Among those returning to the series is actress and writer Maya Sondhi, who plays PC Maneet Bindra.
The character was revealed at the end of series four as a mole, who had been blackmailed into leaking AC-12 information.
All of which set things up for even more drama to come – but who is Sondhi, exactly – and what else is she famous for?
Here’s what you need to know…
How is Maya Sondhi best known?
The Birmingham-born actress has a string of television credits as well as Line Of Duty.
Prior to joining the BBC One hit in 2016 she also appeared in the likes of Doctors, The Bill, Silent Witness and DCI Banks.
The actress has worked as a screenwriter as well as notching up a string of TV credits (Picture: Rex Shutterstock)
She was also known for her role as Shazia Khan in the BBC sitcom Citizen Khan, which she played from 2012-2014.
As well as acting, Sondhi has also worked as an EastEnders screenwriter, having penned two episodes of the show – and has also worked on scripts for Ackley Bridge, Mount Pleasant and The Kumars.
What has she said about her Line of Duty role?
Sondhi has admitted that Manreet’s being exposed as an informant came as a big surprise to her.
‘It was a shock to me – when I read the script for episode four and I read it, I almost fell over, because I wasn’t expecting her to do that either,’ she told the BBC.
When is Line Of Duty on?
The series continues next Sunday night on BBC One at 9pm.
If you missed the first episode, you can also catch up with it on BBC iPlayer.
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What’s next or Maneet in Line of Duty? We speak to Maya Sondhi (Picture: BBC/Rex)
*Warning: This article contains spoilers from Line of Duty series 5 episode one.
Line of Duty just knocked us for six with the brutal cliffhanger which saw Maneet Bindra’s tangled web of lies result in her throat being slashed as the latest victim of the Balaclava men.
Tonight’s 60 minutes of anxiety-inducing twists and turns closed with two huge bombshells.
After Stephen Graham’s John Corbett explained the only thing he hates more than undercover coppers is undercover coppers pretending to be bent coppers – before he turned out to be just that. Subsequently, the entire nation let out a collective gasp when two masked killers slashed Maneet’s throat as she bled out into the murky water below.
Metro.co.uk caught up with actress Maya Sondhi to discuss Maneet’s cataclysmic fall from grace and how the actress might be to blame for the AC-12 officer’s fate after getting drunk with writer Jed Mercurio.
‘We were at a do and it had been confirmed I was coming back for the series, and obviously at the end of series four I didn’t know what would happen because Maneet was taking time off for maternity leave,’ she told us.
‘I didn’t know anything about the storylines and I said to Jed, “What do you think? It’s brilliant I’m back but what are you going to do with her? We have to resolve what happened, people will want that. We can’t just have her carrying on working there.”
‘I said, “You know what you could do – something really dramatic because people won’t expect that from her.” So I think I possibly put some ideas in his head but I’m sure he had them as well. So it was collaborative, it wasn’t like he called me up and said, “We’re going to do this to you.”
‘When he did ring me to discuss storylines we did talk about it a bit more and I was really excited by all the things he was explaining and setting up for her.’
It wasn’t looking good for Maneet when we left her at the docks, but is she really dead? Don’t be too sure. When it comes to Mr. Mercurio, the only certainty we have is that there’s absolutely no certainty at all.
Will Maneet pull through the attack by the Balaclava Men? (Picture: BBC)
‘You never know what’s going to happen with anyone; no one’s ever safe but no one’s guaranteed not to come back,’ Maya teased, following the promise from her cast members Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston that there may be a few familiar faces popping up in series five.
Although, her time was coming. At the end of series four, Maneet just about managed to get away with colluding with ACC Hilton – who was eventually exposed for his involvement with the Balaclava Men before his subsequent suicide – until it all caught up with her tonight.
In turn, Maya had no idea what was next.
‘You just never know because the way it was left with Maya taking maternity leave and this stuff with Hilton, it was left quite up in the air and people thought, “Is she bad? What’s going on?”
‘In this episode you just got to explore what her motivations are and her conflict with her family, and just get to know more about her as a person rather than just watching her searching through traffic cameras. It was really fulfilling to play that because it was really emotionally fulfilling stuff. And the writing’s just so good.’
Stephen Graham’s John Corbett proved to be Maneet’s worst nightmare (Picture: BBC)
While Maneet faced her worst nightmare in Corbett tonight, easily Line of Duty’s most dangerous villain yet, the opportunity to share a scene with Stephen Graham was a dream come true for Maya.
‘I’ve watched his work his for years and just thought he was absolutely phenomenal,’ she enthused. ‘He’s just so effortless, but not only that he’s a really generous actor. He’s not about himself at all, he saved all his close stuff until the end of the day when he was probably knackered from filming the same scene all day.
‘He would make sure that everyone who needed to get their emotional stuff done did it when they were in that emotional place and then he just gave it 100 percent every time. There’s no ego there, it’s just about the work. I wish I got to do more with him. He was a great addition.’
As for what’s next, Maya – who has previously written for EastEnders and Ackney Bridge – is typing away on her new series for E4, with Mercurio serving as executive producer.
Line of Duty continues next Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.
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*Warning, spoilers for series five episode one ahead*
With the return of Line Of Duty tonight, with the premiere of series five, viewers were blessed with the return of the interview beep.
You know, that, as closed captions calls it, ‘continuous monotonous beep’ that heralds the beginning of a fresh interrogation in AC-12.
As we catch up with the latest in the corruption unit and the Balaclava men, PC Mineet Bindra found herself on the end of Hastings’ disappointed glare.
But it wasn’t just the glare that caught the attention of viewers on Sunday night – oh no, it was the extremely long, perhaps unnecessarily long beep that stamped the beginning of the recording.
Hastings is not taking any prisoners already (Picture: BBC One)
For a little context, at the end of series four, Maneet just about managed to get away with colluding with ACC Hilton – who was eventually exposed for his involvement with the Balaclava Men before his subsequent suicide – until it all caught up with her tonight.
Then she was dragged in front of AC-12 on accusations of spying on confidential police happenings.
Sat in front of the big boss played by Adrian Dunbar and Vicky McClure’s Kate Fleming it was the initial press of the red button by Martin Compston’s Steve Arnott that tickled fans pink.
Oh, and it went for 13 seconds. We counted.
Some gave an insight into all they could do in that time before the dialogue kicked in again: ‘Could have had a 3 course meal and washed my hair in the time that beep went on for.’
Another just wanted answers: ‘Why does the tape recorder do a massive beep at the start of every AC-12 interview?’
One was a mere comedian about the whole thing as they wrote: ‘What they don’t show is every time that excessively long beep plays at the beginning of each interview, it makes a flock of birds attack each other on the roof of the building’
This is serious business, guys!
Can we please just revisit the disappointment in Hastings’ voice during that interrogation, though?
‘You work with someone, you take them at their word. More fool me,’ he said, as viewers buckled under the shame of being on the other end.
He continued: ‘You are finished with the force’ he scolded Mineet, as she burst into tears and accepted her fate.
‘That’s only start of it, Christ knows what criminal charges you’re going to be faced with,’ Hastings added before he storms out of the room ‘before saying something he’s going to regret’.
After feeding Hilton information about her colleagues, she was finally caught out tonight months after returning to the day job since having her first child. She was thrown off the force, her one real love, and turned to the Balaclava Men to help her imprisoned cousin.
Unsurprisingly, it backfired spectacularly, Stephen Graham’s John Corbett found her out and the last we saw Maneet, her throat had been slashed and she was bleeding out into the docks – but only after we discovered Corbett has been playing both the Balaclava Men and us all along as an undercover copper himself. Mind blown.
Here’s to a ripping opening chapter.
Line Of Duty returns Sunday 9pm on BBC One.
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Comedian Desiree Burch appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show, where she delved right in to talking about the time she worked as a dominatrix – despite having very little sexual experience.
The American comedian sat on the couch alongside Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure, Love Island winner Dani Dyer and boyband Westlife, and revealed she used to get ‘paid to beat guys up.’
‘You have a fascinating and intriguing past,’ Jonathan began. ‘Your work in the sex industry.’
Desiree talked about the job, which she found rather educational (Picture: The Jonathan Ross Show/grab)
‘I lived in New York before I moved to the UK and I worked as a professional dominatrix at that point,’ Burch said. Here, she took a moment to throw a cheeky look at the Westlife boys, who visibly squirmed.
‘Yeah, I got paid to beat guys up – like every woman wants!
‘That was a way to make money, like many of the amazing women I worked who were all doing – you know – they were in school, or they were actors, or they were doing other things, they were nurses, and they were also just like, “Oh yeah, I can also actually make money and by doing this thing that a lot of women have to do for no money.”‘
‘There’s good money to be made there as well, I would have thought,’ Jonathan mused, to which Burch responded with an enthusiastic, ‘Yes!’
Jonathan was trying very hard (Picture: The Jonathan Ross Show/grab)
She added: ‘If you work out your persona and your angle and what your clientele is then there’s quite a bit.’
Burch, who has performed comedy across the UK, went on to reveal that she was a dominatrix despite having never had sex at the time.
‘Get this. I was in my early 20s,’ she began, but the show host interrupted her to point out that there was ‘nervous chittering’ coming from Westlife, which drew laughter from the audience.
‘I also did this,’ Burch continued, ‘because I am an insane person, I was a virgin at the time. I’d never even had sex myself. I was just like, “You know what? I’m going to roll up my sleeves and jump right in and learn all about men and their proclivities by finding out what they do behind closed doors.”‘
Westlife alternated between genuine laughter and anxiety-induced chuckles (Picture: The Jonathan Ross Show/grab)
‘Here are a bunch of questions and a bunch of [misconceptions] about it,’ she told the audience.
‘Let me just say, it’s another job. There’s a backstage area, where you’re sitting with other girls, just looking cell phones, putting on makeup and corsets and waiting for some guy to come in so you can like, step on his d*** or whatever.’
At this point the Westlife boys visibly cringed, with Shane Filan dropping his head in his hands, and Kian Egan scrunching his eyes as he tried to scrub what was probably phantom pain from his brain.
‘Another Tuesday, it must be Westlife!’ Ross joked, prompting nervous laughter from the four musicians.
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Who’s going to survive this season? (Picture: AMC)
It’s zombie time: Fear the Walking Dead has officially released the premiere date for the fifth season.
The season premiere of AMC’s spin-off of The Walking Dead is returning to TV screens on Sunday 2 June at 9pm.
The trailer was released to fans on Sunday at the pop culture expo WonderCon at Anaheim Convention Centre.
The synopsis for season five sets up the crew’s mission: ‘Locate survivors and help make what’s left of the world a slightly better place,’ Deadline reports.
‘With dogged determination, Morgan Jones (James) leads the group with a philosophy rooted in benevolence, community and hope. Each character believes that helping others will allow them to make up for the wrongs of their pasts.
It’s back in just a few months (Picture: AMC)
‘But trust won’t be easily earned. Their mission of helping others will be put to the ultimate test when our group finds themselves in uncharted territory, one which will force them to face not just their pasts but also their fears.
‘It is only through facing those fears that the group will discover an entirely new way to live, one that will leave them forever changed.’
Played by Austin Amelio, he was last seen being banished by Daryl, commanded to never return to Alexandria in the season eight finale in The Walking Dead, but it looks like he will be following in Morgan’s footsteps, and the pair might even reunite.
When asked about how Dwight and Morgan’s first encounter will go down, Amelio told fans at Wizard World New Orleans: ‘I have no idea. I really don’t.
‘I know that both of our stories, there’s redemptive qualities to where we’re going and what we want to give back into the world.’
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They have been married for a two years (PPicture: Getty – BBC)
Line of Duty actor Martin Compston’s wife made an incredibly meta cameo on Line of Duty’s season five premiere tonight.
The first episode saw Martin Compston’s DS Steve Arnott on the receiving end of a dating app message from a woman called Tina Watts.
Arnott was attempting to get over DS Sam Railston, with whom he had a fiery relationship in season four when viewers spotted Jed Mercurio’s Easter egg.
In the Tinder-esque exchange, the woman, who sports big curly hair and is pictured with an adorable staffordshire terrier (like all good app profiles, a dog is a must), sends him the following message: ‘Hi Steven, great messaging you. Would you like to meet for a drink?’
It turns out that Tina is American actress Tianna Chanel Flynn who is actually married to Compston in real life.
The 28-year-old actress has a few hefty credits to her name, including Secret Diary Of An American Cheerleader and an episode of How To Get Away With Murder. Her Instagram bio lists her as a ‘realtor’ as well as an actor.
Martin Compston’s real-life wife is a realtor and actress (Picture: PA)
BBC teased fans with her appearance, writing on Twitter in the middle of the show: ‘Spot the guest appearance.’
In response to a fan who identified Tina Watts as Compston’s off-screen wife, they wrote: ‘Bingo.’
Though the BBC referred to her as a ‘guest’ on the show, will we see her in upcoming episodes as a new love interest?
The couple got married in 2016 in Glasgow, and Compston’s Line Of Duty pals Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar attended the intimate ceremony.
In fact, in real life, they even have a staffie of their own!
Line Of Duty returns Sunday 9pm on BBC One.
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Eagle-eyed viewers of Line Of Duty were tonight blessed with a very quick peek at an old character who made his return in the series five premiere.
Seven years after his initial appearance.
And, to be honest, we got a double serving of the old school throwback. Oh yes, Jed Mercurio has done it again.
The first one came in the form of the return of Ryan Pilkington (played by Gregory Piper).
Jed knew people might have needed a little helping hand in spotting the troubled youngen, as he asked fans at a recent screening of the first episode: ‘I want to ask the audience a question.
He’s part of the Balaclava Men (Picture: BBC/World Productions)
‘Did anybody spot who one of the organised crime gang were? Did anybody spot…? The little kid from series one! The kid who was 12 or 13 riding around on that BMX bike!’
Ryan outraged viewers when he first made his mark on the BBC One show way back when.
Back then he was known for yelling ‘bent b***ard’ at Tony Gates and whacked Steve Arnott’s hand into a vice so he could cut off his digits.
The character was arrested for his crimes but dodged time behind bars by giving up information on boss Tommy Hunter and his criminal master plans.
Seems the kid is still living a life on the bad side and failed to learn from his earlier mistakes, though.
Now all grown up, he appears to be a member of the Balaclava Men, following his past as a delivery boy for burner phones.
Oh yeah, he’s a real bad egg.
In the opening scene when some bad guys murder three cops in order to intercept a pretty hefty delivery, ordered by John Corbett (played by Stephen Graham) Ryan is seen as one of the lackies.
However, there was a nod to his start in the crime gangs, as Maneet was delivered a burner phone by none other than a kid on a BMX bike.
Everything old is new again, as the story comes full circle.
The cool nod to series one made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in tonight’s episode but it didn’t fly over the heads of all viewers.
One said in regards to the cool throwback: ‘Ah that’s a nice touch, remind us of the old ways!’
While another noticed Ryan was back on the scene, as they wrote: ‘The bike kid gobsh**e who tortured Lennie James in S1 is back.’
Let’s see what Ryan gets up to as a dreaded member of the Balaclava Men, eh?
Line Of Duty returns Sunday 9pm on BBC One.
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The show delivered a different kind of finale (Picture: Gene Page/AMC)
Warning: Contains spoilers for The Walking Dead.
A snowstorm helped bring the show’s ninth season to a tense, unsettling, if slightly underwhelming close, in what felt like a bonus adventure following last week’s game-changer.
After wiping out ten characters in one sweep, there was something refreshing about approaching The Walking Dead’s latest finale without expecting another major death. Season nine has, to the show’s benefit, shaken-up past rhythms long-time fans have come to expect, granting this episode room to surprise and experiment with new territory.
The major novelty in The Storm is the show’s first foray with a winter setting. It might sound small, but the hazardous conditions throw up obstacles we haven’t seen the survivors tackle; like navigating icy lakes, dealing with blizzards, and trying to identify between walkers and Whisperers through a hazy, motionless silhouette.
We’re not sleeping (Picture: Gene Page/AMC)
It’s a refreshing change which certainly amps up the creepy factor. A startling scene early on sees Lydia on the verge of infecting herself, as she moves her arm towards a paralysed walker in the snow. She stops herself, however, after seeing Carol in the distance.
Feeling the guilt of Henry, Tara, and Enid’s death, Lydia later asks Carol to kill her to put an end to their misfortune. Carol refuses despite feeling lost without Henry, and protects Lydia from being killed by a walker. It was the standout moment of the entire episode, drawing on Carol’s past history of killing minors and her grief-fuelled anger, leaving you questioning whether she could snap into her ruthless ways.
Luckily, the show is wisely keeping Lydia around. She’s easily one of the best new characters introduced this season, having a link to Alpha which has become fascinatingly messy following Henry’s death. Could she kill her own mother come season 10? It’d certainly deliver in poetic justice.
Between shifting Ezekiel’s entire Kingdom to Hilltop, the finale also interspersed the weather’s affect on Alexandria. Here, we see Gabriel, Eugene, Rosita and Siddiq’s bizarre baby scenario cheekily poked at by a free Negan, who they’ve had to bundle out his cell to keep him alive.
As they’re forced to navigate to another house in single file through a blizzard, Judith runs off to save a dog, quickly followed by a concerned Negan. This dynamic will hopefully get more attention next season, with Judith’s clear soft spot for her father’s former rival giving the show an unlikely relationship which is actually engrossing (Sorry Gabriel and Rosita, you’re convincing no-one).
Negan got more time to shine (Picture: Gene Page/AMC)
Through these moments, however, there were some missteps. The split of Ezekiel and Carol felt oddly under-explained, with the former getting paranoid about her friendship with Daryl in light of their loss. We also hope Gabriel, Rosita, Siddiq and Eugene are cut free from this baby storyline come next season, which has only proved a distraction of zero merit.
With a mysterious caller teeing up speculation for months to come, The Walking Dead ended its ninth season on a refreshing, if jarringly anticlimactic note. If anything, it was a moment to reflect on how much the show has turned itself around under new showrunner Angela Kang, who has switched the conversation from The Walking Dead’s expiration date to where this rejuvenated series could go next.
The Walking Dead season nine finale airs on Monday Fox at 9pm. And is available to watch online at NOW TV.
Gemma Collins reveals she unfollowed several Instagram accounts after struggling to keep up with the 8,000 people she followed on the social media app.
Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid on Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, Gemma explained: ‘I’ve got to be honest with you, to get on in this game you’ve got to work very hard.
‘If you’ve got an opportunity, seize the day and don’t just think you can sit at home, do a nightclub appearance and an Instagram post and then you’re made for life. You have to really go out there and keep working at it.’
Gemma, 38, also encouraged new reality stars to try and keep ‘a bit of normality’ in their daily lives to avoid being swept up in the celebrity circus.
Reflecting on her own experience with reality TV, the Dancing On Ice star continued: ‘I’ve always been very well looked after all throughout doing what I’ve done, coming from Towie.
Gemma followed 8,000 Instagram accounts (Picture: ITV)
‘We’ve had counsellors to speak to everyday. We would always go and have to be psych tested. I always have been really well looked after so for me, I can’t say that hasn’t happened.’
Gemma also recalled her interview for Towie back in 2011 and how producers asked if she was prepared to be featured in newspapers.
She continued: ‘But you’ve just got to take it in your stride as well. You can’t sit at home and think, “I’m really famous now because I’ve just been on a TV show”.
‘You’ve just got to remember it’s a job and try and keep it real because if you start thinking it’s a lifestyle, and the pressure to keep up with the lifestyle as well.
‘I recently unfollowed so many people on Instagram because I was following 8,000 people. You can’t look at 8,000 people everyday and try and keep up with what’s going on. I think it’s healthy to take a breather from that kind of thing as well sometimes.’
After her mass cull, Gemma’s now down to 166 followers.
Good Morning Britain continues weekdays at 6am on ITV.
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He said: ‘HUGE SPOILER Line of Duty gutted to lose one of AC12s shadiest and finest @MayaSondhi absolutely phenomenal performance in ep 1 and just a class human being x’.
Compston previously teased that Corbett is the most dangerous villain AC-12 has ever faced.
‘Stephen’s just a force of nature as an actor and it was just great on set,’ Martin told press including Metro.co.uk at the series launch.
‘Everyone just raises their game from the get-go.’
Also praising co-star Rochenda Sandall, who plays Lisa McQueen, he continued: ‘Rochenda and Stephen are genuinely scary. It’s good because us three go back into our AC-12 groove and you’re thinking, “We’re really going to be up against it this time. I think a few bullets will fly.”
‘The other people we usually chase are cops where this guy is just an out and out criminal. He’s a murderer, he’s the leader of this gang, one of which threw me down the stairs.
‘They’re just scary people but we’re thinking that this is the only way we’re going to get to H so we’ve changed tactic.’
Line Of Duty airs Sundays at 9pm on BBC One
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In the frank interview, Gemma revealed: ‘I voted out,’ adding that she would vote to leave if there was a second referendum.
Gemma continued: ‘But I think Theresa needs to lead our nation, take a deep breath Theresa, make a deal and let’s move forward. If you’re a leader in this country, take the lead and own it and people will follow.’
Offering her services, the GC quipped: ‘If you need some help hun, I’m free for an hour after the show.’
Incredibly, Piers is actually up for Gemma joining forces with the PM and said: ‘I would actually think that you could do a better job right now than Theresa May.’
Gemma wants to give Theresa a helping hand (Picture: Rex, ITV)
Gemma thinks she’s got the answer to solve Brexit (Picture: ITV)
Proving herself worthy of the job, the reality TV star said: ‘You’ve got to have some gumption if you’re leading the country.
‘For me now, it’s boring, next, come on Theresa let’s do this.
‘Once a decision’s been made, I think the whole country will feel confident. I recently went to a shopping centre, no one was in it.’
Erm, eh?
‘Not that that’s got nothing to do with it but I think people aren’t spending at the minute. Everybody’s worried,’ Gemma explained.
‘The only good thing is I think house prices are going to drop so if you want to buy some properties now’s your time.’
Thanks girl.
Piers is well up for Gemma getting involved in Brexit (Picture: Getty Images)
Gemma also weighed in on the policing cuts with Piers lamenting that 20,000 officers have been removed from the streets.
Drawing on her own experience, Gemma said: ‘I personally feel there aren’t enough police on the streets. I haven’t seen a police officer on the streets in a long time.
‘However I recently had an incident and the police was there, they came and dealt with it and we did have a chat about not having enough police officers on our streets and they was really honest.’
She continued: ‘They looked under pressure as well and there is not enough of us at the moment and they are struggling to get everywhere.
‘They were like we are really underpressured and understaffed.
‘So, what’s Theresa May doing about it?’
In a direct call to the PM, Gemma said: ‘Theresa if you’re watching this, good morning darling we need to get the police back on the streets helping everybody out.’
Good Morning Britain continues weekdays at 6am on ITV.
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Leonard’s relationship with his mother Beverly might not be resolved (Picture: CBS)
The Big Bang Theory bosses have teased that Leonard’s (Johnny Galecki) relationship with his mum might be left unresolved by the end of the final season.
Leonard has been starved of affection from his mum, Dr Beverly Hofstadter, so with star Christine Baranski set to reprise the role before the sitcom bows out – might this change?
According to executive producers Bill Prady, Steven Molaro and Steve Holland, apparently not.
Writer Tara Hernandez explained they met at an event where she told them the best way to get through what they were going through.
Hernandes revealed Kauffman said: ‘It’s going to be so hard on you. But you’ll fall in love with the next one. You have to fall in love with the next [show].’
If anyone knows what it’s like, it’s Marta.
The sitcom, which has been running for 12 seasons, recently overtook Cheers to become the longest-running multi-cam sitcom with its 276th episode.
The cast and crew recently celebrated The Big Bang Thoery becoming the longest running multi-cam sitcom ever (Picture: Instagram)
Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, shared a group photo on Instagram of the cast and creators posing behind a selection of cupcakes spelling out 276.
She added: ‘@bigbangtheory_cbs is officially the longest running multi cam show in history surpassing the great show Cheers.
‘Blessed, humbled, amazed, grateful. Thank you to everyone who has supported us the last 12 years. THANK YOU!’
Mayim Bialik, who plays Amy, also posted a photo in celebration and added the message: ‘Officially made history! We’re now the longest running multi-cam sitcom in TV history, surpassing the wonderful show Cheers.
Mayim and Kunal celebrate with cupcakes (Picture: Instagram)
‘What an honour! I’m so privileged to have worked with these amazing, hilarious, talented people!!’
The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays on CBS in the US and on E4 in the UK.
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Martin Compston confirmed a massive Libe of Duty spoiler on Twitter, didn’t he? (Picture: BBC)
*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Line of Duty series 5 episode one.
Line of Duty returned last night and didn’t give us even a second to catch our breath as Jed Mercurio killed off fan-favourite Maneet Bindra after a cruel 60 minutes of sheer terror.
Or did he?
Martin Compston threw the spoiler-free rulebook out of the window last night and just went full throttle on Twitter to share a touching tribute to his co-star Maya Sondhi, seeming to confirmed Maneet’s demise.
Following last night’s nail-biter, 34-year-old Martin wrote: ‘HUGE SPOILER Line of Duty gutted to lose one of AC12s shadiest and finest @MayaSondhi absolutely phenomenal performance in ep 1 and just a class human being x.’
Is Maneet Bindra actually dead? (Picture: BBC)
While fans were obviously gutted as Maneet’s tangled web of lies resulted in her becoming the first member of AC-12 to be killed off by John Corbett’s Balaclava Men, we’re unconvinced.
Metro.co.uk spoke to Maya who warned fans shouldn’t be too sure they won’t see Maneet popping up again later down the line.
‘You never know what’s going to happen with anyone; no one’s ever safe but no one’s guaranteed not to come back,’ Maya teased.
Although, her time was coming. At the end of series four, Maneet just about managed to get away with colluding with ACC Hilton – who was eventually exposed for his involvement with the Balaclava Men before his subsequent suicide.
Line of Duty continues this Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.
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The gang aren’t going to be leaving quietly (Picture: CBS)
The Big Bang Theory’s end date is coming at us faster than the speed of light and it appears that even the show creator’s aren’t ready to send it off just yet.
In true style of the longest running TV sitcom in history (it’s official after beating Cheers last week), showrunner Steve Holland is getting ready to throw everything at it.
Though what that will exactly entail we’re not too sure about yet, considering everyone is keeping very tight-lipped about the show’s final scenes.
Speaking to TV Insider, Steve said: ‘I don’t want to rule anything out for the finale, but it will focus on our [main] characters.’
Our faces trying to figure out what’s going on in the show finale (Picture: CBS)
He’s also not even ruling out the potential for a reunion of the gang down the road, and said: ‘This has been such an amazingly, special ride. It’s hard to say goodbye.’
Steve then threw a shrug into the situation and said ‘who knows?’ over reunion plans.
Sneaky, guys. Very sneaky.
Speaking at Wondercon last weekend, Steve admitted that they knew ‘pretty early on’ that season 12 would be the show’s final farewell, and added: ‘It’s hitting us that it’s the last time we’re going to do this or that’.
Will final scenes of The Big Bang Theory feature the cast eating take out in Sheldon’s apartment? (Picture: CBS)
But they’re in safe hands after recruiting the help of Friends writer Marta Kauffman to give it the send-off it deserves.
Writer Tara Hernandez explained they met at an event where she told them the best way to get through what they were going through.
Tara revealed Kauffman said: ‘It’s going to be so hard on you. But you’ll fall in love with the next one. You have to fall in love with the next [show].’
The cast and crew recently celebrated The Big Bang Thoery becoming the longest running multi-cam sitcom ever (Picture: Instagram)
If anyone knows what it’s like, it’s Marta.
The final episode, which is set to air on May 16, will round off the lives of the science geeks and send them off for a future without us.
But before they go, we have so many questions that need to be answered.
Annoyingly, we already know one of these things will never come to be – as it’s been confirmed Penny’s maiden name will never be revealed because the writing team think it’s ‘bad luck’.
The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays on CBS and at a later date on E4 in the UK.
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Piers Morgan was heartbroken like the rest of us when the seagull snatched the turtle in last night’s episode of Blue Planet Live. However, he’s blaming the show’s production team for allowing the moment to happen.
During Sunday’s episode of BBC One’s Blue Planet, viewers watched as presenter Liz Bonnin released a handful of adorable baby turtles into their natural habitat on the beach.
However, just a few moments later, a hungry seagull was caught on camera swooping down and grabbing one of the turtles as it tried to make its way across the sand to the sea.
Reacting to the horrific moment, Piers said on Monday’s Good Morning Britain: ‘The little turtles crawling around in the sand trying to make their way towards the sea but suddenly, a seagull is seen swooping in and carrying one of the baby turtles away in its mouth.
‘When you said 100 years, actually it wasn’t even five seconds. And when you talk about responsibility, what about keeping an eye on the damn things to stop a seagull grabbing it.’
Piers’ co-host Susanna Reid tried to defend Liz and the Blue Planet team, chiming in: ‘Don’t forget, they’re not actually allowed to intervene in the natural course of nature.’
Piers was heartbroken like the rest of us (Picture: ITV)
The horrifying moment (Picture: ITV)
Our faces when the seagull swooped in (Picture: ITV)
But Piers was having none of it and shot back: ‘Yeah, but you could at least have put them in the water.
‘[Liz’s] giving it the big, “I hope they last a hundred years”, meanwhile, a seagull’s actually grabbing it behind her back. They released it too early in the sand.’
In another attempt at playing devil’s advocate, Susanna explained: ‘I don’t think we can blame them for releasing it too early. That’s what turtles are supposed to do, they’re supposed to make their way across the sand into the ocean.’
However Piers added: ‘Don’t bang on about we hope it lasts a hundred years when that happens. Terrible.’
Oh, Piers.
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Could Sheldon have met Leonard when they kids? (Picture: Getty Images)
The Big Bang Theory bosses have weighed in on the idea of Leonard popping up as a kid in spin off Young Sheldon.
Executive producers Bill Prady, Steven Molaro and Steve Holland think the adult Sheldon would have remembered meeting Leonard before.
‘With Sheldon’s eidetic memory, it makes it tough for him not to know when these things happen’, Molaro told TV Insider.
Having an eidetic memory means you can remember something in vivid detail as though it’s in front of you, even after seeing it for only a few seconds.
Young Sheldon follows the adventures of Jim Parson’s character on the show as a child.
After The Big Bang Theory ends, Holland will join Molaro and Prady on the team that runs the spin off, so he won’t be leaving the world of TBBT for a while yet.
Young Sheldon, played by Ian Armitage, follows Sheldon as a child (Picture: CBS)
But the show itself is ending after 12 seasons in a matter of weeks, and they still haven’t decided where to go with the last ever episode.
Prady said: ‘There are still pieces of the [finale] we have to figure out. We know some of the “what”. We don’t know all of the “how”.
‘There’s a lot of talk about wanted to feel that the gang’s world will continue as viewers know it to be. Of all the feelings we’ve talked about that’s one that we all like.’
The EPs and writers appeared at WonderCon ver the weekend, where they also revealed they go tsome advice on how to cope with the show ending from none other than Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman.
Writer Tara Hernandez explained they met at an event where she told them: ‘It’s going to be so hard on you. But you’ll fall in love with the next one. You have to fall in love with the next [show].’
If anyone knows what it’s like, it’s Marta.
The Big Bang Theory airs on Thursdays on CBS in the US and on E4 in the UK.
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Ash is more of a guardian to Burnham now rather than a lover (Picture: CBS)
Star Trek: Discovery star Shazad Latif doesn’t think there’s any way back for former lovers Ash Tyler an Michael Burnham.
Latif says Ash ‘wants to hurt people less’ and keeps himself to himself, acting as a guardian for Burnham rather than a lover.
He told CBS’ The Ready Room: ‘I think they are always going to have a place in each other’s hearts. There is a love there, but since that trust has been broken, I think it is hard to come back from.
‘But I think they are always going to find time…She is going through so much – she is going through so many emotional things.
‘I think it is too much for someone to take. But he will always try to protect her, now.
Shazad Latif says his character Ash Tyler will be a lone wolf from now on (Picture: CBS)
Tyler doesn’t want to hurt Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) any more (Picture: CBS)
‘He is more like a guardian now. He will always make sure he doesn’t hurt her anymore.’
The actor joked that things could change ‘if they got drunk together’.
Latif also explained Ash’s hairy new look, as the character has traded his clean shaven image for shaggy hair and a full beard.
‘I asked to grow my hair long because if he is with the Klingons and there for six months, he doesn’t have time to go to the hairdresser,’ he explained.
‘He was trying to be an ambassador there saying “I am one of you, I don’t look like you anymore, but I’ll grow my hair”.’
Star Trek Discovery season two is available on Netflix now.
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Nick Hewer passionately defended his Countdown co-star Rachel Riley during Good Morning Britain today after she was accused of ‘prostituting her religion’.
While the 33-year-old, who is herself Jewish, has been applauded for standing up to anti-Semitism in the Labour Party because they are ‘actively encouraging the abuse of people who are standing up to this’, Rachel has also been barraged with disgusting attacks online with fans threatening to boycott the popular host.
The former Strictly star’s right-hand man Nick spoke to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid today and urged the hosts to stuck up for Rachel.
‘I’m supporting my friend Rachel Riley who got beaten up again yesterday with all this anti-Semitic rubbish,’ Nick began. ‘Piers, it’s up to people like you and me and non-Jewish people to stand up for the Jewish community.’
Rachel Riley has been forced to step up security on Countdown in anti-Antisemitism row (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)
Piers chipped in: ‘I met her at a football game and she was telling me about some of the stuff she’s had to put up with and it’s disgusting.’
‘Well we’ve got to stand up for people like Rachel,’ Nick stressed to the former Britain’s Got Talent judge.
‘It’s got to the point where I can’t look at my Twitter feed any more,’ she told The Times. ‘It’s just a constant stream.
‘We are getting more security for Countdown.’
The TV brain-box has also stressed she has no political allegiance to the right or the left, but is being hounded by anti-Conservatives for ‘only calling out the left’.
She went on to say: ‘Well, I’ve been attacked by people on the left and the best way to not have me talk about anti-Semitism on the left is not to be anti-Semitic.’
Speaking to Parliament on the topic of the insults she has had to endure, Rachel previously explained: ‘In the name of Labour I’ve been called a hypocrite, lying propagandist, tits, teeth and ass clothes horse dolly bird, weaponiser of anti-Semitism, fascist, right-wing extremist, Nazi sympathiser, Twitter cancer, thick Tory, brainwashed, an anti-Semite, white supremacist, hate preacher, Zio political trollster, not a real Jew, a child bully, conspiracy theorist, a paedo-protector minion puppet who my dead grandfather would be disgusted by.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
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A family who clubbed together to take on The Chase will be probably living to regret their decision after breaking records for fastest team ever to lose the competition.
The Family Chase, a new spin-off of the much-loved ITV favourite, sees Bradley Walsh and the Quizmasters take on relatives as opposed to the tradition structure of a group of strangers.
With more to lose than just the money, the Lawrence-Harish family rose to the challenge, but their efforts were so poor that even ever-positive Bradley was stunned to silence.
After only two family members – Demi and Kerrie – managed to get into the final chase against The Dark Destroyer Shaun Wallace, they only managed to answer five questions correctly to get them ahead.
The final chase wasn’t much of a competition (Picture: ITV)
As a result, Shaun managed to end their run in little over a minute – a record-breaking time for the show which then left everyone kind twiddling their thumbs as they figured out a way to run out the rest of the show’s time slot.
Bradley cringed: ‘That’s never happened before. Now we’ve got to wait a little while for the news!’
Thankfully Demi and Kerri saw the funny side and said: ‘There’s a first time for everything!’ as their other two family members came up and joined them.
The Dark Destroyer showed no mercy (Picture: ITV)
Better luck next time, you guys!
Until that time the pair were fighting for £2,500 after the rest of their family were knocked out in the initial rounds.
In the panic for the final round, Demi took the lead and attempted to answer most of the questions, as Kerrie froze beside her.
When the eventual head start of seven was eventually reached, Bradley joked: ‘Don’t look at the scoreboard, people might not notice.’
He later asked for more pushbacks on behalf of the girls, but Shaun refused, getting the job over and done with quickly.
The Family Chase continues Sunday at 6pm on ITV.
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Adnan Syed’s innocence or guilt has become a worldwide topic for debate, ever since the podcast Serial delved into his case and the murder of Hae Min Lee in 2014.
Syed is currently serving a life sentence after being found guilty of his ex-girlfriend Hae’s murder in February 2000, but was granted a request for a new trial in 2016, with a judge ruling that Syed’s now deceased former attorney Cristina Gutierrez ‘rendered ineffective assistance when she failed to cross-examine the state’s expert regarding the reliability of cell tower location evidence’.
And Rabia Chaudry, an attorney and advocate for Syed, who first brought the story to Serial’s Sarah Koenig, admits that the latest decision by the Court Of Appeals was ‘devastating’.
Rabia hopes that some of the alleged evidence unearthed by Amy and her team can help Adnan (Picture: REX)
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Chaudry said: ‘It was a bad few hours for me. I was in utter shock. The timing was unexpected, the decision came a lot quicker than [I was expecting]. I think it was because they wanted it to come out before the documentary. I was in shock, I was really demoralised – I’ll be honest, it was devastating.
‘But I spoke to his mother the same day, she was giving us encouragement, saying “there’s a reason it happened like this, the story is not over” and she’s right, it’s not.’
The Case Against Adnan Syed is a four-part documentary directed by Amy Berg, and over the years of it being made, the team behind it claims to have uncovered new evidence for Adnan’s case.
Rabia said: ‘The cell tower evidence has already been presented in court, but there’s other evidence that has never been presented. We have a lot of different options, but depending on the kind of proceeding, then absolutely, a lot of the information Amy has found in the last three years [could make a difference].’
Amy Berg added: ‘It’s not surprising that the story that was presented in 2000 was not actually accurate, and it doesn’t time out very well. It’s sometimes very hard to sit on information like that, because you want it out there. But dropping little bits without the context of the entire story is not as effective. I wanted to finish the film as quickly as possible, but that never happens. I always think it’s going to take two years to finish every film I’ve made, but it never does. You have to be patient.
‘I just turned in the last episode a week ago, it’s really hard to let a project go, especially one like this. Hopefully, people will absorb our investigation and the new information that we uncovered in a way that shows what a miscarriage of justice really looks like.’
Serial was pretty much the tipping point for the true crime phenomenon when it dropped, with millions of people becoming armchair detectives in the murder of Hae Min Lee and the case of Adnan Syed.
Berg said: I think that if prosecutors would take cases that are questionable to trial, we wouldn’t need to do this over and over again, so we can’t stop. There is not a single prosecutor in America who gets a case and says “wait, there’s some questionable evidence here, let’s open it up, let’s take it to trial”. They only do that when there’s been a DNA match or a confession, it’s not standard operating procedure, and it’s so unfortunate. And they have more power than anybody in the justice system, and they’re elected.
‘The last appeal was almost comical in terms of what they were relying on. Adnan had won in two different courts, and the last prosecutor’s brief was relying on the fact that nobody could read the mind of Adnan’s deceased attorney. It was heavily weighted on that. It’s so strange that was the path he was taking – how can you interpret what a person was thinking if they’re not there to defend themselves? – but he won. Six other judges said he needed a new trial. So now, my film is the trial he may not ever get.’
And Chaudry added: ‘We waited for the legal system to do its job, and it didn’t, so we had to go to the media.’
The Case Against Adnan Syed will air from 1 April on NOW TV with the Box Set available to stream in its entirety with the contract-free Entertainment Pass, for just £7.99.
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