Channel 4

Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie to be adapted for Channel 4

Candice Carty-Williams (credit: Channel 4)

The eight-part series will follow 25-year-old Queenie Jenkins, a Jamaican British straddler of both cultures, a South London stalwart, journalist, loyal friend, not so loyal daughter, occasional mess and an undervalued success.

Working at a national newspaper, where she’s frequently forced to compare herself to her white, middle-class peers, and having recently gone through a tough breakup with her long-term white boyfriend Tom, Queenie begins looking for comfort in all the wrong places, with all the wrong people.

Channel 4 announces cast for Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani’s new dramedy Chivalry

Written by and starring Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani, Chivalry will explore the hot topic of gender politics in the #MeToo era in the film and television industries.

Wanda Sykes (Blackish) stars as astute studio executive Jean Shrill, who arranges for indie filmmaker Bobby Sohrabi (Solemani) to take over as director of “A Little Death”, a problematic movie produced by Cameron O’Neill (Coogan).

Cameron is striving to keep his name in lights but the threat of cancel culture looms large.

Claudia Winkleman to host new gameshow One Question

Credit: Channel 4

The six-part series will see contestants try to win a prize of £100,000 by answering only one question.

There will be twenty possible answers but only one correct answer. The contestants must eliminate the incorrect answers to show them the path to victory, but if they eliminate one correct answer it will be game over. 

Claudia Winkleman commented: “I am ridiculously excited about One Question. There’s no time limit, no buzzers, no complicated rules. A sofa, a chat, just one question that could win our players £100,000. Not only that, we give them the answer. 

Tinie Tempah to host housing series Outrageous Extensions

Credit: Channel 4

The four-part series will follow Brits as they attempt to build some of the most audacious dream homes ever seen. 

Tempah has his own extensive property portfolio and knows how difficult home renovations can be. The typical cost of an extension ranges from £16k to £55k, but these extensions are far from ordinary.

With year-long builds and million-pound budgets, these extraordinary renovations aren’t just about increasing square footage but about realising a dream.  

Dara Ó Briain to host new Channel 4 quiz show offering £1 million prize

(credit: Channel 4)

Produced by Mighty Productions Scotland, the six-part series will see teams of three players start with £1 million and attempt to correctly answer seven general knowledge questions to keep the jackpot intact. Every right answer locks in a digit of the One and Six Zeros jackpot. Every wrong answer, however, loses a zero from the prize fund, and the money can quickly decline from £1 million to £100.

After three questions the team is then reduced to two players. After five questions, only one player remains to answer the final two questions and secure the prize money.

Levelling up: How much could privatisation change Channel 4’s remit?

As the broadcaster continues to expand its presence and role outside of London, with a focus on Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow and Birmingham; there are concerns that progress in on and off-screen representation and the wider economic benefits of this policy will be lost if privatisation goes ahead. Meanwhile others argue that ' levelling up' should not be the responsibility of a broadcaster, but of government, regardless of the ownership model.

Speakers

David Elstein, former Chief Executive, Channel 5

Channel 4 releases first look image of Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham in Help

Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham in Help (credit: Channel 4)

Set in a fictional care home in Liverpool, Help tells the poignant story of the relationship between a young care worker (Comer) and a patient (Graham), whose lives are irrevocably changed by the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020.

Jodie Comer plays Sarah, a smart young woman who has never felt like she fitted in at school or at work. Despite her family telling her she’d never amount to anything, she finds her calling unexpectedly as a carer at Bright Sky Homes and can effortlessly form special connections with residents.

Channel 4 commissions new comedy pilot Big Age

Bolu Babalola, Michael Workeye, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, CJ Beckford and Racheal Ofori (credit: Channel 4)

Written by best-selling author and self-coined ‘romcomoisseur’ Bolu Babalola (Love in Colour), Big Age will follow four young Black-British friends attempting to grow up and step out while faced with parental expectation, personal dreams and the demoralising reality of insufficient funds.

Inspired by the Nigerian quip “At your big age!”, which is equal parts loving and mocking, commanding and encouraging, the series will explore the intense friendship of four funny, contemporary and surprising comic characters.