Viewers have been reacting to the new drama series starring Michelle Keegan and Joanna Lumley that’s just landed on Netflix.
In case you hadn’t heard, the highly-anticipated new crime drama show – which is titled Fool Me Once – is an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s popular novel, and has kicked 2024 off to a cracking start after hitting the streaming service only a few days ago on New Year’s Day.
After the first-look pictures were teased back in early December, fans were already sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for it to drop, and then the release of the initial trailer a few weeks after that only went further to prove it was gearing up to be brilliantly binge-worthy.
And it seems like those gut instincts were correct, as after merely a couple of days of being released to the world, Fool Me Once has shot right to the top of the Netflix charts.
That’s right, it’s currently sitting pretty as the ‘number one’ show to watch on the platform.
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Those who’ve had the chance to sit back and watch the show this week have been taking to social media in their thousands to share their reactions to the new series and heap praise on its talented cast and creators – with many calling it “brilliant” and a “10/10 show”.
‘Fool Me Once’ stars Michelle Keegan and is based on a novel by Harlan Coben / Credit: Netflix UK
“Fool Me Once, first binge watch of the year,” one viewer wrote in reaction on X, “an amazing limited series, was at the edge of my seat all day. All the suspense, twists and that ending though…”
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Another view wrote: “I did not expect to end Fool Me Once in floods of tears, but that was BRILLIANT”, while a third added: “Just finished Fool Me Once on Netflix, brilliant show with an awesome ending. Harlan Coben sure knows how to knock it out the park”.
A fourth commented: “Brilliant watch. Michelle Keegan was incredible. Harlan Coben did it again.”
“Fool Me Once, what a series. Binged them all today. A must watch,” another impressed viewer wrote in reaction on X.
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I swear #FoolMeOnce on Netflix is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time, if you’ve not watched it yet then I highly recommend you do so.
Reckon you might fancy giving the series a watch now then?
But not so sure what it’s all about? Well, the eight-part series follows Manchester-born actress Michelle Keegan’s character, Maya Starn, who is a former special ops pilot struggling with the tragic murder of her husband, Joe, who is played by Richard Armitage.
Detective Sergeant Sami Kierce, who is portrayed by Adeel Akhtar, conducts the investigation into Joe’s death while wrestling with his own hidden truths. Things start to get interesting though, when she observes via the nanny cam her supposedly deceased husband playing with their baby daughter in her own home.
Meanwhile, Maya’s niece and nephew embark on the journey to seek answers about their own mother’s murder which took place months ago. But one question remains – could the two mysteries be related?
You can watch the trailer in full here.
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Filming took place in Yorkshire, where production crews were spotted in the Burdock Way area near the centre of Halifax, but Michelle Keegan was also spotted filming in Manchester city centre back in May.
Fool Me Once is currently airing on Netflix in the UK and Ireland, and all across the world.
Featured Image – Netflix
TV & Showbiz
Chester Zoo welcomes The Traitors stars Claudia and Alan – but it’s not what you think
Lydia Mastrolonardo
No, Chester Zoo isn’t keeping actual Claudia Winkleman and Alan Carr in enclosures – everybody stand down.
The zoo is in fact welcoming its first pair of hooded vultures, to hopefully boost the critically endangered species, and they just so happen to be named after some of our favourite celebrities from The Traitors.
As famous as Alan Carr and Claudia Winkleman are, these two give them a run for their money, as the first of their kind to ever come to Chester Zoo – making them pretty big celebs in the animal kingdom.
The pair of vultures are currently nestling in to their new home, alongside their new white-headed vulture roommates, at the Heart of Africa aviary. It is here that conservationists are hoping the newly bonded pair will start a family, as part of a Europe-wide breeding programme, to help safeguard their species from extinction – no pressure or anything.
Bird Keeper Heather-Anne Pedley said: “Alan and Claudia came to us from the Horstmann Trust, a conservation breeding centre for vultures, where they are an established breeding pair. We named them after Traitors stars Alan Carr and Claudia Winkelman, because what better way to reflect how funny and engaging they are, than to name them after two national treasures?
“Nobody prepared me for how much I would fall in love with them, their antics and characters. They look like they’ve just put a hood up, and they have this beautiful blue ring around their eyes, like natural eyeliner.”
Alan and Claudia, Chester Zoo’s new vultures. Credit: Chester Zoo
Hooded vultures are distinctive with dark brown feathers, a buff ‘hood’ and a bald face and throat, with wingspans of up to 180cm. They are native to west, central and southern Africa, where they typically pick up their lunch by soaring over the land, looking for carcasses to feed upon as part of ‘nature’s clean-up crew.’
It’s not all gore though, they are very active, clever and interested in their environment. The couples are monogamous, will preen each other, gently touch each other’s bills and co-build nests – quite the romantics.
Heather-Anne added: “This pair are real love birds, and we are hopeful they’ll go on to breed. Any youngsters they go on to have will become part of a European conservation breeding programme, helping to create an insurance population for this incredibly rare species.
“In the wild, vultures help prevent zoonotic diseases – illnesses that can spread between species – because their stomach acid is so strong they can eat decaying meat that other animals would not be able to digest. This helps prevent the spread of diseases like anthrax and botulism into the soil.”
Despite their crucial role across various ecosystems, vulture numbers are declining and they are now sadly classified as critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
This decline is driven by mid-air collisions or accidental electrocution by scanning the ground for prey whilst perched on uninsulated power lines. These birds are also at risk of being poisoned or even hunted to facilitate an unsustainable demand for vulture body parts and eggs to be used in traditional medicine and rituals, while there is no scientific evidence to support this use.
We are really rooting these two and hope that they settle into their new home.
The BBC is looking for people to apply for the next series of The Traitors
Clementine Hall
The BBC is currently casting for the next series of The Traitors, and is looking for some deceptive Mancunians to take part.
It’s safe to say that The Traitors is pretty much a cultural phenomenon at this point.
Pretty much everyone and their dog is tuning in to watch The Celebrity Traitors on Thursday and Friday evenings, but this time it’s not about the celebs.
Producers describe The Traitors as a ‘game of trust and treachery’, and there’s always plenty of twists, turns, shocks, and surprises along the way – but do you reckon you’ve got what it takes to play?
If so, the BBC is currently casting for the next series of the popular show, and is calling on people in Greater Manchester and across the UK to apply.
Applications are currently open to players who are over 18 years of age and have the right to legally reside in the UK.
The first series of the smash-hit BBC reality competition show proved pretty popular when it premiered back in 2022, but the second series took things to a whole new level, and truly seemed to capture the attentions of the nation like no other – with millions of viewers tuning in to watch the three episodes each week.
But in case you haven’t seen it, The Traitors is, put simply, a competition series that’s built on strategy, suspicion, and deception, where a team of players are tasked with competing in a series of missions – with the more missions they complete successfully, the bigger the prize pot gets.
However, hidden among the players are the ‘Traitors’, who meet in secret and decide who to eliminate from their fellow players known as the ‘Faithfuls’.
The aim for the ‘Traitors’ is to stay undetected until the end, while the aim for the ‘Faithfuls’ is to banish all of the Traitors before the game ends.
Up for it? You have until 31 May 2027 to apply for the next series of The Traitors here.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd January 2024 
