2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on For 90 minutes on Christmas Day, TV was a glorious, happy, woke-free zone again with Gavin & Stacey
IT’S not Gavin & Stacey’s fault, but I’d started hating the Christmas special long before it came to screen.
A resentment you can probably put down to personal failings and the fact that rolling news, the print media and even the BBC’s main bulletins seemed to be hyping the 90-minute episode’s expectations way beyond a point it could possibly deliver.
PAGavin & Stacey finale spared audience from the one thing that infected other significant parts of the BBC’s Christmas Day TV[/caption]
The show gave the people what they wanted, a Smithy and Nessa weddingPAFor the first half of the episode, Alison ‘Pam’ Steadman seemed to be performing instead of acting, to an annoying degree[/caption]
Without anything else worth watching on Christmas Day, since the last Gavin & Stacey special in 2019, the longing was as understandable as it was damning, I suppose.
But for the first half, at least, it seemed like all the pre-publicity had been a dreadful miscalculation.
The storyline was going nowhere and everyone, bar James Corden and Ruth Jones, who’ve written themselves the two best parts, seemed to be performing instead of acting, to an annoying degree in the cases of Rob “Bryn” Brydon and Alison “Pam” Steadman.
They clearly knew something we didn’t, though.
Because, as soon as Smithy and Sonia’s abortive wedding scene kicked in, everything made perfect sense.
It was an old-fashioned love story that had momentum, heart, soul, staggeringly good stars, Anna Maxwell Martin and Sheridan Smith, and also the good sense to flag up its own plot holes, on the final chase to Southampton Docks.
As I’m sure the whole audience was screaming “Give her a ring,” long before Joanna Page’s Stacey said “I’ll try her on her mobile” and Jason replied “Why didn’t we just call her in the first place?”
They would have looked daft, of course, if the show hadn’t delivered the ending the audience craved and deserved.
But it gave the people what they wanted, a Smithy and Nessa wedding, and spared them from the one thing that infected other significant parts of the BBC’s Christmas Day TV, preachiness.
For there were no gear-crunching references to diversity, as we got in the King’s Speech and EastEnders, nor was there any bleating about the arms trade, as in Doctor Who.
For 90 minutes on Christmas Day, TV was a glorious, happy, woke-free zone again.
And if you think the BBC will learn from Gavin & Stacey’s triumph and cut the political lectures in 2025?
Well, I’d settle back and watch the Christmas special again and again, if I were you.
2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Future of Gavin & Stacey revealed as BBC bosses ‘live in hope’ of spin-off show after finale pulls in 12.5m viewers
BBC bosses want to make a Gavin & Stacey spin-off show after the finale scored the highest Christmas Day TV audience for 16 years.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEA-26roAWL/Gavin and Stacey co-writers James Corden and Ruth Jones[/caption]
https://www.instagram.com/p/DECbujHI8lf/?next=avaferferiifeed&locale=en_USen_UThe Gavin and Stacey cast and crew gather for one last time on set[/caption]
Tom Jackson/BBCThe final frame seen by viewers in the Christmas Day finale[/caption]
Millions more are expected to have watched on catch-up.
Insiders say execs are keen to coax more material from co-writers James Corden and Ruth Jones.
A source said: “It would be madness to close the door on such a hit.”
The spin-off could come in the form of a sitcom following warring couple Dawn and Pete, insiders said.
A TV source said: “James and Ruth are adamant this is the last of Gavin & Stacey. But, when a programme achieves such results, execs will always hope for more.
“At the end of the day, ratings talk and it would be madness to close the door on such a hit forever when fans loved it so much.
“Bosses have had casual discussions about whether options like a Pete and Dawn spin-off could work.
‘Bosses live in hope’
“They were always more separate to the main group and a new universe could be developed which didn’t involve any of the core cast, so James and Ruth’s involvement could be a little different.”
The 2019 Christmas special, when Nessa, played by Ruth, proposed to Smithy (James) was supposed to be the final episode. But The Sun then sensationally revealed the gang were coming back five years on.
Our source went on: “No one thought James and Ruth would ever return following 2019’s special, so it’s definitely considered a ‘never say never’ situation and bosses live in hope.
“At this point they are rightly so proud of what they delivered and why would they risk ruining it all? But no one can be blamed for one day hoping for more.”
The BBC last night said there were no plans for a spin-off.
Christmas Day’s classic finale saw Nessa and Smithy get the happy ending fans were hoping for. But other characters have obvious room for more, after Pete and Dawn Sutcliffe divorced then were reunited.
There is also Stacey’s mum Gwen West finding love with Nessa’s ex Dave Coaches. Fan favourites such as Smithy’s sister Rudi and his mates Budgie, Chinese Alan and Fingers are also candidates.
The BBC has had huge success with spin-offs that are based within the same “universe” as a popular show, such as Beyond Paradise and now Return To Paradise for cop show Death In Paradise.
The source said: “As with any big shows, options are always discussed in planning meetings and there are obvious options within Gavin & Stacey.
“It’s all down to James and Ruth whether anything will be developed, though.”
BBCSome characters have obvious room for more, after Pete and Dawn Sutcliffe divorced then were reunited[/caption]
Smithy (James Corden) proposes to Nessa, played by Ruth JonesA peak of 12.5 million saw Nessa and Smithy get hitched
The 2024 special surpassed its 2019 predecessor by more than half a million viewers. Yesterday, photos were released of the cast and crew posing for final photos on set.
Charlotte Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer, said: “Ruth Jones and James Corden created a magical finale fans will treasure forever.
“Their exquisitely written comedy creation is a show all about family, love and joy and it proved to be the unmissable TV event of the year.”
The special was packed with twists and big reveals, kicking off with the dreaded Sonia being Smithy’s bride-to-be at the start of the episode, not Nessa.
Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions.
She posted a video of her family gasping when she appeared. Laura wrote: “I take an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) very seriously! The moment my family realise Sonia is ruining Christmas again.”
The finale crowned an epic Christmas Day for the BBC, which had all the top ten most-watched programmes.
The return of Wallace & Gromit with Vengeance Most Fowl drew in the next biggest tally, with a peak of ten million, followed by stalwarts including Call The Midwife, Doctor Who and Strictly.
ITV’s best efforts came from The Chase’s celebrity special with 2.9 million and Freddie Flintoff’s Bullseye special on 2.4 million.
Ms Moore said: “Christmas Day on the BBC brought people together in their millions. I’m very proud the line-up was a showcase for the very best in British storytelling.”
Ally Ross' verdict on the finale
IT’S not Gavin & Stacey’s fault, but I’d started hating the Christmas special long before it came to screen.
A resentment you can probably put down to personal failings and the fact that rolling news, the print media and even the BBC’s main bulletins seemed to be hyping the 90-minute episode’s expectations way beyond a point it could possibly deliver.
Without anything else worth watching on Christmas Day, since the last Gavin & Stacey special in 2019, the longing was as understandable as it was damning, I suppose.
But for the first half, at least, it seemed like all the pre-publicity had been a dreadful miscalculation.
The storyline was going nowhere and everyone, bar James Corden and Ruth Jones, who’ve written themselves the two best parts, seemed to be performing instead of acting, to an annoying degree in the cases of Rob “Bryn” Brydon and Alison “Pam” Steadman.
They clearly knew something we didn’t, though. Because, as soon as Smithy and Sonia’s abortive wedding scene kicked in, everything made perfect sense.
It was an old-fashioned love story that had momentum, heart, soul, staggeringly good stars, Anna Maxwell Martin and Sheridan Smith, and also the good sense to flag up its own plot holes, on the final chase to Southampton Docks.
As I’m sure the whole audience was screaming “Give her a ring,” long before Joanna Page’s Stacey said “I’ll try her on her mobile” and Jason replied “Why didn’t we just call her in the first place?”
They would have looked daft, of course, if the show hadn’t delivered the ending the audience craved and deserved.
But it gave the people what they wanted, a Smithy and Nessa wedding, and spared them from the one thing that infected other significant parts of the BBC’s Christmas Day TV, preachiness.
For there were no gear-crunching references to diversity, as we got in the King’s Speech and EastEnders, nor was there any bleating about the arms trade, as in Doctor Who.
For 90 minutes on Christmas Day, TV was a glorious, happy, woke-free zone again. And if you think the BBC will learn from Gavin & Stacey’s triumph and cut the political lectures in 2025? Well, I’d settle back and watch the Christmas special again and again, if I were you.
2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Masked Singer fans slam judge Jonathan Ross over ‘constant habit’ on Christmas special, saying ‘I’m gonna lose it!’
THE Masked Singer UK fans slammed judge Jonathan Ross during tonight’s Christmas special over a repeated ‘habit’ that drives them wild.
Jonathan was trying to guess the identity of Turkey Crown in the festive one-off, where he was joined by regular panellist Mo Gilligan and guest detectives French and Saunders.
ITVJonathan has a repeat habit that drives viewers mad[/caption]
SplashHe continually guesses that Mary Berry is behind the mask[/caption]
It was actually Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse who was Turkey Crown
The mystery singer sang A Wonderful Christmastime, and teased various clues about their identity – including a clue about ‘relative values’ and let slip that that they were popular with kids in Kindergarten.
But Jonathan rubbed viewers up the wrong way by guessing Mary Berry – a guess he makes most episodes, despite the baking legend never appearing behind the masking.
Naturally, viewers took to X, formerly twitter, to vent at him trotting out the same prediction over and over.
One ranted: “Can we please get Mary Berry on the show if only to stop Jonathan making the same crap joke?”
A second screamed: “If i hear one more Mary Berry thing from Jonathan i’m gonna lose it.”
A third wrote: “Wouldn’t be a masked singer episode without Jonathan guessing Mary Berry.”
A fourth eye-rolled: “Jonathan guessing Mary Berry klaxon!”
And a fifth chimed in: “It wouldn’t be a Masked Singer episode if Jonathan didn’t guess Mary Berry at least once.”
It turned out that, once again, Jonathan was way off the mark.
Turkey crown was, in fact, unmasked as Strictly Come Dancing judge, Motsi Mabuse.
The Kindergarten clue was a reference to her living in Germany and running a dance school there.
Meanwhile, the ‘relative values’ mention was a clue that referred to her equally famous sibling, Oti.
Earlier in the episode, Christmas Cracker was exposed as This Morning star Josie Gibson.
“This is so out of my comfort zone!” Josie confessed after she lifted the mask.
ITVFrench and Saunders joined Mo and Jonathan on the panel[/caption]
ITVDavina McCall tricked her fellow judges to be unmasked as Star[/caption]
Frankie Goes To Hollywood singer Holly Johnson won the show
Davina said: “I was texting the bosses at eight o’clock, who were obviously in on it, but I had to text them and to tell them I had to miss the recording of the Christmas special.
“They had to text the whole production team and tell them.”
2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Liverpool 3 Leicester 1: Reds extend title lead as they fight back from 1-0 down through Gakpo, Jones and Salah
LIVERPOOL came from behind to extend their lead at the top of the tree to seven points.
After seeing Chelsea lose earlier, the Reds suffered a shock start when Jordan Ayew turned in for strugglers Leicester.
AFPCurtis Jones proved the matchwinner for Liverpool after rolling in just after half-time[/caption]
ReutersThe midfielder made no mistake and survived a long VAR check[/caption]
But from then on it was one-way traffic.
Cody Gakpo curled home a beauty on the stroke of half-time and Curtis Jones rolled in just after the break to turn the game on its head.
Gakpo was denied a second by a marginal VAR offside call while at the other end Patson Daka forgot to kick the ball when presented with a great chance.
But Mo Salah made sure of the points with a classy finish into the far corner late on.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
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ReutersJordan Ayew gave Leicester the perfect start inside six minutes[/caption]
ReutersCody Gakpo curled home a superb equaliser just before the break[/caption]
RexThe Dutchman saluted his fans after his important goal[/caption]
GettyMo Salah bent the ball into the bottom corner[/caption]
PAThat was Salah’s 100th home Premier League goal – 98 for Liverpool after two for Chelsea[/caption]
PAThe fog caused chaos and even threatened to postpone the match beforehand[/caption]
PAJakub Stolarczyk came in for Danny Ward to make his Premier League debut[/caption]
2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Sir Keir Starmer must resist the incessant siren calls of Remainers in his party
Remain firm
KEIR Starmer must resist the incessant siren calls of Remainers in his party.
For the first time this decade, Britain has an Anglophile US President keen to do a deal which could transform our economic fortunes.
GettySir Keir Starmer must resist the incessant siren calls of Remainers in his party[/caption]
What is the point of risking that relationship by cosying up further to a failed EU which we fought so hard to free ourselves from?
Don’t take our word for it.
Listen to Shanker Singham, one of the world’s leading trade experts. Living standards have no chance of getting better if Labour resets ties with Brussels and ends up derailing a US deal, he says.
Britain’s post-Brexit place in the lucrative CPTPP group of trading countries would also be put at risk.
Our current trade with the EU is working.
Brexit freedoms must not be thrown away at the insistence of those Remainiac MPs who have never forgiven voters for inflicting that 2016 Referendum defeat.
We trust the Prime Minister won’t make a fatal mistake by listening to them now.
No panic, Kemi
NIGEL Farage’s boast that Britain’s youngest political party now has more members than the oldest in the world is, on the face of it, bad news for the Tories.
Right now Reform is cashing in on widespread dismay at Labour’s stuttering start in Government.
But there is no need for Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to start panicking just yet.
2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on ‘We’re the snooker players of the 80s’, says Aspinall as he thanks Luke Littler for turning darts stars into celebrities
TOP darts players have become household celebrities and sport’s equivalent of rock stars, according to Nathan Aspinall.
The Asp, 33, has changed his family’s life for the better by earning millions from the sport over the past few years.
Luke Littler’s appeal has transformed the popularity of dartsGettyNathan Aspinall says darts is a roaring success thanks to a teen rivalGetty
Thanks to the emergence of prodigious teen Luke Littler, part of the same management group as Aspinall, the profile and promotion of the elite throwers jumped to another level.
Two-time major champion Aspinall — who hails from Stockport — says it is rare for him to go out these days without being stopped and asked for a selfie.
And he compares it to the same nationwide attention Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Alex Higgins and Tony Knowles captured when snooker enjoyed a boom time around 40 years ago.
Barry Hearn’s Matchroom stable of potters even had a top-ten hit alongside Chas & Dave in 1986.
Aspinall plays Andrew Gilding in round three of the PDC World Championship on Saturday afternoon after seeing off Leonard Gates.
And the Asp said: “Being in the spotlight is tough.
“I do believe we are the snooker players of the 80s. Snooker players in the 80s were hanging around with the likes of Guns N’ Roses.
“Everyone wants a piece of a darts player now. Everyone loves darts and, yes, it comes from Luke Littler But Luke Littler is a 17-year-old kid.
“The other lads, myself, Michael Smith, Gezzy Price, they are the ones they can get close up to.
“I might be out in Manchester on a Friday night and, oh my God, it’s mental.
“It’s unbelievable but you’ve got to look at it in a positive light. And think, ‘Wow, darts is that popular’. I never thought I was a celebrity until this year. But I am.
“And people love meeting me, love having pictures.
“What Littler and Luke Humphries have done over the last 12 months, it’s been unbelievable.
“Every single darts player I know in the top 16, we thank them for what they’re doing because we are going to achieve and make a lot of money.
“Do I know any rock stars? Well, I’m good mates with the guys from The Blossoms.
“I went to school with them. I think the only difference is the fact it’s all about social media nowadays, isn’t it?”
Inside Littler's massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
2 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change damage
Fossil fuel companies will be forced to pay to help New York fight the effects of climate change with the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to cop fines.
