Category Archives: ENTERTAINMENT

Strictly Come Dancing Announces Exciting Plans As Show Celebrates Its 20th Birthday

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Strictly Come Dancing has announced it will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in style.

Wednesday marks 20 years since the first episode of Strictly began airing on the BBC, back when Tess Daly was co-hosting with the late, great Sir Bruce Forsyth and the judging panel was made up of Craig Revel Horwood, Dame Arlene Phillips, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman, who died in April 2023.

To coincide with Strictly’s big birthday, the BBC has announced a one-off special will be airing later in the year celebrating the show’s impact in the last two decades.

Fresh from Strictly’s win at the TV Baftas over the weekend, a BBC press release has teased that the “unmissable one-off programme” promises “a journey through 20 years of unforgettable entertainment featuring iconic performances and plenty of heart-warming interviews with past celebrity stars, professional dancers, and judges”.

This nostalgic special hopes to “showcase why Strictly Come Dancing has captured the hearts of the nation for the past 20 years”, and helped it become one of the broadcaster’s “best known and well-loved programmes”.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s Head of Entertainment, enthused: “Strictly Come Dancing is more than just a TV show, it has become an integral part of British culture, bringing families together and inspiring viewers of all ages to embrace the joy of dance.

“Throughout its 20-year history, the show has launched careers, sparked trends, and touched the hearts of millions with its dazzling performances, emotional journeys, and unforgettable moments and we will be showcasing it all in this very special programme.”

Meanwhile, as well as this one-off special, Strictly will be returning for its 22nd series later in the year, with actor Nicola Peltz Beckham, boxer Tommy Fury and all-round national treasure Hannah Waddingham among those tipped to be taking part.

Last year’s series was won by Coronation Street actor Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola, beating Layton Williams and fellow soap star Bobby Brazier in the live final.

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Here’s How Actors Stay Still When Playing Dead, And It’s Not How I Thought

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It doesn’t matter whether you’re into soaps, gore, rom-coms, or dramas; rare is the telly lover who’s managed to avoid seeing the on-screen death of their favourite character.

And if you’ve watched a show with a particularly high character kill-off rate, like Game of Thrones, you’ve likely witnessed post-battle scenes that’d make Napoleon feel queasy.

But once you’ve got past why your beloved character has gone to Hollywood Heaven, the question of just how actors manage to lay so convincingly still for so long during the corpse shots comes up.

Luckily, Marina Hyde, co-host of behind-the-scenes podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, has answers for us.

Which are?

Marina spoke to a producer about forensic pathology prior to the podcast and learned that yep, people do cast corpses.

She explained that “some people do freak out” when playing corpses, and not everyone can lay still enough for long enough to get a good shot, “so you have to audition [for corpse roles] by lying still.”

Ever with perfect corpse casting, though, shots used to not linger on the chest because it’s very hard not to show the rise and fall of breath.

“But now ― this is like one of the big routine instances of VFX ― they can capture it at rest (the chest) at one moment, then they layer that still in the rest of the footage.

“For those ones where there’s an open-eye corpse, the VFX is particularly useful,” Marina added.

Her co-host Richard Osman said, “Essentially there are some actors who are very very good at being still, and now they cheat the ‘not breathing’ elements.”

Woah.

I know! A Reddit thread asking people who had played dead on-screen to share their experiences also provides some gory insight.

“I was on an episode of Chicago Fire as a featured extra. I was in a rubble scene after a marathon bombing,” site user Citrous_Oyster wrote.

“The camera was on a crane facing down on the file and I was laying on my back across the rubble. I was instructed to try and hold my breath as long as I could or take short breaths. I was in a yellow jacket so it also hid some of my breathing which helped,” they shared.

“I work in post-production and can confirm I have removed breaths from actors playing dead. Not particularly complicated generally,” Redditor Jewel-jones added.

The more you know…

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Baby Reindeer Star Richard Gadd Gets Candid About His ‘Hardest Day’ On Set

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Richard Gadd has reflected on some of his more difficult days on the set of Baby Reindeer.

The hit Netflix miniseries is inspired by its creator’s real-life experiences of stalking and sexual abuse, while also exploring themes like mental health and gender identity.

Because the show was so rooted in his own trauma, Richard has admitted that it made for some hard days on set, naming the shooting of his character’s sexual assault as one such example.

Asked about his “hardest day on set”, he told The Hollywood Reporter: “It was really difficult going back there. I remember going to set for the diary days, the sexual assault days, and we sandwiched them together so it wasn’t so spread out.

“I think it was the right thing to do, so that it would only be two or three days where we had to stay in that zone.”

Richard admitted: “On the way to set those days, I would be hoping for a major traffic jam or something so I could just have another beat to prepare and wrap my head around it to think.”

“The actor who plays Darrien, Tom Goodman-Hill, what a legend. I felt really safe with him, really comfortable,” he added.

“It’s weird to shoot a scene that you know you have to shoot but don’t really want to. He was such a pro, such a good actor that he made it so much easier.”

Meanwhile, Richard recently spoke about how these scenes would often move crew members to tears while they were being filmed.

Tom Goodman-Hill plays Darrien in Baby Reindeer
Tom Goodman-Hill plays Darrien in Baby Reindeer

Ed Miller/Netflix

Baby Reindeer was met with a hugely positive reaction from critics, and has not budged from the top spot on Netflix’s list of its most-watched shows in a number of weeks.

However, more recently, conversations have been raised about whether enough was done to conceal the identities of the real-life people who inspired characters in the show.

For his part, Richard has repeatedly spoken out against internet “sleuths” trying to decipher the real people behind the show, as has his co-star Jessica Gunning, who plays stalker Martha in Baby Reindeer.

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The Traitors Bosses Already Have Their Eye On 1 Famous Politician For Celebrity Series

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Despite widespread rumours about it going ahead, the team behind The Traitors are keeping schtum about the much-hyped celebrity version of the show.

However, if the star-studded season does end up going ahead, they’ve already got their eye on a few potential contestants.

Speaking to Deadline on the red carpet of the TV Baftas, executive producer Stephen Lambert named Liz Truss as being among his dream contestants.

“She’d be great,” he said of the former prime minister. “It’s very important on that show to be able to tell the truth, and also to not tell the truth. And you know, she would be challenged, possibly.”

Truss wouldn’t be the first British politician to take up residence in the famous Traitors castle, after former speaker John Bercow took part in the show’s American counterpart last year.

Liz Truss
Liz Truss

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Meanwhile, although the team insisted they’re still only “thinking about the possibility of doing” a celebrity spin-off of The Traitors, they were much more upfront about the third season of the regular show, filming for which is currently underway.

“It’s had some amazing twists,” Stephen shared.

“It’s quite hard making season three, because the expectations get bigger and bigger. But fortunately, I think it’s going well. Touch wood.”

This is a concern shared by The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman, who recently admitted she almost turned down season three for that very reason.

“I was reluctant to do the second, and now I’m extra reluctant to do the third,” she shared during an interview on Good Morning Britain. “Like, guys, just leave it! It did OK, leave it. And they just say ‘no’.”

According to unconfirmed reports, the first celebrity series will reportedly film and air in 2025, once season three of the regular version of The Traitors has already been shown.

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Eurovision Suffers UK Ratings Dip Amid Controversy Over This Year’s Contest

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Eurovision suffered a considerable dip in viewing figures on Saturday night compared to the previous year’s competition, amid widespread controversy around the contest.

The lead-up to this year’s Eurovision was marred with a wave of controversy around Israel’s participation, due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

When the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) made it clear that Israel would be taking part as usual in 2024, many fans called for a boycott of the competition, as did the Palestine-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.

The day after the final, Digital i reported (via The Guardian) that an average of 7.64 million people in the UK tuned in for Saturday’s live final, compared with the previous year’s 9.98 million, a dip of almost 25%.

Israeli singer Eden Golan pictured during Saturday's live final
Israeli singer Eden Golan pictured during Saturday’s live final

picture alliance via Getty Images

It’s worth pointing out that, in addition to the controversy over Israel’s involvement, last year’s Eurovision was also the first time the competition had been held in the UK for a quarter of a century, with Liverpool hosting Eurovision on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.

Olly Alexander represented the UK with his song Dizzy at Eurovision this year.

Prior to the competition, Olly faced pressure from fans, as well as the campaign group Queers For Palestine and the BDS movement, to pull out of the contest in solidarity with Palestine.

In response to this, the former Years & Years frontman said in March: “I wholeheartedly support action being taken to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages and the safety and security of all civilians in Palestine and Israel.

“I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision. As a participant I’ve taken a lot of time to deliberate over what to do and the options available to me. It is my current belief that removing myself from the contest wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal.

“Instead, I’ve been speaking with some of the other [Eurovision] contestants and we’ve decided that by taking part we can use our platform to come together and call for peace. I hope and pray that our calls are answered and there is an end to the atrocities we are seeing taking place in Gaza.”

Olly Alexander on stage at Eurovision
Olly Alexander on stage at Eurovision

Martin Sylvest Andersen via Getty Images

The Eurovision final saw Dizzy finishing in 18th place of 25 acts, after being awarded 46 points by the international juries. However, he failed to secure any votes from Eurovision viewers.

Switzerland were crowned the overall winners thanks to Nemo and their song The Code, marking the first time a non-binary performer has come out on top in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Nemo celebrating their Eurovision win
Nemo celebrating their Eurovision win

picture alliance via Getty Images

This is also the first time Switzerland has won Eurovision since Céline Dion in 1988.

Nemo secured 591 points in total, surpassing runner up Baby Lasagne, representing Croatia.

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Sharon Stone Shares Heartbreaking Truth About Falling Out Of Favour In Hollywood

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Sharon Stone says she’s “hurt” by the way the entertainment industry turned its back on her after a serious health crisis sidelined her career.

The actor gave a candid interview to Good Morning Britain about taking a break from Hollywood following a stroke and subsequent brain hemorrhage that almost killed her in 2001.

“My real first step of recovery was about seven years and that’s a long time to lose your momentum,” Sharon said to hosts Kate Garraway and Ed Balls on Thursday.

The star said shifting her focus to her health had a profound impact on her career, which soared throughout the ’90s with parts in Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Casino and more.

“In seven years, you’re no longer the flavour of the time, you no longer have box office heat,” Sharon explained. “The same people you were working with are no longer in power anymore.”

Sharon Stone at an event last month
Sharon Stone at an event last month

Marleen Moise via Getty Images

“Everything changes and people don’t really care about that person anymore,” she went on. “It’s like going back to your old job seven years later. It doesn’t matter if you’re a banker or a car salesman. Seven years go by, you don’t just walk back into your job and think nothing’s changed.”

Sharon admitted: “I was sort of hurt that the world moved on without me,” but said she has “kind of gotten over it” by now.

Later in the interview, she also spoke about living with an “invisible disability” from her brain injury, noting how “people can help you when they see you are walking with crutches but when you are having a bit of a problem with brain function, people don’t see that”.

Staying creative has been key for Sharon, who has taken up painting in the years since her life-threatening stroke and brain hemorrhage.

“When I get to be creative, whether it’s on film or on the canvas, I feel very much in my element and that all is right with the world,” she said.

Sharon’s paintings are currently the focus of two solo gallery shows. Sharon Stone: My Eternal Failure opened in San Francisco last month and she made her European debut with Totem, which runs through June in Berlin.

Watch Sharon Stone’s powerful full interview below:

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