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Veteran actor Jim Broadbent has been acting in movies since the 70s and his presence alone is enough to inspire confidence in whatever film he appears in. Lincolnshire-born, Broadbent began his career on the stage as many English actors tend to do, before making their way to Hollywood or, more often, the British television industry. After some years on the stage, Broadbent got his first credited screen roles in 1978 with The Life Story of Baal and The Shout. After those small performances, the offers kept coming for Broadbent.

There have only been a handful of years without a Jim Broadbent movie and many with multiple performances. Broadbent specializes in kind characters but can go dark when he wants. The smile wrinkles on his face can darken, and his softly skeptical voice can become accusatory. He has a wide range for a man who seemingly plays similar characters. Broadbent has won...

Exclusive: Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), Adrianne Palicki (John Wick) and John O’Hurley (Seinfeld) are leading the cast of the indie pickleball mockumentary, Pickleheads.

The film’s cast also includes Pej Vahdat (The Old Man), Kristine Froseth (Sharp Stick), Eric Nelsen (1883), Ryan Cooper (Rough Night), Lindsey Morgan (The 100), Sam Humphrey (The Greatest Showman) and the film’s screenwriter Jared Bonner.

The homemade mockumentary “directed” by Arash Bardot (Vahdat) follows the weirdly lovable Barney Bardot (Bonner), who returns to civilization after a shameful, televised loss in Ping Pong eight years before Angus Caan (Cooper), which led him to recluse in the woods. Arash hopes for a “return to glory” story to save their family home from the estate agent at the door, Gayle Plankton (Guillén). But, with too much trauma surrounding his Ping Pong history, Barney cannot return to the small table.

Fortuitously, they meet the sweet and...

[Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for “The Day of the Jackal” Episode 10, including the ending.]

“You remind me of my parents,” the man who goes by “Richard” (Eddie Redmayne) says to his elderly captive, Trevor (Philip Jackson).

“How did you get on with them?” Trevor replies.

“They were nice people,” Richard says, before clarifying: “Well-meaning people — like you.”

“If they were so nice,” Trevor says, accepting none of Richard’s bullshit, “where did you come from?”

In its first season, “The Day of the Jackal” doesn’t answer that question. Not completely, anyway. We see Richard, aka the Jackal, spending time in the British Army during the Second Gulf War, when he’s first approached about becoming an assassin for hire, but we don’t get any insight into how he became the world’s best sniper, who he was before enlisting, or what drove him to see life from behind a rifle’s scope in the first place.

The Murder Mystery has formed an integral aspect of popular culture's landscape since the earliest days of movies and television, a status quo that shows no sign of slowing down. From classic numbers like Charade and Murder on the Orient Express to contemporary rivals such as Hot Fuzz and Knives Out, cinema has witnessed an array of standout genre offerings over the years, with talented directors in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock, Rian Johnson, and David Fincher all turning in a number of the best murder mystery movies of all time.

This extends to television; the best television shows of all time include several seminal murder mystery offerings comprising wildly successful stories for smaller screens. Inviting never-ending musings and debate through their very nature, the genre has produced a diverse array of shows that received acclaim from fans and critics alike. Ranging from the cut-and-dried detective format of classic murder...

The BBC has commissioned a third series of James Graham’s award winning drama Sherwood, and here are the details.

Aside perhaps from Jack Thorne, James Graham may well be the most prolific screen/playwright working today. By far his biggest runaway success is dark drama Sherwood, which recently concluded its second series on the BBC.

Showcasing a terrific ensemble cast, including David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, Robert Glenister, Lorraine Ashbourne, Claire Rushbrook and Philip Jackson, the ensemble play members of a fractured community inhabiting a small village in Nottinghamshire, as they attempt to move on from the murder of a former union activist.

The BBC has confirmed that its has recommissioned the show for a third series. It will once again be written by Graham.

Graham said “It continues to be the greatest privilege to tell stories set in and inspired by the history of my home county of Nottinghamshire.

BritBox will exclusively premiere the second season of the Original crime drama Sherwood on November 14 in the U.S. and Canada, the streaming service announced today.

The first season of the BAFTA-nominated series was one of the most-watched shows in the UK, and the second season is a suspense-filled follow-up driven by an all-star cast of celebrated British actors.

Directed by the acclaimed British film director Clio Barnard and Tom George, this new and Original drama from Nottingham-born James Graham stars David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, Monica Dolan, David Harewood, and Lorraine Ashbourne.

The cast list continues with Robert Lindsay, Stephen Dillane, Sharlene Whyte, Perry Fitzpatrick, Christine Bottomley, Philip Jackson, Aisling Loftus, Bill Jones, Adam Hugill, Ria Zmitrowicz, Robert Emms, Michael Balogun, Oliver Huntingdon, Jorden Myrie, Conor Deane, and Bethany Asher.

The second season further explores the powerful themes that made the first so resonant to audiences. Set in the present day,...

Exclusive: Here’s a first look at Sherwood Season 2, the highly-anticipated next instalment of James Graham’s BBC drama.

Filming on the House Productions show recently took place in and around the UK city Nottingham, and the images show the likes of Lorraine Ashbourne, Monica Dolan, Perry Fitzpatrick, David Morrissey, David Harewood, Michael Balogun, Christine Bottomley, Oliver Huntingdon and Robert Lindsay in character. Scroll to the bottom for all seven images.

Season 1 was a ratings success and was one of the most-watched British dramas of 2022, following a murder that shocks a former mining town where divisions still remain years after the miners’ strikes of 1984 and 1985.

The second season will introduce two new families, who become entangled with the Sparrows from the first run, entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries, revenge, and betrayal. At the same time, a new Sheriff of Nottingham fights passionately against a proposed new mine,...

Aisling Bea And Matthew Lewis Join Romesh Ranganathan Comedy ‘Avoidance’

Aisling Bea and Matthew Lewis are among the cast who have joined the upcoming season of Romesh Ranganathan’s BBC comedy Avoidance. Filming started this week, and the returning cast includes Jessica Knappett (Drifters), Kieran Logendra, Mandeep Dhillon (Afterlife), Lisa McGrillis (Mum), and Bruce Mackinnon (The Catherine Tate Show). Also joining the show are Louise Ford (The Windsors), Olive Tennant (Belfast), Alex Ranganathan, Jessica Ransom (Horrible Histories), Paula Wilcox (Upstart Crow), Philip Jackson (Brassed Off), Ed Kear (Here We Go), Colin Hoult (Murder in Successville), Michael Spicer (The Room Next Door) and Brona C Titley (The Outlaws). “I’m delighted to be back on set with this amazing cast, so much so it almost makes up for the crushing agony of my recent spandex-filled wardrobe fitting,” said Ranganathan.

Afua Hirsch And Peter Frankopan To Lead History Podcast

Afua Hirsch and...

Casting

A stellar cast has been revealed by the BBC and House Productions for Season 2 of James Graham’s BAFTA-winning hit crime drama “Sherwood.”

Directed by Clio Barnard (“Ali & Ava”) the news cast included David Harewood (“The Night Manager”), Robert Lindsay (“My Family”), Monica Dolan (“Black Mirror”), Sharlene Whyte (“Small Axe”), Stephen Dillane (“Vigil”), Ria Zmitrowicz (“The Power”), Aisling Loftus (“The Midwich Cuckoos”), Robert Emms (“Andor”), Michael Balogun (“Top Boy”), Christine Bottomley (“Domina”), Oliver Huntingdon (“Happy Valley”) Jorden Myrie (“Mood”), Conor Deane (“All Creatures Great & Small”) and Bethany Asher (“Wild Bill”).

The returning cast includes David Morrissey (“Red Riding”), Lesley Manville (“Mrs Harris Goes to Paris”), Lorraine Ashbourne (“Alma’s Not Normal”), Philip Jackson (“Raised by Wolves”), Perry Fitzpatrick (“Line of Duty”), Bill Jones (“The Village”) and Adam Hugill (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”).

Season 2 introduces two new families entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries,...

Update, Oct. 2: Amazon Studios is now moving Mike Leigh’s Peterloo out of the fall frame after the British historical epic played the fall film festival triad of Venice, Telluride and Tiff. The new date is April 5 next year. Variety‘s Guy Lodge calls the film “a stately, explicitly rhetorical paean to the people – setting the past in stone while also lashing out at a present-day political order” with New York magazine giving a shout out to the pic’s visceral finale.

Amazon’s upcoming awards season focus will be Suspiria (Oct. 26), Beautiful Boy (Oct. 12) and Poland’s foreign film Oscar entry Cold War from director Pawel Pawlikowski (Dec. 21).

Previous, July 2: Amazon Studios has designated November 9 as the official release date for Mike Leigh’s Peterloo. Among the pic’s major-studio limited competition is Sony’s Gary Hart pic The Front Runner.

Previous, April 26: Amazon Studios marketing...

UK premiere of Mike Leigh project to be held in Manchester.

The BFI London Film Festival has announced its first ever premiere outside of London.

The festival will hold the UK premiere of Mike leigh’s Peterloo at Home in Manchester on Wednesday 17 October.

It will feature a Q&A and be simulcast to cinemas around the UK, with Leigh and members of the cast set to attend. It will also screen in London on Friday 19 October.

The film tells the story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester was brutally supressed by the British army.

The BFI London Film Festival (Oct 10 -21) has set its first premiere outside the UK capital with a Manchester screening of Mike Leigh’s Peterloo on October 17.

The screening, attended by writer-director Leigh and cast, will take place at the city’s Home venue and will be followed by a London screening two days later.

The Film4, BFI and Amazon-backed pic tells the story of the Peterloo massacre, which took place 199 years ago today. The notorious episode saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty.

Starring are Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Philip Jackson, Vincent Franklin, Karl Johnson and Tim McInnerny. Pic reunites Leigh with his regular team of Dick Pope (cinematography), Suzie Davies (production design), Jacqueline Durran (costumes), Christine Blundell (hair and make-up), Jon Gregory (editing) and Gary Yershon (music). Georgina Lowe...

Mike Leigh’s “Peterloo” is set to have its U.K. premiere as part of the BFI London Film Festival, but in an unusual move, the Oct. 17 gala screening will take place in the city of Manchester, where the film’s events take place, rather than in London. It will be the first time one of the festival’s premieres has taken place outside the British capital.

Leigh said he was “truly delighted” about the decision to screen the film in Manchester, in northern England, where the film’s events take place. The announcement Thursday fell on the 199th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre depicted in the movie.

“It’s always an honor to be included in the glorious London Film Festival, but how inspired and generous of the festival to screen ‘Peterloo’ in Manchester, where it all happened,” said Leigh.

Written and directed by Leigh, the film depicts the events surrounding the Aug.

The first trailer for Mike Leigh’s journey into the bloody 19th-century history of the British massacre, Peterloo, has dropped.

The film brings to life the less talked about tragedy of 1819 where British forces charged on a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester, England, which results in the massacre.

Written and directed by Mike Leigh, the cast includes Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Philip Jackson, Vincent Franklin, Karl Johnson, Tim McInnerny.

‘There has never been a feature film about the Peterloo Massacre,’ says Leigh. ‘The universal significance of this historic event becomes ever more relevant in our own turbulent times.‘

Also in trailers – New trailer for James Cameron’s manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel arrives

The film is released in cinemas November 2.

Peterloo Official Synopsis

An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s...

Credit: Simon Mein / Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Watch the teaser for the film below for Mike Leigh’s Peterloo.

Starring Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Philip Jackson, Vincent Franklin, Karl Johnson, Tim McInnerny, Amazon Studios will release Peterloo in theaters November 9, 2018.

Internationally acclaimed and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh portrays one of the bloodiest episodes in British history, the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819, where government-backed cavalry charged into a peaceful crowd of 80,000 that gathered in Manchester, England to demand democratic reform.

Leigh’s career has been nothing short of brilliant. His films include Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Vera Drake (2004), (Happy-Go-Lucky 2008) and the biopic Mr. Turner (2014).

Leigh has won several prizes at major European film festivals. Most notably he won the Best Director award at Cannes for Naked in 1993 and the Palme d’Or in 1996 for Secrets & Lies. He won the Leone d’Oro for the best film at the...

This week Toronto and Venice will announce at least the first part of their line-ups and one title sure to land amongst the slate is the latest film by Mike Leigh. Following Mr. Turner, his new drama Peterloo follows the British government facing off against 60,000 during a protest in which 15 died with more having numerous injuries.

Ahead of a November release, the first trailer has now arrived, which sets the stage for the massacre. “There has never been a feature film about the Peterloo Massacre,” Leigh said. “Apart from the universal political significance of this historic event, the story has a particular personal resonance for me, as a native of Manchester and Salford.”

See the trailer below, courtesy of Amazon Studios, for the film starring Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley, Philip Jackson, Karl Johnson, Tim McInnerny, and David Moorst.

Internationally acclaimed and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh portrays one of...

Two years ago, Amazon Studios established itself as a significant Oscar player, winning two of six bids for the domestic drama “Manchester by the Sea” as well as Best Foreign Language Feature for “The Salesman.” Last year, the streaming service found success with “The Big Sick,” which reaped a bid for its original screenplay. This year, it has partnered with various distributors to release three films with great Oscar potential.

Timothee Chalamet is following up his Oscar nominated performance in the gay romance “Call Me by Your Name” with the real-life family drama “Beautiful Boy” in which he portrays a meth addict who struggles to overcome his addiction with the support of his father (Steve Carell). The film is the first in English from Belgian director Felix Van Groeningen (“The Broken Circle Breakdown”). Luke Davies (“Lion”) adapted the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff.

If there’s one sure bet for the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, it’s the latest film by Mike Leigh. Most recently, the director stopped by the festival with Another Year and Mr. Turner, and now he’s finishing up his new film, Peterloo. The story follows the British government facing off against 60,000 during a protest in which 15 died with more having numerous injuries.

The first image has now been revealed, featuring Henry Hunt (Rory Kinnear) addressing the crowd of reformers as they gather at St. Peter’s Field ahead of the massacre. “There has never been a feature film about the Peterloo Massacre,” Leigh said. “Apart from the universal political significance of this historic event, the story has a particular personal resonance for me, as a native of Manchester and Salford.”

See the photo below, courtesy of Amazon Studios, for the film also starring Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley, Philip Jackson,...

A new film by Mike Leigh is pretty big deal — at least for us — especially considering “Peterloo” is his first effort since 2014’s “Mr. Turner.” However, there’s been somewhat of a shroud of secrecy on the movie, the most ambitious of the director’s career.

Read More: Hand-Painted, Hard-Won ‘Loving Vincent’ [Review]

Starring Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley, Philip Jackson, Karl Johnson, Tim McInnerny and David Moorst, the historical drama will tell the story of the infamous 1819 massacre at a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester, when many working people were injured and killed.

Continue reading First Look: Mike Leigh’s ‘Peterloo’ at The Playlist.

Queen on aisle 7!

Queen Elizabeth found herself in an unlikely place on Thursday: the grocery store.

And no, she wasn’t stocking up on Lipton’s finest or making an emergency Doritos run. The monarch paid a visit to a supermarket in Poundbury to check out local products and meet the staff.

And she didn’t wander the aisles alone either. The Queen was joined by Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal family was on hand to open the new district center, Queen Mother Square, where she unveiled a statue of her mother by sculptor Philip Jackson.

While Channel 4 cancelled the Raised by Wolves TV show after two seasons, the British sitcom starring Rebekah Staton, Helen Monks, Philip Jackson, and Alexa Davies, may still return. Back in August, creators Caitlin Moran and Caroline Moran launched the #UpTheWolves social media-based campaign, in order to save the show.Now the Moran sisters have established a Kickstarter campaign. To bankroll another episode, they need to raise £320,000 by their Christmas Eve deadline. What's that in Us dollars? The Kickstarter page indicates a $389,292 Usd goal. To date, they've raised $113,680. The Morans says if they get more money, they will make additional episodes.Read More…...

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It's funny, it's moving, it's brilliant: we look back at Brassed Off, starring the late, great Pete Postlethwaite...

This article contains spoilers for Brassed Off and The Full Monty.

“If this lot were seals or whales, you'd all be up in bloody arms. But they're not, are they? No, no they're not. They're just ordinary common-or-garden honest, decent human beings. And not one of them with an ounce of bloody hope left”. – Danny, Brassed Off

One of the things that I love about a certain subset of contemporary British comedies is their core of steel. That, hiding underneath some often very hefty belly laughs, there’s a political story, a foundation of social outrage, and a desire to address through cinema issues that often get swept under the carpet. It’s what keeps such films in my mind, long after the latest R-rated comedy screen filler has...

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As Raised By Wolves concludes its ace second series on Channel 4, we tip our caps to a cleverly written sitcom…

On the long list of things to like about Raised By Wolves—witty writing, new indelible comic archetypes, frank outlook and the nerdiest stream of Game Of Thrones references this side of our comments section—how much The Daily Mail dislikes it has to be somewhere near the top. You know you’re onto a good thing when your pilot episode gets a sneering one-star review from that quarter.

It’s little wonder the Mail failed to see the funny side of this Channel 4 sitcom. Raised By Wolves’ candid perspective is working class, female and mouthy, a combination loathsome to some but that sings hallelujah to the rest of us.

It’s not political tub-thumping that makes Raised By Wolves such reliable fun though. (As...

Are you a fan of the BBC One TV show, Boomers? Has the long hiatus made you concerned that it has been cancelled? Well, keep calm and carry on. BBC One has renewed the comedy for a second series (i.e. "season" in Us parlance). Boomers series two is set to return with six episodes in 2016. Boomers stars Russ Abbot, Stephanie Beacham, Phillip Jackson, James Smith, Alison Steadman, and Paula Wilcox. The last new episode of Boomers first aired on BBC One, on September 19, 2014. Read More…...

Boomers will be back on BBC One for a second series.

The comedy is returning for six new episodes in early 2016, starring Russ Abbot, Stephanie Beacham, Philip Jackson, James Smith, Alison Steadman and Paula Wilcox.

Following the ups and downs of three couples living in Thurnemouth, the new run will see the characters dealing with sexual experimentation, drug abuse and camping trips.

"The new series pushes our merry band of retirees into evermore agonising and ridiculous situations whilst crackling with sharply observed dialogue," said BBC comedy commissioning controller Shane Allen.

"It's a privilege to see these well-loved and hugely accomplished performers in full flow with such richly comic material."

Producer Paul Schlesinger added: "It's great to welcome back this particular group of friends and to see their jealousies, general resentment and disappointment with life come off the page even more vividly than series one - all brought to life by a stellar comedy cast.

Addison Heath.s Under a Kaleidoscope and Timothy Spanos.s Sizzler .77 tied for best film at the 16th annual Melbourne Underground Film Festival.

Named as best international film was Terry McMahon.s Patrick.s Day, the chronicle of a young man with mental health issues who becomes intimate with a suicidal flight attendant, prompting his obsessive mother to enlists a dysfunctional cop to separate them, featuring Kerry Fox, Moe Dunford, and Philip Jackson.

Under a Kaleidoscope stars Kenji Shimada, Kristen Condon, Aston Elliot, Tim Jason Wicks and Glenn Maynard in the saga of two brothers and a female neighbour who begin a voyage of discovery through the small hole in the wall that secretly joins the two apartments.

Sizzler .77 follows a crime war on Melbourne.s streets as two cops are forced to don frocks and go undercover as trannies in order to infiltrate a gang, featuring Alan King, Teri Yeboah,...

Exclusive: Titles include thriller The Barber starring Scott Glenn.

London/La-based outfit The Little Film Company has added a hat trick of titles to its slate on the eve of the Cannes Marche.

The first is Basel Owies’ thriller, The Barber, starring Scott Glenn and newcomer Chris Coy (Deliver Us From Evil).

They play a serial killer masquerading as a small town barber and a young man looking to get into the business of murder.

The second title is romantic drama Patrick’s Day, written and directed by first-timer Terry McMahon, starring Kerry Fox, Moe Dunford and Philip Jackson.

The film centres on a young man with mental health issues who becomes intimate with a suicidal flight attendant before his obsessive mother enlists a dysfunctional cop to separate them.

The final title is comedy One Night In Istanbul, directed by James Marquand, starring Steve Waddington (The Imitation Game), Paul Barber, Lucien Laviscount ([link...

Raised by Wolves has debuted a preview of tonight's (April 13) episode.

The fifth instalment of Caitlin and Caroline Moran's comedy series sees Della (Rebekah Staton) and the kids rally round after Grampy (Philip Jackson) suffers a loss.

Raised by Wolves follows a group of six siblings and their mother living on a Wolverhampton council estate. Despite not attending school, the family are intellectual and full of wit.

The series is a modern day fictionalised version of the Moran sisters' childhood.

Newcomers Alexa Davies, Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown and Kaine Zajaz also star.

Raised by Wolves continues tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.

A number of distinguished guests, including Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, have attended a ceremony to mark the unveiling of the statue of Indian national icon Mahatma Gandhi. Mr Bachchan, along with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Indian Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitle, Lord Meghnad Desai; and Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi, attended the event on Saturday morning in London’s Parliament Square. The statue unveiling coincides with the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa, when he officially commenced India’s campaign for freedom against British rule.

Over £1 Million was raised by The Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust in order to help construct the figure. Gandhi’s statue was carved by British sculptor Philip Jackson, who has previously sculpted the statues of The Queen Mother and Bomber Command.

Speaking at the statue unveiling, Prime Minister David Cameron had the following to say about Gandhi, who actively practised...

The soccer drama Believe is now available on VOD, and to celebrate we have an exclusive look at the film with a new clip featuring stars Brian Cox, Philip Jackson and a cast of young, up and coming football hooligans.

Set in the 1980s, some 10 years after his retirement as one of Manchester United's most famed coaches, Sir Matt Busby (Brian Cox) is restless in the twilight of his life. Georgie is an 11-year-old working class kid whose widowed mother (Natascha McElhone) is doing her best to keep him out of trouble. Georgie tries to steal Sir Matt's wallet only to be tracked down, which we see here in this scene.

This fun and fictional tale puts the real-life legendary soccer coach (of England's Manchester United team) coming out of retirement when he discovers that far from being just another young thief, Georgie is an extraordinarily gifted soccer player and...

With the World Cup finished and, depending which side of the pond you’re on, every kid is beginning fall soccer and football, the time is ripe for a new movie on the popular sport.

Here’s a first look at the trailer for Believe, a cute family-friendly underdog soccer story starring Emmy and BAFTA award winner Brian Cox, Natascha McElhne (Showtime’s Californication, Ronin, Solaris) along with Phillip Jackson, Toby Stephens, Anne Reid, Kate Ashfield, Richard Strange.

From director David Scheinmann, the film is about Sir Matt Busby, legendary Manchester United soccer manager, who comes out of retirement to coach a group of troubled kids.

The family drama Believe, is set in 1984 and inspired by true events. An act of petty crime by 11 year old Georgie becomes a collision of fate as Sir Matt tracks him down, only to discover that the boy is an extraordinarily gifted footballer and...

The Big Brother final was viewed by an average of 1.53 million (8.3%) on Channel 5.

The live finale, which was won by Helen Wood, attracted a peak audience of 1.62 million (9.3%) as the winner was announced.

Follow-up show Big Brother's Bit on the Side was seen by an average of 898k (7.7%) immediately after at 10.45pm.

BBC One's Boomers was the evening's highest-rated show outside of soaps, pulling in an average of 4.45 million (21.9%) at 9pm. The new comedy series, which stars Philip Jackson, Alison Steadman and Russ Abbot, peaked with 4.47 million.

BBC One's evening started with 2.27 million (13.2%) for The One Show at 7pm, followed by 2.10 million (11.3%) for A Question of Sport and 2.35 million (11.4%) for Scrappers at 8.30pm.

Later in the evening, Room 101 and Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits were seen by 2.08 million (15.3%) and 1.47 million (14%) respectively.

After a bumper evening of athletics, BBC Two's night kicked off with...

Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks, Donald Sutherland, Philip Jackson, Dermot Crowley, Liya Kebede | Written and Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore

Deception is a thriller about Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush), a famous auctioneer and art appraiser who is called to go through an estate of Claire Ibbetson (Sylvia Hoeks). On arriving at the house, he finds a strange rusty set of mechanical gears which pique his interest. At the same time he becomes intrigued with the estate owner herself, an agoraphobic who refuses to meet with him or anyone face to face. Whilst gathering pieces of mechanical gears from around her house and gathering artwork to sell at auction, the usually reserved and reclusive Virgil attempts to coax the woman out of her shell.

There is a strangely gloomy and dark atmosphere to Deception as we follow Virgil, the uptight, slightly germophobic and arrogant auctioneer as he stalks around, not...

Channel 4 has announced a full series order of brand new comedy Raised By Wolves, written by bestselling author and award winning columnist Caitlin Moran, with her sister Caroline Moran, which stars Helen Monks and Screenterrier Face to Watch in 2014 Alexa Davies as the two sisters.

Set on a Wolverhampton council estate, Raised By Wolves is a modern day re-imagining of Caitlin and Caroline’s childhood – loads of kids, no money, home-schooled, and educating themselves on mankind’s great bounty of books, films, TV and pop music.

Produced by Big Talk Productions, a pilot was screened as part of Channel 4’s 4Funnies season last year starred Rebekah Staton (Pulling), Philip Jackson (Poirot), Helen Monks (The Archers) and Alexa Davies alongside young newcomers Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown and Kaine Zajaz.

The six x 30 minutes episodes will go into production later this year for broadcast in 2015.

Caitlin Moran...

Sundance just ended, and we are already preparing for the next big film festival, South By Southwest. Not too long ago, the festival announced a few of the films premiering this year, but now they’ve announced the main slate. The midnight selections and some inevitable late-breaking additions are still to be announced, but this should be more than enough to get you excited. Along with many World Premieres, and Sundance favorites like Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2, the line up also includes an anniversary screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and an extended Q&A screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel with Wes Anderson. SXSW 2014 runs March 7 through 15 in Austin, Texas. Check out the line up after the jump.

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Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,324 films submitted to SXSW 2014. Films screening in Narrative...

Today the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced a diverse features lineup for this year’s Festival, the 21st edition and running March 7 – 15, 2014 in Austin, Texas. The 2014 program expands on SXSW tradition of embracing a range of genres and span of budgets, featuring a wealth of vision from experienced and developing filmmakers alike.

For more information visit http://sxsw.com/film.

Listed in the announcement are 115 of the features that will screen over the course of nine days at SXSW 2014. The lineup below includes 68 films from first-time filmmakers, and consists of 76 World Premieres, 10 North American Premieres and 7 U.S. Premieres. These films were selected from a record 2,215 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,540 U.S. and 675 international feature-length films. With a record number of 6,482 submissions total, the overall increase was 14% over 2013. The Midnighters feature section and the Short Film program will be announced on February 5, with the complete...

After announcing earlier this month that Jon Favreau’s Chef and the Veronica Mars movie will be making their world debuts at SXSW this year, the festival has revealed its full line-up, including further very promising world premieres, alongside appearances from some of the year’s most high-profile films.

The Midnight programme will be announced early next month, along with the Shorts line-up, and the complete Conference slate a little later as well.

Led by Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, Nicholas Stoller’s anticipated R-rated comedy, Neighbors, will be making its world debut at the festival, notably marked out as a ‘work-in-progress’ ahead of its theatrical release in May.

David Gordon Green’s acclaimed Joe will make its Us premiere, having bowed at Venice and then Toronto last year. Early reviews have Nicolas Cage giving one of the finest performances of his career, with Tye Sheridan (Mud) excellent alongside him.

Not sure if there is a Short Term 12 equivalent in this year’s Narrative Feature Comp, but on paper SXSW programmers are serving up a mean (and the usual lean group of 8 out of a whopping 1,324 film entries) for the upcoming competitiuon of eight which includes notable entries (that we’ve been tracking for a good time now) such as Zachary Wigon’s The Heart Machine, John Magary’s The Mend, Leah Meyerhoff’s I Believe in Unicorns and Lawrence Michael Levine’s Wild Canaries. Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated docs of the year, on the non-fiction side we find Margaret Brown’s The Great Invisible. Below you’ll find a breakdown of the other sections (notable world preems in We’ll Never Have Paris and Faults (see Mary Elizabeth Winstead above), some Sundance items with Texan connections and other nuggets.

Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight...

Channel 4 has unveiled two clips from its brand new comedy Raised by Wolves.

Caitlin Moran has co-written the sitcom with sister Caroline, which is a modern day fictionalised version of their real childhood.

Raised by Wolves follows a group of six siblings and their mother living on a Wolverhampton council estate. Despite not attending school, the family are somehow intellectual and full of wit.

The female children are all named after strong women - Germaine, Aretha, Yoko, Mariah and baby Cher - while brother Wyatt is named after Kevin Costner's character Wyatt Earp.

Germaine is in love with local buffoon Lee Bacon, while Aretha studies Carl Jung and Barack Obama. The pair are constantly at odds but look out for one another.

Rebekah Staton (Spy, Pulling), Philip Jackson (Poirot) and Helen Monks (The Archers) are among the cast. Newcomers Alexa Davies, Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown...

Telma Hopkins is headed for FX. The sitcom veteran has joined the cast of FX's Martin Lawrence-Kelsey Grammer comedy Braddock & Jackson, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The odd couple comedy stars Grammer (Pete Braddock) and Lawrence (Phillip Jackson) as Chicago lawyers from vastly different backgrounds who unexpectedly meet in court on the worst day of their lives. Brought together by fate and greed, they develop a partnership and a friendship, forcing each other to find the balance between the ethical and the unscrupulous in their professional and personal lives. If the multicamera comedy, from Lionsgate Television and Debmar-Mercury, hits a certain ratings threshold with

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Russ Abbot is to star in new BBC One sitcom Grey Mates.

Veteran stars Stephanie Beacham, Alison Steadman and June Whitfield will also appear in the six-part half-hour comedy.

Created by Citizen Khan writer Richard Pinto, Grey Mates will follow the ups and downs of three recently retired couples.

Philip Jackson, James Smith and Paula Wilcox have also been cast as pensioners "all coming at retirement from very different directions".

Announced today (December 2) by Controller of BBC One, Charlotte Moore, Grey Mates promises to "strike a chord with people of all generations".

Made by Hat Trick Productions, the sitcom will be produced by Paul Schlesinger (Twenty Twelve) and executive produced by Jimmy Mulville (Outnumbered).

> Tim Minchin to star in new BBC sitcom 88 Keys

> Eddie Izzard, Brian Cox science programmes for BBC Two and Four...

Poirot

David Suchet recently bade a fond farewell to Agatha Christie’s Poirot but the shows lives on in the form of Blu-Ray and DVDs. Acorn are releasing the latest batch of Belgian brilliance just in time for Thanksgiving. Poirot: Series 10 features four newly remastered episodes that debuted in 2005 and 2006. As ever, Suchet is joined by cast regulars Hugh Fraser (Sharpe), Philip Jackson (Little Voice), and Pauline Moran.

The Mystery of the Blue Train concerns the murder of an American heiress and the theft of a jewel from aboard a train. American fans will recognize many of the guest co-stars including Elliott Gould (Friends) and Roger Lloyd-Pack (Vicar of Dibley). In Cards on a Table, a wealthy Londoner (Alexander Siddig) arranges an unusual gathering involving four murderers and four detectives. In After The Funeral, Poirot is called in to investigate when a wealthy man changes his will just before his untimely demise.

B van Heusen

The end is nigh for Hercule Poirot — well the David Suchet version anyway. Two and a half decades’ worth of mystery and intrigue culminate in four all new episodes that are set to air on ITV this Fall. Appropriately enough, the first of the quartet is titled The Big Four and it sees David Suchet reunited with past cast regulars Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran.

In The Big Four, Poirot finds himself heading into Foyle’s War territory as he is asked to investigate the murder of a Soviet chess master on the eve of World war II. The first episode airs on ITV on Wednesday 23 October and it is scheduled to be broadcast by PBS early next year. The season concludes with Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case. Click the link below for a preview.

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Caitlin Moran's semi-autobiographical sitcom Raised by Wolves has been given the greenlight for a pilot on Channel 4.

The Big Talk Productions project has completed filming and Moran has described the show as a chance to showcase "intellectuals living on a council estate".

"Set on a Wolverhampton council estate, Raised By Wolves is a modern day reimagining of us, when we were growing up - loads of kids, no money, home-schooled, and educating ourselves on mankind's great bounty of books, films, TV and pop music," said Moran.

"Do you remember when people used to go on about the notion of a progressive working class? When admitting you were on benefits didn't immediately mean that you were morally incontinent scrounger scum? Yeah, neither could we. It's been ages.

"Telly never has any smart, amusing intellectuals living on a council estate. That's why we wrote the sitcom. Well, that and the...

Sugartown. co. BBC

Kieran Kinsella

Acorn Media’s latest DVD release Sugartown is a throwback to the classic British sitcoms in which buffoonish busybody’s and snobs do battle with decent hard working folk. The three episode show made its British TV debut in 2011 but surprisingly it never aired in the U.S. Thankfully, Acorn Media do a pretty good job of snatching up all the great shows that BBC America bizarrely overlook and this is one show that is well worth watching.

Sugartown is based around a candy or sweets factory in the North of England that has for years been the focal point of the local community. The factory is best known for producing the type of colorful rock candy that has been keeping NHS dentists busy for the past 70 years. As the show begins, sales are down and Jason Burr (Shaun Dooley) is struggling to keep the family owned factory afloat.

A 9ft bronze statue of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been unveiled outside Old Trafford, to celebrate his 26 years at the club.

The honour is the second of its kind bestowed upon the club’s most successful manager, a year after the North Stand of the stadium was renamed “The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand”.

Former United players who have contributed to Ferguson’s phenomenal haul of silverware down the years were present, with Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Edwin van der Sar, Peter Schmeichel and Gary and Phill Neville all in attendance, whilst David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and FIFA President Sepp Blatter sent pre-recorded messages.

Beckham, part of the famous 1999 Treble Winning United side, said:

“What an amazing day for you, your family and for the club.

“I just want to say thank you for everything you have done for me.

This sextet of British shorts, more a platter of attractive hors d'oeuvres than a full meal, range in length from seven to 21 minutes, each neatly turned and all well performed by familiar faces. Probably because of the form, they mostly deal with loneliness, as people retreat into fantasy, are cut off from families or try to make contact with strangers. The concluding tale ends on a cheerful note as widowed senior silver surfer Judi Dench masters her computer to get in touch with jolly choirmaster Philip Jackson.

Short filmsPhilip French

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If you go see Stars In Shorts expecting to see Colin Firth in casual cargos from Lands End or Julia Styles wearing skin-tight Daisy Dukes, you’ll be disappointed. They’re not that kind of shorts, but they are those kinds of stars, so if you go expecting to see great acting and fine filmmaking, you’ll be rewarded. On the heels of the annual Oscar Nominated Short Films program, ShortsHD presents Stars In Shorts, a collection of short films featuring some of the world’s biggest actors. Many times you only see these films at festivals so I highly recommend the opportunity to see these presented together on the big screen. There is no consistent thread to the seven films other than they star famous actors including some Oscar winners.

The Procession (12 Minutes – Directed by Robert Festinger) – Lily Tomlin and Jesse Tyler Ferguson are mother and son driving in...

According to the Metro, Manchester United are set to pay tribute to their manager Sir Alex Ferguson by placing a statue of the 70-year-old outside Old Trafford.

Planning permission from town hall chiefs has been processed and the figure will be crafted by award-winning sculptor Phillip Jackson.

The Red Devils celebrated Sir Alex’s 25-years in charge of United last year when they renamed Old Trafford’s North Stand as “The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.” The Ferguson statue will join the likes of United legends George Best and Sir Matt Busby who are also immortalised in front of the iconic stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably one of the best managers of his era and has proved this with his success at Manchester United where he has dominated the English Premier League since it began back in 1992. In them 20 years Manchester United have won the title 12 times under his leadership,...

Poirot

Kieran Kinsella

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Earlier this year, Maryland based Acorn Media acquired a 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited which means the firm now has majority ownership of the much loved author’s extensive body of work. To celebrate this milestone, Acorn Media have decided to give one lucky BestBritishTV.com reader the chance to win four series of ITV’s Poirot on either Blu-ray or DVD – it is your choice. Combined, these box sets contain more than 32 hours of high quality drama featuring the multi-talented David Suchet as Christie’s cunning Belgian sleuth. These box sets have a combined retail value of $160! Full details of the giveaway are at the bottom of the page.

Poirot Series 1 Acorn Media

The series one box set contains 10 mysteries in which David Suchet is joined by guest stars that...