“If I was asked to go back, of course I would”

To mark the second anniversary of the publication of the Hutton Report, yesterday’s Independent rustled up a where-are-they-now? inventory of all the main players. Tellingly absent from Greg Dyke’s biography was, well, pretty much anything of note. Read more

Lewis

Lewis showed once again that detective-show formulas are often a bigger draw than the detectives themselves. Read more

“I had, I had”

Having watched Our Friends in the North again over the New Year, a suspicion that had been growing since Christmas time was finally confirmed; namely, that Christopher Eccleston isn’t actually that good an actor, is he? Admittedly, he does a nice line in passionate anger, but he can’t do the small things, like eat a packet of crisps, with any conviction. Read more

Masterchef Goes Large

“I love being a chef in a great restaurant,” vouchsafed John Torode across about a million weekday evenings last year, “but it doesn’t get tougher than that.” “Standards are high,” chipped in Gregg Wallace, “and the pressure is immense.” Read more

The following entry takes place between 3pm and 3.15pm

Just back from the Sky One launch for 24, series five. It’s a shame the way the show just kind of fell out of the spotlight when it moved to satellite, as it remains fantastically entertaining viewing. It’s audacious, a little bit silly and – best of all – makes up the rules as it goes along. Read more

Calendar countdown

What have been the most watched programmes of the decade so far? Read more

Snowmail

When he wasn’t otherwise occupied with the trifling business of reading the news, Reginald Bosanquet divided his time between playing tennis, holding court in the ITN bar and penning amorous poetry about Anna Ford. Read more

“Here they come now, Norton and Tate…”

So Paul Jackson is ITV’s new Head of Entertainment, which is a good move I think because he’s clearly got bags of experience. Read more

Wogan vs Ike: round two

Last night I was fortunate enough to attend the recording of the first episode of Wogan: Now and Then. What can I say? Our man has still got the knack, with the whole evening feeling very much like an edition of Wogan in its pomp. Read more

A load of old crocs

Off the back of a truckload of hype, Radio Times front cover included, perhaps it was inevitable that Stephen Poliakoff’s “state of the nation” epic Friends and Crocodiles would never quite match expectation. Eating up almost two hours of BBC1 on a Sunday night demanded respect, sure, but only on account of there being some return on such an investment. Read more

Terry Wogan’s knee

Terry Wogan’s new series, Wogan: Now and Then sounds brilliant. One aspect he won’t be resurrecting from his old BBC1 teatime show, however, is the knee-touching. Read more

“Jodie, Jodie, just listen to him, listen to him”

I know I am swimming against the tide here, but I actually think this year’s Celebrity Big Brother is turning into an interesting exercise and a worthwhile (if at times very difficult) viewing experience. Read more

Take a look at the lawmen

Although Life on Mars has got off to a reasonably impressive start ratings-wise, it’ll be tested from next Monday not least because it’ll be up against ITV’s latest Robson Green vehicle Northern Lights. Read more

“You’re a screaming Bertie and you pong!”

A Bit of Fry and Laurie is coming out on DVD. Fantastic news. Read more

Life on Mars

Kudos have already proved their mainstream worth with the success of both Spooks and Hustle and look set to complete a hat-trick with this new series. Read more

What’s the story?

Well, it’s got the most luridly ugly opening title sequence ever – and, get those fonts! They’re awful! That’s pretty much all I can remember at this distance from Friday’s debut of Morning Glory on C4. Read more

“If you ask for Durex in Australia…”

Are there four words in the English language more depressing than Jon Culshaw’s Commercial Breakdown? Read more

Dick and Dom in da Bungalow

Watching a much-loved television programme slowly go off the boil, slipping further into irrelevance with each passing week, is not just a singularly depressing experience. It’s also a hell of an exhausting one. Read more

The most watched shows of 2005

News is filtering out about Broadcast’s list of most-watched programmes in 2005. Read more

“Are you ready to make a full disclosure?”

After waiting about eight years, today in WH Smith – quite by surprise – I stumbled across a DVD release of the 1997 BBC drama Holding On. Read more

Next Page »