Latest news with #ITCrowd
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Last One Laughing's future decided by Amazon as host Jimmy Carr speaks out
Last One Laughing had fans all over the country in stitches when it aired earlier this year, and now Jimmy Carr has spoken out about the hit Prime Video Show's future Prime Video's Last One Laughing was a hit when it came out earlier this year. It saw 8 Out of 10 Cats star Jimmy Carr assembled ten of the UK's top comedians in one room with one impossible challenge: Don't laugh. However, in a twist, the host set them a challenge of making each other laugh, although they couldn't chuckle themselves. Although the comedian's couldn't laugh - the audiences were left in stitches. The first series saw comedians Richard Ayoade and Bob Mortimer in the final, and it looks like fans can look forward to yet another hilarious final as the show has been recommissioned for a second series. Speaking about the future of the show, Jimmy said: "I'm absolutely delighted that Last One Laughing is coming back for a second series. I think what's happened is someone high up at Amazon has clicked 'subscribe & save' on Prime Video and, hey presto, we're back in business. "I'm so pleased people had as much fun watching the first season as we had making it. Can't wait to bask in the reflected glory of the next 10 comedy legends taking on the challenge." The second series will see Jimmy returning to the hosting seat alongside a new line-up of comedians which will be announced in due course. Filming is due to take place later this year with the series launching in 2026 on Prime Video worldwide. Last One Laughing UK is the latest adaptation of the successful Amazon Original series from Japan entitled Documental, created by and starring Hitoshi Matsumoto and owned by Yoshimoto Kogyo and has been a hit around the globe. So much so that the format became the most watched title of all time on Prime Video in France, Germany and Italy, and had hugely successful local versions in over 20 territories. Last year's final saw Richard and Bob climb onto Merry-go-round ponies while Bob read from his joke book. However, Richard soon realised that he had made a grave error by allowing Bob to perform jokes. "What I now realise I'd done was essentially sign up to be in goal and just have someone take penalty after penalty after penalty," he said. "I had nothing and he was on a horse opposite me with a pocket full of material," the IT Crowd star said. It was Bob who eventually took the win, with fans claiming the show was the "best piece of comedy they'd ever seen." They're sure to gain a whole load of new laughs with series 2! Until then, fans can catch up with series 1 over on Prime Video.
The Irish Sun
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan vows to continue trans rights fight after pleading not guilty to hate crime charges
FATHER Ted writer Graham Linehan vowed to continue criticising trans rights as he denied hate crime charges in court. He is accused of abusing trans activist Sophia Brooks on social media and They are described by prosecutors as hate crimes — but Linehan remained defiant after his court appearance yesterday. He told supporters outside Westminster magistrates court: 'I have pleaded not guilty and will defend this case at trial. In doing so, there is far more at stake than my own name. For six years, ever since I began defending the rights of women and children against a dangerous ideology, I have faced harassment, abuse and threats. 'I have lost a great deal but I am still here and I will not waver in my resolve.' Read More on TV The IT Crowd co-creator, who has also written for Brass Eye and The Fast Show, has a long-standing history of criticising the trans-rights movement. He has previously said that the charges relate to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference in London last year. The Ireland-born writer was bailed at yesterday's hearing on the condition he does not contact his alleged victim. His trial was set for the same court on September 4. Most read in News TV Dozens of supporters, many unable to get inside owing to a lack of space, greeted Linehan outside the court. He thanked them for the support, also urging people to join the Free Speech Union. 1 Graham Linehan vowed to continue criticising trans rights as he denied hate crime charges in court Credit: PA
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan denies harassing transgender woman
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has pleaded not guilty to harassing a transgender woman and damaging her phone. The Bafta-winning writer, who also came up with TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday to deny the charges of harassing Sophia Brooks on social media and damaging her mobile in October. Linehan, 56, who created the three-season sitcom Father Ted in the 1990s with fellow Irish writer Arthur Mathews, said in a post on X in April that the allegations were related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference in London on 19 October. Court documents show Linehan is charged with harassing the alleged victim, a transgender activist, by posting abusive comments about her on social media between 11 October and 27 October, and damaging her phone to the value of £369 on the day of the conference. Outside court after the short hearing, he wore a T-shirt with a picture of a Daily Telegraph front page with the headline 'Trans women are not women', and said: "For six years, ever since I began defending the rights of women and children against a dangerous ideology, I have faced harassment, abuse and threats. "I've lost great deal, but I am still here, and I will not waver in my resolve." Deputy District Judge Louise Balmain told Linehan his trial would take place on 4 September this year at the same court. Linehan has become a strong vocal critic of the trans rights movement in recent years.
Sunday World
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Iconic anti-piracy campaign under fire for allegedly using pirated font
The designer of the original font said he finds the whole thing 'hilarious' The campaign has become a piece of pop-culture history An iconic anti-piracy campaign is under fire after it was alleged that the font used was pirated itself. The advertisement, which is etched into the minds of anyone of a certain vintage, appeared before the trailers on videos, DVDS and in cinemas from 2004 to 2008. Warning punters not to illegally reproduce a copy of any films, it featured punchy music as text, such as 'you wouldn't steal a car' and 'you wouldn't steal a handbag' flashed on screen following a depiction of each act. 'Piracy. It's a crime,' the final message read, designed to deter viewers from making a copy of whatever film they were watching. The ads became a piece of pop-culture history and have been mocked relentlessly for years since their first release. It was also jeered in the IT Crowd episode 'Moss and the German' when they re-created the ad, adding even more absurd crimes such as stealing a baby, and shooting a policeman before going to the toilet in his cap. Now, a Bluesky user has alleged that the font used in the marketing campaign was pirated after running a screenshot of the text through online software to detect the font used. The original font, FF Confidential, was created by Just Van Rossum in 1992, but it was allegedly cloned and released as a font called XBand-Rough. While this version of the font was free, the original one was not. The social media user claims that the pirated XBand-Rough was used in the anti-piracy ads, and not the original one. Speaking about the irony, Van Rossum told TorrentFreak, an online blog that reports on copyright infringements among other things, that he found the whole thing 'hilarious.' 'I knew my font was used for the campaign and that a pirated clone named XBand-Rough existed,' he said. 'I did not know that the campaign used XBand-Rough and not FF Confidential, though. So this fact is new to me, and I find it hilarious.' He also told Sky News that the irony was 'precious.' "The campaign has always had the wrong tone, which (to me) explains the level of fun that has been had at its expense. The irony of it having used a pirated font is just precious.' Despite this there is no evidence to suggest that the designers of the marketing campaign were aware that the font they used was pirated. In a statement, one of the producers of the campaign Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) said it pre-dated anyone who currently works there and so could not comment.4.6k
Sky News
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
You wouldn't steal a font: Famous anti-piracy campaign may have used pirated typeface
Why you can trust Sky News A famous anti-piracy campaign from the early 2000s is in the spotlight after it appeared the font used in the adverts was pirated. The dramatic campaign compared pirating films to stealing cars, handbags and televisions, telling viewers: "You wouldn't steal a car". It appeared in cinemas and on DVDs around the world from 2004. But now, social media users have discovered the font used in the campaign was pirated from a typeface created by designer Just van Rossum. Bluesky user Rib extracted the fonts used in one of the campaign's old PDFs and discovered the pirated font Xband-Rough was used instead of Mr van Rossum's licensed font FF Confidential. Sky News was able to replicate this process and found the same results. There's no evidence to suggest that the campaign's designers were aware that the font was pirated, as copies of it were being widely shared at the time. The creator of the original font doesn't seem too worried, however. He told tech newsite TorrentFreak: "I knew my font was used for the campaign and that a pirated clone named XBand-Rough existed. "I did not know that the campaign used XBand-Rough and not FF Confidential, though. So this fact is new to me, and I find it hilarious." The adverts became a piece of pop culture history, with spoofs spawned for years afterwards. In fact, if you try to go to the campaign's official URL, you will be redirected to the most famous spoof, a sketch in the sitcom IT Crowd. Sky News contacted the organisations behind the adverts, the UK's anti-piracy agency FACT, America's Motion Picture Association and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. FACT declined to comment, saying the campaign pre-dated anyone working at the organisation.
