OHMYGOSSIP — George Clooney and Bill Murray watch ‘Countdown’.
Lexicographer Susie Dent, who has appeared in Dictionary Corner on the Channel 4 game show since 1992, has told how the Hollywood legends both love to tune into the programme.
She said: “Richard [Whiteley] always reminded us that the Queen and Queen Mother enjoyed watching us. George Clooney and Bill Murray apparently also tune in.”
‘Countdown’ co-host Rachel Riley admits she would love to see former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in Dictionary Corner one day.
She said: “I’m a massive Manchester United fan so there would be no one better than Sir Alex Ferguson. I know he watches.”
Last week, Colin Murray was confirmed as the new permanent host of the show after he had taken on the role in a temporary basis since Anne Robinson stepped down last summer.
And the BBC Radio 5 Live presenter loves having ‘Pointless’ star Richard Osman on the programme.
Asked if he has any favourite Dictionary Corner guests, he told the Metro newspaper: “That’s not hard. Ha ha. It’s such an important part of show.
“We have brought quite a lot of new faces in recently. I loved having Richard Osman on and even let him present part of the show.”
Colin admitted last week it is a dream come true to land the ‘Countdown’ role permanently.
He said: “It’s a career dream to be named as permanent anchor of one of television’s most iconic programmes.
“I have been a fan since day one, been part of the family over a decade, appearing on Dictionary Corner, and now I get the honour of guiding it into a fifth decade.
“However, I don’t just want ‘Countdown’ to survive, I want it to thrive.
“During my caretaker stint we’ve seen more people tune back in, with close to a million watching the series final in December, and I want that to just be the beginning.
“‘Countdown’ is a special game show, and its stars will always be the letters and the numbers, but it’s more than that.
“Great afternoon company for people of all ages from all across the UK.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Michelle Heaton has a blossoming friendship with Patsy Palmer thanks to ‘Dancing On Ice’.
The former Liberty X singer, 43, has enjoyed getting to know the ex-‘EastEnders’ star, 50 as they’re both “women of age” and she is looking forward to spending some quality time with the DJ away from the rink.
She said: “ITV aren’t part of the Whatsapp group. We’re all like, ‘For f***s sake, why is my call time so early?’ Patsy and I have a lot in common. We’re of an age and I’m looking forward to spending more time with her.
“I knew Siva [Kaneswaran] already and Ekin-Su Culculoglu is lovely.”
Michelle – who’s partnered with Polish pro skater Lukasz Rozycki, 39 – “wept with gratitude” after she got the call about joining the line-up.
The mum-of-two – who has daughter Faith 10 and son AJ, eight, with husband Hugh Hanley – recently celebrated 20 months of sobriety, and she wanted to make her children proud with her ‘Dancing on Ice’ stint.
Speaking to OK! magazine, she added: “It was a very intense couple of days waiting for the call. I had no idea whether it would be me or someone else.
“My daughter Faith and her friends were in the living room. I took the call from my agent, Ali, and went into the utility room. Faith followed me and I started to cry. She looked at me and said, ‘Oh no, haven’t you got it?’ and I was like, ‘No, Mummy’s got it.’ She started to cry with me and hugged me quietly because she knew she couldn’t tell her friends.
“It was just this overwhelming sense of gratitude. A few years ago I was considered for ‘Dancing On Ice’ and was gutted that I wasn’t chosen. Obviously I understand now why it wasn’t the right time.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Maya Jama hopes presenting ‘Love Island’ will open “way more doors” for others from “similar backgrounds and cultures” as her.
The 28-year-old TV presenter – who was born to a Somali father and Swedish mother – made her debut hosting the ITV2 dating show this week when it returned for its second-ever winter edition, and she is hopeful the role could be a “big moment” for others, as well as herself.
She said: “Growing up, I never saw an East African woman host a show, and no Black or mixed-race woman hosts such a big primetime TV show, other than June Sarpong.
“This is definitely a big moment for all of us in that sense, and I hope it just opens way more doors for other people from similar backgrounds and cultures as myself.”
Maya says Maura Higgins and Megan Barton-Hanson are among her favourite-ever Islanders, as was Georgia Steel, who was left fuming when Josh Denzel returned from Casa Amor with Kaz Crossley, leaving Georgia single.
She added: “Maura was one of my favourite ever contestants – it’s just great to see a powerful, opinionated woman on screen. She’s an ultimate G. I loved Megan Barton-Hanson when she came and just rattled everything.
“Georgia’s reaction when Josh brought Kaz back in, because no one expected him to bring someone
back.
“Chris [Hughes] and Kem [Cetinay] – that whole series was one of my favourites. Mainly personalities have stuck out. We get some legends from ‘Love Island’.”
Maya believes she would be a mix of “outspoken” Maura and last year’s winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu if she were ever to enter the villa as a contestant.
When asked which Islander she would be most like as a contestant, she told British Vogue magazine: “I’d be a mix of Maura and Ekin-Su. Maura’s outspoken and I’m a bit fiery myself, but then Ekin-Su’s a Leo like me, so I probably would be like, ‘Let me just bring some drama, because everyone’s chilling out too much.’ ”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Love Island’ narrator Iain Stirling says Maya Jama’s slow mo walks on the show are “something else”.
Maya marked her debut as the new host of the popular ITV2 dating series on Monday (16.01.23), after she took over presenting duties from Iain’s wife, Laura Whitmore, who announced her departure last year.
Maya has so far wowed viewers, and Iain, with her villa entrance walks.
Speaking on ‘Good Morning Britain’, Iain said: “Maya is absolutely fantastic. Laura was absolutely fantastic.
“Maya has done such a good job. Her slow-mo walks have been something else. Great looks.”
Iain also hinted that Maya might even be an Islander herself one day.
He said: “Who knows, maybe she will go in one year? Who knows.”
While Maya is very much the show’s presenter for now, she recently admitted several of her pals have asked her to get them in the villa after her new job was revealed.
Quizzed on whether anyone been asking you to get them on the show, she replied: “Yes! Loads of my guy friends. It’s like the joke at the moment with people saying, ‘Do you think I can go in the villa?’ That’s an ongoing thing. Some of them probably could do well!”
But Maya would love to see ‘This Morning’ presenter Alison Hammond as an Islander.
She explained: “She’d just be great to big up the vibe. Or, Louis Theroux could get to the bottom of a lot of stuff, maybe Oprah [Winfrey] … music wise Anne-Marie – you want someone that is dance music, as the Islanders want to dance. Or Central Cee, everyone loves him.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Former ‘Love Island’ star Indiyah Polack thinks this year’s contestants should should befriend Tanyel Revan and use her “tricks” against her.
The ITV2 dating show returned to TV on Monday (16.01.23) for the second-ever winter edition in South Africa, and in the first episode Tanyel, 26, entered the villa and stole PE teacher Kai Fagan, 24 away from Olivia Hawkins, 27, who was then forced to couple up with farmer Will Young, 23.
But the move didn’t go unnoticed from former Islander Indiyah, who is keeping an eye on hair stylist Tanyel.
Speaking on the ‘Love Island: The Morning After’ podcast to her co-host and former ‘Made In Chelsea’ star Sam Thompson, Indiyah said: “Mate, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
“If all the other babes are smart, they’ll just take Tanyel’s tricks and then use it on the guys.
“Befriend her, take her tricks and take her man.”
Fellow islander and podcast guest Demi Jones quipped: “Ooh, this is sass from you Indiyah!”
Viewers were left feeling sorry for Will after bombshell Tom Clare, 23, appeared in the villa and coupled up with Olivia, leaving Will single and vulnerable.
But ring girl Olivia had admitted to instantly friend zoning Will, because he wasn’t her type.
She said: “He’s so lovely but he’s just not my type. We would be really good friends. I don’t want to friend-zone him already but in my head I have.
“With Will I’m already thinking friendship but I’m going to go in with an open mind and get to know everyone else.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Home and Away’ star Ray Meagher has signed up to the soap for another five years.
The Australian TV legend, 78, has played Alf Stewart on the show since the first episode aired in 1988, and he has committed his future to the programme once again.
Speaking to The Sun Online, he said: “I signed a contract last year for another five years! So I’ll definitely see that out.”
‘Home and Away’ veteran Ray is noted as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, having starred for 35 years in the soap. His new five-year deal will see him reach the 40-year milestone.
When Ray first started out he initially refused to sign even a two-year deal, because he felt his time in Summer Bay would be over before it even began, so insisted on a six-month contract instead.
Ray added: “It seems ridiculous now but I wouldn’t agree to the two-year contract they wanted me to sign.
“We’d done the pilot and to be honest, I was older and more cynical, and was convinced it would crash and burn like most do. So when they said we’re going to series and we want all the main characters to stay for two years, I was like, ‘You’ve got to be joking!’
“It seemed like a lifetime, so I told them there was no way I was signing for two years. Then they tried to get me to sign for a year, but again I refused.
“In the end I agreed to six months. I thought it would be nice being able to go back to my own bed after work every night rather than shooting something in Melbourne or Western Australia, or being all over the shop, which I had quite enjoyed over the years.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Ross Kemp is interested in being a contestant on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 58-year-old actor has been approached to take part in the BBC ballroom show, but he had to turn down the opportunity because the timing clashed with a documentary he was making.
Ross is up for the challenge of learning to dance if producers decide to come back to him again in the future.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: “The first time I was asked to do Strictly, I was making a documentary so I couldn’t.
“I love dancing and I know people who’ve done ‘Strictly’ and you’ve got to dedicate so much of your life to it. I can’t rule it out.”
Ross became a household name playing hardman Grant Mitchell on ‘EastEnders’, and after leaving the soap as a full-time character in 1999 he has made several brief returns to Albert Square.
The documentary maker will never rule out another return as Grant because the character made him famous.
Discussing a possible ‘EastEnders’ return, he said: “I’d never say that I don’t want to go back – that would be silly.”
Ross is also the host of BBC series ‘Bridge of Lies’ and he has admitted that he never imagined he would ever become a quiz show host, but he loves the job.
He previously said: “If you said to me five years ago, ‘Ross, you’re going to be doing a daytime quiz show and Saturday evenings on BBC.’ I’d have gone, ‘Get out of here.’ However, I tried it and I liked it. It is different, you get to interact with the public, I enjoy it.
“It can be very funny in places, particularly when a woman thinks a Dalmatian is a cat and a Siamese is a dog! And she stepped in front of her niece who is a third year veterinary student to take on animals. Why would you do that? Incidences of that kind of monumental stupidity are kind of rare, thankfully. But it is also quite funny television.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Former ‘Made In Chelsea’ star Ollie Locke is releasing his second children’s book.
The 35-year-old television personality has penned ‘The Faraway Adventures of Henry Bogget’, which is about a young boy who discovers a magical secret in London.
The synopsis for the book reads: “Henry Bogget is an ordinary boy of just eight years old, and Henry has a secret. A secret that has been kept for many, many years. A secret about magic in London…
“In England, whenever someone changes the world and leaves their mark on history, a little round blue plaque is placed on the house where they once lived to make sure they can never be forgotten. With every discovery made, artwork painted or song written, a little trace of very powerful magic, an enchantment, is left behind.
One night, not too long ago, Henry discovered this secret and his life changed forever. An adventure beyond his wildest dreams was about to begin.”
Ollie and his husband Gareth – whose 2020 marriage was watched by 3.5 million people on ‘Made In Chelsea’ – have been trying to become parents and in the past year they have had two rounds of IVF, but sadly they remain unsuccessful. They have decided to share the whole process on-screen and with their social media following.
They are currently lobbying for legal change to make it easier for same sex couples to have a family and are about to go for their third round in their journey, and Ollie admits writing his new book has been “therapeutic” for him.
He said: “There’s nothing more important to me than sharing the joys of fatherhood with Gareth. We’ve gone through two rounds of IVF and though they haven’t been successful, we’re absolutely determined to meet our child and will keep going until that happens. We’ll also keep fighting for other same-sex couples as we lobby for change – there are just too many roadblocks put up in our paths toward parenthood and it isn’t right. Gareth and I are resolved to change that.
“Writing children’s books, including my first bestseller, ‘The Island of Fandye’, is hugely therapeutic as we go through this journey. I love hearing from parents about how their little ones were captivated by the stories and kept asking for one more page at bedtime. It makes me even more excited to share Henry and his adventures with the world.”
‘The Faraway Adventures of Henry Bogget’ will be released on April 25th, 2023.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Siva Kaneswaran suffered a “mild concussion” in training for ‘Dancing on Ice’.
The Wanted star was “seeing double a bit” while gearing up for his debut in the ice rink with his professional partner Klabera Komini on the ITV1 show but was deemed okay by the medics to be judged by Christopher Dean, Jayne Torvill, Oti Mabuse and Ashley Banjo on Sunday night (15.01.23).
The 34-year-old singer told the Metro newspaper’s Guilty Pleasures column: “I landed on my head, and I’ve got mild concussion as we speak.
“I literally felt the back of my head thinking, ‘Am I broken?’. The medics came over, and said, ‘You’re all good, just a bump.'”
Siva cited the “courage” of his late bandmate, Tom Parker – who passed away, aged 33, leaving behind his widow Kelsey and two kids Bodhi, two, and Aurelia, three, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour – to why he wanted to compete on the Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield-helmed show alongside Ekin-Su Culculoglu, Patsy Palmer and others.
He said: “He is one of the reasons why I’ve done this show. Witnessing his courage and strength – he took chances, he lived his life, he was so inspiring. I want to take that with me, keeping the conversation going about Tom and about cancer, and keep the awareness on brain concern – there’s not enough funding.
During his pre-dance VT, Siva admitted he was “still grieving” for Tom, who reunited the band – which also includes Max George, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes – before his passing to raise money for brain tumour research.
He said: “When I think of the past, I just think about Tom. Last year, Tom passed away. I guess I’m still grieving. I witnessed his courage when he was fighting with his illness and it was so inspiring.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Katie Waissel wants to sue Simon Cowell.
The former ‘X Factor’ contestant trained as a paralegal to take on the 62-year-old music mogul’s talent competition – which ran from 2005 to 2018 on ITV – as she claims the show “ruined” her life after they did not uphold their duty of care commitment after she faced threats and ridicule online.
The 36-year-old singer told the Sunday Times newspaper: “The show ruined my life.
“There are so many of us who have been so trapped and it’s not fair. There was a huge imbalance in power. I just wanted to be able to understand and to protect people from being manipulated in the future.”
Katie – who now has a four-year-old son, Hudson – detailed feeling like the show “owned all of” her as she revealed how she had been in therapy since placing seventh on the show in 2010 for post traumatic stress disorder.
She said: “People on reality TV are being publicly ridiculed for entertainment and we have become desensitised to it. It’s wrong.”
Katie joins a chorus of former contestants – such as Jedward, Cher Lloyd and Rebecca Ferguson – who made allegations of poor treatment during their time on and after the series, including being paid a £1 for her time on the show, claims refuted by Fremantle, the production company of the ‘The X Factor’.
They said in a statement: “The duty of care to our contestants is of the utmost importance to us and we take the welfare of everyone involved very seriously. We have robust measures in place to ensure contestants are supported including a dedicated welfare team made up of psychologists, doctors, welfare producers and independent legal and management advisors with no time limit on aftercare once the show has aired.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Bruno Tonioli is set to replace David Walliams on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.
The 67-year-old TV star – who previously appeared on the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ judging panel – has reportedly been lined up to join the ITV show, after beating Alan Carr to the coveted role.
A TV insider told The Sun newspaper: “For almost two months Alan may have been the favourite to take over from David, but Bruno was always Simon Cowell’s preferred choice.
“Not only does he have years of judging experience under his belt from his time on ‘Strictly’, he will bring an outrageous brand of comedy that ‘BGT’ needs on the panel.
“In so many ways this is already the perfect job for Bruno as it sees him return to a glitzy showbusiness favourite that fits in with the rest of his work.”
Bruno has recently appeared on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in the US, but he’s now been made a lucrative offer to return to British TV.
The insider explained: “Sealing the deal was always down to him being presented with an offer enticing enough to make a commitment to the show.
“After intense negotiations, they’ve managed to reach an agreement that will now see him return to prime-time Saturday night TV in the UK.”
Bruno will join the show’s judging panel alongside Simon, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.
Meanwhile, Bruno previously explained his reasons for leaving ‘Strictly’.
The TV star admitted that he couldn’t appear on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in the US and also keep his place on the BBC show.
He shared: “No one knows what’s going to happen in the future, but at the moment I do the American show but I can’t do the travel, it’s impossible.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Maya Jama joked about her own relationship struggles as she launched the new series of ‘Love Island’.
The 28-year-old star has replaced Laura Whitmore as the host of the hit TV show, and Maya – who previously dated rap star Stormzy – made reference to her own struggles as she addressed the new contestants.
She quipped: “Don’t forget, finding your perfect match is never that simple – trust me, I know.”
During the show, Maya introduced the ten new contestants to each other, and they were asked to couple up.
However, just as the Islanders were starting to feel comfortable, they learned that the public had been voting for a new bombshell who would enter the villa and shake things up.
Ellie Spence, 25, and 23-year-old sportsman Tom Clare went head-to-head to earn a place in the villa. But it was the semi-pro footballer who was ultimately handed the opportunity.
Tom will now have 24 hours to get to know the girls, before he has to choose one of them.
Meanwhile, Maya was announced as the new host of ‘Love Island’ last year.
And the self-confessed fan of the show subsequently admitted to being excited about the opportunity.
She said: “I’ve always been such a massive ‘Love Island ‘fan and I’m so excited to be hosting one of the nation’s favourite shows! I can’t wait to get into the villa to meet all of the Islanders.”
Paul Mortimer, ITVs director of reality programming and acquisitions, was also convinced that Maya was perfect for the role.
He explained: “Finding a new host to follow the wonderful Laura Whitmore was never going to be easy. In Maya Jama though, we have another high-profile fan of the show who’ll be a great addition to the ‘Love Island’ family.
“Cool, charming and charismatic, I speak for us all when I say Maya will also bring a unique presenting style to the show, as did Laura and, of course, the very much missed Caroline Flack. We’re very pleased to have her on board.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online