Latest news with #Dispatches
Daily Mirror
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Why the new Bonnie Blue documentary may be the worst thing I've ever seen on Channel 4
Channel 4's documentary on Bonnie Blue may be the worst I have ever seen on the channel, but that has nothing to do with all the sex on screen. Channel 4 has a rich history of making great documentaries. Dispatches is a strand of docs they have produced since 1987 and it has won a number of Baftas over the years. It was the channel which aired the Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland. In 2022 it produced a detailed expose of the practices of The Jeremy Kyle Show. Jamie Oliver's school dinners campaign was made on Channel 4 via a documentary series in 2005. And over the past 20 years I have written about dozens of the documentaries and their findings. It's an area of the job I love. Many have led to changes in business practice or even debates in parliament and nationwide talking points. But the new Bonnie Blue documentary is not groundbreaking, and worse than that, it is not even a detailed film on the subject matter. I have to say it is one of the worst documentaries I have ever seen on Channel 4, and now I'll explain why I think it is so weak. Observational documentaries are quite common at the moment and successful. You follow a celeb around, get them in their normal life, chat about their past exploits, successes and traumas and then add in archive footage. If they have home videos even better, especially if it is emotive. David Beckham did one, Robbie Williams has filmed another, and in this genre the best doc I have seen relatively recently was with Sven Goran Eriksson filmed in the year before he died. Former England manager Sven trusted the director and I felt gave a lot of himself over to the project. It left me in tears by the end as Sven said goodbye to the world via the film. By contrast, Bonnie Blue gives away very little. There are gaps of weeks between filming. Then the final scene shows her going off to see self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate. It's controversial and the interview between the pair could produce some explosive footage, but the director chooses to end filming before the meeting and does not travel with her. On another day Bonnie is filming her most famous film to date, sleeping with over 1000 men, but the director admits she didn't stay too long so none of the details are verified. She then fails to meet up with her again for more than a week, so there is no real time reaction to the event. It feels like Bonnie called the shots when it came to filming, and there are only a couple of occasions throughout the whole doc when I feel she isn't putting on a front or facade. Bonnie says at one point she earns over a million pounds a month, but we don't see any examples on screen of her earning or what she pays her team who work with her. We have to take her word for it. It's another small detail which is not really proven or probed. What does she spend her money on? Does she have investments or a property portfolio which would show another side to her in terms of business acumen. The director on the project admitted when speaking to the media the documentary wasn't her idea and she was asked to come on board. This is another red flag for me as a lot of the best docs are passion projects for the makers which means they go that extra mile and also in some cases have a long standing relationship with the subject or the insiders. I appreciate that the rise of OnlyFans is an interesting topic and understand that some people including young girls and lads in this documentary see it as a way of avoiding boring 9-5 jobs. And there have been interesting documentaries made on this type of subject. Olivia Attwood looked at the phenomenon of OnlyFans in her series Getting Filthy Rich on ITV in 2022. She spoke to a variety of content providers and they spoke of the ranges of money they earned and how they earned it in detail. They also said speaking to men on the site had made them distrust men more. But this new Channel 4 doc doesn't feel like an in-depth exploration into that world. Bonnie is allowed to say the same things over and over and many questions are left unanswered. As a viewer I still had lots of questions and that is why I feel it is such a weak documentary. A far cry from the best documentaries Channel 4 have made over the years. For their part, Channel 4 obviously disagree. Asked for their reasoning to commission, make and screen the documentary in its current form, they said: "Tia Billinger, via her stage name Bonnie Blue, has gained worldwide attention and millions of pounds in the last year. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story is an observational documentary in which director Victoria Silver follows Tia over the course of six months. "The film questions Tia's methods and the divisive style of her social media and hears from colleagues and collaborators in order to understand her polarising business model. Part of Channel 4's remit is to reflect modern Britain and stimulate debate amongst viewers, and a film such as this, exploring changing attitudes to sex, success, porn, and feminism in an ever-evolving online world is an important addition to those conversations." * 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story is on Channel 4 on Tuesday night at 10pm and available to stream online.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: inside Donald Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin
9pm, Channel 4This film promises to be an explosive behind-the-scenes investigation into the biggest political story of the decade – and Dispatches always delivers on its word. Former US intelligence officials and White House insiders speak out about Donald Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin to help answer the questions: what is really underpinning it? And what will happen next? Hollie Richardson 8pm, Channel 4This behind-the-scenes peek at life aboard two luxury cruise ships heads to very different locations this week. In one, the navigation crew stress about getting their craft through the locks of the Panama Canal while passengers whip out phones for pics. Over in Tenerife, it's whale-watching time. Alexi Duggins 9pm, Channel 5 Rob and Ruth continue to be captivating history teachers as they ask what living during the Great Fire of London was like on both sides of the wealth line. Rob steps into the shoes of diarist Samuel Pepys and the city's Lord Mayor, while Ruth explores the reality of being a widowed innkeeper with five mouths to feed. HR 9pm, Sky Max Now that his baseball bat has been upgraded with an electroshock function, surely the listless Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is ready to be a hammy villain again? A cowboy faction attempting to invade zombified New York by boat seems like a perfect opportunity for the leather-clad baddie to get back into the swing of things. Graeme Virtue 9pm, U&Drama Bessie Carter is best known as Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton, but she's great here as Nancy Mitford narrating the turbulent lives of her family. While Nancy deals with inferior-husband problems, her sister Diana makes plans to marry Oswald Mosley while Unity defends her friendship with Adolf Hitler. HR 10pm, BBC Three There are at least two feckless men hanging around the house and an unwanted boat in the front garden – could motherhood be the answer? Kat Sadler's comedy concludes with babies – stolen, borrowed and imagined – in the mix as the girls hit the casino. It's resolutely rude, ridiculous and very funny. Jack Seale
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Stop and reflect': Prince William makes major change after facing ‘media scrutiny'
IN LONDON Prince William will stop charging rent to certain charities after facing criticism following an investigation into the huge sums of money made by his private estate. A collaboration between Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times revealed last year that the Duchy of Cornwall, which provides the Prince of Wales with a private income of nearly£23 million (A$48 million) a year, was imposing rents charities and community groups including village halls, school playing fields, and the fire service. Addressing the change in rent policy, the duchy's new secretary and keeper of records, Will Bax, said that it would be 'remiss not to address the media scrutiny' they had experienced in recent months. 'We've used these challenges as an opportunity to stop and reflect, both the duke and I are clear that we want the duchy to be world class in our approach to supporting people, communities and nature to flourish and to realise that aim, we must operate and communicate in a modern, socially-minded way,' he said. 'It's clear we've entered an era of deep change, but we change, not because we disrespect our past, but precisely because we do respect it.' Under the new system, direct tenants who are grassroots groups will have their rents waived, while local charities could have their rent reduced by half. While government departments will continue to be charged rents, the duchy said it was reviewing the amount charged to state schools. The Duchy of Cornwall has traditionally provided the heir to the throne with a private income, while the Duchy of Lancaster does the same for the monarch. While the King, who was the previous Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, publicly shared the voluntary tax he'd paid on the estate, William has declined to do so. His private secretary, Ian Patrick, confirmed only that he 'pays the highest rate of income tax'. The profit from the duchy funds the public, charitable and private activities of William and his wife, the Princess of Wales, as well as their three children: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 6. The Wales' donate vast sums of money to charities and volunteer groups, which last year included initiatives associated with supporting the victims and families of the Southport knife attacks.
ITV News
01-07-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Why Prince William's estate is giving some tenants a rental discount
The estate which provides Prince William and Kate with their income has pledged to 'stop and reflect' after it emerged the Duchy of Cornwall had secured rental agreements with public bodies worth millions of pounds. The estate said it would now prioritise becoming a landlord with social impact following recent damaging disclosures in a TV documentary. The Prince of Wales received £22.9 million from the Duchy of Cornwall last year for the official running of his household and the private needs of his family. Earlier this year, Channel 4's Dispatches revealed that the estate charged rent to small charities, as well as, government departments including the Ministries of Defence and Justice. Under the new rental agreement, rent for grassroots community groups will be waived and local charity groups who directly rent space from the Duchy will receive a 50% discount. But the Royal Navy will still be charged to moor its ships on Duchy waterways and rent will also still be collected from Dartmoor Prison for being on its land. The estate's chief executive Will Bax said the new policy focused on direct tenants. 'We have created a new policy relating to rents charged to community groups and local charities, where they are active within our communities," he said. Sources revealed the Duchy of Cornwall had been through a 'clear point of reflection' and Prince William wanted it to better operate through a social impact lens. But Kensington Palace has refused to say how much income tax Prince William paid on his earnings, stressing he had a right to privacy. The previous Prince of Wales - now King Charles - used to share the amount of income tax he had paid on his earnings. But when William became the 25th Duke of Cornwall that changed. Prince William's spokesperson said the heir to the throne paid the 'highest rate of tax' – but did not disclose the amount. What is the Duchy of Cornwall - and what does it mean for Prince William? Royal estates defend claims 'millions' earnt from NHS and state school contracts The Duchy of Cornwall was set up in 1348 to provide a source of income for the next in line to the throne which was independent of the Sovereign. It currently owns 50,000 hectares of land mostly in the southwest but also in various other parts of the country. The estate is planning a major new town development similar to the ones Prince Charles started at Poundbury in Dorset and Nansledan in Cornwall. The new site in Faversham in Kent was 'inspired by the learnings' from the previous two developments, according to Will Bax, and will build 2500 homes, a new school, health centre and sports facilities. The Royal accounts also showed Prince William's 24 hour trip to Estonia earlier this year cost £55,846 in travel costs alone. These costs were met by the Sovereign Grant, the money which pays for other royals operating in the household of Buckingham Palace. The flights came from that pot of money because the visit to British troops stationed there was on behalf of the Foreign Office. Kensington Palace revealed there were 68 people employed in William's household, which also looked after the Princess of Wales and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, but that workers from diverse backgrounds fell slightly short of their target of 14%. The current figure is 13.2%.
The Herald Scotland
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
William reviews rental policy for charities after criticism of Duchy of Cornwall
Will Bax, the duchy's new secretary and keeper of records – who took on the role at the start of 2025, revealed, as the estate published its annual accounts on Monday, that grassroots groups – such as an orchard used for therapeutic gardening – who are direct tenants will have their rents waived, while local charities will see up to a 50% reduction in rent. The Prince of Wales during a visit to Tor Bog, an area of restored peatland on Dartmoor (Chris Jackson/PA) He said William wanted to ensure the duchy operated in a 'modern, socially minded way' and that the rents being saved amounted to a 'very significant sum'. It follows an investigation last November into the prince's Duchy and the Duchy of Lancaster estate, which provides a private income for the King, by Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times which found the estates had secured rental agreements worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools. Mr Bax said the duchy was also looking at including schools in the community groups who would be eligible for the rent waiver. The investigation last year revealed the duchy was set to earn around £600,000 over the lifetime of six different leases agreed with local state schools. William is the 25th Duke of Cornwall, following in the footsteps of his father the King after becoming entitled to the duchy's profits when he became heir to the throne. William with his father, then-the Prince of Wales during a visit to Duchy Home Farm in Gloucestershire in 2004 (Chris Ison/PA) Mr Bax said: 'It would be remiss not to address the media scrutiny the duchy has experienced this past year. 'We've used these challenges as an opportunity to stop and reflect both the duke and I are clear that we want the duchy to be world class in our approach to supporting people, communities and nature to flourish and to realise that aim, we must operate and communicate in a modern, socially minded way.' He added: 'It's clear we've entered an era of deep change, but we change, not because we disrespect our past, but precisely because we do respect it.' The policy review will, however, not alter commercial relationships with public bodies such as the Ministries of Defence and Justice. Mr Bax said: 'There are certain groups that we feel it right and proper that we have market based arms-length relationships with in public sector terms. For example, our Management Act requires that, public sector procurement rules require that.' The Duchy surplus profits is used to fund the Wales family's private, charitable and official life (Aaron Chown/PA) The Dispatches and Sunday Times report showed the duchy signed a £37 million deal in 2022, before Charles became King and William the Prince of Wales, to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, paying £1.5 million a year over 25 years, and a deal with the Ministry of Defence to allow the Armed Forces to train on Dartmoor land. It also said the Duchy of Cornwall had charged the Navy nearly £1 million since 2004 to build and use jetties and moor warships on the coastline. Accounts released on Monday showed the duchy generated profits of £22.9 million, down £700,000 from £23.6 million the previous financial year (2023-2024). The money is used to fund the charitable, private and official lives of William, the Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Kensington Palace said the number of staff employed by the couple's household has risen to 68 from 66 including secondees. Kensington Palace is home to the Prince and Princess of Wales's offices (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Diversity figures show 13.2% of staff were from an ethnic minority background, down marginally from 14% of staff the year before, and that 70.6% of Kensington Palace staff are female and 29.4% male. The Palace confirmed the prince pays the highest rate of income tax once official costs have been deducted, but the amount he paid in tax was not disclosed. The King, as the previous Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, disclosed the voluntary tax he paid in his annual Clarence House review – £5.892 million in 2021/22. Charles's annual review would also detail his broad income and expenditure of the duchy money, plus details of the number of valets, housekeepers, dressers, chefs, butlers and gardeners he employed, and his tax bill. William and Kate after the Order of the Garter ceremony (Chris Jackson/PA) But William has ended this level of disclosure since he became the Prince of Wales, and no such detail is provided for the Waleses's household. The Duchy said: 'While marginally down on the previous year, the Duchy is pleased to have remained resilient amid continued economic uncertainty.' Other updates at the Palace briefing included news that water voles have been successful reintroduced to the River Fowey's wetland corridor in Restormel after becoming extinct in the region in the 1990s. The Duchy is also working to improve rivers by tackling abandoned boats, with 11 removed from the River Avon so far and taken away to be recycled. Water voles have been reintroduced to the River Fowey's wetland corridor in Restormel (Ben Birchall/PA) William also stepped in to help Cornish football team Mousehole AFC who were struggling with access to their club down a pothole-ridden lane. Emerging as a reader of The Guardian where he learned about the issue, William brought together a coalition of people to solve the problem, with construction work due to begin on a new road this week. Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, highlighted that William's £23 million a year income was 138 times more than the Prime Minister's salary. Graham Smith, Republic's chief executive, said: 'It's time the Duchies were taken off royal hands, and it's time these figures were released by government to Parliament, where they can be properly scrutinised.' Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace confirmed the King has appointed William and Kate as grantors of Royal Warrants. A Royal Warrant of Appointment is granted as a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to the Royal Household. Any of the King and Queen's current Royal Warrant holders can apply to be granted a further Royal Warrant from the prince and princess, with a deadline of the end of July. Firms without existing Royal Warrants will be able to apply next year.
