teases

ELLIE GOULDING has confirmed she’s about to drop her sixth album, five months after I told you she was gearing up to release it.

The pop powerhouse teased that the follow-up to 2023 No1 Higher Than Heaven will be out “soon”.

In an exclusive chat after her headline set at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland, Ellie added: “I’ve spent the past few years working really closely with a brilliantly talented producer and multi-instrumentalist called Jack Rochon.

“I actually found him on TikTok when he was still relatively undiscovered, living in Canada.

“He’s since moved to LA and worked with Beyonce.

“I immediately connected with what he was doing creatively.

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“I have always loved discovering emerging talent and championing new voices, just like I did when I first started out and discovered Starsmith.

“We’ve recorded hundreds of songs together, and I loved the freedom of exploring different sounds, feelings, thoughts and experiences.

“It felt really organic and honest, like journaling through music.”

During her incredible set, where she was watched live for the first time by young son Arthur, Ellie debuted upcoming single Black Prada Dress.

Ellie said of the song: “There’s not one definitive experience that inspired it.

“It’s directed at that negative, critical voice bringing you down. And that voice could be your own, internal voice — that self-critical, destructive one.

“I feel like we all have one of those, just like we have different versions of ourselves.

“I love the honesty of it, the rawness, and I hope people can connect to it in their own way.”

Ellie lit up the crowd in Sunderland, kicking off with I Need You Love before hits including Still Falling For You, Love Me Like You Do and Lights.

The singer added with a grin: “It felt so, so good to be back performing at Radio 1 Big Weekend.

“The crowd was amazing, the sun was shining. Great vibes all round.

“I remember my first-ever Radio 1 Big Weekend performance back in 2010.

“My debut album had just gone to No1 and I was on cloud nine.

“It’s been four albums since then.

“So to come back to debut Black Prada Dress in the mix with some of my old favourites feels like a real full-circle moment.”

It was made all the more special for Ellie, who gave birth to her second child, Iris, in March.

She said: “It’s such a joy, my son is here today.

“I love playing music to them, especially classical music.”

With a potential record of classical music in the works, too, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ellie had already given the kids a taster.

Ra-ra Larsson

ZARA LARSSON delivered what could easily go down as her best Big Weekend performance.

The Swedish singer, wearing a light blue ra-ra skirt, pulled out all the stops during her fourth appearance at the festival on Saturday.

She opened with Midnight Sun before blasting through tracks including Can’t Tame Her, Ain’t My Fault, Lush Life and finishing with a cover of Clean Bandit’s Symphony, the No1 song she featured on in 2017.

But the standout moment came when Zara invited one lucky fan, Kayleigh, up to join her.

“This is my favourite part of the show but it’s also the hardest,” Zara said.

“Because I see so many of you are giving me the best energy ever.”

Welcoming Kayleigh on to the stage, Zara immediately recognised her from a previous show in America.

Zara then spray-painted a personalised T-shirt for Kayleigh in front of the crowds after she revealed she was flying over to LA in the coming weeks to watch her perform again.

Now that’s dedication.

EMMA’S GOT NOTHING BUT PRAISE FOR THIEVES

WEDNESDAY actress Emma Myers showed she is a Radio 1 superfan and was spotted hanging out backstage.

Presenter Greg James bought her out on stage to introduce Nothing But Thieves.

My mole told me: “Emma is a massive fan of the band and a close personal friend, so they asked her to come out on stage and introduce them. She is so down to earth and lovely. Everyone was obsessed with her.”

Emma said on stage: “I’m having so much fun, I’m seeing so many incredible artists, it’s so lovely to be here.”

Of Nothing But Thieves, she added: “They were my soundtrack when I was shooting season one of The Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, so I have them on repeat.”

NIALL LOVES A TEE PARTY

NIALL HORAN has revealed he only tours so he can play golf courses around the world.

And he ends up spending more time on makeshift greens than in the studio when writing albums.

The former One Direction singer was on stage at the Big Weekend yesterday in Herrington Country Park, right next to Wearside Golf Club.

Niall, who has a handicap of eight, said: “It’s Niall’s golf tour with music, especially in the States.

“Florida is great – there’s so much good golf in Florida, and we’ll hit random places in Ohio. If we do 30-something shows, I’ll try and get in ten rounds.”

And it doesn’t stop there.

Talking about a place he rented out with songwriter pals to work on his upcoming fourth solo album, Niall said: “When we stayed in this house in the countryside in the UK, we made up our own golf course.

“We put flowerpots in places and made our own courses and chipped balls around.

“We did this all over the world. We make up our own little golf courses in the backyard of wherever we’re playing and we do more of that than we do songwriting.

“On that trip, we wrote Dinner Party – but after a round of golf, of course.”

Now Niall’s eyeing up something entirely different.

When asked on the And The Writer Is podcast if he would pen a musical, he said: “I’d love to. I’ve often thought about that.

“That would be such a cool thing, to put some time aside to actually dig in for six months to try and write something. But I haven’t had the offer yet.”

VICKY: A FAT LOT OF GOOD

DJ VICKY HAWKESWORTH managed to catch some performances between her own sets at Big Weekend.

She said backstage: “Nothing But Thieves were amazing and Fatboy Slim was so good . . .  way better than I thought.

“Not that I thought he wouldn’t be good, but you know what I mean.

“Also, those visuals. If I was off my nut, I’d be, like, ‘I’m not well’.”

Luckily for Vicky, she was as sober as a judge.

MY one to watch from the festival is rising talent Alessi Rose.

The Skin singer smashed her set on the New Music stage and will play a run of shows at festivals this summer, as well as supporting Lewis Capaldi and Lorde at their concerts in July and August.

A STELLAR SMITH GOES EXTRA MYLES ON STAGE

★★★★★

MYLES SMITH had Sunderland belting out every word as he smashed his 30-minute set – complete with support from his Drive Safe collaborator Niall Horan.

Sprinting up and down the stage, the soulful singer powered through nine tracks yesterday, including a cover of iloveitiloveitiloveit by his friend Bella Kay.

Speaking about the US singer-songwriter, Myles told the crowd: “This is someone that I’ve been following for a little while now.

“They can’t be here this Big Weekend, but I’m sure they’re gonna be here for many more, so hopefully you can enjoy this song with me.”

His energy was off the charts as he worked his way through hits including Behind, Hold Me In The Dark and Nice To Meet You.

Myles jumped off the stage and into the pit to hug fans before singing Gold.

Out of puff as he climbed back up, he said with a laugh: “I need to go back to the gym.”

Myles finished off his belting show with the stellar Stargazing.

Fans are now counting down the days until he releases his new album My Mess, My Heart, My Life on June 19.

FREYA FRASER

FAMOUS FACES HAVE A DAY TO REMEMBER

THERE are celebrations popping off all over the place.

Not only is it looking like being a scorcher of a Bank Holiday, but famous names from television, music and sport are also coming together to take part in a national “Big Toast” tonight.

At 7pm, people across the country will raise a glass for Celebration Day in memory of people who shaped their lives.

Stephen Fry, Spencer Matthews, Prue Leith and Jake Humphrey are all taking part.

Five-time Paralympic swimming gold medallist Ellie Simmonds is also on board.

She said: “On this Celebration Day, I’m raising a cup of tea to my auntie Shirley and my grandma.

“I’ve got so many memories of them.

“When I was at my biggest events, they were always up there in the crowd, cheering me on, decked in their Team GB flags.”

During the last semi-final, The Hawkstone Farmers Choir performed Bastille’s Pompeii and managed to bag their place in the final next week but Simon Cowell had a cheeky dig at their founder Jeremy Clarkson

Britain’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell made a cheeky dig at Jeremy Clarkson on last night’s show.

The former Top Gear host founded The Hawkstone Farmers Choir after scouring the country for 34 British farmers who wanted to work together and create ads to save pubs and farms.

Earlier this year Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir auditioned for the ITV reality competition and managed to win Amanda Holden’s Golden Buzzer, sending them straight through to the semi-finals after wowing with a rendition of Elbow classic One Day Like This. Just prior to belting out the famous track, member Katrina explained to the judges that Jeremy himself had set the choir up, having been sponsored by the Hawkstone Brewery that the TV star co-owns in the Cotswolds.

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At the time in response to the golden buzzer audition While visibly holding back tears Jeremy thanked Amanda Holden for pressing the Golden Buzzer. He said: “It shows that people quite like farmers. They were very very good, well done all of you. I’m a very happy man tonight.”

During the last semi-final, the 32-strong chior performed Bastille’s Pompeii and managed to bag their place in the final next week.

Simon said to the choir: “You’re not a professional choir, however I love what you stand for. It might be quite annoying to see Jeremy Clarkson‘s smug face, that’s the only downside. He’s a friend of mine. However more importantly this is about you and you did brilliantly well congratulations.”

While Simon’s comments were not all positive, it was clearly only banter between two friends.

Jeremy was over the moon at the chior’s win and in celebration filmed a short video at farm-fest with partner Kaleb Cooper. The duo filmed themselves congratulating the singers in front of a cheering crowd at Farm Fest.

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The athlete and bodybuilder claimed he was dropped by the BBC after an ‘ultimatum’.

Gladiators star Giant has hinted at “exciting” TV plans in the future after being axed by the BBC.

The athlete, whose real name is Jamie Bigg, claimed he was dropped from the programme because the BBC didn’t approve of his girlfriend’s job as an OnlyFans model.

The 40-year-old was one of the original stars on the BBC revival, which was rebooted in 2024.

He alleged that he was axed after saying he wanted to go public with his new relationship, including his partner’s career.

However, despite being dropped from Gladiators, Giant has insisted he still has hopes to work on TV.

He told The Sun : “TV is something that I would very much like to continue. And having the flexibility and the ability to speak about more taboo subjects is something that moving forward, perhaps, can now happen.”

Giant teased future projects, saying: “There’s lots of things in the pipeline at the minute.

“It’s actually a very, very exciting time and I’m definitely looking forward to the future.

“I can’t divulge any information on particular shows or events, situations just yet.”

This comes after Giant set the record straight on his exit from Gladiators during an appearance on Good Morning Britain last week.

The bodybuilder from Derbyshire told Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: “I had a very positive season three chat. I think season three was the best season yet, and like you said, [I was] a fan favourite on the show.

“At that time, they [were] aware of my relationship with Taylor and said they needed to explore avenues and have conversations about that.

“At a later point, I was told that the season four contract wasn’t being renewed because of my relationship.”

He went on: “It wasn’t explained, I think you’ll have to ask them for a statement on that as well, because my dismissal’s been very unclear. That’s why I’m here today, because I think it’s very important that we get our side across.

“I think it’s very important that fans of the show understand that Giant is a character on the show, and Jamie is a person that has a private relationship. And I feel like there’s a big injustice here for fans of the show that haven’t been given a voice or a decision in this matter.”

He claimed it “wasn’t my choice” to leave, but that he was “faced with an ultimatum”.

“I class myself as a role model and one of those values, as a role model, is to stick by the people I love.

“So, I decided [to leave], and I imagine other people in my situation would find it very hard to walk away from an amazing opportunity like being a Gladiator.”

A BBC Gladiators spokesperson previously told the Mirror : “After three formidable series, Giant is leaving Gladiators. We’d like to thank him for everything he has contributed to the show and wish him well for the future.”

Gladiators is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Emmerdale’s Moira Dingle actress Natalie J Robb has hinted her character could take a deadly revenge on evil Joe Tate in a gun showdown, and she ‘could kill him’

There’s dramatic scenes on the way on Emmerdale as Joe Tate is finally rumbled by Moira Dingle.

Robert Sugden confesses his part in Moira being arrested over Celia Daniels’ drugs and human trafficking crimes. When he explains what really happened, Moira finds out Joe was blackmailing him and Victoria Sugden.

But she’s left even more rage-filled when she realises Joe is a huge part of the reason she’s been in prison over a double murder she did not commit. Preparing to take revenge, it all leads to a gun showdown at Home Farm.

Will Moira end up in prison again though if she takes a deadly revenge on Joe? Actress Natalie J Robb has revealed what fans can expect from the moment, and what the future holds for Joe…

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Robert tells Moira the truth about planting the documents. How does she react?

Robert starts to feel guilty because he finds out that it’s Moira’s birthday and everybody has kind of forgotten about it. She says that it doesn’t matter and then he gets really guilty about it.

Moira starts to get a little bit suspicious and thinks: ‘What’s going on here? This is odd’. He gives her some pictures that Holly did, and things like that, which he found in the attic.

And then he just says something and she says: ‘How did you know about that?’ Because he wouldn’t have known where the documents were hidden. Then of course she gets it out of him and he confesses that it was him and she goes ballistic.

She’s really hurt actually, because she doesn’t expect that of him. She actually thought he’d turned a corner and changed as a person. Then he admits that it was down to Joe Tate – that he forced him – and why he had to protect Victoria and it was down to Joe Tate.

Moira plots revenge doesn’t she…

I’m fuming then, so I go back to the house to tell Cain but he’s having a bit of an argument with Sam. He’s just not in the mood so I think, good old Moira style, she gets her shotgun and goes to visit Joe Tate.

And literally at that point, she’s going round there to kill him. She has the shotgun, she makes him sit down and try to confess. He’s trying to play dumb but she knows it’s down to him.

Then more people get involved. Obviously she doesn’t kill him. But she swears to him at this point that she will make it her priority to make his life a living hell. Or a non-living one…

Why does she decide not to tell Cain about Robert?

She thinks if he finds out, he’s going to go ballistic and do something stupid. She’s just got out of prison, the last thing she wants is for him to go to prison.

But that’s going to eat him up because he knows what she’s been doing for Robert as well. And the fact that he’s in my farm, it’s just a hard pill to swallow. But I’m trying to prevent something terrible happening and protect the marriage as well, because we’re dealing with something that’s a lot bigger than money.

When she has the shotgun, does it not enter her head that she might end up back in prison?

I don’t think she cares at that point. In that split second, she’s so angry because he’s [Cain] had to deal with the cancer on his own. He’s [Joe] kept me away from my children and she thinks: ‘Really? Are you really that horrible and that cruel? Are you really that greedy? It’s all about power’.

It’s a bit like the world we’re living in now, all about power and it’s not actually about being humane to people. And at that point she’s definitely going there to kill him and she nearly does.

Can you tease what’s to come for Joe?

Well I think he’s going to be under her radar, it might just be quietly. He might try to worm her round. But we don’t know how that’s going to pan out with the writing and which route they’re going to go.

But when I was filming the scenes, it was pretty certain that she was going to get him back in some way or another. And she does, she does team up with people to get him to suffer in a similar way, but that would be by him losing everything, so that he has no power. So we’ll see.

Would you like Moira and Kim to become friends after their recent heart-to-heart at the prison?

It’s nice that they don’t get on but they have that mutual respect for each other. You really see how Kim knows what that farm meant to Moira. And for her to do that for him, it really opens Kim’s eyes. Like: ‘Oh right, okay, it’s a proper love’.

She really respects that and it’s about family roots and values. So there’s that respect for each other. I think that’ll always be there in the background now but they’ll still have fights – probably because of Joe to be honest, he’ll be the main factor!

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .