Solving time 12:15, helped by the two 15-letter answers going straight in. 1ac was tricky to parse and I had to wait until all the crossers were in. Some grammatical oddities in the grid - 28ac and 9dn are two examples of reduplication (something I came across on StackOverflow.com while looking for the answer to a technical programming problem - they have lists of other questions on the right which range from the esoteric "Is every closed curve in 3D a geodesic on a genus-0 surface?" to the bizarre "How do you fight a Nazghul?" One was "is there a name for words like chitchat, zigzag etc", so I followed the link to find out). Maybe there's also a word for words like 11ac, which look like their meaning! Answers on a postcard...
| Across |
| 1 | In skipping tutorial, boy gets round girl (8) |
| ROSEMARY - IN removed from SEMINAR (tutorial), inside ROY (boy). |
| 5 | Tyrant executes leading journalist coming from the East (6) |
| DESPOT - TOPS (executes) ED (leading journalist) reversed (coming from the East). |
| 10 | Welsh actor eating fish and game in artists’ place ... (10,5) |
| BURLINGTON HOUSE - BURTON (Welsh actor) around LING (fish) + HOUSE (game). Home of the Royal Academy. |
| 11 | ... will dine out in posh eatery at last, awkwardly (10) |
| UNWIELDILY - (will dine)* inside U (posh), Y (last letter of eatery). |
| 13 | At school it may be calleda cylindrical moulding (4) |
| ROLL - double definition. |
| 15 | Occupied area of England once, and most of Wales, oddly (7) |
| DANELAW - (and, Wale)* |
| 17 | Forth— a river surrounded by rolling downs? (7) |
| ONWARDS - A + R(iver) inside (downs)*. |
| 18 | Sound made by simple feline, one living in burrow (7) |
| MEERKAT - sounds like "mere cat" (simple feline). |
| 19 | Capricious European kings, Greek by the sound of it (7) |
| ERRATIC - E(uropean) + RR (kings) + ATIC (sounds like ATTIC, Greek). |
| 21 | Cereal having a certain appeal before work (4) |
| SAGO - SA (a certain appeal) + GO (work). |
| 22 | Adequate set of songs about youngster’s first transport (5,5) |
| FAIRY CYCLE - FAIR (adequate) + CYCLE (set of songs) around Y(oungster). Apparently a small bike for children, so it's semi-&littish. Never heard the term before myself. |
| 25 | Chap with friend, one touring 10, a broadcasting centre once (9,6) |
| ALEXANDRA PALACE - ALEX (chap) + AND (with) + PAL (friend) + ACE (one), all around RA (see 10ac). AKA the Ally Pally, former home of the BBC. |
| 27 | New judge attends function taking place in tower (6) |
| DONJON - N(ew) + J(udge) inside DO (function), ON (taking place). |
| 28 | Husband long constrained by spiteful woman’s gossip (4-4) |
| CHIT-CHAT - H(usband) + ITCH inside CAT (spiteful woman). I found out only yesterday that this is an example of an ablaut reduplication. |
| Down |
| 1 | Overthrow of monarch sure to have an adverse effect (7) |
| REBOUND - ER (monarch) reversed + BOUND (sure). |
| 2 | Way to address gentleman convict finally released from jail? (3) |
| SIR - T (last letter of convict) removed from STIR (jail). |
| 3 | Effeminate fellows accepting help, as it were (10) |
| MAIDENLIKE - MEN (fellows) around AID (help) + LIKE (as it were). |
| 4 | Falsify papers for firm (5) |
| RIGID - RIG (falsify) + ID (papers). |
| 6 | Genuine German dramatist, not British (4) |
| ECHT - BRECHT (German dramatist), minus BR(itish). It could be argued that German is doing double duty here, but this German word's in my English dictionary and it means genuine. |
| 7 | Like a fat cat or dog roaming Arctic? (11) |
| PLUTOCRATIC - PLUTO (dog) + (Arctic)*. |
| 8 | Archer is about right, training climbers on it (7) |
| TRELLIS - TELL (archer) + IS around R(ight). |
| 9 | Porter, possibly, outside a large house where nuts may be stored (4-4) |
| COAL-HOLE - COLE (Porter possibly) around A + L(arge) + HO(use). One definition of nut is "a small lump of coal". This is also a rhyming reduplication (see 28ac). |
| 12 | Shrub wife planted on grassy area south of Bury? (11) |
| WINTERGREEN - W(ife) + GREEN (grassy area) underneath INTER (bury). |
| 14 | Way to frame remark about airmen’s proficiency in fencing? (10) |
| SWORDCRAFT - ST (way) around WORD (remark) + C (circa, about) + RAF (airmen). |
| 16 | Moderate Tories protecting secure wildlife reserve (8) |
| WETLANDS - WETS (moderate Tories) around LAND (secure). |
| 18 | Hot stuff gathered for inspection, do we hear? (7) |
| MUSTARD - sounds like "mustered" (gathered for inspection). |
| 20 | Male Anglicans on time to welcome Liberal pope (7) |
| CLEMENT - CE MEN (male Anglicans) + T(ime), around L(iberal). Any one of 14 popes, although the last one died in 1774. |
| 23 | Arrive atrange (5) |
| REACH - double definition. |
| 24 | Some cherish a longing for a saint’s aura (4) |
| HALO - hidden in "cherish a longing" |
| 26 | Remains found in wood (3) |
| ASH - double definition. |