Showbiz: From Julie Goodyear to Greta Garbo

Judi Dentures casts her views over an Easter Monday newswrap…

Before we begin happy Easter to you, if you celebrate it. And if not, happy chocolate Monday.

Another CBB departure

The Easter weekend started with another famous face booted out of ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother and this time the viewers decided it was time that Daley Thompson said goodbye to the show.

Olympian Daley is the latest to depart behind Trisha Goddard, Michael Fabricant and the removed from the house Mickey Rourke. The 66-year-old two-time decathlon gold medallist left the reality format telling the remaining housemates his time on the show had “been a blast” adding he would see them “at the wrap-up party”. His tone and mood changed however when he saw footage played of the nominations, declaring most of them ‘rats.

Also, this week family of Trish ‘hit out’ at the booing the terminally ill chat show host endured during her departure. Goddard had proved controversial for comments made in the house, and many felt it is just an example of people who have cancer are not all wonderful and lovely and therefore should be treated accordingly. Personally, I agree. Just because someone becomes ill doesn’t make them suddenly a good person. Conversely, I don’t particularly think Trisha needed booing in this instance as she was just giving her views and opinions, which is part of the course for CBB surely?

Go Compare those notes

According to reports, Wynne Evans has submitted a “dossier” of evidence to the BBC in an effort to clear his name following his removal from the Strictly Come Dancing live tour.

The 53-year-old opera singer, widely recognised for his role in the GoCompare adverts, was dropped from the tour earlier this year after allegedly making an inappropriate sexual remark about professional dancer Janette Manrara.

Sources close to the singer say he is determined to restore his reputation, which he believes has been unfairly “left in tatters” despite issuing an apology. Wynne is big in Wales. To the rest of the UK he’s the annoying Italian-Welsh singer on those car comparison ads. The scandal prompted Evans to step back from both the Strictly tour and his presenting role at BBC Radio Wales. In a statement at the time, he said he was “taking some time out” to focus on his wellbeing.

Goodyear for a house sale

Retired Coronation Street actress Julie Goodyear – much loved for her role as Bet Lynch/Gilroy in The Street has, according to The Sun, sold her ‘eccentric mansion for £1.3million after knocking £200k off the price.’ The newspaper notes, ‘the 83-year-old Coronation Street legend put her quirky rural pile in the outskirts of the city on the market for £1.5million in October last year.’

Pictures in the newspaper show the home with large iron gates with the gate posts home to huge gold eagles watching over the entrance. The interior boasts Julie’s love of leopard print with much of the house featuring it in several rooms.

The sale of the home, after 25 years, is part of Julie and her husband’s downscaling as she continues to live with dementia.

Love food, love drama

Maria Doyle Kennedy returned this past week (April 14th) with a big second serving as Tannie Maria, the food columnist turned agony aunt and amateur sleuth, in Recipes for Love and Murder Series 2 which is out on DVD now, courtesy of Acorn Media International.  It is also available to stream now on Acorn TV.

This flavourful dark comedy crime drama, based on Sally Andrew’s best-selling novels, is a recipe for success and has been delighting Acorn TV audiences with its mouth-watering mysteries since the first series launched in 2022. Now hot on the heels of its series two premiere on Acorn TV, fans can indulge in eight more tasty episodes.

Tannie Maria (Kennedy) the food columnist turned agony aunt and amateur sleuth, is once again joined by tenacious young journalist Jessie September (Kylie Fisher – Troukoors Wedding Fever) and police detective Khaya Meyer (Tony Kgoroge – Blood Diamond, Invictus) for a new batch of murder mysteries in the picturesque South African town of Eden.

Picking up mere moments after the first series ended, we are greeted with the unexpected arrival of Maria’s ex-sister in-law Aileen (Robyn Scott – Afterlife of the Party) and her husband Detective Gordon McClintock (Richard Wright-Firth – Black Sails). The couple not only begin to interrogate Maria about the death of her abusive husband Mickey (Ashley Dowds – Boy Kills World, Scouts Safari), but also her estate and the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death just two months before Mickey’s.

Meanwhile, local newspaper editor Hattie (Jennifer Steyn – Goodbye Bafana), prepares to announce her mayoral campaign, but her plans are scuppered when a series of devastating fires engulf Eden. The disaster triggers a fateful chain of events that sees Tannie Maria, Jessie (Fisher) and Khaya (Kgoroge) dragged into a multiple murder investigation that unearths the towns darkest secrets.

With breathtaking scenery, a loveable lead, well-seasoned mysteries and a dash of delicious homecooked goods, get ready for a second serving of Recipes for Love and Murder guaranteed to leave you hungry for more.

Sky Arts celebrates women

Sky Arts presents the Sisters of Disruption season, a celebration of pioneering women artists. From rock ‘n’ roll icons to literary legends, each film offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of these extraordinary women and their contributions to their craft.

This season features captivating titles that explore the lives of Hollywood icon Greta Garbo, literary disruptors The Brontës, unapologetic rock ‘n’ roller Anita Pallenberg, legendary cellist Jacqueline du Pré, art activists The Guerrilla Girls, Turner Prize-winner Lubaina Himid, tour-de-force Maggi Hambling, and controversial Irish author Edna O’Brien.

The Sisters of Disruption season starts next month on Sky Arts, Freeview and streaming service NOW.

Celebrity RIPs

Breaking news this morning that, having endured five minutes with JD Vance yesterday, Pope Francis died this morning aged 88. He was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013 until today, when he passed on this holy day. He was the first pope from the Society of Jesus, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside of Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

Also, this week we said goodbye to Clodagh Rodgers who had hits with Come Back and Shake Me and Eurovision entry Jack In The Box. Clodagh passed away aged 78. The Northern Irish singer was also a popular personality in the 70s appearing on shows including The Morecombe And Wise Show, The Two Ronnies, Top Of The Pops, The Generation Game and The Val Doonican Show.

Former BBC Radio 2 newsreader and presenter Colin Berry died at the age of 79 and Julian Benson, dancer, choreographer, talent agent and former judge of Ireland’s version of Strictly Come Dancing – RTE’s Dancing with the Stars – died aged 54.

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