News Archive 2010

28th December

1. New additions to the Robin Hood Promotional Pics gallery as follows: series1-06, series1-13, series1-15, series2-18, series2-28, series3-50 and some pictures are now available in larger versions. To see the new pictures you may need to press F5 to refresh each page of the gallery if you have visited it recently.

2. The Impressionists Promotional Gallery has been re-created with larger pictures and some new additions.

3. New poll on the left-hand side. You may use all or a combination of many of those online tools to read news about Richard, but which one do you access first? Previous poll results are here.

4. Lady Enigma has made a new Guy of Gisborne wallpaper which you can see on the Gisborne wallpapers page. Click the thumbnail image to enlarge.

 

24th December

There’s a Christmas message from Richard on Annette’s site RichardArmitageOnline. Go read it and Merry Christmas to all!

 

23rd December

Strike Back in Germany: all 6 episodes of Strike Back will be shown on RTL2 on 26 and 28 January 2011. The BBC Germany site has a lot of details about the production, some new pictures and schedule information – click the headings at the top. I will put the new pictures into the gallery later today. Thanks to CDoart for the email, who received a promotional email from BBC Germany with this image included (click to enlarge):

2. The BBC Entertainment channel is showing the whole of Robin Hood series 2 on Christmas Day and Boxing Day starting at 12.00pm in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. I haven’t checked all countries so click on the link to see if your country is showing it. Thanks to MillyMe for the email.

3. There are 24 new pictures in the Spooks promo gallery from series 7 and they are all in extra large size: #719, #723, #725, #726, #728, #730, #732, #737 – #742, #744, #745, #747, #748, #756, #757, #762, #764, #765, #769, #770. Thanks to the Russian RA site for sharing with us.

To view the larger size, click ‘original image’ in the corner and click again to zoom to the large size. You may need to press F5 to refresh each gallery page if you have visited the gallery recently and the new pictures aren’t showing. There are now 6 pages in this gallery.

 

22nd December

1. James Nesbitt who is playing Bofur in The Hobbit has been quoted in The Sun and Digital Spy. He says he’ll be off to New Zealand in January to start a month’s “Dwarf training”, learning sword fighting and horse riding. Presumably Richard will be doing the same although his Hood Academy training will help!

Update: in an interview with Moviefone, James says that Richard will be joining him for dwarf training, that he’s filming for a year with time off in the summer and there will be more filming for him in 2012.

2. Robin Hood series 3 will be shown again in Australia starting 9 January on UKTV. Click here for the schedule.

3. As reported on 14 December, The Impressionists will be shown tonight at 8.00pm on the Viasat History channel. Nadia has reported that it is also showing in Russia starting tonight at 10.00pm and repeated each Thursday at 6.00am and 2.00pm. Check this TV schedule to see what time The Impressionists starts in your country if you receive Viasat History.

4. Amazon UK are now showing the cover for Spooks series 9 – click thumbnail below to enlarge. The release date is still set for 28 February 2011. Click on the small video image on the Amazon page to see a preview of the DVD extras, with clips of Richard.

5. The abridged audiobook of Georgette Heyer’s Venetia is now available for download from Audible.com who are also offering it at a reduced rate if you take part in their special offer. Listen to Richard’s interview about Venetia here (released 2 March 2010).

6. Thanks to Veritas for permission to embed three of her videos on our Videos page: You’ve Stolen Our Hearts, Sir Guy’s Lament and Breaking Inside.

7. All episodes of Robin Hood series 1-3 are showing in Belgium on digital TV channel 8 at the moment, every week day at 6.00pm. Thanks to Anne for the email.

 

21st December

1. Nine new pictures have been added to the Spooks Promo gallery from series 8 and they are all in extra large size: #804, #806, #809, #810, #814, #822, #823, #825, #828

There are also five existing pictures in the gallery which have been updated to a larger size: #801, #802, #805, #808, #816, #820, #826, #829

To view the larger size, click ‘original image’ in the corner and click again to zoom to the large size. You may need to press F5 to refresh each gallery page if you have visited the gallery recently and the new pictures aren’t showing.

2. Spooks series 8 will be broadcast in France from January 10th, 2 episodes each Monday at 8:50pm on Canal+ (time to be confirmed next week). You can view a promo clip on the Canal+ website. Thank you to Céline for this information.

 

20th December

Two more additions to the Strike Back promo gallery courtesy of Bccmee. The last two images are the new ones and can be enlarged to extra large size.

19th December

1. The Mail Online has posted a picture of Lucas North and Sarah Caulfield alongside their article about security for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Read the article here.

2. New additions to the Strike Back promo gallery: #4, #5, #15, #18 and #19 which is also available in extra large size.

3. Miss Marple: Ordeal by Innocence is showing on the Hallmark channel in the Netherlands at 10.55am local time tomorrow. Thanks to @mysteriousred via twitter.

 

18th December

New poll on the left-hand side, thanks for voting. Based on the previous poll results, I’ll be choosing a picture of Richard for the Christmas Day pic of the day. Suggestions gratefully received.

 

15th December

1. BBC America showing Vicar of Dibley today. Starting at 12.00pm ET BBC America are showing ‘The Handsome Stranger’ episode and ‘The Vicar in White’ episode back to back. Link to BBC America’s 12 days of Christmas schedule.

2. New poll on the left-hand side. Tell me who you would like to see in the picture of the day on Christmas Day – as I can’t decide! I’ve only listed the most popular characters to narrow down the vote. Previous poll results are here.

3. The North and South DVD is available to buy on region 4 format with Portuguese subtitles from the Livraria Cultura shop. Thanks to @moyarte on twitter.

 

14th December

1. During an interview with Marvel Studios President of Production, Kevin Feige, it’s been revealed that they are currently working on the Captain America trailer and it will be released in the new year. Further details on Screenrant.com

2. Amazon.com customers can order Moving On: Drowning not Waving as a $1.99 download from Amazon’s Video On Demand service. Thanks to Juanita for the email.

3. Good news for German viewers: Strike Back will be shown on RTL2 on 26 January at 8.15pm. Thanks to Luna.

4. The Impressionists in Hungary: this 3 part series will be shown each week starting Wed 22 Dec at 8.00pm on the Viasat History channel. Thanks to Zsuzsanna.

 

13th December

Added some artwork to the site today: two Lucas North wallpapers by Bccmee and a pencil & charcoal drawing of John and Margaret by Olde-Fashioned. Many thanks ladies.

 

9th December

1. New Guy of Gisborne artwork added to the Artwork page, with thanks to Rinter.

2. There’s a short but funny quote from Richard in this week’s Woman’s Weekly magazine about school nativity plays. Thanks to Jackiwi for the email.

3. Richard appears briefly in the latest BBC iPlayer advert but this is only available to UK viewers. Bccmee has uploaded it to youtube here.

 

8th December

Inspector Lynley on Dutch TV: the episode with Richard, In Divine Proportion, will be shown on Dutch TV channel Ned1 on Wednesday 12th January at 9.30pm. Thanks to Linda for the info.

7th December

1. Spooks in Serbia: Spooks series 7 started on the Serbian television channel RTS 1 last night (Monday). More information on the RTS website with a translated version here. Thanks to Karima for the email.

2. As confirmedby head of Sky drama Elaine Pyke on 10 November, it does seem that Richard will be in some episodes of Strike Back but not all. There are no more details as yet. Today this was confirmed again by David Stephenson, TV Editor of the Sunday Express on twitter: “For Richard Armitage fans, Sky says actor is in “some” episodes of Strike Back 2, but not all.”

3. Added a digital painting of Gisborne to the Artwork page, thanks to Silverwing24. Comments can be left on this page or on her deviantart.com page.

 

4th December

Spooks in Israel: thank you to Na’ama for the news that all nine series of Spooks are about to be shown on Israeli television starting 12 December. Here is the website with more information, and here it is again in translation.

 

3rd December

1. Spooks series 7 and 8 in Australia: Series 7 starts on Tuesday at 9.30pm on UKTV. Click for the UKTV Listings. Thanks to Ann for the email. A reminder that Spooks series 8 episode 6 is on Saturday 8.30pm on ABC1.

2. On 1st Dec the campaign for ActionAidUK was launched with a voiceover from Richard. The youtube clip is now embedded on our 2010 Advertisements page with all the other voicework that Richard has done this year – there’s quite a lot! He’s also recorded another jewellery advert for the radio with a Christmas theme that I heard in the car the other day but I haven’t been able to capture it (yet).

3. Anne Rice has mentioned Richard and other British actors with regard to casting of her novels in a couple of recent interviews: The Vulture Transcript and chuckpalahniuk.net

1st December

1. Today’s blog from Naxos Audiobooks has a comment about Richard’s popularity as an audiobook reader:

“Richard Armitage has been, without a doubt, the single most popular reader on Naxos AudioBooks this year. Listeners on both sides of the Atlantic, Australia and elsewhere too, have been homing in on his recordings of Georgette Heyer. We hope that more will come next year… but it is dependent upon his availability as he is about to disappear to New Zealand for months on end to film The Hobbit. Nevertheless, we at the Naxos AudioBooks office would like to thank the kind anonymous person who, every time we release a new Armitage/Heyer audiobook, sends us a rather fine box of Belgian chocolates as a gesture of gratitude. We appreciate it!”

2. Richard has provided the voiceover for ActionAidUK’s latest campaign – ‘Sponsor a child’. Watch it on the ActionAidUK youtube channel.

29th November

The English Touring Theatre had a few enquiries about The Rover on twitter since their message on 26th Nov (see below). Today they have responded as follows: “No final casting/tour dates for The Rover yet, it’s still in the early stages of development. We’ll keep you posted as and when it firms up!”

 

27th November

Updated the Biography page and the RA on DVD page today. Spooks series 8 is available to pre-order from Amazon US for $27.99. It is released on 25th January 2011. The Convenient Marriage audiobook is now available to order from iTunes for £10.95 or $17.95 (US). The Lords of the North audiobook can be ordered online from AudioGo Ltd at a cost of £22.99 plus £3.50 postage & packing (for UK delivery). Most of the other DVDs are reduced in price since the last time I updated that page.

 

26th November

1. A message from the English Touring Theatre has just popped up on twitter: “Great read-through of The Rover with Richard Armitage yesterday! Positive feed back and things are looking good!” You can view their twitter entry here (you don’t have to be a member of twitter to see it). The ETT produces and performs plays around England – more information on the ETT website.

2. Screencaps from the Spooks 9 DVD trailer are here in the gallery. See yesterday’s news for links to the trailer on Amazon.

3. There’s a new picture of Guy which I’ve put in the Robin Hood Promo gallery although it’s actually a photo manip from series 1 episode 5 ‘Turk Flu’, created by Karima. Here is the original picture. Inventive use of an extra sack there! Thanks to Karima for sharing this.

4. Pictures from the Old Vic 24 Hour plays have been added to the screencap gallery.

 

25th November

1. There’s a new page on the site covering all the news relating to the 24 hour plays gala held at the Old Vic last Sunday evening, including scans of the programme (thank you to Hazelb for these) and a clip recently uploaded on to youtube: 24 hour plays page.

2. Amazon have a trailer advertising the extras on the Spooks 9 DVD and there’s a few shots of Richard talking to camera and playing Lucas North. You can watch it on the Amazon UK site (click the video thumbnail under the DVD picture). Or watch the youtube clip that was uploaded from the Amazon clip.

3. The Culture Show on BBC2 reported on the events of last Sunday at the Old Vic theatre in London. Watch the clip on the 24 hour plays page and there are three screencaps which you can enlarge if you click on them.

 

24th November

Added a watercolour painting of John Thornton to the Artwork page courtesy of ManderFFA. Click on the deviantart link above the painting to see more of her artwork.

 

22nd November

1. Richard appeared at The Old Vic’s 24 hour plays gala yesterday evening in a play entitled ‘The Third Wish’, written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Charlie Westenra. Richard’s co-stars were Miranda Raison, Niamh Cusack and Debbie Chazen. Pictures from the event are here on Getty’s site and here on Wooller.com. You can read all about the play and the after show party at the Feigned Mischief blog. Thanks to @feignedmischief who was an avid twitterer and fantastic at keeping us up-to-date with the news. In the event’s programme, Richard said that he was dedicating the evening to the late Betty Pattison (see 20th Nov for information about his tribute at her memorial).

2. A couple of people have asked what is the age range of those who visit this site, so there’s a poll now on the left-hand side. Please vote.

3. There is an article in today’s Evening Standard about the 24 hour plays held last night, reporting that over £100,000 was raised. Click on the small thumbnail of Richard to see his picture. Here is a copy of the print edition of the Evening Standard available this evening.

 

21st November

1. Thank you to the Russian RA site who have found a copy of the picture of Lucas in series 8 that appeared in The Age newspaper (see news 18th Nov). We have added it to our Spooks Promo gallery.

2. There is confirmation that Richard is attending the 24 hour plays gala at the Old Vic thanks to the German RA forum. As mentioned on the 19th Nov below, clips of this event will be shown on BBC2′s The Culture Show on Thursday. He is also mentioned in an article just published on the Independent’s online site.

3. Added three new pictures to the Artwork page courtesy of GiztheGunslinger – one drawing of John Thornton and two of Richard. Thanks G!

 

20th November

1. Annette from RichardArmitageOnline has more information on her website about Richard’s tribute to Betty Pattison, which was played in a recording on Friday 19th November in Coventry Cathedral (further details – see news 18 November below).

2. Some more artwork added to two of our icons pages: 15 Gisborne icons and 5 Richard icons. Many thanks to Nim for sharing these.

 

19th November

1. Richard is appearing in the 24 hour plays gala at The Old Vic theatre in London this weekend according to the Evening Standard and IndieLondon (see news 1st and 2nd November for more info). There will be highlights from this event on BBC2′s The Culture Show next Thursday 25th November at 7.00pm. I will post a clip of this shortly after it is broadcast.

2. The international release schedule for Captain America: The First Avenger has been released – find your country’s release date  on Marvel.com. The USA and Canada will have it first on 22 July, the UK on 29 July.

3. Richard is featured in an article on BestWeekEver.tv, a site affiliated with MTV and VH1: ‘this British actor is quickly becoming THE IT ACTOR in England’. Thanks Olga for the email.

 

18th November

1. ‘The Age’ newspaper produced in Melbourne, Australia has reviewed Spooks series 8 episode 4, which airs on Saturday at 8.30pm on ABC1. The review is on the Spooks Reviews page with a slightly different picture of Lucas from those we’ve seen before. Thanks to Ann for the scan.

2. Richard has recorded a eulogy to be played during the memorial service for Betty Pattison, founder of Pattison College, Coventry. The memorial will take place tomorrow evening in Coventry Cathedral. Read more from the Coventry Telegraph.

 

17th November

Thanks to agenoria for the scan from the Leicester Mercury announcing the casting of Richard in The Hobbit. Read it on the Hobbit career page.

 

16th November

1. The new Hyundai advert with voiceover from Richard can be watched or downloaded via the 2010 Adverts page.

2. Spooks series 7 will be broadcast on KCTS 9 starting Saturday 18th December at 10.00pm. This station can be received in Washington State, USA and also British Columbia, Canada. Thanks to Audrey for the email.

 

15th November

1. BBC Entertainment Europe is showing North and South episode 1 tomorrow evening. Click for the TV Schedule, click on ‘Tuesday’ and change the ‘time zone’ box to your country to see what time it starts. Thanks to Naama for the email.

2. Richard has provided the voiceover for a new Hyundai advert. Hopefully I will catch it soon and will upload it to the site. Thanks to those who have emailed and texted.

 

14th November

1. A Richard Armitage 2011 calendar and a Lucas North 2011 calendar are now available on the 2011 Calendars page (now archived). A John Porter calendar will be available soon. Print for personal usage only and mix and match the months as you like.

2. We often link to the blog ‘pauseliveaction’ for their Spooks reviews, and the review for episode 8 is now up (due to blogger being on holiday!) Read it here.

 

13th November

1. Jessie has sent us some lovely signatures one of Lucas ‘who are you?’ and another of Richard wearing his cap. If you’d like to leave a comment about any artwork on the site, you will find a comments form at the bottom of each artwork page.

2. There’s a new poll on the left-hand side about series 9 of Spooks. Previous poll results are here.

 

12th November

I’ve had a request to upload a specific clip from Spooks series 9 episode 8, but I won’t reveal which bit here in case some people are still avoiding spoilers. You can watch or download the clip from the Spooks 9 downloads page.

 

11th November

New large high resolution pictures added to the Outside Radio 1 4th May 2010 gallery (the last 7 pictures) and a new gallery of pictures taken outside the ITV Studios on 17 September 2010. You can see them in full size by clicking on a picture then click ‘original image’ in the bottom corner – click again to view the full size. With thanks to Cesta. The interviews with Richard on those dates can be viewed or downloaded from the Spooks 9 downloads page.

 

10th November

1. Joe Johnston, director of Captain America: The First Avenger, has commented on the recent publicity photos from the film. Of the photo of Richard in the submarine, he says ‘The submarine was built by Paul Corbould’s team of special effects technicians. It can actually dive and resurface, travels at 12 knots, has a watertight compartment for the actor, Richard Armitage, who plays a very convincingly evil spy, Heinz Kruger.’

The full size high resolution version of this picture is on the Captain America page.

2. Strike Back series 2 news: Elaine Pyke, head of drama on Sky1 has confirmed that Strike Back will be back “bigger and better”. When asked specifically about Richard she said that Richard will be in it in some way, but then the series will have two new leads who’ll take the action to new heights. No other details available at this time. This information courtesy of  Nietzsche from the C19 forum.

3. There’s an article about casting for The Hobbit in Empire magazine’s December issue. Read it on the Hobbit career page.

4. The Russian TV channel FoxCrime is currently showing Spooks series 7 on Thursdays at 9.55pm. Details on the FoxCrime site (translated version here, although ‘Spooks’ translates to ‘Ghosts’) with a nice picture of Lucas and Ros plus a video clip. There was a quote from Richard about the series showing in Russia – see news 6th October below item #3.

 

9th November

1. Spooks s9 episode 8 screencaps have been created and are in two galleries: Episode 8 standard size and Episode 8 high resolution. The latter is a smaller gallery of what I think are the best pictures. The episode was broadcast on BBC1 HD last night and although the programme was not recorded in high definition, it was upscaled to HD resolution. Click on an image and then click ‘original image’ to see the full HD size. You can download all the standard size images from the Spooks 9 downloads page.

2. Reviews of the Spooks series 9 finale are here (spoilers obviously):

• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘After a brilliant script last week, we were back to bonkers amounts of exposition’
• The Metro – ‘it was so desperately sad and gripping in equal measure that it would be a crime not to commission another series.’ Did the reviewer not see the caption at the end saying there will be a series 10 in 2011?
• The Arts Desk – ‘His aquiline curtness was reminiscent of Timothy Dalton’s James Bond, and he was able to project a more convincing deadliness than such predecessors as Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones, too Nick-and-Dave for comfort) or Ros Myers…’
• Den of Geek – ‘to make the leading man the main bad guy of a entire show is brave and, in my opinion, pays off. Well, for the most part.’
• Unpopcult – ‘Richard Armitage and the incredible Nicola Walker making their scenes together tragically believable and gripping’
• Daemon’s TV – ‘The Lucas/Ruth interaction was fascinating to watch, especially when intercut with those unstable flashbacks that made Lucas look even more unhinged’

3. On 2nd November (see news below) I received a scan from What’s on TV magazine which I have now posted on the Spooks Reviews page (scroll to 2nd Nov). This has spoilers for episode 8 of Spooks. Thanks to Jen for the scan.

 

8th November

1. Two previews of the last episode of Spooks series 9 showing at 9pm tonight. Both have spoilers, but if you’ve already read the BBC episode synopsis then they don’t give anything else away. The episode will be shown on BBC1 and also the new BBC1 HD channel.

• The Mirror –  ‘This might just be the best Spooks finale ever’
• The Guardian – ‘The preview disc comes with a note requesting we don’t give away the ending’

There is a preview of Spooks episode 8 on the BBC Spooks site and also on youtube.

2. There is a new poll on the left-hand side asking if you have read The Hobbit or if you are planning to do so now that Richard has been cast as Thorin Oakenshield. Thanks for voting. Previous poll results are here.

3. Two scans have been added to the Spooks reviews page from the Daily Mail Weekend magazine and the Sunday Express S magazine, both of which preview tonight’s episode. Do not read if you are avoiding all spoilers. Thanks to Jen for the scans.

4. Vicky Frost’s review of Spooks 9 episode 8 in her Guardian blog – episode spoilers obviously.

 

7th November

Three sound files have been requested, so these have now been added to the sound player – press the ‘play’ button to listen. You can also download all the sounds from that page. The three newest sound clips are at the top – a line from The Vicar of Dibley, a snippet from Richard’s interview on GMTV on 17 September (a download of this interview is on the Spooks 9 downloads page) and the ‘close your eyes’ clip from Spooks series 9 episode 3.

If you have any particular sound clip requests, email Ali at [email protected]“>[email protected]This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

6th November

1. Spooks series 8 DVD release in the US and Canada: the series 8 DVD is due to be released on 25th January 2011 according to BBC Canada and BBC America. The extras on this DVD are the same as those on the UK (region 2) DVD –  two episode commentaries and two behind-the-scenes featurettes. Richard isn’t in much of the extras – blink and you’ll miss him I’m afraid. Thanks to Lynn and Susmita for the emails.

2. Miss Marple: Ordeal by Innocence in which Richard played Philip Durrant is on ITV3 this evening at 6pm. Our screencap gallery is here and there is an episode summary and links on the Miss Marple career page.

 

5th November

1. The Daily Mail has an interview with Richard about Spooks today – warning: spoilers and dodgy journalism (no mention of Richard’s Captain America or Hobbit projects, nor the fact that Sophia Myles is engaged to be married). Please don’t read this if you want to remain spoiler free about the ending of Spooks.

I’ve now added a scan of the Daily Mail interview from the print edition to the Spooks Reviews page. Thanks to Jen for the scan. SPOILERS.

2. There is a preview of Spooks episode 8 on the BBC Spooks site and also on youtube. SPOILERS.

 

4th November

1. Further to the 2011 calendar news yesterday, we’ve also decided to create a John Porter calendar using HD pictures. This will be on the site next week.

2. Dawn French was on the ITV1 show ‘Loose Women’ today. She was asked whether there will be another Vicar of Dibley in the future and there was a very brief complimentary mention of Richard. You can view the clip on ITV Player here and scroll to 40 minutes 30 seconds. Apparently this is just for UK residents, so here’s an mp4 clip. Thanks to KK for the email.

 

3rd November

1. Spooks series 8 in Atlanta: the local public television station in Atlanta, GA (PBA 30) is showing Spooks series 8 episode 1 tomorrow night at 10pm, and it’s repeated on Friday at 11pm. Thanks to Gail for the email.

2. Fictional Frontiers, a show on a Philadephia radio station interviewed Larry Curtis, senior contributor to TORn (www.theonering.net) a few days ago. They discussed the casting Richard Armitage as Thorin and you can listen to the extract on the Hobbit career page.

3. I’ve had a few queries about 2011 calendars, so just to let you all know that there will be a Lucas North calendar and also a generic Richard Armitage calendar available to print from this site soon. Just waiting for Spooks to finish.

 

2nd November

1. More reviews of Spooks episode 7 with spoilers:

• Unpopcult – ‘all bravura work from Nicola Walker, Peter Firth and Richard Armitage which made this hard to watch but impossible not to’
• Pauseliveaction – ‘As usual with Spooks, I’m left with more questions than answers, which is why I love it so much.’
• thisisleicestershire.co.uk – ‘Spooks keeps up breathless pace over Lucas’ shady past’
• Daemon’s TV – ‘the final ten minutes hit us like a ton of bricks’

2. Here’s a high resolution picture of Richard as Heinz Kruger sitting in the HYDRA sub. You can just about see that it’s him now (click to enlarge). Other pictures and news can be found on the Captain America career page. Thanks to the Richard Armitage Spanish forum for the picture.

3. Ian Wylie has posted his blog on the last episode of Spooks. Mild spoilers. Life of Wylie blog ‘Richard Armitage’s finest hour’

4. I’ve been sent scans from What’s on TV magazine which I’m told have huge spoilers in them for next week’s episode of Spooks series 9, but I’m afraid I’m cannot put them on the site as that would mean I’d see the spoiler. Apologies for that but I don’t want to be spoiled for the last episode, especially since last week this magazine revealed far too much for episode 7. They will be put up after the episode airs next Monday.

5. Screencaps for Spooks 9 episode 7 are now in the gallery and a download of all the screencaps can be obtained from the Spooks downloads page.

6. The IndieLondon site has a report on the Old Vic’s 24 hour plays on 21st November, with a picture of Richard as John Porter and more information about the event and other participants.

 

1st November

1. A scan of the Entertainment Weekly article about casting of The Hobbit is now on the Hobbit career page. Thanks to Bccmee for the scan.

2. Two short previews of Spooks episode 7 which will be shown on BBC1 at 9pm tonight – both contain big spoilers – The Mirror and What’s on TV.

3. According to the Evening Standard, Richard will participate in The Old Vic theatre’s fund-raising event, the ’24 Hour Plays Celebrity Gala’ on 21 November 2010. Details about this event are at The Old Vic’s website although Richard’s name is not mentioned here. Cast cannot be confirmed, according to the site, “…due to the nature of the event, the cast and company may change up until the date of the performance.”

4. The BBC have uploaded a clip from tonight’s episode of Spooks on youtube. Watch it here – spoilers obviously and a jaw dropping moment.

5. Scans from the Entertainment Weekly article about Captain America: The First Avenger are on the Captain America career page. Many thanks again to Bccmee for these scans.

6. Reviews for Spooks 9 episode 7 (episode spoilers – do not read if you haven’t seen it yet)

• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘I’m on the edge of my seat.’
• Den of Geek – ‘the best hour of telly this week and by far the best episode of Spooks all season. Fantastic stuff, all laid out for next week’s blockbuster finale, and I can’t wait’
• Metro.co.uk – ‘tense and touching drama that played out between Harry and Lucas’

30th October

There are lots of new pictures in the Spooks Promo gallery, most of which are high resolution and extra large size. Press ‘original image’ in the bottom right corner and then click again on the picture to see the extra HUGE size. If you have visited thsi gallery recently, you may have to press F5 to refresh the screen if you cannot see the new pictures and/or page 5 of the gallery. There are 26 pictures for series 9 altogether – some may consider these mild spoilers.

 

29th October

Robin Hood in Hungary: series 2 starts this Sunday 31st October at 1.45pm on RTL Klub. Thanks to Marika for the email.

 

28th October

1. Some pictures from the Captain America movie have been released. One of the pictures shows Richard as Heinz Kruger in a submarine, but I’m afraid it’s not easy to see him! Pictures on ComicBookMovie.com.

2. The BBC One HD channel is being launched on 3rd November, which means that the last episode of Spooks series 9 will be broadcast on this channel on Monday 8 November at 9pm as well as BBC1. The programme will be upscaled to HD and I will be taking screencaps from this new HD channel so hopefully the quality of the pictures will be better than usual for this last episode.

3. Two new youtube videos have been embedded on to the Videos page with permission from the creator Elvira. They are both showreels demonstrating the range of Richard’s work. Enjoy! If you double-click a video it will open in youtube and you can leave a comment if you wish.

4. Four new promotional pictures for Spooks episode 7 are in the Spooks Promo gallery. Warning – some may consider these new pictures to be spoilerish! Press F5 to refresh the screen if you cannot see the new pictures.

5. Apologies if you’ve had difficulty leaving a guestbook message in the past. Previously registered users of this site may have encountered a problem with the guestbook but this is now fixed. (Registration on the site is now disabled as everything on this site is now available to all).

 

27th October

1. Peter Jackson explains his reasons for casting Richard as Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the company of dwarves in The Hobbit films on the EW Popwatch site. He says, “Thorin Oakenshield is a tough, heroic character, and he certainly should give Leggie and Aragorn a run for their money in the heartthrob stakes — despite being four feet tall”. Thanks to Martha for the email.

2. The Hobbit movies will be filmed in New Zealand. Reports now on BBC News and the TVNZ site.

3. Thanks to Ann for a scan from Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper. It gives a great review of Spooks series 8 episode 1 which is due to air this Saturday at 8.30pm on ABC1. Richard gets a lot of compliments in this article. Read it on the Spooks Reviews page.

4. arclarkpig has been having fun imagining Richard as Thorin Oakenshield and has created 2 bits of artwork for us to enjoy. They are on the Artwork page. Click the pictures to enlarge.

5. There’s a new picture of Lucas North on the BBC Spooks site for episode 7. Do not click the link if you are avoiding spoilers as the episode synopsis is right next to the picture. The picture is also in our Spooks Promo gallery.

 

26th October

1. Screencaps for Spooks 9 episode 6 are now in the gallery and a download of all the screencaps can be obtained from the Spooks downloads page.

2. Reviews for Spooks 9 episode 6 as follows (all include episode spoilers):

• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘he’s acting like a first-time internet user confronted with a Nigerian phishing scam’
• The Metro – ‘Once you get past the nonsense and melodrama, Spooks is still gripping’
• Den of Geek – ‘For the first time this series everything seems to be tying together’
• thisisleicestershire site – ‘You require a need for speed and a certain amount of intelligence to watch this superb spy drama.’
• Daemon’s TV site – ‘This episode was the least complicated of the series so far, and for good reason. Lucas’ turmoil more than made up for it’
• Unpopcult – ‘This was breakneck, heartstopping, utterly exhilarating stuff and I absolutely loved it.’
• Sam Wollaston of The Guardian – ‘The music’s so good too. If you had it for your ringtone would your life immediately become more exciting and glamorous?’

3. Ian Wylie has written a preview of Spooks episode 7 which contains the usual mild spoilers, some interesting teasers and reveals John’s last name.

4. Once again Spooks had excellent ratings last night peaking at 5.2 million viewers and beating ITV1′s Whitechapel. Details on the MediaTel site.

5. Richard gets another mention on the Digital Spy site today with regard to The Hobbit, which is apparently set to be the most expensive feature film ever made. The decision on where the filming will take place may be decided in the next 24-36 hours according to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, as reported on the BBC News site.

6. There is a huge spoiler in What’s On TV magazine about Lucas’s past which I wasn’t sure whether to put on the site, but after asking on twitter there seem to be enough people who want to read it. It’s a shame these magazines give it all away, ah well! I have put the scan on the Spooks Reviews page. Please do not click on the scan on that page unless you don’t mind spoilers – but this is a biggie! Thanks to Jen for the scan.

 

25th October

1. There’s a preview of tonight’s episode of Spooks in The Mirror and it is also one of tonight’s TV highlights in The Guardian. Do not read if you are avoiding spoilers.

2. The Hobbit parts 1 and 2 are now listed on Richard’s IMDB page.

3. Spooks series 8 starts in Australia this Saturday 30 October at 8.30pm on ABC1. Watch a preview on the ABC TV site and click here for program details.

4. The high viewing figures for Spooks series 9 was discussed on the BBC’s Points of View programme last night. You can watch it on BBC iPlayer if you are in the UK or watch the clip on the Spooks downloads page.

5. Reviews for Spooks 9 episode 6 as follows (all include episode spoilers).

• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘he’s acting like a first-time internet user confronted with a Nigerian phishing scam’
• The Metro – ‘Once you get past the nonsense and melodrama, Spooks is still gripping’
• Den of Geek – ‘For the first time this series everything seems to be tying together’

24th October

1. An article in the Sunday Express today announces Richard’s involvement in The Hobbit film and with quotes taken from previous interviews… and a few odd comments from the journalist too! This article is now on The Hobbit career page. Thanks to Jen for the scan.

2. The Daily Mail Weekend magazine has chosen Spooks episode 6 as its Pick of the Day for tomorrow. There’s a scan (thanks to Jen) on the Spooks Reviews page.

3. Jen has also sent a scan from the letters page of the ‘TV Guide’ magazine, in which they say that Strike Back 2 is expected late next year – how The Hobbit news will affect this, however, is yet to be seen. Read it on the Strike Back reviews page.

 

23rd October

1. More details about the two Hobbit movies: filming is due to start in February 2011 although filming locations are still not confirmed, and both movies will be filmed in digital 3D. This information from the TimeWarner press release 15 Oct 2010. Further details about the location dispute are on the Variety site. The film producers are set to meet with the New Zealand prime minister and other government officials early next week to discuss the issue.

2. Although Richard’s United Agents page has not updated yet with Captain America or Hobbit information, the main page of the United Agents site has announced the news that Richard has been cast as Thorin.

22nd October

1. Hobbit news

Richard Armitage has been cast in The Hobbit! He will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon.

Director Peter Jackson says ‘Richard is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakenshield. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle Earth is in such good hands’.

The film will be released in two parts in December 2012 and December 2013. Congratulations Richard! Thank you to all those who emailed me about this.

There are now hundreds of articles online – here’s a selection:

• Stuff.co.nz
• Entertainment Weekly
• Digital Spy and also In Pictures: Meet the ‘Hobbit’ cast
• Access Hollywood
• Hollywood Reporter
• BBC America – concentrating on Richard and Aidan Turner’s casting
• NZ Herald
• Deadline New York
• EOnline.com
• The Press Association (UK)
• Den of Geek
• indieLondon
• Monsters and Critics – with pictures of all the cast announced today
• Empire Online – ‘Richard Armitage appears to be on a hot streak’

BBC News site: reporting on the casting news, and the decisions still to be made about the filming location. New Zealand was the original choice, but co-creator Fran Walsh recently said that film producers ‘had people in the UK taking location photographs’.

There is now a career page for The Hobbit on this site where I will be collating all the news, links, pictures, etc as they arrive.

Articles in the British newspapers: The Guardian, The Mirror, Daily Express, The Telegraph, The Independent

Coventry Telegraph – with a couple of pictures of Richard as Guy of Gisborne

CBS News – reporting that shooting will start in February

2. Strike Back in Canada tonight: as reported below on 1st October, Strike Back episodes 1 and 2 will air on the Showcase channel today at 5pm then repeated again tonight at 10pm and Saturday at 2pm. Thanks to Marie for the email reminder.

21st October

1. There’s a picture of Lucas and a brief synopsis of Spooks episode 6 in What’s on TV magazine this week. Read it on the Spooks Reviews page – spoilers! Thanks to Jen for the scan.

2. The BBC Press office have released the synospis for the last episode of series 9 of Spooks. Huge spoiler warning on this one! If you don’t mind reading spoilers, then it’s here on the press office site.

3. There’s a new poll on the left-hand side asking whether you are reading the Spooks spoilers that are on the BBC press site (see #2 above) and in magazines. Thanks for voting. Here are the results of the previous poll.

20th October

1. The latest pictures promoting episode 6 of Spooks are now in the Spooks Promo gallery.

2. There’s an interview with Richard in this week’s Woman’s Weekly magazine, conducted whilst he was filming Spooks a few months ago. Similar answers that we’ve read before with just a couple of new bits of information. I’ve put a scan on the Interviews page. Thanks to JJ for the email.

19th October

1. Screencaps for Spooks 9 episode 5 are now in the gallery and a download of all the screencaps can be obtained from the Spooks downloads page.

2. Reviews for Spooks 9 episode 5 as follows (all include episode spoilers). The episode is repeated on Sunday 24th October at 11.25pm on BBC1.

• Den of Geek – ‘For all its tense situation, race against time and fast-paced action, this episode was essentially a filler’
• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘it’s a Spooks twist I totally didn’t see coming, and one that makes next week’s episode look pretty exciting’
• Metro – ‘it retains all the gloss and thrill that makes it so watchable’
• Independent – ‘it is done with terrific verve, and…there is at least a kernel of realism in the storylines’
• Pauseliveaction – ‘The episode benefited hugely from not having too much of the Lucas/John stuff in it’
• Daemon’s TV – ‘Overall, a good episode, if a little confusing yet predictable. The highlight of the entire thing had to be the end’
• Unpopcult – ‘A rather sombre, earnest episode this week’

3. There are two scans from today’s Radio Times magazine which features Spooks as its Pick of the Day for Monday 25 October. Read them on the Spooks Reviews page. Spoiler warning.

4. Read a preview of Spooks episode 6, light on spoilers, at Ian Wylie’s Life of Wylie blog. Three new pictures of Lucas too!

5. More people watched Spooks than Whitechapel last night, according to Digital Spy.

18th October

The Mirror has a review of Spooks episode 5, which is on BBC1 at 9pm tonight. There are spoilers in the article though. For a fairly spoiler-free review, read Ian Wylie’s Life of Wylie blog.

17th October

Richard on BBC1 today: Lost Land of the Tiger episode 2, which Richard narrated, at 5.10pm and Spooks series 9 episode 4 at 11.25pm.

16th October

Richard is interviewed in the Leicester Mercury newspaper today, which concentrates mostly on Spooks. Agenoria has kindly provided a scan of the interview. Read it on the Interviews page.

14th October

1. The BBC Press office has posted a synopsis for episode 7 of Spooks. Spoiler warning!

2. All news for September 2010 has been archived here.

12th October

1. Screencaps for Spooks 9 episode 4 are now in the gallery. All Spooks screencap downloads are on the Spooks downloads page.

2. Reviews for Spooks 9 episode 4 as follows (all include episode spoilers). The episode is repeated on Sunday 17th October at 11.25pm on BBC1.

• Pauseliveaction – ‘This was just the kind of Spooks epsiode I like’
• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘I suspect this instalment will get a rather better reception’
• Daily Express – ‘it’s impossible to watch Spooks without hoping that at least one of them is going to cop it’
• Daemon’s TV – ‘Lucas North, how little we know thee.’
• Unpopcult – ‘this eventually turned into a thrilling and, at times, unexpectedly hilarious episode of Spooks’

3. The ratings for last night’s Spooks are interesting. Whitechapel on ITV1 starring ex-spook Rupert Penry-Jones started with more viewers at 9pm but then lost out to BBC1 after 9.30pm, according to Mediatel.

4. New poll on the left asking if you will go and see Captain America next year. Thanks for voting. In the previous poll, The Lords of the North was voted as your favourite audiobook read by Richard – results here.

5. What’s on TV magazine has a couple of scans about Spooks episode 5, with one quote from a fan that ‘Richard Armitage is very dishy’. Is he? I hadn’t noticed Thanks to Jen for the scans.

6. Ian Wylie has written another ‘mild spoilers only’ preview of the next episode of Spooks. Read it on his Life of Wylie blog.

11th October

1. There is now a Captain America career page on this site, which has a summary of all the news relating to Richard’s involvement in this movie.

2. Spooks episode 4 is on at 9pm tonight BBC1. The BBC have posted this picture on their TV page to advertise the programme:

10th October

Richard is now listed as Heinz Kruger on the Captain America IMDB page.

8th October

1. Interesting interview in the Financial Times with Richard about money. Also on the Interviews page.

2. Interview from Marie Claire about Richard’s favourite telly. Man has impeccable taste – Blackadder is my favourite too Thanks to Man Wah and Margaret. Also on the Interviews page.

3. Another scan from Best. Interview with Laila Rouass with mentions of Richard. Thanks to Jen for this one. There’s a big SPOILER on this. Apologies I didn’t put that before.

7th October

1. The BBC Press Office has released the programme info for Spooks Episode 6. SPOILER ALERT as usual.

2. ABC TV in Australia have a Preview of Spooks here. Thanks to Jenny for the info

3. Woman’s Own have an interview and some pics with Richard about Spooks. It’s running off my photobucket account whilst Ali is off jaunting but will be uploaded upon her return. Thanks to ladyjuliana for the scan. Ali is back – it’s on the Spooks Reviews page.

6th October

1. You can now order the unabridged audiobook of The Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell here on the AudioGo website, rather than telephoning their customer service number. This audiobook is currently leading our poll for favourite audiobook read by Richard and is therefore highly recommended. Cost is £22.99 plus postage & packing. Thanks to Kaprekar for the email.

2. Miss Marple: Ordeal by Innocence will be shown on October 24th at 10.25pm on CTV Czech TV. Programme listing here and further details with a picture of cardigan-wearing Richard here. Thanks to Jonia for the email.

3. The Sun is reporting today that Spooks will be shown in Russia starting with series 7, the series that introduced Lucas North of course. There is also a quote from Richard in the article. We do not know yet when it will be broadcast.

4. There’s an interesting article in The Independent today about Spooks’ death rate, and yet ‘the pace of these episodes is audacious, relentless, unhinged. You don’t have time to grieve’.

5. Added two new promo pictures of Lucas in the Spooks Promo gallery. If you cannot see the ones numbered promo05 & promo06 then press F5 to refresh your screen.

6. The documentary Lost Land of the Tiger which Richard recently narrated, is repeated on BBC1 for the next three Sundays starting this Sunday 10th October at 5.05pm.

5th October

1. Screencaps for Spooks 9 episode 3 are now in the gallery.

2. Reviews for Spooks 9 episode 3 shown last night at 9pm on BBC1. The episode is repeated on Sunday 10th October at 11.25pm on BBC1.

• Pauseliveaction – ‘It’s time Lucas changed his route home, as Vaughn seems to be able to pop up with alarming regularity’
• Daemon’s TV – ‘a decent enough episode but nowhere near the greatness of episodes 1 and 2′
• Den of Geek – ‘once again, gripping stuff’
• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘This week’s Spooks hits the perfect balance of action, suspense and Harry pursing his lips – no wonder David Cameron’s a fan’
• Metro.co.uk – ‘Spooks insulted our intelligence’ Oh dear

3. Previews of Spooks episode 4 in What’s on TV magazine and the Radio Times on the Spooks Reviews page (spoilers).

4. Sound clip from episode 3 if anyone wants it for their phone  Closeyoureyes.mp3 (right click to save it or Ctrl-click on a Mac).

5. Preview of Spooks 9 episode 4 on Ian Wylie’s Life of Wylie blog. Mild spoilers. New picture of Lucas too:

6. IndieLondon.co.uk has just released an interview with Max Brown who plays Dimitri in Spooks. He discusses working on the show and Richard: ‘he’s so professional. His head is always in the game and he always knows what’s going on.’

 

4th October

1. Vicky Frost’s review of Spooks episode 3 is now on the Guardian online site.

2. Spooks episode 3 is on BBC1 tonight at 9pm. It’s been listed as a ‘TV highlight’ in The Guardian, The Telegraph, Metro.co.uk and in The Mirror.

 

3rd October

David Stephenson, TV Editor for the Sunday Express has just announced on Twitter that Spooks series 10 will be commissioned, confirmed by the head of drama at the BBC. View his tweet here. Excellent news!

 

1st October

1. Spooks series 8 in Australia: Good news for Spooks fans. The eighth series will start on Saturday 30th October at 8.30pm on ABC1. Thanks to Ann for the email.

2. Strike Back in Canada: Strike Back will be shown on the Showcase channel in Canada on Friday 22nd October at 10.00pm, according to a spokesperson for the channel. This page on the Showcase site suggests that it is on this evening, but thanks to an email from Susmita, the channel have indicated that this is not the case.

New picture of Richard, Orla Brady and Andrew Lincoln on the Showcase site:

30th September

The BBC Press office has posted a synopsis for episode 5 of Spooks, which will be broadcast on Monday 18 October at 9pm on BBC1. Spoiler warning!

 

29th September

There’s a new interview with Richard in Best magazine this week, in which he talks about Spooks and a mention of his fans who visited him on set recently – pictures of that event are on the Spooks career page (scroll down to 18 July). All print and online interviews with Richard are on the Interviews page. Thanks to June for notifying me about this interview.

 

28th September

1. Screencaps for Spooks 9 episode 2 are now in the gallery.

2. Good reviews for Spooks 9 episode 2 shown last night at 9pm on BBC1. The episode is repeated on Sunday 3rd October at 11.10pm on BBC1.

• Daemon’s TV – ‘this episode was fast, tight and a thrill to watch’
• Den of Geek – ‘Once again this was a tense, cracking episode that continues with the plots within plots we have come to expect’
• Vicky Frost in the Guardian – ‘Life on the Grid gets complicated’
• Metro.co.uk – Spooks remains as over-the-top, dramatic and exciting as ever’
• Unpopcult – ‘punchy, entertaining, and largely compelling stuff’
• Mirror.co.uk – preview of episode 2 before the show was broadcast

3. Sites that are reporting Richard’s involvement in the Captain America movie:

• Marvel Movie News – Richard Armitage a late cast addition
• Comicbookmovie.com – Richard Armitage cast in Captain America
• Hobbsy.com – with video and images of Richard

4. Preview of Spooks 9 episode 3 on Ian Wylie’s Life of Wylie blog. Mild spoilers.

 

27th September

1. Vicky Frost’s review of Spooks episode 2 is already on the Guardian’s website: ‘Life on the Grid gets complicated’. You’re not kidding. Spoiler alert.

2. The Coventry Telegraph is reporting today the very sad news of the passing of the founder of Pattison College, Betty Pattison. Richard attended this college from 1985 to 1989 and there are quotes from him in the article about how that period of his life influenced him.

3. Added two more links as requested to the French Richard Armitage forum and to a French period drama forum known as The Inn at Lambton to the weblinks page. Please visit that page to see other sites and forums dedicated to Richard.

 

26th September

1. Update: added a scan of the Spooks bit on the Spooks Reviews page. In today’s Mirror online there is an interview with Laila Rouass who plays Maya in Spooks. (Do not read if avoiding spoilers). At the end of the interview she talks about working with Richard in Spooks, and of their characters: “Their relationship is dynamic and explosive and it makes them both question certain things – he has to make some serious decisions.”

Spooks episode 1 is repeated on BBC1 tonight at 11.35pm.

2. In the Guardian online, there’s a review of Lost Land of the Tiger (no mention of the narration!) and a good review of Spooks “a cracking, well-paced, brilliantly written adventure”. Quite right too.

3. Just added a link as requested to the Spanish Richard Armitage forum on the weblinks page. Please visit that page to see other sites and forums dedicated to Richard.

 

25th September

1. The Daily Mail had a review about Spooks episode 1 on Friday with an amusing comment about Lucas’s smouldering, and the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine today has a feature about Richard entitled Hero or Villain? Both of these articles are also on the Spooks Reviews page, with thanks to Jen for the scans.

2. Here’s another picture of Richard on the Manchester set taken on Tuesday 21 September by Hobbsy. Click to enlarge.

3. Here are links to other sites reporting on the Captain America filming in Manchester and next week, Liverpool:

• Comicbookmovie.com – scroll to the comments to see a picture of Richard as Heinz Kruger
• Hobbsy.com – pictures and video of Richard on the Manchester set taken on Tuesday 21st during rehearsals
• Youtube clip – Richard appears to be the man in the white/grey suit running away and then jumping into a car
• Daily Mail – article about Chris Evans and pictures from the film set (no pictures of Richard)

Captain America is due to be released in cinemas on 22nd July 2011.

4. All screencap downloads for Spooks series 7-9 are now located on the Spooks downloads page.

 

24th September

1. There’s a new promotional picture of Lucas, Dimitri and Beth from Spooks which was posted on the This Morning website. The larger version is in the Spooks Promo gallery – click ‘original image’ to see the full size.

2. Reports from filming in Manchester on the Captain America set, suggest that Richard Armitage is playing the part of Heinz Krüger. There is no official confirmation yet about Richard’s involvement in this film.

23rd September

1. Video clips from the set of Captain America, currently filming in Manchester, are surfacing. In this clip on youtube, we suspect that Richard might be the person running in the white suit. Lots more clips on the comicbookmovie.comsite.

2. The BBC Press office has posted a synopsis for episode 4 of Spooks, which will be broadcast on Monday 11 October at 9pm on BBC1. Spoiler warning!

3. Bccmee has done a marvellous photoshopping job on this original picture in TV & Satellite Week. Click on the thumbnail below to enlarge.

22nd September

1. Update: these pictures on Hobbsy.com prove that Richard is involved in the filming of Captain America, currently taking place in Manchester. Footage on this clip on youtube. More information about this video can be found on the originator’s blog: Hobbsy.com

Here’s a couple of snapshots (click to enlarge):

Thank you to Antonella for the email.

2. The second part of the Lost Land of the Tiger is on BBC1 and BBC HD tonight at 9pm. If you live in Scotland, you can watch the first episode of this documentary on Thursday at 9pm on BBC1 – thanks to Esther for this information.

21st September

1. Richard narrated Lost Land of the Tiger on BBC1 and BBC HD at 9pm this evening. Sorry there was no indication that he was providing the voiceover. BBC Programme Information. Episode 2 is at the same time tomorrow and episode 3 on Thursday at 9pm.

Click this link to watch a clip, or right-click then Save (Ctrl-click on a Mac) to download

2. Spooks 9 episode 1 reviews. There have been some great reviews for episode 1 today:

• Daemon’s TV – a very strong and enjoyable episode
• Guardian – John Crace – still as compellingly watchable and implausible as ever. I say implausible, but then you never really know…
• Guardian – Vicky Frost – By the end of last season, Spooks was looking a bit lacklustre. Now it seems to have raised its game.
• Telegraph – Spooks remains as tight, gripping and exceptionally watchable as it was in series one
• theartsdesk – Section D’s Heathcliffean operative, Lucas North
• Metro – Spooks has got its hooks in again.
• TV.com – series 9 will mix plenty of intrigue with the standard compelling drama aspects that Spooks is known for
• Unpopcult – Lucas rocked it all the way through
• Independent – the entire episode…required a sustained suspension of disbelief, but it was very slickly done, with a few smart nods to reality

3. Ian Wylie has previewed Spooks episode 2 on his blog Life of Wylie. No major spoilers but don’t read if you haven’t seen episode 1.

4. Episode 1 screencaps are now in the Spooks ep 1 gallery.

5. Spooks episode 1 attacted almost 5.6 million viewers last night. Read more in Digital Spy.

6. Voting for the National Television Awards has begun. Spooks is nominated for Drama, Richard is nominated for Drama Performance and Strike Back is nominated in the Digital Choice category. The awards will be presented on 26 January 2011 at the O2 arena. Voting closes Monday 11 October. Vote here.

7. The BBC Spooks page has updated and there are pages for each of the personnel on the Grid. This is Lucas’s page.

20th September

1. There’s an interview in the print and online editions of The Metro today with some new information from Richard that we haven’t heard before. The article is also on the Spooks Reviews page.

Scan added with thanks to JJ.

2. Digital Spy has a short article entitled ‘Armitage not worried about typecasting’ but you may have read other versions of this interview in other articles. Also on the Spooks Reviews page.

3. Spooks is pick of the day in many newspapers today (short mentions with spoilers): Guardian, Metro, Telegraph (scroll down the page to Monday’s picks), The Sun (link disabled), The Express, The Mirror and The Daily Star.

4. Spooks 9 in the US in approx. April 2011 on PBS? According to this article on the Tellyspotting site.

5. I’ve updated the Interviews page so that all print and online interviews with Richard are in one place. Some of these will be duplicated on the Spooks Reviews page which lists ALL Spooks related articles and interviews.

6. Sophia Myles and Max Brown appeared on ITV1′s This Morning programme today. There were clips of Spooks and an amusing mention of Richard as a dancing banana! Bccmee has put this on youtube for me, or you can watch via the Spooks career page.

7. Following on from her witty articles about Spooks last year, Vicky Frost of the Guardian has written her first article about Spooks 9. I’d suggest not reading this until you’ve seen the episode as it takes you through exactly what happens: Spooks 9 ep1 review.

8. Screencaps for episode 1 will be on the site tomorrow morning.

19th September

1. Two interviews today in the Sunday papers:

• Sunday Express interview with Richard – an interview by David Stephenson, TV Editor of the Express. You can buy the audio of the full interview or download a free extract. Details in  yesterday’s news  (item#5 below). The article is also online and there’s an extract of the audio interview too.
• Mail on Sunday ‘In a taxi with…’ – an interview with Richard in the ‘You’ magazine supplement. The Mail have also chosen Spooks as their pick of the day for Monday (spoilers).

Both articles and all other Spooks print and online articles are on the Spooks Reviews page.

2. On Friday a member of the C19 forum, Rivengal, met Richard outside the ITV1 studios. She has kindly given me permission to share the pictures on this site. Click to enlarge:

3. Screencaps of the three appearances on TV and Radio webcam are now in the Richard gallery:

• BBC Breakfast feature which was shown on BBC1
• Interview with Richard and the cookery demonstration on the Lorraine show shown on ITV1
• Webcam footage of the interview with Greg James of Radio 1

To watch the original interviews, go to the Spooks career page.

4. A second clip from episode 1 of Spooks can be seen halfway through TV.com’s interview with Sophia Myles (at 5 mins 34 seconds) or you can watch/download on the Spooks career page. Thanks to Luna for the email.

5. Strike Back episodes 3 and 4 are being shown again on Sky1 and Sky1 HD tonight at 10pm.

18th September

1. Richard appeared on Clive Anderson’s Radio 4 programme today. Listen or download it from the Spooks career page.

2. Yesterday on The Wright Show on Channel 5 they showed a brief clip from episode 1 of Spooks. Watch a download on the Spooks career page. Many thanks to Vicki for the email about this.

3. TV.com has a new interview with Richard on their site (link now disabled). This is only for UK residents so Bccmee has uploaded it to youtube for the rest of you – thanks B!

4. Stuart Heritage has written a preview of episode 1 on the Guardian’s website today. Big spoilers though. There’s also an image of the article on the Spooks Reviews page.

5. Screencaps from the TV.com interview are now in the gallery.

6. Article scans from the Daily Mail Weekend magazine and Daily Express Saturday magazine are now on the Spooks Reviews page. Thanks to Jen for the scans.

7. The link to the synopsis for Spooks episode 3 on the BBC Press site does not seem to work for everyone, so there is an image of the synopsis here. Spoiler warning!

9. The Mail Online has just released a new interview and picture on their site. An image of the article is also on the Spooks Reviews page. Here’s a copy of the picture:

17th September

1. Richard was on BBC Breakfast this morning and on Lorraine Kelly’s show interviewed by Myleene Klass. He also watched a cookery demonstration. All clips are on the Spooks career page.

2. The BBC clip is also on the BBC news entertainment page.

3. Richard appeared on Greg James’ Radio 1 show today at 3pm. Webcam footage is now on the Spooks career page. The quality isn’t great, but it is a webcam. Just added a great picture of Richard and Greg to that page.

16th September

1. Richard will appear on Clive Anderson’s Radio 4 programme this Saturday between 6.15pm and 7.00pm UK time. Programme information.

2. There is an interview with Laila Rouass on Digital Spy in which she talks in some detail about Maya’s relationship with Lucas in Spooks – spoiler warning – and also the fact that she met Richard a few years ago in LA.

3. Richard will be on Lorraine Kelly’s show tomorrow between 8.30am – 9.25am on ITV1 tomorrow. Thanks to KK for the email. The show will be hosted by Myleene Klass.

4. Spooks articles from three more magazines have been added to the Spooks Reviews page: Inside Soap (thanks to Tonia for the scan), Soaplife and Woman (thank you to the Simply Sophia Myles site for these two articles). Spoiler warning again.

5. AOL TV has published an online interview with Richard. Plenty of Spooks spoilers in that one. Find it on the Spooks Reviews page dated 16 Sept 2010.

6. A synopsis for Spooks episode 3 has been posted on the BBC Press site. Plot spoilers!

15th September

1. Just added two scans from Closer magazine to the Spooks Reviews page which has a slightly more personal interview with Richard than most of the articles posted yesterday. This will also be posted on the Interviews page as it’s not just Spooks specific. The second scan has a caption in which Richard says “My next job involves diving in deep, dark water…” Strike Back 2 or something else??

2. Teena has created 3 fantastic wallpapers from the Sunday Times 12 Sept picture. Have a look at the Richard wallpapers page. Thanks T!

14th September

1. Spooks 8 DVD in Australia: the series 8 DVD is now available to pre-order from EzyDVD and the ABC shop to be released on 3rd November 2010. Thanks to Michele for the email.

2. Ian Wylie has written in his blog about Spooks and as usual he is careful not to give away spoilers. However those of you avoiding ALL Spooks news and pictures should perhaps resist until you’ve seen episode 1.

3. SPOILERS IN THE TV MAGAZINES. Previews and articles about Spooks 9 are in many of the television magazines today: Radio Times, TV Times, TV & Satellite Week, TV Choice, TV Easy and Total TV Guide. You can read them on the Spooks Reviews page. Just added What’s on TV magazine scans – again there are spoilers.

4. Richard has been interviewed about Spooks on the Digital Spy site. Spoiler warning.

5. Richard will appear on Greg James’s Radio 1 show on Friday 1pm – 4pm. You will be able to listen live from the Radio 1 website.

6. More news…but this time about Robin Hood. The complete DVD set will be available to buy from Amazon.com from September 17 at a cost of $70.49 (also available via the BBC America shop but more expensive). The region 2 DVD is already available via marketplace sellers on Amazon UK.

13th September

1. The Spooks series 9 advert was shown on BBC1 this evening. To view or download, go to the Spooks 9 career page.

2. Play.com and Amazon UK are advertising the Spooks 9 DVD already, to be released on 28th February 2011 (3 discs!). However, the series 8 DVD was originally scheduled for release early this year until the release was put back several months so we will have to wait and see. The series 8 DVD is now scheduled for release next Monday and pre-order information is on the RA on DVD page.

3. Richard is narrating the second part of Surgery School on ITV1 tonight at 10.35pm.

4. Words and Music ‘Symphony of a City’ is available to listen to via BBC iPlayer for the next seven days on this Radio 3 page. Alternatively, you can listen to or download just Richard’s readings on the Words and Music page. Thanks to Bccmee for the clip.

12th September

1. There is a full page interview with Richard in today’s Sunday Times magazine. It’s a feature called ‘A Life in the Day’ in which Richard describes his typical daily routine both on filming days and non-filming: discussing food, running to the gym, not having a cleaner and trying not to lose top secret scripts! You can read a scan of the article on the Interviews page. (The Sunday Times online is only available if you are a subscriber, so I cannot provide a link to the online article.)

Many thanks to Orpheus of the C19 forum for this picture which accompanied the online article:

2. Sky1 and Sky1 HD are repeating Strike Back tonight at 10pm. They are showing episodes 1 and 2 tonight and then the remaining episodes on the next two Sundays at 10pm.

3. Richard will be on Radio 3 at 10.45pm tonight – further information on the Words and Music page.

4. Added a new wallpaper to the Lucas wallpapers page which uses today’s pic of the day, courtesy of Bccmee.

11th September

1. Four new pictures of Lucas North have been passed to me which are in extra large size and are high quality. One of them is from episode 2 but I don’t think it needs a spoiler warning. You can view them in the Spooks Promotional Pics gallery. Click on an image to view it and then click ‘original image’ in the bottom right corner to see the extra large size. Enjoy!

2. The Radio 3 site now has a more detailed description of its Words and Music programme which will air tomorrow evening at 10.45pm. Scroll down the page for details of exactly what Richard will read. There is also a large photograph of Richard, the one used on his United Agent’s page (larger version here). UK and overseas listeners will be able to listen to this programme via BBC iPlayer on this Radio 3 page.

10th September

1. Vulpes Libris have an excellent review on their website today of Richard Armitage’s reading of The Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell. In July 2009, Vulpes Libris ran an interview with Richard which you can read here. Details of how to order the audiobook are on the RA on DVD page.

2. Percy Courtenay will be on BBC4 again tomorrow evening. BBC4 are showing Miss Marie Lloyd at 11.15pm Saturday evening.

9th September

Spoiler alert: a synopsis of Spooks episode 2 has appeared on the BBC Press site, which will be shown on Monday 27 September, 9pm, BBC1.

8th September

1. The BBC press office has now confirmed the date and time for episode 1 of Spooks series 9. It’s Monday 20 September, 9pm – 10pm on BBC1.

• Radio Times online guide
• BBC Press office (no spoilers)
• BBC Press office (details of episode 1 with spoilers)

2. A new Lucas wallpaper has been added to the Lucas wallpapers page, with thanks to Bccmee.

7th September

1. Two clips from last night’s Surgery School can be viewed or downloaded from the Surgery School career page.

2. Previews for next week’s TV magazines (thanks Jen for the scans):

Total TV Guide		What’s on TV

6th September

1. Robin Hood series 2 is being shown on BBC Entertainment throughout Europe and Asia on Saturday evenings. The home page has a large picture of the cast (but no Guy). You can check what time Robin Hood is broadcast this Saturday by clicking on ‘TV Schedule’, choose your country and select the date.

2. Thank you to Maryp who has given me copies of her six BAFTA red carpet pictures. One is blurry but some may still like to see it. View them at the end of the BAFTA candid gallery here.

3. Richard is narrating Surgery School tonight on ITV1 at 10.35pm, and also the next two episodes to be shown on Monday 13th and Monday 20th September at the same time. I’ll put a couple of clips on the site tomorrow.

5th September

A picture of Richard taken during Spooks filming has turned up on Digital Spy. Also in the picture are DS’s journalist Catriona and Richard’s co-star Laila Rouass.

Click to enlarge:

4th September

1. The latest Santander advert is now on the 2010 Adverts page. Richard has provided a new voiceover to advertise their Loyalty Tracker Bond, but the visuals are the same as a previous advert.

2. The first George Gently episode co-starring Richard is on the Alibi channel in the UK this evening at 9pm.

3rd September

1. Following the news yesterday about a new three-part series called Surgery School, ITV have informed me that Richard will be providing the voiceover for all three episodes. The first episode will be shown at 10.35pm on Monday 6th September on ITV1.

2. Richard will be reading poetry and prose on Radio 3 on Sunday 12th September from 10.45pm to 11.45pm as part of a Words and Music programme, evoking the atmosphere of the city. UK and overseas listeners will be able to listen to this programme via BBC iPlayer on this Radio 3 page. Many thanks to Annette of RAOnline for this info.

3. Just captured a new Sky Sports advert. This time Richard has provided the voiceover to an advert promoting football coverage on Sky’s HD channels and also ESPN. You can view or download on the 2010 Adverts page.

2nd September

1. The BBC Press Office has revealed that episode one of Spooks series 9 will be broadcast week beginning 18 September. No exact date and time has been given. There is an interview with Richard (with some spoilers) about what we can expect from Lucas in this series, plus episode one information (spoilers again). Here are all the links:

• Interview with Richard with this picture:

• Episode 1 programme copy
• Picture of Lucas/Harry also here:

2. New picture of Lucas and Beth (Sophia Myles) from an episode of Spooks series 9, courtesy of Mia from Simply Sophia Myles. View it and the other new promo picture on the Spooks career page.

3. Two pictures we haven’t seen before from Spooks series 7 episode 5 and episode 8 have been discovered on the Dutch TV site Vara. These are large, high resolution images and I’ve added them to the Spooks Promo gallery. Click on ‘original image’ to view the full enormous size! Thanks to Violet for the email. Spooks 7 will appear on Dutch television soon – dates to be confirmed.

4. Richard has provided the voiceover for a new series on ITV1 called Surgery School, the first episode of which will be broadcast on Monday 6th September at 10.35pm. The Radio Times only lists his name in episode 2, although it seems likely that he will narrate all 3 episodes of this series. Thanks to the German RA board for this info.

1st September

1. Thank you to Heathra for her latest excellent wallpaper of Richard. There are three different sizes to fit your desktop which you can download from the Richard wallpapers page.

2. Two new signatures added to the site today courtesy of Jessie. A Guy of Gisborne signature and a new John Porter signature (#5). Thanks J.

3. Thanks for telling us where you are from. We had nearly 1000 replies and the results are here. Our new poll is now up – please vote on the left-hand side. You may not have listened to them all, but please choose your favourite to give us a general idea of which of these are the most popular. Cheers.

26th August

Richard Armitage Central have an interesting interview with Naxos about their audio books on their site. Richard is a very busy man apparently. You can read it here.

22nd August

1. Sky1 and Sky1 HD are repeating Strike Back, starting Sunday 12 September. Episode 1 starts at 10pm (UK time) with episode 2 following straight after, according to the UK TV guide.

2. Thank you SO much for all 201 birthday messages! A link to the Birthday page has been sent to Richard’s agent.

21st August

1. A new Guy wallpaper has been added to the Gisborne wallpapers page courtesy of Lady Enigma.

2. Added a new downloads page showing an old clip from 2006. The NTAs 2006 page is here.

19th August

1. Following a query I’ve had about acquiring Richard’s reading of Bernard Cornwell’s Lords of the North, I’ve received some ordering information from one of the sales advisers at The Audiobook Collection.

The complete and unabridged version of the Lords of the North audiobook is available to order exclusively via The Audiobook Collection and is priced at £22.99 plus £3.50 postage & packing. It comprises 10 CDs (or 10 cassettes if you prefer). To order, phone their dedicated Customer Service telephone number 01225 443400, (overseas +44 1225 443400) or email [email protected]“>[email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I was also told the following: “The Audiobook Collection is the mail order department within BBC Audiobooks, which has very recently (July 2010) been sold and so we are now known as – AudioGo Ltd. It’s really just a name change, we still provide the same service/titles etc… But it does mean that very soon, we will have a new AudioGo Ltd website where customers can search/order Lords of the North etc…”

All other DVDs and audiobooks are listed on the RA on DVD page.

2. Thanks to Alice for the amusing poem that I’ve posted on the Artwork page, in honour of Richard’s birthday in a few days.

3. Birthday messages can be left here until 7.00pm GMT Sunday evening.

4. It is looking more likely that Spooks could air in September this year (last year episode 1 aired on 4 November 2009). As reported on 12 August, Amazon and Play.com have brought the series 8 DVD release date forward to 20 September. Today, thanks to KK, we’ve discovered that the September print edition of the Virgin Media magazine lists Spooks series 9 as one of the programmes starting in September, but there’s no official airdate yet.

17th August

Added a Strike Back series 2 career page where all news relating to the new series will be posted.

16th August

1. Spooks in New Zealand: UKTV is currently showing series 7 which is due to finish on Tues 17 August at 9.30pm. Series 8 starts the following week on the 24th. The UKTV Guide has more details. Thanks to Missy for the email.

2. Following yesterday’s news about the Laila Rouass interview, I’ve recorded the clip about Spooks for those who cannot hear it via BBC iPlayer. The clip is on the Spooks 9 career page.

3. Just captured yet another Sky Sports HD advert! View or download on the 2010 Adverts page.

4. Just added a new North and South Promotional & Behind the Scenes gallery. Some of these images are courtesy of the Russian RA website.

15th August

1. Laila Rouass has been speaking on BBC Asian Network radio about her character’s relationship with Lucas North in Spooks. She doesn’t give much away but it’s still food for thought. You can listen to what she has to say on the Spooks career page, scroll down to 11 August. Thanks to the Spooks Info Central forum for the link.

2. Another Sky Sports HD advert with voiceover from Richard is available to view or download on the 2010 Adverts page.

14th August

The Guardian have a review of The Convenient Marriage audiobook read by Richard today. A good review but there is no specific mention of Richard’s reading of the abridged novel.

12th August

Amazon UK have brought the release date of the Spooks series 8 DVD forward to 20 September. If you order via Amazon UK by clicking via the link on RichardArmitageOnline then commission from your order will go to charity.

10th August

1. The RA on DVD page has been updated with the latest prices and releases. Note: The Spooks series 8 DVD was due to be released on 11 October, but Play.com have updated the release date to 20 September 2010.

2. Thanks to Jane for pointing out that we’d missed off some pictures of Guy at the end of Robin Hood series 3 episode 8. The gallery has now been updated. How could we forget Guy in the cage!

9th August

The first episode of George Gently, co-starring Richard as Ricky Deeming, will be shown in Sweden on Kanal nio tomorrow at 9pm CET. Thanks Sara for the email.

7th August

1. There is a wonderful review of The Convenient Marriage audiobook on the Austenprose site. Well worth a read and no major spoilers.

2. Thank you for voting in the favourite character poll. John Thornton is the winner, Guy second and Lucas third – no major surprise perhaps? For a full breakdown of votes, click here. The latest poll was requested by a visitor who was interested in the nationalities visiting this site. Working out the regional divisions wasn’t easy, so I have used this map on Wikipedia, which you can refer to if your region is not obvious. Many thanks for voting.

6th August

Strike Back wallpapers added to the site today with thanks to Rossella and Mary, see the last three entries on the John Porter wallpapers page. Mary has also created a Robin Hood collage which you can see on the Guy wallpapers page.

5th August

Ricky Deeming is on UK television tonight – the Alibi channel is showing the first episode of George Gently at 8pm.

2nd August

Second series of Strike Back confirmed: The Guardian is reporting that Sky has commissioned a new 10 part series of Strike Back! Read more on The Guardian’s site.

Digital Spy are also reporting the news, and they state that the series is expected to air late in 2011.

1st August

1. If you would like to leave a birthday message on this site for Richard, you can do so on our new Birthday 2010 page. Thank you.

2. Thanks to Lady Enigma for a new Guy wallpaper which has been added to the Gisborne wallpapers page.

3. You can now download Richard’s reading of The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer from Naxos Audiobooks at a cost of £11.00.