Category Entertainment News

Fans were left in meltdown tonight as they spotted two famous faces in the audience of the BBC dance competition

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Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left stunned just minutes into tonight’s programme after spotting two legendary figures in the audience. The glittering BBC dance extravaganza carried on this Saturday, November 15, with the surviving pairs now battling for their spot to dance at the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom next weekend.

As usual, hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly were present to guide the evening’s events, introducing both the glamorous panel of judges and the performers to the stage. But fans were gobsmacked when the camera swept across the audience, revealing two football superstars that were cheering and clapping.

The sporting heroes – Leah Catharine Williamson OBE and Scotland’s Kim Alison Little MBE – are thought to be attending Strictly to cheer on former footballer Karen Carney and her dancing partner Carlos Gu.

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Moments after the celebrated duo appeared on television, thrilled viewers rushed to X, previously known as Twitter, to highlight their presence at the show.

“Leah Williamson being at Strictly tonight is SO important to me”, one person commented. Someone else wrote: “Leah Williamson and Kim Little at Strictly holy s***”, whilst a third declared: “Kim and Leah at Strictly woah my worlds colliding, it’s a big day for annoying people.”

Another supporter shared: “Ahhhhhhhh OMG Leah Williamson and Kim Little in the Ballroom I’m crashing out now wtf this was not on my bingo card for Strictly 2025.” Meanwhile, somebody else commented: “Queen Leah Williamson in the audience”, accompanied by a heart-eyed emoji. With fewer than half of the contestants remaining, tonight is one of the most crucial weeks yet for the stars.

After taking on the American Smooth to You Don’t Own Me by SAYGRACE tonight, Karen says the scores don’t matter, and she’s just happy for Carlos to see how hard she’s trying to earn her place in Blackpool – leaving Carlos emotional saying: “She couldn’t stop dancing!”

Anton called the dance “brilliant but brittle” and asks for more fluidity through the entire body. Craig says the couple danced with a “supersonic speed” and agrees that Karen needs “to soften everything out”. But Motsi says the footballer “is authentic to the way she dances” every week giving her a total of 31.

Karen has Scheuermann’s disease that has left her with a curved spine but she’s not let it hold her back on the dance floor. In an exclusive chat with the Mirror, Karen shrugs off the restraints of her condition. “I’ve always remained that I’m happy, I’m healthy, and it’s never stopped me from doing what I want to do,” she says.

“I just want to show that I might not be the perfect dancer. I will not have the perfect posture, but I’ll certainly give it my best. Dancing is always about joy; it’s how much fun you have and how much joy you can bring to the audience.

“I think if you can achieve that, that’s the whole point.” Opening up about her condition, Karen adds: “I’ve had it for years and I coped with it in football. I adapted and found a way. So it’s a challenge for me to adapt and find ways in something that’s very unfamiliar to me in the dancing world. But I think we’ve had some really good advice and really good support to try and make that easier for me and we work on it.”

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“My back is very stiff, mobility-wise it’s very restrictive and I’ll be open and honest about that. But it doesn’t mean I won’t try and work on things, it doesn’t mean I won’t try and help improve my mobility and Carlos has been very, very, very supportive, emotionally as well, to try and help me.”

The public vote will decide who will be performing at the iconic Blackpool Ballroom Tower next Saturday, 22 November. But who will be gracing the dance floor once again for the unforgettable show and who will narrowly miss out on this golden opportunity?

Strictly’s results show tomorrow night will also feature singer Olly Murs performing, as well as the professional dancers showcasing an incredible routine with dance troupe Diversity.

Oti Mabuse has showcased her impressive weight loss as she said she feels ‘stronger, healthier, and more alive’ after setting goals and dropped from a size 18 to a size 10

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Oti Mabuse is best known for her impressive performances on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. She has also entertained viewers from her stint in the I’m A Celebrity jungle.

But after leaving the dance show and becoming a mother, Oti saw her weight rise. Now, the professional dancer, 35, has showed off her impressive weight loss transformation after shedding the pounds and dropping dress sizes.

Oti, whose younger sister Motsi is still a judge on Strictly, shared her weight loss journey with her fans. Oti, who is featuring on The Wheel this weekend, has since opened up on her bid to lose weight. In a candid social media post, she called it “one of the toughest but most beautiful experiences of my life”.

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Taking to TikTok last year, Oti explained the life changes she made in order to hit her target. She revealed she had dropped from a size 18 to size 10, confessing to feeling “stronger, healthier, and more alive”.

The decision came ahead of her latest tour and she explained she gave herself goals rather than getting on the scales. And she shared a video of her updates along the way. While she explained the journey keeps on going, Oti was very proud of her update.

At the time, taking to TikTok, Oti said: “After my pregnancy, dealing with gestational diabetes meant I had to be even more mindful of my health, especially being pre-diabetic. So I started to change how I approached food, movement, and how I looked at my own body.”

She revealed the weight loss journey wasn’t about “getting skinny,” but more rather about “gaining strength, confidence, and discipline in a way that feels sustainable and true to me”.

She continued: “And honestly? It hasn’t been easy. Changing lifelong habits, trying new foods, pushing my body in ways I never have before— it’s been hard work.

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“But the results? Wow. To see my body transform, not just in shape, but in how it feels… that’s a win every day. I’m proud of where I am, at whatever size, and I want every woman to feel that sense of pride too.”

While Oti revealed at the time her weight loss was ahead of her tour this year, she coincided it with a spell on I’m A Celebrity. She fell just short of an appearance in the final.

She lasted 22 days in the Australian jungle and told Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly after leaving camp: “I expected to be nervous the whole time but when you’re in there… my goal became to focus and get the job done.

Discussing her efforts in the Bushtucker Trials in her eviction interview, she admitted: “You tell yourself ‘calm down, it’s not about – you feed the children’!”

During her time on Stricltly, Oti was crowned the winner on two occasions. Her first Glitterball trophy came with soap actor Kelvin Fletcher in 2019.

She followed up that achievement with comedian Bill Bailey in 2020. However, she went on to quit the show after performing with rugby player Ugo Monye in 2021 and she defected to ITV to take up a chair as a judge on Dancing On Ice in 2022.

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Kelly Brook opens up to the Mirror as she prepares to enter the I’m a Celebrity jungle on Sunday night and issued a heartfelt plea to fans who will tune into the show

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TV star Kelly Brook has begged I’m a Celebrity viewers to accept her curves in the wake of getting trolled over her figure. The star was the target of vicious comments about her body after landing at Brisbane airport last Sunday.

As she prepares to strip off for the famous Jungle shower, the former model and TV presenter urged viewers to be “accepting” of the way she looked. She said: “Obviously, I am not a 20-year-old bikini model anymore. You know, life changes and your body changes. And I just hope people are accepting of me and how I look now, and not comparing me to how I used to look. You know, I am a very different person. I am older, but I am still strong and I am still fit, and that is the most important thing.”

Instead, she said she had “embraced” her curves. “I feel really confident. I feel like my body is in good shape. I just feel great,” she says. “I am 46, I embrace my curves. I embrace my body. I ran a marathon this year….so I am proud of that.”

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Kelly has been forced to address comments over her figure for years. She once said: “I’ve always been a curvy girl and I’m proud of that.” When trolls previously accused her of being “too big”, she replied: “I’m a healthy size 12. I’m not apologising for having boobs and a bum.” And she is prepared to show them off after packing “plenty of swimsuits” for the famous Jungle Shower.

In fact, she has even discussed it with Myleene Klass whose white bikini went down in I’m a Celebrity history, in 2006. “Yes, Myleene did talk to me about the shower,” Kelly says. “She said that when she arrived she did not actually have a swimsuit that was appropriate for the television… so she actually had to run out and get something. I think it would be very difficult to try and recreate something like that. That was fate that was meant to be, and that was her moment”

Although she has vowed to strip off, it won’t be for long. “The showers are freezing so I will be in and out very quickly,” she says. Kelly admits the toughest part of being away is being separated from husband Jeremy Parisi, 40.

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“That is what is really quite frightening,” she says. “We have been together 10 years… we do pretty much everything together.” Their relationship was a highlight of BBC hit Race Across the World, but the experience also raised a question for Kelly.

“I wonder if I can do this on my own,” she says. “I relied on Jeremy so much…so when this opportunity came up, I thought, ‘You know what? I should really test myself.’” She admits she doesn’t know how he will cope with her being out of the country.

“I am actually more worried about him being at home alone… I did not freeze any little meals for Jeremy, and he will probably be living on like takeaways,” she says. His mother, however, will step in.

“We have organised for his mum to come over and take care of him and the dog in the house. He is Italian. At the end of the day, he is a mamma’s boy.” Kelly says she quietly sought advice from several friends who’ve done the show before, including Oti Mabuse, Jane Moore, and Chris Moyles.

“Everyone I spoke to said it was life-changing… one of the best things they have ever done,” she says. Chris offered one unlikely tip. “He said ‘make sure you can sneak in a microwave,’” she laughs. Fellow Loose Woman Jane also advised keeping busy. “She said, if you love cleaning… that really passes the time,” she says.

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Like every contestant, she has specific fears about what might be in store. “I have heard that the dunny is the place where all the spiders hang out,” she says. “When it rains, they all kind of crawl in there.”

Then there was the leech story. “Jane showed me a picture of her bra where a leech was… it lived off her breast all night. That was pretty gross.” Kelly has filmed and worked around the world, but says nothing compares to this.

“I have never, ever been in the middle of a jungle, sleeping under the stars,” she says. “I think it is going to be probably the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life… I have heard that it is life changing.” She adds: “I do not know who I am in there with yet but I am just hoping we just all have fun together.”

Kelly will turn 47 in camp, but managed a small party before flying out with her Heart Radio colleagues. “We had some drinks, and I got gifted a beautiful cake of my face, which was hilarious… So we had a little celebration before I left.”

One issue when she is in camp could also be mornings. “I am not great in the mornings, and not having sugar, salt, coffee… that is going to be the biggest test,” she says. “I kept saying to myself every day, I am going to wean myself off the coffee in Australia.”

The show, which starts on Sunday night on ITV, also features Angry Ginge, Jack Osbourne, Martin Kemp, Lisa Riley, Aitch, Alex Scott, Eddie Kadi, Shona McGarty and Ruby Wax. Ant and Dec return to presenting duties.

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Spandau Ballet legend Martin Kemp opens up to the Mirror ahead of his stint in the I’m a Celebrity jungle, which starts on Monday, as he shared a crucial health update

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Musician Martin Kemp has spoken in detail for the first time about the horror chainsaw accident that saw him rushed to hospital just weeks before heading into the I’m A Celebrity jungle.

The Spandau Ballet legend, 64, was taken to hospital after trying to cut a piece of wood in the garden of his Hertfordshire home, with son Roman later revealing his dad had been “lucky not to lose his hand”.

Roman told listeners on his podcast that the family first realised something was wrong when Martin sent a photo of his heavily bandaged fingers to their WhatsApp.

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Now, speaking as he prepares to enter camp, Martin admitted it was a freak moment of bad luck. “I was taking the scabbard off,” he said. “It was electric and it came to life.”

He added: “It was about three weeks ago now. It got reported I had done it, and then it was reported in a paper ten days after, so by then it was already on the mend. It has all healed up. It is pretty amazing how skin heals like that. It was my own fault, nobody else’s.”

The injury was serious enough for a hospital trip, but he insisted it was just cautionary. “It was really just for an injection to make sure everything was all right,” he explained. “They wrapped it up and that was it.”

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Crucially for ITV bosses, there was never a point where he thought the accident might rule him out of the jungle. He was already looking ahead to the show and to the notorious Bushtucker Trials, although is worried about the eating trials.

“I do not think I am going to get given a burger in there at all,” laughed Martin, who says he and wife Shirlie are “practically vegan” at home, even if he still eats meat on the road.

Despite the scare, he insists the near miss has not dented his appetite for throwing himself into challenges. Although he fears that Roman, who has appeared previously in the jungle, is going to influence things.

“I don’t think it’s the public that’s going to target me….it’s Roman who is going to bring all his followers to target me,” he laughs.

Body cam footage shows the singer-songwriter being arrested outside a hospital in tragic scenes…

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Music star Todd Snider was caught on police body cam being arrested outside a hospital before his tragic death. The 59-year-old was forced to cancel tour dates having sustained serious injuries following an alleged “violent assault” outside his hotel. He is thought to have been suffering from an undiagnosed case of pneumonia.

The acclaimed musician, who was behind 14 studio albums, was recorded telling cops earlier this month: “I have a band, I’m famous – they ditched me” and begging to be let back into Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City after they put him in handcuffs.

The star is thought to have gone to the hospital after claiming he was attacked outside his hotel, but refused to leave once discharged. At one point an officer asks him: “When they told you don’t come back, why did you come back?” he said he didn’t remember that, adding: “I walked as far as I could and I was in so much pain.”

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He is later heard insisting he still needed medical help. “Can I please go back to the hospital?” he begged one of the cops. “Sir, I am sick.” His death was announced days later.

Todd’s music incorporated not just country but folk, rock, blues, and funk. He recorded 14 studio albums and his popular songs included Alright Guy and Talking Reality Television Blues, which was covered by Sir Tom Jones. He was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in his hometown of Portland in 2021.

A statement announced Todd’s death on his Instagram page today. It read: “Where do we find the words for the one who always had the right words, who knew how to distill everything down to its essence with words and song while delivering the most devastating, hilarious, and impactful turn of phrases?

“Always creating rhyme and meter that immediately felt like an old friend or a favourite blanket. Someone who could almost always find the humor in this crazy ride on Planet Earth.”

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It went on: “He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens.

“He got up every morning and started writing, always working towards finding his place among the songwriting giants that sat on his record shelves, those same giants who let him into their lives and took him under their wings, who he studied relentlessly. Guy Clark, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker.

“How do we move forward without the one who gave us countless 90-minute distractions from our impending doom? The one who always had 18 minutes to share a story. We’ll do it by carrying his stories and songs that contain messages of love, compassion, and peace with us.

“Today, put on one of your favourite Todd Snider records and ‘play it loud enough to wake up all of your neighbours or at least loud enough to always wake yourself up’. We love you Todd, sail on old friend, we’ll see you again out there on the road somewhere down the line. You will always be a force of nature.”

An update on November 3 informed fans that Todd’s High, Lonesome and Then Some 2025 tour dates were having to be cancelled. It read: “Ahead of Todd Snider’s show in Salt Lake City, Todd sustained serious injuries as the victim of a violent assault outside of his hotel.

Strictly Come Dancing’s George Clarke was left emotional on the show as he revealed his mum has been diagnosed with cancer. The social media star and podcast host confirmed the heartbreaking news in his pre-dance VT.

George announced that he would be dedicating his Rumba routine to his mum, Nicky, before sharing the sad news that she was facing a battle with cancer.

The TikTok sensation disclosed it wasn’t the first time his mum has faced health issues. Speaking directly to the camera, George said: “Unfortunately, recently she got diagnosed with cancer.” Nobody deserves what she has gone through, but least of all her.”

“It feels like it’s taking up so much of her life now.”

Before revealing the tragic cancer news, he opened up about her previous health battles. He recalled: “When I was 16, I was about to leave for hockey practise with my dad and he said ‘oh I’ll just check on mum one more time because she was feeling a bit ill. “Nobody deserves what she has gone through, but least of all her.”

He went upstairs and she was having a seizure. “She was diagnosed with a brain inflammation called encephalitis.”

Speaking to his professional partner Alexis Warr, he then added: “I had no idea what it was and most people that do know is because it has affected them in a horrible way.”

“She’s the most selfless person I’ve ever met. When she came out of hospital was apologise for what she’d put us through.”

Nicky was in the audience alongside her husband and George’s father, Shaun, to watch the emotional performance. After the performance, the judges thanked George for his openness about his mum’s diagnosis. Judge Motsi Mabuse added: “I wish her all the best and that we can live this life together.”

Earlier this week, George admitted that his routine tonight on Strictly Come Dancing means “so much more” than just the routine. The YouTube star, 25, is gearing up to perform a Rumba on Saturday’s edition of the BBC competition alongside professional partner Alexis Warr.

George appeared on Wednesday’s edition of the spin-off series It Takes Two, he emotionally explained that he has been struggling to ‘not put pressure’ on himself because he knows how much it will all mean to his family.

He said: “It definitely will be. Especially considering the past few weeks have been much much more ‘ok I can do the steps but can I perform?’ I feel like the steps are very important but the performance is everything to me because it’s a song that means a lot to me and my family. And yeah it is hard this week to not put the pressure on myself because it is a dance that I want to get right even more so.”

But, It Takes Two presenter Janette Manrara instantly stepped in to comfort George, and she reminded him: “You have got to let that go so you can enjoy it because it is about enjoyment. Like we was this past week!”

Just days ago, George admitted: “So my sister sang the song Somewhere Only We Know at my grandad’s funeral and it’s a song that means a lot to my whole family.

“My mum has had a lot of trouble in the last 10 years so I thought it’d be nice to use this platform to devote something to her and the rest of the family. Hopefully they’ll be less on the edge of their seat wondering if it’s going to go wrong.”

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