Television News

Shameless actor David Threlfall has landed a role as the late comic Tommy Cooper in a new ITV drama.

The two-hour film called Tommy, will focus on the dilemma the much-loved comedian faced when he fell in love and embarked on an affair with assistant Mary Kay despite being married to wife Gwen.

Amanda Redman, who starred in BBC 1 series New Tricks, will play the comic's wife while the role of Mary Kay is yet to be filled.

Andy Harries, the executive producer, said: "Few comics have had such a lasting influence on UK culture as Tommy Cooper.

"The man was a comedy giant who spent his final years juggling his hugely successful public persona with a private passion for two women."

The drama, written by the creator of Men Behaving Badly Simon Nye, will begin filming next month.

Read more: Shameless actor takes on new role in BBC drama

• Entertainment
• Shameless
• Television

Dr Aric Sigman - who is also a child health expert - has made a raft of suggestions for children's screen consumption including delaying the age children start using screens to at least three.

Children aged between three and seven should be limited to half-an-hour to an hour of screen time each day, he said.

Those aged seven to 12 should spend just one hour in front of screens.

Children aged 12 to 15 should have a maximum of 1.5 hours in front of screens and those aged 16 and over should spend just two hours, he recommends.

• UK
• Television

Writing in the Archives Of Disease In Childhood, Dr Sigman said such extensive use of televisions and tablets could also lead to attention problems and other psychological difficulties.

The amount of time spent in front of a screen could also adversely affect children's social relationships.

He said many parents use the devices as "electronic babysitters" as a means to occupy their children.

"Screen time appears to have created the three-parent family," he added.

• UK
• Television

Leading health psychologist Dr Aric Sigman has proposed some rules to cut down on your children's screen time:

• Kids between 3 and 7 should be limited to half-an-hour to an hour of screen time each day.
• 7-12 year old should have a maximum 1 hour, 12-15 up to 1,5 hrs and 2 hours for 16+.

• UK
• Television

Limiting the amount of time children spend in front of a screen could have significant advantages for their health and wellbeing, a leading psychologist has said.

The population's vast use of games consoles, tablet computers, televisions, smart phones and laptops has been linked to obesity problems and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, he warned.

• UK
• Television

Young children are being overexposed to screens at an early age which could to health problems in later life, experts have warned.

By the age of seven, a child born today will have spent a full year glued to screens, according to leading health psychologist Dr Aric Sigman.

The average 10-year-old has at least five screens readily available to them at home, and over the course of childhood youngsters spend more time watching TV than they spend in school, he said.

• UK
• Television

The Voice star Matt Fletcher has revealed he refused to bow to pressure from BBC bosses to shave his beard because he feels it is the source of his power.

He said: "They were talking about taking off the whole beard, but it's a part of me and I lose my power without it."

He added: "They did try and I said something like 'I think I could take two or three of you down before you pin me down and shave it, but if you want to go for it, go for it', and they backed off."

• Entertainment
• music
• The Voice