Totty alert ! Christian Cooke back on TV!

He's back in a militaty beret too (RIP Ross Jenkins)!

Having not really been seen since playing the lead in "Cemetary Junction", Christian is taking on a more gritty role than usual in Peter Kosminsky's "The Promise" which begins a 4 part run at 9pm on Sunday. He plays Sgt Len Matthews who goes from liberating concentration camps at the close of WW2 to being a peace-keeper in 1940s Palestine. The action shifts between the past and the present middle east (represented by Claire Foy as his grandaughter who is reading Len's diaries).

Looks likely to be one that ruffles feathers as much as Kosminsky's previous works, so I won't just be tuning in to see Mr Cooke in khaki shorts ...

Official cinema trailer

Channel 4 site for "The Promise"

Buy DVD on Amazon

Bye Bye Bruv

Brian wins Ultimate Big Brother

Thankfully it wasn't Nikki and it wasn't even close! As predicted all along Brian Dowling repeated his victory of nine years ago in the very final hour of "Big Brother" last night. It was the cherry on the top of almost a whole night of BB programming on Channel 4.

There are strong rumours that Richard Desmond will bring it to his newly acquired Channel Five, but it may be a very different beast.

Concocted especially for the occasion is this special housemate-strewn version of "Time to Say Goodbye", though it's often hard to make out who you're seeing, thanks to the often bizarre make-up. Took me a while to realise it was BB11 winner Josie doing the miming to the female vocal.

Big Brother's Obituary Tape (a slightly more tedious concoction)

My BB11 Winner

Yes, I know it's not a universally popular choice, but I'd like it to be Mario (pictured above getting jiggy with Bob Righter).

I know that nice geek Andrew and sexy but uninteresting JJ can't win it, Mad Monk Dave shouldn't even be in the final and that TPTB apparently want Josie to join the Ultimate BB ten, but that's my final evaluation. Had they not been evicted, I might have gone for Ben or Sam though.

'Downstairs' Totty - Nico Mirallegro

Making the TV move from Chester 2010 to Belgravia 1936 is teen totty Nico Mirallegro, who is to appear alongside Dame Eileen Atkins, Jean Marsh, Art Malik, Anne Reid and Keeley Hawes in the new BBC continuation of "Upstairs, Downstairs". Nico plays northern footman Johnny Proude (sounds like a male stripper name).

19 year old Nico is best known as the recently departed Newt in "Hollyoaks" for which he had to wear a wig and fake lip piercing. Even so, he is quite used to getting his kit off as these pictures show

The new "Upstairs, Downstairs" has begun filming in Wales this week.

Big Brother "All-Stars" Line-up (partly) revealed

Channel 4 appear to have revealed the "All Stars" line up that will take over the house for the last two weeks or so of the final run.

As pictured in suitably funereal style they are Michelle, Brian Belo, Siavash, Craig, Alex, Dane, Aisleyne, Brian Dowling, Nikki, Nadia, Pete, Charlie, 'Nasty' Nick, Chantelle and John. C4 tease they may not be the only returnees to captivity, but we'll see.

I'm moderately happy about the line-up as it was looking increasingly likely that they wouldn't get many characters and few of the actual winners. Actually they have six winners and the only summer series not represented are BB4 (which was somewhat expected), BB6 (shame about Makosi) and BB9 (shame about Rex). A little concerned that they seem a bit overbalanced with prima-donnas and that some series are over-represented which might make for immediate cliques.

Ideally, I'd replace Dane with Federico or Jon from BB4, Charlie with Makosi and busted flush 'Nasty' Nick with Rex.

Of course they will also be joined by the winner of BB11, who is blissfully unaware of this fate. Until tonight that is. After a further fib about them voting for the 2010 winner, in tonight's live show Big Brother will finally reveal to the current housemates that they are not in there until September as they thought and that only one will remain in after their final on 24 August (though I'd wager Sam Pepper and the other latecomers may be in on this already), so they have a lot less time left than they imagined.

Hope they get a chance to clean the house!

Big Brother 11 - First Impressions

OK, so a quick word (if I can summon any up) about the 14 housemates who entered the house last night, in order of appearance.

Josie - seems fine to me, as long as she doesn't overplay the 'dizzy blonde bumpkin' angle which is such a BB cliche (though it worked for last year's winner). So far she hasn't. I'd imagine she's quite high in betting odds, having had a rare good reception from the Elstree crowd.

Steve - another good reception, but possibly on shallow reasons owing to him having both legs blown off by an IRA bomb while he was a soldier. Not seen much of the character yet, but likely to be a good guy with a good attitude.

Ben - probably going against the majority view here but Ben looks to me to be one to watch. He's outwardly an unsympathetic lanky posh bloke with a bouffant, but I think there's something else going on there. We'll see.

Rachael - struggling to say very much about the Beyonce lookalike. Not a good sign.

Nathan - this year's 'bloke's bloke', complete with six and a half inches of monobrow. Might be a one trick pony - need to see more from him before I can judge.

Dave - there were two housemates last night I wanted rid of as soon as they appeared - Dave, the mad monk, is the first. Fake and naff in equal quantities, he's like an 80s Radio One Roadshow DJ who's got religion. The forced jollity will surely not last.

Caiomhe - apparently pronounced 'Keeva'. Looks interesting and open. Another who might go far if she's careful not to make rivals.

Govan - bi black boy who really could go either way with me. Another it's too early to tell on.

"Shabby" - by name and by nature, this was the second one I took an instant dislike to. Looks like a cross between Noel Fielding and Jimmy Krankie and is desperately channeling BB7 Pete to look zany and original. Horrid child.

Ife - seems pleasant enough, but probably doing this to further her music career, so the heart may not be in it.

John James - Australian who apparently came over specially to audition for BB11 (has theirs finished?). Seems purely eye-candy at the moment - looked a bit moody and uncomfortable once in the house.

"Sunshine" - another one who I could take to or take against - there's elements of both in there. Seems intellegent though.

Corin - 'accidentally' looks like Jordan. Also looks like she's been accidentally microwaved. Would be so easy to hate her shallowness already, but I think I can wait.

The fourteenth housemate was chosen at random from the remaining wannabees from a tombola:

Mario - considering who we could have got saddled with from the remaining crowd, Mario was a bit of a relief. Seems pretty normal by BB standards, but we've got to know him least. Mario has been set "Big Brother's Impossible Task" in that he will be BB's first proper 'mole', oft suspected in previous years (why I don't know - we'd have to be in on it) but only now coming to pass. In a brilliant twist though he was made to dress up in a mole suit with a sign hanging round his neck saying 'I am a mole' before meeting the other HMs. They must not suspect he is a mole of course or he'll be evicted. Further to this, as befits a mole, he will be tutored by the Tree of Temptation (now transformed into a wooden cabinet in the bathroom) into acts of sabotage, as yet not known.

I'm a bit lukewarm on this year's casting so far, but will report back if that changes.

Big Brother 11 - Before the Off

Unusually, it looks from here that 'Big Brother' is going to be good cop this year. Probably very far from the truth, but this summer's floral eye design and the undeniably plush interiors already revealed give that impression. Of course the eye is akin to a wreath for the final series and the interior is more see-through and less private than ever before.

Unusually too, we've been given a freakish longlist of around 80 wannabees from whom the the housemates will be picked tonight (well I presume tonight)and some sort of 'champion of champions' special series will follow immediately on for 2 weeks after BB11 ends. I'm wondering if the potential HMs know that they will remain incarcerated a while longer (with the likes of Nadia and Brian Dowling) even if they win?

Remember "Glee" next Monday on E4!

In the next episode, "Bad Reputation", we have guest star Olivia Newton John sorta getting 'Physical' with Sue Sylvester.

Monday 9pm E4 (then Friday 8pm on Channel 4)

Oh, and there's this too...

"Push It" - "Glee" preview - airs tonight at 9pm E4

Still not watched it yet but this little number neatly sums up why I'm looking forward to it. I wonder if the track releases will prove as popular here?

I love "Push It" anyway ...

"Shameless" Totty : Attitude's first cover of 2010

Was a bit distracted by this - the way the cover has been typed up it looks like our dear PM has had one hell of a make-over! In fact it is the (literally?) "Shameless" actor Elliott Tittensor - a bit surprised post-Jedward they didn't go the whole twin totty route, but I guess his brother is damaged goods after being sacked by "Emmerdale".

Good News for terrestrial bound "Skins" viewers

As well as giving me an excuse to post this lovely piccy of Mitch Hewer (who plays the featured character in the first episode) the actual good news is that while the new series premieres on E4 next Monday, the Channel 4 showing is merely 3 days later on Thursday at 10.35pm. Last year terrestrial viewers had to wait the best part of a year before the first season appeared on C4!

Medicine Men Twin Totty

Here's twin brothers Xand and Chris who front a fascinating new programme on Tuesday nights exploring the extremes of local medicine practices around the world. This week's show on pain relief (or rather the lack of it) was particularly good. Here's a clip below demonstrating a very cold shower. The lads are certainly game!

http://www.medicinechest.info/

Cape Wrath out on DVD next week!

I know it wasn't everyone's cup of tea (even Stuart Maconie, judging by the current "Radio Times"), but I was hooked on this recently departed series and it's making a swift appearance on the DVD shelves next Monday (27th). Amazon have it for £16.98.

Interestingly it's subtitled 'the complete series one' and is an 18 certificate. Less interestingly, there are no extras whatsoever, which is something I would have appreciated here.

Amazon also provide a chunky trail for the entire series here, if you've yet to catch it.

Now arriving ... Channel 4+1

From Monday, digital viewers will get two chances to see all Channel 4 programmes when it becomes the first of the main terrestrial channels to introduce a "+1" channel. I think it's a great idea and hope other channels follow the lead. Due to domestic circumstances I'm detached from my Freeview (and have been since 'redecoration' started in mid-June) but hope to take full advantage when me and my box are re-united.

Surprised the promotion of this has been so low-key actually - I've only seen one promo (the corny Kung-fu one with Sarah Beeny) but from the ad above it may be that the "Skins" gang, Gordon Ramsay, David Threlfall, Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr are also hawking it.

Now what I could do with is a -1 option too ...

See also

Skins finale "Wild World" (Spoiler Alert!)

For those of you who caught "Skins" on E4 earlier this year here's a chance to relive the final moments of the final episode of the first series when the cast unexpectedly burst into song for a rendition of Cat Stevens' "Wild World"

For those of you who didn't and want to view it in order on the C4 transmission beginning on the 21st August DON'T CLICK THIS VIDEO !!! We're talking major spoiler territory

The Really New Avengers ...

This "Friday Night Project" sketch starring Joanna Lumley will date very quickly given the punchline but when I caught up with it yesterday I just had to share ...

John Barrowman on tonight's "Friday Night Project" C4

JB is the guest host on tonight's "Friday Night Project" following "Doctor Who" co-stars Billie Piper and David Tennant. As is their wont in the summer runs John is made to dress up as "Big Brother" stars. Here he's pictured as 'a twin', Ziggy and Davina McCall.

Channel 4 - 40 Years On Gay season

A Very British Sex Scandal Orlando Wells & Karl Davies

Clapham Junction Paul Nicholls

Commemorating 40 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality (in England and Wales anyway - Scotland and N Ireland had to wait until the 80s!).

The full line-up:

21st July, 9pm
A Very British Sex Scandal

22nd July, 10pm
Clapham Junction

24th July, 23:05pm
How Gay Sex Changed the World

25th July, 23:00pm
40 Years Out

26th July, 23:05pm
Queer As Old Folk

Channel 4 - "Cape Wrath"

Normally I have difficulty staying awake for C4's dramas which typically start at 10pm (I get up at 6am). Last night's "Cape Wrath" additionally lasted until after 11.30pm as a feature length season opener but I didn't flinch, which is a sure sign that I loved it!

I have to namecheck all the usual suspects for where the concepts and atmosphere come from: "Twin Peaks", "The Prisoner" and the Stepford series of films. There's also the merest hint of "Brookside" for me, despite a deliberate absence of revealing where the fictional Meadowlands is at (it was filmed in a real development in Kent, but the titular Cape Wrath - in Caithness - is never mentioned). Unusually, it started screening in the US last month.

Though it looks to me like there will be a focus on a different character each episode this kicked off with the nuclear 'Brogan' family (above) moving in under blindfold. The blindfolds are necessary because the main twist of this drama is that the Meadowlands community are all relocated there for their own safety, apparently for the rest of their lives. Thus they all have a dark secret and a new fake identity. Even by the end of last night's episode we don't know the full story of "Danny Brogan" (David Morrissey) or how the rest of the family may be involved.

There's a bit of a blur on whether the residents are moved there as potential victims or potential perpetrators of crime. In the case of Jack the handyman (Tom Hardy, below) it certainly seemed the latter but again we were left with a grey area of doubt as he ultimately became a victim at the climax of episode 1. Though he'd been convicted of a sex-related murder at 14 (he is sexually aroused by other people's fear), and ended up attempting to rape one of the 'Brogan' family it was revealed he'd been betrayed by the sinister 'runner' of Meadowlands (Nina Sosanya) while desperately seeking help. I have to say though Tom Hardy looks menacing and sexy in whatever he appears, even when in a rare heroic role, such as the "A for Andromeda" remake. He also bagged the best line of the night - "Your gums, my plums".



It's definitely an ensemble cast, with many a familiar face cropping up - the likes of Melanie Hill, Ralph Brown, Don Gilet and Tristan Gemmill are all residents. Relative newcomers also put in strong performances, notably Lucy Cohu as 'Evelyn Brogan' and Felicity Jones and Harry Treadaway as her teenage twin offspring. Treadaway as the much-troubled 'Mark' especially looks to have his work cut out . He's also rather comely despite the family publicity shot I used above in which he appears to be a cross between Simon Amstell and Edward Scissorhands (the latter may be deliberate). I'd last seen Harry as David Tennant & Sarah Parish's son in "Recovery" coping with another dysfunctional family situation.

I'd recommend it, though not for those with an aversion to sex, violence, swearing or a combination of all three (which happened in the climactic scene yesterday).


Negative review in "The Times"
Negative review in "The Daily Telegraph"
Negative review in "The Guardian"

Official Channel 4 site

Wikipedia entry (includes spoilers due to US pace)

Google Map of filming location (ME20 6GB)

Digital Spy thread

Big Mother

The launch eleven




Yes, it's the all-female "Big Brother" we were warned about yesterday. We expect the first cock-drop (apparently neither "a geek or a gay") on Friday night, but I'd predict a low ratings figure for tonight's 'highlights' show.

It's a definite risk for the show - on balance I accept it, but it made for an anti-climax on launch night with no raging testesterone or male totty. I liked the principle (but not so far the practice) of the identical twins. On reflection I'd have to say the two oldest were the two that stood out for me last night. These are the oldest ever BB housemate at 60, Lesley (above) and Carole, 53 (below). I hope both stay a while over the usual 'Daily Star' fodder 'babes'.

More here and here