Latest news with #HomeFires
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
ITV period drama 'like spoonful after spoonful of splendid jam' streaming for free now
Home Fires, which is currently available to stream for free on UKTV, is set in a fictional rural Cheshire community and follows the lives of members of the Great Paxford Women's Institute Crafted by ITV, Home Fires stands as a British period drama that unfolded across two series. Conceived by Simon Block and jointly helmed by Robert Quinn and Bruce Goodinson, this 2015 historical television programme chronicles the experiences of Great Paxford Women's Institute members on the Home Front throughout World War II. Drawing inspiration from Julie Summers' novel Jambusters, Home Fires unfolds in Great Paxford, a fictitious rural Cheshire village, and centres on the women's experiences as they face wartime adversity, limited supplies, and personal challenges during the conflict whilst discovering innovative methods to discover resilience and meaning through collective endeavours. The programme's inaugural series spans from September 1939 through to early 1940, whilst its second series commences during the summer of 1940. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast predominantly comprising women such as Francesca Annis, Samantha Bond, Leanne Best, Fenella Woolgar, and Claire Rushbrook, Home Fires attracted an average audience of 6.2 million throughout its debut series. The programme's second run achieved comparable triumph. Presently accessible to watch without charge on UKTV, the period drama maintains a flawless 100 per cent critics approval score on review aggregation platform Rotten Tomatoes, where it garnered glowing reviews, with one reviewer noting: "Home Fires offers British drama that's as satisfying as a warm cup of tea." As per the Express, another critic praised the series, saying: "It's more uplifting and affirming than challenging or surprising, and it is handsomely made with convincing period detail and a fine cast delivering top notch performances." Meanwhile, a third reviewer kept it simple, declaring: "This series is spoonful after spoonful of splendid jam." Viewers were equally smitten with the wartime drama, with one devotee gushing: "The name being Home Fires on Masterpiece, it doesn't lie about the Masterpiece part." Another fan raved: "Loved, loved, loved this series! ! Just heard they are doing a second season, hurray! Just good, clean TV about regular people dealing with irregular circumstances. Please continue the series." A third enthusiast observed: "The show follows several women and the challenges they face in supporting the war effort. Some of the story lines are more soap opera than others, but I am enjoying every minute." One admirer penned: "One of the many really good shows from England, Australia and New Zealand. Honest look at how life was during the Second World War. Shows the effect on the families and those left behind when the 'boys' go off to war." Just days following the airing of series two's final episode, ITV delivered crushing news that the programme wouldn't be returning for a third run - despite its triumph and leaving devoted fans absolutely gutted, who flocked to launching a campaign to resurrect the series, which gathered over 50,000 signatures. An ITV spokesperson announced: "The ITV commissioning team continues to refresh the channel's drama portfolio, hence the decision not to commission a further new series." Despite a spirited campaign, efforts to save the show fell flat, leading to its official axing in 2016.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alice Hirson, Soap Opera Vet and Mom to Ellen, Dead at 95
Alice Hirson, a veteran character actress whose TV credits included more than a half dozen daytime and primetime soaps, and who played mom to Ellen on the 1990s ABC sitcom, died Feb. 14 of natural causes, her son David told Hirson was 95. More from TVLine Kim Sae-ron, Star of Bloodhounds and Leverage, Dead at 24 Bruce French, Passions Actor, Dead at 79 David Lynch's Cause of Death Revealed After beginning her acting career in the 1950s with appearances on a few anthology series, Hirson joined ABC's daytime serial The Edge of Night in the series regular role of the vengeful and sometimes murderous Stephanie Martin. She went on to play Marcia Davis in both NBC's Another World and its offshoot Somerset, and in the early 1970s played Joe Riley's big sister, Eileen, on ABC's One Life to Live. TV Stars We Lost in 2025 View Gallery10 Images From there, Hirson's TV credits included episodes of Maude, The Waltons, Barnaby Jones and Taxi. In 1982, she had a short arc on ABC's General Hospital, which she followed up with episodes of Quincy M.E., Hotel and (the original) Matlock. On CBS' Dallas, Hirson had a run as Mavis Anderson, friend and confidante of Miss Ellie Ewing. That was followed by a series regular role on the NBC sitcom Home Fires, and in 1994 she made her debut as Ellen DeGeneres' TV mom, Lois Morgan, in the aforementioned Ellen. Hirson's more recent TV credits included Home Fires, 7th Heaven (as Jenny Jackson), The Secret Life of the American Teenager (as Mimsy), and a 2019 episode of Will & Grace. Best of TVLine Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Showtime Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More 'Missing' Shows, Found! The Latest on Severance, Holey Moley, Poker Face, YOU, Primo, Transplant and 25+ Others
