Latest news with #TheXFiles
Scotsman
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Emmerdale and Doctor Who star champions resurrection of cult TV show at Edinburgh Fringe
Emmerdale and Doctor Who star Louise Jameson Former Doctor Who companion and Emmerdale regular, Louise Jameson, has thrown her support behind an Edinburgh theatre company bringing the cult, 70's BBC Scotland TV series that inspired The X Files to the stage for the first time. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A paranormal thriller made by BBC Scotland, The Omega Factor terrified TV audiences when it was first broadcast in 1979, causing self proclaimed 'moral guardian' Mary Whitehouse to demand its cancellation and questions to be asked in the House of Commons. The 1979 series, filmed in and around Edinburgh, introduced viewers to journalist Tom Crane (James Hazeldine), a man with latent psychic powers, and physicist Dr Anne Reynolds, a member of the secret government organisation, Department 7, played by Louise Jameson. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A second season was quietly cancelled due to the furore, however, the series did resurface many years later when it was revived by Big Finish Productions as an audio drama in 2015, with original cast members Jameson and Natasha Gerson, daughter of series creator Jack Gerson, reprising their original roles, of Anne Reynolds and Morag, respectively. Natasha Gerson, daughter of The Omega Factor creator, Jack Gerson, who played Morag in the original series and returns in the stage version Jameson, who has played Mary Goskirk in Emmerdale since 2022 and is much loved for her roles in Tenko, Bergerac and as Doctor Who's companion, Leela, said, 'I'm backing The Omega Factor: By The Pricking Of My Thumbs wholeheartedly. I always thought there was more life in the series and that the BBC made a faux pas by taking it off air too early, hey ho, onwards. I hope it is a marvellous success.' Written by Gerson (pictured below) and award-winning playwright Liam Rudden, The Omega Factor: By The Pricking Of My Thumbs, which will run nightly at the Grand Lodge on George Street, is set in the mystical Rosslyn Chapel, a monument whose secrets were brought to worldwide attention in the Dan Brown novel, The Da Vinci Code. Gerson commented, 'The Omega Factor was a project close to my dad's heart and mine it was my first job on television. I believe he would have been thrilled to see it on stage for the first time.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the play, the audience find themselves attending a private radio recording of Shakespeare's Macbeth at Rosslyn Chapel and soon discover they are pawns in a chilling battle for their souls. With the stakes rising by the minute, the eternal struggle between good and evil reaches terrifying climax. The 1979 BBC Scotland paranormal thrill The Omega Factor inspired hit TV series The X Files Rudden, who also directs, added, 'The Omega Factor is one of those shows that has lived rent free in my head since I watched in as a 15 year old. It had such an impact. It's a thrill to be working with Natasha to bring it to the stage for the very first time.' Produced by Stageworks East West, the World Premiere of The Omega Factor: By The Pricking Of My Thumbs will run for five nights only, from 19-23 August, at Braw Venues @ Grand Lodge, 96 George Street. Tickets are available from
Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Chart-topping star urged to get therapy over unlikely obsession
US pop sensation Billie Eilish has won seven Grammy Awards and sold millions of albums - but she was raised in a modest bungalow in LA by actor parents Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell With song and dance playing a key part in her life from the moment she could talk, Billie's chosen career path was not entirely surprising. 'Music was always underlying,' she once said. 'I always sang. It was like wearing underwear. It was just always underneath whatever else you were doing.' Billie was born in LA on 18 December 2001 to actor-musician parents Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell, who called her Billie to honour her grandfather William. Eilish was her middle name – a popular Irish choice – along with Pirate, which older brother Finneas affectionately called her before her birth. She wasn't always entirely happy about it though, admitting in a recent interview, 'I absolutely hated my name when I was a kid. I thought Billie was a boy's name. I remember just being so mad, and all I wanted was to have a girly name, like Violet or like Lavender. Some sort of, you know, pretty flowery name.' However, it grew on her and she added, 'Now there's no other name in the universe that could be my name besides Billie. I love my name so, so, so much.' Her mum Maggie, now 66, had TV roles in The X Files, Bones and Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as a cameo in Friends, while dad Patrick, 67, spent time on Broadway and appeared in The West Wing and NYPD Blue. But in a fiercely competitive industry, work was often hard for the two jobbing actors to come by. 'For years, I saw my parents beat up over the fact that they didn't have it better,' Billie has said. 'My dad is the best actor I've ever seen. And my mom can do all these voices and characters – she's incredible. So I wish they'd had more recognition.' As a unit of four who loved performing together, former music teacher Maggie has said, 'There was just always singing. Someone playing piano or guitar, lots of lullabies at night and always music in the car.' That meant Billie's songwriting journey began exceptionally early. 'When I was four, I wrote a song about falling into a black hole,' she recalled. 'But it was really upbeat, like, 'I'm going down, down, down into the black hole.'' She also learned to play the ukelele aged six, and started performing at local talent shows and with the Los Angeles Children's Chorus. Influenced by her parents, she tried her hand at acting too, but found it less enjoyable. 'I went to an audition and I came back going, 'I hate this. I'm not doing this ever again.'' Both she and Finneas were homeschooled, which Billie believes was highly beneficial to her development. 'I learned how to do math by cooking with my mom,' she said. 'I learned, like, how to build sh*t from my dad.' Explaining their decision to educate their children themselves, Patrick said, 'Our whole stance was 'general knowledge is all'.' Home was a two-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow in the Highland Park area of LA – which her parents still live in. To ensure both their children had their own rooms, they even slept in the living room. 'It was a modest upbringing,' says Thomas Smith, editor of Billboard UK. 'She was certainly not a nepo baby, and doors were not opened for her in the same way they have been for other artists. But so much time together in that house created an incredible bond between them all, and a support system that has served Billie well throughout her life.' She returned to the house in a 2019 episode of Carpool Karaoke, pointing out her 'very red' bedroom, as well as her pet tarantula, which she insisted was 'cute' to horrified presenter James Corden. Viewers got a peek inside Finneas' bedroom too, which doubled up as a recording studio. 'This is the belly of the beast,' Billie said. The room still even had pencil markings on the door frame which had tracked the pair's height as youngsters. One of Billie's biggest influences in her early years was singer Justin Bieber, whose face adorned the walls of her small bedroom. In fact, she was such an ardent 'Belieber' that her parents nearly sought professional help for her around the time of his 2012 hit, As Long As You Love Me. Speaking on Billie and Patrick's Apple Music show Me & Dad Radi o, Maggie told how her daughter would be 'sobbing and sobbing' to the song in the car. 'I just want to say we did consider taking you to therapy,' she told Billie. 'You were in so much pain over Justin Bieber.' In response, her daughter admitted, 'There was a period where I cried every single day of my life.' As well as her Bieber crush, another source of distress was a serious hip injury she suffered at the age of 13, which ended her dancing aspirations. 'My bone separated from my muscle in my hip. It was really bad,' she said. 'Going through my teenage years, hating myself and all that stupid sh*t, a lot of it came from my anger toward my body, and how mad I was at how much pain it's caused me, and how much I've lost because of things that happened to it.' However, Billie began channelling her emotions into making music with Finneas, and when her dance teacher asked her to record a track in late 2015, she jumped at the chance. 'He asked us to make a song and I thought that was the coolest thing ever,' she said. The result was Ocean Eyes, an astonishingly mature ballad that compared falling in love to falling off a cliff under 'napalm skies'. Finneas had originally written it for his band, The Slightlys, but realised it was better suited to his sister's vocals. 'I remember doing Ocean Eyes as a band and just being like, 'I'm failing the song,'' he said. 'And I remember hearing Billie sing it... And it was just like, 'Oh, this is what this song deserves.'' Aged just 13 at the time, Billie posted the song on music-sharing platform SoundCloud, and the next morning woke up to a flurry of interest. 'It just grew from there,' she said. 'It was really confusing. I didn't understand what was going on. I literally thought it was like my popular friend had reposted it. 'Wow, it's getting so many listens!'' It notched up 1,000 listens in one day and hundreds of thousands more over the next fortnight. Billie later premiered a video for it on her YouTube channel. 'That song is the reason I have the life I have,' she later reflected. ' Ocean Eyes was just a classic song,' says Thomas. 'It's one of those numbers that has travelled through time and still sounds fresh today, because the craft and the lyrics were just perfect. And for Billie, it was the start of something amazing.'
Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Huge pop star's mum makes surprise appearance in Friends in unearthed clip
The actress - and now mum to one of the biggest popstars of her generation - appeared in an old episode of Friends, performing alongside Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani Long before her daughter was selling out arenas around the world, Maggie Baird was an in-demand actress with roles on shows including The X Files, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Charmed and Friends. Now 66, Maggie is also known as mum to What Was I Made For? singer Billie Eilish, 23, and her singer-songwriter brother Finneas, 27. Colorado-born Maggie made her TV debut in 1981 in American soap opera Another World, before stepping onto the Broadway stage and becoming a member and teacher of an improv comedy troupe in Los Angeles, working alongside stars such as Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy. In 1999 she appeared in Friends, playing casting director number two in an episode called The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance. The season six episode features Joey auditioning for a dog food advert while trying to hide his pain caused by an untreated hernia. When a clip featuring Maggie and Matt LeBlanc resurfaced on social media recently, some people accused Billie of being a 'nepo baby' - and it didn't go down well with Billie's brother Finneas. Following comments such as "Another celebrity helped by Hollywood's roots lol" and "She's been part of Hollywood since her youth", Finneas addressed the topic from his own official Instagram account. He wrote: "Ah yes, the classic, 1 day of work on 1 episode of friends to make someone rich and famous- the whole gag of this video is none of you had any idea at all who she was." As well as releasing her own country music album and having larger roles in Bones and Six Feet Under, Maggie has also worked as a voice actress in computer games such as the EverQuest II series, Final Fantasy XIII, and the Saints Row series. Billie and Finneas' dad Patrick O'Connell, 67, was also an actor, with credits on Broadway as well as on TV series The West Wing and NYPD Blue. Addressing what it was like witnessing her parents try to succeed in such a fiercely competitive industry, Birds of a Feather singer Billie once said : "For years, I saw my parents beat up over the fact that they didn't have it better." She continued: "My dad is the best actor I've ever seen. And my mom can do all these voices and characters – she's incredible. So I wish they'd had more recognition." As well as working, Maggie and Patrick also homeschooled Billie and Finneas, and Billie has since said how beneficial it was to her growing up. "I learned how to do math by cooking with my mom,' she said. 'I learned, like, how to build sh*t from my dad."
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iconic Actor, 66, Shares ‘Extraordinary Experience' of Playing the Father of Two Different Musical Legends
Iconic Actor, 66, Shares 'Extraordinary Experience' of Playing the Father of Two Different Musical Legends originally appeared on Parade. may be best known for his roles in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the TV series The X-Files, but he's also played some significant roles as important real-life figures, including the fathers of and in two different music-related projects. In the 2005 Cash biopic, Walk the Line, Patrick played Ray Cash. That same year, he starred as Vernon Presley in the CBS miniseries Elvis. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Patrick recently took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the projects along with several photos from the Elvis miniseries. 'Playing Vernon Presley was an extraordinary experience for me, especially as an Elvis fan—it truly made the role unforgettable! Following my portrayal of Ray Cash in 'Walk the Line,' I felt a unique connection to the character, having already explored the dynamic of a father supporting a gifted musician. Johnny Rhys Meyers delivered an outstanding performance as Elvis, and the entire cast was simply fantastic! 👍🏼#blessedandgrateful,' Patrick wrote in the June 28 and even some fellow celebs, were quick to comment. 'My word you have great hair,' teased actor-comedian, who recently disclosed that he's undergone four hair transplants. 'What an amazing and stories career you have had, Robert. The list of incredible roles you have played in some of the most epic movies ever made is a testament to your incredible talent and versatility. Keep bringing it to us all!' one fan raved. 'What a gorgeous photo of screen father and son, you were both brilliant in Elvis miniseries. JRM gets a special shout out because he is my writing muse. Amazing series, yes and way better than the movie. Regards Tracey,' another posted. 'I think it's awesome that you not only played Johnny Cash's father but Elvis's father as well. I've always enjoyed that miniseries,' another fan posted. Coincidentally, Patrick also has a music star in his family. His younger brother, , was a member of Nine Inch Nails before he started his own band Filter, best known for the alternative rock hit 'Hey Man Nice Shot.' Iconic Actor, 66, Shares 'Extraordinary Experience' of Playing the Father of Two Different Musical Legends first appeared on Parade on Jun 30, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Mark Snow, Who Conjured the ‘X-Files' Theme, Is Dead at 78
Mark Snow, a Juilliard-trained soundtrack composer who earned 15 Emmy Award nominations, including one for his eerily astral opening theme to 'The X-Files,' a 1990s answer to the timeless 'Twilight Zone' theme and the basis of a surprising dance hit in Europe, died on July 4 at his home in Washington, Conn. He was 78. The cause was myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare form of blood cancer, his son-in-law Peter Ferland said. Over an extraordinarily prolific five-decade career, during which he tallied more than 250 film and television credits, Mr. Snow excelled in a field that comes with built-in creative challenges. 'Some producers describe their musical idea as 'fast but slow,'' he said in a 2000 interview with Film & Video magazine. 'The director might say he wants to hear music that's 'blue with a hint of green.' Now, no one really knows what those terms mean. That's a big part of my job, interpreting the search for a project's musical voice.' Mr. Snow provided music for 90 episodes of 'Hart to Hart,' which starred Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as a jet-setting couple who double as amateur sleuths, and 40 episodes of 'Falcon Crest,' the 1980s prime-time soap opera. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
