Seven shows to watch after Death Valley
The murder mystery, written and created by Paul Doolan, is set and filmed in Wales, and achieved the largest audience for a BBC scripted comedy debut for more than five years.
Starring Timothy Spall as a curmudgeonly retired actor who teams up with an eager young detective (Gwyneth Keyworth), the series follows the fortunes of the unlikely crimefighting pair as complex whodunnit capers unfold.
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The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘I knew my job was to fulfil a man's fantasy': Elizabeth McGovern on Downton, early fame and co-starring with Brad Pitt
For the maudlin among us, the final Downton Abbey film should perhaps come with a warning. Everything in it is tinged with wistfulness – a goodbye to cherished characters and a farewell to a stately home that was a sturdy presence in a transient world. When the ITV series started in 2010, wasn't life … better? Did Elizabeth McGovern feel this too, the sense of time passing? After all, her character, Cora, is now ageing out of custodianship of Downton along with her husband, Lord Grantham, in favour of a younger generation and a changing era as the 1930s dawn. 'No!' says McGovern, snapping me out of my melancholy. 'I feel very excited that I'm going into a gratifying new phase in my career.' As well as reviving Cora, there is the play she has written, Ava: The Secret Conversations. Starring McGovern as Hollywood actor Ava Gardner, it will run in New York, Chicago and Toronto, having made its debut in London in 2022. There is also a new album of her folk-inspired music. 'I feel like I'm just beginning,' she declares as we meet at her publicist's London office. At first glance, McGovern, fine-boned and composed, seems delicate – but if you only go on first impressions, you'll miss her rebellious spirit. Not that making Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale wasn't emotional. 'You don't have to work very hard, as a film-maker, to touch on that depth, because we've been working on it for so many years,' she says. McGovern worried that the absence of Maggie Smith – who died last year after giving the show the brilliantly scathing Dowager Countess – would feel like too big a loss to the Downton world. But she says Smith's presence 'permeates' it. 'She's still very much in the atmosphere. I don't feel there's a big hole. In fact, in some ways, it sort of freed up the rest of the narrative to have a flow, because it's not stopping for her moments. But everything she represents is there. She's in every room, in every interaction, so it's not like she's not there. It's a weird thing.' The women of Downton, whether the steely Lady Mary or spirited young cook Daisy, are gratifyingly tough, but Cora, usually quietly supportive in the background, never seemed that robust, even though it was her money – as an American heiress – that was running everything. Was that difficult to play? 'At times, yes,' says McGovern. 'I think as a contemporary woman, it is hard to feel the straitjacket of that period.' Did she ever fight for Cora to have more agency? 'I wish at times she could have had more interesting stories,' says McGovern, but adds that it wouldn't have been appropriate for her to have had 'any more political or social power, because it just wouldn't be accurate to the time'. Cora, though, is a vision of an exciting America; the daughter of a Jewish immigrant installed at Downton with her bags of new money and her progressive outlook. Were Downton set now, instead of Cora coming here to shake up Britain's class-ridden ways, she would be a wealthy liberal refugee, a bit like Ellen DeGeneres, fleeing Trump's America. McGovern, who grew up in California, has lived in the UK for the past 32 years. She is shocked and disappointed at modern US politics. 'I mean,' she says, 'it's a reality that must have been bubbling away under what I thought was America. It can't have come from nowhere.' But, describing herself as a positive person, she adds: 'I think it will be painful, but we have too much successful history as a free country for us to let it go. It's all of our responsibility to peacefully make sure we hold on to everything that I was confident – and complacent about – that America represented.' McGovern had huge success early on. Her debut was in Robert Redford's 1980 film Ordinary People, and she won an Oscar nomination for her role in her second film, Ragtime. This was followed by a part in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, opposite Robert de Niro. 'I think I did feel like, 'Gosh, this isn't as hard as people say.'' She smiles. 'Until I later experienced how difficult it is. My experience early on was just trying to keep my head on straight, do job after job, and do what most people are doing at that age – try to grow up. I only realised later how difficult it is to sustain a career.' Hers wasn't a showbiz family: her parents were teachers. And although she has loved acting since she was a child, it was never about becoming a star. As a young woman in an often dangerous industry, this probably protected her. 'I was never desperate, so I could always just walk away. A lot of young women didn't feel they could. I think I was very lucky.' It also made her see the downsides of fame. 'I think I did manage to avoid it myself, but the price you pay for fame is that it becomes really hard to have any relationships of intimacy, because you are collateral. Your whole being has sort of been sold, and that creates a tension about what people want from you.' A lot of McGovern's early roles were as the girlfriend to the male lead. Then, she says: 'I went from being the girlfriend to the perfect wife, and that I found frustrating. Most movies, television – it's always the man's point of view. It's such a deep, subliminal thing that audiences are not even aware of it. I wasn't even particularly aware of it. I knew my job early on was to fulfil a man's fantasy of the woman they wanted. It never occurred to me to even question it.' Brad Pitt played McGovern's boyfriend in the 1994 comedy The Favor. We joke – bitterly – that were she to be in a film with him now, she would probably be cast as his mother. This says a lot about what's still considered desirable in a woman even though, at 64, McGovern is only three years Pitt's senior. 'I really don't think that, just because society is viewing something that way, we have to. I try to have this discussion with my daughters. We can have a feeling independent of the consensus in society. I've just done my own thing and just kept doing it.' She bristles, not unreasonably, when I point out that her embracing her silver hair seems rare in her business. Was that a political decision? 'Not really. But once again, I feel like a woman my age – that's what we're asked to talk about. I regret that about society.' There is something bracing about the way McGovern carves her own path. She left Hollywood and moved to London to start a family; she has two grownup daughters with her husband, the film-maker and producer Simon Curtis (who directed The Grand Finale). Approaching her 40s, she started a band, Sadie and the Hotheads, and started releasing music. 'I have to remind myself,' she says, 'that people will either like it or they won't – and whatever they feel is fine with me. It's about doing it.' In her 50s, she wrote her play about Gardner, drawn to the actor's independent spirit. Now in her 60s, she is writing a screenplay, although she won't say what it's about. 'It's my next obsession. I really want to write stuff. I'm really excited about that.' Doing so is partly a way to create interesting work for herself as an older actor. There has certainly been plenty of talk about this – does she think the situation has improved? 'Not that I've noticed.' She loved the recent show Dying for Sex, in which Michelle Williams plays a terminally ill woman in her 40s who embarks on a last attempt at sexual exploration. 'It's such a female story. I found that to be really encouraging, but it's not going to be about someone my age.' Why? Is it because society considers the thought of older women having a sex life shocking? 'I think possibly, yes. I mean, what can we do as women, except just keep going and not buy into it? We have no other choice.' If it takes a bit of effort, the pay-off is surely worth it – if McGovern and her outlook are anything to go by. 'It's a daily exercise in getting your head tuned into the right thing. It's not that I blame anyone for accepting the status quo, but it doesn't mean I have to. No way.' She laughs. 'No way.' Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is out on 11 September in Australia, and 12 September in the UK and US. Ava: The Secret Conversations is at New York City Center until 14 September.
The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
Four bedroom home looks normal from the outside… but wait until you see what's hidden behind closed doors
THIS four bedroom home may look completely normal from the outside - but there's a hidden secret inside. The Grade-II listed house that was once home to Lord Byron has hit the market for £850,000. 6 6 6 Centrally located, the Nottingham residence is hard to miss. It boasts four bedrooms spread across 3,287 square feet and is steeped in local history. Since Byron's days there, the building has been "sympathetically restored" and has all the modern amenities a family could need. This includes a bespoke kitchen, two reception rooms and four bathrooms. The home is decorated in neutral tones with stylish finishes throughout and is flooded with natural light, according to Luxury Property News. Accessed via a driveway with gated access, its based in the historic St James' Street in the city centre. Meanwhile the outside space consists of a courtyard with patio decking and raised planters for a 'low maintenance' garden space. The house is currently available with Savills who described it as a 'magnificent property full of light'. But while it may have many impressive features, underneath the house is every bit as note-worthy. A stunning labyrinth of caves lurks beneath the historic property. We moved into a caravan in my mother-in-law's garden for a year, sure it was cramped but we saved £20k They're used as cellars that spread across two basement levels beneath the main living spaces above. The space has lighting, electrics and heating too and can be used for multiple purposes. The property was home to Lord Byron between the ages of 10 and 12 before he became one of Britain's most celebrated poets. A plaque adorns the front of the house dedicated to Byron explaining that he lived there between 1798 and 1799. Other homes with hidden secrets aren't uncommon either - although some are more impressive than others. The Sun recently reported on an eccentric home in Shropshire with a peculiar feature within. The home comes complete with an exposed toilet at the top of the stairs providing a live studio audience experience on the loo. While another home in Blackpool has undergone a jaw-dropping transformation even though it looks entirely ordinary from the outside. The owners spent nearly two years converting the modest semi-detached property into a high-spec holiday home complete with a private nightclub and cinema room. It even has space for 24 guests with nine en-suite bedrooms and 15 beds. 6 6 6
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Counterfeit Labubu dolls on sale in UK are a choking hazard to young children, warns standards body
Growing numbers of counterfeit 'Labubu' dolls being sold in the UK are poorly made and pose a choking hazard to young children, a trading standards body has warned. After going viral on social media, the toothy, fluffy monster doll figures, made exclusively by the Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, have surged in popularity among children and adults. Celebrity fans include Rihanna and Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink, while many owners like to attach the dolls to handbags or backpacks. In a burglary at a Los Angeles store last week, thousands of dollars worth of Labubus were taken. Their popularity has triggered a surge in fakes, with many being sold by third-party sellers on online marketplaces and in local shops that are breaking the law, according to the UK's Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). Trading standards teams have seized thousands of unsafe counterfeit Labubu dolls in recent weeks. In just one month, more than 2,000 were confiscated from 13 retailers in North Tyneside, with more found in Greater Manchester, Humberside, North Somerset and Scotland. Many of the dolls were discovered after tip-offs from concerned parents. Kerry Nicol, external affairs manager at CTSI, said: 'These dolls are fast becoming the latest must-have craze, which is being amplified by social media influencers promoting and showcasing 'unboxing' of the products on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Supply and demand means that legitimate Labubu dolls are almost impossible to find. 'Parents understandably want to be able to get their hands on these toys for their children and rightly expect the toys they buy to be safe, but dangerous counterfeits are finding their way into the market.' Counterfeit Labubu dolls are poorly made and unsafe, containing small detachable parts such as eyes, hands and feet, which present a serious choking hazard to young children, CTSI said. Loose stitching and exposed stuffing increase the risk of suffocation. The fakes often breach the UK's toy safety regulations, lacking CE or UKCA safety markings, importer details and required safety warnings. They may also contain toxic substances such as lead, harmful dyes or banned plasticisers. Genuine Labubu dolls have a distinctive elf-like design and include authenticity features such as a holographic POP MART sticker, a scannable QR code linking to the official Pop Mart website, and on newer editions a subtle UV stamp on one foot, the institute said. Fakes can be spotted via their overly vibrant colours and an incorrect number of teeth – authentic Labubus have nine. 'Everyone involved in the supply chain – from manufacturers and fulfilment houses to sellers and marketplaces should have a role to play in ensuring unsafe toys never reach the hands of children,' said Nicol.
