Sky has announced that production for series two of hit sitcom Mount Pleasant is well under way, and they also revealed that there are two additions to the cast in the form of actor and singer Robson Green, and Britain’s Got Talent star, George Sampson.

Former Corrie actress Sally Lindsay is set to return in the second series – in her role as Lisa – as are Bobby Ball, Pauline Collins, Angela Griffin, Paula Wilcox, Sian Reeves, Adrian Bower, Neil Fitzmaurice, Owen McDonnell and Ainsley Howard.

It’s expected that series two will be comprised of nine hour-long episodes, and a Christmas special.

Robson – who first shot to fame while starring in Casualty – is set to play the role of new neighbour Chris, who develops a ‘friendship’ with the sex mad Bianca (Sian Reeves), while George will play Bianca’s step son Gary, who comes to stay when his mother goes to Australia without him… Read more & comment »

Ruth Jones, who wrote and stars in new Sky sitcom, Stella, has revealed that she didn’t miss James Corden’s input when she was writing the show.

Ruth – who, as you can see in the picture on the left has lost around five stones in weight – and James of course co-wrote hit sitcom Gavin and Stacey, however, since then, both have embarked on new projects, one of which for Ruth has been Stella.

Speaking to What’s On TV about Stella, Ruth made the revelation when asked if she’d missed having James write with her.

She said, “If it was Gavin And Stacey, I would, but he’s not part of the Stella world.

“It’s the same for him, as he writes with Mathew Baynton (Gavin and Stacey character Deano). He’s doing a new series and I wouldn’t be part of that.”

However, though she wrote Stella alone, Ruth “developed the concept” for the show with her husband David, with whom she runs production company, Tidy. Read more & comment »

Former Gavin and Stacey and Two Pints star Sheridan Smith is starring in Sky1’s Little Crackers series of short festive shows, playing the role of her own mum!

Sheridan’s mother Marilyn is a real life Country & Western singer, and in Little Crackers, we’ll see how at the tender age of six, Sheridan got her first taste of being on stage when she sang with her mum and her father, who is in The Dalton Johns band.

Click ‘Read more’ to see a clip of Sheridan singing with her dad’s band… Read more & comment »

Sky 1 are preparing to launch their original comic drama Trollied next month and have released the video promo below, to promote the new series.

The show will be set in “Valco”, a fictional LIDL type supermarket on the outskirts of Manchester and is filmed in a purpose-built, fully functional replica store. It features Jane Horrocks as a sales assistant with illusions of grandeur, Mark Addy – from Game Of Thrones – as a lady loving butcher, who considers himself to be Mr Fun and Rita May as Margaret, a mum and grandmother, trying to reclaim some independence by landing a new job.

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Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg is returning to the dinosaur action he knows so well. And the Jurassic Park director is bring his brand new dino-tastic action adventure Terra Nova exclusively to Sky1 HD.

Terra Nova follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race.

In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in doubt, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past… Read more & comment »

Tonight at 9pm on Sky1 and Sky 1 HD, Ross Kemp takes us behind the headlines about the horrifying trade in human lives.

In Ross Kemp: Extreme World, we’ll see Ross speaking to those who profit from this horrendous trade, as well as those who’ve been victims of it.

And frighteningly, much of his investigation is right here in the UK.

The Daily Mirror today has printed an article in which Ross tells the behind the scenes story of the show, and it’s evident that what he saw and learned has had a profound effect on him.

You can read what he had to say after the jump, but be warned, his account is harrowing and graphic… Read more & comment »

BSkyB (Sky) and Home Box Office (HBO) have entered into a multi-year output deal which will see Sky become the home of HBO programmes in the UK and Ireland. The agreement is part of Sky’s ongoing commitment to invest in standout content that differentiates the pay-TV experience and creates more reasons for customers to subscribe.

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This much praised Terry Pratchett work comes to our screens tonight in a two-part drama, the first of which airs at 6pm today on Sky1 and concludes tomorrow at 6pm.

The adaptation from Pratchett’s Discoworld novels, Going Postal is a timeless story filled with romance and revenge, and it features an all star British cast that reads like a who’s who of the upper echelons of thespians… Read more & comment »

Sky TV has apologised for the “technical difficulties” that broadcaster encountered when screening the finale of Lost this morning at 5am.

The much anticipated finale was subject to a “blackout” during the show which was simulcast from the States.

In a statement on Sky.com, the broadcaster stated, “We’d like to apologise for this morning’s blackout during Sky1′s live simulcast of the series finale of Lost… Read more & comment »

In January 2010, Fat Families saw straight-talking fat loss expert Steve Miller move into the homes of some of Britain’s fattest families and use a range of shock tactics in a bid to help them lose weight before it was too late. But did the “massive fatties” manage to change their lives for good? Or are they back on their “lard arses” and piling on the pounds? Find out in FAT FAMILIES SECOND HELPINGS, TX Wednesday 9th June at 8pm on Sky1 HD and Sky1, where the families from series one are re-visited to catch up on their progress.

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If game shows and the general dross that is Saturday night TV doesn’t grab your fancy, you might tune in to Sky Arts 1 and HD tonight at 7pm for this fascinating documentary…

In Dafen village, a gaggle of talented artists churn out masterpieces by the hour. But don’t expect anything original. Dafen’s workers are copy-artists, who painfully recreate the work of Da Vinci, Picasso and Van Gogh for mass export.

The award-winning documentary goes behind the scenes of the paint-splattered sweatshops in what’s known as the ‘copy capital of the world’ to ask; what in the name of art is going on? Read more & comment »

Oh my, what an intensely harrowing episode this was! I expected character deaths now the end is so near – only two more episodes until the finale – but Sun and Jin’s in particular were very poignant and sad.

And Sayid proved that he wasn’t entirely given over to ‘the dark side’ because he gave his life to save everyone else. Well, to at least try to save everyone else… Read more & comment »

High-octane action explodes onto our screens tonight when the much anticipated drama by Chris Ryan finally gets underway on Sky1 and HD.

Based on the multi-million selling book from ex-SAS man Ryan, Sky says of Strike Back, “This is UK drama as you’ve never seen it before.”

Spooks actor Richard Armitage stars as John Porter, a top SAS soldier who is discharged from the army after a hostage rescue operation on the eve of the first invasion of Iraq goes horribly wrong… Read more & comment »

Spooks actor Richard Armitage, who plays MI5 agent Lucas North in the hit series, has revealed that he felt “under pressure” while filming his scenes for the forthcoming Sky 1 series, Strike Back.

Richard will play the lead role of John Porter, a rogue military intelligence soldier in the series, which is based on the real life of the show’s writer, Chris Ryan.

Richard told the Press Association, “I think there’s always a pressure, especially when it’s written by one of the guys that was there, that did it.

“It’s useful because I can go to the book in search of the truth and find the military character, but trying to recreate that for his eyes is always going to be difficult… Read more & comment »

Ross Kemp returns to our screens tonight with a special look at the socio-economic and environmental pressures facing the Amazon regions of Brazil and Ecuador. It’s on Sky 1 and HD at 10pm.

Shown over two episodes – the second is on Wednesday – Ross will explore the legacy of devastation created by a burgeoning global desire for energy, food and mineral resources.

On the show’s microsite, Ross wrote, “While filming in Nigeria last year, I saw first-hand how much man’s greed has cost the environment.

“By travelling to the Amazon, we hope to highlight some of the well-known and lesser-known causes of deforestation… Read more & comment »