Lorraine

MUCH-LOVED Australian actress Lorraine Bayly has died at 89.

The Sullivan’s star died in her Sydney care home on Saturday morning.

Lorraine’s close friend, journalist Craig Bennett confirmed her death to 2GB on behalf of her family.

She was best known for starring in The Sullivans as Grace and presenting popular children’s show Playschool.

The hit show ran from 1976 to 1983.

After leaving The Sullivans, Lorraine took on a role that had been speficially written for her.

She played solicitor Jennifer Carson in Carson’s Law.

In a heartbreaking social media post, the actresses’ friend Craig called Lorraine a “showbiz legend, a bona fide star of stage and screen, a triple Logie winning TV treasure and beautiful friend to many”.

He noted that the award-winning actress only retired 10 years ago.

Lorraine Kelly stopped her ITV daytime TV show to deliver some breaking news about this year’s Eurovision Song Contest

The ITV show Lorraine was abruptly interrupted by its host, as Lorraine Kelly delivered a “breaking news” announcement. She interrupted her conversation abut spring dresses with Mark Heyes as she received breaking news through her ear piece.

While they spoke, the host’s hand flew to her ear. “Mark, they’ve just said ‘breaking news’,” she said. She spoke quickly to the person talking to her to say that she had stopped the show and then revealed the news to the audience.

“Boy George is not Italy,” Lorraine said. Earlier in the day, it had been revealed that Boy George was make a surprise bid with an Italian singer to compete for a European nation in the Eurovision Song Contest, but the country he was hoping to compete for was not known, until Lorraine’s announcement. “It’s not us either, it’s San Marino.”

READ MORE: Lorraine doctor Amir Khan’s two golden rules to cut risk of heart disease and inflammationREAD MORE: Never before seen intimate pictures of Lorraine Kelly as her daughter opens up family album

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San Marino is a small nation in Europe that is landlocked by Italy. It is situated on Mount Titano and is one of the world’s oldest republics. As of 2024, it’s population was said to be only around 34,000. The nation has competed in Eurovision 15 times, debuting in 2008 and making its first appearance in the final in 2014. The nation has never won.

After revealing the news, Lorraine seemed nonplussed by it. Shrugging, she said to the camera: “He’ll win.” Mark then added that he was “glad” that Boy George would not be performing for the UK, as “we never win”. Lorraine added: “Yeah its a bit embarrassing.”

The UK is always in the final of the contest, as we are one of a few nations whose financial contribution guarantees them a place. However, the last time we won was over 20 years ago, in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves’ Love Shine A Light.

Ordinarily, the UK finish near the bottom of the leaderboard but in 2022, Sam Ryder’s Space Man got the UK to second place, finishing behind Ukraine. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the nation was unable to host the following year’s contest. As such, the UK was able to host for the first time since 1998.

This year, Youtuber Look Mum No Computer will compete for the UK at the contest in Vienna. This is the third time the city will host Eurovision and comes after Austria’s JJ won the competition last year.

There are several countries that will not compete this year. Five have decided to boycott the competition over the continued allowance of Israel to take part. These countries are Iceland, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands, all of whom have said that they do not think it is appropriate to take part if Israel are.

Israel’s participation in Eurovision has been a source of tension due to the war in Gaza. The war has resulted in the deaths of at least 50,000 children and is widely considered a genocide of the Palestinian people, including by the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

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Julia has since revealed that her health battle had held her back over the years

Julia Bradbury has shared a heartfelt family admission as she recalled a time she didn’t feel “brave enough” after her cancer diagnosis.

The 51-year-old presenter was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and had a mastectomy to remove a 6cm tumour the same year.

The star, who is now cancer free, is set to return to our TV screens with her new three-part ITV series, Wonders of the Frozen South, which documents her 23-day voyage across the Southern Ocean.

The journey took Julia to Paradise Harbour on Antarctica’s western edge, where she tackled a short hill climb before stopping to absorb the stunning landscape around her.

However Julia has since revealed her health battle had held her back as she admitted that she wouldn’t have been able to travel alone a few years ago as she said she didn’t feel “brave enough” to leave her family.

During an appearance on Friday’s (February 13) episode of Lorraine, Julia said: “After I went through the breast cancer diagnosis in 2021 then I had my mastectomy, there was a very tender emotional time in my life where I didn’t think I would ever want to leave my family again.”

She continued: “I don’t mean anybody wants to leave them but I didn’t think I’d be brave enough to. You just want everybody that you care about to be as close as possible. So the fact that five years on, I’ve been as far away from home as you could possibly get.”

Following her ordeal, Julia has undergone major lifestyle transformations, including a complete reassessment of her eating habits.

She’s now adopted a cleaner approach to nutrition, prioritising whole foods, beneficial fats and high-quality proteins, while steering clear of sugar and heavily processed items.

The television star has also cut out alcohol after medical advice highlighted that even moderate drinking could heighten the chances of cancer returning.

Stress management has additionally become a central focus, with Julia now practising meditation, breathing exercises, keeping a journal and spending time in nature each day.

Speaking to Bella magazine previously, she emphasised: “Stress and emotional health are things that we should all take very seriously. People don’t think that they have a physical impact, but they do.”

The broadcaster has also transformed her approach to skincare, explaining: “I’ve always been a sucker for beauty products, but after my diagnosis I became much more conscious about what I put on my skin and the potential impact of chemicals we often don’t think twice about.

“Now my make-up, skincare and sun lotions are clean. I love Green People because it’s organic and marine-friendly, and the brand also donates to the Marine Conservation Society.”

The first episode of Julia Bradbury’s Wonders of the Frozen South airs on February 15 at 12.45pm on ITV and Lorraine airs weekdays from 9:30am on ITV1 and ITVX