Post by Lane Kent on Jan 11, 2008 18:17:04 GMT
(c) ITV Press
Thursday 10 January 2008 9:00pm - 9:30pm on ITV1.
The launch of ITV’s new soap Polnarren is going down the drain. Maverick Jonathan Pope is hired as the new producer, quickly taking the production office by storm. He changes the name of the soap to Echo Beach, sacks actors, redesigns sets, demands a sexier look and imposes his spontaneous ‘vision’ on the team.
When Jonathan insists on writing Echo Beach around the British Soap Award categories, hires Jason Donovan for twelve episodes instead of one, and casts Martine McCutcheon because his PA likes her, the team are shell-shocked. Meanwhile, Suzie Amy, a struggling actress, soon realises that the one person who might actually entertain her request for a line in Echo Beach is Jonathan Pope.
With the launch of Echo Beach looming, the writers have to re-write the story of Daniel Marrack’s departure at the end of episode one and pull together a host of new characters and storylines. The clock is ticking and the script editor, Sam, tries to hold everything together while tenacious Head of Continuing Drama at ITV, Nancy Weeks, waits eagerly for Jonathan to mess up so she can take pleasure in firing him.
When launch night arrives, they all sit down together to watch the first episode of Echo Beach. There’s excitement in the air – maybe Jonathan was right after all.
Friday 11 January 2008 9:00pm - 9:30pm on ITV1.
Jonathan is immensely proud of episode one and momentarily thinks he can relax for his birthday celebrations. It’s not long before the pressure is back on, especially when Kelly sends the payroll around to everyone and Nancy makes it clear that she still wants Jonathan out.
Jason Donovan’s delivery of a cuddly panda for his birthday doesn’t appease Jonathan, as his own team give him a cheap mechanical monkey. What’s even more surprising about this is that he had slipped £200 into his own measly birthday collection.
To make himself feel better, Jonathan gives in to Suzie Amy’s latest proposition while Mel struggles to appease a member of the cast who doesn’t want to shave off his facial hair. Meanwhile, the writers try to pull together the storylines they hurriedly set up in episode one.
Friday 18 January 2008 9:00pm - 9:30pm on ITV1.
With Nancy demanding meetings about why the show is massively over budget and that Narinder’s back story hasn’t been worked out properly, Jonathan turns to a team he feels he is finally bonding with.
But he feels out of the loop, and moves into the production office to be closer to everyone. His noisy habits soon irritate the writers and his tactless comments upset Gillian, who has just been mugged. His clumsy attempt to apologise by taking her for a spin in Echo Beach’s latest prop – a beach buggy – backfires when he almost knocks over Narinda herself, Chandeep Upall.
While the writers debate if Jimmy or Charlie should get together with Abi, Carl daydreams of his own love interest, Kelly. Kelly’s not interested, especially when Carl mistakes her mum for a sex worker. The team are still working on Nancy’s story requests when Suzie Amy catches Jonathan off guard and questions how her own back story is going. Jonathan escapes Suzie’s tantalising suggestions by accompanying Gillian to the police station to identify her mugger, only to find himself the butt of a practical joke.
ITV is proud to announce two interlinking shows from the makers of Life On Mars, Spooks and Hustle. Jason Donovan and Martine McCutcheon return to their soap roots to play the parts of ex-lovers in Echo Beach. Ben Miller plays the hapless producer desperate to make the soap a success in a behind-the-scenes comedy Moving Wallpaper.
Both 12 part series, from the award-winning Kudos, will run together on ITV1.
In Echo Beach, Hugo Speer (Bleak House, The Full Monty) plays Mark Penwarden, who will stop at nothing to run his wife Susan’s (McCutcheon) ex-lover Daniel Marrack (Donovan) out of Polnarren, with Johnny Briggs (Coronation Street) as long term resident Fin Morgan.
The town’s youngest residents are played by some of Britain’s hottest young talent. These include Ed Speleers (Eragon), Marcus Patrick (Hollyoaks), Laura Greenwood (Prime Suspect 7), Christian Cooke (Where The Heart Is), Johnathan Readwin (Robin Hood), Naomi Ryan (Dream Team), Chandeep Uppal (Anita And Me) and newcomer Hannah Lederer-Alton.
Moving Wallpaper’s Ben Miller (Armstrong And Miller, Primeval, The Worst Week) is joined by Raquel Cassidy (Party Animals, Lead Balloon), James Lance (Teachers, Sensitive Skin), Sarah Hadland (Learners, Peep Show), Elizabeth Berrington (The Dinner Party, The Office), Lucy Lieman (The IT Crowd), Dave Lamb (The Smoking Room) and Sinead Keenan (Trouble With Sex).
Susie Amy (Footballer’s Wives, Hotel Babylon) appears in both shows.
Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach has a distinctive set up; eagle-eyed viewers will see jokes, characters and stories crossing from one show to the other.
Both shows have been created by Tony Jordan, lead writer and story consultant for EastEnders, co-creator of Life On Mars and creator of Hustle.
Echo Beach will follow the lives of Daniel, Susan and Mark whose affairs of the heart are played out amongst the teenage angst, family loyalties and tested friendships. Martine will play a woman with a past, while Jason will play the returning ex-lover who is set to rock the foundations of Mark and Susan’s marriage.
On the other side of the camera is Moving Wallpaper, where an army of executives, crew and publicists behind the making of the soap will be pushed to their creative limits by the irrepressible Pope.
Jordan, who has written for Eastenders since 1985, executive produces both shows with Kudos’s Jane Featherstone and Alison Jackson.
Thursday 10 January 2008 9:00pm - 9:30pm on ITV1.
The launch of ITV’s new soap Polnarren is going down the drain. Maverick Jonathan Pope is hired as the new producer, quickly taking the production office by storm. He changes the name of the soap to Echo Beach, sacks actors, redesigns sets, demands a sexier look and imposes his spontaneous ‘vision’ on the team.
When Jonathan insists on writing Echo Beach around the British Soap Award categories, hires Jason Donovan for twelve episodes instead of one, and casts Martine McCutcheon because his PA likes her, the team are shell-shocked. Meanwhile, Suzie Amy, a struggling actress, soon realises that the one person who might actually entertain her request for a line in Echo Beach is Jonathan Pope.
With the launch of Echo Beach looming, the writers have to re-write the story of Daniel Marrack’s departure at the end of episode one and pull together a host of new characters and storylines. The clock is ticking and the script editor, Sam, tries to hold everything together while tenacious Head of Continuing Drama at ITV, Nancy Weeks, waits eagerly for Jonathan to mess up so she can take pleasure in firing him.
When launch night arrives, they all sit down together to watch the first episode of Echo Beach. There’s excitement in the air – maybe Jonathan was right after all.
Friday 11 January 2008 9:00pm - 9:30pm on ITV1.
Jonathan is immensely proud of episode one and momentarily thinks he can relax for his birthday celebrations. It’s not long before the pressure is back on, especially when Kelly sends the payroll around to everyone and Nancy makes it clear that she still wants Jonathan out.
Jason Donovan’s delivery of a cuddly panda for his birthday doesn’t appease Jonathan, as his own team give him a cheap mechanical monkey. What’s even more surprising about this is that he had slipped £200 into his own measly birthday collection.
To make himself feel better, Jonathan gives in to Suzie Amy’s latest proposition while Mel struggles to appease a member of the cast who doesn’t want to shave off his facial hair. Meanwhile, the writers try to pull together the storylines they hurriedly set up in episode one.
Friday 18 January 2008 9:00pm - 9:30pm on ITV1.
With Nancy demanding meetings about why the show is massively over budget and that Narinder’s back story hasn’t been worked out properly, Jonathan turns to a team he feels he is finally bonding with.
But he feels out of the loop, and moves into the production office to be closer to everyone. His noisy habits soon irritate the writers and his tactless comments upset Gillian, who has just been mugged. His clumsy attempt to apologise by taking her for a spin in Echo Beach’s latest prop – a beach buggy – backfires when he almost knocks over Narinda herself, Chandeep Upall.
While the writers debate if Jimmy or Charlie should get together with Abi, Carl daydreams of his own love interest, Kelly. Kelly’s not interested, especially when Carl mistakes her mum for a sex worker. The team are still working on Nancy’s story requests when Suzie Amy catches Jonathan off guard and questions how her own back story is going. Jonathan escapes Suzie’s tantalising suggestions by accompanying Gillian to the police station to identify her mugger, only to find himself the butt of a practical joke.
ITV is proud to announce two interlinking shows from the makers of Life On Mars, Spooks and Hustle. Jason Donovan and Martine McCutcheon return to their soap roots to play the parts of ex-lovers in Echo Beach. Ben Miller plays the hapless producer desperate to make the soap a success in a behind-the-scenes comedy Moving Wallpaper.
Both 12 part series, from the award-winning Kudos, will run together on ITV1.
In Echo Beach, Hugo Speer (Bleak House, The Full Monty) plays Mark Penwarden, who will stop at nothing to run his wife Susan’s (McCutcheon) ex-lover Daniel Marrack (Donovan) out of Polnarren, with Johnny Briggs (Coronation Street) as long term resident Fin Morgan.
The town’s youngest residents are played by some of Britain’s hottest young talent. These include Ed Speleers (Eragon), Marcus Patrick (Hollyoaks), Laura Greenwood (Prime Suspect 7), Christian Cooke (Where The Heart Is), Johnathan Readwin (Robin Hood), Naomi Ryan (Dream Team), Chandeep Uppal (Anita And Me) and newcomer Hannah Lederer-Alton.
Moving Wallpaper’s Ben Miller (Armstrong And Miller, Primeval, The Worst Week) is joined by Raquel Cassidy (Party Animals, Lead Balloon), James Lance (Teachers, Sensitive Skin), Sarah Hadland (Learners, Peep Show), Elizabeth Berrington (The Dinner Party, The Office), Lucy Lieman (The IT Crowd), Dave Lamb (The Smoking Room) and Sinead Keenan (Trouble With Sex).
Susie Amy (Footballer’s Wives, Hotel Babylon) appears in both shows.
Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach has a distinctive set up; eagle-eyed viewers will see jokes, characters and stories crossing from one show to the other.
Both shows have been created by Tony Jordan, lead writer and story consultant for EastEnders, co-creator of Life On Mars and creator of Hustle.
Echo Beach will follow the lives of Daniel, Susan and Mark whose affairs of the heart are played out amongst the teenage angst, family loyalties and tested friendships. Martine will play a woman with a past, while Jason will play the returning ex-lover who is set to rock the foundations of Mark and Susan’s marriage.
On the other side of the camera is Moving Wallpaper, where an army of executives, crew and publicists behind the making of the soap will be pushed to their creative limits by the irrepressible Pope.
Jordan, who has written for Eastenders since 1985, executive produces both shows with Kudos’s Jane Featherstone and Alison Jackson.