Outrageous: a Mitfords rehash too many
I feel about the Mitford industry a bit like I do about the Jane Austen industry. Read the books, I beg you. Enjoy them, learn from them if you can or must (though don't you dare say the word 'relatable' out loud if you're standing anywhere near me). But these endless spin-offs; these wild, parasitical imaginings. Around all of them, anachronisms, myths and clichés grow, like thorns in a fairy tale.
Outrageous, a series based on Mary S Lovell's 2001 biography of the six Mitford sisters, is the work of Sarah Williams, who also co-wrote Becoming Jane,a film about the early life of you-know-who, and its title alerts you (just like the peppy jazz trumpets on its soundtrack) to its sensibility. The siblings' vaunted eccentricity is very much to the fore, whether we're talking about the rat Unity Mitford (Shannon Watson) keeps in her evening bag on the night of her coming-out party, or the tin hat Decca (Zoe Brough) wears in her bedroom when she's pretending to be a revolutionary ducking hand grenades. It's cartoony and exaggerated and rather too determined to be modern and droll. The subtitles that explain locations read 'That Damp London Flat' and 'Diana's Country Pile', as if too much specificity might be off-putting – these rich people!
We take up the story in 1931. Our narrator is the oldest Mitford, Nancy (Bessie Carter), by this point the author of two funny, but slight, novels (her best books will come later). For the family, it's a time of relative innocence. Diana, married to the filthy rich Bryan Guinness, has yet to run off with Oswald Mosley (Joshua Sasse), the leader of the British Union of Fascists, and Unity has yet to develop her horrifying crush on Hitler. Pressing matters include the finances of their parents, aka Farve (James Purefoy) and Muv (Anna Chancellor), which threaten their allowances, and Nancy's ongoing status as a spinster (she's a perilous 29). On the rebound, soon she'll marry the utterly unreliable Peter Rodd (Jamie Blackley).
So far, so good. I adore Carter as Nancy Mitford, at this point in life an unlikely combination of innocence and cynicism, and all the performances are deft: galumphing, scary Unity with her Nazi eyes; stout, scrunch-faced, farm-loving Pamela (Isobel Jesper Jones); Deborah (Orla Hill), the youngest, who sits on staircases at parties, nosy-parkering at the Champagne-fuelled glamour below (one day, she'll be a duchess). If you want houses and clothes and jewellery, your eyes won't hurt at all. But still, I wonder who this is for. If you're interested in the Mitfords, and have read lots about them, this is a primer of which you've no need. If you're not interested, you'll be baffled as to what the hell all the fuss is about.
Is Outrageous a soap? A slightly more plausible Downton Abbey? Context, by necessity (because there's so much to get through), has been peeled away. Things happen so suddenly – Diana and Unity's little away day to Nuremberg, to take just one example – they seem outlandish. Nancy's cleverness and wit, or Decca's unlikely left-wing politics, cannot be fully explored, or even much revealed, which renders them little more than daffy, privileged aristos with a nice line in turquoise earrings and Fair Isle tank tops.
Behind all this, I sense a low-level buzz of anxiety on the part of the producers. Are the Mitfords dodgy, or heroic, or both? Are we allowed to like them, or not, and what will it mean for the drama's chances of success if we don't? On the soundtrack, the trumpet players stick mutes in their instruments, but even then the newcomer may be uncertain as to what she or he is supposed to feel (possibly nothing). For my part, I was caught between admiring its stars and production values, and a kind of proprietorial irritation at its rapidly moving parts.
If I hadn't read most of them already, Outrageous wouldn't send me to the novels, letters, diaries, or even to the many excellent biographies that have been written about the Mitfords. But then, I was also convalescing after a medical emergency. I looked down at my dressing gown – not to boast, but it's just the kind of thing Nancy might have worn the morning after a big night at Quaglino's – and decided to stick with them all just a little while longer. Let's see.
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New Statesman
4 hours ago
- New Statesman
Outrageous: a Mitfords rehash too many
I feel about the Mitford industry a bit like I do about the Jane Austen industry. Read the books, I beg you. Enjoy them, learn from them if you can or must (though don't you dare say the word 'relatable' out loud if you're standing anywhere near me). But these endless spin-offs; these wild, parasitical imaginings. Around all of them, anachronisms, myths and clichés grow, like thorns in a fairy tale. Outrageous, a series based on Mary S Lovell's 2001 biography of the six Mitford sisters, is the work of Sarah Williams, who also co-wrote Becoming Jane,a film about the early life of you-know-who, and its title alerts you (just like the peppy jazz trumpets on its soundtrack) to its sensibility. The siblings' vaunted eccentricity is very much to the fore, whether we're talking about the rat Unity Mitford (Shannon Watson) keeps in her evening bag on the night of her coming-out party, or the tin hat Decca (Zoe Brough) wears in her bedroom when she's pretending to be a revolutionary ducking hand grenades. It's cartoony and exaggerated and rather too determined to be modern and droll. The subtitles that explain locations read 'That Damp London Flat' and 'Diana's Country Pile', as if too much specificity might be off-putting – these rich people! We take up the story in 1931. Our narrator is the oldest Mitford, Nancy (Bessie Carter), by this point the author of two funny, but slight, novels (her best books will come later). For the family, it's a time of relative innocence. Diana, married to the filthy rich Bryan Guinness, has yet to run off with Oswald Mosley (Joshua Sasse), the leader of the British Union of Fascists, and Unity has yet to develop her horrifying crush on Hitler. Pressing matters include the finances of their parents, aka Farve (James Purefoy) and Muv (Anna Chancellor), which threaten their allowances, and Nancy's ongoing status as a spinster (she's a perilous 29). On the rebound, soon she'll marry the utterly unreliable Peter Rodd (Jamie Blackley). So far, so good. I adore Carter as Nancy Mitford, at this point in life an unlikely combination of innocence and cynicism, and all the performances are deft: galumphing, scary Unity with her Nazi eyes; stout, scrunch-faced, farm-loving Pamela (Isobel Jesper Jones); Deborah (Orla Hill), the youngest, who sits on staircases at parties, nosy-parkering at the Champagne-fuelled glamour below (one day, she'll be a duchess). If you want houses and clothes and jewellery, your eyes won't hurt at all. But still, I wonder who this is for. If you're interested in the Mitfords, and have read lots about them, this is a primer of which you've no need. If you're not interested, you'll be baffled as to what the hell all the fuss is about. Is Outrageous a soap? A slightly more plausible Downton Abbey? Context, by necessity (because there's so much to get through), has been peeled away. Things happen so suddenly – Diana and Unity's little away day to Nuremberg, to take just one example – they seem outlandish. Nancy's cleverness and wit, or Decca's unlikely left-wing politics, cannot be fully explored, or even much revealed, which renders them little more than daffy, privileged aristos with a nice line in turquoise earrings and Fair Isle tank tops. Behind all this, I sense a low-level buzz of anxiety on the part of the producers. Are the Mitfords dodgy, or heroic, or both? Are we allowed to like them, or not, and what will it mean for the drama's chances of success if we don't? On the soundtrack, the trumpet players stick mutes in their instruments, but even then the newcomer may be uncertain as to what she or he is supposed to feel (possibly nothing). For my part, I was caught between admiring its stars and production values, and a kind of proprietorial irritation at its rapidly moving parts. If I hadn't read most of them already, Outrageous wouldn't send me to the novels, letters, diaries, or even to the many excellent biographies that have been written about the Mitfords. But then, I was also convalescing after a medical emergency. I looked down at my dressing gown – not to boast, but it's just the kind of thing Nancy might have worn the morning after a big night at Quaglino's – and decided to stick with them all just a little while longer. Let's see. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Outrageous Available on U [See also: Gen-Z is afraid of porn, and Sabrina Carpenter] Related
Metro
10 hours ago
- Metro
R Kelly begged for Trump's help before 'murder plot' that saw him overdose
The lawyers representing disgraced musician R Kelly believe U.S. President Donald Trump is 'the only person with the courage to help us'. The American singer and producer, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, was once credited as 'the King of R&B'. However, in 2019 his career came to a crashing halt when he was arrested and then sentenced to 31 years behind bars for racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving the sexual abuse of minors. Last week it emerged that Kelly's lawyers had filed an emergency motion calling from his immediate release from federal custody to home detention over concerns his life 'was in danger'. The 58-year-old's attorney Beau B. Brindley claimed they had 'explicit evidence that officials solicited an inmate to murder him while in custody'. It was then reported yesterday that Kelly had been rushed to hospital after overdosing, with his lawyers claiming prison staff intentionally 'gave him an amount of medicine that could have killed him.' Here's everything we know so far. For decades Kelly had faced repeated accusations of sexual abuse, also being tried in multiple civil and criminal trials. In 2019 the documentary Surviving R. Kelly re-investigated his alleged sexual misconduct with minors, which lead to authorities looking into the claims made against him again. In 2023 Kelly was then sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sex crimes in Chicago while already serving a 30-year prison sentence over sex trafficking and racketeering charges in New York. The judge ruled he could serve 19 years at the same time, meaning the child sex crimes only added one year to his existing sentence. His convictions included three counts of coercing minors into sexual activity and three of producing sex tapes involving a minor. Last week Kelly's lawyers claimed they had 'explicit evidence that officials solicited an inmate to murder him while in custody'. They filed a motion to get him out of prison immediately after providing a sworn declaration from Mikeal Glenn Stine, a terminally ill inmate, who said that officials 'offered him freedom in his final days in exchange for Kelly's murder'. Stine, a member of the neo-Nazi prison gang Aryan Brotherhood, claimed officials told him he would be charged with Kelly's murder, but that evidence would be mishandled and there would be no conviction. Although Stine said he changed his mind about carrying out the murder, Kelly's lawyers have claimed another member of the gang was then ordered to kill both Kelly and Stine. 'The threat to Mr. Kelly's life continues each day that no action is taken,' they wrote in the filing. A few days later Kelly was rushed to hospital after the overdose, which his lawyers say was orchestrated by prison officials. 'This was no mistake. It was a dose that jeopardised his life and could have ended it. Speaking to People, Brindley said Kelly was 'not safe in federal custody' and keeping him behind bars was 'cruel and unusual punishment'. The Bureau of Prisons and the White House declined to comment when approached by several publications. Last week Brindley said Kelly's legal team had turned to Trump for assistance, explaining he also understood what it felt like to be 'victimised' by the legal system. They are appealing for Kelly to either be granted a pardon or have his sentence commuted. 'We are in open discussions with people close to President Trump. And those discussions have expanded and intensified since we filed our motion,' Brindley told People. In a statement to USA Today, he also said that Trump was the 'only person with the courage and the power to fight corruption in the prosecution of public figures and stomp it out'. Brindley went on to say the need for a pardon became 'more imminent by the day', claiming that Kelly has now been thrown into solitary confinement and 'cannot make phone calls to his family'. He is also reportedly refusing to eat over concerns his food 'could be poisoned'. Although Kelly does not have a personal relationship with Trump, he was a longtime resident of the Trump Tower in Chicago. The President has not yet commented on Kelly's pleas, but did say last month during an Oval Office press briefing that he would consider pardoning Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who is facing similar criminal charges in the same federal court as Kelly. 'I would certainly look at the facts. If I think someone was mistreated it wouldn't matter whether they like me or don't,' he said. More Trending Prosecutors have opposed the request to release Kelly to home detention, sharing in a statement that he was a 'prolific child molester'. 'He is unapologetic about it. Kelly has never taken responsibility for his years of sexually abusing children, and he probably never will.' They called the claims of a murder plot a 'fanciful conspiracy' and said it 'makes a mockery of the harm suffered by his victims.' 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: TV chef Anne Burrell who 'touched millions across the world' dies aged 55 MORE: Tyler Perry sued by actor for sexual misconduct in $260,000,000 lawsuit MORE: Scarlett Johansson tells Metro how she tried not to be 'humongous weirdo' to Spielberg
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Attenborough you've never heard of ready to step into Sir David's shoes: Actor and eco-warrior Will is about to hit the big time in a major new TV series - but are his woke views a step too far for his great uncle?
He's a Cambridge graduate from a family of TV and film greats, so it would be easy to brand him as a typical nepo baby trading on his family connections. However, when your family has reached national treasure status, fans are more likely to breathe a sigh of relief that there's a new generation Attenborough in the world of TV and film to carry on the clan's legacy. You may not have heard of Will Attenborough, 33, but that's about to change when he bursts on to screens today in the TV series Outrageous, based on the lives of the Mitford sisters - the daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale who became embroiled in fascism, communism, infamy and scandal in the 1930s. No stranger himself to coming from a well-connected family, he is the great nephew of the conservationist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and the grandson of movie giant, Sir Richard Attenborough, who starred in Jurassic Park and The Great Escape and directed Gandhi. But Will himself is an utterly modern member of the famous clan. He identifies as queer and told the Risk! live show in 2019 about his early experiences of gay sex after coming out. More recently, he's developed a close friendship with fellow actress Kira Moore and when he paid tribute to her on her birthday on Instagram last year, friends described them as a 'gorgeous couple'. Alongside his acting career, he has campaigned with Extinction Rebellion - a move that might put him at odds with Sir David, who previously warned that the group risk 'disenchanting an awful lot of people' by disrupting their lives with protests. However, in an impassioned speech in 2024, Will hit back at those who call the group 'eco zealots' and called on supporters to 'rise up, reject the deception, and demand truth and action for our planet'. His father Michael - once married to Jane Seymour - is a theatre director who has held a number of high profile artistic director roles, including the Almeida Theatre and The Young Vic, while his mother Karen Lewis is also an actress. He's quietly been building up an impressive portfolio, starring in BBC 's Our Girl as Olivier Hurst alongside Michelle Keegan and taking the lead role in Jeremy Herrin's production of Photograph 51 opposite Nicole Kidman in 2015. But while he's beginning to make his name for himself on screen, MailOnline can reveal that it is behind-the-scenes that Will has quietly been playing a leading role in the entertainment industry. And, on the face of it, it's a part that's closer to the heart of another illustrious relative - world-renowned naturalist and national treasure Sir David Attenborough. For Will is a leading light in a growing movement aimed at 'empowering artists and screen workers to create a cleaner, greener' industry. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Extinction Rebellion UK (@xrebellionuk) As a climate campaigner he helped set up an organisation that hopes to provide a modern day twist on the theatrical rider - the set of requests or demands that an artist sets as criteria for their performance which are written into contracts. The concept has become notorious through the often outlandish and flamboyant requirements of artists. There's been rock band Van Halen's demands for bowls of M&Ms with all the brown ones removed for their live concerts. Hollywood star George Clooney reportedly once required a hot tub, beach hut and basketball court to be installed next to his trailer on a movie set.r Along with specific types of food, snacks, drinks and flowers other stars have insisted on private jets or police escorts to accompany their vehicles. Will's campaign is aimed at encouraging actors and performers to use their status to instead insist on making demands for more sustainable production practices when signing up for new projects. Rather than their own jets or chauffeur-driven cars, actors are encouraged to use alternative forms of transport such as train travel with producers being asked to support their requests through scheduling 'extra recovery time' and subsidising the artist if their quest to be green will cost them more. Other ideas include sets and costumes. It has reportedly led to a coat being used by Eddie Redmayne when he played the part of Stephen Hawking in the movie The Theory of Everything being used within a short time of 'filming wrapping' by a man living rough to keep warm. The initiative also involves adapting catering provided to prioritise reusable cutlery, reducing food waste and the amount of red meat served up and replaced by 'mainly plant-based and locally sourced meals'. More than 100 actors - including Bill Nighy, Ben Whishaw, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gemma Arterton - have backed Attenborough's Green Rider campaign. Actors' union Equity is on board with the scheme and has held discussions with production companies and studios including the BBC, ITV Studios and Sky Studios. Will also wants to change the 'luvvie' culture around the industry which his grandfather, known as 'Dickie' was famously lampooned for by Spitting Image. He has said: 'You start to see your status on set determined by how many perks you get, how big your trailer is, do you have your own private car, what class are they going to fly you on a plane. 'It's not very sustainable but it's also not very healthy. We're trying to change the culture to show actors don't necessarily want that. 'They want to see themselves as workers who are part of a team with the rest of the group. And they don't want to be separated off and lavished with these very wasteful perks.' Will also helped secure a commitment from London mayor Sadiq Khan to shift City Hall's £5 billion pension fund out of fossil fuel investments. And he launched a campaign with actors Leila Mimmack and Mark Rylance that successfully moved Equity's pension investments out of fossil fuels and into clean energy. Will was born in London to Michael, whose first wife was actress Jane Seymour, and Jewish actress Karen Lewis. His older brother Tom, 38, has also worked as a theatre director. One of Michael's two younger sisters, Jane Holland, was tragically killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami along with her mother-in-law and Michael's 15-year-old niece, Lucy., Will - who has spoken of his 'privileged upbringing' - attended private St Paul's school before going on to read English at Cambridge University where he graduated in 2013. When he was once asked if he always dreamed of being an actor, Will said: 'I guess so. I don't know. It just always felt like the thing I was going to do, I don't think I ever thought of doing something else.' And he said of constantly being asked about his family dynasty: 'It's fine, people are interested and I think I'm lucky people like them! Haha. It's a nice thing.' A year before graduating, Will appeared in his first professional role in the BBC series The Hollow Crown, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's history plays produced by Sam Mendes which featured a star-studded cast. He went on to star alongside Nicole Kidman in the West End play Photograph 51 and appeared in Oscar-winning movie Dunkirk as well as the 2019 film The Outpost. TV roles have included the 2016 BBC adaptation of War & Peace as well as starring in the BBC drama Our Girl alongside Michelle Keegan. Among his friends is Kira Moore who he appeared alongside in a Mawaan Rizwan comedy music video. In an Instagram post to celebrate Kira's birthday last year he wrote: 'Happy birthday to my partner in crime, the most fabulous little weirdo this side of the Mississippi. I love you, you gorgeous freak ❤️'. In his new six-part series about the Mitfords, which premieres on Thursday on streaming platform U and U&DRAMA , Will plays Joss, a character amalgamated from several historical figures. Set in the 1930s, it is a tale of betrayal, scandal, heartache and even imprisonment. Speaking of his new part, Will said: 'It was originally going to be Evelyn Waugh, then writer Sarah Williams thought it'd be interesting to make him Jewish, but not very openly. 'He's also gay, but that's never really talked about in the show.'
