Crime / Drama / Fantasy / Film / Horror / Science fiction / Superheroes / Television

Female action heroes and the spirit of Emma Peel

Female action heroes are now the norm, it has been suggested (by none other than Felicity Jones of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Maybe or maybe not, but they’re certainly not new. Those of a certain age won’t forget the ass-kicking Emma Peel of The Avengers, and there have been many following in her … Continue reading

Film / Horror / Science fiction / Television / Theatre

How drama classes turned shy Kate into a kick-ass screen star

It’s hard to imagine actress Kate Marie Davies ever being shy or being bullied. On screen she exudes a hard-edged confidence as Nicole in the superb Bristol-set scifi web series, Horizon, and doesn’t appear the type to be messed with in the forthcoming Escape From Cannibal Farm [as I write this in November 2016, I’ve … Continue reading

Comedy / Film / Horror / Science fiction / Theatre

Rising star Antonia Tootill talks stage, screen – and robots in tin foil

A young actress from the Channel Islands, now based in London, with British, Canadian, and Portuguese heritage, Antonia Tootill‘s experience is as varied as her background. Although still very early in her career, she has already completed an extensive spread of acting work on stage, in independent film, and in commercials. Continue reading

Comedy / Film / Horror / Jazz / Music / Science fiction / Television

Daleks, werewolves, voodoo and rebellion – Roy Castle’s big screen legacy

Roy Castle was one of the UK’s biggest TV stars of the 1960s and ’70s. An accomplished jazz musician, dancer and actor, a generation of Brits grew up with him as the presenter of the hugely popular Record Breakers. Surprisingly, perhaps, he made only four feature films over 10 years, but each one of them … Continue reading

Comedy / Crime / Drama / Film / Music / Pop / R&B / Science fiction / sitcom / Television / Writing

Meet Dawn Noel – star of salsa, sitcoms and starships

Dawn Noel may well be the biggest star you’ve never heard of – multi-talented (to say the least) and surely set to become a familiar name before long. On stage and in front of the camera, she’s an actress, dancer, and model, while behind the scenes she is equally accomplished as a writer, producer, and … Continue reading

Cardiff / Crime / Drama / Fantasy / Film / Horror / Science fiction / Television

Attractive government agents, and creatures on the streets: it’s Cops and Monsters

Remember Torchwood? A Doctor Who TV spin-off for grown-ups – dark, but often fun, and containing those post-9pm ‘adult themes’. Torchwood was a specialist government unit of attractive people, led by a Scot with an American accent (or is John Barrowman an American with a Scottish accent?), dealing with various alien creatures on the streets … Continue reading

Comedy / Drama / Film / Horror / Science fiction / Television / Victoriana

Dr Frankenstein, I presume

Frankenstein, the modern Prometheus, creator of the ‘monster’, and inspiration for all those mad scientists, has been portrayed in countless movies since the original 1910 adaptation of the Mary Shelley story. Usually he’s Dr Victor Frankenstein (as in the book), but sometimes Henry, or Baron von Frankenstein, or one of his many descendants (check this … Continue reading