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Tony Slattery, star of Channel 4‘s Whose Line Is It Anyway? and contemporary of Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, has died. He was 65.

In a statement given to the BBC on behalf of Slattery’s partner, Mark Michael Hutchinson said: “It is with great sadness we must announce actor and comedian Tony Slattery, aged 65, has passed away today, Tuesday morning, following a heart attack on Sunday evening.”

The British actor and comedian was famed for his quick wit and improv on the popular comedy show, but also featured in films like Peter’s Friends (1992), alongside his Cambridge University peers Thompson, Laurie and Fry, and The Crying Game (1989).

Slattery received an Olivier Award nomination for best comedy performance for his role as Gordon in Tim Firth’s Neville’s Island.

Slattery with Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie on the set of Peter’s Friends.

Tony Slattery, a British actor and comedian known for his improv skills on Channel 4’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” died on Tuesday. He was 65.

Slattery’s longtime partner, Mark Michael Hutchinson, confirmed the news to the BBC and said the cause of death was a heart attack. “It is with great sadness we must announce actor and comedian Tony Slattery, aged 65, has passed away today, Tuesday morning, following a heart attack on Sunday evening,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

Slattery was a regular on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” which features performers playing short-form improvisation games based on suggestions from a live audience, from 1988 to 1995. He also held roles in films like comedies “How to Get Ahead in Advertising” (1989) and “Peter’s Friends” (1992), as well as crime thriller “The Crying Game” (1992).

Born on Nov. 9, 1959 in Stonebridge, North London, Slattery got his start in theater while studying at the University of Cambridge.

Doctor Who specials for charity provide hilariously funny insights into the show's world and characters since 1963. Crossover skits like "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot" and "Time Crash" bring together classic and modern eras for fans. Familiar characters and actors make appearances in playful parodies, adding to the overall enjoyment of the series.

The hit British sci-fi show Doctor Who has seen plenty of comedy and charity specials air over the years, and while some were better than others, all gave audiences an enjoyable insight into the show's world. Since Doctor Who's initial release in 1963, and especially so since its reboot in 2005, Doctor Who has aired sketches, skits, and everything in between in the name of charity. Primarily, they've been broadcast for the charity television specials of Children in Need and Comic Relief, both of which are prominent live events in the UK.

With Doctor Who being such a staple in British culture,...

Comedian and actor Kieran Hodgson’s video of his hilarious Happy Valley impressions has gone viral.

Hodgson, who recently co-wrote and starred in Channel 4’s Prince Andrew: The Musical, shared a video online in which he recaps the third and final series of the hit BBC show. Hodgson speaks in character as the Happy Valley stars.

During the video, he imitates Sarah Lancashire’s Catherine Cawood and her sister Clare, played by Siobhan Finneran.

He also delivers impressions of Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) and his teenage son Ryan (Rhys Connah).

Other moments see Hodgson take on Susan Lynch’s Alison Garrs, Conn O’Neil’s performance of Clare’s boyfriend Neil, and the Pe teacher Mr Hepworth (Mark Stanley).

Hodgson shared the video on Twitter, writing: “A little treat for fans of #HappyValley Bad TV Impressions.”

Viewers have disagreed with his assessment, however, and are commending him for his efforts.

Strictly Come Dancing star Craig Revel Horwood has revealed that he has received threats of violence following some of his comments on the show.

Paul O'Grady recently admitted that he couldn't take part in the BBC One hit show because he would "smash [Craig's] face in" if he was harsh about his dancing.

Revel Horwood - who said that O'Grady would be "great" on the show - has now told Metro that it is not the first time he has been threatened.

"I have been threatened with violence by Jan Ravens's husband in the BBC bar [when she took part in 2006]," he said. "She didn't take criticism very well.

"You have to be able to think like a sports person and not blame any particular person - like me - if you don't do well because I'm not the one voting."

Horwood also expressed relief that he is not one of the professional dancers on the show,...

It's been a whopping 30 years since Spitting Image first hit our screens on ITV in 1984. The satirical puppet show quickly became one of the most-watched shows of the 1980s and early 1990s.

I wasn't able to fully appreciate the series when it was first on TV. When I watched it in the early '90s as a child, I found it funny mainly because of the silly puppets, even if I didn't quite understand what was going on. But in retrospective viewings, it still holds up as a genuinely hilarious satire of politics, entertainment, sport and general UK culture of the era.

It's quite incredible to think that Spitting Image hasn't been on air since 1996. To put that into perspective, the Spice Girls had only just been unleashed, Tony Blair hadn't been elected yet, and Lorde had only just been born.

As a show that is heavily reliant on topical...

Rory Bremner – the satirist, writer and impressionist – as well as actress Michelle Dockery and Julian Fellowes, now Lord Fellowes of West Stafford, have all agreed to become Patrons of Changing Faces, the UK’s leading charity that supports and represents people with disfigurements.

Lord Fellowes, writer of the BAFTA winning series, Downton Abbey, said “I am very proud to be allowed an involvement with Changing Faces, an extraordinary organisation for extraordinary people”.

They join other public figures who are Patrons of the charity like Jan Ravens, Bill Simons, Simon Weston and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Read more...

"Great LezBritian" is a fortnightly stroll through the very best of British lesbo-centric entertainment and culture. Plus there will be some jolly good interviews with the top ladies who are waving the flag for gay UK.

If AfterEllen.com was a British site, it would be called AfterSandi.com. We grew up watching Sandi Toksvig on children’s TV show Number 73 in the 80s, felt her pain as she sailed around Britain with John McCarthy in the 1990s and today we are entertained weekly by her Radio 4 panel show, The News Quiz.

She recently flew into Glasgow for the city’s book festival, Aye Write, and we had the privilege of spending a funny, informative and inspiring 40 minutes with her before her performance inside one of Glasgow’s grandest buildings, The Mitchell Library.

She arrived in the green room, a very short lady, with a massive presence and immediately told...