Latest news with #JanieMallowan
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
BBC's Death Valley draws record viewers despite mixed reviews
BBC's Death Valley draws record viewers despite mixed reviews The BBC has shared the viewing figures for new comedy-drama Death Valley following the launch of the show last weekend, after some viewers complained about the first episode. BBC's latest offering, Death Valley, which started on the weekend, has unveiled its viewership data amidst polarised opinions from audiences regarding its premiere episode. The series set against the Welsh backdrop introduces us to detective sergeant Janie Mallowan (portrayed by Gwyneth Keyworth) and has-been actor John Chapel (played by Timothy Spall), who join forces in an unexpected twist to crack down on crime. Created by Paul Doolan, known for his work on the Sky One series Trollied, Death Valley has drawn parallels with Ludwig and been likened to Death in Paradise. However, it recently made its debut on BBC One this Sunday past, with the show scheduled to continue on the channel the following weekend, while all episodes can be accessed via BBC iPlayer. BBC's Death Valley draws record viewers despite mixed reviews (Image: BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway ) ITV caller delivers brutal divorce swipe at Paddy McGuinness READ MORE: Mastermind winner details unique first date after finding love on BBC show READ MORE: BBC's revelation confirms that the show's first foray into living rooms garnered 2.9 million viewers during its prime time spot from 8.15pm until 9pm on BBC One—marking the highest debut audience for a new BBC Scripted Comedy in the last half-decade. This milestone slightly surpasses the viewer count of Ludwig when it premiered in September of the previous year, amassing 2.8 million. Featuring familiar faces such as Steffan Rhodri and Melanie Walters from Gavin and Stacey in its line-up, Death Valley centres on the "unlikely crime-solving partnership" between washed-up actor John, recognised for his role as a fictional sleuth, and police officer Janie, reports the Mirror. The show promises engaging dynamics with a descriptive tease: "They'd make the perfect crime-fighting duo - if only they could get along!" Death Valley aired its first episode on Sunday night (Image: BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway ) The premiere of Death Valley was met with a polarised response on X despite its reported success in the ratings. Several individuals indicated an early dislike for the show, with swift dismissals being shared online. One viewer expressed immediate displeasure, writing: "5 mins and switching off - this is AWEFUL soooooo baaad." Another viewer switched channels abruptly stating: "Had to turn over." Echoing the sentiment, someone else remarked: "I only lasted 10 mins." There was a consensus amongst others who found little to enjoy about the programme. Complaints kept coming as one critic mentioned: "Ten minutes unintelligible thanks." While another reeled: "Just sat and watched the biggest heap of s***e ever and it's called #DeathValley that's 45 minutes of life I ain't getting back." Death Valley got mixed reactions from people watching online (Image: BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway ) Comments continued to critique the show, with another sharing: "Shame #DeathValley had good potential. But it's so cringeworthy. Can't believe it was considered good Sunday night viewing. Can't wait for #Ludwig series 2!!!" Yet, not everyone felt let down by Death Valley. Some viewers did speak out in support of the show. An enthusiastic fan praised it, saying: "I really enjoyed that. Hilarious! Policing at its finest! #DeathValley. Well done all involved! :) I howled all the way through!" Another supporter took to the platform to commend the show: "Not everyone's cup of tea but I loved #DeathValley. Quirky but most enjoyable, acting was superb by both lead actors. Full marks to all involved in this series - looking forward to more. Well done #BBC." A third viewer shared high praise on social media, writing: "#DeathValley is absolutely excellent. Getting the blend of comedy and drama right is very difficult - but the team have done it here. It can build a following. The brilliant Brokenwood Mysteries from NZ is now in its 11th season. #DeathValley can follow a similar trajectory." Article continues below Another keen fan took to the internet to express their enjoyment, stating: "#deathvalley really enjoying the show. Easy going murder mystery. Think Death in Paradise but in Llandeilo. Nice to hear genuine Welsh accents on TV. Tidy." Death Valley is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
TV guide: Bono: Stories of Surrender, And Just Like That, and the other best new things to watch this week
Pick of the week Walking with Dinosaurs Sunday, BBC One, 6.25pm When Walking with Dinosaurs launched its first series back in 1999, we gasped at the special effects, which made it look like a cross between Jurassic Park and David Attenborough's Life on Earth. More than 25 years later, we don't bat an eyelid at eye-popping special effects, but the BBC promises that this reboot will blow our highly evolved minds. The actor Bertie Carvel narrates this new six-part series, and each episode will focus on an individual dinosaur, using fossil remains to build up its life story. Science has come so far that we now have much more accurate data on dinosaurs' lives, and this will be reflected in the details in this new series. Among the dinosaurs we'll encounter are the Albertosaurus, which, despite its benign-sounding name, is an equally ferocious cousin of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Then we'll meet one of the Jurassic era's biggest headbangers: the Pachyrhinosaurus, a close relative of Triceratops, which battles other males by headbutting them with their 'boss' – a thick slab of bone covered in keratin over its nose. Highlights Death Valley Sunday, BBC One, 8.15pm Death Valley: Timothy Spall and Janie Mallowan. Photograph: Jay Brooks/BBC Studios/BBC Who'd be the last person you'd ask to help you solve a murder? Certainly not the retired actor who played your favourite TV detective, and who now lives just down the road from the victim. Detective sergeant Janie Mallowan is investigating the death of a property developer in rural Wales, and finds help in the unlikely form of retired John Chapel, famous for his role as Inspector Charles Caesar in a hit TV series. Chapel can certainly act, but can he solve crimes? We'll soon find out as this odd cop-thesp partnership delves into the apparent suicide of wealthy developer Carwyn Rees – and finds a lot of buried secrets. Timothy Spall plays the reclusive Chapel, with Gwyneth Keyworth as DS Mallowan, and we're sure to get a few glimpses into the cop show within a cop show featuring Inspector Caesar. Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius Monday, BBC Two, 9pm Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius - Emöke Zsigmond. Photograph: Balazs Glodi/72 Films/BBC In the tiny English village of Steventon in Hampshire in the late 18th century, no one would have believed that the vicar's teenage daughter would become hailed as one of the greatest novelists of all time. Jane Austen was one of a large family, but she soon established her own identity through her short stories inspired by her siblings and cousins. The young Jane also found inspiration from her father's library of 500 books, which opened her eyes and imagination to the wider world. This three-part documentary looks at how events in Austen's life – including the death of a suitor – fed into such novels as Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion, and how, unlike her heroines in search of the perfect marriage, she chose independence, turning down a marriage proposal to concentrate on her craft. The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone: Mone in her Baroness robes. Photograph: Alamy/Rogan Productions/BBC This three-part series tells the intriguing story of Michelle Mone's rise from growing up in working-class Glasgow to running her own successful fashion business to her elevation into the House of Lords. Along the way, Lady Michelle Mone has stirred up a rivalry between two of pop star Rod Stewart's wives, and become embroiled in scandal over a PPE contract during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first programme tells how Mone began her career as a model and ring girl at boxing matches, then formed her own lingerie company, launching the Ultimo push-up bra which became hugely popular in the cleavage-obsessed lad culture of the 1990s. She got up Rod Stewart's nose by firing his wife, Penny Lancaster, as the face of Ultimo and replacing her with Stewart's ex-wife Rachel Hunter, but it was the PPE scandal of the early 2020s that put her in the news, when questions were asked about her links to a business that bagged a 'VIP fast lane' PPE contract. READ MORE Uncharted with Ray Goggins Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm Ellen Keane and Ashling Thompson in Uncharted with Ray Goggins So far in this new series, former Special Forces professional Ray Goggins has brought Lyra and Leo Varadkar close to breaking point climbing a vertiginous waterfall, and caused Kneecap to nearly buckle under the pressure on an Arctic expedition. This week he takes Paralympic gold medallist Ellen Keane and All-Ireland camogie winner Ashling Thompson on the aptly named Death Road, a perilous trek deep into the wilds of Bolivia, which will take them high up the Andes mountains and across snow fields, ice walls and glaciers. But this time it's Goggins who seems to be having the most difficulty, developing a rasping cough at high altitude. Can he lead his charges on the 6,000m-plus trek to the peak of Huayna Potosi? Bloom Thursday, RTÉ One, 7pm It's Bloom day once again as Ireland's popular horticultural festival kicks off in Dublin's Phoenix Park, with garden designers displaying their amazing creations over the bank holiday weekend and hoping to collect that coveted gold medal for the most spectacular show garden. Áine Lawlor and Marty Morrissey are back to present this year's coverage of Bloom, with Lawlor meeting the talented gardeners who have created stunning spaces for the delight and delectation of the crowd flocking to this year's event. Meanwhile, Morrissey will mingle inconspicuously through the crowds (yeah, right) and visit the food village to get a taste of what foodie treats are on offer. We'll also get a good look at the colourful contenders in the Floral Art Competition. And Just Like That… Friday, Sky Comedy & Now, 9pm And Just Like That… Put on your strappy Louboutins and grab your Bottega Veneta handbag – we're sashaying back into the Sexoverse via the third series of the Sex and the City spinoff. SATC followed the adventures of four fashion-forward New York women in their 30s; And Just Like That… revisits Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda as they navigate the even trickier relationship terrain of their 50s. But there's disappointment in store for fans: Kim Cattrall, who played the sexually voracious Samantha in SATC, got fans' hopes up that she would finally join the show when she made a cameo appearance in the last series, but it turns out she was only teasing. Never mind – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristen Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all blinged up and ready for some more cosmopolitan comedy, and they'll be joined by new cast member Rosie O'Donnell as Mary. The Power of Parker Friday, BBC One, 9.30pm The Power of Parker: Conleth Hill. Photograph: BBC/Boffola Pictures/Lookout Point Conleth Hill returns as the suave, self-centred electrical goods entrepreneur Martin Parker in this second series of the comedy set in Stockport in the 1990s. Martin is the Swiss Tony of home electronics, convinced of his unerring sales acumen and his irresistibility to women. He's juggling his marriage to Diane (Rosie Cavaliero) and his long-term affair with her sister Kath (Sian Gibson), and making a bit of a balls of it. Series one tracked Martin's downward trajectory as the two women in his life team up to give him his comeuppance. Series two begins in 1992, the queen's 'annus horribilis', when the air is filled with the inescapable strains of Whitney Houston's endless number one hit I Will Always Love You. Diane is now running Parker's electrical shop, having executed a hostile takeover, and Martin has no choice but to apply for a menial job. Meanwhile, the store is up for a gong in the highly prestigious Stockport Trade Awards – the Oscars for local salespeople – but the big awards night turns out very differently for all concerned. Streaming The Better Sister From Thursday, May 29th, Prime Video The Better Sister: Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks star as estranged sisters Chloe and Nicky in this twisty, thrilling whodunit based on the 2019 novel by Alafair Burke. Chloe has the charmed life, married to a handsome, successful lawyer (Corey Stoll) and working in a high-flying media job. Nicky has been dealt a bad hand: she's an addict who is just barely holding it together. The siblings are brought together by an unlikely event: the brutal murder of Chloe's husband. The sisters must find common ground if they are to learn the truth about Adam's murder, but soon long-buried family secrets come to the surface that test the sisters' loyalties. Dept Q From Thursday, May 29th, Netflix Dept Q: Matthew Goode. Photograph: Jamie Simpson/Netflix Don't be fooled by the cool-sounding name: Department Q is where cops' careers go to die, and it's where DCI Carl Morck ends up following a botched operation that has left one officer dead and another paralysed. Morck is banished to the titular section of the Edinburgh police, a cold-case unit of which he is the sole member, and where his colleagues no longer have to put up with his cutting sarcasm. But rather than sit in the basement and rot, Morck gathers a motley crew of castaway cops, and Department Q soon becomes a force to be reckoned with. So: a sort of police version of Slow Horses, with Morck in the Jackson Lamb lounger, getting up the noses of his superiors and getting the job done. Matthew Goode stars as Morck, with Kelly Macdonald, Mark Bonnar and Chloe Pirrie among the cast. Bono: Stories of Surrender From Friday, May 30th, Apple TV+ Bono in Bono: Stories of Surrender. Photograph: Apple TV+ The U2 frontman's bestselling memoir , from 2022, has since grown legs and travelled across Europe and the United States in the form of a one-man show featuring storytelling, readings and renditions of the Irish band's best-known tunes. Now comes the Apple TV+ film, which takes us deeper into Bono's world and features exclusive footage from the stage tour along with insights into Bono's family, friends and faith, and candid stories from his remarkable life and career as a singer and activist. The film will feature unique versions of U2 songs, with Bono accompanied by the DJ and producer Jacknife Lee, the cellist Kate Ellis and the musician and composer Gemma Doherty.
