EXCLUSIVE Incest horror of the Durrells. Bombshell papers tell of obscene sex abuse as the violent and dark secrets behind the happy family facade are finally exposed
We all wanted to be part of that wonderful chaotic family as they moved from villa to villa – Strawberry Pink to Daffodil Yellow to Snow White – during their four-year stay. Lunching in the sun at a table half submerged in the Ionian Sea with Gerald's brother and sisters Leslie and Margo. Drinking wine in the shade with his widowed mother Louisa (played by Keeley Hawes). Helping young Gerry himself tend his pelicans. Or maybe just being charmed by eldest brother, Larry, an aspiring writer who was portrayed (by Josh O'Connor) as tall, dark, charismatic and excitingly louche.
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Times
an hour ago
- Times
The Assassin review — Keeley Hawes is a knockout as a ‘perimenopausal 007'
Can you ever truly pull off the comedy thriller? The comedy drama is everywhere these days, but that's easy. When you've run out of jokes you just go all serious for a bit (as a political sketch writer, believe me, I know that technique well). But in a full-on thriller, where plot and pace and mood are everything, how can a steady stream of gags not puncture the spell every single time? The movie Saltburn was theoretically a comedy thriller. I loved it, but it's not funny. If you can't decide if you're trying to be funny or darkly thrilling, you can end up with a man shagging another man's freshly covered grave or doing even worse to his bath plug. The Assassin, Prime Video's new six-part comedy thriller starring Keeley Hawes, is an education in how it should be done. It's an absolute cracker. The secret, we now know, is to serve the thrills and laughs one after another in very quick succession, not to try to blend them together. It's to take a quick break from, say, an all-action, no expense spared, absolutely full-on massacre and have a son ask his blood-spattered, gun-toting mother: 'Are you really not going to tell me why you're some kind of perimenopausal James Bond?' The simplicity of the premise only elevates it. Hawes's Julie, to the surprise of her son, a journalist, is a former 'hitwoman' drawn out of retirement for one last job. (It just doesn't sound right, does it, 'hitwoman', but I think that might be a joke too. The writers must be aware of the appropriate gender-neutral term for contract killer. It's right there in the title.) But there, you will not be shocked to learn, the simplicity stops as it gets lost in ever more interwoven webs of deceit. The scenes in a hellhole of a Libyan prison are every bit as dark and unsettling and stomach-churningly violent as anything you'll find in, say, Zero Dark Thirty. 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The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
Spacey told actor ‘don't worry about it' after alleged assault, documents claim
Kevin Spacey allegedly sexually assaulted a young actor at a party at The Savoy hotel and then told him 'Don't worry about it', court documents for the High Court legal claim suggest. Ruari Cannon is suing Mr Spacey as well as two organisations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London, claiming he suffered psychiatric damage as a result of sexual and emotional abuse. The 33-year-old has waived his anonymity in the claim. In court documents seen by the PA news agency, Mr Cannon alleges that Mr Spacey, who was a 'powerful figure and a world-famous actor and celebrity' at the time, assaulted him in about June 2013, when he was 'a very vulnerable young man'. Oscar-winning actor Mr Spacey has previously denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour and wrongdoing, and details of his defence are not yet available. According to the documents, filed in June, Mr Spacey was working as artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre at the time of the alleged assaults on a production of a play by Tennessee Williams known as Sweet Bird Of Youth, and Mr Cannon was a member of the cast in this production. They claim that Mr Spacey 'took a particular interest' in Mr Cannon for 'reasons of sexual interest' and sent him a 'lavish' gift of a framed poster of the 1985 production of the play directed by Harold Pinter. After the press preview of the show on June 12 2013, Mr Cannon attended a party at The Savoy in London organised by The Old Vic Theatre Company (The Cut) and The Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000. It is claimed that one of the alleged assaults took place at the event. Setting out the allegations, Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel KC, for Mr Cannon, said: 'Kevin Spacey pulled the claimant towards him, turned him around through 45 degrees and placed his left hand on the claimant's buttocks and lifted up the recess material of his suit.' It is alleged that Mr Spacey then pushed Mr Cannon's underwear 'as far up' into his bottom as possible, 'so as to cause pain and distress'. Ms Gumbel added: 'Mr Kevin Spacey pulled the claimant closer to him and whispered into the claimant's ear 'Don't worry about it'. 'Mr Spacey made more uncalled for and unwelcome advances to the claimant during the evening.' The following day, Mr Cannon reported the alleged assaults to his stage manager at the Old Vic Theatre, but no action was taken. According to the documents, it is accepted that Mr Cannon did not ask for any action to be taken, and was scared about how any further action might affect his career. Later that year, during the run of the show, Mr Cannon saw Mr Spacey at the Old Vic bar. Mr Spacey allegedly said to him, 'I hear you have a dirty secret', and then said: 'Open up.' Ms Gumbel said: 'Kevin Spacey then forced open the claimant's mouth with his fingers and thumbs and commented 'quite a bad boy' before the claimant could pull away. 'The claimant then left the bar. The forcing open of the claimant's mouth was another assault for which Kevin Spacey was responsible and for which the second and/or third defendants were vicariously liable. 'Further in 2017 when the Old Vic set up a confidential complaints email on October 31 2017 the claimant reported the above complaint again to the Old Vic.' She added that the alleged assaults were carried out by Mr Spacey in the course of his work for the organisations connected to the Old Vic, and they are 'vicariously liable' for the alleged assaults carried out in the context of a theatre production.
The Sun
14 hours ago
- The Sun
What are the Love Island Grafties?
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