Wondery Launches UK Podcast; ITV Renews ‘McDonald & Dodds’; UK Cinemas Survey – Global Briefs

UK Screen Industries Survey Highlights Socio-Economic ImbalanceA new survey has found that the majority of people working in the UK’s screen industries are from a background that is classified as ‘privileged’. The survey, conducted by the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre and backed by ScreenSkills, analyzed data from the latest edition of the Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey in 2019.

The UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the BFI have announced the launch of the UK Global Screen Fund, the one year pilot fund designed to help plug the sizeable gap left by the absence of Creative Europe’s MEDIA funding post-Brexit.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the British Film Institute (BFI) have formally launched an export booster fund to replace the European tap that ran dry with Brexit.Grants disbursed from Creative Europe’s MEDIA program were worth an average of €18.5 million ($22.2 million) a year to the cultural and audiovisual sectors in the U.K. and ceased once Brexit came into effect.The new U.K.

EXCLUSIVE: British-born Eurasian actor Mayling Ng (Wonder Woman) has joined the cast of UK-set boxing drama The Journeyman and will star opposite retired UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping.

Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is launching a new industry event focusing on Africa. The Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, hosted in collaboration with the Realness Institute of Africa, will take place online from 26 September to 2 October 2021 and will welcome 10-12 participants from all over the African continent.

BAFTA Names TV Awards Hosts Richard Ayoade is returning to host the BAFTA Television Awards for the second year, while actor, writer, and director Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam) has been named as the host of the British Television Craft Awards. The main TV awards have been scheduled for June 6 on BBC One, while the craft ceremony will take place on May 24. Nominations will be announced on April 28 at 7:30AM local time in the UK.

Disney Hires Netflix EMEA Exec Emma Smart Disney has recruited Emma Smart, Netflix’s London-based director of business affairs for original series, as its VP for business affairs, originals. Smart will report to Diego Londono, Disney’s EVP, media networks and content, negotiating UK-based original productions, as well as having oversight of European production deals.

Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys and the late Amy Winehouse have all performed at the venue in the past.The launch of Forum Birmingham in the summer will see the building reopening once again as a 3500-capacity music venue, with a host of line-ups set to be announced at the end of the month – pre-sale tickets and further information will be available from here.Slowthai was the first act to be announced to be playing at the Forum Birmingham, with the rapper set to stop at the venue on his 2022 UK and

Joseph Siravo, known for his role as Tony Soprano’s ruthless dad on The Sopranos, died on Sunday at 64 years old. The actor had been battling cancer since 2017 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. In 2019, he shared his story with NYU Langone Health, revealing he was also diagnosed with color cancer and had part of his colon removed.

Leonine Confirms U.S. Date For Spy City

coronavirus health and safety measures.At present England is set to reopen indoor cinemas on May 17.Cinema First, the cross-industry body that promotes cinemagoing in the UK, has as its core constituents the Film Distributors’ Association (which represents UK film distributors) and the UK Cinema Association, representing UK cinema operators.Iain Jacob, Cinema First chair, said [via Variety]: “After a long period of lockdown, it’s great to see that such a large proportion of the public can’t wait

Naman Ramachandran Global podcast publisher Wondery is launching its first U.K.-produced podcast, entitled “British Scandal,” with a trifecta of stories that rocked Britain and shocked the world.The three seasons are narrated by co-host of the award-winning podcast “My Dad Wrote a Porno” and ex-Radio 1 presenter Alice Levine, alongside comedian, host of “The Political Party Podcast” and former political advisor Matt Forde.“British Scandal” launches with the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko,

tax officials they were closed during lockdown, are among businesses being targeted by a UK Government taskforce. Investigators working for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have also found one company which saw higher sales in August than before the coronavirus pandemic began, even though it claiming it had sent all its workers home.

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British activewear brand Sweaty Betty have made a huge step towards diversifying their reach as they’ve announced the launch of a hijab within their latest fitness collection. Launched this week, their technical Hijab is designed for training and has undergone wearer trials to ensure it is breathable and lightweight to wear.

Stacey Solomon has had a busy few months! She released her first book recently and found her €1.3m ‘forever home’ and now there’s yet another exciting venture on the horizon.