TV show Taskmaster launches new free experiences across top UK attractions this summer
This summer, English Heritage and Taskmaster have joined forces to bring family fun and games to 17 historical sites across the UK - and it's absolutely free.
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Taskmaster, the Channel 4 show, sees five comedians attempt a series of strange and hilarious tasks set by Alex Horne.
The ultimate goal is to score the most points by impressing the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davies.
By the end of the series, the winner is given a prize - a gold trophy of Greg's face.
Now, families across the UK can give the TV show a go in their own way.
Across various English Heritage sites like Audley End House, Carisbrooke Castle and Stonehenge, is the new Taskmaster challenge.
These family-friendly tasks are full of laughs, and while the experience is suitable for all ages, it's likely they'll prove to be trickier than you think.
After all, the tasks in the TV show are known for being much harder in real-life than in theory.
Over the course of the experience there are six challenges in total.
Each one takes up to five minutes, so you really can take your time in perfecting the task and beating your opponents.
The challenges are spread out over each of the heritage sites and will be clearly marked so you won't miss them.
Taskmaster viewers all say the same thing as series 15 winner is revealed - and next batch of celebrities are confirmed
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While it's summer, make sure you dress for rain or shine as it will be outside.
At the end, you can tot up your scores to reveal the winner.
The only downside is that neither Alex nor Greg will be there give you a round of applause.
The experience runs from now until August 31, 2025.
The best bit is that the Taskmaster challenge is at no extra cost either - it's included in your entry ticket to each English Heritage property.
The price of entry at each English Heritage site does vary, for example, entry to Osborne on the Isle of Wight costs £24.50 for adults and £15.50 for children (between 5 and 17).
At Stonehenge, entry for adults start at £27.20 with children costing upwards from £17.20.
For any English Heritage members, entry to each site is completely free.
While you can't book ahead for the Taskmaster challenge, you can book a day ticket to the site online, and save 15 per cent if you book before the day of your visit.
Or you can choose to buy a membership from £42 meaning you get free entry to over 400 sites across the UK.
You can bring up to six children under 18 per adult for free and members' kids eat free this summer too at certain English Heritage cafes.
Here are .
Plus, this pub crawl is the best tourist experience in the UK according to Tripadvisor.
Here's A List of Participating English Heritage Sites
Dover Castle
Osborne
Walmer Castle
Audley End
Battle Abbey
Beeston Castle
Belsay Hall
Bolsover Castle
Brodsworth Hall
Carisbrooke Castle
Eltham Palace and Gardens
Framlingham Castle
Kenilworth Castle
Pendennis Castle
Scarborough Castle
Stonehenge
Wrest Park
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The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Maccabees on reuniting: ‘There were years when it was like a stranger messaging'
I n a dank rehearsal room in New Cross, bathed in an eerie green light that clings to the walls like moss, The Maccabees are easing back into each other's orbit. A headline appearance at All Points East is still months away. Nearest me is their guitarist Felix White, dressed all in black. 'Any requests?' he asks me. Soon the air is thick with nostalgia. Guitars twitch and flicker. Drums roar. Then in comes the choirboy vocal, clear yet quivering, as if frontman Orlando Weeks is on the verge of an apology: 'Mum said no/ To Disneyland,' he sings. 'And Dad loves the Church. Hallelujah.' It's the first time I've heard 'Lego', from their 2007 debut album, since the south London band bowed out eight years ago. But here are all the early Maccabees hallmarks: staccato riffs, adolescent romance, tenderness wrapped inside tension. Back then, in the harried sprawl of mid-Noughties UK indie – a scene of skinny jeans, dirty dance floors and MySpace pages – they briefly seemed to be just another charming, successful young band, writing cool, funny songs about wave machines and toothpaste. Yet they were always headed somewhere else, evolving, their sound increasingly adventurous on their way to a Mercury Prize nomination, an Ivor Novello award, a No 1 record and a headline performance at Latitude. Then it stopped. Seemingly out of nowhere, in August 2016, the group announced they were to be no more, save for a series of farewell celebration shows at Alexandra Palace the following year. 'We are very proud to be able to go out on our own terms, at our creative peak,' a statement read. 'There have been no fallings out.' Fans were bereft. In the years since, details of the split have remained hazy: by all accounts, it was not so much a blow-up as a simmering of fractures and differences. The pieces didn't fit together any more. While Weeks told The Independent in 2020 that the band 'just ran out of steam', blaming the creative frustrations of working as a group, it's clear a cooling-off period was needed. 'With Orlando,' says Hugo White, a guitarist in the band like his older brother Felix, 'there were a few years we didn't speak. You'd send one text maybe in six months.' They had been together their entire adult lives. 'I was 16 when I started the band,' Hugo notes. 'I was 30 when we split up.' Keeping five people together at that age 'locked into a diary that's scheduled for the next year, all intertwined in [each other's] lives', is difficult, he says. 'And I think that kind of broke in a way.' At that point, the five of them all agree, the idea of ever getting the band back together seemed inconceivable. 'It felt final,' says Weeks, who has now released three excellent solo records. 'Extremely final,' Felix jumps in, amid laughter. 'We needed it to be like that in order to move on,' says Hugo. 'It couldn't linger around.' Felix White during The Maccabees' set at the 2009 Isle of Wight Festival (Getty) We're 10 minutes in, and the group dynamic of The Maccabees is already unmistakable – a familial rhythm of in-jokes, unspoken cues and roles that feel shaped over years. If Weeks is the reluctant frontman, softly spoken and meditative, Felix is the band's ebullient cheerleader. Brooding opposite him is Hugo, with a jaw as sharp as his humour, cracking a number of close-to-the-bone barbs about the breakup. Drummer Sam Doyle and bassist Rupert Jarvis are here, too, quieter, more enigmatic. Though the mood is celebratory, there's no doubt the split was a difficult pill to swallow. 'It was so weird because you've made such a commitment to each other from a young age,' Hugo later tells me. 'So the idea that someone wants to make music outside of that group, with other people – it's almost like a betrayal... Even though it isn't.' For Felix, the way it ended, just as The Maccabees had finally earned their place at indie's top table, was, by his own past admission, 'heartbreaking'. 'We were mid-thirties and there was a real sense of saying goodbye to a part of your life,' he told us last year. The Maccabees wasn't the only breakup Felix was going through. At the same time as those bittersweet Alexandra Palace shows, he was also parting from his girlfriend Florence Welch, of Florence + the Machine. There was so much change in the air, Felix says, that it was difficult to navigate. 'Lots of endings happening in lots of different versions of life.' But then change has always been reflected in The Maccabees' music. Just as they became more expansive sonically, with gauzy guitar textures and swirling atmospherics reminiscent of Arcade Fire, so their lyrics matured. Gone were the chewed-up Lego pieces, replaced by introspection and songs concerned with the vicissitudes of ageing. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Orlando Weeks performs during the band's 2013 Isle of Wight set (Getty) On a personal level, growing up with The Maccabees, all of us more or less the same age, I've always felt a strange sense of ownership over them, as if they are my band, a soundtrack to my coming of age. I was 20, still flinging myself across sticky, student dance floors in torn Levi's, when a mutual friend played them to me just before the release of debut album Colour It In. Then, two years later, nursing a broken heart, I found myself near Felix in the crowd as Blur played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. 'I fell in love to your first album,' I told him. There were other encounters, too, running the gamut from cringe to extremely cringe. Backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2011, introduced to Hugo by a PR, I careened into fanboy overdrive, explaining more than once that 'your band changed my life'. Professionally speaking, I couldn't be trusted to be objective, either: I spent years wearing down a late, great music editor who refused to let me write about them. Eventually, she caved, and I reviewed them at Brixton Academy, not knowing it would be one of their last shows. (Headline: 'Is it time The Maccabees headlined Glastonbury?') Of course, they're not just my band. Recently, at a stag do in the Scottish Highlands, I derived immeasurable joy from watching the groom-to-be insist on playing four vintage Maccabees songs back-to-back at 3am, those time-capsule choruses still a bottomless font of bonhomie. To me, in an era of swaggering, hyper-macho indie landfill, with bands such as Razorlight and The Rifles, their music always stood apart, shimmering with warmth and depth. Evidently, Danny Boyle thinks so too. For a pivotal scene in his film Steve Jobs , he turned to the sweeping, crepuscular tones of 'Grew Up at Midnight', lifted from the band's critically acclaimed 2012 record Given to the Wild. 'We thought that was going to make us f***ing massive in America,' says Felix. 'They used the whole song at the end and we were like, 'Oh my God, we're going to America, people…'' He pauses… 'F***ing nothing. If anything, we were smaller after the film came out.' The Maccabees at the NME Awards in 2016, shortly before their split (AFP/Getty) Be that as it may, there's no downplaying the magnitude of those farewell shows, which felt part celebration, part elegy. I was there and can attest to just how emotional they were. 'There was a real sense when those last Maccabee shows happened that everyone had been, was a particular age, and it became sort of symbolic for saying goodbye to a certain part of your life – sort of early thirties,' says Felix. 'That idea of real adulthood was upon everyone, that you're definitively ending a stage of your life – and it felt like it was inside all of the rooms when we played those shows. It felt like everyone was pouring their own collective sense of goodbye into it, whatever that might be – relationships, being young, people that couldn't be there, all that kind of stuff. So it felt very heavy.' For a while, it seemed that Felix would not look back as he set off on new paths. He launched Yala! Records, wrote the cricket-themed memoir It's Always Summer Somewhere and started a cricketing podcast called Tailenders with radio host Greg James and England's all-time leading wicket-taker Jimmy Anderson. But as time passed, he realised, 'you do get to a point where you're like, actually, life doesn't last forever. If we want to do this, it could be a really beautiful thing.' There was a recognition that it would likely feel that way for their fans, too, who had felt the poignancy of their parting, and had since perhaps been doing a lot of the things that the band had been doing, like starting families and spending more time at home. 'As a Maccabee through the ages, I think you can really hear that in the music: you can hear that we're 19, you can hear that we're 24 and so on. And the gigs used to feel like that, like when we were first playing, and there used to be people hanging from the ceiling and shoes flying everywhere and all that kind of thing. And then, as we got older, it changed into something more introspective.' As we got older, it changed into something more introspective Felix White Cut to Glastonbury this year and there The Maccabees are, headlining the Park Stage, with a comeback set that weaves all those elements together. Yes, there's introspection, but also that frenetic energy; if there'd been a ceiling, you can be sure people would have hung from it – perhaps without their shoes. 'We never thought we'd be playing these songs again to anybody,' Felix said to the crowd. So how come they are, I ask? The catalyst, Hugo says, was his wedding to the author and poet Laura Dockhill in lockdown. After hiring out a pub in Battersea, he invited Weeks on the condition, he jokes, that he would sing. 'And just for the after party,' Felix chimes in, laughing. 'It's not an open invite!' And so, for the first time since Alexandra Palace, all five of them were in the same room. Their friends Jack Peñate, Jamie T, Florence Welch and Adele all performed that night. Crucially, so, too, did The Maccabees. Reuniting, says Weeks, 'didn't feel forced, because after the end of something like The Maccabees, to coordinate a meeting felt sort of contrived. Then, suddenly, there was this event that was a very obviously uncomplicated reason to all be together.' After Covid, he explains, there were tentative conversations about a reunion. Slowly, the pieces aligned. The White brothers' new band 86TVs were forced to pause their plans after Stereophonics called back their drummer, Jamie Morrison, for a tour. 'So, suddenly, there was this fallow year for them,' Weeks continues, 'and I had finished my stuff with [his 2024 album] Loja. So it was just a natural hiatus there. If there hadn't been an All Points East that felt so good, then it might easily have just drifted and not happened. But it just felt very uncomplicated again.' The boys are back in town: The Maccabees at Glastonbury 2025 (Jill Furmanovsky) Certainly, their Glastonbury set had a natural ease and coherence. 'The thing that I was really noticing was that me, Land [Orlando] and Hugo all used to do this thing where we'd all move at the same time, like unintentionally choreographed,' says Felix, when I meet him and his brother again a few weeks after the festival. 'You'd do two steps forward, stand still, three steps back, and you feel everyone do it at the same time. Like, weird, telepathic, synchronised. And here we were doing it again.' Falling unconsciously into step with one another without even speaking, he says, was 'so weird... even beyond the playing, like it was in your body somewhere'. Beforehand, though, 'I was f***ing nervous,' says Felix. 'And the TV thing really does heighten the whole experience.' 'You can't really get a more high-pressure scenario,' agrees Hugo. They'd been calm in the days leading up to it, but that changed on the day, explains his brother. 'Land had this thing in his head where he was saying randomly, sporadically, with no context, how nervous he was out of 10. So you'd be having a chat, and he'd suddenly go 'seven', and then half an hour later, it'd be 'six', and then 'nine'.' Nerves aside, the band were thrilled with how it went. 'I didn't come down from it for days,' says Felix. The set was capped by an appearance from Welch, now back with Felix, for a rendition of her galloping 2008 hit 'Dog Days Are Over'. 'It was a rehash of what we did together at the wedding,' says Hugo. 'As soon as she sings in a room, it changes. She has that thing where she changes the atmosphere in the inner space, and it's really rare.' The whole process was very different from the classic rock cliché of 'putting the band back together' – rebuilding relationships took time. 'We'd meet up with our kids on the South Bank,' says Hugo. 'Stuff that is so far from how we would have spent every day. After a year of not speaking or whatever, you know, you go for a coffee and walk for an hour. Hugo White: 'Florence has that thing where she changes the atmosphere in the inner space, and it's really rare' (Getty) 'Obviously, it's different now,' he adds, 'because Land lives in Lisbon, but things are just back to how they were. And there were years where it was like a stranger messaging you.' Of course, there have been seismic shifts in the musical landscape since The Maccabees formed in 2004 over a love of The Clash and the BBC series Old Grey Whistle Test, which featured punchy, angular performances by the likes of Dr Feelgood and XTC ('You can see why it looked fun to play fast,' says Felix). These days, the industry is 'less focused on bands', says Hugo. 'People are creating these things on computers. Because it's cheaper, it's easier. It doesn't require the same effort as five individuals that connect in a certain way to be able to create something.' Jarvis agrees. 'It's so much more expensive to just be a new band. Back when we first started, we'd chuck in a fiver each to go and spend four hours rehearsing, [but] that doesn't get you anywhere nowadays,' he says. 'I feel very sorry for the new bands because of that, and there's a lot less new bands. You really notice that – there are fewer venues, fewer nights out, fewer things going on for bands to form a scene.' As the fashions of the scene that spawned The Maccabees in the indie sleaze era made a comeback, Weeks saw his past life through a new lens. 'We must be far enough away from that moment to look back at those pictures with a kind of giddiness,' he says. 'The colours and the weird asymmetrical haircuts and plimsoles and acrylic Perspex dangly little earrings and all of those things that, at the time, didn't feel nearly as cool as looking back at photos of The Clash. But we're far enough away from it now that it owns its identity.' The tribalism of the era, when you could tell which aisle of HMV a person would head to just by their hairstyle, holds a romantic pull for the band. 'There was still so much DIY-ness about it all,' says Weeks. 'There was more of a look, a cohesiveness of aesthetic.' Felix recalls being at a metal bar in Camden recently, 'and they've all got a look. That made me feel really nostalgic and jealous thinking, oh, I can't remember being in a place where everyone's got this code that makes them all sort of connected.' Felix White (far left): 'We spent two and a half years in full-on mania making 'Marks to Prove It'' (Jill Furmanovsky) Though the average fan's taste may seem more diverse than ever, Hugo wonders if something was lost in the transition to pick-and-mix fandom in the streaming era. 'You used to buy one album and listen to that until you got another album. [Nowadays] you don't have to listen to one album.' He stops himself and laughs. 'Do they even listen to an album? You just dart between songs like social media, scrolling through things.' The Maccabees seem conflicted about social media generally – especially its demands for self-promotion. 'When Marks to Prove It came out in 2015,' Felix recalls, 'we had a long conversation about whether we should even put on the Instagram that the album's out. We spent two and a half years in full-on mania making this record and it was generally like, is it naff to say the album is out today?' 'When you think what kids like the young artists now are expected to do, it's just, like, mind-blowing in comparison to how things worked for us,' Hugo says. 'We were so fortunate to be able to make stuff as a group of people and not be in this constantly competitive environment.' 'Just being not part of promotion,' Weeks marvels. 'Yeah, it was always someone else in control,' says Doyle. 'Deliver the artwork and they would promote it by getting posters up or whatever it was,' adds Hugo. I'd love to have seen Nick Drake's Instagram. Imagine him asking people to swipe up and share Felix White The sort of 'savviness' that self-promotion requires was not what set them on their way, notes Weeks, picking out current bands he likes – Divorce, Caroline, and Black Country, New Road – who have 'accidental alchemy' but also manage to be engaging on Instagram, without having to lay bare their 'private, inner workings'. 'I'd love to have seen Nick Drake's Instagram,' says Felix, laughing. 'Imagine him asking people to swipe up and share.' It's clear that as they prepare to play All Points East, headlining a bill that includes Irish sensation CMAT and indie stalwarts Bombay Bicycle Club, laughter and good vibes have returned to The Maccabees. 'Everyone's in a good headspace and connecting with each other, and that's allowed it to be stronger,' notes Hugo. Which raises the question: will there be more music from The Maccabees in their forties? 'Do you think that means we would make better music or worse music?' asks Felix. It'll be a different stage of life, for better or worse, I reply. 'It'll be slower,' laughs Hugo. 'There's a good feeling about it,' Felix says, with a wry smile. 'It's tempting…' The Maccabees headline All Points East on 24 August in Victoria Park; last tickets are available here . Reissues of their albums 'Colour It In' and 'Given To The Wild' are released on limited edition vinyl on 22 August. You can pre-order here
Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Must-see TV this week: Celebrity SAS, The Fortune Hotel and David Attenborough series
Fan-favourite shows are back on screens this week with new seasons of Celebrity SAS and The Fortune Hotel. And there are more shows to last through the week. Get the lowdown. Another week of TV is set to keep fans on the edge of their seats, with two beloved series making their comebacks on the box. After a successful first run, Stephen Mangan helms the second season of The Fortune Hotel on ITV, with another batch of UK contestants and a fresh set of cases to swap around. Over on Channel 4, a handful of beloved household names push themselves out of their comfort zones in a new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, as they encounter gruelling challenges. BBC One also delivers its fair share of emotions with a new show delving deep into the animal world. Parenthood is narrated by natural historian and national treasure David Attenborough. Meanwhile, streaming platforms have their own gripping dramas and documentaries to offer. Here's everything you need to know about this week's TV. The Count of Monte Cristo Saturday, 9pm, U&Drama Sam Claflin stars as Edmond Dantes in this new adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, a French classic by Alexandre Dumas. Falsely accused of treason and imprisoned after a rival grows jealous of his success, Edmond plots revenge after years of captivity. Returning under a new identity, he sets out to dismantle the lives of those who betrayed him. Expect emotional twists, explosive turns and compelling performances from Blake Ritson, Ana Girardot and Jeremy Irons. Griff's Great American South Saturday, C4 Comedian Griff Rhys Jones heads to Charleston, South Carolina, where the American Civil War began. With his signature wit and charm, Griff explores grand architecture, mouthwatering delicacies and Southern hospitality, he dives into the city's rich and controversial past. But along the way, he also meets with the descendants of enslaved people to explore how the region's difficult past still shapes its present. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Saturday, 7pm, 5 Join Bettany Hughes on a breathtaking journey through time as she sets off across Egypt, Greece and Turkey to rediscover the greatest monuments of the ancient world ever built. From the Great Pyramid to the Colossus of Rhodes, Bettany weaves history and myth into an eye-opening travelogue. Her signature warmth and insight breathe life into ruins, revealing not only their grandeur but the civilisations behind them. Billy Joel: And so it Goes Saturday, 9pm, Sky Documentaries He's sold millions of records and filled stadiums worldwide - but who is Billy Joel? And who is the man behind the performer? This revealing two-part documentary offers rare access to never-before-seen performances, intimate interviews and personal archives as it unpacks the heartache, hope and triumph behind the music. Now 76, the Piano Man lets his guard down as he reflects on the moments that shaped him and the songs that still resonate across multiple generations. William: A Life in Pictures Saturday, 8:30pm, 5 From cradle to crown-in-waiting, this new documentary traces Prince William 's life through his most iconic photographs - from shy schoolboy to future king. With exclusive footage and expert commentary, this documentary reflects on the impact of Diana's death, the lifelong pressures of royal duty, his wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, and the family he's built. Now at 43, and first in line to the throne, the question remains - how will he shape the monarchy's next chapter? Parenthood Sunday, BBC1 David Attenborough returns to screens with Parenthood - a wild and emotional ride through the highs and lows of raising the next generation. Filmed across 23 countries, this enlightening series captures extraordinary moments of animal parenting, from orcas teaching their young to hunt, to spiders sacrificing themselves for their offspring. Packed with stunning visuals and a stirring score, it's a powerful, raw look at the lengths animals go to for love, survival and legacy. Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins Sunday, 9pm, C4 Fourteen famous faces sign up for the ultimate endurance test in the seventh series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Led by Chief Instructor Billy Billingham and his team, the group faces military-level challenges across remote Welsh terrain. Through eight episodes, celebrities are pushed to breaking point and stripped of all comfort as they mirror real Special Forces training. This year's line-up includes Tasha Ghouri, Harry Clark, Troy Deeney, Rebecca Loos and Conor Benn. Naming the Dead Sunday, Disney+ Thousands of unnamed bodies lie forgotten across America. This gripping five-part series follows the race undertaken to uncover their identities. With the help of DNA Doe Project - a leading organisation in genetic investigation and identification - forensic teams and law enforcement tackle decades-old cold cases, using new cutting-edge technology to bring answers and closure to families left in limbo. Part detective story, part human drama, this show combines heartbreak and science. Cooking With the Stars Sunday, ITV Eight celebrities swap the spotlight for the stove in season five of Cooking with the Stars. Through six episodes, all hosted by Emma Willis and Tom Allen, this culinary competition pairs well-known faces in the likes of Natalie Cassidy, Jordan North, Ekin-Su and Kelly Hoppen with professional chefs. Together, they tackle intense cooking battles, hoping to win the Golden Frying Pan. With eliminations judged by the pros themselves, it's a test of nerves, skills and team work. Kensuke's Kingdom Sunday, BBC1 After a storm separates 11-year-old Michael from his parents, he finds himself shipwrecked on a remote, seemingly deserted, island with his dog Stella. Together, they fight to survive - until they meet mysterious island-dweller Kensuke. Voiced by Cillian Murphy, Sally Hawkins, Raffey Cassidy and Ken Watanabe - among many more - this moving animated adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's beloved 1999 novel explores survival, unlikely friendships and the scars of war - both mental and physical. Do You Have ADHD? Tuesday, C4 Dr Clare Bailey Mosley and Dr Karan Rajan front this enlightening documentary on ADHD, diving deep into the realities behind the complex condition. From children and adults waiting in long queues for clarity to specialists supporting life post-diagnosis, the show sheds light on the growing demand for answers. For Clare, it's personal: she steps into the patient role herself, undergoing testing to explore whether ADHD might explain aspects of her own behaviour. Georgia & Tommy: Happy Essex After Tuesday, ITV2 Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet are back - but it's not all glam and gloss. After more than a decade together and two wedding ceremonies, the TOWIE alumni lift the lid on married life and parenthood in this feel-good six-part series. From chaotic mornings with Brody and Gigi to the realities of romance after babies, it's an unfiltered look at the power couple in their most intimate moments as they navigate their Happy Essex After. Platonic Wednesday, Apple TV+ Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return as chaotic besties Will and Sylvia in Platonic's second season. After a one-year time jump at the end of season one (and Will's surprise engagement), the pair are still navigating midlife mayhem - from career hiccups to romantic disasters - all while pushing each other into deeper trouble. With familiar faces like Luke Macfarlane and Carla Gallo returning, and comedy favourites Aidy Bryant and Beck Bennett joining in, the mayhem is far from over. Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace Wednesday, 8pm, U&Yesterday In 1945, Winston Churchill led Britain to victory - and the Conservative Party straight into political defeat, just weeks later, when he was swept from office in Labour's landslide defeat. Narrated by actor Paul McGann, this revealing documentary revisits one of the biggest shocks in British political history, exploring why voters turned to Churchill's opponent, Clement Attlee, and how the former Prime Minister's leadership in war failed to secure trust in peace. The Fortune Hotel Wednesday, ITV After a successful first run last year, eleven new pairs check in for another sun-soaked, high-stakes stay in The Fortune Hotel with Stephen Mangan as their host. Each team receives a briefcase - one holds £250k, another an Early Checkout card. Throughout their stay in the Caribbean, players must complete palpitation challenges, build solid alliances and outwit each other to stay in the game. With case-wapping ceremonies and secret twists, only one duo will walk away with the jackpot. Wednesday Nevermore Academy reopens its gates as Jenna Ortega returns as Wednesday Addams in Season two of Netflix's hit gothic drama - and things are off to a tense start when she gets kidnapped. With a new headmaster (Steve Buscemi), her younger brother Pugsley joining the student body and Morticia now working at her school, Wednesday faces pressure from all sides. As mysteries unfold, viewers explore the Addams' family dynamics with national treasure Joanna Lumley as Morticia's mother Hester.
The Guardian
33 minutes ago
- The Guardian
From The Naked Gun to Wednesday: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
The Naked GunOut nowFollowing a slightly tortuous period in development, a new Naked Gun film is in cinemas with Liam Neeson playing the son of legendary Det Sgt Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen in the three original films). Also starring Pamela Anderson and Busta Rhymes. Late ShiftOut nowA nurse on an understaffed surgical ward in a Swiss hospital, Floria (Leonie Benesch), takes her work seriously. But as she cares for a sick young mother and an elderly man, she finds herself caught in a race against time, in this acclaimed drama from Petra Volpe, which premiered at the Berlinale. Sophia Loren: Hollywood Style, Neapolitan SpiritBFI Southbank, to 31 AugustLike Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, the mere words 'Sophia Loren' bring to mind a particular image. In Loren's case, it's a particularly Italian sense of glamour, sophistication and elegance. To celebrate, the BFI is putting on a Sophia Loren season. Saluti! SavagesOut nowFresh from a special screening at Cannes this year, this stop-motion animation, influenced thematically by Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (itself back in cinemas in a couple of weeks), tells the story of an orphaned orangutan, rescued from a palm oil plantation. Directed by Claude Barras (My Life As a Courgette). Catherine Bray BoardmastersWatergate Bay & Fistral Beach, Newquay, 6, to 10 AugustCornwall's singing and surfing extravaganza returns with a lineup headlined by Raye, Central Cee and the Prodigy. Other artists serenading the sea include Leigh-Anne, Flo, Wet Leg and, as seems obligatory for every festival this year, Natasha Bedingfield. Michael Cragg JinThe O2, London, 5 & 6 AugustWith BTS returning next year after each member completes their time in the South Korean military, the band's vocalist Jin is heading to London for two solo shows. Expect songs from his two mini-albums – including the Gary Barlow-penned Running Wild – plus some BTS bangers. MC The Veil of the TempleUsher Hall, Edinburgh, 2 AugustA rare performance of John Tavener's eight-hour choral epic, the first in the UK since its 2003 premiere, launches this year's Edinburgh international festival. This gigantic hymn, with texts in five languages and bringing together all the world's major religions, is sung by the combined forces of the Monteverdi Choir, Edinburgh Festival Chorus and National Youth Choir of Scotland. Andrew Clements Brecon jazz festivalVarious venues, Brecon, 8 to 10 AugustThe Brecon jazz festival, an innovative gem on the small Welsh scene that brought the genre's jazz giants to the town, returns with Friday's opening night show by UK vocal original, Jazz Warriors' co-founder, reggae singer, DJ and more, Cleveland Watkiss performing his Great Jamaican Songbook on this curtain raiser. John Fordham Virtual BeautySomerset House, London, to 28 September This exhibition takes you to the cutting edge, exploring how AI-enhanced selfies and artfully curated Instagrams are making virtual aesthetes of us all. Pioneering body artist Orlan, Turner nominee Sin Wai Kin, American self-portraitist Qualeasha Wood, and Björk colaborators Andrew Thomas Huang and James Merry are among the guides to this brave new digital world. Edinburgh art festivalVarious venues, 7 to 24 AugustA summer smorgasbord of art hits Edinburgh alongside its international and fringe festivals. Manchester punk icon Linder, Borgesian installationist Mike Nelson and painter John Bellany are among the varied fare. There is always something worth seeking out and, in this cityscape, the seeking itself is fun as you climb and delve. MilletNational Gallery, London, 7 August to 19 OctoberThis French 19th-century landscape artist who fascinated Van Gogh and Salvador Dalí depicts the countryside from the peasants' point of view. The work of the fields, from sowing to gleaning and winnowing, becomes real yet also mythic in his art. This survey includes his haunting twilight masterpiece The Angelus. AnimalAnima Mundi Gallery, St Ives, to 29 AugustStrange beasts have haunted art and folklore for thousands of years. They are common where the land meets the sea and you can imagine the old inns of Cornwall being regaled by fishers' tales of mermaids and sea serpents. Kate Clark, Jamie Mills, Lena Dabska and more update the bestiary. Jonathan Jones Jacqueline NovakMonkey Barrel 4, Edinburgh, to 23 AugustThe Edinburgh fringe-workshopped, Emmy-nominated Get on Your Knees – an exquisitely funny treatise on the blowjob – established this New Yorker as one of the most impressive comedians around; whatever she brings to this year's festival – and details are scarce – will be more than worth your while. Rachel Aroesti Robert Cohan: Gala PerformanceDance City, Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2 AugustEliot Smith Dance celebrates the centenary of Robert Cohan. The American, who died in 2021, was instrumental in bringing modern dance to the UK, founding Britain's first contemporary dance school and company, and was an influential and much loved figure. The programme includes Cohan's 1961 duet Eclipse. Lyndsey Winship Far AwayAmbika P3, London, 5 to 23 AugustLostText/Found Space stages startling plays in unusual spaces. This time it's Caryl Churchill's Far Away, in which nature warps and bends as a young girl screams at night – all playing out in a former concrete construction hall. Miriam Gillinson OhioAssembly Roxy, Edinburgh, to 24 AugustA new musical written by and starring married US indie-folk duo the Bengsons. A musician loses his faith. Can he find himself again through his music? MG Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion WednesdayNetflix, 6 AugustTim Burton's spectacularly successful Addams Family spin-off returns to Nevermore Academy, where our mordant, mystery-solving protagonist gets a hero's welcome – much to her dismay. But soon Wednesday's imagination is captured by something even more awful: a premonition of her roomie's impending death. The Count of Monte CristoU&Drama, 2 August, 9pmA Danish director, British stars, Italian writers, French source material: this pan-European drama's credits alone feel like a triumph in the Brexit era. Sam Claflin plays the wrongly imprisoned protagonist; Jeremy Irons is the priest who tells him the location of a life-changing fortune. PlatonicApple TV+, 6 AugustFollowing his success with The Studio, Apple's current golden boy Seth Rogen reunites with Rose Byrne for a second season of the pair's goofy buddy comedy about two friends from college who reconnect in midlife – and whose attempts to support each other frequently end in catastrophe. ParenthoodBBC One & iPlayer, 3 August, 7.20pmWhen it comes to child-rearing in the animal kingdom, nature documentaries tend to focus on extreme neglect or heartwrenching peril: this new five-parter takes a different tack, by examining how parents impart valuable knowledge to their offspring. RA Mafia: The Old CountryOut 8 August; PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Ever watched Robert De Niro in Godfather Part II and thought: I could do that? Here's your chance. The fourth main title in the underworld action adventure series takes us back to 1900s Sicily, where we must guide junior mobster Enzo Favara to the top of the Torrisi crime family by any means necessary. Surely an offer we can't refuse. Gradius OriginsOut 7 August; PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, SwitchKonami's space shooter series has been thrilling and frustrating gamers since 1985, and this collection brings together seven titles, including the original Gradius trilogy, the spin-off Salamander titles and the upgraded Salamander remix, Life Force. Keith Stuart The Armed – The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be DestroyedOut now After going fully meta on 2023's Perfect Saviors by critiquing the concept of rock stardom via an album full of arena rock, the mysterious collective return with an all-guns-blazing hardcore album. Well Made Play might start like the Killers but soon sounds like an aneurysm. Reneé Rapp – Bite MeOut nowThe 25-year-old actor, singer and non-stop quote machine (see her recent interview with comedian Ziwe), returns with her second album of bolshy pop bops. Singles Mad and Leave Me Alone are pepped-up vessels for brattish anger, while Why Is She Still Here? showcases Rapp's full-bodied voice. Wisp – If Not WinterOut nowOn Natalie R Lu's debut album, the San Franciscan combines shoegaze and heavy rock, her featherlight voice often tossed about on waves of crashing guitars. That's showcased best on the heaving Breathe Onto Me, while electronic textures sparkle around the edge of Sword. Laura Groves – YesOut nowThis four-track follow-up to 2023's Radio Red album finds Shipley-born singer, songwriter and producer Groves offering up more heartfelt, 80s-indebted soft-pop. Featuring collaborations with the likes of Joviale and Fabiana Palladino, it's a perfect showcase for her sonic world-building and melodic prowess. MC Leading LabourPodcastHistorian Izzy Conn's series on Labour party leaders is a fascinating insight into the ways the party has navigated leftwing politics from 1945 onwards. Experts analyse how each postwar leader rose to power and their legacy. Inside NPR's Tiny DeskYouTubeYouTube series Tiny Desk began in 2008 as a showcase of stripped-down musicianship and has since developed to become a key industry tastemaker. This Architectural Digest video explores its meteoric rise. What Happened to Counter-Culture?Radio 4, 7 August, 9amStewart Lee delves into the history of counterculture in this engaging five-part series. From beat poetry to free jazz and punk, Lee speaks to the artists who shaped the zeitgeist with their vision and impact. Ammar Kalia
