Filming starts on Doc Martin Series 8 (Martin Clunes)

British Comedy Guide
Tuesday 21st March 2017, 9:18am

Filming is underway on Series 8 of hit ITV comedy drama Doc Martin.

ITV has confirmed that filming has just begun on location in Port Isaac, the picturesque Cornish village which doubles as the fictional sleepy Portwenn.

All the regular members of the cast are returning to the popular series, as crews begin filming eight new episodes.

Martin Clunes reprises his role as Dr Martin Ellingham, the GP with a brusque bedside manner and a phobia of blood; with Caroline Catz playing his wife and local school headmistress, Louisa Ellingham.

After having therapy to save their marriage in the last series, they face the challenge of living happily together with their baby James Henry.

Martin Clunes says: "I'm thrilled to be back on the beautiful North Cornish coast to shoot Series 8 of Doc Martin. The Doc is as obstinate as ever, but he is trying his best to be a better husband and father."

Also returning to the series is Dame Eileen Atkins who plays the central character's formidable Aunt Ruth, a woman who is beginning to doubt the wisdom of going into business with Bert Large and his son Al.

Ian McNeice is back to play Bert Large, with Joe Absolom as Al. Bert is desperate to make his home distilled whisky a success, but there's a shortage of customers willing to buy. Meanwhile guests are not exactly flocking to Al's bed and breakfast, and he fears he will have to close the doors for good.

Meanwhile wedding bells are ringing for unlucky-in-love PC Joe Penhale, played by John Marquez. In the last series he popped the question to the Doc's nanny Janice Bone, played by Robyn Addison, and is now looking forward to marital bliss. Will the course of true love run smoothly at last for Portwenn's police officer?


https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/2506/doc_martin_series_8/

Virginia Woolfs MRS. DALLOWAY (1997) Vanessa Redgrave (full movie)

 

Watch! TEN talks to Colin Firth and Emma Stone

RTE TEN
September 16, 2014



TEN's Sarah McIntyre caught up with Colin Firth and Emma Stone to chat about their new film Magic in

Check out TEN's interview with the actors, where they chatted about being intimidated working with Woody Allen, stifling laughter while filming scenes with the hilarious Hamish Linklater and wanting to take home the incredible costumes.

Plus, we find out which famous actress Colin named his pet cat after!

READ MORE HERE: http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2014/0916/644046-watch-ten-talks-to-colin-firth-and-emma-stone/

Doc Martin: ‘Departure’ – Series 6 Episode 8 (SPOILERS)

THE INDEPENDENT
By Lina Talbot
Last updated: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 at 10:42 am



Spoiler alert: This review assumes you have already watched Episode 8 of the current series.


Despite the title to this episode, viewers can be relieved that nothing hints at a real-life departure from the Doc Martin cast. Apart from Claire Bloom as the wicked grandmother, that is… Martin finally summons the strength to have ‘that talk’ his mother has been waiting for, and sees straight through her scheming. She did make a basic medical error in her dishonest account of his father’s passing, after all.

Writer Jack Lothian delivers a gripping finale to the current series, even weaving in new suspense with an unexpected medical condition for Louisa. Something has to stop her flying away, since the exchanges between her and Martin are as futile as ever. But her departure for the airport triggers some sensation in Martin Clunes’ obdurate doctor who, possibly confusing emotion for illness, strides off to seek advice from Ruth. She is apparently now the village go-to person for all manner of problems.

Down at the Large’s, the story continues of Al’s quest for his own source of income and, with it, independence from his ‘know it better’ father. Ian McNeice manages to make Bert endearing even while he rains unreasonable demands on his son. Later he proposes “BAR” (Bert, Al and Ruth) as the name for Al’s business, then claims to be just winding Al up. Not always been the case, eh Bert?

But the awkward Al, played for sympathy by Joe Absolom, must scamper down a grassy bank in scooter helmet, suit and tie, to pitch his business idea to Eileen Atkins’ implacable Ruth. Has Alan Sugar tried that on his protégés? As the camera sweeps along the overgrown lakeside, Al suggests a barbecue with the freshly caught fish – and I’m sold. The lake may not be the largest, but I’m prepared to believe.

Ruth and Al’s two encounters are my favourite of several heartfelt one-on-one scenes this week. I trust there will be more such odd couple moments in the next series.

Comic sketches include a running gag with the New York cops outfit chosen by Penhale (Joe Marquez) as his fancy dress for Bert’s party – of course. This culminates at the airport where, surprise surprise, he cannot convince the official that he actually is a policeman. Best comedy line comes from Martin, objecting to the travel agent down the phone: “No I won’t hold!”

Ruth gives Morwenna (Jessica Ransom) cause to pause, as she lets slip her perception that Morwenna and Al are “involved”. Nope, they’re still getting there… Morwenna then engages in a wonderfully straight exchange with her pal, that Ruth working in psychiatry is not the same as being psychic.

The big climax commences with Martin peering at Louisa’s CT scan, which reveals an arteriovenous malformation. This is an unstable link between blood vessels at different pressures. Yes, these can bleed and do need treatment, but there’s no rush for emergency surgery, especially in early autumn when experienced surgeons may be on holiday and the new intake not yet up to scratch – clearly the case in Truro. And just because you have an AVM doesn’t mean your headache following a row with your husband comes from a bleed.9


READ MORE HERE:http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/10/21/doc-martin-doc-martin-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%98departure%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-series-6-episode-8/

First Look At Colin Firth and Emma Stone In Woody Allen's Next Feature Magic In The Moonlight

CINEMA BLEND
uthor: Kristy Puchko
published: October 15, 2013

Despite being a world-renowned writer-director who typically has his pick of A-list stars, Woody Allen is somehow able to keep his projects under wraps as he sees fit. But having recently wrapped on an film known only as The Untitled Woody Allen Project, he has released to THR the feature's title (Magic in the Moonlight), along with a couple of stills that show off cast mates Marcia Gay Harden, Emma Stone and Colin Firth.

Details on the plot are still a mystery, but we do know that the film was shot in the South of France, making Magic in the Moonlight Allen's eighth movie to be set in Europe. Aside from the three stars seen above and below, Magic in the Moonlight boasts an ensemble that includes English actress Eileen Atkins, who most recently appeared in the teen fantasy-romance Beautiful Creatures, Hamish Linklater from the Robin Williams sitcom The Crazy Ones, The Borgias's Simon McBurney, two-time Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver, Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Erica Leerhsen, 28 Weeks Later's Catherine McCormack, Paul Ritter from the British series Vera, and Jeremy Shamos, who will be seen later this year in the James McAvoy/Jessica Chastain drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

The pic below tells us that Colin Firth plays a dapper gentleman in the film, but really we could have guessed that even without this image. However, the wardrobe of Harden and Stone plus posh cars spotted up top suggest this will be a period piece, which I'd estimate to be set in the early 1930s. Based on Allen's past works, it seems safe to assume the plot will involve romance and shenanigans within this colorful setting. But without even a hint as to when Magic in the Moonlight will open, this is all we have to go on for now.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/First-Look-Emma-Stone-Colin-Firth-Woody-Allen-Next-Feature-Magic-Moonlight-39852.html

Martin Clunes: 'It doesn’t sound promising, a show about a cranky doctor’ Martin Clunes talks about his surprise at Doc Martin’s success

TELEGRAPH
By Daphne Lockyer7:00AM BST 25 Aug 2013

Martin Clunes is turning a blind eye to the Doc Martin “stalker” who lurks in the choir stalls of St Nonna’s, a pretty Norman church in the Cornish village of Altarnun. While he poses for pictures with his co-star, Caroline Catz, the matronly gatecrasher – who has flown in from Texas to loiter around the set – is trying to merge into the background.

“Don’t say anything,” Clunes whispers. “She’s not doing any harm.”

Later, as we sit in the pews together, he explains his tolerance of rubber-neckers. “As long as they don’t get in the way of filming, it’s not a problem. And without the fans, where would we be?”

Doc Martin appears to attract an extreme kind of fan, and the fishing village of Port Isaac (doubling for the fictitious Portwenn) where the show is mostly filmed, is running alive with them. They applaud when Clunes arrives, and shop for syringe-shaped pens and mugs decorated with a shot of the grumpy medic at a Doc Martin store.

“People come from all over the place – Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America. I think it’s wonderful that they have such a strong reaction to the show.”



If you’re not one of the eight million British viewers who have tuned in to the five series that have run since 2003, Doc Martin features an unlikely hero, Dr Martin Ellingham, a curmudgeonly medic with a blood phobia and zero bedside manner. With its Cornish backdrop, gently ironic English humour, and a stellar cast of thesps that includes Dame Eileen Atkins, it represents a British idyll that, like Downton Abbey, the rest of the world embraces: 208 countries – including, most recently, Iran – have either bought rights to the original show or are making their own versions.

“Presumably none of the female characters in the Iranian Doc Martin will be allowed to speak, or drive, or go to school or work,” chuckles Clunes, 51.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10263552/Martin-Clunes-It-doesnt-sound-promising-a-show-about-a-cranky-doctor.html

Martin Clunes: ITV Sets Premiere Date For ‘Doc Martin’ Season 6 (& Doc Martin bloopers)

TV WISE

By Patrick Munn

The sixth season of ITV’s drama series Doc Martin will premiere on Monday September 2nd at 9pm, it has been announced.

Created by Dominic Minghella, Doc Martin follows the daily life of a cantankerous GP in the village of Port Wenn, Cornwall. The drama series is produced by Buffalo Pictures and stars Martin Clunes, Caroline Catz, Eileen Atkins, Ian McNeice, John Marquez and Jessica Ransom. In the opening episode of the show’s sixth season Portwenn is buzzing with arrangements for the wedding of the Doc and Louisa. Will they finally tie the knot, or will the villagers have to put the confetti back in the box again?

READ MORE HERE:  http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2013/08/itv-sets-premiere-date-for-doc-martin-season-6/

Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon to Lead ALL THAT FALL at 59E59 Theaters

BROADWAY WORLD
5 August, 2013

Following two highly successful sold-out runs in London in 2012 at the Jermyn Street and Arts Theatres, Trevor Nunn's critically acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's radio play ALL THAT FALL starring Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon will have a limited run at 59E59 Theaters in New York from Tuesday November 5 to Sunday December 8, 2013.

Specially commissioned by the BBC as a radio play, ALL THAT FALL was first broadcast in 1957. Set in rural Ireland, the play follows Mrs Rooney (Eileen Atkins), struggling under her aged, rheumatic, large frame, on her way to meet her blind and ill-tempered husband (Michael Gambon) off the train. Along the way, she encounters Christy with his dung cart, old Tyler on his bicycle, Mr Slocum, a racecourse clerk, and Miss Fitt, a pious spinster. At once chilling and compassionate, intimate and expansive, ALL THAT FALL offers an inimitably idiosyncratic and at times hilarious perspective on loss, grief and old age.


Read more about Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon to Lead ALL THAT FALL at 59E59 Theaters by www.broadwayworld.com

Jean Marsh wants to revive The House of Eliott July 14th, 2013 8:41pm EDT | By: WENN (STAR PULSE)

Veteran British actress Jean Marsh is putting the cancellation of her Upstairs, Downstairs reboot behind her by making plans to revive another of her period dramas, The House Of Eliott.

Marsh co-created Upstairs, Downstairs with her friend Dame Eileen Atkins, and she played housemaid Rose Buck in the original 1970s show and a revived 2010 version of the TV drama, which was axed after two seasons due to poor ratings.

However, she is now looking to reteam with Atkins to make a new version of the other TV show they created together - popular period drama The House of Eliott.

Marsh insists she wants the show to be able to avoid comparisons with hugely successful Downton Abbey, telling Britain's Daily Telegraph, "I want to bring House of Eliott back. You see, we have thought about it for a while, but now seems like the right time. We would like to set it in the Forties and Fifties rather than the Twenties. That way we would be a couple of decades ahead of Downton and wouldn't have to worry about comparisons.


READ MORE: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Dave_Simpson/2013/07/14/jean_marsh_wants_to_revive_the_house_o

Dame Eileen Atkins joins Colin Firth in new Woody Allen film ALBERTINA LLOYD (INDEPENDENT)

Dame Eileen Atkins has joined Colin Firth in the cast of Woody Allen's new film.

The writer and director has already begun filming on his latest project, a comedy which also stars Emma Stone, on location in the South of France.

Veteran British actress Dame Eileen, star of Cold Mountain and Cranford, has joined the cast along with Oscar nominees Marcia Gay Harden and Jacki Weaver, according to Variety.

As with all Woody Allen productions the title and subject matter is being kept under wraps. It is Allen's second time filming in France and his eighth film set in Europe.

READ MORE: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/dame-eileen-atkins-joins-colin-firth-in-new-woody-allen-film-8685618.html

Eileen Atkins wins an award for off-West End work Upstairs Downstairs actress Eileen Atkins has won the OffWestEnd award for best actress for her role in All That Fall at Jermyn Street Theatre. (TELEGRAPH)

By Daisy Bowie-Sell
6:00PM GMT 24 Feb 2013

She is a Dame, has been awarded a CBE and won many awards including Baftas, Tonys, Oliviers and Emmys for her film, theatre and television work.

Now, the 78-year-old actress Eileen Atkins has been recognised for her work on London's fringe theatre scene.

At a ceremony at Battersea Arts Centre today, Atkins picked up the best actress award at the Offies – the Off West End theatre awards.

She was recognised for her role in a Beckett radio play All That Fall, which was staged for the first time at the Jermyn Street Theatre last year. Atkins starred alongside Michael Gambon in the show, which earned a four star review from The Telegraph's Charles Spencer.

Atkins attended the ceremony along with other theatre greats including Simon Callow, Toby Jones and Richard Bean who appeared alongside a long list of up and coming theatre names.


READ MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-news/9888032/Veteran-actress-Eileen-Atkins-wins-an-award-for-off-West-End-work.html

Martin Clunes to return as Doc Martin for eight new episodes The hit ITV1 drama will return for a sixth series in 2013 (RADIO TIMES)

BY David Brown
11:17 AM, 22 October 2012

Martin Clunes will return for a sixth series of Cornish-set ITV1 drama Doc Martin in 2013.

Eight new episodes are to be shown, again featuring Clunes as grumpy medic Dr Martin Ellingham and Caroline Catz as love interest and local schooteacher Louisa Glasson. The series will find the pair again coping with parenthood following the birth of their baby James.

Also returning are Eileen Atkins as the Doc’s formidable aunt Ruth, Ian McNeice as local restaurateur Bert, Joe Absolom as Bert’s son Al and John Marquez as local police officer PC Joe Penhale. Jessica Ransom, who became Martin’s latest receptionist, Morwenna Newcross, in series five will also be back.

Clunes today commented: “I’m thrilled to be going back to the beautiful North Cornish coast to shoot series six of Doc Martin. Our challenge this season will be to force Louisa and the doctor to live together with baby James, which as far as I can see has disaster written all over it…And then there’s the dog and Dame Eileen, but not necessarily in that order!”

READ MORE: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-10-22/martin-clunes-to-return-as-doc-martin-for-eight-new-episodes

Martin Clunes: 'Doc Martin' star Martin Clunes on the making of the British series April 12, 2012 | 11:19 am (LA TIMES)

"Doc Martin," the globally popular British series about an antisocial big-city surgeon working as a general practitioner among boundary-disrespecting neighbors in a Cornwall fishing village, has just begun its fifth season.

Over the last couple of years it has become a staple feature of American public broadcasting -- the second episode of the new season premieres locally tonight on KCET -- and has been widely available online, offered free to subscribers of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. Acorn Media, which has released the previous four seasons on DVD, will add the fifth in June. (I earlier wrote about the series here.)

Martin Clunes (whose "William and Mary," an earlier series in which he plays a cuddly undertaker, has also become a PBS favorite) stars as Martin Ellingham, the eponymous doctor. Caroline Catz is Louisa, the teacher he inarticulately loves, nearly marries and, at the close of Season 4, has a child with. This year also sees the arrival of the great Eileen Atkins ("Cold Comfort Farm," "Cranford" and a co-creator of "Upstairs Downstairs") as Martin's Aunt Ruth, a psychiatrist who shares his dry, logical, suffer-no-fool-gladly temperament.

I spoke with Clunes recently, by phone to his home in England. He is clearly a different man from the one he currently plays on television. You should imagine hearty laughter coloring his responses below.

Your character is unusual, in that it's a variation on a different Cornwall-based doctor named Martin you played in the film "Saving Grace" and two subsequent TV movies. Can you talk about how you got from there to here?

Martin Clunes: It was quite simple and sort of market-led. Sky, which is Fox I guess over here, had some money in "Saving Grace," and Elizabeth Murdoch, Rupert's daughter, set up a thing called Sky Pictures, which was terrific because it meant the industry was very buoyant and lots of people were making films [for television]. And we got picked up -- they did some research and thought that the character of the doctor in "Saving Grace" had legs, and so they asked us if we'd make some films based on him. And then they folded while we were making them.

We sort of knew somebody at ITV, which is an independent broadcast channel over here, and said, "Are you interested in picking up this franchise, 'cause we're kind of set up." We'd made these two films ["Doc Martin" (2001) and "Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie" (2003)]. The tone of it, the kind of dope-smoking aspect, didn't appeal to them, and they didn't think it would suit their audience. But they said they didn't mind me being a doctor in that place. So we had the license to take it apart and create something from the ground up. We didn't want to do the "Doc Hollywood" thing of "smart town city doctor being amazed and bemused by his quirky neighbors"; we kind of wanted to turn that on its head, and that was a small community united in horror by this vile GP.



Read More of the Interview:  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/04/martin-clunes-talks-doc-martin.html

'Downton Abbey' producer: 'Maggie Smith is a handful' Published Saturday, Apr 7 2012, 12:19pm EDT | By Tom Eames | (DIGITAL SPY)

"Maggie Smith is a handful, it's true," she said at a recent US screening. "She's very difficult. She knows her worth, and she's tricky on the set, but she delivers when the time comes."

Eaton added that she agreed to join the series when she heard about Smith's casting. "I heard that Maggie Smith had been cast to be in it and I thought, 'We have to do it'. Because she, like Judi Dench, like Eileen Atkins - there are a few British actors, if they're in, I want it because I just think they're going to be good."


READ MORE:  http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s183/downton-abbey/news/a375336/downton-abbey-producer-maggie-smith-is-a-handful.html

Doc Martin Arrives In Time For Mother's Day

Submitted by Jason Palmer on Thu, 03/15/2012 - 23:15

Make an appointment with Doc Martin this Mother’s Day, as Momentum Pictures releases the fifth series of ITV’s highest-rating comedy-drama on DVD. Sharply scripted and filled with an array of wonderfully crafted characters, Doc Martin continues to go from strength to strength with each and every series.

Martin Clunes reprises the role of the curmudgeonly Dr Martin Ellingham whose truculent and tactless manner upsets the convivial community of the picture postcard village of Portwenn.

Series 5 sees the doc struggling to cope with being a new dad, whilst trying to resume his highflying career as a surgeon which threatens to take him away from the small Cornish village.

Joining Clunes are regular cast members Caroline Catz (Murder in Suburbia, Vice) as Louisa Glasson, Ian McNeice (Rome, Dr Who) and Joe Absolom (Vincent, Eastenders) as Bert and Al Large, and John Marquez returns to his role as the village policeman, with Selina Cadell as pharmacist Mrs Tishell.

Dame Eileen Atkins (Upstairs Downstairs) joins the regular cast as the doctor’s Aunt Ruth, along with Louise Jameson (EastEnders, Dr Who) as Louisa’s mother Eleanor, Jessica Ransom (Armstrong and Miller Show) as the new surgery receptionist, Morwenna Newcross, and a prestigious line up of guest stars including Julie Graham (Survivors), Peter Vaughan (Lark Rise to Candleford), Joanna Scanlan (Getting On, The Thick of It), Robert Daws, Miriam Margolyes, John Duttine and Anne Reid.


READ MORE:  http://www.entertainment-focus.com/news/doc-martin-arrives-in-time-for-mothers-day

Downton Abbey follows US Tradition of Loving British Dramas

September 2011 Last updated at 12:57 ET

Emmys revisited: Downton Abbey follows US tradition

BBC NEWS

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• Winslet and Downton scoop Emmys

It seems Americans love nothing better than an English accent and a period setting, as Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes is all too aware.

Accepting his Emmy award for writing the show, Fellowes thanked the US film industry for "kick-starting" his career by awarding him a screenwriting Oscar in 2002 for Gosford Park, set in the 1930s.

But Fellowes - whose Downton Abbey was broadcast on the PBS network in the US - is not the first British programme-maker to benefit from the American love affair with costume pieces.

Here is a snapshot from the past four decades.

Upstairs Downstairs (1971-1975)

Co-creator Jean Marsh (r) appeared in the ITV original and the BBC's update, pictured here

ITV's drama about a London family and their servants, created by actresses Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, was a huge global hit and was reportedly seen by an audience of more than a billion.

It garnered a slew of Emmy nominations and won seven, including outstanding drama series in 1974, 1975, and 1977, as well as best actress for Marsh in 1975 for her performance as parlour maid Rose.

Marsh was nominated in this year's Emmys for reprising the role in a three-part 2010 BBC update.

There was also a supporting actor Emmy in 1976 for Gordon Jackson - as Scottish butler Angus Hudson - while, in 1975, the show won the Golden Globe for best TV drama.

The five series of the drama covered the period from 1903 to 1936.

Brideshead Revisited (1981)

Anthony Andrews, right, won a Bafta and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Sebastian Flyte

This 11-part serial, based on Evelyn Waugh's novel of the same name, was a huge hit in the UK when it was broadcast on ITV between October and December 1981.

It tells the story of the friendship between middle-class Oxford undergraduate Charles Ryder, played by a young Jeremy Irons, and hedonistic aristocrat Sebastian Flyte, played by Anthony Andrews, and a cast that also featured Sir John Gielgud.

It won seven Baftas the following year, including best drama series and best actor for Andrews.

The show - repeated in the US on PBS - received 10 Emmy nominations in 1982 and a best supporting actor prize for Sir Laurence Olivier, who only appeared in two episodes as Lord Marchmain.

In 1983, it won a best mini-series prize and best actor, for Andrews at the Golden Globes.

A 2008 film adaptation starred Matthew Goode as Ryder and Ben Whishaw as Flyte.

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Colin Firth missed out on the Bafta for Pride and Prejudice in 1996

Andrew Davies' 1995 BBC One adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel starred one Colin Firth as the dashing Mr Darcy, playing opposite Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet.

It earned Firth - whose Oscar-winning performance in last year's The King's Speech prove he is at home in tales of yesteryear - a Bafta nomination in 1996.

But on that occasion, Firth was eclipsed by Ehle, who won best actress.

In the same year, it also earned three Emmy nominations and won the award for costume design, but was ignored at the Golden Globes.

Austen's tale was made into a 2005 film by Joe Wright, starring Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy and Keira Knightley as Bennet.

Cranford (2007 - 2009)

The BBC's five-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novels had up to eight millions viewers in the UK regularly tuning in each week to witness the genteel lives of the town's female inhabitants. It later returned for a two-part Christmas special in 2009.

Dame Judi Dench, Lisa Dillon and Dame Eileen Atkins starred in the adaptation of Cranford

Featuring a stellar cast including Dame Judi Dench, Dame Eileen Atkins and Imelda Staunton, it earned a total of 15 Bafta nominations.

It came away with three Baftas in 2008 with a best actress win for Dame Eileen, and also best production design and sound, but failed to pick up anything for the Christmas special.

Across the pond, the series was nominated for eight Emmys in 2008 including acting nods for Dame Judi and Dame Eileen. But only the latter Dame won an award - along with Alison Elliot for outstanding hairstyling.

The Christmas special received another seven Emmy nominations in 2010 with a further nod for Dame Judi. It came away with another two awards, winning best cinematography and costumes in a mini-series, but missed the major acting prizes.

Although the drama was recognised at the Golden Globes with a total of four nominations, it was overlooked on the night.

More on This Story

Emmy dead heat between Evan Rachel Wood and Maggie Smith

Upstairs, Downstairs, Mildred Pierce, Melissa Leo, Mare Winningham, Maggie Smith, Evan Rachel Wood, Eileen Atkins, Downton Abbey, Evan Rachel Wood, Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey, Mildred Pierce, Emmys, TV, Primetime Emmys 2011 - Movie/Mini Supp. Actress

By Chris Beachum

Sep 16 2011 | 16:44 pm

|

It is youth vs. experience as Evan Rachel Wood ("Mildred Pierce") battles Dame Maggie Smith ("Downton Abbey") for the Emmy Award as Best TV Movie/Miniseries Supporting Actress. Our exclusive Gold Derby statistics show a virtual dead heat with Wood's 27/20 odds slightly ahead of the 8/5 odds for Smith.

WHO DO YOU PREDICT WILL WIN THE EMMYS?

Wood is the only lady in this competition without a major award on her mantle. In the HBO miniseries, she played Veda Pierce, the outspoken and conniving daughter of Mildred (Kate Winslet). She is being predicted to win by four experts, six editors, and 28% of our users (157 votes).
Smith is a two-time Oscar champ ("The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," 1969; "California Suite," 1978) and Emmy winner ("My House in Umbria," 2003). For this British production which aired on PBS in America, she played Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, and was always quick with a quip or putdown. She is the overwhelming favorite with users (51% and 281 votes) plus has the support of experts Tim Appelo (The Hollywood Reporter) and Jace Lacob (Daily Beast) and five of our editors.
Next with a shot and 11/2 odds is newly crowned Oscar winner Melissa Leo ("The Fighter"), who played friend and neighbor Lucy Gessler on "Mildred Pierce." She is the pick of experts Frazier Moore (Associated Press) and Jill Serjeant (Reuters), editor Matthew Cormier, and 13% of our users.

MAKE YOUR EMMY PREDICTIONS: Will Evan or Maggie win?
Log your predictions in all top Emmy races. Compete against experts!

Make Your Predictions!

The other two ladies in the race are previous Emmy winners but have no real chance this time against such fierce competition. Dame Eileen Atkins ("Upstairs, Downstairs") won this category in 2008 for "Cranford" but now only has 50/1 odds. And way back with 100/1 odds is Mare Winningham ("Mildred Pierce") who won this category in both 1980 ("Amber Waves") and 1998 ("George Wallace").

Stay on top of the Emmy races all year long - Get free Gold Derby News Updates