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The stars of big streaming hits Rivals and Baby Reindeer have scooped gongs at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (Bpg) Awards.

Danny Dyer, previously better known for soaps and soccer movies, won Best Actor for his role as Freddie Jones in Disney+’s Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals, beating off competition from big stars Lennie James (Mr Loverman), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs the Post Office), Eddie Redmayne (Day of the Jackal) and Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall). Bella Maclean, who played ‘Taggie’ in Rivals, also conquered tough competition in the form of Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd to win the Bpg Breakthrough Award.

Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning, who has won plaudits worldwide for her role in Gadd’s Netflix show and took home an Emmy last year, won Best Actress ahead of another Rivals star, Katherine Parkinson, Ambika Mod (One Day), Monica Dolan (Mr Bates vs the Post Office...

Danny Dyer is on the awards trail for his turn in Disney+ series Rivals.

The EastEnders actor will compete for Best Actor at the Broadcasting Press Guild (Bpg) Awards, which is voted on by British television and media journalists.

Dyer starred as electronics businessman Freddie Jones in Disney’s series about sex and skulduggery in the British television business in the 1980s.

To win the Bpg prize, he will have to fend off competition from Lennie James (Mr Loverman), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs the Post Office), Eddie Redmayne (Day of the Jackal), and Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall).

Rivals, based on Jilly Cooper’s novels, will do battle for Best Drama Series alongside Baby Reindeer, Day of the Jackal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, and Wolf Hall.

Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning, a darling of the awards season, has been nominated for Best Actress, where her competition includes Monica Dolan...

Louis Theroux is returning to the West Bank for his latest documentary.

In a BBC show titled Louis Theroux: The Settlers, the documentarian will travel to the disputed territory 15 years on from his doc The Ultra-Zionists.

There, he will meet some of the large and growing ultra-nationalist community of Israeli settlers. The settlements are held to be illegal under international law yet they have been protected by the army, the police, and the Israeli government for years. Since the devastating Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 when 1,200 Israelis were killed and circa-250 kidnapped, the settlers have been emboldened to expand their areas of control by pursuing a campaign of violence and forced expulsion against local Palestinian communities.

The BBC said Theroux will “embed himself in the West Bank,” meeting prominent settlers and travelling around the territory in a similar vein to much of his previous work. His indie, Mindhouse, is producing.

As a film critic who’s spent countless hours analyzing how cultural movements shape our media landscape, I find the emergence of British boybands in the early ’90s particularly interesting. The British boyband trend started as a direct response to America’s New Kids on the Block, but with a unique British twist that would change pop music worldwide, much like the French New Wave’s reaction to Hollywood norms.

The British culture in the early ’90s was ready for change. As poll tax riots rocked the streets and Thatcherism waned, savvy music producers noticed a gap in the market. American groups like NKotB seemed distant and untouchable, while British managers wanted to create something more relatable and local. It was similar to how Ken Loach made realistic movies about everyday life in Britain. These producers wanted to make pop music feel true to working-class experiences.

The formation process itself...

On Saturday 16 November 2024, BBC Two broadcasts Boybands Forever!

Season 1 Episode 2 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Boybands Forever” on BBC Two promises to be an exciting look at a pivotal moment in British history. Titled “A New Era,” this episode takes place during the time when Tony Blair is gearing up for his first general election. The atmosphere is charged as Blair is expected to win by a large margin, marking the beginning of significant political changes in the country.

As the political landscape shifts, the episode explores how this change also impacts the world of boybands. The show captures the essence of the 1990s and early 2000s, a time when boybands were at the height of their popularity. With new sounds and styles emerging, the music scene is buzzing with anticipation. The characters navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with this changing tide, reflecting the broader cultural shifts happening around them.

The BBC has released the first trailer and announced the broadcast date for the new TV series ‘Boybands Forever’ which explores the inside story of boyband mania during the ’90s and early ’00s.

Each episode follows the life-changing reality of new-found fame at a young age, from their early beginnings to hitting the top of the charts, whilst revealing some of the pivotal behind-the-scenes moments that shaped their careers and reflecting on those times decades later.

Across the episodes, the series hears from the music label bosses and band managers who managed their ascent to fame, including Simon Cowell (RCA Records) Nigel Martin-Smith (Take That), Louis Walsh (Westlife), Daniel Glatman (Blue), Chris Herbert (Five) and Steve Gilmour (911), as well as those close to the band members, music industry insiders, presenters, and journalists who followed their stories in an age before social media.

Together with their testimony, rich archive from the...