News

Allan Hunter and Carol Morley discuss Out Of Blue Photo: Glasgow Film Festival

Tuesday morning at the Glasgow Film Festival began with a second chance to see one of the most unusual and most popular films in its selection, The Man Who Feels No Pain, and there was a host of other catch-up opportunities to entertain film fans before the evening’s films began. These included Chained For Life, a black comedy about attitudes to disability in the film industry, with star Adam Pearson attending to answer questions afterwards. James Kent and Jack Arbuthnott were also on the red carpet for their film, The Aftermath, which deals with complicated relationships and the process of recovery after World War Two, whilst artist Peter Howson, director Charlie Paul and producer Lucy Paul attended a screening of Prophecy for an discussion with Hardeep Singh Kohli.

Adam Pearson talks Chained For Life Photo: Stuart Crawford...

Donald Trump can breathe a sigh of relief: Stormy Daniels, the porn star he is alleged to have had an affair with, has not entered Celebrity Big Brother in the UK.

Daniels was understood to have been the star turn in the latest season of the British reality series. However, despite reportedly flying to the UK and agreeing on a fee with the Viacom-owned broadcaster, Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, did not enter the Big Brother house.

According to reports, Daniels arrived for preliminary taping sessions for the show, which is produced by Endemol Shine’s Initial, but refused to enter the house after failing to agree to terms. Reports suggested that she initially had agreed a fee of close to $1M to appear on the monthlong shoot before backing out of that deal and agreeing to a lower amount of $250,000 to stay for one week.

Channel 5 declined to comment on Daniels’ non-appearance.

Peter Mullan plays a vagrant searching for his sister in a naturalistic tale that’s indebted to Ken Loach

The spirit of Ken Loach hangs over this surprisingly warm and rewardingly aware tale of homelessness at Christmas. Peter Mullan is very much in his element as the itinerant Hector with whom we travel to Glasgow for an ominous-sounding hospital appointment (“just some test results”), to Newcastle in search of his sister, and thence to London for a sojourn in the shelter that has become his regular Yuletide home. En route, he encounters kindness, aggression, bereavement and bewilderment, his desire to reconnect with his family tempered by the omnipresent suggestion that he is still running away from something – perhaps everything.

From Hardeep Singh Kohli’s bat-wielding shopkeeper to Sarah Solemani’s shelter manager, debut writer/director Jake Gavin paves Hector’s odyssey with encounters that prove kind hearts are indeed more than coronets.

Photographers Amit and Naroop recently hosted a private view of the much lauded Singh Project exhibition. Guests from stage and screen mingled with the photography subjects who took centre stage at the event.

Guests included Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, RnB singer Jay Sean, music producer Talvin Singh, actors, Martin Delaney, Rez Kempton, Goldy Notay, Ameet Channa, Valmike Rampersad, presenters, Seema Pathan, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Sunny and Shay.

Since opening a week ago, the Singh Project has received much attention from photography enthusiasts and media alike, drawing a huge amount of attention for its bold and highly original images.

“Great collection”,

“Amazing exhibition”,

“Keep up the good work”

“Love the images, and can’t wait to see more of their work,

“Brilliantly done”

These were just some of the comments made by guests. The exhibition, which is on at the Framers Gallery W1 until 15 November 2014, features Sikh...

Medea, Glasgow

It's been a good year for playwright and director Mike Bartlett. Love, Love, Love played at the Royal Court and his adaptation of Chariots Of Fire is currently at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End (to 10 Nov). This latest play, which he also directs, is something very different: Euripides's tale of a woman scorned who takes her revenge on her ex-husband in the most appalling way is one of the greatest and most enduring of Greek tragedies. Now it's reinvented for the modern age in Bartlett's new version about a 21st-century woman who is unhinged by grief when her husband, for whom she has given up everything, leaves her for another woman. The excellent Rachael Stirling is in the title role in a production for Headlong, which will be touring to major venues across the UK until December.

Citizens, Thu to 13 Oct

Lyn Gardner

Kanjoos: The Miser,...

In The Library Book, published for National Libraries Day on 4 February, twenty-three of the UK’s most outstanding writers describe libraries real or imagined, past, present, and future – why they matter and to whom.

Recognising that without libraries we would not have the writers of today and tomorrow, The Library Book’s contributors are all donating their royalties to The Reading Agency, the independent charity working to inspire more people to read more.

Included in the book are Anita Anand, Julian Barnes, Bella Bathurst, Alan Bennett, Michael Brooks, James Brown, Ann Cleeves, Stephen Fry, Seth Godin, Susan Hill, Tom Holland, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Lucy Mangan, Val McDermid, China Miéville, Caitlin Moran, Kate Mosse, Julie Myerson, Bali Rai, Lionel Shriver, Karin Slaughter, Zadie Smith and Nicky Wire.

Read more...

On 26th February London’s iconic Savoy Theatre plays host for one night only to Rockin’ Horses, an evening of music, comedy, poetry and more! Boasting a star-studded line up, the show will be raising money for Shooting Star Chase and the Mane Chance Sanctuary.

The glittering line up will include stars such as Shooting Star Chase patron, Olivier award winner and multi-platinum recording artist Michael Ball; who will perform alongside national treasure Christopher Biggins; Atomic Kitten and West End star Natasha Hamilton; and TV’s Judge John Deed, Broadway and West End actor Martin Shaw, as well as many other famous faces. Also expected to attend are Jenny Seagrove, Nichola McAuliffe, Roy Marsden, Clive Rowe, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Sylvia Syms.

Read more...

April 26, 2010: After 3 years of rocking away in Asia, Hard Kaur is back in Birmingham for the BritAsia Music Awards 2010. Her return to the UK is rather late and this will be her first public appearance after 3 years of being in Asia. The BritAsia Music Awards will take place on Sunday 2nd May at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and will be presented by Scotland’s funny man Mr. Hardeep Singh Kohli. Hard Kaur will join fellow BritAsian Royalty to celebrate the best music that’s been on Brit Asia TV in the last one-and-a-half year.

Hard Kaur shot to fame after her hit single Ek Glassy and is known.

ITV Daytime has confirmed the details of three new cookery shows starting later this year. Dinner Date, Celebrity Pressure Cooker and Ten Mile Menus will air during the spring, summer and autumn on ITV1. Hosted by Lorraine Kelly, Celebrity Pressure Cooker will feature celebrities attempting to cook in the style of professional chefs. Kirsten O'Brien, Christopher Biggins and Hardeep Singh Kohli are among the celebrities lined up for the series. Ten Mile Menus will also feature celebrity contestants, but will team them with professionals in competitions against each other, (more)...

Hardeep Singh Kohli has been suspended from The One Show for six months after being accused of behaving inappropriately towards a female colleague. Show producers received a complaint from the woman in question two months ago after the roving reporter allegedly "pestered" her at work, according to the Sunday Mirror. It is believed that the 39-year-old was instructed to apologise to the researcher following a showdown with his bosses. A BBC spokeswoman confirmed: "The producers of The One Show received a complaint regarding Hardeep's behaviour towards a production colleague. Hardeep was reprimanded and immediately apologised. "He agreed to take (more)...