Latest news with #JadeThirlwall
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
ITV bosses reveal future of The Assembly and fans will be thrilled
The Assembly became an instant hit with fans after its first series but ITV bosses have already made up their minds on its future Jade Thirwall says she 'resents' being asked about pregnancy ITV has confirmed the future of The Assembly, and it's a cause for celebration among fans. The hit series is officially returning for an extended second series following its stellar reception from audiences and critics alike. Dubbed by enthusiasts as "the best interview show", the first series captivated viewers with high-profile guests like Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall, EastEnders icon Danny Dyer, Doctor Who's David Tennant, and Sky Sports' Gary Lineker, who all bravely endured a no-holds-barred "ask me anything" interview format. A remarkable panel of autistic or neurodivergent interviewers, who won over the hearts of the nation, will be back to challenge a fresh line-up of celebrities with their unfiltered and candid questions. ITV has made it clear that the ethos of season two will remain unchanged; there are no forbidden questions and no taboo topics. While the identities of the six new celebrities who will appear in the upcoming season remain under wraps, and an official release date has yet to be announced, one thing is certain—viewers can look forward to an extra episode. The Mirror reports that this special instalment, The Assembly: Unseen, promises to reveal all the intriguing snippets from the celebrity interviews that didn't make the initial cut. Discussing the eagerly anticipated return of the show, ITV's Director of Entertainment and Daytime Commissioning, Katie Rawcliffe, expressed: "This really is ITV entertainment at its best: warm, funny, revealing and just that little bit mischievous." She further added: "We've got lots of ideas about which famous faces will join for series 2 and we're eager to see what we'll learn from the fantastic questions The Assembly will have." David Smyth, Entertainment Commissioning Editor at ITV, also shared his enthusiasm: "The response to series 1 was thrilling and completely deserved for this fantastic cast and crew. There was no doubt in my mind that we needed to do more. I can't wait to see what questions The Assembly will put to our next group of bold celebrities and what their responses will be.." In the first series, an emotional moment unfolded when Jade Thirlwall, formerly of Little Mix, confessed she felt like she had "sold her soul" in pursuit of her music career. The endearing team of interviewers, who are either autistic or have learning disabilities, asked the singer a poignant question: if she ever felt as though she had "sold her soul" to achieve stardom. Clearly taken aback by the depth of the question, she replied: "You've trumped me. Maybe a little bit in the beginning. I was so young, and I just signed on the dotted line. "But as the years have gone by, I've learned more and more about the industry. I've been collecting - a bit like [Marvel superhero] Thanos with the stones - I've been collecting parts of my soul back as I've gained more creative freedom." It is due to air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player in 2026.
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
ITV The Assembly future sealed as bosses share huge announcement
ITV bosses have big news for fans of The Assembly after stars Danny Dyer, David Tennant, Jade Thirlwall and Gary Lineker all took part in the first series. ITV's The Assembly's future has been sealed by executives and fans will be thrilled to learn, it's good news. The smash-hit series is set to return for a bumper-series two after it received rave reviews from viewers and critical acclaim. Hailed as "the best interview show" by fans, we previously saw celebrities such as Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall, Eastenders ' legend Danny Dyer, Doctor Who's David Tennant and Sky Sports star Gary Lineker risk everything as they faced an "ask me anything" interview like no other. A remarkable group of inquisitive interviewers who are autistic or neurodivergent put each celebrity to the test asking questions that have zero bounds. The group who touched the hearts of the nation - and are allowed to ask anything they choose - will once again return, putting their unique questions to a brand new batch of brave celebrities. ITV have been clear, that for season two, the rules will remain the same; no question is off the table and no topic is out of bounds. The news on which six famous faces taking part in the new season is not yet known and no exact release date has been established just yet. However, what we do know, is that fans will be able to tune in to see an additional episode, which includes The Assembly: Unseen, this will include all the missed tidbits from each celeb interview previously. Speaking about the show's return, Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime Commissioning ITV said: "This really is ITV entertainment at its best: warm, funny, revealing and just that little bit mischievous. "We've got lots of ideas about which famous faces will join for series 2 and we're eager to see what we'll learn from the fantastic questions The Assembly will have." David Smyth, Entertainment Commissioning Editor ITV also commented: "The response to series 1 was thrilling and completely deserved for this fantastic cast and crew. There was no doubt in my mind that we needed to do more. I can't wait to see what questions The Assembly will put to our next group of bold celebrities and what their responses will be..." In series one, things took an emotional turn when former Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall admitted she'd "sold her soul" for her on-stage career. The loveable group made up of autistic or learning disabled interviewers, asked the singer if she'd ever felt as though she'd "sold her soul" to be a music star. Evidently astounded by the question, she responded: "You've trumped me. Maybe a little bit in the beginning. I was so young and I just signed on the dotted line. "But as the years have gone by I've learned more and more about the industry. I've been collecting — a bit like [Marvel superhero] Thanos with the stones — I've been collecting parts of my soul back as I've gained more creative freedom." It is due to air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player in 2026.
Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Rizzle Kicks star lifts lid on growing crime that's 'devastating' teenage boys
Rizzle Kicks star and Jade Thirlwall's partner Jordan Stephens has opened up about filming his new sextortion documentary for Channel 4 - revealing the 'heartbreaking' real victims Rizzle Kicks star Jordan Stephens hasn't shied away from danger for his first-ever documentary - flying over 4,000 miles to confront a Nigerian sextortion scammer. The 33-year-old explores just how teenage boys are being impacted by social media sextortion, with scammers tricking young men into sending nude pictures of themselves before financially blackmailing them. In Channel 4 's Hunting My Sextortion Scammer, Jordan allows himself to be sextorted by a scammer over social media before using cutting-edge technology to locate and track down the faceless criminal alongside a security detail. Despite entering hazardous situations to interview those behind these crimes, Jordan found looking into the victims' stories even harder. 'Obviously I knew about scamming before but I was learning [about sextortion] in real time,' Jordan says of the investigation. 'To learn that boys are taking their own lives was heartbreaking and devastating. 'It's boys not understanding the consequences or risks of engaging online but with that panic, they can go from a normal life to not a life within half an hour and that is really scary.' The documentary speaks to the brothers of 15-year-old Murray Dowie, who killed himself after being blackmailed in a sextortion scam. The Dunblane student was catfished by a scammer posing to be a girl his age, who tricked him into sending intimate photos before threatening to make them public. 'He was just like every other teenager and then one day he was dead,' Murray's older brother Ryan, 19, says in the documentary. 'He never liked being the centre of attention. The fear for him, the panic was that he would have been the centre of attention. That must have just been awful for him. 'There is someone responsible for the death of my brother but I have absolutely no clue who. It's a faceless crime.' In a bid to raise awareness of the issue and bring at least one scammer to justice, Jordan - who is the boyfriend of singer Jade Thirlwall - set up several fake social media accounts in the hopes of being targeted by a sextorter. With many sextortion scammers asking for payment in gift cards, Channel 4 enlisted the help of a web developer to create a site that would locate a scammer when they tried to redeem the fake gift card. Attracting a sextorters turned out to be easy, but coaxing them into allowing the gift card site to use their location data proved to be much harder. When one criminal finally took the bait, the scam was interrupted by Instagram instead. 'Not only did he not accept it initially but his account was shut down in the middle of the extortion,' Jordan says. 'His account was disabled in the middle of the exchange. We thought, 'We were so close!'' However, the same sextorter made a new account and popped back up to continue to con, having been given an AI-generated selfie and the nude pictures of a consenting life art model by Jordan. This time, he began shouting abuse at Jordan over the phone, threatening to ruin his life if he didn't send the gift card. 'I literally had to coach him into accepting the revealing of his own location. That tech has not been shown before on TV.' Finally, a location pin came through via the website - showing the sextorter to be in Erunmu, a small village in Nigeria. The African state has become a hotspot for sextortion plots in recent years, with Meta shutting down 63,000 accounts connected to the crime just last year. 'It's difficult to wrap your head around the fact that that can all be occurring in this rural space and that one piece of technology with the potential to ruin a life that was 6,000 miles away,' Jordan says. With this new information, Jordan boarded a plane to Lagos to track down his sextorter, but not before he was met by his own security team and local cybercrime investigator Priye. 'We have very high rates of kidnap around,' he tells Jordan in the documentary. 'Always watch your back.' Jordan admits that he was sufficiently warned of the dangers ahead of flying - and was even told not to tell friends that he was travelling to Lagos. 'The security detail put a ridiculous amount of fear into me before the trip - there are dangers of course in most countries, especially one with that level of wealth inequality, but you have to use your common sense,' he says. 'They were just sending me really extreme news stories. I even bought a burner phone.' After sending Priye on a reconnaissance mission to identify their conman, they found their man - a barber in the village with a similar voice and the same username that was used to sextort Jordan. The Rizzle Kicks star confronted him over FaceTime after his security detail decided that it was too dangerous to do so in person. 'It was quite surreal. I'm 90 percent sure it was the guy. He was running his business and trying to get a little extra on the side,' Jordan says. 'Suddenly he couldn't speak English, suddenly he didn't understand the name or the number.' For those in countries like Nigeria where the exchange rate is weak, sextortion crimes can prove to be lucrative. In the documentary, Jordan interviews young Nigerian criminals who can pay a year of their rent just by blackmailing a Brit for £200. 'We spoke to some boys who didn't want to think about the consequences. One boy mentioned not having any support - he's 17. So you have 17-year-old boys extorting 15-year-old boys to try to survive,' Jordan says. 'It's the equivalent of a 15-year-old boy in the UK scamming someone and getting £35,000 if you were to change that exchange rate. That's why it's happening so often. As the rate of sextortion cases on the rise in the Britain, Jordan hopes that the documentary will send an important message to young boys and parents. 'The realistic thing is as a teenage boy, you're going to make mistakes. Another thing I want to change is the general conversation around sex when we're younger and understanding our bodies and our feelings. ' 'So if it's happened, it's just removing that sense of shame. Instead of that panic, you can 100 percent speak to a person and you can get past it.' He adds, 'The preventative measure is don't respond to any messages from anybody that you don't know in person. There should be more stringent measures on how you even get an account on social media, in my opinion.'
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Singer-songwriter takes to the stage at TRNSMT festival - but can you guess who her major Hollywood star brother is?
An Irish singer wowed crowds in Glasgow on Sunday with her performance on the BBC Introducing stage at TRNSMT festival, but can you guess which Hollywood icon she's related to? Nell Mescal, 22, is the sister of Gladiator and Normal People star Paul Mescal, 29, and she proved that he is not the only talented member of the family at the event. She performed a set including her unreleased track Carried Away and to her delight the audience sang back the lyrics after she teased the track on TikTok. Nell later wrote on social media: 'I'm [actually] still beaming from ear to ear thank u [Transmit]. I will think about u for a long long time.' The Irish artist said her musical influences include the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Frank Ocean, and Bon Iver. She has been a rising star since moving to London in 2021, where her brother Paul also lives, to seriously pursue singing and songwriting. Nell said: 'If I can write a song that makes someone feel something in any capacity or give them some kind of release, that was always my number one thing. 'I didn't want to write a song that someone just listened to and said "oh this is nice", I want them to actually feel something and sit there and think about it.' Also performing at the Glasgow festival was headliner Jade Thirlwall, who has found newfound success as a solo artist after rising to fame in Little Mix. She is now the first solo artist who was once a member of a girlband to receive a Brit Award - having won the Best Pop Act at the 2025 event. The star expressed her love of Scotland when she stepped onto the a stage in a racy tartan dress. She also admitted that she is a fan of both haggis and Irn Bru in a backstage social media post. Jade notably suffered a wardrobe malfunction when she performed on the main stage at Glasgow Green and had to stop her performance. Amused by the fail, she said: 'Oh my god it is hot. I know we've just got going, but if you don't mind I'm going to take myself stage right as my t**s are literally out. 'There's a great bit of areola on show right now.' Jade performed a set that consisted of her own songs as well as Little Mix classics like Shout Out To My Ex. She also covered Madonna's Frozen. Jade said: 'I'm so excited to be here in Glasgow. 'I haven't performed here for a few years. 'The last time I was here with Little Mix and it feels sometimes weird but very exciting and liberating to be here as a solo artist.' 'I'll give you everything I have.' The festival was a hit with Scottish audiences, who enjoyed some of music's biggest acts as the city basked in a heatwave of up to 30 degrees.
Scotsman
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
TRNSMT Sunday review: 'some big surprises'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers 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... TRNSMT Sunday, Glasgow Green ★★★★ The final day of this year's TRNSMT festival was headlined by two dependable, long-standing indie groups in Snow Patrol on the main stage and Shed Seven in the King Tut's Arena, but elsewhere both of these larger stages offered welcome near-parity between female and male artists. The festival has seen criticism in recent years for its male-heavy line-ups, yet seven of the 16 artists across Sunday's bill were female, and they provided the biggest surprises. Like the mononymous Jade, for example, aka Jade Thirlwall, sometime of Little Mix and now an extremely characterful solo artist. Dressed in a green, pleated tartan dress, with fierce silver eye make-up, she was able to enjoy the huge response to her old band's hit Shout Out to My Ex, while also revelling in the freedom of her debut solo hit Angel of My Dreams, a plaintive ballad which morphed into a strident, positive rave banger. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jade performing at TRNSMT | PA If Jade's set was pure, in-your-face pop, Gracie Abrams' was the same, but at a different pace. The daughter of film director JJ Abrams, her music and demeanour sit alongside those of Taylor Swift. Her style at her 'last show in Europe for a very long time' was all personal connection, making eye contact and waving to members of the crowd, and unveiling deep emotions in her lyrics, from the clubby country of opener Risk to the euphorically-received big hit That's So True. Meanwhile over at the Tut's stage, East Lothian's Brooke Coombe played emotive, affirmative indie-rock songs with a Texas (the band, not the state) flavour and a voice with the bluesy, Caledonian rawness of Lulu, while Shed Seven – amid a nostalgic set which included a cover of the Smiths' There is a Light That Never Goes Out – welcomed 'Queen of Manchester" Rowetta Idah for their recent song together In Ecstasy and the band's old hit Disco Down. Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol performed on Sunday | PA
