Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Jodie Comer: The woman behind TV's most ruthless villain

With a wardrobe to die for and a closet of weapons that would impress an international arms dealer, Comer’s refreshing portrayal of the free-spirited assassin threw all of television’s gendered troupes out the window. Cold, ruthless and carefree, Villanelle is not your typical female character in a spy drama.

“This role should be stereotypically one-dimensional and probably played by a man, but Phoebe [Waller-Bridge] has completely turned all those stereotypes on their head,” says Comer.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge to write new Tomb Raider series for Amazon

A Tomb Raider graphic overlays the entrance to a tomb

The franchise started as an action-adventure video game series, which put gamers in the combat boots of a fictional British archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft, as she travelled around the world in search of lost artefacts and locations.

Waller-Bridge’s series is part of a deal between video game developer Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios, to develop new Tomb Raider stories into TV series and films.

Long-running BBC soap Doctors will end after 23 years

Headshots of individual cast in hospital scrubs with white lettering spelling 'doctors' superimposed on the image

Since its debut in 2000, Doctors has followed the fictional lives of NHS doctors, nurses, and receptionists, as well as their families and friends. Alongside these continuing story lines, they also have a story of the week which focuses on a patient and their individual life, usually for a one or two episode arc.

New comedy series Run heads to Sky Comedy this spring

(credit: HBO/Sky)

Written and produced by Vicky Jones (Fleabag), Run follows Merritt Wever (Unbelievable) as Ruby Richardson, a woman living a mundane life in the suburbs who drops everything upon receiving a text to fulfil a pact made with her ex-boyfriend seventeen years earlier.

Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina) plays Billy Johnson, Ruby’s college boyfriend with whom she made the pact that if he texts her the word “run” and she replies with the same, the pair will leave their old lives behind and meet in Grand Central Station to travel across America together.

Memorable TV performances of the decade

(credit: BBC/Luke Varley/Two Brothers/AMC/ITV)

Series binging over weekly releases has become the new norm, and brand new, high-quality TV content seems to be in endless supply.

The competition for viewers’ attention has intensified tenfold, and the leading broadcasters have risen to the challenge.

At the beginning of a new decade, we look back at some of the most memorable performances and series of the last ten years.

 

Meet Isobel Waller-Bridge, film and TV composer

Credit: Isobel Waller-Bridge

From scratch nights writing music for plays performed above pubs, to composing for Black Mirror, Vanity Fair, Fleabag and The ABC Murders, Waller-Bridge is making an impact in the film and TV industry.

“I absolutely love film. I love the world they can take you to, what they can do with your imagination,” Waller-Bridge enthuses.

Throughout our conversation, she talks a lot about collaboration, how important it is and the key part it plays in why she loves her job.

From acting to writing: Toby Jones talks Don't Forget the Driver

Barry Green (Toby Jones) in Don't Forget the Driver (Credit: BBC Two)

You wait years for a TV comedy centred on the disruption caused by the sudden arrival of a foreign migrant in a settled world and, suddenly, two come along at once.

This spring, Channel 4 has showcased Home, Rufus Jones’s well-­received show in which his uptight character, Peter, and partner return from holiday to find a Syrian man called Sami (Youssef Kerkour) living in the boot of the family car.

BBC renews Killing Eve for a third series

The announcement comes just days after the US premiere of series two, which aired on BBC America and AMC on Sunday 7th April.

Killing Eve, which follows MI5 agent Eve (Sandra Oh ) on the hunt for assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer), was a break out hit in 2018, with BBC iPlayer receiving over 46 million requests for series one of the drama so far.

The power of female comedy

Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag (Credit: BBC)

"I promised myself that I wasn’t going to say anything rude but I have actually been wet dreaming about getting a Bafta for the whole of my life.” With typically cheeky verve, Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepted her Bafta for her performance in Fleabag back in 2017. Now, with the follow-up series on our screens, fans will be clamouring for more of her stunningly clever tightrope act.

Launch date announced for second series of Fleabag

Fleabag's Godmother/Stepmother(Olivia Colman) (Credit: BBC)

The new series picks up with protagonist Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) trying to made amends with her dysfunctional family by attending an uncomfortable dinner to celebrate her Dad’s (Bill Paterson) engagement to her villainous Godmother (Olivia Coleman).

The evening takes a dramatic turn when old tensions rise to the surface after an unexpected attack.

Joined by familiar faces, Fleabag shares the awkwardness with successful sister Claire (Sian Clifford) and alcoholic brother-in-law Martin (Brett Gelman).