Blacklisted Conversations

Leomie Anderson is a supermodel, the owner of fashion brand Lapp the Brand and now she's got a new gig as the host of BBC's reality competition Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star. Taking over from her good friend Maya Jama, Leomie is the narrator and contestant mentor in season 5, of BBC's hunt for the next best MUA. With everything you could expect from a show like this, each episode sees impos...

After honing his craft on the stage, in productions including Barber Shop Chronicles, Master Harold and the Boys and Mogadishu, Hammed Animashaun has landed his first leading on screen role in the BBC comedy thriller Black Ops. Co-created and starring BAFTA award-winners Akemnji Ndifornyen & Gbemisola Ikumelo Black Ops sees Dom (Animashaun) and Kay (Ikumelo) as PCSOs (PoliceCommunity Service O...

Akemnji Ndifornyen is on a mission to revolutionise our TV screens. The BAFTA award winning musician, actor, writer, and producer has enjoyed success with this hilarious BBC sketch show Famalam that starred a slew of black talent including Samson Kayo, Vivienne Acheampong, Tom Moutchi, Akemnji himself, Gbemisola Ikumelo and more ... His latest project Black Ops is a co-creation with his Famalam co...

Actor Toheeb Jimoh has come a long way. From a fresh newbie who brought sensitivity and humanity to the BBC film Anthony about the true story of Anthony Walker who was killed during a racially motivated attack. He's made us laugh as Sam in the multi-award winning hit Apple TV football series Ted Lasso, and now he's back in a dramatic role in the exciting book adapted series The Power currently ava...

We're trying something new! Taking our Out Of 100 review page on the website to a podcast! Ranging from anything to do with Screen, Stage, Literature, and the Sound these mediums create we'll be reviewing it. First up is the West End play 'Wicked' which made history by having three black actors in the main roles Alexia Khadime as Elphaba AKA The Wicked Witch of the West, Lucy-St.-Louis as Glinda A...

Today Nana & Akua reviewed Giles Terera's play The Meaning of Zong which showed for a few days at the Barbican. The Meaning of Zong is written & co-directed by Olivier Award-winning Giles Terera who also takes the lead as renowned author & abolitionist Olaudah Equiano. Based on true events, The Meaning of Zong is set 200 years ago centres around Equiano's efforts to get justice for the...

In this episode of TBB Talks, Nana Evans interviews Giles Terera, playwright, actor and co-director of " The Meaning of Zong ". The play is based on the true story of the massacre that took place on board a British slave ship in the 1780s. Giles was inspired to create the play after learning about the resilience and strength of the enslaved Africans on the ship who fought back. Particularly a woma...

Actor John Boyega reunites with writer Kwame Kwei-Armah for Breaking the true story of a  desperate man who finds himself in a desperate situation. When Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley is denied support from Veterans Affairs, financially desperate and running out of options, he takes a bank and several of its employees’ hostage, setting the stage for a tense confrontation wit...

The title ' journalistic legend ' is how we'd like to describe our latest guest. Mr multi-award winning journalist and author Gary Younge is about to release his latest book Dispatches from the Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter. Ranging from conversations with Stormzy, Maya Angelou, Andrea Levy and Lewis Hamilton to name but a few, to his presence during Obama's historical presid...

Bukky Bakray is one busy young actor. From stage to screen she is really making an impact. Her latest project is ‘Liaison’ on Apple TV+. It’s described as as a high-stakes, contemporary thriller exploring how the mistakes of our past have the potential to destroy our future, combining action with an unpredictable, multilayered plot where espionage and political intrigue play out against a story of...

New crime drama ' The Diplomat ' premieres on Alibi on February 28th and with beautiful views of Barcelona it’s the perfect anecdote to the pretty rubbish UK weather we’ve been having.  But it’s not all sun, sea and sangrias. Starring Danny Sapani, along with Sophie Rundle ( Peaky Blinders ) and Serena Manteghi ( The Hound of the Baskervilles ), it follows the team at...

Netflix's new social-thriller The Strays tells the story of a light-skinned Black woman's meticulously crafted life of privilege starts to unravel when two strangers show up in her quaint suburban town. Starring Bukky Bakray, Ashley Madekwe and Jordan Myrie, the film is the directorial debut of actor/playwright Nathaniel Martello-White. With stand out roles in Sky series Guerrilla , Steve McQueen'...

We’re used to her being the Queen of the Sofa on Friday mornings on ’ This Morning ’, but now Alison Hammond is set to be the Queen of Sunday night after being unveiled as one of the hosts of this year's EE BAFTA Film Awards alongside Richard E Grant. Having interviewed some of the world’s biggest stars, Alison Hammond is the perfect fit to front the biggest night in British film. Afua Hagan caugh...

NIkki Amuka-Bird’s career is really taking flight. She’s about to star in the latest film from iconic filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin. Nikki’s second collaboration with Night, as she calls him, follows the story of a young girl and her parents who are holidaying at a remote cabin in the woods - only to be taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand they make an unthinkable ch...

With a career spanning almost 20 years, Sarkodie is one of the most successful African rappers of all time. He was the first winner of BET's Best International Flow artist at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards, and he was crowned Vodafone Ghana Music Award’s "Artiste of the Decade".  Bob Marley is one of the most legendary figures in modern music. The Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter inspir...

Finding himself not knowing what he wanted to do after college. It was a conversation with his Uncle that convinced Anthony to try his hand at acting. 14 years later with a career that includes TV, Film and Stage with notable appearances in "The Brothers Size", "Journeyman", "Hanna" and "The Great" safe to say he is no stranger to the scene. I spoke to Anthony about his role as Leon in Paramount +...

Don Warrington is a staple of stage and screen, playing a whole range of roles, from smooth political operator Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in BBC’s ever popular series Death in Paradise to the lead role in King Lear. But now he’s taking on a completely different role for a different audience - playing the loveable Grandpa in  The World According to Grandpa .  Grandpa answers real...

Tottenham Literature Festival (TLF) has fast become one of the UK’s leading literature festivals celebrating enriched, diverse stories by Black authors, poets, and artists from Tottenham and beyond. In this episode of TBB Talks, Una chats with Hannah-Azieb Pool, the CEO of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and founder of the Tottenham Literature Festival. The festival runs until 20th November, with eve...

The depiction of the continent of Africa on the big screen gets an Afrofuturist iteration thanks to  Neptune Frost  - the futuristic sci-fi musical from musician Saul Williams and director Anisia Uzeyman. Set in a near-future Burundi, it follows the story of Neptune, an intersex hacker and their journey to another realm. It’s also a commentary on&n...

BAFTA Breakthrough British actress and writer Susan Wokoma is back as 'Edith' in film 2 of the Netflix series 'Enola Holmes'. The films based on the Nancy Springer novel series of the same name stars Stranger Things' Millie Bobbie Brown as 'Enola' younger sister of her “infamous” brothers Mycroft and Sherlock. With a booked and busy schedule Susan spoke to us about the significance of playing suff...

David Harewood is one of our favourite multi-hyphenates, the actor, producer and director has added the string of author to his bow with his memoir of 'Maybe I Don't Belong Here'. First published in 2021, it's a moving, powerful and at times uncomfortable account of Harewood's mental breakdown, recovery and devastating family history. For those of us who like a lighter read, it's now bee...

With a career that has covered films, TV and prestigious events, Reginald Hudlin is a cultural visionary we hold dear. Responsible for classics such as House Party, Boomerang, The Boondocks, D'jango alongside producing the NAACP Image Awards and the Oscars ... With a back CV like that, it's no surprise Mr Hudlin was the go to person to direct a documentary about the life of Sidney Poitier. Coverin...

Ghanaian American filmmaker & actress Nana Mensah's latest film Queen of Glory is described as a 'love letter to immigrant daughters'. The story revolving around a young Ghanaian woman from the Bronx who inherits her mother's Christian Bookstore after her mother's passing. A warm, funny and insightful tale of grief, tradition, culture and love Queen of Glory is Nana's directorial feature debut...

This week we speak to the brilliant actress Michelle Greenidge about her role in the new season of Code 404. Sky's popular comedy series lead by Stephan Graham and Daniel Mays is about two Detective Inspectors running the show in the Met Police's Special Investigation Unit until one of them is gunned down and brought back to life by an experimental artificial intelligence project. Michelle plays P...

Multi-award winning musician Tinie Tempah is branching out into new creative territories. He's currently the host of the BBC series Extraordinary Portraits. As a renowned artistic icon Tinie is best placed to host this transformational series. We discuss why this career transition has been almost seamless ... The series sees Tinie match members of the public with extraordinary...