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“It’s not an easy watch,” says Annabel Scholey of her latest role in BBC One’s The Salisbury Poisonings. “It’s harrowing but it’s an important story to tell.” The three-part drama airing on consecutive nights from Sunday the 14th of June depicts the aftermath of the 2018 assassination attempt on Russians Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the English city of Salisbury.

“You’d expect spies and the political side of things,” says Scholey, “but this is a different angle.” The drama focuses entirely on the local response to the Novichok poisonings led by public health director Tracy Daszkiewicz (Anne-Marie Duff), and on inadvertent victims Dawn Sturgess (MyAnna Buring) and DS Nick Bailey (Rafe Spall).

Scholey plays Sarah Bailey, wife to the police officer who became contaminated with the nerve agent during a search of the Skripals’ home. Despite the event’s dramatic international context, the efforts made to...

Top 10 James Stansfield 4 Sep 2013 - 06:27

There's long been a hidden link between Hollyoaks and horror. Here are 10 actors who've made the jump from soap to gore...

Nb: This article contains spoilers.

There’s a moment in one of comedian Simon Amstell’s stand up shows where he recounts a conversation he once had with the executive producer of Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. Trading on the commonly held opinion that Hollyoaks is “rubbish”, Amstell enquired as to why the producer didn’t try to make it better. The answer came that they did make it better, but people stopped watching.

Even by the not-so-great standards that soaps are measured, Hollyoaks has always been firmly towards the bottom of the ladder. The fictional Chester suburb where the majority of inhabitants are extraordinarily good looking but also extraordinarily stupid has been identified by its often wildly outlandish storylines and impossibly pretty people.

For the record, this is the same feature and package as offered in last year's Blu-ray release of the same title. The only difference to be noted between the two is the video resolution, which only suffers a minor detriment in this version for not having been in hi-def. With that said, read on.

Some women would try to deny it, but truth be told Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, is the stereotypical woman's holy grail of films. The flowery speech, the witty conversation, and the dreamy Colin Firth constitute the 5 hour and 23 minute filmed version of Jane Austen's romantic classic. Men, if you couldn't figure out how Colin Firth was so popular after starring in mediocre [read: crappy] chick flicks like Bridget Jones's Diary then you missed the boat. Firth has ridden the brooding manliness he established with Pride & Prejudice ever since. It's not your fault...

Some women would try to deny it, but truth be told Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, is the stereotypical woman's holy grail of films. The flowery speech, the witty conservation and the dreamy Colin Firth constitute the 5 hour and 23 minute filmed version of Jane Austen's romantic classic. Men, if you couldn't figure out how Colin Firth was so popular after starring in mediocre [read: crappy] chick flicks like Bridget Jones's Diary then you missed the boat. Firth has ridden the brooding manliness he established with Pride & Prejudice ever since. It's not your fault if you never understood the allure of Mr. Firth if you've never seen Pride & Prejudice. Well, actually the average woman would say it's your fault for not having seen the greatest story ever told on film - but they're somewhat biased on that account. For those of us less swayed by a timeless tale of romance,...