Emma Corrin gives their friend a massage during an evening out at the pub following split from Rami Malek
Emma, 29, who uses they/them pronouns, quietly split from actor Rami Malek, 44, in April after two years together.
Heading out with a group of friends this week, the actor was in good spirits as they caught up with friends in a beer garden.
Emma, who dressed casually in a striped T-shirt, placed their hands on a friend's shoulders as they chatted.
The Crown star sipped on a pint in the sun and at one point was pictured covering their face as they laughed and joked.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that Emma and Rami Malek quietly split up after a love affair lasting nearly two years.
Sources said Emma, who found fame and won a Golden Globe after playing Princess Diana in The Crown, has been separated 'for some time' from Rami.
The couple have not commented on their separation and, despite several appearances together on the red carpet at premieres, they have been notoriously private about their relationship.
In a magazine interview last May, Corrin even declined to speak about their relationship.
Malek was equally vague, describing Corrin as 'fascinating' and once revealing that they cooked him a surprise Thanksgiving dinner, 'trimmings and all', that 'blew him away'.
Corrin – who came out as queer in 2021 and identifies as non-binary, using the pronouns they/them – said the 'vitriol' targeted at their gender identity was 'worse than I anticipated', adding: 'Even though we like to think we're in a progressive society, a lot of what we're seeing is increasingly a step back.'
They were first spotted together at a Bruce Springsteen concert in London in July 2023, just a few months after Rami had broken up with Lucy Boynton, 31, his co-star in the Queen biopic.
As their romance developed, they were seen kissing at a restaurant in Margate, Kent, where Emma owns a home.
They reportedly moved in together after buying a £5million mansion in Hampstead, north London.
The Crown star sipped on a pint in the sun and at one point was pictured covering their face as they laughed and joked
It is not clear whether Emma or Rami, who went on to play Bond villain Lyutsifer Safin in No Time To Die, still live in the house or plan to sell it.
Emma is busy filming the Netflix adaptation of Pride And Prejudice, playing heroine Elizabeth Bennet opposite Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden as Mr Darcy.
Rami is in just-released spy drama The Amateur, playing a CIA decoder out for revenge after terrorists kill his wife, and is also set to appear in Nuremberg, a drama about the Nazi war trials, as US psychiatrist Douglas Kelley.
The film also stars Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon and One Day star Leo Woodall.
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Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Terence Stamp, a close friend of Diana and lover of Julie Christie and The Shrimp: How the most beautiful man in the world would try anything 'except incest and Morris dancing'
When he first hit cinema screens, an unknown actor nominated for an Oscar in his debut role, Terence Stamp was acclaimed as the most beautiful man in the world. His perfectly symmetrical features and dazzling blue eyes, topped with a boyish mop of tousled blond hair, were angelic. But when he grinned, his face radiated a sparkle of raffish mischief. The girls he took back to meet his adored mother, at the East End home where he grew up, numbered actresses such as Julie Christie and Brigitte Bardot, and supermodels Celia Hammond and Jean Shrimpton. Later confidantes included Princess Diana, who met him at a movie premiere in 1987 and was soon invited back to his decadently elegant rooms at the Albany in Piccadilly. She shared his obsession with health foods, and he wooed her by cooking a risotto of mushrooms and brown rice – with the letters HRH picked out cheekily in truffle paste. 'We'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick,' he said. Despite his charm and looks, Stamp never fully achieved the success predicted for him as an actor. His self-destructive tendencies were summed up by one wit who called him, 'The man who threw himself off the edge of a decade.' 'I have a lot of rage inside me,' he said. 'My acting is a kind of outlet for that. If I wasn't an actor, I'd probably be a psychopath.' When his career first began to falter at the end of the 1960s, Stamp fled the film business and, though he made periodic returns, he was never again an A-lister. Nor did he find happiness in love. He had no children and married only once, in his 60s, to a woman 35 years his junior. They divorced five years later, and he spent his last years living in self-imposed exile. 'I'd love to come back to England,' he said, 'but my taste has developed in excess of my earning capacity. Whenever I see a place that I like, I'm about a million or two short. 'When I'm in London, I live in hotels or friends put me up.' This rootless lifestyle was part of his appeal when actor and director Peter Ustinov first cast him in 1962 for the title role in Billy Budd, a young sailor unjustly accused of murder. The job brought him £600, a Golden Globe for most promising male newcomer, and an Academy Award nomination for supporting actor. Stamp was living in a shared house on Harley Street with a crowd of other actors, among them Michael Caine. The pair met during a tour of the provinces in a wartime play, The Long And The Short And The Tall. Caine took Stamp, who was five years his junior, under his wing, teaching him survival techniques – such as where to go to pick up girls. Chorus line dancers in end-of-the-pier shows were a favourite: 'Maidens at a loose end, sometimes very loose,' Caine joked. Their friendship became strained when Stamp found fame while Caine was still struggling. 'He had a goal: perfection and the top,' Caine wrote in his autobiography. 'I had a panic: survival and existence.' They quarrelled about petty things, such as who had the bigger room. Stamp claimed Caine cancelled his morning papers. But the real break came after Stamp was offered the lead in Alfie, a movie about a Swinging Sixties lothario whose soul is hollowed out by his pursuit of casual sex. Stamp had doubts about the role and whether it was right for his career. Caine spent three hours urging him to take it – and then, in exasperation, auditioned for the part himself. Alfie made him a star. 'I still wake up screaming,' Caine jokes today, 'after nightmares that Terry listened to my advice and played Alfie himself.' This hesitancy became the bane of Stamp's career. He turned down the role of King Arthur in the musical Camelot, with Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere, because he feared his singing voice wasn't good enough. For the rest of his life, he regretted it: 'When the movie came out and I saw Richard Harris do it, I thought, 'Well, I could have sung it as well as that!'' And he originally rejected another role, as the timid obsessive who kidnaps a beautiful young woman, in The Collector. 'I didn't want to be a spotty invisible bank clerk with a snotty nose,' he said. He eventually relented and the movie, released in 1965 with Samantha Eggar as his victim, is regarded as a cult classic. Other successes followed, including the spy caper Modesty Blaise, and Far From The Madding Crowd, opposite Christie. Their love affair was immortalised by The Kinks in a line from their hit Waterloo Sunset: 'Terry meets Julie, Waterloo station, every Friday night.' Despite this, he spent most of the late 1960s in an on-off relationship with a girl known as 'the Shrimp'. Jean Shrimpton was bewitched when she first met him. But though he professed to adore her, he often treated her with offhand cruelty. On one trip to London, he asked friends to give her bed and board while he was away for a couple of days then failed to return for weeks, leaving her in limbo. Terence Stamp and Gemma Arterton at the Marrakech Film Festival on December 6, 2012 Shrimpton was the most photographed woman in the world, with her face on hundreds of magazine covers. But when she suggested she might try acting, he retorted she had more chance of becoming a brain surgeon. He met her while filming The Collector, when she was on the rebound after breaking up with photographer David Bailey. 'She's not like the usual model girl,' he told the Daily Mail columnist David Lewin. 'She can talk and she is bright. She is really my first girlfriend – steady, that is.' Shrimpton was sitting next to him throughout the interview, mostly in silence, though she did chip in: 'Terence says all models are freaks and I suppose he is right. After all, fashion is not all that important.' Four years later, fed up with waiting for a marriage proposal that never came, she dumped him. 'I'm a realistic sort of person,' she later said. 'I put up with quite a lot, but then I just walk away. I don't think he was in love with me at all, and if he was, he had a funny way of showing it. 'He was incredibly beautiful, and I was in love with his looks. I was infatuated and in awe of him, but I wasn't in love with him.' Stamp was devastated by her rejection. It came as his career was on the skids, his hopes of replacing Sean Connery as James Bond dashed when the role of 007 went to George Lazenby – with cosmic irony, a former model turned actor. He refused to move to Hollywood: 'There would have been Doris Day films for a lot of money, but then I'd have been trapped.' Instead, he drifted into the drugs scene, dabbling with cocaine and LSD. He and his younger brother Christopher were arrested in California in 1968 for smoking marijuana while driving in the Malibu mountains with a girlfriend. A few months later, Stamp was fined £15 for driving his Rolls-Royce down Pall Mall at 65mph. Reeling after Shrimpton ended their relationship, he left the country. 'I bought a round-the-world ticket, which was kind of epic, and I just thought, if I like anywhere I'll stay there.' On the morning he was due to leave London, he came out of his apartment at the Albany, Piccadilly, and heard music echoing from a nearby rooftop. The Beatles were on top of the Apple building, giving an impromptu concert. He talked his way up and spoke to John Lennon, teasing him that his long hair looked camp. Lennon insisted long hair symbolised strength, 'like Samson,' and for the next six years Stamp refused to cut his own hair, until it reached halfway down his back. Exploring India and the Middle East, he became fascinated with different types of spirituality. 'Tai chi, I was a whirling dervish, there wasn't anything I wouldn't try, except incest or Morris dancing,' he said. He settled in Pune, 100 miles west of Mumbai, at a hotel called the Blue Diamond, with other English expats. Dressing in a dhoti or white robe, he sat literally at the feet of his guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, every day. Some of the lessons involved tantric sex techniques. 'There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group,' he said. 'There was a lot of action going on.' Terence Stamp during the filming of 'The Mind of Mr Soames' at Shepperton Studios in 1969 After a year, a telegram from his agent arrived. Stamp always swore it was addressed to, 'Clarence Stamp, the Rough Diamond, Pune – it was like a miracle it was in my hand'. The cable brought two job offers. One was a film about the mystic and spiritual teacher GI Gurdjieff. The other was Superman with Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve. He took both roles. In Superman, he played the villainous General Zod. For the rest of his life, if he was in a benign mood, he would greet fans with a cry of, 'Kneel before Zod, you bastards.' Thrilled to have him back, his agent announced, 'He knows who he is at last. It's taken him a long time, but he's grown up. He's learned about himself.' Part of that change meant abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and becoming a vegetarian. For the rest of his life he was an advocate of whole foods, and wrote recipe books on healthy eating. But it also meant coming to terms with a difficult childhood, and decades dogged by a conviction that he was a disappointment to his father, Tom, a tug boat pilot. 'When I was a boy,' he said, 'we were a bit hard up. 'After we got a television set, I'd watch plays, and I was always saying, 'I'm sure I could do better.' My father said: 'I don't want you to talk about it any more. People like us don't do things like that.' 'He never said very much and I knew how deeply he must be feeling inside to have spoken like that. We never talked about it again, but inside my head, it was just a pressure cooker building up steam. I loved the East End, but I felt it was my destiny to get out.' He signed up to acting classes in secret, left home and spent two years at theatre school – and did not dare tell his parents until Billy Budd was about to be released. Tom Stamp, a heavy drinker, died from cirrhosis, but not before Stamp was able to buy his parents a home in Kent, close to the fields where they had met as hop-pickers. For the latter decades of his career, Stamp took work when he needed it, unconcerned by the quality. Sometimes it was good, such as his role in drag for Priscilla Queen Of the Desert. 'I thought I'd resemble Candice Bergen,' he joked, 'but I look more like an old boot.' But he never lost an air of regret that the promise of the 1960s, both for him and for the world, was not fulfilled.
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
From Love Island to BGT and Clarkson's Farm, we reveal the top 25 TV shows of the last 25 years – but do you agree?
Does your favourite make the cut? TV GOLD From Love Island to BGT and Clarkson's Farm, we reveal the top 25 TV shows of the last 25 years – but do you agree? Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOFTY critics might hail It's A Sin, Bleak House and Wolf Hall as Britain's best TV. But Sun readers feel differently and champion old-fashioned laughs, fun Saturday-night frivolity and shocking reality TV. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up Here, our TV experts Ally Ross, Clemmie Moodie, Steve Corbett, Rod Mcphee, Dulcie Pearce and Felicity Cross pick the greatest shows of the past 25 years that we know YOU love too. The Crown 2016-2023 25 The Crown brought together top writers, a massive budget and an elite cast Credit: Netflix CONTROVERSIAL, captivating, sophisticated and sensational, The Crown brought together top writers, a massive budget, an elite cast and lots of 'artistic licence'. Netflix reached some kind of zenith by being brave enough to make a drama about the royals that made us reassess the entire British establishment. RM The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, 2012 25 The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile exploded the myth of the once-adored presenter Credit: PA:Press Association ARGUABLY one of the biggest landmark documentaries of the century, in 50 minutes this show exploded the myth of the once-adored presenter. It sparked a wider police probe revealing Savile to be a predatory paedophile whose decades of sex attacks were facilitated by him being one of the BBC's biggest stars. RM Peaky Blinders 2013-2022 Trailer for the first series of Peaky Blinders 25 Peaky Blinders blew audiences away and sparked its own cultural phenomenon Credit: Alamy WHEN this new breed of period drama arrived, it blew audiences away and sparked its own cultural phenomenon. From copycat shows to inspiring a generation of hipsters, the working class folk at the centre of this story about Brummie gangsters were smarter, sexier and better- dressed than any previous TV series had portrayed. RM The Graham Norton Show, 2007- 25 Graham Norton has created the defining chat show of the past 25 years Credit: BBC IT may lack the interrogation of Parkinson, but Graham Norton has created the defining chat show of the past 25 years. While rivals such as Jonathan Ross and Alan Carr struggled to land huge names, he's constantly packed his sofa with Hollywood A-listers while keeping some of the cheeky interview style that Brits expect. RM I'm A Celebrity . . . 2002- 25 I'm A Celebrity . . . has exposed many a star's unsavoury side Credit: Rex THE original fish-out-of-water reality show that has exposed many a celebrity's unsavoury side, catapulted underdogs to stardom and delivered endless laughs. Ant and Dec are at their finest, serving up brilliant gags and banter. And the series continues to evolve, with a recent trend for divisive political signings – plus a second All Stars run to come next year. FC Chernobyl, 2019 25 Chernobyl is one of the greatest TV dramas of the century Credit: HBO SOME objected to the sting in the tail at the end of this mini-series' breathtaking finale, when it was revealed that character Ulana Khomyuk didn't exist and was a box-ticking amalgamation of the scientists who campaigned for the truth about the disaster. But I thought Chernobyl more than earned the right-on indulgence. One of the greatest TV dramas of the century. AR Downton Abbey 2010-2015 25 Julian Fellowes breathed new life into the period drama with Downton Abbey Credit: Handout WRITER Julian Fellowes breathed new life into the period drama with this iconic show. He made stars out of a little-known cast, as well as hiring veteran Maggie Smith to play Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. And he gently explored edgy themes without tainting the nostalgia and pomp we need in an upstairs-downstairs series. RM The Inbetweeners 2008-2010 25 The Inbetweeners is the ultimate coming-of-age comedy Credit: Channel 4 THE ultimate coming-of-age comedy, this was three seasons packed full of vulgar, smutty humour that every teenage boy could identify with. At a certain age, nothing is funnier than awkward teenage crushes, introductions to booze and laugh-out-loud schoolboy banter. Rude, crude and hilarious (don't watch with your nan). SC Happy Valley 2014-2023 25 Happy Valley is a quintessentially British masterpiece Credit: PA:Press Association LIFE in a small, West Yorkshire town must be very quiet. Wrong. Sarah Lancashire is the hugely relatable police sergeant Catherine Cawood, a dedicated and passionate cop with a mess of a home life as mum to a teenager – and also dealing with a crook (James Norton) that's too close to home. Sally Wainwright's drama is a quintessentially British masterpiece. SC Sherlock 2010-2017 25 This original take on legendary detective Sherlock Holmes brought the story bang into the modern world Credit: BBC BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH became a household name as the eponymous lead in this drama – one of the most cleverly scripted and directed ever. An original take on legendary detective Sherlock Holmes that brought the story bang into the modern world. He and Dr Watson (Martin Freeman) were a TV gold double act. A must-see for any British drama fan. SC Love Island 2015- 25 Love Island is the big daddy of dating shows IN 2015, ITV planted a group of fun and frisky Brits into a Majorcan villa with one aim – finding love. And so a whole new genre of TV was firmly established. Love Island, now hosted by Maya Jama, is the big daddy of dating shows, which has spawned copycats but remains on top today, with more record figures this summer. Ten years on, watching hot people bicker, bitch and, yes, bonk, remains just as thrilling. FC Britain's Got Talent 2007- 25 BGT could well bring the spirit of British entertainment to life for years to come Credit: ITV SHOWBUSINESS at its finest – and funniest. Granted, the ITV variety show has had its fair share of flops. But time and time again, Simon Cowell and the team have shaken up the format to win over a fresh generation of fans with a mix of slapstick acts, amazing singers and top dancers. BGT – also featuring regular judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon – could well bring the spirit of British entertainment to life for years to come. FC Clarkson's Farm 2021- 25 Jeremy Clarkson captivated millions of urban Brits with his honest take on the highs and lows of rural life Credit: PA WITH this documentary which is, at times, part comedy and part soap opera, Jeremy achieved the feat of captivating millions of urban Brits with his honest take on the highs and lows of rural life. Clarkson's Farm is a hitherto unseen look at the hardy members of our population who fight daily to survive the weather, farming red tape – and cattle that can castrate with a single kick. RM Blue Planet II 2017 25 Blue Planet II cut through the public consciousness like few others Credit: Handout SIR David Attenborough's nature shows have always pushed the boundaries. But this series in particular cut through the public consciousness like few others. It showed us how single-use plastics – a phrase most people had never heard before – were ruining our oceans. And it pushed the issue to the very top of the global agenda. RM Big Brother 2000- 25 Since its launch, BB has given us some of TV's most memorable moments Credit: check copyright THERE'S a reason the original reality TV experiment still airs to such acclaim – it is the best fly-on-the-wall concept out there. Another format which entirely changed the game and forged its own genre, Big Brother's success relies on each series' cast and the tricks producers use to strip them bare. Since its launch, BB has given us some of TV's most memorable moments. FC Bodygaurd, 2018 25 Jed Mercurio gave us a whip-smart thriller packed full of sex, guns, spies and politics Credit: Alamy LINE Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio shunned the modern drama rulebook, with dull, woke dictats, and gave us a whip-smart thriller packed full of sex, guns, spies and politics. With Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden delivering career-defining performances, Bodyguard had the nation on the edge of their seats. RM Gavin & Stacey 2007-2024 25 Gavin and Stacey's warm tales of friendship and family resonated with us all Credit: BBC STARTING life on BBC Three in 2007, this story of long-distance love between an Essex boy and a Welsh girl went from hidden gem to national treasure. Subsequently shown on BBC One, there were three series and three Christmas specials, written by show stars James Corden (Smithy) and Ruth Jones (Nessa). The warm tales of friendship and family resonated with us and made, 'Oh' funny for all time. DP Strictly Come Dancing 2004- 25 Strictly manages to bring together multiple generations across the country Credit: BBC FEW TV shows these days can bring together multiple generations across the country – but Strictly still manages it. With 22 series under its glittery belt, the dance contest has been entertaining us from September to Christmas since 2004. It's made house-hold names of the most minor celebs and has had us gasping, weeping and waltzing for more than two decades. DP Line Of Duty 2012-2021 25 Jed Mercurio's series is a crime thriller masterpiece Credit: Alamy A GRIPPING plot, stellar acting and scream-at-your-telly shocks made Jed Mercurio's series about police anti-corruption unit AC-12 an adrenaline hit. Never shying away from violence, or killing off a lead character in dramatic style, its fast and ferocious pace – mixed with incredibly clever twists – make it a crime thriller masterpiece. DP Top Gear 2002-2022 25 Top Gear's glory days under Clarkson, Hammond and May produced some of TV's finest moments Credit: PA THE Jaguar of motoring shows, it always delivered and kept devoted fans in fifth gear for years. The glory days under Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, from 2002 to 2015, produced some of TV's finest moments – be it banter in the studio or epic challenges. A tour de force in broadcasting that successors could never live up to. FC Taskmaster 2015- 25 Taskmaster is comedy in its purest form Credit: Simon Webb / Channel 4 IF Have I Got News For You relies on pithy barbs, then Taskmaster's beauty lies in its innocence. Hosted by Greg Davies and Alex Horne, it's comedy in its purest form, with a group of funny people competing in nonsensical challenges. No politics, no edgy humour or upset – just off-the-cuff gags and mayhem. It's been a great launchpad for up-and-coming comedians. FC X Factor 2004-2018 25 X Factor created huge stars including One Direction, Little Mix and James Arthur Credit: Rex Features THE contest that put all other singing shows in the shade. At its peak, Simon Cowell's talent-seeking series united families around TVs, and fans at battle buses, as finalists drummed up votes. And it created huge stars including One Direction, Little Mix and James Arthur. A real one-of-a-kind show. CM The Chase 2009- 25 The Chase is our top quiz of the century among a thriving pack BRADLEY WALSH's quiz show is among TV's most watched. Its simple premise – to 'outrun' a professional quizzer and reach a prize pot – is fun to play along with at home. But those 'Chasers' are the real draw, with their distinct characters and jaw-dropping knowledge. That's why The Chase is our top quiz of the century among a thriving pack. FC The Traitors 2022- 25 The Traitors is thrilling and dastardly gameplay combined with human hope, joy and savagery Credit: PA JUST when we despaired there would never be any new ideas on television, along came Claudia Winkleman and The Traitors. Thrilling and dastardly gameplay combined with human hope, joy and savagery, made the BBC show irresistible viewing and united friends and family to watch TV 'live'. Another format that's been copied, but The Traitors is still best in class. FC The Office 2001-2003 25 David Brent's dancing gave us one of the most hilarious, hellish-to-watch comedy scenes of all time Credit: Handout TV's first 'mockumentary' had us biting our toenails in cringe by the second series – because we'd gnawed through every fingernail during the first. Ricky Gervais' David Brent is the office boss we all secretly fear being. He's the ultimate awkward character whose dancing gave us one of the most hilarious, hellish-to-watch comedy scenes of all time. SC
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
From Love Island to BGT and Clarkson's Farm, we reveal the top 25 TV shows of the last 25 years – but do you agree?
LOFTY critics might hail It's A Sin, Bleak House and Wolf Hall as Britain's best TV. But Sun readers feel differently and champion old-fashioned laughs, fun Saturday-night frivolity and shocking reality TV. Here, our TV experts Ally Ross, Clemmie Moodie, Steve Corbett, Rod Mcphee, Dulcie Pearce and Felicity Cross pick the greatest shows of the past 25 years that we know YOU love too. The Crown 2016-2023 25 CONTROVERSIAL, captivating, sophisticated and sensational, The Crown brought together top writers, a massive budget, an elite cast and lots of 'artistic licence'. Netflix reached some kind of zenith by being brave enough to make a drama about the royals that made us reassess the entire British establishment. RM The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, 2012 25 ARGUABLY one of the biggest landmark documentaries of the century, in 50 minutes this show exploded the myth of the once-adored presenter. It sparked a wider police probe revealing Savile to be a predatory paedophile whose decades of sex attacks were facilitated by him being one of the BBC's biggest stars. RM Peaky Blinders 2013-2022 Trailer for the first series of Peaky Blinders 25 WHEN this new breed of period drama arrived, it blew audiences away and sparked its own cultural phenomenon. From copycat shows to inspiring a generation of hipsters, the working class folk at the centre of this story about Brummie gangsters were smarter, sexier and better- dressed than any previous TV series had portrayed. RM The Graham Norton Show, 2007- IT may lack the interrogation of Parkinson, but Graham Norton has created the defining chat show of the past 25 years. While rivals such as Jonathan Ross and Alan Carr struggled to land huge names, he's constantly packed his sofa with Hollywood A-listers while keeping some of the cheeky interview style that Brits expect. RM I'm A Celebrity . . . 2002- 25 THE original fish-out-of-water reality show that has exposed many a celebrity's unsavoury side, catapulted underdogs to stardom and delivered endless laughs. Ant and Dec are at their finest, serving up brilliant gags and banter. And the series continues to evolve, with a recent trend for divisive political signings – plus a second All Stars run to come next year. FC Chernobyl, 2019 25 SOME objected to the sting in the tail at the end of this mini-series' breathtaking finale, when it was revealed that character Ulana Khomyuk didn't exist and was a box-ticking amalgamation of the scientists who campaigned for the truth about the disaster. But I thought Chernobyl more than earned the right-on indulgence. One of the greatest TV dramas of the century. AR Downton Abbey 2010-2015 25 WRITER Julian Fellowes breathed new life into the period drama with this iconic show. He made stars out of a little-known cast, as well as hiring veteran Maggie Smith to play Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. And he gently explored edgy themes without tainting the nostalgia and pomp we need in an upstairs-downstairs series. RM The Inbetweeners 2008-2010 25 THE ultimate coming-of-age comedy, this was three seasons packed full of vulgar, smutty humour that every teenage boy could identify with. At a certain age, nothing is funnier than awkward teenage crushes, introductions to booze and laugh-out-loud schoolboy banter. Rude, crude and hilarious (don't watch with your nan). SC Happy Valley 2014-2023 25 LIFE in a small, West Yorkshire town must be very quiet. Wrong. Sarah Lancashire is the hugely relatable police sergeant Catherine Cawood, a dedicated and passionate cop with a mess of a home life as mum to a teenager – and also dealing with a crook (James Norton) that's too close to home. Sally Wainwright's drama is a quintessentially British masterpiece. SC Sherlock 2010-2017 25 BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH became a household name as the eponymous lead in this drama – one of the most cleverly scripted and directed ever. An original take on legendary detective Sherlock Holmes that brought the story bang into the modern world. He and Dr Watson (Martin Freeman) were a TV gold double act. A must-see for any British drama fan. SC Love Island 2015- IN 2015, ITV planted a group of fun and frisky Brits into a Majorcan villa with one aim – finding love. And so a whole new genre of TV was firmly established. Love Island, now hosted by Maya Jama, is the big daddy of dating shows, which has spawned copycats but remains on top today, with more record figures this summer. Ten years on, watching hot people bicker, bitch and, yes, bonk, remains just as thrilling. FC Britain's Got Talent 2007- SHOWBUSINESS at its finest – and funniest. Granted, the ITV variety show has had its fair share of flops. But time and time again, Simon Cowell and the team have shaken up the format to win over a fresh generation of fans with a mix of slapstick acts, amazing singers and top dancers. BGT – also featuring regular judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon – could well bring the spirit of British entertainment to life for years to come. FC Clarkson's Farm 2021- 25 WITH this documentary which is, at times, part comedy and part soap opera, Jeremy achieved the feat of captivating millions of urban Brits with his honest take on the highs and lows of rural life. Clarkson's Farm is a hitherto unseen look at the hardy members of our population who fight daily to survive the weather, farming red tape – and cattle that can castrate with a single kick. RM Blue Planet II 2017 25 SIR David Attenborough 's nature shows have always pushed the boundaries. But this series in particular cut through the public consciousness like few others. It showed us how single-use plastics – a phrase most people had never heard before – were ruining our oceans. And it pushed the issue to the very top of the global agenda. RM Big Brother 2000- THERE'S a reason the original reality TV experiment still airs to such acclaim – it is the best fly-on-the-wall concept out there. Another format which entirely changed the game and forged its own genre, Big Brother's success relies on each series' cast and the tricks producers use to strip them bare. Since its launch, BB has given us some of TV's most memorable moments. FC Bodygaurd, 2018 25 LINE Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio shunned the modern drama rulebook, with dull, woke dictats, and gave us a whip-smart thriller packed full of sex, guns, spies and politics. With Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden delivering career-defining performances, Bodyguard had the nation on the edge of their seats. RM Gavin & Stacey 2007-2024 25 STARTING life on BBC Three in 2007, this story of long-distance love between an Essex boy and a Welsh girl went from hidden gem to national treasure. Subsequently shown on BBC One, there were three series and three Christmas specials, written by show stars James Corden (Smithy) and Ruth Jones (Nessa). The warm tales of friendship and family resonated with us and made, 'Oh' funny for all time. DP Strictly Come Dancing 2004- 25 FEW TV shows these days can bring together multiple generations across the country – but Strictly still manages it. With 22 series under its glittery belt, the dance contest has been entertaining us from September to Christmas since 2004. It's made house-hold names of the most minor celebs and has had us gasping, weeping and waltzing for more than two decades. DP Line Of Duty 2012-2021 25 A GRIPPING plot, stellar acting and scream-at-your-telly shocks made Jed Mercurio's series about police anti-corruption unit AC-12 an adrenaline hit. Never shying away from violence, or killing off a lead character in dramatic style, its fast and ferocious pace – mixed with incredibly clever twists – make it a crime thriller masterpiece. DP Top Gear 2002-2022 25 THE Jaguar of motoring shows, it always delivered and kept devoted fans in fifth gear for years. The glory days under Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, from 2002 to 2015, produced some of TV's finest moments – be it banter in the studio or epic challenges. A tour de force in broadcasting that successors could never live up to. FC Taskmaster 2015- 25 IF Have I Got News For You relies on pithy barbs, then Taskmaster's beauty lies in its innocence. Hosted by Greg Davies and Alex Horne, it's comedy in its purest form, with a group of funny people competing in nonsensical challenges. No politics, no edgy humour or upset – just off-the-cuff gags and mayhem. It's been a great launchpad for up-and-coming comedians. FC X Factor 2004-2018 25 THE contest that put all other singing shows in the shade. At its peak, Simon Cowell's talent-seeking series united families around TVs, and fans at battle buses, as finalists drummed up votes. And it created huge stars including One Direction, Little Mix and James Arthur. A real one-of-a-kind show. CM The Chase 2009- 25 BRADLEY WALSH's quiz show is among TV's most watched. Its simple premise – to 'outrun' a professional quizzer and reach a prize pot – is fun to play along with at home. But those 'Chasers' are the real draw, with their distinct characters and jaw-dropping knowledge. That's why The Chase is our top quiz of the century among a thriving pack. FC The Traitors 2022- 25 JUST when we despaired there would never be any new ideas on television, along came Claudia Winkleman and The Traitors. Thrilling and dastardly gameplay combined with human hope, joy and savagery, made the BBC show irresistible viewing and united friends and family to watch TV 'live'. Another format that's been copied, but The Traitors is still best in class. FC The Office 2001-2003 25 TV's first 'mockumentary' had us biting our toenails in cringe by the second series – because we'd gnawed through every fingernail during the first. Ricky Gervais' David Brent is the office boss we all secretly fear being. He's the ultimate awkward character whose dancing gave us one of the most hilarious, hellish-to-watch comedy scenes of all time. SC
