Latest news with #TwoDoorsDown
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland's suburban Pride and Prejudice is back on TV - we can't wait
And do we wish to see a show in which nothing ever happens, the central characters rarely move except to eat, regularly featuring plot lines thinner than Cathy's G-string? Well, we do actually because this is Comedy of Manners at its best. It's Pride and Prejudice set in a suburban Scottish street. It's a modern-day Moliere, a satirical take on events which looks closely – but without being too obvious – at the social conventions and mores of the world we're all part of. Read more As Jane Austen dived deep into layers of social class so too does Two Doors Down. Yes, the inhabitants of Latimer Street aren't separated by great financial gulfs, but their dreams are quite different; they are Aldi versus Waitrose, they are Primark and Princes Square. They are fancy new home extension and can't-be-ar***d-throw-some-Dulux-at-it later. The characters are kindness personified, yet can be city banker greedy. They are Labour, Conservative and nationalist. Sure, TDD doesn't highlight the clear class divide of a Pygmalion, but we do have rampant snobbery and judgementalism. In the previous seven series, Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp beautifully managed to find the dry laughs from acute observations of ordinary Scottish lives, blessed by the fact that Scotland has suffered for years from an ailing health service and tragically poor transport systems. They made much (by way of passing comment) of our overblown sense of self-importance, to hold a mirror up to the unfairness in our little world, our inability to get things done. Properly. The writers have also noted cleverly that the stain of bigotry can't be removed, even with by a deep soak in Beth's deepest sink. And they have created a series of wonderful characters to reflect what makes Scotland Scotland; our innate kindness, dark sense of fun, cutting cruelty and a technique for being pass remarkable that is international class. And it's from this disparate, but highly relatable bunch that the dark laughs emerge - and the pathos permeates. Two Doors Down is full of wonderful characters who reflect what makes Scotland Scotland (Image: free)We all know a Christine, with skin thicker than a trainee butcher's sausage and a neck redder than an Aberdeen football shirt, the self-obsessed, attention-desperate with a searing sense of ingratitude, who makes the likes of Inferno's Dante, Sex in the City's Carrie Bradshaw and Abigail from the Crucible seem like warm appreciative human beings. We all know a Colin, a man so hen-pecked you can see the pock marks on his face, yet so much of a social climber he wears crampons indoors, a creature so deliciously oleaginous the freckles simply slide off his face. But like Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice he's easily influenced by the bigger personalities around him. Such as his wife Cathy, an international class narcissist who drinks to convince herself the mirror on the wall has got it all wrong, that she really is the fairest of them all, the mutton-dressed-as- mutton creature with the tongue as sharp as her Manolo Blahnik stilettos. She's a dead ringer for Austen's Lady Catherine de Bourgh. There's Eric, a man who suggests inordinate decency in a comfy chair, the slightly put upon but genial bloke who's happy to watch the world go by and manages to avoid profanity even though his doorbell rings more often than Beth fills the kettle. Eric is a Stoic philosopher who preaches calm amidst crises; he's Mr Knightley with a Seventies cardy. Beth is of course Jane Bennett with a pinnie, a woman in love with Eric, despite his keenness to avoid exertion. She's a put-upon peacekeeper and a tea-cup-filling, sandwich and soup-making machine, a woman who cares and worries deeply about everyone. Even Cathy. Read more Ian and Gordon are the perfect double act, Tartuffe's Dorine and Elmire who can speak freely and sharply and thus expose the daftness all around. And allow the platform for Christine to (sort of) come to terms with the fact that a gay couple can be open with their lives. The Comedy of Manners motif is also clearly evident with the rough spoken, f*rt-dropping Alan, who is Eliza Dolittle with a tattoo, being worked upon constantly by his Professor Higgins of a wife, Michelle. So, yes, we need a show which reminds us how silly we can become. These neighbours represent modern day Scotland, and we need/deserve to see that reflected back at us. Can Two Doors Down survive without the searing, Wildean wit of Simon Carlyle? Hopefully, because Gregor Sharp knows the characters voices so well, each of them so distinct. And Two Doors Down won't appear dated; it transcends time because the characters are always in the moment. And that's when the doorbell rings. And Still Game enjoyed a happy revival, didn't it?
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Two Doors Down star reveals awkward encounter with member of Royal Family after she mocked them
She wasn't sure how the Royal would react to her joke ROYAL RIDICULE Two Doors Down star reveals awkward encounter with member of Royal Family after she mocked them Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TWO Doors Down star Arabella Weir has revealed she risked upsetting Princess Anne by making fun of her lack of qualifications. The actress was presented with an MBE by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace last year. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 2 Two Doors Down star Arabella Weir poked fun at Princess Anne when presented with her MBE Credit: PA 2 She is best known for playing Beth Baird in the hit BBC comedy Credit: Handout After being told by a friend to make the princess laugh when receiving the honour, Weir poked fun at the royal's academic performance. When Princess Anne confessed she wasn't very good at school, Weir jokingly replied: "We all know that." Princess Anne famously never went to university and left school with a handful of O-levels and two A-levels. Weir, who plays Beth Baird in Two Doors Down, said she was relieved when the Royal laughed after her quip. Speaking on presenter Lewis Nicholls' YouTube channel, she said: "I'm not a royalist or anything but I was quite nervous before it. "My friend who went with me and my two children to the palace said to me 'Just make her laugh' and I did. "Princess Anne said to me 'I know who you are but why are you getting this?' "I said 'Oh I think it's because I make people laugh'. "She said 'When did you first realise you were funny?' and I said 'At school because I wasn't very academic.' "She said 'Neither was I,' and I went 'We all know that,' because famously she didn't do well. Two Doors Down star looks worlds away in unrecognisable BBC newsreader role "As it came out of my mouth I thought 'Is that something you're not supposed to say to royalty,' but she laughed. She was jolly nice." Weir, 67, received her MBE for service to acting and charity work. She made her name in The Fast Show alongside co-stars Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson and John Thomson. She has played Beth in Two Doors Down since 2016 and is set to reunite with the cast for a Christmas special this year. Princess Anne was taught at home in a small class before going to Benenden School in Kent at the age of 13, the first sovereign's daughter to attend boarding school. She left five years later, with six O-levels and two A-levels and instead of going to university she entered the public life of the Royal Family. Since then she has come to be regarded as the busiest and most hard-working of all the Royals and is well-known for her no-nonsense approach. In a documentary to mark her 70th birthday in 2020, she said: "So many of my contemporaries, when asked why they were going to university, would say, 'Well basically because that's what you do.' "And I remember thinking really that doesn't sound like a very good reason to go university, so I thought I would skip that."
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Grado and Stephen Purdon bringing comedy tour to Airdrie Town Hall
The panto double-act will be tag-teaming up for the 'Grado & Purdon: Shellsuits & Spandex' show that is sure to leave audiences in stitches. Two of Scotland's favourite funnymen and familiar faces are heading to Airdrie Town Hall for an evening of laughter. Grado, the wrestler and star of TV's Two Doors Down and Scot Squad, and River City's Stephen Purdon, aka the BBC soap's Bob O'Hara, will take to the stage at the Stirling Street venue on June 10 as they hit the road for a hilarious tour across Scotland. The panto double-act will be tag-teaming up for the Grado & Purdon: Shellsuits & Spandex show that is sure to leave audiences in stitches. From Shieldinch to Latimer Crescent, the duo will share late tales from their careers in television, wrestling and panto, plus plenty of personal anecdotes. Boab and Grado promise "a night of laughter and fun that audiences won't forget", with a chance to meet the pair after the show. Grado & Purdon: Shellsuits & Spandex at Airdrie Town Hall starts at 7.30pm, with tickets priced £25 for standards and £39 for meet and greets. For tickets, and more information, call the box office team on 01698 274545 or visit here. *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
Scottish Sun
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Two Doors Down favourite teases live show plans ahead of Christmas special
Stars are "over the moon" at prospect of festive show LAST LAUGH Two Doors Down favourite teases live show plans ahead of Christmas special Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TWO Doors Down star Doon Mackichan has revealed she wants the show to bow out with a live show in tribute to its creator. The actress is to return to her role as boozy neighbour Cathy in the hit BBC comedy for a Christmas special on TV screens later this year. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 1 Two Doors Down star Doon Mackichan However, she said she doubts there will be another full series following the sudden death of co-writer Simon Carlyle aged 48 in 2023. Instead Doon would like to see the antics of the residents of Latimer Crescent transferred to the stage as Carlyle had dreamed of seeing the show performed at Glasgow's Hydro arena. The Christmas special is being written solely by Gregor Sharp who previously penned every script with close friend Carlyle. Speaking on presenter Lewis Nicholls' YouTube channel, Doon, 62, said: "The producer called to tell us Gregor has come up with a Christmas special and we were just absolutely over the moon. "That is happening and I think we are going to shoot that in the summer. "Maybe it's a little tentative step in the water for (another series). I tend to think it would be better to do a live show as a goodbye. "I don't think it's that easy to do a series. Simon and Gregor used to sit together for about six months and write it. It's an incredible amount of work and it takes the magic of those two together. "It's been really hard for Gregor to do it and there has been such pressure on him." Speaking about Carlyle's death, she added: "I was in Thailand on my birthday and the producer phoned me to tell me. That was just hell, none of us could believe it, we couldn't take it in. "It was just a tragedy." BAFTA nominated BBC comedy series set to return for final ever series - and fans don't have long to wait Two Doors Down launched in 2013 and seven series have been broadcast on the BBC. Other cast members including Jonathan Watson, Alex Norton, Elaine C Smith, Arabella Weir, Kieran Hodgson, Joy McAvoy and Graeme 'Grado' Stevely will all be returning for the Christmas special. London-born Doon previously told how the character of Cathy had been taken to the hearts of the Scottish public. She said: "If I get into a cab in Glasgow they go 'Oh, it's you, you're the highly strung one,' meaning 'You drink a lot.' "Cathy has possibly got a bit of a drink problem. She enters a room and needs to be the centre of attention. "In Glasgow I literally get women running down the street going 'Cathy, Cathy, I am you, you are me.' "So a lot of people recognise themselves in Cathy which is really interesting."
Glasgow Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Two Doors Down star teased popular show's shock comeback
Kieran Hodgson, who plays Gordon in the hit BBC show, is the first cast member from the programme to 'confirm' that the much-loved sitcom is returning for a Christmas special. We reported how the TV show is set to make a comeback following the death of one of its creators, Simon Caryle, in 2023. READ MORE: Star of Two Doors Down confirms shows shock comeback Speaking on Scotland Tonight on STV on Wednesday, May 21, the 37-year-old said there has been no official announcement for the Xmas special, however, he teased there may be some filming taking place this year. The comic said: 'I cannot possibly say things, I can't possibly say, but I might be doing some filming in the next couple of months, I don't know. 'We're like a family, it's great to reunite as we do socially. "Were we to get back together, there would be lots of love, happy memories, and desire to make even more memories.' (Image: Newsquest) At the start of May 2025, we reported how Kieran said there 'will be tears' when the cast reunite for rehearsals for the special episode this summer. It comes after the much-loved sitcom was axed in 2023 when its co-creator, Simon Carlyle, sadly died aged 48. Following that, the co-writer of the show, Gregor Sharp, announced he couldn't carry on the programme without Simon. READ MORE: Two Doors Down star pictured filming new show at Glasgow pub However, fans of the comedy were left buzzing when rumours previously emerged that Gregor had a 'change of heart' and was crafting an Xmas special. The well-known Scottish sitcom ran for seven series, with the seventh season screening in November 2023, several months after Simon's death. It first appeared on TV screens as a one-off Hogmanay pilot in 2013. After that, multiple series of the hugely successful programme were produced.
