Actor Marcus Harris publishes first novel after stroke
"I have always wanted to write and I have always been writing and had a number of things rejected by various agents and publishers," Mr Harris told BBC Radio Solent."Two-and-a-half years ago I got out of bed on a Saturday morning and I hit the bedroom floor and luckily my wife got me into hospital within the hour because I had had a major stroke."I took five-and-a-half hours to come through it – my wife was told I was probably not going to make it and the family was assembled."As I woke up and come round having survived with no detriment at all, I thought, what are the things I haven't done with my life?"Mr Harris said he looked back fondly on the summers spent filming the Blyton classic."To live in Exbury and to film in the New Forest and Dorset for two years was just an amazing experience," he said."To live in a hotel and be treated like celebrities – that we weren't at that stage – was just absolutely phenomenal."He said once the programme ended, he suffered a "huge crash" – but that being recognised on the street "made for an interesting couple of years".
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Wales Online
6 minutes ago
- Wales Online
New 'raw and real' Tommy Fury documentary shows Love Islander during 'worst year of his life'
New 'raw and real' Tommy Fury documentary shows Love Islander during 'worst year of his life' The former Love Islander and boxer has let the cameras in to his life for a 'raw and real' depiction of the behind the scenes of being Tommy Fury. The BBC will be airing the six part documentary series following Tommy during the tumultuous time. (Image: (Photo by)) Boxer Tommy Fury rose to fame after appearing on the ITV reality show Love Island in 2019, where he met his fiancée Molly Mae Hague. The pair took over the internet becoming 'couple goals' for the British public as they showed off their glamorous life as well as their happy family with their daughter Bambi. Although, they haven't had an easy ride, as the couple split in 2024 following rumours and speculation. It was later revealed in Molly's Amazon Prime documentary Behind It All, that their relationship took a turn following Tommy's alcohol reliance. The pair reunited during the second release of Molly's documentary, and have kept their relationship rather private since. Now, Tommy has released his own documentary with BBC Three which he has said shows the 'raw and real side of the 'worst year of his life'. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter . Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury will air tonight, August 19 on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. In the six part documentary the boxer is said to "open up about his life, legacy and battle to prove his worth - inside the ring and out of it." He told the BBC his reason for creating the documentary. He said: "I was really going through a tough time, and I just thought if there's any time to document this, it would be now. I want people not just to see all the great stuff that they see like winning fights on TV or living the life on Instagram. "I want people to see me going through a difficult time as well. Because that's real life. I wanted the documentary to be raw and real, and that's exactly what you've got." Article continues below Tommy described 2024 as the worst year of his life, having needed hand surgery as well as his extremely public break up. He explained: "2024 was awful. I started last January with a hand surgery and since then it just from went from bad to worse. I had my problems with alcohol, I was absent from the ring, I had problems in my private life and just lost touch with myself. "2025 is completely different. Already this year we've managed to make an amazing documentary. I've had my comeback fight. I'm back in the ring and back being active. My private life has never been better. And yeah, everything is just a complete opposite of 2024." The boxer believes that his initial injury is what started his difficult year, and is what was the root of the majority of his problems "both inside and outside the ring". He continued: "But I've come so far and I've done a full turn. I've gone from having nothing in my life, to living in a house alone, going through the toughest time of my life, to now having everything back and feeling myself again. I'm back in the gym and back training. I'm back in shape. My family's there and I've come full circle. I couldn't be any happier. "In terms of my family life, everything is private now between me and Molly, and we're in the happiest place possible. And that's all that anyone needs to know! Everyone's entitled to a private life and so right now we're going to live our private life, because we haven't had that since we were 19 or 20 years old. "It's all been lived out in front of a camera or on the front page of a newspaper. So now, going forward, we're finally going to take that private time." Tommy Fury proposed to Molly-Mae in July 2023 on a cliff in Ibiza (Image: Instagram/@mollymae) The boxer opened up about their relationship on BBC Breakfast, this morning, August 19. He said: "Because to be a great father you've got to be a great partner too, and you know rolling in drunk and doing all sorts of stuff, no-one wants to be around that and I can't blame - you know what's happened has happened. "I'd have done the same thing. Who wants to be around that? But at the end of the day, that's not who I am anymore." Article continues below You can watch Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury on BBC Three from 9pm, Tuesday, August 19. The first two episodes will be broadcasted on the channel tonight, however if you want to binge the series all six parts are now on BBC iPlayer here.
South Wales Guardian
14 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Rivals stars Danny Dyer and Emily Atack to reunite for new game show
The ITV series Nobody's Fool is described as 'a unique reality event packed full of drama and deception', which will feature 10 contestants from across the UK who are selected to stay in a 'smart house'. Contestants must compete in challenges to convince others that they are more intelligent than they may actually be. A post shared by ITV (@itv) They will also take part in daily individual quizzes that will test different areas of intelligence in order to build a group prize pot of up to £100,000. However, only the contestants themselves will know how well they have done, and it will be up to them to decide what information they choose to share with their competitors. Across the series, the players must determine who is the weakest among them and eliminate them in a bid to keep the genuine assets and weed out those who are faking it in a bid to stay in the game. The show aims to 'exploit preconceived notions about intelligence, playing on stereotypes and snap judgments to create a cast of characters who will keep viewers guessing', according to ITV. Dyer, who previously starred with Atack in the Disney+ adaptation of the Jilly Cooper novel Rivals, said: 'This is a blinder of a game show and unlike anything I've seen before. 'Emily and I had a brilliant time making it and much like the audience at home will be, we were kept guessing right until the very end.' Atack said: 'It's so exciting to be part of something this new and fresh. 'The chance to work with Danny again was a no brainer for me. We had such a laugh. Can't wait for everyone to watch, it's an absolute must-see.' Nobody's Fool will air on ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player next year.
Leader Live
17 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Tommy Fury admits to downing '20 shots a night' before Molly-Mae split
The boxer, 26, met Hague on ITV dating show Love Island in 2019 and the pair have a daughter, Bambi. The news of their split in August 2024, just more than a year after their engagement, sparked shock and speculation he had been unfaithful. Fury, the half-brother of boxer Tyson, denies the rumours in his new BBC Three docu-series Tommy: The Good, The Bad, The Fury, saying he started drinking heavily after injuring his hand. He said: 'The reason for our ending the relationship was alcohol.' He added: 'I couldn't train, box, lift weights, that was all gone. 'My right hand was messed up, I was in dire pain, it's just what happens over years of impact on the hand. 'I had lost my entire identity, lost my life.' In the first episode of the show, Fury's father John says he urged Hague to leave his son, saying: 'I knew from dealing with Tyson, when the drinking started to come into play I thought 'Not again'. 'I did say to Molly, because she came to me, what you're best off doing with him, Molly, is walking away, because if he's not going to change himself, he doesn't think that much of you.' Revealing how much he was drinking at the time, Fury said: 'I hold my hands up, drink got hold of me – 20 shots a night, 20 beers. 'Every day I would have a drink and I would drink to get blackout drunk, and that is what led to me not being the right partner to Molly.' Discussing how it impacted him to be unable to fight, he said: 'The only thing that made me feel like I was back in that moment of thousands of fans again was picking up and having a drink, but having a drink was what cost me my entire family. 'The reason why everything went to shit, I went through the worst year of my life, I went through a crisis, was because I couldn't fight.' He admitted he was drunk when Hague eventually walked out, taking their daughter with her. A post shared by Molly-Mae (@mollymae) He said: 'I've never even said this before, but when they'd actually left the house, I was actually drunk at that point, so I don't actually remember it that well, which was even more upsetting. 'I woke up. I was like shit, and I was listening to probably the silence of the house for like an hour. I was like, f***. And that was the last time they've been here. 'I'm not going to lie and say I knew the feeling of what it was like when they walked out – I didn't because I was intoxicated.' The couple have since rekindled their relationship, with Hague saying she believes their relationship is 'worth saving'. Part one of Tommy: The Good, The Bad, The Fury is available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, with part two scheduled for later in the year.
