Episode
SIR IAN MCKELLEN: Christophers and some unfinished business…
- Podcast
- Kermode & Mayo’s Take
- Published
- May 7, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4489
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kermode-mayo-s-take-5310583/episodes/sir-ian-mckellen-christophers-and-some-unfinished-business/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/kermode-mayo-s-take-5310583/sir-ian-mckellen-christophers-and-some-unfinished-business.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time. This week’s very special guest is a living legend and bona fide National Treasure: Sir Ian McKellen. He chats to Simon from the comfort of his very own East London pub The Grapes about his new film ‘The Christophers’. This Steven Soderbergh directed drama of art, family feuds and friendship is a late-career gem from McKellen, who plays cantankerous celebrity artist Julian Sklar in an unlikely and uneasy friendship with Michaela Coel’s Laurie, his new assistant. Sir Ian and Simon prop up the bar and talk grumpy old men, unfinished business… and what it’s like to be Gandalf. Mark will review The Christophers next week, but for now we’ve got three more fresh film releases to dissect. Three fresh reviews this week too: first up, the new Hugh Jackman-starring family adventure that’s like “Babe meets Knives Out”: ‘The Sheep Detectives’. A star-studded affair with roles played by Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, and Molly Gordon with sheep voiced from the likes of Chris O’Dowd, Patrick Stewart and Bryan Cranston, the ‘cozy-crime’ tale sees the sheep turn sleuths. Plus, a full review of Legends, the new Netflix series form last week’s Take guest Steve Coogan, where ordinary customs workers go undercover to fight Britain’s heroin crisis. And finally a look at th…