OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Gladiators’ legend John Anderson has died aged 92.
The original voice of the competitive TV show was best known for his catchphrase “Contender ready! Gladiator ready!”.
The Glaswegian is reported by Athletics Weekly to have passed away in the early hours of Sunday (28.07.24). His cause of death remains unknown.
Originally a coach, Anderson famously guided world 5000m record-breaker Dave Moorcroft, among others, to victory, and he is among the first to pay tribute to the star.
Moorcroft told the publication: “I can’t speak too highly of John.
“He turned water into wine. At our club (Coventry Godiva) we’d never had anybody break four minutes for mile, but not only did I do it but Tim Redman, Colin Ridding and Steve James all broke four minutes.
“I don’t think any of them would describe themselves as world beaters, but John just got the best out of people. I’m certain that I would never have been a decent athlete if it wasn’t for John. Not just because of the training he gave me, but he took a shy kid who didn’t believe in himself and just had that amazing ability to believe in me and others.
“I’m certain that I would never have been a decent athlete if it wasn’t for John. Not just because of the training he gave me, but he took a shy kid who didn’t believe in himself and just had that amazing ability to believe in me and others.”
Moorcroft says Anderson’s “bravado and brashness” and “his loud voice” were all “tongue and cheek”.
He said: “I also got his humour. I loved all that bravado and brashness and his loud voice and everything because I knew it was all done tongue and cheek.
“He would die for his athletes, and he never took a step backwards. He was a fighter in everything he did.
“He coached me from the age of 16 and never took a penny. It cost him a fortune for the privilege of working for nothing.”
He recalled how Anderson would offer up advice that other coaches wouldn’t.
Moorcroft shared: “John used to say that if you want to play the violin, you don’t play the cello during the winter.
“He built his training philosophy around principles that in many respects he established. And also, he kind of took you on a on a risky journey, but you knew exactly where you stood.
“So you trained hard and you did some stuff that maybe was, in hindsight, a bit over the top, and there was always a danger that you could break down, but there was also a danger that you’d end up breaking a world record or something.”
Anderson previously worked as a teacher and coach for Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games athletes.
He headed up sports game show Gladiators from 1992 to 2000, briefly returning in 2008, but retired and was replaced by John Coyle.
He coached British athlete William Sharman, transforming him from a decathlete to a world class sprint hurdler.
‘Gladiators’ was revived by the BBC this year with Bradley Walsh and his son Barney hosting. A second series is on the way.

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Paul Merson has reportedly become the latest star to sign up for the new series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 56-year-old Arsenal legend – who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports – is believed to be joining the upcoming season of the BBC talent show alongside famous faces including reality star Pete Wicks and ‘DIY SOS’ presenter Nick Knowles, who are also reportedly to be in the line-up for the 2024 series.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Paul will be a popular addition. Footballers always do well with fans, whether they can dance or not.”
Other stars who are reported to be in the running to appear in the new series include former rugby player Danny Cipriani – who previously danced in the show’s Christmas special – as well as ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ host Martin Roberts, YouTuber GK Barry and former ‘EastEnders’ star Jamie Borthwick.
The news comes as ‘Strictly’ remains mired in controversy over a series of allegations about abusive training methods. The BBC has launched an inquiry into the claims and two professional dancers – Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice – have left the line-up.
The latest star to wade into the furore is Laura Whitmore, who recently confirmed she has spoken to the inquiry about her time being partnered with Pernice during her stint on the show back in 2016.
In a post on Instagram, Laura explained: “I was trying not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete but feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show support by setting the record straight.
“I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people that I know of (who deserve anonymity as they don’t want to be dragged through the press), about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual.”
The former ‘Love Island’ host revealed she had initially “raised concerns” while competing on the show and initially thought she was the only one to have had a negative experience, so hopes the complaints are listened to.
She added: “I initially raised concerns back in 2016. I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned 1 was wrong. The aim of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to stop.
“My evidence is to support other people’s experience. It’s a shame it takes this for someone to be heard. I am not looking for anything just an acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and that it won’t happen to anyone else again.
“Because I have not made an official complaint, and am providing evidence of my experience to support the investigation, not all the communication will be passed on to all parties involved.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Romesh Ranganathan has had a bin lorry named after him.
The 46-year-old comedian is the inspiration behind a new bin lorry named Romesh Recyclenathan, after a group of school children in Crawley, south-east England, were asked to present him with a series of Romesh-themed names.
Speaking on the ‘Perfect Day with Jessica Knappett’ podcast, Romesh shared: “They emailed me saying, ‘Here are the names we’ve settled on but we don’t want you to be annoyed so can you tell us which you prefer?’
“I don’t know what your rights are when a bin van is named after you.”
Romesh subsequently joked that the lorry’s fate will depend on his own success.
He quipped: “Obviously I’m going to decline in popularity and work rate and I wonder if I’m going to get another email going, ‘Romesh it’s time … just to let you know we’re retiring Romesh Recyclenathan’.”
Meanwhile, Romesh previously revealed that he turned to DJing during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The TV star decided to try his hand at DJing as a means of curing his boredom during the pandemic.
He told the BBC: “At the beginning of the first lockdown, I got a load of DJ equipment and I started to become this sort of tragic … this tragic DJ in my garage, basically – with a view to my target: I’ve set a goal for myself of playing out somewhere when we’re back to normal in October. So that’s my target.”
Despite this, Romesh admitted to being a bit embarrassed about his lockdown lifestyle.
The comedy star said: “I don’t know if that’s … one of the most tragic things I’ve ever said.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Emma Willis struggles to watch reality television.
The 48-year-old star – who is married to Busted singer Matt Willis, 41, and has Isabelle, 15, Ace, 12, and seven-year-old Tixie with him – made her name by presenting shows like ‘Big Brother’ and ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! NOW!’ but admitted that when her eldest wanted to watch ‘Love Island’, she had to eventually “pull out” of the ITV2 dating show because she realised how much commitment was needed as a viewer.
She is quoted by The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column as saying: “I’ve spent many years watching reality TV. “Now I know how much of your life it takes over if you get in and watch them.
“I watched ‘Love Island’ because my eldest wanted to start watching it. I was like, ‘I need to just check that this is OK’. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll watch another one with you, just to make sure’. But I pulled myself out of it because I can’t give up my ­summers again.”
Despite this, Emma and her husband are now hosting ‘Love Is Blind’ for Netflix and they believe that their format is the “complete opposite” of other dating shows because the end of the competition is marriage rather than a cash prize.
Emma said: “It’s not like Big Brother was, there’s no cash prize. At the end of it is a legal ­wedding. You can’t enter into it lightly.
“You’ve got to genuinely want to be settling down.
“A lot of the cast have something they’re dealing with or ­obstacles they have had to overcome, and it’s not done in a sob story way.
“We’ve all got something, right? You’ve got to put all your cards on the table and hope you’ve got a . . .  what’s a good card analogy?”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Helen Flanagan believes “women should uplift each other”.
The 33-year-old actress has hit back at an online troll who told Helen to stop pouting in her social media posts.
In an initial message, Helen said on Instagram: “Can’t wait to get my Extentions back in tomorrow. Had a break for two weeks of them not in so I can do my hair ups, but feel so much better with my Extentions in and so much more confident x
“My hair is so thin, I so wish I had naturally thick hair x I don’t know if having the kids so close together made my hair worse or if I get stressed x. (sic)”
Helen’s Instagram post actually prompted a critical reaction from one follower.
She said: “I Like following you and your page, i just wonder why you have go constantly stick your lips out non-stop. You are pretty and great mum, but every picture and post is you with your mouth open showing your pout (sic)”
Helen – who is best known for playing Rosie Webster in ‘Coronation Street’ – then hit back, insisting that she’s “naturally got big lips”.
What’s more, the soap star suggested that women should support one another, rather than being critical.
She said: “I’ve naturally got big lips and that’s just my face x it shouldn’t bother you that much x women should uplift each other x (sic)”
Despite this, Helen later confessed to having had some filler put in her top lip.
The actress explained: “I’ve had the smallest bit in my top lip to even out as my bottom lip is big. Why say it in such a catty way? What is wrong with women having lip filler anyway?”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Denise Welch lost thousands of pounds through a phone scam.
The 66-year-old actress – who has been married to artist Lincoln Townley since 2013 – revealed that some time ago, she received a convincing phone call from a “very personable” fraudster pretending to represent her bank and “didn’t hesitate” to give him sensitive information because she was sure it was all genuine, especially as the call matched the ID she already had saved.
Speaking on ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’, she explained: “It was a few years ago, pre-pandemic and I was happily in rehearsals for ‘Calendar Girls: The Musical’, we obviously weren’t supposed to look at our phones but we all have a sneaky look and there was Barclays. So I went out, took the phone call, and they said it was the fraud squad.
“I had absolutely zero doubt that I was talking to the fraud department from my bank because it had come under the headline for Barclays that I had put in my phone.
“I was talking to this chap called Michael, he was very personable and I went over all the information you are duly expected to give. My full name, date of birth, my address and postcode and my mother’s name. I didn’t hesitate because it said Barclays.
“Over about four phone calls, Michael had become my best friend, he said it was taking a long time to do this because this was a fraud that was potentially going to be bigger than they thought.
“They then said on the fifth phone call that it didn’t happen very often but they needed to ask me for my PIN. Now, even I know that you don’t give your PIN away but because I was talking to the fraud department at Barclays, I did. The next day, I mentioned this to my husband and he went absolutely spare.”
The ‘Loose Women’ star eventually discovered that the whole scheme had been a scam and has now decided that going forward, she will always hang up when she gets such a call and ring the bank herself.
“And I said ‘But it was Barclays! What do you mean I shouldn’t have given it to him? It said Barclays on my phone! And I showed him the trail of information I’d had before that, that genuinely was from Barclays.
“And of course, it wasn’t Barclays and they had apparently cloned my card over this period of time. It was my credit card and by the time we discovered it, they had taken over £2000 from my account.
“If I’d been sat at home and this was happening…but I was at work, I was in and out, I just wanted it sorted.
“Do not give your information to anybody unless you can somehow be 100 percent sure. Ring them back, anyone whois calling you. Even if you may have spoken to them before. Say ‘You’ve called me, I’m gonna put the phone down and I’m gonna do my due diligence.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Amanda Abbington has claimed ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ producers apologised to her weekly after being “shocked and horrified” by rehearsal footage.
The ‘Sherlock’ actress has made a formal complaint after accusing her dance partner Giovanni Pernice of abusive behaviour and she’s revealed her legal team have been “blocked” from viewing 50 hours worth of clips from their training sessions, which were reviewed weekly by show bosses after she made an initial objection to her alleged treatment at the hands of the professional.
Speaking to Krishnan Guru-Murthy on ‘Channel 4 News’, she said: ”There’s 50 hours of footage that’s being blocked. You know, 50 hours is a lot of footage, and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic.
“So in the first week, I raised my concerns to the producers. Giovanni said that he asked for the cameras, he didn’t ask for the cameras, I know that he didn’t ask for the cameras, because the producers came to me and said, ‘we’re going to put in cameras so we can view the footage at the end of the week and make an assessment and see what’s going on’.
“And then every Friday, after the next sort of five weeks, I would get the producer saying, on the Friday, ‘we just watched the footage back, we are shocked and horrified, we’re so sorry’. That was to my face on the Friday when we would go in and do the camera rehearsal.
“It’s out there. There is evidence out there of what happened in that room and I’m not the one who’s blocking it. I’ve said anyone can watch it, but he (Giovanni) doesn’t want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if he’s got nothing to hide.”
Asked if she meant bullying behaviour, she said: “Yes, it’s bullying and it’s aggressive behaviour, there were other things that were very upsetting, that you manage in the room at the time, because you’re a woman, and you have to manage those things because otherwise, what do you do?”
Amanda insisted she doesn’t want to “bring down” the show and “envies” the contestants who can only speak highly of their experiences.
She said: “I read an article saying, ‘Amanda wants to bring down Strictly’. No, I love Strictly, I would love to have had a beautiful experience on it. I really would. I’m envious of the people who had a wonderful experience on that show, I’m so glad they did, and I feel really sad that I didn’t get to fulfil my journey.”
And Amanda – who withdrew from the programme after five weeks – denied she had “snubbed” the show by refusing to return for the final, insisting she was never asked to join the previous contestants on the last show.
She said: “I was never asked back to the final, and I read a headline saying I snubbed the final. I didn’t snub a final. Nobody ever contacted me again to be back in that show. Not that I probably would have been able to go back.
“But the idea that I snubbed it because I’ve made some wonderful friends on that show, and the people, contestants and some of the other dancers were just joyful. I didn’t snub anybody. I left that show with my head held high.”
A BBC spokesperson denied to comment on the actress’ interview.
A representative said: “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation.
“More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.“
Giovanni’s representative said they cannot comment due to the current review taking place.
They added: “As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Nick Knowles has signed up for the new series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The ‘DIY SOS’ star has reportedly agreed a deal with BBC bosses after months of talks to compete for the glitterball trophy and he is in it to win it.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Nick has always loved ‘Strictly’ and he is so excited.
“He’s got a great personality, is incredibly driven and competitive and is up for giving anything a crack. He’s going on the show to entertain and to win. He’ll give it his best shot.”
‘EastEnders’ actor Jamie Borthwick, 30 – who has played Jay Brown on the soap for the past 18 years – has also reportedly signed up for the show after wowing ‘Strictly’ bosses during last year’s Christmas special.
A source previously told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: “Although an ‘EastEnders’ actor is on ‘Strictly’ every year, this is the first time a performer on the festive special has gone directly into the competition.
“Producers and viewers were blown away by Jamie’s dancing.
“It’s not clear yet whether he will take a break from the soap or if he’ll juggle dance rehearsals with doing scenes for the soap.”
It was also claimed that Danny Cipriani is being lined up for the new series, after he impressed producers when he danced with Jowita Przystal on the Christmas special.
A source told TV Biz: “Danny proved he had the moves in the one-off special and ‘Strictly’ would love to have him back.
“It was an experience he enjoyed and Danny’s family and friends have been pushing him to say yes.
“Danny’s got ‘Bear Hunt’ on Netflix out next year so he’s free and able to take part. He’s coming back to the UK for a face-to-face meeting.”
And, ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ host Martin Roberts has been offered a deal to take part.
A source told The Daily Star newspaper: “Martin is just waiting to sign his contract. It’ll be a dream come true for him – and a delight for viewers.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Ashley Cain is to visit some of the world’s most dangerous places as part of a new documentary series.
The 33-year-old former footballer will be seen venturing to locations such as Marseilles to the gangs within a Philippine prison and poachers in South Africa with a camera crew for new BBC Three show as he insisted he has a “genuine passion” for the situations of each individual he meets.
He said: “I have a genuine passion for the people of this world and true compassion for every person’s situation.
“I am also incredibly inquisitive about the human mind and how people operate on the other side of their comfort zone.”
The former ‘ Ex on the Beach’ star explained that he will be as “deeply immersed” as possible and insisted that there will be “no judgement£ on et from himself because he wants to put himself in the shoes of those he crosses paths with.
He said: “So, I’m heavily invested in this series that explores the minds and lives of fellow young men based on the hardship they face in each adverse environment.
“It’s not my intention to judge. It’s my intention to understand.
“I will be as deeply immersed as I can be to truly understand how they think, feel and what they choose to or have to do in their lives to provide, protect or simply just survive.
“And ultimately ask myself… would I do the same if I lived in their world?”
An air date for ‘Ashley Cain: Into The Danger Zone’ is yet to be announced but the concept was previously compared to that of the documentaries headed up by Ross Kemp, which has seen the former ‘EastEnders’ star investigate the drugs trade and visit prisons.
An insider said: “After everything he has been through, raising money for his late daughter’s charity through physical challenges, he’s very much up for a tough new trial.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online

OHMYGOSSIP — Dame Judi Dench and Jay Blades will co-present a new travelogue style documentary.
The duo first struck up a friendship three years ago and have now signed up for Channel 4’s ‘Dame Judi Jay: The Odd Couple’, a documentary which will see them explore each other’s backgrounds and upbringings.
Dame Judi said: “Sometimes if you’re very lucky you get to meet someone and find you’re totally on the same wavelength. What fun I had filming this programme with Jay, sharing memories of our past, both so different, finding we have the same sense of humour. I could have gone on filming for days.”
Jay added: “To learn about a new friend’s past really solidifies the future of your friendship. Going down memory lane with someone dear to you is something I would urge everyone to do. This show has given me memories and a friendship I will cherish forever.”
Judi, 89, and Jay, 54, will uncover secrets from each other’s past, sharing funny and heart-warming stories along the way as they travel around the UK.
According to Channel 4: “This biographical travel show is an intimate portrait of true friendship, whilst also telling the story of class, race and social mobility in Britain through the years.”
Deborah Dunnett, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4, said: “It’s a real privilege to be afforded a glimpse into the lives of two wonderfully candid and talented people. Sharing the details of their very different journey to success, this film offers an affirming story of how a shared belief in talent, hard-work and fun can lead to lives well-lived, and the most unlikely of friendships.”
Dan Baldwin, Managing Director of Hungry Bear Media, added: “It’s magical to watch two friends, from totally different backgrounds, come together and delve into each other’s lives. This show is full of laughs and raw emotion…and we get see Dame Judi Dench like never before. This is a story of hardship, love, success, failures and friendship. Jay and Judi have a warmth and magnetic appeal that make this completely spellbinding.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online