OHMYGOSSIP — Dame Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell has praised his new partner Tanya Franks as a “wonderful lady” who is “very understanding” – but he will “always have a place in his heart” for his late wife.
The 61-year-old actor went official with former ‘EastEnders’ star Tanya – who played Rainie Highway in the BBC One soap – on a holiday to Greece last summer, and he has now heaped praise on Tanya.
Scott told the ‘How to be 60’ podcast: “I got into a new relationship last year. I’m very happy, she’s a wonderful lady who knew Barbara and is very understanding.
“It can’t be easy to be with someone who was the other half of Barbara Windsor, especially the fact that I still put myself out there and talk about her.
“So, it says to me the type of person that Tanya is, that she can deal with that.
“She’s very sure of herself as a person. Just because you’re not with someone for whatever reason, it doesn’t mean to say that you just switch off some valve of love.
“There’s always going to be a place for Barbara in my heart. I might turn the TV on and suddenly she’ll be there and it takes my breath away sometimes, because I’m not expecting it.”
Scott was left widowed in 2020 when ‘EastEnders’ legend Barbara died aged 83, after living with Alzheimer’s since 2014.
He and Tanya, 56, were friends at first, after running the 2019 London Marathon to raise Alzheimer’s awareness, before a romance blossomed between the pair.
Scott added: “I think we all have to be very careful when we make judgements. It’s different for everyone.
“As far as I’m concerned, I started losing Barbara many years ago.
“I’ve been grieving her since that day of diagnosis [in 2014].
“It’s like eight years of grieving, how long can I grieve for?
“I know [Barbara] wanted me to be happy, I know I deserve to be happy. It doesn’t take away anything that we shared.
“All of our lives go by very quickly and we can be held back by worrying what others might say. You’ve just got to live your life.”
Scott confirmed last June that he and Tanya had been “enjoying some special time together”.
He told The Sun newspaper: “Thanks for your kind wishes.
“Life feels really good right now and we are enjoying some special time together.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Stacey Solomon is feeling “half-human” again, just days after she was hospitalised in Jamaica.
The 34-year-old star was recently on holiday with her husband Joe Swash and their children when she fell ill with an infection on the final day of the trip, and Stacey was admitted to hospital where she was given oxygen and an IV drip.
But she is now back at home and able to “get up and down the stairs properly”.
She said in an Instagram video: “I finally feel half human.
“I’ve come downstairs, Joe’s missed me down here.
“I feel like I can get up and down the stairs properly, sounds ridiculous but I’ve just felt so rough.
“But I woke up today and I feel a little bit more human and that’s all I needed.”
After being admitted to hospital in Jamaica, Stacey was later deemed well enough to fly home.
The ‘Sort Your Life Out’ presenter updated her followers in a post on Instagram earlier this week, explaining why she had been absent from social media for several days.
She said: “We had the worst exit from Jamaica of all time. And I can’t even like get over it. Because it doesn’t feel real in my head. And today’s the first day, I felt like I’m walking around the house and feel normal.
“But anyway, cut a long story short on the day before we were travelling home, I started to feel a little bit ‘flu-ey’ so I was like, ‘Oh, I’m getting that flu that everyone’s got. Annoying. That’s alright, we’re going home tomorrow, so I’ll just get through it, get over it and carry on.’
“So I carried on and as the day went on it just got worse and worse.”
In a previous post, Stacey revealed her illness had been caused by an infection, which led to a fever and it was being treated with antibiotics.
The former ‘X Factor’ star explained: “I’m going to listen to my body and let myself get well … I’m just going to rest up and hopefully in a couple of days I’ll feel back to normal. But even then I’m going to take it slow because I don’t ever want to be in that situation again. It actually scared me a little bit.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Helen Skelton has finalised her divorce from Richie Myler.
The 40-year-old TV presenter filed for a divorce from the 33-year-old sports star almost two years ago, and the celebrity duo are now legally divorced.
A source told MailOnline: “Helen and Richie are legally divorced.
“Their marriage was declared over at the end of December, so finally both parties can move on and start the New Year afresh.”
The duo separated in 2022, when Helen took to social media to announce the news via her Instagram account.
Richie is now dating Stephanie Thirkill, the 33-year-old daughter of Leeds Rhinos president Andrew Thirkill.
The rugby star actually played for the Rhinos between 2018 and 2023.
Helen confirmed her split from Richie via a social media post back in April 2022.
The TV star – who has Ernie, eight, Louis, six, and Elsie, two, with her ex-husband – revealed in her message that Richie had “left the family home”.
The former ‘Blue Peter’ presenter said on Instagram: “Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home. We will be doing our best to co parent our small children. [broken-heart emojis] (sic)”
Helen subsequently confessed to being in a state of “shock” after their break-up.
In her autobiography, ‘In My Stride’, Helen shared: “I was in shock.
“I know that following break-ups, people often say they didn’t see it coming and it sounds like a cliche, but that was me.”
Despite this, Helen wants Richie to remain a constant presence in the lives of their children.
She said: “I want them to know that we loved each other, but things change and that’s OK, too.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Former England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has “best case a year” to live after he was diagnosed with cancer.
The 75-year-old star, who made history as the first foreign manager to lead the Three Lions, admitted it is “impossible” to say how long he might have left, so he is trying “not to think about it”.
He told Swedish radio station P1: “I’m going to resist for as long as I can.
“I have an illness that’s serious.
“Best case a year, I have worst case a lot less.
“It’s impossible to say exactly, so it’s better to not think about it.”
Sven – who guided England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and 2004 European Championships – is attempting to “make something good” of the time he has left, and he wants to try to “see positives” amid his terminal diagnosis.
He said: “You try to trick the brain, it’s too easy to succumb and become negative and get stuck at home.
“Better to try and see positives and not give in during hard times.”
As well as managing England and Premier League clubs Manchester City and Leicester City, Sven – who previously dated former ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ star Nancy Dell’Olio – also managed an England team at ‘Soccer Aid’ 2021.
The Three Lions side featured celebrities Olly Murs, Paddy McGuinness, Mark Wright, Joel Dommett and Stephen Mulhern, as well as legendary players Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, and Jamie Redknapp.
Sven’s coaches were former England players David Seaman and Micah Richards, and pop star Robbie Williams.
In the match, England lost 3-0 to a Soccer Aid World XI led by manager Harry Redknapp, with former ‘Love Island’ star Kem Cetinay scoring twice, and comedian Lee Mack netted in the last minute.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Holly Willoughby missed the ‘Dancing on Ice’ photoshoot this week to prepare for her TV comeback with new co-host Stephen Mulhern.
The 42-year-old star quit ‘This Morning’ in October, following the discovery of an alleged plot to kidnap her, but she is to make her small screen return on Sunday (14.01.24) when she returns to present the ice-skating show alongside new co-host Stephen, after Phillip Schofield quit ITV last year.
An insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Holly doesn’t want any distractions at the moment so she wasn’t at the photoshoot.
“And for her it is more about rehearsals and getting the series off to a great start with a new co-host.
“She’s putting all her energy into the show. Holly is a total professional and as always she will be putting her heart and soul into the series with Stephen.”
Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at ITV, recently confirmed Holly will return to the show alongside Stephen.
She said: “Holly and Stephen are two of our best loved presenters, so reuniting them 20 years after they first appeared on screen together to host ‘Dancing on Ice’ marks the start of an exciting year for the show.
“Celebrating 20 years since they first worked together on ‘Ministry of Mayhem’, Willoughby and Mulhern will preside over the action on the high octane skating show as this year’s celebrities compete to become champion of the ice.
“Judges Torvill and Dean, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse are back on the panel.”.
Stephen has replaced Holly’s former ‘This Morning’ co-host Phillip, after he quit ITV last year after admitting he lied to bosses of the brunchtime show about an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague.
Amber Davies, Greg Rutherford, Hannah Spearritt, Roxy Shahidi, Ryan Thomas, Ricky Hatton, Adele Roberts, Claire Sweeney, Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, Lou Sanders, Miles Nazaire, and Ricky Norwood are to compete in this year’s 16th ‘Dancing on Ice’ series.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Love Island’ fans have the chance to pick which Islanders will couple up in the ‘Love Island: All Stars’ launch episode on Monday (15.01.24).
Anton Danyluk, Chris Taylor, Demi Jones, Georgia Harrison, Georgia Steel, Hannah Elizabeth, Jake Cornish, Kaz Kamwi, Liberty Poole, Luis Morrison, Mitchel Taylor, and Toby Aromolaran will take part in the opening episode of the dating show’s brand-new spin-off series, and voting is now open for fans to choose who starts off with who.
Voting is free via the ‘Love Island’ app and viewers have until 9pm on Friday (12.01.24) to have their say, but they can only vote once.
Fans have already started speculating about who might couple up after Kaz and Toby, and Liberty and Jake, previously hooked up in series seven.
Jake and Liberty – who were affectionately known as Jiberty – were favourites to win the show at one stage, but their relationship fell apart, and they both walked just four days before the series seven final.
Liberty has already admitted it will be “awkward” if one of her exes pops up on the show – which is hosted by Maya Jama – but insisted she will be “focused” on her own journey to find love.
She said: “It’s always going to be awkward isn’t it, it’s always going to be weird seeing someone that you’ve been with getting with someone else.
“I wish my exes nothing but the best. I’m going to be focused on my own journey so if it was to happen I won’t be worrying about them – so I’ll stay focussed on my goal, which is to find love.”
‘Love Island: All Stars’ launches on Monday 15th January at 9pm on ITV1, ITV2, ITVX STV

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Sandi Toksvig receives regular death threats, and she needed police protection at her wedding after revealing she was gay.
The 65-year-old ‘QI’ presenter revealed she is a lesbian in 1994, and still to this day she receives abuse over her sexuality.
In a talk at the Cambridge Union, Sandi, who has been in a civil partnership with Debbie Toksvig since 2007, said: “I don’t want to be too serious. I have had a lot of death threats.
“My wife and I, when we got married I had to have a close protection police officer beside me. It is still ongoing.
“But you can’t let that rule your life. I have been threatened twice since I have been in Cambridge in the last month.
“But also I’ve been hugged a lot. That is the risk you take. The modern world is weird. I don’t do social media of any kind as it is not real. It is not the way to have a conversation.”
Sandi has also spoken about having to hide her sexuality, and how “terrified” she felt at the time if the truth was revealed.
During an appearance on the BBC Radio 4 show ‘Desert Island Discs’ in 2015, she said: “We had to go into hiding for about two weeks and during that time, I was terrified that I had done a terrible thing to my children.
“I would give my life for my three children. It was truly, genuinely frightening.
“I went through some very dark times. People say, ‘when did you decide you were gay?’ and you think, ‘when did you decide you were heterosexual?’ It’s not a decision, it’s something you gradually realise about yourself.”
Sandi continues to fight for the LGBTQ+ community, and previously spoke out about the Church of England’s position on same-sex marriage.
Speaking to BBC News, the ‘Extraordinary Escapes’ presenter said: “I really never wanted this. There are lots of other things I’d rather be talking about.
“Trust me, being gay is just a normal life. And we want to be allowed to get on with it. But every time somebody condemns you, somebody somewhere in the LGBTQ+ community gets hurt. And I cannot sit by and let that happen.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘The Cleaner’ is set to return for a third series.
‘Inbetweeners’ star Greg Davies is expected to be back for another run of his BBC sitcom, in which he plays professional crime-scene cleaner Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead.
According to the British Comedy Guide, Greg’s crime scene comedy – which is based on German comedy ‘Der Tatortreiniger’ (‘Crime Scene Cleaner’) – will return for a new season, and the 55-year-old star will reprise his role.
Further casting details are yet to be revealed.
Fans may see a slimmed down Wicky in the new series, after Greg recently admitted he had been “seriously” warned by his doctor to lose weight.
In March, Greg told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: “Although I’ve had rich pickings from turning the gun on myself and my instinct is to try and get laughs wherever possible, it’s not a reason to stay as I am physically. And I’ve been told very seriously by my doctor that something bad will happen if I don’t address that side of things.”
Greg recently admitted that making the BBC One sitcom involved plenty of mischief, which might reflect “badly” on him, such as covering ex ‘My Family’ star Zoe Wanamaker with water.
He said: “I’m sure that it reflects very badly on me on so many levels that chucking a bucket of water in Zoë Wanamaker’s face is right up there.
“She really didn’t seem to mind though.”
The ‘Taskmaster’ star also loved working a whole host of other stars, such as Asim Chaudhry, Simon Callow and Dame Harriet Walter.
Greg: “I enjoyed making Asim Chaudhry wear a greasy wig and chase me with a gun, having a fight with John Macmillan’s clown, having Simon Callow quote poetry at me and being pinned to the floor by a giant man whilst Dame Harriet Walter watched on.
“And I enjoyed talking to Alex Lawther via a fox and friend Roisin Conaty attempting to murder me whilst having my faith challenged by Mark Lewis Jones.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘The Traitors’ series two will end later this month – with an extra-long episode.
The final episode of the nail-biting BBC series – which is hosted by Claudia Winkleman – will conclude on Friday January 26th at 9pm, and the finale will be 70-minutes long.
The epic game of bluff and deception sees 22 strangers – made up of Faithful and Traitors – come together in a Scottish castle, and they face daily challenges to increase the show’s prize fund up to a maximum of £120,000.
However, among the Faithful are a group of Traitors.
The Faithful’s task throughout the game is to eliminate the Traitors in roundtable banishments, but each night the Traitors can “murder” a Faithful of their choosing.
Any Faithful left at the end of the game will share the prize pot, but if just one Traitor is among them they will win the lot.
Fans of the show had an agonising five-night wait until Wednesday (10.01.24) after the programme aired a dramatic cliffhanger last Friday (05.01.24).
In Friday’s third episode of the series, there was a sudden death tie in the banishment between Brian and Ash, and there was one vote left to be cast.
Viewers who tuned in on Wednesday night will have seen Brian banished, after Anthony, the last contestant left to vote, picked him to go.
Later in the episode, Traitor Ash was the first Traitor of the series to be banished, after the remaining Traitors – Paul, Miles and Harry – all voted for her.
The Traitors are expected to murder Meg in Thursday night’s (11.01.24) episode, after they were left with no choice.
The next murder must be between Paul and Meg, after Andrew was awarded immunity, but the Traitors cannot murder their own, so Paul will be safe.
However, Paul being saved from the chop could result in suspicions arising among the Faithful.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Michelle Keegan believes there is “a lot of snobbery surrounding soaps”.
The 36-year-old actress – who stars alongside Joanna Lumley in the new Netflix thriller series ‘Fool Me Once’ – shot to fame in ‘Coronation Street’, but after leaving Weatherfield and starring in several dramas, Michelle has defended soaps from their critics, and insisted serial dramas are the “best learning platform” an actor can have.
She told the ‘Happy Place’ podcast: “I’m naturally disciplined but I think that’s come from being in a soap.
“I think there’s a lot of snobbery surrounding soaps. For me, it’s the best learning platform you can ever do as an actor.
“I remember we were filming three different storylines at one time, with three different directors, not in chronological order, going back and forward.
“Being in a soap, it’s so fast-paced you have to be on your game.
“I was working with the likes of Barbara Knox (Rita Tanner) and Bill Roache (Ken Barlow), so you have to know your stuff and be on it.
“I feel like that discipline I learnt from soaps at such a young age I sort of carried that through my career.
“So when I go on set I know exactly what I’m saying and doing.”
Her new programme ‘Fool Me Once’, which documents a young woman’s investigation into the mystery of her husband’s reappearance on camera after he was believed to have passed away, has proved to be a huge success on Netflix.
Despite enjoying her time working on the project, Michelle admitted there were moments that left her uncomfortable, such as when she had to swear at Joanna during a rehearsal.
Appearing on ‘The One Show’, she said: “Honestly, when I read the script, I was like, ‘Oh no, oh no!’
“We had a bit of a laugh, didn’t we, when we were rehearsing? I don’t think I said it when we were in rehearsals, I was like, ‘I can’t! I can’t!’ ”
Joanna added: “When it’s not used very often, bad language comes … it slaps out of the screen at you, it does.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online