We’re meeting to discuss one of those stories. Carraway’s debut TV show, Rain Dogs, the brilliant dark comedy she created, wrote and executive produced with BBC and HBO, premiered earlier this year. She’d had TV developments in the past, “but nothing ever got off the ground because my life was too chaotic,” she explains. “I just wasn't ready.”
After a string of murders in 1973 Port Talbot, three detectives embark on a case that spans three decades, needing the forensic breakthroughs of the 21st century to finally bring justice.
After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, many companies worldwide issued statements of solidarity and support, and posted black squares on their websites and social media feeds. In the UK, the movement galvanised the TV industry. Broadcasters took stock of the sometimes paltry proportion of their output they were commissioning from black people. ITV announced a Diversity Acceleration Plan while Sky pledged £30m to support anti-racism and improve diversity and inclusion. As a result, there was an uplift in demand for diverse talent, on-screen and behind the camera.
I do love a good podcast. Recently I – and many thousands of others – have been drawn to a new one called Movers and Shakers. The premise is simple; six people talk about their lived experience of Parkinson’s over a few drinks down the pub.
It is rare for the BBC not to be in the crosshairs of a crisis and 2023 has been no exception. Behind the headlines, though, the opening months of the year have been a time of triumph for its creative chief, Charlotte Moore. The BBC has dominated the TV awards season. At the RTS Programme Awards, the corporation pocketed 17 out of a total of 30 awards.
All members of the Walsh family have a longstanding relationship with Gladiators. Barney grew up on the set of the original series, watching his mum Donna Derby choreograph the Gladiators cheerleaders, and even taking some of his first steps on the arena floor. Bradley (The Chase) stepped up to compete in a Celebrities vs Jockeys special in 1997.
I Kissed a Boy is aptly named, as all contestants will begin their journey by kissing their new partners upon their first meeting, without even exchanging words.
The 10 participants in the UK's first gay dating show have been paired up by self-proclaimed “fairy-godmother/cupid” and Australian pop icon Dannii Minogue. She says: "When dating fatigue sets in and you are tired of swiping right, or you have not had the opportunity to meet enough potential dates – Mama Minogue is here to help.”
The real time drama takes place on the Heart of Britain service, a train running from Glasgow to London. A government agency closely monitors and desperately attempts to intervene on the sleeper train’s rapidly accelerating events. Two strangers (Roach and Cole), one on the train and one not, are forced to work together to ensure the diverse group of passengers aren’t journeying towards their final ever destination.
Sion Daniel Young (Witness Number 3) and Fra Fee (Cabaret) will take the starring roles of Gabriel and Andy, a couple who have recently embarked on a journey of adoption.
Gabriel (Young) is a singer and artiste who regularly performs at ‘Neverland’, a queer club space in Cardiff. He finds himself examining and attempting to repair the relationship between himself and his father after adopting the seven-year-old Jake alongside his partner Andy (Fee).
Series one saw Elliot, played by Jamie Dornan (Belfast), wake up in an Australian hospital with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. With the help of Constable Helen and waitress Luci, played by Danielle MacDonald (Dumplin’) and Shalom Brune-Franklin (Great Expectations) respectively, Elliot is left reeling from the discoveries of his past, as the puzzle of his identity slowly comes together.
Series two will see Elliot and Helen travel to Dublin, Ireland to unearth Elliot’s roots and find out more about who he was before the accident.
