THE Nineties might have been ruled by boybands and girl-bands, but life at the top of pop could be tough.
And it was probably worse for the girls, as putting on extra pounds, dating the wrong guy or, heaven forbid, having a baby were hugely frowned upon by management teams.
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New BBC documentary Girlbands Forever delves into the girlband era, pictured the girls of All SaintsCredit: GettyAll Saints founding member Melanie Blatt informed managers that she and bandmate Nicole Appleton were pregnant, both were told to abort their babiesCredit: PA:Press Association
New BBC documentary Girlbands Forever, the follow-up to last year’s three-parter about boybands, delves into an era where record companies had less regard for duty of care, days off or mental health.
It features members of Atomic Kitten, Eternal, Sugababes, Mis-teeq and Little Mix, providing insight into what it was like being in an all-female group in the Nineties and early Noughties.
The dream was to replicate the success of the Spice Girls, the all-conquering icons who sparked the girlband explosion.
And record labels invested millions in a bid to find the next big thing.
But as the Spice Girls’ rivals All Saints found out, the pressure became unbearable.
So much so that when founding member Melanie Blatt informed managers that she and bandmate Nicole Appleton were pregnant, both were told to abort their babies.
The reason? They had just cracked America with No1 hit Never Ever and momentum could be lost.
Melanie, 50, explains: “I hadn’t been with my partner for very long, it was definitely a bit of a surprise It wasn’t people congratulating us. It was more like this look of dread and worry and the realisation that things are going to change.
“We flew to LA and at [airport] LAX our manager, he was behind us, was telling us to abort our babies.”
She added that her bosses told them they were “going to ruin everything” and “it was the end of the band”.
Melanie ended up having her baby with her partner, Stuart Zender, the bassist for band Jamiroquai.
‘Vomiting in toilets’
But Nicole, who fell pregnant with then boyfriend Robbie Williams, did not, which Melanie admits caused issues with their relationship.
She explains: “Nic and I had been best friends since we were 11. We took pregnancy tests in a hotel in Canada and spent that whole night discussing bringing our kids up together. It was one of the best nights ever.
“And it’s not really my place to talk about it, but unfortunately . . . it was a very uncomfortable situation because I kept mine, she didn’t. That was a really tricky part of my and our existence.”
All Saints, which consisted of Melanie, sisters Nicole and Natalie and main songwriter Shaznay Lewis, were always deemed a “cool version” of the Spice Girls and were far more rock ‘n’ roll.
Star Melanie opens up more on BBC show Girlbands ForeverCredit: SuppliedAll Saints’ Nicole Appleton with then-boyfriend Robbie Williams in 2004Credit: Michael Melia
Whereas Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton and Mel B found love with a footballer, an R&B singer and a dancer respectively, the All Saints girls dated rock stars, with Nicole marrying and having a son with Liam Gallagher.
Melanie says: “We were turning up to kids’ TV shows on a Saturday morning without having one wink of sleep. We looked fine, just a bit of vomiting in the toilets prior to CD:UK.”
After two albums, All Saints split in 2001, a disparity in earnings between Shaznay and the rest of the band being a major factor.
By the end of their existence as a group, Melanie says they “hated each other”.
She adds: “We’d fallen out, it was hell, it was ‘separate’ everything.
“It was just ridiculous but literally one of the proudest moments of being in that band was calling it quits because we didn’t stay for the money. We wanted to be done, we didn’t want to be with each other any more and we made that decision.
“We were in control. We were supposed to go on tour and we gave the money back and I’m so proud of that. That’s one of the only decisions we were all happy to make together, telling each other to f*** off.”
Girlbands Forever begins on Saturday at 9.20pm on BBC Two.
Little Mix
Little Mix were one of the first girl groups forced to contend with social mediaCredit: Neil HallBand member Perrie Edwards bore the brunt of online abuse due to her relationship with Zayn MalikCredit: Supplied
AS girlbands moved into the 2010s, life did not get any easier, with social media now to contend with.
She explains: “Social media was dark, especially back in the day.
“Me and the girls used to get a lot of stick. Things we would wear or how we would look, people would pick us apart.
“You’re hurting enough as it is, never mind everybody having an opinion on it. Everyone wants to know your business and everyone feels like they have ownership in that.
“You can’t escape it. So you may as well sing about it.”
Life in girlbands was relentless, so Little Mix lasting ten years was a monumental achievement.
But Perrie, below, admits she almost quit when she was at her lowest ebb ahead of a gig in Las Vegas.
She says: “I didn’t want to go, I was so exhausted. I tried getting out of the trip and when I got there, I started experiencing panic attacks.
“I didn’t know what was happening at the time, I’d never experienced a panic attack.
“I ended up in a hospital. I didn’t want to let the girls down. They had to do it without me and I hated it and I really resented myself for it.”
She adds: “When you’re in a group dynamic, even though you’re going through stuff individually, you can’t just be selfish so I kind of put a brave face on a lot of time.
“I didn’t want to let the team down.”
Eternal
Eternal had a No1 smash hit with I Wanna Be The Only One in 1997Credit: Rex‘People were always voicing concerns about my weight and about our weight as a band’, says founding member Kelle BryanCredit: Supplied
ETERNAL had a No1 smash hit with I Wanna Be The Only One in 1997, but their looks soon became a concern.
Founding member Kelle Bryan, 50, reveals: “People were always voicing concerns about my weight and about our weight as a band. Stylists would come along and say, ‘This doesn’t fit you, this doesn’t fit you’.
“We’re talking about an era where being a size zero was popular, so they sent us away to this place in the countryside where they were able to control what we ate.”
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona fell for Westlife singer Brian McFadden, but was ordered not to date him by managementCredit: Dave HoganKerry also had an unpleasant interaction with music mogul Louis WalshCredit: Supplied
WHILE on the 1999 Smash Hits Tour, Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona fell for Westlife singer Brian McFadden, but was ordered not to date him by management.
Kerry, 45, says: “They all went absolutely f*ing apes**t. I remember [Westlife manager] Louis Walsh saying, ‘I don’t like you, you’re trouble’.
Bandmate and best pal Natasha Hamilton, 43, adds: “It was definitely bad for the brand. Not from my point of view but from the label and management. They said girls can’t be seen with one of the boys in the biggest boyband in the UK because fan jealousy is a thing.”
Mis-Teeq
Mis-Teeq felt they were discriminated against and given fewer opportunitiesCredit: Alamy‘We weren’t invited to the same premieres. Some magazines wouldn’t consider us for the cover because they didn’t think three black girls would sell’, says Su-Elise NashCredit: Supplied
BEING an all-black group who rose up from the “underground scene” in 1999, Mis-Teeq felt they were discriminated against and given fewer opportunities.
Su-Elise Nash, 44, says: “We weren’t invited to the same premieres. Some magazines wouldn’t consider us for the cover because they didn’t think three black girls would sell.
“Our struggle to get there was definitely not as easy as it would have been if we had one white member or we’d all-white.”
Sugababes
When Sugababes founding member Mutya Buena gave birth to her first child aged 19, there was no let-upCredit: Dave HoganMutya quit the group in 2005 and was later diagnosed with post-natal depressionCredit: Getty
WHEN Sugababes founding member Mutya Buena gave birth to her first child aged 19 – while the band were working on their fourth album – there was no let-up.
Record label exec Darcus Beese says: “I remember standing in my kitchen trying to talk her down. I had no concept of post-natal depression. I would ask questions now like, ‘How’s your mental health?’.”
COMIC Michael McIntyre has admitted turning to fat jabs after his doctor told him he was obese.
The 5ft 5ins star said wife Kitty ordered him to start after the medic ticked him off for being 100kg (15st 10lbs).
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Michael McIntyre, pictured in May, has admitted turning to fat jabs after his doctor told him he was obeseCredit: GettyThe comedian looked thinner this monthCredit: Splash
McIntyre, 49, said he first used Ozempic before switching to Mounjaro and the weight dropped off in only three weeks of injections.
The dad of two, who has long struggled with his weight, made the admission to an audience in London.
He joked: “Have you noticed how tiny I am? I have lost weight.
“Don’t applaud it because there is a little bit of cheating that has gone on.”
McIntyre who once lost 7kg (14lbs) at a £2,000-a-week clinic, confessed that he did not want to use appetite suppressants but Kitty insisted.
He also blamed his problem on eating his kids’ leftovers.
On his trip to the GP, he told fans: “The doctor told me I weighed 100kg.
“He told me I was ‘obese’. How rude. He said, ‘It’s a medical term’.”
McIntyre, whose new series of The Wheel started last night on BBC One, also declared that his weight-loss success will “fall apart” if he ever eats something sweet again.
FORMER Sugababes star Amelle Berrabah has confirmed she’ll “reveal secrets” about the band after being ousted from the reunion.
The popstar, now 41, joined the girl group in December 2005 as a replacement for Mutya Buena and stayed with the band until they went on hiatus at the end of 2011.
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Amelle Berrebah says she’ll ‘reveal secrets’ about the Sugababes in a new BBC documentaryCredit: BBCAmelle joined the group in 2005, replacing MutyaCredit: GettyJade, Amelle and Heidi performing in the group for two years before the original three reunitedCredit: GettyThe original line-up have seen a resurgence over the past few yearsCredit: Getty
When the Sugababes came to end, Amelle was singing alongside Heidi Range, who joined the group in 2001, and last recruit Jade Ewen, who came on board in 2009.
Whilst with Heidi and Jade, Amelle released the Suagbabes seventh album Sweet 7 before the band “fizzled out”.
At the same time, the band’s original line-up, Mutya, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy began performing together again and by 2019 won a legal battle to re-gain the band name Sugababes – essentially preventing the other three from ever reuniting.
Now Amelle is getting her own back on being ousted from the band’s reunion.
The new BBC documentary dives into the ‘truth of being a young woman thrust into the spotlight’
Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards is set to feature in the BBC documentary centred on iconic girl groups(Image: BBC)
Perrie Edwards is set to reveal what it’s really like being part of a girl band.
After the success of last year’s Boybands Forever, BBC Two is launching its female equivalent, Girlbands Forever. The three-part documentary will explore ‘girl band fever throughout the 90s and beyond,’ featuring personal contributions from the Little Mix star, along with singers from Atomic Kitten, Sugababes and All Saints.
A preview for the upcoming programme provides a taste of what audiences can anticipate, with interview clips from some of the celebrity participants scheduled to appear. It delves into the nostalgic 90s and noughties period when ‘girl band fever’ was rampant, reports OK!
Presenter Sara Cox describes the period as an “era of young women suddenly having a voice,” before noting: “But it was a small window”.
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The brief 25-second trailer also shows Perrie discussing the backstage challenges of Little Mix, who rose to stardom after triumphing on The X Factor. She disclosed: “We battled the social media trolls together.”
The girl group entered the limelight during the early 2010s, so their journey provides a unique viewpoint on the difficulties female bands encountered in the social media era.
According to the BBC, audiences can anticipate hearing from Heidi Range (Sugababes), Kelle Bryan (Eternal), Kerry Katona (Atomic Kitten), Melanie Blatt (All Saints), Perrie and Su-Elise Nash (Mis-Teeq).
The programme will also feature chats with industry names such as Andy McCluskey, Clara Amfo, Darcus Beese OBE, Lucie Cave, MNEK, Nicki Chapman, Pete Tong, Pete Waterman, Scott Mills and Tulisa.
Girlbands Forever is a product of Louis Theroux’s production house, Mindhouse. Ahead of the show’s debut, Louis expressed: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of making this wonderful series.
“I well remember when the Spice Girls, Eternal and All Saints burst on the scene in the 90s. It was a special time in pop music and British culture generally.”
He added: “Then in their wake came a parade of girl bands, made up of girls who were all in different ways beautiful, talented and often very funny.
“Going back and rediscovering all that music and those videos and the interviews they did has been an absolute pleasure.”
Girlbands Forever debuts on BBC Two and iPlayer on November 1.
Martin Clunes is making an unlikely return to the Doc Martin universe – three years after the ITV drama ended with fans devastated over the news
12:34, 15 Oct 2025Updated 12:34, 15 Oct 2025
Martin Clunes is making an unlikely return to the Doc Martin universe (Image: ITV)
Martin Clunes is making an unlikely return to the Doc Martin universe. The actor, 63, played Doc Martin in the ITV show from 2004 and 2022, where he starred as the rather awkward GP of a small British village.
The show wrapped in 2022, with fans up and down the country devastated. At the time, ahead of the UK show’s final season, Martin and Philippa Braithwaite released a joint statement, which read: “We have loved making nine series of Doc Martin.
“When we launched the series in 2004 we could never have imagined how much our loyal viewers would take to the grumpy Doc like they have. The series has avid fans both in the UK and throughout the world and we are thrilled that Doc Martin has topped the ratings every time. However, after sixteen years we now feel that the time has come to say goodbye to Portwenn.
“We will be making the tenth and final series in 2021 and we are very much looking forward to returning to Cornwall to film it.”
At the time, Martin insisted there was no bad ratings that caused the end of the series – but they just felt it was time.
He said: “All good things have to come to an end. And I’m sure there are lots of people who aren’t fans of the show who think it’s terribly repetitive anyway, but we’re at huge pains not to repeat ourselves. I just think we’ve sort of done everything. I mean, it would be so great to just sort of carry on, but I don’t think we can keep it as good.”
However, Martin is back in the world of Port Wenn once more – but in a very different capacity. Martin will be returning to the show as the father of Dr Martin Best is the United States reboot of the show, titled Best Medicine.
Josh Charles, 54, will star as Dr Martin, who has left his career as a surgeon in Boston and heads to the East Coast fishing village of Port Wenn, but with a few secrets up his sleeve. Martin’s wife Philippa Braithwaite will also serve as executive producer on the new show.
The synopsis for Best Medicine teases drama ahead, as it reads: “A brilliant surgeon leaves Boston to become a small-town doctor where he spent childhood summers. Despite his medical skills, his rude manner alienates locals as he battles hidden phobias and struggles with personal connections.”
Fans of the seminal, long-running podcast “WTF With Marc Maron” — and I count myself among them — have been treated to thousands of deep-dive interviews with a starry array of actors, musicians, comics and even some politicians (Barack Obama was a guest in 2015). It’s also been an intimate window into the conflicted inner life of the show’s eponymous host. Maron has seemingly pulled few if any punches in his podcast’s opening monologues as he’s held forth on everything from his fraught emotional state and his two-decade struggle with drug and alcohol addiction (he’s been sober since 1999) to the untimely 2020 death of his romantic partner, the well-regarded indie filmmaker Lynn Shelton (“Humpday,” “Your Sister’s Sister”).
Much of this personal territory and more is revisited in the absorbing, fly-on-the-wall-style documentary “Are We Good?” (named after Maron’s “WTF” sign-off phrase), produced and directed by Steven Feinartz.
Feinartz, who also directed Maron’s last two HBO stand-up specials, began filming his subject in 2021. He trailed Maron as he performed in comedy clubs from Los Angeles to Montreal, recorded his podcast from the garage studio of his Glendale home, visited with his elderly father and, most pivotally, worked through the soul-crushing loss of Shelton. That loss becomes the driving force of the doc, with Maron’s grief informing his daily life and thought process, while also providing cathartic, darkly humorous fodder for his stand-up gigs.
It’s a tricky balancing act that Feinartz depicts with candor, grace and patience, never letting the film’s provocative pathos turn overly grim or sentimental. A stand-up bit in which Maron recalls his ghoulish urge to snap a hospital selfie after bidding goodbye to the deceased Shelton (don’t worry, he decided against it) provides a gulp-worthy example of the comic’s brazen yet reflective approach to the world around him.
That Shelton died at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic made for an additionally cruel and difficult time for Maron, who was unable to share his pain with many others as social distancing took over. He eventually found the funny in that conundrum as well, incorporating the memory into his routine with satiric glee.
Anyone familiar with Maron’s grumpy, F-bomb-tossing persona will likely savor these 90 or so minutes in his swirlingly neurotic company. He unabashedly leans into that vibe here, even while wrangling his pair of self-possessed cats. While Maron sometimes kvetches about Feinartz’s hovering cameras, he seems to have given him a kind of all-access pass to his daily life in a way that belies his trademark crankiness. He may be a reluctant showman, but he’s a showman nonetheless.
The uninitiated, however, might find Maron somewhat less engaging. He readily self-identifies as “selfish, anxious and panicky” and for some, a little of that may go a long way. Still, it’s not hard to relate to his many cogent musings (“How do you love somebody else if you really can’t love yourself?”) as well as to respect he clearly had for Shelton, who’s seen here in an array of luminous, heartbreaking clips.
Other comic talents such as Nate Bargatze, David Cross, Caroline Rhea, Michaela Watkins and John Mulaney also weigh in, bringing a mix of the sincere and the droll to their frank and friendly observations about Maron. On his podcasts and elsewhere, Maron has spoken at length about growing up with narcissistic, emotionally detached parents and how that dynamic likely laid the groundwork for his problematic sense of self. Although that’s not discussed in great detail here, the scenes between Maron and his dad, Barry, now in his mid-80s and living with dementia, have a subtle poignance that shows a kinder, more accepting side of the comedian than perhaps even he might have expected.
Meanwhile, a bit more could have been made of Maron’s acting work, a sideline that’s gained momentum over the last decade or so with worthy roles on TV’s “Glow” and “Stick,” and in films including “Joker” and the upcoming “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” Maron’s oft-stated uncertainty about his acting ability and the push-pull he has admitted to feeling might have dovetailed nicely with his other qualms.
That said, the profile, which features vivid archival and personal footage and photos of Maron throughout the years, is by no means comprehensive, nor does it try to be. At heart, it’s about a vulnerable man at a unique moment in time and how his past has prepared him — or perhaps not. And we are definitely good for experiencing this singular artist up close.
OZZY Osbourne joked that his final days may have been agonising but “at least I wasn’t Sting”.
The Black Sabbath rocker made the dig in his new documentary, set to be released nearly three months after he died aged 76 in July.
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The new Ozzy Osbourne documentary will show his battle with his health before his deathCredit: PA
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Ozzy said that despite his health battle, he was grateful for being able to perform until he was 70Credit: Ross Halfin
Throughout their careers, Ozzy and The Police’s Sting, 74, were embroiled in a war of words.
During the filming of his hit reality series The Osbourne’s, Ozzy was filmed making a number of insults about the singer.
And at the Grammys in 2003, Sting asked to speak to Ozzy’s daughter, Kelly, to patch things up.
At the time, wife Sharon said: “We all bumped into each other on the red carpet and we all said how ridiculous it was and how words can hurt so many people.
READ MORE ON OZZY OSBOURNE
“We’re all adults and all apologised and it was great.”
In the new doc, Ozzy speaks about his health, including battling sepsis and cracked vertebrae.
He said: “I am really f***ed up with this body of mine and as soon as I want to do anything.
“I went to the doctor and there’s a blood clot. My leg is about to fall off.
“But I can’t complain. I was actually rocking until I was 70 and then a trap door opened.
“I didn’t think I was going to live past 40.
Ozzy Osbourne’s cause of death revealed as Black Sabbath legend is given brilliant job title on official certificate
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Ozzy took one last dig at long time music rival Sting, during the documentaryCredit: Getty
“But if my life’s coming to an end, I really can’t complain, I’ve had a great life.
“But, hey, it could have been worse. I could be Sting.”
Despite being in pain, he travelled from LA for his final show on July 5 at Aston Villa’s stadium, in Birmingham.
Ozzy said: “The problem now is getting to England. But I’ve got to be there.
I used to take pills for fun. Now I take them to stay alive
“As I am getting on, it’s worse. It’s crippling me. I can’t walk, I can’t bend down. I’ll be sitting in a chair.”
“That’s the thing about getting older, I used to take pills for fun. Now I take them to stay alive.”
In a separate documentary for the BBC, called Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, the rocker posed with Sharon and his dogs.
He said: “LA is one thing but the English summer is fantastic.
“It’s a new thing for us both. I’m looking forward to getting this gig over, hanging my mic up and spending some time with you.”
Sharon added: “I just want to live a life. Find a little bubble somewhere and just live out our life together.”
Ozzy died on July 22, just weeks after his farewell gig.
Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, will be released on Paramount+ on October 7.
Victoria Beckham’s highly anticipated Netflix documentary is set to be released on October 9, and the streaming giant has released a brand new trailer.
The eagerly awaited docuseries will arrive on Netflix next week, leaving fans absolutely buzzing with excitement. The three-part programme is scheduled for release on 9 October, and is crafted by the same team behind the Emmy award winning BECKHAM series.
Featuring exclusive chats and shocking revelations, the docuseries will give viewers an unprecedented peek behind the curtain of Victoria Beckham’s world, encompassing both her professional journey and family dynamics. And supporters won’t have much longer to hold their breath.
Netflix has unveiled a fresh teaser as the fashion mogul opens up about her family memories, reports the Manchester Evening News. In the footage, Victoria Beckham reveals: “I’ve always wanted to do this.
“Throughout my life, I’ve used clothes to become someone else, be the person that I always wanted to be, that maybe naturally I wasn’t.
“I used to customise the school uniform in the bathroom at lunchtime. I used to love watching my mum get dressed up, you know she really cared and made the best of herself.
“I remember my mum saying to me if you dress up to get on the aeroplane, if there’s any chance of being upgraded they’re always going to look at who looks the best. I mean the truth is, there is no first class on budget air lines.”
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Posting the teaser on Instagram, Netflix captioned: “Victoria Beckham looks back on the importance of fashion in her life VICTORIA BECKHAM comes to Netflix October 9.”
One excited fan responded: “I can’t WAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIT!” Another chimed in with: “Welcome back.”
While Netflix has already given us a glimpse into the life of her ex-footballer husband David Beckham, this new series will shine the spotlight on the former Spice Girl.
Netflix tantalises viewers with: “VICTORIA BECKHAM, a three-part documentary series, gives all of us a front row seat as Victoria prepares for the fashion show of her life.
“From the teenager who restyled her school uniform, to the Spice Girl who fought to be accepted by a notoriously demanding fashion industry, Victoria Beckham is the story of resilience, reinvention and self-discovery.
“From the makers of the Emmy award-winning BECKHAM and the award-winning director of Michelle Obama’s Becoming.”
Last month, Netflix released the official trailer which saw the star breaking down in tears as she made a shocking confession. She revealed: “We were millions in the red”, while husband David confessed it “made me panic.”
Victoria Beckham premiers on Netflix on October 9.
For many, Omara Portuondo is best known for her participation in the Buena Vista Social Club; but the nonagenarian has lived many lives before and after the formation of the internationally recognized Cuban group. The new PBS documentary, “Omara: Cuba’s Legendary Diva,” looks to reexamine and capture the beauty and the chaos of these other many lives.
Directed by Hugo Perez, the feature — which premieres Sept. 26 on your local PBS channel — tells Portuondo’s personal history not only through the lens of her Afro-Cuban heritage but also through the prism of a woman confronting the realities of Cuba’s longstanding political strife.
“It immediately occurred to me that I was being given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work with a great artist in the twilight of their career — imagine taking a time machine and going back in time to work with Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday in their later years,” Perez said in a press release.
“When we began, Omara was in her late eighties, and still touring extensively around the world. Yet despite the fact that she was still selling out venues across the globe, she was confronting ageism from promoters and journalists who only wanted to write about her ‘final tour.’ I felt that there was an opportunity not just to create a portrait of an iconic artist but to document how she responded to age bias with verve and panache and not just a little sauciness. Never count a Cuban woman down and out.”
Born into a mixed-race family in Havana on Oct. 29, 1930, at a time when such relationships were considered taboo, Portuondo began gracing the stage at age 17 by joining the dance group of the famed Tropicana Club. As a member of Cuarteto d’Aida in the 1950s, she sang alongside Nat King Cole and toured the U.S. while also recording albums. From the late 1960s through the 1980s, Portuondo found continued success as a solo act and even ventured into the world of film and television.
Ever involved in the political events of the moment, she never shied away from performing songs dedicated to revolutionaries like Che Guevara. In 1974, the singer recorded an album dedicated to the U.S.-ousted Chilean socialist president Salvador Allende.
In the mid-1990s, Portuondo began traveling the world with the renowned Cuban musical ensemble, the Buena Vista Social Club. The band’s fame skyrocketed in 1999 after German filmmaker Wim Wenders made a documentary about the musicians titled “Buena Vista Social Club” that received numerous awards and was nominated for an Academy Award. At the heart of the film were moments when Portuondo’s talents jumped off the screen and worldwide audiences could see the power and history behind her artistry.
The story of the Buena Vista Social Club was turned into an eponymous musical in 2023, with Portuondo featured as one of the main characters. After the musical hit Broadway in 2025, Natalie Venetia Belcon — who portrayed Portuondo as part of the show’s original Broadway cast — won the Tony for featured actress in a musical at this year’s awards.
While, for many, Portuondo’s impact and star power emanates from all things Buena Vista Social Club, the new documentary spotlights how Portuondo has not slowed down her hustle at her advanced age as she continues touring worldwide. Included in the movie are interviews with musicians from across the globe, like Diego el Cigala, Roberto Fonseca and Arturo O’Farrill.
The film also captures some of Portuondo’s more recent performances, which reveal new depths of the singer’s soulfulness and power.
“I also wanted to make a film that would show her in performance today, spotlighting songs that would help carry us through the story of her life,” the movie’s director said. “When she sings about love, Omara plumbs the depths of heartbreak, and I could not imagine telling her story without seeing her singing these great songs.”
A once tranquil fishing village famed for featuring in the TV series Doc Martin is now said to be inundated with visitors
The Cornish village is stunning(Image: Oscarhill via Getty Images)
Port Isaac, the picturesque Cornish village known for its role in the TV series Doc Martin and as the birthplace of sea-shanty band Fisherman’s Friends, is said to struggling under the weight of its own popularity.
Despite the influx of visitors drawn by its association with Doc Martin, Port Isaac has long been a favourite location for TV and film makers. The village served as the backdrop for the 2000 comedy thriller Saving Grace, as well as the original BBC Poldark series from the 1970s.
Local fisherman, Tom Brown, told the Telegraph that while visitor numbers have increased, they are spending less than previous tourists. He revealed that older locals “hate it” and avoid the bottom of Port Isaac, claiming “it’s ruined”.
However, Mr Brown believes that while the village has “definitely changed”, it isn’t ruined.
The surge in second-home ownership has reportedly priced local families out of the market. According to Rightmove, house prices in the village averaged £425,140 over the last year, reports the Express.
The online property website also noted that most properties sold in Port Isaac over the past year were detached houses, fetching an average price of £490,000.
Terraced houses were sold for an average price of £406,250, while flats went for £333,200. The Halifax House Price Index reported a UK-wide average of £299,331 in August.
Travel and Tour World has reported that a “steep” rise in property prices is driving locals away from Port Isaac, with those who stay facing an “overwhelming” cost of living.
Local businesses have also felt the impact of the surge in visitors over the summer, struggling to meet the demand from the influx of tourists and dealing with challenges during quieter periods.
Cornwall Council’s councillor responsible for homes, Olly Munk, stated that housing in the county is in a state of crisis, with more than 24,000 people on the local authority’s waiting list.
In 2024, the council added 775 “affordable” homes to the county’s total, and there are 600 sites approved for housing. Under a Government scheme, the county is required to build over 4,000 houses annually.
Emily, who plays Sarah Stratton, told the Radio Times: “I’m really proud of the Rivals gang because, throughout my life, I haven’t felt safe all the time, and we’re all so respectful of each other.
“We have to do a lot of sexual scenes and we’re very looked after — it’s a really positive thing.”
Emily, who is now engaged to materials scientist Dr Alistair Garner, launched her acting career 18 years ago with small parts in dramas including ITV’s Heartbeat.
Emily Atack says stripping for Rivals and playing naked tennis ‘was liberating’
She then made her breakthrough as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners, which ran from 2008 to 2010 on Channel 4 and is one of Britain’s best-loved comedies.
She also appeared in Only Fools And Horses prequel comedy Rock & Chips on BBC One in 2010, the 2013 gangster film Get Lucky and the 2016 movie remake of Dad’s Army.
An ITV documentary, Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt?, features medical experts questioning the evidence that convicted nurse Lucy Letby of killing seven babies and attempting to kill seven others, as her legal team pursues a potential appeal
22:34, 02 Aug 2025Updated 22:35, 02 Aug 2025
Lucy Letby convictions under scrutiny as experts challenge trial evidence in new ITV doc(Image: Chester Standard / SWNS.com)
Several medical experts criticise the “deeply disturbing” and “flawed” evidence used to convict killer nurse Lucy Letby in a new documentary on TV tonight.
He adds: “In the trial, they started from the starting point, ‘She has done harm. Now we have to show how she has harmed each child….we’re just going to put together a theory.’ And she was convicted on that theory.”
Two appeals have failed. But in February a panel of medical experts, led by Dr Shoo Lee, found Letby did not murder any babies. Her defence team has now submitted an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Dr Neena Modi, ex-president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says: “It’s been deeply disturbing that one can have such a… tremendously important trial that seems to have been conducted with so many flaws.”
Letby was found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies(Image: MEN MEDIA)
One alleged flaw is a shift chart, used to prove Letby was always present when the babies were harmed at the Countess of Chester Hospital from 2015 to 2016.
But statistician Professor Jane Hutton says some incidents, when Letby was not working, were left off, adding: “This is a summary that is so crude it can only be described as grossly misleading.”
It was also claimed Letby must have caused one baby’s death by removing a breathing tube. But several experts say the tubes can be dislodged for a “variety of reasons”.
Notes by Letby, including the phrase “I am evil I did this” were presented as confessional in court. But it is claimed she was encouraged by hospital staff to write down her feelings to help cope with stress.
Baby killer Lucy Letby has reportedly grown closer to another notorious child murderer in jail(Image: AP)
It is also alleged the prosecution’s lead expert, Dr Dewi Evans, has altered his view about how three babies died since the case.
But he denies this, saying his evidence has been agreed by a jury and the Court of Appeal. He also argues the case by Dr Shoo Lee’s panel has not been held to scrutiny in court and contains significant factual errors.
The CPS said: “Lucy Letby was convicted of 15 separate counts following two jury trials.
“In May 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed Letby’s leave to appeal on all grounds, rejecting her argument that expert prosecution evidence was flawed.”
It added that it is considering police files on further baby deaths and collapses at the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? is on ITV1, at 10.20pm, tonight.
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
Writer-director Ari Aster has refashioned himself from a maker of art-house horror films like “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” into a more overt social satirist with “Beau Is Afraid” and his latest film, “Eddington,” which opens this week.
Pointedly set in the spring of 2020 in a small town in New Mexico — a moment when uncertainty, paranoia and division over the response to COVID were maximally disorienting — the film’s story concerns a sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) who tosses his hat in the ring to run against an incumbent mayor (Pedro Pascal). Each spouts their own complicated, spiraling rhetoric as the race between them becomes more intense, and they seem swept away by circumstances much larger than they can understand or control.
Joaquin Phoenix in the movie “Eddington.”
(A24)
In her review of the film Amy Nicholson wrote, “Aster’s feistiest move is that he refuses to reveal the truth. When you step back at the end to take in the full landscape, you can put most of the story together. (Watch ‘Eddington’ once, talk it out over margaritas and then watch it again.) Aster makes the viewer say their theories out loud afterwards, and when you do, you sound just as unhinged as everyone else in the movie. I dig that kind of culpability: a film that doesn’t point sanctimonious fingers but insists we’re all to blame.
“But there are winners and losers and winners who feel like losers and schemers who get away with their misdeeds scot-free. Five years after the events of this movie, we’re still standing in the ashes of the aggrieved. But at least if we’re cackling at ourselves together in the theater, we’re less alone.”
Carlos Aguilar spoke to acclaimed cinematographer Darius Khondji, a former collaborator of David Fincher, James Gray and the Safdies, about working with Aster for the first time on “Eddington.”
“Ari and I have a common language,” Khondji said. “We discovered quite early on working together that we have a very similar taste for dark films, not dark in lighting but in storytelling.”
‘Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse’ restored
Francis Ford Coppola in the documentary “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.”
(Rialto Pictures / American Zoetrope)
The 1991 film “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” is widely thought of as among the greatest behind-the-scenes documentaries ever made. Directed by Fax Bahr with George Hickenlooper from documentary footage directed by Eleanor Coppola, the film explores the epically complicated production of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.” A new 4K restoration of “Hearts of Darkness” will have a limited run at the American Cinematheque beginning Sunday, with Bahr in-person for multiple Q&As.
When Eleanor Coppola went to the Philippines in 1976 with her husband and their three children for the production of his hallucinatory Vietnam War saga “Apocalypse Now,” he enlisted her to shoot doc footage in part to save on additional crew and also to give her something to do.
Drawing from Eleanor’s remarkable footage, surreptitious audio recordings she made and her written memoir of the experience, “Notes: On the Making of ‘Apocalypse Now,’” “Hearts of Darkness” becomes a portrait of the struggle to maintain creativity, composure and sanity amid chaos as everything that could possibly go wrong seemingly does. Military helicopters are redeployed during takes, star Martin Sheen suffers a heart attack, monsoons destroy sets, Marlon Brando is immovable on scheduling and the ending of what all this is leading toward remains elusive.
Frederic Forrest, left, Laurence Fishburne, Martin Sheen and Albert Hall in “Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut.”
(Rialto Pictures )
“I think it’s really held up and survived,” said Bahr of the documentary in an interview this week. “It works as a complement to this extraordinary film that Francis produced. Of course, [‘Apocalypse Now’] would be what it is without this, but I do think for people who really want to go deeper into the ‘Apocalypse’ experience, this is really a necessary journey to take.”
When “Apocalypse Now” first premiered at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola infamously said, “The way we made it was very much like the way the Americans were in Vietnam. We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment and little by little we went insane.”
The years between the lengthy production of “Apocalypse Now,” its turbulent release and the subsequent years before the “Hearts of Darkness” project came to be likely eased the Coppolas into participating with such candor and full-fledged access.
Eleanor Coppola in “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.”
(Rialto Pictures / American Zoetrope)
“I think having almost 10 years after ‘Apocalypse Now’ was helpful,” said James T. Mockoski, who oversaw the restoration for Coppola’s company American Zoetrope. “It would’ve been a much different documentary when it was supposed to come out. It was supposed to support the publicity and the marketing of the film at that time. ‘Apocalypse’ was very difficult, as we have seen, obviously. I don’t know how much they would’ve had the hunger to revisit the film and go right into a documentary. It was a rather difficult, challenging time for them. And I think 10 years gave them a perspective that was needed.”
“He gambled it all and he won,” said Bahr. “And what I hope we really achieved with ‘Hearts’ was showing the despair that really all artists go through in the creative process. And even though you go there, if you keep at it and your goal is true then you achieve artistic greatness.”
According to Mockoski, Francis Ford Coppola has seen his own relationship to the documentary change over the years. While at times unflattering, and certainly showing the filmmaker racked by doubt and in deep creative crisis, “Hearts” also shows him as someone, improbably, finding his way.
“It’s a very hard relationship with the documentary, but he has grown over the years to be more accepting of it,” said Mockoski. “He doesn’t like the films to ever be shown together. If anyone wants to book it, they shouldn’t be on the same day. There should be some distance. And he doesn’t really want people to watch the documentary and then just figure out, where’s Francis and what is his state of mind at this point? They’re two separate things for him. And he would rather people watch ‘Apocalypse’ just for the experience of that, not to be clouded by ‘Hearts.’”
Martin Sheen in the movie “Apocalypse Now.”
(Rialto Pictures)
In his original review of “Hearts of Darkness,” Michael Wilmington wrote, “In the first two ‘Godfather’ movies, Coppola seemed to achieve the impossible: combining major artistic achievement with spectacular box-office success, mastering art and business. In ‘Apocalypse Now,’ he wanted to score another double coup: create a huge, adrenaline-churning Irwin Allenish spectacle and something deeper, more private, filled with the times’ terror. Amazingly, he almost did. And the horror behind that ‘almost’ — Kurtz’s Horror, the horror of Vietnam, of ambition itself — is what ‘Hearts of Darkness’ gives us so wrenchingly well.”
“What ‘Hearts’ is great about is that it shows you a period of filmmaking that’s just not seen today,” said Mockoski. “You look at this and you look at [“Apocalypse’] and there’s just no way we could make this film. Would we ever allow an actor to go to that extreme situation with Martin Sheen? Would we be allowed to set that much gasoline on fire in the jungle? Hollywood was sort of slow to evolve, they were making films like that up from the silent era, these epic films, going to extremes to just do art. It just captured a moment in time that I don’t think we’ll ever see again.”
‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’
The event’s poster.
(Vista Theater)
Having premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and screened only a few times since, Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” will play twice daily at the Vista Theater from July 18-28.
Clocking in at over 4 hours and screening from Tarantino’s personal 35mm print (complete with French subtitles), it combines the films known as “Kill Bill Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill Vol. 2” into a single experience with a few small changes. The main difference is simply taking it all in as “The Whole Bloody Affair,” an epic tale of revenge as a woman mostly known as “The Bride” (Uma Thurman in a career-defining performance) seeks to find those who tried to kill her on her wedding day. (I’ll be seeing the combined cut for the first time myself during this run at the Vista.)
Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. 2.”
(Andrew Cooper / Miramax Films)
Manohla Dargis’ Los Angeles Times reviews of the two films when they were first released in October 2003 and April 2004 still make for some of the most incisive writing on Tarantino as a filmmaker.
Dargis’ review of “Vol. 2” inadvertently helps sell the idea of the totalizing “The Whole Bloody Affair” experience by saying, “An adrenaline shot to the movie heart, soul and mind, Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill Vol. 2’ is a blast of pure pop pleasure. The second half of Tarantino’s long-gestating epic, ‘Vol. 2’ firmly lays to rest the doubts raised by ‘Vol. 1’ as to whether the filmmaker had retained his chops after years of silence and, as important, had anything to offer beyond pyrotechnics and bloodshed. Tarantino does have something to say, although most of what he does have to say can be boiled down to two words: Movies rock.
“In a world of commodity filmmaking in which marketing suits offer notes on scripts, this is no small thing. Personal vision is as rare in Hollywood as humility, but personal vision — old, new, borrowed and true blue to the filmmaker’s inspirations — shapes ‘Vol. 2,’ giving it texture and density. Personal vision makes Tarantino special, but it isn’t what makes him Quentin Tarantino. What does distinguish him, beyond a noggin full of film references, a candy-coated visual style and a deep-tissue understanding of how pop music has shaped contemporary life, affecting our very rhythms, is his old-time faith in the movies. Few filmmakers love movies as intensely; fewer still have the ability to remind us why we fell for movies in the first place.”
Points of interest
‘2046’ in 35mm
Tony Leung in the movie “2046.”
(Wing Shya / Sony Pictures Classics)
Showing at Vidiots on Friday night in 35mm will be Wong Kar-wai’s “2046,” the 2004 follow-up to his cherished “In the Mood for Love.” Loosely connected to both “In the Mood for Love” and Wong’s earlier “Days of Being Wild,” “2046” stars Tony Leung as a writer in late 1960s Hong Kong who has encounters with a series of women, played by the likes of Maggie Cheung, Faye Wong, Gong Li, Carina Lau and Zhang Ziyi. (He may be imagining them.) Fans of Wong’s stylish, smoky romanticism will not be disappointed.
In her original review of the film, Carina Chocano called it “a gorgeous, fevered dream of a movie that blends recollection, imagination and temporal dislocation to create an emotional portrait of chaos in the aftermath of heartbreak.”
‘Lost in America’ + ‘Modern Romance’
Albert Brooks in the movie “Lost in America.”
(Geffen Film Company)
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the New Beverly will screen a 35mm double bill of Albert Brooks’ 1985 “Lost in America” and 1981’s “Modern Romance.” Directed by, co-written by (with Monica Johnson) and starring Brooks, both films are fine showcases for his lacerating comedic sensibilities.
A satire of the lost values of the 1960s generation in the face of the materialism of 1980s, “Lost in America” has Brooks as an advertising executive who convinces his wife (Julie Hagerty) to join him in quitting their jobs, selling everything they own and setting out in a deluxe RV to explore the country, “Easy Rider”-style.
In a review of “Lost in America,” Patrick Goldstein wrote, “Appearing in his usual disguise, that of the deliriously self-absorbed maniac, Brooks turns his comic energies on his favorite target — himself — painting an agonizingly accurate portrait of a man imprisoned in his own fantasies. … You get the feeling that Brooks has fashioned an unerring parody of someone who’s somehow lost his way in our lush, consumer paradise. Here’s a man who can’t tell where the desert ends and the oasis begins.”
Kathryn Harrold and Albert Brooks in the movie “Modern Romance.”
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
“Modern Romance,” features Brooks as a lovelorn film editor in Los Angeles desperate to win back his ex-girlfriend (Kathryn Harrold).
In his original review of ”Modern Romance,” Kevin Thomas wrote, “You have to hand it to Albert Brooks. To put it mildly he’s not afraid to present himself unsympathetically.”
In a 1981 interview with Goldstein, Brooks said, “As a comedian it’s really my job to be the monster. People either love me or hate me. If I wanted to be a nice guy, I’d make a movie about someone who saves animals.”
(Brooks would, of course, go on to appear as a voice actor in “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory.”)
In other news
‘The Little Mermaid’
A mermaid named Ariel contemplates what it would be like to be human in “The Little Mermaid.”
(Walt Disney Pictures)
For the next installment of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.’s ongoing series at the Egyptian, there will be a screening on Thursday, July 24, of 1989’s “The Little Mermaid” with directors Ron Clements and John Musker present for a Q&A moderated by Carlos Aguilar.
“The Little Mermaid” received LAFCA’s inaugural award for animation, the first of its kind among critics groups.
Zara McDermott has made a BBC series about stalking but was shocked by her experiences
19:00, 27 Jun 2025Updated 19:08, 27 Jun 2025
Zara McDermott meets a number of women who have issues with stalkers in BBC two part series(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC / CHATTERBOX)
Laura’s ex broke into her car and followed her to and from work. He bombarded her with hundreds of unwanted messages. She moved house to get rid of him. He found out where she lives, and stands outside at night, watching.
“This has been going on for four years,” she says. “There doesn’t seem to be an ending. When we split up, my neighbours told me that he used to turn up at my door and look through the kitchen window at seven in the morning. He was sending me 200 messages a day.
“I even had holes in my back fence and every time I covered them up, more appeared. When I went around the back, you could see straight into my living room. I had a note left at my house that said ‘caught in my trap’. Now I am checking my cameras outside all the time because he is watching me. He keeps turning up at like three or four in the morning and I catch him on my Ring doorbell.
“The person I am seeing is standing there anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour and a half. They are just stood there and then they disappear. I am convinced it is him. I cannot think of anyone else like a passer-by or a dog walker… they would not just stand there for an hour staring at the house in the middle of the night.”
Laura’s nightly reality would be enough to break most people. For Love Island star turned filmmaker Zara McDermott, one night at Laura’s place was more than enough. In her forthcoming BBC mini-series To Catch a Stalker, Zara admits: “I could not relax. I could not sleep. This is how some women live every single day. It would absolutely destroy me.
“Even the creaking sound of the house is freaking me out a bit.” Zara, 28, wanted to reflect the reality facing thousands of women in the UK who live in fear for their lives because of the actions of a stalker.
Zara with Laura when they spend the night together
Laura’s ex has already been convicted twice for stalking and was given a suspended sentence. When Zara visited, he was out on bail having been arrested for breaching the terms of the suspended sentence.
The former reality star – who has never experienced what it is like being stalked – offers to spend the night and keep watch in case the figure returns, and is warned to dial 999 immediately if she spots someone.
Zara admits: “I want to keep her company for the evening. I am really interested in getting an understanding as to what she has been going through.
“I am staying the night to keep an eye on the door bell so Laura gets the chance for a good night’s sleep. But I almost jumped at my own reflection and I feel a bit paranoid in this house.”
Later, Zara says: “It’s nearly 2am. Laura has given me access to her cameras and I can’t relax because I am waiting for this figure to appear.” Zara is relieved to report the next morning that the figure did not appear across the street.
But she tells Laura: “I didn’t sleep much. I spent most of the night checking the camera. But it makes you realise how distinctive that figure on your screenshots is. It is undoubtedly someone because it is so pitch black.”
Anxious Laura struggles to hide her tears as she tells Zara exactly how her ex has turned her life upside down with his creepy behaviour. She says: “It is quite unpredictable but through the six-week holidays it was about eight times.
“I had to move here because of it. Before I’d stay at my sister’s every other weekend, just because I did not feel safe at home. Then a vehicle that is very similar to his started driving past my sister’s house at 2am.
“You know it is him but it’s not like he is knocking on the door and waving at the window – which is what the police need.
“So I think this is why it is so difficult to get him charged. I am lucky that he has already been charged with stalking but I don’t want to move again because he is just going to keep finding where I live.”
In Zara’s documentary, Laura adds: “Although I am not with him, I feel my life is still controlled around him and I think that is what I find most frustrating and quite scary because how can you escape?”
She tells Zara after her stay: “It is nice to have someone who has experienced it. I feel believed – which is very rare when you are stalked.”
Zara discovers Laura’s ordeal could have some positive resolution if the offender is given a stalking prevention order. The police can apply for this civil order to protect anyone at risk of stalking, and it does not require the same standard of proof as a criminal conviction.
An SPO can ban a stalker from going near a victim’s home or a place they often visit, and from contacting or approaching them.
In contrast with a restraining order, an SPO can also force a suspect to have a mental health assessment, sign on at a police station or attend an intervention programme.
The National Stalking Helpline has received over 75,000 contacts from victims of stalking since 2010. Anti-stalking charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, named after the estate agent who disappeared in 1986, says: “When many people hear the word stalking they still think of a stranger lurking in the shadows or a delusional fan following a celebrity. About 45% of people who contact the helpline are being stalked by ex-intimates and a further third have had a prior acquaintance with their stalker.
“Just because you know or knew the stalker does not mean that the situation is your fault – it is still stalking and it is wrong.”
A 2024 report found police forces often lack a sufficient understanding of stalking, conduct flawed investigations, fail to respond to breaches of orders and lack a consistent and effective strategy to support victims.
Latest figures say one in seven people aged 16 and over in England and Wales have been a victim of stalking at least once, with women and younger people the most targeted. An estimated 1.5 million people aged six years and over experienced stalking in the year ending March 2024. Among women, 20.2% have experienced stalking since the age of 16, as have 8.7% of men.
In the documentary, a Met Police detective tells Zara: “Many suspects have a pattern that is fixated and obsessive. He does not stop just because a victim changes her number. You can find their TikTok or Snapchat, we all leave a footprint.”
Zara adds: “The impact this crime has on its victims is truly devastating.
“I have seen women have to change their entire lives, their entire routine, but also live in constant fear.”
The documentary will be screened just days after a convicted stalker of singer Cheryl Tweedy admitted another breach of a restraining order after turning up at the singer’s home. Daniel Bannister pleaded guilty to a single charge of breaching a restraining order on Thursday.
* Zara McDermott: To Catch A Stalker launches on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday July 1 at 9pm.
Doc Martin star Martin Clunes has signed up for a huge-budget film that will see him star alongside Margot Robbie as well as Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi
Martin Clunes will star alongside some huge names in the upcoming release(Image: Neil Genower/ITV)
Martin Clunes is set to star in a major Hollywood film, alongside big names like Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
The Doc Martin actor’s next role will be in the upcoming Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell, slated for release in February 2026. However, many details about the film remain a secret.
In a recent interview with The i Paper, Martin unveiled his involvement in this “massive, Warner Brothers, huge-budget movie, all built on sets at Elstree”.
He will take on the character of Mr Earnshaw, father of Catherine Earnshaw, in Wuthering Heights. Margot Robbie is set to play Catherine, while Jacob Elordi will portray Heathcliff.
Martin Clunes will appear in Wuthering Heights(Image: David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Other cast members include Hong Chau as Nelly Dean and Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton, with Alison Oliver playing Isabella Linton. Owen Cooper, Charlotte Mellington, and Vy Nguyen will also feature as young Heathcliff, teenage Catherine, and young Nelly respectively, reports Wales Online.
Wuthering Heights is based on Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel of the same name, which explores the turbulent relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, an orphan adopted by Catherine’s family.
If the film stays true to the book, audiences can anticipate a gripping story of love and revenge set in 19th-century Yorkshire, with themes of social class, obsession, and love taking centre stage.
Margot Robbie will also star in the new film(Image: Getty)
Emerald is set for her third venture with LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company helmed by Margot Robbie, her spouse Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara. She has previously joined forces with them for the acclaimed films Promising Young Woman and Saltburn.
Although Emerald has kept quiet about the particulars of her upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights, her fascination with gothic themes is no secret.
In a piece for the Los Angeles Times, Emerald confided: “I’ve always been obsessed with the gothic. Whether it was Edward Gorey’s children who are variously choked by peaches, sucked dry by leeches or smothered by rugs; Du Maurier’s imperilled heroines or the disturbing erotic power of Angela Carter’s fairy tales, the gothic world has always had me in its grip.”
She continued: “It’s a genre where comedy and horror, revulsion and desire, sex and death are forever entwined, where every exchange is heavy with the threat of violence, or sex or both.”
Wuthering Heights will be released 13 February 2026
