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The Prisoner
ITV said today that Sir Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel will
star in the network's remake of 1960s classic cult thriller, The Prisoner.
American film-star Caviezel will take the role of Number Six while McKellen
will appear throughout the series as Number Two.
The mysterious original Prisoner show was filmed in the resort of
Portmeirion in North Wales.
ITV Productions is co-producing the six-part series with Granada
International and AMC, with a worldwide premiere slated for 2009.
The Prisoner is the first project being launched as part of ITV's new
co-production with US studios and networks.
Sir Ian said of the new version: "It is witty, intelligent and disturbing. I
am very excited to be involved."
Patrick McGoohan created, produced, wrote and directed the original show and
starred in the lead role of Number Six.
The remake promises reflect 21st century concerns and anxieties, such as
liberty, security and surveillance, while showcasing the same paranoia and
tense action seen in McGoohan's enigmatic original.
The six one-hour episodes tell the story of a man who finds himself trapped
in a mysterious and surreal place known as The Village, with no memory of
how he arrived.
17:26
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
Reader Comment
Hurray good to know an updated version will seen. Will ITV
rely on viewing figures and not numbers? They are all free men.
trevor.aussie
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Chris Tarrant
Returns To Radio
Chris Tarrant is making a return to radio, hosting a Saturday
morning show on the GMG network that will go head to head with Jonathan
Ross.
The programme is being lined up to premiere next month and
will run from 10:00 to 13:00every Saturday morning, up against Ross on BBC
Radio 2. It is understood the show will be broadcast on GMG Radio's Real,
Century and Smooth Radio stations.
The show will be produced by Tarrant's ex-Capital breakfast show producer
Sarah-Jane Eddon, managing director of independent cross platform production
company Head on Media.
The show is expected to be sponsored by a major brand.
16:43
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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Millions Watch
Euro 2008 Final
The Euro 2008 final between Germany and Spain attracted the
best audience of the tournament, with more than 10 million viewers watching
live match coverage on BBC One last night, according to unofficial figures.
The match, which Spain won 1-0, averaged 10.6 million viewers and a 41 per
cent share over two hours from 19:45.
BBC One's Match of the Day Live coverage peaked at 12.1 million viewers in
the quarter hour from 21:15 as the game reached its final stages with
Germany striving in vain for an equaliser, according to unofficial
overnights.
Roger Mosey, the BBC director of sport, said he was "very
pleased" with last night's audience figures which cap a relatively
successful Euro 2008 for the corporation and ITV, considering none of the
home nations qualified.
11:47
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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Cracker - US Version
American viewers are to get a second version of the popular
British series Cracker.
Cable channel TNT has bought the US rights, and will produce the series with
Granada America, whose UK parent was the original producer-distributor of
the Robbie Coltrane vehicle.
Coltrane played Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, who despite being a drinking,
gambling, adulterous chain-smoker, managed to be both a sympathetic
character and a savvy sleuth.
An Americanized Cracker starring Robert Pastorelli was broadacst on
ABC in the autumn of1997, but it lacked the punch of the original and was
cancelled after one season.
"It was such a success in the UK and around the world -- such a great
character and also a great procedural," Granada America senior
vice-president Julie Meldal-Johnsen said. "We thought the timing was right
and that American cable, edgier and more open, would be a better venue for
it than broadcast."
08:06
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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Bookmaker
Bans Big Brother Bets
A bookmaker has suspended betting on a Big Brother housemate
quitting the show amid speculation the programme’s future was under threat.
Ladbrokes offered odds of 3/1 on a contestant walking out but saw a deluge
of bets as the atmosphere soured after Dennis McHugh’s removal and Sylvia
Barrie’s eviction last week.
The odds fell to 1/4 before the firm decided to pull the plug.
The bookmaker’s decision came on the eve of newspaper reports claiming the
programme could be taken off air before the series ends following a string
of fights and shock evictions.
Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg said the run of bets had not been placed
on a particular housemate but added: “We think it’s only a matter of time
before one of the inmates calls it quits.”
After the removal of Dennis and Alexandra De-Gale within the first four
weeks of the series, the odds on a third being taken out by TV bosses is
currently 2/1.
07:55
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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New Scottish
Drama For BBC One
Alex Kingston is to star in BBC One's new drama Hope Springs,
about four female former convicts who try to create a new life for
themselves.
Annette Crosbie, who played Victor Meldrew's wife in One Foot in the Grave,
will also appear in the eight-part drama, which will be set against the
backdrop of the Scottish Highlands
Described as "vibrant, thrilling and funny", Hope Springs follows a group of
women as they attempt to embark on the final stage of a long-held plan to
live out the rest of their lives on a beach in Barbados, courtesy of £5m
stolen from a violent and vengeful gangster husband.
But the plan goes wrong they end up hiding out in the small Scottish village
of Hope Springs without any money or passports.
"I rather like the idea of working on a project where there are so many
good, strong female roles. These girls are ex-cons, so they're not
necessarily role models, at least not to start with – they're four women
with murky pasts stuck in a remote village in Scotland, anything can
happen," Kingston said.
The drama is due to start filming on location in Dumfries and Galloway, with
interior shots being filmed at the BBC's newly developed drama studios in
Dumbarton. It is due to air next year.
07:46
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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BBC Television Centre
English Heritage has said it wants BBC Television Centre
listed as a grade II building because of its special architectural and
cultural significance.
The conservation body wants the West London site added to the statutory list
of significant buildings.
The Blue Peter garden and the main studios are among parts which have
contributed to the "iconic presence" of Television Centre, it said.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has to consent to the request.
English Heritage is requesting listed status for Television
Centre's scenery workshop, its canteen block adjoining the Blue Peter
garden, and the central circular building.
English Heritage said it will ensure that listing Television Centre does not
affect the BBC's ability to adapt it to changing technology or new uses.
A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC is happy to discuss with English Heritage any
proposal it has and we will comment to the secretary of state on the
historic and architectural merit of Television Centre in due course.
"The BBC has announced that it does not intend to occupy the whole of
Television Centre after 2012 but any reference to detailed development plans
for the building and site is premature.
"We recognise the historical importance of the building and will be looking
for a solution that best preserves the interests of the BBC and licence fee
payer but there are no firm plans currently on the table."
Television Centre was opened on June 29, 1960, as the BBC's
first purpose-built centre for television production.
07:35
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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BBC Sends 437 to
Beijing
Huw Edwards will be going to this summer's Beijing Olympics
as part of its round-the-clock coverage for 17 days from August 8.
The BBC said the decision to send Edwards, the anchor of the
10 o'clock news, reflected the importance of the games as a political and
cultural event.
Edwards said: "It is way beyond just a brilliant sporting
spectacle.
"There are several added dimensions, even before you start
talking about possible issues during the games. The more you get into it,
the more you're walloped by another potential issue."
Adrian Chiles is to host the breakfast slot, and Gabby Logan will front the
prime-time highlights.
The BBC will send 437 staff to Beijing and they will deliver 2,750 hours of coverage
from 28 Olympic sports across 31 venues. Six channels on the BBC Sport
website will provide constant live feeds.
It will be the first Olympics to be broadcast in high definition and use the
iPlayer catch-up service.
The BBC's title sequence has been devised by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn and depicts characters from Monkey:
Journey to the West, an ancient Chinese folk tale.
00:20
June
30 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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