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Gavin and Stacey Changing
Channels
Gavin and Stacey's Matthew Horne has said the cast are
filming a Christmas special in September.
Horne, who was nominated for Best Male Comedy Newcomer at the 2007 British
Comedy Awards, said the second series has just been completed and the
special show should be screened by Christmas.
Horne said a third series has not yet been confirmed.
He also said said he thinks the show might be moving channels to take up a
prime time slot.
14:50
July
13 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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RDF In
Trouble Over Documentary
The television production company condemned for manipulating
footage of the Queen is at the centre of a fresh row after the participants
in a Channel 4 reality show claimed it was edited to make them look
ridiculous.
According to an article in The Observer, RDF Media's Personal Services
Required showed families trying out prospective housekeepers with a view to
employing them full time.
Participants Danny and Gabriella Grasso claimed the footage
was edited to give the impression that they offered a job to one of the
candidates at below the minimum wage.
They told the newspaper they are now considering suing RDF
for libel because they feel that the portrayal could harm their careers as
recruitment agents.
"For us this was a serious process, but RDF belittled us and tried to make
us look ridiculous on television," said Danny Grasso in The Observer.
"They've given us unfair representation and made us look like people who are
exploiting other people for entertainment. Had I known about them and their
reputation, I wouldn't have agreed to it."
Both the BBC and ITV imposed a temporary commissioning freeze on RDF after
it emerged a year ago that promotional footage for a BBC documentary about
the Queen appeared to show her storming out of a photoshoot with Annie
Leibovitz when, in fact, she had been walking in.
The Grassos said they were approached by RDF to take part in
Personal Services Required after they placed an advertisement for a
housekeeper on the website Gumtree. They refused initially because they were
working in Dubai, but were persuaded when RDF offered to fly them home first
class. Three housekeepers worked a trial period in their five-bedroom home
near Flitwick, Bedfordshire, as cameras turned.
But Danny Grasso, 37, said: "We were told the housekeepers would be
qualified and vetted, so it would be a service to us. But when they sent in
the first one it was clear they had chosen people who were "entertaining"."
The Grassos eventually accepted Wendy-Anne Passmore, but she was heard at
the end of last week's programme saying that their offer of £250 per week
might be below the minimum wage.
Danny Grasso said: 'It gave the impression we were asking
them to work a 16-hour day, which is wrong. We were offering separate living
accommodation and food with all utility bills paid; there's no way that's
below the minimum wage.
"The suggestion is that we were doing something effectively illegal, which
is not good for my business, as I run a recruitment agency. I'm running this
issue past some libel lawyers."
RDF said in a statement: "The producers of the show promised to provide
people who were looking for work as housekeepers, and would have the right
experience and motivation.
"The programme does observe a moment where Wendy-Ann Passmore raises the
question to camera of whether or not her salary offer was in fact a minimum
wage. We are satisfied that the programme as broadcast was a fair and
accurate representation of what happened."
09:30
July
13 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
Reader Comment
My wife and I were the other employers in this programme.
The reporter from The Observer telephoned me to ask if we
felt we were misrepresented by the RDF editing. I said we'd been accurately
portrayed.
RDF had also offered to let us see the programme just
after it had been edited.
My comments were not included in the newspaper article.
I find it amusing that The Observer criticises RDF for
"selective" editing, yet the newspaper article is guilty of doing precisely
the same thing.
So much for fair and balanced reporting.
craig
...................................................................................................................
What do you expect from RDF ...... the truth? You have to
be joking.
No wonder their company is going down the tubes. They should stick to
selling other production companies' programmes as opposed to making
their own ...... rights sales is the majority of their shoddy business.
jimsmith100
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Star Trek Crew
Reunited
Justin Lee Collins is to attempt to reunite the surviving
cast from the original Star Trek series for his Channel 4 show Bring Back...
So Television, which makes the show, is currently negotiating
with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols and George Takei.
The programme will also feature the culture surrounding Star
Trek, such as fans who speak Klingon.
09:12
July
13 2008 - waveguide.co.uk
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