TV & Showbiz

New horror series set and filmed in Bolton is even ‘creepier than Black Mirror’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 16th August 2022

The BBC has just dropped a new horror series that was filmed and is set around Bolton.

Red Rose has already been receiving rave reviews, with The Guardian comparing it to a ‘creepier Black Mirror‘.

The series has been created by Bolton-born twins Michael and Paul Clarkson, who also worked on The Haunting of Bly Manor and See.

The eight-part programme explores the relationship between teenagers and their online lives, with a mysterious smartphone app slowly unravelling their lives – and it’s chilling enough that it will make you want to lob your phone out the window.

It's been receiving rave reviews already.
Red Rose. Credit: BBC

The BBC synopsis says: “School is about to finish for the last time. For many teenagers, this signals the beginning of the next stage of their lives.

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“For a group of working-class friends in Bolton, there is no next stage. The summer stretches out in front of them with an infinite sense of possibilities, but when one of the gang downloads the mysterious Red Rose app, plans change.

“What starts innocently as a game of admiration rapidly descends into something much darker.”

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Despite the terrifying storyline, Paul Clarkson said they’d created the series as a ‘love letter to Bolton’.

Read more: This £1.8m mansion in Bolton has the one of the most incredible back gardens on the market

Scenes were filmed around the borough, including on Bridge Street, Churchgate, Le Mans Crescent, and at a quarry near Scouts Road.

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The cast of Red Rose includes a number of young rising stars, such as Amelia Clarkson, Isis Hainsworth, Ali Khan, Ellis Howard, and Ashna Rabheru.

Episodes will air on BBC Three on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Featured image: BBC

TV & Showbiz

New Hairy Bikers documentary to take viewers on ’emotional journey’ in tribute to Dave Myers

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A new documentary paying an emotional tribute to late Hairy Biker Dave Myers is set to air on the BBC in the run up to Christmas.

Dave Myers – who was most well-known for being one half of the famous Hairy Bikers duo that starred in the BBC cookery and travel show of the same name, alongside Si King – died earlier this year (28 February 2024) after revealing back in May 2022 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

He passed away at the age of 66 – with a tribute released by fellow Hairy Biker Si revealing his family and friends were by his side.

The final Hairy Bikers episode aired on 19 March following Dave’s passing, and viewers tuned in in their tens of thousands to watch the beloved show that had been entertaining the masses for close to two decades.

But despite that being the final episode with Dave involved, there’s still one last chapter left to tell.

Set to air on BBC Two on Monday 23 December, viewers will be invited on an “emotional journey” through the Hairy Bikers story with Si King, as he celebrates the life of his best mate and former TV partner.

The documentary follows Si as he leads a motorcycle convoy to Dave’s hometown of Barrow-in-Furness, while archive material, new interviews, and previously-unseen footage is shown to help celebrate Dave’s life.

A new Hairy Bikers documentary will take viewers on an ’emotional journey’ in tribute to Dave Myers / Credit: BBC / South Shore Productions

You can relive the journey that took Dave around the world while cooking up a storm as one of television’s greatest-ever double acts.

“I’m incredibly proud of the programme because it’s a tribute to my best mate,” Si King said.

“It was an amazing experience, I didn’t quite know what to expect. That was the whole thing, none of us did. We thought at the most we’d get 10,000 bikes, we didn’t dream it would be 46,000 motorcycles and a 30-mile tail, it was just insane. I just felt enormously privileged.”

Read more:

Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone will air on BBC Two on Monday 23 December at 9pm, and will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Featured Image – BBC

TV & Showbiz

Snoop Dogg says he wants to replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef – and so do we

Danny Jones Danny Jones Snoop Dogg wants to join MasterChef UK

With Gregg Wallace having been axed from MasterChef, one man has put himself forward to replace the long-standing presenter: Snoop Dogg.

Make that Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg, esquire and all-round foodie fancy pants, to you.

No, as we often feel we have to clarify sometimes, we’re not joking – the rapper and hip-hop legend apparently is very keen on the idea of becoming the next co-host of UK MasterChef.

It also goes without saying that we will never EVER get bored of writing headlines like these.

Credit: The Martha Stewart Show/BBC

Speaking to The Mirror, the 53-year-old music icon said, “You’ll best believe You better believe Snoop could be the new MasterChef judge.”

According to Snoop, his time working on Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party with well-known American cook, food writer and TV personality Martha Stewart means he already has prior experience and he also believes he has the backing of another big culinary name.

“My boy Gordon [Ramsay] judges on the US version of the show, and I know he would back me to be able to judge on the UK version”, he told the outlet, going on to add: “He knows I am not playing when it comes to food. He knows I can cook – I have even given him some tips.

“I hosted a cooking show over here and I have always been vocal about wanting to work on a UK show. I love the place – and for real, this could be the perfect opportunity.”

His bid to join the BBC show might be less likely than many others, but we’ve already seen how well getting familiar entertainment faces on works for the Celebrity version of the show, not to mention juicing up the comedy with less serious analysis as seen on Channel 4’s rebrand of The Great British Bake Off.

You can see a selection of Snoop’s on-screen cooking highlights here.

Read more:

As for the latest on Wallace, he is still officially denying being involved in any inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature on the show and various other TV projects, with a total of 13 people filing official historical complaints against the long-standing host over the course of a 17-year period.

The 60-year-old is now accused not only of sexual comments in the workplace but groping and touching multiple former contestants and colleagues.

Despite sticking to his official position he has, however, come out to apologise for a response video he made following the second raft of allegations, in which his comments were deemed offensive and misogynistic by a Downing Street official.

We’re confident we already know the answer, so we’ll ask you this instead: just how much do you want to see Snoop Dogg presenting the next series of MasterChef?

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Featured Images — Super 45 (via Flickr)/Glenn Francis (via Wikimedia Commons)/BBC

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