The Foxhills Hotel Facebook page has posted pictures of Spooks filming in their grounds last week.
Click here to view the pictures – you do not have to be a member of Facebook to see them.
There are 10 photos in total and we can spot Richard in 2 of them.
Here are the 2 photos that show Richard:
The BBC Entertainment channel which can be received via satellite or cable across Europe is showing Robin Hood series 1 starting 15 March at 5pm (CET). More details on the BBC Entertainment website.
BBC Prime relaunched as BBC Entertainment on 11 November, 2009. This channel is also available in Asia although they are not showing Robin Hood at this time. However the Asia website has a Robin Hood series 1 page and a series 2 page that you may enjoy – there are a few short clips of Gisborne.
The Spooks page has a photograph of Lucas and Ros that is slightly different from one we’ve seen before on the ‘Spooks Facts’ page.
There is also a bit of a tough quiz about Spooks on the ‘Quiz’ page. You have to be a real fan of the show to get some of those questions correct.
(Ali got 15/20 and is amazed she got that many!)
Series 7 of Spooks is currently being shown on Sunday evenings on BBC Entertainment Asia.
Richard has been interviewed by Naxos Audiobooks regarding his recording of Venetia by Georgette Heyer. The 11 minute audio clip consists of an interview followed by an excerpt from the audio book.
You can listen and download the mp3 audio interview on the Naxos Venetia page.
The interview reveals many interesting things including… (perhaps you would like to listen first before I reveal too much):
Brilliant news I’m sure you’ll agree.
Thanks to Jonia at the C19 forum for finding some new and some seen before but better quality pictures from Robin Hood series 1 and series 2. They were found on this Czech TV website.
Here are some examples of pictures we haven’t seen before:
Full size images of these and more can be seen in our Robin Hood Promotional Pics Gallery.
You can download a copy of all of the images from the Czech site here:
Enjoy!
Richard is to play Robert Lovelace in the Radio 4 dramatisation of Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa, serialised in four parts and starting on Sunday 14 March 3.00 – 4.00pm.
There is more information on the BBC Press Office webpage.
This drama is part of Radio 4’s ‘Classic Serial’ programmes, defined as ‘Adaptations of works which have achieved classic status’. More information is here on the Classic Serial webpage. Further details for this adaptation of Clarissa will appear on this page nearer to its air date.
The Classic Serials are broadcast first from 3:00-4:00pm on Sunday, then repeated on 9:00-10:00pm the following Saturday.
Update 27th Feb:
More information from the production company on their website here: Catherine Bailey Limited. This site also confirms that it will be retransmitted on Saturday evenings.
Radio broadcasts are available to listen to outside of the UK, unlike BBC television programmes. The BBC’s ‘Listen Live’ service will be available on the Classic Serial webpage during the broadcast of each episode of Clarissa, or you can listen again with BBC iplayer after each episode is broadcast.
Update 2nd March:
There is now a Clarissa career page on our website, where full information about the programme will be listed.
The DVD of Strike Back is now available to pre-order from Play.com or from Amazon.co.uk. Note: although the price is cheaper through Play, if you order from Amazon UK via the RAOnline website then commission will be given to charity.
The DVD is due to be released on 14 June 2010.
Update 8 March 2010:
Cover art for the DVD has now been published:
Richard will be providing the voiceover for The Natural World programme ‘Forest Elephants: Rumble in the Jungle’ shown on BBC2 and BBC HD. This programme will air on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 from 8:00pm to 9:00pm
The Locate TV website gives further details here.
Here’s a description of the programme:
Over the last 20 years, Andrea Turkalo has been studying the complex social lives and unique vocalisations of the Central Africa’s Forest Elephants, getting to know over 4,000 intimately. As new acoustic research sheds light on the many mysteries that still surround forest elephant society, will these endangered elephants finally speak out and tell Andrea what it is they need to survive?
There is more information about Andrea Turkalo’s elephant research on therevealed.wildlifedirect.org website.
Update 25 Feb:
Programme details can be found on the BBC2 Natural World webpage and further clips are available to view, but unfortunately only for those who live in the UK.
The Television Business International (TBI) Vision website has announced that Strike Back and Spooks series 8 and 9 will be promoted at next week’s Showcase event held in Brighton. Last year Richard attended this event to promote Spooks.
A download clip of Richard last February can be found here and pictures in our gallery here, which include the pic below:
Will Richard attend again perhaps?
According to the Left Bank Productions website, the BBC have the international distribution rights for Strike Back, hence why this production will be promoted in Brighton at the BBC Showcase next week along with Spooks.
More details of this event at the BBC Showcase website.
BBC Worldwide Press Release about the event.
News will be archived from our main news page each month.
22nd January
Spooks series 8 has just started on BBC Canada, showing on Thursday evenings. Episode 1 has already aired, apologies for only just discovering this.
21st January
Digital Spy is reporting that the BBC has denied that Spooks is facing the axe. Click here for the full article. Maybe there will be a series 10 after all?
20th January
1. The Daily Mail is reporting that Spooks is going to be axed here. However the last sentence of the article appears to contradict the headline. Possibly they mean that series 9 will be the last. The BBC has not confirmed however.
2. If further confirmation was needed that Spooks 9 will be shown this year, this is it: Read More
3. News for December 2009 has been archived here.
14th January
1. Ian Wylie, freelance journalist who writes the Life of Wylie blog, has just announced on twitter that the BBC have commissioned series 9 of Spooks, but there are no more details at present.
2. Another lovely Spooks signature & avatar set added here thanks to Bccmee.
3. Some excellent John Standring artwork added today, courtesy of AmandaJane. Icons are here, wallpapers here and signatures here. Thanks AJ! Our John S artwork is looking a bit lonely, so if you have any Sparkhouse artwork you’d like to share please email Ali & Wendy at admin@richardarmitagenet.com
12th January
1. The Robin Hood season 3 DVD is released in the US today. Amazon US are selling it for $38.99 (click here). The boxset comes with 5 discs and several special features:
- A Legend Reborn (behind the scenes feature)
- A New Look (behind the scenes look at costuming)
- Trebuchet: Creating Chaos
- Character Profiles
- Video Diaries
2. According to the Grantham Journal, Richard has sent a letter of congratulations to Robert Miles Infant School, in Bingham, for its 100 year old birthday. The school has also received notes from other actors, authors, sports men & women and the Prime Minister.
11th January
Richard’s voice can be heard on the latest Santander advert which was broadcast on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK this evening. Here’s the advert on the Guardian online: click here or here on youtube. Thank you to djonia on C19 for finding this.
8th January
The Times is reporting that Spooks will be back on TV this autumn, even though the BBC Press Office still haven’t formally announced that another series has been commissioned. Here’s the article on Times Online. Thanks to Jennie for the info.
6th January
1. Richard attended the gala performance of Varekai by the Cirque du Soleil on Tuesday evening. Read More
2. Cold Feet series 1 is currently being shown on ABC2 in Australia on Sundays at 8.30pm, so hopefully they will run through to series 5 and the episodes that Richard appeared in. However, you can buy series 5 from the ABC shop for $34.95. Click here for the ABC shop. Thanks to Sandy for this info.
3. FHM magazine has a full page pic of RA as John Porter in Strike Back and a short article previewing the series. Click here and click on the pic to enlarge.
5th January
You may remember this news item when we voted for Richard and Spooks in the longlist for the National TV Awards. The shortlist has been announced but unfortunately neither Richard nor Spooks made the cut. You can vote here.
4th January
1. Picture of the Day archive for December 2009 is now available to view or download. See menu under ‘Pic of the Day Archive’ or click here.
2. Three new amazing Guy pictures have been added to our Artwork page courtesy of Rinter. Scroll down the page to view, artwork is in alphabetical order by artist’s name.
3rd January
Downloads of the five children’s stories read by Richard on CBeebies are now available here courtesy of Yorkshirewench.
2nd January
1. There are awards from Unpopcult for both Hermione Norris and Richard Armitage
2. New promo clip for Strike Back. Read More
1st January
Interview with Frances Tempest the costume designer of Robin Hood here
News will be archived from our main news page each month.
29th December
1. Sky magazine has a little anecdote from the set of Strike Back involving deadly snakes. Read more here.
2. Viewing figures for episode eight of Spooks have been revealed by Digital Spy. A very good result!
28th December
1. We found this via bccmee who found it via jonia. Very quick Strike Back promo on youtube.We will endeavour to get some screencaps up of this soon but Hedgey’s laptop and all its whizzy software is currently only any use as a doorstop. We’ve also loaded the youtube vid on to the Strike Back career page.
2. Some technical jiggery pokery and much swearing later – Caps from the promo.
3. More Spooks episode 8 reviews added here.
24th December
1. Spooks episode 8 reviews are being added here.
2. Screencaps from Episode 8 of Spooks are now in the gallery
3. The zip file for these caps can be found here
23rd December
1.Two articles in the newspapers are listed in Spooks reviews, previewing Spooks episode eight which will be shown tonight on BBC1 at 9pm. Warning – spoilers.
2. Richard has sent a Christmas message to RAonline. You can read it here.
22nd December
The Vicar of Dibley ‘The Handsome Stranger’ episode will be shown on Dutch TV tonight at 23.35 hrs on the Ned2 channel. ‘The Vicar in White’, the last VoD episode, will be shown on the 29th December at 23.45. Thanks to Tessa for this info.
21st December
1. Two new scans previewing Spooks episode 8 have been added to Spooks Reviews. Thanks to Jen for the scans.
2. The biography has been updated.
3. The first picture of RA as John Porter has been released. Read More
20th December
1. Added a scan previewing episode 8 of Spooks from the Sunday Mirror to Spooks Reviews, courtesy of JJ.
2. Alice has sent us a Christmassy poem about Little Guy which is in our Artwork section. Thanks Alice.
3. The Interviews page has been updated today and archive interviews with Richard will be added as we find them. This list contains print and online interviews, all general articles and reviews are in Press Reviews.
19th December
1. Ben Richards and Richard McBrien, two writers for Spooks were interviewed on Radio 4’s Front Row last night and suggested that Spooks had been recommissioned for a 9th series. You can listen here (suspect it may not be available outside the UK). Thanks to Scoop on C19 for the tip off.
2. There have been a few comments about James Bond in our guestbook lately, so we thought we’d ask the rest of you what you think. The new poll is on the main page, left-hand side, thanks for your votes.
17th December
1. Spooks reviews for episode seven are here. I couldn’t resist that comment regarding Vicky Frost’s review, a tad unfair in my (Ali’s) opinion. And how do you back up an encrypted drive when you don’t know the encryption code asks Hedgey. 
2. The Charlie page has updated following a chat given on the Charlie forum by Mike Ogden. Thanks to Mike and Bccmee on that forum.
3. Caps from Spooks episode 7 can be found here.
4. and a download of said caps can be found here. Didn’t forget this week.
5. Ian Wylie has given us a preview of Spooks episode eight, mild spoilers and a very amusing audio clip of Hermione talking about a particular day on set.
16th December
I was reminded that I hadn’t done this so here is the zip file of Episode 6 caps here. Enjoy 
13th December
1.Added two small scans from the latest What’s on TV magazine to Spooks Reviews, courtesy of Jen. These articles contain spoilers.
2. Some new digital artwork added thanks to Sammy. Click here and scroll down to ‘Art by Sammy’ to see her Guy and Allan art.
3. News from November has been archived here.
4. The prices on the Richard on DVD page have been updated, plus Venetia is now available from The Book Depository at a cheaper price than Amazon. Click on our Book Depository link next to the Venetia picture and if you make a purchase from that link, commission will be made for charity and collected by RAOnline.
11th December
1. There’s an article in the Mail Online today with quotes from Hermione Norris and Richard here.
2. BBC America will show Richard’s Vicar of Dibley episodes over Christmas. Read More
10th December
1. Ian Wylie is teasing us again with a preview of episode seven of Spooks on his blog.
2. More Spooks episode six reviews are being added here as we find them.
3. Danielle has given us another lovely Harry Kennedy wallpaper which you can see here. Thanks Danielle.
4. Episode six caps are now up here. Be warned they are very spoilery toward the end.
5. New poll on the main page, left-hand side, tell us what you think of Spooks 8.
6. Added two new sound files of Lucas as the Russian oligarch – files are called Dogs and Wait.
9th December
1. Pam has sent us an amusing little article that appeared in the Evening Standard on Monday. We’ve added it to Spooks Reviews, or you can click here. Thanks Pam.
2. Danielle has given us a much needed Harry Kennedy wallpaper which you can find here. We are a bit thin on the ground for Harry wallpapers, please email admin@richardarmitagenet.com if you’d like us to display your artwork, whether Harry, Lucas, Guy, etc.
8th December
We’ve put up three calendars for 2010. One RA Character, one Lucas North and one Gizzy calendar. They can be found off the artwork menu and here
6th December
Added The Stage podcast interview with Richard Armitage and Robert Glenister to Spooks Publicity Downloads that took place on 27 February this year. Thanks to JJ for the reminder that it was missing
5th December
Film Review have a synopsis and pics from Spooks Episode 7. Spoilers ahoy of course but some great Lucas action pics. Edit: the pics have now been moved to the episode 8 synopsis here
The new pictures are now in our Spooks Promo gallery.
3rd December
1. Two reviews of Spooks episode five added to Spooks Reviews and a preview of episode six from Ian Wylie.
2. Picture of the Day archive for November has been added here and can be downloaded.
3. Caps of Spooks Episode 5 are now up in the gallery.
4. Zippy dippy file of the Ep5 Lucasy tattooed goodness here.
1st December
1. AnnetteG over at RAonline has found this little snippet where Peter Firth confirmed to a blogger at Collectormania that Spooks series 9 had been recommissioned and was due to start filming in February. There’s no official confirmation though.
2. A critical review of Spooks so far, although praise is given to Richard: Mark Wright of The Stage
Premier PR, a company that represents and promotes Kudos productions including Spooks, has confirmed on Twitter that there will be a series 9 of Spooks and that it will be broadcast later this year.
On Weds 20 Jan they issued the following tweet:
‘Just to clarify for all you Spooks fans – series 9 will be back later this year. No one can get rid of the mighty Harry Pierce that easily!’
(Oops they spelt ‘Pierce’ wrong.)
You can read this for yourself on their Twitter page:
Richard attended the Varekai Gala performance at the Royal Albert Hall on Tues 5 Jan and some video was taken of people arriving at the event.
You can see Richard at approx. 4:32 on this youtube video – click here
Varekai is the latest production from the Cirque du Soleil. You can read more about the production HERE.
Pictures of Richard on the red carpet can also be seen on various photo agency websites. Thanks to Emerald for finding these.
There’s some new clips of Strike Back, mostly showing clips of Richard as John Porter on the Sky magazine online edition. We have captured the clip here.
To view the whole Sky1 drama promotion go to Sky magazine online, then click in the corner of the page to turn through the magazine to page 11. Click on the ‘Drama’ box and Strike Back is the second drama mentioned. Although the clips are short, it’s well worth viewing.
Here’s a couple of screencaps and the rest are in our Strike Back gallery here. Apologies about the quality, that’s the best we could get off the sky page. But I think it’s worth it 
An article has appeared on the Sky website advertising Strike Back, starring Richard Armitage as John Porter. You can read the full article here. Scroll down the page to read the full article under the heading ‘Chris Ryan’s Strike Back’.
A larger picture can be seen the in Sky gallery, but we’ve also posted it here:
News will be archived from our main news page each month.
30th November
Moving On will be shown on South African TV in December. Read More
29th November
Spooks Episode 4 caps download in zip file. Apologies for lateness. My excuse is that – I forgot. Sorry.
28th November
Film Review Online has pictures from episode six of Spooks. There’s only one of Lucas North, which is now in our Spooks 8 Promo gallery. The text is taken from the BBC Press office and contains spoilers.
27th November
Ian Wylie has interviewed Hermione Norris about episode five which is due to be shown on BBC3 tonight at 9pm. There are some mild spoilers about the episode and a brief quote from Richard.
26th November
1. Ian Wylie’s preview of Episode 5 with some bizarre references to cake and spoilers.
2. Den of Geek review of Episode 4
3. Vicky Frost’s amusing take on Episode 4
4. We’ve gone a bit mad with the caps. There are 420 from Episode 4 of Spooks. I blame Alicat.
5. Two previews of episode five in TV choice and What’s on TV magazines in Spooks Reviews. Thanks Jen for the scans.
24th November
1. More pictures added to our screencap gallery:
2. Scan from this week’s Radio Times with a new pic of Ros and Lucas added to Spooks Reviews
3. Film Review online has more promo pics, which have been put into the Spooks 8 Promo gallery The text is taken from the recent BBC Press Release (spoilers).
4. Lots of new signature and avatar sets added today from Kiteflier and Bccmee, for Lucas, John Thornton, Guy and Richard. All signature sets can be viewed here Thanks ladies!
23rd November
Details of Spooks episode eight at the BBC Press Office
2. Previews of Spooks episode four (to be shown on Wednesday BBC1) from the Saturday magazines of the Daily Mail and Daily Express have been added to Spooks Reviews Thanks to Jen for these.
21st November
1. A short interview with Richard discussing Lucas’s relationship with Sarah in the Sun magazine has been added to here
2. Episode three caps can be downloaded in a zip file here
19th November
Three articles added to Spooks Reviews today:
- Another entertaining review by Vicky Frost of the Guardian (spoiler warning)
- An interesting blog entitled ‘Spying on Spooks’ with clips from fans who have caught moments of the crew filming Spooks in London
- Ian Wylie’s blog on episode 4: ‘this is Richard Armitage’s episode’. Shown first on BBC3 9pm tomorrow.
17th November
1. Radio Times has picked Spooks episode four as its TV choice for Weds 25 November. Short article and pic of RA in Spooks Reviews
2. New picture of Lucas from Spooks episode four here.
4. More articles from the press added to Spooks Reviews here. No mention of Lucas but there are spoilers.
13th November
1. We’ve added to our high quality Gisborne image gallery, lots more added. When viewing each image, click on ‘original image’ for larger size.
2. Added some promotional pics to The Golden Hour gallery.
12th November
1. A short article about the filming location for Strike Back has been posted in Strike Back Reviews and Articles
2. Episode two viewing figures released here. Figures are down but it was first shown on BBC3 last Friday of course.
3. New high quality pics added to the Spooks Promo gallery for episode two images. Click icon in bottom right corner for original larger size.
4. Screencaps for Episode 2 can be found here
5. You can download the screen caps in a 10Mb zip file here
6. It’s the swimming pool fight this Friday on BBC3 – a preview of episode three in Ian Wylie’s blog here.
11th November
1. Press office information about Spooks episode six is here. Spoiler warning.
2. Vicky Frost from the Guardian has released another amusing review of Spooks, this time episode two. Listed in Spooks Reviews. Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen it yet.
BBC America will be showing the Vicar of Dibley Christmas episodes back to back, where Harry met and married Geraldine. These episodes will be shown twice on Christmas Eve at 8am (ET) and 2pm (ET).
You can view the BBC America television schedule here.
The website FilmReviewOnline.com has published a preview of episode 4 with some new pictures of Lucas, Sarah Caulfield and Lucas’s former interrogator Oleg Darshavin. The text is taken from the BBC Press release, so it is full of spoilers. Article here
Here is the new picture of Lucas.
This picture has been added to our Spooks Promo gallery which you can find here. You can see each picture at its largest size by clicking on the ‘original image’ button when viewing each image.
Richard Arnold of GMTV visited the Spooks set a few months ago (we were given a teaser of this on 15 July 2009 in this article in Woman’s Own) and we have provided a download in our Spooks Publicity Downloads page.
There are brief interviews with Richard Armitage, Peter Firth, Hermione Norris and Nicola Walker and a quick look around the new revamped set.
More pictures here
Miranda Raison was interviewed later in the programme by Lorraine Kelly and there are some brief clips of Richard during the interview. This is also available for download in our Spooks Publicity Downloads page.
If viewing in Quicktime you may find the audio is slightly out of sync with the picture. Try using a different media player instead. VLC is excellent and is free to download.
We have been alerted by a couple of people this afternoon that Richard has read an abridged version of Georgette Heyer’s Venetia. According to Amazon UK, this will be available from 1 April 2010.
See Amazon UK page here for details and to pre-order your copy.
Amazon US also have the title available for pre-order and it is released on 6 April 2010.
If you order from Amazon via RAOnline, you will earn commission for charity.
There’s a new interview in Time Out magazine with Richard Armitage and this time the questions are very different. Some insights into his most memorable audition, the piece of work he’s least proud of, his most extravagant purchase and many more.
Click to enlarge.
There is also a snippet describing episode 1 of Spooks in Time Out. A few spoilers here.
Many thanks to Annette for sharing these scans with us.
Ian Wylie has given us two long interviews with Richard Armitage today. The first is here in which there’s information about fighting in swimming pools, the return of Ruth and the pitfalls of tattoos that rub off onto sheets.
“This series does keep you on your toes. It doesn’t help if you’re a bit of a control freak, like I am, because I like to know everything I’m doing, when I’m doing it.”
And now, Ian has given us an extra feature with Richard, which you can read here. There’s more detailed information about the series, about most of the main characters, the new CIA officer and Richard’s reaction to the storylines. Enjoy!
The Daily Record has an interview with Richard Armitage this morning in which we get an interesting insight of what life was like before he landed more significant roles in television. This experience affects his current work ethic: “But I always feel somehow it’s going to be taken away from me so I work when I can. When you struggled with work as I did when I left drama school you make hay when the sun shines.”
He also talks about the ever-changing scripts that are part of working life on the set of Spooks: “When I first came on board, Peter Firth said to me this is what happens and you have to learn to run with it. You’ve got to be able to learn lines and some very dense political jargon very quickly – it’s quite a workout for the brain.”
The online article is here.
Bernie from C19 has very kindly given us permission to post the scan from the printed edition of the Daily Record. Click on the images below to enlarge.
A complete list of all Spooks articles and interviews can be found on our site here.
There’s a brief interview with Richard Armitage in this week’s Woman magazine. He says…”Last year Lucas was finding himself again after an eight-year incarceration, now he’s one of the team. He prefers to play the maverick, all guns blazing…”
Read more below – click to enlarge
Once again, the image of Richard is reversed and we cannot resist turning it the right way round 
Thank you to those of you who have emailed us about ABC showing Robin Hood series 3 in Australia. The response from ABC has been as follows:
ABC Television does have the rights to this series, however scheduling is yet to be finalised. Visit www.abc.net.au/tv regularly for updates.
Hopefully you won’t have to wait too much longer!
tvshowsondvd.com have announced that the region 1 version of Spooks season 7 (known as MI-5 in the US) will be released on 26 January 2010. The boxset comprises 4 discs with the same extras that are currently available on the region 2 (UK) DVD, namely:
- Audio commentaries by the producer, director and writer of episode 5 and episode 8
- Original UK Trailer
- “Spooks in Russia” Featurette
- Action Sequence Featurette
- Behind the Scenes Documentary
The article says that it will cost $59.98, however it will no doubt be cheaper from Amazon.com and other retailers. You can sign up here to be notified when the DVD is available from Amazon.
At last the BBC Press Office has announced that Spooks will start on Weds 4 November, 9pm – 10pm on BBC1.
Episode 1 information is here. Be warned – there are major spoilers in this press release.
There’s an interview with Richard Armitage in Star Magazine today with some new pictures. Be warned though, that one of the pictures and the text of the interview contain mild spoilers about the series.
“Series eight sees Lucas firmly in the fold of head-honcho Harry Pearce’s (Peter Firth) Section D team and, this time round, Lucas is the agent in the thick of most of the action.”
Click to enlarge the image.
The picture of Richard is the wrong way around, so we’ve reversed it so you can see it properly. Click to enlarge.
There’s a feature about Spooks in the Daily Express Saturday magazine today. There are quotes from Richard Armitage, Hermione Norris and Peter Firth which give some mild spoilers about the forthcoming series 8.
Thank you Lady J for the scan.
Click on the image to enlarge.
All Spooks reviews and articles can be found here.
John Lloyd of the Financial Times has written an interesting article about Spooks, analysing the reasons for its appeal.
He states: “But for all its contemporary references, Spooks isn’t interested in being any kind of documentary on what MI5 actually does, or how it does it. A working knowledge of international relations and geopolitical tensions has never been the main reason for its continued success.”
Read the full article here.
There’s also a great photo of Harry, Ros and Lucas. Click the image below to enlarge.
I’ve created a slightly large pic here, any larger and it starts to lose quality.
A short but sweet article in the free London magazine Shortlist today.
At the end you’ll see that it mentions Thursday 29 October 2009 as the air date, which does seem to add weight to the rumours already circulating that this is the date for episode 1. The BBC are still yet to confirm.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Many thanks to Stef for the scan.
There’s a new interview with Richard Armitage in the October issue of Closer magazine, in which he gives some insight into what we can expect from Lucas North in Spooks series 8.
Many thanks to LadyJ for the scan.
Click on image to enlarge.
The Radio Times and the TV Times have today given clues that Spooks series 8 will start week commencing 24 October, although there is still no exact day given.
On the back page of the Radio Times there is a picture of Ros under the heading ‘Next week in Radio Times on sale Tuesday 20 October’. Under the picture are the words ‘Spooks. The spy drama is back on the grid’.
The TV Times says “Next Issue – Spooks – Ros and Lucas return on a mission impossible: to find Harry alive.”
Still no word from the BBC Press Office.
Thanks Stef for the RT info and Janice for the TV Times info.
Allison Pearson has interviewed Richard Armitage on the set of Spooks. She states;
“Some rakish TV turns have earnt Spooks star Richard Armitage an army of female fans. ALLISON PEARSON went to see what all the fuss is about - and found him squirming with embarrassment.”
How many women can you take to a Richard Armitage interview? Earlier this year, when I paid homage to the actor in my Daily Mail column, so many readers volunteered to come along and ‘hold the microphone’ that if I ever met Richard I would have had to rent the Royal Albert Hall to squeeze us all in.”
There’s a new picture accompanying the article as well (click to enlarge):
You can read the full interview here
Here’s an article scan of the two page interview in the Weekend magazine that is published with the Daily Mail today, you get a larger picture with the printed version but the text is the same. Click each image to enlarge.
We have been sent a press release for the Spooks series 7 DVD which available from E1 Entertainment on 12 October.
Click on the images below to enlarge
A small mention of Richard Armitage in the Mail Online today by Allison Pearson.
As for the casting of badboy Jonny Lee Miller as the wise, older Mr Knightley, where is the divinely brooding and grown-up Richard Armitage when you need him? Answer me that.
Spooks has been nominated in the 37th International Emmy Awards as Best Drama Series against four other international shows. Winners will be announced by Graham Norton, on 23 November 2009 at the Hilton New York Hotel.
Further links:
Press release on the International Emmy’s site
Spooks is also up for another award which will be announced on 21 October 2009. The 2009 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, in association with the Crime Writers Association (CWA) and Cactus TV, will be broadcast on ITV3 later in October after the ceremony has taken place.
Although this ceremony focuses mostly on crime fiction, there are some television awards. Spooks is nominated for best small-screen crime thriller drama and Hermione Norris is nominated as Best Actress for her role as Ros Myers.
1. Two people have the chance of winning a Spooks series 7 boxset courtesy of lastbroadcast.co.uk. They have confirmed via email that this competition is only open to UK residents I’m afraid.
The page link above also gives you access to an episode guide for series 7 and to Richard Armitage’s interview that he gave prior to series 7 in case you haven’t seen it before, or would like a re-read.
I think the answer to the competition question is a tad obvious
Closing date 3 November 2009.
Update 7th October
2. Another competition to win a Spooks 7 DVD boxset has been announced from Downtown Radio. Again, I’m afraid to say this competition is only open to UK residents.
The closing date is 9 November 2009. Click here for details
3. Another competition was announced on our news blog here on 27 September 2009 from Now magazine.
Update 9th October
4. Yet another competition only open to UK residents from Webuser
It’s already clear (and perhaps a little obvious) that North and South is the most re-watched show that Richard Armitage has appeared in, so we have modified the poll a little and now ask you to please vote again.
N&S has been removed from the list, so of the remaining shows, which one do you reach for the most often when in need of a ‘Richard’ fix?
Previous results showed that Spooks series 7 (15.4%) was the 2nd most popular, followed by Robin Hood series 3 (13%), but if N&S is no longer an option we’re wondering if this will affect the results.
Return to the homepage and see the poll options on the left-hand side.
Thanks for voting!
Ian Wylie of the Manchester Evening News has posted some tantalising news of Spooks series 8, particularly episode 1 as he received the DVD of this episode yesterday.
Read his blog here. Caution: minor spoilers.
Highlights include:
The actor formerly known as Richard Armitage has been totally taken over by Lucas North.
It’s such a convincing portrayal that they surely must be one and the same person?
and
And a disturbing image in the teaser trailer for episode two.
I’m not ashamed to say that I had a little tear in my eye at the end.
Not long to go now…I hope!
The BBC America shop DVDs in the Works page has details of early 2010 releases of Spooks season 7 (known as MI-5 in the US) and Robin Hood season 3 on DVD.
Scroll down for a picture of tattooed Lucas and the following info…
‘we can now confirm we’re releasing this season, never before broadcast in the US, on DVD early next year’
There is still no news to confirm when BBCA will be showing MI-5 season 7, starring Richard Armitage as Lucas North.
Further down the DVDs in the Works page, there is information about the Robin Hood season 3 DVD, which will be available to buy in early in 2010. However, the site monstersandcritics.com states that it will be available to buy from 12th January 2010. The special features are exactly the same as you’ll find on the region 2 DVD which is out now, namely:
- A Legend Reborn (behind the scenes feature)
- A New Look (behind the scenes look at costuming)
- Trebuchet: Creating Chaos
- Character Profiles
- Video Diaries
The WATCH UK television channel are re-showing series 7 of Spooks starting 21 October 2009. The first episode will be shown at 9pm, repeated three hours later at midnight.
There is still no confirmation of when BBC1 will be showing series 8, although the BBC Press Office have not included it in their programme schedule 10-16 October, so perhaps it will start week commencing 17 October to coincide with the re-showing of series 7 on WATCH? We hope so.
The last shot of Lucas at the end of series 7.
Today we’re asking which of Richard Armitage’s programmes you have watched the most, to try and find out which is the most popular production. To vote, return to the homepage and scroll down the main menu on the left-hand side to see the poll choices.
The last poll found that 51% of you are looking forward to seeing Spooks series 8 and the next most looked forward to production is Strike Back (23.4%).
Thanks for voting!
If you like to make a suggestion for future polls please mail Ali and Hedgey at admin@richardarmitagenet.com
Now magazine are offering the chance for 6 people to win copies of the Spooks series 7 DVD, but I’m afraid this is only open to UK residents.
The competition closes on Tuesday 27 October 2009.
To enter click here.
The wonderful people at vulpes libris have an interview with director and writer Jan Prowse about her work and favourite books. She directed Richard Armitage in Between the Sheets and mentions the show and Richard in some detail.
You can read the whole interview by clicking here
On 4 August 2009, Jason Arnopp revealed on Twitter that he had attended a round table interview with Richard Armitage and today, thanks to Debs, we have received a copy of that interview which has been published in a new magazine called ‘Film Star’, October edition.
The interview reveals many exciting details about Lucas’s role in series 8 of Spooks, including the fact that Lucas will revisit his traumatic past in the Russian prison and that he will begin a love affair with an attractive CIA liaison officer.
Here’s a scan of the interview. Click to enlarge.
(Ali has since bought the magazine and re-scanned for a clearer image. Press F5 if you can’t see the newer version straight away).
The South African site GFC has an article about Sky filming in a district of Johannesburg
“Skye TV, a British channel, is currently shooting a television series, some scenes of which are being filmed in Yeoville. Strike Back is a six part television serious centred on the current conflict in Iraq. San Remo, a distinctive but run down art deco block of flats on Kenmere Street, is the location for down town Baghdad.The building was chosen for its age and texture. It’s a once glorious building that with time and neglect now perfectly represents the dank, gritty feeling of a building in a war zone. Interiors and exteriors are being shot with a lot of the action taking place on the roof. The scenes in San Remo involve the rescue of a hostage by British SAS soldiers.”
You can read the full article here
Writer John Crook (St. Paul Pioneer Press) has published an interview with Richard Armitage about Guy of Gisborne that appears to contain new quotes about the character. We are not sure when this interview was undertaken, but some of Richard’s remarks do seem to be new to us.
Richard discusses his reaction to learning that Guy would kill Marian at the end of series 2, Gisborne’s road to self-destruction at the start of series 3 and his changing relationship with Robin as the series develops. He’s also pleased that Gisborne appears to develop a sense of humour:
“It’s interesting toward the end of this series, as he takes this unexpected journey to becoming someone new, you really do start to see this dry humor coming out of Gisborne. It’s in connection with Robin and the understanding between them. Gisborne starts to open up in terms of his humor with Robin, which is something I never expected, that he would have this sense of humor.”
Read the full interview here.
11 September: ‘TV and Film Guy’ has published a detailed article here, reviewing the opening episode of season 3 of Robin Hood which will be shown on BBC America on Saturday 12 September at 9pm.
Regarding Richard Armitage’s performance, he says ‘Armitage plays the part beautifully, not only looking like an empty shell of a man in the season premiere, but also conveying a sense of mourning from within as well.’
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11 September: There is another review on SciFiAndTvTalk’s Blog here, with some nice screen captures of the episode.
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12 September: TV Review: BBC America’s ‘Robin Hood’ Returns Darker, More Mature, on HollywoodChicago.com.
All of these articles contain spoilers.
For a full list of Robin Hood reviews and articles, click here.