehy then got out and stabbed two dog walkers at random in the street. Mark says of the second attack: “This one was 20 times worse than the first and she was all over him like a blanket. Bang, bang, bang, bang. And then she grabbed the dog and the next thing she sat in the front seat saying, ‘I’ve got a new dog.’ And the bloke was trying to crawl around the corner, and it was blood everywhere. I thought gosh she’s killed two people and then she got back in the car and Gary went, ‘Let’s go to Tesco’s.’”

Police arrested Dennehy and Stretch in Hereford in the car shortly afterwards, with her new dog on her lap. With exclusive access to custody suite CCTV tapes, Susanna examines Joanne Dennehy's behaviour in extraordinary footage recorded at Hereford police station.

The next day in Cambridgeshire, two more bodies were discovered. Lead detective Det Chf Supt Martin Brunning describes to Susanna the moment he got a call saying John Chapman and Lukasz Slaboszewski had been found dead in a drainage ditch, following the discovery of the body of Kevin Lee three days earlier. He says: “I remember looking out at the team and everybody is looking back at me, thinking 'Crikey, where is this going? What’s happening?'”

The story that emerged after Joanne Dennehy's guilty plea in court was that of an angelic schoolgirl who became a monster. To find out the truth about her past, Susanna tracks down an old friend who reveals that Dennehy's dark side began to emerge in her early teens.

School friend Marika tells Susanna: "There were times when I was at school that when the bullying was really bad, that I could’ve quite easily taken my life. On more than one occasion, she’d be like, ‘You’re better off dead,’ Or, ‘I can help you if you want, and you should just go and kill yourself.’"

Barrister Michael Procter, who represented Dennehy in court, said she developed a kind of charisma which gave him an insight into how she was able to make men do what she wanted. He said: “If you met this lady in a bar, or a social situation you would think she had a personality you were quite drawn to, or that was my reaction. It was so unusual that I initially wondered whether I’d actually gone into the cell with the right client.”

Susanna also speaks to the father of Dennehy's two children, John Treanor, who tells her that a lifetime prison is not punishment enough. He says: "She is not my children’s mother – she gave birth to them, that’s all she is. She is the donor, she gave them over, I don’t really want my kids to have anything to do with this woman."

Thu 18 Apr 2019
Time: 9.00pm - 10.00pm
ITV

The Comedy Years


ITV3 will air a brand new 4 x 60 series from Shiver called The Comedy Years over the Easter weekend.

The Comedy Years will look back at how comedy shaped and defined specific years over the past 4 decades. The four years covered will be 1979, 1984, 1998 and 2003.

Each of the hour-long shows will mix classic comedy archive with social history and pop culture nostalgia.  They will show how each year’s comedy reflected a changing Britain – from the Thatcher era of satire of Not The Nine O’clock News and Spitting Image to ground breaking comedy series like The Royle Family, The Young Ones and The Office.

The Comedy Years features interviews with stars of comedy past and present, all revealing the comedy moments that inspired them, as well as telling us about the roles they themselves played in some classic TV series. Highlights include interviews with James Bolam, John Thomson, Omid Djalili, Clive Anderson, Cannon & Ball, Shappi Khorsandi, Joel Dommett, Mark Heap, Peter Egan, Jon Culshaw, Debra Stephenson, Leslie Ash, Brian Conley and Dom Joly.

The 1979 episode will look at the northern club scene, which was dominating telly at the time with the likes of Les Dawson and Cannon & Ball.  It’s also the year that saw a new breed of alternative comedians making a name for themselves on screen that included Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Rowan Atkinson.

Spitting Image and The Young Ones will feature in the 1984 episode against the backdrop of the miners strike.  More mainstream comedies like Duty Free and Russ Abbot’s Madhouse are also covered.

In 1998 New Labour were in power and ground breaking new comedies started to appear on TV which included The Royle Family and Goodness Gracious Me.

Trigger Happy TV features in 2003 as TV viewers enjoyed the hidden prank antics of Dom Joly alongside Bruce Forsyth’s hilarious hosting duties on Have I Got News For You and fond farewells to Cold Feet and The Office.

The Comedy Years has been commissioned for ITV3 by Satmohan Panesar and is a Shiver production for ITV3.  Stuart Ramsay is the series producer with Kerry Allison as producer/director and Mark Scantlebury as Exec Producer.

Mark Scantlebury, Shiver’s Exec Producer says: “No TV comedy exists in a vacuum. Each is a product of the times, reflecting what is going on in the outside world – whether it’s a satirical sketch show like Spitting Image or a sitcom like The Young Ones.

“In this series we’ll enjoy some classic comedy moments, but we will also explore the circumstances that led to each of them appearing on our screens.

“As we’ll see, politics, world events, changing views on what is and what isn’t acceptable and even technology – like Dom Joly’s use of the mobile phone – all had parts to play in what has made us laugh over the years”.

ITV3 Commissioner, Satmohan Panesar says “The Comedy Years is a great new original commission for ITV3 which will be entertaining, informative and nostalgic for our viewers.”

Previous Shiver productions for ITV3 have included instalments in the ‘Forever’ series which were Rising Damp, Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper and Carry On.

A Shiver production for ITV3.

Saturday 6 April 2019

Joe Lycett interview for Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back


You’ve done something extraordinary – you’ve made a consumer affairs show that’s actually funny. Explain about the show.

I would describe it as Watchdog with jokes, or Sexy Watchdog, as I think we refer to it at one point during the show. It takes all of the normal tropes of a consumer show, and just tries to make them funny. But not in a parody way, we’re not trying to undermine the format.


Why did you want to take such unpromising material and make a show like this?

I’ve been doing it on a much smaller scale anyway. But it’s always just been at the email level, it’s never gone beyond that. It’s never become something where I’ve taken to the streets. The whole thing came out of the fact that I once told a story about a parking fine I’d got in York. I challenged it over email, and went back with increasing levels of ridiculousness, and managed to get the fine reversed. I told that story on Cats Does Countdown, and it ended up going viral. It’s become known as my calling card, that parking fine and how I dealt with it, and this show is entirely based on the fact that being arsey and being silly can get results. I didn’t know whether it would work with other people’s issues, but thankfully in some of the cases – obviously you can’t win every time – we’ve got money back or changed policy at companies.


Is it more about making people laugh or righting wrongs? Do they come into conflict?

You have to keep an eye on it at all times, making a show like this, because it’s real people’s real issues, and some of the people have lost a lot of money or had a really distressing thing happen to them. It’s at those points when we generally don’t try and be funny. We might throw in a little light gag here and there, but it’s not the time to be flippant, so we’re quite sensitive to that. But also, these people have got in touch with our show, and it is me hosting it, so they know that the approach that we’re going to take isn’t going to be the most serious.


They’re not getting Anne Robinson.

They’re not getting Anne Robinson, although there are lot of comparisons to draw between me and her. They’re getting me. Often it’s people who have tried loads of other routes – they’ve tried the official routes, they’ve tried going to ombudsmen and things that are available to them, and they’ve got nowhere and no-one’s listening to them. So they’ve come to us, and I’m happy to be that last resort.


You’ve got a special guest on every week. What’s their role, and who have you got lined up?

I’ve got an assistant and a sidekick who’s on the show every week – he’s called Mark Silcox, and he’s one of my favourite people in the world. He’s so funny, and very, very dry. He goes off and does special reports and tests out customer policies and promises – so he does Burger King in episode one. But then the celebrity guest comes on and helps as an extra member of the team, so they help with some of the facts, we get their opinions on stuff, and what they think about whatever the story of the day is. So they provide a human element to it, I suppose. They’ve all been amazing. We’ve got Kathy Burke on show one, then Richard Madeley, Shirley Ballas, Stacey Dooley, Prue Leith and Liza Tarbuck.


What kind of cases do you tackle in this series?

 The case in episode one is a meaty one, because we’re taking on a massive bank, and they generally don’t respond to anyone. So that felt like a really mammoth task. And we were dealing with a lot of money that had been stolen from a lovely young woman. She’d gone down all of the routes to get the money back and she wasn’t getting anywhere. So we took on this case. That was obviously a big one for us.

There’s been some really fun ones – serious stories, but fun for me! We looked into how easy it is to steal keyless cars. If you have the right equipment – which is available on the black market – it’s so easy to steal a keyless car, and something like 97 per cent of the cars that were made keyless in the last few years are basically vulnerable to being stolen. So I went out and stole a car, which was fun. If people don’t find it funny, which I think they will, at least learn some ways to protect themselves and their property.


You must have been keeping Channel 4’s lawyers exceptionally busy?

Oh my God, they hate me! Although I tried to get them very drunk on the last night of the shoot. The lawyers were kept very busy on this show, because there are so many things to juggle. I come up with so many ridiculous ideas – like the keyless car thing! I was like “Why don’t we just go and steal loads of cars and drive them off.” And they would say “Yeah, that would be a crime, Joe, you’re not allowed to actually steal people’s property.” So they had to essentially deal with an idiot who was trying to come up with ideas of how to make my programme funny. Their concern is less humour and more making sure nobody goes to jail. Which is so boring, isn’t it?


Does it feel like quite a responsibility? For example, trying to get someone’s life savings back…

Yeah, definitely. Particularly with that case, because I interviewed her, and she was so lovely, and it was clearly so distressing for her. You hear the footage of her receiving a phone call saying she’d lost her life savings, and them saying they’re sorry but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to get it back, and the shock and the horror of her reaction – it’s really upsetting. So you do think “Oh God, I hope we can do this.”


Do you get nervous before the big confrontations?

So nervous! I got better as I went along, but because I wasn’t used to it, I had such a new appreciation for people like Matt Allwright, who turn up to people’s houses and confront them. It’s so unnatural, and I’m not great with any form of confrontation. I really shy away from it. We did a pilot, and I had to doorstep a company, and I was so nervous. But by the end of the series I was loving it, really up for it. By then I’d got angry on behalf of other people, and I was up for it. Like anything that’s frightening, it was so worth it in the end. I remember we did a rave outside a company head office for one of the stunts, it was at 9am, and we all came away at 9am on a Tuesday having had a massive rave in the street, and we were all buzzing, and felt so good.


So the lesson is, we should all start every Tuesday with a rave?

Absolutely.


Are you quite dogged about this sort of thing if it happens in your own life?

Yes. I knew this would happen with the show, I now have to deal with the many complaints of friends and family.


Is there anything particular from modern life that you would like to rail against and get overturned?

Lots of people hate waiting on hold for ages. I get frustrated with companies that present themselves as your mates. They use emojis in the messages they send you, and they’re very casual with their back-and-forth. That doesn’t work if they’ve rinsed you of all your money. I don’t want someone to be nice and friendly while telling me my bill’s gone up by 10 per cent because they’ve just decided that. So I get frustrated with the faux pally-ness these places tend to adopt.

Wednesday 3 April 2019

Trust Me - A paralysed soldier believes someone in the hospital is killing patients


Set in a Glasgow hospital, Trust Me follows the story of Corporal Jamie McCain, who is recovering from a spinal injury which has left him paralysed.

But he faces a new enemy when patients on the ward start dying unexpectedly around him. Jamie believes the deaths are suspicious - but unable to move, his investigation is dangerous and difficult.

With everyone in the department hiding a secret, catching a culprit seems like an impossible task. But with Jamie’s behaviour becoming increasingly erratic, is the threat real or imagined?


Character breakdowns


Corporal Jamie McCain, played by Alfred Enoch
Corporal Jamie McCain is both tough and intelligent. His world is one of physical capability, getting on and doing, not talking about it. The kind of person you would describe as a man of action. As the story begins, the man of action finds himself unable to walk. Frozen both physically and emotionally, and suspected of suffering from PTSD, it looks like Jamie might never recover. But when patients on the unit die unexpectedly he becomes obsessed, determined to uncover the truth - and although he doesn’t know it, this is the first step in his rehabilitation. But are patients really being murdered? Or is that just the paranoid conclusion of a man with an unstable mind?

Dr. Archie Watson (clinical lead), payed by John Hannah
Dr Archie Watson is the unit’s clinical lead, whose bad jokes and awkward persona hide a seedier and much more sinister side. Archie is basically hiding in Neuro Rehab, devoting most of his time to minimizing his workload and avoiding trouble. Archie may appear indifferent, but he’s also manipulative and will stop at nothing to save his own skin. Despite his marriage, Archie often oversteps the mark with his female colleagues. His ‘technique’ works very well with a certain type of woman.

Debbie Dorrell (head physio), played by Ashley Jensen
Head physiotherapist Debbie can be sharp-tongued, and often gets on the wrong side of people without meaning to. Debbie is a fantastic physiotherapist, she’s a professional who’s fiercely committed to her patients. Sometimes she pushes a little too hard, but she always gets there in the end.

Dr. Zoe Wade, played by Katie Clarkson-Hill
Zoe has always been smart, but even qualifying as a doctor hasn’t quite pushed down her feelings of insecurity and imposter syndrome. Everyone around her seems so confident that she’s sure she’ll be found out any minute. Up until now, Zoe’s solution has been to try and embrace the conventional. Even in her relationships - she is currently engaged to Alex - she’s played it safe. And the safe option is working, sort of. So why isn’t she happy? Alex has been there for Zoe through dark times, but she’s much better now - or so she’d like him to think.

Dr. Alex Kiernan, played by Richard Rankin
A career neurologist, Alex is training to become a consultant. On the surface he is a fun, attractive and dedicated doctor. But all of this belies his steely ambition, and we sense an undercurrent of threat beneath his professional exterior. Alex’s desire to protect Zoe means that he doesn’t always recognise her boundaries, but if this is a problem for Zoe, then Alex is unaware.

Dr. Laila Karimi (clinical psychologist), played by Amiera Darwish
An exceptionally intelligent and intuitive woman, Laila loves being a psychologist. Sometimes she can come off a bit more like a scientist than a human being - which suggests she’s probably not as ‘stable’ as she’d like to think she is. Her friendship with Zoe is real - an opposites attract dynamic - but does Zoe know the real Laila, or is she hiding behind her clinical persona?

Parveen Shankar (pathologist), played by Manjinder Virk
Parveen is a studious and efficient pathologist and a stickler for the rules. But she is also strong and capable of standing up for herself when she’s faced with difficult situations. Others may assume that they can walk all over her - but it’s often the quiet ones you have to watch out for...

Danny Adams (patient), played by Elliot Cooper
Danny is a handful. His mind fizzes at a hundred miles a minute with technology stats, conspiracy theories and an obsessive love of Doctor Who. When Jamie arrives on the unit Danny self-appoints himself as his best mate, and soon takes Jamie into his confidence. Is Danny just a conspiracy nut, or could he actually be on to something?

Game of Thrones - Season 8 - Official Promos


Game of Thrones returns for its final season on April 14.

George R.R. Martin's best-selling book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" is brought to the screen as HBO sinks its considerable storytelling teeth into the medieval fantasy epic. It's the depiction of two powerful families -- kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and honest men -- playing a deadly game for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and to sit atop the Iron Throne. Martin is credited as a co-executive producer and one of the writers for the series, whose shooting locations include Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia and Spain.

First episode date: 17 April 2011
Final episode date: 19 May 2019



Deana's Road To The Final | The Voice UK 2019 | ITV


Catch up on Deana's road to the final of The Voice UK 2019!

Music superstars take on the role of coaches to find the UK's next great voice. The singer begins their audition with the coaches turned away. If the judge likes what they hear, they hit a button to spin around and reveal the face behind the voice.