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Strictly Come Dancing star celebrates 'one of the most special moments' after 'tough' year

Strictly Come Dancing star celebrates 'one of the most special moments' after 'tough' year

Wales Online6 hours ago
Strictly Come Dancing star celebrates 'one of the most special moments' after 'tough' year
The BBC star was showered in support for the heartwarming post.
Strictly Come Dancing star Janette Manrara has been showered in support from fans and friends after sharing an adorable post.

The It Takes Two host became a professional dancer on the beloved BBC competition in 2013, and paired with the likes of Jake Wood and Peter Andre over the years before she stepped down in 2021 and went on to co-host the spin-off chatshow.

Janette married fellow Strictly dancer Alijaz Skorjanec in 2017, and they welcomed their daughter Lyra Rose in July 2023.

Keeping fans updated with snippets from her personal life on Instagram, Janette shared a heartwarming post today (Tuesday 12 August) of herself and Lyra in matching outfits from her performance as Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Janette and Alijaz married in 2017 and welcomed their daughter in 2023
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
In a series of snaps of the mother-daughter duo on stage in their black lace gowns, Janette said it was 'one of the most special moments of my life so far', saying she'd particularly cherish the moment after having a 'tough year' working away from home.

She wrote: 'One of the most special moments of my life so far. Having Lyra wearing an exact replica of my 'Roxie Hart' dress made by the wonderful @rodgesmartin who's been a part of @chicagoonstage for years and years'
She went on: 'Thank you both so much!! It was a gift for Lyra, but my heart will cherish this moment and this gift deeply for the rest of my life.
'I hope when she gets older, she'll one day feel proud of her mommy.

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'It's been a tough year as away from home a lot, but moments like these remind me of the magic of being able to perform, and how wonderful it is to share these kind of moments w/ my little girl.'
'Omg so cute,' fellow Strictly pro and reigning champion Dianne Buswell said, while Oti Mabuse commented: 'So adorable.'

'Well this is the cutest thing ever,' another fan said, as one also wrote: 'OH MY HEART baby Roxie is toooo cute!!! A core memory for life!!x.'
Janette has previously spoken about juggling work commitments with her personal and family life, and opened up about 'mum guilt'.
Janette and Alijaz have shared adorable updates of Lyra meeting the Strictly family on their social media
(Image: Janette Manrara Instagram)

"It's hard, and you have to really kind of manage your time and prioritise family. Coming from someone like me who loves what I do and loves my job, I have really felt that I have found a good balance, but that also stems from having a good partner,' she told The Mirror earlier this year.
'You need to have someone by your side that has the same kind of attitude as you do, that they love to work, but they also love to be a parent.
'Then between the two of you, that communication, that teamwork, prioritising the baby and making sure that you know they are the forefront of any decision you make as a family, is there.'
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Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer in September.
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We're all really different from Gary Lineker… here's what he said after we got the job, say new MOTD hosts
We're all really different from Gary Lineker… here's what he said after we got the job, say new MOTD hosts

The Sun

time2 minutes ago

  • The Sun

We're all really different from Gary Lineker… here's what he said after we got the job, say new MOTD hosts

GARY LINEKER'S replacement has big boots to fill – so it is probably a good job that Match Of The Day has THREE new hosts. Kelly Cates, Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman make up the new presenting team who will take over from Saturday. 6 6 6 But they insist that aside from fresh faces, not much is changing on BBC One's flagship football show. It helps that we're all different from Gary, in that he goes in with a profile of his own as an England legend. An ex-player taking over would be a more direct comparison Kelly And they hope to avoid being compared to TV legend and former Spurs and England striker Gary, 64, who quit the Beeb in May over an antisemitism row 'It helps that we're all really different from Gary, in that he goes in with a profile of his own as an England legend,' Kelly, an established sports broadcaster, says. 'It's a very different career path. An ex-player taking over would be a more direct comparison.' Gabby, 52, adds: 'The focus is only on us because Gary's leaving and he's such a huge name. 'We're nowhere near the most important people on the show. Titan of broadcasting 'The most important thing is the football, then it's the pundits and what they think about it. 'What people will notice is that there isn't much change.' Dad-of-four Gary announced last November that he would be stepping down from the BBC's beloved football highlights show after 26 years at the helm. He bowed out with an emotional final episode three months ago, and anchoring next year's World Cup coverage was supposed to be his Beeb swansong. Wayne Rooney lands £800k deal to be Match of the Day pundit as he and wife Coleen become British TV's new power couple But he fully cut ties with the Corporation in May after being accused of antisemitism — having shared a video online saying 'Zionism explained in two minutes', which contained a rat emoji. He denied knowing that it was an anti-Jewish slur and said it was a 'genuine mistake'. In the two-and-a-half decades before that sorry ending, Gary had firmly established himself as a titan of British sports broadcasting. He endeared himself to millions of viewers with his natural charm, wit and knowledge of the beautiful game. No pressure, then, on whoever was to be chosen as his successor. BBC veteran 'Chappers', as presenter Mark is affectionately known, quickly emerged as a frontrunner — having hosted Match Of The Day 2 on Sunday nights since 2013, while also occasionally covering for Gary. Another favourite was Gabby, who has sporadically hosted MOTD as well as covering major sporting events, including the Olympics, since joining the Beeb in 2007. BBC chiefs instead chose to make them two thirds of a new rotating team of presenters, along with well-respected Sky Sports footie and Radio 5 Live host Kelly. They were announced as the new hosts in January, but until the big reveal they had been forced to keep schtum. So much so that mum-of-two Kelly, 49, even kept it a secret from her Liverpool legend dad Sir Kenny Dalglish, 74, as he has loose lips. We set up a WhatsApp group called The Match Of The Day Three, which sounded like a vigilante group, or like we've been wrongly incarcerated for something Gabby The trio risked being rumbled, though, after they were spotted out for dinner together. Kelly revealed: 'We thought, 'Should we do that? Does it just draw attention to ourselves?'. I got a text from a friend of my sister's saying, 'Somebody has seen you and Gabby Logan out together!'. Chappers was there, with his hoodie up and bobble hat.' The three of them had soon set up a WhatsApp group to keep in contact. Gabby said: 'I called it The Match Of The Day Three, which we quickly realised sounded like some kind of vigilante group, or like we've been wrongly incarcerated for something.' As well as the presenting shake-up, bosses have also decided to make a slight change to the Sunday show — dropping '2' from the title and simply calling it Match Of The Day. 6 6 And the European footie highlights version will be called Match Of The Day: Champions League. Married mum-of-two Gabby says: 'In many weeks, Match Of The Day 2 has been a stronger line-up. Why is the Saturday Match Of The Day seen as the top job? I'm intrigued, really, because I've never viewed Saturdays and Sundays as any different Mark 'Match Of The Day is Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays [for Champions League highlights]. It's not Match Of The Day 1, Match Of The Day 2, it's just Match Of The Day. 'Want people to care' 'That will be the most noticeable change, apart from not having Gary involved.' Dad-of-three Mark, 51, will host this Saturday's show — but does not think it is more important than the Sunday edition, which typically has fewer games to analyse. He says: 'Why is it the top job? I'm intrigued, really, because I've never viewed Saturdays and Sundays as any different.' The presenting trio lifted the lid on getting the gig for the first time in a chat with Radio Times, before the new Premier League season starts on Friday night. Kelly reveals she was first told about the possibility of being the host over a lunch — unlike Gabby, who was sounded out by text. Some 33million footie fans tune into the MOTD over the season — and in 2015, it won a Guinness World Record for being the longest-running football TV show, on air since 1964. But Kelly was taken aback by the huge level of interest in the role. She says: 'I didn't think there would be as much focus as there has been. I thought, probably very naively, that Gary would take it all as the outgoing person. I didn't realise people would be as interested as they are. 'Neighbours, friends, kids' parents, people who wouldn't normally have been interested in anything I did — suddenly they are.' Kelly was quizzed over BBC Chairman Samir Shah's remarks in an interview earlier this year, that MOTD 'should be built around analysis' rather than highlights. She said: 'I don't think he has a say in how it's made. 'He's just giving an opinion as a football fan — which is fine, that's what you want people to do. 'You want people to care about Match Of The Day and how it's made. What people like about the show is the fact that it's about the football — it's about the highlights. That's the most important thing.' Inevitably, the question of social-media conduct was raised, following numerous run-ins between Gary and the BBC when he aired his views on topics such as migrants and Palestine. 'In best of hands' Kelly says: 'I don't think I've ever really weighed in that much on anything that isn't either about football or something quite silly. That's not how I've ever used social media.' For eight years, Gary was the Beeb's top earner — raking in £1.35million in 2024/25. But Gabby remained tight-lipped on whether the trio would be shooting up the BBC wage list — saying people must wait until the figures drop next July to find out. Asked if Gary had contacted his successors since they landed the roles, Mark said: 'I saw him not long ago and he said he had been asked in an interview whether he'd given us tips. 6 'And he said, 'Why? What? What on earth would I be doing phoning you three up to offer you tips? Why would I be deemed to be that arrogant to do that?'. 'Experience-wise, we've all been doing it for a long time. 'I feel a bit sorry for Gary being asked that question because he's on a hiding to nothing. When I started doing stuff for Sky, the first person I spoke to was Kelly, to get a lay of the land, not how to do the job.' Gary spoke fondly of his successors during his final broadcast, telling viewers: 'The programme is in the best of hands.' It is then, perhaps, no surprise that he has not felt the need to offer any pearls of wisdom. Gabby said: 'I'm sure if Gary had something very practical he wanted to pass on, we'd all receive it gratefully. 'But as Mark says, he doesn't feel he needs to. I know where the biscuits are kept.' Let's hope Kelly, Gabby and Mark can continue serving up treats like their predecessor as the new season kicks off this weekend.

In Flight star Stuart Martin's life off screen with Rivals actress wife
In Flight star Stuart Martin's life off screen with Rivals actress wife

Daily Mirror

time2 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

In Flight star Stuart Martin's life off screen with Rivals actress wife

Stuart Martin is back on our screens tonight in the gritty drama In Flight but away from the world of TV, he has a happy family with an actress who starred in Rivals last year Stuart Martin is back on our screens tonight in the gritty drama In Flight. The actor, 39, stars as menacing gang leader Cormac in the new Channel 4 drama, who coerces flight attendant Jo Conran (Katherine Kelly) into using her job to repeatedly struggle drugs, in order to save the life of her son, who is currently behind bars for a murder he claims he did not commit. ‌ The TV star has actually been something of a mainstay on screens for well over a decade, having initially played guest roles in shows such as Taggart in 2009 and a handful of episodes of the now-defunct Scottish soap River City. In 2014, he starred as Lannister Soldier in an episode of the HBO series Game of Thrones and then landed the more regular role of PC Tony Forbes in Babylon. ‌ From 2017 until 2019, he appeared in all 24 episodes of Jamestown as Silas Sharrow, and then landed what is possibly his most famous role as Detective Inspector William Wellington on Miss Scarlett and the Duke. He played this part from 2020 until 2024, at which point the series continued on without him. On film, he has starred in both instalments of the space opera franchise Rebel Moon alongside the likes of Djimon Hounsou and Sofia Boutella. ‌ But away from his life on screen, Stuart is married to actress Lisa McGrillis. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary together, and are parents to Josh, eight, as well as four-year-old Cleo. Lisa has also starred in a number of television favourites, having first risen to prominence with her role as Vicki Pearson on the sitcom Hebburn alongside Chris Ramsey. Following that, she achieved further acclaim for her role as Sergeant Rachel Coles on Inspector George Gently, and was seen on the BBC drama series from 2014 until 2017. Since 2022, she has held the main role of Courtney on Avoidance, but last year she starred as Valerie Jones on the smash-hit Disney+ comedy drama that was based on the book by Jilly Cooper and also featured the likes of Emily Atack, Danny Dyer and David Tennant. Lisa met her husband at the National Theatre's bar more than a decade ago, but admitted that she became a 'nervous wreck' when their first child came along. She told The Sunday Post: "I was so busy for the first seven or eight months of my son's life and by the end I was a nervous wreck, so jittery and tired. The two things don't align – family life and filming. I look in the mirror and I've gone from looking like a spring chicken five years ago to a shrivelled old shoe." ‌ The couple often wow followers with their social media presence as they attend glamorous showbiz events together. In 2023, when Stuart starred in Rebel Moon, Lisa took to Instagram to write: "What a feast for your eyes, very proud of my action hero husband," and emblazoned her gushing post with several heart emojis. More recently, the couple attended the Mediterrane Film Festival together, and shared a loved-up picture from the red carpet. Lisa captioned that post: "Thank you for the most beautiful evening celebrating film and the rich culture of Malta, what a stunning evening that was." And the post did not go unnoticed by their celebrity friends, as her Rivals co-star Emily Atack wrote: "I can't quite handle how ft you both are," whilst Emmerdale actress Chelsea Halfpenny simply wrote: "Hotties," and left behind a heart emoji to boot. ‌ During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Stuart admitted that a lot of work 'suddenly went off the table' as the pandemic took hold but even though he thought it was a 'worrying and upsetting time for everyone' in his industry, but found comfort in being able to spend time with his family. He told the Scotsman at the time: "Usually you're going 'right, up in the morning, got to do this!, and you're distracted. Now, you're really spending that time with each other. And the community stuff that's coming out of it is lovely. There could definitely be a re-set for us all after this." At the same time, he admitted: "I'd have to say my wife and lad. But if I can have another? Actually no, I'm not sure I could live locked in a house for two months with anyone else. Or they could live with me. I'll stick with my lockdowns. I wouldn't inflict that on anyone, alive or dead." In Flight comprises six hour-long episodes, with the first set to air on Channel 4 on Tuesday, 12 August at 9pm. For viewers so taken in by the series, all episodes are available to view on the online streaming service on Tuesday or if episodes will be broadcast weekly on the channel. ‌ Alongside Katherine, who is perhaps best known for her portrayal of diamond-in-the-rough Becky Granger on Coronation Street but has starred in a string of dramas since them, Stuart also features alongside Ashley Thomas, also known by his stage name Bashy. He plays will play customs officer Dom Delaney, Jo's ex, in the thrilling drama. Some might recognise Ashley as Jermaine Newton from Top Boy. His acting credits include appearances in Black Mirror, Great Expectations, and The Serpent Queen. Completing the In Flight ensemble are Bronagh Waugh playing Melanie, Harry Cadby as Sonny, Corinna Brown portraying Kayla, and Ambreen Razia in the role of Zara.

Jeremy Clarkson joins backlash as JD Vance holidays in the Cotswolds
Jeremy Clarkson joins backlash as JD Vance holidays in the Cotswolds

Sky News

time15 minutes ago

  • Sky News

Jeremy Clarkson joins backlash as JD Vance holidays in the Cotswolds

Jeremy Clarkson has joined a backlash in the Cotswolds after US vice president JD Vance arrived at a picturesque hamlet in the region for his summer holiday. Mr Vance and his family are staying at Dean Manor, a Grade II-listed country home in the tiny hamlet of Dean, during a trip where they also stayed with the Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kent and will later travel to Scotland. Local residents reportedly expressed their frustrations after Mr Vance's enormous motorcade, consisting of 18 vehicles, caused a lockdown in the countryside on Monday. People in the Cotswolds faced road closures and security checkpoints overseen by police with sniffer dogs as Mr Vance made his way to Dean Manor on Monday, according to GloucestershireLive. It came before a "Vance Not Welcome Party" protest was organised by the groups "Everybody Hates Elon" and the "Stop Trump Coalition" in Charlbury, close to where Mr Vance is staying, today. The demonstrators held banners mocking the US vice president and calling him a "war criminal", in an apparent reference to America's support for Israel. Several protesters held images of a widely shared meme depicting Mr Vance with a bald head. The meme went viral after a Norwegian tourist claimed he was not allowed into the US after immigration agents saw it on his phone. One protester in Charlbury held a banner reading "JD Vance's Netflix password is 'password'", while another held a sign which said: "JD Vance claps when the plane lands." Meanwhile, a van displaying the image of a bald Mr Vance was seen driving through Charlbury. A large sign outside a property in nearby Chipping Norton read: "Gaza starves, Vance not welcome." The demonstrations took place as former Top Gear presenter Clarkson shared an image on Instagram which highlighted how his farm is under a no-fly zone over the Cotswolds areas of Chadlington and Spelsbury. In an apparent reference to filming for the fifth series of his show Clarkson's Farm, the 65-year-old wrote: "The JD Vance no fly zone. We are the pin. So on the downside, no drone shots today. On the upside, no annoying light aircraft." However, he later sarcastically shared a video of a peaceful Cotswolds scene and wrote: "Utter chaos caused by Vance. How will we ever manage?" Kaleb Cooper, a farmer who is Clarkson's co-star on the Amazon Prime show, said some of his "wheat got wet" after he got stuck behind Mr Vance's convoy. He wrote: "I could have easily went on my way and got it in the shed without getting in the way." Cooper also joked that if Mr Vance simply "drove around in a VW Polo nobody would know who he was". Clarkson's "Diddly Squat Farm" in Chadlington is around three miles from the hamlet of Dean where Mr Vance is staying. Well known for being popular with members of the British elite - former UK prime minister David Cameron lives in Dean - the Cotswolds is also becoming increasingly popular with wealthy Americans. Some of them moved to the region after the election of Donald Trump last year. TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres is among those who has relocated to the area. Not all of Dean's residents appreciate its growing popularity. Jonathan Mazower, the head of communications for NGO Survival International, who owns one of Dean's 15 homes, said he had to speak out against Mr Vance's presence, adding: "It's a massive intrusion and it's not just the fact our lives are disrupted but it's who he is." Vance's UK tour The US vice president is expected to host shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick during his holiday - but not Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. Mr Jenrick has been invited to meet Mr Vance before a drinks event on Tuesday, it is understood. A Conservative spokesman said the party leader's team had spoken to Mr Vance's but that "scheduling" had proved difficult. Both sides have played down the notion of a snub, the Telegraph reported. It comes as the US vice president will travel to Scotland later this week in a trip that could see up to 1,000 police officers deployed as part of security efforts. Sky News understands the Vance family are likely to visit Ayrshire but are not thought to be planning to stay at Mr Trump's Turnberry resort in the area. 1:22 In Kent, Mr Vance said he had a "love" for the UK but joked he had committed a diplomatic faux pas as he began his holiday. "Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not," he said. He also said he doesn't want the UK to go down a "very dark path" of losing free speech.

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