Monty Python star Michael Palin is returning to his native Yorkshire to take on his first leading role in a TV drama for more than 20 years.
The Sheffield-born actor and writer will play the elderly Tom Parfitt, who witnesses a murder on the day he moves into a nursing home, in Remember Me.
Palin said: “I was attracted to Remember Me not only by the northern setting, but also by a good, strong challenging role, something I could really get what remains of my teeth into... I’ve always loved ghost stories, so playing the lead in one is a very exciting prospect.”
Flushed with loo’s success
A pub landlord is flushed with success after the gents’ toilet he transformed into a Tardis turned into a tourist attraction for science- fiction fans.
Andrew Mitchell, owner of The White Hart in Dorking, Surrey, installed a replica of the time-travelling police box from the BBC TV series Doctor Who in 2007 when the smoking ban meant the toilet had to be moved to make space for people to smokeoutside.
Mitchell, 51, said: “From the outside the toilet looks really small but, when you go in, it is really big. Most residents do not think anything of it as they see it every day but tourists do ask about it. When we get tourists in, they pop in for a drink and take photos.”
Hidden security ‘agents’
The US Border Patrol is using wireless camera-equipped robots to let agents remotely navigate the tunnels and storm drainage systems that smugglers use to sneak in drugs, guns and people from Mexico.
Dozens of crude tunnels have been discovered in the area around the Arizona border city of Nogales over the years.
The agency is using the devices to keep agents out of harm’s way. Many tunnels lack proper ventilation, are poorly built and are prone to collapsing.
Disabled man turns robber
A disabled man has been charged with robbing a bank in Greece with a shotgun hidden on his crutch.
Police said the man’s first attempt near Thessaloniki failed when he got to a teller without suspicion but the bank’s safe was on a time delay. Four days later, the ruse worked at a nearby bank and he made off with €12,000.
In both cases, the weapon was strapped to the inside of the one crutch he was using. Police said the 56-year-old suspect, a local baker, said he was heavily in debt during Greece’s economic crisis and used the stolen money to pay his creditors. He was charged with robbery and breaking firearms laws.
Houblon £50 note to be withdrawn
Around 63 million £50 banknotes bearing the portrait of the first governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Houblon, are to be withdrawn from circulation in 15 weeks’ time.
From April 30, only the £50 note which celebrates the 18th century business partnership of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt, who helped forge the Industrial Revolution, will hold legal tender status, the Bank of England said.
Around 224 million £50 notes worth £11.2 billion are in circulation, of which the bank estimates 63 million with a total value of £3.2 billion are Houblon notes.
Sir John Houblon was appointed as the Bank’s first governor in 1694 and the £50 banknote celebrating him was first issued in 1994, to coincide with the bank’s 300th anniversary.