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Father Ted's Pauline McLynn Set to Join Eastenders
Former ‘Father Ted’ star Pauline McLynn is joining EastEnders in a recurring guest role, playing Charlie Cotton’s mother Yvonne.
Yvonne will first be seen on screen visiting her estranged mother-in-law Dot Cotton who, after making a surprising discovery, demands answers about her grandson Charlie. Executive producer of the long-running soap, Dominic Treadwell-Collins said: "I have always been a little in love with Pauline McLynn so I'm so excited that she's joining the Cotton family. It was about time Albert Square had another Irish character and I know that viewers are going to both love and be intrigued by Yvonne Cotton."
The casting comes in the wake of a growing number of Irish actors making appearances in soaps across the water. Colm Ó Maonlai also briefly appeared in EastEnders as Tom Banks in 2002 before being killed off by the show's producers. Boyzone's Keith Duffy starred as Ciaran McCarthy in Coronation Street for several years while his son Jay appeared as Declan Brady on Hollyoaks. Love/Hate actress Susan Loughnane also featured in Hollyoaks along with Emmett Scanlan.
‘In the Flesh’ Releases Animated Promo Starring Emmet J Scanlan
BBC Three has released an animated promo for the upcoming six episode second season of ‘In The Flesh’, starring Irish actor Emmet J Scanlan.
Created by Dominic Mitchell, the drama centres on teenager Kieren Walker, played by Luke Newberry, a PDS (Partially Deceased Syndrome) sufferer who tries to find acceptance in a world divided by former zombies. The return of the drama picks up when the living and the undead have reached a fragile peace in Roarton. Kieren is desperately keeping his head down and squirreling money into his ‘escape fund’. But in the wider world, fear is in the air. Scanlan, who is currently filming ‘The Fall’ in Belfast, will join the second series as the sickle character of the Undead Prophet Simon.
The six-part second season, a BBC America co-production with BBC Drama Production North, also features Emily Bevan (St. Trinian’s), Stephen Thompson (Doctors), Kenneth Cranham (Layer Cake), Kevin Sutton (Shameless), Gillian Waugh (The Damned United) and Wunmi Mosaku (Dancing on the Edge.
The latest animated promo titled ‘The Second Rising: Prepare Hard and Stay on Guard’ is available to view below:
Peter Jackson Reveals New Title for Third ‘Hobbit’ Film
Peter Jackson has announced that the new title for the third ‘Hobbit’ film will be ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’.
As the new title would suggest, the beyond-epic ‘Battle of Five Armies’ pitting the good dwarves, humans and elves against orcs and wargs will take up the majority of the last movie. Formerly known as ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’, Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. The international ensemble cast is led by Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, and Orlando Bloom. The screenplay for ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, is based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.
"When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title," Jackson wrote. "We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate."
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” hits theatres December 2014
