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Chris Evans has made a major comeback with the relaunch of TFI Friday and brought the iconic programme to his radio station almost 30 years after it first aired

Chris Evans has relaunched his hit 90s series TFI Friday. The presenter, 59, fronted the hit series during its initial run on Channel 4 from 1996 until 2000 and it became staple viewing at the start of the weekend.

The format featured a mix of live performances and celebrity interviews. Chris left the programme after the fifth series, and big names like the Spice Girls, Davina McCall and Elton John stepped in to take the reins for the last run of episodes in the build up to Christmas 2000. Now best known for fronting his radio show on Virgin, the TV star, who also presented the short-lived revival in 2015, has brought the programme back once more.

The revamped version of the iconic series is currently being released on Virgin Radio’s YouTube channel, and welcoming the audience to the first episode, Chris said: “Hello friends. Thank you for tuning in! Welcome to TFI Unplugged.

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“On the way today, Delroy Lindo, currently nominated for Academy Award, Hollywood Sim Car of course. Also on the way, the hilarious Ross Noble going to be here!”

Some of the more regular segments during the original run of the show included Freak or Unique, which encouraged participants to show off a strange talent. Other items included Fishbowl Challenge, Show Us Your Face Then and Sink Or Swim.

The show also ran a segment called Someone’s Going to Be a Millionaire!, based on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, and on Christmas Eve 1999, TFI Friday became the first British programme to issue a £1 million prize, almost a year before one player won the jackpot on the ITV game show.

Chris became a major television star in the early 1990s, as the Channel 4 show The Big Breakfast which he presented alongside Gaby Roslin, before other showbiz favourites like Denise Van Outen, Zoe Ball and Kelly Brook took on the hosting role.

He wrote and presented TFI Friday whilst working on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, which he eventually resigned from whilst he was live on air in 1997 after Radio 1 refused to allow him to work a four-day week.

He also presented The One Show on Fridays between 2010 and 2015, and later became the lead host of Top Gear in 2015 after the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson.

In 2022, Chris explained on his radio show that a reboot of TFI Friday didn’t need to be on television anymore thanks to the advent of streaming. He said: “Can I tell you a bit more about it?

“Oh, sure. The thing is, you don’t need a TV channel now. You don’t don’t need one. It’s amazing what you can do. TFI Friday doesn’t have to be an hour long, it could be longer, we could livestream it!”

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Tributes have poured in for beloved Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara, the Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek star who died this week at age 71.

US media outlets reported on Friday that O’Hara died at her Los Angeles home after a brief illness.

Born and raised in Toronto, O’Hara began her acting career in the 1970s at The Second City improvisational theatre and later performed on iconic Canadian comedy show SCTV.

Her break into movies came in 1980 with Double Negative, alongside her longtime collaborator Eugene Levy, as well as John Candy.

But she became widely known to a global audience when she played Macaulay Culkin’s mother in 1990’s Home Alone.

“It’s a perfect movie, isn’t it?” she told People magazine in 2024. “You want to be part of something good, and that’s how you go.”

More recently, younger audiences embraced O’Hara for her role as the matriarch of a rich family that loses its wealth in Schitt’s Creek, where she again starred alongside Levy, as well as his son, Dan.

Her turn as Moira Rose won her an Emmy award for best actress in a comedy series in 2020.

Here’s a look at how actors, politicians and others are remembering O’Hara:

Macaulay Culkin

“Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later,” Culkin wrote on Instagram.

Eugene Levy

Levy got his start alongside O’Hara at Second City and on SCTV, and he later starred with her in several projects, including Christopher Guest’s Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and Waiting for Guffman.

In a statement, Levy said “words seem inadequate to express the loss” he felt after her death. “I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years,” he said.

“From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her.

“My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”

Dan Levy

“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” Levy, who played O’Hara’s character’s son David Rose on Schitt’s Creek, wrote on Instagram.

“Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

“Over 5 decades of work, Catherine earned her place in the canon of Canadian comedy — from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek,” Carney wrote on X.

“Canada has lost a legend. My thoughts are with her family, friends, and all those who loved her work on screen. She will be dearly missed.”

Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Trudeau hailed O’Hara as “a beloved Canadian icon with a rare gift for comedy and heart”.

“She made people laugh across generations and helped bring Canadian storytelling to the world in a way only she could. My thoughts are with her family, friends, and everyone who found joy in her work,” Trudeau wrote on X.

Seth Rogen

Rogen, who starred alongside O’Hara in the series The Studio, said he told O’Hara when he first met her that he thought “she was the funniest person [he’d] ever had the pleasure of watching on screen”.

“Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour,” Rogen wrote in an Instagram post.

“She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous … she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.”

Yellowstone’s Jefferson White has officially joined the cast of the upcoming Rambo prequel led by an iconic Netflix star

Yellowstone actor Jefferson White has officially been cast in the forthcoming Rambo prequel, John Rambo.

With Noah Centineo taking on the legendary veteran role originally made famous by Sylvester Stallone, the new picture from director Jalmari Helander (Sisu) will be positioned several years prior to the 1982 action masterpiece, First Blood.

White, known for playing Jimmy Hurdstrom in the popular Western series, becomes part of an ensemble that features Yao (Sinners), Jason Tobin (A Thousand Blows), Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty), and Tayme Thapthimthong (The White Lotus).

Specifics regarding White and his fellow cast members’ characters remain under wraps. The prequel is being described as a labour of love for Helander and will likely delve into Rambo’s wartime service in Vietnam.

Production is presently taking place across Bangkok, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Kanchanaburi in Thailand, reports the Express.

A stark initial poster showing Rambo’s grip on military identification tags has been unveiled.

Speaking about the project, Helander revealed: “When I was 11, I saw First Blood for the first time, and it changed my life.

“Rambo wasn’t just a film to me – it stayed with me growing up and was a defining influence on why I wanted to become a filmmaker.

“As we begin production on the origin of John Rambo, we’re going back to the beginning.

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“This is Rambo stripped down, raw, and real – a survival story about endurance, persistence, and lost innocence. It’s an honor to shape this next chapter with deep respect for the character and the legacy, and to bring audiences the start of John Rambo’s journey.”

Erin Westerman, president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said: “We’re thrilled to start production on John Rambo, which will allow both new audiences and existing fans to explore John Rambo’s roots, his principles, and most importantly, some incredible action, courtesy of Jalmari’s singular vision.

“And we’re so excited for Noah’s committed and powerful performance to show what forged this character into legend.”

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Leading man Centineo rose to fame playing Peter Kavinsky in Netflix’s beloved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before rom-com trilogy opposite Lana Condor.

His credits also include 2022’s superhero blockbuster Black Adam alongside Dwayne Johnson, whilst he’s set to take on the role of Ken Masters in the forthcoming Street Fighter adaptation arriving in cinemas later this year.

John Rambo does not yet have a release date. Yellowstone is available to stream on Paramount+

A popular ferry service that linked the UK with Norway was withdrawn in 2008, but it could return, as there have been calls to restore the route that connects the twin cities

There have been calls to restore the popular DFDS ferry service linking the UK to the Norwegian city of Bergen, 18 years after it was discontinued.

The beloved DFDS ferry linking Tyneside to the Scandinavian port ceased operations in 2008. However, the upcoming launch of new direct flights from Newcastle to Bergen this year has reignited demands for the maritime connection to be revived as well.

The two cities have maintained their twin status since 1968, with Bergen previously sending Newcastle an annual Christmas tree for decades as a symbol of their bond, though this custom has since ceased due to environmental considerations. While operators consider restoring the ferry service financially unviable, Newcastle City Council leader Karen Kilgour informed colleagues on Wednesday that enthusiasm for reinstating the route persists.

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The Labour councillor revealed to a full council session that she anticipated the Jet2 flights commencing this April would “prove popular enough to allow the company to offer year-long flight options connecting our two great cities”.

Coun Kilgour continued: “Not only will this assist our economic links through strategic sectors in offshore energy but also allow tourists to take advantage of city breaks. We would also love to see the return of the ferry, which stopped running in 2008. We know lots of people in both cities have fond memories of travelling by sea to visit both Newcastle and Bergen, reports Chronicle Live.

“And while at this point operators consider the route is not economically viable, we will continue to work with partners and our friends in Bergen to explore all ways of bringing it back. Bergen remains a strategic partner in our international work and we intend not only to maintain but to deepen that relationship in the months ahead.”

The possibility of reinstating a ferry service is believed to have been hampered by the requirement to construct an expanded passport control facility at Bergen’s port should operations resume.

Lib Dem councillor Greg Stone, who has consistently championed the ferry’s return on a historic route stretching back to 1890, commented: “Warm words are one thing, but we need to make it a reality. I know there are costs involved in doing that but I hope the council will continue that work, redouble that work, and work potentially with the mayor [Kim McGuinness] to look at what we can do to restore the physical ferry link.”

Travellers are delighted at the prospect of the ferry route returning, as one shared on Facebook: “That would be great, I would be on that like a flash.” A second commented: “An absolute necessity to get this route back again. Bergen/Stavanger – Newcastle.”

A third wrote: “Out of all the routes lost the return of the Bergen route would be the most successful. Bergen is a great place to visit and is also the gateway to the rest of Norway.” Reminiscing another shared: “It used to go to Hamburg as well and I went there on DFDS with my nana and grandad to visit family when I was a kid.”

One more shared: “I so hope so. Pity it may not go to Haugesund and Stavanger, but I can take Bergen. It would be amazing to have the ship back again, so we can connect again with beautiful Norway. My homeland, on my father’s side.”

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