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BARRY Manilow has given fans a new health update after surgery to remove part of his lung following a cancer diagnosis.
The legendary crooner, 82, shared a hospital selfie on Instagram last week and is now already looking ahead to his comeback shows.
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Barry Manilow is eyeing a return to the stage after a lung cancer diagnosis and surgeryCredit: Instagram/barrymanilowofficialBarry revealed six new comeback shows in MarchCredit: Instagram
His team posted on the social media site, “SURPRISE!!! Barry is feeling great…so great that he’s decided to add six additional concerts to his existing March schedule.”
Gigs in Charlotte, Norfolk, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Nashville, and Lexington have all been arranged over the dates of March 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th.
The post concluded, “Years from now, when you look back on these dates, you’ll want to know you were there to say goodbye.”
It was welcomed by his supporters, with one commenting, “Can’t wait!! Glad you are feeling good!”
At the time, Barry wrote, “As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks.
“Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK.
“The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early.
“That’s the good news.”
He went on, “The bad news is that now that the Christmas Gift Of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spot removed.
“The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis.
“So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”
He added that scheduled January shows in cities such as Orlando, Tampa, Charleston, Greensboro and Columbus needed to be rescheduled.
“I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,” he told fans.
Those shows are now taking place in March, too. But before then, his big stage return will be on February 27 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Barry previously said, “Something tells me February is going to be one big party…”
After his diagnosis was shared with the world, The U.S. Sun revealed that Barry was due to have surgery the following day and felt “terrified” about it.
“Barry’s surgery will be at a hospital in Palm Springs, near his home, and he is expected to remain in the hospital for three days while he recovers,” an insider told us.
“Barry is terrified,” they added, of the icon’s latest health scare.
Music legend Barry’s career spans six decades with global hits including Could it be Magic, Copacabana and Mandy.
His tracks have been covered countless times by artists like Take That and Westlife, and he has been championed by industry icons like the late Frank Sinatra.
Barry’s music career spans six decadesCredit: GettyNEW YORK, NY – CIRCA 1983: Barry Manilow in concert circa 1983 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Platzer/Images/Getty Images)Credit: Getty
This story contains spoilers for the fifth episode of “Fallout” Season 2.
On a sunny afternoon in late February 2025, members of the “Fallout” crew are setting up a suspended rig along a dusty road on their Santa Clarita set that will be used to film a scene where Walton Goggins’ character — a long-lived mutated survivor of the nuclear apocalypse known simply as the Ghoul — will get punched out a window.
A short walk away on an indoor stage, Ella Purnell and Kyle MacLachlan have been filming their characters’ long-anticipated reunion. The cameras are on Purnell’s Lucy MacLean, a sheltered former Vault dweller who’s traveled from the California coast to New Vegas in pursuit of her father.
“My little Sugarbomb,” says MacLachlan as Hank MacLean to a woozy Lucy just before she passes out. Among those observing the takes on the monitors are “Fallout” showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner.
Both moments take place within the final minutes of “The Wrangler,” the fifth episode of the Prime Video series’ second season, which sees Lucy and the Ghoul finally make their way through the streets of the post-apocalyptic remnants of Sin City after trekking through the Mojave Desert together.
An adaptation of the popular video game franchise, “Fallout” is set in an alternate future around 200 years after much of the world was decimated by nuclear bombs. Some Americans, including Lucy’s father Hank, survived by moving into a network of underground bunkers called Vaults, while others were left to fend for themselves in the Wasteland.
In a flashback, Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) visits Las Vegas in “Fallout” Season 2.
(Lorenzo Sisti / Prime Video)
Unlike many of the locations featured in the series so far, New Vegas is one that fans of the franchise are very familiar with because it’s the setting of the 2010 game “Fallout: New Vegas.”
Although incorporating such an iconic setting came with its own challenges, the allure of taking the story to New Vegas was too irresistible for the show’s creative team.
“When Lucy left the Vault, she was very innocent, very naive,” says Robertson-Dworet. By the end of the first season, “she’s had a couple of weeks in the Wasteland and she’s certainly had her eyes opened a fair amount. But she is on a journey to follow her father and uncover even darker secrets. So the idea of taking her to the actual City of Sin was incredibly appealing at a metaphorical or character level.”
Audiences have seen how Lucy’s time on the surface world has been affecting her. And her first day in New Vegas has been a doozy: She encountered terrifying mutated reptilian creatures known as Deathclaws, has been dealing with a drug addiction, committed some theft and even killed a man.
“As we get closer to Vegas … you really start to get to see how much [the Ghoul has] rubbed off on her,” executive producer Jonathan Nolan says. “That fundamental question of ‘Is she willing to to break some of the same rules that he is?’ is one of the driving questions of the narrative. How far is too far and … how many of her carefully fostered beliefs … will survive the journey through the Wasteland?”
The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) sitting alone inside the Atomic Wrangler Hotel room in “Fallout.”
(Prime Video)
Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard, who serves as an executive producer of the “Fallout” series, acknowledges that bringing New Vegas into the show for Season 2 added “an element of difficulty above and beyond that of Season 1.”
“It’s exciting because you’re going to an iconic ‘Fallout’ location, but it’s also tricky because players know it,” Howard explains. “It’s easier, creatively, to go someplace [players] don’t know, but to take the show to a place that they know and love so much, you really have to be extra careful.”
The dilemma for the show’s creative team involved the balance between video game accuracy and the realities of building practical sets. While using a digital background would enable the show to recreate the precise geography of the games, the team’s aim is to try to build and use as many real sets, props and effects as possible.
“Our feeling was always … that we can make it more cinematic, more tactile, if we actually build [New Vegas],” Robertson-Dworet says. “The trade off is going to be [that] maybe we are not going to get it right down to the pixel the way fans remember it. [But] the level of commitment to the games and [to] honoring the games as much as we possibly can is very real.”
Understandably, the “Fallout” crew was not able to build an entire city from the ground up. So instead of incorporating every building on the New Vegas map, they aimed to include some favorites along with ones that best served the story.
The “Fallout” cast and crew on the Freeside set in Santa Clarita.
(Lorenzo Sisti/Prime Video)
Freeside, which is the district that exists in the remnants of Las Vegas’ Fremont Street, was built on a lot in Santa Clarita previously used by shows like “Westworld” and “Deadwood,” while a defunct shopping mall was transformed into the New Vegas Strip.
“Because I’m dealing with real buildings that exist in the real world, it’s not laid out exactly the same as it is in the game,” says Howard Cummings, the show’s production designer. “I put some greatest hits of Freeside, essentially, in a three-block radius on one street. They are laid out progressively similar to the game, but not the [exact] relationship in the actual game.”
One of the focal points in Freeside is the Atomic Wrangler, a multi-story casino and bar with lodging that was featured in “Fallout: New Vegas.”
“The Atomic Wrangler was so specific in the game,” says Cummings. “It has specific architecture and has this terrific neon sign that I love with the cowboy … There’s no way to take [a building that] already existed [on set] and have it look like the Atomic Wrangler … so I put a facade in front of a facade.”
Some of that wizardry went into the interior of the Atomic Wrangler as well. The first floor bar area, for instance, is actually housed in a different building across the dirt street.
“It was the old saloon in ‘Westworld,’” says Cummings, who was also the production designer on Nolan’s sci-fi western that aired for four seasons on HBO. “Turning that into a ‘50s nightclub was really fun. What used to be the stage in the old saloon got shifted to the other side.”
Lucy (Ella Purnell) browses the merchandise in Sonny’s Sundries.
(Prime Video)
The “Fallout” series marks the first television project for Howard, who is known for his work on the “Fallout” and “Elder Scrolls” series of video games. Besides the scale of the production, what has surprised him the most has been just how much the show does utilize practical designs and effects.
“I thought more of it would be fake,” Howard says. But “they really wanted to make everything as practical as possible. … It’s not just the scale of it, but the level of detail and the small things — I was pretty blown away. I thought there’d be more ‘movie magic,’ fakery, but no.”
He recalls visiting the Vault set for the first time during the show’s first season and being amazed that not only had the crew built a full Vault people could walk through, but how even the smallest detail — like a multi-page report on an official’s desk — was fully fabricated.
This attention to detail is apparent within New Vegas as well, from the various goods sold at Sonny’s Sundries (at marked-up prices) to the working monitors of all sizes seen in a certain executive penthouse.
For Nolan, walking onto New Vegas for the first time came with a unique sense of familiarity thanks to having played the games.
“The Germans haven’t come up with a phrase for it yet, but there’s the form of deja vu that you get when you enter a physical version of a space that you’ve come to know virtually,” says Nolan, who explains he felt that sense for the first time when he visited Miami after coming to know the city in a “Grand Theft Auto” video game.
But what he especially delighted in was being able to feature a Deathclaw outside the Strip.
“Fallout” executive producers James Altman, left, and Jonathan Nolan and co-executive producer Noreen O’Toole at the video village.
(Lorenzo Sisti / Prime Video)
“The Deathclaw [is] such a hallmark of that of that game,” says Nolan. “Everyone begins ‘Fallout: New Vegas’ by looking at Vegas and going, ‘Oh, I’ll walk to Vegas.’ The reason you can’t just do that is the Deathclaw, you find that out very quickly, so bringing that to life and spending time on set with the amazing artists of Legacy [Effects] and [Industrial Light & Magic] … was just an extraordinary collaboration.”
While the first season of “Fallout” was filmed in New York (and other locations), the team moved the production to California for Season 2. The move involved disassembling the Vault sets and transporting them across the country in 77 semitrucks to be rebuilt again — this time all connected on one sound stage — in L.A.
Nolan says “Fallout’s” move back to California was “largely for creative reasons” and to reconnect with his former “Westworld” crew members, but he has also been outspoken about the importance of getting Hollywood productions back to California. He even invited state lawmakers on set while filming Season 2 to show them the importance of California’s film and TV tax credit program to reverse the exodus of Hollywood productions.
“We’re hopeful,” says Nolan. “We’re going to keep shooting ‘Fallout’ here. Season 3 [is] heading into production, hopefully, later this year and we’re going to do our part. But hopefully other people will be pushing hard to bring as much production back to California as possible.”
Emily Atack showed off her slim frame in a new selfieCredit: InstagramShe sparked concern last week as she appeared notably thinnerCredit: InstagramEmily snapped at the NTAs just five months agoCredit: Getty
Emily headed out to Cape Town as part of a work trip with high street store, Marks and Spencer, and could also be seen flying in business class for her flight.
She said at the time: “I’m a mum, I’ve got rolly bits, and I’m healthy, feeling sexier than ever and playing a bombshell in an amazing series.
“In my teens, all I wanted was to be a size eight or 10.
“Our value is always depending on what size we are, and it just shouldn’t be that way.”
She has been showing off her figure in recent weeks onlineCredit: InstagramEmily has always been open about her body imageCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Claudia Winkleman has been the host of The Traitors since its launch in 2022, admitting she has now become ‘obsessed ‘ with the show, but one contestant has revealed what she’s like off screen
A former contestant from The Traitors says Claudia showed her true colours with one question(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
He managed to “murder” a fan favourite on the show and even initially found himself considered a well trusted Faithful. Paul however was eventually banished from the castle during one of the most intense round tables to date.
Since its launch, the BBC One series has been presented by former Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia. The 53-year-old’s theatrical persona and deadpan commentary on the show have made her a favourite with fans.
And Paul says the humour fans see on screen seeps into Claudia’s personality off camera. Speaking to Heat, he said: “She’s a full-on stand-up comedian.
“Like, she is the funniest, driest person and an extraordinary woman. I’m so glad that she is getting her own chat show off the back of it – I still think there’s so much more that people haven’t seen from her.”
Last month it was announced that Claudia would be launching a new BBC chat show in the spring. It will be produced by the same company that makes The Graham Norton Show.
Claudia said: “I can’t quite believe it and I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for this amazing opportunity. I’m obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.”
And while her career continues to take off, Paul says Claudia still occasionally keeps in touch with the former contestants from The Traitors. He says he gets the “odd message every now and again” and occasionally sees the TV presenter leaving a comment or like on Instagram.
Paul, 37, however says Claudia really showed her true colours when he bumped into her at the Royal Albert Hall last year. He said: “Claudia came over and said, ‘How are your kids? I love them,’ and you think, ‘Oh you’re invested in me. You’re not just a host and then you disappear.”
While The Traitors now pulls in millions of viewers each episode, Claudia admits she never thought it would be such a success. Speaking to Grazia magazine, she said: “We didn’t foresee this.
“We went to Scotland with the amazing people who make it and a pair of red fingerless gloves and gave it our best shot. I think people like it because the psychology is extraordinary – just watching people work out whether they’re being lied to. The dynamics feel addictive. I’m completely obsessed.”
The Traitors returns at 8pm on BBC One tonight (January 14).
A few days before Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, Bryce Dessner admitted with a laugh that he’d come to Los Angeles without a tuxedo — something of a problem, given that he was up for an award.
“The movie people think about what the actors are going to wear, of course, but the composer — who cares?” he said last week over lunch in Beverly Hills. “I was like, ‘Guys, do you have something I could borrow?’”
He might consider getting a tux of his own: Though Dessner and Nick Cave inevitably lost the original song prize at the Globes to the chart-topping “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters,” their title theme from director Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams” made the shortlist for an Academy Award nomination, as did Dessner’s score for the movie about a laborer in northern Idaho in the early 20th century.
Adapted from a 2011 novella by Denis Johnson, “Train Dreams” follows Robert Grainier (played by Joel Edgerton) through 80 years of life in all its turmoil and routine; we watch as he cuts down logs in the forest, as he nurtures a romantic relationship and becomes a father, as he returns home one day to a nightmarish discovery from which he never quite recovers. A stirring meditation on work, love, nature and grief, the film doesn’t contain much dialogue — critics have compared it to the movies of Terrence Malick — which means that Dessner’s gently rippling chamber-folk music is an almost equal partner to the images in the storytelling.
“It’s the water of the river that moves the film along,” Bentley said.
The title song features a haunting vocal performance by Cave, the veteran Australian post-punk singer and songwriter, who was so taken with Dessner’s music that at first he was reluctant to take part.
“The last thing someone who’s crafted a beautiful score wants is some rock star to come in and sing all over the top of it,” said Cave, himself an experienced film composer. “It’s happened to me many times.”
Best known as a member of the Grammy-winning indie-rock band the National, Dessner, 49, is one of a growing number of rock musicians finding a place in Hollywood. Last year’s winner of the original score Oscar was “The Brutalist’s” Daniel Blumberg, who got his start in the band Yuck; other composers on this year’s shortlist include Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood (for “One Battle After Another”), Nine Inch Nails (“Tron: Ares”) and Daniel Lopatin, who makes records under the name Oneohtrix Point Never (“Marty Supreme”).
And Dessner isn’t the only member of the National to establish a successful career outside the group: His twin brother Aaron is an in-demand pop producer who’s collaborated with Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Brandi Carlile, among other acts.
Yet “Train Dreams” feels like a breakthrough for Bryce Dessner — the point where his backgrounds in roots music, concert performance and film scoring converge.
He came on to the movie early, having previously worked with Bentley on 2021’s “Jockey” and 2023’s “Sing Sing” (for which Bentley and his creative partner, Greg Kwedar, earned an Oscar nod for adapted screenplay).
“They sent me the script and I composed a fair amount of music” as Bentley was shooting, Dessner said, “which tends to be a bad idea.” He recalled a similar experience about a decade ago on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “The Revenant.” “I wrote like two hours of cello music and then Alejandro — he’s the nicest person — he was like, ‘So, I have to tell you — I don’t think we need cello.’”
Dessner, who lives in Paris with his wife and young son, was dressed in his usual all-black, as indeed he would be the next night during a live-to-screen performance of “Train Dreams” at the Egyptian Theatre.
“But in this case it worked, I think because it’s a different kind of film — more like a cinematic poem,” he said of “Train Dreams.”
Some of Dessner’s cues evoke the chugging rhythms of a locomotive; others, he said, were inspired by the raw splendor of the Pacific Northwest — a landscape he immersed himself in by recording much of the score at Flora Recording in Portland, Ore., where the National had worked before.
“It’s got analog gear and old ribbon microphones and a janky upright piano,” he said of the studio. “I wanted some dust on the sound.”
Nick Cave at the Royal Festival Hall in London in October.
(Jonathan Brady / PA Images via Getty Images)
For the movie’s title song, Bentley said Cave was the only person he could imagine striking the right tone: a delicate blend of weariness and gratitude.
“I actually don’t know if I could’ve moved on if he’d turned us down,” the director said.
In a phone call, Cave, who called himself a huge fan of Johnson’s book, said he watched the movie “with one hand over my eyes just because I thought they might’ve done a terrible job of it.” He laughed. “But within a few minutes, I just eased into it. I was very moved.”
He said the song’s lyrics, which lay out a succession of stark images from Robert Grainier’s world, came to him as he slept after seeing the film. “It was a gift from a fever dream,” he said.
As a parent who’s lost two sons, did Cave identify with Edgerton’s portrayal of a father in mourning?
“Very much so,” he said, adding that he’d first read Johnson’s book years ago, before his teenage son Arthur died in an accidental fall from a cliff near the family’s home in Brighton, England. “Obviously, it was a book about grief, but it didn’t affect me in that way. Then I read it again — no, actually, I listened to Will Patton’s audiobook, which is a work of art in itself — and suddenly it wasn’t something I read from a distance.” (Bentley’s movie employs Patton’s narration in voice-over.)
Asked whether he has a favorite line from Cave’s song, Dessner — who hears “Train Dreams” in a kind of conversation with the singer’s latest album, “Wild God” — picked the song’s chorus, in which Cave sings, “I can’t begin to tell you how that feels.”
“It’s like the whole film, in a way,” the composer said. “It’s about what art can do.”
Dessner and his brother grew up in Cincinnati, where Bryce was playing flute and classical guitar by the time he was 12 or 13.
“He was also really good at math,” Aaron recalled. “The combination of those things always felt related to me.”
For the Dessners, music was “just what you did as suburban kids at a time when there was nothing to do,” Bryce said. “You either do drugs or you play music.”
Bryce joined the National in New York after earning a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. (The band’s other members are singer Matt Berninger and a second set of brothers in bassist Scott Devendorf and drummer Bryan Devendorf.)
Aaron Dessner, left, Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner of the National perform in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2022.
(Roberto Ricciuti / Redferns via Getty Images)
“It was a little bit of an accident that we ended up in a band that got popular,” Aaron said, but that’s definitely what happened. By the mid-2000s, the National’s albums were regularly topping critics’ lists; by 2011, the band was headlining the Hollywood Bowl.
Bryce got seriously into film music after Iñárritu heard a piece he composed for Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil in 2014; the director called him the next day, Dessner recalled, and asked him to work on “The Revenant.”
These days, the members of the National are “really enjoying a break,” Dessner said, after dropping two albums in 2023 and touring behind them in 2024. He’s confident the band will come back together but figures it’ll be a year or so before he and his bandmates get anything going again.
Until then, he’s focusing on concert music — “I just got asked to write a concerto for the ondes martenot,” he said, referring to the early electronic instrument Greenwood famously used on Radiohead’s experimental “Kid A” album — and occasionally collaborating with his brother on Aaron’s pop productions.
“Bryce is always going to do something interesting in any setting,” said Aaron, who recently asked him to orchestrate a song for Florence + the Machine.
And of course there’s the long road to the Oscars with the quiet but powerful “Train Dreams.”
“I’m kind of excited to be a fly on the wall in a room with Spielberg and Scorsese and all these people,” he said ahead of the Golden Globes.
As awards season kicks into gear, does Dessner harbor any hope of somehow triumphing over the world-conquering “Golden”?
“I have to say yes,” he replied with a laugh. “But no.”
The Sunday telecast of the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on CBS suffered a ratings setback with an audience decline of 7% compared to last year’s show.
Nielsen data showed the live event, hosted by comic Nikki Glaser at the Beverly Hilton, averaged 8.66 million viewers. The big winners of the night included “One Battle After Another” and “Hamnet” on the feature film side. Medical drama “The Pitt” and comedy series “Hacks,” both from HBO Max, were the big TV winners.
The data, which include livestreaming, mark the second straight audience decline for the Golden Globe Awards, which scored 9.2 million viewers in 2025. That edition dropped slightly from its bounce-back year of 2024, when the program delivered 9.4 million viewers — a 50% lift over its final year on NBC.
Like all awards shows, the Golden Globes no longer deliver the kind of ratings that once made it one of the most-watched programs of the year. The show has suffered from the changing habits of viewers, many of whom have turned to social media for trophy-show clips.
The Golden Globe Awards also had to come back from a scandal over the lack of diversity in the membership of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which operated the event for decades. A Los Angeles Times investigation brought attention and raised concerns about its ethics and financial practices in 2021.
The 83rd Golden Globe Awards may have been hurt by some production elements that did not go over well based on the harsh response from viewers posting on social media.
Marc Malkin, senior culture and events editor for Variety, was paired with “Entertainment Tonight” co-host Kevin Frazier to provide running chatter off-camera during the long and winding trip to the stage for winners seated in the crowded hotel ballroom. They were not well received.
“Do you think Golden Globes commentators Marc Malkin and Kevin Frazier are going to go home tonight utterly haunted for the rest of their days over the mind-numbing inanities they uttered all night?” wrote film critic Dustin Putman.
A post from another viewer compared Malkin’s commentary to “your mom talking about who she just ran into at the supermarket.”
Viewers were also put off by on-screen graphics featuring data from the prediction market app Polymarket showing the win probability of the nominees ahead of their categories. “Just push me in front of a bus at this point,” sports podcaster Bobby Wagner wrote on X.
The Golden Globe Awards presented the data as part of a partnership deal with Polymarket, which gives users the opportunity to bet on the outcomes of events in sports, culture, politics and other areas. The deal included an advertising buy on the broadcast.
Bradley Walsh has moved to distance himself from the vacant Strictly Come Dancing hosting position after the surprise exit of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly following the end of the latest series
23:24, 13 Jan 2026Updated 23:26, 13 Jan 2026
Bradley Walsh ruled out a Strictly role(Image: ITV)
Strictly Come Dancing fans are eager to find out who will replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as hosts – but Bradley Walsh has made it clear it won’t be him. The presenter of The Chase, 65, had seen his name linked with the coveted post but has quickly moved to distance himself from such talk.
And he has a blunt reason as to why it’s not for him. The star simply claims it would “ruin” his weekends. He went as far as detailing what a typical weekend looks like and why he has no time for a new role on the BBC dance contest. “Here’s a potted version of my winter weekends,” he explained. “I come home from the studio on a Friday, have dinner and watch I’m a Celebrity.”
Continuing to map out his routine in a chat with the Radio Times, he said: “On Saturday, I’ll watch the football results, have dinner and a pint, watch Strictly, then I’m a Celebrity, and flip back to the BBC for Match of the Day.
“On Sunday I get up late, watch some Columbo, then the football, followed by the Strictly results, then I’m a Celebrity, and then Match of the Day. If I was to host Strictly, it would absolutely ruin my weekend.”
His admission comes months after Claudia and Tess shocked fans with their announcement they were leaving after the latest series came to an end. The duo issued a joint statement at the time.
It said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
“We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.”
They had fronted the BBC programme together since 2014. It was then that Claudia came in to replace Sir Bruce Forsyth, who presented the original series with Tess from 2004.
As well as Bradley, a number of stars have been linked with the vacant position. The latest name to drop in recent days is Christine Lampard – who is married to former footballer Frank Lampard.
She has reportedly become the front-runner to host Strictly Come Dancing. The 46-year-old TV host’s own work schedule has also been freed up following the recent dramatic changes at ITV.
Speaking about the speculation, a source recently told the Daily Mail: “She has a huge fanbase from her years fronting breakfast TV and is a pro at handling live TV, which is no mean feat.
“Producers love the idea of casting a presenter who has previously taken part in the show as a contestant, as it has worked really well in the past on spin-off show It Takes Two.”
Actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Monday after police said he assaulted a ride-share driver in Hollywood.
Sutherland was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats after officers responded to reports of an assault on a driver in Hollywood in the early hours of Monday.
The “24” and “Stand by Me” actor, 59, was taken into custody after Los Angeles police answered a radio call about 12:15 a.m. about an assault near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, a Police Department spokesperson said in a statement.
“The investigation determined that the suspect, later identified as Kiefer Sutherland, entered a rideshare vehicle, physically assaulted the driver (the victim) and made criminal threats toward the victim,” according to an LAPD statement.
Sutherland was arrested at the scene and booked into the LAPD jail and later released on $50,000 bail with a court date set for Feb. 2, records show.
According to Los Angeles police, the driver did not sustain any injuries requiring medical treatment at the scene.
The investigation into the incident by Hollywood Division detectives remains ongoing. His representatives did not immediately respond to a call from The Times for a statement.
Sutherland is best known for playing Jack Bauer in the Fox drama “24” and President Tom Kirkman in “Designated Survivor,” after decades of big box-office movies including “The Lost Boys” “Flatliners” and “A Few Good Men.”
The Canadian actor has had previous run-ins with the law, including drunk driving charges in 2004 and 2007. The Golden Globe winner spent 48 days in jail in 2007 for driving under the influence and a probation violation. There was also an assault charge in 2009 that was later dropped. He was most recently arrested in 2020 on suspicion of DUI after making an illegal U-turn in Hollywood.
Coronation Street fans think they have worked out just who is calling newcomer Jodie Ramsey and it could have a link to Emmerdale after the two programmes joined forces for Emmerdale
Jodie Ramsey debuted on Coronation Street last week and was subjected to a series of intrusive phone calls(Image: )
Coronation Street fans think they have worked out just who is calling newcomer Jodie Ramsey on the ITV soap. Fans of the world’s longest running soap were treated to a historic crossover episode earlier this month when the programme joined forces with Emmerdale, and it seems clear that the link between the two shows is still there.
One of the biggest surprises in Corriedale was the revelation that Graham Foster was still alive, years after he was supposedly murdered on Emmerdale, and Jodie was seen tied up in the back of his van. She has since made it to Weatherfield, where she promptly revealed herself as the long-lost sister of Shona Platt (Julia Goulding), even thought the Roy’s Rolls waitress has failed to make any mention of her sibling throughout her decade on the Manchester backstreet.
In Monday’s edition of Coronation Street, Jodie was seen ignoring her phone as it rang over and over again and eventually had a panic attack. The worrying moment led to David, who is married to Shona, inviting her to stay with her at number eight but there was no mention of just who was harassing Jodie.
Taking to Reddit, one fan asked: “Right then, who do we think Jodie was avoiding calls from on Monday? I’m not as clued up with Emmerdale, but do we think there’s a link there? Bit sick of this long-lost thing to be honest, did she HAVE to be Shona’s sister?” In response, another viewer said: “Calling it now it’s graham foster! surely he wouldnt have just let her go after all that!”
A second fan said: “Agree about the long lost thing its been used to often in soaps and that was a ridiculous way for Jodie to be introduced Graham would be my guess but if she was captive in that van would she still have her phone anyway.” But others think it might have been sex trafficker Nathan Curtis, and Shona was instrumental in saving David’s niece Bethany (Lucy Fallon) from him when she first arrived, having crossed paths with him before.
One fan wrote: “I’m going to guess an abusive ex boyfriend that she has only just escaped,” and another replied: “It would be interesting if it were Nathan bc that’s partly what caused Shona to join, although I think he’s in prison!”
Fans were already suspicious of the situation when Jodie first arrived, with one writing: “Shona’s sister just came out of nowhere, why now? Must be more to the story!”
Another said: “Apparently Jodie is Shona’s sister, but I don’t understand why they’ve got her turning up now. And in such a weird way – bound up in the back of a van. And what’s the relevance of them both having the tree of life tattoo? It’s bound to be something weird.”
In recent years, the programme has favoured the use of characters being revealed as relatives, with Bernie Winter having been revealed as the long-lost mother of DC Kit Green, whilst the police officer himself turned out to be the real father of Brody Michaelis, after the tearaway teenager turned up on a neighbouring street with his family.
Prior to that, Britain’s Got Talent star and comedian Jack Carroll was cast as Bobby Crawford, a nephew that Carla Connor (Alison King) never knew she had. In 2018, former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney was cast as Cassie Plummer on the programme, and a major retcon took place where it was revealed that she was the biological mother of Tyrone Dobbs, not Jackie Dobbs, who was built into the history of the show when she played a major part in Deirdre Barlow’s legendary prison storyline some 20 years earlier.
Coronation Streetairs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream from 7am onITVX.
Disneyland Park has now hit 900 million visitors in the more than 70 years that it has been open. Since its opening in 1955, the iconic theme park has transformed California’s entertainment landscape.
The latest attendance figure was described in a new documentary called “Disneyland Handcrafted,” chronicling the creation of the theme park. The film, which includes footage from the Walt Disney Archives, will stream on Disney+.
In 2024 — the most recent year data was available — Disneyland’s attendance ticked up 0.5% to 17.3 million, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Assn. Like many other theme parks, Disney does not release internal attendance figures.
Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks, cruise ships and vacation resorts have been a key economic driver for the Burbank media and entertainment company.
Last year, almost 57% of the company’s operating income was generated by the tourism and leisure segment, known as Disney’s “experiences” business. That sector reported revenue of $36.2 billion for fiscal year 2025, a 6% bump compared to the previous year. Operating income increased 8% to nearly $10 billion.
Disney has said it will invest $60 billion into its experiences segment, underscoring the importance of that business to the company. At Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, that could mean at least $1.9 billion of development on projects including an expansion of the Avengers Campus and a “Coco”-themed boat ride at Disney California Adventure, as well as an “Avatar”-inspired area.
Over its 70 years, Disneyland has undergone many changes and expansions. Though some of its original attractions still exist, including Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Mark Twain Riverboat, the park has evolved to align more with its Hollywood cinematic properties and expanded in 2019 to include a “Star Wars”-themed land.
Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield is officially in police custody in New Mexico, days after allegations that he sexually abused two child actors on the set of the Fox drama “The Cleaning Lady” came to light.
A spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department confirmed on Tuesday that the 68-year-old actor “turned himself in at the Metro Detention Center.” Busfield, known for television series “The West Wing” and “Thirtysomething,” will be booked on his arrest warrant, the spokesperson said.
A legal representative for Busfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Busfield denied the allegations in a video published by TMZ.
“I’m gonna confront these lies,” he said in the video, “they’re horrible.”
In the video reportedly filmed at his attorney’s office, the actor said he was informed about the warrant for his arrest on Friday, the same day it was issued. He said he procured legal representation and on Saturday “got in a car and drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque.”
He added of the allegations: “They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys.”
Busfield said he and his legal team will “fight” against the charges, and he predicted, “I’m gonna be exonerated.” He urged supporters to “hang in there,” thanked them for their support and said he looks forward to returning to work.
Last week, a New Mexico judge issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and a single count of child abuse. According to an affidavit, Busfield is accused of inappropriately touching two child actors, who are brothers, while he worked as a director on the Fox drama.
Fox, along with “Cleaning Lady” producer Warner Bros. Television, said on Sunday that it prioritizes the health and safety of its cast and crew and are aware of the charges against Busfield. The studios also said they have been working, and will continue to work, with law enforcement in its investigation.
Busfield surrendered himself less than a day after several outlets reported that the U.S. Marshals Service would aid New Mexico officials in their search for the actor.
As the allegations against Busfield became public, his wife, “Little House on the Prairie” actor Melissa Gilbert, reportedly removed her profile on Instagram. In a statement shared Tuesday, Gilbert’s publicist Ame Van Iden said the actor, 61, would not publicly comment on her husband’s case and denounced “any purported statements.”
Iden said in the statement that Gilbert stands by her husband and will focus on “supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment.”
MODEL Abbey Clancy was taken to hospital on her Dubai break after she broke a nail.
The mum of four even had to be put on a drip after the acrylic attachment was ripped off when she hugged a friend.
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Abbey Clancy was taken to hospital on her Dubai break after she broke a nailCredit: F&F Swim CollectionAbbey pictured with her finger bandaged and dancing with daughter SophiaAbbey was away for New Year with ex-England footie star husband Peter Crouch and their family
Abbey, 40, was away for New Year with ex-England footie star husband Peter Crouch and their family.
But a night out with pals ended in disaster.
She said: “I had a serious injury. I ended up in hospital. I broke my nail. It sounds insane and I was so embarrassed going to hospital.
“We’d been out for a lovely meal. Tom and Kaz came back to our room, had a quick glass of wine. As she was going to bed at 11pm, I gave her a hug, and my acrylic nail bent right back. My whole nail came off.
“It was pouring with blood. Then it stopped and this nerve throbbed, which was going down my whole arm, down my shoulder, up my neck.”
She could not sleep due to the pain, but was unable to initially go to hospital as her kids were asleep in the suite.
She added: “The doctor came to the room at 3am, put me on a drip for painkillers. When we were calling down to hotel reception, I was like ‘Can we have some paracetamol?’.
“They said ‘We can’t give you paracetamol, we can’t give you ibuprofen’. So we had to wait for a doctor — that was two hours. Then the doctor came, and said, ‘I’m going to put you on a drip’.
“Then my friend picked me up at 8am, took me to the hospital. They injected my hand. I had to numb it.
“I’d been up from 11pm to 7am crying. It sounds ridiculous. The doctor was like ‘No form of painkiller will stop this — you need nerve blocker’. They removed my nail.”
Husband Peter, 44, told their Therapy Crouch podcast: “I had golf the next day. I went ‘Lads, I’m not going to be able to play, we’ve been up all night. Abs is in the hospital’. They said ‘Oh my God, what’s up?’
“I said ‘She’s broken a nail’. They said, ‘Are you actually joking?’”.
Abbey was later pictured partying with a bandaged finger beside daughter Sophia.
Lauren Laverne and Roman Kemp hosted The One Show on Tuesday night
BBC The One Show host shares heartfelt tribute to TV icon after tragic death(Image: BBC)
The One Show host Lauren Laverne has shared a heartfelt tribute to a TV icon after their tragic death. Lauren, alongside her co-host Roman Kemp, fronted the popular BBC show on Tuesday (January 13), covering the day’s top stories.
Studio guests included Paddy McGuinness and Cherry Healey, who discussed the upcoming series of Inside the Factory, whilst Griff Rhys-Jones talked about his forthcoming West End performance in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister.
Penned and helmed by Jonathan Lynn, the BAFTA-winning co-creator behind Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, the fresh satirical production serves as a final send-off to two iconic figures in British comedy – ex-Prime Minister Jim Hacker and his formidable adversary, Sir Humphrey Appleby.
Griff is set to portray Hacker, with Clive Francis taking on the role of Appleby, at the Apollo Theatre starting January 30, reports Wales Online.
During her conversation with Griff on this evening’s instalment of The One Show, Lauren paused to acknowledge his former comedy collaborator, Mel Smith, who tragically died aged 60 in 2013 after suffering a heart attack.
“[You] have big shoes to fill and who better to fill them because Yes, Minister has its place in comedy history, you know, so do you. Can you believe it was 40 years ago that you introduced Queen at Live Aid with your late comedy partner Mel Smith?” Lauren remarked.
Footage of that legendary moment was subsequently shown on screen, with Lauren noting: “I read that this was typical prep for Mel, the runup to this.”
Griff humorously recalled: “Well, what happened, we introduced Queen, and Queen would have been nothing if we hadn’t of been there. Do you remember from the film, they go away and rehearsed for three weeks, and Mel rehearsed for three seconds with me.
“He arrived and said, ‘What are we doing mate?’ And I said, ‘Oh look, here, look, say this when we go on,’ and Mel goes, ‘Okay, love,’ and off we go.”
Lauren chimed in: “He had that photographic memory didn’t he?” to which Griff agreed: “Yeah, he did. He was very, very quick on the uptake.
“I remember it, of course 40 years ago, because as soon as we’d finished, he sat down and he went, ‘Ah, well there we are mate, I’m off’. And I said, ‘Mel! I skipped my child’s christening to be here and you’re leaving!’ And so, all it does is help me this year to remember exactly how old [my son] George is.”
Roman wrapped up the conversation saying: “I always love hearing about those comedy partnerships and how they work together.”
Elsewhere on tonight’s show, BBC Morning Live host Gethin Jones reported live from Manchester Cathedral, showcasing an immersive light experience.
Gordon Ramsay has appeared to throw more shade at new son-in-law Adam Peaty’s parentsCredit: instagram/hollyramsayAdam and Holly married late last monthCredit: SplashAdam’s parents didn’t go to the wedding after mum Caroline was bannedCredit: UnknownThe TV chef also took aim at Adam’s parents during his wedding speechCredit: Getty
Holly and Adamtied the knotat Bath Abbey on December 27, in a star-studded ceremony.
Gordon then commented: “Beautiful love you both Dad @hollyramsaypeaty @adamramsaypeaty.”
Fan picked up on him using “Dad for both of them”, thinking this was aimed at Adam’s estranged parents.
One fuming follower wrote: “You can’t help yourself , can you?”
Another added: “You have to keep making it upsetting for Adam’s parents. You made the wedding day a circus and you are determined to to make his family suffer shame on you.”
WEDDING SPEECH BACKLASH
The fresh backlash came after Gordon made a striking speech and told the couple how his wife Tana “will be a good mum to them both”.
It came when the TV chef gushed at how beautiful Holly looked and told Adam he was a “lucky man”, adding: “Look at Tana and that’s what you have to look forward to.”
In a chat with BritishVogue, content creator Holly spoke about a photo showing her and Adam at the ceremony and appeared to reinforce her support for his words.
She said: “Listening to dad’s speech, looking around the room and feeling overwhelmed with the love and the happiness on our guests’ faces.”
A source close to the Peaty family told the Daily Mail at the time: “Caroline can’t believe Gordon brought their family troubles up his speech. It is outrageous and very hurtful.
“By him saying Tana will be a good mum to them both makes Caroline sound like a bad mum. It was a cruel dig at her.
“She has always done her best for all her children. She is a very good mum.”
Adam’s feud with mum Caroline exploded In November after she was not invited to Holly’s hen do and then banned from the wedding.
Since the ceremony, swimmerAdam has revealed his name change– tweaking his surname to Ramsay Peaty – in what appeared to be another snub.
Gordon made reference to Adam’s family drama in his father of the bride speechCredit: Tim Stewart
His and Hers exploded onto our screens last week and Netflix fans are now looking for their next binge-watch.
His and Hers is Netflix’s most-watched series but there’s plenty of other gripping dramas that pack a punch on the streamer.
Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal lead the way in the newly released six-part thriller which sees an estranged married couple brought back together by a disturbing homicide in their hometown.
As subscribers finish the unpredictable His and Hers, many are looking for their next big watch on the streamer.
Based on Stephen King’s hit novel of the same name, Mr Mercedes follows the psychopathic serial killer Brady Hartsfield (played by Harry Treadaway) after he runs over 16 people at a job fair.
While there is little to no evidence of who committed the horrendous act, retired detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson) won’t stop investigating as he’s determined to bring the culprit to justice.
Starring Harry Potter legend Brendan Gleeson and Nobody Wants This star Justine Lupe, all three seasons of Mr Mercedes are ready to watch on Netflix.
Run Away
Author Harlan Coben is a mastermind when it comes to hit Netflix thrillers based on some of his best-selling novels and Run Away is no different.
Released on New Year ’s Day, Simon Greene (James Nesbitt) has been desperately trying to find his runaway daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) for the past six months.
But after he does eventually track her down, it kicks off a string of dangerous events, unravelling family secrets that no one expected.
Run Away stars Cold Feet’s James Nesbitt, Gavin and Stacey icon Ruth Jones and Harry Potter icon Alfred Enoch.
Behind Her Eyes
Based on the 2017 psychological thriller novel of the same name by author Sarah Pinborough, Behind Her Eyes revolves around single mum Louise (Simona Brown) who starts an affair with her psychiatrist boss David (Tom Bateman).
Louise also secretly befriends David’s mysterious wife Adele (Eve Hewson), leading to twisted mind games and an almighty cliffhanger that fans have labelled as “horrifying”.
Dark Winds
Set in 1970s Navajo Nation in the American Southwest, Tribal Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zach McClarnon) is joined by his new deputy Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) in solving a number of crimes that don’t, on the face of it, seem to be connected.
But as they continue to uncover clues around a brutal double murder, they begin to battle their own demons and beliefs.
Only the first season of Dark Winds is currently available to watch on Netflix with reports that its second will be added later this year.
However, all three seasons of Dark Winds are ready to stream on NOW.
The Sinner
Hit psychological crime drama The Sinner focusses less on the crime itself and more on why people do these terrifying acts.
While each series revolves around a different case, at the heart of The Sinner is Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) who continues to look into devastating acts of violence and the disturbing reasons why they are committed.
All four seasons of The Sinner are available to watch on Netflix.
AMANDA Holden cheekily spanked her work pal Ashley Roberts as they reunited after a lengthy Christmas break.
The stars work together at Heart FM on the Breakfast show and have formed a firm friendship away from the airwaves.
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Amanda Holden spanked Ashley Roberts in a very cheeky videoCredit: InstagramAmanda chowed down on a colleague’s banana in the hectic clipCredit: InstagramAshley also enjoyed a bit of the bananaCredit: Instagram
Now, having got back together in the studio, the two blonde bombshells shared a very cheeky video which saw Amanda spanking Ashley’s behind.
The stars could be seen dancing to Cardi B as they recorded the playful video around the radio station’s offices.
They both donned sunglasses for the light-hearted clip which saw Amanda spanking Ashley before jumping on top of a member of staff’s desk.
Clearly in a fun-filled mood, Amanda went onto take a bite of her co-worker’s banana in the cheeky clip.
The stars were left in fits of giggles as they added the caption to the video: “Second week back and it’s like we’ve never left.”
Amanda looked as chic as ever in a smart black suit with Ashley opting for a tan number featuring a leather jacket and similarly-coloured flared trousers.
The BGT judge is the co-host of the Breakfast programme alongside Jamie Theakston.
Ashley has served as the show’s Entertainment Correspondent and cover presenter since 2023 as well as hosting her own solo show elsewhere on the station.
Their return to the studio comes after Ashley jetted away for Christmas and New Year.
They were in full swing with the spanking clipCredit: InstagramThe radio pals have been back at Heart FMCredit: InstagramAshley has worked alongside Amanda on the show for three yearsCredit: Getty
Former Strictly Come Dancing star John Whaite has revealed that he’s shutting down his bakery business after workload struggles and a recent near-death experience
John Whaite has been forced to close his bakery business(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Ex Strictly star and Bake Off winner John Whaite has revealed that he’s shut down his Lancashire bakery after struggling with the workload and being hit by a car. The 36-year-old ran the Ruff Puff Bakehouse at Cedar Farm with his husband Paul Atkins, opening it in Ormskirk last year.
However, John announced on Instagram on Monday that he would be closing it down in what has been a “painful decision” to make. “After a great deal of reflection, we’ve decided to close the Bakehouse and refocus our energy on Ruff Puff brownies,” he said.
“Over the past six months, the pressure of running a bricks-and-mortar bakery has steadily intensified. The workload was relentless, the margins unforgiving, and the emotional toll heavier than we’d allowed ourselves to admit.”
He added that the bakery stress become unmanageable after a recent car accident resulted in him being hospitalised. “More recently being knocked over by a car brought everything into sharp focus,” he explained.
“It was a frightening, physical jolt that forced me to stop – quite literally – and confront the reality that I had been running on empty, pushing to hard, and holding too much together.”
John went onto thank his customers, telling them: “This decision is not a reflection of you or the community around the Bakehouse. It’s about recognising when a model – and a moment – is no longer sustainable.”
The couple will be focusing on their Ruff Puff Brownies business instead after “taking a proper step back to rest and recover”. He added tghat they’ll be relaunching in the autumn.
Last week, John revealed that he had been hit by a car in an accident that “could have been fatal”. Speaking about the incident on Instagram, he said: “I rolled up the bonnet damaging it and the windscreen, before splatting onto the road and crawling to the pavement where some angel of a human threw his coat around me and waited with me for an ambulance.”
He revealed that doctors told him that his “16 stone of muscle” saved him and that he’s now doing OK.
John rose to fame after winning the Great British Bake Off back in 2023, before making history as part of Strictly Come Dancing’s first same-sex couple nine years later.
He competed on the show with Johannes Radebe, coming in second place after losing out to Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice.
John now lives in Leeds with his husband Paul Atkins, who he wed in New York in 2024.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey was released in September last year and despite its star-studded cast, received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.
Actress Margot Robbie’s latest film will be on Netflix(Image: Taylor Hill, FilmMagicvia Getty Images)
A divisive film is arriving on Netflix this week. It’s the latest project from award-winning actress Margot Robbie, though it has sparked contrasting reactions from both critics and audiences.
Netflix subscribers will be able to form their own opinion about A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) when it drops on the streaming service on Saturday. Robbie stars opposite Colin Farrell as two strangers who cross paths at a friend’s wedding.
The pair are then offered an opportunity to revisit pivotal moments from their histories. It explores the journey that brought them to where they are now and offers them the possibility to alter their destinies.
The romance, fantasy, drama was penned by Seth Reiss and directed by Kogonada. Its impressive ensemble also features Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jennifer Grant and Kevin Kline.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey hit cinemas last September and received a lukewarm reception. Sadly, it flopped at the box office, taking just $20.2 million against its $45 million net budget, reports the Express.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, only 36% of 185 critics’ reviews are favourable.
Their summary states: “Too solemn to have much fun with its high concept while also too saccharine for its wistful themes to resonate, this well-meaning odyssey never quite lives up to its title.”
However, audience reactions proved more favourable.
The consensus stated: “The dividends of this Journey may depend on how much of A Big Bold Beautiful cheese your stomach can tolerate, but for those seeking vibrant colors and heart, it may pay in spades.”
One cinema-goer reflected: “A good movie to get you thinking about how reviewing how our past choices can reshape how we move forward with our lives and make better choices and be better people. Treat ourselves better and others better.”
Another praised: “Very interesting rom com premise. Loved Colin Farrell (very charming) and Margo Robbie (lovely as always) together.”
A third viewer observed: “I can understand how this movie might not be for everyone, but for anyone who has ever felt like they might be on a big, bold journey, this movie told that story beautifully.”
Yet opinions remained divided, with one remarking: “The movie was too slow,” whilst another noted: “Storyline was too strange for me. Great actors though.”
OLIVIA Attwood has revealed how her husband Bradley Dack reacts to the very saucy footage in her ITV series Getting Filthy Rich.
The programme, which is now in its fourth series, sees Liv delve into the world of kink and how creators monetise fetishes to make, in some cases, megabucks.
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Olivia Attwood has revealed how husband Bradley reacts to her daring ITV docuseriesCredit: GettyOlivia is still left gobsmacked filming Getting Filthy Rich after four seriesCredit: ITV
Her latest series begins next Monday with an episode on celebrity OnlyFans creators and goes on to more extreme material including an ex-military veteran who sells his stinky socks and men who like having their privates kicked.
Nothing is off the table, though the editors earn their money by artfully hiding the most X-rated material from view.
She says: “When I come home or I text him, and he’s like, ‘what are you up to?’ And I’m like, ‘just literally watching this guy get kicked in the balls’. He still to this day will be like, ‘oh Liv, whatever’.
“And I’m like, ‘why would I lie? You’ve seen the series. Like, I’m not lying’. Like he always thinks I’m exaggerating.
“And then when I start getting rough cuts of the show and I’m like, ‘come here, look at this’. And I’ll be like, ‘I remember that day you told me that I was just pulling your leg or exaggerating’. So it’s like, he still doesn’t fully believe me until he actually sees it.”
Liv really is in the thick of it, with little separation between her and the performers.
“I’m literally watching that like two metres away,” she says.
“I thought I couldn’t be shocked anymore, because I think I’ve seen so much,” she continues.
“But yeah, I’m speechless so many times this series, and I’m enlightened, and I’m shocked, and I’m learning things.
“I have to say, I think this is probably the most shocking series to date, if I’m honest. I think we cover some really unusual, quirky areas, and then we go kind of deeper into areas that we’ve actually already covered, but in a different way.”
Open-minded Liv parks her feelings to one side for the programme, determined to ensure the guest stars are portrayed in a neutral light, neither endorsing or criticising their lifestyle choices.
“I think the way people’s fetishes are, there’s no limits to what people are into,” she says. “And I think every time I think I’ve heard the thing that I think me personally, and I’m no judgment ever, then we find the story where I’m like, ‘okay, no, that, that is not the most unusual thing this is’.”
The one topic she was hesitant to explore was the world of foot fetishes, but she knew the demand was there and bit the bullet.
“We met with this guy who was kicked out of the army for creating OnlyFans content,” she says.
“And he’s selling his really dirty socks for crazy money. When he had the socks off his feet, the whole room stunk and someone would buy them for hundreds of pounds. Like it’s stuff that is really hard for us to get our head around, but people are into what they’re into.”
The Love Island star wanted to break new ground this series and flex her journalistic chops.
She did a deep dive into the Las Vegas sex industry, meeting strippers, escorts and performers, embracing Sin City’s seedier side.
What unfolded sounds reminiscent of the Hangover with Liv indulging in the wild night life and awkwardly standing shoulder to shoulder with her producer pals as porn stars did their thing right in front of them.
Explaining her attitude to the Stateside trip, she says: “You know what, I’m going to just really be an investigative journalist. I’m going to drink and I’m going to spend money.
“And they’re like, ‘you don’t have to do that’. I was like, ‘no, I want to, as a journalist, to get the full experience’. So there are lots of lols in that episode where I was like really trying to ingratiate myself in the Vegas culture.”
She finds herself up close and personal with performersCredit: ITVLiv previously explored the cam girl industryCredit: ITVShe says the new series is the most shocking to date
It was a big night at the Golden Globes for Warner Bros. Discovery, which won nine awards — the most of any studio.
But there was little time to celebrate before reality set in.
On Monday, David Ellison’s Paramount sued Warner, demanding the company and its chief executive, David Zaslav, release more information about how Netflix’s bid was chosen. The move came a little less than a week after Warner rejected Paramount’s latest offer, citing the massive debt load the Ellison-led studio would take on to finance its takeover.
Despite a strong lineup of film and TV contenders this awards season, the overarching story for Warner will continue to be its uncertain future.
Will the storied company’s studios be swallowed up by streaming giant Netflix, which theater owners fear will lead to fewer theatrical releases? Or will Paramount prevail, which would continue the consolidation of the industry?
On Sunday, Hollywood’s anxiety over that deal was on full display.
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“Shark Tank” staple Kevin O’Leary, who made his movie debut in A24’s pingpong drama “Marty Supreme,” predicted that Netflix would prevail in its quest to control Warner Bros.’ studios, HBO and HBO Max because investors want to see the best possible return in the next two years.
“I think if they control those franchises, and they have the distribution that’s global … it’s very, very hard to compete with that,” he told The Times.
Eagle-eyed observers zeroed in on a seemingly warm exchange between Zaslav and Netflix Chief Executive Ted Sarandos at the event. And host Nikki Glaser wasted no time in addressing the elephant in the room.
“Let’s get down to business, shall we?” the comedian said, less than a minute into her monologue. “We’ll start the bidding war for Warner Bros. at $5. Do I hear $5?”
Jokes aside, Warner’s strong showing at the Globes could mean a fruitful next few months for the company.
The Globes signify the start of Hollywood’s awards season. And while its status as an Academy Awards bellwether has been hit-or-miss over the years — particularly given the tumult surrounding the show and its members — recognition there can help boost a film’s prospects.
Leading the pack was Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” which collected four awards, including best motion picture for musical or comedy. The film, widely considered to be a top contender for the best picture Oscar, follows a onetime revolutionary played by Leonardo DiCaprio who must revisit his old life after his daughter is kidnapped by a former foe.
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” was also recognized with Globe awards for cinematic and box office achievement as well as original score for a motion picture.
Acclaimed medical drama “The Pitt” picked up two awards, while HBO Max‘s “Hacks” notched one for female actor in a television series — musical or comedy.
The recognition for Warner highlights why the fight for its future has been so contentious — both Netflix and Paramount see the company and its successful franchises and film and TV slates as a major prize to be won.
Also noteworthy at the Globes, this year marked the first time podcasts were an awards category. The inclusion underscores the growing importance of podcasts to Hollywood — nearly every nominated podcast was hosted by an actor or well-known personality.
But Penske Media, which runs the Globes, came under fire when the Ankler reported that Penske-owned Variety solicited marketing partnerships from potential award winners. (“For Your Consideration” awards campaign ads are also sold by other publications, including The Times).
Penske owns the audio analytics firm, Luminate, that compiled a short list of podcast nominees.
Within the podcast industry, there were also questions about the selection criteria and how some popular shows didn’t make the cut.
Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes and is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, declined to comment.
A Times investigation in 2021 raised concerns about its ethics and financial practices. NBC later pulled the show off the air in 2022 and Netflix, Amazon and many publicity agencies cut ties with the Globes, which undertook a series of changes before returning to the air a year later.
In June 2023, Penske Media acquired the nonprofit group that formerly hosted the Golden Globes — the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. — and made its members paid employees of the new enterprise.
The Globes scrapped that practice a year ago, describing the change in policy as “an acknowledgment that continuing to pay members could add to a perception of bias in voting.”
Stuff We Wrote
Film shoots
Number of the week
So far, so good for domestic theaters in 2026. Box office revenue for the U.S. and Canada is about $327.5 million to date, up 23% compared with the same time period last year.
This January has been bolstered by strong, holdover performances from Disney-owned 20th Century Studios’ “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and the Mouse House’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2,” as well as Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid.” Paramount Pictures’ chimp horror flick “Primate” opened this past weekend to $11.3 million domestically and $13.4 million worldwide.
Finally …
My colleague Christie D’Zurilla wrote about the now-paused fundraising effort for Mickey Rourke. The Oscar-nominated actor, who was facing eviction, rejected more than $100,000 raised by fans and supporters.
STANDING with his arm around his wife, Ashton Kutcher looked sheepish as he hit the Golden Globes red carpet.
While Mila Kunis, 42, put on a brave face, the 47-year-old actor’s nerves couldn’t be missed, and it’s no surprise. It’s been four years since Hollywood’s former golden couple have attended an award show after being shunned by their peers for supporting rapist Danny Masterson and keeping quiet over close friend Diddy. So why now? Here, insiders tell us exactly what is going on behind closed doors and the truth behind their bold decision.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher made a deliberate return to the 83rd Golden Globes CeremonyCredit: GettyThe pair have kept very low key after they were slammed for supporting convicted rapist and former co-star Danny MastersonCredit: Instagram
A pal close to the couple revealed: “The Golden Globes is a huge deal, but this is Ashton and Mila’s way of telling people they are back.
“They are aware they have made a number of mistakes and they feel embarrassed by it all. It’s been very hard for them going from being the most popular couple in town, to outcasts.”
Ashton – who is best loved for That ’70s Show, which is where he met Mila – is gearing up for his TV return after landing a place on new show The Beauty, alongside Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall.
They are aware they have made a number of mistakes and they feel embarrassed by it all.
Acting work has been few and far between – his last role was the rom-com Your Place or Mine, which he shot in 2021.
The insider told us: “Ashton was over the moon when Ryan Murphy offered him the lifeline of a new show.
“He is determined to redeem himself and put an end to all the rumours. He feels like this is a step in the right direction. If this goes well he could be back where he wants to be in no time.”
His new show airs in the US in just two weeks time, so their appearance certainly seems deliberate.
Things were looking very different for the star two years ago after he was forced to publicly apologise for supporting his co-star Danny Masterson, who has been jailed for 30 years to life.
Ashton and Mila both appeared in a video together, insisting they did not intend to undermine the victims’ testimony or retraumatise them, after they both wrote letters of support for him.
The couple appeared with Masterson in That ’70s Show around the time of the attacks in 2003.
Ashton had told the rape trial judge in Los Angeles that he was a man who treated people “with decency, equality, and generosity”, adding he was “an “exceptional older brother figure”.
Following the backlash he stepped down as chair of his anti-child sex abuse organization.
It was on That ’70s Show where Ashton and Mila met for the first time in 1998 – she was 14 and he was 19. It wasn’t until 2012 that they reconnected following his divorce from Demi Moore and married in 2015, before having two children Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, eight.
I was a 14-year-old little girl, and I was extremely scared for my life.
Mila on first kiss with Ashton
On the sitcom though their characters Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart fell for each other, and Mila later admitted her first ever kiss had been an onscreen one with Ashton.
In an interview in 2002 on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, she revealed: “I’ve never kissed a guy. I was a 14-year-old little girl, and I was extremely scared for my life. He was very nice about it, like, ‘Don’t worry about it.’”
Joking about the age difference, Ashton said: “They were like, ‘You guys are going to be making out in this scene.’ And I’m thinking wait, this is slightly illegal.”
The actor appeared slightly nervous as he returned to the spotlightCredit: GettyMila and Ashton first met when she was just 14 – and he was 19 on That ’70s ShowCredit: Alamy
The inappropriateness didn’t end there, though – their now jailed co-star Danny made a bet with him to ‘use tongues’.
Ashton revealed: “Danny bet me like 20 bucks I wouldn’t do it.”
There was some debate about if tongues were indeed used, but Mila insisted: “I didn’t let him, but I think he tried.”
Mila later admitted she had “the biggest crush” on her older co-star, although nothing was going to happen until years later.
WORRYING FRIENDSHIPS
In 2003, Ashton raised eyebrows once again when presenting his MTV show Punk’d. He was 25 at the time and said 15-year-old Lizzie McGuire actress Hilary Duff is ‘one of the girls that we’re all waiting for to turn 18’.
While at the time it wasn’t considered as offensive, in recent years his remark has been heavily criticised.
So too has his friendship with Diddy – who has been jailed for over four years for two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The pair are said to have met on the set of Punk’d – spawning a 20-year friendship and invites to Diddy’s highly controversial parties. There is no suggestion he ever attended a ‘freak-off’.
Speaking of their friendship, he said previously: “I’ve got a lot I can’t tell…Diddy party stories, man. That was like, some weird memory lane.”
Our insider explained: “A lot of Ashton’s past behaviour keeps rearing its head and it’s really not been helping his image. There has been a lot of speculation over the years.
“He’s really hoping enough time has passed for people to forgive him. They had friendships with people, yes, but they had no idea what they were involved in. They were hoodwinked as much as the rest of us.
“Ashton has taken a lot of time to reflect on things and work through it all with Mila.
“It’s definitely taken its toll on their marriage, but the fact she was by his side at the Golden Globes shows she fully supports and trusts him.”
Mila has been steadily working on one or two projects a year, but is said to also be hoping things pick up for her too.
Her two biggest box office hits, Ted and Oz the Great and Powerful, released in 2012 and 2013.
Their relationship certainly had controversial beginnings, and they’ve continued to hit headlines since starting a family.
They later fell in love and married in 2015 – they now have two childrenCredit: GettyTheir friendship with convicted rapist Danny Masterson, centre, has sparked concernCredit: GettyAshton was also close to disgraced rapper Sean “P. Diddy” CombsCredit: Matt Baron
In 2021, they sparked debate by revealing they don’t bathe their kids daily, insisting they only wash them when they see they are visibly dirty.
And Ashton said of himself that he washed his “armpits and my crotch daily” and threw water on his face after a workout “to get all the salts out”.
The backlash is said to have felt out of proportion, and while the couple made fun of it, they are thought to have felt frustrated about public opinion of them.
Things got so bad that in 2024, the pair were believed to be considering moving abroad to Europe or even just away from Hollywood.
But they are thought to have stayed because of business opportunities. Off screen Ashton has become a highly successful venture capitalist and is now reportedly worth more than £150m.
Last year, he joined a consortium led by MCR Hotels to buy the high-end celebrity members club Soho House & Co for $2.7 billion – a savvy and calculated move to help him keep his finger on the pulse.
Our source added: “Ashton wants to remain relevant, so being part of that buy-up was a clever way to do that.
“He might not really be mingling with the stars who go there anymore, but he wants to be associated with it.”
While he might be back on our telly soon, gracing red carpets again and showing his marriage is stronger than ever, it’s unclear if that will be enough for both Hollywood and the fans to welcome him, and indeed Mila, back with open arms.
It’s been a quiet few years work wise for the couple -who appeared more relaxed on the red carpet in 2022Credit: APMia is known for hits like the 2013 comedy TedCredit: WireImageAshton was previously married to Demi MooreCredit: Rex Features
Now that I know how fond chatbots are of the em dash — the thing I just used to convey a thought that intruded on but is connected to the main sentence — I have a confession to make.
It’s in part my fault, apparently. Watch out for the semicolon, too; I sprinkle them like salt.
I’m one of those authors whose books AI ate for lunch a few years back, making us unwitting and unwilling contributors to the chatbot writing style, if you want to call it that. At some point I might get a check to pay me for a dozen years’ work on the three books it stole, but really, there’s no way to compensate for the fallout. AI seems to think — no, it can’t think, only shuffle what real people thought — that a machine can write as well as a person can. In the process of trying, it’s compromised the very tools we use.
I taught at Columbia Journalism School for 10 years, and was surprised to learn from a second-semester student that a first-semester professor had forbidden the use of the semicolon. It was sloppy, he said. Evidence of an indecisive mind. A better writer would find a more definitive way to punctuate the space between two thoughts.
He was tenured. I was an adjunct and surprised to find myself in the classroom at all, so I did what any decent writer does and succumbed to self-doubt. I write by ear — I worshipped another adjunct who insisted that all writing was musical — only to find that someone higher up the academic ladder believed I’d been doing it wrong, forever.
Then I did the other thing any decent writer does: I defended myself. Banning the semicolon seemed rather hard-line, I said. I joked about the possibility that our conflicting attitudes were gender-based. I softened my indignation with a reference to my West Coast woo-woo roots: Everything is related to everything, hence the semicolon, even though my childhood was spent in the decent and rule-bound Midwest.
I told my students that they should try what sounded right to them as long as they didn’t sacrifice clarity. There are lots of melodies out there.
But back to em dashes. I’ve just finished writing a book that’s as full of them as the other books I’ve written over 40-plus years, so I’m stymied by what to do next, because it seems my writing style now invites suspicion. I could go back through 63,000 words and change the em dashes to I don’t know what. Periods. Commas, which lose the half-beat hesitation a semicolon provides — and might splice together two independent clauses. Or colons, which are too emphatic. Or I could run a disclaimer on the title page: No AI programs were used in the creation of this book.
That, of course, puts me at greater risk. “The lady doth protest too much”: Some readers will assume that I did, in fact, collaborate with a machine.
Maybe we need a certification office whose logo would sit right above the publisher’s on a book’s spine, so that anyone who still bought books could tell at a glance if a human being consumed too much coffee and developed turtleneck in the service of storytelling. Even as I type, paranoia reaches out to tap me on the shoulder. Who’s certifying the certifiers to make sure they aren’t letting ChatGPT do the analysis?
By the way, the Copilot feature on Word, which I cannot turn off no matter what I try, just butted in to highlight “at a glance.” Readers would be better served, I’m told, if I used “briefly” or “immediately,” neither of which is exactly what I meant.
I worked with a magazine editor, in the very long ago, who seemed really to enjoy his work, particularly the part about choosing exactly the right word. We’d go through the almost-final draft, paragraph by paragraph, to address passages or even single words he felt were not quite right. I’d suggest a change or two and then surrender to insecurity, because this was early in the game for me, and I had a small case of impostor syndrome. Clearly he had the right word in mind, and whatever it was was OK with me.
His answer was always the same. This is your piece, he’d say, and I know you can come up with it. He’d repeat the point he thought I was trying to make, and I’d suggest a few more options until I hit the right one.
I’ve been grateful to him ever since, although now I hold him partly responsible for my willingness to use em dashes and semicolons.
When I found out about my Columbia colleague’s ban on semicolons, I checked a few books by favorite authors of mine and — lo and behold — found em dashes and semicolons galore and felt redeemed. Yes, I use them too often, and yes, I’ve occasionally done a punctuation reread to see if some of them are superfluous. I left all of them in this essay on purpose, so that commenters can complain about how many I use or accuse me of being a front for ChatGPT.
I’m not saying everyone needs to write without AI assistance. I’ve read about job seekers who use AI to thwart AI applicant-screening systems and am all for it, but that’s about survival tactics, not self-expression. I am saying we ought to value the human voice the way we value any other natural resource, and be wary of pretenders. But em dashes don’t prove that software wrote something. Affectless language, the lack of anything like a writer’s idiosyncratic style, is the dead giveaway that nobody’s home. Writing that’s as boring as your dullest relative was likely written by a chatbot that can’t see, hear, taste, smell, touch — or feel. Settle for that and we’re all the poorer for it.
Karen Stabiner is the author, most recently, of “Generation Chef: Risking It All for a New American Dream.”