Patrick Oliver Cockburn is a journalist who has been a Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times since 1979 and, from 1990, The Independent. He has also worked as a correspondent in Moscow and Washington and is a frequent contributor to the London Review of Books.
Charlton Brooker is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series Black Mirror, and has written for comedy series such as Brass Eye, The 11 O'Clock Show and Nathan Barley.
Todd Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, formerly played by Bruno Langley from 2001 to 2017, and now played by Gareth Pierce. The character's debut was broadcast on 14 January 2001. He was introduced as part of the Grimshaw family, formed around the established character Eileen Grimshaw. Todd was the programme's first gay character which generated much coverage in the British media. The coming out storyline was credited for helping Coronation Street portray a more accurate depiction of society in the 21st century. The character's storylines have mainly focused on his relationships with Sarah-Louise Platt, Karl Foster, Marcus Dent and Billy Mayhew. Langley decided to leave the show in 2004 but returned for brief appearances in 2007 and 2011. The actor agreed to reprise the role on a permanent basis in 2013. Todd remained a part of the series until Langley's contract was terminated following legal issues in 2017. It was announced in July 2020 that Todd was to return, with the role having been recast to Pierce; Todd returned on 9 October 2020.
The British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that has celebrated the best of British journalism since the 1970s. A financially lucrative part of the Press Gazette's business, they have been described as "the Oscars of British journalism", or less flatteringly, "The Hackademy Awards".
Damon Grant is a fictional character in the defunct British soap opera Brookside, played by Simon O'Brien. The character was part of the initial cast, appearing from episode one in 1982 until 1987. At the time of the soap's inception, Damon was the youngest son of Bobby and Sheila Grant, with an older brother, Barry, and older sister, Karen.
Lauren Margot Peachy Child is an English children's author and illustrator. She is best known for the Charlie and Lola picture book series and other book series. Her influences include E. H. Shepard, Quentin Blake, Carl Larsson, and Ludwig Bemelmans.
Casualty@Holby City (styled as CASUAL+Y @ HOLBY CI+Y) is a series of special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not broadcast until 26 December 2004. As of 27 December 2005, four crossover specials have been aired, comprising nine episodes total. Although further crossovers of storylines and characters have since occurred, they have not been broadcast under the Casualty@Holby City title.
The first series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 January 1999, and concluded on 9 March 1999. The show was created by Mal Young and Tony McHale as a spin–off from the BBC medical drama Casualty, intended to follow the treatment of patients from Casualty as they were transferred onto the hospital's surgical wards. McHale served as the programme's lead writer throughout the first series, which ran for nine episodes. Young cast actors who were already established names in the acting industry, particularly from a soap opera background. Several cast members shadowed real surgeons and nurses in preparation for their roles to increase the show's realism. The series received mixed reviews from critics. It was compared favourably with Casualty, but received negative reviews in which it was contrasted poorly with the American medical drama ER. The series première attracted 10.72 million viewers, falling to 8.51 million by the series finale.
Dominic Power is an English actor. Power has portrayed Leon Taylor in the ITV police drama The Bill and Cameron Murray in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers are a Celtic rock band from Scotland. Formed in 2002, they became popular internationally in 2007 after winning the BBC talent show When Will I Be Famous?
Rory McCann is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series Game of Thrones, Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy Hot Fuzz (2007), Jurgen the Brutal in the adventure comedy Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and the voice of Megatron in Transformers: EarthSpark.
Bedsitcom is a British reality television hoax series that was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2003. Pitched as "somewhere between a sitcom and a reality TV show", the show documented the lives of six young people living in a loft flat in London. Its hook was that its TV audience was aware that three of the participants—named Mel, Paul and Rufus—were actually actors being directed by a trio of "writers" in a garage on the ground floor.
"Pasty tax" was a popular phrase used by the British press to describe a proposal in the 2012 United Kingdom budget to simplify the tax treatment of "hot takeaway food" so that Value Added Tax (VAT) would be charged at 20% in all cases. The change would have increased the sale price of hot snacks such as sausage rolls and Cornish pasties sold on the premises where they were baked. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne delivered the proposal of the so-called "March Budget".
María Belón is a Spanish physician and motivational speaker, known for surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami when she was on vacation in Thailand with her husband Enrique (Quique) Álvarez and three sons Lucas, Simón, and Tomás. She was severely injured in the tsunami and nearly died.
Clare Cathcart was a Northern Irish actress.
"The National Anthem" is the series premiere of the British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. Written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker, it was directed by Otto Bathurst and first aired on Channel 4 on 4 December 2011.
T-Babe was a virtual pop singer created by husband-and-wife team Sascha and Tessa Hartmann for their independent record label Glasgow Records. The couple were looking to sign an artist to sing the dance tunes that Sascha had written, but were unable to find anyone suitable. As a result, they decided instead to create a 3D computer-generated character who could perform the songs.
FHM's 100 Sexiest Women was an annual listing compiled by the monthly British men's lifestyle magazine FHM, based on which women they believe to be the "sexiest". As of 2017, each year's list is first announced through a section on FHM's official website, FHM.com. The first listing was published in 1995 and was voted for by a panel of 250 judges. The inaugural winner was German supermodel Claudia Schiffer. From 1996 to 2015, the poll was instead voted for by the general public with, at its height, several million votes being cast each year. Subsequent winners have included the British singer Cheryl, the American actress Halle Berry, and Jennifer Lopez. At 36 years old, Berry is the oldest woman ever to top the listing, while Lopez is the first to top the list more than once. By the time FHM ceased publication of its print edition in January 2016, the 100 Sexiest Women list had been compiled 21 times. The most recent holder of the Sexiest Woman title is the Israeli Actress Gal Gadot in 2017.
Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This page details Bouchercon XLIV and the 2013 Anthony Awards ceremony.
