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‘Is it autobiographical?’ is usually a question that female novelists can’t escape, but when David Nicholls published One Day in 2009, it also plagued him. Perhaps writing in the romantic genre encouraged interviewers to grant Nicholls honorary-woman status? Lucky him.

One Day is the story of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, whose lives we dip into on the same date each year for a couple of decades. They first meet as students at their Edinburgh University graduation ball in 1988, after which their lives weave in and out of each other’s all the way into their mid-30s. The book was a word-of-mouth hit that was made into a very middling film in 2011, and has since been adapted into a terrific 14-part Netflix series starring This is Going to Hurt’s Ambika Mod and The White Lotus’ Leo Woodall.

Because Emma and Dexter become mildly public figures in the story...

Whether you want to ask about directing films including Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody, being the Press Gang bad boy or effing and jeffing for Guy Ritchie, now is your chance

If you hear the name Dexter Fletcher, I bet three things will come to mind. 1) Press Gang, where Fletcher appeared as rebellious teenager Spike Thomson in late 80s/early 90s children’s TV drama, 2) Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, in which Fletcher starred in Guy Ritchie’s directing debut in 1998, and 3) GamesMaster, where Fletcher temporarily took over the role of host in the third series of iconic 90s Channel 4 videogame show, before handing the reigns back to Dominik Diamond.

But he’s gone on to do so much more as one of Britain’s foremost current film directors: you’ve probably heard of many of his films, even if you didn’t realise Fletcher was in charge. There’s Eddie the Eagle,...

GamesMaster was that rare breed of show that was somehow both a commercial smash hit and a cult phenomenon. For seven series, it was essential viewing for games enthusiasts and lovers of snark everywhere. All of its elements – the masterstroke casting of sardonic Scotsman Dominik Diamond as host; the sight of beloved astronomer Sir Patrick Moore’s disembodied cyborg head as the eponymous GamesMaster; the humour, the authority, the scoops, the fun, the anarchy – combined to create a show that for many was synonymous with and indivisible from the gaming industry it fed upon and reflected.

In the years since it went off air, its name has been whispered in reverent tones across online forums, and at parties where people of a certain vintage gather to trade nostalgic remembrances. Will it ever come back? Should it ever come back? Well, in 2021 GamesMaster did come back, rebooted on E4 with a...

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After a shaky start, Challenge TV's now-cancelled Videogame Nation grew into a pretty perfect gaming magazine TV show...

At 10.27 a.m. on the morning of Saturday 4th June 2016 gaming enthusiasts across the land screamed in a collective wail of distress as it was announced that the following week’s episode of Videogame Nation was to be its last ever.

For fans of the

UK

’s only weekly show devoted to games it was a hefty blow. Yet another television programme centred on the world of videogames was meeting its demise after 4 series and an impressive 106 episodes. The outpouring of disbelief across social media was immediate. Fans who felt that the show had finally landed on a fun, winning formula for gaming TV were doubly dismayed.

As emerged in the days following the announcement, Videogame Nation was a victim of circumstance. Challenge TV chose not to renew the...

American Idol was announced to be coming to an end after 15 seasons yesterday (May 12), but did you know that Ryan Seacrest used to have a co-host?

Brian Dunkleman hosted the Fox competition's first season alongside Ryan Seacrest, before the latter took sole control. History has not been kind to poor old Brian since, with Fox TV CEO Dana Walden joking about a possible reunion for the pair.

"Where is Brian Dunkleman? If you give me his number, I will call and invite him," she joked, though Dunkleman gave as good as he got last night:

I knew American Idol would never last without me #Cancelled

— brian dunkleman (@briandunkleman) May 11, 2015

To honour Dunkleman, we have collected a few hosts of massive shows that you may have cruelly forgotten, starting with the man himself.

1. Brian Dunkleman (American Idol)

The comedian co-hosted the Fox series with Ryan Seacrest for its first season, which...

It's game show heaven on television right now. Not only do we have all sorts of new formats making their way to screen, but some old favourites are getting a second lease of life, too - from Fifteen to One (airing daily on Channel 4) to the second series of the revived Catchphrase (Sundays on ITV.) But it got us thinking - what other game shows would we like to see return to our living rooms?

Well, we asked that very question to Fifteen to One's Sandi Toksvig and Catchphrase's Stephen Mulhern - and then had a bit of office debate about our own favourites...

You Bet! - Stephen Mulhern (Host, Catchphrase)

"This is an easy question: You Bet! It was one of my favourite TV shows and Matthew Kelly was one of my favourite presenters. I love it.

"I can give you some great examples that still amaze me to this day.

Review Ryan Lambie 16 Oct 2013 - 05:37

We delve into the first book from new publisher Read Only Memory - an exhaustive document from the UK’s Sensible Software...

If you were playing games in the 80s and 90s, it’s likely that you played something by the UK’s Sensible Software. You may have enjoyed the classic Wizball - perhaps not even realising that Sensible Software programmed it. You may remember its puckish sense of humour, as demonstrated in such games as Sim Brick, an amusing parody given away free on the cover of Amiga Power.

It’s equally likely, though, that you’ll remember Sensible Software for the string of games that really made their name in the early 90s: Mega Lo Mania, Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder. Although very different in terms of gameplay, each game was united by their pace and addictive qualities, their slick programming and presentation,...