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Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh was a Celebrity Traitors superfan and made some surprising friendships before being the third person out of the show this year

Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh has described her time on Celebrity Traitors as “extraordinary” and revealed a quirk of the show means people become friends faster than usual.

The former star of Coronation Street, 56, admitted she was “obsessed” with the show before signing up to star in the 2026 version.

She says she has made some friends for life and explained to Good Housekeeping UK: “The extraordinary thing is that you’re all on the same footing. There’s no status at all. You have these accelerated friendships because there’s a lot of time off-camera when you’re travelling in cars together and aren’t allowed to discuss the game. People tell you about their lives; I found out so much about people and I was really touched that they trusted me.”

Asked who she became closest to, she added: “Romesh [Ranganathan] is one of the greatest human beings. We were in there right at the start, alongside Ross Kemp. The three of us were a very unlikely little threesome. I adored Ross, too.”

Julie was banished as a Faithful from BBC show early on after being voted out in a round table. She was the third celebrity to leave.

The acclaimed actress is best known for starring as Hayley Cropper in Corrie between 1998 and 2014.

She said: “The short storyline was supposed to be Roy Cropper [David Neilson] falling for Hayley, then running for the hills when she comes out as trans. But everybody loved the relationship. It became a key storyline almost by accident, which was the best way, because it wasn’t an issue that was shoehorned in.”

On her exit, she added: “There’s a photo of me on the floor, foetal. I was like, ‘What have I done?’ I have no regrets about leaving, but when I watch the credits and see that so many of the cast and crew names are the same, it feels a bit strange.

“Had I stayed, it would have become embarrassing. Anachronistic. But I maintain that Hayley and Roy’s love story was important. It got people talking. It’s so upsetting that trans rights have now gone backwards.”

In real life she is married to writer Ian Kershaw and they have two grown up daughters Martha and Lyss.

Julie reflected: “I found a lot of motherhood a struggle. Balancing my own life and work with motherhood was tricky at times. I have a lot of regrets about losing my rag with my kids. I took things too personally; I felt like they were almost trying to make my life difficult, which obviously they weren’t. They were just children.”

Asked by the magazine who she’d invite to a fantasy Christmas lunch, she said: “Patti Smith, because I adore her. Rebecca Lucy Taylor [who performs as Self Esteem]. James Baldwin. Naomi Klein – I loved Doppelgänger and realised she’s funny as well as formidable. Tony Benn. Oh, and AOC [American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]. Who else? Emma Thompson – I’ve never met her, but I think she’s a good person.”

* The full interview can be read now in the December issue of Good Housekeeping UK.

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Leonardo DRS Explains How Army Counter-UAS Mission Is Evolving

It seems Chet Hanks, son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, is still in his feels over Eric André’s recollection of his zany and “dangerous” appearance on “The Eric Andre Show.”

Hanks, who became an internet personality in recent years for boasting his Jamaican accent at the 2020 Golden Globes red carpet and unironically coining the phrase “White Boy Summer,” seemingly reignited his feud with André when he confronted the Emmy winner during ComplexCon in Los Angeles over the weekend. On Tuesday, Hanks posted video of himself approaching André and his security team at the event and exchanging some words with the comedian.

It’s unclear what the two men say to each other but Hanks appears to bring up an issue to André who seemingly shrugs it off at first. The conversation seems to turn tense when Hanks speaks face-to-face with André and security personnel block the view. The video concludes with André and his securtiy walking away from Hanks and his posse. In the caption to his video, Hanks said André “had NO MEMORY WHATSOEVER of trashing me to the media after I outshined him on his own show!!”

Representatives for André did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for comment.

The tension between Hanks and André could be traced to a March 2023 interview with Rolling Stone in which the comedian called Hanks “emotionally disturbed” and shared details about his guest spot on “The Eric André Show.”

“He stole a motorcycle and rode it around. He almost knocked a bunch of grips and gaffers off their ladders,” André recalled in 2023. “It was very dangerous. He tried to prank us back, but we edited out all his b—! He’s not well. How did Colin Hanks come out so good and Chet Hanks come out so bad?”

Shortly after the interview, Chet Hanks responded to André by claiming he was just attempting to “match [the] energy” of the “weird, outlandish” series. “The Eric André Show” began in 2012 and is the origin for a number of viral memes and sketches and unhinged celebrity moments. Of course, “The Eric André Show,” a parody of late-night talk series, always begins with its eponymous host wrecking his set in the most chaotic manner.

In 2023, Hanks called André a “straight b—.” The comedian swiftly fired back, calling Hanks a “f— liar” and dared Hanks to take a “DNA test and prove that Tom Hanks is his f— father.”

After the weekend confrontation, Hanks said that André ultimately “admitted” the feud began “because he had a problem with me ‘mocking Caribbean culture’ when I did my Jamaican accent all those years ago.” Hanks, who is white and was born in Los Angeles, resurfaced to public consciousness in 2020 when he — unprompted — introduced himself at the Golden Globes red carpet with his impression of Jamaican Patois. His father, the prolific actor beloved for roles in “Saving Private Ryan,” “Forrest Gump” and “Toy Story,” received the Globes’ Cecil B. Demille award later that evening.

“WHO KNEW that in addition to the brain rot and poop joke humor he is known for, Eric is also such a passionate cultural activist!!! Great running into you Eric!!!!,” Hanks, who has repeatedly used and defended the N-word on social media, sarcastically ended his caption.

André, who is Black, has long been a vocal social and cultural activist. The “Street Fighter” actor over the years has spoken out against Israel’s war in Gaza and has used his platform to address racism and police brutality.

This summer André, alongside fellow comedian Clayton English, settled a racial profiling suit against Clayton County police in Georgia. The comics were both allegedly racially profiled and subject to “unconstitutional” stops by Clayton County police at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in 2021. The stops were part of a police program intended to combat drug trafficking. The Associated Press reported that the settlement “does not include an admission of fault or liability on the county’s part but says the county has ended the program at issue and has no intention of reactivating it.”