Strictly star gets chance to reboot career with C5 doc revealing Britain's favourite motorway service station
Never let it be said appearing on Strictly Come Dancing doesn't put you on the fast lane to renewed fame and fortune — just look at last year's runner-up Jb Gill.
The former JLS singer turned farmer and TV host is getting the chance to reboot his career courtesy of Channel 5 with a one-off documentary on a surprising topic.
4
Former JLS singer turned farmer and TV host is getting the chance to reboot his career courtesy of Channel 5 with a one-off documentary on motorway service stations
Credit: PA
Jb will host Britain's Favourite Service Station, in which he stops off to look at our long-standing love of these roadside retreats which, apparently, are something of a national institution.
A TV insider said: 'Joking aside, this is a show that will probably get pretty impressive viewing figures. After all, service stations are a bit of a guilty pleasure for most of us.
'Though it is still a bit of a surprise to see someone has come up with the idea of devoting an entire show to looking at them.
'Even more surprising is the fact they've got a former pop star in as the host, but execs seem to think it will work.'
READ MORE TV NEWS
He was originally paired with
Since then he has been pretty quiet, despite the fact he has shifted his focus from JLS to carving out a
television
career.
In the new hour-long show, Jb will be travelling up and down the nation's motorways, and discovering what makes some service stations more popular than others.
Most read in News TV
This isn't all based on a random whim by Channel 5 chiefs, however. The show is in conjunction with a genuine poll by consumer champions Which? identifying the best and worst.
Jb will be revealing which is our number one roadside stop-off, and which is parked at the bottom of the list.
Strictly star reveals heartbreaking behind the scenes moment between JB Gill and Amy Dowden that was never seen on camera
The suspense is killing me.
Insider Ekin has Deja-Su
The Love Island and
Celebrity
Big Brother star is now in reality series Inside, alongside a string of famous Americans.
4
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has landed a major new Netflix series, Inside, joining a star-studded American cast as her popularity in the US continues to grow
Credit: Getty
She went to the States just after Love Island All Stars in January to
film
for the show, a huge YouTube hit which was then bought by Netflix.
Ekin is a fan favourite there due to her stint last year on the US version of The Traitors.
A TV source said: 'Ekin flew to America just after All Stars to film Inside and it's all wrapped and in the can.'
Inside sees ten celebrities locked in a house where they compete for a prize fund.
The source added: 'The irony that Ekin had such an awful time on Celebrity Big Brother but went and did another strikingly similar show won't be lost on telly fans.'
The finale of Doctor Who's latest series will be available globally in its first ever worldwide premiere.
The Reality War will air on BBC One and Disney+ simultaneously in a prime-time evening slot on May 31.
A synopsis teases: 'The Doctor is doomed, Belinda is lost, Ruby is trapped …'
Sophie's Geordie u-turn
Just weeks after quitting Geordie Shore amid a pay row,
Sophie, who has been on the hit reality show on and off since its 2011 debut, joined the rest of the cast in
Portugal
, alongside boyfriend Jordan Brook, after her team pulled a dramatic u-turn by coming to a resolution over wages.
4
Just weeks after quitting Geordie Shore amid a pay row, Sophie Kasaei has returned to the MTV series
Credit: PA
Insiders told me the dispute was resolved after eleventh-hour talks with show bosses.
A source said: 'Execs were determined to keep Sophie in the show and didn't want to lose her, so after some last-minute meetings, they managed to secure a deal everyone was happy with.
'Sophie and Jordan missed the beginning of filming, but they stunned the cast over the weekend when they turned up to surprise everyone.'
EastEnders is working with the Royal National Institute of Blind People on a new storyline as Lauren and Peter's son is diagnosed with a visual impairment.
Struggling to settle Jimmy, Lauren (Jac Jossa) takes him for tests. The results shock her and Peter (Thomas Law).
Elaine's seniors salute
West End legend
Take a Bow, written by the mastermind behind the
4
West End legend Elaine Paige is to lead the cast of a new sitcom about retirement
Credit: Getty
Elaine's own production company will be behind the series, which will feature an international cast to be announced soon.
Writer Jason Cook teased to industry website Broadcast that the programme will aim to 'show that life really starts once you get that awful work stuff out the way'.
Elaine added: 'It's a bold, funny celebration of friendship, freedom, and the joy of still being very much alive.'
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
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The Irish Sun
13 hours ago
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My body's ‘under construction' after cancer op but prosthetic boobs have made me feel normal says Hollyoaks' Ali Bastian
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And she reveals how she has found an unlikely pillar of support in the form of her former stepmother, who she had not seen in over 20 years. READ MORE CELEB FEATURES Asked how she had handled the recovery, she said: "In some ways better than I would have imagined actually, even the sort of gearing up for a mastectomy. "I've got a really good prosthetic that makes a big difference. It means in clothes I feel normal. It's bright pink. It makes me happy. "It's just very different to the lump of silicone that you get handed in the hospital, which is a hell of a moment. "This is a lot lighter and easy to wear. I quite like that it doesn't look like a chicken fillet, like a pretend boob. Most read in Celebrity "It's something that I could show the kids as well because it's so visually appealing. "It was one of those little bridging things. I just keep saying to myself really 'I'm still under construction, I've been through a lot, I'm healing at the moment'." Following her shock breast cancer diagnosis, actress and Strictly star Ali Bastian on losing her hair and the changed relationship with her boobs 12 Ali Bastian as Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks Credit: Mersey Television 12 She is also known for appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 Credit: PA:Press Association,BBBC 12 The former Hollyoaks star, pictured before her diagnosis, was declared cancer-free in March Credit: Getty 12 In one emotional video, Ali shaved her head while undergoing chemotherapy treatment Credit: Instagram / @alibastianinsta Ali, who has two daughters Isla, five, and Isabella, two, with husband David O'Mahony, is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, as well as appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009. She was diagnosed with cancer after discovering a lump she initially thought was a blocked milk duct while breastfeeding her youngest daughter. But after undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, Ali says her successful recovery has now allowed her to focus on other health problems she was forced to put off. She said: "I've got a big old hernia from my babies as well. "Because of all of this I haven't been able to have that done, and actually I'm more keen to get that done than anything else because that is harder to hide. "It's like a tennis ball. I've had it for five years, and it needs to go now." And speaking on the prospect of further surgery to reconstruct her breasts following the mastectomy, she said she will "explore" her options. She said: "I couldn't have a reconstruction at the time because we always knew I'd have to have radiotherapy. At some point there'll be some kind of something. "Initially I was like 100 per cent it's happening. But now, I want to have the conversations and talk through what the options are, but I'm not actually married to any of them at the moment." Surprise reunion 12 Ali is now hoping to remove a tennis ball-sized tumour that developed after giving birth Credit: Instagram / @alibastianinsta 12 Ali said that her stepmum's sister, who was an oncology nurse, has also provided support Credit: Instagram / @alibastianinsta 12 Ali with husband husband David O'Mahony Credit: Instagram Most incredibly of all, Ali's health battle has also led to her reconnecting with her former stepmum, Sally, who she hadn't seen in 20 years. The pair reunited after Ali's mum tragically passed in autumn 2023, just months before her cancer diagnosis. In an emotional post last April, she told fans: "I wrote this on Mother's Day but didn't end up posting, but here goes…. TW grief. We lost our beautiful Mum in the autumn of '23, only a few months before my diagnosis. "A sudden death after a short terrible illness. Impossible to make sense of. "Grief, I attempted to put on hold whilst I managed a grueling treatment regime now comes in waves, sometimes crashing, sometimes tidal, rarely gentle… but I try to go gently with myself as I navigate life after cancer and life without you." The actress had moved with her husband and children from London to west Cork to slow down shortly before the tragic death. It followed her suffering a suspected infection following the birth of her second child. But her stepmum in London, who she had not seen for 20 years, got in touch and offered to come to Ireland to help Ali and her family - support she said was "incredibly healing". 12 Speaking about the response to her revealing her diagnosis, she said: "The love and support and kindness was incredible. I never know what to respond to those moments. "'It means more than you know' is what I find myself always saying, but I really, really mean that. "I had this amazing thing happen for me in that my stepmum, who I hadn't seen for 20 years, who'd parted company with my dad when I was about 20, when I lost my mum, she reached out to me. "She was like 'Hi, I'm here for you if you need me'. She knew I had a nine-month-old baby. So she just kept an eye on me." Ali added: "When I got my diagnosis she was like 'I'm coming to Cork'. "She spent a week with me and my family. Her sister was an oncology nurse so she had a sense of the treatment plan I was on, and what the months might look like. "She said 'Can I come back and I'll nurse you through this bit?' So she was with me for five weeks through the real tough chemo part. The way my treatment went towards the end, it's quite cumulative. "So she came and helped with the kids and helped me, and talked to me, and looked after me basically, and then came back again when I had my mastectomy and just held me. "Literally sleeves up. It's a really different energy when somebody's like 'I see you in that hole, I want to climb down with you and help you, and please let me do that'. "That's been incredibly healing, like amazing, amazing." 'Crazy little bubble' 12 Ali featured in the iconic Hollyoaks swimwear calendar Credit: Handout Speaking after coming back to London and staying with her stepmum, Ali said: "When I come back to London now I stay with her and I have a home here to go to, because I hadn't taken that on board with moving out to Ireland - that there's nowhere to come back to. "I have a place to go, a soft place to go, and that just means so much. "The type of woman that she is, after she and my father parted ways she went on to become a social worker and become really experienced in that. "She's done incredible work in that field for years and years. "So of all the people that I know that would be able to hold that space for me, my children, my husband, all of those dynamics, and you know the way a family undulates at the best of times, when there's something going on there's constant shifts in everyone's ups and downs. "We were kind of in this crazy little bubble going through this nightmare all together - she just had a way of being able to be there for us, and that not be complicated. "She even gave me a mug of tea last night and I looked in the rim and it said 'I told you to sit down'."
