Latest news with #RonanBennett
Metro
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
'I was a top UK cocaine smuggler and I think Top Boy is completely ridiculous'
When you've lived a life 'comfortably in the top 1% of cocaine smugglers', watching the drug trade play out on the small screen can make the flaws hard to ignore. Take Ronan Bennett's Top Boy, which was touted as a realistic portrayal of life on a Hackney council estate with the 'shotting' (selling), 'food' (drugs) and 'Ps' (cash) in the mix. Yet reformed drug smuggler Andrew Pritchard, 58, says elements are 'completely ridiculous' and 'exaggerated'. Pritchard hails from Hackney and Stoke Newington and so knows a lot of the cast of the Netflix show. 'It's so far from the mark it's unreal,' he tells the Metro. He says shows like it 'raise the bar with kids' for what they might expect from a life in London's criminal underworld. 'They think it's normal to go and shoot and spray people,' he said. 'They don't realise that one drop of blood costs more than 100 kilos of cocaine. The minute you put blood on the street, the police are all over you.' If you're in the market for the more genuine article, Pritchard recommends This City Is Ours on the BBC. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The way he tells it, his own story is ripe for screen adaptation – and he would undoubtedly be a stickler for authenticity. Retreading his own misspent youth is part of what he does now with The AP Foundation, giving young offenders a glimpse into the life of a top drug smuggler; one that was a thrilling, addictive ride but that hurt people and ended with 15 years in prison. By the time Prtichard was 21, it was the height of the 1980s house party craze, and he was behind some of the largest illegal warehouse raves in the country. The guest lists weren't anything to be sniffed at either, with Pritchard reeling off names like Milli Vanilli, Boy George and the Pet Shop Boys. It was through these parties that he also became 'open to the criminal elements' and started to build an elaborate drug smuggling operation, spanning Europe and the Caribbean, where his mother arrived in the UK from as part of the Windrush generation. As Pritchard details in the new Sky docu-series Amsterdam Narcos, first came ecstasy, then cocaine. To be more specific, 'vast' amounts of ecstasy, which wound its way into clubs and venues. He used friends at the fruit markets in New Covent Garden and New Spitalfields to get the stuff over from Holland – where the round design-stamped pills was booming. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Holland was a very big exporter of apples and potatoes,' Pritchard explains, speaking rapid-fire, because he knows this inside-out. 'But apples were a really good choice because of the boxes they come in. They had different crates on them and also they were quite heavy. 'So what I discovered was that if we could simply place a bulk of ecstasy at the bottom of each crate, and obviously put trays of apples above them, they were quite a good transport. They were perishable goods so they would come through customs very quickly.' The Sky docu-series gets into this, but it's staggering to hear the number of places you can hide drugs in transit. 'Places you possibly couldn't imagine,' says Pritchard. 'We had them everywhere from the nose of the plane to the cargo bins. 'Everywhere you could imagine, on a ship, plane or passenger, we hid drugs.' With drugs, violence inevitably follows. Pritchard doesn't shy away from the brutality, describing people he's seen 'shot in the head, put in the boot of a car and set fire to'. But there was never any point in having a security team, he says, because 'the kind of people you deal with will just drive by and spray everyone'. 'You're your own security. It's how you do business with people,' he explains. 'You have to become a person they can't afford to lose in that chain, because a lot of people rely on you, so they wrap you in cotton wool.' He says that was his 'protection blanket', alongside a good deal of luck. When a close call forced Pritchard to flee to Jamaica, with the help of extended family on his mother's side, he moved into cocaine. In the noughties, an estimated 20% of the cocaine in Britain came through Jamaica. Pritchard's contact book was stuffed: people on the wharfs, docks, planes, from Montego Bay into Schiphol Airport, to Heathrow and Gatwick. So how much money was he making? That, he's less candid about. 'It's very difficult to put a button figure on it,' he says. 'Turning over hundreds of millions, yes, but what you could actually say you may have at some point received would be a different figure altogether.' As with every great crime drama, from Goodfellas to Scarface, there's always the third act looming, when it's time to pay the piper. Pritchard's arrived in 2015, when he was sent down to Belmarsh. But since he was released and set up his charity to help young offenders, Pritchard's life has been a series of 'surreal' moments. Including attending a knife crime conference at the Old Bailey, only to meet the judge who sentenced him. When the judge, no longer wearing his wig and gown, started to apologise for issuing such a lengthy sentence, Pritchard stopped him. 'Don't apologise, I said, because you changed my life. If I hadn't put in that time and come to my senses, I would be here in front of you in handcuffs again, not sitting here advising kids why not to live this lifestyle,' he told the judge. Prtichard has even brought in a number of fellow reformed offenders to help with his foundation, including Stephen Mee (former drug lord turned artist) and Kenneth Noye (of the Brink's Mat heist, or Jack Lowden's real-life character in The Gold, for TV fans). More Trending 'They know what it's like to sit in prison for 30 odd years and watch people you love die while you're wasting away,' says Pritchard. Now their role is to tell those at the start of a life of criminality that it isn't all it's cracked up to be in shows like Top Boy and Gangs of London. 'You have to tell them the truth, tell them what it is. It seems glorious. And I'll say to you, yes, it's glorious in parts. 'There's two sides to this coin, but when it flips, that other side is not a nice side.' View More » Amsterdam Narcos airs 13 August on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW . Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Netflix fans stunned as controversial film about a dog 'goes too far' MORE: Love is Blind tackled a dating taboo – and I was thrilled MORE: Netflix unveils major return for Peaky Blinders legend in 'stressful' new film
BreakingNews.ie
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
MobLand series receives ‘greenlight' and is renewed for second season
The crime series MobLand, which stars James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and The Queen's Helen Mirren, has received the 'greenlight' and been renewed for a second season. The Paramount+ series follows two mob families, the Harrigans and the Stevensons, who clash in a battle for power which threatens their lives as they know it. Advertisement Brosnan, 72, plays mobster Conrad Harrigan in the series, the husband to Mirren's Maeve Harrigan, and is joined by Tom Hardy's character, Harry Da Souza, the 'fixer' who is called up to make a problem disappear after a night out goes awry for the sons of the two warring crime families. Pierce Brosnan (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The star-studded cast also includes House Of The Dragon's Paddy Considine, Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt alongside Top Boy actress Jasmine Jobson. Da Vinci's Demons actress Lara Pulver also stars in the series alongside Anson Boon from Pistol, Top Boy's Geoff Bell and Emily Barber best known for Industry. Chris McCarthy, co chief executive of Paramount said: 'With over 26 million viewers and climbing, MobLand has become a resounding triumph. Advertisement 'We are elated to greenlight a second season of this global phenomenon, which has dominated both domestic and international charts and soared to #1 in the United Kingdom.' Produced in association with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, the first series premiered in March and was created by Top Boy's Ronan Bennett who also co-wrote the series alongside Spectre's Jez Butterworth, with Guy Ritchie as an executive producer. (Left to right) Helen Mirren, Guy Ritchie, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hardy attend the UK premiere of MobLand at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) According to Paramount+ the TV show amassed over 26 million viewers, becoming the second most-watched original series on the service. Butterworth said: 'TV was a brand-new world for me and I was reluctant to commit to TV overall, but Chris (McCarthy) David (Glasser) and the teams at Paramount and 101 Studios, completely changed my perspective with their bold creative vision and razor-sharp strategic insight. Advertisement 'Collaborating with Chris, David, Guy (Ritchie) and our stellar cast has been nothing short of inspiring and I'm excited to dive into the second season of MobLand.'
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
AFTER SOARING TO 26 MILLION VIEWERS TO DATE, PARAMOUNT+ RENEWS MOBLAND FOR SEASON TWO
#2 Original Series Ever on Paramount+ Only Behind LANDMAN MOBLAND Season one is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+ Watch/Download Asset HERESeason One Images HERE TORONTO, June 23, 2025 /CNW/ -- After soaring to 26 million viewers to date, the Paramount+ original series MOBLAND, the #2 most-watched original series on the service, has been renewed for season two. MOBLAND Season one is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+. The series, which spent five consecutive weeks in Nielsen's most recent ranking of Top 10 SVOD Original Series, is executive produced by Guy Ritchie and marks his first TV series for Paramount+. MOBLAND was created and written by Ronan Bennett (Top Boy, The Day of the Jackal), executive produced by David C. Glasser (101 Studios) and written by Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari, Spectre). The series also marks Butterworth's second hit TV series following THE AGENCY: CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, which is also on Paramount+. The shows' impact continues a successful track record under his exclusive TV overall deal that Chris McCarthy, Paramount Co-CEO and President and CEO, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios, signed him to for Paramount+ and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios. "With over 26 million viewers and climbing, MOBLAND has become a resounding triumph driven by the creative brilliance of Guy, Jez, Ronan and David C. Glasser, and brought to life by the powerhouse performances by Tom, Pierce, and Helen," said Chris McCarthy, Co-CEO of Paramount and President of SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment. "We are elated to greenlight a second season of this global phenomenon, which has dominated both domestic and international charts and soared to #1 in the United Kingdom." "MOBLAND was one of those incredible moments where Chris McCarthy came to us with the vision of creating the next great mob series, and after traversing the UK countryside in a quest to land Guy Ritchie, we both came to the realization that we knew the exact formula. With the extraordinary talent of Guy, Ronan, Jez and our incredible cast, we brought that vision to life," said 101 Studios CEO, David C. Glasser. "TV was a brand-new world for me and I was reluctant to commit to a TV overall, but Chris, David, and the teams at Paramount and 101 Studios, completely changed my perspective with their bold creative vision and razor-sharp strategic insight," said writer and executive producer Jez Butterworth. "Collaborating with Chris, David, Guy and our stellar cast has been nothing short of inspiring and I'm excited to dive into the second season of MOBLAND." The global crime series premiered Sunday, March 30, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, and on May 30 in international markets including Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Latin America. MOBLAND stars Tom Hardy (Venom: The Last Dance), Pierce Brosnan (Die Another Day) and Helen Mirren (The Queen), in a story about two mob families who clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives. The star-studded cast is rounded out by Paddy Considine (House Of The Dragon), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), Lara Pulver (Da Vinci's Demons), Anson Boon (Pistol), Mandeep Dhillon (CSI: Vegas), Jasmine Jobson (Top Boy), Geoff Bell (Top Boy), Daniel Betts (Fate: The Winx Saga), Lisa Dwan (Blackshore) and Emily Barber (Industry). The series is commissioned by Paramount+, produced in association with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. MOBLAND is executive produced by Keith Cox, Nina L. Diaz, Guy Ritchie, David C. Glasser, Jez Butterworth, Ronan Bennett, Kris Thykier, Ivan Atkinson, Tom Hardy, Dean Baker, Anthony Byrne, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari. Source: Internal streaming data, Total viewers defined by Total Global Watch Time / Run Time on first 70 days, Ep 101; Int'l Markets: English Speaking- 70 days, Non-English Speaking- 9 Days; Paramount+ rank based on internal global household data, days 1-90; Nielsen, mins based on P2+ SVOD Originals- wk 4/14/25, 4/21/25, 4/28/25, 5/5/25, 5/12/25. ABOUT PARAMOUNT +Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel™, in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Caribbean, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. For more information about Paramount+, please visit and follow @ParamountPlusCA on social media. About SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media NetworksSHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks is a global network of media assets that reaches over one billion people in more than 180 countries featuring some of the most iconic brands in entertainment including SHOWTIME®, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Network among others – and, its Studios arm which produces 120+ series annually, including some of today's biggest hits such as Yellowstone, YELLOWJACKETS, Emily in Paris, 1883, 1923, GEORGE & TAMMY, South Park, TULSA KING, Rupaul's Drag Race, The Challenge and Jersey Shore, to name a few. @ParamountPlusCA#ParamountPlusCA SOURCE Paramount+ (Canada) View original content to download multimedia: Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Upturn
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Is ‘MobLand' returning for season 2? Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 2, 2025, 18:30 IST Last updated June 2, 2025, 11:57 IST Since its explosive debut on March 30, 2025, MobLand has gripped audiences worldwide, becoming Paramount+'s biggest global series launch with 8.8 million viewers in its first week. This British crime drama, created by Ronan Bennett and backed by Guy Ritchie's signature gritty style, dives into the ruthless world of the Harrigan crime family, led by the cunning Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve (Helen Mirren), with street-smart fixer Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) navigating a web of betrayal, violence, and power plays. As Season 1 ended on a shocking note with Harry's stabbing and shifting alliances, fans are clamoring for news: Is MobLand Season 2 happening? Here's everything we know so far. MobLand Season 2 Renewal Status As of June 2, 2025, Paramount+ has not officially confirmed the renewal of MobLand for Season 2. However, the outlook appears promising. The British crime drama, which premiered on March 30, 2025, broke records as Paramount+'s biggest global series launch, attracting 2.2 million viewers on its debut day and 8.8 million in its first week. This unprecedented viewership places MobLand alongside top performers like 1923 and Landman , both of which secured renewals after strong debuts. While Paramount+ typically waits until a season concludes to announce renewals, positive signs abound. Potential Release Date for MobLand Season 2 While no official release date has been announced, we can speculate based on Season 1's timeline. Production for the first season began in November 2024 and wrapped in March 2025, with the premiere airing just days later on March 30, 2025. If Season 2 follows a similar schedule, filming could start in late 2025, potentially leading to a release in spring 2026—possibly around March or April. Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
