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Daily Mirror
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Footballer's Wives cast now from Corrie to trauma that made star quit fame
From burned boobs and swapped babies to bonking the manager to death, there was no shortage of drama on ITV's iconic Footballer's Wives, but what happened to stars including Zoe Lucker and Susie Amy once the cameras stopped rolling? Back in the early Noughties, Footballers Wives was a riot of cocaine snorting, bed-hopping and murder - with a hefty amount of back-stabbing thrown in for good measure. The plotlines were outrageous - like the time chief WAG Tanya Turner (Zoe Lucker) decided to 'sh*g' the manager of Premier League club Earls Park FC to death. Or when Chardonnay (Susie Amy) let bad egg Jason Turner (Cristian Solimeno) plunge to his death after he rejected his son Paddy for being born an hermaphrodite. On Tuesday, May 7, fans were delighted as some of the cast reunited on the This Morning sofa for a nostalgic interview 23 years after the salacious drama first hit our screens. Joining presenters Ben Shephard, 50, and Cat Deeley, 48, were Laila Rouass, 53, and Susie Amy, 44, who played WAGs Amber Gates and Chardonnay Lane-Pascoe. They were accompanied by Gary Lucy, 43, who played footballer and Chardonnay's husband Kyle Pascoe, as well as Alison Newman, 57, who was sports agent Hazel Bailey. When asked by Ben about the possibility of a reboot, Gary said: "I think it would go down a storm to be honest." Before reality TV was properly a thing, the ITV offering was compulsive viewing. Sadly it wound up after just four series, but what became of cult show's stars after the champagne stopped flowing? Zoe Luker - Tanya Turner As the wicked witch of the WAGs, Tanya lived to sniff cocaine and plot the downfall of others. Primarily intent getting husband Jason to keep his mini-Jase in his pants, the calculating star plotted, manipulated and connived her way to the top of the pecking order. Unburdened by remorse, she left manager Frank Laslett for dead before bedding Jason's agent Hazel Bailey (Alison Newman). But her crowning glory came when she cooked up a plot to bonk Frank to death using a cocktail of cocaine, Viagra and booze. After leaving Footballer's Wives, Tanya fittingly popped up in jailbird drama Bad Girls, serving hard time after being caught red-handed with her precious narcs. But in real life, actress Zoe's personality couldn't be further away from that of her alter-ego and to this day she struggles to watch some of the x-rated antics Tanya got up to. "I can't believe I did some of those sex scenes – I'd never do that now. I was semi-naked most of the time!" the Waterloo Road star previously told The Mirror. "Oh my word, there was a plane scene so explicit it was like porn – I was having champagne poured all over my t*ts! I had to snort Lucozade powder as fake cocaine. I'm very grateful for the role, but afterwards I took myself out of the limelight for a while. I did some theatre in New Zealand and I did some volunteer work in Zambia. I needed to take a step back. I'm very happy not to have that level of fame now." Zoe went on to star in EastEnders and Hollyoaks but quit in 2016 to spend more time with her daughter Lily, and husband James Herbert. She is now on an indefinite hiatus from acting, telling Attitude magazine in 2024: "I've been in a space the last few years where I've taken a step back from it all. I'm not saying I'm not ever going to act again, but I don't look at myself in roles at the minute," she added. But she delighted fans when she was spotted in the audience of Dancing On Ice in February 2024 cheering on former co-star Ricky Norwood and I'm A Celebrity star Adele Roberts. Guest judge Johnny Weir alerted the crowds to her presence, exclaiming: "Zoë I love you so much – thank you for Tanya!" Cristian Solimeno - Jason Turner Like his wife Tanya, Jason was constantly furious and looking for a kick-off. Deeply damaged after being given up for adoption by his birth parents, he enjoyed tormenting those closest to him, including his long-suffering spouse. His coup de grace came when he unknowingly got teammate Kyle's mum Jackie Pascoe (Gillian Taylforth) pregnant, and Kyle and his wife Chardonnay tried to pass the baby off as their own. Things got messy when Jason found out and decided to claim little Paddy as his own, only to reject the tot when he discovered he'd been born an hermaphrodite. Marred by his own meddling, Jason plunged to his death at the end of series two as Chardonnay watched on, refusing to help. Cristian, now 44, later appeared in Wire in the Blood, Spooks and Hollyoaks, and wrote and directed psychological thriller The Glass Man starring Neve Campbell. And just like Zoe, he had nothing in common with his wayward character and even had to ditch his own clean living in a bid to get on his level. He said at the time: "I've started drinking again, and puffing on big cigars... that's Jason, he spirals out of control physically. Usually I'm an exercise fanatic and I rely on that as a coping mechanism, but I injured myself training for this. "Jason's always out drinking and I couldn't even remember what it was like to be drunk. I hadn't touched a drop for like, two years." Susie Amy - Chardonnay Lane-Pascoe Glamour model Chardonnay didn't need no man to take care of her and refused to stop stripping just because she was engaged to Kyle Pascoe (Gary Lucy). But her feminist plan was heartbreakingly foiled when her fake boobs caught fire on her hen do, leaving her scarred for life. She instead threw herself in to trying to have a baby, and when that failed, she hatched the fateful plan to raise little Paddy. But unlike Tanya, Chardonnay wasn't cut out for duplicity and after Jason's sticky end, she died from an eating disorder, exacerbated by guilt. In real life, Susie and Gary reunited on screen to play exes Luke and Scarlett Morgan on Hollyoaks in 2018. And when she gave birth to daughter Noa in 2019, he was first on the scene, cracking the jokes. "F**k! Did we? No? S**t?!!!" Gary cheekily commented on her Instagram picture. Since then she has appeared in Death In Paradise and Silent Hours. She appeared in a theatre production of The Marilyn Conspiracy, playing Marilyn Monroe's close friend Pat Newcomb on the night of the movie star's tragic death. Susie has been with fellow actor Raphael Bar for years and now shares two children with him. Gary Lucy - Kyle Pascoe Gary had already made a name for himself as a teen actor on Hollyoaks, portraying a harrowing rape storyline when his character Luke was attacked. And so just 21 when he joined the cast of Footballer's Wives, the show came as light relief. "I was living the dream at the time and I thoroughly enjoyed it," Gary - who has since starred in The Bill and EastEnders - told The Sun. And in exciting news for fans, the actor also hinted at a possible reunion. "There has been loads of talk about it but would I go back? I'd absolutely love to revisit that at some point but who knows what the future brings." And while Kyle never managed to fulfil his baby dreams with Chardonnay, Gary is the proud dad of children India Jasmine, Sadie, Elvis and Theodore, who he welcomed with ex-wife Natasha Grey. Ben Price - Conrad Gates These days Ben is of course better known as slippery Nick Tilsley from Coronation Street. But almost 20 years ago he was a relative unknown when he joined the cast as the savage captain of Earls Park. Despite being married to Amber, Conrad quickly embarked on a toxic affair with Tanya and was up the proverbial creek without a paddle when both got pregnant at the same time. Unbeknown to Conrad though, was that Frank was actually the father of Tanya's baby and in a bid to cover her tricky tracks, she swapped her newborn with Amber's. Sadly, with Frank freshly dead, her machinating imploded in her face when Amber's 'son' got smothered to death by her pet dog, leaving Tanya distraught. Post Earls Park, Ben has enjoyed a stellar career, starring in Casualty and The Tudors before joining Coronation Street in 2009. He has two children - Paloma and Max - with wife Alexandra Wheeler and walked away from Corrie for a brief spell to be a stay-at-home dad in 2017. He told the Daily Star: "I only left to go back to my kids, so I took them to school and made packed lunches and became a dad and didn't think about Nick Tilsley or the street." Katherine Monaghan - Donna Walmsley In a world of vicious barbs and backstabbing, Donna and her husband Ian were the warmth of the show. Fresh to Earls Park as a promising young player, he desperately wanted to help Donna find the son she'd been forced to give up for adoption as a teenager. But while Donna was good, her little sister wasn't quite so straightlaced and wound up having an affair with Jason. These days, Katherine, 45, is known for appearing in British crime drama Vera along with BBC dramas 55 Degrees North and Judge John Deed. She has also stars in plays at London's Theatre 503 and Live Theatre Company in her native Newcastle.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Footballers' Wives stars show off VERY different looks as they return to screens for TV reunion 19 years on from scandalous series' last ever episode
The stars of Footballers' Wives showed off very different looks as they returned to screens for a TV reunion, 19 years on from the scandalous series' last ever episode. The scandal-filled drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park FC, its players and their wives was first broadcast in 2002 - and quickly became hugely popular, running for five series until 2006. Some of its stars reunited on the sofa on today's episode of This Morning, for a nostalgic interview 23 years after the salacious drama first hit our screens. And despite a cheeky, knowing joke from co-host Ben Shepherd, 50, that the celebrities had 'not changed, not remotely', the celebs showed off their very different looks on the ITV daytime chat show today. Joining Ben and his co-presenter Cat Deeley, 48, were Laila Rouass, 53, and Susie Amy, 44, who played WAGs Amber Gates and Chardonnay Lane-Pascoe. They were accompanied by Gary Lucy, 43, who played footballer and Chardonnay's husband Kyle Pascoe, as well as Alison Newman, 57, who was sports agent Hazel Bailey. Laila's character Amber was one of the most memorable late additions to the series, coming in during season three. A particularly infamous scene of hers saw the WAG crash a party with a shotgun and try to kill football player Bruno Milligan (Ben Richards) who accidentally shot her husband in the previous series. The actress looked glamorous in a dark suit on This Morning today, still sporting the same signature long dark locks she had in the show. Ruthless sports agent and later club chair Hazel Bailey, played by Alison, was known on the show as a bright redhead, with a sharp, fiery pixie cut. But on the daytime chat show today, she sported longer hair, now in an elegant, grey, shoulder-length bob. Her character left the show in series four to be the agent for her tennis player girlfriend - who Alison revealed on the sofa today was played by English actress Hannah Waddingham. Hannah is now best-known for also playing a football club owner - Rebecca Welton, in hit Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso, a not dissimilar comedy-drama about fictional club AFC Richmond, first released in 2020 and still airing. Ben and Cat were amazed by the connection, when they asked about the similarities between Ted Lasso and Footballers' Wives, with Alison saying: 'There we go!' Laila (pictured), who played Amber, looked glamorous in a dark suit on This Morning today, still sporting the same signature long dark locks she had in the show Susie (pictured) was smiley and smartly dressed on the sofa today, in white tailored trousers and a yellow sweater vest Gary (pictured) was looking potentially the most different out of the entire cast, with his short hair gone and replaced by long, flowing locks Susie played glamour model Chardonnay, whose breast implants notoriously caught on fire at her hen do before marrying footballer Kyle, played by Gary, sat next to her on the sofa today. But the actress was smiley and smartly dressed on the sofa today, in white tailored trousers and a yellow sweater vest, her put-together look rather unlike the chaotic character she used to play. Chardonnay's bright pink wedding dress - not dissimilar in uniqueness of hue to real WAG Victoria Beckham's deep purple wedding get-up in 1999 - was par for the course on Footballers' Wives, with its stars no stranger to a wacky outfit. But the cast appeared in rather more day-to-day ensembles on the sofa today, in neat tailored trousers, jeans, T-shirts and jumpers respectively. Susie and Gary have possibly spent more time on set together than any of the other cast members. After playing a couple on-screen in Footballers' Wives, the actors started playing exes Luke and Scarlett on Hollyoaks in 2018. Gary was looking potentially the most different out of the entire cast, with his short hair gone and replaced by long, flowing locks. He also boasted a little bit of scruff which he did not have as a cleanly shaven football star on the WAG drama series. Footballers' Wives has become popular again in recent times after it was picked up by streaming platform BritBox in 2021 and added back on to ITVX in 2023. And when asked by Ben about the possibility of a reboot, Gary said: 'I think it would go down a storm to be honest. 'I think they might have to, there's compliance, getting it out there on-screen might take another ten years, you know what it's like now but I think it would just be something refreshing.' But he did also point out his own different look, in the more than 20 years since the show first aired: 'I mean, obviously I wouldn't be able to play a footballer sadly. 'Coach maybe, yeah but those days [of playing a footballer] are behind me now unfortunately.' Another humorous moment came when Ben and Cat pointed out that Ken, the photographer on This Morning, who takes pictures of all the stars that sit on the sofa, actually appeared in Footballers' Wives himself too. He played photographer to the football and WAG stars in the show, with everyone on-set at the daytime chat show cackling at a throwback clip of Ken in the series. The nostalgic interview segment came in the same episode as Ben and Cat's divisive return as co-hosts of the show. Today's instalment of the ITV daytime programme (pictured) welcomed back the two presenters after they took a break over the bank holiday weekend Today's instalment of the ITV daytime programme welcomed back the two presenters after they took a break over the bank holiday weekend. Ben and Cat opened the programme with a quick catch-up about their time off before delving into the hot topics of the day. Cat wore a taupe two-piece outfit which featured a sleeveless top and smart trousers. Ben, meanwhile, sported dark jeans and a white denim jacket over a black T-shirt. But some viewers were not impressed with the duo's return and took to social media to air their opinions. One posted on X: 'I was hoping for Rylan or Craig and Emma today #ThisMorning.' '#ThisMorning Surely they could have done their weekend catch up before coming on air. Who gives a t*** whether they were cycle riding or flat pack making,' someone else commented. 'Please get rid of these two I beg of you… they're soooo boring… oh and Deeley stop that awful fake laugh... #ThisMorning.' 'Is Ben alright?? #ThisMorning.'
The Sun
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Stars of iconic noughties hit TV show reunite on This Morning – and fans can't believe how different one of them looks
THE stars of the racy noughties drama Footballers' Wives reunited on today's This Morning. It was a raucous, twist-filled show featuring a brilliant cast of characters aired on ITV between 2000 - 2006. 4 Show favourites Laila Rouass, Susie Amy, Gary Lucy and Allison Newman joined hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley in the studio. The four stars reflected on what it was like to film the racy programme, especially some of the more outrageous plotlines. However, viewers watching at home were distracted by Gary and commented how much he has changed since the show first aired. "Gary Lucy's looking well," wrote one person on X, formerly Twitter. "Has he had Botox??" asked another. "He looks like he runs a market stall and tells everyone he's an entrepreneur," added a third. Essex-born Gary began his acting career in 1997 when he appeared in one episode of Grange Hill at the age of 15. That same year he bagged a role in footie-based drama Dream Team. In Footballers' Wives he played striker Kyle Pascoe from 2002-2004. He also starred in the soap Hollyoaks on-and-off for a number of years as Luke Morgan. Hazel tells Zöe Lucker's Tanya to explore her sexuality in Footballers' Wives After first leaving the soap in 2002 after three years, Gary returned in 2017 but took another break from September 2018 - May 2019 when he joined The Full Monty Tour. After this, Gary went on to star in various other soaps and TV series. From 2005-2010, he played PC Will Fletcher on The Bill. He also starred as Danny Pennant in EastEnders from 2012-2014. In 2014 Gary took part in reality TV series Dancing on Ice with partner Maria Filipov and seriously injured his knee. 4 4
