Yes, it's ‘just' me — please don't sit me in Siberia
It sounds like an apology and, on some level, it must be. As Three Dog Night (remember them?) once sang, though admittedly not about dining: 'One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do.' Even the online booking system seems aghast. I have to keep changing the number of diners from the de facto '2' to '1'. If I look away for an instant, it flips back to '2'.
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Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Junior Andre admits he's 'overcoming challenges' in his career after sweetly supporting sister Princess on her ITV reality show
Junior Andre has admitted he is 'overcoming challenges' as he prepares to get his music career back on track. Back in 2022, Junior, 20, had a promising music career as his debut single Slide hit No1 in the UK's iTunes pop chart, with his follow-up track Only One also bagging the top spot a year later. The son of Katie Price and Peter Andre, 20, signed his first record deal but in the months that followed, a number of delays appeared to stall the release of any further tracks. While he's remained in the spotlight, things have been pretty quiet of late on the music front, however, that now looks set to change. Junior has now revealed that he is not 'putting pressure' on himself but has 'hot' new projects in the pipeline following the 'challenges'. He told The Sun: 'I haven't been putting pressure on myself and I've been overcoming a couple of challenges. 'It's nothing that I can't beat but it will be good in due time. 'Don't sleep on me - trust me, it's coming hot!' Junior also told the publication that he is busy focusing on 'music and acting' as well as teasing plans for his own business as well as a fragrance line. He took to Instagram earlier this week to share a black and white snap of himself alongside the caption: 'Sometimes the most quiet seasons are the most powerful ones. 'I've been moving in silence, learning, growing, making moves you haven't seen yet. I think about you all more than you know….and when the times right, you'll understand why I've been so lowkey. 'My time is coming and when it does, we're all going up together.' Though he didn't specify what he's been working on, it is most likely to be music related as that is what he's shown a strong passion for in the past. Fans of Junior were quick to share their messages of support, with many also praising how he's come across on his sister's new documentary. He took to Instagram earlier this week to share a black and white snap of himself alongside the caption: 'I've been moving in silence, learning, growing, making moves you haven't seen yet' One person penned: 'Keep being you that's all u need to do love don't change for anyone or anything. Your the best big brother and son from what I have seen i absolutely love the documentary❤️you are kind humble funny and talented. I would be proud if u were a son of mine. Xx.' While another shared: 'Young man, whatever you do you will shine, you are a kind, caring and humble. I look forward to seeing you shine even more.' His family also showed their support with dad Peter, who recently teased his own new single, writing: 'Love you son ❤️', while Princess added: 'You got this bro❤️.' Junior's words come after fans of The Princess Diaries rushed to social media to share their kind words about how much they love how close Princess and Junior are. 'Yours and Juniors relationship is so beautiful to watch - loving the show, you should be extremely proud xxx.' 'Lovely to see the relationship she has with her brother, they have both grown up to be lovely people.' 'Loving the show - you and @officialjunior_andre bond is amazing. His face watching you smash the catwalk.' 'A lovely couple of young siblings. Mum and dad must be proud.' The siblings are children of Katie and Peter - who met in 2004 while appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! The former couple tied the knot the following year and went on to split in 2009. Earlier this month, Princess and Junior shrugged off being called ' nepo babies ' as they launched Princess's brand new ITV2 reality series, insisting they're working hard to make it on their own. Speaking at the glitzy ITV launch of her show, Princess admitted that under the true definition of a 'nepo baby' the term applies, but said the focus should be on how she has built her own career over the past two years. The rising star has already inked big-money deals with brands including Morphe and Superdrug, cementing her status as a celebrity in her own right. She added that the new series will give fans an unfiltered look into her life, away from her famous parents. Speaking to The News Movement she said: 'Well obviously if you're using the actual terms of a 'nepo baby' then yeah, but we are focusing on ourselves. 'This is our own career and I feel like within the last two years I've built myself as a solo person, so this is a good time to for the show to come in as it actually shows what goes on in my life, without my parents.' Big brother Junior added that it's 'natural' for people to compare them to their superstar mum and dad but stressed that their success will come down to hard work and carving their own paths. He said: 'Yeah I mean, obviously we're gonna be compared to our parents, they've done amazing things, that's where we come from. 'It's inevitable - anyone would be compared to their parents, so you know that's natural. 'But what we're doing is focusing on ourselves and really driving and pushing our own careers and working hard. For us to succeed we have to put in the work for it.' When quizzed on what they would do differently - and what they'd do the same - as their famous parents, Junior said he was grateful for the way they'd been brought up, describing them both as polite, kind and 'normal people'. He added that some might assume otherwise, but the new show would prove they are just regular young adults navigating life like everyone else.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘I can no longer listen to the punk bands I loved as a teenager': Rob Newman's honest playlist
The first single I bought (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais by the Clash, from a record shop in the Hitchin arcade. The song I inexplicably know every lyric to I enjoyed rote-learning at school, so I learn lyrics off by heart. I particularly like Ella Fitzgerald's version of But Not for Me by George and Ira Gershwin: 'I never want to hear from any cheerful Pollyannas / Who tell you fate supplies a mate / It's all bananas.' The best song to play at a party Prisencolinensinainciusol by Adriano Celentano is an absolute banger and gloriously daft. Celentano sings in mock English. The video features some excellent dancing. The song I can no longer listen to I used to love them for their politics and integrity, but I can no longer listen to the punk bands I loved as a teenager: X-Ray Spex, Sham 69, Stiff Little Fingers, Chelsea, Angelic Upstarts and Crisis. The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate When I talk about my love of dance music, I quickly qualify it by mentioning someone credible like Bootsy Collins or Marlena Shaw. But what I really love is the cheesy disco, like Feel So Real by Steve Arrington. The song I stream the most Travelling by train from one gig to the next, I'll listen on my headphones to Lone Star State of Mind by Nanci Griffith, Outkast's Morris Brown, Clock Factory by Sabres of Paradise and Stone by Prince Alla to help the miles disappear. The song I do at karaoke I'm not one for karaoke, but I love singing around the flat. When my son Billy was four, he would reply matter-of-factly to the Blue Nile's Tinseltown in the Rain. 'Do I love you?' 'Yes.' 'Will we always be happy-go-lucky?' 'Yes.' The song that makes me cry Judee Sill's version of 500 Miles: 'Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name / Lord I can't go back home this a-way.' Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion The song that gets me up in the morning Listening to music is the last thing I want to do before the children wake up. That golden silence from 5-7am is when I get to read or write. Once they're up, the playlist includes Archie, Marry Me by Alvvays, which is joyful and sunny. The song I want played at my funeral Gallipoli (Solo Piano Version) by Astrid Williamson. The song that changed my life After I moved to London in my early 20s, I complained to my girlfriend at the time that I was spending all my evenings on my own, even though we were going out. I quoted I Know It's Over by the Smiths: 'And if you're so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?' She chucked me right there and then. So I guess that song changed my life – or at least cleared things up. Rob Newman: Where the Wild Things Were tours to 1 February; tour starts Norwich. His new novel, Intelligence, is out in early 2026.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Mark Hamill reveals he planned to leave the US when Donald Trump was re-elected
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has revealed he planned to leave the United States when Donald Trump was re-elected as president in 2024. The 73-year-old, known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the iconic sci-fi franchise, gave his wife Marilou Tork – whom he married in 1978 – the choice between relocating to 'London or Ireland'. Hamill's wife, who worked as a dental hygienist and met Hamill while cleaning his teeth, ingeniously convinced her husband not to move countries by suggesting Trump was pushing them out of the US. 'She's very clever. She didn't respond right away but a week later she said, 'I'm surprised you would allow him to force you out of your own country,'' Hamill, a lifelong Democrat, told The Times. ''That son of a b****', I thought. I'm not leaving.' When asked about the political landscape in the United States, Hamill expressed exasperation over 'the bullying, the incompetence, the people in place' in the Trump administration. The actor added that the only way he could 'deal' with the his country's politics without becoming suicidal was to look at the situation 'like a thick, sprawling political novel' instead of reality. open image in gallery Actor Mark Hamill has revealed he planned to leave the United States after Donald Trump was re-elected in 2024 ( Getty ) Despite his horror, Hamill added that he 'still believes' there are 'more honest, decent people' in the country than there are those in a Maga crowd. 'If I didn't, I'd move back to England,' he said. Elsewhere in the interview, Hamill revealed his dislike of US gun culture is such that he almost didn't accept his role in a forthcoming adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel The Long Walk. Hamill will play The Major, a man who runs an annual walking contest in a dystopian version of America that sees 100 young men walk continuously at a pace of four miles an hour – or they'll be shot to death. 'Francis Lawrence, the director, understood what was troubling me,' he said of his initial reluctance to take on the role. open image in gallery Hamill as The Major in 'The Long Walk' ( Lionsgate/YouTube ) 'American society is gun violence and it's hard to get past that, but as I spoke to him I realised this is just the guy. He said he would have been surprised if I wasn't troubled by it.' The actor went on to compare the film to recent ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] arrests in the country, saying agents wearing masks, with no identification, had been 'pulling people out of their cars'. 'They were just brutalising people, kneeling on their necks,' he said. 'When I made the movie I wasn't thinking in terms of it being timely but it's proven to be just that.' Hamill led the three original Star Wars movies – Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) – as Luke Skywalker alongside Carrie Fisher as Princess Leira and Harrison Ford as Han Solo. He reprised the role in all three films of the sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), as well as in numerous TV spin offs, including The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian.
