Mitch Winehouse is bringing legal action against two of daughter Amy’s friends over claims they profited from selling her items at auction
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Amy Winehouse’s dad app(Image: PA)
Amy Winehouse’s father apologised to a High Court judge today as he brings legal action against two of his daughters friends.
Mitch Winehouse said he was “very, very upset” following a suggestion that he and his family “have done very well” out of the late singer’s estate.
Mr Winehouse denied suing two of his daughter’s friends out of “petty jealousy” that they made money from selling items at auction after her death, the High Court heard.
Mitch Winehouse, acting as the administrator of his daughter’s estate, is bringing legal action against her stylist Naomi Parry and friend Catriona Gourlay for hundreds of thousands of pounds over claims they profited from selling dozens of items at auctions in the US in 2021 and 2023. It is alleged the two women did not have the right to sell the items and did not inform Mr Winehouse that they were doing so. Ms Parry and Ms Gourlay are defending the claim, with their barristers stating that the items were either gifted by Ms Winehouse or were already owned by them. Rehab singer Amy died aged 27 from alcohol poisoning in July 2011.
During Mr Winehouse’s evidence on Tuesday, the court heard he told the Sunday Times last year that he had gone to the police about the case to be told that proceedings in the High Court made it a civil case. Asked if he was trying to make Ms Parry and Ms Gourlay out to be criminals, he said: “If they had stolen things they would be criminals wouldn’t they?” He accepted that he had no evidence that Ms Parry or Ms Gourlay had taken anything from a lock up of his daughter’s possessions. Beth Grossman, for Ms Parry, asked: “These young women are not thieves and they are not dishonest, Mr Winehouse. They have always been honest to you.
“They sold items that they owned that you knew they owned and that you were going to sell and you have said this to journalists out of nothing more than petty jealousy, because they happened to make a bit of money at the auction and you brought these proceedings for nothing more than petty jealousy as well. “Do you have a response to that?” Mr Winehouse replied: “Yes, you are wrong.” Mr Winehouse said he thought the money from the auction in 2021, which raised around 1.4 million dollars (£1.05 million) for the estate, would be split between himself, Ms Winehouse’s mother Janis and the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Ms Grossman asked whether it was his case that her client and Ms Gourlay who were “living pretty much hand to mouth” were putting items into the auction to benefit him and the foundation. It raised about 1.4 million dollars (£1.05 million) for the estate, which Mr Winehouse said he was “disappointed” with having kept a tally and believed the estate would be getting more than 2.0 million dollars (£1.5 million).
They got paid a fortune for appearing in the jungle – but I’m A Celeb’s stars will have to leave a big chunk of that in Australia…
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Aitch was thought to be the highest earner on I’m A Celeb this year(Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)
I’m A Celeb’s biggest stars are flying home – but a hefty chunk of their pay packets will be staying Down Under. The show had some highly-paid stars this year, with Ruby Wax, Shona McGarty, Angry Ginge and Alex Scott thought to be making around £100,000 with Jack Osbourne on even more at £200,000 and Aitch reportedly the top earner with £250,000.
Now, the good news is that they are all set to cash in mightily on the sort of exposure that being on ITV every night can deliver. But the bad news is the Australian tax man is coming for a their cash piles like Kelly Brook eying up a bag of milk-bottle sweets. The top Aussie tax rate is 45% – and non-residents like our campmates are taxed from the very first dollar.
That means that the Australian government will make large sums out of rapper Aitch and co over the three weeks that I’m A Celeb is on air – unlike when it was filmed in Wales during Covid, when the UK’s own HMRC were able to hoover up the tax and National Insurance contributions.
Former I’m A Celeb star Michael Buerk once explained how much of his salary got snaffled by the Australian tax office after his appearance in 2014, saying the hefty fee that attracted him to the job in the first place ended up getting sliced by almost half: He said: “I was offered I’m A Celebrity a few times and I didn’t want to do it.
“But when the money they were offering got really high, I decided to do it. But they neglect to point out that the Australian taxman takes nearly 50 percent of it straight off the top, which takes some of the cream off.”
Taxes are likely to be lower if celebs’ fees are paid to a company and of course the lesser-paid stars won’t be hit as hard. Up to $135,000 (about £65,000) non-residents in Australia pay 30% on their taxable incomes and 37% after that. Those making more than $190,000 (about £95,000) pay 45% for their earnings above that level.
To use Aitch’s reported fee of £250,000 – which works out at just over 500,000 Aussie dollars – that means $40,500 tax due on the lower amount, $20,350 on the middle and $139,500 on the top, a total of just shy of £100,000 in British currency.
Stars in previous years will have had to hand over more. Coleen Rooney, who appeared on the show last year, had a mega pay packet thought to total £1.5million – and a large tax bill to boot. Nigel Farage, Harry Redknapp and Noel Edmonds also picked up hefty sums.
However, the better news for the stars – who will be well-used to large tax bills whenever they take on highly-paid projects elsewhere – are unlikely to be clobbered by the taxman again back home in the UK.
Tax expert Robert Salter summarised the situation neatly, explaining: “When the show was in Wales, HMRC was able to receive all the tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) which were due on the stars’ appearance fees. This meant that with the highest earning stars, HMRC could actually receive up to 47% of their fee income (45% income tax and 2% NICs).
“However, with the show being filmed in Australia, the initial taxing rights on the appearance money sits there, where the highest earners from the show will be liable to a marginal tax rate of 45% on their appearance fees. These Australian taxes can then be claimed as a ‘tax credit’ against the stars’ UK tax liabilities, and this may mean in some cases that the individuals will have no additional UK income tax to pay on this income when they file their UK tax returns.
“While some may see this as unfair and inequitable, the reality is that the international tax system is designed to try and ensure that workers, including television stars, aren’t innately liable to double taxation on their income.”
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Millions watched Angry Ginge getting crowned King of the Jungle during the I’m A Celeb final on Sunday night. He beat Tom Read Wilson, who took second place, and Shona McGarty, in third.
The Strictly Come Dancing star said he was left with multiple injuries following the unexpected fall, just days before he was all smiles at an event
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Pete Wicks was partnered with Jowita Pryzstal on Strictly Come Dancing last year(Image: PA)
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks has been left injured following a nasty fall. Last week, the former TOWIE star was all smiles while attending The Fashion Awards, but admits he almost didn’t make it to the event.
Just hours before, the 37-year-old said he suffered a fall which resulted in a “smashed” up face, an injured knee and a broken tooth.
Reflecting on his appearance at the awards ceremony on his Staying Relevant podcast, he told Vicky Pattison: “I nearly didn’t make it because I had a fall at the weekend.
“So, I bashed up my knee and smashed my face on the floor and broke my tooth.” Pete didn’t share what caused the fall, but revealed that his dentist was currently in the process of making him a new tooth.
Asked by his co-star if he had a chipped tooth, he replied: “No because I went to the dentist on Monday to have a, kind of like a, fake tooth while they make me a new tooth, which I go to get fitted on Saturday.”
After revealing his accident to his good friend Vicky, she couldn’t help but tease him.
“I simply can’t with you saying things like that,” she laughed.
“Like, I already feel old. If you’re going to start saying things like, ‘Oh, I had a fall’ and ‘God, my knees are playing up because of the weather’, like, I swear to God it’s doing nothing for my mental health because I’m older than you.”
In a further conversation about age, Vicky reflected on her stints on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.
After Pete mentioned that it had been “a decade” since she became the Queen of the Jungle, Vicky said such shows are “a young woman’s game”.
“I really underestimated the advantage I had going in the jungle as a 27-year-old woman, like pretty much physically me at my prime,” she shared.
“Like my f*****g body now, like I swear to God, [if] I sleep on a mattress that’s not my own, I feel like I’ve been hit by a car. Like I’m so old, like physically.”
Vicky went on to say she doesn’t believe she could sign up to the jungle now and also suggested she may have done better on Strictly if she was younger.
As for Pete, he participated on the BBC dance competition last year with his professional dance partner Jowita Przystał.
The dancing duo made it all the way to the semi-final before losing to Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec in the dance-off.
Reflecting on his experience on the show, he said he was “over the moon” when he was voted out after finding the dancing tough.
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For Vicky however, she admitted to being left in tears for a week when she lost her place on the show.
Former This Morning star, Phillip Schofield, looked deep in thought as he picked up his cream Mini Cooper from the garage after it was repaired in West London
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Phillip Schofield cut a glum figure as he took his car into the garage(Image: w8media)
Phillip Schofield looked decidedly downcast as he collected his Mini Cooper from the garage. It comes after the former This Morning star pranged his prized £60,000 Jaguar in September. The ex-Cube and Dancing on Ice host, 63, appeared deep in thought as he picked up his car, which had been repaired, in London while clutching some paperwork, sporting his signature fitted black jeans and Chelsea boots.
Grimacing against the cold, the dad-of-two – who returned to our screens last year in his jaw-dropping three-part show Cast Away – left the garage, wearing a grey hoodie and navy puffer jacket before being papped driving his Mini away. It’s not the first time this year that the Broom Cupboard star, who left This Morning in 2023 following an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a younger colleague, has had car trouble.
READ MORE: Claudia Winkleman awarded MBE by King Charles as proud husband watches onREAD MORE: I’m a Celeb’s Martin Kemp makes shock ‘at the end’ admission after leaving jungle
In September, Phillip watched as his £60,000 Jaguar was towed away following a collision. The veteran presenter was spotted in the street as the swanky black motor was loaded onto a recovery truck. Pictures showed Phillip’s pricey car came off worse for wear after the incident, with the rear tyre and far side door suffering the worst of the damage.
But Schofield, dressed in blue jeans and a salmon polo jumper, was all smiles as a man came to his rescue and got the car on the back of the rescue truck. The former This Morning anchor was overheard joking and laughing with the recovery team saying: “It’s only a piece of metal” and was generally pragmatic about the whole incident.
Also having car trouble recently was Phil’s former co-host and best pal, Holly Willoughby. The mum-of-three, 44, pleaded guilty after knocking a man off his scooter near her £3m home in August, which saw her given six points on her license and fined.
Holly, who presented This Morning with Phil for 14 years before they both left in 2023, was driving her Mini without due care and attention after colliding with the victim near her £3m home in August, a court heard.
A hearing took place last week Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court in London, although Holly, whose name appeared in court documents as Holly Baldwin – which is her married name – did not attend. The former This Morning star pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention via post.
The court was shown footage of the Wylde Moon guru turning right into a side street in her £25,000 black Mini Cooper without indicating and hitting the oncoming white Piaggio scooter.
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The victim, who was not named, was seen flying off his bike after hitting Holly’s car. He sustained a fractured vertebra in his neck and a broken toe.
The Duchess of Sussex has reportedly been trying to contact her estranged father amid his health struggle
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Meghan has reached out to her feather amid his health scare
Meghan Markle has reportedly been desperately trying to contact her father, Thomas Markle Snr, amidst his ongoing health issues, despite the pair being estranged for seven years. The Duchess of Sussex’s 81-year-old father was reportedly rushed to hospital in early December after his foot “turned black” from a blood clot in his leg.
According to Thomas’ younger son and Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Jnr, Mr Markle underwent a below the knee amputation of his left leg in a hospital in Cebu, Philippines. After the news broke of Thomas’ health scare, Meghan reportedly began trying to reach out to her estranged father.
Dr Neil Sanico amputated Mr Markle’s foot and lower leg during a three-hour operation after a massive blood clot cut off circulation to the limb, as he told the Daily Mail : “There was no option but amputation.”
“The clot was so large we could not risk removing it first and then having the infection from the foot spread around his body and cause sepsis. There was a danger of gangrene setting in. He has a long road ahead of him but I am pleased with the way he came through surgery and the positive attitude he has shown since. He is a strong and brave man.”
Just days after the life-altering operation, Thomas shared via the publication that he has been moved out of the intensive care unit and into a standard hospital room, and has started gentle physical therapy sessions. If you can’t see the poll, click here.
He said: He said: “I am determined to walk again. I sometimes get a weird feeling that my leg is still there. The doctors said it was a common thing for people to feel ‘phantom’ limbs. I know I have a long journey ahead of me. I am thankful for the excellent care I have received here in Cebu and for the wonderful Filipino doctors and nurses who saved my life.”
As his health battle continues, Meghan is said to have personally made phone calls to hospitals in the Philippines in an urgent bid to establish the hospital logo seen in photographs on her father’s hospital gown, in order to get in contact with him.
Meghan was left with no option but to email her father on a previous attempt to establish contact following the surgery as she does not have a current phone number for her father, who she fell out with in the run-up to the royal wedding in 2018.
But sources say Thomas Markle does not have his phone available to him, and therefore is out of contact. Meghan has reportedly asked her PR team to reach out to journalists from publications who are in contact with her father to ask for information on his address and whereabouts, as she wants to send him a handwritten letter.
Meghan has not had any contact with her father since her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018. Thomas had been set to attend the wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, but was unable to travel due to suffering two heart attacks on the eve of the wedding.
Before Harry and Meghan tied the knot in their fairytale wedding, there was tension brewing between the Duchess and her father as he was caught staging paparazzi photos in the run-up to the big day. Mr Markle then suffered a heart attack, with King Charles stepping in at the last minute to walk Meghan down the aisle.
Mr Markle went on to repeatedly speak to the media and later claimed he had been “shunned” by Meghan. He criticised the duchess but still said he wanted to reunite with her, and publicly pleaded to be able to see Archie and Lilibet, who he has never met, saying in 2023: “She is not the person I knew as my daughter.”
What do you think? Should Meghan Markle reunite with her estranged father? Take our poll and have your say in the comments below.
Home Improvement, a huge hit in the 1990s, followed power tool enthusiast Tim and his TV show, Tool Time, along with the challenges of his family life
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Home Improvement launched the careers of its young stars and cemented Tim Allen as a household name(Image: Getty Images)
Millions grew up with the Taylor family from classic sitcom Home Improvement, tuning in every week to laugh at dad Tim’s clumsy DIY attempts and the chaos caused by his kids.
The show centred on power tool enthusiast Tim Taylor , who hosted his own show, Tool Time, and his futile attempts to balance his family life with his messy hobby.
It wasn’t just a comedy – the show was a cultural touchstone, launching the careers of its young stars and cementing Tim Allen as a household name.
Decades after the final episode aired in 1999, fans might wonder what became of the beloved cast. Some pursued long careers in Hollywood, others left the spotlight entirely, and a few have faced personal challenges far from the cameras.
Zachary Ty Bryan, has had a particularly turbulent time since the show, and was arrested just last month for the sixth time in five years, this time for a violation of his probation terms.
Here’s a closer look at what the Taylor boys, their parents and Tool Time co-host Al Borland, have been up to since Home Improvement ended more than 25 years ago.
Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad Taylor)
Zachery Ty Bryan shot to fame as Brad Taylor on the ABC sitcom and his hijinks at school were central to many of the show’s storylines. After the show ended, he continued acting with roles in films such as The Clown at Midnight (1998).
However, Bryan’s also faced a series of legal troubles. Last month, the 44-year-old was arrested in Oregon after allegedly violating the terms of his probation stemming from a prior domestic violence conviction – with his three kids placed with a family member.
It marked the sixth time in five years that he’s been taken into custody, Fox Los Angeles reported. Back in January, he was detained after allegedly choking and punching an unidentified woman during a domestic dispute in South Carolina.
In 2023, he told the Hollywood Reporter that it “was actually really difficult” to find stability as an actor after the ABC sitcom concluded in 1999.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Randy Taylor)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas became a teen heartthrob during the show’s run, praised for his charm and intelligence as Randy Taylor. After Home Improvement, he focused on his education, attending Harvard University and Columbia University where he studied philosophy and history.
Now 44, he’s continued acting in voice roles, including in The Lion King as young Simba, but largely avoided high-profile acting projects as an adult. Jonathan has occasionally returned to TV for cameos and interviews, maintaining a low profile.
Today, he leads a largely private life, occasionally speaking about childhood fame and the challenges of growing up in the public eye. However, fans continue to celebrate him as one of the most talented young actors of the 1990s.
Taran Noah Smith (Mark Taylor)
Taran Noah Smith portrayed the youngest Taylor son, Mark. Following the show, he left acting entirely and became a successful businessman, founding an organic farming project that specialised in vegan cheese.
The 41-year-old has deliberately stayed out of the spotlight, choosing a private lifestyle focused on family and entrepreneurship rather than acting, offering occasional interviews reflecting on his time as a child star.
Smith married Heidi van Pelt, 16 years his senior, in 2001, but the pair divorced in 2007. He continues to manage his business interests, occasionally sharing insights about balancing childhood fame with adult privacy. He’s also a manager of a Community Submersibles Project, where he teaches people how to pilot submarines.
Patricia Richardson (Jill Taylor)
Patricia Richardson played the matriarch Jill Taylor and has stayed active in the entertainment industry since the show ended. She appeared in TV series like drama Strong Medicine and continued guest-starring on a range of projects.
Richardson, 74, has been involved in advocacy and public speaking, often discussing mental health and parenting, drawing on her experiences both on and off-screen.
While she never returned to the same level of household-name fame, she continues to act in theatre and television, starring in shows like Law and Order. She married fellow actor Ray Baker in 1982 and they have three children together.
Tim Allen (Tim “Tool Man” Taylor)
Tim Allen, the star and co-host of Home Improvement, has remained one of the most visible cast members. After the show, he returned to stand-up, voiced Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise, and led the sitcom Last Man Standing .
The 72-year-old has also made occasional guest appearances on other TV shows and movies, keeping his signature comedic persona alive.
In 1998, he was arrested for driving under the influence in Birmingham, Michigan, and sentenced to one-year probation. He also attended a rehabilitation clinic for alcohol abuse.
In 2021, he criticised Donald Trump and those who took part in the Capitol attack, calling it “horrible, embarrassing and shameful”.
Debbe Dunning (co-host Heidi Keppert)
Debbe Dunning portrayed “Tool Time” co-host Heidi Keppert, Tim’s enthusiastic assistant. Following the series, she has appeared in a handful of television shows and smaller film projects, but largely stepped back from acting to focus on family life.
She was a model as well as an actor, and appeared in 1980s comedy Dangerous Curves along with the American Gladiators Celebrity Challenge.
Now 59, Dunning has occasionally returned for Home Improvement reunion events and interviews, reflecting on her experiences as part of the show and the lasting bond with her co-stars.
Richard Karn (co-host Al Borland)
Richard Karn played Tim’s loyal co-host, Al Borland, whose awkward humour made him a fan favourite. After Home Improvement, Karn continued acting in television and film, but also became well-known as the host of the game show Family Feud from 2002 to 2006.
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He has made guest appearances on various shows and occasionally participates in nostalgia panels and reunions, keeping his association with Al Borland alive.
