BBC Breakfast returned once again on Saturday 1 November
BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty quipped ‘what’s going on this weekend’ during Saturday’s show(Image: BBC)
BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty quipped ‘what’s going on this weekend’ during Saturday’s show.
During the latest instalment, Naga, 50, and co-host Charlie Stayt reported on the world’s largest cake decorating show in Birmingham called Cake International.
Naga and Charlie, 63, were shown a series of creations from the event, which included a Jim Carrey inspired cake, a troll cake and some Halloween inspired creations.
However, Naga didn’t find the Halloween creations too appetising as she admitted: “I don’t want to eat that character’s teeth!”
To which Charlie responded: “It would be so wrong to slice into something created… they’re basically works of art, aren’t they? I do not know how they make those cakes like that!”
Naga then asked Charlie of the Halloween cake creation: “Would you eat the teeth or the eyeballs of that cake?”
To which Charlie admitted: “I think I’d choose to just leave it there and not touch it. I’d make a separate cake for eating and just have that one to look at.”
Yet weather presenter Louise Lear was quick to join in as she admitted over the creation: “I’d eat anything at the moment, I’m starving!”
To which a horrified Naga asked: “Would you eat the teeth on that one?” with Louise joking: “I haven’t had breakfast, anything, Naga, particularly if the icing is good!
“I mean, I’m one of those people. I’m a bit of a grazer, so I might just kind of, you know, have a little bit and then keep going back to it, yeah.
“But I’d have gone for the troll’s head straight away. Chopped it off. What does that say about me?”
To which an animated Naga joked: “Even more brutal. There’s no messing with you two. What’s going on this weekend?”
Cake International is the biggest cake decorating and baking event in the world.
It runs for three full days at National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. It opened on Friday the 31st of October and ends on Sunday the 2nd of November.
BBC Breakfast continues every day at 6am on both BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
CELEBRITY Traitors star Tom Daley is diving head first into a pool of cash courtesy of a lucrative side hustle.
The champion diver raked in more than £100,000 from his knitting hobby in 2024 – two years on from setting up his Made With Love label.
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Tom Daley’s turned his love of knitting into a lucrative side hustleCredit: PATom was an early casualty on The TraitorsCredit: BBC
Profit eluded him for the first couple of years, but his woolly items are now coining it in.
Annual accounts for MWLTD Ltd show he made a six-figure profit in 2024 and left £57,000 in cash in the firm’s coffers.
He sells £8.99 balls of wool, patterns and leisurewear via his website and would-be buyers are told by Tom: “A lot of you know that I absolutely adore knitting.
“It’s been a journey for me that started when I first picked up my knitting needles in March 2020. Fast forward and I’m so proud to introduce these kits to you all so that you can experience the joy I found learning to knit.
“I designed these knit kits to help encourage you to pick up those needles, learn the basics, and fall in love with knitting at the same time – all whilst creating something to show off or pass on.”
Wool vest kits start at £53. A pattern and wool for a sweater costs up to £72.
Tom, who hosts Channel 4’s Game of Wool, has said he was banned from wearing his own knitwear when appearing on Celebrity Traitors.
The Olympic gold medallist, 31, revealed in a new interview that self-promotion was prohibited during filming for the BBC gameshow.
The former diving champion appeared as a Faithful contestant on the programme alongside singer Paloma Faith, presenter Stephen Fry and broadcaster Kate Garraway, with the Traitors being Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr and singer Cat Burns.
He also added that he was constantly knitting when they weren’t filming scenes for the show.
“Any time I was in the hotel, I was just knitting, knitting, knitting,” he said.
If you’re like me, you spent a lot of time over the last few weeks reading about the unbelievably brazen Louvre museum heist. Not only did it provide a welcome respite from obsessing over the destruction of the East Wing, it also supplied an adrenaline boost for the imagination: Who on earth had the nerve to literally cut through a window in broad daylight and leap into the world’s most famous museum in order to grab nearly $102 million worth of crown jewels before escaping on a motor scooter?
My favorite article about the fiasco ran in the Atlantic under the headline “The Louvre Heist is Terrific,” with the subhed, “Here was a dreamy little crime in which no one really got hurt.” The French people beg to differ. In many circles, the crime signaled a glaring national failure. Either way, seven suspects have now been detained by police in connection with the crime, and we will have answers soon enough — even if nobody will ever see the jewels again.
The heist seemed ripped from the script of a Hollywood blockbuster — something along the lines of “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring Vincent Cassel and Omar Sy instead of George Clooney and Matt Damon. As such, it spawned a paroxysm of frenetic, click-sticky activity on social and legacy media alike. Newly-minted CBS news chief Bari Weiss reportedly suggested to staff that they interview “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown about the heist. And an online platform called Action Network that analyzes odds, mostly for betting and sports books, released a new U.S. study called “Top 10 Museums Most Vulnerable to a Heist.”
“The study estimates each museum’s implied probability of a heist, showing how visibility, value, and public access combine into a theoretical ‘heist appeal.’ It reflects exposure, not vulnerability. To be clear: we’re not predicting theft. We’re measuring where culture meets risk,” Action Network explained on its website.
It turns out that in Los Angeles, Getty Center and Los Angeles County Museum of Art have the most “heist-appeal,” according to the study. The former comes in at No. 4 on the list, and the latter at No. 7. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art sits in the top place, followed by Washington D.C.’s National Gallery of Art.
The study puts the implied probability of a heist at Getty Center at 3.9%, and gives this sunny description of the campus, “A hilltop postcard with galleries. Open vistas, bright courtyards, and art that draws camera phones nonstop, all under movie-worthy security.”
Movie-worthy security has me thinking: I might write a screenplay featuring a gang of criminals who make a daring escape on the Getty tram with Titian’s Venus and Adonis.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, planning my next great adventure. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
On our radar
Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider’s opera “Hildegard” will be performed at the Wallis.
(Sarah Kirkland Snider)
Hildegard With her new opera, “Hildegard,” which has its West Coast premiere as part of Los Angeles Opera’s Off-Grand series, Sarah Kirkland Snider joins a broad range of artists enraptured by the earliest remembered composer, Hildegard von Bingen. Her otherworldly sacred vocal music, along with her visionary writing, has made the 12th century mystic philosopher, medical doctor, natural historian and Benedictine abbess a source of late 20th and 21st century fascination. She shows up in texts about gardening, numinous Christianity and the Kabbalah. David Lynch was not the only filmmaker obsessed with the abbess. Her 900th birthday in 1998 was observed by a feminist composer and singer collective, Hildegurls, by inventively staging Hildegard’s luminous “Ordo Virtutum.” Now it is Snider’s turn, assisted by Elkhanah Pulitzer, for a full-scale Hildegard opera. – Mark Swed 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Nov. 8; 2 p.m. Nov. 9. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laopera.org
Janet Leigh in the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic thriller “Psycho.”
(Associated Press)
Psycho The American Cinematheque celebrates the 65th anniversary of the unleashing of Norman Bates on moviegoers. “Alfred Hitchcock’s terrifying 1960 landmark forever upended the audience’s narrative expectations, changed theatrical exhibition models and probably led to reduced water bills nationwide,” wrote former Times film critic Justin Chang in 2016. “Accept no substitutes.” 7:30 p.m. Friday. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com
Gail Bean, Biko Eisen-Martin, seated, and Michael Rishawn, standing, star in “Table 17” at Geffen Playhouse.
(Corey Olsen)
Table 17 The West Coast premiere of this rom-com by Douglas Lyons (author of the Broadway comedy “Chicken & Biscuits”) concerns a formerly engaged man and woman who reunite at a restaurant to sift through the past with calm, friendly, objective detachment. What could possibly go wrong? This MCC Theater production, directed by Zhailon Levingston (“Cats: The Jellicle Ball”) features Gail Bean, Biko Eisen-Martin and Michael Rishawn in a play the New York Times described as “comfort food” that “satisfies a genuine craving.” – Charles McNulty Wednesday through Dec. 7. Geffen Playhouse’s Gil Cates Theater, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Halloween What better way to experience “All Hallows’ Eve” than by gorging on John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic and its chillingly insistent piano score with a group of like-minded souls. Jamie Lee Curtis laid the groundwork for the generations of scream queens to follow. 4:15 and 7 p.m. Vidiots, Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. vidiotsfoundation.org
SATURDAY Bluebeard’s Castle The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the American debut of this dark musical thriller laced with romance and horror. A hit in Europe and based on a medieval French fairy tale, it was written and directed by Sofia Streisand and features music by Sergey Rubalsky and Artem Petaykin; lyrics by Elena Hanpira; and choreography by Irina Lyahovskaya, with songs adapted for the English production by Nancy Magarill and Terra Naomi. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; through Nov. 23. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com
Día de Los Muertos The Wallis delivers its first Family Fest of the season with a free celebration of the holiday featuring story time with Lil’ Libros authors, plus arts, crafts and learning activities; altar-building workshops with Self Help Graphics & Art; face painting by Color Me Face Painting; and a dance workshop and performance by the Pacifico Dance Company, highlighting traditional styles. 11 a.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
The People’s Party Civics Is Sexy and the NAACP bring together artists, activists and community leaders for two days of film, music and comedy featuring Yasmin Elhady, Chris Dowd of Fishbone, Nic Novicki, Peyton Edmonds and many more. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. NAACP Hollywood Bureau, 5757 Wilshire Blvd. peoplesparty.civicsissexy.co
Pony Cam The experimental Australian collective presents “Burnout Paradise,” in which four performers on treadmills attempt to complete a series of increasingly difficult, boundary-testing tasks in a comedic absurdist interpretation of overachievement. 8 p.m. Saturday; 6 p.m. Sunday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
“What we lost in the Ocean,” 2022 (video still) by Ann Le.
(Ann Le)
A Tender Excavation Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions presents a group show of artists working from historical and familial photographic archives to create transformative new stories from Afro-Latinx, African American, Chinese American, Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, Korean American, Iraqi American, Latinx, Mexican, Mexican American, Peruvian American, Thai, Turkish American and Vietnamese American cultures and communities. Opening reception, 2-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, through Feb. 21, 2026. Cal State L.A., Luckman Gallery, 5151 State University Drive. theluckman.org
Faye Webster performs Saturday and Sunday at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Faye Webster The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter, backed by the 40-piece Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Wilkins, performs her indie-folk, alt-country and jazz R&B-infused songs. 8 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
SUNDAY Written On Heaven A musical portrait of Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru, an Ethiopian nun and composer who died in 2023, featuring performances by pianists Thomas Feng and Gloria Cheng. 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Shatto Chapel at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. mondayeveningconcerts.org
MONDAY
Actor Jeff Goldblum.
(Scott A Garfitt / AP)
An Evening with Jeff Goldblum A conversation with the popular actor, musician and raconteur is followed by a 4K screening of Robert Altman’s 1976 country and gospel music epic “Nashville.” 7 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
TUESDAY Moulin Rouge! The Musical This Tony-winning jukebox spectacle inspired by the 2001 Baz Luhrmann movie, adapted for the stage by John Logan featuring anachronistic pop hits Elton John, Beyoncé, Madonna, Rihanna, Katy Perry and more, focuses on the star-crossed romance between a songwriter from a Ohio and the star of the titular nightclub. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 16. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. broadwayinhollywood.com
WEDNESDAY Listening by Moonrise This seasonal series returns for an evening of music, culture and community with performances by Azucar LA, Juan Gabriel impersonator Marco Ortiz and King Dance. 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday. Los Candiles Night Club, 2100 Cypress Ave., Glassell Park. clockshop.org
Mariology The West Coast premiere of this collaboration between playwright Nancy Keystone and Critical Mass Performance Group explores all things Virgin Mary in a fifth-grade classroom that erupts into fantasy and rebellion. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, through Dec. 7 (check days and times). Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave. bostoncourtpasadena.org
THURSDAY Marilyn Minter A solo exhibition of the artist’s work features paintings from four separate but related bodies of work: large-scale portraits (including Nick Cave, Jane Fonda, Jeff Koons and Cindy Sherman), the “Odalisque” and “After Guston” series, and a selection of Minter’s signature magnified mouths. Opening, 6-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Dec. 20. Regen Projects, 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. regenprojects.com
Music Restored Violinist Adam Millstein and pianist Dominic Cheli perform works by Martinů, Kaprálová, Smetana and Schulhoff. 7 p.m. Colburn School, Thayer Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu
New Original Works (NOW) REDCAT’s annual festival of experimental performance kicks off with a program of works by Maylee Todd, Jacob Wolff, Diana Wyenn and Ammunition Theatre Company. NOW 2025 continues with additional programming Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 20-22. 8 p.m Thursday-Saturday. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Alan Edmunds, a psychologist, is the librettist and writer of “Perfect World,” a musical that tells the story of literary child prodigy Barbara Follet, at the El Portal Theatre.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
A ‘Perfect’ mystery The little-known story of a child literary prodigy named Barbara Follett — who published her first novel at 12 and disappeared without a trace at 25 — is the subject of a world-premiere musical, “Perfect World,” at El Portal Theatre. I sat down with librettist and co-lyricist Alan Edmunds to talk about his interest in Follett’s story, and how a deep dive into her archives at Columbia University led him to believe it would be a good candidate for the stage.
Pasadena Playhouse classes ramp up A bustling theater school is rising on the century-old campus of the Pasadena Playhouse. More than 400 students per semester are now participating in 14 classes tailored for kids as young as 4 years old, as well as adults in their 80s and everyone in-between. “Education is as core to us as the shows on stage,” producing artistic director Danny Feldman told me in a recent interview.
LACMA unionizes Employees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced earlier this week that they are forming a union, LACMA United, representing more than 300 workers from across all departments, including curators, educators, guest relations associates and others. The move comes just six months before the museum is scheduled to open its new $720-million David Geffen Galleries.
Suntory time for Dudamel Times classical music critic Mark Swed flew to Tokyo to watch Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform two concerts of works by John Adams, Stravinsky and Mahler in Suntory Hall. The stop was part of an Asian tour that also includes Seoul and Taipei.
Manuel Oliver is photographed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. Oliver lost his son Joaquin “Guac” Oliver in the Parkland shooting. Manuel Oliver is now bringing his love of his son and his gun-reform activism to the stage in a one-man show called “Guac.”
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
A father grieves Times theater critic Charles McNulty caught a performance of “Guac” at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Manuel Oliver’s powerful one-man show examines the death — and celebrates the life — of his son, 17-year-old Joaquín Oliver, who was one of 17 people killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “The production, written and performed by Oliver, turns a parent’s grief into a theatrical work of activism,” writes McNulty.
Theater hot spot If you know, you know — that’s the verdict on tiny New Theater Hollywood, which has lately taken on an outsize presence on formerly sleepy Theatre Row. “Opening post-pandemic, at a time of rising costs, dwindling audiences and little financial aid, New Theater Hollywood feels like an anomaly. It’s an intricate support system for practitioners to hone their craft in a space dedicated to original theatrical work,” writes Times contributor Emma Madden.
The girl is still having fun A new musical adaptation of the 1988 film “Working Girl” is premiering at La Jolla Playhouse with score by ‘80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Ashley Lee has the scoop.
Wine meets art The Donum Estate is home to 60 monumental sculptures by artists including Jaume Plensa, Louise Bourgeois, Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, Doug Aitken, Robert Indiana and Anselm Kiefer, making it quite possibly “the largest private sculpture collection of any winery in the world,” writes Times contributor Sam Lubell in a story about the unique vineyard in California’s Carneros wine region.
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La Jolla, launchpad of musicals La Jolla Playhouse announced its 2026/2027 season, featuring three world-premiere musicals: The Playhouse-commissioned “The Family Album” (book by Sam Chanse and music and lyrics by MILCK, a.k.a. Connie Lim); “GRIM” (book by Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer, music and lyrics by Petro AP, Scott Hoying, Joey Orton and Brad Silnutzer): and David Henry Hwang’s “Particle Fever,” with music and lyrics by Bear McCreary and Zoe Sarnak, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman.
D.C. arts purge continues The White House fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts earlier this week, according to an exclusive in the Washington Post. That independent federal agency would have reviewed a number of President Trump’s construction projects, “including his planned triumphal arch and White House ballroom.”
Nobel laureate stripped of visa The first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature has been stripped of his U.S. visa by the Trump administration. The Nigerian author and playwright, Wole Soyinka, received notice of the decision from a U.S. consulate in Lagos on Oct. 23, calling it a “rather curious love letter.”
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Happy Halloween! Looking for something truly scary to watch? Try Game 6 of the World Series, which takes place in Toronto tonight.
The co-hosts of the weekend morning show have been let go by the US broadcaster
Fran Winston and Chloe Dobinson
13:19, 30 Oct 2025
Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson are set to leave CBS Saturday Morning(Image: CBS Photo Archive, CBS via Getty Images)
Following seven years presenting CBS Saturday Morning, hosts Michelle Miller, 52, and Dana Jacobson, 52, have been dropped by the network amid ongoing redundancies.
The duo, who started on the programme in 2018, are among the latest victims after CBS’s parent firm, Paramount Skydance, was bought by billionaire tycoon David Ellison during the summer.
A source revealed to Variety that the majority of production staff have also received their marching orders. Executive producer Brian Applegate was similarly shown the door.
The 28-year-old programme, which broadcasts on TV on Saturday mornings between 7am and 9am, has been scrapped as part of sweeping changes, reports the Express.
Insiders informed the New York Post that the show is being restructured by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and President Tom Cibrowski.
Ellison has revealed plans to cut over 2,000 positions throughout the company.
In a staff memo, he allegedly stated: “In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organisation. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities, and the new structure is designed to strengthen our focus on growth.”
Whether the axing takes effect immediately or if Saturday’s edition will still broadcast on November 1 remains unclear.
The show has suffered declining audience figures this year, with viewership falling 10% to 1.9 million.
Miller began her career at the Los Angeles Times during the early 1990s before transitioning to television. She’s wedded to Marc Morial, the ex-mayor of New Orleans and current leader of the National Urban League.
Meanwhile, Jacobson spent a decade at ESPN, featuring on First Take and SportsCenter before moving to CBS in 2015.
An insider revealed to the New York Post that the broadcaster is also pulling the plug on CBS Mornings Plus, which broadcasts from 9 to 10 am on weekdays. The show, co-hosted by Adriana Diaz and Tony Dokoupil, reportedly aired its final episode on Friday, October 31.
However, they’re not the only hosts facing the axe. John Dickerson, host of CBS Evening News, also announced earlier this week that he would be departing the network after a 16-year stint.
In total, 100 roles at CBS News are being slashed. An initial wave of cuts across the broadcaster affected 1,000 staff members across various departments, with another 1,000 set to follow.
JAMIE FOXX launches furious rant at audience member after he’s forced to stop show.
The actor and musician, 57, was performing at his daughter’s music festival when a concert-goer reportedly hurled a bottle on stage at another huge US rapper.
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Jamie Foxx stopped his show and launched into a furious rantCredit: TikTokThe US star asked an audience member ‘why would you do that?’Credit: TikTok
A two minute clip making the rounds on social media shows the moment Jamie abruptly stops performance to unleash a furious on stage rant.
The actor who is known for his roles in films including Django Unchained and Baby Driver appeared at SKVLK Fest, a Halloween-themed party which was organised by his teen daughter Anelise.
Also taking to the stage was female rapper GloRilla who was forced to stop her set after a glass bottle was thrown at her.
Jamie immediately jumped to the music star’s defence, exclaiming: “ Who did it? Why would you do that?”
They added: “The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcement’s hands.”
Jamie reportedly left the restaurant by the time law authorities arrived and did not receive any medical attention at the scene despite needing stitches.
Jamie was left injured after reportedly being involved in an altercation last yearCredit: Getty
Celebrity Traitors stars Kate Garraway and Tom Daley have opened up about their experiences on the BBC show – as the Good Morning Britain star opens up about how healing it was for her
Tom Daley and Kate Garraway were two of the biggest names to sign up for the latest series(Image: ITV)
Celebrity Traitors has kept us on the edge of our seats for weeks with backstabbing, betrayal and Traitor like ways. However, it was quite the healing experience for Kate Garraway.
Kate tragically lost her husband Derek Draper following a lengthy health battle and was instantly launched into being a single mum to their beloved children Darcey and Billy. Whilst many would find Celebrity Traitors difficult and mentally draining, Kate actually found it therapeutic and said it really gave her time to slow down and think.
Speaking about the show, Kate said: “The process was fun, intense and eye-opening. It was a rollercoaster. It was also a wonderful time to do some thinking of my own.
“No phones, access to the internet or live TV were allowed, and my wonderful sister-in-law was with the kids. So I could distract myself from the worries of the past few years and immerse myself in game play but also take stock and let my mind wander and dream about the next chapter of my life.”
Kate is adamant to keep Derek a huge part of her and the kids’ life despite his tragic death. Speaking to Prima, Kate added: “As a family, we think about Derek and I think about him all the time.
“We’ve ended up with this strange conversation that takes place where Derek’s almost there. So, if Darcey is asking to do something or suggesting something, I’ll say, ‘What do you reckon Dad would think about that?’ And she’ll say, ‘Well, I think Dad would think this. But actually, I think he’s wrong because of this.’ I quite like that because it feels as though he’s still constantly involved.”
Olympic diver Tom Daley had a much shorter stint on the show but in the time off screen, he was able to focus on his other passion in life – knitting. He explained: “Yeah, any time I was in the hotel I was just knitting, knitting, knitting.
“You get your phone taken off you, you can’t talk to anyone, you’re just in your room, so I was very glad I had knitting because I think lots of people were bored. We wanted to do a knitting lesson in our downtime, but we never quite got around to it.”
His son Robbie is a huge fan of the show. He told Radio Times: “Robbie is a huge fan of The Traitors, and the boys spent some time on the Game of Wool set. Phoenix is only two! He’s definitely not into it [knitting] yet. He likes grabbing the wool, then running away with it and unravelling everything. Robbie, to be fair, has made a hat with a knitting loom machine and has crocheted a chain.”
The December 2025 issue of Prima is on sale today and Tom’s full interview is available in the new edition of Radio Times.
HOWARD Stern’s top staffers are asking around for new jobs at SiriusXM, as they believe the show will be canceled in December.
The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal the private conversations being had at the streaming radio provider, as Stern‘s $100 million contract – which has yet to be renewed – inches closer to an end.
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Howard Stern’s staffers have been asking around for jobs as the shock jock’s contract comes to an endCredit: GettyStern’s staffers are starting to look for new jobs (here in studio with Jennifer Lopez earlier this month)Credit: Getty
An eyewitness at SiriusXM’s offices this week claimed they overheard Stern show radio personality Fred Norris pitching himself for a new gig.
“Fred was walking with another guy at Sirius and said to him, ‘Let me know, because I don’t know what’s going to happen come January, I might be looking for a job,’” the eyewitness claimed.
“After conversations with [Stern show producer] Gary Dell’Abate and others, it sounds like they aren’t expecting to re-sign with Sirius,” the insider said.
The U.S. Sun reached out to the Howard Stern show for comment.
INSIDE STERN & SIRIUS’ NEGOTIATIONS
Stern has notably been broadcasting from his sprawling Hamptons home since the pandemic, with some occasional exceptions.
As The U.S. Sun was the first to exclusively report, the 71-year-old shock jock and his superiors at SiriusXM were not expected to find common ground when his $100 million-a-year contract concludes this year.
In August, sources informed The U.S. Sun that Stern’s SiriusXM program seemed to be facing cancellation.
The satellite broadcaster was unlikely to meet Stern’s financial demands when his current five-year contract expires.
An insider revealed, “Stern’s contract is up in the fall, and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don’t intend for him to take it.
“Sirius and Stern are never going to agree on the money he is going to want. It’s no longer worth the investment.”
The source also noted at the time that SiriusXM was expected to pursue a separate agreement to maintain control of Stern’s extensive show archive.
“But as far as him coming back to doing the show, there’s no way they can keep paying his salary,” they clarified.
Referencing the difficulties within the media sector, the insider remarked, “After you saw what happened with Stephen Colbert, it’s like they just can’t afford to keep him going.”
STERN FINALLY RESPONDS
In September, Stern addressed The U.S. Sun’s report about 45 minutes into his show.
The shock jock had been on an extended summer break, after he blamed a cold for missing the prior week’s show, despite SiriusXM heavily promoting his return and that he would address the speculation that his show was done for.
Far into his return to the air, Stern addressed The U.S. Sun’s report that his show was headed for cancellation this year.
“Here’s the truth. Sirius XM and my team have been talking about how we go forward in the future,” he stated.
“They’ve approached me, they’ve sat down with me, like they normally do, and they’re fantastic.”
Stern recounted that SiriusXM executives asked him, “Howard, would you stay? Under what conditions do you want to stay? How often do you want to do a show?”
“And you know, we’ve been talking. We’ve been talking,” he added, confirming that a contract for him to continue had not yet been signed.
The radio icon then read directly from The U.S. Sun’s initial report, appearing to validate its accuracy.
He quoted, “Stern’s contract is up in the fall and while Sirius is planning to make him an offer, they don’t intend for him to take it,” before adding, “Which is weird. Well, fine, whatever. I might not have, but now I have to take it.”
Howard Stern’s Career
Howard Stern has had a prolific radio career, but he’s also had success in film, books and TV.
Stern’s love affair with radio began when he was a student at Boston University, where he worked at the school’s radio station before graduating in 1976.
After college, he had a series of on-air jobs in Hartford, Connecticut, Detroit, Michigan and then Washington D.C., where he met his eventual sidekick Robin Quivers.
It was in D.C. where Stern began honing his shock jock schtick.
They were fired and the pair landed at WNBC in New York City in 1982.
In a few short years at WNBC, Stern butted heads with management and was ultimately axed.
The duo joined WXRK-FM in New York in 1985 and they were there until 2004 when they joined SiriusXM.
Howard has been at SiriusXM since, with his contracts estimated to be between $80 million and a $100 million a year over the last two decades.
He also starred in and was the executive producer of his autobiography and blockbuster movie Private Parts, which debuted in 1997.
He’s also authored several books and was a judge on America’s Got Talent for three seasons.
-By Jessica Finn, Exclusives and Investigations
SIRIUSXM EXECS WEIGH IN
A week before Stern’s belated return, SiriusXM’s Chief Content Officer, Scott Greenstein, commented at a conference.
He said that while they would “love for Stern to stay,” nothing was confirmed at that point.
“It certainly has to make sense, but we feel pretty good that we’ve done this before,” he said, concluding, “We’ll see where it goes.”
Meanwhile, SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz also verified they had not finalized a deal with Stern yet, but added she was “confident [they would] get to the right place” with the radio icon.
Fred Norris, a long standing talent on the Stern show, was overheard asking someone about job leads at SiriusXM this weekCredit: GettyGary Dell’Abate (with Stern and Bruce Springsteen) has been among staffers who have hinted internally to the likelihood the show will not be renewedCredit: GettyStern has largely broadcast from his Hamptons estate since the pandemicCredit: Google Earth
Sandi Toksvig embarks on a journey across the nation as she digs out the history buried beneath our feet. But one discovery pushed her over the edge, leaving her in tears.
Sandi says she made a shocking discovery while filming for her new show(Image: Channel 4)
Sandi Toksvig is no stranger to curiosity, but in her latest series – Hidden Treasures with Sandi Toksvig – she’s delving deeper than ever before and one moment left her in floods of tears.
The beloved broadcaster is turning her lifelong love of archaeology into a full-scale adventure, uncovering the history buried beneath Britain’s soil.
“I studied archaeology many years ago at Cambridge University. It was a theoretical course, so I never went on a dig,” Sandi Toksvig says. “So when I got offered this, it was a bit that was missing in my education. I really needed to do this.”
Teaming up with her friend, archaeologist Raksha Dave, Sandi, 67, embarks on a thrilling nationwide journey across four episodes. From Dorset to Northumberland, the duo dig up remarkable discoveries that stretch from the Iron Age to the Second World War.
The series begins in Dorset, where a team from Bournemouth University excavates a 2,000-year-old Iron Age cemetery belonging to the Durotriges, one of Europe’s earliest women-centric communities.
From there, Sandi and Raksha head off to join the University of Reading at Cookham Abbey, before venturing north to explore Hadrian’s Wall and finally taking on their most ambitious dig in Essex – uncovering the wreckage of a US fighter plane from the Second World War.
“It’s such an astonishing range,” Sandi says. “We cover everything from the Romans to the Iron Age, which is the period from about 800 BCE to 43 CE, to look at the Durotriges. They were a local Iron Age tribe in modern Dorset and one of Europe’s first women-centric communities.”
But not every discovery is easy to process. In the opener, deep in a two-and-a-half-metre pit, Sandi comes face-to-face with a haunting find.
“We discovered a 15-to-17-year-old skeleton face down with a break across one of the arms,” Sandi recalls. “The arms had been tied together prior to death. The nature of the death seemed to be violent and suggested this was perhaps a sacrificial grave. Everybody was being careful.”
Experienced and steady, Raksha handled the skeleton with care. “She very carefully picked it up and handed it to me,” Sandi says. “I turned the face at last to the light and it felt like the person was looking at me.
“At that moment, I unexpectedly burst into tears. I could not stop crying. To hold that person’s head in my hands was one of the greatest privileges of my life.”
For Raksha, the discovery was groundbreaking. “It was pretty gobsmacking,” she says. “It’s very rare to find a human sacrifice. That’s not the first one they’ve discovered, there’s an obvious pattern that follows from years of digging. This suggests that it was the norm for the Durotriges.”
The chemistry between Sandi and Raksha is a highlight of the show. “Very occasionally, you meet somebody and you think, ‘We’re going to be friends,’” Sandi says.
“I am so drawn to anybody with expertise; Raksha has archaeology running throughout her bones. She is a magnet for archaeological finds. Give that woman a trowel and stick her in a couple of inches of dirt – she’ll find you something fantastic!”
Raksha laughs, saying, “Sandi calls me a magpie because every time I turn up on the site, I find stuff.” But it’s not all glamour and golden relics. “Camera crews don’t realise how crazy it can be,” says Raksha, 48.
“There’s a lot of dirt flying around. Quite often, you can be in challenging places, not all sites are accessible. You don’t know what the weather’s going to be like, it could be really horrid and muddy.
Also, camera crews are not used to an archaeological digging timetable. When you’re down a hole shovelling into a wheelbarrow all morning, you need to have a break.”
Despite the challenges, the pair’s friendship made every trench, trowel and muddy pit worth it. “Raksha is really good fun,” Sandi says. “We had beer, sitting back in a wheelbarrow – she taught me that leaning back in a wheelbarrow is a rather comfortable chair.
We’re friends and I admire her beyond words. The fact she’s been President of the Council for British Archaeology doesn’t surprise me.” Their shared laughter balances the show’s emotional weight, but both women hope the series sparks a bigger debate about archaeology’s future.
“I hope more will volunteer. Things are beginning to rot because of climate change,” Sandi says. “The safest way to protect something was to leave it buried. Now, we need to get cracking. I would encourage everybody to volunteer. It’s a fantastic experience.”
Hidden Treasures with Sandi Toksvig airs on November 4th, on Channel 4.
A popular Australian radio show has been axed following a much-discussed controversy involving Keith Urban, in which he hung up on the programme amid an interview
A popular Australian radio show has been axed following a much-discussed controversy involving Keith Urban(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
A popular Australian radio show has been axed following a much-discussed controversy involving Keith Urban. The Aussie musician, 57, made an appearance on Australian Radio Network (ARN)’s Hayley & Max In The Morning, which has been hosted by Max Burford and Hayley Pearson for just under a year.
The interview took place just weeks before it was revealed that he and Nicole Kidman had called time on their near-20 year marriage, and that the Hollywood actress had filed for divorce herself. It all seemed to be going well until he was asked about Nicole’s sex scenes with Zac Efron in their film A Family Affair
He was asked: “What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron, having these beautiful love scenes on TV?” Keith’s only response was to end the interview then and there. A member of the crew was heard saying he and his team didn’t like the line of questioning and pulled the chat.
Less than six months after the viral moment took place, the radio broadcaster announced that the Mix102.3 show would air for the final time on December 12. A representative said: “In 2026, the station will launch a new live and local breakfast show as part of a refreshed whole station strategy focused on bolder content and bigger moments that really set the station apart.”
It comes just days after the news that Brisbane breakfast show Robin, Kip & Corey Oates had also been axed by the network. The rep also thanked the on-air team for their “hard work, creativity and commitment to the Brisbane audience” during their time in production.
According to an email seen by Mediaweek, the network ‘can’t reveal details just yet’ of what is to come for the broadcaster. Following the controversial moment with Keith, Max Burford, the radio show’s host, then remarked that he thought they were ‘vibing’ with the country music star and wondered if Keith now disliked them.
He added: “I thought we were vibing with Keith. Do we have beef with Keith Urban now?”
His co-host, Hayley Pearson, added that she thought their line of questioning would make Keith “hate” them: “He hates us. I knew that was going to happen.” Keith’s angry response to questions about his wife’s films came just after their 19th wedding anniversary.
The couple, who married in Sydney in 2006 after meeting at a Los Angeles event in 2005, have two daughters, aged 17 and 14. The divorce documents include a detailed parenting plan, with Kidman set to be the primary residential parent for 306 days of the year. Urban will have the remaining 59. The filing states both girls will remain in Nashville, where they’ve lived their whole lives.
“The mother and father will behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced,” the agreement reads.
“They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent. They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.”
Reports claim that neither will seek child or spousal support, with the filing noting both earn over $100,000 per month. Assets, including royalties and copyrights, will be split equally, with each keeping what is in their name.
The parenting agreement was signed by Urban on August 29 and by Kidman on September 6 – suggesting the split had been planned well before it became public. Under Tennessee law, the divorce will take at least 90 days to be finalised.
This was Urban’s first marriage and Kidman’s second. She was previously married to Tom Cruise, with whom she has two older children. Just last year, at a Netflix premiere, Kidman told the Associated Press, “You’re heading for trouble if you consider yourselves the perfect couple. I’m not a believer in perfect.”
Earlier that year, Urban emotionally paid tribute to Kidman at the AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, saying, “Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months. Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”
One of the biggest players in television is changing teams.
“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan will leave his longtime home at Paramount and move his overall deal to rival NBCUniversal in 2029, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment.
Sheridan’s deal with Paramount concludes at the end of 2028. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The move is a blow to Paramount, which has focused on wooing high-profile talent to the studio since its takeover by tech scion David Ellison and his Skydance Media.
The media company — which is now angling to buy Warner Bros. Discovery — has shelled out massive sums to acquire sports media rights, keep the iconic “South Park” cartoon and lure filmmakers away from competitors, including “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer and “A Compete Unknown” director James Mangold.
The NBC deal, first reported by Puck, will take effect in 2029.
Sheridan’s universe of “Yellowstone” shows, in particular, has been a key franchise for Paramount. Company executives specifically mentioned the creator’s shows as a “cornerstone” of the Paramount+ streaming service during a luncheon with reporters this summer.
The western-themed show, which debuted as a cable series in 2018, became one of the hottest scripted series on TV, a remarkable turnaround from its early days when “Yellowstone” was passed on by a number of potential homes before landing at Paramount.
The popularity of “Yellowstone” was a boon to Sheridan, leading to spinoffs such as “1923” and other shows from his production company including “Tulsa King,” “Landman” and “Mayor of Kingston.”
Representatives for Paramount and Sheridan did not respond immediately to a request for comment. NBCUniversal declined to comment.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei sang to his supporters after early results showed he had won the country’s midterm elections, bolstering his push for radical economic reforms closely watched by the US.
Argentinian President Javier Milei’s party has pulled off a stunning win in the country’s legislative elections, according to early results, boosting his ability to push forward with his radical overhaul of the economy, including free-market reforms and deep austerity measures.
Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, scored 40.84 percent of the votes cast for members of Congress on Sunday, compared with 31.64 percent for the opposition Peronist coalition, early results showed.
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The results were based on a count of more than 90 percent of ballots cast.
The midterm elections were the first national test of Milei’s support since he won office two years ago, and will help him maintain the support of United States President Donald Trump, whose administration recently provided Argentina with a hefty financial bailout but has threatened to pull away if the libertarian leader did not do well.
At La Libertad Avanza’s headquarters on Sunday, Milei hailed the party’s victory as a “turning point” for the country and promised to charge ahead with his reforms.
Beaming as his supporters cheered, he seized on the results as evidence that Argentina had turned the page on decades of Peronism that had brought the country infamy for repeatedly defaulting on its sovereign debt.
“The Argentinian people left decadence behind and opted for progress,” Milei said, thanking “all those who supported the ideas of freedom to make Argentina great again”.
Milei’s party triples seat count
In Sunday’s elections, half of the seats in the lower Chamber of Deputies, or 127 seats, and one-third of the upper Senate, or 24 seats, were up for grabs.
Milei said his party has now tripled its seat count, winning 101 seats in the lower house, up from 37, and 20 seats in the Senate, up from six.
The most surprising results of Sunday’s election were in Buenos Aires province, where Milei’s party clawed its way back from defeat in last month’s local elections to run neck-and-neck with the Peronists.
The province has long been a political stronghold for the Peronists, and the win for Milei’s party marked a dramatic political shift.
The strong showing in Sunday’s election ensures Milei will have enough support in Congress to uphold presidential vetoes, prevent an impeachment effort, and see through his ambitious plans for tax and labour reforms in the coming months.
To support Milei, the Trump administration offered a bailout potentially worth $40bn, including a $20bn currency swap, which is already signed, and a proposed $20bn debt investment facility.
Trump has threatened to pull away if his populist ally performed poorly, warning that “if he doesn’t win, we’re not going to waste our time, because you have somebody whose philosophy has no chance of making Argentina great again”.
There was no immediate comment from the White House on Milei’s win.
‘Unobjectionable, unquestionable’
Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo, reporting from Buenos Aires, said that Trump’s interest in Milei may have influenced the decisions of some of the voters.
“Certainly, the United States played a crucial role in the last stage leading to this election,” she said. “People here listened, and in a way, it may have convinced many to vote for Javier Milei’s party.”
The results were a surprise, she said, “after the president’s party lost by 14 points in the province of Buenos Aires last month to the Peronist opposition after one of the harshest austerity plans in this country’s history”.
Analysts said the stronger-than-expected showing could reflect fear of renewed economic turmoil if the country abandoned Milei’s policies, which, while painful at times, have succeeded in drastically slowing inflation.
Gustavo Cordoba, the director of the Zuban Cordoba polling firm, told the Reuters news agency that he was shocked by the results and thought they reflected public wariness over a possible return to the economic crises of past governments.
“Many people were willing to give the government another chance,” he said. “We’ll see how much time Argentine society gives the Argentine government. But the triumph is unobjectionable, unquestionable.”
Milei, a key ideological ally of Trump who has slashed state spending and liberalised Argentina’s economy after decades of budget deficits and protectionism, had a lot riding on Sunday’s elections.
Milei’s government has been scrambling to avert a currency crisis ever since the defeat by the Peronist opposition in a provincial election last month panicked markets and prompted a selloff in the peso – a move that led to the US Treasury’s extraordinary intervention.
A series of scandals – including bribery allegations against Milei’s powerful sister, Karina Milei – hurt the president’s image as an anticorruption crusader and hit a nerve among voters reeling from his harsh austerity measures.
Although the budget cuts have significantly driven down inflation, from an annual high of 289 percent in April 2024 to just 32 percent last month, many Argentinians are still struggling to make ends meet.
Price rises have outpaced salaries and pensions since Milei cut cost-of-living increases. Households pay more for electricity and public transport since Milei cut subsidies. The unemployment rate is now higher than when the libertarian president took office.
June Lockhart, the perennial TV mom who consoled her son Timmy and his faithful pet collie in “Lassie” and explained the unfolding galaxy to her children in the kitschy prime-time sci-fi show “Lost in Space,” has died.
Active in Hollywood well into her 90s, Lockhart died Thursday in Santa Monica of natural causes, with daughter June Elizabeth and granddaughter Christianna by her side, said her publicist, Harlan Boll.
She was 100.
Upbeat and bubbly, Lockhart happily accepted playing second-fiddle to children, animals and even a robot. In “Lassie,” she was most often seen teaching her son small life lessons extracted from his misadventures, often saved from peril by his faithful dog. In “Lost in Space,” she was a biochemist who seemed to spend most of her time prepping meals in the galley or tending to the children as the “Swiss Family Robinson”-like clan drifted randomly in space.
“Motherhood has been a pretty good dodge for me,” Lockhart told The Times, years after the shows went off the air. “I seem to have outlasted most of my colleagues because of it.”
Cast members of the TV show “Lost in Space” pose in costume in this 1965 publicity photo. Seated is Marta Kristen; standing, from left, is Mark Goddard, June Lockhart and Guy Williams.
(AP / CBS)
June Kathleen Lockhart was born on June 25, 1925, in New York City and grew up in a family steeped in the arts. Her father was a Broadway actor and her mother a singer. For years the family staged a seasonal production of “A Christmas Carol” in their home, inviting neighbors, friends and relatives to attend.
In 1938, the family went a step further and took their by now well-polished version of the Charles Dickens classic to film with a young Lockhart cast as Belinda Cratchit. The movie was all of one hour and nine minutes long.
Lockhart attended the Westlake School for Girls after the family moved to Los Angeles, where her father hoped to find a career as a film actor. But it was Lockhart who cracked Hollywood by landing modest but frequent roles on popular television shows such as “Wagon Train,” “Gunsmoke” and “Rawhide.”
In 1958, she was cast as Ruth Martin, the patient and good-natured mother on “Lassie,” a role that earned her an Emmy nomination. The show ran for 17 seasons, making it one of the longest-running prime-time shows on television. Lockhart left the series in 1964 to pursue other opportunities.
Lockhart realized the show had its limitations. “It was a fairy tale about people on a farm in which the dog solves all the problems in 22 minutes, just in time for the last commercial,” she told The Times.
The scripts were only slightly more challenging in “Lost in Space,” which followed the adventures of a family aboard a saucer-shaped spaceship headed to an Earth-like planet circling a faraway star. She left the show after three years and joined the cast of “Petticoat Junction” as a medical doctor who sets up practice in a worse-for-wear hotel in the middle of nowhere.
Earlier in life, Lockhart had been a regular on the news quiz show “Who Said That?” in which contestants were read a quote and asked to guess who said it. Lockhart had been absorbed by journalism and newsmakers since childhood, when she started a neighborhood newspaper. As an adult she subscribed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, reading them from beginning to end.
To prep for the show, she began cutting out quotes from the newspapers and memorizing them. One of the panelists on the show, a White House reporter for United Press International, was so impressed with Lockhart‘s grasp of politics that he invited her to a White House briefing.
Lockhart went on to become an unofficial member of the White House press corps, attending briefings, traveling with the Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy entourages during their presidential showdown and hitting the campaign trail with Ronald Reagan.
June Lockhart in 1965.
(CBS via Getty Images)
During her years as an informal White House correspondent, she was called on only once to ask a question during a presidential briefing, asking President George W. Bush for the name of the veterinarian who cared for the first family’s dog, Barney. Bush chuckled and said it was top secret.
Though she never had another prime-time role as big as in “Lassie” or “Lost in Space,” her career was remarkably long. She was the kindergarten teacher on “Full House,” James Caan’s mother on “Las Vegas,” a mother once again on “The Drew Carey Show” and a hospice worker on “Grey’s Anatomy.” For years she hosted coverage of the Rose Parade on CBS.
Her final credit arrived in 2018, when she voiced a radio communications officer in the “Lost in Space” reboot on Netflix. Twice married and divorced, Lockhart is survived by daughters June Elizabeth and Anne, as well as four grandchildren, said longtime family friend, Lyle Gregory.
DES MOINES — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was a guest Wednesday on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” — though he seemed earlier in the day not to know that he would be crossing a picket line to appear.
Huckabee flew from Iowa to make the appearance, a day before the state’s first-in-the- nation caucuses. The candidate made no mention of the Writers Guild strike during his appearance and instead joked about having lived in a “triple-wide” trailer when he was governor of Arkansas. The amateur musician also played his guitar in Leno’s band.
Strike supporters outside the NBC studios carried signs calling Huckabee a scab. One read: “Huckabee you can’t deny this cross.”
The Leno show is among those being struck by the Writers Guild of America.
Until Wednesday, the show had been off the air since the strike began in November.
“ ‘The Tonight Show’ continues to be a stop on the campaign trail,” NBC spokeswoman Tracy St. Pierre said in a statement.
Separately, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made a brief taped appearance on David Letterman’s show. But Letterman, who owns his own production company, broke from other producers and reached an accord with writers last week. There is no such deal with Leno’s show.
Writers Guild strike coordinator Jeff Hermanson said there was “no doubt about it” that Huckabee would be crossing a picket line by appearing on Leno’s show, which is not part of any settlement.
Democratic candidates have vowed to honor the writers’ picket line.
Earlier Wednesday, Huckabee, while campaigning in Iowa, said he did not believe he would be crossing a picket line to appear with Leno because he thought writers had settled their differences with the late-night shows.
“My understanding is that there was a special arrangement made for the late-night shows, and the writers have made this agreement to let the late-night shows to come back on, so I don’t anticipate that it’s crossing a picket line,” Huckabee told journalists.
When reporters noted that the writers settled with only Letterman’s show, Huckabee protested: “But my understanding is there’s a sort of dispensation given to the late-night shows, is that right?”
Huckabee added that he supports the writers, “unequivocally, absolutely.”
“They’re dead right on this one,” he said.
On the show Leno asked Huckabee to explain his recent surge in the political polls.
“People are looking for a presidential candidate who reminds them more of the guy they work with rather than the guy that laid them off,” Huckabee said.
“I think that’s part of what’s going on right now.”
Do you wish that discovering shows playing at live theaters around Los Angeles was as easy as finding movies in local cinemas? Now it is. A new nonprofit called Theatre Commons L.A. — founded by some of the city’s most prominent theater leaders — launched earlier this week with easy-to-navigate local theater listings for more than 100 houses big and small.
The listings can be filtered by date, neighborhood and genre, and users can simply click on links to buy tickets. I’ve tried it and am happy to report that it takes all the guesswork and Googling out of finding a show that fits your schedule and suits your interests. It also introduced me to a whole host of new shows that I didn’t even realize were playing.
“Theatre Commons LA is about making it easier to make theatre in Los Angeles — and easier for people to find and enjoy it,” wrote Pasadena Playhouse producing artistic director Danny Feldman in an email. “By connecting artists, companies, and audiences, we’re working to build a more connected ecosystem for LA’s bold, local, living theatre.”
That connection is key. Because Los Angeles is a tough city to get a handle on. I’m old enough to remember getting hopelessly lost when I first moved here — crying in my old Toyota Corolla on freeway offramp, clutching a Thomas Guide that I could not make heads or tails of. Ironically, given the subject of this newsletter, I was trying to get to a theater downtown.
Visitors to L.A., and even plenty of seasoned Angelenos, often find the city sprawling and fragmented. The vast landscape is carved up by thriving neighborhoods, each with singular identities molded by unique cultural, business and arts offerings. TCLA aims to bring these diverse theaters together under a common umbrella to pool resources, and promotional and engagement opportunities, as well as to expand a sense of community in a difficult moment for the art form.
“It is no secret that the last few years have been particularly hard for theater in LA from the pandemic to the recent wildfires and curfews,” Center Theatre Group’s artistic director Snehal Desai wrote in an email. “What has become clear during this period is that the Los Angeles theater community is rich in artists, talent and leadership but our resources are scattered and there is not a consolidated place for information and outreach,” he continued. “Theatre Commons LA is a way to bridge those gaps — to share knowledge, opportunities, and support so that everyone, from small ensembles to major institutions, can thrive together. It creates the space our community has been asking for — where artists, institutions, and audiences can come together to imagine what Los Angeles theatre can be next.”
A volunteer steering committee, including Desai and Feldman, launched TCLA and its listings website with the financial support of the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative. Last month, the Perenchio Foundation made a substantial investment meant to sustain the organization’s future growth, including the hiring of an executive director. (Please see the photo caption above for a list of the other steering committee members.)
Earlier this week also marked The Times’ launch of “The 52 best places to see plays and musicals in Southern California,” curated and written by Times theater critic Charles McNulty, assistant entertainment editor Kevin Crust (who also edits this newsletter) and me. The list contains short summations of each theater’s defining traits and connects to a map that plots each theater in its own pocket of the city. It was a real labor of love and I urge you to use it in conjunction with the new TCLA website to plan your next night out.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, mulling over more than a dozen entertainment options for the weekend. All of them good. Here’s this week’s arts and culture news.
On our radar
Complexions Contemporary Ballet comes to the Music Center on Friday and Saturday.
(Rachel Neville)
Complexions Contemporary Ballet The New York-based company celebrates its 30th anniversary with “Retro Suite,” a collection of works from 1994 to the present, created by co-founding artistic director and principal choreographer Dwight Rhoden. Complexions is known for its high-energy mashup of traditional ballet with hip-hop and street dance, as well as for the multicultural makeup of its troupe and its novel approach to incorporating visual art and theater into its choreography. — Jessica Gelt 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. musiccenter.org
Children make art at the 2024 Grand Ave Arts: All Access event.
(John McCoy)
Grand Ave Arts: All Access A day of free art, music and culture along downtown Los Angeles’ cultural corridor. Participating institutions include the Broad, Center Theatre Group, Classical California KUSC, Colburn School, Dataland, Gloria Molina Grand Park, L.A. Opera, the L.A. Phil, Los Angeles Central Library, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Metro Art, MOCA, the Music Center and Redcat. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Grand Ave. from Temple to 6th Street, downtown L.A. grandavearts.org
Cyndi Lauper wrote the music and lyrics for the new musical “Working Girl,” based on the 1988 movie.
(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)
Working Girl This musical adaption of the 1988 film — directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade and starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver and Melanie Griffith — has assembled an all-star team of its own. The music and lyrics are by Cyndi Lauper, Theresa Rebeck has written the book and Christopher Ashley directs. The Wall Street Cinderella story centers on a Staten Island secretary who, tired of being misused, underestimated and passed over, cunningly takes her corporate future into her own hands in a revenge tale that has everyone rooting for the underdog. Yet another La Jolla Playhouse world premiere that has “Broadway hit” written all over it. — Charles McNulty Tuesday through Nov. 30. La Jolla Playhouse, Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive. lajollaplayhouse.org
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Tiago Rodrigues In “By Heart,” the Portuguese playwright and actor invites 10 audience members onto the stage to learn a poem as he shares stories of his grandmother and explains the connections created by the words. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
SATURDAY John Giorno “No Nostalgia,” an exhibition devoted to the late poet, artist and activist (1936-2019) who turned words into performance, sound installation and painting. The show includes a select group of Giorno’s work ranging from early prints to his black-and-white text and rainbow paintings, a selection of materials from Giorno’s archive showing how he pieced together his poems and his 1969 work Dial-A-Poem. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, through April 25, 2026. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. marcianoartfoundation.org
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performs Saturday at Zipper Hall in downtown L.A. and Sunday at the Wallis in Beverly Hills.
(Brian Feinzimer for LACO)
Romantic Resonance When a talented 19th century French pianist named Louise Farrenc became tired of giving concerts accompanying her flutist husband, she founded Éditions Farrenc in Paris, which became one of the country’s leading music publishing houses. She also gained a smallish reputation as a composer of mainly salon pieces for piano. But she had far greater ambitions nearly impossible for a woman at that time to realize. Farrenc composed three large-scale symphonies that are only now, more than a century after her death in 1875, being noticed. Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s music director, Jaime Martín, is one of her champions, and he is pairing Farrenc’s impressive Schumann-esque “Second Symphony,” written in 1845, with Brahms’ “First Piano Concerto,” featuring the dauntingly virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin. — Mark Swed 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org
Night of Ritual and Revelry LACMA hosts this after-hours party with a focus on plants. The evening includes open galleries, plant-themed activities, a costume contest, food and drink, plus an outdoor screening of the 1986 cult classic “Little Shop of Horrors” hosted by Meatball. Guests must be 18 or older to attend. 7 p.m. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Smid Welcome Plaza, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org
Ragamala Dance Company performs Saturday at Broad Stage.
(Three Phase Multimedia)
Ragamala Dance Company Ragamala Dance Company — founded and run by the mother-daughter trio Ranee, Aparna and Ashwini Ramaswamy — brings Aparna’s most recent work, “Ananta, the Eternal,” to BroadStage with live music accompaniment. The company specializes in the South Indian dance form Bharatanatyam, and the troupe is known for its soulful embodiment of classical dance techniques and its bold and beautiful traditional costumes. — Jessica Gelt 7:30 p.m. BroadStage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica. broadstage.org
Songs of Emerging Endangerment This sound installation by artist TJ Shinn, commissioned by the local multidisciplinary arts organization Clockshop, is set to sound hourly from dawn to dusk. The project features a 30-foot-tall sculptural air raid siren that mimics bird calls to map systems of global migration. Opening Saturday, 2-4 p.m., and through Feb. 22, 2026. Los Angeles State Historic Park. 1245 N. Spring St. clockshop.org
SUNDAY Colburn Orchestra Grammy Award-winner Carlos Miguel Prieto conducts the flagship ensemble from the Colburn School of Music in a program featuring Ravel, Dvořák and Schoenberg. 3 p.m. The Saroya, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. thesoraya.org
The Heart Sellers Lloyd Suh, author of “The Far Country,” a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for drama, examines the deracinating effects of immigration in his work. In “The Heart Sellers,” two immigrants, one Filipino, the other Korean, strike up a friendship after a chance meeting at that quintessential American crossroads: the supermarket. Set in 1973, after the 1965 Hart-Celler Act abolished the national quota system that restricted immigration from non-European countries, they bond over what they left behind, the strange universe they’ve entered and the challenge of cooking a frozen turkey. Jennifer Chang directs this comedy about the power of friendship to redefine the idea of home. — Charles McNulty Through Nov. 16. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org
MONDAY Bright Harvest: Powering Earth From Space This documentary follows Caltech professors Harry Atwater, Ali Hajimiri and Sergio Pellegrino on their quest to provide an endless supply of clean sustainable energy for the 2023 launch of the Space Solar Power Demonstrator. Followed by a Q&A with the three professors and filmmaker Steven Reich. Admission is free; reservations recommended. 7:30 p.m. Beckman Auditorium, Caltech, 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena. caltech.edu
TUESDAY Carrie A screening of Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel, starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, Amy Irving and William Katt, hosted by drag entertainer Jackie Beat. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Vidiots, Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. vidiotsfoundation.org
WEDNESDAY Pacific Jazz Orchestra’s Big Band With Jane Monheit Step into the elegant past for a program of timeless swing music, big band standards and seductive ballads. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Blue Note L.A., 6372 W. Sunset Blvd. bluenotejazz.com
THURSDAY
Lon Chaney in 1925’s “The Phantom of the Opera.”
(Universal Pictures)
The Phantom of the Opera L.A. Opera’s tradition of presenting classic silent horror films for Halloween continues this year with the 1925 version of “Phantom” starring Lon Chaney. Frank Strobel conducts the L.A. Opera Orchestra performing Roy Budd’s original score live. 8 p.m. Thursday and Oct. 31. The United Theater on Broadway, 929 S. Broadway, downtown L.A. https://www.laopera.org/performances/2026/phantom-of-the-opera
Mark Ryden The new solo exhibition “Eye Am” envisions a lurid, mischievous world via twelve paintings and a selection of drawings. Opening reception 5-8 p.m. Thursday; book signing, 1-3 p.m. Oct. 31; exhibition continues through Dec. 20. Perrotin, 5036. W. Pico Blvd. perrotin.com
Nicole Scherzinger Just months removed from her Tony Award-winning triumph as Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” on Broadway, the former Pussycat Dolls singer makes her Walt Disney Concert Hall debut. 8 p.m. Thursday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
The Laura Gardin Fraser “Lee-Jackson Monument” at the “Monuments” exhibit at MOCA.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles is home to the “most significant American art museum show right now,” writes Times art critic Christopher Knight in his review of “Monuments,” which opened Thursday at the Brick and the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Geffen Contemporary. Featuring nearly a dozen, mostly Confederate, statues that have been toppled or removed from public spaces over the past decade, the show “pairs cautionary art history with thoughtful and poetic retorts from 20 artists, including a nonprofit art studio,” writes Knight.
I wrote a preview of the show, which includes a few backstories about the people featured in the decommissioned statutes. Men like “newspaper owner Josephus Daniels, who helped foment the 1898 Wilmington massacre in which a mob of more than 2,000 white supremacists killed as many as 300 people in the course of overthrowing the city’s duly elected biracial government.”
Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote a column examining the ways that various playwrights are engaging with the idea of AI in their work. For examples, he digs into two plays, Lauren Gunderson’s “anthropology,” which is staging its North American premiere in a Rogue Machine Theatre production; and Jordan Harrison’s “Marjorie Prime,” which is having its Broadway premiere this fall. “Gunderson and Harrison are looking ahead to see how AI might be super-charging our disembodiment. To anyone paying attention, business as usual is no longer an option. The very basis of our self-understanding is on the line,” McNulty writes.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha” at Pasadena Playhouse, created and performed by Julia Masli and directed by Kim Noble.
(Jeff Lorch)
McNulty also attended opening night of performance artist and comedian Julia Masli’s one-woman show, “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,” at Pasadena Playhouse. He describes the 75-minute improvisational work as “less a traditional comedy show than an experiment in collective consciousness. It doesn’t take much to transform a room of jaded strangers into a representative slice of compassionate humanity.” That’s because Masli devotes her time in the spotlight to solving audience members’ problems, finding their shared empathy in the process.
Times classical music critic Mark Swed has been chronicling the departure of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s beloved musical and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel. In a recent column, Swed writes about the hoopla on display during the “first three love-fest weeks of Dudamel’s final season.” There was lots of “Gracias Gustavo” merch, and a daylong “Gracias Gustavo” block party at Beckmen YOLA Center in Inglewood, which included a performance by rapper D Smoke. And let’s not forget Tuesday night’s “Gustavo’s Fiesta” at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Dudamel also gave “four soul-searching performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2,” Swed writes. “His Mahler is neither overly exuberant nor constrained by grief and Berliner decorum. This performance heralds a new Dudamel, conductor of prophetic grandeur.”
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A rendering of a still image from Refik Anadol’s giant LED wall, “Living Paintings Immersive Editions,” at Jeffrey Deitch.
(From Refik Anadol Studio)
Last September, I wrote a feature on immersive media artist Refik Anadol and his plans to open the world’s first museum of AI arts, called Dataland, in downtown’s Grand L.A. complex across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall. Anadol hoped to open the museum — which features five distinct galleries in a 20,000-square-foot space — this year. But this week, the artist announced that the project is now set to debut next spring. Anadol also released a first look at one of the galleries called Infinity Room. You can watch the teaser, here.
Everybody is talking about the brazen jewel heist at the Louvre. You can almost hear the key-clacking of dozens of hopeful screenwriters already drafting their spec scripts. The story is too outrageous to feel true — masked men cutting through a window in broad daylight and entering a gallery full of people before escaping without a trace on a pair of motorcycles. The value of the precious jewels they got away with is estimated to be about $102 million. If you have been living under a rock for the past week, you can read all about it, here.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Did you know that L.A. is experiencing a golden age of pizza? Neither did I. Fortunately, Times food critic Bill Addison has compiled a list featuring 21 of the city’s best slices.
Simon Cowell is set to join forces with Spice Girl icon Mel B and Jonas Brother singer Joe Jonas for a brand new show called Who’s In The Band, and a pilot will be recorded next week
04:48, 24 Oct 2025Updated 04:50, 24 Oct 2025
Simon Cowell is pictured at Britain’s Got Talent auditions this month in Blackpool, Lancashire(Image: Getty Images)
One of Simon Cowell’s new projects has been described as “a big two fingers up to ITV“.
Spice Girl icon Mel B and Jonas Brother singer Joe Jonas will work alongside Simon for the latter, which ex-TV presenter turned producer Richard Bacon says will be popular with teenagers and young adults.
But the Netflix series, Simon Cowell: The Next Act, has particularly excited the TV industry. It is believed Netflix executives “felt bringing a name like Simon in for a factual entertainment show was a power move for the network”. Another source said the programme will be “a big two fingers up to ITV” after the cancellation of The X Factor in 2021.
But a source close to Simon, who created the global X Factor franchise, has denied there is “a rivalry”. They added: “There’s no rivalry nor residual issue – Simon’s focus is entirely on new formats and discovering talent.”
The X Factor, though, was scrapped after nearly 20 years on British TV screens and, at its peak, attracted 10 million viewers on a Saturday evening. It was the launching pad for a number of top-selling British music acts in the last two decades, from One Direction to Little Mix and Leona Lewis.
But Simon, who is thought to be worth £475million, continues to work with ITV on Britain’s Got Talent, which is still a staple after more than 18 years. His latest ventures, though, on other networks have television circles excited, it is understood.
The source told the Daily Mail: “Success on Netflix would be priceless retribution against ITV for the way The X Factor came to a close.” This theory is rejected by Simon, born in Lambeth, south London, whose new show Who’s In The Band will be presented by K-Pop Demon Hunters star Rei Ami, 30.
Simon’s latest search for talent comes after the Britain’s Got Talent auditions was sent into chaos when he fell down another set of steps, making it the latest in a series of mishaps for the long-time judge.
He missed the first two days of filming in Birmingham after the incident, leaving producers to call in Stacey Solomon to temporarily fill his place on the panel. The star then later reappeared on the third day of auditions with a visible graze on his forehead, explaining only that he’d had “an accident.”
His absence was finally addressed during the show’s Blackpool auditions, when a choir made up of ambulance staff took to the stage. Amanda Holden joked: “I thought they might be here in case anything went wrong with you again because you were poorly last week.”
WASHINGTON — The entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Trump moves forward with a ballroom construction, Associated Press photos on Thursday showed.
The East Wing, where first ladies created history, planned state dinners and promoted causes, is now history itself. The two-story structure of drawing rooms and offices, including workspace for first ladies and their staffs, has been turned into rubble, demolished as part of the Republican president’s plan to build what he said is now a $300-million ballroom nearly twice the size of the White House.
Trump said Wednesday that keeping the East Wing would have “hurt a very, very expensive, beautiful building” that he said presidents have wanted for years.
He said “me and some friends of mine” will pay for the ballroom at no cost to taxpayers.
Trump allowed the demolition to begin this week despite not yet having approval from the relevant government agencies with jurisdiction over construction on federal property.
Preservationists have also urged the Trump administration to halt the demolition until plans for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom can go through the required public review process.
NEW YORK — A day after a mass of federal agents questioned street vendors and sparked protests on Manhattan’s Canal Street, sellers were scarce on the busy strip. Some who did venture out Wednesday, though, were disheartened or riled up by a sweep in which they said people, including U.S. citizens, were pressed to show their papers.
Federal authorities said 14 people, including immigrants and demonstrators, were arrested in Tuesday’s sweep. The Department of Homeland Security said it was a targeted operation focused on the alleged sale of counterfeit goods, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons said it was “definitely intelligence-driven.”
“It’s not random. We’re just not pulling people off the street,” he told Fox News on Wednesday.
But some vendors saw it as an indiscriminate and heavy-handed crackdown by masked agents who queried a wide swath of sellers.
Awa Ngam was selling sweaters Wednesday from a table at a Canal Street intersection where at least one of her fellow vendors was taken away the previous afternoon.
She said she also was asked for ID, showed it, and then for her passport, which she doesn’t carry around. Agents quizzed her about how she had come to the U.S., but they eventually backed off after her husband explained that she’s an American citizen, she said.
“They asked every African that was here for their status,” Ngam said.
She returned to the spot Wednesday unafraid but upset.
“I’m saddened because they should not walk around and ask people for their passport in America,” said Ngam, who said she came to the U.S. from Mauritania in 2009. She added that if not for her legal immigration status, she would be fearful: “What if they took me? What would happen to my kids?”
Some other sellers decried the sweep as harassment. Others were keeping a low profile and shied from speaking with journalists.
Signs freshly posted on streetlights mentioned Tuesday’s sweep and urged people at risk of detention to call an immigration law group’s helpline.
Separately, state Atty. Gen. Letitia James, a Democrat, asked New Yorkers to send in photos or videos of Tuesday’s immigration sweep so that her office could assess whether laws were broken.
Law enforcement raids aimed at combating counterfeiting are relatively frequent on Canal Street, which is known for its stalls and shops where some vendors hawk knockoff designer goods and bootlegged wares. Federal authorities often team up with the New York Police Department and luxury brands on crackdowns aimed at shutting down illicit trade.
But the sight of dozens of masked ICE and other federal agents making arrests drew instant protests.
Bystanders and activists converged at the scene and shouted at the agents, at one point blocking their vehicle. ICE, Border Patrol and other federal agents tried to clear the streets, sometimes shoving protesters to the ground and threatening them with stun guns or pepper spray before detaining them.
Nine people were arrested in the initial immigration sweep, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. Four more people were arrested on charges of assaulting federal law enforcement officers, she said, adding that a fifth was arrested and accused of obstructing law enforcement by blocking a driveway.
McLaughlin said some of the people arrested had previously been accused of crimes, including robbery, domestic violence, assaulting law enforcement, counterfeiting and drug offenses.
The sweep came after at least two conservative influencers shared video on X of men selling bags on Canal Street’s sidewalks.
While clashes between immigration authorities and protesters have played out in Los Angeles and other cities, such scenes have been rarer on New York City streets, which Mayor Eric Adams has attributed in part to his working relationship with President Trump’s administration.
Adams, a Democrat, said city police had no involvement in Tuesday’s immigration sweep.
“Our administration has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue their American dreams should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” he said.
Peltz and Offenhartz write for the Associated Press.
Neighbours star Stefan Dennis was forced to pull out of Strictly Come Dancing this week after he ‘tore his calf so significantly’
23:54, 22 Oct 2025Updated 23:54, 22 Oct 2025
Strictly Come Dancing’s Stefan Dennis reveals future on show following injury and exit(Image: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing star Stefan Dennis has confirmed his future on the dance competition after he was forced to quit due to an injury. On Monday, the Neighbours star announced his departure in a lengthy post shared on social media, explaining he ‘tore his calf so significantly that he was forced to withdraw from the show’.
“I owe both the Strictly Family and Dianne [Buswell] a massive debt of gratitude for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of being able to dance with my wife. (When my leg is better),” he said. Stefan – whose soap character Paul Robinson lost a leg in a cliff fall – added he was “gutted” about leaving.
Despite the blow, fans will still be able to see him on Strictly before the programme ends.
“It’s a bit of a s****er, but I’ll be back at the end of the year, for the final,” he explained to The Sun.
However, it is not known whether he’ll be joining in on the group performance or if he will even be able to perform with his injury.
Meanwhile, Stefan recently confessed he felt like ‘he let people down’ because of the injury and subsequent exit from the beloved competition.
“I just feel like I’ve let everyone down,” he said to The Mirror during the Pride Of Britain Awards. “They all say I haven’t, of course, and the pros know all about injuries, but it feels like a shame to go out in this way.
“It was all going so well. When you go out, you want it to be because the viewers have spoken, because it’s your time, not like this.”
The news was a particularly upsetting blow for Stefan as the news came after viewers saw Chris Robshaw and his partner Nadiya Bychkova get voted out.
Stefan then revealed he begged producers to let Chris return to the show in his place. “I said they should keep Chris in now that I’m going but they said they couldn’t do that – once you’ve gone, you’ve gone.”
Two exits in two days could lead to just three pairings in the live final in December – provided no one else gets injured along the way. “That’s what has happened before I believe,” says Stefan.
Speaking about the severity of the injury, he added: “I thought I’d be able to carry on but they said absolutely not,” Stefan admitted. “The muscle needs complete rest. So that’s me done unfortunately.”
Martin Trenaman and Robin Weaver sent fans into a frenzy after posting a selfie together following news of The Inbetweeners rebootCredit: X/@TrenamanMartinMartin and Robin as Mr and Mrs Cooper in the hit sitcomCredit: Wiki Fandom
Now, Martin Trenaman and Robin Weaver, who memorably played Simon’s parents in the show, have sparked a fan frenzy after posing for a selfie hot off the heels of the news.
On X, Martin posted a snap of the pair and wrote; “I give you Mr and Mrs Cooper. #Inbetweeners“.
The post, which seemingly confirms their return, was met with excitement by fans, receiving thousands of likes.
One fan jokingly responded: “Your sex life together will always be the gold standard.”
Another chimed: “Good for you Matin. Hope you’re keeping well.”
While Robin also received some love: “Mrs Cooper aged like fine wine“, one user replied.
Both Martin and Robin continued pursuing other acting projects following their time on The Inbetweeners.
Martin went on to appear on E4’s Phoneshop and picked up writing credits on Channel 4comedy panel show 8 Out of Ten Cats Does Countdown, along with appearances on CBBC titles.
MeanWhile Robin went on to make an appearance on Channel 4 and Netflix sci-fi hit Black Mirror.
It comes after The Sun revealed the iconic show would be making a comeback 15 years after the final TV episode aired.
The show’s creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be plotting more adventures for our four favourite friends (ooh, friends)”.
The pair have struck a deal with production giant Banijay UK.
Its chief exec, Patrick Holland, said he was “delighted to pick up the conversation about the future of The Inbetweeners with them”.
He added: “They have an infectious creative vision for the brand which will resonate with audiences old and new.”
The cast, Joe Thomas, Simon Bird, James Buckley and Blake Harrison are all reportedly keen to take partCredit: Handout
The company said the deal “unlocks the rights and potential to bring The Inbetweeners back for new audiences across a range of platforms includingfilm, tv and stage”.
Actor Joe Thomas, 41, who played Simon said last year that the four main stars would all be keen to reboot the show.
Asked if conversations for a comeback had started, he said: “Yes, it’s happened in various forms.
“All of us feel it would be nice to do.”
He said all were still good mates and told a podcast: “We’re all still around.
“We’re all still in each other’s lives. We all still like each other.
“And if it was something that came up, I think we would want to do it.”
The coming-of-age show had three TV series on E4 from 2008 to 2010, plus films in 2011 and 2014.
Emily Atack, 35, was also a regular, playing Charlotte, one year above the high school lads, who briefly dated Will.
It also kicked off the career of Emily Atack, who went on to land her own ITV2 comedy seriesCredit: HandoutThe series even spawned two hit moviesCredit: Channel 4
