Category Entertainment News

Hollywood actor John Lithgow looked completely unrecognisable as he filmed scenes as Professor Albus Dumbledore on the windy beaches of Cornwall this week

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Hollywood actor John Lithgow showcased his incredible ‘transfiguration’ abilities as he filmed scenes as Professor Albus Dumbledore for the upcoming Harry Potter series.

The 79-year-old star was pictured as the headmaster of Hogwarts for the very first time as he filmed scenes on the windy beaches of Cornwall. He wore the professor’s iconic long white hair and beard, dark wizarding robes, and thin glasses.

John, who follows in the footsteps of Richard Harris and Michael Gambon for the new series, was deep in character as he stood by the water with cast and crew at work nearby before clutching his waist and looking seemingly in pain.

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At one moment, the crew filmed John from above as people used a wind machine and held up cue cards with spells written on them. The actor, who played Winston Churchill in The Crown, read his lines from a script in between takes.

Irish actor Richard Harris originally played Dumbledore, but died after The Chamber of Secrets wrapped filming. He was soon replaced by Michael Gambon, who died in 2023.

Speaking about landing the ‘surprise’ role, John said: “I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival, and it was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life. I’m afraid.

“But I’m very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That’s why it’s been such a hard decision. I’ll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I’ve said yes.”

Meanwhile, Warwick Davis has reprised his role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the new Harry Potter series. He will be joined alongside new cast members, including Elijah Oshin as Dean Thomas, Finn Stephens as Vincent Crabbe, and William Nash as Gregory Goyle.

It was previously announced that Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter in the series, whereas Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley. Elsewhere, Arabella Stanton will step into the role of Hermione Granger.

Sirine Saba will play Professor Pomona Sprout, Richard Durden will star as Professor Cuthbert Binns, and Bríd Brennan will be stepping into the role of Madam Poppy Pomfrey.

Hot Fuzz star Nick Frost has taken on the role of loveable Hagrid. After seeing pictures of Nick on set, original Harry Potter director Chris Columbus questioned the motive behind the new series.

“Part of me was like, what’s the point? Part of me was like, okay, great. I thought everything was going to be different, but it’s more of the same, which is interesting,” he said.

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Victoria Beckham’s fashion business was losing millions and the new Netflix documentary exposdes humiliating blunders including £70,000 spent on pot plant

Victoria Beckham has revealed the multi-million pound losses of her fashion brand sent her to a “dark place” crying every day – and put a strain on her marriage to husband David.

At the lowest point David said he feared the business could not survive, and after ploughing in millions of his own cash he was left “worried” about what would happen next.

Victoria says she felt “embarrassed” and had to come home and discuss the failing business with her husband. At its worst she felt like she was “breaking down” as debts spiralled and she found herself an emotional mess.

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Victoria tells her new Netflix documentary: “This business is everything to me, it’s absolutely who I am. But It’s been a hell of a journey. I almost lost everything. And that was a dark, dark time. I used to cry before I went to work every day, because I just felt like a firefighter.

“We were tens of millions in the red. Yes, I’m going home to my husband, but I’m going home to my business partner as well, and so I would talk to him about it. I had to, he was invested, and I hated it. I absolutely hated it.”

David adds: “We both sat there, and, you know, we looked at what I’d invested, and I think part of that conversation broke my heart, because Victoria is a proud woman.

“When we met, she was a lot richer than me. She actually bought our first house in Hertfordshire, known as Beckenham palace.

“So for her to have to come to me and say, ‘we need some more money, the business needs more money’. That was hard for both of us, because I didn’t have the money to keep doing this. And eventually I was like, this cannot continue.”

Problems centered around the clothing brand having bigger and bigger shows and creating a name for itself within the fashion industry at a faster pace than the business was growing in terms of revenue.

When they discussed this in the second episode of the series, Victoria said: “The brand was growing and we were getting great reviews. That felt good. Everything looked great from the outside, but the reality was it was slipping through my fingers. There was a lot of money being spent, that should never have been spent. The losses were so so big. David was investing a lot.

“It was like a snowball that was going down the mountain. There was a lot of waste. We were millions of pounds in the red. I didn’t know what to do, and I was so desperate to save this business that I cared so much about. I felt, if I’m being completely honest, like I was breaking down myself.

“I knew it was public knowledge and I felt embarrassed, but it’s fact. It wasn’t an opinion of anyone. It wasn’t anyone being unkind. It was a fact. And I had to just take it on the chin. I was in a hole and I felt like I was in quicksand. I was desperate.”

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David said: “It made me panic. I was panicked by it, because I never saw anything coming back. We always agreed that we would support each other, no matter what. But it worried me, this isn’t sustainable. There was no way of her business surviving.”

Thankfully the fashion brand, which was getting rave reviews even when it was making losses, turned a corner when Victoria gained a business partner, David Belhassen.

David looked at the company’s books and was going to say no due to the big losses, but he was persuaded to invest when his wife told him the dress she was wearing was one of Victoria’s designer range and that the outfits were fantastic.

However, he had to make big changes and he was shocked at some of the ridiculous ways bills were being racked up. David Belhassen said: “The business was in a very, very challenging situation.

“For years, she had people telling her what she wanted to hear. I remember one of the expenses was the office plants, because she loves plants, and it was costing like £70,000 a year. And then there was someone who was coming to water the plants for £15,000 a year, and that’s only the beginning.

“So I went to her, and I decided to just tell the truth exactly the way it is, and I didn’t know how she would react. And I said, Victoria, we have to change everything, restructure the business, and that’s going to be painful. And when I finished, she just listened, and she left a little silence.”

Victoria, who agreed to make big changes, added: “I took it on the chin. The waste was mind-blowing. I had 15 different linings for the insides of the outerwear. Bizarre things like flying chairs from one side of the world to the other. I hear it now and I am horrified. I think part of the problem is some people were scared to tell me no. If I am honest it is the power of celebrity. People thought that I wasn’t used to hearing no.

“I will hold my hands up and be accountable for things I could have done differently. I was in debt, there was a lot I had to change. I realised I had lost my way. I needed to put Victoria Beckham back into Victoria Beckham.”

The Netflix series ends with a triumphant show in France at last year’s Paris Fashion Week. All the Beckham family are there, including son Brooklyn who very briefly appears on screen for five seconds with his wife, but is still currently at odds with his parents.

“This has not been an easy ride, I’m lucky I still have the business. I won’t let it slip through my fingers again,” Victoria tells the documentary series.

Victoria, 51, also looks back over her childhood, time in the Spice Girls and when she met her husband David. She talks of “losing it” mentally rather than financially after the Spice Girls split and she “didn’t really know what she was doing” when she embarked on a solo career.

She also gets tearful as she describes previously being told at theatre school she was overweight and says media critics also led her to have food issues In the past.

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David recalls: “My Victoria, that I knew, sits at home in a tracksuit, smiling, laughing, having a glass of wine. That started to go purely because of the criticism that she was getting.”

Victoria said: “I really started to doubt myself and not like myself, you know, and because I let it affect me, I didn’t know what I saw when I looked in the mirror.

“You lose all sense of reality. I was just very critical of myself. I didn’t like what I saw. I’ve been everything from porky posh to skinny posh. I mean, you know, it’s been a lot, and that’s hard. I had no control over what was being written about me, pictures that were being taken.

“And I suppose I wanted to control that, you know, I could control it with the clothing. I could control my weight, and I was controlling it in an incredibly unhealthy way. When you have an eating disorder, you become very good at lying.

“And I was never honest about it with my parents. I never talked about it publicly. It really affects you when you’re being told constantly you’re not good enough, and I suppose that’s been with me my whole life.”

For similar reasons Victoria also tells the documentary she “put a barrier up” when she saw photographers and that is why she is accused of not smiling in photos.

She said: “I’m so conscious of that, and I don’t like that. I’d rather not be that person. I’d love to have the confidence to walk out of a restaurant and smile or stand on a red carpet and smile, but I just can’t do it.”

But a second reason is down to David for covering up her smile in some shots. Joking with him as they prepare to head out for the night, she said: “I’ve looked miserable for all these years, because when we stand on the red carpet, this guy(Becks) has always gone on the left. Okay.

“Now I didn’t realise that when I smile, which I do! I smile from the left, because if I smile from the right, I look unwell. So consequently I’m smiling on the inside, but no one ever sees it, so that’s why it looks so moody.”

The three part series ends with Victoria and David at their Cotswold home looking to the future. David said: “Don’t you feel confident enough that you can just sit back and relax? You are so driven and so passionate and so dedicated. It makes me quite emotional, because you’re always trying to prove yourself to people. What is stopping you from just saying, Okay, I’ve achieved it?

Victoria replies: “Because I’ve spent so many years fighting and building that I feel now I really have an opportunity, and I don’t want to let that slip. I feel bad about all that time when I had to ask you to help me out. But success, it feels good. I’m not gonna lie. I’m proud, and I’m not ashamed to say that. I’m ambitious, and I’ve still got a lot that I want to do now. I’m not stopping yet.”

* Three part series Victoria Beckham is out now on Netflix.

Legendary KISS rockstar, Gene Simmons, was taken to a Malibu hospital on Tuesday (7 September) after fainting at the wheel and crashing his car into a parked vehicle.

Gene, 76, crashed his Lincoln Navigator into a parked car whilst driving along the Pacific Coast Highway after passing out. This is what he told the deputies at the Miami Sheriff’s Department.

He was taken to hospital but has now been released and it recuperating at home, according to his wife, Shannon Tweed. Shannon, 68, told press that Gene is doing fine.

She explained that her husband’s car had careened across a few lanes of traffic during the accident. She added that Gene’s doctor had recently changed his medication and needed to drink more water as a result. Shannon said the rockstar is not particularly fond of drinking water.

Two years ago, Gene made headlines after suffering dehydration during a KISS concert in Brazil. After he became ill on stage, the concert was paused.

He took to X to assure fans he was okay: “‘Hey everybody, thanks for the good wishes. I’m fine. Yesterday at Manaus Stadium in Brazil, experienced weakness because of dehydration.

“We stopped for about five minutes, I drank some water, and then all was well. Nothing serious. Tomorrow, Bogota Stadium. See you there!”

Gene later elaborated further: “Ok, kids. Not a big deal. Thanks for your kind wishes. Last night we played Amazon jungle Stadium/Brazil. Humidity and temperature were sky high. I was dehydrated and was forced to sit for a song. We got back on stage in 5 minutes & finished the show.”

Since 2023, Gene has been touring with his own band, having retired from KISS. As a co-founder of the I Was Made For Lovin’ You group, he played bass and co-led vocals from 1973 until their final tour 50 years later. The original members were Gene, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, but only Gene and Paul remained by the end.

KISS were known for their black and white face paint, but Gene is scheduled to perform ‘unmasked’ with Paul in Las Vegas next month.

The Mirror have contacted Gene’s reps for a comment.

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Louis Tomlinson found fame in the world’s biggest band, but in recent years, he’s had to fight to prove himself as a soloist, and this shouldn’t have been the case, writes Daniel Bird

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Louis Tomlinson has proved time and time again he’s worthy of solo success, so why is he only just being recognised? His life completely changed when he was put into One Direction, becoming a household name across the globe.

Since leaving The X Factor in 2010, the five lads —Louis, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik —went on to sell an eye-watering 70 million records worldwide. What many may not know is that Louis wrote a significant number of One Direction’s songs.

This is something he’s honed in over the years and has truly become perfect at. Now, I’m not going to lie, I spent years following 1D up and down the country, possibly spending thousands (and also skipping a lot of sixth-form and uni), so I’ve seen first-hand just what a genuine person Louis is.

He’s never shied away from his Doncaster roots or being outspoken, something which I can only praise him for. The group disbanded in 2016, and four years later, Louis dropped his debut solo album, Walls, which, im my opinion, was a masterpiece. I was shocked to see it chart at Number 4 on the Official UK Charts.

This changed, though, with the release of Faith in the Future, which Louis released two years later, debuting at Number 1 – which is where it deserved to be. It’s fair to say that Louis hasn’t always been perceived in the best way, which is a shame.

I’ve met him several times over the years, as have my friends, and he’s always been such an incredibly down-to-earth person. The first time I met him, was very accidental, I was walking through Manchester and he just happened to be on the other side of the road. So you bet I ran across that road, myself and friends probably spent about five minutes with him, and it was as though we were with an old pal.

The second time, I purposely went to his radio tour in Liverpool, although there were hundreds of fans waiting, he made sure to take time to say hello to each and every person, happily posed for pictures and chatted about things with people.

The genuineness in him is probably the South Yorkshire spirit which has been instilled in him. His late mum, Johannah, was also the most caring person I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Whether it be at a 1D gig or outside (sometimes inside) a hotel, she had a natural warmth about her; it didn’t matter that her son was about to perform to 80,000 people, she was always happy to talk. This is something Louis has about him, he’s always the first to meet fans, check they’re ok and spend time with them – he doesn’t have to do this, but he does, proving that despite the fame and wealth, he’s still the same grounded lad who auditioned for The X Factor all those years ago.

Tonight, Louis appeared on the Diary of a CEO Podcast, which I was extremely pleased about. He rarely gives interviews, and I cannot blame him. Over the years, he’s suffered extreme heartache, so it must be tough for him to open up. But in this interview, I have to applaud Louis for taking part.

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Opening up about the death of a loved one is never easy, so to see Louis speak so openly about his incredible mother, Johannah, filled me with such joy. It really brought home just how much of a wonderful woman Johannah was, instilling such positive memories and a bright influence on Louis’ life, which still echoes to this day.

I remember the day Louis performed his debut single, Just Hold On, live on The X Factor, just days after Johannah’s death. I was blown away. Despite that heartbreak, he got up there and performed such a powerful song, and it broke me. I have no idea how Louis managed it, but does that just not prove my point? He’s a phenomenal artist and put his heart and soul into that gig.

Hearing him talking about Donny just reminded me that, after all, he’s a South Yorkshire lad. I’ve been lucky enough to call South Yorkshire my home for the past eight years, and spent the majority of my teens in my beloved county, and Louis has never turned his back on his hometown, which could have been easy for somebody who’s rumoured to have homes in Los Angeles, as well as a pad in London.

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Louis spoke about grief to Steven Bartlett, following the death of Johannah and his younger sister, Felicity, and it hit home for me. It’s such a weird feeling, and to hear somebody you admire and respect, essentially saying: “Hey, it’s alright to feel angry and hit out at the world for what you’ve been through,” just allows fans to have a closer relationship with that musician, something Louis has always shown he’s happy to do.

His next album, How Did I Get Here?, which is set to be released next year, is already proving to be Louis’ most honest and open record. In the past, he’s experimented with different sounds (for what it’s worth, they all worked…), but listening to the tune of Lemonade, the first single from the record, was just something else.

I can’t put my finger on it; it has so many different elements to the track, but it has Louis’ distinct sound woven into it and somehow still stands out from his previous bodies of work. It has such a feel good sound to it, so I’m excited to hear the rest of the album.

“On this record, it feels like the palette is a lot deeper, there is a lot more to say, but there’s a lot more colour on there as well,” he told Steven, which is particularly interesting. Louis admits his success is very different to what other people may think when they hear that word – and has he achieved what he’s set out to do? Probably not but do I believe he’s on the right path? Absolutely.

It baffles me how it has taken so long for Louis to be recognised for his music, his Away From Home Festival, which provides such an incredible opportunity for fans and musicians, and his philanthropic achievements.

Am I excited for Louis’ future? Yes, I absolutely am. Will I be seeing him on tour (his biggest tour…) next year? I wouldn’t miss it. Am I happy he’s finally being recognised by the industry and gaining more fans? One hundred per cent.

Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has been open about suffering grief throughout his life, following the death of his mum in 2016 and the death of his sister in 2019

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Louis Tomlinson has spoken about how grief has impacted his life and deaths of loved ones made him feel “guilty” – but he now has a “new sense of life” and is in love again.

In a revealing interview the former One Direction star spoke of losing his mother Johannah Deakin in 2016 around the height of his fame. His sister Felicity died from a fatal combination of drugs in March 2019 and close friend and former bandmate Liam Payne died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires last year.

But the interview with Steven Bartlett for his Diary of a CEO podcast had more upbeat moments as he mentioned being in “love” with new girlfriend Zara McDermott and also feeling positive about his life now.

READ MORE: Lou Teasdale shares heartbreaking regret over friendship with ‘lost’ Liam PayneREAD MORE: Louis Tomlinson heartbreakingly reflects on Liam Payne’s ‘unjust and frustrating’ death

Singer Louis, 33, said losing his mum aged just 42 to leukaemia was very difficult to cope with.

He recalled: “Obviously, there’s no good time for anything like this, but I think the timing created a bit of…true resentment for the world. Like, real resentment. Just feeling really hard done by.

“One thing I remember about grief, when you’re in the midst of it, you could stub your toe, right? And something like that is just utterly unjust. Little things like that I really struggled with when I was grieving. Because of the weight of stuff that had happened, there was just a moment in my life, for about six months, where it felt like I couldn’t win, and in fact, I could only lose.”

He agreed to perform on stage with One Direction three days after her death as he had promised her he would but said the three-and-a-half minutes on stage were the most challenging of his life.

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Moving on to discuss his sister Felicity, he added: “I couldn’t believe how deeply unlucky we’d been as a family. Maybe it’s not overly uncommon…but at the time, I felt angry at life and I felt angry on behalf of my family.

“I wouldn’t be thinking, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’, it was more Daisy and Phoebe are so young, and Lottie [his sisters] as well. They’ve already had so much to deal with. Why this and why now? It did feel incredibly, incredibly unfair.”

“I’d been worried about Felicity for months prior as I was worried about all my sisters. The doorbell rang at one in the morning or something, maybe midnight, and I had this feeling come over me straight away… they told me that she had passed away and I literally was like, ‘Okay’, I can’t tell you why. Not only was I in denial at the moment, I just refused to compute it.”

When Liam Payne died, it took Louis back to that time again. He explained: “I had the same feeling that I had with Felicity, and I think anyone has this when they’re around someone who’s struggling; my 150% wasn’t nearly enough. And that’s when it’s my own arrogance thinking that I could have helped really, because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him. He was definitely struggling at that time in his life.

“I think that was a tough thing for all of us, working out ‘Who am I outside of Liam in One Direction? Louis in One Direction? Who am I? What does that look like?’ And that question’s intimidating.

“I could just go on and talk all day about how amazing he was, but I think we all looked up to him. I don’t think we would have been brave enough to say at that age when I was in the band, I think I would’ve had too much pride, but we all looked up to him massively.”

Although he is good friends with Zayn Malik and they are set to work together again, Louis said he felt much closer to Liam than the other band members and their conversations were more in-depth. This also makes it harder for Louis to believe he has gone.

On discussing life after One Direction with other band members, Louis said: “To be honest, that would only happen between me and Liam. Between me and the other boys, not that it’s not emotional because it is, and it’s definitely deeper than surface level, but I would struggle to text the other boys as much […] it’s just all a bit small talk. Which is lovely, and it’s nice to catch up like that, but me and Liam would always speak on a much more deep level […] I feel bad saying this because I feel arrogant but I shouldn’t, but I wanted to look after him. That was a role I feel like I was there to play.”

He added: “I would say he [Liam] was the closest to being my brother. Love him deeply, could spend hours and hours and hours with him, but there was an element of always checking in and just making sure that he was cool like that.”

The interview also features more upbeat themes as Louis discusses his new album How Did I Get Here? Which comes out in January and his newfound happiness as inspiration. In recent months he has begun dating documentary maker Zara McDermott.

And he said: “I’m a deeply, deeply romantic person. It’s also easy to to be romantic when you are a creative. I really struggle to write in a fictional sense, I really struggle.

“For me, I have to have been living it, it has to be real to me. So if I wasn’t feeling so good, like right now, I wasn’t feeling so in love…the record probably would have a slightly different feel to it.”

He added: “One thing I was thinking about with this record, my intention is just to maybe feel good. I know that’s a really cliche and obvious thing to say, but I’m not sure some of my other music did that.

“It made you feel, it was honest, it was painful at times, but it didn’t feel good. So I think now I’ve got this almost new sense of life, a new sense of happiness, and purpose, and fulfilment, all those things.”

And taking inspiration from the Gallagher brothers, Oasis fan Liam also admitted he would not rule out a One Direction reunion one day.

Liam went to see Oasis during their UK comeback shows. And he said: “Never say never, right, but I’m just not sure it would be right to him. Say for the sake of argument, 25 year’s time, it’s like a f*cking Oasis thing, they offer us an arm and a leg, and they’re like, ‘Come back and do this many shows’, I don’t know.

“It’s just completely put a pin in all of that. And the irony is, there was no one campaigning for One Direction to get back more than Liam. I would say I came in a close second.”

• The full interview with Louis is on the latest Diary Of A CEO podcast, out now.