News

This week on Sunday Brunch Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer welcome Jenny Eclair who will discuss her memoir and upcoming tour. Sophie Willan from Alma’s Not Normal, will be on hand to talk about the new series of the show. Josh Widdicombe will give audiences the inside scoop on his highly anticipated new tour. The […]

Sunday Brunch: Jessica Hynes, Sophie Willan (Channel 4 Sunday 6 October 2024)...

Global, the Media & Entertainment group, has announced that Dax, its market-leading digital advertising exchange, will be the exclusive advertising partner for the official Taskmaster hit podcasts - Taskmaster The Podcast and Taskmaster: The People’s Podcast - produced by Avalon, the production company behind the BAFTA and National Comedy award winning, International Emmy nominated global phenomenon and smash hit comedy series on Channel 4.

Both podcasts will be added to Dax, providing a platform for advertisers to run targeted audio campaigns via host-read and spot ads.

Taskmaster: The Podcast is hosted by critically acclaimed stand-up comedian and former Taskmaster champion Ed Gamble. He is joined each week by a special guest to discuss and dissect the latest episode of the show after it has aired on Channel 4.

Taskmaster: The People’s Podcast is the official fan podcast, hosted by comedian, actress and star of series 15, Jenny Eclair, alongside comedy writer and Taskmaster aficionado Jack Bernhardt.

Get ready for a week of brain-teasing fun as “Richard Osman’s House of Games” returns with Season 7 Episode 56, titled “Week 12.” Set to air at 6:30 Pm on Monday, January 1, 2024, on BBC Two, this episode promises a delightful showdown featuring celebrity contestants Dianne Buswell, Jenny Eclair, Adam Gemili, and Owain Wyn Evans.

In this special week, viewers can expect a daily dose of quiz excitement as the contestants engage in a series of challenging quiz rounds handpicked by the charismatic host himself, Richard Osman. With Dianne, Jenny, Adam, and Owain in the hot seat, it’s sure to be a week filled with laughter, competition, and unexpected twists. As quiz aficionados and newcomers alike gather around their screens, they’ll be treated to a unique blend of wit, strategy, and camaraderie, making “Week 12” a must-watch for fans of trivia and entertainment alike. So, mark your calendars and join the fun...

Kendall. Robinson. Duker. Ó’Briain. Martin. The fight is On.

The winners of Taskmaster series 11-15 are currently doing sit-ups, drinking pints of raw egg, and running up and down the steps outside Chiswick Library. They’re in training for Taskmaster’s third Champion of Champions contest.

A little reminder of the contenders for this title now, on account of the internet having destroyed everybody’s attention spans, and shrunk our ability to retain information for longer than it takes a toaster to pop.

Champion of Champions 3 Line-Up Sarah Kendall

Representing series 11 is the magnificently-maned Sarah Kendall, Australian comic, writer and actor. She’s technically the dunce of this operation going in with a whole-series points score of just 158, but a dynamite chick like her isn’t about to let that get in the way. The woman’s ready for the apocalypse at all times, do not underestimate her.

Morgana Robinson

The series 12 champ,...

Award-winning comedian Jenny Éclair is to host Taskmaster: The People’s Podcast alongside Taskmaster aficionado, Jack Bernhardt. Each week, Jenny and Jack will deep dive into the world of Taskmaster, talking to behind-the-scenes guests, superfans and some of the most loved Taskmaster characters, in the official fan podcast from the producers of the BAFTA and National Comedy Award winning TV show.

2023 has already given us series 15’s perfect line-up – a gem of a season with Jenny Eclair’s endless joy, Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s cheeky competitiveness, Mae Martin’s cool smarts, Frankie Boyle’s affable bemusement and Ivo Graham’s adorable self-loathing keeping us laughing all the way through to summer.

And there’s not long to wait now until series 16 arrives. The new run of 10 episodes is confirmed to start airing weekly on Channel 4 and Channel4.com from Thursday September 21 at 9pm. That means – interruptions notwithstanding – the series finale should arrive on Thursday November 23, which is traditionally when the next line-up is announced.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The series 16 Taskmaster line-up comes first and back in June, was confirmed as comprising Julian Clary, Lucy Beaumont, Sue Perkins, Susan Wokoma and Sam Campbell.

Let’s have a quick refresher on where we’ve seen the series 16 contestants before:...

It can’t go on. Must-watch TV shows have been arriving at an unmanageable rate for so long that releasing an excellent new series is now essentially an act of violence. Nobody has the time to be this thoroughly entertained.

Curation is our only solution. Recommendations that cut through promotional budgets and PR hype, leaving behind just the good stuff. Below, we’ve collected the best of the best from this year of UK television so far. If you only have time to watch a handful of shows in 2023, make them these gems. We’ll add any others that make the grade as the year goes on, and do please make your own recommendations below.

Happy Valley Series 3

Stream on: BBC iPlayer (UK); AMC+/BBC America/Acorn TV from May 22nd (US)

Series three is when the word-of-mouth enthusiasm for Sally Wainwright’s Happy Valley started to break through even...

Warning: contains, well, would you call them spoilers? Anyway, those.

Taskmaster’s weekly prize task involves each contestant bringing in an item that responds to the same prompt (Most Powerful Smell/Best Chair/Most Important Document…) in the hope of winning the lot at the end of the episode. It’s the first task of every show, a chance for the comedians to land a punchline early doors, and points-wise, to bag what series 15 runner-up Ivo Graham might refer to as “a Sweet Five”.

All that time to plan the perfect response! What a boon for swots and “Be Prepared” types, you might think. Sometimes. And sometimes not. The capricious nature of the Taskmaster’s scoring logic often finds painstakingly honed prize task entries sent away with a single point while zero-thought efforts delivered with conviction sail off with the big money. And by big money, we mean framed photographs of Frankie Boyle’s children,...

Taskmaster was originally a hard sell. Channel execs worried that audiences would be bored by the cast not changing every episode. “People didn’t think viewers would tune in the next week to see the same comedians,” creator Alex Horne told Chortle, “we had to persuade them it was more like a sitcom than a panel show. Because actually, people got to know each contestant.”

Casting Taskmaster – in which five comedians compete in absurd challenges, wrangled by Alex Horne for the approval of Greg Davies – like a sitcom was one of the show’s many masterstrokes. If task-setting is all about encouraging a range of approaches (it’d be dull if everybody beautifully destroyed a cake in the same way) then the same goes for the series cast. Different personalities, from cool customers to chaos merchants, batty enthusiasts, neurotic overachievers, and ‘let’s fuck it all off’ rebels are required to clash and bond.

Warning: This contains spoilers for all series of Taskmaster, including Series 15

Series 15 of Taskmaster has been delightfully ruthless already. So far we’ve had Ivor Graham sabotaging Kiell Smith-Bynoe in the first Live task and Greg Davies letting all the contestants get away with touching things in a task that said “you must not touch anything at any point”.

Then, in episode 4, the show joyously almost descended into full anarchy both over the definition of “throwing” and what a banana is (more on this later).

We suspect Taskmaster fans will be arguing over #throwgate for a while, but it’s not the first controversial decision to go down in the show’s history. In fact, for many, the mere mention of the words “potato”, “hula hoop” and “Mark Watson” are enough to trigger an epic Taskmaster rant to this day. Let’s take a look back at some of the show’s most questionable rulings.

It’s been eight years since Taskmaster first started – and series 15 has arrived just months after the previous ended.

Returning to host proceedings are Greg Davies and Alex Horne, and joining them for the latest iteration is a bunch of comedians who could well provide the comedy show with its best line-up in a while.

Heading up the contestants for series 15 is Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle.

Boyle’s appearance on the show comes days after it was announced that the BBC had cancelled his series New World Order – something he said “didn’t come as a surprise”.

A BBC spokesperson commented: “We would like to thank Frankie Boyle and all those involved for six great series of New World Order.”

The corporation also made it clear that they are not severing ties with Boyle, adding: “We look forward to seeing what he does next on the BBC.”

Also on series...

It’s been eight years since Taskmaster first started – and series 15 has arrived just months after the previous ended.

Returning to host proceedings are Greg Davies and Alex Horne, and joining them for the latest iteration is a bunch of comedians who could well provide the comedy show with its best line-up in a while.

Heading up the contestants for series 15 is Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle.

Boyle’s appearance on the show comes days after it was announced that the BBC had cancelled his series New World Order – something he said “didn’t come as a surprise”.

A BBC spokesperson commented: “We would like to thank Frankie Boyle and all those involved for six great series of New World Order.”

The corporation also made it clear that they are not severing ties with Boyle, adding: “We look forward to seeing what he does next on the BBC.”

Also on series...

2023 is going to be a year of long-awaited drama treats on UK TV. There’s the Luther film finally arriving on Netflix in March, Unforgotten is back after that Series 4 finale in 2021, and we’re getting the second season of Good Omens that has had the shows’ many enthusiastic fans on the edge of their seats for two years.

There are even whispers of a Line of Duty return, although Martin Compston has said that nothing is confirmed, so we’re not exclaiming ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey!’ just yet.

It’s also a year of dramatic goodbyes: Happy Valley returned for its third and final series on New Year’s Day, Endeavour will wrap up after over a decade of detective work, and 2023 might also squeeze in the sixth and final season of The Crown.

This is our roundup of the British TV shows we’re...

Following in the footsteps of Bake-Off and MasterChef, entertainment juggernaut Taskmaster is launching a kids’ version. Junior Taskmaster will be coming to Channel 4 alongside six brand new series of the original show, due to air over the next three years. That’s what you call a good comedy harvest.

While Greg Davies and Alex Horne will remain in their golden thrones for the grown-up show, a brand new Taskmaster and assistant will be setting challenges and monitoring the child cohort. Their names will be announced in due course. Might we expect a past contestant or two to be taking the reins? James Acaster, with his history of cabbage-based vendettas against children, would be a solid fit for the big chair, while Judi Love could school the kids valuably in twisting the facts to their advantage.

Due to a distinct shortage of professional comedians aged nine to 11, the child contestants...

Taskmaster seems to be one of those magically perfect TV shows, but of course the root of its genius isn’t magic at all: it’s a whip-smart combination of Alex Horne’s original format, the comedic force of nature that is Greg Davies in the role of the Taskmaster, and relentlessly good casting.

As we’ve said before, there’s no such thing as a bad series of Taskmaster, and we’re sure Series 15 will be no different, but until it arrives, what should fans fill their time watching?

Take a look at these similarly delightful TV shows, including plenty featuring previous Taskmaster series alumni:

Man Down (Channel 4)

Starring the Taskmaster himself Greg Davies, this Channel 4 sitcom centres on his character Dan, a frankly terrible schoolteacher who is having an infinitely amusing midlife crisis. As you can see from the clip above, it’ll please fans of Davies’ scathing takedowns,...

Delayed gratification is all well and good, but let’s be honest: we all prefer the instant kind, so it’s a good job that as soon as one series of Taskmaster finishes, the line-up of contestants for the following series is revealed.

Tonight’s Series 14 finale was no different, and we now know we can look forward to seeing Frankie Boyle, Jenny Eclair, Ivo Graham, Mae Martin and Kiell Smith-Bynoe doing very silly things for Alex Horne and Greg Davies in Series 15.

We’ve just said goodbye to Fern Brady, John Kearns, Munya Chawawa, Dara Ó Briain and Sarah Millican as Series 14 reached its climax and Dara Ó Briain was crowned the Taskmaster champion. It was also the first time in Taskmaster history that there was a joint last place, with Fern Brady and John Kearns tying in fourth. It’s been an absolute banger of a series, with unwilling sabotage,...

Every time Alex Horne is asked about his dream Taskmaster contestant, he says Jack Dee. Every. Single. Time. And yet in fourteen series and two (soon to be three) New Year Specials, they still haven’t managed to book Jack Dee for the show.

The Taskmaster team have posted this teaser ahead of tonight’s final, after which we’ll discover the Series 15 cast, so there’s hope yet that Dee is one of these elusive one-man-bands:

Keep your eyes peeled for the official Taskmaster Series 15 cast reveal, after tonight’s show! Here’s a lovely little teaser to whet your appetites… pic.twitter.com/o1sskl4sPi

— Taskmaster (@taskmaster) December 1, 2022

While we wait to discover their identities, we’ve got a few names of our own to throw into the ring for potential future Taskmaster contestants/victims:

Richard Ayoade

Richard Ayoade is always at the top of Taskmaster fan’s ‘dream contestant’ lists,...

Without comedy panel show Taskmaster, the world would be a worse place. There’d be no Tree Wizard, no Bob Mortimer-designed pork pie presentation unit, a great deal less footage of the brilliant weirdness of Sally Phillips, Josh Widdicombe wouldn’t have a Greg Davies foot tattoo and the mayor of Chesham would never have been presented with the rare gift of 42 Calippos.

Created by Alex Horne and developed for television from his 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show, Taskmaster brings extreme and silly joy; it is to be cherished.

Nine series of the show that pits comedians against absurd and pointless challenges to see just how their minds work have aired on Dave since 2015. This year, it’s packing up and moving to a new home on Channel 4, a move confirmed in November 2019 with these words from Alex on the official website:

‘I promise the show won’t change & there...

A host of presenters, TV specials and music will make up this year's Text Santa on ITV.

Ant & Dec, Phillip Schofield & Christine Bleakley and Alesha Dixon & Paddy McGuinness will take on presenting duties.

Meanwhile, the likes of Simon Cowell, Carey Mulligan, Brenda Blethyn and the cast of Coronation Street will also be taking part.

George Clooney will be making a special appearance in Downton Abbey, who will also be hosting Mr Selfridge, Jeremy Piven.

Special editions of Saturday Night Takeaway, Birds Of A Feather and The Cube will feature, and I'm a Celebrity alumni Helen Flanagan, Jenny Eclair, Kerry Katona, Pat Sharp, David Van Day and Katie Price will form a celebrity choir for a one-off performance.

The full story of Phillip Scofield's 24-hour presenting marathon will be revealed along with the abseil he completed down ITV Tower as part of the challenge.

There will also be a glimpse of...

The X Factor is inching closer to its grand final – and what better way to build tension than with a double elimination?

Only The Young were sent home on Saturday (November 22) in a shock elimination, only for Stevi Ritchie to exit the competition tonight (November 23) as well.

Digital Spy rounds up the best reactions from tonight's show below:

Gary Barlow returns to The X Factor with his latest incarnation of Take That. How did it go over?

Take this, it's only @takethat live on #XFactor with their new single! pic.twitter.com/uZtCsXuzEA

— ITV (@ITV) November 23, 2014

Which is whiter - this, or pumpkin spice lattes? #TakeThat #XFactor

— Nick Gardner (@thenickgardner) November 23, 2014

Take That's next tour will be UK old folks homes presumably? #xfactor

— AngryBritain.com (@AngryBritain) November 23, 2014

Three middle aged men perfecting the dad dance on my telly right now....#XFactor

— Nick Bright (@NickBrightDJ) November 23, 2014

They're miming! Apparently they get...

Here's a treat for Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy fans: previously unseen material is being performed live this very week...

Previously unseen Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy material is to be exclusively performed at a comedy book festival that kicks off later this week. And the good news is that tickets are still available.

Writer Jem Roberts has unearthed reams of previously undiscovered archive material from Douglas Adams as part of his research for a new biography, The Frood. His stash includes unfinished drafts of a second Hitchhiker TV series that never got made, reams of printed notes for an abandoned Dirk Gently book, A Spoon Too Short, and numerous abandoned chapters for Mostly Harmless.

But the cornerstone of the performance at the Chortle Comedy Book Festival will be a chapter from Life The Universe & Everything that was ditched before publication. In the extract, Angst In Space, Zaphod Beeblebrox faces a court interrogation.

After only very recently being diagnosed with cancer, Lynda Bellingham passed away yesterday (October 19) at the age of 66.

Famous as the Oxo mum and for her roles in Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small, The Bill and more, Bellingham also was a regular panellist on Loose Women for several years.

Below Digital Spy rounds up just some of the tributes to Bellingham from her friends, family and fans around the world.

Incredibly sad to hear that Macmillan Ambassador Lynda Bellingham has passed away of cancer. Our thoughts are with her friends and family

— Macmillan Cancer (@macmillancancer) October 20, 2014

We fell in love with Lynda Bellingham when she was Oxo Mum. Remembering her with warmth and love today.

— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) October 20, 2014

So sad about the lovely Lynda Bellingham. She seemed such a love. Thoughts are with her family... We have to bloody beat cancer!

— Diana Vickers (@DianaVickers) October 20, 2014

Our thoughts...

The BBC has detailed three celebrity editions of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Each Children In Need special will see four famous faces attempt to impress judges Patrick Grant and May Martin, and will be fronted by a different guest host.

DJ Edith Bowman, Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers, Coronation Street actress Wendi Peters, and Embarrassing Bodies' Dr Dawn Harper will compete in the first episode, presented by Jenny Éclair .

Sara Cox will oversee Pineapple Dance Studios' Louie Spence, stand-up Mark Watson, TV presenter Gaby Roslin and actress Pam Ferris in the second edition.

Finally, BBC Radio 1's Gemma Cairney, comedian Helen Lederer, author Kathryn Flett, and Overtones singer Timmy Matley will hit the sewing machines when Anita Rani takes charge.

Speaking about the shows, Bowman said: "It was a total joy to be part of Gbsb for BBC Children in Need, if not totally daunting.

"Having Patrick...

Here at Digital Spy, we're rather fond of The Great British Bake Off - so imagine our glee at hearing that the new series will have a sister show on BBC Two, An Extra Slice. But what we immediately began thinking about was who could host such a programme.

Instantly, we began thinking of people like Matt Baker and Jenny Eclair... but in our dreams, which other famous faces could take the reins for some baking banter? Read on for our 25 ever-so-serious suggestions.

1. Christopher Ecclescake

An adventure through glace and thyme.

2. Pasty Kensit

3. Greggs James

The Radio Bun DJ.

4. Tom Hiddlescone

Thanks to Twitter user @kay_way for this one!

5. Cheryl Roll

The Eggs Factor.

6. Danny Pie-r

Admittedly not our finest pun - we just really, really wanted to Photoshop a picture of Danny Dyer with a pie.

7. Flan Healy

Why does it always grain on me?

8. Brad Pitta

Bite Club.

A new gameshow loosely based on the Draw Something app is to launch on Channel 4 next week (Monday, May 5).

Draw It - to be hosted by Mel Giedroyc - will see celebrities guessing each other's doodles for contestants to win cash prizes.

Guess what each celebrity is doodling in the pictures below (scroll down for the answers):

The show will feature two teams - each with one contestant and one celebrity - going up against each other in three rounds of sketching contests.

In week one, Nadia Sawalha and Anton du Beke compete against each other to see who can rack up the most wins over five days.

The contestant that comes out on top will then collaborate with the two celebrities for the final round to see them compete for a cash prize.

Other stars already lined up to doodle include Phil Tufnell and Rosemary Shrager.

Draw It begins on Monday,...

Pollyanna Woodward's 7.5m forward one and a half somersault pike: Score - (8-8.5-8) 24.5

Jo: "You are a very brave person - I really admire you for that."

Leon: "You are made of tough stuff. That was amazing."

Austin Healey's 7.5m back one and a half somersault with twist: Score - (8-8.5-8) 24.5

Leon: "I was very, very impressed. You did have helicopter legs, so that needs to be improved."

Andy: "That's the hardest dive we've seen on the series so far. You did a really good job, but it was just a bit scruffy."

Jenny Eclair's 5m forward pike fall: Score - (7-8-6.5) 21.5

Jo: "You looked like a cheeky bouncing prawn."

Leon: "That was a beautiful dive."

Una Foden's 5m forward dive with tuck: Score - (7-8-7) 22.5

Jo: "You certainly added some glamour to Luton - the Las Vegas of Bedfordshire."

Andy: "It was great,...

Richard Whitehead and Austin Healey have made it through to the semi-finals of Tom Daley's diving competition Splash!

Whitehead topped the leaderboard when the judges' scores and viewers' votes were combined, meaning that he progressed to the next round immediately.

Healey also made it through after taking on Una Foden in the splash-off.

Jenny Eclair and Pollyanna Woodward were eliminated from the competition along with Foden.

Whitehead and Healey now join Dan Osborne, Danielle Lloyd, Digital Spy's Anna Williamson, Keith Duffy, Perri Kiely and Michaela Strachan in the next round of the show.

Splash! - Week Four

After winning tonight's heat, Whitehead said: "Unbelievable. I'm really proud to represent all of Paralympics Gb here today."

Healey added: "When you're up against a Paralympian gold medalist like Richard, who is a great ambassador for sport... I wanted my family to vote for him, to be honest."

Splash! continues next Saturday...

Tom Daley's Splash! will complete its line-up for the semi-finals this weekend as five more celebrities take to the diving board.

The Saturdays singer Una Foden, Jenny Eclair, Austin Healey, presenter Pollyanna Woodward and Paralympian Richard Whitehead are all competing in Saturday's (January 25) fourth and final heat.

Last week, Towie star Dan Osborne and Danielle Lloyd were voted through to the semi-finals, joining Diversity's Perri Kiely, Michaela Strachan, Keith Duffy and DS columnist Anna Williamson.

Speaking to Digital Spy about the eye-catching trunks he wore on the latest Splash! show, Osborne revealed: "At first I was like, 'No way, that's not happening'. And in the end I ended up wearing them.

"They went for it, they really did. They went to town on my trunks. They were well cool. After Splash!, I'm keeping them. I'm going to wear them on my next holiday."

Splash! continues Saturday at 6.45pm on ITV.

The Only Way Is Essex star Dan Osborne has revealed to Digital Spy that he was forced to wear skimpy Speedos on Splash!.

The reality TV favourite, who was voted through to the ITV show's semi-finals at the weekend, said that he initially told the crew there was "no way" he would be slipping into leopard print trunks, but has since grown to love them.

"I didn't choose them trunks, no," he stated at the Foxy Bingo Celebrity Speed Dating event last night (January 20). "At first I was like, 'No way, that's not happening'. And in the end I ended up wearing them.

"They went for it, they really did. They went to town on my trunks. They were well cool. After Splash!, I'm keeping them. I'm going to wear them on my next holiday - I'm taking them to Dubai with me."

Osborne also spoke of the toll that training for Splash!

Patrick Monahan's 10m forward one and a half somersault with tuck: Score - (7.5-8-7.5) 23

Jo: "It was quite hilarious, so thank you for that."

Leon: "You completely overcooked it."

Paul Young's 7.5m pike fall: Score - (7-7.5-6) 20.5

Leon: "It was well executed, but I don't think that will be good enough to go through."

Andy: "Very good - well done."

Penny Mordaunt's 7.5m backward dive: Score - (7.5-8-7) 22.5

Jo: "I admire you for trying it."

Leon: "That was a huge risk and unfortunately it didn't come off for you."

Dan Osborne's 10m backwards somersault: Score - (8-8.5-7) 23.5

Jo: "Dan, I don't fancy you, but I thought that was very good."

Andy: "The flight in the air was just that little bit scruffy, but I still thought it was a really good effort."

Danielle Lloyd's 5m forward pike fall: Score - (6.5-7.5-...

Dan Osborne and Danielle Lloyd have made it through to the semi-finals of Tom Daley's diving competition Splash!

Osborne topped the leaderboard when the judges' scores and viewers' votes were combined, meaning that he progressed to the next round immediately.

Lloyd also made it through after taking on Penny Mordaunt in the splash-off.

Patrick Monahan and Paul Young were eliminated from the competition along with Mourdant.

Osborne and Lloyd now join Digital Spy's Anna Williamson and Keith Duffy and heat one's Perri Kiely and Michaela Strachan in the next round of the show.

Splash Heat 3 in pictures

"I didn't expect that, to be honest. I promise to pick up my game," Towie star Osborne said of his win.

Lloyd, who suffered a nasty injury in rehearsals earlier this week, said: "I'm going to start doing some tucks and somersaults. Thank you to everyone who voted, because I've got so much more to give.

Diversity star Perri Kiely is the bookmakers' favourite to triumph in the second series of Splash!.

The dancer has odds of evens with some bookies, who are confident the Britain's Got Talent contestant will be victorious in the pool.

Tom Daley's Splash!: Stars in training for new series - pictures

Other celebs tipped to impress the judges with their diving talents include Digital Spy's Anna Williamson (7/1), Austin Healy (7/1) and Saturdays singer Una Foden (8/1).

Punters fancying a big win can back longshots Jenny Eclair (50/1), Ricky Groves (50/1), Towie's Gemma Collins (20/1) and Paul Ross (50/1).

Former Olympic skier Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards won the first series of Splash! in 2013.

The show will be hosted by Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay again, and will feature the same judges from series one - comic Jo Brand, diving coach Andy Banks and diver Leon Taylor.

Tom Daley's Splash! returns to ITV on Saturday, January 4 at 7.20pm.

Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC Two next week with Greg Wallace and John Torode back at the helm as hosts and judges. This year's contestants include Pop Idol star Gareth Gates, actress Laila Rouass, radio presenter Jamie Theakston and Bucks Fizz Eurovision icon Cheryl Baker. [Celebrity MasterChef contestants 2012 - Photo Gallery] Zoe Salmon, comic Jenny Eclair, children's TV duo Michael Underwood and Richard McCourt, and actress Emma Kennedy are also taking part. Swimmer Steve Parry, footballer Danny (more)...

London -- Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry, Tim Minchin and Reginald D Hunter are among the myriad stars signed up to take part in a nationwide program of comedy events to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Other British stars of comedy and the small screen including Barbara Windsor, Brian Blessed, Jenny Eclair, Clive Owen, Alan Davies and Sandi Toksvig will also extend their funny bones to the London 2012 Festival. The nationwide giggle biz kicks off this weekend with the start of Ha Ha Hackney, the Hackney Empire theater's two-month celebration of nearly seventy years of the best

read more...

Jenny Eclair is leaving her slot on the Loose Women panel after allegedly falling out with her co-stars. The TV comic confirmed today (June 14) that she is departing from the ITV daytime series, claiming that she had "a hoot" working on the talk show for a year. "I've had a brilliant time at Loose Women over the past year. It's been an absolute hoot and I've met some really lovely people," said Eclair. "I just want to say thanks to everyone at ITV for 12 months of many laughs and I wish Loose Women, and all who sail on her, all the love and luck. "There are no hard feelings on either side and I'm happy to offer my (more)...

Jenny Eclair is leaving 'Loose Women'. The comedian has not renewed her contract with the ITV talk show because she reportedly never ''fully integrated'' with the other panellists, but claims she is parting on good terms. An insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''The decision to part ways was amicable but it is no secret that there is tension backstage between some of the women. ''Jenny and Janet are as thick as thieves, and Jenny has enjoyed her time on the series. But she never fully integrated with the other women and feels now is the time to move on.'' The 52-year-old star...

Jenny Eclair has announced the details of her upcoming 'Eclairious' tour. The comic follows up her 2010 'Old Dog, New Tricks' shows with a 38-date jaunt, starting at Leeds' Carriageworks and ending on December 12 at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury. The tour also includes shows in Brighton, Derby, Sheffield, London, Durham, Swindon, Salford, Bridport, Norwich and elsewhere. "After 30 years in the business she should vaguely know what she's doing," organisers said. "Professional Grumpy Old Woman, writer and panto star, Eclair (more)...

Celebrity Big Brother's Kristina and Karissa Shannon have been branded "toxic, toxic twins" by the 'Loose Women' panel. The 22-year-old Playboy models threatened to quit the Channel 5 reality show after 'Loose Women' star Denise Welch jokingly pulled down Karissa's pyjama bottoms, but now Denise's co-panellists have leapt to her defence, suggesting the sisters are hypocrites because they have made a living out of showing off their bodies. Jenny Eclair said: "It made my jaw drop. It takes a lot to shock me, but those twins are toxic, toxic twins. It is unfortunate. It's the stress of the show and obviously there...

Many TV shows struggling to find a following work out different ways to build a connection between its characters and audience which typically comes about by strong personality-driven episodes and the slow unraveling of their pasts. If the audience doesn’t care about the characters, they don’t care about the show. In Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Skins managed to keep us deeply involved in the lives of the troubled teens that populated its world of sex and drugs, but it wasn’t a success they wanted to dwell on. So with the third season they got a new batch of characters (centered on the younger sister of one of the main characters from the original bunch). With those characters established, we move on to the fourth season and unlike the first two, there’s just not enough interest in the characters to keep people coming back.

If you’re...

View the original post I’m A Celebrity: Jenny Eclair found the jungle experience quite ‘childish’ on Unreality TV

Jenny Eclair has admitted that she found her experience on ‘I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!’ very “childish”.

The TV funny woman – who finished in third place behind Stacey Solomon and Shaun Ryder on the ITV1 reality show last year – admitted a lot of the jungle dramas between her and the other contestants were often “just a bit of panto”.

She said: “I refuse to go on an emotional journey. A lot of it was quite childish so you could think, ‘This is just a bit of panto’.

“I’m not a shy and retiring violet. If you’ve spent 30 years as a stand-up comic you’re not thin-skinned.”

Despite taking a lot of things that happened in the camp on the chin, 50-year-old Jenny – who is famed...

The voting stats for this year's I'm A Celebrity have been revealed by ITV1. Stacey Solomon was the clear winner of the jungle crown, picking up over 80% of the vote in the final showdown with Shaun Ryder. She maintained her dominance and popularity throughout the run, never picking up less than 50% of the vote. The full voting stats can be found on the official ITV1 website. Read below for the details of the last five eliminations. Top Six

Aggro Santos - 3.22% - Eliminated

Kayla Collins - 5.32%

Dom Joly - 5.93%

Jenny Eclair - 6.05%

Shaun Ryder (more)...

Stacey Solomon was unsurprisingly crowned Queen of the Jungle last night.

The former ‘X Factor’ singer beat off strong competition from Happy Mondays star Shaun Ryder in the final bush tucker trial and emerged victorious on ITV1 show ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’.

Speaking after her win was announced a visibly shocked Stacey, 21, said: “What the hell just happened? Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I don’t know what to say.”

All of this year’s contestants returned to see Stacey crowned queen of the jungle including Britt Ekland, Alison Hammond, Dom Joly, Lembit Opik, Gillian McKeith, Aggro Santos, Kayla Collins, Linford Christie, Sheryl Gascoigne and Jenny Eclair who finished in third place on Friday’s show (03.12.10).

Single mother Stacey – who has a two-year-old son Zach – came third on last year’s ‘X Factor’ behind Olly Murs and Joe McElderry, however she has...

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! climbed to nearly 10.2m for the competition's penultimate episode, according to the latest overnight data. Jenny Eclair's departure from the jungle was seen by 10.17m (38%) between 8.30pm and 10pm on ITV1, peaking with a huge 10.94m (39.9%) at 9pm. Meanwhile, a new edition of Qi took 4.7m (17.8%) for BBC One, then coverage of Michael McIntyre's stand-up tour Hello Wembley amused 3.9m (14.5%). Countrywise Kitchen delivered 3.37m (13.3%) to ITV1 at 8pm versus EastEnders, while an hour-long One Show had 5.23m (22%) for BBC One against strong ratings for Emmerdale and Coronation Street. Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two logged 3m (12.8%) for BBC Two at 6pm - the channel's highest audience of the day - after which Edwardian Farm fetched 1.42m (6%). (more)...

The I'm A Celebrity contestants were given a welcome treat last night of a five-minute call to their loved ones. Shaun Ryder, Stacey Solomon and Jenny Eclair were each allowed a Skype chat with their families. Eclair went first and spoke to her daughter Phoebe. The comedienne was overwhelmed to see her daughter looking so well and was happy to hear that Phoebe's university friends had been supporting her cause. Next, Ryder spoke to his wife Joanne, and his children Pearl, Lulu and Oliver. The former (more)...

I'm A Celebrity's final three contestants were tasked with awarding gongs for this year's Jungle Awards. Shaun Ryder, Jenny Eclair and Stacey Solomon were given a box of kangaroo statuettes and a list of categories for which to choose the best and worst members of camp. Olympic athlete Linford Christie was given the title of 'Hardest Working Campmate', while Sheryl Gascoigne was named 'Most Attractive Campmate'. The 'Best Dressed Campmate' award was given to Britt Eckland, and Dom Joly won the 'Most (more)...

Jenny Eclair spent a tearful evening following the departure of Dom Joly from the I'm A Celebrity jungle. After Joly was the eighth person to be voted out of the competition, a shocked Eclair told remaining contestants Shaun Ryder and Stacey Solomon that she was "horrified". "I'm a bit shell shocked," she said. "I might go and have a cup of tea on the sofa as a homage to Lord Dom." She continued: "Am sure the rating between Dom and myself was really, (more)...

Jenny Eclair has finished in third place in this year's I'm A Celebrity. The comedienne waited with remaining contestants Shaun Ryder and Stacey Solomon for Ant & Dec to reveal the results, before cheerfully jumping up and down on learning that she would be leaving the jungle this evening. "Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed as she hugged Ryder and Solomon. "I'm so happy with that." Joining Ant & Dec for her interview, Eclair appeared quite bewildered as she was told that she had lasted 16 days in the jungle. "Have I?" she asked. "I've lost count - I've gone feral, I really have!" When asked how she felt to be leaving, she said: "I'm hugely relieved. I couldn't have done another day. There's only so many days that a woman can wear a pair of pants." On coming (more)...

Kayla Collins and Dom Joly were eliminated from ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ last night.

Busty Playboy model Kayla was the first to leave the jungle, closely followed by funny man Dom and both agreed that Stacey Solomon should win the ITV1 reality show.

Speaking of former ‘X Factor’ star Stacey, Kayla, 23, said: “She is an amazing person inside and out” while Dom described her as “an extraordinary individual”.

While she backed Stacey to win, Kayla says she was pleased to be leaving the jungle as she had missed her home comforts.

She said: “I can’t wait to get into my big giant comfy bed.”

Dom, 43, admitted he nearly walked out of the show on several occasions but was pleased he stayed until near the end.

He told hosts Ant and Dec: “I nearly walked so many times.”

“It was way tougher than I expected.

Jenny Eclair faced a "bad gig in front of millions of people" during an I'm A Celebrity improvisation challenge. Stacey Solomon read out the laminated instructions, which explained that they would provide an improvised voiceover to the Dean Gaffney 'Spa' bushtucker Trial. Watching the clip on a plasma screen, the celebrities would use three mics to provide the audio. Eclair, Solomon and Dom Joly took to the mics, as Joly told Solomon that she should voice Gaffney as she is "cockney". Joly took the roles of Ant and Dr Bob, while Eclair would portray Dec. However, she soon became nervous about her ability to do a Geordie accent. Discussing their tactics, Joly and Eclair suggested doing French accents or bored posh accents, as a bemused Solomon said that they were taking it too seriously. "This is our job!" Joly (more)...

Kayla Collins tested her acting abilities after Dom Joly and Jenny Eclair gave her a master class in lying, to convince their I'm A Celebrity campmates that the friends had had a huge argument. As Stacey Solomon and Shaun Ryder were collecting the Celebrity Chest, the three received instructions of the challenge. "The basis of a good lie is believability - what's the biggest lie you've ever told, Jenny?" Joly asked. Eclair replied: "I had a mole removed from my back and when someone asked me how I'd got the scar I pretended that as a small child I was lying naked on a rug in the garden and a snake came along. The gardener shot the snake and the bullet bounced off a wall and went into my back." Joly laughed, saying: "You don't need a master class from me!" He suggested: "The moment we spot them I'll (more...