Showbiz 10: 27th June 2021

A look at the top ten showbiz stories from the past week with Vivian Summers…

No news is bad news… It was reported this week that viewers to GB News, who have stuck with the new ‘news channel’ through poor lighting, sound and sets, were given another insult when lead personality Andrew Neil said he was off on holiday after only eleven shows.

Neil is to take a break from GB News only two weeks after the channel launched. The 72-year-old journalist revealed the news on his June 24th programme, The Andrew Neil Show. The former BBC and Sky broadcaster left his viewers disappointed he was to go off-air so soon.

Showbiz Quickies

⊗ Andi Peters, king of the CBBC Broom Cupboard and Good Morning Britain regular revealed how he has been racially profiled in shops and followed in case he nicks something from the store. “That happens enough times to me for me to know ‘oh someone thinks I’m going to nick a Whispers bar, I’m not, I’m going to pay for it like everybody else.’… “I experience it a lot. It doesn’t happen occasionally. It happens a lot.”

⊗ Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas is undergoing hospital tests for a “worrying” lump in her shoulder Digital Spy and The Mirror reported.

⊗ Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon are hoping to have the same success as Gavin and Stacey with a new comedy for the BBC. Airing this Christmas, Rob and Ruth have reportedly been filming a comedy special called Ray & Gaynor with its setting in Scotland.

⊗ Nadia Sawalha delivered a scathing attack on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock following the scandalous revelation of Matt’s ding dong. The Loose Women regular took to social media noting, “I am sure we will still be expected to stick to all the rules and make our teenagers stick to all the rules, and our kids stick to all the rules, while these f***ers continually break them.”

⊗ Sir Ringo Starr dropped a lawsuit against sex toy manufacturer, having initially feared the company named – Ring O – could ‘ruin his reputation’ with their dildos and strap-ons. The former Beatle changed his mind when, in a settlement, Pacific Holdings and Momentum Management stated that they shall ‘avoid any activity likely to lead to confusion’ in connection with the toys and the celebrity.

⊗ Holly Willoughby revealed earlier this week that she didn’t wear knickers in bed.

⊗ Lee Ryan celebrated the birth of his third child while Call The Midwife actress Helen George announced she is preggers with her second baby.

Katie Price has been forced to spend the day lying on her back with her legs in the air, The Sun reported, adding it surprisingly wasn’t her usual activity and instead she’d taken to the position due to her legs swelling up following a full body liposuction.

The tabloid also reported this week how the glamour puss showed fans her fiance Carl Woods’ “scabby” tattoo of her face. Carl was bombarded with comments from detractors, The Sun added after he debuted the tattoo on social media. Mockers said it looked fake and it looks like Katie’s rival Jodie Marsh.

Katie’s due some good luck and good fortune soon surely…

Emma Weymouth attends the Lewa Safari Marathon in aid of African conservation charity Tusk at Battersea Park Millennium Track.

The event took place on June 26th at Battersea Park Millennium Track in association with London based running team that is Track Life LDN.

For the second year running, the Lewa Safari Marathon which usually takes place in Kenya has gone virtual. Supported by African conservation charity, Tusk, all funds raised will go towards recovering the destruction that Covid-19 has brought on the wildlife and local communities.

Dubbed one of the top 10 marathons on the planet by Runner’s World, and supported by the likes of HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Deborah Meaden and Eliud Kipchoge, the Lewa Safari Marathon is one of Kenya’s major sporting events.

The annual race usually takes place in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which means participants get the opportunity to run through one of Africa’s most spectacular protected areas, sharing the trails with several with some of Kenya’s most iconic and critically endangered wildlife: Grevy’s Zebra, Lions, Elephants and Giraffes.