Yes, Prime Minister TV Revival Cast AnnouncedBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 11 September 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
The principal cast for the TV revival of political sitcom Yes, Prime Minister was announced today.

David Haig will play PM Jim Hacker, Henry Goodman will be Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby, and Chris Larkin Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley. All three will be reprising their roles from the recent theatrical production, on which the series will be based.

The original show ran for 16 episodes over two series between 1986 and 1988 on BBC TV. Six 40-minute episodes of the new series are to be produced by BBC In-House Comedy for the digital channel Gold and all of them will be written by the TV series' original authors, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn.

Also signed up to appear in the new TV series are Zoe Telford, playing political adviser Claire Sutton, and - as a guest star in an episode about Scottish devolution - Robbie Coltrane.

The casting announcements were made by UKTV, of which Gold is part, at a TV showcase held at the Saatchi Gallery in London. The new series will air next year.





FILTER: - BBC - Comedy - Yes Prime Minister

Wolfblood Episodes 5 And 6 StorylinesBookmark and Share

Monday, 10 September 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
Storyline details for episodes 5 and 6 of CBBC's new fantasy action drama show Wolfblood have been released.

The 13-part series, starring Aimee Kelly as Maddy Smith and Bobby Lockwood as Rhydian Morris, begins today, airing on Mondays and Tuesdays at 5.15pm on the CBBC channel.

It's the full moon and Maddy is anxious about her first transformation but also bursting with the energy that a full moon brings. The school are on a day trip to the historic isle of Lindisfarne, but Maddy and Rhydian are feeling cramped in the ancient stony ruins and are not looking forward to spending the night in the den.

During the day Maddy and Rhydian have itchy feet and manage to ditch Tom and Shannon - much to Tom and Shannon's annoyance! Tom thinks that Maddy and Rhydian must be dating, and Shannon, post-fire, is convinced that Maddy is the beast. They decide the only way they are going to find out the truth is to stick to Maddy and Rhydian like glue.
Following Maddy's transformation, the wolf energy is still strong in her blood and she gets carried away in assembly watching the street dance club and joins in their routine. She is fantastic, which puts Kay's nose out of joint. Everyone now thinks Maddy is cool, especially Dean Samuels, the cutest boy in school. Rhydian tries to warn her that after the first transformation things can get a little crazy and that she almost transformed when she was on stage. Shannon noticed these changes as well . . .

Kay really fancies Dean, so the 3 Ks - Katrina, Kay, and Kara - invite Maddy to their party on Saturday night (something they would never normally do), hoping Dean's interest in Maddy will get him to come. Maddy is loving this new-found respect but Shannon points out that the 3 Ks are blatantly using her. Angered by this argument, Maddy heads home and gives herself a bad girl makeover. Will this all end in tears?





FILTER: - CBBC

Revolting Comedy For CBBCBookmark and Share

Sunday, 9 September 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
An upcoming science-based CBBC sitcom featuring a time-traveller from the future promises to be truly revolting.

The new 13-part show, entitled The Revolting World of Stanley Brown, centres on the exploits of 13-year-old Stanley, played by Dean Chapman, as he shares his insatiable curiosity about everything around him with time-traveller Archie (Sy Thomas) - who happens to be his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson.

Archie has travelled back from the future to spend some time with his hero forefather, using technology destined to be invented by ideas initiated by Stanley and his descendants.

According to Archie and his sentient, mobile, super-computer, Olivia (Open Link Infinitely Variable Interactive Apparatus), Stanley's brilliant insights are what make him special – his curiosity, his ability to make connections, to experiment, evaluate, and persist in finding a solution where other people would give up.

In fact, according to Archie, Stanley Brown was the first in a line of geniuses who kick-started loads of incredible advancements and inventions for future generations. Archie has arrived to witness first-hand, observe, and learn from the brilliant Stanley Brown… as well as coming to have some fun.

Unfortunately, no-one but Stanley can see or hear Archie so there's no one but Archie who seems to understand or care what an amazing mind Stanley has. At the moment, nobody shares Archie's belief in Stanley – certainly not his mum or sister Steph, who both wish Stan was a little more "average" and a lot less trouble.

Archie uses reality-bending powers to show us the unseen world around us in microscopic detail, covering a broad spectrum of content from human biology to physics via explosive chemistry and gory zoology. Together, the two of them open our eyes to the wonders of science – but often misjudge the impact of their experiments, as an explosion of science, comedy, and chaos unfolds.

Archie's arrival may make Stanley's life a lot more complex but it's a lot more fun too – even if he still has to cope with his mum's constant cleaning, as well as Jess the street-smart and confrontational girl next door, and having to look out for his accident-prone friend Mike. Stanley Brown has a lot on his plate, but if anyone can cope with the arrival of a back-packing time-travelling tourist, Stanley can!

Other characters to feature in the series are Daisy (Steph's best friend) and Daniel (Jess's older brother).

Former Sarah Jane Adventures actress Juliet Cowan plays Stanley's mum, Amanda.

The series - written by Tony Cooke, Katie Douglas, Ed Weeks, Hannah Mackay, Mark Oswin, James Griffiths, Caimh McDonnell, George Sawyer, Sarah Morgan, Ben Ward, and A J Jones - is due to start on Friday 21st September at 5.30pm, airing weekly. It is produced by Caroline Clark and directed by David Sant and Dez McCarthy.

1: Snot
2: Gut Instinct
3: Pain
4: Night of the Living Virus
5: Spider
6: Stanley The Time-Waster
7: Stonecold Stanley
8: Scab Hunters
9: Smells Like Teen Spirit
10: Lovebug
11: Wax
12: Hiccupalypse
13: Archie Gets Busted (Series finale compilation episode)

Promotional pictures have been released by the BBC, seen below.





FILTER: - CBBC - Comedy - The Revolting World of Stanley Brown

New Red Dwarf X Clip ReleasedBookmark and Share

Sunday, 9 September 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
Another teaser clip from the forthcoming new series of Red Dwarf has been released online by digital channel Dave.

The clip, entitled Two Forks, shows Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) revealing to Rimmer (Chris Barrie) the ship's "weapons of mass disappointment" and was released as part of this weekend's countdown celebration of the cult sci-fi comedy to mark the impending start of the tenth series on Thursday 4th October.

The channel has begun repeating Red Dwarf from Series 8 down to Series 1 on Saturdays and Sundays, and another trailer for the tenth series is to be released next weekend.




FILTER: - Red Dwarf - Online - Comedy - Dave

Wolfblood Storylines ReleasedBookmark and Share

Saturday, 1 September 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
The BBC has released storyline details for the first four episodes of CBBC's new fantasy action drama Wolfblood.

The show stars Aimee Kelly as Maddy Smith and Bobby Lockwood as Rhydian Morris, pictured, who are both secretly part of a mysterious race known as wolfbloods.

Appearing in the 13-part series as Maddy's best friends Shannon and Tom are Louisa Connolly-Burnham and Kedar Williams-Stirling. Also in the show are Jonathan Raggett (Jimi - previously spelled "Jimmy" in BBC information) and Gabrielle Green (Katrina).

Trailers and a teaser are available to view on the programme's CBBC page. Please note, however, that because of licensing restrictions they might not play outside the UK.

The trailers state that the show will air on Mondays and Tuesdays at 5.15pm on the CBBC channel, with the page adding that the show starts on Monday 10th September.

Maddy and Rhydian meet for the first time. Maddy has been living in Stoneybridge for years with her wolfblood family. She's been taught to conceal her special abilities and keep her family's secret, even locking her parents in the cellar on the full moon.

Rhydian is a foster kid, and until he starts at Maddy's school has never met another wolfblood and thought he was the only one. He's wary of Maddy and she's fearful of him. Not realising that he has been fostered, she thinks his family are invading her territory. When she finds out the truth she tries to explain their heritage to him, but is still worried he will give them all away.

Maddy has kept her wolfblood secret from her best friends Tom and Shannon her whole life, which makes things difficult when Shannon becomes obsessed with the idea there is a beast on the moors, not realising it's likely to be Maddy's mum or dad!

Maddy's mum worries that Rhydian is growing up in care with no wolfblood support, and invites him round for dinner so they can tell him more about his heritage and how he can blend into human society. But the dinner doesn't quite go as she hoped - he is shocked to learn that they are locked up each full moon and thinks it's restrictive and unnatural. Not only that, Maddy learns for the first time that there are wolfbloods living in the wild who are dangerous, hating both humans and "tame wolfbloods".

Meanwhile, Shannon thinks she finally has proof of the "beast on the moors". She has a photo of a wolf and puts up posters of it all around the school. When her proof mysteriously goes missing Shannon is distraught and the laughing stock of the school so she goes on a mission to get a new photo. After her parents' revelation Maddy suddenly realises she is in terrible danger, as the wolf in the photo is a wild wolfblood.

Today is the school art exhibition and everyone has drawn pictures on the theme of family. Rhydian's is a picture of a lonely boy, with silhouettes of parents in the distant background. When the families arrive though, it's obvious that lots of kids have problems with their parents, including Tom's dad, who doesn't turn up, and Jimi's dad, who ignores his artwork.

Overnight, the exhibition is trashed, pictures are ripped, and Katrina's mum's jacket, which she brought in as her project, has been ruined - and she didn't know she'd borrowed it!) Jimi spreads rumours that it was Rhydian, so Maddy, Shannon, and Tom go on the hunt for the real vandal. Who has a grudge against Rhydian?

Maddy's first change is rapidly approaching, as are her exams, which isn't a great combination! Keeping her secret is becoming more and more difficult, especially when it causes her to break promises to her friends and be short-tempered with them.

Under extreme pressure in the first exam, the stress gets too much for Maddy and she starts to transform. Rhydian senses this and causes a distraction by breaking the fire alarm, which only makes the situation with Shannon and Tom even worse.





FILTER: - CBBC