81-734: Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham ; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright . He and Wright co-wrote the films Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), known collectively as the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy , all of which saw Wright directing and Pegg starring alongside Nick Frost . Pegg and Frost also wrote and starred in
162-445: A "safety net" guaranteed minimum income should the revenue fall too low, funded by large insurance payments made to the ITV companies. Such a subsidy was never required, however, and these premiums were phased out by the government in 1998. After the link with ITV was cut, the cross-promotion which had existed between ITV and Channel 4 also ended. In 2007, owing to severe funding difficulties,
243-547: A bravery award. It triggers his memory of the murder – he realises that a CCTV camera had filmed the whole event. He realises that this security tape will clear his name and show that Burton was the real murderer. He returns to the club where the murder took place to try to find the tape, only to discover that it has been taken to a bank and placed in a safety deposit box . Simon sets out to round up his four successful ex-clients. He visits George in Blackpool and convinces him to join
324-470: A cunning plan to retrieve the tape from the bank. One evening they find that Kirsty, Simon's first client when he started his new job in Manchester, has broken in and is attempting to steal his television. When she sees what they are doing, she asks to join the gang to rob the bank, but Simon says she is too young. They tell her she has to leave but she convinces them that she will be small enough to slip through
405-404: A delay of almost three decades before the second commercial channel became a reality. One benefit of the late arrival of the channel was that its frequency allocations at each transmitter had already been arranged in the early 1960s when the launch of an "ITV2" was anticipated. This led to good coverage across most of the country and few problems of interference with other UK-based transmissions;
486-437: A juvenile delinquent who had Class A drugs planted on her, Simon witnesses the murder of an accountant by corrupt police officer Detective Inspector Burton. He is discovered, chased from the building by two bouncers and after being cornered, ends up falling into a canal . He has inadvertently left his wallet containing identification at the crime scene and is duly framed for the accountant's murder by DI Burton. Simon goes to
567-418: A non-acting role for Tom Keating in his series On Painters . Channel 4 co-commissioned Robert Ashley 's television opera Perfect Lives , which it premiered over several episodes in 1984. The channel often did not receive mass audiences for much of this period, as might be expected for a station focusing on minority interests. During this time, Channel 4 also began the funding of independent films, such as
648-470: A pleasure to be able to say to you, welcome to Channel Four." Following the announcement, the channel played a montage of clips from its programmes set to the station's signature tune, "Fourscore", written by David Dundas , which would form the basis of the station's jingles for its first decade. The first programme to air on the channel was the teatime game show Countdown , produced by Yorkshire Television , at 16:45. The first person to be seen on Channel 4
729-834: A public service broadcaster with a specific remit, it is afforded free carriage on the terrestrial platforms, in contrast with other broadcasters such as ITV. Channel 4 is available outside the United Kingdom; it is widely available in the Republic of Ireland , the Netherlands , Belgium and Switzerland . The channel is registered to broadcast within the European Union/EEA through the Luxembourg Broadcasting Regulator (ALIA). Since 2019, it has been offered by British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to members of
810-552: A remit of public service obligations which it must fulfil. The remit changes periodically, as dictated by various broadcasting and communications acts, and is regulated by the various authorities Channel 4 has been answerable to; originally the IBA, then the ITC and now Ofcom . The preamble of the remit as per the Communications Act 2003 states that: The public service remit for Channel 4
891-572: A spin-off of the television show Danger! 50,000 Volts! called Danger! 50,000 Zombies! , in which he played a zombie-hunter named Dr. Fell. He played mutant bounty hunter Johnny Alpha, the Strontium Dog , in a series of Big Finish Productions audio plays based on the character from British comic 2000 AD . Pegg also appeared in Big Finish Productions' Doctor Who audio story Invaders From Mars as Don Chaney, and appeared in
SECTION 10
#1732868745711972-487: A stark contrast to the difficulties associated with Channel 5 's launch almost 15 years later. At the time the fourth service was being considered, a movement in Wales lobbied for the creation of dedicated service that would air Welsh language programmes, then only catered for at off-peak times on BBC Wales and HTV . The campaign was taken so seriously by Gwynfor Evans , former president of Plaid Cymru , that he threatened
1053-593: A vent that someone needs to access as part of their heist plan. The team members train together, organise equipment, deploy a computer virus, and invent a GOTLER (George-operated time-lock equalising robot). Over time they bond as a group, have fun together, and formulate their plan. However, one night, DI Burton and several police officers (including Emma) search the house for the head of the murdered accountant. DI Burton has obviously planted it in Simon's house and, despite Kirsty's attempt to dispose of it, manages to frame Simon and
1134-730: A video interview with British GQ magazine in July 2018, Pegg stated that his daughter has sung backing vocals for Coldplay onstage at the Glastonbury Festival . Pegg is also godfather to the son of actor and friend Martin Freeman . Pegg's parents and sister briefly appeared in Spaced , while his mother appeared in both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz . In a July 2018 interview with The Guardian , Pegg spoke about his battle with depression and alcoholism , and how rehab helped him recover from
1215-496: Is a police-action movie homage and also stars Nick Frost, in which Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a London policeman transferred to rural Sandford, a fictional village where grisly events take place. In 2007, Pegg starred in The Good Night (directed by Jake Paltrow ) and Run Fatboy Run directed by David Schwimmer and co-starring Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria . In 2008, he wrote the dialogue for an English language re-release of
1296-460: Is now universally available. After some months of test broadcasts, the new broadcaster began scheduled transmissions on 2 November 1982 from Scala House, the former site of the Scala Theatre . Its initial broadcasts reached 87% of the United Kingdom. The first voice heard on Channel 4's opening day of 2 November 1982 was that of continuity announcer Paul Coia who said: "Good afternoon. It's
1377-440: Is the provision of a broad range of high quality and diverse programming which, in particular: The remit also involves an obligation to provide programming for schools, and a substantial amount of programming produced outside of Greater London . Channel 4 was carried from its beginning on analogue terrestrial, the standard means of television broadcast in the United Kingdom. It continued to be broadcast through these means until
1458-519: The British Armed Forces and their families around the world, BFBS Extra having previously carried a selection of Channel 4 programmes. The Channel 4 website allows people in the United Kingdom to watch Channel 4 live. Previously, some programmes (mostly international imports) were not shown. Channel 4 is also provided by Virgin Mobile 's DAB mobile TV service, which has the same restrictions as
1539-601: The Doctor Who television series, playing the Editor in the 2005 episode " The Long Game ". He also narrated the first series of the " making-of " documentary series Doctor Who Confidential . Upon completion of Shaun of the Dead , Pegg was questioned as to whether he would be abandoning the British film industry for Hollywood, and he replied, "It's not like we're going to go away and do, I don't know, Mission: Impossible III ", picking
1620-581: The Merchant Ivory docudrama The Courtesans of Bombay . In 1987, Richard Attenborough replaced Edmund Dell as chairman. In 1988, Michael Grade became CEO. In 1992, Channel 4 faced its first libel case which was brought by Jani Allan , a South African journalist, who objected to her representation in Nick Broomfield 's documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife . After control of
1701-581: The University of Bristol in 1991 with a BA in theatre, film, and television, titling his undergraduate thesis "A Marxist overview of popular 1970s cinema and hegemonic discourses". While there, he performed as a member of a comedy troupe called " David Icke and the Orphans of Jesus", alongside David Walliams , Dominik Diamond , and Jason Bradbury . "When I graduated from university where I studied theater, film and television, I went into stand-up because comedy
SECTION 20
#17328687457111782-455: The University of Gloucestershire on 4 December 2008. Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation . It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC , it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its commercial activities, including advertising . It began its transmission in 1982 and
1863-457: The 1950s and 1960s is the vulgarity and excursions into grossness." Similarly, Neil Smith, writing for BBC Movies online noted "What follows mixes the light-hearted antics of The Lavender Hill Mob with such high-brow gags as Simon chundering on a roller-coaster or disposing of a phallus sculpture in a ladies' loo." Derek Elley, writing the Variety was also complimentary, noting "Though much of
1944-451: The 1970s and early 1980s often had a spare tuning button labelled "ITV 2" or "IBA 2". Throughout ITV's history and until Channel 4 finally became a reality, a perennial dialogue existed between the GPO , the government , the ITV companies and other interested parties, concerning the form such an expansion of commercial broadcasting would take. Most likely, politics had the biggest impact leading to
2025-526: The 2008 "Brit List", a film-industry-compiled survey of the best unproduced British screenplays, inspired by the American Black List . In those films and in Spaced , Pegg typically plays the leading hero while Frost plays the sidekick. However Paul reverses this dynamic. The film was released in 2011. "I've now done the ultimate nerd hat trick – Doctor Who, Star Wars and Star Trek." —Pegg speaking on
2106-581: The 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy . In May 2023, Pegg was interviewed by Lauren Laverne on the long running BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs . In 2014, Pegg announced his support for the feminist campaign HeForShe . In 2016, Pegg spoke of having respect for Jeremy Corbyn and believing in Britain Stronger in Europe 's ideas in relation to the EU . In 2020, Pegg signed an open letter calling for
2187-731: The BBC's The Graham Norton Show , January 2018. Pegg played engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek , the eleventh film in the Star Trek film series , released 8 May 2009. He reprised the role in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016), also co-writing the latter. In 2010 he appeared as William Burke in Burke & Hare , a film directed by John Landis about two Ulstermen who were notorious murderers and bodysnatchers in early 19th-century Edinburgh . His likeness
2268-543: The Dead and Hot Fuzz ) with their 2013 film The World's End . In July 2014, Pegg appeared on stage with Monty Python during their live show Monty Python Live (Mostly) held at the O 2 Arena , London. He was the special guest in their "Blackmail" sketch. In 2015 he appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Unkar Plutt, the Junkyard dealer on Jakku. Pegg voiced Professor Phineas Nigellus Black in
2349-546: The Future , Big Train and Hippies . Between 1998 and 2004, Pegg was regularly featured on BBC Radio 4 's The 99p Challenge . Pegg's other credits include appearances in the World War II mini-series Band of Brothers ; the television comedies Black Books , Brass Eye and I'm Alan Partridge ; and the films The Parole Officer , 24 Hour Party People , and Guest House Paradiso . He played various roles during
2430-517: The IBA from the ITV regional companies, in return for which each company had the right to sell advertisements on the fourth channel in its own region and keep the proceeds. This meant that ITV and Channel 4 were not in competition with each other, and often promoted each other's programmes. A change in funding came about under the Broadcasting Act 1990 when the new corporation was afforded the ability to fund itself. Originally this arrangement left
2511-506: The Internet live stream. Channel 4 is also carried by the Internet TV service TVCatchup and was previously carried by Zattoo until the operator removed the channel from its platform. Channel 4 also makes some of its programming available "on demand" via cable and the internet through the Channel 4 VoD service. During its first decade, Channel 4 was funded by subscriptions collected by
Simon Pegg - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-476: The Races , E4 and More4 . Partially in reaction to its new "populist" direction, the Communications Act 2003 directed the channel to demonstrate innovation, experimentation, and creativity, appeal to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society, and include programmes of an educational nature which exhibit a distinctive character. On 31 December 2004, Channel 4 launched a new visual identity in which
2673-488: The Street , Without A Trace , Home Improvement , Frasier , Lost , Nip/Tuck , Ally McBeal , Dawson's Creek , Oz , Sex and The City , The Sopranos , Scrubs , King of The Hill , Babylon 5 , Stargate SG-1 , Star Trek: Enterprise , Andromeda , Family Guy , South Park and Futurama . In the early 2000s, Channel 4 began broadcasting reality formats such as Big Brother and obtained
2754-610: The Welsh variant; this practice continued until the closure of S4C's analogue transmissions in 2010, at which time S4C became a fully Welsh channel. With this conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital terrestrial broadcasting on 31 March 2010, Channel 4 became a nationwide television channel for the first time. Since then, carriage on digital cable , satellite and digital terrestrial has introduced Channel 4 to Welsh homes where it
2835-419: The ability to subsidise the main network through any profits made on the corporation's other endeavours, which have in the past included subscription fees from stations such as E4 and Film4 (now no longer subscription services) and its "video-on-demand" sales. In practice, however, these other activities are loss-making, and are subsidised by the main network. According to Channel 4's published accounts, for 2005
2916-411: The celebrations, Simon and Emma link with each other and kiss. Despite the film being set in Manchester, some of the filming took place in nearby Liverpool . Notably, the bank in the film where the heist takes place is the former Bank of England building on Castle Street. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 57% based on reviews from 7 critics. Most reviews favourably compared
2997-550: The changeover to digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom was complete. Since 1998, it has been universally available on digital terrestrial, and the Sky platform (initially encrypted, though encryption was dropped on 14 April 2008 and is now free of charge and available on the Freesat platform) as well as having been available from various times in various areas, on analogue and digital cable networks. Due to its special status as
3078-633: The channel broadcast the direct-to-TV documentary film Beyond Citizen Kane , in which it displayed the dominant position of the Rede Globo (now TV Globo ) television network, and discussed its influence, power, and political connections in Brazil. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Channel 4 gave many popular and influential American comedy and drama series their first exposure on British television, such as Friends , Cheers , Will & Grace , NYPD Blue , ER , Desperate Housewives , Homicide: Life on
3159-476: The channel sought government help and was granted a payment of £14 million over a six-year period. The money was to have come from the television licence fee, and would have been the first time that money from the licence fee had been given to any broadcaster other than the BBC. However, the plan was scrapped by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport , Andy Burnham , ahead of "broader decisions about
3240-600: The corporation but the sale was blocked by the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable . In 2016, the future of the channel was again being looked into by the government, with analysts suggesting several options for its future. In June 2021, the government of Boris Johnson was considering selling the channel. In April 2022, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport acknowledged that ministerial discussions were taking place regarding
3321-542: The cult 2006 animated Norwegian film, Free Jimmy . Pegg received screenwriting credit for this, and also voiced one of the main characters in the English-language version, which has an international range of actors including Woody Harrelson . Pegg co-wrote the script for a film called Paul , about two young men who encounter a comedic extraterrestrial alien during a road trip across the US. The completed script appeared on
Simon Pegg - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-410: The day. In November 2009, Channel 4 launched a week of 3D television , broadcasting selected programmes each night using stereoscopic ColorCode 3D technology. The accompanying 3D glasses were distributed through Sainsbury's supermarkets. On 29 September 2015, Channel 4 revamped its presentation for a fifth time; the new branding downplayed the "4" logo from most on-air usage, in favour of using
3483-705: The existing channels, an agenda in part set out by its remit which required the provision of programming to minority groups. In step with its remit, the channel became well received both by minority groups and the arts and cultural worlds during this period under Isaacs, during which the channel gained a reputation for programmes on the contemporary arts. Two programmes captured awards from the Broadcasting Press Guild in March 1983: best comedy for The Comic Strip Presents …Five Go Mad in Dorset, and best on-screen performance in
3564-411: The extent of this cross-subsidy was some £30 million. The Parole Officer The Parole Officer is a 2001 British comedy film , directed by John Duigan . The film follows a diverse group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation. Simon Garden is a well-meaning but ineffectual probation officer . At the beginning of
3645-458: The film to Ealing Studios ' heist comedies of the 1950s and 60s, although noted aspects of vulgarity. For example, Philip French , writing in The Observer stated "The film is mildly amusing and more than competently acted [but] contains very little that's original and nothing that throws any light on contemporary life. Indeed, all that distinguishes Coogan's film from British heist pictures of
3726-456: The film, he is facing a tribunal after all of his colleagues in his department in Blackpool submit complaints against him, Garden having had only three successes in his career. He is transferred to Manchester . He has hypoglycemia and regularly eats crisps to deal with it. In Manchester, he starts his new role and meets an attractive WPC, Emma. While looking into the case of a "client", Kirsty,
3807-700: The future framework of public service broadcasting". The broadcasting regulator Ofcom released its review in January 2009 in which it suggested that Channel 4 would preferably be funded by "partnerships, joint ventures or mergers". As of 2022 , it breaks even in much the same way as most privately run commercial stations through the sale of on-air advertising, programme sponsorship, and the sale of any programme content and merchandising rights it owns, such as overseas broadcasting rights and domestic video sales. For example, as of 2012 its total revenues were £925 million with 91% derived from sale of advertising. It also has
3888-583: The government with a hunger strike were it not to honour the plans. The result was that Channel 4 as seen by the rest of the United Kingdom would be replaced in Wales by S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru, meaning "Channel Four Wales" in Welsh). Operated by a specially created authority , S4C would air programmes in Welsh made by HTV, the BBC and independent companies. Initially, limited frequency space meant that Channel 4 could not be broadcast alongside S4C, though some Channel 4 programmes would be aired at less popular times on
3969-399: The group is collecting money as well, before he vanishes. Once the job is done, the group flees from the bank. They finally arrive at the town hall, where DI Burton is earning a bravery award for saving Kirsty from a burning car earlier in the film. Despite being attacked by Burton's sidekicks, Simon finally proves his innocence by revealing the tape to the public, and Burton is arrested. Amidst
4050-468: The last time, after 32 years as a main presenter on the programme, making Snow one of the UK's longest-serving presenters on a national news programme. Channel 4's parent company, Channel Four Television Corporation , was considered for privatisation by the governments of Margaret Thatcher , John Major and Tony Blair . In 2014, the Cameron-Clegg coalition government drew up proposals to privatise
4131-449: The last to launch in 1964. The Broadcasting Act 1980 began the process of adding a fourth; Channel 4 was formally created, along with its Welsh counterpart , by an act of Parliament in 1982. The notion of a second commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom had been around since the inception of ITV in 1954 and its subsequent launch in 1955; the idea of an "ITV2" was long expected and pushed for. Indeed, television sets sold throughout
SECTION 50
#17328687457114212-426: The latter. He stated: "When I watch Mission: Impossible III , I can see where I was then, which was fairly lost, and unhappy, and an alcoholic [...] I'm not ashamed of what happened. And I think if anyone finds any relationship to it, then it might motivate them to get well. But I am not proud of it, either – I don't think it's cool, like I was Mr. Rock 'n' Roll, blackout and all that shit. It wasn't, it
4293-458: The launch of Channel 4 HD, but the fourth HD slot was given to Channel 5 instead. On 2 November 2007, the station celebrated its 25th birthday. It showed the first episode of Countdown , an anniversary Countdown special, as well as a special edition of The Big Fat Quiz . It use the original multicoloured 1982–1996 blocks logo on presentation, and idents using the Fourscore jingle throughout
4374-636: The logo is disguised as different objects and the "4" can be seen from an angle. Under the leadership of Freeview founder Andy Duncan , 2005 saw a change of direction for Channel 4's digital channels. The company made E4 free-to-air on digital terrestrial television , and launched a new free-to-air digital channel called More4 . By October, Channel 4 had joined the Freeview consortium. By July 2006, Film4 had likewise become free-to-air and restarted broadcasting on digital terrestrial. Venturing into radio broadcasting, 2005 saw Channel 4 purchase 51% of shares in
4455-512: The now defunct Oneword radio station, with UBC Media holding on to the remaining shares. New programmes such as the weekly, half-hour The Morning Report news programme were among some of the new content Channel 4 provided for the station, with the name 4Radio being used. As of early 2009, however, Channel 4's future involvement in radio remained uncertain. Before the digital switchover , Channel 4 raised concerns over how it might finance its public service obligations afterward. In April 2006, it
4536-403: The others: they are arrested, and end up in a police cell. Kirsty is taken away by the police, but manages to slip away from them at a garage. Simon tries to explain to Emma about the plan to clear his name but, because she feels that he has hidden things from her, she is reluctant to listen. Simon, George, Colin, and Jeff are in their cell wondering what to do when the back of a van crashes through
4617-454: The plan. They recruit Jeff, who has been working as a fishmonger, and Colin, who has been working in a computer shop. They visit the home of the former master-criminal Viktor, only to find his wife and his grave; his wife takes them to Viktor's secret underground workshop and says they can take whatever equipment they want from his extensive selection of technology and safe-cracking kit. The team gathers in Simon's house and they set out to devise
4698-517: The police with the story, but ends up being interviewed by Burton, who is leading the investigation. He releases Simon, but threatens him with prison unless he keeps quiet about the officer's drugs scam and the murder. Simon first decides to leave Manchester for good and, feeling down, rejects the offer of a meal from Emma. While away from the city, he walks past a shop where the TV in the window happens to be showing an interview with Burton, who will be receiving
4779-455: The rights to broadcast mass appeal sporting events like cricket and horse racing . This new direction increased ratings and revenues. The popularity of Big Brother led to the launches of other, shorter-lived new reality shows to chase the populist audience, such as The Salon , Shattered and Space Cadets . In addition, the corporation launched several new television channels through its new 4Ventures offshoot, including Film4 , At
4860-434: The sale of Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel's chief executive, Alex Mahon, expressed disappointment at this, saying that its vision for the future was "rooted in continued public ownership". In January 2023, Michelle Donelan confirmed that the plans to sell Channel 4 were scrapped and that it would remain in public ownership for the foreseeable future. Channel 4 was established with, and continues to hold,
4941-539: The sci-fi comedy film Paul (2011). Pegg is one of the few performers to have achieved what Radio Times calls the "Holy Grail of Nerd-dom ", having played popular supporting characters in Doctor Who (2005), Star Trek as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (2009–2016), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He currently stars as Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible film series (2006–present). He provided
SECTION 60
#17328687457115022-530: The shapes from the logo in various forms. Four new idents were filmed by Jonathan Glazer , which featured the shapes in various real-world scenes depicting the "discovery" and "origins" of the shapes. The full logo was still occasionally used, but primarily for off-air marketing. Channel 4 also commissioned two new corporate typefaces, "Chadwick", and "Horseferry" (a variation of Chadwick with the aforementioned shapes incorporated into its letter forms), for use across promotional material and on-air. In June 2017, it
5103-562: The station passed from the Channel Four Television Company to the Channel Four Television Corporation in 1993, a shift in broadcasting style took place. Instead of aiming for minority tastes, it began to focus on the edges of the mainstream, and the centre of the mass market itself. It began to show many American programmes in peak viewing time, far more than it had previously done. In September 1993,
5184-760: The title of an imaginary blockbuster . When the film Mission: Impossible III was subsequently made, Pegg appeared in it as Benji Dunn, an IMF technician who assists Tom Cruise 's character Ethan Hunt . He has reprised the role in four further Mission: Impossible sequel films: Ghost Protocol (2011), Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), and Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), and will appear in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in 2025. In 2006, he played Gus in Big Nothing alongside David Schwimmer . The same year, Pegg and Wright completed their second film, Hot Fuzz , released in February 2007. The film
5265-406: The tour of Steve Coogan 's 1998 live stage show The Man Who Thinks He's It . In 1999, he created and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced with Jessica Stevenson . The series was directed by Edgar Wright , with whom Pegg and Stevenson had previously worked on Asylum , and Pegg wrote the character of Mike Watt specifically for his friend Nick Frost . For his performance in this series, Pegg
5346-576: The voice of Buck in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), and The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022). Simon John Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham on 14 February 1970 in Brockworth, Gloucestershire , the son of Gillian Rosemary (née Smith), a former civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician and keyboard salesman. His parents divorced when he
5427-420: The wall – it is Kirsty, who has stolen a van and is rescuing them. They jump in and speed off with Kirsty at the wheel, determined to try to get to the bank and put the plan into action. Once there, they sneak on to the roof, activate all of Manchester's alarms, and climb into the building. Simon uses the robot to activate the door, and they grab the tape. A man in disguise, who is apparently Victor, turns up, but
5508-509: The wealthiest in society to pay more tax in order to help fight inequality. Pegg has been an activist for Greenpeace since 2021, protesting overfishing and supporting their "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow" campaign. Pegg is an atheist . He married his long-time girlfriend, music industry publicist Maureen McCann, in Glasgow on 23 July 2005. They reside in Essendon, Hertfordshire . Nick Frost
5589-740: Was Richard Whiteley , with Ted Moult being the second. The first woman on the channel, contrary to popular belief, was not Whiteley's Countdown co-host Carol Vorderman , but a lexicographer only ever identified as Mary. Whiteley opened the show with the words: "As the countdown to a brand new channel ends, a brand new countdown begins." On its first day, Channel 4 also broadcast the soap opera Brookside , which often ran storylines thought to be controversial; this ran until 2003. After three days, ITV chiefs called for founding chief executive Jeremy Isaacs to resign due to poor ratings. Critics called it "Channel Bore" and "Channel Snore". At its launch, Channel 4 committed itself to providing an alternative to
5670-538: Was also used for the character of Wee Hughie in the comic book series The Boys ; while this was done without Pegg's permission, he quickly became a fan of the title, and even wrote the introduction to the first bound volume. He voiced Reepicheep , the heroic mouse in Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader . Pegg and Wright completed the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (the first two films being Shaun of
5751-657: Was announced that Alex Mahon would be the next chief executive, and would take over from David Abraham , who left in November 2017. On 31 October 2017, Channel 4 introduced a new series of idents continuing the theme, this time depicting the logo shapes as having formed into an anthropomorphic "giant" character. On 25 September 2021, Channel 4 and several of its sub-channels went off air after an incident at Red Bee Media's playout centre in west London. Channel 4, More4 , Film4 , E4 , 4Music , The Box , Box Hits , Kiss , Magic and Kerrang! stopped transmitting, but 4seven
5832-421: Was announced that Channel 4's digital switch-over costs would be paid for by licence fee revenues. In July 2007, Channel 4 paid £28 million for a 50% stake in the TV business of British media company EMAP , which had seven music video channels. On 15 August 2008, 4Music was launched across the UK. Channel 4 announced interest in launching a high-definition version of Film4 on Freeview, to coincide with
5913-635: Was criticised by the National Deaf Children's Society, which complained to the broadcasting watchdog. A new subtitling, signing and audio description system had to be built from scratch. The service eventually began to return at the end of October. In June 2022 after a six-month long investigation, Ofcom found that Channel 4 had breached its broadcast licence conditions on two grounds: Missing its subtitles quota on Freesat for 2021 and failure to effectively communicate with affected audiences. On 23 December 2021, Jon Snow presented Channel 4 News for
5994-552: Was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. Until 2010, Channel 4 did not broadcast in Wales , but many of its programmes were re-broadcast there by the Welsh fourth channel S4C . In 2010, Channel 4 extended service into Wales and became a nationwide television channel. The network's headquarters are in London and Leeds , with creative hubs in Glasgow and Bristol . Before Channel 4 and S4C, Britain had three terrestrial television services: BBC1 , BBC2 , and ITV , with BBC2
6075-574: Was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the licence -funded BBC1 and BBC2 , and a single commercial broadcasting network, ITV . Originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport , which
6156-401: Was just terrible." Pegg checked into a rehab facility shortly before production of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol . He hid his recovery from the tabloids through court orders, although some journalists went so far as to call the clinic pretending to be his mother. Pegg attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and has remained sober since. Pegg was awarded an honorary fellowship by
6237-538: Was nominated for a British Comedy Award as Best Male Comedy Newcomer. The experience of making a Spaced fantasy sequence featuring zombies led to Pegg and Wright co-writing the "romantic zombie comedy" film Shaun of the Dead , released in April 2004, in which Pegg also starred. At George A. Romero 's invitation, Pegg and Wright made cameo appearances in Romero's zombie film, Land of the Dead . In 2004, Pegg guest-starred in
6318-517: Was not impacted. The incident still affected a number of the channels by 30 September. The London Fire Brigade confirmed that a gas fire prevention system at the site had been activated, but firefighters found no sign of fire. Activation of the fire suppression system caused catastrophic damage to some systems, such as Channel 4's subtitles, signing, and audio description system. An emergency backup subtitling system also failed, leaving Channel 4 unable to provide access services to viewers. This situation
6399-470: Was seven, and he took on his stepfather's surname "Pegg" after his mother remarried. His brother, Mike (who starred in the 2020 film The Host ), still uses Beckingham as his surname. He attended Castle Hill Primary School, Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School , and The King's School, Gloucester . Pegg moved to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire when he was 16 and studied English literature and theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon College . He graduated from
6480-548: Was something I enjoyed but also because it offered me a certain autonomy that I wouldn't have if I was sitting and waiting for the phone to ring as an actor. Then, I drifted into comedy acting through doing stand-up, and that was something that I really enjoyed. But, it wasn't the only thing I ever wanted to do. There was a time when I was younger where I just wanted to be at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre." Pegg's early appearances in TV series and films include Six Pairs of Pants ( Meridian & Anglia , 1995), Asylum , Faith in
6561-418: Was the best man at his wedding. The couple have one child together, born in 2009. Pegg is close friends with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin , and appears as a violin-playing Elvis impersonator in the video for Coldplay's 2010 single " Christmas Lights ". Along with Jonny Buckland , Pegg is godfather to Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow 's daughter Apple. In return, Martin is godfather to Pegg's daughter. In
#710289