Category Entertainment News

EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick is currently suspended by the BBC after using a disabled slur when he appeared on Strictly Come Dancing

Jamie Borthwick is said to be “attempting to right the wrongs in my life” after being suspended by the BBC. The EastEnders star was giving his marching orders after it emerged he’d used an offensive disabled slur while appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.

The 30-year-old actor has since apologised for using the derogatory word to describe locals in Blackpool, where Strictly filmed their special ballroom episode six months ago. It’s reported footage was made of Jamie using the word, which was then sent to one of his friends.

Issuing a grovelling apology last week, Jamie said: “I want to apologise sincerely and wholeheartedly for the words I used in the video showing my reaction to making it through Blackpool week on Strictly.

“I am deeply sorry for any offence and upset my words and actions have caused. It is no excuse, but I did not fully understand the derogatory term I used and its meaning. That is on me completely. Now I am aware, I am deeply embarrassed to have used the term and directed it in the way I did. It was wrong.”

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In a last ditch bid to clear up his act, Jamie is reportedly set to meet with BBC bosses in the hope he could get his EastEnders job back. He’s starred as Jay Brown in the long-running BBC soap since 2006.

But in texts to an ex-partner, The Sun reports the star as saying he’s had time to reflect on “decisions that have led me here”. And at the moment it’s still “not clear” if he will keep his job.

A source has claimed Jamie told the ex: “I accept the karma that has come my way due to some bad choices”, adding: “Had I the opportunity to turn the clock back I would do so and do everything differently.”

He went on to say he is “attempting to right the wrongs in my life” and “want to sincerely apologise for the mistakes I made and for hurting you and how I handled the whole situation.”

It’s not the first Strictly scandal Jamie has been involved with since appearing on the show. Footage reportedly emerged of him brandishing a sex toy sent to him by celebrity co-star Go Compare opera singer Wynne Evans, who has also found himself under fire for his behaviour on Strictly.

The inappropriate video was said to have been shared in a messaging group with other Strictly stars, who it is suggested did not expect nor want to be included in an exchange that had a sexual connotation. The clip is thought to have been filmed just two days after Wynne was recorded making a sexualised comment about pro dancer Janette Manrara.

Wynne, who was a BBC Radio Wales presenter, has since been dropped by the BBC following an apology saying that he used “inappropriate language” during the launch of the Strictly Come Dancing tour.

Speaking about Jamie’s suspension, a BBC spokesperson said: “This language is entirely unacceptable and in no way reflects the values or standards we hold and expect at the BBC. We have robust processes in place for this.”

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Coronation Street star, Kym Marsh, has shared some ‘thrilling’ baby news with her followers after calling it quits with her ‘soulmate’ boyfriend, Samuel Thomas, this year

Kym Marsh has got some exciting baby news after revealing her daughter Emilie, 27, is pregnant. The Hear’Say star, 49, who is set to become a grandmother for the fourth time, shared the happy news four months after she called it quits with her boyfriend, Samuel Thomas, 30, who she previously described as her ‘soulmate’.

Taking to Instagram, posting a snap of her grandson and granddaughter proudly holding a baby scan, sporting Big Brother and Big Sister t.shirts, Kym wrote: “I am so thrilled to share the news!!! Grandchild number 4… incoming!!! Congratulations to my beautiful daughter @listentoemilie, my wonderful son in law @mikeyhoz and Teddy and Polly!! Can’t wait to meet you little one!”

Responding to the post, one of the actress’ followers replied: “Congratulations to Emilie, Michael, Polly and Teddy. So thrilled for you all.” While a second added: “The best news, so happy for your family.”

Kym, whose son, David, also has a child, first became a grandparent when she was 42. However she admitted she didn’t relish being called ‘Grandma’ and so changed it to Yaya on grandson Teddy’s request before finding out the name was Greek for ‘grandma’.

Speaking to CBeebies about her family, she said: “I always knew I would be a young grandparent because of how old I was when I had my children.

“I was 42 when I found out I was going to be a grandparent. It still came as a bit of a shock but I was so excited.

“Both me and Emilie’s dad were thrilled to bits. Then, of course, meeting Teddy was on another level.”

She continued: “I’m still a very busy person, but as a grandma I try to make as much time as I can. I like to think they will all grow up knowing that, even though I’m busy, I will always be there for them.”

Kym’s baby news comes four months after she called it day with actor, Samuel, who she met while performing in 101 Dalmatians The Musical. Despite referring to the 30-year-old as her ‘soulmate’, Kym split with her co-star after six months.

The mum-of-three, who has been married three times, met Samuel after she split up from her third husband, Scott Ratcliff. Fans thought Samuel, who is the same age as Kym’s eldest child, David Cunliffe, may propose. But now it’s all over, with Kym insisting she’ll never walk down the aisle again.

Talking to the Independent about her future plans as she got ready to star in a theatre production of Abigail’s Party in April, playing Beverley, she said of the seventies – when the play was written: “You were expected to get married back then. It was almost a little girl’s dream.

“But not for Kym Marsh. I’ve been married three times, and three times it’s not gone well – so no more for me. Three strikes and I’m out.”

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Capital FM’s Summertime Ball was dramatically halted today – with fans in the stadium left confused. The show had been paused temporarily, attendees revealed as they shared snaps of the screens around the stadium.

The Summertime Ball is taking place today at Wembley Stadium, with the likes of Mariah Carey, Benson Boone, KSI, Lola Young, Busted vs McFly, Zara Larsson, Dasha, Reneé Rapp and Jessie J all performing. Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff, Tate McRae, Myles Smith and JADE are also performing at the huge event, which is expected to draw in a crowd of 80,000.

However, soon into the show, fans were shown a statement from organisers on the screens. It read: “We have had to pause the show temporarily. Please remain in the stadium. We hope to restart shortly. Thank you.”

Fans were quick to go on Twitter and share updates from the venue. One wrote: “Capitals summertime ball is going well #summertimeball,” whilst another added: “Whoops #Summertimeball.”

JADE is set to open the event, with fans worried her set might be cut due to the technical issues. One wrote: “Capital better not cut @jadethirlwall set short because of the lateness starting!! #CapitalSTB #capitalsummertimeball.”

It hasn’t been confirmed but fans have said there was a power outage at the stadium. Fans are now reporting that the power outage has been resolved and the screens are working once again.

The show was expected to start at 3.30pm, but at the time of writing, it has yet to start. Capital Breakfast’s Jordan North said: “We are absolutely buzzing to be back at Capital’s Summertime Ball with Barclaycard this year!”

Ashley Tabor-King, Founder & Executive President of Global, added: “We’ve got a stellar line-up of global superstars and today’s biggest hit music artists – all set to light up the stage! This is truly one of our best ever line-ups and we can’t wait to see 80,000 Capital listeners enjoy every moment, it’s going to be a day to remember!”

Whilst the show is yet to start on the livestream, former Love Island star Kem Cetinay is DJing. One wrote: “No offence to Kem, but please for the love of god just put JADE on!!! #CapitalSTB,” whilst another added: “I have not waited 14 mins beyond the actual livestream starting to endure Kem off Love Island doing a s*** job at DJ’ing!!! PUT JADE ON NOW FFS #CapitalSTB. No offence to Kem, but please for the love of god just put JADE on!!!”

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The Royal Family will be honouring their fathers as they celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday and royal expert Jennie Bond says it will be an especially poignant day for the Prince and Princess of Wales

He’s been the rock the Princess of Wales needed during her cancer journey, putting her and their three children before anything else. And with Father’s Day here, there’s no doubt Kate as well as Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will want to make it a very special one for Prince William.

This time last year, the Wales family were still grappling with Kate’s cancer diagnosis and her subsequent chemotherapy treatment as she prepared to make her first major public appearance since her shock health news at Trooping the Colour. But now, things appear much brighter with the princess now in remission from cancer and slowly increasing her royal workload, and both William and Kate appearing to be proud parents as they watched their children take part in VE Day commemorations last month.

It is all a world away from last year, when as soon as Kate was admitted to hospital for major abdominal surgery, William immediately cleared his diary to be there for not just his wife, but his three children too.

He later opened up on a trip to South Africa saying it had been a ‘brutal’ year for the family and one of the hardest of his life as he also dealt with his father, the King’s cancer diagnosis. But 12 months on, and the Waleses are in a very different place, and former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond tells the Mirror that this Father’s Day will be one where Kate will especially want to show her appreciation for her husband for all he does as a dad.

She explained: “I’m sure Catherine will want to make a real fuss of William after the year and a half they’ve been through. The truth is, though, that they’ll probably both be rather knackered because the Trooping the Colour is the day before! So they’ll probably be spending Father’s Day at home in Windsor – or very possibly with Catherine’s family in Berkshire.

“Last year Catherine posted a beautiful Father’s Day picture of William and the children with their backs to the camera, on a Norfolk beach, staring out to sea.

“It was a touching portrait of a dad with protective arms around his children and I’m sure it represented how grateful the princess was for the rock-solid support and love that William has given her throughout their marriage – but particularly through the emotional turmoil of cancer treatment.”

When it comes to bringing up their children, it has become clear this is more important than anything else to William and Kate. Family nearly always comes first and this was no more so evident than at Easter when the couple decided to skip the traditional Easter Sunday church service with the King and Queen at Windsor to spend precious family time together – all with the King’s blessing.

The pair are also very hands-on with their children, doing the school run and ferrying the kids to their various afterschool sports clubs and activities.

On many royal engagements, William and Kate talk about George’s love of football, Charlotte’s interest in dancing and Louis’ lessons in learning to play the drums. And Jennie believes Kate in particular appreciates how different William is from most royal parents of the past.

She said: “Both he and Harry learned from their mother that parents can be fun and funny, loving and tactile, hands-on and cuddly. Charles was some of these things too, but he was always extremely busy with his work. From the off, though, William has been very obviously hands-on – helping to strap newborn George into the car seat all those years ago (with some trepidation) and sharing all the fun and sleep deprivation of life with a tiny baby.

“Diana once told me that the country was very lucky to have William. I think Catherine is very lucky to have him as well. I think they have put on a united front about their priorities at this stage of their lives: family comes first and sometimes duty has to be put on a bit of a back burner.”

The tight-knit family life that William and Kate have managed to create with their children at their Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor has come all with the blessing of the King. He too has also had to endure receiving his own cancer diagnosis and is still receiving weekly treatment for his condition.

His diagnosis came after he underwent a procedure for an enlarged prostate at the beginning of 2024 and he spent time at the London Clinic at the same time as Kate recovered from her major surgery. As their stays in hospital overlapped, sources revealed the King would ‘toddle’ down the hospital corridors to check in on his recovering daughter-in-law to offer encouragement and support.

And after Kate received her cancer diagnosis, the King is believed to have had an emotional heart-to-heart lunch with her to lend his support yet again ahead of her sharing her cancer news with the world.

Meanwhile, their shared humour has also been evident, no more so than on the King’s birthday last year, when Kate’s official Prince and Princess of Wales account shared a fun photo of the monarch to mark his birthday. The cheeky image showed the King wearing a trendy pair of sunglasses and smiling with a garland around his neck.

And Jennie said: “In this, they have both had the full support of King Charles – and I think Catherine has very much appreciated this attitude from her father-in-law. Their shared cancer journey has also brought them closer together and I think there’s genuine affection between them.

“He refers to her as his beloved daughter-in-law and, in some ways, I think she is the daughter he always wanted. I remember Diana telling me about how much Charles had hoped their second child would be a girl.”

Father’s Day comes for the King as he is still estranged from his son and Kate’s brother-in-law, Prince Harry. Last month, he claimed the King will not speak to him because of his legal fight over his UK security, but that he does want a ‘reconciliation’ with his family. The revelations came in a bombshell interview the Duke of Sussex gave to the BBC after losing his Court of Appeal case.

And now, it seems highly unlikely that the rift between Harry and the rest of the royals will thaw before Father’s Day, as Jennie added: “This bombshell of an interview is unlikely to bring that invitation any closer. And that’s because at the root of the rift is the question of trust.

“Harry’s father and brother do not trust him to keep conversations private. And this loudspeaker of a diatribe against them is not going to make them change their minds.”

But for Kate, the Father’s Day celebration will also honour one of her non-royal relatives – her own father Michael Middleton. Both Michael and Kate’s mum Carole have also been ever-present at her and her children’s side as they navigated her ill health. The pair are also said to have helped out with the school run and entertained their energetic grandchildren when their parents were unable to.

The Middleton’s approach to supporting their eldest daughter was believed to be characterised by the 3 Rs – rescue, reassurance and rock – with them also described as being the driving force in keeping the family together.

Kate’s close bond with her parents was highlighted when they were the only non-royals to appear in her deeply personal video from last year when she revealed her chemotherapy treatment was over.

Their fleeting appearance showed them all sitting around the kitchen table of William and Kate’s Amner Hall home, having a game of cards. Not only that, the children’s affection for their maternal grandparents was there for all to see at Kate’s Christmas carol concert last year when Prince Louis hung a note on a kindness tree thanking his ‘Granny and Grandpa’ for ‘playing games with me’.

And Jennie added: “Kate will want to show her love and gratitude not only to William but also to her father. Her parents have been the most incredible support through the trauma of her illness, providing solace and comfort and shoulders to cry on – as well as all the practical help of looking after the children and doing the school run.

“I think they will have much to celebrate on Father’s Day this year, and the men in the family can sit back and enjoy being fussed over.”

Gemma Collins was forced to call in the protection of the police after she was sent a threatening letter to her home address from a stranger who expressed his dislike of her

TOWIE star Gemma Collins has been left terrified and forced to call in the help of the police after receiving a threatening and abusive letter from a stalker. The reality TV star, 44, was sent the letter to her home address.

On the back of receiving the shocking mail, she also took the drastic step of upping her personal security level.

A source close to the reality star told The Sun: “Gemma was left shaken and very scared for her safety after she received a threatening and abusive letter from a man expressing his extreme dislike for her and using menacing language.”

The added: “It was really nasty and made reference to tracking her down, so she called the police straight away. It was alarming that this man knew her home address, but she already upped security and has round-the-clock guard dogs and has cameras onsite.”

The source continued: “She is always incredibly friendly with all her fans and happy to stop for pictures and a chat so to have someone send such an unpleasant letter has really shocked her.”

The insider told the publication that her case is now an ongoing investigation and she is said to be “grateful” to the police.

The source said: “She thought about what had happened to Holly Willoughby and her kidnap threat ordeal so didn’t want to take any chances.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Gemma has experienced stalking behaviour. According to the star, she has had people arrive at her Essex home as well as being sent through threatening letters.

And this was the reason why she refused to be present at her Essex boutique.

Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Everything I Know About Me podcast, she explained: “No one would believe the bl**dy crap I’ve had to deal with. I’ve had a woman stalker that wrote me a letter in white gloves and wanted to kill me.”

She added: “You know, people would wish me dead. I’d get all sorts turn up at the shop. Weird. People are weird. And that’s why in a way I came away from my shop in the end.”

Back in 2019, Gemma was forced to move home following another terrifying experience with a stalker. At the time, a removal van was pictured outside her Essex home.

As if that was not bad enough, Gemma was recently struck down with pneumonia, which explained her lack of posts on social media.

Speaking to the Mirror, she revealed: “It’s shocking, I’ve had it now for over three weeks and I had steroids given to me by my doctor. It was DJ Fat Tony’s wedding and I had to take them to get through that.”

She added: “But I’m off them now and the sickness is really kicking back in. It’s so frustrating because I normally have so much energy and I’m always loving life, but now I get really breathless really quickly and I feel like I’m dying.”

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Soccer Aid 2025 coach Harry Redknapp has opened up about his and wife Sandra’s health struggles, as well as his reluctance to retire from the world of showbiz

Harry Redknapp has candidly confessed that he “finds it hard to say no to things” and isn’t ready to hang up his boots just yet, even as the ex-Tottenham boss nears his 80th birthday.

In a revealing chat from 2023, the now-78-year-old shared that since ending his football management career in 2017, he’s been non-stop, even entering the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! jungle and emerging victorious the following year.

Harry, who is gearing up to coach the England team for Soccer Aid on Sunday, admitted that his hesitation to reduce his frequent television appearances, which includes projects with his son, former professional footballer Jamie Redknapp, is something that sends his wife Sandra round the bend.

Speaking to Saga Magazine about whether he’s put his feet up for good, Harry declared: “Not a chance. I can’t. I find it hard to say no to things – it drives Sandra mad.”

He reminisced about his TV gigs, saying: “Recently, I’ve done Harry’s Heroes for ITV, managed in Soccer Aid and last year Jamie and I filmed Jamie and Harry’s World Cup Challenge [for Sky Max]. What a laugh that was.”

Harry also touched upon the health battles he and Sandra have faced, telling the magazine: “I’ve had a kidney cancer scare and a stent fitted into my heart, and Sandra’s had ovarian cancer and really suffered with her throat after damaging her vocal cords.”

He recalled how Sandra’s sepsis scare in 2018 nearly prevented him from jetting off to Australia for I’m A Celebrity, leaving him deeply concerned about potentially losing his beloved wife.

Harry reminisced: “I was terrified I was going to lose her and I nearly didn’t get on the plane.

“But she wasn’t having it – she wanted me to go. I’ll never forget the moment she came into camp to see me. It was the first time she’d seen me cry.”

ITV audiences were utterly enchanted by Harry and Sandra’s romance, shedding tears themselves during their emotional reunion in the jungle, which preceded Harry being named King of the Jungle.

In recent news, Harry expressed his thrill at returning to Soccer Aid tonight, where he will witness England take on the World XI team to support Unicef’s fundraising efforts.

Joining him as part of the England coaching team are football icon Wayne Rooney, heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury, ‘Line of Duty’ star Vicky McClure, and goalkeeping hero David James, while a mix of ex-pros and stars lace up their boots for the big game.