Friends stars release statement after death of Matthew Perry: ‘We were more than just castmates’

Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer have issued a joint statement

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer have issued a joint statement paying tribute to their Friends co-star Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday aged 54.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew,” the five actors said. “We were more than just castmates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

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Nigel Farage ‘giving very serious consideration’ to I’m a Celebrity … offer

Former Ukip leader said he was offered ‘substantial sums of money’ and would decide ‘within next 48 hours’

Nigel Farage is giving “very serious consideration” to an offer to join the lineup of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!

The former leader of Ukip and the Brexit party has been courted by the ITV show several times in the past, but previously ruled out an appearance, saying the reality show was “humiliating”.

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Tributes pour in for ‘comedic genius’ Matthew Perry, dead at 54

Justin Trudeau and Adele among public figures to speak fondly of actor best known as Chandler Bing in Friends

World leaders and Hollywood stars have hailed the “comedic genius” of Friends star Matthew Perry after the actor’s death at 54.

The American-Canadian star, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the sitcom Friends, was found dead in an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home on Saturday.

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‘I’m not a psycho’: Hasan Minhaj responds to New Yorker claims he told false stories

In a 20-minute video, the comedian disputes the magazine’s suggestion that he went too far in exaggerating his experiences

A month after the comedian Hasan Minhaj was accused of misleading audiences with his personal stories, the Daily Show alum has responded with an in-depth video. His argument: there’s a difference between his political TV comedy and the personal stories he tells in his standup.

A New Yorker article suggested that Minhaj, who is Muslim, had gone too far in exaggerating his own experiences with racism, Islamophobia and political backlash, including claims about an FBI informant at his childhood mosque and the hospitalization of his daughter in an anthrax scare. The story may have undermined his chance to be the next Daily Show host.

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Emily Blunt apologises for describing restaurant worker as ‘enormous’

Oppenheimer star says she is ‘appalled’ by her remarks in 2012 interview with Jonathan Ross

Emily Blunt has apologised for referring to a restaurant worker as “enormous” on a chatshow that aired 11 years ago.

In a resurfaced clip from an episode of the Jonathan Ross Show first broadcast on ITV in September 2012, the star of the summer blockbuster Oppenheimer said a waitress who served her at a Chili’s restaurant in Louisiana was “enormous”.

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Black British films as valuable as other UK and European genres, says academic

Clive Nwonka says genre should stand with traditions such as the French new wave and British social realism

The black British urban genre should be as valuable to British film culture and academia as the French new wave and British social realism, a leading academic has said.

Clive Nwonka, an associate professor of film, culture and society at UCL, began his academic research in 2010, during a critically important era of black representation in British film and TV.

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BBC denies report decision has been made to axe Top Gear

Corporation says decision will be made ‘in due course’ after show’s staff reportedly told to look for other work after Andrew Flintoff crash

The BBC has denied Top Gear has reached the end of the road amid reports the show had been axed.

The Sun reported on Friday that the broadcaster had told production staff on the long-running show to look for other work after the presenter and former cricketer Andrew Flintoff was injured during filming last December.

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Hollywood writers agree to end five-month strike after new studio deal

Writers Guild of America said its members could return to work while a ratification vote takes place for fresh three-year contract

Hollywood writers will officially end their five-month strike on Wednesday, as union leaders approved an agreement made with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, and sent the full details of the new contract to union members for ratification.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said in a statement on Tuesday evening that its members could return to work at midnight tonight, while a ratification vote takes place on a new three-year contract with Hollywood studios.

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David Walliams files case against Britain’s Got Talent production company

Case follows Walliams’ exit as BGT judge after transcript surfaced of him making offensive off-air comments about contestants

David Walliams has filed a case against the production company that makes the ITV show Britain’s Got Talent.

The action being taken by the show’s former judge against FremantleMedia is listed as dealing with data protection, according to the BBC. No other details have been given.

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‘Exceptional’: Hollywood writers hail tentative deal to end strike

Writers Guild of America says agreement on pay and conditions ‘due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power’

The tentative deal reached between Hollywood and studio executives has been received well by those on strike and others within the industry.

Members from the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who took on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) with demands that included better pay and residuals, and safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence, shared their collective relief.

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Former speaker John Bercow ‘to star in The Traitors US’

British ex-politician, a cult figure in the US, will reportedly appear alongside Love Island’s Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu

Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow is reportedly starring in the upcoming series of TV show The Traitors US, alongside Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.

The former MP will feature alongside reality TV stars from Big Brother, Dancing With The Stars and RuPaul’s Drag Race, according to media reports.

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Billy Miller, star of The Young and the Restless and General Hospital, dies aged 43

Actor’s manager says the Daytime Emmy-winning star ‘was struggling with manic depression’ when he died in Austin, Texas

Billy Miller, a Daytime Emmy-winning actor best known for his roles on US soaps The Young and the Restless and General Hospital, has died aged 43.

In a statement to Variety, his manager, Marnie Sparer, said Miller “was struggling with manic depression when he died”.

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BBC ‘urgently looking into issues raised’ by Russell Brand allegations

Corporation says accusations span a number of years, including 2006 to 2008, when comedian worked for Radio 2

The BBC has said it is “urgently looking into the issues raised” by the publication of allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse against Russell Brand.

The Sunday Times published allegations this weekend that Brand had sexually assaulted four women after a years-long investigation into claims about his behaviour in collaboration with Channel 4’s Dispatches.

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Miriam Margolyes to star as ‘the Meep’ in Doctor Who 60th-anniversary series

Actor, 82, said her new role as an alien in the sci-fi series has made ‘an old woman very happy’

Miriam Margolyes will feature in one of the 60th-anniversary episodes of Doctor Who that will air this November, the BBC has announced.

Margolyes, 82, who has appeared in Blackadder, Babe and the Harry Potter films, will be the voice behind the Meep – or Beep the Meep – the furry and seemingly adorable alien adapted from the Star Beast comic strip in a special for the series. The creature will feature in an episode with the same name.

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Drew Barrymore faces criticism for restarting talkshow amid writers’ strike

Demonstrators picket outside CBS Studios in New York to protest decision to resume production without unionized writers

Protesters slammed host Drew Barrymore for restarting her daytime talkshow without its unionized writers amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.

Chanting slogans such as “shut it down”, at least a dozen demonstrators picketed in front of CBS Studios in New York on Monday to protest against Barrymore’s decision to resume production of her talkshow’s fourth season.

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Outrage as Polish TV talent show contestants use blackface for Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé performances

Singer Kuba Szmajkowski and actor Pola Gonciarz heavily darkened their skin on Your Face Sounds Familiar, with Szmajkowski also wearing cornrows and using the N-word

A leading Polish TV talent show has been widely criticised for featuring celebrity contestants in blackface, impersonating Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé.

Singer Kuba Szmajkowski, a star in Poland who has 163,000 Instagram followers, won the second episode of the 19th series of Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo – the Polish iteration of long-running franchise Your Face Sounds Familiar – on Saturday after performing Lamar’s track Humble in blackface, fake cornrows and a fake beard. He also used the N-word, which went uncensored on the broadcast.

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Bob Barker, longtime Price is Right host and animal rights activist, dies aged 99

Television personality had iconic career spanning 50 years in which he garnered 19 Daytime Emmy awards

Bob Barker, the longtime television host of The Price Is Right, has died at the age of 99.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us,” Barker’s publicist Roger Neal said in a statement.

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Amazon may ditch Clarkson’s Farm over his Sun column comments on Meghan

Streaming platform yet to decide, but its executives were ‘shocked and disappointed’

Clarkson’s Farm could be cancelled after its next series, with Amazon bosses saying they were “shocked and disappointed” by its presenter’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex.

The third series of the hit show about life on Jeremy Clarkson’s Cotswolds farm is being filmed for release in 2024 but Amazon bosses said they have yet to decide if the programme will return for a fourth run.

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Reality show The Traitors inspired by murderous 17th-century mutiny

Maritime horror, after Dutch sailing ship Batavia wrecked off western Australia, set TV show in motion

The hit TV reality show The Traitors was originally going to involve a recreation of a real-life murderous mutiny onboard a 17th-century Dutch ship, with programme contestants pushed into the sea when voted out.

Jasper Hoogendoorn, who oversaw the programme’s development, said the show was inspired by the voyage of the Batavia, a Dutch ship which was shipwrecked off Australia in 1629.

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Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us actor who won two Emmys, dies aged 66

Actor had a double lung transplant in 2020 because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC series This Is Us, has died at age 66, a representative said.

Jones’s manager, Dan Spilo, said the actor died “due to a long-standing pulmonary issue”.

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