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‘Sherlock’ Creator Steven Moffat and Producer Sue Vertue on New Show ‘Number 10’: A ‘Workplace Comedy Drama in the Most Ridiculous Workplace’

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‘Sherlock’ Creator Steven Moffat and Producer Sue Vertue on New Show ‘Number 10’: A ‘Workplace Comedy Drama in the Most Ridiculous Workplace’

‘Sherlock‘ producer Sue Vertue and co-creator Steven Moffat talked at Series Mania about their new political show “Number 10,” written by Moffat for Channel 4/ITVS. 

“[It’s about] British government, we don’t know which party is in power. You have no idea. But, as I discovered in my research, it really makes no difference,” says Moffat.

“It’s not a satire. Whatever the disastrous outcome, for most part, these people are trying to get a good outcome. It’s funny and quite serious at times. I did an awful lot of research, which was usual for me, and got so many great stories about what goes on in this house. Yeah, I know they are politicians, but every proper sensible country governs from mighty buildings and castles. We got a wee street!”

“If you want to look at British self-image and what we are like as a nation, go to Downing Street. This little street. That’s us. That’s how we are. Inside, the toilets don’t often work, the lift breaks down, and in the room where they held the most important meetings, there is a sword – if everyone moves it, they’ve broken a terrible law. You will find out why if you watch the show.” 

The politics has very little to do with the show, he states. Even though it was filmed on the actual Downing Street. 

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“As one character says, quoting a real-life Prime Minister: ‘Most of this job is trying to choose between two unacceptable outcomes.’ That’s pure drama. That’s glorious. ‘Which one of these should I chose?’ ‘It’s up to you, Prime Minister.’ ‘But they are both terrible? ‘Yes, Prime Minister.’ ‘I will be blamed for it, won’t I?’ ‘You will, Prime Minister.’ ‘Is more data coming in? Can we wait for it?’ ‘Yes, Prime Minister. No, Prime Minister.’”  

“Think of it as a workplace comedy drama – in the most ridiculous workplace. The one where if you have an accidental hookup at a Christmas party, it’s going on the front page. If you have a serious hangover, you can start a war. It’s a place of high drama, sometimes high principle, but staffed by just people,” he notes. 

“A lot of the stories are true. I’ve disguised the names to protect the guilty, but tons of it actually happens. It’s not about politics, because while making this show, any notion of having a political orientation went out of the window. I learnt too much. You are in a state of continuous crisis. What a perfect place to put a bunch of interesting characters in for a comedy drama.”

Vertue adds: “We are so proud of this show. We finished filming on Friday. It’s beautiful.”

A longtime couple in work and in life also talked about their partnership that spawned “Dracula” or “Sherlock” during the masterclass.

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They spotted Cumberbatch in “Atonement,” where “he played a really creepy character. But he looked and sounded the part,” says Moffat.  

“He had his demeanor. The BBC said: ‘He’s brilliant, just one thing: You did promise us a sexy Sherlock Holmes and he’s not, is he?’

Before Martin Freeman was cast, Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor in “Doctor Who” – was one of the first people to audition for the role.

“Martin was a bit grumpy and we didn’t think he wanted the part. Then his agent called me: ‘No, he did, but he just had his wallet stolen’,” recalled Vertue, with Moffat adding: “They are both brilliant but I don’t know if they are ever more brilliant than when they are together.”  

When they first met, Vertue was a “bigger name,” says Moffat. 

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“I don’t know, I guess making things like ‘Mr. Bean’ makes you famous. When we met, she was way out of my league. People ask: ‘Is it a problem, working with your wife?’ Well, raising children together is hard, too. If working together is ‘hard,’ what the hell are you doing getting married?!”

He adds: “Also, we are saving production money – we only need one hotel room.”

How did they fall in love?

“In a bar,” deadpans Vertue.

Or, rather, at the Edinburg TV festival. 

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“You know when you know immediately when it’s right? We did. I promised another producer not to work with him for a year, kept my promise and then I nabbed him,” she says.  

They also worked together on “Coupling,” which was close to their own story, they admit. 

“Whatever you write, even nonsense like ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Sherlock,’ you write what’s in front of you. I went from being a single man to being a married man. I lived in a different place; I was ‘a couple’. The rules had to be rewritten: ‘Stop flirting with women’ – that was one,” says Moffat.

“How autobiographical [was it]? Not very. Every journalist would ask: ‘Are any characters based on you and Sue?’ ‘Yes, those with our names. You are never gonna crack Watergate, are you?’ But yes, there’s some truth in it.”

“[After we met] we said: ‘Shall we be exclusive?’ I said: ‘I just have to go and dump someone.’ Sue was dumping people for about a month, and it was so easy for her! Once someone called, she picked up and said: ‘Oh hi! Sorry, I met someone. Bye’.”

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According to Moffat, “if it’s boring, stick some jokes in it.” 

“Real life is funny – drama is a lie. If you are saying goodbye to the love of your life, you can’t wait for her to leave because you have to pee. These Sherlock stories? If you read the original, it’s funny. Holmes is a funny guy, making impossible deductions and Watson still managing to be astonished by it. It’s glorious stuff. [‘Sherlock’ episode] ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ is one of my favorite things and it’s non-stop gags. You can’t be too funny, too sexy or too pretty. Always go for funny.” 

He adds: “Humor is truth on speed, that’s what it is. It’s insight with velocity. We had a tradition: When Sue reads a script, I move very far from her in case I want to ask: ‘Why haven’t you laughed yet?’ People must laugh when they read the script. You must laugh before you write a line. I used to say about comedy writing: Stare at the window until you make yourself laugh, and when you do, write it down.”   

Vertue says: “He does all the voices and all the parts, and he’s laughing while walking down the street. Our son would say to his friends when they were coming over: ‘Don’t worry about my dad. He’s not mad, he’s just writing’.”

Sally Mais

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Secret Service Agent Assigned to Jill Biden Shoots Self in Leg

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Secret Service Agent Assigned to Jill Biden Shoots Self in Leg

A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to former First Lady Jill Biden accidentally shot himself in the leg early on Friday near Philadelphia International Airport, according to a source familiar with the incident.

In a statement that did not mention Biden, the Secret Service said the incident occurred just after 8:30 a.m. EST and the agent suffered a non-life-threatening injury.

“There was no impact to the protectee’s movement and they were not present at the time of the incident,” the statement said.

The agent “accidentally discharged his firearm” while traveling in an unmarked SUV near the airport, Philadelphia Police Department Cpl. Jasmine Colón-Reilly said in a statement.

Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and the agent was transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in stable condition, Colón-Reilly said.

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“The Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility will be reviewing the facts and circumstances of this incident,” the Secret Service said.

The Secret Service is responsible for providing security to current and former presidents, vice presidents and their families and foreign leaders and is also an investigative agency.

(Reporting by Christian Martinez in Los Angeles; editing by Scott Malone and Chris Reese)

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Body found in search for missing American Airlines flight attendant in Colombia: mayor

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Body found in search for missing American Airlines flight attendant in Colombia: mayor

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A mayor in Colombia announced that a corpse had been discovered and was likely that of an American citizen who had gone missing. 

Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, a 32-year-old American Airlines flight attendant from Texas, had gone missing while in the foreign country, according to reports.

“Since last Sunday, we have been searching for Eric Gutiérrez, a U.S. citizen who is missing,” Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez noted in a Friday post on X, according to a translation from Spanish.

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT VANISHES DURING COLOMBIA LAYOVER: ‘HIS FAMILY IS DESPERATE’

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Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez speaks during a press conference on Dec. 19, 2025. (JAIME SALDARRIAGA / AFP via Getty Images)

“Unfortunately, a lifeless body has just been found between the municipality of Jericó and Puente Iglesias,” he noted.

“There is a very high probability that it is this person,” the mayor explained.

COLOMBIAN MILITARY PLANE CRASH KILLS AT LEAST 66, HEAD OF ARMED FORCES SAYS

Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina (CDColExt/X)

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“We are heartbroken by the tragic passing of our colleague,” American Airlines noted in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Saturday.

‘AMERICAS COUNTER CARTEL COALITION’: INSIDE THE US STRATEGY TO COMBAT NARCO TERROR, CONFRONT CHINA, OTHER FOES

An American Airlines Airbus A321 departs from Harry Reid International Airport on March 11, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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“Our thoughts and support are with his family, loved ones and colleagues during this difficult time, and we are doing all we can to assist Colombian law enforcement in its investigation,” the company added.

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Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report

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Hundreds of thousands march through London in stand against the far right

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Hundreds of thousands march through London in stand against the far right

London, United Kingdom – Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through central London in what organisers are calling the largest ever demonstration against the far right in British history.

The Together Alliance march, backed by about 500 groups including trade unions, antiracism campaigners and Muslim representative bodies, brought together a diverse crowd of all ages from across the country on Saturday, converging on Whitehall near the Houses of Parliament.

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Organisers said that half a million people took part.

Kevin Courtney, chairman of the Together Alliance, told crowds the march “gives us all confidence to carry on.”

London’s Metropolitan Police put the figure considerably lower, at approximately 50,000, though officers acknowledged it was difficult to reach an accurate figure given how spread out the crowds were.

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The protest was met with a far smaller group of counterprotesters waving Israeli flags and Iran’s pre-1979 monarchical flag.

Aadam Muuse, a trade union activist, told Al Jazeera that racism and Islamophobia had moved from the fringes into mainstream politics, and was “being pushed by parliamentarians”.

He said the march was “much needed to push back against [Reform leader Nigel] Farage and his ilk,” adding that the populist party “must be defeated at the ballot box”.

Demonstrators march against ‘far-right extremism” from Park Lane to Trafalgar Square, organised by the Together Alliance, a coalition of unions and civil society groups, in London [Hannah McKay/Reuters]

Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic, reporting from the march, said demonstrators were pushing back against what they saw as “the politics of hate and division” in the United Kingdom.

One demonstrator, activist and writer Hamja Ahsan, told Al Jazeera he was motivated to attend after a rally organised by the far-right agitator-activist Tommy Robinson that drew 150,000 people and was marred by violence that injured several police officers. Robinson is reportedly planning another rally in May.

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“We need to show them that we’re the majority,” Ahsan said. “At a street level, the far right won’t take over our streets.”

He said the atmosphere on Saturday was akin to the Notting Hill Carnival, as the march united people from all backgrounds, “from pensioners to children”.

Museum worker Charlotte Elliston told Al Jazeera that she also feels unsettled by the far right’s creeping rise.

“You think this would never happen here, and then all of a sudden this might happen,” she said. “You see that it is getting scary.”

A man holds a placard, as demonstrators march against far-right extremism from Park Lane to Trafalgar Square, organised by the Together Alliance, a coalition of unions and civil society groups, in London, Britain, March 28, 2026. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A man holds a placard, as demonstrators march against far-right extremism from Park Lane to Trafalgar Square, organised by the Together Alliance, a coalition of unions and civil society groups, in London [Hannah McKay/Reuters]

Several left-wing politicians joined the demonstration.

Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn posted on X that the “problems we face are not caused by migrants or refugees”, arguing they were rooted instead in “an economic system rigged in favour of corporations and billionaires”.

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MP Zarah Sultana said on X, “There’s one minority we should be angry at: the billionaires funding division while working class people can’t make ends meet.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, Dianne Abbott and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham were also among the crowds.

‘Historic demonstration’

The rights group Amnesty UK hailed the “historic demonstration”, saying marchers were “calling for a different vision of society – one which places dignity, compassion and human rights at its heart”.

A separate march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which assembled at Exhibition Road near Hyde Park, converged with the main demonstration during the afternoon.

Eighteen people were arrested outside New Scotland Yard on Saturday after staging a protest in support of Palestine Action, the protest group which remains proscribed under the Terrorism Act despite a High Court ruling in February that the government’s decision to ban it was unlawful.

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Protesters holding placards gather ahead of speeches after a march against the far right, organised by the Together Alliance, in central London on March 28, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
Protesters holding placards gather ahead of speeches after a march against the far right, organised by the Together Alliance, in central London [Henry Nicholls/AFP]

The march comes amid rising racism as Farage’s Reform party surges in the polls.

Hope Not Hate, an antiracism campaign group, warned earlier in March that the British far right is now “bigger, bolder and more extreme than ever before”.

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