You could easily argue that the character of Gareth Blackstock, the chef/owner of the two Michelin star, Le Château Anglais in the British situation comedy, Chef, was defined as much by a simple but brilliantly written three-minute tirade against an individual dining at the restaurant for his indiscriminate use of salt before tasting his dinner as he […]
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Sadly, Dame Diana Rigg has passed away at the age of 82. While an entire generation may only know her from HBO’s Game of Thrones and, possibly, PBS’ Victoria, much of the world will no doubt remember the acting legend from her time on The Avengers alongside Patrick McNee as secret agent Emma Peel or in the James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, where she holds the distinction of being only woman to have ever married James Bond, or from her time serving as the host of the PBS series, Mystery, from 1989 to 2003.
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I’ve lost count of the reasons that, no matter where you are on Planet Earth, you should tune in to Radio 4 on a regular basis. With a schedule that boasts a wide variety of spoken-word programs including news, drama, comedy, science and history, Radio 4 is set to tap into the talents of Meera Syal, who will reprise her Granny Kumar character, Sushila, from The Kumars at No. 42 for a new chat show.
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Armed with an out-of-this-world suaveness for ‘shaken, not stirred’ martini’s, Sean Connery is without question the greatest of all-time (GOAT) when it comes to James Bond. The Scottish-born actor who wrote the book on how, admittedly, in a much more permissive era of sex and violence on the big screen you go about creating the […]
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For almost thirty years, Mollie Sugden brought smiles and outright laughter to not only the North Texas area, but to the world, as Mrs. Slocombe on Are You Being Served. One can’t help but smile when the theme to AYBS plays and you sit there wondering just what color her hair will be in this episode.
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Lesley Manville becomes the latest addition to the cast of The Crown as the Oscar-nominated actress is set to take over from Helena Bonham Carter in playing Princess Margaret when the fifth and final series begins filming next year. Many public television viewers will recognize Manville for her brilliant portrayal as Cathy Bradshaw in “Mum” and also in PBS Masterpiece’s “World on Fire”.
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Hopefully, there is a point in everyone’s career where you have such an awesome day that you can take a step back for a moment and think it really can’t get any better than this. A recent conversation with Anne Reid, the absolutely delightful star of Sanditon, Last Tango in Halifax and Hold the Sunset, provided me with one of those days I’ll never forget.
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In Mister Winner, Spencer Jones plays the ironically-named Leslie Winner, a sweet-natured sort of chap who retains an optimistic outlook despite his life being a succession of small disasters. It’s time for Winner to act like his surname and finally pull himself together, as he prepares for his wedding to his fiancé Jemma while simultaneously trying win over […]
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From Jimmy Anderson in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin to Ben Parkinson in Butterflies to Lionel Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Geoffrey Palmer has been a constant fixture in our collective British comedy lives for the better part of four decades with these three series alone. Palmer, who has had numerous guest roles in series such as Doctor […]
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In case anyone is wondering what they might get Tellyspotting for Christmas (ok, I’m kidding), take note that Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide by John Cleese will be released the first week of September. Cleese was in Dallas back in December before all this ‘sheltering at home’ got a grip on most of Planet Earth to accept the Ernie Kovacs Award from the Dallas Video Festival. Tellyspotting had the great good fortune to be able to sit down with the comedy legend to talk about creativity, comedy and life in general.
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