News

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...

Hundreds of Cbeebies Bedtime Stories will soon be added to BBC iPlayer, and details of what’s happening are here.

The art of telling a story has been utilised for the television screen ever since the medium began. Jackanory is probably the best example, whether it was the much missed Bernard Cribbins spinning a yarn or the great Rik Mayall reading Road Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine with a feverish fervour, it is perhaps the most primal form of drama there is, and is integral to children’s development.

Bedtime Stories is a kind of modern take on Jackanory for pre-schoolers, often managing to tempt huge stars of stage, screen, music and everything inbetween to Cbeebies to read a story. The BBC is making hundreds of episodes from the past available on iPlayer too.

Some of the readers you will be able to watch include (deep breath):

Harry Styles,...

While each actor to appear on Doctor Who has a memorable experience, each has gone on to other roles after portraying the famous Time Lord. For any actor who steps into the shoes of the Doctor, it tends to be a life-changing and career-changing experience. Especially when portraying a role that’s been filled by so many others that it has become a pop-culture icon, playing the Doctor always leaves an impact on their actors and often becomes one of the roles they are most known for. But every Doctor must then pass their role on to the next actor, leaving them to grow their career in new ways.

The long-running series tells the story of a time-traveling alien called the Doctor who travels with a human companion in Doctor Who. A key aspect of the Doctor is that they can regenerate their body when they die, becoming an entirely...

The Kenyan-born English novelist has enjoyed many successes as an author and a few credits as a screenwriter too. Her literary works extend from fairytale children's books to brutal depictions of historical research. Her novels are usually historically-accurate dramatic retellings of British royalty, often based around the Tudors and the preceding War of the Roses; a conflict so dramatically rich that the York-Lancaster war for the crown even inspired the main conflict in George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, also known as its television adaptation, Game of Thrones. It is therefore no surprise that Philippa Gregory's own iterations of these historical characters warranted adaptations in their own right, many of which feature actors that also appear in HBO's aforementioned fantasy series. This list excludes the adaptations of her children's books Florizella and the Wolves and Never Kiss Frogs! which were adapted into...

Nine. That’s the number of Doctor Who episodes that Wilfred Mott has appeared in so far. Just nine. And he was nearly in none.

Bernard Cribbins, a legend who spent seven decades acting and entertaining after joining a theatre club in Oldham as Assistant Stage Manager aged 14, was cast in “Voyage of the Damned” as Stan, selling newspapers from a kiosk as the aliens of the starship Titanic beam down and away again. It was intended as a cameo appearance only, but Howard Attfield was ill. Due to return as Donna Noble’s dad Geoff, Attfield filmed some scenes for Series 4 opener “Partners in Crime” before retiring from the role. He died shortly afterwards.

Behind the scenes, there had been hope that Attfield would have been able to act in the Sontaran two-parter, but his condition deteriorated and his wife said he could not carry on. It was at this point,...

In 2008, the second season of “30 Rock” tied the record set by “The Cosby Show” in 1986 for earning most same-year comedic performing bids at nine. One year later, the Tina Fey-led sitcom raised that bar to its current position of 10, which no traditional comedy series was able to touch until “Ted Lasso” did so this year. Half of the 10 actors nominated for the Apple TV+ show’s second season were also recognized for its first year, while four of the remaining five are total Emmy newcomers. Included in the latter subset is guest competitor James Lance, whose first TV academy notice has come three decades into his career.

To date, Lance has appeared as Independent reporter Trent Crimm in 10 “Ted Lasso” episodes. He is presently nominated in the Best Comedy Guest Actor category for his performance in the second season finale, entitled “Inverting the Pyramid of Success.” Set after...

Doctor Who vet Bernard Cribbins has died at the age of 93, Variety reports. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

Cribbins made his franchise debut as Tom Campbell, companion to Peter Cushing’s Doctor, in the 1966 film Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. But he is more commonly associated with his recurring role as Wilfred “Wilf” Mott, grandfather of Catherine Tate’s Donna, appearing in a total of 10 episodes during David Tennant’s stint as the Doctor.

More from TVLineNeil Patrick Harris Joins Doctor Who as 'The Greatest Enemy the Doctor Has Ever Faced' -- Get a First LookTVLine Items: Doctor Who's New Rose,...

Click here to read the full article.

Bernard Cribbins, the British actor, singer and children’s entertainer whose career spanned seven decades and famously included roles in Doctor Who, has died. He was 93.

News of Cribbins’ death was confirmed to the BBC by his family.

A prolific performer across film, TV and stage, Cribbins — born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1928 — was perhaps best known for playing Doctor Who companion Tom Campbell in the 1966 film Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., returning to the BBC’s cult sci-fi 41 years later in its hit revival series. He was also noted for narrating the much-loved children’s program The Wombles from 1973-1975, was a regular reader on famed storytime show Jackanory from 1966 to 1991, and, more recently, played the titles role in the kids’ series Old Jack’s Boat between (2013-2015). Another famed TV appearance was that of pretentious hotel guest Mr. Hutchinson in the 1975 Fawlty Towers episode “The Hotel Inspectors.

Stars: Jonathan Hansler, Nathan McGowran, Matt Ingram-Jones, Mollie Hindle, Sean Cronin, Ade Dimberline, Morgan Rees-Davies, Richard Ingle, Melvyn Rawlinson | Written and Directed by Steve Lawson

Independent Midlands filmmaker Steve Lawson, who has been exploring rather familiar horror characters in the likes of Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing, Ripper Untold and Jekyll & Hyde, is back behind the camera exploring another familiar tale. This time around he’s reaching into the literature of old to explore not another well-worn horror story but a rather more swash-buckling affair with The Fourth Musketeer.

Told entirely in flashback, yes for some odd reason writer and director Steve Lawson decided to frame his entire film in a flashback, The Fourth Musketeer sees an older, wiser D’Artagnan (Jonathan Hansler) recall the story of how he joined the Musketeers to a young man, Phillipe (Nathan McGowran), who himself wants to become a Musketeer – by defeating D’Artagnan in battle.

The U.K. government’s decision last week to shut down the pioneering BFI Young Audiences Content Fund sent shockwaves around the industry. Among those incensed was Anna Home, chair of the Children’s Media Foundation (Cmf), a non-profit organization focused on securing the best media choices for young people on all platforms. Home, a BAFTA-winning TV producer whose credits include “Grange Hill” and “Jackanory,” shares her thoughts on the matter in an exclusive column for Variety.

The U.K.’s TV industry is a creative powerhouse that is up there with the best in the world. It survives on a mix of international investment, commercial funding and public subsidy and the kids’ sector is in the same mould. But there are some subtle differences that makes kids a special case in a country which has a long history of supporting its culture through public service funding. The recent closure...

Ronald Pickup, who appeared in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel among more than 150 film, TV and stage credits spanning a half-century, died Wednesday after a long illness. He was 80. His agent confirmed the news to the BBC today.

Pickup played Norman Cousins in John Madden’s 2011 romantic dramedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, sharing a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel and others. He returned for 2015’s The Second Best Exotic Hotel.

The actor also recurred as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the first season of Netflix’s hit drama The Crown. He also played Neville Chamberlain in 2017’s Darkest Hour, a Best Picture Oscar nominee that also earned Gary Oldman a Best Actor Academy Award for his role as Winston Churchill.

Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery

Born on June 7, 1940, in Chester,...

Earl Cameron, one of the first Black actors to be cast in major roles in British films, has died at the age of 102.

His agent confirmed to TheWrap that Cameron died in his sleep on Friday.

“Our family have been overwhelmed by the outpourings of love and respect we have received at the news of our father’s passing,” his children said in a statement obtained by The Guardian. “As an artist and as an actor he refused to take roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour. He was truly a man who stood by his moral principles and was inspirational.”

He was born in Bermuda in 1917, having come to the U.K. in 1939 after serving in the British Merchant Navy During World War II. When he arrived in the U.K., he began acting in stage productions before landing his first film role in 1951’s “Pool of London,...

Rosemary Leach with Helena Bonham Carter in A Room With A View

Rosemary Leach, who received BAFTA nominations for her roles in A Room With A View and That'll Be The Day, has died following a short illness, her agent announced today. She was 81.

The Shropshire born actress focused most of her career on theatre and television, winning an Olivier Award for 84 Charing Cross Road and appearing in popular series The Jewel In The Crown and Berkeley Square. She was also known for her work in sitcom My Family, and as a reader on children's storytelling series Jackanory.

Leach is survived by actor husband Colin Starkey....

Alex Westthorp Sep 19, 2016

We revisit Tom's Midnight Garden, Moondial, The Chronicles Of Narnia and a few lesser-known UK children's TV series...

Read our look-back at UK kids' fantasy dramas 1980 - 1984 here.

By 1985 British TV's children's drama had really hit its stride, achieving "a balanced diet of programmes" as Edward Barnes, the head of the BBC children's department observed. The late 80s, arguably, saw a new golden age for spooky and magical kids drama. Excellent production values, improved significantly by well-honed special effects work using Quantel, Paintbox and Harry, and moreover some interesting casting - often of very talented newcomers - produced some of the most memorable dramas of the era.

The second half of the decade saw the BBC riding high on the back of the success of their state-of-the-art adaptation of John Masefield's Box Of Delights. Meanwhile, anthology series Dramarama was going from strength to strength on ITV.

Well, it's been ever such a dramatic final week for Celebrity Big Brother - and that's just outside the house! It's been positively civilised in there compared to the Cbbbots row, but we've still had fist-chewingly cringey moments and rows so loud we've had to buy ear protectors.

It all comes to an end tonight as Austin Armacost, Bobby Davro, James Hill, Natasha Hamilton, Sherrie Hewson and Stevi Ritchie and Chloe Jasmine battle it out to be named the latest CBB winner. So join us from 9pm as we bring you all the action...

22:44For now, though, we'll say goodnight and leave you be - but do leave your comments in the box below so we know how you're feeling about tonight's events! And be sure to stick with DS for more CBB news and reaction... Night night!

22:43Very nice pyrotechnics from Bb there! But that's your lot...

Well, it's been ever such a dramatic final week for Celebrity Big Brother - and that's just outside the house! It's been positively civilised in there compared to the Cbbbots row, but we've still had fist-chewingly cringey moments and rows so loud we've had to buy ear protectors.

It all comes to an end tonight as Austin Armacost, Bobby Davro, James Hill, Natasha Hamilton, Sherrie Hewson and Stevi Ritchie and Chloe Jasmine battle it out to be named the latest CBB winner. So join us from 9pm as we bring you all the action...

22:31James says he just tried to have a good time in the house and adds that he's been on an "incredible journey". And he insists he didn't have a strategy or a game plan: "I just go with my heart and my gut."

22:31James says that he couldn't believe he was even on the...

The cast of Geordie Shore have come together to record their take on a festive classic.

The group donned their Christmas jumpers and hit the studio for 'Parsnip in a Pear Tree' - a new version of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'.

The video was unveiled after tonight's episode of Geordie Shore and begins with Vicky Pattison going all Jackanory to read "a little story about Christmas presents".

The new lyrics feature "Holly's Christmas puddings", "Scott dancing like a legend" and "Charlotte's gold ring".

Every so often, you can also hear a cast member asking for a Quality Street or smirking: "I'll jingle your bells".

The song ends: "Merry Christmas, pet!"

Geordie Shore airs on Tuesdays at 10pm on MTV.

Rik Mayall and David Mitchell are among the stars who feature in an exclusive picture from Crackanory series two.

The part live-action, part-animated Dave show sees celebrities narrating adult versions of bedtime stories in the style of the children's classic Jackanory, which first came to TV screens in 1965.

Vic Reeves, Sue Perkins, Katherine Parkinson, Meera Syal, Warwick Davies, Ben Miller, Johnny Vegas, Ruby Wax, Emilia Fox and Simon Callow will also appear in the new series.

Late comic actor Mayall will appear reading The Weatherman by Tony Way, which will be screened on Wednesday, September 24 at 10pm.

Mayall's episode - which will also feature Vic Reeves - will get a BAFTA preview screening on September 16.

The show's first series featured the likes of Harry Enfield, Jack Dee, Sally Phillips and Richard Hammond.

Watch a trailer for the new series of Crackanory below:...

Rik Mayall's final TV appearance will be broadcast on Dave next month.

Crackanory will feature the late comic reading The Weatherman by Tony Way, and will be screened on Wednesday, September 24 at 10pm.

UKTV bosses had previously stated that the comic's appearance on the adult version of Jackanory would only be broadcast with the consent of his family and agent.

His 15-minute reading will be shown alongside a story read by Vic Reeves.

Mayall was best known for his roles in Bottom, Blackadder and The Young Ones, as well as his partnership with Ade Edmondson.

He died aged 56 in June, following an 'acute cardiac event'.

Watch his classic reading of George's Marvellous Medicine on Jackanory below:...

Vic Reeves, David Mitchell and Sue Perkins are to feature in the new series of Dave's Crackanory.

The part live-action, part-animated show sees celebrities narrating adult versions of bedtime stories in the style of the children's classic Jackanory, which first came to TV screens in 1965.

The second series could also feature a story told by Rik Mayall, who recorded an episode before he passed away last month.

Dave bosses previously explained that they were carefully considering when to schedule the episode in question, with general manager Steve North calling it a "complete privilege" to work with Mayall.

The new run will also include appearances from Katherine Parkinson, Meera Syal, Warwick Davies, Ben Miller, Johnny Vegas, Ruby Wax, Emilia Fox and Simon Callow.

The show's first series featured the likes of Harry Enfield, Jack Dee, Sally Phillips and Richard Hammond.

Watch a trailer for the first series of Crackanory below:...

How likely is the current crop of kids' TV reboots, from Danger Mouse to The Clangers, Morph and more, to harm your childhood memories?

Feature

The period June 9th to 15th 2014 was an unpleasant raid on the collective VHS cassette memory of our youth. Not only did Eric Hill, the creator of Spot the Dog, pass away, but so too did Casey Kasem, who for forty years had been the voice of Scooby-Doo's snack wingman Shaggy. Francis Matthews, the stiff upper lip behind Captain Scarlet's stiff puppet lip, departed to be with a different angel squadron. And before that Earth lost Rik Mayall, who performed the best Jackanory ever. Sorry Prince Charles. He did.

So if you felt a part of your formative years had suddenly melted away like a Funny Feet ice cream abandoned on a see-saw, then that's perfectly normal. It's always sad and strangely personal...

Bosses of TV channel Dave are deciding when to air an episode of a show that Rik Mayall filmed before he died.

The comedian recorded an episode of Crackanory, a grown-up version of children's story-telling show Jackanory, before his sudden death on Monday (June 9).

A spokesperson for the channel said they would discuss a suitable time to screen the episode with his family before airing it as a tribute to Mayall.

Dave general manager Steve North said: "It was a complete privilege for Dave to work with Rik for Crackanory. Clearly at this tragic time our thoughts are with his friends, colleagues and family."

A spokesperson for Channel 4 also spoke about the possibility of continuing comedy Man Down without Mayall, who starred as the father of Greg Davies's lead character Dan.

"The tragic news of Rik's death is a huge blow for the show, and indeed for British comedy,...

There's something horribly grim about stalking somebody's social media accounts after they've died, but it is fitting of the late Rik Mayall that a glance at what might have been a brief foray into the world of Twitter should provide much amusement.

Assuming it was actually his, Mayall's journey into Twitter lasted a single tweet back in 2010 and it was suitably brash, uncompromising, sweary and laugh-out-loud funny. Exactly like the man who so many TV viewers had grown to love over the last 30 years.

Opening my very own Twitter to stop another bastard from doing it. So fuck off & don't expect to hear from me any time soon. Love Rik x

— Rik Mayall (@rikmayall) April 13, 2010

Mayall grew up in Harlow, Essex, but it was as a drama student at Manchester University where his career began as he forged a long-standing friendship and comedy double act with Ade Edmondson. The duo...

Andrew counts down some of the best roles of Sean Bean's career, from the ones you'll know to the ones you probably won't...

Top 10

Sean Bean.

Love him, fear him, smell him: the man breathes fire. And acting.

But what is Sean Bean? Well, adhering to a skeptical epistemology, we simply don't know, but for the purposes of this article he's the bloke who played Errol Partridge in Equilibrium, still to this day his defining role in Equilibrium.

While everyone at Den of Geek loves Equilibrium slightly more than they love each other, Sean Bean is only in it but for a moment. Unfortunately he mistakenly believes that holding up a book in front of his face will stop a bullet, when all he had to do to stop Christian Bale from shooting him was impersonate a puppy. Really, it's hard to argue that the film wouldn't be considerably...

Feature Glen Chapman James Stansfield 26 Feb 2014 - 07:00

From Adventure Time to Old Jack's Boat, James and Glen talk us through ten modern kids' TV shows that geek parents can enjoy too...

“Urgh, I’m so hungover. I’m going to sit in my pants and watch movies all day”

So invariably goes at least one entry on my Twitter feed every Saturday or Sunday morning. Yes, lying about all day watching TV is great but nine times out of ten when someone writes something like this, I can guarantee that they don’t have kids. For those of us with small children, the television we regularly watch throughout the day comes from a vastly different landscape. To the childless, names such as Makka Pakka, Tree Fu Tom and Yo Jo Jo may mean very little. To some us though they’ve become household names, as our lives are filled...

Broadcaster Geoffrey Wheeler has died, aged 83.

The presenter was best known for hosting Songs of Praise and quiz show Top of the Form among others.

His son confirmed that he passed away at a care home in Prestbury, Cheshire, after a long illness on December 30.

Wheeler also created the ITV game show Winner Takes All, hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck from 1975 to 1986.

He later presented the show himself for a year in 1987, having previously provided the voiceover.

He also made appearances on Call My Bluff and Jackanory.

"He was an absolute gentleman and that's the conclusion that everybody who dealt with him came to," his son Robin told BBC News.

Wheeler started his broadcasting career on BBC Radio in the 1950s, producing around 200 programmes while studying law at Manchester University.

In 1954, he made a host of radio variety programmes featuring stars including Benny Hill, Morecambe & Wise and Ken Dodd.

Geoffrey Wheeler is survived by his son,...

If you love dark fiction you’ll already be acquainted with the works of M.R James. Maybe you read his short tales as a schoolchild or watched the excellent BBC Ghost Story for Christmas adaptations in the 1970s. Maybe you even caught these readings by Robert Powell on TV as part of the Jackanory strand when they aired.

I only have a vague memory of the series myself, though I’m familiar with the tales. So it was a real treat to listen to Robert Powell bring these ghost stories to life.

Originally broadcast in 1986 these five ghostly tales are collected for the first time on this newly issued DVD from BFI as part of their Gothic season. Each 14 minute episode (15 minutes for The Ash Tree) is interspersed with small vignettes of action lifted from the page. Although these playlets don’t really add much to the storytelling they...

Agatha Christie's Poirot: ITV, 8pm

The final curtain is coming down on David Suchet's Poirot as he takes on his last case in the series finale. The Belgian detective and Captain Hastings return to Styles, where the two first met on a case 30 years ago.

Poirot discovers that a murderer is afoot in the house, and must use all that he has left to solve the case.

The Tunnel: Sky Atlantic, 9pm

The remake of The Bridge is now mid-series as detectives Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) and Elise Wasserman (Clemence Poesy) plan on using teenage Sophie to help catch the killer, who is exploiting a sick young man.

In order to find Veronica's whereabouts, Chuks takes Stephen Beaumont's computer.

Crackanory: Dave, 10pm

Famous actors and comedians - including Hugh Dennis and Harry Enfield - take the children's programme Jackanory and turn it on its head to tell comic stories.

The sad news broke today (Monday, February 18) that actor Richard Briers has died, following a battle with lung disease. Perhaps best known for his role in '70s BBC sitcom The Good Life, Briers had a long acting career that spanned five decades and included both dramatic and comedic roles.

His extensive theatre work, which included a number of Shakespearean roles, later extended into cinema when he appeared in nine of Kenneth Branagh's films including 1993's Much Ado About Nothing, 1996's Hamlet and most recently 2006's As You Like It - but it is in the arena of television that Briers is perhaps best remembered.

Digital Spy pays tribute to Briers - who passed away at the age of 79 - and recalls his best-known roles below:

The Good Life (1975-1978)

To many fans, Briers will always be Tom Good, the amiable former draughtsman who turned his back on the...

Bernard Cribbins has criticised the current state of children's television in the UK. The veteran actor - who previously starred in a number of classic kids' TV shows including The Wombles and Jackanory - said that shows today are too "fast and noisy". He also said that current shows drop intelligent storytelling for the "gratuitous" use of CGI graphics. The 84-year-old told BBC News: "You can't help but notice how children's TV has changed." Cribbins will return to children's TV in CBeebies show Old Jack's Boat, which begins today (January 21). He said: "It's all very fast and noisy now I think. You think of the gentleness of Jackanory, somebody would walk onto the set, sit down and say 'hello I'm going to tell you about Ratty and Mole and the Wind in the Willows' (more)...

Outstanding actor of stage and screen who made his name as Bri in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

The British theatre changed for ever when Joe Melia, as the sardonic teacher Bri, pushed a severely disabled 10-year-old girl in a wheelchair on to the stage of the Glasgow Citizens in May 1967 and proceeded to make satirical jokes about the medical profession while his marriage was disintegrating. The play was Peter Nichols's A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, which transformed the way disability was discussed on the stage. It made the names overnight of its author, the director Michael Blakemore, and Melia. Albert Finney took over the role of Bri on Broadway.

Flat-footed, slightly hunched, always leaning towards a point of view, Melia, who has died aged 77, was a distinctive and compassionate actor who brought a strain of the music hall to the stage, a sense of being an outsider.

Stage and screen actor known for his roles in The Three Musketeers and Young Winston

In 1971 the actor Simon Ward, who has died after a long illness aged 70, was plucked from virtual obscurity by the director Richard Attenborough to play Winston Churchill in the film Young Winston, supported by actors of longstanding reputation including Robert Shaw, Anne Bancroft and John Mills. After the film's release a year later, Ward found himself a star on several continents. "That was a frightening role," he recalled. "You were playing someone whom everyone had very strong feelings about. As a movie, it had the most extraordinary mixture of adventure – the fighting, riding, running up and down mountains – and some wonderful dialogue scenes shot at Shepperton."

Swashbuckling and tongue-in-cheek slapstick were added to the mix when Ward, known for his aristocratic looks and high cheekbones, was cast as the Duke of Buckingham in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers...

The organisers of the this years SFX Weekender have announced that, besides moving the event to Prestatyn in North Wales, both Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper, aka actress Eve Myles, and the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, are set to appear at the third annual sci-fi extravaganza, along with some more familiar faces.

From the press release:

For a show which has Wales running through every strand of its DNA, there are few things more Welsh about Torchwood than the lovely Eve Myles. Who better then to help us launch the SFX Weekender 3 as we move shop to Prestatyn in North Wales for the first time in 2012?

Born in Powys and earning her acting stripes with nine years on the BBC One Wales drama Belonging, Myles is a veteran of the small screen. As well as appearances in Doctor Who and Merlin, Myles will be instantly recognisable to viewers on both sides...

Susannah York, film star of the 1960s, has died aged 72. We look back over her career in clips

Susannah Yolande Fletcher was born in Chelsea in 1939. After growing up in Scotland and studying at Rada, she got her screen break in the Highland army drama Tunes of Glory (1960) and her first lead, as a teenager growing into her sexuality, in Lewis Gilbert's The Greengage Summer. She continued her association with frank subject matter opposite Montgomery Clift in Freud. A further boost came with 1963's Oscar-winning Tom Jones, in which York played the true love of Albert Finney's Tom. Although her Sophie was less bawdy than much of the movie, she still had fun, as the trailer shows.

York's career continued to thrive throughout the 1960s, with roles in Sands of the Kalahari, espionage adventures Kaleidoscope and Sebastian, and as Sir Thomas More's daughter in A Man for All Seasons...

Prolific writer who enjoyed her greatest success with the recycling Wombles

Elisabeth Beresford, who has died aged 84, enjoyed her greatest success with the creation of the Wombles. The family motto of the colourful underground creatures – "making good use of bad rubbish" – sprang from a concern of the writer's that chimed with the growing ecological awareness of the next four decades. Famously, the inspiration for the figures came on a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, south-west London, during which her daughter, Kate, misnamed it Wombledon Common.

As elsewhere with Beresford's work, the point of departure was real – here, the place and the characters, largely drawn from uncles, grandparents, siblings and her children: Marcus, her son, genial and interested in food, inspired Orinoco; Kate inspired Bungo, a strong character in the books, though not in the films.

Their underground and above-ground adventures begin simply; in The Wombles (1968) the characters do little...

Comic Con alert: Genre fans need to check out the long-awaited sequel to The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: "The Lost Skeleton Returns Again" and Skeleton.s Creator Larry Blamire.s latest send-up: Dark And Stormy Night on Thursday, July 22 and Saturday, July 24 San Diego Comic Con 2010 Thursday, July 22 Cult filmmaker Larry Blamire of Dark and Stormy Night and The Lost Skeleton Returns Again, will be signing along with members of the cast Andrew Parks, Susan McConnell and Trish Geiger. Meet director, writer and actor Larry Blamire with his cast: Andrew Parks (Donnie Brasco) Susan McConnell (Jackanory) Trish Geiger (Revenge of the Bimbot Zombie Killers)...

Sunday saw Doctor Who guest star Bernard Cribbins receive the outstanding creative contribution honour at the Bafta Children’s Awards in London - presented to him by Donna Noble actress Catherine Tate. Of course he was asked about Doctor Who afterwards, and kept quiet, but the event gave him another opportunity to bemoan the state of children's television in the UK in general (an opinion shared by Russell T Davies) and Jackanory in particular. “I do wish that it could be...

Well it's quite a week for Bernard Cribbins - the great man is set to receive a special Children's BAFTA award this weekend in recognition of his long body of work that includes Doctor Who, The Railway Children and Jackanory. Of the award, Cribbins said: "It is truly an honour to receive this award from the British Academy. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with and for children throughout my career and am privileged to have been involved with some amazing projects." The...

Bernard Cribbins is to receive a Special Award at this year’s British Academy Children’s Awards, which will take place next Sunday at the London Hilton.

Cribbins, who plays Wilfred Mott in Doctor Who, is receiving the award for his outstanding creative contribution to the industry. The citation says "His name is synonymous with quality, traditional entertainment for children in a career spanning six decades and covering film, television and other entertainment mediums."

BAFTA Chief Executive, Amanda Berry, said:

"Bernard Cribbins has made an amazing contribution to children’s entertainment throughout his outstanding career and is still entertaining children today, now playing Wilfred Mott in ‘Doctor Who’. He is a worthy recipient of this year’s Special Award; in fact he deserved it a long time ago! We are absolutely delighted he has accepted."

On television Bernard Cribbins has appeared in many classic programmes including over 100 apperances on Jackanory...

Doctor Who actor and TV legend Bernard Cribbins has declared that children’s television is being undermined by CGI - and he may have a point. Focussing on the mass of CGI produced animations rather than occasional special effects in Doctor Who, Cribbins - who is a former Jackanory storyteller and narrator of the stop-motion Wombles films - believes storytelling is a dying art, smothered by a reliance on computer generated imagary. "Now, everything is about CGI...