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Posted by admin on Nov 21, 2024
Posted by admin on Oct 27, 2024
Nina Sosanya, Samantha Womack, Hugh Quarshie, Patrick Robinson and many more join the cast for series two of The Marlow Murder Club in first look
Further cast are now confirmed for series two of The Marlow Murder Club(6×60’) for U and U&DRAMA. The series is a co-commission with co-producer and US broadcaster MASTERPIECE and produced by Monumental Television in association with ITV Studios.
Written by Robert Thorogood, Lucia Haynes and Julia Gilbert, the six-part series features three murder mysteries spanning across two-episode instalments. Alongside leads Samantha Bond (Judith Potts), Jo Martin (Suzie Harris), Cara Horgan (Becks Starling) and Natalie Dew (DCI Tanika Malik), guest stars include Tom Stourton (Stath Lets Flats, A Small Light), Caroline Langrishe (Lovejoy, Agatha Raisin) and James Wilby (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Poldark) as Tristram Bailey, Lady Bailey and Sir Peter Bailey in episodes one and two.
Nina Sosanya (Baby Reindeer, Screw) and Andrew Knott (Maryland, Ackley Bridge), star as Grace and Dean in episodes three and four, alongside Patrick Robinson (Sitting in Limbo, Shetland) and Samantha Womack (Eastenders, Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Phil and Caroline Wingrove. Plus, Hugh Quarshie (Holby City, Stephen) as Professor Gifford, Elizabeth Bennett (Doctors, Father Brown) as Ursula, Camilla Beeput (Hijack, The Suspect) as Jackie, and James Gaddas (Hollyoaks, Doctors) as Harry in episodes five and six.
Life in the idyllic town of Marlow has just about returned to normal after the chain of murders that troubled the community. But it’s not long before retired archaeologist Judith Potts, dog-walker, Suzie Harris and Vicar’s wife, Becks Starling are called back into action to solve a series of new crimes that befall the local residents.
From a seemingly impossible murder inside the locked study of a sweeping mansion, to the mysterious case of a man murdered in the middle of a sleepy cul-de-sac with no connection to the town, and an unexpectedly brutal accident at the prestigious Marlow sailing club that quickly reveals itself to be something more sinister, there’s no rest for our sleuthing trio. Navigating the delicate balance of Marlow society – from local aristocracy to the workers at the local boatyard, the pubs and cafes of the high street to a newly established archaeological dig – Judith, Becks and Suzie dig into all corners of Marlow life as they assist DCI Tanika Malik in her official investigations.
Resource: Corporate uktv
Posted by admin on Sep 22, 2024
The Famous Five are back! Filming begins on a brand new series of the hugely successful BBC drama
Joining the core cast are Maria Pedraza, Amir Wilson, James Wilby, Rita Tushingham, Jonathan Aris, Jamie Andrew Cutler and Jemima Rooper
BBC, Moonage Pictures (The Gentlemen) and Nicolas Winding Refn today announce filming has begun on a brand-new series of The Famous Five for the BBC in the UK, in co-production with The Mediapro Studio which also holds the distribution rights for the series in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America.
The 2 x 90min series is created for television and executive produced by Nicolas Winding Refn (byNWR) & Matthew Read (Moonage Pictures) and follows on from the highly successful first series which aired on the BBC. The premiere, The Curse of Kirrin Island, was CBBC’s number one rated episode in 2023.
Diaana Babnicova returns as George, alongside Elliott Rose as Julian, Kit Rakusen as Dick and Flora Jacoby Richardson as Anne. Making up the fifth member of The Famous Five and the gang’s faithful furry friend, is Kip, the Bearded Collie Cross playing Timmy the dog.
With Jack Gleeson, James Lance, Ann Akinjirin also reprising their roles, they are joined by new cast members, including Spanish actress Maria Pedraza (Money Heist, Elite), Amir Wilson (His Dark Materials), James Wilby (Poldark), Rita Tushingham (A Taste of Honey), Jemima Rooper (Geek Girl), Jonathan Aris (Sherlock) and Jamie Andrew Cutler (The Hurricane Heist). Rooper starred as George in the 1990s Famous Five TV series and now takes on the role of Angela Clutterbuck, a guest staying at a mysterious hotel.
The Famous Five is based on Enid Blyton’s iconic stories and follows the daring young explorers as they encounter treacherous, action-packed adventures, remarkable mysteries, unparalleled danger and astounding secrets. Series two takes our heroes into strange and challenging waters as they face life during wartime – and the hazards of growing up.
The new series sees our fearless young heroes encounter a host of new problems. Julian is under strict instructions to be a responsible older brother and keep his siblings safe whilst George is committed to seeking out the best and biggest adventures against Julian’s advice.
Credit: BBC
Posted by admin on Aug 26, 2024
Posted by admin on Aug 26, 2024
Posted by admin on Jan 28, 2022
Elliott Hasler’s indie biopic “Vindication Swim” has added Douglas Hodge and James Wilby to the cast.
Hodge recently appeared as Alfred Pennyworth in “Joker” opposite Joaquin Phoenix and has also had recurring roles in “The Great” and “Lost in Space.”
Wilby played Lord Falmouth in BBC period drama “Poldark” and has appeared in “Gosford Park” and the television series “Victoria” alongside Jenna Coleman.
“Vindication Swim” is based on the true story of Mercedes Gleitze, who became the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1927.
In the feature Gleitze is played by newcomer Kirsten Callaghan.
“The film portrays Mercedes’ upstream struggle in overcoming both the cold waters of the English Channel and the oppressive society of 1920s England,” reads the logline. “However, after a rival comes forward claiming to have accomplished the same feat, Mercedes is forced into battle to retain her record and her legacy.”
In “Vindication Swim,” Hodge will play The Newsreader while Wilby steps into the role of Mr. Havers, who is employed by Mercedes’ rival Edith Gade.
Vindication Swim” began shooting in Aug. 2019 in the U.K. before being shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since wrapped and is now in post-production at London’s Warner Bros. De Lane Lea Studios.
Resource: Variety
Posted by admin on Jul 27, 2018
James Wilby found his career stalled for a while – so thank God for Poldark!
- James Wilby talks about a career resurgence after he appeared in BBC’s Poldark
- He first earned acclaim for his role in the taboo-breaking film Maurice in 1987
Kissing Hugh Grant changed James Wilby’s life. The sight of the two handsome young actors locked in a passionate embrace in Merchant Ivory’s taboo-breaking film Maurice in 1987 launched the careers of the unknown Hugh and James, who played the lead, 31 years ago.
‘We didn’t throw ourselves into it – we hurled ourselves into it!’ says James. ‘When Hugh later became very famous with Four Weddings And A Funeral, he was asked who was the best kisser he’d had – he said “James Wilby”!’
Hugh and James got hundreds of letters from people saying the film had changed their lives, and they jointly won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. ‘We drank most of a bottle of Scotch that night on Hugh’s balcony,’ recalls James.
‘We talked more that night than we ever did while filming. I took myself very seriously, but Hugh was lighthearted. I’ve come round to Hugh’s way of thinking. You have to take it all with a pinch of salt – and I was too earnest.’
Maurice was set in an implacably homophobic Edwardian society, and it was a role for which James is well-known. He’s resisted being typecast, veering from Howards End and Gosford Park to Casualty and Midsomer Murders, but he couldn’t turn down this latest role of Lord Falmouth in Poldark.
Based on a real figure in late 18th-century Cornish politics, Falmouth was the one who spotted maverick Ross Poldark’s potential and persuaded him to stand for election following the shock death of his nephew and heir Hugh Armitage, who was Demelza Poldark’s secret lover.
Tomorrow night’s episode is the last of this series – and it ends on a particularly heart-wrenching note.
‘The show is so well written,’ says James. ‘Actors get the plaudits, but I’m only as good as the script.’
He felt the same about ITV’s Victoria, in which he played Sir Piers Gifford, ‘a rather revolting reactionary character’. But there’s a mutual respect between Falmouth and Poldark.
‘Falmouth constantly gives Ross rollockings – he needs them! I think there’s a father-son thing going on there,’ says James.
From 12 September, James will be directing a stage version of Maurice in a purpose-built theatre called Above The Stag in London’s Vauxhall. ‘I’ll depict Edwardian society as even more repressed than in the film, you’ve got to get the audience imagining the fear,’ he says.
‘Practising homosexuals could be sent to jail with hard labour, as Oscar Wilde was.’
There are telling parallels between Maurice and A Very English Scandal, Hugh Grant’s recent series about Jeremy Thorpe, despite the two being set 50 years apart. ‘It was a wonderful performance by Hugh – it’s the first time I’ve seen him completely transform himself. I was so proud of him,’ says James.
A generous man who doesn’t begrudge another’s luck, James has impressed as everything from Don Juan to Lord Mountbatten and the Queen’s father George VI without achieving Hugh’s level of stardom. He admits he would have loved to have played Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey, the role taken by Hugh Bonneville, after James had worked with its writer Julian Fellowes on Gosford Park.
‘But Hugh was brilliant,’ says James. ‘I’d been sent the script, but he was cast before I could meet the makers.
‘You have to take so many knocks in this business. In my late 40s and early 50s, my career wasn’t going as well, and it got to me.
‘But I thought, “What will happen will happen.” Someone said my problem was that I refused to pigeonhole myself, because you have to be known for something.
‘But acting is all about playing different parts. And I’ll do anything, I’m a complete tart! I’d like to play leading-man roles, but if I don’t, so what?’
His family are his strength. He and wife Shana have four children – Barney, 29, Florrie, 26, Nathaniel, 22, and Jesse Jack, 17.
For 18 years they lived in Camilla Parker Bowles’s childhood home in East Sussex, a Grade II-listed rectory called The Laines, which they sold in 2014 for £3.5 million.
‘I’ve seen actors spend a lot of time away and it’s only a matter of time until home isn’t important to them any more,’ says James. ‘If you miss important stages of your children’s life, you never get them back.
‘My wife has been behind me all the way, pulling up the slack when I was away – which was a lot. There was a point when I wasn’t a very good father because of it, but I’ve made up for it.
‘Playing guitar with all of my kids and two of my best friends till 5am for my birthday this year was one of the most joyous evenings of my life.’
For all the ups and downs of his profession, he is content. ‘You think filming is glamorous, but the only glamour is the awards ceremonies and premieres.
‘I don’t give a monkey’s about materialism; I love nature and beauty so I’ll pay a bit for that. We have a long view to the South Downs where we live and it’s so beautiful here, really special.’
James was known for baring his body, so does Aidan Turner’s Poldark have competition? ‘You saw my buttocks a lot in my early career,’ he laughs. ‘But there’s no flesh shown by me in Poldark!’
Resource: Daily Mail
Posted by admin on Apr 10, 2015
North London’s Park Theatre is doing cracking business with a play about Margaret Thatcher’s downfall a quarter of a century ago.
It examines the role not only of Sir Geoffrey Howe — the one-time ‘dead sheep’ who savaged Mrs T with his Commons resignation speech — but also his Left-leaning wife, Elspeth.
Lady Howe has long been a bogeywoman for Thatcherites; some reckon she wrote plodder Geoffrey’s speech. Playwright Jonathan Maitland, a political journalist, accepts that she stiffened her husband’s resolve but he has high regard for her.
She and Geoffrey (played by James Wilby) are the play’s heroes, standing up to the hectoring of Steve Nallon’s big-shouldered, caricatured Mrs T.
Six actors are used, the Park’s upstairs seats lending the stage the air of the Commons Chamber with its galleries. Some audience members sit on stage in seats that become Commons benches.
This may evoke memories of a recent Royal National Theatre show about the Wilson/Heath years, The House. We have also had plays about the Queen and her PMs — politics is suddenly big box office.
The play opens with Mr Wilby’s Howe alone on stage. Enter Mr Nallon, who did Maggie’s voice for Spitting Image and is done up here like her puppet in that show.
The opening words are ‘no, no, no’ in a Thatcherish baritone. Warm laughter from the audience.
Mr Wilby wears Sir Geoffrey’s glasses, but there is no attempt to catch his ponderous timbre. Likewise, elegant actress Jill Baker is little like the real Elspeth. Where is the ageing-pixie haircut and butch briskness? Mother Thatcher was a gift for cartoonists but so was liberal snoot Lady Howe. Ian Talbot’s production could have had more fun with this grand old trout.
The tale flicks between Howe’s Cabinet departure and the early years of the Thatcher Government when he was a radical Chancellor. A brief scene shows the early Howe saving an uncertain Thatcher in a meeting.
Source: Daily Mail
