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Hugh Laurie left quite the impression when he starred as villainous Richard Roper in The Night Manager 10 years ago.

Hugh Laurie, the legendary star of The Night Manager, is set to appear alongside a Westworld icon in a forthcoming crime thriller.

After initially rising to prominence in the Blackadder franchise with Rowan Atkinson and Stephen Fry, Laurie has since featured in numerous major dramas including Veep, House, and naturally, The Night Manager.

While his previous co-stars Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman return to the BBC thriller, Laurie has been busy filming his latest project, The Wanted Man, for Apple TV+, which is presently in post-production.

The 66 year old will portray crime boss Felix Carmichael, who lands behind bars after running the infamous criminal organisation The Capital for two decades.

The official synopsis reveals: “Upon discovering internal betrayal while locked up, he plots his breakout to seek vengeance and restore his criminal empire.”

The eight-episode series has been created by Hijack’s George Kay and also features Mission Impossible and Westworld star Thandiwe Newton.

However, they won’t be the only recognisable names, as Laurie and Newton will be accompanied by Game of Thrones actor Stephen Dillane, Say Nothing’s Hazel Doupe, and Dunkirk star Fionn Whitehead.

No official release date has been confirmed yet, though reports suggest The Wanted Man could launch around May 2026.

Meanwhile, fans’ focus has returned to Laurie following his memorable role in The Night Manager, which has made its comeback to British television screens. In the 2016 BBC thriller, he played the villainous Richard Roper, starring alongside leading man Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine and Colman as Angela Burr.

After a decade-long hiatus, The Night Manager has made a comeback for its second season, but with an unexpected twist – Roper was killed off-screen.

Laurie does make an appearance in the first episode through a dream sequence, but he hasn’t been seen in The Night Manager since and isn’t expected to return.

However, Laurie remains involved with The Night Manager behind the scenes, serving as an executive producer alongside Hiddleston.

The Wanted Man is slated to premiere on Apple TV+ in spring 2026.

From Game of Thrones to Killing Eve, the Prince and Princess of Wales are big fans of TV – but one 92% rated espionage thriller has captured Princess Catherine’s attention

As the winter chill sets in, many of us are opting for cosy nights in front of the telly rather than braving the cold outdoors, and seems likely that Prince William and Kate Middleton are dooing something similar.

While Royal enthusiasts eagerly anticipate more appearances from the Prince and Princess of Wales, particularly as she marks a year of cancer remission this month, it’s likely that Catherine will be looking forward to some downtime at home.

However, as the Princess of Wales rings in her 44th birthday, there’s a bit of a dampener – no confirmed release date for the second series of one of her favourite TV shows, a spy thriller boasting an impressive 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Black Doves, a gripping espionage series masterminded by Joe Barton for Netflix, was one of December 2024’s standout hits and was greenlit for a second series before its inaugural season had even concluded.

The series, starring big names like Keira Knightley, Ben Wishaw, and Sarah Lancashire, revolves around a group of freelance spies whose cover is threatened. Black Doves zeroes in on undercover agent Helen Webb, portrayed by Oscar nominee Kiera Knightley, who finds her covert identity at risk after her lover is killed by figures within London’s criminal underworld.

The programme captivated audiences, with one typical response online stating: “I thought Black Doves on Netflix was pretty good and entertaining. Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw are great as a team of clandestine spies and assassins. Absolutely deserves the second season. Can’t wait.”

Another viewer gushed: “Black Doves was fantastic television. So damn good! !” A third added: “If you love a British political/espionage thriller, Black Doves is a masterpiece. Slick script, superb characters, smashing storyline. Heavy on irony and good old fashioned violence.”

This marks another occasion where William and Kate have revealed their television tastes. During a trip to the BAFTA offices in central London, where he discovered details about a bursary granted in his honour, William admitted his passion for the Jason Bourne series.

When encountering Paul Greengrass, who helmed three of the six films, William enthusiastically enquired “another Bourne, another Bourne”. The filmmaker allegedly replied with chuckling and a head shake.

Swiss filmmaker Edward Berger was linked to the project for several months but subsequently declared “It’s really not clear whether… I’m doing that film or not”. Currently, the prospects for William’s cherished Bourne franchise appear uncertain.

Another William and Catherine favourite facing an unclear future is the BBC’s hit series Killing Eve, starring Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh. During a 2019 visit to a BAFTA exhibition, William reportedly confessed his fondness for the series.

Show producer Sally Woodward Gentle and costume designer Phoebe de Gaye revealed that the prince “apparently… has watched it all”.

“He [Prince William] said he loved it. He talked about the dark humour of it, and Jodie [Comer] and Sandra [Oh], how amazing they both are. And he talked about the humour you get through the costumes, which is what Phoebe is so clever at,” Gentle disclosed.

Whilst the programme concluded with its fourth series in 2022, persistent speculation continues about a potential spin-off, possibly centred on the early years of Fiona Shaw’s character, Carolyn Martens.

Prince William has revealed that he and Kate, 42, were equally keen on watching episodes of Game of Thrones. The Royal pair even told actor Tom Wlaschiha, famous for playing Jaquan H’ghar in the drama, that they have “watched every series”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 1 in 2017, William declared their passion for the programme, describing them as “big fans” and advising: “You should definitely watch Game of Thrones, that’s worth watching.”

Beyond television, Prince William is recognised for his love of music, an interest he shares with his children, George and Charlotte. He disclosed on Apple’s Time To Walk podcast in December 2023 that the youngsters frequently bicker over song choices during their morning routines.

The musical inclinations of the Wales family were put in the spotlight when William, accompanied by Charlotte and George, made international headlines after snapping a selfie with pop superstar Taylor Swift. Marking his 42nd birthday, the future monarch was spotted having a grand time at Swift’s concert at Wembley Stadium with his children.

Celebrated actor Will Sharpe is taking the lead in a must-watch new Sky drama, so what do we know about his life away from the screen?

British actor Will Sharpe stars alongside Paul Bettany in one of Sky’s biggest new shows of the year, Amadeus.

A brand new, star-studded interpretation of the classic Peter Shaffer play, this sumptuous five-part drama reimagines the fierce rivalry of two iconic composers; Antonio Salieri (played by Bettany) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Sharpe).

Created by Joe Barton, the series is set to catapult the star to even loftier levels of fame after already landing acclaimed roles in The White Lotus, A Real Pain and Too Much.

But, did you know the actor, writer and creator already won himself a BAFTA nomination over a decade ago and is married to an equally familiar name from the world of streaming TV?

Let’s take a look at what we know about Will Sharpe’s life and career so far.

Early Life

Will Sharpe is half-Japanese on his mother’s side and, despite being born in London, was raised in Tokyo until he was eight. The family then settled in Surrey.

After schooling at Winchester College, he went on to study classics at the University of Cambridge and became the president of the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe.

However, his first attempts at a showbiz career didn’t go as planned. Upon graduating, Sharpe moved to London and began performing at open-mic comedy nights in Whitechapel.

Speaking to GQ, he recalled: “The thing that I’d sometimes do was see how long I could act as if I wasn’t sure about the performing space, like moving chairs around and adjusting the mic, before it stopped being funny for them. And then seeing if I could do it for so long it became funny again.”

Unfortunately, he was eventually approached by a comedy agent who admitted she couldn’t represent him because it was unclear if he was actually performing comedy. He opted for a different approach instead, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company for its 2008-2009 season.

Career Success

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Sharpe’s talents to be recognised as his 2011 film Black Pond, co-directed by Stath Lets Flats and Ghosts’ Tom Kingsley, was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. They had previously worked together on the 2009 short film, Cockroach.

A few years later, Sharpe received more awards recognition for his Channel 4 comedy-drama series Flowers, starring Olivia Colman, Julian Barratt, Daniel Rigby and Sophia Di Martino, as well as himself. This won Sharpe his first BAFTA, for best scripted comedy.

A few years later, he won his first acting BAFTA for his critically acclaimed turn in Amadeus writer Barton’s hit crime drama Giri/Haji. He went on to have similar success in Hollywood for his Emmy-nominated turn in The White Lotus season two. Sharpe also directed the biopic film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular troubled artist.

Mental Health Struggles

Many of Sharpe’s projects tackle mental health issues and the actor/director has drawn from his own experiences to bring those personal stories to life.

Following the release of the second season of Flowers in 2018, the creator revealed he had been diagnosed with type two bipolar disorder.

Writing in a blog for the mental health charity mind, he shared his wish for the series was for “the audience to get a sense of how helpless you can feel in the face of mental illness, of how relentless and confusing it can be, and how painful it is to love somebody who is suffering.

“Because, for me, the only way to feel truly hopeful is to look at that stuff head on and still feel like there’s a way through.”

He added: “My experience of mental illness is that it can sell you an overpoweringly compelling – and fictional – narrative about your life, to which it can eventually start to feel like there is only one possible conclusion.

“The final episode of the second series of Flowers, I hope, challenges that and offers, if you like, a break in the narrative.”

Sky’s Essential TV and 300Mbps broadband bundle

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Sky has cut the price of its Essential TV and 300Mbps fibre broadband bundle, but the deal expires on October 15.

Famous Spouse

Sharpe is married to his Flowers co-star Sophia Di Martino, with whom he has had a relationship since 2009. The pair met while filming Casualty, in which they were both main cast members. They have two children born in 2019 and 2021.

The actress is perhaps best known for portraying Sylvie, an alternate female version of Tom Hiddleston’s iconic Marvel villain Loki, in the Disney+ superhero drama based on the fan-favourite character.

She has also appeared in Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and reunited with him again in an episode of Netflix’s Too Much. Di Martino will also star in her husband’s upcoming Apple TV series Prodigies, alongside Ayo Edebiri.

Amadeus is available on Sky and streaming service NOW.