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Men Up is a brilliant new dramatic feature that aired on the BBC over Christmas, but is still available to watch on iPlayer. It’s a stirring true story about the rise of viagra in Wales, and manages to find a brilliant tonality, whereby it’s light in parts, yet takes the matter incredibly serious, resulting in a film that studies male mental health in a unique, and important way.

To mark the release of this film, we had the pleasure in speaking to the four leading roles, and below you can find our chats with Iwan Rheon and Paul Rhys, and then with Steffan Rhodri and Phaldut Sharma. We discuss the film in great detail – and we speak about the Welsh, and how this project celebrates Welshness in a unique (and deserving!) way. Watch both interviews in their entirety, below.

Iwan Rheon & Paul Rhys

Steffan Rhodri & Phaldut Sharma

Synopsis

Swansea,...

[This story contains spoilers from Max’s Full Circle.]

Max’s Full Circle garnered interest even before it premiered due to its star-studded cast. But while viewers may have originally tuned in to see Claire Danes, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Olyphant, Zazie Beetz and Jim Gaffigan, those who stayed with the limited series saw a story take center stage of two Guyanese teenagers stuck in New York and desperately trying to get home.

This “bait-and-switch aspect” is part of what appealed to director Steven Soderbergh when writer Ed Solomon presented the project to him. Soderbergh helmed all six episodes of the series, about the fallout from a botched kidnapping.

“You think it’s about this group of well-off white people being victimized. And then over the course of the show, the whole thing starts to tilt,” Soderbergh told a group of reporters in a June roundtable discussion. “By the end of it, we’re in a very different place than where we started.

Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for “Full Circle” Episodes 5 and 6.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind — even if it brings things full circle. The final episodes of Max’s “Full Circle” from Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon reveal a broken cycle of violence, greed, and secrecy that does not ultimately heal from retaliation, but resolution/healing/absolution.

“Full Circle” stars a large ensemble, but the Mahabir side especially spotlights key players at different times. If Episodes 1 and 2 belonged to Aked (Jharrel Jerome), then 3 and 4 were focused on Louis (Gerald Jones) and 5 and 6 spotlight Xavier (Sheyi Cole). Each member of the young crew tasked with doing Savitri’s (Cch Pounder) bidding experiences degrees of panic, fear, and regret after the kidnapping, the specific cocktail of these determining their actions in the final hours. 3 and 4 depict Louis trying to right his wrongs, to return Nicky...

Editors note: the following article contains spoilers for “Full Circle” Episodes 3 and 4.

Nothing is as satisfying as a big TV twist — a jaw-dropping finale or midseason moment that reinforces why the audience gravitated to an exceptional show to begin with, and why they’ll either come back for more or forever crave it.

Max’s “Full Circle” isn’t dealing in excessive convolution — not yet anyway — but Episodes 3 and 4 meter out small twists in just the right dosage, counteracting some slow plot development with clarity about past and current events. Written by Ed Solomon and directed by Steven Soderbergh, “Jared’s Body” divulges more about Nicky (Lucian Zanes) and his connection to the Brownes, while “Safe in the Circle” peels away at the link between the McCusker and Mahabir families.

Episode 3 is the slower of the two for most of its runtime, redeemed toward the end by the reveal that Nicky is Derek’s son.

With “Full Circle,” Steven Soderbergh once again immerses us in a multi-character crime caper. Typical of the director’s work, it’s intricate, obsessed with money, cognizant of sociopolitical realities and astute about human nature (if not super illuminating). This six-episode Max limited series is on the more serious end of the Soderbergh spectrum, “Traffic”-like rather than an “Ocean’s” romp, mousetrap-plotted as opposed to experimental. The overall effect is one of the smart, showy filmmaker doing donuts, but spinning the wheels of a well-tuned Escalade.

Written by Ed Solomon, who also provided the scripts for Soderbergh’s earlier mystery projects “Mosaic” and “No Sudden Move,” “Circle” transfers the basic idea of Akira Kurosawa’s procedural “High and Low” to a contemporary New York City with a much denser population of key characters. A scheme to kidnap the son of a wealthy family gets royally and morally screwed up...

Midway through Steven Soderbergh’s new thriller miniseries Full Circle, Sam Browne (Claire Danes) asks her brooding husband Derek (Timothy Olyphant), “Is there something else going on?” The query comes as the Brownes are dealing with a kidnap threat against their son, an apparent murder, and someone targeting the corporate empire that the couple runs on behalf of Sam’s celebrity chef father, Jeff McCusker (Dennis Quaid).

“You mean more than all this?” an incredulous Derek replies.

So, yes, the Brownes are dealing with a lot. And Soderbergh and writer...

Full Circle is heading to Max later this month, and the streaming service has now released a trailer teasing the new drama series from Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon.

Starring Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Timothy Olyphant, Cch Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes, and Dennis Quaid, the six-episode Max series takes viewers into a kidnapping case that brings to light long-held secrets in New York City.

Read More…...

Summer is heating up on Max.

Back in May, Max added programming from TLC, HGTV and Food Network. That means Discovery’s popular Shark Week will be available to stream when it kicks off on July 23, with programming to be announced soon.

For fans of unscripted series, Season 3 or “90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise: Pillow Talk” (July 4) and Season 5 of “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way” (July 10) are both streaming, as well as the series premiere of “90 Day Fiancé: UK.”

Home renovation fans will want to catch Season 16 of “Barnwood Builders” (July 6) and the special “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” (July 16), hosted by Ashley Graham, just in time for the feature film.

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Here’s What’s New on Amazon Prime Video in July 2023

“Project Greenlight” (July 13) returns, with executive producer Issa Rae along with Kumail Nanjiani and Gina Prince-Bythewood serve as mentors throughout the season.

Finally, the six-episode Max Original limited series “Full Circle,...

Max is lifting the veil on its upcoming limited thriller series “Full Circle,” the latest collaboration between director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon, and the sinister family secrets are about to spill out following a botched kidnapping.

In the trailer, released Wednesday, Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant frantically respond to an alarming phone call that informs them, “We have your son.” As the couple cooperates with law enforcement, an officer (Zazie Beetz) presses them if the caller perhaps had a Guyanese accent — a suggestion that sends Danes spiraling.

“Does that mean something to you?” Beetz asks Danes at the hint of Guyana.

The trailer then lays eyes on Cch Pounder, who appears to be operating a tight ship in an upcoming plot devised for a specific intention, saying “You do exactly what I’ve instructed you to do and the balance will be restored.”

Whatever happens next in the kidnapping,...

Everything comes full circle with Steven Soderbergh’s return to TV.

The “sex, lies, and videotape” auteur helms six-episode limited series “Full Circle” for HBO’s streaming platform Max. Soderbergh signed an overall first-look deal with HBO in January 2020.

“Full Circle” follows an investigation into a botched kidnapping that uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City. Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant star as affluent parents whose teenage son goes missing.

Zazie Beetz, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Cch Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes, and Dennis Quaid appear in the series, which premiered at 2023 Tribeca.

Ed Solomon wrote the series, with Soderbergh directing and executive producing. Fellow executive producer Solomon also penned Soderbergh’s previous series “Mosaic” starring Sharon Stone; Soderbergh additionally helmed show “The Knick” as well.

“Even by Ed’s standards this is a...

Max announces programming coming to the platform this July, including the debut of the Max Original limited series Full Circle (7/13), from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon, which tells the story of an investigation into a botched kidnapping that uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City. The six-episode limited series stars Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Timothy Olyphant, Cch Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes and Dennis Quaid.

The third and final season of the HBO Original docu-comedy series How To With John Wilson (7/28) follows documentary filmmaker and self-described “anxious New Yorker” John Wilson as he continues his heartfelt mission of self-discovery, exploration, and observation as he films the lives of his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give everyday advice on six new deceptively simple and wildly random topics. Building upon season two,...

HBO Max has debuted the teaser trailer for the Steven Soderbergh limited series ‘Full Circle.’

The six-episode New York City-set crime thriller series which follows an investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in the city.

Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Zazie Beetz, Dennis Quaid, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Cch Pounder, William Sadler, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard and Lucian Zanes star.

Also in trailers – Teaser trailer drops for Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

The first two episodes will premiere on Max on July 13th with two new episodes premiering weekly through the series finale on July 27th.

The post Teaser trailer drops for Steven Soderbergh limited series ‘Full Circle’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

From director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon, the Max Original limited series Full Circle debuts with two episodes Thursday, July 13 on Max. The six-episode series will continue with two episodes weekly leading up to the finale on Thursday, July 27.

Logline: An investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City.

Cast: Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Timothy Olyphant, Cch Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes and Dennis Quaid.

Credits: Full Circle is executive produced and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ed Solomon is writer and executive producer. Casey Silver is executive producer.

La entrada ‘Full Circle’, a Max Original Limited Series on July 13 se publicó primero en Martin Cid Magazine.

Everything is connected in the world of Steven Soderbergh.

Max has debuted the teaser trailer for the upcoming six-episode limited series “Full Circle,” directed by “Traffic” Oscar winner Soderbergh and written by “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” scribe Ed Solomon. Solomon also wrote the screenplay for Soderbergh’s 2021 straight-to-hbo-Max heist movie “No Sudden Move.” The series premieres July 13, with two episodes weekly leading up to the finale on July 27. Watch the trailer below.

Per the official logline, an investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present-day New York City. The star-packed cast includes Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Timothy Olyphant, Cch Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes, and Dennis Quaid.

This first trailer teases a tense mystery of interconnectedness. This is not Soderbergh’s first foray into television, as he not...

The first teaser for Steven Soderbergh’s return to TV for limited series “Full Circle” has finally arrived, and we’re questioning everything.

The limited series, which premieres July 13 on Max, follows couple Clare Danes and Dennis Quaid as they search for their kidnapped son amid some shady coincidences.

In the teaser, Danes receives an ominous phone call from a caller who calmly informs her “we have your son.” Danes immediately alerts the authorities and the family gears up for an intense day of questions.

“I just wanted to asked about the ties between you, your family and Guyana,” an investigator (Zazie Beetz) asks Danes. “They’re all hiding sh-t,” she later tells her team. As the detectives dig further, it’s apparent that everything is connected.

Also Read:

David Zaslav Open to Leveraging Max in Bundle With Other Streamers: ‘It Would Be Great for Consumers’

The official logline is...

Max has set a summer premiere date for Full Circle, a limited series from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon, starring Claire Danes, Zazie Beetz, Jharrell Jerome and Timothy Olyphant, among others. The six-episode series will debut with two episodes on Thursday, July 13 on Max, followed by two episodes weekly leading up to the finale on Thursday, July 27. Max also released the first trailer. You can watch it above.

In Full Circle, an investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City.

In addition to Danes, Beetz, Jerome and Olyphant, cast includes Jim Gaffigan, Cch Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes and Dennis Quaid.

Full Circle is executive produced and directed by Soderbergh. Solomon is writer and executive producer. Casey Silver is executive producer.

“Doctor Who” showrunner Russell T Davies is set to exec produce a new BBC drama about the first trials for Viagra.

Produced by Quay Street Productions and Boom, “Men Up” tells the story about a trial for the sex drug that took place in Wales in 1994.

“Industry” scribe Matthew Barry is writing the feature-length drama, which is a co-commission with BBC Wales.

Starring in the show are Iwan Rheon (“Game of Thrones”), Aneurin Barnard (“Dunkirk”), Alexandra Roach (“Killing Eve”), Phaldut Sharma (“Sherwood”), Paul Rhys (“A Discovery of Witches”), Steffan Rhodri (“House of the Dragon”), Mark Lewis Jones (“Gangs of London”), Joanna Page (“Gavin & Stacey”), Alexandria Riley (“The Pembrokeshire Murders”), Nathan Sussex (“It’s A Sin”), Lisa Palfrey (“Sex Education”), Dyfan Dwyfor (“A Very English Scandal”) and Katy Wix (“Ghosts”).

Rheon plays Meurig Jenkins who, along with Colin White (Rhodri), Tommy Cadogan (Rhys), Peetham ‘Pete’ Shah (Sharma) and Eddie O’Connor (Jones), is suffering from impotency.

Since the publication of their bestselling memoir, Bob the ginger street cat and his musician friend James have really gone up in the world. Literary London, with its swanky parties and generous purse, has welcomed the pair with open arms. But for James (Luke Treadaway), the ghosts of his past are never too far from his mind and this Christmas season he is reliving a painful chapter which nearly divided him from his feline sidekick forever.

His flashback is prompted by a (slightly contrived) encounter with a young busker and an unwelcome face from James’ own days of singing for his supper. James persuades the initially mistrustful boy to listen to his story in the hope that it might help him to change his life too. The tale he tells is of his last challenging Christmas as a busker. A time when money was incredibly tight and his ability to...

"Angels are all around us if we just know where to look." Lionsgate UK has released an official trailer for a charming sequel titled A Christmas Gift From Bob, also known as A Gift from Bob for release outside of the UK (though no US date is set yet). Based on the international best-selling books and the 'purrfect' Christmas sequel to the international hit film A Street Cat Named Bob - follow James Bowen and his very best friend, Bob, on their new journey together. But this time Bob and James end up encountering Animal Welfare in London, as they try to take the kitty away from him during Christmas. Don't do it! Starring Luke Treadaway, Bob the Cat, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Phaldut Sharma, Nina Wadia, Tim Plester, Pepter Lunkuse, Celyn Jones, and Anna Wilson-Jones. This really looks like yet another emotional cash grab sequel, unfortunately, despite it being a mostly...

Lionsgate has debuted the first trailer for the follow up to ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’, ‘A Christmas Gift from Bob’. It’s beginning to feel slightly festive!

James looks back at the last Christmas he and Bob spent scraping a living on the streets and how Bob helped him through one of his toughest times – providing strength, friendship and inspiration. Ultimately teaching each other about the true meaning of Christmas spirit along the way.

Directed by Charles Martin Smith, the film stars Luke Treadaway, Bob the Cat, Kristina Tonteri-Young and Phaldut Sharma.

Also in trailers – David Oyelowo and Angelina Jolie star in trailer for ‘Alice in Wonderland and ‘Peter Pan’ mash-up ‘Come Away’

The film hits UK Cinemas and PVOD November 6th

The post Bob does Christmas in new trailer for ‘A Christmas Gift from Bob’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Created by Chris Lang, ITV’s Unforgotten pairs Nicola Walker’s Dci Cassie Stuart with Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Di Sunil Khan. Along with their team, those two investigate decades-old murder cases, piecing together events that transpired many years ago to deliver justice and closure to the victim and their relatives.

Series one saw the duo called to investigate the remains of a man long-buried under the foundations of a London home, while series two began with the discovery of a skeleton dredged up from the River Lea. Series three was the distressing story of a missing teenager whose body was discovered under the central reservation of a motorway.

Series four, which starts with the discovery of a body stored for decades in a domestic freezer, will star New Tricks’ Sheila Hancock, Killing Eve’s Susan Lynch, Wanderlust’s Andy Nyman and more. See below for the full cast and plot details.

For the past 3 weeks, the space thriller survival film Gravity (written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron) has been the #1 movie in the States and around the world. The film’s performance has surprised many critics and even the audiences who have found themselves enthralled by it, and it has set new records for a film released in October (typically considered a weak time of year for movie attendance). It is also the only movie since Avatar that deserves the extra money you will spend on 3D glasses. And you will see it in 3D (preferably in IMAX as well). Because no other film comes close to capturing that surreal feeling of floating above the Earth, what shuttle astronaut Jeff Hoffman has described as “the cosmic perspective.”

Of course, in Gravity that euphoria quickly turns into terror as disaster strikes and Bullock’s character goes spinning off into the void with...

Rated PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Paul Sharma, and Ed Harris Written By: Alfonso Cuarón and Jonas Cuarón Directed By: Alfonso Cuarón Unique movie experiences don’t come along often as even the greatest of movies share similarities with other great films that have come before them. […]

Read Review: Gravity on Filmonic.

‘Gravity’ falls? Not at the domestic box office, as Sandra Bullock and George Clooney space thriller to enjoy one of biggest October openings ever (photo: Alfonso Cuarón directing Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in ‘Gravity’) Alfonso Cuarón’s Warner Bros.-released Gravity will undoubtedly have one of the biggest October openings ever at the North American box office. As mentioned in my previous Gravity box office post, Cuarón’s mix of adventure, horror, suspense thriller, and psychological drama starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney was expected to earn around $40 million by Sunday evening. The Warner Bros.-distributed $100 million-budgeted film will, however, easily surpass that figure. (Note: some sources peg Gravity‘s budget at between $80 million and $120 million, not including marketing and distribution expenses.) (See also: “‘Gravity’ Box Office Record?“) The story of two U.S. astronauts adrift in the solar system after chunks of Earth-orbiting debris crash into their space shuttle,...

‘Gravity’ box office: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney solar system thriller soars on Friday (photo: Sandra Bullock in ‘Gravity’) In large part thanks to brisk 3D ticket sales, Alfonso Cuarón’s Warner Bros.-released Gravity is bound to far surpass initial opening-weekend estimates at the North American box office. Starring Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) and George Clooney (Syriana, Argo), by Sunday evening the $100 million-budgeted two-character psychological thriller about two U.S. astronauts adrift in space was expected to collect around $40 million from 3,575 locations according to early tracking — with 91% of its tickets sales going to the film’s whopping 3,150 3D venues. (For comparison’s sake, back in 2009 3D theaters represented 90% of James Cameron’s Avatar advance ticket sales.) (See also: “‘Gravity’: Biggest October Box Office Debut Ever for an ‘Original Film.’“) On late Thursday, October 3, 2013, and Friday midnight, Gravity took in a solid — but hardly outstanding — $1.4 million.

When the debris of a mishandled destruction of a satellite showers a group of astronauts in orbit on a routine Hubble Space Telescope mission, it hails down, shredding everything in its path. Caught in the Earth’s orbit, the wreckage has an incredible momentum behind it. In space, every second is vital and every inch of movement is crucial in survival, so when one of the astronauts dislodges from a piece of the space shuttle out of control, it sends that individual hurtling through space with nothing to slow it down, nothing to bring it back to its inert state. This intense sequence is not the climax of Gravity, it is just a taste of the first 20 minutes of the film.

Even though Gravity is grounded in reality, this is an exemplary science fiction-horror story birthed to be seen on the big screen and yes it is worth the extra price for 3D.

A rumble slowly begins to build as text across the screen sets the stage for Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, a story that will take us 600 kilometers above the Earth's surface, into the blackness of space. The rumble grows louder... No oxygen. The rumble grows louder, into a dull roar... Below freezing temperatures. The roar grows louder still... Life in space is impossible. And louder, until... Nothing. The noise disappears into deafening silence. A shot of Earth fills the screen and astronaut chatter echoes through the theater as the space shuttle Explorer slowly comes into view. Veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney), Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and a third astronaut, Shariff (Paul Sharma), banter back and forth with Mission Control (voiced by Ed Harris as an homage to Ron Howard's Apollo 13). Clooney's dialogue here is slightly obnoxious and not as funny as I think it's intended to...

“Life in space is impossible.” Before we even hear a word from Alfonso Cuaron’s staggering Gravity, a thin line of text already tells us everything that’s going to happen within its slim, unrelenting ninety-minute runtime. Life in space is impossible. But is survival possible? It’s a normal day for the Explorer team, one that sees Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) working on his space walk time (he’s eager to break a previously-established record by another astronaut) while Shariff (Paul Sharma) tinkers outside the station and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) attempts to repair some malfunctioning equipment so they can finish the upgrade they are tasked with completing. Things are relatively peaceful, the only hitch in an otherwise unremarkable excursion being Dr. Stone’s jumping stomach and her frustration at getting her work done – until the formerly relaxed Houston team suddenly demands an emergency evacuation. Not just for the three space walkers to go inside...

Chicago – There used to be a stronger sense that films could take us someplace new. From the days of audience members screaming at the train coming at the camera because they didn’t understand that they wouldn’t be run over to Dorothy’s trip to Oz to young Skywalker’s family problems, movies captured a sense of wonder that’s been lost in an era when CGI is in KFC commercials and it feels like Hollywood has run out of new places to take us.

This sense of spectacle returns in Alfonso Cuaron’s stunning “Gravity,” a movie that transcends form and becomes an “experience.” It is a technical marvel that moves beyond many of the recent visual effects stunners like “Life of Pi” and “Avatar” by giving you a heroine with whom to identify, cheer for, and sit beside. It’s a great film, one of the best of 2013.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

The first,...

The actor is about to start "a new chapter" in his career – as Mick Carter, landlord of the Queen Vic

Age: 36.

Appearance: A proper nostril.

A what? Nostril and tweezer: geezer.

Ah. Is this because Dyer, besides being one of Harold Pinter's favourite actors, is also a prominent user of cockney rhyming slang? You could say Panama.

I could say what? Panama hat: that.

Are you going to keep doing this? Cot.

Oh for the love of ... Cot and baby: maybe.

Look, can we just get to the point? We can. Dyer is going to be the new landlord of the Queen Vic in EastEnders.

Oh gawd. He'll play Mick Carter, who will arrive at Christmas with his wife Linda, to be played by Kellie Bright. You might remember her as Me Julie in Ali G Indahouse or Kate Aldridge, daughter of that cad Brian in the Archers.

Two unforgettable roles.

'EastEnders' is set to axe four characters in a major shake-up to boost ratings. Kierston Wareing's Kirsty Branning and Phaldut Sharma's Aj Ahmed are among the Walford residents who will leave the show early next year as new executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins aims to restore the BBC One show, which has fallen behind 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale' in the ratings, to its former glory. Rachel Bright's Poppy Meadow and Daniel Coonan's Carl White have also been dropped from the soap. A source told The Sun newspaper: ''Dominic didn't feel the characters who are leaving fit with the direction he is taking the show...

A rumble slowly begins to build as text across the screen sets the stage for Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, a story that will take us 600 kilometers above the Earth's surface, into the blackness of space. The rumble grows louder... No oxygen. The rumble grows louder, into a dull roar... Below freezing temperatures. The roar grows louder still... Life in space is impossible. And louder, until... Nothing. The noise disappears into deafening silence. A shot of Earth fills the screen and astronaut chatter echoes through the theater as the space shuttle Explorer slowly comes into view. Veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney), Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and a third astronaut, Shariff (Paul Sharma), banter back and forth with Mission Control (voiced by Ed Harris as an homage to Ron Howard's Apollo 13). Clooney's dialogue here is slightly obnoxious and not as funny as I think it's intended to...

London, Dec 10: Shivani Ghai has joined BBC1 soap 'EastEnders' to play a Muslim girl who has arrived in Walford for her arranged marriage.

Ghai, who will play Ayesha Rana, wore a giant fluffy hat and padded coat as she met up with Phaldut Sharma (Aj Ahmed) and Himesh Patel (Tamwar Masood) in London, the Sun reported.

Ayesha will move in with family friend Zainab Masood, played by Nina Wadia, while she prepares for the wedding.

But things get off to a bumpy start when she arrives on screen later this month.

"Ayesha will be out of her comfort zone in Albert Square. She comes from a more sheltered place," a source.

EastEnders star Phaldut Sharma has tipped his character Aj Ahmed to be an unlikely saviour for the Masoods. The fun-loving mechanic's family members have been plagued with financial difficulties in recent months, but Aj has since been attempting to help them out by getting his own job. Next week's episodes also see Aj step in with cash for a family mortgage payment at the last minute, and Sharma told Inside Soap that he expects his resourceful alter ego to solve even more problems in the future. Sharma commented: "Aj is such a contrast to the rest of the Masoods - he's the clown who loves to play. I love all his larking about. But while he's definitely the family rebel and is a lot of fun to be around, he's also doing what he can to help out with the money problems. "Aj is a little bit of a hippy,...

EastEnders' Aj Ahmed tries to step up to the mark by supporting the Masood family in their time of need this evening (October 22). With the Masoods struggling following Zainab's departure, Aj (Phaldut Sharma) decides to be more useful to the family and realises that it's time to get a job so that he can contribute financially. When Aj learns that The Arches is out of action due to a lack of staff, he approaches Phil (Steve McFadden) (more)...

Roxy Mitchell's love life is likely to keep Walford gossiping in upcoming episodes of EastEnders. It's been revealed today (September 11) that Roxy (Rita Simons) will be getting passionate with Aj Ahmed towards the end of the month, after they bond over drinks at the Queen Vic. The pair get talking after Christian Clarke stands Roxy up at the pub, and it's not long before Aj (Phaldut Sharma) takes his admirer back to the Masood house and into his bedroom… At this early stage it's unclear whether this will stay as a one-off, or if either will want to see the other again. What we do know is that Roxy (more)...

EastEnders stars Nitin Ganatra, Nina Wadia and Phaldut Sharma have promised that the upcoming exit of Syed and Christian will be "particularly special". It was announced last week that Marc Elliott and John Partridge are to leave the BBC soap, with their final appearances taking place in November.

Speaking to Digital Spy at the TV Choice Awards last night (September 10), the trio said that saying goodbye would be "very painful" for both themselves and the Masoods. "Of course we're going to miss them, yeah," Ganatra said. "We've become such a big family unit anyway and to see the family split up like that it's going to be very painful. "We (more)...

EastEnders stars Nitin Ganatra, Nina Wadia and Phaldut Sharma have promised that the upcoming exit of Syed and Christian will be "particularly special". It was announced last week that Marc Elliott and John Partridge are to leave the BBC soap, with their final appearances taking place in November.

Speaking to Digital Spy at the TV Choice Awards last night (September 10), the trio said that saying goodbye would be "very painful" for both themselves and the Masoods. "Of course we're going to miss them, yeah," Ganatra said. "We've become such a big family unit anyway and to see the family split up like that it's going to be very painful. "We (more)...

EastEnders fans will see Masood Ahmed's brother Aj arrive in Walford later this year. Paul Sharma has been cast in the role of Aj, who hopes to reconnect with Masood as he turns up on Albert Square.

Pictured: Paul Sharma and Nitin Ganatra. Billed as a "cheeky chancer" who lives his life by the toss of a coin, Aj is a mechanic who never misses an opportunity for excitement. Within minutes of Aj making his EastEnders debut, he manages to get himself and Masood into trouble. However, as they relive their childhood antics, it's not long before Masood begins to wonder if his younger brother is running away from something. (more)...