Gabriel Byrne on Adolesence and how drama can help teens express their feelings: ‘It opens up ideas in your head and that transforms you'
Gabriel Byrne wants to talk. He watched the TV drama series Adolescence and is still reeling from it. 'You can watch all the documentaries you like, but drama is the thing that really connects with other people,' says the Dublin-born actor and writer. 'It changes you. It has that power.'
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Dublin Live
3 days ago
- Dublin Live
Stephen Graham underwent 'scary' emergency operation while on plane
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Stephen Graham has opened up about the "scary" emergency operation he underwent while on a plane. Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the Adolescence actor spoke of a medical emergency that took place the last time he touched down in the States. After the host asked about his previous traumatic flight, Stephen responded by saying it was "a hell of an experience". He elaborated: "Look, I'm of a certain age, you know what I mean? You're a gentleman, like myself. I don't know; once you get over like 45, you tend to go to the toilet quite a lot of times." His storytelling made the crowd laugh and had viewers wondering where this story was going exactly. Graham went on to explain how many people opt to have a catheter fitted, which is something he himself had opted for. Ultimately, it was supposed to aid him in his bathroom habits, and he explained that after "three to four months", you should be experiencing "fewer trips to the toilet". Although the Netflix star found himself in a bit of an unusual situation on a flight 10,000 feet in the air when everything had been fine, right up until that point. He tells the late-night host about drinking water on the flight as usual, going to the toilet and suddenly not being able to pee. "I'm like, Oh, this doesn't feel right," he told Myers. "I knew I had to, and then silly Stephen thought, 'Oh, well, if I go back to my seat and I just keep drinking water, at some point it will happen.'" After going back to his seat and some time passing, he went back to the toilet and was shocked by what happened next. Graham said: "long story short, all of a sudden I went, but it was just pure blood," adding that it was "very scary". He further explained that he couldn't stop the sheer amount of blood and began to have a "slight panic attack". He admitted that the entire situation had made him quite emotional, but luck was on his side, as he remembers taking a selfie with a fan before the flight, who just happened to be a doctor. "He had another friend with him, who was a surgeon," the actor explained. "So I'm there, and I explain. He's like, 'Ok,' and the surgeon, Dr Haji, says, 'We can work this out.'" The entire area he was in was sterilised, and a catheter was pulled out of an emergency box. To put it bluntly, Graham said: "I drop my kecks, I get on the couch, and he performs a catheter operation there and then." And, once it was over and done with, the Adolescence star took a selfie with the doctors and crew on board to remember the moment. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Brit pop superstar thanks Netflix hit Adolescence for ‘changing her relationship with her son' in heartfelt letters
SUPERSTAR Adele has written letters of thanks to the makers of Netflix hit series Adolescence. The British singer, 37, told the director of the award-winning show that she had made a point of watching it with son Angelo. 3 Adele has written letters of thanks to the makers of Netflix hit series Adolescence Credit: Getty 3 The series stars Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham Credit: AP 3 Adele pictured with Angelo Credit: Alamy And she praised the hard- hitting drama for 'changing her relationship' with the 12-year old — who she shares with her ex-husband Film director The series, starring Director Philip Barantini said: 'I am getting messages, inundated on Instagram, from people from all over the world who can relate to this story or have really been affected by it. Read More on Showbiz 'That, for me, has blown my mind a little bit.' Speaking in a masterclass with the Royal Television Society, he added: 'I had a text message from Steven Spielberg who has watched it twice and I got letters from Adele last week — handwritten letters from Adele.' He continued: 'I mean, just like saying that she had watched it with her son and it has changed their relationship. 'Things like that are just beyond anything I ever imagined from this little show that we made with our family. Most read in Celebrity 'You see things like Baby Reindeer and all of those shows — they come out and then they just blow up. 'It's a huge thing and that is the power of Netflix. Evil Adolescence teens butchered our kids after knife taunts & love feuds online…it's an arms war & no one feels safe 'For some reason, because we made it in Yorkshire and it is set in a small town in England, I never thought in a million years it would be the number one show in India or Venezuela.' The four-parter has become Netflix's second most-watched English language TV series, behind only It has also triggered a national debate and led to Prime Minister Sir Keir said he watched the series with his 14-year-old daughter and son, 16. He added: 'As a dad, I have not found it easy viewing.'
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Only in UK could we be forced to pay for BBC then have to cough up for best TV on streaming services – it's got to stop
TURN on your TV today and you'll find schedules filled with true crime thrillers and celebrity reality shows or, at the other extreme, indulgent tripe pandering to Gen Z snowflakes. But unless the Big Five channels stop making so much b****ks and grow some balls, they're going to kill British TV as we know it. 5 Blind Date, a much-loved TV format that was once on ITV but has now been snapped up by Disney+ Credit: Getty Images - Getty 5 Subscription services are now making the most electrifying programmes on the planet, pictured hit White Lotus Credit: AP 5 Netflix's gritty drama Adolescence could easily have been done by Channel 4 Credit: Netflix Because BBC One and BBC Two, ITV , Channel 4 and 5 — whose listings increasingly read like a suicide note — are entering the final stages of a fight for their survival. They're up against Netflix, Sky , Prime Video and countless other corporations with deep pockets and big ambitions. Proof came this week in the unlikely form of Blind Date, a much-loved TV format that was once on ITV but has now been Only in Britain could we be forced by law to shell out for a home-grown broadcasting service, only to find the best TV shows are increasingly made by largely foreign-owned streamers Rod Yeah, that's right, Disney+. Paying through nose Years ago, the subscription services started out providing an alternative to traditional telly, then they began copying the traditional providers and, recently, they've started stealing their big-name talent — Jeremy Clarkson, Emma Willis, Amanda Holden, Holly Willoughby. Now the Blind Date deal shows that the super streamers are literally out to thrash the Big Five at their own game. The gloves have come off . . . but the increased competition won't stop us paying through the nose. Only in Britain could we be forced by law to shell out for a home-grown broadcasting service, only to find the best TV shows are increasingly made by largely foreign-owned streamers. Then — in the ultimate rip-off — we have to cough up even more money to watch them. That's the enraging situation we find ourselves in in the year 2025. Although there are some notable exceptions on the BBC , ITV and Channel 4, the consensus is that subscription services are now making the most electrifying programmes on the planet. Brassic Bids Farewell: Michelle Keegan's Final Series Think about it. Dramas including Adolescence, Baby Reindeer, Rivals, The White Lotus, Slow Horses. And consider the shows that have given us the biggest laughs over the past few years — hits like Last One Laughing, None of the above was delivered by the traditional Big Five terrestrials. So, why can't the channels we already pay for make more of the TV that gets us excited? The obvious response from the top UK channels would be that they are still giving us blockbusters — Strictly, I'm A Celebrity , Bake Off, The Traitors, Love Island and dramas like Happy Valley or Mr Bates Vs The Post Office . 5 Last One Laughing, on Amazon Prime Video, has been giving us more laughs than anything on the traditional Big Five terrestrials Credit: Supplied 5 Why can't the channels we already pay for make more of the TV that gets us excited like Brassic? Credit: Sky UK Limited. They are all, to be fair, brilliant. But so much of it is old now. It's predictable. And the new hits are few and far between. Though the streamers obviously have pots of cash to spend, it's not just a money problem either. Look no further than the recent co-production between Disney+ and the BBC on Doctor Who. It's easy to understand why other shows that are laden with CGI and big Hollywood stars end up on the streamers, but why is it that comedies like Ted Lasso never seem to pop up on ITV? Rod It was, by most people's standards, an unmitigated disaster. The studio giant pumped millions into cutting-edge special effects, sets that dazzled rather than wobbled and genuinely monstrous monsters. And what did the BBC do? They squandered it by turning a sci-fi classic into a series of woke lectures that had viewers turning off in droves. Now the Disney+ deal is hanging in the balance and they're having to bring back David Tennant. It's easy to understand why other shows that are laden with CGI and big Hollywood stars end up on the streamers, but why is it that comedies like Ted Lasso never seem to pop up on ITV? ITV, by the way, recently spent millions launching The Genius Game, with And the one thing I thought while watching the brilliant, gritty drama Adolescence was, this could easily have been done by Channel 4. Neither Adolescence nor Ted Lasso would have cost that much to produce, surely? It's not Star Wars or Bridgerton. Pure extortion Part of the problem, it seems, is that a lot of creatives and execs now don't just chase the money — they also chase trends and credibility. At last month's TV Baftas, around a third of the nominations went to streamers — a figure that's been growing rapidly over the past decade. That, too, could reach a tipping point in a couple of years. The solution is glaringly obvious, but not easy. If Disney+ steal Blind Date, come up with the next Blind Date. If they lose Clarkson to Prime Video, find the next Jeremy. If Netflix do Bridgerton, come up with another twist on the period drama. They need to stop the rot in terrestrial telly, because one day a cluster of these streamers will start offering a one-price-buys-all subscription deal that will make the licence fee look like pure extortion. Then public service broadcasting's days really will be numbered.
