Marcella fans are furious they have to wait until autumn for the new series – as Netflix streams it from next week
BRITISH drama series Marcella will be on screens everywhere in the world this week – except Britain.
The show, in which Anna Friel plays a troubled detective hunting a serial killer, built up a huge following of fans after two hit series on ITV.
And now they are not happy. The creators struck up a co-production deal with Netflix, which means the third series will first be shown on the streaming giant in foreign countries from this Sunday.
Even though the primetime show is expected to be screened this autumn on ITV, there is still no firm date for Marcella to be put out in the UK.
One tweeter said: “Why is the UK being made to wait until autumn to watch Marcella season three when everywhere else is getting it next week on Netflix? We’ve been waiting ages for this. It’s so disappointing.”
Another said: “Surely there’s room in the schedule to show it now. In the meantime, everybody else around the world gets it this week on Netflix.”
Another added: “I always thought most shows that aren’t original Netflix productions air elsewhere and then possibly would turn up on Netflix in all regions. But it doesn’t seem the case.”
The series was created by Swedish writer and director Hans Rosenfeldt, who also gave us The Bridge.
Marcella is the latest in a long line of co- produced British dramas that have been seen in other parts of the world before they have arrived in the UK.
The last series of ITV period drama Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman, and the first series of BBC1’s Gentleman Jack, with Suranne Jones, were both available in the US first.
But the fact Marcella will air elsewhere in the world first is particularly galling for fans because the show’s screening date on ITV has already been pushed back due to the Covid-19 crisis.
We will soon reach the stage where hardly any of our dramas are shown in Britain first.
Roxy steps out in Jack boots
ROXY Horner has rarely been seen without boyfriend Jack Whitehall by her side after they spent lockdown together.
But the model, wearing heavy-duty boots and hotpants, was flying solo as the comic promoted Jack Whitehall’s Father’s Day, which is screened tomorrow night on BBC1.
He explores his relationship with dad Michael, who is now almost as famous as Jack after their documentaries together. It won’t be long before Roxy is roped in as well.
Holding its nerve
THE Salisbury Poisonings is lining up to be one of the summer’s most gripping watches – but we are lucky to be seeing it so soon.
As I revealed in April, the BBC faced a dilemma over when to show the drama, which revisits the Novichok nerve agent attack of 2018.
As Covid-19 hit Britain, the Beeb was worried about unsettling viewers with a story about an invisible killer bringing terror here. But it decided the BBC1 drama, which starts on Sunday with Anne-Marie Duff and Rafe Spall, might be a morale boost.
Executive Producer Laurence Bowen said: “It’s about resistance and bravery. It’s about people pulling together and coming out of the other side. For all those reasons it was timely to show it now.”
The three-parter follows what happened after ex- Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the Wiltshire city.
bizbit
RUPAUL’S Drag Race dance coach, ex-Strictly pro AJ Pritchard, has revealed that the show’s contestants are often forced to perform in freezing conditions to stop head judge RuPaul’s thick make-up from running.
X-rated watch
SPRINGWATCH viewers have been treated to innuendo-packed wildlife instalments.
On Tuesday, presenter Chris Packham said that after looking for grass snakes as a youngster, he would “lie beneath the blankets just sniffing my fingers thinking, yeah I’ve caught a snake”.
The audience was also shown footage of a large-breasted beaver with the commentary: “This is a very lovely beaver female with some very large teats.”
And all this before the watershed on BBC2.
bizbit
NETFLIX has launched a Black Lives Matter category on its streaming service containing more than 45 titles.
The bosses explained in a tweet: “When we say Black Lives Matter, we also mean ‘Black storytelling matters’.”
Jade’s a right little stirrer
TO say Little Mix and their former boss Simon Cowell have a fractious relationship is something of an understatement.
But the tension, caused by a row with their management firm and subsequent split from his record label, clearly has not gone away.
Band member Jade Thirlwall, who found fame on Simon’s The X Factor, has aimed a thinly veiled dig at the show which created them.
Talking about their own BBC series The Search, delayed indefinitely by Covid-19, she said: “It’s so lovely being able to give people that opportunity, to put them on a show where you know they are going to be looked after properly. We’re going to take care of them and help them as much as we can.
“I go for attitude any day of the week. To me it doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you don’t have the right attitude and you’re not willing to work hard for it, then it’s a no from me.”
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Jade proved she had the voice and the attitude needed to make it – during her exams.
She added: “I’ll never forget when I did GCSE music. I stole a song from Dream Girls and pretended it was my song. I got an A for it. To this day they didn’t know I did that.”
Good thing there’s no exams for the foreseeable or they might make you resit it.
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