Latest news with #PrimeSuspect
New York Post
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Helen Mirren tells five A-list actresses that ‘none of us are beautiful'
Helen Mirren is coming in with a hot take. While sitting down for The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actress Roundtable, the star, 79, got a chance to speak with Kathy Bates, Niecy Nash-Betts, Parker Posey, Keri Russell and Cristin Milioti about the ups and downs of the entertainment industry. 'I was told to have a nose job in my 20s,' Mirren told her fellow actors. 'Someone said, 'You'll never get work if you don't have a nose job.' I said no. I didn't want to be a pretty actress anyway. I elected to be not so pretty.' Advertisement 8 Dame Helen Mirren, Kathy Bates, Niecy Nash-Betts, Parker Posey, Keri Russell and Cristin Milioti. Beau Grealy for 'The Hollywood Reporter' Nash-Betts, 55, replied, 'First of all, too late. Because you are. But I understand what you mean, in theory. I love being shiny in my real life. On camera, don't care. I want to look like a dog. It doesn't bother me to disappear in some of those roles.' The 'Claws' alum added, 'I feel sorry for people who have been beautiful their whole life. Because when that's what you're known for, you got to keep it up for your whole life? I don't know what I'd do.' Advertisement Bates, 76, who recently spoke out about how she once lost a starring role due to her looks, chimed in, 'I don't know if y'all have the same experience, but when you see an amazing performance, it doesn't matter what that person looks like — they're beautiful.' 8 Helen Mirren attends Lights On Women's Worth at Plage Des Palmes on May 24, 2024 in Cannes, France. Getty Images for L'Oreal Paris But Mirren begged to differ, shockingly quipping, 'Looking at our faces around this table, none of us are beautiful.' 'Oh, get out of town!' Bates fired back. 'I feel more beautiful than I have in my entire life.' Advertisement Mirren, however, decided to double down. 8 Helen Mirren in 'Prime Suspect.' Courtesy Everett Collection 'We're not. None of us are beauties,' she pressed. 'We all have really different faces, very interesting faces.' Russell, 49, came to the English actress's defense, telling the ladies, 'I know what you mean. Like model beautiful?' Advertisement Mirren expressed, 'We all know what 'beautiful' is like.' 8 Kathy Bates in 1990's 'Misery.' ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Milioti, 39, reflected on her own experience with being a woman in Hollywood, sharing, 'If I look back 10 years, I was often playing a version of 'a girl of someone's dreams.' 'That didn't feel like my life experience, which is fine, but the older I get, the more I feel like I'm taking off a pair of tight pants. I feel so much freer. It's not a dig at any of those projects,' she continued. 'It's how you're perceived at 25. I was auditioning to play sorority girls or a dead body in a trunk or someone who was in love with a 40-year-old and being like, 'Have you ever tried dancing in the rain?' To leave that behind felt really good.' On the flip side, Milioti said, 'In the culture, there is such a celebration of men who really go for it.' 8 Keri Russell in 'Felicity.' ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection 'They'll do a crazy thing, and everyone's like, 'Wow, he must take this so seriously.' I've witnessed some of that, mostly just heard about it, and have thought that if I ever did that, it would not end well. And that still happens.' 'Misogyny,' Posey, 56, simply stated. 'When you asked that question, I felt myself kind of deflate because I think the misogyny is so rampant. To be a dynamic character or a dynamic woman or even a dynamic person, it's kind of outrageous right now. There's something very provincial that's happened. I feel the need to be really entertaining and make people laugh.' Advertisement 'Beautiful, but she doesn't know it,' Mirren said about what was always written above character descriptions. 8 Niecy Nash in 'Reno 911.' ©Comedy Central/Courtesy Everett Collect / Everett Collection Bates has also seen that happen, recalling, 'I made the mistake of asking the casting guy, 'Why does everybody have to be beautiful?' And he said, 'If you want to go and make your own female version of 'Marty,' be my guest.' So I left. I was asking an honest question. It still makes me pissed.' 'Marty' was a 1995 romance/drama that followed the life of bachelor Marty Piletti. Advertisement 'This is something I can really believe in. It means something. Up until that point, things were starting to wind down for me. I was getting roles that I really cared about in films that no one would see. [There was] disappointment in the way things were edited,' Bates confessed. 'It started to hurt too much. I just thought that maybe I ought to think about putting my house on the market and moving to France or something. I just wanted some real stimulation.' 8 Cristin Milioti in 'How I Met Your Mother.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection Although Mirren might not consider herself beautiful, she doesn't want to slow down anytime soon, telling the outlet, 'I'm old. I didn't die young, and the reason that I want to live as long as I possibly can — and continue working as long as I possibly can — is exactly what Keri said. It's the adventure of it.' Just last month, the 'MobLand' vet shared her beauty advice with E! News, telling the outlet that aging is 'nature, it's what happens.' Advertisement 8 Parker Posey. (c)First Look Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection 'All I can say is,' she quipped, 'don't worry [about aging]. It's cool.' 'My mother said the greatest thing to me: 'Never be afraid of getting older,'' reminisced Mirren. 'Of course, when you're 18, middle age is like a foreign country. It's so far away from you. But, you know, when you arrive in that country, you realize that country has great things. Maybe you like that country better than the country you left behind.'
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
EastEnders star ready to quit acting for very different job before landing role
EastEnders' Laura Doddington has revealed she planned to retrain in a very different career after giving up hopes of securing an acting role before taking on Nicola Mitchell Laura Doddington has quickly become a soap favourite after her bombshell entrance as Nicola Mitchell in EastEnders. Since then her character has been embroiled in a murder and this week an historic affair was uncovered which blew up some major drama. With the makings of a true soap matriarch - it's no surprise Laura, 44, has found herself nominated for Best Newcomer at this weekend's Soap Awards. But before bagging her dream role, the actress of 22 years admitted she mused the idea of changing careers after thinking her big break wouldn't come. 'The industry is hard at the moment,' admitted mum-of-one Laura. 'Before this audition came through, I'd been looking at retraining to do something else, I've got a young kid. And that makes you think about their future and stability for them.' Having previously starred in Doctors, Holby City and Casualty as well as on the stage - the lead role Laura had hoped for just wasn't coming. 'I cut my son's hair and I'm sort of reasonably good at it, so I thought that might be an option,' she mused. 'I was in Prime Suspect when I was in my 20s and The Midwich Cuckoos, but they weren't massive parts. I was beginning to think it might not be possible to have that lead role.' But she got the breakthrough she wanted so much, landing the part of the latest fiesty Mitchell woman, Nicola, nine months ago. And Cambridge-born Laura made an immediate impression. 'I've been a jobbing actor for 22 years and over that time you deal with really amazing highs, but also lows,' explained Laura. 'Missing out on jobs, not even getting seen for jobs. So when I got the part, especially as I'd been in it before for a fleeting moment, I was ecstatic. 'I'm really lucky that Chris Clenshaw took a punt on a jobbing actor and gave me the chance. This came at the right time. It feels incredible.' She says her audition process was an emotional rollercoaster - fearing she'd missed out on the chance of a lifetime. 'I didn't hear anything for four weeks,' recalled Laura. 'I thought it had gone to someone else. Unfortunately in this industry when you get to over the age of about 35 and you haven't made a name for yourself, the interesting roles sort of start drying up. It's just the way that it is and the way the world is a little bit. That's why I love soaps and continuing dramas as they champion individuals of all ages and put characters at the heart of storytelling.' Writing the opportunity off initially, eventually the call came through and Laura had got the part. 'When I found out there were a lot of tears and a lot of expletives!' she laughs. Stepping out on the Albert Square set for her first scenes as Nicola, Laura said she was full of nerves. But said soap stalwart Adam Woodyatt, who was her mentor was on hand to steady them. 'He was amazing,' smiles Laura. 'He came in, he was on set on my first day in case I had any questions. It was his day off, bless him. Everyone on the are so welcoming and kind. It was also daunting doing scenes with soap legends as colleagues. 'Seeing Steve (McFadden), Letitia (Dean) - it was just like, 'Oh my god'. But they are amazing. And the boys, Roland, Elijah and Lewis, they were awesome. We gelled so quickly.' The new Mitchells - Teddy (Roland Manookian), and his sons Harry (played by Elijah Holloway) and Barney (played by Lewis Bridgeman) - arrived in Walford in June causing shockwaves when it was revealed they were Stevie's secret family. Mum Nicola joined later, having spent time behind bars for injecting unlicensed filler. Earlier this month she confessed she'd murdered Harry's girlfriend Shireen to her son. She did it to conceal how Teddy is not Barney's real father – Zack Hudson ( James Farrar) is. The paternity bombshell was exposed this week leading to Harry kidnapping Zack to stop him telling Barney and the pair crashing into a lake. Tonight's episode sees Zack still missing and feared dead. Laura says it can be intense filming dramatic scenes and often likes to lighten the mood in between takes. 'The boys and I often burst into song between takes,' she revealed. 'It's hilarious when you belt out a tune and no one else joins in and you're like, 'That song was too random'. 'I'm high energy, a bit like a cocker spaniel most of the time. Then I realise that I have to portray the character and I'll take a minute to focus and get into Nicola's head. Although very different to her villainous character, Laura says they do share one quality. 'I relate to her protectiveness of her children." Letting her young son watch her EastEnders entrance last year - it was the first and last episode he's seen. Laura recalled: 'He turned to me and he said, 'Mummy, you're not very nice in this, are you?' 'I went, 'No I'm not, lovely' And he asked, 'Do you mind if I don't watch it?' in my head I was going, 'Thank God - I mean you were never gonna watch it!'.' One thing she will let him watch is mummy's appearance at the Soap Awards. Laura is up against Jacob Roberts as Coronation Street 's Kit Green, Shebz Miah and Emmerdale 's Kammy Hadiq and Isabelle Smith and Hollyoaks 's Frankie Osborne. 'When you've been doing something for a really long time and then suddenly someone acknowledges it… it's special,' she beams. 'I was really overwhelmed by it because I wasn't expecting it. I spent a lot of that first day bursting into tears - and I'm not a crier.' Gracing her first event red carpet, she says she's both excited and nervous. 'I'm a little bit of a clown,' admits Laura. 'I'm slightly worried that I might, in my head, think it's funny on the red carpet to pull a stupid face and then it's there for forever, isn't it? 'I'm really worried about tripping. It's probably gonna be me that falls flat on her face on the red carpet in front of everyone. But I can't wait to celebrate EastEnders and all the other amazing people and shows.' With a murder, an affair and huge family secret now exposed, is there a future for Nicola on EastEnders? 'There's always redemption,' Laura jokes. 'The knock-on effect of the secret of 16 years coming out would bring drama to anyone's life. In Nicola and the boys' case I think there's a journey to be had in that. It'll be interesting to see what she would do in a situation, how she repairs it with Barney.' Hoping to become an EastEnders favourite for years to come, Laura vowed: 'I don't want to go! But in the end that's not up to me. Everything is finite. I will just enjoy every moment that I'm here.' ITV at 8pm on June 5. 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Scottish Sun
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Danny Dyer reveals how moving letter from daughter Dani persuaded him to stay in rehab and kick drug addiction
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DANNY Dyer has revealed how a touching letter from eldest daughter Dani was the catalyst for him to stay in rehab and kick drugs for good. His touching comments come after The Sun exclusively told how he was "off his nut" after his "dark" EastEnders stint. 6 Danny Dyer has revealed a touching letter from daughter Dani helped him beat his drug demons at the height of his addiction Credit: Getty 6 Danny, 47, opened up on the influence of his eldest daughter who penned him a letter Credit: Getty 6 He told how the Love Island alum's words made him 'sit back down' and take note Credit: Getty The 47-year-old - who played Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter for nine years - said: 'I was off my nut a lot of that job . . . a lot of Valium and diazepam.' Now he has told how his Love Island alum daughter played a key role in ditching his demons after he admitted he'd "sit up all night smoking crack" at the height of his addiction. Now he has candidly opened up on his rehab stint in South Africa - and how the reality TV star's words sobered him up. Speaking to Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs he said he was ready to quit the facility around eight years ago. He told the BBC Radio 4 show: "Then they read a letter out from home, from my daughter Dani, and it made me sit back down in that seat." Talking of the height of his drug battles he said: "I remember I had this moment where I was sitting in my ensuite trying to work out how to put a pair of jeans on - I was that off my head. "I looked up, I looked at my wife and I could just see how tired she looked and I could hear kids running around downstairs, and I thought 'I need to sort my life out'." Back in 2022, Danny previously told The Sun he feared he would die if he didn't get help when his life was on the brink five years ago. Danny went to show bosses and told them he desperately needed to take time out after his relationship with his wife Joanne Mas hit the rocks in 2017. He admitted he had spent years being 'a c*** to her" and was taking so many drugs he had to make a desperate cry for help to producers of the BBC soap. Danny Dyer calls himself a 'p---k' as he candidly opens up about split from wife Jo in The Assembly Danny and Jo met as kids, growing up on the same council estate in East London, and had a daughter Dani, 28, when he was 18. The couple went on to have a daughter Sunnie, 18, and son Arty, 11. REAL DEAL Danny also opened up on his darkest times at a boozy event this weekend. Fans and celebs including Patsy Kensit, 57, were at Wimbledon Football Club in South West London on Friday for the charity night with Danny. Danny Dyer's career so far By Conor O'Brien Danny Dyer has played several film and TV roles across a three-decade acting career. Here's a look back at some of his most memorable performances. Prime Suspect (1993): Danny made his screen debut in an episode of the long-running ITV police procedural. He appeared as a character named "Martin Fletcher". Danny made his screen debut in an episode of the long-running ITV police procedural. He appeared as a character named "Martin Fletcher". Human Traffic (1999): Danny's debut film saw him portray "Moff", a dealer. Directed by Justin Kerrigan, the coming-of-age comedy drama also featured John Simm, Andrew Lincoln and Richard Coyle. Danny's debut film saw him portray "Moff", a dealer. Directed by Justin Kerrigan, the coming-of-age comedy drama also featured John Simm, Andrew Lincoln and Richard Coyle. Mean Machine (2001): An adaptation of The Longest Yard, this sports comedy also featured Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. Danny played "Billy the Limpet". An adaptation of The Longest Yard, this sports comedy also featured Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. Danny played "Billy the Limpet". The Football Factory (2004): Loosely based on the novel of the same name by John King. Danny led the cast of this sports drama, directed by Nick Love. He portrayed "Tommy Johnson". Loosely based on the novel of the same name by John King. Danny led the cast of this sports drama, directed by Nick Love. He portrayed "Tommy Johnson". EastEnders (2013-2022): Danny appeared in the London-set BBC soap opera for almost a decade. He played Queen Vic landlord "Mick Carter", opposite Kellie Bright as his on-screen wife Linda. Danny appeared in the London-set BBC soap opera for almost a decade. He played Queen Vic landlord "Mick Carter", opposite Kellie Bright as his on-screen wife Linda. Rivals (2024): The actor was among an all-star ensemble cast in this Disney+ series based on Jilly Cooper's novel. Danny played the role of "Freddie Jones". Speaking of EastEnders, he told the audience: 'I was off my nut for a lot of that job. I was squinting a lot for a couple of years, a lot of Valium and Diazepam. 'You have 30 pages a day you've got to learn. There's no f***ing about. You organically make the scene work, you rehearse nothing. It f***s your nut up. I ended up in rehab twice.' In an apparent reference to the show's storylines, he added: 'Not so much in Corrie, but in EastEnders it's so dark.' Danny joined the soap as Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in 2013 but quit in 2022, with his character seemingly drowning at sea. He added: "On EastEnders there is no messing about and you've got to do it. It's the hardest part of our job. 'I'd love to see A-list actors come in and do it, they'd crumble. You've got to be on it. 'In films you make yourself properly cry, you go to a dark place and you have time to recover. It messes a lot of people's heads up. Most people are off their nut." During the boozy bash Danny also confessed bosses banned him from drinking alcohol in the Queen Vic and even put antiseptic in the beer barrels. He said: 'When I first arrived on set I was slipping around the side and having a few lagers and they found out so they started to put TCP into the beer. 'I wasn't off my nut. I had a drink every now and again.' An EastEnders spokeswoman said yesterday: 'We would never discuss an individual's private matters, however, we do not recognise these claims. "EastEnders has extremely robust and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the welfare of everyone who works on the show.' 6 Danny told how he was 'off his nut' on drugs during his time on EastEnders Credit: BBC 6 Danny told of his 'dark' times on the BBC soap Credit: BBC
The Irish Sun
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Danny Dyer reveals how moving letter from daughter Dani persuaded him to stay in rehab and kick drug addiction
DANNY Dyer has revealed how a touching letter from eldest daughter Dani was the catalyst for him to stay in rehab and kick drugs for good. His touching comments come after 6 Danny Dyer has revealed a touching letter from daughter Dani helped him beat his drug demons at the height of his addiction Credit: Getty 6 Danny, 47, opened up on the influence of his eldest daughter who penned him a letter Credit: Getty 6 He told how the Love Island alum's words made him 'sit back down' and take note Credit: Getty The 47-year-old - who played Queen Vic landlord for nine years - said: 'I was off my nut a lot of that job . . . a lot of Valium and diazepam.' Now he has told how his Love Island alum daughter played a key role in ditching his demons after he admitted Now he has candidly opened up on his rehab stint in South Africa - and how the reality TV star's words sobered him up. Speaking to Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs he said he was ready to quit the facility around eight years ago. READ MORE DANNY DYER He told the BBC Radio 4 show: "Then they read a letter out from home, from my daughter Dani, and it made me sit back down in that seat." Talking of the height of his drug battles he said: "I remember I had this moment where I was sitting in my ensuite trying to work out how to put a pair of jeans on - I was that off my head. "I looked up, I looked at my wife and I could just see how tired she looked and I could hear kids running around downstairs, and I thought 'I need to sort my life out'." Back in 2022, Danny previously told The Sun he Most read in Celebrity Danny went to show bosses and told them he desperately needed to take time out after his relationship with his wife He admitted he had spent years being 'a c*** to her" and was taking so many drugs he had to make a desperate cry for help to producers of the BBC soap. Danny Dyer calls himself a 'p---k' as he candidly opens up about split from wife Jo in The Assembly Danny and Jo met as kids, growing up on the same council estate in East London, and had a daughter The couple went on to have a daughter Sunnie, 18, and son Arty, 11. REAL DEAL Danny also opened up on his darkest times at a boozy event this weekend. Fans and celebs including Patsy Kensit, 57, were at Wimbledon Football Club in South West London on Friday for the charity night with Danny. Danny Dyer's career so far By Conor O'Brien Danny Dyer has played several film and TV roles across a three-decade acting career. Here's a look back at some of his most memorable performances. Prime Suspect (1993): Danny made his screen debut in an episode of the long-running ITV police procedural. He appeared as a character named "Martin Fletcher". Human Traffic (1999): Danny's debut film saw him portray "Moff", a dealer. Directed by Justin Kerrigan, the coming-of-age comedy drama also featured Mean Machine (2001): An adaptation of The Longest Yard, this sports comedy also featured Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. Danny played "Billy the Limpet". The Football Factory (2004): Loosely based on the novel of the same name by John King. Danny led the cast of this sports drama, directed by Nick Love. He portrayed "Tommy Johnson". EastEnders (2013-2022): Danny appeared in the London-set BBC soap opera for almost a decade. He Rivals (2024): The actor was among an all-star ensemble cast in this Disney+ series based on Jilly Cooper's novel. Danny played the role of "Freddie Jones". Speaking of EastEnders, he told the audience: 'I was off my nut for a lot of that job. I was squinting a lot for a couple of years, a lot of Valium and Diazepam. 'You have 30 pages a day you've got to learn. There's no f***ing about. You organically make the scene work, you rehearse nothing. It f***s your nut up. I ended up in rehab twice.' In an apparent reference to the show's storylines, he added: 'Not so much in Corrie, but in EastEnders it's so dark.' Danny joined the soap as Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in 2013 but quit in 2022, with his character seemingly drowning at sea. He added: "On EastEnders there is no messing about and you've got to do it. It's the hardest part of our job. 'I'd love to see A-list actors come in and do it, they'd crumble. You've got to be on it. 'In films you make yourself properly cry, you go to a dark place and you have time to recover. It messes a lot of people's heads up. Most people are off their nut." During the boozy bash Danny also confessed bosses banned him from drinking alcohol in the Queen Vic and even put antiseptic in the beer barrels. He said: 'When I first arrived on set I was slipping around the side and having a few lagers and they found out so they started to put TCP into the beer. 'I wasn't off my nut. I had a drink every now and again.' An EastEnders spokeswoman said yesterday: 'We would never discuss an individual's private matters, however, we do not recognise these claims. "EastEnders has extremely robust and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the welfare of everyone who works on the show.' 6 Danny told how he was 'off his nut' on drugs during his time on EastEnders Credit: BBC 6 Danny told of his 'dark' times on the BBC soap Credit: BBC 6 He is a proud dad of three Credit: Splash
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘Have ya any answers?' – looking back at some of the most memorable moments from Joe Duffy's Liveline
Duffy began presenting the programme in 1999, taking over from Marian Finucane. And for close to 30 years he has been lending an ear as people around the country 'talk to Joe' or tell him loudly that 'it's a disgrace, Joe'. While debate rumbles on over who will be his successor, here we look back at some – but not all – of his memorable guests and moments from the show, as well as some of the remarkable stories that he has told in these years. Lifesaving radio Emmy-winning Prime Suspect screenwriter Frank Deasy, and a friend of Duffy, spoke to the broadcaster about the importance of organ donation as he waited for a liver transplant in 2009. Just days after appearing on the radio programme Deasy died on the operating table after being called to undergo an emergency liver transplant operation. His interview resulted in an unprecedented surge in organ donor card requests – over 15,000 individual requests in just one week. Undoubtedly this saved many lives. 'Have ya any answers?' With the national broadcaster facing criticism and Oireachtas committees in the summer of 2023, Duffy weighed in on Liveline when details were revealed around RTÉ barter accounts. When it was revealed RTÉ had spent nearly €5,000 on 200 pairs of Havaianas flip flops for a 2022 summer party Duffy remarked 'Have ya any answers?' would have been a more apt name for the footwear, adding they could have saved money by shopping at Penneys. "Now in Penneys on Mary Street – one of my favourite shops – in Penneys, I saw flip flops, the same flip flops as a flip flop,' he said. "A flip flop is a piece of rubber that goes on your foot and then there's a little piece of plastic and that goes between your 'this little piggy'.' Something blue? During Covid the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's Normal People was phenomenally successful. But not everyone approved of the series. There were reports that watching this series would lead to unprecedented levels of "fornicating'. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more An elderly woman called Mary told Joe Duffy: 'It was like something you would expect to see in a porno movie, it certainly wasn't for family viewing.' The broadcaster responded: "And what would you see in a porno movie, Mary?" Reuniting families Surjit Nandha regularly travelled to Dublin from Bedford, England looking for her long lost sister who she had not met in 40 years. She had tried registry offices and travelled the country but failed to find her. Then, on her way back to the airport a taxi driver suggested she phone Joe Duffy to see if he could help. She spoke to Joe for 15 minutes on air while waiting for her flight, and told him that her sister had left home, and she was desperate to find her. A woman listening on the bus thought the story sounded familiar and told her friend Vicky Jackson – this turned out to be Surjit's sister. The two women were reunited after more than 40 years. A remarkable woman Mother-of-two Susie Long rang Liveline when she discovered that her undiagnosed cancer had spread as she waited months for a colonoscopy. Long's story highlighted the divide between the public and private health service. She said she had been condemned to die simply because of hospital waiting lists. She died in 2007. The Susie Long Hospice fund was established and raised hundreds of thousands for others. Duffy described her as a 'remarkable woman'. Detective Duffy In 2020 it was a case of PI Joe. Duffy rang a bogus hotel that was conning people out of money and masqueraded as 'Peter Murphy' – a would-be client. The man claiming to be the proprietor 'Derek' tried to convince Duffy to hand over his details as the broadcaster feigned ignorance. 'I'm not that familiar with Dublin myself,' he said. But after a while Joe revealed it was a sting operation. 'Derek, talk to Joe, you've gone very quiet,' he said. Duffy assumed the alias of Peter again in 2023 when contacting a scammer pretending to be a senior executive at AIB. Duffy confronted the scammer who claimed he was legitimate but the Liveline host was having none of it. He memorably said: 'I didn't come up the Liffey on a doughnut. This is a scam. This is a scam. You're rumbled man.' War of words The Wolfe Tones were the talk of the country in August 2023 when there was debate over 'ooh ah, up the Ra' chants at their gig during Féile an Phobail in Belfast. This led to Wolfe Tones lead vocalist Brian Warfield calling into Liveline and he and Duffy clashing over the lyrics of the song Celtic Symphony. Responding to criticism of the song from a listener, Mr Warfield said Celtic Symphony is 'only a baby's lullaby' compared with songs containing lyrics like 'we're up to our necks in Fenian blood' and 'f*** the Pope'. Mr Warfield has previously said he wrote Celtic Symphony after seeing 'ooh ah, up the Ra' written on a wall. 'I've heard that argument before, don't give me all the guff. I don't want to hear it again because it's all guff about something written on a wall,' Duffy replied. When asked by Duffy what 'ooh ah, up the Ra' means, Warfield said the chant could refer to Ra, the Egyptian god. A poignant appeal In 2014, an appeal was launched on Liveline to find out more information about a man named Sean Parker. Sean had died at the age of 79 in a UK nursing home with no known relatives. He would talk about his life in Galway to the staff working in the home and in the aftermath of his death those working there contacted the programme. Locals in Glinsk, Galway heard Parker's story – that he had left the country after the death of his mother in 1945 – and recognised him. Thus began a campaign to return Mr Parker's remains to his home county so he could be laid to rest in the same cemetery as his late mother. This was successful and a funeral service was held for the country's 'lost son', during which a radio was brought to the altar – a reference to Liveline. Pyjamagate During a memorable episode in March 2019, Duffy spoke to David, a hairdresser from Portlaoise who had banned women wearing nightwear, such as their PJs and slippers, from entering his salon. However, one irate caller, Catherine, labelled the policy 'an attack on working class people', suggesting that if celebs were to go around in their nightwear, wealthier types would soon do likewise. It was Duffy himself who dubbed the furore 'Pyjamagate'. Michael O'Leary cut down to size After days of complaints on the programme about extra charges to reserve aeroplane seats, in July 2017 Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary came on to Liveline to defend the policy himself. 'You're perfectly free to complain,' O'Leary told listeners – and they did, in their droves. 'Sorry, do you have a sensible question?' O'Leary asked Duffy at one point, at which the host gave him the hairdryer treatment: 'How dare you?' before dubbing O'Leary 'The Hamlet of mock indignation'. One for the ages. Highlighting health issues Throughout his tenure on Liveline, Duffy has highlighted different health stories. And in 2021, the show dedicated 10 days to discussing menopause. It was a watershed moment for many Irish women who were listening in. Women from around the country phoned in to share their stories, and spoke about feeling as if they were 'going mad', how completely unprepared they were, and how unsupportive their GP had been. The series received much acclaim and won an IMRO award. In fact, Duffy and the Liveline team have also devoted episodes to various health scandals. The programme has always aimed to give voice to people who, as he says, 'can't get on other programmes'. During the 2018 cervical cancer scandal Duffy fielded calls from those personally affected – women waiting for results, and those who had been misdiagnosed. One man, whose wife died from cancer after a misdiagnosis, told Duffy how she had been advised by a doctor to attend a gym when she raised concerns over the pain she was enduring. A call from the inside There was huge controversy when prisoner John Daly rang the programme from his cell in Portlaoise prison to confront Irish Independent journalist Paul Williams. It resulted in the then justice minister launching an inquiry into security measures and a total of 1,600 phones were seized across the prison services. Daly was released not long after and was subsequently murdered after warning gardaí his life was under threat. On the money During the economic crash of 2008, callers began ringing into Liveline expressing their distrust of the banks and discussing moving savings to post offices. This led to the then finance minister, the late Brian Lenihan, ringing RTÉ's director general Cathal Goan to complain about the panic Duffy was instilling in callers. RTÉ defended Duffy but it was reported that a Liveline segment on the same subject due to go out later was pulled. Duffy said he was proud he stood over the programme and never apologised for it, despite calls to do so. "I stood over that programme then and now," he told the Herald in 2013. "The callers that day had been on the money, their instincts that things were that much worse than what they were being told were right." Seamus and the 40 Airbnbs Another one for the ages was the case in October 2016 of Seamus, who is Airbnbing out 40 properties around Dublin – none of which he owned, and all of which he was subletting. An owner of one of the properties, Angela, was unaware of Seamus's activities until she got a stream of complaints about constant comings and goings, noise and late-night parties, from her former neighbours. Seamus even boasted about how he jacked up prices at peak times. It was a lightbulb moment for the nation in realising that the sharing economy is actually pretty one-sided. David Norris and 'Magill' Long-time senator and LGBTQ+ advocate David Norris had his presidential hopes damaged in June 2011 when a 2002 interview with Magill magazine resurfaced. Journalist Helen Lucy Burke went on Liveline and drew attention to the piece in which Norris, while making clear that he had absolutely no interest in sex with minors, he said 'in terms of classic paedophilia, as practised by the Greeks, for example, where it is an older man introducing a younger man to adult life, there can be something said for it'. This, she said was 'startling', 'astounding' and 'evil'. One of the most politically significant episodes of Liveline, it kicked off a furore around the presidential election that was eventually won by Michael D Higgins. A knight in shining armour Last year, Inchicore resident Theresa accidentally reversed her mobility scooter into the Grand Canal. It was almost a tragedy and she and her blind shih tzu dog Toby may have drowned were it not for two people jumping into the canal to help. Before she could thank them they disappeared – she rang Liveline to tell Joe and was reconnected with one of her knights in shining armour. For all of these reasons – and many more – Joe Duffy will be sorely missed by his listeners.
