OHMYGOSSIP — Sam Mendes has stepped away from Disney’s live action remake of ‘Pinocchio’.
The 52-year-old director – whose last two big screen projects were the James Bond films ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’ – was attached to the studio’s re-imagining of the classic 1940 cartoon, which was Walt Disney’s second animated feature film following 1937’s acclaimed ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
Sources have told The Tracking Board that Mendes has now stepped away from production for unknown reasons.
‘Pinocchio’ follows the story of lonely and impoverished woodworker Geppetto who makes himself a wooden marionette puppet who is brought to life by the Blue Fairy and is given the chance to become a real boy if he proves himself to be brave, truthful and unselfish.
In Disney’s version he is assigned a miniature friend, Jiminy Cricket, to act as his moral conscience.
Disney’s original movie was based on Italian writer Carlo Collodi’s 1883 book ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’.
The film went on to become the first animation to win an Academy Award; scooping two Oscars for Best Music, Original Score and for Best Music, Original Song for ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ which has become a beloved anthem for Disney and is played at all of the company’s theme parks.
The studio has been working on recreating the tale as a live action film for many years and already have a script from Chris Weitz who is also on board as a producer.
As well as the new Disney version, Guillermo del Toro and Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller were reported to be working on a ‘Pinocchio’ adaptation for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Disney has already rebooted many of its beloved animations including ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and the company has a number of films lined up for live action updates such as ‘Mulan’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘Aladdin’.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Robert Pattinson missed out on going to university because of ‘Harry Potter’.
The 31-year-old actor was only 17 when he starred in 2005 film ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ as student wizard Cedric Diggory, but revealed due to the filming schedule he had to make a choice as to whether to continue his studies or appear in the hit movie franchise.
Pattinson picked the latter and it set him on a path to movie stardom and his most famous role as vampire Edward Cullen in the ‘Twilight Saga’.
Speaking to Time Out London magazine, Pattinson said: “It was so nice to be a part of it. That, more than anything, changed my life. It’s the reason I didn’t go to university. It went so far over schedule, I couldn’t go. It was supposed to be four months, but it ended up being 10 or 11. I’d turn up to set every day but not work for weeks at a time.
“I was 17 and I was the only person who wasn’t in school. I’d just hang about.”
Pattinson played Cullen in five films and those performances and his real-life romance with his co-star Kirsten Stewart – who played Edward’s human lover Bella Swan in the fantasy series – made him one of the most famous guys in the world.
The British heartthrob was, and still is, grateful for the ‘Twilight’ opportunity but admits he didn’t like people “waiting outside” his house all the time.
Speaking about ‘Twilight’, he said: “I feel like I’ve always had the same answer. It was fun and it’s not like I signed up on an eight-picture deal, I knew it was finite. I had to be 17, there were only four books and there weren’t going to be any more. The only time it felt negative was when people were waiting outside my house a few years ago.”
Even though Pattinson has starred in two of the biggest movie franchises, he has his eye on another and would love to be cast in ‘Star Wars’.
He said: “I love those movies and everyone wants those parts. I feel like it’s quite a helpful thing for a career to be consistent. If you go: I’m going to do something really crazy, but then you do something really conservative, I don’t think it really works.
“It’s taken a long time but now people are going, ‘Oh, you do quite oddball things.’ ”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Dave Franco feels it is “finally the right time” to work on a movie with his brother James.
The 32-year-old actor had previously refused to star alongside his older sibling because he didn’t want people to think he was “riding his coattails” but after Dave managed to cement his position as a star in his own right, he was happy to take on the role in ‘The Disaster Artist’.
Dave said: “It was finally the right timing. For the first 10 or so years of my career, I just wanted to do my own thing. I wanted to make a name for myself, and as much as I love him and respect him, I just wanted it to be separate.
“And after a while, it’s like, I feel like I’m standing on my own two feet, [so] I was like, ‘I don’t care what people are going to say [or] if they think I am riding his coattails.’ I know that I have been true to myself. We had a really great time, have very similar sensibilities and are hoping to work on a lot more things together.”
Whilst James added: “He has turned me down a couple of times, yes. Brothers should stick together! …
“I knew from the beginning as I read the book that Greg [Sestero] had written with Tom Bissell that I wanted to tell this story – that it was an amazing story about dreamers and outsiders, but with this surface level that was so bizarre.
“But I also knew that I wanted to play Tommy and that I wanted Dave to play Greg – that we would have the right dynamic. So, I asked him and he finally said yes.”
Dave’s wife Alison Brie is also in the film and it was James’ idea to have her on board.
He told Entertainment Tonight: “When you are working with family and a bunch of friends, it makes it really easy as an actor, because you feel comfortable with everyone, so you feel comfortable taking risks that you may not take otherwise … knowing that no one is going to judge you. I think our best work is with our best friends and family.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Ben Affleck is seeking a “cool way to segue out” of the DC Extended Universe.
The Hollywood actor plays Batman in the DC movies but has admitted he doesn’t see himself in the role forever and is already contemplating his exit.
Ben – who appears in the new ‘Justice League’ film – shared: “The new Batman movie being developed by Matt Reeves [‘War for the Planet of the Apes’] is something I’m contemplating.
“You don’t do it forever, so I want to find a graceful and cool way to segue out of it.”
Despite this, Ben remains enthusiastic about the superhero concept and says the release of ‘Justice League’ is occurring at the perfect moment.
The 45-year-old star told USA Today newspaper: “We certainly are in need of heroes in 2017.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world, from natural to man-made disasters, and it’s really scary. Part of the appeal of this genre is wish fulfilment: Wouldn’t it be nice if there was somebody who can save us from all this, save us from ourselves, save us from the consequences of our actions and save us from people who are evil?”
Meanwhile, Ben’s ‘Justice League’ co-star Henry Cavill recently admitted it’s “always an honour” for him to play Superman.
Henry, 34, revealed he is proud to be carrying on the superhero’s illustrious cinematic legacy.
Of the ‘Justice League’ film, he said: “Being a part of this movie was very important because Superman is represented in that he’s only an ideal in this movie. We feel the loss of that character in this movie because he’s not present anymore.
“The example he set just by being is made all the stronger because of his lack of presence. And it’s always an honour to be part of that and highlight the true powers of Superman.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Phillip Schofield found his one chip challenge on ‘This Morning’ today (14.11.17) “really painful”, despite keeping his cool whilst on air.
The 55-year-old presenter impressed viewers during today’s episode when he became the first person on British television to put the world’s hottest crisp – which left one US news anchor on the floor live on air – in his mouth, and whilst he appeared to be fine whilst the cameras were rolling, it was a different story once the programme had finished.
In an “aftermath” clip shared on the ITV daytime show’s Facebook page, Phillip revealed he felt “alarmed” by the pain in his mouth.
He said: “My tongue is really, really on fire. It’s spreading. This is quite alarming now. It is really, really painful now.”
The silver fox was offered milk by co-host Holly Willoughby and fellow presenter Alison Hammond, but he refused as he was determined to break the record of lasting a whopping seven minutes without cooling his mouth.
He added: “I am actually not going to have anything, so that’ll be it. My record will be forever, because I’m not going to have any pain relief what-so-ever.”
In the end, Phillip managed to make it to an impressive eight minutes and 40 seconds before forcing himself to give in and drink some milk, for fear of being sick if he didn’t calm his stomach.
Before the clip was shared on social media, Phillip had taken to Twitter to reveal he had come down with the shivers, despite claiming the heat wasn’t that bad when he first put the chip in his mouth.
He wrote: “After eating the hottest chilli in the world, I’m now recovering Sitting in my dressing room with the shivers! All ok till it hit my stomach 8 minutes later!! I love a challenge pahaha .. but I’m not looking forward to tomorrow, (sic)”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Stephanie Davis’ son has said his first word.
The former ‘Hollyoaks’ star caught her 10-month-old son Caben-Albi uttering his first phrase on camera on Tuesday (14.11.17) as she filmed him rolling around on the floor in his nappy.
In the video, which she shared on her Twitter account, the 24-year-old actress can be heard saying: “Caben, say I see.” To which he replied: “I see,” before he buried his head in his chubby hands.
Stephanie then left out a gasp before she excitedly said: “Good boy! Say I see.”
Caben – who was laying on his tummy – then looked around the room, deciding whether or not to say it again, before he said: “I see,” with a cheeky grin on his face as he kicked his feet up and down.
Stephanie then attempted to get him to say it one more time but he clearly thought she was pushing her luck as he simply replied: “Oh!” before slamming his hand down on the carpet three times.
The former ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ star accompanied the sweet clip with the caption: “The size of the hands and feet on my son oh how I love him, this is him saying *i seeee* for the first time he has my heart, my baba (sic).”
Stephanie’s decision to upload the clip comes just two weeks after she released an intimate video of her in labour with her son – the first time she has given fans an insight to her baby’s birth.
Alongside the footage, in which she’s got numb legs from an epidural and appears to be heavily-sedated on medication, Stephanie wrote: “So I felt this was the right time to share these precious moments with you guys. This was me going through what I can only describe the SCARIEST but most AMAZING experience of my LIFE!
“I couldn’t believe that I was going to finally see him after my whole pregnancy was very tough and didn’t think I would get through it, but I did. I could never imagine my life without him. My best friend in the whole wide world arrived, and now it’s nearly a YEAR since he was born!! It’s flown SO fast! That was god knows what time in the morning the video, with my mum who was my ROCK, my Aunty gill and 77!!! Year old nanny who sat up with me all night and rubbed my back and got me through them god awful contractions ha , I don’t know what I would have done without these strong women in my life during labour haha.
“It’s been me and Caben from the beginning and he will always be my one love, he truly is my best friend and my little prince I may not know what it’s like to sleep anymore, brush my hair have a hot cup of tea or eat properly or have just ONE minute to myself haha but I wouldn’t change it for the WORLD! . I’m so SO blessed!
“I’ll never forget the day I seen him come into this world… that… NOTHING can buy or ever replace, truly a miracle and blessing from above and now he’s this chubby cute little character growing and doing more each day, and I don’t know how we got from there to here, but we did, together, and I’m so excited to see what a beautiful caring young chap he will grow into.
“Can’t believe one day he will be bigger than me ha ( he nearly is) anyway, so proud of my little one, he’s just a ray of sunshine who brings so much happiness in my life I love you son, our very little but powerful team/ family
“Thankyou for giving me a reason to live and showing me the wonders of life again I love you Caben-Albi George Davis love Mummy me and you till the end baby
“ps, excuse my hair and my shaky lip ( weird shakes them) hahaha state of me (sic)”
Stephanie split from Caben’s father Jeremy McConnell, 28, before she found out she was pregnant, but he refused to believe she was carrying a baby until he was born.
A few weeks after his birth, the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ hunk requested a paternity test to prove that he was Caben’s biological father and, once he got the result he wanted, he and Stephanie decided to give their relationship another go for their son’s sake.
But their romance came crashing down again a few months later when Jeremy was found guilty of battering the wannabe pop star at her home in Liverpool and he was subsequently dished out a three-year restraining order and community service.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Benedict Cumberbatch has been crowned Actor of the Year in heat magazine’s Unmissable Awards.
The ‘Sherlock’ star – who plays the titular character in the drama series – is “chuffed” that he’s bagged the gong after beating off stiff competition from the likes of Tin Star’s Tim Roth, Doctor Foster’s Bertie Carvel, Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi and his very own co-star Martin Freeman.
Speaking of his award, the 41-year-old actor said: “I’m very chuffed about this… not least because as well as ‘Sherlock’, you’re honouring me for ‘The Child In Time’, the first show made by our production company, and adapted from Ian McEwan’s extraordinarily powerful novel. So I accept this on behalf of everyone who worked so brilliantly on it.”
Vicky McClure was also very successful as she nabbed Actress of the Year for her leading parts in ‘The Replacement’ and ‘Line of Duty’, while the latter also scored Unmissable TV Drama.
She explained: “I want to say a massive thank you for this award. I love playing Kate in ‘Line of Duty’ and I had a lot of fun playing Paula in ‘The Replacement’, so this means a lot. I used to be – and still am – an avid heat reader, Tuesdays was always a special day, so this is going pride of place.”
Claudia Winkleman fought off Sue Perkins, Mel Giedroyc, Dermot O’Leary and Richard Ayoade for the Unmissable TV Presenter of the Year, while Jack Whitehall was crowned best comedian.
‘Geordie Shore’ was named Unmissable Reality Show of the Year by heat readers, while ‘The Trip To Spain’ picked up Best TV Comedy and ‘Stranger Things 2’ got Best TV Binge.
‘Baby Driver’ was named Film of the Year, ‘A League of their Own’ got Best Entertainment Show, Stormzy’s ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’ was crowned Album of the Year and ‘Good Me Bad Me’ by Ali Land scooped Best Book.
The full list of winners are as follows;
Unmissable Actor of the Year
Benedict Cumberbatch
Unmissable Actress of the Year
Vicky McClure
Unmissable TV Drama of the Year
‘Line Of Duty’
Unmissable TV Comedy of the Year
‘The Trip To Spain’
Unmissable Comedian of the Year
Jack Whitehall
Unmissable TV Presenter of the Year
Claudia Winkleman
Unmissable Reality Show of the Year
‘Geordie Shore’
Unmissable Film of the Year
‘Baby Driver’
Unmissable Entertainment Show of the Year
‘A League Of Their Own’
Unmissable TV Binge of the Year
‘Stranger Things 2’
Unmissable Soap Storyline of the Year
The grooming of Bethany in ‘Coronation Street’
Unmissable TV Moment Of The Year
‘Game of Thrones’ (Jon Snow & Danaerys get it on)
Unmissable Book of the Year
‘Good Me Bad Me’ by Ali Land
Unmissable Album of the Year
Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer
Unmissable Podcast of the Year
‘S-Town’

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OHMYGOSSIP — Phillip Schofield has been left with the shivers after completing his one chip challenge on ‘This Morning’ today (14.11.17) – and he’s “not looking forward” to going to the toilet on Wednesday.
The 55-year-old presenter impressed viewers during today’s episode when he became the first person on British television to put the world’s hottest crisp, which left one US news anchor on the floor live on air, in his mouth but, despite keeping a straight face and claiming it wasn’t that bad, he felt the repercussions eight minutes later when he was sat in his dressing room with the shakes.
Taking to his Twitter account, the silver fox wrote: “After eating the hottest chilli in the world, I’m now recovering Sitting in my dressing room with the shivers! All ok till it hit my stomach 8 minutes later!! I love a challenge pahaha .. but I’m not looking forward to tomorrow, (sic)”
Phillip is clearly getting himself ready for when the bosses of ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ ask him to enter the jungle after he said he would “absolutely” jump at the chance to take part.
He said recently: “I would do it. Absolutely. All of that stuff, I could eat all the business and do all of that. But you know why I can’t do it? Because they all have metal Billy Cans and metal spoons and metal on metal goes right through me. It’s like nails on a blackboard – I can’t do it. If they made them out of wood then it’s a possibility. I never say never to anything but what happens if I end up with someone I can’t stand? There aren’t many but there are a few.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Debbie McGee thinks there’s “magic happening” between her and Giovanni Pernice.
The 59-year-old television assistant has hit the headlines week-in week-out because of her undeniable chemistry with her ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional partner on screen but, although they’ve both played down romance rumours, she has admitted they share a “deep connection” that she can’t describe and he makes her happy.
Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: “There is a magic that is happening. The other dancers take the mickey out of us.
“He really cares, he doesn’t just care about me, he cares about everybody. He makes everyone feel special and that’s what Paul [Daniels, her late husband] used to do, and that’s what I love about him. We’ve laughed about how similar we are. Why does it happen in life? I don’t know. We just have this incredible bond.”
And, although she and Giovanni have a 32-year age gap between them, Debbie doesn’t think about being older than the Italian hunk because she and Paul had 20 years between them and he was one of the most “supple” people she had ever met.
She explained: “I don’t. I was married to a man 20 years older than me, who had more energy and was more supple that anybody I’d ever met. And my dad, Pat, who died three years ago, was still running faster than me at 84. He and my mum Babs, who is now 80, they weren’t people who let life pass them by. My mum still goes dancing every Saturday with my Uncle Toby. She loves to jive.”
And Debbie credits Giovanni for bringing out a side to her that no one else has been able to do before and she knew instantly that he was the dance partner for her.
She said: “Giovanni has brought out a lot of me that somebody else wouldn’t have. He’s a very clever young man and we both totally respect each other.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Martin Clunes cries when he watches ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The ‘Doc Martin’ star has admitted he welled up when he watched the celebrities – particularly Alexandra Burke and Debbie McGee – take to the dance floor on the ballroom and latin show last weekend because he gets emotion when people succeed.
When asked when he last cried, he told the Express.co.uk: “Watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ last week! I cry when people achieve things. I cry at ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, too.”
And it’s not just success that pulls at the 55-year-old actor’s heartstrings, as he’s a huge animal lover and thoroughly enjoys working alongside dogs on the medical drama.
He explained: “I love it. We’ve learned in series eight that dogs have always loved the doctor. It’s such a riot working with Dodger and Paddy, the other dog, and Sonia – their trainer – is lovely. Yes [my own jack russell comes on set with me], he is sometimes in his basket, out of sight behind the doctor’s desk, during a scene. I love having him around. He’s a bit like a teddy bear, and he bolsters my confidence.”
Meanwhile, Martin has admitted he’s tempted to give up acting and become a full-time farmer after he got stuck into agriculture seven years ago when he bought a plot of land in Beaminster, Dorset, – but that field of work doesn’t make enough money.
He said previously: : “When I first started doing it, I never saw this coming, it wasn’t the plan. It just drifted on to us and I thought, ‘This won’t last.’ 10 years later… You find yourself at two in the morning, pinning a ewe to the wall as you strip milk off her to put down a line to the stomach of a lamb that’s not drinking it and you think, ‘I’m supposed to be a luvvie, what am I doing here?’ … It’s tempting [to give up acting] but at the moment, I earn better as an actor than a farmer. It’s always hard leaving it, it was hard getting on the train this morning, it gets harder. I love every inch of the farm, every tree.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Jess Shears and Dom Lever are getting married in Greece next year.
The ‘Love Island’ couple – who shocked the nation when they got engaged just weeks after they left the famous villa over the summer – have booked a venue abroad for their upcoming nuptials but, although they’d love to invite all of their former co-stars to watch them tie the knot, they can only allow their favourites because of the 30-person limit.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, Jess said: “We can’t invite everyone from ‘Love Island’. That would take up the whole 30 people.”
But the others will still get to see the pair exchange vows as the whole build up and ceremony itself will be filmed for a newlyweds-style show and will air on television.
Although the wedding isn’t until next summer, the 23-year-old beauty already has her eye on a glamorous gown but she doesn’t want to be swamped because of the heat.
She said recently: “It depends where we get married because we want to get married abroad and I don’t want anything too heavy because then I’ll be sweating.”
The couple’s whirlwind romance has been heavily criticised, but the brunette beauty insists they’re very much in love and she can’t bear to be away from her beau – even if she just needs to pop out for half hour to pick up some groceries from the supermarket.
She explained: “It’s sickening; usually the honeymoon period is over very quickly but we do everything together. I can’t go to Asda without him!”
And Dom, 27, doesn’t regret popping the question so soon after meeting Jess because he knew instantly that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He said: “It was a couple of weeks after I got out.
“Everyone said, ‘Wait ’til you’re out and see how it is’, but when I got out I spent every single minute of every day with her and I was just like, ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with her’. I don’t regret it at all. We spend so much time together.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Rebekah Vardy is the tenth celebrity confirmed for ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here’.
The brunette star – who is the wife of Leicester and England football player Jamie Vardy – is set to head into the jungle for the ITV show when it returns this weekend.
Touching down in Australia, Rebekah told reporters: “I’m excited, it’s gonna be great. Am I scared of anything? Not at all.”
Over the weekend, The Saturdays’ singer Vanessa White, ‘Made In Chelsea’s Georgia Toffolo and Jamie Lomas all arrived in Australia alongside comedian Shappi Khorsandi, Boris Johnson’s father Stanley, ‘Coronation Street’s Jennie McAlpine and boxer Amir Khan.
Former footballer Dennis Wise and YouTube star Jack Maynard complete the line up.
Meanwhile, host Ant McPartlin previously revealed he is “excited to be back” hosting ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ after he checked into rehab over the summer for addiction to prescription pills and alcohol following his knee surgery.
He said: “I’m excited to be back, I can’t wait. It’s going to be a good show. I’m feeling great. The flight [to Australia] was all right, I had a lot of sleep and me and Dec had a good catch-up.
Whilst Dec added: “I’m looking forward to spending more time with him. It’s brilliant to be back together, it’s perfect. Everything just slotted back into place. We can’t wait and we’re raring to go.
“We are really excited. We’ll have the same old shenanigans, but with a few little added twists. We just can’t wait to get in and get going now. We’ve been waiting for ages, it’s been a long summer break so we can’t wait.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Sir Bruce Forsyth refused to speak Jim Davidson “ever again” after he took over as host of ‘The Generation Game’ in 1995.
The 63-year-old comedian was asked to fill in for the television veteran on the game show after he fell ill one time but, although it was only meant to be temporary, bosses of the series decided to offer him a full time job because they couldn’t “afford” Bruce’s fee when it came to re-commissioning another instalment.
Speaking on an upcoming episode of ‘Piers Morgan’s Life Stories’, Jim said: “One day there was a knock on the door and a man said, ‘Jim, we are recording The Generation Game tomorrow and Bruce has gone sick. Can you step in to do it?’
“I said I would give it a go. I was not particularly good, but it made Bruce get better really quickly. When negotiations came for Series 34 for Bruce they used me as a chess piece to say, ‘We can’t go to that [his fee], Bruce.
“We have this guy.’ I took over and I don’t think Bruce was very happy. He did not speak to me again for the rest of his life. He did not speak to me much anyway. I was always the upstart. So I did it and I loved it. It was fantastic.”
‘The Generation Game’ is set for a reboot next year but rather than Jim – who presented the show from 1995 until 2002 – reclaiming his presenting duties, bosses have decided to give the job to former ‘Great British Bake Off’ duo Mel and Sue.
But Jim said of the revival: “It was of its day. I would rather watch Ant and Dec do it.”
Meanwhile, although the producers dropped him in favour of Jim, the reboot will feature a tribute to Bruce.
Bosses are keen to give the late legendary entertainer, who hosted the popular game show from 1971 until 1977 and for four years between 1990 and 1994, the send off he deserves after he passed away at the age of 89 in August.
A source said recently: “The plan is to have Bruce suitably honoured in the first episode — almost as if he’s handing over the reins. He’s such a huge part of the show that it seems the right thing to do. The plan is for him to feature on screen. The final details haven’t been ironed out but it’s going to be a touching moment, a big tribute to the man who started it all.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Debbie McGee admits her ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ partner Giovanni Pernice makes her feel “special”.
The 59-year-old TV star has been excelling on the BBC dance show and her close relationship with Giovanni, 27, has even prompted rumours of a romance between the duo.
Of their partnership, Debbie – who was married to magician Paul Daniels from 1988 until his death in 2016 – explained: “There’s a magic that is happening. The other dancers take the mickey out of us.
“He really cares, he doesn’t just care about me, he cares about everybody. He makes everyone feel special and that what’s Paul used to do, and that’s what I love about him.”
Debbie was recently spotted greeting her hunky dance partner with a kiss.
And she’s confessed that they already share an “incredible bond”.
Debbie told OK! magazine: “We’ve laughed about how similar we are. Why does it happen in life? I don’t know. We just have this incredible bond.”
Despite this, Debbie previously rubbished speculation that she and Giovanni are already dating.
She said: “It’s absolutely great people think he fancies me.
“We have a chemistry, a great sense of humour, we both make each other laugh and that has brought us together.
“We have a very special friendship. People see us dancing these sexy routines and then we are pictured having lunch together so assume something must be going on.
“The truth is we really like each other but it isn’t a love affair. We love each other, but we are not in love with each other. It’s just one of those very special friendships.”
Debbie continued: “He’s 30 years younger than me!”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Shirley Ballas “dreads” having to judge the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ dance-off every week.
The Latin expert admitted it was “incredibly hard” having to make the controversial choice to save Mollie King and send Aston Merrygold home two weeks ago, and she always hates that moment on the show, especially because as head judge, she has the deciding vote.
She said of the controversy: “That results show was incredibly hard. Having the deciding vote is the hardest part of this job and the thing I dread every week.
“They were both fantastic couples and it was so difficult to do. I was as shocked as everyone that they were in the dance-off.
“The fact that they were in the bottom two showed they did not have enough public votes.
“The judges make their decision based on the dance-off alone, not on previous performances. It is getting really tough now – it’s anyone’s to win.
“But if you have a favourite, make sure you vote.”
The 57-year-old star joined the programme this year as a replacement for Len Goodman but she hasn’t yet committed to any future series, though she insists she would be “very happy” to come back.
She told HELLO! magazine: “I am a person who lives from day to day so I would like to just finish this series and see how we do, enjoy the moment and make no plans for the future.
“However, if I was asked back, I’d be very happy.”
Despite keeping a close eye on all the contestants, Shirley has no idea who will scoop the glitterball trophy this year, and thinks that’s the most exciting thing about the series.
She said: “I enjoy seeing the people that you thought were perhaps not going to do so well suddenly come to the forefront.
“This is probably the hardest ‘Strictly’ ever to predict because, where we thought we had some front runners, other people have started to do different things that are quite amazing.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Amazon is set to adapt ‘The Lord of the Rings’ novel series into a multi-season television show.
The media giants announced on Monday (13.11.17) they have acquired the television rights to the hugely popular fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, and have already secured a multi-season commitment to produce the new programme for their on-demand service Prime Video.
Amazon Studios will collaborate with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema to create the Amazon Prime Original, which will explore new storylines preceding the author’s first book in the series, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’.
Sharon Tal Yguado, Head of Scripted Series for Amazon Studios said in a statement: “‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen. We are honoured to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”
Whilst Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins added: “We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”
It is not yet known who will be cast in the new production, though the series will be separate from the popular New Line Cinema movies, which were directed by Peter Jackson and starred Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin and Orlando Bloom.
The upcoming show is expected to come to Prime Video in 2020, and will be available exclusively for Amazon Prime members to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online with other Amazon Prime Originals online at Amazon.co.uk/originals.

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