Call the Midwife star Natalie Quarry has taken on a brand new role away from the BBC period drama
A Call the Midwife star has been cast in an Agatha Christie Drama(Image: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Andrea southam)
A Call the Midwife star is set to appear in another period drama.
The BBC has confirmed Natalie Quarry, who played Rosalind Clifford in beloved series, will star in the forthcoming six-part series, Hercule.
The exciting drama, which has commenced filming in Liverpool, will centre around three of Agatha Christie’s early stories, while also introducing Hercule Poirot to future friends and allies and one particular nemesis.
The show, from Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited, has been described as “an intimate study of Hercule Poirot, the man, and an epic portrait of Britain between the wars.”
Actor Edward Bluemel takes on the lead role of Hercule Poirot, and is best known for his roles in Killing Eve and A Discovery of Witches. He is the youngest to take on the role created by Agatha Christie back in 1916.
Also starring in the drama is Death in Paradise star Ralf Little who joins the star-studded cast alongside Emily in Paris star Paul Forman, It’s a Sin star Omari Douglas, The Beauty’s Jessica Alexander, and The Souvenir’s Honor Swinton Byrne.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest detectives in fiction, Hercule Poirot has sold over 750 million copies, captivating readers and audiences for more than a century.
Sharing excitement for the new Agatha Christie series, James Prichard, the great-grandson of the famous author, and executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited, said: “My father had the privilege of working with David Suchet for nearly 25 years, and I now have the good fortune of being able to share my great-grandmother’s brilliant stories with a new generation of viewers.”
He added: “Edward Bluemel is an extremely talented performer and will make a great addition to the long line of actors that have played this celebrated character, aided and abetted by Benji Walters’ thoughtful scripts. I cannot wait to see Edward on screen as Hercule Poirot.”
Who is Natalie Quarry?
Actress Natalie Quarry joined the Call the Midwife cast in its 13th season as a student midwife, Rosalind Clifford, and has since become a fully-fledged practitioner among the nuns and nurses at Nonnatus House.
In the most recent series, which concluded earlier this year, she became involved with the Women’s Liberation Movement and found love with local social worker Cyril Robinson (Zephryn Taitte), but their relationship has been a topic of discussion among the locals.
Away from the BBC period drama, Natalie has also starred in Doctors, Atlanta, and Blitz.
“Tip Toe,” a fine new drama from Russell T Davies premiering Friday on Starz, begins at the end, with Leo Struther (Alan Cumming, phenomenally good), a gay Manchester bar owner, hanging dead from a streetlight outside his house, as a woman screams and his neighbor Clive Goss (David Morrissey) stands breathing heavily on his porch. Then, as so many series do nowadays, it goes back in time — 10 days here — to tell the tale that got them there.
And so you are prepared from the beginning for tragedy, though not everything that happens in its five episodes will be tragic — some of what we see will be sweet and even celebratory — and one might forget for a moment where this is all heading, and even believe that what we’ve already seen will turn out differently.
The series sets off in a comparatively light mood. Chasing a one-night stand who’s stolen his laptop, Leo finds he’s locked himself out of his house, and, dressed only in his underwear, goes next door to ask if he can borrow a phone to call his friend Stephanie (Elizabeth Berrington) to bring him a spare key; here we meet the Goss family, Clive, an out-of-work electrician; his wife, Marie (Pooky Quesnel), who doesn’t like Clive; 16-year-old son George (Jackson Connor), gay and closeted; and 25-year-old son Saul (Joseph Evans), an easygoing hunk who lives at home, secretly makes money on OnlyFans and accepts everyone for who they are. Leo and the Gosses have been living amicably at arm’s length for 14 years, though their lives are about to become closely entwined, with disastrous results.
In an act of something like willful, somewhat disturbing friendliness, or a desire not to have to deal with Leo the next time he’s locked out, Clive makes a copy of Leo’s key and installs a lock box by his door. (By the Chekov’s gun rule, a key copied in Episode 1 is bound to be turned in a lock in whatever later act Davies deems advantageous.) Then, Leo gives Clive work at his bar.
Alan Cumming and David Morrissey play neighbors whose relationship escalates to violence in “Tip Toe.”
(Ben Blackall / Starz)
Leo’s bar, Spit and Polish, sits on Canal Street in Manchester’s long-established “gay village.” It’s a safe space for his employees and regulars, including Zee (Iz Hesketh), who’s been sleeping hidden in the bar, frightened of new flatmates since coming out as a trans woman, and Melba (Paul Rhys, brilliant), a former drag performer who holds down the end of the bar like Norm from “Cheers” and carries a torch for Leo.
Things will go generally downhill from here, in a narrative of escalating misunderstanding — not in the sense of an innocent mistake, of simply getting the wrong end of the stick (though that’s part of it), but as a contemporary habit of mind, blinkered, closed to facts but open to conspiracies. (Clive, a consumer of social media disinformation, believes that AIDS and COVID are fake); he lives in fear.
Directed by Peter Hoar, it’s a rough watch, yet beautifully wrought and delicately performed, inspiring and depressing, hopeless and hopeful by turns Davies has points to make — hanging your protagonist is not subtle — but his dialogue carries a lot of weight lightly; long conversations ebb and flow and rise and fall like compressed playlets. If there is something schematic about the arc, the characters within it, Clive as much as Leo, are completely human. They stand for something bigger than themselves, but they also stand for themselves.
Davies brought gay life in its infinite variety to television with the 1999 series “Queer as Folk” (also set on Canal Street) and gender fluidity to “Doctor Who,” the series he revived in 2005 and returned to in 2023. (The Tardis is currently in limbo.) His “Cucumber,” about middle-age gay men, and “Banana,” about young LGBTQ+ people, are also set in Manchester, where Davies has lived since the late 1980s. “Tip Toe” has been crafted for an age of surging homophobia and anti-gay violence. “The president of America has given these men permission to attack us,” says Melba, as he sits with Leo late one night by the canal. The series’ dark prophet, he gives it its title.
“It’s a storm, it’s a tide, it’s a great big tsunami. We’re in the middle of it right now … If you’d asked me in 1996 what do you think 2026 will be like, I’d have said ‘glory days’ … But they tricked us didn’t they? They let us all come out, so now we’re standing in he open ready for them to shoot us down. I used to walk into a room and just go, ‘Ta-da!’ Now I tip toe, just in case.”
MIS-TEEQ’S Sabrina Washington has made a huge U-turn as she AXES her own solo tour and issues a grovelling apology to fans after sparking mass confusion.
Sabrina Washington has U-turned on her solo tourCredit: GettySabrina is part of hit band Mis-teeqCredit: PA
Just days after Mis-teeq’s sold-out 25th anniversary reunion concert in London, Sabrina declared that there would be no further Mis-Teeq dates or new music – which left fans completely baffled.
But now she has sensationally backtracked on all of that.
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In a statement shared on social media, Sabrina said: “I have been paying close attention to what people have been saying, reading the comments and trying to understand what you genuinely want to see from me.
“And one thing has come through very clearly: there is a strong desire to see the three of us perform Mis-Teeq’s greatest hits together again.”
Sabrina, Su-Elise Nash and Alesha Dixon performed in London last month for a reunion gigCredit: ShutterstockSabrina’s solo announcement left fans shockedCredit: Shutterstock
She went on: “Ultimately, I don’t want to push ahead with a solo tour when I know there is such a strong feeling among fans about seeing Mis-Teeq together again.
“So, with a heavy heart, I have decided that the right thing for me is to cancel the tour.”
Sabrina added: “This is not a decision I have taken lightly. But for me, the fans have to come first.”
She noted that although she is cancelling the tour, she is not putting her own music to one side.
“I have been working on new solo material,” she revealed in the statement.
She then addressed her comments about going solo and Mis-teeq having no new plans in the pipeline.
“I now understand that my plans may not have been fully communicated to Alesha and Su-Elise before the announcement.
“Looking back, I could have shared more detail with management and spoken to the girls directly beforehand, and for that I am sorry.”
Sabrina added: “I have never closed the door on Mis-Teeq. I said on GMB, and I want to say again: I would never say no to another Mis-Teeq show.
“If the right opportunity came along and the three of us all wanted to do it, I would absolutely be open to that.”
Fans were quick to brand her “courageous” and “brave” for speaking out, though some were annoyed as they had already booked tickets to her now-axed solo tour.
Netflix viewers have hailed this latest ITV release as an “utterly absorbing” watch.
Hayley Anderson Screen Time TV Reporter
21:19, 28 Sep 2026
Helen McCrory stars in this “utterly absorbing” drama. (Image: ITV)
ITV viewers can’t get enough of this forgotten “brilliant” drama from a Peaky Blinders legend.
Peaky Blinders might be over but fans are still discovering some of its stars’ best work years before they even stepped foot into Tommy Shelby’s (played by Cillian Murphy) chaotic world.
One series that’s just started to grab fans’ attention is three-part ITV drama Leaving which originally made its debut 13 years ago.
Leading the cast is none other than actress Helen McCrory who portrayed Polly Gray, the dangerous matriarch of the Shelby family in Peaky Blinders’ first five seasons.
She isn’t the only recognisable face though in Leaving as McCrory is joined by Masters of the Air star Callum Turner who married singer Dua Lipa earlier this year.
Leaving revolves around 45-year-old wife Julie Ranmore (Helen McCrory) whose job as a hotel events manager keeps her from thinking too much about her loveless marriage. But things quickly change when she is introduced to unemployed 21-year-old Aaron (Callum Turner) who is still living with his parents.
They start working at the same hotel and what starts off as a flirtationship quickly escalates into a full-blown affair with the couple having to deal with the consequences.
Taking to IMdB to sing the show’s praises, someone simply described it as a “little gem”.
A fellow viewer said it was “utterly absorbing”, adding: “Brilliantly acted, often tense and heartbreaking, this is an outstanding drama…the late Helen McCrory gives an unforgettable performance.”
Another labelled it as “maddening all the right ways” and others hailing it as perfect for a “little binge on a rainy afternoon”.
McCrory sadly died of breast cancer in 2021 at the age of 52, keeping her illness private and only telling those closest to her.
She died ahead of the sixth series of Peaky Blinders being filmed which was postponed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Her husband and Homeland star Damian Lewis said at the time she had a “heroic battle with cancer”, stating that she was a “beautiful and mighty woman”.
He added: “She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and we know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives.”
ITV have confirmed that gripping new six-part drama Winter starring Richard Armitage will replace Professor T in its schedule as the final episode of the fourth series airs
The fourth series of Professor T concludes tonight(Image: ITV)
The fourth series of Professor T comes to an end tonight.
ITV airs the sixth and final episode of the latest season titled The Warrior Gene on Thursday (September 24) evening as Professor Jasper Tempest (Death in Paradise’s Ben Miller) wrestles with his feelings for Dr Helena Goldberg (Bend It Like Beckhams star Juliet Stevenson).
The synopsis reads: “In the run up to Wilfred and Zelda’s wedding, Jasper is wrestling with his feelings for Helena. Dan is stunned by a new case where he sees a dying man admit he killed someone.
“Whilst Dan and Chloe try to track down who’s been killed, Maiya thinks they are going on a wild goose chase, concerned this is about Dan’s grief over Lisa.
“Zelda has second thoughts about the wedding but when Jasper explains to her that ‘love is enough’, he realises his feelings for Helena and invites her to Zelda’s wedding.”
It continues: “Ms. Snares takes Jasper to Lyndon Collins’ lecture on the warrior gene and Jasper is intrigued by something Collins says about the case Dan is investigating.
“On the day of the wedding and Lisa’s memorial event, Jasper uses the case to get Dan to open up about Lisa and gain the strength to attend her memorial.
“After helping Dan, Jasper returns to Zelda and Wilfred’s wedding and is thrilled when Helena appears. Helena spots Jasper has finally removed his gloves. It’s clear he’s come a long way.”
ITV will fill the Professor T shaped gap in the schedule next week by airing Richard Armitage’s new drama Winter as the actor takes on the role of an unconventional forensic pathologist whose unique approach to murder investigations puts him at the heart of a series of complex cases.
Winter kicks off on ITV1 on Wednesday (September 30) at 9pm with each episode featuring a self-contained murder investigation alongside an ongoing personal storyline for Armitage’s character.
The synopsis for the new six-part series reads: “Although Winter does not always follow the expected rules, he has an exceptional ability to examine the evidence and uncover clues that others might miss.
“His skills bring him together with DI Lauren Bell, played by Annabel Scholey, a meticulous and no-nonsense detective who is equally determined when it comes to solving a case.
“Together, Winter and Bell form a formidable investigative partnership as they attempt to solve some of the most challenging murder cases.”
BBC The Split spin-off The Split Up is here and it features a number of exciting guest stars.
Hayley Anderson Screen Time TV Reporter
21:22, 20 Sep 2026
BBC The Split Up stars Sir Lenny Henry in its first episode. (Image: BBC)
Two British comedy icons are taking on rather less cheerful roles in BBC drama The Split Up.
Sir Lenny Henry and Jane Horrocks play a couple whose marriage is falling apart in the Manchester-set spin-off from The Split.
Their characters’ divorce puts them at the heart of a high-profile case for the Kishan family’s law firm.
Comic Relief co-founder Henry appears in the opening minutes as Alex Edwards, an old friend of the Kishans.
Meanwhile, Absolutely Fabulous, Little Voice and Trollied stra Jane Horrocks features later on in the debut episode as his wife Tash Edwards.
Alex decides to end their marriage after photographs emerge suggesting Tash has been having an affair with “someone half your age”, reports Wales Online.
Speaking to lawyer Aria Kishan (played by Ritu Arya), a devastated Alex looks back on the start of their relationship: “We met when I was 19. Working in a chippy.
“I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going. And then she turned up and just made sense of it all.”
The role also brings Henry into a drama alongside his life-long friend Sanjeev Bhaskar, who plays Aria’s father, Dhruv. Henry previously appeared in Bhaskar’s sitcom The Kumars at No 42.
Bhaskar was full of praise for his friend’s performance when he told Digital Spy: “I saw Lenny last week actually and I told him how brilliant I thought he was in it and I think he was quite surprised at his own performance.
“I think it’s a testament to the writing and to the directing to get that out of him.”
Henry and Horrocks are not the only recognisable names joining the cast either with The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil also set to feature as Nisha Mantri.
Away from Alex and Tash’s marital troubles, the six-part series follows Aria as she prepares to take over the family firm while planning her wedding.
Her mother died six months earlier, and Dhruv, the founder of Kishan Law, is beginning to doubt whether his daughter is ready for the responsibility.
In addition, the return of a former flame adds another complication to Aria’s life.
The Split Up is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
ITV’s new drama The Blame starring Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth tackles misogyny that can be found in the UK police force
Michelle Keegan stars as Di Emma Craine in ITV’s The Blame(Image: ITV)
Deeply offensive messages sent by serving police officers in a group chat are the basis of a storyline featured in ITV‘s gripping new drama starring Michelle Keegan.
Six-part series The Blame, based on the 2023 book of the same name by Charlotte Langley, starts off when the body of a young woman is found in a small town where DI Crane (Michelle Keegan) and DI Radley (Douglas Booth) work.
The duo team up to uncover what happened to a teenage figure skater, Sophie Madsen, and discover “a tangled web of lies, institutional cover-ups and a moral compromise”.
The show tackles misogyny that can be found in the UK police force, and the official synopsis confirms that Keegan’s DI Crane “must navigate both a murder investigation and the treacherous politics inside her own team”.
It also depicts actual text messages from the real-life Metropolitan Police group chat scandals, in which multiple investigations exposed deep-rooted and systemic racism, homophobia, and sexism, dismissed as “banter”, poisoning the country’s top police force.
Speaking about The Blame at ITV Showcase 2026 earlier this year, actor Douglas Booth explained: “There was a Panorama about the Charing Cross WhatsApp messages and texts that are completely sickening, and that was a bit of a basis and model for this group chat to let this toxic behavior spread and rot the department.”
He added: “Every single character in this show is trying to be a good person and nearly all of them are touched by some sort of institutional failure and hold some form of moral injury.”
An official investigation was launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which exposed the highly damaging revelations involving officers based at London’s Charing Cross Police Station who shared deeply offensive, racist, misogynistic, and homophobic messages on WhatsApp and Facebook.
First exposed globally in a landmark February 2022 report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the scandal triggered widespread public outrage and directly contributed to the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.
The IOPC’s Operation Hotton uncovered a toxic culture within the station’s impact team between 2016 and 2018, which officers routinely dismissed as “banter”.
The watchdog noted a pervasive culture of bullying where good officers were too intimidated to challenge or report their peers. The initial 2022 report led to multiple fast-track misconduct hearings, resulting in several officers being sacked, forced to resign, or barred from policing.
Secret filming aired during BBC’s Panorama Undercover in the Police revealed evidence of racism, misogyny and officers revelling in the use of force at Charing Cross.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said at the time: “Enquiries were immediately launched by our Directorate of Professional Standards into allegations of criminality and misconduct by officers and staff based at Charing Cross Police Station.The behaviour as reported is disgraceful and rapid steps to secure evidence and protect the public have also been taken.
“In addition, we are scrutinising more widely the leadership and culture within these teams, led by Professional Standards and senior leaders, to root out any further failings. The leadership of these teams failed to create the right culture that identified warning signs or generated confidence in junior colleagues to report. This is one of the reasons we are taking such assertive exceptional action.
“The Met’s leadership has been very clear that it will not tolerate behaviour that fails to meet the organisation’s standards of professionalism and integrity.”
The Blame airs Sunday, September 20 on ITV1 at 9pm
Premiering Sunday on PBS, “Trespasses,” a four-part adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s 2022 debut novel, is a story of love in a time of choler. Set outside of Belfast in 1975 during the Troubles, it follows a clandestine affair between Cushla Lavery (Lola Petticrew, the serial killer in “Furious”), a 24-year-old Catholic elementary school teacher, and Michael Agnew (Tom Cullen), an older, married Protestant barrister known for defending stone-throwing Catholic youth with an eye to keeping them out of the IRA.
Emptying the thesaurus, press materials stress the hot stuff — “scandalous,” “risqué,” “racy,” “torrid,” “titillating” and “steamy” — and while there is more than a modicum of modest sex scenes, the actual tone of the limited series, as adapted by Ailbhe Keogan and directed by Dawn Shadforth, is quite measured; it runs on talk. That’s not to say, given the setting and the setup, which betokens tragedy as surely as Romeo meeting Juliet, it doesn’t throb with tension, let’s say, three-quarters of the time.
Along with teaching, Cushla works for her brother Eamonn (Martin McCann) at the family bar. The clientele includes Catholics and Protestants, united in their love of whiskey, lately including Michael — whose opposition to extremism grants him the honor of being disliked by both sides — seemingly there expressly, even too expressly, to gaze upon Cushla while he pretends to do crosswords. And she gazes back. Moving through discussions of Malcolm McDowell’s typecasting and group lessons in Irish, led by Cushla, they will go beyond gazing.
She’s a ray of light; he’s magnetically mature. You may or may not buy the mutual attraction the series insists upon, or for that matter, trust the lovers’ motivations. (I think we’re meant at least not to wholly trust Michael, as the older party, with a reputation as a womanizer — I didn’t, anyway.) But you will also be invited to change your mind. Because the camera never leaves Cushla’s side, anything there is to learn we learn along with her, which pays some dramatic dividends and means we’ll be forced to revise earlier judgments, usually for the better.
It’s a dangerous liaison. Michael, who is given to speechifying (and actual speechmaking), declares, “We cannot let the old bigots and the boys with guns tell us how to live … Otherwise nothing will ever change. Hate wins” and, in a favorite refrain, “We must find the bravery to choose freedom over fear.” Cushla, however notes that she comes “from a long line of Catholics that have survived by keeping their heads down and their mouths shut. Having a big opinion like yours, it’s a luxury I don’t have.”
Gerry Harkin (Oisin Thompson), left, Cushla’s colleague and confidant.
(Peter Marley / Channel 4)
Many shots are framed as if Cushla and Michael are being watched, whether or not they are, though sometimes they are, including by each other. (“They like to let me know they know where I am,” Michael says, when Cushla mentions seeing a patrol car outside his flat.) We’re shown the oppressive presence of loyalist troops, and some anti-Catholic vandalism, and a neighbor reflexively checking his car for a bomb, but the greater violence comes through as background noise on the radio or TV news, or reported by Cushla’s young students.
Fortunately, if no less terribly, there is more to the story, and many of the most compelling scenes have little or nothing to do with Michael. (Every scene is a Cushla scene.) She’s wonderful with her class, and her colleague and confidant Gerry Harkin (Oisin Thompson), who will jump onstage at a school assembly to interrupt a strident, bigoted superior, leading the students in a peace song — “Take away the hate and the violence / Bring love into our hearts.” Viewers will consider his bowl haircut a romantic nonstarter, but there are levels to be revealed.
Cushla may not have the luxury of big opinions, but as an obviously good person, whatever one thinks of adultery, she’s unafraid to go against the grain in support of her student Davy McGeown (Daithi Ó Haragain), whose mother (Emily Taaffe) is Protestant and whose Catholic father, in the child’s words, has been “beat up for loving my mummy.” She’s also supportive of Davy’s bright older brother Tommy (Conlaoch Gough-Cunningham), teetering on the edge after the attack on his father.
Above all, there is Cushla’s mother, Gina, played by Gillian Anderson, in a downward spiral since the death of her husband, some two years earlier. Introduced in a state of drunken collapse, Anderson — fearful, bitter, despairing, protective — is quite magnificent limning different levels of intoxication. But she’s even more impressive in her sober scenes, participating in the world beyond her couch, bringing food to the McGeowns and, finally, acting as a mother to Gina.
Michael’s declarations not even aside, Keoghan has a gift for writing dialogue that feels native to the speaker and doesn’t land heavily on a point, and apart from the lovemaking interludes and a gauzy montage of a romantic trip to Dublin, Shadforth’s naturalistic direction enhances the drama by not underscoring it. She has an especially convincing way with party scenes — a school disco, a wedding, an art opening, a birthday party (at which Michael performs a soulful, foreshadowing version of the Carter Family’s “The Last Move For Me”) — where so many productions fall down.
Come for the promised steaminess. Stay for the rest of it.
EXCLUSIVE Coronation Street actress Sair Khan, who plays Alya Nazir on the ITV soap, has teased drama with the Barlows, and told viewers to watch out for Idris Nazir
There could be trouble in paradise for Coronation Street couple Alya Nazir and Adam Barlow very soon(Image: ITV)
There could be trouble in paradise for Coronation Street couple Alya Nazir and Adam Barlow very soon.
Sair Khan teased drama with the Barlows, an “uneasy journey” for Adam and Alya, and Sair also teased we should watch out for Alya’s villainous relative Idris Nazir. Sair spoke exclusively to the Mirror while promoting This Girl Can’s recent campaign, Move for 10.
The campaign aims to empower women – particularly those from underrepresented groups or communities – to reconnect with their bodies and find joy through movement. Sair spilled all about what was ahead on the cobbles, and whether she thinks her character Alya’s romance with Adam will last.
She said: “I think for Alya and Adam, there’s definitely not going to be an easy journey. As much as I want to see them committed, it’s not going to be the easiest journey for that to happen. So keep watching just for that. There might be a few obstacles in the way.”
Hoping to revisit the past, she added: “Don’t forget Tracy Barlow was actually responsible for Alya’s father’s death. I guess somewhere that’s not forgotten, even though time has passed.
“So, there is a lot of history there, and a lot of untapped potential either way, whether that’s them repairing and being unlikely friends, or there being a fallout.” Teasing Barlow drama on the way, Sair said she hoped Alya and Adam will make it through.
She said: “I really like the idea of them as a power couple, they’re both serious about their work, they’re kind of a modern day version of what we’ve seen before. I love working with Sam [Robertson] as well, and I really hope it does continue.
“Who knows, their relationship might get more serious in terms of the drama, which you can’t avoid if you’re in a soap opera! I know that Alya is going to be getting in between some of the Barlow drama, but, they’ve been so great with me and really welcomed me into that family, so I’m here for it. I’m here for the drama.”
As for Idris, Sair said she hopes Alya catches him out and holds him to account over his recent manipulation tactics. She said: “I think everyone would be wise to proceed with caution when it comes to Idris!
“As much as he’s family, he’s also a businessman, and he wants to look out for himself, and he’s not come from money and he’s come into it. I think he’s got the taste for success and he won’t necessarily let anyone or anything stand in his way.
“I would like to see him go further, and I would like to see Alya realise the way that she was gently manipulated into giving over her shares of Speed Daal, because at the moment, I think maybe it’s been a bit glossed over, or he’s made her think it’s her idea, whereas is that what she really wants? But there’s always time. Maybe she’ll get it back one day.”
Sair also spoke to us about her reason for taking on the Move for 10 challenge, revealing the positive impacted it has had on her. She told us: “I’ve always admired the This Girl Can campaigns that they’ve run since 2015.
“I just think it’s such a positive and encouraging message that they always send. I think this particular campaign really hit me in a different way. I’m in such a different stage of life than I was when I first started on Corrie.
“I think the campaign really resonated with me because it’s just so easy to do. I think that’s what I need at the moment, to just be able to slot something in into my life without too much fuss.”
She went on: “It’s just difficult because it’s all about balancing, with work and family life, but I almost think that that’s a bit of a myth these days, because sometimes you can do it all, and other weeks work is really busy, or someone at home is sick, and there is no balance to be seen. And I think in those times, you just have to be realistic with your expectations of what you can achieve and just do what you can.
“That’s why the Move for 10 really appealed to me, because it was something realistic, which meant I could still prioritise my own well-being, and still manage to do what I needed to do for my family and what I needed to do for work. I think that’s so important.”
Sair features in This Girl Can’s recent campaign – Move for 10 – which encourages women to move for 10 minutes, 10 times a month. Empowering women to reconnect with their bodies and find joy through movement, unlocking the powerful benefits that small but regular sessions can offer. To find out more search,This Girl Can Move for 10.
SUPERSTAR Ed Sheeran quietly donated £1.5million to aid in the Middle East ongoing conflict amid the fallout from Macklemore being removed from his Loop tour.
Ed Sheeran quietly donated £1.5 million ($2 million) to aid in the Middle East ongoing conflict amid the fallout from Macklemore being removed from his Loop tourCredit: GettyUS stadium owner Robert Kraft took the unprecedented move to ban Ed’s support act Macklemore, pictured, for his pro-Palestine stanceCredit: AP
Rather than publicize the generous move himself, Ed’s donation has come to light after Macklemore publicly challenged Robert to match his own £750,000 ($1 million) donation to Palestinian organizations.
Taking to Instagram, Robert wrote: “Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.
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“Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.”
Ed’s huge donation comes after 15 years of supporting countless charities around the globe.
He teamed up with Médecins Sans Frontières across both his Mathematics and Divide tours to help raise money for some of the world’s most conflict-torn states.
The charity provides humanitarian medical care—focusing on projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases.
The rapper had used previous support slots to call for a “Free Palestine” on stage and flashed up images of Gaza.
As well as referring to the war as “genocide,” Macklemore also dedicated a song to pro-Palestinian protesters.
Macklemore took to social media to slam the move, prompting a global backlash.
In his statement on Tuesday, Ed, who has tried to keep out of politics all his career, said: “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.”
He added: “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.”
Fans were left stunned by the penultimate episode when DC Neil Brenton (played by Tom Glenister) was fatally shot as he tried to track down DS Helen Morgan (Natalie Simpson) on his own.
Now, Expo Lana Washington (Vicky McClure) “must fight against the ticking clock to save thousands – perhaps even hundreds of thousands – of lives.”
But as the explosive final airs this evening, ITV has already confirmed what will be taking its place next week.
ITV thriller The Blame will be making its debut on Sunday, September 20, at 9pm, with its second episode airing the following night, Monday, September 21.
The official synopsis for the upcoming drama reads: “While investigating a murder, detectives Emma Crane and Tom Radley find evidence of serious misconduct within Wakestead police, uncovering a web of lies, institutional cover-ups and moral compromise.”
Based on the novel of the same name by author Charlotte Langley, The Blame stars Coronation Street and Our Girl star Michelle Keegan as Detective Emma Crane.
She is joined by The Sandman’s DI Tom Radley, Shetland star Ian Hart as DCI Kenneth Walker and House of the Dragon’s Gavin Spokes as DC Joel Stevens.
The Blame will consist of six episodes with two episodes airing every week on Sundays and Mondays.
Once the series premieres, the entire boxset will be ready to binge-watch on ITV’s streaming service ITVX.
But before The Blame can begin, there is Trigger Point’s grand finale to get excited about.
Its description continues: “Entering a space filled with enemies and the potential for devastating collateral damage, Lana is pushed beyond her limits to stop the bombers’ final plan from reaching a shocking conclusion.”
Trigger Point is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.
The Blame debuts on Sunday, September 20, at 9pm, on ITV.
As the scorching heat of the summer reaches its peak and the calendar brings hope of cooler temperatures, it’s time to fluff the pillows and settle in to enjoy the comfort of the new television season.
But before we turn the page, the Emmy Awards will honor the shows of the past year that had audiences crying, laughing and glued to their screens — some returning this fall, while others bid adieu last year.
The 78th Emmy Awards, honoring the standouts from the 2025-26 television season, will celebrate the shows that gave viewers plenty of reasons to stay in. Whether it was the nail-biting anxiety over the chaos in HBO Max’s drama “The Pitt,” the most nominated show with 25, or laughing at the silly situations of Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay,” which earned 19 nominations, television gave viewers different reasons to watch.
Some of the top contenders are already coming into the ceremony as winners after the first round of awards were handed out earlier this month. “Widow’s Bay” currently leads with eight Emmys, following by six for “DTF St. Louis,” and “The Pitt” won four. Notably, Rob Reiner received a posthumous Emmy for his guest appearance in Season 4 of “The Bear.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 Emmy Awards:
Where are the Emmys?
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place on Monday beginning at 5 p.m. PT at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.
Earlier this month, a pair of ceremonies, formerly called the Creative Arts Emmys, honored artistic and technical achievements as well as some performance categories. Those ceremonies will be televised Saturday on FXX at 8 p.m. and stream next day on Hulu.
How can I watch the shows?
The live telecast will be broadcast on NBC and streamed simultaneously on Peacock.
Who is hosting?
Mariska Hargitay at the blue carpet rollout at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Mariska Hargitay, known for playing Olivia Benson on NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” will make her hosting debut at this year’s award show.
In an interview with The Times, the multihyphenate said she was excited to televise some “razzle-dazzle” and to become the first woman to host in 15 years.
“Am I scared? Of course I am; I’ve never done this,” she recently told The Times. “But at a certain point, you have to go: Why not me? Bring it on.”
When does the red carpet start, and how can I watch that?
The countdown to the award ceremony will begin at 2 p.m., with several opportunities to see your favorite stars arrive on the red carpet — which is actually blue this year in celebration of NBC’s 100th anniversary — at the Peacock Theater.
E! will get the party started with a programming block from 2 to 5 p.m. with “Live From E!: Countdown to the Emmys,” hosted by Erin Lim Rhodes with Lance Bass and Ciara Miller, and “Live From E!: The Emmys,” hosted by Justin Sylvester, Keltie Knight and Will Marfuggi.
People and Entertainment Weekly will be conducting interviews as guests arrive on their websites and social platforms throughout the day, while NBC will be livestreaming pre-show arrivals on the network’s official TikTok account from 4 to 5 p.m.
KTLA will air “Live From the Emmys,” hosted by Jessica Holmes and Melvin Robert with Megan Henderson reporting, from the blue carpet beginning at 3 p.m. And CNN will air “Red Carpet Live: TV’s Biggest Night” beginning at 2 p.m. It will be hosted by CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister and Variety co-president and co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh.
Zendaya (“Euphoria”) is looking to become a three-time winner for lead actress in a drama. She is nominated alongside Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”), Chase Infiniti (“The Testaments”), Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”) and Rhea Seehorn (“Pluribus”).
Noah Wyle (“The Pitt”) is again nominated for lead actor in a drama, along with Sterling K. Brown (“Paradise”), Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”), Mark Ruffalo (“Task”) and Rufus Sewell (“The Diplomat”).
“Hacks” earned the most nominations in a single year for a comedy, with 24. It’s nominated for comedy series, as is “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Shrinking” and “Widow’s Bay.”
Jean Smart looks to win her fifth award for lead actress in a comedy series for “Hacks.” She is nominated alongside Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”), Elle Fanning (“Margo’s Got Money Troubles”) and Lisa Kudrow (“The Comeback”).
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Wonder Man”), Steve Carell (“Rooster”), Matthew Rhys (“Widow’s Bay”), Jason Segel (“Shrinking”) and Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”) are nominated for lead actor in a comedy.
It’s looking like a year where the winners will be easy to decipher, according to awards prognosticators, which includes The Times’ award columnist Glenn Whipp. If you’re an actor attached to either the medical drama “The Pitt” or the horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay,” consider yourself the front runner. Noah Wyle and Matthew Rhys are both the leading contenders in their respective categories.
Jean Smart is predicted to complete her sweep of lead actress in a comedy for the fifth and final season of “Hacks.” In the leading actress in a drama, it’s a tight race between Rhea Seehorn for “Pluribus” and Keri Russell for “The Diplomat.”
The second season of “The Pitt” currently stands as the favorite for drama series, while the comedy series category is a battle between new series “Widow’s Bay” and departing series “Hacks.”
Harrison Ford could win his first major acting award, for supporting actor in a comedy for “Shrinking,” unless another veteran actor takes the spotlight — Stephen Root of “Widow’s Bay.”
Supporting actress in a comedy also comes down to the top shows, likely to be between Kate O’Flynn (“Widow’s Bay”) and Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”).
Who’s going to present?
A number of nominees will present the awards throughout the night. Past and recent Emmy winners, including Linda Cardellini, Sally Field, David Harbour, Zendaya and Alan Cumming will take the stage.
The Television Academy will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and bring together David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar as presenters. They will also honor the 50th anniversary of “Charlie’s Angels,” and reunite Cheryl Ladd, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith.
Other presenters include Odessa A’zion, Macaulay Culkin, Jon Hamm, Marcello Hernández, Peter Krause, Dan Levy, Julianna Margulies, Annie Murphy, Niecy Nash-Betts, Keke Palmer, Amanda Peet, Amy Poehler, Florence Pugh and Rachel Sennott, with more to be announced.
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan will cover Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” during the in-memoriam segment of the show.
It’s been five years since “Call My Agent!,” known in its home country as “Dix pour cent” (“10 percent”), ended with the staff of Paris’ bankrupt ASK talent agency moving en masse toward the exit, as in the closing moments of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
The rich workplace comedy mounted four seasons from 2015 to 2020; the fourth was made without its creator, Fanny Herrero (she went on to create the fine but less successful “Standing Up,” about Parisian comics). But she has returned, along with “Standing Up” writer Lison Daniel, for “Call My Agent! The Movie,” premiering Thursday on Netflix, which picks up the scattered ensemble more or less where they imagined they’d be when the series ended, and gets them back in the same frame.
As a movie, it’s its own sort of beast — a complete statement in a single package, with not just A and B stories, but C and D as well, and arcs that might develop over a season of the show compressed into a couple of hours. But its essentials are essentially unchanged: It’s still about the difficulty of making art, and the often unsavory business that lets art get made, with known actors playing fun house versions of themselves and our heroes attempting to wrangle them into order, with whatever works — lies, bribes, real shared feelings. The regular cast, many of whom Americans will first have met here, still feel identical with their characters, rather than just professionals who have been paid to play them, so that even when the action is outlandish the emotions are real.
The focus here is on the fierce Andréa (Camille Cottin), who has left agenting and is about to direct her first movie, a drama set in the woods, and Noémie (Laure Calamy), whom Andrea hires as a replacement producer — she has become the producer of a hit workplace comedy, “Les Colleagues,” the sort of show that produces a lot of branded merch — believing that she can mold Noémie to her will. On the domestic front, Andréa separated from partner Colette (Ophélia Kolb), a co-parent to her daughter Flora — some sticky questions will arrive, doubling the pressure.
Noémie is still with Mathias (Thibault de Montalembert), once the most formidable of agents, who has quieted down somewhat owing to a Season 4 heart attack, and the fact that he’s working in the agency his daughter Camille (Fanny Sidney) announced at the end of the series. He’s feeling old (comparatively, he is, at 64 — though Liliane Rovère as agent emeritus Arlette beats him at 93) and things with Noémie are not great, which sets the stage for some romantic comedy, including a wild boar.
Andréa’s movie brings the old cast together, including sensitive junior agent turned aspiring actor Hervé (Nicolas Maury), and I am glad to see them. (Stéfi Celma’s Sophia, a receptionist turned actor, is sadly missing.) Much goes wrong, before things go right. (It’s a comedy, they will — though there are some moving dramatic moments along the way.) To be sure, there are no backstage comedies — or dramas, or dramedies — in which nothing goes wrong, or things even go mostly right. Disaster is the air they breathe.
On the eve of production, Andrea loses her male lead (Laurent Lafitte as himself) to a Wes Anderson movie; the psychologically delicate actor they get to replace him, Vincent Macaigne as himself, who’s represented by former ASK agent Gabriel (Grégory Montel), now working for their old rival, has a messy history with the other lead, Laetitia Casta, also as herself. They can barely work together. (There will be a bit of romantic comedy wrapped around this thread, as well.)
Then there’s a storm.
The French actors playing themselves are not well known here — Casta may be more familiar as a ’90s supermodel, for those who are familiar with that sort of thing — but Americans have been given the gift of cameos from Eva Longoria and an uncredited George Clooney who takes a comically unproductive lunch meeting with Andrea, crashed, in more than one sense, by Noémie.
Though the series finale made for a satisfying ending, there was already talk then of another season or a film. Still, “The Movie” arrives seemingly out of left field, as sort of a happy surprise. It doesn’t betray its legacy. We know from the supermarket magazines and internet scandal sites that some actors are seemingly as crazy as these actors pretend to be. But somehow movies get made. Most every show business satire is also a show business celebration. There’s no business like it.
Michelle Keegan has shared a rare snap of her daughter, PalmaCredit: Instagram/michkeeganMichelle recently dropped out of a new ITV drama that’s set to begin filming in NovemberCredit: Getty
The 39-year-old leftITVbosses baffled by her decision to turn her back on the lead role in a big budget production, focusing on a working-class barrister.
DJ Mark Wright and actress Michelle Keegan married in 2015Credit: GettyThe 39-year-old withdrew from the new drama as she wanted to ‘focus on her family’Credit: Getty
Sources said it was “a huge blow” as she had committed to the drama a few months ago and a filming start date had been decided.
Michelle, who decided not to go ahead with the series written bySherlockwriter Steve Thompson, has said she wanted to focus on family life.
A source said: “Michelle was really keen to take on the meaty role, but the heavy filming schedule would take her away from daughter Palma for too long.
“The hours were quite intense and the project was starting straight after her Netflix drama The Woods and she just couldn’t commit.
“She is dedicated to her acting career, but like all working mums has to prioritise being there for her family, juggling work, parenting and being present for Palma.”
Mark and Michelle, who married in 2015, live in a £3.5million mansion near his family in Essex.
Michelle Keegan has reportedly quit a drama just weeks before she was set to begin filming and now a former Doctor Who star has is said to have taken over the role
22:32, 05 Sep 2026Updated 22:44, 05 Sep 2026
Michelle Keegan is said to have quit her ‘meaty’ role in a new drama just weeks before she was set to begin filming (Image: Getty Images for L’Oreal)
The actress, 39, is said to have been gearing to take on the part of a working class barrister in a new series that has been penned by Sherlock creator Steve Thompson, with cameras set to roll from November.
But it’s now thought that Michelle, who has to Palma, 18 months, with husband Mark Wright, has pulled out of the project in what is being called a “huge blow” for the production.
A source said: “Michelle was really keen to take on the meaty role, but the heavy filming schedule would take her away from daughter Palma for too long.
According to reports, former Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker has been drafted into the role instead but fans of Michelle will soon be able to see her in in Netflix drama The Woods, which is based on the Harlan Coben thriller of the same name.
Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “The hours were quite intense and the project was starting straight after her Netflix drama The Woods and she just couldn’t commit. She is dedicated to her acting career, but like all working mums has to prioritise being there for her family, juggling work, parenting and being present for Palma.”
Michelle shot to fame when in 2008 when she was cast as Tina McIntyre on Coronation Street, and stayed with the soap for seven years before making a permanent exit when the much-loved Rovers barmaid was killed off as part of a whodunnit plot. Since then, she has Michelle has become one of the most famous actresses in Britain, starring in top-rated programmes like Brassic and Ten Pound Poms.
Michelle previously starred in Fool Me Once for Netflix, which was based on Coben’s 2016 thriller, but this time round, she will play Lucy Silverfield, who helps her former partner, played by Tom Bateman. In
When the latest adaptation of The Woods was first announced, Coben said in a statement: “The Woods is a haunting and very personal story. It has everything you expect from us – twisty, turning, gasp-inducing – but at the core is a story of old love and yearning.
“Working with a cast led by Tom Bateman, Michelle Keegan, Mandeep Dhillon, Pearce Quigley, James Buckley, Tom Allen – it’s an embarrassment of riches.”
Penned by Danny Brocklehurst, the upcoming eight-part thriller begins with a mysterious disappearance 20 years ago that leaves a family devastated.
When new evidence comes to light that convinces barrister Paul ‘Cope’ Copeland (played by Bateman) his missing sister could be alive after all, he begins a relentless investigation to unearth the truth.
The Mirror has contacted Michelle’s representatives for comment
