Category Entertainment News

Crime definitely pays for former Pointless star RIchard Osman, as Netflix signs the second of his whodunnit novels.

Fresh from the success of The Thursday Murder Club movie, released in August, US streaming giant Netflix is turning his We Solve Murders novel into a full-length drama series. This is despite the fact he hasn’t even finished writing the story about retired cat loving cop Steve Wheeler and his bodyguard daughter-in-law Amy, who tackle crime together on a global scale. “I am really a long way behind,” Richard confesses. “I am stressed about it, if I am honest. But it will be interesting. We sold Thursday Murder Club before the first book had come out!”

The Thursday Murder Club – which saw acting greats Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Dame Celia Imrie and Sir Ben Kingsley play four retirement home sleuths – was filmed in the English countryside. But Richard, 55, stayed away from filming, saying: “I only went down to the set a couple of times. I was never going to get involved. I like writing and I am aware of the bits of the industry I enjoy.”

READ MORE: Richard Osman admits he made a demand to BBC after being offered iconic show

Describing the film industry as “crazy” there were still some enjoyable times for the author. “I got to hang out with the director Chris Columbus,” he smiles. A fan of Celia Imrie, he describes her as “great and naughty” – praising everyone involved in filming. “The premiere was great, but like a grandfather with a child, I was able to hand it back at the end of the day,” he says. “Honestly, I had the most wonderful experience with that whole gang.”

As well as his Netflix success, he is co-writing a new Thursday Murder Club play with Tom Basden, creator of the ITV2 comedy series Plebs. Richard continues: “I am doing the play with the brilliant Tom. His movie The Ballad of Wallis Island is such an amazing film isn’t it? I asked him to do the play before Wallis Island came out, so it makes me look good and he can’t get out of it! It doesn’t matter how many calls he is getting from Hollywood, he is contractually obliged to finish the play.”

Richard, who began his career as a producer on Channel 4 shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and the satirical comedy 10 O’Clock Live, has seen his adventures in entertainment change direction many times over the years. As well as a spell as creative director for media company Endemol UK, Richard helped make the short-lived ITV gameshow Prize Island, was script editor and producer on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, developed Total Wipeout for the BBC and created the game show 24 Hour Quiz for ITV. But it was co-presenting BBC1 quiz show Pointless from 2009 until 2022, alongside Alexander Armstrong, who he first met at Cambridge University, that made him a household name.

Nowadays, Richard watches the show at home just to see who he thinks his former uni chum – who he nicknames Zander – truly gets along with. He says: “I did Pointless for years. I have done a lot of them, like 2,000 episodes. I watch it now and I can play along. Before, I always wondered why people liked it, but I had all the answers written down. “I like to see if Zander likes his co-host. I can always tell as I know him very, very well. I can tell exactly what he thinks about his co-host at any given time.”

Richard is still a quizmaster for the daily BBC2 early evening show House of Games, on which celebrities tackle a range of wacky questions. “We record five shows a day,” he says. “It is not the most arduous day and the prizes are meaningless. I can hand out points wherever I like. It is always worth watching the one that goes out on a Thursday, as that is the one where everybody is at their weakest, me included. “The fourth one is the one to watch. If you are a good quizzer it is quite hard to not win. It is a fun show though. People always come back.”

House of Games was also the unlikely setting for romance for the host, who met his wife, former Doctor Who actress Ingrid Oliver when she was a contestant in 2020. They soon became close and fell in love during lockdown – before getting married in December 2022. Richard says: “I was doing a book event in Cheltenham recently and one of the questions was ‘who is your favourite ever contestant on House of Games?’ I was like ‘you do know I married one of them?I am not going to say Steve Pemberton!”

But, despite enjoying a diverse career, Richard is not about to follow Ingrid into acting. “I have tried to act and it is really hard. I can’t do it at all. I am so bad,” he says. “When I read with her, she does her bit and I am like an air traffic controller. and she tells me I don’t have to do the accent. We listen to it back and it is weird. How do people act? I had to play myself once on the sitcom Not Going Out. That should be easy, but it was even harder. I was even playing myself on Pointless. Sometimes I see newsreaders and I think they would make great actors, but nobody has ever said that to me.”

One certainty is that Richard will remain on TV and his books will be on our shelves for the foreseeable future. Well known for his openness regarding health problems, like an eye disorder called Nystagmus and his ongoing battle with food addiction, Richard confesses he has no desire to live forever – and thinks those who do are odd. He says: “All these people who want to live until they are 150. That seems weird to me.

“Like Putin and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping. They are obsessed with getting their organs and blood replaced. Like what is it they enjoy about life where they say ‘I can do another 75 years of this?’ A lot of them are planning nuclear wars and that feels kinda counter productive. You can drink as many kale smoothies as you like, but as soon as a ballistic missile lands on the Kremlin…”

Speaking at a recording for a 2026 podcast episode with comic Richard Herring, he continues: “How old do I want to be? The average age is 87. I don’t know, maybe 91. As long as you can keep your brain active, so long as your brain is enjoying it…stick around, right? You see 23-year-olds having fillers and you think ‘where are you going to go at 49 or 55?’ If I have my knees replaced, I could stick around until I am 100.”

Since his fame has gone global, Richard has found himself having to hide from over eager fans – which can be difficult, considering his 6ft 7in stature. He laughs: “I tend to go into a cubicle if there is one free since I have become more recognisable. When you are tall people always “sneak a peek”. I would usually go and have some peace in a cubicle. But I guess everyone looks the same height to me…everyone looks 5ft 7. It is all about perspective innit? If I write my autobiography it’s going to be called “Perspective Innit”?

READ MORE: Pierce Brosnan hints at return to James Bond but with major twist

Adult star Bonnie Blue could be facing up to 15 years behind bars in an Indonesian prison after being arrested in Bali – but with ‘harsher’ jail conditions than in the UK, it may be a tricky time for her to endure

Bonnie Blue is set to face up to 15 years in a Bali prison for violating strict Indonesian anti-pornography laws. The 26-year-old was arrested on Friday after officials were tipped off about the X-rated star allegedly making pornographic content in a studio on the island.

Bonnie, whose real name is Tia Billinger was arrested alongside around 20 Australian and British nationals – as police also seized items such as contraception, cameras, erectile drugs and her infamous “Bonnie Blue Bangbus” truck that was also untaxed.

It means the adult star may be held in Bali for up to 15 years and a fine of up to 6 billion rupiah – about $541,000 Australian dollars. But if she does end up behind bars in Bali, it’s not going to be as glam as what the star is accustomed to normally.

With overcrowded cells, unsanitary digs and harsher conditions than the UK, the prison sentence may be a bleak one for her to endure.

READ MORE: Bonnie Blue’s ‘squalid sex studio’ as cops find viagra, lube and obscene outfitsREAD MORE: ‘I’ve spent over £67k on cosmetic surgery – and there’s still more I want to get done’

It’s been reported Bonnie will have an interview with Bali immigration officials within the next 48 hours as Indonesian authorities decide how to proceed with her case. According to Michael Buehler Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, cases tend to move much faster once there is publicity, a complaint, or political pressure to “make an example,” whereas similar conduct can be ignored when it remains out of view.

He further told Daily Mirror that if authorities treat this as a criminal matter rather than purely an immigration issue, it “typically moves from police questioning/investigation to a prosecutorial decision, and then potentially a court process”.

However as a foreign national, the expert said she would normally be able to request “consular access from the UK” – consular officials can help with practicalities (contacts, welfare checks, finding lawyers) but they cannot intervene in Indonesian legal proceedings.

But for the conditions in prison, if she was to be put behind bars, Indonesian prisons are widely reported to be overcrowded and under-resourced, with sanitation, healthcare access, and general living conditions often significantly worse than in the UK.

He added: “Prison conditions in Indonesia vary, but overcrowding and under-resourcing are persistent problems, and in many facilities conditions can be markedly harsher than in the UK,” and that the quality of treatment can also be “highly uneven, and informal payments/corruption can shape inmates’ day-to-day experience.”

It’s believed she had entered Bali on a tourist visa and had advertised her trip on her social media as a ‘meet-and-greet opportunity’ for recently graduated Australians attending Schoolies events in Bali.

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.