Author: Bella

Running Naked UK Press Reviews

Andrew Gower & Matthew McNulty
  • 22 January 2021: Louise Rhind-Tutt for ILoveManchester:

Making its UK premiere on World Cancer Day (4th February), Running Naked balances humour, emotion and drama in equal measure. […]

In a world where cancer affects so many lives, Running Naked aims to bring a positive and hopeful message to everyone and anyone whose life has been touched by the disease.

“I’m from Manchester, I ran a nightclub in Manchester, I’m a City supporter, and my company is called North of Watford Films,” says Michael Knowles, who co-wrote and co-produced the film.

“There was no chance Manchester wouldn’t feature in Running Naked, which has its heart and soul in the North.”

“We shot in the city centre at The Radisson Edwardian and in the stunning Peak District countryside just outside the city, where I’m lucky enough to live.”

“Manchester provides the perfect backdrop to some important moments in our story.”

(Source: ILoveManchester)

Rakhee Thakrar, Matthew McNulty, Tamzin Merchant & Andrew Gower
  • 4 February 2021: Sam Cleal for Buzzfeed

“Running Naked” Is The Feel-Good Indie Movie That’ll Restore Your Faith In Just About Everything

… technically the main characters Ben and Mark do run around a hospital together butt naked, but the film is so much more than its titular titillation! It’s really a film about friendship, finding love, and seizing life while you still can. […]

Basically, this film is super uplifting and will undoubtedly remind viewers to live life to the fullest every day, and to never become content with less than you deserve! And who doesn’t need that feel-good energy right now?!

(Source: Buzzfeed)

  • 4 February 2021: Michael Sales for Midlands Movies

Running Naked is very much a Midlands production, being filmed in locations such as Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton. And whilst Victor Buhler, Jennifer Knowles and Michael Knowles are credited as co-writers, the film specifically draws on Jennifer Knowles’ own experience as a cancer survivor.

This personal angle is infused in the film with its heartfelt and sympathetic situations. And although for me the film never really generated any huge belly laughs, the gentle comedy certainly balances the right tone between the serious issues of dealing with terrible news and the humorous fondness, and struggles, of friendship.

The film’s structure continues this duality with regular flashbacks to the younger duo, whose light-hearted take on their condition is sincere and understanding. Rather than being in denial, the fun they tackle life with shows an often-universal need for lightness during a crisis. […]

There is an understandable sadness in the film but at its core the movie is a positive and life-affirming tale of friendship where warmth shines from the screen throughout. An unclothed and honest look at self-discovery in the face of devastating circumstances, Running Naked is a tender triumph that cleverly shows how support and laughter is a very much needed medicine.

(Source: Midland Movies)

  • 19 February 2021: Carlie Newman for Close-Up Film

A film about cancer sufferers doesn’t sound very jolly, but, in fact, this film has a lot of light moments. […]

[…] this film is a very English look at young cancer sufferers. […] Running Naked is a little drama mixing comedy and tragedy in a good blend of emotional reality. With two sensitive performances by McNulty and Gower and backed up by the other actors, it is always moving. The film is […] using Jennifer’s personal experiences of having cancer to give us this absorbing story. Sensitively directed by Victor Buhler, it is a simple – as in easy – little film and worth a watch.

(Source: Close-Up Film)

Miss Scarlet & The Duke Season 2?

Season 1 cast of Miss Scarlet & The Duke

One of the most frequent questions we receive these days is: Will there be another season of Miss Scarlet & The Duke? And will Andrew Gower aka the delightful Rupert Parker return?

The only answer we can give with certainty at this time: We don’t know yet.

It is true that show creator Rachael New has been working on scripts for further episodes for a while now. Season 1 director Declan O’Dwyer hinted at it during our Q&A with him in October 2019 only weeks after Season 1 wrapped filming. Rachael New also talked about writing scripts and potential storylines for Season 2 in several interviews since then, including our Q&A in January 2020 ahead of the release of the show in the UK and our first Scarleteers Zoom chat in December 2020. In a recent podcast with TellyVisions, she spoke in detail about what we might see in Season 2 (naturally the interview contains spoilers for S1, so be warned!) but also confirmed they are still in negotiations for the continuation of the show.

It seems that early plans were made to start filming S2 in September 2020, however several circumstances, including to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent postponement of the release of S1 in the USA (originally scheduled for September 2020), put a halt on these plans. We’ve had it confirmed that these plans were also only tentative should S2 have received an official order which it still hasn’t yet.

Kate Phillips (Eliza Scarlet) and Stuart Martin (William “The Duke) Wellington)

We know from Kate Phillips‘ and Stuart Martin‘s Instagram TakeOver, everyone is really keen to bring the fans more Miss Scarlet & The Duke and that there is a small army of people working on making it happen… but nothing is certain yet.

Asked about the status of S2 in an interview with the NY Post published on 12 February 2021, Stuart Martin replied:

We’ll have to wait and see. There’s big hope for it and lots going on in the background to get that to happen. It’s been such a weird time, but we shall watch this space and hopefully soon [there will be news]. 

(Source: NY Post)

After all these delays and postponements, it will also be increasingly challenging to bring everyone back on board again. Many projects were put on hold last year which might lead to conflicting schedules for our beloved cast and crew. Peaky Blinders (Kate Phillips) recently started filming their final season, and Carnival Row (Andrew Gower) is due to resume filming the final 4 episodes of S2 (to be released seperately from the first 5 completed in 2020) later this year.

So we can only “wait, watch and see”, hope that a (positive) decision can be made soon and support the show by tweeting about it (#Scarleteers #MissScarletAndTheDuke #MissScarletPBS), sharing information on other Social Media channels and of course watching the show!

You can also sign our petition as a way to show your support and appreciation for #TeamScarlet, follow the Scarleteers Facebook page for all the latest info and join the Scarleteers Facebook group to connect with other fans.

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Stuart Martin Talks Miss Scarlet & The Duke

(Photo Courtesy of PBS)

Scottish actor Stuart Martin, who plays William “The Duke” Wellington on period crime drama Miss Scarlet & The Duke spoke to Paste Magazine about the benefits of weekly episodes, Eliza’s partnership and more.

Andrew Gower as Part of Eliza’s Crew

PBS | Masterpiece have released a wonderful little video introducing “Eliza’s Crew”, the support system of the Miss Scarlet & The Duke heroine. Included are short clips by Cathy Belton (Ivy), Ansu Kabia (Moses), Kevin Doyle (Henry Scarlet) and Andrew Gower (Rupert Parker). Watch the video below!

Andrew Gower and Manjinder Virk to Attend The Giant Pacific Octopus Maritime School

According to Broadway World, Andrew Gower will be united with his former co-star Manjinder Virk (Monroe, Out Of Darkness) in a new audio play called The Giant Pacific Octopus Maritime School. It is part of the Written On The Waves series, which was developed by the women-led production company 45North in cooperation with Ellie Keel Productions after the Covid-19 pandemic brought many creative possibilities to a halt in March 2020.

Written On The Waves is described as “a celebration of storytelling, which shares stories to spark listeners’ imaginative worlds, and enables us to connect with each other while we are apart.” The Giant Pacific Octopus Maritime School will be the “first family friendly piece (and trans-Atlantic collaboration)” and penultimate audio play of the eight-part series, written by Jaclyn Backhaus and directed by 45 North CEO and Creative Director Jessica Rose McVay.

Andrew Gower will play a character named Guy, with the rest of the cast including Adjoa Andoh (Emma), Sam Crerar (Ilya), Amita Suman (Priya) and Manjinder Virk (Seema).

The Giant Pacific Octopus Maritime School will be available on the 45North website for free on 8 April 2021. If you liked the programme, please consider making a donation to this small, independent company.

Further websites also report about the casting:

Running Naked The Upcoming Interview

Journalist Sarah Bradbury (The Upcoming) interviewed Andrew Gower about playing cancer survivor Ben Taylor in the British independent production Running Naked. They talked about researching Ben’s OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and how it relates to a world in lockdown from an infectious disease, filminig in “exotic places” like Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Manchester and finally how humour helps to deal with the toughest situations.

(Source:The Upcoming)

Running Naked is a film about Ben and Mark (Matthew McNulty), who met at a cancer ward as teenage patients and became lifelong friends. It is described as a comedy drama about “love, friendship and streaking”. It is available to stream online after its world premiere at the Beijing International Film Festival in August 2020 where it was nominated for the Tiantian award.

For further information we also recommend:

Running Naked (Recap)

Ben (Andrew Gower) and Mark (Matthew McNulty)

>>> The following detailed synopsis contains spoilers for the entire film! <<<

At the heart of Running Naked are two lifelong friends who met each other when they were teenage leukemia patients. Twenty years later Mark Doherty (Matthew McNulty) has become a successful doctor and ladies’ man. Meanwhile Ben Taylor (Andrew Gower) has devolved into obsessional recluse whose life is a series of obsessive habits. A piece of news forces Mark to reassess his life and, in the process, convinces him to play a bigger part in Ben’s. Mark risks everything he has in order to break Ben out of his shell.

Together the two rediscover their spirit of adventure: they sell everything they own on the high street, they get into a fight with two policemen (and spend a night in jail), they lose all their money – only to win it back at the dog track. They pick up girls. They go sailing and, as the horizon opens in front of their boat, it feels as if the world is once again full of possibilities. But Mark has been keeping a secret and once Ben learns of it, both friends crash back to earth.

They must face the deeper questions in their life: can Mark finally commit to his on-again and off-again girlfriend Jade (Rakhee Thakrar)? Can he face his own mortality? Can Ben free himself from his mad obsessions? Can he build up the nerve to approach Sara (Tamzin Merchant), the first decent girl he’s met in a long, long time? Running Naked is a story about friendship and about how, in life, we sometimes need to unbutton our shirt collars, kick off our shoes, and streak through life unabashed.

(Source: NoW Films Ltd)

Visit our Gallery for more screencaps from this film!

Running Naked Available for Streaming

Running Naked, starring Andrew Gower and Matthew McNulty, is now available to rent or buy at the following streaming services:

If you had a chance to watch Running Naked and liked it, please consider leaving a positive review on Amazon or IMDb and share this info. It’ll go a long way supporting this micro-budget independent film and our Andrew Gower! Thank you so very much!

So far all options are limited to the UK but as the world-wide distributions rights have already been sold to 101 Films International, it is only a matter of time until the film can be watched in other countries as well. We’ll keep you posted!

Miss Scarlet & The Duke Instagram Take Over

Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin, who play Eliza and William on Miss Scarlet & The Duke, took over the PBS|Masterpiece Instagram account for a live chat answering fans’ questions. The video is available on IGTV and includes a special shout-out to the Scarleteers fan group.

Andrew Gower – The Milk Bar Interview for Running Naked

Ahead of the online premiere of Running Naked on 4 February 2021, Andrew Gower spoke to The Milk Bar podcast about the film, the filming that included scenes shot in Wolverhampton and the charities they are supporting with this release.

Read all our news about Running Naked and follow the film’s official Social Media accounts for more information.