News about Richard Briers

TIMOTHY WEST: Prue notified Pru that I'd shortly be writing something about Sybil and Fawlty Towers, she gave me one simple instruction. 'You will do a good job, won't you, darling? Everybody loves Sybil.' Pru and I had spent the majority of their lives in the theatre at the time she was given the opportunity. She'd been in one of Richard Briers' best TV series - Marriage Lines - for a decade now, and she'd seen the occasional one-off TV show, but television wasn't really her thing. Pru didn't see that changing any time soon when the initial scripts for Fawlty Towers arrived on our doorstep at the start of 1975. After reading the scripts, she said, 'I don't really know what to do with this thing.' 'Here, have a look.'

Anglo Renewables has revealed plans for the sprawling 86-acre site on Strattons Farm, close to the famous hillside (right), which was immortalized in Richard Adams' much-loved book. It's the second 'threat' to emerge in the area in a matter of weeks after preliminary work was approved for 360 homes at Sandleford Park earlier this month (inset). Locals from Kingsclere, Sydmonton, Ecchinswell, Ashford Hill, and Headley have united and formed Village Solar Farm, a campaign group to discourage the developer from 'exploiting our stunning countryside,' according to Village Solar Farm (VSF).

It has become one of Britain's most well-known animated films in the last 50 years. However, after years of controversies over how kid-friendly Watership Down really is, censors have now upgraded its score from a U to a PG. In the British Board of Film Classification's annual report, it was revealed that problems concerning 'violence, danger, injury description, and language' in the 1978 version had been reclassified at a younger age.

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: A grand total of three eco-mentalists, yep, three, brought Piccadilly Circus, the British Empire's epicentre, to a halt yesterday morning. Around the corner, seven people - yep, seven, or whoever these headbangers call themselves this week - staged a funereal march along the Charing Cross Road, reducing rush-hour traffic to a crawl. Goodbye, Piccadilly, We've closed off Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Net Zero, But, frankly, we don't care!

Marianne Goodman (bottom right with partner Glenn) can't get over her excitement over her husband's new move. The bubbly 58-year-old and 61-year-old partners Glenn are now planning to move into a two-acre plot in northeast Poland after selling their 'cul-de-sac house' near Hartlepool. She is one of thousands of retirees from the UK to start a new life in the country. Former NHS worker John (on the left in top right), and former bus driver Johnny (left) are also among the Brits who have moved to retire in Poland

Matthew and Charis Watkinson departed from their Romford, Essex, in favor of a fresh start on a small farm in Pepeeshire countryside in 2016. Mr Watkinson's description of their self-sufficient farm as a "gloved recycling junkyard" includes a personal washing machine and a gas cooker that works on horse manure. They also have solar panels for electricity and a biodigester for gas, meaning they no longer have to pay for council tax. However, their new life is now under attack from trespassers who are attempting to prevent access to their homes. Mr Watkinson told MailOnline that the controversies over the access is a "personal vendetta" and that the former neighbors' money spent on a subject that is "not a worthwhile cause."

BUMBLE ON THE TEST: England closed on 97-0, 33 runs off a series-clinching win over South Africa on Sunday after the penultimate day of the third and final Test at the Oval. The hosts dismissed Dean Elgar's side for 169 before knocking off the majority of their target without loss after a superb bowling effort spearheaded by captain Ben Stokes. Bad light ended play on Monday, with a tameful morning anticipated on Monday as Ben Stokes' men look to win their sixth Test out of seven this summer. After a thrilling day of thrills and spills, Sportsmail columnist David 'Bumble' Lloyd picks out his day's news.