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Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
David Baddiel: ‘I've learnt the world doesn't have to hear my opinion on everything'
Born in New York City in 1964, David Baddiel moved to Britain when he was a baby. He got a double-first at Cambridge before moving to London to be a comedian in the 1980s. Now one of Britain's best-known comedians and TV presenters, he's worked with Frank Skinner, Al Murray and Hugh Dennis, and authored more than 16 books, plays and various sitcoms. He lives with his wife, the actress Morwenna Banks, with whom he has two children, Dolly, 24, and Ezra, 20. Best childhood memory? I had a very weird childhood. My dad was an occasionally funny but emotionally stunted Welsh scientist, and my mother was more flamboyant, and had a decades-long affair with an Alan Partridge-esque golf memorabilia expert. Their three children were often an after-thought. But I look at my childhood as a tragicomic sculpture that made me who I am. Every good childhood memory I've got is ironic. Every summer holiday, we went to stay at my grandparents' in Swansea. It was only years later, when I was in my 20s, that I realised how beautiful the surrounding area was, like Three Cliffs Bay – but we never explored because my parents couldn't be bothered. I remember how excited I was to have a full Welsh breakfast, which may confuse people given I'm Jewish and there's pork in it, but Dad would often cook us bacon sandwiches before sending us off to our Orthodox Jewish primary school. Best lesson you've learnt? The truth is always complex. Without a doubt, my family is an object part of me learning this. The truth is in the detail, and the detail is complex. My mother had a long-term affair and was flagrant about it, and my dad was an angry man in denial about it who later got dementia and got even angrier. This could be viewed negatively, but I'm someone who naturally sees the funny side of things. Life is rich, strange and complex – and for me, ultimately comedic. And that's how I get through life: by viewing challenging times as comedy or with optimism. You can't be at the mercy of your past for the rest of your life. Like Nora Ephron said, 'everything's copy'. Best part of being a parent? I remember going to antenatal classes when Morwenna was pregnant with Dolly, and I said to the teacher, 'This has all been great and very interesting about how to deal with the birth, but what about the next 18 years? Any advice on that?' In retrospect, it was a bit naughty of me to say, but I wish there was more about the afterwards part. Being a parent is brilliant – there's this instinctive empathy for your children in a way you've never felt before. Now I've got a really close relationship with both Dolly and Ezra. I've loved seeing the evolution of their personalities and the adults they've become. I hang out with my kids all the time, and Ezra and I went on holiday just the two of us last year, and then I did the same with Dolly. I'll be bereft when Ezra moves out, because my mate will be gone. Best characteristic or trait? I try to be as honest as possible. I find it very difficult to lie at all, and if I'm telling what I perceive to be the truth, I tell it in extreme detail. So that's why there are lots of footnotes in my book, because I'm constantly clarifying things. I get a sort of physical discomfort not telling the absolute truth in absurd detail, because there's comedy in the detail. It can be annoying for other people because it's exhausting. I developed this trait as a kid because I was constantly defending myself to my mother, so I figured the safest thing was to be as authentic as possible. Best decision? Having kids. When I met Morwenna in our 30s, it wasn't necessarily on the table. And then when we had Dolly, it hit me that I couldn't imagine not having kids. It was what I was put on earth to do. I say that as a fundamentalist atheist who believes there is no purpose to life. I mean, I'm lucky I love what I do – telling stories and making people laugh – but there's no big point to that. Even though I had a chaotic and unusual childhood, and work has kept me busy, having kids is the only thing that has fundamentally changed who I am. Worst trait? I'm not cautious. I'm continuously getting into scrapes and doing things like eating something that is clearly off, but I'll be thinking, 'What's the worst that could happen?' Morwenna once asked if I'd ever thought about saying the second thing that comes into my head. Something I've learnt through social media is the world doesn't have to hear my opinion on everything. I think a lot of people, including myself, could learn that, even if you have the 'right' opinion, it may not be the right thing for you to enter the fray with it. Social media has created a situation whereby everyone thinks they need to express their views. I used to enjoy online debates, but it's become one big jar of constant fighting, and there's no point in joining in, because it'll just increase the toxicity. Worst advice? The constant advice from my dad that the sciences – maths, physics and chemistry – were the only A-levels worth doing because that's where the real cerebral work is done. He'd got himself out of poverty by doing a PhD in chemistry. Never mind that I was terrible at those subjects; I was going to do them anyway because my dad hadn't really given me any option. My brother Ivor had taken them just before me and had done badly, but Dad was determined. One of my teachers took me aside and told me, 'You're not an idiot. You're getting As for history and English, and Cs and Ds in maths and physics.' I was frightened of telling Dad. In the end, I did English, history and economics – economics was enough of a pseudoscience to keep him vaguely happy. He told me I was wasting my brain. Worst thing in the news? The technology that we have now has helped fray the truth. Truth was never completely objective, as it has been handed down by authorities over the centuries who were biased in various ways, whether it was the state or religion. The prevalence of social media has reinforced that everyone's personal truth is as important as everyone else's, and needs to be expressed. I think when the internet started, it seemed like a good platform to share knowledge and reasonable debate, which would lead to progress. But what it's done more recently is decrease the sum of truth, because it's warped truth to a mad extent that no one can say what is true and what isn't without someone bullying and humiliating them in disagreement. That in turn leads to destabilisation of countries and society, and allows people who shout the loudest to feel like they are the owners of the truth and questionable people to capitalise on insecurities and gain power. Worst pet peeve? What really annoys me is when people are seemingly passionate about something that I feel they don't really believe in or understand. It's like they're performing their opinion because it's how they think they should appear or feel about something. People are trying too hard to fall into line, without properly informing themselves. The internet has created a monster, because we're not meant to constantly air our opinions. When someone tells you you're wrong or believes differently, we don't suddenly think, 'Oh, maybe I am wrong'; rather it's, 'I've been humiliated, he's belittling my identity, and I need to fight back.' People confuse identity and opinion, which then pushes them to join every argument to which they're invited. Worst fear for the future? I'm worried about the world that my children are growing up in. Their generation has so much potential, despite the criticism they get, but everything seems so unpredictable right now. I'm also frightened of mortality, and I talk about this a lot. As a storyteller, I don't want mine to end. I love life, irrespective of how s--- things are. But my life is beset by regret because I'm constantly messing things up.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Mark Humphries: ‘When did the Australian dream go from owning your own home to owning somebody else's?'
Mark Humphries has moved house five times in the past seven years. First was the place in the Sydney suburb of Turramurra he had to vacate because it was, 'forgive me for saying this – leaking like a giant breast from the ceiling'. Next came a house so damp, mushrooms began growing under the carpet; a small flat that was OK except for being utterly freezing, and another one-bedroom apartment where the rent went from $500 to $660 a week, forcing his exit. It's of no comfort to the comedian and TV presenter that he's not alone in having found it extremely difficult to secure an affordable and liveable home. 'This is the common experience,' he sighs. 'It's been extraordinary seeing everyone I know go through rental increases [over the past few years] … I feel like every one of us needs to start a GoFundMe just for our daily existence.' Housing affordability is a topic Humphries is angry about. And, perhaps ironically, that emotion can be a very useful tool for a comedian. 'I have found with a lot of my work that it's easier if you're angry about something,' he says – like, say, those political texts we all received in the lead-up to the election, or all things Mark Latham. 'Even if you're just doing comedy sketches, if you are genuinely annoyed by what has happened, you can channel that into something amusing.' Recently, Humphries has channelled his rage 'not just for myself, but everyone' over the housing crisis into a new documentary called Sold! Who Broke the Australian Dream? Out on Binge, it's a one-hour look at the problems with Australia's housing market, and how we've landed in a situation where, as he puts it in the documentary, even a 'D-grade celebrity like me can't afford a home'. We're discussing all this in the incongruous setting of a quaint cafe specialising in tea and scones – Humphries' choice of venue. This was meant to be a quick bite before a walking interview but the moment the scones hit the table, we've lost all motivation to stand up again. Humphries, he proudly tells me, eats a lot of baked goods. He even once auditioned to host The Great Australian Bake Off, a job that 'would have been heaven'. That particular gig wasn't to be, but Humphries has nonetheless carved out a very busy career on our screens, largely as the tall, blond and affable face of Australian news satire. You'd probably recognise him from appearances on programs such as SBS's The Feed and Channel Ten's The Project (the recent cancellation of which is a 'great loss' for Australian comedy, whatever you think of the show itself, he says). Unlike most comics, Humphries has never been one for standup – he has done it, he can tell me very specifically, only 12 times in his life and found each one 'immensely stressful'. In fact, he's more reserved and strait-laced than the typical comedian, deflecting attention by asking me as many questions as I ask him. Rather than seeking out the stage, Humphries spent his early years after school working at a Blockbuster video store and then a warehouse. The video store may have been every millennial's teenage dream job, but it wasn't all roses. 'I got held up at knife-point three times when I worked in a video store,' Humphries recalls. 'It was awful. I had to leave that job after the third one, because I was so affected by it.' He can still see the humour in that formative trauma – such as when he went to the police station to do an identakit after one of the robberies and described the knife-wielding assailant as 'surprisingly handsome'. Or the time his unfailing politeness kicked in as he was being held up and he asked his attacker if he'd like a bag for all that cash. Or that after he finally quit and booked a ticket to London to try and decompress, as he stepped off the tube from the airport, a fellow holidaying Australian recognised him and exclaimed 'Hey, Blockbuster Crows Nest!' But through every odd job, Humphries was quietly nursing dreams of breaking into comedy. His career eventually began 13 years ago when he called up the satirical current affairs program Hungry Beast and asked for an internship, unsure of how else to get started in the industry given 'there's no university degree in comedy'. His turn as a comic came to the surprise of those closest to him. 'I was talking about how I'd always wanted to be a comedy writer [in a recent interview] and my dad said to me, 'I spoke to your mother about how you said you'd always want to be a comedian. We were gobsmacked, because you never said anything funny to us.'' Humphries' dad, who actually does very much support his son's career, gamely appears in the new documentary – to decline him any financial assistance cobbling together a house deposit, because, as the elder Humphries puts it, 'I'm renting too.' 'We're so obsessed with property in this country, and it's become worse especially in the last 25 years, where the idea of accruing multiple properties has become something that people aspire to,' Humphries says. 'And it's a line that I use in the doco, but I think it's true – when did the Australian dream go from owning your own home to owning somebody else's?' What makes the situation harder to fix, Humphries thinks, is the fact the majority of Australians do actually own a home. 'Owners outnumber renters two to one,' he says. 'So it's very hard to get huge change on something that the majority of people benefit from. House prices going up if you own a house is great, but for everyone else, it's a nightmare. And so the challenge is, how do you get people who are benefiting from the current system to ultimately make a sacrifice for the greater good, so that we don't end up with this two-tier system of the homeowners and the renters? Which is essentially what we have, and it's only getting worse.' At this point the anger Humphries had spoken of is starting to show, tea and scone neglected as fires up and rattles off the issues with Australia's housing market. Obviously, supply is part of the housing crisis, Humphries says – so it's great that the federal government has pledged to build 1.2m new homes by 2030. 'But the issue with the supply argument is that it doesn't take into account the other part of that, which is demand. So again, if you have this system where people are able to tap into these tax incentives and buy multiple properties, increasing supply doesn't really solve that. It ends up with a whole bunch of people owning even more properties.' Humphries points out he doesn't begrudge investors for taking advantage of the tax system – 'but that system shouldn't exist'. Couldn't the government, I proffer casually while Humphries finally gets the chance to take a bite, just put a cap on the number of properties people can own? 'Humphries nods furiously as he bites through his scone,' he narrates after a pause to chew and swallow. Ultimately, he says, to fix the housing crisis we need to rid ourselves of the idea that property prices should perpetually climb higher, and allow the value of homes to become static. 'And some of these changes can be introduced incrementally. It's not about crashing the housing market.' So, I ask, does Humphries ever see home ownership in his future? 'Bizarrely, at age 39 I just bought a home – I just moved in yesterday,' he admits with the mix of sheepishness and amusement now typical to any millennial who manages to get a foot on the property ladder. 'But I maintain the rage!' He is lucky, Humphries says, to have got enough work in the last year to secure a mortgage on a two-bedroom apartment near the airport, together with his partner. The irony of having used the salary from a documentary about not being able to afford a home to buy a home is not lost on him. And he insists being a very newly minted homeowner hasn't changed his perspective on the problem at hand. 'Like, I used to work in retail, and I'm still as annoyed today about rudeness towards service workers as I was when I was in the video store,' he shrugs as we dust off the scone crumbs and wrap up our conversation so that he can head home to start unpacking boxes for what is hopefully the last time. 'I'm thrilled, obviously, to get to that next stage of my life,' he adds. 'But it's something that, growing up, I thought I would have done 10 years ago, and it just felt like the possibility of it just kept moving further and further away. And I don't go into it with the idea of, now I can't wait for this to increase in value. I haven't bought a place because I want to make money. I bought a place because I want to live in a place.' Really, he's mostly just very grateful to not have to move again anytime soon. 'I'm excited to have a bit of stability,' he says, before pausing to consider the implications of this very momentous life change. 'And just to be able to stick a nail on the wall.' Sold! Who Broke the Australian Dream? is streaming now on Binge.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
I spent four nights a week drinking until I blacked out – before snorting cocaine to sober up. I told myself it was OK... but this is how I finally ditched the booze: BRYONY GORDON
When I was making my first shaky, shame-filled steps to sobriety over a decade ago, I really wish there had been someone as brilliantly brave as Ulrika Jonsson out there, speaking openly about what it is like to be a mother with a drinking problem. Because listening to the TV presenter talk (pictured) about her decision to get sober, I was taken straight back to those awful last days of my drinking, when I looked at my lovely home and my gorgeous child and thought: 'What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I stop drinking?'
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Could Maya Jama quit Love Island? Star's career reaches new heights with Netflix drama and booming beauty business - sparking fears she may bid farewell to ITV show
Maya Jama got the biggest gig of her career to date when she was announced as the new presenter of Love Island in October 2022. The TV host, 30, took over from Laura Whitmore, who presented for three seasons, and has been fronting the ITV2 show ever since. But Maya's career has only been going from strength to strength in the years since with a booming beauty business and a rumoured role in a Netflix show. The Bristol native has also moved on from her ex-boyfriend Stormzy and is now being romanced by Manchester City player Ruben Dias. As her star continues to rise, it must be a concern for ITV bosses that Maya may decide to pack in the day job and quit Love Island. The current series of the show saw its lowest launch viewing figures since 2016 with just 1.4million tuning in. Meanwhile, Maya has no shortage of offers for other projects to keep herself busy. Although she is known as a TV presenter, Maya's first career goal was to become an actress. She auditioned for roles in her teens and even made it to the final round for a part in E4 teen drama Skins. When she didn't get the part, she focused on presenting instead but it appears her acting ambitions have recently been reignited. The star has reportedly 'landed a sizzling new role' in the second series of Guy Ritchie's gangster drama The Gentlemen. She will reportedly play the glamorous wife of a shady associate linked to Theo James' lead character Eddie Horniman. Filming is already underway at the stunning Badminton House in Gloucestershire - a grand estate that doubles as the fictional Halstead Manor in the series. A source told The Sun: 'Maya is over the moon to land a role in such a massive show with Guy Ritchie at the helm. 'The Gentlemen was one of 2024's biggest series and it's such a glossy, sexy show. It's a perfect fit.' Maya teased fans earlier this year when she posted a Netflix script on social media , followed by a cryptic photo alongside The Gentlemen star Kaya Scodelario, who plays mob boss Susie Glass in the series. Back in January, the BBC Three Glow Up presenter revealed she had been auditioning behind the scenes for a 'dream role' and hinted she wanted to play something completely different from her bubbly TV persona. She said: 'My dream role, I would want to be like a villain or something that's completely not like me, so then it shows that I can actually act. 'And then people would be like, wow, two different people.' Meanwhile, Maya's beauty business MIJ Mask has been going from strength to strength. Companies House documents show that MIJ Masks now has net assets of £313,381, up by £75,000 from 2023. With sales rising, the eye-watering fortune adds up to her assets of £1.83million from her TV work and advertising work through MIJ & Co Entertainment. Maya launched the bio-cellulose face mask and eye patches brand in 2021, delivering high-performance, skin-loving treatments that combine luxury ingredients with bold self-care for a radiant, confident glow. The brand's masks range from £9.99 to £17.99, while the eye patches cost £7.99. Maya is thought to earn £750,000 per series of Love Island while she also reportedly banked upward of £50,000 for co-hosting this year's BRIT Awards. However it is her brand deals where Maya will be earning much of her money after she replaced Kate Moss as the face of Rimmel London last year. According to The Sun, Maya is said to have earned a six-figure sum as the face of hair extension brand Beauty Works while she has also took part in campaigns for the likes of Maybelline, Adidas and Gordon's Gin and Self Portrait. Earlier in November of last year, Maya announced a new business venture as she has become an investor and co-owner in the Swedish plant milk company Sproud. Maya will be the face of Sproud and a strategic advisor to the brand, which creates milk from yellow split-peas. The star is also now one half of a celebrity power couple thanks to her relationship with footballer Ruben. The couple were spotted sharing a steamy kiss as they relaxed at a beach club during their romantic getaway to Ibiza earlier this month. The pair are believed to have met after the stunner caught the Portuguese player's eye when they met at the European Music Awards (EMAs) in November. Their romance was finally confirmed after they were seen packing on the PDA at KSI's Baller League event in April. Maya went Instagram official with her boyfriend Ruben earlier this year, when she shared a video for the first time. The TV star was all smiles in the clip as she sat alongside the footballer in a car heading back to her house. The presenter has been seen at multiple football games over the last few months to watch Dias live in action for Man City.
The Sun
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Inside Paul O'Grady's £3.5m mansion as late star's widow slashes price by 30% in bid to sell after neighbour row
PAUL O'Grady's £3.5m mansion is up for sale with the price of it now slashed by 30% in a bid to sell it quick. The much-loved TV presenter, who died in 2023 aged 67, lived in a now-for-sale seven-bedroom farmhouse in Kent with husband Andre Portasio - which has had its for sale price slashed several times. 5 5 5 5 Paul and Andre tied the knot in 2017 after first getting together in 2006, with them residing together in the stunning home. His widow has now slashed the price on the property, which is up for sale, following a row with neighbours after Paul's passing. Last June, The Sun revealed Brazilian ballet dancer Andre had lost his battle with his neighbours. Paul's widow wanted to turn a security hut on the grounds of their home into a separate two-bedroom house THREE times bigger. He was later granted permission to turn it into a holiday let instead of a bigger house. In October 2024, a year after Paul's death, Andre decided to put the posh pad up for sale for £3.5m. It was on the market for £3.5m, then £2.65m as we reported - and now has been dropped even more. The Sun can now reveal that the lavish pad is now up for sale for £2.4m. The house boasts of four reception rooms, a large kitchen and breakfast room and a master bedroom with dressing room and en suite. It also has four further bedrooms with an en suite and a family bathroom. Paul O'Grady's widower shares final video of star taken just 20 MINUTES before his death Also on the grounds is a cottage that has been turned into a dance studio and gym. The cottage also has a kitchen and a steam room inside. There is a second timber cottage, too, which is described as a "charming and whimsical building". Outdoors is just as amazing as indoors, and boasts of having a huge swimming pool, a barn, stables, an orchard and paddocks. Four years ago, before his death, Lily Savage star Paul was given the go-ahead for a ground keeper's outbuilding, gym and dance studio at his rural estate. But following his death in March 2023, his widower inherited the estate and launched a bid to turn the security hut into a separate two-bedroom house. He applied to the local council for a "change of use" of the security lodge which has an office, kitchen and shower, and lies next to the family pet cemetery. But neighbours blasted his plans and accused him of trying to build a new home "by the back door". In a letter of objection, a neighbour said: "The present application is in direct contravention of the original planning conditions and in my view amounts to an attempt to gain planning permission for a significant residential development by the back door, and one which will no doubt be sold on separately to the main building. "Given that the estate is very large, there surely must still be a need for a groundskeeper and gardeners and, indeed, for the workshop that was constructed for them." Andre later applied to transform the lodge into a holiday let. He received the go-ahead by Ashford Council. Planning officer Sally Hodgson said: "Central government guidance supports sustainable business, enterprise and tourism in rural areas, both through the conversion of existing buildings and well-designed new buildings. "This is endorsed by the Local Plan which seeks to encourage the sustainable growth of tourism." Late great TV star Paul bought the seven-bedroom farmhouse for £650,000 in 1999.
