What you’ll be watching

in the weeks ahead

★

It’s American Horror

Story: 1984 when the

anthology series returns for

its ninth outing on FOX and

new cast members include

Glee’s Matthew Morrison.

This time the series is set

in a Summer camp and pays

homage to 1980 s slasher films.

Coming

soon...

★

Benidorm star Siobhan

Finneran is among the

all-star cast of Netflix’s eight-

part thriller The Stranger.

She’ll play DS Johanna

Griffin, who’s called in to

investigate when a stranger

drops a bombshell that leads

to a web of deception...

★

South Africa’s Motsi Mabuse

• a Latin dance champion –
  will be the new judge to replace
  the outgoing Darcey Bussell on
  Strictly Come Dancing when
  the series starts again on
  BBC 1. She’s the sister of
  current Strictly pro Oti.

★

As part of Holby City’s 20th-

anniversary celebrations,

Paul Bradley is set to return

to the wards as Elliot Hope.

Elliot will be seen visiting his

protegee Jac Naylor for the

BBC1 show’s 1,000th

episode, but what’s

his ulterior motive?

EXTRA

What’s on

TV

★

Si King and Dave Myers return with their

upcoming BBC2 series The Hairy Bikers

Ride Route 66. Their epic road trip will see

them travel 2,000 miles across eight different

states, all with their own local food scene.

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★

A group of celebs will

attempt to swim the

English Channel in aid of

Stand Up To Cancer for

C 4 ’s new reality show

Sink or Swim. Blue’s

Simon Webbe and James

‘Arg’ Argent are among

those training for the show.

L

ifelong friendships and madcap

money-making schemes are

at the heart of Brassic, a new

six-part comedy drama set in the

fictional Lancashire town of Hawley.

Kicking off with a double bill, it

follows the antics of six best mates

and local mum Erin, played by Our

Girl star Michelle Keegan.

Ambitions

‘She’s from a working-class area

and didn’t have the best start in life,’

says Michelle, who shot to fame

as Tina McIntyre in Corrie. ‘Erin’s

desperate to give her son, Tyler, all

the opportunities she never had.’

Erin’s ambitions and her desire

to escape small-town Hawley are

hindered by her boyfriend, Dylan

(Being Human’s Damien Molony),

and, in particular, his friendship

with Vinnie, who’s bipolar. Vinnie’s

played by former

Emmerdale star Joseph

Gilgun, who’s bipolar

in real life and who

co-wrote the series.

‘Erin’s much in love

with Dylan and wants

to make the relationship

work,’ says Michelle. ‘But

Dylan’s constantly being swayed

by Vinnie and getting into trouble.’

The show veers from comedy

to emotionally tender moments. In

the first episode, Vinnie’s tasked

with stealing a Shetland pony in

exchange for being allowed to hide

a stolen car on a friend’s farm.

Filming fun

‘Animals feature heavily,’ laughs

Michelle. ‘As well as ponies, we have

some funny scenes with llamas and

a pigeon called Nigel. In fact, we had

about 15 Nigels for filming purposes!

‘As you can imagine, there was

a lot of laughter. There’s one scene

where I couldn’t make

eye contact because

I was trying so hard

not to giggle. You’ll

notice I do a lot of

looking down!’ Q

O Please be aware, some

viewers may find the

language too strong.

BRASSIC

Thu, 10pm & 11pm Sky One Comedy

All six episodes will be released

as a box set on Sky Box Sets/

NOW TV from Thursday 22 August

Three’s a

crowd!

Michelle Keegan plays a small-town mum

in this comedy about friendship...

Bad influence... Erin wants to

start a new life, away from

Dylan’s mate Vinnie (left)

new

Street life... Michelle

with Corrie co-star

Jack P Shepherd