Latest news with #Fincham
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘The BBC made a mistake letting Jeremy Clarkson go'
Peter Fincham and his sparring partner of 50 years, Jimmy Mulville, are two of the most venerable old heads in British television and between them are responsible for some of the most celebrated shows of the past few decades, from Alan Partridge to Have I Got News For You. Now the old dogs have a new trick – a podcast. Insiders: The TV Podcast, which launched a few weeks ago, features a conversation between the producers in which they pick apart the issues of the day. Topics are given to them in sealed envelopes – the proposed levy on the streaming services, Saturday Night Live UK, the death of linear scheduling – and the pair apply their decades of experience to provide genuinely illuminating insight. It is not, they insist, The Rest is Entertainment, Marina Hyde and Richard Osman 's podcast juggernaut which often looks behind the scenes of television, although that show has proved the appetite for insider knowledge of an industry in a constant state of flux. Fincham and Mulville have been there and got the t-shirt – there is no corner of the TV industry that they don't know. Other TV podcasts exist – the BBC's Obsessed With…, Must Watch, and Off the Telly, or Empire's Pilot TV – but these are critic or fan-led review shows. 'Experience always trumps opinion,' says Mulville. Naturally, the pair have anecdotes galore to sprinkle over the episodes. In the opener, Mulville is particularly entertaining about working on American adaptations of British shows, from Have I Got News For You ('They didn't want it to be too newsy') to Father Ted ('They asked if they really had to be Catholic priests'). Episode three also provided an entertaining analysis of when Mulville offered to buy BBC Three from the BBC for a pound. Crucially, the pair are not here to lay into the TV industry. Quite the opposite. 'We love television,' says Fincham. 'It's easy to construct an argument saying the BBC is doomed or whatever channel is going to fail, but we believe there's a great future. People say, 'British television is dying. Oh and by the way, have you seen Adolescence?'.' The pair met 50 years at the Cambridge Footlights (alongside actor Robert Bathurst and theatre director Nick Hytner) and have been involved in a friendly rivalry ever since. Fincham, 68, joined Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones's fledgling TalkBalk Productions in 1985 before turning it into a British comedy powerhouse, producing The Day Today, the Partridge shows, and Smack the Pony. He went on to become the controller of BBC One and then the Director of Television at ITV. Mulville, 70, continued writing and acting after Cambridge, notably in the cult sketch show Who Dares Wins, before co-founding Hat Trick Productions, whose numerous credits include Father Ted, Derry Girls, and Outnumbered. And the pair are still making waves in the TV industry. Fincham's Expectation TV has recently produced the acclaimed, Bafta-winning BBC comedy-dramas Alma's Not Normal, as well as Clarkson's Farm, while our conversation is conducted over Zoom because Mulville is currently in South Korea finding partners for a new Seoul-set drama (on the day we speak, he had lunch with no less than Hwang Dong-hyuk, aka Mr Squid Game). No wonder the pair believe the industry is in rude health. Their wide experience has made them come to the same conclusion – that predicting the future of television is futile. Fincham highlights the rise of YouTube 20 years ago. 'Everyone said it would kill our attention spans, but what happened next? The rise of the boxset drama. They said YouTube would destroy television. They say lots of things will destroy television. Ever since I began, they've been walking about with signs saying 'The End is Nigh'.' While Mulville states that commissioners need to have rules – 'Otherwise you wouldn't say no to anything' – the industry lives on a wing and a prayer. When Father Ted won a Bafta in 1998, the then controller of Channel 4, Michael Grade, sent Mulville a note saying that he didn't get the show when Mulville pitched it, he didn't get it when they made it and he didn't get it when he watched it, but 'thank God you brought it to Channel 4'. Comedy, of course, is one of the hot topics in TV, particularly in Britain where its diminished presence is lamented. 'Every few years a journalist rings me up to ask if British TV comedy is dead,' says Mulville. 'That's going back more than 30 years. But I think we are going through a bad time in terms of comedy commissioning. I think people are now worried because when you launch a bad comedy, you offend people. If you launch a bad drama, people aren't that bothered. But a bad comedy? It's like you've done a s— on their carpet. They hate you for it.' Something they hope to swerve in the podcast is too much BBC-bashing. 'I didn't like it when I was at the BBC,' says Fincham, 'my predecessors weighing in, telling me how to do my job. So I am not going to tell the people at the BBC how to do their job. But people are far more interested in the BBC than anything else. For 11 years I went to the Edinburgh TV Festival, three years for the BBC, eight years for ITV. And for the first three years, people asked me about the BBC. And for the next eight years, guess what, they asked me about the BBC. So I won't be an armchair critic.' Despite that, could the BBC, as Gary Lineker said recently, be bolder in defending itself, stick up more for those who love the BBC rather than pander to those who hate it? 'I think I know what Gary means,' says Fincham. 'I think the BBC can, at times, undervalue its audience, who are older let's be honest, because they take them for granted and become obsessed with getting younger audiences in.' The non-armchair critic warms to his subject. 'I'll say this actually – I make Clarkson's Farm, and the BBC never needed to let Jeremy Clarkson go. It was a straightforward mistake. They could have found ways of not letting him go. And Clarkson's Farm is the perfect Reithian show – it informs, educates and entertains in equal measure. And it's on Amazon. There's a wider issue here that we could talk about all afternoon, that recurring thing of talent that becomes problematically too big for the BBC and then becomes very difficult to handle. But that's as far as I'll go with that one.' One for a future podcast episode, perhaps. Mulville, like Lineker, is more bullish. 'The BBC should get out there and say, 'Yeah, we make mistakes. F— it. We broadcast 1000s of hours a week on TV and radio, we're bound to make mistakes. We can be a bit stupid sometimes, but so what? We're a brilliant organisation.' They should take a leaf out of Donald Trump's book and just talk about how wonderful they are. Because if it wasn't there, we'd miss it.'
Telegraph
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Ever wondered what makes a TV executive tick? This podcast spills all
Judging a podcast on its first episode is a bit like judging a footballer solely on their debut, but at least Insiders: The TV Podcast (Expectation/Hat Trick) gave us a handy yardstick. 'This podcast isn't going to be like The Rest is Entertainment,' said Jimmy Mulville at the start, instantly making listeners think of The Rest is Entertainment, Marina Hyde and Richard Osman's audio behemoth. Mulville protests too much – Insiders is rather a lot like The Rest is Entertainment, and on the evidence of this debut, it should strive to be even more so. Mulville and his co-host Peter Fincham certainly have the credentials for the gig, both being veteran TV producers with enviable CVs. Mulville's Hat Trick Productions has made everything from Father Ted and Derry Girls to Whose Line Is It Anyway and Have I Got News For You, while Fincham (who co-hosts the excellent What's Funny About… on Radio 4) has been MD of TalkBack, Controller of BBC One and Director of Television at ITV. They know what they're talking about. The podcast has a format (tip for wannabe podcasters: The Rest is Entertainment doesn't have a format), which has the pair's producer handing them envelopes containing various topics. Each subject comes to Fincham and Mulville as a surprise, meaning that all conversation is off-the-cuff. And while they have the knowledge and anecdotes to do this, the nagging feeling is that greater insight would be gained from allowing the hosts to choose each week's topics. I would also tighten the episodes – 53 minutes can feel a long time. Yet the pair have an enormous amount to give and this opener had plenty of nuggets to enjoy. I particularly enjoyed the segment on the US vs the UK, with Mulville having finally launched HIGNFY in the US after many aborted attempts. Part of the problem previously was that US execs considered the news quiz to be 'too newsy', while Mulville ran into similar problems when trying to get a US remake of Father Ted off the ground: 'Do they have to be Catholic priests?' More specificity like this, and fewer general musings on the state of the industry, will help the podcast fly (and when it settles in, I think it will). My favourite tale was about Richard Hammond pitching a show about the social history of road building to Fincham. 'I think I ended up commissioning Richard Hammond In Search of the Holy Grail. He didn't find it.'
Sky News
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Former Love Island winner Jack Fincham wins appeal against prison sentence for dangerous dog offences
Former Love Island winner Jack Fincham has won an appeal against his prison sentence for two dangerous dog offences. Fincham, 32, was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment on 29 January after pleading guilty to two counts of having a dangerously out-of-control black cane corso. But within hours of the sentencing, he was released on conditional bail and vowed to appeal it. On Friday, Fincham, who won the ITV dating show with Dani Dyer in 2018, was told by a judge at Southend Magistrates' Court that the original sentence had not been "just in the circumstances". Instead, Judge Samantha Leigh extended a suspended sentence he was given in 2023 for two unrelated offences - drug driving and fraudulent use of a registered trademark. The existing order of 12 weeks custody - suspended for 18 months - has been lengthened by three months, Judge Leigh told the court. The court heard previously that Fincham's dog, Elvis, bit and injured the arm of a runner named Robert Sudell in Swanley, Kent, in September 2022. Separately in June 2024, the dog grabbed a woman's leg in Fincham's hometown of Grays, Essex. It left no injury but the animal was said to be out of control. Fincham attended a police interview of his own volition that month, when he received a caution and was told to keep the dog muzzled. Prosecuting, Hannah Steventon said police then attended a hotel in August 2024 following reports the dog had been in a public pool area and was not on a lead or muzzled. Defending, Richard Cooper, said Fincham had chosen the hotel specifically because it was advertised as "dog-friendly" online. He then "let him off the lead at the swimming pool", broadcasting the scene to his social media followers, "of which there are about two million", he said. Judge Leigh described this as "his own stupidity". As part of the original sentence, Fincham was ordered to pay £3,680, including £2,000 in kennelling costs, a fine of £961, and £200 in compensation to Mr Sudell. His lawyer said he had made "remarkable progress" since his last court appearance, "returning to a nine-to-five job" and boxing. The judge warned him to be "very careful now".
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Love Island star wins dangerous dog appeal case
A former Love Island star who was handed a six-week jail term for dangerous dog offences has won an appeal against his sentence. In September 2022, Jack Fincham's dog, a black cane corso called Elvis, bit a runner in Swanley in Kent and then in June 2024 the dog attacked a woman in Grays, Essex. He admitted two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog and was sentenced at Southend Magistrates' Court on 29 January this year. The 32-year-old, from Grays, has now won the appeal at Basildon Crown Court against his prison sentence and walked free from court, but with a three-month extension added to a suspended prison sentence he had been given for an unrelated driving offence. Fincham won the ITV reality show with Dani Dyer in 2018 and was previously a pen salesman. At the sentencing at Southend Magistrates' Court in January, Fincham lodged an appeal within hours, and was released on conditional bail pending that appeal. At the latest hearing in Basildon, a judge extended an existing 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, which had been imposed for an unrelated driving matter in 2023. That sentence included an offence of drug-driving and the fraudulent use of a registration mark. Judge Samantha Leigh found the activation, by magistrates earlier in 2025, of a suspended sentence order for an unrelated driving matter "wasn't just in the circumstances". She instead imposed a three-month extension to the suspended sentence's time period, raising it to 21 months. Love Island winners confirm split Love Island winners revealed Georgia Harrison shares revenge porn 'struggle' At Southend Magistrates' Court, Fincham had also been ordered to pay £3,680, including £2,000 in contributions to kennelling costs, a fine of £961 and compensation of £200 to Robert Sudell, who was the runner bitten in Kent. Richard Cooper, for Fincham, said the incident in Grays happened while he had been bringing boxes into a property which he had just moved to and the dog had slipped out. The 32-year-old attended a voluntary police interview the same month and was given a caution with conditions including to keep the dog muzzled and on a lead at all times in public places. Hannah Steventon, prosecuting, said in August 2024 police had attended a hotel and found the dog had been in the public pool area and was not on a lead or muzzled. Mr Cooper said Fincham "wanted to take his dog somewhere it would have a little more freedom so found online this hotel specifically marketed itself as dog-friendly" and believed he could let the dog off the lead. His solicitor said Fincham had "returned to a nine-to-five job" and also started boxing again. During the re-sentencing, the judge warned the defendant he needed to be "very careful now". Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. HM Courts & Tribunals Service
The Independent
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Love Island star Jack Fincham wins appeal against prison sentence
Former Love Island winner Jack Fincham, who was handed a six-week jail term earlier this year for dangerous dog offences, has won an appeal against his prison sentence and walked free from court with an extension to his suspended sentence order instead. The 32-year-old, who won the 2018 series of the ITV2 show with Dani Dyer, admitted at an earlier hearing to two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog. He was sentenced at the earlier hearing at Southend Magistrates' Court on January 29 to six weeks in prison, but on Friday a judge ruled that was not 'just' and set aside the custodial sentence. Instead, she extended an existing suspended sentence order – that had been imposed for an unrelated driving matter – by three months. Prosecutors said Fincham's dog, a black cane corso called Elvis, bit a runner named Robert Sudell in September 2022 in Swanley, Kent, causing an injury to his arm. In June 2024, the dog was said to be out of control and grabbed a woman's leg in Grays in Essex, leaving no injury. Fincham, of Grays in Essex, lodged an appeal against his sentence within hours of having been sentenced. He was released on conditional bail on January 29 pending his appeal, and this was heard at Basildon Crown Court on Friday. Judge Samantha Leigh found that the activation by magistrates of a suspended sentence order for an unrelated driving matter 'wasn't just in the circumstances'. The order, of 12 weeks custody suspended for 18 months, had been imposed on Fincham in March last year for an unrelated driving matter in 2023. This included an offence of drug-driving and fraudulent use of a registration mark. The suspended sentence was activated in part by magistrates in January following Fincham's guilty pleas to the dangerous dog offences. Judge Leigh said the activation of this order 'wasn't just in the circumstances' and instead ordered a three-month extension in the operational period of the suspended sentence order. The judge did not alter the rest of the sentence. As part of his original sentence passed at the magistrates' court, Fincham was also ordered to pay £3,680, including a £2,000 contribution to kennelling costs, a fine of £961 and £200 compensation to Mr Sudell. Richard Cooper, for Fincham, said that the dog incident in June 2024 happened when Fincham had 'just moved to the property and was bringing boxes in from the car – while he did so the dog slipped out'. Fincham attended a voluntary police interview in June 2024 and was given a caution with conditions including to keep the dog muzzled and on a lead at all times in public places. Hannah Steventon, prosecuting, said that in August 2024 police attended a hotel 'on unrelated matters' and it was found that Fincham's dog had been in the public pool area and was not on a lead or muzzled. Mr Cooper said Fincham 'had wanted to take his dog somewhere it would have a little more freedom so found online this hotel that specifically marketed itself as dog friendly'. He said the defendant, who has ADHD, 'believed this was a solution to the problem so he could take Elvis to the hotel, let him off the lead and made no secret of that fact'. Fincham 'let him off the lead at the swimming pool' and 'broadcast that to his social media followers, of which there are about two million', Mr Cooper said. The judge responded: 'It's his own stupidity, then.' Mr Cooper said: 'These are problems of his own making however in my submission there's been remarkable progress.' He said Fincham has 'returned to a nine to five job' and has also returned to boxing but 'sees that as something on the side'. Re-sentencing Fincham to an extension to his suspended order instead of an immediate prison sentence, the judge warned the defendant he needed to be 'very careful now'.
