Latest news with #Matt
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
ITV Coronation Street star shares emotional tribute after colleague's sad death
Antony Cotton has paid tribute to his former colleague Matthew Owens after he passed away aged 38, who worked on the set of the popular soap. Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton has paid a heartfelt tribute to his colleague Matthew Owens, 38, who sadly passed away. Matthew worked on the set of the ITV soap as a fire safety advisor and other BBC programmes. Antony, who is famed for his role as Sean Tully, took to social media to share a tribute to honour his pal. Alongside a photo from the order of service from the funeral, which confirmed Matthew passed away earlier this month on July 7, the actor wrote a touching tribute. He said on Instagram: "Today was a very hard day for so many people, especially Matt's family. I still can't quite get my head round it, to be honest. Matt was just a really, really nice lad. We met when he did the fire safety for a stunt block at Coronation Street, 13 years ago and we've been friends ever since. "He was a much-loved son, brother, dad, colleague and partner. He was also a quiet and humble, solid friend. I'll miss hearing from you Matt, out of the blue sometimes, but always with a smile. You are at rest now, no more worries, Matty Boy." Fans and friends rushed to the comments section to honour Matthew as reported by the Mirror, with one user posting: "Sorry for your loss mate. Condolences to his friends and family." One person who had attended the funeral added, "I did the funeral today, I was one of the family limo drivers, I saw how sad you were, gave you a little smile, very emotional day. So many people attended, you could tell he was very loved." Another fan wrote: "Just reading this news, I didn't know Matt had passed, really sad news. He was always so helpful and a joy to work with, helped me out lots with projects. Sending love to his family." Matthew leaves behind his partner Amy and his young son Freddie, 11. In an emotional tribute to the late firefighter, fire stations throughout Staffordshire put their flags up at half-mast. He served as a fireman at Cannock Fire Station. The Corrie set-worker also ran a company that supplied fire safety training, extras and props to the BBC and ITV. In 2013, he worked on setting the iconic Rovers Return pub ablaze. In the dramatic storyline, the pub blaze left Stella Price and Sunita Alahan trapped, whilst Karl abandoned Sunita in the cellar to perish. Matthew also even coached Corrie actor Tony Hirst on how to perform a fireman's lift for the harrowing scenes. Stella made it out alive and was rushed to hospital, however Karl later killed her when he removed her breathing equipment so she couldn't disclose who started the blaze. Matthew previously remarked about working on set: "It's all a bit surreal being there on the set and on camera. At one point we were standing outside The Rovers Return, just watching it burn. "Normally as firefighters, we'd get to the scene and be putting the fire out. It was unreal just watching the fire, especially at such an iconic pub. "It was a hard three weeks working on the set, we were there from February 11 to last Tuesday. The first week we were working all night, from 3pm to 5am. The second week was all days, doing inside shots and the last week tidying bits up."
Metro
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Antony Cotton pays tribute after 'much-loved' Corrie colleague dies aged 38
Coronation Street star Antony Cotton has paid tribute to a 'much-loved' colleague following his death. Matthew Owens worked behind the scenes on several stunt blocks for the ITV soap as a fire safety advisor, where he and Antony met in 2013. The Sean Tully actor took to Instagram to share a picture of the order of service from the funeral, alongside an emotional caption. 'Today was a very hard day for so many people, especially Matt's family,' he wrote. 'I still can't quite get my head round it, to be honest. Matt was just a really, really nice lad. 'We met when he did the fire safety for a stunt block at Coronation Street, 13 years ago and we've been friends ever since. 'He was a much loved son, brother, dad, colleague and partner. He was also a quiet and humble, solid friend. 'I'll miss hearing from you Matt, out of the blue sometimes, but always with a smile. You are at rest now, no more worries Matty Boy.' Alongside his work as a firefighter, Matt worked on numerous high-profile TV series, including other soaps like Emmerdale and Hollyoaks. He began working on Emmerdale in 2011, and was involved in some huge stunts, including the helicopter crash and the Hotten bypass crash. More Trending His first stunt on Coronation Street was the Rovers Return fire in 2013, and most recently he worked on the dramatic Halloween episodes in 2021. These episodes saw Abi Webster (Sally Carman) face off with her son's killer, Corey Brent, while Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) was held hostage by gangster Harvey Gaskell. View More » The dramatic scenes also resulted in the tragic deaths of Johnny Connor and Natasha Blakeman. MORE: Coronation Street returns to iconic filming location after 12 years for joyous scenes
Buzz Feed
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Inspired Unemployed's ARRIVAL Takes Away Planning Pains
Jack Steele and Matt Ford aka the gents behind the Inspired Unemployed have cooked up another stint of employment and this time, as the owners of a travel platform — Arrival. Built from their love of the road less travelled and wild stories that "probably can't be said", Jack and Matt shared with BuzzFeed Australia that Arrival's goal is to be "different to anything else in the world". But how are they doing it? They've done the research — travelling and experiencing most of their curated offerings to test its FOMO-worthiness for themselves. With experiences like the Kyrgyzstan Motorcycle Tour, Everest Base Camp Arrival Takeover and exploring Vietnam's Untold Trails, there's tried and tested options to excite different travellers. You can cop a curated itinerary/experience from as little as $1000 AUD or as ~luxe~ as $6699 — whatever fits your fancy. One of the duo's faves was Arrival's Japan Free Ride. "We got the best snow, ate good food, hung out with good people. It was just like one of those trips where you're just like, 'Oh, I could do that everyday for the rest of my life'," Matt shared. Overall, Arrival is the planner-friend's best friend, according to Matt, "It saves the person that's usually booking everyone in, like say for instance Jack, he's always planning all our trips. They just go, 'Here's the dates, everyone in?'." "So we just save everyone a lot of time and effort." It may sound like it's all for the groups, but don't worry solo travellers, they didn't forget you. Here's what to consider: Whichever way you choose to travel — with the group chat or on your Eat, Pray, Love solo journey — the Inspired Unemployed's Arrival promises something different and it's definitely not a prank for Impractical Jokers.
Irish Independent
12 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Community responds to help daughter (10) of ‘Bray Person of the Year' after cancer diagnosis
There has been an overwhelming response to the appeal so far, which has received over 400 donations, raising just over €26,000. Matt Keenan is the founder of Bray Community Lifeline, a suicide hotline, which he established last year to offer in-person assistance to those in crisis. Following a call-out for volunteers, Matt, who has qualifications in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), delivered suicide prevention and mental health training to the participants to act as first responders offering real-time, face-to-face intervention in the community. On Monday, July 14, 2025, Matt's daughter, Caoimhe, was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive and rare form of childhood cancer, called Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Caoimhe, 'a bright, brave, and beautiful girl with a heart full of life', lives in Bray with her close-knit family – mum Martina, dad Matt, her older sister Cara, and big brother Jonathan. She is currently in Crumlin Hospital, receiving an exceptionally strong combination of chemotherapy drugs and is on a very intensive treatment plan. Instead of a standard 21-day cycle (three days of chemo followed by 18 days off), Caoimhe is now being given chemo daily over her first weekend, followed by weekly treatments for at least the next seven weeks. This approach reflects just how urgently her doctors are trying to slow the cancer down. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare and fast-growing cancer that forms in muscle tissue. It affects approximately only 4.5 in every 1,000,000 children under the age of 10. In Caoimhe's case, the tumour was found in the roof of her mouth, but it had already grown so aggressively that it pushed through the bone and into the space around her brain. Scans also revealed that it had spread to her lungs. Chemotherapy started just five days after the diagnosis. The Keenan family have devoted much of their time to helping the community. Matt was honoured with the 2024 Bray Person Of The Year award for his role in reaching out to those in crisis, one of those life-saving calls even coming on Caoimhe's 10th birthday. Martina is heavily involved in Bray Area Rough Sleepers Support, the voluntary organisation that provides a 'soup run' to Bray's homeless 365 days of the year. The fundraising drive was set up by Matt's colleague, and is about 'giving the Keenan family room to breathe'. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more "To allow Martina and Matt to stop worrying about bills, groceries, or mortgages and focus entirely on Caoimhe's care, recovery, and comfort during this brutal fight ahead,' the appeal said. The support will go directly to the Keenans so they can cover urgent household and medical costs, take time off work without having financial concerns and so they can be present with Caoimhe throughout her treatment. The community has so far responded very generously to the appeal, to date having raised just over €26,400, but there is some way to go to meet the target required. Matt wanted to thank all of those who have reached out to make donations. 'Our focus is Caoimhe's battle and recovery,' he said. 'We are grateful for all the support and love that is allowing us to stay focused on our daughter and family.' As Matt's colleague noted, there are people alive today because of Matt, Martina and their work. You can now support them by donating at:
Express Tribune
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Little People, Big World's Matt Roloff and Caryn Chandler end engagement
Little People, Big World star Matt Roloff has confirmed that he and fiancée Caryn Chandler have ended their engagement. The reality TV personality shared the news via Instagram on Tuesday, July 22, explaining the couple's decision to part ways after more than six years together. 'Caryn and I have decided to part ways & end our engagement,' Roloff, 63, wrote. 'Life's a continued journey and this is the right step for us at this time.' He added that the two remain on good terms, writing, 'We will always appreciate the many wonderful memories we have shared.' Roloff and Chandler, 58, began dating publicly in 2017, about nine months after Matt finalized his divorce from ex-wife Amy Roloff. The pair got engaged in April 2023, with Roloff announcing they were planning a 'simple but elegant' wedding for 2024. Their engagement, however, stirred mixed emotions within the Roloff family. During season 25 of the TLC reality series, Matt and Amy's son Zach was notably silent when asked about his father's engagement, responding, 'I don't wanna talk about it.' Amy, 62, also shared her reservations on the show, saying she wasn't sure if she would attend the wedding out of respect for the couple's moment. In a February 2024 interview with Us Weekly, Amy said her relationship with Chandler had evolved. 'We're cordial, we're respectful. We can be in each other's company,' she explained, adding that filming with her ex and his fiancée had been a 'process.' Despite the breakup, Matt expressed optimism for the future, thanking fans for their support and committing to move forward 'with positivity and trust in the path ahead.'
