Daniel Mays was busy this week on the red carpet and press circuit for The Thursday Murder Club.
BBC– being cast in The Thursday Murder Club movie was a “dream job”.
BBC Radio Stoke Danny’s interview is around the 20 minute mark.
Good Morning Britain interview from 27/8
Radio X interview:
HeyUGuys red carpet interview
Heart Radio:
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
The Thursday Murder Club is now streaming on Netflix worldwide!
Daniel Mays stars as DCI Chris Hudson.
Based on Richard Osman’s international bestselling novel of the same name, The Thursday Murder Club follows four irrepressible retirees – Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Joyce (Celia Imrie) – who spend their time solving cold case murders for fun. When an unexplained death occurs on their own doorstep, their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn as they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands. Directed by Chris Columbus, the film is the latest to be produced through the Netflix and Amblin Entertainment partnership.
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
ITV’s Director of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned a four-part true crime drama, Believe Me, written by BAFTA and RTS award winning screenwriter Jeff Pope MBE, and produced by his production company, Etta Pictures, part of ITV Studios.
Believe Me tells the story of three victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history, John Worboys, dubbed by the media as the ‘black cab rapist’ after preying on women under the cover of being a ‘respectable’ licensed taxi-cab driver.
Aimée-Ffion Edwards (Slow Horses, Peaky Blinders, Dreamland, Mr Burton) Miriam Petche (Industry) and Aasiya Shah (Raised by Wolves, Bloods, The Beast Must Die) play the women Worboys sexually assaulted. Daniel Mays takes the role of John Worboys (Des, A Thousand Blows, The Long Shadow, Moonflower Murders).
The drama will be filmed in Cardiff and is produced with the support of the Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
John Worboys was convicted in 2009 for sexually assaulting twelve women between 2006 and 2008, with their cases selected from a large number of suspected further victims. His modus operandi was to claim that he’d had a win at a casino or on the lottery, then persistently offer women he’d picked up in his cab after a night out a glass of champagne, which he’d laced with drugs, and which rendered his victims unconscious.
The drama focuses on the ordeal of two of the women who reported sexual assaults by Worboys, and how the Metropolitan Police failed to thoroughly investigate these women’s allegations, leading them to feel that they were just not believed.
Believe Me will relate how this left Worboys free to commit assaults undetected for many years. Following his trial came the realisation that he was linked to allegations of further sexual offences against over a hundred women.
The two women then joined forces with solicitor Harriet Wistrich and Phillippa Kaufmann QC, and decided to sue the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act for their failure to properly conduct investigations into their allegations of sexual assault, leading to them being subjected to degrading treatment and contributing to their distress.
The drama highlights how these women fought against all odds to have their cases heard, whilst looming in the background was Worboys’ first parole hearing. Unbelievably, eight years after he was convicted for his crimes, his victims were made to fight again to keep him behind bars.
Academy Award nominated and BAFTA and RTS award winning screenwriter Jeff Pope is no stranger to true crime drama having recently written Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes and previously being known for The Walk In, Hatton Garden, A Confession, Little Boy Blue, Mrs Biggs and Lucan and was also Executive Producer for TheReckoning and Appropriate Adult (both written by Neil McKay).
Jeff’s work also includes the feature films Stan & Ollie, Philomena and Pierrepoint and critically acclaimed television biopics Cilla and Archie.
Jeff will executive produce the drama alongside Saurabh Kakkar on behalf of Etta Pictures. Julia Ford (Until I Kill You, Showtrial, Unforgiveable) will direct the series. Catrin Lewis Defis (The Winter King, Hollington Drive, The Pact) will produce the series.
Commented Jeff Pope:
“The series goes on an emotional journey with the victims of Worboys’ attacks, showing what happened to them when they reported being raped and assaulted, the pain and indignity of the process and how this de-humanised them. But most shocking of all is how they felt that not being believed by the police and having the attacks recorded, essentially, as non-crimes, was as traumatising for them as the actual assaults.”
Polly Hill will oversee production of the drama from the broadcaster’s perspective.
Commented Polly Hill:
“We are really proud to be working with Jeff Pope to bring this important story to screen. For too long the women were not heard by the police, resulting in more victims and ultimately resulting in a landmark case brought against the Met. Jeff’s scripts as always are brilliant in bringing this difficult but important story to screen and I am delighted that Julia Ford will be directing the piece.”
The drama will air on ITV1 and STV and be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player.
Believe Me is produced in association with, and distributed by, ITV Studios.
Check back for more updates as the production begins.
(Photo credit – Will Thompson)
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
BBC & BritBox have released the first trailer for Lynley. The series based on the best-selling novels by Elizabeth George will launch this autumn on BBC iPlayer and BBC One and on BritBox in he US and Canada on 4 September. Daniel Mays stars as DCI Brian Nies.
Tommy Lynley is a brilliant police detective but an outsider in the force – simply by virtue of his aristocratic upbringing. He is paired with Barbara Havers, a sergeant with a maverick attitude and a working-class background. With seemingly nothing in common and against all odds, the mismatched duo of Lynley and Havers become a formidable team, bonded by their desire to see justice done. His brain and her spirit – his knowledge and her instincts. It is only through working side by side do they both find where they truly belong.
Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla) and Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) star as Lynley and Havers, the unconventional duo at the heart of the series. They are joined by a standout supporting cast including Daniel Mays (Magpie Murders), Niamh Walsh (The English Game), Michael Workeye (My Lady Jane) and Joshua Sher (Vera).
Produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, All Creatures Great and Small), Lynley was commissioned by BritBox in the U.S. in association with the BBC.
Lynley (4×90’) is created, written and executive produced by Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Vienna Blood). Ed Bazalgette (Marie Antoinette, The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die) served as lead director, with Stewart Svaasand (All Creatures Great and Small) also directing. Suzanne McAuley (Magpie Murders, Love/Hate) serves as series producer. Executive producers include David Stern and Colin Callender for Playground; Robert Schildhouse, Stephen Nye, Jon Farrar and Jess O’Riordan for BritBox; Kate Woods for BBC Studios; and Sue Deeks for the BBC.
Elizabeth George, author of the Inspector Lynley novels, also serves as executive producer. Her books have been translated into over 30 languages and were previously adapted into The Inspector Lynley Mysteries which ran on BBC One for six series from 2001 to 2007.
Lynley will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK, and on BritBox in the US and Canada this autumn. BBC Studios are handling global sales.
We will update as soon as we care able on the UK premiere date.
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
Bookish premieres today on U & Alibil channel! The first storyline “Slightly Foxed” features Daniel Mays as Eric Wellbeloved.
Episode 1: Series 1 – There’s a new assistant to train up at Book’s Books, but the excavation of a nearby bombsite that’s full of skeletons leads to book-selling taking a back seat.
Episode 2: Series 1 – Bliss and Book’s investigation into Harkup’s death continues as Book discovers some surprising evidence in the case of the bombsite skeletons
Trailer:
Make sure to tune in and watch at 8PM & 9PM on Wednesday 16 July or catch up with all episodes on demand.
Bookish will premiere later on in 2025 in the US on PBS and in other international markets.
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
Announced 24 June: Bookish will premiere on 16 July on U & Alibi.
I. & Alibi released the trailer for Bookish today:
London 1946 is the setting for series one, with viewers introduced to the appropriately named Gabriel Book (Gatiss) who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane. If his War was packed with espionage and secrets, Book’s Peace is just as full of adventure! Now he helps the police solve the strangest of crimes and the knottiest of murders. But his close association to the force is not without its dangers. For although he is very happily married to his childhood best friend, the captivating Trottie, Book is a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal. When Book and Trottie take in Jack it seems like an act of altruism: a second chance for a young jailbird.And Jack proves a worthy assistant both in the shop and in Book’s murder investigations.
It soon becomes clear, however, that Jack’s appointment wasn’t quite as random as it at first appears…With a complex mystery at the heart of every story, featuring a wealth of well-known guest stars, marrying post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life affirming atmosphere of the times, Bookish is a stylish period detective drama with a difference.
Bookish has also been renewed for Series 2!
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
Disney Plus released the trailer for SUSPECT: THE SHOOTING OF JEAN CHARLES DE MENEZES the four part drama series which premieres on 30 April. Daniel Mays stars as Cliff Todd the Principal Forensic Investigator.
“Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes” focuses on the events surrounding the tragic killing of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes (Edison Alcaide), after he is mistaken for a terrorist. Told from multiple perspectives of those involved, it examines how memory – both accurate and distorted – can be turned into fact and shape our understanding of the truth.
The trailer takes us back almost twenty years, as London reels from the devastating suicide bomb attacks of 7 July 2005. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair (Conleth Hill) launches a large-scale counter terrorism operation to prevent further attacks with Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman (Max Beesley) leading the investigation into the bombings. Unbeknownst to them, another terrorist cell plots an assault that could equal the devastation of 7/7.
This second set of planned attacks fails, setting off one of the UK’s largest-ever manhunts and sparking a covert surveillance operation led by Commander Cressida Dick (Emily Mortimer). As tension and uncertainty rises across the nation, a series of extraordinary events unfolds, and the actions of the Metropolitan Police leads to a critical misidentification. Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent young Brazilian electrician on his way to work, is mistaken for a terrorist and fatally shot at Stockwell station. In the wake of these tragic events, Independent Police Complaints Commission secretary Lana Vandenberghe (Laura Aikman) makes a life-changing decision, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick (Russell Tovey), in a police force engulfed by crisis, fights for the truth to prevail. What follows is a family’s fight for justice and answers, and a long-fought struggle to bring clarity to a situation clouded by disinformation.
“Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes” is produced by Etta Pictures, Jeff Pope’s production label, which is part of ITV Studios, in association with Kwadjo Dajan’s KDJ Productions. The series is executive produced for Disney+ by Lee Mason, Executive Director of Scripted. Jean Charles de Menezes’ parents and other relatives are serving as consultants for the series.
Stream all four episodes of “Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes” on 30 April 2025, exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland. Hulu announced that this will premiere same day in the US with all episodes available.
Follow Daniel Mays on Instagram @danielmays9
Exciting News as Daniel Mays has joined the (as yet untitled) Jason Statham action film currently in production. Deadline and other news outlets have the scoop on the film being directed by Ric Roman Waughm.
In a recent interview with i Paper, Danny said of his character: “I’m playing the Simon Pegg character in Mission: Impossible – computer geek!” Jason Statham will play a man pulled back into his violent past.
Check back for more updates as official news on this new project is released!
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
The reviews in and A Thousand Blows is a resounding hit for DisneyPlus UK and Hulu!
Variety – Hulu’s Boxing Drama ‘A Thousand Blows’ Is Another Knockout From ‘Peaky Blinders’ Creator
The Times: ★★★★★
IGN: A beefy Victorian boxing drama that slugs its way to the top
Radio Times: ★★★★
NME: ★★★★ ‘A Thousand Blows’ review: knockout drama is more than just Peaky Bruisers
Paste: Steven Knight’s Gritty Victorian Boxing Drama A Thousand Blows Strikes True
RogerEbert.com: Hulu’s Bold “A Thousand Blows” Is the Most Riveting Series of the Year
Screenrant: “…I Genuinely Can’t Get Over How Good This Perfect Replacement Works”
CBR: Peaky Blinders Creator’s New Hulu Drama Is Absolutely Flawless (& It Has 1 of Stephen Graham’s Best Performances)
The Upcoming: ★★★★
(Photo courtesy of DisneyPlus UK)
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
A Thousand Blows is now available on Disney Plus UK and Hulu in the US.
Daniel Mays features as William “Punch” Lewis.
Disney+ has today unveiled the official full-length trailer and new artwork for the highly anticipated upcoming Original series, “A Thousand Blows”. The thrilling six-part series is set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London and stars Malachi Kirby, Erin Doherty, and Stephen Graham. “A Thousand Blows” launches on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland, Hulu in the U.S. and select other countries on Disney+ on 21 February 2025.
The action-packed trailer takes viewers back to the brutal East End of London in the 1880s. Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) and Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall), best friends from Jamaica, find themselves thrust into the criminal underbelly of London’s thriving bare-knuckle boxing scene. As Hezekiah finds fortune and fame through the art of pugilism, he attracts the attention of the infamous Queen of the Forty Elephants, Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), who sets about exploiting his talents to further her criminal enterprise. Meanwhile the menacing and self-declared emperor of the East End boxing world, Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham), determines to destroy Hezekiah whose ambitions to fight in the West End threaten everything he has built. What ensues is a battle of the old world against the new.
The gripping series is brought to life by acclaimed screenwriter Steven Knight, starring and executive produced by Stephen Graham. Steven Knight is the lead writer for the series, with episodes also written by a group of new voices including Ameir Brown, Insook Chappell, Harlan Davies and Yasmin Joseph. The series is directed, and executive produced by Tinge Krishnan and Nick Murphy, alongside Ashley Walters and Coky Giedroyc.
“A Thousand Blows” Season One (6×60’) is created, written and executive produced by Steven Knight. Starring and executive produced by Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters for Matriarch Productions, Damian Keogh and Kate Lewis for The Story Collective, and Tom Miller and Sam Myer for Water & Power Productions. Award-winning broadcaster and historian Professor David Olusoga acts as executive producer on the series with Tom Miller as Series Producer and Barrington Robinson and Jo Johnson as producers. The Original series is executive produced for Disney+ by Lee Mason, Executive Director of Scripted Content.
Series 2 is already completed filming and we will udpate when we have more information that premiere date.
In the meantime, get watching!!
(Photos courtest of DisneyPlus UK)
Follow Daniel Mays on Twitter @DanielMays9 and Instagram @danielmays9 and Threads @danielmays9
Daniel Mays 
You must be logged in to post a comment.