Latest news with #BBCdrama


Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Gritty BBC drama axed after just one season following viewers' complaints about the sex, drugs and violence
A racy and ambitious BBC drama has been axed after just one booze-filled season - following complaints from viewers about on-screen sex, violence and drugs. Dope Girls was the Saturday night drama that filled the BBC One slot previously occupied by Peaky Blinders - the similarly gritty thriller starring Oscar winner Cillian Murphy. But the show failed to fill those big boots, having received a lukewarm response from viewers and critics alike. While some praised the its high energy, ambition and flair for entertainment, others felt it was punching above its weight, and it was dismissed as messy and chaotic. The criminal underworld drama dives into London at the end of the First World War and follows a group of women as they tackle the country's new era and use 'Soho's expanding illicit underground clubland scene as their playground,' according to the synopsis. It explores the introduction of modern nightlife, 'guided and gilded by hard-fought female endeavour'. But the drama will not be returning for another installment. A TV insider told The Sun: 'There was quite a lot of shock among viewers about the content of the show, and critics weren't exactly glowing either. 'Despite that the writers of the drama had left a few storyline strands untied which could have easily led onto a second season..' A spokesman for the show said on Monday: 'Dope Girls was a bold and groundbreaking series - which we are very proud of - but we can confirm that it will not return.' Starring Julianne Nicholson as the main character, Kate Galloway, other cast members include Eliza Scanlen as Violet Davies and Umi Myers as Billie Cassidy. At the time of its release, BBC viewers blasted the historic drama as 'a load of drivel' and some even abandoned it after just one episode. They wrote on X: 'Thoroughly confusing.'; 'How on Earth did this make it on to primetime BBC1 on a Saturday night.'; 'Managed 32 minutes of this new drama then called it a day. The new female Peaky Blinders it's not. Poor lighting, weird camera angles, messy. I tried, but not for me.'; The criminal underworld drama dives into London at the end of the First World War and follows a group of women as they tackle the country's new era (pictured Eliza Scanlen) 'What a lot of abysmal rubbish. Switched over to Netflix.'; 'Not at all sure what I just watched. Was I meant to make sense of or understand what was going on?'; 'Sat through the whole lot but I've no idea why. In fact I'd be hard pressed to tell you what this gloomy, impossibly shot, totally confusing tripe is about. And I couldn't be bothered anyway.'; 'Safe to say I won't be watching any more of that season'; 'What a load of drivel.' However, some viewers did seem to enjoy the news series, and one took to social media and penned: 'It started a bit all over the place, but it's well worth a watch, I've binged them all this weekend and it was enjoyable - not the best of BBC dramas, but worth watching.'; 'Absolutely fabulous. I loved everything about it. The strong performances, the filming, the atmosphere. You might guess, I loved it. Looking forward to the next episodes.' It comes as another gripping BBC drama could be 'set to make huge return', according to reports, one year after the series ended with a big twist. Six-part drama Rebus, starring Outlander's Richard Rankin as the titular character, aired in May last year but there had been no news of a second series until now. It was a modern update of the hugely popular ITV adaptations, that first hit screens in 2000, starring John Hannah and Ken Stott. The BBC1 series is billed as a 'reimagining' followed the policeman's exploits in his younger days. A TV insider told The Sun: 'Even though the first series did well in the ratings, the fact there was no update on a follow-up had a few devotees wondering if it would happen. 'After all, these days channels and streamers often announce a second outing before the first has finished airing. No news felt like bad news.'


The Independent
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Happy Valley role born out of fear, Sarah Lancashire says
Bafta-winning actress Sarah Lancashire has said her star role in Happy Valley was 'born out of fear'. Lancashire, 60, won two leading actress Baftas for playing no-nonsense Sergeant Catherine Cawood in the BBC drama set in Hebden Bridge. Her decades-long 'brilliant and intangible' working relationship with writer Sally Wainwright influenced her role, but fear was key to her performance. Discussing the role at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, after being formally made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), Lancashire told the PA news agency: 'That was just born out of fear, abject fear, of feeling quite off-piste. 'Literally it was a leap of faith, jumping off the cliff at midnight in the dark. 'But knowing that somebody has the confidence in you and the belief in you – she (Wainwright) is deeply persuasive as an individual, which I absolutely, really admire, I'm very grateful, always.' Lancashire's breakout role came as fan-favourite barmaid Raquel Watts in Coronation Street, which she played for five years until 1996, appearing in more than 260 episodes. She and Wainwright first met when they were 'cutting their teeth' on the soap opera. The duo later collaborated on the BBC drama Last Tango In Halifax, for which Lancashire won her first Bafta in 2014 for her supporting role. They worked together again on Happy Valley, which ran from 2014 to 2023. Asked what spurred the terror of playing Sergeant Cawood, Lancashire told PA: 'The setting of it, being asked to play something which I had no knowledge of at all – absolutely no knowledge. 'And knowing that the level of research that was available to me was going to be quite limited in the time available. 'But in actual fact – as she (Wainwright) always said – it wasn't a procedural drama, it was not a police drama, it… was a family.' She spoke about performing during a conversation with the Princess Royal at the ceremony at the Berkshire royal residence. Anne told her that she had briefly acted while at boarding school, Lancashire said. The actress told PA: 'We were really talking about performance, and how she'd done a little bit of this when she was at boarding school. 'I think they all had to go onto a stage at some point and it can stand you in very good stead for future roles in life, no matter where it takes you.' Being a professional actor 'is sort of clinging on for dear life', she said. 'It never changes. Very often as an actor you're swimming against the tide whilst standing on shifting sand. 'You feel that you may have some sort of trajectory but then the industry changes, because the industry is ever-evolving – every 10 years, you'll find yourself in an industry which is slightly different, requiring something different from you. 'So you're never secure, there's never a moment where you can be complacent, at all. 'It's sort of a clinging on for dear life, you just hope that you can stay with it.' Her relationship with Wainwright was pivotal in fighting that tide. She said: 'Having known her (Wainwright) for a very long time, decades, and just meeting someone whose voice you admire so much. 'Who knows why… there's an alchemy, that just works. It's a wonderful thing when you find it, not that I was looking for it, but it just happens – that's a tremendous thing.'


The Independent
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Writer Jimmy McGovern praises ‘brave' BBC for airing child abuse drama
Writer Jimmy McGovern has said he doubted whether his new drama, which tells the story of a child abuser and how his family are impacted, would ever make it to air, but praised the 'brave' BBC for showing it. The Liverpool-born scriptwriter said he thought he 'had' to write Unforgivable to tell the story – based on an account he heard from a child psychologist – of a convicted sex offender who revealed details of his own abuse after being released from prison. He said that as he was writing it he doubted whether it would ever be aired. The 75-year-old told the PA news agency: 'I wanted to get it right, but the thing that bothered me most was, why am I doing this? Because I have a very strong feeling that the BBC will never do this, because it was not only condemning child abuse, it was trying to understand all the issues about child abuse, and that's not easy for people to take. 'I thought the BBC would say no, but they haven't said no. 'I know that they've been subject to attack at the moment, but it is an extraordinarily brave organisation at times, particularly over drama.' McGovern said as he wrote it he worried about backlash 'more over this particular project than any other' from people who may think it offered a sympathetic view of child abusers. He said: ' People are more than the crime they have committed, aren't they? There is more to any criminal than the crime they committed. 'So, it's finding that within the child abuser that helps you tell the story. 'He is an interesting character. We do not make it easy for him at all. 'The crime of abuse is an appalling crime and should be punished as an appalling crime. We do not make it easy for for our abuser at all, but we do delve into aspects of his life.' The writer said he understood the public reaction to child abusers – having once driven around Liverpool's Sefton Park with a neighbour trying to find a man they believed had tried to touch their children. 'All we knew was the man who did it had blue running shorts on,' he said. 'We went, we toured around Sefton Park looking for a man, any man, in blue running shorts and we were going to kill him. Thank God we did not find such a man. 'I excuse myself by saying probably most men would have reacted that way.' McGovern said he always wanted actor Bobby Schofield, who appeared in the writer's prison series Time, to play the role of abuser Joe Mitchell. He said: 'He's tremendous in it. He doesn't curry favour at all. What he does do is he plays self-disgust really well and he is a man who hates himself.' The one-off TV film also sees McGovern working with Anna Friel and Anna Maxwell Martin, both of whom he has worked with before. 'It's great to give lines to actors like that, you know. You know they're going to be done well,' he said. For the first time, he worked with David Threlfall, who McGovern had admired since he had seen him as Frank Gallagher in Shameless. He said: 'I always saw that as King Lear, because he was just that man in the storm, almost, wasn't he? I think he's an incredible actor.' Unforgivable will air on BBC Two at 9pm on Thursday and will be available on BBC iPlayer from the same day.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Edinburgh and Lothians hit with thunderstorm warning as heavy rain batters capital
A yellow weather warning has been extended in Edinburgh and the Lothians as thunderstorms prepare to hit the capital. The Met Office previously issued a yellow weather warning for rain on Saturday which may bring power cuts and a loss of other services to some homes and businesses. Now locals have been warned of a yellow weather warning for Monday and to prepare for lightning strikes and flooded roads. READ MORE: Emergency services swarm Edinburgh street for huge 'police incident' as buses diverted READ MORE: BBC drama set in Edinburgh which features Outlander star to make Netflix debut The warning is in place from 11am on July 21 until 9pm. Forecasters added: "Outbreaks of rain, heavy at times, on Monday. Brighter on Tuesday and Wednesday but still the chance of showers breaking out each day. "Heavy showers and thunderstorms may lead to flooding and disruption in a few places on Monday. "Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community hereand get the latest news sent straight to your messages. "There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater or lightning strikes "Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services." Despite heavy downpours, temperatures are expected to sit at around 20C on Monday with the lowest at 15C. You can view the full forecast here.