Latest news with #2:22:AGhostStory
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Giovanna Fletcher admits 'it's hard leaving' as husband Tom pleads 'can you not'
Giovanna Fletcher and her husband Tom have been married for nearly a decade and have three children together, but the couple have admitted that making time for each other can be difficult Giovanna Fletcher admits "it's always hard" moving on from a production as husband Tom Fletcher pleaded with her not to go away again. Giovanna, 40, is known as the host of the host of the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast as well as her novels. She was also crowned Queen on the Jungle on the 20th series of I'm a Celeb. Alongside her life as a celebrated podcaster and author, Giovanna juggles family life with three youngsters, Buzz, 11, Buddy, 9, and seven year old Max, pairing with McFly's frontman Tom Fletcher. Her notable theatre work has seen her light up the West End in shows like 2:22: A Ghost Story and Everybody's Talking About Jamie, coming off a recent tour as the lead in The Girl on the Train. In a chat with Heat magazine about returning to the stage, Giovanna admitted: "Absolutely. It's always hard leaving a show, especially one you love." Tom, the 39-year-old McFly sensation, quipped: "I've only just got her back home. Can you not send her back off on tour, please." Not one to sit idle, Giovanna has matched her bustling agenda with that of her spouse Tom, who is gearing up for an electrifying Busted vs McFly Tour of his own. He's no stranger to penmanship either, having authored books himself, and now he's venturing into the dramatic arts world. Tom has been working diligently, composing lyrics and music for Paddington The Musical, while also adapting his children's book series, The Dinosaur that Pooped, for the stage with The Dinosaur that Pooped A Rock Show. The power couple recently carved out some time for a "rare" evening at The Great Gatsby's press night, with Giovanna commenting on their action-packed lives: "We're very busy". Tom echoed the sentiment, the former Strictly Come Dancing star remarked: "We won't get many nights like this." Childhood sweethearts Tom and Giovanna first crossed paths at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and later sealed their love with a 2012 wedding. Tom's heartfelt wedding speech, where he expressed gratitude to his wife and bandmates, became an internet sensation. Giovanna recently shared insights into the challenges of balancing demanding careers during a podcast, sympathising with a listener's marital difficulties. She confessed: "That's really hard isn't it. I can relate, I feel with Tom if we can manage to watch something together and our feet touch, that's a win." She continued: "I also think being aware that you're so busy that you're juggling, that you're drifting is really really important, because then you can do something about it. I think not being aware of it is the difficult place to be." Furthermore, Giovanna passionately advised against comparing one's relationship to others. She stated: "I think it's so easy to look at other couples out there, whether that's your mates, or online and go 'oh my gosh they've got it sorted'. It's all b******s, total total rubbish."
Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
EastEnders shock as legendary love rat 'returns' after four years
His comeback coincides with former on-screen lover preparing to depart Walford. His character reportedly has "loads of unfinished business in the Square and is set to ruffle some feathers" A much-loved EastEnders star is set to make a surprise return four years on from leaving the show. Jake Wood, 52, played love rat Max Branning for an impressive 15 years before leaving Walford to pursue other opportunities. Since Jake's final EastEnders scenes aired in early 2021, the popular actor has certainly been keeping himself busy - he's launched a well-liked podcast, showed off his acting chops in a spine-chilling West End play called 2:22: A Ghost Story, and even bagged roles in Christmas pantomimes. As his EastEnders exit was announced in 2021, Jake told fans of the BBC soap: "After 15 years I will be leaving EastEnders at the end of this year. I have loved playing Max Branning who amongst other things in that time has had 4 marriages, 10 affairs, 4 children (2 dying from falling from the roof of The Queen Vic), been buried alive, watched unwanted DVDs at Xmas and perhaps most traumatising of all... shared a hot tub with Ian Beale. "I have made some truly great friends whilst on the show and I'll miss everyone there. I'm grateful they have left the door open for Max and I'm excited to see what new horizons are around the corner. Thank you to everyone who has sent me messages this week, I appreciate the love and support." Recently Jake Wood reportedly signed up to take part in the celebrity version of the Apprentice to mark the BBC show's 20th anniversary, after having launched in the UK in 2005. The spin-off is expected to return to screens later this year. The star-studded show has previously been released for Comic Relief and Sport Relief, with three series having aired between 2007 and 2019. Karren Brady and Tim Campbell - who are now aides to Lord Sugar - are among the celebrities who have competed in previous instalments of the spin-off. Bosses are said to be "so happy" to have signed up Jake. But speculation has been rife among fans about Jake's possible return to the BBC One soap in recent months, but The Sun has now revealed that Max is set to return to the BBC One soap later this year in dramatic scenes. His comeback coincides with former on-screen lover Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner, preparing to depart Walford. A telly source said: 'Jake's return is huge news for EastEnders fans as his character made a massive mark on the show. It'll raise some eyebrows after he was absent from the 40th anniversary earlier this year. Bosses are excited about what his character's reappearance means for spicing up the plots. There is plenty to go at. Max has loads of unfinished business in the Square and is set to ruffle some feathers.' Last weekend, EastEnders scooped a TV Bafta for best soap — with executive producer Kate Oates teasing: 'If you like a return, I don't think you're going to be disappointed because there's potentially one on the cards. We've got some uncharted territory.'
The Independent
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Lily Allen reveals she auditioned for The White Lotus
Lily Allen has revealed she auditioned for Mike White 's hit series The White Lotus – but was turned down by show bosses. The third season of the popular HBO drama, which stars A-listers including Jason Isaacs and Carrie Coon, will reveal the answer to its overarching mystery in this weekend's finale: which character will die? Allen, 39, said her unsuccessful White Lotus audition was part of a career plan to 'put herself out there more' in her acting career and voiced hopes to star in a 'UK detective drama'. The singer, best known for her 2006 hit 'Smile', has secured roles in the West End plays 2:22: A Ghost Story and The Pillowman. She made her TV debut in the Sky Atlantic comedy Dreamland in 2023. Speaking on her Miss Me? podcast with Miquita Oliver, Allen told listeners of her acting career: 'I haven't auditioned for anything really. 'I did do a self-tape for The White Lotus and obviously did not get it. But I think I'm a bit scared of doing self-tapes,' the singer admitted. She has not revealed which role she auditioned for. 'Maybe now I would do them because I don't think people give as much of a s*** about me anymore,' she continued. 'Back in the day I didn't like the idea of casting officers having a tape of me in case they would share it with other people. Now I don't really subscribe to that fear so much, I don't really care.' Back in 2023, Allen acknowledged that her career shift from music to acting might take her music fans by surprise, but said it was actually 'more surprising' that she embarked on a music career in the first place. 'It is the family business,' she told The Times, referring to her acting father, Keith Allen, and brother, Alfie Allen. 'If you were to look at me when I was 16 years old, people would have said, 'Well, she's obviously going to go and be an actress.'' Allen said she has not been given any advice by her family members, but joked that 'the added bonus' of her newfound acting success is that she 'gets to piss them off'. It comes as Woody Harrelson revealed he had to drop out of playing Rick, the character played by Walton Goggins, in The White Lotus due to scheduling issues. 'I was set to do The White Lotus and very excited,' Harrelson said in a statement to The Daily Beast. 'Unfortunately, their production schedule shifted, and conflicted with a pre-planned family vacation, forcing me to make an extremely hard decision.'
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The play that changed my life: ‘Your Home in the West was an explosive act of anger'
I was a middle-class kid growing up in a very working-class city, Newcastle. It was a great place for theatre, with the Playhouse and Live theatre. The RSC visited every year and I have a distinct memory of Kenneth Branagh in Henry V, seeing rain on stage and properly drinking the theatre Kool-Aid. But if the RSC productions I saw were a scented candle, Rod Wooden's play Your Home in the West was semtex. I saw it at Live theatre in the early 1990s. I was very aware of the social and political tensions of that era. My parents – both very leftwing – had taken me on marches as a kid to support the miners. The north-east still suffered greatly from the loss of the coalmines and of shipbuilding. I knew a lot of people whose lives were directly affected. It was the time of the Meadow Well riots, an explosion of anger. It felt like people weren't going to put up with things any more and you weren't quite sure where it would end. I thought: this is how revolutions start. Your Home in the West embodies that. The play is an act of anger. It's about a working-class family in the West End of Newcastle. It's funny talking about the West End because that is where you aspire to have your play if you're a London playwright. But in Newcastle it's the toughest, most deprived part of the city. This family are locked into a horrible cycle of repeating the same mistakes, trapped in poverty, crime, unhappiness and bad relationships. Then into their life walks the teacher of the young son, wanting to understand why he is so unhappy and help them make things better. She is met with a wall of anger, particularly from the father, Mickey, who says: 'Your kind can't possibly understand.' Although I grew up in the north-east, I was born elsewhere and didn't have a geordie accent. And I did feel a sense of otherness. So there was part of me that identified with the anger of the working-class characters in the story, and part of me that identified with the teacher, sort of trapped as a kind of voyeur. It spoke powerfully to the difficult relationship with class that we have in this country. The problems in the UK are still very much to do with a class war, and there is a fundamental inequality in society that, until it's addressed, will always be a source of massive problems and discontent. I'd never seen anger expressed like this on stage, never seen reality expressed like it. Now, as a playwright myself, I feel determined to achieve the same. I don't want to watch something that feels like 'a play', with clever dialogue constructed by an author. I don't want to see the presence of the author. I want to feel as if I'm watching real people. It's something I strive for, a sort of naturalism, but slightly disconcerting, kind of unusual, with an off-kilter eloquence. Wooden's play felt to me like something that needed to be said. And I think it's even truer now, decades later. My character Ben in 2:22: A Ghost Story embodies that anger, a kind of fury at the gentrifying couple who are the main characters of the play. Those characters owe a debt to Rod Wooden. I was inspired when I saw Your Home in the West. I felt: 'God! This is how to do it!' As told to Lindesay Irvine Danny Robins' Uncanny is available on BBC Sounds
