Showbiz 5: From health to justice

This week Joanna Gumley casts her views over recent entertainment news…

A former This Morning regular has alleged that they were bullied out of the long running ITV Daytime show by a producer following surgery for bone tumours. Holly Jay-Smith, known as the Coupons Queen regularly appeared on the magazine show to share money-saving and hacks with viewers. Earlier this year, 38-year-old revealed her treatment for bone tumour had led to her absence from TV and social media.

Holly has now clarified that she was not dismissed due to her bone tumours but rather, she notes, not invited to return by a newly promoted producer after requesting autistic adaptations.

This is just the latest in a number of controversies for the programme in recent times. Currently This Morning is being battered in the ratings by BBC One.

A massive explosion is set devastate the Queen during EastEnders‘ 40th anniversary episodes in February. It is anticipated to be one of the most sensational storylines in the history of the BBC Elstree produced saga with several characters potentially being caught in the blast.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper a Beeb staffer said, “Bosses are keeping tight-lipped on their plans for the anniversary, so as to not spoil anything for viewers. But in scenes just filmed they have shot a huge explosion that tears The Vic apart. The pub is always central to the drama but this time they are taking it even further with lives expected to be left hanging in the balance.”

The forthcoming blaze will be the third time the boozer has gone up in smoke.

Dragons’ Den regular Steven Bartlett has been criticised for spreading “harmful health misinformation” on his Diary a podcast by the BBC. The entrepreneur has been accused of platforming disproven claims, including that cancer can be treated by keto diet and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

A BBC World Service investigation analysed 15 health-related podcasts along with four medical experts and found they contained average of 14 harmful health claims. In response, a spokesperson for Bartlett’s production company Flight Studio, said each episode was “thoroughly researched,” while the guests are afforded “freedom of expression.’

And to be fair Bartlett’s company has a point, podcasts are not traditional ‘interview’ formats, unlike Beeb chat shows where comments can and should be questioned, podcasts by their nature are free flowing opinions. Maybe, what is needed is a warning at the start that ‘some of the participants featured may be speaking out their arse…’ that surely would suffice. Maybe this warning should also be attached to the beginning of Loose Women while we’re at it.

This week justice was served in Emmerdale when dastardly Tom King was finally put behind bars for all the grief he’s brought to wife Belle through coercive control, bullying and abuse.

Joining the show as juror Heidi was former EastEnders and Coronation Street actress Denise Welch who spoke about her part in the hour-long edition which aired on Thursday, December 19th.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed shooting this important episode of Emmerdale. Like many I’ve been gripped by the Belle and Tom storyline so to play a head juror in the story’s culmination was an honour.

‘Parts of the script were taken e herself. At Loose Women (wearing my other hat) we launched our Facing it Together campaign this year which has been hugely successful in shining a light on all sorts of abuse including of course coercive control so the subject matter is one I’m passionate about. To share the jury scenes with Charlie Dale and Jack Ellis and also to see lots of my Emmerdale mates made it a job to remember from real life cases and the charity Refuge were involved in the research. My character Heidi was more emotionally involved so I felt that maybe she had experienced some form of domestic abuse.’

ITV of course say, time and time again, these soap episodes are about social awareness – which of course serials have always been good at doing – but are we in an era now where they seem to be cropping up not every other year, but every other week?

If ITV were that concerned surely about these issues, they could do primetime specials on the subject looking at the work and help these charities do, that would be real public service broadcasting (rather than just inside the soaps and daytime). However, you have to give credit to the ITV writers, cast and crew in Leeds they certainly highlighted the cause exceptionally well.

The actor and writer Arnold Yarrow has died at the age of 104 reported Doctor WhoNews.net.

They note, ‘Arnold Yarrow was the oldest surviving cast member of Doctor Who, appearing in the series in 1974… He is believed to be the longest-lived actor to have ever had a credited role in the series.’

The views expressed are of Joanna Gumley and not ATV Today. Penelope Teeth, Judi Dentures and Joanna Gumley are ATV’s exclusive showbiz drag queens with bite.