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Hollyoaks and Love Island legend Paul Danan, 46, tragically died last week after he reportedly ‘slipped and fell’ in a luxury apartment near Bristol

Paul Danan’s friends and family gathered together for his funeral in Waltham Abbey this afternoon. However, many of Paul’s famous friends were forced to miss the ceremony due to traffic carnage.

The 00s legend, 46, tragically died last week after he reportedly “slipped and fell” in a luxury apartment near Bristol. Neighbours reportedly said taht an ambulance was called to the flat on Wednesday evening.

His management announced the devastating news of Paul’s death last Thursday and called the actor a “beacon of light”. Their statement read: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of @pauldanan at just 46 years old.

“Known for his television presence, exceptional talent, and unwavering kindness, Paul was a beacon of light to so many. His untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him.

Boyzone singer Shane Lynch was in attendance ( 
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James Redmond who appeared on Hollyoaks was in attendance ( 
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“During this difficult time, we kindly request respect and privacy for Paul’s family, friends, and colleagues. No further comments will be made at this time.”

Avon and Somerset Police issued a further update on Paul’s death in a statement: “Officers attended a property in Brislington, Bristol, at around 5.20pm yesterday (Wednesday 15 January) where sadly a man in his 40s was declared deceased by paramedics.

“His family have been notified and our thoughts are with them. They have asked for people to respect their privacy during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement read. “His death is not being treated as suspicious and officers are preparing a file for the coroner.”

Mourners gathered at the ceremony ( 
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He had been due to appear in court just hours before his tragic death over drug and driving offences. He was set to enter a plea at Warrington Magistrates’ Court in Cheshire on Thursday after being charged with being in possession of several bags of cocaine as well as a ‘quantity’ of cannabis, as said in court documents.

It came just months after he was rushed to hospital and given CPR after he suffered respiratory failure brought on by his addiction to vapes. His diagnosis at the time was so bad that his family had been warned that “he might not make it”.

Mourners comforted one another outside of the service ( 
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Paul tragically died aged 46 ( 
Image:
N.C)During his week in intensive care last year, he contracted pneumonia. At the time, he blamed his years of smoking for his health battle.

He said: “I’m upstairs puffing away on my vape then suddenly I lost my breath and collapsed. My family called for an ambulance and started giving me CPR, then police arrived and took over before paramedics took me to hospital. I was on a machine in ICU and ended up with pneumonia. My family were warned I might not make it through the night. I’m so lucky.”

The soap star also revealed that doctors told him straight the reasons why he was in such a critical position. He said: “The doctor was so, so harsh with me. She told me, ‘Paul, you don’t know how serious this was and you are going to be in here for a while now, on this oxygen’. She said if I ever smoke in any form again I risk being linked to an oxygen tank later on in life. She said that’s it now.”

Actor Connor McIntyre (centre) joined mourners ( 
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Paul’s last social media post was dated a week before his death and was an audition tape to play A Tewlfth Night’s Orsino. Heartbroken fans have since taken to the comments to pay tribute to the star. One wrote: “RIP mate sleep well.” While another commented: “So shocked. I hope it’s not true. RIP Paul. Why are so many young and vibrant people leaving us so soon?”

The former soap actor, who also appeared on the original version of Love Island in 2005, has been open about his struggle with addiction over the years. While speaking with Liam Tuffs on The Dozen podcast, he revealed how he was introduced to cocaine at 19 years old during his first day on Hollyoaks.

Hollyoaks’ Ruth Osbourne star Terri Dwyer paid her respects to Paul ( 
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He said: “The day I started there, someone and I am not going to say who, handed me an eighth of cocaine and I didn’t really know much about coke and he was like, ‘welcome.’ It was the first day, the first read through, I hadn’t even filmed anything.”

Paul was also very open about his love life, admitting to sleeping with more than a thousand women. He added: “I just enjoyed [it] and I think there’s a bad thing, a flip side to that, because now I really miss it.” Asked if he’s now celibate, he told the podcast host during the discussion: “It just don’t happen like it used to.”

Paul Danan appeared on Celebrity Big Brother ( 
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The actor pictured with his son DeNiro ( 
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He went on to discuss the idea of dating someone in their twenties or thirties, saying on the podcast: “And you have to be really careful that if you’re looking at like 25, 30 [year olds] and they look f***ing 20, 25 – y’know is that wrong? Is that right? Are you alright to even kind of fancy someone that’s say 25, 30 [years old]? They’re not really on your level because you’re 45. And you’re talking about [different things than they are] and they don’t know what the f*** [you’re talking about].”

Paul was last seen in public at Bristol Magistrates Court for possession of drugs. Back in 2010, he was fined a total of £350 and referred to a drugs agency for support and admitted “medicating myself” for anxiety and depression. That year in September, police were called to Kneesworth Street, Royston, and shortly afterwards arrested Danan over cannabis possession and a public order offence when he swore at officers.

The actor, who was dad to nine-year-old son Deniro, left Hollyoaks in 2001 to pursue a Hollywood career. However, he remained a permanent fixture within the reality TV circuit.

Speaking to the Mail Online in November last year, Paul spoke about his regret over leaving Hollyoaks over his fear of being “typecast”. He said: “Back then, everyone didn’t want to be the next Ken Barlow. You wanted to go off and play different roles, especially when you’re a real actor.”

He ventured onto LA and “got very close” to appearing in some big films but struggled with the rejection. Paul said: “Acting is a tough job and I think you don’t realise how lucky you are when you’re in a soap and you’ve got the closest thing to a nine to five job in acting that you can get. And when you get out there, you’re like s**t, man, it is really tough!”

Paul candidly opened up about his health struggles last year ( 
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His appearance in 2005’s Love Island, alongside the likes of Rebecca Loos and Jayne Middlemiss, was a “detriment” to his acting career. He continued: “It didn’t help with my acting career because suddenly people were like ‘oh, we don’t want to hire a reality star!’ Casting directors were a bit snobby like that, they don’t people want to see me on a TV show thinking ‘isn’t that the guy from Love Island?’”

A year later, he presented ITV2 show Test Drive My Girlfriend and then appeared in another series for the channel entitled Calum, Fran and Dangerous Danan. In 2007, he was famously sacked from his lead panto role as Prince Charming after yelling “make some f****** noise” as he switched on Christmas lights.

He later struggled for TV or film work in the states and went on to get a ‘normal job’ at a phone company called I Smashed It. He went on to work in a number of other stable jobs while hoping for his big break, from recruitment to Ted Baker.

Paul spoke of his desire to provide for his son, admitting that he found the cost of living “crazy” and that he did struggle because he wasn’t on the TV “all the time”. He said: “You don’t know when the next gig is coming, and hence the reason why the reality shows, some of the time I said yeah, because I needed to pay bills. And I probably didn’t want to do a reality show did I? I should have just stuck to my acting.”

Paul appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2019 ( 
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Paul appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show back in 2019, during which he revealed his parents saved his life after he suffered a drugs overdose. He had left rehab and instead of attending a meeting, he visited a drug dealer who gave him heroin instead of cocaine.

He said: “My mum came into the bedroom and heard me making these noises. She knew it wasn’t quite snoring but it was me choking on my last breaths. I was gagging basically. I was overdosing. They found me in my bed and they didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t think I’d taken anything because I’d just come back from rehab.”

Quizzed by Jeremy on why he still took drugs after what happened to him, he said: “I know that I have to work hard at it every day to keep in recovery. I find it difficult. I relapse a lot. When I was 14, 15, I started experimenting with ecstasy but it wasn’t a regular thing that I felt I had to.

“When cocaine came into the equation, that’s a drug that can become addictive without you realising.” At the time of the interview, he had been in rehab 17 times.

Yet Paul was keen to help those similarly struggling with addiction and those with mental health issues through his passion project, Morning After Drama (MAD). He also visited rehab centres, prisons and schools to help those interested in the arts. He said: “It really has changed people’s lives and helped a lot of people, it’s been overwhelmingly rewarding.”

Legendary chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson died at the age of 88 in 2023 following a short illness as it has since been revealed he left a staggering fortune to his wife

King of chat shows Sir Michael Parkinson has left his family an impressive fortune following his death aged 88.

The much-missed British broadcaster sat down with some of the most famous and impressive names in showbiz during his 50 years in television. He would devote an entire programme to each guest and delve into their life and career, including David Beckham, Muhammed Ali, Billy Connolly and David Attenborough

Sir Michael died after a short illness, eight years after receiving the all-clear following treatment for prostate cancer. In a heartbreaking statement shared by Michael’s family on August 16, 2023 they said: “After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family. The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve.”

Now, it has been revealed Sir Michael left an estate worth almost £300,000. His will was signed off by a court last week and confirmed he left £308,985, which was reduced to £292,512 after funeral costs, legal bills and debts were paid off, reports the Sun. All of his cash and assets were left to his wife of 64 years, Lady Mary Parkinson.

Sir Michael left his cash and assets to wife Mary ( 
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The chat show host died in 2023 at the age of 88 ( 
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His sons Andrew, Nick and Mike were appointed executors of the will after signing it in May 2020. Friends and family of the chat-show king, who was fondly called ‘Parky’, gathered to say their final goodbyes in a modest funeral a month after his death. Placed on top of his coffin was a cricket cap and a red and white scarf of his beloved football team Barnsley. A service was held at St Michael’s Church, in Bray, Berkshire.

Sir Michael’s son Mike reflected on the scale of tributes after his father died.Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he shared: “We didn’t expect the kind of outpouring, we didn’t expect what happened. I mean, not just here but inAustralia. 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. 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.”

He continued: “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.”

Asked how his mother and family were doing at the time, Mike said they were still in a “sense of shock” and admitted he caught himself wanting to reach out to his father before remembering he can no longer do so. Sir Michael came from humble beginnings – born in South Yorkshire in 1935, and growing up in a council house in Cudworth, near Barnsley. It was reported Michael died of ‘frailty of old age’, per his death certificate.

Loose Women star Linda Robson is said to have been unaware her Birds of a Feather co-star Pauline Quirke’s devastating dementia statement was going to be released

Linda Robson was reportedly not aware Pauline Quirke’s dementia diagnosis was going to be shared publicly.

Pauline’s husband Steve Sheen sadly announced the actress is set to “step away from all commercial and professional duties” to spend time with her family. She is known for playing Sharon Theodopolopodous in the original series of Birds of a Feather and its revival between 2014 and 2017 alongside Linda.

Steve said in the statement: “‘It is with a heavy heart that I announce my wife Pauline’s decision to step back from all professional and commercial duties due to her diagnosis of Dementia in 2021.” It was revealed on Loose Women yesterday that Linda had known about Pauline’s diagnosis for “some time”.

As the devastating announcement was released, Linda was on a Caribbean cruise. She was near the island of Grenada and was unaware the statement was to be released, according to the Daily Mail. On Monday, Linda had shared a photo of herself with a friend as she wrote: “Having the time of our lives!”

Linda’s Loose Women co-star Ruth Langsford also addressed her being away as Pauline’s health battle was discussed by the panel on Tuesday’s show. Ruth said: “Linda Robson, obviously great friends with Pauline, is actually away at the moment, otherwise she would have joined us today to talk about her friend. And obviously she has known for some time.”

Linda and Pauline have been friends since they were children ( 
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Linda and Pauline have been friends since childhood, but have faced feud rumours over the years. Pauline was nowhere to be seen in the Birds of a Feather special back in 2020, which left fans convinced that she and Linda had ended their friendship of fifty years. Her lines in the title song were removed and so were pictures of their characters Tracey and Sharon together.

It was claimed Linda and Pauline had become estranged and in 2022, Linda decided to address the rumours.She told The Mirror: “People say Pauline and I have fallen out. Obviously I couldn’t see her during lockdown but I’ve seen her since. She just doesn’t want to act anymore. She’s had enough – it’s long hours. She’s concentrating on her drama academies. She’s very hands on, going to classes and all that.

“I see Lesley [Joseph] all the time because we won Celebrity Coach Trip last year. And during the lockdowns I would leave funny things on her doorstep, like Tena Lady and hair dye! But when I was ill, both Pauline and Lesley rang me, or a member of my family, every couple of days to see how I was. They were both a big support and really there for me.”

In 2023, Linda admitted that she had for a time felt ‘envious’ of Pauline after she began picking up more serious acting parts. Opening up during an episode of Loose Women, Linda confessed: “So I’ve never really been jealous of Pauline Quirke but I used to be envious of all the roles she got like dramas and everything.

“I used to think, ‘Lovely, I’m really pleased for you but I would love to do some drama role as well’. But now I am doing drama roles, so I don’t have to be envious anymore do I! But no jealousy can be a terrible thing really. I was delighted she was so successful but I just wanted a little bit of it as well and I wished I had got that.” Linda, Pauline, and Lesley attempted to dispel any row rumours once and for all by meeting up for lunch in 2022.

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Dementia UK.

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Ricky Gervias has announced the sad news that a star of his hit comedy drama series AfterLife has died at the age of 13

Ricky Gervais has revealed the sad news that a star of AfterLife has died aged 13.

The comedian-turned-actor took to social media to announce the death of Anti, who played Brandy the dog in the hit series. Taking to Twitter/X the star shared an image of himself and the German Shepherd pooch on a park bench.

He wrote: “Sad News. ‘Anti’, who played ‘Brandy’ in AfterLife, has died. She was 13 and a very good girl.” He added a crying face emoji to his post as fans quickly paid their respects to the canine and shared their thoughts on the series.

Ricky Gervais with the famous German Shepherd ( 
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One user penned: “It was the most simple yet profound series I’ve ever watched. Watching you in this role, I constantly saw myself. It was a series where I confronted myself and life. You and Brandy were amazing.” Another wrote: “I’m so sorry to hear that. She brought so much joy and love to the show.”

A third said: “I lost my GSD a few years back. Such wonderful dogs,” and a fourth added: “Very sorry to hear it, Ricky. They are family. Condolences.”

AfterLife saw Ricky play the role of a man called Tony who is struggling to come to terms with his wife’s death. He portrayed the newspaper columnist who adopts a new persona in an effort to push away those trying to help. Anti was seen in the touching role of his best pal at home, Brandy, who supports Tony through grief.

In 2022, the dog’s owner, Beth Heale told BBC: “What she is to Tony, is what she is to us in real life.”

She added: “We don’t have children, just like how Lisa and Tony don’t in the show. It sends a poignant message throughout – dogs are there for you when people can’t be and Antilly is always there.”

Antilly had also had an Instagram account set up. Her death was shared to its thousands of followers alongside a sweet montage of moments, including alongside Ricky and another snap with the late Paul O’Grady. The caption read: “Vislor Antilly, After Life’s Brandy, has sadly passed away. We already miss her terribly. Sleep well xxx”

The role on AfterLife wasn’t Anti’s only taste of fame. At just 10 weeks old, she visited the set of The Dark Knight Rises with her other owner, Ashley Foster, who is a TV and film extra. He was playing one of Bane’s henchmen and both of Antilly’s parents were starring as attack dogs.

Antilly was often typecast as a police dog or guard dog on her time in front of the camera. She also featured in Midsomer Murders, Doc Martin and 2016 film Denial.

Katie Price: Making Babies showed the mum of five overwhelmed by her naughty pets, with her son stepping in to help as she jokingly questioned her desire to add another baby to the mix

Katie Price seemed to be overwhelmed juggling her pets and children in a scene from her new documentary.

Early on in the second episode of the Channel 4 show Katie Price: Making Babies – which documents her relationship with Love Island contestant Carl Woods, 35, and their journey to have a child together using IVF – the star was shown in her Sussex mansion in September 2023. Although she was trying to have another baby at the time, Katie is already a mother to five children – sons Harvey, 22, Junior, 19, and Jett, 11, and daughters Princess, 17, and Bunny, 10 – alongside a host of pets.

“Jett, could you just get the dog? He’s chewing that wire,” she was heard saying, with Jett responding: “He’s already ruined it.” The young boy was then seen moving a fan away from the corner of the room, while an adorable puppy was caught looking guilty.

Katie Price yelled ‘help me’ as a naughty puppy added to her duties as a mum of five
Katie then complained: “That’s puppies for you! And the kitchen was so tidy, and now it’s a mess again. Like, help me. And now I want another baby? Jesus!”

Car salesman Carl has now shared similar sentiments about the fact that they didn’t have a child together, suggesting it wouldn’t have been for the best. The duo split soon after their IVF journey failed, and he recently shared his relief: “This is not a heartbreak situation. I’m not unhappy that it didn’t work. I’m ecstatic that it didn’t work. I’m sure she’s glad she’s got the clean break. You know, we don’t have any ties.

Katie Price has multiple pets ( 
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“So actually, yes, everything happens for a reason. God was looking down on me and Kate and said, ‘you’re not matched to be parents, let’s not make this work. You go that way, I’ll go this way.’”

Alongside Carl’s claim that he and Katie shouldn’t have had a child, viewers have also raged against the duo’s relaxed attitude towards fertility treatments in the doc. In one scene from the first episode, Katie and Carl discussed potential donors and the kind of attributes they would have liked their potential child to have. Katie asked: “Right would you like them to have curly hair or straight? I like curly.”

Carl had the opposite response, saying: “I like straight.” Moving on, Katie observed: “Hobbies, you don’t like hiking, you hate reading and you don’t like classical and contemporary dance,” to which he replied: “No.”

The couple then dismissed a university-educated donor who “clearly isn’t us”, before Katie continued: “Next one – oh you only like this one because she says she’s 24. Listen this isn’t a dating app.”

Seeming to find a match, Katie was filmed exclaiming: “She’s a good one number four.” Carl then commented: “Four is my lucky number actually,” before Katie said: “What’s the brainy one again? It might be nice to have a little nerd. Brain over beauty.”

Katie and Carl documented their IVF journey in a new series ( 
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Another slammed the show and its subjects, writing: “Watching Katie Price Making Babies – Absolutely disgusted! All about me!!! No respect for those who have been on the IVF rollercoaster. I treasure my precious miracle who took 6 transfers. She makes a mockery of the IVF process. Shame on #Channel4 for giving her a platform.”

Katie’s pets have hit the headlines in recent years, and she was once the subject of a petition calling for her to be banned from owning pets. It is believed that over a few years, eight of Katie’s pets have died – including five dogs and a horse and a chameleon.

ITV’s Loose Women panellist Stacey Solomon shared the current state of her home and begged viewers not to judge her for one particular room in a candid Instagram post

Loose Women star Stacey Solomon is known for her Instagram-worthy Pickle Cottage but she recently gave fans a glimpse at the messiest room in her home.

The mum of five took to Instagram to share the current state of her home and begged viewers not to judge her for one particular room, despite being the host for BBC’s hoarding-help show Sort Your Life Out.

After completing her school run on Tuesday, Stacey posted several videos on her Instagram story to share recent projects in the family home named Pickle Cottage, which she shares with her husband Joe Swash and their collective six children. Stacey began with a girls room reset, showing soft pink walls featuring a neon sign of ‘Belle & Rose’, a vanity nook against a rose filled wall, and Lilo and Stitch themed bunk beds. The dreamy bedroom also featured a Swedish style rug and various trinkets, creating a calming environment for the under-three year olds.

Stacey captioned one photo of the girls hanging hoodie robes, saying: “Feels SO Good. To have everything in its own space, all their little figurines in tubs etc. Its also freed up space downstairs and I’ve left some shelves empty for future bits and bobs”.

Stacey Solomon captions video of her utility room as the messiest in the house ( 
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The mum says drawers are fifty percent full of empty boxes and old medicine ( 
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The story then panned “from the cleanest room in the house to the messiest” as Stacey exposed her fans to her utility room, repeatedly saying “don’t judge me”, which she also wrote in big bold letters over the top of the clip. She revealed her next task to tackle was the cluttered room by “completely empty[ing]” the pale green cupboards, ready to be prepped for painting. She said: “I’m going to organise it outside the utility so that when the painting is done, I can just put everything back in there.”

“Half of the stuff in these cupboards are just empty boxes, out of date medicine… I’ve just got to sort it out properly”, said the mum, claiming she needed the video as “evidence for just how bad it had got” and shared how excited she was to start again.

The need to plead with viewers to not to judge her perhaps stems from her being the host of BBC’s show Sort Out Your life, and organisational show that supports members of the public to descale the contents of their cupboards/wardrobes in an effort to give as many people the satisfaction of a clean, decluttered home they deserve. Previously known for blowing Simon Cowell away in 2009’s X Factor, the star now has a Mary Condo-esque reputation when it comes to her own home.

However Stacey’s fans took to the comments to reassure her, insisting that “we all have a messy room”, it “shows it’s lived in” and that here was “no judgement here”.

Being prepped for Stacey’s usual pink theme, the current green cupboards were opened to reveal old boxes, pet food, washing detergent and medicine – amongst other things. Stacey hoped that this would be “a nice little reminder that if you live in your house, sometimes it gets like this! And nothing stays perfect forever!”.

Her last video left viewers sharing in the satisfaction of Stacey emptying out her cupboards, and deep cleaning the coat-and-shoes nook labelled after each of her children. Stacey celebrated completing the task, saying: “I’ve built up so much STUFF in here, it’s terrible. So many empties/a few OOD (out of date) shoes the kids have grown out of”, and explained how “there’s a hidden storage nook in the seating are I forgot about”

“I need to plan better when I bring things back in. But first, PINK.” said the star, who’s method was “shoving things onto a sheet and dragging them out” – joking that was her “life hack of the day”.

Stacey shared her emptied utility room, ready to be prepped for its makeover ( 
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The room features adorable coat nook that assigns cubby holes for Stacy’s children ( 
Image:
Instagram)The star has previously opened up on her blended family, sharing how her eldest sons, Zachary, 15, and Leighton, 11, struggled with being separated from their mother and siblings when spending time with their respective dads. In an interview last year, Stacey shared how she would beat herself up for not being able to provide a “normal, perfect family all under one roof” however realised how “normal, and perfect” her family is for them.

Sons Zachary and Leighton now seemed to have followed in Joe Walsh’s footsteps in TV family tradition as they land a role in Hollyoaks, posted on the soap’s Instagram the same day.

Darragh Ennis, also known as The Menace on ITV quiz show The Chase, appeared on Loose Women on Wednesday (January 22), where he opened up about losing his dad to dementia

The Chase star Darragh Ennis has revealed he struggled to film the ITV gameshow after his dad died from dementia.

Darragh, who is also known as The Menace, appeared on Loose Women on Wednesday (January 22) to discuss his father’s battle with the neurological disease.

After losing his dad in July 2024, Darragh shared that was “playing to a script” while going about his daily life, especially when he returned to The Chase.

“In the end it was quite sudden. He had been physically quite well but then I got a phone call, and I barely made it home in time,” he said, adding that he was left “broken” inside.

Darragh Ennis appeared on Loose Women on Wednesday (January 22) ( 
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“We had a natural break in filming, but when I did go back to work, I was put under that stressful situation,” Darragh continued.

He revealed that he struggled to answer questions under time restraint, saying: “Normally when I start making mistakes, I’d naturally be able to handle it.

“I’d just plant my feet and keep going, but this time when I went to put my feet down, there was nothing underneath them. They just fell away.”

Darragh also shared that he got “camera shy” as the pressure completely “overwhelmed” him.

Darragh Ennis lost his father to dementia in July 2024 ( 
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“I had a couple of episodes like that, where every time I tried to reach for that part of myself that’s normally very calm under pressure, it wasn’t there anymore,” he continued.

Darragh explained that the producers quickly clocked onto his struggles and offered him extra time off. They’ve also arranged for counselling

When he was first offered help, Darragh initially “shrugged it away” as he didn’t want to admit that he was struggling. Once he accepted the support, he acknowledged that it felt like he was being saved from “drowning”.

In light of his experiences, Darragh has since become an Ambassador for grief charity At a Loss.

The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV1

Prince Harry is set to make a solo trip to the UK next month as part of his ongoing trial at the High Court – and he will use his visit to send a message to the royals, according to an expert

Prince Harry will likely reject an offer from the royal family when he returns to the UK next month as a form of “protest”, a royal author has claimed.

Harry is expected to travel to London alone in the coming weeks in order to appear before the High Court for his ongoing trial against News Group Newspapers (NGN).

It’s understood that wife Meghan Markle will remain at their Montecito home with their two children, as she has done on previous occasions.

Given Harry’s fractured relationship with the royals, it’s not known if he will reunite with any members of his family during his trip in London. Prince William is said to have completely cut ties with his younger brother, while King Charles was ‘too busy’ to see Harry during his visit in London in May 2024.

Now, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliam has predicted that Harry will turn down an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace next month, as some sort of protest.

He told GB News: “We do know that Buckingham Palace was offered for the last visit and rejected in favour of a hotel. Now, that’s never been explained. I don’t understand. It’s obviously part of a protest.”

He added: “So far as security is concerned, we know he’s appealing the Home Office’s decision not to automatically grant him security. Who would have thought he’d prefer a hotel to Buckingham Palace?”

It’s been five years since Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step down as working royals. Since then, they have become practically estranged from the royals after making a series of scathing allegations against the monarchy. And the rift is all the more painful for King Charles for one particular reason.

The monarch is said to be greatly saddened by the fact he has only seen Harry and Meghan’s children a handful of times. They are being raised in the States, thousands of miles away, and it’s believed the King has only met granddaughter Lilibet just once since she was born. Instead, he has watched them grow up in rare photographs and clips of the siblings on Harry and Meghan’s public social media.

Royal expert Jennie Bond told The Mirror: “It must remain a great sadness to the King to be so distant from his two US-based grandchildren – he hardly knows them and there’s no prospect of that changing any time soon. The early years in a child’s life are so magical – and once they’re gone, they’re gone. I hope the King doesn’t dwell on his loss too much, but it must hurt. Maybe, behind the scenes, Harry and Meghan have sent pictures to the King… we can but hope!”

The Duke has only made a handful of trips back to the UK in recent years, attending the funeral of Prince Philip and the late Queen, and briefly visiting Charles after his cancer diagnosis. Having lost his tax-payer-funded security when he quit the Royal Family, Harry has said he does not feel safe bringing his children and wife to the UK.

Princess Kate has made her first solo public engagement for more than a year – and it was an especially poignant outing for the mother-of-three as she returned to the hospital that treated her

The Princess of Wales has paid a poignant visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, the very same facility where she received treatment for cancer.

Making her first solo public engagement for more than a year, the future Queen took the opportunity to personally thank the staff for their exceptional care, support and compassion over the past year, as well as to show her support to those currently going through treatment.

Walking through the front revolving door, she said: “Coming in the front entrance here, having made so many quiet, private visits, actually it’s quite nice.”

Talking to a patient who has just started chemotherapy, Kate described the affects on family as being ‘really, really tough’. “The treatments are really so different and so varied, It impacts families differently,” she said.

The Princess of Wales at the Royal Marsden Hospital today ( 
Image:
Russell Myers/ Reach PLC)

When one patient told her, “I think you’ve managed the children amazingly well,” Kate replied, “It’s just trying to do the best…”

Talking about her own journey, she continued: “You think treatment is finished, crack on with that… daily tasks… but that’s still a real challenge. And understanding that as a patient, yes, there are side effects around treatment, but actually there are more long term side effects.”

Kate announced that she had completed her own chemotherapy treatment at the end of last summer, having been diagnosed with the disease in February. Doctors made the cancer diagnosis after she spent two weeks at The London Clinic in Marylebone following abdominal surgery.

After announcing a leave of absence from royal life, Kate, 43, managed to make public appearances at the King’s official birthday in London, Trooping the Colour in London, and joined her sister Pippa and daughter Princess Charlotte at the Wimbledon Championships last June.

She looks set to make a return to official duties over the coming months. But Kensington Palace was keen to stress that the guidance around the Princess’ return to public facing engagements hasn’t changed and would continue to be gradual. Her visit to the Marsden was so she could reflect on her own personal journey.

A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “The Princess wanted to make the journey to both show her gratitude to the incredible team, but also highlight the world leading care and treatment the Marsden provides.”

The visit marked Kate’s first official engagement alone since returning to work after cancer treatment ( 
Image:
Russell Myers/ Reach PLC)
During the visit, the mother-of-three met with staff and patients who are currently receiving treatment.

It has also been announced that the Princess is joining her husband Prince William as joint Royal Patron of the Royal Marsden.

The Royal Marsden is a research active cancer centre and plays an important role in helping advance cancer treatment for others in the UK and around the world. In her role as joint Royal Patron, Kensington Palace said the Princess is looking forward to supporting The Marsden’s work in advancing cancer research, treatment, and care as well as learning more about how it can benefit patients in the future.

It comes after a royal insider reiterated that fans will have to have patience when it comes to seeing Kate on a more regular basis. A source told the Daily Mail : “There is no huge reset button that’s going to be hit in January. What we will actually see is a slow continuation of the Princess balancing her recovery and her public-facing duties, as she outlined back in September [when she warned her recovery was still ongoing despite having completed her chemotherapy].

“Cancer impacts on your perspective, and what you have seen in the decisions they have made over the last year is that family and their children continue to be at the centre of their universe. Both Their Royal Highnesses have a strong commitment to duty, service and using their platform for good. But what they are working on is ways they can balance themselves as parents with being the Prince and Princess of Wales.”

Lady Louise Windsor, the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, was pictured sporting her new military uniform after taking up the extra-curricular activity at the University of St Andrews

Lady Louise Windsor is following in her grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s military footsteps as she takes on her university’s Officer Training Course. Lady Louise, 21, studies English at St Andrews University in Fife where she has joined the extra-curricular activity on the side of her demanding degree.

She was pictured wearing face camouflage, decked out in combat gear and holding a helmet labelled “Windsor”. Her grandmother would no doubt be proud as she follows in her military footsteps.

The late Queen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1945, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services as a full-time active member. If Lady Louise, who is 16th in line to the throne, chooses to follow in her footsteps, she will be the first female member of the family to do so since her grandmother.

Lady Louise has taken on the extra-curricular activity at St Andrews University ( 
Image:
standrewsuotc/Instagram)
The late Queen was not given a special rank and started out as a second subaltern, working on driving and vehicle maintenance. She was later promoted to junior commander, the equivalent of a captain, before earning herself the nickname “Princess Auto Mechanic” after pictures emerged of her working on vehicles.

More images shared by the Tayforth University Officers’ Training Corps (TUOTC) on social media show Lady Louise standing by the Union Flag in a brown jacket and tartan skirt. One source told The Sun: “Louise has loved every minute of being a member of the officer cadets at university.

“She talks about being very keen on a career in the military, serving the King and country. She’s received basic Army officer training and is more determined than ever to serve in the future.

“She fitted the officer training corps around her studies and has benefited hugely from the skills that she has been taught. She is all about the Army cadets and has fallen in love with it.”

Lady Louise had a close bond to her grandparents and was the first royal to officially carry the late Duke of Edinburgh’s Mountbatten surname. Taking on military duties in the royal family is not uncommon.

Lady Louise was said to be very close to her grandparents ( 
Image:
standrewsuotc/Instagram)

Lady Louise is 16th in line to the throne ( 
Image:
standrewsuotc/Instagram)

Both Prince William and Prince Harry have taken on military roles in the past. The Prince of Wales completed a 44-week training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned as an army officer in December 2006.

Meanwhile, Harry completed two operational tours of Afghanistan during his 10-year military course, and went on to found the Invictus Games that supports injured or sick veterans. In 2007, he was deployed to the Gelmand province where he served as a forward air controller, before qualifying as a co-pilot gunner in 2012 and deploying to Camp Bastion.

In addition to her basic weapons training, Lady Louise will undergo leadership lessons and a “course in navigating tough terrain under pressure”.