Category Entertainment News

Kerry Katona is 16 years clean after being introduced to drugs by her mum as a teen – and has some well-meaning advice for Freddy Brazier after his rehab admission

Speaking exclusively to OK!, former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona – who has been drug-free for 16 years – says her own experiences and relationship with her mum have been on her mind a lot lately, because of Freddy Brazier – and she has issued the model, 20, with some stark but well-meaning warnings, given her own past experiences with drugs.

When she read about Freddy allegedly taking drugs with his gran, all these feelings and memories, she admits, came flooding back. “I know he’s admitted he has a problem with smoking. He’s an adult and can make his own choices, but with drugs, it is a very, very slippery slope. I’ve seen it happen”, she said.

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The son of Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody, Freddy hit the headlines when he revealed that he wanted to check into rehab in Spain, after reportedly falling out with his dad and big brother. Freddy, whose Big Brother star mum Jade died of cervical cancer when he was just four, was recently photographed smoking what appeared to be a cannabis joint with his maternal grandmother, Jackiey Budden – a former drug addict.

This came amid rumours he had moved in with his nan in Bermondsey, defying his dad’s legal efforts to keep them apart. But after claiming he wanted to go to rehab, he made a U-turn days later, saying he just needed a “holiday”. Freddy also said, “I want to be happy, be in a healthy relationship and have a healthy relationship with my nana and my father.

Frmer Atomic Kitten Kerry, however, thinks rehab is the right choice: “I commend him for wanting to go to rehab. You can explore your emotions and work out what’s really going on. It’ll open your eyes and be one of the best things you ever do. You’ll meet inspiring, supportive people. I understand that he just wants to be his own person, but relationships are easily broken and hard to repair – and we never know what tomorrow might bring.

“Freddy’s lovely mum Jade was taken way before her time and I’m sure that hurts. My advice would be to treasure his relationship with his dad, who adores him. Life can be tough, but drugs are never the way to deal with difficult emotions. In a split second, you’re given a choice – and that choice can f**k everything up.“

Opening up on her own complicated relationship with her mother, Sue, Kerry confessed: “I love my mum to bits – but it’s complicated. She gave me drugs when I was 14. She was my mum, so I thought it was normal. But that’s a very unhealthy co-dependency.”

Later progressing to cocaine, she recalled sadly: “It was the only friend I had, the only thing that was always there for me,” she admits. “I’ve overdosed twice on cocaine. Once at my mum’s house, then at home in Wilmslow with Mark. I fitted and was frothing at the mouth. When I came to, Mark was screaming, but I felt on another plane. I felt so loved in that experience that I tried immediately to go to that place again, and took a line of cocaine straight away.”

And she has strong advice to Freddy: “I know you love both your nan and your dad to bits. Focus on that love, and get to rehab. It’s not a magic wand, but you can start learning new ways to cope with what life throws at you. Above all, I’d like him to know that there is life beyond drugs.”

Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter, who has son Forest and daughter Peony, has candidly opened up on motherhood and plans to marry Oliver Piotrowski after a four year-long engagement

Soap star Jorgie Porter has revealed how she’s finding being a mum of two children under three in a candid new, exclusive chat.

Hollyoaks actress Jorgie, 37, gave birth to her second child, a baby girl called Peony, in December. She also has her first child, a son called Forest, who she welcomed in November 2022.

Jorgie shares both her children with her real estate developer fiancé Oliver Piotrowski, who also has a son Alfie, ten, from a previous relationship. Just a few months after giving birth, Jorgie has candidly opened up about how she’s finding being a mum of two children under the age of three.

When asked how she’s finding the new phase of motherhood, Jorgie tells the Mirror at the launch of the Pro Am Padel tour: “It’s hard. Nobody tells you that it’s the hardest thing in the world because you’ve got a toddler that wants all your attention and you’ve, obviously, got a little baby that’s attached to you, literally that is another level of mum-ness. It is hard. We’re in the trenches, this is the trenches we’re deep in there.“

Juggling two children is tricky for a number of reasons, but Jorgie reveals she finds her son Forest’s jealousy particularly difficult – but is making slow progress helping her eldest adjust to the new family dynamic. She explains: “Honestly, it’s great but I think there’s jealousy bits when the toddler is like, ‘you’re my mummy, get off this one, put her in the carseat’, like, ‘No Forest, we’re cuddling her’.

“It’s tricky because he can’t understand that I’m her Mummy, too. But he does know, it’s weird. It’s very hard to navigate. It’s going there, it’s brilliant. I think there’s everyday you go, ‘Oh that’s a win, that’s brilliant, we’re out together in a pram, we did it’. So it is going well.”

Jorgie has had a busy few years growing her wonderful family and juggling her career, as she plays Theresa McQueen on Hollyoaks. One thing she hasn’t got around to doing just yet is planning her wedding to Oliver.

The couple announced their engagement in December 2021 but are yet to walk down the aisle.

When asked if there are any wedding plans, Jorgie jokes about her lengthy engagement. “How long? Four years I think! I didn’t plan this,” she quips.

The soap star mum then reveals why there is yet to be wedding bells for her a Oliver. “No I’m stupid at planning, I’m a bad planner,” she confesses. “Because whenever I’ve had Hollyoaks work we never are scheduled so I never know what day it is. We even work on Saturdays. You can ask me now what day it is, I don’t know. I don’t know the day, the month, because you have to always be ready to work because they can call you up because…

“So planning for me is just… I’m waiting for the wedding to come to me I think. It’ll just come when it’s ready. Maybe a padel wedding, I’m joking!”

Former This Morning star Fern Britton has spoken out about her recent weight loss, after wowing fans with her incredible transformation as she shared a snap of herself working out

TV star Fern Britton has opened up about weight loss after she wowed fans earlier this year with her own transformation.

The TV presenter turned author, 67, left fans speechless last month as she posted a photo of herself in front of a mirror with exercise weights placed in front of her. As she posted the photo on the platform, Fern told her fans she was “repowering after a sloth like winter”.

Former This Morning star Fern was soon flooded with compliments as one wrote: “Wow Fern you look fabulous, let us know your routine please. x” As another added: “You look incredible fern! All the hardwork has paid off! Fitness never felt so good! Xxx”. While a third penned: “Wow you look amazing Fern, I need to know your secrets desperately”.

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Since then, Fern has been sharing more jaw-dropping snaps of herself on social media, but is yet to share her secret. But now, in a new interview, Fern has discussed weight loss. When the topic of jabs being used to aid weight loss comes up, Fern insists: “I don’t do any of that.”

“But I think that there are many tools in the box for people to get fit and lose weight and whatever they choose, I applaud them, because they are doing it for themselves. They’re doing it, probably for their children…” she told The i Paper before adding: “That stuff was all a long time ago, and it’s all irrelevant to me.”

Fern has previously come under unfair scrutiny over her choice of weight loss tactics in the past. In 2008, Fern revealed she had a gastric band fitted two years earlier. Gastric surgery reduces the capacity of a person’s stomach and slows down the passage of food, helping people lose weight by making them feel fuller after eating fewer calories.

Speaking out after the cruel backlash, Fern appeared on This Morning and addressed her weight loss. She said she had the operation “for me, because I wanted to. I didn’t feel that I had the need to ring around and let everyone know – in fact, only five people knew, including my husband”, The Guardian reports. She added: “I didn’t expect that there would be such enormous interest in body image and perception.”

At the time, Fern was married to her second husband; TV chef Phil Vickery, who supported her weight loss. He said at the time: “Fern has cut right back on carbohydrates and eats a really healthy diet now with loads of vegetables and fruit.”

Fern and Phil were together for 20 years before announcing their split in 2020. It was claimed the pair maintained a ‘basic’ level of communication after their break-up, but Fern has since revealed she didn’t hear another word from him since her mum Ruth died in 2018.

In an interview with Yours magazine, Fern admitted: “He hasn’t spoken to me for six years now. As soon as my mum died, he stopped talking to me.” The Celebrity Big Brother 2024 contestant insists she tries “very hard” to not “bad-mouth” Phil for the sake of their 23-year-old daughter Winnie.

She said: “Winnie adores him. I’m not going to bad-mouth him in front of her; at least, I try very hard not to. I was the child of divorced parents and my mum never bad-mouthed my father.”

The presenter – who has now quit the world of TV to write her own novels, says she’s channelled her heartbreak into her new career. Her latest book, A Cornish Legacy, is about grief, friendship, marital abuse and divorce.

Model Abbey Clancy opens up about her ‘fifth’ baby, getting emotional about her marriage to ex-footie star Peter – and why their hilarious and candid podcast is like ‘therapy’

There’s nothing Abbey Clancy enjoys more than entertaining the nation with her often hilarious – and intimate – insights into her marriage to retired footballer Peter Crouch. The couple have been married for 14 years this month and together for almost 20, and their refreshing mix of brutal honesty and genuine affection on their The Therapy Crouch podcast has turned them into one of the nation’s most-loved celebrity couples.

Off air, Abbey, 39, tells OK! they’re no different – and she loves their chaotic life with their children Sophia, 14, Liberty, 10, Johnny, seven, and Jack, six. In this exclusive chat with OK! to celebrate her latest fashion collaboration, the 2013 Strictly champ reveals what brought her and Peter, 44, to tears recently, and who she thinks will win the battle over another baby…

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Hi Abbey! Your podcast forces you to put yourselves out there… any regrets?

No! I’m so grateful for it – it gives us a chance to sit down and reminisce, talk about our life and the things we’ve been through, and have a laugh at the same time. What is it about you and Peter that keeps people tuning in – and loving you? It’s authentic. None of our friends listen to the podcast because they say they get enough of us anyway, because that’s totally who we are!

I’m actually glad about that though, it means we can talk about them all on the podcast and they’ll never know! When we decided to do it we said it has to be unfiltered and real, and if you look at anything in life, the things that are authentic are the things that last, and work. It’s like therapy for us because it’s a great way to connect and talk about life, experiences and memories.

That’s a lovely bonus!

Yes. We just did something on “16 questions to make you fall in love all over again” and Pete and I were both sobbing, because it was just lovely. Life is stressful enough and so many people are going through awful things, so if we can make them laugh for 45 minutes, that’s great.

Does it bother you that so much is written about you from the podcast?

Well, it’s very inconsistent, isn’t it? One minute we’re living separate lives and the next we’re having a fifth baby! I don’t read the stories though, I only learn about them when I get a call from a relative asking, “Are you and Pete splitting up?” or “Are you having another baby?”

You’ve done a festival edit for F&F – we didn’t know you were a festival lover…

Oh, I love a festival! We both do. Our friends John and Caroline [Giddings] organise the Isle of Wight Festival and we have a fantastic time. And of course, I also want to look great, hence the edit. You look amazing in the pieces… Ah, thank you. It was about choosing pieces that anyone could wear, and look and feel great in. I personally hate being cold, so there are some good layering items. I wanted it to be quite ageless, too. When I got a big box delivered, my mum and Sophia were after all the pieces!

As a model, are you aware of messages about body confidence in your house?

Yes, I’m very positive around the kids. They’re told every day that they’re healthy, strong, kind and beautiful. Sophia is literally like a supermodel now – she’s taller than me and her skin is just golden. I’ve got a healthy attitude to getting older. I’m grateful for each day on this planet – I try to eat well and look after myself.

What would you say if Sophia wanted to follow in your modelling footsteps?

Well, I’ve only had a positive experience so if she wanted to do it, that would be fine. But she’s very sporty – she’s really determined with her tennis, so who knows. It’s your kids’ birthday season at the moment.

Is life particularly busy?

Yes! It was Liberty’s birthday the other day, and Jack’s just turned six. Liberty wants to be a popstar, so she got an electric ukelele, an amplifier and a microphone.

What’s best about parenting now?

We’re not walking round with two prams and two nappy bags! I love them when they’re babies but with my sister and brothers and their partners and kids, we’ve got a proper ready-made little gang now.

Maybe you don’t need a “fifth baby”?

I’d have 10 kids if I could, but Pete is like, “absolutely not”. I think he said he’ll leave me if I bring another living thing into the house. All the kids are in school now, so I could easily have a newborn, but my husband says “no way”. Who will get the final word on that? I normally get my way but I don’t think I will on this. I’ve actually just got a lovely new baby who’s 18 hands – Enzo, my horse. He’s five minutes from the house but I’d like him to live in my garden and sleep in my bed, but that’s not possible either!

Have you got a busy summer planned?

Summer for me is just about spending time with the kids because during term-time we’re so busy. So on every holiday, whether it’s half term or in summer, we want to make the kids happy. Do you and Peter get to have much time to yourselves? We make time. So, we’ll get the kids down and watch a movie together, or go out for dinner or on a night away somewhere. But of course, we go away and then complain the whole time that we’re missing them!

Abbey Clancy’s Festival edit is available to shop online via tesco.com and in the majority of F&F stores

The UK summertime weather can be pretty unpredictable, but we’ve found a lightweight wind and water-repellent parka jacket from Marks & Spencer that is perfect for rain and sun

With the unpredictable UK weather that has beaming sun one minute and then a downpour the next, dressing can be a bit difficult. And we’re still in that awkward phase of needing to wear a rain-proof jacket most days. We think we’ve found the perfect summer layer that is ideal for the British summertime and spontaneous rain, but still looks stylish.

The Cotton Rich Canvas Stormwear™ Hooded Parka retails for £65, and features a funnel neck, a flattering elasticated waist, an adjustable hood, plus water-repellent Stormwear™ technology to protect you from wind and light showers.

The fit toes the line between relaxed and structured, which results in a stylish-looking parka jacket slightly different from other parkas on the high street right now.

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With tens of glowing reviews, shoppers have been leaving their praises for this handy spring jacket. A standout for many was the chic dark brown colour that makes a welcome change from the usual beige and khaki raincoats about. One shopper wrote: “Lovely jacket, great colour – change from the ubiquitous beige. And it has a zipped inside pocket – a game changer!”

While a second added: “Just what I needed for this time of year – wind and shower-resistant and roomy enough to wear with a jumper but not too bulky or heavy. Love the dark brown colour as well – goes with pretty much everything.”

Multiple shoppers, however, criticised the length of the arms. Many complained that they were far longer than they would have liked, which is something to bear in mind when shopping.

Amanda Holden has stepped out in yet another amazing look, this time wearing a ‘flattering’ tailored white maxi dress from Karen Millen that ‘clings to all the right places’

Amanda Holden is back with yet another style moment, and this time her tailored white maxi dress comes just in time for Wimbledon, which we think this would make the perfect outfit for.

Posting on her Instagram story, the Heart radio presenter shared her look of the day, and the dress she was wearing was the Compact Stretch Stab Stitch Square Neck Tailored Pencil Maxi Dress from Karen Millen.

Originally priced at £199, this tailored maxi is currently 40% off, bringing its priced down to £119.40. Amanda couldn’t praise the dress enough saying it was “beautiful quality” and “very flattering” while “clinging in all the right places”.

The stretch fabric allows this dress to have a flattering fit, while remaining comfortable to wear all day long. While the high square neckline adds a chic touch, and is the perfect option for those who prefer to cover up their chest.

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Amanda opted for a complete monochromatic look by styling this dress with a pair of white stilleto heels for a polished look. However, if you don’t want to wear heels that high you could easily swap them out for a pair of lower heeled mules or some wedges that provide a little extra comfort.

Whether you’re sitting courtside at Wimbledon, going for brunch with your friends or even heading on your hen do, this white dress will really be the star of the show.

British presenter have really been killing the fashion game lately, with Ranvir Singh recently was the Red Short Sleeve Gathered Waist Underbust Midi Dress from Lipsy, priced at £49. Keeping the look simple, Ranvir teamed this midi with a pair of simple nude court heels and minimalist jewellery.

The dress has been designed with comfort in mind, with a breathable fabric and a classic midi length that works beautifully with heels or sandals. Whether you’re dressing up for a special occasion or want something easy yet polished for a sunny weekend outing, this under-£50 find ticks all the right boxes.