February 3rd, 2012

The Oscar-winning actress Shirley MacLaine will join season 3 of the awarded drama series Downton Abbey as Martha Levinson,  Lady Grantham’s mother and is expected to a brilliant combatant to go head-to-head with Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by Dame Maggie Smith. The World War I may have just ended but the fight in the castle is just about to start.

Shirley MacLaine is an admired and successful actress who must bring some more of that dry humour to the drama. She won the Academy award for her role in Terms of Endearment.

The next season is to start being filmed in Februart and to be shown in September. I’m sure the series fans will be just counting the days until it starts.

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January 30th, 2012

Congratulations to Matt Smith and Karen Gillian for being honoured at the 2012 National TV Awards. Matt Smith who plays the famous time lord brilliantly won the gong for best Male Drama Performance.   His sidekick Gillian, who plays Amy Pond, picked up the female equivalent. We believe they are well deserved awards and wish them all the best.  Let’s hope they keep up the good work for the next series coming to our screens this Autumn.

If you can’t wait for the next series and are a true Doctor Who fan why not book up on a Doctor who Cardiff Walking Tour.   The tour takes place from June – October 2012 when the Doctor Who Experience opens in Cardiff Bay.  A must for all fans.

January 28th, 2012

How to find tickets for TV shows taped in London

Find out how to get free tickets to many popular TV shows recorded in London.

If you live in London (or are at least within travelling distance) why not go along to see a recording of a TV show. Tickets are free and there are so many good recordings available depending on your tastes and interest and usually something is happening on most nights of the week. It’s free entertainment so sign yourself up at some of the ticket agents below and enjoy a show for free!


BBC Tickets
Shows include ‘Strictly Come Dancing’


SRO Audiences
Shows include ‘The Graham Norton Show’, ‘All Star Family Fortunes’, ‘Bremner Bird & Fortune’


Applause Store
Shows include: ‘Keith Lemons Celebrity Juice’, ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’, ‘Piers Morgans Life Stories’


Clappers Ltd
Shows include ‘Loose Women’

lost in tv
Lost in TV
Shows include ‘The Apprentice: You’re Fired’, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’

tv recordings
TV Recordings
Shows include ‘Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show’

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January 25th, 2012

The London Beatles Store, London’s first and only Beatles Shop is offering a 10% discount for all guests on our Beatles Bus Tour of London. Visit the store at 231 Baker St and check out the large range of new and original 60′s memorabilia including t-shirts, posters, records, collectibles new & old, plus autographs. Please note, tour-goers must bring their email confirmations with them in order to receive the discount.

January 24th, 2012

We have a limited number of freelance tour guide jobs for well-presented, articulate actors and experienced tour guides who can provide an entertaining and informative commentary to customers on the following tours:

James Bond London Tour

James Bond Outer London Tour

Doctor Who London Tour

We are looking for English speaking tour guides in London with a strong guiding background and a real passion and knowledge for their tour subject. Being a fan is essential. Guides must be willing to work on weekends and school holidays.

If you are interested in applying please for tour guide jobs in London email your CV and 100 words as to why you feel you are suitable for a role to:

val [@] britmovietours.com

info [@] britmovietours.com

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January 23rd, 2012

The London Film Museum is the only film museum of its kind in Great Britain, supporting the Film Industry and the talent within it. Founded and created by Jonathan Sands in February 2008 it showcases sets, props, costumes and much more making it one of London’s popular attractions.

We are pleased to offer guests of Brit Movie Tours a 25% discount on entry to the London Film Museum.

January 20th, 2012

Half a century ago James Bond roared onto our screens in a not particularly auspicious fashion. Driving a sporty little Sunbeam Alpine in Dr No, he struggled to outrun a 1930s Buick LaSalle hearse on a winding Jamaican road. But the image of 007 at the wheel – whether it was of a car, speedboat or plane – was born and is undoubtedly well worthy of commemoration.

To celebrate this half a century, the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire opened its Bond in Motion exhibition this week. Featuring 50 original vehicles from the 22 films so far, it’s claimed to be the largest gathering of James Bond vehicles in the world.

Of course the most memorable is the silver Aston Martin DB5. It made its debut in 1964′s Goldfinger and went on to become arguably the most famous movie car of all time courtesy of the bad guy-beating arsenal within those classic curves. Two are on show, with working gadgets. That aside, if you struggle to remember the vehicles Commander Bond, and as importantly the forces of evil he was combating have had at their disposal, a visit to Beaulieu should get your memory sparking.

Beaulieu’s Margaret Rowles said: “We knew how many exhibits we wanted and so we went to [Bond makers] Eon Productions and the Ian Fleming Foundation to source them. We were after a good mix of hero and villain vehicles and we’ve ended up with everything from a Tuk Tuk to an Aston Martin DBS.”

Of particular note is the Ford Mustang Mach I which is making its first public appearance since Bond put it on two wheels to navigate a narrow alleyway and evade the police who were chasing him in the 1971 filmDiamonds are Forever. Another debutant is the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II that the villainous Valentin Zukovsky has in the World is Not Enough. From the same movie, commercial pressure had pushed Bond producers towards BMW. After flirting with a puny Z3 in GoldenEye 007 ends up with a Z8 sports car. In the following film, Tomorrow Never Dies, that same relationship saw our hero driving a 750iL. But even the car’s ability to be operated via remote control from the back seat and placing it on a podium in Beaulieu struggles to make it look any more dramatic than a used Beemer…

Far more in keeping is Wet Nellie, the Lotus Esprit that causes the holidaymaker to look quizzically at his drink as Roger Moore drove it out of the Sardinian sea in The Spy Who Loved Me. Gadget fiends will be equally entranced by the Die Another Day baddie Zao’s bright green Jaguar XKR complete with grille-mounted machine guns, a rear-mounted Gatling gun and boot-mounted mortars.

For comedic value there’s the Citroën 2CV that Bond used to escape from Jaws in For Your Eyes Only and the Renault 11 taxi complete with missing roof from A View to a Kill. Perhaps the most compelling of the cars was run by Bond’s nemesis, Auric Goldfinger. It’s the beautiful 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III driven by Goldfinger’s henchman and chauffeur Oddjob.

But this is a lot more than just a car exhibition. There are underwater spear gun vehicles, escape modules and various motorbikes as well as the Little Nellie autogiro which is a cross between an aircraft and helicopter. In 1967′s You Only Live Twice Q somehow assembles this from four suitcases (in alligator skin, naturally), which are also on display. The autogiro does actually fly, as does the Acrostar mini jet that Bond pilots in Octopussy after retrieving it from a horsebox, folding out the wings and taking off.

And the 1961 Sunbeam Alpine that started it all? According to Beaulieu, no one knows where it is. “It was hired from a lady on the island for Dr Noand then returned to her. At the time, no one realised how significant it was going to become,” Ms Rowles said.

Source: The Telegraph

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January 18th, 2012

Manuscript extractA manuscript possibly written by Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper is to be published worldwide.

The document was unearthed at the Montacute TV and Radio museum, Somerset, in October 2009 among the possessions of children’s author SG Hulme Beaman.

It is thought to have been written in the 1920s and is entitled The Autobiography of James Carnac.

Ripper historian Paul Begg has read the whole manuscript and said it could not be dismissed as a piece of fiction as “you find all sorts of questions and lots of niggles” about its content and provenance.

The manuscript is the first time the name James Carnac has been linked to Jack the Ripper – although no public records have yet confirmed whether Carnac existed.

Other suspects have been put forward in the past by Ripper historians, but to date his true identity has never been discovered.

To have a taste of  how an Autumn of Terror in 1888 can still chill to the bone to this very day just join the 2 1/2 hour Jack the Ripper Tour.

Source: BBC News Somerset

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January 17th, 2012

Why not take a scenic and magical journey around the picturesque National Park on our popular Lake District Tours.   You will get to see some of the dramatic panoramas that inspired Beatrix Potter and the locations used in the  2006 movie Miss Potter. Some of the highlights include a visit to the tiny 17th Century farmhouse, Hilltop which is the place where Beatrix Potter wrote many of her famous stories.  A great time is to be had as you investigate the medieval village of Hawkshead and true fans will love to see original illustrations in the Beatrix Potter Gallery which is a charming 17th century building that was the former office of Beatrix’s solicitor husband.

The tours are being led by a qualified blue badge guide who is an expert on Beatrix Potter.  You will meet at either Windermere Railway Station at 9.30am or Pier One, Windermere Lake Cruises departure pier, Bowness at 9.45 a  The tour will take 8 hours and runs on the first Thursday of each month from April through to October.  Check the tour schedule for dates.  Book early to avoid disappointment.

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January 16th, 2012

Well done to Downton Abbey for scooping the award for best television mini series at this year’s Golden Globes.  Accepting the award at the ceremony in Beverly Hills, Julian Fellowes,  the show’s creator said: “How fabulous this is. The whole Downton adventure has been an extraordinary one. Like spotting a promising child and waking up to find they’ve have won the Olympics – and that’s what we’ve lived through.”

Here at Brit Movie Tours we offer a Downton Abbey Tour of Locations which takes you on a luxury mini coach from London to the charming Oxfordshire Village that was used as Downton Village.  You get to  explore Highclere Castle and its beautiful grounds that was used as the main Downton Abbey set. The tour is also educational as you get to learn about the 1000 year history of Highclere Castle and life ‘above and below stairs’.

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