Leslie Phillips: Carry On and Harry Potter actor dies aged 98

Published

2 years ago

November 8, 2022

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Veteran British actor Leslie Phillips, known for his roles in several Carry On films and the Harry Potter series, has died aged 98.

The star died “peacefully in his sleep” on Monday, his agent Jonathan Lloyd confirmed.

Phillips made his first film appearances as a boy in the 1930s and went on to have an illustrious career on stage and screen, particularly in the Carry On films – which included Carry On Teacher, Carry On Columbus, Carry On Constable and Carry On Nurse.

He became well known for his suggestive catchphrases such as “Ding Dong!”, “Well, hello”, and “I Say!”.

During a long and varied career in entertainment that spanned several decades, the actor worked with a huge range of stars, from Steven Spielberg and Laurence Olivier to Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie.

Although he was known for his plummy accent and exaggerated portrayals of the English upper-class, Phillips was born in Tottenham and grew up speaking estuary English – taking elocution lessons and losing his accent later in life as it was seen as an impediment in the acting industry at the time.

He released his autobiography, Hello, in 2005, detailing how he discovered acting after growing up “in a poverty-stricken childhood in north London” and the death of his father when he was just 10 years old.

Phillips appeared in TV series such as Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders, Monarch Of The Glen and Holby City, films including Empire Of The Sun, Scandal, and Out Of Africa, and plays including Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

In 2007, the actor starred in Hanif Kureshi’s film Venus alongside Peter O’Toole, a performance for which he was nominated for a BAFTA for best supporting actor.

And in recent years, his voice had become instantly recognisable to younger generations as that of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films.

He was made an OBE in the 1998 Birthday Honours and was promoted to CBE in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Born Leslie Samuel Phillips on 20 April 1924, the actor learned his craft at the respected Italia Conti Stage School before serving as a lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry between 1942 and 1945, when he was invalided out.

Afterwards, he was soon back in the limelight and the Carry On Films came in the 1950s and 60s – cementing his reputation for playing smooth and roguish but incompetent members of high society.

Films such as Brothers In Law, The Smallest Show On Earth and The Man Who Liked Funerals followed and he also became well known for his appearances in the Doctor series, as well as comedies in which he was paired with Scottish comedian and impressionist Stanley Baxter – including Very Important Person, Crooks Anonymous, The Fast Lady and Father Came Too.

Like most of his contemporaries, he pursued a stint in Hollywood, but said he preferred Britain.

“I could have stayed,” he said once, “but I am a Londoner through and through. I want to go everywhere, but I will always want to live in London. So I came back.”

Stars pay tribute

Following the news of his death, stars who worked with him and met him were among those paying tribute.

Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar shared a clip of Phillips appearing on his show The Kumars At No 42. In the footage, Phillips recalled how he once found himself stuck on the London Underground surrounded by members of the public demanding he do his catchphrases.

“A truly warm, funny and gentle man #RIPLesliePhillips,” Bhaskar wrote.

Coronation Street actor Tony Maudsley said working with Phillips “was a joy”.

Phillips’ first marriage, to Penelope Bartley in 1948, was dissolved in 1965. They had two sons and two daughters.

He married his second wife Angela Scoular in 1982 and the couple remained together until her death in April 2011.

He leaves behind his third wife, Zara Carr, whom he married in 2013.

Entertainment

First Glastonbury tickets sell out in 30 minutes as new booking system launched

Published

8 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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First Glastonbury tickets sell out in 30 minutes as new booking system launched

Coach tickets to Glastonbury 2025 were sold out in half an hour, organisers have said, as they roll out a new booking system for festivalgoers.

They were the first group of tickets to be sold for the world-famous festival in Somerset, which is set to take place between 25 and 29 June.

This year, fans navigated a new system to buy the tickets as they were “randomly assigned a place in a queue” instead of having to refresh the holding page once they went live.

The organisers said in a post on X: “The Glastonbury 2025 tickets + coach travel which were on sale this evening have now all been sold.

“Our thanks to everyone who bought one.”

They added that National Express services would be available to bring festivalgoers from across the country to Glastonbury.

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Standard tickets will go on sale on Sunday at 9am. Last year they were sold out within an hour.

See Tickets said in a post on X that “confirmation emails are going out now to everyone who got @Glastonbury coach tickets this evening”.

Tickets for the annual event at Worthy Farm in Somerset cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, and are sold exclusively through the See Tickets website, with no third-party sellers involved.

The new ticket system has changed the way people join the booking system.

Organisers previously warned hopefuls to log in “at least a few minutes” before the sale opened today and to avoid refreshing the page.

Festivalgoers were also told not to attempt to game the system by using multiple devices.

The sale follows chaos earlier this year when tickets for the Oasis reunion went on sale, seeing a multitude of disappointed fans as well as those who felt cheated after being charged hundreds of pounds more for their tickets than was originally advertised.

Anyone wishing to buy tickets for Glastonbury must have registered by 11 November, a rule in place to avoid touting.

Entertainment

Christmas adverts – the 10 most-anticipated ads as the festive battle for customers commences

Published

14 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Christmas adverts - the 10 most-anticipated ads as the festive battle for customers commences

With just under six weeks to go to Christmas Day, the countdown has officially begun, with all the big brands rolling out their seasonal adverts.

Becoming something of an institution over recent years, many see the festive ads as the starting pistol for their Christmas preparation/panic, despite us only being halfway through November.

And with an estimated £10.5bn spent on this year’s Xmas ads, it’s not just about inducing a fuzzy warm feeling in viewers, but also about encouraging them to put their hand in their pocket.

As we brace ourselves for festive fun, we take a swift look at this year’s bevvy of commercial offerings, as the annual battle of the Christmas adverts begins.

John Lewis

A girl called Sally falls into a clothes rack reminiscent of CS Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, but instead of finding Narnia, she ends up in John Lewis.

Through family flashbacks we lean how much she loves her older sister, whose gift she has carelessly left it to the last minute to buy. Spoiler alert – as one would expect in an advert for a retailer, she finds a pressie.

With the retailer famous for its use of cover versions in their Christmas ads, this one is the origin story for a new cover, with a concurrent competition on TikTok to find an aspiring artist to rerecord a version, which will be featured on the Christmas Day airing and released by record label BMG too.

Waitrose

Marketed as a whodunnit – this big-budget production has a host of celebrity cameos, an intricate storyline and not one but two parts.

Comedian Joe Wilkinson, Fleabag star Sian Clifford and Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen all have a role in the ensemble, revolving around hunting down the thief of a “chilled desert”.

Being Christmas, when tensions are traditionally high, everyone has reason to have scoffed it. The culprit won’t be revealed until the second part of the ad is released, but in the meantime, activity at Kings Cross Station, in stores and on social media is set to keep the investigation very much alive.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s goes big for its advert, calling on a beloved Roald Dahl character – the BFG, or Big Friendly Giant – to travel the country with a supermarket worker called Sophie (who pleasingly is a real store employee) in the search for the perfect festive treats.

A CGI BFG procures salmon, sprouts and cheese before a bit of magic helps him whip it all up into a feast, which he then gifts to an unsuspecting family through the window.

The first ones to release their ad earlier this month, the dulcet tones of national treasure Stephen Fry wrap the action, with a call to arms to stock up in readiness for Christmas.

M&S

Another national treasure – Dawn French – is back for this one, playing both herself and a festive fairy, who gives both French and her home a make-over ready for a Christmas soiree.

French, whose multi-Christmas-dinner eating antics on The Vicar Of Dibley put her into the Xmas annals, is transformed into “the quintessential hostess” with a bit of help from her little friend.

Banking on the idea that you can never have enough of a good thing, there are six instalments of the advert running between now and the New Year. Who doesn’t like a second – or sixth – helping.

Lidl

This one pulls on the heartstrings, with a little girl inspired to give a gift to a boy who appears not to have any, after an old lady gives her some magic bells.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper (he directed The King’s Speech), a CGI racoon and giant gingerbread man add a little action to events around the dinner table.

But the take home message is to think about giving as well as receiving, with the return of the retailer’s toy banks scheme set up at supermarkets with the aim of donating over 100,000 toys, to ensure no child experiences a giftless Christmas.

Aldi

Kevin the Carrot is back for a ninth year running, this time trying to save the Christmas spirit from a bunch of hard-boiled humbug villains.

With the ad narrated by actor Jim Broadbent, our plucky hero braves an oven, a Mission Impossible-inspired ventilation system and Bond-esque snow jet-ski dash across the mountains, all to save Christmas.

Helped by his wife Katie, he of course pulls it off. A fan favourite, soft toys of the root vegetable are sold in stores, and this year cuddly humbugs are on sale too.

Morrisons

It’s a song and dance number from Morrisons, courtesy of their singing oven gloves performing Bugsy Malone’s You Give A Little Love.

A choir of 26 Morrisons employees gave voice to the gloves, recording their rendition of the song at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London.

Like Lidl, the retailer pulled out the directing big guns, hiring The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey to oversee proceedings.

Asda

Bagging the prize for the most gnome puns in one advert, Asda sees a flash mob of gnomes preparing the store for Christmas.

The resulting advert isn’t as irritating as it sounds on paper, thanks to nice performances by the two human characters in the ad – Maggie and Bill.

And as we know, Christmas is all about the merchandise, so the supermarkets are of course selling special Xmas versions of their garden gnomes to accompany their already 50-strong gnome range. Who knew?

Tesco

Tesco reminds us of those members of the family who are no longer here to join us on the big day, with a man carrying on his late grandmother’s festive tradition of baking gingerbread.

He becomes obsessed with the spicy treat, as it infiltrates every part of his day from his haircut to a trip to see the Christmas lights.

He eventually gets together with his grandad to bake a gingerbread house, revealing it to the family at lunch, thus keeping the tradition alive.

Greggs

And in the most unlikely festive cameo of the year, Greggs has enlisted Nigella Lawson to star in its first Christmas ad.

Rapturously endorsing their festive bakes, Lawson has her hands full of pasties, and her table full of take-away coffees, as she promotes the bakery’s festive-themed fare.

Whether or not you believe the 64-year-old TV chef really tucks into their sausage rolls in real life – the attention-grabbing collaboration looks like a wise move for the chain, whose sales have jumped in recent weeks as it continues its UK expansion.

Entertainment

Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is ‘absolutely, wildly overwhelming’

Published

1 day ago

November 13, 2024

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Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is 'absolutely, wildly overwhelming'

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has said bringing Sir Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel to the big screen has been a “wildly… overwhelming” experience.

The star was speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at the film’s royal premiere which was attended by His Majesty the King, who had earlier hosted members of the film and TV industry at a Buckingham Palace reception.

When asked about making the move from indie films, like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, into one of the most eagerly anticipated films this year, Mescal said: “I’m excited to play with what the audience is expecting of me.”

“The royal audience is one thing… I think we’ve seen how an audience responded to the film, royal or not, and I think we’re excited for people to see it.”

A whole 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman blockbuster starring Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius who, much like the original, finds himself trying to win back his freedom after powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.

With an actual-scale model of the Colosseum built for the production, the film comes with high costs and a lot of hype.

“I’m struggling with words at the moment,” Mescal admitted, taking in the occasion, having come from the champagne reception at Buckingham Palace.

“This has been an absolutely, wildly – I keep using the word overwhelming – but I think if this isn’t slightly overwhelming then I don’t know what the hell is. I’m having a great time.”

Sir Ridley explained his reason for casting Mescal was that he saw aspects of “a young Albert Finney” in him.

While the pressure is on for the sequel to do well at the box office, the director said he’s learnt how to deal with the weight of expectations over the years.

“Any film of [this] scale, it doesn’t matter how we play it down, it’s colossally stressful. You better embrace stress or don’t do the job.”

Before heading to the premiere, the King welcomed directors, actors, TV presenters, stunt performers and costume designers at the palace to mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles has become patron.

Sir Ridley, actor Joseph Fiennes, actress India Amarteifio from the hit Netflix show Queen Charlotte, and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended the event.

Gladiator II is in cinemas on 15 November.