All posts tagged: ITVs

70 Up review – ITV’s invaluable study of the human experience airs its final chapter

70 Up review – ITV’s invaluable study of the human experience airs its final chapter

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter The world you’ll often hear mentioned around discussions of ITV’s Up franchise is “experiment”. In broadcasting terms, it was certainly that – a project of unprecedented scope and patience, exploring the lives of 14 people from disparate class backgrounds at seven-year intervals, from childhood up until the age of 70. For the bulk of its run, the “experiment” was steered by documentarian Michael Apted, a researcher on the original Seven Up! who directed every entry from 7 Plus Seven (1970) through to 63 Up (2019). Since Apted’s death in 2021, directorial duties have passed to Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of profile documentaries Amy and Senna. 70 Up, the final entry in the series, finds the surviving participants mostly retired, in a mode of hyperopic reminiscence. Split over two feature-length episodes, it almost has the feel of a clip show; most …

ITV’s 70 Up series to air two bonus programmes alongside final chapter

ITV’s 70 Up series to air two bonus programmes alongside final chapter

Published by Daniella Wilson

ITV is preparing to close one of television’s longest-running documentary projects with two feature-length episodes of 70 Up, the tenth and final chapter of the landmark Up series that has followed the same group of Britons since 1964. The broadcaster has confirmed that 70 Up will conclude the series, with the finale (2 x 90 minutes) directed by Oscar-winning film-maker Asif Kapadia and airing on ITV1 and ITVX later in 2026, though an exact date has yet to be announced. Alongside the finale, ITV will also air two additional companion programmes, also directed by Kapadia, drawing on original participants and rediscovered archive footage of 70-year-olds filmed in earlier decades, including people born in the Victorian era. Want to see this content? This page contains content provided by YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as YouTube may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose ‘Accept and continue’ to allow YouTube and its required purposes. Accept and continue The Up series began with 7 Up in 1964, following 14 seven-year-old …

ITV’s Robert Peston: “AI revolution will be possibly be the most important”

ITV’s Robert Peston: “AI revolution will be possibly be the most important”

Published by Daniella Wilson

When Robert Peston is panicky – and right now he is – the rest of the world should probably worry, too. The political editor of ITV News is, after all, the man who predicted both Covid and the 2008 global financial crisis while others blithely downplayed the dangers. “I do have a feeling of, ‘Why don’t people listen to me when I say things are about to go awfully badly wrong?’” he admits. “In the spring and summer of 2007 I was warning that what was happening in the banking sector was going to cause enormous harm to us all, and lots of politicians and people in the City wrote to the BBC [where he was business editor] to say I was scaremongering and needed to be closed down. A few years later, I’d made a ton of documentaries about China, and knew it well, and had been to Wuhan, so when this mysterious new virus turned up at the end of 2019 I said to anyone in government who would listen to me, ‘This …

The Dark review – ITV’s terrifying cop show has pitch-black levels of grimness

The Dark review – ITV’s terrifying cop show has pitch-black levels of grimness

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter True to its name, ITV’s new primetime detective drama is dark. Really dark. Pitch-black levels of grimness and intrigue enough to effectively entice the British viewer, who by now is desensitised to seeing just any old dead body on screen. No, the corpses we want to pore over with our nighttime cuppa and chocolate digestive have to be unusually grisly to get our attention, and the ones in The Dark fit the bill – killed with meticulous, psychopathic care by a meticulous, psychopathic killer. Did I mention he wears a creepy mask too? An adaptation – is anything not, these days? – of GR Halliday’s crime novel From the Shadows, the six-part show taps into that familiar human impulse: to edge closer to what disturbs us and linger on it in HD for 45 minutes, not including ad breaks. In the …

The Dark cast: who stars in ITV’s Scottish thriller?

The Dark cast: who stars in ITV’s Scottish thriller?

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Dark is a six-part ITV thriller led by Laura Donnelly and Mark Rowley. Adapted from GR Halliday’s 2020 novel From the Shadows, the series follows Detective Monica Kennedy as she hunts a serial killer who is staging bodies across the remote Scottish Highlands. “When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, detective Monica Kennedy fears this is just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community,” reads the official synopsis. “As paranoia rises, suspicions and secrets are forced into the light, and the locals start to realise that there is a serial killer hidden amongst them.” Donnelly, best known for Outlander, is joined by a stellar supporting cast including Helen Baxendale, Emun Elliott, Stella Gonet, Tunji Kasim and Catherine McCormack. Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of The Dark and the characters they play. Laura Donnelly as DI Monica Kennedy Mark Rowley as DC Connor Crawford Helen Baxendale as Bethany Morgan Emun Elliott as …

Westlife and Boyzone stars tipped for ITV’s new I’m a Celebrity spin-off

Westlife and Boyzone stars tipped for ITV’s new I’m a Celebrity spin-off

Published by Daniella Wilson

It seems as though boyband fever may be reaching the wilds of Canada, as it’s been reported that I’m a Celebrity spin-off, The Wild Frontier, has signed up its first starry contestants. The Sun reports that ITV have wooed Brian McFadden of Westlife fame and Boyzone’s Keith Duffy into being the first pair of contestants to scribble across the dotted line for the new series. According to the publication, McFadden and Duffy have agreed to a “lucrative deal”, with each set to earn £100,000 for their stints on the show. Radio Times has approached ITV for comment. The format of the new show differs from the original as contestants will no longer compete as campmates but in pairs, whether it be as friends, couples or relatives. So, it tracks that McFadden and Duffy could be on course to join as mates. Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden. Kate Green/Getty Images for Bauer) Although the pair found fame in their respective separate boy bands, McFadden has gone on to appear in Dancing on Ice and Strictly Come Dancing’s …

Paul Gascoigne shares tearful health update on ITV’s GMB amid addiction recovery: ‘I don’t think about tomorrow’

Paul Gascoigne shares tearful health update on ITV’s GMB amid addiction recovery: ‘I don’t think about tomorrow’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Paul Gascoigne has said that he’s “the happiest” he’s been in five years following his addiction struggles, updating fans on his health in an emotional interview. The former footballer played for England at the height of his career, but has struggled off the pitch – having battled alcoholism and depression for decades. However, the 59-year-old revealed that “things are looking up” for him – and that he’s hoping to help others with his new book. “Everything’s going well for us,” he told Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on Wednesday (10 June). “It’s probably the happiest I’ve been in about five years, definitely, you know.” When asked why, he added: “Just in general, you know. The weather’s changed and [I] went and did a bit of fly-fishing and got deals with the book coming out. “When I played football, …

ITV’s Bullseye future ‘revealed’ following revival with Freddie Flintoff

ITV’s Bullseye future ‘revealed’ following revival with Freddie Flintoff

Published by Daniella Wilson

Bullseye will reportedly return for a second season and celebrity spin-off, once more hosted by former Top Gear presenter Freddie Flintoff. Filming for the new series is thought to begin in autumn, with a plan to air it on ITV later this year. An insider told The Sun: “The continued popularity of Bullseye means that as well as the new outing featuring members of the public playing the game, bosses are also looking at a celebrity version. “The most recent experiment, a Bullseye for Soccer Aid special, seemed to go down well with viewers so they’re looking at expanding that — possibly with a full series.” Radio Times has reached out to ITV for comment. Luke Littler on Bullseye. ITV The Bullseye revival first aired in December 2024 in the form of a Christmas special, before it returned for a full season on November 2025. The darts-themed TV show originally aired throughout the ’80s on ITV before being revived once more in 2006, with Dave Spikey previously as host. Though Jim Bowen was at the helm …

ITV’s ‘gripping’ 4-part crime drama Chasing Shadows is the ultimate hidden gem – and it can be binged in an evening

ITV’s ‘gripping’ 4-part crime drama Chasing Shadows is the ultimate hidden gem – and it can be binged in an evening

Published by Daniella Wilson

A gritty crime drama is one of the best genres out there, and thanks to its popularity, there’s never a shortage of one to tune in for. So if you missed the 2014 series Chasing Shadows, now is the perfect time to indulge yourself. With only four episodes, consisting of two two-part stories, it’s the perfect binge-watch for the weekend, and for fans of the serious tones and character-driven plots of Broadchurch, you will find plenty to like. Despite airing 12 years ago, the series can still be easily watched, as it continues to be available on ITVX, with no expiration date in the offing. The synopsis of the series reads: “DS Sean Stone is intense and socially awkward, a misfit who is happier dealing with data rather than people. His lack of people skills and forthright honesty make him some powerful enemies in the force, and he finds himself exiled to missing persons. WATCH: See the trailer for Chasing Shadows Sean’s new caseload is overwhelming – up to 300,000 people go missing in the …

Nobody’s Fool cast: Meet the players in ITV’s new game show

Nobody’s Fool cast: Meet the players in ITV’s new game show

Published by Daniella Wilson

It’s time to get familiar with a new game of secrecy and misdirection, as ITV launches Nobody’s Fool. Hosted by Danny Dyer and Emily Atack, the series follows 10 contestants whose fate is decided by how smart their fellow contestants think they are… Throughout the series, the contestants play quizzes in secret, as preconceptions, prejudices and first impressions come into play, with snap judgements and misdirection keeping the contestants, and viewers, guessing. After the quizzes, the players must determine who is the weakest amongst them and eliminate them. As each of the contestants sets out to prove their worth and value to the rest of the group, can the players suss out who is a genuine asset and who is simply faking it in a bid to stay in the game? With a new episode airing tonight (24 May), read on to learn more about the cast members. Nobody’s Fool John Melissa Omar Billy Ella Harry Kamaal Sonja Jackie Parissa Scroll on to learn more about the cast. John John. ITV Age: 73 Job: Banker Location: …