Wondery Inks First-Look Audio Deal With Campside Media; ‘Suspect’ Podcast In Works As TV Series At Amazon

Kate Garraway is reportedly "struggling" and is "considering options" after opening up about her £800,000 debt - a sum that accumulated after caring for her late husband Derek Draper during his four year health battle. Derek sadly passed away in January at age 56 after becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020, which subsequently saw him spend 100 days in a coma and require round-the-clock care and treatment. And Kate recently revealed that despite having a "well paid job", she "couldn't make it work" with her finances, due to the staggering cost of care.

Prolific British writer Sarah Phelps, whose television credits include A Very British Scandal, Dublin Murders and long-running BBC soap drama Eastenders, encouraged an audience of writers at Dublin’s Storyhouse festival not to get discouraged by trolls or hate mail for their work. 

Reading & Leeds would look very different this year if it weren’t for grassroots music venues.As revealed in a concept poster shared by the Music Venue Trust, the festival would be missing virtually all of its 2024 artists – including headliners Liam Gallagher, Fred again.., Lana Del Rey, Catfish And The Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon – if it weren’t for their foundations in grassroots venues.The reimagined poster highlights how many of today’s most successful artists came up by playing smaller music venues, which continue to face indefinite closure across the UK without urgent government action and investment.“Today’s festival headliners can only sell thousands of tickets because of the essential role played by these venues in their development,” the MVT shared in a social media post today (Monday 25).“Nurtured in grassroots music venues, they built their audiences from tens to hundreds, laying the foundation for their success on the grand stages of festivals like Reading & Leeds.”Check out the bare line-up poster below.The Reading & Leeds festival lineup poster, minus any artists who launched their careers in Grassroots Music Venues….Posted by Music Venue Trust on Monday, March 25, 2024Only artists like Reneé Rapp, who started in theatre, Digga D, who rose to prominence with freestyles, and Kenny Beats, who came from a production and industry background, would remain on the bill.It’s not just the Reading & Leeds line-up that would lose most of its acts were it not for grassroots music venues.

Esteemed British writer David Nicholls is not precious when it comes to adaptations of his novels and cites Netflix’s recent adaptation of his 2009 novel One Day as being a perfect example of how being open-minded to fresh ideas on established material can result in good work. 

Scripted formats were placed front and center of BBC Studios’ panel at Series Mania, as the Doctor Who seller confirmed it is making up to three more versions of Ghosts and has bought Spain’s Brutal Media.

Manchester Airport has announced a new direct route to a Moroccan coastal city. Royal Air Maroc will operate flights three times a week to Casablanca in the North African country.

Happy Valley's James Norton is starring in new Netflix IVF drama 'JOY', which tells the true story of Louise Joy Brown, the first person born through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in Oldham.

Amazon has struck first-of-its-kind deals with Japan’s Nippon TV and BBC for podcasts.

Glastonbury line-up poster has been edited to remove every artist that started their career in grassroots venues – and hardly any names are left standing.The first taste of the festival’s 2024 line-up was shared on Thursday (March 14), with Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA topping the bill.But as revealed by the Music Venue Trust’s edit of the poster on social media, the vast majority of the dozens of names announced so far started their careers coming through the small music venues that now find themselves straining under unbearable pressure in the UK in 2024.Yesterday I was read a quote from a senior figure in the live music industry which ran as follows: “We don’t see any problems in the pipeline for developing the next Ed Sheeran's etc due to grassroots music venues closing, the headliners are still coming”I call bullshit. https://t.co/vGe4RlBUIx— Mark Davyd (@markdavyd) March 16, 2024Only names such as Nigerian afrobeats superstar Burna Boy, the K-pop group SEVENTEEN and Camila Cabello, who rose to fame on the US version of The X Factor, remain when the direct beneficiaries of grassroots venues are taken away.Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd commented on the edited poster, writing on X/Twitter: “Yesterday I was read a quote from a senior figure in the live music industry which ran as follows: ‘We don’t see any problems in the pipeline for developing the next Ed Sheerans etc.

Giggs has announced a huge one-off headlining gig as part off Margate’s Summer Series, with Ghetts as a special guest.The ‘Zero Tolerance’ rapper will take over Dreamland in Margate on Saturday August 3 as part of this year’s series of shows.The gig will be a one-off chance to see these two legendary UK artists in the unique, summer setting of Dreamland Margate. Presenter and grime and rap tastemaker DJ Target will be hosting the gig.Speaking about the newly announced show date, Rob Waller, Founder and Programmer of the Margate Summer Series said: “We’re ecstatic to have Giggs and Ghetts joining us in Margate for this very special show.

The drama surrounding Princess Catherine’s doctored photo continues!

Alex Edelman’s upcoming comedy special, “Alex Edelman: Just for Us.” The special, which was recorded live at the Hudson Theatre in New York, will debut on HBO and be available to stream on Max April 6 at 10 p.m. ET/ PT. “Just for Us,” chronicles Edelman’s life as a Jewish man living on the east coast and revolves around how he once attended a meeting of White Nationalists after receiving antisemitic threats online.

Amy Dowden has been told she looks 'so beautiful' amid support from her co-stars after debuting her new look. The Strictly Come Dancing star is currently enjoying a holiday with her friend and fellow dancer pro Carlos Gu, where she showed off her fresh blonde locks.

Sophia Grace Brownlee is celebrating her first ever Mother’s Day!

What’s going on with Princess Catherine?

Since going public with their romance last month, Katie Price and Married At First Sight UK's JJ Slater have shared a string of loved-up pictures to social media. And this weekend was no different, with the smitten pair heading to the Country to Country festival on Saturday (9 March) at London's 02 Arena. However, as Katie, 45, marked the evening on social media, some fans were convinced there was a 'red flag' in the relationship, while others gushed over the couple.

British actress Viscella Richards, known as Vikki Richards on stage, has been found dead at 79. Her hands were tied up in her Caribbean home after what looks like a robbery. Viscella's friend found her on Wednesday, 6 March, in North Valsyn, Trinidad – they hadn't heard from her since Tuesday night and went to see if she was okay.

Alex Ritman Many of cinema’s hard men are notorious softies in real life. Ray Winstone may well be one of those, even if he admits to not looking particularly approachable.

Alex Ritman Astral Projection, the production company set up by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and British executive producer Polly Stokes (“American Honey,” “Wild Rose”) has signed a new first-look and development deal with Fremantle. The three-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all TV and film projects for Astral Projection, which co-produced “Dead Ringers,” Amazon’s six-part psychological thriller in which Weisz played both lead roles in a gender-swapped reimagining of the 1988 David Cronenberg film. Stokes, a former creative executive at Film4, and Weisz have a long-standing relationship and are building a slate of projects with Rebecca Servadio as Astral’s literary consultant.

Rachel Weisz and Polly Stokes are taking their slate to Fremantle.