Latest news with #WhitstablePearl
Cosmopolitan
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
'A heart-pounding watch': In Flight is the new thrilling Katherine Kelly drama from creators of Slow Horses
A gripping new drama is landing on Channel 4 next month - and it's guaranteed to keep us on the edge of our seats. From the creators of Slow Horses and Marcella, In Flight, stars Katherine Kelly as Jo Conran, a single mother who is thrust into a dangerous criminal underworld. When her son is jailed in Bulgaria for a murder he says he didn't commit, Jo is blackmailed by a ruthless gang into using her airline job to smuggle drugs across the globe. With her son's freedom hanging in the balance, Jo is forced to make impossible choices - and the stakes couldn't be higher. Intrigued? Ahead of the launch, read on for everything you need to know about the series including the release date, cast, and latest news. In Flight is currently planned to air early August 2025. We'll update you right here with an exact start date and time once we know more. The six-part series stars Katherine Kelly as Jo, a single mother and flight attendant whose life takes a dark turn when her teenage son is sentenced to 15 years in a Bulgarian prison and she's forcing Jo to smuggle drugs for a gang who has inside knowledge on his case. "[Jo] soon finds herself pulled into a murky underworld of corrupt cops and hired killers, forced to carry out their orders with no escape in sight. However, no matter how far Jo finds herself from her old life, her mission remains the same, to keep her son alive," Channel 4 revealed. "Set against the fast-paced, high-pressure backdrop of international air travel, In Flight follows Jo's relentless quest to protect her family while entangled in a dangerous criminal syndicate." Speaking of her role, Katherine Kelly said: "I am really excited to be taking on the role of Jo and I can't wait to tell her compelling story. I am delighted to be working with Buccaneer Media again and it's joy to be filming in Belfast." The series is written and co-created by Mike Walden (Marcella, Whitstable Pearl) and Adam Randall (Slow Horses, iBoy), who have called it "our spin on the noir genre, a high stakes, stylish, romantic thriller with iconic characters and nerve shredding action." Katherine Kelly, who many will recognise from Coronation Street, Strike Back and Mr Bates vs The Post Office leads the cast. Below is a full list of cast members and the roles they play: While a release date hasn't been confirmed just yet, the episodes will be available to watch live on Channel 4. They'll also be available to stream on the broadcaster's Video on Demand (VoD) service. In Flight airs on Channel 4 in August 2025.
Telegraph
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Frances Barber: ‘Trump is the only politician who doesn't talk like a focus group'
Frances Barber greets me by apologising for wearing dungarees: 'I've changed twice already today. I just don't know what to wear in this heat.' At least there is air-con at the central London hotel where we have met, unlike, she says, in her open-plan Clerkenwell warehouse flat, where she ordinarily likes to conduct interviews, and which is, apparently, fabulous – a roll-top bath standing bang in the middle of the living room. 'There's a picture of it in a magazine,' she says with a throaty purr when I express regret at not seeing this thing, which has allegedly been the centrepiece of many an excellent party. It's the only faintly affected comment that this most glamorous-looking of actresses, whose feline eyes have graced characters from Camille to Cleopatra throughout a four-decade career, makes throughout our interview. In fact, dungarees feel rather apt; they are the sort of thing Barber's character Dolly might wear in the seaside crime comforter Whitstable Pearl, which is beginning its third season on U&Drama. Dolly is a classic Barber role – the interfering, opinionated, rather wacky mother to the eponymous Pearl (Kerry Godliman), herself an amateur sleuth who cracks the inordinate number of crimes that seem to take place in this bougie Kent coastal town with rather more aplomb than the local detective, Mike. Dolly attends CND marches, dyes her hair maroon and likes to tell her daughter how it is, particularly where Pearl's love life is concerned. I suggest Barber, 67, and a political firebrand in her time, is a bit like this, too. 'Perhaps a little. I've always had a bit of a 'Don't give a s---' attitude. I grew up watching Coronation Street, and I only ever wanted to be Audrey in the hairdresser's. These women were witty, spoke their minds, and they were survivors. Women my age don't want to see ourselves on TV as depressed and washed-up people who have lost everything. We want to see women who are carrying on and having a laugh.' There is certainly an indefatigable fearlessness about Barber. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes. She has spoken out against the silencing of gender-critical views in the trans-rights debate and in 2020 signed an open letter defending JK Rowling after the author received death threats. A brave move, surely, given the prevalence of anti-Rowling sentiment within the acting community? 'I didn't think I was brave, I thought it was common sense,' she says. 'It's sometimes hard to take a stand, but I was lucky – I had no kickback that I know about. I know a lot of women lost their livelihoods in publishing and other occupations [for saying something similar], but I'm still working.' She's also taken a stand over anti-Semitism, resigning from her beloved Labour Party in 2017 because of Jeremy Corbyn. We're speaking the week after Glastonbury and Barber is appalled by the death chants against the Israel Defense Forces led by the rap duo Bob Vylan. 'It's horrifying and I can't bear it. Why didn't the BBC cut it off? I have gigantic sympathy with what's going on in Gaza, but I don't understand the mentality of those who tear down yellow ribbons [put up in solidarity with those kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 2023] and photos of hostages. I'm not Jewish, but my Jewish friends are very scared.' Barber has always been politically outspoken, briefly dallying with the Socialist Workers Party in her youth, and was a vocal protester against Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s. 'My generation, we hated Thatcher. The poll-tax riots, Brixton; we thought she was an abomination.' Yet, earlier this year, she voiced the Iron Lady in When Maggie Met Larry, a Radio 4 drama about Thatcher's covert campaign at the start of her political career to remodel her voice, for which she turned to Laurence Olivier for advice. In researching Thatcher, Barber found her opinions starting to shift. 'I still don't agree with anything she did, but she believed in every single thing she did and said, and she communicated that to the public,' she says. 'She was a working-class girl from Grantham, which was thrown in her face over and over again [by her fellow MPs], yet even though she had changed her voice, that's why people loved her because she felt one of them. Trump recognises this quality, but he's the only politician who does. Everyone else these days speaks like a focus group. Even Farage. And no one says what they really think. Everything is a U-turn.' These days, Barber is a firm moderate. She tweeted in outrage when Keir Starmer last year removed Thatcher's portrait from his study in No 10. 'I thought that was petty. She was a prime minister, she achieved a huge amount, whether you agree with her or not. That sort of point-scoring appeases no one. I want all my politicians to be bigger than that.' She worries that Britain is in danger of losing its political identity. 'At heart, I'm a centrist. And Britain has always been a moderate country. Yet today it seems as though we can't talk to each other anymore. But extremes don't solve anything.' Barber, who has never married and has no children, grew up the fourth of six children on a Wolverhampton council estate and only thought about acting when a teacher at her grammar school suggested it. She studied drama at Bangor University, where she met and had a relationship with the director Danny Boyle and began her career in theatre, later joining the RSC, before branching into films, notably Hanif Kureishi's Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and Prick Up Your Ears, opposite Gary Oldman. Roles in independent films and mainstream television followed, including Doctor Who and Silk, plus a stint working in French cinema. 'I've always had a bit of a mercurial career,' she says airily. 'I was never the long, blonde ingenue, so it was easier to be a character actress. I was playing the mother of a teenager when I was 25. I thought at the time, 'I'll never get to play Juliet'. Now, I'm delighted I never did.' There's certainly never been anything of the ingenue about Barber, who on stage and screen excels at combining sexual playfulness with a certain gimlet froideur. Later this year, she revives one of her most irrepressible creations, Billie Trix – the fictional rock chick dreamt up by Jonathan Harvey for the Pet Shop Boys musical Closer to Heaven, who, thanks to the solo show Musik, now has a spin-off life of her own. Barber describes Trix as a 'crazed old rock star who may or may not be telling the truth about anything'; with her rebel spirit and raddled cool, Trix also sits in a Venn diagram with Debbie Harry, Nico and Marianne Faithfull. 'People love Billie because she is still doing what she was doing at 20, still snorting cocaine, breaking the rules,' says Barber, who has been anxiously practising getting up off the floor in high heels ahead of Musik's run at Wilton's Music Hall, in London, in October. 'Look at Lulu and Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood at Glastonbury, with a combined age of something ridiculous and yet still having a ball. As someone said, they've probably lived on a diet of cigarettes and Jack Daniel's, and yet they looked amazing. I do think the younger generation, who are into clean living, don't break so many rules. And you think, 'Why is it frowned upon when women my age behave inelegantly?' But the thing is, women my age have everything to celebrate.' There's a streak of similar defiance in Dolly, who always looks as though she's about to crack open a bottle of whisky regardless of where she is. Barber defends Whitstable Pearl against those who might dismiss it as yet another TV cosy-crime snooze. 'Not so long ago, you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing a woman being dismembered in a gritty thriller. I was repulsed by that, and I do think it normalised [a certain level of violence against women] in some way,' she says. 'So thank God we seem to be over that. The news is so horrible, it's nice to watch something that's a little bit relaxing. And I know in America, they really hate Scandi noir. Because that's their reality. They live it.' Barber also has a recurring role in The Chelsea Detective, a tougher police procedural starring Adrian Scarborough. In one episode, the murderer of a pop star was found to be lurking within the police force. Does Barber feel something has changed in the way we think about those responsible for catching criminals in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard? 'I do feel we are in a massive pickle in this country when it comes to the police. We used to believe we could trust them, and that's been taken away from us. So it's no surprise when you see crime drama going in that direction. It has to reflect the reality. Ninety per cent of the police force is good, but the distrust that now exists towards them has to be tackled.' Barber remains frantically busy – she's just completed filming her first horror film, while another movie, A Mother for an Hour, is in post-production. She can't imagine not working. Nor, you sense, can she imagine quietly withdrawing to the shadows. 'I've just finished a small independent film in which I played a little old woman in a nursing home, smoking spliffs in the corridor. Ian [McKellen, the pair are great friends] told me, 'It's only a matter of time'.' You can well believe it. Even in retirement, Barber will almost certainly still be breaking all the rules
Business Upturn
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Is ‘Whitstable Pearl' returning for season 4? Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on July 18, 2025, 20:00 IST Last updated July 18, 2025, 12:45 IST Fans can't get enough of Whitstable Pearl , the British crime drama that's got everyone hooked on its seaside mysteries and charming characters. Picture this: Whitstable's windswept beaches, cozy pubs, and Pearl Nolan digging into the town's secrets. Season 3 left viewers craving more, but is a fourth season coming? Here's the rundown on everything known so far. Has Whitstable Pearl Season 4 Been Confirmed? Here's the deal: as of July 18, 2025, no official announcement has confirmed Whitstable Pearl Season 4. Acorn TV and Buccaneer Media, the show's producers, haven't dropped any news about a renewal. Online chatter, especially on Reddit, shows fans speculating and hoping, but nothing's set in stone. No premiere date, no production hints—zip. Still, there's reason to stay optimistic. Acorn TV jumped on renewing Season 3 before Season 2 even aired, which shows they're big on the series. The fanbase is vocal, loving the cast and that laid-back coastal charm. Julie Wassmer's books offer plenty of material to mine, so a fourth season feels like it could happen. For now, though, it's a waiting game. Keep an ear out for updates from Acorn TV. What to Expect in Whitstable Pearl Season 4? No confirmation means no solid details, but imagining what a fourth season might look like is half the fun. Based on the show's track record and fan buzz, here are some possibilities. Fresh Coastal Crimes Every season delivers new mysteries, blending quirky locals with proper suspense. Season 3 had cases like a dodgy psychic and a decades-old cold case. A fourth season would likely serve up more of that—think a shady deal at the harbor or a murder tied to a Whitstable festival. Writers like Mike Walden mix book-inspired plots with original stories, so there'd be no shortage of clever twists. Pearl and Mike: Romance or Tease? The slow-burn chemistry between Pearl and Mike keeps fans glued. Season 3 dropped hints of something deeper, but Pearl's with Tom, and Mike's got his own baggage. Would a new season finally spark something romantic, or keep stringing viewers along? The tension's half the fun, but a little progress wouldn't hurt. The Cast That Shines If Season 4 gets the go-ahead, expect the core crew back: Kerry Godliman as Pearl Nolan, the heart of every investigation. Howard Charles as Mike McGuire, all brooding intensity. Frances Barber as Dolly Nolan, tossing out one-liners and stealing scenes. Robert Webb as Tom Grant, the chill boyfriend vibe. Isobelle Molloy and Rohan Nedd as Ruby and Charlie, keeping things lively. Sophia Del Pizzo as DS Nikki Martel, who fans are begging to see more of. New guest stars could pop up for each case, and maybe some familiar faces like Kat (Emily Head) would return. Whitstable's Picture-Perfect Backdrop Whitstable's beaches, harbor, and pubs are practically characters themselves. Filming happens in real Kent spots—think Whitstable Yacht Club or The Old Neptune—plus nearby towns like Margate and Dover. A new season would likely lean into that coastal magic, maybe tossing in a fresh location for variety. Dolly Running the Show Dolly Nolan, played by Frances Barber, is a total standout. Season 3 let her play detective when Pearl was swamped, and fans on social media can't stop raving about her. A fourth season better give Dolly more chances to snoop and sling zingers—she's the secret sauce. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
