Race Across The World is back, and Self Esteem's new album: What's coming up this week
This week, Race Across the World returns to our screens, with five teams setting off from the Great Wall of China.But that's not all the week has in store.Self Esteem's new album is out, the next series of The Mangione Trial drops on BBC Sounds, and gaming fans have Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to look forward to.Read on for what's coming up this week...
Race Across the World is back
Another frenetic Race Across the World starts on Thursday.For anyone who hasn't seen the Bafta-winning BBC One show, it offers a bird's eye (or perhaps coach window) view of five duos racing around the globe for a £20,000 prize.Without phones, flights or bank cards, this year's pairs must travel more than 14,000km - starting at the Great Wall of China and finishing at Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.I've had a sneak preview of the new series, and can tell you the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. But language barriers quickly pose a challenge.Why is Race Across the World so popular?So who's competing this year? The teams include sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, former married couple Yin and Gaz, and teenage couple Fin and Sioned.Completing the line up, we have brothers Brian and Melvyn, and mother and son Caroline and Tom.Race Across the World is as much about its contestants as the race and travelling. I'm mostly excited for the inevitable moving moments, as we see the teams pushed to their absolute limits.
Self Esteem is A Complicated Woman
By Mark Savage, music correspondent
"This album is going to get terrible reviews," Self Esteem predicted when I caught up with her last Christmas.Why? "Because people hate women doing well," she laughed. "I'm very ready for a male journalist to say it doesn't make sense, because it's a lot."That's kind of the point, though. Out on Friday, A Complicated Woman is an attempt to capture womanhood in all its complexities and contradictions – and that means moving through musical genres, modes and attitudes with almost whiplash-inducing speed.But Self Esteem, aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor, is too clever to mess it up. Her trademark wit and sincerity are firmly in place, as she talks candidly about social anxiety, crises of confidence, infantilised men, her least favourite sexual positions and being beaten down for speaking up.Highlights include The Curse, a stadium-sized ballad about using alcohol as an emotional crutch; and closing track The Deep Blue Okay, where she eventually finds a modicum of inner peace. Along the way, there are guest appearances from Nadine Shah, Moonchild Sanelly and even Coronation Street's Julie Hesmondhalgh.She launched the album with a flashy West End residency last week – where fans were delighted to discover that A Complicated Woman was an uncomplicated delight.
More on the Mangione trial
Luigi Mangione's case went viral after he was charged with killing healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City in December.He has pleaded not guilty to state charges, and has yet to enter a plea for separate federal charges.Some on social media have celebrated the 26-year-old, and shared anger at America's private health insurers.So what are the facts, and what are the conspiracies?The Mangione Trial, on BBC Sounds, aims to unpick this. The latest episode drops on Wednesday, and looks at how the US healthcare system works.It hears from a mother who says she spent $40,000 (£30,000) on her daughter's treatment while also battling for her insurance to cover it.Future episodes will dive into what conspiracy theories are, and why people become so obsessed with them.
Defying destiny in Clair Obscur and Until Dawn
By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter
Dark fantasy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, out Thursday for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Game Pass, quite literally caught people's eyes when it was first revealed at last year's Summer Game Fest.As video games go, it's a stunner, with gorgeous art direction heavily inspired by France's 19th century Belle Époque era.Players control a crew of characters on a quest to destroy the Paintress – a being who emerges once a year and scrawls a number onto a monolith. If someone's age matches the digits, they die (hence the 33 in the title).Somehow, the 30-person team at French developer Sandfall Interactive has also managed to attract some top-tier acting talent to the role-playing game (RPG) project, including Daredevil's Charlie Cox, Gollum actor Andy Serkis, Final Fantasy XVI's Ben Starr and Baldur's Gate 3's Jennifer English.But the thing that's arguably generated most excitement is the game's focus on old-school turn-based combat. It was a staple of classic 1990s and early 2000s RPG series such as Final Fantasy that's fallen out of fashion in the blockbuster space of late. If the studio sticks the landing with their debut title, expect to hear about Expedition 33 when Game of the Year season rolls around.If that doesn't take your fancy, video game adaptation Until Dawn is out in cinemas on Friday. Passionate fans of the 2015 "interactive horror movie" were concerned when the first trailer revealed the film's makers had swapped the game's trademark choose-your-own-adventure device for a Happy Death Day-style time loop.But with Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F Sandberg and prolific horror writer Gary Dauberman on board, and a buzzy cast including Love, Victor star Michael Cimino and up-and-comer Ella Rubin, Until Dawn's fate isn't necessarily sealed yet.
Other highlights this week
Good Bad Billionaire is out on BBC Sounds on Monday, telling the story of Selena GomezMatriarch, a memoir by Tina Knowles, is out on Tuesday - I'll have an interview with her out that day tooAndor, season 2, drops on Disney+ on Tuesday (Wednesday in the UK)You, the fifth season of Netflix's thriller series, is out on ThursdayMurder on Line One, by Jeremy Vine, is published on ThursdayFlintoff, a documentary about Freddie Flintoff, is out on Disney+ on FridayThe Accountant 2 is released in cinemas on FridayJeff Goldblum's new album Still Blooming is out on Friday
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Doctor Who fans in disbelief over 'disrespect' of iconic star Jenna Coleman
Fans of Doctor Who have been left in a state of disbelief at the 'disrespect' of former companion and viewer favourite Clara Oswald. This came as a special episode of the spin-off documentary series Doctor Who: Unleashed celebrated 20 years of the sci-fi drama's rebooted iteration. First airing on BBC One on March 26 2005, Doctor Who returned to screens after an absence of 16 years, introducing Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, and Billie Piper as companion Rose Tyler. The rest, as they say, is history – and Doctor Who recently wrapped up its most recent series, with Ncuti Gatwa stepping down as the Fifteenth Doctor during a surprise regeneration. Looking back over 20 years of filming in Cardiff, last night's Unleashed paid tribute to Doctors and companions past. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. However, many fans were disappointed by one particularly glaring omission – namely, the curious absence of Clara Oswald, as played by Jenna Coleman. Clara was initially introduced as a companion to the Eleventh Doctor, as played by Matt Smith. First appearing in the Series Seven episode Asylum of the Daleks in 2012, Jenna's enigmatic appearance (playing one of three different people who shared a similar name, but the same face) turned into a full-time companionship under the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi). Clara departed the TARDIS in Series 9, with the 2015 finale Hell Bent being her last in a starring role. However, she did return for the Twelfth Doctor's final episode, showing up for a cameo in the 2017 Christmas special, Twice Upon A Time. As such, Clara is one of the rebooted Doctor's longer-serving companions… making her absence from this week's celebration seem particularly odd. 'I'm in utter disbelief over how little time was dedicated to the 12th Doctor's era in the new Unleashed ep, only a little under 2 minutes in an hour long special,' wrote DWfigurephotos on X. The user continued: 'The episode 'Blink' alone got more time dedicated to it than Peter's entire run! 🤦♂️ Also no Clara AT ALL?!' 'I know the Doctor temporarily lost all his memories of Clara, but it seems that the makers of Doctor Who Unleashed have forgotten about her completely,' said MrDavidEBrown. 'Is it just me or is it odd that the #DoctorWho Unleashed 20th Anniversary Special didn't even mention Clara. It just skipped over her completely. I can understand if Jenna Coleman wasn't available, but to not even mention or show the character seems really strange,' commented JovialVulcan. 'The whole time when Jenna Coleman played Clara, was skipped over. Her name not mentioned & only a glimpse of her from the distance in a scene from 'Deep Breath'. I wonder why that was?' said PayneNotes1. Also missing from the line-up was Series 3 and 4 companion Martha Jones, as played by Freema Agyeman. Surprisingly, Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday didn't rate a mention either, although she did appear in the background during an interview with Ncuti and Varada Sethu. Former companions who were included in this love letter to Cardiff-era Who included Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who played Amy and Rory Pond during Matt Smith's run on the show. Representing Peter's time, Pearl Mackie also addressed her time as Bill Potts, while Jodie Whittaker's TARDIS-mate Mandip Gill provided some insight of her own. Catherine Tate may not have appeared in an interview, but showrunner Russell T Davies and the documentary did at least acknowledge her existence. Meanwhile, as the most recent companion, Varada joined Ncuti on the red carpet to discuss their stints on the show. As perhaps the Doctor's most well-known companion, Billie Piper joined David Tennant as they reflected on their time in the TARDIS together. Both have returned to the show since their exit, with David starring in three special episodes last year after (re)regenerating from Jodie's much-maligned Thirteenth Doctor. His three-episode return culminated in the show's first bi-generation – heralding the arrival of Ncuti Gatwa as the show's Fifteenth Doctor. More Trending In shocking scenes during this month's series finale, Ncuti stepped down from the show after only two seasons – apparently regenerating into Billie Piper as the episode ended. Whether Billie is actually the Doctor remains to be seen, but her return to the show has left fans worried for its future. View More » Amid rumours that David Tennant might come back (again!) some have suggested that the show is 'running out of ideas' and coasting on its past. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'I had to snort pure glucose': Inside BBC's outstanding 80s crime drama MORE: BBC's 'brilliant' true crime drama made me question my own morals MORE: Divisive horror movie full of 'grotesque monsters' now streaming on BBC iPlayer
The National
an hour ago
- The National
REVIEW: Martin Luther King drama hits the heights, and a technical low
King calls room service and requests a coffee. A young maid by the name of Camae arrives with his beverage. So begins American dramatist Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning 2009 play The Mountaintop. If you are – as I am in writing reviews – averse to spoilers, Hall's drama is a tricky proposition. It is necessary, yet possibly saying too much, to reveal that the fictional figure of Camae is not what she seems. The maid is Black, working class, clever, fast talking, flirtatious, irreverent, yet very much in respectful awe of King. As such, this multifaceted character is a brilliant foil to Hall's imagined MLK. King himself emerges – in Hall's characterisation – as a complex combination of traits inspired by both his public persona and what we know of his private biography. Inevitably – given the ever-present threats against his life – he is afraid for his person. His conversation with Camae explores the tussle between fear, on the one side, and determination, faith and a sense of purpose, on the other. Camae's respect for King does not prevent her from invoking Black radicals such as Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, and from airing opinions on the struggle for racial justice that are at odds with MLK's insistence on non-violent resistance. READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe In one particularly memorable scene, she even imagines a new, radically Black nationalist rhetoric for King. Yet the dialogue between the pair is so deftly wrought, so believable in its humour, affection and growing familiarity that its political dimension never comes close to polemic. The characters' interactions reflect to a considerable degree MLK's well-established 'weakness' where his extra-marital relations with women were concerned. In this, and in other – by turns delightful and anguished – aspects, the play's broad humanism is inflected with feminism. Caleb Roberts (MLK) and Shannon Hayes (Camae) create a powerful and transfixing theatrical duet as they perform on set designer Hyemi Shin's impressive set (a vertiginous rendering of King's motel room). Caleb Roberts Although contrasting in so many ways, the actors generate characters who are in equal measure charismatic and vulnerable, all the better for Camae to guide King through a dark night of the soul and up to the titular mountaintop. Indeed, so spellbinding are the actors that one cannot help but feel disappointed by the needless distraction – in what should have been a shuddering denouement – of very visible stagehands invading the stage in the crucial final scene. This misjudgement on the part of acclaimed director Rikki Henry seriously undermines an otherwise sure-footed staging. The director exhibits a misplaced loyalty to a visual metaphor for which he and his team have been unable to find a satisfactory technical solution. Which is a great shame as, otherwise, this production does excellent justice to Hall's celebrated drama. Until June 21:
Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
'I had to snort pure glucose': Inside BBC's outstanding 80s crime drama
It's a first-world problem but, while I'm at a chilly, damp Twickenham Studios on Valentine's Day, I can't help wishing the team from The Gold had invited me on set a couple of weeks later. When the Bafta-nominated first series finished, several of the criminals who had stolen and laundered the bullion from the 1983 Brink's-Mat heist – at the time, the biggest robbery in British history – were behind bars, yet DCI Brian Boyce and his compact task force were realising that half the gold remained unaccounted for. The second series rejoins the money-laundering trail in the late 1980s as it splits between the UK and the Isle of Man and the sunnier climes of Tenerife (which also doubles as South America and the British Virgin Islands). 'We'll be filming in Tenerife for eight weeks,' grins Hugh Bonneville, who returns as the dogged, incorruptible Boyce. 'It's a much bigger canvas this time – we shot in some buildings in London that clearly were built on Brink's-Mat money for season one, but this time you see the money leaking out into Tenerife and the tax havens. 'You begin to realise it funded drug imports and the beginnings of the ecstasy boom in the UK. The ripple effect of this one event in November 1983 is remarkable.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video I watch on as Boyce subjects a quivering suspect to a fearsome grilling – with retirement drawing near, the copper clearly intends to leave on a high, and Hugh clearly relished the opportunity to talk to Boyce himself, now in his mid-80s but still a formidable figure. 'Brian took me and [series creator] Neil Forsyth out to lunch as we were starting season one, so I reciprocated after it had been on. He likes to talk about the old days and took me through his entire career: he was on the squad that knocked down the door to get Ronnie and Reggie Kray! 'He was very courteous and thanked us for respecting the way they went about their work, which was very heartening. You get the sense he was a good leader who absolutely relied on teamwork.' Boyce and his team – returning coppers Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer), Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott) plus maverick newcomer Tony Lundy (Stephen Campbell Moore) – have two main quarries. One is Charlie Miller (Sam Spruell), a minor villain briefly glimpsed in series one waiting it out in Spain for the dust to settle. Now, though, he's back to claim his stash from its Cornish hiding place. 'It's a cat-and-mouse chase around the world as Charlie tries to use his ill-gotten gains to go legit, to be taken seriously and become a financial player,' says Sam. 'He has a strategy and he's very determined – no matter what goes wrong, he will make the best of it. He just keeps going despite the knockbacks, and as an actor I could relate to that, even admire him for it.' Miller, Sam concedes, doesn't quite have the capacity to realise his aspirations, and brings in Joshua Maguire's crooked lawyer Douglas Baxter to assist him. 'Baxter is the brains and has that class confidence and access Charlie lacks,' says Sam. 'They spend a lot of time being cross with each other, a bit like Laurel and Hardy.' Boyce's other prime target is the returning west-country gold smelter John Palmer (Tom Cullen) who, in contrast to Miller, works alone and is sitting pretty as the self-styled 'King of Tenerife'. 'Since he successfully defended himself in court [in season one], Palmer has a sense of freedom,' explains Tom. 'He's fitter, happier and wearing nicer suits. He can grow into his wealth now and enjoy it, having been driven all his life to better himself after growing up in immense poverty. Not a nice person, but fascinating to play.' Palmer's improved physical condition, though, is undermined by a deteriorating psychological one. 'Palmer has this innate confidence,' explains Tom. 'He's always assessing every option, like a chess player. But other factions are moving in on his empire so he's cutting deals and making alliances along with having to juggle his wife, children and mistresses, which comes with its stresses for him. 'I don't know how he had the energy for it all! The gold is infecting him as greed and power become complete obsessions.' More Trending The problems only mount as Palmer starts to sink into cocaine addiction – an experience, laughs Tom, almost as trying for the actor as it was for the character. 'The fake coke is pure glucose, and it absolutely f**ked me. We did one scene, the last of the day at about 8pm, where I had to snort this humongous line in Palmer's private plane, which is just ridiculous – everything in it is gold. I think I fell asleep about 1am.' He wags a finger at me – a final warning in a cautionary tale for the ages. 'Don't do glucose, kids!' View More » The Gold season 2 begins at 9pm on June 8 on BBC One. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: BBC's 'brilliant' true crime drama made me question my own morals MORE: Divisive horror movie full of 'grotesque monsters' now streaming on BBC iPlayer MORE: 'Doctor Who's finale infuriated fans – but the next series will fix everything'
