acting

Aidan Turner and Lesley Manville appeared on Friday’s The One Show to talk about their new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Lyttelton Theatre in London

Rivals star Aidan Turner left The One Show host, Clara Amfo, floored on Friday’s episode as he revealed his past career.

During the latest instalment, host Clara, 41, and co-host JB Gill welcomed Aidan, 42, Lesley Manville, and James Buckley to the iconic green sofa.

Aidan and Lesley, 69, appeared on Friday’s episode to talk about their new production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Lyttelton Theatre in London.

However, chat soon got onto Aidan’s career before acting, leaving Clara stunned. Clara said: “Now, Aidan, I didn’t know this until today, that you, Mr Turner…”

To which Aidan interjected with: “What are you going to say? I have no idea…” before adding: “Are you the last person to ever hear about this?

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

Clara then revealed: “I was today years old learning that you had a former career as a ballroom dancer!”

To which Aidan explained: “I don’t know if you’d call it a career. I mean, I started when I was eight and finished when I was about 17. But, yeah, I danced. I was a ballroom and Latin American dancer from Dublin!”

It comes as the second series of Disney+’s 80s bonkbuster Rivals is to launch on May 15, complete with big hair, huge moustaches and acres of shoulder pads.

David Tennant is set to declare war in a sneak peek trailer for the eagerly awaited second series as his character television tycoon Lord Tony Baddingham survives from series one’s cliffhanger.

The trailer opens with the Doctor Who actor, 54, emerging from a helicopter and quipping: “Sorry I’m late, darling. I’ve had a terrible headache.”

This follows a suspenseful cliff-hanger at the end of the previous series, which left audiences questioning the fate of Lord Baddingham after Cameron Cooke (Nafessa Williams) struck him on the head to prevent him from assaulting her, leaving him lying motionless in a pool of his own blood.

Elsewhere, Irish actor Aidan – playing journalist Declan O’Hara – can be heard commenting: “It’s entertaining. In the most delightful way.”

Billy Idol’s Mony Mony provides the soundtrack to the trailer, giving viewers a taste of the drama to come, which includes updates on Danny Dyer’s character businessman Freddie Jones, Alex Hassell’s character Rupert Campbell-Black and Bella Maclean’s Taggie O’Hara.

The One Show continues on weeknights at 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. ** Click here to activate** ** or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.**

Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych says 2006 Winter Olympics ‘acts as propoganda for Russia’ after IOC decision.

The Court ⁠of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) began hearing Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal on Friday, with a decision expected later in the day on whether he can return to competition at ⁠the Milano Cortina Olympics after his disqualification over his “helmet of remembrance”.

The 27-year-old was removed from the Olympic programme on Thursday when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury ruled that imagery on the helmet — depicting ⁠athletes killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — breached rules on political neutrality at the Games.

Heraskevych is seeking reinstatement or at least a CAS-supervised run, pending a decision by sport’s highest court in advance of the final two runs set for Friday evening.

“I’m pretty positive about how it went,” he told reporters outside the office of CAS ‌in Milan following his appearance before the court. “I hope the truth will prevail, and I know that I was innocent.”

The racer said he was now getting threats from Russians and blamed the IOC’s decision for that.

“I believe that these Games now and this act of the IOC also serves as an instrument of propaganda for Russia,” Heraskevych said. “I still receive a lot of threats from the Russian side.”

The IOC, whose president, Kirsty Coventry, met Heraskevych on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to break the impasse, has ⁠allowed the athlete to keep his credentials despite his disqualification, so he can ⁠stay at the Milano Cortina Games.

“For me, sitting down with Vladyslav and his dad, the conversation was extremely respectful,” Coventry told a news conference on Friday. “After that, I asked the disciplinary commission to re-look at not pulling his accreditation, out of respect for him ⁠and his dad. I thought that was the right thing to do.”

The case has dominated headlines in the first week of the Olympics.

CAS Secretary-General Matthieu Reeb ⁠could not say exactly when they were likely to reach a ⁠decision, despite the tight schedule.

“We hope to have a final decision announced today, but it’s difficult for me to say when,” Reeb told reporters. “Obviously, we know the schedule of the competition, and it is an objective for CAS to be able to run the decision ‌before the start of the race, but we don’t know how long the hearing will take.

“We have only one arbitrator from Germany, and she will be in charge of this case. We have participants attending in ‌person, ‌like the IOC, the athlete is here, the father of the athlete is here.

“We have a representative of IBSF attending remotely. The athlete is also assisted by legal counsel speaking from Kyiv.”

Rodriguez calls for healing ‘wounds left by political confrontation’ while announcing notorious El Helicoide prison to shut down.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez has announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, her latest major reform since the US military abducted the country’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife earlier this month.

“We have decided to push ahead with a general amnesty law that covers the whole period of political violence from 1999 to the present day,” Rodriguez said on Friday.

Speaking at a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military officials and other government leaders, the acting president said the National Assembly would take up the amnesty bill with urgency.

“May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation fuelled by violence and extremism,” Rodriguez said in the prerecorded televised event.

“May it serve to redirect justice in our country, and may it serve to redirect coexistence among Venezuelans,” she said.

Rodriguez also announced the shutdown of El Helicoide, a notorious secret service prison in Caracas, where torture and other human rights abuses have been documented by independent organisations.

El Helicoide, she said, will be transformed into a sports, social and cultural centre for the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Rodriguez made her announcement before officials whom former prisoners and human rights watchdogs have accused of overseeing El Helicoide and other detention facilities.

The Venezuelan-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal estimates that 711 people are in detention in facilities across Venezuela over their political activities. Of those, 183 have been sentenced, the group said.

Foro Penal President Alfredo Romero welcomed the planned amnesty but said it must apply to all prisoners “without discrimination”.

“A general amnesty is welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a cloak of impunity, and that it contributes to dismantling the repressive apparatus of political persecution,” Romero wrote in a post on social media.

Foro Penal has calculated that some 302 prisoners have been released by Rodriguez’s government in the aftermath of the abduction of Maduro by the US.

The organisation later released a video clip on social media of what is said showed the moment that human rights worker Eduardo Torres was released from prison on Friday night, following his detention since May 2025.

Translation: Our colleague from @proveaong Eduardo Torres has been released from prison, human rights defender, former political prisoner.

Families and rights advocates have long demanded that charges and convictions against detainees who are considered political prisoners be dropped.

Government officials – who ⁠deny holding political prisoners and say those jailed have committed crimes – report that more than 600 people have been released from prison, but they have not been clear on the timeline and appear to be including prisoners released in previous years.

This beloved BBC series is a must-watch for fans of cosy comedy-dramas and beautiful scenery

Fans of Scottish-set programmes or simply cosy comedy-dramas shouldn’t miss this beloved BBC series that proved a massive hit throughout the 2000s.

This recommendation follows others discovering a “masterpiece” period crime drama, a show hailed as Netflix’s “finest”, and a murder mystery favourite from a “master” writer, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Monarch of the Glen debuted at the dawn of the new millennium, enchanting viewers with its warm-hearted comedy-drama format. The BBC programme chronicles young restaurateur Archie MacDonald (portrayed by Alastair Mackenzie) as he attempts to revitalise his childhood residence in the Scottish Highlands.

Archie found himself drawn back to Scotland from his hectic London restaurant career after discovering he’d inherited his family’s Highland titles and property, becoming the Laird of Glenbogle.

He subsequently made the difficult choice to abandon his metropolitan existence and begin anew whilst managing the crumbling estate, alongside its enormous debts and dealing with Glenbogle’s temperamental workforce.

Archie had the support of his partner Justine (Anna Wilson-Jones), whose decision to accompany him to Scotland meant she too relocated for their relationship. Throughout the series, viewers keenly followed Archie’s journey to determine whether he could ultimately transform the estate into a profitable venture, despite numerous challenges blocking his progress.

The series has garnered glowing praise on IMDb, with one viewer awarding it 10/10 in a review headlined “Excellent series, quirky, charming”. They wrote: “The writing is very consistently good, the characters appealing (their quirks and foibles make them even more so), and the scenery of the Scottish highlands is just lovely.”

Another highly-rated review declared: “Amazing, makes you fall in love with Scotland and its people.”

The reviewer expanded: “I love the values expressed through the show: honesty, faithfulness, character, faith, friendship, hard work, dependability, and above all forgiveness and reconciliation. I love how the themes are developed and I love the beautiful Scottish scenery.”

A third top-rated review hailed Monarch of the Glen as a “great series”, concluding: “Overall I’d give it 10/10 though for the drama/acting and of course Scottish scenery.”

Another fan declared: “The series, “Monarch of the Glen” is the best that telly has had to offer in a very long while.”

They continued: “The scenery is just as much the star of the show yet it is not used as an excuse for slack plot standards. Indeed it is part and parcel of the plot.”

The programme was loosely based on Sir Compton Mackenzie’s Highland Novels, though whilst the books were set during the 1930s and 1940s, the BBC adaptation took a more modern approach. Nevertheless, the programme takes its name from the opening novel in the series, The Monarch of the Glen, which references the renowned painting of the same title by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer.

Monarch of the Glen spanned seven series altogether and was filmed across numerous stunning locations, including the Cairngorms, Badenoch and Strathspey.

Meanwhile, Ardverikie House provided the main setting for the castle featured in the programme, with additional filming occurring around the south-east shore of Loch Laggan where the property is situated.

Alongside Mackenzie and Wilson-Jones, Monarch of the Glen boasted a stellar cast including beloved The Good Life actor Richard Briers, Emmy Award-winner Susan Hampshire, Human Traffic’s Lorraine Pilkington, Taggart’s Alexander Morton, Holby City’s Dawn Steele, fellow Holby City veteran Hamish Clark, and Downton Abbey creator-turned-performer Julian Fellowes.

Monarch of the Glen represents Fellowes’ most substantial acting role to this day, portraying Lord Kilwillie across 24 episodes.

Fellowes has previously appeared in productions such as Aristocrats, Sharpe, Our Friends in the North, and Kavanagh QC.

Monarch of the Glen is streaming on BBC iPlayer now

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website**