Tag: playwright

Invitation – An Evening With Esteemed Author & Crusading Journalist Peter Jukes

Matthew Steeples invites you to an evening with ‘Waking The Dead’ writer and co-founder of ‘Byline Times’ Peter Jukes on 20^th May 2026 at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie, London

Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times

invites you to

An evening with author, screenwriter, playwright and journalist Peter Jukes

Writer: ‘Holby City’, ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’ and ‘Waking The Dead’

Author: ‘A Shout in the Street’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Murdoch’

Podcaster: ‘Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder Exposed’

Co-founder: ‘Byline Times’

The Steeple Times – Discussion and Dinner

at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie, 52 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HH

on Wednesday 20th May 2026

THE EVENING

* Arrivals for a Prosecco reception in a private setting on the first floor of PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie from 6.30pm. Those arriving earlier are welcome to enjoy a drink at the ground floor PJ’s bar.

* Matthew Steeples in conversation with Peter Jukes at 7pm prompt with audience questions to follow for 30 minutes. The format will be similar to our previous discussions with amongst others biographer and true crime legend Geoffrey Wansell, Britain’s best known crime correspondent Martin Brunt of Sky News, actor, writer and producer Steven Berkoff, filmmaker Amanda Eliasch, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York author Andrew Lownie and Manhunt and Crime Suspect host Peter Bleksley. There will be an opportunity for questions.

* 3-course dinner with wine, with options for those with particular dietary requirements, to follow. Guests will have the opportunity to chat with Peter Jukes and Matthew Steeples during the dinner.

* After dinner, guests will be welcome to continue discussions downstairs at the legendary PJ’s bar for further cocktails and conversation.

PETER JUKES

Swindon born Peter Jukes graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge with a double first in English. A self-declared “Jack of all trades,” Peter’s early plays were performed by Tilda Swinton and Johanna Scalon and his contemporaries at the Cambridge Footlights numbered Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson.

During a veritable and varied career, here is a personable polymath who has worked as a journalist, playwright, screenwriter, literary critic and author. Aside from being lauded as an expert in the art of dark comedy, on television and radio, Peter is primarily known for his work in the field of crime thrillers and medical dramas. Credits have included The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Waking the Dead and Sea of Souls. His opening episode of the third season of Holby City was described by The Guardian as “the televisual equivalent of crack” whilst his 20-part series about the murder of the British private investigator Daniel Morgan topped the UK iTunes podcast chart.

Delving into the phone hacking scandal took Peter down a rabbit hole that resulted in him becoming the first person to ‘live tweet’ a trial on his iPad (with the permission of the presiding judge, Mr Justice Saunders). After spending nearly 9 months doing this in 2013 and 2014 and having written a book about the paradoxes of the News Corp head honcho, Rupert Murdoch, titled The Fall of the House of Murdoch, in 2012, he co-founded the crusading investigative title Byline Times in 2012.

The work of Peter Jukes and his colleagues on topics ranging from Brexit and Cambridge Analytic to Jeffrey Epstein’s expressed desire to establish a church for “confession privilege” have resulted in Byline Times being described as a “counter-balance to the billionaire dominated British press.”

BOOKING

Tickets are priced at £85 per person and include a glass of Prosecco on arrival and half a bottle of either red or white wine per person with dinner.

To pay by bank transfer, please use the details below or alternatively please make a transfer of £85 per ticket to the account listed below by clicking the following link:

https://monzo.com/pay/r/longreach-publishing-limi_DdsyWL3XaZuiuw

Account name: Longreach Publishing Limited

Bank: Monzo

Sort code: 04-00-06

Account number: 90607601

Tickets can only be purchased in advance and guest names must be supplied for allocated place settings. The deadline for booking is 6pm on Tuesday 19^th May 2026. Tickets are issued on a non-refundable basis.

MENU

The ticket price includes a glass of Prosecco on arrival, ½ a bottle of either red or white wine per person and a three course meal.

STARTERS

PRAWN TEMPURA soy and sesame sauce

TUNA TARTARE avocado, chilli, lime, toasted sesame, soy sauce

SCOTCH BEEF CARPACCIO wild rocket, parmesan, mustard dressing

CRISPY FRIED ARTICHOKES caper and herb mayonnaise

MAINS

THE PJ’S BURGER 8oz patty, mature cheddar cheese, bacon, iceberg lettuce, pickle, smoked crackling mayonnaise, fries

CHICKEN MILANESE wild rocket, artichoke and reggio cheese salad, toasted sesame, tahini honey dressing

TUFFLE LINGUINE mushroom and truffle veloute, created truffle and parmesan

MISO SALMON bok choi, lemongrass rice, jalapeño, and spring onion mayonnaise

PUDDINGS

CLASSIC CRÈME BRULEE

BELGIAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKE

VANILLA CHEESECAKE raspberry compote

SELECTION OF SORBETS & ICE CREAMS three scoops

Follow Peter Jukes on Instagram at @pdjukes and on X at @peterjukes. Subscribe to ‘Byline Times’ by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Steeples on X at @M_Steeples and The Steeple Times at @SteepleTimes.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel at @mjs2781.

May 7, 2026
Hit the Road Marilyn

Marilyn Monroe’s 1956 Ford Thunderbird to be auctioned

A 1956 Ford Thunderbird gifted as a Christmas present to Marilyn Monroe in 1955 by her business partner, the photographer Milton Greene, is to be auctioned in November.

The raven black roadster bodied automatic – dubbed a “personal luxury car” by Ford – comes with numerous documents and of it, the current owner comments:

“I found the vehicle in lovely show condition. Nevertheless, the car has received a frame-off restoration to its exact original appearance by Prestige Thunderbird, Inc., of Santa Fe Springs, CA. Prestige is the premier west coast firm specializing only in classic 1955, 1956, and 1957 Ford Thunderbirds. In recognition of the car’s important provenance, special heed was given to the retention of original parts, with most driver and passenger touch surfaces left undisturbed.”

“Finding this car, a classic two-seater model, after 56 plus years of its unknown whereabouts, was a singular event. No other car has been located and documented as owned by the incomparable Marilyn Monroe.”

Speaking of the 225 horsepower, V8 engined vehicle, Amy Greene, wife of Milton Greene, remarked:

“Marilyn liked to drive. We’d take the convertible and with the top down, we’d go sailing along the highway. We both liked to feel the wind in our faces and the warmth of the heater on our legs.”

Kept and driven by the icon for six years, Monroe and her playwright husband Arthur Miller drove the Thunderbird to their civil wedding ceremony on 28^th June 1956 and likely also to their private wedding on 30^th June 1956. The vehicle was subsequently ‘regifted’ t to John Strasberg, the son the director and acting coach Lee Strasberg, as an 18^th birthday present in 1962. It comes with a black canvas convertible top, a porthole windowed hardtop and has 30,399 miles on the odometer following an engine rebuild.

Darren Julien, president of Julien’s – the firm conducting the sale – added:

“Once in a while something comes along that has a powerful magic about it, a charisma, because of everything and everyone associated with it. This wonderful Ford Thunderbird is not only part of automotive history but comes with an aura of glamour, romance and tragedy of a true Hollywood legend. It will make the centrepiece of any classic car collection and be an object of fascination to millions.”

Julien’s Auctions will offer the car at their ‘Icons and Idols: Hollywood’ on 17^th November in Los Angeles, California. They have set an estimate of £230,000 to £384,000 ($300,000 to $500,000, €262,000 to €436,000 or درهم1.1 million to درهم1.8 million).

2018 photos: Courtesy of Julien’s Auctions.

Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

Twitter: @SteepleTimes

October 19, 2018
Three Reasons to Vote…

A financier, a photographer and a doctor explain why they’ll respectively choose the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Labour today

Financier Zachary Latif on why he’ll vote for the Conservative Party

Brexit is the primary question

Firstly, this election was called on the issue of Brexit and when voters go to the polls, the primary question is whom do they want as their chief negotiator to deal with Europe: Will it be Theresa May or will it be Jeremy Corbyn? It is incontrovertible that Theresa May, a lady with a sensible and steady pair of hands, is the one to captain the ship. When I compare her approach to the untried and untested Jeremy Corbyn, I know without a shadow of doubt that I want Theresa May and her team to be leading Brexit.

Making Britain prosperous

The economy will go through a very shaky time over the next five years and we need a party that has the economic expertise that can guide us through these rocky waters. We all remember the last terrible time under Labour when the treasury was literally left with no money. Britain, now, under the Tories, has low unemployment, a balanced budget and ambitious plans for economic growth. If you want a prosperous Britain then it can only be for the blues.

Multiculturalism and being proud to be British

The cult of multiculturalism, as Angela Merkel touched on a few years ago, has failed. We need a Britain that revolves around the Union, a bicameral Parliament, the Crown and an understanding of the strong role that the Church (Anglicanism South of the Wall and Presbyterianism North of the Wall) plays. We need a government that is able to both manage the world outside but also be able to stand up for Britain and this precious Union of Nation, as Theresa May puts it. Jeremy Corbyn is a revolutionary but has no instinct for British patriotism – as his extensive links with the IRA testify. The Conservative Party is the only major party that makes one feel proud to be British and also able to retain a global outlook.

Cambridge based Zachary Latif is a founder of Raef LLC, a high yield investment firm. He has appeared as a guest host on CNBC several times and is also an actor and playwright.

Photographer James Smith on why he’ll vote for the Liberal Democrats

Corbyn is the tail shaking the Labour dog

I’m a centrist and believe government should work for all rather than guarding the wealth or indulging the politics of envy. By pulling his party to the hard left, Corbyn and his army in the wings have allowed May to become more right wing. How dare he and how dare she abandon the middle. Corbyn has alienated so many of his more reasonable party members that only the dregs will serve with him on the front benches. Corbyn may be a great campaigner but he’s been a lazy politician in opposition and seems bored when he’s not absorbing the energy of an adoring crowd. Remind you of anyone?

The Liberal Democrats punched above their weight in the coalition

I thought the coalition government was a grown-up union born of necessity. Neither party could fall back to their comfort zones, they had to work together to deal with a dire situation. For the most part, both sides did well but the Lib Dems suffered because of lazy accusations of betrayal by their core voters. To me they’ve proven they’re grown-ups. They’re honest that there’s no magic money tree and we’ll all need to pay for the NHS and social care through higher income tax. The idea of a Labour-SNP pact would be the worst of all worlds: Bye bye UK.

The Liberal Democrats could help facilitate a more sensible Brexit

While I won’t be celebrating a Labour or a Conservative victory, Jeremy Corbyn would be significantly worse for the health of the country. His ideological policies may ultimately harm the people he is trying to help. Emily Thornberry is my incumbent MP and she has been totally unaccountable to her staunchly Remain constituents. She refuses to campaign for a second ‘Are you sure?’ EU referendum, something the local Lib Dem candidate, Alain Desmier, has promised to do. If you must take the UK into radical territory, don’t do it when we’re uncoupling from our like minded neighbours and facing a less stable wider world. Lashing out with a vote for Corbyn is a bit like a hand break turn along a cliff edge.

James Smith is an Islington based photographer. He was educated at a public school and an arts institute.

Sally Jackson on why she’ll vote for the Labour Party

For the many, not the few

Labour has pledged to rebalance an economy that just works for the likes of billionaires like Sir Philip Green right now. We need a fairer tax system and the guarantee of no income tax rises for those earning below £80,000 a year is proof that Labour will not “tax the country until the pips squeak” – an accusation so commonly thrown by the right that Jeremy Corbyn has again and again disproven.

Doing right by the NHS

Jeremy Hunt is a symbol of the callous Tories and their assault on humanity. As a healthcare professional I want him and Theresa’s team gone and I believe only Labour will deliver a fairer deal for patients and healthcare workers. We’re under extreme threat right now and cuts to pharmacy funding are one of the worst false economies I’ve come across. As someone wrote on a wall recently: “I’m no gynaecologist but I know a Hunt when I see one”.

It’s not just about Brexit

I’ve heard enough about “Brexit means Brexit” but I’m glad Jeremy Corbyn voted for Article 50 and opposed a second referendum. The country has spoken and it’s time to get on with it. I supported leave myself and I did so because Europe wasn’t giving us a fair, inclusive society. I believe Labour will give us that and now the focus back on to what’s “Best for Britain” – a phrase that the remoaners Gina Miller and Sir Bob Geldoff should never have been allowed to hijack.

Sally Jackson works as a doctor in Manchester. She was born in Devon and is a graduate of Queen Mary, University of London.

June 8, 2017
An Epic Estate

Scottish sporting estate, once home to Sir Walter Scott, for sale; it comes with nearly two miles of fishing on the River Tweed, 863 acres of land and seven houses

The Scottish estate where Sir Walter Scott, Bt. (1771 – 1732) wrote his narrative poems Lay of the Minstrel and The Lady of the Lake and his epic, Marmion, has recently been placed for sale for £5.5 million ($7.1 million, €6.4 million or درهم26.2 million).

Offered by Savills and leased by the novelist, playwright and poet from 1804 to 1812, Ashiestiel House in Selkirkshire stands above in 863 acres above the River Tweed and is 35 miles from the centre of Edinburgh. It comes with six further dwellings, 1¾ miles of salmon and sea trout fishing on the River Tweed, an in-hand stock farm, commercial forestry, a pheasant shooting, duck flighting and equestrian facilities.

Sir Walter Scott, Bt. (1771 – 1732) was the tenant of Ashiestiel for eight years prior to moving to Abbotsford, an estate he eventually expanded to some 1,000 acres

An Epic Estate – Ashiestiel, Clovenfords, Lauderdale, Selkirkshire, Scotland, TD1 3LJ, United Kingdom

Extending to 10,360 square foot and renovated in 2011, the estate’s Grade A listed main residence includes 5 reception rooms, 9 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. It dates to the 17^th century and amongst its features are a peel tower and space described as suitable for entertaining “on a grand scale”.

Ashiestiel was last placed on the market – with just 24 acres of land and its two gate lodges – for £1.75 million in 2009 (the equivalent of £2.15 million, $2.79 million, €2.48 million or درهم10.26 million today). At the time, then owner and joint master of the Buccleuch hunt, Robert Claydon, told The Telegraph:

“I’ve come back from cubbing and caught a salmon at the end of the garden. It’s very wild countryside – south of us you won’t hit a road for 10 miles. It was the best move we ever made coming here. We escaped the rat race – people understand the countryside up here”.

May 25, 2017
P**s Off Piers

Piers Morgan withdraws from presenting an awards ceremony after an online campaign to oust him went viral; next he needs to leave Britain for good

On Sunday, Piers Morgan, undoubtedly one of the most loathed men in Britain, took to social media to explain why he has opted to pull out of hosting the Royal Television Society Programme Awards after an online campaign to have him ousted went viral. Amongst those to have supported it were the spin doctor turned journalist Alastair Campbell, the actor Adrian Lester, OBE and the playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer, OBE.

In the statement, Morgan – a man best known for publishing fake pictures of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners in 2004 and for his feuds with everyone from Jeremy Clarkson to J. K. Rowling – remarked:

I was recently invited to host the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.

As someone who has worked in British and American television for most of this Millennium, on a variety of shows, I thought it might be fun and agreed to do it without any fee.

After my role was announced, a campaign was started to have me banned.

It suggested that I lack the ‘creative excellence’ criteria required for presenting such an event and therefore my presence would be ‘damaging’ and ‘inappropriate’.

Further, I have ‘failed to understand a social movement that values equality and diversity of voice’.

Apparently, this movement does not extend to tolerating my own diverse voice.

I have no wish to serve as an unnecessary distraction from award winners whose hard work and skill should be celebrated without any of the silly noise this campaign has generated.

So, I am now withdrawing from hosting the evening. Good luck to everyone who has been nominated.

Morgan (who was born Piers O’Meara and whose full name is Piers Pughe-Morgan), for the first time in his life, has understood the public mood and reacted appropriately. Given how much he is hated in Britain and given his love for his friend Donald Trump, we urge him to continue on the path of sensible moves and emigrate. He should permanently move to America and he should never come back.

#GetHimGone

February 19, 2017
The hypocrisy of England

Playwright Alan Bennett chooses ‘hypocrisy’ as Britain’s best achievement (more…)

March 3, 2015
Merlin Holland

The only grandchild of Oscar Wilde, Merlin Holland has spent his life researching the writer and playwright and poet’s life. (more…)

February 24, 2015
Who is Angelina Jolie?

Actor, author, playwright and theatre director Steven Berkoff leaps to the defence of Angelina Jolie (more…)

July 3, 2014
Archibald Hall (AKA Archibald Thomson-Hall, Roy Fontaine, the Killer Butler and the Monster Butler, 1924 – 2002)

A bisexual conman, thief and serial killer who targeted the aristocracy. Hall was born in Glasgow and took elocution lessons during his first of many stints in jail. He variously pretended to be an Arab sheikh, a Lord and Sir George Aylwen and claimed to have had affairs with Lord Boothby and the playwright Terence Rattigan. He published his autobiography, The Perfect Gentleman, in 1999. In it, this crooked murderer stated: “There is a side of me, when aroused, that is cold and completely heartless”.

April 11, 2014
If I Were You

One of Chelsea’s most important modernist houses comes to the market

Built for the parliamentarian and playwright Benn Levy and his actress wife and designed by the Bauhaus school founder Walter Gropius, 66 Old Church Street is one of Chelsea’s most significant modernist houses. It’s no wonder that, even though in need of renovation, therefore, a £45 million price tag has been attached to the house by agents Beauchamp Estates. (more…)

September 13, 2013