The new BBC documentary dives into the ‘truth of being a young woman thrust into the spotlight’
Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards is set to feature in the BBC documentary centred on iconic girl groups(Image: BBC)
Perrie Edwards is set to reveal what it’s really like being part of a girl band.
After the success of last year’s Boybands Forever, BBC Two is launching its female equivalent, Girlbands Forever. The three-part documentary will explore ‘girl band fever throughout the 90s and beyond,’ featuring personal contributions from the Little Mix star, along with singers from Atomic Kitten, Sugababes and All Saints.
A preview for the upcoming programme provides a taste of what audiences can anticipate, with interview clips from some of the celebrity participants scheduled to appear. It delves into the nostalgic 90s and noughties period when ‘girl band fever’ was rampant, reports OK!
Presenter Sara Cox describes the period as an “era of young women suddenly having a voice,” before noting: “But it was a small window”.
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The brief 25-second trailer also shows Perrie discussing the backstage challenges of Little Mix, who rose to stardom after triumphing on The X Factor. She disclosed: “We battled the social media trolls together.”
The girl group entered the limelight during the early 2010s, so their journey provides a unique viewpoint on the difficulties female bands encountered in the social media era.
According to the BBC, audiences can anticipate hearing from Heidi Range (Sugababes), Kelle Bryan (Eternal), Kerry Katona (Atomic Kitten), Melanie Blatt (All Saints), Perrie and Su-Elise Nash (Mis-Teeq).
The programme will also feature chats with industry names such as Andy McCluskey, Clara Amfo, Darcus Beese OBE, Lucie Cave, MNEK, Nicki Chapman, Pete Tong, Pete Waterman, Scott Mills and Tulisa.
Girlbands Forever is a product of Louis Theroux’s production house, Mindhouse. Ahead of the show’s debut, Louis expressed: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of making this wonderful series.
“I well remember when the Spice Girls, Eternal and All Saints burst on the scene in the 90s. It was a special time in pop music and British culture generally.”
He added: “Then in their wake came a parade of girl bands, made up of girls who were all in different ways beautiful, talented and often very funny.
“Going back and rediscovering all that music and those videos and the interviews they did has been an absolute pleasure.”
Girlbands Forever debuts on BBC Two and iPlayer on November 1.
In agonising scenes, the former Atomic Kitten star confessed: “I am absolutely s******* myself only because I really like Paolo.
“I want them to really like him too. So getting their approval means everything to me, but I’m a nervous wreck.”
As Paolo went to give the pair a hug, he only received a tentative embrace from Heidi as Kerry was seen aggressively pointing at her daughter.
He confidently exclaimed: “Nice to see you,” as Heidi gave off a nervous giggle.
“Nice to see you too,” she replied back, but it was Danielle who took charge of the grilling.
Watch the moment furious Kerry Katona lashes out at Celebs Go Dating matchmakers after string of awful dates
“We’ve been friends for like 16 years. Is it? So I’m ride or die, got her back.”
Paolo replied: “Obviously, I really like Kerry. We get on very well. The fact that I’ve met her was like mind blowing.”
This is when Kerry asked her daughter why she was being “so quiet,” who declared that she was ‘nervous’.
It seems Kerry was feeling the exact same way as she admitted: “I’m sorry, I’m sweating so much. Honestly, no. Don’t touch me. I’m really dripping.”
Celebs Go Dating 2025 cast
But Danielle confidently carried on with the questioning as she said: “So, I’m just saying she’s my best, best friend. So I’ve got questions.
“The whole fame thing, because Kerry does get papped a lot when you’re out and stuff like that.
“You need to know what you’re dealing with, really, don’t you?Because for me, as a friend in 16 years, I’ve seen so, like many people, trying to get with Kerry, and they’re on the fame and they’re on the money and they’re on the attention.”
However, Paolo admitted that his intentions are only admirable as he already has daughters and he just wants to settle down.
I want them to really like him too. So getting their approval means everything to me, but I’m a nervous wreck.
Kerry KatonaCelebs Go Dating
He explained: “This sounds really weird, but I already feel like the richest man in the world, I’ve got my daughters.
“So my daughter’s made that and then I’ve met somebody that I really connect with as well.
“So for me, I don’t need anything from anyone. I’ve been fully transparent from the beginning. So yeah, I think that’s really important.”
Paolo added” “I think if we just have the conversations, the awkward ones or whatever, get to know each other straight away, all your cards on the table.
Channel 4’s best competition shows
Channel 4 boasts a number impressive competition shows, but which ones are really the best?
Four in a Bed
Reality competition show Four in a Bed has been airing on Channel 4 since 2010. It follows four couples as they take turns to stay at each others B&Bs and hotels, rating their stays along the way. The couple with the establishment voted best value for money are the winners.
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me has been staple British viewing since 2005, providing some outrageous telly moments over the years. Like Four in a Bed, the series moves around to different properties as it follows four contestants as they each host a (supposedly) gourmet dinner party for each other. After each dinner the guests score the host out of 10, will the winner being revealed on the final evening.
The Great British Bake Off
Another national treasure, The Great British Bake Off welcomes a group of 12 amateur bakers to put their culinary skills to the test with Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith judging their efforts. One contestant is eliminated each week until the final three face off in the last week.
Bake Off: The Professionals
Bake Off: The Professionals puts a twist on GBBO, pitting two teams of professional pastry chefs against each other in every episode. It’s up to judges Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden to determine who has what it takes to make it through to the final.
Admiring his remarks, Heidi noted: “He’s very emotionally mature.”
To finish off the interrogation, Danielle asked Paolo what Kerry’s ideal weekend would look like in one final test.
He answered: “Her ideal day off would be to just get cozy, watch some movies and chill.”
Danielle admired his response as she then replied: “You know her well then.”
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Teenager Heidi was ‘unusually’ quiet as she gave him only a tentative greetingCredit: Channel 4
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Kerry was seen to aggressively point at her daughter as they were first introducedCredit: Channel 4
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He seemed to win the pair over by the end of their champagne drinksCredit: Channel 4
As Celebs Go Dating returns for a new series, Kerry Katona is desperate for love, while Christine McGuinness is looking to date a woman and S Club pop star Jon Lee tackles his ‘car crash’ love life…
06:00, 11 Aug 2025Updated 06:21, 11 Aug 2025
Kerry Katona admits she is known as ‘a car crash’ on Celebs Go Dating
With plenty of cheek, Celebs Go Dating is back tonight on E4 at 9pm, as more famous people volunteer to be filmed as they look for love. Guided by expert agents Paul C Brunson, Anna Williamson and Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, there is plenty of drama and lust as the celebs go dating.
This season kicks off with a mixer in London, hosted by Tom Read Wilson.
On the hunt for love in this latest series are Atomic Kitten blonde bombshell Kerry Katona (not her first time on the show), S Club pop star Jon Lee, Too Hot to Handle lothario Louis Russell, TV personality Christine McGuinness and Love Island sensation Olivia Hawkins.
Kerry says: “I’m best known for being a singer, a mother, a reality star and a car crash. People think I’m this crazy, partying wild person, when in fact I’m a bit of a loner. In fact, I’m just really boring.”
She adds: “The whole dating thing is just not something I do.”
Kerry explains: “I just meet somebody and get married. I was very young when I met my first husband, I was 18. We got divorced when I was 25. I got married straight away after that, got divorced, then got married again.
“Then I met my last fiance, but I never actually got up the aisle that time.”
Kerry Katona opens up about her love life on Celebs Go Dating
Kerry sighs: “I keep getting rejected, that’s what it is, I’m never good enough. They always want something else. I just want to be loved. I’m so desperate to be loved.”
She doesn’t fare too well though, with Anna Williamson noting that Kerry comes across as “insincere” when she’s talking to potential dates.
Meanwhile model, author and mum-of-three Christine says: “I’ve been separated from my ex husband for around three years. I met Paddy McGuinness when I was 19.
“I describe my sexuality as being a free spirit. When I was a teenager I dated men and women before I was married and now I’m really, really just enjoying spending time with women.”
Three years after breaking up with husband Paddy, Christine McGuinness is looking for love
While Jon reveals: “My dating has been a complete car crash, I’ve been single and celibate for six years. I want a man who’s rough around the edges.” Getting their flirt on and testing their dating skills, the celebs work the room and try to look for instant chemistry and sparks.
As the agents watch on, they find out just how hard they’re going to have to work to get their famous clients on the path to romance. Paul Brunson says: “We can see how they operate and gather information.”
Then a secret is revealed – the celebs must choose someone for a first date and it will be in Ibiza. “How can I go abroad with someone I don’t know? This is not normal,” says Christine, finally realising that she is on a reality show. A flash forward shows people swinging their tops around their heads, jumping on lilos, clinking glasses… It’s going to be messy.
*Celebs Go Dating airs tonight (Aug 11) on E4 at 9pm
Columnist Jessica Boulton brings you her brutally-honest and wry rundown of Showbiz’s latest shenanigans: from Ibiza Final Boss to MasterChef muppets, she’s not holding back
Jessica Boulton works on the Mirror’s features desk, specialising in celebrity features and interviews. She also writes a weekly observational comedy column Jess Saying, which runs each Saturday. In addition, she oversees the entertainment pages, helps co-ordinate the Pride of Britain coverage and newsletter and guest edits The Diary. Jessica joined The Mirror’s sister paper The People in 2006, and has since worked on the Sunday Mirror and Now magazine. Most likely to be found raving about The Oscars, BAFTAs, Netflix, Friends or Star Wars.
The face that launched a 1,000 snips? Ibiza Final Boss Jack Kay must follow rules to cash in(Image: TikTok)
It’s a strange, strange world when I’m feeling sorry for a bunch of Love Island contestants. But in this social media age, it is sadly what it’s come to. For the poor lovelorn bedhoppers at the Mallorca villa have been putting in weeks of seriously hard graft – flashing their abs and parading around in thong bikinis – to get the one precious thing, (I suspect) their hearts truly desired. No, not love. Fame. Glorious, generous, glittering FAME.
But in the days after Monday’s final, the Islanders soon found themselves getting a cold hard lesson in the pitfalls of success: There’s always someone waiting in the wings – ready to cut short your 15 minutes….
Cach Mercer and Toni Laites have been revealed as the winners of Love Island 2025(Image: ITV)
For it wasn’t the winning Islanders “Breaking The Internet” this week. It wasn’t the winning Islanders batting off the biggest brand deals or most enticing DMs from Blue Tick TikTok. And it wasn’t the winning Islanders getting excitable TV companies all in a lather, begging for interviews. It was….a HAIRCUT.
Yes, the biggest celebrity getting buzz online this week wasn’t even a celeb when the week began. He was Jack Kay, a literal normal down-to-earth 26-year-old Jack-the-lad, from Newcastle on holiday in Ibiza.
He’s been offered free holidays, brand endorsement deals, flights on a £5million private jet, and a whole list of big-money nightclub appearances. He’s signed with Joey Essex’s agent and has landed his own tour and – according to media experts – he could be well-placed to launch his own merchandise range and even bag a possible spot on a reality show. All in all, it’s predicted he could rake in a whopping SIX figures by the end of the year.
For nowadays you don’t need to work summer seasons in Blackpool or win a talent show to become a star. You can become ‘famous’ just by making the right people laugh, at the right moment in time, as they absent-mindedly scroll through their phone while listening to podcasts. Yep, Fame has reached Peak Fickledom.
So, when the stars and algorithms do align to make you a viral hit, you need to make the most of it. And while Jack’s ‘success’ is all thanks to what is ON his head, it’s what’s inside it which will prove his biggest asset. For in 2025, turning your viral moment in the sun into a longer-term earner is all about savvy strategy, clear thinking and mindset:
Are Jack Kay/Ibiza Bob’s fellow Geordies Ant and Dec jumping on the Ibiza Final Boss bandwagon?
(*Okay, okay, PhotoShop may have lent a hand). As for the rest of the week? Well, Celebland was throwing us all sorts of surprises…..
Monday mayhem
Be afraid, be very afraid! For the stars of an upcoming new theatre tour have been doing the press rounds this week. And from the sounds of it, there will be no one safe this Halloween and autumn. Indeed, it’s expected to have many a celeb not just quaking but SHAKING, QUAKING, QUIVERING, TREMBLING AND OUTRIGHT SHUDDERING in their boots.
No, it’s not a new take on Phantom of the Opera (albeit some may be haunted by what’s said). Nor is it Saw: The Musical (although that is a multi-million pound idea). It’s the terrifying new two-hander: An Evening With… Katie Price and Kerry Katona. The pair’s tell-all 33-date UK tour was feared to have been cancelled earlier in the summer due to… well, whatever Katie’s snoresome crisis-du-jour was at the time.
Katie Price and Kerry Katona are getting ready for their new tour (But I have a few notes!)(Image: Instagram)
But the pair are back and have now been hitting the interview circuit to give fans a little taste of what to expect. Target one? “Snobby” Strictly – which they publicly dissed this week for having never asked them to take part. (One suspects they’ve now said “Foxtrot Oscar” to any future possibilities too).
Of course, we all know the real dirt will be saved for the show itself. Yet however juicy the eww -some twosome’s tete-a-tete promises to be, I can’t help but wonder if the panto frenemies could have come up with a slightly more, er… spicy format… A WWE-style grudge match with lookalikes of their many nemeses, perhaps? Imagine the commentator yelling to the roaring crowd: “Get Ready to say mi-OWWW! It’s our very own….. Nuclear Cheetah aka Kerry Katona! – from Atomic Kitten to a one-woman weapon of mass destruction…”
Or maybe… they could make it a dramatic retelling of Four Weddings And A Funeral, where Katie’s the bride each time and the funeral’s for her tragic lack of taste? Or finally, what about a musical? After all, KP’s been Defying Gravity for years (with the help of her plastic surgeon).
What a royal twit Tuesday
It’s not been a good week for Royal affairs – of any kind. But a new bombshell biography has cemented one unassailable truth: Young kids fed on fairy tales and Disney movies are far more likely to find themselves a talking warthog or a flying elephant than a real-life Prince Charming.
Yes, a new book by historian Andrew Lownie has claimed Prince Andrew allegedly strayed “more than a dozen” times before his first – yes, first – anniversary with Fergie. Clearly their wedding certificate was not worth the paper it was printed on.
Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York in 1986 – the year they married. They divorced 10 years later(Image: Hulton Archive/GettyImages)
Fergie did have a little something in common with Cinderella however. She was sporting some rather fetching slippers this week. They weren’t glass ones though – they were fluffy numbers emblazoned with the unofficial Royal motto “Never Complain, Never Explain”. It warms the heart, it really does.
Wok you gonna do? Wednesday
The BBC took a leap with its MasterChef dilemma by airing the first episode of the pre-recorded series on Wednesday. Surprisingly they went for primetime BBC1 instead of hiding it on iPlayer only. Presumably they figured they were in for a roasting whatever they did – so they might as well fill a hole in the schedule.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in the new series of MasterChef, recorded before their two scandals(Image: BBC)
The real stars of the series are the editors who faced the unenviable task of trying to cut out as much of the under-fire Gregg Wallace and John Torode as possible – which from the looks of the results is a bit like trying to remove excess garlic from a pasta dish. You can’t. Everything’s already tainted.
What I don’t understand is why the Beeb didn’t go with my previous suggestion: just do some deep fake trickery. So what could they replace them with? Let’s see: Option 1: A literal toxic trigger warning; Option 2: Bradley Walsh and Rylan Clark (they’re on everything else anyway); Option 3 (and perhaps most apt): Statler and Waldorf. A couple of muppets… who are completely stuffed.
Half-baked deep fakes? What the BBC could have done to solve their MasterChef problem with hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode
No relief for kangaroo testicles Thursday
Talking of show formats (see Monday), there was one news story this week that left me feeling a little… well, antsy . What was it? This: “ITV bosses are planning the next five years of I’m A Celebrity…” (really? another FIVE?); “With talks under way to film in the jungle until 2030….” (Wait, 2030 is only five years away??); “When it’ll reach its landmark 30th season”. (30 years? 30? 3-0?)
You mean to say we’ve been watching the same show with the same hosts, same sort of trials, same prize, same location, same set and same set of scandals just with different faces… for nearly 30 YEARS? They say doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is the very definition of insanity. So either, we can all relate to Peter Andre’s infamous jungle-penned hit Insania – written while a campmate in 2004 – or we really don’t mind the deja vu.
So what can we expect over the next few years? Well, I have two predictions:
Ant and Dec have been doing I’m a Celeb for 25 years and counting (Image: ITV)
1. Princess and/or Junior Andre will follow in their parents’ footsteps, going back to the scene of the crime special place where the Katie and Peter’s “love” story first began.
2. Following the “success” of political hires Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage, bosses will make a “bigly” play for President Trump at the end of his term. (If he doesn’t rewrite the US Constitution, that is.) After all, there’s been quite a few (thousand) of his type involved in the show before. Fatima Whitbread even got one stuck up her nose… Much to the chagrin of her and the cockroach, I suspect.
Foolish Friday
It was a mixed day for Richard Osman. On the plus side, Netflix released the first trailer for the movie adaptation of his bestselling crime novel The Thursday Murder Club (starring Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren).
Richard Osman gets loose-lipped on podcast (Image: SKY)
On the downside… Osman – who has produced a number of game shows including Pointless, Total Wipeout, Prize Island, and my absolute FAVOURITE Only Connect – inexplicably decided to tell podcast listeners that quiz shows often use “an algorithm” to stop contestants winning too much money.
It’s obvious to be fair, and while not quite a Gerald Ratner-level own goal, it wasn’t terribly clever. I wouldn’t want to overtly criticise him in a family newspaper, so here’s my verdict – in the style of Only Connect’s Missing Vowels Round. Enjoy! WH TTT LPLNK R*
Picture of the Week
Being a 30-something in today’s world must be tough. There you are, juggling career, love life, social life and saving for an inexplicably-expensive “micro-loft” – and somehow you also have to make time for what’s really important: taking impossibly perfect pics for the ‘Gram.
But it looks like a certain 35-year-old Oscar-winner has got this careful balancing act all figured out. For, Avengers star Brie Larson posted THIS video on Instagram this week.
Brie Larson’s quirky balancing act – HOW IS SHE DOING THAT?(Image: Instagram)
Brie as Captain Marvel: yes, she can save the universe and the fabric of time itself, but can she balance on one stiletto heel atop a can of peaches?(Image: Handout)
And while she might be steady as a rock, I – as Gen Z would say – “am shook” . In fact I’m more impressed by this feat than by any of her big screen Captain Marvel antics.
Brie, who is promoting her new tome, Party People, accompanied this video with a quip: “My social media manager said this will sell 1,000 books. So here I am.” The book in question is a “cookbook for creative celebrations” with “endless ideas for weird and wacky parties” – which goes some way to explaining this impressive-yet-leftfield marketing campaign.
Personally, I’m most amazed by her superhuman pain threshold. For, anyone who has experienced the inherent cruelty of the modern-day torture device known as a stiletto heel, will appreciate that this is not just a demonstration of core strength, stability and precision… but of sheer, sheer, sheer ENDURANCE.
So how did she do it? The way I see it, there’s only one explanation: she’s in the wrong franchise… the girl’s a Wonder Woman for sure.
What do you think? Have you seen some funny celeb moments this week? Let me know in comment or on X/Instagram via @JessicaBoulton
*Answer To Missing Vowels Round: “What a plonker”
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In 2005, the first series of Celebrity Love Island aired and it was an ex-Westlife bodyguard and a popular TV host who went on to win
Fran Cosgrave, the inaugural winner of Love Island, is almost unrecognisable in a recent social media snap, sporting a full beard two decades after his stint on the show.
The debut series of Celebrity Love Island graced our screens back in 2005, boasting a star-studded line-up including Atomic Kitten’s Liz McClarnon and EastEnders‘ Michael Greco.
However, it was former Westlife bodyguard Fran and telly presenter Jayne Middlemiss who clinched the title.
Before his Love Island adventure, Fran was romantically linked to Natasha Hamilton from 2001 to 2002, with whom he has a son, Josh, now 21.
Fast forward twenty years, and 47 year old Fran looks strikingly different from his time in the luxurious Fiji villa, having swapped his clean-shaven look for a thick, dark beard, reports OK!.
Fran won Love Island alongside Jayne Middlemiss(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
These days, Fran keeps a low profile, trading TV fame for a career in music. He’s currently a producer and DJ for house music trio, the Futuristic Polar Bears, which he founded.
With hit tracks like Running Wild and Damaged under his belt, and a whopping 90 million Spotify streams according to his Instagram bio, Fran has certainly made his mark in the music industry.
The group has toured extensively, lighting up nightclubs around the globe. In a chat with Jennifer Zamparelli on RTE 2FM, Fran reflected on his brush with fame.
He mused: “You can’t take it [fame] too seriously because it’s gone as quick as it comes.
“As it came towards 2009, things just started to spin out of control a bit, as it does. I was kind of finished with the whole celebrity thing.
“I started saying, ‘no’ to loads of programmes and I just wasn’t interested in it. My manager, rightly so, was like, ‘Mate why won’t you do any of these things?’ I was just like, ‘I’m not there anymore.'”
Now two decades on, Fran, 47, looks markedly different(Image: Instagram/ @francosgrave)
The ex-nightclub proprietor has left his wild nights behind, and now when he’s touring, he maintains a strict ‘no drinking, no partying’ rule.
He’s also channelled his energy into entrepreneurship, launching RUUD Coffee this year and previously introducing his own bespoke coffee blends and brand, Concrete Coffee, in 2024.
Celebrity Love Island made a comeback for its second season in 2006, featuring stars like Eternal singer and Loose Women panellist Kelle Bryan and Boyzone member Shane Lynch.
Yet, it was models Bianca Gascoigne and Calum Best who emerged victorious in the show’s final series before it was axed.
Love Island airs weekdays and Sunday nights from 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX
