The five-part series – which is based on idea by Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer, and is set to continue consecutively over the next four days – stars Noel Clarke in the lead role as Detective Martin Young who is observing the home of a missing primary school teacher as part of an investigation into a tight-knit Manchester community.
Alexandra Roach (Black Mirror) plays single mum Zoe Sterling, with Fehinti Balogun (I May Destroy You), Catherine Tyldesley (Coronation Street) and Bronagh Waugh (The Fall) also co-starring.
Viewpoint began filming in Manchester city centre in August last year, with St John Street, the Northern Quarter, Ancoats, Manchester Town Hall, Lloyd Street and Central Street all highlighted as areas to keep an eye out for as the series unfolds.
It became the first ITV drama to start shooting since the industry went into lockdown.
As the series kicked off last night, viewers took to social media to react to the tense storyline as it began to unfold. Many appeared to be gripped by the events, although others did point out a few critiques, particularly relating to the show’s pacing, its “far fetched” nature, and the fact it wasn’t quite at the standard of the BBC’s smash-hit police drama Line Of Duty, which is set to conclude next weekend.
Viewpoint will continue every weeknight at 9pm on ITV this week
Executive Producer Lucy Bedford called the series “a compelling, tense, claustrophobic thriller that turns the spotlight on the observer rather than the observed”.
Head of ITV Drama, Polly Hill, said the crime series felt “new and fresh”, whilst also having “a touch of Rear Window“.
People are so quick to judge these days… what's wrong with a story unfolding slowly? Everyone wants over the top (bullshit) drama and twist endings all the time. At least give it a chance before vilifying it! #Viewpointpic.twitter.com/6oCjJKJWBs
Viewpoint’s director Ashley Way said he particularly wanted to show parts of Manchester in the drama that people may not have seen on screen before, adding: “Manchester is a beautiful place.
“It’s a modern city that is very much rooted in its industrial past, which for a filmmaker is a dream [and] there are many rich architectural textures, showing its traditional past alongside its modern future.
“You often see a lot of Castlefield and the Northern Quarter but we wanted to show people the concrete and glass, and the beautiful Georgian streets that it’s not necessarily known for – we wanted to energise the story with all these architectural styles.
“Thankfully Manchester has all that in abundance”.
Featured Image – ITV
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Sir David Jason set for TV return in Only Fools and Horses documentary Christmas special
Danny Jones
In a surprise bit of festive news, the only and only Sir David Jason is returning for an Only Fools and Horses Christmas special this December. Lovely jubbly!
The best-loved and most-watched British comedy of all time will be back on our screens in documentary form this festive season, with Del Boy himself David Jason revisiting the iconic comedy character after 20 years he last played him on screen.
While the legendary sitcom was broadcast on BBC back in the day, the highly-anticipated Only Fools doc will be airing on Channel 5 right before Christmas as a special one-off programme.
Looking back on the show’s incredible run on UK screens over seven series and the several ‘Christmas Cracker’ specials, specifically, the latest Only Fools and Horses documentary will see Jason and a number of other guests appearing to chat about the legendary show.
The release date of the Only Fools special Christmas documentary is yet to be announced.
While it’s still unclear how many of the original cast will be appearing, Jason’s on-screen wife Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel) is confirmed to be appearing along with other special guests including newscaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Bendiorm‘s Sherrie Hewson.
Sadly, a full theatrical reunion just isn’t on the cards following the deaths of Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger), Kenneth MacDonald (Mike the Landlord) and Buster Merryfield (Uncle Albert) in the 30 years since the show ended its run.
Only Fools writer John Sullivan also sadly passed away aged 64 in 2011 and fellow co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, a.k.a. Rodney Trotter, told Metro: “We can’t. John is no longer with us. John was the driving force of the show and we have also lost quite a few cast members now.
“I don’t think I could do it without them and I certainly couldn’t do it without John. At the risk of depressing everyone, I think the last two times I’ve seen David has been at funerals.”
Simply entitled, ‘The Story Of Only Fools And Horses At Christmas’, the 90-minute special is yet to have its broadcast date fully confirmed but you best keep your eyes peeled on the TV guide — we’ll let you know as soon we do.
Jason, 81, has only just recovered from hip surgery earlier this year, so it’ll be nice to see his familiar grin back on our screens.
Right, we’re off to binge a whole series on UK Gold.
Scott McTominay jokes he’s ‘fuming’ he didn’t score a hat-trick against Chelsea as he reflects on Man United’s mentality
Danny Jones
Scott McTominay has joked he’s “fuming” with himself after failing to score a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday nightand shed some light on the mentality around Old Trafford.
McTominay starred in the Red Devils’ win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side on a cold night at home, managing to bag a brace with a goal in the first and second half to get his squad over the line, but he himself said he could have had more.
Speaking to MUTV after the game, the 26-year-old said he and the squad knew they needed to drum up a reaction after the Newcastle disappointment, adding that contributing more goals is something he wants to keep working on and insisting that plenty of people back him to do so.
Confessing that his mum, dad and grandad have all been encouraging him to “get in the box” and that he just needs to “believe in [him]self and go for it”, the Scotsman did go on to quip he was “fuming” to not grab a third as he shook his head went on to shake and reveal a wry smile.
Scott McTominay was the match-winner against Chelsea.
Commentator and presenter Stewart Gardner went on to list McTominay’s impressive stats this season, having now scored 14 goals in his last 33 appearances for club and country. A seriously good rate from a midfielder typically entrusted to help link play and break things up in the middle of the park.
Now boasting half a dozen goals and an assist across all competitions so far this campaign, he sits as the club’s leading goalscorer in the Premier League with five finishes to his name — with only Bruno Fernandes having contributed more (five goals and five assists) — he’s genuinely become one of Man United’s main goal threats.
While he recently rubbished talk that he played as a striker regularly coming up through the youth academy, simply having been deployed for the odd game in reality, he has always had a shot on him and it isn’t the first time he’s bagged a winner or a big goal for the Reds. This wasn’t a bad one either:
Chatting with the pundits on Amazon Prime Sport, he reiterated that he could have had “one or two more” on another night and agreed that the performance against Newcastle in the previous fixture was “pretty abysmal”, holding his hands up to admit that it was “no way near good enough”.
Reflecting on the later chance he had to seal the hat-trick towards the end of the game, he said he simply needed to “calm down on the last one”.
As for the mentality to get the result during a difficult period where the club remained under a lot of scrutiny from pundits and fans alike, McTominay went on to say that the manager is responsible for the way they played and some “lighter training sessions to keep energy levels up” definitely helped.
Regardless, he was sure to not get ahead of himself and assured ten Hag‘s team were still taking things a game at a time. You can watch the full highlights from Manchester United vs Chelsea down below: