Category Entertainment News

George Michael is still giving more than £6,000 a day from beyond the grave – with £2.3million donated to good causes last year.

The late superstar was renowned for doling out his millions, and we can reveal he is still sharing his wealth following his death at the age of 53 on Christmas Day in 2016. Last year, his estate gave £2.33million to his foundation The Mill Charitable Trust. The money came from three of the singer’s businesses and works out at £6,383 a day. The trust gives grants to good causes – and last year £398,500 was passed to 16 of those closest to George’s heart. This includes £16,500 to St Thomas of Canterbury church in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. He lived next door to it for years and it has a memorial plaque of him.

He also gave to homelessness ­charities Shelter and Crisis UK, domestic violence organisation Refuge, the NSPCC, Women’s Aid federation and the National Aids Trust. The singer’s charity made a fortune selling off his art collection in 2019, making £11.2m from an auction, which included works by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

Careless Whisper singer George died of heart failure at his home in Goring and left the bulk of his £97million estate to older sisters Yioda and Melanie. Yioda is secretary of The Mill Charitable Trust, which George set up in 2009, and is one of its three trustees. Melanie died in 2019.

Tales of George’s philanthropy are well known. Former Deal or No Deal producer Richard Osman once told how one contestant’s partner had needed £9,000 for treatment. The next day George phoned in to donate the money. The beneficiary was Lynette Gillard, 38, from Bolton, whose partner Steve Davies appeared on the show in 2008.

She said: “For many years I wondered who would have been so generous and now I know. What more can I say other than, ‘Thank you, George’.”

David Walliams said that the singer had donated £50,000 to his 2006 Sport Relief cross-Channel swim.

George’s estate has been earning almost £300,000 a week over the past two years. Hits such as Last Christmas, which got to No1 for a second time in December, helped rack up the fortune. Earnings by George are revealed in accounts just filed by the Wham! founder’s firm. Nobby’s Hobbies Holding Limited showed it turned over £23,777,273 in 2023 and £6,634,840 last year. It means the weekly earnings over the period were £292,424.

The books also show £2m of the turnover came from publishing income, £3.5m from royalties and £6,260 from merchandise.

The earnings came after Last Christmas got to be the festive No1 for the first time in 2023. It was first released in 1984 but only made No2 at the time due to Band Aid’s charity single, Do They Know It’s Christmas? George insisted all the royalties from his own hit also went to the Band Aid cause.

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Katie Thurston has shared the heartbreaking news that she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The former ‘Bachelorette’ star, 34, who got engaged to comedian Jeff Arcuri last September, opened up about her diagnosis on social media this Saturday (15.02. 25), revealing that her Valentine’s Day was overshadowed by the need to organise treatment logistics.

Taking to Instagram, Katie posted: “Life update: I have breast cancer. Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentine’s Day celebrations. I felt envious if I’m being honest. Jeff took me to Hawaii and after, we were going to travel the world before planting roots together in NYC finally. But instead, my Vday was spent coordinating a place to live as I have to go back to LA for more testing and treatment.

“I used my morning to figure out insurance for NYC and laws on pre-existing conditions. I scheduled appointments for another biopsy, fertility, mental health, surgery, as well as meeting with my team to discuss the overall treatment plan, which will include chemo.”

Katie, who captured hearts on ‘The Bachelorette’, experienced a whirlwind of emotions leading up to her diagnosis but is now determined to use her voice to spread awareness about breast cancer and is gearing up to “fight” the illness.

She continued: “I experienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks. Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful. Ready. I cried a lot. I tried to even make a video instead of this post and couldn’t.”

In her heartfelt message, the brave young woman spoke of how she found solace in the stories of others who had faced similar challenges. “But one thing I did early on was search other stories like mine. Other young women with breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma. Mastectomy. Pregnancy after breast cancer.

“All of their stories helped. So I intend to be the same for others. This is day one of sharing and is going to be a long one. This first step of acceptance of my reality was the hardest. But I am ready to fight this.”

Her message ended on a moving note as Katie expressed her deep appreciation for her fiance’s unwavering love and support during such a challenging time. She shared her gratitude, stating: “And I saved the best for last. To my extraordinary husband to be @jarcuri – I don’t know how I’d do this without you. The selfless love that you smother me in is beyond anything I imagined I’d be blessed with. I love you to the fullest in this lifetime and the next.”

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support.

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Netflix have been left scrambling to re-arrange their BAFTA afterparty.

The glitzy event was due to be held at Chiltern Firehouse on Sunday night but just days before, a fire broke out at the exclusive venue in Central London. Bosses behind the event had been planning the no-expense spared afterparty for months having reportedly spent thousands.

Now, they are said to be scrambling to find a last minute venue where celebs can celebrate after the BAFTA Awards. It’s believed that the likes of Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez were amongst some of the huge names who were set to head to the Firehouse to party the night away.

Meanwhile, Wallace and Gromit creator, Nick Park, CBE was apparently due to check into the venue ahead the BAFTAs tomorrow evening. A source said that it was the “ultimate nightmare.” Several huge celebrities had also been planning on staying in the hotel side of the Firehouse.

“Every year they spent tens of thousands of pounds to put on the biggest and best BAFTA afterparty around,” a source told The Sun of the Netflix event. They continued: “Right now everything hangs in the balance while they get the blaze under control and assess the damage.”

The blaze ripped through ducting at the celeb hangout on Friday, forcing about 100 people to be evacuated from the five-star London hotel and restaurant. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said that 20 fire engines and about 125 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze on Chiltern Street in Marylebone on Friday.

They said crews were first called at 2.52pm and are still at the scene, while the cause of the fire is unknown. Videos on social media show flames which are engulfing the top of the building being doused by fire officers from a crane, while smoke billows out of the roof.

The hotel will likely need a “large refurbishment”, a firefighter at the scene said. The unnamed firefighter told the PA news agency on Friday night: “It’s (the fire) completely under control in there now, but the hotel is probably going to need a large refurbishment. I don’t think anyone was injured because of the evacuation earlier.”

Firehouse owner, Andre Balazs said the venue, which an employee at the scene confirmed had been due to host a BAFTA party on Sunday, would remain closed until further notice. He said: “Earlier this evening, a fire broke out at Chiltern Firehouse. We are grateful to confirm that no-one was hurt, and our guests and staff safely evacuated. The fire has now been fully contained.

“It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that we watched a remarkable 120 firefighters from over 14 stations rapidly descend on what they told me was a hugely sentimental building for so many of them. We know in fact one of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago. I am truly grateful to all of them as I am sure that this is not the Valentine’s Day evening they had in mind.

“As of now, as this is still a live situation we do not have confirmation of what may have caused the fire, but the fire services are investigating. In the meantime, the Chiltern Firehouse will remain closed until further notice.” In a statement, the LFB said: “Crews worked hard over a number of hours in challenging circumstances in a complex historic building and successfully contained the fire to one property, preventing it from spreading to neighbouring properties.

“Firefighters will remain on scene throughout the night damping down hotspots. The fire started in ducting and spread from the ground floor to the roof of the four-storey hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor. The blaze spread to the second and third floors of the building.”

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The release of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy has been rocked by piracy issues that could dent its projected box office haul.

The fourth film in the celebrated Bridget Jones film series was unleashed in time for Valentine’s Day – and scored huge pre-booking ticket sales that put it on a path to match earnings of the billion dollar making fantasy film Barbie in certain territories. The film series, based on the books of British author Helen Fielding, sees Renée Zellweger playing the title character while Colin Firth and Hugh Grant have battled for her affections as devoted husband Mark Darcy and smug businessman Daniel Cleaver respectively.

The trio return for the latest film – with Colin reprising his role in ghost form after Mark was killed off following the events of the third instalment of the movie series. One Day star Leo Woodall and Love Actually actor Chiwetel Ejiofor are added to the mix of men entering Bridget’s orbit in the fourth film that sees her adjusting to life as a widowed single mum.

But a disaster almost as tragic as the death of Mark has also hit the film – as the entire film has leaked online hours after being released in UK cinemas. While the film is on screens in cinemas in the UK and Europe, fans in the USA can already watch it via the streaming service Peacock – but this digital version has already been ripped and uploaded via social media.

A source told The Sun: “It’s a huge blow. Mad About the Boy is going to be massive but there are worries that people just won’t go out to watch it if they can already see it illegally from the comfort of their sofas.” The film has won rave reviews from fans and critics alike – and had been projected to rake in huge sums at the box office.

Earlier in the week, it was revealed that pre-release tickets were outperforming sales of 2023’s smash hit Barbie – which made over $1.4 billion (£1.1 billion) at the global box office. Odeon told Screen Daily that 20 per cent of tickets had been sold for previews of the movie that were screened on Thursday preview day, and a third were sold for Valentine’s Day, which was on Friday – with 70,000 fans booking their tickets in advance.

It was a similar story at Curzon which also saw a 20 per cent boost to ticket sales as fans booked in to watch Bridget back in action after a nine-year absence. Fans have been left saddened by the plot which reveals Colin Firth’s Mark Darcey was killed off – and the actor himself was left devastated when author Helen Fielding told him the news of her plans to axe the character.

Helen told Variety: “Well the truth is, I didn’t ever intend to actually kill Colin. When the book came out, it was the second lead after Syria on BBC News: ‘Mark Darcy is dead!’ I’d had to previously call Colin up and ask if he had someone with him and if he was sitting down, and I told him that I’d killed him.”

The news allegedly didn’t sit well with Colin and Helen recounted him telling her: “You’ve killed the wrong one.” The new film also sees Emma Thompson return as Bridget’s doctor, Doctor Rawlings. Sally Phillips, Shirley Henderson and James Callis return as friends Sharon, Jude and Tom – while other returning cast members include Celia Imrie, Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent.

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This Morning star Ashley James has reassured Laura Whitmore than Caroline Flack was ‘glad’ that she took over from her on Love Island before her sad death.

Former Love Island host Laura Whitmore, 39, revealed her final text messages with Caroline Flack just before her death in February 2020. Five years on from Caroline’s death, Laura was granted a gift from the past – and decided to share it with the world.

Laura said she wanted to share the messages on the fifth anniversary of Caroline’s death. Caroline sadly took her own life on 15 February, 2020. Her death came shortly after she learnt her criminal trial for allegedly assaulting then-boyfriend, Lewis Burton, was going ahead. She had initially being told she would only be given a caution.

Caroline stepped down from presenting Love Island in December 2019, with Laura becoming her replacement. She had publicly given Laura her full support and now the presenter has revealed they had private chats about it, too – and has posted her final text conversation with Caroline on her Instagram page. On 18 December 2019, Caroline had messaged Laura: “Hey xxx About to go see ITV. I hope you are doing the job xx. I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else x.”

Laura replied: “That’s such a lovely message. I have met with them and had a conversation but nothing confirmed so we’ll see how it goes.” She then shared another screenshot from their chats as a message Laura sent to Caroline read: “Hey just checking in. I wanted to call but didn’t want to disturb you.

“I’ve been offered the role for this series and they’re going to announce it today. It’s been back and forth last few days as you can imagine so I couldn’t say anything to anyone until literally now but wanted to tell you first. I’ll do my very best to give it the justice it deserves. How are you doing? xx.”

Caroline replied with a red love heart emoji and added: “I’m glad it you xxx.” Laura responded: “That means a lot thank you x.” She then shared their final text exchange as Laura messaged: “Thanks so much for that insta message. You’ve no idea how lovely that is. Hope you’re doing ok and we’re all thinking of you and missing you.”

Caroline said: “Thanks Laura… feeling a bit better… I really am looking forward to watching the show tho… it’s perfect you and Iain doing it together xx.” Laura replied: “I mean I NEVER actually see him ha! Hope you’re somewhere lovely and see you soon xx.” Caroline responded with four red love heart emojis.”

After sharing the messages, a number of Laura’s famous pals have thanked her and supported her decision to share the intimate messages. Ashley James, was one of them. The presenter and model told Laura that before Caroline’s death, she spoke with her about Laura taking over from her on Love Island.

“She told me she was glad it was you,” Ashley wrote. Meanwhile, former Love Island star Laura Anderson added: “Thanks for sharing.” And Lizzie Cundy penned: “Such a beautiful person inside and out.”

Laura said she recently came across them when setting up her new phone. She admitted reading them again had “really hit me hard” and added in the caption: “I think they show a side to Caroline which is nice to remember. Hence I’m sharing now.

“She wasn’t perfect and I didn’t know her as well as others but I knew she had her demons. I met Caroline in 2011 when I took over from her hosting I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now. She was as supportive of me doing that role back then as she was when she supported me doing Love Island in 2020.

“Both were great shows with hundreds of people working on them and relying on the show going ahead. I will always be so thankful of the last messages between me and Caroline. I never asked her about the court case – it wasn’t my business. I didn’t know her partner at the time and still don’t.”

Laura continued: “This was the last correspondence I ever had with her. I really did hope she was somewhere lovely. A spa/ retreat/ rehab. I never knew the extent of her struggles or what was to come. The last message from her to me were love hearts. I’d like to think wherever she is now, she’s at peace and somewhere lovely like I hoped. Today I choose to remember these messages and thank the cloud for giving them back to me.”

If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch

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Stacey Solomon has said her “dreams have come true” as she marked a huge milestone.

The TV personalty who found fame on The X Factor in 2009 has gone on to become one of the biggest names in entertainment, amassing millions of followers and landing her own TV shows. But away from her media career, Stacey has been building her business empire.

Now, it appears the work of the 35-year-old has paid off as one of her business ventures has hit new levels of success and has bagged a deal with a major High Street brand. Just two years ago, Stacey put her passion into the hair care brand, REHAB. after dozens of her online followers often commented on her luscious locks.

Prior to joining forces with the brand, Stacey had been a fan and had been purchasing a variety of the products on offer. In 2023, she became an official partner and an investor in the brand – which is now in talks with retailers over in America. But, this week, the brand struck a deal with Boots, as well as Selfridges.

“I genuinely can’t believe REHAB. is launching into Boots,” Stacey told the Mirror. She went on to add: “When I invested nearly two years ago, I hope we’d hit huge milestones like this but you never really know. Seeing our brand grow and having places like Boots notice us is just amazing.

“Me, Vicky Ellis, Anastasia Muca and the whole REHAB. team are beyond proud to walk into stores and see our products here. I’m also so proud that we’re a business founded and run by women.” Appearing at the Boots flagship store on London’s Oxford Road, Stacey commented: “Today has been a dream come true. There’s nothing more I love than meeting our customers and hearing about what they think we should do next!

“The biggest thank you to every single person who has supported us over the years, you’re the reason we’re here today.” The products, which had primarily been available online will now be stocked in over 200 Boots stores, as well as their website. The company, founded in 2022 aimed to help people transform their hair as well as providing eco-conscious alternatives to the current market.

Since Stacey joined the team in 2023, the brand has grown by an eye-watering 2800% year on year, selling two bottles of hair oil every minute. The huge update comes after she shared an insight into her family life admitting that things are moving very fast for her.

She shared a touching photo of her with her son Zachary on her Instagram Story after picking him up from college. Pouring her heart out, Stacey penned: “Zachary time. Picked up Zach from college and we are learning to drive. Honestly, where does the time go?” It wasn’t just Zachary’s transition that tugged at the star’s heartstrings; her youngest child is also embarking on a new journey.

Stacey revealed on Monday: “My eldest is learning to drive and my youngest is off to nursery tomorrow. My heart can’t cope,” coupled with a crying face emoji.

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