Latest news with #BAFTA-award
Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I'm travelling the world with my ex - we're still best mates after life-changing loss'
When head-strong Yin lost her partner unexpectedly, she leaned on her ex-husband for love and support and before they knew it, the close pair were off, travelling the world in pursuit of self-discovery When Yin and Gaz decided to travel across the world with one another, no-one batted an eyelid, after all, they were husband and wife. The only major difference was that now, the pair were actually separated, having been apart for nearly three years. Nevertheless, the friendly pair, who call themselves ' best mates ' decided to pop their joint application in to appear on hit BBC TV show Race Across the World and the rest is history. Ahead of the new series starting today [23 April], Yin admitted that times have been tough for her so she thought, 'what better time than now?' She said: "I saw the advert, and in that moment thought, you know what? I really want to do that. The last year has been quite a personal journey for me. "Gaz and I, although we used to be married, we've been separated for about three years. And then when we split up, I found another partner, but he passed away suddenly in September. The last year has been tough, but one of the things that Chris gave me was a real sense of adventure, and he really liked traveling. We talked a lot about traveling and so when this came along i thought 'why not?' something inside me made me fill out the application form." Back living with ex-husband Gaz so that he could look after her during her grieving period, Yin laughed and added that Gaz likely didn't know what he was getting himself into. "I just said 'do you fancy going on Race Across the World with me'. He was like yeah, whatever. He probably just said it more to amuse me, because he obviously knew what I was going through at that moment. But before we knew it, he'd filled out the application and the journey had begun!" Gaz, who travelled a lot in his early 20s while his mates were at university getting degrees, has seen bits of the show on Googlebox but that's about it. "I'd taken 9/10months out of my life to go traveling when i was younger, and Yin had never had that. I wouldn't probably do this with anyone other than Yin. I know that sounds weird, because we're not together, we're not husband and wife but we're still best mates. And I think even now, could i do this with my brother? No. Could I do this with any other mates? No. And Yin was pretty much the same." Race Across the World is a BAFTA-award winning BBC show that started in 2019 when five pairs of racers travelled from London to Singapore, with the contestants each given £1,329 for the whole race without using air transport. The racers travelled over a distance of 12,000 miles in 50 days. And the rest is history. This series, Yin and Gaz will start their race at The Great Wall of China and navigate their way, against four other teams, across three of Asia's most diverse nations, China, Nepal and India, in a race of over 14,000km to reach the finish line, Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. Yin stopped for a moment to reflect on what her late-partner Chris would think of her new adventures. "I definitely see it like a gift from Chris, I know he's gone, but I do think that he has had a meddling hat in this. He would be laughing hysterically but also cheering us on, wishing he was there, seeing all the different things and getting the new experiences." She also considered how therapeutic the time will be with Gaz again, allowing closure on certain things from married life. "This whole process so far has also been a vehicle for us to talk about when we were married, but in a really nice way." Hilariously, Gaz admitted to picking up a valid tip from other series - he shouldn't "lose his passport" - but did state that the pair have strategic plans in place to win the show together. Yin said: "Gaz is really great as the initiator of an idea and I'm the kind of person that takes a step back and looks at the plan and sees if its going to work. So I think we do compliment each other in the way that we work. Having known each other for well over 30 years, we know intrinsically where our strengths and weaknesses lie. "I can sometime be too cautious, and Gaz will push me to stop that dilly dallying which is his strength." Gaz added: "I would rush in 100 miles an hour and get it wrong every time you whereas Yin would reign me back in." And they both have a joint secret weapon. Gaz said: "We're both very good at striking up conversation. We're only ever going to do this once. So we need to take full advantage. So rather than be a shrinking violet and back off and not say things, we'll be asking people and if it's the wrong person, we'll go on to the next person. With regards to the money, we will split the money up and each of us hold on to our own passports." The competitive pair admit they're "not good at sitting in one place at one time" and prepared for their mammoth journey to come in the Lake District. "It was chucking it down with rain, we went on hikes, and we took the bags. We've also been going out for walks just to get some exercise, but also with our backpacks and all our gear on. We've been going to the gym and generally keeping fit and getting used to the weight on our backs," Gaz added, before laughing, "We've also cut down our intake of food!" There's on thing that Gaz will need from Yin more than anything though, and he's hoping she'll be kind. "I love peanut butter, I'm hoping Yin lets me spend some of the budget to get some!" Yin, who has been living in an under the stairs cupboard at Gaz's house for the last year, doesn't think she'll miss creature comforts, and said that all her belongings are "in a different house." Gaz plans to bring confidence and Yin is bringing a great sense of analysis with her but what does the family make of their trip together? "Our daughter is really proud, she's been there from day one, when Yin applied. I was a bit nervous about telling my mum, only because she's on her own apart from my brother, but she said 'go for it'." Yin admitted that they're "probably more nervous for us than we are ourselves." Contemplating how the show might change their relationship, Yin does reveal that afterwards it will finally be time to move on. "I've been staying with Gaz for coming up to a year now so I know that at some stage in the future, I need to move out. We're not married. And I think, what I'm hoping is that I'll gain in confidence, and that race will show that we can always rely on each other and that Gaz is always going to be there as a safety net and a support." "We'll always look back on it as we've done it together, as best friends, its so unique and will be such a wonderful story," said Gaz. "It's not lost on us that were very lucky. Its a memory that will stay with us forever."
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Race Across The World 2025 starting point and teams revealed
Race Across the World is back! The BAFTA-award winning series, produced by Studio Lambert returns to iPlayer and BBC One for a fifth series in 2025. The Great Wall of China is the starting point of this year's epic race. Five teams must navigate three of Asia's most diverse nations, China, Nepal and India, in a race of over 14,000km to reach the finish line, Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. The teams include: sisters, Elizabeth and Letitia; former married couple, Yin and Gaz, brothers, Brian and Melvyn; teenage couple, Fin and Sioned and mother and son, Caroline and Tom. Watch Race Across the World on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist Watch Celebrity Race Across the World on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist Racing across vast distances without smartphones or bank cards, and armed only with cash equating to the cost of flying the route, our teams will be pushed to their absolute limits. Only one team can claim victory over the others and win the cash prize of £20,000. Race Across the World, is a 9x60' series produced by Studio Lambert for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The series was commissioned by Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning, Factual Entertainment and Events and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Jasmyn McGuile. Tim Harcourt, Lucy Curtis, Rob Fisher and Benjamin Leigh are the Executive Producers for Studio Lambert. Kezia Walker is Senior Production Executive and Maria Kennedy is Senior Line Producer for Studio Lambert. VHW
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall uses Dorset for first novel
The first episode of Chris Chibnall's Broadchurch was first shown to Dorset residents at Bridport Arts Centre before it aired on ITV in 2013."I thought: 'oh, if everybody hates this I am going to get driven out of town and I really like living here.' Luckily, that didn't come to be," he series later and having been Doctor Who's showrunner between 2017 and 2022, Chibnall has used an imagined Dorset as the backdrop for his debut novel, Death at the White Hart."A landlord is discovered murdered, tied to a chair in the middle of the A35 at 02:00 and he's got deer antlers strapped to his head. The question is who did it and why?" Chibnall said. He told BBC Radio Solent at West Bay that he still takes inspiration from his adopted county."The first few years I was living down here, doing that drive between Dorchester and Bridport or Dorchester and Lyme Regis, at that stretch of the A35, if you're doing it at 23:00 or midnight, it's so dark, it's so deserted," he said. "It always took me back to Thomas Hardy novels when you think of the coach and horses that would drive along there and the mist and the fog that is along there."It's incredibly atmospheric, it's incredibly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. That's the sort of atmosphere that I wanted to harness for the novel." Chibnall returned to Bridport Arts Centre on Monday to launch the novel, which ITV has already commissioned for a TV BAFTA-award winning writer said it had always been "an amazingly supportive community". He added: "When Broadchurch was on, people would ask me whoever did it or could they be in it? Could I write a character like them? And I would have to say: 'you know that would be a murder suspect, don't you?'"But he said writing a book meant he could "go into the characters' heads a lot more" than he has been able to in his TV work."It's so different. Having done TV, you're part of a big operation, a big team," Chibnall added."So if I want to set something in a pub, a location manager has to find that pub and a designer has to dress that pub and I need a cinematographer and a director."Whereas with the novel, I describe the pub – we're there as you read it. You've got an image of that pub and also it gives me the chance to go into the characters' heads a lot more." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Who Do You Think You Are? spring 2025 line-up revealed
The double BAFTA award-winning genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? will return to BBC One and iPlayer this Spring. Produced by Wall to Wall Media, the 22nd series features a show-stopping line-up of stars including Andrew Garfield, Diane Morgan, Mishal Husain, Ross Kemp, Aisling Bea, Will Young, Fred Sirieix and Layton Williams. The latest series of the acclaimed genealogy show will see eight celebrities uncover astounding revelations as they dive into their families' heritage. Spanning almost 800 years of history, the celebrities unearth remarkable stories from tragic romances and early Hollywood glamour to harrowing revelations of war and slavery. It will take viewers across the UK and around the world including Jamaica, Morocco, India, Poland, Germany, Ireland, the USA and France as the celebrities search for answers. Watch Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist In the upcoming series of Who Do You Think You Are?, audiences will follow BAFTA-award winner and Oscar nominated actor Andrew Garfield as he embarks on a journey of emotional contrasts, from pre-War Poland; to the Treblinka Nazi death camp; to the sunshine and glamour of early Hollywood. Acclaimed actor, writer and comedian Diane Morgan steps away from her role as clueless historian Philomena Cunk to learn some history of her own from the experts, involving a poignant love story and her ancestor's brave fight for the rights of her illegitimate children. EastEnders legend and esteemed documentary maker Ross Kemp ends up in Casablanca trying to solve a family mystery, along the way finding out that his 4x great grandfather was a drummer boy during the Napoleonic wars. BAFTA-winning and RTS nominated actor and writer Aisling Bea discovers how her family's been shaped by some of the most dramatic moments in Irish history, telling a tale of violent tragedy, female resilience and a passion for Irish independence. British pop icon and actor Will Young uncovers his grandfather's extraordinary experience as a Bomber Command pilot in World War Two and being captured as a Prisoner of War in Germany. Will then dives back further in time, discovering both villains and royalty in his family tree. Elsewhere, TV personality and the UK's number one matchmaker Fred Sirieix sets sail to France to explore his family roots where he discovers a wartime romance worthy of First Dates and is delighted by an unexpected connection to wine making. Musical theatre and acting phenomenon Layton Williams investigates his London roots, revealing a surprising musical connection, before travelling to Jamaica where he uncovers some distressing family history. Journalist and broadcaster Mishal Husain traces an illustrious family history, in India she discovers an ancestor who was a personal physician to a Maharaja, and in an unexpected twist finds herself travelling to the East Coast of the USA. Simon Young, BBC Head of History, says: 'The stellar line-up this year is a real treat for our audiences. But so is the history, from the shock of a royal ancestor to epic stories of survival. And that's why this series endures, because it hints at the amazing family micro-histories that make all of us who we are.' Colette Flight, Executive Producer for Wall to Wall Media, says: 'Spanning centuries and travelling the globe, Who Do You Think You Are? is back, with eight much-loved celebrities to entertain and captivate us as they delve into their family histories. As they discover their ancestors' adventures, triumphs, trials and tribulations, their rich family stories reveal incredible snapshots of history, including one of the greatest villains of Medieval England, the evacuation at Dunkirk, rescuing art looted by the Nazis, and the birth of American Independence.' The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? launches on BBC One and iPlayer in spring 2025. Produced by Wall to Wall Media, executive produced by Colette Flight and series produced by Lucy Swingler. The format is distributed by Warner Bros. International Television Production.
BBC News
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Funboys cast and creators tease some "good wholesome mucking about" in the new BBC comedy
Funboys is a brand new comedy series for BBC Northern Ireland, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. From the BAFTA-award winning producer of This Country (Simon Mayhew-Archer) and produced by Mayhay Studios, Funboys is a 4x30 comedy series about three emotionally-unassembled young men in small-town Northern Ireland. The series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC NI on Monday 10 February, BBC Three on Thursday 13 February and BBC One on Friday 28February. Funboys sees friends Callum (Ryan Dylan), Jordan (Rian Lennon) and Lorcan (Lee R James) attempt to navigate through the hardships of life. From first girlfriends to dead pet pigs, the lads are put through the psychological ringer. But will their shared love of innocent fun and wholesome mucking about land them in hot water? Funboys, set in Northern Ireland and filmed with support from Northern Ireland Screen is an irreverent series exploring the emotional chaos of young men navigating their own messy lives. The ensemble cast includes Ele McKenzie, Jamie Demetriou, Brian Devlin, Owen Colgan, Paul Bazely, Richard Croxford, Emer O'Connor, Amanda Hurwitz, James Martin, Vanessa Ifediora, Walter Chigui and Brendan Quinn. Meet the cast of Funboys... MM2 Interview with Ryan Dylan (Callum) What makes a Funboy? Someone who loves good wholesome mucking about. Someone who loves their friends and isn't afraid to show it. Someone with traits of depression, anxiety, and narcissism - all rolled into one overthinking, over-feeling, overflowing burrito of existential crises. What inspired the show? Mundanity meeting melodrama. The idea of three young men navigating life with unfiltered emotionality, while being completely clueless about what any of it means. Deep feelings colliding with shallow understanding. Also, low self-worth. Desperation. How would you describe the series? Handjobs, Class A drugs, and pigs. An embarrassingly honest look into the growing pains of three stunted, ill-equipped twenty-somethings. Tell us about your character? Callum is the human embodiment of Eeyore the donkey. Confused, sad, afraid; but not without friends. Two, to be exact. Gullible and left adrift, Callum is like an orphaned fawn frozen in the headlights of the joyriding lorry that is adulthood. Interview with Rian Lennon (Jordan) What makes a Funboy? Someone willing to put it all on the line for fun. Someone willing to die a horrific death for the sake of friendship. Someone willing to give his best pal a big lovely kiss on the cheek to cheer him up, even when all the other guys will say there's something sexual in it when really it's just a platonic thing and they're just really close mates who understand the healing power of touch. What inspired the show? Myself, Ryan and Lee all experienced something known as dream meshing. It's when you share the same dream with someone at the exact same time, sort of like online gaming. We were fully lucid and could consciously bring our personal memories to the surface. We all scanned through each other's minds, like a Matrix combat simulation, and when our dream stomachs were full we began constructing the town of Ballymacnoose and the storylines surrounding it. We spent seven nights like this, sleeping over in each other's houses in sleeping bags. We would spend the days physically recuperating with nourishment and warm hearted laughter, readying ourselves for the night's construction ahead. At bedtime we would kiss each other on the cheek, take a sip of warm milk, tuck ourselves in, and enter the dream. Our day was only just beginning. How would you describe the series? It's like strawberry flavoured chewing gum. It's sweet, gives you something to chew on, and if you swallow it it'll stay with you forever. Tell us about your character? Jordan has taken the scenic route through mental development. He's a brat. A nightmare. But a good boy all the same. His love languages are quality time and gift giving. He might scream and cry because you aren't hanging out with him, he might even threaten to throw himself into the path of an oncoming bus because you haven't replied to his texts. But it's because he cares so, so deeply about his friends. That's what being a Funboy is all about, and if there's a better way to live then I don't want to know about it. Interview with Lee R James (Lorcan) What makes a Funboy? Being a Funboy is in the eye of the beholder, anyone can be a Funboy with the right mindset. Whether that frame of mind is burning passion for your friends or being hellbent on a good time regardless of the consequences. What inspired the show? The show was inspired by the lack of representation of the rural folk who wander these lands. The small towns we grew up in are filled with oddities that deserve the spotlight. How would you describe the series? It's like that certain Scottish soft drink, a strange and unique flavour. Every episode is like a cold can, by the time you've got to the fourth one you'll be craving more. Funboys is a show that'll make you laugh and could maybe even make you cry. Tell us about your character? Lorcan is the glue that holds the boys together, he's essentially like a mother. Callum and Jordan are like his two favourite sons, there's not much wrong those boys could do in Lorcan's eyes. His humility lets him see the world through rose tinted glasses but that sometimes gets the better of him and he struggles to navigate through some of life's more mundane problems.
