Billie Piper risks wardrobe mishap as she wraps towel around her curves in BAFTA TV prep

JD Linville There are few places on Earth more visually striking than the Black Sands of Reynisfjara Beach in Iceland, where tourists flock to take pictures and stand a fool’s chance to be smashed against the rocks by sneaker waves, then drowned at sea. These dangerous and beautiful beaches serve as backdrop for Icelandic showrunner Baldvin Z’s crime thriller series “Black Sands,” which will play at Berlinale Series. Written by Baldvin Z, Ragnar Jónsson, Andri Óttarsson and Aldís Hamilton, the limited series follows disgraced detective Anita (played by Hamilton) as she investigates a series of deaths at the beach while balancing the familial shadows of her past.The series, produced by Baldvin Z’s own Glassriver, brings a warmth to Nordic Noir not often seen, with scenes of Anita reconnecting and rekindling her hometown connections after expulsion from Reykjavik.

Tim Dams Since its launch in 2015, the Berlinale Series section has emerged as a kind of a boutique scripted TV fest set within a major film festival.The Berlinale was famously the first A-list festival to embrace changing viewer habits and to officially incorporate television drama into its lineup — and this head-start is reflected in the growing stature of Berlinale Series.Taking place over a concentrated three-day period (Feb. 14-16), Berlinale Series offers up seven world and international premieres from around 200 entries, giving each of them the red-carpet treatment at the Zoo Palast cinema.Running parallel, the Berlinale Series Market — part of the European Film Market — offers up an online conference program, showcases and screenings.

European Film Market has felt lopsided.Sony’s $60 million deal for Tom Hanks’ “A Man Called Otto,” an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling Swedish-language novel “A Man Called Ove” — which was made into an Oscar-nominated  Swedish feature — that grabbed headlines early on (Variety understands it boiled down to a bidding war between the studio and Apple), but hasn’t necessarily spawned the usual flurry of deals from Berlin halfway through the festival.One buyer from a major U.K. distributor says the EFM vibe has felt “muted” for a company of its size, with an absence of broad-appeal product available once “Otto” was snapped up by Sony.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentImage Nation Abu Dhabi and low-budget Australian genre label Spooky Pictures have announced “Late Night With the Devil,” the second title under their multi-picture deal following Chloe Okuno’s  “Watcher,” which made a splash at Sundance.“Late Night With the Devil” will be helmed by writing/directing duo Colin and Cameron Cairns (“100 Bloody Acres,” “Scare Campaign”) and is set to start shooting in Australia later this year.Cinetic is handling the U.S./North American rights to the film. Stuart Ford’s AGC Intl.

Tim Dams One of the highlights of the Berlinale Series Market is the pitch event Co-Pro Series, which looks to match projects with suitable co-producers and financiers.Ten international series projects from Europe, Canada and Latin America have been selected to pitch at this year’s Co-Pro Series, where they will also have the opportunity of meeting one-on-one with potential partners.Taking place over two days (Feb. 15-16), and held online once again due to the pandemic, Co-Pro Series has a track record of showcasing drama projects that have not only gone on to be produced, but that have also achieved success.International hit “Babylon Berlin,” Austrian-German crime series “Freud,” Norwegian-German domestic terrorism drama “Furia,” Icelandic thriller “Blackport” and 1920s-set German drama “Eldorado KaDeWe” have all participated in previous Co-Pro Series pitches.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAudrey Diwan, the BAFTA-nominated filmmaker of the Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening,” is set to make her television debut with Haut et Court TV in France, Variety has learned.Haut et Court TV is one of France’s leading production companies with credits ranging from the supernatural drama series “The Returned,” to “Panthers” with Tahar Rahim and more recently “Possession.”Diwan is currently writing the series, which will be an original story about a mother and daughter running a plastic surgery clinic. The plot is under wraps but the series will be similar to “Happening” in that it will deal with women’s relationships to their bodies.

Christopher Vourlias Peter Nadermann’s Nadcon Film and South African genre specialists Gambit Films (“Indemnity”) are teaming up to adapt a trilogy of best-selling crime thrillers, Variety can reveal.The “Revenge Trilogy” is based on the Cape Town-set novels from South African author Mike Nicol. The books will be adapted for screen by Gambit’s Daryne Joshua and will be produced by Gambit Films and Nadcon Film in cooperation with ZDF Enterprises, which co-owns Nadcon.The story begins with ex-gun-runners Mace Bishop and Pylon Buso, who made an illicit fortune while part of the struggle against Apartheid but are now at the helm of a private security company, trying to settle into a comfortable life in Cape Town.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” passed $500 million in total sales and remained unchallenged atop the mainland Chinese box office over the latest weekend.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed no positional change among the top five films on a weekend that came a week after the Chinese New Year holiday wound down. Bona’s “Lake Changjin II” earned $43.5 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, ahead of comedy “Too Cool to Kill” with $37.3 million over the same three days. In third place over the weekend was drama “Nice View” with $21.6 million and animation “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” with $14.0 million.

Christopher Vourlias Belgrade-based Firefly Productions, one of the leading producers of high-end drama in the former Yugoslavia, is launching two new series as part of its slate at this year’s European Film Market.“The V Effect” is an eight-episode drama series inspired by the real-life case of an actor who commits suicide on stage during a live theater production. After the renowned actor’s death, Inspector Sorga will try to find out whether it was an unfortunate accident, a suicide – or possibly murder.“Domestic (Violence)” is a six-part true-crime anthology series set in a small town in Serbia.

Even with Bennifer flaunting their love left and right these days, Alex Rodriguez isn’t afraid to get out there. In fact, he came uncomfortably close to a run-in with his ex Jennifer Lopez at the Super Bowl on Sunday, where both were in attendance. While J. Lo and current beau Ben Affleck were seen dancing sweetly in the stands to the iconic halftime show, Alex shared a smiling selfie from the big game.

North Korea are reportedly being sent to labour camps after thousands of special flowers failed to bloom. The 'Kimjongilia' begonias - named after Kim Jong-un's father and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il - are meant to be in bloom to mark the dead dictator's birthday on February 16. The event is known as the 'Day of Shining Star', and typically sees streets in the hermit country lined with red flowers honouring Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011 aged 69.

The Bafta TV Awards this year produced some knockout beauty looks, but winning in the hair and makeup stakes is Dr Who star Billie Piper.The actress hit the red carpet with a 80s-style beauty look, complete with an oversized scrunchie, long fringe sections, a perm-like hair texture, and lashings of black eyeliner. All that was missing was a jukebox and a bit of Duran Duran blasting out.The nod to the 80s wasn’t missed by fans either, with a few Twitter users likening Billie’s look to Jennifer Garner’s high-school prom look from the classic rom-com 13 going on 30.

Nicola Coughlan turns heads in her bold orange dress at the 2021 BAFTA TV Awards held at Television Centre on Sunday (June 6) in London, England.

Billie Piper continued her one woman mission to bring back the mini in this bright and bow-tied number by Moschino. The volume! The jewel tones! We love everything about this look (a tangerine dream by Valentino) on Nicola Coughlan.

06 Jun 2021 If there was any doubt that TV still lacked the glamour of the film industry, Sunday night's Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards will have swiftly dismissed it. After more than a year of lockdowns and quarantines, the small screen has never been more valued, and that was evidenced on the red carpet, for which stars including Michaela Coel, Helena Bonham Carter and Billie Piper, who pulled out all the stops in statement looks by megawatt brands. There was a celebratory feel to the fashion too.

BAFTA TV Awards this evening - all the UK's household names will be present.The show begins on BBC One live from 7pm in a two-hour-long broadcast with a long list of stars up for awards.But as the celebs await to hear their fate, here are the best looks from the evening so far.Strictly Come Dancing judge and Masked Dancer panelist Oti Mabuse beamed whilst she oozed glamour as she arrived at the BAFTA TV Awards.

The asymmetric look featured a pink ruffled sleeve on one side balanced with a black suit on the other.The skirt in the stunning outfit then featured black sequins to add a bit of sparkle.The actor wore her hair in a curly half up and half down look, tied with a black scrunchie.Billie completed her look with dark eye make-up framing her brown eyes.For tonight’s awards, Billie is up for best actress against Daisy Edgar-Jones, Hayley Squires, Jodie Comer, Letitia Wright and Michaela Coel.I Hate Suzie has also been nominated in the best-supporting actress category for Leila Farzad.The show is also up for Best Drama series against Gangs of London, Save Me Too and The Crown.

Billie Piper gave her fans a glimpse of her routine as she shared her transformation to her BAFTA red carpet glam.

Video: Dream Horse Trailer (Wales Online)3 Minutes With Welsh Wwe Wrestler Mark AndrewsPolice take seized scooter away on 7. 5 tonne flatbed lorry - how the internet reactedCoronavirus by Numbers - Cases, deaths and vaccinations as of June 5Mark Drakeford: Social distancing will remain part of our lives "for as long as Covid persists"Durdle Door: Thrill-seeker plunges 200ft in front of pack beachCoronavirus Headlines On June 4 - Jab approved for teenagers, Portugal removed from green list, & moreWorld Taekwondo Champion Jade Jones On Fighting, Head Kicks And Olympic History'It's made me fall in love with TV all over again, and it's because of this that I think that the Virgin Media BAFTAs feels extra special this year.

She's been busy promoting her directional debut, Rare Beasts. And Billie Piper was seen spending some time with her daughter, Tallulah, two, as she stepped out cradling the little girl on her hip on Monday.

Gallery: The Oscar goes to…. The top 10 most iconic moments in Academy Awards history (BANG Showbiz)The BBC One anthology film series, directed by Sir Steve McQueen, picked up six TV nominations and nine in the craft categories, including a nod for the Mini-Series gong alongside 'Normal People', 'Adult Material' and 'I May Destroy You'.