Showbiz: ‘A scintillating journey of self-discovery that absolutely sizzles’

Joanna Gumley casts her views over recent showbiz and telly stories…

Before we start, I must congratulate Coronation Street on its transformation into CSI Weatherfield, and thus getting just one award at the British Soap Awards – and even that was a lifetime achievement gong. ITV continuing drama bosses, you can’t live on past glories.

Those wonderful old days of The Street can only stretch goodwill so far with viewers. Apart from the endless plots more suited to The Bill, there has also been the ridiculous. Carla – up until being recently ruined – was the ‘new Elsie Tanner’ – and both had more men than cheese sarnies.

Carla being a bisexual/lesbian is so off the right route it could be a Tyne and Wear Metro tram. It obviously entertains the execs on the show, so that is all that matters. Is there actually any story on the soap that currently has anything other than misery running through it? Nope… Even the worst of Eldorado was better than what the storyliners are concocting for Weatherfield these days.

Eve Appeal awareness

Complacent Women

Remember the days when the ITV Daytime schedule had a mix of programmes, and rarely did any – other than the serials – air all year round, and even in the 70s Emmerdale Farm was run in ‘series’ taking months off every year. Well, of course those days had long gone under a schedule of the same old, year in, year out. Until recently and a new boss has decided to make the daytime output a little more fluid.

This hasn’t gone down well with the stars of Loose Women apparently as regular Nadia Sawalha has criticised ITV over their “absolutely brutal” cuts, with Digital Spy noting she said she feels “tearful about it”.

Nadia said, on social media that Loose Women is a “highly successful” show, it certainly rates better than Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and This Morning but is still way behind BBC One in the ratings, so a success if you like for ITV in some form, but across the telly board – not so much.

Let’s look at Thursday’s ratings, BBC Breakfast had 1.08m (39.0%), Morning Live with 1.10m (31.1%) and Bargain Hunt pulled in 1.44m (34.5%) for BBC One. Over on ITV1 Good Morning Britain managed 602k (23.0%), Lorraine drew in 595k (16.0%), This Morning had 559k (16.6%) and Loose Women – 611k. The only shows airing at the same time as This Morning that had under a million was Expert Witness with 838k (26.4%) and Homes Under the Hammer with 848k (26.4%) and both vastly higher than the ITV offering. So, changes clearly needed to happen.

However, Nadia, added, “What people don’t realise at Loose Women is that we’re self-employed, I am self-employed. Every contract is a new contract. I could be let go tomorrow, I could be let go in five years, you don’t know because we’re not employees.”

“What’s been brutal, absolutely brutal, over the last week, honestly I feel tearful about it, is that hundreds of people… are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are all the people behind the scenes that support us in every way.”

It is of course sad that anyone is losing their job, but keeping a failing schedule on air just to keep staff in work isn’t really sustainable in the long run.

Hayu Housewives

London has answered The Real Housewives call and six fabulously glam personalities are confirmed to showcase high society in the UK’s dynamic capital city! Produced by UTAS UK Productions (Made in Chelsea), a division of Universal Studio Group, The Real Housewives of London is the first-ever commission of an original series by Hayu – the all-reality, direct-to-consumer subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service from NBCUniversal – and will be the 30th instalment in the iconic, globally popular franchise. The series will premiere on the service later this year.

The six-strong cast are:

• Juliet Angus – Chicago native and now a resident of West London, Juliet is a wife and mum of two. She has been making serious waves east of the Atlantic, initially capturing the hearts of reality TV fans as a cast member on Ladies of London. A social media influencer, global brand partner, stylist, and former fashion publicist, Juliet has carved out a reputation as a tastemaker on both sides of the pond.

• Amanda Cronin – A former model turned entrepreneur and mother to a 27-year-old artist daughter, Amanda is the founder of the Amanda Caroline Beauty skincare brand and runs The Secret Door, an aesthetics and wellness clinic in Belgravia. A fixture on London’s elite social scene with a jet-set lifestyle, she has close ties to Meredith Marks (The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City) and Dorinda Medley (The Real Housewives New York City).

• Karen Loderick-Peace – Born in Jamaica, Karen moved to the UK in her twenties, where she later met her husband Jeremy, former chairman and owner of West Bromwich Albion F.C. The couple share three children and own five luxurious properties across London, Jersey and Barbados. She is currently preparing to launch her own fashion label, reflecting her passion for style and design. A former cast member of The Real Housewives of Jersey, Karen is well-acquainted with the glamorous world of The Real Housewives franchise.

• Juliet Mayhew – Australian native and former Miss Galaxy Universe, Juliet moved to the UK at the age of 12. Now living in one of Chelsea’s most desirable neighbourhoods, Juliet is married to ‘Tiggy’, with whom she has two teenage children. A former actress turned creative producer, she is a committed philanthropist and specialises in hosting immersive events through her successful event planning company – catering to some of the world’s most elite clients. She shares a close friendship with Caroline Stanbury (The Real Housewives of Dubai).

• Panthea Parker – Born in Iran, Panthea moved to England at the age of four. She lives in North London with her husband Ed and their three children; she also has an adult son from her first marriage. Known for her high-society lifestyle and formidable social circle, Panthea has embraced a life of glamour having been on the Mayfair scene since the ’90s where she was a fixture at Annabel’s partying with A-listers.

• Nessie Welschinger – Born and raised in London, Nessie shares her Chelsea family home – and a 500-year-old estate, nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds – with her husband Remy and their three children. A former Global Head of Equity at Schroders, she now runs the renowned Chelsea Cake Company, boasting high-profile clientele including Queen Elizabeth II, having made one of her 90th birthday cakes. Nessie also showcased her skills on Bake Off: The Professionals, further cementing her reputation in the world of patisserie.

The Real Housewives of London went into production in March 2025, with these six bold, dynamic and successful socialites showcasing the luxury of living in the UK’s iconic capital.

Go compare somewhere else

Wynne Evans – the face of the Go Compare ads for years – is now an ex-BBC Radio host. Evans revealed this week he has departed BBC Radio Wales following the corporation not renewing his contract, which is generally regarded as being sacked in the sense this job is no longer yours.

BBC News report that ‘he had been taking time off his daytime show after apologising for making what he described as an “inappropriate and unacceptable” comment during the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch in December.’

“I won’t be returning to my radio show. I’m gutted,” he posted on social media. He did note however he plans to launch an online streaming offering. On the news he was off the Beeb noted they had “no plans to work with him”. To the point.

Doctor Who Now

Apparently, The Doctor has regenerated again in Doctor Who. The series, which has been lambasted for preaching rather than concentrating on fun stories set in time and space, saw Billie Piper seemingly ‘become’ the TARDIS travelling timelord in the latest series finale.

The BBC seem to confirm that Ncuti Gatwa has departed the role, after two runs as The Doctor, stating ‘In Doctor Who season 2 finale The Reality War viewers saw Ncuti Gatwa’s final scenes as the Doctor as he steps down from one of the most iconic roles in British television.’ The Beeb add, ‘In an epic two-part season finale, viewers saw the Doctor face the Rani in an extraordinary battle to save the world and the Doctor made the ultimate sacrifice to save the life of one little girl.’

 Ncuti was revealed as The Doctor in May 2022.

Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, who played the Doctor’s companion Ruby in his first series

EastEnders returns

Emmerdale deception

The Mirror reported this week how Emmerdale’s Robert Sugden played by Ryan Hawley made a ‘surprise’ return to the Yorkshire Dales saga – considering there was speculation across the tabliods and social media for months – it would have been more of a surprise if it hadn’t have been Robert to be fair.

However, ITV went to great lengths – ultimately a waste of time – to try and keep the Sugden return a surprise. ‘As part of a cloak and dagger operation, on scripts, his lines were given the codename ‘Marco’ – after a man Aaron briefly dated.’

“We’ve wanted to keep it a secret that I am coming back for good. My scripts have had Marco on them, rather than Robert, and so much effort has been put into it. I have been coming in via a secret entrance, so nobody could see me arrive, and it has been very hush, hush…”

As well as Ryan entering via a back passage ITV even kept the early morning ITVX/STV Player release back on Wednesday to keep the return a surprise. However, over on social media the gossip was rife it was Robert – who else could it be?! An ‘Angie Watts’ shocker it certainly wasn’t.

Cast confirmed for Burlesque the Musical

The producers of the West End Premiere of Burlesque the Musical, the musical based on Steven Antin’s film starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, begins performances at the Savoy Theatre on 10 July, this week announced the lead cast.

Musical sensation Jess Folley, who has also written new music for the show alongside Todrick Hall returns to the musical to play Ali Rose. Jess played the role in Manchester and Glasgow last year to huge acclaim.   She won the first series of the national ITV show The Voice Kids UK and in 2019 her band RLY were crowned winners of X Factor – The Band.  Jess has since dedicated all her time to developing herself as an artist and songwriter, having had the opportunity to work with some of the most respected songwriters and producers in the industry.

Also returning to the musical are Todrick Hall as Sean, and the Olivier Award-winning George Maguire as Vince.  Todrick, one of the most high profile and prolific storytellers in the world will also be directing and choreographing the show.

Playing Tess is Broadway legend, Orfeh.  The Tony and Grammy Award nominee most recently starred as Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman the Musical on Broadway.  Her other Broadway credits include:  Paulette in Legally Blonde, Saturday Night Fever, Fascinating Rhythm and Footloose.  Her TV work credits include Sex and the City and Law and Order.

Asha Parker Wallace makes her professional and West End debut as Nikki. Paul Jacob French, whose musical credits include An Officer and a Gentleman, Annie, The Wizard of Oz and Grease will play Jackson.

Burlesque The Musical is a scintillating journey of self-discovery that absolutely sizzles with songs by Christina Aguilera and Sia, and new music by Todrick Hall and Jess Folley.

Savoy Theatre, Savoy Court, The Strand, London, WC2R 0ET www.thesavoytheatre.com

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.