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South Wales Argus
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston filming in Newport
Everyone's favourite northern timelord Christopher Eccleston rocked up in the city centre for a cheeky bit of filming however, he wasn't fighting the Daleks or stopping Cybermen taking over John Frost Square! No instead, Salford born Eccleston was sighted on Corn Street for the filming of 'About a Bell.' Doctor who star Christopher Eccleston with Newport local Mark Vrettos (Image: Mark Vrettos) About a Bell is an independent film about Sami, a Syrian refugee, and Bryony, a young librarian, who embark on a highly personal quest to preserve a bell from a demolished church. Th brains behind the operation Welsh production company Hello Deer have been in the city for around three weeks. Eccleston was sighted by Newport local Mark Vrettos who then only moments later bumped into some key Welsh politicians. Speaking about Eccleston Mark said: 'He couldn't have been any nicer and was very enthusiastic about working in Newport again.' Mark then revealed who was just around the corner… He told the Argus: 'I hopped off the bus and there was another filming job with Elenid Morgan and Ken Skates!' First Minister, Eluned Morgan with Ken Skates at Newport bus station (Image: Mark Vrettos) The politicians were in the city for a launch event at Newport Bus Station. Under new legislation young people aged 16 to 21 will be able to ride on buses across Wales for just £1 from September. Speaking at the event First Minister, Eluned Morgan will said: 'Cutting the cost of travel for young people and providing better transport for all is one of our top priorities. We are delivering our promises to young people across Wales. 'This investment will make a real difference to communities all over Wales, but especially in rural areas.' Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates added: 'I am delighted to be launching a scheme that offers affordable bus travel for young people to help them access education, training, employment, and leisure, as well as supporting our efforts to encourage more people to use public transport, reduce carbon emissions and tackle poverty.'
Metro
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
It's been 16 years since the most 'disturbing' Doctor Who story ever
If you're reading this, you're likely a big Doctor Who fan and who can blame you? The iconic British sci-fi show has been on the box for 61 years now, charming viewers across the world with its colourful characters, creative stories, and wonky special effects (and it's showing no signs of slowing down, with the recent series fronted by Ncuti Gatwa having an episode described as the best in years). Yet while Doctor Who is nominally a family show, the series does have a reputation for being surprisingly scary when it wants to be. There are episodes where gas mask-wearing zombies swarm across London, companions have been chopped into bits and turned into Cybermen, and who could forget the Weeping Angels? Still, as terrifying as these Doctor Who stories are, there's one tale that's so terrifying it left viewers 'traumatised'. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The story in question is called The Children of Earth, and it was told in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. The Children of Earth was Torchwood's third season, and it saw Captain Jack Harkness and his team defending the Earth against a new alien threat called the 456. The 456 weren't invading aliens like the Daleks or Cybermen, though; they were far more insidious. These strange creatures came to our planet not to conquer but because they wanted our most valuable resource. So what were they after? Our children, of course. Specifically, they wanted 10% of the Earth's children or all life on Earth would be wiped out. What makes this premise so horrifying isn't just the fact that it involves children; it's the reason these strangers from another world want the kids. They don't need the children to survive; they want them because the chemicals in the children allow the 456 to get high. But surely the Doctor will arrive to save the day? Sorry, it's not that type of story. To say Children of Earth is darker than a goth's favourite pair of black jeans doesn't do it justice. It's a genuinely grim story that explores some really dark themes and ideas that I can't explain here without requiring a trigger warning or six – but they touch on governmental abuse of power, exploitation of children, and that old favourite of first-year philosophy students the world over, utilitarianism. Don't take my word for it, though, the fans agree with me. One reviewer on IMDB wrote that Children of Earth is 'one serious, intense bit of drama!' On Rotten Tomatoes – where the series has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score – reviewers have written that this is 'easily the best Torchwood Season with great emotional scenes' while another added it's 'the best-written serial of a television show I have ever seen'. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances – Gas mask wearing zombies? No thank you. – Gas mask wearing zombies? No thank you. Midnight – The Doctor battles an unseen entitiy that steals his voice? Terrifying stuff. – The Doctor battles an unseen entitiy that steals his voice? Terrifying stuff. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit – Doctor Who does The Exorcist. – Doctor Who does The Exorcist. Countrycide – Torchwood battle a bunch of cannablistic villagers who aren't even aliens… they just like how the meat tastes. – Torchwood battle a bunch of cannablistic villagers who aren't even aliens… they just like how the meat tastes. Blink – You know it you love it. You'll be too scared to watch it – You know it you love it. You'll be too scared to watch it Children of the Earth – Need I say more… Another user, meanwhile, claimed, 'Torchwood's Children of Earth should be rated H (Humans Only) for disturbing scenes that might give ideas to extraterrestrials. It's an enjoyable mini-series, filled with humour, good acting, and a brilliant plot. It's bloody excellent.' More Trending On Reddit, Brimstone747 added: 'Children of Earth dropped my jaw like nothing else on television. I kept waiting for The Doctor to show up and save the day.' Jarita12 perhaps put it best however when they wrote: 'Bloody amazing but really hard to re-watch.' Torchwood Children of Earth is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. View More » MORE: 'I lost my daughter in the London 7/7 bombings, this is her story' MORE: BBC quietly adds second season of TV series fans hailed 'bizarrely dark' MORE: Gary Lineker claims BBC should 'hold their heads in shame' for shelving Gaza documentary
Metro
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Doctor Who fans are convinced the show is dying – but they're wrong
Doctor Who has survived an awful lot. We've seen the Doctor fall off a giant telescope, absorb a lethal amount of radiation (twice), and even bump their head on the Tardis console, yet they still walked away to tell the tale. True, they might not have had the same face after these incidents, but that's pretty run of the mill for Time Lords. It's strange, then, that for the first time since 2005 and Doctor Who's triumphant return that it feels like the beloved sci-fi series is in peril. Low viewing figures, mixed critical reception, and growing fan antipathy have dogged the show over the last few series, and there's a fear amongst fans that the Doctor might be done for. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Yet, do you know who else has believed the Doctor was defeated over the years? The Daleks… and the Cybermen… and The Master. In fact, countless villains over the years have considered the Doctor to be beaten, only to be proven wrong, and recent news has me optimistic that the Last of the Time Lords can do the impossible once again. On June 12, the BBC announced that they're working on a new CBBC spin-off featuring the Doctor. According to the BBC press release, this new animated show – which is aimed at the pre-school audience — will see the Gallifreyan gadabout 'solving mysteries and problems alongside their companions and other friends'. Now I know what you're thinking. Why am I excited about the news of a show aimed at people who've only just learned object permanence? Well, there's a simple answer to that, I think this demonstrates that the Beeb still have faith in Who as a brand. After all, why would they be willing to invest in the wider franchise if they weren't sure if the series still had legs (and arms, hands, ooh, fingers, lots of fingers. Ears, yes, eyes too)? I must admit, in my darkest moments, I have entertained the terror that the Beeb might shelve Who, but this recent announcement has me convinced we're going to hear news on the main series return soon. Of course, there are already rumours online about where the series might be heading. There are unverified reports online that Disney is done with Doctor Who and that they won't be helping produce another season. On paper, that sounds like a massive blow, but before you start wailing into your Tom Baker scarf, there is some good news. Supposedly, the BBC is close to finding a new partner for the beleaguered series, which will allow them to continue Doctor Who in some form or another. What form will the show take next? Who knows? To paraphrase the Doctor, regeneration is a lottery; you never know what you're going to get, and so is renewal in the TV world. What I do know is that whoever takes it over is unlikely to have pockets as deep as Disney – unless it's Apple TV Plus, they're Scrooge McDuck rich – which means Who's going to have to make some adjustments. And you know what? I think that's great. The BBC may have grand ambitions for Doctor Who to be a big-budget affair like the MCU or other modern sci-fi series, but that's not what audiences watch the show for. They watch it because they love the characters, the stories, and the incredible creativity of the writers. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The House of Mouse's cash might have allowed the Doctor to go on bigger adventures than ever before through impressive special effects, incredible sets, and stunning CGI, but it also robbed the show of some of its underdog spirit. Now, the stereotype of every Doctor Who monster being made of a pedal bin with bubble wrap glued to it is a bit outdated, as is the belief that it's filmed exclusively in Welsh quarries. Yet it is true that the series' limited budget forced the show's writers and producers to get creative, which gave Doctor Who a certain charm all of its own. Monsters felt more real because they were just people in goofy costumes, not CGI behemoths. Alien worlds felt tangible because they weren't green screens, they were… well, to be honest, they were Welsh quarries, but they used other places in Wales too! More than that, I think the limited budgets pushed writers and producers to think their way out of problems, rather than throwing cash at them. There are plenty of examples from across the show's history, but the best example I can think of involves the iconic Tardis. Have you ever wondered why the Tardis is a blue police phone box? No, it's not because the chameleon circuit is broken. It's because the BBC didn't want to pay for a new prop every week. More Trending That's right, one of the most important pieces of iconography in British pop culture was born because some backroom accountant wanted to save a couple of quid. Glibness aside, I do think a big problem in recent years has been an overreliance on spectacle over character and plot (most notably in the last two season finales). With that in mind, I'm hopeful that whoever takes on Who will make Russell T Davies and his writers realise expensive CGI isn't a substitute for a coherent story. So what I'm saying to my fellow fans is that the Doctor might have been injured in recent months, and change may be coming, but the future of this wonderful show seems brighter than a regenerating Time Lord. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. View More » MORE: Sabrina Carpenter knew you'd hate her kinky album cover – that's the point MORE: Period tracking apps might sell our data – but women are trapped MORE: Race Across the World's Sioned shouldn't be sneered at for her tears
Metro
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The latest Doctor Who rumours give me hope the series won't die
Doctor Who has survived an awful lot. We've seen the Doctor fall off a giant telescope, absorb a lethal amount of radiation (twice), and even bump their head on the Tardis console, yet they still walked away to tell the tale. True, they might not have had the same face after these incidents, but that's pretty run of the mill for Time Lords. It's strange, then, that for the first time since 2005 and Doctor Who's triumphant return that it feels like the beloved sci-fi series is in peril. Low viewing figures, mixed critical reception, and growing fan antipathy have dogged the show over the last few series, and there's a fear amongst fans that the Doctor might be done for. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Yet, do you know who else has believed the Doctor was defeated over the years? The Daleks… and the Cybermen… and The Master. In fact, countless villains over the years have considered the Doctor to be beaten, only to be proven wrong, and new rumours have me optimistic that the Last of the Time Lords can do the impossible once again. We'll start with the bad news. There are unverified reports online that Disney is done with Doctor Who and that they won't be helping produce another season. On paper, that sounds like a massive blow, but before you start wailing into your Tom Baker scarf, there is some good news. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Supposedly, the BBC is close to finding a new partner for the beleaguered series, which will allow them to continue Doctor Who in some form or another. What form will the show take next? Who knows? To paraphrase the Doctor, regeneration is a lottery; you never know what you're going to get, and so is renewal in the TV world. What I do know is that whoever takes it over is unlikely to have pockets as deep as Disney – unless it's Apple TV Plus, they're Scrooge McDuck rich – which means Who's going to have to make some adjustments. And you know what? I think that's great. The BBC may have grand ambitions for Doctor Who to be a big-budget affair like the MCU or other modern sci-fi series, but that's not what audiences watch the show for. They watch it because they love the characters, the stories, and the incredible creativity of the writers. The House of Mouse's cash might have allowed the Doctor to go on bigger adventures than ever before through impressive special effects, incredible sets, and stunning CGI, but it also robbed the show of some of its underdog spirit. Now, the stereotype of every Doctor Who monster being made of a pedal bin with bubble wrap glued to it is a bit outdated, as is the belief that it's filmed exclusively in Welsh quarries. Yet it is true that the series' limited budget forced the show's writers and producers to get creative, which gave Doctor Who a certain charm all of its own. Monsters felt more real because they were just people in goofy costumes, not CGI behemoths. Alien worlds felt tangible because they weren't green screens, they were… well, to be honest, they were Welsh quarries, but they used other places in Wales too! More than that, I think the limited budgets pushed writers and producers to think their way out of problems, rather than throwing cash at them. There are plenty of examples from across the show's history but the best example I can think of involves the iconic Tardis. Have you ever wondered why the Tardis is a blue police phone box? No, it's not because the chameleon circuit is broken. It's because the BBC didn't want to pay for a new prop every week. More Trending That's right, one of the most important pieces of iconography in British pop culture was born because some backroom accountant wanted to save a couple of quid. Glibness aside, I do think a big problem in recent years has been an overreliance on spectacle over character and plot (most notably in the last two season finales). With that in mind then I'm hopeful that whoever takes on Who will make Russell T Davies and his writers realise expensive CGI isn't a substitute for a coherent story. View More » So, what I'm saying is that Disney dropping Doctor Who may wound the show. It may even force Doctor Who to change its face once again, but change can be for the better. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: I won't risk my safety by seeing Charli XCX at Glastonbury 2025 MORE: I've applied for 38 jobs and got nowhere – I blame ageism MORE: Tom Felton was asked about JK Rowling and immediately showed his privilege
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sue Stapely, PR doyenne of the Law Society who worked on Doctor Who and campaigned to free Sally Clark
Sue Stapely, who has died aged 79, began her career with the BBC, working on shows including Doctor Who and Z Cars; she retrained as a solicitor and in 1989 she joined the Law Society, the professional body for solicitors, to head its media relations operation, helping to turn the society into an effective lobbying organisation. Along the way, as a member of the SDP, she stood as a candidate for the party in the 1987 general election and was the first national chair of the 300 Group, which aimed to encourage more women into politics. Later on she worked pro bono on behalf of the campaign to free Sally Clark, the 37-year-old solicitor convicted in 1999 of the murder of her two infant sons. The convictions were eventually overturned in 2003, though Sally Clark never recovered from the experience and was found dead at her home in 2007. Susan Sly was born on July 11 1946 to Stanley Sly and Kathleen, née MacIvor, and joined the BBC in 1966. During her time with Doctor Who she was an uncredited director's assistant on The Invasion (1968), in which the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, takes on an army of Cybermen. She was involved in the scene in which the cyborgs march down the steps outside St Paul's Cathedral, even talking her then partner into one of the costumes. In 1972 she worked, again uncredited, on the series The Curse of Peladon, with the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. 'I recall vividly Alpha Centauri and a range of rather louche monsters and some fairly dodgy special effects, as well as rather too much time spent in the cold water tank in Ealing Studios filming fight sequences,' she told the Law Society Gazette. Sally and Stephen Clark, 1999: Sue Stapely offered her help pro bono in co-ordinating media interest in the case of Sally Clark - David Burges In 1968 she married Simon Stapely and after leaving the BBC to start a family in 1973 she studied law at Kingston University, and at the College of Law, where she qualified as a solicitor while her two sons were still young. After working for several years as a manager at various Citizens Advice bureaus, she joined the solicitors Heald Nickinson, where she became a partner, heading its family law department and setting up its public affairs department. In 1987 she was selected as SDP candidate for the safe Conservative seat of Chertsey and Walton, and expressed optimism that more women would be returned at the 1988 general election. 'When Mrs Thatcher was made prime minister many women were delighted,' she said, 'But they see her style of government now and her total refusal to promote women as unhelpful.' When the Law Society hired her to blow the dust off its PR in 1989, following the introduction of the 1988 Legal Services Act, which opened up legal services to a wider range of professionals, she jumped at the chance to head a new press and parliamentary unit. She pioneered the Law Society's Make a Will Week annual event, which gave some stuffier members of the profession the vapours when it was launched in 1991. Solicitors were encouraged to don lycra suits and pose as a Superman-style comic book character, 'Will Power' and dispatched to their local supermarkets to hand out promotional literature in a joint project with Safeway. She then launched a battle to save legal aid, in response to the Lord Chancellor's cuts to legal-aid eligibility levels, holding fringe meetings at party conferences and revitalising the Society's network of public relations and parliamentary liaison officers. In 1992 the campaign drew 2,000 solicitors to a lobby of Parliament. Three years later she came up with the idea of National Law Week, 'to show the positive side of the legal profession and to have some fun at the same time'. The first event saw more than 1,500 lawyers donning tracksuits for a three-and-a-half-mile run through the City; others threw open their doors to offer free legal advice, visited schools to explain the law and legal rights to young people, or went abseiling or go-karting, donated blood, or performed on stage to raise funds for charity. In 1972 she worked with the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee (pictured), recalling 'a range of rather louche monsters and some fairly dodgy special effects' - Alamy Shortly after she took up her role at the Law Society, Sue Stapely wrote to her old employers to beg the Archers scriptwriters to inject some professional dynamism into the terminally dull Ambridge solicitor Mark Hebden. She was invited to a meeting, became an adviser – and she remained on board long after Hebden's demise. She advised the scriptwriters on everything from agricultural tenancies, to the creation of the Asian female lawyer Usha Gupta, to the three-month imprisonment of mother-of-two Susan Carter for harbouring her fugitive brother Clive, which inspired the national 'Free the Ambridge One' campaign. 'It all got to a heady peak when I got a call from Michael Howard, who had returned from a trip abroad to be greeted by the constituent who started the campaign, requesting he overturn the sentence,' she recalled. Instead she provided the then Home Secretary details of similar cases, all of which involved equally harsh sentences. A regular contributor to programmes like Any Questions and Woman's Hour, Sue Stapely became famous within the profession for her media relations training courses. After one such event, a practice partner wrote to her to say that while the experience had been stimulating and challenging, '[a certain partner] is, on the whole, as well as can be expected. The men in white coats are optimistic that he will be available to sign letters and file his post within a few days.' In 1994 she published Media Relations for Lawyers (republished and updated in 2003), which included such sage advice as 'Stop pumping out press releases like shotgun blasts'; 'Stop patronising journalists. Some of them aren't as smart as you, but some are even smarter'; and 'Never lie, for as soon as your lies are spotted (and they will be) you will be permanently discredited.' Sue Stapely left the Law Society in 1995 following reports of strained relations with its newly elected president Martin Mears, and moved into reputation management as a director of the consultants Fishburn Hedges. She also did work for Edge International and Quiller Consultants, in addition to running her own consultancy from 2001. That year, suspecting a miscarriage of justice, she offered her help pro bono in co-ordinating media interest in the case of Sally Clark, who had been widely reviled in the media after being found guilty of murdering her two infant sons. The tide began to turn in May 2001 when, following a failed first appeal, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, in an unprecedented move, decided not to strike Sally Clark off the Roll of Solicitors. Sue Stapely used this decision as a launchpad for discussing a potential miscarriage of justice with the media. Subsequent investigations of the facts in the case and support from individual journalists and medical experts raised questions about the validity of the statistical and medical evidence used in Sally's trial. Then in July 2002, when the news broke that the case had been sent back to the Court of Appeal, Sue Stapely put the brakes on all media activity to ensure that the case was not jeopardised. Silence was maintained until the appeal was heard in January 2003, when Sally Clark's conviction was overturned. Edward Fennell in The Times described Sue Stapely's work on behalf of the campaign as 'outstanding'. Among an extensive CV of voluntary activities, Sue Stapely served as a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, chairman of Playground Proms (bringing classical music to schools in deprived areas) and a trustee of the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. She was a founding board member of the Media Standards Trust and raised funds for homeless and children's charities. Sue Stapely's marriage was dissolved in 2002, and in 2012 she married David Fitt. He survives her with the two sons of her first marriage. Sue Stapely, born July 11 1946, died April 29 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
