The British prime minister and leader of the U.K. Conservative Party, Rishi Sunak, has officially called a general election in what is set to be a historical year for global politics.
Britons will take to the polls on Thursday, July 4 after ministers had been assured a summer election will not take place. But off the back of good economic news for Sunak’s government as they hit a tricky inflation target, senior politicians frantically changed schedules to capitalize on the welcomed development.
“I have never been prouder to be British,” Sunak began in his statement outside London’s Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon. “I recognize that it has not always been easy. Some of you will only just be feeling the benefits (of inflation coming down)… Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future. Earlier today, I spoke to His Majesty the King to request a dissolution of Parliament.
Britons will take to the polls on Thursday, July 4 after ministers had been assured a summer election will not take place. But off the back of good economic news for Sunak’s government as they hit a tricky inflation target, senior politicians frantically changed schedules to capitalize on the welcomed development.
“I have never been prouder to be British,” Sunak began in his statement outside London’s Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon. “I recognize that it has not always been easy. Some of you will only just be feeling the benefits (of inflation coming down)… Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future. Earlier today, I spoke to His Majesty the King to request a dissolution of Parliament.
- 5/22/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
British voters will head to the polls on American Independence Day.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has just announced on the steps of his Downing Street home in the pouring rain that the date of the next general election will be July 4.
Rumors had been rife since this morning’s nationwide inflation statistics, which brought good news for the sitting Conservative government, that an election would be imminent, although commentators didn’t expect it to be so soon until the past hour or so. Most analysts had previously believed the election would take place later this year or in January 2025, which was the absolute latest it had to happen.
Sunak’s Conservatives have been trailing in the polls to the opposition Labour Party for months now and Labour will be favorites following a recent disastrous local election campaign for the Tories.
UK parliament will shortly be dissolved and parties will spend the weeks furiously campaigning,...
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has just announced on the steps of his Downing Street home in the pouring rain that the date of the next general election will be July 4.
Rumors had been rife since this morning’s nationwide inflation statistics, which brought good news for the sitting Conservative government, that an election would be imminent, although commentators didn’t expect it to be so soon until the past hour or so. Most analysts had previously believed the election would take place later this year or in January 2025, which was the absolute latest it had to happen.
Sunak’s Conservatives have been trailing in the polls to the opposition Labour Party for months now and Labour will be favorites following a recent disastrous local election campaign for the Tories.
UK parliament will shortly be dissolved and parties will spend the weeks furiously campaigning,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Cricket Rights
Sony Pictures Networks India (Spni) has acquired TV and digital rights to all New Zealand-based men’s and women’s cricket matches into India and associated territories for the next seven years. The deal is valid from May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2031, encompassing India’s tours of New Zealand in the 2026-27 and 2030-31 summers, as well as all other bilateral Tests, ODIs, and T20Is played in New Zealand during the period. All matches will be broadcast across Spni’s sports channels and streamed on SonyLIV. Spni’s digital rights in India will be co-exclusive with Prime Video for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. While a value for the deal was not disclosed, industry sources estimate it at $100 million.
Spni MD and CEO N.P. Singh said: “New Zealand is renowned for its exceptional sportsmanship and strength; it’s one of the most respected cricket teams globally. It is our...
Sony Pictures Networks India (Spni) has acquired TV and digital rights to all New Zealand-based men’s and women’s cricket matches into India and associated territories for the next seven years. The deal is valid from May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2031, encompassing India’s tours of New Zealand in the 2026-27 and 2030-31 summers, as well as all other bilateral Tests, ODIs, and T20Is played in New Zealand during the period. All matches will be broadcast across Spni’s sports channels and streamed on SonyLIV. Spni’s digital rights in India will be co-exclusive with Prime Video for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. While a value for the deal was not disclosed, industry sources estimate it at $100 million.
Spni MD and CEO N.P. Singh said: “New Zealand is renowned for its exceptional sportsmanship and strength; it’s one of the most respected cricket teams globally. It is our...
- 3/27/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
BBC Buys HBO Max Thriller ‘Spy/Master’
The BBC has acquired HBO Max thriller Spy/Master as it continues to beef up its iPlayer offering. Acquired from Warner Bros. Discovery, the show stars Happy Valley’s Alec Secăreanu as the most trusted advisor to Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu. With his government poised to uncover that he’s a secret agent for the Soviets, Godeanu uses a diplomatic trip to Germany as a springboard to defect to the U.S. The series also stars Aidan McArdle, Ana Ularu (Who Is Erin Carter?), Laurențiu Bănescu (Boss), Andreea Vasile (Umbre), Nico Mirallegro (Our Girl), lulian Postelnicu (Arest) and Elvira Deatcu (Clanul). “A classic spy drama set at the height of the Cold War, Spy/Master is an atmospheric, complex thriller, dripping with style and suspense,” said Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition. The show was nominated for the inaugural...
The BBC has acquired HBO Max thriller Spy/Master as it continues to beef up its iPlayer offering. Acquired from Warner Bros. Discovery, the show stars Happy Valley’s Alec Secăreanu as the most trusted advisor to Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu. With his government poised to uncover that he’s a secret agent for the Soviets, Godeanu uses a diplomatic trip to Germany as a springboard to defect to the U.S. The series also stars Aidan McArdle, Ana Ularu (Who Is Erin Carter?), Laurențiu Bănescu (Boss), Andreea Vasile (Umbre), Nico Mirallegro (Our Girl), lulian Postelnicu (Arest) and Elvira Deatcu (Clanul). “A classic spy drama set at the height of the Cold War, Spy/Master is an atmospheric, complex thriller, dripping with style and suspense,” said Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition. The show was nominated for the inaugural...
- 3/27/2024
- by Max Goldbart and Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Nadine Dorries was telling the truth when she accused BBC board member Robbie Gibb of meddling in a key appointment at the UK broadcaster’s regulator, Ofcom.
That’s the verdict of a source who worked closely with Dorries during her time as culture secretary in the year to September 2022. This person told Deadline that Gibb “campaigned” for his preferred candidate to become Ofcom chair.
It is the latest twist in a media row that has slowly gathered momentum in the UK after Dorries made allegations about Gibb’s interference in the Ofcom recruitment process in her book The Plot.
Dorries was responsible for hiring the next chair of Ofcom and narrowed the field to Lord Grade, a former BBC and ITV executive, and Lord Gilbert, a Conservative peer who served as an election strategist to former prime minister Theresa May.
Dorries’ preferred candidate was Grade, but she alleged...
That’s the verdict of a source who worked closely with Dorries during her time as culture secretary in the year to September 2022. This person told Deadline that Gibb “campaigned” for his preferred candidate to become Ofcom chair.
It is the latest twist in a media row that has slowly gathered momentum in the UK after Dorries made allegations about Gibb’s interference in the Ofcom recruitment process in her book The Plot.
Dorries was responsible for hiring the next chair of Ofcom and narrowed the field to Lord Grade, a former BBC and ITV executive, and Lord Gilbert, a Conservative peer who served as an election strategist to former prime minister Theresa May.
Dorries’ preferred candidate was Grade, but she alleged...
- 12/14/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
The fund, launched in response to Brexit, is celebrating its fifth anniversary.
The Uncertain Kingdom, the UK feature development fund and shorts commissioner is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a more structured way in which it supports films as the UK heads into a possible general election year in 2024.
The development fund is committing to two rounds per year in a fixed calendar slot after previously operating on an ad hoc basis, Its next round opens on November 1 and closes on November 30, before opening again on May 1 and closing on May 31. Funding is divided between two to four projects per round,...
The Uncertain Kingdom, the UK feature development fund and shorts commissioner is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a more structured way in which it supports films as the UK heads into a possible general election year in 2024.
The development fund is committing to two rounds per year in a fixed calendar slot after previously operating on an ad hoc basis, Its next round opens on November 1 and closes on November 30, before opening again on May 1 and closing on May 31. Funding is divided between two to four projects per round,...
- 10/26/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has returned to LiSTNR with a new season of his successful podcast series Defending Democracy with Malcolm Turnbull.
Expanded to eight episodes for season two, Mr Turnbull continues to examine the threat to democracy through insightful interviews with leading experts on key issues such as artificial intelligence, defence capabilities and social media algorithms.
Following the impressive season one roll call, which featured former British Prime Minister Theresa May and veteran Homeland Security official John Cohen, the subject matter and guest list for the new season is equally thought-provoking and includes conversations with guests such as Australian Strategic Policy Institute Executive Director Justin Bassi and Moby Group Chairman and CEO Saad Mohseni.
Former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, said: “In this series we discuss artificial intelligence, Tik Tok, killer robots and ask the question - is technology driving the decline of democracy?
LiSTNR Head of News and Information,...
Expanded to eight episodes for season two, Mr Turnbull continues to examine the threat to democracy through insightful interviews with leading experts on key issues such as artificial intelligence, defence capabilities and social media algorithms.
Following the impressive season one roll call, which featured former British Prime Minister Theresa May and veteran Homeland Security official John Cohen, the subject matter and guest list for the new season is equally thought-provoking and includes conversations with guests such as Australian Strategic Policy Institute Executive Director Justin Bassi and Moby Group Chairman and CEO Saad Mohseni.
Former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, said: “In this series we discuss artificial intelligence, Tik Tok, killer robots and ask the question - is technology driving the decline of democracy?
LiSTNR Head of News and Information,...
- 7/18/2023
- Podnews.net
UK MPs React To Boris Johnson’s Shock Resignation From Parliament – ‘Straight Out Of Trump Playbook’
The reaction to Boris Johnson’s abrupt exit from the UK Parliament where he was previously Prime Minister has been as polarised as you would expect of a politician who, according to his allies remained a unique election-winner and singlehandedly led the nation through Brexit and the Covid pandemic but, to his critics, signified deceit, corruption and all that is wrong with modern politics.
His former Home Secretary Priti Patel – who has been made a Dame in Johnson’s resignation honours list – said:
“Boris Johnson has served our country and his constituency with distinction. He led world in supporting Ukraine, got Brexit done, and was our most electorally successful Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher. Boris is a political titan whose legacy will stand the test of time.”
And fellow Conservative MP Michael Fabricant, who has been knighted, called his departure:
‘Disgraceful treatment of a political leader who has made world history.
His former Home Secretary Priti Patel – who has been made a Dame in Johnson’s resignation honours list – said:
“Boris Johnson has served our country and his constituency with distinction. He led world in supporting Ukraine, got Brexit done, and was our most electorally successful Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher. Boris is a political titan whose legacy will stand the test of time.”
And fellow Conservative MP Michael Fabricant, who has been knighted, called his departure:
‘Disgraceful treatment of a political leader who has made world history.
- 6/10/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) coronation took place on May 6, 2023. It’s safe to say that many people who were alive when Charles was married to his first wife thought about Princess Diana when the crown was placed on Camilla’s head. Now, someone who used to work for Charles and Diana is convinced that Camilla was thinking about the late princess too at that very moment.
Here’s more on that, plus who the former royal assistant believes was the real star of the show that day and it’s not the king or queen.
(L): Princess Diana traveling in a coach | Anwar Hussein/WireImage, (R): Camilla Parker Bowles, traveling in a coach | Karwai Tang/WireImage Ex-royal employee said everyone was thinking about Princess Diana including Camilla
Paul Burrell began working for the royal family when he was 18 years old. He...
Here’s more on that, plus who the former royal assistant believes was the real star of the show that day and it’s not the king or queen.
(L): Princess Diana traveling in a coach | Anwar Hussein/WireImage, (R): Camilla Parker Bowles, traveling in a coach | Karwai Tang/WireImage Ex-royal employee said everyone was thinking about Princess Diana including Camilla
Paul Burrell began working for the royal family when he was 18 years old. He...
- 5/28/2023
- by Michelle Kapusta
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Richard Sharp’s resignation as BBC Chairman over a Boris Johnson loan scandal has stoked division at the British broadcaster as thoughts turn to finding his successor.
The former Goldman Sachs banker will step down at the end of June after he failed to properly declare his role in facilitating Johnson’s £800,000 ($1M) loan guarantee as ministers went about installing him on the BBC board.
Barrister Adam Heppinstall concluded Sharp’s actions gave rise to a “perceived conflict of interest,” though he stopped short of concluding that the BBC Chairman sort to curry favor by involving himself in the Prime Minister’s private financial affairs.
Sharp has dug in for months since the story was first reported by The Sunday Times and maintained today that his failure to be fully transparent about Johnson’s loan was “inadvertent and not material.”
BBC employees were angry about The Sunday Times story when it broke in January,...
The former Goldman Sachs banker will step down at the end of June after he failed to properly declare his role in facilitating Johnson’s £800,000 ($1M) loan guarantee as ministers went about installing him on the BBC board.
Barrister Adam Heppinstall concluded Sharp’s actions gave rise to a “perceived conflict of interest,” though he stopped short of concluding that the BBC Chairman sort to curry favor by involving himself in the Prime Minister’s private financial affairs.
Sharp has dug in for months since the story was first reported by The Sunday Times and maintained today that his failure to be fully transparent about Johnson’s loan was “inadvertent and not material.”
BBC employees were angry about The Sunday Times story when it broke in January,...
- 4/28/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is returning for its first-ever All-Stars series, with a host of fan-favourite contestants preparing to go back to the jungle.
Filmed last year, the all-stars series will see the former campmates jetting off to South Africa – rather than the usual Australian location – for a series that promises to be “even bigger and tougher” than ever.
Among the initial line-up of returning contestants is Carol Vorderman, the former Countdown co-host and TV personality.
The 62-year-old first appeared on the 16th series of I’m a Celebrity in 2016 alongside Scarlett Moffatt and Joel Dommett. She came in eighth place.
Starting off her career on Countdown in 1982, Vorderman went on to work as a presenter on other shows and as a newspaper columnist.
In her personal life, Vorderman is not currently in a relationship, having been married twice previously to navy officer Christopher Mather in...
Filmed last year, the all-stars series will see the former campmates jetting off to South Africa – rather than the usual Australian location – for a series that promises to be “even bigger and tougher” than ever.
Among the initial line-up of returning contestants is Carol Vorderman, the former Countdown co-host and TV personality.
The 62-year-old first appeared on the 16th series of I’m a Celebrity in 2016 alongside Scarlett Moffatt and Joel Dommett. She came in eighth place.
Starting off her career on Countdown in 1982, Vorderman went on to work as a presenter on other shows and as a newspaper columnist.
In her personal life, Vorderman is not currently in a relationship, having been married twice previously to navy officer Christopher Mather in...
- 4/19/2023
- by Isobel Lewis
- The Independent - TV
Charlotte Ivers, a guest panellist on the latest episode of Have I Got News For You, has responded to criticism of her blinking on Twitter.
On last night’s episode (14 April) of the BBC One comedy current affairs show, Ivers was introduced by host Charlie Brooker as a “Sunday Times journalist and broadcaster who worked as a special adviser to Theresa May in 2019”. He quipped: “That special advice presumably being ‘quit’.”
While the show was airing, one viewer felt compelled to ask Twitter: “Why does Charlotte Ivers keep blinking?”
On Saturday morning (15 April), Ivers quoted the tweet, writing: “I don’t f***ing know Jack are we not meant to be blinking at the moment I can’t keep up with the trends Jesus.”
In a follow-up tweet, she wrote: “(This is mildly unfair I know I do a weird fluttering thing with my eyes but I Dont Know...
On last night’s episode (14 April) of the BBC One comedy current affairs show, Ivers was introduced by host Charlie Brooker as a “Sunday Times journalist and broadcaster who worked as a special adviser to Theresa May in 2019”. He quipped: “That special advice presumably being ‘quit’.”
While the show was airing, one viewer felt compelled to ask Twitter: “Why does Charlotte Ivers keep blinking?”
On Saturday morning (15 April), Ivers quoted the tweet, writing: “I don’t f***ing know Jack are we not meant to be blinking at the moment I can’t keep up with the trends Jesus.”
In a follow-up tweet, she wrote: “(This is mildly unfair I know I do a weird fluttering thing with my eyes but I Dont Know...
- 4/15/2023
- by Ellie Harrison
- The Independent - TV
Carol Vorderman has been rounding up a long list of Conservative MPs and councillors who do not say which political party they represent on their social media profiles.
The former Countdown statistician asked her 739,000 followers to screenshot the profiles of any Tory politicians who were hiding their party from their socials.
“I Want Your Help,” she tweeted on Monday (3 April). “I’ve noticed a number of Tory MPs and councillors removing mention of them being Tories from their social media profiles.
“I’d like to collate them and do some statistical work on this (you know I like numbers!).
“Can You Screenshot Any You Find And Post Here?”
Vorderman pointed out that politicians from other political parties do display their allegiance on their profiles.
The Independent has checked the social accounts of all 31 politicians in Labour’s shadow cabinet, and every single one has a prominent mention of their party...
The former Countdown statistician asked her 739,000 followers to screenshot the profiles of any Tory politicians who were hiding their party from their socials.
“I Want Your Help,” she tweeted on Monday (3 April). “I’ve noticed a number of Tory MPs and councillors removing mention of them being Tories from their social media profiles.
“I’d like to collate them and do some statistical work on this (you know I like numbers!).
“Can You Screenshot Any You Find And Post Here?”
Vorderman pointed out that politicians from other political parties do display their allegiance on their profiles.
The Independent has checked the social accounts of all 31 politicians in Labour’s shadow cabinet, and every single one has a prominent mention of their party...
- 4/4/2023
- by Ellie Harrison
- The Independent - TV
All eyes have been trained on Gary Lineker’s Twitter account since the Match of the Day host struck a deal with BBC management to return to work this weekend, and he has not disappointed.
In amongst numerous tweets about football, Lineker has slammed a Conservative MP for “outrageous and dangerously provocative” accusations against him and retweeted a video of former Prime Minister Theresa May’s criticism of the government’s proposed immigration bill. Scroll down for both.
Lineker responded angrily to a Conservative MP, Jonathan Gullis, who claimed during a Channel 4 News interview that the former England footballer had called people in the North of England “racist bigots and Nazis.”
The clip and a screenshot was widely shared on Twitter and Lineker quote-tweeted one of these screenshots with the remark: “No he hasn’t and never would. This is outrageous and dangerously provocative.”
Lineker was stood down by...
In amongst numerous tweets about football, Lineker has slammed a Conservative MP for “outrageous and dangerously provocative” accusations against him and retweeted a video of former Prime Minister Theresa May’s criticism of the government’s proposed immigration bill. Scroll down for both.
Lineker responded angrily to a Conservative MP, Jonathan Gullis, who claimed during a Channel 4 News interview that the former England footballer had called people in the North of England “racist bigots and Nazis.”
The clip and a screenshot was widely shared on Twitter and Lineker quote-tweeted one of these screenshots with the remark: “No he hasn’t and never would. This is outrageous and dangerously provocative.”
Lineker was stood down by...
- 3/15/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Gary Lineker has been a major topic of discussion for days, following his tweet in response to Suella Braverman’s immigration bill.
Last week, the government announced a new policy to halt small boat crossings. It will result in the deportation of asylum seekers who arrive via boat to Rwanda or another “safe third country” without hearing their asylum claim.
Reacting to the news, Lineker expressed his distaste for the decision and responded to someone who pushed back on his view on Twitter.
He wrote: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”
After questions were raised about whether the football pundit had broken BBC’s impartiality rules with his social media use,...
Last week, the government announced a new policy to halt small boat crossings. It will result in the deportation of asylum seekers who arrive via boat to Rwanda or another “safe third country” without hearing their asylum claim.
Reacting to the news, Lineker expressed his distaste for the decision and responded to someone who pushed back on his view on Twitter.
He wrote: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”
After questions were raised about whether the football pundit had broken BBC’s impartiality rules with his social media use,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Nicole Vassell
- The Independent - TV
It’s five years since Theresa May, then the United Kingdom’s first prime minister of the Brexit era, coined the term “citizen of nowhere” to denigrate residents of the country who identified themselves more globally. Those three words swiftly became a media catchphrase to encapsulate the Conservative government’s apparent hostility toward immigrants; liberal-minded multinationals adopted the term as a badge of pride. Yet for the disenfranchised émigré who can’t go home again, but hasn’t found home in the U.K. either, it’s not such an easy label to claim: Transplanted to working-class Glasgow from West Africa, shorn of any sense of belonging anywhere, the wary, vulnerable mother and daughter at the heart of Adura Onashile’s tender character study “Girl” respond by making their world as small as possible — barely stretching beyond the front door of their shabby council apartment.
The gradual, pained steps they...
The gradual, pained steps they...
- 1/28/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Lorraine Kelly has been sharing a list of her favourite guests of 2022.
As the year draws to a close, the host of ITV morning TV staple Lorraine has spent this week’s editions of the show looking back on some highlights from the past 12 months.
Among the guests featured on Wednesday (28 December) were former prime minister Theresa May, Davina McCall, Steve Carell and Louis Tomlinson.
Fellow ITV star Alison Hammond also was named as a memorable personality on the programme, back in June. Together, they covered topics from her stint on Big Brother to her work on This Morning with Dermot O’Leary.
Kelly continued her rundown on Thursday (29 December) with a retrospective look at her chat with long-time music collaborators Michael Ball and Alfie Boe.
Also included in Kelly’s 2022 list was Scott Mitchell, the widower of Barbara Windsor. He appeared on the programme this year to speak about the...
As the year draws to a close, the host of ITV morning TV staple Lorraine has spent this week’s editions of the show looking back on some highlights from the past 12 months.
Among the guests featured on Wednesday (28 December) were former prime minister Theresa May, Davina McCall, Steve Carell and Louis Tomlinson.
Fellow ITV star Alison Hammond also was named as a memorable personality on the programme, back in June. Together, they covered topics from her stint on Big Brother to her work on This Morning with Dermot O’Leary.
Kelly continued her rundown on Thursday (29 December) with a retrospective look at her chat with long-time music collaborators Michael Ball and Alfie Boe.
Also included in Kelly’s 2022 list was Scott Mitchell, the widower of Barbara Windsor. He appeared on the programme this year to speak about the...
- 12/29/2022
- by Nicole Vassell
- The Independent - TV
Critics have condemned people comparing Stormzy and Kanye West, after the British artist said he felt the treatment of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was “disheartening”.
Stormzy has been a vocal critic of the Conservative party over the years, and backed Corbyn in the 2019 election against Boris Johnson.
Current Labour leader Keir Starmer suspended Corbyn in October 2020, after he rejected a watchdog’s ruling that he failed to prevent antisemitism, instead blaming “an obstructive party bureaucracy” for stalling reform.
In an interview published earlier this week, he told British GQ that he still holds Corbyn in high regard and suggested he had been “vilified”.
“It was really disheartening. I just thought so highly of him and still think so highly of him and I think, ‘Well if they can make him out to be a paigan [a foul person] then things are worse than I thought’,” he said.
“I mean if he’s...
Stormzy has been a vocal critic of the Conservative party over the years, and backed Corbyn in the 2019 election against Boris Johnson.
Current Labour leader Keir Starmer suspended Corbyn in October 2020, after he rejected a watchdog’s ruling that he failed to prevent antisemitism, instead blaming “an obstructive party bureaucracy” for stalling reform.
In an interview published earlier this week, he told British GQ that he still holds Corbyn in high regard and suggested he had been “vilified”.
“It was really disheartening. I just thought so highly of him and still think so highly of him and I think, ‘Well if they can make him out to be a paigan [a foul person] then things are worse than I thought’,” he said.
“I mean if he’s...
- 11/16/2022
- by Megan Graye
- The Independent - Music
A Nigerian refugee held in a Dublin detention centre develops an emotional connection with an Irish security guard, played by Josh O’Connor
This intense and heartfelt drama from Irish writer-director Frank Berry addresses a growing concern in Ireland: that a nation once known for its talented and hard-working emigrants is becoming ironically heartless towards its own applicants for asylum (although Ireland hasn’t yet embraced Theresa May’s “hostile environment” formula).
Letitia Wright gives a performance of intense focus, controlled anger and dignity as Aisha, a Nigerian refugee being held in a Dublin detention centre, unable to return because her father and brothers were murdered by gangsters; she is trying to establish her own leave to remain and then bring over her elderly, ailing mother who is still in danger. Aisha is treated like a cross between a prisoner and a difficult boarding school pupil by the prickly official staff...
This intense and heartfelt drama from Irish writer-director Frank Berry addresses a growing concern in Ireland: that a nation once known for its talented and hard-working emigrants is becoming ironically heartless towards its own applicants for asylum (although Ireland hasn’t yet embraced Theresa May’s “hostile environment” formula).
Letitia Wright gives a performance of intense focus, controlled anger and dignity as Aisha, a Nigerian refugee being held in a Dublin detention centre, unable to return because her father and brothers were murdered by gangsters; she is trying to establish her own leave to remain and then bring over her elderly, ailing mother who is still in danger. Aisha is treated like a cross between a prisoner and a difficult boarding school pupil by the prickly official staff...
- 11/16/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! viewers are preparing for this year’s most controversial contestant.
Matt Hancock is taking part in the 2022 edition of the long-running ITV reality series, after reportedly being offered £400,000.
Over the past few years, the Conservative MP has been on TV many times – but for a flurry of negative reasons. As former health secretary, he was one of the faces plastered all over the newspapers during the pandemic.
He was criticised over elements of the government’s response to Covid, and in June 2021, found himself publicly disgraced after admitting to violating his own social distancing rules when his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo was exposed.
Hancock became a Tory MP for West Suffolk in 2010, and was appointed health secreary under Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle in 2018. After May’s resignation, he announced his plans to stand for party leadership, but soon withdrew from the race,...
Matt Hancock is taking part in the 2022 edition of the long-running ITV reality series, after reportedly being offered £400,000.
Over the past few years, the Conservative MP has been on TV many times – but for a flurry of negative reasons. As former health secretary, he was one of the faces plastered all over the newspapers during the pandemic.
He was criticised over elements of the government’s response to Covid, and in June 2021, found himself publicly disgraced after admitting to violating his own social distancing rules when his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo was exposed.
Hancock became a Tory MP for West Suffolk in 2010, and was appointed health secreary under Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle in 2018. After May’s resignation, he announced his plans to stand for party leadership, but soon withdrew from the race,...
- 11/4/2022
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - TV
Former UK health secretary Matt Hancock will reportedly take part in the new series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, following the likes of Boy George, Seann Walsh and Mike Tindall into the jungle
“Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire,” an insider told The Sun.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.”
The Conservative MP for West Suffolk was first elected in 2010 and served as head of the department of health under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson, finding himself at the centre of the storm when the Covid-19 pandemic first arrived on these shores in early 2020.
He was criticised over elements of...
“Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire,” an insider told The Sun.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.”
The Conservative MP for West Suffolk was first elected in 2010 and served as head of the department of health under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson, finding himself at the centre of the storm when the Covid-19 pandemic first arrived on these shores in early 2020.
He was criticised over elements of...
- 11/4/2022
- by Joe Sommerlad
- The Independent - TV
Former UK health secretary Matt Hancock will reportedly take part in the new series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, following the likes of Boy George, Seann Walsh and Mike Tindall into the jungle
“Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire,” an insider told The Sun.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.”
The Conservative MP for West Suffolk was first elected in 2010 and served as head of the department of health under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson, finding himself at the centre of the storm when the Covid-19 pandemic first arrived on these shores in early 2020.
He was criticised over elements of...
“Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire,” an insider told The Sun.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.”
The Conservative MP for West Suffolk was first elected in 2010 and served as head of the department of health under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson, finding himself at the centre of the storm when the Covid-19 pandemic first arrived on these shores in early 2020.
He was criticised over elements of...
- 11/4/2022
- by Joe Sommerlad
- The Independent - TV
Former UK health secretary Matt Hancock will reportedly take part in the new series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, following the likes of Boy George, Seann Walsh and Mike Tindall into the jungle
“Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire,” an insider told The Sun.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.”
The Conservative MP for West Suffolk was first elected in 2010 and served as head of the department of health under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson, finding himself at the centre of the storm when the Covid-19 pandemic first arrived on these shores in early 2020.
He was criticised over elements of...
“Matt is a sensational signing for the show as producers love a star with a story to tell – and they always hope they’ll spill the beans round the campfire,” an insider told The Sun.
“He’s the latest in a long line of figures from the political sphere, including MP Nadine Dorries, Stanley Johnson and MP Lembit Opik.”
The Conservative MP for West Suffolk was first elected in 2010 and served as head of the department of health under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson, finding himself at the centre of the storm when the Covid-19 pandemic first arrived on these shores in early 2020.
He was criticised over elements of...
- 11/1/2022
- by Joe Sommerlad
- The Independent - TV
You’re watching the BBC News at 10, and everything’s gone bloody bats*** mental,” newsreaders may have wanted to say, but have not. For months now – years, even – broadcasters have been heroically reporting on the unfolding chaos of our political world without giving any hint of their own thoughts or feelings. They must tell us the unprofessional things the government has been doing while always remaining consummately professional. But levels of dysfunction within the Tory party have recently reached a high watermark, and some of the on-screen poker faces have slipped. And, frankly, who could blame them?
How, for example, could BBC newsreader Martine Croxall not get the giggles, late on Sunday night, when telling us that Boris Johnson wouldn’t stand in the leadership contest? His David Brent-esque return from the Dominican Republic to try and reclaim his old job had flopped beautifully, and the human response was to find that deeply funny.
How, for example, could BBC newsreader Martine Croxall not get the giggles, late on Sunday night, when telling us that Boris Johnson wouldn’t stand in the leadership contest? His David Brent-esque return from the Dominican Republic to try and reclaim his old job had flopped beautifully, and the human response was to find that deeply funny.
- 10/25/2022
- by Jessie Thompson
- The Independent - TV
M People founder Mike Pickering has condemned prime minister Liz Truss’s use of his band’s hit song “Moving On Up” at the Conservative Party conference.
Truss walked onstage to the sound of the 1993 dance-pop track, as she delivered her Conservative Party conference speech in Birmingham on Wednesday (5 October).
Many people watching the speech immediately pointed out both the irony of the song’s lyrics, as well as the fact that singer Heather Small’s son is a Labour councillor.
“So apparently we can’t stop Truss walking out to our song, very weird!” Pickering wrote on Twitter. “So sad it got used by this shower of a government. [By the way] Truss, Labour used it with permission in Nineties. I don’t want my song being a soundtrack to lies.”
So apparently we can't stop Truss walking out to our song, very weird! So sad it got used by this shower of a government.
Truss walked onstage to the sound of the 1993 dance-pop track, as she delivered her Conservative Party conference speech in Birmingham on Wednesday (5 October).
Many people watching the speech immediately pointed out both the irony of the song’s lyrics, as well as the fact that singer Heather Small’s son is a Labour councillor.
“So apparently we can’t stop Truss walking out to our song, very weird!” Pickering wrote on Twitter. “So sad it got used by this shower of a government. [By the way] Truss, Labour used it with permission in Nineties. I don’t want my song being a soundtrack to lies.”
So apparently we can't stop Truss walking out to our song, very weird! So sad it got used by this shower of a government.
- 10/5/2022
- by Megan Graye and Roisin O'Connor
- The Independent - Music
World leaders gathered in London on Monday morning to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, who died at age 96 on Sept. 8. Following 10 days of mourning, U.K.’s longest-reigning monarch was officially laid to rest during a state funeral that included King Charles III, the British royal family, President Joe Biden, and French president Emmanuel Macron.
David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, presided over the service, which was held in London’s Westminster Abbey. At the beginning of his address, Hoyle noted that the historic building is the same as where the...
David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, presided over the service, which was held in London’s Westminster Abbey. At the beginning of his address, Hoyle noted that the historic building is the same as where the...
- 9/19/2022
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Line of Duty and Des star Daniel Mays has posted on social media about his experience of queueing to pay tribute to the Queen.
The actor, 44, joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay their respects at Westminster Hall this week, including actor Tilda Swinton, former footballer David Beckham, former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.
“Eleven hours queueing to pay our respects to the Queen for her exceptional 70 years of service yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter, alongside a series of photos of himself, his wife Louis Burton and their son Mylo in the queue.
He added: “The warmth, affection, conversations shared, glorious views and sense of community were magical to be part of. Made me proud to be British and proud to be a Londoner.”
People have been warned not to set...
The actor, 44, joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay their respects at Westminster Hall this week, including actor Tilda Swinton, former footballer David Beckham, former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.
“Eleven hours queueing to pay our respects to the Queen for her exceptional 70 years of service yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter, alongside a series of photos of himself, his wife Louis Burton and their son Mylo in the queue.
He added: “The warmth, affection, conversations shared, glorious views and sense of community were magical to be part of. Made me proud to be British and proud to be a Londoner.”
People have been warned not to set...
- 9/19/2022
- by Ellie Harrison
- The Independent - TV
Line of Duty and Des star Daniel Mays has posted on social media about his experience of queueing to pay tribute to the Queen.
The actor, 44, joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay their respects at Westminster Hall this week, including actor Tilda Swinton, former footballer David Beckham, former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.
“Eleven hours queueing to pay our respects to the Queen for her exceptional 70 years of service yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter, alongside a series of photos of himself, his wife Louis Burton and their son Mylo in the queue.
He added: “The warmth, affection, conversations shared, glorious views and sense of community were magical to be part of. Made me proud to be British and proud to be a Londoner.”
People have been warned not to set...
The actor, 44, joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay their respects at Westminster Hall this week, including actor Tilda Swinton, former footballer David Beckham, former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.
“Eleven hours queueing to pay our respects to the Queen for her exceptional 70 years of service yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter, alongside a series of photos of himself, his wife Louis Burton and their son Mylo in the queue.
He added: “The warmth, affection, conversations shared, glorious views and sense of community were magical to be part of. Made me proud to be British and proud to be a Londoner.”
People have been warned not to set...
- 9/18/2022
- by Ellie Harrison
- The Independent - TV
Tilda Swinton has been spotted in the public queue for the Queen’s lying in state.
The We Need to Talk About Kevin actor, 61, joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay tribute this week, including former footballer David Beckham, former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (who waited in a separate press queue), and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.
Fans reacted with delight to seeing Swinton in the queue. “Respect to the wonderful Tilda Swinton for queuing,” one person tweeted.
“So much mad respect for these celebrities refusing to take advantage of status in their effort to pay their respects to their Queen,” added another.
Swinton was a friend and classmate of Princess Diana. They both attended West Heath Girls’ School in Kent.
The latest waiting time for the queue is now said to be 24 hours, though there...
The We Need to Talk About Kevin actor, 61, joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay tribute this week, including former footballer David Beckham, former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (who waited in a separate press queue), and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.
Fans reacted with delight to seeing Swinton in the queue. “Respect to the wonderful Tilda Swinton for queuing,” one person tweeted.
“So much mad respect for these celebrities refusing to take advantage of status in their effort to pay their respects to their Queen,” added another.
Swinton was a friend and classmate of Princess Diana. They both attended West Heath Girls’ School in Kent.
The latest waiting time for the queue is now said to be 24 hours, though there...
- 9/17/2022
- by Ellie Harrison
- The Independent - Film
Charles III has officially been proclaimed the King of the United Kingdom and fourteen Commonwealth realms during a meeting of the Accession Council in London on Saturday morning. It is the first time in history the ceremony has ever been televised.
U.K. networks including BBC, ITV and Sky broadcast the ceremony live at 10Am local time as did U.S. networks including NBC, where Savannah Guthrie was anchoring for an early morning special of the “Today Show.”
Broadcasting the Accession Council ceremony is significant and, according to historian Vernon Bogdnaor “a sign of the times that the monarchy has to adapt to a more open and less deferential society,” as he told BBC News.
When Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1952 there was not even a discussion that the ceremony should be televised while a debate then ensued over broadcasting her coronation the following year. In the event,...
U.K. networks including BBC, ITV and Sky broadcast the ceremony live at 10Am local time as did U.S. networks including NBC, where Savannah Guthrie was anchoring for an early morning special of the “Today Show.”
Broadcasting the Accession Council ceremony is significant and, according to historian Vernon Bogdnaor “a sign of the times that the monarchy has to adapt to a more open and less deferential society,” as he told BBC News.
When Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1952 there was not even a discussion that the ceremony should be televised while a debate then ensued over broadcasting her coronation the following year. In the event,...
- 9/10/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Liz Truss is to be the next UK Prime Minister, replacing Boris Johnson and defeating Rishi Sunak to become the third woman to hold the office.
Truss’ victory was just announced in Parliament and she will officially take up the post tomorrow, when Johnson, who resigned in disgrace in July over multiple scandals, heads to the Queen’s residence in Balmoral.
The former Foreign Secretary and International Trade Secretary won comfortably, with 57 or 81,000 of the Conservative Party member base voting her in compared to 60,000 for Sunak.
Although nominated by less MPs than Sunak and starting the race considerably behind him, she has been favorite for the majority of the eight-week long run-off period, which has included 12 hustings around the country and multiple interviews.
Accepting her victory, Truss said it has been a “hardening campaign” during which the “depth and breadth of Conservative Party talent” was shown, while she also thanked “my friend Boris Johnson.
Truss’ victory was just announced in Parliament and she will officially take up the post tomorrow, when Johnson, who resigned in disgrace in July over multiple scandals, heads to the Queen’s residence in Balmoral.
The former Foreign Secretary and International Trade Secretary won comfortably, with 57 or 81,000 of the Conservative Party member base voting her in compared to 60,000 for Sunak.
Although nominated by less MPs than Sunak and starting the race considerably behind him, she has been favorite for the majority of the eight-week long run-off period, which has included 12 hustings around the country and multiple interviews.
Accepting her victory, Truss said it has been a “hardening campaign” during which the “depth and breadth of Conservative Party talent” was shown, while she also thanked “my friend Boris Johnson.
- 9/5/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The battle lines between the BBC and its former star news presenter Emily Maitlis continue to be drawn, with BBC insiders lending their support after she claimed a BBC board member had interfered in editorial matters as “an active agent” of the Conservative party.
After Maitlis made the claim in her lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival this week, referring to Robbie Gibb but without naming him – in the context of the BBC making a swift apology and rebuking her after she made political comments on air – The Times reports insiders at the Corporation sharing the same concerns about Gibb’s intrusion into editorial matters.
Before taking his place on the board, Gibb – who used to be the editor of the BBC’s live political programmes – was an aide of former prime minister Theresa May. Now The Times quotes Maitlis’s view on his interference as “widely shared” by her former colleagues,...
After Maitlis made the claim in her lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival this week, referring to Robbie Gibb but without naming him – in the context of the BBC making a swift apology and rebuking her after she made political comments on air – The Times reports insiders at the Corporation sharing the same concerns about Gibb’s intrusion into editorial matters.
Before taking his place on the board, Gibb – who used to be the editor of the BBC’s live political programmes – was an aide of former prime minister Theresa May. Now The Times quotes Maitlis’s view on his interference as “widely shared” by her former colleagues,...
- 8/27/2022
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
The BBC has hit back at its former star presenter Emily Maitlis, who this week claimed the organization had succumbed to government interference when it reprimanded her over comments she made on air.
The day after Maitlis made the claim in her lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the BBC’s director of content Charlotte Moore was quick to reject the suggestion.
Moore told the same Festival audience:
“In no way was there any influence from the government or from the board … Due process was followed and the BBC decided there was a breach of editorial standards. We hold everyone to account on editorial standards.”
She added that BBC viewers “expect our journalists to leave their personal agenda at the door – we’re not here to campaign” and it is important for the BBC to show “due impartiality on every subject.”
Read More: Emily Maitlis warns Edinburgh TV Festival audience...
The day after Maitlis made the claim in her lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the BBC’s director of content Charlotte Moore was quick to reject the suggestion.
Moore told the same Festival audience:
“In no way was there any influence from the government or from the board … Due process was followed and the BBC decided there was a breach of editorial standards. We hold everyone to account on editorial standards.”
She added that BBC viewers “expect our journalists to leave their personal agenda at the door – we’re not here to campaign” and it is important for the BBC to show “due impartiality on every subject.”
Read More: Emily Maitlis warns Edinburgh TV Festival audience...
- 8/26/2022
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Boris Johnson has confirmed he is leaving No.10 today.
The under-fire Pm has finally agreed to end his Premiership after days of facing mass cabinet resignations.
Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, he thanked the British people for their support and said he will continue with the job until the autumn while a leadership contest takes place in the coming months.
But it’s worth noting that the last leadership contest took two months, and Johnson will visit the Queen at the end of the process to tell her he is standing down.
The under-fire Pm has finally agreed to end his Premiership after days of facing mass cabinet resignations.
Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, he thanked the British people for their support and said he will continue with the job until the autumn while a leadership contest takes place in the coming months.
But it’s worth noting that the last leadership contest took two months, and Johnson will visit the Queen at the end of the process to tell her he is standing down.
- 7/7/2022
- by Nick Reilly
- Rollingstone.com
A timetable for Boris Johnson’s replacement will be announced next week, as the embattled UK Prime Minister on Thursday delivered his resignation speech outside 10 Downing Street, stating: “In politics, no one is indispensable.”
Johnson’s speech was a far cry from Theresa May’s tearful departure three years ago, and the Pm, who suffered more than 50 cabinet resignations in the past 36 hours before finally leaving, looked determined.
Boris Johnson’s Departure: Media In Overdrive, TV Schedules Ripped Up & Questions Over Future Of BBC & Channel 4 — Analysis
He said he had spoken to Graham Brady, who runs the influential Conservative 1922 Committee, and will now appoint an interim cabinet to serve until a new leader is in place. Some members of that cabinet have been unveiled in the past hour and a timetable for Johnson’s replacement will be announced next week. Johnson’s team initially floated October as the time...
Johnson’s speech was a far cry from Theresa May’s tearful departure three years ago, and the Pm, who suffered more than 50 cabinet resignations in the past 36 hours before finally leaving, looked determined.
Boris Johnson’s Departure: Media In Overdrive, TV Schedules Ripped Up & Questions Over Future Of BBC & Channel 4 — Analysis
He said he had spoken to Graham Brady, who runs the influential Conservative 1922 Committee, and will now appoint an interim cabinet to serve until a new leader is in place. Some members of that cabinet have been unveiled in the past hour and a timetable for Johnson’s replacement will be announced next week. Johnson’s team initially floated October as the time...
- 7/7/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Boris Johnson has resigned as prime minister of the United Kingdom. The British leader was ousted from the post after more than 50 members of his Conservative government resigned this week.
The resignation comes only weeks after the Prime Minister survived a confidence vote by Tory MPs after winning the support of 211 MPs.
“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and so a new prime minister,” Johnson confirmed in a speech at London’s 10 Downing Street today.
The resignation comes only weeks after the Prime Minister survived a confidence vote by Tory MPs after winning the support of 211 MPs.
“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and so a new prime minister,” Johnson confirmed in a speech at London’s 10 Downing Street today.
- 7/7/2022
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Chums, a forthcoming TV series about the Oxford University days of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is set to be illuminated by never before seen stills by acclaimed photographer Dafydd Jones.
Two Rivers recently optioned Simon Kuper’s book of the same name, telling the history of Johnson and fellow Oxford alumni turned politicians Michael Gove, David Cameron, George Osborne and Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Chums is now set to become a four-part series, with many of the stories brought to life through the photography of Jones, who studied his craft Oxford Polytechnic while several of the country’s future leaders partied nearby.
On Instagram, Jones explained how he came to photograph future prime minister Boris Johnson:
“At Oxford the privately educated formed their own cliques separating the top private schools from the minor ones. They didn’t socialise much with those from state schools. I was turned down when I asked permission...
Two Rivers recently optioned Simon Kuper’s book of the same name, telling the history of Johnson and fellow Oxford alumni turned politicians Michael Gove, David Cameron, George Osborne and Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Chums is now set to become a four-part series, with many of the stories brought to life through the photography of Jones, who studied his craft Oxford Polytechnic while several of the country’s future leaders partied nearby.
On Instagram, Jones explained how he came to photograph future prime minister Boris Johnson:
“At Oxford the privately educated formed their own cliques separating the top private schools from the minor ones. They didn’t socialise much with those from state schools. I was turned down when I asked permission...
- 6/12/2022
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Boris Johnson has won tonight’s no confidence vote and will remain the UK Prime Minister.
Johnson was backed by 211 MPs out of 359, having required 180 to remain in post under the rules of the Conservative Party.
The day has been a whirlwind in British politics, starting with the announcement that more than 54 letters of no confidence had been submitted against Johnson’s leadership, the minimum threshold for the vote, and ending 13 hours later with the result in his favor.
How long Johnson can survive from here will remain in question, following a huge decrease in popularity since the Partygate scandal broke around six months ago that has seen the Conservatives dip dramatically in the polls.
The fact that almost 150 MPs showed no confidence in his leadership is immensely damaging for Johnson. When the previous UK Prime Minister Theresa May faced a vote of no confidence, she performed better and yet resigned within five months.
Johnson was backed by 211 MPs out of 359, having required 180 to remain in post under the rules of the Conservative Party.
The day has been a whirlwind in British politics, starting with the announcement that more than 54 letters of no confidence had been submitted against Johnson’s leadership, the minimum threshold for the vote, and ending 13 hours later with the result in his favor.
How long Johnson can survive from here will remain in question, following a huge decrease in popularity since the Partygate scandal broke around six months ago that has seen the Conservatives dip dramatically in the polls.
The fact that almost 150 MPs showed no confidence in his leadership is immensely damaging for Johnson. When the previous UK Prime Minister Theresa May faced a vote of no confidence, she performed better and yet resigned within five months.
- 6/6/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
A former Conservative government minister and Boris Johnson supporter has slammed the sale of Channel 4 as an “unnecessary and provocative attempt to address a political non-issue,” as the Prime Minister gets ready to face a no confidence vote in his leadership tonight.
Jesse Norman, who used to be a senior Treasury Minister and has supported Johnson as both Prime Minister and Mayor of London for decades, delivered a scathing attack on Johnson’s leadership in an open letter just 30 minutes before the no confidence vote was confirmed this morning.
Norman lambasted virtually all aspects of Johnson’s current leadership including the sale of Channel 4, which he described as an “unnecessary and provocative attempt to address a political non-issue during a time of crisis.”
The sale, which was enacted into legislation last month and is now making its way through UK parliament, will come “at significant cost to the independent UK film and TV industry,...
Jesse Norman, who used to be a senior Treasury Minister and has supported Johnson as both Prime Minister and Mayor of London for decades, delivered a scathing attack on Johnson’s leadership in an open letter just 30 minutes before the no confidence vote was confirmed this morning.
Norman lambasted virtually all aspects of Johnson’s current leadership including the sale of Channel 4, which he described as an “unnecessary and provocative attempt to address a political non-issue during a time of crisis.”
The sale, which was enacted into legislation last month and is now making its way through UK parliament, will come “at significant cost to the independent UK film and TV industry,...
- 6/6/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Sky Recommissions ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ On Four-Strong Entertainment Slate
Sky has commissioned a second season of its Never Mind the Buzzcocks reboot on a four-strong entertainment slate that includes a football quiz exec produced by Jack Whitehall. The recommission comes alongside a second series of Matt Lucas/Elis James’ Fantasy Football League, Whitehall’s quiz Got Got Need, which is led by football pundits Harry and Jamie Redknapp, and a Nish Kumar/Josh Widdicombe series about local news called Hold the Front Page. Cult music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks aired for nearly 20 years on the BBC before being rebooted last year on Sky, hosted by Greg Davies and featuring Noel Fielding, This Country star Daisy May Cooper and comedian Jamali Maddix. They are joined by a roster of top music and comedy stars each week. All shows will air on Sky Max, which replaced Sky One last year.
Sky has commissioned a second season of its Never Mind the Buzzcocks reboot on a four-strong entertainment slate that includes a football quiz exec produced by Jack Whitehall. The recommission comes alongside a second series of Matt Lucas/Elis James’ Fantasy Football League, Whitehall’s quiz Got Got Need, which is led by football pundits Harry and Jamie Redknapp, and a Nish Kumar/Josh Widdicombe series about local news called Hold the Front Page. Cult music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks aired for nearly 20 years on the BBC before being rebooted last year on Sky, hosted by Greg Davies and featuring Noel Fielding, This Country star Daisy May Cooper and comedian Jamali Maddix. They are joined by a roster of top music and comedy stars each week. All shows will air on Sky Max, which replaced Sky One last year.
- 5/17/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
A petition launched by naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham urging the government not to abandon plans to ban fur and foie gras sales, has reached 17,000 signatures in less than 48 hours.
The petition is responding to reports that the government is poised to drop plans to ban fur and foie gras sales and imports in the UK, after cabinet members including Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed concerns about the bans infringing on consumer choice.
The petition, launched on 21 February under the hashtag #DontBetrayAnimals, rapidly spread on social media, as media reports of a back-pedalling from Boris Johnson on these issues prompted strong reactions from animal charities and Packham’s followers.
Claire Bass, executive director for Humane Society International/UK, the animal charity running the #FurFreeBritain campaign for a UK fur sales ban, says “The popularity of Chris’s petition is a direct reflection of the sense of disbelief and outrage amongst the...
The petition is responding to reports that the government is poised to drop plans to ban fur and foie gras sales and imports in the UK, after cabinet members including Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed concerns about the bans infringing on consumer choice.
The petition, launched on 21 February under the hashtag #DontBetrayAnimals, rapidly spread on social media, as media reports of a back-pedalling from Boris Johnson on these issues prompted strong reactions from animal charities and Packham’s followers.
Claire Bass, executive director for Humane Society International/UK, the animal charity running the #FurFreeBritain campaign for a UK fur sales ban, says “The popularity of Chris’s petition is a direct reflection of the sense of disbelief and outrage amongst the...
- 2/25/2022
- Look to the Stars
Gillian Anderson won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress Sunday night for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in Netflix’s “The Crown,” and was promptly asked if she’d consulted with the former prime minister prior to filming.
Thatcher, of course, died in 2013.
After a reporter asked Anderson what it meant to her to introduce Thatcher and her legacy to a new generation, Tanya Hart of American Urban Radio Networks said, “Congratulations. I love you on this show. So, just to kind of continue with the whole Margaret Thatcher thing, first question is if you’ve talked to her about this role at all, and secondly, why do you think it has taken America so long to get a female leader, you know, when all of these other countries — and look at what Margaret did in the UK.”
“I have not spoken to Margaret,” Anderson replied, not elaborating or pointing...
Thatcher, of course, died in 2013.
After a reporter asked Anderson what it meant to her to introduce Thatcher and her legacy to a new generation, Tanya Hart of American Urban Radio Networks said, “Congratulations. I love you on this show. So, just to kind of continue with the whole Margaret Thatcher thing, first question is if you’ve talked to her about this role at all, and secondly, why do you think it has taken America so long to get a female leader, you know, when all of these other countries — and look at what Margaret did in the UK.”
“I have not spoken to Margaret,” Anderson replied, not elaborating or pointing...
- 9/20/2021
- by Lindsey Ellefson
- The Wrap
Farming is an arduous business. Method, patience and an appetite for manual labour are essential. It is curious then that Jeremy Clarkson, a man famously bereft of these skills, would want to run his 1000-acre farm in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds.
“A man in the village ran it and then he retired,” Clarkson explained to us, a small audience of journalists at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel this week, “and I don’t know what it was but I just thought ‘I can do that’.” In other words, Clarkson fell foul of that old Top Gear fallacy, “How hard can it be?”
Well, harder than just about anything he’s done, apparently. “It’s bloody hard work, farming, bloody hard work”, Clarkson stressed. “I didn’t drill the fields properly and I put my hand up a sheep’s arse thinking it was its vagina… I’m not a practical man,...
“A man in the village ran it and then he retired,” Clarkson explained to us, a small audience of journalists at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel this week, “and I don’t know what it was but I just thought ‘I can do that’.” In other words, Clarkson fell foul of that old Top Gear fallacy, “How hard can it be?”
Well, harder than just about anything he’s done, apparently. “It’s bloody hard work, farming, bloody hard work”, Clarkson stressed. “I didn’t drill the fields properly and I put my hand up a sheep’s arse thinking it was its vagina… I’m not a practical man,...
- 6/11/2021
- by Jack Hawkins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A few years ago, the British-born singer-songwriter Yola was watching her country’s then–prime minister, Theresa May, announce service cutbacks while wearing some of her trademark swanky footwear. “She was talking about austerity and that they didn’t have enough money to feed starving children, so they were going to make cuts from all the services essential to keeping people alive and well and healthy and fed and sheltered,” Yola recalls. “And she did that all while wearing diamonds on the heels of her shoes. It’s people who...
- 4/22/2021
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut Promising Young Woman could have easily been your classic revenge fantasy thriller, with its tale of Cassie, a grief-stricken, silently enraged woman on a mission to expose every last sexual predator in town. Only it’s so much more. Styled like an entrancing ’90s romcom, it wrongfoots the viewer at every turn with its fluffy-sweatered, heart-printed world, punctuated by cupcakes and pop songs. With Carey Mulligan’s blood-curdlingly underplayed performance as Cassie, Fennell leads us down a deceptively pretty garden path to the real truth about sexual assault and society’s turning of the other cheek, in a journey so twisty we never see its end coming. Antonia Blyth meets Fennell and Mulligan to find out how they disguised a truly thought-provoking shocker as a pretty pink love story.
“We’ve both gone completely potty,” Emerald Fennell says, as she fires off a text to...
“We’ve both gone completely potty,” Emerald Fennell says, as she fires off a text to...
- 1/13/2021
- by Antonia Blyth
- Deadline Film + TV
This Doctor Who review contains spoilers. Our spoiler-free preview is here.
It may be the start of a brand new year, but ‘Revolution of the Daleks’, an episode of Doctor Who that’ll need to tide us over for a while, is more focused on looking back and taking stock than teasing what’s ahead. As the pre-title sequence informs us, courtesy of some Big Chunky Captions that the show currently favours, not only is this episode a follow-up to the events of ‘The Timeless Child’, it’s also a sequel of sorts to the 2019 New Year’s Special, ‘Resolution’.
Things pick up a few short hours after that adventure, which saw a buried Dalek mutant hijacking a human host and eventually constructing a scrapyard casing. It’s the abandoned husk of that same travel machine that now gets carted away by an unwitting driver, a man who’s so...
It may be the start of a brand new year, but ‘Revolution of the Daleks’, an episode of Doctor Who that’ll need to tide us over for a while, is more focused on looking back and taking stock than teasing what’s ahead. As the pre-title sequence informs us, courtesy of some Big Chunky Captions that the show currently favours, not only is this episode a follow-up to the events of ‘The Timeless Child’, it’s also a sequel of sorts to the 2019 New Year’s Special, ‘Resolution’.
Things pick up a few short hours after that adventure, which saw a buried Dalek mutant hijacking a human host and eventually constructing a scrapyard casing. It’s the abandoned husk of that same travel machine that now gets carted away by an unwitting driver, a man who’s so...
- 1/1/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Updated, 7 Am Pt: After four and a half long years in European politics, the UK and European Union have finalized terms on a Brexit free trade deal, averting the possibility of a “no deal” Brexit when the transition period ends at midnight on December 31.
As per our earlier story below, the deal will need to be ratified by the UK and EU parliaments. Today there were celebrations on both sides.
“We have finally found an agreement,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the immediacy after the deal was announced. “It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it.”
“The clock is no longer ticking,” added EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. “Today is a day of relief, but tinged by some sadness as we compare what came before with what lies ahead.”
“Everything that the British public was promised...
As per our earlier story below, the deal will need to be ratified by the UK and EU parliaments. Today there were celebrations on both sides.
“We have finally found an agreement,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the immediacy after the deal was announced. “It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it.”
“The clock is no longer ticking,” added EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. “Today is a day of relief, but tinged by some sadness as we compare what came before with what lies ahead.”
“Everything that the British public was promised...
- 12/24/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Technology giants, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, could face fines of billions of pounds if they fail to remove and limit the spread of harmful online content under U.K. government proposals unveiled on Tuesday.
The government of Boris Johnson announced details of its proposed Online Harms Bill, first set in motion by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in the spring of 2019, which aims to tackle child abuse and sexual abuse imagery, terrorist materials, misinformation, and other digital content.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden is planning to bring the bill before parliament next year, but ...
The government of Boris Johnson announced details of its proposed Online Harms Bill, first set in motion by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in the spring of 2019, which aims to tackle child abuse and sexual abuse imagery, terrorist materials, misinformation, and other digital content.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden is planning to bring the bill before parliament next year, but ...
- 12/15/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Technology giants, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, could face fines of billions of pounds if they fail to remove and limit the spread of harmful online content under U.K. government proposals unveiled on Tuesday.
The government of Boris Johnson announced details of its proposed Online Harms Bill, first set in motion by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in the spring of 2019, which aims to tackle child abuse and sexual abuse imagery, terrorist materials, misinformation, and other digital content.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden is planning to bring the bill before parliament next year, but ...
The government of Boris Johnson announced details of its proposed Online Harms Bill, first set in motion by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in the spring of 2019, which aims to tackle child abuse and sexual abuse imagery, terrorist materials, misinformation, and other digital content.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden is planning to bring the bill before parliament next year, but ...
- 12/15/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Margaret Thatcher is a force to be reckoned with on season four of The Crown. Played by Gillian Anderson, the Thatcher we see in the show is notorious for her bouffant and stoicism. But like many historical series, some of the events are dramatized or fictionalized altogether. After watching The Crown, you're probably wondering how accurate its portrayal of Margaret Thatcher is. The woman who was James Callaghan's successor and served as Britain's prime minister from 1979 to 1990 seemed to have lived a life of excitement and controversy. Some questions from fans include whether or not Thatcher was a feminist, what her relationship to Queen Elizabeth was like, and what she was like as a mother.
The First Female Prime Minister
Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on Oct. 13, 1925, in Lincolnshire, England. She attended Oxford University, a prestigious school where she first became involved in politics in the Conservative Club. Nicknamed "The Iron Lady,...
The First Female Prime Minister
Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on Oct. 13, 1925, in Lincolnshire, England. She attended Oxford University, a prestigious school where she first became involved in politics in the Conservative Club. Nicknamed "The Iron Lady,...
- 12/8/2020
- by Erica Mones
- Popsugar.com
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