Prime minister’s words a slapdown for culture secretary claiming BBC has ‘bias and nepotism’ problemsBoris Johnson said he believed the BBC would “be around for a long time to come”, in a view contrasting with that of his culture secretary, Nadine Dorr…
Game of Thrones prequel: why we’ll all be hooked to House of the Dragon
The first trailer for the upcoming fantasy spin-off promises epic action on a vast scale, with “gods, kings, fire and blood”. Resistance is futile!The Game of Thrones finale is still fresh in the mind of the public. Why, it only seems like yesterday si…
Bridgerton Emmy winner Marc Pilcher dies of Covid at 53
The hair and makeup designer, who won for the Netflix show, was double-vaccinated and had no underlying health conditionsMarc Pilcher, the Emmy-winning hair stylist and makeup designer known for his work on Bridgerton, has died of Covid at the age of 5…
A broken record: why music TV deserves more than Jools Holland
In 2021, the 63-year-old is still the nation’s pop gatekeeper. Why won’t broadcasters give viewers what they want, rather than yet another tedious episode of Later…?Hold on to your hats people, because a new series of Later … With Jools Holland is unde…
Armistead Maupin and Laura Linney: how we made Tales of the City
‘I thought we were going to make history with our same sex kiss. And we did. There were protests all over America – and a bomb threat in Chattanooga’Armistead Maupin, author and executive producer of the Channel 4 seriesI wrote Tales of the City for th…
Jason Donovan on Kylie, coolness and cocaine: ‘I’m a survivor and I’ve made mistakes’
Fresh from a run in Joseph, and about to go on tour, the actor and singer reflects on superstardom, drug addiction and the steadying joy of fatherhoodDespite insisting that he likes to look to the future, Jason Donovan is confronted with the past much …
Ridley Road review – fascism thriller resonates in our current dark age
Based on Jo Bloom’s novel, Sarah Solemani’s drama tells the story of amateur spies infiltrating neo-Nazis in 60s London. Despite some cartoonish moments, it is highly disturbingA sunlit bedroom in a country house in Kent, 1962. An adorable moppet is he…
The unwritten rules of Black TV
For [Felicia D.] Henderson, working on Family Matters offered an introduction to a defining feature of her long career in Hollywood. Negotiated authenticity is the phrase she uses to describe what many Black screenwriters are tasked with producing—Blac…
D’oh! couture: Balenciaga puts The Simpsons on Paris catwalk
Fashion house’s cartoon poking fun at itself suggests industry realises it’s time to ditch the pompIt was the standout coup of Paris fashion week. Balenciaga secured a catwalk debut from Homer and Marge Simpson, accompanied by Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Ki…
Succession returns: how did a nice lad from Oswestry make such a nasty TV show?
As the British writer’s tale of a media family’s power struggle returns to TV, we chart his path from Peep Show to global award-winning famePulsing away unobserved, inside a room near Brixton underground station, is the heart of a callous transatlantic…