Latest news with #Portchester
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Good Morning Britain's Andi Peters swaps the Maldives for grey skied Hampshire village after ITV stops flying presenters to luxury destinations amid budget cuts
Good Morning Britain's Andi Peters swapped the sunny beaches of the Maldives for a dreary skied Hampshire village to plug ITV 's competition today following the broadcaster's budget cuts. MailOnline yesterday revealed how the broadcaster has stopped sending Andi, 54, and Jeff Brazier, 46, to luxury locations across the world including South Africa and Thailand, to promote their competitions. It is understood GMB bosses feel it's in 'bad taste' to continue jetting the presenters off to far-flung destinations after ITV announced hundreds of redundancies across daytime shows Lorraine and Loose Women. This year alone, Andi has been flown to the Maldives, Australia, Cape Town, and Florida, while Jeff broadcasted from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malta, which according to insiders, has 'irritated' production staff who have since been told their roles are at risk. In what seems like an attempt to curb the backlash, producers today sent him just two hours up the road from London 's Television Centre to Portchester - a little village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire. The presenter managed to maintain his cheery demeanour and upbeat attitude despite the cloudy, grey skies and chilly 16C temperatures as he detailed the competition in front of Portchester Castle. He swapped his brightly coloured short sleeve t-shirts and shorts for a polo shirt, black long-sleeved jacket and black trousers. Andi was also joined by a previous competition winner Jane as the pair bought cake from a conveniently placed snack truck which perked up the rather dull backdrop. It is understood GMB bosses feel it's in 'bad taste' to continue jetting the presenters off to far-flung destinations after ITV announced hundreds of redundancies across daytime shows Lorraine and Loose Women Speaking directly to hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, who were on the other end of the video call in their toasty London studio, Andi joked: 'I'm not sure if you've ever been to Portchester Castle but it's a very nice, quite quaint, a little bit breezy, but very, very nice.' The lighthearted dig was met with laughter from the pair as Richard quipped back: 'It suits you down to the ground, Andi.' ITV has refrained from sending any of their talent abroad since May 19 when Lisa Snowdon hosted a segment from Cyprus, which coincided with their devastating announcement of job losses and budget cuts. Viewers have also hit out in their hundreds over Andi's regular trips to opulent sun drenched locations. One agitated X user wrote: 'If ITV really wanted to save money they would stop sending Andi Peters to Mauritius or the rings of Saturn every time they have a competition.' On May 20, ITV announced they were halving Lorraine's run-time from an hour to just 30 minutes and only broadcasting Loose Women for 30 weeks of the year. A source told MailOnline: 'ITV have scaled back on sending top talent overseas to present their competition segments. 'The competitions themselves, which give viewers the chance to win six figure sums and idyllic holidays, bring in a great deal of revenue, but constantly flying the likes of Andi and Jeff to the Maldives and South Africa was starting to frustrate staff and viewers alike. In what seems like an attempt to curb the backlash, producers today sent him just two hours up the road from London 's Television Centre to Portchester - a little village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire ITV has refrained from sending any of their talent abroad since May 19 when Lisa Snowdon hosted a segment from Cyprus, which coincided with their devastating announcement of job losses and budget cuts 'It was decided that they would dial down for a few weeks after the budget cuts were announced and no one has flown overseas to present the competitions since. 'As well as there being a backlash online from disgruntled viewers, it was felt continuing to send talent abroad to luxurious holiday destinations as others are losing their jobs would be in bad taste.' Andi has been the face of ITV's competition segments for years, jetting off to an endless list of desirable holiday destinations. In January, he was in Australia followed by the Maldives, where he appeared on a unicorn float, before flying to South Africa in February and Florida in April. Meanwhile, Jeff, flew to Thailand in January, Sri Lanka in March and the same month was joined by son Freddy in Gozo, Malta. But since the announcement of ITV's budget cuts last month, Jeff has instead broadcast from the Cotswolds and London's Television Centre while during Monday's programme of Lorraine, Andi was in Bristol. Last week, MailOnline revealed the extent of future cuts to ITV's Loose Women, with the show set to no longer broadcast with a live studio audience. An insider confirmed that the programme, which will only air 30 weeks of the year during school term times, is scrapping having fans join them at the London studio because it's too expensive. Andi was also joined by a previous competition winner Jane as the pair bought cake from a conveniently placed snack truck which perked up the rather dull backdrop This Morning are also cutting back on costs as they resist broadcasting from outdoor locations and sending presenters like Alison Hammond abroad to interview A-list celebrities. It's been speculated that Lorraine will quit her show following the end of her one-year contract, with the long-running ITV series predicted to be cancelled. While Lorraine is yet to comment, Loose Woman Nadia Sawalha has spoken out about the 'brutal' cuts and how they have affected her. She said: 'This show has been highly successful for 25 years, more actually now, it is such a clear brand... 'The brutality of the world... what a lot of people don't realise is that we're self-employed, every contract is a new contract, I could be let go tomorrow or in five years, we're not employees. 'What's been absolutely brutal over the last week and honestly, I feel tearful about it is that hundreds of people are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are people behind the scenes, that support us in every way. 'It's the way of the world, inflation is insane, cuts have to be made... a lot of my friends and colleagues on this show and at ITV have been there for decades, and I can't tell you how upsetting it was to see people walking around numb with shock and fear about what they were going to do.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
'Sheep eating' tropical plant flowers in Hampshire after 10 years
A tropical plant, which has been dubbed a "sheep eater" because of its sharp-edged leaves, has flowered in a school garden for the first time since it was planted 10 years Puya Chilensis, which is usually found in Chile, sent up a nearly-3m (10ft) flowering spike at Wicor Primary School in Portchester, spike's yellow-green flowers finally opened on horticulturalist Louise Moreton said the event was both exciting and a worrying sign of global warming. She said: "This is not something that should happen normally."We've had the sunniest April on record... the temperature's up 1.7 degrees and we've actually had 47% less rainfall."We are witnessing climate change first hand in our primary school grounds." Ms Moreton, who planted the evergreen perennial when she redesigned the school garden as a learning environment, said it was reputedly a danger to wildlife in its native Andean environment."It's actual name is 'sheep catcher'," she explained."It would typically entangle wildlife around it and then hold on to it and unfortunately if they perish it would then give nutrients to the plant."In the UK, several Puya Chilensis specimens have recently flowered many years after being planted, including in public gardens in Devon, Leeds and Surrey. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Telegraph
Neighbour harassed couple with power tools and CCTV camera
A neighbour drove a couple out of their dream home after harassing them with noisy power tools late at night, a court has heard. Wendy Lau, 54, threw stones, banged on the wall, played loud music and pointed a CCTV camera at Abigail Beckett's new house, a judge was told. Lau, a sign language interpreter, was alleged to have persistently harassed her neighbours until they had 'no choice' but to move out of their home in Hampshire, which Ms Beckett described as being 'evicted by proxy'. Although Lau admitted that she was an 'inconsiderate neighbour' and had made noise over the 18-month period, she denied doing it with 'malice' and claimed some of the noise was her making tea. She pleaded guilty to one count of stalking involving serious alarm and distress and received a suspended sentence at Portsmouth Crown Court. Edward Fenner, prosecuting, told the court that Ms Beckett and her family moved to the two-bedroom home in the village of Portchester, Hampshire, in August 2022. The semi-detached property, which cost just under £290,000, was next door to a bungalow which Lau bought two weeks later. The court heard that the harassment started as soon as Lau moved into her home. Neighbours described hearing 'very loud banging and noise' throughout the day and into the early hours of the morning. Lau would stare at Ms Beckett and her family, bang on her window, and throw stones at their house, the court heard. CCTV cameras, pointed at Ms Beckett's house, were installed by Lau to 'spy' and she would 'persistently' use power tools and play loud music. Ms Beckett and her then-fiancé, Stuart Turner, reported Lau to the police. She was served a cease and desist order, but the noise continued. Mr Fenner explained that the couple moved out to live with Ms Beckett's parents in October 2023, and eventually decided to sell their home. He added: 'The action of the defendant made it impossible for them to continue residing at the address. In a victim impact statement, Ms Beckett spoke of the 'significant impact' the harassment has had on her life. She added: 'It will take us a long time to begin to understand why Ms Lau made us her target.' Mr Turner said he thought his family would be in the property 'until old age' but had no choice but to sell it because of Lau's behaviour. 'Inconsiderate neighbour' Casey Chard, mitigating, told the court that Lau is 'at heart – not a bad person'. Mr Chard said Lau 'didn't think about the consequence' of her behaviour and that none of them were out of 'malice'. He told the court: 'Her actions were not intended to cause the distress that she inevitably has. 'Put simply, it's as a result of her [being an] inconsiderate neighbour.' Lau pleaded guilty to one charge of stalking involving serious alarm and distress. His Honour Judge James Newton-Price KC handed Lau a four month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
