Mark Benton
Kay, a questionable young psychic from Consett, County Durham, has the ability to see dead people. This not only earns her a few quid cash-in-hand down the local pub, but also lands her as the prime suspect in a murder enquiry.
Hope has a life-changing piano audition coming up — nerve-wracking at the best of times. Unfortunately, as a sufferer of social anxiety, it's going to take extraordinary courage to seek the help needed to pursue her dream.
A brand new feature-length documentary featuring new interviews with the cast and crew of Anna and the Apocalypse, produced exclusively by Second SIght Films for their 2-disc Blu-ray release of the movie.
Biopic of the British ice dancers and British, European, Olympic and World champions, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Frank Hathaway, a hardboiled private investigator, and his rookie sidekick Lu Shakespeare form the unlikeliest of partnerships as they investigate the secrets of rural Warwickshire's residents.
The story of a bustling and glamorous five star hotel at the centre of London society and a world at war.
A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven – at Christmas – forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other.
With her father the Duke banished and in exile, Rosalind and her cousin Celia leave their lives in the court behind them and journey into the Forest of Arden. There, released from convention, Rosalind experiences the liberating rush of transformation. Disguising herself as a boy, she embraces a different way of living and falls spectacularly in love.
The feel-good story of Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself—even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
A dramatised account of the early life and career of impressionist, comedian and actor Lenny Henry.
A group of passengers on a night train from France try to get some sleep, but the compartment quickly fills up and the possibility of sleep dwindles away. Then one of the passengers suddenly dies.
From the cliffs of the Isle of Wight to an abandoned swimming pool via a broken down lift in Lambeth, Peccadillo Pictures presents an eclectic mix of ten UK-set short films from scorching new British talent that depict LGBT characters in situations both funny and heart-rending, definitive and unique.
My Last Five Girlfriends traces the romantic journey of thirtysomething bachelor Duncan. As the film opens, the despondent Duncan is apparently preparing to take his own life, but not before taking the time to send a message to the last five women he dated. Taking the form of a whirlwind tour through Duncan World, the film is a comedic exploration of his failed relationships.
Luka Bartholomew cares for his bed-ridden mother in the run-down resort town of Porthpunnet. On his thirtieth birthday his mother hires a carer to give him a day off. On a wintry beach he meets Dan,another young man who lives in a camper van and shares his interest in art. Initially he sees Dan as a kindred spirit until Dan proves to be gay and makes a violent pass at him. Disillusioned and drunk,Luka meets middle-aged biker Phil,who gives him a pillion ride and offers to help him leave town. But by now Luka knows where his priorities lie.
Personal Affairs was a 2009 British television drama-comedy series, broadcast on BBC Three. It starred Annabel Scholey, Laura Aikman, Maimie McCoy and Ruth Negga as four City of London Personal Assistants looking for their lost friend Grace Darling.
The lives, loves and highs and lows of four members of the Women's Land Army working at the Hoxley Estate during World War II.
A documentary film crew follows the first carbon neutral, organic, vegetarian expedition ever to attempt the North Pole. Simultaneously Saving the Planet and getting into the Guinness Book of Records Brian and Mark hope to kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, they have never done anything like this before.
A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.
Drama about the secret life of Opportunity Knocks and Double Your Money presenter Hughie Green, based on the inside story from his family, friends and peers. It tells of the destructive power of success and celebrity from Green's earliest days as a child star, and explores what family and fatherhood meant to this iconic character, who harboured an explosive secret that would rock the entertainment world after his death in 1997.
Clash of the Santas is a heart-warming Christmas tale full of comedy, action that will rekindle everyone's belief in the power of Santa. The film sees Colin and Howie hot foot over to Lithuania to participate in a Santa convention.
A London tube driver considers pursuing a third fatal accident to collect a huge payout.
Britannia High is a British musical drama television series co-produced by Granada Television and Globe Productions for the ITV network. The series focused on the lives of a group of teenagers and their mentors at a fictional London theatre school. It aired on ITV and TV3 Ireland, premiering on 26 October 2008. The show starred Sapphire Elia, Georgina Hagen, Mitch Hewer, Rana Roy, Matthew James Thomas and Marcquelle Ward, as well as Adam Garcia as the dance mentor, Lorraine Pilkington as the music mentor and Mark Benton as the school principal and acting mentor. In addition to the main cast, the series featured cameo performances from Girls Aloud, Boyzone, Matt Willis and Gemma Bissix. Also, Aston Merrygold, lead singer of hit boyband JLS, auditioned for the role before his success in the boyband - but only made it to the final 16. George Ure who attended Mountview Academy also auditioned before his success in the Musical Wicked where he played Boq. Pixie Lott also auditioned as did Ed Sheeran and Danielle Peazer. The show featured an original soundtrack which was created by a team of pop producers and writers in the UK, led by Take That member Gary Barlow.
Memphis cop Lieutenant McKenzie is called in to investigate a series of strange deaths and wierd sightings following the resurrection of a murder victim from the 1950s(a local boy) who is brought back to life in modern times and tries to find his teenage sweetheart who is now aged 62 and also to seek revenge for his death.
Fallen Angel is an ITV series broadcast on 11–13 March 2007 based on the Roth Trilogy of novels by Andrew Taylor. It tells the story of Rosie Byfield, a clergyman's daughter, who grows up to be a psychopathic killer. It has a unique narrative that moves backwards in time as it uncovers the layers of Rosie's past.
In "City Lights", Howie and Colin witness a gangland shooting and have to join the Witness Protection Scheme, leading to the forced relocation of their families to London.
A police detective moves back to her hometown and immediately becomes embroiled in a murder investigation in which her married ex-lover is the chief suspect.
The gang return for their third adventure, this time on a trip to scatter Grace's mother's ashes on the Yorkshire Moors.
Set in a blighted, inner-city neighbourhood of London, Breaking and Entering examines an affair which unfolds between a successful British landscape architect and Amira, a Bosnian woman – the mother of a troubled teen son – who was widowed by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I'm with Stupid is a British television programme starring Paul Henshall and Mark Benton. The series was created by BBC Comedy North. Peter Keeley was series consultant and it was written by Danny Peak. The original pilot episode aired on BBC Three in March 2005. The main character, Paul, portrayed by disabled actor Paul Henshall, has cerebral palsy and Mark Benton's character, Sheldon, is a homeless man who Paul takes in to Bramble Lodge and offers him a place to stay. Bramble Lodge is a home for disabled people governed by Jean. The cast also includes Alan Martin as Graham, Kevin Davids as Syd, Cherylee Houston as Dorothy and Steve Edge as Sergeant Swithenback. The series aired from 10 September to 15 October 2006 on BBC Three.
The Booze Cruise is a series of three feature length comedy dramas written for British television by Paul Minett and Brian Leveson. In this episode the same characters go on a treasure hunt, and end up with their car being washed out to sea on a beach. Marcus (a businessman who deals with Dave's company) first appears in this episode.
Television drama based on a true story about a group of planespotters wrongly accused of being spies. 14 planespotters are arrested for behaving 'suspiciously' at an air base in Greece and are accused of being spies because of the telescopes, radio scanners and aircraft serial numbers they have in their possession. They plead their innocence but the farce turns into a nightmare when the group are held in squalid Greek prisons.
Rose Tyler meets a mysterious stranger called the Doctor, and realises Earth is in danger.
Investigative reporter Jack Parlabane stumbles across the aftermath of a murder scene in Edinburgh, and when he shows little sign of shock at the gruesome killing of a respected doctor, Detective Inspector McGregor suspects that he is the killer and Parlabane must clear his name.
Northern Lights is a 2006 comedy-drama. It is a spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special Christmas Lights. A sequel, City Lights, was broadcast in 2007. Also a Christmas special, Clash of the Santas, was broadcast in December 2008. It featured Colin and Howie taking a trip to Lithuania to represent the United Kingdom in a Santa convention. The main problem with this is that miserable Howie is picked as Santa, while true Christmas believer Colin is relegated to the role of cheerleading elf.
Offbeat sword-and-sandals comedy-adventure about three unlikely heroines (Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips) who set out to thwart a Roman invasion and save Celtic Britain in their own unique and outrageous style.
Catterick, aka Vic and Bob in Catterick, is a surreal 2004 BBC situation comedy in 6 episodes, written by and starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, with Reece Shearsmith, Matt Lucas, Morwenna Banks, Tim Healy, Mark Benton and Charlie Higson. The series was originally broadcast on BBC Three and later rerun on BBC2. Reeves has said that the BBC do not want another series of Catterick, though he may produce a spin-off centring on the DI Fowler character. Catterick is arguably Vic and Bob's darkest and most bizarre programme to date, balancing their typically odd, idiosyncratic comedy with some genuinely dark scenes. It plays like a darkly comic road movie, albeit full of Vic and Bob's bizarre, often inscrutable and frequently silly humour. Catterick is probably Vic and Bob's most uncompromising show since their notorious and frequently baffling 1999 sketch series Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer, from which most of the characters are taken. It is in some ways stylistically similar to their short film The Weekenders first broadcast in 1992 on British television as part of Channel 4's "Bunch of Five" series. The series is named after Catterick in North Yorkshire, Britain's largest army base. It is about 10 miles away from Darlington where Vic Reeves grew up. It is also about 20 miles away from Middlesbrough where Bob Mortimer grew up.
Robson Green and Mark Benton co-star in Christmas Lights, a one-off comedy drama for ITV1 centred on two lifelong friends who have always competed with each other. The festive season brings on new challenges and takes their rivalry to extremes resulting in the two friends forgetting what Christmas is really about. Can anything bring them to their senses?
A play about an ambitious young manager of a Dixons-style electrical warehouse who gets saddled with a 65-year-old re-trainee on a frenetic bank holiday.
In 14th Century England, this tale of murder and mystery follows a fugitive priest who falls in with a troupe of actors. As they Arrive in a small town, the actors encounter a woman bing sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft and murder. Discarding the expected bible stories, the actors stage a performance based on the crime. Through the performance of the play, they discover a mystery.
A sitcom set in a small pub in Manchester, “The Grapes”, where daily life is bound up in the issues of love, loneliness, and blocked urinals. Regular drinkers Joe and Duffy pass the time with landlord Ken and his police officer cronies.
The Booze Cruise is a series of three feature length comedy dramas written for British television by Paul Minett and Brian Leveson. The first episode in the series was first shown on ITV in 2003. The three episodes have received mixed reviews, with the Radio Times describing it as "like comedy in 1973" and also "you can see each joke a mile off", but generally liking the show.
The Second Coming is a two-part British television drama first screened on ITV in the United Kingdom in February 2003. It concerns the realisation of Steve Baxter that he is in fact the Son of God, and has just a few days to find the human race's Third Testament and thus avert the Apocalypse. It was written by Russell T Davies, and produced by the independent Red Production Company. The programme was originally commissioned as four one-hour episodes by Channel 4 in 1999; however, when new executives took over running the drama department at that channel, they decided not to pursue the project. Davies and Red's founder Nicola Shindler took the project to the BBC, who quickly turned it down; it found a home on ITV, a channel that had gained a reputation for producing mainstream, unchallenging, "middle-of-the-road" drama in recent years. Screened over two successive evenings in prime time on Sunday and Monday, 9–10 February 2003, The Second Coming gained viewing figures of over six million. Davies, who is an atheist, has said his intention was to provoke debate and get people thinking about religion.
Penny works at a supermarket and Phil is a gentle taxi-driver. Penny’s love for Phil has run dry and they lead joyless lives with their two children, Rachel, a cleaner, and Rory, who is unemployed and aggressive.
John Simm stars in this adaptation of Dostoyevsky's tragic masterpiece - a profound drama of redemption and a thrilling detective story of the soul.
Combat Sheep is a heart warming Christmas story of four army mascots who have been made redundant due to military cutbacks and are jettisoned into the cold to face civvie life and it’s bleak options on offer.
Murphy's Law is a BBC television drama starring James Nesbitt as an undercover police officer, Tommy Murphy.
This is a dramatisation of the real-life investigation into the notorious Yorkshire Ripper murders of the late 1970s, showing the effect that it had on the health and career of Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield who led the enquiry.
Barbara is a British sitcom starring Gwen Taylor in the title role. A pilot was broadcast in 1995, and three series were then televised from 1999 to 2003. It was made by Central Television, and filmed at their Lenton Lane studios in Nottingham in front of a live studio audience. The majority of location scenes for the series were filmed in various suburbs of Nottingham, including Mapperley and West Bridgford, with other scenes filmed around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Despite winning awards and respectable viewing figures, it was axed by ITV in 2003.
A young boy's dream of finding his dead father comes true when his father visits him as an angel. But things turn sour when he discovers that his father was not the hero he imagined him to be.
After their production "Princess Ida" meets with less-than-stunning reviews, the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan is strained to breaking. Their friends and associates attempt to get the two to work together again, which opens the way to "The Mikado," one of the duo's greatest successes.
Xavier Lombard is a world-weary private eye in London, in exile from his native Paris; his best friend is Nathalie, a high-class call girl. He gets a call from an old friend from the Paris police department, now a businessman whose brother-in-law is missing. The missing man's parents hire Xavier over their daughter's objections, and quickly he finds himself in the realm of children's sexual slavery.
Two young women reunite and rekindle their friendship after having said goodbye at their college graduation, six years earlier.
Comedy drama. Retired Lord Chancellor Bill Webster decides to sell his memoirs to a tabloid newspaper in order to save his crumbling Cornish house. The Prime Minister wants to stop him as he believes the government will fall if his book is published. One of Bill's old girlfriends, now the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, is sent to try and stop him, but also on his trail is a tabloid journalist who senses a scoop.
Adaptation of Catherine Cookson's novel. In mid-19th century Yorkshire, Hannah Boyle is left with the family of Matthew Thornton, the man her dying mother claims fathered her. Ill-treated by Thornton's bitter and vindictive wife Anne, who views Hannah only as evidence of her husband's infidelity, she is married off to the village butcher, whose waspish mother torments her further. But through her patience, intelligence and strength, she wins her freedom and the man she loves.
Political satire closely mirroring real-life British politics of the time - a self-serving Conservative minister "crosses the floor" to join the opposition Labour Party, at a time when the Conservative Party has a majority in Parliament of just one seat. Sequel to A Very Open Prison.
There's No Business... is a 1994 British partially improvised comedy film directed by Kevin Molony and produced by Claudia Lloyd for Prospect Pictures. It stars Raw Sex (Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron) as Ken Bishop and his stepson Duane, and Lee Cornes as their musical agent Dickie Valentino, in their attempt to remake a track by Ken's old band, 'The Nice Twelve' for a TV advert for 'Pinkies', a brand of kitchen gloves made by Mort Clayton (Mac McDonald). Alexander Armstrong (Tim) and Sam Graham (Fergus) work for the fictional advertising agency Sprote and Sprote. The film takes its name from the 1954 film There's No Business Like Show Business which itself borrowed the 1946 song of the same name by Irving Berlin, written for the musical Annie Get Your Gun.
When Tim becomes a courier for the app Wallaby, he reckons he can turn his life around: get fit, earn some money, and even get laid. He’s not accounted for his own haplessness, an antique teapot collection, and a sinister conspiracy.
