DLC is surely coming sooner or later (Nintendo) The Wednesday letters page ponders UK video game console preferences, as a reader speculates on the release date for Splatoon Raiders. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk Open questionsRead your review of Mario Kart […]
GamingPokémon Scarlet & Violet plays much better now (The Pokémon Company/Metro) Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 is out, we’ve tested a handful of the Switch 1’s best games to see how they run on the more powerful hardware. The Nintendo Switch 2 hasn’t even […]
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TVDionne Marie Hanna has been charged with fraud (Picture: Netflix) The British woman at the centre of a Netflix documentary on how she allegedly tricked her son into funding her expensive lifestyle has been charged with fraud in Singapore. Several people have claimed that Dionne […]
TVThe British woman at the centre of a Netflix documentary on how she allegedly tricked her son into funding her expensive lifestyle has been charged with fraud in Singapore.
Several people have claimed that Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, also conned them, leading them to file police reports after watching Con Mum, according to local media.
Hanna, a Singapore resident, allegedly took money from these individuals with promises to reimburse them from her inheritance from Brunei’s royal family – lineage that her son has called into question.
The con is not dissimilar to the one she pulled against former MasterChef contestant Graham Hornigold after she contacted him in 2020, claiming to be his biological mother.
A DNA test later proved that Hanna was Hornigold’s mother, but she deceived him in other ways to get him to fund her lavish lifestyle, eventually leaving him in massive debt.
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Charged with five counts of fraud, Hanna appeared before a district court on Saturday via video link while convalescing in the hospital. An investigating officer accompanied her, Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia reported.
Hanna is accused of manipulating three men in Singapore and France into transferring her money that she claimed she needed to cover legal fees and the opening of new bank accounts. She assured them she would pay them back and even donate to various mosques.
Hornigold questioned his mother’s claims that she was terminally ill and part of the Brunei royal family in the documentary, claims that she also later made to the three men who sent her funds.
While the exact sum her alleged victims sent Hanna remains unclear,preliminary investigations show she is involved in at least five cases of cheating with losses amounting to more than S$200,000 ($149,000; £115,400).
If convicted of these charges, Ms Hanna faces up to 20 years in jail and a large fine.
Con Mum, which was released on Netflix on 25 March, details the ordeal between Horniman and Hanna.
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Netflix viewers have been left stunned while watching the true crime story.
It details how when Hornigold was reunited with his mother after 45 years apart, he couldn’t wait to make up for lost time.
Born on a British army base in Germany before being raised in St. Albans by his father and stepmother, Hornigold said they ‘never spoke’ about his mother.
Throughout his childhood Hornigold – who went on to become a successful pastry chef and has appeared on MasterChef– was also beaten by his alcoholic father. He pursued a career as a chef to have a ‘roof over his head, somewhere warm and access to food.’
So, when in 2020 he got an email out of the blue from his biological mother, he was ecstatic, if wary that she may be a scammer.
It quickly became apparent that Dionna Marie Hanna was his mother, and the pair planned to reunite.
After receiving that initial email, Graham and his wife Heather travelled from London to Liverpool to meet his mother for the first time.
‘We bonded right away, and I knew this was my mum,’ he recalls in the documentary.
As he got to know Dionne it became apparent she was incredibly wealthy, splashing out on luxurious hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and designer clothes.
She even bought her son a Land Rover worth £74,000, as well as another car for his wife so she ‘didn’t feel left out’.
Dionne explained her wealth came from owning land, farms and businesses worldwide. But she said the primary source of her seemingly never-ending income came from being the illegitimate daughter of the Sultan of Brunei.
Despite this seeming far-fetched, Graham had no reason to question her – especially when staff at luxury hotels and designer stores knew her well.
But within a year of meeting, Graham would discover her shocking web of lies that left him hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt and questioning his very identity.
As time passed, Hanna began to leave Hornigold and his friends to pay her enormous bills – Hornigold said in the film that he lost £300,000 – and then his mother suddenly disappeared.
The film suggests that Hanna had previously been convicted in the UK for shoplifting and fraud.
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A ‘ground-breaking’ revenge thriller from the makers of Adolescence is finally available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
Reunion is a four-part series presented in both spoken English and British Sign Language (BSL), which follows a deaf man’s quest to uncover the truth about the events that led to his incarceration 10 years earlier.
Unable to fully integrate with the hearing world and shunned by the deaf community, Daniel Brennan (Matthew Gurney) reunites with his estranged daughter Carly (Lara Peake) while the wife of his victim, Christine (Anne-Marie Duff), searches for answers as to why he killed her husband.
Written by Sheffield-born deaf writer William Mager, the show was produced by the team behind Netflix’s smash hit Adolescence.
Starring the likes of Eddie Marsan and former EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis, the show has been hailed for pushing boundaries.
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In an interview with Liam O’Dell, Ayling-Ellis said: ‘This is a big one. I think that it’s ground-breaking because you’ve got a deaf writer, you’ve got deaf actors – more than one, there’s a lot of them. We’ve even got deaf SAs [supporting artists], as well.
‘Also, we have deaf crew – there were so many deaf crew, I’ve never seen that many in my life, but that was completely new to me in the whole experience.’
Gurney – who plays newly-released murder convict Daniel Brennan – told Metro that the show has redefined what deaf representation looks like in mainstream media.
The lead star said in an interview: ‘Obviously, Brennan’s a deaf character, and he’s very different from the stereotypes we’ve had in other programs or films, where it’s all very patronising, “oh the community”.
‘This isn’t about that at all. He’s just a man who happens to be deaf, and he’s on his own journey and that really hooked me. If he was a victim, I wouldn’t have auditioned for him as a part for me but it was a really exciting character to play.’
How to Have Sex star Peake also praised how the show strikes a balance between being a thriller and highlighting issues within the deaf community.
She said: ‘There’s a huge amount of humanity in [this series]. This need to communicate and understand one another and want answers. It’s not just a cold-hearted revenge story where somebody’s getting whoever it is they need.
Doctor Foster (available to stream on BBC iPlayer)
Big Little Lies (available to stream on NOW)
Happy Valley (available to stream on BBC iPlayer)
The Boys (available to stream on Amazon Prime Video)
Dexter (available to stream on Netflix)
Killing Eve (available to stream on BBC iPlayer)
Revenge (available to stream on Disney Plus)
‘It’s about connection and relationships and forgiveness. So I think it’s really beautiful that it’s got all these different layers, as well as the heart of it – this driving force of the revenge story,’ she said.
Following Adolescence’s record-breaking viewing numbers on Netflix, the show’s producers will be hoping for a similar impact with Reunion.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that the Netflix drama is now being made available for free in all British schools.
The four-part drama, co-created by and starring Stephen Graham, deals with incel culture, social media addiction and the difficulty of parenting in today’s world.
The announcement was made as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with the show’s creators at Downing Street during a meeting about the issues tackled by the series.
Saying that the programme hit him, his wife, and his son ‘hard’, the Labour leader added that he wished to work out ‘what can we do as a society to stop and prevent young boys being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny’.
He added: ‘It’s pernicious and persistent. But what Adolescence shows is that it’s now taken on a different form, or different characteristics [that can be] pumped directly into the minds of our children.’
Reunion is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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Jeremy Clarkson has taken aim at James May (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images) Jeremy Clarkson joked James May ‘has become senile’ over confusion about The Grand Tour ‘reunion’. The Amazon Prime Video show ended with a one off finale in September 2024, but the streamer […]
TVJeremy Clarkson joked James May ‘has become senile’ over confusion about The Grand Tour ‘reunion’.
The Amazon Prime Video show ended with a one off finale in September 2024, but the streamer recently confirmed four special episodes, starting with The Not Very Grand Tour: The Power and the Glory on April 18.
The retrospective episodes – which will include three specials titled The Grand-Ish Tour in 2025 and 2026 – were initially expected to be bringing former Top Gear trio Clarkson, May and Richard Hammond back together.
However, May, 62, recently insisted that Clarkson wouldn’t be part of the episodes.
‘Jeremy Clarkson wasn’t available for some reason, but we’re all in the clips. It’s all things you’ve seen before, but chopped up in a different way,’ he told Al Arabiya News host Tom Burges Watson.
‘We recorded it a while back. I can’t remember why he couldn’t be there. He was probably busy.’
And Clarkson, 64, has now fired back, insisting he was actually at the recording for the recap specials.
He wrote on X: ‘I fear the poor old dear has become senile. Because while he can’t remember me being there, I can.’
And after a fan asked why they delivered an ’emotional “final” episode’ only to return so soon, Clarkson explained the format is more of a ‘best of’ show.
He replied: ‘To be clear, there are some “best ofs” coming. Zimbabwe was the last one. I have too many cows now to go swanning off.’
May made his comments during the same interview in which he lashed out at his friend’s rival pub The Farmer’s Dog, insisted his own Royal Oak is ‘better’.
Clarkson has been open about the struggles he’s faced at his Oxfordshire pub, admitting he’s been suffering ‘total disasters’ making profits and facing behind-the-scenes issues.
He’s now been dealt a blow by his former Top Gear co-star, as May revealed his own pub is ‘more relaxed’.
‘Mine’s much better. I think that’s the main difference,’ he insisted. ‘I haven’t actually been to Jeremy’s pub. I’ve met a few people who have.
‘It sounds like, well, from what I can gather, he’s gone for a sort of mass throughput model.
‘So he’s got hundreds of people queuing up to have his burger, whereas ours is a little bit more relaxed.’
The 62-year-old added: ‘It’s a village pub where people come. The food is great, we’ve got a fabulous chef and team of chefs.
‘So mine would feel more like, more like a regular English pub. It’s not old fashioned, it hasn’t got horse brass on the walls or any of that tweed stuff, there’s no Morris dancing. I won’t allow that. It is just a pub.’
May added that he is also finding it ‘extremely difficult’ to run a pub and that even though it is ‘successful’, The Royal Oak has ‘just survived’ amid rising costs.
It has previously been claimed May and Clarkson were ‘in intense competition’ and trying to ‘outdo each other’, while May was said to be banned from Clarkson’s pub.
In an interview with The Telegraph last year, May joked that they were ‘creatively fuelled by a mutual loathing’ although that’s why their ‘dynamic worked’.
Clarkson later responded: ‘We’ve spent more time in each other’s company than our families’ over the last 25 years so I don’t think it would have lasted as long as it did if we’d hated each other as much as James likes to think.’
It had also been reported that May’s pub was fractionally cheaper than Clarkson’s, who has faced immense backlash over prices when it was revealed that merch alone could cost up to £60.
In recent months, Clarkson has been open about struggling to make profits at his pub, and facing a series of problems in the run up to Christmas.
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Writing in his column in The Times last year, he said: ‘It’s galling to see how much effort is required to make so little money on the farm.
‘It’s worse at the pub. The customers are coming. There’s no problem there. But turning their visits into a profit is nigh-on impossible.’
He also shared his fears of not making money back after reportedly splurging £1,000,000 on his pub.
Amid backlash over prices for food and merch, he said last year: ‘This place is costing us a fortune. God knows if we’ll ever make our money back.’
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Disney Plus’ newest comedy series from the creators of Will and Grace has been praised by viewers as ‘downright hilarious’.
Mid-Century Modern, starring Matt Bomer, Nathan Lane and Nathan Lee Graham, follows ‘three best friends – gay gentleman of a certain age.’
The synopsis continues: ‘After an unexpected death [they] decide to spend their golden years living together in Palm Springs where the wealthiest one lives with his mother.
‘As a chosen family, they prove that no matter how hard things get, there’s always someone around to remind you it would be better if you got your neck done.’
The comedy show – from Emmy-winning duo Max Mutchnick and David Kohan – has been continuously compared to beloved 80s sitcom Golden Girls.
It also features the late Linda Lavin (in her last filmed project) and Modern Family icon Jesse Tyler Ferguson who join our three leads as they encounter messy shenanigan after messy shenanigan.
The 10-episode season has already scored an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with a flurry of praise from critics and viewers alike applauding it’s nostalgic humour and old-timey sitcom aesthetic.
‘Mid-Century Modern is really funny. It’s humor is similar to older sitcoms, especially The Golden Girls, but it’s also modern in a more relevant way. Apt title. Always a Matt Bomer fan and loved him in this. Nathan Lane is downright hilarious too,’ Triple M wrote on X.
‘Nathan Lane deserves a Lead Actor in a Comedy nom for his work on #Mid-Century Modern. A comedic force with such impeccable timing. Definitely the emotional center of a great ensemble. I can’t recommend this show enough! Feels nostalgic in the most current way,’ Kendall echoed.
‘Why did I never know that Matt Bomer is so good at comedy?! He’s hilarious,’ Andrew McBride shared.
‘Mid-Century Modern is my newest comfort show!! This cast is perfect, I’ve never seen Matt Bomer be this adorable!! He’s really flexing those comedic chops!!’ Jesse Manuel Quiles posed.
‘Just finished Mid-Century Modern. It was cute and campy. I need 20 episodes per season going forward. I need a Halloween, Holiday, etc episodes,’ Ryan Charchian demanded.
‘The balance of this is perfection. The star of the show is the trio. l you actually laugh out loud, but it’s not so damn much shoved at you once.
‘I want 7 seasons so I can rewatch several times for the rest of my life and have an assortment,’ mrsemilybemily agreed.
‘Mid-Century Modern is the male Golden Girls: Matt Bomer is the Rose, Nathan Lee Graham the Blanche, Nathan Lane the Dorothy, and Linda Lavin the Sophia,’ the crixorcist declared.
‘Finished watching Mid-Century Modern on Hulu and these 3 gays are my queens these my girls. I need Season 2 announced IMMEDIATELY,’ Alex posted.
‘Where has this show been all my life? Three iconic performers with the writing to back them up. The show brings the laughs and also feels deeply personal and has a ton of heart. This one could not be more aggressively For Me, and I hope it runs 12 seasons,’ _shutupmatt questioned.
And critics have heartily echoed.
‘Mid-Century Modern may be the best show of 1987 that couldn’t have possibly been made in 1987. It back-fills a cultural void in a way that represents moving forward and backward at once, albeit probably more the latter,’ The Hollywood Reporter shared.
‘Mid-Century Modern is an unmissable comedy that fits as well in the golden age of sitcoms as it does in our era,’ Collider agreed.
The stars of the show have also spoken up about how important this LGBTQ+ series is under the Trump administration.
‘It’s more important than ever these days now that we’re in an authoritarian regime and all of our rights are under threat,’ Lane said during Deadline’s Contenders TV panel.
The White Collar star said that ‘hopefully [the show] brought a little joy, a little queer joy, to the world in 2025’ and Graham revealed that he ‘cannot tell you how liberating it is to play a character without shame.’
Mid-Century Modern is available to stream on Disney Plus now.
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The White Lotus fans were rocked by the brutal scenes (Picture: HBO) ***Warning – this article contains major spoilers for The White Lotus season 3 finale*** The White Lotus has left fans absolutely heartbroken after a devastating and dramatic season 3 finale. The 90-minute episode […]
TV***Warning – this article contains major spoilers for The White Lotus season 3 finale***
The White Lotus has left fans absolutely heartbroken after a devastating and dramatic season 3 finale.
The 90-minute episode aired on HBO last night, with a dramatic ending seeing three characters killed off – including two fan favourites – in a bloodbath shootout.
Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea and Walton Goggins’ Rick both died, as well as the luxury resort’s hotel owner Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn) – who was also Rick’s real father.
Rick had travelled to the Thailand resort to face Jim, who his mother told him killed his father.
With a simple ‘f**k you’ he pulled the trigger, before Jim’s wife Sritala revealed his true identity, and her bodyguards opened fire.
Chelsea got caught in the crossfire, and Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) shot Rick from behind as he carried his star-crossed lover, and they both fell into the pond and floated away.
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‘Mike White has continuously shown his ability to twist social satire into a compelling murder mystery that manages to subvert every expectation,’ wrote @stratticusfinch on X.
‘In this season of #TheWhiteLotus he also devastated the audience with the most heartbreaking deaths so far…and he’s a genius for it.’
Referring to Chelsea, @nae81+__ said: ‘Probably the most tragic death out of all the deaths in TWL,’ while @JEPopeIV added: ‘That was one of the rare TV deaths that brought tears to my eyes, man. #TheWhiteLotus’
While others insisted they would ‘never forgive’ showrunner Mike White for killing her off after a tense third season, other viewers were left underwhelmed by the ending.
X user @raventbrunner said: ‘#TheWhiteLotus should pack it up after these three seasons because each season has been a bit worse than the one before. It has been fun but S3 had no new tricks.’
And over on Reddit, @docelliephant asked: ‘Am I the only one who’s slightly… underwhelmed?’
They definitely weren’t alone as @10morereasons replied: ‘I was. It felt like this episode was rushed’.
While @IVIasucci wondered: ‘That was so underwhelming. Would you not just say “Rick, I’m your father” when there’s a gun pointed at you?’
Others joked about the number of deaths at The White Lotus resorts, with @theRealRoeLuv quipping: ‘For #TheWhiteLotus to a 5 Star resort, they sure do have a lot of deaths on their properties.’
But some, like @environmentalMeet742, defended the finale, arguing: ‘I’m honestly surprised by how many people felt underwhelmed by The White Lotus finale. I haven’t felt that emotionally shaken by a final episode in a long time—my heart’s still racing.’
The White Lotus is available to stream on NOW.
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Manuel Masalva became ill while travelling in the Philippines (Picture: Instagram) Netflix actor Manuel Masalva remains in a ‘stable but critical condition’ after being put in a medically induced coma. The 34-year-old, best known for playing Ramón Arellano Félix in Narcos: Mexico, contracted a ‘very […]
TVNetflix actor Manuel Masalva remains in a ‘stable but critical condition’ after being put in a medically induced coma.
The 34-year-old, best known for playing Ramón Arellano Félix in Narcos: Mexico, contracted a ‘very aggressive bacteria’ while travelling in the Philippines.
Deadline reported the latest health update after Masalva underwent emergency surgery in late March.
Doctors discovered the bacterial infection, which had then spread to his lungs.
His manager, Jaime Jaramillo Espinosa, told the LA Times he was responding to treatment and had been given antibiotics.
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Masalva is being treated in a hospital in Dubai.
Over the weekend, the star’s friend Mario Morán posted an Instagram post asking for donations for the family’s GoFundMe to pay for his medical care.
Morán said in Spanish as per Deadline: ‘My brother is fighting for his life far from home. I want to ask for your help in this very difficult moment.
‘As was announced yesterday, Manuel Masalva — who is one of my best friends, who is really like a brother to me — fell victim to a very aggressive bacteria while he was on vacation. And this led to him being in an induced coma, and until now his situation continues to be delicate.
‘The medical costs are enormous and in a country where everything is even more difficult. Any help, no matter how small it may seem, can make a difference in this difficult moment. If you are able to contribute, we will express our heart-filled gratitude.’
In a later post, Morán thanked fans for their donations.
Masalva first professional acting credit was Mexican telenovela Mi corazón es tuyo (My Heart is Yours) in 2014.
His other credits include telenovela Yago, anthology drama La rosa de Guadelupe (The Rose of Guadalupe) and TV series El Secreto de la Familia Greco (The Secret of the Greco Family), which is based on a true story.
Masalva’s most recent credits are short Si El Humo No Da Señales (If the Smoke Doesn’t Give Signs) and Tengo que morir todas las noches (I Have to Die Every Night).
He had also filmed upcoming v Netflix series The Gringo Hunters, currently in post-production in Mexico City, according to Deadline.
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Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has hit back against online criticism of the show losing its gritty British nature ahead of season seven.
The long-running acclaimed dystopia originated on Channel 4 in 2011 as a ‘contemporary British re-working of the Twilight Zone’ and was acquired by Netflix in 2016 where it has since aired four seasons.
The show has been praised for multiple episodes across its repertoire, not least from recent seasons, including the sapphic love story in San Junipero, the bleak outlook on virtual reality in USS Callister and even an interactive movie, Bandersnatch.
But there has been mounting chatter online that the charm of the original two seasons which focused on British storytelling might have been lost under the big Netflix budget.
‘I hear that a lot,’ Charlie told Metro, jokingly referring to it as ‘the charm of the pig f***ing episode’.
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He continued: ‘When we first did the Netflix season it was a conscious decision from me to do episodes like San Junipero which were evocative and romantic, sort of epic, cinematic feeling, sort of story.
‘That said, I think that we consistently continue doing episodes like Plaything, Loch Henry, Demon 79. These are very, very British stories, which I don’t think anyone would say are charm offensive.
‘So I feel like that is slightly received wisdom when people say that. I get where they’re coming from but I think if you look overall in the season we do balance the big, slightly more epic stories with gritty ones where people are having a terrible time with terrible teeth.’
‘I think there’s a good balance.’
One such episode in the new season is Plaything, which follows a man called Cameron who is a murder suspect with a link to an unusual 90s video game.
It stars Will Poulter as returning Bandersnetch character Colin Ritman alongside Peter Capaldi and Lewis Gribben who play the older and younger version of the newly-introduced character Cameron.
‘Plaything isn’t really a sequel to Bandersnatch,’ Charlie clarified, as he explained how the character actually returns.
‘While I was writing it, it was a separately conceived story. I just got to the point of, “oh, well, now we’re going to go and meet the creator of this game”.
‘One of my favourite characters ever in the series was Colin Ritman. What if it could be him? And could we get Asim [Chaudhry] as well to play Mo, the owner of Tuckersoft? Could we do that?
‘But I guess we could. Why not? Who decides these rules? It’s not like the government is going to step in and shut us down. So that was why.’
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Lewis shares a scene with Will in the upcoming episode and revealed he hasn’t actually seen Bandersnatch.
‘It’s one of the few things I haven’t watched, which probably helped, because I would have been a bit more like, “oh God”. Even just from the reception of the trailers and looking at comments and stuff like, [Will is] so loved as this character in that movie,’ he explained.
And added: ‘Bandersnatch obviously gives a certain little expectation to what people will like or not. I hope people realise, obviously, it’s part of it [but] It’s not the main part of it. It is a sequel of sorts. It’s more like an on-screen reference, more than he’s fully enamoured in it.’
Since Lewis is playing the younger version of the Doctor Who star, the pair quickly came up with a strategy themselves as believable as possible.
‘I said to Peter at the end of the readthrough, “you’re gonna have to play me though.” And he was like, “I guess so.” So that’s the way we did it.
‘It’s so well clearly lined out in the beginning [for him] to be anxious, nervous. He has a traumatic childhood growing up. I’ve played characters similar to him before, so I knew how to get into that.
‘Then what Peter did was he took voice recordings of me saying his lines. I walked in front of him a couple of times so that he could mimic my movements.
‘He would just take things from me and then add them to his version of the character. He kind of just scooped a bit of me and put it in him,’ Lewis shared.
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The show is notoriously secretive, desperate to keep storylines under wraps and it was no different for this season, although Lewis did have one mishap.
‘There was a code name for the show. We only got the episode to read in full after we’d been cast so there’s measures of secrecy in place. It wasn’t so bad that you didn’t know what you’re going to be doing on the day in the middle of it. You’ve got to run lines,’ co-star Josh Finan said.
And Lewis recalled: ‘I remember when we were coming down for the read through I asked for a printout of the script, because I like to learn lines from the physical.
‘And I was on the train, and my bag opened up – the zip – and the script flung out on the middle of the of the train. But no one saw it.
‘I think one or two people saw the Netflix logo, but they didn’t see what it was, because it doesn’t have Black Mirror on the script or anything. But it was bit like “oh crap.” But no, we got away with it.’
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Another quintessentially British episode, Bete Noir, follows ‘confectionary whizz kid Maria’ played by Siena Kelly whose life takes a strange turn when a ghost from her past, Verity (Rosy McEwan), lands a job at her workplace.
In the episode, we see an interesting dynamic playout as Maria, a Black woman, starts to feel some heat from Verity that no one else seems to notice.
It’s a powerful parallel to real-life dynamics, and something both Siena and Rosy took into consideration when bringing this story to life.
‘I don’t think we thought about it much. I thought the visuals would do enough. There wouldn’t be anything else we needed to add to it,’ Siena explained.
Then added: ‘I liked that about the casting, especially the reputation Black women get of being angry or volatile and so Maria having to be the one who is extremely professional and really keep her mouth shut.’
‘It felt right,’ Rosy echoed.
The show, intentional or not, is a mirror of the world we live in for better or for worse.
‘We’ve got these dystopian elements within our show, and there’s dystopian elements outside the window. So as an animal, selfishly, I try to block out the outside world often when writing, because it’s sort of depressing to look at the news at the moment,’ Charlie explained about his creative process.
This season includes an unconventional story starring Emma Corrin and Issa Rae with queer themes that the Cunk creator has said are more incidental than anything purposeful.
‘It’s definitely got similarities with San Junipero, obviously. It might sound like a weird thing to say but I don’t think too much about that when I’m writing.
‘Certainly when I was writing San Junipero, when I was writing Hotel Reverie – even though the characters are very specific, which makes it very specific – I’m thinking about universality.
‘And I think hopefully that comes across in the story that it’s not heavy-handed. I hope, in terms of themes, it feels like quite a universal love story and a fantastical story.
‘I think about it by not thinking about it if that makes sense and doesn’t sound too flippant.’
All six episodes of Black Mirror air on Netflix on Thursday, April 10.
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Mo.co is a change of pace for Supercell (Supercell) This month’s new smartphone gaming apps include a new game from Supercell, a prequel to The Electric State, and murder mystery Expelled! April’s batch of new mobile game releases include the touchscreen versions of Songs Of […]
GamingThis month’s new smartphone gaming apps include a new game from Supercell, a prequel to The Electric State, and murder mystery Expelled!
April’s batch of new mobile game releases include the touchscreen versions of Songs Of Conquest and Dredge, along with the spiritual successor to Overboard!, clever new puzzle game The Valley Of The Architects, and a very cheap new tower defence game.
iOS & Android, £11.99 (Coffee Stain)
Originally released on PC last year, the mobile version of Songs Of Conquest feels like coming home, its turn-based interactions and pixel art feeling just right on a phone or iPad.
Its tale of warring fantasy characters may not have much of a sense of humour but the mix of light exploration to gather buffs and new weapons, and capture farms and cities for your cause, is interspersed with engaging Final Fantasy Tactics-style battles.
Given its cute good looks it’s surprisingly tough, with fights easily able to blindside you when spell-casting enemy Wielders are involved. If you don’t mind a few retries, and make sure you scour the countryside for power-ups, this will keep you busy for weeks.
Score: 7/10
iOS, £3.99 (Whaleo)
The intriguingly entitled Valley Of The Architects is a puzzle game involving getting passengers to their correct destinations using a series of lifts that operate autonomously.
Your job is to set the floor each lift starts on and adjust stoppers that they bounce off when they reach certain floors, to get everyone to the right place – while avoiding an expanding array of obstacles along the way.
Completing levels tends to mean a fascinating few minutes’ head scratching as you set everything up, testing and tweaking as you go, followed by a final run where each passenger weaves their way to their final goal via the artful sequence of lifts you’ve arranged for them.
It’s enormously satisfying, its elegant design and perfectly minimalist interface, music and sound effects creating just the right accompaniment to your puzzle solving.
Score: 8/10
iOS & Android, Free (Supercell)
A new MMO from Clash Of Clans maker Supercell, that adds you to the staff roster at a monster hunting start-up business.
Unlike recent hit Brawl Stars, and the rather less successful Squad Busters, Mo.co is pure PvE, so your character can only turn his or her increasing firepower on the cartoon monsters you’re all battling, and never on fellow players.
Hopping into a glowing portal you choose which level to attack depending on time limited events and available objectives, and while the first few hours feel fairly primitive in gameplay terms – hold down attack when you’re near an enemy – things get more interesting as you get nearer the endgame.
Once you’re sufficiently levelled there are challenges for four players where each takes on a specific role, and others where dozens of hunters club together to defeat super-bosses. Whether it has the staying power Supercell traditionally aims for remains to be seen, but it’s an interesting new direction for the studio.
Score: 7/10
iOS, £3.99 (Philipp Stollenmayer)
Delivering its zany food-based reinterpretation of some of Shakespeare’s works through the medium of song, accompanied by visuals that use old cut up recipe books animated in a charming Terry Gilliam style, this is not your typical mobile game.
Its characters are snacks with googly eyes stuck on them, that you have to nudge and drag through dioramas depicting the plot as you listen to each of its 10 songs, all of which have a secret remix to unlock. It doesn’t really involve skill but it does prove mildly diverting.
Made by mobile game designing legend Philipp Stollenmayer, with songs written and sung by Britain’s Got Talent finalist Lorraine Bowen, we have to concede her brand of quirkiness leaves us completely cold, as unfortunately does this musical – but if you enjoy its very particular type of cheerful silliness you might find something here to love.
Score: 5/10
iOS & Android, Free – £24.99 Full game unlock (Black Salt Games)
While Dredge is notionally a fishing-based role-playing game, its Lovecraftian milieux and sinister clutch of characters instantly place it apart from more typical fare.
Borrowing a trawler, you set out to plumb the depths for saleable marine life, as well as dredging up crafting materials and a fair number of eldritch horrors, which fortunately you can sell to the fishmonger for extra cash.
With a downbeat art style and a plot that gradually reveals all that lurks beneath, there’s plenty of exploration and ship upgrading to undertake on your way to finding out what’s going on. It felt a bit too slim on consoles and PC but while it works better on mobile the price tag is more than most are likely to pay for the full thing.
Score: 7/10
iOS & Android, 29p (Obscure)
Tower defence games are far from a rarity on the Google Play and App Stores, but these days many of them are free to play, which tends to make them endlessly long and just slightly unbalanced to encourage you to cough up your savings.
DunCreate’s 2D take on the genre is a bit more honest. It’s also resolutely old school, even if its difficulty level progresses so slowly it can occasionally feel like a freemium game in the sheer scale of content to plough through.
While it may not have the panache of Ironside’s classic Kingdom Rush series its straightforward interface is ideal for mobile and does at least scratch the same itch as its more costly genre alternatives.
Score: 6/10
iOS, £5.99 (Inkle)
You’re Verity Amersham, scholarship student and all round good girl; it’s the last day of term, at Miss Mulligatawney’s School for Promising Girls, and Louisa Hardcastle has just been shoved through a stained glass window – apparently by you.
That gives you just over eight hours to clear your name before the holidays start and you’re expelled. You need to scout locations, harvest gossip, and gather evidence to identify the real culprit in what amounts to a text adventure, albeit one that’s been lavishly illustrated, with some of its speech voiced, making it feel lively and involving throughout.
Repeatedly looping back through the brief period of your investigation you need to be assiduous in your evidence gathering, because Miss Mulligatawney doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and anything less than complete proof will see your accusations loftily dismissed. It’s fun, and its script wonderfully acerbic.
Score: 8/10
iOS & Android, Included with Netflix subscription (Netflix)
Based on the Simon Stålenhag graphic novel, The Electric State movie cost over $300 million to make, stars Chris Pratt, and is currently languishing at 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The game Electric State: Kid Cosmo is a playable prequel to the film, set in the decade leading up to its events. Gameplay revolves around an 8-bit Kid Cosmo handheld game, which your character and his sister play as world events escalate in the background.
The way it layers plot and characters around playing the made-up handheld – which at one point you have to repair when it breaks – works beautifully, the physicality of the handheld brilliantly realised on your phone screen, even if the simulated Kid Cosmo game itself is only okay.
Score: 7/10
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Mario Kart World is more expensive than Black Ops 6 (Nintendo) The Friday letters page is unsure how much of a success the Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be, as one reader asks if the new Pro Controller is worth it. To join in […]
GamingThe Friday letters page is unsure how much of a success the Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be, as one reader asks if the new Pro Controller is worth it.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Devalued classic
To people complaining about the price of Switch 2 games – you do know the price hasn’t increased with the budget of modern games, don’t you? They cost 10 times what they used to but we’re still only paying, what, 80% more than we did in the 16-bit era? SNES games were routinely £50 in 1993.
Go see a musical in London and it’ll cost you £60, a stadium concert is £100+, and each offers only a few hours’ experience versus these huge 100-hour games.
So, while £70 feels like a lot I don’t think it really is in the grand scheme of things. Rather, it’s Steam and co.’s fault for allowing prices to race to the bottom. When modern classics are £4.99 it changes everyone’s expectations. No, Nintendo ain’t cheap but I applaud them for always preserving the value of their games. At least this way you’ll really play them.
Owen Pile
Cause and effect
I know Matt said that he couldn’t see any justification or defence of the price increase of games, but he kinda gave one himself.
‘This at a time when bills are soaring. They want people to pay over £70 per game.’
Those two things are not unrelated.
Still, it is hard to justify paying what still feels like a lot – particularly when there are so many excellent cheap or free games still kicking around (I’ve only just finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard in last month’s PS Plus offering, with RoboCop: Rogue City next up!). It’s odd: games are both too cheap, and too expensive!
Other Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)
GC: Dragon Age is on PS Plus because it was a flop and now there’s probably not going to be anymore, because no one bought it.
Same as it ever was
I’m not excusing Nintendo for its RRP of £74.99 for Mario Kart, but the RRP for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 was only £5 cheaper at £69.99. Street Fighter had a RRP of £60 on SNES 23 years ago. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was released on the same day as the N64 and was £70. The game didn’t even have a battery back-up, so you couldn’t save the game unless you spent another £30 on a memory card!
Then, of course, there was the Neo-Geo console released in 1990. The games cartridges were £130 to £200 each! Just saying.
Tim Keeling
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Five’s the charm
I’m lucky enough to have been invited to pre=order the new Switch on the Nintendo Store but, as it’s looking quite expensive, I was wondering if you could advise me on whether the new Pro Controller is worth investing in?
I already have four for the Switch but I’m not sure it’s worth £70 for a new one (especially seeing as the ‘C’ button doesn’t interest me). Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Lord Crump
GC: It’s very similar to the original one. The only major differences seemed to be the ‘C’ button, an audio jack, and two new programmable buttons on the back.
Video game-esque
This is not exactly game-related, but I feel compelled to tell anyone who might listen about Scavengers Reign, that I’ve recently been watching on Netflix. It’s a sci-fi animation that follows a small group of survivors stranded on an alien planet and depicts how they strive to stay alive when literally anything can kill them, often in unpleasantly sticky and icky ways.
It features some fantastically grotesque and imaginative alien wildlife and a really oppressive, unique world. I think it would be of particular interest to those with a gaming mindset who, like me, play games to explore and experience a sense of discovery. Also, some game developers may benefit from taking influence on how to create interesting alien lifeforms and planets!
woodylfc1976
Not cheap enough
Have just been doing a little shopping on the CeX website. Put a few DVDs and games in my basket. All good. Clicked view basket, £49.95 so far. Yeah, good pricing. Went to the next page, couldn’t get all delivered to the shop for free. Oh well, £3.95 delivery. Seems reasonable. Look at the bottom and the total jumped to over £70! They were charging £3.95 per item. Are they having a laugh? Maybe £20 for a heavy console and a pile of games but not 4 quid per game.
I like CeX normally but I’m gonna be dumb if I were to pay that. Surely, they can bundle all of the items up and ship them to the store I selected. Even scummy Sports Direct only charge you once!
Less game having, due to excess postal practices.
Bobwallett
PS: the games were: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Gears Tactics, and Evil West.
GC: Isn’t it likely they’re all coming from different stores?
Uncertain future
Have enjoyed the fans back and forth since the Switch 2 reveal. It’s interesting to see where gamer sentiment is starting to fall in the days since.
Price is obviously the big sticking point and I think both sides of the argument are kind of right. It is very expensive to get set-up on Switch 2, but it is also probably worth it in the long run when you look at the last machine and its first party support. If you already have a PlayStation 5, and can play third parties as intended, I can understand the caution and I’m with you, but if you’re a Switch-only gamer… It is a good deal.
Looking at the costs. You’ve got the console, a couple of first party games (preferably on cartridge since this is Nintendo after all), the Pro Controller, the camera, a new ‘express’ memory card, paid updates to older games, old third party games that will be full price releases and a fiver for the instruction manual. This starts to add up very quickly, even if you don’t get everything at once, and that should be acknowledged even if you think it’s good value rather than calling out people for complaining, as some have.
I’m interested to see how it lands after the initial run of early adopters wanes and the unfolding economic situation starts to bite. Will we see a 3DS repeat? Will Nintendo re-evaluate and take the hit after it becomes apparent the market won’t take the initial prices? I’m not sure I see cuts if sales are sluggish medium term, but this has to be a mega hit for Nintendo, as all their eggs are in this basket. The units need to get into the hands of gamers no matter what. Maybe some more imaginative trade in scheme for OG Switch owners could work?
Marc
Evil weekend
I’ve spent my whole weekend gaming and watching films (Heaven) but I’ve got back into Resident Evil 5.
It’s in my top 10 games of all time. I’ve played through it about 20 times, and it has the nostalgia with the Lickers and great gunplay. It just came out after Resident Evil 4 so was always compared to that game, whereas I think 5 is more fun.
Chris Roidfield is just a legend and everyone loves Sheva – hopefully they do remaster the game.
Simon
Moderately hyped
Well, the Nintendo Direct definitely got me interested, not super hyped, despite the Switch 2 looking pretty special and possibly more powerful than I hoped to imagine. But it was helped by a rather decent looking Mario Kart World game, which pretty much was exceptionably more than I expected.
A world of courses and connected within a larger world, which in all honesty I did not see coming! Though it’s not something I’ve been trying to find information about, as I haven’t played racing games of any form for a long time.
The amount of vehicles and courses is commendable but even more game modes was nice to see. But free roam is pretty interesting and to explore the countryside between races is a nice idea. Definitely one of my favourite games shown.
Loving the feel of Donkey Kong Bananza’s comic style of gameplay and definitely need to see more of what this game can do, and please have a great soundtrack to accompany it. The first three Donkey Kong soundtracks on the SNES are still the greatest ever, in my own opinion, for this franchise.
Not too surprising news about the two Switch mainline Zelda games getting remastered, with some extra locations and dialogue with new scenes possibly. But all good stuff and the same with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
The Duskbloods and Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring was another surprise and Bloodborne vibes happening in The Duskbloods is enticing indeed. Gothic vampire worlds are up my street, especially if FromSoftware are behind it.
Although my current Switch has been used for mainly third party indie titles, apart from Zelda, the Switch 2 does show some good ideas for the core Nintendo titles. Switch 2 looks like a sound console for sure and I’ll definitely be looking forward to the reactions of gamers and critics to the new guy on the street.
Alucard
GC: The Zelda games aren’t getting any new content.
Inbox also-rans
Do we know if Switch 2’s GameCube library will use the new screen’s bells and whistles or is it just retail games? I’d very much like to experience F-Zero GX at 120fps and I doubt I’m the only one.
ANON
GC: They didn’t say anything about frame rate, but it’ll be higher resolution and have online multiplayer.
I read that Nintendo really were thinking of calling it the Super Switch. I get why they didn’t (what if there’s a Switch 3?) but I wish they had.
Watson
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ITV is reportedly keen to revive beloved sitcom Benidorm for an 11th series (Picture: ITV/Tiger Aspect) We have very exciting news for Benidorm fans, as we could be returning to the Solana Resort sooner than you think. The beloved comedy premiered on ITV in 2007, […]
TVWe have very exciting news for Benidorm fans, as we could be returning to the Solana Resort sooner than you think.
The beloved comedy premiered on ITV in 2007, garnering an instant fanbase thanks to hysterical performances from the likes of Steve Pemberton, Siobhan Finneran, Janine Duvitski, Sheila Reid, Tim Healy, and Johnny Vegas.
It followed an ensemble cast playing holidaymakers and staff at the Solana all-inclusive hotel in Spain, where chaos ensued.
Benidorm ran for 10 series across 74 episodes, finishing in 2018 when the channel pulled the plug, with original cast members having departed and ratings dipping.
But now, it’s been claimed ITV is looking to bring it back.
According to The Sun, meetings are underway, and a new series is on the cards.
A source said: ‘Benidorm was adored by millions when it was suddenly cancelled. Fans will be thrilled to hear ITV wants to bring it back.’
They added that there’s ‘major excitement’ already building as ‘early talks’ begin.
‘Producers have started to reach out to the show’s stars and are hopeful a decision can be made later this year.’
Metro understands that nothing has been given the green light just yet; however, we certainly have reasons to be hopeful.
It comes after previous cast members have expressed their support for a revival. Sherrie Hewson (who played manageress Temple-Savage) said last year on Good Morning Britain: ‘Well, everybody in the world watches it now.’
As Benidorm continues to do numbers on Netflix, she added: ‘Everybody stops me in the street and says, “We just want it back.”
‘It would make a film, I think, and you could bring people from everywhere that had ever been on Benidorm, their stories back together.
‘I think it would be brilliant, and it would be two and a half hours as opposed to half an hour. ‘I think it would be very funny, so that’s what I’m up there for.’
Indeed, the appetite for a Benidorm reboot is strong several years later, with X being sent into meltdown upon discovering it is a possibility and demanding the return of the OG cast.
The sitcom won numerous awards in its heyday, including an NTA, and was nominated for a Bafta.
Therefore, when it was cancelled, creator Derren Litten wasn’t going quietly.
Picking up the best comedy TV Choice Award just two months after the show was scrapped, he said: ‘This is a bit awkward; the show’s just been cancelled.’
He added with a facetious tone: ‘I’ve huge respect for ITV—a show that’s getting five and a half million viewers and still picking up awards, but they’ve cancelled it. That takes balls.’
ITV originally cited the show having simply ‘run its course’ as the reason for tossing it on the scrap heap.
The network was reportedly ‘disappointed’ when series 10 premiered to 400,000 viewers less than the previous year, as 4.3million tuned in.
However, in recent years, it’s had somewhat of a resurgence thanks to all episodes being available on streaming platforms and clips going viral on TikTok.
A whole new generation has now been able to laugh at the antics of the Garvey family, plus Madge and Mel, and not to mention cameos from Cilla Black and Dame Joan Collins.
From Sheridan Smith to Hannah Waddingham, Benidorm featured a wide range of stars from start to finish, many of whom have gone on to enjoy careers at epic heights.
ITV has been contacted for comment.
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