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In 1978, a serial killer appeared on American television. No disguise. No alias. No remorse, apparently. Rodney Alcala was one of three eligible bachelors to appear on The Dating Game – something like the UK’s Blind Date, in which female contestants quiz single men from behind a partition before choosing one to take them out. That night, the serial killer won.

Rodney Alcala was ultimately convicted of murdering seven women and girls in heinous and brutal ways that involved strangulation and rape – but not before he managed to woo contestant Cheryl Bradshaw on live TV. The story of Bradshaw, Alcala, and his victims is the focus of Netflix’s latest true crime endeavour Woman of the Hour, a mostly fictionalised account of the murders, starring Anna Kendrick (in her directorial debut) as Bradshaw and Daniel Zovatto as Alcala.

Telling Alcala’s story through the perspective of his victims, the film paints an infuriating and tragic picture of a society that turned a blind eye to a monster in its midst – a tragedy unfolding in slow motion that was preventable every step of the way. Really, it’s a small wonder that Netflix hadn’t adapted this story sooner, so grim and shocking are its details.

Alcala was a fine arts student at UCLA when he first appeared on the police radar, having sexually assaulted eight-year-old Tali Shapiro in September 1968. Shapiro had been walking to school on a sunny day in Hollywood when Alcala approached her in his car, tricking her into getting into the vehicle under the guise of knowing her parents. From there, he drove Shapiro to his apartment, where Alcala said he wanted to show her a “beautiful picture”. Hours later, the police found Shapiro in the kitchen, a puddle of blood around her “white Mary Janes” next to a metal bar the district attorney later said Alcala had used to try to strangle her.

It was a miracle that Shapiro was alive – or that she had been found at all. A good Samaritan had noticed Alcala’s beige-coloured car tailing the little girl and called it in to the police who arrived at his house. “I said, ‘Police officer. Open the door. I need to talk to you,’” remembered Chris Camacho, the former LAPD officer who responded to the call. “This male appeared at the door. I will always remember that face at that door: very evil face. And he says, ‘I’m in the shower. I got to get dressed.’ And I told him, ‘OK, you got 10 seconds.’ … Finally, I kicked the door in. The image will be with me forever. We could see in the kitchen that there was a body on the floor, a lot of blood.”

In that time, Alcala escaped out the back door, leaving the investigating officers scrambling to find him. They did, however, learn his identity through an ID card he left behind. At his apartment, they also found photographic equipment and several photos of young girls; they would later learn that Alcala lured women by offering to take their picture.

In 1969, Alcala – who by then had moved to New York – was put on the FBI’s most wanted list. There in the city, he got into the NYU film school – a stint that Woman of the Hour mentions in passing, together with the fact he once attended a class with filmmaker and child rapist Roman Polanski. He then moved to New Hampshire where he worked as a counsellor at an arts and drama camp for girls.

It was thanks to the most wanted list that he was finally apprehended. Two girls from the camp reported him, having recognised his photo from the list taped up at their local post office. From there, Alcala was turned over to the police back in LA – where, in good news for him, Shapiro’s family no longer lived. They did not wish to return to make their daughter testify. With no main witness for the case, prosecutors were forced to offer Alcala a deal. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of child molestation and registered as a sex offender, before being paroled after just 34 months in prison.

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It wasn’t long before Alcala resumed his life as normal. He got a job at the Los Angeles Times as a typesetter and worked as a wedding photographer. Throughout all of this, he was indeed a registered sex offender – not that anyone bothered to check. The same went for the producers at The Dating Game; Alcala was selected because he was tall, handsome, and charming.

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The footage of that 1978 episode is eerie to watch now. Alcala is introduced as Bachelor No 1: a beaming, boisterous young man grinning ear-to-ear in a brown bell bottom suit and a butterfly collar shirt. Host Jim Lange describes him to the audience as a “successful photographer who got his start when his father found him in the dark room at the age of 13 – fully developed”. The Dating Game was a show that trafficked heavily in sexual innuendo, and Alcala was happy to oblige.

While the Netflix film shows Cheryl going off-script to ask feminist questions of her suitors, the reality was more typical of the usual sexist fodder. Throughout the episode, Alcala likens himself to a banana (“peel me”), says his favourite time of the day is after dark (“Night time is really where it gets good”) and roleplays as a grunting, gurning “dirty old man” (in the film, he plays the part of a horny teacher). What does remain the same in the film and the real footage, though, is the palpable charm radiating off this man who by then had murdered and raped several women.

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“We’re going to have a great time together, Sheryl,” Alcala says at one point, a terrifying promise that almost comes to fruition when she selects him as the winner. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he kisses her on the cheek as the host reads aloud their prize. Thankfully, the date – of which a fictional version is shown in the Netflix film, tense and terrifying – never actually happened. Bradshaw backed out of the agreement reportedly because she found Alcala “creepy”.

A year after his stint on The Dating Game, Alcala targeted 12-year-old Robin Christine Samsoe, who had been cycling from her ballet studio to the beach when he stopped her and her friend Bridget, asking to take their photo. A chance encounter with Bridget’s older neighbour temporarily scared him off, but he returned when Robin was alone. Twelve days later, her remains were found by a forest service worker. A kitchen knife was discovered nearby. She was unrecognisable.

Bridget’s description of Alcala allowed the police to draw up a composite sketch, which was recognised by Alcala’s parole officer who contacted the detectives in charge. At the time, Alcala was living with his mother in Monterey Park, walking distance from where Robin’s remains had been found. On 24 July, he was charged with her kidnap and murder.

During their investigation, the police uncovered a storage locker in Seattle. Inside they found the “mother lode”, as Detective Pat Ellis told CBS News. There were “hundreds if not thousands” of pictures of women in “positions of supreme vulnerability”. Many appeared to be very young. Also inside the locker was a tiny silk bag filled with earrings, including one pair of gold ball studs that Robin’s mother recognised as having been leant to her daughter. It was sufficient evidence to prosecute, though Alcala was uncooperative. During interviews with the police, as reported by The New York Times, Alcala would try to agitate investigators, pretending to be asleep and tracing his finger along photographs of the victims.

In 1980, he was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Robin Samsoe. What followed was a legal back-and-forth driven by Alcala from behind bars. Four years after the sentencing, his conviction was reversed on the basis that the jury and the case had been tainted by the introduction of his previous crimes. A new trial was granted in 1986 but gave rise to the same result: he was sentenced to death. In 2003, a federal appeals court overturned the sentence once again, granting him a third and final trial.

It was while preparing for that third prosecution that investigators realised the full scale of Alcala’s terror. With new evidence and DNA science, he was linked to four other homicides, leading to murder charges of Jill Barcomb, an 18-year-old runaway who was found in 1977; Georgia Wixted, 27, a nurse bludgeoned to death in Malibu that same year; Charlotte Lamb, 31, found in the laundry room of her apartment complex in 1978 (the same year he went on The Dating Game); and Jill Parenteau, 21, killed in her Burbank apartment in 1979.

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In 2010, he stood trial on five joined charges of murder, including Samsoe. Bizarrely, Alcala chose to act as his own attorney and took the stand in his own defence – which included calling Samsoe’s mother to the stand. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life – having him ask me questions,” she told CBS News, confessing that she had brought a gun to court. “I was going to shoot him right between the eyes if I could’ve gotten a shot at him.”

Alcala also showed the jury a portion of his appearance on The Dating Game in an attempt to prove that the earrings found in his Seattle locker were his, not Samsoe’s. The footage was too blurry to know for certain. Bachelor No 2 on the same episode of The Dating Game – named Jed Mills – said that he did not recall as much. “I had never seen a man with an earring in his ear,” said Mills, who added that he was “surprised” that Alcala won: “I didn’t believe his smile. I didn’t believe his charm and I didn’t like him.”

Less than two days of deliberation later, the jury found Alcala guilty on all five counts of first-degree murder. Two years later, Alcala was extradited to New York where he pleaded guilty to the murders of flight attendant Cornelia M Crilley and musician Ellen Jane Hover in 1971 and 1977, respectively. It was the first time in his criminal history that he actually confessed to a killing. In 2013, he was sentenced to 25 years to life – mostly symbolic given he was already on death row in San Quentin. (The death penalty has not been an option in the state of New York since 2007). At the sentencing, Justice Bonnie G Wittner broke down in tears as Alcala’s heinous crimes were recalled. “This kind of case is something I’ve never experienced, hope to never again,” she said.

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In 2016, prosecutors in Wyoming charged Alcala with another murder, that of Christine Ruth Thornton. Thornton was 28 years old and six months pregnant when she disappeared in 1978. Her body wasn’t found until 1982. It’s Thornton who is seen at the beginning of Netflix’s film confiding in Alcala shortly before he assaults and murders her. In the end, Alcala, then 73 years old, was deemed too sick to be extradited to Wyoming to face the charge.

Alcala died aged 77 of natural causes while awaiting execution on 24 July 2021. “The planet is a better place without him, that’s for sure,” said Shapiro at the time, adding that she is not defined by the attack. “I know it’s awful what happened to me, but I’ve never identified with it,” she told The New York Times. “I’ve moved on with my life, so this doesn’t really affect me. It’s a long time coming, but he’s got his karma.”

Ultimately, Alcala was convicted of the murders of seven women and girls – though the real number is likely much higher. Some authorities estimate as many as 130. Jeff Sheaman, an investigator who interviewed Alcala in 2016 while investigating Thornton’s disappearance, said of his death: “He’s where he needs to be, and I’m sure that’s in hell.”

‘Woman of the Hour’ is now on Netflix

Investigations are under way into multiple individual complaints by Nine Entertainment staff while others have engaged lawyers after an independent report found a toxic culture at the media company subjected them to sexual harassment and bullying.

While some staff are angry that the report did not identify any alleged perpetrators, others have already made use of an external company commissioned by Nine to make claims against individual managers and colleagues.

The report concluded that “known perpetrators” of inappropriate workplace behaviours were not dealt with and some “leaders” attempted to cover up inappropriate workplace behaviours or discouraged the reporting of incidents.

Sources said there were “a lot of complaints that were being investigated already” and if upheld people may yet be sacked.

“The Intersection report was never designed to be a complaints handling system,” one source said.

Several Nine staff have engaged lawyers to sue for compensation and the report released on Thursday will boost their case, according to employment lawyer Josh Bornstein.

“I’m already representing women at Nine, as well as the other networks,” Bornstein said.

“I think it’s fabulous for the women who’ve already initiated proceedings or are about to initiate proceedings, because it’s highly corroborative of their experiences, and it encourages them to keep going.”

The release on Thursday of the independent report, which found Nine had a culture of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment across the company, will lead to more staff seeking redress and compensation, Bornstein said.

The YourCall service is an online form designed to allow Nine staff to report sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct at Nine on an anonymous or identified basis.

“If the Nine Network is serious about changing its unsafe, hostile, misogynist workplace it has to take drastic action,” Bornstein said.

Bornstein called on Nine to release complainants from non-disclosure agreements and agreements already signed “to settle claims for paltry sums”.

“Instead of hiding all this, they need to let the sunlight in,” he said. “They should also be working with the human rights commission on how how to comply with their duty and proactive steps to stop sexual harassment and gendered mistreatment.”

Nine Chair Catherine West has apologised for the harm caused and says a “proactive culture change agenda” is already underway.

“The reality is much more needs to be done and a cultural reset is required,” West said. “Nine’s Board and leadership team are united in their commitment to accelerating and driving the required change.”

The Intersection report made 22 recommendations, which Nine has committed to implementing.

They include developing a process to ensure that reports of inappropriate workplace behaviour made in relation to board members or senior leaders “are immediately
referred to an independent and external party for investigation”.

Nine has also committed to developing a five-year diversity and inclusion strategy for the organisation.

Nine’s former chief executive Mike Sneesby and news director Darren Wick have left the company.

Sneesby stepped down in September after acknowledging “this year has been one of the most challenging in my career”.

He told staff “the timing was right to commence a leadership transition”. The chief finance officer, Matt Stanton, took over on an interim basis while the company searches for a new CEO.

Wick left abruptly in March but it was later reported he left after complaints of sexual harassment, inappropriate behaviour and allegations of a toxic culture within Nine’s television newsrooms.

IT looks like under-fire Strictly pair Wynne Evans and Katya Jones have got their sparkle back.

The duo — stung by the backlash to their grope “joke” — were spotted laughing in Cardiff on Wednesday.

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The Go Compare opera singer, 52, and his pro partner Katya, 35, appeared downcast just 24 hours before.

Women’s Aid had slammed them for saying it was an in-joke when Wynne grabbed Katya’s waist on Saturday night’s show.

The domestic abuse charity said: “Inappropriate behaviour towards women is no joke.”

Women’s Aid added: “With an epidemic of misogyny and violence against women and girls in the UK, we need a media culture where women feel safe to speak up, where sexually inappropriate conduct is not trivialised or joked about.

“It’s important we challenge inappropriate ‘jokes’ so we don’t continue normalising toxic attitudes that cultivate these forms of gender-based abuse.”

The pair are training in Cardiff, where Wynne presents the BBC Radio Wales lunchtime show.

Katya removed Wynne’s hand from her stomach after he slid it across from her waist and declined to high-five him on Saturday’s show.

The pair have been rapped over the knuckles by BBC bosses for the incident that was broadcast live and has become a viral sensation.

On Tuesday the pair looked downcast as they arrived at their training session in Cardiff as angry viewers called for their axe.

Both stars insisted there was nothing sinister behind Katya’s frosty reaction.

GoCompare crooner Wynne wrote: “We were just messing around. We really are amazing friends.”

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THE APPRENTICE

(15), 122mins     

★★★★★

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HE is one of the most divisive characters in the world, but how did Donald Trump become the man he is today?

It would seem he copied it from someone else. That someone was lawyer Roy Cohn.

One dark night in the late 1970s a young, naive wannabe businessman, Trump (Sebastian Stan), meets Cohn (Jeremy Strong) in an underground nightclub full of the top movers and shakers in New York.

Trump is entranced by Cohn, with his cold stare, flat tone and relentless cut-throat ambition. He wants to be just like him.

He soon asks for guidance from the top lawyer on some legal issues his dad’s business is having with the government. They don’t like the way Trump senior is overtly racist by not renting to black people.

He also wants to get some building projects off the ground, including his radical super-skyscraper, Trump Towers. Cohn negotiates for him on both — and wins.

Most think Trump is a bad joke in an even worse suit, but Cohn sees the potential in him, taking him under his wing.

He teaches him the tricks of the trade, which involves a lot of bribery and blackmail.

As Trump’s success rises to meteoric heights, so does his ego.

He stops at nothing to get what he wants.

That includes his first wife, Ivana (Maria Bakalova) who he woos with expensive gifts and luxury holidays.

You watch as she goes from admiring him to despising him.

But director Ali Abbasi and writer Gary Sherman are careful not to just paint Trump and Cohn as unrelenting bullies.

They’re far more human than that and cliché tropes are avoided.

While they are, undoubtedly, monsters in their own field, they also have to deal with real life: a sudden death in the family and terminal illness.

Trump shows himself to be the more emotionally stunted of the two, with even Cohn — who is close to the devil himself — being shocked by his lack of empathy.

The cinematography is spectacular, with incredible 70s and 80s detail — it often feels like watching a grainy documentary.

Trump morphs into the hairspray-loving, perma-orange glow of the man he is today.

The Apprentice is a masterclass in storytelling, with both Stan and Strong giving the performances of their career.

Watch and learn.

SMILE 2

(18) 127mins

★★★☆☆

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POP sensation Skye Riley is preparing for her world tour, but she begins experiencing terrifying paranormal events.

Overwhelmed, Skye (Naomi Scott) must confront her painful past as she sinks into a darkness that threatens to consume her.

Smile 2 cranks up the horror dial with even more blood, guts and jump scares than the first one from 2022.

Director Parker Finn pulls no punches in this nightmare-fuelled sequel, taking us on a ride that’s even more intense and disturbing.

Scott ditches her Disney roots for a wild, hair-raising perform-ance – think Taylor Swift on acid.

She spirals into madness as she encounters some seriously freaky supernatural forces.

But the film feels at times a bit too showy, with tricks and tech-niques borrowed from far superior horror offerings – the repeated upside down camera shots are lifted straight out of 2019’s Mid-sommar.

Besides Scott, there are decent performances from Lukas Gage as drug dealer Lewis and a hugely impressive turn from Ray Nicholson – son of Jack – as Skye’s former boyfriend Paul.

This is a perfectly serviceable sequel, but it’s just nothing special.

THE WILD ROBOT

(U) 102mins

★★★★★

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FILMMAKER, voice actor and animator Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, The Call Of The Wild) returns with this exciting adventure from the DreamWorks studios.

Adapted from Peter Brown’s novel of the same name, The Wild Robot features a star-studded voice cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy and Heartstopper’s Kit Connor.

The story follows Roz (Nyong’o), a robot stranded on a deserted island who accidentally causes the demise of a family of geese.

So she adopts the sole surviving gosling, Brightbill (Connor).

With the help of cunning fox Fink (Pascal), Roz must navigate the challenges of the wild and protect her new charge from dangers.

Sanders knocks it out of the park with a thrilling and heartwarming adaptation that’s packed with action and laughs.

The movie tackles big themes like family and identity, and delivers stunning visuals and sharp storytelling.

Nyong’o shines as Roz, while Pascal’s sly take on Fink adds plenty of charm and humour. Connor as Brightbill delivers heart and a whole load of teenage angst.

It’s emotional and exciting – and it’s impossible not to fall in love with its positive outlook.

THREE of the housemates kissed on tonight’s edition of Big Brother.

Nathan, Baked Potato (Rosie) and Lily were all chilling on the sofa area in the garden when some secret smooching occured.

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Lily suggestively went in for a kiss with both of her fellow contestants as she couldn’t help but declare how desperate she was to share a ‘snog’.

She shared a smooch with both Baked Potato (Rosie) – who was laying down on the sofa area – and Nathan on tonight’s Big Brother.

However, Nathan and Baked Potato (Rosie), shared two smooches as Lily kept on cheering them on.

But later on in the ITV2 episode, we find out that two of the housemates might actually share feelings with each other.

Nathan and Baked Potato (Rosie) were whispering to each other how they both had to “run away” from Lily.

The duo quickly retreated to the bathroom as they were both completely taken aback by Lily’s actions.

They both asked each other: “Why is Lily kissing us?”

However, Dean and Martha both walked into the bathroom as they accused the pair of ‘hiding’ something.

In the diary room, Lily said: “I just wanna kiss anyone” as she expressed her annoyance of a supposed connection between Nathan and Baked Potato (Rosie).

After she came out of the diary room, she noticed Nathan and Ali speaking in the hall.

She asked her co-star if he actually had feelings for Baked Potato (Rosie).

“Well who wouldn’t!”, he replied in earnest as he also admitted details to a secret conversation they had during a fire alarm.

“I feel like I have played cupid tonight,” said Lily as Nathan confessed his true feelings.

Later on Late and Live, their secret conversation was revealed as Baked Potato (Rosie) asked Nathan a question.

Big Brother 2024 cast

A brand new batch of Big Brother housemates are living it up in the famous compound.

Meet the cast of the 2024 series:

• Rosie, 29, dental assistant from Cornwall.
• Emma, 53, aesthetics business owner from Altrincham.
• Segun, 25, charity videographer from Watford.
• Nathan, 24, pork salesman from Dumfries.
• Daze, 24, climate activist from London.
• Khaled, 23, sales manager from Manchester.
• Martha, 26, NHS administrator from Scarborough.
• Lily, 20, Chinese takeaway server from Warrington.
• Ali, 30, Forensic psychologist from London.
• Thomas, 20 amputee footballer from Carlisle.
• Ryan, 28, marketing and events from Stockport.
• Hannah, 24, HR consultant from West London.
• Izaaz, 29, sales consultant from London.
• Sarah, 27, spa account manager from Shrewsbury.
• Marcello, 34, youth mentor from East London.
• Dean, 35, barber from East London

She asked her co-star to go on a weekend away trip to a winery, consisting of “just me and you” after they leave the house.

Nathan declared that he would be more than happy to make that trip happen one day.

Will Best also teased a scene where the duo shared a private snuggle in the bathroom together.

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Big Brother is available to watch on ITV2 and stream on ITVX.

MIRANDA Hart says she farted within ten minutes on her first date with her new hubby — before they bonded over sloppy pizza.

The comedian, 51, who wed Richard Fairs earlier this year, told a podcast: “We were chatting, all very fun from the off.

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“Then the pizza comes but it had shunted up to one end, mozzarella was leaking everywhere.”

Miranda said she “went on and on getting full-on teenage grumpy”, but was delighted that “shy and sweet” Richard was too.

She added: “We formed this delicious connection.

“It kickstarted the freedom for us to start meeting and connecting.”

When Richard texted about another date, she said: “I was like he does like me because I was who I was, and probably farted within ten minutes.”

She has been off screens recently as she battles chronic fatigue.

Earlier this month, the BBC favourite revealed she had secretly got married following a debilitating health battle.

The Miranda star, 51, then shared a first look of her husband after she was spotted enjoying a bike ride with a mystery man months before confirming her nuptials.

Now she had shed light on their relationship history – and everything wasn’t completely smooth.

In her new book, she told that she “briefly” split with the building surveyor before he popped the question in Kew Gardens.

In her tome, I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You, Miranda wrote: “I admitted that I was longing for love within a romantic relationship too, for that one person who truly got me, but my hope for that was very, very slim.”