Latest news with #TotalWipeout
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BBC presenter Amanda Byram 'refuses to be shamed' for having a baby at 51
Former Total Wipeout presenter Amanda Byram has defended her decision to have a second child at the age of 51 TV presenter Amanda Byram has opened up about becoming a mother again at the age of 51, and says she "refuses to be shamed" for having a baby later in life. The former Total Wipeout and Big Breakfast host spoke about how her second son, Jett, was born earlier this year after a decades-long fertility journey that involved IVF and multiple miscarriages. In a first-person piece for the Daily Mail, she told readers: "In January this year, after 30 hours of sucking in Royal Sussex County Hospital's finest gas and air, at 51 I finally had the family I'd dreamt of. My second son, Jett, was a month premature, but he felt years overdue." Amanda began freezing her eggs at 40, met her husband Julian at 41, and the pair welcomed their first child, Phoenix, shortly after her 49th birthday. When their first boy was two years old, they decided they wanted to try again. Although both pregnancies were healthy and largely uneventful, she explained that the couple chose to keep them secret to avoid publicly going through possible disappointment after facing many fertility setbacks. When she announced Phoenix's birth three years ago, Amanda was initially showered with love and support, but the presenter was soon hit with online criticism for having a child at her age. One commenter exclaimed: "There's no way she gave birth to this child!" Others accused her of being selfish or predicted her children would suffer because of her age. "Fast-forward 20 years: a young man on the cusp of adulthood with two dead parents," another wrote. "I'm sorry but that's just a fact." Amanda said the most painful criticism came from fellow mothers, which left her questioning whether to even share her age at all with other parents at playgroups or parks. However, she has now embraced being an older mum and decided to speak out against judgements made based on her age. She shared: "I refuse to waste time worrying about what other people think, and even less worrying about what might happen 20 or 30 years from now. "Finally I have maturity and wisdom – and these outstrip any traits I possessed in my younger years." Amanda added that she stays healthy and doesn't drink or smoke, which she believes will give her many happy years with her kids. Beyond staying in shape, the BBC star wants to focus on what she can control: loving her children unconditionally and helping them grow into confident, compassionate adults. She defiantly hit back at naysayers, writing: "I might be a silver-haired lady when I collect my kids from primary school, but I'll be proud of every single strand. "If we don't speak up, how can we expect change? The keyboard critics will win, while society will continue to question and condemn the women who – for one reason or a million others – left it late to start a family."
Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
The Apprentice turns 20: Biggest success stories and controversies of hit BBC show
BBC show The Apprentice has seen boss Lord Alan Sugar host all sorts of characters, but among major successes he's also seen race rows and physical fights take place in the boardroom It's the 20th anniversary of The Apprentice this year, and it's been a wild ride over the past two decades. Lord Alan Sugar has been at the helm for all 19 seasons, but his contestants haven't been anywhere near as reliable. The final episode of this year's show aired on the BBC on April 17, revealing the big winner of a £250,000 investment and partnership with Lord Sugar himself. In the nail-biting final, Dean Franklin ultimately won with his air conditioning business, beating out Anisa Khan with her dark kitchen takeaway service. As Dean begins to outline his surprising plans to make a splash with Sugar's cash and mentorship, it's a good time to look back at the biggest success stories of the past 20 years - and the most shocking controversies. OG Tim Campbell was the winner of the very first season of The Apprentice back in 2005, and has gone on to be named by the crown in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The star worked for the London Underground before joining the show, and won a year's contract for a £100,000 per year job for Lord Sugar. Tim stayed for a year beyond his initial contract, and Lord Sugar called him a 'great asset' at his company, Amstrad. Tim seemed to be a personal favourite of Lord Sugar, even replacing Claude Littner as his aide in the BBC show in 2022 after Littner got into a cycling accident - and he's still in the role today. Beyond the show, Tim has formed his own businesses and enterprises, including the charity Bright Ideas Trust. The trust made records when it was awarded $1,000,000 by the Bank of America, and saw Tim work with Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Ricky Martin In 2009 Ricky won Total Wipeout, and switched gears three years later when he joined The Apprentice and secured another number one spot. The former pro-wrestler bagged £250,000 for his recruitment business Hyper Recruitment Solutions, and it now has net assets of £2.26million, according to Pink Un. Prior to bringing in the cash, the star worked several low-paying jobs such as paper boy and being a hotel porter, and secured his first role out of university in recruitment for £15,000 per annum. Ricky, of course, shares a name with the Puerto Rican singer, and was told by his boss early in his career that it would set him back. 'I remember he told me, 'Just so you know, you're going to be called Richard Martin, not Ricky Martin because it's a stupid name and no one will take you seriously',' he told The Sun. 'I disagreed. I knew it would give me an edge and told him, 'You are completely wrong, I will get more business with that name than you ever will expect.'' Tom Pellereau Tom, 45, was an unlikely winner in 2011, after winning only three tasks and losing eight. Despite the odds he came up trumps - and was the first winner to become Lord Sugar's business partner after the BBC ditched the previous £100,000 job model. His company, Stylideas, is now worth around £1.37million, according to Pink Un, after Lord Sugar was taken by his plan for a curved nail file. Speaking to his success, he's one of just two winners who are still business partners with the big boss. They've now branched out into more beauty products, and Tom revealed that there are board meetings every two months where he takes along the "latest items" from his brands. According to the winner, Lord Sugar "loves" engaging with them and giving feedback, and "usually gets very hands-on" with the products. Lottie Lion 2019 saw The Apprentice get embroiled in a vicious race row, after Lottie Lion was accused of bullying Lubna Harhan in a WhatsApp group created by candidates after the show ended. Lottie told Lubna, who's of Pakistani heritage, to "shut up Gandhi,' and even told the mum she'd "f*** her up." After an argument kicked off based on Lottie claiming to have never met a Black person before, she soon told Lubna: 'Seriously f*** off Lubna before I f****** knock you out at our press training.' Lottie was quick to tamper down the flames, sharing in a statement: 'I appreciate the messages sent between myself and Lubna could come across as offensive but they were intended as a joke and no offence was meant by them." In contrast, Lubna spoke to the Mirror and suggested that claims of racial bullying were correct. She said: "All I can say is I wish her well, she has a lot to learn in terms of how to treat people, but she is quite young and I'm sure that within this process she has learnt a lot and will take something from it. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say that was wrong." Selina Waterman-Smith Things got physical in the business show in 2015, when events company owner Selina got into a tussle with beauty salon owner Charleine Wain. The duo's group lost their task, and Charleine told Selina in the boardroom: 'You're like an irritating wasp at a picnic.' It seems that Selina couldn't let the gripe go, and took things further when they stepped outside Lord Sugar's office. In scenes that bosses decided not to air, a friend of Charleine claimed: 'Selina left the boardroom after Charleine, pushed Charleine and then started shouting at Charleine. Charleine was completely in shock, she didn't want to retaliate and make the situation any worse, she took the dignified response and walked away." Production stepped in to separate the pair, and a spokesperson for the show stated: 'The incident, which resulted in Selina being given a verbal warning, was dealt with quickly and professionally.' Not all controversies from The Apprentice are buried in the past, after Asif rocked last year with his axing. The firing seems to have been fuelled by his very controversial behaviour on X, formerly known as Twitter. The former NHS doctor was given diversity training after making multiple controversial posts on social media including writing that Zionists are a "godless satanic cult' and references to the "trial of the zionist antichrist", before the BBC ultimately decided to cut ties. Beyond the anti-semitism row, Asif has also been labelled "vile and sexist" after he suggested that there was too much feminism in the UK and for launching University of Masculinity - Muslim Passport Bros to match men in the UK with women in Morocco. In a video posted on YouTube in September 2023 as part of his Masculine Mastery series, he said: 'A lot of brothers have got sick of feminism in the West generally. Being in the corporate world as a woman all of your life, you are going to rub shoulders with a lot of men. That is osmosis - you are going to absorb a lot of masculine ideals in terms of competitiveness, being blunt - it is a real problem in the UK.'
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Firefighter to appear on his eighth reality TV show
"The reason I started applying for TV shows was down to my dad - he was inspiring me all of the time."Tomasz Wisniewski's father was his idol, a lover of all things entertainment, he was a professional dancer from Poland and told his son to "live life to the fullest". Before Tomasz took up his current role as a firefighter in Nottingham, he appeared on several reality TV shows. He decided to step away because he "did not want this anymore", in part due to the death of his parents while living in the UK. But after 10 years away, he has temporarily swapped the heat of his day job for the scorching temperatures of the Malaysian rainforest in Channel 4's Tempting in Wadowice, Poland, Tomasz came over to the UK aged 20 in 2005 and "didn't speak a word of English". He came to Nottingham with his father, who he worked alongside in Turkey as a performer in hotels. The plan was to stay for three months but that soon changed. He said he always wanted to live in the UK due to his "love of the Spice Girls" as a child. "I fell in love with the UK when I got here and I decided to stay - it's the best thing that ever happened in my life. "This country has given me so many amazing opportunities, I am so grateful to everyone here."After working various jobs, he learned the language and "immersed himself" in the culture - including the country's love of reality TV. Tomasz, now 40, said he "doesn't take himself too seriously" and applied for a variety of shows. His larger-than-life personality and hairstyle caught the eye of producers. His resumé includes Channel 4's Come Dine With Me, Total Wipeout, to which Tomazs eagerly points out he won, as well as a stint on BBC shows So You Think You Can Dance and Snog, Marry Avoid?His first appearance was on So You Think You Can Dance? and it became quite clear he was "not talented" and was the show's "joke". "It's funny looking back now... I honestly thought I could actually dance," he said."The reason I actually started applying for TV shows was down to my dad - he was inspiring me all of the time."He told me I would work in the entertainment industry and I would have so much to offer to other people - he told me to live life to the fullest."Do what you enjoy in life, I just threw myself into everything because life is too short to be boring. You don't know what is behind the next door." Tomazs said this outlook on life came from his father and mother passing away from cancer before they both reached the age of described them as his "best friends". "If I have 10 years left of being crazy then I will take it," he spent five years in London working in the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square but felt he "needed something more from life" and left TV behind career switch took him away from the glitz and the glamour of casino high-rollers to HMP Pentonville in north London. He worked as a prison officer before he moved back to Nottingham to care for his father after he had been diagnosed with his caring duties, he transferred to HMP Nottingham in 2017."I loved it there, it was an incredible job. I felt I could really help people," he then joined Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service as a firefighter in 2019. On his decade-long break from TV, he said: "Losing my parents was a massive factor in my life at that point. "I needed to focus on something else, it was a breakdown for me, I needed to withdraw from this happy world."Tomasz, who is still with the fire service in a job he "absolutely loves", was contacted by a friend in London to apply for the reality TV Fortune consists of 12 strangers spending three weeks in "paradise". They will arrive with basic survival gear and in order to win the prize they will have to resist the temptation to spend any of the prize money. "I was quite happy not to do anything like that again and I wouldn't have applied but my best friend said the show was made for me," he making it through several auditions, Tomasz touched down in the Malaysian jungle alongside his fellow contestants. He described the show as a "holiday" to start with but that quickly changed."The pressure does get intense and when there's big personalities. I include myself in that, it really ramps up." "It was brutal, it was extreme but it was such good fun. I couldn't get the fire going which was ironic with me being a firefighter."The first episode of the new series of Tempting Fortune was broadcast at 21:00 GMT on Sunday.
