Tara Conlan

Channel 5 is developing To Nicola, Love Peter, a feature-length drama about Peter Murrell’s embezzlement of £400,000 from the Scottish National Party during his 12 years as its chief executive and the damage the scandal caused to Nicola Sturgeon’s reputation. Murrell was jailed for five years and three months after using falsified invoices and secret codes to fund purchases including a motorhome, luxury household items, a Jaguar SUV, pens and watches. The drama will explore the couple’s relationship, Murrell’s deception and the political fallout, with Wonderhood Studios producing it. Channel 5 executives described the story as a high-stakes political and domestic melodrama, while casting discussions have begun.

Romesh Ranganathan fronts a new musical BBC advert that reworks John Cleese’s 1985 licence-fee appeal. Set largely in the EastEnders Queen Vic and featuring about 90 well-known figures, the film showcases BBC programmes and services while warning that the corporation’s future is uncertain because licence-fee payments are declining and competition from YouTube, TikTok and streaming services is intensifying. Ranganathan says the BBC is flawed but uniquely valuable, while critics have called the campaign middlebrow and derivative.

BAFTA is introducing stricter monitoring, communication and escalation procedures for the Television Awards after a racial slur was broadcast during February’s film awards. The BBC acknowledged breaches of its editorial standards and delayed removal of the footage from iPlayer. Organizers are coordinating more closely with production partner Penny Lane, adding staff and monitoring both the live event and broadcast output as the ceremony faces heightened scrutiny. The outcome is expected to influence preparations for next year’s film awards.

Tim Grattan-Kane, the retired officer who led the investigation that secured John Worboys’s conviction, says England and Wales’s overstretched criminal justice system is close to collapse. He highlights delays at the Crown Prosecution Service, court closures, funding cuts and inadequate support for victims, while warning that drug-facilitated sexual assaults may still be occurring. Speaking ahead of ITV’s drama Believe Me, he argues that police must initially believe survivors, maintain an open mind about suspects in positions of trust and monitor investigative practices continually. The Worboys case prompted more survivor-centred rape investigations, but Grattan-Kane says institutional weaknesses and performance targets remain serious risks.

Writer Jeff Pope says violence against women has reached a breaking point and argues that the Metropolitan Police and wider justice system require fundamental cultural change. His ITV drama Believe Me depicts how survivors of John Worboys’s attacks were doubted and mishandled by police, while Carrie Symonds says the series should prompt reform by the police, CPS and Parole Board. Pope criticizes repeated procedural promises, inadequate treatment of survivors and the low proportion of reported rape and sexual-assault cases reaching charges; producers say they worked closely with survivors to create an accurate and supportive production.

David Attenborough’s new BBC series Secret Garden explores the biodiversity of Britain’s gardens and the practical steps householders can take to support wildlife. The programme highlights the ecological impact of domestic cats, estimating that Britain’s 9.5 million pet cats kill about 55 million birds annually, and discusses bells, elevated bird feeders and keeping cats indoors during April and May. It also criticises the annual release of more than 30 million pheasants, arguing that this disrupts native ecosystems despite claims that shooting supports rural employment. The series aims to address eco-anxiety by showing how small changes, such as planting native trees, can benefit wildlife in the UK’s 25 million gardens.

Channel 5 has defended Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards after criticism over its timing and subject matter. Producers say Ryan Davies, the alleged victim at the centre of the drama, cooperated with the production because he was ready to tell his story and wanted to raise awareness of grooming, online safety and abuse of power. The programme also covers Huw Edwards’s 2024 conviction for accessing indecent images of children and complaints made by Ryan’s family to the BBC. Channel 5 and Wonderhood Studios argue that drama is an effective public-service format for addressing these issues, while the programme reiterates that Edwards faced no criminal action over the allegations involving Ryan and disputes them. It will air on Channel 5 on 24 March.

Danny and Dani Dyer have invested money, time and celebrity influence in Priory Hill & Nutts Farm Holiday Park on the Isle of Sheppey for the Sky programme The Dyers’ Caravan Park. They hope to make British caravan holidays appealing to younger generations, counter class-based snobbery and help regenerate a deprived coastal area. The park has suffered from Covid-era disruption, the cost-of-living crisis and 38 empty pitches, representing about £150,000 in lost annual revenue, while the Dyers’ initiatives have brought renewed energy and publicity. The project also reflects Danny Dyer’s personal attachment to working-class seaside holidays and his desire to use his fame for the benefit of local residents.

The fourth regular series of The Traitors returns on BBC1 and iPlayer on New Year’s Day following the major success of The Celebrity Traitors, which attracted about 15 million UK viewers. Host Claudia Winkleman says the new civilian cast plays with greater intensity, producing heated and unusually brutal round-table confrontations. Producer Studio Lambert has introduced a new twist, hinted at through a red-cloaked Traitor in the trailer, to distinguish the regular series and reshape audience discussion after the celebrity edition. The programme’s popularity has also prompted interest in family viewing, group psychology and comparisons between its trust-based round tables and real jury decision-making.

British television comedy is experiencing a resurgence after the strong performance of the Gavin & Stacey finale. The BBC is positioning the Amandaland Christmas special as a major Christmas Day attraction, with Lucy Punch, Joanna Lumley and guest star Jennifer Saunders, whose reunion revives their Absolutely Fabulous partnership. Co-writers Laurence Rickard and Holly Walsh emphasize comedy’s ability to provide warmth and relief during bleak times, while broadcasters including Amazon, Channel 4 and Sky are also expanding their comedy offerings.

The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump for editing excerpts of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary in a way that appeared to present a direct call for violent action. The corporation will not rebroadcast the programme but rejects Trump’s demand for compensation and disputes that he has grounds for a defamation claim. The controversy has led to the resignations of director general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness, while similar editing in a Newsnight broadcast has also come under scrutiny. Legal experts have questioned Trump’s prospects of winning a case, and no lawsuit has yet been filed.

David Attenborough’s six-part BBC series Kingdom follows lions, leopards, wild dogs and hyenas in Zambia, showing how their interconnected struggles over territory and food affect one another. Producers used quiet camera drones, moving vehicle-mounted cameras, new light-sensitive equipment and cliffhangers to create a television-drama-style immersive experience. Filmed over five years, the series also emphasizes ecological interdependence rather than heroes and villains, while innovations such as a solar-powered base camp expanded the production’s capabilities.