Our Entertainment Blog

  Photo Credit: Nicholas Dawkes Photography Judy Buxton first appeared on my television screen as Ruth Carpenter in the BBC TV series ' On The Up ' ('just the one, Mrs Wembley?') and she instantly commanded my attention. Unusually so actually as the 'villain of the piece', which I suppose Ruth was, is not normally the character I'm drawn to. Judy's chemistry with Dennis Waterman was undeniable though and although she wasn't spinning catchphrases and wrapped up in the full on comedy elements of the sitcom, I thought she was terrific. When you get to know Judy , it becomes apparent extremely quickly that she couldn't be further from Ruth in personality. The saying 'don't meet your heroes' definitely does not apply here!  Judy with Dennis Waterman in On The Up With a new actress on my radar, I had to backtrack to try and locate footage of her past credits and I have managed to watch a fair few of them now. Caroline in Rising Damp , Jo...

  Source: IMDB With the reboot of ' A Woman Of Substance ' gracing our television on Channel 4 this week, I appreciate that a photograph of Brenda Blethyn starring as Miriam in ITV's 'Outside Edge' may be unexpected as a header choice. However, it's the cricketing comedy from the pen of writer, Richard Harris , that turned my head. Subsequently throwing a spotlight on the award winning actress - in my world anyway, and suddenly I had a brand new obsession. I had also put another sitcom on my radar to bore my mom and dad to tears with trivia from. I often think they both deserved a medal! I was by no means a fan of cricket, no matter how much my dad tried to influence me, however I did develop a very limited knowledge. Where Miriam was concerned, I was fascinated by her transformation from doormat to refusing to fold Roger's pyjamas, to not suffering fools, to devoted wife sans doormat tendencies! With a young lad admitting to having a crush on her into the b...

Julia   Deakin  first appeared on my radar in BBC sitcoms ' So Haunt Me ' and ' Side By Side ', both of which I can still remember really well considering just a little bit of time has passed! In fact you can watch ' So Haunt Me ' on YouTube , and I do, regularly.  Julia as Brucella in Mother's Ruin with Dora Bryan In the mid-nineties I recall my parents' enthusiasm to give a new sitcom a try. It was called ' Mother's Ruin ', it starred the late, great Dora Bryan and Roy Barraclough , so on paper it promised to be decent. I think it was Sunday night viewing if my memory serves me correctly and I thought (and still think when I re-watch on YouTube ) that it was hilarious. Barraclough and Bryan  made a predictably smashing double act, however it's the third wheel, Julia who steals so many of the scenes, just with a simple and non-exaggerated, often gormless expression. Her character, Brucella, was inspired. From the Mrs Over...

  Ruth as the much-loved Gladys Pugh in Hi-De-Hi! I don't know of many 4 year olds who sported a yellow cardigan, whipped out their Fisher Price xylophone and sat cross-legged in front of the television whenever the opening chords of the Hi-De-Hi! theme tune rang out across the living room. I'd be very excited to meet some like-minded Gladys wannabes actually, I'm guessing you'd be in your mid to late forties now! If I'm describing a typical evening from your early years then ' Hi-De-Hi! ' to you * ding ding ding *.  Yes folks, when I grew up I wanted to be Gladys Pugh, then I wanted to be Ruth Madoc , then I just wanted to meet Ruth Madoc and write scripts for her. My mom successfully sent for a signed photo from Ruth and subsequently created a monster! Meanwhile, my poor dad tried hard to help me to meet my idol. We went on our holidays to Jersey quite often and on one such holiday, when I was approximately 10 years old, Ruth just happened to be appearin...

  Wednesday 25 February 2026 Reviewed by Helen McWilliams  Star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Midsomer Murders , is one of ITV's so-called cosy murder mystery television programmes based on the novels of Caroline Graham . Although if you've watched them all (I have!) then you'll know only too well that the setting may be cosy, however the body count per episode and the brutal nature of many of the murders makes for a far from cosy ambience. I'm shuddering as I type upon recalling the fate of a character called Mike Spicer in series 8 who was played by one of my all-time favourite actors, Robert Daws . Then there's the suicidal leap from the church roof for the late, great Richard Briers as Stephen Wentworth in series two. I was already familiar with The Killings At Badger's Drift as it is the very first episode of the highly successful and much loved TV drama. Would it translate on stage? I was keen to find out and my plus one on this occasion was my 12 year old son. ...

Saturday 7 February 2026 Reviewed by Helen McWilliams  Star rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This is a belated review due to 2026 and its challenges, however its an absolute pleasure to review such an exceptional piece of theatre and hopefully encourage more theatre-goers to go and see the Roald Dahl's masterpiece at  Chichester Festival Theatre . The BFG has long been my favourite story from Dahl's extraordinary cornucopia of magnificent novels. Having read the book as a child and not being able to put it down, I am immediately drawn in when a production of any description closely resembles the magical treat I devoured on multiple occasions years ago. In The RSC's adaptation, which has been  a dapted by Tom Wells in collaboration with the additional material provided by dramaturg Jenny Worton , the scene is set simply and effectively as pictured above ( photo credit: Connor McWilliams ) and allows the imagination to wander before the action unfolds.  If you are...