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“If you want to make a TV drama about opium smokers, sadomasochists and imperial slavery in the 19th century, then write your own,” whines The Daily Mail‘s Peter Hitchens about Steven Knight’s new Great Expectations adaptation, presumably forgetting that in 2017, Knight did exactly that in 8-part Gothic Regency thriller Taboo.

Knight’s previous series starring Tom Hardy, bleeds into his take on Charles Dickens’ class and snobbery novel, which loses the comedy and grimes up the characters with the addition of adult content. Great Expectations returns to Knight’s constant theme of social mobility, moving away from ones roots, and the upper classes being mad, evil bastards, as explored in six series of Peaky Blinders.

Here’s the impressive cast amassed for this six-part drama.

Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham

Nobody needs an introduction to Olivia Colman, she’s been firmly in national treasure territory for years now,...

All change! No sooner had Mike Wozniak charmed the nation by undermining a vole, and put us all off our tea with his downstairs casserole, than it was all over. The current cohort of Taskmaster contestants have finished their last task, and it’s time for a new set of contenders. Please give a warm welcome to series 12 contestants: Desiree Burch, Victoria Coren-Mitchell, Alan Davies, Guz Khan and Morgana Robinson.

Series 12 is set to air at an unconfirmed date later this year on Taskmaster’s still-relatively new home of Channel 4. It’s “Coming Soon” according to the post-finale teaser.

Also arriving in 2021 is the show’s second Champion of Champions special miniseries. That one is set to welcome back the overall winners from series six to ten: Ed Gamble, Lou Sanders, Kerry Godliman, Liza Tarbuck and Richard Herring. If Taskmaster keeps going until series 25 then presumably they’ll be...

Andrey Konchalovsky has been making movies in his native Russia for more than half a century and he occasionally works in English. His 1985 film “Runaway Train” earned Oscar bids for lead Jon Voight and featured player Eric Roberts but he was not nominated. But his new Russian-language feature “Dear Comrades” could well earn him that long overdue recognition from the Academy Awards.

This intense docudrama about the 1962 massacre of a workers demonstrating in Novocherkassk was feted at the Venice Film Festival with a special jury prize. And this Neon release just made the cut for Best International Feature at the Oscars and numbers among the 15 films vying for the five nominations.

At Rotten Tomatoes, “Dearest Comrades!” earned a jaw-dropping score of 96. The critical consensus described the film as “a sharp, commanding look at a dark chapter in Soviet history made even more effective by its director’s cold fury.” Among...

by Nathaniel R

Russia has announced that Andrey Konchalovskiy's Dear Comrades!, a Grand Jury Prize winner in Venice, will be their selection for the Oscars. This is the third time Russia has selected Konchalovsky to submit them. The 83 year old director is deeply tied to Russian cinematic history. He's the elder brother of Russia's most Oscar-loved director Nikita Mikhalkov (Burnt by the Sun) and he began his career writing and working for the legendary Andrei Tarkovsky (on Ivan's Childhood and Andre Rublev) in the early 1960s before launching his own directorial career.  He even tried his hand at English language films in the 1980s making Duet for One with Julie Andrews and the underappreciated Shy People with Barbara Hershey. His first Russian submission House of Fools in 2002 was unsuccessul. His second submission, the hugely lauded Paradise  in 2016, got close to the nomination, securing a finalist spot for itself. Will...

Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.

Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.

Scroll down for the full list

The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.

Venice’s Special Jury Prize-winning “Dear Comrades!,” a Russian historical drama directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, has been sold by Films Boutique to Southern Europe.

“Dear Comrades!” was acquired for Italy by Paolo Del Brocco at Rai Cinema and for Spain by the Barcelona-based distributor Vercine.

The film, which sheds light on the Novocherkassk massacre, was produced, co-written (with Elena Kiseleva) and directed by Konchalovsky, a revered and now veteran Russian auteur who is best-known for directing “Runaway Train,” “Duet For One” and “House Of Fools.”

Shot in black and white, the politically-minded film retells the tragic events of 1962, when the Soviet Union military opened fire on workers from a construction plant who were staging one of the first street protests in Soviet Russia. The movie stars Julia Vysotskaya (”Paradise”).

“Dear Comrades!” world premiered in main competition at the Lido to strong reviews and went on to win the Special Jury Prize.

Andrei Konchalovsky’s feature played in Competition on the Lido.

Berlin-based international sales outfit Films Boutique has announced a number of deals on its Venice Competition title Dear Comrades!, directed by veteran Russian auteur Andrei Konchalovsky.

Dear Comrades! premiered in Venice this week to strong reviews. Set in the early 1960s, it tells the story behind the strike which led to the so-called ‘Novocherkassk Massacre’.

Deals have now been concluded with Benelux (Cherry Pickers), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), Greece (Weird Wave), Portugal (Legendmain Filmes), ex-Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), the Baltics (A-One Films Baltic), Bulgaria (Beta Film Ltd), and...

Sin Photo: Courtesy of PÖFF Andrei Konchalovsky Photo: Courtesy of PÖFF Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky will receive one of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival's two lifetime achievements awards later this month.

The festival, which runs from November 15 to December 1, will also screen his latest film Sin - a portrait of the Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti - along with 2002's Chechen war drama House Of Fools.

Konchalovsky’s career spans over five decades, with films including The Story of Asya Klyachina (1966) and Uncle Vanya (1970) to The Postman’s White Nights (2014) and Paradise (2016). He has also made English-language film, including Runaway Train (1985) Maria’s Lovers (1984), Duet for One (1986), Shy People (1986) and Homer and Eddie (1989).

He has won accolades including the Venice Silver Lion, the Cannes Grand Jury Prize, Karlovy Vary's Crystal Globe and the Sebastian Golden Shell.

He also won an Emmy for best director for his small screen work with The Odyssey...

Louisa Mellor Dec 13, 2017

We’ve taken a highlighter to this year’s Christmas and New Year TV schedules and circled what we’ll be watching this festive season…

Amid the cosy repeats and cranberry-stuffed cookery shows on TV over the next few weeks are a few gems. There’s no Sherlock or Charlie Brooker’s TV Wipe this year, but there are plenty of treats, not least the return of The League Of Gentlemen for a three-part anniversary series and Peter Capaldi’s last hurrah in the Tardis in the Doctor Who Christmas episode.

See related 26 new TV shows to watch in 2017

Over on Netflix, six new episodes of Black Mirror are coming to usher in the New Year, two days into which we welcome the return of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s genius anthology Inside No. 9.

Not to gloss over a spooky M.R. James night on BBC Four,...

Ron Hogan Dec 4, 2017

Josh McDermitt brings some much-needed fun to The Walking Dead season 8 as Eugene Porter, the focus of Time For After. Spoilers...

This review contains spoilers.

See related  Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

8.7 Time For After

The Walking Dead is a show with a lot of interesting characters who speak in interesting ways. Negan is probably the most obvious one; he spins long sentences and crams in strange, infantile profanity. Rick has lots of long speeches that allow writers to really dig into a specific topic. Jadis is... well, she's different, but not entirely complicated, you just cut out non-essential words and boil everything down to noun-verb or verb-adjective phrases. But the character that has to be the most fun to write for is Eugene Porter, and he's the...

Mike Cecchini Dec 4, 2017

Darkseid, the biggest cosmic villain in the DC Universe, was supposed to make an appearance in the Justice League movie.

Spoilers lie ahead for Justice League

See related  Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

It's been clear for quite some time that the version of Justice League that made it into cinemas went through extensive changes. Fans have devoted considerable energy to wondering how things would have turned out if its production hadn't been so troubled, or if original director Zack Snyder had been able to complete the film, rather than have its reshoot and post production process overseen by Joss Whedon. 

While there's no shortage of moments in the trailers that didn't appear in the film, most of those seem relatively minor in the grand scheme of things,...

Kayti Burt Dec 4, 2017

The latest Outlander episode is diverting stuff, but without much going on underneath the surface. Spoilers ahead in our review...

This review contains spoilers.

See related Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

3.12 The Bakra

Have you ever gone to a party and it seems like everyone you've ever met is there? That was more or less the plot of tonight's Outlander, which saw Claire and Jamie finally arriving in Kingston, Jamaica and getting serious about their search for Young Ian. This led our favourite couple to the house of the city's governor, and to an extravagant gala... because what good is a period drama without an opulent party awkwardly built on the back of a slave trade to which the show's protagonists half-heartedly object?

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Juliette Harrisson Dec 4, 2017

Here's how The Undiscovered Country feeds into Star Trek; Discovery. Spoilers for both ahead...

Contains spoilers for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and for Star Trek: Discovery.

See related Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

It's well known that Jj Abrams, along with many other Trekkies, Trekkers, and people who sometimes watch Star Trek, is especially fond of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, and used that film as inspiration for his own take on Star Trek in the recent movies. The Wrath Of Khan is many people’s favourite Trek film, one of the best of the Star Trek movies, the source of the idea that the even-numbered ones are the good ones. Its themes, of death and rebirth, youth and ageing, fathers and sons, and...

Marc Buxton Dec 4, 2017

Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. reinvents itself once again for its action-packed season five premiere. Spoilers ahead...

This review contains spoilers.

See related Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

5.1 & 5.2 Orientation

Last year on Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., the show hopped genres from hi-tech super hero espionage to supernatural thrill-fest to Matrix-like action. And now, here in season of 5 of Marvel’s first modern TV series, we have hopped genres again into the realm of apocalyptic sci-fi survival as this new season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. starts off with a huge bang.

And boy, did we need it. After six weeks of watching Marvel’s Inhumans endlessly wander around Hawaii aggressively not using their powers, it sure feels good to have some proper Marvel action on ABC. So where to begin?...

Ryan Lambie Dec 4, 2017

Co-producer Stephanie Austin talks to us about the trials of bringing one of the biggest movies of all time, Terminator 2, to the screen...

In 1990, producer Stephanie Austin, previously known for her work in television, helped shepherd one of the biggest films of the decade to the big screen. Little did she know at the time, as she first looked through James Cameron's ambitious sequel script, that she would soon be producing the most expensive movie up to that point - a new high-watermark in special effects, and a proving ground for other CGI blockbusters.

See related  Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

Over 25 years later, Terminator 2: Judgment Day still looks as shiny as ever - but the confidence and assured pace of its director's vision gives...

Simon Brew Dec 4, 2017

The summer of 1990 was supposed to be a showdown between Dick Tracy and Days Of Thunder. It was a bit of an odd rivalry...

It would be fair to say that the top five movies at the Us box office in 1990 didn’t follow the rule book. In fact, 1990 saw Hollywood’s blockbuster formula falter, to the point that conversations were rife about whether a sea change was coming. Dramtic changes in blockbuster mentality were certainly on the way, as it happened, but not for a decade or so. Yet the seed was planted in 1990 that sure-fire blockbuster hits weren’t always, well, sure-fire blockbuster hits.

See related Vic and Bob: an appreciation House Of Fools episode 1 review: The Conan Affair House Of Fools: BBC cancels Reeves and Mortimer's sitcom

Not that many people saw it coming, Off the back of 1989’s blockbuster business, Hollywood was bullish.

Louisa Mellor Dec 5, 2017

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are bringing back Big Night Out for a one-off special to air on BBC Two this December the 29th...

Get ready to shout "What's on the end of the stick, Vic?" because BBC Two is reviving Vic Reeves Big Night Out for one night only. Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves will be performing characters old and new from the nineties variety show send-up in a one-off episode.

See related 31 scary TV episodes that truly terrified us Top 50 genuinely scary videogames 70 genuinely creepy horror movies

Celebrating three decades of the pair's brilliantly unparalleled absurdity, Vic & Bob's Big Night Out will air on Friday the 29th of December at 9pm on BBC Two.

Here's Bob Mortimer confirming the air date on Twitter:

%uD83D%uDCA5%uD83D%uDCA5%uD83D%uDCA5ALL New Vic And Bobs Big Night Out%uD83D%uDCA5%uD83D...

Director Andrei Konchalovsky—whose past works include House Of Fools, Gloss, and, in a brief, bizarre turn into the world of brainless ’80s action blockbusters, Tango & Cash—has spoken out against a cornerstone of the communcal movie-going experience: eating popcorn. “My films are not for those who eat popcorn,” Konchalovsky told Russian news agency Tass, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ll try to make sure that popcorn is not sold at screenings of my films.”

Konchalovsky‘s latest movie, Paradise, was recently submitted as a Russian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Oscars, and has since been shortlisted for the award. The director denied himself a similar honor two years ago, when he refused to theatrically release The Postman’s White Nights, presumably because he was worried audiences would get butter on it. It’s not clear how serious the director was about his popcorn ...

Louisa Mellor Dec 13, 2016

Time Commanders is back! But is the revival a magnificent victory or ignominious defeat?

This review contains spoilers.

See related Guardians Of The Galaxy 2: James Gunn on Baby Groot Thor: Ragnarok - will John Cena make an appearance? Marvel Studios movies: UK release date calendar

Prior to episode one of the revived Time Commanders, it would have been fair to describe my knowledge of the Punic Wars as ‘not extensive’ and even fairer to describe it as gleaned entirely from this Eddie Izzard routine. Post-episode one, I don’t mind saying that I picked up a few things.

I learned that Carthaginian leader Hannibal, for instance, had the look of Michael Sheen playing the lead in a CG animation biopic about Beppe from EastEnders. Roman general Scipio (pronounced Skippy, oh – the disappointed utterance of someone discovering the famous bush kangaroo pleasuring herself against a Eucalyptus tree) however,...

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer would love to take 'House of Fools' to another TV network. The comedy duo were disappointed when the BBC axed their sitcom after just two series and would jump at the chance to take it to a new home. Asked if they would revive the show for another channel, they both agreed they would and Bob added: ''We miss 'House of Fools' a lot. ''We always enjoyed doing that; it felt a bit like a different and fresh show for British TV, so we always feel attached to those sort of things. ''The same as when 'Shooting Stars' first...

There is something very likable about Matt Berry, and it’s not just his awesome voice. The fact that we see him in many British comedies shows just how talented he is, and with Toast of London: Series Three we see him at his best.

It would be easy to believe that Steven Toast is Matt Berry, the character feels like the ones we’ve seen him play before. In Toast of London though we see him sending up the stereotypical “Luvvies” acting community that we usually see haunting the streets of London looking for their next job.

Each episode of the show typically sees Toast being given a job by his “old school” agent Jane Plough (Doon Mackichan) and given some bad advice by his housemate Ed Howzer-Black (Robert Bathurst). What makes Toast of London interesting though is not only the outlandish characters that we meet, but also...

Bob Mortimer has undergone a triple heart bypass operation, forcing him and Vic Reeves to cancel the first leg of their 25-year anniversary tour.

The comedy duo were set to kick off a fortnight of shows - '25 Years of Reeves and Mortimer: The Poignant Moments' - in Glasgow next Sunday (November 8).

Mortimer's spokesman issued a statement to say that the star, 56, needs "several weeks" to recover from his operation on Tuesday (October 27).

"Bob would like to thank his consultant and all the nursing staff at the hospital for looking after him so well," said his rep.

"He now needs several weeks to fully recover, so unfortunately the first leg of the UK tour will be cancelled."

Dan Skinner says critics didn't get Vic & Bob's axed House of Fools

The spokesman added: "Bob very much hopes to be fit and well enough to perform the second leg in January next year.

You might know him best as oddball Angelos Epithemiou, but actor Dan Skinner has admitted he was keen to take a break from his alter-ego.

The 42-year-old comic told Digital Spy that he is working on a new Angelos live show - the first time he'll have played the character since 2013.

"I haven't left him behind," he insisted. "But I needed to take a break from it for a little, because otherwise I'd have just been doing that.

"People will always go, 'Do some more, do some more' - but I never ever wanted to do just one thing."

Skinner appeared as Angelos on the live circuit for seven years, before playing the character on BBC Two's anarchic quiz Shooting Stars from 2009 to 2011.

"Then there was another five years after Shooting Stars of doing it on television, going on tour and all the rest of it. By the end of that cycle,...

House of Fools was cancelled by BBC Two last month - and now star Dan Skinner says critics of the axed comedy simply "didn't get it".

Vic & Bob starred in the surreal sitcom, which also featured Skinner as Vic's jailbird brother Bosh.

"BBC Two needed a certain amount of viewers to make it viable to go to a third series, and I don't know if we were getting those," he told Digital Spy.

"But I think it's a real shame, because it's an alternative to the mainstream - and the broader comedy that you find on the BBC, or anywhere else - and I think we need that."

Skinner called Vic & Bob "artists", but acknowledged that their antics "won't be for everybody" .

"That's the way they've always been," he said. "They've always had people that love them, and people that hate them or don't understand them.

"I got messages,...

Naughty Plebs favourtie Ryan Sampson is going to spend autumn pulling off some crazy pranks for ITV2.

Sampson and an ensemble of rising comedy stars will rope the public into taking part in bizarre (and totally fake) reality shows for the new sketch series Glitchy.

Unsuspecting passers-by on the streets will become the stars of phoney competitions like Britain and Ireland's Next Top Hand Model, Date My Daughter and 24 Hours in a Phone Box - and surely embarrass themselves along the way.

An unlucky few might even have an unwelcome encounter with Memzo, a petty thief-turned-creepy street magician.

"I'm beyond excited that ITV have let us loose, giving our own twisted take on all of our favourite TV shows," Sampson said. "It's going to be brilliant. And weird. And weirdly brilliant!"

His revolving cast of co-conspirators includes Ellie White (House of Fools), Gabby Best (Top Coppers), Colin Hoult (Derek), Mona Yousefi...

Joanne Lumley is set to join the cast of David Walliams' new sketch show, which he is developing for the BBC.

The pilot for David Walliams and Friends is due to be filmed next Saturday, according to Radio Times.

Also appearing are Morgana Robinson from Vic and Bob's House of Fools and Mike Wozniak who played Greg Davies' neurotic friend Brian in Man Down.

Walliams has been working on the show with his Big School co-writers Steve and Andrew Dawson and Tim Inman.

There is no word yet on what sort of show he is developing and it is unclear if it will be in the same vein as Little Britain - the sketch show that made Walliams and Matt Lucas famous.

A pilot episode of David Walliams and Friends will be filmed at The London Studios next Saturday (September 19).

Production is also underway on a feature film of Absolutely Fabulous,...

There'll be no series 3 for House Of Fools, as the BBC wield the axe against the Reeves and Mortimer sitcom...

Here’s a sad one for fans of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer – their sitcom House Of Fools has been cancelled by the BBC. After two series and a Christmas special, the show - which also featured Matt Berry - hasn’t been renewed for a third run. The BBC released this statement:

"BBC2 and BBC Comedy would like to thank Vic, Bob, [producer] Lisa Clark and everyone else involved in making House of Fools, but after two fantastically inventive series the show won’t be returning.”

This isn’t the first time that House Of Fools has danced with death, either. After season 1 there were rumours of a cancellation that ultimately proved to be false. At the time, Stephen Fry said this:

"The BBC I thought, can't go more insane:...

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's sitcom House of Fools has been axed by the BBC.

The broadcaster confirmed that the comedy won't be returning to BBC Two, following the conclusion of its second series back in March.

A spokeswoman told the Radio Times: "BBC Two and BBC Comedy would like to thank Vic, Bob, [producer] Lisa Clark and everyone else involved in making House of Fools, but after two fantastically inventive series the show won't be returning."

It is thought that it was the comedy's underwhelming ratings that led to its cancellation. The first episode attracted an audience of 1.27 million in 2014, but figures quickly fell below the million mark.

The second series averaged one million viewers, but that wasn't enough to get a renewal.

House of Fools was set in "Bob's grubby flat", and saw Vic and Bob as flatmates visited by lots of unwanted guests, including lady-obsessed lothario Beef...

The voice of Patrick Star, Bill Fagerbakke, explains Spongebob to us...

The man who provides the voice to Patrick Star in Spongebob Squarepants - and thus, in the recent The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water feature - is Mr Bill Fagerbakke. As Sponge Out Of Water arrives on DVD, he spared us some time for a chat. But we started with something not so fishy...

Before we get onto Spongebob, it'd be remiss of me not to bring up the Starship Troopers animated TV show that you leant your voice to. That was the only proper companion they ever really did to the film.

Yeah. That was a cool ride. It was another time I worked with Clancy Brown too. The session director was Sue Blue, and it was so much fun. It was one of the very rare times in my voiceover career where I've portrayed a 'regular...

Matt Berry chats to us about his voice work in the new Spongebob Squarepants movie, House Of Fools, music, and Toast Of London...

We like comedian and musician Matt Berry, and it's a good time to be a fan of him and his buttery-smooth baritone. He's currently strutting his stuff in the surreal Vic & Bob's House Of Fools, and his Rose D'Or winning comedy Toast Of London returns for a third series later this year.

Now he's in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, voicing a magic space dolphin called Bubbles. Now there's a sentence you rarely find yourself typing. So naturally we had to talk to him to find out all about it...

I've followed your work ever since Snuff Box, and The SpongeBob Movie might be the craziest role you've played, would you agree?

I don't know, I get involved in some fairly far-out things, namely in...

Trevor McDonald's new ITV documentary came out on top of the ratings outside soaps, overnight data reveals.

The Mafia interested an average audience of 4.27 million (20.7%) at 9pm, with an added 240,000 (1.7%) on +1. Robson Green's More Tales from Northumberland appealed to 3.14m (13.9%) at 8pm (127k/0.6% on +1).

On BBC One, Inside Out brought in 3.47m (16.8%) at 7.30pm, while Panorama was seen by 2.03m (9.1%) at 8.30pm. A repeat of New Tricks gathered 2.85m (13.8%) at 9pm.

BBC Two's University Challenge quizzed 2.96m (13.2%) at 8pm, followed by Only Connect with 2.45m (10.9%) at 8.30pm. Kew on a Plate attracted 1.57m (7.6%) at 9pm, while House of Fools amused 619k (3.8%) at 10pm.

On Channel 4, Dispatches intrigued 501k (2.2%) at 8pm, followed by Britain's Benefit Tenants with 1.69m (8.2%) at 9pm (311k/2.1%) and Raised by Wolves with 822k (5.1%) at 10pm (153k/1.8%).

Channel 5's Police Interceptors brought in 958k (4.3%) at 8pm, while the latest Gotham thrilled 938k (4.5%) at 9pm...

Broadchurch's series two finale was the drama's highest rated episode of 2015, according to overnight figures for Monday (February 23).

The final episode of the ITV drama's latest run was seen by an average 7.62m (32.7%) at 9pm, with an added 222k (1.4%) on +1. Earlier, Robson Green's More Tales from Northumberland continued with 2.78m (12.4%) at 8pm (152k/0.6% on +1).

Broadchurch series 2 finale recap: A satisfying and unsatisfying end

On BBC One, Inside Out gathered 3.42m (15.9%) at 7.30pm, before Children of the Great Migration interested 2.13m (9.2%) at 8.30pm. New Tricks - which will air its final episode later this year - attracted 2.66m (11.4%) at 9pm.

BBC Two's University Challenge interested 3.04m (13.2%) at 8pm, while Only Connect was watched by 2.57m (11.1%) at 8.30pm. A Cook Abroad averaged 1.52m (6.5%) at 9pm, before House of Fools continued with 670k (3.9%) at 10pm.

Channel 4's Food Unwrapped attracted 1.28m (5.6%) at 8.30pm (60.4k/0.3%), while NHS: £2 Billion a Week and...

Broadchurch dipped by around 200,000 viewers from last week, overnight ratings reveal.

The ITV drama's penultimate episode was seen by an average 5.67 million (23.9%) at 9pm, with an added 298k (1.9%) on +1. Earlier, Robson Green's More Tales from Northumbria opened with 3.61m (16.2%) at 8pm.

BBC One's live Fa Cup coverage of Manchester United's win over Preston North End topped the night with 5.74m (24.6%) at 7.30pm.

Later, an EastEnders special of The Graham Norton Show entertained 2.21m (21.6%) at 10.45pm.

On BBC Two, University Challenge quizzed 2.44m (11.0%) at 8pm, followed by Only Connect with 2.07m (8.5%) at 8.30pm. A Cook Abroad appealed to 1.49m (6.3%) at 9pm, while House of Fools returned with 661k (3.8%) at 10pm.

Channel 4's Food Unwrapped attracted 1.08m (4.5%) at 8.30pm, while Ukip: The First 100 Days intrigued 916k (3.9%) at 9pm (171k/1.1% on +1). Catastrophe amused 509k (3.1%) at 10pm.

On Channel 5, My Daughter Stole My Husband fascinated 1.01m (4.4%) at 8pm, followed by Benefits...

Top Gear Patagonia Special: BBC Two, 8pm

In the final part of the Patagonia Special, the Top Gear trio continue their challenging 1,600-mile drive through Argentina.

Having encountered breathtaking scenery on their journey to Ushuaia, their adventure is brought to a dramatic and frightening climax.

Last Tango in Halifax: BBC One, 9pm

Series three of the family drama kicks off on Valentine's Day, as Gillian enjoys a date with a handsome man from Halifax.

Elsewhere, Alan and Celia plan their honeymoon in New Zealand so they can pay a visit to Alan's brother Ted. However, could the unexpected appearance of someone from Alan's past threaten the newlyweds' bliss?

Homeland: Channel 4, 9pm

Carrie and Saul are back in the Us for the final episode of season four.

In 'Long Time Coming', the pair continue to investigate what Carrie (Clare Danes) saw while she was stationed in Islamabad.

House of Fools: BBC Two,...

We’ve scanned the UK Christmas TV and radio schedules for the festive fortnight and circled a few programmes you may enjoy…

We’ve taken our glittery pen to the pages of this year’s festive TV Listings guide to circle a selection of shows that might tickle your Christmas fancy.

Supplement your festive box-set viewing with appearances from the Doctor and Clara, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Dame Judi Dench, Professor Danielle George, the work of Roald Dahl, Charlie Brooker, David Attenborough, the much-missed Rik Mayall, and many more...

Drama Doctor Who: Last Christmas

The tenth annual Doctor Who Christmas Special since the show’s 2005 return, and Peter Capaldi’s first real festive Tardis adventure. Nick Frost, Michael Troughton, Dan Starkey and Nathan McMullen all co-star in this Father Christmas North Pole caper, alongside Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. Watch the latest trailer, here.

When’s it on? 6.15pm on Christmas Day,...

Universal Pictures

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (again), and as usual it’s getting to those last few weeks before the big day when creative ideas and planning make way for frantic grabs at whatever is left on the shelves after the Black Friday zombie hordes have cleared everything out.

But fear not: because the best of Christmas is watching movies, re-watching old TV specials and trying hard to forget that George Lucas ever decided that anyone wanted a Star Wars Christmas show, there’ll always be a helping hand round these parts for those who want it.

So if you’re buying for a difficult brother, a picky sister or just for the film, gaming or TV fan in your life, what follows is a compendium of the finest gift ideas for this year’s festivities, as usual there are massive opportunities to win most of what has been included…...

Filth, Pride and Philomena among film nominees; awards take place on Jan 19 in London.

Sandi Toksvig will present the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain annual Awards at Riba, in London, on Jan 19, 2015.

In the two film categories, Pride (Stephen Beresford), The Selfish Giant (Clio Barnard) and Starred Up (Jonathan Asser) are up for Best First Screenplay, while Filth (Jon S Baird), Metro Manila (Sean Ellis & Frank E Flowers) and Philomena (Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan) will compete for Best Screenplay.

TV programmes up for awards include Line of Duty (Jed Mercurio), Peaky Blinders (Steven Knight), The Great Train Robbery (Chris Chibnall) and House of Fools (Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer).

A special award for outstanding contribution to writing and writers will be presented on the night.

Full shortlist

TV Drama – Long Form

Line of Duty (Jed Mercurio), Happy Valley (Sally Wainwright), Peaky Blinders (Steven Knight)

TV Drama – Short Form

The Great Train Robbery (Chris Chibnall), Turks & Caicos (David Hare), [link...

BBC Television has unveiled new details of its line-up for 2014.

The late Rik Mayall will be remembered in tribute Lord of Misrule, narrated by Simon Callow and featuring contributions from Michael Palin, Simon Pegg and more.

Michael McIntyre will host his Very Christmassy Christmas Show, while John Bishop's Christmas Show will also return for another year.

Festive editions of popular quiz shows Would I Lie To You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Qi, Mock The Week, Pointless Celebrities and Celebrity Mastermind have also been confirmed.

In addition to joining Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond for a two-part Top Gear special, James May will also host a new episode of Toy Stories and Gareth Malone is back with The Choir: New Military Wives.

Miranda, Mrs Brown's Boys: 14 Christmas TV highlights from the BBC

Danny Cohen, Director of Television, said: "This year's Christmas line-up on BBC Television is one of our best ever.

We've had the John Lewis advert, the supermarkets are filled with Quality Street tins and Bob Geldof has gathered together a load of popstars to sing about Africa. There's no point hiding and denying it, Christmas is very nearly here.

Even if you're a festive grinch, one of the best parts of Christmas is that it means a bumper selection box of great telly. The BBC has released first look pictures today of its seasonal highlights, and here are 14 picks of what you can look forward to over the holidays.

1. Cuckoo

The BBC Three comedy, which now stars Twilight's Taylor Lautner alongside Greg Davies, will get into the festive spirit.

2. Call the Midwife

Jessica Raine may have left, but the Christmas tradition of Call the Midwife specials continues. This is part 1 of Miranda Hart taking over your screens this December.

3. Esio Trot

Another of Roald Dahl's classics gets adapted...

The British Comedy Awards 2014 nominations have been revealed.

Matt Berry's Toast of London is up for six awards, while Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos has four nominations.

Berry himself has three nominations, including Best TV Comedy Actor and new category Best Internet Comedy Short.

The BBC's Would I Lie to You? receives four nominations, as team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack find themselves both up for Best Male TV Comic.

Berry, Enfield and Whitehouse are up against The Wrong Mans' Mathew Baynton in the Best TV Comedy Actor category, while Alan Carr will need to defend his Best Comedy Entertainment Personality title from Graham Norton, Ant & Dec and Adam Hills.

This year's ceremony has introduced two new categories - Best Internet Comedy Short and Best Comedy Moment of 2014. Best Comedy Film and Best International Comedy Programme have also made a return to the line-up,...

Should you be watching Matt Berry comedy show Toast Of London on Channel 4? In the words of Stephen Toast... Yes!

Did you know that musical star Michael Ball has double the amount of blood in his body as that of the average human? It's what allows him to belt out those big notes.

If you watched Series 1 of Toast Of London then you'll already know that's true.

But if you didn't know and didn't watch, then that's entirely not your fault. After a strong pilot, Channel 4 took the first series of Matt Berry and Arthur Matthews' comedy about failing actor Steven Toast (Berry) and buried it in the late hour soil of Sunday nights, in a time slot so obscure you'd need a TV guide, compass, shovel, and remote to find it.

Fortunately the Rose D'Or committee still managed to unearth it on 4Od - no doubt...

Antipode Sales & Distribution will handle global sales for Andrei Konchalovsky’s Competition title.

Andrei Konchalovsky Studios has struck a deal with fledgling sales house Antipode Sales & Distribution to handle global sales for Venice Competition title, The Postman’s White Nights which will receive its world premiere on Friday (Sept 5) at the Venice Film Festival.

Written, directed, and produced by Andrei Konchalovsky, The Postman’s White Nights marks the Russian filmmaker’s 41st feature and his fifth visit to the Lido - having previously been awarded the Grand Special Jury Prize for House of Fools (2002) and the Golden Lion for Ivan’s Childhood (1962).

The Postman’s White Nights features non-actors and tells the story of Aleksey Tryapitsyn, a postman who lives in a remote village in northern Russia. Aleksey is the village’s sole connection to the outside world, relying on his motorboat to bridge the two civilizations.

But when his boat’s motor is stolen and the...

youtube.com/hankshanklin

What is a Mulligan, without an O’Hare? A Davey, without a Donald? What is a Vic, without a Bob?

Few comedy couplets in the world can contend with the genius nonsense that has splurged from the brains of these two over the past few decades. They taught us that a Bounty bar is the exact size and weight as a human thumb; Bill Cosby was not, in fact, the world’s first black man (we’ve been lied to our whole lives), and to never, Ever eat muesli on a mountain.

Now it’s tricky to encapsulate the entirety of Reeve’s and Mortimer’s greatest work in one article: not because the Internet won’t give us room, it’s very generous where space is concerned… but because there is just so much brilliant Vic and Bob content out there. From the humble beginnings of...

Rob casts his eye over the BBC's collection of iPlayer comedy shorts, feat. Bob Mortimer, Reece Shearsmith, Morgana Robinson and more...

Feature

Proving that it's for more than just catching up on that episode of Orphan Black you missed because your mum phoned wanting to know if she should put a sticker over her laptop's webcam “in case hackers might see me putting in my credit card details”, BBC iPlayer has this week launched a series of 6 online-exclusive original comedy shorts, under the vaguely Soviet-sounding banner title, Original Comedy Shorts.

It's another toe-dip into content created exclusively for the BBC's electronic attic: Auntie Beeb has stuck an Elastoplast over her webcam, typed 'give me comedy' into her computer, and this is the result.

And, like a cheap pillow, it's comforting but also vaguely disappointing. Partly because it's all established comedians piloting the fun rather than up-and-coming talent. Yes, it's a...

Feature Sarah Dobbs 3 Apr 2014 - 07:00

What have Matthew Holness, Richard Ayoade, Alice Lowe and Matt Berry been up to in the decade since Garth Marenghi's Darkplace?

It’s been ten years now since author, visionary, and dreamweaver Garth Marenghi’s legendary horror TV show, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, was rescued from a vault in Peru and broadcast to a largely unappreciative audience.

Or, you know, in the reality we actually inhabit, it’s been ten years since a group of comedians donned 80s costumes and pretended to be aging filmmakers commenting on their own ‘lost’ series. Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace was a perfect send-up of both trashy low-budget horror and science fiction productions and pompous creators, as a bewigged Matthew Holness straight-facedly explained the unique genius of his horror writing alter ego even as his greatest creation, Dr Rick Dagless M.D., mugged away in the background.

It was a ludicrously high concept show,...

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's BBC Two comedy House of Fools has been renewed.

The sitcom - written by and starring the Shooting Stars duo - will return for a second series, the pair confirmed today (March 18).

Co-stars Daniel Simonsen, Morgana Robinson, Matt Berry and Dan Skinner are all expected to return for a second outing.

The BBC's controller of comedy commissioning Shane Allen said: "House of Fools is a much needed big old rainbow of daftness in a world that is too grey and sensible.

"Those two loveable twits work very hard at making something that looks so effortlessly silly and it's a thrill to know there's plenty more where that came from."

BBC Commission 2Nd Series Of House Of Fools!!

— bob mortimer (@RealBobMortimer) March 18, 2014

Vic and Bob said in a statement: "We are overjoyed and thankful to our great corporation for their diligence in this matter."

House of Fools...

News Louisa Mellor 18 Mar 2014 - 09:08

Hooray! Vic and Bob sitcom House Of Fools will be returning for a second series...

They made us wait a little for the news, but the BBC has finally done the right thing by Vic and Bob's House Of Fools and commissioned a second series. Six episodes of the surprising, inventive and supremely silly comedy aired on BBC Two earlier this year, with a regular cast including Dan Skinner, Morgana Robinson, Matt Berry and Daniel Simonsen.

The series takes place in Bob's titular house, shared by his Norwegian son Erik (Simonsen), Vic, and Vic's ex-con brother Bosh (Skinner). Nextdoor is the lascivious Julie (Robinson), and regular visitor Beef (Berry). The first series was a comedy that, once you relaxed into its songs, cutaways and colourful antics, was capable of cheering up even the grumpiest of Tuesdays. Hooray for its return.

Bob Mortimer made...

ITV is building up to the 2014 Brazil World Cup with a new animated football comedy from Simon Nye, the writer of Men Behaving Badly.

Warren United follows the fortunes of Warren Kinglsey, an overweight kitchen salesman and dedicated football fan. It will air on ITV.

Written by David Quantick and Dominic Holland, the show will feature the voices of Darren Boyd (Spy), Morgana Robinson (House of Fools), Morwenna Banks (Peppa Pig), Johnny Vegas and Eleanor Lawrence (Common Ground).

The production comes from Baby Cow (Uncle, Gavin and Stacey, Mighty Boosh and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa) and Canadian animation house Smiley Guy.

The show will launch on April 22.

Henry Normal, co-founder of Baby Cow productions, said: "New animated narrative series in this country are so rare. So are comedies about football, while those about fans even rarer. On several counts, therefore, we're trying something unusual."

ITV's director of digital channels Angela...