Irritatingly, Wet Leg's new album is pretty good
There's quite a lot to dislike about Wet Leg, even aside from their stupid name. The entirety of their lyrical canon, for starters – vapid and petulant millennial inanities, 50 per cent performative braggadocio, 50 per cent adolescent carping. Or there's the commodification of their sexualities: they've traded up to being bi, just before the market peaks.
Or there's Rhian Teasdale's frequent, bone-idle recourse to an affected, half-spoken monotone in lieu of, y'know, a tune – that shtick had begun to pall even before the end of their debut single, 'Chaise Longue'. Or the unremitting chug chug chug of the guitars and the fact that Teasdale sings in the manner of a 16-year-old when she's actually 32. All this and more.
Trouble is, for all that, this is a good pop album. As conventional as it gets within a power-pop framework, from the typically childish kiss-off of 'Mangetout' to the rather affecting paean to Davina McCall called, you will be surprised to hear, 'Davina McCall'. 'Catch These Fists' is graced with crunchy power chords to alleviate the eternal chug, while 'Don't Speak' begins like Paul Westerberg but develops rather cutely into being a rather beguiling piece of what – if these people were older – would be called Heartland Rock.
They even, in some of the more melodic moments, bring to mind the Cardigans (who were superior and much archer talents), although more often they recall a kind of slightly more savvy Shampoo, even if they have yet to come up with a song as irresistible as 'Delicious'.
Still, against my better judgment, I rather enjoyed it. And isn't it lovely to see the Isle of Wight back on the rock map?
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The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Will Best reveals huge Big Brother shake-up ahead of 25th anniversary as he opens up new series twists
WILL Best has revealed that Big Brother fans are in for a huge treat for the show's 25th anniversary later this year. The much-loved TV presenter, 40, said bosses won't disappoint when it comes to celebrating the special series this autumn. 8 8 8 Will admitted bosses have plenty of twists up their sleeve and have big plans to toy with contestants more than ever before. Speaking exclusively to The Sun about the milestone series, Will said: "Some of the great moments have always been when Big Brother shows straight away that he means business. "Like night one, things are being toyed with, people are being wrong footed, unexpected things are happening and I would be very surprised if that isn't dialled up for the 25th anniversary." Will, who began co-hosting the ITV revival of Big Brother alongside AJ Odudu in 2023, opened up about his future on the show after becoming one of UK's most in demand presenters. He told us: "I hope I'll be on the show for quite a while, definitely. "I think the main thing is the show itself is going down well. I think ITV have done an amazing job, purely speaking as a Big Brother fan, who has been following the show for 25 years. "Seeing how ITV have taken it, made it fresh, it feels kind of level upped in a way. I think as long as ITV keep making it the way they are, it will run and run in it's current form." Will shared his excitement about presenting the 25th anniversary after growing up watching Davina McCall and Emma Willis present the show. He said: "I can't believe it, I kind of didn't really click, me and AJ are getting to work on the series during that anniversary, it feels big. "I sort of pinch myself every time I think I work on Big Brother, so to be doing it on the 25th anniversary, I'll have to pinch myself extra hard." Moment Danny Beard shocks Celeb Big Brother hosts by making a play for their JOB live on TV Will opened up about the show's incredible success and the secret behind why it's still on our screens all these years later. He said: "The thing with Big Brother is, you just trust the format, because no matter what happens, every series is unique. Every series has stuff in it that you could never in a million years could script or predict, it just works. "There's a reason it's been going for 25 years, it's in like 100 countries around the world and has been since it started. "It is one of the biggest longest running shows in the history of television because when you put 16 or however many people in a house, lock them up for 24 hours a day for six or seven weeks and film the whole thing, it will be chaos and funny and emotional and dramatic." It was also revealed in May that Big Brother has been extended for the milestone series - meaning it will be seven weeks long instead of six. Will hinted that the extra week will bring plenty more chaos. He said: "I'm delighted, the last civilian series, that could have carried on. There was unfinished business. The relationships were still forming, forging, unfolding, falling apart. There were so many layers, I was watching it and thinking 'this could carry on'." The last celebrity series saw plenty of drama unfold, with bosses putting the contestants through their paces. But during the madness, a surprise pair found love. Will shared his joy for Chris Hughes and JoJo Siwa, who went official with their relationships just weeks after leaving the famous house. "I'm delighted for Chris and Jojo! I have to confess, I was surprised when their relationship did turn from platonic to romantic, but they seem so happy together, and so perfect for each other, I just wish them all the best," Will said. "And it would be fun to see the first Celeb BB couples wedding. Maybe I'll even get an invite…' Despite being the consummate professional, Will said he still gets nervous when presenting live TV, but insisted his partnership with AJ is the key to help calming his nerves and visa versa. He shared: "I get nervous about everything, at the end of the day I'm with my best mate. You have to remember we're just having a laugh. "The thing about Big Brother, if me and AJ weren't working on it, we'd be watching it and we'd be discussing it. That's just a default. We'd be doing this anyway, we're just lucky enough to be doing it in front of a couple of million people." Speaking about their incredible partnership, Will said: "AJ is one of my best mates and I've known her forever and it does make a massive difference, you're just lucky to work with friends to have it that way round. "Often you become good mates with your colleagues but to be really good friends with somebody and to get the opportunity to work on a show like that is pretty special." WORK HARD, PLAY HARD And when Will and AJ are not being absolute pros on screen, they know how to let their hair down and have a good time. Will has teamed up with Holiday Inn Express for their Fresh or Fried campaign, as he opened up about some of his wild party days. The host, who has a been in the industry for nearly three decades, having landed his first his first presenting gig in 2010 on Viva. During that time, he's enjoyed his own fair share of festivals and gigs as he recalled a hilarious moment an A-lister told him off. Will said: "I once got told off for being too drunk by Ellie Goulding, she just said 'oh my god, are you drunk?' and I was like 'yes, I'm at a Katy Perry concert. "I don't think I was doing anything bad, it was at the iTunes concert." With the host being on the scene for a while now, he's attended a number of glitzy star-studded events. But Will said there are two famous faces that are the life and soul of any party. He said: "It's AJ Odudu [the best person to go on a night out with], she is the life and soul of every party. I've had some fun nights with AJ and Maya [Jama]. "I ended up after the Brits when Maya hosted it, me and AJ, my job when I go out with AJ is like 'we're going home, we're not going to be out all night because usually the Brits is just before Big Brother start and we're usually in Big Brother getting ready mode. "I start worrying about tomorrow Will towards the end of the evening but AJ seems to hate tomorrow AJ because she doesn't care about her. She ploughs on. I'm always the voice of reason." Will recalled one of his best nights out with his fellow presenters at the Brit Awards in March. "When me and AJ went to the Brits together, my job was to make sure we went home. There are lots of afterparties, we're in the build up of Big Brother, we're both like 'we need to get our game faces on. "She was like 'Will we're making sure we go home'. AJ likes to chat to lots of people after the show and I could tell she was going to get dragged into an afterparty and I was like 'AJ, we're leaving', I found an exit and took us out the back exit but unfortunately collided with Maya Jama who was getting onto her party bus to go to an afterparty, we got scooped up and didn't get to bed as early as we would have. "I still left though because I was like 'AJ, now it's time to go at 2 in the morning', she was like 'see you'." CAREER HIGHS AND LOWS The telly star has made his become a firm favourite with fans thanks to his charm and charisma and has cemented himself as one of the most in demand presenters. But Will opened up about his life and how it wasn't always this easy and said landing some of his TV jobs was purely down to "luck". He said: "I was really lucky when my career first started, I set myself this target that I wanted to get on T4, because that was the sort of show I wanted to work on - I wanted to work in music and comedy and I felt like T4 was the perfect vehicle for that and through a series of lucky events and having the right haircut at the right time, I got MTV and I got T4 and it all just fell into place. It was luck, luck just played a huge part in it. "I thought 'oh, it's quite easy getting telly gigs', the reality it's not." The star admitted times were hard and he struggled to pay his bills - especially when Covid hit in 2020. "There has been definite ups and downs throughout my career, early on all those youth music shows I was working on, they all came to an end because youth music TV stopped being a thing," he said. "There were definitely periods where I thought I wasn't going to get work ever again in front of the camera. "I've got a business outside of TV which has always kept me busy and I've done stuff behind the camera. "When I got the call for Big Brother, at that point the day I got the call, I was producing another shoot for someone else, I've always done stuff behind the camera." Discussing how he deals with the knockbacks, Will shared: "I'm never that surprised, so if a knockback comes I'm like 'fair enough', you have to move on quite quickly, but it wasn't even knockbacks to be honest, it was more like not much happening. "But obviously Covid played a big part in that." He continued: "When Covid hit a lot of my work got cancelled because I was doing a lot of stuff that was international music festivals. "There was a period after that where I was just relying on income from this small business that I started which was less than my mortgage outgoings. "It was definitely times which where I was like 'I'm going to have to completely rethink things, give up completely'. "That's why I was getting into producing and directing, the reality for lots of people in TV across the board, it's just harder and harder for everyone to keep going." Will kicked off his presenting career on MTV. Teaming up with Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh, he presented a series called Suck My Pop on VIVA, as well voicing the MTV Top 20 chart. He went on to join the T4 family in 2011, hosting the show's annual T4 On The Beach series and other slots. A familiar face at music festivals, in 2012 and 2013, Will hosted Channel 4's coverage of the iTunes Festival alongside Nick Grimshaw. Despite having a hugely successful career, Will admitted that he still has feelings of imposter syndrome. He said: "I have imposter syndrome pretty much 100 per cent of the time, but I think the job that we do is so surreal, it would be odd if you didn't." NEXT BIG MOVE With his hands full with Hits Radio and Big Brother, the star said he'd still be up for signing up to some of the big reality TV shows if he was approached. He said: "I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever turned down a TV job. Mainly because I've always been so surprised to actually be offered anything, it would seem rude to refuse. "I'd love to do Strictly, I would love to do I'm A Celeb, I would love to do Celebrity Traitors. I will do anything if they pay me to do it." Will also teased that he'd be up for a permanent role on This Morning after a few appearances on the ITV show - but on one condition. He said: "I wouldn't dream of pushing Dermot [O'Leary] or Ben [Shephard] off the This Morning sofa, but if they were on holiday and they needed me to step into the role, I would do that. "If there was a ceremony where Dermot and Ben said 'Will I'd like to bequeath my spot on the sofa to you, I think you're a top chap, you can have it', but until that day, those guys have got it." Will said the new Holiday Inn Express Fresh and Fried packs are perfect for helping with wellness. "This summer of pop that we're all experiencing so many gigs, festivals, it happens every year, it feels like this summer there is more than ever going on," he said. "It's the perfect time to take advantage of these amazing care boxes. "There are two different kinds that can reflect how you get ready for a big night and prepare after a gig or to recover the next day. You can either get a fresh box or a fried box. "The fried box is about recovery, things like hydration sachets, eye masks. "For me personally, now that I do breakfast radio, it's all about preparation the night before." Holiday Inn Express' Fresh or Fried campaign is running from 24th July - 24th September 2025, with boxes available at select properties across the UK and Ireland and online while stocks last. Or here. 8 8 8 8
Spectator
2 days ago
- Spectator
Irritatingly, Wet Leg's new album is pretty good
Grade: B+ There's quite a lot to dislike about Wet Leg, even aside from their stupid name. The entirety of their lyrical canon, for starters – vapid and petulant millennial inanities, 50 per cent performative braggadocio, 50 per cent adolescent carping. Or there's the commodification of their sexualities: they've traded up to being bi, just before the market peaks. Or there's Rhian Teasdale's frequent, bone-idle recourse to an affected, half-spoken monotone in lieu of, y'know, a tune – that shtick had begun to pall even before the end of their debut single, 'Chaise Longue'. Or the unremitting chug chug chug of the guitars and the fact that Teasdale sings in the manner of a 16-year-old when she's actually 32. All this and more. Trouble is, for all that, this is a good pop album. As conventional as it gets within a power-pop framework, from the typically childish kiss-off of 'Mangetout' to the rather affecting paean to Davina McCall called, you will be surprised to hear, 'Davina McCall'. 'Catch These Fists' is graced with crunchy power chords to alleviate the eternal chug, while 'Don't Speak' begins like Paul Westerberg but develops rather cutely into being a rather beguiling piece of what – if these people were older – would be called Heartland Rock. They even, in some of the more melodic moments, bring to mind the Cardigans (who were superior and much archer talents), although more often they recall a kind of slightly more savvy Shampoo, even if they have yet to come up with a song as irresistible as 'Delicious'. Still, against my better judgment, I rather enjoyed it. And isn't it lovely to see the Isle of Wight back on the rock map?
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Iconic Big Brother star takes BRUTAL swipe at Davina McCall - proving she still holds a grudge 19 years on from stint on show
An iconic Big Brother star has taken a swipe at former host Davina McCall as the reality series celebrates its 25th anniversary. The fly-on-the-wall programme first launched in 2000 on Channel 4 with McCall, now 57, as host, kicking off a new era of television. It ran on the station for a decade before it was axed in 2010, moving to Channel 5 the year later and remaining with the broadcaster until its demise in 2018. However, in 2023 ITV rebooted the show, bringing back the legendary spy house for its 'contemporary' spin on the noughties hit. But as Big Brother celebrates a whopping 25 years, Grace Adams-Short has taken a swipe at original host Davina, proving she is still holding a grudge 19 years later. She took part in the seventh series all the way back in 2006, becoming one of the most talked about housemates of the year for her bold opinions and fiery clashes with other contestants. Grace Adams-Short has taken a swipe at original host Davina, proving she is still holding a grudge 19 years on from her stint in the TV house During the live shows, the crowd regularly chanted 'get Grace out' as Davina presented the evictions from outside the TV abode. When she was eventually given the boot by the public, Grace even through a glass of water over fellow housemate Susie Verrico. Reflecting on dealing with Davina at the time and Big Brother's Little Brother host Dermot O'Leary, Grace bluntly said: 'Davina was never really friendly to me. 'Even during my eviction interview, I could tell she didn't like me. She was a Big Brother b***h! I've never seen her since.' Grace added to Betway 'Dermot, on the other hand, was lovely. 'The nicest, most genuine guy. I had to spend a week with him on Big Brother's Little Brother after coming out of the house, and we had a great time. 'He even stopped his taxi on Regent's Street once because he saw me. He was always so lovely to my mum, too.' Grace also praised former Big Brother host Rylan Clark, who she said has 'remained lovely' since she first met him before he found fame. They tied the knot in October 2009, three years after meeting on the show, and welcomed their first child Georgina in 2012, followed by son Spencer in 2015, daughter Allegra Portia in 2018 and baby Atticus in 2022 During her stint in the house, Grace met and fell in love with Mikey Dalton and the pair have remained together ever since. They tied the knot in October 2009, three years after meeting on the show, and welcomed their first child Georgina in 2012, followed by son Spencer in 2015, daughter Allegra Portia in 2018 and baby Atticus in 2022. After Davina's departure from Big Brother, Brian Dowling - who won in 2002 and returned for Ultimate Big Brother in 2010 - took over as host. He was replaced in 2013 by Emma Willis who remained as the main host of the programme until its axe in 2018. AJ Odud and Will Best were announced as the new hosts for ITV's reboot, with the duo set to return in September for the latest civilian series.
