Latest news with #MrBlobby
Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Where Byker Grove cast are now - addiction, vicious assault, and surprising career moves
Byker Grove made history with its gritty storylines over the course of almost two decades, and much like their characters in the BBC show the real cast have gone on to have very different lives Byker Grove was an after-school essential back in the day, with teens rushing to the TV after Newsround to catch what the cool kids of the Byker youth club were getting up to. The hit BBC show ran from 1989 to 2006, with a jaw-dropping 344 episodes - and stars Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have recently announced that they plan to bring the series back in a long-awaited reboot. The original version of the show followed the members of a youth club in Newcastle, and it didn't hold back from airing hard-hitting and topical storylines. Some people even called for the show to be axed when it showed the first same-sex kiss on children's television, but the BBC stood strong among plenty of support from educators, parents, and LGBT viewers. Alongside the proud moment in TV history, it also covered issues such as drug addiction, teen pregnancy, and tragic death. Many of the kids on the show had huge aspirations to overcome their struggles and find success when they reached the adult world - but what happened to the real kids behind the characters on screen? As Byker Grove looks to be coming back decades later, the Mirror takes a look at what the OG cast is up to now. PJ and Duncan Who could forget the now legendary cautionary tale that was PJ's accidental paintball blinding at the hands of girlfriends Debbie Dobson and Amanda Bewick? The horrifying scenes at the end of series four saw the girls aim and fire at Peter 'PJ' Jenkins (played by Ant) as punishment for flirting with them both - but it just happened to be at the exact moment the lothario chose to take his goggles off. His best mate Duncan Sperring (Dec) hilariously screamed, "He cannae see, man!" - but Duncan wasn't devastated for long, making a move on PJ's girlfriend Debbie when his sidekick left to go to a school for the blind. Their real-life counterparts Ant and Dec were just as close in real life, and even before leaving Byker Grove behind they were already well on their way to world domination, launching their band Groove Matrix and their debut single, Tonight I'm Free. The track made it to number 62 in the charts, and while it was no Mr Blobby, it did lay the pathway for their post-Grove foray into music as the mic-wrecking PJ & Duncan. After classics including If I Give You My Number and Eternal Love, the boys retired their musical alter-egos to focus on TV. SM: TV, Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain's Got Talent and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here made the lads two of the biggest stars in the UK, earning an estimated £30million between them in 2016. It's previously been reported that they have an estimated net worth of approximately £62million each. Not bad for two teenagers who didn't even like each other to begin with. "We didn't particularly like each other at first, I thought he was miserable," Dec previously revealed speaking on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in 2006. "We've rowed a few times - we're quite competitive," Ant added. Now, however, the boys are all grown up. The duo recently shared that they don't spend as much time together as they used to. Ant, who welcomed his first son in May 2024, admitted to the Sun: "The kids take up a lot of your time, and we rush home to our families to see them when we finish working." Dec, who shares Isla, six, and Jack, two, with his wife Ali, added: "We still meet up on days off to have a game of golf or go out for dinner. We're just not joined at the hip..." Spuggie Part of the original cast, Lyndyann Barrass was just 12 when she joined the show as surly, hormonal teen Kirsty 'Spuggie' Campbell. Despite being one of the Grove's biggest characters, she was written out to go and live with her brother Fraser, leaving Lyndyann devastated. She struggled to find work as an actress, fearing she'd been typecast as "the redhead from 'that Geordie show'." And after a failed stint with a band called Angel, she was subjected to a brutal assault that convinced her to turn her back on fame. "I was beaten unconscious in the street by three strangers who recognised me as Spuggie," she told The Sun. "Thankfully, I wasn't badly injured, but it was the final straw. I decided to quit show business for good." In 1999, the Sunderland-based star married husband Allan and had two kids with him before their split in 2012. As a single mum, she took a job working in a call centre and calculated it would take her two years to earn what her former co-stars Ant and Dec make in just one day. She told The Mirror in 2015: "I'm a newly single parent with two kids. I work in a bank call centre four mornings a week when the kids are in school – I probably earn just over half of their daily salary for a year." However, Lyndyann remains on good terms with the duo, adding: "They haven't changed. They're still the two daftest. They are very grounded and lovely. They don't forget their roots and where they come from." In 2023, it was reported that Lyndyann, who lives in Sunderland, now owns a house cleaning firm called Dusty Springclean. As reported by The Sun, she posted a notice on the company's social media page to inform clients that her hourly rate needed to rise to £14 to make up for the effects of the cost of living crisis. Geoff Most recognised by his epic lamb chops and moustache, youth club leader Geoff Keegan was beloved by all. Geoff's story came to a devastating end when he died in an accidental gas explosion, but his emotional funeral reunited many of the show's big guns - including PJ and Duncan. Thankfully, actor Billy Fane is still very much alive and well, and after his character's tragic demise he went on to appear in panto and the 2000 hit movie Billy Elliot. He's still pals with the Grove kids, and had a whole This Your Life-style segment devoted to him on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. When Ant entered rehab for an addiction to painkillers in 2017, Billy was one of the first to offer his support, describing Ant as a "lovely, hard-working lad". "I was so sorry to hear of the problems and wish him a quick recovery," said Billy. Last year, during an appearance on Loose Women, Billy revealed he'd gone on to train as a teacher for dyslexic adults in his mid-50s - a career path caring Geoff would likely approve of. Billy explained: "I went to teach in a young offenders institution. I then did a Master's degree in Special Educational Needs and Intuitive Learning and the college I was working for had the contract for delivering education in prisons and young offenders insinuations and prisons across the country." Noddy Byker Grove became the first British children's drama to tackle sexuality and coming out when a confused Noddy Fishwick, played by Brett Adams, misread the signs and kissed his best mate Gary Hendrix on the cheek during an outing to the cinema. Gary was furious and marched out, but, despite a public furore, actor Brett and the BBC rightly stood by the storyline. "About a month or two after the episode had aired, I received a letter from a young lad about 15 or 16 saying he was going through the same [thing] as Noddy and if he hadn't watched that episode on that day then he would have continued to think he was the only one going through it," Brett told Attitude magazine in 2014. "He said he honestly felt like dying by suicide but after seeing the show and the helpline number on the end credits, he called, got advice and was now much happier. He'd told his parents and friends who supported him and he'd even managed to find a boyfriend. If my storyline upset 10,000 people but helped one person then I see it as a monumental success." After leaving the show, Brett formed a band called Point Break with co-star David Oliver, who played Marcus. Together with Declan Bennett, they achieved moderate success with hits including Stand Tough and Freakytime. But after that wrapped, Brett is believed to have quit showbiz and to work as a barman at the Haven Holiday Camp in Weymouth. The actor has four children and according to Digital Spy, now works as a manager at the town's Lakeside Bowling Alley. Charlie Donna Air joined the show at age 10 and played ambitious budding journalist Charlie Charlton. Like Ant and Dec, she formed a band with her co-stars, releasing single Love Your Sexy with Jayni Hoy and Vicky Taylor as Byker Groove. She moved to London aged 15 and formed girlband Crush with Jayni but their 1996 singles Jellyhead and Luv'd Up failed to set the charts alight. But they got her spotted by TV execs who landed presenting gigs for MTV, The Big Breakfast and Popstars: The Rivals Extra. Geordie Donna struck up a party pal friendship with All Saints star Natalie Appleton, with the pair living next door to one another, partying with the Primrose Hill Set and cosying up for FHM. However, she rebranded at the ripe old age of 22 after meeting multi-millionaire Damian Aspinall, who was 19 years her senior. Desperate to make it as a serious actress, she told the Evening Standard: "I don't think I ever was a ladette. I'm actually a bit of a nerd. I can't even have dinner in a low-cut top without feeling self-conscious. You try to be cool, but underneath it, I was too much of a goody-goody. It took me five years to get a bad reputation - it's going to take me 20 to get rid of it..." She and Damien welcomed daughter Freya in 2003 but broke up in 2007 amid rumours he refused to marry her. Following the split, the beauty dated Kate, Princess of Wales's brother James for four years, followed by property developer Ben Carrington. In 2013 she was touted for the Strictly Come Dancing line-up and later competed in Dancing On Ice. She continues to act and, in 2020, starred as Fi Hansen in the BBC One drama, The Split. Donna's ex Damian is well known for his conservation efforts with wild animals, and she hasn't fully dropped the lifestyle despite the breakup. In 2023, it was revealed that her daughter Freya was hand-rearing two orphan lion cubs at the family's 30-room country house in Kent. Freya, whose father runs Howletts Wild Animal Park, shared: "If anyone says the lions are domesticated, no. If anything, they lionise me. I become a lion. I speak lion. Hand-rearing is the last option possible, but I am their mother figure. It's basically like raising two children." Debbie Played by Nicola Bell, Debbie was PJ's on-off girlfriend who eventually fell in love with his best mate Duncan. Off-screen, she was in a real-life romance with Ant which ended due to the pressure of PJ & Duncan's hectic tour schedule. Ant told the Independent at the time: "When you're touring you can't have a relationship by phone. I'm terrible on the phone." Ant, who was previously married to make-up artist Lisa Armstrong for 12 years, is now married to former PA Anne-Marie Corbett, with the couple recently welcoming their first child together. Meanwhile, Nicola appeared in the legal drama Kavanagh QC before becoming a flight attendant for Virgin Atlantic. The multitalented mother-of-four from Tyne and Wear now works as a make-up artist and is also a qualified level 2 and 3 PT instructor. She's also remained good friends with her famous ex. "We're still in touch and still friends and I know that he's doing OK," she said of his rehab stay in 2017. He's had some lovely messages from people and a lot of support.'
Sky News
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
The blobfish: 'World's ugliest animal' named fish of the year in New Zealand
The blobfish, described as the world's ugliest animal, has been voted fish of the year in New Zealand. The creature, which grows to about 12 inches (30cm) long, is known affectionately as Mr Blobby and is the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. It has a bulbous head, and loose, flabby skin, and lives in the deep sea, mainly off the southeastern coast of mainland Australia, the Australian island of Tasmania, and New Zealand. The blobfish topped the annual poll by the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, an environmental non-profit group, winning almost 1,300 out of more than 5,500 votes. The animal, which has a gelatinous, tadpole-like body, benefitted from a late surge in support to overtake the endangered orange roughy, another deep sea dweller, by nearly 300 votes. In their natural habitat, on the seabed at depths of about 2,000ft to 4,000ft (600m-1,200m), blobfish resemble any other fish. But when brought to the surface, where the water pressure isn't high enough to maintain their shape, blobfish morph into mushy creatures with an unfortunate appearance. The trust's co-director, Kim Jones, described the competition as "a battle of two quirky deep sea critters, with the blobfish's unconventional beauty helping get voters over the line". The winner's late run benefitted from the backing of two New Zealand radio hosts, Sarah Gandy and Paul Flynn, who encouraged their listeners to vote blobfish. "We and the people of New Zealand had had enough of other fish getting all the headlines," the broadcasters said. They said the animal "has been bullied his whole life and we thought, 'stuff this, it's time for the blobfish to have his moment in the sun,' and what a glorious moment it is!" A spokesperson for the Environmental Law Initiative, which sponsored the orange roughy in the race, said it had "no bloblem" with the result, stressing that it's "still a win" for deep-sea ecosystems and can help raise awareness about the environmental impact of destructive bottom trawling. The longfin eel, the whale shark and the great white shark were among the other fish in the top 10.
Euronews
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Why are European children's TV characters so terrifying?
This year, German television celebrates a mightily important anniversary. 25 years ago, a depressed loaf of bread waltzed on to children's TV screens and terrified the entire population. Bernd das Brot, or 'Bernd the bread' is a beloved mainstay of German children's television. The sour-faced sourdough first aired on the Kika channel in 2000 alongside more traditionally optimistic characters such as Chili the Sheep and Briegel the Bush. The toast of children's television, Bernd das Brot was first baked up by Tommy Krappweis and Norman Cöster. Georg Graf von Westphalen then designed Bernd as a loaf of white bread with a permanent scowl. With his petulant pessimism and signature expression 'Mist!' (crap), it wasn't long before German TV programmers had some sense and moved Bernd from the daytime to the evening slot on the children's channel. There, stoners could fully appreciate their kindred spirit and Bernd das Brot as the crusty king he always was. As we commemorate 25 years of German TV's strangest attempt at children's entertainment, we thought it would be a good opportunity to look through the annals of European TV to find other examples of the continent's greatest tradition: terrifying children. United Kingdom: Mr Blobby No list of horrifying children's characters would be complete without the UK's gallant entry into the crowded field. It was 1992 and the coke-fuelled era of TV production was clearly still in full swing when Mr Blobby came hurtling into our lives. The huge costume of a bulbous pink man with jiggling eyes and an electronically altered voice that only screams 'blobby' with the vicious intensity of a thousand death hounds, Mr Blobby's entire shtick was terror. Introduced on the show 'Noel's House Party' as a gag where they pretended Mr Blobby was an established TV character in front of unknowing celebs, Mr Blobby somehow hypnotised a nation into making him a permanent fixture, appearing on British screens regularly ever since. Blundering into rooms, chaos always followed Mr Blobby. The grotesque humanoid creature would destroy all in its path. A symbol of 90s decadence in Britain, it's hard to say what summarises Mr Blobby or the era more: that he reportedly reduced a small girl to tears after throwing her birthday cake on the floor causing her father to assault him; or that he had a number one UK Christmas single. The Netherlands: Karbonkel As mentioned above, the 90s were a weird time. Not willing to be outdone by the Brits for televisual oddities, in 1994 Dutch TV programmers signed off on the show 'Ik Mik Loreland'. On the surface, it seems like a sweet idea. Aimed at primary school children, the show was designed to encourage and support them in learning to read and spell correctly. What could be more wholesome than learning to love literacy? For all that the Dutch are praised for their rationality, this is also a nation that was put on the map for their laissez-faire approach to weed and hookers. Naturally then, the best way to teach children under 10 how to read is through the ever present threat of Karbonkel, a one-eyed monster that can't read or write and tries to stop children from doing so too. Karbonkel immediately terrified children but production was already too far along by the time the studio realised for them to change course. The studio ended up touring Karbonkel around schools to prove to children this shape-shifting monster was just a puppet. Despite traumatising a generation, 'Ik Mik Loreland' has endured as an icon of Dutch culture. Czechia: Raťafák Plachta Guillermo del Toro ain't got nothing on the Czechs. Long before he created the terrifying Pale Man character with eyes in his hands for Pan's Labyrinth, Czech TV aired the Slovak show 'Slniečko' from 1979 to 1989. 'Slniečko' translates as 'little sunshine' and the puppet show's main character was a hand puppet of the sun. But while the main mascot was largely adorable, it isn't the show's legacy. Instead, that honour falls on Raťafák Plachta, another puppet created to parody politicians – yes, it's a children's show. Raťafák Plachta or 'big nose blanket' was a huge ungainly puppet that needed to be manned by two operators draped in the blanket costume. Walking around like a prop from a cheap horror film, Raťafák Plachta needs to be killed with fire. Sadly, almost all 500 episodes of 'Slniečko' are lost. It's only due to a parody video which surfaced online of someone using the original costume that many 1980s Slovak-Czech kids were reminded of the beast haunting their nightmares.
