OHMYGOSSIP — Melanie Sykes has reportedly split from her boyfriend Riccardo Simionato.
TV presenter Mel, 52, fell for Riccardo, 25, when she took a ride on his gondola in Venice, but friends say the pair quietly ended their year-long relationship weeks ago.
A source told The Sun on Friday (02.09.22): “Riccardo is based in Venice, while Mel is in the UK.
“It was really fun and romantic at first travelling back and forth but it wasn’t very sustainable in the long run.
“The pair have nothing but kind things to say about each other and Venice will forever hold a very special place in Mel’s heart.”
Mel last posted about Riccardo in August 2021 after she travelled to see him in Italy.
She said online: “Ciao for now beautiful Venice you and your people have my heart,” prompting Riccardo to respond: “Thank you very much for the good times spent together.”
The pair were seen together in October on London, but are said not to have ben spotted out as a couple since.
Mel and Riccardo fell in love while she was on holiday in Venice in October 2020 after she paid £72 for a 30-minute ride on his gondola.
She said online about not caring that several images of them together emerged at the time: “I knew I was being stalked on my holiday but I managed to ignore it, partly because it’s just what happens but mostly because I was experiencing so much joy, it was difficult to actually care.
“May you also recognise, appreciate and take those happy moments in this crazy world. Love Melanie x #livethatlife.”
Riccardo has kept quiet about the romance, but did address their 27 year age gap, saying: “Beauty is relative. Maybe what in your eyes is beautiful, isn’t to me. Every person is different, nationality doesn’t matter. True, no?”
Mum-of-two Mel was previously married to actor Daniel Caltagirone, 50, from 2001 until they divorced in 2009, and shares children Roman, 18, and Valentino, 16, with her ex.
She was also married to Jack Cockings, 35, in 2013 but they split after less than a year of marriage.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Mo Gilligan is said to have split with his girlfriend of four years after spending months away from their shared home in Britain trying to crack America.
‘The Masked Singer’ judge, 34, reportedly broke up with ex-‘Hollyoaks’ actress Sophie Wise, 27, after they moved in together at the start of this year.
It comes after Mo was said to be in huge demand by US television executives after he caught their eye while filming the pilot for new gameshow ‘That’s My Jam’ in Los Angeles.
A source told The Sun on Friday night (02.09.22): “The split is totally amicable and they are still friends despite what’s been a difficult time.
“He is such a hot property in the US right now, as well as still being in demand in Britain, and work has been overwhelming.
“There certainly isn’t any other woman on the scene. They just reached the end of the line.”
Mo and Sophie kept their relationship relatively under the radar, and have not been pictured in public together despite the presenter and comedian confirming in 2018 they were dating.
They were already in a relationship before he started becoming a household name after getting his breaking on Channel 4’s ‘The Big Narstie Show’ in 2018, then fronting his ‘The Lateish Show’ on the network.
His work in America recently became such a big part of his career he has had to step down from his role as one of the panellists on ITV’s ‘The Masked Dancer’.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Laura Whitmore says she felt restricted in what she could say when fronting ‘Love Island’.
In an apparent dig at the ITV2 dating show after she last month quit her role as host, she added there was “nothing more” she could do with the series.
The 37-year-old, who walked away from the show three years after taking over as host from her late friend Caroline Flack, told the Evening Standard on Friday (02.09.22): “Love Island is a show that I love to watch, and I always want to work on shows that I enjoy. But there’s nothing more that I can do with it. There are parameters.
“When you work on the show, you can’t really talk about certain things. But I’m really proud of what I did, and proud to leave on what I think has been a brilliant series, with great winners.”
She added about loving this year’s winners: “I’m a huge fan of Ekin-Su and Davide. I know ‘Love Island’. People love a journey. No-one wants a happy relationship, because life isn’t a happy relationship. We want to see the ups and downs.”
It comes after Laura, whose husband Iain Stirling , 34, narrates the show, revealed she was quitting the programme because she found some elements of the series “very difficult”.
She said on Instagram: “Some news! I won’t be hosting the next series of Love island. There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects. I wish it was still possible but know you’ll be in safe hands. I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into 3 series. I hope I did you proud Caroline.”
Caroline presented ‘Love Island’ from 2015 to 2019 and took her life in 2020 aged 40 two months after she had been charged with assaulting boyfriend Lewis Burton at her then home in North London.
Laura, who shares daughter Stevie Ré with husband Iain has come under attack during the latest series of the show for not appearing on air enough.
Presenter Maya Jama, 28, is now favourite to take over from Laura.
She is 2/1 with bookies to front the next series, due to be held next year in South Africa.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Vernon Kay says Tess Daly will never quit ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
Tess, 53 – who presents the show with Claudia Winkleman – has been working on ‘Strictly’ since 2004 and her husband Vernon, 48, insisted she wants to keep hosting it until she is in her eighties, like former co-host Sir Bruce Forsyth. who stepped down when he was 86.
Vernon told The Sun: “‘Strictly’ was probably one of the first shows to embrace two women as the main anchors of a huge Saturday night entertainment show.
“We’ve seen Ant and Dec for decades double-heading a show and I don’t think two women had done that before on such a large scale. As far as prime time entertainment shows go, Claudia and Tess really broke the mould.”
And Vernon says ‘Strictly’ is like a third child to him and Tess, who have daughters Phoebe, 17, and Amber, 13, together.
He said: “Tess started the show in its infancy — its first ever series when it was just a wee baby.
“Then we had our first baby and subsequently we had Amber, so we’ve grown up with it as like a family member. It sleeps for the majority of the year, but come August, when they start prepping outfits and talking about contestants, that’s when that baby comes alive.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Adam Rickitt has been scammed out of “tens of thousands of pounds” in a bank fraud.
The 44-year-old actor took to Instagram to share that he has been the victim of a sophisticated scam, where fraudsters impersonated staff from Barclays bank.
He wrote on Instagram: “CONFESSION TIME!
“I know a lot of people will laugh at me for this…but I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“I got completely scammed this week by some fraudsters impersonating @barclaysuk
“I was 100 per cent sure it was the bank, that they were helping me and that I wasn’t even transferring funds or giving any details away.
“Alas the former wasn’t true..they managed to duplicate everything I thought to be safe…they knew EVERYTHING about me and my history with the bank…
“I know we all think we know what to do or how to react…but honestly I have never known the stress it created over the course of the scam…
“…and now the embarrassment I feel.
“I can’t even begin to suggest how to protect yourself as I thought I was doing everything right…but please just be aware there’s people out there who know exactly how to play the system.
“Be safe x”
Adam went on to explain in a video how sophisticated the scam was.
He said: “I will preface all this saying I know I am not the brightest button in the entire repertoire but I consider myself relatively savvy but I just got completely conned.
“Essentially what happened is that on Tuesday I got a text from Barclay’s bank saying there had been some suspicious activity on my account and a member of the fraud investigation team was going to be ringing me to discuss it. ”
“I got a phone call from an 0845 number and the chap Martin introduced himself said ‘I am ringing from Barclay’s fraud department’, he did the same security questions I always have.
“While I was on the phone to him on my laptop I even went on the Barclay’s website to check the number he was calling from and sure enough it was the Barclay’s fraud number.”
Adam explained that the scammer made him believe he had been a victim of identity fraud, in order to trick him into cooperating with them and they eventually managed to take his money from his account.
He said: “So again, I got very nervous.
“They said what they needed me to do was do a dummy payment, and what it would do is trigger a member of the fraud department. I said no I didn’t want to.
“They said they would have to shut down the account, so I went back on to my account and sure enough the money was gone.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Susanna Reid has led tributes to Bill Turnbull.
The former ‘BBC Breakfast’ presenter passed away on Wednesday (31.08.22) aged 66 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017, and Susanna, who previously co-hosted the morning show with Bill, has thanked the late star for teaching her “everything” and admitted she feels “heartbroken” for his family.
She wrote on Twitter: “Bill was the kindest, funniest, most generous man in the business. I feel lucky to have worked with him and he taught me everything. But above all, he was devoted to his family and I am heartbroken for them. RIP Bill. We will miss you so much.”
‘BBC Breakfast’ co-hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt reacted to the sad news live on air today (01.09.22).
An emotional Naga said: “All of us here are sending love and support to Bill’s family.
“And I think today, after we get over the shock of this, we will start remembering the really funny things that Bill did.
“His energy was amazing, he came into this programme and threw everything at it, every single day.
“He was funny, when we sat here on the sofa.
“He was a brilliant journalist and he loved this programme, and he loved serving you, the audience.
“I’m sure you will miss him, we certainly will too.”
The pair also read out a tribute from Bill’s wife Sarah, who is known as Sesi.
She said: “Our lovely Billy died yesterday evening almost five years after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.
“The last week of his life was very special as the whole family was with him and we shared some wonderful moments.
“Even though he was often in pain, Bill was dignified and brave throughout, and he was his usual determined self.
“Billy made us laugh every day and we are immensely proud of him. He was the heart of our family, it’s hard to imagine life without him.”
Ex-‘BBC Breakfast’ host Steph McGovern also paid tribute to Bill – who presented the show from 2001 to 2016 – remembering him as a “fantastic broadcaster and a brilliant friend”.
She tweeted: “Absolutely gutted that our Bill Turnbull has passed away.
A fantastic broadcaster and a brilliant friend….I learnt so much from him. And we had some cracking arguments about how you should pronounce words like ‘poor’
We all loved him [heartbroken emoji] #RIPBill (sic)”
Former ‘Good Morning Britain’ presenter Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter: “RIP Bill Turnbull, 66.
One of the best broadcasters in Britain, and such a smart, funny, warm generous-spirited man. Fought his illness with typical stoicism, courage and humour. Bill made presenting live TV look so effortless, which was his great talent. Such sad news.”
A post on the ‘BBC Breakfast’ Twitter account read: “Former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull has died. He was 66. He was loved by our viewers. He was loved by his colleagues. Bill will always be remembered for his warmth, humour and being a brilliant journalist.”
Bill’s family confirmed in a statement that he had tragically lost his fight against prostate cancer on Wednesday.
They said: “Following a challenging and committed fight against prostate cancer, Bill passed away peacefully at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family on Wednesday, 31st August.
“Bill was diagnosed in 2017 and has had outstanding medical care from the Royal Marsden and Ipswich Hospitals, St Elizabeth Hospice and his GP.
“He was resolutely positive and was hugely buoyed by the support he received from friends, colleagues, and messages from people wishing him luck. It was a great comfort to Bill that so many more men are now testing earlier for this disease.
“Bill will be remembered by many as a remarkable broadcaster who brought warmth and humour into people’s homes on BBC Breakfast and Classic FM.
“He was also a devoted Wycombe Wanderers fan and an ever-aspiring beekeeper. Bill was a wonderful husband and father to his three children; his family and friends will miss how he always made them laugh, and the generosity and love he shared with those around him.
“Bill was a wonderful husband and father to his three children; his family and friends will miss how he always made them laugh, and the generosity and love he shared with those around him.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘The Chase’ has crowned its biggest-ever solo winner, after a contestant won £80,000.
Dan took home the five-figure sum after when he beat Chaser Jenny Ryan in a head-to-head battle, after his three team-mates had all been eliminated.
After earning £5,000 in his cash builder, Dan opted to go big or go home by taking the larger offer from The Vixen.
He quipped: “What have I got to lose? I’m going for the £80,000.”
After soaring to victory in his first face-off with Jenny, Dan managed to get 17 steps ahead of The Chaser in the Final Chase.
He then made TV history after securing a number of pushbacks against Jenny in the nail-biting final segment.
During the final question, it appeared as if Jenny might steal Dan’s moment and huge cash prize, but with a few seconds remaining she failed to answer the last question, about which former Israeli president the country’s main airport is named after.
Dan correctly told host Bradley Walsh that it was David Ben-Gurion.
As the alarm sounded, signalling the end of the show, Bradley asked what Dan intended to spend his record-breaking winnings on.
After Dan explained he was looking to take a trip to New Zealand, he quipped he was now able to take a “longer” holiday.
He said: “I think I’ll be spending a little bit longer in New Zealand than initially planned!”
Jenny said: “Sensational. Dan deserves every penny of that, that was a sensational performance.”
Dan’s performance beat the former solo winner record, after a player named Eden previously won £75,000 when going up against Darragh Ennis, otherwise known as The Menace.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Morven Christie will lead the cast of a new Jed Mercurio-produced drama, ‘Payback’.
The former ‘The Bay’ actress will play Lexie Noble in the six-part ITV series, which will see her character become entangled in a perilous police operation to topple a notorious crime lord, Cal Morris, played by ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ star Peter Mullan.
Morven said: “I fell in love with Lexie from the first page, and I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Peter and this wonderful team in my hometown.”
The series will be filmed in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, and it will also feature Prasanna Puwanarajah and Derek Riddell as DC Jibran Khan and DCI Adam Guthrie respectively.
The financial investigators are monitoring the every move of Lexie’s husband Jared, who has been laundering Cal’s illegal earnings.
Jed will executive produce the series, alongside Madonna Baptiste, Diederick Santer, and Debbie O’Malley, who created the show.
Madonna and Jed said: “Working with Debbie has been a joy, and everyone at HTM is proud to bring her thrillingly propulsive crime series to screen.
“We are very excited to announce a stellar line up of acting talent and pleased to be working with immensely talented directors and production team.”
ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill added: “‘Payback’ is a brilliant thriller which questions how well you know your partner and as the secrets come out, asks who you can trust.
“Debbie has written compelling scripts that will keep the audience hooked and surprised.
“I’m delighted to be working with Morven Christie again, and of course Jed Mercurio and Madonna Baptiste at HTM Television.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Love Island’ star Indiyah Polack has signed a six-figure deal with PrettyLittleThing.
The 23-year-old reality star – who finished third alongside boyfriend Dami Hope, 26, on the latest series of the ITV2 dating competition – will be face of their second-hand “marketplace” as part of the fast fashion’s brand move to being more sustainable.
She said: “As soon as I knew PLT wanted me to support this initiative and be the ambassador for the marketplace, where the focus is on re-wearing and re-selling, which is something that’s important to me, I knew I wasn’t going to turn the opportunity down.
“I’ve taken my time coming out of the villa, ensuring I have the best management team on board to help me with my career, but I’m so excited we can finally announce this partnership and share it with everyone.”
According a source, the brand have had their “eye on Indiyah” for a while.
An insider told the MailOnline: “PrettyLittleThing bosses have had their eye on Indiyah, and they’ve been in talks to sign her for weeks now.
“To collaborate on the launch of the new marketplace felt like a great fit, she looks incredible, and believes in creating a sustainable future.”
Indiyah – who follows in the footsteps of fellow ‘Love Island’ alum Molly Mae Hague and her fellow former Islander Gemma Owen – was “always” the top choice to front the new endeavour.
The brand’s CEO Umar Kamani told the same outlet: “We are delighted to confirm that Indiyah will be our first ever PLT Marketplace Ambassador. Indiyah will be launching our new resale app as an exclusive seller.
“This was always our plan but due to hectic schedules, we were not able to confirm the announcements in the order that we planned.
“We hope our PLT customers know how much we value their opinions and that we would never take them for granted.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Janette Manrara and Rylan Clark are set to host ‘It Takes Two’.
The 38-year-old dancer and former ‘X Factor’ star Rylan, 33, will front the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ spin-off show together for the second year running when the Latin and ballroom dancing competition returns to BBC One in September.
Janette said: “I am so thrilled to be back hosting ‘It Takes Two’ alongside the amazing Rylan! I’m very excited to bring the audience more great conversations with our couples, a lot of fun weeknight television entertainment and, of course, to celebrate my favourite show on TV, ‘Strictly.’ ”
Meanwhile, ‘This Morning’ presenter Rylan – who first fronted ‘It Takes Two’ in 2019 alongside Zoe Ball – explained that he is “so excited” to be returning to the show for a fourth year and that he is “thrilled” to be joining the former ‘Strictly’ professional once again.
He said: “I’m so excited to be back at Strictly – It Takes Two for my fourth year. I absolutely love being part of the show. I’m so thrilled that my television wife Janette is joining me for the ride and we can’t wait to bring you all the back stage gossip from this year’s Strictly extravaganza. We can’t wait to start.”
‘Strictly : It Takes Two’ has aired as a companion to ‘Stricly Come Dancing’ since its first series in 2004 and goes behind the scenes of the Saturday night favourite for exclusive interviews with the contestants, professional dancers, judges and also features expert analysis and celebrity guest panels.
The annual competition is set to return to BBC One for a launch show on 17 September, with the likes of ‘Loose Women’ star Kaye Adams, Bros singer Matt Goss and ex-‘Corrie’ actress Kym Marsh all vying for the Glitterball Trophy, while ‘It Takes Two’ will air on BBC Two from Monday 26 September.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Dame Prue Leith thought she would be dead by 82 .
The chef-turned-TV star – who is known for her role as a judge on Channel 4’s ‘The Great British Bake Off’ – celebrated her 82nd birthday earlier this year and thinks it is “amazing” that people are still interested in her because she thought she would be “under the sod” by now.
She said: “It’s extraordinary. I thought I’d be under the sod by the time I was 82. It’s wonderful that people still want to employ me and people are still interested in me. But what I’m most pleased about is that I still have the energy and enthusiasm to do it all.”
The former ‘Great British Menu’ star – who was married to property developer and author Rayne Kruger from 1974 until his death in 2002 and has son Danny , 47, and adoptive daughter Li-Da, 46, with him – explained that despite initially wanting to give up work when she became a mother, she soon decided she “had to” resume her career.
She told Good Housekeeping Magazine: “When I had my first child, Daniel, I took four months off and I loved it. You have to do what’s right for you, but it doesn’t come without some feeling that you’ve not got it quite right because you’re making trade-offs all the time.”
Meanwhile, Prue tied the knot with retired fashion designer John Playfair in 2016 and admitted that these days she enjoys a “pub crawl” with her husband while riding on the back of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
She said: “His children call it his mobility scooter because it has two wheels at the back, so it can’t turn over – but I love it! We go pub-crawling around the Cotswolds, I do the drinking because I’m on the back, and it’s the loveliest.”
Read the full interview with Prue Leith in the October 2022 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale the 31st August.
It is available in all supermarkets and online at MagsDirect.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Lucy Spraggan thinks ‘The X Factor’ needs reality TV stars to educate the contestants.
The 29-year-old star – who rose to fame on the ITV talent show in 2012 – has responded to rumours the programme could be making a comeback three years after it ended its run following 15 years on the air.
She told Metro newspaper’s Guilty Pleasures column: “I have a book coming out next year that goes into my experiences.
“In a very ‘Hunger Games’-esque way, they need old battlefield people to come in and say, ‘This door that you’re about to open will change your life as you know it, you will never be able to walk back through the door’.
“They need reality TV stars to come in and give them reality!”
The ‘Everything Changes’ singer recently noted that if ‘The X Factor’ does make a comeback, she will be campaigning to ensure contestants are provided with “the correct welfare” and support.
She said: “If that show comes back, I can guarantee that it won’t come back without the correct welfare and I’ll make sure of that.
“My book comes out next year which is why I know I’m going to have the power to make sure people get properly looked after.”
Last month, there were reports the show will be revived by Channel 5 after boss Simon Cowell had “lots of meetings” with a number of different TV channels.
A source previously said: “As soon as ‘X Factor’ was up for grabs, there was interest from a number of the networks.
“’X Factor’ is one of the most iconic shows in TV history, so it’s no surprise lots of channels were keen. The production company had their pick.
“After a lot of meetings, execs decided to go with Channel 5.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Jade Goody would be “really proud” of her sons.
The ‘Big Brother’ star – who was mother to Bobby, 19, and Freddie, 17, from her relationship with Jeff Brazier – tied the knot with Jack Tweed just one month before she died from cervical cancer in 2009 aged 27, and now her widower has explained he is “really pleased” after her eldest landed a role in BBC soap opera ‘EastEnders’.
He said: “He’s in ‘EastEnders’! He’s doing his modelling as well, I’m really pleased for him. Jade would be really proud. If you met Bobby, he’s sort of made for that life – he’s got so much confidence, he’s like his mum in a lot of ways. I’m not worried about it!”
Meanwhile, ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ star Jack went on to explain that he still sees his stepsons – who now live with their father Jeff and his wife Kate Dwyer – and that Bobby is “always asking questions” about his late mum.
Jack told Metro.co.uk: “I still talk to them. Freddie was away when I did the ball but Bobby came down and I went for dinner with him the other month as well, it is good to stay in touch.
“They’re doing really well for themselves. Bobby actually looks exactly like his mum, so we had a big conversation about that the other day. He does always ask questions.
“You don’t really get over it, you just learn to live with it.”
Bobby has filmed his first scenes as Freddie Slater in the long-running soap opera and admitted he was “shaking” after stepping onto the famous Albert Square set for the first time.
He said: “It was overwhelming emotions to play I was shaking. I felt that I was acting and I went off after this scene finished I went round the corner so other actors could finish the scene.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online