Alfred Hitchcock | Tellyspotting

Posted July 29, 2022 - No Comment

RIP — Bernard Cribbins O.B.E. — “….he was in one episode of Fawlty Towers” **

Bernard Cribbins, the rather fussy spoon salesman mistaken for a hotel inspector in one episode of Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 93. **In spite of a brilliant seven decade plus career, Cribbins will be forever known as ‘being in the “Hotel Inspectors” episode of Fawlty Towers, which is a testament to the greatness of perhaps the best British comedy of all time but speaks more to Cribbins’ brilliant ability to make even a relatively minor role such as Mr. Hutchinson in one episode of Fawlty Towers so memorable.

Posted February 27, 2021 - No Comment

Benedict Cumberbatch signs on for ‘The 39 Steps’ reboot!

Unfortunately, it’s not Sherlock but it might just be the next best thing when Benedict Cumberbatch returns to the medium that made him a household name in a new small screen adaptation of the John Buchan 1915 novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps. There have been several adaptations over the years, one of which being a BBC adaptation starring Rupert […]

Posted August 23, 2020 - No Comment

‘Rebecca’ gets a 2020 makeover with Lily James heading an all-star cast as Mrs. de Winter #2!

Dangerously close to rivaling Pride and Prejudice for how many times a novel can be adapted for the big or small screen, English author Dame Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is getting a 2020 reboot this Fall. It would be hard to mount an argument that there is a need to remake the most well-known adaptation, the 1940 Hitchcock masterpiece which […]

Posted February 2, 2019 - No Comment

R.I.P. Clive Swift, aka Richard Bucket (pronounced Bouquet)

Clive Swift, known to millions as Hyacinth Bucket’s long-suffering husband Richard in the BBC One 90s sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances, died Friday after a short illness at the age of 82. Swift, who spent 10 years at the Royal Shakespeare Company before breaking into television, also acted in such series as Peak Practice, Born and […]

Posted May 11, 2018 - No Comment

Meet “Little Women’s” Angela Lansbury

While most of America knows Dame Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, the Cabot Cove, Maine mystery writer/amateur detective in Murder She Wrote, it’s her performance in the forthcoming PBS Masterpiece adaptation of Little Women that will introduce a whole new generation to the brilliance of the theatre, television and film legend with her portrayal of the formidable matriarch […]

Posted February 9, 2017 - No Comment

‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ and ‘Steptoe and Son’ co-creator, Alan Simpson, dies at 87.

British sitcom legend and one half of Galton and Simpson, the writing duo who created Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son – has died at the age of 87 after a long battle with lung disease. While you may not be familiar with his name and, quite possibly, might not be familiar with his […]

Posted September 8, 2015 - No Comment

‘Home Fires’ heads to Cheshire to begin filming on 2nd series

While UK audiences are now under two short weeks until the premiere of Downton Abbey, America continues to slowly pass the time until its return in January 2016. Fortunately, it’s drama overload until then on Sunday nights which began on PBS this past Sunday with the premiere of Arthur & George, starring Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan […]

Posted April 14, 2015 - 1 Comment

‘Home Fires’ headed to PBS, ITV

When it rains drama on PBS, it pours. Next up in the long line of ‘well worth your time television viewing to help you deal with the fact that there’s still 9 months until both Downton Abbey and Sherlock return’ is Home Fires, the series inspired by Julie Summers’ non-fiction book, “Jambusters”. The 6-part series is set to transmit […]

Posted October 31, 2013 - No Comment

A Happy Halloween moment with Psychoville's "Rope"

I think I’ve decided that only thing that could rival the fanboy love and appreciation for Sherlock Holmes by the minds of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss is the love of film and all things Hitchcock-ian by League of Gentlemen alumni, Steve Pemberton and Reese Shearsmith. Case in point. Following the greatness of The League […]

Posted May 30, 2013 - No Comment

The brilliance of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4

Perhaps the coolest show on the planet is BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, which premiered on BBC radio in 1942. Created by Roy Plomley, the format is about as simple as you can get. A guest ‘castaway’ is invited to choose the eight records they would take with them to a desert island. In […]