People Roundup

Tuesday, 22 May 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
Steven Moffat received the Writer prize for the Sherlock episode A Scandal In Belgravia at this year's BAFTA Television Craft Awards, and said he was "genuinely, utterly thrilled" to be presented with it. His wife, Sue Vertue, tweeted: "The Moff wins! Hurrah for my husband @steven_moffat who's just won a #Bafta for #Sherlock. Love him!" The Mill had been nominated for its visual effects work on Doctor Who but it lost out to BlueBolt and Great Expectations. [BBC News, 14 May 2012]

Ahead of being presented with a Special BAFTA next Sunday, Moffat has given an interview to the film and television arts organisation about his career so far. In it, he takes a swipe at people who have problems with the complexity of his dramas Doctor Who and Sherlock. "There's been a weird backlash among, I presume, fairly stupid people about the fact the shows are complicated and clever, but they're both huge international hits. We make no apology. Don't expect to do the ironing; sit down, pay attention and think about it. Audiences like complexity. They follow intricately plotted soap operas all the time. It depresses me when people say, 'It's all far too clever,'" he states. [BAFTA Guru]

Catherine Tate has been signed up by Sky Arts to star in a new comedy called Psychobitches. Part of the channel's comedy and drama strand entitled Playhouse Presents, the 30-minute production will see her portraying Eva Braun and Edith Piaf. Also appearing in it will be Sheila Reid as Mother Teresa, while Sam Spiro will play Mary Whitehouse - a real-life enemy of Doctor Who during the classic era! It will be shown on Thursday 21st June at 9pm. [Sky Arts]

Production designer Michael Pickwoad gave a talk to the Friends of the Bodleian in Oxford in which he touched on his involvement with the show. A great admirer of historical architecture and construction methods, he mentioned that Nostell Priory in Yorkshire influenced a twin-column design that he used in Doctor Who. Pickwoad's early work included the film Withnail and I, which starred Paul McGann and Richard E Grant, who not only provided the voice of the Doctor in the animated webcast Scream of the Shalka but also played a version of the Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, which was written by Steven Moffat. Another notable film Pickwoad worked on was Let Him Have It, which starred Christopher Eccleston in one of his earliest acting roles. [The St James's Evening Post, 16 May 2012]

And speaking of the actor . . . During an interview ahead of his appearance as Creon in Antigone at the National's Olivier Theatre in London, Christopher Eccleston touched on his time as the Time Lord and why it was so brief. "I know what went on and the people who were involved know what went on – that's good enough for me. My conscience is completely clear," he said. Eccleston also praised the young fans of the show, saying: "I'm hugely grateful to the children who to this day come up and talk to me about the show." Antigone opens tomorrow and runs until Saturday 21st July. [The Telegraph, 16 May 2012]

Eccleston will be talking about his career and answering questions at the Olivier Theatre on Thursday 19th July. The one-hour interview - part of the In Conversation series - will be conducted by Al Senter.

Georgia Moffett
has been speaking about stripping to her underwear as Geraldine Barclay in the farce What The Butler Saw. "I thought it was going to be a lot scarier than it is. Once the play starts I have to take my clothes off or the story doesn't work. But I am quite insecure about my figure, so it's amazing how liberating it feels after you have done it a couple of times. Obviously, I would prefer to wear clothes, but once I take them off at the beginning, I think, 'Oh, well, they've seen it now’, and I just carry on." The production, which also stars Samantha Bond and Tim McInnerny, is at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End until Saturday 25th August. [The Telegraph, 18 May 2012]

In Memoriam:

Legendary hairdresser Vidal Sassoon, who in 1963 created the distinctive geometric cut for the character of Susan, played by Carole Ann Ford, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 84. [BBC News, 10 May 2012]





FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People - USA - UK - Theatre - Catherine Tate - Awards/Nominations - Christopher Eccleston