Category Entertainment News

According to insiders, the failure to find a replacement 007 for Daniel Craig sounded the “death knell” for the Bond franchise to continue being British.

Due to the actor’s inability to find replacements, the hiring process turned out to be “incredibly frustrating.” According to a source who spoke with the Mirror, if Eon Productions, which is led by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli had hired someone and provided a viable script, there would have been “less pressure” for Amazon MGM Studios to assume full creative control, it would have been “less pressure.”

They exchanged only a “sounding out,” and other names were exchanged, but they had trouble coming up with a new name. “Who knows if they had a name in place, this wouldn’t have happened”, a source said. Craig’s final portrayal was in 2021’s No Time To Die.

Due to the rights to Ian Fleming’s books expiring in 2035, other studios may have taken on Bond, so Amazon is thought to have been very interested in striking a deal. “They have a 10 year window to milk the franchise”, says an insider.

Valerie Leon, a James Bond actress, has expressed concern that the Amazon acquisition will cause the British franchise to end. Leon, 81, was a “Bond girl” in the films The Spy Who Loved Me and Never Say Never Again, alongside Sir Roger Moore and Sir Sean Connery.

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that it does not worry her as “life changes, and everything moves on and changes”. Leon added: “The Bond franchise was very British and it won’t be anymore.

” And obviously if they make films they won’t go into the cinema… everything is so changed now, it just won’t be the same and I’m very old-fashioned anyway. “London-raised Broccoli and her half-brother Wilson have produced the last nine Bond films, including Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace, Spectre and No Time To Die.

Craig, whose first appeared in Casino Royale in 2006, said:” My respect, admiration and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished. I sincerely hope I can be a part of the wonderful, relaxing (and well-deserved) retirement of Michael, and I sincerely hope Barbara’s endeavors are spectacular.

Shortly after the deal was announced, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stuck a post on Instagram, asking his followers:” Who’d you pick as the next Bond? “

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A stunt week to remember, Emma Roberts has done it once more!

We’ve come to expect nothing less from Emmerdale’s stunt weeks – drama, destruction and devastation. The ITV soap, however, has truly outlasted itself with a fantastic icy lake stunt that has so far resulted in three deaths! ).

I had a real fear for each of the women and Dr. Liam who ventured out onto that ice because the crew turned an old piece of tarmac into an incredible icy lake using the village’s overflow car park.

With “ice” everywhere and no escape route, it appeared as though everyone would perish on Valentine’s Day in a tragic turn of events. Whilst we expected heartbreak and death and tears, there was one thing I certainly wasn’t expecting!

I had anticipated seeing Amy die as she plunged into the cold, icy lake, or that she would be pulled out and succumb to her injuries while laying on top of the ice. However, I had no idea what was happening to a floating hand held by only Nate Robinson.

The clues to Nate’s body under the ice, including the same outfit he was last seen in and the bracelet Frankie gave him that has the word “daddy” on it, are quite obvious. Nate must be buried beneath that icy cold water, but when and how did he get there? !

Has anything been kept a better secret than this? Soaps are complex and intertwining, which is likely to be confusing to non-soap fans. We never knew Nate was dead, either! I had no idea what it was going to happen during stunt week, and I certainly had not expected it to!

Emmerdale could have left it alone and focused on the village’s grieving for a while, the impact the deaths have had on the community as a whole, and so on by closing this limo stunt chapter with a string of depressing deaths. A ‘ lull ‘ after a stunt week is quite normal.

Instead, it has positioned us for a bigger plot development in the upcoming months and weeks. When will information be released about Nate’s death, his killer, and why? What if there were more deaths than we are aware of? Is there a brand-new Meena Jutla in the world?

There have been hints about Nate’s real whereabouts for months, but all of that completely went over my radar when I watch older episodes now. Cain says he would be happy if he never saw him again when he finally sees him. Nate tells Frankie he won’t be able to see her for a long while, and calls and messages to Nate went unanswered, except for one.

When Tracy texted Nate, he responded that he would talk to him when he was ready and that he wouldn’t bother him again. Someone might have texted Tracy to warn her, and if so, who?

Only time will tell, but it appears a murderer might be more in touch with the locals than we think.

What, in your opinion, happened to Nate? In the comments section, share your theories!

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After Donald Trump’s contentious executive order, which categorizes a person’s gender as either male or female based on the biological makeup, Trans actress Hunter Schafer revealed that her passport now indicates that she is male in response to the controversial executive order.

In one of his first acts, convicted felon and US President Trump declared that under his leadership, the US government would only recognize male and female genders and that he would strip trans people of their legal protections.

This means that the government won’t permit the identification of nonbinary and intersex people who were neither born nor raised on passports or other official documents. In a new eight-minute long video, transgender actress and model Hunter – known for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds &amp, Snakes – revealed her new passport now has ‘ M ‘ under the gender marker.

The Euphoria singer told her fans, “I don’t really post much these days, but I did have a little harsh reality check today and thought it was important to share it with whoever is listening.” So, I believe most of us are aware that Trump signed an executive order establishing only male and female genders at birth on the first day of his presidency.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs has therefore frozen passport applications that require a gender marker change, renewal, or new applications that have a gender marker that is different from the applicant’s gender that was given at birth. Because our president is a talker, my initial reaction was that I would believe it when I saw it, which I did today on my new passport.

Male, so… Now, to clarify, my genders were first changed when I first applied for my driver’s license and passport, and all of my prior genders have been female. It hasn’t really been a problem. She admitted to having a new passport because her previous one had been taken while she was filming in Barcelona.

Hunter claimed in her TikTok video that she “likely would” fill out the passport application form, putting female. But when she picked it up, they” changed the marker to male”.

She added:” This has led me to believe that, I think, the agencies who are in charge of passports and this sort of thing are now required to cross reference certificates. This is the first time this has happened to me since I changed my gender marker, but I don’t know exactly what exactly has changed. We’re approaching a decade or something, and I think that’s because of the administration in place today.

The model claimed she wasn’t using her experience to “fear monger, create drama, or receive comfort,” but to “share the realities that trans people in America, especially those who don’t check the boxes of being a” celebrity trans woman who is white and thin and can adhere to contemporary beauty standards.”

I’m just kind of afraid of how this stuff slowly gets implemented, Hunter said, “I’m just sort of scared of starting to happen,” as we’ve seen in previous fascist government upheavals and what this new administration kind of represents. There’s a lot of talk, and then things start happening, and we start to normalise the circumstances we’re under.

“And I just feel like it’s important to share that this is real, happening, and no one is left out, no matter how wealthy, white, or whatever their circumstances may be,” he continued. This is real”. ShowbShe hasn’t yet used her new passport, but when she starts traveling, she will have to “out myself to border patrol agents and that whole gig much more frequently than I would like to, or is really necessary.”

“I also want to say I don’t give a f**k that they put an M on my passport”, she said. “It doesn’t change really anything about me or my transness. However, it does make life a little harder. The list only gets longer when you consider the intricacies that come with the difficulty that this brings into real life shit, and consider other trans women who may also be experiencing this, or other trans people.

Concluding her video, the star told fans: “Trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing. I’m never going to stop being trans. A letter on a passport can’t change that. F**k this administration. Although I have no idea what to do with this, I think it was important to share. This is real”.

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As the body count piles up on Emmerdale, one dead character has yet to be identified.

Fans are persuaded that Nate Robinson may be the dead body beneath the lake after discovering a clue in the limo crash scenes. Amy plunged into the icy cold water while a man’s hand, which had a bracelet that matched his wrist, was visible.

She appeared to be trying to tell husband Matty that Nate was also her husband just before Amy’s heartbreaking passing. The character, played by Jurell Carter, left in September, but his exit was never shown.

When Justin joined Emmerdale in the role of the mysterious Nate Robinson in April 2019, his heart raced. It wasn’t long before a bombshell revealed he was Cain Dingle’s (played by Jeff Hordley) secret son. Not before falling asleep with his father’s wife Moira as a retaliation for Cain’s abortion of Nate and his mother.

Jurell’s character has also been at the heart of many explosive plots, including Tracy Metcalfe’s (Amy Walsh) own infidelity when she slept with Nate’s uncle Caleb. He has voiced for TV since leaving Emmerdale in September of last year, contributing his vocal skills to Christmas ads like those on Sephora.

Born in Leicester, Jurell initially aimed for a career in football. He was offered a partial scholarship to play in the United States at the age of 18, but due to financial constraints, he was unable to accept it. Reflecting on the missed chance, he shared with the Mirror: “It was heartbreaking.

From the age of three, I had a passion for football. It was amazing, but I couldn’t get the money to pay for the rest of the scholarship because I couldn’t afford it.

Jurell eventually accepted his role on Emmerdale in 2019 after receiving training at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Jurell Carter took to Instagram with excitement, announcing: “I’m a series regular in @Emmerdale and I’ll be playing Nate Robinson. I’m so happy to finally be able to say this. “

He expressed his heartfelt gratitude, saying, “We had to keep quiet for what felt like the longest. Cliche as it is, I really can’t put into words how much this means. For everything that has really supported me and helped make it happen, I feel truly blessed and grateful.

“From my beautiful family, beautiful agent and everyone at Emmerdale. Jurell has kept his private life a secret, posting pictures of his exercise routine and time with friends on social media. He once, however, refuted claims that Instagram users had posted explicit photos of themselves because they believed a topless selfie to be more offensive.

“Let a man live. I was on my spin bike,” he clarified to his audience. Since joining the soap, Jurell has been part of some racy storylines, which he admitted to finding “overwhelming” initially.

The actor revealed that as he prepared for his shirtless scenes, he shed a stone and a half. He revealed his initial shock in a direct conversation with the Mirror: “The sex scenes have been a little overwhelming really. One scene in a student film was just a little pecky, which was a big contrast to what I was doing here. But I had to accept it and move along. “

Liam Payne’s friend, Roger Nores, is planning to travel to the UK to ‘ pay his respects ‘ to the One Direction singer.

Payne died aged 31 on October 16 after he plunged from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was confirmed this week that Nores, a multimillionaire businessman, was charged with manslaughter for the killing of his close friend and One Direction star, was not charged.

The judges determined that neither he nor the businessman could have prevented Payne’s death had any bearing on his “obtaining and consuming alcohol.” After the appeal ruling was made public, Mr. Nores’ hottest new attorney Rafael Cuneo Libarona said, “We are happy to have reversed the decision by 360 degrees.”

We have always maintained that Rogelio Nores was not at fault for Liam Payne’s death. He had no legal or moral obligation to ensure his safety because he was only his friend. Nores stated in a statement to Rolling Stone that he was pleased that the case was finally over and that he was happy to be able to visit the UK and bid my friend his final farewell.

Nores stated in an official statement that he had never abandoned him and that he had been staying at his hotel three times that day and had left 40 minutes before this happened in an official statement. When I left, there were over 15 people chatting and laughing with him in the hotel lobby.

He added:” I could have never imagined something like this would happen. I testified to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness, but I haven’t spoken to any police or prosecutor since. I wasn’t Liam’s manager. He was just my very dear friend. “

Nores and Payne are reportedly friends since 2020, with the businessman allegedly unaware of Payne’s battles hidden behind closed doors. Nores claimed that Payne’s manager called him in May 2024 to inform him that Payne had “periculously overdosed” in the UK and that doctors had “resuscitated” him.

The same charges have also been dropped against Nores and two hotel employees from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Payne tragically fell from his third-floor balcony.

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18 million viewers tuned in to Sykes, the sitcom Eric Sykes wrote and starred in, with a prodigious talent for slapstick humor.

But it’s his ‘ dad hugs ‘ that his daughter, Julie Sykes, 67, misses most about Eric, who died in 2012, aged 89. She tells The Mirror: “He was a great hugger. His hands were always warm, I was aware. I miss him holding my hands while I’ve always had cold hands.

Speaking ahead of a new documentary Eric Sykes: 50 Years of Laughter, on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm, she recalls: “Dad was always visually funny. And that’s what he was like at home. I remember he’d come into a room and inadvertently drop something, a knife or fork. There was a cheeky laugh. He always made us laugh”.

Julie, her mum Edith and siblings Katherine, Susan and David’s laughter joined that of the millions of fans who loved watching Sykes.

She says: “When the theme tune was on, we’d all come running into the living room. The shout would go around the house – ‘ Dad’s on! ‘”

The show’s name was changed to Sykes when it had a second run between 1972 and 1979, replacing its original name Sykes and a… when it ran for nine series between 1960 and 1965.

The hilarious duo of Eric and Hattie Jacques, who played his twin sister, remained close until her tragic death in 1980, when she was just 53.

After Hattie’s passing, Eric concentrated on stage acting, but he received praise for his performance in the 2001 film The Others, which he co-starred with Nicole Kidman, and Frank Bryce in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire in 2005.

Eric, who died at his home in Esher, Surrey, after a short illness, counted writing for The Goon Show until it left the air in 1960 among his accomplishments.

Because Eric was plagued by hearing issues and had a quadruple heart bypass in 1997, one of its stars and his great friend Spike Milligan justified his claim.

Julie says: “Dad never socialised because of his deafness. Because he couldn’t hear them, he never brought people home; it would be difficult and straining. We never went out as a family”.

Edith, a Canadian nurse who he met in 1952 while in hospital for one of his ear operations, created a loving home that gave Eric a much-needed sanctuary from work. The couple were happily married for 60 years and Edith passed away in 2018 – seven years after her husband’s death.

Dad wasn’t frequently present, but he enjoyed returning home, returning home with his wife and children. In the distance, he had his golf clubs, along with his dogs.

Although Eric believed she would remain his guardian angel throughout his life, his mother, who was born on May 4, 1923, passed away three weeks after giving birth due to labor complications.

When, at the age of 16, he was drafted into the RAF during World War II, he was raised in poverty and without any education.

He auditioned for a theatre company, which he founded while stationed in Germany after the war, and it was the start of his comedic career.

to boost morale and entertain the troops, and he realized his writing talent.

He and other company members traveled to a recently liberated prison camp in 1945 to borrow some lights – without knowing what lay behind the facility’s gates, Bergen Belsen, which was also the most harrowing experience of his life.

He spent the rest of his life haunted by the images of the abused victims of the brutal Nazi regime.

Julie says: “He never spoke about it. The only reason I knew was because I read his autobiography”.

After the war, Eric began writing for RAF theatre pal Bill and another fellow wartime performer, Frankie Howerd, then a successful radio comic.

Soon after, he began to work with stars like Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, and Tony Hancock.

And when he met Hattie in 1948, when she gave packed-house performances of old-time music hall classics, his acting career began.

Recalling Hattie in action, he said: “At the end of the number she leapt in the air and did the splits. I had never seen such charisma”.

Due to Eric’s partial deafness, which had almost died from an infected mastoid in 1950, which eventually led to his total deafness, his success was even more remarkable.

As Eric only had a partial ear drum in one ear, hearing aids didn’t work. He instead relied on heavy, “hearing aid” glasses that were “without the black lensese,” concealing micro-speakers that blew sound through his skull.

Writing for laughs that he could no longer hear, especially when collaborating with Spike Milligan, whose bipolar disorder regularly led to depressive episodes, was challenging.

“When Spike became a bit depressed, Dad would take over and write some of the Goon scripts. They would all be in their office – Dad, Spike, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine – writing these scripts and having a laugh. Although there were some disagreements, they eventually became lifelong friends.

In one heated row, Spike threw an ashtray at Eric’s head. Julie says: “I think they fell out over using the word” and “or” but “in a joke. They were both very creative, and dad’s comedy was as surreal as Spike’s, but Spike was not quite as controllable as my dad”.

Laurel and Hardy greatly influenced Eric – which is clear to see in his 1967 short movie masterpiece, The Plank, co-starring Tommy Cooper.

Julie recalls: “Tommy was very nervous about acting, but my dad told him ‘ Don’t act. Just be yourself. Other than Tommy Cooper, you don’t need anyone else. That’s why you’re doing this with me’. And Tommy was amazing”.

It also features a young Jimmy Tarbuck, who speaks in tonight’s documentary, along with Julie, and reveals how Eric became a benevolent mentor to him.

Julie recalls her father giving other performers lots of advice when they asked.

Hattie Jacques, who started working with Eric on Educating Rita in 1950, loved their partnership. Julie remembers attending the taping of Sykes at the BBC every week as a child and seeing ‘ Auntie Hattie, ‘ saying: “She was such a loving, welcoming, warm person. She’d make sure everybody was okay – cast and crew. And she would always provide us with delicious food. when her father visited her during the summer. We would travel down to see them and spend a few weeks there. She was a great auntie, always making us a nice dinner or lunch”.

In The Carry on films, Hattie gained fame as a typecast in the matronly role, and there were frequently references to her weight.

However, Julie asserts that “Dad never understood that Hattie was a big woman.” He wrote for her because he thought she was funny in her own right. It was unrelated to the size. She and she both had a lot of respect for one another. They both had genuine, genuine love for each other”.

When she passed away, Eric was devastated. Julie, who went with her siblings, continues, “The entire family was invited to the funeral, but my dad was touring with a play in Australia and my mother had gone with him,” dispelling rumors.

Kenneth Williams read out a note that my father left at the funeral home. It was a heartfelt note. Although my father said I know when I’m ready to go, I can’t remember it exactly. I’ll be getting a hot meal prepared by Hattie.

And without her, Eric was aware that he would not be able to carry on Sykes.

Awarded a CBE for services to drama in 2005, Eric’s final role was in Agatha Christie’s Poirot, two years before his death.

Meanwhile, three of his children followed him into showbiz. After driving her father’s car in her 20s and accompanying him on television appearances and filming assignments, Julie left.

” Katherine and David also went into the industry, while my sister Susan went into nursing like Mum, “she says.

Julie also inherited her father’s love of golf, saying:” Some of my happiest memories are being on the golf course – playing with Dad,

“In the end, he was deaf and couldn’t see, so he never left the house. But he was content and thankful for living long. People still want to talk to me about my dad, which is still surprising to me.

Eric Sykes: 50 Years of Laughter airs tonight Channel 5 at 9pm. An episode of Sykes follows at 10.30pm.