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Taking The Flak
''Taking the Flak'' is a comedy drama which aired on BBC Two in summer 2009. It is set in a fictional Central African country that is the middle of a civil war. A team of BBC journalists arrive from London, to the annoyance of the local BBC stringer Harry Chambers ( Bruce Mackinnon), and send reports back to BBC News in London. The series has been described as "a bit like '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' meets '' The Constant Gardener''". The series is written by Tira Shubart and Jon Rolph. The script consultant is Sandra Jones. It stars Martin Jarvis, Doon Mackichan, Bruce Mackinnon, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Damian O'Hare, Joanna Brookes, Lydiah Gitachu, Lucy Chalkley and Harry Lloyd. The theme music is a remix of David Lowe's BBC News Theme. In Australia, this program aired each Thursday at 10pm on ABC2 from 7 January, until 18 February 2010 (along with the ABC iView catch-up service). Plot ''Taking the Flak'' is set in the fictional Central African Republic of Karibu, which is i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc.) are handled with realism and subtlety, while preserving a humorous tenor. The term "dramedy" began to be used in the television industry in the 1980s. Modern television comedy dramas tend to have more humour integrated into the story than the comic relief common in drama series, but usually contain a lower joke rate than sitcom, sitcoms. History In Theatre of ancient Greece, Greek theatre, plays were considered comedies or tragedies (i.e. drama): the former being light stories with a happy ending, and the latter serious stories with a sad ending. This concept even influenced Theatre of ancient Rome, Roman theatre and theatre of the Hellenistic period. Theatre of that era is thought to have long-lasting infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages to many parts of the world on Analogue signal, analogue and Shortwave listening, digital shortwave platforms, internet streaming, podcasting, Satellite radio, satellite, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, FM broadcasting, FM, Longwave, LW and Medium wave, MW relays. In 2024, the World Service reached an average of 450 million people a week (via TV, radio and online). BBC World Service English maintains eight regional feeds with several programme variations, covering, respectively, East Africa, East and Southern Africa; West Africa, West and Central Africa; Europe and Middle East; the Americas and Caribbean; East Asia; South Asia; Australasia; and the United Kingdom. There a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Power (actor)
Sean Power (born 1 November 1974) is an actor, writer, and director. Known primarily for his role as Marty, in which he starred opposite Jack Dee in the BBC comedy series ''Lead Balloon''. Early and personal life Born to an Irish father and Italian mother, Power was raised in Canada, the U.S and Ireland. His family moved frequently every few years due to his father's work commitments, living in Chicago, Edmonton, Dublin, Ottawa, Montreal, New York settling eventually in Toronto, Ontario where he attended Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute. After Power's final year of high school he attended The National Theatre School of Canada. He trained there three years under the guidance of Pierre Lefebvre, Perry Schneiderman, Brigit Panet, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, George F. Walker, and Robert Lepage. Career Theater In high school, Power was active in the theatre, playing Felix in the publicly staged production of The Odd Couple in association with TVO. He was a recipient of a Sears On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax (; born 19 April 1953) is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television presenter, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax co-starred on the ITV sitcom '' Girls on Top'' (1985–1986), and came to prominence as a comic interviewer, playing up to British perceptions of the strident American style on television shows including ''The Full Wax'' (1991–1994), ''Ruby Wax Meets...'' (1994–1998), ''Ruby'' (1997–2000), and ''The Ruby Wax Show'' (2002). She was a script editor for the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012), also appearing in two episodes. Wax holds both American and British citizenship and has resided in the United Kingdom since the 1970s. In 2013, she gained a master's degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Kellogg College, Oxford. In 2015, she was appointed a Visiting Professor in Mental Health Nursing at the University of Surrey. Wax was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of the Bri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Sissons
Peter George Sissons (17 July 1942 – 1 October 2019) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4, before becoming the presenter of the BBC's '' Question Time'' between 1989 and 1993, and a presenter of the ''BBC Nine O'Clock News'' and '' Ten O'Clock News'' between 1993 and 2003. He retired from the BBC in 2009 and died in 2019 from leukaemia at the age of 77. Early life Born at Smithdown Road Hospital in Liverpool on 17 July 1942, Sissons was the third of four brothers, sons of Merchant Navy officer George Robert Percival Sissons and his wife Elsie Emma (Evans), an employee in a department store. He attended Dovedale Junior School with John Lennon and Jimmy Tarbuck, passed the eleven-plus and attended the Liverpool Institute for Boys from 1953 to 1961 with the theatre producer Bill Kenwright, the politician Steven Norris, and George Harrison and Paul McCartney from the Beatles. He studied philosophy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a Canadian-born British journalist and former newsreader for the BBC who was the lead anchor of the BBC Two news and current affairs programme ''Newsnight'' until the end of 2021. She has since been a presenter of the daily podcast '' The News Agents'' on LBC Radio. In November 2019, she carried out an hour-long interview with Prince Andrew, Duke of York for the BBC, in which she probed the prince's relationship with American convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Early life and education Maitlis was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to British Jewish parents; her paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany. She is the daughter of Peter Maitlis, Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, and Marion Basco, a psychotherapist from Cambridge. Her mother studied French and Spanish at St Hugh's College, Oxford. In September 1958, her mother began teaching French at Cambridgeshire High ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sian Williams
Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter, and counselling psychologist. From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of ''BBC Breakfast'' as well as all main news bulletins on BBC One. She presented two series of BBC One's discussion programme '' Sunday Morning Live'' from 2014 until 2015. From January 2016 until March 2022, she was the main presenter of '' 5 News at 5''. In March 2022 ITN announced Williams was to leave her daily presenting role. Williams said in the announcement she planned to continue with some broadcasting projects, but also devote more time to "delivering psychological support". Early life Williams was born in Paddington, London, to Welsh parents and was brought up in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Her mother, Katherine Rees, was from Llanelli and had moved to London training to be a nurse at St Mary's Hospital, where Williams was born. Williams' father was from Swansea, and his fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Turnbull
William Robert Jolyon Turnbull (25 January 1956 – 31 August 2022) was a British television and radio presenter and journalist whose broadcasting career spanned over 4 decades. He began his career working for some radio stations including Radio Clyde and BBC Radio 4's ''Today''. He presented BBC News 24 and BBC Radio 5 Live before taking on his most notable role as one of the main presenters of ''BBC Breakfast'', a position he held for 15 years between 2001 and 2016. Later in his career, he presented the religious series ''Songs of Praise'' and game show ''Think Tank'', as well as being a presenter on the radio station Classic FM. Early life Turnbull was born in Guildford, Surrey, on 25 January 1956, the youngest of four siblings to William, a barrister of Scottish ancestry who worked in the City of London and Honor (née Wicks), a teacher. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Edinburgh, where he edited the student newspaper. He graduated from Cardiff Univ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for their current affairs programme ''Panorama'' in 1989, and became the first female newsreader on '' BBC News at Ten'', as well as presenting many other flagship programmes for the corporation, including ''BBC News at Six'', ''Crimewatch'', '' Real Story'', ''Antiques Roadshow'' and ''Fake or Fortune?'' Since 10 January 2019, she has been the presenter of the BBC One television programme '' Question Time''. Early life and education Fiona Elizabeth Bruce was born on 25 April 1964 in what was then the State of Singapore, Malaysia. She had an English mother and a Scottish father, who had a long career at Unilever, becoming a regional managing director. Before that, the Bruce family had lived for several generations in the fishing village of Hopeman in Moray in the north-east of Scotland. Bruce has two elder brothers. She lived on the W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth (; born 15 May 1968) is an English journalist, newsreader and broadcaster working for the BBC. She is a senior newsreader and is one of the main presenters of BBC News (mainly ''BBC News at Six'' and '' BBC News at Ten''). She has been a television presenter for state occasions and has also presented the BBC's Election Night coverage, alongside other presenters. In 2015, she became the new presenter of consumer affairs programme ''Watchdog'' and in 2016, began presenting ''Crimewatch'', both for BBC One. Early life and education Sophie Jane Raworth was born on 15 May 1968 in Redhill, Surrey to a florist mother and a businessman father. She grew up in Twickenham and was privately educated at Bute House Preparatory School for Girls, Putney High School and St Paul's Girls' School. After completing a joint honours degree in French and German at the University of Manchester, Raworth spent a year teaching English to teenagers in Toulouse before completing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Alagiah
George Maxwell Alagiah (; 22 November 1955 – 24 July 2023) was a British newsreader, journalist and television presenter for the BBC. From 2007 until 2022, he was the presenter of the '' BBC News at Six'' and the main presenter of '' GMT'' on BBC World News from its launch in 2010 until 2014. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours. Early life and education George Maxwell Alagiah was born in Colombo, Ceylon, on 22 November 1955. His parents, Donald Ratnarajah Alagiah (c. 1925–2013), a civil engineer, later a public health engineering consultant for the World Health Organization, and Therese Karunaiamma (''née'' Santiapillai; died 1996), were Ceylon Tamils. In 1961, his parents moved to Ghana in West Africa, where he had his primary education at Christ the King International School. He had four sisters. His secondary education took place at St John's College, an independent Roman Catholic school in Portsmouth, E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi. Its second-largest and oldest city is Mombasa, a major port city located on Mombasa Island. Other major cities within the country include Kisumu, Nakuru & Eldoret. Going clockwise, Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest (though much of that border includes the disputed Ilemi Triangle), Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, Tanzania to the southwest, and Lake Victoria and Uganda to the west. Kenya's geography, climate and population vary widely. In western, rift valley counties, the landscape includes cold, snow-capped mountaintops (such as Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
