IAN McCULLOCH (GREG Preston) will appear at the Weird Worcester convention in July 2026, at which he’ll be joined by other cast members from the celebrated 1979 Italian horror movie Zombie Flesh Eaters.
Returning for a second year, Weird Worcester offers “a celebration of the frightful, the bizarre and the fantastic” from the world of cult film.
McCulloch will be joined by Al Cliver (‘Brian Hull’, in the actor’s first UK convention appearance) and Ottaviano Dell’acqua (stuntman, actor and accomplished zombie performer), in a session reflecting on the first of McCulloch’s three Italian-made horrors.
Ian McCulloch will also take part in three themed photoshoot sessions (tickets for which can be prepaid in advance) — one solo session; one with fellow cast members from Zombie Flesh Eaters; and one with Luigi Cozzi, the writer and director of the alien horror Contamination (1980), which McCulloch also starred in.
Weird Worcester is BACK after a critically acclaimed first event. Hosted once again by boutique home video label Treasured Films, we are thrilled to be welcoming another top tier roster of cult film veterans to Worcester! It takes place in the Midlands, at the Worcester Arena, overlooking the River Severn.
A grassroots led event, come join fellow cinephiles and collectors for this weekend only event, celebrating all things cult films! Our second year will see us welcome more luminaries of Italian genre cinema along with guests from other areas of legendary cult filmdom!
Meet our special guests, have merchandise or autographs signed, get photos, dress in cosplay, partake in Q&As, browse the dealer tables! Licensed bar and food available!
DENIS LILL (CHARLES Vaughan) will join a large ensemble of cast and crew members from Only Fools and Horses at a sold-out convention in Milton Keynes in May.
Lill featured in the long-running sitcom in the recurring supporting role of Cassandra’s father, Alan Parry.
Organised by the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society, the 2026 convention adopts the theme ‘Only Fools Mafia’, bringing together ‘Miami’ and ‘London’ panels. Lill joins the ‘Miami Mafia’ on Saturday 9 May.
Two other Only Fools alumni with Survivors connections will also appear at the event — Hazel McBride (Alice, Bridgehead) and Roy Marsden (The Captain, Long Live the King).
Only Fools Mafia DoubleTree by Hilton Milton Keynes, Stadium Way W, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK1 1ST 9-10 May 2026 Ticket waiting list: Craigwood@onlyfools.net
THE FILM IS Fabulous charitable trust has confirmed that it has taken possession of behind-the-scenes filmed footage shot on location in 1976 during the making of the second series of Survivors.
The trust was recently thrust into the genre news headlines following its acquisition by donation of two previously missing episodes of Doctor Who (‘The Nightmare Begins’ and ‘Devil’s Planet’) featuring William Hartnell’s Doctor and first screened in November 1965.
Since it was launched, the trust’s small team has taken delivery of a huge and growing array of donations, principally from private collectors.
Amongst the material it has received is an (unknown quantity) of ‘non-broadcast’ footage from Survivors‘ second series, donated as part of the personal archive of Michael Wilson, the late stills-photographer and cameraman. Michael was married to June Hudson—the costume designer and wardrobe manager on Survivors whose designs did so much to define the visual appearance of Abby Grant, Greg Preston, Jenny Richards, Charles Vaughan and others.
“Photography was Michael’s passion, and he had a natural eye for it from a young age,” Film is Fabulous confirmed. “As a freelancer, he was regularly engaged by the BBC as a stills and film photographer. These engagements included several Shakespeare productions alongside his wife, costume designer June Hudson, which were directed by theatre grandee, Trevor Nunn.”
“A feature of Michael’s work was the location filming. He was prolific. During such engagements he often acted as the film cameraman. The recordings of the Survivors‘ television series (1976) provide a fascinating insight into the production. Michael also filmed behind the scenes, and the collection contains unique films of the cast and crew.”
Few more details are yet known as to the nature of the Survivors footage, but from limited information provided so far, it appears that the material most likely is:
Behind-the-scenes footage shot on location in 1976
16mm film footage, taken on a hand-held film camera
Mute (rather than recorded with sound – this is the case with the first reels Film is Fabulous has examined)
More than a single reel of film (how many reels is unknown, but multiple reels do not guarantee that the footage is extensive in duration)
A mixture of personal off-camera moments of cast and crew and observations of rehearsals or recording
While fans of classic TV shows are naturally impatient to see all new discoveries as soon as possible, it is inevitable that material will take time to review and assess — to ensure its preservation (and repair the material when necessary), and to decide on the most appropriate method for both its retention and for making the content safely and securely accessible to fans and researchers.
For the two newly-recovered Doctor Who episodes, that meant a combination of screening events and making the material freely available to screen on the BBC’s iPlayer.
But that level of ‘open access’ is likely to be the exception rather than the norm. So much material has already been recovered, that different options will need to be chosen, depending on the nature of the material in question and the level of likely interest.
Film is Fabulous has already returned a significant number of progamme episodes and other footage to the BBC Archive, and a large number of titles to the BFI National Archive for the purposes of preservation.
Of the Survivors footage, Film is Fabulous say: “Once the films have been catalogued, they’ll be deposited with a suitable repository. The missing material will be screened at future Film is Fabulous events, together with other recovered items.”
On Facebook, one of the Film is Fabulous team added: “It’s our hope that the BBC Archive will accept the [whole of the Michael Wilson] collection, and they’ll be able to review the unique material for possible screening.”
AFTER MANY FALSE starts and fan disappointments over the years, a potential remake of the Terry Nation created BBC space-opera Blake’s 7 (1978-81) now appears to be moving towards production.
Blake’s 7 was Survivors creator Terry Nation’s next project for the BBC after his creative connections with Survivors ended at the close of the first series.
The four series of Blake’s 7 told the story of the efforts of a group of rag-tag rebels — led initially by the indomitable Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas), and later by the steely Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) — determined to challenge the galactic tyranny of The Federation, epitomised by the ruthlessness of Space Commander Travis (Brian Croucher, Stephen Greif) and Supreme Commander (and later President) Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce).
A two-season ‘reimagining’ of Survivors was produced for the BBC in 2008-10. Long after the transmissiobn of Blake’s 7 fourth and final series on BBC 1 in 1981, the property was licenced from the Terry Nation estate by audio-drama company Big Finish, who have gone on to produce numerous full-cast dramas and audio-books set in the universe that Nation devised.
The prospect of Blake’s 7 returning to the small screen, in a fresh guise, was given a significant boost on 19 January 2026 when it was announced that new genre TV company Multitude Productions had licensed the rights for a reboot.
At the centre of the new pitch were Emmy-nominated director Peter Hoar (who’s recently worked on both The Last of Us and Doctor Who), and producers Matthew Bouch and Jason Haigh-Ellery (the managing director of Big Finish Productions). Lizzie Worsdell has also signed on as executive producer.
“The Blake’s 7 story is legendary because they were given the… slot that was intended for police drama with a budget intended for one big set and a few location shoots,” Hoar explained to Deadline. “At the time it felt like it meant something. Those shows got into my veins. I could tell they didn’t have money but I was able to compartmentalize and enjoy the ride knowing that the sets wobbled.”
Bouch confirmed that the team are “looking to the international market and seeing if there is a way of dovetailing that British low-budget sensibility with international markets. We know in the U.S. there’s a big contraction and we all need to think about finding ways to make things more economical.”
There’s no word yet on the new series’ likely format, production partners, new and returning characters, casting or scripts.
Multitude Productions remain optimistic, convinced — in Bouch’s words — that “there is a gap in the market in terms of what we are doing… Our expertise straddles both international and British lower budget material. Obviously the proof will be in the pudding.”
