Friday, February 03, 2012

Pride Can Hurt You Too

He's more evil than Frank Foster, has more screws loose than Tony Gordon and now he's back in Weatherfield. Jack and Vera's wayward offspring, Terry, played once again by Nigel Pivaro, will return to Coronation Street in the spring, unaware that the son he sold is now living in the neighbourhood. His explosive comeback 'will cause shock waves with the residents' when his reasons for returning are revealed. Producer Phil Collinson said: 'I'm very excited to be welcoming arch villain Terry Duckworth back to Coronation Street. I grew up watching him duck and dive and break his parents' hearts - a deliciously evil performance from Nigel Pivaro. This time, though, he'll not only be blighting the life of his son, Tommy, but the lives of every resident of Coronation Street with a typically audacious scheme.' Terry was last seen in Weatherfield on the day of his mother Vera's funeral in January 2008. Tyrone contacted him following Jack's death in 2010, but Terry couldn't even be bothered to attend his own father's funeral. But now he's back and Tommy is about to find out the truth about his errant dad.

New drama Inside Men premiered to more than 4.5m on BBC1 on Thursday, according to overnight figures. The Steven Mackintosh show had an audience of 4.54m in the 9pm hour, comfortably beating its competition. In the same timeslot, ITV's notorious flop Eternal Law could only muster 2.72m, a series low. Elsewhere on BBC1, Motorway Cops averaged 3.78m from 8pm. On the multi-channels, Sky1's Mad Dogs was watched by six hundred and sixty thousand from 9pm.

UKTV's entertainment channel WATCH has revealed their new on-air logo ahead of a rebrand next month. The new logo will 'fit with a distinctive and refined identity for the channel.' New shows coming to WATCH this spring include JJ Abrams’ Alcatraz, starring Sam Neill, Santiago Cabrera and Jorge Garcia, and dark SF thriller Grimm.
Appropriate Adult, ITV's dramatisation of the arrest of serial killer Fred West, has picked up best single drama at the Broadcast awards in London. The Hour actor Dominic West starred in the two-parter as West, who killed himself in prison in 1995 after being arrested and charged with eleven murders. Coronation Street was named best soap and Downton Abbey continued its recent run of awards with best drama series. Sky 1 was named channel of the year. BBC3's Our War, a series marking the ten-year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, picked up two awards for best documentary series and best multichannel programme. The Trip, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, was named best new programme (even though it was broadcast in 2010) and the best music programme went to BBC3's Frankenstein's Wedding - a reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic horror tale, mixing drama and dance. E4 series, and subsequent box office hit, The Inbetweeners was awarded with best comedy programme, while Sky News received a commendation for The Fall of Tripoli - its coverage of the unfolding events in Libya, which led to the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi. In the children's programming categories, there were awards for CBeebies' Rastamouse and ITV's Grizzly Tales. Magician Dynamo picked up his first TV award, winning best entertainment programme for Dynamo: Magician Impossible on Watch.
Many years ago, dear blog reader, back when satellite TV was a new-fangled novelty, yer actual Keith Telly Topping had a BSB squariel (no, really) and UK Gold first started showing old episodes of Top of the Pops (around 1993 ish) the very first episode to be shown was the one from 27 January 1977, introduced by yer actual sensational Tony Blackburn. It was the same episode which BBC4 broadcast this Thursday in their run of Top of the Pops 1977. Yer actual Keith Telly Topping recalls taping it just for the sheer novelty of having an old - full - episode of Top of the Pops in his video collection. It was a pretty naff episode, to be honest - the fag-end of the pre-punk era; Barry Biggs in a nasty pink suit doing 'Sideshow', David Parton massacring 'Isn't She Lovely' and one of the few TV appearances by one-hit wonders Mr Big notwithstanding. But it was especially memorable for the opening sequence of The Brothers (the band that is, not the BBC's 1970s soap opera about a haulage firm), another one-hit wonder, doing their only hit - the annoyingly catchy 'Sing Me.' Nice burned-orange thread, guys.
It was made even more memorable by a truly remarkable bit of 'you'd never get away with that these days' casual crassness from Tony Blackburn himself when, after The Brothers had finished, he noted: 'They are, in fact, real-life brothers. They come all the way from Mauritius, but they've been over here for fourteen years now!' Oh, so that's all right then! I dunno, them Mauritians, they come over here, they take our charts by storm ...
Actually, that's being somewhat unkind to yer actual Tony Blackburn who was, and a lot of people forget this, one of the first great champions of black music - specifically soul - on the BBC. (John Peel used to tell an amusing story about the arguments that he and Tone would get into back in the early days of Radio 1 about which types of music from that era would survive. Tone insisted it would be the Tamla Motown stuff, Peelie thought it was going to be The Quicksilver Messenger Service! Tone, of course, was right.) And, in fact, if you check the video clip of The Brothers performance in one shot you can clearly see Wor Tone throwing some serious shapes (or, rather, 'dancing like a geography teacher at a Sixth Form Disco') in the background. Nevertheless, that - unconscious - patronising bit of useless information about the chaps' ethnic background to the audience does highlight that the world of 2011 is a very different one from 1977. And not always, whatever the Daily Scum Mail might say to the contrary, for the worse.

Now magazine has released a statement about its recent interview with MC Harvey. The So Solid Crew rapper made a series of claims about a 'secret relationship' with Cheryl Cole in the issue dated 6 February, which The Heaton Horror has since furiously denied. However, the publication has said that it will defend itself, adding that Harvey himself had released a statement standing by his comments. A statement published Now's website on Thursday read: 'We completely and wholeheartedly stand by our exclusive and refute any accusation that it contains untruths. Michael Harvey himself released a statement earlier this week standing by what he revealed in his interview in Now magazine. The article is not defamatory and was published in good faith - we will strongly defend it.' It has been reported that Cole is considering legal action over Harvey's claims.

Channel Four bosses are reportedly preparing to axe E4 'dramality' Desperate Scousewives after only one series. The broadcaster has insisted that 'no decision' has been made on the Liverpool-based show's future, but according to the Daily Lies, desperately poor ratings for the show and the fact that it 'failed to catch on' like The Only Way Is Essex, Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore has made the programme's prospects 'bleak.' Amanda Harrington, Gill O'Toole, Jodie Lundstram, Sam Wools, Layla Flaherty, Chloe Cummins, Elissa Corrigan, Jaiden Micheal, Debbie O'Toole, Joe McMahon and Danny Latimer have all featured in Scousewives, but none of the cast have become break-out celebrity-by-non-entity TV regulars like the members of rival scripted reality series. An alleged 'source' allegedly told the alleged tabloid newspaper: 'We had hoped Desperate Scousewives would really give TOWIE a run for its money. But sadly that's not been the case. For whatever reason people have just not warmed to the characters and there hasn't been a great buzz.' It was revealed at last year's Edinburgh TV Festival that Channel Four turned down The Only Way Is Essex when it was shown to them by producers.

Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen is reportedly in talks with the BBC about a new deal which would keep him on the show, but with a major pay cut. Unbelieveable. There was criticism last year after it emerged that the former Liverpool defender was one of the highest paid people at the BBC, taking home a reported one and a half million smackers a year. His contract is up for renewal at the end of the current season and BBC 'insiders' claim that he will agree to a 'considerable' cut under the new deal, potentially up to five hundred thousand quid. Hansen, started broadcasting soon after he retired from football in 1991. News of him having to agree a pay cut at the BBC may alert Sky Sports to his potential availability, as the Scot started his punditry career at the satellite broadcaster. A BBC spokeswoman said: 'We never discuss talent pay or talent negotiation.'

Very popular with students (though this blogger doesn't know many normal people who think he's in the slightest bit funny) Noel Fielding has been given a second run of his 'surreal' (s'what? s'load of rubbish) E4 series Luxury Comedy. The Mighty Boosh comic's first solo TV project only premiered last week, but Channel Four has already announced plans for a second six-episode run in 2013. Fielding worked with director Nigel Coan on the 'wacky' mixture of live action and animation. 'Delighted to get a second series of Luxury Comedy - we'll definitely make the second one more like a Wednesday morning,' said Fielding. 'Channel Four have been so supportive and given us creative freedom to experiment with ideas and techniques. And I think we can push things further and make something even more out there next time.' Channel Four's commissioning comedy editor Nerys Evans said: 'If series one brought us a talking knife wound and a man with ice-cream for eyes, we can't wait to see where else Noel's comedy mind will take us next.'

The latest Keith Telly Topping's 45 of the Day comes from a popular beat combo of the 1960s, The Be-Atles. You might've heard of them and, indeed, it.