OHMYGOSSIP — Monica Galetti is taking a break from ‘MasterChef’ to spend time with her family.
The 46-year-old chef – who has appeared on BBC’s ‘MasterChef: The Professionals’ as head judge since 2009 – has announced she is stepping back from the cooking show after more then a decade in order to focus on her family.
Monica, who shares 14-year-old daughter Anais with husband David Galetti, explained in a statement that she had too many commitments and needed to find the right balance to juggle family life with her own business.
She said: “It is with a heavy heart that I’ve made this decision to step back from filming this year’s series.
“My family need me, my restaurant needs me and trying to balance long filming days over the next three months with all these commitments meant that something had to give.
“So, for the moment, my focus has to be 100% about my loved ones and rebuilding my kitchen team who have had a battering over the last few months especially. Those in the hospitality industry know just how tough it is at the moment.
“To my ‘MasterChef’ family, crew and friends, I’m so sorry that I won’t be with you this year but I hope to be back soon.”
She thanked the producers for being “so understanding”, and insisted she will remain the “number one” fan as a viewer, while also giving a shout out to co-stars Marcus Wareing and Gregg Wallace.
She continued: “Thank you to both BBC and Shine TV for being so understanding of my decision but for this year I’ll be your number one supporter from the side lines.
“To my fellow judges and friends Marcus and Gregg – I’ll be watching – you’ve got this! If you’re ever unsure just think – what would Mon do?! See you soon!”
Meanwhile, Sarah Clay, BBC’s Commissioning Editor for Entertainment, added: “Monica is a valued member of the ‘MasterChef’ family, and while we will miss her expertise and invaluable cooking and food knowledge, we fully support her filming break to focus on her family and business.
“We wish her luck and hope to see her back in the ‘MasterChef’ kitchen in the future.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Shirley Henderson is set to star in ‘The Winter Child’.
The Scottish actress – known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter franchise – is gearing up to take on the lead in Channel 5’s upcoming TV thriller.
The four-part series will follow the story of Claudia (Henderson), a lonely single mother and school nurse who becomes obsessed with discovering what happened when a child goes missing in her community.
The synopsis reads: “Her opportunity to be a hero comes when a young child in her community – Emily Winter – goes missing. Claudia becomes embroiled in the case and fixated on uncovering the truth.
“However, her fascination quickly begins to turn to obsession, not only with what happened to Emily, but also with the Winter family at the heart of the case. Emily’s grief-stricken father, Owen; her cold mother, Sabine, and her twelve-year-old brother, Dean.”
Emily’s heartbroken parents will be played by ‘Game of Thrones’ actor Ian Lloyd Anderson and ‘Silent Witness’ star Lisa Dwyer Hogg, while the likes of Sara Powell (‘Doctor Who’) and Ronan Leahy (‘Batman Begins’) have also been cast.
Giula Sandler – the show’s creator, writer, and executive producer – is delighted with the “phenomenal cast”, and can’t wait to see how the “twisted workings” of Claudia are brought to life.
Sandler said: “It is a dream come true to have ‘The Winter Child’ made with such passionate and creatively inspiring collaborators.
“Channel 5 has brought together a phenomenal cast. I’m so excited to see how they bring this world, and the twisted workings of our main character Claudia, to life.”
Filming for the series will begin shortly, with an air date set for later in 2022.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Alistair Petrie and Rebekah Staton have been cast in ‘The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies’.
The talented trio – who have appeared in the likes of ‘In Fabric’, ‘Sex Education’ and ‘Raised by Wolves’ respectively – have been announced as the leads in the upcoming five-part BBC thriller.
The show follows two very different women – Alice Newman (Staton) and Cheryl Harker (Jean-Baptiste) – and the conman Dr. Rob Chance (Petrie), whom they both have in common.
In a press release, the BBC teased: “This is a story about lies and artifice, about our weakness for self-deception, and about the rapid ascent of the modern fraudster.
“Asking why do ‘respectable’ psychopaths rise to the top? Why does a posh man in a suit still seem so plausible next to a working-class mum in a pink cape?
“And if you can’t beat them, is joining them really so bad?”
The thriller is the first original series from sibling writing duo Penelope and Ginny Skinner, while Robbie McKillop will serve as leading director.
McKillop will be at the helm for three episodes, with Nicole Charles taking charge for two.
The cast also features the likes of Atonement’s Romala Garai as designer Juno Fish, Derek Jacobi as Sir Ralph Unwin, Julian Barratt as Alice’s magician husband Benjy, Karl Kohnson as her father Bill, and Ellie Haddington as her mother Diane.
Jo McClellan, Commissioning Editor, BBC Drama, says: “The BBC are thrilled to begin production on ‘The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies’ with this fantastic cast and the brilliant SISTER production team.
“Penny and Ginny have written an incredibly fun show which highlights how susceptible we all are to the modern fraudster, how they are everywhere and hiding in plain sight.”
The Skinner duo added: “We couldn’t be more delighted that, thanks to SISTER’s expert support and encouragement, this project has attracted such a talented group of collaborators to bring it to fruition.
“With Robbie McKillop and Nicole Charles’ insightful and creative direction along with an absolute dream cast, including stars like Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Rebekah Staton and Alistair Petrie, we are hugely proud that this show has found a home at the BBC. ”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — BBC reportedly wants to bring back ‘Survivor’ after two decades.
The hit reality show – which featured a group of people fighting for survival on a remote island with the hope of winning £1 million – first ran on ITV for two series in 2001 and 2002, and it’s said there have been talks for a revival on the Beeb.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: “The BBC have been working hard on getting Survivor back on the box and the deal is almost done.
“They have been working on a big contract with a production company to reboot the series.
“It made for great telly back in the early Noughties and they think it would do incredibly well now too.”
‘Survivor’ was an early example of reality TV as a social experiment.
The first series saw newsreader Mark Austen at the helm, with the cast travelling to Malaysia where they were stranded and left competing for the prize.
For the second season, England cricketer Mark Nicholas took over as host, and filming was shifted to Panama.
It’s said an ideal world would see the revamped show airing in a “prime time” slot, while producers will start the casting process “in the coming months”.
The insider added: “The dream would be to have it going out at prime time on BBC One.
“A lot of work has gone into this and all being well, casting will begin in the coming months.
“The BBC could not be more excited about the prospect of bringing Survivor back and given the budget and resources they could invest in it – it could be absolutely amazing.”
Meanwhile, bosses have reportedly also given some thought on a new presenter to front the fresh format.
The source said: “It is early days for Survivor on the BBC and the details are being hashed out. But they have a couple of presenters in mind to host the show.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Jason Manford wants ‘Scarborough’ to make a comeback.
The 40-year-old comedian – who played Mike in the only series of the BBC sitcom, which was written by Darren Litten and revolved around the lives of friends living in the North Yorkshire seaside town – thinks bosses made a huge mistake axing the series, which wasn’t recommissioned for a second run.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I still think it was the wrong decision. Someone makes those decisions in an office somewhere. Nothing’s ever dead [though].”
His comments come after the former ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats’ star embarked on his latest stand-up tour ‘Like Me’ after having to reschedule due to the pandemic restrictions, and Jason was excited to get back to performing as he missed it.
He added: “It’s a joy. It’s lovely to be with people. We are social creatures and need interaction. So it’s lovely to get out and be with people again.”
The tour – which has been “going great” – will see the ‘Ordinary Lies’ actor visit places like Blackpool, Dublin and Cardiff and will conclude later this year in November.
And he urged other comics not to get too “carried away” with their material – which might not be as funny as they think.
He said: “You’ve got to temper yourself a little bit. You might get carried away thinking you’re hilarious.”
Jason – who appeared in ‘Scarborough’ alongside Catherine Tyldesley as reconciled couple Mike and Karen – previously said the series played a huge role by serving a “core demographic audience that’s often forgotten”.
Speaking in 2020 after its axe, he said: “It was great fun to do and a lot of people enjoyed it.
“It’s disappointing because I think it served a core demographic audience that’s often forgotten, which is middle-aged, working-class people who don’t always get TV made for them.”
And the comedian suggested the comedy had a similar feeling to one particular legendary British sitcom.
He added at the time: “I thought it had a ‘Last Of The Summer Wine’ feel to it.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Merlin Griffiths is out of hospital days after undergoing surgery for bowel cancer.
The ‘First Dates’ barman – who revealed his diagnosis in September last year – shared a heartwarming selfie and confirmed he has been discharged six days after his operation.
Smiling for the camera, he captioned the photo: “And home again. 6 days from surgery.
“#NHS #davincisurgicalsystem is quite something. It’s taken weeks hospitalisation time!
“Road to recovery next. #cancer #bowelcancer #stoma (sic)”
Fans have flooded his post with messages of support.
One follower wrote: “Welcome fellow #ostomate to the #stoma community. Good to see you on the road to recovery.
“It’s a tough road at first but I hope when you get your head round living with a stoma it’s not so bad for you. There’s lots of support out there.”
Another added: “Get well. It’s a slow road to recovery. I was the most impatient patient. I wish I’d known it was ok that it takes time to heal. I was just so frustrated. Heal, rest, come back stronger than ever.”
Following his surgery last week, Merlin – who rose to face as the bartender on the Channel 4 dating show – continued to keep fans updated.
He tweeted: “Thank you #NHS for literally saving my life.”
Back in September, he revealed had been diagnosed with bowel cancer, and was told he had a 75% chance of living longer than five years.
He also had to explain the diagnosis to his seven-year-old daughter Alix.
He explained at the time: “I said, ‘Dad’s got cancer’. She said, ‘Is that bad, Dad?’
“I said, ‘Yes, it’s very serious but I think it should be OK. Modern medicine’s great and if anything changes I’ll let you know.’ ”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Paige Sandhu has been tipped to join ‘Strictly Come Dancing.’
The 25-year-old actress – who bowed out of her role as murderess Meena Jutla in ‘Emmerdale’ earlier this month – could be set to join the line up of the BBC ballroom show later this year after quitting her role in the long-running soap, according to the bookies.
Alex Apati, of Ladbrokes, told the Daily Star: “It looks like Paige Sandhu’s next move will take her to the dance floor with Strictly chiefs currently leading the way for her signature.”
If the former soap star does make it to the ballroom, she will join a long list of ‘Emmerdale’ alumni who have all found success on the Saturday night favourite, including Kelvin Fletcher – who starred as Andy Sugden for 20 years and won the seventeenth series of ‘Strictly’ in 2019 with his professional partner Oti Mabuse – as well as Mandy Dingle actress Lisa Riley, who landed in fifth place back in 2012 with Robin Windsor.
Last year’s competition was won by fellow soap star Rose Ayling-Ellis – who is known for her role as Frankie Lewis in BBC rival ‘EastEnders – and her professional partner Giovanni Pernice.
The news comes just a day after Paige made her last appearance on the Yorkshire-based soap, when the episode broadcast on Easter Monday (18.04.22) saw the village bad girl sentenced to 75 years for the murders of Leanna Cavanagh, Andrea Tate and Ben Tucker.
Paige previously said: “I always thought that Meena’s storyline was going to have to come to an end at some point, because you just can’t let a villain as bad as Meena just carry on. There would be no one left in the village, so her storyline has to come to an end at some point. When I thought about how the writers were going to do that, I thought she has to die because it’s the most epic thing. I just imagined that was what they were going to do but when I found out the storyline that they’ve written, I was like “Ooh this is actually way better than I could have imagined.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Jason Manford wants to host a revival of ‘You Bet!’
The 40-year-old comedian – who was recently a judge on ITV’s ‘Star In Their Eyes’ reboot ‘Starstruck’ – is turning his attention to the cult 1990s game show and admitted he wants to put the focus on “real people” rather the celebrities.
He told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: “I’d love to bring back ‘You Bet!’ because I like shows with real people in them.
“Celebrities have had it good for too long. They’ve already got a good life and they get nice things, so I think let’s see real people on the telly who have a real skill or who can do something funny.”
The original show – which was first hosted by Sir Bruce Forsyth and ran from 1988 to 1997 with Matthew Kelly and Darren Day both appearing as presenters – saw members of the public showing off their unique skills through special challenges.
The studio audience and celebrity panel had to place a bet on whether or not they’d succeed.
Jason added: “It’s a great way of celebrating nerds and just having a bit of fun with it.”
Meanwhile, the stand-up star also revealed he’s signed up for a second series of ‘Starstruck’, and he’s hoping co-stars Adam Lambert, Sheridan Smith, Beverley Knight and Olly Murs won’t be far behind.
He said: “I’ve signed up and I’m happy to do it. I don’t know what’s happening with the others.
“It’s down to schedules, I know Sheridan is massively busy, Beverley finishes in time to do the show and Adam is in America.
“I’m sure Olly would be up for it as he loves it. The ideal situation is that you’re all on board.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Eddie Marsan has joked that he was asked to be the next Jame Bond.
The 53-year-old actor is currently starring as real-life conman John Darwin – who faked his own death as a boating accident back in 2002 so his wife could claim life insurance money and clear their debts – in smash hit ITV drama ‘The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe’ and took to Twitter after episode two had aired on Monday (18.04.22) to joke that he has been asked to replace Daniel Craig in the 007 franchise following his star turn in the bizarre thriller series.
He tweeted: “I’ve been keeping this quiet for some time but, I’m now so relieved to finally announce… that I’ve been a asked [sic] to be the new Bond.”
The former ‘Ray Donovan’ star is joined by ‘Appropriate Adult’ actress Monica Dolan – who takes on the role of his complicit wife Anne – in the Hartlepool-based four parter and previously admitted that taking on a Northern accent for the role was one of the “hardest” he has ever done and revealed that he and his on-screen wife would continue to use the accent off-set.
He said: “It’s the hardest accent I’ve ever done. It’s hard because you don’t want to do Geordie and you don’t want to do Yorkshire, and there are subtle differences, where different people from different areas of Teesside have different accents, based basically on their class. Me and Monica [Dolan] just kept it going away from scenes so we could sound like a married couple, because married couples tends to have a kind of shorthand!”
‘The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe’ continues tonight (19.04.22) on ITV at 9pm, with all four episodes available to stream on ITVHub.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Cheryl Fergison has slammed claims that she is “married to a goatherd from Morocco.”
The 56-year-old actress – who is best known for having played Heather Trott on ‘EastEnders’ from 2007 until 2012 – has been married to Moroccan native Yassim al-Jemoni, 37 since 2011 but has son Alex, 22, from her marriage to Jamshed Saddiqi and was shocked to hear Amazon’s listening device Alexa tell her that she was married to a goatherd.
She said: “My son Alex asked his Alexa: ‘Tell me a fact about Cheryl Fergison’. And Alexa goes: ‘Cheryl Fergison is married to a goatherd from Morocco.’ Why’s that the first fact that comes up? And it’s wrong. We don’t have any goats. We’ve never had any goats near us! But that’s the first thing people say. I find it really difficult to pin down why – There’s racism, sexism, ageism – all the isms are there when people talk about our relationship.
The former soap star – who is now appearing as a satirical version of herself alongside comedy legend Catherine Tate in Netflix series ‘Hard Cell’ – went on to explain that their relationship is often thought to be a “con” because of the 21-year-age gap and is frustrated that it is often seen as “cool” for a man to date a younger woman, but not the other way round but ultimately “doesn’t care” what others think.
She told The Mirror:”The world has become so cynical. People think it’s got to be a con, it’s got to be a problem. But I say, ‘It hasn’t got to be anything. Just stop it. It seems to be quite cool for the men, like Mick Jagger, to date younger. But people don’t give any kudos to a woman dating someone younger, even though we’ve been together 11 years. Well we don’t care. It really is absolutely water off a duck’s back to us now. I just feel sorry for them, that they need to criticise our life.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online