If you've been affected by watching Matt Hancock, support is out there

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [The Independent]( November 12, 2022 [View in browser](   How are you coping with [Matt Hancock](’s arrival in the jungle? I definitely think each episode should end with one of those duty-of-care notes: “if you’ve been affected by what you’ve just seen, there are organisations that can offer help and support”. I feel a bit like I’m going through the seven stages of grief; there’s been denial, bargaining, anger, depression. Although not sure if I will ever reach the acceptance stage. I’ve had moments of shuddering cringe – eg [the Sheeran singalong]( – but I’ve also had moments of real anger, wondering if Hancock really thinks this counts as atonement. But hey, maybe he’ll win us over. [He might win!]( (He won’t.) But if he does, I’ve [mapped out his future career as an influencer](. Thank me later, Matt. There’s not much point moving from the telly this weekend, as the fifth series of [The Crown]( has just dropped. Very considerate, given the weather has gone a bit baltic. Many – [including our critic Nick Hilton]( – think the series has dipped in form this time round. But it’s still rammed with “I need to google if that really happened” moments. And let me save you the bother on the main one: yes, King Charles did once dream of being reborn as [Camilla Parker-Bowles’s tampon](. The new cast are very *chef’s kiss*. (And, [also, sexy](.) The ever-wonderful Lesley Manville is now playing Princess Margaret – don’t miss [Adam White’s wonderful Saturday Interview]( with her, featured below. Wishing you wonderful, royal goss-filled weekends, Jessie, Matt Hancock and Seann Walsh arrive on 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!' (James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock) This week I loved: Nick Duerden’s chat with [state-of-the-nation chronicler Jonathan Coe](, who would rather just have a stable country than material for his novels. Ellie Harrison’s wild ride with White Lotus star [Haley Lu Richardson]( (and Haley’s cat). Emma Thompson giving absolute “Alan Rickman only gave me a Joni Mitchell CD” energy [when discussing the breakdown of her marriage]( to Kenneth Branagh. Roisin O’Connor and Ezra Furman[making the case for Lou Reed’s Transformer](, which is now 50 years old. And.. [Alexandra Pollard, formerly of this parish, talking to the legend that is Kate Nash](, who I hope really does release a “toxic masculinity” album. [The Saturday Interview – Lesley Manville]( [Oscars image]( Lesley Manville stars in series five of 'The Crown' (Shutterstock) Everyone loves Lesley Manville and everyone wants to be friends with her. Adam White's [brilliant interview with Manville](, who now plays Princess Margaret in The Crown, will only make us all double down on this goal. They discussed the furore around the royal drama's latest instalment, and how she manages to be so very good at playing "sad". [Oscars image]( Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret (Netflixl) Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below… I think Manville is saying that she could take me in a fight. Which is absolutely accurate. Also a bit surreal. Not nice, gentle Lesley Manville, surely? So piercingly melancholic in Mike Leigh’s Another Year. So endearingly spirited in the recent Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. So sweetly, fussily mumsy in, well, Mum – her cherished BBC sitcom. It’s only later I realise she’s practically quoting the character she played to an Oscar nomination in 2017, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread. “Don’t pick a fight with me,” she warns her grumpy, dictatorial brother Reynolds (Daniel Day-Lewis). “You certainly won’t come out alive.” Manville is marvellous in that film, Anderson’s camera repeatedly fixing itself tightly on her face. It’s a kaleidoscope of ambiguity – cryptic, mischievous, penetrating. So maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by how formidable she is. “I want to give credit to Mike Leigh, because I’ve never been typecast in my life,” the 66-year-old says proudly, spectacles on, kitchen lights beaming down on her over Zoom, brass knuckles presumably just out of shot. “I went from playing a cleaning lady in Mrs Harris to playing Princess Margaret – and that’s because of him.” Of all Leigh’s regular collaborators, Manville has worked with him the most: seven films, four plays, each character wildly different from the other. Lonely divorcées. Nouveau riche housewives. Pioneering scientists. Never royalty, though. But as intriguing as a Mike Leigh take on the monarchy could be, for now The Crown will have to do. [Read the full interview here](   What to binge this week [The English]( There's good news if you're a Crown refuse-nik or don't have the stomach for Hancock's I'm a Celeb shenanigans. There is another new series out this week, which is entirely unrelated to the aforementioned. And it's also very good. [The English,,]( starring Emily Blunt, is the BBC's new prestige drama series, and... it's a western. Nick Hilton says, at times, [it feels like it could have been made by the Coen Brothers](. 'The English' is on BBC iPlayer Chaske Spencer and Emily Blunt in 'The English' (BBC)   Out and about [Black Panther: Wakanda Forever]( The sequel to Black Panther arrives in cinemas this weekend. The shadow of Chadwick Boseman's loss feels palpable, says Clarisse Loughrey. [Read her review here](.   INDYBEST / [BEST BUYS]( Stranger Things and Quiksilver launch an Eighties-inspired collection that’s worn by the cast in season 4 As the second half of series four unfolds, inject some retro style into your wardrobe [Read more](     Essential reading [Furious mother condemns local cinema after it bans children from new ‘Minions’ film]( [Furious mother condemns local cinema after it bans children from new ‘Minions’ film]( [The 17 absolute worst sex scenes in movie history]( [The 17 absolute worst sex scenes in movie history](   OTHER NEWSLETTERS YOU MIGHT LIKE [Race Report] The Race Report Fortnightly, 7am (UK time) Written by Nadine White [Join now]( [Health Check] Health Check Every Thursday, 7am (UK time) Written by Rebecca Thomas [Join now]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. 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