Latest news with #CountyDown
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Filming gets underway on Hope Street series five
Donaghadee, on Northern Ireland's coastline, will once again be transformed into the fictional Port Devine, a close-knit community where the local police team solves a crime in each episode. In another eventful year of drama, series five also sees the show reach a milestone – its 50th episode. This series introduces two new faces to Port Devine - Constable Donal Gallagher, played by Cameron Cuffe (Krypton) and Doctor Sasha Cookson, played by Jenn Murray (The Lovers). Confident and charming, Donal is a well-known local rugby player, whose career was cut short by injury. As the newest member of the Port Devine Police department, Donal has found a new vigour for life and is soon set to make his mark. Meanwhile Sasha Cookson, a local doctor, has recently taken over her father's GP surgery. Sasha is direct and straight talking, which rubs some people up the wrong way, but it's not a problem for Donal. Even though he's nursing a recently broken heart, when Donal and Sasha meet, sparks immediately begin to fly – but will one of them get burnt? Returning for this eight-part series are Kerri Quinn (Marlene Pettigrew), Tara Lynne O'Neill (Eve Dunlop), Aaron McCusker (Clint Devine-Dunwoody), Niamh McGrady (Nicole Devine-Dunwoody), Marcus Onilude (Luke Jackson), Finnian Garbutt (Ryan Power), Katie Shortt (Brandi McClure), Eleanor Methven (Lois Dunlop), Paddy Jenkins (Seamie McCarthy), RhéAna Kamalu (Chloe Jackson) and Jonny Grogan (Ross Dunlop). Filmed in and around County Down's seaside town of Donaghadee, Hope Street celebrates the wealth of local writing, acting and production talent from Northern Ireland, demonstrating the BBC's commitment to nurturing homegrown talent and storytelling in its nations and regions. Mary McKeagney, Commissioning Editor, BBC Northern Ireland says: 'Hope Street captures the humour and warmth of this place perfectly and it has been great to see it strike a chord with audiences across the UK. 'It's a real milestone for all involved to hit episode 50 and we're very proud of what the series has achieved. 'As ever, we're grateful for the continued collaboration with BBC Daytime and Britbox International, and the support of Northern Ireland Screen, which makes this all possible.' Helen Munson, Commissioning Editor, BBC Daytime, says: 'We are back for series five in beautiful Port Devine! It's a joy to be working again with Long Story and the cast and crew in Northern Ireland who all bring the characters of Hope Street to life so beautifully.' Jess O'Riordan, Commissioning Executive, BritBox International, says: 'We're thrilled to be working with the Long Story team on Hope Street again. The BritBox audience will be delighted to return to Port Devine for a fifth series and be reunited with familiar faces along with some exciting new ones.' Behind the drama are acclaimed producers Paul Marquess and Donna Wiffen from Long Story TV, known for producing London Kills and The Light in The Hall. They will be joined by producer Leon Coole. Writers on this new series are Paul Marquess (co-creator), Stuart Drennan (the Dig), Brian McGilloway (Benedict Devlin Mysteries), Matthew McDevitt (Casualty), Karis Kelly (Consumed), and Noel McCann (Blue Lights). Paul Marquess, from Long Story TV and one of the shows' creators and producers, says: 'We're delighted to invite viewers to spend some more time in beautiful Port Devine. The new series opens with a bang (literally) and - as always – combines relatable crime stories with warm and engaging character drama. 'We're delighted to welcome back so many Hope Street fan favourites – and to introduce a couple of new characters who will really keep the audience guessing…see you in The Commodore!' Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen, says: 'We're delighted that Hope Street is returning to Donaghadee for a fifth series. This production continues to deliver storytelling that resonates with audiences both locally and internationally, and we're grateful to Paul and Donna at Long Story TV for their ongoing commitment to the show. 'Hope Street is much more than a popular drama - it's an important platform for nurturing local talent and building skills within Northern Ireland's screen industry. With each new series, it creates career enhancing opportunities for emerging and established professionals across all areas of production. These experiences are essential in strengthening our local talent pipeline and sustaining a thriving screen industry. 'We're also incredibly thankful to the BBC and BritBox for their continued support. And once again - hurrah for Donaghadee!' The drama commissioned by Eddie Doyle, Senior Head of Content Commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland and Rob Unsworth, Senior Head of Commissioning for BBC Daytime, is part of the partnership between the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen which continues to support the local screen industry, ensuring Northern Ireland is better represented to audiences across the UK and internationally. Robert Schidhouse General Manager of Britbox International is the commissioner for Britbox. Abacus Media Rights are handling international sales for the series. Filming on Hope Street series five begins in June 2025 and series one, two, three and four are also available to watch now in full on BBC iPlayer, and on BritBox in its international markets. Watch Hope Street on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist ML
BBC News
16 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Banbridge: Two men charged to court after Co Down disturbance
Two men arrested following a report of a disturbance in Banbridge, County Down, on Saturday, have been charged to court.A 40-year-old man is charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault on police.A 43-year-old man is charged with two counts of assault on are expected to appear before Newry Magistrates' Court on Monday. The incident occurred in the Scarva Walk area and homes were evacuated.A woman was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries that are not thought to be serious at this time.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Banbridge: Two men arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment following a disturbance in County Down on incident occurred in the Scarva Walk area of Banbridge and homes were evacuated.A woman was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries that are not thought to be serious at this time.A spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said both men remain in custody. Sgt Murray said: "We received a report at around 18.25 BST of a possible disturbance in the Scarva Walk area. "Officers attended the scene, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service."A 33-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm."A 43-year-old man was further arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, criminal damage and assault on police."
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Obituary of Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, former Northern Ireland Civil Service head
Sir Kenneth Bloomfield was one of the most distinguished civil servants in Northern Ireland's the 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, he was a key figure behind-the-scenes, trying to ensure public services ran as normally as death was announced on Saturday. He was Kenneth was born in Belfast on 15 April 1931 and he was educated at Royal Belfast Academical Institution (RBAI) and Oxford entered the Northern Ireland Civil Service in years later, he was appointed private secretary to the then Stormont Finance Minister Captain Terence O' rose through the ranks, and in January 1974 he was given a key role working with the new power-sharing executive, led by Ulster Unionist Party leader Brian and nationalist politicians came together to govern for the first time but the cross-community executive collapsed after five months due to hard-line unionist opposition, including a loyalist workers strike. IRA attack In 1988, the IRA tried to kill Sir Kenneth at his family home in Crawfordsburn, near Bangor, County Down, in a Semtex bomb attack.A colleague who was in the civil service at the time remembers how calm Sir Kenneth was after the Nigel Hamilton, who also became head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, said: "Within an hour (of the bombing) he had put out a statement and within a couple of hours he was back in the office, working again."He wanted to show leadership."He wanted to show that we were all resilient and he wasn't going to be deflected from his public sector service because of what had happened." After he retired, Sir Kenneth reflected on the downfall of power-sharing in May said: "It was the worst day of my official career of nearly 40 years – it was the worst single day. I could foresee that we were going to be plunged for further decades into a situation when there would be no local hand on the tiller."He was right. It would take another quarter of a century for power-sharing to the interim, violence raged in the political attempt in 1985 by the then UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher to improve the security and political situation by signing an Anglo-Irish Agreement with the Dublin government led to sustained unionist civil servants trying to keep public services going, the challenges were huge. After Sir Kenneth stepped down from the job of head of the civil service in 1991, he took on a wide range of public and private sector roles, including Northern Ireland national governor of the BBC; vice-chair of the National Museum and was also senator at Queen's University Belfast; the inaugural victims' commissioner; and co-commissioner of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' also worked outside of Northern Ireland, consulting on issues in Jersey, Israel, Austria, Bangladesh and the received honorary doctorates from Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University and the Open University. 'I played by the rules' Sir Kenneth also wrote a number of A New Life, published in 2008, he wrote: "I enjoyed access to ministers and the opportunity to make recommendations and suggestions to them."They might well decide to do something different as was their prerogative."I played the game by the rules, and any disagreement while serving, I kept to myself."Once he left the civil service, he was more free to speak his mind about politics past and wrote a book called A Tragedy of Errors: The Government and Misgovernment of Northern it came to Stormont politics, he was an eyewitness to history, and played his part, in good times and in bad.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Our job is to protect a fort - to be fair it hasn't been attacked lately'
Final preparations are underway for a celebration that will take a County Down village back in time. Royal Hillsborough will play host on Saturday to the warrant ceremony of 13 new members, bringing the United Kingdom's oldest and smallest private army back up to its full complement. The Hillsborough Fort Guard was formed by Colonel Arthur Hill, he built the fort in 1660. But its members have only a ceremonial role. "Our job is to protect the fort and to be fair, it hasn't been attacked recently," Simon Walker, a corporal in the guard, told BBC News NI. The guard has a centuries-long history, although it has not always been well populated. During the Plantation of Ulster, King Charles II granted a Royal Charter to have 20 soldiers to protect Hillsborough Fort. Since that time, Mr Walker says, sometimes only one man has kept the guard going. "But the tradition has never ended," he says. The Investiture of Warrants ceremony is a rare historical moment as Hillsborough Fort Guard welcomes its first full complement of 20 warders since the late Victorian period. Dressed in their new bespoke uniforms, the warders will parade up Park Street, onto Dromore Road and down Main Street to Hillsborough Parish Church to music by the band of the Royal Irish Regiment. "The last time that it had 20 men, my great grandfather was one of the warders," Mr Walker said. The Guard takes pride in the village and strives to improve community spirit and increase tourism. Warder Trevor Hill said: "We are very much centrally based within the community, we do various walking tours and presentations, and we also run bingo nights, which is great for getting the community together." "I think will be brilliant for the village, the whole district, and just a wonderful experience, a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said. Arthur Nicholas Hill, 9th Marquess of Downshire leads the Guard, he said this will be the first time in living memory that they will be at full strength. "There is nearly 400 years of history in this Guard," he said. Mr Hill selects who becomes a warder, and they must be from County Down. "The large majority of them have all done some public service, not necessarily be in the army as some have been in the fire service or the police or the prison service." The future is bright for the regiment as the quota will be filled. "We haven't yet got our first lady member, but we have one in our sights. So that could be exciting as well that would be a new part of history."
