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The news that the producers of Adolescence are working on an adaptation of Threads has set the internet alight, like a nuclear bomb igniting the Yorkshire countryside.

Yet as exciting, and frankly distressing, as the idea of a new version of Threads – a harrowing 1984 film about a young couple struggling to survive in the irradiated ruins of Sheffield following nuclear war – may be, we’ve got some good news for you.

You don’t have to wait for the nightmares to begin because The Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne has already made one of the best horror shows of all time: The Fades.

If you missed it The Fades was a BBC drama series that followed Paul Roberts (Iain De Caestecker), a young man who’s plagued by dreams of Armageddon and cursed with the ability to see the spirits of the recently deceased, known as Fades.

Despite only running for one series in 2011 the show was a critical darling earning an impressive 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it even scooped a Bafta for best drama series in 2012.

The show also featured some of the UK’s top emerging talent from the time – including big names like Daniel Kaluuya, Tom Ellis, and Natalie Dormer.

Still, while the show was a stellar nursery for future UK stars, the thing that made The Fades so gripping was most certainly Thorne’s writing which was praised for being unnerving and funny.

Sadly, The Fades was cancelled due to low viewership and banished to televisual purgatory, but the show maintains a small but healthy fandom.

‘I get so many fans coming up to me at Comic-Cons,’ Dormer told Den of Geek in 2018, ‘who bemoan that The Fades never got picked up for a second season.’

As for Threads, it’s being adapted into a drama series by Sheffield-based production company, Warp Films who, aside from Adolescence, are known for hit series such as This Is England and The Virtues.

In a statement, Warp Films CCO and executive producer Emily Feller said Threads is a ‘deeply impactful story’ that ‘feels more relevant than ever.’

‘This adaptation will allow us to uncover fresh interpretations in light of today’s world,’ Feller continued. ‘We imagine highlighting how resilience and connection can offer hope even in the most challenging of times.’

While Thorne has worked on other Warp projects including all three series of This Is England and The Virtues, he’s unlikely to be able to lend a hand on Threads.

The writer is currently working on a small screen adaptation of Lord of the Flies, and a dramatisation of the News of the World’s phone hacking scandal called The Hack.

You can catch up on The Fades and Threads on BBC iPlayer now.

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Celebrity Big Brother viewers have called for Mickey Rourke to be booted from the house.

The Hollywood star, 72, has already come under fire for his behaviour towards host AJ Odudu during Monday’s premiere after he repeatedly grabbed her and acted ‘inappropriately’ towards her.

Now, a few days on, he’s been issued a warning for using a homophobic slur.

On tonight’s episode of the show, he was speaking to JoJo Siwa, 21 when he made comments about her sexuality.

‘Do you like girls or boys?’ he questioned.

JoJo, who went public with partner Kath Ebbs a few months ago, replied: ‘Me? Girls. My partner is non-binary.’

He then said: ‘If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore.’

Hitting back, JoJo pushed back against his comment and said: ‘I can guarantee I’ll still be gay, and I’ll still be in a very happy relationship.’

Later speaking to Chris Hughes in the garden, Mickey said he was going to ‘vote out the lesbian real quick’.

Overhearing the exchange, JoJo told him: ‘That’s homophobic, if that was your reasoning.’

Jumping in, Chris told him ‘you can’t do that’, before Mickey said he needed a ‘fag’, meaning a cigarette.

However, he then gestured to JoJo, telling her ‘I’m not talking to you’ – seemingly in reference to the f word that’s used as a derogatory slur against the gay community. 

Reprimanded by Chris, Mickey then said he was ‘talking about a cigarette’ but his comment left JoJo upset.

Shortly after the exchange in the garden, Big Brother called Mickey to the Diary Room.

‘Mickey before you entered the Big Brother house the rules regarding unacceptable language and behaviour were explained to you,’ he was told.

After the entire exchange was read back to him, he was then asked: ‘Mickey, do you understand how this language could be offensive to your Housemates or the viewing public?’

‘Yeah I think so. If I was saying it in a nasty kind of way or if I truly meant it,’ he replied.

The actor was told that his language was ‘offensive and unacceptable’, with Mickey then saying ‘alright. I understand that’.

Big Brother then explained: ‘As a result, Big Brother is giving you a formal warning. Further language or behaviour of this nature could lead to you being removed from the Big Brother house. Mickey, do you understand?’

He then replied: ‘Yes I do. It’s some serious stuff.’

After being asked if there is anything he’d would like to say, Mickey apologised.

‘I don’t have dishonourable intentions – I’m just talking smack you know. I wasn’t taking it all so serious. I didn’t mean in it any bad intentions and if I did, sorry.’

Soon after watching everything unfold, many took to social media to share their thoughts.

‘Mickey is such a vile man…just remove him from the house,’ Jacob posted on X.

‘He has shown absolutely no remorse whatsoever, vile behaviour from Mickey,’ Hannah shared.

‘Big Brother have a duty of care and therefore Mickey making them comments should’ve resulted in him being removed. A formal warning is not good enough,’ Crystal wrote.

‘Mickey knows exactly what he’s doing. The housemates shouldn’t have to deal with that sort of behaviour,’ Chantelle said.

‘Mickey Rourke not being kicked out of #CBBUK is harrowing based on the way he’s treated women from the get-go and the way he spoke to/about Jojo is so gross and so upsetting to watch,’ Phoebe declared.

‘Absolutely disgraceful…making a young woman feel like that just for being herself??? mickey needs to be kicked out asap,’ Izzy added.

When making his return to the group, Mickey declared he’d been ‘chewed out’, with Trisha Goddard telling him: ‘I guess it’s not what you say. It’s how it lands.’

He then said his comments were not ‘said out of meanness’.

‘I understand you might have thought it would be uninsulting but it’s the way it’s perceived on other people. JoJo was very upset earlier, bless her,’ Chris told him.

After Mickey offered JoJo a brief apology, she made it clear his comments were out of line.

‘As a future, using the word f** is not an acceptable word,’ she said.

After this the rest of the housemates sat down with Mickey ‘in an attempt to help him understand why his comments were offensive’.

He then pulled JoJo aside and said: ‘I want to apologise. I’ve got a habit of having a short fuse. And I don’t mean nothing by it. I do mean it [sorry]. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t say it to you.’

Saying she ‘appreciated’ his apology, JoJo then told Mickey: ‘Anything is ok to say in context and intention – that’s what matters. And if you say something wrong but you didn’t know and you’re open to hearing – all good!’

Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1.

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After tiring of binge-watching endless repeats of Friends, viewers have been seeking another comedy with the same sparkle as the classic US sitcom.

Fortunately, they have found a worthy contender in the form of a 00s BBC comedy programme, with some fans even making the bold claim it’s ‘funnier’ than its US counterpart.

After Reddit user Normalcanwait asked for the UK equivalent of Friends, seeking another show about the trials and triumphs of a group of city-dwelling pals, there was one clear answer.

And that is Coupling, which was written by Doctor Who and Sherlock legend Steven Moffat, 63.

Like Friends, the hit show followed a group of mates, Sally (Kate Isitt), Susan (Sarah Alexander), Jane (Gina Bellman), Jeff (Richard Coyle), Steve (Jack Davenport) and Patrick (Ben Miles), as they navigated work, life and love.

Coupling ran for four seasons between 2000 and 2004, during which time it became a critical smash – and was even named as the Best TV Comedy at the 2003 British Comedy Awards.

On Reddit, users were saying they couldn’t ‘stop laughing’ after watching Coupling, which can be purchased to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Among them was Mike999b, who said: ‘Coupling is one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. Definitely due a rewatch!’

Echoing their sentiment, Overladenlederhosen commented: ‘Coupling was excellent, vastly superior to Friends. The monologues were a thing of beauty, and after all these years I still can’t see the cast in anything else without expecting them to be those characters.’

Meanwhile, HermitBee said Coupling was the ‘closest’ UK show but admitted the ‘tone was not quite the same’, while others argued it packed more of a comedic punch.

8Ace8Ace said: ‘Coupling was a million times funnier than Friends.’

Agreeing, Thirdtwin added: ‘Coupling is better than Friends.’

Other UK shows likened to Friends included Spaced, This Life and Cold Feet.

Last year, Cold Feet star James Nesbitt teased the British comedy-drama could return during an interview ITV show Lorraine.

The actor, who played Adam Williams in the show, revealed: ‘I’d love to do that.

‘It was such a big part of my life, it opened so many doors for me, people still talk to me about it on a daily basis.

‘It’d be good to do more of it because I think people are still interested in what the characters are doing.’

Following the lives of three couples, Cold Feet also starred Helen Baxendale, John Thomson, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris, and Robert Bathurst.

The original series aired from November 1998 but ended in 2003 after 32 episodes and five seasons.

A revival returned in 2016 but ended after four seasons in 2020. It starred all the original cast members, except for Helen’s character Rachel, who was killed off in a car accident.

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The Celebrity Big Brother house was put into lockdown after a TikToker broke into grounds, it is reported.

The West London ITV studio enacted its emergency protocol after a drone was flown into the garden area of the compound.

At the time Hollywood star Mickey Rourke can be seen working out on a cycling machine while looking up at the buzzing device, as former MP Michael Fabricant stood with him.

The Sun reports that producers ordered the housemates inside and locked the house as the drone attempted to land.

A source told the publication: ‘It was a major security breach.

‘Flying a drone over the house is one thing but to be able to as good as land it in the garden meters away from the stars is terrifying.

‘Michael was the first to spot the drone and pretended to shoot it down while Mickey was baffled.

‘All the housemates ran to the doors to see what was happening but Big Brother quickly pulled down the shutters.

‘Security is now being reviewed.’

The outlet report the TikTokker responsible also targeted the launch night.

The 12 famous faces to enter the house on Monday evening were Chesney Hawkes, EastEnders icon Patsy Palmer, Gen Z sensation Jojo Siwa, chat show host Trisha Goddard and Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard.

Also entering the house are Love Island’s Chris Hughes, TV presenter Angelica Bell, actress Donna Preston, Olympian Daley Thompson, Towie’s Ella Rae Wise, and actor Jack P. Shepherd.

The short time in the house so far has proved dramatic already, with housemate Rourke at the centre of controversies.

The launch episode on Monday saw fans fuming over the 72-year-old actor’s behaviour towards host AJ Odudu, after he grabbed her and pulled her towards him before eyeing her up and down.

Viewers were horrified, calling his actions ‘creepy’ and vile’, with some even saying it was ‘harassment’.

He then received a formal warning from Big Brother about ‘offensive and unacceptable’ homophobic language.

After his warning, Rourke said: ‘I apologise. I don’t have dishonourable intentions – I’m just talking smack you know. I wasn’t taking it all so serious. I didn’t mean in it any bad intentions and if I did, sorry.’

He previously admitted to never having seen the show before, and seemed to be in the dark about what the concept was.

Rourke previously told The Sun his career is ‘in the toilet’ following his prominent roles in 80s action heartthrob in movies like Angel Heart and Rumble Fish and foray into professional boxing.

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A Power Rangers writer has expressed regret over the racially insensitive casting of TV show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Launched in 1993 on Fox Kids, the superhero drama was the first entry of the Power Rangers franchise before becoming a pop culture phenomenon.

The live-action series, which ran for three seasons until 1996, follows five teenagers with superhuman powers as they fight forces of evil.

In later years, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers received criticism for castingWalter Emanuel Jonas as Black Ranger, Zack Taylor, and Thuy Trang as Yellow Ranger, Trini Kwan.

Audri Dubois was initially cast as the Yellow Ranger but left the show in a pay dispute after the pilot.

On Investigation Discovery’s Hollywood Demons episode titled Dark Side of the Power Ranger, writer Tony Oliver admits, as per Entertainment Weekly, the casting was ‘such a mistake.’

He said he realised the casting perpetuated harmful stereotypes after his assistant ‘pointed it out in a meeting one day’ as in the 90s, ‘none us of [were] thinking [about] stereotypes.’

Power Rangers is not the only TV show that came to life in the 90s that has since been accused of racial insensitivity.

There have been years of controversy surrounding the depiction of the convenience store worker Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in The Simpsons, which was even the centre of documentary, The Problem With Apu.

Among the complaints are that Apu was voiced in an over-the-top, stereotypical voice by a white man, actor Hank Azaria, which many found racist.

In 2020, Hank confirmed he was stepping down from the role to Slash Film, saying: ‘All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something.’

The previous year, creator Matt Groening confirmed that Apu won’t be written out of the long-running show despite the accusations of racism.

‘Yes [he will stay on the show]. We love Apu. We’re proud of Apu,’ Matt told a young fan during Disney’s D23 Expo as reported by Variety.

Executive producer Al Jean also previously defended Apu in an interview with IndieWire.

He said: ‘Some people are offended by the character and I take that very seriously.

‘Others really love the character. It’s a difficult choice. I don’t want to offend people but we also want to be funny.

‘We don’t want to be totally politically correct. That has never been us. It’s given us a lot of thought.’

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Mickey Rourke has revealed he was forced to borrow $500,000 (£390,000) from the bank, after revealing it was between Celebrity Big Brother and a ‘bad independent movie’ when choosing to join the ITV series.

The 72-year-old actor has already stirred controversy after being branded creepy for his behaviour towards host AJ Odudu during the launch episode prompting calls for him to be booted out.

He’s since been given a warning from Big Brother after a homophobic comment, with further calls for him to be axed.

And the choice to join the popular British reality series has raised eyebrows for many wondering why the Hollywood star would make such a shock career move.

In a recent interview, Rourke revealed his ‘career is in the toilet’ and he ultimately decided to give Big Brother a try despite knowing ‘nothing about this show’.

He’s now recalled needing to borrow money from the bank, telling Love Island star Chris Hughes during a chat on Tuesday: ‘Two years of Covid to then a seven-month actors’ strike, I had to borrow half a million dollars from the bank to get by and pay bills.

‘Everybody in those picket lines is an out of work actor, there would be the flavour of the month actor show up to just say “how great am I, I’m in the picket line with all the poor people that will never get a job, aren’t I wonderful”.’

In the same conversation, Rourke remarked that he’s only trying to ‘last four days’ in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

This comes after an interview in which Rourke said: ‘My shrink said, “When you were young, at 14, you put your finger on the hard button. The problem is you never took it off.” And he’s right.

‘I’ve made mistakes, many. I have nobody to blame for my ship sinking except myself. My career is in the toilet and I’m not getting A-list movies.

‘I’d like to be back where I can work on movies that have integrity,’ he told The Sun.

After rising to prominence as an 80s action heartthrob in movies like Angel Heart and Rumble Fish, Rourke took a break to pursue a short-lived professional boxing career.

He attempted to stage a comeback with his movie Sin City in 2005 followed by his Oscar-nominated role in The Wrestler in 2008.

However, he ran out of steam once more by appearing as the main villain in Iron Man 2, which he went on to criticise after Marvel cut several of his scenes.

Since then he has starred in a series of smaller movies like Murder Motel and Hollywood Heist, had a stint on Masked Singer which he dramatically quit, and appeared in a so-far undistributed Roman Polanski film.

According to Rourke, he has dream directors that he hopes can ‘trust him for who he is today’ rather than ‘the reputation’ that proceeds him after a rocky Hollywood career.

In recent years he has sparked furore for calling Amber Heard a ‘gold-digger’ and Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise ‘irrelevant’ to name a few scandals.

He warned: ‘But once it goes past a certain point, I’ve got a short fuse — there’s no turning back. It’s on.’

And explained the motivation behind his decision to join Big Brother.

‘It was between this or a really bad independent movie, and I’ve had it up to here with really bad independent movies.

‘So I said, you know what? Let’s go do that thing in England. I want to go to London anyway.

‘I know nothing about this show. I’m not worried — I don’t care about any bad habits I might have for the world to see.’

Now he is taking inspiration from the way Mick Jagger ‘reinvented’ himself, claiming he is ‘not the guy that went out eight nights a week picking up supermodels.’

His latest comeback attempt has kicked off to a heavily criticised start following the backlash to him ‘ogling’ Odudu.

One audience member on the Late & Live episode asked the presenter (who is co-hosting with WIll Best) if she was okay to which she replied: ‘I’m absolutely tip-top’ as ITV opts to keep Rourke in the house.

He is joined by an impressive cohort of housemates including JoJo Siwa, Angelica Bell, Trisha Goddard and Danny Beard.

Elsewhere in the show so far there have been hints of a ‘showmance’ brewing between Towie star Ella Rae Wise, 24, and Love Islander Chris Hughes, 32.

Ahead of entering the house the newly-single Ella teased that there is ‘nothing wrong’ with an innocent flirt’ so time will tell if this potential connection goes anywhere.

Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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