Author: bang5

David Beckham marked his milestone birthday in style with a luxurious dinner in London’s swanky district of Kensington – but his eldest son Brooklyn was nowhere to be seen

Gordon Ramsay and wife Tana looked happier than ever leaving the swanky bash(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

Gordon Ramsay, Tom Cruise and Eva Longoria were among David Beckham’s A-List pals who couldn’t stop giggling as they stumbled out of the football legend’s 50th birthday bash in the early hours of Sunday morning.

David marked his milestone birthday in style with a luxurious dinner at three Michelin-starred restaurant Core in London’s swanky district of Kensington.

And celebrity chef Gordon, 58, and wife Tana, 50, clearly had a whale of a time after the boozy dinner. Jumping into theur taxi, the couple clutched hands as they laughed, with a tuxedoed Gordon grinning at his elegant wife in a pale blue silk dress.

Eva Longoria, who is close friends with Victoria, couldn’t stop smiling either as she slid into her plush car with a black dinner jacket draped over her shoulders and partially hiding her gorgeous sky blue gown. The Desperate Housewives actress, 50, appeared to be very tired after the night out as her eyes drooped closed and was soon joined by husband José Bastón, 58, who looked very dapper in his three-piece suit.

Eva Longoria appeared tired after the night out(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

After making a solo low-key arrival, lookers-on managed a glimpse of Hollywood legend Tom Cruise, 62, and his rumoured girlfriend Ana de Armas, 37, as they were quickly whisked away after the event. Despite appearing slightly tense upon arrival, the actor definitely seemed to have loosened up after the party as he was pictured looking relaxed while settling into the seat of his taxi.

Guy Ritchie, 56, and his wife Jacqui, 43, were also pictured heading back home, with a tin of raspberry-flavoured water within reach for the Hollywood director. Meanwhile, Gary Neville, 50, and his wife Emma Hadfield, 50, appeared sapped of energy as they jumped into a cab.

Tom Cruise was spotted with his rumoured girlfriend as he jumped into the back of a cab(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

Victoria and David made a quiet exit from the glitzy star-studded back as they exited in a blacked-out van. The night may have been soured for the former England captain after his eldest son Brooklyn snubbed the evening – despite jetting to London with wife Nicola Peltz.

The photographer and chef, 26, has failed to address his dad’s birthday on social media and has not turned up to any of the parties – neither the family celebration in France on Friday, nor the huge party at the Beckhams’ £10million Cotswolds estate on Wednesday – that the family has held for David.

Guy Ritchie with wife Jacqui and a can of raspberry water(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

The rest of Victoria and David’s children – Romeo, Cruz and Harper – were all in attendance on Saturday evening.

David is heartbroken but putting a brave face on it. Tonight is all about celebration and love, and he is swimming in it. Brooklyn actually informed his parents a while ago that he and his wife, Nicola, would not be attending but, of course, David and Victoria desperately hoped he would change his mind,” a source had told The Sun.

His son’s absence cast a sour note on the evening for David (Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

“It’s a dagger to the heart that he hasn’t attended a single one of David’s 50th celebrations – and hurts the whole family including the grandparents and siblings. Brooklyn is a really sweet boy and everyone loves him dearly. They just hope things can be patched up soon. In the mean time, everyone around David are doing all they can to give him a magical evening to remember.”

Brooklyn’s wife Nicola is reportedly at the centre of the feud, which has seen him no longer speaking to the rest of his family. The couple are said to have been invited to all three of the parties, however “each time Brooklyn left his parents hanging”, according to the Mail on Sunday.

A close friend of the Beckhams reportedly told the publication: “It’s a terribly sad situation and it has been going on for a long time. They adore Brooklyn, their children are everything to them, but Brooklyn isn’t talking to them, he isn’t talking to the family and David and Victoria are heartbroken.

Brooklyn and Nicola snubbed the dinner, despite being in London

“It is now the end of the week and despite Brooklyn flying to London with Nicola with every intention of celebrating his dad’s 50th birthday with him, he hasn’t taken part in any of it.”

They added that Brooklyn had told his parents weeks ago that he would be attending, however David and Victoria now have “no idea what’s going on”.

While another friend of David’s added: “For all of this to happen on such a memorable and special birthday is just devastating.”

David Beckham’s wife Victoria Beckham shared a string of sweet family photos with her husband and their two sons, Cruz and Romeo, and their daughter Harper seven – after Brooklyn snubbed his dad’s 50th celebrations

David and Victoria posed with their family(Image: instagram.com/davidbeckham)

David Beckham posed with his family in a string of sweet photos to mark his 50th birthday. Brooklyn Beckham was noticeably absent from the snaps after he failed to show up at the celebrations.

In the sweet snaps, shared by Victoria on social media, David posed with his wife Victoria and their sons Romeo and Cruz. Daughter Harper Seven was also in the photos but Brooklyn was nowhere to be seen.

“Creating special memories with family and friends. We love you all @romeobeckham @cruzbeckham #HarperSeven xx,” she wrote alongside the snap, with Cruz, Romeo and David all wearing matching black suits, white shirts and black bowties.

David and Victoria shared the sweet family photos(Image: instagram.com/davidbeckham)

Harper and Victoria also looked incredible in matching dark blue long dresses, whilst in another sweet snap, David kissed his daughter on the head as they posed in a beautiful garden. David also shared a snap with his two youngest sons.

Elsewhere, David shared pictures with his family including his parents Ted and Sandra and his rarely seen sisters Lynne and Joanne. Another snap saw David and Victoria sharing a kiss over the dining table in front of their family and friends.

David kissed his daughter Harper on the head(Image: instagram.com/davidbeckham)

The couple also shared some more candid photos of their trip to Paris together, where they enjoyed a night in, with the Eiffel Tower glittering in the background, and they enjoyed a bottle of Petrus together.

The family – minus Brooklyn – also gathered once again last night for a special dinner celebration in London. His son Romeo did a sweet speech at the event, where he said: “Good evening everyone. I would like to start by thanking you all for being here tonight. I know without many of you in here tonight he wouldn’t be half of the man he is today. But to the man of the moment…”

David with his sons Romeo and Cruz(Image: instagram.com/davidbeckham)

Brooklyn, meanwhile, missed the event and David was said to be “heartbroken”.

“David is heartbroken but putting a brave face on it. Brooklyn actually informed his parents a while ago that he and his wife, Nicola, would not be attending but, of course, David and Victoria desperately hoped he would change his mind,” a source said.

David with his parents and his siblings(Image: instagram.com/davidbeckham)

“It’s a dagger to the heart that he hasn’t attended a single one of David’s 50th celebrations – and hurts the whole family including the grandparents and siblings. They just hope things can be patched up soon.”

Brooklyn and Nicola had been invited to all David’s birthday celebrations, and each time he reportedly “left his parents hanging”. It had been reported there was a feud between Kim Turnbull, Romeo’s girlfriend, but a source insisted it was to do with Nicola. They said: “All David and Victoria want is their son back – and they will be there to welcome him any time.”

Romeo is the second eldest son of footballer David and so he gave speech from the kids on Saturday night

Romeo and his siblings arrive at the David Beckham 50th party with Romeo’s speech cards clearly in his hands(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

Golden child Romeo Beckham stepped up in brother Brooklyn’s absence to deliver a speech at his dad’s 50th birthday, we can reveal. Football legend David Beckham celebrated his 50th birthday in style this weekend with a lavish dinner and party at Core restaurant in London’s Notting Hill.

David’s youngest children Romeo Beckham, 22, Cruz Beckham, 20, and Harper Beckham, 13 were all present and arrived at the bash together in a show of unity. But Brooklyn Beckham, 26, and his wife Nicola Peltz-Beckham, 30, were not at the party and have not attended any of Beckham’s birthday events in the last week. So it fell on Romeo as second eldest to deliver a speech at Core restaurant on Saturday.

Romeo showed one of his speech cards as he used his other hand to block out the flash of the cameras as he arrived at the party(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND

The first of several cue cards could be seen in his hand as he arrived at the venue. Romeo told guests: “Good evening everyone. I would like to start by thanking you all for being here tonight. I know without many of you in here tonight he wouldn’t be half of the man he is today. But to the man of the moment…” He is then understood to have praised his dad at length, who earlier this week he described as “the most amazing role model” on his social media.

Photos he posted from April 10 show Romeo also gave another recent speech in front of his parents for the Miami pre-birthday celebrations last month. It suggests Romeo knew his brother was unlikely to attend and had a speech planned for this weekend.

By contrast his older brother has not been at any of the birthday celebrations, despite being invited.

Romeo idolises his dad and sees him as great role model(Image: Victoria Beckham/Instagram)

Despite jetting to London from their LA home last week, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz did not attend the weekend celebrations, much to David and Victoria’s disappointment.

Some claims have insisted it is “all about Nicola” but Brooklyn has also yet to post any message on his own social media about his dad’s milestone.

The couple did not attend family celebrations in France on Friday, or the big party at the Beckhams’ £10million Cotswolds mansion on Wednesday evening.

However, David was not short of friends and family to party with at the weekend until 3am.

Other guests included actor Tom Cruise, ex-footballer Gary Neville, and TV chef Gordon Ramsay.

Neville, who turned 50 several months ago, paid a heartfelt tribute to his pal on social media. He wrote: “Happy 50th mate. You’re the best! Stand still today for once and reflect on everything you have achieved and done in these first 50 years of your life.

“We’ve won, lost, laughed and cried but had the most incredible times together. I can still see our mums and dads in the crowd. Everything you’ve done has come through humility, care and hard work. I’m proud of you and more importantly trust you with my life. All my love to you.”

Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola’s feud with his family is said to be damaged beyond repair with the famous family ruling out any possible reconciliation

The Beckham family are said to be ‘done’ with Nicola Peltz

Nicola Peltz’s feud with her Beckham in-laws is said to be “beyond repair”. The actress and her husband, Brooklyn Beckham, failed to attend David’s star-studded 50th birthday party this weekend.

Brooklyn, the eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham had also been noticeably absent from any of the celebrations in the lead up to the main event on Sunday. It’s said that Brooklyn’s failure to attend was a “real blow” to the former Manchester United legend.

On Saturday, the Beckham’s and their A-list pals attended the swanky Core restaurant in the Notting Hill area of London with second eldest son, Romeo, delivering a speech to diners to celebrate his dad. In recent months, the family feud between the Peltz-Beckham’s and Beckham’s is believed to have “escalated”

Now, sources claim that the rift is “beyond repair”. A source claims that while David and Victoria had known Brooklyn and his wife had been planning to attend tonight’s Met Gala in New York, they have been left “hurt” that he failed to attend family events – despite being in London.

Despite being in London, Nicola and Brooklyn Peltz-Beckham failed to attend David’s star-studded 50th birthday party

“They failed to turn up at any family events and yet they will go to a place where they will barely know anyone,” a source told the Daily Mail. The source went on to add: “Victoria and David would do anything to get their son back, but they are done with Nicola now.”

They went on to claim that Nicola is the reason behind the feud, claiming she “finds a way to start an argument” between Brooklyn and his famous family. They added that while Brooklyn had allegedly planned to attend the birthday celebrations, his wife would “kick something off” making it “impossible” for him to attend.

“Brooklyn doesn’t feel he can turn up to see his family – but it happened three times in a week,” they claimed. Elsewhere, sources claim that Brooklyn isn’t talking to his “family, or old friends,” and compared the situation to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry – given his strained relationship with his family and friends from the UK.

David celebrated with his family – minus Brooklyn(Image: victoriabeckham/Instagram )

Over the weekend, Brooklyn and Nicola had shared snaps of themselves in their lavish London hotel and even ventured out to a restaurant with a friend. One source connected to the family claimed to the Mirror: “Brooklyn not turning up was a real blow to David.

“Brooklyn was close with his dad growing up, but he is married now. His wife Nicola is older and confident in her own right, and so there is distance between Brooklyn and his parents.

“It has become a problem and not something they can keep private because of the way the family uses social media. Things have escalated in recent months, and there is a very obvious rift that David and Victoria would love to heal. This weekend, Victoria took to social media to praise her children who attended the glitzy event.

Tagging her sons Romeo and Cruz, and daughter Harper, the former Spice Girls star said: “Creating special memories with family and friends. We love you all.” Brooklyn was not mentioned. But it’s not just David’s 50th that Brooklyn and Nicola didn’t acknowledge.

They also did not attend Victoria’s birthday celebrations in April, or send a public Mother’s Day message in March.Some have insisted the rift is regarding Nicola’s relationship with the Beckhams, but Brooklyn has also yet to post on his own social media about his dad’s milestone.

The Peltz-Beckham’s did not attend family celebrations in France on Friday, nor the big party at the Beckhams’ £10million mansion in the Cotswolds on Wednesday.

The Mirror has approached representatives for David, Brooklyn and Nicola for comment.

The much-loved presenter has alluded to approaching ‘the end’ of his long life, but shows little sign of slowing down

David Attenborough will front a new series

Sir David Attenborough is to mark his birthday this week by announcing that he will present the BBC’s next landmark natural history series later this summer. The veteran broadcaster, who turns 99 on Thursday, is the expert narrator for Parenthood, a blue-chip five-parter which examines the extreme lengths different species will employ to ensure the survival of their offspring.

BBC specialist factual commissioning boss Jack Bootle told The Mirror that Sir David has already recorded his carefully-worded scripts for all five episodes. “This is a wonderful, warm, engaging and surprising series, made by some of the very best wildlife filmmakers in the world, and I’m thrilled Sir David is joining us again to narrate it,” he said.

The series, from the makers of Wild Isles, The Hunt and The Mating Game, highlights how parenthood in the animal kingdom is a high stakes game in which some animal parents must come up with extraordinary strategies and tricks to give their young a head start.

Sir David intends to make the most of his final years and keep working for as long as he can(Image: PA)

Series producer and director, Jeff Wilson, said the series would be “the ultimate celebration of the joys and challenges of raising offspring in the natural world”. He explained: “Silverback Films did a deep dive into the subject over 2.5 years, uncovering extraordinary new behaviours and jaw-dropping dramas using the world’s best wildlife cinematographers and directors.

“We are incredibly proud that Sir David was on board with us to bring to the screen a landmark series that has something for everyone – moments of heart warming tenderness, high stakes narrative , and a timely guide from a huge cast of unbelievably engaging cast of characters on how to navigate the complex world of Parenthood.”

From orca teaching their offspring to hunt blue whales, orangutan showing their young how to make their beds and hippo families navigating the terrifying African night, the cameras have captured many gripping moments.

Stories also include dedicated elephant mothers showing their calves where to find water, cardinalfish fathers who house their fry inside their own mouths, and a lion pride which adopts the cubs of a recently killed matriarch and raise them to become giant hunters.

The world-renowned broadcaster first joined the BBCn 1952 and has never lost his fascination for nature(Image: Western Daily Press)

One insider said: “Everyone is thrilled to have David on board. It’s what was hoped for when production on this series started three years ago but seeing the scripts and hearing his narration is always so exciting. It’s such a privilege to have him.”

The new project has emerged a few days after the celebrated TV presenter made headlines by referencing that he was approaching “the end of my life” – saying that, when it comes to restoring our oceans over the coming decades, he will “not see how that story ends”.

Launching his new book and TV series Ocean last week, for National Geographic, Sir David explained: “When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity. Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true.”

David in one of his earliest programmes for the BBC, Zoo Quest(Image: -)

BBC bosses have high hopes that Sir David will front the third of the award-winning Blue Planet series next year, once he has turned 100 next May. A source told the i paper: “Blue Planet III isn’t due to transmit until the end of 2026. As David no longer travels the globe filming, there is less need to get him on board early in the production stages – as long as David wishes to continue doing narrations, we are of course delighted to have his brilliant contributions.”

In 2018 the award-winning presenter admitted he would only quit making documentaries about the natural world if he felt the quality of his work was slipping. “If I think I’m not producing commentary with any freshness, I hope I would be able to recognise it before someone else told me,” he mused.

But Sir David said there were plenty of ways to make the job less physical, which he has since put into action. “I do dread not working, although there are things I can do without running up steps six times – books to be written, things I’ve never got round to.”

Anne Robinson is back on TV with a new 5 documentary about prisons and shows a softer side in new interview

The Weakest Link made Anne Robinson a huge TV star(Image: Daily Mirror)

She was the queen of mean on TV in The Weakest Link, but at 80, Anne Robinson appears to be mellowing, possibly even going soft.

She wants the chance to keep on making TV and spoiling her grandchildren for decades to come. Asked about her mortality, Anne says: “I do think about it quite a lot. And I look at the obituaries saying, oh, golly, they went at 70, they went at 72. But then the other day there was a woman who died at 116. So what I do is I try to keep fit, and live in the day and be grateful for wonderful grandsons, my daughter and my son in law, although he supports Everton, but you can’t have everything… And I love clothes. I keep buying clothes, I don’t think, Oh, well, I won’t need any soon.”

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She adds: “Medically, and in our heads, we’ve just progressed a great deal. If you look at Jane Fonda, I don’t know she must be 83, 84, and she’s looking fantastic. It’s why, when I had a facelift, I immediately said that I’d had one, because I didn’t want people who are my age to think, why don’t I look like her with no lines? I’ve just thrown money at my face. Not sure it’s working anymore… But not everyone has those options. I have been very lucky.”

Anne’s new show for 5 this week looks at prison sentences in the UK and asking if they need to change.

Anne, who is dating Andrew Parker Bowles, says she surrounds herself with younger people “in their 50s” which helps her keep feeling young. She clearly adores her grandchildren, Hudson and Parker, although she says they are “at the grunting stage at the moment, because they’re 15 and 16”. She lets them use her tennis court at home and was amused rather than angry when they pulled an iPad out of her wall when their mother took their iPhones off them recently.

Asked if she is soft with her grandchildren, she adds: “Yeah. I think it’s true for all grandparents, particularly ones who probably worked during their children’s years, that you utterly appreciate your grandchildren. I’m very lucky. Very, very lucky. “

Anne is speaking as she returns to TV in a new 5 documentary looking at prison sentences in the UK and asking if they need to change.

It is a return to the hard-hitting subject matter she covered as a journalist, and the determined campaigner we remember from Watchdog.

Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link(Image: BBC)

You Be The Judge examines four real life sentences with participants taking part in reconstructions and asked to compare how the judges came to the decision when it comes to sentencing.

“It’s certainly a topic that should have more publicity,” She says, sounding more like the serious and agitated Anne we are used to seeing on screen.

“Do people realise that prison isn’t working? Each government that comes along says they are going to be tougher on crime, and that means longer sentences, which also means the prison system is working less and less. We are 120% overcrowded in prisons, we don’t have enough officers and the prisons themselves are Victorian – it’s just not working. There are too many criminals and not enough staff. If you asked a prison governor why prisoners can’t spend their time learning to read and write, or learning a trade like carpentry, they will just tell you they don’t have the staff to make that happen.

“We need to embarrass the government. They’ve just got to find the money.

” I want Yvette Cooper to sit down with a supper on her lap and watch this from beginning to end, because I need the government to be embarrassed.”

The truth is, the documentary even managed to stun Anne.

“This is without a doubt the most shocking documentary I’ve ever made. I was pretty shocked when I made a documentary on abortion and learned people’s views on it, but if you watch this programme from beginning to end you will be terrified at the state of the British justice system.”

Anne back in her days on the Daily Mirror as a writer(Image: Daily Mirror)

Anne was married to Charles Wilson, a former journalist and newspaper executive, until 1973 and her second marriage to John Penrose ended in 2007. She would like to do more TV like her latest project, but looking back over her career, one of her favourite times of her life was being a trailblazer at the Daily Mirror. Whilst there in the Eighties she had her own column and argubaly developed the vitriolic style which made her a household name later on TV.

“I love journalism, of all the things I’ve done, and I’ve crossed the Atlantic doing Weakest Link in America and here. But my favourite time was working for newspapers, and a lot of that was at the Daily Mirror, we were a great campaigning newspaper and it was crazy. There was one, perhaps two, women reporters in the newsroom. There were no women sub editors, and I was the first woman ever to regularly edit a national newspaper. So we’ve come on leaps and bounds. I sometimes think youngsters don’t realise what it was like in the old days.”

So is it a pain that most people still know her as the woman from the Weakest Link? It doesn’t seem to be, and the money she earned including a reported £10m golden handcuffs deal at it’s heights of success, may have helped soften any blow.

“Listen, they’re all customers,” she says of the audience, making it clear she is much more approachable off screen than she was speaking to contestants on it.

“I never refuse a selfie. I never refuse an autograph. Because if the people who are stopping me weren’t there, I wouldn’t have had the career I’ve got. So I’m probably quite unusual like that. I mean, I’m thrilled if someone wants a selfie. I’m not so thrilled if I’ve got no make-up on. We went to boarding school, but we had to go to my mother’s market stall in the holidays, so that we learned to meet the customers and to know the customers were very important. And that’s never left me, really.”

And Anne being a selfie fan is not the only surprise during the interview. She claims to have never watched Romesh Ranganathan host The Weakest Link “I’ve purposely never looked at it, but I’m told he’s very good actually. He’s got to conform to what the rules are now, not what I could get away with. I was working at the best time in television”

But there is one other quizmaster she has a lot of time for; step forward Lee Mack.

“I love The 1% club. I know people’s heroes are Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, but Lee Mack does it for me,” she says.

“He’s genuinely funny, and you watch him on anything else, he’s not just The 1% club, but he’s very quick witted. And when I was doing weakest link, I was quite fascinated by the fact that old comedians were much better at responding to me quickly and in a funny way than New Age comedians. I hate all this hugging on TV these days, and Lee Mack doesn’t do that. He only really needs to hug me.

Asked to confirm she means she finds Lee attractive, she adds: “It’s a deep crush. He actually looks even sexier with his glasses on.

“His mother and I went to school together. I think he is brilliant. We bumped into each other at Salford, at the BBC studios, and that’s when he said to me, you were at convent school with my mother. That’s how I know.”

Lee’s quiz show is a big success on ITV whilst Anne’s ran for 12 years on the BBC. But she still remembers how the stand out hit almost didn’t happen for her.

“A fax came in from the BBC saying we’ve created a new game show, and we think Anne Robinson would be suitable, because she’ll look as if she can answer the questions.

“My manager said, ‘I’ll tell them, you’re too busy’. And I said, No, let’s take the meeting. And it’s a very good example, if girls are going for jobs to just explore them, take the meeting, even if you don’t think the job is for you.

“I think it’s Gary Player who says you have to work at being lucky. He used to say, the harder I work, the luckier I get. I think it’s also about taking risks. Yeah, you know, I don’t think I realised that when the Weakest Link started, that people were going to find me a horrible person. I just thought, Oh, this is original, and it’s me. And although I earned a great deal of money after having created the character, in fact, it was me.

“In the early days, it was quite tame, we got more and more naughty with it as time went on. Also because it was a successful show in the afternoon, I genuinely don’t think all those toffs at the BBC were particularly monitoring it. At the end of every round I’d say, Do you think we’ll get away with that? And we did because they weren’t watching television, they were too busy angsting about Question Time and Newsnight.”

 

ITV has confirmed a new series of hit gameshow You Bet! with new episodes airing later this year – however host Stephen Mulhern will now be riding solo

You Bet sees major twist as show returns to ITV

Hit ITV gameshow You Bet! will be returning to screens later this year, but host Stephen Mulhern will be alone as Holly Willoughby confirmed her exit from the show earlier this year.

The legendary gameshow, which was initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth was revived by the duo last year, and proved a huge success with audiences. The show sees celebrities place their bets on the ability of members of the public to achieve unlikely challenges and stunts.

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This year, however, ITV has introduced a huge new twist – as the show will be going on the road. The seven new episodes, which includes a Christmas special, will all be filmed in different locations across the country, as the challenges are set to get “a whole lot bigger”.

ITV revived the iconic show last year(Image: ITV)

“Free from the restrictions of the studio – our epic challenges are about to get a whole lot bigger,” ITV said. “Watching on, our celebrity panel’s job is simple; they must decide if each challenger will succeed – Yes or No. If they guess correctly, they’ll be awarded points. The Celebrity with the most points at the end of the show will receive £5,000 for their chosen charity.”

Not only that, the series is set to have a new name, being rebranded as You Bet! On Tour. Earlier this year, it was announced that Holly wouldn’t be returning to the show as she “couldn’t commit to the dates” of the new series.

However, ITV said she would “hopefully appear as a guest panellist on one of the shows in the new series.”

Holly Willoughby won’t be returning(Image: ITV)

It comes after Holly and Stephen faced a blow after ITV show Dancing on Ice was axed following the 2025 series. Earlier this year, a spokesperson for ITV confirmed: “Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice.” Now, the set for the show is said to be being dismantled and placed into long term storage following the decision to bring the show to an end.

The show, which launched in 2006, was originally hosted by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. In December 2023, Stephen Mulhern was announced as Schofield’s replacement after he resigned from ITV earlier that year.

The former host of The Weakest Link says this man makes her go weak at the knees

Anne Robinson’s comment about a comic may raise some eyebrows

TV star Anne Robinson has revealed she has a surprising crush who she loves watching on screen. The former host of The Weakest Link says she adores watching Lee Mack on ITV series The 1% Club and can’t get enough of him.

Anne told the Mirror: “I love The 1% club. I know people’s heroes are Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, but Lee Mack does it for me,” she says.

“He’s genuinely funny, and you watch him on anything else, he’s not just The 1% club, but he’s very quick witted. And when I was doing weakest link, I was quite fascinated by the fact that old comedians were much better at responding to me quickly and in a funny way than New Age comedians. I hate all this hugging on TV these days, and Lee Mack doesn’t do that. He only really needs to hug me.”

Anne Robinson has an unlikely crush and isn’t embarassed to admit it

Asked to confirm she means she finds Lee attractive, she adds: “It’s a deep crush. He actually looks even sexier with his glasses on.

“His mother and I went to school together. I think he is brilliant. We bumped into each other at Salford, at the BBC studios, and that’s when he said to me, you were at convent school with my mother. That’s how I know.”

Lee’s quiz show is a big success on ITV whilst Anne’s version of The Weakest Link ran for 12 years on the BBC. But she still remembers how the stand out hit almost didn’t happen for her.

“A fax came in from the BBC saying we’ve created a new game show, and we think Anne Robinson would be suitable, because she’ll look as if she can answer the questions.

“My manager said, ‘I’ll tell them, you’re too busy’. And I said, No, let’s take the meeting. And it’s a very good example, if girls are going for jobs to just explore them, take the meeting, even if you don’t think the job is for you.

Anne says she has a crush on Lee(Image: ITV)

“I think it’s Gary Player who says you have to work at being lucky. He used to say, the harder I work, the luckier I get. I think it’s also about taking risks. Yeah, you know, I don’t think I realised that when the Weakest Link started, that people were going to find me a horrible person. I just thought, Oh, this is original, and it’s me. And although I earned a great deal of money after having created the character, in fact, it was me.

“In the early days, it was quite tame, we got more and more naughty with it as time went on. Also because it was a successful show in the afternoon, I genuinely don’t think all those toffs at the BBC were particularly monitoring it. At the end of every round I’d say, Do you think we’ll get away with that? And we did because they weren’t watching television, they were too busy angsting about Question Time and Newsnight.”

She was speaking to the Mirror as she returns to TV in a new 5 documentary looking at prison sentences in the UK and asking if they need to change.

It is a return to the hard-hitting subject matter she covered as a journalist, and the determined campaigner we remember from Watchdog.

You Be The Judge examines four real life sentences with participants taking part in reconstructions and asked to compare how the judges came to the decision when it comes to sentencing.

“It’s certainly a topic that should have more publicity,” She says, sounding more like the serious and agitated Anne we are used to seeing on screen.

“Do people realise that prison isn’t working? Each government that comes along says they are going to be tougher on crime, and that means longer sentences, which also means the prison system is working less and less. We are 120% overcrowded in prisons, we don’t have enough officers and the prisons themselves are Victorian – it’s just not working. There are too many criminals and not enough staff. If you asked a prison governor why prisoners can’t spend their time learning to read and write, or learning a trade like carpentry, they will just tell you they don’t have the staff to make that happen.”

Ahead of his appearance on Blankety Blank tonight, Joe Swash has opened up about his shopping addiction and how it has seen him spend ‘pointless’ money, which he knows will annoy his wife Stacey Solomon

Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash(Image: (Image: BBC))

EastEnders’ Joe Swash has opened up about his “addiction” to online shopping on TikTok, which he fears could land him in “big trouble” with his wife, Loose Women’s Stacey Solomon.

The TV star candidly shared his concerns over the financial impact of his frequent impulse purchases, acknowledging that he often falls for items sold at low prices but then ends up buying them in bulk, something he believes is influenced by his ADHD.

ADHD, as described by the NHS website, means your brain functions in a different fashion, leading to difficulties with concentration and sitting still.

The condition can also cause a potential tendency towards impulsive behaviour, including while shopping.

On Tom Price’s ‘My Mate Bought A Toaster’ podcast, Joe confessed his latest buy – a slingshot chicken finger toy – caught his interest while planning family time for his and Stacey’s brood, including their children Rex, Rose, Belle, and Joe’s Harry, along with Stacey’s sons Zachary and Leighton from previous relationships.

Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon playing with their two youngest children (Image: BBC/Optomen Television)

Joe eagerly told Tom: “I bought 20 of them. So everyone’s going to be able to have a go,” prompting the host, who also has ADHD, to quip about the excitement awaiting the children: “There’s going to be a slingshot chicken off when daddy gets home.”

Joe quipped: “There sure will be! Or I’m going to be in real big trouble by Stacey because I’ve just wasted more money on some other pointless product.”

When asked about his spending habits, the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! champ confessed: “Yeah. I think the trap that I fall into is that because I feel like I buy stuff at a low price, I forget about the quantity of stuff that I’m getting.

Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon disagree over his purchases(Image: BBC)

“So instead of buying three or four things at a really high price that might last and be really handy, I’ll buy hundreds of little things.”

Discussing online shopping hits and misses, Joe admitted that gaining his wife’s approval is tough: “I don’t think Stacey will admit to me passing any test because she doesn’t… she’s not comfortable with my TikTok addiction. So she doesn’t want to feed into it.”

The TV star, who is being treated for ADHD, shared his recent diagnosis: “I’ve just been recently diagnosed with it, so I’m sort of new to it. So, I don’t really know [about it], I’ve started the medication and stuff like that.”

He humorously added: “I lost the medication, that’s part of the ADHD I think, it’s all swings and roundabouts. So, I’ve had to order some more of the medication.”

The condition can also cause a potential tendency towards impulsive behaviour, including while shopping.

On Tom Price’s ‘My Mate Bought A Toaster’ podcast, Joe confessed his latest buy – a slingshot chicken finger toy – caught his interest while planning family time for his and Stacey’s brood, including their children Rex, Rose, Belle, and Joe’s Harry, along with Stacey’s sons Zachary and Leighton from previous relationships.

Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon playing with their two youngest children (Image: BBC/Optomen Television)

Joe eagerly told Tom: “I bought 20 of them. So everyone’s going to be able to have a go,” prompting the host, who also has ADHD, to quip about the excitement awaiting the children: “There’s going to be a slingshot chicken off when daddy gets home.”

Joe quipped: “There sure will be! Or I’m going to be in real big trouble by Stacey because I’ve just wasted more money on some other pointless product.”

When asked about his spending habits, the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! champ confessed: “Yeah. I think the trap that I fall into is that because I feel like I buy stuff at a low price, I forget about the quantity of stuff that I’m getting.

Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon disagree over his purchases(Image: BBC)

“So instead of buying three or four things at a really high price that might last and be really handy, I’ll buy hundreds of little things.”

Discussing online shopping hits and misses, Joe admitted that gaining his wife’s approval is tough: “I don’t think Stacey will admit to me passing any test because she doesn’t… she’s not comfortable with my TikTok addiction. So she doesn’t want to feed into it.”

The TV star, who is being treated for ADHD, shared his recent diagnosis: “I’ve just been recently diagnosed with it, so I’m sort of new to it. So, I don’t really know [about it], I’ve started the medication and stuff like that.”

He humorously added: “I lost the medication, that’s part of the ADHD I think, it’s all swings and roundabouts. So, I’ve had to order some more of the medication.”

Buckingham Palace has responded to Prince Harry’s bombshell BBC interview, in which he said he would ‘love a reconciliation’ with the Royal Family after losing his court case

Buckingham Palace has broken its silence following today’s landmark ruling on Prince Harry’s security arrangements and bombshell TV interview.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, told the BBC today he would “love a reconciliation” with the firm, adding he was “devastated” that he lost the legal challenge over his security. He had argued in court that he should continue to receive automatic high level protection in a major appeal, with the arrangements having been modified after he left the UK for the US with Meghan Markle in 2020. Relations between Harry and the rest of the Firm have since collapsed, with the revocation of his security meaning he couldn’t “see a world” in which he could bring his family back to the UK.

The Prince said he can’t see a world where he can bring his wife and children to the UK

He said: “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point, and the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything you know. I love my country I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.”

Responding to the ruling and the interview this afternoon, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the court had “repeatedly and meticulously” examined issues with the security arrangements.

They said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Harry also told the BBC that he hadn’t asked his father, King Charles, to intervene in the decision, saying he had instead asked him to “step out”.

The Home Office said it is pleased the court ruled in its favour ( 
Image:
Netflix)
He said: “I’ve never asked him to intervene. I’ve asked him to step out. I step out of the way and let the experts do their job. The Ravec committee is an expert committee full of professionals plus the royals.”

He added: “Five years later, every single visit that I do back to the UK has to go through the royal household. My representative on the Ravec committee still to this day is the royal household.

“That’s not a decision that I choose. I am forced to go through the royal household and accept that they are putting my best interests forward during these conversations and deliberations. So no, I haven’t asked my father to intervene.”

Royal sources have said it would have been constitutionally improper for His Majesty to intervene while this matter was being considered by the government and reviewed by the courts.