DAISY MAY COOPER’s bid to impress American audiences has hit the skids.
She is one of the UK’s biggest talents but I can reveal her HBO show Rain Dogs is being axed here and in the US after one series, due to disappointing ratings.
The series, a joint venture with the BBC, stars Daisy as struggling single mum Costello Jones, who works in a strip club.
But despite acclaim from critics, the comedy drama created by British writer Cash Carraway will not be returning.
A TV insider said: “It’s disappointing for Daisy as Rain Dogs was a good opportunity to make some inroads in the US.
“But unfortunately, it didn’t rate too well on both sides of the pond. So the production company behind it, Sid Gentle, agreed with Cash it was time to move on. Some critics praised the writing but ultimately it just didn’t pull up any trees.”
The eight-parter aired on HBO and BBC One in March last year and earned Cash a place on the 2023 Bafta Breakthrough list.
Meanwhile, Daisy’s performance got her a nomination for Best Actress at the 2024 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
The BBC is still keen to work with Cash on other projects and also continue the relationship with Daisy.
Her breakthrough comedy This Country, which she co-created, co-wrote and starred in alongside younger brother Charlie, aired on BBC Three between 2017 and 2020.
Her her follow-up sitcom Am I Being Unreasonable? was broadcast on BBC One in September 2022 and that has been given a second series.
Daisy has plenty on her plate after giving birth to her third child last Thursday.
Her baby, Benji, arrived earlier than expected and was delivered in a specialist unit in Gloucester.
She wrote on Instagram: “Welcome to the world little Benji, ya nutter. Born 06/06/24.”
If he’s anything like his mum, that will be an accurate description.
FOLLOWING its huge success with Race Across The World, the BBC is creating another travel adventure series.
Producers, who promise an “epic journey”, are looking for participants who “love solving clues and outsmarting your competition”.
Apply on the BBC’s Take Part site.
House rule on scripts
KEEPING House Of The Dragon’s second-series storyline under wraps was a tough task . . .
And there were serious consequences if cast members broke the rules.
Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower, revealed they were only handed parts of their scenes – known as “sides” – on set.
She told Chris Evans on Virgin Radio: “We get a mini version of the script that you’re about to shoot that day, printed out, and we have to hand them in every night.
“Jefferson Hall, who plays the Lannister twins, took his home accidentally.
“There was, like, assistant directors texting, ‘Jefferson, you can’t bring your sides home.’
“He just sent a video of the sides strapped to a firework and lit the firework, and it just went boom.”
House Of The Dragon’s second series will be out weekly on Sky Atlantic from Monday, and available to stream online on NOW.
THE rich history of the Tube network will be explored once again in Secrets Of The London Underground.
Rail historian TIM DUNN will reunite with SIDDY HOLLOWAY from the London Transport Museum for series four.
The UKTV show returns to Yesterday on July 2 at 8pm.
Hooked on gone fishing
THE schedules have faced a raft of shelved and axed shows in recent months.
But if there is one thing audiences still like, it’s fishing.
BBC Two’s Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is being renewed for an eighth run, with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse travelling the UK for new fishing spots.
Cameras follow the duo as they fish more lakes, rivers, and canals across six episodes.
Last year it made the top five most-popular factual series. The seventh series is due to air later this year.
Bob said: “I’m looking forward to visiting old haunts from my younger years, as Paul and I will be travelling back in time, going to fish in places that shaped our lives.”