Speaking on Live with Kelly and Ryan, the star was asked about the ending, but the 42-year-old kept his lips sealed. ‘It could change,’ he explained: ‘Dan Fogleman our boss and the writers are amazing.’
Stack up on the tissues, because season 4 of This Is Us hits screens on Tuesday 24 September!
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I stride across the playground, my Kickers shoes freshly polished, clutching my laminated (yes, laminated) print out of the ‘Say You’ll Be There’ lyrics.
The bell has rung for playtime and the popular girl has invited me to attend Spice Girls Club rehearsal. I’m the first to arrive at our designated puddle/stadium in the corner of the playground.
I had struggled to make friends at my new school and my dad had the genius idea of sending me in with a waterproofed lyrics sheet to ‘impress’ my classmates in case it rained at playtime. I was cool and practical. I was ridiculed.
I had the misfortune of being taken in by a friendship group consisting of five girls, and unless two really can become one, we were overstaffed.
Each girl was dubbed Posh, Ginger, Scary, Baby or Sporty, but I was considered ‘too tall’ for the line-up. I didn’t fit in. So I was assigned the role of manager and told I could make notes. Tricky to do with an HB pencil on laminate.
I was Richard E. Grant Spice (Picture: Brian Rasic/Getty Images)
Being the least popular one in a primary school girl band was crushing.
This week I watched Jesy Nelson of Little Mix’s documentary Odd One Out on the BBC. She’s an actual popstar in an actual girl band and is living the life eight-year-old me longed for. But amid the worldwide fame and recognition, Jesy leads a very different life away from the cheering crowds. One where she deals with a daily onslaught of online bullying.
When Little Mix won X-Factor in 2011, Jesy was singled out as being different from the other girls in the band. She faced a barrage of online abuse criticising her looks and her weight and it changed her from the happy-go-lucky girl from Dagenham to a woman so depressed she couldn’t face going to work. The online trolling lead her to attempt to take her own life.
I looked at other girl groups and I realised Jesy wasn’t alone in being singled out. I thought being part of a girl band would make you feel empowered, protected, adored. But in every female pop group I could think of, there was always one who was treated differently to the rest.
Is society threatened by girl groups who send empowering messages to unite their young female followers, or is it simply that the internet is a terrible place for women?
Mutya from the Sugababes, Vanessa White from The Saturdays – both were singled out and dragged by the press and social media. Nicola from Girls Aloud was bullied for being ginger and pale, while Cheryl Tweedy was worshiped as the ‘hot one’. It led to her slapping on the fake tan in and make up order to fit in and stop the onslaught of abuse.
Nicola from Girls Aloud and The Saturday’s Vanessa White (Picture: Rex / Shutterstock)
Victoria Beckham was singled out as the ‘least talented’ of the Spice Girls and was often branded ‘Skeletal Spice’. Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams was targeted by the online community, with an entire website dedicated to her perceived subordinance to Beyonce and Kelly Rowland, called poormichelle.com.
It’s as if the world still isn’t ready to accept a group of women as successful individuals in their own right. No matter how successful Michelle is, she is always perceived as being less-than the other women in the group.
Why do we feel the need to drag women in groups? With the exception perhaps of N*sync, where the rather unfortunately named Joey Fatone was teased for being the ‘fat one’ of the band, I can’t think of a boyband with a member who has been marginalised in the same way.
A US study showed that girls were more likely than boys to be both victims and perpetrators of online bullying and in the UK around one in eight young people have been the target of online bullying.
Women are taught to value themselves in comparison to those of the same gender in a way that just doesn’t exist in the masculine world. It’s as if women only have one space at the top and we must compete for it.
Whereas there seems to be much more room for men to be successful without losing their individuality, or having to fit a pre-existing mould. Like jars on a spice rack, we continue to be labelled then shelved if we’re not flavour of the month.
Williams responded to the hashtag #poormichelle by tweeting ‘that’s not what my accountant said’ (Picture: Martin Philbey/Redferns)
Trolls are the hyenas of society, picking off ‘weak’ members of the herd, wearing them down until they’re too exhausted to fight back. But not Jesy. Her documentary follows her journey to self-acceptance and has made space for those who have experienced online bullying to open up and talk. Her strength is apparent.
Fortunately she hasn’t let the bullying tear her down, just like amazing women before her. Williams responded to the hashtag #poormichelle by tweeting ‘that’s not what my accountant said’. And Victoria Beckham? The ‘one who can’t sing’ is doing just fine.
Social media has never been a particularly safe space for any women in any profession or at any level of fame, and although there may be safety in numbers, the online community makes easy targets of those who dare to be different.
Whether it’s demanding equal pay in Parliament, or calling for girl power at Wembley Stadium, there’s no denying that women who stand for something publicly get told to sit down by the trolls of the internet.
Like Jesy, when women fight back against bullying in the public arena they become true role models for young fans who may be dealing with adversity in their own lives.
75-year-old Irene was quite the formidable competitor (Picture: Channel 4)
Last week saw Bear Grylls return to our screens with a new challenging reality show, where another crop of survivalists compete to win on The Island (with a monetary twist!)
A spin-off of Bear’s The Island series, Treasure Island sees 12 castaways fighting to survive on a remote uninhabited island in the Pacific while collecting cash prizes.
And one contestant who is winning over the audience is great grandmother and Airbnb manager Irene Cattanach.
At 75 years old, Irene is the oldest competitor to ever appear on the show (in any of its iterations) and has 51 years on the show’s youngest contestant.
Despite being unable to swim, Scottish Irene set about competing alongside much younger competitors and told BBC Scotland that she decided to compete in hope of inspiring other older women to get active.
‘It was wonderful,’ she said. ‘I loved all these creepy crawlies, each one was a pet!’
Treasure Island returns this Sunday (Picture: Channel 4/PA)
Well, it already sounds like Irene is far braver than us on the bug front – no thanks!
She continued: ‘I would recommend it as a holiday. It doesn’t cost very much, you have the beach and the water, you have all the jungle to go through, lovely.’
Despite the considerable age difference from her fellow islanders, Irene insisted that she never felt at a disadvantage; if anything, she wished they hadn’t tried to look after her quite as much!
‘Between myself and the youngest was 51 years so you’ve got to understand that I could not only have been their mother but I could also have been their grandmother,’ she explained.
‘But I never looked at it that way,’ she added. ‘I felt that these other ones on the team saw me perhaps as a mother or grandmother and were quite prepared to take care of me but I wanted to do the same as them.
‘I was just on that island to fight for survival, hunt, and I wanted to do that as well.’
You go girl!
Treasure Island with Bear Grylls continues Sunday 15 September at 9pm on Channel 4.
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The legend of Strictly Come Dancing that is Anton Du Beke would be the perfect partner for Len Goodman (Picture: Getty Images)
Len Goodman would love to have a turn on the dance floor with Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke.
The former Strictly judge is good friends with Anton, 53, and thinks he would make the perfect dance partner if they took part in a same sex competition.
He which male celeb he would love to dance with, Len told Metro.co.uk: ‘Anton would be my partner. Me and Anton out there, yes. We’re good friends. We play a bit of gold together and so on.
‘I know him and I know his wife Anna well, so I’d have to pick him. And if we didn’t dance well then we’d certainly have a laugh!’
Of course they would dance well!
They have the heights right anyway! (Picture: Mark Robert Milan/FilmMagic)
The hit BBC show recently confirmed they are ‘completely open’ to the idea of same sex couples dancing together on the show.
While Len said he is a ‘traditionalist’, he would have no issues with Strictly moving with the times.
‘If they decide they’re gonna go along that route, that’s fine. And if they decide not to then that’s fine as well. Things change and times move on, if they decide to give it a go good luck to them,’ he told us.
The 75-year-old is representing Remember A Charity Week, which encourages people to leave something for a worthy cause in their will.
However research from Remember A Charity has revealed that legacy giving is now worth over £3 billion to the charity sector and is going towards very important causes.
So far it has helped fun two in three guide dogs and six in 10 RNLI lifeboats.
Len left money in his will to a hospice that took good care of his mother.
He explained: ‘Although I’ve made a will, I hadn’t remembered a charity. I sat down with my wife and my son and we had a chat about it and made sure obviously, that they were in my will and so on.
The former Strictly judge is promoting Remember A Charity Week (Picture: Getty)
‘And I said – my mum was in a hospice, I would like to give some money to them and other local charities and things. And they agreed.
‘So I went and saw my solicitor and I left some money to charities, and it made me feel really good that I’d done something as a legacy for them in remembrance for my family. I
t’s such a worthwhile thing. When you think only 6 out of 100 leave anything to charity, what a nice thing to do and it makes you feel good.’
To find out more about or take part in Remember A Charity Week, head here.
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The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau has hinted that the upcoming show could see the appearance of many Stars Wars Legends characters.
Stars Wars is known for its Easter eggs for fans to uncover – and this time, it could be taking the concept one step further as some characters from the franchise’s Expanded Universe, now known as Legends, could be making a cameo in the brand new series.
The 52-year-old spoke about this in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that it’s ‘fun’ to merge the different worlds of the Star Wars movies together, and that The Mandalorian could be ‘an opportunity to bring in all these elements’.
‘I don’t want to talk about anything that might be fun for people to discover. We do have conversations,’ he said.
‘Part of what’s fun to see if we could merge the worlds of the original trilogy, the prequels, the sequels, The Clones Wars, and what’s been considered canon up to this point and what’s been considered part of Legends.
‘I think this show offers an opportunity to bring in all those elements so no matter what your flavour of Star Wars ice cream you like there will be something to enjoy.’
Sounds intriguing.
The Mandalorian, which will be one of the many original shows on the Disney+ streaming service, is set to take place five years after the events of the Star Wars film Return Of The Jedi, after the fall of the Empire, but before the emergence of the First Order. The series will follow a Mandalorian bounty hunter beyond the reaches of the New Republic.
Jon has promised that the new Disney+ series will be ‘chaos’ (Picture: Disney)
Stars include Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito and Carl Weathers.
‘It’s after Return Of The Jedi so the Empire is gone and all hell’s breaking loose in the outer rim,’ he said.
‘And it’s about the scum and villainy that now once you take out the rule of law, what happens? Chaos takes over.’
The Mandalorian will be released on 12 November on Disney+.
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Britain’s Got Talent comedian Jack Carroll is set to bring the house down on The Champions when he returns to the stage that made his name in the next episode.
Jack is set to make his bid for the Champions crown after coming second on the series in 2013 at just 14-years-old.
Now 20, his comedy is just as impressive as he makes the judges crack up in a teaser from his audition, which airs at the weekend.
On stage the comedian, who has cerebral palsy, says: ‘I’m old enough to go clubbing now which is difficult as a sober, disabled person, because all I get is people coming up to me going, “Jack, you drinking?’ and I have to go, “No mate, this is just how I walk normally.”‘
Judge Alesha Dixon is loving it in the clip, and hopefully the BGT fans will too and send him through to the final.
This Saturday viewers will see him take on the likes of 2016 winner Richard Jones, chart-topping brothers Richard & Adam and Canadian Britain’s Got Talent illusionist Darcy Oake.
Jack was 14 when he auditioned in 2013 (Picture: ITV/REX)
Before he could confirm he would audition on The Champions, Jack previously said it would be a way of ‘saying cheers’ to the programme for giving his stand-up career a boost.
‘It’s the sort of capacity Britain’s Got Talent has in order to change ordinary people’s lives and put them out into the public consciousness,’ he said.
Since then Jack has gone on to front his own Live At The Apollo and appear in TV comedy Trollied and the film Eaton BY Lions.
Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions airs Saturday at 8.15pm on ITV.
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Strictly Come Dancing hopefuls Alex Scott and professional dancer Neil Jones are getting on like a house on fire as they reveal their week one dance is the Quickstep.
No pressure at all, then.
The pair appear to have gelled well ahead of the 2019 season with Neil teaching Alex his tricks and tips for keeping in rhythm – ‘step hop beans on toast, ha ah ha’.
But Alex is worrying big time, as she admits that the steps don’t seem to want to come out as the music starts which isn’t great for a dance performance.
‘Stacey did it in her first week, Ore was really good at it, pressure’s on,’ said Alex in a behind the scenes video shared by BBC.
Alex Scott and Neil Jones are getting on like a house on fire (Picture: Getty)
The 2019 season is Neil’s first as a professional dancer with a partner, having previously only been on the show in the group dances.
He is known to Strictly fans though as he was married to dancer Katya Jones; the pair came under scrutiny in 2018 when Katya cheated on Neil with her celebrity partner Seann Walsh.
The pair apologised publicly and Katya and Neil revealed they were giving their marriage another shot, but earlier in 2019 they confirmed they had split.
Katya has been paired with Mike Bushell for this year’s show; in the launch show which aired on Saturday 7 September, the annual Strictly pairing ritual took place with the customary glitz and glam – along with a performance from Kylie Minogue.
While many were figuring out who is viable for a Strictly curse future, it’s also when we discovered the professionals who haven’t been paired up with a celebrity this year – with this year’s leftovers including Gorka Marquez, Graziano Di Prima, and Nancy Xu.
Strictly Come Dancing’s first live show kicks off on Saturday 21 September on BBC One.
Drake has put together a star-studded cast for the new season of Top Boy (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)
After a long six year wait, Top Boy is finally back on our screens thanks to Canadian rapper Drake and Netflix.
Picking up the storyline where Channel 4 left it after dropping the show in 2013, the return of Top Boy sees the show’s two protagonists Dushane and Sully back in London and eager to reclaim their place in the lucrative drug market.
All 10 episodes of the show dropped on Netflix this morning, so as you prepare to catch up with all your favourite characters and meet some new faces, here’s what we know so far about the cast of the new season.
Who is in the Top Boy season 3 cast?
Executive produced by Drake, Netflix’s revival of Top Boy sees Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson return as Dushane and Sully respectively, along with a star-studded cast of new characters including:
Ashley Walters – Dushane
Kane Robinson – Sully
Shone Romulus – Dris
Seraphina Beh – Farah
Kadeem Ramsay – Kit
Ashley Thomas – Jermaine
Little Simz – Shelley
Micheal Ward – Jamie
Hope Ikpoku Jnr – Aaron
Jasmine Jobson – Jaq
Also making an appearance in the new season of Top Boy are:
Malcolm Kamulete – Ra’Nell
Sharon Duncan-Brewster – Lisa
Giacomo Mancini – Gem
Kola Bokinni – Leyton
Xavien Russell – Michael
Isla Jackson-Ritchie – Sarah
Chiefer Appiah – Ninja
Benedict Wong – Vincent
Saffron Hocking – Lauryn
Elizabeth Tan – Maude
At the London premiere of the new season, Drake thanked the cast and crew for allowing him to be a part of its revival: ‘To the cast new and old, the crew, the writers, the production team, everybody that pulled this all together, I really do appreciate it.’
Drake was instrumental in bringing Top Boy back (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)
He continued: ‘I just want to say thank you so much for allowing me be a part of it…
‘Sometimes it’s not just about where you’re from it’s about places you wish you were from and you all inspire me.’
Why is the new Top Boy season 3 now called Top Boy season 1?
If you want to catch up on Top Boy before watching the new series, both seasons are now available to watch on Netflix, but they have been renamed as Top Boy: Summerhouse, which refers to the housing estate in Hackney where the series is set.
Drake’s new season of Top Boy, which technically forms the third season of the show, will be displayed as season one.
The name change is likely because Netflix wants to brand it as a completely new series, because of the new cast members and new crew working on the series.
Kim on Jimmy Fallon (Picture: Getty/2019 NBCUniversal Media, LLC)
Are we about to see Kim Kardashian in a cowgirl attire? Quite possibly, because her husband Kanye West has bought a ranch in Wyoming.
Yes, really.
Kim confirmed the news herself on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon in New York City this week.
‘We love Wyoming,’ she enthused. ‘It’s always been such an amazing place. My husband did just buy a ranch there…’
She added that Kanye’s ‘dream and vision is to move there.’
However, LA girl and mum-of-four Kim doesn’t see a full-time move to the reportedly $14 million property on the cards.
‘I love LA, so I envision summers, some weekends… but yeah, we love it,’ Kim said.
Kim and Kanye: we wonder how these looks will go down in Wyoming (Picture: Rex Features)
What’s more, it sounds like Khloe, Kourtney and the rest of the gang might be getting involved.
‘It’s the prettiest place you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Even my sisters, everyone, we’ve had this dream of getting a ranch and spending our summers there, and getting away.’
Kim after last night’s Fallon taping (Picture: Splash News)
Telling the story of her first encounter with the rural paradise, Kim explained: ‘He took me to go see it for the first time, maybe a week ago, before he bought it. Wanted my opinion. It’s 5,000 acres or something.
‘So we’re driving up, we brought three of the kids, we go up to this cabin at the top. No electricity. iPads died. He falls asleep. So now I’m with the three kids, no bathroom – it’s in the wilderness in a cabin! No lights! I’m scared to death a bear’s going to come. I don’t even know if there’s bears there, but some animal!’
‘My phone dies. I’m peeing in a bottle because there’s no bathroom. I’m just losing my mind!’
The next day: ‘We go down to the bottom of the hill – there’s a whole hotel! He wanted a romantic night for us up above. I was like “That’s not my vision of romance!”‘
Kim and the kids (Picture: Instagram/KimKardashian)
This year Kim also told Vogue Arabia of Wyoming: ‘I see us living on a ranch in Wyoming, occasionally going to Palm Springs and our home in Los Angeles — and becoming a lawyer.’
Good luck with country life, Kim! We’re sure you’ll take to it eventually!
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Rylan Clark-Neal claps back at online trolls. (Picture: Getty Images)
Rylan Clark-Neal had the perfect response for trolls who said he made them ‘feel sick’ while watching Supermarket Sweep.
The 30-year-old presenter of the hit game show basically said he’s not bothered by haters because their viewership pays his bills.
Yas Rylan.
‘Glad people are enjoying [Supermarket] Sweep,’ he wrote on Twitter on Friday.
‘Even more glad that the people who tweet me saying they “hate” it and I’m “terrible at my job and make them feel sick” are boosting my viewing figures.
‘God bless you dear.’
Glad people are enjoying sweep. Even more glad that the people who tweet me saying they “hate” it and I’m “terrible at my job and make them feel sick” are boosting my viewing figures. God bless you dear. pic.twitter.com/7aVlD6TZY0
Fans of Rylan’s responded in praise to his public call-out of trolls.
One person commented: ‘F**k them mate, you’re doing a brilliant job. I love it.’
Others shared: ‘I’ve watched every episode since Monday. I’m sure you’ll get a series 2! Dale [Winton] would be proud!’
Supermarket Sweep originally ran from 1993-2001 on ITV, with a brief revival in 2007.
The reboot premiered on Monday 9 September.
The game’s format sees three teams of two — each with a clock that starts with 60 seconds on it — attempt to add as much time as possible to their clock by answering questions and riddles posed by the host.
The team with the shopping trolley filled with items of the most value wins the chance to enter the final Super Sweep prize round.
Dale Winton hosted the original Supermarket Sweep but passed away in 2018 (Picture: REX)
Getting fans excited for the brand new series, new presenter Rylan reminded fans ahead of the premiere that Dale would be at the helm of the programme if he was still with us.
‘So tonight #SupermarketSweep starts at 8pm on @itv2,’ he tweeted.
‘I grew up watching this show hosted by the legend that is Dale Winton.
‘This is his show not mine and if he was here he would be hosting it,’ he tweeted.
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The former popstar took his chances as a hopeful singleton after years out of the spotlight and, when he revealed who he was on camera, the stars of Gogglebox were well and truly shocked.
Branding him ‘unrecognisable,’ some actually had trouble remembering who ‘S Club Paul’ was.
He did leave the band first, to be fair.
Pete, one half of the brother and sister duo on the show, was particularly astonished as he questioned: ‘How’s he not hoovered up the flange, being in S Club 7?’
It’s truly one of life’s mysteries.
‘If someone said to me he was in S Club 7 I’d be out like a rat in a drainpipe,’ he added.
However, Pete was less than impressed when Paul’s date, fellow music lover Anna, claimed that the industry had ‘beaten him around.’
Recalling that he used to clean drainpipes for a living, indignant Pete exclaimed: ‘For £7.50 an hour I had my arm elbow deep in s**t. And he’s been beaten around by the industry. I can’t believe it.’
It all got a bit tragic when Beryl described him as someone who has been ‘disappointed many times. I can see that. Poor little man.’
Gogglebox viewers were also stunned by Paul’s appearance, with one writing: ‘I cannot believe that is Paul from S Club 7. In my mind they’re all still in their twenties?’
‘Did anybody actually recognise S Club 7 Paul before he revealed himself ????’ another asked.
‘I feel super old!’ one more disconcerted viewer said.
Us too, guys.
Speaking about his time in the band on the show, Paul explained: ‘I don’t tend to bring up on a date that I have been in a pop group.
‘It’s not the thing I want to shout about.’
Talking about how it took a toll on his life, the star confessed: ‘I ended up being in the group for five years six years.
‘I did leave before the end, I was feeling like I was losing myself and I wasn’t very happy at all.’
He added: ‘I had the balls to say, “guys I’ve got to go,” but not one of them said stay.’
Gogglebox continues Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.
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Love Island’s Dr Alex admits he ‘needs more dates’ (Picture: BBC)
Looks like Love Island’s Dr Alex needs more dates on every show he goes on.
On Friday’s episode of Celebrity MasterChef, the reality star fancied his chances at impressing the judges with his raw brownie and raspberry sauce.
However, his dish turned out to be disastrous as all three of his desserts crumbled on the plate, making the 29-year-old the next contestant to be booted off the show.
But we can’t say he didn’t try.
No, the star gave it his best shot, and refused to play it safe on his final round of the much-loved cooking programme.
Ahead of serving up his two-course-meal, Alex told John Torode: ‘The dishes I have chosen today are tasty and healthy.
‘It is a risk because sometimes people see healthy food and think, “oh, it won’t taste that nice, give me the real stuff.”‘
He had a disastrous time on the show (Picture: BBC)
After plating up his pomegranate chicken, he then rushed to the fridge to see how his brownies were coming on.
Taking out three plates, he carefully pulled off the mold from each sweet treat to see each and every one of them crumble.
‘Not enough dates,’ the A&E doctor muttered to himself before adding: ‘I think a couple more dates would have made the difference actually.’
The star attempted to make raw brownies (Picture: BBC)
We could say the same for his time on Love Island, as the star failed to romantically couple up with anyone while in the villa.
However, despite being unlucky in love, it seems he has finally found a girlfriend in Ibiza Weekender’s Amelia Bath.
They ended up crumbling on the plates (Picture: BBC)
Yes, the pair announced their relationship at the start of the year with a loved up snap, and they’ve only gone from strength-to-strength.
Teasing his fans when they finally went official, Alex wrote: ‘The person I would like to couple up with is….’
Celebrity MasterChef continues next Friday on BBC1 at 9pm.
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Singletown just said adios to its second couple of the series, Charlie and Elliott, which can only mean one thing: we have a new relationship on the rocks joining Emily Atack and Joel Dommett next week.
Meet Ella and Kyra, a same-sex couple who, despite falling in love with each other during their studies in Australia, aren’t actually attracted to girls.
The newbies first met while Ella was studying in Melbourne for six months, before Kyra flew across the world to the UK every holiday and they realised there was something more than friendship keeping them together.
‘In Australia, you’re in halls of 10 people and we have one international in every hall. Ella was luckily enough to be the international in my set of halls. That was the first moment we met, she was actually walking to the shower in a towel and she came into my room and said, “Hello, I’m the new international, I’m Ella” and I said, “Oh so nice to meet you” and we just hit it off from there,’ Kyra exclusively told Metro.co.uk.
‘We became best friends instantly,’ said Ella. ‘Kyra was the leader in the house, she took me under her wing.’
However, the couple have, somewhat unwillingly, been forced to make a drastic decision about their future. In order to stay in the UK they’ll need to successfully apply for a partnership visa. Sounds simple enough, right?
‘It costs about £10,000,’ Krya sighed. ‘So it’s weighing up if Ella is worth that £10,000.’
Here’s your new Singletown couple! (Picture: ITV)
Singletown fans, meet Ella (Picture: ITV)
Ah.
Needless to say, their romance has faced more than one obstacle along the way. Distance may top up the air miles, but it also brings an upheaval of stress and financial woes.
‘I’m living with her because I have no one else and when Kyra is living with me because she has no one else, it’s very intense,’ said Ella. ‘Having that space for Kyra to enjoy herself, enjoy London, meet new people, go on dates will be a good thing.’
Kyra added: ‘As time has gone on we’ve learnt more about the show and we’ve moulded it to our life and realised that we both have attributes about one another that we particularly don’t like but we also have attributes that we do like, so it’s trying to strengthen our relationship through this experience to figure out what it is like to live without each other.’
But it’s not just being a world apart which has been a learning curve for Ella and Kyra.
And her girlfriend, Kyra (Picture: ITV)
‘We’ve only came out in August 2018 as being a couple. We still fancy boys,’ admitted Ella. ‘That’s the thing, we always say if we weren’t with each other we’re sure we’d be with a guy because we don’t find girls attractive. I think we’ve both realised that it’s actually the person, it’s not necessarily male or female.’
Well they’re about to find out if there’s any other people who could sweep them off their feet like the moment they first met by the showers all those moons ago. Emily and Joel have a line-up of singles waiting to meet Ella and Kyra, and, judging by the drama from the past fortnight, it’s likely at least one of them will meet their match.
‘I think the show could change it for better or worse,’ Kyra told us, sounding a little concerned. ‘One aspect is that we could come out and be stronger than ever and really understand where each other are coming from but then the other aspect is one of us might meet a person that we potentially have feelings for.’
Ella agreed: ‘We just want to reiterate we want to do this now rather than finding out that in ten years’ time.’
Ella and Kyra will make their entrance when Singletown continues Monday at 9pm on ITV2.
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Game Of Thrones’ Jaime Lannister was originally set to take the Iron Throne (Picture: HBO)
Game Of Thrones writer George R R Martin originally had a whole new ending planned out for his fantasy epic.
While fans were left disappointed as Bran Stark ended up ruling the Seven Kingdoms, it turns out Jaime Lannister should have taken the Iron Throne instead.
That’s right, Watchers On The Wall shared the first outline sent to publishers, which they claim was tweeted out in a now deleted post by the publisher of the ASOIAF books, Harper Collins.
And it turns out the author had plans to make Jaime king.
‘Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders,’ Martin wrote.
He could have survived (Picture: HBO)
He went onto add: ‘Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down…’
While this didn’t happen in the series, it could well be the ending to the books, as George R R Martin is yet to write them.
Jaime’s ending however was so much more tragic, as he ended up dying in the arms of his sister, and lover, Cersei.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays the fallen hero, gave his verdict on their ending shortly after fans watched King’s Landing come crashing down.
‘I thought it was a great ending for that couple,’ the Danish-born actor told Entertainment Weekly. ‘She was never going to surrender.’
Instead he died in the arms of Cersei (Picture: HBO)
He added: ‘And he says it to Bronn (Jerome Flynn) in season four. Bronn asked, “How would you want it to end?” And Jaime says, “In the arms of the woman I love.”
‘So this was foreshadowed and that’s what happened.’
The star went on: ‘There’s a least a moment that they do connect: “Just look at me, just look in my eyes, it’s just you and me…”’
The franchise is currently working on a spin-off series, which will reportedly be based around House Targaryen.
While the only confirmed spin-off is a prequel provisionally titled Bloodmoon, another spin-off has seemingly been given the green-light based on creator George RR Martin’s companion book Fire & Blood.
According to Deadline, the Game Of Thrones author and Colony co-creator Ryan Condal have written the series for HBO, which is set 300 years before the events of the original and charts the beginning of the end for House Targaryen.
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Speaking during a Friends 25th anniversary panel at Tribeca TV Festival (via Deadline), co-creator and executive producer Marta Kauffman ruled out any chance of a reunion or reboot entirely.
‘We will not be doing a reunion show, we will not be doing a reboot,’ Kauffman said. ‘The show was about that time in life when friends are your family.’
On the subject of a reboot, Kauffman added: ‘It’s not going to beat what we did.’
Co-creator and executive producer David Crane agreed, adding: ‘We did the show we wanted to do. We got it right, and we put a bow on it.’
Friends celebrates its 25th anniversary this year (Picture: NBC)
The show’s 25th anniversary takes place later this month on 21-22 September, with Lisa Kudrow, who plays Phoebe, previously remarking how she wants to get the gang back together.
While this isn’t stopping the cast having a get together off-screen, it certainly sounds like any TV specials will be off the table.
Friends ran from 1994 to 2004 spanning ten seasons, and became the staple sitcom of the decade.
If you’re keen to celebrate the 25th anniversary regardless, you can check out all the events taking place across the UK.
Richard Jones pays tribute to Fergus Anckorn in his Champions performance (Picture: ITV/Twitter)
Richard Jones makes an emotional return on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions, dedicating his act to a friend who has died since winning the show.
The 28-year-old British magician and soldier won the tenth series of Britain’s Got Talent back in 2016, where he brought out war veteran and long-serving member of the Magic Circle, Fergus Anckorn, onstage after telling his story.
Fergus has since died following the winning performance, passing away aged 99 on 22 March 2018 from bladder cancer.
Returning for Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions, Richard themes his performance around Fergus’s life and legacy – with the magician seen getting teary before he’s even begun.
Once his act concludes, the crowd and judges are similarly bowled over – with Richard seen visibly emotional as he takes in the overwhelming response.
Speaking after his performance to hosts Ant and Dec, Richard said: ‘I knew it was going to be an emotional act because of what I was talking about but seeing the support from the room I didn’t expect it, and it threw me a little bit.
‘Sorry for getting so emotional, it’s just such a kind thing to see. I really appreciate it.’
Noticing how emotional Richard was, Simon Cowell said: ‘Before we even knew what you were going to do tonight, I looked into your eyes and I could see your eyes welling up.
He was the first magician to EVER win Britain's Got Talent, but will @richjonesmagic be crowned the ultimate champion?🏆
‘You were emotional before, during, after, for all the right reasons. What defines a Champion is someone who has won but has the confidence to come back and defend what they’ve won, and that’s why we made this show.
‘I don’t know how the hell you have these powers, but you linked in your friend as well, and paid respect to him, and showed us why you won the show that year, and I remember the afterglow of you winning the show as well, so it’s an honour to have you competing with us again.’
But will he make it through to the final?
Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions continues tonight on ITV at 8.15pm.
Mark and Paul: workplace besties? (Picture: Getty, PA)
It seems a bit of workplace rivalry doesn’t prevent The Chase’s Mark Labbett and Paul Sinha being the best of friends.
In fact, Mark has heaped praise on his intelligent co-star for becoming the British Quizzing Champion.
‘Paul Sinha has just become the British Quizzing Champion which considering his early onset Parkinson’s, shows just how remarkable that is,’ he told press at this week’s TV Choice Awards (via Digital Spy).
‘Paul is absolutely brilliant.’
We couldn’t agree more!
Mark Labbett at the TV Choice Awards 2019 at Hilton Park Lane this week (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
However Mark of course added the crucial caveat: ‘But there is always competition and we all want to be the Alpha!’
Paul revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2019.
He shared the news with fans on Twitter, saying: ‘I have Parkinson’s disease. I will fight this with every breath I have.’
Paul Sinha has been admirably open about his recent health battle (Picture: ITV)
He added in a blog post: ‘A lot of people have asked “What can I do to help?” The answer is to treat me exactly the same as before.’
He furthermore said that despite it being ‘a really, really tough two weeks’ he did not ‘consider himself unlucky’.
‘Whatever the next stage of my life holds for me, many others have it far worse,’ he continued.
Mark and Paul appear on The Chase with the likes of Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty and Jenny Ryan.
Meanwhile, Mark has also ruled himself out of appearing on this year’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
‘I can confirm I am not doing the jungle this year because I will be in Melbourne filming The Chase Australia until December,’ he said at the awards.
‘It’s in the same country but I am going to Melbourne, not Brisbane. Just in case anyone says they’ve seen The Beast on the plane to Australia.’
Could he be trying to throw us off the scent?!
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Jack Carroll rips into Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon (Picture: ITV)
Jack Carroll doesn’t refrain from laying into the judges as he returns to Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions, prompting slightly awkward chuckles in the room.
The 20-year-old comedian, who finished as a runner-up on the seventh series of Britain’s Got Talent back in 2013, makes his return six years later – delivering another excellent routine utilising his life with cerebral palsy as comedy ammo.
During the routine, Jack turns his attention to making swipes at the judges, taking aim at Simon Cowell’s teeth.
As Jack recounts his attempts to learn to ski, he quipped: ‘Luckily, the goggles still came in handy when I had to look at Simon Cowell’s teeth up close.’
He swiftly moves onto Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden, with the former seemingly not too happy about being accused of having botox.
‘Six years since I’ve been on the show, I look six years older,’ Jack says. ‘Which is funny because Amanda and Alesha look 10 years younger.
‘I’m sure they would frown at that joke but the botox won’t allow it.’
Slightly shocked by his comments, Alesha responds: ‘I’ve never had it! Sorry.’
Speaking after his performance ends, Alesha tells Amanda: ‘I don’t remember him being so vicious the last time.’
‘I know I love it,’ Amanda replies.
But will Jack make it through to the final of Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions? We’ll have to wait and see.
Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions continues tonight on ITV at 8.15pm.
Amanda Holden was concerned over Alesha Dixon during Darcy’s return (Picture: ITV)
Amanda Holden has revealed how she feared for pregnant Alesha Dixon during a performance on tonight’s Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions.
The 27-year-old illusionist Darcy Oake is set to make his return after being a finalist on Britain’s Got Talent series eight, where he previously set fire to a feather and produced a live bird.
His return to the show sees him try his hand at escapology; locking himself inside a box rigged to explode with his hands handcuffed outside.
As the act gets underway, a concerned Alesha remarks: ‘I hope this isn’t stressful. Oh my God.’
Darcy Oake returns to BGT (Picture: Instagram)
Amanda replies: ‘Oh it is going to be stressful.’
Speaking to The Sun, Amanda revealed how she feared for Alesha during the act, saying: ‘I joked to her that I was worried she might go into labour as she was so on edge during the performance.’
Dev Griffin has revealed how Strictly Come Dancing training is taking its toll, describing how he’s suffering from ‘blisters on blisters’.
The 34-year-old radio presenter and DJ was paired up with Dianne Buswell on last Saturday’s Strictly launch, and it seems she isn’t going easy on him as they prepare for the first live show.
Speaking on Saturday Kitchen to host Matt Tebbutt, Dev said: ‘I’ve been training all week for a couple of weeks now, and it’s really, really full on. I love it but it’s a lot of hard work.
‘I got blisters in between my toes, blisters on blisters. I’ve been having Epsom salt baths, basically living on a foam roller, it’s intense.’
Dev Griffin was paired up with Dianne Buswell (Picture: BBC)
Asked if it’s worth it, Dev replied: ‘Oh it really is. I did a little bit of musical theatre as a kid so I feel like I’ve regressed back to the 11-year-old me jazz hands, and basically really enjoying showing off.’
There’s been a number of injuries already on this year’s Strictly, with Jamie Laing forced to pull out the competition after damaging his foot during a launch show routine.
He’s set to be replaced by Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher, who recently opened up about his aims to channel John Travolta for the show.
Strictly Come Dancing live shows kick off Saturday 21 September on BBC One.
