Category Entertainment News

Zoe Ball, the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, quit her role on the station last year, presenting her final programme on December 20, 2024

Listeners to the Radio 2 breakfast show have fallen since Zoe Ball stood down as presenter, it has emerged.

Several stand-in DJs have covered for Ball following her departure in late December, with Scott Mills only taking over the role full-time on January 27. The breakfast show attracted an estimated weekly audience of 6.45 million across January to March of this year, down from 6.83 million in the previous three months.

But the slot continues to enjoy the largest audience on national radio at that time of the day, ahead of Radio 4’s Today programme. Research body Rajar has published the data around three-and-a-half months into Mills’ tenure, having previously presented an afternoon show on the same station.

Gaby Roslin and Mark Goodier filled in throughout January before Mills, 52, started the role. It is worth noting Rajar’s listernship figures, which includes this spell, does also show the estimated weekly audience was greater than the 6.28 million recorded in July-September 2024.

READ MORE: Scott Mills says Eurovision is ‘our World Cup’ as semi-finals edge closer

Ball, 54, has since started presenting a Saturday lunchtime programme on BBC Radio 2. She also continues to do TV work, having hosted a segment of VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember coverage on the BBC earlier this month.

But the mum of two was overwhelmed with emotion during her final breakfast show. Addressing her audience, the host said: “Thank you for tuning in, whether as a lone listener, as family, as a work gang on your morning jogs, dog walks, truck drives, train commutes, or hiding in bed, it’s been a real privilege to keep you company through your morning manoeuvres. You’re just there and I’m just here having a chat with a mate. It’s such a special, intimate relationship.”

In addition to Mills’ new role, BBC Radio 2 made a number of changes to its daytime lineup at the start of the year. Trevor Nelson now hosts a new afternoon show and DJ Spoony presents a late evening slot on Mondays to Thursdays.

Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said she was “thrilled” that Radio 2 remains the UK’s most popular radio station, adding: “Congratulations to Vernon Kay who remains the most listened to show in the country with a weekly audience of 6.73 million to his mid-morning show, and to the Radio 2 breakfast show, which maintains its position as the UK’s biggest early morning programme.”

Elsewhere, the commercial network Greatest Hits saw a slight fall in listeners for the fourth quarter in a row, though its average audience of 7.14 million is still nearly two million higher than it was two years ago, when it stood at 5.12 million.

Sharon Osbourne, who came to prominence while appearing on reality show The Osbournes and was a judge on The X Factor, previously urged others to think twice about using Ozempic

Sharon Osbourne looked nearly unrecognisable as she stepped out in Los Angeles yesterday after her admission Ozempic has had an adverse effect on her health.

The feisty TV personality, 72, admitted she lost 42lb using the controvesial drug, which is used to treat diabetes. She opened up about her own weight loss journey last year when she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and, also last year, told the Loose Women gang she struggled to gain weight since the use of Ozempic.

But, in the past, experts have stressed the use of Ozempic as weight-management medication should be considered “off-label” as it does designed for this purpose. Nevertheless, Sharon, a former jusge on The X Factor, had said she was initially pleased with the results after starting the medication in December 2022.

Then, the mother of three, who was born in London, feared she had taken it too far after her dramatically slimmed-down appearance sparked widespread concern.

READ MORE: Weight loss jabs like Wegovy and Mounjaro may have anti-cancer effect ‘beyond weight loss’

Speaking on Howie Mandel’s podcast, Sharon had said: “I can’t put on weight now, and I don’t know what it’s done to my metabolism, but I just can’t seem to put any on, because I think I went too far.” Earlier, in February, the star told The Guardian she had lost “three stone [42 pounds] in four months. Too much.”

And now, her latest outing in Hollywood seems to confirm her concerns. Fans have reacted to the latest photographs to again share their worry for the music manager, who married Ozzy in 1982.

“Severe unexplained weight loss is serious,” one social media user posted. Another stated: “Sharon, we love you. Ozzy needs you. Stay safe.” A further user wrote: “I like Sharon but dear God… It’s so sad… Hope she can turn it around before it’s too late.”

The TV host was spotted on Wednesday in a baggy white sweatshirt and cream trousers as she carried shopping bags across a tree-lined sidewalk in Los Angeles. Despite the oversized outfit, her noticeably petite frame was still apparent.

Sharon, who was in reality TV show about her family The Osbournes between 2002 and 2005, previously told Mail Online she was “frustrated” by the lingering effects of Ozempic.

“Now, I weigh just over 7st. I need to put on 10lb, but however much I eat, I stay the same weight… I’ve had enough,” the mother told the publication.

But speaking on Loose Women last year, Sharon insisted she had no regrets. The TV personality added: “I don’t regret it. Everything with weight with me was, ‘I want it now.’ The injections that I was on worked, but it just seems that now I can’t put anything on really.”

Morris the alligator appeared alongside Steve Irwin and Eddie Murphy in the 2001 Hollywood movie Dr Dolittle 2 but is most famous for his part in the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore”

An alligator that appeared in numerous TV shows and films, incluidng a role working alongside the famous ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin, has sadly died.

Morris started his Hollywood career in 1975 and retired in 2006, when he was sent to the Colorado Gator Farm in the tiny town of Mosca, in southern Colorado. He appeared in several films, including “Interview with the Vampire,” “Dr. Dolittle 2″ and “Blues Brothers 2000.” He also appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” with the late wildlife expert Steve Irwin.

But his most famous role was in the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore,” a film about a failed and ill-tempered hockey player who discovers a talent for golf. The title character played by Sandler confronts Morris after hitting a golf ball that ends up in the gator’s mouth.

READ MORE: Family sue cookie company for £7.1 million after nan, 78, collapses and dies ‘from eating mislabeled cookie’

Based on his growth rate and tooth loss, Morris the alligator was at least 80 years old when he died, the Colorado Gator Farm said in a Facebook post Sunday. He was nearly 11 feet (3.3 meters) long and weighed 640 pounds (290 kilograms).

In a video as he tearfully stroked Morris’ head in an animal enclosure Jay Young, the farm’s owner and operator, said: “He started acting strange about a week ago. He wasn’t lunging at us and wasn’t taking food, I know it’s strange to people that we get so attached to an alligator, to all of our animals. … He had a happy time here, and he died of old age.

Sandler posted a tribute to Morris on Instagram on Wednesday, sharing a photo of him from the film he captiond the post: ” Goodbye, Morris. We are all gonna miss you. You could be hard on directors, make-up artists, costumers – really anyone with arms or legs – but I know you did it for the ultimate good of the film. The day you wouldn’t come out of your trailer unless we sent in 40 heads of lettuce taught me a powerful lesson: never compromise your art. I will never forget at craft service that time when we split the Three Musketeers bar and you let me have the bigger half. But that’s who you were.

“I know your character’s decapitation in the first movie precluded your participation in the sequel, but we all appreciated the fruit basket and the hilarious note. I will miss the sound of your tail sliding through the tall grass, your cold, bumpy skin, but, most of all, I will miss your infectious laugh. Thanks to Mr. Young for taking care of you all these years, and vaya con dios, old friend.”

One person commented: “Legendary scene. R.I.P. Morris” while another wrote: “This is wholesome and precious. Appreciation for every single person whom took such good care of Morris – a star.”

The former EastEnders star is hoping the power of social media will help with the safe return of their beloved family pet that was stolen by vile thieves – she has pleaded for help in a heartbreaking post

An EastEnders star has shared a desperate plea for help in a heartbreaking update after her pet was stolen by vile thieves.

Lusia Bradshaw White – who is best known for playing Tina Cater on BBC One soap before her exit in 2020 – shot to fame in 1988 as Herte in A Friendship in Vienna. She went on to land roles in Grange Hill, The Bill, Birds of a Feather and Holby City. The now 50-year-old later appeared in BBC medical drama Doctors, before landing her role in EastEnders.

The actress played Tina Carter in the BBC soap for eight years until her character was murdered by serial killer Gray Atkins. In October 2021 Luisa revealed she had turned her back on acting after it no longer fulfilled her. Since then, the 50-year-old has set up a dance school in Hertfordshire where she hosts ‘sober raves’ and she says it is dance which has led her to finally find her ‘calling”.

READ MORE: Coronation Street legend Denise Welch tipped for a return to popular ITV soap

Luisa shares a lot of her family life on Instagram and her latest post is a real tear-jerker. Posting to her 96,000 followers she shared a close up photo of her family Shetland pony and captioned it: “PLEASE HELP! Our family Shetland who is disabled has been STOLEN. She had never been ridden, and she is old, has never been apart from her mum and she will be extremely stressed and anxious right now. “She is a highly sensitive disabled rescue pony.”

Luisa continued to plead with fans, writing: “Please, if anyone sees this and lives in the EAST SUSSEX area… she was taken from Brightling… can you repost and put on your stories so we can get this seen. Thank you in advance.”

Luisa’s post was flooded with comments, including messages of support and from those vowing to help the soap star. One person wrote: “Oh nooooo – how awful! I do hope you find her and that she’s safely found and back home with you very soon.” Another wrote: “Praying that you get her back safe and well.”

Luisa is yet to post any updates on the situation, but has reshared her post to her Instagram Stories, saying: “WE NEED HER HOME.”

Away from her former soap life, Luisa has been in a civil partnership with Annette since 2006, although they officially married each other in a gorgeous ceremony in 2015, where their two daughters acted as bridesmaids. The happy couple adopted their kids when they were just three and four years old, and Luisa previously told OK! magazine: “We saw a picture and I burst into tears. I knew the girls were my children. I’d bought them clothes before we had even been approved to have them.”

Casandra Ventura, the former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs, is set to receive intense cross-examination from the music mogul’s defense team Thursday in his sex trafficking trial.

Ventura, the singer widely known as Cassie, told jurors over two days that Combs raped, beat and forced her into drug-fueled sex parties over the course of their more than a decade together, excruciating testimony that now subjects her to a grilling from defense lawyers.

Combs’s lawyers indicated they would seek to emphasize that Ventura took drugs of her own free will, and behaved erratically and even violently herself.

While Ventura’s relationship with Combs was complicated and included domestic abuse, the defense said in opening statements, it did not amount to the sex trafficking he is charged with.

“Being a willing participant in your own sex life is not sex trafficking,” said defense lawyer Teny Geragos earlier this week.

Combs, 55, was once one of the most powerful figures in the music industry, but is now incarcerated on charges of sex trafficking and leading an illegal sex ring that enforced its power with crimes including arson, kidnapping and bribery.

Ventura is the case’s star witness: over two days of testimony, the now 38-year-old described Combs as controlling and willing to wield his wealth and influence to fulfill his desires.

She gave vivid accounts of coercive sex parties — she participated in hundreds, she testified — and violent beatings that will underpin much of the prosecution’s case against the music industry figure, who is alleged to have used violence and blackmail to manipulate women over many years.

READ ALSO: Sean Combs’s Ex Cassie Says He Forced Her Into ‘Disgusting’ Sex Ordeals

 ‘Humiliating’

Heavily pregnant with her third child, Ventura told jurors in a measured tone — but sometimes through tears — how she was forced to engaged in “freak-offs” with Combs and male escorts, sometimes engaging in days-long sex performances directed by the music mogul.

She described how in 2018, as she and Combs were breaking up, he raped her in her living room.

And she testified that her time with the artist left her with post traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction and suicidal thoughts.

The drugs were a “buffer” to withstand the “humiliating” and often-filmed sexual encounters, she said.

In a graphic hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday, Tuesday and again Wednesday, Combs is seen brutally beating and dragging Ventura down a hallway.

The prosecution played portions of the footage while Ventura was on the stand.

When asked why she didn’t fight back or get up, Ventura answered simply that curled up on the ground “felt like the safest place to be.”

Following the hotel assault, Ventura was forced to attend the premiere of her movie “The Perfect Match” days later while covered in bruises, the jury heard as they were shown photographs of the actress with Combs at the event.

Ventura said she wore sunglasses to conceal a black eye.

Combs’s defense team insists while some of his behavior was questionable, it did not constitute racketeering and sex trafficking. He denies all counts.

Ventura’s testimony is expected to last at least until the end of the week, and trial proceedings are anticipated to continue well into the summer.