Described as “24 for grown-ups”, Homeland has already won a Golden Globe and critical acclaim. As the show begins in Britain on Channel 4, its main star Damian Lewis talks to Shereen Low about portraying a US marine sergeant suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and why he really wants to play Don Draper from Mad Men.

t hunger. The Rider’s gonna come out. And when he does, he’ll destroy whoever’s got it coming.”

BLEAK but brilliant TYRANNOSAUR (18: Studio Canal) is so harrowing at times that it’s not for the faint-hearted.

A SWEETIE-induced sugar rush left ballet fans at Milton Keynes Theatre on a high following the opening night of Matthew Bourne’s sumptuous production of Nutcracker!

SATURDAY

THE oldest pancake race in history will be flipping back into Olney next week.

PERFORM nearly 40 songs of varying quality from the late 50s and early 60s, add a flimsy plot and you get a standing ovation at the Waterside Theatre.

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

Beware, young Harry Potter fans – the boy who lived now finds himself in much darker territory.

With love in the air this Valentine’s Day, Paddy McGuinness reveals what he’s learned about love and dating from his show Take Me Out, which continues on Saturdays on ITV1.

THE Parks Trust will be All of a Twitter this Tuesday as rangers host a school holiday event to shed some light on our feathered friends.

SATURDAY

YOU can always expect the unexpected from Fringe favourites, Spymonkey, and the opening night at the world premiere of their new production at the Royal & Derngate proved no different.

Whimsical time-travelling comedy MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (12: Warner) is the most purely enjoyable movie Woody Allen has made in years and fully deserves the collection of Oscar nominations it has picked up.

FEELING a little flat?

LAST week we told you that Big Pants & Botox, from the Goodnights Entertainment stable, was hitting the West End for a brief run.

THE Open University Film Society presents French film Of Gods and Men, on Wednesday night.

SEVEN Caves have spent a fair portion of time locked in the studio recently, working on tracks for their debut album which will be showcased during their headlining performance at The Craufurd Arms on Saturday night.

THE High Jinks will be livening up events at The Craufurd Arms in Wolverton this evening, when they join Futures for a Thursday night roar.

AT the Summer Fayre last year, a fairly unassuming band hit the stage and made their audience forget all about the night chill with a high-octane, blues-rock blast rounded off with a great raspy vocal.