Category Entertainment News

The Strictly Come Dancing judge details his father’s addiction to alcohol and why he fled to the UK.

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Judge Craig Revel Horwood has opened up about his troubled relationship with his father, Philip.

He claims that “he was a terrible alcoholic” throughout our early years. Alcoholism is a terrible childhood experience.

“It was just so abusive at home,” she said. That’s the justification for my dancing. I couldn’t stand being at home, not just because I was porky. I believe that led to a dance life.

“I lived 10,000 miles away from home for a good reason.”

Horwood reveals that the toxicology report found significant amounts of alcohol after Philip, a former lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy, passed away suddenly.

He claims that “people don’t realize how dangerous alcohol can be.” “Poor dad had a disease,” he said.

READ MORE: Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood reveals wicked new role and admits he ‘loves villains’

He recalls an incident that caused his father to become abusive to his mother and sent him to prison for it. “It got so bad that Dad tried to shoot my brother-in-law and put me in jail for it,” he says.

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He also recalls his father’s lengthy sobriety period.

He claims that he and I went through some of that with him while he was in AA for four years. He was only in his final four years of substance abuse.

It resembled Jekyll and Hyde, they said. I therefore decided that I would learn to love both him and who he might have been when he passed away.

And he has a strong love for his mother.

He claims that “she played a crucial role in nurturing my early interests, including my passion for performance.” Despite the difficulties at home, her presence gave the impression of normalcy and support.

He praises two additional outstanding mothers who also happen to be queens.

He says: “Queen Elizabeth ll bless her; gorgeous, was the most remarkable lady. I met her for an Australians Day in Buckingham Palace.”

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Meanwhile, Queen Camilla is a friend.

He says, “I directed the show for the Royal Osteoporosis Society, which I am a patron and ambassador for, and Camilla is the president.” I personally have raised £500, 000 for that charity, so I’m very proud to have that platform on which to stand. We raised £350, 000.

“My dád called me and said “Jeez Craig” as Camilla and I were dancing together. I just happened to see you dancing with that bloody Camilla on the six o’clock news, on the bloody news, and on the bloody news?

His close friendship with Anton du Beke is one of his most unexpected revelations, given their airtime spats.

He admits, “I really love him.

While of the BBC show that made him a household name, he adds: “Strictly continues to inspire me.”

A Way With Media has a new book Revelations: Songs Boys Don’t Sing that is currently available for purchase for £39.95.

READ MORE: Strictly star ‘to miss out’ on Glitterball Trophy as new evidence unveils ‘exit’

Alan Titchmarsh says he has always wanted to work as a gardener and still enjoys growing plants because his daughter warned him about a promising career.

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Alan Titchmarsh admits his daughter “was right” after she sent him a firm warning. The 76-year-old has been a popular face on television screens since launching his broadcasting career in 1977.

It came as Alan joined BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours and The Today Programme as a gardening expert. Before then he had spent his career writing and editing gardening books as well as working as a gardener.

Alan lives in Hampshire, where he films his popular Love Your Weekend, with wife Alison, a retired teacher. The couple share adult daughters Camilla and Polly together.

Alan claims that Polly sent him a warning on the Lessons From Our Mothers podcast. He claimed that while Camilla worked as a classroom assistant for a while, Polly had stated that I am very patient with plants but wouldn’t have the patience to deal with kids, her older daughter also became a teacher, like her mother, Alison was a teacher, and her younger sister now works interior design and property searches, etc.

According to Alan, he said he thinks he found his calling after learning how to garden. He continued, “I adore my children and grandchildren, but I think she’s right. I love them both. I do have a higher tolerance for people than plants. “Plants are not wind-up merchants,” explains the statement.

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As a youngster, Alan confessed that he would use his pocket money to go to Woolworths to purchase seeds in his garden. He claims that because nasturtiums “just right for my small fingers to press into the ground,” he would typically choose them.

He eventually transitioned from his family’s Yorkshire home to a polythene lean-to before transitioning to a greenhouse. He stated in a letter to the Daily Mail that all he wanted to do was garden.

He left school in 1964 at the age of 15 and only had one O-level in art. After that, he made the decision to enroll in a day-release horticulture apprenticeship at Ilkley Council.

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Alan moved to Hertfordshire in 1968, and he soon found himself working at Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens. He made the decision to work in horticulture journalism in 1974.

However, Alan claims that his “feverishness for growing flowers, trees, fruit and vegetables” is still present even in his seventies. Alan recently acknowledged that as a result of his “pottering” experience, time can “slip away” now.

He wrote in Gardeners’ World Magazine that “there are those who become maudlin about the speed at which “time flies” and that, true to form, hours, minutes, and seconds pass through one’s fingers more quickly.

A seven-year-old perceives a year as their “seventh of their life,” according to Alan, while a 70-year-old perceives a 70-year-old’s year as their “seventh of their life.”

EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Redman stars in Murder Before Evensong, a new ecclesiastical crime drama, and says she’s ‘become choosier about the parts I’ll accept’ as she opens up on her new role

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Amanda Redman’s nickname is Wysiwyg – short for “what you see is what you get” – and her latest character has a personality to match. A far cry from New Tricks’ DS Sandra Pullman, Audrey Clement is a dispenser of tough love with a stiff upper lip honed in wartime.

She is the mother of Canon Daniel Clement, the protagonist of Murder Before Evensong, an adaptation of the Rev Richard Coles’ best-selling ecclesiastical crime novel. And she gets all the best lines. “She’s a wonderful character,” says Amanda, 68. “And such fun to play.

“Parts like that don’t come along very often. She’s a woman, not unlike myself, who speaks her mind. Women like her just had to shut up and put up, as they say. I think that’s a very healthy attitude. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She just gets on with it. There’s a line in the book I like: If she hadn’t been a housewife, she’d be running the United Nations.”

READ MORE: Rochelle Humes unveils new Christmas party collection with Next – and we love it all

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To play the role, the eternally glamorous Amanda had to don a permed wig and somewhat matronly outfits. She adds: “I always enjoy playing non-glamorous parts, perhaps more than any others.

“It forces you to concentrate on the character, gives you something to get your teeth into. I’ve become choosier about the parts I’ll accept. But I can’t think of anything more soul-destroying than retiring.”

The Rev Coles’ Canon Clement series now runs to four books. And the second, A Death in the Parish, has already been optioned for screen.

“Oh, I do hope so,” she says when asked if there is more to come from Audrey. “I loved the whole job, a really lovely gig, although perhaps next time, it’ll be filmed later in the year. It was shot in January and it was freezing.”

Fortunately, there was something else – nothing to do with the day job – guaranteed to warm her heart. “On day three, my daughter, Emily, gave birth to my first grandchild – a little girl called Cora,” she says. “I knew I’d be thrilled when the baby arrived, but the moment I first saw her at the hospital in Emily’s arms, I was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of love. I was shocked. It almost knocked me off my feet.”

Emily’s father is actor Robert Glenister, brother of Life on Mars star Philip, while Amanda is married to second husband Damian Schnabel.

Unlike many actresses whose careers run out of momentum in their middle years, Amanda has enjoyed a seamless run: As Diana Dors in The Blonde Bombshell; as Deedee Dove opposite Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast; as lottery winner Alison in At Home With the Braithwaites and as Lydia Fonseca in The Good Karma Hospital.

The acting profession has smiled on her and she has been happy to repay that good fortune. The Artists Theatre School, which she ran near her home in Ealing, West London, closed this year and morphed into the ATS Foundation, dedicated to raising money to help actors looking for work.

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Her objective is to persuade City institutions to donate money to bankroll productions involving these young performers. She is a keen follower of TV drama, in particular thriller series Slow Horses.

And she adds: “I’ve never been interested in reality television, but I did watch Celebrity Traitors because a lot of my friends told me to. I was immediately hooked. For the last five minutes, I was literally on the edge of my seat. Alan Carr was a revelation although I was rather hoping Nick Mohammed and Joe Marler would win. I’d love to be on it.”

EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Redman stars in Murder Before Evensong, a new ecclesiastical crime drama, and says she’s ‘become choosier about the parts I’ll accept’ as she opens up on her new role

View 3 Images

Amanda Redman’s nickname is Wysiwyg – short for “what you see is what you get” – and her latest character has a personality to match. A far cry from New Tricks’ DS Sandra Pullman, Audrey Clement is a dispenser of tough love with a stiff upper lip honed in wartime.

She is the mother of Canon Daniel Clement, the protagonist of Murder Before Evensong, an adaptation of the Rev Richard Coles’ best-selling ecclesiastical crime novel. And she gets all the best lines. “She’s a wonderful character,” says Amanda, 68. “And such fun to play.

“Parts like that don’t come along very often. She’s a woman, not unlike myself, who speaks her mind. Women like her just had to shut up and put up, as they say. I think that’s a very healthy attitude. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She just gets on with it. There’s a line in the book I like: If she hadn’t been a housewife, she’d be running the United Nations.”

READ MORE: Rochelle Humes unveils new Christmas party collection with Next – and we love it all

View 3 Images

To play the role, the eternally glamorous Amanda had to don a permed wig and somewhat matronly outfits. She adds: “I always enjoy playing non-glamorous parts, perhaps more than any others.

“It forces you to concentrate on the character, gives you something to get your teeth into. I’ve become choosier about the parts I’ll accept. But I can’t think of anything more soul-destroying than retiring.”

The Rev Coles’ Canon Clement series now runs to four books. And the second, A Death in the Parish, has already been optioned for screen.

“Oh, I do hope so,” she says when asked if there is more to come from Audrey. “I loved the whole job, a really lovely gig, although perhaps next time, it’ll be filmed later in the year. It was shot in January and it was freezing.”

Fortunately, there was something else – nothing to do with the day job – guaranteed to warm her heart. “On day three, my daughter, Emily, gave birth to my first grandchild – a little girl called Cora,” she says. “I knew I’d be thrilled when the baby arrived, but the moment I first saw her at the hospital in Emily’s arms, I was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of love. I was shocked. It almost knocked me off my feet.”

Emily’s father is actor Robert Glenister, brother of Life on Mars star Philip, while Amanda is married to second husband Damian Schnabel.

Unlike many actresses whose careers run out of momentum in their middle years, Amanda has enjoyed a seamless run: As Diana Dors in The Blonde Bombshell; as Deedee Dove opposite Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast; as lottery winner Alison in At Home With the Braithwaites and as Lydia Fonseca in The Good Karma Hospital.

The acting profession has smiled on her and she has been happy to repay that good fortune. The Artists Theatre School, which she ran near her home in Ealing, West London, closed this year and morphed into the ATS Foundation, dedicated to raising money to help actors looking for work.

View 3 Images

Her objective is to persuade City institutions to donate money to bankroll productions involving these young performers. She is a keen follower of TV drama, in particular thriller series Slow Horses.

And she adds: “I’ve never been interested in reality television, but I did watch Celebrity Traitors because a lot of my friends told me to. I was immediately hooked. For the last five minutes, I was literally on the edge of my seat. Alan Carr was a revelation although I was rather hoping Nick Mohammed and Joe Marler would win. I’d love to be on it.”

Just days after Gary “Mani” Mounfield’s sudden passing at the age of 63, the Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist’s brother posted a heartfelt update on social media.

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The Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist’s passing has come to the attention of Gary “Mani” Mounfield’s brother, who recently posted a heartfelt update on social media.

The tragic news was announced by the musician’s brother, Greg Mounfield, on Thursday (November 20). In a Facebook post, he wrote: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce the sad passing of my brother Gary Mani Mounfield. RIP RKID.” He further commented below the post: “Reunited with his beautiful wife Imelda.”

Imelda, Mani’s wife, passed away in 2023 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2020, almost exactly two years after her death. Mani’s younger brother has shared a heartbreaking photo of Mani, Imelda, and their family since learning of his passing.

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Mani, Imelda, and their family were pictured in Greg’s most recent update on Saturday (November 22), and the younger brother wrote: “On behalf of myself and all my family Mounfield/McGill I would like to express a massive thanks for all the messages and tributes to RKid. RIP Gaz”.

The family has shared numerous heartfelt tributes since Mani’s passing. His stepbrother, John Barlow, posted a photo of himself with Mani and Greg on Facebook on Friday, November 21. The post read: “Absolutely devastated to learn of Gary ‘Mani’s’ sudden passing.

The two boys now lack a mother or father because he recently lost his wife, Imelda. Absolutely tragic thoughts are with his brother Greg and the boys.

Additionally, Greg shared a sentimental photo of the pair on Facebook, simply titled “Heartbroken.” A young Mani was standing next to Greg, who was sporting a blue shirt and glasses, in a zip-up and jeans.

Mani, a native of Manchester’s Crumpsall, became a star after joining The Stone Roses in 1980. He appeared on both of the band’s albums before splitting up with the Stone Roses and joining Primal Scream.

He announced his retirement from Primal Scream in 2011 in order to reunite with the Stone Roses. Following the sad news that he passed away, Ian Brown, the frontman of Stone Roses, has received many e-mails from the music industry. REST IN PEACE MANi X, his sincere message read.

The Stone Roses’ shared the following message: “RIP our wonderful brother Mani. The best bass player and friend we could have hoped for.

The Princess of Wales’ early years center is funding research to help parents deal with the issues that parents are experiencing with their homes’ growing gadgets.

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Kate Middleton ‘s early years centre is offering a six-figure sum in research funding to find solutions that will help parents combat the distractions caused by gadgets that interfere with family life. Kate’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood is inviting researchers to submit proposals to tackle what has been dubbed “technoference”, which can disrupt parent-child relationships, something which Kate spoke passionately about this week in her first major speech in two years.

The news comes shortly after Prince William, 43, discussed his and Kate’s approach to technology at home and revealed the topic of Prince George, 12, getting a mobile phone was becoming a “tense issue”. The chosen study will get £100,000 in funding and work with families across the UK to understand when and why this issue arises and test practical ways to minimise its impact and the findings used to shape resources for professionals such as health visitors and early years educators.#

When William and Kate revealed to a journalist in Brazil about their recent Earthshot Prize trip that they still refuse to let George, who turns 13 next summer, use a cell phone, adding, “It is really difficult. Our kids don’t use phones.

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“Gerald will have a secondary school with limited access, perhaps.” It’s getting to the point where it’s starting to get a little tense. But I believe he is aware of why we communicate our disagreements.

In an essay she co-wrote and published last month, Kate, the mother of three, also reacted to the “epidemie of disconnection” created by smartphones and other devices, and she urged society to “invest in the relationships you have with each other.”

There are numerous studies on how digital devices impact relationships, but there is currently little evidence about what is causing people to use them when it interferes with family life, according to Christian Guy, executive director of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The center aims to close these research gaps so that we can find the solutions that can truly affect families’ lives.

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Kate, who is also mum to Princess Charlotte, 10, and seven-year-old Louis, voiced her worries surrounding the impact of modern technology on family life in the thought-provoking essay, co-written with Professor Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development.

In her capacity as lead author, the princess claimed that fostering strong social and emotional skills among children would help them form successful relationships in later life.

It stated that while new technology offers many advantages, we must also acknowledge that it contributes to this disconnect epidemic in a complex and frequently troubling way. Digital devices frequently do the opposite of what traditional devices do in order to keep us connected.

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Our attention span is stifled by our smartphones, tablets, and computers, which prevent us from giving each other the attention they need in relationships.

“We sit together in the same room while our minds are scattered across dozens of apps, notifications, and feeds. We’re physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us.”