Bug

Friday 25th March and the evening's turned cool after a balmy spring day in London. I'm making my way to Found111, a pop-up theatre hidden within the bowels of what was the Central St Martin's School of Art on Charing Cross Road. Opposite, the Phoenix Theatre is bedecked with lights and glitzy signs for its new show Guys and Dolls but there's no such fanfare at Found111. We're beckoned in through a side door - a temporary sign above it giving the only hint that there's something exciting awaiting us inside.

Happy Valley - Series 2 Q&A

Not only is it pancake day on Tuesday, it's also the day that Happy Valley returns, almost two years after its triumphant first series - yay! Last night I was lucky enough to attend a preview screening of episode one in aid of the Community Foundation for Calderdale who are supporting victims of the recent floods near where the show was filmed in West Yorkshire. Last night's screening raised more than £30,000 for the charity and although there were no pancakes, the lucky few of us in the Victoria Theatre in Halifax were treated to a Q&A with writer, creator and director (Wonder Woman) Sally Wainwright and members of the, frankly tremendous, cast. Don't worry, this post doesn't contain any spoilers from the first ep, but I wanted to share a few of my favourite bits from the evening.

Best TV Dramas of 2015

Happy New Year readers! My pick of 2014's best TV dramas seemed to go down quite well and since there's nothing I love writing about more than telly, I've decided to do the same for 2015. It's been a very very good year for the box.

I love Emma Freud (A companion piece to 'I love Richard Curtis' by The Optimist)

You may remember a post I wrote some time ago in which I declared my love for the work of Richard Curtis. The post was subsequently viewed by Emma Freud, Curtis's partner and script editor on many of his films, who tweeted that it was, and I quote "gorgeous" *smiles proudly*. We're well into December, so I expect you've all enjoyed your annual viewing of Curtis classic, Love Actually, and on Saturday Richard, Emma and two of their kids did just the same, when they attended a midnight screening of the film in New York. Rather marvellously, Emma live tweeted throughout, with hilarious insights into the making of the film, so now, it's her turn for a bit of love from The Optimist. Take a look ...

The Killers - Dirt Sledding

My favourite Las-Vegans are back with their annual Christmas track in support of Product Red. This year's offering is the final part in the Don't Shoot Me Santa trilogy, in which, a homicidal St Nick has a score to settle with one of the kids on his naughty list. This time around though, Santa has softened and in the rather eccentric video, he finally gets into the Christmas spirit with the help of some other seasonal mascots. The Easter Bunny, a Shetland pony, a pillow fight in the desert, what could be more Christmassy?

Steve Jobs

It's been five years since The Social Network and at long last, Aaron Sorkin's given the dialogue lovers of the world another film to fawn over, the talk-a-thon that is Steve Jobs. Helmed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender as the co-founder of Apple, I've been desperate to see this one for months. I've taken the time to review it so you already know what I'm going to say ...

Mog

John Lewis' Christmas ad The Man on the Moon is undoubtedly a beauty, but Sainsburys may just have out-charmed them this year. Judith Kerr, author of The Tiger who Came to Tea has resurrected Mog, another of her famous characters for a one-off festive story narrated by Emma Thompson. The clumsy cat, who's been brought to life with CGI, causes havoc in the Thomas household, almost ruining Christmas, but there's a heartwarming twist in the tale.

Well played Sainsos, you just won Christmas.