saga

THE road to Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay’s wedding has been anything but smooth, with a family feud overshadowing their upcoming nuptials.

But I hear fans will soon see the couple in happier times, as their engagement do last December was filmed by Netflix for her chef dad, Gordon’s, docuseries.

They celebrated with friends and family, including Adam’s mum Caroline, who is not invited to their wedding in Bath next month as they are now estranged.

But the scenes are still expected to be part of Being Gordon Ramsay, which sees the chef juggling his personal life with opening five new London restaurants.

A source said: “Adam’s family were at the engagement party, when relations were much better.

“Things went downhill from there.

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“His mum was unhappy some of the family weren’t there and confronted Gordon at the event.

“Guests were made to sign non-disclosure agreements and hand in phones as the party was filmed.”

So many people I know are desperate to find out what really caused the fallout.

The show is due to hit Netflix in February, and I’m sure viewers will be glued to their screens . . . 

PUP IS PINKY SPICE

MEL B was radiant on the red carpet at The Beauty Awards, but I have a feeling her pet pooch is even more pampered than she is.

The Spice Girls star looked trendy in a cropped blazer, mini skirt and towering knee-high boots as she clutched her tiny dog Cookie as she arrived at the bash in London.

And she had clearly pushed the boat out to prepare her pup for the glitz and glamour of the evening, by dying the fur on her head pink.

Kerry Katona was also there and was snapped snogging her boyfriend Paolo Margaglione, who she met on Celebs Go Dating, while Ekin-Su Culculoglu looked fabulous in a white dress.

WHAT A HORROR, SCARLETT

PREPARE for a scare, as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Scarlett Johansson, will feature in the next Exorcist film.

She has joined the horror franchise for the upcoming movie, once again coming from writer and director Mike Flanagan.

He said: “Scarlett is a brilliant actress whose captivating performances always feel grounded and real, from genre films to summer blockbusters, and I couldn’t be happier to have her join this Exorcist film.”

The last film, 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer, had an underwhelming reception, but the hope is that having Scarlett on board will breathe new life into the franchise relaunch.

She certainly has form with relaunches, having been part of Jurassic World Rebirth earlier this year, which made $869million.

WICKED WEEKEND AT BOX OFFICE

ARIANA GRANDE and Cynthia Erivo’s hard work has paid off, because Wicked: For Good managed to conjure up magical box office takings at the weekend.

The movie raked in £17.8million in just three days, making it the biggest opening weekend in the UK since Margot Robbie‘s Barbie in 2023, which took £18.5m.

The figure is 30 per cent higher than the first Wicked film – which came out last November – and the highest ever opening for a stage musical adaptation.

Now it faces a fight to become the biggest film of the year, with hopes it will surpass Jack Black’s A Minecraft Movie, which has taken £56.4million in the UK since its release in March.

But there could well be more of Ariana’s Galinda on screens if fans get their way.

Wicked author Gregory Maguire has announced he is working on a prequel story about the character’s early life called Galinda: A Charmed Childhood, which will be published by HarperCollins next September.

That’s on top of his Elphaba prequel Elphie, which came out earlier this year.

Quizzed on the prospect of more films in the saga, director Jon M. Chu said: “Who knows? But that was never part of the equation. And I just finished this! I know Universal would want to do it, but that’s hard.”

OLLY ON PULL AT ALBUM BASH

OLLY MURS hosted the launch of album Knees Up at his favourite East London boozer.

And Bizarre’s Jack couldn’t resist getting behind the bar with him at The Birdcage in Bethnal Green to see who could pull the best pint.

While Olly declared his one a “thing of beauty”, Jack’s was a disaster – despite having worked at his local Spoons.

At The Birdcage, in Bethnal Green, Olly said: “We have spent a lot of time in this pub so it’s only fitting we have the launch of the album here with a quiz, games, karaoke, cake and darts.

“There’s always a moment to be a lad, right? And that’s what this album is about – I’m going back to my roots.”

COUNTRY music superstar Zach Bryan is ready to take the UK by storm with a series of massive shows here next summer.

The American singer will perform at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium on June 12, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield on June 14 and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on June 16 and 17.

Tickets go on sale next Friday at 10am.

WITH three No1 albums to his name, Dave has conquered the world of music and now he’s hoping to make you giggle, too.

The rapper, who went very serious on his latest hit record The Boy Who Played The Harp, has revealed he now wants to become a comedian.

In a new interview with The Face, Dave said: “I’m trying to get into stand-up comedy and one of my sketches is that I don’t know how to whistle.

“I’m inherently shy and introverted.”

Sometimes, that can make for the funniest people.

But when Dave’s not making music in the studio or writing gags, he is trying to create positive change in London – via social media.

He said he regularly sends messages directly to London mayor Sadiq Khan, suggesting how he can improve the capital.

Dave said: “I’m telling him: ‘Yo, this is what I think is going on’.

“Not everyone’s going to have a direct line to Sadiq Khan, but you can put a message out to your MP.”

OASIS have said “there will now be a pause for a period of reflection” after completing their reunion tour – but it sounds like Liam Gallagher is ready to go again.

When asked what he wants for Christmas, Liam said on X: “A European tour”.

He added: “There’s loads more classics we need to play for you when we go out again.”

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But when one fan said they were convinced a new album was on the way, Liam replied: “It’s not, I honestly don’t see the point, it won’t be as good as the old stuff.

“I’m quite happy singing the old stuff I’m not 1 of those w*****s that need to keep pushing it forward or sideways or backwards in some cases. Nostalgia forever.”

Norway has become the latest customer of the pan-European NH90 helicopter to walk away from its acquisition, agreeing on an out-of-court settlement with manufacturer NH Industries (NHI). The NATO member follows Australia, whose departure from the program TWZ has discussed in depth in the past, and Belgium, which announced earlier this year that it would retire its Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) versions.

It was confirmed today that NHI would pay Norway €375 million ($432 million) to bring to an end the dispute around the Scandinavian nation’s long-contested NH90 contract, which involved 14 navalized versions of the helicopter. In a joint statement, Norway and NHI said that the 14 NH90s would be returned to the manufacturer together with spare parts, tools, and mission equipment. The aircraft and components will be recycled back into the program so they can be passed on to other customers.

“This solution reflects the parties’ mutual agreement to bring all related disputes to a conclusive end,” the joint statement said.

Norway announced plans to buy the 14 helicopters in 2001, with these to be divided between the Royal Norwegian Navy and Norwegian Coast Guard, with deliveries planned between 2005 and 2008. The Navy was to get six examples outfitted for anti-submarine warfare, while the Coast Guard would receive the remaining eight configured for search and rescue.

From the start, the program was dogged by problems, with the first example not being delivered until December 2011. The following year, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that the slow pace of deliveries meant that another helicopter type might have to be purchased to fill the gap once the country’s Westland Lynx shipborne helicopters were retired in 2014. At that time, it began to be reported that Oslo was looking at the U.S.-made MH-60 Seahawk as an alternative to the NH90 for anti-submarine warfare.

By January 2016, six NH90s had been delivered, and two years later, a Norwegian Armed Forces report found that the NH90 fleet was not providing the required flight hours to meet its intended roles. The report recommended that all 14 helicopters be converted for the anti-submarine warfare role.

A subsequent Norwegian Armed Forces study, in September 2018, suggested that it might still be possible for the 14 NH90s to perform in both the Navy and Coast Guard roles. However, this would require the ready availability of spare parts, as well as sufficient overhaul capacity. The goal was to achieve this by 2022.

By 2022, however, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense was voicing more concerns over new delays and NHI’s alleged failure to meet contractual obligations. Once again, an alternative helicopter was on the agenda.

Finally, in June 2022, then-Norwegian Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram announced that the NH90 contract would be terminated and that the helicopters would be immediately grounded. Oslo cited delays, errors, and excessive maintenance requirements and demanded compensation from NHI.

By that point, 13 NH90s had been delivered, but only eight arrived in a fully operational configuration, according to the Norwegian Ministry of Defense. Where the fleet was required to fly 3,900 hours a year, it was averaging just 700 hours annually.

“Regrettably, we have reached the conclusion that no matter how many hours our technicians work, and how many parts we order, it will never make the NH90 capable of … meeting the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces,” Gram said at the time.

In 2023, Norway announced that the NH90s would be partially replaced by six MH-60R Seahawks. Deliveries began this year and are scheduled to be completed in 2027.

The Norwegian development is the latest blow for NHI in what has been a disappointing year.

In July, Belgium’s Minister of Defense Theo Francken said that the country will soon retire its four NH90 TTHs, describing the acquisition as a “bad purchase.” Belgium will continue to operate a similar number of maritime-tasked NH90s.

Australia’s sorry saga with the NH90 is something that TWZ has reported on extensively in the past. 

Like Norway, Australia cited difficulties with maintenance and availability when, in December 2021, it announced it was ditching its fleet of MRH90 battlefield utility helicopters, a variant of the NH90 also known locally in that country as the Taipan, and replacing them with U.S.-built UH-60 Black Hawks. The NH90 had entered Australian service in 2008, and the fleet of 46 Taipans was retired a decade ahead of schedule.

“The performance of the MRH90 Taipan has been an ongoing and well-documented concern for [the Australian Ministry of Defense], and there has been a significant effort at great expense to try to remediate those issues,” then-Australian Minister for Defense Peter Dutton said at the time. “It is critically important that there is a safe, reliable, and capable utility helicopter available for our servicemen and women into the future, with reasonable and predictable operating costs.”

Norway’s neighbor, Sweden, has also been less than satisfied with its NH90s, of which it took nine each of the TTH and NFH, albeit modified to meet local requirements for specific search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare roles, respectively. Delays in getting the TTHs fully operational led to Sweden ordering 15 UH-60M Black Hawks as a stopgap, while in November 2022, the country revealed plans to replace its NH90 NFHs entirely.

Outside of these cases, other NH90 operators have faced a variety of problems with the helicopter, although these issues have rarely been consistent, especially since individual variants — more than 20 in all — can differ from country to country.

Examples include Germany, where the Army’s helicopters were revealed to have rear ramps too weak to support fully equipped soldiers, cabin floors that can be damaged by combat boots, among other faults. At one point in 2019, only around 12 percent of Germany’s NH90s were mission-capable, with the German Armed Forces blaming Airbus, which is part of the NHI consortium, for alleged failings in its maintenance services.

On the other hand, NHI has continued to trumpet the NH90’s successes, where they have occurred.

Last year, the company’s CEO, Axel Aloccio, said that he considered there were “lots of commercial opportunities” available for additional NH90 sales. He said that, in particular, there was “a lot” of interest from Middle East nations and identified an overall market for between “50 to 100” sales of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, 13 other operators continue to fly the NH90 in a variety of roles, and the helicopter is expanding into new missions, too. As part of its defense spending drive, the Netherlands announced last year that it would add to its NH90 fleet.

For the time being, however, the NH90’s loss in Norway, and previously Australia, further tarnishes the helicopter’s reputation but is certainly good news for Lockheed Martin, whose H-60/S-70 series is a readymade and well-proven replacement.

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