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.
A LITTLE Mix feud has arisen once more after Perrie Edwards mysteriously removed her like on Jesy Nelson’s body positivity post – just hours after her “olive branch”.
Jesy Nelson wowed fans with this candid post about her post-pregnancy bodyCredit: Instagram/JesynelsonThe star was inundated with praise from celebrity mum’s – and even one of her former Little Mix bandmates liked itCredit: Instagram/JesynelsonHowever, Perrie Edwards has appeared to have removed her ‘like’ from Jesy’s postCredit: Shutterstock EditorialThe two women fell out when Jesy left Little MixCredit: Alamy
The singer told fans she had “never felt prouder” of her body, having always struggled with self image.
However, in what appeared to be an “olive branch” following a five year fall out, her former Little Mix bandmate Perrie Edwards “liked” the candid post.
This didn’t go unnoticed by fans who shared their excitement on X/Twitter.
Jesy quit the band in 2020 for health reasons, with the others taking a break since 2022.
Speaking about how their friendship ended after Jesy left Little Mix, Perrie said told Glamour UK: “It’s about a friendship that I once had, that I no longer have anymore.
“We talk about breakups and heartbreak, but we don’t normally talk about friendships that break down.
‘And it was like losing a limb. I was with her every day. We lived in each other’s pockets.”
Jesy and Perrie, along with Leigh-Anne and jade found fame in 2010Credit: Getty
Although Perrie may have removed her ‘like’, Jesy’s post did receive a lot of positive feedback from fellow celebrity mums:
Singer Jessie J wrote: “This is the energy for life. YOU are beautiful.”
While Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan said: “I wish you could have seen yourself through our eyes, you have always been so beautiful.”
However, Jesy left Little Mix in 2020Credit: Getty
Jesy’s full inspiring post read: “I never thought it would have taken two beautiful girls, that I could’ve potentially lost, to make me realise how incredible my body actually is.
“I can honestly say I’ve never felt prouder of my body and what it has been through!
“Yes my boobs hang lower and my belly is bigger and squishier — it doesn’t look how it used to, but my god it created the best gift that has happened to me.”
Jesy was trolled about her weight in her Little Mix fame.
She hit back in 2018, posing naked with bandmates Perrie, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall, with slurs written on their bodies to plug single Strip.
She adds: “I never want my girls to feel the way I did about my body for so many years.
“So to all the future mummies or those who have just given birth, if you’re struggling with how you are feeling in yourself or are maybe even feeling the pressure to ‘snap back’ just take a moment to remember what you did!
“Be kinder to yourself, and remember you are incredible.”
Digha, India – On a hot and sultry June afternoon, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of India’s West Bengal state, swept a sun-scorched road to make way for a towering chariot in Digha, a tourist town on the country’s Bay of Bengal coast.
The moment, captured by dozens of cameras and broadcast widely on television, on June 27, marked the launch of the eastern state’s first-ever government-sponsored Rath Yatra (“chariot festival”) to celebrate the construction of a sprawling temple complex built to house the Hindu god, Lord Jagannath.
First announced in December 2018, and completed in May this year, the Digha temple has been pitched by Banerjee and her governing Trinamool Congress (TMC) party as West Bengal’s alternative to the more popular Jagannath Temple in neighbouring Odisha state’s Puri town, about 350km (217 miles) away.
Built in the 12th century, the temple in Puri is one of Hinduism’s four major pilgrimage sites, and home to an annual 800-year-old chariot festival, a weeklong event attended by tens of thousands of devotees. To kick-start the festival, descendants of the erstwhile Puri kingdom’s rulers symbolically sweep the chariot path, like their ancestors in power once did.
At Digha, that task was performed by Banerjee, neither the descendant of an emperor, nor a priest, raising questions about whether the construction of the temple was about faith or politics, a year before one of India’s most politically significant states votes for its next government.
Two devotees praying in front of the chariot on the final day of Rath Yatra in Digha, West Bengal, on May 5, 2025 [Subrajit Sen/Al Jazeera]
Move aimed to counter BJP?
West Bengal, home to more than 91 million people, is India’s fourth most-populous state. Nearly 30 percent of its population is Muslim.
For decades, the state was also home to the world’s longest-serving elected communist government, until a feisty Banerjee – leading the centrist TMC party she founded in 1998 – unseated the Left Front coalition in 2011.
Since then, it is the Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that has emerged as the TMC’s main rival in West Bengal. From winning just two parliamentary seats in 2014, the year Modi stormed to power, the BJP last year won 12 of the state’s 42 seats. The TMC won 29.
In the 2021 state assembly election, Banerjee’s TMC and its allies won a landslide 216 of 292 seats, while the BJP-led coalition won 77. It was also the first election in which the Left or the Indian National Congress, the main opposition in parliament, could not win a single seat in a state both had previously governed.
As the political landscape changed in West Bengal, so did its players.
For almost a decade now, the BJP and its ideological parent, the far-right Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have used Hindu festivals such as Ram Navami to expand their footprint in the state, often organising large processions that have on occasion passed, provocatively, through areas with large Muslim populations, with participants carried sticks, swords and tridents.
The BJP has also repeatedly accused the TMC of “minority appeasement”, in essence alleging that the party favours Muslim interests over the concerns of Hindu voters.
The TMC appears to be responding to that shift in politics in kind. In recent rallies, its leaders have been seen chanting “Jai Jagannath” (Hail Jagannath) to counter the BJP’s “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram), a slogan that, for millions of Hindus in India, is more a war-cry against Muslims and other minorities than a political chant.
“Now no one will say Jai Shri Ram. Everyone will say Jai Jagannath,” TMC leader Arup Biswas said in Digha in April.
To political scientist Ranabir Samaddar, the TMC’s temple politics is evidence of a brewing battle over the identity of Hinduism itself.
“If you agree Hindu society is not monolithic, then it’s natural that Hindus who reject the majoritarian version will assert a different understanding,” said Samaddar, who is a distinguished chair in migration and forced migration studies at the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group.
He argued that moves like Mamata’s represent a deeper social and cultural contest. “This is not a simple secularism-versus-communalism binary,” he said. “It is a protest against the idea that there is only one kind of Hinduism.”
For years, the BJP’s political opponents have struggled to craft a response to its vision of creating a Hindu-first state without being put on the defensive by Modi’s party, which portrays them as intrinsically anti-Hindu.
The Digha temple, Samaddar suggested, attempts to break that BJP stranglehold.
“As the dominant narrative becomes more rigid, insisting on a singular, state-aligned Hindu identity, the counter-response is also happening within the framework of Hindu identity,” he said. “It’s a dialogue, a form of social argument about plurality.
“This is also an assertion of rights. A claim to say, ‘We too are Hindus, but we won’t let you define what Hinduism is.’ These are attempts to break the monopoly of certain institutions and groups who have long claimed to speak for all Hindus. That’s what makes this moment significant.”
The new Jagannath Temple in Digha, West Bengal, India, on May 5, 2025 [Subrajit Sen/Al Jazeera]
Bengal’s shifting religious terrain
Originally introduced by the government as a “cultural centre”, the Digha shrine soon evolved into a 65-metre-tall (213 feet) temple, spread over 8 hectares (20 acres) and costing the state exchequer more than $30m.
“This temple will add a new feather to the state’s cap. Digha will grow into an international tourist attraction. This will serve as a place of harmony. The sea adds a special charm to Digha. If it becomes a place of pilgrimage, more tourists will come,” Trinamool chief Banerjee had said during the structure’s inauguration on April 30. She will seek a fourth straight term as chief minister next year.
But the project has faced pushback.
When the Digha temple opened earlier this year, the BJP’s parliamentarian from Puri, Sambit Patra, declared: “There is only one Jagannath Dham in the world, and it is in Puri.” A dham is a shrine in Sanskrit.
On June 27, the BJP’s most prominent Bengal leader, Suvendu Adhikari, called the temple a “tourist attraction, not a spiritual site”.
“Puri Dham will remain Puri Dham. Mamata Banerjee is a fake Hindu. Temples can’t be built using government funds. It is a cultural centre, not a temple. Don’t mislead the people of Bengal,” he said.
He argued that Hindu temples in independent India have been made using donations – including the Ram temple in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya, built on the ruins of the 16th-century Babri Mosque that Hindu zealots had torn down in 1992. “Hindus make temples on their own. No government fund was used to build the Ram temple. Hindus across the world funded it.”
Priests at the Puri temple were furious too. The temple’s chief servitor, Bhabani Das Mohapatra, called the Digha complex a “crime by Mamata Banerjee”, and accused the West Bengal state government of “arrogantly violating scriptural norms”. Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra, a senior servitor from Puri who attended the Digha consecration, was suspended by the Puri temple authority.
A young girl with her family visiting Digha to attend the first ever Rath Yatra at the new shrine, on May 5, 2025. Her family belongs to the organisation tasked with planning the festival [Subrajit Sen/Al Jazeera]
‘Nobody invited us’
The criticism of the Digha temple is not limited to political opponents and representatives of the Digha temple.
As hundreds of people watched the June 27 consecration from behind security barricades, a 64-year-old local and retired government employee, Manik Sarkar, said he was frustrated.
“All the cost is coming from taxpayers like us,” he told Al Jazeera. “But nobody invited us. The government hospital nearby doesn’t even have proper equipment, and they’re spending millions lighting up the temple.”
Another resident, Ashima Devi, said she was anxious about the daily electricity bills. “Lakhs of rupees, every night,” she said. “Unemployment is already so high here. Thousands of government school teachers who lost their jobs because of corruption – they had cleared the exams fairly. Why isn’t this government fixing that? What will happen to them?”
She was referring to a $70m public school hiring scam recently unearthed by India’s top financial crimes office, the Enforcement Directorate, for which the TMC’s former education minister is now jailed.
One man in the crowd, who called himself a TMC supporter, interjected. “Tourism will grow,” he said.
But Sarkar pushed back: “All the hotels [in Digha] are owned by outsiders. What benefit are you talking about?”
One of the three chariots being pulled by participants and organisers, while members of the public watch from behind barricades, on May 5, 2025 [Subrajit Sen/Al Jazeera]
‘A politics that centres temples’
Historian Tapati Guha Thakurta said that the state’s involvement in temple building ought to be seen as a part of a larger arc in India’s modern journey.
“There’s been a major slide – from the modern, secular model to a politics that centres temples,” she said.
After India’s independence, the state actively supported projects like the reconstruction of the Somnath temple in Gujarat, backed by leaders like Vallabhbhai Patel — the man credited with bringing together 500 princely states into the Indian union using a mix of allurement and coercion.
But independent India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, opposed state support for the Somnath rebuilding, she noted.
“He stayed away. That moment showed how contested religion was, even within the Nehruvian vision of the state,” Guha Thakurta said to Al Jazeera. “That moment was emblematic. It showed that even at the dawn of Indian secularism, religion was never fully out of the frame.”
Nawsad Siddique, the sole state legislator from the Indian Secular Front, a coalition of the opposition Left groups and Congress party, called the Digha temple a “blurring of governance and faith”. Speaking to reporters on July 10, in Kolkata, he said, “We don’t have jobs. Our youth are migrating. Our schools are crumbling. And we’re building mega temples?”
Guha Thakurta recalled the deliberate separation of state and religion under 34 years of Left government.
“Our generation grew up under a firewall between religion and the state,” said Guha Thakurta, whose research into Durga Puja – the celebration of Goddess Durga that is the pre-eminent annual festival for Bengalis – helped secure a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage tag for the festival.
At the time, Marxist cultural elites dismissed even Durga Puja as “opo-sanskriti” or a degenerate ritual, to be merely tolerated.
That changed post-2011, when Banerjee first came to power.
“From $100 in grants, it’s now $1,200,” she said, referring to state funds for Durga Puja committees. “Durga Puja is now a state event. And this model is spreading.”
“We’re sitting on a volcano about to erupt. That’s all I’ll say.”
SHE has always loved experimenting with her image and has debuted some dramatic looks over the years.
But I have heard that Little Mix star Perrie Edwards is set to show off her natural beauty after landing a lucrative deal with beauty giant L’Oreal.
The Black Magic hitmaker has secured an agreement, understood to be worth £300,000, with its skincare brand CeraVe, which prides itself on working with dermatologists and developing products for sensitive skin.
A source said: “Perrie wants to show that taking care of your skin can be affordable and people don’t need to break the bank with fancy creams.
“She has always loved testing different make- up looks, but knows that taking care of her skin is a priority. Perrie will also be able to show off her edgy side with the advert.”
The singer, who has a three-year-old son, Axel, with former Premier League footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, told Fabulous magazine in 2018: “I have very sensitive skin, and I used to use loads of products on my face because I thought that was best.”
She added: “The worst thing I used to do was go out partying and drinking and just sleep with my make-up on.
“You think, ‘Oh it’s only one night, I’m too tired, I really can’t be bothered to take all my make-up off’.
“But it only takes one night for a week’s worth of acne, so you have to be strict with it.”
It comes as Perrie teased new solo music this week to her 18.8million Instagram followers with a montage of footage.
She reacted with a raindrop emoji to a fan who commented: “The drought is over!! So happy and excited for you.”
Pop star Perrie last released music in February, with her single Rollercoaster, about the ups and downs that come with love.
With this skincare deal and new music on the horizon, little wonder Perrie has such an unblemished career . . .
Perrie Edwards says she still cries over Jesy Nelson leaving Little Mix five years on – but insists ‘we did everything we could’
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Perrie Edwards is set to show off her natural beauty after landing a lucrative deal with beauty giant L’OrealCredit: Getty
EMILIA FEELS ‘LUCKY’ BEING LEADING LADY
EMILIA FOX has revealed that she is “lucky” to have never experienced misogyny – thanks to her leading role on hit series Silent Witness.
The actress, who has played pathologist Sam Ryan for over 20 years, said: “I haven’t experienced it, and certainly, at my age now at 50, I’ve been very lucky.
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Emilia Fox has revealed that she is ‘lucky’ to have never experienced misogyny – thanks to her leading role on hit series Silent WitnessCredit: Getty
“I’ve been part of a show, which was led brilliantly by actress Amanda Burton. It was her legacy that really left the mark on the show.
“Sam Ryan was written for a leading female actress, playing a woman in a man’s world when Silent Witness first began.
“I think I got very, very lucky being able to play a lead, which I’ve been playing for two decades now.”
Emilia who is working with My Pension Expert, to encourage people turning 50 to take control of their future, said she is encouraging her teenage daughter Rose to save money.
She said: “She puts away a few pounds every week so that she will see, hopefully, a benefit in the future to saving every week.
“I hope that will be the example she then grows up with. I think having a good work ethic and savings ethic is insurance for life.”
SABRINA CARPENTER, who caused a stir with her new album cover, has unveiled an alternative one for Man’s Best Friend.
The singer wears a sparkling turquoise dress at a formal dinner. In the original, she was on all fours while a man pulled on her hair.
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Sabrina Carpenter, who caused a stir with her new album cover, has unveiled an alternative one for Man’s Best Friend
Sabrina posted: “The final alternate cover for Man’s Best Friend features a special bonus track ‘Such A Funny Way’ available on vinyl. Three weeks left!!! Can’t wait for it to be yours x.” I can’t wait.
DOJA LIKE MY ZEBRA CATSUIT?
DOJA CAT gave her best zebra impression as she performed at Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco.
The Say So hitmaker looked hot in the monochrome catsuit at the festival held at Golden Gate Park on Friday night.
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Doja Cat gave her best zebra impression as she performed at Outside Lands Music Festival in San FranciscoCredit: The Mega Agency
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The Say So hitmaker looked hot in the monochrome catsuit at the festival held at Golden Gate Park on Friday nightCredit: The Mega Agency
Doja, who is set to release her fifth studio album Vie later this year, has also been working hard in the fashion world.
The American star recently shared snaps from a shoot with Marc Jacobs and posed for fashion mag V Magazine.
ONLY WAY IS ESSEX FOR EKIN-SU
SINCE her triumph on Love Island three years ago, Ekin-Su Culculoglu has remained one of the most successful contestants.
Now I can reveal that the beauty, currently starring on ITV’s Cooking With The Stars, has snapped up a £900k four-bedroom mansion in Essex, near her parents.
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Ekin-Su has snapped up a £900k four-bedroom mansion in Essex, near her parentsCredit: Getty
Ekin was close to investing in Surrey, and even looked around some properties with ex Curtis Pritchard, but did a last minute U-turn to stay more local to her family.
A source said: “Ekin’s worked really hard since winning Love Island with ad campaigns and a steady stream of telly appearances.
“She has snapped up this home and chose somewhere more modest so she could be closer to her parents, who she spends a lot of time with.
“She’s looking forward to getting stuck in and fixing it up to her perfect style. She’s really proud of everything she’s achieved and ready to lay down roots.”
Since appearing on Love Island: All Stars in January, Ekin split with Curtis, with the star calling it “unfortunate” – but she has been concentrating on her career instead, with a focus on acting.
She better not get too comfortable in the UK as Hollywood beckons…
NOEL’S GOT S-MASH HIT ON HAND
HE famously sings that “Sally can wait” in hit song Don’t Look Back In Anger.
And it seems that Noel Gallagher’s girlfriend Sally Mash is firmly by his side during their Oasis Live 25 Tour.
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Noel Gallagher on stage at the Oasis Live ’25 TourCredit: Getty
I can reveal that she has been his “secret weapon” during their sold-out tour – with the Gallagher brothers on stage for their second gig at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, last night.
A source said: “Sally has been his secret weapon throughout the tour so far.
“She has been at every one of the gigs alongside brother Liam’s girlfriend Debbie Gwyther.
“Their relationship has gone from strength to strength and Sally has loved watching Noel in his element on stage.”
Last year The Sun revealed Noel was dating events organiser Sally – after confirming his split from wife Sara MacDonald, with whom he shares sons Donovan and Sonny.
Speaking about Sally, Noel previously said: “She says she sees a steely look in my eyes.”
When asked what she makes of him singing the hit 1996 song Don’t Look Back In Anger, referencing “Sally”, he said: “She’s cool about it.”
It sounds like the name Sally has been a hit all round over the years.
KYLIE JENNER certainly did not have the birthday blues as she posed in a plunging black bikini.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, who turned 28 today, took to Instagram ahead of the celebrations.
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Kylie Jenner certainly did not have the birthday blues as she posed in a plunging black bikini
Sharing the sizzling selfie to her 393million followers, the mum of two wrote: “Last Friday as a 27-year-old.”
Her pal Hailey Bieber commented: “Twenty eight is better I promise.”
Trust me Kylie, the best is yet to come.
KYLIE’S TICKLED PINK
KYLIE MINOGUE sizzled in hot pink as she performed in Argentina as part of her worldwide Tension Tour.
The Aussie pop star wowed in the PVC outfit as she took to the stage at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires on Thursday – her first show in the Argentine capital for 17 years.
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Kylie Minogue sizzled in hot pink as she performed in Argentina as part of her worldwide Tension TourCredit: Instagram
Posting on Instagram to her 3.2million followers, she wrote: “Buenos Aires, how do you describe a show feeling?
“I’ve only ever dreamt of this. WHAT A SHOW!! Thank you so much.”
Kylie performed in Chile last night and will head to Sao Paulo in Brazil next Friday, with the 66-date tour wrapping up at the end of the month in Mexico.
ED AND RUPERT’S FAM WEEKENDER
ED SHEERAN has got fans seeing double in the music video for his new track A Little More.
His doppelganger Rupert Grint stars in the video – 14 years after he appeared in Ed’s hit Lego House.
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Ed Sheeran and Rupert GrintCredit: Supplied
Ed, who shares daughters Lyra and Jupiter with wife Cherry Seaborn, invited the Harry Potter actor, his partner Georgia Groome and their daughters Wednesday and Goldie to stay at his home in Suffolk while filming the video.
And it was a family affair, with Ed saying: “Our daughters [Lyra and Wednesday] are exactly the same age – they get on”.
Young adult comedies are best when the misery of high school is paired with other extreme types of terror — a plane crash, a supernatural mystery, vampires. “Wednesday,” Netflix’s Addams Family series, did just that and more when it premiered in 2022, combining sardonic wit, smart casting and murder in a beautifully macabre setting influenced by producer and director Tim Burton. Jenna Ortega stars as the Addams’ dark-hearted daughter. Her deadpan delivery and zombie prom dance solidified “Wednesday” as one of the year’s best and liveliest funerary comedies.
The second season of “Wednesday,” Part 1 of which debuts Wednesday followed by Part 2 on Sept. 3, finds the show’s namesake back at Nevermore Academy, where she’s faced with challenges familiar to last season. She must navigate the idiocy of her high school peers while solving a metaphysical murder mystery.
But there’s a new twist that threatens to undermine the unflappable protagonist, and it’s a teenager’s worst nightmare — even for a girl who enjoys night terrors. Wednesday’s weird family is headed to school with her. Brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) is a Nevermore freshman and her parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) are helping with fundraising and such. Oh the horror.
Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams “dance dance dances with her hands, hands, hands” in “Wednesday” Season 1.
(Netflix)
Season 2 follows many of the same formulas, replete with eviscerating comebacks from Daddy’s Little Viper. When her new high school principal, Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi), asks if she’d like a Nevermore Academy spirit sticker, she responds, “Only if you have one that says ‘Do Not Resuscitate.’” And when describing her underachieving brother’s shortcomings, she says, “He’s got the brains of a dung beetle and the ambitions of a French bureaucrat.”
But it’s impossible to recapture the magic of the first season, and “Wednesday” Season 2 isn’t quite as crisp or surprising. In the first four episodes made available for review, Wednesday’s zingers aren’t as wickedly sharp as they once were. And because we know she’s going to be annoyed by her classmates, such as perky werewolf roommate Enid (Emma Myers), the dynamic is not as morbidly charming.
The bond between Addams family members, however, is more deeply explored and their dysfunctional interactions add a new layer of contemptuous humor to the mix. The relationship between Wednesday and Morticia is strained, and not just due to the usual disgust teen daughters have toward their mothers. “When do I get to read your novel?” asks Morticia of her daughter’s work in progress, “Viper de la Muerte.” Wednesday’s inner voice answers, “When the sun explodes and the Earth is consumed in a molten apocalypse.” Her outside voice? “Soon, Mother. Soon.”
Morticia is worried about Wednesday’s increasing use of her psychic powers because similar abilities drove another family member mad. Her daughter is showing troubling signs such as black tears streaming from her eyes each time she has a psychic episode — though it’s a good look, especially for those contemplating their next Halloween costume.
We thankfully see a lot more of eccentric Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen owns this role) as he helps Wednesday solve her latest case, sometimes using the benefit of his telekinetic powers. Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the 1991 film, is also back. The deranged villain from Season 1 is now a deranged inmate.
Welcome new additions include Grandmama Hester Frump (played by Joanna Lumley of “Absolutely Fabulous”), Morticia’s immaculately coiffed mother and wealthy mogul who owns Frump Mortuaries. She’s cold, conniving and happy to cause a deeper rift between her granddaughter and daughter. And in a perfect casting move, Christopher Lloyd, who played Fester in the film, appears as a disembodied head in a jar who teaches at the academy.
Thing, the lone hand played by Romanian magician Victor Dorobantu, perhaps has the most screen time of anyone. Season 2 opens with the stitched-up appendage beating the hell out of a serial killer. It’s at once satisfying and stupidly hilarious.
As for the plot, it’s much the same as last season. There’s another mystery to solve, but this time it involves killer surveillance crows, a hooded stalker and at least a few visits to an insane asylum. There’s also a walking dead character added to the mix, so expect gore in the form of goo, brains and bugs.
But it’s really the performances, casting and artistic flourishes that make “Wednesday” a ghoulish delight. A short ghost story about a boy with a clockwork heart buried under the Skull Tree is told via Burton claymation, in black-and-white, in the spirit of “Frankenweenie.” It’s beautiful, sweet and sorrow-filled. “Wednesday” isn’t what it was and that’s OK. It still works as spooky comedy about a girl and her severed hand.
Simon Cowell is searching for ‘the next global boy band sensation’ in a new Netflix show set to air later this year – and it’s thought a girl band follow up won’t be too far behind
22:56, 18 Jul 2025Updated 23:03, 18 Jul 2025
Simon Cowell is on another mission to find the next big band(Image: Variety via Getty Images)
Simon Cowell is reportedly set to front new TV talent shows to find the next big girl and boy bands.
The music mogul is already thought to have wrapped filming on a new Netflix show called Simon Cowell: The Next Act, which will follow the 65-year-old record producer as he tries to find “the next global boy band sensation”.
In the past he has helped launch the careers of huge boy bands like One Direction and Westlife and is hoping to replicate this success again in 2025. The six episode series will air on the streaming giant in December, though it doesn’t have a confirmed date yet.
And it’s reported Simon will follow this up with another brand new talent show – this time to find the next big girl band. While on The X Factor, he catapulted Little Mix to fame and is said to be hoping to find the next budding female pop stars to turn into a global success.
Simon has already helped launch the careers of huge bands like Little Mix (Image: PA)
A source told The Sun: “There’s a huge amount of excitement around the boyband search show dropping on Netflix, which is expected to drop later this year. So it makes sense to consider a sequel with a similar concept but looking for the female equivalent.
“And if anyone can do it, it’s Simon. After all, through One Direction and Little Mix, he helped deliver two of the biggest pop acts of the last two decades.”
The follow up is not thought to have been commissioned just yet, as Netflix is said to be unlikely to seal the deal on a second series before the first has aired later this year. But it is thought that Simon has it in the bag. The Mirror has approached Simon’s reps for comment.
It comes after Simon recently revealed why he wears rose-tinted glasses on set – and it isn’t a fashion statement. The Britain’s Got Talent judge shared: “I just found out according to the internet, I have a ‘mystery illness.”
He told fans on Instagram: “For anyone concerned, I missed two auditions at the end of one day, two weeks ago, because I do get migraines after long days in the filming lights. PS. This is why I wear these glasses!” So let’s hope Simon didn’t have to endure too many bright lights filming his latest TV show.
Headaches and migraines are frequently mixed up, but migraines specifically describe intense, pulsating pain often concentrated on one side. Typically, this pain can persist anywhere from two hours up to three days.
Some people endure migraines multiple times a week, whereas others encounter them less often. Further symptoms may include fatigue, food cravings, mood swings, and increased urination, although these tend to decrease in severity with age. The exact cause of migraines remains uncertain, but known triggers include anxiety, menstruation, unhealthy eating habits, and excessive caffeine intake.
TV Doctor Dawn Harper explained: “Migraines classically are one-sided headaches often associated with nausea, quite often actually make you sick. Usually, people feel they have to just lie down in a darkened room.
“They don’t like the lights and they feel, they really are severe headaches, which last for several hours. And then some poor folk will last for two or three days. A migraine can be very frightening.”
Early into his second year in the majors, a young Clayton Kershaw was enduring a sophomore slump with the Dodgers. Looking for a way to complement his predominantly fastball/curveball mix, he began toying around with a slider in his between-starts bullpen sessions.
When Brad Ausmus, the well-traveled 40-year-old backup catcher on that year’s Dodgers team, heard about the experiment, he didn’t initially think much of it. That a raw 21-year-old talent would be tinkering with a new pitch didn’t come as much of a surprise.
But when Ausmus asked the club’s bullpen catcher, Mike Borzello, how Kershaw’s new pitch looked, he got his first inkling it might be special.
“He was like, ‘It’s really good,’” Ausmus recalled recently. “I said, ‘Oh, so maybe he’ll throw it in a couple more bullpens before taking it into the game.’ And he’s like, ‘Ehh, I think he might take it into the game his next start.’”
A few weeks later, Ausmus got his first chance to see it up close, calling it sporadically in a Freeway Series game at Angel Stadium. That day, Kershaw spun a gem, throwing seven scoreless innings in a Dodgers victory.
But it was afterward, as Kershaw, Ausmus and longtime Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt reviewed the outing, that the longtime catcher started to understand that Kershaw wasn’t just any young pitcher. That his tantalizing talent was matched by a preternatural aptitude. That his precocious battery mate was both a physical force and pitching prodigy.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, left, talks with former teammate Brad Ausmus, right, and coach Matt Martin before a game in 2019, when Ausmus was the manager of the Angels.
(Alex Gallardo/AP)
“Keep in mind, this is a rookie, basically, talking to a guy who’s been in the big leagues 17, 18 years,” Ausmus said. “And he goes, ‘Brad, I wish you would call more sliders.’”
Initially surprised, Ausmus thought to himself: “Really? This is a brand new pitch. We probably threw 10 or 15 of them.”
But Kershaw could already see the bigger picture. He immediately sensed how the new pitch might profoundly influence his game.
“If you think about it, the fastball was 95, the curveball was probably in the low-to-mid 80s, so there was a lot of separation in terms of velocity. It almost gave the hitter time to reload before swinging,” Ausmus said. “The slider did not allow the hitters to do that.”
Seventeen years, three Cy Young Awards, two World Series titles, and — very nearly — 3,000 strikeouts later, the rest has been singularly impressive history.
“It speaks to not only his knowledge, but his ability and his confidence,” said Ausmus, now bench coach for the New York Yankees. “He has an aptitude for the game. He adjusts. And he continues to perform at a high level. It really is remarkable … I miss having that guy as a teammate.”
When Clayton Kershaw takes the mound on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, he will need just three strikeouts to become the 20th member of Major League Baseball’s 3,000 strikeout club.
And, just as it was almost two decades ago, it will be the same primary three-pitch mix that is all but certain to lift him into such rarified air.
For better or (very rarely) worse, at full strength or in ailing health, the now 37-year-old future Hall of Famer has managed to perfect one of the sport’s all-time signature plans of attack on the mound:
Establish the fastball on the edge of the plate for a strike. Tunnel the slider on the same trajectory to get awkward swings when it tails off late. Mix in a curveball when a change of pace is needed. And never be afraid to change the sequence and tendencies of that infallible trio of pitches, using instinct and feel to amplify his physical talent.
“It’s what’s upstairs [that makes him special],” current Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “He’s always a step ahead.”
Countless big-league pitchers have used a similar fastball-slider-curveball repertoire. Even in Kershaw’s prime years, there were always others who could throw harder, or produce more break, or manipulate the ball with more gravity-defying spin.
What separates Kershaw are more foundational skills. His unwavering execution, in seasons he threw 200-plus innings or those in which he battled increasingly persistent injuries to his back, shoulder and even a bothersome left big toe. His unflappable persistence to move from one pitch, one start, one year to the next; never satisfied with his best moments nor shaken by his rare failures.
“He just knows the ins and outs of baseball, and has such good feel,” longtime teammate and backstop Austin Barnes said. “He’s like a train that comes at you consistently.”
That’s why, when Kershaw does inevitably cross the 3,000-strikeout threshold, it will be equal parts a testament to his talent and durability — an accomplishment that required him to continually reinvent his game without ever changing his fundamental nature as a pitcher.
“Clayton has everything the right way, on the field, off the field, over a long period of time,” manager Dave Roberts said last week.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around what it takes,” he added, “as far as longevity, and greatness.”
“He’s like a train that comes at you consistently,” former Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, center, said of pitcher Clayton Kershaw, left.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Few players have produced the kind of prolonged period of greatness Kershaw did during the peak of his career. Starting in that 2009 season, he went on a run of sub-3.00 ERA campaigns in 11 of his next 12 years. In seven of them, he had 200 or more strikeouts, including a career-high 301 punchouts in 2015. Eight of his 10 All-Star selections came in that stretch, as did his three Cy Young Awards and a 2014 National League MVP (still the last time a pitcher won the game’s highest individual honor).
His only blemishes in that time were repeated disappointments in the playoffs. But even in most of those, he was tasked with trying to save the team’s season while pitching on short rest or desperately-needed outings out of the bullpen.
“Even with all the pressure he’s had as the Dodgers’ ace … he’s always out there, he’s always willing to take the ball,” Barnes said. “I think that goes underappreciated. He’s willing to put himself out there, even when he doesn’t feel his best.”
To Barnes, who has caught more Kershaw starts than anyone other than A.J. Ellis, the way Kershaw strives to always be better is what has made it all possible. It was a trait he noticed in one of his first games catching him in 2017 against the San Diego Padres.
“I kind of went against the scouting report, and I called a fastball that froze the guy,” Barnes, who signed a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants this week after being released by the Dodgers earlier this year, recalled recently. “I remember him coming up to me after, kind of sizing me up and down, like, ‘Why’d you call that?’ I just said, ‘I just kind of felt it.’”
It was a small example of how Kershaw’s pitch mix — unchanged over the years, outside of an occasional flirtation with a variety of changeup grips — could be weaponized in ways opposing batters have long struggled to expect.
“Not everybody gets to his caliber of pitching and stuff,” Barnes said. “But the work he puts in, in the weight room, in the video room, for him to go out there and have clarity and conviction in what he needs to do, I think that’s what helps most. And the level of competitor he is. He can do it all.”
Even, in recent years, as his stuff has gradually diminished.
At the start of this season, Kershaw was just 32 strikeouts away from the 3K club — an exclusive fraternity that includes only three other left-handed pitchers, and two who spent their entire career with one team.
In past seasons, that would’ve been a total he could clear in less than a month.
But now, he joked early in his return from offseason foot and knee surgeries: “Maybe by September I’ll get there. We’ll see.”
After all, Kershaw barely touches 90 mph with his fastball even on a good day now. His slider and curveball don’t always have as much bite as they once did. Such has been the case for much of the last three seasons, as the miles on Kershaw’s arm and body have steadily caught up to him.
At the end of 2020, when Kershaw finally won his first World Series and began more seriously starting to contemplate when he might retire, he was less than 500 strikeouts away from 3,000. He seemed like a virtual lock to get there, perhaps as the last new entrant for the foreseeable future.
“He’s always a step ahead,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior, left, said recently about pitcher Clayton Kershaw when discussing the key to his success.
(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
Since then, however, he had a season-ending elbow injury in 2021 that nearly required Tommy John surgery; back and shoulder problems that limited him in what were nonetheless All-Star seasons in 2022 and 2023; consecutive offseasons of surgical rehabs each of the past two winters, first on his shoulder and then his lower-body ailments; all on top of the normal aches and pains that come with pitching into someone’s late 30s.
His three-pitch arsenal remains unchanged, but figuring out ways to maximize it has been an ongoing challenge.
“He’s doing it the same way, but he’s having to figure out different ways to do it, if that makes sense,” Prior said.
Just like when he first broke into the majors, it has required him to trust what’s working best and adjust on the fly to his ever-weakening capabilities.
And yet, entering Wednesday’s potential milestone outing, Kershaw is 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA in his eight starts this season (the second-best ERA among Dodgers starters behind only Yoshinobu Yamamoto). He is coming off a particularly productive June, giving up just seven earned runs in 27 ⅔ innings. And, while they don’t come as frequently as they once did, the strikeouts are still present, with Kershaw averaging 7 ½ per nine innings over his last five starts.
To Prior, it’s a testament to Kershaw’s enduring ability to still pitch his way through a start.
“He knows when guys are looking hard and he can get them with the slider. The fastball and slider still do look the same, when he’s on, so he can pull the trigger on one or the other … And he has the equalizer with the curveball, to be able to use that to change speeds like he has his whole career.”
“Again, it’s the same pitch mix,” Prior added, “but he’s still finding ways to do it at this stage.”
To Roberts, it’s made Kershaw an example for the rest of the team to follow.
“It’s a lesson in life,” the manager said. “You don’t always have to feel perfect to be productive. I have a lot of respect for him.”
The great irony, once Kershaw does eclipse the 3,000-strikeout mark, is that punchouts have never been his primary objective.
“No, no,” Barnes said with a laugh. “He cares about winning the game and throwing up zeroes. That’s the biggest thing for him. The strikeouts are just a byproduct of him getting ahead of hitters, and being able to have [the pitches in] his mix playing off each other.”
But once that moment does arrive — fittingly, as things have lined up, likely on the Dodger Stadium mound he has dominated for almost two decades — the total will be indicative of all he has accomplished in a career of unmatched excellence, and the way he has elevated himself as one of the best pitchers in the history of the sport.
“He’s teaching me that so much of this game is still about mindset,” Prior said. “There’s so much object data, which is helpful in all aspects of our game. But part of it is still so unquantifiable. He’s just someone who has willed himself to be better than everybody else.”
Vin Diesel says the planned finale of the long-running “Fast & Furious” franchise will come with an unexpected passenger.
Speaking at Fuel Fest, an automotive event in Pomona over the weekend, Diesel told fans that the final “Fast & Furious” film will bring back one of the series’ most beloved characters: Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner. The longtime on-screen partner to Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, O’Conner last appeared in 2015’s “Furious 7,” which was completed after Walker’s death in a car accident in 2013 at age 40.
The franchise — known for its blend of street racing, elaborate heists and outsized action — has grown into one of the most successful of all time, with more than $7 billion at the global box office.
“Just yesterday I was with Universal Studios,” Diesel said in a video from the event. “The studio said to me, ‘Vin, can we please have the finale of ‘Fast & Furious’ [in] April 2027?’ I said, ‘Under three conditions’ — because I’ve been listening to my fanbase.”
Those conditions, he said, were to bring the franchise back to L.A., return to its street-racing roots and reunite Dom and Brian.
“That is what you’re going to get in the finale,” Diesel promised.
How the production might accomplish that reunion remains unclear. When Walker died during the making of “Furious 7,” the filmmakers turned to a mix of archived footage, digital effects and performances by Walker’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, who served as stand-ins for unfinished scenes. Artists at Weta Digital created more than 300 visual-effects shots to map Walker’s likeness onto his brothers’ bodies, often piecing together dialogue from existing recordings. The film’s farewell — showing Brian and Dom driving side by side before splitting onto separate roads — became one of the franchise’s most memorable and emotional moments, widely seen as a tribute to Walker’s legacy.
A return for Brian O’Conner would join a growing list of posthumous digital performances in major franchises — a practice that continues to stir debate over where the line should be drawn. In 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin was recreated through a mix of motion capture, CGI and archival material, decades after Cushing’s death. In 2019, “The Rise of Skywalker” relied on previously unused footage and digital stitching to return Carrie Fisher’s Leia to the screen three years after the actress’ passing.
And in last year’s “Alien: Romulus,” the late Ian Holm’s likeness was recreated as an android using AI and digital effects, with the approval of his estate — a choice that sparked controversy and led to more practical effects being used in the film’s home release.
This Balkan country has been hailed as an ‘up-and-coming’ holiday destination, and it’s easy to see why
15:50, 16 Jun 2025Updated 15:51, 16 Jun 2025
‘Hidden gem’ country is perfect mix of private beaches and city breaks(Image: Feng Wei Photography via Getty Images)
Montenegro, a rather underappreciated jewel in the Balkans, should be on more Brits’ summer holiday shortlists. It’s an ideal spot for both beach holidays and city breaks, with direct flights from the UK to two of its cities – Tivat and Podgorica.
Touted as an ‘up and coming’ destination by Condé Nast Traveller, Montenegro caters to all sorts of holidaymakers, boasting wild beaches and hidden trails, as well as private beaches, beach clubs, and superyachts.
Plus, it’s a breathtakingly beautiful country, so you’ll have plenty of snaps to show off to your mates and social media followers.
The capital city, Podgorica, is just a direct flight away from London Gatwick, taking less than three hours.
Ideal for a city break, there’s loads to do in Podorica, from exploring the Ottoman-era neighbourhood of Stara Varoš, to taking a riverside stroll to Waterfall Niagara (not to be mixed up with the similarly named Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border).
Podgorica is the capital city of Montenegro(Image: Getty)
History enthusiasts can take pleasure in wandering through the city’s historic sites, including the stunning Saborni Hram Hristovog Vaskrsenja church, or the ancient Duklja Ruins, which hark back to the Roman era, and are just a few miles from the city centre, reports the Express.
For those seeking a tranquil beach holiday, Budva is the place to be. This stunning city boasts sandy expanses and pebbly coves, bustling tourist hotspots and secluded beaches favoured by locals.
Mogren Beach can be found in Budva(Image: Getty)
Slovenska Plaža, a popular beach near the old town, offers both public and private sections. For a more serene experience, the picturesque Mogren Beach or the somewhat secluded Ploce Beach are ideal choices.
Many of the city’s hotels and resorts also feature their own private beaches, meaning you won’t have to venture far for some sun-soaked relaxation if you’ve booked a stay in the city.
If a summer getaway isn’t your cup of tea, then consider a winter trip to the mountainous village of Kolašin for some thrilling skiing.
Visit Kolašin in the winter for some skiing(Image: Getty)
The Kolasin ski centre has received glowing reviews from visitors. One thrilled guest wrote: “It was amazing experience. We went there to snowboard, and it was awesome. Ski tracks were great! We will come again next year!”
Another visitor shared: “Will remember this place because my 5 and 7 y.o, kids learned to ski here. Great ski instructors Ksenija & Ivan – more than grateful for their patient approach and fun we had with them.”
A third reviewer enthused: ” What a great resort to go to. There was plenty of snow and many runs to go down. Exciting and some scary runs but didnt take long to get back into skiing after over 20 years of not doing it.”
If you’re not taking a big summer trip this year, or if you are and want something to make the stress of traveling feel relaxing by comparison, NBC’s new reality competition series might be up your alley. “Destination X” features a mix of known reality stars and civilians as they put their geography knowledge and deduction skills to the test in Europe for a chance at a cash prize. Executive producer Andy Cadman stopped by Guest Spot to discuss the latest entrant in the travel-competition genre.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, TV critic Robert Lloyd unpacks the appeal of Netflix’s new series about a traumatized Edinburgh detective tasked with investigating cold cases, and film editor Josh Rothkopf explains why a quartet of travelogue comedy films featuring improv impresarios Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they road-trip across Europe makes for an enjoyable binge.
Plus, a service announcement: The Emmys season of The Envelope video podcast launched this week. The premiere episode features Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez, the stars of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” as well as “Andor” actor Diego Luna. You can watch here or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Jamie Sives, left, and Matthew Goode in Netflix’s “Dept. Q”
(Justin Downing / Netflix)
“Dept. Q” (Netflix)
In this dark yet strangely warm series adapted by Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”) from a book series by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen and transplanted from Copenhagen to Edinburgh, Matthew Goode plays Carl Morck, a moody police detective recovering from an incident, arguably his fault, that left him wounded, a partner partially paralyzed and a rookie dead. Talking his way back into service, he’s given a basement storage space for an office and a cold case involving a missing prosecutor (Chloe Pirrie), whose distressing circumstances we see without learning why. (It’s the mystery!) The primary pleasure of the series is in the team of fellow misfits who gather around Morck — a civilian expat (Alexej Manvelov) keeping mum on his experiences in the Syrian police; a chirpy cadet (Leah Byrne) back from a breakdown and tired of pushing pencils; and Morck’s recovering partner (Jamie Sives), joining from a hospital bed. It feels like the beginning of a beautiful second series. (With Shirley Henderson and Kelly Macdonald as a bonus for Scots watchers.) — Robert Lloyd
Steve Coogan, left, and Rob Brydon in “The Trip to Greece.”
(BBC / Revolution Films)
“The Trip: The Complete Series” (Criterion Collection, starting June 1)
Intensely bingeable (the movies actually got their start as four six-episode BBC runs), “The Trip” makes beautiful sense as an afternoon of viewing, maybe one accompanied by different cuisines as you go. The central premise: Actor-comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, playing barely altered versions of themselves, take to the road for epic conversations behind the wheel and at dinners, where the contours of their hyper-competitive friendship take shape, as does a parade of celebrity impressions. Director Michael Winterbottom steers the duo toward a deeper appreciation of life viewed through the rearview mirror, though honestly, you’re there for the vicious backbiting. For anyone wanting to dip in selectively: 2010’s “The Trip” features the guys’ classic dueling Michael Caines; 2014’s “The Trip to Italy” takes on “The Godfather”; 2017’s “The Trip to Spain” unleashes a killer, preening Mick Jagger; and 2020’s “The Trip to Greece” goes for Dustin Hoffman. — Joshua Rothkopf
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
“Destination X” contestants Rick Szabo, left, Allyson “Ally” Bross and Rachel Rosette during a challenge from the show.
(Helmut Wachter / NBC)
Imagine the pressure of trying to figure out where you are in the world while a man known for carrying a bat studded with barbed wire watches on. NBC’s new reality competition show, “Destination X,” follows 12 players who are whisked around Europe in a blacked-out bus — no windows or GPS to guide them — and tasked with trying to decipher their mystery locations through clues and challenges for a chance to win a cash prize. There’s plenty of alliances and rivalries that get formed along the way. The show is hosted by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, known for his chilling turn as charismatic villain Negan in “The Walking Dead.” New episodes air every Tuesday on NBC, and can be streamed the next day on Peacock. Executive producer Andy Cadman stopped by Guest Spot via email to discuss the show’s mix of known reality TV personalities and civilians and more. — Yvonne Villarreal
“Destination X” is adapted from a Belgian format. How true to the original version is it? How much needed to be changed to suit American audiences?
The DNA of the original Belgian format is still present: the idea of being lost and trying to work out where you are. To this we added elements of strategy, giving the players more opportunities to mislead one another, forcing them to make difficult decisions, keep secrets, form alliances and ultimately allowing the players to decide who was at risk of elimination in each episode. Pitting the players more directly against one another transformed the show from a game about geography into a strategic, social competition, more accessible to an American audience and ultimately a more dramatic and exciting reality competition show.
The first season of the U.S. version of “Traitors” featured a mix of reality TV personalities and civilians, but quickly pivoted to an all–celebrity lineup. “Destination X” features a mix of reality personalities and civilians. Is the hope to keep that kind of combo? And is that kind of blend becoming more important in today’s reality competition landscape?
I believe that there’s a real benefit in the mix between civilians and established reality personalities. With “Destination X,” we wanted to do a couple of things. Firstly, discover and get to know some amazing new reality personalities that we’ll see on our screens for years to come. We have some brilliant characters in this season that are new, unique and surprising. Secondly, we wanted to see how some of the established reality faces might react to this incredible adventure. It was an opportunity to see some familiar faces taken out of their comfort zones and challenged in totally new ways. I think that this combination is a very valuable tool — it gives viewers the chance to meet some new favourites, while still giving them the comfort of some old friends dropping in.
What’s the game or competition series that hooked your interest in the format as a viewer and led to you pursuing a career in it?
I grew up on the original “Big Brother” and then made that show for many years here in the U.K. It was such a groundbreaking show and has survived the test of time like nothing else. Many of the production techniques that we still use today came from “Big Brother.” The lure of the genre for me lies in the way that people react to difficult situations. The entertainment can often be in the competition, but for me the greatest interest lies in the social politics, relationships people make, what people will do when faced with a dilemma and how far people will go to win. We used all of these levers in “Destination X” to create the most dramatic and engaging show possible.
What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?
“Slow Horses” [AppleTV+], [a] British spy thriller; “The Glass Dome” [Netflix], [a] Scandi noir, and if you like tricky puzzles and social strategy, the U.K. version of “Genius Game” is worth a look.
What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?
I genuinely don’t have one; I find comfort in new seasons of my favourites though. I’m very excited for the next [season of] “Stranger Things” [Netflix]!
