Latest news with #Piranha
Metro
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Only one Royal has ever run the London Marathon
The London Marathon is set to kick off this weekend, and the race is no stranger to famous faces. Actors, presenters, singers, sports stars and a fair few politicians have taken part over the years, but only one royal has run the race in its 39-year history. In 2010, at the age of 21, Princess Beatrice took on the 26.2-mile challenge in aid of her mum, the Duchess of York's charity, Children in Crisis. Wearing a green tutu, the royal joined 31 others, including Richard Branson, his two children, Sam and Holly, and Beatrice's then-boyfriend David Clark, to run the race while all tied together as a 'human caterpillar'. She completed the race in five hours, 15 minutes and 57 seconds, and the group broke the record for the most people to finish a marathon while tied together. Beatrice, who is Prince Andrew's eldest daughter, was pictured giving her mum, Fergie, an emotional hug at the end. It's thought security fears have stopped some of the more high-profile royals from competing. In 2017, Kate, William, and Harry apparently wanted to take part, but were refused because the high security presence that would be needed along the track wasn't logistically feasible. The trio reportedly wanted to run in support of their mental health organisation, Heads Together, but in the end cheered on the runners from the sidelines. A record number of people took part in last year's London Marathon, with over 50,000 running the course from Greenwich to Buckingham Palace. Among them were 'Hardest Geezer' Russ Cook, soldiers injured in the Ukraine war, women's record contender Tigst Assefa, TV presenter Romesh Ranganathan and politician Matt Hancock. Last year, soap star Emma Barton took part with her EastEnders co-star Jamie Borthwick. More Trending Best known as Honey Mitchell and Jay Brown, respectively, the pair ran in character and were filmed the whole way as part of a brain tumour storyline, following the death of Lola Pearce-Brown last year. Another person with extra weight on his back – quite literally – was Joel Dommett, who decided to throw on Danny Jones's Piranha costume, which he wore to compete in the latest season of The Masked Singer UK. Joel joined several other celebrities taking part in the 2024 race, alongside McFly musician Harry Judd, comedian Rosie Jones, actress Ruth Wilson and many more. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: London Marathon 2025: how much prize money winners receive revealed MORE: Prime Minister sends support to dads of Southport victims running London Marathon MORE: The wild way house prices vary mile by mile along the London Marathon route
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hori's Piranha Plant Switch 2 camera is a work of art
Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products. Yesterday, we learned a lot about the Switch 2 we didn't know before, including the fact Nintendo that will offer a webcam alongside the new console. As far as accessories go, the $50 Switch 2 Camera looks boring, and judging from the footage the company shared on Wednesday, not particularly great at its intended purpose of, you know, capturing moving pictures. The good news? Nintendo is allowing third-party manufacturers to make their own webcams for the new console. Enter the Hori Piranha Plant Camera. Hori's Switch 2 camera has a couple of features you won't find on Nintendo's first-party offering. First, the pot the Piranha Plant sits in functions as both as a stand and USB extension for the device. The part of the Piranha that houses the webcam can detach from the pot, allowing you to, ahem, plant it directly on the top of the Switch 2. In that way, you can take your new buddy on the road. Want to trash talk your friends over video in GameChat while on a domestic flight? With the Piranha Plant and in-flight Wi-Fi, you can. Second, the Piranha Plant camera has a built-in privacy shutter. You can simply close its mouth to obscure the lens. If that's not clever, functional design, I don't know what is. Hori has yet to list the Piranha Plant camera on its US website, but over in Germany, retailer Media Markt has the accessory priced at €40 or €20 less than the official Switch 2 Camera from Nintendo. Practical, stylish and affordable, what's not to love?
Telegraph
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Masked Singer final, ITV1, review: No element of surprise meant fishy finale was a damp squib
Pufferfish might have blown the competition away but the result was a let-down. A predictable batch of reveals and a blandly boring winner meant that a hitherto strong series of The Masked Singer (ITV1) ended with a whimper, not a bang. 'Take it off!' chanted the audience. 'Turn it off!' groaned viewers at home. After swimming to victory, big-lunged Pufferfish was confirmed to be West End diva Samantha Barks. The piscine performer possessed a serious set of pipes but her identity was so obvious, it sucked all the air out of proceedings. 'TV's biggest musical mystery' relies on the element of surprise, hence this finale was a damp squib. The sixth series of the kitschy crooning contest reached its climax with three fancy-dressed celebrities standing. It was like a wildlife documentary gone horribly wrong as Pufferfish, Wolf and Dressed Crab battled it out to be crowned champion. All the disguised famous faces had been widely guessed, both online and in the press. Their unmaskings weren't a patch on the franchise's all-time best: Kermit the Frog emerging from a giant snail's shell on the US edition. Although frankly, what could be? Apart perhaps from Miss Piggy riding in on Shergar. Barks can consider herself fortunate to edge out Dressed Crab, aka runner-up Gregory Porter. The Grammy-winner's velvety soulful voice has been a series standout. Beneath the crustacean costume, Porter sported his signature flat cap with a chin strap. It must have been unbearably sweaty under there. He deserved to scuttle sideways to victory. In third place was Wolf, hotly tipped to be Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow. So it proved, despite Jonathan Ross' repeated insistence all series that it was Sir Cliff Richard. A howler if ever there was one. Once he removed his lupine disguise, Pellow performed a crowd-pleasing rendition of Love Is All Around from Four Weddings & A Funeral. A suitably soppy choice for the day after Valentine's. The panel of Ross, Davina McCall, Maya Jama and McFly's ubiquitous Danny Jones – reigning champion after winning last year's series as Piranha – tried to work out the hopefuls' identities. Joel Dommett hosted with a sparkly tuxedo and cue cards packed with painful puns. His riddle-me-this clues were often reminiscent of retro gameshow 3-2-1. What no Ted Rogers or Dusty Bin? Jama came into this final having clocked up the most correct guesses. Replacing irritant Rita Ora, she has proved a considerable upgrade. Ross' jokily left-field guesses have become a running joke. Any woman is Mary Berry. Any man is Peter Kay. Indeed, producers should be pulling out all the stops to persuade Kay to sign up for the next series as Garlic Bread. However, comedian Mo Gilligan's absences due to 'scheduling clashes' were a problem. A revolving cast of rather random replacements - Olympians, actors, basically whoever picks up the phone first - were game enough but felt like a botched solution. If Gilligan can't commit to a primetime show for eight weeks, he should probably bow out. This has been an enjoyably eventful run for the surreal South Korean sing-off. Highlights have included Pegasus blatantly being Dame Prue Leith, Kingfisher turning out to be artist Sir Grayson Perry and Macy Gray's distinctive raspy vocals giving her away as Toad in the Hole - swiftly followed by Gray stomping off-stage in a huff. Sure, it's tacky, trashy and unashamedly daft but The Masked Singer's kitschy blend of crowd-pleasing tunes, tongue-in-cheek humour and colourful head-to-toe costumes makes for irresistible, family-friendly fun. It's been a blast of brightness and warmth during the dark winter months. It's also a rare ITV light entertainment franchise which doesn't depend on Ant and Dec. Don't relax and remove your earplugs yet, though. Just when you thought the noisy Saturday night nonsense was over, it will be replaced in next weekend's schedules by Britain's Got Talent. And guess who's hosting?
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
West End superstar Samantha Barks wins The Masked Singer
Samantha Barks has won 'The Masked Singer' The 34-year-old actress had secretly been taking part in the ITV singing competition - in which celebrities conceal their identities behind extravagant costumes whilst they perform pop songs - as Puffer Fish and was crowned champion of the whole series on Saturday (15.02.25) evening. Speaking to host Joel Dommett immediately after her victory, she said: "I feel like I've lived this double life because I've had these crazy experiences but nobody in my life knows [about] this, so I've loved it! "I've had the best time, I really have. "Underneath the mask, it's been hurting my cheeks because I've been smiling so hard! Thank you so much!" Guest judge Danny Jones correctly guessed her identity, as did Davina McCall and Maya Jama, but Jonathan Ross thought it might be Nicole Scherzinger. The West End star had performed the Britney Spears classic '...Baby One More Time'' during the final but gave a rendition of 'Dreamgirls' number 'One Night Only' after being unmasked. Earlier in the show, Samantha had taken to the stage as Puffer Fish with McFly star Danny - who won the 2024 series of the show - as he dressed in his Piranha costume for a rendition of the Bonnie Tyler classic 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. Samantha found fame when she took part in the BBC's 'I'd Do Anything' in 2008 - which sought an actress to play Nancy in a revival of 'Oliver!' - and finished in third place behind Jessie Buckley and 'Coronation Street' star Jodie Prenger. Shortly after that, she played Eponine in the London production of 'Les Miserables' before going on to reprise the role in the 2012 film, starring alongside A-listers such as Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne. From 2021 until 2024, she starred as Elsa in the West End production of 'Frozen' and also featured as a judge on ITV's 'Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream' alongside Alan Carr, Amber Riley and Jessie Ware. Just before Samantha's win, Grammy Award-winning star Gregory Porter was unmasked as Dressed Crab having finished as runner-up. He said: "This was amazing. I'm not gonna lie, I have to get over a little bit of claustrophobia but who needs oxygen?" Earlier in the show, he had performed with last year's contestant Keala Settle - who is known for starring in 'The Greatest Showman' - as she donned her Air Fryer costume once again for a rendition of 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'.
