Latest news with #JaydeAdams
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
From the archive (season 4): Jayde Adams, comedian
As Grace Dent takes a short summer break, the team is delving into the archives to bring you some of their favourite episodes. This week, we rewind to November 2022, when Grace welcomed one of that year's stars of Strictly Come Dancing, Jayde Adams. Jayde and Grace discuss Jayde's Bristolian beginnings, what it takes to become a fishmonger, and what makes the perfect dinner party. And as always, the comfort foods that have seen Jayde through it all
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'Best comedy since Only Fools And Horses' is now streaming for free on BBC - leaving viewers 'sobbing and laughing at the same time'
The 'best comedy since Only Fools and Horses' has now been made available to stream for free on the BBC - leaving viewers 'sobbing and laughing at the same time'. Alma's Not Normal, which debuted on BBC Two in April 2020, comes from the mind of actress and comedian Sophie Willan, who wrote, created and stars in the sitcom. It follows Sophie as Alma Nuthall, a working-class aspiring actress in her thirties from Bolton, Greater Manchester, reeling from a break-up, while working as an escort. The three-time BAFTA-winning programme covers a range of topics, from addiction, to loss, to the inadequacy of public services. It also draws on some of Sophie's own experiences as a care leaver, with Alma having spent time in care and left school with no qualifications. Its two series, available to watch on BBC iPlayer, also boasts a star-studded lead cast, including comedian Jayde Adams and Grantchester actress Lorraine Asbourne. It follows Sophie as Alma Nuthall (centre, with Lorraine Ashbourne, left, as Joan and Jayde Adams, right, as Leanne), a working-class aspiring actress in her thirties from Bolton, Greater Manchester, reeling from a break-up, while working as an escort Jayde stars as Alma's best friend and confidant Leanne, while Lorraine plays her grandmother Joan, who raised her when her mother Lin was unable to. Downton Abbey's Siobhan Finneran plays Lin, whose heroin addiction and mental health issues left her with a fractious relationship with her daughter Alma. After the roaring success of the pilot in 2020, the full first series launched in September 2021, to widespread critical acclaim. It won Sophie the BAFTAs for Best Comedy Writer and Best Female Comedy Performance. A second series hit our screens in October last year, winning the BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy. The programme has a lot of fans, who have taken to social media to encourage others to watch the show too. One said on Facebook: 'One of my favourites - so well written and acted beautifully.' Another commented: 'Watched all of this, highly recommend it. Best comedy since Only Fools. It's hilarious if in need of a good laugh.' Someone else chimed in: 'I sobbed and laughed at the same time... Nothing has ever done that to me before, brilliant.' One took it even further: 'I think this is possibly the best thing I have ever watched.' But despite the high praise, creator Sophie has confirmed the programme will not be returning for a third series. She told Deborah Frances-White's podcast The Guilty Feminist: 'Basically, they're not getting a series three. I'm done.' But it might not be quite the end of the story just yet: 'I want to do a Christmas special, they've commissioned the script. 'But I don't want to do another series. I want to wrap up the journey. She is no longer a situational comedy protagonist. 'They have to not learn, that's the point. She's Del Boy at the end when he gets boring and rich.' The semi-autobiographical element of the show continued into the second series, released last year. Like Alma, Sophie was brought up by her grandmother, called Denise, between stints in foster care. The second series sees Alma's grandmother Joan diagnosed with cancer - and similarly, Denise died from cancer during filming of the first series of the programme. Sophie later dedicated her BAFTA win in 2022 to her grandmother. Also like Alma, Sophie had at one point turned to sex work to make ends meet. She developed an interest in acting around the same time. Joining a theatre company in Manchester, she had been about to branch out to make her own when she won the BBC's Caroline Aherne bursary in 2017. The fund, named for the creator of sitcom The Royle Family, sees a budding comedy talent supported to develop a script - and it was how Alma's Not Normal was born. She has previously told the BBC: 'The second series was very hard to write because some of it was stuff that I was currently dealing with rather than stuff that I processed long ago.' It saw her take aim at cuts to the mental health and care systems: 'I wanted to take the state to task. I wanted to show the impact on vulnerable women. 'And what happens to my mum in [the show] is systematic failure.' It comes after another beloved BBC comedy also came to an end. Man Like Mobeen sees former drug dealer Mobeen try to lead an honest life in Small Heath Birmingham after years of an unlawful lifestyle. The show, which first aired back in 2017, was created by and stars actor and comedian Guz Khan. It was confirmed earlier this year the comedy would make a comeback for a fifth instalment, released on May 1 - but it would be the very last one. 'In the final series, Mobeen must save Aqsa but can he even get a passport or a plane ticket to the UAE? And will he convince his friends to join him?' the synopsis reads. Creator and star Guz previously revealed he had only written the series for fans and he would not be making another. He explained: 'I can't even shop at Aldi without someone popping out from behind the bread aisle and asking me when there's going to be more Man Like Mobeen. 'So, for you, and only for you, here's one, final, very last, never to be done again season of Man Like Mobeen.
Scotsman
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Shedinburgh location revealed as line-up unveiled for venue with Baby Reindeer link
The new Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue will pay artists to perform. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... New Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue Shedinburgh has named its first line-up of acts as the hub's location is revealed for the first time. Based in the Edinburgh College of Art, the venue is believed to include the iconic Wee Red Bar, as well as outdoor courtyard bar areas. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jayde Adams is to join comedian Mark Watson among a strong of one-night acts to perform at Shedinburgh, the brainchild of producer Francesca Moody, who originally brought Baby Reindeer and Fleabag to the Fringe. Venue organisers have promised to 'flip the traditional Fringe model' by paying artists to perform. Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in Baby Reindeer. The hit Netflix show started out life on the Edinburgh Fringe. | Ed Miller/Netflix Further shows are still to be announced, with special 'secret sets' due to be revealed during the festival. Other Shedinburgh events include work-in-progress performances of three Shed Originals - unseen scripts with development supported by Shedinburgh from up-and-coming writers. These include brand new scripts from Nick Cassenbaum, Ciara Elizabeth Smyth and Rosaleen Cox, with more to be announced. Meanwhile, Ms Moody will host a panel discussion on 'How to Produce a Fringe Hit' as part of the Shedx Talk line up aimed at Fringe professionals, alongside other industry names. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said: 'We're absolutely thrilled to be making this first programme announcement for Shedinburgh. [It will be] a hugely diverse range of original work from an incredible roster of artists from the emerging to the emerged. We're delighted that Shedinburgh means that these much-beloved shows, artists and makers of the future can perform at the Fringe this year. 'It's likely I'll be permanently sat in Shedinburgh for the duration of August and I'm thrilled we've been able to set up our home in the Edinburgh College of Art at the heart of the Fringe.' The revival of the venue, which ran digitally during the Covid pandemic, will pay artists and fund accommodation and travel in a series of one-night shows in a bid to 'level the playing field' at the 'increasingly inaccessible' Fringe. Francesca Moody is the producer behind Fringe hits including Baby Reindeer and Fleabag. | Rich Lakos The 100-seat venue will be a cafe and bar for artists to meet by day before turning into a performance venue at night in what is being billed as an 'intimate, immersive setting'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish writer and performer Gary McNair, who is to perform his show Clamjamfry on August 24, said: 'It's incredible that a project founded on a pun and made during the pandemic has become such a beacon of potential and positivity for artists. 'I'm totally bowled over by the passion, determination and insane hard work that has gone into launching this festival, venue and idea. Personally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Edinburgh Fringe. I've had the most amazing experiences as an artist there over the years and I'm excited that Shedinburgh will now give that opportunity to others to do the same.' Shedinburgh will also be opening applications for its Shedload-of-Future Fund. The fund will award three £5,000 grants to artists making their Fringe debut in 2025. The bursaries can be put towards any costs associated with bringing a show to the Fringe, including travel, marketing, accommodation, set, and artists' time.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Shedinburgh festival returns with new 100-seat venue at Edinburgh fringe
When the 2020 Edinburgh fringe was cancelled due to Covid-19, producer Francesca Moody and theatre-maker Gary McNair unveiled a DIY solution: Shedinburgh. Theatre, comedy and music shows were put on in a variety of sheds and streamed live to an audience online. The digital initiative proved as popular as it was canny and returned the following year. Now, the Shedinburgh festival is set to be resurrected this summer for a series of in-person, one-off performances in a new 100-seat venue in Edinburgh. Jayde Adams, Mark Watson and Ivo Graham are among the standups taking part, along with fringe favourites Sh!t Theatre, the Guilty Feminist host Deborah Frances-White, Marlow and Moss (the composing duo behind hit musical Six) and recent Olivier award-winner Maimuna Memon. There will be Shed Shows (intimate 'unplugged' versions of hit fringe productions from the past), Shed Originals (using previously unseen scripts by emerging writers) and ShedX Talks (free panels and Q&As), as well as late-night music events. The venue will be open during the day as a cafe and bar. Tickets including pay-what-you-can options will be released later this month when the full 'shed-ule' is announced as well as further details about the venue including its location. Taking a show to Edinburgh is a financially risky endeavour for performers who are often required to pay the venue a minimum guarantee. Shedinburgh will instead be giving a guaranteed fee to each act as well as covering their travel and accommodation expenses. Moody, whose Edinburgh hits include Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, said: 'In recent years it has become more challenging than ever to bring a show to the festival and for artists and audiences it feels increasingly inaccessible. Shedinburgh is our attempt to level the playing field; it's our love letter to the fringe, and something that we hope sits in conversation with the many other brilliant initiatives working to ensure the festival remains a launchpad for the next generation of gamechanging artists.' Applications will soon open for Shedinburgh's Shedload of Future Fund, which will distribute money raised from the 2020 and 2021 digital seasons. The fund will award three £5,000 grants to artists making their Edinburgh fringe debut this summer. Watson said 'it's getting harder and harder for emerging artists to survive [in Edinburgh] or even take the risk of going in the first place. There needs to be a fresh approach to the way the festival works for performers, and that's what Shedinburgh is offering.' Adams, who will be performing a show that is 'more theatrical, more personal and unlike anything I've done before', said Shedinburgh would offer a space that is 'intimate, raw and open to risk'.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cheltenham Festival and 'one in a million' birth
Here is our weekly roundup of stories from across local websites in the West of England. We have a daily round up as well. Make sure you look out for it on the website and the local section of the BBC News app. Cheltenham Festival has been the talk of the week. A man who got tickets for him and his dad but went alone after his father died has been viewed thousands of times. And Cheltenham Borough Council posted about its safe space for women under 18 during race week. There is just an 'E' left to paint before the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood is complete, Bristol Live reports. Work was abandoned because of protests by residents. Wiltshire 999s has published an article about a man admitting to having sex with a Shetland pony in a Wiltshire stables, who will be sentenced in May. ITV West Country has covered a 'one in a million' birth in Somerset. Five lambs have been born from the same ewe at a farm in Shapwick. And in more animal news – kind of – a video of Bristol comedian Jayde Adams singing Chappell Roan's 'Pink Pony Club' in a Bristol accent has gone super viral. Buildings cut into ancient monument could be removed Queen visits Cheltenham after early snow on course Former Bristol MP takes seat in House of Lords 'Yo-yo' birth-rate causing headache for schools Life in jail for teen who strangled his sister, 19 Somerset Live has published an article about how shopping and hospitality has changed since Covid. To mark five years since the beginning of the pandemic, the website has done a lookback on what has changed. Headlines: Tree set on fire and rare lamb quins born Headlines: Snow and Queen at Cheltenham Headlines: Jockey's comeback and green cycle lanes Headlines: Cheltenham Festival, and Chappell Roan in a Bristol accent Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
