HAVE YOU MISSED ME?
Marion McMullen looks at the return of telly favourites
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THE Great British Bake Off returns to Channel 4 on September 22. Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, TV hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding, contestants and crew have been living in a social bubble for six weeks so that viewers will not miss their slice of the baking action this year.
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BRITAIN’S Got Talent returned at the weekend with all acts watched by a virtual audience with performances live streamed into homes across the UK and reactions then beamed back into the studio on a giant screen. Presenting duo Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly have been regularly tested for Covid-19 so can stand side-by-side on stage. The socially distanced final will take place next month. 3 THE Aussie jungle and bush tucker trials will be missing from I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! as the ITV show moves from New South Wales in Australia to North Wales. Gwrych Castle will host the trials and challenges this year and, for the first time ever, one celebrity will be crowned King or Queen of the Castle. 4 IT’S all kicking off in soapland as EastEnders made an explosive return this week with CGI, plastic barriers, clever camera angles and even real-life partners brought in for the new postlockdown episodes of the BBC1 soap. Jessie Wallace was back as Kat Slater and planning is already under way for the Christmas Day special.
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IT’S full steam ahead in Weatherfield as Coronation Street returns to six episodes a week from Monday in the run up to the show’s 60th anniversary. Producer Iain MacLeod says: “The amount of work that has gone into keeping Coronation Street on the air, and getting it back to six episodes a week, has been staggering. I am so proud of the tireless efforts of everyone behind the scenes and onscreen.”
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EMMERDALE also returns to full strength with six episodes a week on ITV from Monday with social distancing, no location filming and fewer scenes to avoid camera moves. Executive producer, Jane Hudson says: “The commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm from our cast, crew and different teams has been phenomenal.”
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STRICTLY Come Dancing is taking to the dancefloor for an 18th series, although the BBC1 favourite will have a shorter run this year. Helping to put the sparkle back into Saturday and Sunday nights will be comedian Bill Bailey, right, actress Caroline Quentin and Olympic boxer Nicola Adams. Strictly: The Christmas Countdown will also reveal the 25 most memorable dances of all time voted for by the viewers.
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FILMING has resumed on BBC 1 hospital dramas Casualty and it will be highlighting the difficult realities of battling coronavirus in the Emergency Department. The series will also examine the personal cost of being national heroes at a time of crisis. 9 WORK has started on the Christmas Special of Call The Midwife. The BBC favourite is marking its 10th anniversary series with a 90-minute festive special. There is a designated Covid-19 supervisor on set and creator, writer and executive producer Heidi Thomas says: “It is a particular thrill to be able to deliver the Christmas Special on time, just as we promised at the start of the pandemic. We are very much a family at Call The Midwife, and like families everywhere, we have missed each other.”
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NEW series of BBC 1 police thriller Line Of Duty and ITV’s Vera starring Brenda Blethyn will both be back next year. Line Of Duty actor Adrian Dunbar, pictured, who plays police boss Ted Hastings says: “Even with the imposition of Covid restrictions I can’t hide my excitement at getting the team back together. So many people wondering… what happens next?”