OHMYGOSSIP — Lord Alan Sugar “regrets” offering ‘The Apprentice’ winners a job in the early days of the show.
The billionaire businessman, 76, has fronted the BBC search for the next budding entrepreneur since 2025 but whilst the initial prize for the winner was a £100,000-a-year job, he insisted that after series seven, things had to change because that idea wasn’t “working out too well” in the long run.
He told Metro.co.uk: “The regrets were effectively after series seven, that the giving a person a job was not working out too well.
‘That’s when I said I can’t do that anymore, it’s causing too much embarrassment amongst my workers and I want to change the format to going into business with somebody. And from then on, it’s taken off like a rocket!”
The Amstrad founder will be seen looking once again for the next young business hopeful when the show returns on Thursday (01.02.24) for its 18th series and admitted that while there are no guaranteers, the BBC is still considering what to do for the show’s milestone 20th anniversary in 2025.
He said: “We are all thinking. The BBC are all thinking. To do a special gala performance, whatever you want to call it, it’s going to cost more money. We’ve got to look at budgets and things like that.
“And by the way, the BBC have got to agree to do it, because it’s not cast in concrete. The 19th series is, but the 20th hasn’t been discussed yet.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Gladiators’ legend Jet has criticised the show for omitting the original stars from the reboot.
The 53-year-old athlete, whose real name is Diane Youdale gushed about the new BBC series, but lamented at the fact that the original cast were not asked to return.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, she said: “It would have been nice for there to have been a nod to each and every one of the originals to be guests or do commentary or punditry. We all still have so much to give in our experiences. It’s not bitter chips, but maybe it is!”
Jet also revealed that she was initially hoping the rebooted programme wouldn’t be as successful as the original ITV series, but quickly realised that the BBC show was just as good “and then some”.
During an appearance on ‘GladPod: The Gladiators Podcast’, she said: “There was a part of me going, ‘Don’t be as good, don’t be even better, please.’ Everyone had been saying ‘It won’t be as good.’ It was and then some.
“I had this experience for the first time of being someone in their living room getting behind these Gladiators. It’s true to the original, like, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and that’s exactly what we’ve got.”
Although Jet is a fan of the new series, Ulrika Jonsson, the former host of the original ITV programme, bashed the revamped show for removing the cheerleaders for the reboot.
Appearing on ‘Lorraine’, she said: “It brought tears to my eyes because they have kept the music and the general feel of it so really, they have done a great job. “But no cheerleaders! I just don’t understand it. I don’t know if it’s some kind of wokery?
“The whole point, the cheerleaders brought such … they just brought another level and some depth it.
“And they were gorgeous and talented girls, we had such a lovely time together with them.
“They were so great and it’s just a shame … don’t know what the reasons are.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Will Mellor has bashed the Post Office over their apology to victims of the Post Office Scandal.
The 47-year-old actor, who appeared in the Toby Jones-led ITV drama ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’, has dismissed the company’s apology to the victims of the scandal, which saw postmasters get wrongly accused of theft and fraud due to the faulty IT system, Horizon.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Will said: “Talk is cheap.
“All these people wanted to be was heard for so long, and no one wanted to listen, because they were skint little people, as Alan Bates said in the drama.
“And now we’ve [seen] what we can do in this country, when we come together and go, ‘No, this is wrong, get something done, make people accountable for what they did.’ And remember the money they took off these people – that’s not compensation, that was their money.
“What price do you find people losing their life, going to prison or not be able to remember their childhood because of the treatment they had to have for depression?”
The former ‘Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps’ star also admitted the cast and crew of the ITV1 drama did not expect the reception and response to the show, which has seen intense scrutiny placed onto the public inquiry into the scandal.
He said: “We all said on set, ‘Can you believe they did this to these people?’ And we were saying after we were filming [that] it was powerful, and we knew people would talk about it.”
Writer Gwyneth Hughes also revealed she did not expect the show to make such a big impact, and was preparing for it to be a flop.
In an interview with Sky News, she said: “We’ve all been blown away by it [the reception].
“On the eve of transmission, our boss sent us all a comforting email warning us that it probably wouldn’t do that well, and probably not many would watch it.
“So we woke up [the] next morning and he literally thought he had misheard the ratings, and it just has got bigger and bigger.
“The whole thing is unbelievable, the story of the postmasters, and what happened to them was completely unbelievable from beginning to end and this is just the latest unbelievable chapter in the unfolding, ongoing story.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Ricky Tomlinson is a “workaholic” at almost 85 years old.
The 84-year-old actor has been a mainstay on British television for more than 40 years and explained that even though he should be retiring now, he loves “meeting new people” and “learning different things” as he prepares to play himself and celebrate the culture of Ireland in the national tour of ‘Irish Annie’s’.
Speaking at a Q+A about the stage show, he said: “I’m a workaholic kid! I know I should be putting my feet up, but I love working and I love getting up and
knowing what I’ve got to do. Every time you go to work you meet different people, hear different stories and learn different things. I have the time of my life and I’ve met some wonderful people.”
The Liverpool-born star famously played layabout Jim Royle on the classic BBC sitcom ‘The Royle Family’ and teased that he has recently reunited with his on-screen wife Barbara (Sue Johnston) – who also played his on-screen wife in the now-defunct Channel 4 soap opera ‘Brookside’ – for a new travel show.
He said: “I’ve been doing a TV series with Sue Johnston called ‘Ricky and Sue Take a Trip or Two’. Working with Sue is a dream. We’ve known each other 40 years now and we’ve had some laughs over the years.
He said: I’ve also just finished my first children’s book and I’m waiting for an illustrator to come and see me. I try it out on my grandkids, and they absolutely love it. It’s an adventure story but it also mentions the environment and looking after the countryside, although it’s not dogmatic.”
Ricky also revealed that his favourite character on the BBC sitcom was Nana – played by late ‘Vicar of Dibley’ actress Liz Smith – and explained that she would even visit the set on her day off and arrive just in time to get a free lunch.
He said: “Nana was my favourite, I loved her. She was amazing. Even on her day off, she’d come on the set, always at lunchtime. I used to say to her – ‘you’re a bloody disgrace you! What do you mean you just happened to be passing? Just as we’re having our lunch?!’ And she’d say: “I AM just passing!”
Ricky Tomlinson is starring as himself in the UK and Ireland tour of ‘Irish Annie’s’, which runs at various theatres from March until May.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ will return to Prime Video on 3 May.
The third series of the documentary series – which sees former ‘Top Gear’ star Jeremy Clarkson, 63, and his team running the 1,000-acre Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds – has been a huge hit for the Amazon streaming giant since its inception and the latest outing will launch worldwide this spring.
In this series, Jeremy is faced with challenges such as crops that are failing in the severe hot weather whilst inflation has driven prices of supplies sky high, dreams for the restaurant are dashed and the shop also faces closure.
The former ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ host comes up with a plan to turn a profit from hundreds of acres of unfarmed land – thick woodland and hedgerows that make up half of Diddly Squat, which triggers an array of other schemes involving everything from goats and pigs to mushrooms, nettles, and deer.
What’s more, a controversial new face will join Jeremy and the other returning stars – his girlfriend Lisa Hogan, as well as farm hands Kaleb Cooper, Gerald Cooper, and, Charlie Ireland – in Diddly Squat but all the cast must work together to help make their farming ambitions come to fruition.
Earlier this year, Jeremy claimed that despite his busy TV career, he finds it difficult to “step away” from the farm and described the profession in general as being an “underpaid treadmill”.
He told The Times: “Farming is fantastically busy — you can’t step away from it. Well, I’m in the Caribbean so I have stepped away from it. But it’s an underpaid treadmill.”
‘Clarkson’s Farm’ is produced by Expectation and is executive produced by Peter Fincham and Andy Wilman.
Zoe Brewer is the director of production and Peter Richardson is the series producer.
Production has also commenced on a fourth series of the Prime Video UK Original ‘Clarkson’s Farm’.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Lord Alan Sugar thinks the BBC made the “wrong decision” by cancelling ‘Junior Apprentice’.
The 76-year-old businessman – who has fronted the Beeb’s reality show for budding entrepreneurs since 2005 – was delighted to launch the spin-off for youngsters aged 16 and 17, which ran for three series from 2010 until 2012.
He told RadioTimes.com: “It was my idea to do the ‘Junior Apprentice’.
“And yeah, [the] BBC decided that they didn’t want to have two ‘Apprentice’ programmes in the same year.
“So that was their decision, I think it was the wrong decision.”
‘Junior Apprentice’ – which was renamed ‘Young Apprentice for the second and third series – saw Baroness Karren Brady make her debut as Lord Sugar’s new aide.
The three seasons were won by Ashleigh Porter-Exley, Arjun Rajyagor and Zara Brownless respectively, and the programme pulled in between three and five million viewers for each run.
Although BBC bosses may not have been impressed, Lord Sugar admitted his wife was “very annoyed” by the decision to scrap the spin-off show.
He added: “But anyway, they’re the bosses. They’re the ones that decide, but they weren’t put on.
“Funnily enough, my wife, that’s the one she loved the most. She got very annoyed when they stopped doing it.”
The main show is still going strong and will return on Thursday (01.02.24) for its 18th season.
Asked about its longevity and enduring popularity, Karen said: “First of all, you’ve got one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, who’s done it over decades, and literally what you see with Alan is what you get, there’s no script in the show.
“It’s authentic. It’s real. But the most important thing is the life changing reward.
“At the end of it, you get to live your ambition of opening your own business, you get a quarter of a million pounds from Alan’s pocket, but more importantly, you get his mentoring and guidance.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Alison Hammond has been confirmed as the new host of ‘For the Love of Dogs’.
The ‘Great British Bake Off’ presenter insisted she “can never replace” the programme’s former host, the late Paul O’Grady – who fronted 11 series until his death last year – but she is looking forward to shining a light on the work done at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and helping the animals find new homes.
She said in a statement: “I am very aware that I can never replace the iconic Paul in this wonderful series.
“But if I can continue to shine a light on the brilliant work done at Battersea and help to tell the stories of these beautiful dogs, then it will be an absolute privilege to give it my all.
“I can’t wait to share the joy of their searches for new loving forever homes and hopefully make lots of furry friends of my own along the way!”
Programme bosses have pledged not to forget the “impact” Paul had during his years on the show.
Satmohan Panesar, commissioning editor for ITV, said: “We are thrilled to be able to confirm that the series will return in the spring and that the dogs have a brand new champion in Alison Hammond.
“As Paul O’Grady always said himself, the stars of the show were the dogs themselves, but the impact that he had and the legacy he leaves will never be forgotten by any of us.”
Battersea bosses are equally excited to have Alison, 48, on board.
Peter Laurie, Battersea chief executive, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming Alison to Battersea and introducing her to the incredible animals in our care as we help them on their journey to finding loving, new homes.
“Alongside our beloved ambassador, the late, great Paul O’Grady, we’ve enjoyed showing how much joy rescue animals can give, and we’re pleased we can continue to shine a light on the work our charity undertakes every day to improve the lives of dogs and cats.”
Paul had a deep connection with Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, adopting mongrels Arfur and Nancy, shih tzu Boycie, chihuahua/Jack Russell cross Eddie and a dachshund called Sausage.
Speaking in 2012, he said: “Hand on heart, this has been one of the nicest jobs I’ve ever had. Battersea is a magical place. People think it’s all doom and gloom but it’s not, it’s such a happy place. I’ve had a ball. It’s such an enriching place to work.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Sir Lenny Henry is set to host ‘Comic Relief’ for the final time in March.
The 65-year-old comedian co-founded the charity organisation in 1985 and he’s helped to raise more than £1 billion over the years – but Lenny has announced that he will host the Red Nose Day broadcast for the final time on March 15.
He said in a statement: “When we first started ‘Comic Relief’ back in 1985, I never dreamed we’d still be here today.
“I thought we’d probably do three shows and that would be it, but fast-forward nearly 40 years, and that enthusiasm and determination to step up and help others has never wavered.
“As life president of ‘Comic Relief’, I’m excited to see some new and familiar faces come forward now to present the big night and lead us into the next chapter.”
Lenny actually co-hosted the inaugural ‘Comic Relief’ show back in 1988, and over the years, the donations have helped to tackle poverty, as well as providing healthcare, food and safe shelter for people around the world.
The comedian has been amazed by the generosity of the British public, especially during tough economic times.
He said: “The British public are brilliant – you’re so kind and generous, if somebody has a problem, you always want to help out.”
By contrast, Lenny previously claimed that some big-name stars were initially reluctant to support the ‘Comic Relief’ cause.
The veteran TV star shared: “I helped write all the letters to everybody. And lots of people didn’t want to do it. You know, there were quite a lot of the older school who thought that getting involved with something like Comic Relief would be some kind of bizarre political thing. And of course, everything you do is political. So it doesn’t matter. If you want to help, you help, if you don’t, you don’t.
“What was great was on the night, we ended up with Victoria wood, Julie Walters, Dawn and Jennifer, me, Jonathan Ross, Griff Rhys Jones, you know, we ended up with a great many fantastic people who kick started it in a way that means it’s still going today.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Apprentice’ winner Joseph Valente quit working with Lord Sugar in order to regain control of his boiler installation firm.
The 35-year-old TV star walked away from his high-profile business partner after just two years, amid growing frustrations with their working relationship.
Joseph – who won the BBC show in 2015 – told The Sun newspaper: “Lord Sugar was my idol. As a young man I worshipped him. I’d been an ‘Apprentice’ fan for many, many years before I went on the show.
“But after a while it became quite a frustrating relationship.”
Joseph initially wanted Lord Sugar to act as a “coach or mentor”. But the pair soon developed a tense working relationship.
He shared: “I was looking for a coach or mentor who was going to teach me how to grow my business.
“Those meetings with Lord Sugar were very fiery. There was quite a lot of shouting and debating going on.
“That’s the fun part of a board meeting, really. As a young entrepreneur I thought Lord Sugar would be an expert in all business, but he is an expert in his field.
“It seemed to me he had limited knowledge of my industry.”
Joseph sold his boiler installation firm, ImpraGas, in 2020, after it experienced some financial troubles.
But the TV star has subsequently found success selling “online training courses”, after a social media post from Lord Sugar spurred him into action.
Joseph shared: “What sparked me into action was Lord Sugar. He shared one of the articles, ‘Joseph’s Gas Firm Blown’, and retweeted it saying, ‘You can’t win them all…
“That hit me deep. It was like a right hook when I was already in a bad place. But I tell you now, it gave me the fire to get up.
“I saw the tweet, jumped out of bed and said, ‘Right, I’m going to show you I can come back’.
“It gave me another spark and another point to prove to Lord Sugar. I’m grateful to him for almost mocking me because it made me very angry and I used that emotion to fight back.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ITV Studios is working on a new dating show called ‘Second Chance’.
ITV has already enjoyed huge success with ‘Love Island’ over recent years, and TV bosses are now casting for their new reality series.
A call-out for the show reads: “Want to win back your ex? Did you cheat and want a second chance?
“A major entertainment service is currently seeking singles who want to explore the possibility of rekindling a meaningful relationship.”
ITV Studios bosses are keen to ensure that the new show features lots of “drama” between exes.
A TV insider noted that viewers have already “grown tired of the cheesy boy-meets-girl plot lines”, and ITV Studios is determined to “spice things up”.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s TV column: “Exes are big businesses for reality bookers. They not only bring the possibility of romance, they almost always guarantee drama.
“Viewers have grown tired of the cheesy boy-meets-girl plot lines and exes spice things up.”
TV bosses are keen to lean on the template employed by shows such as ‘Ex On The Beach’ and ‘Love Island’.
The source said: “There’s a reason ‘Ex On The Beach’ has lasted 13 seasons for MTV, to date.
“And All Stars has proven ITV’s Love Island viewers love a messy break-up, as producers continue to pile former squeezes in the villa.”
ITV hasn’t actually secured the rights to the new dating show so far. However, the broadcaster has a first option on the new TV series.
The insider added: “‘Second Chance’ is not yet confirmed to run on ITV but they’ll have first refusal as it’s an ITV Studios project and is being made by the ‘Love Island’ team at Lifted Entertainment.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Liberty Poole insists there’s “no bad blood” between herself and Mitch Taylor after her departure from ‘Love Island: All Stars’.
The 24-year-old TV star was recently voted off the ITV show alongside her partner Mitch, 27, following a series of heated arguments – but Liberty has now claimed that she doesn’t harbour any bitterness towards him.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper about her relationship with Mitch, Liberty said: “At first we had this instant connection and it was really nice as we both fancied each other, but in the end we just couldn’t agree on certain things so we had to part ways.
“Being with Mitch was like being with sunshine, rain and wind all in one. There is no bad blood between us, though.”
The reality star admitted that it was “bittersweet” to be leaving ‘Love Island’.
She continued: “I had the best time in the world, I made new friendships everyday and I feel like I learnt a lot about myself.”
Liberty came face-to-face with ex-boyfriend Jake Cornish during her time on the show.
And although it could’ve been an awkward scenario, Liberty claimed that it was still “good to see him”.
She explained: “It was a shock to see Jake. I certainly didn’t expect it but it actually was good to see him.
“After seeing him again in the villa, I feel like we have come full circle – it was nice to see how he’s grown.”
Liberty even suggested that she could become friends with her ex-boyfriend, after they were reunited on the show.
She explained: “He’s matured so much. I think we can now be friends. I’m really glad he came back in and we have had the closure we needed.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online