Stacey Solomon's reality show regrets as she starts marriage therapy
When Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash signed up to let cameras into their lives for BBC fly-on-the-wall series, Stacey & Joe: Full House, they might not have envisaged that one of the biggest projects they'd tackle - in front of millions of viewers, would be the cracks in their own relationship.
As the series continues, the pair, who tied the knot in 2022, reveal they've turned to marriage therapy to keep their relationship on track. And a source has told OK! that Stacey and Joe perhaps underplayed what a big step it would be, inviting cameras in for every tricky moment.
'They underestimated how difficult it was going to be doing this reality show and having cameras around, and watching it back hasn't been the easiest thing. The pressures of all the kids and work while balancing their relationship has been hard, they won't deny that', they said.
The source also claims they are proud of opening up about having couple's therapy on-air. 'They're going to therapy because they love each other and would never want to get to the point where they don't want to be together anymore.
'Yes, there have been ups and downs and it's been quite a rollercoaster - but they know there's no shame in therapy and both realise it's the best thing for their relationship and to iron out their issues.'
For DIY guru Stacey, 34, and former EastEnder Joe, 42, who have five children - Zachary, 16, and Leighton, 12, from Stacey's previous relationships, and Rex, four, Rose, two, and one-year-old Belle together (Joe also has a teenage son Harry, 16) - not counting the two dogs and four ducks, life at Pickle Cottage is undoubtedly full-on.
And they've admitted that couple's therapy has been vital for staying connected to each other. On the show, we see them sit down for a heart-to-heart with a counsellor, and open up honestly about the struggles they face.
Stacey points out that Joe tends to take everything she says 'so personally' as Joe responds: 'All I am doing is trying to dedicate myself to my family and do everything I possibly can, every minute of the day.' He adds, clearly feeling misunderstood, 'Then to sit here and listen to the fact that I am a huge problem – all I am hearing is that I am a huge problem in Stacey's perfect life,'.
After hearing Joe's perspective, Stacey responds candidly: 'I would say this is our biggest issue in our whole relationship. I cannot say anything without you taking it so personally as an attack on you as a whole person.'
In a recent interview [with The Times], Joe spoke honestly about their relationship, saying, 'We haven't got all the answers. Our kids throw tantrums just the same as everybody else's. We argue, but it's generally for the right reasons - because we're trying to sort out what's best for the kids and our family.'
He went on, 'We aren't trying to portray a glamorous lifestyle. Bringing up a family these days isn't easy and we all make mistakes. But you admit your mistake, learn from it and move on.'
Joe also opens up on-air about his experience living with undiagnosed ADHD until adulthood, which he says can affect everything from impulse shopping online - he's a self-confessed TikTok and Instagram gadget addict - to how he handles stress at home.
'[It's] part of the ADHD… swings and roundabouts… so I've had to order some more medication. I always knew there was something, I mean you probably can tell by my impulsive buys.'
And this doesn't always go down well with Stacey, who says: 'I literally spend my life sorting people's lives out then have to come home and sort my own life out… 'cause the whole of Amazon has turned up at the door…'
Our source goes on to claim that sometimes, Joe can feel like 'another child' to Stacey. 'He's often hyperactive and she has to calm him down and remind him to be authoritative in the house, too.
'It's no secret that he shops impulsively and she often feels she's having to monitor him. It can be tough for her because she's also got all the kids to deal with, and work too.'
The couple's new series has enthralled fans, as they opened the doors to Pickle Cottage to peel back their real life, warts'n'all. Promoting it, Stacey and Joe were clear that they didn't want to glamorise their relationship or pretend they had everything figured out - and they've stayed true to their word.
Stacey says they are 'just a normal family doing our best', and the show reveals exactly that - with everything from raw unfiltered reactions to school GCSE results to Stacey's occasional but clear annoyance at Joe.
'In the end, you relax and think, 'Oh well, so they saw us get the hump with each other, or they saw us do something wrong'. That's probably the best thing we could show the world, because everything isn't perfect,' says Stacey.
Loved by fans for her tell-it-like-it-is approach, Stacey has spoken previously about how important constant communication is within a marriage - and the Sort Your Life Out host has always been vocal about how real life isn't the polished Instagram grid people might expect. Whether it's messy kitchens, chaotic school runs or discussing mum guilt, she's built a huge following based on that authenticity.
Now, as life at Stacey and Joe's bustling family home continues, the couple are clearly keen to show that relationships - like homes - sometimes need a bit of sorting out, too. And what it also reveals, despite the well-documented rows and tears, is that this pair remain as devoted to each other as ever.
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Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
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'Pull new Masterchef series to stop Gregg Wallace accusers being triggered', Broadcast union urges BBC
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'We are sorry that this contestant does not support the decision and we are grateful she raised this with both the BBC and Banijay,' it added. A Banijay UK spokesperson said in a statement: 'We are sorry that Sarah does not support the decision to air this series of MasterChef. We carefully considered her concerns about broadcasting the series and discussed them with the BBC. 'However, having consulted with all contributors in the series ahead of the decision being made, the resounding feeling from those taking part was support for airing the series.' The BBC said it had taken the decision to broadcast the unaired series 'after careful consideration and consultation with the contestants'. In a statement, the corporation said: 'MasterChef is an amazing competition which is life-changing for the amateur chefs taking part. The focus of it has always been their skill and their journey.' The BBC also said it had not yet made a decision on the completed celebrity series and Christmas special, filmed with Torode and food critic Grace Dent. In its statement, the BBC said: 'This has not been an easy decision in the circumstances and we appreciate not everyone will agree with it. 'In showing the series, which was filmed last year, it in no way diminishes our view of the seriousness of the upheld findings against both presenters. We have been very clear on the standards of behaviour that we expect of those who work at the BBC or on shows made for the BBC. 'However, we believe that broadcasting this series is the right thing to do for these cooks who have given so much to the process. We want them to be properly recognised and give the audience the choice to watch the series.' An independent legal review, into behaviour on MasterChef, conducted by the law firm Lewis Silkin began in November and upheld 45 of 83 complaints made against Wallace. In total, 41 people complained. 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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
‘I'm no deid yet!' Miriam Margolyes heads to the Edinburgh Festival with her love letter show to Dickens
Miram Margolyes | Miram Margolyes The veteran actor is as large as life and twice as noisy as she heads to the Fringe to meet her audience. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 'I'm no deid yet!' says Miriam Margolyes, channeling her dad's Glasgow accent as she points out that she's still alive and kicking and will be at this year's Edinburgh Fringe with her show about Charles Dickens. Zooming from Australia where she lives with her life-long partner Heather Sutherland, the 84-year-old is outraged about the misinformation spread about her health and recent stories that she wouldn't be attending the Fringe, and the expletives are out. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Yeah, I'm no deid yet. I'm not even sure I'm gonna die, but I'm bloody sure I'm gonna be there at The Fringe.' The award-winning actress, TV personality and author returns with the show that is testament to her lifelong love of all things Dickens and she promises more characters and stories about the famous writer, as well as a Q&A session in which she takes questions from the audience which she will answer in her usual unfiltered frank and funny way. 'There were articles saying I was dying and I wouldn't be coming to the Fringe this year. I believe that there was some kind of a conspiracy against me to stop me from being a success at the Fringe,' she says. 'It came from an article from two years ago when I had a heart operation and was given a cow's aortic valve. I put a photograph on Facebook saying I'm in hospital but I'm coming out soon and I'm fine. Somebody took that and made an article of it and sent it round the newspapers and they printed it again. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I was very angry. It's the most utter rubbish. It's like Mark Twain who said 'reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated'. It's extraordinary, but I do think it was a kind of conspiracy. I never will get to the bottom of it. But I'm here!' Raised in Oxford in a middle-class Jewish household, Margolyes is known for a long career on stage and screen in which she has appeared in the Harry Potter films, Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (which earned her a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress), James and the Giant Peach, Mulan, and on TV more recently for Call the Midwife and the Voice of Meep in last year's Dr Who, she has also explored her adopted homeland with the Almost Australian and Australia Unmasked Documentaries and BBC travelogue Miriam Margolyes: Impossibly Australian. On stage she has performed in WICKED, The Vagina Monologues and Blithe Spirit, as well as writing two bestselling memoirs, This Much is True and Oh Miriam. Having put the record straight about her health, her indignation subsides and our attention turns to what we can expect in her Fringe show, Margolyes & Dickens: More Best Bits. 'There will be humor and tenderness and political comment and there will be quite shocking language. There will be sexual innuendo and there will be wonderful characters. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's a development of what I did last year. People enjoyed it and I enjoyed doing it. So it's talking about Dickens and acting some of the characters. Because he created 2,000 characters, and they weren't just out of his head. They were out of his life, people he met, that he knew, that fascinated him. He was a journalist, that's what fired him, a fascination with people, wanting to know why they were like they were and how they expressed themselves. And he was utterly brilliant. 'For me, he's the greatest prose writer who ever lived. A genius. He was an observer and a moralist and someone who created a world. It's brighter and sharper and crueler and busier and more dangerous even than ours. He takes you in, and that's what I want to do with the audience, bring them into the Dickens world through the characters.' 'I want to share the thrill I get when I become Mr Bumble or the lesbian, Miss Wade. Share that enthusiasm. It's a gleeful experience for me. The variety of characters from very august, top drawer, upper class to the evil and comic and desperate, that he was able to create because of his curious background. He experienced poverty and the imprisonment of his parents, then later success so he could cross class boundaries, which most writers couldn't do,' she says of the writer who loved and was inspired by Edinburgh, visiting many times and being given the freedom of the city in 1841. 'People know Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, the ones that have been on telly. But they don't know the man. They don't know about his life, his problems, his occasional wickedness. He was just boiling with fascination and rage and delight, surprise and humour. And that is in his books. He was an extraordinary man. And we're losing him. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And then, when I come to the end of my Dickets bits, the audience can ask me questions and that's always fun because they're cheeky,' she says, eyes twinkling with anticipation. Does she set out to be cheeky and shock people or does it just happen? 'I think it always has just happened. I mean, I love it when people laugh. And when they're slightly shocked. Whenever you say something like c***sucking to people, they go, gulp, ho ho and I find that hysterically funny. I don't know why. I mean, I always did talk about it. 'But I think it's a bit sort of silly to shock people. I don't totally approve of it. But every now and again, I think it's quite useful to say 'Farage is a c***. People don't like it, but I think he is.' What do the audience ask her about most? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'They often ask me about celebrities. They want to know about well known people I worked with and I worked with a great many in my life, in Hollywood and in the theatre and the people I've met on the Graham Norton show. Because everybody's very obsessed with celebrities now. 'And they ask me about my sex life and what do I think about being gay or would I change sex or what do I think about trans? That kind of thing. But I want to talk about Israel and Kier Starmer. I'm very political, but I don't think they want that.' Margolyes, has always been political, but finds herself increasingly motivated as she observes the world around her. 'Now because of the terrible things that have been happening in Israel, I've become even more political and I'm shocked by what's happening in the world, how it's allowed to happen. And I see that we have learnt nothing at all from history. Nothing. And that charlatans like Farage and Boris Johnson, and indolent, entitled people, like Rees-Mogg, still hold power, and corrupt, total a***holes, run countries, like Putin and Trump. We are in the grip of very terrible people.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It's not just politics that Margolyes finds alarming. Her home in New South Wales was recently without water, electricity and internet after devastating floods ravaged the region and she's planning to move somewhere less rural. 'We have to sell the house here, it's just too far out. We're too old to make the journey into town and it's too isolated. I need electricity. It's one of the things I need to put down on my rider - must have electricity.' What else does she have on her rider for Edinburgh? 'Well for everywhere I have spicy tomato juice, a bloody mary mix without the vodka, and I like line caught smoked salmon and cream cheese and capers on sourdough. Does she like any other Scottish delicacies, haggis or tablet for instance? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Tablet! My God, I mustn't eat tablet, because I never stop. Some people can take one piece,' and [the Scottish accent is back], 'forget that! I just scoff the lot!' 'And what's that wonderful fish soup? Cullen Skink. I love that. Years ago I was in a play written by a Scottish Jewish writer Jack Ronda, directed by Tom Cotter, called The Lost Tribe. And it was a kind of fiction that there was a lost tribe of the Jews of Scotland and Billy Paterson was in it and Phylis Logan and we were on location in a sweet wee house near Fordyce and Billy and I bought the location and did it up and it's still there. 'Billy played my father. And you know, I'm older than he is. And Phyllis was wonderful too. We had such fun. And that's where I first came across Cullen Skink. And they did high teas.' Why doesn't she reconnect with her roots and split her time between Scotland as well as England and Australia? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Oh, I'd love to live in Scotland. I'd love to live in the sort of house that my father grew up in after his parents made money. I love Glasgow. I think it's a magnificent city. It's got heart and soul. And it's real and I've always loved it. 'And there are terrific people in Scotland. You know, one of my joys last year, when I did the show in Edinburgh, was to meet Janey Godley. I'd admired and loved her for a long time. And I rang her up one day and say 'can we meet? I just think you're fabulous.' And said, 'Oh, God, I'd love to. You know, I've got cancer and I don't know how long I'm going to live', but she got her husband to drive her to Edinburgh and we spent a magical day together. We talked all day, and a couple of times we both had a nap, because we were exhausted. It was very special for me, to get to know her and she was a great lady. And she was a moralist, you know? I think that the great artists are moralists. She was a great comedian.' On the agenda for Margolyes after the Fringe is making a podcast and the follow up to her BBC documentary series, Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian, this time round exploring New Zealand. 'Oh, gosh, it's an extraordinary country. It's actually more impressive than Australia in many ways. It has a strong Scottish influence - I have quite a few relatives there because people emigrated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'But I think it is the relationship with the Maori people that really impressed me. They've been on a journey together and it's impressive. The Australians are still fractious about the First Nation. And actually, there are elements in New Zealand that are too, that are trying to overturn the Treaty of Waitangi, which was the treaty that cemented the respect that the white people must have for the First Nation.' At this point in the interview, which I'm conducting from home, I realise my daughter has been perched on a chair listening, drawn like a moth to a flame from another room by the sound of Margolyes' hilarity and profanity, the voices of the stream of characters she inhabits and the tales of people she has met in the places she's visited. 'Oh, can I have a look at her?' says Margolyes, more curious about other people than talking about herself, but worried about how she sounds (not the swearing of course, but the voice). 'What do I sound like? Very posh, I suppose. I think my voice puts people off, that's the trouble. You know, if I want to talk to somebody I don't know, I put on Scottish, like this [and we're back to her Glasgow accent]. 'Because I think my own voice is a bit too English and I want to try to reach people. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'My dad was from The Gorbals in Glasgow so the accent is part of the world that I grew up in. I didn't grow up in the Gorbals, but my father did. And it was a very nice place in some ways but it was the worst slums of Europe. The people were friendly. And his family went from the Gorbals, first to Govan, then Pollockshields when they made a bit of money and bought a lovely sandstone house and he became a doctor. I went and called once. I rang the bell and the lady opened the door and looked at me and said, 'what are you doing here?' And I said, "Well, I'm in Vagina Monologues, and as soon as I said the word 'vagina', she looked round to see if anyone had heard. She was sweet and invited me in.' For the rest of the interview and chat with my daughter [who tells Margolyes she finds her 'refreshing'], the actor keeps up the accent seamlessly. Will she use it when she's in Scotland to avoid being recognised, which is unlikely but she hopes won't happen. 'I hope people won't recognise me because they get overexcited when they see me.' What do they say to her? 'Harry Potter, that kind of stuff, you know.' Do they ask her about JK Rowling? 'Yeah, all the time. I've never met JK Rowling. I mean, I like her detective stories, but I've never read The Harry Potter books. Because science fiction, I go to sleep because it's all about gadgets and stuff like that.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And in the show if people ask me what I think about things, I will absolutely say. And I will certainly make a comment about Gaza. Because it's not acceptable. I reject it completely. That the Jewish people can do what they're doing, it's wrong. No question about it. I do think what Hamas did was terrible. I don't support that. But my God, the retaliation. It's really shocking. 'And people ask about the trans issue so I will say things about that. I just want people to be a bit kinder. People should be able to be what they want to be. I think it's awfully sad to find that you're in the wrong body. So I'm very sympathetic to trans people. But if somebody was trying to rape me and were pretending they were changing sex and still had a p**** and were doing damage, well, I'd f***ing kill them. But let's get realistic. The number of people who cause trouble is very, very small. Violence is a crime. If trans people commit crime, they're to be treated like anybody else. But because you want to change your sex, that's not a crime. It's not a crime to want to be called 'them'. It's ungrammatical, but it's not a crime.' Margolyes has plenty to say and will continue to do so as long as she's alive and kicking, which we've established that she is. Is it true that Queen Elizabeth II once told her to be quiet? 'Oh, yes. It was a rather uncomfortable moment because when you meet the royals, you slightly lose your marbles. Anyway, I met her at this British Book Week event and she came over and she said, 'what do you do?' And instead of saying, 'I'm an actress' or 'I record books', I said, 'Your Majesty, I am the best reader of stories in the world'. She looked at me, rolled her eyes and sighed, and obviously thought this woman is barking mad. And then she turned to the next person and said, 'what do you do?' and ignored me. He said, 'Mam, I published books for children and we've discovered that if the pages and the ink for the various letters is different colours it helps children absorb the information more quickly and easily,' and I said, 'good heavens, that's extraordinary. I didn't know that. What an amazing thing.' And Her Majesty turned to me and said, "Be quiet." With a very crisp tea on the end of 'quiet'. Never to be forgotten.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Never to be forgotten, but heeded and obeyed? Nae chance. Her audience will expect nothing less. Margolyes & Dickens: More Best Bits, Pleasance @ The EICC – Pentland, 9-24 Aug (except 18th & 21st), 6pm (show runs for 70 minutes)
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'Sublime' period drama adaptation of 'extraordinary novel' now streaming
The acclaimed novel was turned into a groundbreaking series A period piece based on an acclaimed novel is now streaming and a must watch for any fans of costume dramas. Audience members have praised the limited series on IMDb, with one user giving a 10/10 review and the title: 'A skilled adaptation of an extraordinary novel'. A second person titled their review 'sublime' and said: 'The BBC has done it again: this is a wonderful production of a very good book, and they have done it up in style.' Another person heaped praised on the programme: 'The sets and costumes are flawless, the direction is stylish and the characters are likeable. There is a fair amount of humor [sic] but it has surprisingly dark interludes. The protagonist is really a tragic figure, but not devoid of happiness.' They added: 'The BBC have made some wonderful productions in the past, and this adventurous period piece only confirms their standard of excellence on all fronts.' A fourth commented: 'This wonderful 3 part BBC production is one of the sweetest love stories that I have seen in a while.' They went on to say: 'The characters are well defined and very believable. I guess this is a by-product of a good adaptation from a well written novel.' Tipping the Velvet aired on the BBC in 2022, based on Welsh author Sarah Waters 1998 debut novel of the same name. The three-part series saw Pride and Prejudice and The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders screenwriter Andrew Davies overseeing the scripts. Tipping the Velvet was set in the Victorian era and followed the sexual awakening of Whitstable native Nan Astley (played by Rachael Stirling) after she headed to the big smoke of London and fell in love with male impersonator Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes). The pair embarked on a passionate romance as Nan funded her life in London, before the pair form an onstage double-act. The series was a coming-of-age tale with moments of humour and darkness with a bawdy twist. Tipping the Velvet featured a stellar cast, including Four Weddings and a Funeral star Anna Chancellor, Game of Thrones' Jodhi May, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Line of Duty's Daniel Mays, Downton Abbey favourite Hugh Bonneville, Monica Dolan of Appropriate Adult fame, and even a turns from Doctor Stranger star Benedict Cumberbatch, Johnny Vegas and Alexei Sayle. Both the TV series and novel have had a positive impact on the depiction of queer characters on screen and led to more LGBTQIA+ stories to be told onscreen. Previously reflecting on the success of her novel and the subsequent BBC adaptation, author Waters wrote at length about it in 2018, marking the book's 20th anniversary. She explained in The Guardian how she was 'thrilled' by the reception among the queer community but the success among straight readers 'took me by surprise'. Waters also pondered on whether she'd write a sequel and would focus on Kitty.
