James Graham
@mrJamesGraham
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Writes: plays & emails đ đșđŹ Dear England - Sherwood - Quiz đł Nottinghamshire / London
Joined May 2010
Where I come out as a childhood trainspotter, which surprises no one .
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A Prime Minister may fall today. Soak up the history, guys. Days like today only come around every couple of months.
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Can I just check, weâre all sometimes just putting the exact same clothes back on the following day, arenât we.
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Live alone. This morning through muscle memory I put some aftershave on, and then said to myself âwho you doing that for?â And then winked at my reflection and said âYOU, babesâ. Which made me smile. And then I cried. Morning! #LivingAlone.
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Hope everyone is enjoying The Crown, which began as a play on stage, just like Fleabag came from the stage like Quiz and The Kings Speech and Mamma Mia and writers on Succession and director of Skyfall and adaptors of Normal People and His Dark Materials and and #BritishTheatre.
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Theyâre cancelling art & humanities degrees at uni where students arenât in skilled jobs in 6 months. They would have cancelled my drama degree at Hull on that basis. I wouldnât have become a writer. I wouldnât have written #Sherwood. Other writers wouldnât have written theirs.
English lit degree at Sheffield Hallam is being âsuspended.â University responding to Government who will no longer fund degrees where 60% students donât end up in âhighly skilledâ jobs within 6 months.
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The entire artistic team at the Theatre Royal Plymouth are being made redundant in 3 days. Thatâs one of the largest, most well attended theatres outside London. A theatre that now has no artists, and they wonât be coming back. Our world-beating cultural landscape is in collapse
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Southamptonâs Nuffield Theatre is closing for good. 60yrs of investment, training & serving its community. All profitable in normal times, just needed shortfall funding while closed & it didnât come in time. So sorry to the 86 made redundant, & the locals who loved their theatre
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Really good point, apart from a couple of things @TVKev. Sherwood is a drama set in the modern day. It is nothing to do with the old story of Robin Hood. The role of Sheriff is a real civic position in Nottingham taken up by rotating councillors. It has been occupied by women.
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Itâs simply devastating. In the brief time hanging out and working with Helen she was just everything youâd hoped she would be - no airs or graces, generous, naughty, kind, & total class. She lit up our stages and screens. Iâm so sorry to her family and loved ones.
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Holy shit, latest voting intention poll:. CON: 30% (-4).LDEM: 20% (-1).LAB: 20% (-3).COLEEN: 16% (new entry).GRN: 5%(-). via .@YouGov.
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Forget Heathrow, has anyone checked how the Nine Elms millionaireâs sky pool is doing. ?.
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Whatâs that, you say? The major Golden Globes awarded to those skilled or found in British Theatre?. Daniel Kaluuya wrote a play aged 9, breakout role @royalcourt. John Boyega at @TheatrePeckham. @JoshOConnor15 at @BristolOldVic, Emma Corrin in student theatre. Save the Arts đ
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Closing theatres may save lives. Good. So @BorisJohnson just Say The Words, close them, & save thousands of livelihoods too. Youâve told people to stay away from our industry.But not shut it down.No shutdown no insurance.No insurance no survival.Give us a fighting chance, dammit.
.@BorisJohnson has just doomed an entire industry by telling people not to attend the theatre. By not enforcing a shutdown, production insurance will not apply so producers and shows will go bankrupt, and tens of thousands of people will be without pay. @hmtreasury @DCMS.
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The next zoom when someone starts speaking on mute thereâs no way Iâm not gonna lean forward and be like -. âJill, are you silenT ? Or were you sILENCED?â
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Here we go đđ». The discussion over WHAT and HOW can begin anon, & urgently so, but for now I donât mind admitting the amount of tears I have shed at the journey towards this news that felt so impossible. Culture is vital. Culture is profitable. Culture matters. Culture will stay.
Boris Johnson pledges ÂŁ1.5bn lifeline to keep UK's arts sector afloat
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20. You.19. Canât.18. Rank.17. The most.16. Popular.15. Tourist .14. Attractions.13. For.12. Russians.11. In.10. England.9. Because.8. TripAdvisor.7. Algorithms.6. Are.5. Impenetrable.4. To.3. Russian.2. Bots.1. Salisbury Cathedral.
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Donât any of you buggers call anything political I ever write again âimplausibleâ.
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Jackie Weaver is right in both the spirit of the law and the letter of the law and I won't hear otherwise. If Handforth falls, we all fall.
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First final since 1966. First final in my lifetime. An England team that represents the best of us - progressive, kind, humble. I donât care if we win now. Itâs already home đŽó §ó ąó „ó źó §ó ż đ đđ».
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Free theatre! In your living room. Politics isnât very dramatic right now, as we know. So I cannot tell you how excited we are to digitally revive THIS HOUSE, my play about the Really Quite Mad 1970s hung Parliament. Watch along at 7pm tomorrow. @NationalTheatreâs YouTube
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#Quiz FACK CHECK ONE: we built our own studio, an exact replica of the original. FACT CHECK TWO: the Glitter Man is real. Repeat. The Glitter Man is real
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Iâm cacking myself obviously but Iâm so pleased to see #Quiz number 1 trend in the UK. Thank youuuuuu!
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We begin previewing a new musical tonight that has been rehearsed under 3 different chancellors. The arts are a viable career.
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A lot have seen the trailer for our Brexit film & I canât wait to engage reasonably to curious Qâs once itâs actually been seen. Until then, abusive language & misinformation should never intimidate writers/artists working on politically sensitive themes.
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Youâre being so lovely about #Quiz - thank you. It started as a play @ChichesterFT. Like a lot of the entertainment I hope is helping people through this, those creating Netflix style megaseries often began careers on stage. Theatres might need your help after this if you can đ
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History keeps winking at us throughout all this, and its latest bit of sass is that Philip Hammond, who may have to fight deselection in court, occupies the seat of RUNNYMEDE, birthplace of the Magna Carta, and there's a bad Radio4 play in there somewhere and I'm writing it today.
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Surreally but joyfully, I was asked to write the script for the opening montage of the BBCâs coverage tonight, read by Joseph Fiennes. 6:30pm - BBC1. The teenage me would be pinching himself. The grown up me is tooâŠ. The National Theatre, and the National Game đ€ đș đŽó §ó ąó „ó źó §ó ż đ
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Yes sex is good but have you ever put crisps in a sandwich?.
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#Quiz FUN FACT CHECK 4. Yes a collective coughing fit really DID break out in court one day during the coughing majorâs trial and the session had to be suspended.
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My heroes are Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho. đŽó §ó ąó „ó źó §ó ż.
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I dare you to find a more tense 30 seconds of television drama anywhere. This also shows why Tarrant was wonderful.
One final Millionaire memory - without doubt the best Phone a Friend moment in all the years of the UK show. #Quiz
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Right, 10 million of you have watched the opening episode of QUIZ so far, and Iâve got to admit. Iâm growing quite fond of you all. Thank you. (psst remember it came from the theatre, support the arts, end psst)
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@TVKev Itâs only that you got angry at something that isnât happening, thatâs all (Iâm the writer) Itâs not an elite âwoke-ingâ up of Robin Hoodâs story. Itâs the 2nd series of a political-crime drama set in the majority working-class part of the red wall Iâm from. So we can all breathe.
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A solution without a problem. Channel4 was the best of all worlds: a public service, paid for by advertisers. Programming for public good not private profit. We donât need more US-style streamers - a bloated bubble soon to burst - but weâll miss TV owned by & for us when its gone.
Channel 4 rightly holds a cherished place in British life and I want that to remain the case. I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. 1/3.
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History wonât believe the over-the-top symbolism of Theresa Mayâs failing, faltering voice at this historic dangerous, terrible time. Too obvious. Set in a collapsing, wind-battered palace, its bell silenced, propped up by scaffold. Too crude. B+ creative writing, try harder.
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For the last 5 years myself, legend Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and Elton John of ⊠Elton John have been working on a new musical, ready to launch @almeidaTheatre. Televangelism, 1980s, Reaganism, and gay ally & icon TAMMY FAYE.
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I know Iâve hardly mentioned this At All but I have TV drama on tonight. Growing up I loved watching Easter Monday tele and films, chocolate on my lap. And feel so lucky to have this, especially in the circumstances. If you watch I hope you enjoy. Or not. I mean, itâs a 50/50.
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For better or worse Iâm grateful to have been invited onto the Question Time panel tomorrow, largely to begin talking about the unique threat to what was our countryâs fastest growing industry - culture, theatre, film - & what we might need to save it. Please forgive my hair.
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As in theatre, so in politics, itâs often the wardrobe department who comes through in a crisis. Parliament canât be prorogued unless the Lords doff their hats in the direction of the Commons. Steal the hats, save the world.
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Iâm in a black cab and the driver is called James Graham and weâre both far too excited about this.
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Well, itâs been emotional #Sherwood. Thanks for all your messages and support. Entire series on iPlayer for the stragglers đł .
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âChanging how weâll lose, is how weâll win. Nothing is ever really FinalâŠâ. Thank you to the BBC for letting me write this yesterday. And for your lovely comments đŽó §ó ąó „ó źó §ó ż
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Iâm looking forward to the new Bond film. Daniel Craig was trained on stage (National Youth Theatre) as was M, Q & Miss Moneypenny. And John Boyega in Star Wars, and Spiderman, Loki & Dr Strange. And Jodie Whittakerâs Dr Who, and the 3 Doctors before her and and.#BritishTheatre.
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We forget what it was like before. Gareth turned âonce-in-a-lifetimeâ, into âsee-you-next-timeâ. He changed the culture, prioritised decency, togetherness. He deserved to win. I wish he had đ. But the menâs team will now, soon, & itâll be on top of what he built #garethsouthgate.
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You are being so nice about my stab at Question Time, thank you. It's a journey - we'll get there. Aware that I went hard on the economic argument. There is of course so much more. Culture has transformed my life. An additional point heređon its emotional value @bbcquestiontime
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Trying not to binge Normal People. The 3rd episode (the âConnell feels badâ one) is a perfect 30minutes of television. We should be celebrating adaptor Alice Birch more, get her trending, Iâll start, Alice Birch Alice Birch Alice Birch. #NormalPeople.
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When we made âTHE VOTEâ as a wee election night TV drama, the concept that moved me most in the research was how our democracy is all based on trust. And when you trust people itâs rewarded. There is no voter fraud problem in the UK. Altering that social contract is abhorrent /1
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#quiz FACT CHECK THREE: yes, extraordinarily, the head of ITV programming was in a meeting about the coughing major when the first plane hit the twin towers. And had to suspend their conversation to react. The world is weird.
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I cannot tell you, as a kid from Mansfield, a deprived area. the joy of having an actor scream MANSFIELD in a play, in the Olivier, & it get a cheer, at the National. My mum watched it on NTLive in the Mansfield Odeon. People cheered. She cried.#NationalTheatreAtHome.#ThisHouse.
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None of it matters, it was an ok song, he sang it fine, the problem is there was just ZERO concept. Itâs Eurovision! Other nationâs design, lighting, choreography, video told a fun + bold story and as ever we just wander the stage like a bloody wedding singer #Eurovision.
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Iâm a Northern Line faithful and happy to have brand new stations but MY GOD this is revolting. The most elegant map in the world bent out of shape because private developers demand their floating pool be in zone 1, warping space and time to do it.
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Thrilled to announce my new 24-part spin-off drama series featuring The Glitter Man from QUIZ. The Glitter Man is Britainâs Keyser Soze. The Glitter Man is real. He is all of us, in every job weâve ever had. Beware the Glitter Man. #Quiz
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People often ask why thereâs no UK version of The West Wing, and this is why, and I couldnât be prouder
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Iâm sick of pretending I donât sometimes just want to have a glass of gravy as a drink.
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My mum wins the best (and most random) Christmas wrapping paper award
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or rather. 2021: Young Brits stayed home, lost income, paused life, now queue round the corner to get vaccinated for a virus that hardly affects them but will instead protect Leeâs generation for whom it does, and YOUâRE WELCOME.
1940: Young Brits refusing to give in to Nazis. 2021: Young Brits queuing up for jabs so they can go on holiday.
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I just canât get over this. The Algorithm had already decided someone in this school MUST get a U. The problem was teachers & students had worked furiously hard & no one was eligible. But it didnât matter. Someone had to fail, and it was her. And her life is altered forever đ.
Essentially, several years ago someone got a U at her school for maths. She was ranked bottom of her class for maths. She was still predicted a B or a C but was at the bottom. Ofqual decided, therefore, someone from the school needed to get a U and it was her.
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Iâm writing opening night cards. Actual CARDS đ For an ACTUAL OPENING NIGHT đŸ . In a THEATRE đ. With a real AUDIENCE queuing to get in đŹđ. We are lucky and privileged and Nottingham is brave đȘđ» and imaginative đ€ and theatre can happen (and watch if you want online) xx.
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To the five and a half million of you who watched QUIZ live last night (and to those whoâll watch today).T H A N K Y O U.Iâm biased but I think it gets *really* good tonight, when Ingram (finally, I know right?) gets in the chair . *psst đ€« whisper it. The Syndicate is real.
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Iâm going to put my EUROs fixture chart on one wall of my bedroom and my CONSTITUENCY map on the other and basically have the summer of my lifeâŠ.
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But in other news, the government is recording the sharpest reversal of Dry January rates in the history of Britain.
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This water leak at Waterloo (lol) was pumping out for most of yesterday as @thameswater prepares a hosepipe ban next week, after paying ÂŁ38m to shareholders while increasing bills for customers while losing 20% of water to leaks after underinvesting in infrastructure, good ohđ§
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Working at my computer and I must have pressed something because a DVD ejected itself and I screamed. Didnât know I had a DVD drive. Anyway, morning.
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Beyond excited to be invited back to the National Theatre, a decade after âThis Houseâ changed my writing life. DEAR ENGLAND - on Gareth Southgate, England, identity, masculinity, and mental health. Oh. And penaltiesâŠ.
Joseph Fiennes will play England menâs football manager Gareth Southgate ✠. Dear England is a new play by @mrJamesGraham, directed by Rupert Goold.
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A right honour to be able to share this again. THIS HOUSE, the original 2012 production, streaming this month as part of #NationalTheatreAtHome . Thursday 28th May, 7pm đ đș.
Itâs 1974 and the corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and backbiting, as Britainâs political parties battle to change the nation's future. #ThisHouse is a biting, timely and funny play by @mrJamesGraham, streaming from 28 May with #NationalTheatreAtHome.
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What the hell did Belgium do on October 31st and can we just do that
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Had a responsible birthday. In a responsible restaurant. Eating out for Britain.
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Very VERY excited to begin filming this: a new 3 part drama co-created with documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis, and directed by Michael Sheen. An imagined civil uprising in Port Talbot, South Wales đŽó §ó ąó ·ó Źó łó ż đș could never happenâŠ?.
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Never forget Emily Davison, who on the night of the 1911 census broke into parliament and slept in a broom cupboard so that, despite not having the vote as a woman, her address was registered as the âHouses of Parliamentâ for the next decade. Now *thatâs* gaming the system đ.
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Iâve seen a photo of Paddy Spoonerâs room of facts which he didnât leave for months to âtrainâ. The syndicate took at least ÂŁ5million and put hundreds of people in the chair!. #Quiz
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âQuizâ will be screened on ITV next year. A teeny tiny tease for our show đđ» which began as a play @ChichesterFT in 2017 đâĄïžđș.
Michael Sheen is playing Chris Tarrant in an ITV drama about the man who tried to fool his way into winning a million and OH MY GOD
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My final #Sherwood public service announcement. If you missed episode 5 because of the tennis đŸ, it is on iPlayer now. Still time⊠đł . For those ready for tonightâs finale - thank you for coming along for the ride. Weâre nearly ready for you ⊠đș
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#Quiz FUN FACT CHECK 6. In real life, when Tarrant entered, the court was starstruck. Huge hush descended. This was the first bit Michael filmed. Me, cast, crew hadnât seen him in his gear / heard his voice yet. So he walks in, and a hush descended & we were all đ€©. Art/Life.
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And just for the avoidance of doubt, no, I donât remotely believe you *need a degree to be an artist or a writer. It just really helped *me, to give me time, and space, materials, and confidence.
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Me: Die Hard is a Christmas film. You: Itâs not ABOUT Christmas though, is it, itâs about a dad who turns up to his wifeâs office party, causes a scene, upsets the children & promises to change in the morning. Me: (staring off. Voice quivering) . Itâs a Christmas film.
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Donât know what to say except thank you, to every cast member, creative and audience member who made âDear Englandâ a thing. And the @NationalTheatre above all. @OlivierAwards âBest Playâ + .âBest Supportive Actorâ - 2024
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To every show pausing. Every freelancer frightened, audience member disappointed. I canât believe weâre here again. Letâs see how it plays out. All I know is youâre brilliant, responsible, talented people & it Can & Must Not be like last time #Freelancers.
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This should be a bigger story. British TV dramas, films & plays are shutting down because cast & crew - often negative - get pinged for being in a supermarket where someone records positive etc. Meaning huge shows shutting for 11 days. Itâs unsustainable & collapsing. đ đ đș
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From the Culture Secretary, I donât find any of this funny, I find it quietly sinister. Everyone is free to debate over policy & bias but to embrace an unhinged Trump-ian âit was the biggest crowd everâ alternative universe when your job is to fight for press freedom is bleak.
There were far, far more cheers, but that doesnât make a good headline does it. Queenâs thanksgiving service: Boos and jeers for Boris Johnson outside St Paulâs.
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Please spare a thought for those of us already filming their Brexit TV drama. Thanks. (P.s weâre fine).
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It means what was free for everyone will now have to be paid for; the commissioning of regional shows slashed for being unprofitable; under-represented voices replaced with safer talent; riskier work lost in chase for subscribers; individuality lost on the altar of âcompetitionâ.
Great news that the Culture Secretary wants to find new investment, new ideas and a new partner to grow Channel 4 in a very competitive modern media market.
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Whatâs horrifying is they Genuinely believe theyâre right. They really think he won. Everything they read. All the news on their feeds. Everything their friends say and share. And that can never change, now. Thatâs it. So how do you beat that? Or is America just two countries now.
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SHERWOOD on Times Square đ. They love a gritty East Midlands drama here.
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The Crown, season 6, script meeting. Los Angeles. Netflix Exec: âThis proro. pero-roguering episode. Is that. is it a bit. what is that?â.
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Happy 4th Prime Minister in 6 Years Day, to those who celebrateâŠ.
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Celebrating with the lads. We won a thing. Best Play, Evening Standard Awards #BestOfEnemies
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For my birthday my mum has miraculously found images of a young me as a figure skater (yes of course, I ice skated). I walked so Billy Elliot could run, basically
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âItâs Moving Home, Itâs Moving. â. Thank you to nearly 75,000 people that have come to DEAR ENGLAND so far, & the National who brought in 100s of younger audiences often to see theatre for the first time. Itâll be the first play at the Prince Edward Theatre in 75yrs. Coming? đâœïž.
Weâre thrilled to announce that #DearEngland is coming to the West End đ. @mrJamesGrahamâs new play, with Joseph Fiennes as Gareth Southgate, will play at the Prince Edward Theatre from 9 October. @rupertgoold returns to direct. đž Original NT cast by @brennerphotos
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The largest concentration of theatres on earth managed to open last week, only to close tonight. The hope was to revive a decimated sector & tell stories at Christmas. Thousands spent to get Covid secure, closed in blanket measures. So sorry. So sad. Off to the gym (apparently).
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Favourite thing about The Apprentice is how they still try to link the London landmark available for hire that week with the task.âWelcome to St Pancras. Home to the Eurostar. Which goes to Paris. And Belgium. Famous for its chocolate.Thatâs right.This week.Weâre making a shoeâ.
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I like the moisturiser I got for Christmas but it takes ages to rub it all in. Anyway, Iâve been massaging shower gel into my face for a week, morning.
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I just Joe Wicksed too hard and now I canât remotely James Graham.
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Valentinesâs Day when I was 10. I write a card for Sarah at home, walk to class, and itâs not in my pocket. Oh well. Then at the assembly, the Head produces it having found it in the playground. He asks ALL SARAHS IN THE SCHOOL to stay behind while they work our who itâs forđ±đ.
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