sitcom

LONDON — Actor Prunella Scales, best known as acid-tongued Sybil Fawlty in the classic British sitcom “Fawlty Towers,” has died, her children said Tuesday. She was 93 and had lived with dementia for many years.

Scales’ sons, Samuel and Joseph West, said she died “peacefully at home in London” on Monday.

“Although dementia forced her retirement from a remarkable acting career of nearly 70 years, she continued to live at home,” her sons said. “She was watching ‘Fawlty Towers’ the day before she died.”

Scales’ career included early roles in a 1952 television version of “Pride and Prejudice” and the 1954 film comedy “Hobson’s Choice,” followed by her TV breakthrough starring opposite Richard Briers in “Marriage Lines,” a popular 1960s sitcom about a newlywed couple.

In “Fawlty Towers” she played the exasperated wife of hapless Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, whose efforts to run a seaside hotel inevitably escalated into chaos. Only 12 episodes were made, in 1975 and 1979, but it is regularly cited as one of the funniest sitcoms of all time.

Cleese remembered Scales as “a really wonderful comic actress” and “a very sweet lady.”

“I’ve recently been watching a number of clips of ‘Fawlty Towers’ whilst researching a book,” Cleese said in a statement. “Scene after scene she was absolutely perfect.”

Scales also starred as the small-town social powerhouse Elizabeth Mapp in “Mapp & Lucia,” a 1985 TV adaptation of E.F. Benson’s 1930s series of comic novels.

Later roles included Queen Elizabeth II in “A Question of Attribution,” Alan Bennett’s stage and TV drama about the queen’s art adviser, Anthony Blunt, who was also a Soviet spy. Scales played another British monarch in the one-woman stage show “An Evening with Queen Victoria.”

Scales was a versatile stage performer whose theater roles ranged from Shakespeare’s comedies to the morphine-addicted matriarch Mary Tyrone in a 1991 production of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

But she remained best known for “Fawlty Towers.” In 2006, Scales was guest of honor at the reopening of the Gleneagles Hotel in the English seaside resort of Torquay, the establishment whose memorably rude owner had inspired Cleese to create Basil Fawlty after a stay there in the 1970s.

Scales was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013. Between 2014 and 2019, she and her husband, actor Timothy West, explored waterways in Britain and abroad in the gentle travel show “Great Canal Journeys.” The program was praised for the way it honestly depicted Scales’ dementia.

West, her husband of 61 years, died in November 2024. Scales is survived by her sons, stepdaughter Juliet West, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Lawless writes for the Associated Press.

“The Brady Bunch” superfans better hold onto their bell bottoms: The TV family’s retro home in Studio City will finally be accessible to the public for the first time.

The double doors to the midcentury Studio City home — made famous with its appearance in the beloved 1970s sitcom — will open to fans for three days in November thanks to a limited event by pop culture historian Alison Martino and her Vintage Los Angeles. Martino, an on-air host and producer for Spectrum news and the daughter of singer-actor Al Martino, unveiled the “Brady Experience” on Monday on Facebook.

“It’s like stepping back into our childhood! IT IS ASTONISHING and you will see every single room,” she announced. “I will personally be taking each and every one of you throughout the house.”

From Nov. 7 to 9, Martino will guide fans who have shelled out $275 each through the iconic Dilling Street property. The event is now sold out. Though the home’s facade appeared throughout the run of the family sitcom, its interior at the time bore no resemblance to the colorful rooms shown on screen. The interiors of the Brady residence were constructed on sets at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.

The famous abode, originally built in 1959 with late modernist architecture, was renovated decades after “The Brady Bunch” ended in 1974.

HGTV purchased the home in 2018 for $3.5 million (more than twice the asking price) and renovated the interior to match what “Brady Bunch” audiences saw onscreen. The home renovation network documented that process in “A Very Brady Renovation,” which featured the stars who portrayed the Brady children.

As part of the renovations, HGTV reproduced the groovy spaces from the set in the home, adding a second floor to accommodate the additional rooms. The network sold the home in 2023 for $3.2 million to Tina Trahan, a historic-home enthusiast and wife to former HBO executive Chris Albrecht.

The home, in all its “Brady Bunch” glory, has become “even more groovy with more remarkable vintage decor added,” Martino added in her announcement. She said nothing in the home would be off limits, allowing fans to “see every detail up close.”

Proceeds for the three-day event will benefit animal rescue Wags and Walks, a cause that Martino said Brady family dog “Tiger would definitely approve!”

Charlie Sheen wants to free himself from feeling like he’s being held hostage by his private life.

To shed that sensation, the “Wall Street” star decided to talk about his sexual past in his memoir, “The Book of Sheen,” which comes out Tuesday.

People from his past “had video things or whatever and had stuff over me,” the actor told Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America.” “So I was kind of held hostage, you know, and that’s just a bad feeling.”

Sheen talked Friday on the morning show about how his drug addiction led him to have sex with men — he called it “the other side of the menu” — and how he was forced to pay people to keep those sexual encounters out of the public eye.

Cherlie Sheen on his sexual encounters with men and feeling hostage by his private life.

He also hit on less salacious revelations like the connection between his stutter and his drinking. In the book, Sheen writes about masking his inability to pronounce certain words and sounds with drinking alcohol. “Drinking soften the edges,” he told Strahan. “It gave me freedom of speech.”

After joining the ABC show “Spin City” in 2000 and reading the script, he said, Sheen stopped hiding his speech impediment and asked for help.

“When in doubt, just be human enough to be vulnerable,” he told “GMA.”

Sheen also reveals in the book that some folks wanted to expose his HIV-positive diagnosis before he went public with it in 2015, according to People. Sheen said on “GMA” that finally revealing his diagnosis was a “tremendous relief.”

The “Two and a Half Men” actor — whose paycheck for the sitcom was estimated at as much as $2 million per episode — infamously landed in rehab in 2010 after threatening his ex-wife Brooke Mueller with a knife, trashed his room at the Plaza Hotel in New York and in 2011 was fired from his CBS sitcom amid a meltdown of epic proportions.

During the “GMA” interview, Strahan asked the actor if he had any regrets.

“I do,” Sheen said, “but there’s no value in them.”

A documentary about the actor’s life, “aka Charlie Sheen,” will premiere Wednesday on Netflix. Sheen, who has been sober for eight years, told People he decided to be vulnerable about his past because he wants to own his truth and his stories.

“The stories I can remember anyway,” he said.

Bad Sisters, a black comedy developed by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer, first aired on Apple TV in August 2022 and returned for a second series in November last year

Award-winning sitcom Bad Sisters has been axed after just two series, it is reported.

The black comedy, set in Dublin, was widely praised since it first aired on Apple TV in August 2022 and returned for a second season last November. It has won two BAFTAs among other awards and fans had hoped to see more of the programme, developed by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer.

But it is understood Bad Sisters won’t return to our screens despite its popularity. Fans have been left fuming after a source said the show, starring the likes of Anne-Marie Duff and Eva Birthistle, had reached “a natural conclusion”.

One viewer posted online: “Noooo, Bad Sisters on Apple TV was pretty good.” Another shared: “Damn, Bad Sisters on Apple TV is so good. Worth the watch.”

READ MORE: BBC axes Paddy McGuinness comedy as it would be ‘insensitive’ to his former wife ChristineREAD MORE: ITV’s Piglets given second series despite being ‘absolutely slammed’ by critics

The TV insider told The Sun: “Many viewers who watched the first couple of series felt like the story reached a natural conclusion anyway, but of course, they hoped there’d be more.

“With every passing month it seemed less and less likely and now the show has been shelved by Apple completely, it’s not a huge shock, but it’s still a big disappointment for fans.

“It’s a particularly sad state of affairs because it was one of the few comedies in recent years that seem to have cut through with audiences, and many will be sad to see how short lived it is.”

Horgan also has a lead role in the programme – she plays one of the five Garvey siblings at the heart of the comedy. Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson make up the quintet, who are bound together by the deaths of their parents and the promises they made to always protect one another.

But they end up at the centre of a life insurance investigation after one of the women wants rid of her vile husband, and he ends up getting bumped off with the help of her sisters. The Mirror has contacted Apple TV about the future of Bad Sisters, rated as 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The development comes after a second series of ITV sitcom Piglets was confirmed – despite criticism following its opening season last year. The Police Federation even blasted Piglets as “highly offensive” before its release in July last year, after which critic panned the programmne for being outdated and using stereotypes. Watchdog Ofcom received more than 100 complaints after the first episode alone.

But ITV are sticking with the show, which stars Sarah Parish and Mark Heap, and the green light has been given for a second series, it is understood.

Ricky Champ, who plays Daz in it, said on the Reading Between The Lines podcast: “Piglets has been commissioned for series two. It’s crazy, because we got absolutely slammed. The first series came out and it was met with absolute venom – across the board.”

Alix Lapri, who portrayed Effie Morales on the Starz show “Power,” was arrested last week in Atlanta on suspicion of cruelty to children in the third degree and disorderly conduct, according to county records.

The actor, whose full name is Alexus Lapri Geier, was released the following day. Details on the circumstances surrounding the Aug. 17 arrest were not immediately clear.

The 28-year-old actor appeared in several episodes of “Power” as well as its sequel, “Power Book II: Ghost.” She also had a role in the film “Den of Thieves.” But Lapri hit the limelight as a singer.

She released an EP in 2012 titled “I Am Alix Lapri.” Lapri also appeared on BET’s sitcom “Reed Between the Lines” alongside Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

The state of Georgia considers cruelty to children in the third degree to be a misdemeanor.

It occurs when a person “intentionally allows a child under age 18 to witness the commission of a forcible felony, battery, or family violence battery,” according to Child Welfare.

Lapri’s manager did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment by The Times. Calls to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately returned.

Cast members of a popular TV sitcom featuring two gay characters are stepping out of their fictional roles to deliver a real-life message, urging voters to defeat a March ballot initiative aimed at banning recognition of same-sex marriages in California.

The four stars of NBC’s hit show “Will and Grace,” which draws about 13 million viewers a week, have filmed a television ad charging that Proposition 22 would legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Just under 30 seconds long, the ad will hit the airwaves in January in California’s biggest cities. Opponents of the initiative say that they will spend at least $1 million on television time for the spot.

“I think it’s a particularly ugly proposition, and while I don’t do a lot of preaching in front of the camera, with my series I’m blessed with the ability to make a difference in some way,” said Max Mutchnick, co-creator and co-executive producer of the offbeat comedy. “Fortunately, I’m surrounded by actors who feel as strongly about this as I do.”

It is not unusual for celebrities to champion a political cause. In recent years, actors have spoken publicly about everything from noisy leaf blowers to animal rights, famine relief and breast cancer research. NBC’s “The More You Know” campaign uses network stars to deliver all manner of pitches, from anti-drug warnings to advice on effective parenting.

But it is rare–and some say potentially risky–for the entire cast of a show to take a position on a specific ballot initiative, especially a controversial one.

“When Ted Danson talks about pollution in the ocean, no one is going to say, ‘How dare he,’ ” said Scott Seomin, entertainment media director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “But this is different. . . . It’s not a safe issue to speak against.”

Mutchnick, who wrote the ad, said he was moved to speak because he views the “rhetoric surrounding the initiative as very mean-spirited.” Although he could have written a large check for the opposition campaign, the producer said he wanted to “be a little more involved” and figured an ad was a natural fit.

As for the potential risk, Mutchnick was careful to point out that the network played no role in the ad: “We are not speaking for NBC in any way. This was my cost, my time and the actors’ time.”

NBC was quick to echo that: “This is something that the cast chose to do personally and does not reflect NBC’s beliefs at all,” said network spokeswoman Shirley Powell.

Opponents of Proposition 22 hailed the ad as a boon for their campaign, saying that it will help deliver their message to a younger audience whose votes they need to defeat the measure.

Mike Marshall, manager of the opposition campaign, said he hopes the ad will educate and motivate young voters, who are less likely than others to go to the polls–especially in a primary election like the one March 7.

“Will and Grace” has a “huge audience and is a very cutting-edge television show,” Marshall said. “The fact that all of the cast and the producer are willing to take a position on this initiative will help many people who are in the middle take a second look and figure out it’s unfair, divisive and discriminatory.”

A spokesman for the Protection of Marriage Committee, the initiative’s sponsoring group, called the ad a predictable use of “Hollywood liberals who have been attacking traditional family values for decades.”

The spokesman, Robert Glazier, also disputed the ad’s claim that the initiative is a discriminatory attack on “basic civil rights.” The measure is “not about discriminating against anybody,” he said. “It’s simply a reaffirmation of the importance of a man and a woman in marriage.”

Analysts said the use of celebrities in political campaigns can be helpful in putting an issue on the map. But they questioned how influential the spot would be.

“Initiatives usually succeed or fail based on the merits, the substance of the issue,” said Don Sipple, a veteran Republican media strategist. He added that although celebrities can give an issue recognition in the marketplace, they aren’t used extensively in political ads.

“That’s because the most effective spokesperson is usually someone who is viewed as credible on the issue,” Sipple said. “So the most they can hope for may be getting people’s attention.”

Now in its second season, “Will and Grace” chronicles the relationship between unattached, handsome, gay Manhattan attorney Will Truman (Eric McCormack) and single, beautiful, straight interior designer Grace Adler (Debra Messing). Thrown into the mix are Will’s flamboyantly gay pal Jack (Sean Hayes), and Grace’s sharp-tongued assistant, Karen (Megan Mullally).

The straightforward ad features a tight shot of all four actors, the men standing behind the women, in a studio. The script says that the vote on Proposition 22 is about basic civil rights and urges voters to “make a difference [and] . . . say no to discrimination by voting no on Knight.”

Knight is a reference to state Sen. William J. “Pete” Knight, author of the initiative that would bar legal recognition of marriage in California. No state now permits gay marriages, but court cases pending in several states could make it a reality soon. Initiative backers seek to ensure that gay and lesbian couples who might someday wed elsewhere cannot move to California and become eligible for property inheritance and other marital benefits.

Sponsors of the measure have yet to air any ads, and would not divulge their strategy. Glazier would say only that the television campaign will “emphasize the importance of keeping marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

The practice of building a situation comedy around a stand-up comedian is hallowed television practice, going back to Jack Benny and Danny Thomas and running forward through Bob Newhart, Roseanne Barr, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, George Lopez and Martin Lawrence, among others. These “based on the comedy” shows are predicated on the not unreasonable and frequently demonstrable idea that the star comes with a built-in audience — the show and the character usually share their name — and that a person who is good at telling stories onstage might be a good fit for the multi-camera TV stage. This hasn’t been true of every comic given a show; even someone as reliably hilarious as John Mulaney was an uneasy fit for the form.

“Leanne,” which premieres Thursday on Netflix, stars Leanne Morgan, a 25-year overnight sensation from Knoxville, Tenn., whose star rose above the cultural horizon when she was already most of her way through her fifties. (She is 59 now.) Co-creator Chuck Lorre (with Morgan and Susan McMartin), the man behind “Cybill,” “Dharma & Greg,” “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory,” earlier built “Grace Under Fire” around another Southern stand-up, Brett Butler. The premise here is essentially: newly single mature woman in a sitcom.

If the people around her are mostly types into which the players pour themselves, Morgan is more a person into which a character has been inserted. TV Leanne is not exactly Real Leanne, who is to all appearances happily married; is on tour through the year (under the title “Just Getting Started”); has starred in a Netflix special, “I’m Every Woman”; published a book, “What in the World?! A Southern Woman’s Guide to Laughing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings”; and, obviously, is starring in this situation comedy. Other than living in Knoxville, having children and grandchildren and representing someone more or less her own age, she is not playing herself; yet there’s an honesty to her performance, possibly not unrelated to her being new at this. (Her only previous screen credit is a supporting role in this year’s Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon meh Prime Video rom-com “You’re Cordially Invited.”) Even the hackiest jokes sound less hacky in her mouth, perhaps because she doesn’t strain to sell them. Her delivery tends toward the soft and musical, and that she is wearing her own accent, which, to a Californian’s ear, plays charming variations on vowels, is all to the good.

As we begin, Leanne, the character, is primarily defined, like negative space, by the figures around her. There is a husband, Bill (Ryan Stiles) who has just left her for a younger woman, an event so fresh that only her sister, Carol (Kristen Johnston), knows; single, twice-divorced, up for fun, Carol regards herself as sophisticated because she once lived in Chicago. Daughter Josie (Hannah Pilkes) is a little wild, but not particularly troublesome; in any case, no one pays her much attention. Son Tyler (Graham Rogers), upon whom Leanne dotes, works for his father, who owns three RV emporiums — accounting for the nice house that’s the series’ main set — and comes equipped with a mostly off-screen pregnant wife, Nora (Annie Gonzalez); he feels oppressed, but perhaps he’s just tired. Leanne’s parents, John (Blake Clark) and Margaret (Celia Weston) are around for grousing and goofiness, respectively. Across the street lives Mary (Jayma Mays), the embodiment of nosy propriety in a town that can’t keep a secret.

Leanne recalls how back in the ‘80s she was “cute” and desirable “because I had hormones, and hair spray, and a VW bug with a pull-out cassette player.” (This is also a motif in Morgan’s stand-up.) Now she’s careful and proper, and can barely bring herself to chastely kiss the nice FBI agent, Andrew (Tim Daly), who wanders into the show as a potential romance. (Morgan said on the “Today” show that Daly was in fact the first man she’d kissed apart from her husband in 33 years. Art and life.) One hopes he won’t turn out to be a murderer, which would 80% be the case if this were a mystery. But I reckon we’re safe.

Younger viewers who find themselves here may be put off by jokes about hot flashes, pelvic exercises, enlarged prostrates and such and perhaps especially by sex jokes in the mouths of old — well, older — people. (I feel you there, youngsters.) The representative demographic may chuckle knowingly, or not.

Here is Leanne, flirting with Andrew in their first encounter.

Andrew (swallowing some pills): “I had to have a thing and now I have to take these things every four hours or I might have to have … another thing.”

Leanne (sweetly): “I got things. My purse is a little Walgreens with a cute strap.”

Every fourth or fifth joke has the air of having been hammered out on an anvil, and a few might have been better left in the smithery. Yet I like this show, in no small part but not entirely because I like Morgan — the way she says “spaseba, that’s Russian for thank you” to a bartender handing her a vodka, and sings a bit of the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” to herself.

The company, which supports the star with veterans of “Third Rock From the Sun,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “Wings,” is generally good company, and I’m happy to see that “Leanne” has a broadcast-style 18 episode season, time being an American sitcom’s best friend. (I would give it a few episodes to make up your mind.)

Apart from the star herself, the show is as conventional as can be. A character embarking on a new chapter is, of course, the starting point of every third sitcom ever made, but given that many of us have either had to start new chapters or wish we could, it’s a suitable way to start.

No episodes of the BBC sitcom have been produced since the death of its creator in 2023 but the series will be back on screen for a Christmas special this year.

Two Doors Down is making a return to screens for a Christmas special later this year. The BBC sitcom – which followed the lives of residents living on a Scottish backstreet – initially ran for seven series from 2016 until 2023, and it was originally thought that no more episodes would be produced following the death of creator Simon Carlyle at the age of just 48.

But the broadcaster has now announced that the programme will indeed return for a festive episode, and Simon’s co-creator Gregor Sharp has written the script.

He said: “It’s really exciting to be revisiting Latimer Crescent with all the regular cast for this new episode. Christmas is a time for getting together with friends and family and then becoming low level irritated by them so it feels like they’re the perfect group to celebrate the season with.” The ensemble cast is made up of a host of Scottish talent, with Alex Norton and Arabella Weir starring as Eric and Beth Baird, whilst Jonathan Watson and Doon Mackichan play their neighbours Colin and Cathy Whyte.

Elaine C. Smith and Graeme Stevely will be back in their roles as Christine O’Neal and Alan respectively, whilst Joy McAvoy will make a comeback as Michelle, and Beth and Eric’s son Ian (Jamie Quinn) will return with his fiancé Gordon (Kieran Hodgson). The action will unfold when all the neighbours pile into Beth and Eric’s house to celebrate Christmas.

Josh Cole, Head of Comedy, BBC Studios Productions, and Steven Canny, Executive Producer, said: “We’re so pleased to be returning to Latimer Crescent and can’t wait for the audience to be back in Beth and Eric’s for another tortuous Christmas. Gregor and Simon created a brilliantly funny show that has an outstanding cast of memorable and loveable characters and we’re hugely looking forward to seeing them torment each other again.”

Confirmation of the special comes just months after actor Kieron let slip that something was on the way as he spoke of how “though” it would be to get back together without their creator, telling The Daily Record : “The first day on set without Simon will be tough for everyone. He was such an integral part of the filming, let alone the writing. He was there every day, all day. He was our friend. He was giving us notes. He was supervising it and guiding it.

Carlyle also wrote for Changing Ends, an ITV comedy series about Alan Carr growing up in the 1980s, and BBC LGBT+ show Boy Meets Girl. There no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, it’s been reported. Jon Petrie, director of comedy commissioning at the BBC, said: “We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of our friend and colleague Simon Carlyle.

“Simon was a wonderful comedy talent who, amongst many other credits, co-created and wrote the multi award winning series Two Doors Down. His warm comic voice shone through these characters, garnering huge audience affection, and firmly establishing it as a long-lasting sitcom favourite. Our sympathies are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”

His death came before the seventh series of the sitcom went to air, and it eventually moved from BBC Two to BBC One for broadcast, although all episodes are now available on BBC iPlayer. Around the same time, actor Grado claimed that there would be “no more” episodes produced, and the production team spoke of how “deeply saddened” they were by the news of Simon’s death.

The sitcom’s production team added: “We are deeply saddened by this terrible news. Simon was a brilliant, funny, mercurial and magnificent human being. He had a microscopic fascination with what makes funny things funnier and we were so lucky to have known him. He was at the centre of all the work we made together and his loss will be felt profoundly by all of us. We send love and support to his family and friends.”

“Farewell @Simoncarlyle – I am totally devo’ed by your leaving us. The laughs won’t ever be the same. Sleep well pal. #RIPSimonCarlyle,” one Twitter user wrote this evening, as another fan tweeted Caryle’s Twitter account saying: “I’m devastated to hear you’re no longer with us. We started speaking when #TwoDoorsDown very first came on TV. Thanks for always being so kind to me and thank you for such an incredible show! I’ll miss our little chats. Thinking of everyone who knew you. Love.”

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When one man saw film crews working their magic in Benidorm, he and other desperate fans all jumped to the same sitcom-related conclusion – but some disputed it

Rumours are circulating in Benidorm that something exciting is happening – and it’s all about the TV show of the same name. The last series of Benidorm aired in the UK in 2018. For those not in the know, Benidorm is a sitcom that focuses on the adventures of a group of British holidaymakers staying at the Solana holiday resort in Spain.

Back in April, fans started speculating that the show would be making a comeback, despite the fact that the creator, Derren Litten, confirmed in 2019 that the tenth series would be the last. But when a TikToker spotted a film crew in Benidorm, he jumped to the conclusion that they must be filming the elusive 11th series.

Harry, a Brit in Benidorm who posts on TikTok as @harrytokky, wrote over the top of a video of a film crew on the strip: “Breaking news. Film crews are filming right now in Benidorm outside the Red Lion”.

At the bottom of the video, he penned: “Wait… are they filming Benidorm series 11 right now?! What do you think?”

He showed the camera crew filming, as he gushed: “Holy moly, this is unbelievable”. In the short clip, someone in the background could be heard saying they thought it was Benidorm series 11.

However, in the comments, people were sceptical, and one woman even put the rumour to bed with the information she’d managed to get from film crews.

“I doubt they’d film in peak season,” a sceptic wrote, but someone shared: “Another 4 weeks until peak season. They film in the ‘Solana’ with people on holiday there. They just close off one end of the pool”.

“They use the tourists as extras in Benidorm, it’s well known,” another man alleged.

Others shared that it couldn’t be Benidorm, because none of the beloved actors could be seen in the video. One fumed: “Not hard to tell if it’s Benidorm or not.”

And another penned: “Not to be a Debbie Downer, but Benidorm hasn’t officially been commissioned, so unless this is for an announcement ad (which I highly doubt), it’s not Benidorm unfortunately”.

But someone argued, saying: “Makes sense it would be Benidorm though, cause Darren and all the main cast have been cryptic as f*** lately online trying to hint to the fans about a season 11 coming, wouldn’t talk about it if there was no chance and now this. I’d say it’s likely I can’t lie”.

However, others said they’d seen the crew themselves and stopped to ask more questions. One tourist claimed: “We were walking down before and my dad asked the light crew. They said they can’t say what it is but it’s a Spanish program!!!!!”

Meanwhile, someone else alleged: “They’re making a film, not Benidorm. I asked them last night.”

Do you think season 11 of Benidorm will ever happen? Let us know in the comments…

Basketball Hall of Famer and former Lakers fan favorite Vlade Divac broke his hip Thursday when he fell from his motorcycle while riding near the Adriatic Sea coast in Montenegro.

On Friday, a spokesperson for a hospital in Risan said the 57-year-old Serbian basketball legend now has an artificial hip after emergency surgery.

“During the day, a surgical procedure was performed,” hospital spokesperson Ljubica Mitrovic said of Divac. “He is in a stable general and physical condition and is under a careful supervision of the medical staff.”

Divac, a 7-foot-1 center, was drafted by the Lakers in 1989 after leading the Yugoslavia men’s basketball team to an Olympic silver medal the previous year. He became a full-time starter during his second season as a Laker and soon emerged as a fan favorite, with frequent appearances in commercials, sitcoms and late-night talk shows.

After seven seasons with the Lakers, Divac was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the recently drafted Kobe Bryant on July 1, 1996. (The Lakers would sign another 7-1 center, Shaquille O’Neal, as a free agent later that month.)

Divac played two seasons with the Hornets and signed with the Sacramento Kings as a free agent in 1999. He spent six years there — a stint that included his only All-Star season, in 2000-01 — before returning to the Lakers for the last of his 16 NBA seasons in 2004-05.

After finishing his career with 13,398 points, 9,326 rebounds, 3,541 assists and 1,631 blocked shots, Divac had his No. 21 jersey retired by the Kings in 2009. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

Divac was the Kings’ general manager from 2015 to 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Channel 4 sitcom, starring a Death in Paradise favourite, is now trending on Prime Video despite having been released over a decade ago

A sitcom featuring Ardal O’Hanlon that originally aired over a decade ago has found new popularity on Prime Video.

London Irish, which first graced Channel 4 in 2013, boasts a star-studded cast including Death in Paradise’s Ardal O’Hanlon and Derry Girls’ Peter Campion. The show centres around a group of Belfast expats navigating life in London.

The series was the brainchild of Lisa McGee, the creative force behind Derry Girls. Despite only running for six episodes and Channel 4 deciding against a second season, London Irish has found renewed interest.

Now available on Prime Video, the show has been given the ‘trending now’ label, demonstrating its enduring appeal 12 years after its initial release.

The cast also features Sinéad Keenan, known for her role in Unforgotten, Game of Thrones actor Ker Logan, No Offence’s Tracey Lynch, and Kat Reagan, reports Wales Online.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator and star of BBC’s Fleabag, also makes a guest appearance in London Irish, portraying a character named Steph in one episode.

The synopsis for London Irish reads: “Conor and Bronagh are twenty-something siblings from Northern Ireland who, along with friends Packy and Niamh, are trying to make their way through London life.

“The foursome find navigating the big city challenging, particularly as they’re playing by their own unique set of rules, leading to all sorts of mischief.

“Conor is highly unpredictable and tends to just go with unbelievable things that tend to happen to him while his older sister, Bronagh, is the opposite of him – cynical, dark and fierce. Self-confident Niamh is ambitious and can be ruthless when she doesn’t get what she wants.

“Packy is the closest thing the group has to a parental figure and tries to keep the others in line but often gets dragged into their madness.”

Ardal, who portrays Chris in the sitcom, first gained recognition in Father Ted before joining BBC One’s Death in Paradise as DI Jack Mooney.

He left the popular drama series in 2020, but recently appeared in spin-off series Return to Paradise. His character featured remotely as part of a storyline with DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson).

London Irish is available to stream now on Prime Video.

I was never a fan of pleasantries because they seemed like a waste of time. Something that two people said to each other before they could say real things to each other. As years go by, more and more of our verbal interaction has taken the form of extended pleasantries. Little, it feels, that people say to each other is real. It’s about how they wish to look, how they can best position themselves, agenda.

That’s one reason I always loved the character of Norm Peterson on the sitcom “Cheers,” played by George Wendt, who has now cashed out his tab at the age of 76 and left this earthly barroom for one where I hope the kegs never run dry.

Norm was universal from the first time he entered the hostelry — as perpetual student and not-very-effective waitress Diane Chambers would have put it.

There was no more artful ingress in the history of American television than any of the many made by Norm, and they were so good, and had so much room for variability, that we got to witness one in every episode of the show.

You know the gag: Norm comes through the door, ready for a cold beer, someone asks him how he’s doing, and he answers.

But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? I’m hesitant to even call the gag a gag, because it’s replete with a quality increasingly rare in our world: authenticity.

Norm doesn’t treat the inquiry — “How’s the world treating you, Norm?” — as perfunctory pleasantry. Which is what we almost always do.

In one episode, his response is, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” A query of “What’s shaking?” prompts a reply of “All four cheeks and a couple of chins.”

But in real life, when someone asks us how we are, we say, “Good, and you?” The truth is, we’ve just answered automatically, without a single thought, and we’re unlikely to be listening to whatever answer the other person gives us.

But what an amazing idea it is to ask someone how they are and care about the answer. To be invested in their well-being from the start. To jettison pretense and formality. And how subversive it is to treat another’s tossed-off query as though they cared. Maybe that shifts us all toward paying attention.

Norm always answered truthfully. He gave his interlocutor — and the patrons of the bar who enjoyed his quips — a tart response peppered with wit. But he was also willing to go there. And where’s that? To a place of being humble. Of admitting to struggle.

Now, Norm’s life might not have seemed arduous. He owned a house, had a wife who stood by him although he spent his evenings with the gang at Cheers — often dodging her phone calls. He didn’t work that much when he worked at all.

In a world that’s now rammed with loneliness, it’s easy to watch Norm and think, “I wish I had what that barfly had.” Norm has people. He’s both liked and loved.

Times change. I don’t think you could have a Cheers-type setup in our current iteration of life, but maybe you never could have one without sitcom magic. Shows idealize. But there’s truth and wisdom in both “Cheers” and Norm, without whom Cheers wouldn’t have been Cheers. And we can still wish. We must.

In “Crime and Punishment,” Dostoevsky wrote that everyone needs a somewhere. A somewhere can be a someone. It’s what helps us to be ourselves. Naked and open. Emotionally. Spiritually.

Norm never felt a need to embellish. He owned his struggles — what may have been his depression. His failings. He dished out the bons mots with each entrance like he was a thirsty Pascal who paid for his drinks in pensées, which made him an inspiration.

The gag never became less efficacious. It was the sitcom analogue to Conan Doyle’s “the trick,” the term for when Sherlock Holmes would dazzle Dr. Watson by telling him everything about someone just by looking at their walking stick.

I remember watching Norm when I was 8 and even then thinking he was cool. This wasn’t a star athlete. He could have lived across the street. He blew me away — as he made me laugh — simply by being brave enough to tell the truth about where he was at.

With Norm, the quotidian was never just the quotidian. It’s like in baseball: Everyone says in May that it’s early in the season, it doesn’t matter, but all the games still count as much as any of the other games.

That’s how Norm lived, and we have George Wendt to thank for Norm’s example, because you can’t imagine anyone else in the part. As to the question of how the world was treating Norm, I think the answer lies somewhere in how Norm understood what was important in the world. That’s worth a round on the house.

Colin Fleming is the author, most recently, of “Sam Cooke: Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963.”