About Author: Editor

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2015 Q&A

2015 Q&A1

The last Q&A we did with Nicola was in September 2011. Since then, Nicola has gained a whole new fan base as a result of her role (as Gillian) in Last Tango in Halifax. We thought it may be time to try for another Q&A with her.

Caveat

We must say first of all, we have not yet obtained Nicola’s consent to run this Q&A. She is a busy actress with a lot of work commitments and probably a million other things to attend to in her personal life. Whatever questions we collect from you will be handed to her for consideration during the weeks when she’s appearing on stage in A View from the Bridge at the Wyndham Theatre. She will probably need to rest up during the day in order to be in top shape for each evening’s performance. We will leave Nicola to decide whether she wants to answer some or all of the questions. If she declines to answer any questions, we will respect her decision and not badger her. From past experience, we know that Nicola is always happy to oblige whenever and wherever she can. Fingers crossed!

Some rules

Nicola will probably be more inclined to answer your questions if you make them interesting enough. So, what can you, or should you, ask her? Anything you like, but here are just a few rules :

1. Nothing too personal, please, e.g. size of any of her body parts; when’s her birthday, the exact date she got married etc. Her personal life is just that, personal to her and off limits to fans.

2. We would prefer the questions to be general in nature and not specifically about any character she has played in any shows (TV/Audio/Stage).

3. Please avoid questions about which is her favourite role to date, or her favourite leading man etc. Knowing her, she’d be too diplomatic to name any favourites.

What to ask?

Still not sure what to ask Nicola? Try some of the Q&As and interviews she’s done in the past, which you can find on this Page.

We will divide all questions collected into two groups : those which are interesting and which we think Nicola might like to answer, and those which the Editorial Team has censored but will show Nicola anyway.

As soon as we receive answers from Nicola, they will be posted on this website.

A small “Thank you” gift for the best question

If Nicola decides to answer any of your questions (from either or both groups), we will also let her choose the one which she regards as the best question. We will send a DVD box set of Last Tango in Halifax (Series 1-3) (Regions 2 and 4 compatible) to the person who asked that question as a “Thank You” gift. Hopefully we will have this signed by Nicola.

We will send the winner this little gift no matter where in the world he or she lives in. Shipping will be free but the recipient must be responsible for import duties or custom clearance (if applicable) imposed by the country where he or she lives in. It will also be up to the winner to find a DVD player which can play Regions 2 & 4 compatible DVDs. We will not send out any Region 1 DVDs.

If more than one person submitted the same or similar questions as the winning one, the person who was first in time to submit the question will get our little gift.

Go on, fill in and send us the form below. You can include as many questions as you like in one form, or you can fill in more than one form, on different days, each with a different question.

The closing date is 10 February 2015.

Email us

In case you are unable to submit the above form multiple times, or you require any clarification on what you can ask, you can always Email Us.

Update : 11 February 2015

Big thanks to everyone who has submitted questions. They range from the sublimely well thought out to the ridiculously funny. We will try our best to submit these to Nicola.

As soon as we have a reaction from Nicola, we will make an announcement here. Thanks again, everyone! 😀

Update : 10 March 2015

We have answers for you and you can read them on this Page.

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19th Annual Satellite Awards (2015)

20131202-satellite_awards

CONGRATULATIONS to Nicola!

Nicola has received a nomination in the 2014 Satellite Awards, in the category of Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for her work on Last Tango in Halifax. Please scroll down the page to get to Nicola’s category.

We believe the nomination is for Nicola’s work on Series 1 of this show. No other cast member from the show managed to score a nomination for these awards.

Winners will be announced in Los Angeles on 15 February 2015. It is unlikely that Nicola will attend the presentation ceremony, whether or not she will win, because she will be appearing on stage at the Wyndham Theatre for A View from the Bridge.

The Satellite Awards are annual awards voted on and awarded by the International Press Academy.

The International Press Academy (IPA) is an entertainment media association with voting members worldwide who represent domestic and foreign markets via print, television, radio, blogs, and other content platforms for virtually every notable outlet.

Many thanks to members of the Academy who voted to get Nicola on the shortlist in her category.

The other nominees in Nicola’s category are :

Nominee Show Studio
Ann Dowd The Leftovers HBO
Allison Tolman Fargo FX
Michelle Monaghan True Detective HBO
Sarah Paulson American Horror Story FX
Zoe Kazan Olive Kitteridge HBO

This is Nicola’s first nomination from a US awards organisation, and we are certain it won’t be her last. We are very pleased that Nicola has finally earned some recognition in North America for her work. Fingers and toes tightly crossed!

Thanks, SofieB, for the heads up on this nomination 😀

16 February 2015

The winners have been announced. Unfortunately, Nicola did not win in her category. 🙁

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2015 Whats On Stage Awards

2014-WOS-Awards

Nicola has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actress in a Play category in the 2015 Whats On Stage Awards, for her work in A View from the Bridge.

These awards are voted on by fans only, so get voting by going to the WhatsOnStage website. The voting period will expire on 31 January 2015. Winners will be announced on 15 February 2015.

You do not have to vote in every category although you can, if you want to. Every vote counts, but each person is only allowed to vote once – you will be asked to register an email address and their system will tag your computer and IP address to prevent multiple votes logged by the same person. There is no geographic restriction on voting – you can vote from anywhere in the world!

Whilst you are there, why not also vote for Nicola’s co-star in the same play, Mark Strong, who has been nominated in the Best Actor in a Play category.

Nicola has never before appeared on a shortlist of nominees for the Whats On Stage Awards. In 2012, she was included in the longlist of nominees for her work in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. In this Post, we urged fans to vote Nicola through to the shortlist but in the end, Nicola didn’t make it.

Good luck, Nicola! 😀 😀 😀

16 February 2015

The winners have been announced. Unfortunately, Nicola didn’t win in her category. 🙁

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Babylon Series 1

Babylon-S1

This page and the various page links will become live and constantly updated, so check back now and again for more news. The links below will contain information about cast members, possible story arcs etc. which may be considered by some fans as “spoilery”. So don’t click on those links if you do not want to know anything about the show before it airs.

For our coverage on Babylon (the Pilot), go HERE.

Table of Contents

Main Cast and other production details

Production Pics

Press Coverage : Press Pack | Articles/interviews available online | Press Articles Gallery

Episode Trailers, Episode Guides and Reviews

Screencaps | Filming Locations | Awards and Nominations

Six degrees

James Nesbitt appeared in episodes 201 and 202 of Touching Evil back in 1998.

Order from Amazon UK

You can order the show’s DVD box sets (Regions 2 and 4 compatible) from Amazon UK. Your purchase made through this link will benefit Nicola’s chosen charity.

 


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5

River

River-cover-pic-v2

This page and the various page links will become live and constantly updated, so check back now and again for more news. The links below will contain information about cast members, possible story arcs etc. which may be considered by some fans as “spoilery”. So don’t click on those links if you do not want to know anything about the show before it airs.

Table of Contents

Main Cast and other production details

Production News / Cast Tweets / Updates

Production Pics

Press Coverage : Articles/interviews available online, Press Articles Gallery

Episode Trailers, Characters Guide, Episode Guides, Reviews and Ratings

Screencaps | Filming Locations | Awards and Nominations

Fun Stuff – Script download, Fun Facts, Set visits

Trivia, Six Degrees and DVD news

Order from Amazon UK

You can order the show’s DVD box sets (Regions 2 and 4 compatible) from Amazon UK.

 


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2

Dr Who : Dark Eyes

Dr-Who-Dark-Eyes-2-CDs

 
For all information relating to Dr. Who : Dark Eyes 2, go HERE.
 
For all information relating to Dr. Who : Dark Eyes 3, go HERE.

Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 10.49.40 pm

Update : 27 January 2015

Big Finish has announced that post-production work on has completed. Once again, Nicola a cast member. Here is the synopsis, taken from the Big Finish website :

4.1 A Life in the Day by John Dorney

The Doctor and Liv return to post-World War I London, where the Doctor meets Kitty Donaldson (Beth Chalmers), and Liv strikes a friendship with her brother Martin (Barnaby Kay). But what mysterious force is hunting them?

4.2 The Monster of Montmartre by Matt Fitton

The Doctor and Liv’s investigations bring them to Paris, where a monster stalks the streets.

4.3 Master of the Daleks by John Dorney

The Master and the Dalek Time Controller have forged an alliance. History hangs in the balance, and this time the Doctor can’t help…

4.4 Eye of Darkness by Matt Fitton

It’s the endgame. Truths will be revealed, and a hero will make the ultimate sacrifice.

 

Trailer

This trailer has been released by Big Finish

Nicola with Alex MacQueen

Nicola with Alex MacQueen


Big Finish has released this studio photo of Alex MacQueen with Nicola in the studio. The all-star cast includes Paul McGann, Barnaby Kay, Rachel Stirling and Susannah Harker, to name just as few.
 
 
 

Order Now

Dark Eyes 4 will be out in March 2015. Both Dark Eyes 2 and Dark Eyes 3 are now available. Place your order on the Big Finish website. If you order the CDs, they will ship anywhere in the world, post free. The show is also available to purchase as an audio download. Big Finish also accepts PayPal in addition to credit cards. Enjoy!

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15

Last Tango in Halifax Series 3

LTiH-Series-3-banner-pic

UK transmission date :
Sunday, 28 December 2014, 9 pm GMT BBC One

For our coverage on Series 2 of this show, go HERE.
For our coverage on Series 1 of this show, go HERE.

This page and the various page links will become live and constantly updated, so check back now and again for more news. The links below will contain information about old and new cast members, possible story arcs etc. which may be considered by some fans as “spoilery”. So don’t click on those links if you do not want to know anything about Series 3 before it airs.

Table of Contents

Main Cast and other production details

Production News / Cast Tweets / Updates

Production Pics

Press Coverage : Articles/interviews available online | Press Articles Gallery | Radio interview transcripts

Trailers | Characters Guide | Episode Guides | Reviews and Ratings

Screencaps | Filming Locations | Awards and Nominations

Fun Stuff – Script download, Fun Facts

Trivia, Six Degrees and DVD news

Order from Amazon UK

You can order the show’s DVD box sets (Regions 2 and 4 compatible) from Amazon UK. Purchases made through these links will help us raise money for Nicola’s charity, the MS Society of the UK.

 


6

A View from the Bridge

A-View-from-a-Bridge

This play was staged at the Young Vic between 4 April 2014 to 7 June 2014. For our coverage of this Play during its run at the Young Vic, go HERE.
 
 
A-View-from-the-Bridge-Wyndham

This play will be transferred to the West End and staged at the Wyndham’s Theatre for a limited 8 week run starting from 11 February 2015. For our coverage of the West End run, go HERE.
 
 
A View on Broadway
This play will transfer to Broadway and staged at the Lyceum Theatre, New York for a limited season to start on 21 October 2015 and end on 21 February 2016. For our complete coverage of the Broadway run, go HERE.

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2014 BAFTA Nomination

NS-BAFTA-2B

Nicola has received her first BAFTA TV Awards nomination, in the Best Supporting Actress category, for her work as Gillian in Series 2 of Last Tango in Halifax.

The following actresses are also nominated in the same category as Nicola :

Sarah Lancashire for Last Tango in Halifax
Claire Rushbrook for My Mad Fat Diary
Shirley Henderson for Southcliffe

Sarah Lancashire is Nicola’s co-star in Last Tango in Halifax. Nicola has described Claire Rushbrook as one of her best friends. Amongst other projects, Claire was in Shiner [Film] and 50 Revolutions [Stage] with Nicola. When Claire was in Collision, a candid photo showing Claire and Nicola was used as a prop – see this Fun Fact for more details.

Nicola doesn’t think she will win and is rooting for Shirley Henderson to win, since she is the only nominee she does not know personally. We hope this is merely pre-awards jitters talking.

Download the 2014 BAFTA TV Awards Full List of Nominations. The awards will be handed out in London on Sunday, 18 May 2014. Best of luck to Nicola! 😀

18 May 2014

You can read a copy of the BAFTA Awards Brochure HERE. Amongst other things, this Brochure lists the names of the members of the jury who voted on the various categories.

The Guardian thinks that Nicola should win, in her category, whilst the Telegraph doesn’t think she deserved her nomination!

We’re crossing all of our fingers and toes!!!

Red carpet interview

And the winner is …

Sarah Lancashire!

Here’s Sarah Lancashire’s acceptance speech and backstage interview :

 
 

Sarah thanked Nicola THREE times in her acceptance speech!!!
 

BAFTA Boothnation taken from wholia87.tumblr.com

BAFTA Boothnation
taken from wholia87.tumblr.com

 

Better luck next time, Nicola 🙁

Red Carpet Report

For those of you who’ve been wondering since Awards night last Sunday, we have a red carpet report and pics HERE.

6

November Dead List

November-Dead-List

What’s the show about

From the BBC Radio 4 website, we have this synopsis of this new radio show :

Nicola Walker stars as a police detective who investigates a murder in London’s Catholic community in this new, gritty crime drama by Nick Perry.

Each Roman Catholic parish compiles a Book of the Dead from the lists of departed loved ones submitted by parishioners. Printed on the front of the envelopes are three words: November Dead List. A young priest opens one such envelope and discovers not a list of the dead, but a list of people he knows to be alive, and members of his congregation. At first he thinks it’s someone’s idea of a joke. Then the people named start turning up dead.

DI Flood – Nicola Walker
Father Manu -Paul Ready
John – Steve Toussaint
Father Pat – Dermot Crowley
Simon – Arthur Hughes
Terrence – John Norton
Gerry – Stephen Hogan
Kevin – Sean Murray
Eileen – Carolyn Pickles
Journalist – Carys Eleri
Producer – Sasha Yevtushenko
Writer – Nick Perry

The theme song is Roads by Portishead.

When will it be broadcast?

The show will broadcast over a five day period, with a 15 minute segment on each day, from Monday 20 January 2014 to Friday 24 January 2014, at 10:45 to 11:00 am GMT and repeated the same evening at 19:45 pm GMT.

The show is also available as an Omnibus Edition, i.e. all five episodes aired together, aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Saturday, 25 January 2014 at 12 noon.

After each broadcast, the show will be available on the BBC Radio iPlayer for 7 days. There is no geographic restrictions for the BBC Radio iPlayer, so you can tune in from anywhere in the world.

Reviews

There Ought to be Clowns

It’s no secret that I like me some Nicola Walker and so seeing her take the lead in Nick Perry’s radio drama November Dead List was definitely a thrill. It was the 15 minute drama of the week, five short episodes split across five days which I always find a little annoying so the omnibus edition was infinitely more preferable. A police procedural in which Walker plays a DI called in to investigate a murder which was seemingly predicted on a dead list, normally a list of deceased parishioners in a Catholic congregation but in this case, full of people who are still alive.

Soundtracked by the moody tones of Portishead’s Roads, it proved a rather effective police procedural as the race against time seems compromised by someone close to the case. From Kent wetlands to an Irish seminary and back again, Walker’s DI Flood is an utterly determined cop, at the expense of a personal life, and so the unexpected chemistry with Paul Ready’s Father Manu – who found the list – is a surprise to all but yet really well done in creating a palpable relationship in which one really invests. Lots of fun.

Update : 25 January 2014

Great news! The entire 67 minutes of this programme is now available for download and keep as an iTunes Podcast*!!! As far as we know, this is the first time one of Nicola’s radio shows is made available to fans in this manner. Lets hope the BBC will do the same in future and/or release some of her older stuff as downloadable iTunes Podcasts 😀

Thank you, RuthF, for the heads up about the programme. Thank you, Judith, for the heads up about the iTunes Podcast download! 😀

*Ed’s Note : the BBC has removed this programme from its iTunes Podcasts lists one week after the show was broadcast. 🙁

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2013 Advent Calendar pt

click on pic to see a larger image

click on pic to see a larger image


 
 
 

A Nicola picture a day to help you countdown to Christmas 2013. Starts on 1 December 2013.

Click HERE to see the full 2013 Advent Calendar.

Once again, massive thanks to Liga for putting this together. 😀 And THANK YOU to Nicola, for answering Liga’s questions which make up the calendar. ♡♡♡

3

Babylon

Babylon-1

THANK YOU to SofieB for the heads up about this project.

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony) has been hired to direct the feature length pilot for a new 6-part TV series titled Babylon, to be shown on Channel 4 in the UK sometime in 2014. This is the first television project which Danny Boyle is directing in 12 years. Danny will direct the pilot, though it is unclear at this stage whether he will also direct any or all of the other 6 episodes in the series. Channel 4 is so confident about this show that it has ordered a 6 part first series even though the pilot will not air in the UK until 2014.

You can find out more about this show via various sources :

Channel 4 | Deadline | Radio Times | Screen Daily

The eclectic cast is led by US actress Brit Marling with co-stars James Nesbitt, Paterson Joseph, Jill Halfpenny, Adam Deacon, Daniel Kaluuya, Jonny Sweet, Andrew Brooke and Bertie Carvel. Most of the supporting cast will play police officers.

The show, a dramady, evolves around James Nesbitt who plays a Chief Police Constable who has hired an American PR person (Brit Marling) to undertake a public relations revamp for the police force. High hilarity ensues, or something like that. Nicola’s Spotlight page has just been updated to indicate that she has been cast as a character called “Sharon Franklin“. At this stage, we assume that it is a guest role (since the main cast details have already been announced), and if so, we hope it will be a recurring guest role. We will update this page as and when more information becomes available.

Update : 9 February 2014

The pilot of this show was aired on Channel 4 in the UK tonight. Nicola has only a tiny role in the pilot, but here’s what the Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, writers of the show, had to say about her involvement (taken from the Press Pack which you can access HERE) :

… every role, even small, everyone is a recognised actor?

Sam: Special mention goes to Nicola Walker who has about two lines in the pilot. Pretty remarkable. But we have beefed up her part a lot for the series. We have been trying to work with her for years, and we are very excited to have her but we are also very grateful that she was able to do the pilot bearing in mind what she’s got.

Lets hope Nicola will be able to find time to film her scenes for this show. She will on on stage in A View from the Bridge between April and June. From June 2014, she will be required on set for Last Tango in Halifax 3 which is likely to occupy her until mid to end September 2014.

Screencaps from the Pilot Episode

Nicola looks lovely in a policewoman’s uniform!

Screencaps courtesy of SofieB. Thanks!

Six degrees

James Nesbitt appeared in episodes 201 and 202 of Touching Evil back in 1998.

Order from Amazon UK

You can order the show’s DVD box set (Regions 2 and 4 compatible) from Amazon UK. Your purchase made through this link will benefit Nicola’s chosen charity.

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2

Second Coming

[This Post has been compiled with some links provided by SofieB. Thanks, Sofie.]

This is the big screen debut for writer, Debbie Tucker Green.

From various sources, we have this summary of the story :

Second Coming follows a tight family unit navigating their way through family life as it breaks down in the aftermath of an unexplained pregnancy of a family member who isn’t entirely mentally stable.

Debbie Tucker Green

Debbie Tucker Green

The film is funded, in part, by a grant from the British Film Institute and is also co-financed by Film4, Channel 4’s movie unit and supported by the Sundance Institute Film Program.

Nicola will play a Counsellor in this movie. Given that Debbie Tucker Green usually writes big ensemble pieces, it seems unlikely that Nicola will have a big role in the movie. However, Debbie is also a brilliant writer who gives all of her characters meaningful and significant voices. So even if its a minor role, we are confident that Nicola’s part will be an interesting one.

From IMDb, we know that the project is now in the post production phase, which means it should be ready for release soon. Here’s hoping that with a big name like Idris Elba involved and support from the Sundance Institute, the movie will get a proper cinema release around the world so that we can all get to watch Nicola on the big screen!

Reviews

The film had its debut at the 2014 September Toronto International Film Festival and here is a selection of film reviews posted by critics who have seen the movie :

Hollywood Reporter | Standard UK | Variety | IndieWire

Nicola does not have a big role in this movie, so its not surprising that her cameo hasn’t merited a mention in any of these reviews.

2014 London Film Festival

Here are the show times for the film at the 2014 London Film Festival :

Oct 17, 2014 9:15 PM
Odeon West End, Screen 1

Oct 18, 2014 6:30 PM
Rich Mix Cinema, Screen 1

Oct 19, 2014 3:30 PM
Ritzy Cinema, Screen 2

The film is in competition in the First Feature Competition.

Six degrees

Idris Elba, a cast member, also appeared in Luther [TV] with Nicola.

Debbie Tucker Green, the writer of this film, also wrote Gone [Radio].

4

Fire Horse

Roddy and Jules

What’s the story about?

From various sources, we have this synopsis

Fire Horse. A story about holding onto the past. It is about recognising that change is not always good. Society is moving so fast, sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the world we have created and the world we are leaving behind.

We got in touch with the Director, Matt Bell, and received a more detailed summary of the film’s plot

My film is about an old lady, Ada (Doreen Mantle) who lives in a little rural village in middle England. She uses the village shop everyday, even buying goods that she doesn’t need (e.g. food for her deceased dog). Over the years herself and Roddy the shopkeeper (Barnaby Kay) have developed a lovely relationship. She knows the shop is on the brink of closure but hopes her little routine will help to keep the place open. Roddy is struggling to keep his head above water but deep down knows the days are numbered as the supermarkets and their home delivery service force him out. He feels like a failure to his family and doesn’t want to let his wife Jules (Nicola) down. Jules is wise and knows exactly what is going on. She assures Roddy that everything will be alright. Under pressure one day, Roddy snaps at Ada. This sparks Ada into taking matters into her own hands by staging a sit down protest in the road. She hopes to stop the supermarket delivery van (driven by Rick) getting through. She thought she could force villagers to use the shop. It’s her final stand born out of friendship and a belief in a way of life.

Matt also gave us these comments

The film is in essence a story about change and friendship between old and not so old, hence the title Fire Horse. That was a term used during the industrial revolution when steam trains took over from horse and cart. It was inspired by a return visit to the little village I grew up in after living in London for 10 years. Everything had changed and I felt the community spirit that used to exist had slipped away. The village shop I worked in as a teenager had closed and a massive house with 4×4’s on the drive had been built in it’s place. The pub and the dairy had shut. All the charm and character had been lost and new houses had sprung up all over the place. This little old village that I had such fond memories of had been taken over by the 21st century. The days of leaving your door unlocked and stopping to have a chat with all and sundry was left in the past.

What touched me the most about working in the shop as a child was the fact that the old people who didn’t get out much would just come in to have a chat and would often buy a couple of token efforts. It was just a place for them to get out and have a chin wag. Of course we stocked most daily essentials that they relied on but they would mainly come in just to say hello and to mooch about the village.

This is my first film, I’m a little nervous about how it will be perceived. It was shot last minute as we didn’t know what Nicola’s schedule was going to be on Spooks – the original shoot was done in 2011, around the same time as Nicola was shooting Series 10 of Spooks. We were only given 48 hours final notice of her availability so this was all the time I had to get everything into place. It was quite a stress and chaotic 2 days and I’m hoping this hasn’t come across in the film. It has taken me nearly 2 years to finish post production due to a combination of parenthood, work commitments and frustratingly, my editor being mugged and having his MAC and my drives with the film’s final cut on it stolen. I also wanted to make sure that the film was the best it could be before it was released to festivals etc.

A huge THANK YOU to Matt for giving us these comments and the pic of Nicola and Barnaby in character from the film. This sounds like a really interesting film. With more backing financially, it could be turned into a feature length movie or TV movie. We wish Matt all the best with this film. Since the film is only about 17 minutes long (in its present form), Matt is currently hoping to show this in various film festivals in order to generate more interest. If any visitor to this site can help publicize this movie, please get in touch with Matt. He is on Twitter, as @MattBellAD.

Oh, and Bravo to Nicola and Barnaby for getting involved with this project!!!

Go to the next page to watch this short film.
 
 

1

“Kokomo” [radio play]

20130531 Kokomo

Background

Update : 15 May 2013

Writer/director Julian Simpson has tweeted about a new radio play which he has written in which Nicola has been cast.

20130515-JS-Tweet

This dream cast is kind of like a Spooks reunion, since Robert Glenister. Tim McInnerny and Herminone Norris have all appeared in Spooks [TV] with Nicola.

From further Tweets, we know that the show will be recorded on Monday, 20 May 2013 and Tuesday, 21 May 2013, and it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 5 June 2013. If the show airs in the afternoon, its likely to be the Afternoon Drama slot at 14:15 which usually lasts for 45 minutes.

20130516-JS-Tweets

Update : 21 May 2013 – We now have a title and synopsis

Thanks to Rosemary on the Spooks Information Central Forum, we now have a name, “Kokomo” for the show as well as this synopsis and cast list (taken from the BBC Media Centre) :

All information online across the world is being held hostage by terrorists. Alice Price is sent in to negotiate the safe return of the information before the world descends into chaos. But who are the terrorists and why have they asked for Price?

With Nicola Walker as Alice Price, Hermione Norris as Columbina, Louise Brealey as Harlequin, Robert Glenister as Levine. Written by Julian Simpson. A thriller by Julian Simpson.

Update : 23 May 2013 – Further tweets from Mr. Simpson

20130523-Further-Tweets-B

Click to see a larger image. Beware – some of you may find the language slightly offensive.

Update : 31 May 2013 – Link to BBC Radio 4 Extra page / Background info on the show

The programme is now included in the BBC Radio 4 schedule for 5 June 2013.

Writer/Director Julian Simpson has written an article about how he came up with the story, and title, for “Kokomo” which you can read on this Blog. Its essential reading for any one who intends to listen to the show. He has also posted “Never Make Friends with the Actors” – The Worse Piece of Advice Ever on his own blog which makes very interesting reading. Nicola is mentioned in this piece.

Credits

Role Actor/Actress
Levine Robert Glenister
Daguero Rufus Wright
Pantalone Tim McInnerny
Harlequin Louise Brealey
Columbina Hermione Norris
Alice Price Nicola Walker
Director Julian Simpson
Producer Karen Rose
Writer Julian Simpson

How to listen to the show

Non-UK fans can tune into BBC Radio 4 via the BBC Radio iPlayer which does not have any geographic restrictions. After the show has been aired, it should remain available on the BBC Radio iPlayer for 7 days thereafter.

Six Degrees

Robert Glenister was Nicola’s co-star in Spooks. He played the Home Secretary in Series 4, 5, 8 and 9.

Tim McInnerny was Nicola’s co-star in Spooks. He played Oliver Mace in Series 3, 4 and 5.

Hermione Norris was Nicola’s co-star in Spooks Series 5. She played Ros Myers. Herminone was also in A Mother’s Son though she did not have any scenes with Nicola.

Julian Simpson directed Nicola in a number of episodes in Spooks Series 4 and New Tricks. He also directed Nicola in a number of radio plays, Fragments/Pleasant Green, The Listener and Bad Memories.

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11

2013 Olivier Awards

2013-Olivier-Awards

26 March 2013 : She’s nominated!

CONGRATULATIONS to Nicola on being nominated in the category of Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the 2013 Olivier Awards!!!

Nicola has been nominated for her role as Judy, Christopher’s mother in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. She is recognised as having given a “moving and heart-wrenching performance” during the Play’s initial run at the National Theatre’s Cottesloe Theatre in 2012. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time has earned 8 nominations, the most number of nominations in the 2013 Olivier Awards. Read the press release HERE. Nicola and Luke Treadaway (as Christopher) are the only cast members who earned acting nominations. For all information which we have collected on this Play when Nicola was still involved, go HERE. You can check out a full list of the 2013 nominees in all categories HERE.

©Manuel Harlan / Royal National Theatre

©Manuel Harlan / Royal National Theatre

This is Nicola’s first nomination for an Olivier Award. Each of the four other actresses is a previous Olivier Awards nominee/winner so the competition in this category will be intense :

  • Anastasia Hille for The Effect
  • Cush Jumbo for Julius Caesar
  • Helen McCrory for The Last of the Haussmans and
  • Janie Dee for NSFW
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    The Olivier Awards are the most prestigious theatre related awards in the UK. Nicola has often said in the past that she considers herself a stage actress first who does occasional roles on TV. So this nomination must mean a lot for her. You can find out more about the history of the Olivier Awards and how the awards are voted on by going to The official Olivier Awards website.

    We have high hopes that Nicola will attend the award ceremony which will be held at the Royal Opera House, London on 28 April 2013.

    The play is still being staged at the West End. If you’re interested in going (even though Nicola is no longer involved), HERE is the theatre’s official website.

    28 April 2013 : She Won!!!

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    MANY MANY CONGRATULATIONS to Nicola. She’s won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her performance in the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. This award must mean a lot to her since she’s always considered herself a stage actress first who dabbles in TV work on the side.

    The 2013 Olivier Awards was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2. There was no direct telecast. It is difficult for us to understand the logic (of the power-that-be) of giving coverage to an awards show which celebrates visual arts only via an audio channel! After the actual ceremony finished, iTV broadcast only an edited highlights show for general viewers which was heavy on all the musical numbers but cut all of the speeches from the winners in the Drama category, with the exception of big names like Helen Mirren. You can view the full results on the official Olivier Awards homepage. Click on each category to see the names of the nominees and the winner in that category.

    Nicola’s acceptance speech

    Nicola was presented with her award by her Spooks co-star, Rupert Penry-Jones. The Awards was a bit of a Spooks Alumni meeting, as in addition to Rupert, Lara Pulver and Anna Chancellor were also there as presenters. In addition, Suranne Jones, Nicola’s co-star from Scott & Bailey was also there as a presenter.

    In the televised version of the Awards Ceremony, Nicola was allotted only 14 seconds of screen time. A fan has very helpfully uploaded this clip onto YouTube :

     

    The ever wonderful and resourceful @SofieB_, who was on the red carpet, also filmed this clip from the outdoor broadcast.

    We managed to tape Nicola’s acceptance speech off the BBC Radio 2 broadcast and present it here for your hearing pleasure. Warning : Nicola used one word which BBC Radio 2 felt might be offensive to some listeners. If you’re the easily offended type, then don’t click on this clip. The Olivier Awards and BBC Radio 2 own the copyright in this audio clip. No infringement is intended.

    9 August 2013

    Finally!!! The Official London Theatre channel on YouTube has put the clip of Nicola accepting her award on YouTube.

     
     

    Nicola pics at the event

    You can look in HERE for 28 pics of Nicola on the red carpet and back stage. You can also see Nicola on stage in this photo from the official Oliver Awards website. For copyright reasons, we can’t present those images here.

    Nicola’s dress

    You can find more information about the dress HERE and HERE. We said it on Twitter, and we’ll say it again here : whoever helped Nicola put together her look for awards night – hair, makeup + dress, brought out the beauty that is Nicola in real life. Thank you, kind sir/madam!

    Thank you, Ruth (@theoofoof) for finding the information on the dress for us. 🙂

    Turn the page to read press coverage after the awards ceremony.

     

    10

    Last Tango in Halifax Series 2

    Series-2

    For our coverage on Series 1 of this show, go HERE.
    For our coverage on Series 3 of this show, go HERE

    .

    Table of Contents

    Main Cast and other production details

    Production Updates

    Production Pics

    Press Coverage : Articles/interviews available online, Press Articles Gallery

    Episode Trailers, Characters Guide, Episode Guides, Reviews and Ratings

    Screencaps | Filming Locations | Awards and Nominations

    Fun Stuff – Script download, Fun Facts, Set visits, Wish List, Best Caption Competition

    Trivia, Six Degrees and DVD news

    Order from Amazon UK

    Order the Series 1 & 2 (Regions 2 and 4 compatible) DVDs from Amazon UK.

    1

    Christmas Diaries

    Christmas-Diaries

    Following the success of the Easter Diaries on BBC Radio 4 Extra earlier this year, producer Paul Arnold and writer Nick Warburton have teamed up again to produce the Christmas Diaries. This programme will be a series of 5 short episodes of about 5 minutes each, airing from Friday, 21 December 2012 until Thursday, 27 December 2012 (there will not be any broadcasts on Saturday and Sunday during this period), at just before 11 am and 9 pm GMT each day on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

    From producer Paul Arnold’s BBC Radio 4 Blog

    Like the earlier project, the idea was to re-tell the familiar story from the perspective of those involved, either well-known characters such as Joseph and Mary, or those from Nick’s imagination – a traveller on the Nazareth road, or one of Herod’s lawyers. And we wanted once more to do that in real time, hearing day by day how it might have felt for them, without our perspective coloured by the centuries in between.

    Nicola will voice the part of the Traveller, who meets Joseph and reflects on the past. Her episode will air on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Eve, Monday, 24 December 2012.

    If you cannot tune in at the appropriate time, you can always catch up on the BBC Radio iPlayer which does not have any geographic restrictions – you can listen to BBC radio programmes from anywhere in the world. (Look for this programme under “C” for the “Christmas Diaries”.)

    0

    2012 Advent Calendar is here!

    Once again, Liga has prepared for us an Advent Calendar, featuring the one and only Nicola Walker!

    You can view the 2012 Advent Calendar HERE.

    Want to see the 2011 Advent Calendar? Go HERE.

    Enjoy!

    2

    Prisoners Wives Series 2

    Prisoners' Wives S2

    Table of Contents

    Background information / updates and the announcement of an air date

    Links to the BBC’s Media Pack for this show, Episode Trailers, Episode Guides, Reviews, Ratings and Filming Locations

    Articles/interviews available online, Press Articles Gallery, Script Download, Awards and Nominations, Screencaps and Six Degrees

    Cast and other Production details

    Name Role
    Iain Glenn Paul Miller
    Kim Haines Sally Carman
    Karla Crome Aisling O'Connor
    Pippa Haywood Harriet Allison
    Anne Reid Margaret
    Nicola Walker DCI Jo Fontaine
    Polly Walker Francesca ("Fran") Miller
    Brief production details
    Name Role
    Julie Gearey Creator/Writer
    Tiger Aspect Productions Production Company
    BBC One transmission station

    The links above will take you to the individual actor’s or writer’s IMDb page. For more detailed information on the show, including guests in individual episodes and a full crew list, visit on the show’s IMDb page.

    Buy the DVD on Amazon UK

    Release date for the Region 2 DVD box set : 6 May 2013