Sherlock and The Lie of Leinster Gardens

I love it when real locations are woven into programmes I love, so when in London at the weekend visiting the Museum of Brands near Notting Hill with a friend, we thought we'd quickly look up the existence of the shrouded mainline underbelly of Leinster Gardens, as featured in Sherlock Series 3 episode His Last Vow. So it unravelled that the building not only existed, but was only a short hop from our ramblings, so ramble we did, in the footsteps of Sherlock, and the BBC production crew...

Nine Worlds of geekdom

When I got the call asking me to host some panels at the debut fan oriented convention Nine Worlds Geekfest, it was really hard to form an idea of what to expect. I’ve been to the vast cross section of the UKs convention and expo offerings in the science fiction, pop culture and film veins, but this was the first large-scale fan-driven residential festival I’d gone along to.

AUDIO: Dame Diana Rigg Q&A at the V&A, London

It is apt that to mark the opening of a photographic exhibition charting the rise of our monarch, the V&A museum chooses a princess of televisual supremacy, Britannia's very own Dame Diana Rigg.

On 10th February, a mild winter evening, something quite special tingles in the air. Or should I say, someone quite special glides through the V&A cafe. Running a little ahead of schedule, getting very lost around the moving corridors of the vast building attempting to locate the subtly labelled lecture theatre (a vague notion of Harry Potter on his first day meandering Hogwarts springs to mind), something equally magical happened; a premature shared presence with the 'Queen of Sin' herself. Fleeting yes, but special nonetheless, as Dame Diana is escorted past me, to be settled for pre-talk pabulum. Fast forward twenty minutes, seated and primed with anticipation, enter Diana, the embodiment of of 60s propulsive meritorious cool, stage left.

INTERVIEW: Writer and producer Brian Clemens

What a wonderful chap. Brian Clemens chuckled and plugged his way through our interview with ease, like the seasoned pro that he is. Renowned for the ever-so classy handling of his slice of UK cult-televisual pie, most would say it was The Avengers; that quaint, idiosyncratic upper-class British adventure-cum sci-fi production, that Brian's name would ring most familiar. Not the only celebrity in the family, Brian is permitted to boast about his achievements; he even has a medal to show for it all...

The following interview was broadcast on The Geekend, Radio Reverb on 10th September 2011.