Karroum won’t be heading down the aisle anytime soon. (Picture: Instagram)
A gay Muslim man believes he has been ‘played a fool’ after being dumped from the Australian edition of Married at First Sight just days before filming started because producers allegedly couldn’t find him a match.
Melbourne-based actor Wil Karroum was rejected over email on 4 September, with the relationship experts claiming they ‘could not find a match’ for him after he was ‘strung along’ for five months by casting agents and producers.
The 40-year-old told Daily Mail Australia he was informed that ‘over 1,000 gay people had applied this year’ and was baffled that the dating show experts could not find him a match among so many singletons.
‘I understand rejection is a part of life, but I feel like I’ve been played as a fool and had a carrot dangled in front of me,’ Karroum said.
MAFS shared a casting call in late March (Picture: Instagram)
While waiting for an answer about his place on the controversial dating show, Karroum reportedly postponed moving house and cancelled an overseas trip after staff at production company Endemol Shine Australia told him to ‘be patient’.
‘I foolishly believed the process and I genuinely want to find love. I’m a gay Muslim man and I get no support from my family, I need all the help I can get.’
The arduous application process to compete on the reality TV program included completing several personal questionnaires, a phone and Skype interview, before a face-to-face meeting with the executive producer of the show, Tara McWilliams.
Karroum described the meeting with with McWilliams, three other executives and a camera man as ‘very intrusive’ and ‘severely personal’.
He claimed they quizzed the actor as to whether he’d feel more comfortable attending the boys’ or girls’ night if he successfully made it onto MAFS, before conversation moved to inquires about his desired sexual position.
‘They also asked if I’d be afraid of the backlash from both the Muslim and Lebanese communities across Australia,’ he said.
Karroum is also frustrated about his experience because he believes his genuine search for love was looked over by producers keen to cast more headline-worthy participants.
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Piers Morgan is still calling for Little Mix to pay him for using a clip of him on Good Morning Britain on their tour.
The girl group use footage of Piers as an introduction to their song Wasabi.
In the video shown on stage, Piers in the wake of their body-shaming row, says: ‘Little Mix I think you need to make a public apology. If you’ve got the balls, come on this programme and say it to my face.’
The video then loops before they kick off the song with: ‘Come and say it to my face.’
The presenter claimed the group are ‘using’ him to drum up attention and threatened to send them ‘a large invoice’.
Despite Little Mix firing back by revealing Good Morning Britain approved the use of the clip, Piers is still incensed.
On Wednesday’s episode, he insisted the Salute singer should run him his coin.
Little Mix uses Piers Morgan as an intro to “Wasabi”, after he showcased constant hatred against them! 🤣👏 pic.twitter.com/u326lV9tXX
He said: ‘Did you get permission from me in writing? Which means you owe me a massive cheque now.
‘I don’t need to say it to your faces, you’ve put me on a video screen.’
Not like Piers to back down from a bit of healthy debate…
On Twitter last night, the X Factor winners said: ‘Someone’s telling porkie pieeees your bosses at GMB signed it off, including you…soz hun.
‘Piers you gorgey hun, we know you’ve always been our number 1 fan we’ve got a ticket at the box office with your name on it #comeandsayittomyface’.
Jesy, Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade have used footage of Piers on their tour (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)
Their feud came after Jesy, Jade, Perrie and Leigh-Anne posed naked with insults used against them painted on their bodies.
Piers said at the time: ‘Get your kit off, airbrush yourself to within an inch of your lives. What’s the point of it? Using nudity to sell their album.’
The situation spiralled, with Jesy labelling Piers a ‘silly t**t’ in response.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
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Lauren Silverman was by Simon Cowell’s side on America’s Got Talent red carpet (Picture: Getty)
Simon Cowell hit the America’s Got Talent red carpet with his biggest fan, girlfriend Lauren Silverman.
After puckering up at the Syco Summer party earlier this year, PDA is quickly becoming their signature move.
Lauren, who shares son Eric with Simon, was at her man’s side on Tuesday night to kick off the first of the live finals of America’s Got Talent.
The 41-year-old showed her support by lovingly giving him a peck on the cheek as they posed for the cameras, while Simon jokingly pretended he wasn’t totally loving it.
After showering the Britain’s Got Talent judge with kisses, Lauren put an arm around his shoulders and smiled as the couple laughed together.
She looked stunning in a gold, long-sleeved dress teamed with simple gold accessories to match.
Lauren was at her man’s side (Picture: Getty)
Lauren puckers up (Picture: Splash)
After showering her man with kisses Lauren lovingly put an arm around his shoulders (Picture: Getty)
Meanwhile Simon, wearing glasses, was dressed his usual wardrobe of a smart shirt – black instead of white this time – and blue jeans.
The 59-year-old was still showing off his new look, the result of a change of diet and lifestyle to improve his health.
Simon showed off his slimmed down look (Picture: Getty)
The music mogul also insisted that the weight loss is ‘100%’ down to a change of diet, adding: ‘It was not one of those [gastric] band things.’
But his Britain’s Got Talent co-star Amanda Holden thinks she’s worked out what has helped him lose weight.
The Heart Breakfast presenter revealed: ‘He’s drinking lightweight beers, that’s the secret. And I tasted it because I thought it was gonna taste, like, naff. Actually it’s quite decent.’
The America’s Got Talent final continues on 18 September on NBC in the US and streams on Netflix in the UK.
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It always feels special when the presenters empathise with the bakers – it says a lot about the pressures in the tent and how things do not always go to plan. Bakers fear not. Break that emergency glass in the form of a Sandi hug, whilst she sips on limoncello.
Anyway, it is week four; a new challenge and territory. Brace your bakes, because dairy week has come to the tent.
I wouldn’t mind having a go at this, but only after my time in Switzerland, surrounded by milk, chocolate and cheese.
A first for the tent, we didn’t know what to expect. Would they be bathing in milk and butter? What about the vegans? I hope no one in the tent is lactose intolerant – especially the judges.
The next question we asked ourselves is what is cultured dairy? As Prue says, popular in Northern Europe, it’s not something we’re particularly familiar with.
A French friend used to promise to bake a yogurt cake for every event as willingly as we would whip up a sponge cake (although it ended up being an invisible cake as he was all talk and no bake).
Thankfully we have dairy week to enlighten our British ‘uncultured’ bakes (if there was ever a week to make cheesy jokes, this is the one). According to the tent residents, words that describe cultured dairy include acid, fermenting, old… not the words that spring to mind when you think of fresh bakes!
They’re also expanding the definition to include goat, sheep, buffalo and… horse?
At least all that macrobiotic goodness is good for us, and you can count me in for cake that’s good for the gut – my scales might not agree though.
It seems as if standard bake off emergency protocol has been deployed: when in doubt, add alcohol.
Drink every time Helena mentions Halloween (Picture: Channel 4)
Helena is planning to divorce her husband and marry Noel at Halloween, while her ghost cake has been named Hazel and ‘Noelena’ (Helenoel?) have declared it their love child.
Meanwhile, Prue’s busy squirrelling away the mini limoncello bottles for later – a very wise move, maybe she’s joining in the drinking game!
On the other side of the tent, Michelle managed to break her stand, but at least her cake was intact.
It was another solid display of camaraderie in the tent this week, with all of the cake mould sagas. It’s easy to forget when we’re watching just how welded the tent makes a group. Almost as much as cake melds to moulds… (I promised you cheesy…)
For the technical challenge, maids of honour were introduced to the tent… anyone know what they’re meant to look like? Pastry, curd, stencils and the risk of a soggy bottom?
Tudor is back and surprisingly fell short of expectations during this week’s technical. Technical challenges have never been my forte so I felt for the bakers this week but the good news is that it only makes up for a very small percentage of the overall judging process – WOOP!
My fondest memory during Tudor week back in 2016 was researching the period from BBC Bitesize for kids before the weekend. I was able to confidently present my bakes to the judges without breaking a sweat.
This was a tough technical and Priya’s had a challenging week. This is not a challenge you want to land on when you’re having an off day. Having said that, she’s extremely cool under pressure and ‘I don’t have time to cry’ is a solid tent motto.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Paul walk away from a whole table of baked goods before though.
It’s a whole new level of good cop bad cop, with Prue enjoying munching her way through the decidedly non-honourable maids while Paul scowled at all. Best of a bad bunch doesn’t seem to be much of a win.
Next up we had milk based Indian sweets known as mishti. Michael raised a good point, not being a fan of what he’s baking. It’s challenging when you bake something you don’t like – it’s a good test of a talented baker.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Paul walk away from a whole table of baked goods before (Picture: Channel 4)
Meanwhile, Paul is walking around the tent like an exam supervisor – I don’t think he’s over the maids of honour disaster.
Fortunately, by the time it came to tasting the mishti, miracles had happened. Maybe Prue had shared her stash of limoncello, maybe Paul’s sugar levels were restored, but either way he was positively nice about the final results.
It was a rough week all round, Priya, Phil and even Michael struggled. Henry’s lost his winning streak and for the first time since this season started, the threat of two bakers going home felt perilously close.
Let’s hope by next week that everyone’s had a good night’s sleep and recovered ready to tackle the next round. That’s the thing with a tough week in the tent, you can’t dwell on it otherwise you’ll never shake it off.
In non-tent news, I’m loving the Bake Off playlist – genius! I hope Noel will be recording his Christmas album!
Things we learnt this week:
Paul’s superhero name is Banana Boy? Does he have a spandex outfit hanging in his wardrobe?
Phil has ‘done a few pigeons’ – I couldn’t decide if he was impressed or concerned by it.
Michael is a bit of a gambler with one out of 10 bakes a success, those were risky odds and the gamble unsurprisingly didn’t pay off, but it was a brave choice.
The numbers are dwindling in the Bake Off tent (Picture: Channel 4)
We’re four weeks into The Great British Bake Off and already down to nine bakers, following some pretty challenging tasks in the tent since the series began.
Already we’ve seen Cake Week, Biscuit Week, Bread Week and the show’s first ever Dairy Week – with the bakers delivering the usual dazzling showstoppers, impressive signatures and, er, suggestive baked goods – and there’s been a few disasters along the way too.
And so far Michelle, Alice, Michael and Steph have risen to the top as Star Bakers – but who has been less fortunate and left the tent so far?
Here’s what you need to know…
Who has been eliminated from The Great British Bake Off so far?
Here are the four unlucky people whose Bake Off journey is already over.
Dan Chambers
Poor Dan Chambers was the first out of the tent (Picture: Channel 4)
Man-bun wearer Dan barely had the chance to show us what he could do after he was booted from the tent in Cake Week, the very first week of the series, following a raw fruit cake catastrophe in the very first challenge. ‘He’s a great baker but it all boiled down to his signature bake,’ Paul Hollywood later explained.
Jamie Finn
Jamie Finn narrowly escaped elimination in the first week but came a cropper in Biscuit Week (Picture: Channel 4)
Having narrowly escaped elimination in week one, Jamie was shown the tent door in week two after failing to impress the judges with his biscuits. He later said in an emotional letter: ‘My entire Bake Off journey, from writing my application to hugging everybody goodbye has just been insane and I will forever be grateful for it’ – and a nation wept.
Amelia le Bruin
Amelia came a cropper in Bread Week (Picture: Channel 4)
Next out was Amelia – the first female contestant to exit the show – after failing to rise to the challenge in Bread Week. ‘I tried my best and I would like to think that I’ve proved I’m a good baker,’ she said after admitting bread had never been her strong point.
Phil Thorne
Phil lasted four weeks in the tent (Picture: Channel 4)
The show’s first ever Dairy Week also saw us bid farewell to Phil, although Paul admitted it was a close one, saying Phil was ultimately eliminated because his showstopper was ‘a little bit too simple’. Sadface.
The Great British Bake Off continues next Tuesday night on Channel 4 at 8pm.
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The Big Bang Theory has a new home in the US (Picture: CBS)
HBO Max has secured the streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory in the US, after pinching Friends from Netflix US too.
Ahead of the streaming platform’s launch in spring 2020, HBO has announced The Big Bang Theory will have its home on the platform for five years, in a deal which also extends the syndication deal between Warner Bros. Television and TBS to 2028.
According to Variety, the streaming rights deal is believed to be worth around $600 million (£481 million), while The Hollywood Reporter claims it could be upwards of $1 billion (£802 million) with the TBS syndication aspect.
In a statement, Robert Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment, said: ‘We’re thrilled that HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home for this comedy juggernaut when we launch in the spring of 2020.
‘This show has been a hit virtually around the globe, it’s one of the biggest shows on broadcast television of the last decade, and the fact that we get to bring it to a streaming platform for the first time in the US is a coup for our new offering.’
It’s important to note this is only the US streaming rights, with Netflix UK still streaming the sitcom on our shores for the time being.
Seinfeld is heading to Netflix in the US (Picture: Sony TV)
This follows a number of landmark deals as streaming services compete to overthrow their rivals, with HBO Max reportedly paying $425 million (£340 million) to reclaim the rights for Friends from Netflix, while NBC Universal reportedly dished out $500 million for the rights to The Office.
Netflix has reportedly paid around $500 million (£400 million) to secure the rights to Seinfeld.
The Big Bang Theory came to an end after twelve seasons in May this year, and considering it was the biggest TV show on the box, it’s unsurprising the deal is worth such a staggering amount.
But will Netflix be able to maintain its streaming crown as other competitors join the field? With Disney+ and Apple TV Plus also on the horizon, the streaming war is only just beginning.
The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on Netflix UK.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is getting Emmy ready (Picture: HBO)
Winter is coming which means so are the Emmy Awards 2019 – the final curtain call for the cast of Game of Thrones who will be reuniting to wave the fantasy epic off in style at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theatre.
Naturally, then they’ll all be plucked, waxed and whatever else those Hollywood folk get up to this week as they grace one of the most prestigious red carpets going.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, however, has gone for a less conventional approach which we’re not sure will catch on.
Whatever Nikolaj is doing, it’s clearly working (Picture: Instagram/Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
Nikolaj starred as Jamie Lannister in Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)
The Jaime Lannister star shared a picture of himself getting Emmys ready, with his face pulled back by a swimming mask and two arms holding a tray squeezing his nose together in what we can only imagine is the hottest new trend in King’s Landing. Or was, until it burned down.
Some fans thought he was ‘slaying’ others thought the 49-year-old looked like ex-husband of Britney Spears, Kevin Federline. We think whatever Nikolaj is doing, it’s clearly working out.
It’s a big night for Game of Thrones this Sunday after the HBO series picked up a record-breaking 32 Emmy nominations and has already won 10.
In turn, it’s a safe bet that there will be plenty of trophies heading their way with almost all of the cast up for individual gongs – even if some had to submit themselves after being overlooked by their own bosses.
Game of Thrones famously bowed out on a bad note with fans, who slammed the finale so hard a petition amassed almost 2 million signatures demanding the entire season eight was rewritten.
Game of Thrones seasons one to eight are available to stream on NOW TV. The Emmy Awards take place this Sunday at The Microsoft Theatre, Los Angeles.
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Alex Brooker has admitted that not being able to complete the English Channel swim for Sink Or Swim was ‘one of the most heartbreaking times of his life.’
‘I was very gutted about it but last night I felt proud,’ he explained on Lorraine.
‘I couldn’t believe when they called it…I genuinely thought they’d done something wrong, [I thought] they’re out of order,’ he laughed.
The star went on to brand the experience as ‘heartbreaking’, before explaining: ‘We were so close…we were five miles away.’
Nevertheless, Alex is determined to finish the Channel swim as he vowed: ‘I have to finish, we’ve got to finish it,’ before joking: ‘Not on my own, that’d take ages.’
And he made it clear that the show has had a huge impact on him, even admitting it’s ‘redefined’ how he views his own disability.
‘I believed that I wouldn’t even get that far,’ Alex confessed, before pointing out that coach Ross Edgley ‘didn’t see me as a disabled swimmer, he just saw me as a swimmer.’
Alex appeared on the show alongside coach Ross Edgley (Picture: ITV)
Although the 35-year-old admitted to wanting to give the challenge a go, he had his doubts as he practised swimming in a local pool. ‘I’d b****y loved to do it,’ he admitted near the beginning of the series.
‘Once I’ve sent my mind to something I like to see it through. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m gonna give it a go,’ he said, while adding: ‘I don’t fancy drowning.’
Channel 4’s reality television show Sink or Swim was a four-part TV charity event in support of Stand Up To Cancer.
It saw professional swimmers and experts team up with celebrities to get them into shape before they tried to swim across the 20.7 mile English Channel.
Lorraine airs every weekday at 8.30 on ITV1.
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Marilyn Manson is back in a very apt role (Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Marilyn Manson has joined the cast for American Gods season three as a very apt character.
The 50-year-old singer has previously delved into acting on Sons Of Anarchy and horror show Salem, but now he’s joining Starz’ American Gods alongside Ian McShane and Ricky Whittle.
Marilyn will play blood-thirsty Johan Wengren in the series, lead singer of the Viking death metal band Blood Death. Exactly what you want from him, essentially.
Chic Eglee, showrunner on American Gods season three, said: ‘As a long-time admirer of his estimable talent as an author, artist, musician and actor, it is dope indeed to be working with Mr. Manson in season 3 of American Gods.
American Gods season 2 released earlier this year (Picture: Amazon)
‘Bringing his specific energy, wit, and boundless enthusiasm for all-things-Neil Gaiman to the role of Johan, a Norse “berserker” in service to Odin, his performance promises to be disturbing, original and uniquely entertaining.’
Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, American Gods follows Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) as he’s caught in a battle between the old gods and new gods.
The show’s second season released earlier this year to mixed reviews, after shifting showrunners and claims of ‘turmoil’ behind-the-scenes.
Chic Eglee, who has previously worked on The Walking Dead and Dexter, has been brought on to helm the third season – so we’ll have to see if he can correct the show’s course.
American Gods season three is expected to release in 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.
It reads: ‘I believe that at every level of society – familial, tribal, national and international – the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion.’
Piers decided to air his grievances with the duchess once more, claiming that she doesn’t practice what she preaches.
He said on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain: ‘I am all for Meghan learning about compassion. Honestly, I really am. And she can start with the father she’s disowned, the family she’s disowned, all the friends she’s dumped over the years.
‘That’s compassion, isn’t it? Pick the phone up. Check if we’re all okay. “You okay, Piers? Sorry for dumping you. You okay dad? You okay family?”.
Piers criticised the duchess over her relationship with her estranged father (Picture: REX)
Piers never shies away from airing his grievances with Meghan Markle (Picture: ITV)
He went on: ‘This is my problem with them. There they are lecturing away about compassion, what about starting it at home? There they are lecturing about the carbon footprint, start at home.
‘I don’t mind these daily entreaties on their Instagram page, if they actually live up to it.’
His co-presenter Susanna Reid added: ‘Nobody’s perfect, Piers Morgan, as you know very well yourself.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared a quote about compassion on their Instagram page (Picture: PA)
Piers pressed on: ‘Those of us who realise that don’t spend our days lecturing people on being compassionate. When was the last time I said, “You must be compassionate?”‘
‘No but you do lecture people. You spend every morning lecturing people,’ his co-host said.
Piers argued: ‘No I advise people on how to lead a better life.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
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Cristiano Ronaldo opened up about sex life with Georgina Rodriguez (Picture: Rex)
Cristiano Ronaldo has lifted the lid on his sex life with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez.
And the Juventus footballer revealed his ‘best ever goal’ is nothing compared to what they get up to between the sheets.
Y’know, just in case we were wondering.
The 34-year-old was discussing his favourite goal in a candid chat with Piers Morgan, explaining it came against his current club, when he was playing for Real Madrid.
Praising his infamous bicycle kick, which he netted in the Champions League quarter-final last April, the Good Morning Britain presenter asked the question on precisely no one’s mind.
‘Better than sex? Be honest,’ he asked.
Laughing, the dad-of-four replied: ‘Better than sex? No, not with my Geo, no!’
Ronaldo has been dating Georgina since 2016, when they first met at the Gucci store she worked in.
They welcomed daughter Alana together a year later, with the footballer also a dad to Cristiano Jr, Eva and Mateo.
‘They play with your dignity, it’s hard. You have a girlfriend, you have a family, you have a kids,’ he added.
‘When they play with your honesty it’s bad, it’s hard. I remember one day I was at home in the living room with my girlfriend watching television, we see the news and they speak about “Cristiano Ronaldo…this and that”, and you listen your kids coming down the stairs, and you change the channel because I was embarrassed.
‘I feel embarrassed. I just change the channel. For Cristiano to see that they speak bad about his father, it became a very bad case. Makes me feel so bad.’
Cristiano Ronaldo Meets Piers Morgan is available to stream on ITVHub.
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Demi Burnett and Kristian Haggerty are the first same-sex couple to get engaged on Bachelor In Paradise (Picture: ABC)
Bachelor In Paradise aired another first for the entire franchise as Demi Burnett and Kristian Haggerty had the first same-sex couple engagement. The pair had already made history as the franchise’s first ever same-sex romance.
As season six of Bachelor In Paradise, a spin off of The Bachelor that takes place in a stunning beach resort in Mexico, came to an end, Demi got down on one knee and thanked Kristian for supporting her.
Demi, who had dated Kristian before appearing on the show, said: ‘I know that this has been really hard. I’ve put you through struggles and you were always there for me regardless of how much I didn’t deserve it at the time.
‘I never knew that someone could be that patient. There were a lot of things that came between us, mostly myself and my own struggles. Like you said, I came here to find myself, but I found myself in you.’
They were the first same sex couple to get engaged in all 44 seasons of the Bachelor franchise.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the taping of the cast reunion show, Demi said she hoped her journey on the show will eventually ‘normalise’ same-sex relationships.
Demi got down on one knee in the season six finale (Picture: ABC)
Demi hopes their engagement would ‘normalise’ same sex relationships (Picture: ABC)
‘I think that with time it’s just going to be normalised and just going to be people loving each other, whatever way that comes,’ she said.
The couple also confirmed at the reunion that they were still engaged since season six ended, and in the studio Kristian had a proposal for Demi.
Kristian proposed back to Demi at the cast reunion (Picture: ABC)
She gave Demi a ring to match hers (Picture: ABC)
Giving her a diamond ring to match hers, she told Demi: ‘I know that last day in Paradise was the best day of my life and I wouldn’t want to do this life with anyone but you.’
Demi had originally pursued a relationship with contestant Derek Peth before admitting she still had feelings for Kristian.
The Bachelor airs on ABC in the US.
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Simon Cowell hasn’t aged a bit since we were introduced to him on Pop Idol all those moons ago, possibly because no one actually knows how old he is.
We’ve all been going by the myth that the Syco boss is about to celebrate his 60th birthday but according to a lie detector – because you know how trustworthy they are – Simon has been fibbing this whole time.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday ahead of the America’s Got Talent finale this week (we’re all rooting for you Kodi Lee) where he strapped up and was challenged to a Jeremy Kyle Show level of interrogation.
His first question: ‘Do you think looks are more important than personality?’
His answer: ‘Oh God! No.’
LIE!
What’s my age again? (Picture: BACKGRID)
Ellen DeGeneres put Simon Cowell to the test (Picture: BACKGRID)
But later Ellen, 61, asked: ‘Do you ever lie about your age?’
To give Simon some credit, he admitted he has deducted a few years give or take in the past, telling the host: ‘Not anymore.’
What did the machine think?
LIE!
Simon’s new look has been getting a lot of attention (Picture: Rex/Media Punch)
The music mogul unveiled his new look at a recent America’s Got Talent red carpet and put his noticeable weight-loss down to the ‘Eric Cowell’ diet, inspired by his five-year-old son.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show airs weekdays on NBC. Simon will next be on Britain’s Got Talent: This Champions this Saturday at 8.30pm on ITV.
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Lorraine fans have been left confused as a woman set to play Princess Diana in a musical about her life looks nothing like her – after the show’s host said she’s ‘got the look’.
Natasha John, a former hairdresser from Wales, is set to star in the musical as the production team aims to bring it to the West End.
However, with host Lorraine Kelly declaring she’s ‘got the look’ of the beloved royal, who tragically died in 1997, viewers were left a bit puzzled as to what exactly she meant.
‘Sorry but that girl looks nothing like princess Diana,’ one viewer pointed out.
Another said: ‘Amazing how donning a short blonde wig makes people think they can look like Diana. Non [sic] of them do and this lady is no exception.’
‘She looks NOTHING like her,’ one more viewer decided, with another adding: ‘She looks f*** all like Diana.’
Natasha, who once appeared on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show as one of his unexpected stars to sing with Michael Ball, donned a blonde wig for the appearance on the show.
‘When they first called me and said, “Diana the musical”, even I thought, “This is a bit strange”,’ she admitted.
Viewers don’t think the actress looks like Diana (Pictures: Twitter)
‘But when I heard the music and then I read the script, I thought, “This is actually a lovely tribute.”‘
Despite admitting that the role is a ‘gamble,’ she went on to reveal that the musical is a ‘celebration of someone who was deeply loved’ and that the lyrics include words Diana previously said.
‘I’m hoping that now is the right time,’ Natasha added.
‘She was an icon. I mean the show does go into her heartbreak and the troubles she had because obviously that was part of her life. But the story is a tribute, and it’s a positive tribute to her.’
Chatting about her recollection of Diana, the actress said: ‘I don’t remember her myself, the first thing I do remember is her death.
‘I remember the feeling of something really sad had happened.’
Lorraine airs every weekday at 8.30 on ITV1.
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Alexander is heading out on his first ever stand-up tour (Picture: PA)
Alexander Armstrong is heading out on his first ever stand-up comedy tour very soon, with a string of dates across the UK in November.
The 49-year-old – who’ll be discussing the tour, among other things, on This Morning on Wednesday, kicks of the All Mouth And Some Trousers tour in Coventry on 3 November and visits cities including Hull, York, Salisbury and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne along the way.
Alexander has of course become a familiar face on the small screen thanks to his job as host of BBC One quiz show Pointless – a staple of the daytime schedule which even has Royal fans.
But what else do we know about him and his life off the screen?
Here’s what you need to know…
Who is Alexander Armstrong married to?
Alexander Armstrong has been married to wife Hannah Bronwen Snow for 16 years, with the couple tying the knot on 27 August 2003.
Hannah Bronwen Snow has four sons with Alexander (Picture: Rex Shutterstock)
Hannah, who is 42, is the sister of journalist and food blogger Esther Walker.
How many children does Alexander Armstrong have?
Alexander and Hannah are parents to four sons – Patrick, Edward and Rex, the name of the fourth is not known – and Hannah is a stay-at-home mum to their brood.
‘Fatherhood is lovely but there is this slightly shocking moment when you realise it is not something you just wear and take off,’ Alexander told The Guardian in 2017.
Alexander and his wife have been married for 16 years (Picture: PA)
‘With your first child, you do perhaps go into it thinking, “Yeah, this is a job you can clock in and clock out of,” but at about three weeks in, you suddenly realise it’s not like that.
‘You have to tread a fine line between making family life wonderful, and nourishing and wholesome, but you also don’t want to shirk your duties as a parent.
What are Alexander Armstrong’s tour dates?
Alexander is best known to daytime TV viewers as the host of Pointless (Picture: BBC)
You can catch Alexander on tour on the following dates:
November 3 Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
November 4 Hippodrome, Darlington
November 5 Tyne Theatre, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
November 6 New Theatre, Hull
November 7 Royal Hall, Harrogate
November 9 Pyramid and Parr Hall, Warrington
November 10 Barbican, York
November 12 The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury
November 13 Fairfield Hall, Croydon
November 14 Corn Exchange, Ipswich
November 15 Pavilion, Worthing
November 17 Town Hall, Cheltenham
November 18 The Alexandra, Birmingham
November 19 City Hall, Salisbury
November 20 Alban Arena, St Albans
November 22 The Anvil, Basingstoke
November 23 Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn
November 24 Royal and Derngate, Northampton
Tickets for the All Mouth Some Trousers tour are on sale now and you can buy yours here.
Catch Alexander Armstrong on This Morning on Wednesday on ITV from 10.30am.
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Simon Thomas has bravely appeared on This Morning numerous times to open up about losing his wife Gemma (Picture: ITV/ Rex)
Simon Thomas is to give blood today, live on This Morning, as part of a new goal he has set himself to take on a new challenge every day for a month to raise money in memory of his late wife, Gemma.
The former Blue Peter presenter is taking on 30 challenges in 30 days throughout September to raise funds and awareness of blood cancer after losing his wife Gemma to an aggressive form of blood cancer.
On his Just Giving page, where Simon is fundraising whilst participating in the challenges, he wrote: ‘We’ll never get Gemma back. But in the months after her death, I formed the Gemma Thomas Fund with Bloodwise. It will invest money into research on blood cancers such as AML to prevent other families suffering such devastating loss.
‘If me taking on a few challenges can raise awareness and help make sure other families don’t have to go through the same thing we did, then it will be worth a little temporary embarrassment.’
Who was Simon Thomas’ wife Gemma?
Simon’s wife, Gemma Thomas, studied at the University of Sheffield before going on to work at the electoral commission.
Gemma and Simon tied-the-knot in 2005 and were married for 12 years before her tragic and sudden death.
Simon has shared his feeling of grief and guilt in a brave and candid book (Picture: PA/instagram)
‘In her final week, she went to the GP twice, but each time was sent home without even a blood test. Whenever I relive that time in my mind, the guilt is always there, nagging away at me,’ he wrote.
‘I’m still asking myself those same questions: “Why the hell didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you pick her up, carry her to the car and take her straight to hospital before it got so bad?”.’
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Who is Simon Thomas’ new girlfriend?
A year after Gemma’s untimely death, Simon revealed he is now dating 27-year-old Derrina Jebb, with the star calling her an ‘amazing woman who has stood shoulder to shoulder with me in some of my darkest hours and has become a rock not just for me, but for my boy, too,’ when talking to Anna Foster on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Simon Thomas and Derrina have been dating for just over a year (Picture: James Watkins / BACKGRID)
Derrina, a Christian like Simon, is the daughter of a church minister and works in the legal industry.
Simon made his first public appearance with new girlfriend Derrina in March 2019 at Cheltenham Festival.
Simon is trying to ‘find life again’ after Gemma’s death (Picture: Rex)
‘I don’t think you ever really do move on from what’s happened. That hole that a loved one leaves doesn’t shrink over time. Life begins to grow around it. You begin to deal with some of the challenges grief throws up, being a single parent throws up,’ he explained during an appearance on Radio 5 Live.
‘I’ve got two choices. Give up – I can’t do that, I don’t want to do that, I’ve got a boy to bring up, I promised Gemma. The only other choice then is you walk.
‘Right from the start I felt, I’ve got to find life again.’
Moira Rose in all her glory during one of the show’s most memorable scenes (Picture: CBC)
It pains me to deliver any more bad news when we’re already dealing with a monstrous political hell.
A climate crisis nudging humanity towards extinction and the fact that The Greatest Showman has spent 90 weeks in the upper echelons of the UK album chart.
But reader, I must.
Ready? Brace yourself, here it comes. Bookies have made Catherine O’Hara the long-shot outsider to win Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series at this weekend’s Primetime Emmy Awards.
I told you it was bad.
Yes, the woman who has made Moira Rose; soap star turned town councillor, endorser of unpretentious wineries, undisputed saviour of the Crows Have Eyes franchise.
One of the most memorable television characters of recent years is considered highly unlikely to be given the moment she deserves at this weekend’s awards bash. At Betfair, her odds are currently 50/1.
In fairness, the competition is almighty. She’s up against Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus (odds-on favourite at 1/4), Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge (7/2), The Marvelous Mrs Maisel herself, Rachel Brosnahan (7/1), Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne (8/1) and Dead To Me’s Christina Applegate (tied with O’Hara on 50/1).
Truly, it’s the gay Olympics of categories.
However, while no result would be outright unjust, nothing would be sweeter than a long-overdue victory for O’Hara and, by extension this absolute delight of a TV show as a whole – which also has nominations for Comedy Series and Performance in a Comedy Series for Eugene Levy.
She’s been the standout from the start (Picture: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Schitt’s Creek’s five-year ascent from little-known Netflix gem to beloved Emmy-nominated phenomenon has been slow and steady but completely deserved.
We may enter the titular, fictional town via a spoiled and selfish rich family but over the course of the last half a decade, their world has become an unexpected comfort blanket. The stakes are low, the laughs are frequent and everything is underpinned by a reassuring sense of warmth and heart.
In short, at a time when everything in the world feels like it’s going – well, up s**t creek – it’s exactly what its burned-out audience need.
It’s an ensemble effort and everyone is perfection. Annie Murphy, for one, has really come into her own as Alexis Rose in the last couple of years. A Little Bit Alexis is the song of 2019, don’t deny it.
Emily Hampshire’s Stevie Budd was such a show-stealer in the recent fifth season finale that she was trending on Twitter. Creator-actors Daniel and Eugene Levy, too, are consistently brilliant as David and Jonny Rose respectively.
All this while Noah Reid (Patrick) and Dustin Milligan (Ted) work wonders as the wholesome love interests of the Rose offspring.
But it’s O’Hara, performing with an accent best described as ‘everywhere at once’, who is the jewel in this programme’s crown, or at least in its elaborate wig.
She’s been the standout from the start. Remember Moira’s drunken commercial for Herb Ertlinger’s Fruit Wine in episode six?
Writer Dan Levy was commended for Patrick’s now iconic coming out story (Picture: CBC)
Or her somewhat dark and very, very slow funeral rendition of Danny Boy in episode nine? They were easy highlights of the first season and helped Schitt’s Creek – a show that did, in the beginning, take a few episodes to find its footing – establish itself as something worth investing some serious binge-time in.
Fast forward to season five and we have a bona-fide comedy icon. The way she pronounces ‘baby’ – I believe the universally agreed-upon spelling is ‘bébé’ – is prime meme material.
Her directing skills must be noted – as she helms an am-dram production of Cabaret – are at once catastrophic and ingenious.
As for her performance in The Crowening? I don’t care if both movie and actress are fictional, give her the Oscars.
O’Hara has been a pitch-perfect comedy star for decades now. If you haven’t seen her singing God Loves A Terrier with Eugene Levy in Best In Show, you really haven’t lived.
But here in the UK – especially among millennials – she is still best known for playing Kevin McCallister’s mother Kate in the first two Home Alone movies. Classic films in which she delivers heartfelt performances, for sure but her comedic muscles can do so much more.
Now, at last, Schitt’s Creek has re-established her as a true comedy great and it’s about time she was given the silverware to prove it.
There’s a GIF-friendly moment in season three in which Alexis asks Moira to name her favourite season. ‘Awards!’, she passionately responds.
If she takes home an iconic Emmy on Saturday night, O’Hara’s own answer could well be the same.
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have paid tribute to a This Morning crew member who has tragically passed away.
Kicking off the show on a sombre note, the presenting duo announced cameraman Charlie Hart, who had worked at ITV for over 10 years, had died after a long illness.
Speaking on the show, Holly and Phil said: ‘We’re starting with some very sad news about a member of our team here.
‘One of our long-standing crew members Charlie Hart passed away yesterday after battling a long-term illness.
Charlie Hart with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (Picture: ITV)
Charlie appeared in the fashion segment too (Picture: ITV)
‘Charlie spent more than 10 years with us at ITV, and it wasn’t just behind the cameras he played an important role, occasionally we managed to tease him out in front of the camera even appearing in our fashion items.’
After playing a clip showing him making an appearance on-screen, Schofield added: ‘Such a lovely guy and we all really miss him. Our thoughts are with all of Charlie’s family, his children and his grandchildren, and with his wife Tina.’
‘We just want you to know he will be sorely missed that’s for sure,’ Holly added.
You can catch This Morning weekdays on ITV at 10.30am.
However the place was oozing with the glamour we’ve come to expect from The GC.
The walls were govered with pink flamingos, she had a sequinned Hello Kitty calculator behind the till, and there was a pink furry rug on the floor of the changing room.
She said that the shop had become ‘like home’ to her.
The 38-year-old said: ‘If ever I go skint or life takes a turn for the worse, you’ll find me sleeping here on my pink, fluffy carpet.’
Gemma showed viewers around her shop (Picture: MTV)
It was the very essence of Gemma (Picture: MTV)
Gemma took Cribs on a tour of her patch in Essex, visiting her shop and her favourite interior design place.
In her episode she explained her style was ‘pink, lots of leopard print and obviously pictures of myself everywhere.
‘I like very over the top fabulous items in the home, I’ve just got this kind of unique style.’
In the furniture shop she picked out items that she would put in her new pad, including a picture of Marylin Monroe.
‘I get more and more like her every single day,’ she added.
The Dancing On Ice star also went on a trip down Memory Lane on the show, taking Cribs to the house she grew up in.
Cribs UK airs Wednesdays at 8pm on MTV UK.
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But here we are and the writers have been teasing little tidbits before season five hits the small screen, revealing the second instalment will be titled Lucifer! Lucifer! Lucifer!.
So what can we take from this?
Either the devil (played by Tom Ellis) will be calling up anyone who looks in the mirror and shouts his name three times, he’s teaming up with Beetlejuice for the crossover of all crossovers OR that’s an actual line from the impending episode.
What we’d do to see inside that script (Picture: Twitter)
The Lucifer season four finale saw the titular crooner realise the prophecy that Lucifer and his first love would cause the world to implode – and that his first love was Chloe (Lauren German).
In turn, he returned to Hell to protect all of us and Chloe, who will no doubt be a heartbroken mess when we meet up with her again in 2020.
Anyway, it appears we’ve deciphered how they’ll be reunited…
Lucifer season 5 kicked off filming earlier this month (Picture: Tom Ellis)
‘Lucifer! Lucifer! Lucifer!’
When Lucifer bows out next year it will be leaving us with 16 new episodes – a stretch from the 10 fans devoured in one sitting earlier this year.
Tom recently sent fans absolutely wild with a behind-the-scenes snap from set, teasing the first episode of the show’s swansong will be ‘hot’ in more ways than one. He was holding a fan though, so make of that what you will.
Lucifer returns to Netflix for its final season in 2020.
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