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Only Connect host Victoria Coren has shared a rare family update on her two children with actor and comedian David Mitchell as she says her daughter is ‘just like her’

Victoria Coren Mitchell has shared a rare glimpse into her home life with husband David Michell and their children. The Only Connect host has two daughters – Barbara, 10, and June, two – with David, 51, and they have always shielded them from the public spotlight.

But Victoria, 52, has revealed their bundles of joy have TV programmes they never want to miss – including one that Barbara loves just like her mum.

She told the new issue of Radio Times magazine: “My 10 year old loves The Masked Singer and old episodes of Poirot, just like her mother. The baby doesn’t have any screen time; she’s only 18 months old.

“She loves Bluey – an excellent TV show – but she doesn’t know it’s a TV show. She just thinks it’s a source of really great plastic dog Weebles.”

Victoria writes a weekly television column in the Saturday Telegraph, but she will never criticize bad actors because they are trying their best to entertain people.

Asked how she stays unbiased when she has to review a programme that Peep Show star David, 51, has been in, such as the BBC One detective dramedy series Ludwig, Victoria explained: “Well, I’m not a critic.

“When Ludwig came out, I just wrote a column about puzzles, but I knew it was a great series. I tend not to write about bad shows – I can’t see any joy in attacking people who are trying to entertain.

“Mind you, I hated Squid Game and said so. But they seem to have soldiered on without my approval.” Victoria has received lots of feedback from viewers who watch the BBC Two game show Only Connect, in which teams compete by finding connections between unrelated clues.

However, one letter criticising her comments on “a man’s bottom” has stuck with her. Asked what her most memorable piece of feedback has been, Victoria said: “I’ve never forgotten a letter from a few years ago.

“We get all sorts of feedback – be it on a translation, or a clarification of parliamentary procedure. This chap asked, ‘Why is it acceptable for Victoria Coren Mitchell to comment on a man’s bottom?’ I’m not even sure I had.”

Last summer, Victoria and David were all smiles on a rare night out together without their children. It marked one of their first public appearances together since their surprise baby announcement 10 months earlier.

Victoria had shared the couple’s happy news on social media back in November 2023. Taking to X, Victoria posted: “Many people are assuming my tweet yesterday was a Halloween costume.

“Not at all; last week I had a baby and nothing currently fits me except cloaks. Luckily, Only Connect is a pre-record. Happy All Saints Day.”

David also addressed their new arrival in a short but sweet comment on the social media platform, posting under a tweet that read: “A huge congratulations to @RealDMitchell and @VictoriaCoren on the birth of their second child,” he said: “Thank you! We’re very happy.”

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Actor and comic Eric Idle has hit out at Nigel Farage as he said the Reform UK leader being taken seriously is ‘appalling’ as he shared the impact of Brexit on his life

Actor Eric Idle has said Reform UK leader Nigel Farage being “taken seriously is appalling” as he fears voters being swayed. The Monty Python comic, 82, shared how post-Brexit issues left him unable to get to Paris to see his Spamalot musical opening.

Due to the struggles since Brexit, Eric has now applied for a talent visa in France, where he also has a home. He hopes it will allow him to avoid a similar issue in the future.

“Eight years ago, we could go and live in any country in Europe we wanted to and work, and I wasn’t even allowed to vote (in the EU referendum) because I lived here (in the US),” Eric said.

The iconic star turned his attention to Farage as he added: “I mean, (Brexit) was just a terrible con, it was a real con, and (the fact) that Nigel Farago (Farage) still exists anywhere and is taken seriously is appalling to me.

“I was with somebody… she said, ‘I hope I never see him in a room, because I want to punch him’.” Eric explained to PA news agency that he is now only able to spend three months a year at the home he built in Provence due to Brexit.

Sharing the extent of his issues, Eric added: “I’ve applied for a talent visa in France, they have a little talent visa, and I feel I’m due one, because last year Spamalot won the Moliere, which is the equivalent of their Tony from Paris.

“And they love their Monty Python here (in France), we won that, we won the Jury Prize for The Meaning Of Life at the Cannes Film Festival, so they do know Python.

“So I’m hopeful that I’ll get a little bit of an extension so I don’t have to get kicked out, because I was kicked out two years ago, I had to leave, and I couldn’t go and see the opening in Paris because I didn’t have another day.

“I wrote to Monsieur Macron, and offered him a ticket if he’d let me in, and I said, ‘only one ticket, because I don’t want to be accused of bribery’, but I never heard back.”

Eric currently lives in the US, but has been frank about his future there as well due to President Donald Trump. “I think it’s quite likely – I’m only a green card holder – that I will be given the boot,” he confessed.

Despite his living situation being up in the air, Eric recently shared how he’s had a “reprieve” following his cancer diagnosis. He was given an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2019 and was successfully treated for the illness.

In a heartfelt ‘Letter To My Younger Self’ for the Big Issue, he wrote: “I miss a lot of people. Great people like Mike Nichols [director of The Graduate]. I will find myself thinking of a funny line and thinking, you must tell Mike that.

“Or Jonathan Miller [a British public thinker and former comedian]. So many of my heroes have gone, like Robin Williams. I still kind of occasionally speak to Billy Connolly, but I really miss him.

“You’ve got to find other people, you know, because there are still other funny people you can have dinner with or play guitar with. I got lucky, because I had to, I survived pancreatic cancer. So I feel that since 2019 I’ve had a reprieve. So I don’t know or care what people say about me, I’m lucky every single day.”

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Pregnant comedian Katherine Ryan gave an update into her pregnancy over on her Instagram stories this morning, revealing she’s convinced she knows the gender of her unborn baby

Comedian Katherine Ryan has given a candid update into her pregnancy, as she awaits the arrival of her fourth child later this year.

The stand-up and TV star, who recently wrapped up her epic Battleaxe tour around the UK, showed off her bump in a video posted on her Instagram story this morning and said she’s sure she knows what she’s having. Katherine, 42, is already a proud mum to daughter Violet, from a previous relationship, and shares children Fred, four, and Fenna, two, with her childhood sweetheart husband Bobby Kootstra.

Katherine confirmed her pregnancy with her fourth child on her podcast in June this year and has since been keeping fans updated with the odd snippet of information on her podcast and social media. In a post on her Instagram story shared this morning, Katherine posed in front of a full length mirror, which she recently had installed in front of the bottom of her stairs.

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As she stood on a dark walnut brown wood step in her London home, she modelled a casual outfit consisting of a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms, a white T-shirt, in which her blossoming bump was peaking out of the bottom, and a plaid shirt.

As she leaned on her bannister and filmed herself, Katherine told the camera: “I could not have picked a better time to get a full length mirror in the corridor. Just got me feeling great…”

Katherine, who recently landed a huge role on the upcoming reality series Real Housewives of London, then walks to another long mirror placed on the other side of her hallway as she shows off her blossoming bump and tells fans: “This has got to be a boy,” in reference to her unborn baby.

“We don’t know,” Katherine insists, pre-empting questions about if she and Bobby have found out the gender of their third child together. She then adds: “We never know. A lot of people ask me and it’s like, come on. Come on. I try my best to, like, spice up the look.

“I got some extensions put in by my friend Reberto – the best – to voluminous the hair that I’ve decided is not blonde enough so I went to see Sam Burnett, who got me back to my bob but like…”

Katherine then zooms into her bump and lifts her vest top before ending the video with the word: “Honey”.

The comedian announced her pregnancy on her podcast last month. Giving a candid insight, Katherine discussed her pregnancy with husband Bobby and shared her theories on the gender, as she told Telling Everybody Everything podcast listeners: “The boys are yours and the girls, I feel like, are mine.”

Bobby added: “I think the best thing for the family would be a girl.”

Katherine joked that the pregnancy “explained the 20lb weight gain”, with Bobby admitting she had kept her pregnancy relatively secret. Her daughter, Violet, however, hinted at the news on social media last week when she shared a clip of her mum’s blossoming baby bump.