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Please see table below to find out
when Ray is next on UK TV:

FOR PRE-OCT 2004 NEWS please see Older News

February 2009

HAPPY 52nd BIRTHDAY TO RAY!!

Note from webmaster: Apologies to all visitors that this site is currently not being updated. I spend less time online than I did before, and thus I felt that after ten years running this site I would have a rest. I may start updating again in the future, but in the meantime, I have no plans to take the site down, so please enjoy the ten years worth of material on Ray that you can find here.

Video by Karen Purves using images from this website:

August 2008

HAPPY TENTH ANNIVERSARY TO THIS SITE!

Ray has donated a signed DVD of Scum to an online auction in support of national charity Supportline. The auction runs until 6 October 2008 and the charity will receive 90% of the process. Go here to learn more and to bid.

Ray has come second to Jeremy Clarkson in a survey by XXX Mints asking 4000 men who was their favourite 'men's man'.

Ray has signed up to co-star as a veteran cop in an HBO TV pilot Last of the Ninth which is set in New York in the early 1970s. He co-stars alongside Jonah Lotan and the show is created by David Milch.

May 2008

The Telegraph has an in-depth interview with Ray and a review of his career here. The Mirror has an article about his family and hard times.

BBC Entertainment Reporter in Cannes reports that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is on form and entertaining. Full review here. Other reviews available at RottenTomatoes.com.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will receive its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month, out of main competition. Ray praises Harrison Ford in an interview here and talks of how he would have turned down the film if his role had not been substantial.

Variety reports that Ray will be starring alongside Tim Roth, John Hurt and Ian McShane in a British gangster film entitled 44 Inch Chest. Director is Malcolm Venville and the writers are Louis Mellis and David Scinto, who were involved in Sexy Beast.

April 2008

Ray has agreed to become patron of the children's charity Talk...Don't Walk which aims to help young runaways and their families.

February 2008

HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY TO RAY!!

The DVDs of Beowulf (both the theatrical release and director's cut) are due for release on 17 March 08. Blu-Ray and HD DVD versions will both be available. Read reviews of the Director's Cut here and here and the differences between the US and international trailers here.

Ray pulled a hamstring on the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and also said that Cate Blanchett was the "best actress in the world". The first teaser-trailer is now in US cinemas and you can read about it here and watch it here.

Fool's Gold, a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughy and Kate Hudson, and featuring Ray as a treasure hunter, was released on 14 February 2008. You can read the terrible reviews at Rottentomatoes.com.

An untitled action thriller directed by Ray's old Robin of Sherwood co-star, Jason Connery, is currently in production, featuring Ray as 'Blakely'.

November 2007

Ray was honoured this week with the Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor at the British Independent Film Awards. Short Guardian retrospective here and This Is London report on the ceremony and winners here.

Beowulf was released in the US and UK on 16 November 07 and is generally getting good reviews on RottenTomatoes.com. The 3D IMAX version is highly recommended! However, Ray does not look much like Ray in this film, although it is his voice and movement. Ray is also voicing the Beowulf game. You can view pictures of Ray at the Beowulf premiere here.

According to Cinematical.com, Ray is still on board to star in Death of A Ladies' Man with Nick Cave and John Hillcoat. He also hopes to star in a US indie film directed by the Nee brothers called The Minutemen. However he has confirmed he will not be involved with Ken Russell's Kings X.

Ray talks about driving and his favourite cars in The Times here.

October 2007

Ray has been awarded The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor at the British Independent Film Awards this week. Ray is a three-time BIFA nominee, and won Best Actor for Nil By Mouth at the first awards in 1998. More information on the winners here.

According to FemaleFirst.co.uk, actor Danny Dyer has said that Ray will NOT be starring in Nick Love's film remake of The Sweeney (announced in August 2007) as his schedule is too full. He also says that Ray now has a house in Los Angeles.

September 2007

The title of the new Indiana Jones film starring Ray has been confirmed as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

A supposed 'R-rated' version of the Beowulf trailer can be viewed here. A second 'family friendly' trailer has also been released and you can view it and sign up for a Beowulf podcast here.

August 2007

HAPPY 9th anniversary to this website!

The unauthorised biography of Ray, written by Nigel Goodall is now available, and you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk.

A film remake of the 1970s cop show The Sweeney has been announced by director Nick Love (director of Outlaw and The Football Factory). He says he is in talks with Ray to play DI Jack Regan, the character played by John Thaw in the TV version. (See Oct 07 where Danny Dyer says Ray is too busy).

A new poster of Beowulf has been published. You can view it on the Beowulf page.

July 2007

Ray and other members of the Indiana Jones 4 cast sent a live video greeting to Comic-Con which you can view on the official website.

The first picture of Ray in Beowulf is now online after 20 mins of the film were recently screened at Comic-Con in San Diego this week. With the aid of CGI he has lost 30 years and 70 pounds! You can watch the trailer here and the official website has now been launched. We now also have a page here.

Ray attended the LA Galaxy vs Chelsea friendly in the US this week, and also attended the Beckham's welcoming party.

The unauthorised biography of Ray, written by Nigel Goodall will be published on 6 August and is available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk.

Monday 23 July, 8.00-8.30pm ITV1 London: Ray hosts a programme called Ray Winstone - A Question of Murder: Tonight. In this 30-min programme, Ray investigates claims that his nephew's best friend is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Sam Hallam has served three years of a life sentence for the murder of Essayas Kassahun, but doubts about his conviction have led to a campaign to free him. NB: this programme was postponed because of the floods and will be shown at a later date.

It's been announced that Beowulf (which stars Ray in a motion capture performance) is to be released in the US on 16 November, in both an IMAX 3-D and a traditional version. It will be released worldwide three weeks after its US release.

June 2007

An unauthorised biography of Ray is currently being written by Nigel Goodall for John Blake Publishing. It is due to be published in on 6 August and you can read the press release, foreward, and an excerpt here.

May 2007

Ray attended the unveiling of a new statue of Bobby Moore at Wembley Stadium on 10 May. You can see a picture of the statue and read about the ceremony here.

March 2007

It was announced on 28 March that Ray is to play a major role in the new Indiana Jones film, currently known as Indy 4. According to some sources, he's to play Indy's 'rough and ready sidekick' in the Steven Spielberg-directed film. Filming will begin this summer and the film is due for release on 22 May 2008 worldwide. See indianajones.com for more info.

Ray is currently filming Death of a Ladies Man.

February 2007

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY TO RAY!!

The Departed has been nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The ceremony takes place on Sunday 25 February 2007.

The Tender Hook (see October 06 news below) has been 're-announced' with Rose Byrne replacing Radha Mitchell. The film will now be shot in Melbourne.

December 2006

You can view Ray's advertisement for UK breakfast cereal Optivita online here. And you can see Ray's October interview on Parkinson here (in which he talks about The Departed).

Ray has confirmed that he will become an official patron of the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). Founded in 1998, the BIFA "celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public".

November 2006

The International Emmy Awards Gala took place in New York on 21 November 2006. Ray was unable to attend, but he won Best Performance by an Actor for his role in Vincent! Congratulations Ray! His daughter Jaime accepted the Emmy on his behalf (see left), saying "I'm so proud of him ... he's like highly inspirational, an amazing dad. I love him". Ray said later: “I’m thrilled to have won the Best Actor Award. It’s a real honour to be recognised internationally. But it’s the show that has won because Stephen Butchard and the production team have created such a great role for me.”

Ray is billed to appear at a variety gala in Derby on 19 November to campaign for the release of notorious British convict Charles Bronson.

According to a recent poll of 3000 fans at Yahoo Movies on who should be the next Bond baddie, Ray got the most votes (20%).

Ray was in Australia earlier this month filming Fool's Gold with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, and was spotted attending the Melbourne Cup races. The cold weather led him to remark that it was better for the British horses. He was also a guest at the Inside Film Awards for independent films in Sydney.

At a recent auction, a signed photo of the cast of Vincent donated by Ray raised £180 for Haven House Hospice, of which he is a patron.

The first series of Vincent begins on BBC America on Monday 6 November 06. There's an excellent and detailed preview in The New York Sun.

Actress Maggie O'Neill recently said in an interview in The Sun that Ray is her favourite co-star. She said: "I worked with him a few times before Vincent, he is fantastic. He is my favourite actor to work with. My ideal actor."

October 2006

Breaking and Entering is due to open in the UK on 10 November 06 and in the US on 8 December 06.

According to Production Weekly, Ray is due to feature in Ken Russell's next film, Kings X, a thriller written by Chris Cleverly and co-starring Robert Carlyle, Kevin Spacey and Twiggy. It's due to star filming 'later this year'. A bit more info here and here.

An unauthorised biography of Ray is currently being written by Nigel Goodall for John Blake Publishing. It is due to be published in May 2007 and will contain 16 pages of photos and a detailed filmography. The RRP is £17.99. More detail here as and when I receive it.

Ray will be interviewed on Parkinson on Saturday 21 October at 10.40pm on ITV1. You can watch the interview on the Parkinson website here.

There was a big interview with Ray in the Mail on Sunday on 15 October. See the articles section to read it.

Time Out have a podcast about The Departed including an interview with Ray. You can download it here.

Ray has been nominated for an International Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for his role in Vincent. The show itself is nominated as Best Drama Series. The Award Ceremony talkes place on 20 November 2006.

Watch out for Ray advertising a new breakfast cereal Optivita on UK television.

The new four-part series of Vincent began on Monday 16 October at 9pm on ITV1 with an episode that also features Ray's daughter Jaime. He is doing quite a bit of publicity for this programme, including appearing on This Morning on 16 October.

On 14 December 2006, Ray will captain a celebrity charity football team benefitting the David Beckham Scholarship programme and other charities. More details and tickets here.

It's rumoured that Ray will play one of the leads in The Tender Hook, a 1920s film noir to be filmed in Sydney in early 2007 by Jonathan Ogilvie. The film will co-star Radha Mitchell.

Ray has reportedly said that he would never take part in reality TV.

September 2006

On 23 September Ray visited Haven House, a hospice for terminally ill children of which Ray is patron. There's a lovely write-up in the Ilford Recorder here. Another report and photo from the Waltham Forest Guardian.

Ray dropped into BBC Radio Five Live on Monday 25 September to talk about The Departed. The interview was about 15 mins long and can be downloaded as part of the Daily Mayo podcast.

Breaking and Entering is part of the London Film Festival and has two special screenings on Friday 27 Oct at 8.30pm and Sunday 29 October at 1.30pm. It's due for release in the US on 8 December 06.

Interesting interview with director Martin Scorsese about his latest film The Departed which features Ray and is due to open on 6 October 2006. Another article on the film here.

The website for The Departed has gone live.

Gary Oldman discusses Nil By Mouth in a new interview.

August 2006

The trailer for the Martin Scorsese film The Departed is now available online. The film stars Ray along with Leonardo di Caprio, Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon.

July 2006

The official website for Beowulf has been launched, announcing the release to be in November 2007.

According to Contactmusic.com, Ray has been making some remarks about actors receiving honours: "I don't have time for actors who take honours. I certainly don't deserve one. I'd give it to a nurse."

Film channel Film4 will be free from 23 July and they've been running some ads with various celebrities, including Ray. Click on the picture (left) to view the whole spread. And you can view the trailer, with Ray and Christian Slater up a ladder, at the Film4 site here.

The Proposition was released on DVD on 17 July.

There's an amusing little story here of how Ray thinks he'd make a great England manager: He says, "I was filming at Coventry City's ground and I gave a little team talk before they took to the field. I just said, 'Stuff it to 'em. I fancy your mob today.' "And guess what? They only won 6-1! Then, a few weeks later, I went into my beloved West Ham's dressing room before their match with Manchester City and I said, 'Lose today and I'll shoot every one of you.' And they went on to win 2-1. "The FA (Football Association) should have looked at me. Look at my record!"

June 2006

According to this Welsh website, there is a rumour that Ray may be starring in a film called 'Risen' about Welsh boxer Howard Winstone, alongside boxer Enzo Maccarinelli.

May 2006

The Sun has an amusing article and photo about Ray being filmed up a ladder putting up a poster for a tv advert.

Ray attended the Beckhams' World Cup Party on Sunday 21 May. There's a good account of the evening in The Telegraph here.

Nick Cave and John Hillcoat have announced their next feature at the Cannes Film Festival, Death of A Ladies Man, to star Ray as a travelling salesman who sells beauty products and uses this as a way to meet lonely women. It is due to start filming in London in September 2006. More information and press release here.

Tony Grounds' latest one-off TV drama, All In The Game, with Ray as Frankie the foul-mouthed football manager, was shown at 9pm on Channel 4 on Thursday 11 May 06. There are some reviews on the All In The Game page.

The Football Association has announced that Ray will front their campaign to encourage good behaviour amongst England fans during this summer's World Cup - "Alltogethernow 2006".. See The Guardian and Sporting Life and you can read Ray's message to fans here.

Nice profile of Ray by Brian Viner in The Independent on 6 May 06. And according to The Daily Record, a 'survey' has shown that Ray is the star most British women would like to share a hotel room with....

Ray is also narrating a documentary about footballer Bobby Moore at 9.10pm on Saturday 6 May on BBC2.

The Proposition opened in the US on Friday 5 May.

March 2006

A short mention of Ray Burdis' Kray brothers film, to which Ray has been attached for a long time. Not really any new information.

There's a lovely picture of Ray in The Sunday Times Style Magazine 12 March 06 as part of a 2-page advertisement for Harrods. Click on the picture to see the hi-res version. The text on the opposite page reads: If you could have 1 thing from Harrods what would that 1 thing be? Customer Reference: RAY WINSTONE. One of those bust-type mannequins that steam irons shirts. What are they called those things? They automatically iron your shirts. Do they have a name? You slip it on and then whoosh, it blows the shirt out with loads of steam from the inside. And you get a beautifully pressed shirt. Love one of those. Or meat. I like meat.

The Proposition opened in the UK on 10 March.

Ray appeared on Channel 4's Richard and Judy Show on Friday 3 March. He can currently also be heard doing the voiceover of the Tesco Car Insurance TV advert.

February 2006

Contactmusic is reporting that Nick Cave, screenwriter of The Proposition, has written a 'British sex romp' for Ray, set in Brighton and to be filmed this summer. More information here.

The Telegraph has a short interview with (and some photos of) Ray's 20-yr old daughter Jaime who is starring in a new British film Kidulthood written by Noel Clarke (Mickey from Doctor Who). Another indepth interview with Jaime from The Evening Standard is here.

Ray starts filming a new 4-part series of Vincent this month for ITV1. More information about the new series here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAY FOR 19th!!

The Proposition is due for theatrical release in the UK on 10 March.

Ray presented Paul Weller with his Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brits on 15 February.

On Jason Connery's official site is a nice picture of Jason (Robin), Ray and Mark (Nasir) from Robin of Sherwood taken recently when they got together for dinner at the Robin Hood Pub in Los Angeles.

January 2006

Happy New Year to all our visitors!

'Faces of the week' interview with Ray on the BBC website.

More information about the Channel 4 drama All In The Game (see Nov 05 news below). It is to be shot in Coventry's Ricoh stadium. More info here.

December 2005

Sweeney Todd is scheduled for transmission on BBC1 on Tuesday 3 January 2006 at 9pm. Nice interview here and another good interview here.

More speculation here about the Krays film, Chain of Fear being shot late in 2006.

Ray and family attended the Royal Premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in London this month.

Nil by Mouth finally receives its TV premiere on ITV1 on Friday 16 December at 11.35pm.

The BBC have announced that their version of Sweeney Todd starring Ray (see photo below) will be a highlight of BBC1's Christmas scheduling.

A nine-minute preview of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is available online here (beware spoilers!). Ray voices Mr Beaver and the film opens on 8 December.

November 2005

Ray is to star with Roy Marsden in a new Channel 4 one-off drama about corruption in football called All In The Game. It is being jointly written by Tony Grounds (Our Boy, Births, Marriages and Deaths) and Paul Abbott for Tightrope Pictures and starts filming in January 2006. More information here.

October 2005

Ray has been nominated as 'Best Actor' for The Proposition in the Australian Film Awards. The film has received a total of 12 nominations, including 'Best Picture'. The ceremony is on 25 November 2005.

After the screening of Everything at the ICA at 9pm on Friday 7 October, Ray is expected to take part in a discussion with the director, Richard Hawkins. See the ICA website for more details. There's a good review of the film in the Telegraph.

The brand new series Vincent, starring Ray as a private detective alongside Suranne Jones, begins on Monday 10 October at 9pm on ITV1.

September 2005

Scotland on Sunday has a nice interview with Ray here. The low-budget film Everything is getting a release on 7 October. The Proposition is due for release on 25 November.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, in which Ray features as the voice of Mr Beaver, is to have a world premiere in London on 7 Dec 2005 in the presence of Prince Charles and his wife.

Mon 26 Sept sees the release of the DVD The Work of Director Jonathan Glazer (who directed Sexy Beast). It includes his music videos and commercials and segments from his films, plus interviews with Nicole Kidman, Danny Huston, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Ray Winstone. You can buy it at Sendit here.

Further information from the BBC Press Office to be found on the Sweeney Todd page.

The first official publicity stills from The Proposition have been released, including one of Ray. There are now links to some reviews of the movie on The Proposition page.

August 2005

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY TO THIS WEBSITE!

It has been announced that Ray has been signed up to play the title role in a new Hollywood adaptation of the old English poem Beowulf (see June 2005 news, below). It will be made using performance-capture technology which transforms the actors into animated versions of themselves, as used by Zemeckis in 2004 film The Polar Express. (A live action version of this story starring Gerard Butler has already been completed). The Zemeckis film will also star Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson and Robin Wright Penn. The film is scheduled for release in 2007. More information here.

July 2005

Ray will be featuring in a new BBC film project of Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street that starts filming in Romania in August. Ray is disgruntled that it won't be filmed in London.

Ray will be appearing at a footballing charity event in Ware FC, Herts, on Sunday 24 August. More information here.

June 2005

Variety reports Columbia Pictures is in negotiations with Ray, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson and Robin Wright Penn to star in Robert Zemeckis' version of Beowulf, based on the oldest written English language myth, Beowulf, using performance capture. Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman wrote the script. However, another movie based on the poem, Beowulf and Grendil, has already finished shooting. More information at Monsters and Critics.

May 2005

Karen Hollis tells me that Channel Four have the following show scheduled for transmission in June: Ray Winstone's Favourite Fights - a one-off documentary in which Ray 'counts down his favourite ding dongs. Includes Mohammed Ali v Joe Frazier, Russell Harty v Grace Jones and Lizzie Bardsley v Emma Spry from Wife Swap'.

Ray is set to star in Anthony Minghella's new film Breaking and Entering, alongside Jude Law, Juliet Binoche, Robin Wright Penn and Martin Freeman. The film is set in contemporary London and begins shooting this month for release in 2006. More information here. It is Minghella's first original screenplay since Truly Madly Deeply in 1991 and it is "a story about theft, both criminal and emotional".

Ray is one of the guests on Johnny Vegas' new surreal chat show 18 Stone of Idiot, at 10.15pm on Friday 27 May on Channel 4. More details here.

April 2005

Ray is on Celebrity Stitch-Up on 29 April, 10.00-10.30pm on UK channel ITV1. According to this article from the Manchester Evening News, it doesn't sound like the stitch-up went too well!

The short film by Geoff Thompson, Bouncer, that Ray did for no fee as he liked the script, is to be shown at the Liverpool Everyman, April 25-30. More details here.

March 2005

It has been announced that Ray is attached to the 1920s film noir The Tender Hook, by writer/director Jonathan Ogilvie. He co-stars alongside Radha Mitchell and Matt Le Nevez. The Tender Hook centers on a young woman's rise to the apex of a love/power triangle in the world of boxing. Production Weekly says the project is set in a stylized version of jazz-age Sydney.

Ray is part of the cast of Martin Scorsese's next movie, The Departed, due to start filming in Boston next month. The cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg.

Ray is scheduled as a guest on Parkinson on ITV1 at 10pm on Saturday 5 March, alongside Patsy Kensit and Jerry Springer. It looks like he's there to promote Vincent.

January 2005

Ray is due to star in a new ITV1 4-part series called Vincent. He plays Vincent Gallagher, a workaholic private investigator in Manchester. His co-star is Suranne Jones (from Coronation Street) who plays his sidekick, Beth. Former Coronation Street and Bad Girls star Eva Pope plays Vincent's ex and the series also features ex-EastEnder Joe Absolom. Filming begins in Manchester later this month.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To start the year there are some great new pictures of Ray as Captain Stanley from The Proposition to be found at Moviehole.net.

December 2004

The Evening Standard website, This Is London, had an article on 30 December on 'What's Hot for 2005' which included: "sultry Lois Winstone, daughter of Ray. The Cockney daughter fronts a hip-hop band called Crack Village and will be starring in Brit film Everything, along with her dad".

According to this article from the Herts and Essex Mercury, it appears that Ray is 'Mr August 2005' for the charity calendar for his local pub, The Crusader, in Roydon, Essex. The calendar is in aid of The Prostate Cancer Charity but I imagine that the calendar itself is only available through the pub as it is full of pictures of local drinkers.

The Magic Roundabout will be released in the UK on 11 February 2005. Ray provides the voice of Soldier Sam. Miramax have acquired North America distribution rights. You can view the trailer here (scroll to bottom).

November 2004

Henry VIII has won an International TV Emmy for Best TV Movie/Mini Series. It was up against The Deal (Channel 4), Canterbury Tales (BBC) and L'Affaire Dominic (TF1/Geteve, France).

Ray has starred in a new, low-budget film called Everything which is scheduled for release in February 2005. It was produced by a charity-based production company and co-stars Jan Graveson.

Henry VIII is to be broadcast in the US on Masterpiece Theatre, Sunday 7 November. Lots of reports about it here.

October 2004

Sam Taylor Wood (the director of Jerusalem which Ray will produce and star as William Blake) says of Ray: "We get on extremely well, he's one of the kindest people. When he asked me to direct the film, I went quiet. But he said, 'You're more in tune with me and intuitive than a lot of directors'". See the December 2003 entry below for more details on this film.

Ray is spending eight weeks in Australia shooting The Proposition, a $20m Australia-British production set in the 1880s and written by musician Nick Cave. Ray co-stars with Guy Pearce and Danny Huston in the film about three brothers wanted for a brutal crime. It is directed by John Hillcoat. Currently shooting in the Queensland town of Winton. Ray plays Captain Stanley. The Australian Sunday Mail has a nice location piece here.

Henry VIII has been nominated for an International TV Emmy for Best TV Movie/Mini Series. It is up against The Deal (Channel 4), Canterbury Tales (BBC) and L'Affaire Dominic (TF1/Geteve, France). Winners will be announced in November.

FOR PRE-OCT 2004 NEWS please see Older News