Latest news with #KatherineParkinson
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Here We Go creator says Bedford representative of the whole UK
A comedy writer has said he set his sitcom in the town of Bedford as it is representative of the whole Basden created and writes the BBC One show Here We Go, which he also appears in alongside Alison Steadman, Katherine Parkinson and Jim former vice president of Cambridge Footlights said: "I thought Bedford was a really good location for a show that speaks to the whole country."I wanted to set the show somewhere that just felt very traditionally English but not really known for being any one particular thing." Describing the show's premise, Basden said: "It's about a family called the Jessop family who live in Bedford and are a very, very normal family who find themselves in a lot of weird and wonderful situations."The full third series of the show is now available on BBC iPlayer, following the premiere of its first episode on BBC One. Basden added: "I didn't want it to feel too regional."I didn't want it to feel like it's a show about London or a show about Manchester or something."While one episode of the new series is set in Malta, the show remains largely based in Bedford, although it is filmed in other parts of the country. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gavin & Stacey star's BBC sitcom hailed as 'one of the greatest ever written' confirms return date
A BBC show featuring a Gavin & Stacey icon has confirmed when its next season will air. Here We Go, starring Alison Steadman alongside the likes of Jim Howick and Katherine Parkinson, is told from teenager Sam's perspective using the point of view of a handheld camera. The series explores his dysfunctional and eccentric family's everyday lives, with the latest season showing mum Rachel (Parkinson) begin a university course and grandma Sue (Steadman) encourage Paul's (Howick) passion for boating. The show was created by Tom Basden, known for his work starring in and co-creating hit comedy series Plebs. Here We Go's third season is due to begin on BBC One on 25 July, with the first episode airing at 9pm followed by a second at 9.30pm. Related: One fan said Here We Go was "one of the greatest shows ever written" in a Google review, saying it was as good as other hit shows like Gavin & Stacey and Friday Night Dinner. Broadcast said the show was a "criminally underrated gem." Filming for season three began last year, with the cast announcing the news by posing together in costume with a clapperboard. A synopsis for the latest season teases what fans can expect, with Rachel beginning a new life as a therapist and Paul becoming a police constable. Grandma Sue has moved back into the family home, while Uncle Robin and Aunt Cherry are juggling becoming new parents to baby Atlas. Related: Amy is still trying to figure her way in life, and it's all being captured by Sam on camera. Speaking ahead of the new episodes, Basden said: "I'm so thrilled to be reunited with our cast of comedy legends to bring another round of the Jessops' epic family misfortunes and everyday adventures back to BBC One." The Sun previously reported that a fourth season of the show is on the way, before the third has even hit our screens. The first season aired in 2022 following a pilot in 2020, initially called Pandemonium. Here We Go season three begins on BBC One at 9pm on Friday, July 25 Digital Spy's new print issue is here! Buy Oasis - Live in '25 in newsagents or online, now priced at just £8.99. at at at Pandora at at at at at Pandora at at at at at Apple at at Apple at at at at at at You Might Also Like PS5 consoles for sale – PlayStation 5 stock and restocks: Where to buy PS5 today? IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 THE BEST IN THE SERIES? OUR REVIEW AEW game is a modern mix of No Mercy and SmackDown
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Here We Go series 3 takes the Jessops to "weird and wonderful places" as Alison Steadman promises "more madness!"
Created by and starring Tom Basden (After Life), the new series of Here We Go sees the return of the all-star cast Jim Howick (Ghosts), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd), Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey), Freya Parks (This Town), Jude Morgan-Collie (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder), Tori Allen-Martin (Unforgotten), Mica Ricketts (Best Interests), Ed Kear (The Batman), and Jon Furlong (The Last Kingdom). The third series continues to follow the chaotic Jessop family as they navigate new jobs, love, loss and family gatherings. Mum Rachel (Katherine Parkinson) is starting her new life as a therapist. Dad Paul (Jim Howick), now a police constable, continues his quest to gain the respect of his peers - and his kids. Uncle Robin (Tom Basden) and wife Cherry (Tori Allen-Martin) are busy with a new arrival, baby Atlas, while Amy (Freya Parks) is still figuring out life as a 20-something. Grandmother Sue (Alison Steadman) has moved back into the family home and Sam (Jude Morgan-Collie) is, of course, on hand, capturing all the calamity on camera from bungee jumps to riverside baptisms. Series three also sees a family holiday to Malta, where, of course, nothing goes according to plan. With a stellar guest cast, series three of Here We Go is packed full of familiar faces, including Jane Horrocks (Absolutely Fabulous), Robert Glenister (Sherwood), Jamali Maddix (Hate Thy Neighbour), Susannah Fielding (This Time With Alan Partridge), Seb Cardinal (Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy), Ed Kear (The Batman), Jon Furlong (Adolescence), (Massive Dad), Sunil Patel (Mandy), Kevin 'KG' Garry (Ted Lasso), Kathryn Drysdale (Bridgerton) and Stevie Martin (Taskmaster). Here We Go is a BBC Studios Comedy Production for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, with BBC Studios handling global sales. The series was commissioned by Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy. The series is created by Tom Basden and the Executive Producers are Josh Cole, Will Sinclair, Tom Basden and Steven Canny. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Gregor Sharp. Here We Go returns on Friday 25 July at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The full series will be available on BBC iPlayer from this date. Watch Here We Go on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist FM Interviews with the cast of Here We Go Tom Basden (Robin) and writer, creator and Executive Producer We're on series three now, how was writing the new series compared to the first two? What comes with a third series is that you know the characters really well by now and you can really tailor storylines for both the characters and the actors and what you think everyone's going to enjoy. I think you can be a little bit more ambitious with the stories. On a later series, you can try things that are a little bit more crazy or a little bit more strange. In this series, for example, they go to a live action role play festival and there's an episode where they get locked in the house. Some things are maybe easier to do in the third series because the audience knows the characters too. What else can we look forward to in series three? There's an episode where the family go to Malta, which took a lot of persuading production! That episode is huge fun and also an opportunity to meet Rachel's dad, Michael, played by Robert Glenister, who's just fantastic, and gives us a lot of background to Rachel's family, which has been hinted at in series one and two, but we've never really seen up close. Where do we pick up the Jessop family this series? Paul is now working as a policeman. He's finished his training, and he's started his job, which he isn't finding easy. He's struggling to fit in and make friends. He also gives Rachel a speeding ticket by mistake. Rachel is now at a point in her therapy course where she needs to find people to counsel, and so she starts offering advice to members of the family, including couples therapy to Amy and Maya with disastrous consequences. Robin and Cherry are now happily married and expecting a baby for the first part of the series. Then the baby is delivered in quite dramatic fashion. Sue is now living at home with the Jessops. Her flat has gone to Amy and Maya, and Sue is living in amongst the family where she is both a help and a hindrance in equal measure. Now that Maya's left university, Amy and Maya are struggling to find their way as a young couple in the real world, making money and being self-sufficient. Sam's doing his best, he's started his A-Levels and trying to complete his Duke of Edinburgh award this series. What is it about Here We Go that audiences relate to so much? You can follow the Jessops through the stages of life as you do your own family. We obviously take the Jessops to weird and wonderful places and put them in difficult and funny situations. But there's always a kind of spine to the show of those stages in life, stages in family life that everyone goes through, that everyone can relate to. How has Robin changed since series one? Robin is attempting to grow up in series three. He's attempting to be a more serious figure, someone who is a role model for his son, Atlas, who appears as the series goes on. He's not always finding that easy. He still collects football stickers, and he still does quite stupid things, particularly that Cherry doesn't always know about. I would say he's somewhere between a 13-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man. How do you find the creative process given you're the creator, writer and cast? I love making this show. I really enjoy coming up with ideas for the Jessops. My favourite part of the process is when the cast read the scripts as we have a big readthrough together, and everyone sees what we've got in store for the next series. We really have such a great time filming the show. We're all on set together because of the way it's shot. We're often shooting quite long scenes or sequences which means everyone's there all day, and we have a huge amount of fun. Particularly the scenes shot in the house, we get to really play around with that and even though we don't always have much time, and it can be tiring filming, we do manage to have a lot of fun and find a lot of extra comedy as we go along. Alison Steadman (Sue) What can we expect from Sue this series? More madness! She's a great character and she's always full of fun. They go to Liverpool this series, which is Sue's hometown, and that was really fun to film. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments, what was your favourite scene to shoot? One of my favourite things was watching Paul (Jim) being baptised in the river in the final episode. It was just absolutely hilarious, as Jim always is. He only has to turn his head left or right and I am on the floor laughing! That scene was absolutely brilliant. You've played some truly iconic characters in your career, what keeps you excited about coming back to Sue each series? Well it's the wonderful stuff that Tom writes, you just never know what he's going to come up with. He's just brilliant. I just love the series because it's so much fun. With the world the way it is, just to be able to switch off and actually find a bit of warmth and fun in the world is very important, and I think that's what Tom gives us with the series. Katherine Parkinson (Rachel) Rachel is starting her new career as a therapist; what storylines can we expect to see around that? She ends up not being quite as talented a therapist as she might think and ends up causing a bit of damage along the way. She tries to use her therapy training to talk to her dad and gets quite strongly shut down, so she isn't maybe as emotionally intelligent as she likes to think she is. Rachel and Paul's dynamic is great, what do you think makes watching them as a married couple so interesting? I don't think Jim likes it when I say this, but I feel like there is a healthy amount of hate, in a realistic way with a long marriage. Of course you love them deeply, but equally sometimes you talk incredibly openly with one another and sometimes you cannot bear to be around them. I think that's what makes it funny for me, it really reminds me of my parents growing up; how quickly they got to shouty-ness and then how quickly they recovered, was often quite comical. Do you share any similarities with Rachel that you have brought to the series? What I like about Tom's writing for Rachel is that she's quite laid-back sometimes, almost worryingly so, then briefly neurotic, and then laid-back again. I think that I am probably like that in real life too, a toxic mix of both the neurotic and the deeply un-neurotic, worryingly laid-back and then the other extreme too. I think that's good. Sometimes I get frustrated with the 'neurotic sitcom wife', which is a trope I remember seeing quite a lot when I was starting out. I always felt that the women I saw around me were often not like that. I like that Rachel gets things wrong as much as Paul does, and although she thinks she's the leader and the organised one, she also gets it really wrong. Do you have a favourite episode or scene from this series? I suppose the funniest moment to watch was Paul (Jim) being baptised in episode seven. I think we enjoyed it so much because Sue's telling him about the sewage just before he goes in, it was so well played, and Jim did it so brilliantly. My favourite episode has to be the Malta one, we had a really nice time there. Robert Glenister who play's Rachel's Dad was amazing, and I really liked the dynamic with him. Jim Howick (Paul) Paul is now a police constable, how is he finding that? Paul's entry into police work hasn't been without its pitfalls. He's struggling to socialise and to assert any kind of authority, which is the basic principle of being a police officer. So he's still the butt of everyone's joke, and it's even more demeaning. Poor PC Paul! The dynamic between the family is great to watch, do you think that Paul is always trying to earn his family's respect? Despite the relentless ridicule, I think he believes that he already has his family's respect. He maintains that they look up to him as an athlete, a responsible adult, a beacon of inspiration! Of course we know that really he's none of these things. Maybe that's unfair, he does often save the day, and he's got a very strong moral compass, even if he can be a selfish man baby. Paul's on-screen relationship with Rachel is hilarious, what do you think makes them so relatable as a couple? Probably the banter? Scoring points with their children? They love each other dearly and are clearly best friends but there's a level of pettiness in their communication born from some kind of jealousy or resentment. They've had their own personal career disappointments in the past that's left them unfulfilled, so they take that out on one another and then regret it and kiss and make up. Fairly normal I suppose. Do you have a favourite moment or episode in this series? It's hard to pick one out but I think my favourite might be episode two with the new neighbours. The prospective buyers are old friends of Rachel's and her and Paul get incredibly excited about what this could mean for their lives. They try way too hard to impress them and, as we know, they're really not impressive. Desperately awkward and very funny. We had a lot of fun making it. The baptism episode was also fun. Newsflash! I get wet again. And seeing Katherine wrapped in masking tape trying to walk (genuinely, not acting) was hilarious! Tom has written another excellent series and I'm sure everyone's going to love it. How has Paul changed from series one to series three? Deep down I don't think he's changed an awful lot, it's been a very slow evolution. He's followed his dream to become a police officer but without any real aptitude, it's just dressing. Like his many medals and trophies, his police badge is just another bauble. Tori Allen-Martin (Cherry) Congratulations on baby Atlas! What can we expect to see from Cherry this series as a new mum? Her priority is trying to look good. Obviously, I really feel for new mums, I'm not privileged to have children of my own yet but I would never put pressure on new mums or indeed anyone to do anything to their body, particularly after you've just birthed a human. I send love to whatever your choice is, but Cherry is subscribing to the idea of trying to get back to the gym as soon as possible, and that's her journey. As you can imagine in true Cherry fashion, she's not that interested in anyone other than herself, including her own child, so she likes baby Atlas the most when he's asleep and when someone's saying he's cute, other than that she's not that bothered. She dumps him on the Jessops a lot. The relationship between Cherry and Robin is great to watch. Why do you think Cherry gives Robin such a hard time? I actually think Robin deserves it a lot of the time, because some of his behaviours are crazy. He proposed to her at his own football game for example, and he makes her LARP this series where Cherry has to dress up in a wimple and go with a bunch of people dressed as orks in a field, so I actually think he deserves a lot of what he gets. I think their dynamic is very co-dependant and that's their sort of toxic push and pull love story, but it works for them. She definitely finds Robin incessantly annoying but also appreciates that he's a good man. I imagine that Cherry has been with a lot of bad boys in the past and Robin is probably the tonic to that, but of course she's going to give him a hard time, that's their dynamic and that's Cherry, nobody gets off lightly with her. Did you have a favourite scene to film this series? We had a wonderful day where we got to eat this wonderful Bulgarian bread, which was basically just pastry and cheese. All I had to do was sit down, eat that and be surrounded by people being funny, so that was a highlight for me. It was also very enjoyable watching Paul (Jim) being baptised in a lake in the middle of nowhere. We were in a rural area of natural beauty in the UK and Jim got dunked in a lake repeatedly, which was very funny. Something for viewers to look forward to. Freya Parks (Amy) How is Amy coping with life post-teenager? Does she have any life plans this series? Although she's 21 now and not a teenager anymore she still acts like one and is trying to figure out what she wants to do in life. She tries her hand at all sorts of stuff - like modelling. That's a hilarious episode! Even though she doesn't live at the family home anymore, she's always there, getting in the way, making her mum do her washing etc. Pretty much acting like a university student who hasn't quite got to grips with adult life just yet. Are you similar to Amy in real life at all? I do find I come out with things that are so Amy and I have to remind myself to shed her a bit after filming, otherwise I'm too blunt and sardonic for my own good. I've also definitely started projects and given up quite early, which is similar to Amy, but I like to think I've grown out of that now and persevere more. I've got a lot more hobbies and passions than Amy. We both play bass guitar though, and a bit of keys, so we have that in common. What was your favourite episode to film and why? I have to say it was really lovely filming in Malta for episode six. I also really enjoyed episode three, the LARPING episode because there were some really fun costumes. I particularly enjoyed seeing Katherine and Jim in theirs, they really suited them. It was a very fun day frolicking in the forest. There's a lot of genius slapstick this series, something different in each episode, so there's plenty more chaotic Jessop fun in store. How has Amy changed from series one to series three? Her dry wit is still very much cutting through the chaos, although she does find herself in some very silly situations this series. I also think she's learning more about the consequences that come with her actions, discovering more about her and Maya's relationship too, about that developing and just understanding how to be in a relationship as a young woman. Other than that, she's pretty much the same gal, the Amy we know and love but with much longer hair! Jude Morgan-Collie (Sam) What can we expect to see from Sam this series? As ever, Sam watching his family getting up to their usual, crazy shenanigans. Sam is trying to be a bit more independent this series, but in all honesty, this is to no avail, as wherever he goes, the rest of the family are right there with him. How do you keep a straight face during filming? Luckily for me, I don't have to keep a straight face as I'm nearly always behind the camera. Most of the time I am laughing!! Sam is always on hand to capture the chaos on camera, did you have a favourite scene to shoot? Obviously it was amazing filming in Malta for the holiday episode but I also really loved a scene where I'm in an old cottage in the middle of nowhere, eating stew - and I'm actually on camera for that. You'll have to watch to see what that's all about… Mica Ricketts (Maya) What was it like filming series three of Here We Go? Very fun and very lively! What can we expect to see from Maya this series? We see more complications with her relationship with Amy. We also see more of an adult side to Maya this series. What was your favourite episode to film and why? The LARPING episode was my favourite. The costumes were brilliant and everyone was so energised. It was such a strange set and the extra-ness of it was adding to the comedy of the episode, it was class. Do you share any similarities with Maya that you have bought to the series? I have abilities to be like Maya in some ways, for example I can take things just as seriously as she does in certain situations. So, I don't think it's too hard to adapt myself to Maya, but I also don't think we're too similar. I can definitely relate to the character. Follow for more
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Emily Atack sports voluminous 80's hair and flashes her pins in a navy pencil skirt as she joins Danny Dyer on the set of Rivals series two
Emily Atack caught the eye with her voluminous 80's hair and leg-flashing pencil skirt as she filmed series two of Rivals in Gloucestershire this week. The actress, 35, plays the 'extremely promiscuous' wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Sarah Stratton, in the racy Disney+ series. And Emily got right back into character, sporting a chic striped skirt and form-fitting navy skirt teamed with black boots as she strutted around the set. The TV personality oozed glamour, with her retro look completed with huge hair, red lips and gold jewellery. Emily was joined on set by polo boot-clad Danny Dyer, who was back in his role as self-made electronics businessman Freddie Jones. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The actress, 35, plays the 'extremely promiscuous' wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Sarah Stratton, in the racy Disney+ series The former EastEnders star, 47, sported a burgundy hoodie,white trousers and knee pads, not to mention his character's signature moustache. Elsewhere on the set, Katherine Parkinson, 47, donned a floral blue dress beneath a huge pink-lined camouflage coat as she reprised her role as romance novelist Lizzie Vereker. While David Tennant, 54, was back in his role as Lord Tony Baddingham, having made a made a sensational return to filming earlier this month after the last series ended on a shock cliffhanger, leaving fans wondering if he will ever return. The final episode of series one saw Doctor Who star David's character struggle with Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams) in dramatic scenes. He was hit on the head, seemingly killed and giving rival Rupert the opportunity to blackmail. But in a shock turn of events, David is back and looking alive and well as he mingled on set in a dapper navy blazer. His onscreen rival Alex Hassell was also seen on set, sporting polo gear as he reprised his role as Rupert Campbell-Black. Last year, The Inbetweeners star Emily was praised for her racy performance in the raucous Disney+ series Rivals, stripping off for nude tennis scenes and lingerie-clad romps in the new 'bonkbuster'. All within the first 25 minutes of the first episode, viewers are treated to a raunchy sex montage - which sees Emily strip down to black lingerie. The TV personality oozed glamour, with her retro look completed with huge hair, red lips and gold jewellery Last year, The Inbetweeners star Emily was praised for her racy performance in the raucous Disney+ series Rivals, stripping off for nude tennis scenes and lingerie-clad romps The actress then strips naked to play tennis with Alex Hassell's character Rupert Campbell Black, who is also starkers. Emily is completely nude in the eye-popping scene, where she protects her modesty with a just tennis ball and racket. She previously stressed that she was unbothered by the prospect of baring all, explaining on The Chris Myles Show on Radio X that she was more intimidated by the thought of playing tennis. 'It was so funny, because when they sent me the script, they said, "You know, you're going to have to play tennis naked." That was one of the things they said. And I said, "Disney, there is no way on Earth you're going to get me to play tennis!" 'That's genuinely what I was worried about. I was like, "No way!" But yeah. So, once I got past all that bit, read the script, I was like, "Yeah, this is made for me, this role." Those roles come along very rarely, and it just spoke to me.' Set in 1986, Rivals follows the cut throat world of television, including the tense rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant). Disney+ teased the happy news of Tony's return last month, sharing an Instagram snap of David's name card and script at a table read, with the caption: 'Did someone ask for a Rivals update?' The period drama - which is based on author Jilly Cooper's novel of the same name - premiered in the UK on streaming service Disney+, as well as in the US on Hulu back in October 2024. His onscreen rival Alex Hassell was also seen on set, sporting polo gear as he reprised his role as Rupert Campbell-Black Elsewhere on the set, Katherine Parkinson, 47, donned a floral blue dress beneath a huge pink-lined camouflage coat as she reprised her role as romance novelist Lizzie Vereker The actress looked very cosy as she sported the enormous coat teamed with slouchy boots Gary Lamont ws back in his role as Charles Fairburn Rivals became a huge hit with viewers and many were desperate to know if there would be a second series. Then back in December 2024, the renewal was confirmed and in May a first look at the new series was shared on social media. Author and executive producer Dame Jilly Cooper said of the news: 'I'm utterly sex-static filming for the second season is upon us. 'It was magical working with Happy Prince and Disney+ on the first season and seeing everyone fall head over heels for my beloved characters.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
New series of Disney+'s Rivals has so many sex scenes it has 'hired every intimacy coach in the UK'
Danny Dyer says there is so much bonking in Rivals 2 – which is currently filming - that they have hired every intimacy coach in the UK. Dyer, who plays Freddie Jones in the show, which also stars David Tennant, Emily Attack and Alex Hassell, said: 'We are doing 12 episodes of Rivals and we are filming until March next year. 'It is brilliant but it is a mad thing to do a sex scene. 'If you think about it you are legally allowed to tongue someone else. It is part of your job. Depending on your partner. It is OK if you fancy it, I am not going to lie.' He added: 'On Rivals there are a lot of intimacy coaches. I think we used every intimacy coach in the land.' In the smash hit Disney + show, based on the novel by Jilly Cooper, Dyer played self-made businessman Freddie Jones who goes into business with Rupert Campbell-Black, played by Alex Hassell and Declan O'Hara played by Aidan Turner. In the show Jones falls in love with romance author Lizzie Vereker, played by actress Katherine Parkinson. The initial run was eight episodes but Disney + have asked for more this time around. Dyer's performance as Jones has been hailed as bringing heart to the frothy, pulpy show, which has led to a reassessment of him as an actor, following his long-running stint in EastEnders. In one raunchy montage, Dyer's character appears to be enjoying some time between the sheets way more than wife Valerie He was awarded a Bafta last month for his performance in Mr Bigstuff. He told Esquire magazine: 'People saw me in a different light[in Rivals], and it came out just after Mr. Bigstuff, which, for once, shows a bit of versatility, because Lee is so different to Freddie. 'I've made a lot mistakes over the years. I've said yes to a lot of jobs I probably shouldn't have, probably because I was driven by the dollar – I had bills to pay and kids in private schools. Now, I'm at a stage where I have loads of offers that I've got the power to say no to. I think I'll be defined by what I say no to, and it's really exciting for me.' On stage at the Baftas where he won the award to Best Male Performance in a Comedy he said: 'What a touch! Comedy performance. I thought my acting was so bad it was funny. I want to thank Sky for giving our show a shot. F***ing hell, I'm choked up. 'I got to dedicate this to (Mr Bigstuff writer) Ryan Sampson. One of the greatest things to come out of Rotherham. Which is not saying much. 'But one of the best actors this country's ever produced, I'm telling you. Never done the same thing twice. Which is not something I can say. He wrote this part for me, so you know... I'm getting choked up again, f**k me.'
