Ahead of a new stage revival, the creators and cast of Channel 4’s classic 90s newsroom sitcom remember close encounters with future Bond stars, writing episodes at the last minute and the meaning between that mysterious titleWhen Drop the Dead Donkey debuted on Channel 4 on 9 August 1990, it was something entirely new. Creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin used the offices of fictional TV studio GlobeLink News to combine a classic workplace sitcom with hot-off-the-presses topical gags. Over time, the characters became the main attraction: bickering anchors Henry Davenport (David Swift) and Sally Smedley (Victoria Wicks), amoral foreign correspondent Damien Day (Stephen Tompkinson), and Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan), the jargon-spouting emissary of GlobeLink’s rapacious owner Sir Roysten Merchant. Other cast members included Neil Pearson (as office dogsbody Dave Charnley) and, for two seasons, Haydn Gwynne (as adept assistant editor Alex Pates).Drop the Dead Donkey was a consistent hit, peaking at 4-5 million viewers during its eight-year run. It attracted guest stars such as Neil Kinnock and Jon Snow and up-and-coming actors including Andrew Lincoln, Hermione Norris, Gina McKee and Daniel Craig. Now, the entire surviving cast (Swift died in 2016 and Gwynne in 2023) has reunited for a touring stage show, Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening!, which drops the GlobeLink diaspora into a news landscape that makes the 1990s skulduggery seem almost sweet. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:55:00 UTC ]
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Shadow libraries minister Dan Jarvis has called the judicial review rejection of Surrey's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino earned almost £2.5m in 2011, down on £2.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blackwell’s revenue dropped in 2011, but the company continued to reduce its losses and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica will cease publishing its flagship encyclopedia and concentrate on its digital offerings. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In early January, Apple released iBooks Author, a groundbreaking drag-and-drop ebook authoring environment that promises to democratize the production of complex, structured books, notably including textbooks. But iBooks Author could also presage something else: the eclipse of open ebook standards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stora Enso has announced a restructuring plan that aims to cut costs in its annual magazine paper operation by about $63.6 million by third quarter 2013, with the goal of improving efficiency and productivity. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette parent company Lagardere has reported a 5.9% fall for net sales in its Publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matteo Berlucchi, chief executive of the social e-retailer Anobii, has urged publishers to drop... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Author is a free Mac app designed to let authors and publishers easily create multimedia-rich e-textbooks for the iBooks 2 app. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Public Lending Right (PLR) payment made to authors by government each time their books are... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones is reverting to its original logo in the Baskerville serif font and dropping its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The International Publishers Association (IPA) has called on the government of Egypt to stop... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstone's m.d. James Daunt has called for the government to intervene over tax rates,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales and profit have fallen in the last year at book wholesaler Gardners but the company said it... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 15/11/2011 - 10:12 The US Authors Guild has accused Amazon.com of "boldly breaching its contracts" with publishers by signing them up to its new Kindle Lending programme without permission. It claimed it is doing this to drive sales of its Kindle... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 08/11/2011 - 10:15 Lagardère Publishing has reported a net sale decrease of 2.5% on a like-for-like basis in its third quarter, attributing the drop to weaker sales in English-speaking countries and the "impact of ebooks". read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 09:15 Virgin Books has acquired actor and 1970s heartthrob David Essex's autobiography. The as-yet-untitled book will be published in March 2012 and will chart Essex's career spanning four decades as a drummer, singer, theatre star,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Entertainment, showcases the graphic novel "Superman: Earth One" on the Kindle Fire. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 14/10/2011 - 09:27 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I hate them. Its like making believe theres another kind of sex. There isnt another kind of sex. There isnt another kind of book! A book is a book is a book. Maurice Sendak, to Guardian reporter Emma Brockes, about how much he hates ebooks Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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