Meet the Irish Janeites: ‘Emma is such a bitch and yet you love her'
On Christmas Day 2020, Laura Molloy, then 17 years old, received a set of Jane Austen novels from her brother. Stuck at home in Bray with little else to do, she started with Emma and was instantly hooked.
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Huge EastEnders star slams time on soap and claims bosses ‘made promises they never kept'
A FORMER EastEnders star has slammed his time on the show and claimed bosses 'made promises they didn't keep'. 3 Jamie Foreman has spoken out about his time on EastEnders Credit: TikTok 3 He played Derek Branning in the BBC One soap Credit: BBC 3 One of bad boy Derek's storylines was an affair with married Kat Slater Credit: BBC Despite being part of one of Walford's most iconic families, Jamie, 67, has confessed his time as Derek is not 'a career highlight'. Speaking on the 'I don't see EastEnders as anywhere near the highlight of my career. 'It was a lovely job and I respect it. But for me… they'd asked me so many times before.' More on EastEnders Recalling the offer from EastEnders, Jamie continued: 'They said, 'it's with the best family, it's full on, you can do as long as you want'. I said, 'I only want to do it for a year'. 'I went and met with them and they made me all manner of promises that they never kept, like 'you'll never work a Saturday'. I did every Saturday. I was the first in, last out every day.' Jamie's character Derek was killed off during the Christmas Day 2012 episode when he suffered a heart attack. In his short time as a resident of Albert Square Derek cemented himself as one of the soap's most notorious bad boys. Most read in Soaps He had an affair with Alfie Moon's wife Kat Slater, tormented Pat Butcher on her death bed and told Sharon Watts' son Denny the truth about his dad Dennis Rickman. It's not the first time Jamie has spoken negatively about his time on the show. Penny Branning calls her dad 'big man Jack' in EastEnders In 2013 he appeared on Daybreak and said: 'I hated the scenes in the Queen Vic, I'm terribly sorry to everybody! 'I'm sure a lot of the cast will say the same thing - they're so long and laborious. 'You've got to stand there and wait for somebody over there to stop talking, so you're listening to that conversation, then it cuts to somebody else. You never shoot a scene quickly in there.'
The Irish Sun
7 days ago
- The Irish Sun
EastEnders' Adam Woodyatt pulls the plug on failed booze brand with ex wife amid mounting debts
EASTENDERS star Adam Woodyatt has pulled the plug on the failed booze brand he launched with his ex-wife. Adam, 56, set up Neat Distillery Ltd in August 2017 and introduced a range of trendy gins. Advertisement 4 Adam Woodyatt has pulled the plug on his failed booze brand Credit: Getty But just a couple of years later, production stopped and the brand's website was taken offline in a bid to cut costs. Now, official documents have been submitted to Companies House confirming that Adam and his former partner Beverley are applying to have the company struck off the register. The brand's digital presence has long been dormant - the website is no longer active, and its Facebook and Twitter accounts haven't been updated since 2019. Neat Distillery Ltd's last set of accounts revealed it was running a £13,000 deficit. Advertisement read more on Adam Woodyatt Adam and Beverley had joint control of the business, even while navigating what was described as a 'toxic split'. It was reported that he initially refused to offer her a fair settlement, although they eventually reached an amicable agreement. He had spent months perfecting the gin recipe, with a source saying at the time: 'This is something Adam really passionate about. 'He is planning to sell it online, along with merchandise he has lined up with the branding and recipes." Advertisement Most read in Soaps In a past interview, Adam also revealed: 'I had quite a diverse list of outlets and distribution from entertainment, bars, fine dining to music clubs,' naming chef Adam took a break from EastEnders in 2020 but returned in August 2023. EastEnders legend Michelle Collins opens up on fiery on set rows with Adam Woodyatt He has reportedly made big money for his TV gigs, including roughly £500,000 for his 2021 appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. The actor also earns a reported £250,000 per year for his EastEnders gig. Advertisement Adam, who officially divorced his wife Beverly in 2022 after 22 years of marriage put £245,763 into a new firm shortly after they first split in 2020. He had earned the cash through acting gigs and funnelled it into his company Caledfwlch — which is Welsh for King Arthur's sword Excalibur. He set it up ahead of his This week, Adam was spotted looking loved up with a mystery woman after hitting the gym in London. Advertisement He shared a kiss with the red-haired woman after a sweaty workout before driving off together. He played a major role in the BBC soap's 40th anniversary episodes when his wife Cindy's Christmas Day attacker was revealed. The Sun has contacted Adam's representatives for comment. Advertisement 4 He ran the company with his former partner Beverley Credit: Instagram 4 They set up Neat Distillery Ltd in August 2017 and introduced a range of trendy gins Credit: Instagram 4 Adam took a break from EastEnders in 2020 but returned in August 2023 Credit: BBC
Sunday World
28-05-2025
- Sunday World
We dip into the stunning, scenic and storied English city
bath finder | As Jane Austen turns 250, we head to the city that the author once called home And for the celebrated British author of the 1817 novel it has certainly proved the case. It's Jane Austen's 250th birthday this year, but the passage of two and a half centuries hasn't sated the worldwide appetite for her literary works, two more being Emma and Mansfield Park. Quite the opposite, in fact, with everything from Bridget Jones to Bridgerton giving new life to her iconic creations, and the universal truth that 'we are all fools in love', in recent years. The historic ancient Roman baths And so it is, on a sunny spring day in 2025, that I find myself gazing up at a lifelike figurine of Mr Darcy, or at least what we all imagine the brooding heartthrob to look like ever since a sopping wet Colin Firth emerged from a lake in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. The white shirt, presumably now dry, sold at auction for £25,000 in the UK last year. But there are still plenty of other Irish linen shirts, as well as Regency-style day dresses, shawls and bonnets in the vein of Elizabeth Bennet to try on at The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset. Austen's hometown of Hampshire, where she was born and died at just 41, naturally holds the greatest claim to the scribe on this, her semiquincentennial. The Jane Austen Festival's fab costumes Some 68 miles away, however, Bath also boasts a special place in the heart of Janeites all over the globe, with the 'City of Pleasures', where she lived for five years, the backdrop to two of her six novels. Whether you've devoured her entire back catalogue, or never read a single word, the fascinating immersive centre ( is as good a jumping off point as any for visitors hoping to get a better understanding of the trailblazing writer and the imprint she left on the world. Remarkably, yet in keeping with the social mores of the day when young women were expected to be more concerned with finding a husband than their narrative voice, it wasn't until after death that her name appeared on her books, originally simply credited as being penned 'By a Lady'. Spires in the skyline But, between Austen-themed festivals, food offerings and filming locations, among other frivolities, the Georgian city, reachable from Bristol Airport in about 40 minutes by bus, more than makes up for it today. Flanked by my very own Martha Lloyd, Austen's closest friend, on a two-night trip to Bath, I jumped aboard the unmistakable red Tootbus to get a sense (and sensibility) of where to begin. Priced from £24.50, the company ( offers a number of hop on-hop off tours including Bath Discovery and Hop on with Jane Austen in Bath, although must-see attractions like historic Bath Abbey and the ancient Roman Baths are all perfectly walkable, even in a flouncy ball dress. Sally Lunn's restaurant Conveniently, there was a stop for both routes taken by the double-decker right outside my hotel: one taking in more city centre landmarks like the famed Royal Crescent and Guildhall Market, the other sweeping high above the city past the spectacular Pulteney Bridge and Prior Park Landscape Garden. Based on North Parade, that's not the only good reason to stay at the four-star Abbey Hotel, with the boutique property also just a proverbial stone's throw from the main shopping street, and its maze of side streets running the gamut from high fashion to handmade fudge. Conscious of another of Jane's pearls of wisdom, to 'go and eat and drink a little more, and you will do very well', I took a creamy vanilla slab of the stuff back to my suitably refined double room for later, before heading for dinner at the nearby Sally Lunn's restaurant ( , home to the yeast dough bun that is to Bath what the blaa is to Waterford, and where everything is served on a slab of the bread — and all the better for it. . You couldn't possibly celebrate the author's milestone birthday, though, without indulging in the tower of dainty sandwiches and delicate cakes that were popular in her day, and still to this one, and there are traditional tea rooms on virtually every corner of the World Heritage city. After following in her footsteps on a hugely entertaining walking tour run by Strictly Jane Austen ( , and hearing of her ill-fated love affair with Limerick lawyer Thomas Lefroy, who went on to become Chief Justice of Ireland, and who's widely accepted as the inspiration for Mr Darcy, we finished with afternoon tea at the elegant Gainsborough hotel ( . Today's parents may be frantic trying to decipher the true meaning of their teens' textspeak, but as our charming part-Irish guide Theresa Roche explains, when it came to flirting, back then it was all about the art of the fan, which certainly seems a lot more sophisticated than simply swiping left or right. Not that Jane and her peers were the first to help turn Bath into the most fashionable city outside of London. The Abbey Hotel, Bath The true source of its popularity — and, obviously, its name — sprang up far earlier with its healing waters, and you know what they say: when in Rome, or in this case Bath, do as the Romans do. As well as exploring the original bathing site, elsewhere you can simmer away in the warm mineral-rich waters at the modern-day Thermae Bath Spa, before relaxing in a Roman steam room, with the £42 admission price worth it for the amazing rooftop view of the city alone ( . For all this year's pageantry, Jane, it has to be said, had a complicated relationship with the city, where the family fell on hard times after the death of her father, something which is being explored by an exhibition entitled, 'The Most Tiresome Place in the World: Jane Austen & Bath', running at No. 1 Royal Crescent until November. Over two centuries on, and two days later, however, for this 'obstinate, headstrong girl', at least, there is much to ardently admire about Bath. See and for more Deirdre exploring in Bath ■ How to get there: Aer Lingus Regional operates flights between Dublin and Bristol up to three times daily, with fares starting at €29.99 one-way. The airline also operates a Cork to Bristol service up to two times daily, with fares starting at €39.99 one-way. Book at ■ Where to stay: The central Abbey Hotel has everything from Cosy Print rooms to Gallery Family rooms, starting from £157 per night, including a hearty breakfast. There are even dog-friendly rooms so you can bring four-legged members of the family. Visit ■ Where to eat: Jane probably wasn't a lover of pizza, but those empire line frocks would have been handy for feasting on bulging burgers and bottomless brunch in Bath Pizza Co, which is a former train station. ■ Come for the reasonably-priced fare, and stay for the live music and friendly staff. See
