‘Akilla’s Escape’ Canada Deal; Raw Hires BBC Studios Exec; Britbox UK First Factual Series — Global Briefs

The BBC has declined to comment on a report that Jodie Whittaker is set to hang up her sonic screwdriver and quit as the 13th Doctor in the British broadcaster’s iconic sci-fi series Doctor Who.

Diversity star Ashley Banjo has given fans a hilarious insight into fatherhood with footage of his New Years Day all with his daughter Rose.The former Britain’s Got Talent winner shared a video on his Instagram account of himself and his young daughter on a stroll, but as most parents know these are not always as simple as a walk in the park. In the video the dancer and judge is holding his one-year-old little girl by her coat as as she hangs horizontal to the ground.

direct to your inboxGood Morning Britain presenter Adil Ray has offered some hope to those who may be struggling with the prospect of spending Christmas alone. The TV host was back on the ITV news programme alongside Charlotte Hawkins after another weekend of announcements from the UK government.

Chris Rea‘s festive track ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ has started trending online following news that the UK is introducing new coronavirus restrictions for the holiday period.Earlier today (December 19), Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that his originally planned relaxed coronavirus rules for the Christmas period have now been scrapped.

Garden Studios, a 62,000 sq ft film and TV production site, is set to open in London in early 2021.

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Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of U.K. broadcaster BBC, is launching ad-free streaming channel BBC Select on Amazon Prime Video Channels and the Apple TV app in early 2021.The service will offer programs from the U.K.

BBC Studios has pulled the curtain back on its latest global streamer, BBC Select, which will go live across the U.S. and Canada early next year and is being characterized as a TV service for “independent thinkers.”

The line-up for the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK has been unveiled.  In a tweet shared on Monday, BBC confirmed the popular show, which sees judges RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr crown one contestant a UK Drag Race Superstar, will start from January 14 at 7PM, available to watch on iPlayer.

In his first lead role on British television, Oscar winner Christopher Walken has been tapped to star in The Offenders (working title), a six-part series for BBC and Amazon Prime Video, from The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant and Mayans M.C. co-creator Elgin James.

Gary Davey, the CEO of Comcast-owned Sky Studios, has announced his decision to retire in summer 2021 after more than a decade with the company.

UK Indie Pic Sets CastEXCLUSIVE: Crissy Rock, Paul Barber and Kayleigh-Paige Rees will lead the cast of UK indie movie Kate & Jake. The pic is being helmed by Jack McLoughlin, his feature debut, and is based on the filmmaker’s own experiences of love and loss.

Tom Hiddleston will be reprising his beloved Marvel role in the upcoming Disney+ series Loki, which is named after his character, and the first footage was just released!

Glasgow Film Fest Opener & Closer The 2021 Glasgow Film Festival is partnering with 22 cinemas across the UK to reach audiences that are not unable to travel to the event due to the country’s tiered lockdown system. The fest will open on February 24 with the UK premiere of Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari and will close on March 7 with the UK premiere of Suzanne Lindon’s Spring Blossom. Each of the 22 partner cinemas will show both the opening and closing titles.

Outlander Among BAFTA Scotland Winners

Sally Rooney’s breakout drama Normal People was the BBC’s most-streamed series of 2020, racking up 62.7M views since launching in April to help iPlayer to a record-breaking year.