Latest news with #Motherland
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sharon Horgan says she only found confidence after Bad Sisters series two
Bafta award-winning actor, writer, producer and director Sharon Horgan has told an audience at the Hay Festival she finally found confidence after the second series of her hit show Bad Sisters came out last star, whose back catalogue includes sitcoms Catastrophe, Pulling and Motherland, said she previously thought "there was a possibility I was just in the right place at the right time, or that I had the right people around. "But I think with Bad Sisters, even though there's a huge team of people, it felt like mine. That feeling I belonged in that room."Bad Sisters, an adaptation of Belgian series Clan on Apple TV+, is a revenge tale about sisters aiming to kill an abusive husband. Horgan also talked about how she first turned to writing because she couldn't land any acting roles, hence deciding to write parts for about penning her first pilot back in the early 2000s with Dennis Kelly for BBC Three show Pulling, about a group of 20-something women and their chaotic love lives, Horgan said: "Comedy was mainly written by men, writing the female parts. I was writing about myself and my friends - flawed women. No-one was really doing it at that point."She said she was concerned that because her female-led sitcom had been picked up, it might mean other women wouldn't get their shows made."It felt like a one-in, one-out kind of system. Like, we've had the female comedy [quota]."She then spent several years "waitressing and doing unsuccessful pilots" before eventually hooking up with Rob Delaney on X (then Twitter) and going on to create Channel 4 show was about a couple who ended up settling down together following an accidental pregnancy after only a week of dating. Horgan said: "We wanted to show how difficult it was to stay in love when you're a parent... and you've got terrible people running around under three foot!" Motherhood was a theme the Irish star returned to when she created the hit BBC series Motherland, alongside Holly Walsh and Graham Linehan. Following a pilot episode aired in 2016, it went on to spawn three hit series, two Christmas specials, and recent spin-off, dark comedy sees a group of mum friends - and one dad - navigate the challenges of middle class told fans at Hay: "I was living it. I would go to my daughter's primary school every day and just feel existential. You have to find your people. and that's what happened to me. I met these two really great women who are still in my life now."It's sort of just getting a group of misfits together. I felt like an outsider. It's a really great, fun show but it's also about how lonely it can be. I experienced that, walking through a park with my pushchair... and seeing a group of mums having a picnic and thinking, 'Why aren't I at that?'" Since then, her career has continued to thrive and she has juggled multiple roles on many of her shows ranging from executive producer to actor to writer and even she admitted her perfectionism had occasionally caused an issue on set."I'm trying to get better at it. It's also about having people around you that you really trust almost as much as you trust yourself. But I remember being pulled up on it by a big star in a show I did, just going: 'Don't you think all of these people can do their jobs? You think you can do your job better than all these people?'"And I remember at the time thinking, 'I can't say this out loud,' but 'yes'!" she laughed. More from the Hay Festival Succession creator Jesse Armstrong is writing about rich people againJacqueline Wilson says she wouldn't return to Tracy Beaker as an adult At the end of her discussion, Horgan is asked which of her characters she'd most like to be. She plumps for Sharon Morris from her obvious success and new-found confidence, Horgan's admiration for Morris, a funny, brave and strikingly honest woman just doing her best, is clear."Even though she's selfish and can be awful... she was just able to articulate how she was feeling," she said."I think that's the great thing about writing. You get to say all those conversations that you have in your head and you wish you'd said. She had all my thoughts, the thoughts I was afraid to say at the time."
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joanna Lumley reveals plan to celebrate her 80th birthday
Dame Joanna Lumley will not host a big birthday party to celebrate turning 80. The former 'Absolutely Fabulous' star reaches the milestone age on May 1, 2026, but Lumley doesn't enjoy a huge fuss on her birthday and will instead hope she will be working when her big day comes around. Speaking to the new issue of Closer magazine, she said: "When I was growing up, I was always at school for birthdays. Always at school. So, we never did stuff. The idea of birthday parties repels me. Not because of anything, I just don't know why you would ever do it. "I love having birthdays, but the idea of doing a big party to say, 'Me, I'm 112.' Why would you do that? Or, 'Me, because I'm 57.' Why have that, why have a party? So, on my big special day, fingers crossed I'll be working. It's always good to be working on your birthday." Luckily for Lumley she has plenty of acting roles and TV jobs. The British screen icon has earned critical acclaim for her performance as Felicity Sanderson, the mother of Lucy Punch's character Amanda Hughes in BBC sitcom 'Amandaland' - which is a spin-off of the successful comedy series 'Motherland'. Lumley admits it is a role she is very proud of. She said: "I love 'Amandaland'. I love Lucy's character - I love them all, actually. It's beautifully cast." Lumley and Lucy previously worked together on 2004 film 'Ella Enchanted' and she has fond memories of that shoot. Jonna added: "She played my daughter before. We did a film together in Ireland with Anne Hathaway playing the Cinderella figure. Lucy was playing one of the bad stepsisters and I was the evil stepmother. This is how life goes on - I'm now her evil mother! Not evil, Felicity is not evil." Lumley has also become a prominent travel documentary maker in recent years and in her latest ITV travel series 'Joanna Lumley's Danube', she travels 1,770 miles along the River Danube. visiting Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and taking a detour to the Ukrainian border before reaching her final destination the Black Sea. Whilst she was in Romania the former 'Absolutely Fabulous' star spent time with a group of white witches and after taking part in the ceremony Lumley was presented with an amulet which she was told would keep her safe on her trip. In a previous interview with the Daily Express Saturday magazine, she said: "They work with the elements - earth, air, water, fire - to bring peace and ward off negativity. "They were so glamorous. They used masses of candles for their ceremony. The camera boys nearly died from the heat. Then they gave me an amulet to take me safely on the rest of my journey."
Evening Standard
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Graham Linehan faces court over alleged criminal damage and harassment of trans activist
The Bafta-winning writer, who has sitcoms The IT Crowd, Father Ted, Black Books, and Motherland in his catalogue of works, has arrived at Westminster magistrates court to face the charges for the first time, ahead of a 2pm hearing.
San Francisco Chronicle
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Our stories matter': Mother's Day play gives voice to immigrant, indigenous women
When Ana Salgado walked up onto the rickety stage in the Arlene Francis Center, a small brick building in downtown Santa Rosa where the sound of the Amtrak can be heard as it rolled by, the room fell silent. 'The last time I hugged my mother was in December 1996,' recited Salgado, a member of Teatro ALMAS Libres, during rehearsal just days before the ensemble's Mother's Day premiere of 'La Madre Patria (Motherland).' 'I have been through several strong experiences over the years without being able to receive a hug from her. And finally, on February 14, 2025, we looked at each other again and hugged each other in such a strong way that our heartbeats became one.' Salgado's story is just one shared in the hour-long play, directed by Jackie Katz. Anel Aparicio, María Medoza, Alma Arroyo, Anastacia Cruz, Ofelia (Lía) Ramirez, Eloisa Lopez, Sandra de León and Luisa Isidro — all members of ALMAS, which stands for Alianza de Mujeres Activas y Solidarias (Women's Action and Solidarity Alliance) — complete the cast. Composed of immigrant and indigenous women who live and work in Sonoma County, the ensemble delves into the idea of 'mother' through personal stories, historical analysis, and deep, heartfelt conversations. 'Motherland is built day by day,' Arroyo says in the play. 'Like love, it is suffered and enjoyed.' In spite of — or perhaps because of — these heavy emotions, there is a feeling of strength that fills the room. 'This performance is an ode and a tribute to all of the women who are in any way suffering as a result of oppression," Katz told the Chronicle. The play, which has been in development for the past six months, is defiant in the face of heightened political division — we as women, as mothers, as immigrants are important, it declares. 'Despite the difficulties we are experiencing these days with the current administration,' de León says during her monologue in the last scene in the play, 'we must continue to celebrate our mothers today.' Though only a one-day performance, Katz hopes to secure funding to bring 'La Madre Patria' to San Francisco in the future. Lizzy Montana Myers is a freelance photographer and writer.
The Sun
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan charged with criminal damage and harassment
FATHER Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been charged with criminal damage and harassment. The five-time Bafta award winner, also known for writing The IT Crowd, Black Books and Motherland will appear in court on May 12. It's believed the charges are related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas festival on October 19 last year. Mr Linehan has had a longstanding history of criticising the trans-rights movement. He told the Mirror: "This is part of a long history of the police acting as a goon squad for trans rights activists." The award-winning writer also shared a post about the alleged victim adding: "I look forward to exposing him and them in court." A CPS spokesperson said: "Graham Linehan is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court for a first hearing to face charges of harassment without violence and criminal damage on 12 May." 1
