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JIM Davidson has reportedly found love once again with Maria Rice-Mundy, a beauty pageant queen who previously dated Simon Cowell.

It comes just a month after the comedian and former Celebrity Big Brother star, 72, split from his fiancée and called off their planned nuptials.

In September, The Sun revealed how Jim had cancelled his wedding – which was set to be his sixth time tying the knot – to partner of three years Natasha, who is 23 years his junior.

But back on the dating horse already, Jim is said to have been seeing new partner Maria, 60, for “a few weeks”.

A source told The Daily Mail: “Jim’s already fallen big time and posted a picture of her on his Facebook. 

“They’ve been on a few dinner dates and she’s very giggly around him. Jim doesn’t mess about when it comes to the ladies.”

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The Sun has reached out to Jim’s representative for comment.

Maria, a mum of two, dated music mogul Simon Cowell back in the 1980s.

Jim has been married five times and it was set to be six before he called off his wedding to ex Natasha.

The pair were set to wed at Hampton Court Palace – the home of  home of Henry VIII – and lost their £10k deposit when they jilted.

Speaking to The Sun in September, Jim revealed: “There’s no bad blood. Natasha is the most caring and dutiful person. 

“It’s not like we’re splitting up because we don’t love each other anymore.

“It’s a sort of a grown-up separation. The timing’s not right because she has so much time for everybody and how can you knock that?”

He added at the time: “We still speak every other day, but whether we’ll ever find room to see one another again, I don’t know.

“She is very dutiful. She puts family first. And of course she has three children and now a grandson as well. 

“She is just so busy and so I’m very busy as well.”

Dad-of-five Jim met Natasha, who is 23 years his junior, at the Southampton Boat Show in 2023 soon after the breakdown of his fifth marriage.

It was shortly after his split from fifth wife Michelle Cotton, whom he was with for 14 years.

Jim first married his childhood sweetheart Sue Walpole back in 1971, but the union lasted just a year.

He then went on to wed Julie Gullick in 2981, before they divorced in 1986.

TV presenter Alison Holloway was next, but she only stayed married to Jim for two years.

His fourth wife was Page 3 model Tracy Hilton, and they were together for ten years.

Jim’s most recent marriage – before getting engaged to Natasha – was Michelle, whom he married in 2009 and split from in 2023.

The travel expert highlighted one spot as a stunning and affordable autumn city break destination

For many people mapping out an autumn escape, short-haul European city breaks promising late-season sunshine tend to top the wishlist. But as one of Britain’s most respected travel journalists, Simon Calder, suggests a more affordable and “very exciting” destination.

During an appearance on Holly Rubenstein’s podcast ‘The Travel Diaries,’ Simon shone a spotlight on everything from ancient cities in Algeria to Cape Verde and the Azores. Another unexpected destination on his radar was Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is becoming an increasingly popular choice for a city break, offering a mix of historic sights, delicious food, traditional wine, famous thermal baths and relatively affordable prices.

Why visit Tbilisi?

Tbilisi’s historic centre is packed with colourful wooden balconies, winding streets and beautiful churches, alongside architecture reflecting Georgian, Persian, Russian and European influences.

The city takes its name from its natural hot springs, and the Abanotubani district is home to traditional bathhouses where visitors can enjoy the famous sulphur-rich waters.

One of the must-visits in the city is a ride on the cable car towards Narikala Fortress offers impressive views across Tbilisi and the Mtkvari River. From the fortress, you can also glimpse the iconic “Mother of Georgia” statue.

Simon said: “It used to be the case that you couldn’t fly from Tbilisi in Georgia from the UK. And suddenly, within a couple of days, British Airways and easyJet launched flights to Tbilisi.”

The travel guru continued: “And that’s a very exciting part of the world. Central Asia, Uzbekistan, is very much getting back to being more mainstream as well. So much exciting stuff to do,” reports the Express.

What’s Tbilisi like in autumn?

Autumn can be an attractive time to visit Tbilisi. September is typically warm, while October brings cooler temperatures but can still offer pleasant days for exploring the city. Early autumn can also feel considerably warmer than the UK, making it an appealing option for travellers looking for a break from cooler weather.

Tbilisi comes into its own during autumn for a whole host of reasons. While temperatures back home in the UK begin to plummet, Georgia’s capital basks in a pleasant climate, with average highs of 19.5C in October.

This mild, sunny weather is perfectly suited to exploring on foot, and with very little rainfall to contend with, you can safely leave the waterproofs behind. Tbilisi has earned a reputation as a remarkably budget-friendly travel destination, especially for visitors from the UK and Western Europe.

While prices have risen slightly in recent years owing to increasing popularity, the city still offers exceptional value for money.

In the Georgian capital, a pint of local beer in a bar or pub will set you back around £1.75, while meals out typically cost between £8 and £15.

Tbilisi’s charm lies in its fusion of old and new. The city’s ancient heritage is prominently displayed in the delightful Old Town (Dzveli Tbilisi), where a maze of cobbled streets winds past traditional houses with characteristic wooden balconies.

You can explore this historic quarter and uncover the domed roofs of the renowned Sulfur Baths in the Abanotubani district.

For a modern architectural wonder, walk across the Bridge of Peace, a contemporary pedestrian crossing that illuminates with thousands of LED lights after nightfall.

Georgian cuisine is a standout feature of any visit, and Tbilisi is the ideal spot to sample it. From the warming comfort of khinkali (spiced meat or cheese dumplings) to the cheesy delight of khachapuri (bread with cheese), the local food is a hearty and flavoursome experience.

Wash it all down with a glass of locally produced wine from one of the oldest winemaking regions on the planet.

Travel Local reveals that Georgia is widely regarded as the birthplace of wine. Archaeological findings of winemaking activity stretch back more than 8,000 years, making it the oldest continuous winemaking tradition in the world.

Remarkably, the very word “wine” is thought to have originated from the Georgian term for it, ‘ghvino’.

Tbilisi boasts a fantastic selection of wine bars and tasting rooms throughout the city, but the most celebrated vineyards and wineries can be found in the Kakheti wine region, considered the heart of Georgian winemaking.

It’s a well-loved and straightforward day trip from Tbilisi, typically requiring around a 1.5 to two-hour drive to reach the region’s principal towns such as Sighnaghi or Telavi.

October is also a particularly vibrant time to visit the city, as it plays host to the Tbilisoba festival, a grand celebration of the city’s rich history and harvest season. The streets burst into life with music, folk dancing and food stalls, offering an unforgettable insight into Georgian culture.

Simon Reeve’s popular BBC series Wilderness makes an epic return to screens as the star recounts his deadly encounters

Presenter Simon Reeve has shared some of his near-death experiences while filming his new BBC series.

For his brand new series, Wilderness with Simon Reeve, the host returns to screens with four new expeditions to some of the world’s wildest and most remote places.

From trekking deep into Papua New Guinea’s jungle-clad mountains and diving with sharks in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, to exploring Canada’s Yukon and crossing almost 3,000 miles of Mongolia by 4WD, horse and on foot, these journeys promise to be bigger, wilder and more ambitious than ever.

With such major expeditions throughout the series, Simon has shared insight into disasters that almost cost him his life. Sharing his thoughts with the BBC, the 54-year-old was asked to elaborate on his near-disasters, which he revealed he had “several”.

Explaining the hair-raising moments, he said: “In Papua New Guinea, I had a makeshift bamboo chair in our camp. It looked pretty sturdy, right up until the moment it collapsed beneath me and a sharpened length of bamboo speared straight through the side of my t-shirt. It missed me. But it was close. Definitely a near-disaster.”

He also shared insight into a terrifying moment in Canada. He continued: “Even supposedly safe Canada was tricky.

“After getting up in the night to film the Northern Lights, I was half-asleep, freezing cold and fumbling with the stove in my tent.

“A burning log tipped onto the bone-dry mossy floor and suddenly there was a trail of fire heading towards my bed. In a bit of a panic, I kicked the log out through the tent flap and then extinguished the remaining flames with the nearest available liquid: a bottle of what I’ll call ‘Trucker’s Tango’ beside my camp bed. Thankfully I have a very poor sense of smell.”

The star also said: Then there was Bear Cave Mountain in the Yukon. Every night-time trip to the outside loo involved thoughts about what if I slip on the ice in my long johns, knock myself out and become breakfast for a wolf or a grizzly? It was one of the most remote places I’ve ever been.

“We were about 100 miles, as the crow flies, from the nearest other humans. It was like being in the middle of an ocean – except the ocean had bears.”

Wilderness with Simon Reeve will consist of four episodes which are 60 minutes each. The series is produced for BBC Two and iPlayer by The Garden, part of ITV Studios and co-produced by The Open University. The series has been written and presented by Simon Reeve.

Wilderness with Simon Reeve airs Saturday at 7:45pm on BBC Two.