The actress best known for her Oscar-nominated role as Goldie Hawn’s tormentor in 1980 comedy Private Benjamin has died aged 80.

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword

ITV snaps up Shaun of the Dead production company Big Talk

The film production company behind Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End has been snapped up by ITV for £12.5 million.

The 'Not the Nine O'Clock News's team (left to right), Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, and Griff Rhys Jones carrying Pamela Stephenson in 1980

Mel Smith, the man who made me howl with laughter

As so many people have said, Mel Smith, who has died at the age of 60, was a comedy giant. And his talent was evident – obvious – when I first saw him 40 years ago. I was then trying to make my way in comedy at Cambridge, and he, then president of the slightly loftier Oxford University Dramatic Society, had agreed to take part, rather to amuse himself, I suspect. He was by a mile the best thing in it. Clever, and very, very funny, as he always was subsequently.

Michael Adebolajo, taking part in an Islamist demonstration in 2007

Five members of prison staff suspended following Woolwich suspect injury

Michael Adebolajo lost two teeth in what the Prison Officer Association described as 'necessary restraint'

<p><b>The Simpsons v Family Guy</b></p>
<p>Homer Simpson and his dysfunctional family have been on the world's TV screens for 20 hugely influential years. Some say they have been too influential on Seth MacFarlane's 'Family Guy'. 'Simpsons' writers are said to dislike the show, which has copied its premise and many plots from its yellow cousins, and now both shows lampoon each other. 'Simpsons' creator Matt Groening and MacFarlane have expressed mutual admiration, however. </p>

Crash course: Small-screen politics

TIMELINE

Last Night's Viewing: Love and Marriage, ITV
The Apprentice, BBC1

Kevin was a little tearful by the end of his baby's christening and determined to make a speech about the importance of family: "Thanks for making this a very special day for me," he said, before choking up a little and calling for a toast. He didn't thank Grandpa Frank specifically, if I remember right, but then again he would have had to be psychic to know that Frank, in particular, was going to make it one of those christenings you just don't forget.

DVD review: Veep, The Complete First Season

Armando Iannucci and his pals from the BBC's The Thick of It relocate their quick-fire government insult-fest to Washington DC.

The Dad’s Army actor Bill Pertwee has died aged 86

Dad’s Army actor Bill Pertwee dies aged 86

Versatile staple of British comedy who thought ‘I’m not really a proper actor’

Irish government faces fight with residents of picturesque island Inis Oirr over new salmon farm

Locals fear it could take away much of the island’s appeal

Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi star as lifelong partners growing rancorously old together in ITV's new sitcom Vicious

Man charged with murdering brother after funeral of another sibling in south London

A man was charged today with murdering his younger brother.

Actor Ross Lynch has been dubbed a mini Zac Efron

On to watch: Ross Lynch, actor/singer, 17

Dubbed a mini Zac Efron, Lynch is set to be a teen heartthrob this summer when he stars in Disney's musical film, Teen Beach Movie, playing surfer boy Brady.

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are to return to BBC with a new sitcom

House of Fools: Reeves and Mortimer return to BBC two years after Shooting Stars axed

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are coming back to the BBC two years after the corporation axed their surreal panel show Shooting Stars.

Friends is approaching its 20th anniversary and its popularity continues to grow

I’ll be there for you – but maybe not for your kids: The popularity of 'Friends' continues to grow...but is it too mature for children?

The 1990s sitcom Friends is approaching its 20th anniversary, and its popularity among young people continues to grow.

Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from only £749pp Find out more
California and the golden west
14 nights from only £1,599pp Find out more
Paris by Eurostar
Three nights from only £259pp Find out more
Prague, Vienna and Budapest
Seven nights from only £599pp Find out more
Paris and the Cote d’Azur
Seven nights from only £579pp Find out more
Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end