
Gary Barlow discovers how Melbourne is a ‘bit different'
From racing tractors through stunning vineyards to ocean aged bottles of wine stored in underwater wine cellars, the singer experiences the very best of this compact state.
Barlow's Victorian adventure starts in Melbourne, a sports-mad city known for its unbeatable music, art, unmistakable sporting landmarks and coffee culture. Long term friend Minogue welcomes Barlow to her hometown, where they meet at the famous ACDC Laneway and learn how to make the perfect cup of coffee.
They then head to the Mornington Peninsula to sample food and wine at one of Australia's leading cool climate wineries with the quirky name – Ten Minutes by Tractor.
After this, the pair are put through their paces by Aussie cricket legend, Mel Jones, in the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) before Barlow travels to the mussel-bound waters of Port Phillip Bay to enjoy a taste of the seaside.
Reflecting on his seafood adventure, Barlow said, 'I think what we've had here this afternoon, the mussels and the wine, is not just a taste of the ocean, not just a taste of Victoria, but also, what could be, my defining taste of Australia.'
If you're inspired by Barlow's adventures, you can experience all the activities listed below for yourself.
Tune in to ITV on 9 May 2025 to catch the episode. It will also be available on demand 24 hours after airing.
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Daily Mirror
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
England 2005 Ashes hero warns Ben Stokes and co over final India Test match
EXCLUSIVE: England head to The Oval this week knowing they will win the series against India if they avoid defeat in the fifth Test, just like against Australia in 2005 Ashes legend Matthew Hoggard now runs a barbecue school - and after landing the holy grill in 2005 he says England must cook up a storm this week. Going to The Oval 2-1 up in a gripping marquee series? Hoggard has been there and done that 20 years ago as Michael Vaughan's heroes recaptured the urn in a seismic summer when cricket was the only show in town. Now England are in the same boat after a tetchy, thrilling win at Lord's and a sour finish to the stalemate at Old Trafford as Ben Stokes fed two Indian batters joke bowling to bring up their centuries when they refused to shake hands on the draw earlier. And Hoggard was thrilled the class of 2005 was namechecked by Joe Root as one of his inspirations growing up after Yorkshire's batting royalty unfurled his 38th Test century at the weekend. Hoggy, who took 248 wickets in 67 Tests, said: 'Listening to Joe being interviewed, after he had just become the second-greatest run scorer of all time in Test cricket, saying he had been inspired by the Ashes winners of 2005 was music to my ears. That's why we play cricket - to leave a legacy, and leave something behind to inspire younger generations, still gives you goosebumps. 'I think back to 2005 with 10,000 people being turned away from the final day at Old Trafford, people bunking off work or school to watch the finale at The Oval and, yes, it was the best of times. 'When I look at footage of the open-top bus parade to Trafalgar Square, and none of us look sober, in the social media age we would probably have been crucified but I genuinely can't remember anyone giving us any stick. We went round the Prime Minister's house a bit worse for wear, went to Trafalgar Square for the parade a bit bleary-eyed and went back to Lord's for a reception in a state of disrepair - but nobody minded because we were winners.' Hoggard hopes Stokes' side will turn up cooking on the front burner on Thursday after a nerve-jangling climax in 2005 was only settled by Kevin Pietersen's audacious 158 on the final afternoon. 'We had gone 2-1 up at Trent Bridge in an unbearably tense finish when I was hiding under towels and trembling in the physio's room, unable to watch as the wickets fell as we chased 129 to win,' Hoggard who is now working as one of the UK's leading Motivational Speakers, told Mirror Sport. 'But when it was my turn to bat, with 13 runs still needed and Brett Lee's bowling 95mph rockets, you switch on and it gets easier - because you're the one who is empowered to take charge and get the job done. 'Lee was either trying to kill me or york me, but when he got one wrong and I managed to send it to the extra cover boundary I think Vaughany (captain Michael Vaughan) nearly fell off the balcony. I'm not sure he'd ever seen me hit an extra cover drive before. 'As Ashley Giles, who hit the winning runs, and I walked off, he said, 'Enjoy the moment, we're kings for the night.' He was right - our pace attack was called the Fab Four but it was really a fab five because Gilo was the forgotten man of that bowling unit. He was immense. 'But when we got to The Oval for the final Test, the nerves took over again. The night before I was out for dinner with my wife and I was so uptight I called for the bill and walked out. My head was all over the place, I'm afraid I was a bit of a t**t.' England's pace attack was detained in the field 143 overs as they chased victory in vain at Old Trafford, and Hoggard warned: 'It's going to be survival of the fittest and it reminds me of 2005. You can't go to The Oval and play for a draw because you'll come unstuck if the mentality isn't right. 'In an ideal world we bat first, go big and put India under pressure to match us or go past us. England have more gears in the batting line-up than India, especially if they are going to be without Rishabh Pant. 'It's been hard graft for bowlers on both sides, but we score quicker than India and if they have to put their foot down to chase the game, that's when The Oval can be a tricky customer.'


The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
A 12-hour rail odyssey from Melbourne to Sydney is the essence of a Lions tour
It is 2.54pm and the interstate train from Melbourne to Sydney screeches to a halt. Sheep on the line. It is enough to jolt you forward and you fear for any British & Irish Lions fans who have not quite got out of their system the celebrations of the night before. We are five-and-a-half hours into a 12-hour journey, the road less travelled on this odyssey around Australia, navigating the rocky landscape around Cootamundra Creek and disaster is narrowly avoided. The first thing to address is why. Why turn down a 90-minute flight in favour of a train journey eight times as long. Backtrack to the day before and the afternoon before the Lions' second Test victory at the MCG. A colleague in the press pack has received some bad news and is seeking the soothing effects of perpetual motion, watching the world go by and some company while doing so. Sold on the promise of avoiding the airport and all associated ordeals, a journey through the Australian countryside and the guarantee of wild kangaroos, tickets are bought: A$99. Cheap. Too cheap? Twelve hours in cattle class didn't much appeal but maybe here was an opportunity to get a little closer to the essence of a Lions tour. Away from the airport transfers, check-in queues, luggage carousels and Ubers. Maybe that is the essence of a Lions tour. If so a 12-hour break would be welcome. The train could be a sea of red, perhaps just a puddle, but it was a pretty safe bet there would be no members of the 2013 squad punting an insurance brand on board. It was an inauspicious start. Departure was supposed to be at 8:30am, 10-and-a-half hours after full time in the second Test, but the train was late arriving from Sydney. An hour late. It left a crowded platform frustrated and Melbourne mornings in winter are a little too fresh. The arrival of Spirit of Bendigo, a spectacular steam train, provides a welcome distraction. Once it leaves and the spotters follow, the platform is significantly less crowded, and the smattering of Lions supporters surface. There is a white blazer adorned with a bright red dragon, though this particular fan does not appear to have much fire left in his belly. A few couples, the odd group of threes who either left it late to book flights or are watching the pennies but it is left to a group of four young Welsh lads to bring the energy. It is unclear how long they will last. Nearly time to board and there is a confidence-boosting familiar face along the platform in Stephen Larkham. If this train is good enough for a World Cup-winning Wallaby it's good enough for me – and as we get on board it's impossible not to wonder what difference Larkham in his prime might have made the night before. Into our seats. We're in different carriages but an obliging chap headed for Wagga Wagga is happy to swap. The officious conductor less so. As we were for the first couple of hours then. I'm aware I'm not being good company but there is sleep to be caught up on and 545 miles ahead of us. It is striking how flat the landscape is as we leave the state of Victoria for New South Wales, ticking off the townships, each with its picture postcard colonial train station. The Rock is an eagerly anticipated stop – only one door of the train will open so small is the platform – while the lunch menu offering includes bush pumpkin curry. Perhaps best avoided. Spotting kangaroo No 1, just a few metres from the train tracks, brings more of a rush than expected. He's a big ol' fella, standing his ground, unnervingly still, a scarecrow with a tail spoiling for a fight. This train is 43 years old, the line in operation since 1883, but his family has been here a damn sight longer than that. Time for some work and to try to explain precisely why Finn Russell has, at the age of 32, found the smoothest groove of his career for Guardian readers. He was talking of a 'calmness' after the match on Saturday – perhaps he took the train to Melbourne? – and that just about sums it up better than I could. You sense it has been a while since Russell has felt uncomfortable in his own skin and certainly it fits like a glove at the moment. Saturday night was the first time we have spoken to Russell in Australia, odd for someone so at ease at doing so. Star players are increasingly inaccessible but Russell is such a throwback that his absence has jarred. Inaccessibility is at odds with the essence of a tour and for all the understandable back-slapping since Saturday night, in time the Lions hierarchy may come to realise that their win-at-all-costs mentality has not quite hit the right notes in Australia. Speaking of lesser-spotted creatures, meanwhile, five or so kangaroos suddenly come into view, bounding through a cluster of trees. Now we're touring. A stop in Albury – bang on the state border – makes for a crew change and the perfect opportunity to swap seats again. An announcement goes out that the buffet carriage will be reopening shortly and promise that alcohol will be available. 'I know we've got some rugby blokes on board,' says the crew member who doesn't sound delighted by the prospect. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Laptop shut – signal is nonexistent by this stage anyway – and aimless staring out the window is interrupted by the magnificent looking Bethungra hotel. It is a sprawling 16-room pub that was apparently given away for just A$100 a few years ago – a demonstration of just how far off the beaten track we are now. Curiosity kicks in and we go looking for Larkham, what would he have made of the Wallabies' gallant defeat? Was he as incensed by Jac Morgan's clearout on Carlo Tizzano as so many of his countrymen? Alas he is nowhere to be seen; we have already reached Brumbies country in Canberra, a sure-fire sign that time is flying. The four Welsh lads are out for the count, sprawled across the train carriage. This is a journey of recovery rather than revelry. After a couple more kangaroos, the last hour goes by in a blur of nicotine withdrawal, under the cover of darkness and a slow crawl into Sydney. It is a short hop though to the Rocks and a rooftop overlooking the harbour to catch up with more colleagues. Bridge on one side, opera house the other. While there is the odd regret that Sydney does not host a decider, there is a sense of approaching the home straight and the second wind that comes with it. A determination to make the most of what's left. If these past 12 hours have taught me anything it is that while pinpointing the essence of a modern Lions tour is complicated, you will not go far wrong with companionship.


Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Saltburn star transforms into Frankenstein's monster
Jacob Elordi's performance as a dashing English aristocrat in 2023's Saltburn that cemented his place as a Hollywood heartthrob. But now the Australian actor has shunned typecasting to transform himself into Frankenstein's monster for a new adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic horror novel. The first picture of Elordi, 28, in director Guillermo del Toro 's Frankenstein shows him pale-faced and scarred beneath a mask and hood, while the monster's roar and gravelly voice featured in a trailer released last month. Elordi, who also found prominence in the American drama series Euphoria, said he took inspiration from Boris Karloff's original portrayal of the monster in the 1930s. He told Vanity Fair: 'I devoured all of his monsters. At first I thought, I'll stay away from this. I want to do my own thing. And then I asked Guillermo, 'Should I watch the other Frankensteins?' And he goes, 'What the f--- do you mean?' I was like, 'Well, I don't want it to be influenced.' 'He says, 'My friend, it's a movie, it can't f---ing hurt you.' I went home, and I just binged them. 'Something in his gaze, something in the way that he moves…. The biggest thing was just immersing myself in the world of these creatures.' Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus, tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist, who creates the monster in a scientific experiment that involves putting it together with different body parts. Frankenstein's monster has since appeared in more than 300 feature films. Notable portrayals have included Karloff's bolt-necked monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939), and Robert De Niro's take on the character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). In del Toro's adaptation, which is set for a November release, Victor is played by Oscar Isaac while Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Charles Dance feature in supporting roles. Andrew Garfield, the Oscar-nominated English actor, was originally cast as the monster but was forced to drop out because of scheduling problems. Elordi, whose 6ft 5in frame is closer to the 8ft monster described by Shelley than Garfield's 5ft 10in, was quickly recruited. Del Toro said: 'Andrew Garfield stepping out and Jacob coming in. I mean, it was like Jacob is the most perfect actor for the creature, and we have a supernaturally good connection. It's like, very few words. Very few things I have to say, and he does it.' Mike Hill, the film's make-up artist, added: 'What attracted me to him was his gangliness and his wrists. It was this looseness. 'Then he has these real sombre moments where he watches you really deftly, and his eyelids are low, with the long lashes like Karloff. I was like, 'I don't know who else you could get with a physicality like this'. 'His demeanour is innocent, but it's encompassed in a 6ft 5in frame. He could really do a lot of damage if this man really wanted to be a bad guy.' Elordi earned a Bafta best supporting actor nomination after starring as Felix Catton in Emerald Fennell's Saltburn. He also portrayed Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola's biographical drama Priscilla and played the lead role in a miniseries adaptation of the novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.