TV

The BBC has finally given a woman a major chat show. But they won’t let the host be herself

Mr Bates vs The Post Office touched a nerve among the public with its revelation of the suffering of ordinary people who lost everything. ITV’s new drama lacks suitably likeable victims

Francis Ford Coppola’s hell-for-leather sci-fi epic was 40 years in the making and is an extraordinary film that defies convention

Our editor-at-large's rundown of the pick of the week’s streaming, cinema, theatre and books

Seventy years ago at White City, a thrilling 5,000 metres established the concept of live televised events beamed across the continent

We need Have I Got News for You and The Last Leg just as we needed Spitting Image in the 1980s – to reassure us that we aren’t all going mad

Our editor-at-large’s rundown of the pick of the week’s books and cinema

As a new series of HIGNFY approaches, its comedy is now preaching to the converted, and feels toothless in an age of virtue signalling but no virtue.

The current iteration of the Conservative Party might well have grounds to sue The Traitors’ creators for plagiarism

The story of the Post Office scandal has sparked a flurry of activity, so here are some more unresolved scandals that could be turned into TV dramas

The translations of familiar film and book titles into different languages can be fascinating, comical and often downright bizarre

The most popular shows and viewing statistics across the continent

New Netflix series Workin’ Moms gets close to exploring some fascinating issues, but sticks to safer, more tedious territory My best friend is, in her public life, a remarkably accomplished person who worked in an underserved charity sector for years and went on to use that knowledge to create new academic courses on the subject. She’s got […]

Keith Floyd’s charm turned him into a caricature. SOPHIA DEBOICK thinks that, instead, he should be remembered as the nation’s culinary pioneer “Pick young, small, un-flowering dandelion leaves. Wash and dry them carefully. Serve with olive oil, salt and sherry vinegar and cubes of hot fried bread.” This was the delicious simplicity of Floyd’s Food, […]

Kate Winslet is brilliant in Mare Of Easttown – but then so was Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley, the BBC show from which Mare has clearly taken a few pointers Does this sound familiar? You’re sat watching television. It’s a crime drama starring an actress you’ve never really disliked but never gone out of your […]

Readers add to the list of best European shows to stream I was very pleased you recommended some very top favourites of mine in your “Best 40 European shows to stream”. Some other excellent series are: I Know Who You Are (Spanish); Vanished by the Lake, Killer by the Lake, Fear by the Lake (French); […]

Andrew Neil has launched a new channel, GB News. Now, comedian Mitch Benn is starting his own network for middle-aged, straight, balding white men… MB NEWS IS HERE! Hello, good evening/morning/afternoon and welcome to the exciting launch of my very own news channel, MB NEWS! Yes, like 52% of the GREAT BRITISH PUBLIC (give or […]

Lupin, Call My Agent and Money Heist are among the familiar names in our list of the best Europan TV series to stream, but there are hidden gems too

Netflix series Master of None has successfully negotiated a change of focus after its creator was caught up in a #MeToo scandal The first two seasons of Master of None sound awful when described – “an actor bops about New York dating beautiful women and eating at nice restaurants” – and sometimes they are. Aziz Ansari stars as Dev, […]

Sky producers are searching for a Michael Gove lookalike to play the cabinet minister in the upcoming series, This Sceptred Isle. The five-part drama charts events surrounding the prime minister, Downing Street, and the country during the first wave of the global pandemic. A casting brief says producers are searching for a male “in his early 50s, […]

The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned Ryanair’s “jab and go” holiday advertisement campaign, citing concerns it encourages the public to act irresponsibly once they had received the coronavirus vaccine. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the two ads, which were the third-most complained-about of all time, mere days after the airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said […]