Tameka Empson didn’t last long on Celebrity Traitors – but she’s gripped from home in the run-up to the final, as she reveals who she thinks could go all the way
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Tameka gives her hot take on who could go all the way in Thursday’s final(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Celebrity Traitors star Tameka Empson may have been one of the first stars to be eliminated from the BBC ’s hit psychological competition, but she can’t wait for the nail-biting finale at host Claudia Winkleman’s Scottish castle on Thursday night.
The EastEnders actress, 48, who has played Kim Fox on Albert Square since 2009, is rooting for one person in particular – former England rugby ace Joe Marler, 35, who has swiftly become a fan favourite.
“I honestly don’t know who could win, but Joe… Joe’s doing really well, you know. He could win this”, said Tameka, speaking to the Mirror at the Women in Comedy Print Awards at London’s Grouch Club on Tuesday night.
“He wasn’t that well known when he came in, and he was very quiet but I always absolutely loved him. He gave me a big hug and honestly, I can still feel that hug now.”
Though she was eliminated early on, the mother-of-two admitted she’s been avidly watching all the twists and turns from home. “I’m watching literally every episode, but not being in it any more? Yeah, it’s a bit raw! But we’re like a family, we’re all in the WhatsApp group – where’s Claudia, eh?!”
Tameka, who received a Game Changer Award at the event, founded by Absolutely Fabulous legend Helen Lederer – added, “Cat Burns is good, but Joe might get onto Cat as well. And bless Alan Carr. Last week he couldn’t even hold a straight face to say he was a Faithful. I was like, “Alan, you’ve gotta go!”
Meanwhile, Tameka – who appeared on Strictly in 2016 with pro partner Gorka Marquez – admitted she was still reeling from the bombshell news of Claudia and Tess Daly’s imminent departure from the show, after the current series.
“I was so shocked, like a lot of people. Like, what do you mean! But the chemistry between them, and the fact that they’re bowing out together is quite poetic, too”, she said.
“I remember when Claudia came in to co-host and thinking OMG, this is it! This chemistry is perfection. When I was on the show, I just loved fooling around with Claudia backstage. I would love to work with Claudia. Whatever she does after this, I wish her all the best – and Tess, too.”
Reminiscing about her own stint on the sparkly show, she said, “I still remember my paso doble from back then. What a show. Gorka the Corker, I named my partner. I was his first, I always liked to tell him. He’s a very lovely guy.”
And speaking of receiving a gong at the Comedy Women In Print Awards, she revealed, “It’s amazing to be in a room with such incredible women. I never decided I want to do what I do. It was just very natural, it just happened really, mimicking my mum. She was always funny.
“I went to the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington since the age of seven, with the likes of Sid Owen, Patsy Palmer, Jake Wood…Jake’s got the snake hips you know, there’s something about him – he’s got swagger! And yeah, it just went from there.”
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On the importance of comedy, she confessed that it’s a tool she uses often in life. “I use comedy as stress relief, when the going gets tough. “And sometimes I have to be reminded by my husband that you know what? it’s all going to be OK. He says ‘Take bad tings make joke!’ So yeah comedy is medicine. Absolutely.”
Tameka Empson didn’t last long on Celebrity Traitors – but she’s gripped from home in the run-up to the final, as she reveals who she thinks could go all the way
View 4 Images
Tameka gives her hot take on who could go all the way in Thursday’s final(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
Celebrity Traitors star Tameka Empson may have been one of the first stars to be eliminated from the BBC ’s hit psychological competition, but she can’t wait for the nail-biting finale at host Claudia Winkleman’s Scottish castle on Thursday night.
The EastEnders actress, 48, who has played Kim Fox on Albert Square since 2009, is rooting for one person in particular – former England rugby ace Joe Marler, 35, who has swiftly become a fan favourite.
“I honestly don’t know who could win, but Joe… Joe’s doing really well, you know. He could win this”, said Tameka, speaking to the Mirror at the Women in Comedy Print Awards at London’s Grouch Club on Tuesday night.
“He wasn’t that well known when he came in, and he was very quiet but I always absolutely loved him. He gave me a big hug and honestly, I can still feel that hug now.”
Though she was eliminated early on, the mother-of-two admitted she’s been avidly watching all the twists and turns from home. “I’m watching literally every episode, but not being in it any more? Yeah, it’s a bit raw! But we’re like a family, we’re all in the WhatsApp group – where’s Claudia, eh?!”
Tameka, who received a Game Changer Award at the event, founded by Absolutely Fabulous legend Helen Lederer – added, “Cat Burns is good, but Joe might get onto Cat as well. And bless Alan Carr. Last week he couldn’t even hold a straight face to say he was a Faithful. I was like, “Alan, you’ve gotta go!”
Meanwhile, Tameka – who appeared on Strictly in 2016 with pro partner Gorka Marquez – admitted she was still reeling from the bombshell news of Claudia and Tess Daly’s imminent departure from the show, after the current series.
“I was so shocked, like a lot of people. Like, what do you mean! But the chemistry between them, and the fact that they’re bowing out together is quite poetic, too”, she said.
“I remember when Claudia came in to co-host and thinking OMG, this is it! This chemistry is perfection. When I was on the show, I just loved fooling around with Claudia backstage. I would love to work with Claudia. Whatever she does after this, I wish her all the best – and Tess, too.”
Reminiscing about her own stint on the sparkly show, she said, “I still remember my paso doble from back then. What a show. Gorka the Corker, I named my partner. I was his first, I always liked to tell him. He’s a very lovely guy.”
And speaking of receiving a gong at the Comedy Women In Print Awards, she revealed, “It’s amazing to be in a room with such incredible women. I never decided I want to do what I do. It was just very natural, it just happened really, mimicking my mum. She was always funny.
“I went to the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington since the age of seven, with the likes of Sid Owen, Patsy Palmer, Jake Wood…Jake’s got the snake hips you know, there’s something about him – he’s got swagger! And yeah, it just went from there.”
Article continues below
On the importance of comedy, she confessed that it’s a tool she uses often in life. “I use comedy as stress relief, when the going gets tough. “And sometimes I have to be reminded by my husband that you know what? it’s all going to be OK. He says ‘Take bad tings make joke!’ So yeah comedy is medicine. Absolutely.”
After it became clear that the online fashion store Shein was selling sex dolls with a disturbingly “childlike” appearance, the French authorities have warned them to restrict access to the Chinese retailer.
Shein, which claimed the dolls were being sold by third-party sellers on its website, plans to open its first brick-and-mortar store this week inside BHV, Paris’s most upscale department store.
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The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), France’s consumer watchdog, announced last week that it had found the dolls on Shein’s website, noting that their descriptions “left no doubt about their “paedophilic nature.”
Shein received a 40 million euro fine from the watchdog for “deceptive” pricing practices and excessive environmental reporting.
The government has the right to request that access to the French market be prohibited, according to France’s economy minister Roland Lescure, who spoke to BFM TV on Monday.
The sale of the dolls on Shein’s platform was deemed inappropriate by Frederic Merlin, president of Societe des Grands Magasins, the company’s owner.
Shein has been criticized for its factory working conditions and the negative effects of cheap, “throwaway” fashion products, aside from the sex-doll scandal.
People are demonstrating the opening of SHEIN’s first permanent store in France on November 3, 2025, in Paris, France [Mohamad Salaheldin Abdelg Alsayed/Anadolu via Getty Images] ahead of its opening on November 5 with SHEIN’s brand flags and a large promotional ad hanging from the BHV Marais.
Describe Shein.
Shein, which was founded in China in 2012 and is now based in Singapore, is a privately held company led by its founder and CEO, Chris Xu, and has grown to be a global leader in “fast fashion,” a process that allows clothes to be produced at low prices and quickly adapt to new trends.
The online retailer, which has about 6, 000 clothing factories in China, primarily sells products via mobile apps and ships products to more than 150 nations. Shein’s global sales increased by 20% from the prior year to reach a record high of almost 38 billion Singapore dollars (US $29 billion).
Shein will debut its first permanent location  on Wednesday inside the BHV department store in the posh Marais neighborhood, despite having previously operated pop-up shops. However, more than 100 000 people have signed a French petition opposing the opening.
What are Shein’s main criticisms?
Shein has a shaky work and environmental record despite having a global business and having numerous investigations that have revealed troubling practices. A Shein factory worker was working up to 75 hours per week as of 2022, according to a Channel 4 investigation.
This was still the case two years later, according to a 2024 investigation by the advocacy group Public Eye in Switzerland.
Despite the anonymity of the report, Reuters reported that two suppliers of the company’s fashion chain were employing children under the age of 16, despite the fact that it didn’t disclose who the suppliers were or where they were based.
Shein violated fundamental standards for working conditions and human rights, according to another report released by the non-profit World Benchmarking Alliance for 2024.
Shein’s supply chain mapping (identifying factories along the supply chain) was incomplete, according to the report, which reduced Shein’s ability to disclose her working conditions.
Up to 35, 000 pieces of finished clothing are produced each day in Shein factories, which use a lot of synthetic fibers, high water and energy costs, and produce a lot of textile waste.
According to the environmental non-profit Changing Markets Foundation, the manufacturers use about the same amount of carbon dioxide as 180 coal-fired power plants due to their high use of virgin polyester, a synthetic fibre made from petroleum-based products.
The DGCCRF discovered that Shein had misled French customers about price reductions advertised on its website in May of this year, following a year-long investigation into Shein’s business practices between 2022 and 2023.
Shein accepted the fast-fashion giant’s 40 million euros ($46.9 million) fine from the French government.
How has Shein’s arrival in other French fashion houses affected other brands?
In protest, several French fashion houses have banned their merchandise from the BHV department store. There would be no sense being sold in the same store as Shein, co-founder of French footwear brand Odaje, Guillaume Alcan, Le Monde reported.
One week after Shein’s arrival was announced, on October 1, a French bank pulled out of negotiations to purchase the BHV building. Additionally, Paris City Hall blocked plans for a rugby stadium in Paris that would feature the BHV logo.
In another instance, Disneyland Paris halted plans to open a Christmas pop-up shop in BHV and stopped creating window displays for the holiday season, claiming that “conditions were no longer in place” to “calmly hold Christmas events” there.
Some BHV employees have also carried out strikes and protests on the streets recently.
What has Shein said in response to the “sex doll” controversy?
Authorities are empowered by French law to remove illegal content from online platforms, including images of children being sexually abused. The government may impose a ban on access to internet addresses on service providers and search engines if websites don’t comply.
The DGCCRF, the consumer watchdog in France, issued a formal notice on November 1st instructing Shein to take urgent corrective steps to remove the sex-doll listings from its website or be completely outlawed from the French market.
Shein responded by releasing a statement in response, stating that as a precaution, Shein had temporarily removed the “adult products” category from its website and had temporarily removed all of its “adult products” categories. Additionally, it stated that an internal investigation had been launched into its product-screening practices.
Executive Chairman Donald Tang stated that Shein’s commitment to combating child exploitation is non-negotiable. He claimed that the listings were from “third-party sellers,” but he made no mention of which third parties or their locations. He did say, “I take this personally. Our foundation is based on trust, and we won’t tolerate any acts that go against it.
However, Shein’s actions were insufficient, according to the child-protection NGO Mouv ‘Enfants, which advocates for the end of child violence. It staged a protest on Monday in Paris’s BHV shopping complex.
The company will continue to work as a cofounder of Mouv ‘Enfants as long as these dolls are available anywhere in the world, according to Arnaud Gallais, who cofounded the company.
Are French protests against Shein also motivated by its “outsider” status?
Shein’s protests don’t just revolve around ethics. They are also tied to Parisian retailers’ worries about the economy, who are renowned for their devotion to the past and their craftsmanship.
Therefore, there is a concern that international competition, particularly “fast-fashion” retailers, may outperform domestic businesses that uphold these values.
In a rare podcast interview, Jamie Redknapp gushed about his wife Frida Andersson and talked about his life after getting divorced from Louise Redknapp.
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Frida Andersson and Jamie Redknapp together
Jamie Redknapp has opened up about a potential future move with his wife of four years, Frida Andersson. In a rare podcast appearance last month, the football pundit discussed multiple topics including; life after his split from Louise Redknapp, becoming a dad again at 49 and marrying for a second time.
When questioned about what lies ahead for him, Jamie responded that he prefers to live in the moment.
Following his divorce from Louise, he found himself single for the first time in over 20 years, and this strategy was also applicable to his professional obligations.
He said at this point that he was “so lucky” to find love with Swedish model Frida once more.
Between them, Jamie’s sons Charley and Beau and Louise, who turns 51 today, are the parents of seven children.
Following the birth of Raphael, the son of Harry Redknapp and Frida’s first child together, in 2021, his son became a father for the third time.
The model had a daughter and three sons with her before wed Jamie.
On The Romesh Ranganathan show, he said, “Frida and I frequently talk about, okay, would we move abroad maybe. “He said, “Frida and I frequently talk about, okay, would we move to America with, well, I’m starting over.”
“But we have seven kids in the family, and Charley is no longer in America, but Frida’s oldest daughter is studying there, and a few of the other kids are likely to attend there.”
“And since I would hate to leave Beau, we could move in time.” I don’t know”.
He continued, “I’m very lucky, I’m always one of those guys who thinks what I have.” I would rather not feel as though I was looking for something despite having everything I need.
“I was single for a while, but luckily I met someone who has completely transformed my life.”
We get along so well, and we met six years ago or something along those lines, so I’ve been so fortunate to find the best mate in your life as you get older.
It’s truly mind-blowing when I look back on my career, the things I’ve done, and how fortunate I’ve been.
In the same podcast chat, Jamie said his two sons with Louise had their lives turned upside down following their split in 2017 after 19 years of marriage.
Five years later, the popstar rekindled her relationship with Drew Michael and has since provided insight into their relationship.
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She recently gushed about her romance, saying, “I was very guarded and scared.” However, I’m really enjoying sharing special moments with someone. He is a wonderful person and person of incredible kindness.
When questioned about potential wedding plans, she replied, “Oh, I’m not even thinking that far in the future.” I won’t even go there.
Jamie Redknapp gushed over his wife Frida Andersson and discussed life after his divorce from Eternal star Louise Redknapp, in a rare podcast appearance
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Jamie Redknapp with his wife Frida Andersson
Jamie Redknapp has opened up about a potential future move with his wife of four years, Frida Andersson. In a rare podcast appearance last month, the football pundit discussed multiple topics including; life after his split from Louise Redknapp, becoming a dad again at 49 and marrying for a second time.
When asked about what’s next for him, Jamie said he isn’t the type to plan too far ahead and prefers to live in the present.
This approach hasn’t just applied to his career commitments, but also when he found himself single for the first time in over 20 years, following his divorce from Louise.
Reflecting on this moment, he said he was “so lucky” to find love again with Frida, a Swedish model.
The pair have seven children between them, two of those being Jamie’s sons Charley and Beau with Louise, who turns 51 today.
Harry Redknapp’s son became a father for the third time in 2021, following the birth of his and Frida’s first baby together, Raphael, four.
Before meeting Jamie, the model was married to Jonathan Lourie, with whom she has a daughter and three sons.
Opening up about up starting over again and a potential move to America with his “best mate” Frida, he said on The Romesh Ranganathan show: “Frida and I often talk about, okay, would we move abroad maybe?
“But, we’ve got seven kids between us, like Charley isn’t in America anymore, but Frida’s oldest daughter is in America for university and a couple of the other kids will probably go there for university.
“And I would hate to be away from Beau, so would we move in time? I don’t know.”
He went on to say: “I’m very lucky, I’m always one of those guys who thinks what have I got? I’d hate to feel like I was searching for something because I’ve got everything that I need in my life.
“I was single for a while and luckily enough I met someone that has just changed my life.
“We get on so well, to find a best mate in your life at an age where you’re getting older, we met, I don’t know, six years ago or something like that, so I’ve been so lucky.
“I look back on my career and the things that I’ve done and how lucky I’ve been, genuinely, it’s mind-blowing.”
In the same podcast chat, Jamie said his two sons with Louise had their lives turned upside down following their split in 2017 after 19 years of marriage.
The popstar went on to find love again with Drew Michael five years later, and has been giving fans an insight into her relationship ever since.
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Recently gushing over her romance, she told The Sun: “I was very guarded and scared. But I’m really enjoying having special times with someone. He’s a great guy and super-kind.”
When questioned about potential wedding plans, she added: “Oh, I’m not even thinking that far ahead. I’m not even going there.
Members of the Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria on Tuesday staged a protest at the National Assembly gate in Abuja, demanding payment for completed projects.
The contractors accused the Federal Government of failing to pay debts owed for projects executed, completed, and commissioned since 2024, despite repeated assurances.
According to them, over 50 per cent of the affected projects are constituency projects reportedly awarded by some members of the National Assembly.
The protest prompted security operatives to lock the first and second gates of the National Assembly complex to prevent escalation.
