Showbiz: From Alan Cumming to Vanessa Feltz

Another newswrap as Judi Dentures casts her views over recent entertainment news…

Vanessa fancies being a traitor

5’s latest daytime Personality Vanessa Feltz has said that she would love to appear on Celebrity Traitors. Speaking to Heart Bingo, Feltz said: “One show I would love to do is The Traitors. If they asked me to do the Celebrity Traitors, I think I’d be bloody marvellous because nobody believes anything I say anyway! I have such a torrential flow of words and some people think, if you’re that fluent, how sincere can you really be?

“I think I’d be good on that show and if they asked me, I’d seriously consider it. You only have to go as far as Scotland and the beds look a lot more comfortable than they do on I’m A Celeb. There are no mosquitoes, no eating horrible animal parts, it’s much more up my street. I’d much rather be on the list for The Traitors than I’m A Celeb.”

Feltz who hosts the Vanessa show for 5 revealed that she has received multiple offers to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! but does not feel the show is suited to her.

“ITV have asked me to appear on I’m A Celeb lots of times including this year, where I actually got as far as going to a meeting before I had to remind myself how appallingly bad I would be on the show,” said Feltz. “I can’t really do anything physically demanding like jumping out of a plane or climbing up things – that’s just not me.

“I’d get terribly bored sitting around all day in an uncomfortable camp being either frozen cold, soaking wet or boiling hot, all the while being bitten by insects – it’s just not my thing. They asked me to do the show – and they talk a good game – but then I remind myself that I absolutely do not want to do it. They were very persuasive this year though and I almost ended up doing it, before both my daughters gave me a good shake and reminded me not to be so ridiculous.”

Corrie to explore racial injustice in maternity care

Coronation Street’s Dee Dee Bailey is at the centre of dramatic scenes next week when serious complications during the birth of her baby put her life at risk and leave her fighting for justice.

Dee Dee goes into labour in Monday’s episode (March 31st) but is sent home from the hospital despite being in extreme pain. When her waters break, she goes back to the hospital and a series of delays result in her being rushed in for an emergency delivery. But the drama doesn’t end there when Dee Dee suffers a huge haemorrhage and has to undergo life changing surgery.

As she recovers in hospital a devastated Dee Dee reflects on her experience and starts to wonder if the treatment she received, and the mistakes made, were avoidable and linked to her ethnicity. In the coming weeks we will see the young lawyer enlist the help of friend and fellow legal expert Alya Nazir as she considers making an official complaint of gross negligence against the hospital.

Coronation Street have been working closely on this storyline with three organisations; Birthrights, a charity which was set up to protect human rights during pregnancy and childbirth; Motivational Mum’s Club who empower mothers and birthing people to make informed choices and be able to advocate for themselves and FivexMore the Uk’s Leading women’s health organisation focussed on Black maternal health.

Channique Sterling-Brown who plays Dee Dee:

“We’ve worked with some brilliant organisations and charities who were really great at advising on this story. I got to speak to a woman who had a real lived experience of this, and her story is not dissimilar to what happens to Dee Dee. It was emotional to hear her story and just finding the truth in that as well. Many of the conversations have been really hard but really helpful to hear what some women went through.”

Well, it makes a change from a police heavy plot.

Price of keeping a pet

‘Petition to ban Katie Price from owning animals soars to 37,000’ reported The Sun this week. It isn’t the first time Katie has been at the receiving end of concerns about her animals and their welfare – as most end up dead if the tabloid reports are to be believed.

The newspaper noted, ‘It comes as Katie was spotted out with her new puppy, a Cocker Spaniel named Rookie… The petition was created to stop Katie from owning animals amid concern for their welfare in her care.’ The Sun goes on to state, ‘Leading animal charity PETA has made it clear bosses think Katie has got “blood on her hands” and should be served with a lifetime ban on keeping animals.’

The death toll includes a number of dogs and a horse.

Keeping Ken

William Roache this week said he’s happy to keep playing Ken Barlow for as long as he can. The actor, who is older than Jesus, has played Ken since December 1960 and is currently the only actor on the show who appeared in that first monochrome episode.

Over the years Ken has had several wives, several affairs and several cases of dry rot. I’m joking, on the latter – William is a national institution. But I’d be weary of saying on the show until you drop dead in real life – as they often give appalling send offs for the long staying cast, just look at how badly done Betty Driver’s exit was. And the way The Street is currently ‘Weatherfield-Upon-Sun Hill it wouldn’t surprise me if Barlow was bumped off in the most dramatic of ways, like a copy of the Weatherfield Gazette exploding when he opened it.

Blue Peter live loss

Former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis has told BBC News the long-running children’s series is bound to lose some of its live “magic”, after CBBC confirmed it will no longer air live. The magazine show filmed its last live episodes after 67 years this past week.

The middle-class children’s programme first aired in 1958 and has been a mix of live and pre-recorded shows for decades. Now the live offering will be consigned to history, and thus some of the charm – and mistakes – will be lost as TV becomes ever slicker – and to some ever dull.

Ellis said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday: “I feel sorry for this generation of presenters who aren’t going to feel that thrill… There is something of an adrenaline rush to doing things live, because things can go wrong, but I think it’s also the magic when they go right,”

“It’s the best example of teamwork I can think of because you are just as important as everyone else in the studio. And I’m sure there were nervous cameramen, but we all had to do it together and no one could go again because it wasn’t quite right the first time.”

Cumming at the BAFTAs

Scottish performer Alan Cumming is to present the television BAFTA Awards for the first time when he presents the ceremony in May, RTÉ News reported. The Irish news service note, ‘The 60-year-old actor, writer and presenter – known for hosting the US version of The Traitors and American drama The Good Wife – will helm the event at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London.’

RTÉ add, ‘Emma Baehr, executive director of awards and content at Bafta, said Cumming “will definitely bring a playful sense of mischief and fun to the ceremony, so audiences should expect the unexpected”.’

The 2023 and 2024 BAFTA Television Awards had been hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan.

Keeping the neighbour in the West End

My Neighbour Totoro will extend in the West End, running until 29 March 2026. To celebrate the extended season over 20,000 tickets have now been released for £25 or under.

Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, RSC Co-Artistic Directors:

“We are delighted to be extending the run of My Neighbour Totoro following the excitement and response from audiences to the show’s opening in the West End. We want as many people as possible to enjoy this brilliant story of kindness, courage and the power of the imagination, and we are offering more than 20,000 tickets at £25 or under to celebrate the extended run. We can’t wait to welcome more audiences to see the show in its new home at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.” 

Adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) from Hayao Miyazaki’s celebrated 1988 animated feature film, the production is directed by Improbable Co-Founder, Phelim McDermott. Winner of six Olivier Awards and five WhatsOnStage Awards, My Neighbour Totoro broke the Barbican’s Box Office record for most tickets sold in a single day in April 2022, ahead of its global premiere in October 2022. Following both critical and audience acclaim, the production returned to the Barbican Centre for a strictly limited run in Autumn 2023. The production closed at the Barbican Centre in March 2024.

The cast includes Victoria Chen in the role of Mei, Ami Okumura Jones as Mei’s older sister Satsuki, Dai Tabuchi as Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate as Granny, and Ai Ninomiya as the Singer.

My Neighbour Totoro, Gillian Lynne Theatre , 166 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5PW, Booking details: totoroshow.com 

Nolan on cancer

On Loose Women (Monday, March 24th), brother of the Nolan sisters Brian Nolan joined his sister Coleen Nolan alongside fellow panellists Christine Lampard, Brenda Edwards and Gloria Hunniford for his first TV interview since receiving the news that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Brian was diagnosed with prostate cancer just three days after losing his sister Linda to cancer, making him the fifth of the Nolan siblings to battle the disease. Discussing his diagnosis, he said: “It’s kind of a common thing in men our age, I had a urinary problem, which means I was weeing too much. It was becoming to affect my life, needing to not drive too far without going to the toilet, so I went to my GP and said ‘what’s the story here?'”

Brian went on to discuss how he was given a PSA inspection [Prostate-Specific Antigen test] which is a series of blood tests that measure the level of your PSA, a protein produced by the prostate gland, to help detect prostate problems, including cancer.

He explained: “The protocol itself is nothing to be feared of or worried about, it was a blood test and then a little internal inspection just to make sure, where [in my case] they did find something they weren’t quite happy with, and so they decided to send me for an MRI scan and again, they did find something that they wanted to investigate. So I went and had a biopsy and they did indeed find something. 

“I went to see the urologist and he said ‘We have found something’ and I immediately went, as we all probably would, ‘I’ve got cancer?’ and he said, ‘Yes, you’ve got cancer’ and that in itself is something in your life that you really don’t want to hear. I never thought of how I would react, I was just completely speechless. My wife was with me and she broke down a little bit.” 

Brian added: “A lot of guys are afraid, we’re not very good men, let’s be fair. I’m sorry to the guys in the audience but [in terms of] going to the doctors and dealing with stuff. I only went with an unrelated issue and he said ‘You’ve come quickly and we can treat it, and we can cure it. The tumour is contained within your prostate gland and we can do an operation.’ which is only because I went in [early].” 

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV1, STV, STV Player & ITVX

In the showbiz departure lounge this week…

We said goodbye to American actor Richard Chamberlain famous for The Towering Inferno, The Thorn Birds and Dr. Kildare. In the UK he appeared on ITV’s Saturday Night Theatre in the titular role of Hamlet in the ATV Elstree two-hour production of the Shakespeare play. Richard died just a few hours before his 91st birthday.

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.