Latest news with #BenHarris
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Man reunited with wedding ring after Lichfield railway drop
A man has spoke of his relief after being reunited with his wedding ring after losing it on the railway, a week before his first wedding Harris was walking through Lichfield over the late May bank holiday with his wife, Daisy, their 11-month old son George, and getting covered in greenfly from nearby bushes, Mr Harris said he was taking off his jumper as he walked over the Sturgeons Hill footbridge near Lichfield City station when the wedding ring came said he watched in horror as it dropped "in slow motion" on to the railway below. The ring disappeared into the vegetation at the side of the tracks and Mr Harris was convinced the ring, given to him by his wife Daisy on their wedding day just under a year ago, was lost forever.A Network Rail team came to the rescue and after searching through the undergrowth they found the ring and returned it to Mr Harris less than 24 hours was spotted Mark Samson, who was himself just days away from celebrating his 32nd wedding anniversary. Mr Harris said: "I could not believe what happened, it was as if the ring was dropping in slow motion into the nettles below. "I thought it was lost forever and I was absolutely gutted - especially as it was so close to our first wedding anniversary."My wife would have killed me if it had been lost forever so Mark has saved my life! I definitely owe him a beer or two." Mr Samson, a Walsall-based mobile operations manager with Network Rail's Central route, said it was "like looking for a needle in a haystack" and did not expect it to be found. He added that Mr Harris had done the right thing in not trying to recover it himself, but reporting it to Network is the second lost wedding ring that has been found on the railway in the West Midlands area after Eileen Lawrence lost hers at Bloxwich North station in 2018 as she moisturised her hands while waiting for a train. It was found by an eagle-eyed track worker after a search of the tracks the following day. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Virgin Island star reveals if he's had sex since the show and what happened after cameras stopped rolling
FOR Virgin Island star Ben Harris, a two-week stint in Croatia to learn about sex with intimacy experts has been life-changing - but not for the reason you might expect. The 31-year-old took part in the popular Channel 4 show last year having struggled to go "all the way" with previous partners. 2 Ben Harris, right, with his former boss Michael Fabricant Credit: Instagram 2 Researcher Ben, who tracks his love life on a spreadsheet, is still looking for love Credit: Channel 4 He bravely opened up about his sex life - or lack, thereof - on camera in a bid to 'embrace his sexual energy' and help him lose his virginity. But within a week of arriving back in the UK, parliamentary researcher Ben faced another challenge when then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a general election. Despite hitting the ground running campaigning for Michael Fabricant MP, Ben became unemployed when the Conservative lost his seat on July 4. It meant that not only did Ben lose his job, but he also lost his newly acquired sex drive as he was forced to put his career first. READ MORE ON VIRGIN ISLAND Speaking to The Sun about his experience, Ben reveals he is still a virgin - but now has the tools he needed to have sex for the first time. "It wasn't like I was going there to lose my virginity," says Ben, who has a newfound confidence since filming Virgin Island. "But it's changed how I feel about being a virgin. I'm not proud so to speak, but I'm no longer ashamed of it in the same way I was. "Now I feel I have the tools that I didn't have before and the confidence and the mindset to do it now when I meet the right person." Most read in Reality Ben took a couple of weeks off from his job in the House of Commons after telling boss Michael about Virgin Island last May. Michael followed in Ben's footsteps by going into television when he starred in this year's Celebrity Big Brother. Although he has not lost his virgin status, Ben has been speed-dating with his TV co-star Viraj and has been on several dates with three women over the past year. Watch excruciating moment Virgin Island contestant smacks experts bum while recreating sex positions Ben added: "I really enjoyed working with the Virgin Island therapists. They made me look at myself in a different mindset. "I'm actually not ugly. I mean, I'm not a 10 out of 10, but I'm also not a two out of 10 like what I thought I was. "And while I have faced more rejection since, I am now able to process these setbacks in a much healthier and more positive way." Stream Virgin Island on Channel 4 now.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Virgin Island star reveals if he's had sex since the show and what happened after cameras stopped rolling
FOR Virgin Island star Ben Harris, a two-week stint in Croatia to learn about sex with intimacy experts has been life-changing - but not for the reason you might expect. The 31-year-old took part in the popular Channel 4 show last year having struggled to go "all the way" with previous partners. 2 2 He bravely opened up about his sex life - or lack, thereof - on camera in a bid to 'embrace his sexual energy' and help him lose his virginity. But within a week of arriving back in the UK, parliamentary researcher Ben faced another challenge when then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a general election. Despite hitting the ground running campaigning for Michael Fabricant MP, Ben became unemployed when the Conservative lost his seat on July 4. It meant that not only did Ben lose his job, but he also lost his newly acquired sex drive as he was forced to put his career first. Speaking to The Sun about his experience, Ben reveals he is still a virgin - but now has the tools he needed to have sex for the first time. "It wasn't like I was going there to lose my virginity," says Ben, who has a newfound confidence since filming Virgin Island. "But it's changed how I feel about being a virgin. I'm not proud so to speak, but I'm no longer ashamed of it in the same way I was. "Now I feel I have the tools that I didn't have before and the confidence and the mindset to do it now when I meet the right person." Ben took a couple of weeks off from his job in the House of Commons after telling boss Michael about Virgin Island last May. Michael followed in Ben's footsteps by going into television when he starred in this year's Celebrity Big Brother. Although he has not lost his virgin status, Ben has been speed-dating with his TV co-star Viraj and has been on several dates with three women over the past year. Ben added: "I really enjoyed working with the Virgin Island therapists. They made me look at myself in a different mindset. "I'm actually not ugly. I mean, I'm not a 10 out of 10, but I'm also not a two out of 10 like what I thought I was. "And while I have faced more rejection since, I am now able to process these setbacks in a much healthier and more positive way." Stream Virgin Island on Channel 4 now.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Virgin Island star reveals if he's had sex since the show and what happened after cameras stopped rolling
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FOR Virgin Island star Ben Harris, a two-week stint in Croatia to learn about sex with intimacy experts has been life-changing - but not for the reason you might expect. The 31-year-old took part in the popular Channel 4 show last year having struggled to go "all the way" with previous partners. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 2 Ben Harris, right, with his former boss Michael Fabricant Credit: Instagram 2 Researcher Ben, who tracks his love life on a spreadsheet, is still looking for love Credit: Channel 4 He bravely opened up about his sex life - or lack, thereof - on camera in a bid to 'embrace his sexual energy' and help him lose his virginity. But within a week of arriving back in the UK, parliamentary researcher Ben faced another challenge when then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a general election. Despite hitting the ground running campaigning for Michael Fabricant MP, Ben became unemployed when the Conservative lost his seat on July 4. It meant that not only did Ben lose his job, but he also lost his newly acquired sex drive as he was forced to put his career first. Speaking to The Sun about his experience, Ben reveals he is still a virgin - but now has the tools he needed to have sex for the first time. "It wasn't like I was going there to lose my virginity," says Ben, who has a newfound confidence since filming Virgin Island. "But it's changed how I feel about being a virgin. I'm not proud so to speak, but I'm no longer ashamed of it in the same way I was. "Now I feel I have the tools that I didn't have before and the confidence and the mindset to do it now when I meet the right person." Ben took a couple of weeks off from his job in the House of Commons after telling boss Michael about Virgin Island last May. Michael followed in Ben's footsteps by going into television when he starred in this year's Celebrity Big Brother. Although he has not lost his virgin status, Ben has been speed-dating with his TV co-star Viraj and has been on several dates with three women over the past year. Watch excruciating moment Virgin Island contestant smacks experts bum while recreating sex positions Ben added: "I really enjoyed working with the Virgin Island therapists. They made me look at myself in a different mindset. "I'm actually not ugly. I mean, I'm not a 10 out of 10, but I'm also not a two out of 10 like what I thought I was. "And while I have faced more rejection since, I am now able to process these setbacks in a much healthier and more positive way." Stream Virgin Island on Channel 4 now.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
My brutal experience on Virgin Island left me so crushed there are parts I barely remember - here's why my lowest point never made it to screens
A brutal experience on Virgin Island left one participant so crushed he could barely remember it. Monday's instalment of the Channel 4 show saw the group of 12 virgins engage in a variety of tasks aimed at helping them build confidence and eventually building themselves up to being open to intimacy. However, one of the activities, which involved the stars pairing off to demonstrate flirting and touching one another, left Ben Harris, a civil servant from Kent, stranded. The group were all together in the villa as Ben sat at a table with one of the show's coaches, before everyone was asked 'Does anyone want to try it with Ben?' What resulted was a sea of awkward faces and total silent as the group refused to volunteer to flirt with Ben. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. One of the activities, which involved the stars pairing off to demonstrate flirting and touching one another left Ben, a civil servant from Kent, stranded In the end, sexologist Celeste Hirschman kindly stepped up and was Ben's partner for the session, but the rejection he felt from the others still hit hard. Ben opened up in his Substack about the experience and admitted that although Celeste had offered her assistance, 'by this point I was so crushed by what I felt was another in a long line of rejections that I barely even remember anything of our 'date''. The situation left Ben so disheartened that he struggled for the remainder of the activity. He said: 'Once I sat back down, I felt so dejected that I couldn't even pay attention to the rest of the session, and eventually had to step out for a bit.' On reflection, Ben did acknowledge that the rest of the group's actions weren't 'personal' towards him and he noted that many of them had already been through the painstakingly awkward task. Instead, he explained how he realised the rejection he felt was linked to his experiences of bullying and dating struggles. Still, the session hit Ben particularly hard and he said: 'I undoubtedly reached my lowest point in the aftermath of that workshop.' Afterwards, he had a session with Abby Sheneman, a clinic therapist on the show, which didn't reach TV screens but he worked through the negative assumptions he had built up about himself, describing the session as a 'breakthrough'. Ben recently shared heartbreaking reasons why he thinks he's still a virgin, and revealed that the first person he told about appearing on the show was his mum - despite never discussing his anxiety-riddled sex life with her before. Aston Villa fan Ben, who has dated more than 40 women, and has even had two proper girlfriends, also revealed that - spoiler alert - he's still very much a virgin now, despite the best efforts of the show's sex coaches. Revealing his mother's reaction at the news that her son might lose his virginity in front of an audience of millions of viewers, he said: 'This came as quite of a shock to her, and she openly admitted that she never thought someone like me would sign up for such an experience.' Ben, who describes himself as 'an average-looking, relatively normal guy', adds that she was 'nonetheless supportive' and says he only shared his appearance on the show with a select few others before jetting off to the Adriatic. Describing in the lengthy post how he's avoided sex in the past because of deep anxiety and only had his 'first proper snog' two years ago, he said that while he came close to full intercourse with his most recent girlfriend back in 2023, he stalled at the last minute. He said: 'My many years of inexperience had built up to such a level that I flat-out turned down the opportunity to have sex with her on multiple occasions out of fear.' Fans who watched the sad moment on Monday's episode were left with their heads in their hands as they shared that they felt sorry for him. They wrote: '"Who wants to try with Ben"……'; 'If I were Ben I'd just go home after that. Then again if I were Ben I wouldn't be on that island in the first place,'; 'Why are they being so horrible to Ben,'; 'Ben got the 'No lighty No Likey' treatment,'; 'Oh no none of them wanted to go with ben. that was awful.' Virgin Island airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.
