Tim Adler in London

EXCLUSIVE: In their latest collaboration, HBO and BBC are developing a miniseries adaptation of the award-winning historical novel Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy co-writer Peter Straughan will make his TV debut writing the four-part miniseries, which is being eyed for HBO and BBC2. It is being…

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that film tax relief will be extended for four more years until the end of December 2015. It had been due to expire March next year. The UK tax break is worth 16% of the budgets of Hollywood movies shooting over here, and 20% of the budgets for local films. The news is…

Breaking News … Refresh for latest live-blogging from London … UPDATE: James Murdoch confidently and steadfastly maintained that he has been cooperative and fully forthcoming about what he knew and did not know when he testified at his previous appearance before MPs. Facing hostile questioning and bristling at…

Observers I have spoken to predict that News Corp’s James Murdoch will be better briefed than he was in July — and may admit to a small mea culpa — when he returns to Parliament tomorrow to answer questions about the News Of The World phone-hacking scandal. He’s expected to continue to defend his inaction about the…

Absolutely Fabulous creator and co-star Jennifer Saunders plans to write a movie version of the BBC TV comedy. She hopes to pen the feature film next year once she has finished work on the Spice Girls London stage musical Viva Forever. BBC Films boss Christine Langan tells me: "I think she’s a genius. I can’t imagine…

Hayley Atwell has been piped on board The Return Of Captain Nemo, a $10 million 3D sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea that hopes to start shooting January 16. David Morrissey, star of Brit TV’s Red Riding, is also attached to this Captain Nemo adventure, to be directed by Pearry Teo. Atwell — who has just tested…

Aardman Animations, the UK company behind Wallace & Gromit, may be forced to make its next TV cartoon series in either Ireland or Germany. Miles Bullough, head of broadcast of Bristol-based Aardman, tells me he may have no option but to produce Ploo, Aardman's latest $3 million-$5 million pre-school animation series…

Time Warner Makes $1.4B Offer For Endemol One insider familiar with the negotiations describes Time Warner's bid for the debt-laden Dutch TV company as "rock bottom."  I’m told Endemol’s owners consider the Time Warner bid “ridiculously low.” It comes to seven times Endemol’s expected $192M earnings this year before…

Here's a first look at Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, the witchy central character in Great Expectations, Mike Newell's adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel. Miss Havisham is an iconic character over here in Britain: an embittered spinster who sits in her mouldering mansion still wearing the wedding dress she…

Shooting on the latest James Bond movie starts Monday, Daniel Craig revealed at this morning's press conference for Skyfall, the 23rd 007 movie. Producer Michael G Wilson scotched UK tabloid rumors that the budget for the latest Bond film has been slashed by $100 million. "We're in the same budget range as the last…

Rupert Murdoch’s children saw a family counseling psychologist as recently as this past February to help them sort through their feelings about who should succeed their father as CEO of News Corp, Vanity Fair contributing editor Sarah Ellison reports in the magazine’s December issue. They agreed that James, who’s…

More bad news for James Murdoch today ahead of his appearance next week before the UK Parliament's culture committee, which is investigating the News Of The World phone-hacking scandal. The committee just released a tranche of legal correspondence that includes a letter supporting James’ chief opponents, former NOTW…