admits

Thomas Skinner was said to be ‘suing’ the BBC over his early exit from Strictly and has claimed that the BBC ‘rigged’ the votes to orchestrate his elimination from the dance competition

Thomas Skinner has hit back at press attention of his rumoured feud with the BBC in furious statement made on Good Morning Britain. Ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing live final on 20 December, it was reported that Skinner was ‘suing’ the BBC as he believed they had ‘rigged’ the votes to ensure he would be eliminated first, which the BBC strongly denied. The broadcaster made clear that they had not received any legal paperwork and Skinner did not confirm that he was suing.

However, after refusing to appear in the live final, Skinner posted a statement to X where he said he “received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right”. Following the statement, The Mirror exclusively revealed that Skinner’s voting figures may not be as high as he believes.

READ MORE: Thomas Skinner ‘dropped by agent’ after threatening to sue BBC over Strictly axeREAD MORE: Thomas Skinner’s true Strictly voting figures revealed leaving BBC fight in tatters

A source pointed to an independent exit poll of 125,000 viewers as “clear evidence of his unpopularity.” It showed how Skinner attracted just 1805 votes, which was the lowest of any contestant on the BBC programme. The source claimed: “The poll – which is larger than an exit poll for a general election – comprehensively shows that Skinner was the least popular contestant by a long way. There is no conspiracy. These are the cold, hard facts.”

Hitting back at the article in a statement shared on Good Morning Britain, Skinner said he was “struggling to understand” why his words on X were getting so much attention. He said: “I don’t hate the BBC – they gave me my big break on The Apprentice. I had discussions with my representatives on Wednesday evening which I believed to be private and confidential and I spoke openly with them in confidence.

“I was obviously gutted when I received the email on the evening I left the show, and at first I didn’t believe it was true. When I raised this in conversation, I was advised by the BBC to seek legal advice. I’ve had a difficult year with the press attention I didn’t seek, and I’m honestly struggling to understand why this continues to escalate. “

Similarly, when approached by The Mirror, Skinner said he did not believe the low voting figures were accurate but refused to reveal how he was able to verify the “anonymous email” his information came from.

He said: “Regarding the anonymous email and verification process, I don’t wish to comment further at this time or release anything publicly. As for the voting figures, I know for a fact that the information you have is not accurate. That said, it doesn’t materially matter to me now, and I’m not looking to contest this publicly.”

Despite “not looking to contest this publicly”, Skinner made a lengthy public statement on X where he insisted his elimination was “unfair” and that a BBC exec had told him that the broadcaster was angry over his friendship with JD Vance.

He wrote: “On the night I left the show, I received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right. I’ve since had the email independently verified.”

“That same email mentioned the BBC was very angry an nervous simply because I had met JD Vance (USA VICE PRESIDENT). Let me be clear, I’m not a political bloke. Never have been. I just love my country and am patriotic. I’ve been made out by the press to be this political figure. If anyone was to get an opportunity like what I did, they would have taken it. I still think it is mad that a man like me who sells mattresses out of a van can call someone that senior in the world ’s politics a friend now.”

“I have asked to see the official voting figures to back up the ones I was sent in the email but was told they couldn’t be shown to me. And have never been shown in the history of the show. I have spoke about the email I had received to senior people and the BBC welfare team, who btw I genuinely respect. And they was the ones who advised me to get legal advice because of how unfair it all was. (This was not my idea).”

However, a BBC spokesperson said Skinner never shared the email he referenced. They told the Mirror: “”In response to Tom’s latest statement, the BBC said: “Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy every week. Any claims to the contrary are entirely without foundation. Unfortunately, despite requests for it, Mr Skinner is yet to share the email he references with anyone from the BBC so we are unable to comment on it.”

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Loose Women star Christine Lampard has been hosting This Morning alongside Dermot O’Leary this week

Loose Women presenter Christine Lampard has joked that she felt a bit “guilty” whilst stepping in on This Morning.

The TV personality has been assisting Dermot O’Leary with presenting duties on the ITV programme this week after Emma Willis, who was scheduled to host with him this week, became unwell and was unable to participate.

Christine was at the helm of the show with Dermot on Wednesday (December 17) as chef Nisha Katona prepared a butter bean and cranberry tikka masala during the cookery segment. She admitted to feeling somewhat guilty about tucking into the food whilst her Loose Women colleagues went hungry in the adjacent studio, reports Belfast Live.

The presenter was savouring the dish as This Morning checked in with Loose Women’s Kaye Adams, who was telling viewers what was coming up on the programme.

Christine remarked: “When I am doing Loose Women, we are always jealous watching you cooking and we are sitting there going, ‘We want that.’ And here I am.”

Whilst introducing Kaye, she added: “I know, I know, I’m sorry! I feel guilty, but I’m going to carry on!” Kaye then encouraged her to “enjoy” the meal.

“That is absolutely beautiful, it’s exactly what I wanted,” Christine declared.

This Morning’s usual presenters are Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, who front the daytime programme Monday to Thursday, with Dermot and Alison Hammond assuming control on Fridays.

During holiday periods, they are typically substituted by a rotating selection of guest presenters, including Christine, Rochelle Humes and Josie Gibson.

Emma was scheduled to host the show this week, but Christine and Josie have been stepping in.

On Monday’s episode of the ITV programme (December 15), Dermot informed viewers about Emma’s absence, explaining she was unwell and couldn’t host.

“Full disclosure,” he announced. “Emma Willis was supposed to be in this week. Emma is a little bit poorly. So we are sending her big love.”

Pointing towards Josie, he introduced her to the audience: “Look who is back with me. It’s only Miss Josephine Gibson!”

“Thanks for having me, Dermot,” she responded.

This Morning and Loose Women both air on ITV

Gov. Pete Wilson challenged President Clinton on Thursday to make California a test market for a tamper-proof federal identification card designed to keep illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits or getting jobs in the United States.

Later, a Wilson aide said one option might be a national identification card that would be carried by every legal resident of the United States, including U.S. citizens.

Wilson’s news conference at U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service offices at Los Angeles International Airport was billed as the forum for a “major announcement regarding immigration.” In fact, Wilson’s statement expanded on his Aug. 9 program by only a small step–the proposed California test–while raising even more questions about his plan for the proposed identification card.

The governor acknowledged to a reporter that it probably is impossible to come up with a foolproof card because counterfeiters could fake birth certificates, passports or other documents that would be needed to get the card.

Wilson left unclear just who might have to possess the card: just foreign nationals living in the country legally or all U.S. citizens?

Asked who would have to carry the card, Wilson said: “Those who are applicants for employment and those who are applicants for benefits.”

Later, Wilson aide Dan Schnur said one possibility that arose during policy discussions in the governor’s office was a national identification card issued to all U.S. citizens and legal residents.

“A universal card is one option, but we’re not looking at it as an absolute condition,” Schnur said in telephone calls to reporters.

The form and scope of any card would be worked out in negotiations with the Clinton Administration, he said.

There have been periodic proposals for a national ID card, but they have always run up against strong opposition on civil liberties grounds.

Wilson was quoted by the Santa Monica Outlook while running for the U.S. Senate in 1982 that a proposed national identification card was “a lousy idea” because it would create a massive new bureaucracy. He also said he had some philosophical objections to the concept.

Schnur had no comment on that report, but he said conditions have changed greatly since the passage of immigration reform in the late 1980s and the heavy influx of illegal immigrants into California in recent years.

Thursday’s billing of a major new initiative drew a dozen television cameras and perhaps a score of reporters, a big turnout for any political event in Los Angeles. Although it turned out that Wilson’s statement was more of an expansion on a previous proposal than a major new initiative, the session did give the governor a platform for responding to critics of his Aug. 9 announcement.

Wilson said an identification card is the key to the enforcement of any of the sanctions written into federal law against employers who hire illegal immigrants for jobs in the United States. Without it, such sanctions are unenforceable, he said.

“Until we deal with the problem of document fraud, anyone proposing additional employer sanctions is simply blowing hot air,” Wilson said after examining stacks of phony passports, Social Security cards and other false documents confiscated by the INS.

Critics, including potential Democratic gubernatorial challenger Kathleen Brown, have said Wilson’s plan cracks down on illegal immigrants but not on the employers who also violate the law by hiring them.

Last week, Brown, the state treasurer, endorsed a national tamper-proof Social Security card that would have to be presented to a prospective employer before the cardholder could be hired.

In his lengthy Aug. 9 letter to Clinton, Wilson called on the federal government to compensate California for the cost of services to illegal immigrants, called for stricter enforcement of the California-Mexico border, and said children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants should not automatically become U.S. citizens or be eligible to attend public schools in California.

Wilson made no mention of stronger enforcement against employers. He proposed an identification card as something that foreign nationals in the country legally would present to qualify for state services.

Wilson said California’s modern holographic drivers licenses could be the model for a federal card, but a reporter wondered if even they could be forged, since a photographic blowup of one was among the fake IDs on display.

“You know, I don’t dispute the ingenuity of counterfeiters. . . . I think it is possible to stay technologically ahead of even expert counterfeiters,” Wilson said.

“The question really is not whether you’re going to have an entirely foolproof system, but whether you have one that works to achieve its major goal, which is to screen out the vast majority of counterfeit documents.”

Later in the day, Democratic state Chairman Bill Press chided Wilson for intervening with the INS in 1989 on behalf of a San Diego supporter, Anne Evans, whose hotels were under investigation for hiring illegal immigrants. At the time, Wilson was a U.S. senator.

Evans ultimately was accused of 362 violations of employer sanctions provisions and fined $70,000.

Schnur described Wilson’s letter, which sought a conciliation between the INS and Evans, as a routine constituent service.

National treasure Dame Judi Dench has admitted she is concerned that social media is taking over, and believes that theatres could pay the price

Dame Judi Dench has admitted she fears for the future of theatre. In an interview to promote a new TV show with fellow theatre star Kenneth Branagh, Judi was asked if theatre had evolved since she first took to the stage in 1957.

She said: “All I can hope is that theatre has evolved. With the onset of social media and I believe a marked lack of interest in the Arts, I fear that the younger generations won’t have the benefit or interest in the theatre like we all had.”

Judi, 91,insisted the stage had been a huge help to her acting during an incredible career. She is known for starring in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.

She said: “In every single play or production I have ever done, I’ve learnt something new. That comes not just from the play or the director, but also from your fellow actors. Each production offers countless opportunities to keep learning and growing.

“I knew in Antony & Cleopatra that there was a line of Cleopatra that was intended to get a laugh – on the 100th performance I got the laugh.”

In Peter Hall’s 1987 National Theatre production of Antony and Cleopatra, Judi Dench took Shakespeare’s character and re-created it from her own personality and imagination. She was alongside Antony Hopkins as Antony. Critics have described it as one of Dench’s greatest performances.

Michael Billington wrote in the Guardian: “Dench gave us a Cleopatra whose sexuality stemmed from her volatility, intelligence and wit: a woman of infinite variety who was enthralling company and an irresistible magnetic force, drawing Anthony Hopkins’s jaded warrior of an Antony back to Egypt.”

But it didn’t always go this week. Recalling her first ever stage performance playing Ophelia in 1957, Dench told Branagh: “I was in a kind of haze. We opened at the Liverpool Playhouse. It didn’t go well.

“They didn’t like somebody completely unknown playing the part. It was a bit dodgy.” Thankfully, she was encouraged and kept on in the theatre company and given smaller roles to build up her confidence again. She would go on to become one of the great British actors.

Dench has won an Oscar, two Golden Globes and six Baftas. As well as her stage performances, she is well known for portraying M in eight James Bond films.

Tea with Judi Dench sees her joined by Branagh for a one-off show on Sky Arts. They reflect on their remarkable careers and personal journeys in an intimate and insightful discussion. Dench said they share a similar sense of humour and she added: “What I admire most is his attitude to work, his commitment to what he does, and of course his sense of humour – those are the first things that stand out. Also, his respect for the theatre and the work he does.”

* Tea with Judi Dench airs 22 December on Sky Arts, Freeview, and streaming service NOW

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JEFF Brazier has admitted that he’s “spending time reflecting on life” after his split from his wife and ongoing family feud.

The This Morning star, 46, who split from wife Kate Dwyer, 35, after seven years of marriage was taking a time out in St Kitts.

Jeff took to Instagram and posted a series of beautiful snaps, with one showing the star standing alone on a sandy beach staring out at a gorgeous sunset

He captioned the snap: “Just had the perfect week in St Kitts thanks to @stkittstourism.

“Celebrating the sunshine and time to reflect on life & work while spending time with the team filming for one of our big @itvwin January competitions.

“Thank you to @mickarchy @roscoyule PB & Anita for being such great company and doing a really top class job.

FEUD OVER

The BRUTAL threat which terrified Jeff Brazier into truce with gran over Freddy

‘MASK SLIPPING’

The growing fears over ‘fame-hungry’ Jeff Brazier after shock TV outburst

He then posted some recommendations based on his stay before he said: “Don’t forget to check out the Atlantic and Carribean views from Timothy Hill Overlook.”

Jeff announced he had split from his wife, Kate back in November.

In an emotional statement, Jeff said: “I’m so full of love and gratitude for Kate.

“For all we achieved, for how much we grew, for everything we endured.

“We separated in the Summer and kept it private for as long as we could to give us some time to adjust.

“For 12 years we have been each others safe space, each others biggest supporters at a time when our lives have been busy, painful & complex.

“I’m so proud of how hard we worked, how we kept showing up, we gave everything and more.

“I’m also so full of respect and admiration for the successful career Kate has built and the way she cared for me unconditionally.

“It’s credit to the woman she is that she still checks in to ask how the boys are doing because she is so invested in their lives.

“They love her and I have many friends that love her too. I will miss her family who always went above and beyond to support us.

“My words don’t tell the full picture because they don’t need to.

“We will carry on supporting each other and I know I’ll be celebrating her inevitable wins just like before.

“We both deserve complete happiness and we’re upset that we ultimately couldn’t be that for one another and It felt time to let it go.”

Last week The Sun revealed that his son Freddy was embroiled in a furious row with his pregnant ex girlfriend over their baby’s future.

The 21-year-old is facing devastating consequences before his first child is even born as he continues to clash with Holly Swinburn, 22.

Freddy — son of late Big Brother legend Jade Goody — risks not being on the birth certificate after their latest fallout.

Sources claim they’re at loggerheads over custody of their shared dog, an American Bully named Pablo.

Holly has been accused of backing Freddy into a corner – as she threatens to block him being legally named as the father of her child.

As the former couple are not married, Freddy’s name can’t be automatically included on the birth certificate.

Holly spoke to The Sun on Sunday about why her relationship ended, claiming she dumped him after he held a 3am drugs party with girls at her home while she was away.

Meanwhile, Jeff is still involved in an ongoing family feud between him and the late Jade Goody’s mum Jackiey Budden.

But reports reveal that he has “landed a new fly-on-the-wall reality show” with his sons Bobby and Freddy that allow the Brazier family to set the record straight on a number of things.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) set off a bipartisan tempest Tuesday by warning that President Clinton had “better watch out” for his safety if he travels to military bases in North Carolina, prompting the White House to suggest that Helms be denied chairmanship of a key Senate committee.

After GOP leaders delicately distanced themselves from Helms’ provocative remarks and Democrats loudly demanded an apology, the fiercely combative lawmaker, who is in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, conceded that his comments had been “a mistake.”

But he stopped well short of a genuine apology. “Of course, I didn’t expect to be taken literally,” he said in a prepared statement.

In an interview published Tuesday morning in the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer, the 73-year-old conservative asserted that Clinton is extremely unpopular among armed forces personnel stationed at the six military bases in his home state.

“Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here,” the newspaper quoted Helms as saying. “He’d better have a bodyguard.”

The President, asked about Helms’ remarks during a White House news conference, called them “unwise and inappropriate.” While asserting his authority in matters of foreign affairs, he said that it is up to Republicans to decide who will speak for them.

“The President oversees the foreign policy of the United States and the Republicans will decide in whom they will repose their trust and confidence,” Clinton said.

It was a vintage performance for Helms, a conservative ideologue who has built a career based on pugnacious rhetoric and flamboyant attacks. But his critique of Clinton prompted soul-searching among some Republicans who fear that Helms, by his intemperate remarks, will bolster Democratic charges that the GOP is a party of extremists.

“Jesse,” said a former senior official in the George Bush Administration, “has been for most Republicans an embarrassment.”

Helms’ comments were published on the 31st anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, adding to the embarrassment of Republican lawmakers. Most declined to comment directly, noting only that each of the Senate’s 100 members speaks only for him or herself.

No such restraint was observed by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who is locked in a race to lead the Senate’s new minority Democrats. He called on Helms to issue a formal apology to the President and to members of the armed forces, whose loyalty and patriotism, Dodd said, were called into question by Helms.

“To suggest on this day of all days . . . that an American President’s life might be in jeopardy (if he) were to visit an American military base, would suggest that my colleague from North Carolina doesn’t seem to know what country he’s living in,” Dodd said. “This is not a banana republic.”

It is not the first time that Helms has provoked a political furor. He once accused former Secretary of State George P. Shultz of “playing footsie with the Communists” by opposing apartheid in South Africa. In a floor debate over funding for AIDS research, he bluntly characterized homosexuals as “perverted.”

Helms often storms onto the Senate floor to rail against abortions and erotic art and regularly angers both Democratic and Republican colleagues by threatening to waylay measures that he dislikes by engaging in a one-man filibuster.

“This senator,” he once told fellow lawmakers, “did not come to Washington to gain popularity with his colleagues.”

His latest remarks came just four days after a television interview in which Helms questioned Clinton’s fitness to serve as commander in chief of the armed forces. Those comments drew muted criticism from Republicans and a vigorous denial from Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On Tuesday, the Secret Service, which is responsible for the President’s safety, confirmed that it is seeking a transcript of Helms’ interview with the News and Observer. But officials were quick to caution that they do not view Helms’ remarks as an effort to incite violence against the President.

Military officials in North Carolina, where Clinton visited in April, took pains to disassociate themselves from Helms’ comments.

“The President is the commander in chief. He is welcome on any base in the military that he chooses to visit,” said Capt. Bruce Sprecher, public affairs officer at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base.

Responding to Helms’ newspaper interview, the White House publicly questioned his suitability for the Foreign Relations chairmanship. White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta urged Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who is expected to be majority leader in the new Congress, to ignore tradition and pass over Helms in choosing the next chairman.

“I think those comments are not only reckless but they are dangerous and irresponsible,” Panetta told a small group of reporters. “And I think they raise a very serious question as to whether (Helms) ought to assume the chairmanship of that committee. I think the Republican leadership needs to take a very hard look as to whether or not they want somebody with these kind of extreme views to chair one of the most important committees in the Congress of the United States.”

Panetta said that Helms’ remarks and Republican leaders’ response to them “will tell us an awful lot what kind of course we’re going to take in the next Congress.”

The reaction of Republican leaders generally fell short of the repudiation that Democrats are seeking. Neither Dole nor incoming House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), asked about the flap at a Republican Governors Assn. session in Williamsburg, Va., would criticize Helms directly. “The President’s welcome to come to any state,” said Dole. “That’s the way it should be, that’s the way it is, that’s the way it will be.”

Gingrich said that Republicans would welcome any Clinton visit as an opportunity to engage in debate over the nation’s future.

“I would hope that (Clinton) would feel that all Americans want to respect and honor the President and that they want to welcome their President in their neighborhood and their community any time he wishes to come and visit,” he said.

Some Republicans were more blunt in their criticism of Helms.

“I wish he hadn’t said it,” said Republican political consultant Lyn Nofziger. “If it did anything, it creates a little sympathy with the prez, and I’m not in favor of that. . . . It gives people something to shoot at. And it distracts a little. But is it a permanent damage? No.”

While some Republicans stewed, Senate insiders suggested that Helms’ legislative career likely would suffer little.

“There will be no effort to muzzle anyone,” said one key Republican aide. “That’s the way this body operates. These folks are very independent people. It would be very inappropriate for someone to try to quiet Sen. Helms. And there’s a great deal of deference to committee chairmen and seniority.”

Times staff writers John M. Broder and Ronald Brownstein contributed to this story.

Tracking a Controversy

President Clinton, during a press conference Tuesday afternoon, called remarks made by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) “inappropriate and unwise.”

* Asked if Clinton was up to the commander in chief’s job: “No I do not. And neither do people in the armed forces.”

–CNN interview last week

* On the president visiting North Carolina: “Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here. He’d better have a bodyguard.”

–interview with the News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C. on Monday

* On his earlier remarks: “I made a mistake last evening which I shall not repeat.

–statement issued Tuesday

The Helms File

Past remarks by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman:

Nov. 4, 1993: “It was well-known that (Haitian President Jean-Bertrand) Aristide is a murderer. Yet somebody decided to return him to power, if necessary, at the risk of American lives. Who is making these decisions?”

–to Secretary of State Warren Christopher at a hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee

Aug. 5, 1993: “I’m going to make her cry. I’m going to sing ‘Dixie’ to her until she cries.”

–Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., quoted Helms as saying to her a month after they had debated on the Senate floor over use of the Confederate flag

May 7, 1993: “She’s not your garden-variety lesbian. She’s a militant-activist-mean lesbian, working her whole career to advance the homosexual agenda.”

–on the nomination of a gay rights activist to a Department of Housing and Urban Development post

Oct. 30, 1990: “People can do what they want in the privacy of their own homes, but when they start marching in the street and say that homosexuality should be given special privileges and be treated as a normal lifestyle, you bet I say no.”

–during a campaign stop for his 1990 Senate campaign

Oct. 24, 1990: “What is really at stake is whether or not America will allow the cultural high ground in this nation to sink slowly into an abyss of slime to placate people who clearly seek or are willing to destroy the Judaic-Christian foundations of this republic.”

–talking about National Endowment for the Arts funding to certain artists

Source: Associated Press

Helms Takes It Back

This is a statement by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) on Tuesday regarding his remarks about President Clinton:

I made a mistake last evening which I shall not repeat.

In an informal telephone interview with a local reporter I made an offhand remark in an attempt to emphasize how strongly the American people feel about the nation’s declining defense capability and other issues in which the President has been involved and for which he is responsible.

Of course I didn’t expect to be taken literally when, to emphasize the cost and concerns I am hearing, I far too casually suggested that the President might need a bodyguard, or words to that effect.

And let me say that President Clinton will of course be welcomed by me and other citizens of North Carolina and other states any time he chooses to visit us.

The reporter asked my opinion and I tried to be candid in my response. The President has serious problems with his records of draft avoidance, with his stand on homosexuals in the military and the declining defense capability of America’s armed forces–the secretary of defense recently acknowledged that three U.S. Army divisions are not now combat ready.

I reiterate that I now wish that I had engaged in a terse interview with the reporter. I did not. As is my custom, we had an informal conversation from which he extracted an informal quote that should not have been taken literally, let alone published.

I do not fault him. I fault myself. From now on, such contacts as I may have with the media will be entirely formal.

Source: Associated Press

Coleen Nolan has opened up about a hidden family struggle on Friday’s Good Morning Britain

Coleen Nolan has revealed she spent ‘years crying’ and feeling like a ‘terrible mother’ over a hidden family struggle.

Over the summer, Coleen, 60, disclosed that her son, Shane, 37, had been fighting a secret battle with drugs which saw him ‘hit rock bottom’ and wreck his marriage to his beauty queen ex-wife, Maddie Wahdan.

Coleen’s son, Shane, whom she shares with ex-husband Shane Richie, separated from his beauty queen wife in December 2023 amid claims he had been unfaithful – just a year after they had tied the knot.

Over the summer, Shane, alongside his mother Coleen, spoke candidly about his struggle with drug addiction, which resulted in him being admitted to rehab as his family feared for his life.

Shane is now in a new relationship with girlfriend Kimberly Sallis, whom he has credited for helping him through the drug addiction, and in November they welcomed their first child together, a baby boy called Cruz-Carter, reports Wales Online.

Speaking about her son’s past struggle on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, Coleen confessed: “I felt like a terrible mother. I thought it was my fault.”

Coleen said of her son speaking out: “It was totally Shane’s decision. It would never have been me forcing him in to talk about it. He thought it was important to talk about and especially when it was during Men’s Mental Health month and all of that.

“When he did it, we were both nervous. I was quite emotional because it’s really hard as a parent or a relative to watch an addict. I mean, it was years of me crying because I couldn’t do anything. I’m his mum and I couldn’t do anything.”

Coleen went on: “People were like, ‘Well, you know, you’re going to have to kick him out. You’re going to have to do that.’ and I went ‘He’s my child!’

“I kept making excuses for him, ‘well, I think he did this… no, no, it’s just because he’s tired, you know.’ And then something major happened where he ended up with stitches in his head and all of that. I think that was a massive wake up call.

“Talking about it afterwards, he said to me, ‘Mum, I feel like a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders.'” Coleen revealed it was equally beneficial for Shane to understand the impact his struggle had on her.

The Loose Women panellist emotionally shared: “I felt like a terrible mother. I thought it was my fault. I’d done things wrong. I couldn’t help him and it was nothing to do with me. As an addict, the only person that could have helped him was himself, which he did.”

Good Morning Britain continues on weekdays at 6am on ITV and ITV X.

ROBBIE Williams has revealed he’s planning to get a WIG as he admits he’s going bald – weeks after claiming fat jabs were ‘making him blind’.

The Angels singer, 51, has always been something of an open book, and during his latest appearance on a popular podcast, he opened up about his hair woes.

Robbie, who is sporting a salt and pepper stylish spiked hair do at the moment, said: “I’m losing my hair… This is all powder and scaffolding now.

“I’m thinking about getting one of them hair systems.”

He continued on the Games Gone: The Steve Bracknall Podcast: “So I’m a pop star. That’s what I do for a living, you know…you’re supposed to have some sort of looks and some sort of hair.

“I’ve got powder in. That’s why it looks alright now. But it’s on its way out. And I’m thinking about getting one of them hair systems.

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“Have you seen the hair systems? You go to a guy and he sort of shaves it here, and then you get a wig that’s shaped for that bit.

“And then you get some, um… glue. And then you glue it on and it stays on for a couple of weeks, but you have to get it fixed.”

Robbie’s latest admission comes after he told The Sun he feared fat jabs were making him blind.

He said: “I was quite an early adopter of the jabs but what I’m also noticing is that my eyesight’s not very good.

“It’s been blurry for a while now, and it’s only getting worse. I don’t believe it’s age; I believe it’s the jabs.

“Everybody’s experiencing it, because I’ll say to people, ‘Blurry, right?’. And they go, ‘Oh s**t, that the thing?’.

“Of course it’s worrying and by being honest today, obviously I want to warn people reading this of the potential risks, to make sure they do their research.

“But seriously, I’m that sick I’d probably stay on it until the sight in one eye has completely gone.”

Last year a US study found patients using some fat jabs for Type 2 diabetes were four times more likely to be diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) — a lack of blood flow to the optic nerve which may lead to sight loss.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received 296 reports of eye disorders thought to be linked to Mounjaro.

Of those, 164 specifically claimed the drug had damaged their vision.
But scientists have not agreed that the medicines actually cause the condition — or by how much they increase the risk.

CHARLOTTE Church has confessed she ‘stinks’ after shunning deodorant and even admitted she no longer shaves. 

The frank confession from Charlotte, 39, came during an appearance on the Walking The Dog podcast. 

When host Emily Dean commented on how “lovely” she smelt, Celebrity Traitors star Charlotte was caught off guard. 

She candidly said: “Do I? That’s surprising. I never smell nice.

“I don’t wear any deodorant or anything, so I generally stink. I don’t shave anymore. I don’t shave anything.”

The former classical music singer went on to explain her reasons for shunning the product and revealed she loves showing off her hairy legs. 

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She said: “I stopped shaving probably about 18 months ago, maybe even longer than that, maybe two years. 

“And I stopped wearing deodorant… I just started thinking, do you know what? This underarm area, there’s so many receptors there, lymph and all sorts of stuff going on there.

“I’m just not sure about sticking all of this chemical stuff in these pores, because your skin is so… you know, it’s the largest organ in the body.

On the subject of shaving, Charlotte continued: “Each to their own. 

“Do you know what I mean? Crack on and have a lovely time and do whatever feels good – dye it, shave it, whatever – but for me I’m just like ‘Nah!’

“I sort of love it, I love the contradiction of it. So I love wearing dresses, beautiful dresses, with my really hairy legs and heels and nails. It’s so confusing for people.”

It’s Charlotte’s latest very honest confession, after she said Alison Hammond “p***** her off” during an appearance on This Morning.

She spoke about the moment on Elizabeth Day’s podcast after clips from her appearance went viral on social media.

During the segment, Charlotte was invited on to This Morning to lead a five-minute sound bath session.

However, unfortunately for Charlotte, Alison found it all a bit too much and found herself laughing and cringing through the entire segment as Charlotte did her best to carry on.

When asked by Elizabeth if she was left “bothered” by Alison’s reaction to her doing a sound bath, Charlotte said: “Oh, that p****d me right off.

“That p****d me right off.”

Elizabeth then added: “Yeah. I felt for you.”

Charlotte continued: “I’ve met Alison Hammond a number of times and she’s a wonderful woman.”

In a further candid confession, Charlotte added: “That really did actually touch quite a deep wound for me.

“I was like, ‘ugh I really like you, Alison, but f*** you’.”

The ITV News journalist has opened up about the ‘agonising’ trip she made following the death of her husband, who passed away in 2022

ITV News Arts Editor Nina Nannar has shared her heartache following the death of her husband. Her partner of 23 years passed away due to complications from kidney disease in 2022, leaving behind their 19-year-old daughter Mimi.

In a recent heartfelt interview, Nina spoke about her “agonising” journey to New Zealand to scatter the ashes of her late husband, Steve Ronson.

The 57-year-old told Norfolk magazine that she had been planning and “dreading” this trip for over a year as it was a “heartbreaking mission”.

She intended to return Steve’s ashes to his homeland of New Zealand but confessed she wasn’t emotionally prepared.

The broadcaster admitted to sleepless nights worrying about whether she could manage her grief and not “be embarrassing” in front of his friends.

Nina confided in the publication: “Even though Steve has been gone three years, the sorrow I feel over his loss still manages to cripple me in unexpected moments, of leaving me still in despair and disbelief that he is no longer here.”

She expressed gratitude towards her friends for supporting her “through my irrational moments” and “times of agony”, reports the Express.

Nina added: “My grief is raw, but this trip Mimi and I made did help us in a huge way.” During their visit to New Zealand, Nina and Mimi joined Steve’s friends at his favourite surf beach where they sang their “family anthem”, Return Of The Grievous Angel.

They also congregated at a beach on the Coramandel Peninsula, where Nina captured a video and sent it to his sister, Chris.

She asked Nina if she had spotted an orb of green light traversing the video, which Nina hoped was a sign from Steve.

Kidney Research UK reported that Steve was born with reflux, a condition affecting a valve in the ureter, causing urine to flow in the wrong direction, from the bladder back into the kidney.

He endured three and a half years on dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant that lasted for 30 years. In 2021, he underwent surgery to remove a lump, but doctors found cancer cells.

A year later, the cancer cells had spread, leading to the removal of Steve’s ear the day after his 60th birthday. Tragically, he passed away in 2022, surrounded by his loved ones.