DVD RELEASE: Pre-order Your Copy Of W1A Today

The Region 2 (UK and Europe) DVD of W1A will be released on Monday 29th September 2014.

The brand new sitcom from the BBC is another creation by the team behind the award winning spoof documentary Twenty Twelve and follows the ongoing career of the former head of the Olympic Deliverance Commission, Ian Fletcher. Hugh Bonneville returns as Fletcher, with Jessica Hynes reprising her role as PR guru Siobhan Sharpe. David Tennant once again provides the voiceover.

W1A

With the London games of Twenty Twelve successfully delivered, W1A follows former Head of the Olympic Deliverance Commission Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) at the start of a new chapter of his life as Head of Values at the BBC, a key and very specific senior new post which has been created in the light of recent learning opportunities at the corporation.
Ian’s task as Head of Values is to clarify, define, or re-define the core purpose of the BBC across all its functions and to position it confidently for the future.
Upon arrival Ian feels that there is something very exciting about the BBC and that he is now at the centre of something genuinely important. The really exciting thing is to think that part of his job is to try to establish where that centre is and also exactly what it is in the centre of.
However Ian will not be alone, as he is joined by a number of other BBC colleagues who are already there as well as by Brand Consultant Siobhan Sharpe from PR Company Perfect Curve (Jessica Hynes)- an expert in all aspects of communications theory except in how to apply any of them.

The new series on W1A begins on BBC Two tonight at 10pm

Pre-order your copy of the DVD from the BBC Shop here

VIDEO: Preview Clips From W1A Featuring David Tennant

The BBC have released a selection of preview clips from the first episode of new comedy W1A. The series follows on from the award winning spoof documentary Twenty Twelve and sees Hugh Bonneville and Jessica Hynes reprising their roles as Ian Fletcher and Siobhan Sharpe, capitalising on their success in bringing the London Olympic Games to fruition by taking on new roles in the BBC. David Tennant also returns to supply a deadpan narration.

In the first clip, Ian Fletcher chairs the first ever meeting of the Way Ahead Task Force Group:




The second clip sees Ian reunited with Siobhan Sharpe:

The third clip finds Ian attending a digital handshake session for new BBC staff



W1A begins tonight at 10pm on BBC Two

Episode 1

With the London games of Twenty Twelve successfully delivered, Ian Fletcher starts a new chapter in his life as head of values at the BBC.

Ian's first challenge on arriving at New Broadcasting House, on his brand new and much-improved folding bike, is to find somewhere to sit in a building aggressively over-designed around the principle of not having a desk.

Ian finds himself holding the hottest of hot potatoes when Mebyan Kernow activist Nigel Trescott complains that Cornwall, and the Cornish, are shamefully under-represented on the BBC.

Things get worse when BBC Spotlight South West presenter Sally Wingate goes public with her feeling that her failure to progress to a national presenting role might be part of the BBC's institutionally anti-Cornish bias.

Ideas of how best to limit the damage lead to PR company Perfect Curve's Siobhan Sharpe suggesting Sally should do something on Snog, Marry, Avoid or some kind of Bake Off.

Meanwhile, producer Lucy Freeman is having meetings with head of output Anna Rampton and entertainment format creative David Wilkes about a forthcoming new flagship show - Britain's Tastiest Village - which, according to David, is 'kind of Britain's Got Talent meets Countryfile with a bit of The One Show thrown in just in case'.

Anna wants a progress report and there's good news and bad news. They've virtually got Alan Titchmarsh on board now, but the very bad news is that it looks like they've lost Clare Balding - 'words you never ever want to hear' - as the dates of How Big is Your Dog, a new show she's doing for ITV, have changed at the last minute.

For more information about the series, including character profiles and cast interviews visit the BBC Media Centre

W1A Preview Gives a Glimpse Of David Tennant's Lines

Ian Fletcher (played by Hugh Bonneville), the former head of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission in Twenty Twelve makes a very welcome return to TV screens next week in new sitcom W1A. Following his great success in bringing the 2012 London Olympics into fruition Ian has now been headhunted by the BBC and takes up a new role as Head of Values. He's joined by another familiar face from his past as PR guru Siobhan Sharpe (Jessica Hynes) is also on board. The four part series is created by John Morton (Twenty Twelve, People Like Us) who once again uses his trademark mock-documentary style to poke fun at the jargon and bureaucracy of large organisations. 

David Tennant returns to deliver a deadpan narration, and the preview of the series in The Independent gives a first glimpse of some of the lines that he will be delivering:

On Ian Fletcher's new role:
"...a key and very senior new post specifically created in light of recent learning opportunities at the Corporation."

That as the leader of the BBC's Way Ahead Task Force Group, Ian has:

"...the chance to put the value of values literally on the agenda."

On a new BBC One show: 

"...the dream team of Alan Titchmarsh and Clare Balding. It's 'Countryfile' meets 'Bake-Off' with a bit of 'The One Show' thrown in, just in case. Its aim is to change the face of Sunday night TV, for better or for worse."

W1A begins on BBC Two on Wednesday 19th March at 10pm

Read the preview by The Independent here

CONFIRMED: Broadcast Date And First Episode Details Of W1A Narrated By David Tennant

The BBC have now confirmed broadcast details for the first episode of W1A, the follow up to the comedy series Twenty Twelve. As we posted earlier today the programme will air on BBC Two on Thursday 19th March at 10.00pm

The four part series follows the latest career move of former head of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission, Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville). With the London Games of Twenty Twelve safely delivered he begins a new role as Head of Values at the BBC. Jessica Hynes also returns as PR Consultant Siobhan Sharpe. Filmed in a spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary style, the show also features a voice over by David Tennant

W1A - Episode 1/4
Wednesday 19th March
10.00 - 10.30pm
Ian Fletcher’s first challenge on arriving at New Broadcasting House, on his brand new and much-improved folding bike, is to find somewhere to sit in a building aggressively over designed around the principle of not having a desk.

Ian finds himself holding the hottest of hot potatoes when Mebyon Kernow activist Nigel Trescott complains that Cornwall and the Cornish are shamefully under-represented on the BBC.

Things get worse when BBC Spotlight South West presenter Sally Wingate goes public with her feeling that her failure to progress to a national presenting role might be part of the BBC’s institutionally anti-Cornish bias.

Ideas of how best to limit the damage lead to PR company Perfect Curve’s Siobhan Sharpe suggesting getting Sally to do something on Springwatch or some kind of Bake Off.

Meanwhile, producer Lucy Freeman is having meetings with Head of Output Anna Rampton and Entertainment Format Creative David Wilkes about a forthcoming new flagship show - Britain’s Tastiest Village - which according to David is “kind of Britain’s Got Talent meets Countryfile with a bit of The One Show thrown in just in case.”

Anna wants a progress report and there’s good news and bad news. They’ve virtually got Alan Titchmarsh on board now, but the very bad news is that it looks like they’ve lost Clare Balding - “words you never ever want to hear” - as the dates of How Big Is Your Dog, a new show she’s doing for ITV, have changed at the last minute.

Ian Fletcher is played by Hugh Bonneville, Siobhan Sharpe is played by Jessica Hynes, Anna Rampton is played by Sarah Parish, Lucy Freeman is played by Nina Sosanya, David Wilkes is played by Rufus Jones, Nigel Trescott is played by Simon Greenall and Sally Wingate is played by Karen Ascoe.

W1A is written and directed by John Morton (Twenty Twelve, People Like Us), produced by Paul Schlesinger and executive produced by Jon Plowman.

Click here for the BBC W1A media pack featuring character profiles and video interviews

Source: BBC Media Centre

Learners Repeated On Drama In The UK Today

The 2007 romantic comedy Learners starring David Tennant, Jessica Hynes, Sarah Hadland and Shaun Dingwall will have a welcome repeat today, showing on the UK channel Drama. Learners was written by Jessica Hynes, who guest starred with David Tennant and Freema Agyeman in the Doctor Who two-parter Human Nature / The Family Of Blood. When David cheekily asked her if there was a part for him, she knew that he would be perfect as geeky driving instructor Chris.

Learners

This warm, bitter–sweet comedy drama, follows the trials and tribulations of a group of learner drivers.

Bev (Jessica Hynes) is a downtrodden wife who's failed her driving test eight times. She's desperate to pass yet frustrated at her husband Ian's (Shaun Dingwall) impatient approach when teaching her to drive.

When Bev meets glamorous driving school owner Fiona (Sarah Hadland), she's determined to succeed, along with a group of other learner drivers.

Chris (David Tennant), a devout Christian with the patience of a saint, is assigned as her instructor and it's not long before Bev develops a crush on him. However, Chris has feelings for Fiona, but she's having an affair with a married man Gerry, who works with Bev.

Watch Learners on Drama (Freeview Channel 20, Sky Channel 166, Virgin Channel 190) tonight at 10pm BST. There is also an early hours repeat at 2.50am on Saturday 7th.


Read more about Learners on our website

Photo: BBC

Watch David Tennant In Learners On The Drama Channel In The UK

UK viewers have a chance to watch a repeat of the 2007 romantic comedy Learners starring David Tennant, Jessica Hynes, Sarah Hadland and Shaun Dingwall. The drama was written by Jessica Hynes who knew that David would be perfect as geeky driving instructor Chris after she guest starred with him in the Doctor Who two-parter Human Nature / The Family Of Blood.

Learners

This warm, bitter–sweet comedy drama, follows the trials and tribulations of a group of learner drivers.

Bev (Jessica Hynes) is a downtrodden wife who's failed her driving test eight times. She's desperate to pass yet frustrated at her husband Ian's (Shaun Dingwall) impatient approach when teaching her to drive.

When Bev meets glamorous driving school owner Fiona (Sarah Hadland), she's determined to succeed, along with a group of other learner drivers.

Chris (David Tennant), a devout Christian with the patience of a saint, is assigned as her instructor and it's not long before Bev develops a crush on him. However, Chris has feelings for Fiona, but she's having an affair with a married man Gerry, who works with Bev.

Watch Learners on Drama (Freeview Channel 20, Sky Channel 166, Virgin Channel 190) on Friday 6th September at 10pm BST. There is also an early hours repeat at 2.50am on Saturday 7th.


Read more about Learners on our website

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Countdown - The Family Of Blood

To celebrate the fact that 2013 is the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, we are taking a look back at all of the episodes of the show which featured David Tennant as the Doctor. At the end of our look back we'll be asking you, the fans, to vote for what you think is the ultimate David Tennant episode of Doctor Who....
We continue with the next David Tennant episode.... The Family Of Blood
Read our previous Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Countdown posts here.

24. Family Of Blood
First Broadcast on 2nd June 2007. Running Time: 45 Minutes. Viewing Figures: 7.21million.
Written By Paul Cornell.
Directed By Charles Palmer.
Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Phill Collinson and Julie Gardner.
David-Tennant.com Rating: 10/10.

Synopsis:
It's 1913 in England and war has come a year in advance as the terrifying Family hunt for the Doctor. But, while John Smith refuses to accept his destiny as a Time Lord, the women in his life, Martha and Joan, have to take terrible measures to save the whole of history, as Russell T Davies' Doctor Who continues.

Extras: Promotional Photos | Videos | Articles |

Meet The Family:

Son Of Mine was a malicious and malevolent member of The Family Of Blood who saw the death and destruction they wrought as a sport. He took the body of Jeremy Baines, an unpleasant schoolboy who was a bully and a racist, and infiltrated the school, hoping to sniff out the Doctor, whose body he wanted to inhabit so he could live forever. Not realising the Doctor had made himself a human, the Family followed him to the village dance hoping to expose him.

Son Of Mine murdered the doorman and threatened to kill both Martha Jones and Joan Redfern unless the Doctor turned back in to a Time Lord.

Son Of Mine then led an attack on the school using the Scarecrows he had created using molecular fringe animation. Not realising he wasn't dealing with Baines, Rocastle, the Headmaster, challenged Son Of Mine who then murdered the bursar, Mr Phillips, to show he meant business.

After failing to get the Doctor to revert back to being a Time Lord, Son Of Mine decided to flush him out by bombing the village from the spaceship. John Smith then arrived, offering up the fob watch which contained the Doctor's life essence, but Son Of Mine discovered firstly that it was empty and just a watch again, and secondly that the Doctor had already changed back and had tricked the Family. He overloaded the ship's system and Son Of Mine led his Family out just before it blew up. The Doctor then captured him and trapped him inside one of his Scarecrows and left Son Of Mine watching over England's fields for eternity.

Daughter Of Mine took on the form of six year old Lucy Cartwright who was skipping along the lane and kidnapped by a Scarecrow. Daughter Of Mine then murdered Lucy's parents and the Headmaster of the local school. The Doctor trapped Daughter Of Mine, still in Lucy's form, within the refractive index of a mirror. She was to inhabit the dark recess of a mirror, all mirrors, for eternity, the Doctor returning to visit her once a year, every year.

Father Of Mine was the leader of The Family Of Blood who brought the Family to Earth in their invisible spaceship. He wanted to track the Doctor down so that Son Of Mine could inhabit his body. Father Of Mine took the body of Mr Clark, a slightly pompous man who ran Oakham Farm. He was responsible for tracking down the Doctor's TARDIS and for the murder of the bandleader Mr Chambers. The Doctor trapped Father Of Mine in an underground chmaber for eternity, binding him in unbreakable chains forged in a dwarf star.

Mother Of Mine was the last of the Family to find herself a body, taking on the form of Martha's friend and colleague Jenny, who had worked as a maid in the school. Posing as Jenny she continued to be friendly to Martha after realising that she had connections to the Doctor. She turned up at the village dance with the rest of The Family and caused carnage there and shortly afterwards at the school. 

The Doctor threw Mother Of Mine into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy where she would remian for eternity.

Timothy Latimer:

Tim Latimer was a schoolboy at Farringham School For Boys, he was easily bullied and pushed round by the older boys, forced to do their prep, useless at cadet training and deliberately failing his studies so as not to look too intelligent. 

He was mildly psychic, born with a low level telepathic field, which drew him to the fob watch that his school teacher John Smith kept on his mantlepiece. The watch contained the essence of The Doctor and, when Tim tried to open it, bits of the Doctor would leak out and give Tim glimpses of the future, or warnings, with the aim of keeping the fob watch out of the hands of The Family Of Blood.

One warning was Tim's own fate, a few years in to the future, when he and his schoolboy nemesis, Hutchinson, would be caught in a bombing raid in the World War I trenches, the watch warning him to step out of a bomb's path.

Realising that John Smith needed the watch he took it to Cartwright's cottage where Smith, Martha Jones and Joan Redfern were hiding. Later having survived the war, Tim lived to a very old age and, at a Remembrance Day ceremony decades later, he saw the Doctor and Martha unchanged by the ravages of time.

Quotes:

Tim Latimer: He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun.

John Smith: Stop it.

Tim Latimer: He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and can see the turn of the universe.

John Smith: Stop it, I said stop it!

Tim Latimer: And.... he's wonderful.

The Doctor: You're this doctor's companion, can't you help? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?

Martha Jones: Because he's lonely.

The Doctor: And that's what you want me to become?

Joan Redfern: Answer me this .. just one question, that's all. If the Doctor had never visited us, if he'd never chosen this place... on a whim... would anybody here have died? You can go now.

Cast:

• David Tennant - The Doctor
• Freema Agyeman - Martha Jones
• Jessica Hynes - Joan Redferd
• Harry Lloyd – Jeremy Baines
• Thomas Sangster – Tim Latimer
• Tom Palmer – Hutchinson
• Pip Torrens – Rocastle
• Rebekah Staton – Jenny
• Gerard Horan – Mr. Clark
• Lauren Wilson – Lucy Cartwright
• Matthew White – Phillips
• Sophie Turner - Vicar

To see production note and facts for this episode visit our article on Human Nature here.

Videos:

 

Rose D'Or Awards Announced Today: Twenty Twelve Is Nominated

The winners of the 2013 Rose D'Or Awards are announced this evening in Brussels. Twenty Twelve narrated by David Tennant is one of the three nominations in the Sitcom category.

The Rose d’Or Awards pay tribute to the outstanding achievements in quality entertainment programming and encourage continued excellence from producers, and broadcasters worldwide. Representatives from over forty countries will be taking part in the event tonight, while nominees have been taken from over thirty countries. The ceremony takes place as the climax of the three-day 2013 Media Summit: A EUROVISION and EURORADIO event.

Comedy series Twenty Twelve stars Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes and follows the efforts of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Committee to keep the 2012 London Games on track and on budget. It is filmed in the style of a fly-on-the-wall documentary and  David Tennant provides a dry commentary. The series and its stars have already scooped a number of awards. Tonight it is in competition with two more UK comedy shows, Spy (Hat Trick / Sky) and The Thick Of It (BBC).

The full list of nominees can be read here

The British Academy Television Awards Are Announced Today: Twenty Twelve Nominated

The Arqiva British Academy Television Awards are announced this evening. Graham Norton hosts the ceremony from the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall.

Twenty Twelve, the spoof documentary series narrated by David Tennant, is among the nominees for Best Situation Comedy. Also the show's stars have been recognised: Hugh Bonneville is named for Male Performance In A Comedy Programme, while Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes compete for the Female Performance in A Comedy Programme Awards.

Click here for the full list of nominations

Confirmed attendees tonight include Michael Palin (who will be awarded the BAFTA Fellowship this year), Martin Freeman, Huge Bonneville, Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker, Jessica Hynes, Sir Derek Jacobi, Miranda Hart, Russell Tovey and Stephen Mangan. 

The event also includes a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who . A special sketch filmed by Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman will be screened along with a montage of highlights from the whole history of the show. Two Daleks will be patrolling the red carpet and Jenna-Louise Coleman will be on hand to present an award.

Watch the British Academy Television Awards on BBC One tonight from 8pm

Twenty Twelve Nominated For A Rose D'Or Award

The nominees for the 2013 Rose d’Or were announced today by Eurovision, the organisers of the international gala for entertainment television. Spoof fly on the wall documentary series Twenty Twelve has been nominated in the Sitcoms category

This year Rose d’Or Awards will be given in the following categories: Game Show, Reality & Factual Entertainment, Sitcom, Comedy, Entertainment, and Arts. Nominees come from as far afield as Australia, USA, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The UKleads the field with 10 programmes submitted to the final round of judging.

Sitcoms

• Spy     Hat Trick Productions for British Sky Broadcasting   (UK)
• The Thick of It   British Broadcasting Corporation   (UK)
• TwentyTwelve   British Broadcasting Corporation   (UK)

 Click here for a full list of nominees

Twenty Twelve stars Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes and follows the fortunes of the fictional Olympic Deliverence Committee in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics. David Tennant provides the voiceover.

The 52nd Awards will be announced in a celebration in Brussels on 30th May in the presence of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium.

Twenty Twelve And Its Stars Receive BAFTA Nominations

BBC comedy series Twenty Twelve has picked up a number of nominations in the 2013 Arqiva British Academy Television Awards. The shortlist for the BAFTA Television awards was unveiled earlier today.

The spoof documentary series Twenty Twelve followed the fortunes of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Committee as they prepared for the 2012 London Olympic Games. The series starred Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman and was narrated by David Tennant.

Series Two of Twenty Twelve and its stars have received four nominations in all across three categories

Situation Comedy in 2013

• The Thick of It - Armando Iannucci, Adam Tandy
• Hunderby - Julia Davis, Tony Dow, John Rushton
• Twenty Twelve - John Morton, Paul Schlesinger, Catherine Gosling-Fuller, Jon Plowman
• Episodes - David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik, Jimmy Mulville

Male Performance in a Comedy Programme in 2013

• Steve Coogan - Welcome to the Places of My Life
• Hugh Bonneville - Twenty Twelve
• Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It
• Greg Davies – Cuckoo

Female Performance in a Comedy Programme in 2013

• Julia Davis - Hunderby
• Jessica Hynes - Twenty Twelve
• Olivia Colman - Twenty Twelve
• Miranda Hart - Miranda

Click here for a full list of categories and nominees

The winners will be announced on Sunday 12th May, at a ceremony held at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall 

BAFTA Craft Awards Nomination For Twenty Twelve Writer

The nominations for the 2013 British Academy Television Craft Awards have been announced. Amongst this year’s shortlist, Twenty Twelve  creator John Morton has been nominated in the Writer: Comedy In 2013 category.

Television Craft | Writer - Comedy in 2013

• Getting On - Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan

• Hunderby - Julia Davis

• Twenty Twelve - John Morton

• The Thick of It - Writing Team

Spoof documentary series Twenty Twelve starred Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman and followed the fictional Olympic Deliverance Committee in the run up to the 2012 London Games. David Tennant provided a tongue-in-cheek voiceover for the show which Olympic insiders said was often uncannily close to the truth.

The BAFTA Television Craft Awards honour the very best behind-the-scenes talent from television and new media from the past year. This year's ceremony will take place at The Brewery in the City of London on Sunday 28th April and will be hosted by Stephen Mangan. 

For the full list of categories and nominees click here

Success For Twenty Twelve At The Broadcasting Press Guild Awards

The Olympic mockumentary series, Twenty Twelve, for which David Tennant provided a spoof voice over has been named as Best Entertainment / Comedy Show at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

Twenty Twelve stars a plethora of British talent including Olivia Colman, Hugh Bonneville and Jessica Hynes and follows the trials of the management of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission team who are behind the planning of the 2012 London Olympics. It began airing on the BBC in 2011 during the build up to the games. The series' last episode was broadcast on 24 July 2012, three days before the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.

The Broadcasting Press Guild Awards are voted for by journalists who write about television and radio and were handed out today at an event at One Whitehall Place in central London.

The winners are as follows:

Best Single Drama - The Hollow Crown: Richard II on BBC Two;

Best Drama Series - Parade’s End on BBC Two;

Best Single Documentary - Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile on ITV;

Best Documentary Series - Inside Claridge’s on BBC Two;

Best Entertainment/Comedy - Twenty Twelve on BBC Two;

Best Factual Entertainment - The Great British Bake Off on BBC Two;

Best Multichannel Programme - Dynamo: Magician Impossible on UKTV’s Watch;

Best Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch in Parade’s End and Sherlock;

Best Actress - Rebecca Hall in Parade’s End;

Breakthrough Award - Adam Hills for The Last Leg;

Writer’s Award - Sir Tom Stoppard for Parade’s End;

Radio Broadcaster of the Year - Charlotte Green;

Radio Programme of the Year - Soul Music on BBC Radio 4;

Innovation Award - BBC Olympics 2012;

Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting - John Humphrys.

Twenty Twelve Scoops South Bank Sky Arts Comedy Award

The BBC Two sitcom Twenty Twelve have just won the Best Comedy prize in today's South Bank Sky Arts Awards. The award ceremony, hosted by Melvin Bragg, is taking place right now at London's Dorchester Hotel. The comedy show beat off competition from Sky Atlantic shows Alan Partridge: Welcome To The Places of My Life and Hunderby to lift the award which was presented by Jo Brand.

Sky Arts announced the win in a tweet: 

@SkyArts: BBC2's Twenty Twelve goes home from the South Bank Sky Arts Awards with the Comedy gong in their pocket

Spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary Twenty Twelve was written and directed by John Morton for the BBC and follows the trials of the fictional Olympic Deliverance Committee in the approach to the 2012 London Olympic Games. The cast included Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes, while David Tennant provided the voiceover.

The awards will be televised on Sky Arts 1 on Thursday 14th March at 9.30pm

Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Nomination For Twenty Twelve

BBC Two comedy series Twenty Twelve has received another awards nomination, this time for the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

The spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary was nominated for Best Entertainment / Comedy alongside Fresh Meat (Channel 4) and The Thick Of It(BBC Two). Twenty Twelve followed the fortunes of the fictional Olympics Deliverence Committee in the run up to the 2012 London Games. It starred Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes with David Tennant providing a voiceover.

BBC Two drama series Parade’s End starring Benedict Cumberbatch leads the nominations, being listed five times in four categories. The BBC Two production of Richard II and its star Ben Whishaw are also nominated.

The BPG awards, which are voted for by journalists who write about TV and radio, are sponsored by the Discovery channel and will take place at One Whitehall Placein central Londonon Thursday 14th March.

View the full shortlist on the Guardian website

Broadcast Awards Announced Tonight

The winners of the 2013 Broadcast Awards are announced in a ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London tonight. Twenty Twelve,  the spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary series starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman and narrated by David Tennant is nominated for Best Comedy Programme.

The Broadcast Awards are at the heart of the industry calendar, shining a light on the UK's most acclaimed TV shows and the unsung talent that made it all possible. Every year over 1,200 of television's most influential individuals attend The Broadcast Awards black-tie evening. All entries have been judged on their creativity, quality, originality and results - in terms of ratings, critical acclaim and generally standing out from the crowd.

Click here for the full shortlist

UK And US DVD Release Information For Nativity 2

The region 2 DVD and UK / Europe Blu-ray of Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger  now has a release date and is available for pre-order. The items will be released on 18th November 2013 and can be pre-ordered through Amazon UK.

In addition, the film's director, Debbie Isitt, has tweeted us this morning to say that the movie will also be receiving a DVD release in the USA, although there is no confirmed date for this yet. Plans to screen the movie in theaters are still under negotiation - Debbie says that they are still not sure whether this will happen.

Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger!  stars David Tennant, Marc Wootton, Joanna Page and Jessica Hynes and is currently showing in cinemas throughout the UK. For more details and to watch the trailer click here

Twenty Twelve Nominated For British Comedy Award

The BBC comedy Twenty Twelve, narrated by David Tennant has been nominated as Best Sitcom in the 2012 British Comedy Awards. Also the shows stars have picked up nominations: Hugh Bonneville for Best TV Comedy Actor and Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes for Best TV Comedy Actress.

The winners will be revealed in a ceremony hosted by Jonathan Ross live on Channel 4 on Wednesday 12th December.

The spoof documentary series Twenty Twelve follows the team responsible for delivering the 2012 London Olympics on time and on budget. The programme won the British Comedy Award for Best sitcom in 2011.

Visit the British Comedy Awards website for more details about nominees and how to get hold of tickets

Further Deatils Of Nativity 2's Opening Weekend At The Box Office

As we revealed on Monday, David's latest film,  Nativty 2 Danger In The Manger, had a brilliant opening weekend at the UK Box Office. It is No.3 in the charts and was the UK's best selling opening release of the weekend.

The Guardian say:

It may not have been a hit with the nation's critics, but Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! proved comfortably the top new release at the UK weekend box-office, beating bigger-budget offerings starring Hollywood A-listers Cameron Diaz, Bradley Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal. With an impressive opening of £1.61m, that's more than double the debut of the original Nativity! (£794,000) three years ago. Nativity! went on to accumulate £5.2m during its 2009 run, 6.5 times its opening, thanks to positive word-of-mouth among its target audience of families, and the natural tendency of Christmas-themed movies to sustain and build as the holiday approaches. A similar multiple would deliver a total above £10m for Nativity 2.

Debbie Isitt's original Nativity! flew relatively under the radar – the big festive movie that year was Disney's A Christmas Carol. But a 6 November release date for Robert Zemeckis's performance-capture animation meant many families were looking for fresh festive entertainment by December, creating a great opportunity for Nativity!. This year it's a different scenario, with Nativity 2 getting out a week ahead of the big Hollywood competition, DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians.

UK distributor eOne reports particularly strong results in Isitt's home town of Coventry, where the Nativity! films' fictional St Bernadette's primary school is located, and across the regions of Gateshead, Basildon, Trafford, Ashford, Sheffield, Didsbury and Milton Keynes. The original Nativity! is meanwhile riding high in the DVD charts, and has now sold a hefty 500,000 copies, despite being available only in limited windows for Christmas 2010, 2011 and again this year.

At Rotten Tomatoes, there is a notable disconnect between top critics (0% fresh), all critics (33% fresh) and site users (100% fresh, from 119 user ratings) on Nativity 2. Among newspaper critics, the London Evening Standard's Charlotte O'Sullivan and the Star on Sunday's Andy Lea are rare balanced voices in a sea of negativity.

BFI have full details of the weekend's stats:

ank	Title	Country of Origin	Weekend Gross	Distributor	% change on last week	Weeks on release	Number of cinemas	Site average	Total Gross to date
1	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2	USA	\£5,344,508	eOne Films	-66	2	559	\£9,561	\£26,979,458
2	Skyfall	UK/USA	\£3,809,893	Sony Pictures	-32	5	550	\£6,927	\£89,620,677
3	Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!	UK	\£1,614,675	eOne Films	-	1	435	\£3,712	\£1,614,675
4	Silver Linings Playbook	USA	\£1,260,979	Entertainment	-	1	393	\£3,209	\£1,260,979
5	Gambit	USA	\£689,042	Momentum	-	1	380	\£1,813	\£689,042
6	Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted	USA	\£637,130	Paramount	-34	6	504	\£1,264	\£21,405,074
7	End of Watch	USA	\£618,546	StudioCanal	-	1	278	\£2,225	\£618,546
8	Argo	USA	\£495,689	Warner Bros	-39	3	290	\£1,709	\£3,869,361
9	The Master	USA	\£201,844	Entertainment	-46	4	124	\£1,628	\£1,002,270
10	Jab Tak Hai Jaan	Ind	\£198,671	Yash Raj	-78	2	64	\£3,104	\£1,302,581
11	Hotel Transylvania	USA	\£123,159	Sony Pictures	-47	7	317	\£389	\£7,722,310
12	Amour	Aut/Fra/Ger	\£91,169	Artificial Eye	-21	2	40	\£2,279	\£287,839
13	Dr. Seuss' The Lorax	USA	\£63,648	Universal	397	18	163	\£390	\£7,693,671
14	Taken 2	Fra	\£48,586	20th Century Fox	-64	8	79	\£615	\£23,458,794
15	Son of Sardaar	Ind	\£33,828	Eros	-84	2	24	\£1,410	\£306,468