News about Simon Callow

As Desdemona in Othello, Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter or the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey , her acerbic wit, perfect timing and the twinkle in her eye endeared her to millions. Dame Maggie Smith , who has died just three months away from her 90th birthday, could turn on a dime. In doing so, she could make an audience ache with laughter one moment and well up the next. Above: Dame Maggie in 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (left); as Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter (right); with second husband Beverley Cross.

QUENTIN LETTES: There can't be many laughs at the Ministry of National Defense on Changan Street, Beijing, in Beijing. Repartees are generally discouraged. Ditto humalog jokes. On the Great Wall of China, the last clerk may now be found counting bricks under the secretary's third permanent secretary's control. (Mongolia border section). A smile from ministry officials for the past decade has gone unnoticed. However, yesterday may have shed a little light on it. If the Comrades watched Oliver 'Olive' Dowden (pictured), Britain Deputy Prime Minister David Cameron's speech on the Commons and describing how jolly cross he was about Chinese cyber warfare.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Has William's nose been put out of joint by King Charles's reliance on Queen Camilla deputising for him while he recovers from cancer ? In addition to presenting the Royal Maundy, she will speak at the Commonwealth Day celebrations on Monday. Provisional arrangements have been created for her to represent her at the Chelsea Flower Show, the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations, Garter Day, Royal Ascot, and Trooping the Colour. William has reportedly stated his willingness to help, but he has yet to be asked. The long tradition of monarchs being suspicious of their heirs is also present.

As the cat character's 50th anniversary approaches, the family of the creators of the popular children's show Bagpuss (left) has told the BBC that they'were mistaken' about the show's enduring success. On the BBC, artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin and animator Oliver Postgate, who also produced Clangers from their Kent-based production company Smallfilms, only sent out 13 episodes of the'saggy old cloth cat', which began on February 12, 1974. However, the exhibit, which is located in a store that does not sell anything and features the characters Professor Yaffle the woodpecker; Gabriel the toad; rag doll Madeleine and various mice, has continued to be extremely popular. It has been re-broadcast multiple times, and a BBC poll in 1999 rated it as the all-time favorite children's program. The show's animator, Daniel Postgate (right) said that the tale of 'the massive, cuddly cat' meant 'packing a lot into one episode.'

In the winter chill, the sky is getting darker, the waves crash off the beach, and seagulls are swarming. However, everything in Erica Longdon's Cornish home is cosy. The log burner is roaring, tea and mince pies are on the menu, Erica sits cross-legged on a tiny pink cushion, picks up her book, and everyone snuggles close. 'Are you sitting comfortably?' Molko and Winnie, Quito, Hagar, Lady, Brook, and Pipkin are among the guests. And they look back, ears pricked, tongues hanging out, tails thumping gently on the carpet.

We've compiled a fun holiday TV for all the family, beginning with Mog's Christmas and a charming half-hour version of UK author Judith Kerr's 1976 children's book of the same name.

The Heist Before Christmas, which conjures up a Yuletide miracle by mixing bleak elements into a mellow holiday film with a touch of edge, is among the TV dramas to watch over the holiday season.

SARAH VINE: Greg Davies' first film starring Greg Davies as a crime scene cleaner, the man you call to do the jobs no one else has the stomach to do, had a mixed reception with critics and viewers alike.

Sarah Vine enjoyed a slew of festive (and scary) viewings from the BBC this week, including Count Magnus and the Inside No. Motherland and the 9 Christmas special: Last Christmas. She enjoyed the comedy-horror and bittersweet energy which comes across in the three programmes (left, Sarah Vine)

Aran Osman is on a ladder on a cold and drizzly evening in Central London, fiddling about with a 100-year-old gas lamp in the gloom. Were likely to be sighing, swearing, or grumbling under our breath. But not Aran. He shakes the little glass door open on its ancient hinges, inspects the gas mantles, and begins to winding with a heavy metallic key. It's so beautiful up here.' Just look at it,' he chirps as the four delicate mantles made of silk bribes come to life. 'When the lights are out and you put them back up - the sense of joy! My heart opens up.'

Nicola Walker is currently playing Emma in BBC One drama Marriage (right, with Sean Bean as Ian). However, the Essex-born actress and Cambridge graduate, 52, has other notable accolades to her name since she first appeared on spy drama, Spooks. Walker has been lauded for her appearances as Gillian in Sally Wainwright's Last Tango in Halifax (left), Hannah in The Split (centre) and DCI Cassie Stuart in Unforgotten (inset).