News Archive 2009

1. Sky magazine has a little anecdote from the set of Strike Back involving deadly snakes. Read more here.

2. Viewing figures for episode eight of Spooks have been revealed by Digital Spy. A very good result!

1. We found this via bccmee who found it via jonia. Very quick Strike Back promo on youtube.We will endeavour to get some screencaps up of this soon but Hedgey’s laptop and all its whizzy software is currently only any use as a doorstop. We’ve also loaded the youtube vid on to the Strike Back career page.

2. Some technical jiggery pokery and much swearing later – Caps from the promo.

3. More Spooks episode 8 reviews added here.

1. Spooks episode 8 reviews are being added here.

2. Screencaps from Episode 8 of Spooks are now in the gallery

3. The zip file for these caps can be found here

1.Two articles in the newspapers are listed in Spooks reviews, previewing Spooks episode eight which will be shown tonight on BBC1 at 9pm. Warning – spoilers.

2. Richard has sent a Christmas message to RAonline. You can read it here.

The Vicar of Dibley ‘The Handsome Stranger’ episode will be shown on Dutch TV tonight at 23.35 hrs on the Ned2 channel. ‘The Vicar in White’, the last VoD episode, will be shown on the 29th December at 23.45. Thanks to Tessa for this info.

1. Two new scans previewing Spooks episode 8 have been added to Spooks Reviews. Thanks to Jen for the scans.

2. The biography has been updated.

3. An article has appeared on the Sky website advertising Strike Back, starring Richard Armitage as John Porter. You can read the full article here. Scroll down the page to read the full article under the heading ‘Chris Ryan’s Strike Back’.

1. Added a scan previewing episode 8 of Spooks from the Sunday Mirror to Spooks Reviews, courtesy of JJ.

2. Alice has sent us a Christmassy poem about Little Guy which is in our Artwork section. Thanks Alice.

3. The Interviews page has been updated today and archive interviews with Richard will be added as we find them. This list contains print and online interviews, all general articles and reviews are in Press Reviews.

1. Ben Richards and Richard McBrien, two writers for Spooks were interviewed on Radio 4′s Front Row last night and suggested that Spooks had been recommissioned for a 9th series. You can listen here (suspect it may not be available outside the UK). Thanks to Scoop on C19 for the tip off.

2. There have been a few comments about James Bond in our guestbook lately, so we thought we’d ask the rest of you what you think. The new poll is on the main page, left-hand side, thanks for your votes.

1. Spooks reviews for episode seven are here. I couldn’t resist that comment regarding Vicky Frost’s review, a tad unfair in my (Ali’s) opinion. And how do you back up an encrypted drive when you don’t know the encryption code asks Hedgey. 

2. The Charlie page has updated following a chat given on the Charlie forum by Mike Ogden. Thanks to Mike and Bccmee on that forum.

3. Caps from Spooks episode 7 can be found here.

4. and a download of said caps can be found here. Didn’t forget this week.

5. Ian Wylie has given us a preview of Spooks episode eight, mild spoilers and a very amusing audio clip of Hermione talking about a particular day on set.

I was reminded that I hadn’t done this so here is the zip file of Episode 6 caps here. Enjoy

1.Added two small scans from the latest What’s on TV magazine to Spooks Reviews, courtesy of Jen. These articles contain spoilers.

2. Some new digital artwork added thanks to Sammy. Click here and scroll down to ‘Art by Sammy’ to see her Guy and Allan art.

3. News from November has been archived here.

4. The prices on the Richard on DVD page have been updated, plus Venetia is now available from The Book Depository at a cheaper price than Amazon. Click on our Book Depository link next to the Venetia picture and if you make a purchase from that link, commission will be made for charity and collected by RAOnline.

1. There’s an article in the Mail Online today with quotes from Hermione Norris and Richard here.

2. BBC America will be showing the Vicar of Dibley Christmas episodes back to back, where Harry met and married Geraldine. These episodes will be shown twice  on Christmas Eve at 8am (ET) and 2pm (ET).

1. Ian Wylie is teasing us again with a preview of episode seven of Spooks on his blog.

2. More Spooks episode six reviews are being added here as we find them.

3. Danielle has given us another lovely Harry Kennedy wallpaper which you can see here. Thanks Danielle.

4. Episode six caps are now up here. Be warned they are very spoilery toward the end.

5. New poll on the main page, left-hand side, tell us what you think of Spooks 8.

6. Added two new sound files of Lucas as the Russian oligarch – files are called Dogs and Wait.

1. Pam has sent us an amusing little article that appeared in the Evening Standard on Monday. We’ve added it to Spooks Reviews, or you can click here. Thanks Pam.

2. Danielle has given us a much needed Harry Kennedy wallpaper which you can find here. We are a bit thin on the ground for Harry wallpapers, please email [email protected] if you’d like us to display your artwork, whether Harry, Lucas, Guy, etc.

We’ve put up three calendars for 2010. One RA Character, one Lucas North and one Gizzy calendar (no longer available).

Added The Stage podcast interview with Richard Armitage and Robert Glenister to Spooks Publicity Downloads that took place on 27 February this year. Thanks to JJ for the reminder that it was missing

Film Review have a synopsis and pics from Spooks Episode 7. Spoilers ahoy of course but some great Lucas action pics. Edit: the pics have now been moved to the episode 8 synopsis here

The new pictures are now in our Spooks Promo gallery.

1. Two reviews of Spooks episode five added to Spooks Reviews and a preview of episode six from Ian Wylie.

2. Picture of the Day archive for November has been added here and can be downloaded.

3. Caps of Spooks Episode 5 are now up in the gallery.

4. Zippy dippy file of the Ep5 Lucasy tattooed goodness here.

1. AnnetteG over at RAonline has found this little snippet where Peter Firth confirmed to a blogger at Collectormania that Spooks series 9 had been recommissioned and was due to start filming in February. There’s no official confirmation though.

2. A critical review of Spooks so far, although praise is given to Richard: Mark Wright of The Stage

Spooks Episode 4 caps download in zip file. Apologies for lateness. My excuse is that – I forgot. Sorry.

Film Review Online has pictures from episode six of Spooks. There’s only one of Lucas North, which is now in our Spooks 8 Promo gallery. The text is taken from the BBC Press office and contains spoilers.

Ian Wylie has interviewed Hermione Norris about episode five which is due to be shown on BBC3 tonight at 9pm. There are some mild spoilers about the episode and a brief quote from Richard.

1. Ian Wylie’s preview of Episode 5 with some bizarre references to cake and spoilers.

2. Den of Geek review of Episode 4

3. Vicky Frost’s amusing take on Episode 4

4. We’ve gone a bit mad with the caps. There are 420 from Episode 4 of Spooks. I blame Alicat.

5. Two previews of episode five in TV choice and What’s on TV magazines in Spooks Reviews. Thanks Jen for the scans.

1. More pictures added to our screencap gallery:

• More pics added to the Victoria & Albert museum promotional shoot gallery
• Screencaps from the BBC RH website interview with Richard, prior to series 2 of Robin Hood
• Screencaps from the BBC America interview with Richard, June 2008

2. Scan from this week’s Radio Times with a new pic of Ros and Lucas added to Spooks Reviews

3. Film Review online has more promo pics, which have been put into the Spooks 8 Promo gallery The text is taken from the recent BBC Press Release (spoilers).

4. Lots of new signature and avatar sets added today from Kiteflier and Bccmee, for Lucas, John Thornton, Guy and Richard. All signature sets can be viewed here Thanks ladies!

Details of Spooks episode eight at the BBC Press Office

2. Previews of Spooks episode four (to be shown on Wednesday BBC1) from the Saturday magazines of the Daily Mail and Daily Express have been added to Spooks Reviews Thanks to Jen for these.

1. A short interview with Richard discussing Lucas’s relationship with Sarah in the Sun magazine has been added to here

2. Episode three caps can be downloaded in a zip file here

Three articles added to Spooks Reviews today:

– Another entertaining review by Vicky Frost of the Guardian (spoiler warning)

– An interesting blog entitled ‘Spying on Spooks’ with clips from fans who have caught moments of the crew filming Spooks in London

– Ian Wylie’s blog on episode 4: ‘this is Richard Armitage’s episode’. Shown first on BBC3 9pm tomorrow.

1. Radio Times has picked Spooks episode four as its TV choice for Weds 25 November. Short article and pic of RA in Spooks Reviews

2. The website FilmReviewOnline.com has published a preview of episode 4 with some new pictures of Lucas, Sarah Caulfield and Lucas’s former interrogator Oleg Darshavin. The text is taken from the BBC Press release, so it is full of spoilers. Article here

3 . More articles from the press added to Spooks Reviews here. No mention of Lucas but there are spoilers.

1. We’ve added to our high quality Gisborne image gallery, lots more added. When viewing each image, click on ‘original image’ for larger size.

2. Added some promotional pics to The Golden Hour gallery.

1. A short article about the filming location for Strike Back has been posted in Strike Back Reviews and Articles

2. Episode two viewing figures released here. Figures are down but it was first shown on BBC3 last Friday of course.

3. New high quality pics added to the Spooks Promo gallery for episode two images. Click icon in bottom right corner for original larger size.

4. Screencaps for Episode 2 can be found here

5. You can download the screen caps in a 10Mb zip file here

6. It’s the swimming pool fight this Friday on BBC3 – a preview of episode three in Ian Wylie’s blog here.

1. Press office information about Spooks episode six is here. Spoiler warning.

2. Vicky Frost from the Guardian has released another amusing review of Spooks, this time episode two. Listed in Spooks Reviews. Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen it yet.

Richard Arnold of GMTV visited the Spooks set a few months ago (we were given a teaser of this on 15 July 2009 in this article in Woman’s Own) and we have provided a download in our Spooks series 8 Interview Downloads page.

There are brief interviews with Richard Armitage, Peter Firth, Hermione Norris and Nicola Walker and a quick look around the new revamped set. More pictures here

Miranda Raison was interviewed later in the programme by Lorraine Kelly and there are some brief clips of Richard during the interview. This is also available for download in our Spooks series 8 Interview Downloads page.

If viewing in Quicktime you may find the audio is slightly out of sync with the picture. Try using a different media player instead. VLC is excellent and is free to download.

We have been alerted by a couple of people this afternoon that Richard has read an abridged version of Georgette Heyer’s Venetia. According to Amazon UK, this will be available from 1 April 2010.

See Amazon UK page here for details and to pre-order your copy. Amazon US also have the title available for pre-order and it is released on 6 April 2010.

If you order from Amazon via RAOnline, you will earn commission for charity.

There’s a new interview in Time Out magazine with Richard Armitage and this time the questions are very different. Some insights into his most memorable audition, the piece of work he’s least proud of, his most extravagant purchase and many more.

Click to enlarge.

There is also a snippet describing episode 1 of Spooks in Time Out. A few spoilers here.

Many thanks to Annette for sharing these scans with us.

Posted in Spooks news | No Comments »

The Daily Record has an interview with Richard Armitage this morning in which we get an interesting insight of what life was like before he landed more significant roles in television. This experience affects his current work ethic: “But I always feel somehow it’s going to be taken away from me so I work when I can. When you struggled with work as I did when I left drama school you make hay when the sun shines.”

He also talks about the ever-changing scripts that are part of working life on the set of Spooks: “When I first came on board, Peter Firth said to me this is what happens and you have to learn to run with it. You’ve got to be able to learn lines and some very dense political jargon very quickly – it’s quite a workout for the brain.”

The online article is here.

Bernie from C19 has very kindly given us permission to post the scan from the printed edition of the Daily Record. Click on the images below to enlarge.

A complete list of all Spooks articles and interviews can be found on our site here.

There’s a brief interview with Richard Armitage in this week’s Woman magazine. He says…”Last year Lucas was finding himself again after an eight-year incarceration, now he’s one of the team. He prefers to play the maverick, all guns blazing…”

Read more below – click to enlarge

Once again, the image of Richard is reversed and we cannot resist turning it the right way round.

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1. There’s a feature about Spooks in the Daily Express Saturday magazine today. There are quotes from Richard Armitage, Hermione Norris and Peter Firth which give some mild spoilers about the forthcoming series 8.

Thank you Lady J for the scan.

Click on the image to enlarge.

A short but sweet article in the free London magazine Shortlist today.

At the end you’ll see that it mentions Thursday 29 October 2009 as the air date, which does seem to add weight to the rumours already circulating that this is the date for episode 1. The BBC are still yet to confirm.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Many thanks to Stef for the scan.

There’s a new interview with Richard Armitage in the October issue of Closer magazine, in which he gives some insight into what we can expect from Lucas North in Spooks series 8.

Many thanks to LadyJ for the scan.

Click on image to enlarge.

The Radio Times and the TV Times have today given clues that Spooks series 8 will start week commencing 24 October, although there is still no exact day given.

On the back page of the Radio Times there is a picture of Ros under the heading ‘Next week in Radio Times on sale Tuesday 20 October’. Under the picture are the words ‘Spooks. The spy drama is back on the grid’.

The TV Times says “Next Issue – Spooks – Ros and Lucas return on a mission impossible: to find Harry alive.”

Still no word from the BBC Press Office.

Thanks Stef for the RT info and Janice for the TV Times info.

Allison Pearson has interviewed Richard Armitage on the set of Spooks. She states;

“Some rakish TV turns have earnt Spooks star Richard Armitage an army of female fans. ALLISON PEARSON went to see what all the fuss is about  –  and found him squirming with embarrassment.”

How many women can you take to a Richard Armitage interview? Earlier this year, when I paid homage to the actor in my Daily Mail column, so many readers volunteered to come along and ‘hold the microphone’ that if I ever met Richard I would have had to rent the Royal Albert Hall to squeeze us all in.”

There’s a new picture accompanying the article as well (click to enlarge):

You can read the full interview here

Here’s an article scan of the two page interview in the Weekend magazine that is published with the Daily Mail today, you get a larger picture with the printed version but the text is the same. Click each image to enlarge.

We have been sent a press release for the Spooks series 7 DVD which available from E1 Entertainment on 12 October.

Click on the images below to enlarge

A small mention of Richard Armitage in the Mail Online today by Allison Pearson.

As for the casting of badboy Jonny Lee Miller as the wise, older Mr Knightley, where is the divinely brooding and grown-up Richard Armitage when you need him? Answer me that.

Spooks has been nominated in the 37th International Emmy Awards as Best Drama Series against four other international shows. Winners will be announced by Graham Norton, on 23 November 2009 at the Hilton New York Hotel.

Further links:

Press release on the International Emmy’s site

Full list of nominees

BBC news report

Spooks is also up for another award which will be announced on 21 October 2009. The 2009 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, in association with the Crime Writers Association (CWA) and Cactus TV, will be broadcast on ITV3 later in October after the ceremony has taken place.

Although this ceremony focuses mostly on crime fiction, there are some television awards. Spooks is nominated for best small-screen crime thriller drama and Hermione Norris is nominated as Best Actress for her role as Ros Myers.

Announcement in The Bookseller

1. Two people have the chance of winning a Spooks series 7 boxset courtesy of lastbroadcast.co.uk. They have confirmed via email that this competition is only open to UK residents I’m afraid.

The page link above also gives you access to an episode guide for series 7 and to Richard Armitage’s interview that he gave prior to series 7 in case you haven’t seen it before, or would like a re-read.

I think the answer to the competition question is a tad obvious.

Closing date 3 November 2009.

2. Another competition to win a Spooks 7 DVD boxset has been announced from Downtown Radio. Again, I’m afraid to say this competition is only open to UK residents.

The closing date is 9 November 2009. Click here for details

3. Another competition was announced on our news blog here on 27 September 2009 from Now magazine.

4. Yet another competition only open to UK residents from Webuser

It’s already clear (and perhaps a little obvious) that North and South is the most re-watched show that Richard Armitage has appeared in, so we have modified the poll a little and now ask you to please vote again.

N&S has been removed from the list, so of the remaining shows, which one do you reach for the most often when in need of a ‘Richard’ fix?

Previous results showed that Spooks series 7 (15.4%) was the 2nd most popular, followed by Robin Hood series 3 (13%), but if N&S is no longer an option we’re wondering if this will affect the results.

Return to the homepage and see the poll options on the left-hand side.

Thanks for voting!

Ian Wylie of the Manchester Evening News has posted some tantalising news of Spooks series 8, particularly episode 1 as he received the DVD of this episode yesterday.

Read his blog here. Caution: minor spoilers.

Highlights include:

The actor formerly known as Richard Armitage has been totally taken over by Lucas North.

It’s such a convincing portrayal that they surely must be one and the same person?

and

And a disturbing image in the teaser trailer for episode two.

I’m not ashamed to say that I had a little tear in my eye at the end.

Not long to go now…I hope!

The BBC America shop DVDs in the Works page has details of early 2010 releases of Spooks season 7 (known as MI-5 in the US) and Robin Hood season 3 on DVD.

Scroll down for a picture of tattooed Lucas and the following info…
‘we can now confirm we’re releasing this season, never before broadcast in the US, on DVD early next year’

There is still no news to confirm when BBCA will be showing MI-5 season 7, starring Richard Armitage as Lucas North.

Further down the DVDs in the Works page, there is information about the Robin Hood season 3 DVD, which will be available to buy in early in 2010. However, the site monstersandcritics.com states that it will be available to buy from 12th January 2010. The special features are exactly the same as you’ll find on the region 2 DVD which is out now, namely:

– A Legend Reborn (behind the scenes feature)
– A New Look (behind the scenes look at costuming)
– Trebuchet: Creating Chaos
– Character Profiles
– Video Diaries

Now magazine are offering the chance for 6 people to win copies of the Spooks series 7 DVD, but I’m afraid this is only open to UK residents.

The competition closes on Tuesday 27 October 2009.

To enter click here.

The wonderful people at vulpes libris have an interview with director and writer Jan Prowse about her work and favourite books. She directed Richard Armitage in Between the Sheets and mentions the show and Richard in some detail.

You can read the whole interview by clicking here

On 4 August 2009, Jason Arnopp revealed on Twitter that he had attended a round table interview with Richard Armitage and today, thanks to Debs, we have received a copy of that interview which has been published in a new magazine called ‘Film Star’, October edition.

The interview reveals many exciting details about Lucas’s role in series 8 of Spooks, including the fact that Lucas will revisit his traumatic past in the Russian prison and that he will begin a love affair with an attractive CIA liaison officer.

Here’s a scan of the interview. Click to enlarge.

(Ali has since bought the magazine and re-scanned for a clearer image. Press F5 if you can’t see the newer version straight away).

The South African site GFC has an article about Sky filming in a district of Johannesburg

“Skye TV, a British channel, is currently shooting a television series, some scenes of which are being filmed in Yeoville. Strike Back is a six part television serious centred on the current conflict in Iraq. San Remo, a distinctive but run down art deco block of flats on Kenmere Street, is the location for down town Baghdad.The building was chosen for its age and texture. It’s a once glorious building that with time and neglect now perfectly represents the dank, gritty feeling of a building in a war zone. Interiors and exteriors are being shot with a lot of the action taking place on the roof. The scenes in San Remo involve the rescue of a hostage by British SAS soldiers.”

You can read the full article here

Writer John Crook (St. Paul Pioneer Press) has published an interview with Richard Armitage about Guy of Gisborne that appears to contain new quotes about the character. We are not sure when this interview was undertaken, but some of Richard’s remarks do seem to be new to us.

Richard discusses his reaction to learning that Guy would kill Marian at the end of series 2, Gisborne’s road to self-destruction at the start of series 3 and his changing relationship with Robin as the series develops. He’s also pleased that Gisborne appears to develop a sense of humour:

“It’s interesting toward the end of this series, as he takes this unexpected journey to becoming someone new, you really do start to see this dry humor coming out of Gisborne. It’s in connection with Robin and the understanding between them. Gisborne starts to open up in terms of his humor with Robin, which is something I never expected, that he would have this sense of humor.”

Read the full interview here.

11 September: ‘TV and Film Guy’ has published a detailed article here, reviewing the opening episode of season 3 of Robin Hood which will be shown on BBC America on Saturday 12 September at 9pm.
Regarding Richard Armitage’s performance, he says ‘Armitage plays the part beautifully, not only looking like an empty shell of a man in the season premiere, but also conveying a sense of mourning from within as well.’

~~~~~~

11 September: There is another review on SciFiAndTvTalk’s Blog here, with some nice screen captures of the episode.

~~~~~~
12 September: TV Review: BBC America’s ‘Robin Hood’ Returns Darker, More Mature, on HollywoodChicago.com.

All of these articles contain spoilers.

For a full list of Robin Hood reviews and articles, click here.

Fantastic promo for season 3 of Robin Hood has been aired on BBC America and captured here on youtube.

Thanks BF for uploading this

2. An online review of the forthcoming screening of Robin Hood season 3 on BBCA can be found on the RH reviews page. ‘Robin Hood’ returns, with a few surprises.

1. Tiny little crumb of news from the TV Times about Richard’s involvement in Strike Back. Scan courtesy of Janice. Nice BAFTA picture!

Richard’s United Agents page has updated to confirm his new role as John Porter in Strike Back.

1. Confirmation that Richard’s latest project is definitely Strike Back here on the Variety website.

2. More on Strike Back here at C21Media

3. Guardian article on Strike Back

4. Left Bank pictures has provided lots more infomation about Strike Back here. Richard is confirmed as playing the part of John Porter.

The BBCA Robin Hood page has been updated in preparation for showing Robin Hood season 3 on 12 September. Lots of information including behind the scenes clips and interviews and downloadable calendar pages.

1. The DVD Times has announced details of the extra features on the region 2 DVD of Spooks 7. Lots to look forward to, inc. documentaries and audio commentaries. Four discs as well. Can’t wait!

2. Frozen is being shown on BBC2 at 12.35am on Monday 31 August. Many thanks to Annette for this info. Frozen screencap gallery.

3. Four more wallpapers of Richard Armitage as John Mulligan from Moving On added here, thanks to June.

4. Guy and John Thornton are battling it out in our poll. The lead has swapped between them several times so please cast your vote if you haven’t yet done so. (The poll appears on the left-hand side of the main menu).

1. Article out today with brief quotes from Richard about Spooks, school life and going home: Leicestershire actor is in demand. This article also appeared in print in the Leicester Mercury. There is a scan of it here courtesy of Agenoria.

2. The article mentioned above appears to confirm the rumours that Richard’s next project will be Strike Back, produced by Left Bank Pictures, an adaptation of a Chris Ryan novel. Filming in South Africa is due to start imminently and it will be shown on SKY in 6 x 1hr episodes. No info on broadcast date yet.

3. Some new John Mulligan wallpapers, winners of a recent competition on ra_art_challenges. View them here – thank you Grendel, Danielle and June.

New poll on left-hand side, suggested by Lyn in our main page comments section. Only a few of his roles have been named as we suspect that these will be the likely candidates, but please choose ‘Other’ if your favourite isn’t listed.

Many RA sites have their own birthday messages to Richard so we have put a slight twist on the birthday tribute and ask you to give your comments on that first role that brought you to follow the man and your continuing enjoyment of his talent. Find it here or off of the main menu.

We are continuing to update our screencap gallery. Pics from the Richard Armitage interview on the N&S DVD have been added here.

Ian Wylie, writer for the Manchester Evening News, has posted a blog to confirm that he met with the Spooks cast, including Richard Armitage, this week to interview them about series 8. No news yet, but it’s a nice teaser! The Life of Wylie blog.

1. Robin Hood season 2 DVD extra screencaps added here.

2. Another CBeebies signature & icon donated by bccmee and added here. Thank you!

1. New Sparkhouse Location article has been added to the site here. Alternatively click on the link off of the Locations tab on our main menu.

2. New message from the ‘spooksperson’ on RAOnline.

1. Show Patrol article describes Richard’s return in Robin Hood on BBC America September 12th: BBC America brings back Armitage, ‘Robin Hood’ this fall

2. Some new artwork added today. Two John Thornton wallpapers by June and two Cbeebies signature sets by bccmee. Thank you ladies!

George Gently on ABC1, Australia: the episode that Richard appeared in will air on Friday 14 August at 8.30pm. Thank you to Ann for emailing this info to us.

After a recent trip to the Mills last weekend, we’ve created a locations page which describes some of the venues used during the filming of North and South. We’ll be adding more information about the trains used in the series soon.

BBC America have announced that Robin Hood Series 3 will air, starting 12th September. Clickie

I’ve received my copy of the Robin Hood audiobook The Siege, and there is a review here, without too many spoilers I hope.

We have re-capped the Shakespeare Re-Told episode of Macbeth today, as we didn’t have many pictures of Richard as Macduff. You can view the gallery here. Macbeth synopsis added to the career page.

1. Great news regarding the audiobook ‘Sylvester’ by Georgette Heyer, read by Richard. It is currently #4 best seller in the audiobook fiction category on Amazon.co.uk and #1 in the literary classics category.

2. Series 7 of Spooks starts tonight on BBC Canada – details here.

3. Short article from Richard Arnold who met RA on the set of Spooks recently. In today’s Woman’s Own courtesy of June here.

1. Two stunning wallpapers of Guy and Marian added here. Created by HeathRA. Thank you!

2. If you have ordered the Robin Hood audiobook The Siege from Amazon, you may like to know that it has now been released and the CD should be received by UK residents early next week. Thanks to Vicki for this info.

3. Annette from RAOnline found this article on the Naxos site in which the production crew described working with Richard Armitage during the recording of Georgette Heyer’s Sylvester. There is a preview excerpt on RAOnline, although Ali is halfway through and is thoroughly enjoying the story… and the voices.

4. The Kudos site has a fantastic Spooks promo featuring cast from all 7 series including Lucas North. Click on the Spooks pic to view.

New stills of Richard filming Spooks at the Royal Festival Hall have been found on youtube by Patty. Thank you!

1. The Radio Times website has confirmed that Moving On starring Richard will be shown on Monday 20 July at 10.35pm on BBC1.

2. The Richard on DVD page has been updated and many of the prices at Amazon and Play.com have changed. The Sylvester audiobook and Moving On DVD are now available to buy. The Witchfinders audiobook is not currently available from Amazon, although you can buy it from Play.com or Big Finish who produced it. The Robin Hood audiobook narrated by Richard called The Siege was supposed to be released on 30 June, but to our knowledge it is not yet available. You can pre-order it however.

1. There’s a clip of the Spooks filming at the London Eye here on Youtube. Unfortunately you need to lie down to view it properly.

2. The interview with Richard Armitage on Vulpes Libris is here.
Forthcoming projects to look forward to, according to Richard: “A new 6-part TV series, a film, and a stage play based on a novel, which became a 60’s film classic. (Answers on a postcard please!) Hopefully, Spooks 9.”

1. A big thank you to AJ who has received confirmation from the Radio Times that Moving On: Drowning Not Waving starring Richard Armitage and Christine Tremarco ‘will be now scheduled at the end of the run in about two weeks time’.

2. Scan of next week’s Radio Times on the Robin Hood reviews page. (Oh and it wasn’t a syrup, it was hair extensions).

1. On Weds 8 July, the blog Vulpris Libris will publish an interview with Richard Armitage as part of their ‘In Conversation with…’ series: “…when actor Richard Armitage talks thoughtfully about the important books in his life, history’s favourite double-dyed villain and the redemption of Guy of Gisborne … among other things.”

2. Two stunning Gisborne wallpapers added, created by Emerald and Gizzysgirl.

Another press article about RH being axed in the Coventry Telegraph dated 3rd July. Read it here

BBC News has reported the decision to end the Robin Hood series.

1.It’s been reported on the BBC Points of View board that the last episode of Robin Hood will be re-shown on Saturday 11 July, BBC1, 5.15pm in addition to the BBC3 repeat on Monday 6 July at 8pm.

2. The Guardian is now reporting that there will be no series 4 of Robin Hood.

1. This list of shows coming to BBCA includes Robin Hood S3, at last! Sometime this year, but no date yet. Some other really good stuff too *cough* Being Human *cough*

2. Pictures of Guy from the DVD which arrived on my doorstep this morning. Guy appears on disc 1 and on the inside cover of the boxset. Click to enlarge.

3. Screencaps of Richard from the special features on the s3 RH DVD are here. Enjoy.

1. Two beautiful Gisborne wallpapers created by HeathRA and another beauty by Angelfish69. View them here.

2. More artwork added. Another by LadyT220 and two by Fingerpaints. Thanks ladies.

3. BBC America has announced that the season 3 DVD of Robin Hood (region 1) will be released early in 2010. Thanks to Lynn for this info.

1. We’ve created a Sir Guy appreciation page where you can leave your thoughts about the man in black. Click here.

2. Episode 13 screencaps are now in the RH gallery.

3. Several magazine articles have been put in the RH season 3 scans page (click here and then click on the picture of Guy). What’s On TV courtesy of Jen and TV Times courtesy of June. Thank you ladies.

4. Online reviews of RH episode 13 listed here. One of them includes a gratuitous but amusing poll.

5. Three new stunning Gisborne wallpapers at the end of the page, by angelfish69 and June inspired by the death of Sir Guy.

6. Beautiful Guy drawing by Lady_T_220 in the artwork section. Please leave a comment on this page if you want to give the artists feedback. Many thanks.

Caps for ep13 will be up Sunday afternoon. We will also put up a thread tomorrow where people can post comments about the finale of Robin Hood.

Preview of ep13 on the BBC Robin Hood site. Nothing too spoilerish. Apologies to those not in the UK who won’t be able to view this. It’s also on youtube, but be warned as comments left here do contain spoilers.

1. Three short scans from this week’s Radio Times about Moving On, which is repeated next week. See Moving On Reviews. Thanks Liz for the scans.

2. We have heard that there is a massive spoiler in this week’s TV Times so watch out for that if you buy it. The Radio Times has a mild spoiler and a cast list that you might also wish to avoid if you’d rather be surprised on Saturday. No doubt other telly mags are the same.

1. Two new promotional pics added to the RH promo gallery. A pic of a brooding Guy and one of Guy and Isabella.

2. We’ve uploaded some promotional pictures of Richard Armitage here including the 2009 pictures

1. Screencaps for RH Episode 12 are up here. Sorry for the delay.

2. Hedgey and Ali are on an avoiding spoliers kick. We know there are lots out there but please bear that in mind with your comments, guest book entries and emails to us for the next week whilst we bury our heads in the sand. Cheers!

Okay we’ve had some articles for a few days as they contain some HUGE and unconfirmed rumours so here they are. Be aware that they are not confirmed and they contain BIG Spoilers.

Guardian article – make sure you read the comments. Some are quite amusing.

My Park Article – again unconfirmed.

1. Lots of stunning Guy of Gisborne wallpapers added by Kiteflier in different sizes to suit your desktop. Thanks KF!

2. What’s On TV 20 – 26 June articles added to Robin Hood Press Reviews. But there is a huge spoiler here!

3. New pic of Guy we haven’t seen before (click to enlarge)

This comes from the My Park Magazine Robin Hood Gallery, which has 70 photos in total. Some of these have been on the Shootastic website, however there are some new pics here, some with spoilers for ep12 and ep13, so view with caution!

Thank you Jen for finding this.

We’ve added downloads of the Guy profile and the Hood Academy feature to the downloads section here. All I can say is yellow really is not his colour.

1. Added 6 new Guy wallpapers. More to come.

2. Preview of RH episode 12 is on the BBC RH site and on youtube.

3. Hood Academy pictures have been added to the Robin Hood gallery.

1. Couple of links to reviews added to the Robin Hood reviews section

2. Three high resolution pictures of Richard as Ricky Deeming have been spotted on the ZDF.de (German TV channel) site by Bee – thank you! These have been added to the George Gently gallery. The original pictures have text in German written over the black bar which unfortunately obscures the bottom half of the pictures, but they are definitely worth a look. The pictures are from here. Click on the first link and browse through.

1. The teddy is safely at home and the caps for Episode 11 are up here

2. There’s a great vid here on youtube by Spikesbint about Guy’s life up to now that you may care to view.. Contains spoilers.

Apologies, but due to a crisis involving a small pink teddy bear left at its owners Dad’s house and a rescue operation to avoid tears the caps for episode 11 won’t be up tonight. (she’s had the bear since she was a week old and has never gone to bed without it) Sorry. They’ll be up tomorrow.

1. Press Release for Robin Hood Episode 13: Something Worth Fighting For Part 2 has been released. There is a huge spoiler, but Guy’s fate is not mentioned so we are still blissfully in the dark about that.

2. New poll on the left-hand side about reading the spoilers.

Two magazine scans about this week’s episode of Robin Hood from What’s On TV magazine added. See Press Reviews.

1. New pics are up on Shootastic from RH Episode 13. Make sure you log in to the site to see the pictures.

2. New scans added to the Press Reviews page. Thanks to Janice and June for these.

1. Couple of online reviews for RH ep10 added to RH Press Reviews.

2. Preview of episode 11 is now on the BBC Robin Hood site. It’s not on youtube yet, but hopefully the BBC will put it up there soon as they did last week.

Caps from Episode Ten of Robin Hood are now up here

New wallpapers added courtesy of angelfish: new Gisborne wallpapers

Episode 12 is now at the press office. Something worth fighting for: Part 1. Lots of spoilers and a surprising turn of events.

3 new Guy and Meg Wallpapers added by Kiteflier. Each comes in 3 sizes. They can be found here

Article scans from What’s on TV added to the RH reviews. Thanks to Jen for those.

1. The BBC Robin Hood site has updated with a preview of Bad Blood, episode 10 of Robin Hood to be shown this Saturday. Thank you Jen for alerting us to this. A confrontation between Robin and a very shaky looking Gisborne in the forest. Apologies to non-UK fans who I don’t think will be able to see this content.

Update: the BBC have put the clip on youtube, yay!

2. Character page for Archer is now on the Robin Hood site.

A few online reviews added today. Two for Robin Hood Click on RH Press Reviews.

Caps for Episode Nine are now up in the gallery. Hedgey had a little weep doing them.

New high res pictures of Guy in ep12 and a couple of new ones for ep11 on Shootastic. Spoiler warning.You must log in to the site to view all the pictures.

Synopsis of Episode 11 – The Enemy of My Enemy is now at the BBC Press Office here. Spoiler warning.

1. New set of high resolution pictures of Robin Hood at Paige’s Shootastic site for episodes 8, 9, 10 and 11. You have to be logged into her site to see the pictures. Thank you Paige! Warning – there are HUGE spoilers here so don’t look if you don’t want to know!

2. Caps for Robin Hood Episode eight now up in the gallery here

The BBC Press Office has just released information about Episode 10 entitled Bad Blood. This is a Guy-Robin centric episode with lots of intriguing backstory. Huge spoilers in the press release.

Two articles from today’s Radio Times have been added to RH Press Reviews ,mostly concerned with Toby Stephen’s role as Prince John in episode 8 to be shown this Saturday. Only the 2nd article mentions Gisborne. Thanks to June for the scans.

Episode 9 of Robin Hood is called A Dangerous Deal. This BBC Press Release contains spoilers about the episode.

Dan’s Media Digest has given Robin Hood episode 7 a good review here. Click on Press Reviews on the left for other reviews.

Robin Hood episode 7 screencaps are here

Robin Hood episode 8 “The King is Dead, Long Live the King” is up on the BBC press site. Unfortunately no mention of Richard or Gisborne.

Article scans from the Radio Times and What’s on TV added to the Reviews section

Good review of Episode 6 here with strong praise for Richard. To quote’ No doubt about it, this show comes to life most when Richard Armitage is on the screen’.

200 lovely caps from Episode 6 of Robin Hood now up here

1. The BBC Press Office programme info for 16 – 22 May has been published. Robin Hood will not be shown that week (Sat 16 May) because of the Eurovision song contest. However, Richard will appear in Moving On: Drowning Not Waving on Weds 20th May, time to be confirmed – click here for info.

2. Two scans from What’s on TV magazine in the Press Reviews section on the left-hand side, courtesy of Jen. Spoiler warning!

Article scan from the Radio Times – click here. They do get his name wrong though.

A couple of RH online reviews added – click on the Press Reviews link on the left.

Screencaps for RH episode 5 are now up in the screencap gallery, thanks to Dreamcatcher.

Episode 7 synopsis ‘Too Hot To Handle’ can now be found at the BBC press office site here. Warning: spoilers!

1. The BBC RH page has a new profile of Isabella which gives some background to her and Guy’s relationship. HERE

2. Preview of Episode 5 on the BBC website here. Interesting choice of music in the last three seconds.

1. The sixth Robin Hood audiobook (the second one read by Richard) is called ‘The Siege’ and will be released on 30 June 2009. Here’s a picture of the cover. Big Finish weblink

2. Not strictly Richard news, but we’re sure many of you will be interested to read Toby Stephens’s interview in the BBC Press Release here about his role in Robin Hood as Prince John.

Episode 6 of Robin Hood is called Do You Love Me? and the synopsis can be read here on the BBC Press site. Spoiler warning!

Interview with Lara Pulver, who plays Isabella, Gisborne’s sister in episode 5 and onwards in Robin Hood in the BBC Press Office page here. Lara is very complimentary in her comments about working with the cast and crew and mentions Richard specifically.

A few mentions of Guy of Gisborne in the Radio Times 18-24 April, which is out today. Under the description of the show on Saturday the reviewer writes, “Fun, as ever, but we miss Gisborne” and on page 48, the main preview by David Butcher ends “..somehow, without bad old Gisborne, it all lacks a certain something.” We think they have good taste.

1. Big Finish have announced that the first audiobook, The Witchfinders, read by Richard Armitage will be released on 30 April.

This is the cover:

To pre-order your copy, click here or go to Amazon UK

2. The April podcast on the Big Finish website has an extract from the audiobook. Go to 3:15 to hear the bit about RH. If you right-click and choose Save you will be able to save an mp3 copy.

3. Episode 5 of Robin Hood is called Let the Games Commence and the synopsis can be read here on the BBC Press site. Spoiler warning!

4. Shootastic now has high resolution stills from RH episodes 5 & 6. Warning – spoilers. You have to register/log in to view the stills. Click here.

Episodes of Spooks season 7 can now be downloaded from iTunes UK store at a cost of £1.89 each or £15.12 for the lot.

1. RH Episode Two caps are now up thanks to dreamcatcher. Unfortunately Hedgey’s DVD in a fit of (un)helpfulness decided as it was daylight savings that it would start recording an hour after the time set. Which was nice. Caps are here

1. Big Finish have announced the release date for the audio books. Clickie

2. Very complimentary but short article about RH episode 2 in the Daily Mail Weekend Supplement. Click here

Robin Hood Episode 2 preview shown on GMTV this morning. Download it here.

Robin Hood Episode 2 Trailer download available here.

Reviews of Episode one have been added here

1. You can now pre-order the Robin Hood series 3 DVD (region 2) from the BBC Shop for £27.00 or from Amazon. BBC Shop page. It will be released on 22nd June 2009.

2. Download of the RH article broadcast on BBC Entertainment news here

1. Caps for RH Episode One are now up HERE. Next week they should be up a tad quicker but this week the admins were all in one place and had been imbibing.

2. New Guy related poll on left-hand side of homepage.

1. New interview with Richard on Digital Spy. It seems the future for Guy is still uncertain – click here.

2. Lots more pictures on Shootastic today of episodes 2- 4 here. You will have to register/log in first. You are welcome to use and share these pictures please DO NOT hotlink to these pics. Credit to Paige/Shootastic where appropriate.

1. There’s an article on Robin Hood on the BBC news site with some behind the scenes footage. You can read and view here

2. The BBC Robin Hood site has been updated. No Gizzy wallpapers unfortunately although the games are fun. You can find it here

3. There’s an article about 11 year old James Buckley who will be in RH Season 3 here. This includes a pic of the little lad with Richard in the Halifax courier.

1. Keith Allen appeared on the This Morning show on ITV today. RH was discussed a little and there’s a very short clip of Guy in one of the pre-interview clips that you can download here.

2. New Interview with Richard about playing Guy of Gisborne on the BBC Press site.

3. Episode 3 of Robin Hood is called Lost in Translation and the synopsis can be read on the BBC Press site. Spoiler warning!

Richard appeared on GMTV this morning. Download clip here. Screencaps can be found here.

1. Digital Spy is having a Robin Hood week, showing interviews with a different cast member each day. The first one, with Gordon Kennedy, can be seen here. Maybe Richard will appear later this week?
Warning: at the end of the interview, Gordon appears to give away what happens to Robin at the end of the series.

2. Scan of the Radio Times Robin Hood article can be viewed HERE.

3. Scans from TV Choice and What’s on TV magazines can be viewed HERE. Thanks to Jen for the scans.

4. New short clip of episode 2 shown on The Paul O’Grady Show can be downloaded HERE.

You can now download the BBC RH3 trailer. Follow the clickie

The BBC TV schedule has confirmed that the first episode of Robin Hood 3 will be shown in high definition.

1. Interview with David Harewood who plays Tuck on the BBC press site.

2. Episode 2 synopsis can be found on the BBC press site. Beware, there are spoilers! Episode 2 is entitled ‘Cause and Effect’.

1. New promotional pictures from RH s3 and stills from episode 1 here. You may have to register/log in first. A million thanks to Paige for sourcing these pictures. Paige is happy for you to use and share but please DO NOT hotlink to these pics. Credit to Paige/Shootastic would be nice.

2. High res pics from Shootastic site have been added to the promo section of our RH gallery. You can see them HERE

3. Press release for RH s3 episode 1 has been published. Read it here. Massive spoiler alert, don’t click if you don’t want to know what happens, it basically tells you the entire plot of the episode. Start time confirmed of 6.50pm on 28 March. The episode is entitled ‘Total Eclipse’.

4. Added two new wallpapers to the Guy wallpapers page by Angelfish69 showing the Gisborne Siblings, a composite made from the new pictures received today. Thanks A x

Hurrah we finally know when Robin Hood season 3 will air in the UK! Saturday 28 March on BBC1. The updated BBC press release is here.

It’s been announced that Richard is doing a new audiobook – “Sylvester” by Georgette Heyer. It’s available for pre-order here . Thanks to spikesbint for this.

Spooks series 7 DVD will be released on 12 October 2009 at RRP £58.99. Amazon.co.uk are taking pre-orders for £25.98.

1. A very big thank you to Yorkshirewench who has allowed us to link to the BBC showcase download (here). Please do not link elsewhere, or upload to youtube or similar.

2. Richard appears in a podcast just announced on The Stage’s website – click here to listen. There is more information about what is discussed during the podcast and some spoilers here.

Richard’s picture on his United Agents page has been updated. Thank you very much Empeel for emailing us with this news!

1. New pics of Richard on BBC Breakfast added to the Richard gallery. He was in attendence at this function for the BBC. Clickie. thanks to Yorkshirewench for the vid from which these caps came.

2. According to What’s on TV, Richard will narrate a new series of Homes from Hell 2009 starting Tues 3 March, 8.00pm on ITV1.

1. New site for those on a slow connection. Described by the webmaster as “A little site for fans with old computers or dial-up access”. Richard-Armitage.org

2. More BAFTA pics added courtesy of PG, thank you! Click on BAFTA 2007 Pics on the left-hand side.

Article in myparkmag, hints at new love interest for Robin. Click here to read.

1. British TV suite have an online article about the new RH series which you can read here. Contains spoilers.

2. As the publicity machine now seems in full swing the reviews section now has a Robin hood section where all of the online interviews, reviews and artciles will be listed.

3. TV Scoop have a small and rather sarcastic little article, but it does hint at a March start. Clickie

1. Screencaps showing clips of Guy in series 3 are now on the site. Go to screencap gallery – Robin Hood.

2. The BBC have released a new press pack about Robin Hood, but as yet no actual date. You can read about it here

A picture of Richard and an article about his win of the RNA’s Valentine Poll appears in the Daily Mail and the online version which you can see here (halfway down the page). Congratulations to Angelfish69 whose video is mentioned in the article. You can view this lovely vid on youtube here.

1. Richard has given a mini interview to Red Magazine. You can see the scan here. Thanks to LadyJuliana for the scan. Not sure about the reference to the Spooks DVD, however, as Amazon now say it’s released in October.

2. Richard has topped the Romantic Novelists’ Association Valentine’s Poll, jumping to first place above the likes of Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman and George Clooney.

Richard’s United Agents voiceover page has been updated with some new extracts. Listen to them here. The Smirnoff ad is proving very popular!

Big Finish to release 6 one hour long audiobooks each read by one of four members of the cast including Richard Armitage. Read more and order here.

Spooks Series 7 to be shown in Canada on BBC Canada. The starting date is 4th March at 10pm ET.

Spooks/MI5 is to be aired in the US uncut on the some PBS channel. More details about it here

Lynn found this great site about period dramas with a large section on North and South. Includes a great cravat quiz. Justperioddrama.com

The chap playing the young Guy of Gisborne in series 3 is Tommy Bastow. His wiki page is here. And here’s a picture

1. Shootastic has some wonderful high res pics from Spooks (and other shows) You need to register in order to view the pics but they are well worth it. Shootastic

2. The Stage has some news about Robin Hood Series 4 (yes 4). The Stage