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On November 1, 2023, at 11:00 Pm, BBC Four will air “Margi Clarke Remembers… Making Out.” This program features actress Margi Clarke as she reminisces about the popular 1980s comedy drama series, “Making Out,” written by Debbie Horsfield. The series gained acclaim for its portrayal of working women in the northern regions of England, celebrating their lives and struggles.

“Making Out” was set in the fictional New Lyne Electrics building in Manchester and followed the everyday experiences of women working in a factory. It became a symbol of empowerment and highlighted the ups and downs of life on the factory floor.

In “Margi Clarke Remembers… Making Out,” viewers can expect a journey back in time, reliving the moments that made the series so beloved. Margi Clarke’s insights add a personal touch to this nostalgic trip.

If you’re interested in the history of television and stories of working women in the 1980s,...

1985 was the year of Back To The Future, Rocky IV and Rambo II. But what about these 20 movies, that also deserve a fair share of love?

Thirty years ago, Marty McFly was riding high with the smash hit Back To The Future, while Sylvester Stallone enjoyed his most successful year yet with the one-two punch of Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV. It was an era of family sci-fi and teen comedies and bullet-spraying action, where The Breakfast Club and Teen Wolf rubbed shoulders with Death Wish 3 and Commando. Then there were low-key dramas like Out Of Africa and The Color Purple, which were both awards magnets at the Oscars.

Away from all those big hits, 1985 saw the release of a wealth of less successful movies, some of which found a second life on the then-huge home video circuit. Here's our pick of 20 underappreciated films from the year of Rambo,...

Actor and lead singer with the Flying Pickets during the early 1980s, he went on to take roles in several popular TV series, including Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale

Brian Hibbard, who has died of prostate cancer aged 65, first found fame as a member of the Flying Pickets, a group of actors who left the socialist playwright John McGrath's 7:84 theatre group to woo audiences through their a cappella singing. They topped the pop charts in 1983 with a cover version of Only You, trumping Yazoo, the duo of Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke, who had reached No 2 with their original recording. This Christmas No 1 single and the group's flamboyant look – gaudy suits, large hats and Hibbard's massive sideburns – led to brief stardom for the Flying Pickets, a name coined because some of them had supported the miners during their strikes of 1972 and 1974. They hit the Top 10 again with another cover,...

Former Coronation Street star Beverley Callard has been forced to pull out of a pantomime in Sheffield for health reasons. The actress, best known for her role as Weatherfield favourite Liz McDonald, had been scheduled to appear as the Wicked Queen in a production of Sleeping Beauty at the city's Lyceum Theatre. Callard will now be replaced in the part by Margi Clarke, who played Coronation Street's Jackie Dobbs. "I am so disappointed that I won't be able to take to the stage in Sleeping Beauty at the Lyceum this Christmas," Callard told the Manchester Evening News. "I am particularly sorry I won't have the opportunity (more)...

Margi Clarke has opened up about her one-off guest role in Waterloo Road, which sees her take on the part of a troublesome grandmother. The former Coronation Street star appears in tonight's episode of the BBC One drama. Clarke is introduced as feisty Bette Mansfield, the gran of students Shona and Rhona. Viewers will soon learn that Shona and Rhona are caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between their mum and grandmother, who soon takes matters into her own hands with a stunt that could jeopardise Karen Fisher's community café launch. Clarke told the Liverpool Echo: "It's a lovely little storyline and the young girls I've been working with are superbly talented. What I loved about working on Waterloo Road was it reminded me of why I got into acting in the first place, my original dream. "It was the biggest (more)...

Jackie Dobbs is to take advantage of her son Tyrone's marriage woes to worm her way back into 'Coronation Street'. The scheming single mother, played by Margi Clarke, is to return to Weatherfield after hearing Tyrone's (Alan Halsall) marriage to Molly - who has been secretly having an affair with his business partner Kevin Webster - is on the rocks, making her son's life even more difficult. A soap insider said: ''Jackie's going to see this as a great opportunity to turn Tyrone's misery to her advantage. By giving him no choice but to accept her support, Jackie will get a ..

Actress Margi Clarke has returned to filming with Coronation Street as Tyrone Dobbs's loudmouth mother Jackie. Last week, the 55-year-old Liverpudlian walked back onto the cobbles for the first time in a year to film scenes in connection with her son Tyrone's tumultuous marriage to his adulterous wife Molly (Vicky Binns). A Weatherfield source told Digital Spy: "With Tyrone and Molly's marriage potentially in jeopardy, how will Jackie's arrival affect the course of events? More to the point, why does (more)...

Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall has revealed that he would like to see his screen mum return on a more permanent basis. Later this month, the 26-year-old's character Tyrone Dobbs is to wed his long-term love Molly Compton (Vicky Binns) in a classic will-they-won't-they ceremony. His screen mum Jackie Dobbs (Margi Clarke) makes another brief comeback for the nuptials following her successful short stint last year. However, Halsall has said that he would like to see Clarke return in a regular role. He told Digital Spy: "I'd (more)...

Coronation Street star Margi Clarke has spoken candidly about her cocaine addiction for the first time. The 54-year-old actress started to rely on the class-a drug after leaving her role as Jackie Dobbs on the ITV1 soap in 1999. She was also still grieving for the loss of her mother Frances, who passed away in 1995. "I had to somehow get over not being in the limelight, not being able to express myself in a creative way," Clarke told Liverpool radio station City Talk. "I was off my cake. I was taking cocaine. I loathe it. I think it's got an awful lot of people on mind control and my mind was controlled by it. I used to call it the white worm, it burrows a hole (more)...

Coronation Street star Margi Clarke has credited troubled ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne for turning her life around. The actress, who plays Tyrone's mother Jackie Dobbs on the ITV1 soap, received financial help from Gazza after being made bankrupt in 2005. She used the cash to learn about naturopathy, a branch of alternative medicine. "I was in debt, a lot of debt. There have been reports saying that it was £10,000, but that's wrong," Margi told the News of the World. "Add a zero and you might be closer!" Speaking about Gazza's influence, she added: "I told him about the [naturopathy] course but said I didn't think I could do it. It was December (more)...

Coronation Street characters Jackie Dobbs and John Stape are to reprise their Weatherfield roles later this year.

Margi Clarke, who originally appeared in the Itv soap for one year between 1998 and 1999, will return as Tyrone's (Alan Halsall) mum Jackie Dobbs.

A source for the Manchester-based soap told Ds: "Margi's return is heavily penciled in but she's not signed her contract yet. We really do hope she does make a comeback as it ties in perfectly with the development of Tyrone and Molly.

"We also . . .

Opened Feb. 14, 2003

LONDON -- "Revengers Tragedy" provides the perfect platform for the very individual talents of director Alex Cox. Working from an impressive adaptation by Frank Cottrell Boyce of Thomas Middleton's 1607 play, he concocts a gloriously over-the-top revenge comedy-drama that could attract a cult following.

Theatrical life will probably be limited, but Cox has a fan base, and his films are always worth a look.

The updated play is transposed to gangland Liverpool of 2011, a ravaged city replete with partly demolished buildings and wrecked cars that is run by a corrupt duke and his vicious sons. Christopher Eccleston plays Vindici, a nobleman who returns to the city to avenge the murder of his bride, killed by the lusty duke (Derek Jacobi, sporting pale makeup and bright-red lipstick).

Vindici plots and counterplots against the duke's sons and other enemies until bloodshed and mayhem bring about the end of the rule of the duke and his clan.

With outrageous costume design by Monica Aslanian and brash production design from Cecilia Montiel and Remi Vaughan-Richards, the film could have been an overblown mess. But Cox is an experienced pro. He keeps an impressive control of the production, allowing the performances to border on the extreme yet serve the high drama of the Jacobean tale. Eccleston is powerful as the conniving Vindici, while Jacobi is suitably outrageous as the nasty duke.

Perhaps best of all, though, is Eddie Izzard as the duke's scheming son Lussurioso. With delectable line delivery, he maintains a devious playfulness throughout the story.

The film is also littered with various Liverpool-based performers, including Margi Clarke as Hannah and Antony Booth (father-in-law to British Prime Minister Tony Blair) as Lord Antonio.

There is a great deal of individualistic energy to Cox's film, which best of all achieves that great feat of not fitting into any easy cinematic bracket. Mixing comedy-drama with horror-revenge, he has constructed a refreshingly odd and highly watchable film.

REVENGERS TRAGEDY

The Film Council and Northcroft Films present a Bard Entertainments production of an Exterminating Angel film

Credits:

Director: Alex Cox

Screenwriter: Frank Cottrell Boyce

Based on the play by: Thomas Middleton

Producers: Margaret Matheson, Tod Davies

Executive producers: Paul Trijbits, Carolyn Bennett

Director of photography: Len Gowing

Production designers: Cecilia Montiel, Remi Vaughan-Richards

Music: Chumbawamba

Costume designer: Monica Aslanian

Editor: Ray Fowlis

Cast:

Vindici: Christopher Eccleston

Lussurioso: Eddie Izzard

Duke: Derek Jacobi

Firework: Kevin Knapman

Duchess: Diana Quick

Imogen: Sophie Dahl

Gloriana: Jean Butler

Running time -- 109 minutes

No MPAA rating...