Category Archives: Television

Strictly’s Katya Jones defends dance partner Wynne Evans over ‘hand incident’

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Appearing alongside Evans on BBC spin-off show It Takes Two, Jones insists incident was ‘a silly joke’

The professional dancer Katya Jones has defended her Strictly Come Dancing partner, Wynne Evans, saying he has been “portrayed as someone he is not” after an incident during Saturday’s show when she moved his hand from her waist.

Appearing on BBC spin-off show It Takes Two on Monday alongside Evans, Jones said she wanted to “get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason”.

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British musician and broadcaster Yung Filly charged with rape and assault

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Former BBC host, with millions of social media followers, was arrested in Australia following alleged attack on woman in Perth hotel room

The British rapper, YouTuber and television personality Yung Filly has been arrested in Australia and charged with rape and assault.

The 29-year-old, born Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, who was on tour in the country, was arrested in Brisbane and taken to Perth where the alleged incidents occurred.

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Donald Glover cancels Childish Gambino tour dates because of ‘ailment’

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American musician and actor will not play his UK and Ireland dates as he recovers from scheduled surgery

Donald Glover has cancelled the remaining dates on his Childish Gambino tour after scheduling surgery for an “ailment”.

The American actor, rapper and singer was due to head to the UK in November and early December to perform in Manchester, Glasgow, London and Birmingham, as well as Dublin in Ireland. Glover had already postponed the remainder of his North American tour to focus on his “physical health”.

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Argentina’s Javier Milei accused of plagiarising UN speech from West Wing

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Populist leader alleged to have ‘copied word for word’ a monologue by TV show’s fictional president Jed Bartlet

Argentina’s rightwing populist president, Javier Milei, has been accused of plagiarising a chunk of his recent speech to the United Nations general assembly from the political drama The West Wing.

“It seems like fiction, but it isn’t,” the left-leaning Buenos Aires newspaper Página 12 reported on Friday, claiming Milei had “copied, word for word, a monologue” by the television show’s fictional president, Josiah “Jed” Bartlet.

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‘Incestuous fantasy’: Netflix hit crime drama rekindles debate over Menendez murders

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Thousands, many born after the 1989 murders, have sprung to defence of Lyle and Erik Menendez since broadcast of Monsters

It was a crime that shocked and captivated a nation.

On the night of 20 August 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez, then 21 and 18, stormed into their Beverly Hills mansion, shot their father, Jose, five times at point-blank range in the back of his head, and their mother, Kitty, nine times, including in the face as she tried to crawl away. In a frantic 911 emergency call, they then claimed that somebody had killed their parents.

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Phillip Schofield to return to TV 16 months after quitting This Morning over affair

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Former ITV presenter will appear in Channel 5’s Cast Away, which follows a celebrity stranded off Madagascar

Phillip Schofield is returning to television 16 months after quitting This Morning over what he called an “unwise, but not illegal” affair.

The 62-year-old, who stepped down from presenting the ITV daytime show in May 2023 after 21 years, will appear in a Channel 5 special called Cast Away, which follows a celebrity stranded on an island off the coast of Madagascar for nearly two weeks.

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‘Trailblazing’ TV, film and stage actor Cleo Sylvestre dies aged 79

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Performer was first black actor to land leading role at National Theatre and to be cast in regular role on UK soap opera

The “trailblazing” actor Cleo Sylvestre has died aged 79, her agent has confirmed.

Sylvestre, also known as Cleopatra Palmer, had been a feature of film, stage, television and music since the 1960s, and played Melanie Harper, Meg Richardson’s adopted daughter, in ITV’s Crossroads – making her the first black actor to have a regular leading role in a UK soap opera. She was also the first black actor to land a leading role at the National Theatre.

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Shōgun makes Emmys history as Hacks, The Bear and Baby Reindeer triumph

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Period epic is first non-English language series to win for best drama as Netflix’s controversial breakout hit takes home four awards

Shōgun has made Emmys history as the first ever non-English language series to win for best drama.

The historical epic, based on the 1975 novel, picked up four awards during the evening, including Emmys for lead stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, the first Japanese actors to win their respective awards.

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Shōgun and Baby Reindeer set to dominate the Emmys – the second ceremony in 2024

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Eugene and Dan Levy set to host this weekend’s big TV awards where historical drama series and controversial Netflix miniseries are predicted to be big winners

Big-budget epic Shōgun is set to become a historic winner at this weekend’s Emmy awards, a ceremony that itself is also making history.

It’s the second Emmys in the same year, an unprecedented and expensive challenge for the industry, a traffic jam insisted by last year’s dual strikes which led to a postponement.

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French first lady Brigitte Macron to make cameo in Netflix’s Emily in Paris

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Despite criticism of the series in France, Macron will appear as herself in the show’s fourth season when new episodes arrive on Thursday

French first lady Brigitte Macron will make a cameo appearance as herself in the Netflix series Emily in Paris when new episodes are released on Thursday.

Macron will wear her own clothing, Elle magazine revealed on Tuesday, “with no particular instructions given to her” by the series known for its fashion.

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Dutch broadcaster launches news bulletin in easy-to-understand language

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Programme uses simpler sentences and explains topics slowly for people who struggle with Dutch language

The Dutch public broadcaster NOS has launched an evening news programme using “easy language” aimed at 2.5 million people in the Netherlands who struggle with the language.

English speakers may joke about “double Dutch”, but foreigners are not the only ones who sometimes fail to comprehend the west Germanic language of long words, convoluted sentences and guttural sounds.

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Man thought to have killed himself after Jeremy Kyle Show was ‘broken’, hears inquest

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Steve Dymond, 63, was distraught after being heckled and accused of cheating during 2019 filming, says landlady

A man who is believed to have killed himself after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show was “broken” and “wasn’t a well man”, his landlady has told the inquest into his death.

Steve Dymond, 63, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, is thought to have ended his life seven days after filming for the ITV show in May 2019.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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BBC promises ‘innovative’ return for Casualty in Christmas special

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Broadcaster says episode will ‘celebrate gift of giving’ after news revealed in a cryptic teaser trailer for medical drama

Casualty is to return to TV screens for an “innovative” Christmas special, the BBC has revealed. The news was announced in a cryptic teaser trailer, which followed Saturday’s season finale on BBC One.

The BBC says the Christmas special will “celebrate the gift of giving” and be told in an “innovative, format-breaking way”. A teaser image for the trailer showed a hospital ward covered in snow, with a fluorescent jacket on the ground.

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South Park creators to ignore Trump when show returns in 2025

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‘I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump,’ Matt Stone tells Vanity Fair in rare interview

The creators of the Emmy-winning series South Park intend to ignore Donald Trump when the irreverent animated show returns for a 27th season in 2025, they said in a rare interview.

“I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump,” Matt Stone told Vanity Fair in reference to the former US president whose life is seemingly consumed by unadulterated drama.

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Noel Edmonds to present TV series from his New Zealand country estate

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Former gameshow host reportedly signs £1m deal with ITV for show in same vein as global hit Clarkson’s Farm

It seems to be turning into a rite of passage for former Top Gear hosts who have been the subject of public opprobrium.

Noel Edmonds is set to follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson by presenting a new TV series from his country retreat. The presenter, 75, who began working as a DJ in the late 1960s, has reportedly signed a £1m deal to return to television after a six-year gap by presenting a series from his park and vineyard in New Zealand.

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US Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik joins Dancing with the Stars

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‘Pommel horse guy’ becomes first confirmed cast member for reality show’s 33rd season premiering 17 September

The US Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik will appear on the new Dancing with the Stars season, ABC’s Good Morning America hosts announced on Thursday.

“I want to bring some of that gymnastics – maybe a backflip or handstand. I want to have fun with it,” Nedoroscik told GMA hosts Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Gio Benitez.

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Logie awards 2024: ‘television’s most axed man’ Larry Emdur takes gold

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Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe wins big at Australian television’s biggest night, as ceremony broadcaster Seven takes a battering from host Sam Pang

The Morning Show presenter Larry Emdur has reflected on once being “television’s most axed man” after winning the Gold Logie at the Logie awards on Sunday night.

“I’ve never done anything else, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else,” said Emdur, after winning his first Logie in a 40-year career in which he has fronted everything from The Price Is Right to Celebrity Dog School.

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Plaque honouring Huw Edwards removed from Cardiff Castle

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Mural featuring disgraced presenter also painted over in his home village of Llangennech, Carmarthenshire

A plaque honouring Huw Edwards at Cardiff Castle has been removed after the disgraced presenter pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

Cardiff council took away the wall-mounted plaque after Edwards admitted to having 41 indecent images of children, sent to him by another man on WhatsApp.

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BBC wipes Huw Edwards from archive but role in state occasions presents challenge

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Broadcaster removes image and voice from content as Welsh organisations erase disgraced presenter from websites

Huw Edwards’s image and voice are being urgently removed from hours of BBC archive footage, starting with family and entertainment content on iPlayer, the Observer has learned.

Photographs of the disgraced Welsh television news anchor are also being removed by prominent institutions and charities, and from websites throughout Wales, where he was a national figurehead.

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More than half UK’s film and TV workers still unemployed after Hollywood strikes

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Bectu survey shows just 6% of workers have seen a full recovery in employment a year on from joint industrial action by Sag-Aftra and the Writers Guild of America

More than half of the UK’s film and TV workforce are still out of work a year after the Hollywood strikes of 2023, new research has found.

According to a survey of more than 2,300 film and TV workers by the Bectu trade union, 52% of workers in the UK film sector are out of work, 51% in TV drama, 57% in unscripted TV and 53% in commercials.

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