NOT GOING OUT LIVE
“Objectively speaking, there’s been more talk (of it) over the last couple of years, especially with the Windrush generation and everything that’s been happening around those issues,” Hayley responds.
“It feels like it’s a conversation Hayley as Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger
JAMIE’S QUICK AND EASY CHRISTMAS Wednesday, Channel 4, 8pm
IS IT possible to rustle up a sumptuous Christmas Day feast in just minutes rather than spending hours slaving over a hot stove? According to Jamie Oliver it is – and as he’s the king of quick and easy cooking, we’d better believe him. He demonstrates some shortcuts, promising that flavours will not be sacrificed for speed, despite the fact that each recipe will be either quick to cook or easy to remember, with combinations of just five key ingredients.
MARK KERMODE’S CHRISTMAS CINEMA SECRETS Thursday, BBC4, 9pm
MANY people will be sitting down to watch a festive movie this week, but what makes a that’s starting to happen more and more explicitly, and our project being part of that conversation just added (an) extra layer to it, which I think is useful.
“The lessons in it? We talked about it earlier and Tamara was saying about the fact that none of these characters have a monopoly on suffering or that, just because you are a victim or, in this instance, a slave, that doesn’t mean you are a good person or a better person. Or you have a moral superiority next to someone who is an abuser. “Human beings are far more complicated than that,” she continues.
“We have all facets of character within us, good and bad; we can be as manipulative and conniving as we can be generous and pathetic.
“This story, in particular, highlights all these very human, contradictory qualities; and that, I think, makes it quite thrilling and evocative to watch and to question.”
It’s an incredible role – and one that Hayley auditioned for, finally receiving the good news when she was on her way back from visiting true Christmas classic? Mark Kermode finds out as he looks at films ranging from heartwarming family favourites to darker winter’s tales and reveals what makes them so successful. He also argues that while the Yuletide may lend itself to a surprisingly wide variety of genres, a true Christmas movie needs more than a December setting and a bit of snow. her grandma in Luton.
“I was really excited and then it sort of sets in that you’re going to have to do it!” she remembers, laughing. “You read the whole thing again and you’re like, ‘I’m in a lot of scenes!”’
“So the best part of getting a job is getting a job; the worst part of getting a job is then having to do the job!” she says. “It’s a very small window of celebration and a daunting moment.”
Talking of “jobs” – can she tell us anything about a possible reprisal of the much-loved Peggy Carter?
“It’s not up to me,” answers Hayley, who played the Marvel icon in two Captain America films as well as a spin-off TV series, Agent Carter.
“It’s been lovely, the reception that she’s got,” she notes. “And I know that she’s definitely a character that follows me around a bit – and if there is going to be a character following me around, I’m very happy it’s her and not somebody like Caroline Mortimer!
“But I know they’re coming to the end now of that kind of era, of that franchise,” she finishes. “But who knows what can happen?”
■ THE Inside No 9 Halloween special has set the bar very high for live episodes, so what can Lee Mack do to top it as his sitcom Not Going Out goes out live? Well, there is talk of egg juggling and knife throwing... The plot sees Lee and Lucy (Sally Bretton) fretting in their seasonally decorated living room, as they’ve been strongarmed into organising a festive variety show to raise money for the children’s school. However, so far, they’ve only managed to book an animal impersonator, so it doesn’t look like there’s going to be much variety. Can Toby (Hugh Dennis) and uptight wife Anna (Abigail Cruttenden) be persuaded to help?
The Long Song starts on BBC1 on Tuesday at 9pm with parts two and three at the same time on Wednesday and Thursday.