Showbiz: ‘A world of indulgent beauty and unparalleled extravagance’

Judi Dentures casts her views over recent showbiz and telly stories…

The men go loose again

The latest male-version episode will air during Mental Health Awareness Week and in a new promo, Craig Doyle tells viewers “nothing is off limits” as he’s joined by first time Loose Men panellists, Charles Spencer, Sam Thompson and Dr Amir Khan.

Continuing to tackle the taboos of talking about mental and physical health, the panel will open up on the issues impacting men in today’s world – from navigating modern fatherhood, exploring couples’ counselling and maintaining a strong bond with your siblings.

With new research suggesting men are more likely to check sports results than they are to check for changes in their body, Craig will also receive a head-to-toe health MOT as Dr Amir shares the things viewers at home can do and look out for themselves.

On his debut, Charles said: “What a privilege to be part of the quartet with Craig, Dr Amir and Sam. It’s quite humbling to be part of a programme that will hopefully encourage many men to take good care of themselves but it will be great fun and I’m looking forward to every minute of it.” 

Loose Men is set to return to ITV1, STV, STV Player and ITVX on Thursday 15th May, from 12.30pm.

Gay Paree goes on tour

The first ever World Tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, the multi-award-winning hit stage show, has opened in Edinburgh. It will also head to venues across the UK, Europe and beyond. A tour schedule can be found at https://moulinrougemusical.co.uk/world-tour/

The cast includes Verity Thompson as Satine, Nate Landskroner as Christian, Cameron Blakely as Harold Zidler, Kurt Kansley as Toulouse-Lautrec, James Bryers as The Duke, Kahlia Davis as Nini, Summer Priest as Arabia, Scott Sutcliffe as Baby Doll, Ellie Jane Grant as La Chocolat and Patrice Tipoki as Alternate Satine.

Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment. Pop the champagne and prepare for the spectacular spectacular…Welcome to Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. A celebration of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and — above all — Love, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is more than a musical — it is a state of mind.

As in the film, the stage production celebrates over 160 years of music – from Offenbach to Lady Gaga. The stage musical features over 70 iconic songs, many from the movie as well as recent hits released since the movie premiered over 20 years ago.

Set in Paris, 1899, a world of indulgent beauty and unparalleled extravagance, of bohemians and aristocrats, of boulevardiers and reprobates, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is the story of a lovesick American writer, Christian, and Satine, the dazzling star of the Moulin Rouge nightclub.

When their lives collide at the Moulin Rouge, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be thwarted by the nightclub’s host and impresario, Harold Zidler, and The Duke of Monroth, the wealthy and entitled patron of the club who thinks he can buy anything he wants, including Satine. Together with his Bohemian friends – the brilliant and starving artist Toulouse-Lautrec, and the greatest tango dancer in all of Paris, Santiago – Christian stages a musical spectacular in an attempt to save the Moulin Rouge and win the heart of Satine.

Flashback Kits the bill

It’s not The Bill, although Corrie is more The Bill than The Bill was in its later years, but I digress. So, anyway, Coronation Street is to explore the complex history of Kit Green, revealing the secrets and events that shaped him into the man he is today. You could say its Kit-story.

In a special flashback episode airing on Friday 16 May, viewers will be transported back to 2007 to witness the teenage years of Kit (Jacob Roberts), Mick (Joe Layton), and Lou (Farrel Hegarty) and uncover the truth behind their intertwined past. Secrets will be revealed, and long-buried traumas will resurface, shedding light on Kit’s motivations and the reason behind his complicated relationships.

The episode will feature three actors taking on the younger roles of Kit (Brook Debio), Mick (Lewis Walton), and Lou (Charlotte Alex-Riley) providing a transition between their past and present lives. The programme went to great lengths to authentically reflect 2007, ensuring accuracy in every detail.

Lorraine Kelly Op

Daytime ‘actress’ Lorraine Kelly who likes to have it off on Fridays, is having it off the other four-days of her weekday magazine show too currently after revealing she’s undergone keyhole surgery in order to remove her wallet, no sorry, ovaries, which will be incinerated to join her morals when it comes to paying tax. I mean if Kelly is an ‘actress’ she’s certainly no Diana Dors or Miss Piggy for that matter.

Speaking on social media Kelly noted, “I just wanted to let you know I’m having a wee procedure today. I’ve not been feeling all that well for a little while, so I had some scans and tests, and I have to have my ovaries and my tubes taken out.

“It’s purely preventative, it’s going to be with keyhole surgery, which is incredible, and I’m being very well looked after, and I’ll obviously see you really soon, and I’m going to be totally fine.”

‘oinktastic’ stage show

Peppa Pig Live is back with the brand-new Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show! Produced by Fierylight in collaboration with leading games, IP and toy company Hasbro, the tour opens in October 2025 with Peppa and Friends touring the UK until September 2026. It will also show in the West End for the festive season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 05 December until 04 January.

Based on the much-loved animated preschool TV series, Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show is packed full of music, adventure and surprises for little ones as Peppa’s family prepares for the arrival of a new baby. 

With a new arrival on the way the whole family is busy getting ready. With building and decorating work to be done, it’s an oinktastic makeover, and Peppa Pig, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig & George all need your help to get everything ready before the big day. There’s so much to do – will they get it all finished in time?

For over 15 years, audiences have been thrilled to see Peppa and friends live on stage in seven hugely popular tours, with over 2.5 million fans joining in the fun and games in the UK alone. Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show is once again produced by leading children’s theatre team Fierylight. The production will be directed and co-adapted by Richard Lewis who has directed all previous Peppa Live shows.

Find out more at www.peppapiglive.com

Beckham on the decline

Richard got the bug to perform from a Gypsy

Actor Richard Armitage was one told his accent was ‘ugly and ‘flat’ when he was starting out his career in performance. Speaking to the Leicester Mercury, he recalled how he spent many years trying to ‘sound posh’ before embracing his Midlands heritage.

The star of The Hobbit is to help decide the winner of the Best Short Film category at the forthcoming Midlands Movies Awards which takes place in Leicester in June.

Speaking to the newspaper about his early days as an actor he said, “I was told that I had a kind of ugly flat Midlands vowels… I spent a long time kind of pretending I wasn’t from Leicester and trying to sound posh, which a lot of actors do from the regions, well, they did at that time.”

Despite this derision of his accent during his time at Pattison College in Coventry, Armitage has become an international success on stage and screen. He told the Leicester Mercury how his love of performance started at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester.

“My first ever time sitting in a theatre was at the Haymarket… I remember seeing Noele Gordon in Gypsy and just being like ‘that’s what I’m going to do’”

Hollyoaks ratings boon

“Hollyoaks surges in ratings as schedule revamp and gripping storylines resonate with viewers” said Channel 4 in a PR exercise this week. None of these streaming offerings however tell us whether the shows could survive with just the streaming figures alone, without financial back up from the terrestrial funds. Anyway, let’s not pee on Hollyoaks’ parade…

So, in September 2024, the soap on a rope transitioned from five episodes a week down to three episodes a week and episodes reduced in length ‘to enhance storytelling impact and align with evolving viewer habits.’ Which converted from PR speak means viewers can cope with watching three episodes a week that are just 20 minutes rather than five half-hours.

Hollyoaks has experienced a marked uplift in viewership across linear and digital platforms. The revised schedule has delivered a +23% year-on-year increase in total viewership. Engagement among the shows core demographic—viewers aged 16–34—has also grown by +11% year-on-year, while consolidated viewing share on E4 is up +35% overall and +38% within the 16–34 demographic.

The show’s performance on streaming platforms has also been particularly strong, with views per episode skyrocketing by +71% year-on-year and release of new episodes via YouTube is also proving a success, with total UK watch time in the first three months of the year up almost 20% year on year. Looking ahead, Hollyoaks will celebrate its 30th anniversary in October 2025

*Period of schedule change comparison = 9th Sept ‘24 (move to 3 TX’s) to Mar ‘25 vs. 25th Sep ‘23 (move to solely E4) to Mar ‘2

Saima Mohsin takes CNN to Tribunal

British presenter and international correspondent, Saima Mohsin, is suing CNN for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination after she notes she was injured while on assignment for the network.

In a landmark legal ruling, Saima’s case will be heard by the Employment Tribunal in London after the news network lost its appeal on jurisdiction. This is a case which has huge implications for journalists, the media industry and in particular international correspondents and international workers.

“Having fired me for asking for my rights as a disabled journalist, injured on assignment for them, CNN is now dragging me through the courts at great expense and distress, instead of making amends. I am determined not to give up because this is a matter of principle. As a journalist I have always been committed to exposing injustice, I’m now doing this for myself and my colleagues. I hope the industry will learn from this.” – Saima Mohsin

Saima is a well-known British journalist who has been a familiar face on the Sky News, BBC News, GMTV, ITV News and Channel 4 News in the UK and networks around the world – PBS, France 24 & CNN. Saima has interviewed high profile global leaders and celebrities including Hilary Clinton, Benazir Bhutto, Imran Khan & Tom Cruise and covered 28 countries on the world’s biggest stories.

CNN denies her claims and contests her ability to seek justice in the UK by claiming the Employment Tribunal in the United Kingdom does not have jurisdiction to hear her claim and that the Equality Act 2010 and Employment Rights Act 1996 do not apply on the grounds of territorial jurisdiction.

Ring of Fury

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, on Wednesday, Love Island star and boxer Tommy Fury joined Susanna Reid and Ed Balls ahead of his eagerly anticipated return to the ring. Following a break from boxing due to surgery on his hand, Fury was set to make his sporting comeback in Budapest on Friday, May 9th.

Reflecting on his training experience, Tommy explained: “I think it’s been easier this time to get back in shape mentally and physically because the two years out of the ring I wasn’t in shape mentally or physically again.”

“Ever since that, I’ve just wanted so much to get back in shape in both ways, so I’ve been in shape for a long, long time, mentally and physically and I’m just ready ahead of Friday. It’s the first fight back, there’s going to be cobwebs there, there’s going to be nerves but that’s all going to get blown off inside the first round.”

“I’m not looking to hang about to be honest, I’m looking to get in there and I’m going to show everyone what I’m capable of. I’ve been doing this a long time now and I feel like people are going to stand up on Friday. A proper, legitimate fighter in front of me, there’s no YouTubers. This man’s been fighting all of his life. He [his opponent] has had over 100 amateur fights and he’s here and he’s coming to fight, he’s not phased by who I am and the name that I’ve got.”

And show them what he’s got he did. The Sun newspaper reported yesterday, ‘Fury, 26, recorded a dominant win over Bosnian Kenan Hanjalic in their six-round Budapest bust-up.’ Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and STV. Stream on the STV Player or ITVX.

Celebrity RIPs

Leaving the star departure area this week…

Mike Peters, frontman of Welsh band The Alarm, died from blood cancer aged 66.

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