Latest news with #FirstDates'
Daily Mirror
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BBC star Big Manny's life off screen including Prince William link
TikTok sensation Big Manny is showcasing his talents in the BBC's new series, a creation from the team behind Horrible Histories. Horrible Science made its debut on CBBC on May 9, with the entire series now available for streaming on iPlayer. Much like its predecessor, Horrible Histories, this new comedy show makes education fun for kids through quick-fire sketches centred around scientific themes. Five out of the fifteen episodes even cover topics found in primary school curriculums, including outer space, motion, light and electricity. The show features a recurring cast along with guest appearances from First Dates' Fred Sirieix and social media scientist, Big Manny. While audiences may be familiar with Fred, this could be their first encounter with Manny on television. Let's take a closer look at the life of this viral star off-screen, reports the Daily Record. Who is Big Manny? (Image: Getty Images) Big Manny, whose real name is Emanuel Wallace, uses his nickname across his social media platforms. The BBC star began sharing educational science videos on TikTok in 2021, during the COVID-19 lockdown when children were forced into home schooling. Fresh from graduating with a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of East London, Manny started working as a science technician in a secondary school. It was this experience that inspired him to start posting videos online. "I could see first-hand that students were struggling in science because of the lockdown," the London native revealed to Chemistry World in 2023. After four years since his debut post, the TikToker has now amassed a whopping two million followers on TikTok and another 1.6 million on Instagram. But that's not all - Manny recently scooped up the Education Creator of the Year accolade at the first-ever TikTok Awards in December 2024. Manny demonstrates scientific experiments in short videos (Image: TikTok/ @ Manny resonates with younger audiences by breaking down intricate scientific concepts using everyday London vernacular. His ultimate mission? is to show young folks from all walks of life that they too have a place in the science world. In a heart-to-heart with The Voice in 2024, he shared: "So what I am trying to do with my platform is show young people that there are scientists out there that look like you, talk like you, dress like you, come from the same background as you. "So if they can become a scientist then there is no reason why you can't as well." Manny recently collaborated with Prince William (Image: Instagram/@ Meanwhile, back in January, Manny caused quite the stir among his fans with an unexpected Royal cameo. While visiting Nature Metrics, an environmental DNA research group, none other than Prince William dropped in to collaborate with the scientist on an experiment. Proclaiming himself as "Manny's beautiful assistant," for a tutorial on strawberry DNA extraction, the Duke's cameo stunned viewers. The brief 48-second TikTok video racked up over six million views, and fans flooded the comments. One astonished viewer couldn't help but express their shock, exclaiming: "PAUSE? ? IS THAT PRINCE WILLIAM? ?" Meanwhile, another was equally taken aback, jokingly remarking: " I LITERALLY BLINKED TWICE TO CONFIRM WHAT I WAS SEEING." Big Manny guest stars in Horrible Science, streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Julia Bradbury reveals extreme measures she's taking for her health after breast cancer battle
She opened up about her health during an appearance on James Martin's Saturday Morning TV host Julia Bradbury has revealed the significant steps she's taking to safeguard her health after a cancer diagnosis caushed her world to "stop." The ex-Countryfile presenter, who is 54 years old, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and had to undergo a mastectomy. Now in remission, she opened up about her fight against the illness during an appearance on James Martin's Saturday Morning. In today's episode of the ITV cooking show (April 26), she disclosed that she's adopting radical measures to secure her future health, details of which will be included in her forthcoming book, Hack Yourself Healthy. "My world did stop, but once I was through [cancer treatment] and I had a left mastectomy, I really just thought 'Ok, what am I going to do now for myself to enhance my life, enhance my health and make sure I can stay healthy," she said on the ITV show. "I was always into my health, I was always into walking and I enjoyed my food, but when you really start to look into health and really start to analyse what it is... then it becomes quite prescriptive." She also mentioned undergoing genetic testing recently to understand precisely which foods are most beneficial for her body, reports the Express. "What I've done for the book is undergone all sorts of genetic testing so I know what my genetic blueprint is," she elaborated. "There will be certain things, a certain way that I'm wired, and there'll be certain foods I can eat that will enhance my health." Julia Bradbury was one of the original faces of Channel 5 when it first hit the airwaves in 1998, presenting alongside comedian Tim Vine. She later became a familiar face on Watchdog from 2005 to 2009 and kickstarted a new chapter for Countryfile with co-host Matt Baker. On today's episode of James Martin's Saturday Morning, the popular chef was joined by culinary talents Lisa Goodwin-Allen and Judy Joo, as well as First Dates' Merlin Griffiths, who was on hand to mix some tantalising cocktails for everyone. Merlin has previously opened up about his own battle with cancer, confessing that he would "never be the same again" following his treatment. He was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2021, and was declared cancer-free two years later. In a heartfelt 2024 interview with The Mirror, Merlin revealed: "My life will never quite be the same, and anyone that has gone through bowel cancer and the horrific treatment that it involves will understand. I might look whole, but I'm actually missing about 45% of my insides. It's quite a major amputation internally that I have had."
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
First Dates bartender Merlin Griffiths shares behind the scenes secret to falling in love
Falling in love on Channel 4's First Dates is possible and one of its big successes is not running it like a reality show, according to bartender Merlin Griffiths. As the Valentine's Day special airs on Monday night, the bartender told Yahoo: "[First Dates has had] babies, marriages, engagements... At Christmas, you saw someone coming back with their babies and with their houses bought together as well. Can you find true love on First Dates? Of course you can. We're made for that, that's what we do!" The show, which also stars Fred Sirieix as the restaurant's maître d, has enjoyed a run of real life success. First Dates had their very first baby from Bristolian couple Ibiba and Aaron. They met on First Dates in 2016 and they welcomed a child together the following year in 2017. Also among First Dates' biggest success stories are Fran and Will who tied the knot in 2021, five years after meeting on the show. Filming for the news series of the show took place at The Botanist, Bath, which Griffiths said perfectly sets the stage for falling in love. The bartender explained the crucial difference between finding love on First Dates and other dating reality shows, like Love Island or Married At First Sight UK. Unlike other scripted formats, the TV star said First Dates is a more "normal" environment because a restaurant is a traditional first date setting. "Because we don't run it like reality TV, it's not," he said. "What we're doing, Fred [Sirieix] and I, and Cici [Coleman], we're born and bred hospitality professionals, right? This is what we've done with our lives. Fred and I especially! "We've dedicated decades to doing this. So for us, this is running a romantic restaurant. And having a meal together as a first date is a very traditional enterprise, I feel. "So what better setting than to choose a restaurant to find love. That's why it works, and that's why it will continue to work. It's normal, but at the same time very special, so it's not reality TV. You don't notice any of that stuff going on. From the moment Fred says hello, and from the moment I serve you a drink, that's it. You're in a restaurant. It's all normal." This year marks 12 years since production started on First Dates but it has celebrated 10 years on-screen, with Fred Sirieix as the charming host. "As long as we open those doors and see some beautiful people, I'm happy," Griffiths said. Like all television shows, there are a few behind the scenes secrets. As the bartender, Griffiths has the insider scoop on what really goes on. While First Dates is run like a restaurant, the drinks connoisseur revealed there is one major change that the staff have to make to bring it to our television screens. A TV set is a busy and fast-moving environment but Griffiths explained they have to slow the pace of the restaurant down to allow "love to happen" and for those special conversations to develop. He said: "There is only one simple thing I have to change. You slow things down because you've got to take time for love to happen. You've got to allow space for these important conversations and moments to happen between people, right? "And if you're running this as you run strict hospitality in a busy restaurant, sometimes there isn't time, right? So that's the only that simply is the only change between regular hospitality and what we do in First Dates. "It's a much calmer, slower pace of service, and it's nice for that. It allows space for relationships to happen. Seriously, if you can see like you know CiCi can see from this. Fred can see from a distance, right, if somebody's getting on like a house on fire, that might not be the best time to drop a wine list." As well as slowing the pace down in the restaurant, Griffiths said host Sirieix will step in to help sparks fly on the dates. "Interfere is exactly the right word," he said. "I'm lodged behind the bar, I get out on the floor a little bit but on the whole, not so much but Fred's really, really good at that [interfering to help out]." He added: "I spot this 'cause you keep your eyes on your colleagues so you know what is happening. You need to know where people are and what they're doing. And I see Fred do this and he's remarkably talented at spotting. "There might be moments of awkward silence or stuff where just you're not picking up the right vibe from the table and he's straight in there like a shot, just to tickle them a bit, cajole them a bit, maybe give them a new subject of conversation, something like that, that's a good make he should, he's an arbiter of the atmosphere that you have. It's a really important role to have." The Valentines episode TX's on Monday 10 February at 10pm on Channel 4.
