SHOW BIZ

KELLY Brook once demanded very steamy sex scenes were cut from an erotic thriller after they “became something different” to what she’d intended.

In the early noughties, actress Kelly starred in Survival Island, also known as Three, alongside her ex Billy Zane.

The sizzling movie features Kelly and Billy in the lead roles as a wealthy couple Jennifer and Jack marooned on a desert island after their luxury yacht catches fire at sea.

Only three people survive the accident, the couple and hunky crew member Manuel, who develops an infatuation with Jennifer that drives Jack crazy.

What follows is an intense love triangle with deadly consequences.

Kelly said in 2005: “It’s a very sexy film, but there are scenes that I’ve asked to be removed.

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“You go into a film with the idea of what you want to achieve and then it gets into the hands of others and it becomes something different.”

She added that her decision was backed by Billy, whom she became romantic with while filming the flick in the Bahamas.

The film was widely-panned by critics with scathing reviews dubbing it “dull” and “appalling” despite its sex scenes.

Glamour model turned TV presenter Kelly later found love with hunky Frenchman Jeremy Parisi in 2015 after several high-profile engagements, including to Hollywood actors Jason Statham and Billy Zane, both 58, and rugby star Thom Evans, 40.

Her first engagement was to Brit actor Jason but they called it quits in 2003, with Kelly going on to meet Titanic star Billy Zane in 2005.

They dated for four years before she called it off, with a source saying at the time: “After much soul-searching, Kelly decided that Billy is not the man she wants to marry and has called off the engagement.”

Kelly’s ex Jason is now married to Victoria’s Secret star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley after they met on the set of Transformers back in 2010.

Billy – who is set to play Marlon Brando in a new biopic – later got engaged to model Candice Neil and the couple welcomed two daughters.

Kelly recently made a shock confession on Loose Women about dumping an unnamed ex just a day before they were due to tie the knot.

“I didn’t jilt him,” she explained.

“But I called it off on the day. I was in my wedding dress.”

She added: “The jet was waiting, we were going to Vegas that day, and I was just crying. It was like a movie – it was all very dramatic.

“I was in a dress, it was just horrific. It was the most horrific thing. But we stayed together, and he kind of came around to it and understood why. I’m not going to mention who it was.”

Kelly, now 45, reflected on the relationship’s significant age gap and said: “I was 25 and they were like 42, a lot older.

“They should have known better.”

She added: “I felt I was really manipulated and coerced into something that I wasn’t ready for.

“I kind of went along as a people pleaser. Sometimes you want to stay with the person, but you’re not necessarily ready for that kind of commitment.

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“And so, from my point of view, I went along with it until the very last minute and then was like, hang on a minute, I’m not ready for this now.

“So it wasn’t like I jilted them, but it was just the whole situation was wrong. It wasn’t like there was big preparations for a wedding, with family there.”

Porsha Williams of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” appears to have gotten a mouthful from a woman on her flight back to Georgia from Las Vegas on Sunday night, her lawyer says.

The Atlanta Police Department said Tuesday that it had investigated the incident, then handed off victim and witness statements to the FBI. It didn’t identify Williams specifically.

“Upon arrival, officers made contact with two females who may have been involved in the dispute,” the department said in a statement on its website. “Preliminary investigation indicated that both parties may have been involved in a verbal dispute that reportedly escalated into a physical dispute during an inbound flight to Atlanta.”

Now, the real housewife’s attorney, Joe Habachy, did identify his client specifically, saying in a statement, “Ms. Williams was verbally assaulted by an irate and unhinged passenger without provocation. The passenger then proceeded to make false allegations that were in direct conflict with observations from several eyewitnesses.”

The women were separated “on the scene,” according to police, and both parties were interviewed by officers.

Williams had been at the BravoCon 2025 fan fest in Las Vegas before she was videotaped walking with the officers who met her at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. TMZ posted the video Monday. A Delta spokesperson told that site that both women had been spoken to on the plane as well as at the airport.

“FBI Atlanta is aware of the incident on the flight,” a representative for that office said in a statement Tuesday. “It is unknown at this time if federal charges will apply.”

But attorney Habachy said that’s par for the course when something happens on a plane. “[F]ederal authorities are required to conduct an investigation involving all parties to determine what, if any, offenses occurred,” he said, adding that Williams intended to cooperate with law enforcement “to whatever extent necessary.”

She is confident the other passenger ultimately will be charged, he said.

Celebs Go Dating star Tom Read Wilson has opened up about being picked as a latecomer to enter the I’m a Celebrity jungle

A new contestant is being parachuted into I’m a Celebrity – and is already feeling the pressure.

Celebs Go Dating star Tom Read Wilson says he is fully braced for one particular hardship in the jungle…no champagne. The ultra-posh 39-year-old receptionist on the E4 show, also said he was looking forward to bonding with rapper Aitch when he enters the jungle as a latecomer, who he compared to Shakespeare.

Of the booze ban, he admits: “I do have a penchant for champagne, and as it is quite a naughty tipple, I confine it to the weekend. So it is just going to feel like a very, very long week. I will never usually have a coupe of anything until Friday.” And opening up about Mancunian Aitch who he will meet when he enters the jungle alongside Vogue Williams on Thursday, he said he found him “fascinating.”

“I know that he is very bendy with words, which I adore,” Tom said. “I love new coinings. It is the reason I am mad about Shakespeare, is all the endless coinings and the sense of play with lexicon. And he has got that in spades. I know he has. And I also really think of rap as modern poetry. I wish I could do it.” For Tom, any shared love of language or the arts is enough to bond campmates, no matter how different their backgrounds.

“I have always felt that it does not matter how divergent your tastes are. If your feelings about the arts are the same, it kind of pleads you together, you know. You get excited about those things,” he said.

He says that beneath his polished exterior he is “terrified” of what lies ahead. “I shan’t sugar the pill. I am terrified. I do not think I have ever been quite so frightened,” he confessed. “But it is a funny thing with fear historically for me because it is one of those things that swells and swells and swells in my mind. And as soon as I start something, I am actually much better.”

A recent conversation with a driver called Abdi, who he describes as a “philosopher”, has helped him reframe that fear. “I got into a car the other day, and I had a little bit of a wobble,” Tom said. “Without telling the driver anything, I said, ‘Well, I am just about to do this thing that is rather challenging and I do not know if I am very well equipped’.

“His name was Abdi, the driver, and he turned out to be a philosopher. And he said, look at that enormous tree outside the car. If I told you to climb that tree, you would be very daunted. But he said, once you had started, you would find a little groove to put your foot in. You would find a branch that would bear your weight.

“And before you knew it you would be in the canopy and you would not know how you got there. I could not believe it. I was so, so delighted because it just suddenly put everything in perspective. So I think I have got the same fear, but he really contextualised it for me.”

As a lover of luxury, Tom knows jungle life will be a shock to the system. The booze ban is one thing. The rations and rice are another. “I have done intermittent fasting for years now. I never knew I was in training. It does help I think. I don’t really get hungry now until 2pm,” he says.

Asked if he will bring energy to the camp, he replies: “Oh, I hope so although I gather that they are a very zestful bunch, as it is. But I suppose it is slightly incumbent on you, if you come late, to sort of be a little bit of a warm zephyr.

“Because by then, I suppose they have endured quite a lot of hardship. I mean, they probably would have done a task or two, and they certainly would be maybe food and sleep deprived by then.” He is also slightly starstruck about finally meeting Ruby Wax, thanks to a lifelong devotion to Absolutely Fabulous, which she wrote.

“I am excited and nervous about this in equal measure, because historically I have not done very well when I have been a big fan of somebody,” he admitted. “But I am a very, very big fan of Ruby Wax. In myriad ways, because, I mean, she can talk chapter and verse about Jung, which I find fascinating. And also, I am a devotee of Ab Fab, and I have been told many times that a lot of the zingers and some of the more caustic lines in Ab Fab were Ruby’s.”

Tom says he will miss the “small people” in his life most of all. “I have got five godkids and three nephews, all of whom I speak to multiple times a week and see multiple times a month. So that is going to be a real wrench.”

To prepare, he has leaned on former jungle stars including his close friend Roman Kemp. “Roman Kemp, who is a dear friend, whom I love, he said, you must make sure that you wean yourself off coffee at least . five days before,” Tom explained. “Because, he said, that is the biggest shock. You suddenly crash and you get headaches. And that is terribly good advice for me.”

MAYA Jama and Leigh-Anne Pinnock made sure they stole the show in their risque outfits at the GQ Men of the Year ceremony.

The A-list stars were out in force in tonight for the glitzy event in London.

Maya, who has just signed a massive £800,000 deal to continue as host of Love Island, looked incredible

The Bristol-born beauty made sure to turn heads in her risque outfit.

The superstar presenter wore a shredded leather pencil skirt with a matching top, that plunged at the front.

Joining her in the sexy stakes was Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock.

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The singer stepped out in a daring white dress that was slashed to the waist.

The mum-of-two looked incredible as she showed off her toned stomach in the racy ensemble.

Leigh-Anne was joined by fellow Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall, who looked equally as stunning.

The singer, who just goes by her first name now, wore, a stunning black dress.

Others stars at the prestigious event included James Bond legend Pierce Brosnan, who looked dapper in his suit.

Marvel star Tom Hiddleston and his wife Zawe Ashton also stepped out on the red carpet.

It’s fair to say that Maya is enjoying an incredible time in the spotlight, thanks to her lucrative career,

As well as cashing in from being the host of Love Island, and also banking millions from her face-mask ­business, The Sun recently revealed that she has started up a new property company and is becoming a landlord.

A source told us: “Maya is a shrewd businesswoman and, while her career is going stellar, she’s not going to be wasting her hard-earned cash.

“She’s joining celebs like Ed Sheeran and Daniel Radcliffe by buying up properties to rent out.

“It’s a clever way to invest her money as it’ll not only bring her a decent return but will see her bank balance grow over time.

“Maya did come up with the first company name, Blagging It Properties, but then changed it to something a little more sensible.

“She’s now the director of Penny Property Holdings and will start investing soon.”

Maya is also making her acting debut in the second series of Guy Ritchie‘s hit comedy- drama The Gentlemen.

The Sun revealed Maya had signed up back in May for a part in the Netflix series and filmed scenes in the summer.

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She was spotted on set at Badminton House, Gloucs, which doubles as the posh home of Theo James’s aristocrat ­character Eddie Horniman.

Maya will be playing the wife of one of Eddie’s friends and, according to sources, “she is a natural”.

Diane Ladd’s cause of death has come to light, weeks after the three-time Oscar-nominated “Rambling Rose” and “Wild at Heart” star died at age 89.

The actor died of “acute on chronic hypoxic respiratory failure,” according to her death certificate obtained by People. The Cleveland Clinic says the condition is a result of insufficient oxygen in a person’s blood and is commonly caused by heart and lung conditions.

The death certificate reportedly notes that Ladd had the latter. Two years before her death, Ladd was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease wherein “lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Esophageal dysmotility —disorders that affect the esophagus’ ability to move food and liquid to a person’s stomach — also contributed to Ladd’s death, People reported.

Ladd was cremated on Nov. 10, a week after her death, the death certificate reportedly said.

Laura Dern, Ladd’s daughter with prolific Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Dern, announced her mother’s death Nov. 3: “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai.”

“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” Dern, Oscar-winning star of “Marriage Story,” said in her statement. “We were blessed to have her.”

Bruce Dern, the first of Ladd’s three husbands, praised his ex-wife for her work on- and off-screen, including her longtime tenure as a Screen Actors Guild board member.

“She was a great teammate to her fellow actors. She was funny, clever, gracious,” he said. “But most importantly to me, she was a wonderful mother to our incredible wunderkind daughter. And for that I will be forever grateful to her.”

Mississippi native Ladd was an enduring talent whose screen career included more than 200 movie and TV credits from the 1960s to the 2020s, and multiple Emmy and Oscar nominations. Famously, she appeared in director Martin Scorsese and writer Robert Getchell’s 1974 feature “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” originating the role of snarky roadside-diner waitress Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry.

When Ladd was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2023, she was told she might have only six months to live. This inspired Laura Dern to take her mother out for strolls along Santa Monica, sparking intimate conversations that would become fodder for their joint book, “Honey, Baby, Mine,” released in April 2023.

“All the deep listening filled us with love,” Ladd told People amid the book’s release. “And it was very healing.”

Vicky Pattison is bouncing back after being booted off the BBC dance show, with the star already lining up a new on-screen project that will take her in a very different direction

Vicky Pattison is reportedly preparing for a brand-new TV role after her shock exit from Strictly Come Dancing. The former Geordie Shore favourite, who recently turned 38, was dropped from the BBC competition over the weekend despite impressing viewers with her routines alongside professional partner Kai Widdrington, 30.

The pair were sent home after the judges chose to save Balvinder Sopal, 49, and her partner Julian Caillon, 30. Now, Vicky is said to be heading straight back onto screens – this time alongside her husband Ercan Ramadan, whom she married in 2024 – in a new E4 series.

A TV insider told The Sun: “Vicky is already hugely popular with E4 audiences, thanks to her documentary about her dad’s alcoholism, her wedding specials and her show The Honesty Box, and this is the perfect post Strictly vehicle for her.”

According to the report, the show will explore a range of fertility topics, including IVF, egg freezing and the emotional realities behind the process. Vicky will also share her own journey while speaking to experts and women who have undergone similar experiences.

The star has been open about taking control of her fertility, choosing to freeze her eggs before tying the knot with Ercan last summer. She has frequently discussed the subject on social media and previously fronted the BBC documentary Egg Freezing And Me, which examined the rising demand for fertility treatments in the UK.

Growing up in Newcastle, Vicky felt the pressure many young women face surrounding marriage and motherhood. The 38-year-old has said that in her hometown, “it was ‘expected that you’d get married and have kids by 30, and if you didn’t you’d have failed.”

But despite once believing she had missed the mark, Vicky says her thirties turned out to be the most fulfilling years of her life so far. She told the Daily Mail: “I’d just come out of a relationship. I’d been conditioned to think everything was going to go downhill – looks, fertility, career. But my 30s have actually been the best years of my life. I met my husband, I bought a house, I adopted my dog, I found a career I’m proud of. I was a girl until I was 30 – now I’m a woman, and I like her. Society scares women into thinking life ends at 30. It’s rubbish.”

Vicky has also spoken openly about her diagnosis of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), after doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as nothing more than Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS).

Reflecting on her fertility treatment, she has been honest about the emotional and physical toll, saying: “It’s emotionally difficult, and you’re all over the shop, but I found it to be quite uncomfortable and painful as well. And I don’t think enough people talk about that… we’re not allowed to whinge about it and say it was a bit hard, and it was a bit uncomfortable.”

She added an important reminder that women can feel both grateful and overwhelmed at the same time: “But actually, you can be grateful, and you can be really excited for the end product, but you can also struggle to get there, and I found it painful.”

The Mirror has reached out to Vicky Pattison’s representatives for comment.

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DICK Van Dyke has admitted he’s “finally slowing down”, as the Hollywood icon prepares for his 100th birthday.

The father-of-four is set to celebrate his milestone birthday on December 13, and he has been reflecting on his long and incredible life so far.

To celebrate his HUGE milestone, Marry Poppins star Dick chatted to Today’s Al Roker, for an emotional interview about his life.

During their sit down, they discussed the actor’s new book, 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life.

Al also revealed how the actor had admitted “to finally slowing down” in his incredible career.

Reading from Dick’s new book, Al said: “You’ve written here, ‘I care about the survival of what I have shared with the world.’”

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To which Dick replied: “It’s true.”

The star also added of his incredible career: “I got to do for a living, what I would’ve done for nothing.”

Dick also encouraged fans to “look for the best of everything, look what’s positive and the people that are positive.”

It comes just days after Dick revealed that he was becoming increasingly housebound as a result of “physical decay”.

“It’s frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially,” he penned in an essay for The Times at the weekend.

“I get invites to events or offers for gigs in New York or Chicago, but that kind of travel takes so much out of me that I have to say no.

“Almost all of my visiting with folks has to happen at my house.”

SECRETS TO A HAPPY LIFE

Despite his physical ailments, the iconic actor is still positive about life.

“Boiled down, the things that have kept my life joyful and fulfilling are pretty simple: romance, doing what I love and a whole lot of laughing,” Dick wrote.

Despite his physical ailments, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star is relentlessly positive about life, praising his wife for keeping him young as well as seeing the world and his experiences of it like a “giant playground”.

“Boiled down, the things that have kept my life joyful and fulfilling are pretty simple: romance, doing what I love and a whole lot of laughing,” he wrote.

Dick also revealed he goes to the gym three times a week, as well as continuing to dance and sing.

BECOMING A STAR

After starring in the film version of Bye Bye Birdie in the role of Albert J. Peterson, which he played on Broadway, Dick got his huge break and was cast by Disney in Mary Poppins in 1964.

His main role was as Bert, a jack-of-all-trades who is very good friends with Mary Poppins, but he was also cast as the doddery old bank chairman Mr Dawes Senior.

The film, which starred Julie Andrews in the lead role, was a huge success and Chim Chim Cher-ee, which Bert sings in the movie, went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.

However, to this day, Dyke’s Cockney accent is lambasted as the accent in film history, and according to Dyke, no one on the set of the film told him how bad it was.

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But to this day it is still his best-known role and on his 90^th birthday, he was surprised by a flash-mob at The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles.

Dyke also starred in Disney’s 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the lead role of Caractacus Pott, after he turned down the role of Fagin in the 1968 musical Oliver!

“Thoughts & Prayers,” premiering Tuesday on HBO, is a documentary film about the $3-billion “active shooter preparedness industry,” that space where American failure meets American entrepreneurism. Though it approaches its subject with a certain formal neutrality, the title, a phrase now synonymous with political emptiness, does suggest a point of view. (Its subtitle is “How to Survive an Active Shooter in America.”)

That industry includes various forms of training involving teachers, students and first responders and products theoretically created to increase security — locks, alarms, robot dogs, bulletproof backpacks, bulletproof glass and bulletproof shelters that sit in the corner of a classroom. One company will put an image of your choice on a bulletproof wall hanging and sells a “skateboard [that] will outperform any other skateboard on the market, but it’s also a self defense shield.” “Every time there’s a tragedy, it economically benefits my family,” its founder admits. “We could be a $300-million company by the time this documentary airs.”

One company makes tourniquets “easy to apply in case of a mass casualty incident”; another specializes in latex bullet wounds for use in mass shooter drills: “the gunshot through and through to the neck … the multiple gunshot wound to the abdomen.” One senses in these endeavors a not insincere overreaction that substitutes for political action, shifting responsibility onto potential victims and accepting the problem as intractable. (Or as the Onion headline, published 38 times since 2014, has it, “No Way to Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”)

Directed by Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock, it’s a sad black comedy, an Errol Morris sort of subject, shot in an Errol Morris sort of way — formal, neutral. The cinematography, by Jarred Alterman, is quite handsome and composed, amplifying the seriousness and eeriness, but also the banality and absurdity of the matter. Subjects face the camera head on, sometimes to speak, sometimes to sit silently for a portrait that might find them covered in fake blood and wounds from a role-playing exercise. The film gets a lot of mileage just settling on faces, tracking reactions, or lack of reaction. The camera is static, steady; action moves in and through the frame, sometimes in slow motion, like movie violence. This observational approach is regularly undercut, unfortunately, by a heavy-handed soundtrack that makes the film feel less trustworthy. It’s an aesthetic and rhetorical failure, but not a fatal one.

The documentary states that 95% of American school children practice lockdown drills.

(HBO)

More than 20 million adults have had active shooter training, learning how to keep doors shut or disarm a shooter, participating in multiplayer video simulations. In Provo, Utah, teachers learn to shoot. (“Breathe in through our nose, out through your mouth — let all that tension come out of you.”) But “Thoughts & Prayers” is most powerful when looking at or listening to the kids: 95% of American schools, we’re told, practice lockdown drills, which can begin as early as Pre-K (with “dinosaurs” substituted for gunmen, to, I don’t know, reduce trauma).

The film’s last act follows a massive reenactment at a Medford, Ore., high school, where a “mass casualty drill” was scheduled after a janitor turned himself into police before acting on homicidal thoughts. (They discovered many weapons in his home, and a written plan of attack.) Kids, made up as victims, litter the halls and gym field. Masked “shooters” go room to room. The police chief gives, as a sign on the podium reads, a “fake press conference.”

“This is the reality, this is where we are in this country, where we are in this valley,” says the school superintendent afterward. “But I do not want to lose the fact that it is still a sad thing that we have to do this. Still, you may wonder what good it will actually do, and hope not to find out.”

What passes for a gun debate is relegated to some warring soundbites from the floor of Congress, and the opinion of one trainer (named Thrasher) that guns aren’t the problem, but “family structures” and “the lack of tribalism.” But here’s Quinn, a high school freshman from Long Island, N.Y., as close as anyone here gets to addressing the issue. It’s worth giving her the last word.

“I don’t think that a lot of adults care about our opinions. We go through this every single day. We go through, like, being afraid of going to school because we might get shot, or we might lose a friend, or we might lose a teacher. And a lot of people care about their … rights, I guess, more about, ‘Oh well, I want to have the ability to own a gun, and so I don’t care if you get shot in your class.’ It’s just kind of disheartening. ‘Cause it’s like, oh, you care more about yourself than all of the students in America.”

This year’s Christmas Day kids story is The Scarecrow’s Wedding but the story had to be changed for TV

Author Julia Donaldson has told how she had to rewrite one of her best selling books in order to get the green light for it to be turned into a BBC animation for Christmas Day.

This year millions will settle down to watch The Scarecrows’ Wedding, the latest adaptation of Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler’s stories which have become a festival staple.

The half-hour animated special features an all-star voice cast, with Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon voicing Reginald Rake, Hamnet actress Jessie Buckley as Betty O’Barley, and The Paper star Domhnall Gleeson as Harry O’Hay.

The story, about two devoted scarecrows Betty and Harry planning a wedding to remember, will be narrated by Slow Horses actress Sophie Okonedo.

But Julia revealed for the first time in 13 adaptations that she needed to make big changes to the storyline because it originally featured sinister scarecrow Reginald Rake smoking a cigar and accidentally starting a fire in the field.

Julia said: “There had to be a fire in the story and the water was going to put out the fire, so I had to think of reasons for the fire.

“In the book, the fire is started by Reginald Rake through smoking. I thought that was really good because it shows him in a really bad light. He is a baddie and he is smoking and in the original book Betty says ‘smoking is bad for you’ and he gets a terrible cough and starts a fire so it shows how bad smoking is.

“But apparently in the world of children’s films you are not allowed to show anyone smoking. I personally think it would be better for children to come across smoking in a film or a book and then their parents can talk about it and say it is not a great thing, rather than see someone in a doorway.”

Julia was then asked by Magic Light Pictures who animate her stories if she “would consider” changing this one over lunch.

She added: “I said ‘absolutely not’ and then went home and went straight to the computer because by that stage we had the pictures and I knew Betty had a pink dress and Reginald had the white suit, so I thought he could start the fire by cooking something and then I thought of pink and white marshmallows. I wrote it and I think it works really well that way. I am sorry in a way to lose the smoking but I think marshmallows do work well.”

The Scarecrows’ Wedding was first published in 2014 and book versions still contain Reginald choking on a cigar.

Asked about the creation of the characters, Julia added: “I was looking for a female character because previously it was Zog and Highway Rat and lots of male characters. So Betty was the first character that came to mind.

“It took me ages to write because I had to send Harry off on a journey and it took a long time to work out that part of the storyline.

“In a way it is a Hollywood love story and it is very much like a light Italian opera where there is a humble peasant boy and girl and then a peddler comes along and almost seduces the heroine. I was thinking along those lines.”

The animation means Rob Brydon will be back on BBC1 on Christmas Day, having been one of the star’s of Gavin & Stacey last year. He has also been voicing Julia’s characters since they first started being made into animations.

On playing the cad in the story, Rob: “There is a hint of Leslie Phillips and that sort of thing, just natural and instinctive. As ever it is just a delight to be part of such a quality venture.

“This is one of my favourites because I have not played this sort of role in Julia’s world. I am normally nice.”

Last year’s animation, Tiddler, saw an audience of 7.3 million and the highest audience share on Christmas Day for a Magic Light Pictures film since The Gruffalo in 2009.

The Gruffalo will return in book form in 2026 but Julia was keeping tight-lipped about the details.

She said: “I am not allowed to say very much. I can say I finished writing it early last year and it is coming out in the Autumn next year, that is really all I can say.”

* The Scarecrow’s Wedding will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Christmas Day.

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IN her blue gingham dress, brown pigtails and trusty dog Toto by her side, Dorothy Gale is one of the most famous characters in Hollywood history.

But 86 years after original actress Judy Garland skipped down the yellow brick road, the school girl from Kansas is back on the big screen – being played by a Pilates instructor who lives in Surrey.

Bethany Weaver, 30, has been unveiled as the woman portraying Dorothy in the big budget movie Wicked: For Good, which hits cinemas this Friday.

However, The Sun can reveal she only appears on screen for 69 seconds and says a total of six words — and Bethany’s friends may not even recognise her, as her face is never shown on screen.

It follows on from last year’s first film, simply titled Wicked, and completes the tale of the witches of Oz, Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, 38, and Ariana Grande, 32, as Glinda.

But while the first musical extravaganza was a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the second instalment’s plot runs parallel to that of the 1939 film, telling the tale from an entirely different perspective.

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That means viewers will once again see Dorothy with the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

Explaining the decision not to show her face, director Jon M. Chu, 46, said: “I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with.

“[The sequel] is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it.”

Cynthia added: “I think that’s such a wonderful thing to do because then everyone gets to keep the Dorothy that they know.”

The film studio went to major lengths to keep her identity a secret, stopping her from attending the major premieres.

The cast and crew were banned from following or interacting with her on social media and on Instagram, she only had 1,041 followers before being formally announced.

She has had a string of theatre jobs in Oklahoma and Broken Wings after training at The Urdang Academy, and recently helped to choreograph a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But away from the stage, she has a less showbiz career as a Pilates instructor in Surrey.

Her casting ends a year of speculation, as fans had been convinced that Irish actress Alisha Weir, 16, who played the lead in 2022’s Matilda the Musical, would take the role.

She attended the London premiere of the first Wicked film last year wearing silver shoes, which was thought to be a reference to the original colour of the character’s ruby red heels in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

And even superstar Taylor Swift, 35, was at one point linked to the role.

Fans thought the video for her song Karma, which saw her skipping down a yellow brick road, was a clue, and an image of the singer dressed as Dorothy went viral before later being debunked as AI.

But with an all-star cast in Wicked: For Good, also featuring People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive Jonathan Bailey, 37, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, 63, and Jurassic Park’s Jeff Goldblum, 73, there is plenty of star power to propel it to success.

Wicked, released last November, became the highest-grossing film of the year at the UK box office, raking in £61million in a matter of weeks.

Now the blockbuster sequel is being forecast to repeat its success, with expectations it will surpass the £56million made by A Minecraft Movie and the £46million raked in by Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy earlier this year.

Bosses at Universal Pictures are also hoping the movie will prove fruitful in awards season too, after the first flick landed ten Oscar nominations but only won in the Best Costume Design and Best Production Design categories.

The film is based on the second half of the Broadway musical, although two new songs were penned especially for the big-screen version, which will be available when the official soundtrack is released on Friday.

Ariana has a solo moment with The Girl in the Bubble while Cynthia gets a song on her own with No Place Like Home.

The tracks mean they could go head-to-head for the Best Original Song gong at the Oscars.

The movies were filmed back to back from December 2022 to January 2024 at studios in Elstree and Leavesden, Herts, although Ariana and Cynthia returned to the UK in May this year for last-minute reshoots.

An estimated $150m was spent on the film with millions more on marketing it – with the massive investment paying off for the first flick.

That one set a box office record for a stage-to-screen adaptation, making $756m globally.

And they are going all-out to market this film too.

Today, it was revealed that Brick Lane in East London has been transformed into Yellow Brick Lane, with the famous path from the Wizard of Oz now running down the road, along with several Wicked murals.

There have also been a raft of big brand tie-ins, with a slew of Wicked-themed products including a collection of Le Creuset cookware, Crocs, rugs, trainers, perfume, and even drinks and bakes at high street chain Greggs.

Wicked Barbie dolls are also expected to be one of the most in-demand toys this Christmas.

And its legacy is likely to be even more musicals making it to the big screen.

Following the success of the first film, Sabrina Carpenter, 26, has had a musical about Alice in Wonderland greenlit by the same movie studio.

Mamma Mia 3 is also expected to go ahead, with talk of Nicole Scherzinger, 47 – who had been linked to the role of Elphaba back in 2017 – starring in a film adaptation of Sunset Boulevard.

As for Cynthia and Ariana, they have spent the last two weeks on a promotional tour including premieres in Sao Paulo, Paris, London, Singapore and on Monday evening, New York.

However, it has taken its toll.

Cynthia, who wore a black gown featuring leather and feathers on the red carpet in the Big Apple, was unable to do interviews there after losing her voice entirely in the lead-up to the film’s release.

Meanwhile, talk during the promo run has turned to Ariana, who wore a pink tulle skirt and a black corseted bodice, and her relationship with her co-star Ethan Slater, 33.

Romance blossomed during filming, just after her marriage to estate agent Dalton Gomez crumbled, and following his split from his childhood sweetheart and the mother of his son, psychologist Lilly Jay.

But despite steering clear from each other on red carpets and declining to talk about each other, the couple are quietly still going strong after two and a half years as an item.

And while she isn’t saying goodbye to him, she is moving away from the role of Glinda, which she had dreamed about playing since she was ten years old.

She has dyed her peroxide blonde hair back to brown and has moved onto her next project, recently completing work on the latest film in the Meet the Parents franchise.

Reflecting on the release of the second – and final – film, Ariana was emotional.

She explained: “It’s been such an incredible ride and an incredible experience to create with people we love so much and respect so much creatively, but also who just have such great hearts.”

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Speaking about the characters, who she and Cynthia auditioned for in 2021, she said: “It’s almost five years that we’ve spent with them. So, for them to finally be getting the full picture and to know the secrets we’ve known all along is very exciting.”

Ariana added: “This project will always be part of our lives.”