NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED: RADIO TIMES AUDIENCE AWARD – SEE FULL LIST & DETAILS!

Call the Midwife, Game of Thrones, The Great British Bake Off, Homeland, Olympic Games Opening Ceremony and Strictly Come Dancing all face the Public Vote at this year’s Arqiva British Academy Television Awards

London, 2 April 2013: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) today announced the shortlist of nominated programmes for this year’s Radio Times Audience Award, the only award voted for by the British public at the upcoming Arqiva British Academy Television Awards on Sunday 12 May, 2013.

Call the Midwife
The Great British Bake Off
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Olympic Opening Ceremony
Strictly Come Dancing… 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 »

At 9pm tonight on Channel 4, brand new show Hotel GB debuts, which features a host of big name celebs taking over the running of an hotel in an attempt to help the unemployed trainees they’ve hired to staff it find real jobs, and to raise money for charity.

The staff of the hotel have been split into two teams; one is headed by fiery (but fit) TV chef Gordon Ramsay, the other by the equally fiery (but frankly not fit) pro-shopper Mary Portas.

Under their command, the trainees will be expected to work across all aspects of the hotel, from cleaning rooms to serving in the restaurant to tackling guests’ complaints.

Joining Gordon and Mary in the attempt to raise money and land jobs for the trainees will be Gok Wan who runs the Bar and events, Phil Spencer who’s Maitre d’, Dr Christian Jessen who heads up the gym and Kim Woodburn who is the Head of Housekeeping,

Kirstie Allsopp works as the Concierge while the fabulous Katie Piper runs the Spa. And apparently, even Dragons’ Den star Hilary Devey is due to put in an appearance… Read more & comment »

On Friday, August 3rd on ITV1 at 9pm, we’ll see moving documentary film, Soham: A Parents’ Tale, which revisits the horrific murder a decade ago of ten year olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The girls were of course killed by evil psychopath Ian Huntley, and now, ten years on from the horrible event, Holly’s parents, Kevin and Nicola Wells, open up about how they’ve coped since their daughter was murdered, and how they’ve tried to move on.

And one of the revelations we’ll hear from the Wells’ is that they considered adopting a child after they lost Holly, however, the couple eventually rejected the idea as they thought it would be impossible to find anyone who could replace their beautiful daughter… Read more & comment »

Dubbed Octomom, recidivist mother Nadya Suleman has attracted controversy for years, and has been a hate figure for many who claim she’s given birth to so many children for no other reason than to use them as an income and to make herself famous.

Whether that’s the case of not, I guess only she knows the truth, however in recent years, she’s seen the offers of TV work dry up, and with them, her income.

She’s been evicted from the house she shared with her children, and has starred in a porn film to “make ends meet.”

And today, the Daily Mail reports that she is now performing as a stripper and a pole dancer in a seedy club in Miami, where during one routine, she drinks from a baby’s bottle… Read more & comment »

I often fear for the collective sanity of Britain when I come across reports such as the one I read in the Sun today, which reveals that “a flood of viewers” have complained to TV watchdogs over the Go Compare ad which sees sporting legend Sue Barker blowing up Wynne Evans’ annoying tenor character, Gio Compario…

Seriously, do people have so little going on in their lives, and so little humour, that they A) take the ad as being anything other than a joke, and B) have the time and energy to actually lodge a formal complaint about it?

Well, apparently so because it seems the main gist of the complaints is that Sue is depicted as a terrorist. Seriously, oh my god.

The whole point of the ‘assassination’ is actually a retort to the fact that visitors to the insurance comparison website named Sue as the most irritating ad character on TV.

But honestly, do these complainants actually believe anybody is going to emulate what Sue does in the ad – which is fire a rocket propelled grenade at the über irksome singer – and we’re set to see a spate of exploding tenors?? Read more & comment »

As we reported recently, Rogue Traders co-host Dan Penteado was wanted by police for questioning on allegations related to benefit fraud…

And yesterday, in a magistrates’ court in Bournemouth, Dan pleaded guilty to eight offences of dishonestly or knowingly claiming housing and council tax benefits.

The allegation was the Dan – while working for the BBC in a salaried position – claimed, and received, £24,000 in state benefits.

The court heard that Dan had “failed to declare” earning from the corporation which ranged from £6,000 to £16,000 during the four years he claimed benefits as a student.

Prosecutor Kerry O’Neill told the court, “On the 17 October 2007, the defendant completed a housing benefit and a council tax benefit application form and on that particular form, he failed to disclose that he had another bank account with Nationwide… Read more & comment »

Over the last few months here on Primetime, we’ve reported about the Nanny State antics of the Gambling Commission who, at one time, decreed that they were looking into the legality – and morality – of permitting TV game shows to air when there’s no discernable skill required to win.

The shows of particular interest to the Commission were Red or Black? and Deal or No Deal. However, the Commission did eventually concede that the shows could continue in their current formats without any special provisions.

Now, anything that hints at a Nanny State irritates me, and that’s made particularly annoying when some ‘body’ or another pulls the Political Correctness card, which is pretty much what’s happened over an advertisement for Fabulous Bingo.

The PA reports that advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, has ruled that News International, who owns the bingo site, have contravened advertising guidelines which the Gambling Reform & Society Perception Group brought to the ASA’s attention… Read more & comment »

Last weekend saw a flotilla of boats taking to the River Thames to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee…

And of course, all the senior royals were in attendance and on the Royal Barge, where a number of VIP guests joined the royal party.

However, it’s been revealed today that one of those guests, who stood just feet away from Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, was Harbinder Singh Rana who is a convicted sex offender.

The paper states, “Unknown to other VIPs enjoying the occasion during Sunday’s 1,000-boat Thames flotilla, he is a convicted sex attacker who has served time for a series of despicable attacks on women.”

Last night, several senior MPs demanded an investigation into how Rana slipped through the supposedly tight security net, and vetting of guests, that should protect the royals from being in the presence of convicted criminals has failed so badly… Read more & comment »

It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since Big Brother star Jade Goody died on Mother’s Day in 2009 of cervical cancer aged just 27.

During her final months, Jade filmed a number of reality TV programmes for Sky that chronicled her fight to live, but of course, when she discovered her condition was terminal, what remained of her life was dedicated to her children, and to raising awareness among young women that cervical cancer isn’t a disease that only affects the middle aged.

And though at the time, countless lives were saved when young women presented themselves for screening and discovered they had the disease, the years since have seen a steady decline in the number of women attending their doctor’s surgeries or clinics for smear tests.

As a consequence, the number of deaths from cervical cancer are once again rising, which we’ll hear about in Jade’s Legacy: The Fight Goes On, which airs on Sky Living on Thursday at 8pm… Read more & comment »

Former EastEnders star Lacey Turner – who of course played the role of Stacey Slater in the BBC1 soap – has revealed that not only does she find filming scenes for Sky drama Bedlam “scary”, but she has a list of things she fears that’s as long as her arm!

One of her biggest terrors is apparently dogs, and she’s “petrified” of her friend’s tiny Yorkshire terrier.

Speaking to TV Biz, Lacey said, “I’m petrified of everything. I’m scared of my own shadow.

“Honestly, I’m the biggest weed you’ll ever meet. The thing I’m most scared of is my best friend’s dog. I love dogs but my friend has this Yorkshire terrier.

“I walked in the house once, not expecting this dog to be there, and it barked and I jumped out of my skin.

“Since then I haven’t been there for five years. I just can’t… Read more & comment »

Before joining the cast of Coronation Street as Eva Price, in addition to roles in Emmerdale, Holby City and Red Riding, Catherine Tyldesley played the part of Iris Moss in BBC drama Lilies…

And today, it’s been revealed that tragic teenager Rose Farley co-starred with Catherine on the drama in the role of Margaret McBride.

Rose of course died at the weekend after her drink was allegedly “spiked” with ecstasy. The PA report that a teenaged boy has been arrested in connection with Rose’s death.

Of Rose, Catherine said, “Such a loss. Beautiful girl inside and out. My deepest sympathies.”

Rose fell ill while attending a party in Liverpool, but despite being rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, she died in the early hours of Saturday, leaving her family and friends devastated… Read more & comment »

Last year, Downton Abbey won an Emmy in the category for Outstanding Miniseries, which beat off competition from top performing dramas Mildred Pierce and Too Big to Fail…

But fail it did, however, Deadline reckon that if Downton are nominated for an Emmy award this year, it’ll be in the category of Outstanding Drama Series, which could see the show in the same category as hit US shows Breaking Bad and Homeland.

Mad Men is also in that category, and has won the award for the last four years running, so it would be something of a shock if Downton toppled it.

The reason for the shift in categories is because the awards are being “downsized” according to Lifetime Networks programming executive Rob Sharenow.

In a recent statement, he explained, “Movies and miniseries represent some of television’s finest programming and it is our firm belief the industry should honour each category separately…” Read more & comment »

The long weekend has of course been leading up to the big finale of the star studded Diamond Jubilee Concert, which airs tonight on BBC1 at 7.30pm.

And last night, in BBC documentary Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty’s Service, we saw the details of Gary’s journey to collect musical contributions from all around the commonwealth for the track ‘Sing’, which will of course be played as the centerpiece of tonight’s show.

And ahead of the concert, which will be attended by “senior royals” and of course, a huge audience, both live at the Palace and outside it, where the show will be aired on giant screens, the iconic Queen Victoria Memorial has undergone transformation, with a 360-degree wrap-around stage erected on the famous landmark.

There are lots of special surprises in store, including having eighties band Madness performing their 1982 hit ‘Our House’ on top of Buckingham Palace.

Also performing will be Robbie Williams, Dame Shirley Bassey and of course, Sir Cliff Richard who’ll sing a medley of hits… Read more & comment »

It is a source of constant irritation to me that TV viewers – some TV viewers that is – will apparently complain at the drop of a hat about a programme they’ve chosen to watch.

And given that pretty much every show on earth has a ‘blurb’ describing its content, both in print and online, and – for those who have digital TV – via the ‘Info’ button, there can surely be no excuse for watching something you’re likely to find upsetting?

Yet people continue to do so, then whine about it later.

The latest example of this being the fifty some viewers who complained about seeing bull calves being killed in a recent edition of Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket.

In the Channel 4 programme, presenter Jimmy Doherty revealed that thousands of bull calves are shot because, given that they are unable to produce milk and there’s next to no demand for their meat, rosé veal… Read more & comment »