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“Because everything that happened with this — I’m going to call it a ‘scandal,’” explains Kyle Richards, star of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, at the dinner table of her Aspen vacation home, where her husband and four daughters are gathered. “If something goes on in our lives like this, they’re going to obviously shoot that even though we’re wrapped.”

What is the scandal? In July 2023, when this scene was filmed, a bombshell report claimed that Richards and her husband, real estate entrepreneur Mauricio Umansky, were separating after 27 years together.

A three hour documentary about iconic comedian Ken Dodd will premiere in June, and here are the details.

There are few comics, before him or since, who were as hardworking as Ken Dodd. Known for the epic length of his performances, he performed shows that began at 7.30, wouldn’t have an interval until 10.30, with gigs regularly finishing in the small hours.

Dodd passed away in 2018 at the age of 90, and left a legacy of laughter in a career that began in the 1940s.

Ken Dodd is now set to be the subject of new documentary The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved. As a tribute to Dodd’s shows, the film is a whopping three hours long.

The film, narrated by the irrepressible Miriam Margoyles, also features tributes from the comedy community, including Lee Mack, Harry Hill, Johnny Vegas, Tim Vine, Les Dennis, Ricky Tomlinson, Stephen K Amos, Shaparak Khorsandi and the late,...

Quentin Tarantino turns 60 today, and to celebrate the fact he was ambushed with cake by Jamie Foxx in front of 2,000 people at the London Palladium last night. Don’t go looking online for photographs of the occasion, though: the surprise came at the end of a two-night event promoting the director’s recent memoir Cinema Speculation, for which all in attendance had to turn off their mobile phones and put them into lockable pouches for the duration. Phones are famously forbidden on Tarantino’s sets, and his live appearances are no exception.

Originally set to be a one-off, Saturday night turned out to be a warm-up for Sunday’s main event. As Ike and Tina Turner’s version of “Whole Lotta Love” faded, the house lights dipped and a quick blast of Pete Moore’s “Asteroid” — Aka the kitsch 30-second Pearl & Dean jingle famous to all British moviegoers over...

In the first episode of 90s-set ITV drama Quiz, a group of men are devising a game show. Provisionally titled Cash Mountain, it involves players doubling their money with each correct answer on their way to the summit. Concerned that the concept’s too old-fashioned, a Birmingham accent comically suggests, “We could set it on an actual mountain. Like, a little one? Wales?”

Cash Mountain didn’t go down the Welsh Outward Bound route but stuck to its questions-and-cash simplicity to become global smash hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? That Brummie voice belonged to Steve Knight (played in Quiz by Keir Charles). He was one of the three creators credited with devising the quiz show that was later struck by the “Coughing Major” cheating scandal so brilliantly dramatised in James Graham’s play and TV adaptation.

In the nineties, Knight and his writing partner Mike Whitehill worked at TV production company Celador.

Slapstick | Horror-On-Sea

The mechanics and dynamics of silent comedy didn’t die with the advent of the talkies – just look at last year’s Shaun The Sheep Movie. A breadth of remit allows this silent and classic comedy film festival to stray beyond the confines of early cinema, although it always manages to find more of that out there. New (re)discoveries this year include Mancunian comedies (from the studio once known as “Jollywood”), silent westerns and a Soviet menage a trois. In addition you get sound-assisted slapstick such as Cary Grant’s breakthrough The Awful Truth (introduced by comedian Lucy Porter), and guests including Stephen Merchant, Ken Dodd, Tim Vine (on Sgt Bilko), and Marcus Brigstocke in conversation with the makers of Shaun The Sheep. And if all else fails, you can’t go wrong with an orchestrally accompanied screening of Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid.

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Writer David Nobbs has passed away at the age of 80, the British Humanist Association has confirmed.

Nobbs was best known for creating the comic television character Reginald Perrin, played in the BBC series by Leonard Rossiter.

Nobbs created the BBC sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, which ran between 1976 and 1979, from his series of novels.

The novels follow the story of a middle-aged middle manager, Reginald "Reggie" Perrin, who is driven to bizarre behaviour by the pointlessness of his job.

The Yorkshire-born writer also provided material for The Two Ronnies, Ken Dodd and Frankie Howerd.

Nobbs wrote over 20 novels during a prolific career that spanned nearly 50 years.

Watch a clip from The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin below:...

Digital Spy recommends the very best in television – these are the seven most exciting shows airing this week, from the debut of two hit Us shows to the return of Who Do You Think You Are?

Monday - The Last Man on Earth, Dave at 9pm

The UK premiere of the post-apocalyptic comedy starring Will Forte.

When most of humanity is wiped out by a deadly virus, Phil Miller searches across North America for other survivors. He eventually finds Carol Pilbasian (Kristen Schaal) and realises that he's not as alone as he thought.

Tuesday - Aquarius, Sky Atlantic at 9pm

The crime drama set in 1960s California hits UK shores in a double-bill premiere.

When 16-year-old Emma Karn disappears from her Beverly Hills home, her mother calls in La homicide detective and old flame Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny) to investigate. Sam is soon on the trail of elusive cult leader Charles Manson,...

Hollywood went hunting for lots of British comedy talent in the 1990s - and lured the likes of Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson...

For some reason, Hollywood fell in love with British actors again in the 1990s. Sparked by Alan Rickman's turn as Hans Gruber in Die Hard at the back end of the 1980s, many movie villains were either Brits, or in the case of Cliffhanger, John Lithgow taking on the mannerisms of a British antagonist.

Yet in particular, Hollywood went recruiting British comedy talent, with faces then mainly - but not exclusively - known for their small screen work getting roles of various sizes in Hollywood productions. Here are some who racked up the air miles - starting with the man who arguably became one of the most successful...

Hugh Laurie - 101 Dalmatians

Laurie is a man of many talents, who ultimately cracked America with...

BBC

As one of Us TV’s most established series, not to mention the lucrative films, it is no surprise that Star Trek has featured such an impressive number of movie stars in it’s extensive list of guest actors. Throughout it’s classic run however, Doctor Who wasn’t so lucky. As the years went on it’s reputation began to wane, and towards the end of it’s 26 season run it was unfortunately attracting the likes of Ken Dodd rather than Kenneth Branagh

Luckily this is just one of the many things that the revival of the series has set about changing however. In fact the show has been graced by the presence of no less than seven highly successful movie stars in just the last two seasons alone, showing just how rapidly this trend of big name guests is increasing.

While there are film stars such as Simon Pegg,...

Broadcaster Geoffrey Wheeler has died, aged 83.

The presenter was best known for hosting Songs of Praise and quiz show Top of the Form among others.

His son confirmed that he passed away at a care home in Prestbury, Cheshire, after a long illness on December 30.

Wheeler also created the ITV game show Winner Takes All, hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck from 1975 to 1986.

He later presented the show himself for a year in 1987, having previously provided the voiceover.

He also made appearances on Call My Bluff and Jackanory.

"He was an absolute gentleman and that's the conclusion that everybody who dealt with him came to," his son Robin told BBC News.

Wheeler started his broadcasting career on BBC Radio in the 1950s, producing around 200 programmes while studying law at Manchester University.

In 1954, he made a host of radio variety programmes featuring stars including Benny Hill, Morecambe & Wise and Ken Dodd.

Geoffrey Wheeler is survived by his son,...

Channel 5 has unveiled official details of its Christmas and New Year schedule for 2013/14.

The new listings include transmission times for Lady Gaga & The Muppets Holiday Spectacular and the final instalments of Us series The Bible.

On Saturday, December 21, the channel will kick off its festive programming with the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, starring Richard E Grant and Patrick Stewart, at 8pm. The penultimate episode of the The Bible will air at 10pm.

Lady Gaga & The Muppets Holiday Spectacular airs on Sunday, December 22 at 5.25pm. The special will see Lady GaGa teaming up with The Muppets for special performances of songs from her latest album Artpop, as well as comedy sketches and a sneak peek at the forthcoming film Muppets Most Wanted.

The final episode of The Bible will air later that evening at 9pm.

Greatest Ever Christmas Movies is the highlight of the channel's Christmas Eve lineup. The almost-three-hour...

Legendary comic writer Eddie Braben, who worked with acts such as Morecambe and Wise, Ken Dodd and Ronnie Corbett, has died aged 82.

Braben's manager Norma Farnes confirmed that the writer had died this morning (May 21).

In a statement, Farnes said: "The writer Eddie Braben, the third man behind the success of Morecambe and Wise, died this morning at the age of 82 after a short illness.

"It was Billy Cotton Jnr at the BBC who recognised the brilliance of Eddie's writing was the ideal marriage that would guarantee the success of Morecambe and Wise.

"He is survived by his loving wife Dee, three children and six grandchildren."

Braben started working with Morecambe and Wise in 1969 and was regarded as a key member of their writing team and one of the most gifted comic talents of his era.

In recent years, the writer has revealed how he suffered from stress and nerves...

Versatile actor who brought depth and humanity to supporting roles

The actor Pat Keen, who has died aged 79, had a successful career in supporting roles for more than half a century. She possessed an uncommon versatility, as happy in Chekhov and Ibsen as she was feeding lines to Les Dawson, whom she adored. For all that she was in demand in later years to play harridans and busybodies, she never resorted to caricature. She believed in the people she portrayed, breathing life into the stereotypes beloved by too many writers of comedy for television. She refused to take the easy route of playing for laughs, whether on stage or screen.

Pat was born and raised in Willesden, north-west London. She left school after taking A-levels, and it was because of her ability to speak very good colloquial French that she secured a post at the Foreign Office when she was 18. Two years later,...

The cosmos gets mixed up with the costume department in this folly of an adaptation from no less than three directors

Follies don't come more intricate and extravagant than Cloud Atlas, adapted by a trio of directors from the David Mitchell novel and bouncing through the eras with a wide-eyed eagerness that borders on the ridiculous. Here is a film that travels from the 19th century to the distant future, from thriller to sci-fi to romance to farce. It comes to tell us that we are all connected, all part of the same karmic continuum. Yet never once, in the course of nearly three hours, does it amount to anything more than the sum of its parts.

The parts, too, can be infernally jarring. Cloud Atlas's big idea is to install its cast as a kind of repertory company, with each player required todouble up on a variety of roles.

The north-west of England has been dubbed the funniest place in the UK. A Laughter Index survey conducted to mark the release of Peter Kay: Live & Back on Nights! found that the majority of those quizzed thought the region produced the nation's funniest comedians. Stand-ups from the north-west include Kay, Steve Coogan, Les Dawson and Ken Dodd Comedy expert and Getting the Joke author Oliver Double said: "Historically, northern comedians have tended to be quite gentle and slow-paced, and the warmth of their stage personality has often been noted. "Then there's the fact that they talk about (more)...

Comedy, in its most literal sense, is the term lent to anything that is intended to be humorous. Unfortunately, the issue surrounding this definition lies in the subjectivity of humour itself; what exactly makes people laugh? It’s probably fair to say that we’re past the era of Ken Dodd and his ‘tickling stick’. However, as Tom Green proved, neither are we ready for the spectacle of a socially awkward animal molester. So, where does that leave us then? Well, actually, rather nicely in an area known as ‘Restricted’; or ‘R-Rated’ to you and me.

The middle ground of comedy almost exclusively boasts the title of ‘Home of the Funny’. It’s the rating that isn’t restricted by the limitations of Universal and PG-13, though neither is it at risk of going too overboard with the Nc-17 rating. Whether you’re the more reserved kind or the more flamboyant,...

Comedy writer and actor who starred in 70s sitcom Sykes and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has died after a short illness

From writing a film where the only word uttered is "rhubarb" to creating one of TV's most popular sitcom partnerships, Eric Sykes – who died on Wednesday aged 89 – will be remembered as one of Britain's finest comedy actors and writers.

Tributes came in thick and fast for a man who was seldom off radios, stages or screens in a career spanning 60 years that will spark different memories for different generations.

Some will know him best for writing and directing the silly slapstick film The Plank while others will remember his sitcom partnership with Hattie Jacques, who played his perpetually exasperated sister.

More recently, in the face of near total deafness and blindness, Sykes appeared in the fourth Harry Potter film and, in 2007, the British comedy Son of Rambow.

Denis Thorpe and David Ward talk about photography and the theatre to the Guardian's newest cameraman

Alan Dunn was the best of colleagues; thoughtful, kind and modest, with no pomposity from his long career in the Guardian's foreign and sports departments before he settled down happily and diligently as our expert on Liverpool, for his last years with the paper.

Among his many entertaining reports in that productive time, was coverage of Lord Justice Leveson in a somewhat different role, trying to make sense of the mercurial evidence of Ken Dodd in the celebrated taxation case. Dunn was trim and slight and, as his son Mike said at Alan's funeral yesterday, the comedian noticed him on the press bench and quipped: "I could have used him as one of my Diddymen."

Mike is sports editor at the Sun and his tribute to his Dad was a memorable mock-up of a...

Holiday camps – don't knock 'em. In this so-called 'austere' day and age, it's possible to get your very own package deal holiday by scuttling down to your local holiday camp or caravan park. There's the usual quota of kids' clubs, cheesy entertainment and some poor rascal who's being paid jack squat to stomp around in a boiling hot mascot suit on a very hot summer's day. So what with pompous arse George Osborne wielding the axe again, a holiday camp in good old Blighty is less of a financial risk than jetting off abroad.

They've always been popular though – they were hot property in the 1980s, when wonky sitcom Hi-De-Hi was on the telly – another example of a sitcom in which you could play 'Spot The Doctor Who Guest Star'. So where else could you find the one-time wife of Mehendri Solon, Vorg from Carnival Of Monsters and “Jolly What...

There were, however, many arts practitioners on the list. Is the Diary the only one surprised (and pleased) to see Steve McQueen get a Cbe, given the artist's marathon battle with the establishment to get the Iraq war dead printed on stamps? Among the other recipients of a Cbe – and the Diary apologises to the names omitted here – are producer Trevor Horn, sculptor Richard Wentworth, theatre director Howard Davies, choreographer Wayne McGregor, trumpeter John Wallace, actors Sheila Hancock and David Suchet, and composer Howard Goodall. OBEs went to Annie Lennox, folkie Richard Thompson, director Andrea Arnold, actor Burt Kwouk, costume designer Sandy Powell and composer Colin Matthews. And there are damehoods for actor Harriet Walter, mezzo-soprano turned professor Felicity Palmer and writer Antonia Fraser.

Disappointingly, despite the Diary's call for a triple whammy of knighthoods for Ken Dodd, Ronnie Corbett and Brucie Forsyth, they got nothing.

New Year honours listSteve...

It’s often said established actors “phone in” performances, obviously going through the motions for little more than a handsome pay check. After success with two sitcoms, three sell-out stand-up tours and a recent flirt with film direction, Ricky Gervais could be forgiven for taking it easy and resting on his laurels for this, his fourth live stand-up show. To some extent that would be a fair assessment of “Science”, although those even considering the purchase are probably already signed up Gervais-geeks for whom no amount of laziness could spoil an evening’s entertainment.

Filmed in front of an appreciative audience at the Hammersmith Apollo, “Science” sees Gervais in his usual egotistical form. “I know there’s been a recession on – someone told me!” he quips, as many a gag ends with some reference to the fame, fortune and critical respect he’s already amassed.

However there’s still that need to impress,...

Mark charts the cinematic history of Lewis Carroll’s Alice, from the earliest days of the moving image to the present day…

With a new interpretation of the Lewis Carroll classic on DVD and Blu-ray, I thought it might be an interesting diversion to look at the history of Alice In Wonderland in cinema and TV. This is far from a definitive list of Alice-inspired productions, but here are some of those that fell down my rabbit hole...

Alice In Wonderland (1903)

The first film Alice, I think, it stood out if only for the impressively lavish costumes and sets which the director insisted remain faithful to the drawings of Sir John Tenniel, the original illustrator of Lewis Carroll‘s story. However, that blew all the budget, so the cast is mostly the crew, including 'Alice' Mabel Clark who was also the studio secretary. When this came out it was the...

News that veteran stick-tickler Dodd and East 17 chanteur Harvey are going to be in a Norfolk-set short film is sure to re-draw the map of great screen partnerships

Forget Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat. Forget the two movies that Robert Redford and Paul Newman made together. Forget, even, that scene from Pretty Woman where Richard Gere and Julia Roberts hump each other on the piano. If you're looking for the definitive on-screen partnership of our time, then look no further than Ken Dodd and Brian Harvey from East 17, who'll soon be coming to a 10-minute film set in Norfolk.

Dodd, now 82, and Harvey, still just 35, have apparently been cast in an unnamed short that should soon be doing the festival circuit. Little is known about the film, other than a) it's about a jealous boyfriend who suspects that Brian Harvey is having an affair with...

Part 6: From Vampire Weekend to Z-list

Vampire Weekend

NYC's finest return with added bounce

For New York's Class Of 2008, 2010 is sophomore year. First out of the box are Vampire Weekend who release their new album in January. The buzzy Contra sounds a lot like their debut but with added exclamation marks; Auto-Tune bunches up with Operation Ivy-type ska and Kalimba thumb piano fondles Blue Nile-like ballads. Meanwhile Brooklyn's Yeasayer will release Odd Blood in February. And despite being recorded in Woodstock, the former faux-mystics have traded their moccasins for some marimba, 80s synths and epic choruses. Mgmt on the other hand have been recording their new album, Congratulations, in Malibu, so we can look forward to some sun-soaked new millennium anthems. If the guest stars are any indication (former Royal Trux shouter Jennifer Herrema and Pete Kember, Aka ex-Spacemen 3 man Sonic Boom) there'll be a dark underbelly to proceedings,...

From Mvd Visual comes The Beatles - Rare And Unseen: Unofficial Account Of The Biggest Band In The World containing the earliest known footage of the Beatles from February 1962, featuring home movies, personal photographs, private memorabilia and recently discovered footage. "...This new documentary special tells the true story of The Beatles from humble beginnings in Liverpool, to the break-up of the biggest band in the world. Their story is told for the very first time using original rare film and video of the band, including home-movies, concert footage, newsreels and photographs from private collections. There are also interviews with those who surrounded the band, and those who were there from the very start. Also included is an exclusive interview with fan and star in his own right, Phil Collins. This documentary is an honest account of what really happened. For the first time we can see The Beatles relaxed, at play,...

Sir Michael Parkinson has again criticised reality talent shows. The broadcaster, who previously used his official blog to suggest rebranding Britain's Got Talent as Britain's Got Talent?, has taken another swipe at the show in a new post about Ken Dodd. Parkinson said: "Ken Dodd is a national treasure and in an era of the cynical marketing of such programmes as Britain's Got Talent and X Factor, (more)...

Mvd Visual and Wienerworld will release The Beatles - 'Rare And Unseen', July 14, 2009, in a new documentary revealing the earliest known footage of the Beatles, including home movies, personal photographs and private memorabilia, from their beginnings in Liverpool, to their eventual break-up. Highlights include the earliest known footage of the Beatles on stage in Liverpool February 1962, their only existing film on tour in Scotland - Caird Hall, Dundee October 1964, footage from the Bahamas, February 1965 during the filming of director Richard Lester's Help!, footage from September 1967 in Newquay filming Magical Mystery Tour, home movie footage from Paris Olympia Theatre January 1964 and an interview with John Lennon recorded in New York. The Beatles are shown at play, on and off stage, on film with contributions from: Phil Collins, Steve Harley, Norman 'Hurricane' Smith, Colin Hanton (their first drummer), Sam Leach (tour manager), Tony Barrow (press officer 1962-1968), Tony Bramwell (friend and roadie), Ken Dodd,...

Ken Dodd has admitted that he is "distressed and angry" after a theatre claimed that he is not funny enough to perform there again. The veteran comic has called for a public apology from the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall after it refused to book him for this year's Christmas show. In a statement, managing director Robert Sanderson said: "Following Ken Dodd's performance in December 2008, a decision was made not to confirm his provisional booking for December 2009. "Following the Ken Dodd Show on December 27 2008, a significant number of audience members left before the end, raising concerns to our manager on the night as to the quality of some of the performances within the (more)...

Rose Byrne, Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss and Sean Combs, the Artist Formerly Known As P.Diddy/Puff Daddy/Ken Dodd And His Diddymen, have all joined the cast of Get Him To The Greek, the unofficial follow-up to Forgetting Sarah Marshall.We say ‘unofficial’ because, although early word had it that Brand would play Aldous Snow, his Forgetting Sarah Marshall character, that’s since been left up in the air. He will still play a rock star, though, who is dragged to Hollywood by a record company intern (Jonah Hill) for a comeback gig he doesn’t want to do.Byrne, last seen going all doe-eyed in Knowing, will play Jackie Q, a scandal-plagued pop star and possible love interest for Brand/Snow/Whoever. Combs will play a record company exec, while Moss will play Hill’s girlfriend.As you might expect, the movie is produced by Judd Apatow,...

What better way to escape the mundane old day job than to visit the stars with a 950-year-old man in a little blue box? Rose Tyler would certainly agree. But how do those legends of 'light entertainment' escape their world of canned laughter? Comedian Russ Abbot can currently be seen as a psychic baddie on Sarah Jane, taking over the show's villainous mantle from Wheel Of Fortune icon Bradley Walsh's Pied Piper. As Cult Spy discovers, they are not the first of their ilk to set foot in the Whoniverse. Many felt that Doctor Who had become too much of a pantomime by 1987 and the Sylvester McCoy tenure, and their grievances weren't assuaged by the casting of the feather duster-wielding Ken Dodd in 'Delta And The Bannerman'. His role as The Tollmaster was hardly against type, being full of boisterous and exuberant comments and mannerisms, (more)...

What better way to escape the mundane old day job than to visit the stars with a 950-year-old man in a little blue box? Rose Tyler would certainly agree. But how do those legends of 'light entertainment' escape their world of canned laughter? Comedian Russ Abbot can currently be seen as a psychic baddie on Sarah Jane, taking over the show's villainous mantle from Wheel Of Fortune icon Bradley Walsh's Pied Piper. As Cult Spy discovers, they are not the first of their ilk to set foot in the Whoniverse. Many felt that Doctor Who had become too much of a pantomime by 1987 and the Sylvester McCoy tenure, and their grievances weren't assuaged by the casting of the feather duster-wielding Ken Dodd in 'Delta And The Bannerman'. His role as The Tollmaster was hardly against type, being full of boisterous and exuberant comments and mannerisms, (more)...

British comedian nm0230087 autoKen Dodd[/link] is recovering in hospital after undergoing hernia surgery.

The 80-year-old, who has enjoyed a lengthy career in TV and stand-up comedy, was admitted to the Royal Liverpool Hospital in north-west England on Monday morning, just hours after performing to a sell-out audience at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall.

And although the funnyman has been forced to reschedule two shows as a result of his hospital visit, he has vowed to return to the road in February.

His agent, nm2243247 autoRobert Holmes[/link], says, "I've just spoken to Ken and he's fine. He's had to postpone a couple of concerts but he'll be back on stage next month."...