weeks

Two Weeks in August made its debut tonight with a star-studded cast

The Two Weeks in August cast have shared the significance over a hidden detail in the show’s opening scenes.

Written and created by Sally4Ever’s Catherine Shepherd, the new ‘witty and painfully relatable’ series follows a group of friends reuniting for a summer holiday. However, the idyllic getaway is soon thrown into chaos thanks to an illicit kiss.

In episode one, viewers are introduced to each of the friends with married couple Zoe and Dan, played by Jessica Raine and Damien Molony, clearly struggling as they attempt to put past events behind them.

The family of four, who have brought their children on the trip, are also struggling with money as is highlighted when Jess, played by Antonia Thomas, suggests they all put €200 each in the kitty.

Things go from bad to worse when Zoe and Dan are tasked with preparing food that evening with their lavish friends wanting seafood, which provides another tense expense for the struggling couple as they opt for store bought fish as opposed to fresh market produce.

Talking about the scenes with the Mirror, Jessica Raine and Damien Molony, who play Zoe and Dan, pointed out a significant hidden detail in the opening moments of the show.

Damien, 42, said: “We had a great opportunity to rehearse before we went out with Tom George, our director. We talked a lot about their past and about their relationship and the fact that, you know, they probably hadn’t had sex in about a year.

“That was a really kind of good starting point to go: ‘Oh, something’s really not right here.’ We would do some improvisations about the journey to the airport in England and what that must have been like.

“Jess had this incredible line in the improv about having to pack pasta in our luggage because we knew we wouldn’t be able to afford food on the island. So much so that they actually put it in the scene.

“So when Jessica opens her suitcase in that first scene on packing, there is pasta in the bag” to which Jessica, 44, added: “Three bags!”

Damien continued: “It was kind of those little details that started to kind of… because in TV, you don’t get that opportunity to rehearse or to really explore the world around the scenes.

“So that was really, really thrilling, and it really informed the rest of the kind of scenes that we shared together because this couple goes on a huge journey.”

Meanwhile, Jess said: “The journey of the fish is really good and I think that’s also a really good point to make about our show is the financial differences in the couples. I don’t think we see that very much.

“We often see a lot of very rich people going on holiday, but I love the reality. I mean, a lot of people are in that position where you’re like, I can’t afford €200 for the kitty and the look that we give each other, we’re just like: ‘Holy moly, this is, we’re way out of our depth’ and they don’t feel able to say.”

The drama is only going to get more intense for the couple and their friends as a synopsis teases: “Set in Greece, Two Weeks in August tells the story of a woman who goes on holiday with her family and friends to rediscover joy in her life. But, here in paradise, what starts with an illicit kiss quickly turns the dream vacation into a nightmare.

“Zoe begins to act on her deepest desires and the holiday she hoped for becomes a reckoning for a group of adults who refuse to grow up. When they discover they are trapped on the island, and become faced with real life-or-death situations, the group soon turn on each other to find out who is to blame.

“Is Zoe responsible for the drama and destruction around her or, as heaven turns to hell, are bigger forces at play? We are in Greece after all, the land of the ancient Gods…”

Two Weeks In August airs Saturday nights on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Former Biden Cabinet member Xavier Becerra remains the top Democrat in the California governor’s race despite being targeted by a barrage of negative political ads and enduring sharp attacks from his rival candidates during recent debates, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the state Democratic Party.

Billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democrat who is shattering self-funding records for statewide office, has been flooding the television airwaves, internet and social media with ads ripping Becerra’s long record in public office, as well as for accepting campaign donations from oil giant Chevron. But, thus far, that has not been enough for Steyer to overtake Becerra.

The survey found that 21% of likely voters backed Becerra, who also served in Congress and as California’s attorney general, while 15% backed Steyer. Among the other top Democrats: Former Orange County congresswoman Katie Porter received 7%; San José Mayor Matt Mahan came in at 4%; and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa registered at 1%.

Becerra on Tuesday said he believes he has climbed in the polls because voters are now paying attention to the race.

“They’re really looking closely at who’s out there, and I think I’ve been one of the beneficiaries of folks looking for a place that they can feel comfortable, where they can trust,” Becerra told reporters after a campaign event in South Los Angeles. “I think more and more as people look at the candidates, they’re going to start to crystallize behind somebody who won’t need training wheels, as I say, when they get into the governor’s office and can hit the ground running, day one.”

He said he thinks Steyer’s attacks aren’t working because Californians are skeptical of the billionaire.

“He’s spending like no one before, and he’s hitting like no one before, and so far, it hasn’t made a difference,” Becerra said. “We continue to surge, even after weeks of his barrage of lies and attacks…. California voters are not anxious to have someone who wants to buy the office.”

Leading all candidates in the race was Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, who was supported by 22% of likely voters. His top GOP challenger, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, was backed by 10%, the poll showed.

While Hilton and Becerra right now appear to be the likeliest candidates to finish in the top two in California’s June 2 primary, which is required to advance to the November general election, there still remains plenty of time for political fortunes and voter support to rise or fall. Ballots were mailed to the state’s 23.1 million registered voters and early voting sites opened earlier this month, but most Californians have not sent them in thus far.

For Becerra, the strong poll results indicate an astounding turnaround for a campaign that appeared all but dead just weeks ago. In early April, the California Democratic Party tracking poll showed Becerra with support from just 4% of likely voters. That changed after then-Northern California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who had been the front-running Democrat in the race, withdrew from the campaign and resigned from Congress after he was accused of sexual assault and misconduct.

The California Democratic Party launched a series of tracking polls in March after leaders and allies grew increasingly concerned that Republicans would win the top two spots in the primary, shutting the party out of the November general election. This prospect, while statistically possible given the crowded field of candidates running for governor, has grown increasingly less likely as California voters finally focused on the contest to lead the nation’s most populous state and the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Under California’s top-two primary system, only the candidates who finish in first and second place in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their political party or affiliation.

The poll of 1,200 likely voters took place between May 14 and 16 and has a margin of error of 2.83% in either direction.

Former England boss Eddie Jones has been fined and suspended as head coach of Japan for abusing match officials during an under-23 tour of Australia last month.

The Japanese Rugby Football Union (JRFU) says that because of the “seriousness of the matter” and the contents of their contract with Jones, the 66-year-old has been stood down from his post for six weeks and banned from having any part in the Brave Blossoms’ next four matches.

Jones will miss his team’s opening Nations Championship match against Italy on 4 July, as well as two matches against a Hong Kong China Select side and a warm-up fixture with the Maori All Blacks.

The JRFU added that it had also imposed a salary reduction on Jones.

Jones, 66, said he accepted his punishment and “deeply regretted” his behaviour.

“Some inappropriate remarks that I made caused discomfort to local match officials and other related parties,” the Australian added.

“I would like to offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved.”

Japan’s under-23 team returned from the tour with three wins from four games, including a 38-21 victory over Jones’ old Sydney club side Randwick in their final match.

It is not the first time that Jones, who oversaw the Wallabies’ pool-stage exit from the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, has been involved in incidents on his return to his home country.

After a series-clinching win over Australia in Sydney in 2022, the then-England boss was twice involved in angry exchanges with fans calling him a “traitor”.