News

James Laurenson, the British actor whose 50-year career included roles in Coronation Street, Midsomer Murders and The Crown, had died. He was 84.

His death was reported by multiple UK news outlets today. A cause of death and other specifics have not been reported.

First appearing in 1968 as the Reverend Peter Hope in the long-running soap Coronation Street, Laurenson most recently appeared in the film Matilda The Musical (2022), and TV series The Terror (2018) and The Crown (2016). On the latter, he reccured as Doctor Sir John Weir, Physician Royal to King Edward V and others in the monarchy.

Ian McKellen and James Laurenson in ‘Edward II’

Laurenson also was known for his groundbreaking performance in a stage production and 1970 television broadcast of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II in which he and Ian McKellen shared a kiss, considered the first same-sex kiss for British television and arriving three years after homosexuality was decriminalized.

Bernard Hill, the actor known for playing King Théoden in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Captain Edward Smith in “Titanic,” has died. He was 79.

Hill died early on Sunday morning, his agent Lou Colson confirmed to Variety. He was with his fiancée Alison and his son Gabriel. No cause of death was given.

Hill first came to prominence as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s 1982 miniseries “Boys From the Blackstuff”; his character was known for his “gizza job” catchphrase. That same year, he portrayed Sergeant Putnam in the Richard Attenborough-directed film “Gandhi.” Hill appeared in multiple British television series during the ’70s and ’80s, including “I, Claudius,” “Crown Court,” “Rooms,” “Fox” and “Jackanory.”

In 1997, Hill played Captain Smith in James Cameron’s “Titanic,” which won 11 Oscars. He then joined Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” franchise as King Théoden, appearing in 2002’s “The Two Towers” and...

Bernard Hill speaking to Siobhan Synnot in 2017 Photo: Courtesy of Pako Mera/© Eiff, Edinburgh International Film Festival All Rights Reserved Boys From The Blackstuff star Bernard Hill has died at the age of 79.

The Manchester-born star who began his career in TV roles including Yosser Hughes in the Alan Bleasdale drama, went on to find fame on the big screen, playing notable characters, including Theoden in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Captain Edward Smith in James Cameron's Titanic.

His agent confirmed his death with the BBC.

Early shows in his career also included I, Claudius and Crown Court. He was a versatile character actor, with other films including Scottish cult favourite Restless Natives and Hollywood fare like Gothika.

His career was celebrated at an in person event at Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2017, when he was on the international jury.

Hill's latest TV drama, The Responder, is...

Pamela Salem — a British actress whose many TV credits included the the BBC adventure series Buccaneer, the 1980s children’s series Into the Labyrinth, plus EastEnders and Doctor Who — died on Feb. 21. She was 80.

A cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

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On ITV’s Into the Labyrinth, Salem was the evil witch Belor, on the BBC sudser EastEnders she played the shady Joanne Francis, and her Doctor Who franchise roles included a...

Exclusive: Newcomer Charithra Chandran has landed the role of Edwina in Season 2 of Bridgerton, Netflix and Shondaland’s hugely popular Regency-era period drama series based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels, I have learned. Rupert Young (Merlin) also has been tapped for a major new role on the series, created by Chris Van Dusen, I hear.

The British duo join a fellow new Bridgerton cast addition, Season 2 female lead Simone Ashley. Reps for Shondaland and Netflix declined comment.

Next season, slated to begin production this spring in the UK, will chronicle the pursuit of a suitable marriage for the eldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), as chronicled in the second book of Quinn’s Bridgerton series, The Viscount Who Loved Me.

Ashley plays Anthony’s romantic interest, Kate Sharma. Chandran will play her younger sister, Edwina, who first catches the Viscount’s attention.

Young will play Jack, the newest member...

Margaret Nolan, the actress and model who appeared in the classic James Bond movie Goldfinger, has passed away. The news was broken on Sunday by filmmaker Edgar Wright, who'd recently cast the actress in what would become her final movie role. Her son, Oscar Deeks, has since confirmed her passing to Variety, though a cause of death still hasn't been revealed. She was 76 years old.

"It's my sad duty to report that actress and artist, the magnificent Margaret Nolan has passed away. She was the middle of Venn diagram of everything cool in the 60's," Wright tweeted. He adds, "I worked with her last year as she plays a small role in Last Night In Soho. She was so funny, sharp and, as you might imagine, full of the most amazing stories. I'm so glad I got to know her. My heart goes out to her family and all that loved her.

Thursday, May 4

“Superstore,” 8:30 p.m., NBC

Episode Title: “Tornado”

Network Synopsis: Everyone in the store is on edge as Glenn (Mark McKinney) tries to figure out which employees to lay off. Jonah (Ben Feldman) struggles with the fallout of an admission he made to Amy (America Ferrera), Garrett (Colton Dunn) and Dina (Lauren Ash) spar, and Mateo (Nico Santos) forms an alliance to keep his job. Meanwhile, a tornado warning goes into effect at the worst possible time, forcing the staff into uncomfortable pairings. Nichole Bloom also stars.

Why You Should Watch: It’s an epic moment for the series, which has evolved nicely into one of broadcast television’s most enjoyable ensemble comedies. While the show leans into serialization more than other sitcoms, that doesn’t mean you can’t jump into “Superstore” for just this one episode and enjoy it. (And you should jump into it. It’s great.

Estimated £100m ($145m) of tax repayments claimed through fraudulent film investment scheme.

Four UK film executives have been found guilty of operating a fraudulent film investment scheme that was used to claim an estimated £100m ($145m) of tax repayments.

The men were found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court after they were shown to have falsely claimed to have invested £275m ($400m) in feature films and used offshore companies to hide their activities, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The four executives comprise former Little Wing Films partners Charles Savill and Keith Hayley; Robert Bevan, a former co-director at film sales company Salt; and Monaco-based accountant and corporate services provider Norman Leighton.

More than 275 investors contributed more than £76m ($110m) to the scheme, according to Hm Revenue & Customs. The scheme used tax breaks to attract investment from footballers, investment bankers and a pop star.

The men claimed to have spent more than £250m ($365m) on pre-production and development...

The trial of five UK executives charged with film tax relief fraud has begun at Birmingham Crown Court.

UK film executives Robert Bevan, Cyril Megret, Keith Hayley, Charles Savill and Norman Leighton each face charges of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to falsify documents, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. All five deny the charges.

Andrew Penhale, deputy head of fraud at the Crown Prosecution Service, said in 2013: “Following an investigation by Hm Revenue and Customs, we have authorised charges against five individuals in connection with a tax relief fraud that allegedly cost the public revenue in the region of £125 million.

“It is alleged that, between 1 January 2002 and 11 July 2011, a tax relief that allows investors in the British film industry to offset losses against other tax liabilities was abused and dishonestly marketed in order to cheat the public revenue.

“The evidence suggests that the value of allowable losses was falsified...

The trial of five UK executives charged with film tax relief fraud has begun at Birmingham Crown Court.

UK film executives Robert Bevan, Cyril Megret, Keith Hayley, Charles Savill and Norman Leighton each face charges of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue, conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to falsify documents, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. All five deny the charges.

Andrew Penhale, deputy head of fraud at the Crown Prosecution Service, said in 2013: “Following an investigation by Hm Revenue and Customs, we have authorised charges against five individuals in connection with a tax relief fraud that allegedly cost the public revenue in the region of £125 million.

“It is alleged that, between 1 January 2002 and 11 July 2011, a tax relief that allows investors in the British film industry to offset losses against other tax liabilities was abused and dishonestly marketed in order to cheat the public revenue.

“The evidence suggests that the value of allowable losses was falsified...

Charles Keating, a classically trained Shakespearean actor well known to daytime-tv fans for his Emmy-winning run as Another World‘s Carl Hutchins, has died at age 72.

Soap Opera Digest confirmed the news on Saturday, after one of Keating’s former costars, Alicia Coppola (Aw‘s Lorna), shared this on Twitter.

Charles Keating has passed. I am so very sad. Along w/ @LindaDano he was my very first acting teacher. The actress I am is because of them.—

alicia coppola (@alicia_coppola) August 09, 2014

A cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Born in London, England, Keating worked with the Royal...

Stage and screen actor best known for his roles in Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Harry Potter

The talented and idiosyncratic character actor Roger Lloyd Pack, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 69, achieved national recognition, and huge popularity, as Colin "Trigger" Ball, the lugubrious Peckham road sweeper in John Sullivan's brilliantly acted comedy series Only Fools and Horses. He appeared alongside David Jason's Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst's "plonker" Rodney from 1981 for 10 years, with many a seasonal "special" for another decade.

This success cemented a career in which, up to that point, he had played important roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Almeida theatre in north London – he was a notably anguished Rosmer in Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the National in 1987, opposite Suzanne Bertish – without recognition any wider than usually appreciative reviews.

His enhanced status led to another...

London — A British court sentenced two hackers to 100 hours of community service on Friday for stealing a treasure trove of unreleased music – including Michael Jackson tracks – from the U.S. servers of Sony Music Entertainment.

Officials said that music aficionados James Marks, 27, and James McCormick, 26, used their home computers to access Sony's servers and scour them for Jackson-related material. The pair downloaded nearly 8,000 files, including completed or partial tracks, artwork, and videos relating to Jackson and other unspecified Sony artists.

The precise nature of the unreleased material hasn't been made clear – Sony refused to comment on the case. A statement from Britain's Serious and Organized Crime Agency identified some of the material as stems, which are audio tracks that can be used in mixes and overdubs.

Marks and McCormick _who met online – were arrested in May 2011 after Sony alerted U.K. law enforcement to the breach. Chat logs recovered from...

A boy who hacked into Selena Gomez's Facebook account has been jailed for a year. Gareth Crosskey was tracked down in a £50,000 investigation by the FBI and the British Met Police after he posed as Selena's stepfather Brian Teefey - the administrator of the page - and wrote to him claiming he had seen personal emails between Selena and her boyfriend Justin Bieber in January 2011. He also claimed to have personal exchanges with Selena and her friend Demi Lovato. Gareth, 21, pleaded guilty of two offences against the Computer Misuses Act at Southwark Crown Court and Judge John Price claimed Selena 'deserved' her privacy. According to The Sun newspaper, he said: 'You are clever with...

London — Two men have been charged in Britain with hacking into Sony Music's computers and stealing music, the company and British police said Monday. A person familiar with the situation said the hackers had obtained unreleased Michael Jackson tracks.

Sony Music Entertainment spokeswoman Liz Young said the company noticed a breach of its systems in May, "and immediately took steps to secure the site and notify authorities. As a result, the two suspects were arrested."

She said no customer data were compromised in the attack on the company's internal music-sharing system.

Sony would not confirm how much music was stolen or what artists were involved. But a person familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Monday that the suspects were Jackson fans and had taken his music, including unreleased material.

The year after the King of Pop's 2009 death, Sony signed a 7-year deal with his estate,...

Getty

Two British men were arrested and charged with hacking into the computers at Sony Music Entertainment. A person familiar with the case told the Associated Press the men stole unreleased tracks by Michael Jackson.

A representative for Sony Music said the company noticed a breach back in May and alerted local authorities. The company said no customer data were compromised.

It was unclear what music was stolen, but the person familiar with the case told the AP it included...

A celebrity snapper and movie prop worker has been jailed for seven years for sex attacks on young girls.

David Trainer, 56, was convicted of nine charges of indecent assault on four girls, one aged just six, at Inner London Crown Court.

Trainer, who took photos of Hollywood stars Jane Fonda and Bob Hoskins, and also worked as a puppeteer on 1986 movie musical Little Shop of Horrors, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Judge Mervyn Roberts told him, "The offences were against vulnerable victims. Offending of this nature can have a profound effect."...

Coronation Street star Nigel Havers has said that he is keen on renewing his contract with the Manchester serial. The actor, who plays male escort Lewis, also revealed that joining the show was a lifetime ambition of his. After being asked whether he wants to extend his stay on the ITV soap, he told TV Times: "Yes. I'm really enjoying myself. This is my first ever soap, although I've worked at Granada before. This reminds me of doing Crown Court and A Raging Calm back in the 1970s. "It's been lovely working with Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and Barbara Knox (Rita Sullivan). Sue took me under her wing when I started and we've become good friend. Everybody was very friendly and made me feel welcome. Sue and Barbara are like royalty. (more)...

The Manchester-born actor on why she has played truants, schemers and tearaways all her life

"Am I blind or are you ­hiding?" I get this text from Joanne Whalley as I'm looking directly at her, eye to eye, at a coffeeshop near her home in West Hollywood. She's the one who seems to be hiding: slender and on the small side, wearing sombre colours and ­sunglasses on a gloomy winter's day. She might be a suburban mother ­picking up the kids, or one of those ­quietly dangerous film-noirish women – in shades, dressed to blend in – she has played on more than one occasion.

After the release of Scandal in 1989, in which she played Christine Keeler, Whalley seemed on the verge of ­something huge. She had recently ­married the Hollywood star Val Kilmer and moved to the Us. But the ­marriage lasted eight years, and the career did not. Some people...

Having been officially charged with the murder of Liam Connor and attempted murder of Roy Cropper (David Neilson), Weatherfield's former knicker boss Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien) appears before a magistrate to have his case referred to the Crown Court. With Michelle (Kym Marsh), Ryan (Ben Thompson) and Carla (Alison King) watching on, Tony is told that he is to be remanded in custody until Monday, January (more)...