Category Entertainment News

This City Is Ours star James Nelson-Joyce has shared how Adolescence star Stephen Graham has influenced his career

James Nelson-Joyce has expressed his admiration for Stephen Graham as he discusses his latest role in the BBC drama This City Is Ours.

The actor, who hails from Orrell Park in Liverpool, plays Michael Kavanagh, a character deeply entrenched in organised crime, alongside his partner Ronnie Phelan, played by Sean Bean.

The narrative delves into the power struggle that ensues when Ronnie’s son Jamie, portrayed by Jack McMullen, decides to take over their criminal empire, leaving Michael out in the cold.

Complications arise when Michael encounters Diana (Hannah Onslow), and together they start to dream of a life free from crime. But their plans are jeopardised when a cocaine shipment from Colombia disappears, exposing vulnerabilities and signalling that their reign is under threat.

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In a chat with the BBC, James paid homage to fellow Liverpudlians who have inspired him, including footballer Jamie Carragher and actor Stephen Graham, reports the Liverpool Echo.

He declared: “It’s the best city in the world, and it is home”, reflecting on his aspirations to captain Liverpool FC like his hero Carragher.

He continued: “And there are actors like Stephen Graham, who is one of those people I look up to in life. He is all about encouragement”.

Both Stephen and James appeared in the 2017 true-crime drama Little Boy Blue, which recounted the heart-wrenching murder of 11 year old Rhys Jones in Liverpool.

James warmly recalled his experiences with his former co-star, saying: “Stephen likes to pass on advice. He is a massive inspiration and I have been fortunate to work with him. He told me once that he’s always just a phone call away”.

He also expressed hope for audience support for his latest work: “I know he’ll watch and support This City is Ours, and I look forward to hearing what he thinks about it. I want viewers to join us from episode one and stay with us. It will be worth the ride”.

On the flip side, Stephen, hailing from Kirkby at 51, has expressed amazement over the success of ‘Adolescence’ on Netflix.

Stephen, an award-winning actor who also teamed up with Jack Thorne to pen the thrilling series, probes the disturbing dilemma: “What would you do if your teenage son was accused of murder”?.

The show has skyrocketed in popularity worldwide, smashing Netflix records by racking up 24.3 million views globally within the initial four days following its release, and later soaring to an astonishing 66.3 million views after two weeks.

The musician’s world was upended in 1991 when his young son Conor, aged just four at the time, fell 53 floors to his death from a New York apartment. Eric would go on to write the song Tears in Heaven in tribute to his little boy

Eric Clapton is regarded as one of the most acclaimed musicians in rock and roll – but his incredible life has been marred by great tragedy.

On March 20, 1991, his four-year-old son Conor tragically died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of a New York City apartment. And just 24 hours before the shocking incident, Eric had made a poignant promise to his ex-girlfriend Lory del Santo – Conor’s mother.

Italian actress Lory had custody of Conor following the couple’s split. Eric arrived at the high-rise apartment to take out his young son for the day – it would be the first time he had ever taken Conor out by himself, and he had bought tickets for the circus at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

According to biographer Philip Norman, “That sawdust-scented afternoon showed him what he’d been missing. When they returned to the apartment, with Conor chattering excitedly about the clowns and elephants, Eric told Lory that, from now on, he intended to be a proper father”.

Tragically, he didn’t get the chance. The next day, Eric and his son planned to visit the Bronx Zoo, followed by lunch at an Italian restaurant.

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“In the morning, as mother and son waited for Clapton to pick Conor up from the apartment, a janitor arrived to clean the windows. Lory was in the bathroom and the boy was in the care of a nanny – but careering around in a state of high excitement, impatient to see his ‘ Papa ‘ again.

” The janitor had been working on the cantilevered windows in the living room, one of which still hung open. He called out to the nanny to watch the child, but before she could react, Conor dashed past her, jumped up onto the low window-ledge where he’d normally press his nose against the glass to gaze out – and disappeared. “

Eric and Lory had briefly been engaged, but by 1991, they had ended their romance and she had struck up a romance with Italian film producer Silvio Sardi, owner of the apartment in the Galleria building in New York.

From there, Lory had to call Eric to tell him the devastating news. In a state of shock, the musician could only ask, ‘ Are you sure? ‘ He then walked the seven blocks to the Galleria, hoping there must have been some mistake.

Eric later told PEOPLE:” I remember putting the phone down and calmly walking from my hotel to that place as if nothing happened. And I walked past the street and, this is a terrible thing of shame for me, which I’ll never, ever perhaps recover from and seeing that, seeing a crowd of people and a paramedic van and knowing that he was there]trying to be resuscitated] and walking by, I’ll punish myself forever about why didn’t I run? Why didn’t I go to see him? … the truth is I couldn’t. I was so frightened. “

Conor was laid to rest in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalen in Ripley, Surrey, a few hundred yards from Eric’s own birthplace. The funeral took place on March 28, two days before Eric’s 46th birthday, with mourners including George Harrison, Phil Collins and many other faces from the world of music.

In unthinkable pain and grief, Eric retreated from the limelight and his career in music to piece together how to move forwards. He turned his grief into the heart-wrenching ballad Tears in Heaven, which was released in January 1992. It remains Eric’s best-selling single in the United States.

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Twelve years after her last novel, best-selling author and feminist icon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is making a highly anticipated return with “Dream Count”.

The story recounts the intertwined fates of four women from Nigeria who emigrate to the United States and then find out their lives do not work out as planned.

At its heart is Chiamaka, a writer who defies tradition and refuses the marriage upon which her affluent family back in Nigeria had placed so much hope.

Zikora, Chiamaka’s friend, fulfils her dream of having a child. But the father does not marry her and bails out.

Chiamaka’s cousin has a successful business career but then gives it all up to go back to university.

And there is Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housemaid and confidante, whose American dream is shattered when she is sexually assaulted by a guest at a luxury hotel.

“I’m interested in how much of a woman’s dream is really hers, and how much is what society has told her to dream about”, Adichie told AFP in Paris at the launch of the French edition of her book on March 27.

“I think that the world is still deeply oppressive to women. Women are judged more harshly for being selfish, for having ambition and for being unapologetic”.

The four women initially think they know what they want from life and love, but doubts creep in when they start to fear they have missed opportunities and struggle with social pressures and racism.

Yet they continue to support each other.

“Women are socialised to think of each other as competition. And so when a woman makes the choice to really love and support another woman, it’s an act of revolution. It’s an act of pushing back at a patriarchal society”, Adichie explained.

Not ‘ a place to be pitied ‘

Adichie’s 2012 TED talk, “We Should All Be Feminists”, propelled her into the mainstream.

It&nbsp, received millions of hits on YouTube and was sampled by Beyonce in the singer’s hit “Flawless”.

But she does not like her writing being pigeonholed.

“I don’t think of myself as a ‘ feminist ‘ writer”, she insisted. “I think of myself as a writer. And I’m also a feminist”.

“The problem with labels is that it can be very limiting”, she continued. “We would then look at stories through only ideological lenses”.

Instead Adichie thinks novels need to be messy and sometimes contradict opinions and beliefs.

“We’re all full of contradictions”, she smiled mischievously.

Another of her bugbears is the patronising Western stereotype of Africa, the “single story” of a continent plagued by poverty, conflicts, and diseases.

“There’s still the tendency to look at Africa as a place to be pitied”, she said.

“And I think it’s very troubling because you cannot understand a place like Nigeria, for example, if you look at it only as a place to be pitied”.

Nigeria is a major oil producer, has a thriving business culture, global pop stars and Nollywood — Africa’s answer to Hollywood.

A way out of grief

Not that everything is all rosy. Young Nigerians are leaving en masse, fleeing inflation and unemployment in search of a better future abroad.

That, in Adichie’s view, is the fault of the present government, which “is not at all in any way focused on ordinary people’s lives”.

“I want to sit in judgment of the government, not in judgment of those who have dreams”, she said.

Now 47, Adichie has seen her works translated into more than 50 languages and won a string of prestigious literary awards -– including the Orange Prize for “Half of a Yellow Sun” (2006) and the National Book Critics Circle Award for “Americanah” (2013).

But when she was pregnant with her first child, a daughter born in 2016, she was seized by crippling writer’s block — every wordsmith’s nightmare.

It was the loss of her mother in 2021, only months after the death of her father, that broke the stalemate.

Out of her sorrow came “Dream Count”.

“Only when I was almost done did I realise: ‘ My God, it’s about my mother! ‘” she said in an interview with Britain’s Guardian newspaper in February.

“I think my mother helped me”, she told AFP. “I think she said: ‘ You know, I need to get my daughter writing again so that she doesn’t go completely mad from grief. ‘”

She said this book is “very different from anything else I’ve done”.

“This is the first novel that I’ve written as a mother. And this is the first I’ve written as an orphan”, Adichie explained.

Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, Oritsé Williams and JB Gill hit the road later this year – and have shared what they’ve got planned for the shows

JLS have let us in on the secrets of their upcoming tour – and it’s sounding epic. The foursome promise to flash the flesh, bring on some huge surprise guests and make their The Club is Alive: 2025 Hits Tour one huge party.

And while they admit the “club” will not go on until 6am like it used to in the old days, the tequila and rosé will still be flowing… as will the ginger shots and manuka honey. Aston Merrygold tells us: “We’ve had our fair share of partying. We enjoy a drink, it’s just different now. We don’t want to be out until 6am. Let’s sit on the bus, have a nice drink, play some poker.”

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In November, JLS – Aston, Marvin Humes, Oritsé Williams and JB Gill – are due to set out on their eighth arena tour, playing 16 UK dates. Aston says: “The crowd are going to know every one of our songs – it’s going to be electric.”

Telling us some of their plans for the live shows, it’s clear one thing has not changed, as Aston mentions: “There’s never very many clothes in a JLS show”. Marvin chips in: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show when Aston finishes with a top on. Why should that stop? Give the crowd what they want”!

But the band say they are more cautious now when it comes to throwing souvenirs into the crowd. During the last tour JB threw a shoe… which hit a fan in the face. He explains: “The launch was just wrong”. But Marvin insists: “We’ve learned a lot from that situation”.

Another situation they have learned from involved Marv facing one of his biggest fears – and going badly wrong. He recalls: “We did a performance on wires. It went into emergency mode, as in if it broke, it shot you to the top of the arena. That happened to me in Newcastle, and I don’t like heights. I wasn’t enjoying it.

” These guys were just looking up at me, carrying on performing. I was up there, waving my lightsaber about. I managed to get back on for the next tour. No more wires. “

The lads ‘ only fear on tour, it seems, is… white towels. Aston explains:” At one show, someone put brand new white towels on the stage. Dabbing yourself down and then you’re covered in white fluff… it’s not a good look. That’s our only no-no. “

Fans will get to enjoy the extensive JLS back-catalogue, including hits Beat Again, Everybody in Love and The Club is Alive. Says JB:” The club is definitely going to be alive. “

And Oritsé promises:” It’s going to be an epic tour. If it wasn’t for the fans, we wouldn’t be here. This is our thank you to them. It’s going to feel brand new. “

Marvin teases: “There’s always surprise guests at a JLS show. Between the four of us, we’ve got a lot of friends.” And one of those friends will be Example, who is set to support the band on their tour, which kicks off in Glasgow on November 6 and finishes 23 days later at London’s O2 Arena. Tickets are on sale now.

This time five years ago, Linda Lusardi lay in hospital, preparing for her own death after becoming one of the UK’s first Covid patients. She has recalled the horror of watching her limbs ‘ turn blue ‘ as she felt her ‘ organs fail ‘

This time five years ago, Linda Lusardi was faced with the unimaginable prospect of preparing for her own death.

Lying in hospital as her weight plummeted and her limbs turned blue, the iconic pin-up was warned that her chances of surviving Covid were ‘slim’. But channeling her famous feisty energy, glamorous Linda, 66, fought back and is delighted to have lived to see the day when she could draw her first pension.

“I just got my first pension payment. I’ve got money going into my bank without having to do anything. The state pension’s not bad, that will pay for my shopping, the other private one will probably just about pay for my electricity bill”, she said.

In her younger years, Linda, who married former Coronation Street actor Sam Kane in 1988, worked tirelessly to save for retirement, but the last few years have marked a subtle withdrawal from the spotlight.

“I think nearly losing your life puts things in perspective. I do work but I take plenty of time at home,” said Linda, who recently turned down a big money job to spend time with her family.

“You get past a certain stage and you think ‘ I am who I am’. There’s more important things than work. I do still get asked to be photographed in bikinis – I did it at 50 and swimwear at 60 – but not so much now, and life’s too short to be worrying about what you look like too much.

“Obviously I like to look as good as I can and I do have tweakments, but it’s not the be all and end all to look young any more. I’m not young.”

But while she might have wound up her modelling work, mother-of-two Linda is about to embark on a new adventure as the DIY internet sensation no-one saw coming. From tiling and caulking to wallpapering and woodwork, Linda has traded her make-up bag for a tool box and amassed 134, 000 followers with her handyman skills.

And it is that passion that could tempt her out of semi-retirement. “We’ve had interest both from TV and a couple of publishers. It’s looking like it will happen. I think they’ve seen the interaction I’ve had on Instagram,” she said.

” Honestly, the interaction I get for the DIY stuff is so much higher than pictures of me all done up going out!

It all started during Covid when professional work on her kitchen was halted and she was forced to cook on a camping stove. She decided to renovate the kitchen herself, and daughter Lucy, 28, encouraged her to share her progress online.

One video of her water jetting her patio had an incredible four million views. Linda’s inspiration was her late dad Nello, a master craftsman who managed shop re-fits, including Harrods ‘ food hall, and while watching him she would ask questions and help him at home.

“I’ve got a lot of his tools, which I still use”, she said. “Over the years I think I’ve made and saved more money from doing up homes and selling them at a profit than I did from being a nationally-recognised model.

” I project-managed two houses and watched craftsmen thinking ‘ why are they doing it like that, I could do it better’. I just thought ‘ Well, I’ll give it a go’, and then did a lot myself.

“I didn’t talk publicly about it while I was modelling, but tradesmen would come round and see me on the floor in the bathroom and they would be like ‘ What? Have you done that? ‘

” I don’t know if that’s because I was a woman or because it was me, covered in grout on the floor. I only started putting it on Instagram a few years ago after Lucy said ‘ You should put that on there mum, people won’t believe what you can do – people your age don’t get down and dirty and do all that’.

Now the proud owner of a Milwaukee caulking gun – a gift from her husband – Linda has refurbished her en-suite and is now working on her downstairs toilet. She is also on-call for DIY projects at Lucy and 26-year-old son Jack’s homes. “My dad would be so proud”, she added.

However, despite her new project, said she’s not done with the stage just yet and will continue to do panto on the condition it’s alongside her daughter Lucy at the Blackburn Empire Theatre this Easter.

“I’m going to struggle to learn my lines on this Easter panto, because it doesn’t come as easy now. I’ll only do panto with her now”.

Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Marquez has opened up about his time on the dance show and revealed he often finds himself trying to make the ‘ right choices ‘

Gorka Marquez has revealed that despite his glittering career, he often struggles with juggling that and his family life. The professional dancer joined the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 and over the years has been partnered with the likes of Alexandra Burke, Katie Piper, Maisie Smith and Helen Skelton.

But while the dancer may appear the picture of happiness at work, he admits that it can be difficult when it comes to juggling his family life and career. “Let’s be honest, it’s not easy,” he exclusively told the Mirror before explaining: “It’s about making the right choices. When I was in my 20s, it was just about me, me, me. It’s easier because you kind of don’t have anything to worry about more than yourself. When you have a partner and children, sometimes work is great. I always say, there’s a difference between living for work and work for living.

” Now when I work, I work for living and have a good life with my family and kids. The only thing we cannot get back is time. Time flies and kids grow up very quickly. It’s about making the right choice, I’m saying no to things because as amazing as it could be, you need to work out if its worth it being that far away or for a long period of time away from the kids and miss so many things that will never come back.

“You can find another job or make money somewhere else but sometimes, quality time and time with family is not worth half the price”. Away from the dance floor, the Spanish native admits the show completely changed his life.

Just one year after he joined the show, he met former Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson, who was partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec. The couple went on to become engaged and now share two children, daughter Mia, six, and son Thaigo, who is two this year.

“Strictly is one of those things that happens in the life of someone and you think it’s a job and an opportunity for your career”, Gorka exclusively told us. He added: “It could be but in my case, it’s beyond that.

” I got the opportunity to do Strictly which led me to meet Gemma, which now means I have a beautiful family. We are happy together, we have two beautiful kids and Strictly’s still part of my life, it’s something that brought my job to meet Gemma and create a family. Without Strictly, I wouldn’t be what I am now, professionally and personally – I’m very grateful.

“Strictly is the best show on telly, who doesn’t love Strictly”? Gorka continued: “It brings entertainment, music and dance and it also has a good story because every celebrity brings their own journey, their own story. Everyone can relate to any of those journeys – that’s why this show is so successful and has been running for many years”.

Through fits of laughter, Gorka said: “The dancers are incredible, especially the Spanish one – he’s so good”! This year, Gorka is making his Soccer Aid debut playing for World XI – which he teased could cause some rivalry as his fiancée Gemma is a celebrity supporter for the England team.

“I’m so excited, it’s something I watch on the TV, it’s a big opportunity to raise awareness and money for a good cause”, Gorka said. He went on to say growing up, football was his main love and to now be able to play alongside some of his footballing idols at Old Trafford is a “dream come true”.

Aiming big, Gorka wants Roberto Carlos on his team. “He is from Brazil so he could play on my team”, he joked. He went on to explain that growing up, he had the number three on his football shirts – the same number which he will be playing with on June 15.

He said: “That was Roberto Carlos’ number, he was a left back and I used to play left back. Funny story, it was the World Cup of 1998, I was eight-years-old, they were playing and lost against France, I asked my dad to shave my hair like Roberto Carlos. I went to the barbers and asked for the proper bald head, I wanted to be like Roberto Carlos. I’m a big fan of Manchester United, class of 92 was amazing. I think if I could play with them, I would probably play against them, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham.”

But, if Beckham did appear on the line-up, Gorka admits he wouldn’t be able to contain himself. “I would probably be fan-girling like ‘ Come on David, ‘ I would let him score”. Now, Gorka lives just down the road from Old Trafford and admits he cannot contain his excitement to step out onto the pitch.

Speaking from Manchester’s Hotel Football overlooking the Theatre of Dreams, he said: “Playing football in the Theatre of Dreams, I’m very excited to play in the stadium where I’ve watched players I idolise and support. I remember the first time that I stepped into Old Trafford, they allowed me to go to the bench and sit on the bench and be on the pitch. I was starstruck.

” When you go to Old Trafford, even if you’re not a fan of football, you appreciate the atmosphere, the passion and now to step onto the pitch and play, I bet someone will ask me to dance on the floor. I said if I score, I’m going to go to the corner and dance. I will do the dancing if I score.

“I think I should wear sparkly underpants, if I score, I take them out and dance with someone. Anything to raise money for children”. But Gorka admits he wishes Gemma was playing so he could play against her – “I would be tackling her all the time”, he laughed. Since Soccer Aid kicked off in 2006, over £100 million has been raised for UNICEF, which is part of Gorka’s decision to sign up for the game.

“That situation with children, when it comes to hunger or not having basic things like water, food and clothes, since I became a dad, it makes you appreciate it more”, Gorka said. He continued: “For children to have a basic education, just a bed to sleep, somewhere to be warm. I think being part of this means a lot, I know how much it will help children. I know how vulnerable and sensitive children are, we need to take care of them. They are the future.

” You see children suffering and struggling and it’s not their fault, it’s a consequence that they get dragged into it from bad choices and situations in their countries. They’re so vulnerable, anything that we can do is good. “

The match takes place on Sunday 15th of June at Old Trafford, Manchester, with adult tickets priced at £20 and juniors from £10. Tickets are available now on the Soccer Aid for UNICEF website.