thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--How Marcus Rashford Exposed The Fault Lines In Boris Johnson’s Government

“He’s got his culture war, alright. And we’re on the wrong side.” That grim verdict of one former minister on Boris Johnson’s handling of the free school meals row is shared by many Tory MPs facing the backlash of recent days.
Outfought and outthought by both Marcus Rashford’s razor-sharp social media campaign and Labour’s Commons manoeuvring, Conservative backbenchers are urging Downing Street to finally come up with a solution that kills for good the idea that the government will leave children hungry over Christmas.
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As No.10 scrambles to catch up with the public mood, cabinet ministers Brandon Lewis and Matt Hancock have hinted at fresh help for youngsters from poorer backgrounds without necessarily opting for an extension of free meals over holiday periods.
Johnson himself broke cover on Monday to say his ministers would “make sure that we have no children” in England “who go hungry this winter”, without giving any details on how he would achieve that.
But for many Tory MPs who have talked to HuffPost UK, the whole saga has exposed deeper problems including Johnson’s lack of focus, Downing Street’s failing political antennae, the effectiveness of the whips’ office, and Dominic Cummings’ disdain for backbenchers.
Faced with a Labour Party that this weekend edged ahead in the polls, the concern is that No.10 is failing to cope in trying to sort the Covid crisis and deliver a Brexit deal while faced with all the other pressures of being in office.
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Most fundamentally of all, for some MPs the free school meals saga has revealed the internal contradictions in what “Johnsonism” itself really means. Is its priority interventionist spending or is it more about balancing the books and boosting individual responsibility? Does it want to centralise or localise? Is it driven by a macho, take-no-prisoners revolution or a caring conservatism?
While the PM tries to grapple with his party’s political multiple personality disorder, his philosophy of being “pro-cake and pro-eating it” seems particularly ill-suited for a time when many parents worry about putting food on the table.
Rashford’s campaign managed to skilfully turn last week’s Commons defeat into a victory, with his huge social media presence used to promote every single local restaurant, cafe or council that was offering free meals over the October half-term.
I heard a couple of days ago that going in to the debate the feeling was that the British public wouldn’t care about the issue of child hunger a second time around.
Boy did you prove that theory wrong...
(1) — Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) October 26, 2020
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It is seen by some Tory MPs as a “genius move” because it highlights exactly the kind of community spirit that lies behind the campaign, while giving mass publicity to each of those involved.
But several backbenchers and even ministers are appalled at the leaden-footed way both the PM and education secretary Gavin Williamson have approached the issue for weeks. “Several of us texted Boris direct, way before the vote. This was predictable and we should have had it nailed knowing half term was coming,” said one MP.
“Even those of us who have campaigned on this issue and abstained as a result are getting abuse. Last week was and still is a disaster and follows just months after the Cummings fiasco. Both handled really badly, both cut through the noise and both won’t be forgotten. Drives me to despair,” said one former minister via text.
“I took the line [in the vote], and trusted ministers – and it’s a total clusterfuck.” - Former minister
One MP said: “I took the line [in the vote], and trusted ministers – and it’s a total clusterfuck. They haven’t got it right, they briefed out wrong and they’ve made fools of us all. We’re all now desperately fighting the flak back in our constituencies. And our councillors are livid because they’re being hung out to dry as well. All this bollocks about £63m – it wasn’t for free school meals.
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“It’s one thing to make a mistake, but where has been the firefighting support afterwards – where are the spads [special advisers], where are the PPSs [parliamentary private secretaries], the weekend support? There’s nothing. There’s no sense that CCHQ have stayed up all night crunching the numbers for each area saying: ‘This is how much you get in your area,’ et cetera.”
With Labour vowing to table a new Opposition Day motion demanding free meals voucher funding over the Christmas holiday, several former ministers – Tim Loughton, Tobias Ellwood and Caroline Noakes – have in recent days gone on record to demand change.
“We can’t be chucking money at people to Eat Out To Help Out one minute, and then look reluctant to help spend money to prevent child malnutrition.” - George Freeman
Former science minister and policy chief George Freeman has now added his voice too.
“Unless we can show that the £63m for councils will help low income families with food for children this half-term and Christmas holidays – which I fear we can’t – we would be wise to pre-empt the ‘Cruel Tories Cancelled Christmas’ headlines now and agree a sensible package of targeted FSM [free school meals] for the half term and Christmas holidays,” Freeman told HuffPost UK.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak with an Eat Out to Help Out sticker PA
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“We can’t be chucking money at people to Eat Out To Help Out one minute, and then look reluctant to help spend money to prevent child malnutrition.”
Several MPs said that one procedural way out of the problem would be to simply “not play Labour’s game” with Opposition Day debates. “There’s lots of anger around among colleagues about why the government allows itself to get caught out by Opposition Debates,” said one. “Numerous colleagues are pressing whips to abandon voting in them altogether.”
A former minister added that under Theresa May the government realised that just staying away from non-binding votes was the best way forward: “I think we should say opposition debates, those are for the opposition to raise issues. And we’re not going to vote on them.
“I mean, if they want to pass a motion saying ‘this House resolves as of Thursday afternoon, that the Tories are all child hating viruses, all those in favour 284 versus nil,’ fine, let ’em. It’s just parliamentary graffiti, we’ve got bigger bigger things to do.”
But many felt that the real problem was a lack of political antennae within the Downing Street operation and a lack of engagement with backbenchers.
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Since the government whipped its MPs to oppose Labour’s motion backing Rashford’s plan on Wednesday, the sheer scale of the backlash took some backbenchers by surprise – but others felt it was all too predictable. What none of them foresaw was the lack of support from the centre.
The 30-year-old Mansfield MP Ben Bradley waded into Twitter spats that led him to suggest that school meals vouchers had “effectively” been spent in a crack den and a brothel in the summer in his constituency. His was the only Tory face on TV on Friday night as ministers ducked the issue.
Newly-elected Workington MP Mark Jenkinson said food parcels were “sold or traded for drugs”. Another 2019 intake MP Selaine Saxby tried to apologise after saying: “I am delighted our local businesses have bounced back so much after lockdown they are able to give away food for free, and very much hope they will not be seeking any further government support.”
Life comes at you fast... pic.twitter.com/7NrsXLnRMs — David Banks (@DBanksy) October 24, 2020
One former minister said chief whip Mark Spencer had to share the blame too, accusing him of “having naive newbies attacking Labour, FSM [and] poor people and then leaving it to others to [do] pastoral care when they are under severe attack”.
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Some of the hardline rhetoric defending the government’s stance carries big risks for the party’s image, according to Manchester University politics professor Rob Ford, whose book Brexitland analyses the demographic changes that helped drive the referendum and Johnson’s rise to power.
He points to a study by the UK in A Changing Europe think tank this summer that found Tory MPs were out of step with their own constituents on the need for higher government spending. “It’s true of Conservative voters in general, but it is particularly true of the Labour-to-Conservative switchers who were so pivotal in the 2019 election,” Ford says.
“Essentially, Labour to Conservative switchers are centre-left on economic ideology. The average Conservative MP emphatically is not, so this row was kind of coming. One of the jobs of leaders is to appeal over the heads of their activists or MPs to the average voter.
“And this episode has shown that if there is not a very clear and firm steer towards the median voter from Johnson and his cabinet, Conservatives will default to a position of ‘we don’t want to spend money, the deficit is massive – and anyway, these people don’t deserve it’. These MPs [like Bradley] are leaping into the vacuum of leadership.”
Boris Johnson Leon Neal via Getty Images
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Pollster Joe Twyman, whose Deltapoll/MailonSunday survey found 71% public support for the Rashford policy, pointed out that nearly twice as many Conservative supporters support it than oppose it.
“This isn’t the first and it’s certainly not going to be the last of the issues in different areas that the government has to deal with in terms of the impact of Covid,” he said. “There is a real danger that a narrative of ‘the nasty party’ can resume.”
Some ministers and MPs are already pointing the finger at education secretary Williamson, whose department is responsible for the free school meals policy. Although some of his allies say his hands are tied by the need to keep spending under control, backers of Rishi Sunak strongly refute any suggestion the chancellor has blocked more money for children.
It is understood that the Department for Education did not put together any spending proposal for the Treasury on extending the meals for half-term. It would have had to consult No.10, too, on any such plan, but has not done so, senior sources said. “The idea that HMT [Her Majesty’s Treasury] have said ‘no’ is fantasy.”
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson PA
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For some, the problem is more deep-rooted. Former special adviser Salma Shah said: “Currently there is an unfortunate deficit of political experience. Most of the cabinet has only been in post for just over a year alongside some very big changes at the top of a fair few significant departments. The result can be quite destabilising for Whitehall at any time, let alone during a pandemic.
“But the issue is wider – the last two close election cycles resulted in a loss of institutional knowledge on the back-benches too. The grandees who could lend their opinion, calm nerves or help set a better direction because they’ve been there and done that is missing, and actually quite an important part of charting a policy course successfully.”
“How many people around the cabinet table have been on free school meals?” - Former adviser
One former Tory insider puts it more bluntly: “How many people around the cabinet table have been on free school meals?” The bigger structural issue in Whitehall seemed to be whether child hunger was a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions, the education department, or Robert Jenrick’s local government department, they added. “No one seems in charge.”
Ironically, Rashford himself has been more politically savvy than any minister. Although he insists he is above party politics, his long-term solutions to child hunger lie in a change of the welfare system, with increased eligibility for school meals for all on Universal Credit, a comprehensive holiday support package, plus a higher cash rate for pregnant mothers in receipt of health eating support.
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A former special adviser added that Johnson was struggling to define his political philosophy but had to do so in a crisis. Quoting the Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci, they said: “‘The crisis is that the old is dying and the new cannot be born.’ We’ve got a lot of baggage. We’ve been having this conversation since Cameron first came in.
“Osborne had the austerity policy but still tried to sort of game the centre ground. He was shifting to the left on things like a living wage, but also still trying to cling to that Tory message about fiscal responsibility and lower welfare. It squeaked us a majority in 2015.
“Osborne and Cameron talked about standing up for shift-workers who left home in the dark hours of the early morning to see the closed blinds of their neighbour sleeping off a life on benefits. You could just about get away with that when we had low unemployment, but not now.”
Dominic Cummings, senior aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson PA
Unsurprisingly, given his open contempt for many Tory MPs, Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings gets some blame for the problems now being experienced, even though it remains unclear just what role if any he has played in the school meals issue.
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“Any No.10 worth its name would just have a feel for domestic politics. All they’ve got a feel for is the Red Wall/Brexit thermometer. This isn’t just a one off – it’s been a series of cock-ups,” says one former minister, pointing to a string of U-turns.
“Dominic Cummings and Eddie Lister [the PM’s other senior adviser] are completely absent without leave. A lot of us have been warning them that there is no political operation in there. A take-back-control Brexit campaign, it’s not a day to day basis for credible governing.
“Secondly, what the fuck are ministers doing? Those of us who have been ministers know that sometimes you have to put out a difficult topic. You’d better make sure you brief people properly, give them a really strong line. The reason you have ministers who are also elected is they can kind of go ‘yeah, that’s not good enough, that doesn’t really fly’.”
Another ex-minister said: “Everyone is frightened of Cummings. He’s the second most powerful person in the government, but cabinet ministers are not doing anything to challenge him.”
One former special adviser said the explanation was more simple. “People aren’t doing their jobs. Just do the fucking work. Is the prime minister actually doing the hard work you need in that job?”
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Several MPs think the responsibility lies with Johnson, not his aides. They think he should have personally got a grip on the issue before last week’s Labour motion and realised Williamson was heading for a fall. More broadly, they think he needs to have a much clearer idea of what his government stands for beyond Brexit.
“Rishi is great for the economy but the big gaping hole is social justice. Are we a social justice government or not? Boris did use the two words for the first time I think as prime minister in his conference speech,” said one former minister. “We don’t talk enough about our successes, like Universal Credit not failing in this crisis.
“Levelling up doesn’t mean anything to anyone. I asked two constituents about it recently. One said ‘is it about Nintendo level up games?’ The other said – I kid you not – ‘do you mean the potholes?’” - Tory MP
“They need to have a programme for people who are struggling – my constituents, basically. They need to find the right words for it. ‘Levelling up’ doesn’t mean anything to anyone. I asked two constituents about it recently. One said: ‘Is it about Nintendo level up games?’ The other said – I kid you not: ‘Do you mean the potholes?’
“And also what does ‘Build Back Better’ mean? I don’t understand it, so it’s no wonder my voters don’t.”
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One veteran shire Tory MP says the PM suffers from a lack of focus and from perhaps the after-effects of his own Covid hospitalisation. “He should have had a longer rest, two or three weeks wasn’t enough, and it shows. I’ve been a minister and once you get back from illness there’s no half-measures, your box fills up,” they said.
“The PM makes a pretence of engaging with MPs but at the first session of the ’22 [1922 Committee] he took no questions and at the second one he allowed a few questions but no one seemed to take the issues up seriously.”
Johnson does have support among those who think he has been too busy with Covid to focus on the school meals problem, and that it should have been sorted out by others. “I absolutely refuse to believe Boris is comfortable with this,” a former minister said. “He is a One Nation Tory and this is not who he is.”
But others are less forgiving, saying his handling of the Andy Burnham cash offer row had “managed to divide the party geographically as well as ideologically”.
“It’s all down to him. People don’t change at 56 and he’s not changed. He is fighting on too many fronts, but worst of all I just don’t think he’s a very good politician. He’s personable and quick thinking but he’s utterly unstrategic,” said a senior backbencher.
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“Bizarrely, his government has got two approaches. It either looks a hundred years out in terms of civil service reform and putting people on the moon, or it looks at tomorrow. But it can’t look a week out, or a month out, or a year out from now.”
“They’re now getting U-turnphobia and deciding to get macho after the event. It’s ‘we must hold the line’. Well, that’s how armies get defeated – they hold the wrong line” - Former minister
The military analogy is shared by a former minister. “I think why they haven’t pivoted is that this has happened so many times that they’re now getting U-turnphobia and deciding to get macho after the event. It’s ‘we must hold the line’. Well, that’s how armies get defeated – they hold the wrong line, right?”
One MP added: “This is only a cannonball below the decks, but we are shipping water and the ship is starting to list. It doesn’t matter that you’ve got an 80 majority up on the decks. Once the ship starts to take in water below decks, you’re in real trouble.”
Some think a fresh start can come in the New Year, once a Brexit trade deal has been delivered and after a government reshuffle to promote talent and axe dead wood. The PM’s loyalty to Williamson, who is also accused of failing to prepare for another huge Covid problem – the movement of two million students across the country before Christmas – is seen as baffling.
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“Apart from Rishi, Gove and possibly Grant [Shapps] I can’t think of anyone else who is good in the cabinet. He needs to be like Robespierre. The night of the long knives would be a tea party compared to what he’s got to do,” said one MP.
Another disagreed: “I don’t think they will ever get to it. They’ve already got 60 members of parliament who are ex-ministers who know they are not coming back. Why would you add to that number when you’ve got a majority of 80? He’s actually very weak.”
One senior backbencher said: “I think the party needs to be as united as possible with Covid and Brexit all around us. But the comms on everything else we are doing for poorer kids was nowhere to be seen.
“There’s lots of sympathy from BJ and Rishi but very little empathy. I suspect the irony will be that, despite such a large majority, Boris will see more rebellions than ever, post-Brexit deal.”
Marcus Rashford Xavier Laine via Getty Images
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A former cabinet minister said plans to end the Universal Credit increase next April were another looming issue.
“It seems no one is doing serious horizon scanning,” they said. “The same thing will happen over Universal Credit and the £20 a week rise due to end next spring. Trouble is the longer they leave it, the less political gain. It will become another U-turn story.”
Freeman said the free school meals row should be a wake-up call to the PM. “Only 10 months ago we won a massive election victory based on the PM promising to lead a ‘people’s government’ that was listening and ‘taking back control’ to ‘level up’ for hardworking Brits let down by ‘big bureaucracy’,” he said.
“This week Labour have cleverly out-manoeuvred us to portray us as the out-of-touch ‘Whitehall-knows-best’ machine politicians with no feel for populist grassroots opinion on Covid, on the wrong side of an argument with a northern football hero campaigner on child poverty.
“This is a comms disaster. There’s a pattern here: the No.10 machine is too focused on the Brexit ‘culture war’ and too contemptuous of parliamentary process. It needs to change, or we face electoral annihilation in next year’s key local elections. No.10 needs a political chief of staff with a feel for bread and butter doorstep politics. Fast.”
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Ford said a big problem for Johnson was just how former Labour voters in “Blue Wall” seats – where many relied on in-work benefits and on free school meals – were viewing his government more broadly.
“All voters have a tipping point. Many of them cut him a lot of slack over Brexit, but if you lose just 20% of those voters on other issues a lot of those marginal seats would be in doubt without Labour having to lift a finger, even before whatever onslaught Starmer has planned,” he said.
“And of course we are still only one year into a four-year government. There’s every reason to think next year will be tougher than this year on the economic front, unemployment is a lagging indicator at the best of times. We don’t know how long Covid will run, and the slide in the polls has already begun and lots of voters are beginning to ask difficult questions.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Kumail Nanjiani's Coronavirus Despair Hits 'Hopeless And Helpless' Abyss

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Kumail Nanjiani had some sad feelings to share on Twitter about the still-surging coronavirus pandemic on Sunday ― and he let them rip in a fit of despair that is all too relatable.
“I’m sorry,” he began. “I’m generally a very optimistic person and have fought to keep positive these last few months. But today is hard.
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“We are heading into a massive Covid spike and the people who are supposed to protect us are doing nothing & blaming us for being concerned.”
Kumail’s wife, Emily V. Gordon, is immunocompromised, which he said was spiking his anxiety even further. (Her life-threatening bout with Still’s disease inspired their Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 2017 dramedy The Big Sick).
“We feel let down by our country,” he wrote as he mentioned the hundreds of thousands dead and “families destroyed”.
Kumail Nanjiani NBC via Getty Images
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Kumail eyed the fewer deaths in other countries, adding: “Are they dealing with the same disease we are? I guess that’s the difference. They’re dealing with it. We’re not. We politicised every suppression effort.”
The actor and comedian – whose activism extends to social media at times – went on at length about the authorities’ framing of pandemic containment efforts, such as masks and a reliance on science, as a sign of “weakness.” He wrote that worrying about his wife is even considered a sign of weakness.
“I guess I have nothing constructive to say,” Kumail wrote. “Just be careful out there. I’m afraid we have a couple of bad months ahead of us. And I feel hopeless & helpless today.”
I’m sorry. I’m generally a very optimistic person & have fought to keep positive these last few months. But today is hard. We are heading into a massive Covid spike & the people who are supposed to protect us are doing nothing & blaming us for being concerned. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 25, 2020
We’ve been in quarantine for 8 months because my wife is in a high risk group. We feel let down by our country. But it’s not about us. We’re the lucky ones. Over 226,000 people have died. That’s so many families destroyed. People have lost their homes, their jobs. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 25, 2020
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And this was all preventable. I look at the Covid cases & deaths in other countries & it feels like they’re in another world. Are they dealing with the same disease we are? I guess that’s the difference. They’re dealing with it. We’re not. We politicized every suppression effort. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 25, 2020
Wearing masks is a sign of weakness. Protecting your friends, family, neighbors is a sign of weakness. Getting your heart broken every day by rising cases is a sign of weakness. Worrying that the next text will contain unthinkable news is a sign of weakness. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 25, 2020
Sleepless nights because what will happen if the person laying next to you in bed gets sick is a sign of weakness. Science is a sign of weakness. We could have done so much more to prevent all these losses. But it’s not his fault. It’s China’s fault. 8 months& we’re still here. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 25, 2020
I feel like I work Fealy hard to keep all these doors closed in my mind, to try and keep all these scary/sad/devastating thoughts out of my head. Focus on the positive. Donate to worthy causes. People are doing fantastic work out there. Most days it works. But not today. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) October 25, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Jennifer Garner 'Still Not Having More Babies' After Fans Think She Announced Pregnancy

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Count Jennifer Garner out of the celebrity baby boom.
While everyone from Hilary Duff and Katharine McPhee to Kelly Rowland and Mandy Moore have announced in the past few weeks that they’re expecting, the Alias alum has no designs on joining the population increase, despite confusion over a recent Halloween-themed Instagram post.
On Sunday, Jennifer sparked speculation that she might be pregnant after sharing a photo of herself beaming while holding a jack-o’-lantern, which just so happened to have a smaller pumpkin inside of it.
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Her caption didn’t help, with Jennifer writing: “When you and your jack-o’-lantern share a vibe” alongside the photo.
While the Golden Globe winner later said she was referring to her smile, which matches the one she carved on the smaller pumpkin, some followers immediately assumed this was Jennifer’s way of breaking some news.
“I thought this was a pregnancy announcement for a hot second,” one follower commented, with a handful of others saying they had the same interpretation.
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“Um...does this mean there is a little Jennifer behind that pumpkin,” another added.
“Wait...is she saying she has a baby in her belly,” a different confused fan asked.
Instagram
Jennifer, of course, already shares three children ― Violet, 14; Seraphina, 11; Samuel, 8 ― with ex-husband Ben Affleck, and she’s been abundantly clear that this is more than enough for her.
But she set the record straight once again, responding to a comment on the Halloween-themed post.
“STILL NOT HAVING MORE BABIES,” Jennifer said. “Good grief, I didn’t even see it, I just saw matching smiles.”
Just last month, Jennifer declared that she will “never” have any more children, following yet more pregnancy rumours.
“I am 48, have three healthy kids, and am not — and never will be — pregnant. We can lay that pupper to rest,” she replied to fan.
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In typical Jennifer fashion, she managed to find the humour in the situation.
“Have (I) gained the Covid-19? Possibly. But that is another story,” she continued, adding a handful of food-themed emojis, including a slice of pizza, a taco, a doughnut, a chocolate bar and a glass of wine.
Jennifer Garner poses with her children Violet, Seraphina and Samuel at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. ROBYN BECK via Getty Images
Since splitting with her ex-husband in 2015 after a 10-year marriage, Jennifer has been linked to businessman John Miller. While she’s stayed silent on the romance, reports circulated this summer suggesting the two had called it quits after less than two years of dating.
During an appearance on PBS’ Tell Me More With Kelly Corrigan last week, Jennifer reflected on the intense media scrutiny surrounding her relationship with Ben Affleck.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Hugh Grant Just Broke Millions Of Hearts With His Comments About His Most Famous Rom-Coms

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Hugh Grant may have made countless hearts soar over the years in his plethora of romantic comedies, but he’s now broken them into a thousand pieces with his latest comments about the genre.
The British actor has called his previous films “a terrible lie” as he revealed his desire to undo his characters’ happy endings.
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During a Q&A for his new HBO series The Undoing, Hugh – who has starred in the likes of Love Actually, Four Weddings And A Funeral, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill – was asked if he would ever star in another rom-com.
Hugh Grant Vera Anderson via Getty Images
He responded: “I would like to do a sequel to one of my own romantic comedies that shows what happened after those films ended.
“Really, to prove the terrible lie that they all were, that it was a happy ending.”
Hugh specifically had a few ideas for a sequel to Notting Hill.
The original film saw Hugh’s character finally getting married to Julia Roberts’ Anna, before it was revealed the couple were expecting a child.
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“I’d like to do me and Julia and the hideous divorce that’s ensued with really expensive lawyers, children involved in [a] tug of love, floods of tears,” Hugh said. “Psychologically scarred forever. I’d love to do that film.”
Hugh has moved away from starring in romantic comedies in recent years, earning widespread praise for his role as politician Jeremy Thorpe in the BBC’s A Very English Scandal in 2018, as well as starring in films including Cloud Atlas and The Gentlemen.
Last year, he explained his decision to step away from the genre, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I’ve gotten too old and ugly and fat to do them anymore.
“So now I’ve done other things and I’ve got marginally less self-hatred.”
He continued: “Every decision I ever made was probably wrong. After Four Weddings, and the world was my oyster, I should’ve made interesting decisions and done different stuff. Instead, I repeated myself almost identically about 17 times in a row.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Drew Barrymore On Her 'Tragic' Divorce: 'I Don't Think I've Recovered'

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Drew Barrymore got emotional reflecting on her divorce from her third husband, actor Will Kopelman, revealing that she still hasn’t quite recovered from their 2016 split.
The actor and talk show host told Sunday Today that it was important for the two daughters she shares with her ex to have something she didn’t as a child: an “amazing family.”
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“I really did not take divorce well. I took it really hard,” the 50 First Dates actor explained. “And I know from not growing up with any family whatsoever that that was the last thing I wanted to do for my daughters.”
She added: “I think that’s why I took [the divorce] so hard. [I] was, like, oh, the ultimate promise I wanted to make with you and for you was to have this amazing family. And I found them. And there’s something not working ― that isn’t livable. How tragic is that?”
In this week’s virtual #SundaySitdown, @DrewBarrymore opens up about filing for divorce four years ago. Barrymore said, “And I know from not growing up with any family whatsoever that that was the last thing I wanted to do for my daughters. I think that's why I took it so hard.” pic.twitter.com/hygX8LQ2Hk — TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 25, 2020
“Because when we were getting divorced, it felt like everything was just wrong,” Drew continued. “I think it applies to everyone who thinks that something will be forever and it’s not. It’s so hard.”
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But now, after nearly five years, the Charlie’s Angels alum said she can “see everything we did right.” Though it doesn’t mean she’s ready to move on.
“I don’t think I’ve recovered from that,” Drew said as her voice broke. “I don’t know how to open that up again.
“It’s like something closed, and it stayed closed. I think I’m equally as scared to find love again as I would be as if it never happened.”
Kopelman and Barrymore arrive to the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 12, 2014. Christopher Polk/NBC via Getty Images
Drew previously was wed to Jeremy Thomas from 1994 to 1995, and to comedian Tom Green from 2001 to 2002.
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On Drew’s new talk show, both Charlize Theron and Sharon Stone have spoken about their reluctance to pursue new relationships.
“I’ve had it with dating,” the Basic Instinct star told Drew, who agreed with her sentiments. “Because I just find people to be insincere and not worth my time. And I enjoy my alone time and time with my kids and my friends more.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Warrington Placed Under Tier 3 Coronavirus Lockdown

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Warrington will be placed under tier 3 coronavirus restrictions from midnight, the government has announced.
Going into tier 3 means pubs and bars have to close unless they serve substantial meals while households are banned from mixing indoors or in private gardens and beer gardens or other public spaces.
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Additional closures will include betting shops, adult gaming centres, casinos and soft play centres and areas.
Residents should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK and others should avoid staying overnight in the very high alert area.
In Warrington, infection rates are among the highest in the country and continuing to rise rapidly, with case rates at 361 people per 100,000 among all age groups. Although infection rates were originally higher in the younger population, the area is now seeing rises in the older population with case rates at 217 per 100,000 for over 60s, which is a 20% rise on the previous week.
The government will be providing a financial support package of £1.68m as well as £4.2m in business support funding. This will support local contact tracing, the enforcement of restrictions, and the provision of further local level data. This is in addition to the £1 billion of funding for local councils the prime minister set out earlier this month.
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Warrington joins the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and south Yorkshire in the top tier.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “I know that these new measures will mean sacrifices must be made by the people in Warrington, and I want to extend my thanks to each and every one of them for recognising the severity of the situation and sticking to the rules.
“We have agreed a support package designed to help businesses while boosting efforts to control the virus locally, and will not hesitate to take similar action in any area of the country if infection rates continue to rise. Please remember - now is the time for us all to work together to get this virus under control.”
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick said: “The restrictions we have agreed together will only be in place for as long as they are absolutely necessary. They will be reviewed jointly in 28 days’ time.
“The government is working with closely with local leaders as we tackle this challenge together, for the benefit of all the people of Warrington.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--The Sister Is The New Psychological Horror From The Creator Of Luther – And It's Perfect For Hallowe

The Sister Is The New Psychological Horror From The Creator Of Luther – And It's Perfect For Halloween

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If you’ve already made your way through Netflix’s Halloween offerings, and fancy something a bit more alternative, ITV has got the perfect drama for you this week, as psychological horror The Sister debuts.
From Neil Cross, best known as the creator of Luther, The Sister is guaranteed to send chills down your spine as it airs over the next four nights.
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Here’s everything you need to know about the new drama…
ITV
What is The Sister actually about?
A synopsis for the show explains: “Nathan seems to have it all — a loving wife, a beautiful home and a solid, if unexciting, career. But Nathan has never been able to forget the worst night of his life: a New Year’s Eve party 10 years ago, which led to the sudden, shocking death of a young woman… the sister of the woman who is now his wife.
“Only he and Bob, an eccentric old acquaintance, know what really happened — and they’ve resolved to keep it that way. Until one rainy evening, years later, when Bob appears at Nathan’s door with terrifying news. They’re digging up the woods.”
The story of its conception is chilling in itself
As already mentioned, The Sister is the brainchild of Luther creator and writer Neil Cross, and his based on his 2009 novel Burial.
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The story was inspired by a real-life experience which he had following a drunken night out as a teenager, after which he had a vivid recollection of stabbing a man to death after taking a shortcut home through some woods.
He, of course, didn’t really kill anyone, but spent 20 years haunted by his hallucinations, fearing that he might have done, checking missing persons reports and searching for news stories of a body found in the woods.
“I was compelled to because it always seemed much too vivid to have been a dream,” he explains. “Dreams fade. This did not. It had exactly the qualities of memory... and like all such memories, it haunted my sleepless nights. A small, haunted part of me always wondered: what if I’d actually done it?”
This was the starting point for Burial and The Sister, which Neil says is “about someone fundamentally decent who is haunted by guilt — and perhaps by something else.”
The story is told in a different way to the book
While Burial works across a linear narrative, Neil realised he had to tell the story in a different way for TV, deconstructing it and rebuilding it across three timelines.
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“There is a 2010 timeline, a 2013 timeline and a present day timeline,” he explains. “They are nested like Russian dolls; which is something I had never tried to do before. I’m a very linear storyteller, typically.
“It seemed to me to be the right way to tell this story. That was exciting and liberating and it freed me from all these assumptions about the book. About what needed to be kept in.”
The Sister boasts an accomplished and well-known cast
Russell Tovey (Years And Years, Being Human, Him & Her) plays Nathan, who is described as “incredibly likeable, but ordinary”. While we was once a bright-eyed lad about town, the events of a fateful night long ago transformed him into a measured, sensible, fearful adult.
Russell Tovey as Nathan ITV
He says: “[Nathan] seems to be in a good place having made some better choices in his life. He is coping but he has some anxieties that sit with him all the time.
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“Someone from his past turns up on his doorstep, causing the past to come flashing right back and sets off a chain of events.
Bertie Carvel (Doctor Foster, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) plays Bob, a former academic and so-called paranormal expert. However, when we meet him a decade later, it becomes clear that his desire to prove naysayers wrong has cost him his sanity, and he is now living a squalid basement flat, isolated and unemployed.
Bertie Carvel as Bob Morrow ITV
He is the figure from Nathan’s past who suddenly turns up on his doorstep, sending his life into disarray.
“It’s almost as though Bob has carried the weight of all of those years since they last met a lot less successfully than Nathan seems to have done,” Bertie explains.
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Amrita Acharia (Game Of Thrones, The Good Karma Hospital) plays Holly, Nathan’s wife, and the sister of Elise, the woman whose death he was responsible for a decade prior.
Amrita Acharia as Holly Fox ITV
Her sister’s mysterious disappearance changed her forever and she still clings to the hope that Elise is alive and will come home one day.
Amrita says: “When Holly meets Bob for the first time, she senses straight away that something is not quite right.
“Nathan is not really someone who is particularly social — so this unexpected visitor to their house comes as something of a surprise to her. Everything starts to go downhill from that moment onwards because it all starts to unravel.”
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Nina Toussaint-White (Bodyguard, EastEnders, Emmerdale) plays Jacki, Holly’s best friend and a detective on the Elise Fox investigation, who is determined to find answers for Holly and her family.
Nina Toussaint-White as Jacki Hadley ITV
Amanda Root (Unforgotten, The Forsyte Saga, All About Me) appears as June, Holly and Elise’s mother, while Paul Bazely (Benidorm, Critical, Black Mirror) plays the girls’ father Graham.
Why should I watch it?
With elements of horror and the supernatural, The Sister is unlike other psychological thrillers that have aired on mainstream TV this year.
Russell describes it as “scary and dangerous”, adding that it is a “unique show with its own surreal energy and dynamics”.
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He continues: “Viewers watching the show are meant to wonder what is going on and be second guessing everything. You are meant to be doubting and questioning who is right and who is wrong.
“You think you know the characters Neil has created but then with a flip of a coin you have no idea who they are.”
When is it on?
The Sister begins on Monday 26 October at 9pm on ITV, continuing over the following three nights.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--A Guide To US Election Night. Listen To Running Mate, Our American Politics Podcast For Brits

Running Mate is a US election podcast – just for Brits. In our tenth episode, we provide a guide to election night.
Host Graeme Demianyk speaks to HuffPost US political reporters Ariel Edwards-Levy and Paul Blumenthal, who talk through Joe Biden’s consistent poll lead, what Donald Trump’s path to victory looks like and whether we will actually find out on the night who the president will be – or whether this is the start of months of deadlock decided by the Supreme Court.
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We also chatted to Jeffrey Young, HuffPost’s health reporter, about the US healthcare system and whether an NHS-style overhaul is something Americans would want – if they ever knew what it was.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--3 Spooky Bakes To Make With Kids That Are – Shhh! – Healthy

HuffPost UK Supplied
If you’ve run out of half-term activities, why not head into the kitchen ahead of Halloween to get baking?
We’ve got three recipes from Little Cooks Co, a monthly subscription-based recipe kit posted through the letterbox for to kids. The best bit about it? These recipes are actually super healthy, too.
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They’re designed by a registered nutritionist, and use whole natural ingredients. From puking pumpkin pies to devil cakes, they certainly sound interesting.
Puking Pumpkin Apple Pies
Prep: 30 minutes I Cook: 18-20 minutes I Serves: 9 pies
HuffPost UK Little CooksCo
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
90g buckwheat flour
80g brown rice flour
70g ground almonds
50g tapioca flour
2 tbsp milled flaxseeds
4g cinnamon
1 egg
100g melted butter or 75g coconut oil
40 ml cold water
Eggwash = 1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water
For the filling:
150g pumpkin, peeled and grated
1 small apple (approx. 100g), grated (no need to peel)
1 orange, juiced
40 ml water
60g honey/maple syrup
Method:
1. Make the pastry by whisking the dry ingredients and egg together in a mixing bowl. Add the melted coconut oil/butter, and mix in the water a bit at time until the pastry comes together into a dough. Pop in the fridge to chill and firm up while you make the filling
2. Next, grate the pumpkin and apple and add it to a small saucepan with the orange juice, water and honey/maple syrup and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft and mashable. Transfer to a small plate and pop in the fridge to cool and then blend or mash (with a potato masher) until smooth.
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3. Preheat the oven to 180c (non fan assisted) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Take the pastry out of the fridge and cut it in half.
4. Roll the first half between sheets of parchment paper (this is to prevent sticking), to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use a 9cm cutter to cut out 9 circles, and use a butter knife/spatula to help you lift the pastry circles and place them on the lined baking tray.
5. Next, roll out the other half between parchment and cut out 9 circles again. On the circles, use knife to cut two ’X’s for the eyes and an oblong circle near the bottom for a mouth.
6. Put about 1 heaped tbsp of the filling on the pastry circles and top with the pastry face. Lightly press the edges to seal – the filling should be visible in the mouth!
7. Brush the pastry faces with eggwash and put in the oven to bake for 18-20 mins, until golden brown
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Chocolate Fudge Devil Cakes
Prep: 30 minutes I Cook: 15-18 minutes I Serves: 12 cakes
HuffPost UK Supplied
Ingredients:
For the cakes:
10g milled flaxseeds + 3 tbsps water
70g brown rice flour
70g oat flour (you can blend regular oats into a fine flour, and choose gluten free if preferred)
60g dark cocoa powder or cacao powder
1 tsp baking powder
120g honey or maple syrup
80g olive oil or melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
200ml milk (or dairy free alternative)
1 tsp vinegar
For the filling and frosting:
160g cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), roughly chopped
125g raspberries
35g honey or maple syrup
10g milled chia seeds (you can mill them by blitzing them in a blender)
70g coconut oil or butter, melted
60g dark cocoa powder or cacao powder
45g maple syrup/honey
60 ml water or milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180c (fan)/200c (non-fan)/gas mark 6. Line a 12-hole fairy cake tin with cases. Make your flaxegg by adding the flaxseed to a small bowl along with 3 tbsp of water. Stir and set aside to form a gel.
2. Add the rice flour, oat flour, cocoa or cacao powder and baking powder to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine, leaving a well in the centre. In the well, add the honey/maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, milk, vinegar and flaxegg. Whisk to combine – the mixture will be quite wet.
3. Transfer the mixture into a measuring jug and pour into the cases, filling just near the top. Pop in the oven and bake for 15-18 mins.
4. While the cakes are baking, make your filling by blending the beetroot, raspberries and honey/maple syrup. Pour the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds and pulp. You may need to use a spoon to move the mixture inside the sieve, lightly pressing it through.
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5. Transfer the puree into a small saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the milled chia seeds and stir. Transfer to a plate and pop it in the fridge to set and cool.
6. When the cakes have cooled, make your frosting by blending the melted coconut oil/butter, cocoa/cacao powder, water/milk, honey and vanilla. Add a splash more water or milk if it doesn’t catch easily in the blender. If it is runny then pop it in the fridge to firm up.
7. To assemble your devil cakes, use a circular cutter to cut out a circle in the middle of each cake, only pressing down halfway to leave a base for the filling. Don’t worry if the sides crumble! Another option is to slice the top of the cakes off. Set the circles/tops aside and cut in half, these will make your devil horns! Fill the holes/top of the cakes with the beetroot and raspberry filling, top with the chocolate frosting and then stick the devil horns in.
Chocolate Gravestone Pudding
Prep: 30-40 minutes I Cook: 10 minutes I Serves: 6 ramekins
HuffPost UK Supplied
Ingredients:
For the mousse:
150g cashews
120g dates, roughly chopped
110ml water or milk (dairy free works fine)
80g coconut oil or butter, melted
30g cacao or cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla
For the biscuit:
50g maple syrup or honey
20g cornflour
75g buckwheat flour
25g ground almonds
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
20g cacao or cocoa powder
35g coconut oil or butter, softened
20ml milk/water
10g desiccated coconut
A few drops of natural green food colouring (or 1 tsp of spirulina mixed with 2-3 tsp water).
Method:
1. Add the cashews and dates into a mixing bowl and cover with freshly boiled water. Let these soak until soft (ideally for 30 mins).
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2. Next, make the biscuits by combining the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl with a whisk before crumbing in softened coconut oil or butter with your fingers.
3. Add the wet ingredients and work together into a dough. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest in the fridge for 20 mins. While the dough rests get on with making the other elements!
4. Colour the coconut grass by adding the coconut into a bowl with a few drops of food colouring. Stir until coated and set aside to dry. Preheat oven to 180C (fan)/200C(non-fan)/gas mark 6 and get out two baking trays, lining one baking tray with parchment.
5. Now, make the mousse by draining the dates and cashews and adding them to a blender jug along with the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy. Spoon the mousse into the ramekins and pop them in the fridge to set.
6. Make the biscuits by rolling out the dough between two sheets of parchment (this is to prevent sticking) to about the thickness of a pound coin.
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7. Cut out 12-14 tombstones and/or crosses using a small knife. Be creative with sizes and shape and use a cocktail stick to add letters if you wish. Use a table knife or spatula to gently transfer to a baking tray and use your fingers to smooth any jagged edges.
8. Bake the biscuits for 8-10 mins and then leave to cool. When the biscuits have cooled, crumble the rolled out biscuit (not the gravestones or crosses!) to sprinkle on the mousse.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Adele's Opening Monologue On Saturday Night Live Was Everything We Love About Adele

Adele was on top form as she stepped back into the spotlight on Saturday Night Live – and boy, have we missed her.
The singer could not have been any more Adele as she opened the US sketch show with a monologue on Saturday night.
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In it, she addressed the fact that fans had been expecting her to perform new music on the show, and candidly explained why she was only on hosting duties.
She said: “My album is not finished and I’m also too scared to do both. I would rather just put on some wigs – and this is all mine by the way – have a glass of wine or six and just see what happens.”
Adele was hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time NBC
Adele, who looked amazing dressed in a black peplum top and matching trousers, also joked about her recent weight loss.
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“I know I look really, really different since you last saw me but actually, because of all the Covid restrictions and the travel bans, I had to travel light and only bring half of me – and this is the half I chose,” she joked.
Speaking in her unmistakable London accent, Adele also joked about swearing when becoming nervous while on live TV, as the cameras cut to SNL star Kenan Thompson posing with a comically large swear jar filled with cash.
“Let’s make sure that all goes to charity,” she said.
Adele had a swear jar to curb her bad language NBC
Adele – who recalled her first appearance on SNL in 2008, which she credited with helping her break the US – also gave a “genuine, sincere thank you” to New York’s frontline workers for their efforts during the pandemic, with some of them invited to be in the studio audience.
Watch Adele’s opening SNL monologue in full above...


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Adele's Saturday Night Live Best Bits – Here's 6 Hilarious Highlights

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While Adele fans have been patiently waiting for new music, she gave them the perfect gift to tide them over as she fronted US comedy show Saturday Night Live this weekend.
The singer was on top form as she took a starring role in a number of the sketches alongside the SNL regulars, even belting out a few of her classic hits along the way.
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If you weren’t able to see the show due to it only airing in the States, here’s six hilarious highlights to catch up on...
The Batchelor sketch
Adele appeared as herself in a skit of The Bachelor, a dating programme which is one of the most popular shows on US TV.
During the sketch, she said she is no stranger to heartbreak, joking about the age-inspired titles of her albums, before singing a parody of Hello from inside a bush while disrupting a love rival’s date.
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Adele closed the skit by joking: “Catch me next week on Love Island!”
The musical moments
A compilation of Adele singing at SNL. pic.twitter.com/ZkhhAt2nZY — Abul (@pineabul) October 25, 2020
Despite not being scheduled to perform on SNL, Adele still treated fans to some of her biggest hits, peppering The Batchelor sketch with some inspired musical moments.
Oh how we’ve missed that voice.
Pre-pandemic predictions
Another sketch saw Kate McKinnon playing psychic Madame Vivelda, who dished out advice on the future in a pre-pandemic world.
Adele asked about a big promotion in March, but is told only tears and home deliveries await in her future.
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The sketch also referenced the controversy surrounding JK Rowling, with Madame Vivelda saying: “If any of you see JK Rowling, please tell her, stick to the books.”
Adele’s Ass Angel Jeans
In this fabulously 80s sketch, Adele and Maya Rudolph promoted their ‘Ass Angel Jeans’ that “cover your secret little lady scents”.
After Maya passed wind, Adele said: “Don’t worry girl, all I can smell is cinnamon sugar swirl.”
Adele visits a nursing home
In another Coronavirus-themed sketch, Adele played a granddaughter bringing her boyfriend – portrayed by Pete Davidson – to visit her grandmother at a nursing home.
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Due to social distancing rules, she has to shout up at Maya Rudolph’s hard of hearing grandmother, and it emerges Adele’s relationship is strained because her partner lost his job.
“I am dating a man with no job,” Adele yells. The sketch ends with the revelation the grandmother has squandered her grandchildren’s inheritance.
Her opening monologue
She could not have been any more Adele as she opened the show with a monologue.
In it, she addressed the fact that fans had been expecting her to perform new music, saying: “My album is not finished and I’m also too scared to do both. I would rather just put on some wigs – and this is all mine by the way – have a glass of wine or six and just see what happens.”
She also joked about her recent weight loss, adding: “I know I look really, really different since you last saw me but actually, because of all the Covid restrictions and the travel bans, I had to travel light and only bring half of me – and this is the half I chose,” she joked.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Piers Morgan Brands David Walliams A 'Treacherous Piece Of Work' In Fresh Scathing Attack

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Piers Morgan has deepened his on-going feud with David Walliams by launching a fresh scathing attack on the Britain’s Got Talent star.
The Good Morning Britain presenter did not hold back with his thoughts about the comedian in an interview with The Mirror, branding him a “duplicitous, treacherous, piece of work”.
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Piers made his latest comments as he was asked about a potential return to the Britain’s Got Talent panel, which he originally sat on from 2007 to 2011, before David took over his chair.
Piers Morgan and David Walliams Shutterstock/ITV
However, Piers admitted he would never work with the Little Britain star, telling the paper: “I do have conversations with BGT every now and again, particularly after Simon [Cowell] had his injury. But I couldn’t work with Walliams.
“I think he is a duplicitous, treacherous, piece of work,” Piers continued. “He is one of those people who says one thing to your face and then sticks it to you behind your back.
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“If he was sitting there I wouldn’t be interested. But if he wasn’t sitting there, who knows?”
It was recently reported Piers was in line to replace David when his contract expires in 2022 – something the GMB host did little to deny on Twitter at the time.
Piers’ feud with David can be traced back to October last year, when he noticed David’s Twitter account had liked a disparaging tweet about him.
Sharing a screen grab of the tweet, Piers wrote: “Amusing that @davidwalliams regularly ‘likes’ the nastiest tweets about me, yet is such a snivelling toady to my face. It’s not my fault @BGT ratings were so much higher when I was in your chair Dave!”
Amusing that @davidwalliams regularly ‘likes’ the nastiest tweets about me, yet is such a snivelling toady to my face.
It’s not my fault @BGT ratings were so much higher when I was in your chair Dave! pic.twitter.com/6skAEpKBWq — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 15, 2019
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Voting For Kanye West Is 'Not Funny,' Warns Jennifer Aniston

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#IVOTED for @joebiden and @kamalaharris. I dropped my ballot off, and I did it early 👏🏼 I voted for them because right now this country is more divided than ever. Right now, a few men in power are deciding what women can and can’t do with their own bodies. Our current President has decided that racism is a non-issue. He has repeatedly and publicly ignored science... too many people have died. ⠀ I urge you to really consider who is going to be most affected by this election if we stay on the track we’re on right now... your daughters, the LGBTQ+ community, our Black brothers and sisters, the elderly with health conditions, and your future kids and grandkids (who will be tasked with saving a planet that our leadership refuses to believe is hurting). ⠀ ⠀ This whole thing isn’t about one candidate or one single issue, it’s about the future of this country and of the world. Vote for equal human rights, for love, and for decency. ⠀ ❤🗳⠀ ⠀ ⠀ PS - It’s not funny to vote for Kanye. I don’t know how else to say it. Please be responsible 🙏🏼


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Family Fortunes Contestant Asked To Name ‘Something You Put In Your Mouth But Don’t Swallow’. Things

Family Fortunes Contestant Asked To Name ‘Something You Put In Your Mouth But Don’t Swallow’. Things Didn’t End Well

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Family Fortunes took an uncharacteristically un-family friendly turn on Sunday night when a contestant gave a very X-rated answer to one of the questions.
In what we think must be a first for the long-running game show, the answer was so rude that it had to be bleeped out.
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Even host Gino d’Acampo was left speechless after he asked: “Name something you put in your mouth but don’t swallow?”
Come on #FamilyFortunes, what did Kash say? pic.twitter.com/LlAOoPZeZA — Long John Hill (@longjohnhill) October 25, 2020
Kash was the first to hit the buzzer, but viewers weren’t able to hear her answer as it was bleeped out, cue a stunned Twitter speculating about what she actually said…
What did she say? Actually, I don’t want to know 😩🙄😂 #FamilyFortunes — Kelle Salle 🇨🇲 (@KelleSWriter) October 25, 2020
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If she said what I think she said, then how could you say that in front of your family?! Some people have no shame 😩 — Kelle Salle 🇨🇲 (@KelleSWriter) October 25, 2020
OMG, she really went there! 🤬🤣🤣🤣🤣#familyfortunes — Mark Andrews (@AndrewsMarkR) October 25, 2020
I still can't cope tonights #FamilyFortunes 🤦♀😂 "Name something you put in your mouth but do not swallow" I wonder what the girl said whilst her fucking family where stood behind her! pic.twitter.com/UDheeUqfaH — Mollie 🍄 (@MollieAtSix) October 25, 2020
Name something you put in your mouth.... But DON'T swallow.
What did Kash just say?!
A d*** ?! 😂😂😂
Proper #FamilyFortunes that 💙💛 — G.H. (@GeorgeHogg93) October 25, 2020
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Yeah I thought *** and **** too.
I even considered ******** but no one says that anymore, not in polite circles at least #FamilyFortunes — Septimus Prime (@MsDiva_Fabulous) October 25, 2020
Omg family fortunes
'Name something you put in your mouth and dont swallow'
Immediate first answer given was bleeped 😂😂😂😂 — B E C K I E 💁♀ (@rebeccahollyxo_) October 25, 2020
Funnily enough, Kash’s answer wasn’t on the board and received a big ‘UH-UHHHH’.
Kash’s faux pas comes just days after Countdown featured a rude word.
The Channel 4 quiz show helped raise a few smiles when this happened...
Countdown Channel 4
Dictionary Corner’s Susie Dent corroborated the answer, revealing that a blowie is in fact a blow fly.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Manchester Politician Sacha Lord Forced To Deny He's Borat

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Manchester politician Sacha Lord has been forced to deny he is Borat.
In the unlikeliest case of mistaken identity ever, the northern city’s night-time economy adviser said he had been bombarded with messages following the release of Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest film last week.
The sequel to the 2006 movie sees Baron Cohen reprising his role as the fictional Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev as he interacts with real people.
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Sacha Lord (left) and Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat ITV/Amazon Prime
Responding to those who’d mistakenly thought Lord was behind the character, he tweeted: “A few weird comments on my timeline, mainly from Americans. Please note: I am not the actor playing Borat.”
A few weird comments on my timeline, mainly from Americans. Please note: I am not the actor playing Borat. — Sacha Lord (@Sacha_Lord) October 24, 2020
Sacha Baron Cohen originated the character of Borat on his series Da Ali G Show.
The first Borat film, directed by Larry Charles, grossed $262 million worldwide and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.
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Baron Cohen filmed the sequel during the lockdown, even spending five days in character living with “two conspiracy theorists”, which he admitted was the hardest part of making the new film.
In an interview with The New York Times, he said: “The hardest thing I had to do was, I lived in character for five days in this lockdown house. I was waking up, having breakfast, lunch, dinner, going to sleep as Borat when I lived in a house with these two conspiracy theorists.
“You can’t have a moment out of character.”
The critical response to Borat 2 has so far been positive, with the film holding an 84% rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Anthony Mackie Shares Hilarious Story About Meeting Chadwick Boseman

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Chadwick Boseman was a hero on and off camera, and in true Marvel fashion, his friendship with one fellow Avenger has a pretty hilarious origin story.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Chadwick’s fellow Marvel star Anthony Mackie remembered the Black Panther actor, who died in August from colon cancer.
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“I cared about him dearly as a friend,” Anthony said, before sharing a funny memory of how the pair first met back in 1998.
The actor recalled that Chadwick was directing a play at Howard University, and Anthony’s then-girlfriend brought him into the theatre to see its Elizabeth Catlett art collection.
“He was in the black box in an office chair spinning around the room,” Anthony said. “And she was like, ‘Hey, Chad, I want you to meet my classmate at Juilliard, Anthony.’”
Chadwick’s response?
“Wait, I’m concentrating. Don’t break my vibe.”
From left to right, Anthony Mackie, John Boyega, Don Cheadle and Chadwick Boseman at Disney's D23 EXPO 2017 Alberto E. Rodriguez via Getty Images
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“And he just spins around the room, and I was like, ‘It’s nice to meet you, man,’” Anthony said.
The future Black Panther star kept spinning, adding, “I’m almost there!”
Anthony said he brought up the story to Chadwick after things “took off for him”.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to talk about it. I was going through a lot in my young age,’” the actor said.
Almost two months after Chadwick’s death, friends and fans continue to mourn the actor.
Just recently, Letitia Wright, who previously posted an emotional video in Chadwick’s honor, said she couldn’t even think about filming a new Black Panther movie without him.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Orlando Bloom Surprises Katy Perry With NSFW Birthday Vid From Borat

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Orlando Bloom got his fiancée Katy Perry a “verry naiice” birthday surprise this year.
The Roar singer received a special message recorded by Sacha Baron Cohen’s iconic Kazakhstani character, Borat, which Bloom posted on Instagram Sunday for her 36th birthday:
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Pepsi was apparently delighted by her gift:
Katy and Orland have been engaged since early 2019, but postponed their wedding due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have one daughter, Daisy Dove, who was born in August.
The two attended a screening of the Borat sequel last week along with other celebrities, such as Ariana Grande and Josh Gad.
Katy also posted about the film, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, on her Instagram over the weekend.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Hello, It's The Funniest Tweets From Adele's Episode Of Saturday Night Live

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Adele was rolling deep in praise after her first “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig.
The 15-time Grammy winner showed off her many non-musical talents (OK, she did grace us with a few snippets from some of her greatest hits) on this weekend’s episode of the late-night sketch series.
Adele, who previously appeared as the musical guest in 2008 and 2015, made her hosting debut and left most of the singing to H.E.R., but she managed to more than make up for it, practically overflowing with charisma, charm and peak British sensibilities.
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Ahead of the show, the singer said she was “so excited” and “absolutely terrified” as a long-time dream of hers was finally coming true.
“I’ve always wanted to do it as a stand-alone moment so that I could roll up my sleeves and fully throw myself into it, but the time has never been right,” she wrote on Instagram. “But if there was ever a time for any of us to jump head first into the deep end with our eyes closed and hope for the best it’s 2020 right?”
Not all of the sketches hit the right note, but Adele’s up-for-anything attitude made quite the impression on social media users, who kept her name trending well into Sunday afternoon.
First, people couldn’t get over the shock of seeing Adele in all her (hometown) glory on their TV screens in the year 2020 after a prolonged absence from the spotlight.
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BREAKING NEWS: I would still die for Adele. pic.twitter.com/BYaCTnJRYx — rachel leishman (@RachelLeishman) October 25, 2020
adele exudes “i murdered my rich husband” energy pic.twitter.com/ueRQH8qgp7 — grace dante (@misslefroy) October 25, 2020
Adele was bored and said I want an Emmy, so now we give her an Emmy. I don’t make the rules. pic.twitter.com/ZspXRgfRjL — Traci (@Traci_Zj) October 25, 2020
Adele really said “Death Becomes Her” pic.twitter.com/033ULFDYUi — Nieces For Kamala (@Dartagnan_Llore) October 25, 2020
ADELE LOOKS TF GOODT! DO YOU SEE THAT HAIR?! THAT MAKEUP!? THE WARDROBE!? THE SMILE!? PERIOOODDDDDD #SNL pic.twitter.com/1kJoeGvW83 — The Birds & The Brees (@sirachafierce) October 25, 2020
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Adele looking at her only competition pic.twitter.com/pVyUmWRStU — ᴬᵈᵉˡᵉ ᶦˢ ᶜᵒᵐᶦⁿᵍ (@legendaryadkins) October 25, 2020
one thing about adele is that she will always serve FACE https://t.co/3t1R2R7yfo — foyin 🍯 (@foyinog) October 25, 2020
And when she did decide to bless us all with her world-famous belt, people had absolutely zero chill.
I love that #SNL put on a whole skit just so Adele could sing her hit songs. ❤ — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 25, 2020
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Saturday Night Live basically is an Adele concert tonight #SNL pic.twitter.com/z8PYByUoos — philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 25, 2020
ADELE SINGING SOMEONE LIKE YOU IN 2020 IS ALL WE NEEDED TO SAVE THIS YEAR #SNL pic.twitter.com/kP29zSqQdK — z ♡ (@ULTKATY) October 25, 2020
But ultimately, after everything was said and done, all people wanted was some new music.
Me: Adele where's the album?
Adele; pic.twitter.com/A1bBtE7eWN — ᴬᵈᵉˡᵉ ᶦˢ ᶜᵒᵐᶦⁿᵍ (@legendaryadkins) October 25, 2020
adele: hosts a tv program for an hour and a half, shows us her acting skills in 6 different skits, makes us laugh, serves looks, sings live
her fans: we asked for new music pic.twitter.com/PPVarpDc5r — nat (@clownforadelex) October 25, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Morning Live, BBC One's New Daytime Show, Gets A Mixed Reaction After Launch Show

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Viewers have had a mixed reaction following the launch of the BBC’s new daytime show Morning Live.
The 45-minute daily show debuted on Monday morning, with Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh on presenting duties.
During their first episode at the helm, the pair led discussions about coronavirus face masks and dangerous cladding, as well as interviewing Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood.
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While it was airing, Morning Live sparked plenty of discussion on social media, and while it went up against Lorraine Kelly’s show in terms of timeslots, many viewers couldn’t help but make comparisons with another of ITV’s staple daytime shows…
Are the BBC trolling ITV with #MorningLive? The studio looks like a carbon copy of #ThisMorning with a television centre foyer trust. Anyway, I’m here for it staying and it getting extended across the morning...anything’s better than Jeremy Vine. — Special Guest Star (@MrDCPhillips) October 26, 2020
The opening titles to the first edition of BBC's This Mor... Sorry Morning Live, which started today at 9.15 for an initial 8 week trial. pic.twitter.com/YwPFb5v7WX — TV Whirl Terence - Independent Since 2001 (@TesTVWhirl) October 26, 2020
#Morninglive is somewhat inane..and what's with the faux ITV This Morning vibe? — Lynne Currie (@vlcurrie) October 26, 2020
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curious to know who thought we needed to clone The One Show and put it on at 9 in the morning. #MorningLive — AAAH-riadne Grrr-iffin 🦋 (@Ariadne_Griffin) October 26, 2020
Morning Live’s set also raised some eyebrows, with many commenting it looked a little on the dated side…
#MorningLive feels like a 1980s comedy repeat staged on the set of Steptoe and Son! — A-Lister Photography (@AListerPhoto) October 26, 2020
# #morninglive the studio looks like its been dragged out of the 60's there is too much going on. Why was he gardening in a mask? — Karen Alcock (@Kazwags) October 26, 2020
Why does the set of the new #MorningLive set look like a time warp from the 1950’s ?? Are the @BBC trying to tell us we’ve now officially gone back 70 years now this sham of a government are destroying everything we had progressed to ? Brown isn’t a good look guys — Susie McKenna #FBPE #3.5% (@McKennaSusie) October 26, 2020
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I wondered where my gran’s crystal fruit bowl and 1970s coffee table had gone….@morninglive #morninglive — Christopher Henry (@Christo75118472) October 26, 2020
I actually like the mid century look of the set #MorningLive — Ellie Whitehead (@oakapplehabdash) October 26, 2020
The set is so fussy and distracting #morninglive — Olive 🏴 (@gomywm) October 26, 2020
📺 Brand new BBC One 'This Morning' rival #MorningLive has just launched in the One Show studio at NBH.
Personally like the warm 'living room' set. Interesting to see that studio space changed from the One Show. Though not sure about the TV screen shot of the front of NBH. pic.twitter.com/hvzaOF3QiV — Alfie Green (@ItsAlfieGreen) October 26, 2020
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It has to be said, though, that plenty of fans were also impressed with Gethin and Kym’s new venture…
Love the retro stageing of #morninglive very comfy and calming ! — JAG (@jagokdu) October 26, 2020
Loving Morning Live @bbc1 all the presenters are great and topics relevant and interesting. Just the right vibe.Can’t believe Michelle is a grandma @michelle_coll — The PE teacher (@musetti_cath) October 26, 2020
Watching morning LIVE On bbc One its ok JUST like The One Show really — Michael Latham (@Michael54702439) October 26, 2020
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Morning Live will air after BBC Breakfast every weekday for the next eight weeks, with reports recently claiming that if it proves popular, it could return in 2021
At the beginning of the show, Kym explained: “Every morning for the next eight weeks we will be here to get your thoughts on the things that matter most to you, and we are not only here to listen, we really want to solve some problems too.”
“We have got a team of experts who have been working flat out behind the scenes to bring you the best advice,” Gethin added.
Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh on the set of Morning Live BBC
The BBC’s new daytime offering was first announced last month, and was billed as a morning show with a similar approach to The One Show, which airs on weekday evenings.
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A BBC press release promised that Morning Live would “put audiences at the heart of the conversation, with great company and expert advice from a team of presenters who will guide viewers through the mornings”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Frank Bough, Former Grandstand And Breakfast Time Presenter Has Died, Aged 87

Former Grandstand presenter Frank Bough has died at the age of 87.
The death of the BBC star at a care home last Wednesday was announced by a family friend.
Frank Bough PA Images Archive via Getty Images
The veteran broadcaster was a household name in the 1960s through to the 1980s when he presented the weekly sports show Grandstand on BBC One.
He also hosted Nationwide and launched the BBC’s daily morning show Breakfast Time in 1983. A keen sporting broadcaster, he anchored six World Cups, six Olympics and at least a dozen Five Nations championships for the BBC.
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Frank Bough presenting BBC ‘Breakfast Time’ with Selina Scott and Nick Ross in 1983pic.twitter.com/CybtBvqEq6 — Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) October 25, 2020
He quit Breakfast Time in 1987 after becoming fed up with the early starts and became the face of the Holiday programme.
JANUARY 17TH : On this day in 1983 early morning breakfast television began with BBC's 'Breakfast Time'. BBC-TV launched their first Breakfast Time programme at 6:30 and at the closing stages gathered in the studio for a champagne and cake celebration. Left to right: Back row: Weatherman Francis Wilson, Nick Ross and David Icke. Front row: Jane Pauley, an American who runs her own breakfast show, Debbie Rix, Frank Bough kissing Selina Scott and astrologer Russell Grant. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images) PA Images via Getty Images
The presenter - who had a wholesome family-man image - was sacked by the BBC in 1988 after tabloid revelations about him attending sex and drugs parties.
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He eventually returned to broadcasting, including fronting ITV’s Rugby World Cup coverage, but this came to an end after a further scandal.
He later spoke of his regret over his actions, saying his behaviour had been “exceedingly stupid”.
The presenter said of the scandal: “It was a brief but appalling period in my life. Don’t condemn my entire career for a brief episode I regret.”
Following the news of his death, tributes have been pouring in on Twitter...
Sorry to hear that Frank Bough has passed away. Grew up watching him present Grandstand on Saturdays. He was a brilliant presenter who made it all look so easy. RIP Frank. — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 26, 2020
RIP Frank Bough, 87.
Star of Grandstand, Nationwide and Breakfast Time.
His career was ruined by scandal, but he was one of the great live TV presenters. Sad news. pic.twitter.com/nX646ByqOp — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 25, 2020
I am deeply saddened at the loss of an old television friend: Frank Bough was a great man to work with. We launched #BBCBreakfastTime in January 1983. Always there for advice and support. ‘They’ said we wouldn’t get on but we absolutely did - chalk n cheese! See you, Frank 🙏 pic.twitter.com/j8hZeFv6VY — Russell Grant (@THERussellGrant) October 25, 2020
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RIP Frank Bough. I regarded him as the ultimate broadcaster who combined news and sport brilliantly. Whatever the scandals that broke around him, he was an inspiration to me when I started in tv more than 40 years ago. — Nick Owen (@nickowentv) October 25, 2020
I met Frank Bough when I was a young reporter. He was kind, helpful and generous with his time. His brilliant career was blighted by scandal but I hope people will remember how fine a broadcaster he was. One of the very best in the business. — Jeff Stelling (@JeffStelling) October 25, 2020
I did two years on a show with Frank Bough. Have nothing but good things to say about him. As one of the leading sports broadcasters in the country, he entertained my views on football admirably. We did this sort of hokum.https://t.co/eZzSTpwKYB — Danny Baker (@prodnose) October 25, 2020
Former ‘Grandstand’ & ‘Nationwide’ presenter Frank Bough has died.
He was 87.
In 1983 Frank was the first host of ‘Breakfast Time’ the original version of @BBCBreakfast https://t.co/2xaQLwwuYm pic.twitter.com/3SiXJD1xdz — BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) October 25, 2020
A BBC spokesperson said: “Frank excelled as a live presenter with the BBC for many years and we are very sorry to hear of his passing. We send our condolences to his family and friends.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Sheridan Smith Recreates Classic Gavin & Stacey Scene And She's Still Got American Boy Down Perfectl

Sheridan Smith Recreates Classic Gavin & Stacey Scene And She's Still Got American Boy Down Perfectly

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Sheridan Smith may have made her last appearance in Gavin & Stacey over 10 years ago, but there’s one particular scene she’s still got down perfectly.
The actor played Smithy’s sister Rudi in the BBC sitcom, with the characters memorably teaming up to perform the rap from Estelle and Kanye West’s hit American Boy during one episode.
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Sheridan was seen reprising her part of their duet on TikTok over the weekend, in a video shared by TV production worker Honor Cantrell.
Honor was also more than a match for James Corden, who originally starred in the scene with Sheridan.
Check out their efforts below...
Now compare it to the original...
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Sheridan, who was previously in an on-off relationship with Gavin & Stacey co-creator and star James, spoke last year of her wish to be involved in the Christmas special, which reunited the cast 10 years after the sitcom wrapped up.
Asked if she would be appearing during an interview on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show, she said last summer: “I wish. No, I’m not going to be in it. I don’t think, anyway. I could do my rap again. I love it.”
Rob Brydon, who plays Uncle Bryn, recently explained why he believes a big screen adaptation would “be a mistake”.
Speaking to Digital Spy, he said: “It’s not a film. It’s not a cinema thing. It is what it is, and I don’t hold film over television.
“There’s sometimes an assumption that if it were to become a film it would somehow be elevating itself, and I think that’s a misnomer. I think that’s a mistake.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Triumphs, Tears And TV History – Relive Week 1 In The Strictly Ballroom

Triumphs, Tears And TV History – Relive Week 1 In The Strictly Ballroom
Finally some good news in 2020 as Strictly Come Dancing returned to our screens! HuffPost UK's Ash Percival talks you through the highlights of this week and what to expect from the show.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Strictly Come Dancing Viewers Are Seriously Divided Over One New Element Of The Show

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Strictly Come Dancing has understandably had to implement many changes amid the coronavirus pandemic, but there was one new element on Saturday night’s show viewers could not agree on.
The first live show saw the introduction of a new slow-motion replay of each couple’s dance to cover a moment that can’t be as euphoric as usual.
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Under normal circumstances, after being critiqued each couple would dash up the stairs as the studio audience applaud, before being greeted by Claudia Winkleman and the other dancers to receive their scores.
Claudia Winkleman hosting Strictly Come Dancing BBC
But with Claudia having to host her segments in her so-called ‘Clauditorium’ alone and a much reduced studio audience, bosses had to come up with a way to cover the lack of atmosphere.
However, the action replay of the couple’s dance proved to be a strange introduction for many viewers...
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What on earth has Strictly done this year!
What is this awkward gladiators style slow mo replay after the dance! #Strictly — Branston (@branston_f) October 24, 2020
I love strictly, I really do but the awkward clapping as they go up the stairs and the replay has got to go!! Have a reprise of their tune as they got up the stairs...get rid of the replay #Strictly — Nicola Stimson (@NicStimson) October 24, 2020
So what does everyone think of the #Strictly changes? Like them? Hate them? ✨💫
I like it all and it’s all necessary for safety etc apart from the slow-mo replay, didn’t enjoy that so much! — Team Strictly! ✨💖 (@Team_Strictly) October 25, 2020
Dear #Strictly2020 producers, we don't need the slow mo playback like it's Dancing on Ice (the ratings would have told you that) ALSO we actually like the running up the stairs in heels bit waiting for someone to trip on their dress! #Strictly — 𝕂𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕖 (@Katie_Lewis_) October 24, 2020
Don’t like the slow-mo dance previews afterwards 👎🏻 #Strictly — Joe Mander (@BTPJoe) October 24, 2020
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I don’t understand the action replays after the dance? I’m not watching Match of the Day #StrictlyComeDancing #strictly — LaraBadger (@LaraBadger1) October 24, 2020
These slo mo action replays are a hard no. #Strictly — Aggie Holland (@THEaggieholland) October 24, 2020
What happens between the top of the stairs and Claudia's screen that means we need those odd replays? Not adding anything for me #Strictly — Nick (@NickRH14) October 24, 2020
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But others pointed out that they would become less jarring over time, and might even prove to be useful as the weeks roll on...
Loving the slow-mo replay as opposed to the usual scream-fest climbing the steps.#Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing — Dan @ TellyStats.com: #Strictly #ImACelebrity (@TellyStats) October 24, 2020
The mini replay is a good idea but the swooshing sound of the glitterball graphic sounds like they’re about to announce a flash sale on Price Drop TV. #strictly — Justin Myers (@theguyliner) October 24, 2020
This slow motion replay thing is really weird but it’s going to be really useful later on #Strictly — ellie king (@ellietheking) October 24, 2020
Ooh I'm enjoying these replays instead of running up to the Clauditorium, but I'm REALLY going to miss Graziano desperately trying to get a second of attention behind Claudia this year. #Strictly #scd — 🧟♀frankenbananas🧟♂ (@fatherbananas) October 24, 2020
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During Saturday night’s live show, HRVY and Janette Manrara were awarded a nine from judge Motsi Mabuse as they took to the floor for their first competitive performance.
The judge hailed it as “the best first dance I have ever seen....ever ever ever!”, across the show’s many international editions, with the couple coming top of the leaderboard with 25 out of 30.
Elsewhere, there was success for EastEnders star Maisie Smith, who picked up 24 points for her dancefloor debut.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Strictly Come Dancing: HRVY And Janette Manrara Top Leaderboard With 'The Best First Dance Ever'

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Strictly Come Dancing kicked off its live shows in spectacular fashion on Saturday night, with one couple’s routine hailed “the best first dance ever”.
HRVY and Janette Manrara were awarded a nine from judge Motsi Mabuse as they took to the floor for their first competitive performance on the BBC ballroom show.
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The couple performed a Jive to Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, which netted them 25 points out of 30 and a place at the top of the leaderboard.
After picking up two 8s from both Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas, Motsi exclaimed: “I’m going to be honest here...for me this was the best first dance I have ever seen....ever ever ever!
“I have to give it you as you kind of spy on the other countries; what are they doing in Italy, America and Germany and this was awesome. My thought is where do we go from here HRVY?!”
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EastEnders star Maisie Smith and her partner Gorka Marquez were not far behind, scoring 24 points for their Samba to Gloria Estefan’s Samba (Conga).
Meanwhile, Strictly’s first competitive performance from a same-sex pairing also proved to be a hit.
Boxer Nicola Adams and her partner Katya Jones received 21 points for their Quickstep to Ella Fitzgerald’s Get Happy.
Craig said the dance was “absolute dynamite” while Shirley said Katya was a “genius” for coming up with the choreography.
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“I’m a dancer baby,” Nicola said.
However, there was less success for former home secretary Jacqui Smith on Saturday night, who landed at the bottom of the leaderboard with partner Anton Du Beke.
The pair picked up just 13 points for their Foxtrot to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life from Monty Python.
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Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse only fared slightly better with 15 points for their Cha Cha Cha to Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba.
Luckily for them, no one is leaving the competition this week, with their scores added to next week’s, before one couple is sent home.
Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday at 7.15pm on BBC One.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-25--Tess Daly Opens Up About Her Real Name And Reveals Why She Had To Change It

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As the host of Strictly Come Dancing, Tess Daly is one of the most recognisable faces on TV – but you may not have realised that her name isn’t actually Tess at all.
The presenter was actually born Helen Daly, and opened up about her real name in a new interview, in which she revealed the reason why she had to change it.
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Speaking to Weekend magazine, Tess explained that when she started out as a model at the age of 17, there was a model called Helen Davies already on her agency’s books, so was told change her name as it was too similar.
Tess Daly has fronted Strictly Come Dancing since 2004 BBC
She said: “My agent was obsessed with [the actress] Nastassja Kinski at the time, who was in the film Tess, and thought I looked like her.
“So Tess it was. I was gullible and impressionable. Mind you, two weeks later I was in Japan then travelled the world. Paris, Milan, New York.”
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Tess revealed that her mum Sylvia is “really the only person” who calls her by her real name, and “that’s not often”.
She continued: “She tends to call me ‘love’, so when she does say ‘Helen’ it can take me a while to respond.”
She added: “I’ve never changed it by deed poll or anything because I think it would be disrespectful to my parents.”
Tess' real name is Helen BBC
Tess’ modelling career initially took her across Asia and Europe, and she ended up living in Paris for five years before moving to New York, where she was based for another five years.
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Speaking about her early modelling days, she told The Guardian in 2010: “Initially I was terrified… I could barely speak to anyone from home without crying and having to keep the tears from my voice because you didn’t want them to worry about you. Yeah, it was tough. [I was] penniless as well and then I started to work a little bit and I really enjoyed it. Had to go through the pain barrier though.”
While living in New York, one of Tess’s friends who arranged red carpet events, suggested she buy a video camera and film herself interviewing celebs at events. It paid off when she sent her showreel to Channel 4, who quickly signed her up to front the Find Me A Supermodel TV competition.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Matthew Wright Opens Up About 'Horrific' Stalking Ordeal

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Matthew Wright has opened up about a stalking ordeal that left him and his wife Amelia traumatised.
The couple appeared on Monday’s edition of Lorraine Kelly’s ITV show to discuss their experience, which Amelia described as the “most horrendous time we’ve been through”.
During the interview, the former Wright Stuff host explained that the stalking “built up over a period of time”, beginning with a fan who repeatedly showed up to the audience of his old Channel 5 panel show.
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“I was friendly to everybody in the audience, but I was unaware that she started to develop notions that we had a relationship,” he explained.
“Then a newspaper ran an interview with her and that was the first time and she said something like, ‘I don’t like the way our relationship is going’ and I thought, ‘I’ve never had a relationship with you!’.”
Matthew and Amelia Wright spoke about their ordeal on Monday morning ITV/Shutterstock
Following this, the woman was banned from his show, but began turning up at public events where Matthew and Amelia were in attendance.
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Amelia recalled one incident when the woman approached her at a charity event while she was heavily pregnant, saying: “This very done up and glamorous woman approached me and said ‘I have to speak to Matthew, I don’t like the way our relationship ended’.
“Then she came out with… ‘women your age are more likely to have a stillbirth’. I was just shocked to the core.”
After leaving the event abruptly, the woman in question then began turning up at the couple’s home, even threatening Amelia and her baby.
“I was on my own and she was shouting through the letterbox, ‘I’m going to find the maternity ward where you are and I’m going to wait outside for you and the baby’, ” Amelia revealed.
Lorraine Kelly interviewed the pair about their traumatising experience ITV/Shutterstock
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Matthew continued: “We had to get police involved and have a word with her and that didn’t seem to do any good.
“The final visit when I was in the house with her, she was saying things like ‘I want to hold the baby, I want the baby’.”
Amelia said: “Just after Cassady had been born, she turned up on the doorstep. I was on my own the first time. She was trying to push her hand through the letterbox saying, ‘I want the baby, I want the baby. Give me the baby.’ Can you imagine what that would do to a new mum?”
Matthew then added: “Amelia wouldn’t go out of the house and when we did go out of the house together, she would be looking down every side street in every doorway expecting someone to leap out.
“As anyone who has been through this kind of experience will tell you, it just takes over your life.”
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The TV presenter praised the police for the way they handled the situation, although Amelia admitted that she is still “shaken” by the ordeal.
“You can imagine how you just live in fear and terror and you don’t want to go out,” she said. “[It should have been] a joyous time [following the birth of her daughter], absolutely.
“The last time she came round Matthew was there but she got more hysterical and it got more serious. Where she said, ‘I want the baby, I want to take care of the baby. Give me the baby’. That’s when it got to a different level.
“It’s cast a long shadow over me, I am still shaken by the whole thing and feel upset. Obviously, I hope help is given but it’s left me emotionally scarred.”
Amelia and Matthew Wright with their daughter, Cassady, shortly after her birth in 2019 Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
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Matthew added: “I think Amelia has had a much harder time reconciling it than I have. Being subjected to it while you are alone in the house when you are heavily pregnant or with a little baby is a very different experience.
“That being said, women harassing men is still a problem and we shouldn’t treat it lightly… these things are not a joke.”
Matthew stepped down as host of The Wright Stuff after 18 years in 2018, with the presenter and Amelia welcoming Cassady in January 2019.
The couple have spoken openly about their struggles to conceive, which Amelia pointed out had made Matthew’s stalker’s comments about her fertility all the more hurtful.
Lorraine airs every weekday from 9am on ITV.
Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
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CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Strictly Come Dancing's Bill Bailey Reveals How Coronavirus Restrictions Are Affecting His Home Life

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Strictly Come Dancing contestant Bill Bailey has revealed he’s having to avoid his teenage son to avoid breaking the show’s coronavirus restrictions, despite them living under the same roof.
To adhere to coronavirus guidelines, each of this year’s Strictly contestants have been required to form support bubbles with their professional partners.
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However, while Bill’s bubble includes partner Oti Mabuse and his wife, Kristin, their 16-year-old son Dax is not able to be included, as he is still attending school.
“Kristin won’t be able to go out and we can’t be near our son, Dax, because of his potential exposure at school,” Bill told The Times. “When he comes home he’ll eat separately from us. He thinks it’s hilarious.”
Bill Bailey BBC
Bill also joked: “If I make any progress beyond the first round, then there’s a fair chance he’ll go feral.”
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The stand-up comedian was one of the biggest surprises during this year’s Strictly live show, earning a lot of love from viewers for his Cha Cha Cha routine.
While judges Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse were similarly impressed, each awarding him six of a possible 10 points, Craig Revel Horwood was seemingly less enthused, giving them a measly three.
Pop singer HRVY bagged the highest score of the week on 25 points, even earning the first nine of the series from Motsi, while EastEnders star Maisie Smith was just behind on 24.
Strictly returns for the second live show of the series on Saturday night, although sadly producers have decided against going ahead with the show’s usual Halloween special.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-26--Ofcom Dismisses Complaints Over Britain's Got Talent Comedian Nabil Abdulrashid

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Ofcom has rejected more than 3,000 complaints made about Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid’s comedy routines.
Nabil was among the most popular contestants on this year’s series of BGT, with his stand-up sets – which referenced the comedian’s experiences of racism and Islamophobia in Britain – earning him a spot in the grand final.
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However, seemingly not everyone was sold on Nabil’s comedy, with almost 1,000 people complaining to Ofcom about his routine in the semi-final.
An additional 2,200 also contacted the media regulator, upset about his performance in the final.
Nabil Abdulrashid on stage during this year's BGT final Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock
Ofcom has now announced that it will not be taking the matter any further, saying in a statement: “The comedian’s satirical take on his life experiences as a Black Muslim was likely to have been within audience expectations.”
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Nabil made light of these complaints during his routine in the BGT final, joking: “I am glad we are here. I thought we wouldn’t make it. A lot of complaints.
“They complained because we said Black Lives Matter. Thousands of complaints. I am shocked so many of them know how to write.”
He then added: “Hopefully if I annoy them today they can progress on to words. They even wrote complaints about me. That’s what upsets me. What did I say to offend anybody?
“You would think I came out here and said something really inflammatory like, ‘Winston Churchill was black’. But really, he was. And I can prove it. If you don’t believe me, when was the last time you met a white man named Winston?”
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