The BBC’s highly anticipated new drama Ripper Street begins on BBC1 tonight, and it promises to be a nail biter of a show which stars Jerome Flynn in his first major drama for many years!

Here’s what the BBC says of the period chiller…

Ripper Street is a new drama for BBC One set in the East End of London as it moves into the last decade of the 19th century.

April 1889 – six months since the last Jack the Ripper killing, East London is emerging into a fragile peace, hopeful that this killer’s reign of terror might at last have run its course… Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will know, June Brown who plays Dot Cotton, is currently on extended leave from the show, and part of her time spent away from the soap was to film June Brown: Respect Your Elders, which will air on BBC1 on Thursday at 10.35pm…

And in it, according to the Daily Mirror, we’ll see June visiting her co-star John Bardon who of course played the role of Dot’s husband Jim Branning until he had a devastating stroke, which saw him having to leave the role.

However, John’s stroke was written into Dot and Jim’s storyline, and Jim was of course an occasional visitor back in Walford at times when John was well enough to make brief appearances.

But as we’ll see in the show, sadly 73 year old John’s condition has deteriorated and he now needs constant 24/7 care from his elderly wife Edna, as he’s unable to walk and is speech impaired… Read more & comment »

Here is you sneaky peak at the night ahead of you in soap land….

Hollyoaks

Now that we all know Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe) is Mitzeee’s (Rachel Shenton) stalker (hands up of you guessed?) her game plan ups a notch or two forcing Mitzeee to make an admission.  As far as book clubs go, the one at the McQueen’s is far from dull as the evening takes an unexpected twist.

Doug’s (PJ Brennan) confusion over his new business partner intensifies when he finds himself getting very jealous over Ste’s (Keiron Richardson) date.

Emmerdale

Cain (Jeff Hordley) reads Cameron (Dominic Power) the riot act of his whereabouts yesterday, could he know the truth?  Meanwhile Chas (Lucy Pargeter) is wracked with guilt as she comforts Debbie (Charley Webb) at the hospital.

The hole that Zak (Steve Halliwell) has dug himself gets bigger when Lisa (Jane Cox) insists that he fight the cancer he doesn’t have, will he come clean to Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper)?

Katie (Sammy Winward)gets the sense that Declan’s (Jason Merrells) promise to not keep any more secrets from her isn’t going well when he takes a call from a private detective.

Alicia (Natalie Anderson) gets an attack of the green eyed monster after she witnesses what she believes to be Holly (Sophie Powles)flirting with David (Matthew Wolfenden).

Coronation Street

Kevin (Michael Le Vell) tries to talk to Sally (Sally Dynevor) about their relationship again.

Tyrone (Alan Halsall) finds it hard to find excuses from his injuries inflicted on him by Kirsty (Natalie Gumede) last night.  Meanwhile, Kirsty is full of apologies, but can he forgive her?

Tina (Michelle keegan) is left stunned by Tommy’s (Chris Fountain) revelation.

Julie (Katy Cavanagh) puts on a brave face as she awaits her operation.

EastEnders

Tanya (Jo Joyner) and Max (Jake Wood) are over the moon to have Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) back home, but it isn’t long before they realise not much has changed.

Ian’s (Adam Woodyatt) worries manifest in a huge temper tantrum aimed at Lucy (Hetti Bywater), is he heading for a fall?

Carol (Lyndsey Coulson) considers relocating her family out of Walford when the financial strain proves too much.

Whitney (Shona McGarthy) has some unexpected and very shocking news for Tyler (Tony Discipline), but is more shocked than him by his reaction (what could it be?)

New BBC1 drama Call the Midwife has proved to be an instant hit with viewers, and has been branded as being “more realistic” than even fly-on-the-wall show, One Born Every Minute.

And according to the Sun’s TV Biz, that’s thanks to the input from long-serving midwife Terri Coates, who serves as the show’s adviser.

Terri, who’s delivered thousands of babies, also consulted with Jennifer Worth, the author of the hit book series of the same name.

Speaking to the paper, Terri said, “In previous TV dramas, midwives have found it irritating that babies seem to come out with a grimace and a grump… Read more & comment »

Blue Peter has been a regular ingredient in the staple diet of kids’ TV since God was a lad, but today, it’s been revealed that the show is being cut down to just one edition per week, and it’s being moved from BBC1.

The show has of course aired on BBC1 since it was first broadcast in 1958, but as of January 12th, it will be shown on digital channel CBBC.

Currently presented by Helen Skelton and CBBC presenter Barney Harwood, the show has, in the past, been the launchpad of many a career, including that of Konnie Huq, Anthea Turner and Janet Ellis – who is of course Sophie Ellis Bextor’s mum – to name but a few.

The show made famous the line, “Here’s one I made earlier”, and it brought sticky-back plastic to the world’s attention.

And of course at Christmas, the rickety Advent Crown has symbolized the start of yuletide for many a youngster, myself included, when I was one in the ‘70s… Read more & comment »

Tonight is the night for the BBC’s annual telethon in aid of Children in Need, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a cracker of a show!

X Factor boy band One Direction will be kicking off the event tonight, and hosts Sir Terry Wogan, Tess Daly, Fearne Cotton and Alesha Dixon will take viewers right through to the end of the show at 2am.

Gary Barlow and The Collective will be performing this year’s CiN song, Teardrop, and there’ll be live performances from JLS, Adele, Steps, Susan Boyle and Will Young. Viewers will also be treated to a pre-recorded performance by Lady Gaga.

And as always, the cast and crew of the UK’s soaps are going all out to entertain, and we’ll see them performing in a variety of sketches throughout the night.

Reality TV stars have also pledged to help raise funds, and there will be guest appearances from the Strictly judges, the Dragons of Dragons’ Den, The Apprentice guru Lord Sugar, the kids from Outnumbered.

Also, Harry Hill, Davina McCall, Gok Wan and the Match Of the Day team will be joining in the fun tonight. Read more & comment »

It’s been revealed today that former Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page – who’s married to Emmerdale actor James Thornton – is to star in a new sitcom about a national lottery winner.

In the new show, which is entitled, The Syndicate, Joanna plays the role of supermarket worker Leanne who, along with some of her co-workers, wins the lottery jackpot, making them all rich overnight.

The show, which will air on BBC1 next year, will also star Timothy Spall in the role of Bob, who finds that money can’t buy everything. Timothy of course previously starred in Auf Weidersehn Pet.

Written by Kay Mellor – Gaynor Faye’s award winning writer mum – What’s On TV magazine report that Kay said, “I was inspired to write it after a friend of mine was told she was losing her job.

“With a mortgage to pay and outstanding debts her only hope was to win the Lottery. It made me think how many people were thinking the same.

“As cuts hit hard we’re left with only a dream of six numbered balls deciding our fate – what strange times we are living in!

“It’s both funny and tragic; a perfect recipe for great drama.” Read more & comment »

TV legend Sir David Attenborough has revealed to The Sun that he feels “fantastically lucky” to be still doing a job he loves at the age of 85.

Sir David, who returns to our screens soon with a new nature series entitled, Frozen Planet, said, “I’m always thinking about my mortality, about how fantastically lucky I am.

“More so at my age, as you will discover! You just can’t believe that at 85 you are lucky enough to do these things.”

And when – rather morbidly – Sir David was asked if he would be “happy dying doing what he loves”, he replied, “Yes. I used to be an obsessive rock climber when I was in my late teens. I once fell about 75ft… Read more & comment »

The BBC has announced that it’s moving Celebrity MasterChef back to its evening timeslot after it proved to be a flop when shown in the daytime.

The channel moved the hit show to a 2.15pm slot, which drew just 700,000 viewers. More people tuned in to watch Dickinson’s Real Deal on ITV.

The Daily Mirror states, “Now, in a desperate bid by bosses to save the show, which returned last month, the winner will be crowned on a primetime Saturday night ‘round-up’ show on October 22. Last year’s 8pm series finale pulled in seven million.” Read more & comment »

Luther star Warren Brown – who plays Luther’s sidekick Justin Ripley – has landed a role in new BBC drama ‘Savage’.

He’ll star as a policeman who takes matters into his own hands after his best friend is murdered.

A show source told the Daily Mirror, “He goes out for revenge and a different kind of justice.”

And of the role, Warren added, “As soon as I read the script I knew I wanted to join the cast… Read more & comment »

Former Ashes to Ashes star Philip Glenister has been telling TV Times about his new role as Henry Venn in BBC1’s new drama, Hidden.

Hidden, which begins on October 6th, features Philip as a solicitor who can’t escape his past.

He said, “It’s a four-part thriller. I play Harry Venn, and it’s a TV drama, so naturally he comes from a broken marriage and has a wayward son.

“There’s an old acquaintance of his, and a long-term criminal, but Harry doesn’t know anything about this mystery lady and the fact that she seems to know so much about him kind of freaks him out, so initially he dismisses her as being a bit crazy… Read more & comment »

Coming soon to BBC1 is a new programme that’s set to feed our obsession with the weather…

And ahead of its premiere next Wednesday at 7.25pm on BBC1, weathergirl Carol Kirwood has been telling What’s On TV all about the new show.

Read the interview in full after the jump… Read more & comment »

Eastender’s star Joshua Pascoe, who plays turbulent Ben Mitchell in the BBC1 soap, has been suspended from his stage school following allegations of bullying, and the matter passed to the police for investigation.

Pascoe – who attends the Italia Conti Academy stage school – has played the fiery teen since Dec 2010, when he took over the role from Charlie Jones after the character had been released from a juvenile correction facility after a savage attack on Jordan Johnston.

Read more & comment »

Hugh Bonneville and Janet McTeer starred in last night’s first episode of this new two-part drama from the BBC which, overall, was intriguing, full of ‘twists’ and suitably dramatic, but nonetheless I felt lacked something… but I can’t quite say what.

Maybe it was that I kept expecting Hugh to say something funny or because I couldn’t quite buy into a lot of the supporting cast, or perhaps it was the nature of the abduction premise. Pro-lifers who threaten to kill seemed something of a contradiction in terms, until you understand their reasoning which seems to be ‘for the greater good, small sacrifices must be made’ or words to that effect. Read more & comment »

On Monday, Denise is worried about seeing Lucas again so she asks Chelsea and Libby to go out so she can make the day special. However, Chelsea’s worried that her mum will mess things up with Lucas like she’s done before, while Libby just wants Denise to be happy. Denise loses her temper with Chelsea over it so while Chelsea’s at the Minute Mart, she asks Patrick to have a word with Denise instead… Read more & comment »