Drop The Dead Donkey creator Andy Hamilton gives evidence in Stephen Tompkinson trial

Comedian and writer Andy Hamilton and actors Nichola McAuliffe and Dean Bone appeared in court as character witnesses for Tompkinson, who is standing trial accusing of inflicted grievous bodily harm (GBH).

Stephen Tompkinson denies 'battering dad and leaving him with fractured skull'

Actor Stephen Tompkinson denied battering a dad so badly he was left with a double skull fracture as he appeared in court today. The 56-year-old is charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on Karl Poole.

TV legend Stephen Tompkinson 'battered dad so badly he was left with a double skull fracture'

Stephen Tompkinson allegedly battered a dad so badly he was left with a double skull fracture.

The actor, 56, is facing a crown court trial accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Comfort classic: Drop The Dead Donkey

Steve Clarke alternately giggles and squirms at a biting satire on media mendacity.

How Drop The Dead Donkey broke the news - and its cast

The comedy almost known as Dead Belgians Don't Count was a unique mix of office humour and topical jokes. But staying current came at a cost.

Educating Rita to be staged outdoors this summer

Outdoor theatre will return to the Minack Theatre this summer.

Willy Russell's hit play Educating Rita, about a university student and tutor who improve each others' lives, will be presented at the venue with social distancing from 18 to 29 August.

The production was on a UK tour when the Government closed theatres, with this new run able to get actors and creatives back in action despite indoor venues being unable to reopen at the moment. It will star Stephen Tompkinson as Frank and Jessica Johnson as Rita and is directed by Max Roberts.

TV review: The Other One series 1 episode 1

How well you get on with The Other One will depend on your tolerance for cringe factor.

TV review: The Other One

Despite all the jokes about class, Marcus's disastrous 'dick pics' disaster and the essential betrayal at the heart of the Walcott's marriage, there's a real sweetness to the developing relationship between the two Catherines which makes this a joy to watch.

The Other One: funny, rude and piercingly sad

In this comedy of affairs and second wives, we see the family as I like to see it: generous, expansive, richly humane.

Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's long-running Channel 4 comedy dwelt on the staff of GlobeLink News, constantly fending off the attentions of Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan), hatchet man for their (unseen) new owner, Sir Roysten Merchant.

Hedges, a management droid speaking exclusively in jargon, is determined to make GlobeLink more sensationalist and tabloid but embattled editor George Dent (Jeff Rawle) sticks to his guns. Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson brought a plausibly worn quality to their hack characters.

A brilliant satire on the commercialisation of news in the era of Rupert Murdoch and Robert Maxwell, Drop the Dead Donkey must surely have been an inspiration behind W1A (2014-) in its targeting of mind-boggling managerial interference.