TV tonight: Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter go head to head as Walden and Thatcher
9pm, Channel 4
James Graham's new drama questions the blurred lines between journalist and politician with this two-parter about one of the most famous political interviews of all time: Labour MP turned TV journalist Brian Walden (Steve Coogan) and prime minister Margaret Thatcher (Harriet Walter) in 1989. It begins by rewinding to when the two first met and formed an unlikely and unwise friendship. When Thatcher wins election, she starts to regret sharing too much with him. Hollie Richardson
8pm, Channel 4
The seemingly indestructible Allsopp and Spencer real estate enterprise rolls on, showing as little sign of slowing down as the UK's housing market. This time, the pair step into the middle of a domestic argument in Hamilton. Scott and Jaqui's kids have flown the nest, but the couple can't agree about their next step. Phil Harrison
9pm, BBC One
Last year, an average of four people a week were stabbed to death in the UK. 'I nearly got two pulled out on me this week,' says 16-year-old Jayden, one of the people behind the statistics to whom Idris Elba speaks in this documentary. It follows the actor's campaign to end knife crime, including discussions with the king and Keir Starmer. HR
9pm, BBC Two
Until 2023, the murder of 14-year-old Caroline Glachan in 1996 was one of the UK's biggest cold cases. This two-part series takes place inside the courtroom as three suspects stand trial two decades after Glachan's body was found. It speaks to her mother, Margaret McKeich, who has kept fighting for the truth. HR
9pm, ITV1
A droll episode with a delicious setup: Alphy (Rishi Nair) visits a dysfunctional manor house. It's a shame when a workaday murder intrudes on the barbed interplay between dishy Alphy, a bigoted weakling of a lord (Richard Goulding) and a dangerously randy lady (Marianne Oldham). Jack Seale
10pm, BBC Two
Joe Wilkinson's and Dave Earl's midlife sitcom first aired on U&Gold now, it has found a primetime spot in which to replay. Wilkinson plays Simon, who heads back to see his family on the Isle of Wight with his girlfriend Donna (Diane Morgan) for his 40th birthday celebrations – and an eventful weekend ensues. HR
Champions League football 7pm, TNT Sports 1. Aston Villa v Celtic (kick-off 8pm). Manchester City v Club Brugge is on TNT Sports 2, PSV Eindhoven v Liverpool on TNT Sports 3 and Girona v Arsenal on TNT Sports 4 (all 7.30pm).
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- Daily Mail
UFC fighter breaks his silence on bizarre moment he 'QUIT' during fight against Paul Craig as he hits back at fans after a torrent of abuse on social media
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Scotsman
10 hours ago
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Kieran Hodgson: Voice of America
Pleasance Courtyard: Beyond: July 30 – August 25: 9:30pm Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers 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... Multi-award nominated comedian and actor Kieran Hodgson is set to return to the Pleasance throughout the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his highly anticipated new show 'Voice of America' following a run at London's Soho Theatre. Tickets will be available from 1st April from Following the festival, he will be embarking on a national tour in the Autumn. 'Voice of America' will see Kieran engage with current affairs for the first time with an ever-evolving political stand-up routine, whilst the show still keeps the character-led personal storytelling that he's known & acclaimed for. Kieran will attempt to understand what America truly sounds like—from the roaring chants of Trump rallies to the anthems of Taylor Swift, from Pride Marches to the chaos of January 6th. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The show stems from events in 2021, when Hodgson's American dream came true and landed a role in the mega-budget Warner Brothers superhero movie The Flash, stealing the opening scene as the unforgettable 'Sandwich Guy'. The only catch? He had to sound American, and on day one, producers told him that he really, really didn't. Kieran Hodgson Can he, a man known for his incredible vocal mimicry, capture the essence of a country through its voices? Can American voices still inspire hope in a complicated world? And, most crucially, can Sandwich Guy make his peanut butter and banana on a seeded roll in time for The Flash to save the day? Four-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Kieran is an acclaimed actor, writer and comedian who has sold out theatres and comedy venues across the UK with his shows 'Lance', 'Maestro', ''75' and 'Big In Scotland'. He has been consistently recognised as one of the most exciting and acclaimed comics of his generation, and was named by the Telegraph as one of the 50 funniest comedians of the 21st Century. Kieran was a series regular across five series of BBC One smash hit sitcom 'Two Doors Down'. He also wrote and starred in - Prince Andrew The Musical - for Channel 4, in which he led a cast of comics in a satirical send-up of the life and times of Prince Andrew. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 2023, Kieran's show Big In Scotland was awarded his fourth nomination for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards following a hugely successful run. His live work has been recorded and adapted for Amazon Prime, Channel 4 and BBC Radio, and he received the 2021 Royal Television Society of Scotland Award for 'Best Comedy' for his programme How We Forgot To Save The Planet. In 2022, Kieran starred in See How They Run opposite Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell, and David Oyelowo. He has also appeared in indie dark comedy feature All My Friends Hate Me as well as major superhero film The Flash. Other credits include: Netflix's The Irregulars, Alibi's Miss Scarlett & The Duke, BBC3 / BBC One's BAFTA-nominated Pls Like, BBC3's hit Famalam, BBC 2's Upstart Crow, Netflix's Lovesick and his own Channel Four Blap God's Own County. Kieran also played the role of Jonathan in both sell-out West End runs of the rave-reviewed comedy musical A Christmas Carol (ish) by Nick Mohammed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘I face the haters full-on!' Rosie Jones on ramping up the laughs in her new drug-dealing sitcom
'No,' says Rosie Jones with a laugh. 'I have never done any drug-related illegal activity, believe it or not. But I respect your attempt to try to get me to reveal I am an underground drug-dealer. Sorry – not the world I live in!' We're having this conversation because Pushers, the comedian and actor's new series about a disabled woman who turns to drug-dealing when her benefits are stopped, kicks off this week on Channel 4. Jones wrote the script and stars as the main character, Emily. How much of it is influenced by her own life? There are, undoubtedly, similarities. 'From the very beginning,' Jones says, referring to when she originally came up with the idea, back in 2018, 'we knew my character would be northern, working class and disabled.' That was important for two reasons: firstly, Jones's favourite sitcoms growing up all featured 'gritty' northern characters; and secondly, those sitcoms lacked any representation of disability. That's where the similarities end, though. 'Not to get too political too quickly,' she says with a grin, 'but we wanted to show what it's like to be working class and disabled right now – because, well, basically it's shit for a lot of people. I think Emily is very different from me because, unlike me, she's not had opportunities. She's not really had supportive family. She's gone under the radar. When we meet her, she's almost invisible.' Invisible is definitely not a word you would use to describe Jones, but that's the point: she wants to highlight the reality of life for the disabled people who aren't on national TV. 'Obviously I want the sitcom to be entertaining,' says the 34-year-old as we chat over Zoom. 'But in my opinion, the best comedy engages with reality and says something about the state of affairs in the country. When we came up with the concept, there was a Conservative government and I had just had my benefits cut, so it's rooted in that reality. We wanted to say something about how the Tories were treating disabled people.' She pauses. 'It won't surprise any reader that I am on the left. I am liberal. I'm a Labour-voter, so when Labour came in last year, personally I was like, 'Yes! Come on!' But in terms of the sitcom, I knew it wouldn't be out until nearly a year into a Labour government. I thought we would be living in a utopia where every disabled person gets the funding and services they need, and there wouldn't be a need for a sitcom about benefits.' She's joking, but her disappointment with the direction the government has taken is evident. 'Sadly,' she says, 'now I think we need it more than ever. I'm incredibly angry.' Consequently, she is quite happy for Pushers to be seen as a commentary on what's happening politically. Since March, when Labour announced sweeping cuts to the main disability benefit, personal independence payment (Pip), as well as the health-related top-up for people on universal credit, Jones has been at the forefront of opposition. Last month, she was one of more than 100 celebrities and prominent disabled people who signed an open letter to the prime minister, calling the cuts 'inhumane'. She doesn't see any tension between being famous for comedy and taking a political stand. In fact, she thinks they go hand in hand. 'My hero is Billy Connolly. And I think the most intelligent people in the world aren't politicians – they're comedians, because we have the power to say something true and real and political and topical, but still make people laugh. It's disarming. It gets people's guard down. A lot of people say to me, 'You should be a politician.' And I say no, because I have too much fun making people laugh, but also because I fundamentally believe I can make more change and have more influence being a comedian – because people listen to me. And when they watch the sitcom or come to one of my gigs, they can say they had a great night but also, 'I've never thought before about what it's like to be a disabled person, or what it's like to be disabled under this government.' So I'm slowly chipping away. It's not hard to have politics in comedy. It's actually a no-brainer.' That's certainly true of her forthcoming standup tour, called I Can't Tell What She's Saying – a refrain Jones, who has a speech impediment, hears all the time. 'It's a reference to a lot of the haters I get online, who say they can't tell what I'm saying, quickly followed by, 'She's not funny.' I'm like, 'How do you know I'm not funny if you can't bloody tell what I'm saying?' So, like everything I do in life, it's me facing the haters full-on and saying, 'This is me. You can't hurt me. Stop your silly comments because I'm just going to keep doing a job that I adore.'' Politics also features in the show's content, which marries jokes about being single with jokes about being treated as a spokesperson for vast swathes of the population. ('Oh,' the press release cheerfully adds, 'and boobs.') 'It's about the struggles of trying to find love while navigating the weird world of TV and fame and success and power. It's also about the pressure of feeling the need to represent disabled people, even though I am a bit of an idiot. First and foremost, I want to make people laugh. There's so much bad stuff happening, if people give me their evening, I want to give them a giggle. But I do touch on politics and how disabled people are being affected right now. Being a disabled person with a platform means I have to talk about the bloody government. Of course I do.' It's not all politics though. 'As a good Yorkshire lady, my new show is about gravy!' she adds, speaking more seriously than at any other point in our interview. 'Because I love gravy. Cut me open and I'd bleed gravy.' These days, it's not only comedy keeping Jones busy. 'Sometimes,' she says, 'I feel a little bit overwhelmed by the fact that I'm a writer who writes books but who also writes sitcoms. I'm also a standup comedian, and an actor, and also a presenter. I'm also a founder and trustee of my own foundation.' The Rosie Jones Foundation was launched in April to 'empower lives and change minds so that no person living with cerebral palsy (CP) ever feels alone or unheard'. It aims to tackle the high prevalence of mental health issues among teenagers and adults with CP. A 2019 study found that 'the risk of depression was 44% higher and the risk of anxiety 55% higher' in adults with the condition than among their non-disabled peers. The foundation takes a multi-pronged approach. Firstly, it matches people seeking support with therapists who share and understand their experience of disability. For Jones, that 'common ground' between therapist and patient is key. Secondly, it provides spaces for disabled people and their families, who are often at risk from loneliness and isolation, to meet and share experiences (Jones will be holding meet-ups in her tour locations). Lastly, it curates workshops for young people with CP to learn skills and confidence, helping them access the social and financial benefits that come from work or volunteering. For Jones, it's all linked. 'Naturally, the cuts and the lack of funding for support right now take a toll on disabled people's mental health. That's what the foundation was set up to work on. Even though there isn't a direct connection between the sitcom, my standup and the foundation, it all plays into the same cause, of me just trying to make the world better and more welcoming for disabled people.' Jones emanates a sense of drive. It shines from her. Just before we say goodbye, she tells me something that seems to characterise everything she does. 'I'm a proud, passionate disabled woman,' she says. Her work makes sure we know it. Pushers begins on Channel 4 on 19 June. Rosie Jones's I Can't Tell What She's Saying tour begins in Taunton on 9 September.
