Crossword

ACROSS

1. He lives in a Den, but might be a financial backer (6)

6. TV ones are now flat and letterbox shaped (7)

8. Some viewers may ------- the ground their idol steps on (7)

9. Noisy snake seen in Westerns (7)

10. Short extracts are used to ----- (publicise in advance) forthcoming attractions (5)

11. Some televised films are not as ---- as the originals, due to cuts (4)

12. Snooty type, like Hyacinth Bucket (4)

15. Chat show hosts have detailed ----s on guests’ backgrounds (4)

17. Bill, who played Compo in ‘Summer Wine’ (4)

19. ----- Of Dock Green (5)

20. Cardie/woollie combo as might be favoured by Miss Marple (4-3)

22. & 23 Kids loved this pudgy and blustery pirate of the 1950s and 1960s (7,7)

23. (see 22)

24. ------lands, by Narnia’s creator C S Lewis, starred Claire Bloom in 1985 (6)

DOWN

1. Faithful assistant of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes (2,6)

2. Mr Chiles, once presenter of Working Lunch and The One Show (6)

3. Shakespeare tragedy filmed by Orson Welles (7)

4. The ‘---- Pack’ a group of actors including Demi Moore and Emilio Estevez (4)

5. King Arthur’s wizard, with a show of his own (6)

6. A seasonal look at the countryside, with Michaela Strachan (11)

7. Formal address to Michael Gambon (3)

13. Melvyn Bragg is in a ----- --- (totally novel) setting as The South Bank Show moves to Sky (5,3)

14. Channel 4 News sometimes gives a more -- - ----- (profound) coverage of new items (2-5)

16. ------ My Mother Taught Me, Aussie series starring Kurt Fearnley and Noni Hazlehurst (6)

18. Murphy’s Law states that a job will ------ to fill the time allotted to it. So will a TV show (6)

20. --- of the Pops, one-time premier chart-music show (3)

21. Mr Bean, aka Col. Richard Sharpe (4)

Last week’s solutions

Across: 1 Number; 4 Dismal; 7 Britannia; 9 Coup; 10 & 16 Stan Laurel; 11 Fee; 12 Rarity; 14 Reveal; 18 Editor; 20 Old; 21 Dahl; 23 Tony; 24 Sebastian; 25 Senses; 26 Dreams.

Down: 1 Nascar: 2 Burp; 3 Ratify; 4 & 16 Dinnerladies; 5 Skis; 6 Lionel; 7 Burroughs; 8 Attention; 13 Tie; 15 End; 17 Locals; 18 Edited; 19 Royles; 22 Lens; 23 Tape.