reboot

Benidorm star Crissy Rock has warned that political correctness has possibly “gone too far” for the beloved sitcom to make a comeback but has a new project that she says is perfect for fans of the show

Crissy Rock has warned that political correctness might put a stop to a reboot of Benidorm. The actress, 67, starred as Janey Yorke in the first four series of the sunny sitcom, which ran from 2007 until 2018.

Whilst the star would jump at the chance to go back to her role as the Solana hotel manageress, who was eventually replaced by Sherrie Hewson as Joyce Temple-Savage, she worries that certain attitudes these days might make a comeback impossible.

She told The Mirror: “There’s always whispers [about a reboot], this, that and the other. I’m sure there would be a place for it because it’s so in demand, but with all this political correctness you can’t say this and you can’t say that now.

“You can’t even smoke! I was watching something the other day and a thing came up saying ‘May contain smoking!’ What’s wrong? The world’s gone mad!”

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The former I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! contestant, who starred on Benidorm alongside other TV favourites like Siobhan Finneran, Johnny Vegas and Sheridan Smith amongst a host of others, tries to stay away from politics when she performs her stand-up routines, but still thinks that it has all “gone too far” with what can and can’t be said these days.

She added: “In my own show, I don’t do politics. My act has been practically the same for years but I just think [political correctness] has all gone too far the other way. In pantomime, you can’t have the Prince kiss Snow White anymore but you can have a dog come on and lick her face, I mean, it’s gone too far! Someone said I couldn’t say ‘Alright, love’ anymore. It’s just gone stupid!”

Despite her willingness to make a comeback should the chance ever appear, Crissy doesn’t have all good memories from working on the set in the Spanish city.

She said: “It was lovely, and then the reality kicked in that you were stuck in a building with no air conditioning, really roasting with the lights and, half the time you couldn’t hardly breathe. Then you have to start turning the lights off and put the air conditioning on because it was really, really hot, especially when they’re doing all the indoor scenes in the club.”

But for now, Crissy, who shot to fame when she took on the leading role of the 1994 film Ladybird, Ladybird, is happy to be back on stage with a new production of Desperate Scousewives. She stars as Lily, who along with Susan and Vanessa, must navigate things when Trisha, a single mum from Manchester, arrives on their tight-knit backstreet in Liverpool.

All set during a hen do, where the bride is preparing to get married to man in prison she has never actually met, Crissy thinks it will be the perfect night out for fans of the ITV sitcom.

She explained: “Desperate Scousewives is a bit like Benidorm, because the reason Benidorm was so successful is people would watch it and go, ‘Doesn’t that remind you of that drunk around the corner, oh what about her? I know someone just like her!’

“So everyone recognised themselves as someone. And with Desperate Scousewives, everyone who goes will say, ‘I remember that,’ and ‘I recognise her!'”

Desperate Scousewives is written by Lynne Fitzgerald, who also stars as Susan in the production, and embraces the kind of Northern humour that has become synonymous with programmes like Coronation Street, The Royle Family and Shameless.

Liverpool-born Crissy was challenged by someone who wondered how that kind of humour would go down across the nation but she remained full of confidence that it is a universally funny piece of work.

She said: “I met someone who wasn’t from up north who said ‘How do you think this is going to travel?’ and I said ‘Perfectly!’ because we are the street anywhere in the country.

“There’s three or four women exactly like that in every other street in the county. It’s not about your voice or where you’re from, it’s… individuals, their lives, So it could be any street in any part of England.

“I play bit of a matriarch. Nosey, absolutely nosey. And she wants to know everyone’s business but she doesn’t want anyone to know her business and then when she meets anyone new she puts this telephone voice on, trying to talk posh.

“The others will be telling her to shut up and she’ll go ‘Oh, take no notice of those little b*****s!’ It’s been such good fun [in rehearsals], we can’t look at each other without laughing!”

Desperate Scousewives is on tour across the UK. For tickets and more information, go to www.scousewivesonstage.com

SIMON Cowell has revealed he is thinking of bringing back The X Factor, nearly eight years after the ITV talent contest was axed.

Over its 14-year run the show discovered huge acts including One Direction, Little Mix, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs.

And now the music mogul is considering a revival for the Gen Z years, following the success of his Netflix show The Next Act, which spawned rising pop stars December 10.

Simon told TV presenter Jamie East on his new podcast Tales From The Celebrity Trenches: “Do you bring it back as X Factor or do you bring it back as the Z Factor? We talk about it a lot.

“There’s still no question — the power of TV in terms of getting people to know an artist.

“It is so important if you are not writing your own material.

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“There is something about being on a big screen.

“You do hear about these artists who break online, but so rarely.

“We could have made [The Next Act] online.

“I just don’t think it would have had the same effect.

“The truth is, thank God, people like being on TV.”

Running such a huge talent show is not always plain sailing, but Simon had a distinctly New Age solution when the stresses got just too much while filming The Next Act.

He turned to crystals.

Simon recalled: “We were running out of money so I did have a little mini meltdown.

“And then I just sat with my crystals and they just comforted me.

“I can feel the energy.

“I thought it was kind of comforting having the crystals rather than everyone in my ear driving me crazy.”

He added: “I definitely believe in the powers of the universe.

“I feel that if you can harness the power of the universe to try and make your mind just calm down for a moment . . . ”

I don’t think I’ll be swapping a medicinal glass of rosé for rose quartz any time soon, but each to their own . . . 

Kylie in Michael tribute

Kylie Minogue will pay tribute to late boyfriend Michael Hutchence in her new self-titled Netflix documentary.

She confirmed yesterday that the Inxs frontman will be included.

In a first-look trailer, Kylie shared photographs of them together while they dated between 1989 and 1991.

Despite splitting, Kylie stayed close to fellow Aussie Michael until his death aged 37 in 1997,

She said previously: “He was a dark bad boy and I was the pure good girl.

“He opened up a whole new world for me.”

The three-parter will also feature Kylie’s friends and family talking about highs and lows she has faced, including her breast cancer diagnosis in 2005.

Kylie is heard saying off camera: “I felt removed from my body.

“I was so scared of what was ahead.”

Her sister Dannii can then be seen welling up as she says: “We didn’t know if she was ever going to well again.

“I just wanted to be with my sister.

“Music kept us going.”

Fans will have to wait until May 20 to watch the series in full.

Hol lotta Caity

Caity Baser was hostess with the mostess as she opened a beach club in the back garden of her seaside home.

She squeezed into a tight blue dress and posed with bunting and flowers at the party to mark the release of new single Holiday Song this Friday.

The singer’s pal Joel Corry was drafted in as DJ for the bash in Brighton.

She ordered a tonne of sand to turn her garden into a beach – but revealed to TikTok followers that she ordered builders’ sand by mistake.

She referred to her makeshift club as Ibiza Crops – a reference to Ibiza Rocks on the White Isle – but was dreading the prospect of clearing it all up afterwards.

If the release of the single goes as well as her party, she’ll have a very fun summer.

Jack Cullen began his first headline European solo tour in Bristol last night, and has a long slog in front of him.

The musician, who released single Face To Face on Friday, will play across the UK in the next few days then head to Brussels, Cologne, Amsterdam and Berlin.

He’ll then Run 22 marathons in 22 days – back from the German capital to London for the tour’s final night, headlining Oslo in Hackney on June 12.

Live gigs in Dolldrums

Pussycat Dolls, Post Malone and Zayn Malik have all cancelled North American tours in the past week – and it’s the clearest sign yet the live music economy is about to turn.

Last summer was one of the best-ever for gigs, with Oasis, Dua Lipa and Coldplay selling out stadiums, while Radiohead, Lewis Capaldi and Tate McRae played to packed arenas.

But ticket prices have only continued to rise since live shows returned after Covid, and now it’s clear punters have had enough of greedy artists taking advantage.

Shows are already hugely expensive in the UK, but over in the US, the prices are even higher.

Suki Waterhouse, Ella Mai and Logic and G-Eazy’s tours there later this year are also struggling to shift tickets, with fears they could be axed too. It’s only a matter of time before we see a similar knock-on effect in the UK.

Even some major tours here this summer are yet to sell out, after insatiable promoters added strings of dates and pushed artists into bigger and bigger venues.

As you know from this column, I love a good concert.

But at a time when everyone is strapped for cash, paying through the nose for a couple of hours of singing is just not an option for many.

So if the music industry keeps moving like it is at the moment, it’s only going to turn people off altogether.

It’s a three-horse race to the No1 album spot this Friday, with Mel C, Michael Jackson and Kneecap all battling it out for the prime position.

Just under 3,000 chart units separate third place from the top spot, so it’s all to play for.

Kneecap are currently at No1 with Fenian, closely followed by Mel’s Sweat and MJ’s 2005 compilation album The Essential, which is back in demand after the Michael biopic.

Pete aims for Kyle collab

Pete Doherty is recruiting The View’s frontman Kyle Falconer to collaborate on songs for his next solo album.

They previously worked together on Pete’s track Midas Touch, on Kyle’s recent LP Lovely Night Of Terror.

Now Kyle has revealed he visited Pete’s home in the South of France and will return soon to work with the Libertines rocker, right, again.

He said: “I was just over in France to see him, we’re talking about loads of stuff.

“It was all very arty. We were painting together, and talking about films.”

Pete’s last solo effort was 2025 album Felt Better Alive, while the last Libertines record was 2024’s All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade.

Two years ago Kyle moved to Alicante in Spain with his wife Laura and their four kids.

He now runs songwriting camps from his La Sierra Casa studio, and said: “The camp is getting bigger and better every year, and we’ve just moved to a new place.”

Celebrity treasures on sale

War Child is back with its Spring Clean auction – packed with some of the most random and brilliant celebrity treasures going.

Fans can get their hands on Alan Carr’s Isabell Kristensen blazer from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and even a signed Devil Wears Prada 2 script donated by Stanley Tucci.

There’s a Fantastic Four script signed by Vanessa Kirby, plus one of the strangest items on offer – the infamous radish prop from Netflix’s Beef, signed by the cast.

You can also win a private film screening and lunch with Simon Pegg.

Meanwhile, sci-fi lovers can snap up a personalised photo signed by X-Files co-stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.

Music lovers are also in for a treat, with signed setlists and memorabilia from Robbie Williams, The 1975 and Coldplay all among items up for grabs.

It runs until May 27, and will raise money to support children in war zones. See springclean.charitystars.com to get involved. Prize draw entries start at £10.

Liz up to sun-thing

Lizzo is lapping up as much sun as she can before she kicks off the promo for her new album, Bitch.

The Truth Hurts singer shared this snap with her 11million Instagram followers with the caption: “Best Birthday Ever”.

Lizzo turned 38 last week and used her special day to announce the record, which is the follow-up to her 2022 album, Special.

Teasing what Bitch has in store, Lizzo said: “I think it’s always going to be the Lizzo sound.

“I posted a snippet of one of my new songs that’s coming out very, very soon and somebody was like, ‘The Nineties are back’.

“I love constructing and producing and creating just well-crafted music and songs.

“I hope everyone likes it.”

As a massive Lizzo fan myself, I am sure I’m going to love it.

They are one of the most in-demand couples in ­Hollywood, so what do Gen Z heartthrobs ­Zendaya and Tom Holland do in their spare time?

The British actor, above with his other half, said: “So we have been ­crocheting at home. I absolutely love it.”

“I just find it turns my brain off. I can’t do anything else and do it. I have to be lasered in.”

I’m sure he still has Zendaya in stitches . . . 

Sir David Jason has opened up on the prospect of an Only Fools and Horses revival, saying ‘let’s go for it’

Television icon Sir David Jason has spoken candidly about a potential revival of Only Fools and Horses – but acknowledges there’s one significant obstacle to resurrecting the beloved sitcom.

The BBC programme ran for seven series and 16 Christmas specials between 1981 and 2003 and is frequently voted the UK’s greatest ever sitcom. Only Fools transformed Sir David and co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who portrayed wheeler dealer brothers Derek and Rodney Trotter, into household names.

However, while there have been spin-offs in the subsequent 23 years, alongside a successful stage production, there hasn’t been a return to fresh TV episodes.

Sir David, 86, declared “let’s go for it” – but only if they “get a good script”. The actor believes this might prove somewhat problematic as the programme’s creator, John Sullivan, passed away in 2011. The Only Fools star described the scriptwriter as “a genius”.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “But the problem (with a TV revival) is that the man who created it is no longer with us. He wrote every episode and just happened to be a genius.

“I’m not so sure that we have a writer clever enough to take on his mantle. No one could write characters like he could. Providing we have a good script, let’s go for it!” reports the Express.

The Only Fools creator died in April 2011, six weeks after contracting viral pneumonia. Only Fools and Horses The Musical, penned by Paul Whitehouse and John Sullivan’s son Jim Sullivan, enjoyed a West End run spanning more than four years before concluding in April 2023. The programme centred on the Trotter brothers, market traders from working-class Peckham in south-east London, chronicling their schemes to strike it rich fast.

Sir David also shared his thoughts on cancel culture, as Only Fools and Horses repeats now feature trigger warnings. He revealed no one has criticised the programme to him directly.

The actor continued: “Not one person has ever complained about any show that I have done. No one has said they didn’t believe in it or didn’t enjoy it.”

Meanwhile, Sir David delivered a heartbreaking eight-word response after viewing a lost Only Fools scene.

The actor reunited with Tessa Peake-Jones, who portrayed his on-screen partner Raquel Turner. The duo filmed a new docuseries, Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive. The two-part programme featured the show’s stars watching previously unseen material from more than 10 classic episodes.

Grantchester actress Tessa has revealed that David made an emotional remark about the cast being “so young and so successful” while revisiting footage of himself and his co-stars.

Speaking on Lorraine, she shared: “David Jason was very, very poignant about it. There was one bit where he was like, ‘We were so young and so successful then.’ It’s quite depressing.”