Back in the heyday of X Factor, Frankie Cocozza was the lord of chaos, but now he lives a much more settled life in Australia…
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Frankie Cocozza was one of the biggest stars of The X Factor
X Factor wild child Frankie Cocozza gave the family-friendly show an injection of drama when he appeared – and then was unceremoniously booted off – more than a decade ago.
The star, now 32, was just a teenager when he first auditioned for the ITV programme and instantly caught the attention of Gary Barlow, earning his spot in the live rounds within the Boys category for young male soloists.
He wasn’t a run-of-the-mill star, with the names of no fewer than seven former conquests tattooed on his bum, and many still remember him wheeling about the X Factor stage in super-tight jeans and long shaggy hair – as well as for his, erm, expected exit from the show.
The 18-year-old’s journey was abruptly ended when Frankie departed the contest for rule violations, with him later admitting that his lifestyle had spiralled “out of control” whilst taking part in the programme.
However, it didn’t halt his reality TV career, with funtime Frankie going onto appear in the 2012 series of Celebrity Big Brother, where he was runner-up behind winner Denise Welch. While he hasn’t appeared on UK telly for years, he remains active in music when his duties as a parent allow.
Now aged 32, Frankie’s left his hell-raising teenage antics behind him and is devoted to his young old son, also called Frankie, whom he shares with Bianca Murphy. The couple wed in a Brighton celebration in 2018 after initially meeting on Celebs Go Dating, though they separated four years afterwards.
Frankie later discovered romance again with a woman named Emma, who frequently appears across his social media posts. However, it’s arguably Frankie’s dramatic transformation that has left fans most gobsmacked.
The reality personality has been flaunting his extensive collection of tattoos on social platforms, alongside his impressively sculpted frame. To complete his makeover, Frankie has swapped his trademark curly locks for a sharper, more refined style.
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He is still followed by fans from his X Factor and UK telly days, with one remarking: “Bloody hell I thought you were Robbie Williams!” Another begged the star, whose singles include Catastrophic Casanova and She’s Got a Motorcycle: “Frankie start singing again please mate.”
Numerous followers drew comparisons between him and ex-Take That frontman Robbie, with one saying: “Thought this was an old pic of @robbiewilliams.”
The first stars have begun arriving in Australia with the launch of I’m A Celebrity now just days away
The first star to be confirmed on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has been announced after they were pictured arriving in Australia.
Kelly Brook flew into Brisbane Airport ahead of the ITV show starting next Sunday. Speaking to the Mirror, the model and presenter said: “It was a long flight. I am going to miss my dog Teddy and my husband Jeremy, and my food in general.
“I am looking forward to seeing my Auntie Sheila and distant cousin – I haven’t seen her for a long time. I am not sure how I feel about sleeping under the stars – hopefully I will have a spare room. I am looking forward to seeing koalas and the kangaroos.”
Other celebs set to fly Down Under include Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley, ex-EastEnder Shona McGarty, YouTuber Morgan Burtwistle, known as Angryginge, musician Martin Kemp, comedian Ruby Wax, TV presenter Alex Scott and Jack Osbourne. They are expected to be joined by comedian Eddie Kadi, rapper Aitch, and presenter Vogue Williams.
ITV are set to formally announce the line-up next week. Two names will be missing from the announcement as they are expected to enter the jungle as latecomers.
Her decision to head into the jungle is a U-turn on previous comments back in 2018 when she said there would be “a million” things she would rather do than head into the jungle.
Speaking on her Heart radio show, she said: “I don’t want to eat eyeballs or sheep testicles and all the things they have to eat on there.
“Even if I had a huge tax bill and I had to pay it really urgently, I still wouldn’t do it.”
In 2022 in another interview she insisted she still wasn’t keen. She said: “It’s never appealed to me! It’s never ever ever appealed to me. Like Mark Wright asks me at work if I would ever do it and I just couldn’t think of anything worse.
“But he loved it, for him, he just absolutely loved I’m A Celebrity, and it opened up so many doors for him and gave him so many opportunities. He also has some really great memories from doing it.”
Ant and Dec are returning to host the hit series, which is in its 25th year.
A source close to the show said: “Producers are expected to pull out the stops to ensure the 25th series is the most memorable yet.”
There has been fervent speculation as to the line-up in recent weeks. The Mirror revealed at the weekend how Nick Ferrari pulled out of talks with ITV to join I’m a Celebrity after his radio bosses vowed to match his lucrative jungle fee.
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The LBC star was wooed by show chiefs during what insiders say were “really productive conversations.”
But sources claim that after Ferrari mentioned the plans to his bosses at Global, they begged him to reconsider.
The Sex Pistols’ first spewed out their anarchic lyrics to a delighted gathering of a few dozen people at London’s St Martin’s School of Art in 1975. Fast forward 50 years and frontman John Lydon reveals why he won’t be reuniting with his fellow Pistols
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John Lydon on Good Morning Britain earlier this year.(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
In the true spirit of punk, John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten reputedly rounded off the night In November 1975 by fighting with the headline act.
Three members of the original line-up – Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock – reunited for a charity gig for the Teenage Cancer Trust at London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this year.
Missing was Sex Pistols front man Lydon, who has been conducting a UK speaking tour – Untamed, Unscripted & Uncensored. Vowing never to reunite with his fellow Pistols, he says: “I don’t feel no pity for them, rage or hatred. I don’t feel anything for them.”
Now frontman of PiL, there has been no love lost between Lydon and his former bandmates, since he famously lost a High Court battle to stop the Sex Pistols music from being used in a six-part drama, Pistol, directed by Danny Boyle and based on Jones’ 2016 memoir.
READ MORE: Sir Ian McKellan: ‘I thought I was a goner, but I’m coming back as Gandalf’
Excluded from the documentary, he says: “It should be a very important part of our history and they threw that away and turned us into the David Cassidy show. “I hope those Disney dollars are rammed firmly up their b*ttocks.”
At 69, Lydon’s customary irreverence is still as present now as it was in 1977, when Pistols’ hit God Save the Queen was banned from the airwaves. To this day, he remains nonplussed by the single’s success.
“When we made God Save The Queen we did not know we were going to be massive, We were just having a laugh,” he says. “I was like ‘nobody is going to listen, who cares? There is no hope.’ The Royal Family at that time was sacrosanct. You weren’t even allowed to have an opinion on them!”
He is more reflective on the subject of Sid Vicious. The bassist brought in by Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren in 1977 to replace Glen Matlock, despite not knowing how to play an instrument, died of a drug overdose. Just 21 he was at a friend’s apartment in New York, while released from prison on bail for the second degree murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungin in 1978 in the city’s Chelsea hotel.
He says of Vicious’ heroin addiction: “I tried to get him off it. I tried to get several people off heroin. But it is a thankless job. They will go back into it. Watching Sid, he got very interested in the needle itself. “ Describing the process of injecting heroin as a “Japanese-tea ceremony kind-of situation” he continues: “It’s just rigmarole but they (heroin addicts) love it. They see that as their purpose. “
He also sees some heroin addicts as beyond help, adding: “It’s a form of enslavement that people walk into quite willingly. They’ve made that decision and you’re wrong to try and get in the way and stop it. I’ve learned that. The hatred they have for you afterwards is incredible and they never forgive you for trying to help them get out of a drug that they see as doing good for them. I have tried heroin once. I hated it.”
Lydon speaks with some authority about addiction, having successfully kicked a methamphetamine habit himself. He says: “I got myself a problem there with methamphetamine, 20 or 30 years ago. I had to come out of that all alone. But I did. I didn’t like what the lifestyle was turning into. I lost weight so rapidly and had teeth falling out and all of that business. That’s a notch on the belt of ‘been there, done that. No thank you.’”
Lydon has little respect for his late manager Malcolm MacLaren, who plummeted in his estimation after the celebrated obscenity trial in November 1977. Chris Searle, the 28-year-old manager of Nottingham’s Virgin record shop was charged with contravening the Indecent Advertisement Act 1889 for not covering up the word boll*cks on the band’s Never Mind the Boll*cks album, displayed in the shop window.
Lydon says: “Malcolm did not turn up and that angered me, because he claimed he was inventing everything. He claimed he invented me. And he did not have the boll*cks to turn up in court. When I came out of the court room a reporter asked what I would like to have played and I said Devil Woman by Cliff Richard. I think that summed up Malcolm McLaren perfectly.” But he felt very differently about McLaren’s then partner, the late Viviene Westwood. He says: “Viv was a mate and a friend. Obviously a control freak. That is probably why she was so successful. It does help.”
The notoriety of being a Sex Pistol could make travelling a nightmare, according to Lydon, who recalls being subjected to a number of intrusive anal searches going through customs. He says: “They used to be like ‘oh it’s Johnny Rotten. Yeah, let’s give him an anal search.’ That used to happen a lot.” He laughs: “How many Brussels sprouts and baked beans can you eat before a flight? It would make the trip less delicious for them!”
Lydon, whose wife Nora died after battling dementia in April 2023, says he manages his weight by deep sea diving with an aqualung and he quit drinking six months ago. He says: “I was using alcohol after the death of Nora to put the pain away. I am utterly fearless about death. Wherever she has gone I want to be.”
With no desire to ever marry again, Lydon says he is happy alone. And he is cheered to see his fans growing old alongside him. He recalls: “A highlight of the last solo talking tour was in Leicester last year. It ended up with two women in wheelchairs fighting. Their husbands had their walking sticks and they were waving them about. It was bizarre.
“I thought ‘How do you handle this one?’ They all realised how silly it was. It was like a bingo riot. Talking to them after, I found out it was all over their wheelchair space. It was like a car park situation. I thought ‘life is full of surprises?’” Proudly original, Lydon is dismissive of bands who want to emulate The Pistols. He says: “It should be their own voice, not an imitation. I left the Pistols as I did not want to turn into The Rolling Stones – churning out the same kind of stuff. We did not want to sound like anybody else or fit in. If you follow the doctrines of the music industry, you are f*cked man.”
With strong opinions on just about everything, Lydon says of the royal family: “That lot are born in a bird cage. I have nothing against them as human beings, but I think I have overspent on them.” And he is vociferous about politicians. Of the Reform leader, he says: “Nigel Farage is like someone you would meet at a fairground who says ‘do you want to buy one of these watches?’” While, of Donald Trump, he says “I met him once and I did not like him. I met him at the VH1 music awards. I had a show called Rotten Radio and I was invited. My lovely wife came with me. Trump was going in with Jennifer Lopez and Nora trod on her dress and tore the train and they went nuts on us. It was a gorgeous fiasco. Trump is the Sex Pistols of politics.”
Big Brother icon Chanelle Hayes worries that her decision to sign up for OnlyFans will have an impact on her marriage, despite her husband Dan being ‘supportive’
Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
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Chanelle Hayes fears her OnlyFans career could impact her marriage(Image: Ok! Magazine / Chelsea White)
Big Brother legend Chanelle Hayes fears her racy page will affect her marriage. The TV star stunned fans last week when she announced she’s quitting her nursing career to launch an OnlyFans page.
Alerting her Instagram followers to her new venture, the mum-of-two said: “I think life is too short to not take a step just because it’s controversial – so I stepped!” She then encouraged fans to ask “naughty” questions and revealed she will be taking “personalised requests”.
Asked how explicit her content will be, Chanelle teased: “How explicit is your imagination?” followed by a cheeky purple devil emoji. But despite her enthusiasm for her risqué new move, sources close to the star tell the Mirror and new magazine, she’s concerned that stripping off online could have a devastating impact on her marriage.
The 38-year-old, from Wakefield, wed accountant Dan Bingham in 2024, and while she claims he is “so supportive” of her controversial money-making endeavour, friends say she secretly fears doing OnlyFans could put unwelcome pressure on her relationship.
“Chanelle is concerned that posing for sexy pictures will have an impact on her and Dan,” our source says. “Dan is supportive and just wants to see her happy, and while she’s a strong-minded woman and this is what she wants, she is still desperate to ensure her relationship isn’t affected.”
Writing on her OnlyFans page, which costs $9.99 per month, Chanelle promises subscribers “the fun, flirty, and downright naughty stuff I can’t post anywhere else”.
In addition to charging a monthly subscription fee, she also gives fans the opportunity to buy her gifts from an Amazon wishlist that includes sexy underwear, a cellulite-firming body oil and false eyelashes. Chanelle adds: “I’m here to have a good time and give you an experience worth every penny. Let’s enjoy this together.”
As well as videos and lingerie snaps, the star says she’ll be offering “PPV [Pay-per-view] treats”, teasing: “When I’m feeling extra spicy, you’ll be the first to know.”
Despite a lucrative stint modelling for lads’ mags following her Big Brother fame, Chanelle went on to forge a rewarding medical career, gaining a First Class Honours in Adult Nursing. So it’s hardly surprising her followers are shocked she’s quitting after just one year.
According to a separate source, the former reality star felt overwhelmed by the “pressure” to give patients proper care and attention, and eventually, the burden became too much.
“Nursing was a path she pursued out of a genuine desire to care for others, but over time she found herself increasingly frustrated by the lack of time she could spend with patients,” they said. “The emotional strain of not being able to give the level of care she wanted eventually became too much to bear.”
As well as the toll on her mental well-being, our source says Chanelle was also struggling financially, as it doesn’t pay as well as her media career. “She absolutely adores being a nurse, but it doesn’t pay, so it’s hard,” says our insider. “She’s working every hour she can, but has realised she can make far more money from modelling for OnlyFans.
“She could do with the money, and this is the way she could do it. And she’ll probably do it very well. She’s up for it, and it will probably be a lot less work [than nursing]. “
Chanelle first shot to fame on Big Brother aged just 19 and, after falling for fellow housemate Zach “Ziggy” Lichman, became one of the UK’s most recognisable reality stars.
She tried to launch a pop career, but her single, I Want It, flopped, and she soon became better-known for her tumultuous love life than her singing skills. After splitting from Ziggy, she dated Jade Goody’s ex, Jack Tweed, between 2011 and 2013, before moving on to former Middlesbrough football player Matthew Bates – father of her 15-year-old son, Blakely.
She then embarked on a turbulent three-year relationship with PE teacher Ryan Oates – dad to son Frankie, eight – before finally finding The One in hubby Dan, who she met through a mutual friend in 2020.
After moving into nursing, she slowly retreated from the celebrity spotlight – until now. Opening up about her decision to become an OnlyFans star, she told her followers: “Plot twist: I’m building multiple income streams and I’m not apologising for it. Travel business, mentoring, health and wellbeing, and yes – OnlyFans. Every platform is a business move.”
Describing herself as “someone who’s learned that life’s too short to pretend everything’s perfect online”, she added defiantly: “If you’re here to judge, cool. If you’re here to build, let’s go. I only vibe with people who get it.”
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Chanelle, who was diagnosed with osteoarthritis two years ago, has finally learned to love her body after an almost two-decade-long battle with her weight. At her heaviest, she tipped the scales at 17st 4lbs, but after undergoing a gastric sleeve operation in August 2020, she lost a staggering 9st, dropping from a size 22 to a size 8.
Her pals now hope that reigniting her modelling career will help boost her confidence even further. “Doing OnlyFans is a no-brainer for her. Her body has never looked better and she feels really well,” says our insider. “She’s seen how Kerry Katona has made money from the platform and how she’s grown in confidence – and she wants the same for her.”
Fans have been left scratching their heads after realising celebrities will refuse to sign an autograph if you give them a blue pen – and now the real reason has been revealed
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Claire Foy signs autographs with black pen(Image: Getty Images)
When you stumble across a celebrity in public, many people pull out their phones to snap a selfie with them. But there’s still some who prefer to mark the memory with an autograph, using any pen and paper they have available to them at the time.
However, people from across the world have noticed something ‘unusual’ when they ask their favourite star to sign something for them, with one Reddit user saying: “Why do some celebrities or public figures refuse to sign autographs for a fan? I’ve been looking at autograph collection sites, and public figures like Neil Armstrong stopped signing autographs once he realised that fans were simply auctioning them off at high prices.
“If that is true, then he could simply sign and sell autographs for a living every day into his retirement because of how lucrative it is.
“Or do some celebrities not sign autographs to keep their values high? How do they decide whether to sign for a fan or not?”
But it turns out most celebrities refuse to sign in blue ink for a simple safety reason – to prevent their signatures from being easily forged and sold as genuine memorabilia
Blue ink can be scanned and replicated, allowing the production of fake autographs that are hard to distinguish from authentic ones.
For this reason, celebrities will outright refuse to sign using blue ink as their signature is considered a form of currency.
It also prevent fraudsters from turning fake autographs into a business, which ultimately leaves their fans disappointed and out of pocket.
Commenting on the post, one user said: “Armstrong wanted to give his autograph to people that wanted it. But instead they were being sold.”
Another user added: “You’re missing the point, the celebrity isn’t selling autographs, people go to the celebrity, ask for one (for free), and then immediately go and sell it, which is insulting, distasteful, and to some degree fraudulent.”
A third user said: “I feel like it is probably often a challenge for celebs to balance having a positive relationship with their fans and also trying to lead somewhat normal lives.
“Like, sometimes you just need to get to/from the store in a short amount of time.
“I bet it’s tough to start signing/taking pics and then calling it quits before pleasing everyone. Maybe sometimes it’s just easier to not start.”
One more user added: “The issue here is that if the people you sign for simply resell is that you get p***ed off as people aren’t really appreciative of your accomplishments and just in it for the money.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped out to Jeff Bezos’ lavish mansion complex as they attended a star-studded 70th birthday party for Kris Jenner in Miami
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped out to Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party(Image: The Hollywood JR / BACKGRID)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined an array of big name stars as they stepped out to Kris Jenners lavish 70th birthday party. The pair were seen looking swanky heading into the glamorous bash which had a James Bond theme.
The party – thrown at billionaire Jeff Bezos‘ £125million mansion in Beverly Hills – saw guests including Bill Gates, Adele and Justin Bieber join Kris and her famous children to celebrate her entering her seventh decade of life. Harry, 41, wore a classic black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt, while Meghan, 44, opted for a long-sleeved black turtleneck top, teamed with a black maxi skirt with a thigh high slit.
The Duchess of Sussex kept it simple with her hair slicked back and long sparkling earrings, accessorising with a black clutch bag and wearing strappy heels. Harry meanwhile had a red poppy pinned to his lapel, in a nod of respect for Remembrance Sunday.
The outing came as Kate Middleton, 43, was joined by her son Prince George, 12, as she attended the Festival of Remembrance event in London on Saturday. The Princess of Wales joined King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 78, at the event as they honoured military service men and women.
Just prior to attending Kris’ party Harry had encouraged others to check in those carrying the “weight of war.” He shared an essay where he praised the “things that make us British”, including banter and the pub.
He then urged others to not only remember those who have lost their lives, but to check in on soldiers still with us and carrying the “weight of war,” suggesting Brits should “join them for a cuppa…or a pint” to hear their stories and “remind them their service still matters.”
In the essay, which also reflects on his trip to war-torn Ukraine, he warns how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off.”
He wrote: “Every November the world, for a moment, grows quieter. We pause, together, to remember. Remembrance has never been about glorifying war. It’s about recognising its cost… the lives changed forever and the lessons paid for, through unimaginable sacrifice.
“It’s also about honouring those who, knowing that cost, still choose to serve. There is a similar stoic spirit of self-deprecation and humour in Ukrainians, that I recognise more than any other, in us Brits.
“Though currently, I may live in the United States, Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for. The banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands – ridiculous as it sounds, these are the things that make us British.
“I make no apology for it. I love it. I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside men and women from all four corners of the UK… from Antrim to Anglesey, Lancashire to London, Wrexham to the East Riding, Belfast to Bedfordshire and beyond.
“I saw courage and compassion in the harshest conditions imaginable. But I also saw how easy it can be, once the uniform comes off, for those who gave everything, to feel forgotten.They safeguarded our freedom. We must safeguard their future. That way we all benefit.”
