The Crown

The Crown: Deconstructing the Coronation

The lavish ten-part Netflix series became another outstanding triumph for writer Peter Morgan and a distinguished team . Critics noted a “startling attention to detail in everything from costumes to sets” and thought it hard to see how it could be better.

The show set out to tell the inside story of the most famous addresses in the world, Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, and it did just that, exploring the intrigues, love lives and machinations of post-war Britain.

Jodie Whittaker and Jason Watkins in cast for TV adaptation of Dear England

Headshots of the actors in two rows and four columns

Jodie Whittaker (Toxic Town) will play Pippa Grange, the psychologist for the England men’s team. Jason Watkins (The Crown) will appear as former FA chairman Greg Dyke. Reprising their stage role will be John Hodgkinson (Small Axe) as former FA chairman Greg Clarke. He will be joined by Daniel Ryan (The Bay) as former assistant England men’s manager Steve Hollan and Sam Spruell (Fargo) as fictional coach Mike Webster.

Game of Thrones and The Crown stars amongst cast for Jean Charles de Menezes drama

Headshots of the eight actors, all in colour except for Emily Mortimer's and Daniel Mays's, which are in black and white

The four-part series looks at the true story of an innocent Brazilian man mistaken for a terrorist and shot dead by the Metropolitan Police on his way to work. The incident occurred weeks after the 7/7 bombings, as part of police efforts to find the suspects of a failed follow-up terrorist plot.

David Tennant and Toby Jones to star in new ITV phone hacking drama

David Tennant and Toby Jones, both white men in their fifties, sit at a table with a crowd of people behind them, the pair wearing suits and looking into the camera, unsmiling. Tennant wears a visitor pass for the House of Commons

A co-production with ITV Studios and Australia’s Stan, the seven-part programme is produced by the same team behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Starring David Tennant (Doctor Who), Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) and Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office), it will explore two real-life stories.

Andy Harries: the crown prince of TV drama

It would be no exaggeration to say that British TV drama and comedy over the past 30 years would have looked very different without Andy Harries, a producer with his finger on the popular pulse, but never at the expense of quality.

While working in-house at Granada and then for his own production company, Left Bank Pictures, Harries’ hits have included Cold Feet, The Deal, Quiz and, of course, The Crown. There have also been acclaimed films, most notably The Queen and The Damned United. 

BBC releases trailer for new Rebecca Hall drama The Listeners

Rebecca Hall and Ollie West stand against a fence in a field, the sky behind them is blue and cloudless. Hall is in her early 40s, with short brown hair, light to medium skin tone and a turquoise jumper, Ollie West is in his late teens

Rebecca Hall (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) stars as English teacher Claire, whose life begins to unravel when she hears ‘the hum’. Tensions rise between her and her husband Paul (Prasanna Puwanarajah, The Crown) and daughter Ashley (Mia Tharia, Phoenix Rise). Doctor after doctor is left stumped by Claire’s condition, leaving her more frustrated and confused than ever.

TV's leading lights on what makes Britain so creative

Shonda Rhimes looks into the camera against a black backdrop, mouth open as if halfway through conversation

The vastly influential showrunner Shonda Rhimes may be American, but she knows a lot about the British way of life. You need only watch her TV blockbuster Bridgerton to prove that point.

As for Britain’s creative edge – the theme of this year’s RTS London Convention – Rhimes puts it down to a mysterious “secret sauce”.