Sony/ATV extends deal with Cass Lowe

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe UK government has pledged to extend the furlough scheme, which covers 80% of worker wages, on the same day that England enters a second nation-wide lockdown.Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the scheme, which was meant to be wound down at the end of October, will now run until the end of March next year.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorUK COVID Supervisor Program The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) and the British Film Commission (BFC) are partnering to roll out a new accredited program of COVID supervisor training for film and TV production professionals. Backed by £100,000 investment from BFC, the new scheme is being developed in consultation with the Producers Guild of America’s Production Safety Task Force.

Meghan Markle, 39, is suing Associated Newspapers over five February 2019 articles in the Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website that published portions of a handwritten letter she wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after her marriage to Britain’s Prince Harry.Associated Newspapers is contesting the claim at the High Court in London.Markle, an American actress and star of TV legal drama “Suits,” married Harry, one of the grandsons of Queen Elizabeth II, in a lavish ceremony at

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: The San Francisco Chronicle, UK production company Ugly Duckling Films and Sony Music Entertainment are partnering to develop the first narrative podcast project from the Chronicle, a new true crime series called The Doodler.The podcast will tell the story of the ongoing hunt for the notorious serial killer known as the “Doodler” who targeted San Francisco’s closeted gay community in the 1970s and is suspected to have murdered up to 16 people.Hosted

SNP MP while Brexit talks are in limbo. Veteran SNP MP Pete Wishart told the Tory cabinet Minister that his a no-deal Brexit meant the UK would be leaving on “Mongolian terms”.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBBC Studios has inked a “multi-year” co-production and content sales deal with Chinese entertainment platform Bilibili, which aims to bring UK content to China and Chinese programming to the world.Under the agreement, Bilibili has already committed to co-producing BBC Studios’ landmark natural history shows The Green Planet, Dynasties II and The Mating Game. A new science series is also on the agenda, titled Odyssey into the Future and featuring Chinese author

covid test results at a Scottish laboratory. A Scottish Office spokesman denied there was any “capacity issue” at the UK Government’s Glasgow Lighthouse Lab.

Nicola Sturgeon’s plea not to travel south of the border to watch the Old Firm match at English pubs.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: UK sci-fi-drama film Infinitum: Subject Unknown has been picked up by Blue Finch Films for distribution in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. From producers Fizz and Ginger Films, the film is written by and stars Tori Butler-Hart (Two Down) with cameo roles for Lord Of The Rings star Ian McKellen and Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones).

Nicola Sturgeon said she's frustrated and depressed at the prospect of quitting the EU without a deal while the country faces up to a deadly second wave of coronavirus. The First Minister warned Boris Johnson should have been focused 100% on getting Britain out of a pandemic, not spending time on leaving Europe.

Boris Johnson has said unless there is a “fundamental change in approach” from the European Union then the UK will go for the “Australia solution” – Downing Street language for no-deal – in the Brexit trade talks.The Prime Minister said the UK must prepared for no trade deal with the EU from January in a sign that negotiations  with Brussels are coming to an end point.In a tv clip the Prime Minister said if the EU comes back “with a fundamental change of opinion” then the UK will listen.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorAmid a pandemic which is battering the UK economy and public health, Prime Minister Boris Johnson heaped more misery on the population today with news that the country should “get ready” for the prospect of a ‘no deal’ scenario with the EU on January 1.Speaking from Downing Street after an EU summit both sides said was the deadline for reaching a trade deal, Johnson said the UK was heading for what he termed “the Australian solution”.

Official Charts, Record Store Day UK and National Album Day are delighted to unveil the extension and relaunch of The Record Club in association with Bowers & Wilkins on 21 October for a new 12-month series.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: UK producer-financier Goldfinch has struck a first look deal with UK podcast creators Stakhanov, launching with missing bookie story 5 Dimes, which is being jointly optioned for production.The idea will be for Goldfinch to develop and produce TV series and narrative features and documentaries based on Stakhanov podcasts.

The British government on Monday announced grants of 257 million pounds ($335 million) to help almost 1,400 arts and cultural organizations survive the coronavirus pandemic. The money — the first chunk to be spent from a 1.57-billion-pound Culture Recovery Fund — was welcomed by arts organizations that have accused the government of neglecting them while supporting other businesses.