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The crisis of leadership Britain has been plunged into over recent years merits sustained study as a cautionary tale. But it demands deeper and sharper analysis than is available in “This England,” a curiously indifferent six-part miniseries notionally centred on former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the initial coronavirus outbreak, currently limping out on Sky’s U.K. arm.

When Winterbottom’s Revolution Films announced the project (originally titled “This Sceptred Isle”) last year – with Kenneth Branagh unveiled as the project’s Johnson – speculation was rife. Would the series be an ensemble satire, along the lines of Winterbottom’s rambunctious “24 Hour Party People”? Or an artfully sober inquiry, in the vein of the director’s Amanda Knox-inspired “The Face of an Angel”? In fact, it’s neither: what we’ve got is a hurriedly assembled primetime procedural that undermines its claim to rigorous accuracy from the off...

With an ego as gargantuan as his obviously is, it must be highly flattering to Boris Johnson that no less a figure than Sir Kenneth Branagh was chosen to play him in This England, Sky’s new drama about the now former Pm and the Covid crisis. More, still, that considerable time and energy has been spent on turning Branagh into a passable physical replica of Johnson.

A frequent problem in dramatisations such as these is whether the main players should basically be doing impressions of a well-known real-life figure, or rather play them more as they might a fictional figure, say Hamlet or Mr Darcy. In the case of This England, they’ve opted for the impersonations, with some uncanny likenesses. As Matt Hancock, Andrew Buchan reproduces every tiny intonation and mannerism of the hapless former health secretary so unnervingly well that it is as if they’d actually...

It’s Dame Donna Langley now.

The Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman, who is the first British woman to run a Hollywood studio, received her investiture from Prince Charles at Windsor Castle in England on Tuesday.

Langley first received a Dame Commander of the British Empire (Dbe) title from Queen Elizabeth as part of the monarch’s 2020 New Year’s Honors List, but all in-person ceremonies were put on hold due to the pandemic. This week, the well-respected studio executive finally received her Dbe in a ceremony with fellow honorees Tom Daley, the Olympic diver; Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer; and Oliver Jeffers, the children’s book author and illustrator.

Langley — who has overseen the Jurassic World, Fast & Furious and Despicable Me franchises for Universal — called the experience “incredible” and said it “exceeded all expectations, just really being in Windsor Castle and walking through the rooms...

London, March 24 (Ians) There is a “high chance” that a new Covid variant which is worse than Omicron will emerge in the next two years, England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty has warned. He said that there was still a “long way to go” because the virus will continue to “throw surprises”. He also […]...

England is just three days away from ending virtually all Covid restrictions as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveils his Living With Covid plan to the nation.

Coming almost two years after the first lockdown, the plan’s headline is that people will no longer have to self-isolate if they test positive from Thursday February 24 and neither will their close contacts, with the UK government leaving the decision in the hands of its English citizens.

People with symptoms in England will be asked to “exercise personal responsibility when deciding whether to stay at home.”

Meanwhile, free testing will end in England from April 1, at which point only the most vulnerable people and the elderly will have access to free tests.

Johnson’s plan also ends the £500 ($680) isolation payment for people forced to self-isolate on low incomes.

He unveiled Living with Covid in the past hour in the UK’s House...

As BAFTA prepares for its first Film Awards since concluding its sweeping diversity review last fall, the organization is rolling out “conscious voter” training ahead of its first round of voting.

Voting in round 1 begins Jan. 12 and closes Jan. 26, and will be followed by an inaugural longlist of all categories set to be published Feb. 4. The initiative forms part of a concerted drive towards a more transparent awards season.

BAFTA unveiled the results of its diversity review in September to encouragement from the industry, which welcomed many of the 120-plus changes. Among them was the aforementioned longlisting round across all categories that aims to level the playing field in acting and directing, in particular; an expansion of the outstanding British film category to 10 nominations; and the introduction of 1,000 new members from underrepresented groups.

BAFTA has received 258 film entries this year — just slightly under the 269 entries in 2020, which was a record year.

As the U.K. advises stricter measures to control the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, film and TV production won’t be affected.

There aren’t currently any plans to shut down production, Variety has confirmed with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (Dcms), the government body that deals with the entertainment industry.

“The next few weeks are going to be the worst weeks of this pandemic in terms of numbers into the NHS [National Health Service],” England chief medical officer professor Chris Whitty told the BBC. “What we need to do before the vaccines have had their effects, because it’s going to take several weeks before that happens, is we need to really double down. This is everybody’s problem.”

“Any single unnecessary contact you have with someone is a potential link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person,” Whitty added. “So you’ve absolutely got to,...

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a second national lockdown in England from Nov. 5 as the second wave of coronavirus cases soar across the country.

All pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail businesses will close until Dec. 2, after which some areas may go into lower-tier restrictions, depending on the severity of local cases. Leisure and entertainment venues will also close, Johnson said.

Film and TV production, however, will be able to go on under strict Covid-safe guidelines, Variety has been told by producers’ trade body Pact. Further, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden clarified following the briefing that film and TV production can indeed continue. “The changes mean people should Wfh [work from home] where possible. But where this is not possible, travel to a place of work will be permitted – e.g. this includes (but not exhaustive) elite sport played behind closed doors, film & tv production, telecoms workers.”

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The changes mean people should...

The UK could see 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day by mid-October without further action, the government’s top scientific adviser has warned in a press briefing.

Sir Patrick Vallance said that outcome “would be expected to lead to about 200 deaths per day” a month after that.

UK Pm Boris Johnson is said to be considering whether to introduce stricter lockdown measures in England in light of the growing number of cases across the UK. On Sunday, 3,899 daily cases were reported and 18 deaths across the UK. The worrying pattern mirrors that of a number of major European countries.

Fellow adviser Professor Chris Whitty explained at the briefing: “At the moment we think the epidemic is doubling roughly every seven days. If, and that’s quite a big if, but if that continues unabated, and this grows, doubling every seven days… if that continued you would end up with something like 50,000 cases...

The rate of coronavirus cases in the U.K. is growing exponentially, doubling every seven days, and if the current rate continues, it could reach 49,000 a day by Oct. 13, say the country’s leading advisers.

In a briefing on Monday, Patrick Vallance, the government chief scientific adviser, and Chris Whitty, chief medical adviser, said the next six months are critical as late autumn and winter “benefit” respiratory diseases like Covid-19.

“The seasons are against us,” said Whitty.

“What we’ve seen is a progression where, after the remarkable efforts which got the rates right down across the country, first we saw very small outbreaks, maybe associated with a workplace or another environment; then we’ve seen more localized outbreaks, which have got larger over time, particularity in the cities,” noted Whitty, adding that the only solution was to continue to keep households separate and strictly adhere to hygiene routines and face coverings.