Latest news with #Steps
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Popular BBC quiz hands out £10k jackpot for first time in its six-year history
FOR the first time in its six-year history, The Hit List will hand over a £10,000 jackpot to a pair of contestants on the show. The BBC One music contest will see hosts Marvin and Rochelle Humes present its biggest ever winning sum to the victors in the final round. 4 Contestants have to name ten tracks played in the studio, and the artists who recorded them, with just five seconds deduction time alloted to each. If participants take more than that time they start having money deducted from the jackpot – but they don't lose a penny. Tune in on Saturday at 5.45pm to see their delight. The show's popularity has seen multiple celebrity specials with famous faces hoping to win big money for charity. Several celebrities have also made appearances while trying to win big money for charity. Some previous guests include ' Steps ' members Ian "H" Watkins and Faye Tozer, as well as future Strictly star Chris McCausland. Dancer Oti Mabuse, former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley and Inbetweeners star James Buckley have also all taken part in various episodes. Having begun airing in 2019, The Hit List is the first standalone TV show as a couple for Marvin and Rochelle. Speaking previously to the i newspaper, the couple discussed what it takes for contestants to win the challenging the game. Rochelle revealed: 'I always say to them before the round starts, 'don't look at the money trickling down, look at me, I want you to win. I took on The Hit List with Marvin and Rochelle but was left red-faced after 15 minutes of fame 'We've had people that just don't know the answer at all, and the nerves just completely take over. "It's easier said than done, though. SURANNE RELISHES PM ROLE SURANNE JONES has revealed the lengths she went to to prepare for her role as the Prime Minister in her drama, Hostage. The former Doctor Foster and Corrie star talked on the Table Manners podcast about taking the lead in the new Netflix thriller that drops next month. 4 She said: 'I don't think I'm allowed to say (who), but I did speak to three really high-up women from different parties, and I read their books and I interviewed them, and that was very exciting. 'I love research. . . 'I like to meet a lot of people and chat about the roles.' Suranne also discussed working with a new on-screen family, who are all seen in the show starting a new life in Downing Street. She said: 'Ashley Thomas, who plays my husband, who's a grime star. "We did chemistry tests, and when he came in, it was just like, 'Oh, you're intriguing, handsome, lovely, smart, intelligent'.' Bizbit THE second season of Love Is Blind will air on Netflix on August 13. The dating show features people picking prospective partners without ever having seen them. Hosted by Emma and Matt Willis, the new ten-part season will drop in three batches every week until the end of the month. STEPHEN'S BACK ON THE CASE THE BBC and ITV are each launching their own big entertainment series within days of each other – and they bear a fair few similarities. On ITV1, Stephen Mangan will be back with a second run of The Fortune Hotel in the first week of August. 4 4 The show sees players from all walks of life – including cleaners, content creators and carpet fitters – compete in an intense briefcase-swapping game, full of twists, to hopefully be the one to walk off with the £250,000 prize. If that sounds a bit like The Traitors, so does BBC One's brand new show Destination X, which launches on July 30 and also has a whiff of Race Across The World. Host Rob Brydon leads the way as contestants are taken on a nail- biting, wild ride The players board a blacked-out bus where they are fed clues – and a few nasty red herrings – with one simple question at the end of each episode: Where in Europe are you? A £100,000 prize awaits the winner. But with the amount of Euro facts we'll learn during the series, I reckon some of us will win big at the next pub quiz, too.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-07-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
In praise of wandering and pondering
Opinion I did a doubletake when I read the Free Press headline on July 2: Cellphones mark 40 years in Canada. Surely that '40' was a typo? Has it really been that long since we started feeling fettered by our landlines and began opting for free-range calling? And then I thought of my own early work experience in the late '80s, working the reception desk of a swanky real estate office in Toronto whose well-heeled sales representative were early adoptors of clunky car phones. Pam Frampton photo Life imitating art: an array of water lilies conjures up paintings by Claude Monet. I remember the thrill of taking those first calls from people in moving vehicles and wondering how the heck we had ever lived without such convenience. Of course, back then, only the well-heeled could afford them. It would be 20 years more before a boss handed me my first iPhone and told me to kiss my personal life goodbye. Now that cellphones have become ubiquitous in our lives, it's hard to fathom how we ever got by in the before-times — those old-fashioned, pre-app days when ATMs were shiny newfangled things and you had to actually speak to someone at a restaurant to make a reservation. Now, I love the convenience of cellphone technology as much as the next person — online banking is the perfect tool for impatient people like me, and language apps make it dead simple to do a lesson whenever you want. But cellphones are designed to trigger interaction. How long can you set your phone down before a notification ping or just pure conditioning has your sweaty palm compulsively reaching out to pick it up again? Not all of our interactions with our phones feel beneficial. Is it truly a valuable tool that helps us, or have we become shackled to it? Is mindlessly scrolling through yawning cat videos, caustic memes and cheesy ads for products of dubious quality and utility really a good use of our time? After a warm summer rain one day last week, I set out for a walk, my cellphone in my pocket — but only to silently record my progress on the Steps app. I walked through Pleasantville in the east end of St. John's, past empty fields where American troops lived in barracks more than 80 years ago, and on down to the walking trail ringing Quidi Vidi Lake. I was thinking about cellphones and how much they have changed our lives, how they get us hooked on a steady diet of information through social media — not all of it credible, accurate or even real; how they groom us into thinking that we cannot do without them. And then I switched that train of thought off and took a good look around me. Saw the rain droplets on the end of spruce branches like beads of mercury. Touched them and felt the warm, clean water run down my wrist. Breathed in the trees' woodsy scent. Saw patterns on the wet bark. Heard small birds singing eloquent songs about the splendour of summer, the freshness of things after a downpour — songs that sounded too big for their little feathered bodies. The trail was a parade route for a convoy of snails, invigorated by the wetness, moving in single file, eyestalks outreaching. I wondered if the crushed stone of the path hurt their soft bodies; remembered reading somewhere that their behaviour suggests they feel pain, and that they have been observed obsessively grooming an injured area of their body like a dog does. I stopped to talk to a marmalade cat that was lolling on a picnic table, half-asleep, eyes squinting to acknowledge my presence. 'You were up too late last night hunting mice, weren't you?' I scolded. 'Now you need to have a nap in the middle of the morning.' The cat yawned luxuriously. I continued on, stopping to smell the wild roses that grow in profusion along the trail. Touched their satiny petals, inhaled their perfume. My progress was impeded at one point by a procession of black and white and brown ducks, their noisy chatter reminiscent of parishioners and clergy animated by the end of a subdued vestry meeting. A lone frog was singing a monotonous a cappella tune in the section of lake afloat with lily pads, their yellow globes just beginning to open to reveal the petals within. Bull-head lilies they're called by some in these parts, but Nuphar variegatum has other, more poetic names as well: spatterdock, spadderdock, brandy-bottle. Seeing them, I understand Monet's fascination. They stand stock-still on their leafy platforms but look as if they could suddenly move en masse in an aquatic murmuration. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. It felt good to think freely, to give myself space and time to breathe and see and smell and feel and hear, without prompts or pings or swipes or a steady stream of curated dreck. Wandering aimlessly, pondering willy-nilly. It's a pastime I highly recommend. Pam Frampton lives in St. John's. Email pamelajframpton@ X: @Pam_Frampton | Bluesky: @ Pam Frampton Pam Frampton is a columnist for the Free Press. She has worked in print media since 1990 and has been offering up her opinions for more than 20 years. Read more about Pam. Pam's columns are built on facts, but offer her personal views through arguments and analysis. Every column Pam produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Steps star Faye Tozer shows her ex-husband what he is missing in a gold backless gown as she attends the world premiere of Dita Von Teese's Diamonds and Dust show
Faye Tozer showed her ex-husband what he is missing in a gold backless gown as she attended in the world premiere of Dita Von Teese's Diamonds and Dust show on Thursday. The Steps star, 49, who split from Mick Smith late last year, stunned in a glitzy sequin dress which featured a modest slit up the side. Faye - who plays Miss Kitty LeRoy in the show - added inches to her statuesque frame as she slipped into a pair of sparkly gold sling back heels. For Thursday's premiere, she was gracing the stage with Dita herself as they elegantly paraded around the stage in a series of dazzling outfits. The nineties pop legend and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant appeared to be living a seemingly idyllic life with Michael and their teenage son in a quiet village near the northeast coast. But MailOnline was told the 'Strictly curse' had struck again and Faye moved out of the family home in South Tyneside just weeks before Christmas. The Steps star and lead actress for the show, 49, who split from Mick Smith late last year, stunned in a glitzy sequin dress which featured a modest slit up the side The nineties pop legend and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant appeared to be living a seemingly idyllic life with her now-ex Michael and their teenage son in a quiet village near the northeast coast But Faye seemed to be happier than ever on Thursday as Dita brought a new theatrical experience featuring 'high glamour, bold women, and dangerous games' to the Emerald Theatre in London. Dita, 52, put on a dazzling display in a glitzy silver bejewelled and sequined gown for the world premiere. She stole the show in a stunning silver gown, which featured a bejewelled bodice and a sequined wrap skirt. She paired the look with silver strappy heels and diamond drop earrings, with her signature black tresses styled in a glamorous 1930s style. Also in attendance on Thursday was former Made In Chelsea star Louise Thompson, who opted for simple-yet-chic. The reality star and campaigner stepped out for the premiere in a draping black shirt maxi-dress, as she accessorised with a Louis Vuitton handbag and gold earrings. Another reality star spotted on the red carpet was Married At First Sight UK's Ella Morgan. Ella looked glamorous in a black satin halterneck gown, featuring a plunging cowl-neck, as she carried a gold metal handbag. Meanwhile Boy George made an appearance sporting a striking bright pink hat adorned with stars as well as eccentric black trainers with rope laces. Great British Bake Off star Candice Brown was among those at the premiere. The baker stunned in a bright pink and red satin figure-hugging gown, which featured a racy cut-out at the bust. Model and DJ Lady Mary Charteris put on a daring display for the evening as she stepped out in a very sheer knitted dress, complete with beaded cut-outs. Underneath her dress Mary's bra and pants were on show and she had a red and light pink skull scarf tied onto her dress. Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova meanwhile looked incredible in a pair of black satin shorts with a matching velvet bralet and blazer. Another Strictly star out in force was Aljaz Skorjanec, who arrived on the carpet in a burgundy suit. Credited with re-popularising burlesque, Dita, born Heather Renée Sweet, is an American vedette and businesswoman. A vedette is the main female artist of a show derived from cabaret and its subcategories of revue, vaudeville, music hall or burlesque. In January, Dita left Lorraine viewers swooning in a plunging gown as she revealed the 'most outrageous challenge of her life' on the hit daytime show. Wearing a black midi Vivienne Westwood dress, the burlesque star, 52, dazzled on today's ITV show. Her glamorous off-the-shoulder attire was made of gathered fabric at the top and had long, slim sleeves and buttons along the front. The model opened up to Lorraine Kelly about her time on The Masked Dancer. Dita starred on the ITV competition back in 2021 and dressed as a beetroot in a green and purple dress with a mask the shape of the vegetable. She revealed to Lorraine how she had suffered with vertigo from riding a mechanical bull and subsequently found dancing on the show difficult. Dita said: 'I had vertigo from riding my mechanical bull, I was riding my mechanical bull, swinging my head around and I triggered a vertigo thing and it was a problem for a year so I'm doing The Masked Dancer with this head and the lights on the floor were crazy, it was outrageous. 'It was one of the biggest challenges of my life but it was funny and I loved it,' the dancer added. The show was filmed during the Covid pandemic and Dita stayed at Claridges during the filming. Dita said: 'It was my favourite, besides doing the show and laughing throughout, it was right when the pandemic started and it was a full lockdown here and I was the only guest at Claridges.' She enjoyed a mostly empty hotel and 'special treatment' during her stay. 'I had it all to myself, I'd come wafting down that staircase in the mornings in my nightgown. There were like five people working there and I just had special treatment and they were like sure, you can stay there, because I'm a friend of the hotel,' Dita added.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Diamonds and Dust review – Dita Von Teese and Faye Tozer's saddle-sore wild west burlesque
Somewhere in the noughties, Dita Von Teese was just about the most glamorous woman on earth, curled up in a giant martini glass, trailing feathers and jewels, a throwback to 40s and 50s glamour; Bettie Page with a great sense of spectacle and a knowing wink. Her latest show, Diamonds and Dust, feels like it could have been made back then, in that this wild west-themed floor show comes without much of the innovation, subversion, irony and identity politics that have happened on the burlesque scene in between, including in Von Teese's own work. The show is actually led by Faye Tozer from Steps. She's a likable front woman, playing saloon owner Kitty LeRoy, her story of hardscrabble life and multiple husbands interspersed with acts combining burlesque, circus and dance. It's gorgeous girls draped in pearls and lacy layers (teasingly removed), with a bit of lasso brandishing, a cowboy swinging from a chandelier (Magic Mike vibes) and Tosca Rivola proving herself talented on the cyr wheel. But the overall effect? I think the word is basic. Pretty young women taking off their clothes in not-that-interesting ways. Von Teese's whole appeal is retro, and her obsession with period glamour is taken to deliciously detailed levels, but there's retro and there's retrograde. Or is that the point, that it's a throwback? There's something Tarantinoesque about the setting, a fetishisation of American pop culture and iconography. But I also couldn't help thinking of the return to stereotypical femininity seen in tradwives and Maga women in push-up bras. The real point of it all, of course, is Von Teese herself (beware, she's not performing in every show). She appears at the end of each half, a vivid, otherworldly presence smothered in diamante, with sparkling red lips and tiny corseted waist. At 52 she's the absolute doyenne and holds the stage with regal charisma. Whether in statuesque pose or exultantly riding a contraption that's a cross between a bucking bronco and a pink velvet Chesterfield, she's untouchable, and therein lies the appeal. There is no doubt she's worth seeing, and it's important to say this could be a perfectly fun night out, but artistically, it feels like a step backwards. At Emerald theatre, London, until 28 September
Metro
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Cain makes big promise to Kyle in emotional Emmerdale scenes
Kyle Winchester (Huey Quinn) will always be someone who can make Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) feel better in Emmerdale. Cain has been struggling in the wake of learning his son Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) was killed last year. Instead of spending time simply grieving for Nate and trying to move forward though, he's faced a tirade of abuse from Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh). Practically from the very start, Tracy has convinced herself that Cain killed Nate. As a result, she has faced off with him a number of times, with Tracy trying her best to push the theory onto other members of the village. Because she's certain that Cain is a murderer, she's banned him from Nate's funeral. A couple of days ago, Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) tried to help the situation, but she made it worse and ended up getting the entire Dingle family banned from the event. Yesterday, Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) helped Cain view the upcoming funeral from a different perspective. He eventually warmed to the idea that the Dingles could organise their own memorial for Nate, and remember him in their own special way. After discussing this with Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb), Cain was touched when she suggested they could also dedicate a corner of a field to Nate as well. That way, after the memorial, people can go and visit the land at any time and reflect on his life. In this evening's episode, Kyle arrived at the garage to see his dad. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cain was stressed and had a lot on his mind. More Trending Kyle presented Cain with an envelope full of pictures of Nate. He said that they could pin them up at the memorial and also play his favourite song, which turned out to be one by Steps. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! Cain was touched at the effort Kyle had gone to. He admitted to his son that he made a lot of mistakes with Nate, but reassured Kyle and said he won't make the same ones with him and Isaac (Bobby Dunsmuir). Cain then hugged Kyle. He has lost a lot in recent months, and his relationship with Nate will be something Cain feels regret over potentially for the rest of his life, but he knows he has the power to do things differently with Kyle and Isaac. View More » MORE: All 21 Emmerdale spoiler pictures for next week confirm huge return MORE: Emmerdale star to stage unexpected return after 5 years – for tragic reason MORE: Heartbreaking Sarah update in Emmerdale ITVX release as complications arise in surgery
