Tag Archives: TV

Have I Got News For You Announce Guest Host Line Up {TV}

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Have I Got News For You returns to BBC One on Thursday 14 October for ten weeks. And the first guest host will be the hugely popular, Bafta-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch, critically acclaimed star of the recent hit series Sherlock. His first time as guest host Benedict comments:

“I’m very excited and honoured and, like a moth to the flame, I am terrified but cannot resist! I have watched the show since its inception, and my family and I used to make it a routine TV date to relish. How could I resist the chance for the audience to witness my being shot down in flames by the wit of Merton and Hislop?” – Benedict Cumberbatch

Nominated for a Bafta for his role in Small Island, Cumberbatch will be seen on the big screen as the star of two major films, Steven Spielberg’s version of War Horse and Working Title’s movie version of John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

This will be the 138th show hosted by a guest presenter in the eight years since Angus Deayton left in October 2002.

Other guest hosts appearing in the new series include John Bishop, Chris Addison, Jo Brand, Jeremy Clarkson, Martin Clunes, Lee Mack, Miranda Hart and Alexander Armstrong. Guests include James Blunt, Reginald D Hunter, Janet Street Porter, Nick Robinson, Grayson Perry and Ross Noble.

Have I Got News For You returns to BBC 1 on the 14th October at 9pm

Come Dine With Me's Tasty Bits {TV}

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Come Dine With Me, the cooking show that’s inspired ordinary people to throw immitation dinner parties and series’ around the world, is now releasing it’s sauciest bits for you to own on dvd.

Come Dine With Me – The Tasty Bits with exclusive footage Too Saucy for TV will be released on DVD on the 1st November so get your oven gloves ready. It will feature the best ever moments from Channel 4’s enormously popular and multi-award winning show Come Dine With Me including some of the most outrageous behaviour, bizarre conversations, biggest rows, craziest cooking, celebrity cock-ups and Too Much Sauce for TV, incorporating 30 minutes of never-before-seen scenes that were far too hot for TV! If this NSFW trailer is anything to go by expect crazy antics and sexual innuendos from familiar faces in the celebrity specials, more sarcastic quips from cult voice Dave Lamb and I’m told…full frontal nudity.



Come Dine With Me: The Tasty Bits is out on DVD 1 November, courtesy of ITV Studios Home Entertainment

Pre-order it at [Amazon]

Touch – A new supernatural drama series for BBC3 {TV}

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Some super exciting news….. BBC Three have a new drama series, Touch, from acclaimed theatre, film and TV writer Jack Thorne (Skins, The Scouting Book For Boys, Cast Offs)

Described as an edge-of-the-seat supernatural thriller, Touch is about the vengeful dead who walk on Earth and only uber-geek Paul can save the living from a fiery Armageddon.

Paul is an ordinary young man from an ordinary town who discovers an extraordinary ability – he can see the dead. As he comes to terms with a nightmare reality he meets others who share his powers and share a horrifying secret – the spirits are waging war on the living. Mankind will be destroyed.

But the most terrifying twist is yet to come – Paul discovers that only he holds the key to the world’s salvation.

Ben Stephenson says: “Touch started life as one of our drama pilots but quickly showed such imagination and energy that we asked the hugely talented Jack Thorne to write five more episodes and Touch the series was born.”

Jack Thorne says he’s “Both scared and excited about it, hope it turns out OK.”

The series will comprise of six one hour episodes made by BBC Drama. The cast is still to be confirmed and filming will start next year.

BBC Three drama has won critical acclaim with Being Human and looks forward to Lip Service which is coming soon to the channel this autumn.

Preview: This Is England '86 {TV}

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Set three years on from Shane Meadows’ Bafta winning film This Is England, Chris de Burgh is top of the charts and over 3.4 million britons are unemployed. This Is England in the year 1986. A four-part serial for Channel 4 revisiting the original gang from the acclaimed film.

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Hapless Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) has just finished his final school exam and is a magnet for trouble and bullys. A chance encounter reunites him with Woody (Joe Gilgun), Lol (Vicky McClure), Smell (Rosamund Hanson) and the others and soon the past is forgotten. The gang are back together and they’re all looking for love, a laugh, a job and something that resembles a future.

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This is filmmaker Shane Meadows’ television debut and speaking at a Q&A after the preview screening he made it clear that he didn’t see Television as a stepping stone into film and that he’d grown up watching great made for TV films. He did however say

“UK telly has gone to s***. It really has it’s appalling, but American TV, the new type of shows they’re making like the Sopranos and the Wire are great. That’s how people want to watch TV today, several episodes back to back. They want to sit with the missus and watch a 12 hour film. It’s an event.”

Meadow’s brought in help to bring the much anticipated follow up to TV. That help came in the form of co-writer Jack Thorne (The Scouting Book For Boys, Skins) and sharing the directing of the series with Tom Harper (Misfits). It’s no suprise then that the series is packed full of both hilarious and touching moments.

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Judging by the preview clips of the rest of the series, it looks to become edgier and darker as it progresses. Meadows hints at a dramatic turn of events midway through the series and looks at it as “sort of like two separate films”. The soundtrack was evolved from music the actors were listening to on their mp3 players to get into character and from a stack of discs that the two directors shared between each other leading to a soundtrack that’s not cliche or packed full of well known 80’s chart toppers.

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This Is England ’86 looks to be a hit for Channel 4, another beautiful and gritty flagship show with a lot of potential. Who knows, maybe we’ll be seeing This Is England in the 1990’s in the future…

This Is England ’86 starts on the 7th September on Channel 4


My Two Pence {The Film Set | Genevieve Sibayan}

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Oh Hai! It’s high time I threw my proverbial hat into the resource share arena.

I’ve been acting in London for a few years now and have a stack of Equity diaries to remind me! It’s not uncommon for newbies to ask my advice (yeah I know! *giggles) but for some reason I always assume that people already know all the same info I know. So when I’m put on the spot I mostly come out with “err, work hard?” which isn’t the most helpful thing to say.

I assume that because there’s so much free (and sometimes not free) information and resources available that everyone’s already found it. Of course that’s a silly thing to think.

So my mission is to share some of the things I know and point my finger at the best resources and occasionally give my opinion on things…most advice out there is the same…CV, headshot, hard work etc…all very important but I’m hoping we can uncover something a bit different. I certainly don’t know everything so if you have any finds you want to share or opinions then the comments are the place to put them. That’s what sharing’s about isn’t it?

I don’t know many Actors in this country (UK) who’s sharing their resources and I can only assume it’s because no one wants to appear arrogant or doesn’t want the competition to know what they know…If I’m wrong, and you do have a blog, I’d love to read it.

So to start off with, let me link you back to a few articles right here on Frost Magazine. And what a place to start! We’ve got a column entitled ‘the film set’ (some pun intended) and here’s a few excerpts from some of the articles (click on the titles to see the whole article:

Interview with Casting Director Richard Evans

We asked: Who is your inspiration?
“Anyone who knows what they want and goes for it wholeheartedly… especially if they have overcome adversity to do so.”

Interview with Lyn Burgess – Life Coach and also runs the Women in Film and TV events committee

““Fake it till you make it!” It’s good to model someone else who is a confident person – give yourself a ‘confident outfit’ or a lucky pair of knickers.”

Interview with Actor and Casting Director Leoni Kibbey

“You get out what you put back in. Always go with your gut instinct. Don’t get cosmetic surgery. Floss. Use Sunscreen.”

Interview with Simon Dale from Casting Call Pro

“Among the strangest we’ve had are requests for actors to play pranks on bosses and ex-partners, as well as a over-zealous salesman who was offering an all-expenses-paid trip to Helsinki for anyone who was willing to impersonate his CEO at a client meeting the the real CEO couldn’t attend.”

We also have an article written by sitcom actor Ceri Phillips (Ollie, Coming of Age) on what it’s like in his world and if you wanted to hear about some unusual moments from our career so far.

Right, off to learn a speech for an audition but I’ll be back very soon (mu ha ha)…ciao for now!

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Genevieve Sibayan is a London based Actress, you can find Genevieve’s blog here and get updates by clicking on her rss feed. If you’d like to subscribe to The Film Set on Frost Magazine then click here.

Sky bringing Sinbad into the 21st Century {TV}

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The search is on to find a leading man to play Sinbad in a contemporary re-imagining of the 8th Century legend for Sky 1 and BBC Worldwide.

The new Sinbad will be treading the line between Hero and Villain. On the run from his home town of Basra and under a curse for a killing that led to the death of his much-loved brother, the streetwise Sinbad finds himself cast out to sea. Surviving a violent and magical storm, both Sinbad and his intriguing fellow ship-mates are forced to band together to face their inner demons, hopes, loves and fears. Our flawed hero embarks on an epic and emotional quest to rid himself of the curse and embrace his destiny. “When mystical meets muscle anything can happen…”

Produced by Impossible Pictures (who also produced ITV’s Primeval), Sinbad is part of Sky1’s multi-million pound HD drama investment fund.

Elaine Pyke (Head of Drama, Sky 1) commented: “Our SINBAD is 21, reckless, utterly charming and cursed. Mysticism, magic, monsters and high octane action adventure, this SINBAD is always exciting and sometimes challenging. This unique series will have the ambition of LOST, the pace of 24 and take the viewer to visually stunning locations on both sea and land. Sky’s SINBAD will be a multi-layered series for today’s prime time audience.”

Sophie Gardiner (Exec Producer, Impossible Pictures) added: “This is a hugely ambitious project and we’re thrilled to partner with Sky to reinvigorate this much loved action hero. We’re confident that SINBAD will confound audience’s expectations and create a big, noisy series for Sky 1.”

Shooting is expected to start in February 2011 in Malta and Sinbad is scheduled for premiere on Sky 1 HD in Winter 2011.

Stuart Murphy also unveiled a whole host of new commissions and acquisitions including:

Dogumentary, A brand new observational documentary from the makers of Pinapple Dance Studios (Pulse Films) centres on the world of dog grooming salons, doggy day care centres and vets’ clinics where cameras will follow the people who work at them, as well as their clients. But in Dogumentary the stars of the show are the pampered pooches themselves, and these are no ordinary canines – they can actually talk. In surreal moments, the mutts talk to each other in funny and off-the-wall exchanges about their lives, loves and observations on the world.

Ross Kemp Extreme World. The BAFTA®-winning documentary team (Tiger Aspect) return as Ross Kemp reports from some of the most dangerous places on Earth. Over five hard-hitting episodes, Ross travels to Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and Chicago to learn how international organised crime, terrorists and local criminal networks have created alliances that are destroying millions of lives. Plus, in a UK-based episode, he reveals the grim truth about people trafficking in Britain.

Prince William and The Tusk Trust Project (Working Title). In an exclusive 1hr long documentary by Spun Gold, presented by conservationist and adventurer Ben Fogle, Sky 1 HD gains unprecedented access to Prince William’s first official visit to Africa as he travels to Botswana, the home of wildlife conservation charity Tusk Trust. Marking the charity’s 20th anniversary, royal patron Prince William talks about his love of Africa, his passion for conservation and staying grounded, before challenging Ben to run a fund-raising marathon in Kenya.

Also announced are aquisitions from the US including: Raising Hope from the makers of My Name Is Earl. The Middle, from Warner Bros International about an ordinary family struggling to survive life – and each other – in Middle America. Ride-Along, A gritty new police drama from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan and Lone Star, a 20th Century Fox Production in which newcomer James Wolk is Robert/Bob Allen, a charismatic schemer who has meticulously constructed two lives for years without arousing any suspicions… until now.

This follows the news that Sky has agreed to become the UK home for HBO.

A New Moon for Eastenders {TV}

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Eastenders have revealed that hot on the heels of the return of Alfie Moon this autumn, Walford is soon to welcome Alfie’s cousin, Michael Moon, played by Steve John Shepherd, well known for his portrayal of Jo in This Life.

Michael Moon is a regular lothario, a cheeky chap with a silver tongue, who loves a lot of female attention – much like his older cousin, Alfie. However, Michael has a slightly more manipulative streak and a competitive nature, which means he doesn’t think twice about screwing people over – even those he loves.

Michael loves to live life dangerously, taking risks, and can be as ruthless as he is charming.

Steve John Shepherd has previously been seen in This Life, Layer Cake, Waking The Dead and, more recently, the BBC Three sitcom Lunch Monkeys.

Regarding his arrival in Albert Square, Steve commented: “I can vividly remember watching the first ever episode of EastEnders and I’m very excited to be joining such a fantastic and iconic programme. Michael Moon will be an exciting character to play – on the surface he a loveable, cheeky chappy but, underneath, he has hidden depths which will be exciting to explore.”

Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer of EastEnders, explains: “I’ve been a fan of Steve John Shepherd’s work for years. He’s a fantastic signing for EastEnders, an exciting addition to the Moon family, and is set to cause a big splash in Albert Square from the moment he arrives.”

Alex Kingston to star in new supernatural drama 'The Oaks' {TV}

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Alex Kingston and Jodie Whittaker are to lead the cast of ITV Studios’ brand new supernatural drama The Oaks (working title).

The Oaks is the gripping story of three different families living in the same house in the 1960’s, 1980’s and present day. The families are linked by the spirit of a young girl – the 1960’s family’s daughter who died in mysterious circumstances.

Filming has begun in London on the program which will be broadcast as a five part drama.

A creative collaboration between ITV Studios and Fox, the series is written for ITV by Stephen Greenhorn (Glasgow Kiss, Doctor Who) and is based on an original US pilot from David Schulner.

“The Oaks is a really original concept that blends relationship drama with an atmospheric ghost story,” said Laura Mackie from the commissioning team. “Stephen’s scripts are compellingly written and this is a very distinctive drama to add to our slate.”

“This is a strongly authored, ambitious piece and we’re thrilled to have such an exciting and talented cast on board,” said Kate Lewis, Executive Producer.