It’s been reported today that comedian Russell Brand has said that he’d love to step into Matt Smith’s shoes to play the role of the Doctor on Doctor Who, but would adopt a persona for the Time Lord that’s more comparable to Tom Baker’s characterization of the iconic figure.

In addition, it’s also been revealed that Russell is set to appear on Question Time alongside Boris Johnson – where maybe the Question up for debate is what the hell are they trying to do to the show’s credibility – but more on that in a moment.

First, of Russell’s Doctor Who ambition, he told Absolute Radio, “I’d love to be the Doctor… Read more & comment »

We reported a while ago that JJ Abrams’ new post-apocalyptic drama Revolution had been picked up by Sky, and today it’s been revealed that the show will debut on Sky 1 on March 29th.

Of the drama, the Radio Times states, “The latest TV offering from the director of Star Trek Into Darkness is set 15 years after the world’s electricity was mysteriously switched off and all technology blacked out.

“Cities fell into darkness, planes dropped out of the sky and soon everyday life had changed beyond recognition, as governments disintegrated and warlords and militia took over.” Read more & comment »

There’s a new twist on being dead that’s headed our way via BBC3 later this year when new zombie drama In the Flesh is unveiled on the channel…

And while it sounds like a really good drama on paper – we have the full lowdown on the show for you after the jump – I can’t help but wonder if it can possibly hope to be as good as The Walking Dead, which of course returned our screens last night on FX.

However, In the Flesh goes one step further than The Walking Dead in that in the forthcoming drama, the dead become reanimated and rehabilitated in order that they can be among the living without chewing their heads off… Read more & comment »

Advertising cigarettes on TV has of course been outlawed for a number of years now, however, a new advertising campaign for a brand of electronic cigarettes is set to challenge the rules regarding advertising tobacco with its new TV ad that debuts on January 19.

The advert for E-Lites will feature comedian and Waterloo Road star Mark Benton as a smoker who misses his baby first steps when he goes outside for a cigarette.

Running with the tagline, “What are you missing?” the campaign will air on various channels including ITV, Channel 5 and Sky, and we’ll also see the ad in magazines and online.

Of the ad, the Radio Times states, “The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which investigates complaints about ads, said that its rules on the advertising of tobacco products also extend to other items that imply a reference to smoking or are seen to promote it… Read more & comment »

It’s been reported today that ITV have been forced to edit a scene in classic seventies film Death on the Nile after Ofcom received, and upheld, ONE complaint.

The complaint came from a viewer who said that as the film was recently broadcast by ITV before the 9pm watershed, a scene which depicted one of the drama’s characters, Jackie de Bellefort – who was played by actress Mia Farrow – committing suicide, the footage was too grisly for children to watch.

The film, which stars Peter Ustinov as Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot, was shown at 3.30pm on Saturday March 17, and the suicide scene shows the character putting a revolver to her had and shooting herself, causing blood to trickle from the wound.

Yesterday, Ofcom responded to the complaint, saying, “Her suicide was shown in some detail and was not, in our opinion, appropriately limited… Read more & comment »

As fans of hit Channel 4 show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings – and also Gypsy Brides US, which airs on the Discovery Channel – will know, travellers often encounter prejudice when, for instance, they try to book venues for parties or wedding receptions.

In both shows, members of the travelling community frequently bemoan this state of affairs, claiming that it’s unfair and is out and out discrimination. Unwarranted discrimination at that.

However, again in both shows, we’ve seen time and again that while some travellers are entirely peaceable people, many others are not, and unfortunately, the cliché about travellers equating to trouble is all to often true…

Which is of course how clichés come about in the first place; empirical evidence and recidivist behaviours which perpetuate the cliché.

This weekend has sadly proven to be no exception, as the annual Appleby horse fair in Cumbria descended into “chaos” after what’s described as a “mass brawl” broke out, and police were called to deal with not only that, but also an incident involving a firearm… Read more & comment »

As I have bemoaned here on Primetime before, Christmas is changing, and some of the traditions I’ve always held dear are being eroded by an onslaught of Americanisation and modern technology…

And a survey carried out by Woolworths – and reported on by the Daily Star – would seem to back my theory on this woeful state of affairs, and it also revealed that the UK’s children have a horrifyingly poor grasp of yuletide general knowledge!

The paper states that of the thousand children questioned, one in four think Christmas celebrates Simon Cowell’s birthday – *note to Simon – bravo, you are indeed the second coming – while the same number of kids think Jesus was born in Brentwood, Essex.

Yet more upsetting stats await, one being that several of the children questioned for the survey think Lapland is a nightclub in London, and one in ten kids think David Beckham, Tulisa, Pippa Middleton and President Barack Obama are Father Christmas’s reindeer… Read more & comment »

Since Downton Abbey returned to our screens with its second series earlier this year, fans of the show have been infuriated by the number of ad breaks during each episode.

So, in response – and in an attempt to appease viewers – ITV boss Adam Crozier has announced that in series three, each episode will be 60 minutes long, rather than 90.

This, he claims, will mean that viewers won’t feel as though they’re being inundated with ads because there will of course be fewer breaks. More on that in a moment…

Crozier has also been speaking to the Daily Mirror about Daybreak while attending a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch in London recently.

He began by saying that presenting duo, Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley, had been “a risk that didn’t pay off”.

He added, “Obviously it hasn’t worked as well as we’d have hoped. But it is important to remember GMTV was on a gradual slide down.

“It was important to take a risk. Of course, that doesn’t always work out… Read more & comment »

TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson has told the Daily Star that he believes the current smoking ban in pubs and restaurants should be changed to allow smoking in designated places indoors.

60 year old Antony has even launched an online petition asking the government to re-think the ban due to the negative impact it’s having on businesses.

Antony – who runs a pub in Oxfordshire – said, “The ban has hit local communities, with thousands now staying at home instead of going out.

“Smokers contribute £10billion a year in taxation. They should be accommodated somehow.”

You can sign the petition here. Read more & comment »

The Sun today reports that the BBC is risking a storm of controversy as it plans to air a comedy about British bomb disposal experts who’re based in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The paper adds that yesterday, as the show’s upcoming premiere was announced on BBC3, news footage on BBC1 was reporting on the latest death in Afghanistan of a soldier killed by an IED – improvised explosive device. The show will in fact be entitled, ‘IED’.

A BBC spokeswoman said, “We would never set out to offend the courageous people in the forces… Read more & comment »

First of all, let me state that though the title of this post might indicate that I have a lack of compassion for anyone who’s suffered the horror of losing a child to SIDS, that is not the case…

I do of course, as a mother myself, have nothing but compassion for the real-life victims and their families, but in light of today’s news that Samantha Womack has resigned from the show because of this storyline, I felt perhaps it was time to add a little perspective.

I personally think she’s mad for doing so. She’s an actress playing a part, and while her concern for viewers – and of course, particularly viewers who’ve lost a baby to SIDS – is laudable, to actually resign from her job over it is, as I said, frankly ridiculous. Read more & comment »

Emmerdale, Corrie and EastEnders have established a firm tradition at Christmas which involves death, destruction, the ruination of families and other misery making storylines…

Which must surely mean that we, the great British public, are just that blood thirsty and downright mean that we revel in seeing others having a shockingly bad Christmas!

And actually, I have to say, I think I am all of those things… Read more & comment »

TV presenter and former newsreader, Kirsty Young, has slammed what she calls the “ridiculous” lack of older women in prominent roles on TV.

Kirsty’s remarks were prompted by the fact that a young female was chosen to join Jon Snow for Channel 4 news, rather than a more mature co-host.

Speaking to Easy Living magazine, Kirsty said, “People who run TV will say there isn’t ageism, but there are hardly any older women on screen. Who is there?

“There’s Anne Robinson and that’s it. And then you look to America, where you have Barbara Walters, who’s in her seventies and still on primetime television: they have a much healthier outlook.

“We need to sort that out. I think it’s ridiculous… Read more & comment »

Like the proverbial penny, the IT Crowd was back on Channel 4 on Friday, and I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good thing or not. Isn’t it just a bit… over?

There are some very witty one liners without doubt, but one would expect nothing less from Graham Linehan, co-writer of Father Ted. But in having such an immaculate pedigree in Ted, I can’t help but feel The IT Crowd is the mongrel puppy that sneaked in when nobody was looking.

Again, it is funny in places, but in a TV world where sitcoms are literally on every other channel, pretty much 24/7, being funny isn’t enough. There needs to be some solid foundation there, and though in theory, three previous series should’ve formed that foundation, it still feels unstable and lacking the concrete upon which gags would rest safely. Read more & comment »

We’re used to seeing programmes about those far less fortunate of course, but Unreported World on Friday told the story of the largely ignored unfortunates who were previously the living embodiments of America’s dream.

These people have arguably remained in the shadows because America doesn’t like to flaunt its failings, and failings these people undoubtedly are, though through no fault of their own.

Middle America has seen a boom and bust revolution in the last ten years, and Ramita Navai and Clancy Chassay investigated the victims of the bust; families who’re homeless, jobless, and struggling to survive on the meager state handouts afforded to them. Read more & comment »