Latest news with #SteveBackshall
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Natasha Lyonne solves the case of a murdered school gerbil
9pm, Sky MaxThe fun whydunnit continues and Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) is working at a posh elementary school this week, where she finds herself solving the murder of the class gerbil (the biggest victim yet?). She'll have to get to the bottom of a feud between a girl and a boy who are battling to get the most gold stars. Margo Martindale guest stars as the principal, with Adrienne C Moore as the teacher. Hollie Richardson 8pm, Channel 4What would have happened if the Nazis had occupied Britain? This series partly answers that time-worn question: much the same as what happened everywhere else. Eighty years have passed since the Channel Islands were liberated – this is a story of compromise, collaboration and, occasionally and heroically, resistance. Phil Harrison 9pm, BBC TwoAn 'inappropriate' portrait of the French queen is yet another scandal that rocks Paris in this episode ('She's painted in her underwear!'). Her masterplan to save her reputation? A haircut! Meanwhile, the diamond necklace scandal that Marie is unknowingly involved in gets bloody. HR 9pm, Channel 5Steve Backshall continues his full-spectrum appreciation of everything to do with bees, throwing himself with impressive energy into cultivating his own hive, wearing a beard of bees and monitoring the dreaded Asian hornet. Plus, more thoughts on how to safeguard their future. Jack Seale 9.50pm, BBC Three Actor, writer and Hackney native Danielle Vitalis springs back on to screens with this short sketch show exploring the 'funny unspoken rules from modern interaction'. We meet a driving instructor from hell, a trifling West Indian judge, and the podcaster who will say sorry for anything if it means more money and more followers. Matthew Pearce 10pm, Channel 4More from this absurdist meta-sitcom, with its gleefully chaotic blend of musical mischief, backstage parody and surreal sketch comedy from Taskmaster's Little Alex and his band. This week, a guest-star footballer, missing shoes, a soggy producer – and a mystery black eye for Nelly. Ali Catterall Men's One-Day cricket: England v West Indies, 12.15pm, Sky Sports Main EventThe first ODI from Edgbaston.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wiltshire in pics: Shindigs and a princess visit
Summer events are well and truly under way in Wiltshire now - with a return of a much-loved festival. TV presenter Steve Backshall is also staying in the county all week to delight children with his animal knowledge at Longleats. Other highlights include actress Joanna Lumley supporting a local animal centre, and another local charity enjoyed a royal visit. Wildlife wanderings: Wiltshire's wildlife has been making more of an appearance recently - one Weather Watcher, Jo C, captured this swan family in Devizes. Festival time: Shindig has launched at Charlton Park in Wiltshire - the former home of Womad - after spending 10 years in Ilminster, Somerset. The 2025 line up is a "global celebration of rhythm and culture where afrobeat meets electronic, reggae meets soul, funk meets industrial rap", organisers said. The event started on Thursday and runs until Sunday. Animal antics: Longleat has TV presenter Steve Backshall in to do daily talks at the safari park over half term week. He will not be on his own though - a range of animals and birds will be introduced to the audience and nobody knows how they will behave. Last year, the shows raised £25,000 for conservation charity Tusk. Royal approval: Wiltshire-based charity Horatio's Garden has released pictures of their patron Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie visiting their garden at Salisbury District Hospital. She spoke to patients, staff and volunteers and planted a grapevine for the charity, which creates the gardens at the UK's spinal injury centres to help people recover. Horsing around: Wiltshire Police has been represented at the Royal Windsor Horse Show for the first time. The force revealed pictures of its competitors: Laura Hughes from the Local Policing Tasking Team, Hollie Clark, Financial Investigator and Rachael Fairbain from Complex Fraud all took part in the Services Team Jumping competition. Daredevils: The White Horse Soapbox Race in Westbury got some big crowds. It includes a STEM fair and a lot of different teams competing to make the fastest vehicle. A team from the South Western Ambulance Service got involved too, making their own contraption. Prestige: Devizes Bowls Club has hosted a prestigious inter-county competition, part of the early stages of the Balcomb Trophy. It's the first time the club has hosted a competition this big. Immerse yourself: a shipping container is arriving in the middle of Salisbury this weekend, in Guildhall Square. It's for an immersive theatre experience run by producers Darkfield. It's part of the Salisbury International Arts Festival and those who go in for the experience, called FLIGHT, will find themselves in what looks exactly like the inside of a plane and two realities. Celebrity moment: The Cat Watch Rescue Centre based in Salisbury, which takes in strays and abandoned animals, revealed they had received a donation from Dame Joanna Lumley, who sent a handwritten note. Bumper crop: the strawberries are already doing well this year, so the pick your own farms are opening up, including this one at Lotmead in Swindon. Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Wiltshire in Pictures: Stunning Salisbury blooms Wiltshire in Pictures: VE Day and bank holiday sun
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wiltshire in pics: Shindig Festival and a princess visit
Summer events are well and truly under way in Wiltshire now - with a return of a much-loved presenter Steve Backshall is also staying in the county all week to delight children with his animal knowledge at highlights include actress Joanna Lumley supporting a local animal centre, and another local charity enjoyed a royal visit. Wildlife wanderings: Wiltshire's wildlife has been making more of an appearance recently - one Weather Watcher, Jo C, captured this swan family in Devizes. Festival time: Shindig has launched at Charlton Park in Wiltshire - the former home of Womad - after spending 10 years in Ilminster, Somerset. The 2025 line up is a "global celebration of rhythm and culture where afrobeat meets electronic, reggae meets soul, funk meets industrial rap", organisers said. The event started on Thursday and runs until Sunday. Animal antics: Longleat has TV presenter Steve Backshall in to do daily talks at the safari park over half term week. He will not be on his own though - a range of animals and birds will be introduced to the audience and nobody knows how they will behave. Last year, the shows raised £25,000 for conservation charity Tusk. Royal approval: Wiltshire-based charity Horatio's Garden has released pictures of their patron Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie visiting their garden at Salisbury District Hospital. She spoke to patients, staff and volunteers and planted a grapevine for the charity, which creates the gardens at the UK's spinal injury centres to help people recover. Horsing around: Wiltshire Police has been represented at the Royal Windsor Horse Show for the first time. The force revealed pictures of its competitors: Laura Hughes from the Local Policing Tasking Team, Hollie Clark, Financial Investigator and Rachael Fairbain from Complex Fraud all took part in the Services Team Jumping competition. Daredevils: The White Horse Soapbox Race in Westbury got some big crowds. It includes a STEM fair and a lot of different teams competing to make the fastest vehicle. A team from the South Western Ambulance Service got involved too, making their own contraption. Prestige: Devizes Bowls Club has hosted a prestigious inter-county competition, part of the early stages of the Balcomb Trophy. It's the first time the club has hosted a competition this big. Immerse yourself: a shipping container is arriving in the middle of Salisbury this weekend, in Guildhall Square. It's for an immersive theatre experience run by producers Darkfield. It's part of the Salisbury International Arts Festival and those who go in for the experience, called FLIGHT, will find themselves in what looks exactly like the inside of a plane and two realities. Celebrity moment: The Cat Watch Rescue Centre based in Salisbury, which takes in strays and abandoned animals, revealed they had received a donation from Dame Joanna Lumley, who sent a handwritten note. Bumper crop: the strawberries are already doing well this year, so the pick your own farms are opening up, including this one at Lotmead in Swindon.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Alex Horne's creepy but clever musical sitcom returns
10pm, Channel 4The second series of Alex Horne's comedy musical show remains a mildly puzzling affair. It's undeniably slight and the self-conscious whimsy can grate a little. However, it slips down easily, mainly thanks to the music – which is deceptively complex and cleverly assembled. The result is also borderline creepy at times, particularly in this opener during an odd little song paying tribute to the ever-expanding Horne family. Phil Harrison 9pm, BBC TwoThe second series of the fantastically polished period drama continues with the French monarchy on borrowed time. Marie Antoinette must also convince Louis that he is the father of her unborn child (whose père could also be the Swedish count Fersen), while Jeanne's dodgy charity prompts suspicion. Hannah J Davies 9pm, Channel 4This season of the veteran fun-fest made some smart hires: mixing it with British standup comedians are Jason Mantzoukas (not British), Mathew Baynton (not a standup) and Rosie Ramsey (not a comedian). This week, while Mantzoukas is busy inserting raisins into a wooden box, Ramsey causes an issue with Alex Horne's trousers. Jack Seale 9pm, Channel 5 It is almost impossible to overstate how critical bees are to human life. This series presented by Steve Backshall looks at the bees of Britain: there are 270 species, all of which occupy slightly different places in the nation's ecosystems. Backshall explores their differing roles and, importantly, explains why we mustn't lose these insects. PH 9pm, Sky MaxCharlie Cale's entertainingly helter-skelter journey through small-town America continues, as her flight from the miscreants on her tail takes her into the realm of yet more trouble. This time, the case of a baseball player who may or may not have been murdered. BJ Novak is this week's guest star. PH 9.50pm, BBC ThreeAnother of BBC Three's quirky, low-budget short comedies from emerging talents. Rocket Fuel is a kitchen-sink sci-fi set on a Bradford estate where bored youngsters Lenny and Mullet find an abandoned car and, using the power of their imaginations, turn it into a spaceship. PH Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984), 12.35am, Sky Cinema Greats After getting sacked from his supermarket job, young Los Angeles punk Otto (Emilio Estevez) finds himself working with Harry Dean Stanton's repo man – a low-rent operator who repossesses cars from those in debt. However, one car on their list, a Chevy Malibu, has something glowing and deadly in the boot … Writer-director Alex Cox pays homage to Kiss Me Deadly's MacGuffin in his TexMex road movie cum sci-fi thriller, but adds a scuzzy edge all his own as the protagonists tour a run-down city rife with drugs and crime. Simon Wardell
Observer
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
Behind the Scenes of Expedition with Steve Backshall
In 2017, I received an unexpected yet thrilling call from the esteemed BBC presenter, Steve Backshall. He wished to collaborate with me on one of the twelve episodes of an innovative series entitled Expedition, which aimed to highlight twelve remarkable 'firsts' for British television. Steve had been referred to me by my good friend, Justin Halls, who had previously worked alongside him on a caving programme in Patagonia. Justin believed I was the ideal individual to guide them through the fascinating world of canyoning, particularly in exploring a newly discovered canyon in Oman that had yet to be traversed. The thought of working alongside a television personality like Steve Backshall sparked a sense of pride and excitement within me. Shortly after our initial conversation, I had the opportunity to meet the programme's director, Susanna Handslip, who travelled to Oman to discuss the project in more detail. Our meeting proved fruitful, and I began the search for an intriguing new canyon to feature in the show. After thorough research, I decided upon a tributary of Wadi Hijri, which itself is a branch of Wadi Tanuf. Behind the Scenes of Expedition with Steve Backshall Preparation for the project took several months, and we planned for the crew's travel to Oman in August—a time notorious for temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Regrettably, in the lead-up to the shoot, Susanna had to step back due to an unfortunate accident, and Rosie Gloyns graciously took over as the new director. Our crew consisted of six dedicated members: Steve Backshall as our charismatic presenter, Rosie Gloyns directing, Aldo Kane serving as the health and safety officer, Parker Brown expertly handling the drone and sound, Graham MacFarlane as our cameraman, and Joseph supporting as the assistant producer. Our first expedition took us to Jabal Shams, where Steve decided to face Wadi Nakhr, famously known as Oman's Grand Canyon, as a training exercise before we embarked on the new canyon exploration. Behind the Scenes of Expedition with Steve Backshall The descent from the abandoned village of Sab Bani Khamis to the village of Nakhr is an exhilarating journey featuring numerous abseils, including the notorious 'Sheikh al Majaneen' drop, which towers at an astonishing 385 metres. I had previously tackled this drop in 2010 with Mihai Catrinar, whom I affectionately call my 'adopted son.' It's likely one of the highest abseils on the planet, and we were the first and last individuals to make this impressive descent back in December 2010. Aldo and Justin worked diligently throughout the day to establish new anchors for this monumental drop. On the day of the descent, only four of us—Steve, Aldo, Justin, and I—made the crossing of Wadi Nakhr, while the rest of the crew awaited our return at the canyon's exit. Behind the Scenes of Expedition with Steve Backshall Steve was the first to take the plunge. He encountered a few challenges managing his speed but ultimately reached the bottom safely. Aldo faced his own set of hurdles, progressing slowly on the rope, which took him over an hour to join Steve on the ground. By the time he arrived, he was utterly exhausted and dehydrated. I managed to execute my descent smoothly, while Justin brought up the rear. By the time we regrouped at the base of the Sheikh al Majaneen drop, night had fallen. We set up camp beside a peaceful pond, ready to spend the evening under the star-studded sky. The following day, we packed up our camp and continued our journey through the canyon, tackling five more drops ranging from 20 to 80 metres in height. Behind the Scenes of Expedition with Steve Backshall By early afternoon, we reached the rest of the team. However, Justin and I needed to make a return trip to Jabal Shams to retrieve the rope we had fixed for the Sheikh al Majaneen drop. To be continued... Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of our canyoning adventure with Steve Backshall and the Expedition crew!
