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Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Beacon by Nancy Harris review: West Cork murder mystery becomes a beautifully explored family conversation
The Beacon Everyman, Cork ★★★★☆ In this Everyman revival of a play that's billed as a west Cork family murder mystery but is at heart concerned with contemporary modes of speech, and even of thought, the playwright Nancy Harris spikes the narrative with sly and decisive wit. Hers is delightfully clever writing. In providing not one but several conflicting mysteries, the clues in The Beacon – commissioned by Druid in 2019 and here getting its Cork premiere – come almost as asides, with the result that the audience has to remain attentive as well as receptive. Much of this appeal lies with the play's portrait of an artist working as if in retreat among an island community where the coastal beacon is a metaphor for a family splintering into jagged pieces. The matriarch of this domestic drama, although she would deride the title, is the famous feminist painter Beiv, master of fashionable modern art and of the put-down, whose cryptic comments quench every attempt at virtue-signalling. READ MORE The Beacon: Ross O'Donnellan and Leonard Buckley as Donal and Colm in Nancy Harris's play. Photograph: Miki Barlok The laughs come laced with acidity, but Geraldine Hughes invests Beiv with something likable, if not admirable, and establishes a characteristic that drives all the following complex familial revelations. These emerge with the honeymoon visit of Beiv's son, Colm, and his wife, Bonnie, and with Colm's disapproval of changes to the cottage he remembers from childhood years shared with his father, Michael. These changes are early signals to more than they seem. While Bonnie's relentless instinct for appeasement ignites Beiv's declaration that an artist needs only isolation and silence, Colm is in search of an explanation for his father's death at sea. What he needs is a cause that would implicate and condemn his mother. [ Nancy Harris: 'There's something about other people's weddings that tell us where we're at in our lives' Opens in new window ] What Colm is not seeking is anything more than the casual friendship he formed in his youth with Donal, an islander. To Donal that relationship was vital. In a scene of memorable distress he discovers now that it has been misinterpreted. More than this, through the interaction here between Leonard Buckley's obsessive Colm and Ross O'Donnellan's lucid Donal, the play loops back to its interrogation of visual art. What people see in a painting is not always what is there. What they don't see is what might be there, the pentimento, the painting under the painting. This is an adroit recapitulation of the plot's underlying intrigue. While Beiv thinks that Colm's aggression is the result of sending him to a private school, and Ayoola Smart's Bonnie defends her amiability by her plan to become a Jungian psychologist, the submerged questioning rises to the inevitable collision of truth, half-truths and suspicion. Nancy Harris tells Róisín Ingle about her RTÉ drama The Dry Listen | 47:23 Beiv herself has renounced motherhood as well as society and rebuts Colm's speculations with a barbed honesty. To his accusation that she always loved painting more than she loved him, she replies that painting was more satisfying. We believe her. While Stephen O'Leary does his irrepressible best as Ray, a podcast journalist, his is a sudden interruption in a delicate sequence nearing finality. Sara Joyce, as director, might have queried also the embracing set of heaving seas, black as liquid liquorice under clouded skies by Ciarán Bagnall were it not for Bagnall's own expressive lighting design. There is also the issue of Fiona Sheil's portentous aural effects, all sound and fury, signifying nothing much. In such a well-wrought play these seem unnecessary, but they do not detract from the general impression of a conversation beautifully explored. The Beacon is at the Everyman Theatre , Cork, until Saturday, July 19th
The Sun
09-07-2025
- The Sun
How smug Yorkshire Ripper ‘thanked God' after hoaxer sent cops on wild goose-chase… while he bludgeoned 3 more victims
PETER Sutcliffe spoke with an unmistakable Yorkshire accent which he never tried to disguise – even to the victims he spoke to briefly before attacking them. So the Yorkshire Ripper was delighted when detectives announced they were hunting for a Geordie over the series of murders which had terrified northern England. 20 20 20 It was the summer of 1979 and the killer had claimed 11 lives, with the police seemingly at a loss over how to catch him. Then an incredible stroke of fortune fell into their laps which seemed too good to be true. Following three letters purporting to be from the killer, a handwritten envelope addressed to George Oldfield - the detective in charge of the case - arrived at the incident room in Leeds. It contained a cassette bought from Woolworths, but no letter. The cassette had no writing on it, the manufacturer's label had been scraped off and forensic checks of the tape and envelope found no fingerprints. But when detectives played the tape it contained a huge clue - the killer's voice. The taunting message – delivered with a distinctive North East accent – said: 'I'm Jack [the killer was referred to as Jack the Ripper at the time]. I see you are still having no luck catching me.' Detective Superintendent Dick Holland, Mr Oldfield's right-hand man, later recalled: 'I thought the Ripper was taunting us for not having caught him. "The voice was so distinctive we felt sure that we were going to get him.' As for the real Ripper, he couldn't believe his luck. In the second instalment of our Beast of Broadmoor series marking 50 years since the first known attack by Peter Sutcliffe, The Sun reveals Sutcliffe's thoughts when he listened to the tape, along with millions of others across the country. 20 20 20 20 20 West Yorkshire Police launched a huge publicity drive to make sure as many people as possible got to hear the voice in the hope someone would recognise it. But while everyone else was puzzling over whether it was their relative, friend, colleague or neighbour, Sutcliffe told Britain's top amateur criminologist, Alfie James, how he was thanking God. Factory worker Alfie, 49, has built-up a huge library of true crime material after writing to killers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Sutcliffe and Moors murders Ian Brady. He grew close to Sutcliffe over 16 years, visiting him dozens of times in Broadmoor and Frankland Prison, speaking to him by phone almost every week and swapping around 400 letters, giving him an unparalleled insight into how the mind of one of Britain's most notorious serial killers worked. He turned this material into the definitive biography of Sutcliffe, I'm the Yorkshire Ripper, written with Sun reporter Robin Perrie. A central part of the story is the hoaxer, which would baffle detectives for decades. The man behind one of the greatest mysteries in British criminal history proved to be a pathetic drunk who was obsessed with the Yorkshire Ripper case. But at the time, detectives were convinced it was the real Ripper behind the letters and tape - to Sutcliffe's delight. He told Alfie: 'I thought that it was diverting the police when that [hoaxer] came on to the scene. I thought, well, they can't win 'cos God's on my side directing everything.' Alfie explained how Sutcliffe was convinced that voices in his head were from God. He said: 'When he was a cemetery worker he heard a voice one day which he thought was coming from a grave. 'Sutcliffe described it as echoey at first and it took a while before the words formed. He thought it was a miracle, a voice from God.' Mission to 'cleanse streets' 20 20 20 The voice led him to launch a mission to 'clear the streets' of women he thought were prostitutes. The series of attacks which followed would result in 13 women being murdered after he smashed them over the head with a hammer and stabbed them. But the voice of God was not just directing him to kill, it was leading the police down a blind alley, according to Sutcliffe. The tape was played on television and radio, in work places and nightclubs and was heard by millions as the hoaxer taunted Detective Oldfield. He said: 'I have the greatest respect for you, George, but Lord, you are no nearer catching me now than four years ago when I started. 'I reckon your boys are letting you down, George. They can't be much good, can they? The only time they came near catching me was a few months back in Chapeltown when I was disturbed. Even then it was a uniformed copper not a detective. 'I'm not quite sure when I'll strike again but it will be definitely some time this year.' The reaction from the public when they heard the three minute, 37 second tape was electric. Dedicated telephone lines set up for people to listen to it instantly jammed due to the huge level of interest. There were 238 officers working full-time on the inquiry at the time and 100 were tasked solely to answer calls about the tape, but even they were quickly swamped. Eleven West Yorkshire detectives were despatched to Sunderland – where experts reckoned the accent was from - to help colleagues in Northumbria Police follow up potential leads. Sutcliffe said: "I was quite aware that the hoaxer was misleading the police but I wasn't in a position to let them know that, of course, as my duty at the time was to a much higher entity – God. 'I said to myself, 'Thanks to God'. I believed God had used him to distract the police and get the attention off me. It was God's will. 20 20 20 'I had a duty to protect the mission at all costs. I felt fully protected and at the time believed God had influenced the hoaxer.' The letters and tape were finally revealed as a hoax when Sutcliffe – with his Yorkshire accent – was arrested in January 1981 and then convicted of the attacks and jailed for life. It remained an intriguing aspect of the story until former security guard John Humble, from Sunderland, was arrested in 2005 thanks to a familial DNA breakthrough when his brother was arrested and his sample matched that from one of the hoax envelopes. Humble was jailed for eight years and died aged 63 at his home in South Shields in July 2019. Delays caused by the hoax allowed Sutcliffe to murder three more women - Barbara Leach, 20, Marguerite Walls, 47, and Jacqueline Hill, 20. Bradford University student Barbara was attacked with a hammer after walking past Sutcliffe. She was then dragged into a backyard and stabbed with a screwdriver, her body left covered with an old piece of carpet. The killer hit civil servant Marguerite over the head with a hammer repeatedly before tying rope around her neck and strangling her with it, then removed her clothes, leaving her in just her tights. Sutcliffe dragged the body of Jacqueline, his final victim who he'd stabbed repeatedly in the chest and eye with a screwdriver, to a patch of wasteland and removed her clothes. Former Det Supt Bob Bridgestock, part of the Ripper squad, said lives "could have been saved" were it not for the hoax, adding: "We don't know what Humble's reasons were for doing what he did. "But he really frustrated, hindered and distracted the inquiry. "After the tape there were another three women killed. Perhaps lives could have been saved if it hadn't been for him." Pen pal motivation 20 20 It was one of the many fascinating aspects of the Yorkshire Ripper story which encouraged Alfie to contact Sutcliffe to find out more in 2004. Alfie said: 'Sutcliffe was the silent killer really at the time because there wasn't much information coming from him. 'Ian Brady never shut up about himself, the Krays' story had been told again and again, and there had been books about Charles Bronson. 'But there was not much from Sutcliffe so I decided to write to him to find out things for myself. 'He replied and it went from there. 'He would talk to me about everything, not just the crime stuff, but stuff he'd done growing up as a kid, all aspects of his life and the case. 'For me it was the chance of a lifetime to get this information from somebody who fascinated lots of people because of what he had done. 'We all wanted to know why, and people want to know about all aspects of the case, including the hoaxer, and I was able to get that information from him.' Face-to-face with victim 20 20 20 Another incredible moment which Sutcliffe, who died in 2020 aged 74, told Alfie about was when he passed one of his victims in the street while shopping with wife Sonia. Mum-of-three Maureen Long was attacked after a night out in Bradford in July, 1977, when Sutcliffe tricked her into getting into his car by pretending to be a taxi driver. He hit her over the head with a hammer after parking near a factory and stabbed her five times. But he was disturbed and fled, leaving Maureen seriously injured but alive. Sutcliffe was shocked to later read that his latest victim had survived – and even more horrified when he passed her while shopping in Bradford's Arndale Centre with his wife Sonia. He immediately recognised her, but was then filled with relief: 'She didn't even remember me. 'I saw her in town when I was shopping with Sonia, we walked right past her and I looked her in the face but she didn't show any sign of recognition. She didn't even remember who I was.' Who are the UK's worst serial killers? THE UK's most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor. Here's a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK. British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women. After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845. Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain's most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873. Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903. William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies. Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980. Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail. Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it's believed he was responsible for many more deaths. Relieved, Sutcliffe would continue attacking women until his arrest in Sheffield in January 1981 as he prepared to commit yet another assault. He was jailed for life and sent to prison until he was transferred to Broadmoor in 1984, when it was decided he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Sutcliffe would spend 32 years at the top security hospital alongside the country's most dangerous killers and rapists. But it would have been much shorter if his audacious escape bid had succeeded. 'I'm The Yorkshire Ripper' by Robin Perrie and Alfie James is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and as an ebook. Buy it on Amazon now. 20
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The mushroom murders resemble an Agatha Christie plot – and film studios, publishers and streaming platforms know it
Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock knew the power of a meal gone fatally wrong. From poisoned tarts to deadly dinner parties, their murder mysteries had the knack of transforming the domestic into the diabolical. Now, real life has delivered its own gothic culinary thriller – and the literary and entertainment worlds are eating it up. The conviction of Erin Patterson, the Victorian woman found guilty of murdering three members of her estranged husband's family – and attempting to murder a fourth – with a homemade beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms, has created an international media maelstrom. Publishing houses, streaming platforms, film studios and podcast producers are circling the story like salivating wolves closing in to make a killing. Even before the jury delivered its guilty verdict on Monday, Australia's national public broadcaster, the ABC, confirmed it was turning the Patterson poisoning into a TV drama. Its co-creator Tony Ayres (The Survivors, Clickbait) told Deadline that Toxic would 'go beyond the surface – to reveal, not just sensationalise', and he was working closely with the ABC journalist Rachael Brown, co-podcaster of Mushroom Case Daily, the ABC's most successful podcast in a decade. It is one of some half a dozen podcasts that covered the murder trial daily, with reporters from around the world flocking to the Latrobe Valley law courts. These podcast series are now expected to delve deeper into the forensic science behind mushroom toxicity, the ethics of food preparation, and the cultural fascination with domestic crime. This Sunday, Seven is promising a Spotlight Special, with a criminal barrister, a forensic psychologist, a former detective, and journalists dissecting the trial and the convicted poisoner's motives. And Nine has confirmed a deal with its streaming platform Stan for Death Cap, a documentary that Screen Australia promises will showcase 'exclusive access into the investigation and trial' and examine 'how one lethal lunch can shatter the myth of small-town security in Australia'. Comparisons to the 2004 Netflix hit The Staircase, based on the true case of Michael Peterson, an American novelist accused of murdering his wife who was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their North Carolina home in 2001, abound. Toni Collette who played the victim in The Staircase, is being touted on social media as an ideal actor to play Patterson. New Idea threw local names Magda Szubanski, Mandy McElhinney and Jacki Weaver into the mix, along with Hollywood heavyweights Melissa McCarthy and Kathy Bates, and Baby Reindeer's Jessica Gunning. With one of Australia's most lauded novelists Helen Garner spotted in the Morwell court public gallery, there has been speculation that another gripping work of nonfiction, along the lines of This House of Grief, her 2014 work about the trial of Robert Farquharson, convicted of crashing his car into a dam and killing his three sons, is in the works. And Allen & Unwin has already announced it will publish The Mushroom Murders, a nonfiction work by the Underbelly creator Greg Haddrick – 'with details not previously published' – in November. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion With global media outlets including CNN, the BBC and Al Jazeera covering the verdict, the story's reach has been unprecedented for an Australian criminal case. 'It resonated with an audience all over the world,' the UK Daily Mail journalist Caroline Cheetham, who gained a cult following with her The Trial Of Erin Patterson podcast, told the ABC. 'It just feels so totally off the wall, bizarre, crazy, bonkers.' With so many spin-off projects already confirmed, the Erin Patterson saga may now become one of the most dramatised true crime stories in recent memory. Whether ethical questions, about how the tragic deaths of Gail and Don Patterson and Heather Wilkinson have become entertainment fodder, will be examined remains to be seen.
Geek Girl Authority
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
POKER FACE Recap: (S02E11) Day of the Iguana
Poker Face Season 2 Episode 11, 'Day of the Iguana,' is a wildly entertaining penultimate outing. It's a ton of fun, and it cleverly interweaves multiple overarching Season 2 plotlines. Once again, the creatives shake up the show's episodic formula by incorporating a professional killer and staging the murder at the very beginning. This keeps things fresh. I'm curious to see how it all ends next week (fingers crossed Alex survives). RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Poker Face episode, 'The Big Pump' Poker Face, 'Day of the Iguana' We open with Todd (Justin Theroux) watching a YouTube video on how to tie a tie. A man shows up at his door, claiming he's Todd's chauffeur for Kirby and Victoria's wedding. We don't see his face. Todd had no idea he was getting a chauffeur. He asks the man to wait a few minutes while he finishes tying his tie. Todd turns around and shuts the door. However, the driver silently grabs the door and sneaks inside. He carries a duffel bag. The driver offers to fix Todd's tie for him. He chokes Todd to death. RIP. We see Todd's fake eyeball roll across the floor. Then, the killer zips Todd up in what looks like a giant vacuum-sealed bag. After this, the killer applies prosthetics and a special contact lens in his eye to look like Todd. In fact, the murderer is the spitting image of the man he killed. Guts and Eyeballs Next, the killer dumps files out of a folder. Said files are all about Kirby Kowalczyk (Haley Joel Osment), the groom. A photo of Columbo is inexplicably among Kirby's files. Oh, and the vacuum-sealed bag? It completely liquified the real Todd. He's basically a bunch of guts now. Fun times. RELATED: Poker Face Season 2: Our 6 Dream Guest Stars Now, the killer — I'm calling him 'Fake Todd' from here on out — drives to the wedding. It's abundantly clear that Kirby is the next target. Fake Todd is a professional hitman. He adjusts the special contact lens, which keeps trailing off to the side in his eye. Inside, a server offers Fake Todd a Ballzilla and vodka (Ballzilla is Kirby's energy drink enterprise). Then, he takes his seat as the ceremony commences. Victoria (Emma Pfitzer Price) walks down the aisle as Kirby eagerly awaits her. Fake Todd notices Luca (Simon Helberg) standing off to the side. He has a camera embedded in his boutonnière. Fake Todd storms out of the ceremony and calls his boss. He didn't know the feds would be present. His boss, who distorts their voice to disguise their identity, orders him to stay the course. Find a patsy. The Patsy Fake Todd wanders into the boathouse. Suddenly, Alex (Patti Harrison) barges into the boathouse to retrieve a bag of oysters. She's dressed all old-timey. Fake Todd pretends he's talking to his dad before hanging up. Then, he flirts with Alex. After Alex departs, Fake Todd mutters that he's found his patsy. Uh-oh. RELATED: Russian Doll Season 2 Thoughtfully Explores Motherhood and Trauma Back inside, Fake Todd seeks out Alex. He hands her a drink. Alex asks if anyone has ever called him 'Hot Toddy.' She's smitten. Kirby embraces Fake Todd. The real Todd was his teacher. Kirby points out Fake Todd's faulty eye, reassuring FT that he'll make it up to him. As it turns out, a rubber band launched by a young Kirby made contact with the real Todd's eyeball. And … you can guess what transpired next. Anyway, Kirby wants Fake Todd to join him on a new business venture, involving an expansion of the Ballzilla brand. Then, Kirby orders Fake Todd to do an impression of Columbo. The hitman had a photo of Columbo with Kirby's files because Kirby loved it when the real Todd did his wildly accurate Columbo impression. Kirby doesn't know who the famous detective is, though. I love this homage to Poker Face 's biggest inspiration. Oh, and One More Thing The impression sends Kirby and his bros into a fit of raucous cheers. Victoria urges her new husband to keep a lid on the bro energy. Osment plays douchebag so well. After Kirby excuses himself, the murder muse awakens in Fake Todd. He grabs a few Ballzilla caps and an oyster knife. He also unplugs the fridge that keeps all the oysters chilled. This is clearly to frustrate Alex. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Mabel Mora Later, Fake Todd knocks Kirby out in the bathroom. He injects Kirby with a mysterious substance before slamming the latter's head on the urinal. That does the trick. Then, he Weekend at Bernie's the situation by pretending Kirby is simply inebriated as the pair 'stumbles' toward the boathouse. Meanwhile, Alex notices that someone unplugged her oyster fridge. How dare they! Alex discards the product in the fridge before venturing to the boathouse to retrieve fresh oysters. There, she discovers Kirby's body. Fake Todd situated Kirby so he's sitting in the boat with an oyster knife protruding from his eye socket. Ew. Alex stares in abject shock as Fake Todd approaches her from behind with a syringe. I Didn't Do It Next, Victoria wonders where Kirby is. Fireworks decorate the sky overhead, but Victoria complains that they're supposed to go off while she and Kirby speed away in the boat. Then, she discovers Kirby's corpse in the boat. Alex wakes up beside him. She realizes she's holding the oyster knife with Kirby's eyeball on the blade. Alex tells the amassing crowd that she didn't kill him. RELATED: Read our Russian Doll recaps Flashback time — we find Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) waking up in her apartment. Well, Good Buddy's apartment. She takes a broom and knocks on the ceiling to alert her upstairs neighbor, who's back in the tap dancing game. His incessant dancing is interrupting her sleep cycle. Alex visits with coffee and breakfast. She has an opportunity for Charlie. POKER FACE — Pictured: (l-r) Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, Patti Harrison as Alex — (Photo by: Ralph Bavaro/PEACOCK) Later, we see Charlie and Alex arrive at the wedding. Alex notes that the Barracuda seems to be on its last legs. Aw. Alex has a new business venture — Yippie-Ki-Yay Oystershucker. Cute name. She's all about wedding oysters now. She informs Charlie that they stand to make $7,000 at this wedding. Charlie's more enthusiastic now. She'll even wear the old-timey outfit. Da Balloon Guyz Inside, Alex explains the precise temperature the oysters must remain at, otherwise they'll make everyone sick. Meanwhile, the FBI, including Luca, SAC Darville (Lili Taylor), Agent Radquist (Anthony Johnson) and Agent Milligan (Taylor Schilling) sit in a van with 'Da Balloooon Guyz' emblazoned on the side. They see Fake Todd pull in, and Luca refers to him as the real Todd, a teacher. Luca must name every guest to determine who might be a threat. Why are the FBI here? Reason unknown. Milligan thinks this is dumb, but c'est la vie. RELATED: The Best True Crime Shows on Netflix Elsewhere, Alex tasks Charlie with handing out oysters to the wedding guests. She meets Fake Todd and assumes he's overcome with emotion as he's hunched over, attempting to adjust his contact lens. She notes that his eye keeps veering to the side. Then, she notices a scar on the palm of his hand. Charlie asks Fake Todd how he came by that. He claims it was a pool accident. In a knee-jerk reaction, Charlie calls bullsh*t. Fake Todd is taken aback by her response. She apologizes. Later, Charlie catches Luca as the latter flags down Kirby. Kirby is incensed. He doesn't want anything to do with 'her.' After Kirby storms off, Charlie asks Luca why he's here. Luca admits that any time Charlie crops up, trouble is sure to follow hot on her heels. Luca lies about his objective, which Charlie clocks. Then, she sees what Luca tried to give Kirby — a gift from his estranged mother. As it turns out, Kirby's mother is none other than Beatrix Hasp. A Family Affair Luca explains that Beatrix is in witness protection, so she can't attend Kirby's wedding. She hasn't seen her son since he was born. The camera in Luca's boutonnière live streams the ceremony for Beatrix. Perhaps this will give her closure. Charlie vows to stay out of Luca's hair. RELATED: Read our Only Murders in the Building recaps Then, Charlie finds Kirby outside on a dock. She offers him a Ballzilla and vodka — heavy on the vodka. He accepts it. Charlie reveals she knows his mom. Beatrix tried to kill her. Naturally, Kirby resents his mother for giving him up. Charlie dispenses wisdom for Kirby before he ventures back inside. Next, Alex tells Charlie about Hot Toddy, her wedding crush. Charlie asks if she can go on a vape break. Sure, she took a break earlier, but that was to drink. Alex gives her the okay. After Charlie leaves, we see that Fake Todd has already unplugged the fridge. POKER FACE — Season 2 Episode 11, 'Day of the Iguana' — Pictured: Justin Theroux — (Photo by: Ralph Bavaro/PEACOCK) A Moving Target Outside, Charlie spots Fake Todd attempting to 'escort' Kirby to the boathouse. She assumes the latter, whom she can't identify because of his hat, is some rando who can't hold his liquor. Charlie heads back inside to find Alex missing. She notes the bags of oysters in the trash. Victoria yells for Kirby as the fireworks go off prematurely. RELATED: Top 11 Peter Bogdanovich Films Next, Charlie hears Victoria scream as she discovers Kirby's body in the boat. Charlie peers through binoculars and spies Alex, who's holding the bloody oyster knife and vehemently declaring she didn't kill Kirby. Charlie knows she's telling the truth. Innate lie detector and all that. After this, Alex swims away to escape. Charlie chats with Luca. Charlie insists Alex is innocent. She can prove it. So, Luca offers to protect Alex if Charlie can bring her in. Darville pulls Luca aside and reveals they can't guarantee Alex's protection. After all, Kirby was the son of Beatrix Hasp. Word of his murder has probably already ruffled the feathers of every mobster in North America. Charlie hears this and runs. Escape Plan Then, Charlie and Alex reunite. Alex is in panic mode. Alex admits she found Kirby in the boat and then woke up beside him. Charlie reassures Alex that she believes her. It's all gravy. However, they need to flee the scene. They spot Ballzilla can and gorilla costumes. After escaping in said costumes (unfortunately, Luca sees them), Alex pulls down a canoe in the boathouse. In it, Charlie spies the Ballzilla hats Fake Todd and Kirby were wearing, along with Fake Todd's special contact lens. Bingo. RELATED: Read our Poker Face recaps This gets the wheels turning in Charlie's head. She recalls her encounter with Fake Todd. He must've been walking Kirby to the boathouse. She realizes he did it — he killed Kirby and pinned it on Alex. And Fake Todd must be a professional killer. Luca runs across the dock and shouts at Charlie as she and Alex row away. He reminds her about the five families. The mafia will be all over Alex. Beatrix has probably already put out a hit on Alex and a hefty reward to sweeten the pot. However, Charlie and Alex continue rowing. Darville spews vitriol at Luca, insisting he's a sh*tty agent. Milligan basks in the glow of the bitterness. According to her, the FBI has gone too soft. At the same time, Charlie and Alex brainstorm a plan. Charlie believes they can turn to Beatrix. Why? Because Beatrix knows about Charlie's lie detector. Charlie tries to DM Beatrix's finsta, but the latter isn't following her. So, Charlie takes a screenshot of a flyer in one of Beatrix's posts for a local politician … in Greenville, Indiana. That's where Beatrix is. They can persuade her of Alex's innocence. POKER FACE — Photo by: PEACOCK The Iguana Has It Out for Beatrix Meanwhile, Luca and Darville school Milligan on 'Iguana' — the codename of the deadliest assassin in the world. This is Fake Todd. Luca insists that the Iguana kept Charlie and Alex alive for a reason. Charlie is leading him to Beatrix. Elsewhere, Beatrix (Rhea Perlman) pulls some cookies out of the oven in her house in Indiana. Poker Face drops new episodes every Thursday on Peacock. KNIVES OUT 3 Reveals First Look of Benoit Blanc With Long Hair Contact: [email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium. Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bob Hawke's wife Blanche d'Alpuget doesn't look like this anymore! The late Prime Minister's widow debuts makeover as she promotes her latest X-rated novel
The wife of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke looked unrecognisable as she promoted her new raunchy book in Sydney. Blanche d'Alpuget, who became a widow in 2019 after her husband passed away, featured in a video posted to Facebook last week by Abbey's Bookshop. In the clip, the 81-year-old wore a bold makeup look and heavy rouge on her cheeks as she encouraged fans to buy her new book The Bunny Club. She wrapped up warm in a neutral-toned puffer jacket as she visited the iconic Sydney bookstore, accessorising with a red beret, a patterned scarf and pearl earrings. Her hair, usually voluminous and curled, was a far cry from her signature do as it lay flat on her head in a short, straight bob. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'There's plenty of s-e-x in it,' she told her fans of her new novel. Adding her saucy take on the 'murder mystery' genre, she revealed that it's 'not clear if it's murder or a sex game gone wrong.' 'Blanche D'Alpuget delivers a gripping novel that unravels the shocking death of 'Australia's darling', the nation's most beloved and recognisable morning television presenter, found dead under mysterious and disturbing circumstances in her Southern Highlands home,' the caption read. In 2020, Blanche sensationally claimed in a bombshell biography that her late husband Bob had four affairs while he was prime minister and was addicted to sex. The revered politician had about four 'serious affairs' while national leader from 1983 until 1991, his widow told the writers of Bob Hawke: Demons and Destiny. Hawke was married to his wife Hazel from 1956 until their divorce in 1995; the affair with d'Alpuget began in 1976 and went on and off before starting again in 1988. She said Hawke's behaviour would be classed as a sex addiction. 'At the end of a day of intense activity, he somehow had to let off steam, as it were, and there's nothing like a roll in the hay or five to do that,' d'Alpuget said. The book claims Hawke's charm saw countless women mesmerised, with women throwing themselves at him in the 1960s and 1970s. If rejected, Hawke was known to be brutal. Former tourism minister John Brown also recalled how Hawke 'constantly' chased women - and wasn't remotely discreet, according to excepts from the book seen by The Australian. Ex-union secretary Bill Kelty, who worked with Hawke at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said the politician would routinely sleep with women during drinking benders which lasted until the early hours of the morning. 'Bob would drink, he would f**k somebody, and he would gamble until 2.30am or 3.30am in the morning - and then when the ACTU executive started at 9am in the morning, he was the second one there and he was fine,' Kelty recalled. Hawke famously gave up alcohol throughout his leadership despite being a heavy drinker in his trade union days.
