Latest news with #RichardColes
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Rev Richard Coles: 'Intense grief is the tribute that you pay for the person you've lost'
Showbiz divas are nothing new to writer, broadcaster and retired vicar The Rev Richard Coles, whose first Canon Clement book Murder Before Evensong is currently being adapted for TV. 'I have spent some time around divas. I've always been rather fascinated by them. 'It's interesting, because a diva is a rather disparaging term for someone who's extremely difficult, capricious – and they can be all those things. 'But often they are operating in a very competitive world and they are doing their thing – and that sometimes mean you take no prisoners. I rather like divas and I have some divas in my life and enjoy their company.' Coles, 63, whose latest tour Borderline National Trinket is a title which arguably sums him up, says he loves fame and indeed has fuelled it with his fair share of reality TV gigs, including Strictly Come Dancing and I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! (he came third in 2024), and his appearances on numerous panel shows, his bestselling novels and several podcasts. Now in an enclave of cosy crime writers – he has known Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club king of cosy crime, for some years – who gather at crime festivals, he says that far from being competitive, it's a very supportive, friendly world. 'When Murder Before Evensong went to number one, Richard sent me a little note saying, 'Do you remember when years ago, we used to talk about murder mysteries? And here we are.' That was very generous of him.' Coles has taken to asking everyone he meets about how they would murder someone in their profession, he continues. 'I had a fascinating conversation with some dentists in Egypt about how they would murder someone, which I'm definitely going to use, and I'm spending an evening with The British Tunnelling Society which will be useful on how to dispose of a body,' he says dryly. Richard Coles. Picture: Matt Crockett Being on set during some of the filming of Murder Before Evensong, due to be broadcast in October on Channel 5 and starring Matthew Lewis (who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films) and Amanda Redman as the canon's indefatigable mother, Audrey, also provided the spark of inspiration for the latest novel, A Death On Location. Set in 1990, it sees Daniel Clement and his sidekick Det Sgt Neil Vanhoo – for whom his interest is both professional and personal – investigating the stabbing of a local woman, an extra on the set of a Hollywood movie being shot at the fictional Champton House in the eponymous rural village. He jokes that his title of executive producer for the TV adaptation isn't as grand as it sounds. 'You get a bacon sandwich from catering,' he muses. 'I get given a set of headphones, then I can walk around looking important. I don't know anything about adapting books for television so I'm very happy to leave that to people who know how to do that. 'I talked to the actors quite a lot, especially Matt Lewis, about what it's like being a priest, with some suggestions.' One of the main characters in his latest novel is acting diva Gillian Smith – not based on anyone he knows but you get the impression he writes with authority – one of an array of suspects along with directors, assistants and others in the film-making process. His fictional diva relies on her minions to do everything for her, is deliberately unreliable and makes outrageous demands – and Coles has witnessed similar in real life, although he's far too diplomatic to name names. 'There are little things, like spectacular lateness. I mean hours late, days late, weeks late. I write a bit about Gillian that whenever she goes out to dinner, her poor PA has to fax instructions to the host saying what she will do and what she won't do. That's all based on real life experience of a certain diva I know. The Rev Richard Coles with his dogs Pongo and Daisy (Matt Crockett/PA) 'If you are cossetted and people jump when you want them to jump, you get used to that pretty quick.' Diva behaviour isn't something completely alien to the former Church of England vicar. He recalls that as a member of Eighties band The Communards it was easy to forget that fame wasn't a natural state of affairs. 'What's tough is when you stop being a pop star and return to civilian ranks. I remember once going to the airport just after The Communards had finished, and just presenting myself at the VIP check-in, and the computer said no. And I thought, 'How could you be so rude?' Then after a while I realised I just wasn't in that category anymore.' These days, he still loves being in the spotlight, he admits. 'I do like attention. Put on a spotlight and I'll run towards it.' His showbiz pals include influencer GK Barry, whom he met on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! He's hoping to work on a new project with her. 'We got on so well and it was such an unlikely friendship and people seemed to enjoy it. I like visiting her world and trying to figure out what's going on and I think she quite likes visiting my world, so may a little trip together would be fun to do. 'I love the TV reality format because you always have a 'bromance', but I've never had a bromance with a 25-year-old lesbian before, and that's great.' He doesn't bring his showbiz life home to East Sussex, he stresses. His partner, actor Richard 'Dickie' Cant, son of the late actor and children's TV presenter Brian Cant, whom he met in 2022 on a dating app, is about to move in. 'I think I'm quite difficult to live with. I'm very chirpy in the morning, which doesn't always go down well. And we have to negotiate our way around things like Match Of The Day. He's not very keen on football. He asked me one day if Arsenal was Spurs. 'He's quite tough, and he doesn't take any messing from me. If he needs to put me right on something, he does, and that's fine. He's just a great guy.' Will he marry again? 'I think so, probably, but all in good time.' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson/PA) He says he's enjoying his 60s enormously, yet life hasn't been all glitterballs and glamour for the famous vicar. He has suffered his share of grief – the death of his husband David from alcohol addiction at the end of 2019 while Coles was still vicar of Finedon, Northamptonshire, of his mother last year and recently his two dogs, Pongo and Daisy. Yet he can see the positive side of grief. 'Intense grief is the tribute that you pay for the person you've lost. So I don't begrudge it at all. I'm used to the feeling of grief.' When he's home, he helps out in his local parish but doesn't have the same day-to-day connections with the community that he had as vicar of Finedon. 'I do miss it – I loved being a vicar, it was great.' But he has plenty to keep him busy. He'll have another Canon Clement novel out at Christmas, is writing a children's book, and away from the spotlight loves cooking and playing the piano. 'I used to be ambitious but that's burned away now and I'm quite content with my life. I don't have a bucket list, the only thing I can think of is that I'd quite like to learn to yodel.' A Death On Location by Richard Coles is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on June 5.
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
QBE Insurance Group Limited (QBEIF) Gets a Buy from Morgans
In a report released today, Richard Coles from Morgans maintained a Buy rating on QBE Insurance Group Limited (QBEIF – Research Report), with a price target of A$26.76. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter According to TipRanks, Coles is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 11.2% and a 57.51% success rate. Coles covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as QBE Insurance Group Limited, COG Financial Services Limited, and Challenger . Currently, the analyst consensus on QBE Insurance Group Limited is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $15.42. Based on QBE Insurance Group Limited's latest earnings release for the quarter ending December 31, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $11.85 billion and a net profit of $977 million. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $11.43 billion and had a net profit of $955 million Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 19 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of QBEIF in relation to earlier this year.
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Findi (QED0) Receives a Buy from Morgans
In a report released today, Richard Coles from Morgans maintained a Buy rating on Findi (QED0 – Research Report), with a price target of A$7.55. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Coles covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as QBE Insurance Group Limited, COG Financial Services Limited, and Challenger . According to TipRanks, Coles has an average return of 11.2% and a 57.51% success rate on recommended stocks. Findi has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of €5.50.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
RICHARD COLES: I went on Ozempic after my neighbours were BULLYING me about my weight. But then I found the real reason they were so keen to get me on the drugs - and it's shocked me to my core
You can ask the Reverend Richard Coles anything on his new live tour, so let's cut straight to the chase. How's the love life? 'Excellent, thank you! I have a lovely time with Dickie, who came into my life a couple of years ago.' Dickie is the Shakespearean actor Richard Cant, son of former Play School presenter Brian. 'He hates me talking about him,' says Richard with a wince, 'but if you ask, there are things I can say.' Their first date was at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley in Surrey. 'I knew he was coming from work - he was in the play Orlando in the West End at the time - so I did a brilliant thing and packed an extra pair of Wellingtons. I estimated his shoe size correctly. I knew that was a cool move.' How did it go down? 'Well, he said later, "You had me at the Wellingtons."'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I'm a Celeb star and radio legend reveal that Sussex is their 'happy space'
Two well-known celebrities have revealed they love to visit Sussex as one of their 'happy spaces'. Country Living has asked 40 famous faces to share their 'green and happy spaces'. Introducing the list, it reads: "To celebrate our 40th birthday this year, we've asked 40 of our favourite country-loving friends to tell us about the gardens, woods, lakes and mountains that nurture their wellbeing. "From Martin Kemp's Hertfordshire garden to Paul Whitehouse's favourite river for fishing, read on to hear the 'green and happy spaces' of these famous faces." 40 famous faces share their 'green and happy spaces' — Country Living UK (@countrylivinguk) May 15, 2025 Two famous faces selected Sussex as their happy space in the list by Country Living. The first was Reverend Richard Coles, perhaps most known for his recent appearance on the latest series of ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! He said of East Sussex: 'I love crisp winter walks – walking has helped me deal with the grief of losing my partner, David. "Cycling is good for my mind, too, although I'd never dream of inflicting myself in Lycra on the world.' Reverend Richard is also a writer, musician and radio presenter. Other than his I'm a Celebrity appearance, you may have also seen him on QI, Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News for You. However, the Reverend is not the only famous face that bigged up East Sussex. Zoe Ball, perhaps most known for her time recently as the host of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show, revealed she is also a fan of the county. She told Country Living: 'It can be five or ten minutes in my potting shed, pruning or tidying up, or sometimes I'll get a rush of energy and plant some bits and pieces. "It's a great place to switch off because I'm quite a manic kind of person. It's so good for me.' A popular spot in Sussex to get in one with nature is the South Downs National Park. Recommended reading: The 'famous' Sussex town that is a celebrity hotspot and inspired a Disney book Seven celebs you may not have known studied at the University of Sussex Sussex home of two of Britain's greatest actors goes on sale for £2 million The South Downs extend for about 260 square miles across Hampshire and East Sussex. Designated as a National Character Area by Natural England, it is hugely popular for walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers. The South Downs Way is perhaps the most iconic walk in the area, stretching the entire length of the chalk ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne.
