OHMYGOSSIP — Former ‘Doctor Who’ companion Deborah Watling has died.
The actress – who lived in Thorpe-le-Soken – was diagnosed with lung cancer just six weeks ago and she has now passed away at the age of 69.
Deborah played Victoria Waterfield opposite Second Doctor Patrick Troughton from 1967 to 1968 but due to the BBC’s wiping policy at the time ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ and ‘The Enemy of the World’ are the only complete serials in existence that feature her on the show.
‘Tomb of the Cybermen’ was discovered in Hong Kong in 1992 and later released on DVD.
Deborah reprised her character in 1993 in ‘Dimensions in Time’, the non-canonical crossover between ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Eastenders’ which was made for the ‘Children In Need’ charity telethon, and some audio adventures and was a regular at Whovian conventions.
In November 2013, she appeared in the one-off comedy homage ‘The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot’ which was made and broadcast as part of the sci-fi show’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Deborah was the daughter of actors Jack Watling and Patricia Hicks and she began her career as a child actress and her first regular role was playing the niece of Peter Brady in 1958’s ‘The Invisible Man’.
After finding fame in ‘Doctor Who’ she took a short break from acting and opened a boutique but she made a return to the profession in Sir Cliff Richard’s 1973 film ‘Take Me High’ and David Essex’s ‘That’ll Be The Day’ which was released the same year.
Deborah also played Norma Baker in the ITV series ‘Danger UXB’
She is survived by her husband Steve Turner.
Since news of her death broke, tributes have poured in to Deborah on social media.
Her former ‘Doctor Who’ co-star Frazer Hines – who played fellow companion Jamie McCrimmon – posted on Twitter: “I’ve just found out about dear Deb’s. Loved her so much RIP (sic)”
Katy Manning – who played Jo Grant, assistant to the Third Doctor Jon Pertwee – tweeted: “So deeply saddened to hear that the wonderful funny talented #DeborahWatling has gone on her awfully big adventure, one of the absolute best (sic)”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Paul Danan has reportedly signed up to this year’s ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.
The 39-year-old actor hasn’t been seen on screen since he humiliated himself on ‘Love Island’ in 2005, but is now set to make his television comeback as bosses have managed to bag him for the forthcoming series of the reality TV show this summer.
A source told The Sun Online: “Paul’s name has been bandied around the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ team ever since ‘Love Island’ returned to our screens. He was completely bonkers on that in 2005 so producers think he will be a great addition to ‘CBB’.
“They’re hoping he’ll bring a bit of the old ‘Love Island’ vibe to the house and stir up some mischief. It should be an explosive series with him on board.”
Paul made a name for himself for playing Sol Patrick in the UK teen soap opera ‘Hollyoaks’ from 1997 until 2001, but it was his appearance on ‘Love Island’ that hit the headlines as he was dramatically removed from the villa for drunken behaviour.
However, bosses weren’t put off by his outrageous antics as they asked him to return a year later for another series but, again, it didn’t do him any favours as he spent the majority of his time abroad bickering with his fellow contestants and crying.
Paul then came under fire in 2007 when he was fired from playing the lead in the pantomime version of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ for swearing at children at Christmas.
Meanwhile, not much is known about the line-up for ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ but it’s believed Sarah Harding, Jordan Davies and Helen Lederer have been approached.
‘Celebrity Big Brother’ will return to screens on August 1 on Channel 5.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Love Island’s Mike ‘Muggy Mike’ Thalassitis is reportedly fuming that Jessica Shears and Dom Lever are making loads of money off the back of their on-screen romance.
The 24-year-old footballer has brushed off the fact the brunette beauty chose the 26-year-old hunk over him and now the pair are seemingly raking in the cash because they’re so in demand since leaving the famous villa and getting together on the outside.
A source told The Sun Online: “Jess was the only girl Mike really fancied in the villa – he was keen to see where it went when they left the show – but she chose Dom.
“Mike’s been moaning about losing out – if it had gone his way, he would be in Dom’s position now with the girl AND the money. Although Mike is making a load of cash too – he knows he’d have had at least double with a woman on his arm.”
Since they touched back down in the UK earlier this month and rekindled their love away from the cameras, they’ve reportedly been flooded with work offers.
A PR expert told the publication last week that the pair couple earn “hundreds of thousands of pounds” if they market themselves as the “perfect couple”.
Although they seem very loved it, things were touch and go a few weeks ago as Dom left the villa – a week after Jess – to hear that his girlfriend had hooked up with Mike.
Jess has vehemently denied she ended up in bed with the heartthrob but Dom was adamant that their romance would be off if he ever found out the rumours were true.
He said at the time: “I don’t think I would make a go of it. I would stay friends with her because we’ve been on a pretty epic journey together but if that’s happened then I suppose everything I thought was special just wasn’t to her.
“I want to speak to both of them. Jess is my priority and then once I’ve spoken to her, I’ll contact mike and meet up with him at some point.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Gary Lucy’s mother convinced him to take on the ‘Hollyoaks’ male rape storyline.
The 35-year-old actor starred as Luke Morgan in the Channel 4 soap between 1999 and 2002, where his character had to endure the horrific ordeal at the hands of his bullies, and Gary is now glad he took on the tough storyline despite it being very daring at the time.
He said: “At the time, my character was being bullied in the show and [the producers] said come up to the office, we want to talk about a storyline and I was like, ‘oh no he’s going to try and top himself’ or whatever. And basically, she said they wanted to cover male rape. ‘It’s never been done before, we want to do it right, we think you can do it.’
“I was like blown away by it; I was 17-years-old, 18 at the time. So I went home and spoke to my parents. My dad didn’t like the idea of that but my mum was like, no you’ve got to do it and thankfully, we did it and handed it amazingly and properly, as best we could, and reaped the awards for it.”
Gary was thrilled to be asked to come back to the show so he can share Luke’s plight 15 years on.
Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, he shared: “Bryan Kirkwood’s [executive producer] idea for the story is incredible. Basically, having not dealt with it properly having run away, [we explore] how that has impacted on Luke’s life 15 years on; what’s happened and what’s sort of stayed with you. To show that on screen will be phenomenal.
“He’s been through a lot and hopefully the audience who saw it the first time around will understand why he’s in this state and for those who didn’t see him, I hope that they’ll root for him and realise he needs to deal with everything and live the life he would have led had he not experienced what he did.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Christine McGuinness felt a “sense of loss” when her twins were diagnosed with autism.
The 29-year-old model – who has four-year-old twins Leo and Penelope with her husband Paddy McGuinness – admits she was worried at first about the future when she learned of the diagnosis but now, after doing her research, she knows she is “the right mum” for her twins.
She said: “I think there is a sense of loss when your child is diagnosed with autism. The things you plan out, what you think you’re going to do, go to Butlins for the weekend, go to Blackpool or holidays, you realise actually those things might not happen as it would normally.
“But that was when we first found out. But now I’ve done my research, and I know a lot more about it, I’m really confident that I’m the right mum for these. I know I can give them a really good life. I know with lots of planning, lots of research into everything and preparing the twins I know they can do anything.”
And Christine – who also has 10-month-old daughter Felicity with Paddy – admits she was in “shock” when she found out about her twins’ diagnosis and felt angry at herself for not realising it sooner.
Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, she shared: “Initially when they were diagnosed it was shock, instant shock. We had absolutely no idea they had autism even though the signs were there. They were non-verbal until they were three, they both walked on their tip toes, they didn’t socialise very well, they still do struggle with socialising with other children, that’s probably one of the most heartbreaking parts of it because that’s just something you expect your children to do, go and make lots of friends. It is quite common for children and adults with autism to struggle with socialising.
“They were our first children – initially when the paediatrician said I’m quite certain your children have autism I felt quite angry that she’d seen something I hadn’t seen in my children and I thought how can she see that? I’ve raised these, I’ve been with them every single day and surely I would know if there was something not quite right with them, but it was just a lack of knowledge on my part.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Noel Fielding has been told to “toughen up” by ‘Great British Bake Off’ bosses.
The 44-year-old comedian has impressed producers with his hosting skills on the revamped cooking show thus far, but him and co-star Sandi Toksvig have been getting too emotional when it comes to the elimination part of the competition and TV chiefs have had to remind them that delivering bad news is part and parcel of their contract.
A source told The Daily Star newspaper: “Noel is doing a great job hosting, but he is finding the whole elimination process difficult. Show bosses have told him he needs to toughen up.”
Noel and Sandi were announced as the new presenters of the programme earlier this year – just months after Channel 4 swiped the show from the BBC in a three-year mega-money deal – following the exit of fan favourites Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc last year.
They will join regular judge Paul Hollywood – who agreed to move to Channel 4 with the show after he was offered an eye-watering sum of cash – and his new co-star Prue Leith.
Prue, 77, was recruited by bosses after Mary Berry announced she was stepping down as a judge last year “out of loyalty to the BBC” and, although the new line up has received mixed reviews, bosses are confident the format will be a hit with viewers when it returns this year.
And silver fox Paul recently teased that the standard of Channel 4’s forthcoming series of the ‘Great British Bake Off’ is “10 times higher” than it was last year on the BBC.
The 51-year-old star said at the time: “The presenters are on for about five minutes and the bakers are on there for 50 minutes, so they are the stars of the show.
“The characters on this year’s show are the strongest we have had and the standard is ten times higher. People get wrapped up in all this ‘host and judges’ thing too much. They forget that it’s all about the bakers.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Riley Carter Millington is “disappointed” his ‘EastEnders’ character didn’t get a “happy ending”.
The 23-year-old actor played Kyle Slater in the BBC soap between 2015 and 2016 and was the first transgender man to play a regular transgender character on a British soap.
However, Riley felt “frustrated” that his character didn’t get a chance to have a “normal life”.
He told The Sun newspaper: “I was disappointed it was not shown that Kyle had a normal life. He had the big coming-out story and it was dramatic and emotional, but we didn’t get to see a happy ending, like a relationship of any sort other than the reunion with his half-sister, Stacey. It was frustrating. I felt I let myself and the fans down as I could have pushed for something. It’s a shame to have gay characters and then you have to say goodbye.”
When Riley quit ‘EastEnders’, he revealed the reason for his departure was because producers believed his character Kyle’s story had reached a “natural end”.
He said at the time: “When I landed a six-month contract at ‘EastEnders’ it was a dream come true. For that to be extended to a year was something I never expected.
“However, as the time comes for Kyle to depart Walford I am looking forward to taking on new roles and who knows, Kyle may find his way back to Walford one day.”
When he was cast in the role, Riley admitted he had achieved his two biggest dreams.
He shared: “I am extremely excited to be joining ‘EastEnders’. I can honestly say that I have now fulfilled my two biggest dreams – to be living my life as a man and to be an actor. I cannot wait to really get stuck in with filming and I look forward to seeing what is in store for my character.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Steven Moffat regrets not writing a more serious romantic scene between Doctor Who’s Amy Pond and the Time Lord.
The showrunner will depart the sci-fi series at Christmas – to be replaced by Chris Chibnall – after seven years and while he admits there are “loads of things” he would change about his time on the show, there is one error which haunts him on a daily basis.
He said: “There’s loads of things I’d change.
“I’d change all my mistakes, but that’d be exhausting, so let me just choose one mistake. I’ll choose one mistake, because it just rankles me to this day that I got this wrong.”
In the scene Steven is referring to, there is some sexual tension between Amy – played by Karen Gillan – and Matt Smith’s incarnation of the Time Lord following a battle with the Weeping Angels.
While Amy manages to plant a kiss on the Doctor, the scene is filled with comic moments rather than romance, and the writer believes he blew a big chance to pen a more sincere moment between the two characters.
In a Q&A with BBC America, he added: “There’s a scene at the end of a season five episode called ‘Flesh and Stone’, where Amy comes on to the Doctor.
“It’s a very good idea for a scene, it’s a very good idea, because she’s been through this traumatic experience and she doesn’t quite know who or what the Doctor is, and she doesn’t quite know what his interest is.
“And there’s a brilliant scene to be written there, and I entirely avoided writing it. I played it for laughs, and it was so wrong.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Faye Brookes has banned Gareth Gates from joining ‘Coronation Street’.
The 29-year-old actress is keen to land a part on the soap, but the brunette beauty – who plays Kate Connor in the programme – has warned him off because she doesn’t want to mix business with pleasure.
He said: “I’d quite fancy a role on ‘Coronation Street’ but Faye doesn’t want me there.
“She tells me that it’s her turf.”
Gareth – who has been dating Faye for more than five years – has now set his sights on a part in rival soap ‘Emmerdale’.
The former ‘Pop Idol’ runner-up added to the Daily Star newspaper: “‘Emmerdale’ would have to be the one for me to join. I’d love it.”
If Gareth did defy Faye’s wishes and land a part on ‘Corrie’ he wouldn’t be the only talent show star on the cast as ‘X Factor’ winner Shayne Ward is currently playing Aidan Connor, the brother of Faye’s alter-ego Kate.
Last month, Faye revealed Kate will get a new love interest in the show which will “shock people”, and she can’t wait to see how the story unfolds.
She said: “Trust me it’s not quiet anymore! We are ready to go for this year. I’m not going to give too much away but there’s definitely something coming on the love life front.
“It’s going to shock people. I don’t think fans will guess who it is and neither is Kate, but I’m really excited and want to embrace it – and hopefully this time it will be for the long haul.”
Faye’s character was previously engaged to Caz Hammond (Rhea Bailey) but she departed Weatherfield in handcuffs after Kate realised the scheming former soldier was stalking Maria Connor (Samia Ghadie).

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OHMYGOSSIP — Lucy Benjamin is reportedly set to return to ‘EastEnders’ on Friday (21.07.17).
The 47-year-old actress portrayed Lisa Fowler in the longstanding soap on and off for 12 years after she quit the show in 2010, but the star is set to make her comeback in tonight’s episode, which will see her come to the aid of her on-screen daughter Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) – who she had with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) – after being attacked by bullies at her prom on Thursday night (20.07.17).
Louise is rushed to hospital after being pushed into a room filled with candles on what was to be a special end of year bash by Alexandra D’Costa (Sydney Craven) and Madison Drake (Seraphina Beh), who gatecrashed the event.
And it is in her daughter’s time of need that Lucy comes rushing through the doors of the medical centre.
Speaking about Lucy’s comeback to The Mirror Online, a source said: “When that hospital door starts to open, they’ll be on tenterhooks to see who has rushed to help Louise.
“When it turns out to be Lisa, rather than Phil, there will be gasps of shock. It’s such a brilliant surprise.”
Lucy’s return to Walford comes a few weeks before Steve re-joins the programme after enjoying a six-month break.
And it is believed Steve’s character has shed his bad boy reputation and will be a “changed man” when he makes his comeback.
Speaking previously, the soap’s boss, Sean O’Connor, said: “Phil returns in a moment of crisis for the Mitchells. But he is a changed Phil from the exhausted lion that left the square.
“Steve McFadden is a mesmerising actor. Every scene he does with absolute commitment and conviction. It’s amazing to watch how he does it.
“It has been very rewarding finding fresh material for Phil. His days of being a hard man are coming to an end and he has had a real wake-up call after the transplant.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Love Island’ star Olivia Attwood has received death threats from TV viewers.
The 26-year-old beauty has come under fire in recent days over her treatment of boyfriend Chris Hughes, while her family have also been bombarded with hateful messages via social media.
A source told The Sun Online: “The family have had it really tough. A lot of people are really worried for them.
“They have had abuse shouted at them in the street. They are going through a very hard time.”
Olivia’s relationship with Chris appears to be back on track for the time being, after she told the hunky reality star that she loves him and admitted that she often acts like a “b****h” because she feels insecure.
During a candid conversation with her boyfriend on a yacht, she told Chris: “I wanted you to know that even though you drive me crazy, when I look back on our time on the villa, I have put you through stuff. I’ve realised more than ever that.
“I am a massive product of my past and I have coping mechanisms and one of them is to be a b***h and when I feel vulnerable, I will push everyone away.
“If I hadn’t come here and I hadn’t met you, I would not have realised that and I don’t honestly believe there’s any other boy that could have brought it out of me.”
Olivia also insisted she’s appreciative of the patience and kindness Chris has shown her.
The blonde beauty added: “I realise how much you put up with. You are insanely patient and that is the reason why I like you, one of many reasons. Apart from the fact you’re fit.”

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