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Patrick McGoohan Dies
Patrick McGoohan, best known for his role in the cult 1960s
TV show The Prisoner, has died. He was 80.
The Emmy-winning actor died on Tuesday in Los Angeles following a short
illness, his son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, confirmed on
Wednesday.
McGoohan won two Emmys for his work on the Peter Falk detective drama
Columbo and, more recently, appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995
Mel Gibson film Braveheart.
But he was best known for playing Number Six in The Prisoner, the surreal
British TV series about a former spy who is held captive in a small village
and constantly tries to escape.
McGoohan also played secret agent John Drake in another popular 60s series,
Danger Man.
18:00
January
14 2009 - waveguide.co.uk
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Martin
Clunes Plays Reginald Perrin
 Martin Clunes is to take on the title role in a revival of
the popular BBC One sitcom The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin, the
Corporation announced today.
The cast of the series will also include: Fay Ripley, Wendy Craig, Geoffrey
Whitehead, Neil Stuke and Lucy Liemann.
Simon Nye, the writer behind Men Behaving Badly, will team up with the
writer and creator of the original Seventies show, David Nobbs, to pen this
reimagining which will transmit later this year.
The series will comprise of six 30-minute episodes.
Jay Hunt, Controller BBC One, said: "I am really excited about Reggie Perrin
returning to our screens. It feels as fresh and sharp now as it did all
those years ago. It will be a vital part of our overall comedy offering on
the channel."
Lucy Lumsden, BBC Controller, Comedy Commissioning, added: "To have combined
the writing talents of David Nobbs and Simon Nye in a sitcom fronted by
Martin Clunes is a dream come true. Added to which, they have come up with
an inspired update, rather than a remake, of one of the greatest classic
comedies of all time."
15:30
January
14 2009 - waveguide.co.uk
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Coronation Street - Church Cross Covered
The vicar of a church in Cheshire has branded "ludicrous"
a decision by a production crew that an altar cross be covered at the
church for the filming of a Coronation Street wedding, fearing it may offend
soap viewers.
The Reverend James Milnes, of St Mary's Church in Nether Alderley, Cheshire,
said that a solid brass cross was hidden with a candelabra, ivy and flowers
for the filming of Tyrone and Molly's wedding.
A spokesman for ITV1's Coronation Street apologised and said hiding the
cross was "an error".
The wedding was screened earlier this week.
Rev Milnes, 29, said: "We thought it was a very strange request.
"This is a quintessentially English church - who would be offended by seeing
a cross here?
"It's what people would expect to see, just as you see meat in a butcher's
shop or fruit and vegetables in a greengrocer's."
"It was ludicrous. We just thought it was political correctness gone mad."
The church has appeared in several television series and period dramas.
A spokesman for Coronation Street said: "We are looking into how and why
this happened.
"As Rev Milnes rightly says, we chose the church because the characters of
Molly and Tyrone wanted a traditional religious church wedding service in a
quintessentially English church.
"Covering up the cross was an error and we apologise for any upset this has
caused."
15:17
January
14 2009 - waveguide.co.uk
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C4
Apologises For Graphic Commercial
Channel 4 has apologised to viewers for screening a graphic
road safety commercial twice during The Simpsons when younger viewers are
likely to be watching.
Ten viewers complained to the Advertising Standards Authority
after the Department for Transport commercial was screened.
It featured graphic images of a man's lung being punctured in
a car crash, aimed to show the result of a head-on collision on a driver who
is not wearing a seatbelt.
The commercial was originally cleared to run after the 21:00 watershed.
However, the viewers saw it on Channel 4 during The Simpsons, broadcast on
weekdays at 18:00.
The complainants said the ad was "offensive and too graphic to be shown at
that time, especially because children were likely to be watching".
The ASA said that airing such a graphic TV advertisement in the early
evening was a breach of the broadcasting code.
07:50
January
14 2009 - waveguide.co.uk
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