With the world stuck indoors, the adaptation of Sally Rooney's best-selling novel was the perfect recipe for a lockdown sensation. It captured the hearts of viewers, before breaking them and putting them back together again.
Before its television debut, Normal People already had a loyal legion of literary fans, including star Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Actor Toby Jones, director Sam Miller, writer Robert Jones and executive producer Sue Horth discuss the making of factual drama Danny Boy, the story of a young man’s journey from medal-winning hero to alleged killer, and his search for truth in the fog of war.
“Modernisation” is a dangerous word for broadcasters when it comes to coverage of the Royal Family. So, too, is “journalism” if it intrudes too far into the ceremonial. Both are immediately construed by critics, especially those who like to bash the BBC, to mean the abandonment of tradition and a lack of respect for the monarchy.
MediaCity in Salford, Greater Manchester, began its rapid expansion into a world-leading TV production centre 10 years ago, when BBC staff moved in soon after Dock 10 launched its new studios and post-production business.
Back in 2007, when Salford City Council and the Peel Group won their joint bid to house the BBC’s new northern base, I received a call from a very animated Felicity Goodey, the main visionary behind the project.
Few TV dramas deserve the epithet “Shakespearean” or “Tolstoyan” more than Peter Flannery’s Our Friends in the North, which turns 25 this year.
The BBC Two series was epic in scale, using more than 160 actors and 3,000 extras to tell the story of post-war Britain, its people and its dirty politics. It is also the tale of four Newcastle friends, who grow up and grow old over three decades. And it is both moving and magnificent.
The ten-part series will see Christopher Eccleston (The A Word) star as Fagin, with David Threlfall taking the role of Sir Charles Rowan, the Chief of Police. Billy Jenkins (The Crown) will star as the titular Dodger, with Saira Choudhury (Life) as Nancy.
Written by Rhys Thomas and Lucy Montgomery, with a guest episode written by Charlie Higson, Dodger will follow the iconic pickpocket and his gang as they weave through London to fulfil Fagin’s light-fingered demands and avoid the hangman’s noose.
“From a young age, seeing Sir Trevor McDonald on the TV who looked like me and spoke a bit like me, I thought, ‘if he can do it and he’s black, maybe I could do it too,’” he explains.
Myrie’s heart was set on a career in journalism but that he had to have a “good degree” to fall back on for his parents.
“My parents are first generation immigrants from Jamaica, they didn’t travel 6,000 miles for me to be a bum,” he laughs.
After completing a law degree, Myrie chose to pursue his childhood dream and earned a coveted place on the BBC journalism training course.
Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit), Sian Clifford (Fleabag), James McArdle (Man In An Orange Shirt), Jessica Brown Findlay (Brave New World) and Jessica Hynes (Years and Years) will lead the cast.
McKenzie stars as Ursula Todd, the child of Sylvie (Clifford) and Hugh (McArdle), who first dies during birth one night in 1910.
On the same night, Ursula is reborn and lives. But time and time again, she will live and die in different circumstances.
This series love is in the air at Ackley Bridge academy, as best friends Kayla (Robyn Cara) and Fizza (Yasmin Al Khudhairi) both fall for new boy Johnny (Ryan Dean), a cocky heartthrob from the traveller community.
“I wanted to do something completely different, so this is a cat and mouse story... although it’s actually about dogs,” explained Mellor, who was interviewed by TV presenter Michelle Ackerley at a BBC event, co-streamed by RTS Yorkshire and Screen Yorkshire.
“Each other Syndicate has been about a group of people who have won the lottery and what happens to them. This is completely different. I was able to look at all aspects of contemporary life in the north of England.”
