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Grand Designs viewers have expressed their disbelief over a ‘gloriously mad’ project that has never been attempted before.

Airing since 1999, the Channel 4 series presented by Kevin McCloud follows unique property builds, often taking several years and presenting plenty of challenges.

Tonight it returned for its 23^rd season, with the first episode following a groundbreaking project that has never been tackled in the property renovation programme’s 26-year history.

Over the past 30 years, Howard and Sarah have embarked on several ambitious building designs together, but on Grand Designs took on their most radical yet – a sleek, angled, metallic floating home on a tidal estuary near Worthing.

However, it’s fair to say that the finished property was not to every viewer’s taste, with @MillieJonesView making the bold claim on X: ‘Could this be the ugliest home ever on #GrandDesigns? I think so…’

Echoing their sentiment, @stryder444 said: ‘Doesn’t look very homely. All the comfort of a visitor centre. #granddesigns.’

In a savage takedown, @truly_woolie wrote: ‘It looks like a child of Elon’s Cybertruck. Hideous. #GrandDesigns.’

@Jasonharvey70g1 added: It’s a massive cyber truck #GrandDesigns.’

Some Grand Designs viewers, though, were in awe of the scale and the ambition of Howard and Sarah’s project.

@Toady exclaimed: ‘Oh this looks gloriously mad #GrandDesigns.’

@TheMizzCBB said: ‘This one is very bonkers. I like the design but how will the bottom look like in a few years? #granddesigns.’

@arrmstronski commented: ‘Well, this looks ambitious. #granddesigns

Designed to look like a boat, and nestled within a houseboat community, the structure sits on an experimental, prefabricated, polystyrene slab to deal with high tides alternating with hours sitting in the mud.

On top of the floating polystyrene will is steel frame strong enough to resist the stresses of a moving structure, covered in composite, insulated steel cladding.

Upstairs there is a soaring, open-plan living space with an outer deck and views of the estuary, while below deck made accommodation for them and their teenage children, a home office and a cinema room.

The couple set aside £385,000 to spend across an 18-month schedule, also planning to do much of the work themselves and finalising the engineering as they went.

Ahead of the episode, a clip showed the pair in the early stages of the process. In one Howard explained their plan to use ‘surfboard technology’.

Showing a paddleboard, he made 15 years ago, he said the construction is ‘very light and can be lifted really easily’.

‘We can make them in a workshop which means we can control the quality, and it also manages the cost because we aren’t having to rent a huge shipyard to make it in one piece,’ he said.

‘But as far as we are aware, no-one has actually used this technology to make a floating home before. We are in the unfortunate position of being the experimenters’.

In a voice-over, Kevin said the ‘radical ethos of this project is hardcore self-build territory’.

The other clip showed them putting together blocks of polystyrene that are being connected by glue, which is then activated when water is sprayed on.

However, they quickly realised there’s a problem when rushing to connect blocks to find they haven’t been cut correctly and didn’t fit…

Speaking ahead of the season premiere, Kevin also offered an insight into what viewers can expect.

‘It is short, we are making something that is not too lengthy, we are making it snappy. We have two new revisits which are really meaningful.  One of the revisits is with a blended family, a couple who were both bereaved and brought their children together into a house. The house is designed by the husband and honestly, it is sort of one of my favourite projects,’ he said.

Grand Designs airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Channel 4.

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The gritty true crime drama starring Stephen Graham has entered Netflix’s top 10 after Adolescence’s smash success.

As Adolescence breaks new viewing records as the most-watched UK show on Netflix ever, a lesser-known series starring the Line of Duty actor is also rising the ranks, currently at number eight in the UK.

Originally released on ITV in 2022, The Walk-In stars Stephen, 51, as a journalist who works with a mole in a dangerous neo-Nazi organisation to expose their plans before they can kill again.

Written by acclaimed screenwriter Jeff Pope, it is based on the true story of how a far-right plan to kill an MP was foiled by an inside man.

The Line of Duty and Boiling Point star plays reformed neo-Nazi Matthew Collins – who, after being approached by police, works with an undercover mole to infiltrate a dangerous group who are hell-bent on starting a race riot in the UK.

The series’ star-studded cast also includes Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Jason Flemyng, Shameless actor Dean Lennox Kelly and EastEnders’ Tracy-Ann Oberman.

After originally airing in 2022, the five-part series is available to stream in full on Netflix.

Matthew Collins, upon whose story the series is based, was once the South London organiser for the National Front, a volunteer for the British National Party, and a member of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18.

After taking part in the Welling riots in 1993, he became a mole for the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight – being paid in book tokens for his work.

When his role was exposed, Matthew went into hiding in Australia for the next ten years, subsequently returning to Britain to make a new life for himself as an anti-fascistactivist and lecturer.

The series picks up with Matthew as he identifies a dangerous far-right sect, making themselves out to be a clean-cut group of young white men.

Its story also follows This Is England star Andrew Ellis as mole Robbie Mullen, who begins feeding Matthew information after the murder of MP Jo Cox.

After receiving an e-mail detailing their plan to murder a second MP, Andrew works with Robbie to foil their future plans.

The miniseries currently boasts an 80% fresh critic score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 76%.

Critics and viewers alike were impressed with Stephen Graham’s ‘gripping’ performance, hailing it as ‘necessary’ viewing for our fractured time.

‘Fantastic frightening series, all the more scary because it’s true and we all know some of the characters. Stephen Graham could not do a bad performance if he tried but he is excellent in this,’ Nick Payne wrote on Google.

‘Stephen Graham is amongst my favourite actors and he is once again, stupendous in this series as well,’ Nishant Jha echoed.

‘Just give Stephen Graham every award on the planet. Masterpiece after masterpiece,’ Jonny Williams said on X.

‘Watching The Walk -In on Netflix, a masterpiece…’ shezai added.

‘Absolutely brilliant,’ Damian James shared.

Meanwhile, Keith Watson, a critic for Metro.co.uk described it as ‘intense,’ highlighting its ‘sincere intentions and important message.’

Speaking on The Graham Norton Show in October 2022, Stephen revealed how important the role was to him.

‘It’s very close to my heart – it’s a very poignant and powerful drama that’s really relevant to what is happening today,’ Stephen said.

‘It is a wonderful piece and what I really like is being part of something that puts a mirror up to society.

‘I was a bit nervous at first about people’s reaction to it, but the way it has been received is phenomenal.’

This article was first published on December 2, 2024.

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Doctor Who returned with a blast in 2005 but two decades into the reboot – is it at risk of following Classic Who’s demise?

The flagship BBC series has become the longest-running sci-fi show in the world since it started in 1963, following the adventures of the Time Lord known as the Doctor and his travelling companions.

The show has seen 15 different iterations of the Doctor (with David Tennant playing him twice), somewhere around 50 sidekicks in some shape or form, and explored the past, distant future, and edges of the universe.

But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the widely-loved series.

Only 26 years into its existence, in December 1989, the BBC decided to indefinitely rest the show after a stint of plummeting viewing figures and restlessness from senior figures in the company to move onto greener pastures.

One person who vividly remembers this time is Doctor Who historian and longtime fan, David Howe, who has written more than 30 books associated with the sci-fi epic.

‘It was a bit rocky in the 80s,’ he told Metro.

‘People were generally still enjoying it and it was still trying to be innovative, trying to push forward what it could do in entertainment.

‘But in 1984 there was a hiatus [because] Michael Grade, who was BBC One controller, didn’t like the show. He basically decided that he wanted to take it off air.’

It’s a deep dislike that Grade has maintained over the years. In 2019, he told the Evening Standard that he ‘hated Doctor Who.’

At the time, he added: ‘I said to the producer, “Do you go to the cinema much? Have you seen Star Wars or ET?” He said yes. I said, “I’ve got news for you so has our audience. What we were serving up as science fiction was garbage”.’

And although the show had reached heights of even 10-13 million viewers under the First Doctor William Hartnell, it was averaging a poor 4 million by Sylvester McCoy’s run in the late 80s.

This was after a period of wildly fluctuating figures and even Colin Baker’s time in the Tardis (1984-1986) seemed to be pulling in reliable (although decreased) viewership around the 8 million mark.

But the decision to pull the plug was still fraught given its still-devoted fanbase, and from David’s memories, he recalls the launch of EastEnders in 1985 as a significant blow for Doctor Who.

‘[The BBC] wanted to have some money [for Eastenders]. So they thought, “well, we need to cut some things then so let’s get rid of Doctor Who.” But there was such a backlash they backtracked and said, “we haven’t cancelled it. We’ve just rested it.”‘

Although there were still plenty of fans enjoying it, the BBC decided to end it in December 1989 to which David simply said: ‘Of course, the fans were upset, but nobody could do anything about it, because it was gone.’

The fandom remained strong off-screen, producing books, magazines and Big Finish Productions started producing audio content by the late 90s. And, of course, In 1996, Paul McGann starred in the Doctor Who TV movie.

So the stage was set for a return under showrunner Russell T Davies on March 26, 2005.

And from the perspective of many of the fans, this reboot was everything the show needed.

In fact, the way David describes the feeling sounds similar to how the new Disney+ deal has been approached, offering new money and the latest visual effects.

He said: ‘And then when they eventually announced in 2004 that it was coming back under Russell T Davies, everybody was just ecstatic.

‘When it did appear there was this amazing up-to-date effect, money and budget. It was just everything everybody wanted to see – Doctor Who dragged, kicking and screaming, into the new century.’

And the reboot kicked off with a promising start as Christopher Eccleston took over as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper came on board as companion Rose Tyler.

The consolidated figures for the first episode, Rose, landed at an impressive 10.8million viewers overnight, the most the show had enjoyed since the the early 80s.

Although it is rarer for Doctor Who to reach those highs today, it has maintained a consistent popularity despite the changing TV landscape as streaming reigns supreme.

When Davies returned as showrunner with 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa in 2023, the show underwent a metamorphosis once more as it launched a new partnership with Disney+ and reset to season one.

But there has been an increasingly vocal contingent of fans who are not only worried that Doctor Who will be axed, but are even calling for it.

Many have pointed to the middling viewing figures for Ncuti’s debut season, which seemed to average between 3.5m to 4.5m viewers – and have compared it to the situation Doctor Who faced in the 80s.

But the comparison is not as clear-cut as some may believe, not least that plenty more fans now watch the show in catch-up rather than just on the night (as was the case during the Classic Who era).

And that’s not the only change.

‘I think it was a little bit different back in the 80s. Doctor Who wasn’t – at that point – a massive, massive brand,’ David explained.

‘So if they’re looking to save some money, I don’t think Doctor Who would even register in that discussion because it’s bringing in so much.

‘Why on earth would you not make it? It’s ridiculous. Of course, you’re going to make it – it’s making a fortune for you.

‘The difficulty is that it’s a very different market nowadays.

‘We’ve now got all the streamers, we’ve got Netflix, we’ve got Disney, we’ve got all of these different areas, so we’re all vying for a viewer’s attention. So that discussion about money becomes a whole lot more complicated.’

The BBC’s 2023/2024 annual report even had Doctor Who as the front page image, as well as listing all its major successes.

‘Production of the hit series contributed an estimated £134.6 million in GVA to the Welsh economy between 2004 and 2021 and £256 million across the UK overall,’ the report states at one point – and is mentioned over 20 times overall throughout.

And Ncuti’s Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road, ended up as the most-watched scripted show on Christmas Day in the UK. What’s more, the 2025 special Joy to the World, scored an impressive 5.9 million viewers in consolidated 7-day figures.

Meanwhile, in the lead-up to season two (launching on April 12), the BBC confirmed it remains one of the most watched programs on iPlayer, is the most popular show in the under-35 demographic and was a top-five show for Disney+ every week it aired last year.

Not too shabby.

The BBC had to issue a firm denial after cancellation rumours swirled earlier this year and Russell confirmed a decision on season three with Disney+ would be made after season two aired.

As put by David: ‘I don’t know where all these rumours about it being cancelled are coming from because the BBC hasn’t said that. Disney hasn’t said that.

‘What [fans] are doing is putting two and two together and coming up with 63. Yes, you could jump to those conclusions.

‘Of course, Russell T Davies is working on new shows. Ncuti is an incredibly talented and popular actor, and they’re only making, eight episodes of Doctor Who a year so what’s he gonna do? Sit there for eight months of the year, twiddling his thumbs? 

‘The climate today is very, very different from back in the 80s. The choice you’ve got today is immense and so is the competition. If you put yourself in the mind of a programmer for the BBC what do you think is going to make you more money?.’

Over 800 episodes of Doctor Who are available to watch on BBC iPlayer including the latest season. Doctor Who returns on April 12, 2025.

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For any fans of The Traitors who’ve been feeling the void ever since the BBC series ended this month… never fear.

Netflix has just dropped a brand new TV series that’s being described as a major rival to the murder mystery gameshow, where players have the chance to win a whopping $1,000,000 (£774,895).

And of course, they need to lie, deceive and manipulate their way through the game in order to be crowned victorious.

Million Dollar Secret, the latest reality series to launch on the streaming platform, has released its first three episodes today, with more episodes due to drop in the next couple of weeks.

The show has been described as a major rival to The Traitors – and after finding out what it’s all about, we can understand why.

In the new programme hosted by actor Peter Serafinowicz, 12 contestants go up against each other in the hope that they’ll emerge from the competition as a newly-minted millionaire.

The catch – at the very start of the game, they each open up a box in their rooms, and one of the 11 boxes contains the whopping million-dollar prize.

For the person who gets their hands on the jackpot box at the start, their task is to hold onto it until the end.

For everyone else, their challenge is to try and figure out who the mystery millionaire is, which they can attempt to do during daily challenges and at dinner, which is when the eliminations take place.

Aka, when they have their very own roundtables.

If the secret millionaire is arousing too much suspicion, they could also rid themselves of the million dollars for the time being, in the hope that they’ll eventually be able to win it back for themselves.

Throughout the competition, there will be ‘devilish games’ that the contestants will hvae to play, with the rewards being clues regarding the millionaire’s identity.

Whenever a player is eliminated, the remaining competitors will be able to find out what was inside their box – as if they were the millionaire, the million dollars will go to someone else.

Of course, there are some differences between Million Dollar Secret and The Traitors – the former is filmed at a luxurious lakeside estate in Canada, rather than in a foreboding castle in Scotland.

Plus, the money a lucky contestant can win at the end isn’t built up as the game goes along, but instead stays the same throughout.

Nonetheless, the comparisons between the two nail-biting shows are undeniable – and inevitably, parallels were drawn very quickly.

The Guardian’s review of the show read: ‘It is transparently, baldly, shamelessly The Traitors,’ while The Standard described it as ‘almost a note-for-note rip-off’.

Even the BBC referenced the similarities, stating in an article: ‘Secrets, lies and a cash prize… sound familiar?’

The broadcaster’s reporter Noor Nanji wrote: ‘I’ve had a sneak preview, and can confirm there are a lot of parallels – from the awkward group meals, to the tearful revelations of why they really, really need the money.

‘One thing it doesn’t have, though, is Claudia and her enviable wardrobe. Instead, it’s hosted by British actor Peter Serafinowicz, who told me the game would be “high stakes” with “endless twists”.’

While we await further news about the Celebrity Traitors that’s coming to the BBC very soon this year, in our eyes, this show couldn’t have come at a better time.

Some viewers have already been sharing on social media how much they’re enjoying watching the new series.

‘Oh I love competition shows especially where trust and lies are involved,’ a fan called Doll wrote.

‘Million Dollar Secret is my flavour of reality TV….love it,’ shared @sealbutts, while @indiethebarbie added: ‘Ok but Million Dollar Secret has me locked in.’

In the trailer that was released in February for Million Dollar Secret, host Peter tells the dozen players: ‘Imagine being invited here, finding a million dollars in your room, knowing it’s yours to keep, but only if you can hide the fact you’ve won the money.

‘Getting the million dollars is easy, but how far would you be willing to go to keep it?’

The trailer also sparked comparisons between the new Netflix show and ITV’s The Fortune Hotel, with one X user called @oldpoyntz writing: ‘Isn’t this the same as ITV’s The Fortune Hotel?’

Million Dollar Secret is available to stream on Netflix.

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ITV viewers are in with the chance to win £1,000,000 from the comfort of their couches.

The broadcaster has announced the new series Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery, which will be hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.

In what will be a TV first, those tuning in from home will be in the running to win exactly the same prize as the contestants in the studio – with one to win a guaranteed £1 million jackpot.

The unique quiz show will be ‘the most interactive quiz show ever aired in the UK, as viewers playing from the comfort of their sofas get the chance to win the same truly amazing prizes as the contestants playing in studio’.

The series then builds to an epic finale where one contestant is guaranteed to win the life-changing jackpot, with that person able to be a viewer who made it through to the final.

It will air on Saturday nights for six weeks and be ‘packed with humour, drama and life-changing decisions’.

The show will see a 40-stong group of studio contestants and viewers playing survey questions based on the views of the Great British public.

Prizes will include dream holidays, luxury cars, and tickets to some of the world’s biggest sporting and entertainment events.

Win Win is ITV’s biggest ever ad-funded series, bringing People’s Postcode Lottery and ITV together.

‘This quiz is so extra! Imagine winning something like a car just by playing along with a gameshow you’re watching on a Saturday night in your pyjamas? I can’t wait!’ Mel said.

Meanwhile her co-host explained: ‘If I wasn’t hosting this, I’d be playing it at home; sat in my leopard print onesie, cuddling the dog whilst trying to figure out The Nation’s favourite chocolate bar. Bring it on!’

ITV’s director of entertainment and daytime Katie Rawcliffe said they were ‘delighted’ to have Mel and Sue bring the new format to life.

‘Forget shouting at the telly or rowing with your family about the answers – you can actually join in and be in with a chance of winning the same prize you’re seeing on screen,’ she said.

Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery will air on ITV sometime this year.

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Gavin and Stacey has lost out on an award to another comedy show that Joanna Page once blasted.

Last year Joanna didn’t hold back when discussing her dislike of the BBC sitcom Things You Should Have Done.

Created by Lucia Keskin, the series sees her star as Lucia ‘Chi’ Morelli, a ‘stay-at-home-daughter’ who is left to fend for herself after her parents unexpectedly die.

The show, which has since been commissioned for a second season, received mixed reviews from critics.

While the iNews said Keskin’s performance was a ‘deadpan masterpiece’, the Guardian said it had ‘plenty of unrealised potential’.

Then, during an episode of her podcast Off the Telly, hosted alongside Natalie Cassidy, Joanna branded the series ‘boring’ and that she ‘shouldn’t have bothered’ watching it.

At the time, Lucia, 24, hit back at Joanna’s comments, sharing on X that ‘criticism is expected with everything it’s a given’.

‘HOWEVER there is a way of doing so without making someone feel terrible about their work whilst being in the industry themselves. Dealing with critics is hard enough,’ she added.

A year on, Lucia appears to have got the last laugh after her show took home a gong at the Royal Television Society awards last night.

The series won the scripted comedy category, winning out against Gavin and Stacey: The Finale and We Are Lady Parts.

Lucia, who uses the name Chi with a C on social media, grew a massive social media following before writing her series.

Speaking to Metro last year, she explained she’d been inspired to create something funny about grief after losing her grandad two years ago.

‘I’ve always loved dark humour and making light of times that are just horrible. When you’re struggling, it can give you relief,’ she said.

Reflecting on the experience she said it was ‘a bit ridiculous that I’ve now got my own show’. ‘I don’t know how it happened. A series two would be great, but if not, it was fun.’

In September last year it was revealed it had in fact been commissioned to return, with Lucia joking she was ‘gutted’ to have to work again.

In the second season, Chi will be forced to continue fending for herself and learn to juggle the demands of modern life whilst having to prepare for the arrival of her highly-strung Auntie Karen’s (Selin Hizli) baby.

Gavin and Stacey and Things You Should Have Done are streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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