Latest news with #PlayforToday
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Channel 5 revives Play For Today to 'help shape future of British drama'
Play for Today is being revived on Channel 5, to give young writers, actors and producers from lower-income backgrounds a way into TV, helped by established talent Following the previously announced pilot, 5 has announced the first four commissions and casting that will form its new Play for Today slate. The single dramas were greenlit by Deputy Chief Content Officer and Head of Scripted, Paramount UK, Sebastian Cardwell and Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, 5. Special Measures, from new screenwriter and playwright Lee Thompson kicks off the double order from LA Productions, is a state of the nation drama looking at the growing pressures facing schools in the UK. Jack McLoughlin (Kate & Jake, The Death of the House Party) will be making his directorial debut. Former EastEnders actress Jessica Plummer will lead the drama; set in the heart of Liverpool. Manor Lane High is a school on the edge - underfunded and overwhelmed, the school's staff are stretched thin. Just before the school day begins, Drew, the exhausted head of English, abruptly resigns for good. Left reeling, Amy, the deputy head of English, must step in and steady the ship. But she barely has time to gather her thoughts— Chris, the frantic deputy head, breaks the news: Ofsted inspectors are arriving in 15 minutes for a surprise inspection. Caught between burnout and bureaucracy, can this fractured school survive the day? The second production Never Too Late from Vertigo Films is an irreverent take on ageing, following a rebellious woman forced to start over in a retirement village. Set in a deceptively peaceful retirement village, this darkly comic drama follows sharp-tonged, fiercely independent Cynthia as she's reluctantly moved in by her daughter. Cynthia clashes with eccentric residents, oppressive rules, and the surprise reappearance of her old rockstar fling from the 1970s. What begins as a mission to get kicked out becomes something more complicated, as she's forced to confront long-buried secrets, strained family ties, and the unexpected possibility of starting over. It's a story about second chances, unlikely friendships, and how the messy, defiant reality that life – and love – don't end with retirement. EastEnders legend Anita Dobson will lead the cast as Cynthia, former Coronation Street actor Nigel Havers will star as Frank, It's A Sin star Tracy-Ann Oberman (It's a Sin, EastEnders, Friday Night Dinner) as Cynthia's daughter Amanda. Inspired by the iconic Play for Today format, each production will champion new voices and focus on bringing low-income talent into the spotlight behind the scenes in writing, directing and production roles. Commenting on the Play for Today initiative Commissioning Editor, 5, Paul Testar said: "Play for Today is synonymous with high quality standalone television dramas and we're incredibly excited to be reviving it with a new slate of single films on 5. "What makes this particularly important for us as a public service broadcaster is the opportunity to support emerging talent behind the scenes – from writers and directors to production teams – especially those from lower-income backgrounds who haven't always had clear pathways into the industry. It's a chance to tell great stories while helping to shape the future of British drama." The next offering from LA Productions is Big Winners. It's a story about Edith and Arthur Thistle – for 53 years, they have managed to get by—never rich, never extravagant, but always together. That all changes in an instant when they win fourteen million pounds in the lottery. Arthur dreams of spending big, finally tasting the high life. But before the celebrations can begin, Edith drops a bombshell: she wants a divorce. Big Winners is about opportunity, who gets to seize the day and who gets left behind. A thrilling, funny, deeply emotional exploration of lives lived, and lives missed. Sue Johnston (Truelove, The Responder, The Royle Family) and Paul Copley (Downton Abbey, Last Tango in Halifax, The Archers) will lead the cast as Edith and Arthur. Alexa Davies (Cobra, Funny Woman and Raised by Wolves). and Mia Tormey will star as Jade and Kaylee. Finally, from Vertigo Films is Intruder a real-time, single-location psychological thriller with the tension of a ticking bomb. Lenny Bray was once a national treasure - now he's just a man in a mansion, hiding from headlines and haunted by whispers. But when a young man shows up at his door late one night—barefoot, bleeding, and carrying a story Lenny hoped was buried—everything unravels. Across one harrowing night, Lenny and his wife Maggie must confront a stranger's explosive accusations—and their own complicity in a past steeped in power, silence, and manipulation. Darkly comic and emotionally raw, this is a story about guilt, truth, and what happens when survivors come knocking. Alan Davies (McDonald & Dodds, Flack, Jonathan Creek) and Nikki Amuka-Bird (I, Jack Wright, Knock at the Cabin) will star as husband and wife Lenny and Maggie with newcomer Logan Mersh as Ben. Directed by Daniel Rands, NFTS graduate and winner of the BBC and Toledo scholarships. His latest short film Tapeworm premiered at the NFTS 2024 showcase, earning acclaim for its bold storytelling, striking cinematography, and a BSC Emerging Cinematographer Award for Edward Hamilton Stubber , who is also the DOP on The Intruder. David Whitehouse is onboard as writer. Production has begun across all titles with the first drama set to air on 5 at the end of the 2025.
Scottish Sun
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Anita Dobson reveals she's landed brand new Channel 5 drama after surprise EastEnders return
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LEGENDARY actress Anita Dobson has revealed that she's landed a major new Channel 5 role. The actress, best known for portraying Angie Watts in EastEnders, confirmed to The Sun that she had landed a part in Channel 5's a Play for Today. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 3 Anita Dobson has landed a part in a Channel 5 drama Credit: Splash 3 It comes after her celebrated EastEnders return Credit: BBC Anita, 76, revealed all on her new acting role on the red carpet of the TRIC Awards. Speaking to The Sun, Anita said: "I'm doing a Play for Today for Channel 5 and that starts next week. "I am very scared! "I just want to get it right - I care about it a lot!" Her brand new role comes after she surprised fans earlier this year with a shock EastEnders return. She took on the role of Angie one last time as part of the programme's 40th anniversary special week. The last time she had been seen on-screen was in 1988 before she was later killed off off-screen. Her return came as Sharon was left almost crushed in the horror Queen Vic explosion, she had a vision from mum Angie who appeared in a dream sequence to speak once more to her precious little girl. She recently admitted to The Sun at the British Soap Awards that her EastEnders return took a lot of persuasion. Anita told us last month: "It took a lot of talking because I wanted it to be right and I didn't want to do it if it wasn't going to actually work. Anita Dobson admits major EastEnders return took lots of persuasion and why she agreed to come back "So we did have a bit of chatting over the script and it just felt like the right time." She also confirmed she would not be back for any future cameos as she revealed she viewed her one-off return as a final outing for Angie. Anita said: "It was a nice way to say goodbye to Angie for me."
The Irish Sun
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Anita Dobson reveals she's landed brand new Channel 5 drama after surprise EastEnders return
LEGENDARY actress Anita Dobson has revealed that she's landed a major new Channel 5 role. The actress, best known for portraying Angie Watts in EastEnders, confirmed to The Sun that she had landed a part in Channel 5's a Play for Today. 3 Anita Dobson has landed a part in a Channel 5 drama Credit: Splash 3 It comes after her celebrated EastEnders return Credit: BBC Anita, 76, revealed all on her new acting role on the red carpet of the TRIC Awards. Speaking to The Sun, Anita said: "I'm doing a Play for Today for Channel 5 and that starts next week. "I am very scared! "I just want to get it right - I care about it a lot!" Read More on Anita Dobson Her brand new role comes after she surprised fans earlier this year with a shock EastEnders return. She took on the role of Angie one last time as part of the programme's 40th anniversary special week. The last time she had been seen on-screen was in 1988 before she was later killed off off-screen. Her return came as Sharon was left almost crushed in the horror Queen Vic explosion, who appeared in a dream sequence to speak once more to her precious little girl. Most read in Soaps She recently admitted to The Sun at the British Soap Awards that her EastEnders return Anita told us last month: "It took a lot of talking because I wanted it to be right and I didn't want to do it if it wasn't going to actually work. Anita Dobson admits major EastEnders return took lots of persuasion and why she agreed to come back "So we did have a bit of chatting over the script and it just felt like the right time." She also confirmed she would not be back for any future cameos as she revealed she viewed her Anita said: "It was a nice way to say goodbye to Angie for me." 3 Anita spilled all on the role to The Sun Credit: Splash
The Herald Scotland
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
This movie is like a Play for Today updated for the 21st century
But right now, right at this moment in Edinburgh in August 2024, Hudson is all nerves and anticipation. 'You make a film and you are in an incubation period for a long time and then it's here.' It's been worth the wait. Lollipop is a small film with a big heart. Hudson has brought all of that energy to bear on it and the result is compelling. It's the story of Molly - played by Posy Sterling in what should be a star-making turn - fresh out of prison who's keen to see her two kids again. But they have been absorbed into foster care and all of her efforts to get them back are blighted by polite but obstructive bureaucracy. It's a film about homelessness and love and despair and it feels like a Play for Today updated for the 21st century. A contemporary Cathy Comes Home, if you like, but not without hope. Ultimately, it's a hymn to friendship and resilience. 'Maybe at first it feels relentless,' Hudson admits, 'but what is so powerful and profound is Molly's absolute determination and firecracker energy to keep going, driven by that lioness protective energy of what it means to be a mother.' Lollipop is a film with an all-female cast and at its heart is Sterling as its flawed, heroic heroine. It's a film that plays out on Sterling's face. Lollipop Director Daisy-May Hudson (Image: PA) 'Posy was the first person we saw,' Hudson recalls. 'That's some spooky stuff, isn't it? And she walked in through the door and I was like, 'I can't believe the person that I've written in the film is actually walking through this door.' "She was just so alive and she was genuinely moved by the script. She read it seven times before she walked in. And she wanted to ask me so many questions. I could feel that it was in her and you see it on screen. 'She just gave everything in the most incredible way.' Hudson and Sterling could be sisters. Or maybe it's Hudson and Molly who could be related. Hudson, after all, is not a voyeur in this world. Lollipop is deeply researched, but also comes from lived experience. In 2013, when she was in her early twenties, Hudson's own family were made homeless. Hudson started to film the experience and her mother's battles to find them a new home. That became Hudson's debut documentary film, Halfway. Now she has turned to fiction to tell another similar story about those at the margins and the battles they have to fight every single day. Lollipop is a film about relationships - failing ones in the case of Molly's mum [TerriAnn Cousins] - and supportive ones, as with Molly's best friend Amina [played by Idil Ahmed]. Read more But it's also a movie that tells us something about social systems and how they become a barrier rather than a conduit. 'Halfway came from this feeling of not feeling heard or not feeling seen,' Hudson admits. 'I went to a protest outside the Houses of Parliament and I saw these women who were protesting for the right to have their children back. They weren't being listened to and they weren't being seen and I could connect to that. 'I think a lot of what drives me and my work is to be able to create space to be able to listen to people who aren't heard. Because I think magical things happen when we actually listen to each other.' Hudson did a lot of listening in preparation to making Lollipop. 'Because I come from a documentary background I'm already a complete nerd and love to research for months. 'So, when I found these women I did a lot of research from their perspective - just hearing them and understanding.' She also spoke to women who had been in prison, and to social workers, housing officers, a family lawyer and a judge. 'It was really important to me that, even though it's told from Molly's perspective, it is also true and authentic and everyone feels that it's a fair representation. I'm not saying one person is bad and one person is good. It's about really questioning this system as it is. Does it work? And is it effective?' What emerges is a vision of a bureaucracy that is not malign but politely frustrating. 'I think that's what I noticed from my own experience of homelessness. No one that I met were villains. I don't think people go into a job to be horrible to people. I think they genuinely go in because they want to make a difference. And then what happens is you have years of it and it's so emotional and so heartbreaking and you can't help people and you have to start to self-protect.' And ultimately, she says, many of us only one missed rent payment, one lost job away from finding ourselves in the same position as Molly. Read our review 'You're just one choice or one teacher's encouragement or one father's absence away from being on the other side of the table." Hudson knows that all too well from her own life. How, I wonder, has her own experience of homelessness shaped who she is today? 'I think that it really enabled me to see the power of using our creativity to transform our pain into light and joy and something that can be medicine for others. 'That was a big driving force for me when I was making Halfway. I want people who are also going through this experience to not feel the isolation and the loneliness that can come from being homeless. This is a shared collective experience.' This is the drive behind everything she does, she says. 'How can we keep coming back to our shared humanity and our collective experience? Turning our pain into something beautiful.' What does the word 'home' mean to you now, Daisy-May? 'I think home is inside now. It's inside of you. You can create a feeling of home wherever you go. Because I think when we rely too heavily on government or councils - things outside of us - we lose sight of what is important. 'And for me home is - and it sounds so cheesy, but it's absolutely authentic and true - home is in my heart. 'Once you find that, it's this groundedness and centredness that means that you can navigate anything in life.' It's not necessarily bricks and mortar, then. 'I don't think so, no.' Lollipop is in cinemas now
