Tinsel Town is a Christmas rom-com featuring Kiefer Sutherland as a failed Hollywood actor who accidentally ends up in a small UK village, starring in the town’s production of Cinderella. This festive caper boasts an A-list cast, which also includes Rebel Wilson, Danny Dyer, Asim Chaudhry, Katherine Ryan and Sir Derek Jacobi.

The story follows American movie star Bradley Mack, played by Kiefer, who travels to the UK to reignite his career after his action movie franchise is abruptly cancelled. But instead of treading the boards on the West End, he ends up starring in a local play with a colourful cast of oddballs.

"It’s a Christmas film which is kind of the last thing I thought I would be a part of," says Kiefer. “I’m thrilled to be working back in the UK and with director Chris Foggin. The cast is fantastic, and I can’t wait to tell this story.”

Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson, who plays no-nonsense movie choreographer Jill, adds: “I love British Christmas movies because in Australia we’re just on the beach having a BBQ - and so now I feel like I get to have a classic British Christmas - freezing my t**s off but laughing and sledding all the way."

Here’s everything we know about the movie Tinsel Town…

Tinsel Town release date

Tinsel Town will premiere in the UK on Sky Cinema in the run up to Christmas 2025. As soon as we find out the date, we’ll update this page. We will update on the movie's US release and channel soon too.

Is there a trailer? 

No not yet but when a Tinsel Town trailer is released, we’ll post it up on here. 

Tinsel Town plot 

Tinsel Town follows egotistic actor Bradley Mack, whose career is in freefall. Worried his Hollywood days are behind him, Bradley flies to England, hoping to reinvent himself as a serious actor on the West End. However, his agent books him to star in a local production of Cinderella in a small, snow-covered village. Bradley’s not impressed but as time goes by, he starts to see new hope in the form of choreographer Jill and his journey takes a different path.

Tinsel Town cast — Kiefer Sutherland as Bradley Mack

In Tinsel Town, Kiefer Sutherland plays the pampered Hollywood action hero Bradley Mack who's fallen on harder times. 

The Canadian star and son of Donald Sutherland is best-known for his long-running role as Jack Bauer in the series 24 from 2001 to 2010. He played President Tom Kirkman in the political drama series Designated Survivor and has also starred in The Lost Boys, The First Lady, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men, Phone Booth, Flatliners and Rabbit Hole. 

Rebel Wilson as Jill

Rebel Wilson plays the production’s choreographer, Jill, In Tinsel Town. She previously starred as Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect films and was Brynn in Bridesmaids. She’s also been in Jojo Rabbit, The Hustle, Cats, Grimsby, What To Expect When You’re Expecting, The Deb and How To Be Single.

Who else is starring? 

Tinsel Town has an impressive cast including comedian Katherine Ryan as Bradley’s long-suffering agent. Derek Jacobi, Mawaan Rizwan, Maria Friedman, Alice Eve, Danny Dyer, Asim Chaudhry, Jason Manford, Ray Fearon, Lucien Laviscount and James Lance are all playing local villagers while Meera Syal is the production’s director. 

Newcomer Savannah Lee Smith (Cruel Intentions) will also feature alongside Theodora Williams in her on-screen feature debut, alongside Matilda Firth (Wolf Man) and Eden Hamilton (The Railway Children Return).

Behind the scenes, locations and more on Tinsel Town

Tinsel Town filmed on location in Yorkshire, England, in 2024 and 2025 and was written by Frazer Flintham, Adam Brown and Piers Ashworth with additional material by Jake Brunger.

The movie is directed by Chris Foggin (Bank of Dave). Matt Williams and Pascal Degove at FAE will produce. Executive Producers are Julia Stuart, Laura Grange, Piers Tempest and Martin Owen. Mister Smith Entertainment have launched worldwide sales at the European Film Market, with early sales completed with the following distributors: DeaPlaneta in Spain, Kinoswiat in Poland, Front Row Filmed Entertainment in the Middle East,  Active Cinema Group in Ukraine, ACME in the Baltics, Blitz Film in Ex-Yugoslavia, Odeon/Femeway/The Film Group in Greece, United King in Israel, and Empire Entertainment in South Africa.  Mister Smith will continue international sales this week at Cannes Film Festival.

Tinsel Town was commissioned and developed by Sky in association with Future Artists Entertainment. Mister Smith Entertainment will launch worldwide sales at the upcoming European Film Market.

Julia Stuart, Director of Original Film at Sky says: “We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome such a phenomenal array of talent to Tinsel Town. With screen legends like Sir Derek Jacobi and Meera Syal, as well as the incredible talent of Mawaan Rizwan, Alice Eve, James Lance, Lucien Laviscount alongside the comedic energy of Katherine Ryan, Danny Dyer Jason Manford, and Asim Chaudhry, this cast is truly something special. Their chemistry and unique performances will bring an extra layer of magic, mischief, and heart to what promises to be a festive treat for Sky audiences. We can't wait to share it with the world later this year.”

David Garrett of Mister Smith Entertainment says: “This is a delightfully funny and heartwarming movie with the kind of broad commercial appeal which has immediately resonated with the international buyers and ticks all the right boxes. It is going to be a fun ride.”

Matt Williams of Future Artists Entertainment adds: “I couldn't be more thrilled with the incredible ensemble we've put together for this film - every actor brings such heart and magic to the story, and together, they’ve created something truly special.”

A Sudden Case of Christmas is a feelgood festive film with Danny DeVito heading up the cast. Set in the middle of summer, Danny plays hotelier and doting grandfather Lawrence Armanetti who each year hosts his extended family for Christmas in his grand hotel in the Italian Dolomites.

However, it seems this year will be far from the picture-perfect get-together he loves as, in the summer, he learns his daughter and her husband are splitting up. His granddaughter Claire (Antonella Rose) suspects that this year’s festive trip may be canceled and insists on having one last family Christmas together. In the midst of the chaos, Claire and her grandfather hatch a plan to get her warring parents back together.

Here's everything you need to know about the festive flick A Sudden Case of Christmas…

A Sudden Case of Christmas release date

A Sudden Case of Christmas will premiere in the UK on Sky Cinema Premiere and NOW on Sunday December 8 2024. The movie has been available in the US on digital platforms since November 7 2024.

Is there a trailer? 

Yes the trailer for A Sudden Case of Christmas shows granddaughter Claire saying, ‘as long as there’s love, there’s Christmas’. But it appears that may not be the case this year. We see her parents at war and her granddad Lawrence determined to make Claire’s wish come true, by giving her one last Christmas as a family, in the middle of August.

A Sudden Case of Christmas plot

Every Christmas, Lawrence (Danny DeVito) hosts his extended family at his hotel in the Italian mountains. So, he’s surprised when his daughter and son-in-law turn up in the middle of summer. They announce that they are splitting up so their devastated 10-year-old daughter Claire (Antonella Rose) asks if they can have one last Christmas at the hotel as a family. She hopes to persuade her parents to reconcile but can she really create enough Christmas magic in the middle of August?

A Sudden Case of Christmas cast — Danny DeVito as Lawrence Armanetti

Danny DeVito plays the kindly grandfather and hotel owner Lawrence Armanetti. Danny previously found fame as grumpy cab dispatcher Louie De Palma in the hit US comedy series Taxi which ran from 1978 to 1983. He appeared in hit movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Romancing the Stone, Terms of Endearment, Twins and The War of the Roses. He’s also starred as the Penguin in Batman Returns, plus Matilda, Get Shorty, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Beetlejuice.

Who else is starring?

A Sudden Case of Christmas also stars Andie MacDowell plays Rose, Claire’s paternal grandmother while Clare is played by Antonella Rose. Lucy DeVito (Danny’s daughter) plays Abbie, Valeria Cavalli is Claudia. while Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar, Francesco Salvi, Roderick Hill and Tommaso Sacco also star.

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland gives two classics a festive movie mash-up! 

Christmastime always sees St Nick travel around the world to spread some yuletide cheer but this year he’s also taking a special trip to Wonderland. 

This beautifully animated tale sees St Nick (voiced by Gerard Butler), otherwise known as Santa or Father Christmas, venture into the crazy world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland in order to teach the mean and miserable Queen of Hearts (voiced by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke) about the true meaning of Christmas. And to do so he teams up with Lewis Carroll’s classic characters Alice (Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley), The Mad Hatter and March Hare for an all-singing, all-dancing animated adventure. 

This film features original music and songs written by long-time Robbie Williams collaborator Guy Chambers and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Amy Wadge.

Here’s everything you need to know about the animated movie The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland…

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland – release date

In the US, The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland was released on Prime Video on Friday, November 15 2024. In the UK, the movie launches on Sky Cinema on Friday, December 13 2024. 

Is there a trailer for The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland? 

Yes, and you can watch it below. The trailer for The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland shows Santa take a detour to Wonderland but he’s faced with the angry Queen of Hearts who declares there’s to be no celebrating on Christmas Day. Can he change her mind or will it be ‘off with his head’? There's a bit of a South Park vibe to it as well as you'll see if you take a look at the trailer below...

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland plot

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland is based on the book written by Carys Bexington and illustrated by Kate Hindley, which mashes up the stories of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Clement Clarke Moore’s poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, the animation features characters from both tales. 

It sees St Nick receive a long-delayed letter on Christmas Eve from the Princess of Hearts, so he and his reindeer set off to Wonderland to meet her. But he’s met by the mean and miserly Queen of Hearts who hates everything about Christmas, especially presents. That leaves Santa, Alice and her pals having to change her mind before it’s too late. 

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland voice cast —Gerard Butler as St Nick 

Gerard Butler, who voices St Nick, has starred in the films 300, P.S. I Love You, The Bounty Hunter, London Has Fallen and The Vanishing. He also lent his voice to the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, voicing Stoick.

* See our exclusive interview with Gerard Butler below....

Emilia Clarke as the Queen of Hearts 

Emilia Clarke voices the fearsome and quite mad Queen of Hearts. Emilia is best known for playing Daenerys Targaryen in the hit series Game of Thrones. She has also been in Me Before You, Terminator Genisys, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Last Christmas and the series Secret Invasion. 

Who else is in the voice cast of The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland? 

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland also features Sex Education and Bridgerton season 2 star Simone Ashley voices Alice while Mawaan Rizwan is the Mad Hatter and Eliza Riley is The Princess of Hearts. 

The Office and Detectorists star Mackenzie Crook is voicing the White Rabbit, People Just Do Nothing star Asim Chaudhry is the March Hare, singer, songwriter and Eurovision contestant Mae Muller voices the reindeer Prancer, actor and comedian Simon Day is the Dodo, comedian Tom Allen is the Fish Barrister, Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?, Doctor Who) is Robin the Reindeer while racing driver Nicolas Hamilton, brother of Lewis Hamilton, is the Card Guard. 

Exclusive interview with Gerard Butler for The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

Here's our exclusive interview with Gerard Butler for The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland...

How does it feel to voice a character as iconic as Santa? 
Gerard Butler says: "It feels amazing, I’m over the moon about it. I’ve looked up to Santa since I was a kid and I thought one day I’d like to make a biopic of the man, his struggles, his hopes, did he achieve them and what he has to go through at Christmastime. I think he’s happy with it. We’ve tried to contact him to have him screen the movie but he’s a hard man to get hold of. But I was happy to portray St. Nick. It was a blast."

Did you enjoy singing the musical numbers? 
Gerard Butler says: "I did. The songs are fantastic and they are all so different. They are all unique, they are all catchy. I feel they could all become number one Christmas songs. I’ve got a rap in there and I feel like Eminem and Jay-Z had better watch out. My Santa rap explains how everything works at Christmas. All the prep we have to do and meanwhile Santa’s getting in the way of all the elves and they are like ‘get out the way’ and he’s like ‘hey, look at me, this is what we do’. It’s hilarious. There are showtime numbers, cabaret songs, pop songs, weird trippy songs and The Twelve Crimes of Christmas. They are all great songs so I had a chance to have a little fun. I haven’t sang for a while so I had to brush up on that. But I didn’t have to brush up too much because he’s Santa and he didn’t have to have the best singing voice. It was great to be in a booth doing these rhyming couplets, this great dialogue with this lovely feeling and to have the chance to let go, be silly and goofy and at times emotional. Peter Baynton is the most phenomenal director and animator and it was written so well that I knew I was part of something special. It was actually very hard to get this off the ground because there was a lot going on at that time but I couldn’t let it go because I knew there was a little bit of magic in there and I knew it was going to appeal to people." 

What do you think makes the story so magical? 
Gerard Butler says: "Peter’s last film, the short story The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won an Oscar and a BAFTA so you can clearly see he’s very talented. So when I thought ‘oh my god, I’m getting the opportunity to play Santa in his next movie’ I knew he was going to take it places. Then I read the script and it’s a great script. It’s a great idea. These two fairytales kind of live in us from when we were kids and it’s a chance to revisit that. The 2D animation means the book has literally opened up and come to life. And it has a bunch of fun actors in it who did such a great job playing these characters. The performances are great, the music is fantastic and you just get caught up with it as you fall into this world. You see the world of Santa and then you’re down the rabbit hole going ‘what just happened?’ It’s trippy, it’s weird but it’s very captivating. Some movies you can just enjoy and others just get you inside somewhere. They sit with you for a while and that’s a beautiful thing because the lessons behind this movie are lovely and they are not in your face. It takes you on a ride but you walk out of there and you feel that it really brings people together at the perfect time because that’s the sentiment of Christmas. Bringing everybody together and being kind, that’s what Christmas is." 

What was it like to work with Emilia Clarke?
Gerard Butler says: "There’s not a lot I can say about that because I didn’t. I didn’t work with any of the actors. I love Emilia, she’s the nicest girl ever and she is fantastic in this movie. I loved what she did and I’m very, very happy to be in this movie with her. But that’s the weird thing, you think ‘I haven’t seen these other actors’. Normally, when you make a movie you kind of know who really hit it and then with others you go, ‘well I hope that one turns out ok’ but I had no idea until I saw the movie. Normally when I’m in the editing suite I see a lot but I only saw this film the once and it was fun because I was like an audience member. But the whole cast - Emilia, Simone Ashley, Mackenzie Crook and all the guys were all so much fun." 

So, when you’re in your booth you don’t know if everyone else is matching your energy? 
Gerard Butler says: "No, you have no idea. You are just hoping it doesn’t look like you’re in a different movie. Kill me right now! Imagine if everyone else is playing it down and natural and real and you’re left in outer space? But I trusted everyone in that room that I was working with. Guy Chambers, the composer, he’s amazing. He knows exactly what he wants. I’m coming in with ideas about Santa and a few times we butted heads but in the best way because I loved working with him. This stuff is a little more difficult to do than you imagine. It seems easy but the easier it seems in some ways, the harder it is to get that free-flowing thing. You’re still trying to hit all the right beats, you still want to stay with the musicality as well as getting as much colour into the songs. Guy knows his rules about what you’ve got to hit in the songs. I’m more like, ‘let me free, I want to go over here’, and the balance worked perfectly. Peter knew how to keep me and the other actors in the same world of Alice in Wonderland and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Santa and all those people. All weird and getting as much out of them as possible but all in the same world."

Do you have a favourite Christmas film? 
Gerard Butler says: "No, just this one! There are a lot of great Christmas movies, like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street but weirdly the Christmas movie I grew up with and remember watching every Christmas was a little bit dark because it was The Wizard of Oz. It was amazing. The first time I saw tornadoes and the first time I realised if you put on red shiny shoes and clicked your heels, you could go home. I do that now which is a little strange but it’s got me out of a lot of trouble and got me into a lot of trouble. But oh my god, wow – talk about a movie that just transports you somewhere else and takes you on the highs and lows and what you learn from that. That will always be what I see as my Christmas movie. But there’s been a lot of great ones. I loved the Ryan Reynolds movie Spirited, that was fun. That was a fun modern take on Christmas. But our movie is really in the Christmas spirit in all the right ways. It reminds you of what Christmas is without being too on-the-nose and flat. It’s the best, weirdest and most fun take on the holiday season."

* Gerard spoke exclusively to Natasha Holt.

Behind the scenes and more on The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

The movie is based on the bestselling book The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland written by Carys Bexington, illustrated by Kate Hindley and published by Macmillan, which mashes up two classic tales: Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (also known as A Visit from St Nicholas). 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film as well as the BAFTA for Best British Short Animation in 2023. Sara Daddy has adapted the book into a screenplay, written entirely in rhyming couplets. There's original music and songs written by long-time Robbie Williams collaborator Guy Chambers and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Amy Wadge.

The production reunites Universal Pictures Content Group and Lupus Films following recent successful collaborations on Mog’s Christmas and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. It is produced by the multi-award-winning Ruth Fielding and Camilla Deakin for Lupus Films and Executive Produced by Helen Parker, EVP, Universal Pictures Content Group, Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel for G-BASE Productions and Emilia Clarke for Magical Thinking Pictures.

Genie is a new movie by Richard Curtis whose blockbuster hit Love Actually is as much a part of Christmas as mince pies and the big man himself. Now this legendary filmmaker has a new festive offering on Peacock and Sky Cinema, starring Bridesmaids’ Melissa McCarthy, The Lazarus Project star Paapa Essiedu and Alan Cumming. Genie is actually a remake of the 1991 TV film Bernard and The Genie, also written by Richard Curtis and starring Lenny Henry, Rowan Atkinson and Alan Cumming who's back for this new adaptation which is based again on The Book of the Thousand and One Nights (aka Arabian Nights)

This latest version, simply called Genie, sees Paapa Essiedu star as Bernard Bottle, a man in the midst of a crisis, who inadvertently summons up Melissa McCarthy's genie Flora who has been stuck inside a jewellery box for thousands of years. With unlimited wishes at his disposal, Bernard sets out to fix his life and win back his family. But the path to Christmas joy never runs smoothly. 

"Christmas is the most fun time of year for someone to be miserable. It's the most fun time of year for someone to help someone stop being miserable," says Richard Curtis in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. "But the genie thing, I've just always been intrigued by magic, and there's a limit to how many magical things Father Christmas can do. He only works that one night a year. If I wanted magic at Christmas, a genie was a fun, new way of doing it."

Here’s everything you need to know about Genie on Peacock and Sky Cinema….

Genie release date

Genie will air on Peacock in the US on November 22 2023 and on Sky Cinema in the UK on December 1 2023. and be available on catch-up service NOW.

Yes the Genie trailer shows Paapa Essiedu’s Bernard as his life falls apart. But then salvation arrives in the shape of genie Flora (McCarthy) who can grant him unlimited wishes. “I need to get my wife and kid to love me again,” he tells her. Will Flora be the answer to his prayers? 

Below it you can watch the original Bernard and the Genie from 1991. Enjoy!

Genie plot 

Genie is full of festive fune and Christmas messages. Paapa Essiedu plays workaholic Bernard Bottle who, thanks to pressure from his tyrannical boss Oliver Flaxman (Alan Cumming), misses his daughter Eve’s birthday, 12 days before Christmas. And there’s worse to come when his long-suffering wife Julie (Denée Benton) asks for a trial separation and Flaxman fires him anyway. Devastated, Bernard absentmindedly rubs an old jewellery box and summons up fun-loving but chaotic genie Flora (Melissa McCarthy) who can grant him unlimited wishes. Could she be the key to him winning back his family? 

Genie cast — Paapa Essiedu as Bernard

In Genie, Paapa Essiedu plays a man who summons up a genie. His career is flying at the moment as the star of sci-fi thriller The Lazarus Project seasons 1 and 2. He shot to fame playing Kwame in I May Destroy You and has since been in Anne Boleyn, The Capture, Gangs of London and Black Mirror. 

Melissa McCarthy as Flora 

Melissa McCarthy plays the genie Flora. The comedian is possibly best known for her role as Megan in the hit movies Bridesmaids and Spy. She also plays Disney villain Ursula in the remake of The Little Mermaid and starred in Nine Perfect Strangers alongside Nicole Kidman. Melissa has also appeared in Gilmore Girls, Thor: Love and Thunder, God’s Favorite Idiot, Ghostbusters, This is 40, Samantha Who? and Mike and Molly. 

Who else is starring in Genie?

The Gilded Age star Denée Benton is playing Bernard’s wife Julie while The Good Wife’s Alan Cumming plays his horrendous boss Oliver Flaxman. Luis Guzmán, Orease Bowers, Tate Ellington and Nyasha Hatendi also star.

Lee is a an intimate portrayal of former model and fearless World War Two photographer Lee Miller. With Kate Winslet playing Lee, the movie covers the most significant decade of her life and also stars Big Little Lies actor Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, Josh O’Connor and Marion Cotillard. 

Lee will show how Miller used her camera to give a voice to the voiceless and, consequently, how her shocking and horrific photographs, taken at Dachau concentration camp and around Europe, remain some of the most historically important of the second world war. 

“To me, she was a life force to be reckoned with, so much more than an object of attention from famous men with whom she is associated,” says Kate Winslet, who is also a producer on the movie. “This photographer, writer, reporter, did everything she did with love, lust, and courage, and is an inspiration of what you can achieve, and what you can bear, if you dare to take life firmly by the hands and live it at full throttle.” 

So here's everything we know so far about the new movie Lee...

Lee release date

Lee was shown in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from Friday September 13 2024, and will be arriving on Sky Cinema from Friday November 1 2024. In the US Lee premiered in movie theaters on September 27 2024.. 

The movie actually had its full premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival September 9, 2023.

Is there a trailer for Kate Winslet's Lee?

Yes a couple of trailers for Lee have been released that show Kate Winslet stepping into the role of Elizabeth Lee Miller. Some parts of it even look like a Bond movie. Take a look below:

Lee plot — what happens in the movie

New Yorker Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller was a model for Vogue and Vanity Fair but then moved to Paris to study photography. She moved to London just as WW2 broke out and as a middle-aged woman she refused to simply be remembered as a model and muse. Instead she defied social expectations and travelled Europe, reporting from the frontline and covering events such as the London Blitz, the liberation of Paris and the concentration camps at Dachau and Buchenwald. Her work was shown in British Vogue and the terrible images she captured changed perceptions of the war and brought home the atrocities of the concentration camps. Her work changed war photography forever but Lee paid a huge personal price for the stories she fought so hard to tell.

Lee cast — Kate Winslet as Lee Miller 

Kate Winslet plays the brave photojournalist Lee Miller who ends up in war zones and all sorts for danger throughout the movie

* Kate Winslet of course shot to fame in the 1997 movie Titanic, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. She’s since starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Contagion, Divergent and Ammonite. In 2021, Kate headed up the drama series Mare of Easttown and appeared with her daughter Mia Threapleton in the Channel 4 drama I Am Ruth in 2022.

Who else is starring in the movie Lee?

Lee also stars Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor Andy Samberg who plays Life Magazine photographer David E. Scherman while Big Little Lies star Alexander Skarsgård is surrealist painter, photographer, poet and biographer Roland Penrose. Marion Cotillard (Inception) is Solange D’Ayen, the fashion director of French Vogue, and The Crown’s Josh O’Connor is Tony, a young journalist. Andrea Riseborough, who is playing Mrs Wormwood in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, will star as British Vogue Editor Audrey Withers. 

The real Elizabeth Lee Miller — a brief biography

Born on April 23 1907, Elizabeth Lee Miller suffered personal trauma of her own and at seven years old was raped by a family friend and infected with gonorrhea. She rebelled at school and was expelled from numerous schools. At 19 Lee tried to step out in front of a car but was stopped by Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue. That encounter led to her modelling career but once that ended she moved to Paris to take up photography. Lee married and moved to Egypt but relocated to London as World War II broke out. She then moved into photojournalism, taking photos from the frontline. She was famously photographed in Hitler’s bathtub in 1945, with the dust of Dachau on her boots, deliberately dirtying his bathroom. Her photographs of the concentration camps helped convince the public that such atrocities had really taken place. However, her experiences left her with severe PTSD and depression. Lee died on July 21, 1977, aged 70..

Locations and behind the scenes on Lee the movie

Lee has been filmed in Croatia, Hungary and London during 2022 (see our first look main picture). Pioneer Stillking is the Production service company for Hungary. Embassy Films is the Production service company for Croatia.

Julia Stuart, Director of Original Film at Sky says: “Sky is honoured to bring Lee Miller’s wartime journey to screens across the UK. Lee Miller was an utterly unstoppable woman, whose timeless story is as relevant now as it was in her day, and there is no one better suited to that role than the masterful Kate Winslet.”

Lee is produced by Kate Solomon and Kate Winslet, with Troy Lum, Andrew Mason, Marie Savare and Lauren Hantz. Executive Producers are Julia Stuart and Laura Grange, Finola Dwyer, Thorsten Schumacher, Billy Mulligan, John Hantz, Jason Duan, Crystine Zhang, Lem Dobbs, Liz Hannah, John Collee and Clare Hardwick.

LEE is a MS Participations, Rocket Science, Hantz Motion Pictures and A Sky Original Film in association with Pasaca Entertainment. A Brouhaha Entertainment and Juggle Films Production in association with 55 Films and Vogue Studios.

The Great Escaper sees two-time Oscar winners Sir Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson reuniting top portray the real-life story of Bernard Jordan who in 2014 escaped from his care home in Hove, East Sussex, to attend the 70th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day Landings in France. 

British acting legends Sir Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson first acted together in The Romantic Englishwoman back in 1976, and now Michael will play plucky Bernard, aka Bernie, who staged his “big escape” to honour his fallen comrades in Normandy, while Glenda is his wife, Rene. Bernard’s time on the run lasted a mere 48 hours but it captured the hearts of the British public. 

Writer William Ivory wants the audience to feel they’ve been on an emotional journey when they leave the cinema: "They’ve laughed, they’ve cried, but ultimately they should leave feeling that life is worth living."

Director Oliver Parker says: "There are so many extraordinary stories which are still coming out because, like Bernie, they didn't talk about it. A lot of these things are still being unearthed."

Here’s everything you need to know about The Great Escaper…

The Great Escaper release date

The Great Escaper had its cinematic premiere in London on September 19 2023 and opened in UK cinemas from Friday October 6. 

The Great Escaper will be shown on Sky Cinema in the UK in June 2024. At the moment it’s unclear if it will also be shown on a streaming service such as Netflix or Prime Video but we’ll update you on that. 

Running time is 96 minutes and in the UK it's certificate 12A. Below is a clip of Sir Michael Caine and the rest of the cast at the London premiere...

Is there a trailer for The Great Escaper?

Yes a trailer for The Great Escaper has now been released which shows the wonderful chemistry between Sir Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson in her last ever role. Do take a look below, plus another recently released clip below it...

The Great Escaper plot 

The Great Escaper follows the adventures of D-Day veteran, former Royal Navy Lieutenant Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine), who in 2014 sneaked out of his East Sussex care home to travel to Normandy to pay his respects on the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. He told his carers he was “popping to the shops” but instead walked to Brighton railway station, travelled to Portsmouth and bought a one-way ferry ticket to Caen, sparking a police search for him. 

Back in 2014, Bernie said, “In the months leading up to the anniversary I was trying to get an official trip to Normandy but I didn’t have the necessary passes. Then, the day before D-Day I saw all the TV coverage and thought, “I have to go and be part of it.” I was naughty and secretive.” He died a year later, aged 90, and his wife Irene, or Rene (Glenda Jackson) died just a week later.

Bernard's adventure, spanning 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene, celebrating their enduring love but always with an eye to the lessons we might learn from the Greatest Generation. 

The Great Escaper cast — Michael Caine on playing Bernard 'Bernie' Jordan

In The Great Escaper, Michael Caine plays pensioner Bernard who secretly journeyed to France, despite his health concerns, to commemorate his fellow World War Two soldiers. 

"Mentally Glenda and I hadn't aged," explained Michael shortly after filming. "To us we were still young and having fun and ready for a laugh.’"

Cockney actor Michael Caine made his name in the 1960s, starring in films such as Zulu, The Italian Job, Alfie, and The Ipcress File. He won Oscars for his roles in The Cider House Rules and Hannah and her Sisters and has also starred in The Muppet Christmas Carol, Little Voice, The Quiet American, Educating Rita, Jaws 4: The Revenge, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Miss Congeniality and The Dark Knight trilogy. 

The late Glenda Jackson as Irene Jordan, aka Rene

Stage and screen legend Glenda Jackson, who sadly passed away after a short illness in June 2023, plays Bernie’s wife Rene in what was her last screen role before her death earlier in 2023. 

When asked why she agreed to play the part of Rene, Glenda said: ‘I thought it was an excellent screenplay. The story is more important in a way than their love for each other. I think it has a wider relevance because their concern and their care extend beyond just themselves.’ 

After Glenda's death, the following statement was issued by the film’s director, Oliver Parker, on behalf of the filmmakers:  

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of Glenda’s passing.  It was the privilege of a lifetime to work with her. She had such fierce intelligence, such passion, and fearlessness.  It is hard to believe that it was less than a month ago that we screened the finished film for her and Michael – she was as feisty and vibrant as ever and we will treasure the memory of that emotional and happy day.” 

In a separate statement, Michael Caine said:

“Glenda was one of our greatest movie actresses.  It was a privilege to work with her on The Great Escaper recently, our second film together.  It was as wonderful an experience this time as it was 50 years ago.  I shall miss her.”

Glenda won two Oscars, for Women in Love in 1969 and A Touch of Class in 1973. She’s also starred acclaimed movies such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, Mary, Queen of Scots, Hedda Gabler, and more recently in the BBC1 drama Elizabeth is Missing. On TV she starred in the BBC's 1971 miniseries Elizabeth R and was the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate from 1992 to 2017 during which time she took a break from acting. Her only son is the political journalist Dan Hodges.

Who else is starring in The Great Escaper?

Other cast for The Great Escaper includes Will Fletcher and Laura Marcus as the younger Bernie and Rene, Victor Oshin as Scott Selwood, plus John Standing.

Danielle Vitalis, who plays Rene's carer Adele, says: ‘Glenda Jackson brought a lot of love to her role. Her portrayal of Rene is both soft and caring but also because of her wealth of experience as an actor, performer, and activist in real life, you could sense that here was a life fully lived. And I think those two aspects – character and actor - amalgamated and created such a beautiful, multi-dimensional character performance. It’s beautiful for me as an actor to be able to respond to that.’ 

Below is a clip of Laura Marcus, who plays young Rene, talking about filming The Great Escaper...

Behind the scenes and more about The Great Escaper

The Great Escaper is produced by BAFTA-nominees Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae (Nowhere Boy) and is an Ecosse Films production for Pathé and BBC Film. Executive Producers are Cameron McCracken for Pathé and Eve Yates for BBC Film.

The creative team includes BAFTA-nominated Cinematographer Christopher Ross (The Swimmers, Room), BAFTA-winner Editor Paul Tothill (Blithe Spirit, Atonement), Production Designer Nick Palmer (Das Boot), BAFTA-nominated Costume Designer Emma Fryer (The Great), Hair and Make-Up by Jacqueline Fowler (War & Peace) and a score by the Academy Award nominated composer George Fenton (The Duke, Allelujah). Pathé will distribute the film in the UK, France and Switzerland and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world.

Dead Shot is a movie thriller which takes us to the tense and paranoid streets of London in the 1970s, at the time of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This Sky Original film stars Colin Morgan, alongside Aml Ameen, Felicity Jones, Mark Strong, Sophia Brown and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and tells the story of a retired Irish paramilitary O’Hara (Colin Morgan) who sees his pregnant wife shot dead by an SAS officer Tempest (Ameen). The IRA man manages to escape but vows to take revenge on the man who tore apart his family. 

The movie, originally called Borderland, was written by Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett and Tom and Charles Guard back in 2012 so it’s taken a while to come to fruition, so we’re delighted we’ll be able to watch it at last. 

Here’s everything you need to know about Dead Shot on Sky Cinema…

Dead Shot release date

Dead Shot arrives in the UK on Sky Cinema and NOW on Friday May 12 2023. US viewers should be able to catch the movie at cinemas.  

Is there a trailer for Dead Shot? 

There's no trailer for Dead Shot at the moment but if Sky releases one, we’ll post in on this page. 

Dead Shot plot

Head back around 50 years to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. When a border ambush goes wrong, a retired Irish paramilitary O’Hara (Colin Morgan) witnesses the fatal shooting of his pregnant wife Carol (Máiréad Tyers) who he's taking to the hospital to give birth. She's been killed by an SAS officer Tempest (Aml Ameen). Somehow, O'Hara manages to outwit the SAS and escape, albeit wounded. But he's out for reveng. Tempest isn't reprimanded by authorities at all. In fact his superior officer (Mark Strong) has him promoted for being such a 'dead shot'. The incident leaves its mark on O'Hara whose dark mission takes him onto the streets of 1970s London.  

Dead Shot cast — Colin Morgan as O’Hara

The main star of Dead Shot, Colin Morgan plays retired paramilitary man O’Hara desperate for revenge. Colin of course is best known for playing the titular character in the BBC1 fantasy series Merlin. Colin has also starred in Mammals, Humans, We Hunt Together, Belfast and Three Families. He’s also had roles in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Fall, Doctor Who and The Crown. Later in 2023, Colin is due to take the lead role in The Killing Kind.

Aml Ameen as Tempest

Aml Ameen plays SAS officer Tempest. He’s previously starred in Kidulthood, I May Destroy You, Yardie and The Porter. He played PC Lewis Hardy in The Bill and has also appeared in EastEnders, Holby City, Silent Witness, Harry’s Law and movie The Maze Runner. 

Who else is starring in Dead Shot? 

Some of the characters in Dead Shot are unnamed. The movie also stars Felicity Jones (Rogue One), Mark Strong (1917), Sophia Brown (The Witcher) as O'Hara's new girlfriend Ruth, Máiréad Tyers as O'Hara's murdered wife Carol, Stephen McMillan as Joe Lynch and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Avengers: Endgame).

Behind The Scenes and more on Dead Shot

Dead Shot is directed by Tom and Charles Guard (The Uninvited), who have co-written the movie with Ronan Bennett (Top Boy) and The Guard Brothers. Borderland is an Upper Street, Stylopic, A Piecrust and Highland Midgie Production, produced by Chris Coen, Brian Coffey, Rebecca Brown and Thorsten Schumacher and executive produced by Julia Stuart and Laura Grange at Sky and Norman Merry and Peter Hampden at LipSync.

A Good Person is the latest movie starring Florence Pugh who was last seen alongside acting newbie Harry Styles in Don’t Worry Darling.

Now British star Florence is starring alongside Tinseltown royalty Morgan Freeman in her new movie A Good Person. This time she looks far from her usual glamorous self as she takes on the role of Allison, who's in recovery for an opioid addiction and is dealing with unresolved grief. 

Written and directed by Zach Braff, director of Garden State, we see Allison survive an unimaginable tragedy but as her life hits rock bottom, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with her would-be father-in-law Daniel (Morgan Freeman).

“I am so proud of this creation,” Pugh posted on Instagram. “I’m so grateful to all those who jumped on board this crazy journey with us.” 

So here's all you need about A Good Person coming to cinemas and Sky in spring 2023...

A Good Person release date 

A Good Person launches on Sky Cinema in the UK on Friday April 28 2023 having been released worldwide in cinemas on March 24 2023. We'll update when we learn if it arrives on a streaming service such as Netflix or Prime Video at a later date.

Is there a trailer for A Good Person? 

Yes there are a couple of a trailers for A Good Person that show Morgan Freeman as kindly model train enthusiast Daniel, who is grieving the loss of his daughter and struggling to bring up his granddaughter. Rather than blame Allison (Florence Pugh) for her part in the tragedy, he befriends her and the pair somehow manage to carve a path forward together. Take a look at both trailers below...

A Good Person plot

Allison is a former opioid addict who was in a terrible car accident that killed her future sister-in-law, Daniel’s daughter. As she seeks help for her addition, years later, Allison encounters Daniel who surprisingly shares his own struggles with her. Ultimately the pair realise that friendship and forgiveness are powerful tools that can heal the deepest of wounds. 

A Good Person cast — Florence Pugh as Allison 

Florence Pugh plays Allison who is struggling to forgive herself for her past in A Good Person. She recently starred in Netflix movie The Wonder as well as Don’t Worry Darling. Florence made her film debut in The Falling in 2014 and has since has roles in Little Women, Midsommer, Lady Macbeth, Fighting with my Family, Malevolent, Black Widow and Hawkeye. 

Morgan Freeman plays Daniel 

Morgan plays grieving father Daniel. The legendary Hollywood actor has an impressive acting CV having starred in huge movies such as Seven, The Dark Knight, Dolphin Tale, Driving Miss Daisy, Deep Impact, The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby and Batman Begins. He played Nelson Mandela in Invictus and has also lend his distinctive voice to films such as Scooby Doo, Alpha, War of the Worlds and The Lego Movie. 

Who else is starring in A Good Person? 

Other cast in A Good Person include Celeste O’Connor who is playing Daniel’s granddaughter Ryan while Molly Shannon, Chinaza Uche, Zoe Lister-Jones, Nichelle Hines and Toby Onwumere also star. 

* Below are our guides to other top movies on Sky Cinema...

* The Portable Door with Sam Neill and Patrick Gibson
* Lee with Kate Winslet
* The Colour Room with Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor

The Portable Door will see viewers transported to a magical world as Tom Holt's popular series of fantasy books are adapted into an original film for Sky Cinema.

Shooting began in June 2021, with Sam Neill and Christopher Waltz leading a star-studded cast and you can get a glimpse of them in action in the first-look image (above) and a stunning trailer (see below). 

Julia Stuart, Director of Original Film at Sky said the film would be "an unmissable adventure with a very British sense of humor". Tom Holt's 2003 novel The Portable Door is the first of seven featuring J.M. Wells, the magic firm from The Sorcerer by Gilbert & Sullivan.

Here's everything you need to know about The Portable Door...

The Portable Door release date

The Portable Door will be available to watch on Sky Cinema/Now TV in the UK and MGM+ in the United States on April 7th 2023.

Is there a trailer for The Portable Door?

Yes a trailer for The Portable Door has just been released by Sky so do take a look at the stunning action below...

The Portable Door plot

A Sky Cinema synopsis for The Portable Door reads: "Paul Carpenter and Sophie Pettingel are the lowly, put-upon interns who begin working at the mysterious London firm J.W. Wells & Co. and become steadily aware that their employers are anything but conventional. 

"Charismatic villains Humphrey Wells, the CEO of the company, and middle manager Dennis Tanner are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices, and Paul and Sophie discover the true agenda of the vast corporation where they work."

The Portable Door cast

Double Academy Award winner Christopher Waltz (Django Unchained, No Time to Die) and Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders star Sam Neill will play "charismatic villains", J.W. Wells & Co's CEO Humphrey Wells and middle manager Dennis Tanner. 

While Patrick Gibson (The OA, Tolkien) and Sophie Wilde (Eden, You Don't Know Me) will star as the lowly, put-upon interns Paul Carpenter and Sophie Pettingel who begin work at the mysterious firm. 

Also joining the cast is Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Chris Pang (Crazy Rich Asians, Charlie’s Angels), Jessica De Gouw (Gretel & Hansel, Pennyworth), Rachel House (Soul, Thor: Ragnarok), Arka Das (Mulan, Lion), Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Mr. Inbetween) and newcomer Sophie Wilde (Eden, You Don’t Know Me).

• Full list of Now TV shows and movies

This Christmas on Sky Cinema is a cosy romcom to spread some festive cheer! Boasting an all-star cast, the movie looks set to be as comforting as a mug of hot chocolate on a snowy day. It stars The Maze Runner and Skins actress Kaya Scodelario and Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder) as Emma and Adam who take the same commuter train each morning, meeting the same passengers every day. And with Timothy Spall, Robert Emms, Joanna Scanlan and Ben Miller all getting in on the action, it’s sure to be an interesting ride. 

So here's everything you need to know about Sky Cinema's festive movie This Christmas…

This Christmas release date

This Christmas will arrive on Sky Cinema on Friday December 9, so there's plenty of time to enjoy the movie over the festive season at the end of 2022. We'll update with any US channel, cinema release and international air dates. Sometimes these Sky Originals also land on Netflix outside the UK so if we hear news on that we'll update.

This Christmas will also be available on streaming service NOW (with a Cinema Membership)

Has Sky released a trailer for This Christmas?

Yes a This Christmas trailer has landed and it's every bit as festive as we'd hoped. Take a look at Adam (Alfred Enoch) and Emma (Kaya Scodelario) as they make their daily commute from the picture-perfect village of Langton to London for work....

This Christmas plot 

This Christmas follows Adam and Emma as they make their daily commute from the picture-perfect village of Langton to London for work. Every day they share their commute with the same characters, but they all keep themselves to themselves. But then one day, in the build-up to Christmas, Adam breaks the unwritten rule of travel and starts talking to the strangers on the train, inviting the whole carriage to hold their own Christmas party. He starts making big plans...

This Christmas cast — Alfred Enoch as Adam

Alfred Enoch plays Adam in This Christmas. He decides to throw a Christmas party for all the commuters on his train into London who he sees every day but hardly knows.

Alfred is best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter movies. He’s also had roles in Broadchurch, Mount Pleasant and Sherlock. He played Aeneas in Troy: Fall of a City and has also starred in How to Get Away With Murder, Trust Me, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Foundation. 

Kaya Scodelario as Emma

Train commuter Emma, who supports Adam's plans for a party, is played by Kaya Scodelario. She's best known as Carina Smyth in The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and starred as Teresa in The Maze Runner. She’s also starred in Skins, Southcliffe, The Pale Horse, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City and Spinning Out. 

Who else is starring in This Christmas? 

Hatton Garden and The Enfield Haunting star Timothy Spall is also starring in This Christmas playing Ray, an older commuter with a secret past who becomes friends with Dean (Gangs of London star Jack Donoghue), a nervous and artistically gifted commuter who is determined to help Adam with his plans. Alexandra Roach plays Adam's girlfriend Amanda.

Nadia Parkes (Doctor Who)  plays Suzy, a singer in a band that Adam wants to perform at the party, while Clinton Liberty (Normal People) plays Suzy's boyfriend and fellow band member Michael. Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, Mamma Mia!) plays Simon who is Emma's long-term boyfriend who often works away from home. 

Also look out for The Larkins and Hold The Sunset’s Joanna Scanlan as bookish commuter Linda plus Robert Emms (Chernobyl, Four Lives), Ben Miller (Paddington 2) and Ted Lasso’s Sarah Niles round out the cast.

Behind the scenes on This Christmas

This Christmas is produced by Vertigo Films with Allan Niblo (Monsters, Bronson) serving as producer, directed by Chris Foggin (Fisherman’s Friend) and written by Alistair Galbraith (Whistable Pearl, Doc Martin).  

Sky and Head Gear are financiers and Paramount Global Content Distribution is distributing the film internationally.  Executive producers are Julia Stuart and Laura Grange for Sky, and Phil Hunt for Head Gear.

Based on a true story, The Colour Room is the first major role for Phoebe Dynevor since starring in Netflix Regency-era hit Bridgerton. She plays pioneering ceramic artist Clarice Cliff, a young working class factory worker who started out in the potteries of Stoke-on-Trent during the 1920s and went on to become one of the greatest Art Deco designers.

The Colour Room shows how Clarice Cliff is a vivacious young factory worker in the industrial midlands of 1920s Britain. Life is tough but her creativity and ambition drives her to move from factory to factory, despite the financial impact on the household she shares with her widowed mother Ann (Kerry Fox) and youngest sister Dot (Darci Shaw). Bursting with ideas for colours and shapes, Clarice takes ever more dangerous risks – but she always manages to stay a step ahead of the workhouse and impress an eccentric factory owner Colley Shorter (Matthew Goode) with her talent and innovation.

Apprenticed to renowned art designer Fred Ridgeway (The Singapore Grip star David Morrissey) and with support from Colley and other women in the factory, Clarice fights her way through to design the unprecedented Art Deco ‘Bizarre’ range. She's also a bit of a hero of the Great Depression, as Clarice ensures the factory’s survival plus her future as one of the greatest Art Deco designers and a household name.

Phoebe says: "I was excited to be part of The Colour Room, especially in the role as one of the nations most celebrated artists, Clarice Cliff. It's truly such an honour to take on such a remarkable character. 

"The script is a beautifully written contemporary take on the 20th century, and I feel proud to be working with such a strong female team, both in front and behind the camera."

The film is directed by Claire McCarthy (The Luminaries) and penned by BAFTA-winning scriptwriter from Claire Peate.

Claire McCarthy says: “It’s a film that should feel like a celebratory, fun experience to watch. You don’t have to be an art or ceramics expert to watch this movie. It really is a celebration of the human spirit.”

Here’s what we know so far about the one-off biopic The Colour Room on Sky Cinema…

'The Colour Room' release date...

The Colour Room will be released in the UK on Sky Cinema and across selected cinemas from Friday Nov. 12. We haven't any news yet on a US release date for The Color Room or elsewhere in the world. We'll be sure to update when we do hear.

'The Colour Room' trailer and filming news...

The Colour Room now has a trailer released by Sky which you can watch below. The film is an all-British production which is directed and produced by an all-female team. It was filmed in Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham in the UK.

'The Colour Room' cast — Phoebe Dynevor on playing Clarice Cliff

Phoebe Dynevor plays Clarice Cliff, telling the story of the potter’s rise from vivacious young 1920s factory worker to world class artist. But along the way Clarice not only has impress the factory boss with her outlandish designs, but break the glass ceiling, too. Phoebe, whose mum is Coronation Street legend Sally Dynevor, began her career as a child actress in Waterloo Road, but found fame as Daphne Bridgerton/Basset in Netflix’s colourful period drama and global smash Bridgerton the second series of which starts filming later this year.

Phoebe says: "The first reason I was excited about The Colour Room was going back to my northern roots and following a real working class story of a northern woman. That’s my background. So it just felt like a story that I wanted to tell, and had connections to. Also, my dad has a few of her pieces. So I knew her work quite well, and I just found the story behind it so fascinating. I don’t think there are enough stories that are told about someone who really did come from nothing. You know, people that really break the mould. 

"There were lots of challenges! There was the challenge of looking like I knew what I was doing when I absolutely didn’t. And then there was the challenge of the Stoke accent, which isn’t easy, but it was fun to give it a go. And being in Stoke, and winter, it was really cold. We were working in old factories, long days and cold. And then, I’ve never really played a character that’s so unaware of herself. All the characters I’ve played, I don’t know whether that’s being a young woman in this industry, but they are all very aware of themselves and whether that’s because they want to find a husband or because they are the ingenue, whatever that is, I’ve never played a role that wasn’t about that - 18 - at all. It was simply about her work, so that was the best time ever and actually probably one of the main reasons I wanted to take on the role."

'The Colour Room' cast — Matthew Goode on playing Colley Shorter

Matthew Goode stars as eccentric factory boss owner Colley Shorter, who’s impressed by Clarice’s talent and innovation. It’s thanks to his support that Clarice goes on to design the art deco "Bizarre" range, making her a household name and ensuring the factory’s survival. Colley also later becomes her husband. Matthew was most recently seen in Sky One’s fantasy-romance A Discovery of Witches, based on the book trilogy series by Deborah Harkness. He also played Henry Talbot in the final series of Downton Abbey, Finn Polmar in The Good Wife and the Earl of Snowdon in The Crown.

Matthew says: "I didn’t know a huge amount about the story behind The Colour Room. I knew the name as I think my Aunty Eileen, who was my mother’s stepmother, had a teapot in her kitchen that was by Clarice. I remember the pattern but I didn’t know how influential she’d been on potteries and indeed in design, so it was quite thrilling to be a part of this. We’re very much in a time, thankfully, that things are changing for women in general: we suddenly have this poster child from the past. It’s very inspiring. I didn’t know anything about Colley Shorter, obviously, but that’s quite nice that he’s behind the scenes - it gives me slightly more leeway with how we wanted to go about portraying him. 

"So, there were two brothers, Guy and Colley and they had taken over their father’s business, which was Wilkinson’s, and they owned several factories. They had come to prominence, and their father was sort of a self-made man in the mid-nineteenth century when he started [the factory] and the boys took it over with varying degrees of success. Colley, my character, he’s about being bold and wants to take chances and risks because that’s how you grow a company, and Guy wasn’t, so they were at loggerheads. And when we join the film, a lot of factories are being closed down, the potteries are in trouble, and if you’re losing money, surely, you should concentrate on the old stuff that you know makes money. 

"Colley was very eccentric. Combustible and eccentric. A wonderful combination. So, he often would be found wearing this fox fur that he’d given his wife. I think, the fox fur – this is my [explanation] because it’s never been explained. I was like, “Why would he do that?” – maybe he might have killed the fox because he obviously loved that sport because I felt he had that sense of adventure. It wasn’t seen as a reprehensible thing back then. It was just seen as entertainment and fun."

'The Colour Room' cast — who else is starring?

David Morrissey (The Singapore Grip) is Clarice’s mentor, the renowned art designer Fred Ridgeway, while Darci Shaw (the young Judy Garland in Judy) is her sister, Dot, and Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave, Last Tango in Halifax) as her widowed mother, Ann. Also look out for Luke Norris (Dr Dwight Enys in Poldark), among the cast.

David Morrissey says: "Fred Ridgeway works at a quite successful and prestigious ceramics factory in Stoke called Wilkinson’s, and he is the head designer, and he has been there for many many years. So he is very well respected. He treads that line of being an artist, but also he’s a worker as well. He’s not pushy, he is gentle. And he’s been there for a long time and as you know, you could say he was stuck in his ways, but he’s someone who’s got a lot of respect in the industry and has been a real pioneer in his time, I would say."

Darci Shaw says: "Dot has her own identity as a Paintress at Wilkinsons, she does contrast Clarice in the sense of what they want their lives to be. Dot wants to have a family, to be settled and married whereas Clarice has these wild dreams of designing and success that neither Dot nor Ann can really understand. When I first walked on set and saw their bedroom I remember thinking how well it represents their relationship; Dot’s side is tidy, pretty, just so, and Clarice’s side is bursting with colour and ambition."

The true story behind 'The Colour Room'

Anyone who’s ever watched The Antiques Roadshow on BBC1 will have heard of Clarice Cliff, whose bold and colourful designs can fetch thousands. But the British potter came from humble beginnings and started working in the pottery industry at the age of 13 adding gold lines to ceramics. After launching her famous "Bizarre" wares in 1927, she became one of the most celebrated designers of her time and ended up marrying her boss Colley Shorter in 1940. 

More movies arriving on Sky soon...

• The Last Train To Christmas
• The Amazing Mr Blunden 
• A Boy Called Christmas
• A Christmas Number One