OHMYGOSSIP — Jamie Borthwick tried his best in the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Christmas special.
The 29-year-old actor – who is best known for playing the role of Jay Brown on BBC One soap opera ‘Eastenders’ – is part of the lineup for the festive edition of the Latin and ballroom show with professional partner Nancy Xu but admitted he is not a natural when it comes to dancing.
Asked if he was a gifted dancer, he said: “No, I am probably a three, a two maybe, and now I’m probably a high six, middle seven.
“I’m a realist, but I am trying. I’d give myself a nine for effort because I have really tried.”
Nancy was quick to add that she didn’t think he was a bad dancer, and insisted he was putting in all of his energy in mastering the skill.
She said: “I would say give yourself a 10 for effort.”
Although the soap star is critical of himself, Jamie has emphasised that he has loved learning to dance with his partner.
He said: “I’ve really enjoyed learning a new skill. Anyone can teach anyone how to do their craft, Nancy can tell me to put my right leg here, and point your toe, but she explains it in a way that I understand. For me that’s the difference between a teacher and a great teacher, and that’s what she has done this whole experience. It’s been a real thrill.”
Jamie and Nancy will be competing against ‘Battlefield Britain host Dan Snow, BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent, rugby hero Danny Cipriani, and CITV star Tillie Amartey to win over the judges and emerge from the Christmas special victorious.
Even though the show is known for its competitive nature, Nancy insisted that there is “no pressure” for her and Jamie to win, and that they “just want to have fun”.
She said: “I’m so excited. This is my fifth year of being a part of Strictly, and I have never done a Christmas special.
“I am in the same mind as Jamie, there is no pressure, its Christmas, we just want to have fun. We sing along while we’re dancing, we just want to bring a lot of joy to the audience and ourselves – we want to invite everyone to our party! I’ve enjoyed this experience so much.”
The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Christmas special will air on BBC One on 25 December at 4:40pm and will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon want to make the most of Christmas before their children “fly the nest”.
The 41-year-old TV star has 10-month-old Belle, Rex, four, Rose, two with ‘Loose Women’ panelist Stacey, 34, but he is also stepdad to her sons Zachary, 15, and 11-year-old Leighton – who she has from previous relationships – and he admitted they want to put as much effort into the festive period before the older ones lose interest.
He told Hello! Magazine:: “Christmas is all about the kids and their reactions to. Me and Stacey are so lucky, we’ve got the most amazing family and we make the most of Christmas at the minute because they’re going to grow up soon and a few of them in the next couple of years are going to fly the nest and they’re not going to be as interested.
“Me and Stacey know we’ve got make the most of it because these are real magical times for us.”
The former ‘EastEnders’ actor – who also has 16-year-old son with former fiancee Emma Sophocleous – also revealed that their children get up really early on the big day and can sometimes become a bit “overwhelmed” with all the excitement.
He explained: “Our kids get up really early. They’re up at half four or five o’clock anyway. At about 10 o’clock, we’ve gone through a few presents and things have calmed down, the kids are a little less excited, so me and Stacey take the time to ring family.
“We don’t open all the presents at once. Sometimes the kids can get a bit overwhelmed and it becomes an opening present contest.
“So we make sure that our kids always open a card first and read out loud who the present’s from before they open it. Sometimes they think ‘we’ve got something’, but I think it’s really important to know who got you something.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Lucy Fallon worried she wouldn’t be able to remember her lines when she returned to ‘Coronation Street’.
The 28-year-old actress was cast as Bethany Platt in the ITV1 soap opera in 2014 and departed the show in early 2020 but is due to be back on screen in January and while making a return to the show was the “best decision” she has ever made, she joked that she was initially concerned that people may have forgotten about her during her time away.
Speaking on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, she told stand-in host Louise Minchin: “The best decision I’ve ever made was to go back, it’s the best to work and some of my best friends work on that show.
“I’m just so happy. It was [nerve-wracking], it was like the first day back at school. I’d had nearly four years away from the show and then going back I was like ‘Am I going to remember my lines?’, ‘Are people gonna remember who I am? They might be like ‘Who is this girl?'”
During her initial stint on the cobbles, Lucy shared a dressing room with Ellie Leach – who after quitting her long-running role as Faye Windass earlier this year went on to win ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ – and the ‘Tom Jones’ actress admitted she was “so proud” of her former co-star following her victory on the BBC Latin and ballroom competition.
She said: “I’m so proud of her, I’m so proud. She did amazing and I think we all knew exactly what Ellie was like, how lovely and amazing she is, and it’s so nice that everybody else has got to see that now. I think the show has encouraged her to come out of her shell and that’s exactly what she’s done. That’s the Ellie that we all know and love.”
Lucy now has baby Sonny, 11 months, with footballer Ryan Ledsom and explained that she has such a “lovely setup” but admitted that it can be a “huge juggle” to figure out logistics when she and her partner are trying to balance their careers with parenthood.
She said: “He’s just gorgeous, he’s nearly one now, I can’t believe it. We have such a lovely setup, me Ryan, and Sonny. It’s been really nice. It’s a huge juggle trying to figure out where he’s gonna be when I have to be at work at seven and Ryan has to go to football. It is a juggle but it’s been really nice and I feel like I’ve got a bit of my old self back, which sometimes you can lose a bit when you have a baby.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Andrea McLean “misses” being on ‘Loose Women’ but doesn’t watch it anymore.
The 54-year-old presenter is one of the longest-serving anchors on the ITV1 lunchtime panel show but stepped down from her role in 2020 after 13 years on air to focus on her new career as a life coach with her This Girl Is On Fire brand and admitted she no longer has time to tune anymore, although she does miss seeing the team every day.
She told The Sun: “I don’t watch ‘Loose Women’ now because it’s on during the day and I’m always working during the day.
“But in terms of do I miss it, I work for myself now, so I do a lot of stuff working from home and anybody who has left any organisation to strike out on their own, I do miss getting up and getting in and meeting the whole team and seeing everybody and hearing the gossip. I miss that kind of daily interaction with everybody.”
However, the former GMTV weathergirl – who shared the anchor role on a rotational basis with the likes of Ruth Langsford, Kaye Adams, Kate Thornton, and Carol Vorderman over the years – went on to admit that she was “excited” to leave the show behind as she revealed she is still in touch with her former co-stars.
She said: “But I don’t miss it in terms of the way people would think I suppose because it was great and I left because I was ready to try something else and went off in a new and exciting direction. I still follow everyone on Instagram and I still meet up with them every now and again, everyone is so busy, when Denise [Welch] is in the country when she’s not jetting off around the world, or when Brenda [Edwards] is not on stage belting out a tune.”
The TV star did decide to leave the’Loose Women’ WhatsApp group after she quit the show but explained that it was nothing to do with any sort of feud as she insisted that if a gang of men were fronting a programme, the notion of fallouts would not even come into consideration.
She said: “I left the WhatsApp group purely because everyone was talking about work stuff and it was really weird for me because I didn’t need to know that stuff anymore. We still chat on WhatsApp but I’m just not in the group.
“If men were doing the same thing we wouldn’t be having that discussion and sadly it’s going to continue. We’re all strong women giving our opinion, it’s powerful, it’s great.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Katie Griffiths is pregnant.
The 34-year-old actress – who is best known for her role as Chlo Grainger on the BBC One school drama ‘Waterloo Road’ – tied the knot with businessman Matthew Wardle, 38, earlier this year and took to social media on Wednesday (20.12.23) evening to reveal that they are expecting their first child together.
Alongside a snap showcasing her belly as she posed with her dog in front of the Christmas tree, Katie wrote on Instagram: “Baby Wardle coming May 2024”
Katie received a slew of congratulatory messages from followers in the comments section, including one from her former co-star Angela Griffin, who stars as art teacher turned headmistress Kim Campbell on the serial.
She wrote: “That is absolutely amazingly, beautifully gorgeous news! Best Christmas pressie ever.”
Katie was an original cast member of the drama series when it first aired in 2006 and saw her character through several major storylines, including the death of her mother Izzie Redpath (Jill Halfpenny), her marriage to Donte Charles (Adam Thomas) when they were just 16 years old and bowed out in series four after giving birth in the school toilets.
Katie then went on to star in ‘Only Fools and Horses’ prequel series ‘Rock and Chips’ and guest-starred in episodes of ‘Casualty ‘ and ‘Doctors’.
When ‘Waterloo Road’ was revived by the BBC earlier this year, Katie was announced as one of the original characters making a comeback but was “sad” to learn that her character would be killed off during the launch episode after being hit by a car.
She told the Manchester Evening News: “When I had the initial sit down meeting with the producers and they told me what would happen, I think the bigger picture was just isn’t it amazing that I get to go back into the character again and work with Adam again and be part of it.
“It is sad that I won’t have that again but I’m just very excited for the show and to see what comes of it.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Linda Robson wants to take part in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.
The 65-year-old TV star is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on ITV1’s ‘Loose Women’ and now that the celebrity version of the social experiment game show – which was previously won by her co-stars Denise Welch and Carol McGiffin – believes she would be a good housemate because she no longer drinks alcohol and is keen to take on new opportunities now that she is in her sixties.
She told The Daily Star: “I think I could do it now because I don’t drink anymore, I haven’t drunk for three years. I think they would have worried about me going in there if I had my wine but I won’t get drunk now and spill the beans on everyone. I would be up for it. I like getting away from the house. I don’t like being stuck in so anything to get me out of the house, any holidays. As I’m getting older, I’m 65 now, I don’t want to say no to anything and try different things now.
“Since I turned 60, I’ve jumped out of an aeroplane, I’ve swam with sharks in Miami and I climbed Ben Nevis with Nadia [Sawalha] and Kaye [Adams], my daughter and son did it as well. I nearly killed myself, I think my body was in shock. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I did it.”
The ‘Birds of a Feather’ actress first appeared on ‘Loose Women’ as a guest panellist in 2003 but became a full-time member of the lineup in 2012 and joked that sometimes her family sometimes tell her off for the things she says on air but insisted that she is only an “honest” person.
She said: “I get told off sometimes. Even if they are not watching the show, someone will text and say ‘You never guess what your mum’s said today’. I’m very honest but I’m not a horrible woman.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Matt Lucas has said that the new version of ‘Little Britain’ “will be different in many ways” to avoid backlash.
The 49-year-old comedian – who worked with David Walliams on the BBC sketch show from 2003 until 2006 – will be bringing a new version of the series back to screens but has insisted that the upcoming reboot will not be as offensive as the first iteration of the programme.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: “The show will be different in many ways.
“We are talking about how we can have diverse talent on screen and in the writers’ room and conceive it as something which is just not about me and David playing absolutely everyone.
“That is something we should have done but didn’t do back then.
“But we were making the show at the same time as many other people who were doing what we were doing and had that approach.”
The show had previously come under fire for its use of blackface, as well as utilizing ethnic and social stereotypes deemed by some to be derogatory.
Since the show moved to BBC iPlayer, it has come with a warning that notifies viewers of its potentially offensive content.
Matt went on to add that neither he nor his co-writer want to cause any “further upset” with their new project as he mused that things have “changed” a lot in the 20 years since the BAFTA Award-winning sketch show first aired.
He said: “Because some people are upset about what we do, or what we have done, out of respect to those people I don’t talk about it publicly because I don’t want to cause further upset to people who were upset.
“I totally accept there are different opinions.
“I accept people feel very differently from others and I respect everyone’s opinion from wherever they come from on this subject. I see things differently now to how we did.
“Things have changed and I respect that.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Bobby Brazier feels “lost” after losing in the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ final.
The 20-year-old actor – who plays Freddie Slater on ‘Eastenders’ – was paired up with Dianne Bushwell and lost to ‘Coronation Street’ star Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola in the final last week (16.12.23). In the aftermath of the result, Bobby has admitted he doesn’t know what to do with himself.
During an appearance on ITV’s ‘Loose Women’, he said: “I feel a bit lost. I miss Dianne.
“I’m eating ice cream for breakfast, I’m in no kind of physical place… I don’t know what to do, what do I do? I fell in love over the course of the last couple of months with just telling the story.
“Whether it’s the joyful story or the grief story, any kind of story, just the ability to express myself, with Dianne, through the means of a dance is so much fun. [I feel] immense joy and deep distress, but [I gained] memories that will last a lifetime.
“I knew from the very beginning that I didn’t want to miss out on anything, I wanted to experience all of Strictly, and I feel like I did. I didn’t miss out on any of the dances, as I say, I welcomed it all and I loved every second. Actually, that’s a lie. I didn’t love every second.”
Bobby and Dianne finished in second place, above ‘Bad Education’ star Layton Williams and partner Nikita Kuzmin, who broke down in tears after they realised it would be their final dance together.
Nikita told presenter Claudia Winkleman: “It’s just that she’s saying goodbye and I looked him in the eyes, and I realised it’s the end.”
Layton added: “It felt special to close the show with it, our last dance.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter doesn’t want her mother to die alone.
The 83-year-old Childline founder was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January and revealed earlier this month that she had “joined Dignitas”, an assisted-dying clinic based in Switzerland.
Her daughter Rebecca Wilcox is devastated that she won’t be surrounded by her loved ones when she dies.
Revealing her vision for her mother’s last moments, she told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “My brother, sister and I would be next to her, telling jokes, sharing our final Wordle score, she would beat us at Scrabble, she would close her eyes – and possibly not wake up.
“That’s the way she would like to go, I think.”
However, Dame Esther is instead looking to end her life at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich.
If anyone did try to travel with her, they could be arrested and prosecuted when they returned to the UK.
Rebecca argued: “Prisoners get a nicer farewell with their favourite last meal, whereas she goes into some strange conveyor belt where you are rushed through a process in an impersonal room without the people that you love because if they come with you they will be arrested.
“We wouldn’t be able to go because we’d be arrested on landing. I don’t want her to go.
“I don’t want her to die. I certainly don’t want her to go alone.”
She and her siblings Miriam and Joshua are pushing for a free vote in Parliament on assisted dying, eight years after MPs voted against changing the law to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives.
It can still result in 14 years in jail, which means Dame Esther could have to go to Switzerland on her own.
Dame Asther is due to undergo a scan after Christmas to see whether a “magic drug” is helping amid her cancer battle.
However, she told the BBC’s ‘Today’ podcast: “I thought, well, if the next scan says nothing’s working I might buzz off to Zurich.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Joanna Page has revealed an iconic scene from the ‘Gavin and Stacey’ 2008 Christmas special was faked.
The 46-year-old actress, who played Stacey Shipman in the classic BBC sitcom, admitted the scene in which Larry Lamb’s Mick Shipman plays the piano he was gifted by on-screen wife Pam (Alison Steadman) was not real, as the actor can’t play the instrument at all.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper’s TVBiz column, she said: “Larry had piano lessons but it made no difference because he was absolutely dreadful at playing the keyboard. If you look closely at the end, he’s not actually touching the keys – his hands are hovering over them.”
Joanna also revealed that her four children, Eva, nine, Kit, seven, Noah, six and Boe, two, greatly prefer the 2008 festive special to the 2019 episode, simply because of the piano scene.
She explained: “They weren’t interested in watching the last Christmas special, the one they keep wanting to watch is the first one, they absolutely love it.
“The kids are like, ‘Can we watch the one where the man isn’t actually playing the keyboard?’ They think it’s hysterical.”
Although ‘Gavin and Stacey’ is one of the most beloved BBC shows of all time, the actress believes that the 2019 Christmas special will be the last time audiences see the characters together.
She recently told the MailOnline: “I can see them never doing any more because it was nice to leave it on a cliffhanger because it’s up to the viewer to imagine what would have happened. So I can imagine them ending it like that.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t get the call, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. But all I can say is, if they were going to do another one I hope it’s soon because we’re all getting so old, I don’t particularly want to see Stacey get that much older.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Danielle Harold has been “having a good giggle” over rumours she and Pete Wicks are in a relationship.
The 31-year-old actress, who appeared on this year’s series of ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’, was spotted getting close with the former ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ star, 33, at the show’s wrap party, leading to speculation over a potential romance.
However, the ‘EastEnders’ actress has insisted that there is nothing going on between the pair.
During an appearance on ITV’s ‘Loose Women’, she said: “We’ve been laughing so much. No, we’ve been laughing so much, bless him.
“We come out and you go out with all the friends and family, but me and Pete are just good friends. Have been for years, but we’ve been having a good giggle about it.”
Pete agreed with Danielle’s comments, and denied general romance rumours during an episode of his ‘Staying Relevant’ podcast, which he hosts with best friend and new King of the Jungle, Sam Thompson.
He said: “I just want to point out that I didn’t [get with] anyone’s wife.”
Sam jokingly added: “Pete got linked to every single person out there. He got linked to Sarah — Nick’s [Pickard] girlfriend, he got linked to Danielle, he got linked to my girlfriend Zara [McDermott], he got linked to Rochelle [Humes] at one point. I don’t think there were any more women out there to get linked to.
“Do you know what my favourite thing about this is… I’ve gone into the jungle and Pete’s flown out there to be there for me and it’s literally, he can’t get away from it. He’s come to Australia, and it’s ‘Pete Wicks linked with whoever he’s linked with’, he’ll never outrun it!”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Married At First Sight’ expert John Aiken has paid tribute to Mel Schilling after her cancer diagnosis.
The 51-year-old psychologist and dating coach – who appears on the UK and Australian editions of the show – has been diagnosed with colon cancer and her co-star on the Aussie version has shared an emotional message of support online.
He wrote on Instagram: “Sending love and prayers to Mel. Thinking of you and the fight ahead. We’re all in your corner.”
Mel revealed the devastating news on Wednesday (19.12.23) morning in a candid post on social media.
Alongside a family photo with husband Gareth Brisbane, 51, and their eight-year-old daughter Madison, she wrote: “‘You have cancer’.
“Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear. Last Thursday my consultant told me those three words.”
She explained she was diagnosed one month after feeling pain in her stomach during filming for the upcoming 11th season of ‘MAFS Australia’.
She continued: “About a month ago, when I was filming in Australia, I developed severe stomach cramps on set.
“I put it down to all the travel I’d been doing and the upset it caused to my system.
“I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me on my way.”
However, she had a feeling her condition was more serious than that, and set up a scan when she was back in the UK.
She said: “On Thursday I was told I had colon cancer and in an instant my whole life changed.”
Today (20.12.23) she will go to hospital to have a tumour removed, and she will remain there over Christmas as she receives treatment.
She admitted she still feels “incredibly blessed”, because the her cancer is “relatively easy to eradicate”.
She wrote: “It will be so tough to spend Xmas Day in hospital instead of being surrounded by family but getting rid of Terry (what I’ve named my tumour) will be the best present of all.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online