Category Entertainment News

5ive seemed like they were on top of the world, selling over 20 million records worldwide, until they broke up in 2001 – after reuniting for a tour, they reveal how coming back together was “healing” for their mental health

For iconic nineties boyband 5ive, fame came with a price. In a frank admission, the group said their break up was like an “unfinished jagged edge, and revealed how poor mental health tore the band apart. Back in 1997, when Titanic was dominating the box office and the price of a Freddo was still 10p, thousands of boys answered a newspaper ad.

Posted by the same team behind the Spice Girls, the ad was looking for young male dancers and singers to audition for a boyband which would have “attitude and edge”. Five were successful. Those five were Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Sean Conlon, Jason ‘J’ Brown and Richard ‘Abz Love’ Breen. Over the next few years, they would release several big hits, like Keep On Movin and If Ya Gettin Down, and won a Brit Award for the Best Pop Act. But by 2001, they’d split.

READ MORE: I’m A Celebrity star quits boyband tour after going missing from first reunion showREAD MORE: Ritchie Neville engaged: Five star surprises fans as he’s engaged to ‘nicest soul ever’

Making a surprise appearance at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball after reuniting for a comeback tour, the members of 5ive took a moment to speak to The Mirror about their tumultuous career.

When asked what the best moment of the last almost 30 years was, Ritchie said: “The last tour that we’ve just done. Making this a beautiful memory. It was healing, without a shadow of a doubt. It was important to come back together because the band ended with in a very fast way. It ended with mental health issues and with overwork.” J added that Ritchie always said the band ended in an “unfinished chapter”.

“It was an unfinished, jagged edge,” Ritchie continued. “And for all of us, it’s always been like that. So now, it’s been nice to turn all of that into a happy memory that we can all go forward in our lives now. That was legitimately brilliant.”

Sean Conlon wholeheartedly agreed, adding that they wanted to make it the “best” show they’d done to date. “And I would say that before we did the tour, we were all saying and trying to portray that this is going to be the best show we’ve ever done. So, to get that feedback, not only from people that like our music, but also from the press – It’s quite rewarding. Because we put a lot of work in for it.”

Throughout the press run for their reunion, every member of 5ive has been unflinchingly honest about their mental health struggles, even taking part in the TV docuseries Boybands Forever, which detailed the harsh reality of being a young male pop icon.

When asked why they wanted to be so open, J said: “If you don’t speak about it, it just remains internalised. And that’s what the whole thing that mental health is. It’s an internal battle, an internal struggle. If you don’t externalise it somehow, you’re just trapped in the very thing, in the very place that is actually causing all of the issues.

For J, doing the tour helped him “externalise” the mental health issues he was still facing. “Not that they’re in us in the same way they were,” he explained. “But there were still shadows of things to do with the old times of the band.”

Scott Robinson argued he wanted to talk about it because there are more ways to do so, highlighting that “men don’t speak” about their internal battles. “The fact that now it’s more out there, and there’s more avenues to speak is important.

“We’ve had counselling and stuff, and with our management, it’s always on tap if you need it. It’s so important to know that you’re not alone. Men don’t speak, but we certainly do, and it’s amazing.”

“It’s natural to feel vulnerable,” Sean Conlan added. “Certainly from a male perspective, I think sometimes we’re afraid to feel certain emotions. We’re afraid to express certain emotions. Especially express vulnerability.

He gestures to the band as he continues to speak. “But we embrace that. It’s okay to speak out. We’re little sensitive souls. You can still be well hard and express your emotions.”

All the boys – or men, really, after 28 years – are fully supportive of each other and have greatly enjoyed reconnecting over the past year. Abz Love was asked what the best part of the tour was and he said: “The offstage antics for me. As much as it’s been fun on stage and performing, getting to know the guys again offstage has been a lot of fun for me.”

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 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.

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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.

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“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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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.

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“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).

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“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.”

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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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.”

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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.

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“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.

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 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

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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.

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 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.