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Daily Mirror
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Rarest Queen Elizabeth £1 coins enter circulation in major before major change
The Royal Mint has announced that the final batch of coins depicting the late Queen Elizabeth will enter circulation, as more King Charles coins are also released The last batch of rare coins depicting Queen Elizabeth are entering circulation in the UK today, the Royal Mint has announced. More than 23 million Queen coins are being released, with The Royal Mint saying the last of the Elizabeth II coins, dated 2022, are the rarest £1 coins in active circulation. The final release will coincide with 7.5million new King Charles £1 coins also entering circulation around the nation. The Queen's £1 coins will be the final ones bearing Elizabeth II's portrait to be released, as the Royal Mint begins the final stages of ushering in coins that feature the new monarch, King Charles. It comes after fears for the future of Buckingham Palace as William and Kate "make huge decision". READ MORE: Prince Harry's secret royal move speak volumes after 'peace talks' with top aides The Royal Mint said that the historic transition – with the dual release of almost 31million coins – represents a significant moment for UK coinage, as the nation witnesses the changeover from Britain's longest-reigning monarch to her son and heir on the £1 denomination. Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint, said: "This release represents a pivotal moment in British coinage history. "As we release more of the King Charles III £1 coins into circulation alongside the final coins of Queen Elizabeth II, we're witnessing the physical representation of our monarchy's transition. This dual release creates an exceptional opportunity for both seasoned numismatists and those new to coin collecting." The Royal Mint is urging Britons to check their change over the coming weeks as the new coins will begin to appear in pockets and tills across the UK. Ms Morgan added: "Finding these new coins in your change could spark a rewarding hobby that connects you with the heritage, history and craftsmanship behind British currency." Since King Charles' coronation in 2023 and the subsequent introduction of his effigy on UK coinage, the 50p and £1 are the only denominations with Charles's portrait to have entered circulation so far. Nearly three million £1s with the King's effigy were released in August last year, with the coin featuring an intricate bee design on the reverse and are part of the Definitive collection, inspired by the flora and fauna of the British Isles. In total, there are around 24.7billion coins in circulation across the UK, with the King's coins representing only around 0.004 per cent of those, making his new coins highly desirable to collectors. All UK coins bearing the Queen's portrait will remain legal tender and in active circulation to allow a smooth transition and minimise the environmental impact and cost. The Royal Mint has made the circulating coinage for England of each of Britain's monarchs since Alfred the Great.
The Herald Scotland
13 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Channel 5 and the audacious heist of BBC's Play For Today
Now if you know your Abigail's Party from your Scum and your Blue Remembered Hills from your Nuts In May, this news should set your pulse racing. If you're one of those who views the BBC's current drama output as a shadow of its former self in terms of promoting young talent, taking risks, and giving funding and airtime to working-class voices and the issues and themes which concern them, it definitely will. Announcing the new initiative at the weekend, 5's Commissioning Editor Paul Testar said: 'Play for Today is synonymous with high quality stand-alone television dramas and we're incredibly excited to be reviving it with a new slate of single films. What makes this particularly important for us as a public service broadcaster is the opportunity to support emerging talent behind the scenes – from writers and directors to production teams, especially those from lower-income backgrounds who haven't always had clear pathways into the industry. It's a chance to tell great stories while helping to shape the future of British drama.' No arguments there. Put like that it makes you wonder why the BBC ever canned the series in the first place – and exactly what the panjandrums at Broadcasting House make of 5's cheeky re-boot and their co-opting of one of the best regarded 'brands' in British television history. For the record, Play For Today ran between 1970 and 1984 but also encompasses a slew of television dramas from its 1960s predecessor, The Wednesday Play. Read through them and you can see they're not short of wow factor. Read more Barry Didcock: Many were ground-breaking, even historic. Examples: Ken Loach pair Up The Junction and Cathy Come Home, and The War Game, Peter Watkins' pseudo-documentary about nuclear holocaust. Under pressure from the government a jittery BBC cancelled its broadcast – now where have we heard that before? – and it would be 20 years before it was screened, but the point is that it was commissioned and made. Cult doesn't begin to describe some of the productions which aired under the Play For Today banner itself. Folk horror classics such as Robin Redbreast and Penda's Fen, for example, both commonly cited as influences by film-makers and writers who weren't even born when they first screened in the 1970s. Or Red Shift, Alan Garner's cosmological love story set across three time periods. Scum, directed by the great Alan Clarke, set in a borstal and featuring an array of actors who would go on to become household names – Ray Winstone, Phil Daniels, David Threlfall – was made in 1977 but its transmission was also cancelled due to sensitivities around its subject matter. Among those whose work did feature over the life of The Wednesday Play and Play For Today were Ingmar Bergman, Václav Havel (and later Czech president), Dennis Potter (many times), Mike Leigh (likewise), Alan Bennett, playwrights David Hare and the establishment-baiting Howard Brenton, screenwriter Alan Bleasdale, and novelists Rose Tremain, Malcolm Bradbury and Ian McEwan. Scotland didn't fare badly, either. George McKay Brown, Douglas Dunn and William McIlvanney all had work produced. Legendary Scottish producer James McTaggart's name is all over the place. Ken Loach protege John McKenzie, who would later direct The Long Good Friday, was given early directorial slots, including the TV adaptation of ground-breaking theatre smash The Cheviot, The Stag And The Black, Black Oil. And of course it was Play For Today which screened Peter McDougall's trilogy of Glasgow-set dramas – Just Another Saturday, The Elephants' Graveyard and Just A Boys' Game – as well as John Byrne's The Slab Boys. Can 5 compete? We'll see. So far it has announced only four stand-alone dramas of 60 minutes each, due to air later this year and made in collaboration with London-based Vertigo Films and Liverpool-based LA Productions. The 'plays' turn on subjects including ageing and the crisis in British schools, and feature established actors such as Anita Dobson, Nigel Havers, Sue Johnston and Alan Davies alongside relative newcomers like Jessica Plummer and Alexa Davies. Perhaps the key to the success of the new strand lies in the finer detail, however: young playwright Martha Watson Allpress is handed her TV debut, for instance, while on the directing side you can find Sara Harrak, winner of the prestigious Iris Prize for her short film F**KED. Definitely ones to watch. Newcomer Jessica Plummer is one of the actors taking on the revived Play For Today (Image: Michael Shelford Photography) So while the return of Play For Today is welcome, the broadcaster has big boots to fill – and many miles to walk in them yet. All points Perth Billing itself as Scotland's biggest street party, Perth's 125 Live! festival takes place over the weekend of September 6 and 7 and celebrates, respectively, the 125th and 20th anniversaries of Perth Theatre and Perth Concert Hall. Headlined by Glasgow's indie-glam gems Walt Disco, it will see Mill Street transformed into an immersive outdoor theatre space featuring music, DJs, light displays and projections. Helmed by Perth Theatre Director Christopher Glasgow, formerly of innovative Scottish 'arts house' Cryptic, it is conceived in collaboration with Cryptic's Artistic Director, Cathie Boyd. And finally As the Edinburgh festival passes its mid-point, The Herald critics enter the home straight. Theatre critic Neil Cooper headed for the Churchill Hill Theatre to take in Cutting The Tightrope, a 'compendium of bite-size plays' programmed as part of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF). Still with the EIF, music critic Keith Bruce was at the Usher Hall for a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Antonio Pappano of Puccini's one-act opera Suor Angelica. He also checked in on the EIF's Book Of Mountains And Seas at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, a re-imagining of ancient Chinese myths by composer and librettist Huang Ruo in collaboration with director Basil Twist and Danish choir Ars Nova Copenhagen. Book of Mountains and Seas is a re-imagining of ancient Chinese myths (Image: Andrew Perry) Finally dance critic Mary Brennan dipped into the Dance Base programme to view two works by Glasgow-based companies and artists. First up, Barrowland Ballet's Wee Man. Second, Through Warm Temperatures by Mele Broomes and her dancers, also featuring cellist Simone Seales.
Scotsman
33 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Where is Amanda Knox now? True story behind Disney+ show
Disney Plus' limited series about Amanda Knox has started today 📺 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is released weekly on Disney Plus. It is based on the true story of her wrongful conviction for the murder of Meredith Kircher. The case was one of the most high-profile of the 2000s. One of the most notorious murders of the early 2000s is the subject of a new series on Disney Plus. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is based on the true-story of the killing of Meredith Kircher. The British university student was on exchange in Italy when she was murdered. Her roommate, Amanda Knox, was wrongfully convicted and locked up by the Italian authorities. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Disney Plus describes the show as being 'inspired' by the true-story of the killing and Amanda's journey to set herself free. But what happened to Amanda Knox after she left prison? Here's all you need to know: When is The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox out on Disney Plus? Grace Van Patten in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox | Disney Plus The limited series made its premiere on Disney Plus today (August 20) with two-episodes. The rest of the show will then be released weekly on the streaming platform on Wednesdays. Episodes will be available from 8am British time - which is 9am in Europe. For American audiences it releases at 3am ET/ 12am PT on Wednesdays. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox will have eight episodes in total. It is scheduled to finish on October 1. Who is in the cast of the Disney Plus show? Grace Van Patten and Giuseppe de Domenico in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox | Disney/Andrea Miconi The series stars Grace Van Patten, Sharon Horgan, John Hoogenakker, Francesco Acquaroli, Giuseppe De Domenico and Roberta Mattei. Grace Van Patten plays Amanda Knox, while Sharon Horgan is Edda Mellas. John Hoogenakker plays Curt Knox and Francesco Acquaroli isItalian prosecutor Giuliano Mignini. Giuseppe De Domenico plays Amanda's co-accused Raffaele Sollecito, while Roberta Mattei is Monica Napoleoni. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Grace Van Patten is known for appearing in shows like s Nine Perfect Strangers and Tell Me Lies. Viewers may recognise Sharon Horgan from the likes of Catastrophe and Apple TV's Bad Sisters. Where is Amanda Knox now? Following the murder of Meredith Kercher in November 2007, her roommate Amanda Knox was arrested alongside her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. They were held in prison until standing trial in early 2009. After being convicted, Amanda was sentenced to 26 years in jail. In the years after, the convictions came under much scrutiny and a second-level trial in 2011 found Knox and Sollecito not guilty. The duo were eventually exonerated for murder by the Italian supreme court in 2015. Upon her return to America after her time in prison in Italy, Knox went back home to Seattle and continued her studies at the University of Washington. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the years since her exoneration, she wrote a memoir about her case and has devoted herself to writing and activism for the wrongfully accused. She hosted The Scarlet Letter Reports on Facebook Watch, a series which examined the "gendered nature of public shaming". Knox worked for a time as a reviewer and journalist for what then was West Seattle Herald. She is married and had her second child in 2023. She made a cameo appearance as herself in the first-season finale of romantic comedy TV series Laid in 2024. Knox has also been the subject of a Netflix documentary in 2016 called Amanda Knox.
