OHMYGOSSIP — Ex ‘EastEnders’ star Caroline Paterson made an emotional return to Walford after two decades.
The 57-year-old actress – who played Ruth Aitken, the second wife of Mark Fowler (Todd Carty) – visited the Elstree studio where the BBC One soap is filmed through her work directing with the ‘River City’ academy training scheme and marvelled at how the fictional London borough looked “better” than it did during her stint 20 years ago.
She told the Radio Times.com: “I mean, the way people view it is completely different. You know, they use different cameras – I think it looks better.
“And then compared to when I was in it, one of the things that I really noticed was how diverse it is. And I just felt that this is starting to reflect London. Whereas when I was in it, you know, it just wasn’t there. So I’m really over the moon that that has completely changed.”
Caroline added that the changes to the set were “all for the better” amid the soap’s “move with the times” as she reminisced about her involvement in Mark’s storyline of coming to terms with having HIV while acknowledging the similarities
She said: “Stories haven’t changed really. They still do huge stories about what happens in society and I’m just thinking about Mark Fowler’s HIV story, we were doing that and there was a lot of fear in the public. That was such a huge story due to actually what it informed the audience, you know, this fear shouldn’t be there. And I thought it was a great story.”
“I noticed that they had an HIV story with Zack and I was amazed. Thank goodness. Then when I was in EastEnders, HIV was this scary thing that could come out, it was kept secret, but it just shows how far society has come so far.”
The former ‘Coronation Street’ actress revealed she now mainly works as a director on Scottish soap ‘River City’ and is “really enjoying” learning more about the craft.
She said: “This is my first training and I’m loving it and loving learning it because ‘River City’ works in a completely different way from what I worked. So I’m really enjoying this training. I’m like, ‘Let me learn a new skill’. I’m really loving concentrating on directing at the moment.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Greg Wise “should have watched” ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ before he agreed to take part.
The 57-year-old actor finished in 11th place on the BBC Latin and Ballroom competition along with professional partner Karen Hauer in 2021 and admitted that he got a “shock” when he joined the show because he hadn’t watched it before.
He told Metro newspaper’s SixtySeconds column: “When you’re on Strictly you have one day off, a Sunday, and I’d go off for a walk, and every ten yards someone would jump at me and go, ‘Oh my God, I saw you last night, and that went on until the week I was kicked off.
“And then the next Sunday I went for a walk completely unmolested. So it is so transient, it really is. But I probably should have watched it before I said yes to it. I didn’t quite know what it was and I didn’t know how big it was and that was actually quite a shock. But it was an extraordinary privilege to do, it really was.”
Meanwhile, the ‘Sense and Sensibility’ star – who is married to actress Dame Emma Thompson – went on to cite therapy as the “best work” he has ever done and claimed that it is the key to a successful marriage.
He said: “I think the best work I’ve ever done in my life and the thing that I’m most proud of is the therapy. And it’s not one thing; we are such complicated beings with such chronic issues that it takes a long time and a lot of patience and grace and kindness and hope to be able to mine down and explore all that.
“The fact that my missus and I have been together 28 years and we’re on tip-top form is down to all of that work.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Sir Michael Parkinson died of ‘frailty of old age’.
The legendary chat show host passed away at the age of 88 last month and the cause of his passing has been disclosed in a death certificate.
The revelation came as the broadcaster’s son Mike Parkinson explained that the family want to allow the public to grieve before they “remember him as a dad and as a husband”.
Discussing the tributes to his father, he told ‘BBC Breakfast’: “We didn’t expect the kind of outpouring, we didn’t expect what happened. I mean, not just here but in Australia.
“I mean, Australia, there was a golf course he used to be a member of and they put the flag at half-mast. Remarkable kind of gestures like that.”
Mike continued: “And I have said previously that it’s a very difficult situation to be in as a family because you do actually feel that you should step back for a while and just let the public mourn the man that they lost in the sense that you don’t want to almost step on their toes because they had a particular relationship with him, either through television, radio, through print.
“And in a sense they’re mourning a different person and so we have to, in a sense, keep out what we were mourning and keep it separate and allow that to subside before we’re really able to as a family come together and remember him as a dad and as a husband of 64 years.”
Parkinson interviewed stars such as John Lennon, Muhammad Ali and Dame Helen Mirren on his eponymous chat show and Mike was privileged to have a “ringside seat” to see his father at work.
He said: “He was incredible to sit with because the one thing about him was he never stopped seeking perfection. He never stopped questioning what he was doing, whether it was right, whether it was correct.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘The Great British Bake Off’ will no longer feature national-themed weeks.
The Channel 4 baking competition returns to screens this month for a new series that will see Alison Hammond join as Noel Fielding’s presenting partner but the country-themed challenges will not be coming back after criticism from viewers.
The show had a Japan week in 2020, a German week in 2021 and then a Mexican week last year that attracted criticism when hosts Fielding and Matt Lucas wore sombreros and spoke in Spanish accents.
The programme’s executive producer Kieran Smith told The Guardian newspaper: “We didn’t want to offend anyone but the world has changed and the joke fell flat.
“We’re not doing any national themes this year.”
Smith confirmed that the latest series – in which Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will return as judges – will focus on “traditional” elements of baking.
He said: “We’re doing all of the regular weeks: Cakes, biscuits, bread, patisserie, chocolate, plus party cakes is a new theme.”
Hollywood was “gutted” after last year’s Mexican episode was met with a backlash as he had only recently visited the country and had a big hand in the episode’s content.
The 57-year-old star said: “I’d literally come back from Mexico about three weeks before we filmed the episode.
“I was all over the place, and we set the challenges based on what I’d seen there. The challenges were very good, and everyone did a good job.”
Prue, 83, added that the show did not set out to cause controversy.
She said: “The thing about Bake Off is that it absolutely represents inclusivity and diversity and tolerance and togetherness.
“So the idea that we set out to insult anybody is ridiculous.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Richard Madeley “doesn’t care” about being compared to Alan Partridge.
The 67-year-old TV presenter is often likened to Steve Coogan’s comedy character but isn’t concerned unless it has an impact on his career.
Speaking on the ‘How To Be 60’ podcast, Richard said: “I do ‘Good Morning Britain’ a lot now and I discovered that I only have to cough or sneeze in the wrong direction to get extraordinary abuse on Twitter. I mean, really amazing stuff.”
When asked if he worried about being “misrepresented” as a real-life Partridge, he replied: “You have to analyse these things and be scrupulously realistic.
“If it affected the way I do the job, if it threw me off balance – it would be a problem, it would matter. But it’s not, it’s just abuse. I honestly don’t care.”
Meanwhile, Richard also used his appearance on the podcast to take aim at TV presenters who let success “go to their heads”.
The star – who previously hosted ‘This Morning’ – said: “There are a lot of people in television on screen who it goes to their heads.
“We all know them. And you can see that they think because they have access to people’s living rooms through the TV, it makes them somehow better. And I just think that actually makes them look ridiculous.”
Richard continued: “Quite quickly I formed a contempt for people on television who thinks that it makes them in any way, shape or form special, because it doesn’t.
“Just because you can read the autocue or learn a short piece to camera out in the field. Why would you think that would make you any better than anyone else?”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Gregg Wallace “clashes a lot” with John Torode on ‘Celebrity MasterChef’.
The pair have worked together on the BBC cookery contest since 2005 but Gregg admits that they often argue over which stars to send home from the show.
Gregg, 58, told OK!: “We disagree a lot and it comes down to two things. You can debate the level of cookery skill but what can’t be debated is the pure and utter joy of eating something delicious. John can’t tell me I’m wrong there.
“It’s a foggy area and that’s where we often clash. But John wins – he gets the hump when I say this but at the end of the day, he’s the chef.”
John confessed that he sometimes “capitulates” when the duo face a tough decision but will fight his own corner if his fellow judge is being stubborn.
The 58-year-old celebrity chef said: “We’ve known each other for so long now, that if I look at Gregg and he has some form of emotion in his eyes then I will capitulate.
“But if there’s a stubbornness to Mr Gregg Wallace, I will fight to the bitter end. I’ll stick my teeth in and hold on tight.”
The pair also discussed how they do not spend much time together away from ‘MasterChef’ and have not visited each other’s houses.
Gregg said: “We don’t see each other very much and he doesn’t cook for me – but how many colleagues have you cooked for? We are incredibly close and work together really well, but what makes that work is time apart.”
John added: “We allow each other to be ourselves. We live completely separate lives, we don’t socialise, we’ve not been to each other’s houses. We’re different from each other and it means we can give varied opinions on the show.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Former ‘Geordie Shore’ star Stephanie Snowdon is pregnant.
The 30-year-old TV personality has taken to social media to reveal that she’s already over six months along in her pregnancy.
Alongside a photo of her growing baby bump, Stephanie wrote on Instagram: “My Secrets finally out. Six months of carrying you and I am so thankful for our journey so far. We can’t wait to meet you. Words can’t explain how much you are going to be loved. Due December 2023 [heart and stars emojis] (sic)”
Stephanie – who joined ‘Geordie Shore’ back in 2018, but only appeared in one series of the show – has also shared a photo of her baby scan.
However, Stephanie hasn’t revealed the name of the baby’s father.
Meanwhile, some of Stephanie’s showbiz pals have already taken to social media to offer their congratulations.
TV star Sophie Kasaei wrote: “I’m so happy it’s finally out! You deserve the world angel and your going to be the best mama x (sic)”
Elsewhere, Abbie Holborn has also offered her congratulations to Stephanie.
She simply said: “Beautiful! Congratulations.”
Stephanie suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage back in 2018.
The reality star subsequently described it as the “worst day of [her] life”.
She wrote on Instagram at the time: “Today was the worst day of my life.
“To get your head around you created a little form of life inside you and it’s taking away from you.
“Im absolutely heartbroken Wasn’t the right time to meet you my little one.
“Thank you for that special feeling (sic)”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Mel Giedroyc’s first performance with Sue Perkins was “shambolic”.
The 55-year-old actress became known to TV audiences when she and fellow comedienne Sue, 53, fronted hits such as ‘Light Lunch’ and ‘The Great British Bake Off’ together but admitted that they hadn’t even learned their lines for their first performance of a double act 30 years ago.
She told The Sunday Times: “Our first double act was in 1993 and was called Naked Brunch. It was on at 10am — not exactly a great time for a comedy show — at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Sue’s dad took a punt on us, lending us £2,000. It was shambolic: we read half of it from a folder as we didn’t know the lines. Our mate Jez Butterworth, who we went to Cambridge University with and who went on to write the play Jerusalem, came to our second show. He was one of three in the audience and howled with laughter. I’m not sure he found it funny, but he found the situation amusing.”
The TV star also revealed that when growing up she always dreamed of being a presenter on ‘Blue Peter’ and went to great lengths to meet Lesley Judd, who fronted the children’s TV staple in the 1970s.
She added: “I was always obsessed with the idea of being a ‘Blue Peter’ presenter. A friend and I created the Lesley Judd fan club and charged £2 for membership. We had five members who we basically stole from because we gave nothing in return.
“Once we pretended to be violin players to get into a youth concert to meet her as she was presenting the event. When we explained to her that we were her biggest fans, she looked scared and barricaded herself in her dressing room.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Motsi Mabuse is closer to her sister Oti because of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 42-year-old star joined the judging panel of the BBC Latin and Ballroom competition alongside in 2019 whilst her sister Oti, 33, appeared as a professional dancer on the series from 2015 until 2021 but insisted that there is no sibling rivalry because they the “only way” to look after each other is to be good at their jobs.
She told The Sunday Express’ Style Magazine: “People used to ask, ‘Oh, are you guys not competing against each other?’ But it’s the exact opposite. Doing Strictly together has brought us to a place where the only way we can take care of each other is to be actually excellent at what do!”
The TV star – who now lives in Germany with her husband Evgenij Voznyuk and their two-year-old daughter – went on to add that she will “never forget” leaving her native South Africa to start her dance career in Europe instead of living up to her family’s expectations of becoming a lawyer, and that her parents initially thought she would return home.
She added: “I came here [to Germany] with plastic bags and a 50p coin, and I’ll never forget that feeling. My parents were like, ‘If you’re going to do this journey, you’re going to do it on your own.’ I had everything laid out for me, an education at one of the best universities in South Africa, and the rest was on me. They thought I’d come back, but I didn’t.”
Motsi will return to screens alongside Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, and Anton Du Beke when the Saturday night favourite starts up again on September 23 but admitted that she is always unaware of the lineup – which this year will include TV legend Les Dennis, soap stars Nigel Harman and Ellie Leach as well as ‘Love Island’ star Zara McDermott amongst a host of others – before the official announcement.
She said: “They don’t tell me anything – everybody knows it before I know it! But whoever’s coming on, bring it on!”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Vernon Kay is “annoyed” by celebrities who complain about being famous.
The 49-year-old star has been a mainstay on television since the 1990s having fronted shows like ‘T4’, ‘Splash!’ and ‘Loose Men’ but admitted he gets sick of his fellow famous faces who don’t care for the attention and has “dared” them to go back to low-paid jobs.
He told The Sunday Times: “Well, it annoys me when people say, ‘I hate being famous’. Well, don’t be then. Get back on the bins. I dare you. I’ll happily quaff a pint with anyone!”
Meanwhile, the former ‘I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!’ contestant – who is married to ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ host Tess Daly and has Phoebe, 18, and 13-year-old Amber with her – recently replaced Ken Bruce as the host of BBC Radio 2’s mid-morning weekday slot and explained that it would be “foolish” to try to “replicate” his long-running predecessor in the role despite falling numbers of listeners.
He said: “It would be foolish to replicate Ken — Ken is Ken. My parents said, ‘Just be yourself.’ I did Radio 1 and I never worried about the numbers because they didn’t worry the boss. I did commercial network Radio X and did worry because numbers did worry the boss. Numbers are not as important to me as people assume. I like my job. I say hello to nearly seven million people. It’s bonkers. People say Radio 2 this and Radio 2 that, but the station gets 13.5 million listeners a week.
“If you’re on a shop floor all day, you’re talking to colleagues. Radio is the same thing — but for two and a half hours. I am their colleague for that time. Everyone who knows me knows I like a chitter chatter.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online