The BBC Three zombie drama In The Flesh has been commissioned for an extended second series, it was announced today.

A three-part serial initially ran in March this year after writer Dominic Mitchell was discovered through the BBC Writersroom competition Northern Voices, and the storyline was developed by the BBC Drama Production team in Salford.

It told of zombie teenager Kieren Walker, played by Luke Newberry, and his reintegration into both the local community and the heart of his family four years after a zombie uprising, with zombies renamed Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferers by the government in the show.

Series two revisits the cauldron of Roarton where the living and the undead have reached a fragile peace. After the shocking events of series one, Kieren is hoping to get on with his second life but the arrival of new and explosive characters throws those plans into disarray. Battle lines are drawn and all will be judged.

Mitchell said:

I am absolutely delighted and thrilled to be given this fantastic opportunity to continue exploring the characters and world of In The Flesh.

Zai Bennett, the controller of BBC Three, commented:

In The Flesh was a fantastically original and engaging drama for BBC Three. I'm delighted Dominic and the team will be able to tell more stories from the riveting characters and engaging world they created.

Kate Harwood, the BBC's Head of Drama, England, added:

It is testament to the brilliant and talented in-house drama team in Salford that In The Flesh has been commissioned as a series. I am immensely proud of Dominic's fantastic writing and can't wait to see how the stories unfold.

The first episode - on Sunday 17th March - gained 793,000 viewers and was the second-highest programme on the digital channel for that week, according to BARB. Episode two didn't make the top 10 but the final episode, on Sunday 31st March, was at number seven with 638,000 viewers.

The new series has been commissioned by Bennett and BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson.
To be made by BBC Drama Production North, with Hilary Martin and Ann Harrison-Baxter as executive producers, it will be filmed later this year and be broadcast in 2014.

It has not been confirmed yet how many episodes it will comprise, but trade publication Broadcast says it is likely to be up to six episodes long. New writers are expected to come on board for the show alongside Mitchell, who wrote all of the first series.

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The first official images from the forthcoming BBC One drama The Musketeers were released today.

Luke Pasqualino stars as D'Artagnan alongside Tom Burke as Athos, Santiago Cabrera as Aramis, and Howard Charles as Porthos in this fresh take on the classic characters created by Alexandre Dumas. Together, they fight for what is just and are heroes in the truest and most abiding sense - men we can trust and believe in to do the right thing, regardless of personal risk.

Series creator Adrian Hodges, who is also co-executive producer and the lead writer, said:

The four actors look brilliant together and it seems like they have been working together for years. The camaraderie between them makes each action-packed scene exciting and authentic, and the images we have released today really encapsulate that.

Peter Capaldi is Cardinal Richelieu, Tamla Kari plays Constance Bonacieux, Maimie McCoy portrays Milady, while Hugo Speer is Captain Treville in the ten-part series of one-hour episodes, which will air next year. Made by BBC Drama Productions, it is being co-produced by BBC Worldwide and BBC America. Jessica Pope is also an executive producer, while the producer is Colin Wratten.

Set on the streets of 17th-century Paris where law and order are more an idea than reality, the series follows Musketeers Athos, Aramis, and Porthos, who are far more than King Louis XIII's personal bodyguards, but ultimately stand resolutely for social justice: for honour, for valour, for love, and for the thrill of it.

D'Artagnan, a skilled fighter from rural Gascony, encounters the three Musketeers while on a mission to right the wrong of his father's death. Although he meets the men in unfortunate circumstances, he finds kindred spirits in the other soldiers.

Athos, who has rejected his noble roots to become a Musketeer, quickly befriends D'Artagnan but has a past that is shrouded in mystery and he is prone to getting into trouble. Porthos is a larger-than-life character who has come from humble beginnings to become a soldier in the most elite regiment in the land, finding a family in the other Musketeers. Never short of admirers, Aramis has an effortless charm that leads him in and out of love. Despite this, he is a shrewd pragmatist who is ferocious in battle and commands a key place in the brotherhood.

Constance Bonacieux leads a dull but comfortable life married to a cloth merchant, but her life is turned upside down when D'Artagnan tumbles into her world, and she becomes involved with the Musketeers.

Cardinal Richelieu, while striving to achieve his vision of a thoroughly modern France, is a shadowy character who will stop at nothing to achieve his objectives, and Milady is his secret weapon - the most mysterious and beautiful of villains whose motives are often concealed.

The king relies on the advice of the cardinal, his shrewd wife Queen Anne, and Captain Treville - the brave and respected commander of the Musketeers who keeps an eye on the soldiers to ensure they stay out of trouble.

Filming started last month, and Ben Stephenson, the controller of BBC Drama, said:

The ambition of this drama is clearly illustrated with such a world-class mix of talent - the perfect team to take the audience on thrilling action adventures every week.

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Sherlock producer Sue Vertue has issued a plea for fans to keep quiet about filming on the new series.

In a statement to website Sherlockology, she wrote:

Hi, Sue Vertue here. As many of you are aware, we'll soon be embarking on our first London leg of filming for series 3. I'm also aware that there is quite a lot of speculation about where we're shooting when. I can't stress how much we the producers and Benedict [Cumberbatch], Martin [Freeman] and the rest of the cast appreciate your love and dedication to our show - we'll endeavour to live up to your expectations for Series 3.

What I am nervous about is that our London shooting schedule is punishing and will really give us very little time to interact with you. The actors really hope you understand that.

Also, and I know this is probably asking a lot, the majority of fans and indeed ourselves would REALLY appreciate it if you didn't post pictures or spoilers or ideally our daily locations.

Thanks for your understanding. Sue x

The first episode of the third series is called The Empty Hearse. It has been written by Mark Gatiss and the director is Jeremy Lovering, with Amanda Abbington joining the cast in a role described by the BBC as one "that significantly impacts upon the lives of John and Sherlock." Abbington, whose character name has not yet been announced, is the partner of Martin Freeman, who plays Watson.

The second episode in the three-part series will be called The Sign Of Three, the BBC has confirmed.

Colm McCarthy has also been signed up to direct the show.

(With thanks to Tony Clark)

UPDATE - 15th APRIL: Colm McCarthy will be directing The Sign Of Three, it was confirmed today. The episode, which had its readthrough this morning, has been written by Steve Thompson.

Principal photography has now finished on the first episode of the new series. Once episode two has wrapped, the team will break for the summer before starting the third and final episode of the run.

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Kris Marshall is to replace Ben Miller as the lead detective in the third series of BBC One crime drama Death In Paradise, it was announced today.

Miller has played the character of fish-out-of-water Detective Inspector Richard Poole since the Caribbean-set show began, and was seen returning to the island at the end of the last episode of the second series, having had to take a captured killer to London. The details of how and when his character will leave are under wraps. The show had an average of almost eight million viewers tuning in to each episode of the second series.

Joining series regulars Sara Martins (who plays Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey), Danny John-Jules (police officer Dwayne Myers), Gary Carr (newly-qualified Sgt Fidel Best), and Don Warrington (Commissioner Selwyn Patterson) when filming starts on Guadeloupe (doubling for the fictional island of Saint-Marie) next month, Marshall will play the bright but rather disorganised and gawky Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman, who is stuck in a mid-life rut and looking to find a new life and fresh start.

Marshall, whose previous work has included Lightfields, My Family, and Citizen Khan, said:

I am thrilled to be joining Death In Paradise and finding out a bit more about what makes Humphrey tick. Six months filming on a tropical island with an amazing cast and glorious sunshine? What isn't there to love! I might even get myself a parrot!

Miller stated:

I have absolutely loved my time on Death In Paradise and am sad to be leaving such a successful show. However, DI Poole has made no secret of his struggle with the Caribbean heat, so I felt now was a good time to put him out of his misery! I know Kris will do a superb job and I'm delighted to be handing over the detective baton to him.

Co-executive producer Belinda Campbell, from Red Planet Pictures, commented:

Ben Miller is an excellent actor and has played the part of DI Richard Poole magnificently for two series, and we're very sad to be saying goodbye. However, we're thrilled to be welcoming Kris Marshall on board, who we know will be brilliant in the role of Humphrey. He will bring with him dishevelled charm, sparkle, quick wit, and a razor-sharp intelligence in solving crimes.

Ben Stephenson, the BBC's controller of drama commissioning, added:

Thank you to Ben for leading two hugely successful series of Death In Paradise. He is leaving on a high and handing over to the very talented Kris Marshall. I am looking forward to seeing Kris in his new role and what he does with his character.

The third series will air next year.

Related Articles: Third Series For Death In Paradise (11 Feb 2013)

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The reboot of cult TV sci-fi show Blake's 7 is being pitched by entertainment company FremantleMedia International to buyers at MIPTV - the television and online-content market and creative forum in Cannes.

Currently in development with the US cable network Syfy, the series of 13 one-hour episodes will be made by Georgeville TV, the independent studio co-founded by Leon Clarance of London-based Motion Picture Capital (the financing arm of Reliance Entertainment), and producer Marc Rosen. It has been written by Joe Pokaski and will be directed by the award-winning Martin Campbell.

Pokaski is best known for his work on the TV sci-fi drama series Heroes, while among his credits Campbell has directed the Bond films GoldenEye and the Daniel Craig-starring Casino Royale as well as both TV and film versions of Edge of Darkness, winning a BAFTA for his 1985 BBC television production.

FremantleMedia has released the following teaser information about the new version of the show:

The year is 2136, Blake wakes up on one side of the bed. He reaches for the other side. There's nobody there. As reality sets in, this handsome ex-soldier sits up and looks at a photo of his wife Rachel. Beautiful. Deceased.

A revolutionary reinvention of the long-running BBC series, Blake's 7 tells the story of seven criminals - six guilty and one innocent - on their way to life on a prison colony in space, who together wrestle freedom from imprisonment. They acquire an alien ship which gives them a second chance at life and become the most unlikely heroes of their time.

David Ellender, the chief executive of FremantleMedia International and Kids & Family Entertainment, said:

Blake's 7 was such a forward-thinking concept that the show continues to have resonance with audiences today. Its complex characters and gritty storylines, coupled with the highly talented team and modern production techniques, are sure to appeal to both original fans of the show and new viewers.

Leon Clarance, the co-founder of Georgeville Television and chief executive of Motion Picture Capital, the finance arm of Reliance Entertainment, added:

Joe Pokaski and Martin Campbell have worked tirelessly with the Georgeville TV team to create an amazeballs reboot of this classic space opera which I watched with my father when I was a child. This reimagined classic for a new generation of science-fiction fans will enthral original and new fans alike. I couldn't be happier to have our beloved show handled internationally by the passionate team at FremantleMedia.

(Yes, Clarance really did say "amazeballs" in the press release!)

Blake's 7 was created by Terry Nation and originally ran for 52 episodes over four series on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981.

An April Fool was circulated last week via Twitter, claiming that Idris Elba would be playing Blake, and a copy of a fake "official" Blake's 7 magazine with Elba on the cover has been put on eBay to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Anyone interested in bidding for it should be aware that it has no content.

Related Articles: Blake's 7 Reboot On Cards (23 July 2012)

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Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor, composer Jeff Wayne, and animator Brian Cosgrove will be discussing their work and achievements at special events later this year.

Arranged by the entertainment and arts outfit The Space, the interviews will take place at The Basement in Kensington Street, Brighton, with Wayne, who composed the musical version of The War of the Worlds, and Naylor appearing together on Thursday 13th June.

Cosgrove - who with his business partner Mark Hall found fame by bringing to TV screens animated series such as Danger Mouse, Chorlton And The Wheelies, Jamie And The Magic Torch, and Count Duckula - will be appearing there on Tuesday 6th August, along with Oscar-winning sound designer Glenn Freemantle.

Last November, Cosgrove was presented with a BAFTA Special Award at the academy's Children's Awards for his outstanding creative contribution to the industry.

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Casting for the new BBC One fantasy drama Atlantis was announced today, with Sarah Parish among those signed up for the 13-parter.

The line-up also includes Mark Addy, Juliet Stevenson, Jemima Rooper, Robert Emms, Aiysha Hart, and Jack Donnelly.

The series is set in a time of legendary heroes, mythical creatures, and gods, with the programme reimagining Greek myths and legends. The fabled city of Atlantis is currently being built at sites in Wales and Morocco. Filming starts next month and the programme will air this autumn.

Parish said:

I am thrilled to be part of Atlantis. It's a very exciting project and I can't wait to start filming.

while Addy commented:

I am very excited to be invited along on this epic adventure. The scripts bring to life ancient myths with such a vibrancy and sense of humour; I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

and Stevenson said:

I am delighted to have joined the cast of Atlantis, and very excited to be working with the team. This genre is new to me, so I am looking forward to a great adventure.

It has been created and written by Howard Overman, whose pedigree includes writing for Merlin and creating, writing for, and executive-producing Dirk Gently, which was based on the Douglas Adams novels. Merlin co-creators Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy are, along with Overman, the executive producers of Atlantis. It is being made by Little Monster Films and being executive-produced for BBC Cymru Wales by Bethan Jones.

Ben Stephenson, the controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, said:

The fantastic cast announced for Atlantis is testament to the ambition and scale of Howard Overman's scripts. Some of the UK's best-loved actors are joining our newest talent to take the BBC One audience to a rich and wonderful world where any adventure is possible.

Related Articles: Atlantis Commissioned (11 Feb 2013)

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The new episode of Jonathan Creek will air on Monday 1st April at 8.30pm, the BBC has confirmed.

The Clue Of The Savant's Thumb stars Alan Davies as Creek, who is called upon by returning Sheridan Smith as Joey Ross to help investigate the disappearance of a dead body from a locked study - which turns out to be the first in a chain of dark mysteries. Also making a return appearance is Rik Mayall as Detective Inspector Gideon Pryke.

The feature-length episode guest-stars Joanna Lumley as Rosalind Tartikoff, Nigel Planer as Franklin Tartikoff, Hasina Haque as Fariba Tartikoff, Michael Lumsden as local doctor and family confidant Peter Churchill, Sarah Alexander as media executive Polly, the new love of Creek's life, and Mark Frost as local farm worker Brad.

Also featuring in the episode are James Buller as Det Sgt Cudlipp, Sharlene Whyte as Det Con Atkins, Robert Styles as Jack, Louise Yates as Davina, Anna Burnett as the young Rosalind, Phoebe Jones as Natalie, Abigail McKern as Beth, Lydia Gerrard as the young Beth, Lucie Wolfman as Grace, Angelica Jopling as Kate, Mairead Conneely as Sister Cunegonde, and Samantha Coughlan as a receptionist.

As previously reported, the BBC One special, which has been written and directed by David Renwick, will be followed next year by a mini-series of three episodes.

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More details have been released about the forthcoming return to BBC One of comic mystery drama Jonathan Creek.

The Clue Of The Savant's Thumb - a 90-minute special written and directed by David Renwick - will air at Easter, starring Alan Davies as the eponymous investigator of apparently supernatural mysteries and with Sheridan Smith back once again as fellow investigator Joey Ross. It will guest-star Joanna Lumley as Rosalind Tartikoff and also see the return of Rik Mayall as Detective Inspector Gideon Pryke.

When a dead body impossibly vanishes from a locked study it is only the first in a chain of dark mysteries confronting Jonathan Creek and self-styled paranormal investigator Joey Ross.

Writer, producer, political campaigner, and all round polymath Franklin Tartikoff is one of the country's most eminent intellectuals. But tragedy and horror are about to engulf the vast old country house he shares with his beautiful wife, Rosalind, and their adopted daughter, Fariba.

On the day that Fariba returns from a spiritual journey to the remote Far Eastern island where she was born, her mother is attending the funeral of an old school friend - an event that will unleash disturbing memories of a classmate whose macabre death, 50 years ago in the school dormitory, was never explained.

Today, Waxwood Hall convent school lies eerily empty and derelict. But as Rosalind Tartikoff revisits her childhood haunts she finds that ghosts from the past still stalk its gloomy interior. Now a lecturer in humanities and modern philosophy, as well as being an avowed religious sceptic, how can she bear to admit – even to herself – that as a rebellious teenager in the Sixties she once had a miraculous vision of God?

And when her life is ripped apart by the shocking death of her husband and a disappearing act that appears to defy the laws of science - the very fabric of everything she believes in - there is only one person she feels she can turn to, who, in a world of "gods and spirits and magic and miracles can still fly the flag for common sense".

A grisly murder, the macabre history of a Catholic girls' school, a sinister local society, and a series of increasingly puzzling, interlocking clues form the backdrop to another weird and wonderful case for Creek and Joey, where this time they find themselves merely junior players, in an inquiry spearheaded by the flamboyant and indomitable Detective Inspector Gideon Pryke - an inquiry whose resolution will prove infinitely deeper and darker than any of them could have imagined . . .

It also stars Sarah Alexander as media executive Polly, the new love of Creek's life, Nigel Planer as Franklin Tartikoff, Hasina Haque as Fariba Tartikoff, Michael Lumsden as local doctor and family confidant Peter Churchill, and Mark Frost as local farm worker Brad.

This isn't the first time that Planer has appeared in the show, as he also guest-starred in the first series' third episode - The Reconstituted Corpse - which aired in May 1997.

A broadcast date and time for the special is yet to be confirmed.

A fifth series of Jonathan Creek is on the way, too. Earlier this month, Davies tweeted that three one-hour episodes of the show would be made in the autumn. The fourth series, comprising six episodes, aired in two parts over 2003 and 2004. Since then, there have been three specials including the upcoming one. According to industry publication Broadcast, the new mini-series will be broadcast in 2014.

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More videos promoting the forthcoming zombie drama In The Flesh have been uploaded by BBC Three.

Among them is the third and final faux government information video, which sees the threat level raised to "critical" and all pretence at calm abandoned, with tips including how to make weapons and how to attack zombies. (NB: News In Time And Space does not endorse or advocate any of the information or advice in this video.)

A further preview trailer has been released, while in a third video the show's writer Dominic Mitchell and cast members Luke Newberry, Emily Bevan, and David Walmsley talk about the series.

Improvise And Survive (via BBC YouTube)

Preview trailer - Kieren doesn't feel ready to go home (via BBC YouTube)

What is "In The Flesh"? (via BBC YouTube)

The three-part series starts this coming Sunday at 10pm.

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The life and career of comedian Dave Allen is to be celebrated by a documentary for BBC Two.

The one-hour programme, entitled Dave Allen Night, will feature rare and often previously-unseen archive footage plus interviews with family, friends, and colleagues.

Together with Allen's family, other interviewees include Dame Maggie Smith, Stephen Frears, and Steven Berkoff. It will also feature archive interviews with Bill Cotton - the former head of light entertainment at BBC TV who went on to become the controller of BBC1 - conducted shortly before the television executive's death in 2008.

In addition, the cast and crew of the triple-BAFTA-winning Dave Allen At Large - the comic's best-known, long-running BBC show - unite to talk about their memories of working with Allen, who often courted controversy with his views on politics and religion.

The documentary - whose broadcast date is yet to be confirmed - is a Vera production and has been executive-produced by Geoff Atkinson. It was commissioned by BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow and entertainment commissioning executives Gilly Hall and Mark Linsey. Hall said:

We are delighted to be celebrating the life and work of the inspired and extraordinary comedian Dave Allen on BBC Two. He was an entertainer ahead of his time and an acclaimed actor too.

Allen - who won the Variety Club's ITV Personality of the Year Award for his comedy/chat series Tonight With Dave Allen - died in March 2005 at the age of 68.

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With filming on the third series of Sherlock due to start this coming Monday, it has been revealed by the title star Benedict Cumberbatch that the show has been guaranteed a fourth series at least - and there may be more after that.

Speaking at the South Bank Show Awards on Tuesday, he said that he and co-star Martin Freeman had signed for two series, adding:

All I know at the moment is we're doing these three [episodes] and another three. I just don't know what there is beyond that.

However, he said that although he was keen for the drama to keep running it really depended on the availability of himself, Freeman, and co-creator (and Doctor Who showrunner) Steven Moffat.

Talking about the first readthrough for Series 3's first episode, which took place on Monday, he said of Holmes's "return from the dead":

You are in for an absolute stonker of a resurrection. It's going to be a treat. It's a terrific episode . . . I really recommend waiting. It's going to be great.

He also told radiotimes.com that the new series could air this Christmas.

In the meantime, to whet the appetite of viewers a panoramic picture of the set for inside 221B Baker Street has been released by production designer Arwel Wyn Jones:



The BBC Two drama Parade's End, which starred Cumberbatch, picked up the TV Drama gong at the awards. It was presented by Richard E Grant.

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BFI Southbank is to run a series of Missing Believed Wiped specials this year to celebrate 20 years of its initiative recovering lost TV material.

The aim is to highlight the most recent finds as well as revisit some old favourites, and the first special - entitled An Evening with John Henshall - will take place on Tuesday 28th May, starting at 6.30pm.

It was from the former television cameraman and director of photography's collection that missing footage of David Bowie performing The Jean Genie on Top of the Pops in 1973 was recovered and shown by the BFI at its 2011 MBW event. Henshall had designed special Telefex fish-eye lenses to create optical effects for the performance - recorded on 3rd January and broadcast for the one and only time the next day - and kept the footage for his showreel, not realising until 2011 that the BBC had wiped its copy.

The BFI said:

John has had a long career in the TV industry and was found to have hundreds of tapes of rare and missing bits of television within his collection, and these are being catalogued by our colleagues at Kaleidoscope, the classic television organisation.

He will join us on stage to share some of those gems with us and regale us with the fascinating – often hilarious – stories behind the productions. Expect more magical moments of missing music, segments of lost dramas, rare pop video footage, and other unmissable examples of the flotsam and jetsam of British television.

We hope to be joined on the night by some of the talents involved in the items screened.

Some of the items will be screened in full at a later MBW event.

UPDATE: 11th APRIL: Tickets to the event are now on sale via this link.

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Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman has been talking about the forthcoming radio adaptation of urban fantasy Neverwhere.

He tells of his disappointment with the TV version, which was co-created by him and Lenny Henry and aired on BBC2 in 1996, and how excited he is about this new six-parter, which starts on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 16th March and continues on BBC Radio 4 Extra from 18th to 22nd March.

The stellar radio cast includes James McAvoy as lead character Richard Mayhew, Christopher Lee as the Earl of Earl's Court, Natalie Dormer as Door, Bernard Cribbins as Old Bailey, Benedict Cumberbatch as Islington, Sophie Okonedo as Hunter, David Harewood as the Marquis de Carabas, and Anthony Head as Mr Croup.

A trailer and pictures have also been released as part of the promotion.

Neil Gaiman on the origin and evolution of Neverwhere (BBC iPlayer)
Trailer (BBC iPlayer)

The adaptation will be available to listen to worldwide on the BBC iPlayer.

Related Articles: Start Date Revealed (21 Feb 2013)

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The third series of Sherlock will start filming on Monday 18th March, it has been announced.

The date was confirmed to website Sherlockology by the show's producer Sue Vertue.

Principal photography is having to be done in two waves, though, because of the availability of stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes) and Martin Freeman (Watson) for filming. Two of the three episodes will be shot at first, with cast and crew then taking an early break for the summer before returning a few weeks later for the final episode of the series.

Vertue, who is married to the show's co-creator Steven Moffat, said:

We could never have fitted all three films into one long go because of everyone's availability. It's being flexible like this which allows us to keep making them.

The start date coincides with the beginning of filming on the 50th-anniversary episode of Doctor Who - and Moffat is also the showrunner of the sci-fi series.

Last Thursday, Freeman told Graham Norton, on the latter's Comic Relief's Big Chat on BBC Three, that even after reading Mark Gatiss's "brilliant" script, he and the rest of the cast still weren't entirely sure how Holmes had managed to survive his rooftop fall at the end of Series 2. Gatiss is the fellow co-creator of the show.

Related Articles: Series 3 Teaser Words (24 Aug 2012)

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