There’s no royal rumba (or Queenly Quickstep) this year after plans to host the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing at Buckingham Palace were once again shelved.
The King and Queen – both Strictly fans – pitched the idea last summer and the Beebs loved it, but in the end there just wasn’t enough time to pull off the spectacle for the 2022 show. And after the death of Her Majesty the Queen and the coronation of King Charles, plans were put on hold again.
Sources at the BBC confirm it won’t happen and royal sources add that there has been no dispute.
The delay will be painful for Judge Anton Du Beke, who claims to be Camilla’s favorite and would no doubt prefer to take her for a spin around the palace ballroom. Basically runs from the end of September until just before Christmas.
There’s no royal rumba (or Queenly Quickstep) this year after plans to host the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing at Buckingham Palace were once again shelved
Queen Camilla poses with (LR) Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers Neil Jones, Amy Dowden, Brendan Cole, Janette Manrara, presenter Tess Daly, head judge Shirly Ballas, judge Craig Revel Horwood and dancers Anton du Beke, Chloe Hewitt, Pasha Kovalev, Dianne Buswell, Karen Clifton and Oti Mabuse in 2017
Bernie the Flash
Elton John has long boasted about how quickly he writes the melodies to his songs. But his lyricist Bernie Taupin claims he’s even quicker with the words.
In his forthcoming memoir, Scattershot, Taupin reveals that “Your Song,” the 1970 hit that launched Elton’s career, lasted just 25 minutes from start to finish.
Elton John has long boasted about how quickly he writes the melodies to his songs. But his lyricist Bernie Taupin claims he’s even quicker with the words
Taupin wrote the lyrics during the time it took Elton’s mother, Sheila, to fry them eggs and make toast. Elton then wrote the tune in “15 Minutes Flat”.
Lifelong friends, together they have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, and the success of Your Song led to the performance at The Troubadour in LA that propelled Elton into the stratosphere. Taupin’s highly anticipated book is out in September.
In Norfolk and Suffolk there must be something in the water. Earlier this month, Wolverine star Hugh Jackman was spotted waffling in Norwich (his mum lives in the city).
And Norwich-born Oscar winner Olivia Colman returned to the county last year.
Meanwhile, Keira Knightley, Emma Freud and director Paul Greengrass all have homes on the Suffolk coast.
Now Oscar-nominated star Bill Nighy – who has a home in Suffolk himself and is patron of Norfolk Screen – is set to narrate a gentle documentary about the area’s hidden delights. The six-part series, entitled Norfolk & Suffolk, was commissioned by Channel 5.
Sacre Bleu! Why French words challenge Amol
He may have a Cambridge degree, but Amol Rajan admits he has a potentially embarrassing problem hosting the University Challenge: French words.
He may have a Cambridge degree, but Amol Rajan admits he has a potentially embarrassing problem hosting the University Challenge: French words
“Before I started, I worried about her — and I was right to be worried,” he said. “I’m good at pronouncing Italian, Latin and German words, but I’ve never learned French and they’re the hardest for me.”
Rajan, who made his debut on the BBC2 show earlier this month, added: “Probably it’s the foreign language that viewers of the show care most about, so we’ve had to do a repeat every now and then if I’ve got it wrong uttered.”‘
It’s the Yellowstone Grizzler
Kevin Costner – who is embroiled in a divorce battle with his second wife Christine – reveals in legal documents that he is also at odds with his paymasters at Yellowstone.
Costner, 68, is reportedly the highest-paid actor on television, reportedly earning $1.3 million per episode of the award-winning show.
His ex claims he made $24.5 million from Yellowstone and other sources in 2022 when he appeared in eight episodes.
But the actor says he expects his income to drop “dramatically” after leaving the program to direct his four-film western epic Horizon.
“I will earn significantly less in 2023 than in 2022,” he predicted. “That’s because I’m out of contract with Yellowstone, which was my main source of income last year.”
Kevin Costner (pictured) — embroiled in a divorce battle with his second wife Christine — reveals in legal documents he’s also at odds with his paymasters at Yellowstone.
“The fixed amount, ‘pay or play’ and sporadic compensation I received no longer exists.”
“Any compensation I earn from Yellowstone now arises solely from my contractual back-end participation rights.” [A star’s percentage of the proceeds, once the show is in profit.]
“The latest report from the producer of Yellowstone indicates that I am not currently owed an entry fee (although I have denied it). So far I have not received any participation compensation from Yellowstone in 2023.”
Beat Barbenheimer? This is Mission: Impossible
Think action man Tom Cruise. Even as movie buffs — and the movie world at large — are celebrating the Barbenheimer phenomenon that has brought record-breaking crowds into theaters, his film Mission: Impossible has remained relatively high and dry, with numbers falling dramatically in its second week.
In the UK, the film was number one at the box office in its first week, grossing £10.3 million. But that amount dropped to £2.9million last week.
You will recall that Cruise spearheaded the post-COVID return to cinema with the hit hit Top Gun: Maverick.
But Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was overshadowed by the dual threat of Barbie and Oppenheimer, and the lack of screens added to the woe. (The Christopher Nolan film has been fully booked on all IMAX screens for three weeks.)
However, MI still does well in Asia, where Barbie and Oppenheimer aren’t such big draws.
In the UK, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was the top box office in its first week, grossing £10.3million. But that amount dropped to £2.9million last week.
How Zendaya gave her bosses a record profit…
Zendaya is the secret weapon of the world’s largest luxury brand, LVMH. The 26-year-old actress is the face of Bulgari jewelry and, since this spring, has also represented Louis Vuitton, specifically their Capucines bags.
She’s attended numerous Bulgari and Vuitton events and introduced the brands (both part of LVMH, run by Frenchman Bernard Arnault, the second richest person in the world) to their 183 million followers in some stylish Instagram posts.
And what an effect it had. LVMH reported Wednesday that its fashion and leather goods sector — including Vuitton, sponsored by Zendaya (pictured above) — grew 21 percent.
Zendaya (pictured) is the secret weapon of the world’s largest luxury brand, LVMH
Meanwhile, LVMH saw sales in its watches and jewelry division (which includes Bulgari) rise 13 percent.
Deborah Aitken, an analyst at Business Insider, lauded the “long-term upside potential” of the sector, which is bouncing back from the pandemic. And boss Arnault called the figures “outstanding”. A major contributor was Tiffany, which was acquired by LVMH in 2021.
Zendaya, best known for her roles in The Greatest Showman, Spider-Man and Dune, as well as hit TV show Euphoria, was set to open the Venice Film Festival with the rousing tennis drama Challengers, in which she an unrecognizable sexy character is played by Josh O’Connor (who played Prince Charles in The Crown).
However, thanks to the actors’ strike, the premiere was canceled and the film’s release was pushed back to 2024. Her next film, Dune Part 2, is scheduled for release in November.
Sir Anthony Hopkins is showing no signs of slowing down. The 85-year-old star was in Rome filming Megabucks BBC drama Those About To Die, directed by Roland Emmerich (he plays the Emperor Vespasian).
He also plays the father of psychoanalysis in the film Freud’s Last Session. The film focuses on Freud’s philosophical debates with scholar CS Lewis (Matthew Goode) about the existence of God. Stephen Campbell Moore stars as Lewis’ close friend JRR Tolkein.
However, before any of these films come out, Sir Anthony will be starring in One Life, a film based on the extraordinary life of Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 children from the Nazis on the eve of World War II.
Rev. Richard Coles has some way to go to pass his passion for football on to his new partner Dickie Cant.
Coles said: “Both important people in my life weren’t football fans and that was a bit of an issue.”
“Dickie is trying quite hard now. I’m just starting him on a milk diet of sorts, which is a highlight of Match Of The Day.
“He’s an actor, he’s interested in the body and space and he’s a curious person, but I realized I might still have a long way to go when he said to me, ‘Is Arsenal Spurs?'”
Coles’ late husband David was also not a fan of the beautiful game. “David got very impatient with my love of watching football and we had to make some sort of deal, so for every game that day he got two Ugly Bettys.” David died suddenly in 2019 after battles with alcoholism.