Latest news with #TheUselessHotline
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Strictly star George Clarke's hugely successful producer dad as he's revealed as nepo baby
YouTuber and TikTok sensation George Clarke who will appear on Strictly Come Dancing this Autumn has a very famous and successful father Strictly Come Dancing star George Clarke has surprisingly been revealed as a secret nepo-baby after his dad's identity has been unveiled. Earlier this week, Strictly bosses revealed that YouTuber George, 25, is joining the line-up for its 2025 series. He became the sixth contestant to join this year's cast, after EastEnders ' Balvinder Sopal was announced as a contestant on Good Morning Britain. The YouTuber and podcaster boasts 678k followers on Instagram, and is known for his podcast The Useless Hotline with Max Balegde. He's also built a thriving digital career with millions of followers across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.. "Never thought I'd say this… but I'm doing Strictly! Honestly, I've got no idea what I'm doing but I'm excited to get stuck in … and potentially fall over a fair bit," George said on joining the hit show. It comes after reports of all the celebrities rumoured to be joining BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2025. Speaking on Radio 1 George joked: "I feel like a lot of people will be saying who?" He then told the hosts it still "doesn't feel real". The YouTuber then told hosts Sam MacGregor and Danni Diston that he'd been keeping the secret for around two to three months – and had to put his plans of a marathon on hold for the show. Following the news that George is joining Strictly, his famous family ties have now been revealed. George is the son of his very successful father who is the main man behind one of the largest film productions companies in Britain. George's dad is none other than Sean Clarke, the managing director of Aardman Animations. The animation company are the mastermind behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep and Sean has worked his way up the company since 1998. Sean now oversees the entire company, managing the executive board and even co-producing several of its most successful films profiting along the way. He came on board in 1998 as Head of Consumer Products, one year before George was born, after serving as Disney's UK Licensing Director. At Aardman, his credits include co-executive producer roles on Early Man, both Shaun the Sheep films, and the musical short Robin Robin. Meanwhile, self-proclaimed nepo baby George keeps the family connection alive, naming his pet mouse Gromit and makes film references throughout his TikToks. George's TikTok account dates back six years but he has spoken about how one particular series on his page in 2021 led to the biggest increase in followers. It showed him trying to figure out the cause of a "beeping noise" in his garage, with the first of those videos now having 2.4 million views. Speaking about the impact of it, he said in an interview for AwayDays that was released on YouTube earlier this year: "People for some reason just lapped it up." George said that he got 250,000 followers in a week from the first video. He shared that his parents had been prepared to support him, even before that success, whilst he pursued a career as a content creator after leaving university. He said: "At that point of my life, I don't really know what I was doing." George, who said that he hadn't shared his TikTok page with family initially, recalled his dad finding his account years ago. He said that they then had a conversation about it, which included him receiving the blessing of his parents over it. In the interview uploaded earlier this year, George said he was told that his parents had noticed he was "doing quite well" on TikTok and recalled his dad saying to him: "We'll happily support you if you keeps going up. Obviously if it starts to tail off you need to finish yourself a job." George said that he filmed the beep series some time after that. His content on the platform now ranges from comedy skits to promotional posts for brands. He also collaborates with fellow content creators like Arthur Hill, Isaac Smith, better known as ItalianBach, and ArthurTV's Arthur Frederick. And earlier this year, George, who has 600,000 subscribers on his own YouTube channel, appeared on the second series of the competition Inside, launched by the Sidemen. The Netflix show invited content creators to take on a series of challenges.
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Who is George Clarke? TikToker joins Strictly Come Dancing
George Clarke would be familiar to many of those who are actively on YouTube or TikTok but outside the world of social media he's not exactly a household name. The 25-year-old has grown significantly in popularity over the last few years, boasting 2.3million followers on TikTok and 614,000 subscribers on YouTube. However, it still came as a shock to a lot of people when it was announced on Tuesday that he will be competing as a celebrity contestant in this year's Strictly Come Dancing. George has joined Strictly Come Dancing. Pic:for AELTC George has joined CBBC actress Ellie Goldstein, Love Island winner Dani Dyer, former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, actress Alex Kingston, EastEnders' Balvinder Sopal, and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in this year's line-up. Ahead of the series' return, has taken a look at the rise of George Clarke in recent years. George was born in Hampshire, England on December 3, 1999. He first gained fame on TikTok in 2019, where he posts videos around situational comedy, POV jokes, and viral trends. Much of his content focuses on family interactions and student life. He has amassed 2.3million TikTok followers, 684,000 Instagram followers and 614,000 YouTube subscribers. George gained more fame by collaborating multiple times with other YouTubers such as The Sidemen, ChrisMD, Stephen Tries and ItalianBach. George also co-hosts 'The Useless Hotline' podcast with Max Balegde, another social media star who rose to fame from TikTok. The podcast's YouTube channel has 132,000 subscribers and is also popular on Spotify. George has 2.3million TikTok followers. Pic: Instagram The idea behind the podcast is that people send queries and dilemmas 'no matter how big, small, weird, or embarrassing'. The duo add: 'We can't guarantee good advice or that you will leave a changed person, but we can guarantee that this is a useless hotline.' In his Instagram bio, George has a link to a GoFundMe he created in February 2024 to help The Encephalitis Society. George revealed that his mother was diagnosed with encephalitis and 'given low odds of survival'. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain caused either by an infection invading the brain or through the immune system attacking the brain in error. In an emotional video posted on social media in 2023, George described a haunting moment when his mum almost died from the condition. He said: 'There is a side to me I don't think I have ever shown you. A more serious side was back in 2015, my family thought we'd have to live without my mum, which makes me feel bad for the initial joke now. 'Where better to start than at the beginning. I shot out my mother foo-foo in December 99, proud memories. 'I was a hefty baby that she didn't mind, which I think is a good insight into the type of person that she is, kind. George's mother was 'given low odds of survival'. Pic: GoFundMe 'She always went above and beyond for me and my sister, making cards, cakes, and chocolate bars. The latter probably best displays her disgusting sense of humour. 'One day, all of that changed when I saw her being wheeled out of our house in a wheelchair, and she looked at me as if she had never seen me before. 'So basically the whole of that summer was spent visiting her and her relearning who she was and who we were.' Fighting back tears, he went on to say: 'I'd always known that she is amazing, but the fact that she overcame a 20% chance of survival in intensive care. 'She has permanently lost her long-term memories, she's lost her taste and her smell. 'She has no sense of direction anymore, and to come out of all of that and apologise to us for what she has put us through is really a testament to how lucky we are that she's still here. I am lucky enough to hear that God-awful cackle.' To fundraise for The Encephalitis Society, George stated that he was going to 'run a silly amount of Tough Mudders'. He has raised over £10,000 since. The news that George is going to be on this year's Strictly Come Dancing was revealed on BBC Radio 1's 'Going Home' drivetime show on Tuesday afternoon. He joins a mixed lineup ranging from sport to acting to social media influencing. George rose to fame on TikTok in 2019. Pic: Instagram Informing his followers about the news, George said: 'Never thought I'd say this… but I'm doing Strictly! Honestly, I've got no idea what I'm doing, but I'm excited to get stuck in… and potentially fall over a fair bit.' He also posted about it on TikTok with a video saying: 'Asking for a friend, is there an option to just sit at the side and watch like at the school disco?' George captioned the post: 'Humiliation ritual inbound (wtf is going on).'
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Strictly Come Dancing reveals sixth celebrity for new series
YouTube star and podcast host George Clarke is the sixth celebrity contestant announced for this year's Strictly Come Dancing. The internet star, who co-hosts The Useless Hotline podcast, said: "Never thought I'd say this... but I'm doing Strictly! Honestly, I've got no idea what I'm doing, but I'm excited to get stuck in... and potentially fall over a fair bit." The news was revealed on BBC Radio 1's Going Home drivetime show on Tuesday afternoon. Clarke joins former Love Island winner Dani Dyer, former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, actress Alex Kingston, EastEnders ' Balvinder Sopal, and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in this year's line-up.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
BBC Strictly Come Dancing confirms YouTube star as sixth contestant
Strictly Come Dancing has confirmed YouTube star George Clarke as the sixth contestant to join the 2025 line-up of the BBC dance show. Strictly Come Dancing has announced that popular YouTuber George Clarke will be joining the 2025 series line-up. He is the sixth contestant to be revealed this year, following the announcement of EastEnders' Balvinder Sopal as a participant on Good Morning Britain earlier today. The digital influencer, who boasts a following of 678k on Instagram, is renowned for his podcast T he Useless Hotline with Max Balegde. He has also amassed millions of followers across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram through his thriving online career. "Never thought I'd say this... but I'm doing Strictly! Honestly, I've got no idea what I'm doing but I'm excited to get stuck in ... and potentially fall over a fair bit," George expressed his excitement about joining the hit show. This follows rumours about all the celebrities speculated to be participating in BBC's Strictly Come Dancing 2025. While speaking on Radio 1, George humorously remarked: "I feel like a lot of people will be saying who?" He admitted that it "still doesn't feel real". George then revealed to hosts Sam MacGregor and Danni Diston that he had been keeping this secret for approximately 2-3 months - and even had to postpone his marathon plans for the show, reports the Mirror. With the new series of Strictly soon to commence on BBC One, the line-up reveal is underway, with the 2025 stars being gradually unveiled throughout the week. It kicked off with Gladiators' Harry Aikines-Aryeetey announcing his participation on CBBC's Newsround on Monday. Later that evening, The One Show played host to three Strictly stars on its sofa - Love Island victor Dani Dyer, Doctor Who's Alex Kingston and footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Speaking on The One Show last night, Dani expressed that Strictly will be "the second most amazing thing" she'll have accomplished this year, following her summer wedding to footballer Jarred Bowen. "I feel very, very blessed and cannot wait to get my dancing shoes on," she shared. Meanwhile, ex-premiership player turned football manager Jimmy remarked: "Swapping the pitch for the ballroom is certainly not something I've done before but I'm looking forward to tackling a fun challenge! Bring on a new type of footwork, with hopefully no own goals." Earlier in the week, Strictly's fresh professional dancer Julian Caillon admitted that he once orchestrated a row on the show's Australian version to create more drama. "Reality TV is not necessarily what you think," he revealed on the podcast Try with Alex. "A massive aspect of reality TV is not really real. I remember in one episode of Dancing With The Stars, one of my celebrities was late to rehearsals and the producers were asking me to go around and pretend that I was frustrated." The lead-up to Strictly has been filled with drama, as the show is said to be investigating allegations that two of its stars have used cocaine. An insider revealed to The Sun after the news broke: "The BBC is taking the allegations really seriously. Bosses are aware of the two stars in question and have a duty of care to make sure they're OK." They further stated: "As per BBC policy, the option of specialised professional support is on the table and will be offered. While drug testing won't happen on the main show, bosses are considering bringing in random checks for the tour next year."
