Adapted from Janice Hadlow’s celebrated novel, The Other Bennet Sister centred on Mary Bennet (played by Ella Bruccoleri), the frequently ignored middle sister from Pride and Prejudice.
The concluding episode saw Mary agreeing to marry Tom Hayward (Dónal Finn), though the happy couple may face some obstacles ahead.
Jane Tranter, Executive Producer, said: “We always hoped audiences would fall in love with Mary Bennet’s story, but the response to The Other Bennet Sister has exceeded even our most optimistic expectations.”
The programme’s popularity led directly to the festive special, and here’s everything we know about it thus far.
Who is in The Other Bennet Sister Christmas special?
Ella Bruccoleri is set to reprise her role as Mary, alongside “a host of other familiar faces from the series”.
After learning about the festive special, supporters rushed to social media with one unanimous request, as there was a particular breakout star they were desperate to see return.
Taking to Instagram, one fan said: “Best news ever! Please confirm Dónal being back as Tom.”
Another commented: “@donal.finn will be in it, right? RIGHT?!” A third shared: “I need confirmation that @donal.finn is part of this pleaseeeee.”
A fourth added: “Donal Finn better be there with Ella!!!!” A final viewer concluded: “Best news just hope Donal is in there with Ella too, love them both.”
Given that the Christmas special is set following Mary and Tom’s wedding, it seems highly probable that the Irish actor will make his return to the show.
He captured the hearts of viewers portraying the shy and awkward character, and has further kept fans captivated with his portrayal of the eccentric and charismatic James Moriarty in Prime Video’s Young Sherlock.
What is The Other Bennet Sister Christmas special about?
Tranter offered a tantalising glimpse of the festive episodes, saying: “These Christmas specials give us the chance to spend a little more time with characters audiences have taken to their hearts, and to explore what happens after the wedding bells fade and real life begins.
“Returning to the world of Mary Bennet with our brilliant partners at the BBC and BritBox feels like the perfect way to celebrate the success of the series and give viewers a treat this Christmas.”
While the precise plot is yet to be unveiled, the storyline will likely chart the newlyweds’ ups and downs as they adjust to married life – whether that involves navigating tricky in-laws or the prospect of starting a family – but viewers will simply have to sit tight and find out.
How long are The Other Bennet Sister Christmas special episodes?
While devotees had hoped for three feature-length episodes, the BBC confirmed the specials will follow the same format as the original series, with each instalment running at 30 minutes.
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, added: “It’s been incredibly exciting to see Mary Bennet cause such a sensation in 2026, and we could not be happier to announce this new three-part Christmas gift to her millions of fans.
“Marriage was just the beginning for the no-longer-so-overlooked Bennet sister.”
Where will The Other Bennet Sister Christmas special air?
The specials will broadcast exclusively in the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Viewers in the US and Canada will be able to catch it exclusively on BritBox.
The Other Bennet Sister Christmas special will air on BBC One.
The iconic pair will be teaming up in an untitled father-daughter spy thriller, loosely inspired by author Paul Warner’s debut novel A Spy in the Blood.
What’s even more exciting is that this upcoming series will be created by none other than Jack Thorne, co-creator of Netflix’s Adolescence, as well as other hits like His Dark Materials and the Enola Holmes franchise.
Harbour and Brown will be returning to familiar territory in the new series as they will be portraying a dad and daughter, very much like the familial dynamic between Stranger Things’ Hopper and Eleven.
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In the freshly announced series, Harbour will be playing “disgraced FBI agent turned security expert Matt Wolfe” while actress Millie Bobby Brown is behind Rebecca, his estranged daughter and FBI agent.
However, Matt is drawn back into the world that he left behind when Rebecca “vanishes on a mission, forcing him back into a field that has evolved beyond him”.
While the spy thriller has been given a straight-to-series order by Netflix, there has been no word on when subscribers can expect the series just yet.
Netflix Head of Scripted Series, US and Canada Jinny Howe said: “We are delighted to bring this spy drama to life with an extraordinary group of talent we’ve been fortunate to collaborate with before.
“Jack Thorne’s ability to find the deeply human story inside a thriller is unmatched, and watching Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour reunite — this time as estranged father and daughter on opposite sides of a crisis — is something audiences are going to love.”
Harbour hinted at the collaboration in an interview with Variety, teasing: “You’ll see more of me and Millie. 10 years wasn’t enough,” referring to their time together on Stranger Things.
“There is a special bond there. I love her, she loves me.”
Brown also praised her former Stranger Things co-star for bringing them back together, telling the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week: “Father-daughter is where we live, but Netflix will always be our home.
“The David Harbour project is sooner than expected, and it’s David’s idea, so kudos to him.”
There are few things a Los Angeles local is less likely to do than take a Hollywood sightseeing tour on a big, garish bus. Only rush-hour traffic and $20 tacos inspire the same level of dread.
Yet nearly everyone aboard the open-air bus for a Tuesday night production of “California Gothic: A Bus Tour” was an L.A. resident. The show, which is produced by the aggressively hip New Theater Hollywood, recently wrapped its third “season” after debuting in February and returning for an April encore. Set on a moving bus, the 1.5-hour-long experience is part esoteric Tinseltown history lesson, part immersive theater. The narrative conjures meaning from the Los Angeles cityscape by fusing a hodgepodge of textbook theories about the sprawling metropolis onto the gritty reality of daily life.
“We originally organized this thinking there would be more people coming who aren’t from here,” said Oliver Misraje, the show’s writer and primary tour guide, as the bus pulled away from the curb at Santa Monica and Wilcox. “But this just goes to show how much people love the city and are from here, contrary to popular belief.”
In lieu of celebrity-hungry tourists, “California Gothic” has been packing its bus twice a night with rowdy young scenesters and in-the-know locals eager to absorb its heady mix of California history, public intellectualism and performance artistry.
While the show wrapped its latest run in mid-June, it will reopen its automated doors during the last week of October for a special “ghost tour” edition co-written by Misraje and New York it girl Ruby McCollister.
The bus arrives for New Theater Hollywood’s “California Gothic: A Bus Tour.”
My tour was far less steeped in irony than I feared. As the bus wound its way through the streets of Hollywood, starting at the New Theater’s doorstep before eventually circling the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Misraje led the audience through his take on the death of the “California dream” and the rotting carcasses of empty buildings and broken promises left in its wake. Along the way, we encountered a haunted-eyed Marilyn Monroe impersonator (Brooks Ginnan), a masked Hollywood legend known as the Duchess of Argyle (Shauna Frente) and a singing, swaggering “Rat Czar” with a lot to say about real estate developers (Loren Kramar).
Yes, it’s whimsical, and yes, it references Mike Davis’ “City of Quartz” more than any of the TMZ-type excursions it gently parodies, but it’s still, at its heart, a bus tour.
In a nod to classic Hollywood tour advertisements, the show’s winkingly all-caps poster declares, “You Will See: The Hollywood Sign, Marilyn Monroe, the Schizo City State.” There is also a stash of BuzzBallz ready-to-drink cocktails for trivia winners, but Misraje and his cast do not deliver their performances with smirks or smarm. They commit full-throatedly to playing out Misraje’s vision of a Hollywood haunted by the dreamers it’s wronged and the secrets it’s plastered over.
“Ultimately, we are trying to pay homage to the bus tour format, which is intrinsically ‘carny,’” Misraje said, likening himself to a carnival barker espousing aesthetic philosophy aboard an ever-changing “Ship of Theseus.”
Before the performers infiltrate the ship, “I’m trying to intentionally set up audience expectations to think they’re going to get this run-of-the-mill Hollywood death tour,” he explained. “I consider myself a kind of impish person, but still fundamentally sincere.”
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1.Tour guide Oliver Misraje begins the show.2.Rat Czar, portrayed by Loren Kramar, performs during the bus tour.3.Guests board the bus.
Given the show’s monologue-heavy format and bevy of literary references, it’s no surprise that the concept began as an essay. Misraje, a 27-year-old writer and self-described “Hollywood hustler” raised primarily in the Inland Empire, was inspired after the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires to stage a piece he had written bridging his love of Gothic literature with his “welfare class” upbringing in a family of seven raised by a single mother, which he considered gothic in its own right.
“We were in the Inland Empire and it was the 2008 financial crisis,” he said. “There was all this imagery of things famously California-coded, like the suburban house, the pool, the strip mall, and when we were there, it was just, like, destroyed. There were abandoned housing subdivisions rotting in the sun.”
The perfect setting, he explained, for the kind of “literature that emerges after the failure of a historical project.”
After reaching out to New Theater co-owner Calla Henkel and conceiving the project, Misraje and his producers elected to turn the funhouse mirror onto Hollywood, framing the neighborhood with historical context and Freudian theory but ultimately letting it speak for itself.
The bus passes the TCL Chinese Theatre.
The highly mutable nature of street life and the participatory character of the show means its tone can shift drastically from tour to tour, even within the same night. Sometimes, the streets appear glittering; other times, seedy and dangerous. Once, there was a showdown with another tour bus — one presumably not carrying theatergoers. At a different show, a drunk pedestrian tried to board the bus during faux-Monroe’s speech. One particularly harrowing night, someone circled the bus on an electric scooter, shouting homophobic slurs at the all-queer cast.
“It’s almost like surfing,” Misraje said. “There’s so much chaos you’re confronting, and you have to find a way to ride it and let it be a part of the show.”
The show’s high production costs make bringing in a profit difficult, but Misraje said he and the New Theater Hollywood team plan to revive it periodically, with an evolving story and cast of characters.
On my tour, no performer better represented the blurred line between theater and street life than the Duchess of Argyle, a.k.a. the Mysterious Masked Lady of Hollywoodland, a.k.a. Shauna Frente, a busty Blanche DuBois figure in an eyeless flapper mask and gartered stockings. Just three days before, she had been evicted from a home on Argyle Avenue that once allegedly belonged to Cecil B. DeMille. This happened after a lengthy legal battle, during which the show helped raise money for temporary housing.
As the Duchess spilled neighborhood secrets, our bus repeatedly passed an Extra Space Storage facility painted with images of old Hollywood behemoths: Lucille Ball, Groucho Marx and the like. The intermingling smells of sizzling hot dogs, urine and marijuana wafted through the open windows.
Hollywood may be ghostly, the Duchess told us, but it was hers to haunt.
Duchess of Argyle (Shauna Frente) tells Hollywood stories during the tour.
DISGRACED actor John Alford’s cause of death has been revealed after he was found dead in his prison cell just weeks after being caged for sexually assaulting two teenagers.
The disgraced actor died less than three months into the sentence at Category C HMP on March 13 this year – and now the cause of his death has been revealed.
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Grange Hill ran for 30 years until 2008 and launched the careers of several famous faces we know today. But where are they now?Credit: BBCPaedophile TV star John Alford was found dead in jail in MarchCredit: PA
John Alford – who played Robbie Wright in the BBC series Grange Hill – was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage girls, 14 and 15.
The victims had been at a pub before heading to the home of a pal whose dad had been drinking with Alford, real name John Shannon.
The paedophile bought £250 worth of food, booze and cigarettes from a petrol station, including vodka the girls drank later, a trial at St Albans crown court was told. Once left alone with the girls, Alford had sex with the younger girl in a garden and a toilet.
The trial heard he asked her “Do you want this babe?” to which she answered “No”. He assaulted the other teen twice while she was “dozing off” on the sofa.
The disgraced TV star made his mark on BBC school dramaGrange Hillin the 1980s and found fame as fireman Billy Ray in London’s Burning in the 1990s before his fall from grace.
Grange Hill ran for 30 years until 2008 and launched the careers of several famous faces we know today. It covered major issues from drug use to teen pregnancy, HIV and knife crime.
The show’s characters became some of the most recognisable faces on TV, but where are the actors who played its young stars now? From sex assault scandal to star who traded acting for a very ordinary job, fate has dealt the former stars varied hands.
John Alford – Robbie Wright
John Drummond as Trevor Cleaver, George Christopher as Ziggy Greaves and John Alford as Robbie Wright (right)Credit: BBC
Towards the end of his Grange Hill stint, Alford later admitted he was drinking up to 18 bottles of beer and nine spirits shots a night.
But he went on to earn a new army of fans as fireman Ray in London’s Burning from 1993 to 1998. However, this didn’t last long either, as John was sacked two years later after he was convicted for supplying cocaine and cannabis. He served six weeks of a nine-month sentence in 1999.
But this wasn’t his only encounter with the law. Back in 2019 John pleaded guilty to smashing a windscreen in a bin lorry ‘hijacking’ and resisting arrest. A hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard how a refuse worker spotted the shamed TV star who had broken into the Veolia lorry while it did its morning rounds near his home in Holloway, North London.
Police attended and noted that John was seemingly under the influence as he began resisting arrest. First, John argued with attending officers Police Constables Darren Baker and Miranda Narcin and claimed he was trying to stop the vehicle rolling back, but they all fell to the ground as he resisted their attempts to restrain him, Irish Mirror reported at the time.
The sick predator, who had been in a psychiatric hospital before his September 2025 trial, was found dead in his prison cell earlier in March. The provisional cause of death for Alford has now been publicly recorded as ischaemic heart disease following an inquest opening.
George Armstrong – Alan Humphries
The former child actor died aged 60 after a battle with leukaemiaCredit: TwitterHis former co-stars paid tribute to the actor, describing him as a “true legend”Credit: Unknown
He starred as Alan from the first episode of Grange Hill in 1978 until Series five in 1982.
Among Armstrong’s other roles was that of PC Driscoll in The Bill in 1989. He later gave up acting and became a theatre manager at a public school.
Unfortunately, the former TV star passed away in 2023 following a “long battle with leukaemia“. His former co-stars paid tribute to the actor, describing him as a “true legend”.
Lee Whitlock – Bevis Loveday
London-born Lee went on to appear alongside some of the biggest names in the movie industryCredit: RexUnfortunately, he passed away at the age of 54Credit: IMDB
Alan’s sad death came just months after the passing of Lee Whitlock, who played Bevis Loveday in series 16 in 1993, in February.
Prior to that, Lee launched his career in the popular TV series Shine On Harvey Moon as Stanley Moon in the 1980s.
London-born Lee, who died aged 54, went on to appear alongside some of the biggest names in the movie industry – Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter – in the 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Other film credits included Wish You Were Here, Jack the Giant Slayer, Cassandra’s Dream and Wild Bill. Lee also had cameos in Casualty, EastEnders, Lovejoy, Boon, The Bill, London’s Burning and Solider, Solider.
Paula-Ann Bland – Claire Scott
One of the show’s most iconic characters, Claire – played by Paula-Ann Bland – was a child of overprotective parentsCredit: Not known clear with Picture DeskThe mother-of-two posed topless for lads’ magazine MayfairCredit: Not known clear with Picture Desk
One of the show’s most iconic characters, Claire – played by Paula-Ann Bland – was a child of overprotective parents. Following the trailblazing drama series, Paula, now 54, continued her acting career and portrayed Kelly Brice inOnly Fools and Horses, as well as Sylvie in Vanity Fair.
The mother-of-two, who posed topless for lads’ magazine Mayfair, also moved to Los Angeles for a time before returning to London to set up a publicity firm.
Despite finding enormous success, Paula’s life was thrown upside down after she found out she had stage three triple-negative breast cancer in 2018.
In an interview in the Sunday Express at the time, Paula revealed: “When you hear the word cancer, you can’t hear anything else, everything else becomes just white noise.”
The actress, who was considered the British Kylie Minogue thanks to her version of The Locomotion, lost part of her breast during her procedure.
She added: “I understand it had to be done to save my life and this is better than the worst scenario of a double mastectomy and removal of the ovaries. But the procedure still leaves you without an important part of your identity as a woman.”
Terry Sue-Patt – Benny Green
Benny Green, played by Terry Sue-Patt, made his screen debut when Grange Hill premiered in 1978Credit: Not known clear with Picture DeskTragically, Terry was found dead at his London home in 2015 at the age of 50Credit: Rex Features
Benny Green, played by Terry Sue-Patt, made his screen debut when Grange Hill premiered in 1978. “There weren’t many black actors about on TV at that time. I had a great time, getting time off school to play football. It was a bit of a dream come ”true”, really,” he told the Daily Mirror.
After his tenure at the London school ended in 1982, Terry went on to star in Channel 4 comedy Desmond’s, set in a Peckham barbershop, and also the 1989 film The Firm. Tragically, Terry was found dead at his London home in 2015 at the age of 50.
The family of the actor released a statement revealing his struggle with personal challenges before his passing. Police feared his body may have lain there for a month before it was found.
John Holmes – Luke ‘Gonch’ Gardener
Luke ‘Gonch’ Gardener was portrayed by John Holmes, who starred in the show for four yearsCredit: BBCJohn, who is now 56, left the acting world to manage a casino
Luke ‘Gonch’ Gardener was portrayed by John Holmes, who starred in the show for four years from 1985 before wisely deciding to return to education.
He committed himself to his studies at the University Of East Anglia, where he served as president of the student union for several years.
Susan Tully, known for her role as Michelle Fowler in EastEnders, began her acting career as Suzanne Ross in the BBC seriesCredit: Not known clear with Picture DeskMillions have watched her work as a director on episodes of Line Of Duty, as well as of EastEnders and the ITV thriller Too CloseCredit: Instagram
Susan Tully, known for her role as Michelle Fowler in EastEnders, began her acting career as Suzanne Ross in the BBC series.
The 58-year-old has since applied her talents behind the camera as a successful television director of shows including Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, Lark Rise To Candleford and Getting On.
Millions have watched her work as a director on episodes of Line Of Duty, as well as of EastEnders and the ITV thriller Too Close.
Lee MacDonald – Samuel ‘Zammo’ McGuire
The class clown was at the centre of one of the most talked about storylines on the seriesCredit: BBCAfter leaving Grange Hill, Lee used sunbeds to feel more confident, but regrets using them following his pre-cancer diagnosisCredit: Rex Features
The class clown was at the centre of one of the most talked about storylines on the series when his character developed a dangerous heroin addiction in the mid-80s.
Lee, now 55, tried his hand at professional boxing after leaving the show, but a car accident in the early 90s left him unable to return to the ring.
In 2020, he got engaged to his long-term partner, Jess. Just three years later, in 2023, the former child star broke down in tears when he feared he had cancer. But although he was given the all-clear, Lee was then diagnosed with a pre-cancerous spot called keratosis after noticing another mark on his face last year.
After leaving Grange Hill, Lee used sunbeds to feel more confident, but regrets using them following his diagnosis.
He explained: “Without a shadow of a doubt, if I look back now, obviously, because of my complaints, I wish I’d never, ever gone near them if I knew now what I knew, then I would not have touched them. I would not not go near them.”
Michelle Herbert – Trisha Yates
Trisha Yates’ Michelle Herbert left the series in 1982, concluding five memorable seriesCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdShe was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a mastectomy – but luckily, the 61-year-old has since received the all-clearCredit: Not known clear with Picture Desk
Trisha Yates’ Michelle Herbert left the series in 1982, concluding five memorable series. Moving her life to Dundee in the 90s, the mother-of-two and her husband manage All Glass and Glazing business.
But like many other former Grange Hill alumni, she has had her share of obstacles. While she was in a hotel room, during a family holiday in Rome, Michelle spotted a small dimple on her breast in May, 2015.
She was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a mastectomy – but luckily, the 61-year-old has since received the all-clear.
Following the ordeal, Michelle has been adamant on raising public awareness around the lesser-known symptoms of breast cancer, urging women to check for dimples.
Erkan Mustafa – Roland ‘Roly’ Browning
Roland was the lovable character who, despite horrific bullying, eventually found the strength to confront his tormentorsCredit: BBCPost-Grange Hill, Erkan Mustafa, 56, appeared in the holiday favourite Blackadder’s Christmas Carol and later captivated music fans as a host on E4 MusicCredit: Alamy
Fans of the series all adored Roland, didn’t they?
Roland was the lovable character who, despite horrific bullying, eventually found the strength to confront his tormentors after enduring years of abuse.
Post-Grange Hill, Erkan Mustafa, 56, appeared in the holiday favourite Blackadder’s Christmas Carol and later captivated music fans as a host on E4 Music. he starred in Lenny Henry’s 90s sitcom Chef! and Blackadder and also made appearances on Soccer AM and Celebrity Juice.
Sean Maguire – Terence ‘Tegs’
Sean was only 11 when he joined the cast of one of the most famous schools on TV.Sean, now 50, married police officer Tanya Flynn in 2012 and they have two sons, as well as a daughterCredit: Getty
Sean Maguire was only 11 when he joined the cast of one of the most famous schools on TV. He later starred as Aidan Brosnan in EastEnders and also had roles in The Bill, crime series Scott and Bailey, and Holby City.
In the 90s, Sean moved away from acting to kick-start his pop career with two albums and an impressive eight singles that broke into the Top 30. His venture into film, however, wasn’t as successful, with his movie, Meet the Spartans, winning a meagre 2.8-star rating on IMBd.
Undeterred by this hiccup, Sean rebounded when he secured the role of Robin Hood in the American TV series Once Upon a Time. Sean, now 50, married police officer Tanya Flynn in 2012 and they have two sons, as well as a daughter. They now live in the US where the former child star has become a citizen.
Simone Hyams – Caroline ‘Calley’ Donnington
Simone appeared in the first episode of Grange Hill and played the role of Calley in Grange HillCredit: Not known clear with Picture DeskShe then went on to star in The Bill before shifting careers to become a corporate events manager for VirginCredit: Alamy
Simone appeared in the first episode of Grange Hill and played the role of Calley in Grange Hill.
In 1991, Simone, now 54, landed a role in the film Dirty Weekend, but it wasn’t released until two years later because it was deemed too violent.
She then went on to star in The Bill before shifting careers to become a corporate events manager for Virgin.
Todd Carty – Peter ‘Tucker’ Jenkins
Todd was just 14 when he joined the BBC cast and went on to be one of the show’s most famous facesCredit: check copyrightTodd (left) also famously appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2009Credit: Instagram/ therealjohnaltman
Todd was just 14 when he joined the BBC cast and went on to be one of the show’s most famous faces.
He was so popular as the lovable rogue Tucker that he got his own successful spin-off series, Tucker’s Luck, for three years. After Grange Hill, Todd played Mark Fowler in EastEnders until 2003 before joining The Bill as evil Gabriel.
Todd, now 62, also famously appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2009 where he became an internet sensation in 2009 after losing control and skating out of the studio.
Since then, he has featured in a range of TV shows, including the comedy A Touch of Cloth, Celebrity 5 Go Caravanning, and the short film The Drive.
Following Jeremy Clarkson’s emotional cancer admission, questions are being asked about the future of Clarkson’s Farm, which has already been rocked by behind-the-scenes health battles
Jeremy Clarkson warns Clarkson’s Farm viewers of ‘difficult watch’
The latest episodes of Clarkson’s Farm have taken a devastating turn, with Jeremy Clarkson announcing his shock cancer diagnosis.
The former Top Gear host reduced farm manager Kaleb Cooper to tears as he revealed he’d known about the “aggressive” prostate cancer since May. Following treatment, Clarkson confided in Kaleb that he’d had “10 per cent” of his prostate removed via ultrasound, explaining: “The prostate, 10 per cent of it’s dead. The 10 per cent where the cancer is.”
In the season finale, Clarkson addressed viewers from his hospital bed, sharing that there had been complications during treatment. The 66-year-old told fans: “What I wanted to say was if this is all successful, I’ll see you for season six, and if it isn’t, I won’t. Take care, everyone.”
Over on Instagram, ahead of the new episodes dropping, an emotional Clarkson warned followers that a “really, really difficult watch” was in store.
Holding back tears in a candid post, Clarkson said on Tuesday: “Ordinarily, we try to keep the show bucolic and charming and cheerful. But the final two episodes, which drop in the middle of the night tonight, are none of those things really. They’re a difficult watch. They’re really, really, difficult.”
Fans of the hit farming show will know all too well that Clarkson is not the first cast member to share his health battles, with other stars being struck with serious illnesses throughout its five-year run.
Now questions have emerged about the future of Clarkson’s Farm, which has been running since June 2021, with Prime Video yet to issue a formal statement on its continuation.
At present, the show has not been officially recommissioned. In February, Clarkson himself confirmed that, while some recording for the upcoming series had already taken place, some pausing had been required due to the weather.
In his column for The Sunday Times, the presenter wrote: “There’s no filming happening on the farm at the moment. Or farming. It hasn’t stopped raining since the beginning of the year, so I can’t plant anything, and I can’t do anything with my cows either because we are still locked down by TB.”
But planning documents submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council reportedly suggest that season six is in the works. According to The Independent, part of it reads: “Season five will air this year and season six has been commissioned and will air in summer 2027.”
Clarkson’s enthusiasm for the farming show shows no sign of waning. Speaking previously with The Sun, he said: “We’ll definitely do six – Amazon want to (do series six), and I want to. I’ve got a good idea for six. I said I’ll stop doing them when there are no more ideas. But I’ve got two quite good ones, so we’ll do six, and then we’ll see…”
The beloved farm has been plagued by setbacks and personal health struggles. Back in 2024, during the show’s third series, farmhand Gerald Cooper revealed he had prostate cancer.
The fan favourite, known for his distinctive mullet, has since confirmed that he is thankfully cancer-free. Discussing his diagnosis with Prostate Cancer UK, Gerald shared: “It was a shock – but everyone has really supported me.”
He added: “I received tremendous support from family, friends and Prostate Cancer UK – which was also a lifeline. I made it through, and I’m now cancer-free.”
Wanting to do something “joyful” following his recovery, the 77-year-old went on to launch a racehorse syndicate to help raise some all-important awareness of prostate cancer. The horse itself is, of course, named ‘The Mullet’.
Then, in June 2025, it was revealed that castmate Alan Townsend – aka Alan the Builder – was awaiting heart surgery. While carrying out building work on the Farmer’s Dog Pub, Alan confirmed to Clarkson that he had a “quadruple bypass coming.”
When asked whether he had any fears about the procedure, Alan admitted: “Oh, [I’m] frightened to death. I don’t even like thinking about it. That’s why I keep going to work — keep out of the way. They told me to really just take it easy and stay at home. But if you stay, you’ll be worrying to death about it.”
In the latest season, fans were delighted to see Alan back at work after undergoing a gruelling procedure. Opening up to Clarkson about returning to normality, Alan confirmed that the op had been “very painful”, adding, “I don’t want to show you on camera, but it’s a nasty cut.”
Alan shared that he’d been hospitalised because of issues with the arteries in his heart. He explained: “One had collapsed and curled itself up, and the others were about 85-90 per cent blocked. Horrible. I had a bit of a problem with the lungs, I lost 36 per cent of the lungs.”
Coincidentally, Alan and Clarkson had been neighbours at the same hospital, with Clarkson undergoing follow-up heart check-ups at the same time.
The presenter underwent a heart procedure in October 2024, after experiencing a tightness in his chest. Medics revealed he’d been mere days away from a heart attack, in a scare that led to him having a stent fitted.
Opening up about his brush with catastrophe on the first episode of season five, Clarkson blamed his health woes on the pressures involved in launching The Farmer’s Dog. He told Kaleb, “I’m back and not dead. The Grim Reaper will have to wait. It was f***ing close, though.”
Clarkson’s Farm season 5 is on Prime Video
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com.
The Netflix rom-com Office Romance stars Jennifer Lopez and Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein and audiences have already hailed it as “an absolute blast”
Office Romance cast as Netflix rom-com hits #1(Image: NETFLIX)
Everything you need to know about Netflix’s number one rom-com, Office Romance
Netflix’s latest rom-com Office Romance has already won over viewers with its charming workplace love story starring Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein. It’s currently the number one title on the streamer’s film chart.
Ted Lasso star Goldstein teams up with global icon JLo in this cheeky portrayal of romance between a CEO and her new British solicitor. Lopez plays AirCruz CEO Jackie Cruz, who finds herself in legal trouble with rival airline Falcon Air. When her usual lawyer is indisposed after a food truck burrito incident, enter Daniel Blanchflower (Goldstein) to save the day.
Romantic tension quickly develops between the pair, with a passionate work trip to the Dominican Republic blurring professional boundaries. One IMDB user gushed: “Well, I absolutely loved it. Romantic comedies are a dying breed, but I enjoyed this very much.”
Directed by Ol Parker of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again fame, the film also features an impressive supporting cast including Betty Gilpin (GLOW), Tony Hale (Toy Story 4), Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale) and former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker.
Also in the main cast are comedy icon Amy Sedaris as Julie Schatz and Blade Runner’s Edward James Olmos as Captain Jack Cruz, Jackie’s father.
