Latest news with #NoughtsAndCrosses
Daily Mirror
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Masterpiece' crime thriller gets exciting update ahead of new season
No official release date has been shared as fans wait news on season 2. Fans of gripping crime dramas are in for a treat as the second series of a much-loved show is on its way. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, which first hit screens in 2024, quickly became a fan favourite. The plot, based on Holly Jackson's successful novel, revolves around the disappearance and presumed murder of Andie Bell, with her boyfriend being the main suspect. However, years later, Pip, harbouring doubts, embarks on her own investigation for a school project. Now, ahead of the second season, some exciting news has been revealed. The BBC, Netflix, and ZDFneo have announced new cast members joining the second series of this popular drama, along with the return of some familiar faces. Four newly released images provide a sneak peek at Emma Myers (known for her role in Wednesday) reprising her role as Pip Fitz-Amobi, alongside three fresh faces joining the mystery in the upcoming series. While an official release date for the second series remains under wraps, brand new first look images have been unveiled, reports the Manchester Evening News. Misia Butler (KAOS) will be introduced as Stanley Forbes, a peripheral figure in the investigation whose connections might be more significant than they initially appear. Eden Hambelton-Davies (Tell Me Everything) will portray Jamie Reynolds, Connor's brother, a quiet yet well-liked local musician whose sudden vanishing sends ripples through the community. Viewers will also recognise Jack Rowan (Noughts And Crosses) who will take on the role of Pip's new neighbour, Charlie Green. The BBC has tantalised viewers with a glimpse into the next chapter of Pip's life: "After solving the Andie Bell case Pip's world has been transformed by her actions, and not always for the better. Pip is determined to fix the fallout - and stay away from any more investigations. But as Max Hastings' trial approaches, Connor's brother Jamie suddenly disappears and Pip finds herself in a race against time to find him." They added: "This new mystery will take Pip to unexpected places as she struggles with the idea of justice, straying even further from the 'good girl' she once was." The second series will feature new talents such as Anna Brindle (The Outs), Peter Sullivan (Around The World In 80 Days), Freddie Thorp (Fate: The Winx Saga), Lu Corfield (The Crow Girl), Stephanie Street (Breathtaking) and Freddie England. These newcomers join the established ensemble from the first series, including Zain Iqbal (Death, Whatever!), Henry Ashton (My Lady Jane), Asha Banks (My Fault: London), Yali Topol Margalith (The Tattooist of Auschwitz), and Jude Morgan-Collie (Here We Go). The show continues to captivate audiences, with glowing reviews still coming in. A fan exclaimed: "FIVE STARS! ! ! As someone who has read the entire trilogy and fell in love with its well-rounded characters, cozy setting, and carefully crafted plot so fast, it's safe to say that my expectations for the show were quite high." Another viewer praised: "An absolutely stunning story that follows the book perfectly, the acting cast was perfect and on the dot. Absolute masterpiece!" A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is available to stream on Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Noughts and Crosses: Like being battered over the head with a strobe light
First published in 2001, Noughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman's racially-charged take on Romeo and Juliet, pulls no punches in depicting the devastating impact of racism. Nearly a quarter of a century on, its audacious imagining of a world divided into a black ruling class (Crosses) and a white persecuted underclass (Noughts) still has an eye-opening frisson. Yet, it comes a cropper in Tinuke Craig 's frenetic, over-emphatic revival of Dominic Cooke 's 2007 stage adaptation, which is more interested in making sure we understand the importance of its message than in making us care about the characters. It's like being battered over the head with a strobe light. The action takes place against Colin Richmond 's urban hellhole of a set, on whose concrete stairs and rusting balconies members of the cast hover throughout like ominous shadows. Here Sephy, the energetic 14-year-old daughter of the deputy prime minister Kamal (a Cross) and Callum, the rougher edged son of her family's former housekeeper (a Nought), tentatively pursue a clandestine relationship, snatching moments on the beach and, when they can, exchanging private notes. But their relationship is imperilled when Callum's father and brother become involved in a paramilitary terrorist organisation. Blackman's depiction of state-mandated segregation is much more pertinent to previous situations in South Africa and Northern Ireland than to the UK, a country tainted by a more invidious, slippery form of racism. But it does ram home the link between oppression and radicalisation and the pernicious impact of divided loyalties on family dynamics. Yet Craig's curiously context-free production gives precious little sense of how class and division actually operate. It doesn't help that the dialogue is often ham-fisted: 'Noughts are people just like us,' declares Sephy to her detached, wine-swigging mother, a cardboard cut-out of a depressed politician's wife. But Craig repeatedly ups the ante at the expense of specificity. No one talks when they can shout instead. Callum's mother Meggie (Kate Kordel), put through the wringer by a plot that never lets up, spends most of the time either screaming or wailing. Most of the supporting characters are poorly sketched, including Kamal, who doesn't so much radiate menace or implacable power as greasy, underwhelming ineptitude. More confusingly, there is often a disconnect between character reactions and the actual plot, which makes such great leaps in time and logic that the audience finds itself struggling to keep up. This matters in a story that ambitiously posits Callum as an adolescent boy dangerously split between vengeful fury and giddy teenage love. Noah Valentine plays him with a beguiling mix of innocence and truculence but he struggles in a hectic storyline that at times borders on incoherence. And although Corinna Brown gives Sephy a vivacious stage presence, she can't find the weight required to give her relationship with Callum the emotional heft it needs. The more Craig goes for shock and awe, the more she leaves you exhausted and bored. Not a great combination.
The Independent
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Queen welcomes stars to palace for young writers' competition
The Queen welcomed a star-studded line-up to Buckingham Palace for the final of a national writing competition, including Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, comedian Matt Lucas, and two Gladiators dressed in Lycra. The BBC 500 Words competition, which received almost 44,000 entries, encourages children of all abilities from across the UK to write. Before the final on Wednesday, Camilla met BBC executives, hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp, and judges comedian Sir Lenny Henry, screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Noughts And Crosses writer Malorie Blackman, Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon and actor Charlie Higson. The Queen presented the medals and the winners will be announced during a special episode of the BBC's The One Show on March 6, World Book Day. The young finalists had their entries read in the palace's ballroom by a group of celebrities who included Colman, Lucas, McFly's Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher, and actress Rose Ayling-Ellis. Camilla gave a speech at the final, during which she said: 'Some decades ago, a famous author said this: 'You can make anything by writing'. He was quite right. 'By his writing, this man made many things: a wintry land that could only be entered through a wardrobe, mysterious creatures that could talk and play the flute, boxes of enchanted Turkish Delight and a lion whose roar could break spells. 'He was, of course, CS Lewis, whose The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe was published exactly 75 years ago. 'Just like CS Lewis, you have proved through this competition that 'you can make anything by writing'.' The stars met Camilla after the final and she chatted about Strictly Come Dancing with Fletcher, who told her he had competed in the same year as Ayling-Ellis, but 'didn't do quite as well'. Speaking to Lucas, the Queen praised the 'fantastic' stories the children had written, and he replied: 'I need to up my game as a writer, I'm very fearful,' adding 'they're all going to overtake me'. Camilla said she hoped the children will keep on writing. The One Show's Alex Jones introduced the Gladiators to the Queen, saying 'then we have Harry, but you might know him as Nitro', which was met with laughter. Nitro told the Queen that the Gladiators 'seem to have such a pull with these young children, which is amazing'. After the recording of the final in the ballroom, Camilla hosted a reception in the picture gallery. After the final, Sir Lenny told reporters that for the children it was 'sort of the most extraordinary day ever'. He said: 'What a great day, is my big thought, to stand here with the Queen and watching all these kids from all over Britain arrive to the ballroom is a wonderful thing, and you can see their eyes, they're like, 'what, I was in my living room this morning, and now here I am'. 'It's sort of the most extraordinary day ever.' He added that the Queen promoting literacy was 'good', saying: 'We need public figures to promote literacy in this country, because we want kids to read more.' Asked what his thoughts on audio books were, he said: 'As somebody who listened to all of Treasure Island from London to Cornwall once, with my daughter, I think that anything that draws a child into listening to a story and wanting to know what happens next is brilliant. We should support that.' Sir Lenny said: 'I've always loved reading, so I think it's one of the reasons why I am who I am, because I read all the time.' Higson, the author of the first novels in the Young Bond series, said he often wonders 'how I would have turned out if we had smartphones and computers and tablets when I was a kid, because I spent my whole time writing'. He added: 'It's so encouraging and exciting that kids still write stories, still enjoy stories and, you know, every year we get the package of the final 50 stories and you think, what are we going to get this year?' Higson said it was 'fantastic' that the Queen was promoting literacy, adding: 'She genuinely is passionate about it. 'She does a lot of work in that area. She used to read to her grandchildren.' He said the day must be 'very surreal' for the children. Asked for his thoughts on Amazon MGM Studios taking creative control of the 007 character, he said: 'Well, I think it's going to be really exciting to see what happens. I've got no inside information. 'Obviously, it would be lovely if they did consider doing something with my books. 'It's the start of a whole new chapter.' Asked if he was positive about it, he said: 'I think so, you know, as a Bond fan, you think, well, you know, let's get some more Bond stuff like that.' He said he thought there has been a 'slight problem' over the last 20 years where 'there hasn't quite been enough Bond coming out'. The Queen met children including Camilla Birkett, seven, from Reading, who said she spoke to the Queen about their names and how both of their dogs had recently died and they had both got new dogs. She said: 'She's called Camilla Rosemary and I'm called Camilla Rose.' Claire Birkett, Camilla's mother, said her daughter's conversation with the Queen was 'really lovely', adding: 'She told us that she totally understood how you would feel, and that her dog died too, and that she'd got a new puppy.' Nitro, whose real name is Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, said he met the late Queen Elizabeth II 'as Harry' at Buckingham Palace, adding: 'Last time I was dressed well and to be fair I did come dressed correctly, and once they told me that they wanted me in my outfit, I thought 'my oh gosh, I must have set history as surely I must be like the least-dressed man in this room'.' Since the competition was launched in 2011, by Chris Evans on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, it has received more than one million stories from children throughout the UK. The judges, with new judge, singer Olivia Dean, came together previously at Buckingham Palace, chaired by The One Show's Alex Jones, to read the stories and deliberate on the finalists. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of six winners from two age categories, five to seven and eight to 11, with recognition given to gold, silver, and bronze recipients in each group.
