YOU would think TV bosses would be trying to get anything completed before lockdown on to our screens as soon as is humanly possible.
But ITV is going the other way and has pushed back one of its most highly anticipated dramas until the autumn.
Two-parter Honour, starring Keeley Hawes, has been delayed by five months so it gets a better airing.
Originally slated for spring, the show is based on a true story and sees Keeley play a detective hunting the men behind the “honour killing” of a young British girl.
A TV source said: “This should have been the big drama everyone was talking about over Easter but events have overtaken us.
“You will see a new side to Keeley as an actress when it is finally released.
“Honour has a compelling plot and is based on a real-life story, but the timing is just not right to release a drama like this, de-spite every- one being at home watching TV.”
Honour tells the heartbreaking story of Londoner Banaz Mahmod, murdered by her own family after she left an abusive arranged marriage and fell in love with another man.
Keeley plays DCI Caroline Goode, who made it her personal mission to bring the killers to justice — and to help make up for previous mistakes by the Met.
Keeley, who is married to Quiz actor Matthew Mcfadyen and best known as Home Secretary Julia Montague in BBC1’s Bodyguard, is executive producer of Honour through her new company, Buddy Club Productions.
Last night an ITV source said: “A programme’s transmission date is only ever confirmed ten days before transmission.
“It was expected that Honour would be airing in spring but it will now air in the autumn.
“Our scheduling colleagues always aim to find the best possible slot for our dramas.”
I WOULD never square up to SAS hardman Ant Middleton . . . but boxer Tony Bellew isn’t so worried.
On Monday’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, the instructor pushes Tony to breaking point.
He furiously calls Ant a “f***ing c***” after the SAS tough guy orders Tony’s fellow recruits Lauren Steadman and Nikki Sanderson to carry him.
The former cruiserweight champ looks set to attack Ant, below, during the intense stand-off and later admits he was close to punching him.
But Tony went on to apologise and admitted he struggles with anger issues.
He said: “I can’t deal with my past. Two years ago, my missus’s brother went to Mexico for his friend’s wedding and he didn’t come home.
“He was found at the bottom of a balcony, dead.”
Tony added: “I am a bit of a maniac. I have it within me.
“It’s only a matter of time before it erupts.”
KEITH LEMON has cast doubt on the future of Celebrity Juice after Holly Willoughby announced she was leaving.
He said: “We’ve got a meeting to discuss what we’re going to do, if we’re going to do (another) I don’t know
ACCLAIMED writer and producer Jeff Pope wants to make a follow-up to Isolation Stories.
But he can only consider a another run of the ITV series, which aired this week, if Britain stays in lockdown, as that was the central theme of the four short dramas.
Jeff, the man behind 2019’s ITV hit A Confession, organised the shows which kicked off on Monday with Sheridan Smith in the lead role.
If a second series does get off the ground he knows exactly what quarantine phenomenon he wants to explore – group quizzes staged over Zoom calls.
He’s a man with his finger on the pulse . . .
NEIGHBOURS bosses have confirmed major script rewrites due to the pandemic.
Ben Hall, who plays Ned Willis, said: “There are less people in each scene, and also there is no kissing, hugging, or touching of any sort.”
ANGELA Griffin is a world away from her Corrie days in raunchy new drama White Lines.
The actress, who played hairdresser Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap, is Anna Connor, an organiser of high-class sex parties in Ibiza in the Netflix thriller.
She stars opposite Laura Haddock, who plays Zoe Walker, a woman investigating the disappearance of her DJ brother Axel.
The show, which airs from May 15 and also stars Marta Milans, sees Zoe in a murky world.
Angela says: “Every character knows something on Axel’s death that they are worried about revealing.”
WHAT? VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration, BBC1, 8pm.
WHY? Stars including Katherine Jenkins, Adrian Lester and Helen George celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
CAPTAIN Tom Moore is set to lead ITV’s new campaign to Get Britain Talking.
The war hero, who raised £33million for the NHS by walking laps of his garden, will be seen encouraging others to continue reaching out to each other during lockdown.
Tom said: “It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of support.
“That’s why I’m encouraging you to call a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to for a long time.
“Hearing someone’s voice makes all the difference. Britain, Get Talking.”
The adverts will debut ahead of Captain Tom’s War, an ITV documentary about the Army veteran’s war years, on tonight at 8pm.
