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Marina Hyde said on her podcast with Richard Osman: ‘Someone at some level in Britain’s Got Talent was trying to get rid of him.’

People within Britain’s Got Talent “leaked” the controversial comments that led to David Walliams‘ departure from the ITV show, it was claimed this week.

The Little Britain star, 55, left the telly hit in 2022 after derogatory comments he made about contestants came to light.

He was recorded during filming breaks at the London Palladium calling one contestant a ‘c***’ and said of another: “She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t.”

Walliams – accused of allegedly using his status as a celebrity to prey on vulnerable teenagers and young women for sex, which he denies – was the subject of a discussion on The Rest is Entertainment podcast.

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Marina Hyde, who hosts with TV star Richard Osman, said: “Did we also know that people were trying to get rid of him?

“Operatives, I don’t know who and I don’t know at what level… who leaked those comments? They were trying to get rid, someone at some level in Britain’s Got Talent was trying to get rid of him.”

Walliams sued the show’s makers Fremantle for misuse of private information and for breaching data protection laws and the case was settled in 2023.

Speaking about when the remarks came to light, Hyde, 52, added: “Those comments were leaked, they dropped him and rather than leave that – which you might have thought, you are a hugely bestselling author, perhaps why would you wish to excavate it? – he sued them in the High Court in 2023.

She added: “He clearly thought they had leaked it deliberately. Eventually they settled amicably. I can assure you that would not have been at all amicable on either side.”

Walliams was a judge on Britain’s Got Talent for a decade, joining the show in 2012 on the panel alongside Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden. When he left in 2022 he was replaced by Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli.

The show, which is still a bit hit for ITV, is due to return next year. Since 2026, YouTuber and musician KSI has taken Bruno’s spot on the judging panel after the Italian star ran into scheduling conflicts.

The Mirror has contacted reps for Britain’s Got Talent.

The Lewisham Islamic Centre accused the charity watchdog of imposing disproportionate expectations on Muslim charities.

The Lewisham Islamic Centre (LIC) in London has rejected a warning issued by the UK’s independent Charity Commission, which reprimanded the mosque for comments on Palestinian suffering made by an imam during October 2023 sermons.

“The matters raised by the Commission represent a troubling attempt to scrutinise, restrict and penalise legitimate religious worship” and “the expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the mosque said in an official statement issued Wednesday.

The statement comes after the charity watchdog accused the religious centre of including “content that was inflammatory, divisive and not in the charity’s best interests” during two separate sermons, as they issued an official warning urging the centre to “improve its handling of speakers and events hosted at the charity’s premises” on October 20.

The commission warned that if the mosque fails to “remedy the misconduct”, it may be subjected to further action.

‘Unnecessarily burdensome’

The mosque also accused the commission of imposing disproportionate expectations on Muslim charities after the warning, describing them as “unnecessarily burdensome”. The religious centre explained that a sermon, or khutbah, is an integral part of Islamic worship and often speaks to the issues affecting the wellbeing of congregations and their communities. The LIC worried that the warning suggested the commission was “entitled to dictate which subjects Imams may address in their khutbahs”.

LIC added that they are currently seeking legal advice as to the best way to move forward following the warning.

CAGE International, a London-based human rights organisation, supported the mosque, and claimed the Charity Commission showed lenience when it came to pro-Israel charities.

“The Commission’s position treats the word ‘Zionist’ as inflammatory in itself,” CAGE said on Thursday. “This merges opposition to a political ideology with hatred of a people, and places Muslim religious expression under suspicion by default.”

“The Commission has told a mosque that naming who is responsible for Palestinian suffering falls outside acceptable religious practice,” a spokesperson for CAGE said. “This is the same regulator asking for the power to remove trustees for their views,” they added, referring to a recent government consultation to expand the Charity Commission’s powers.

NEW YORK — Billionaire Leon Black has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) for public comments the Democratic congressman made tying him to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The suit, filed Wednesday, comes less than two months after the House approved a resolution holding Black in contempt of Congress for defying the Oversight Committee’s subpoenas in its investigation into Epstein.

In June, Black appeared for a voluntary interview at the committee during which he denied any knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking network.

Weeks later, Garcia said during a TV interview that “Leon Black is at the center of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes” and that Black “was one of the last people to actually interact” with Epstein before he committed suicide in prison.

In addition, Garcia said that he had “talked to survivors that have credibly named Leon Black as someone that was involved in direct abuse of women and was directly involved” with Epstein.

Those statements were false and were made maliciously, Black asserts through his lawyers. The defamation lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeks a jury trial and $7.25 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

“Congressman Garcia’s knowing lies have caused real and significant ongoing harm to Mr. Black. His physical safety has been threatened, he has received a barrage of hateful calls, emails, and social media posts, and his business and philanthropic endeavors have suffered,” the filing states.

Garcia’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

In September, Garcia called the contempt resolution against Black “an important step toward justice and accountability.”

Black had refused to respond to subpoenas asking him to appear and to turn over any potential nondisclosure agreements involving the investigation into Epstein.

Black’s lawyers have repeatedly denounced the Oversight Committee’s pursuit of the former head of a private equity firm as an abuse of congressional power. They have maintained he had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s criminal conduct.

Black was among several prominent figures, including Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, who had been asked to appear as part of the Oversight Committee’s long-running probe of Epstein. Survivors of Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse have told personal stories of being young women in a trafficking enterprise organized by Epstein and his colleague Ghislaine Maxwell.

Big Brother fans were floored by what one housemate said as they gave their honest opinion

Some Big Brother viewers were left stunned over one star’s comments.

Fans of ITV’s reality series are furious after one housemate was asked for their honest opinion of a fellow contestant. Their comment has been branded as ‘insane’.

Tonight’s episode (October 25) saw the aftermath of Harry’s eviction on Friday. It also saw the house be rattled not just by the result but by what they believe they heard shouted and cheered by the crowd who attended the live show.

The next day, the group were gathered on the sofas for the latest task. Big Brother told them: “Housemates, after six weeks together, you could say you’ve become family. A big, dysfunctional family. To help put the ‘fun’ back in dysfunctional, today, Big Brother will be running family therapy sessions. If you complete the therapy sessions to Big Brother’s satisfaction, you will receive a special reward.”

Later, the housemates were called once again for the final part of the challenge, which was called Honesty Therapy. Each housemate was forced to pick two others. Their first pick must then give their brutally honest opinion about the other.

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While previous scenes during the episode saw some housemates rebuild their relationships, including Rochelle and Twinks, Twinks and Omar, Omar and Rhianna and Yasmin and Sam, the task threatened to ruin it all.

Sam went first and said: I think one person here is very right to the point and that would be Philip. So Philip, I’d like to hear your honest opinion about Yasmin.”

Twinks commented: “This is savage, isn’t it.” Philip then stood up and partially tongue in cheek commented: “Well Yasmin, you get on my nerves sometimes, girl…I’m up to here with you. You’re always trying to fix people’s problems, fix your f****** own before anyone else’s and stop getting in people’s business, bone collecting.”

However, Rochelle was asked to give her view on Catrin. Rochelle quipped: “You’re a pig.” Even some housemates were taken aback as Philip muttered: “You can’t say that.”

Rochelle tried to expand on her comments and explained: “Sometimes you’re greedy with the chocolates. Just the sweets.”

Catrin did not seem sure how to respond but she was then asked to share her view on Rochelle in turn. She said: “Sometimes I can’t finish my sentence. Maybe don’t cut across people. Sometimes it’d be nice to compliment people rather than say the worst things.”

Fans watching along at home were taken aback by Rochelle’s comments. They were furious that she would say such a thing and one person posted on social media: “Rochelle calling Cat a pig was out of order especially in front of everybody.”

Another added: “How can Rochelle actually look Catrin in the face & say ‘You’re a pig’? So rude. Doesn’t she steal all the salt and vinegar crisps every week and stash them in her drawer.”

Someone else commented: “Rochelle just went on Cat and called her a pig. Those tears can stay where they were.”

While one person replied: “Calling someone a pig is so outrageous!” One fan put forward: “You’re a pig is actually insane actually but am I shocked, no! It’s Rochelle we are talking about.”

Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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