Latest news with #Tiswas
The Irish Sun
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Huge change to Britain's Got Talent after ‘absolutely wild' Blackpool shows which Simon Cowell ‘loved'
BRITAIN'S Got Talent gave us some of the most outrageous wannabes in the show's history last series – by taking the auditions out of London and up the road to Blackpool. Now, I can reveal the 3 BGT producers want to host try-outs in yet another major UK city Credit: Rex In fact, as well as heading back to Blackpool this autumn seeking contestants for BGT 2026, I can reveal that auditions will also be held in Birmingham as show bosses turn their backs on the capital completely. A TV insider said: 'The audiences up north were absolutely wild, with some shouting at Simon and flicking him V-signs if he didn't make a decision they approved of. 'Simon loved it, so when they were looking at what to do for the new series, they decided to try out another city further north that might provide some of the same dynamism.' Birmingham was the birthplace of huge ITV shows, including cult kids' favourite Tiswas and classic soap Crossroads. READ MORE ON BGT Britain's second city was the home of talent contest New Faces which helped launch the careers of stars including The BGT live semi-finals and final will likely remain in London. Moving the auditions from the big smoke on a near permanent basis won't surprise other judges either. Talking of their sensational trip north for the 2024 auditions, Most read in News TV Amanda Holden said this year: 'The audiences were super-warm and brilliantly up for it. The show felt really appreciated and wanted up there. 'I honestly think we won't go back to London for the auditions. I think we'll be going back to Blackpool all the time.' Well, it turns out you were half right Amanda . . . Amanda Holden appears NAKED on radio just days after Ofcom complaints over BGT dress Nick: Why The Traitors is magic 3 Celebrity Traitors star Nick Mohammed on Ted Lasso Credit: AP The Ted Lasso actor said Stephen used a Harry Potter term for non-magical people to refer to the non-celeb version of the hit show. He said: 'Stephen referred to it as the Muggle version which really made me laugh.' Nick added: 'I was allowed one phone conversation a day with the kids but you are isolated from the outside world – at one point we weren't even allowed to know the time. 'You'd be, 'What's the time?' They'd say, 'It's traitors' time'.' Filming has wrapped on the series – which will air this autumn – but Nick has kept in touch with his co-stars. He added: 'There's a WhatsApp group and we're all on it – it's phenomenal and every day there's about 50 notifications.' Leo lined up LEO WOODALL has cemented his place as TV's favourite leading man with another sexy role. He will play the titular character in Vladimir, a Netflix eight-parter said to be 'full of sexy secrets and dark humour'. It also stars Rachel Weisz as a woman who becomes obsessed with Vladimir. Nadiya's a sole survivor 3 Nadiya Bychkova has revealed she has her entire body insured Credit: BBC STRICTLY Come Dancing siren Nadiya told me: 'I do have things insured – everything I need for dancing. 'Dancing puts food on the table, so I need to make sure I am OK. I think it comes from when I was competing at the highest level. I do a lot of workouts for my feet. It's about building the muscles. You don't want to walk in heels and twist something or break something. 'As we get older, we need to look after ourselves even more. If you twist your ankle, then you're done.' Game on for Squid THE THIRD and final series of Squid Game landed on Friday but now its creator has hinted there could be more to come. The dystopian hit saw gambling addict Gi-hun join in a deadly game against other vulnerable people, enticed by recruiters. Writer Hwang Dong-Hyuk said: 'I had this faint ideation . . . not a sequel, but maybe a spin-off about the three-year gap between season 1 and season 2 when Gi-hun looks around for the recruiters. 'Maybe a portrayal of what the recruiters or Captain Park or officers or masked men were doing in that period, not inside the gaming arena, but their life outside of that.' Sonia on the double CONGRATULATIONS to Coronation Street actress Sonia Ibrahim, who has given birth to her second child. Announcing the news online, Sonia, who plays Mel Maguire, wrote: 'My beautiful boy Carter Benjamin Machin, 7lbs of pure perfection. You are loved more than you will ever know.' C4 to air axed doc A CONTROVERSIAL documentary about medics allegedly coming under fire in Gaza: Doctors Under Attack looks at allegations that Israeli forces targeted hospitals and health workers in the The Beeb commissioned the film last year but shelved it, concerned it 'risked creating a perception of partiality'. Louisa Compton, Channel 4's head of news, said: 'We are showing this programme because we believe that, following thorough fact-checking, we are presenting a duly impartial view.' The one-off film will air on Wednesday at 10pm.
Daily Mirror
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Chris Tarrant blasts Phillip Schofield as 'the most overexposed man ever'
Former TV and radio star Chris Tarrant is no fan of Phillip Schofield and says he was 'overexposed' on ITV Chris Tarrant has blasted Phillip Schofield as 'the most overexposed man ever'. Tarrant, 78, is known for hosting hit TV shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Tiswas. But he is not a fan of fellow former ITV star Schofield. Schofield quit ITV in 2023 after he admitted lying about an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a man 34 years his junior who had worked on the daytime show. At the time he said his TV career was finished but he attempted to resurrect himself on screen with a Channel 5 series called Cast Away in 2024. Referring to the Cast Away show, Tarrant said: "There was not a hint of apology or 'maybe I was a little bit out of order'. Christ Almighty." He then told the Sunday Telegraph he thought Schofield "lost the plot" after fame went to his head. Tarrant added: 'He was the most overexposed man ever, maybe apart from Wogan at his peak. 'But Terry was on all the time because he was very good, funny and likeable, and bright as a button. I loved him. Schofield, they always said, 'Oh, but he's a safe pair of hands.' Did anyone ever say, 'Ooh, it's five to eight, got to get home quick because the safe pair of hands is on?' Dear oh dear. Those shows he did - Dancing On Ice, The Cube, everything - were mainly crap." Nature loving Tarrant, who was giving the interview to promote a new book he has written about bears, also moaned about too many adverts on ITV where he used to work on quiz show Millionaire. He said he mainly watched streaming services now for this reason and added: "We always used to say, 'See you in a couple of minutes,' but how long are the breaks now? Five or six minutes! 'I watch Netflix and Amazon Prime. Then I turn on an ITV drama and say, 'What? It's only been on three minutes and we've got a break!' And the sponsors and all that. When will it happen that the commercials are longer than the programme?' Tarrant insisted he had now watched Jeremy Clarkson on quiz Millionaire who was his replacement. He claimed he had no interest in watching because he knew the format so well and he had 'the best of it, the glory years'. Tarrant now lives in a posh Berkshire property with his partner Jane Bird of 20 years. He has six children, including two stepchildren and six grandchildren aged three to 13 and rather than looking for any more work loves going on holidays. Sometimes two in quick succession. 'There is a glorious freedom in being able to travel without planning around work schedules,' he said. "I'll tell you the sort of thing. This winter, after Christmas, we went on holiday to the Caribbean for five or six weeks. "We got home about mid-February and it was bloody freezing. It went on and on, so I was like, 'F*** this, let's go back again. That's called enjoying retirement.' * Tarrant's book 'For the Love of Bears' (Great Northern, £25) will be published on July 11.
Telegraph
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Chris Tarrant: ‘Phillip Schofield was the most over-exposed man ever'
It's a hot summer's day when I meet Chris Tarrant, and that calls for a drink. As he takes a seat in the plush hotel bar, a waiter comes over and attempts to pour him a glass of iced water. 'Water?' says Tarrant with amusement, as if the server had just proffered a bottle of milk and a Farley's rusk. 'I'll have a beer, thank you very much.' Tarrant has always seemed like a grown-up in the world of broadcasting, even in the custard-pie chaos of Tiswas, the anarchic 1970s children's show. Perhaps it's because he's a physically imposing presence, at 6' 2', or because he started out as a teacher and has a natural authority. He exudes the confidence of a man who has worked in TV and radio for 50 years and made a handsome living from it. Conversing with him is a slightly surreal experience because you recognise every facial expression from his time hosting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? He's genial company, which isn't always the case – on the way here I read an old interview in which he boiled over at questions posed by a Guardian journalist, who was reduced to asking: 'Am I being a really bad interviewer?' and Tarrant replying bluntly: 'You're not great.' Happily, we're on better terms. For the Love of Bears We're here in the first place to talk about bears, because Tarrant, 78, has written a book about them. His main hobby is fishing, and it was during trips to Russia and Canada that he first saw bears in the wild. His interest grew and he began researching them. He once met a man at West Midlands Safari Park who told Tarrant that he was more wary of bears than any other animals there, including tigers. 'He said, 'Six days a week they let me go up and stroke them, and the seventh day they'd kill me.'' For The Love of Bears is a photo-filled book detailing Tarrant's expeditions to see these magnificent creatures, from coastal brown bears in Alaska to polar bears in the Arctic Circle, including several close encounters. There is one remarkable picture in which a bear ambles past Tarrant as he stands in shallow water in Alaska, barely 10 yards between them. That was on a fishing trip. The title of that chapter is: If A Bear Wants Your Salmon, Let Him Have It. Tarrant's own experiences are interspersed with bear facts and the frequently gory history of human interactions with bears. His first close-up experience occurred during a fishing trip in the extreme north of Russia. He'd enjoyed a drink the night before and decided to have a lie-down on a bed of moss while his companions walked on. He woke up to find a large brown bear staring at him, yet he felt strangely calm. 'Maybe it was the vodka still in my veins. I remember thinking, 'Oh, look, there's a bear.' He looked at me and thought, 'Oh, look, there's a silly little man.' There was no sign of aggression, he just wandered off.' Afterwards, his guide yelled: 'You are a stupid!' at him, which provided the title for another chapter. He thinks now that the fact he was lying down, completely still, probably saved his life. I tell him my theory that everyone has considered what they would do if confronted by a bear – climb a tree, play dead, try to scare it off – despite the minimal chance of us ever encountering one. We put it to the test when the photographer turns up and, sure enough, Geoff has a bear escape plan (he favours making himself look bigger by waving his arms in the air and roaring). Tarrant says there is only one absolute rule: 'Whatever you do, don't run. Because even if they don't mean you any harm, that will spook them. This other thing about climbing a tree? Well, you've got a bloody bear chasing you. You've got seconds. You have to have a tree there, it's got to have all the branches in the right place, and you've got to get 13 feet up because most of them can reach up to 12 feet. And have you climbed a tree since you were 10?' 'Just about every job in television' Tarrant would happily talk about bears all afternoon, but I'm keen also to ask him about how the landscape of TV has changed. When he was honoured for his outstanding contribution at the National Television Awards in 2000, host Sir Trevor McDonald described him as a man who had taken on just about every job in television. In the 1970s, he was a news reporter at ATV in the Midlands, then switched to presenting and producing Tiswas. He brought zany energy to the Capital Radio breakfast show from 1987 to 2004 – the DJ Chris Evans has cited him as an inspiration – and formed a double act with Roland Rat on TV-am. His career reached a peak as the host of Millionaire from its inception in 1998 until 2014, with presenters in 120 other countries copying his catchphrases. Apart from a brief stint at the BBC – so brief he claims not to remember the show he worked on – and a series about railways for Channel 5, Tarrant was an ITV man. But now he thinks the channel is being ruined by adverts. 'We always used to say, 'See you in a couple of minutes,' but how long are the breaks now? Five or six minutes! I watch Netflix and Amazon Prime. Then I turn on an ITV drama and say, 'What? It's only been on three minutes and we've got a break!' And the sponsors and all that. When will it happen that the commercials are longer than the programme?' So he sticks mostly to Netflix, Sky Sports and news bulletins. I ask if he thinks the BBC licence fee is sustainable, and he says that no, it should compete in the marketplace, but he doesn't want to be drawn into the argument. 'It's the last of my worries. I don't think, as I wander about my Bucklebury estate, 'What about the BBC licence fee?'' he jokes. His earnings at Capital and on Millionaire – he was rumoured to be earning £4 million a year at his peak – bought him the lovely house in Berkshire (as a near neighbour of the Middletons), which he shares with Jane Bird, his partner of 20 years. 'I worked like a dog. I'd crawl in at five in the morning to do radio, then at 11am I'd go to Elstree and do Millionaire.' 'Phone a friend' People still shout 'We don't want to give you that' at him in the street, and quip about 'phoning a friend', but the show that inspires the most affection is Tiswas. The show, three hours of live mayhem involving celebrities being covered in gunge and parents being drenched by buckets of water, drew audiences of five million, many of them adults. Co-hosted by Sally James and Lenny Henry, it changed the face of children's TV. Tarrant was driven by the desire to make the show as unlike Blue Peter as possible, with a studio full of kids. Before moving into TV he had spent a year post-university teaching in a tough secondary school in New Cross, south-east London, which stood him in good stead. Was there a real rivalry between him on Tiswas and Noel Edmonds on the BBC's competitor, Multi-Coloured Swap Shop? 'No. There was no contest,' he scoffs. Tarrant writes in his memoir that Swap Shop was a 'drab little Saturday morning offering hosted by Noel Edmonds with his division-four footballers' haircut.' I remind him of that. 'He's still got it as well!' he says of Edmonds' gravity-defying barnet. 'Oh, I'm not going to get involved in Noel. He's resurfaced in New Zealand. I don't quite know what he's done. He's been through several crises. The daftest thing Noel did, when he was dumped from the BBC because those shows were tired, he just wrote abusive letters to the papers slagging off everybody at the BBC except himself. And I thought, Noel, you just don't do that, mate. It's all very well, but you'll never work again.' Schofield, Clarkson and Capital Talk of Edmonds' new comeback show, documenting his lifestyle on New Zealand's South Island, leads us on to Phillip Schofield, who attempted to revive his own career last year by marooning himself on a desert island in Castaway. Tarrant snorts. 'There was not a hint of apology or 'maybe I was a little bit out of order'. Christ Almighty.' He thinks Schofield 'lost the plot' after fame went to his head. 'He was the most over-exposed man ever, maybe apart from [Terry] Wogan at his peak. But Terry was on all the time because he was very good, and funny and likeable, and bright as a button. I loved him. Schofield, they always said, 'Oh, but he's a safe pair of hands.' Did anyone ever say, 'Ooh, it's five to eight, got to get home quick because the safe pair of hands is on?' Dear oh dear. Those shows he did – Dancing On Ice, The Cube, everything – were mainly c--p.' Tarrant thinks that radio people 'are much nicer generally' than TV stars. 'You can get away with stuff on telly when people think you're a wonderful human being because you do 13 weeks a year, you put on your suit and go into this smarmy smile mode. There are people who are not very nice on television who get away with it because they do the image for an hour then go back and scream at everybody in the dressing room. And I do know one or two of them.' Although, now he thinks about it, not everyone on the airwaves is genuine. 'I won't tell you who, but two very high profile presenters on the radio absolutely hate each other. It's a very good, very warm, very bubbly morning show and they do not speak to each other at all while the records are on. Literally. And then it's all, 'Welcome back, ha-ha, hee-hee, ho-ho, it's five past seven.'' The Capital breakfast show was his favourite job, and he remains good friends with members of the team. He has moved on from Millionaire, which he left in 2014 after 15 years. Does he watch it now that Jeremy Clarkson has taken over presenting duties? He stares at me as if I've just fluffed the £100 starter question. 'I never watched it. I've only ever seen two.' But surely he's curious about how Clarkson is doing it? 'No! I haven't watched Clarkson. I know Jeremy, I've known him for years. But I just don't watch game shows.' Not even once, for 10 minutes, in the seven years it's been on? 'No,' he says, as firmly as he says anything during our conversation. 'Why would I? Because I know it so well. And we did have the best of it, the glory days.' Bad press Another thing he doesn't miss is the unions, who wielded enormous power in broadcasting during the 1970s and 1980s. 'I remember going to interview Elton John, who had taken the whole of the Inn on the Park on Park Lane. It was July, really hot, and we had this fantastic lunch with cuts of salmon and all that, loads of champagne. Elton was lovely. And when we got back, unbeknownst to me, they all put in for a broken meal break because we hadn't supplied a hot meal. What? You've just had the best meal of your bloody life!' The people he most enjoyed working for were strong characters who were happy to throw away the rule book. Greg Dyke, who hired him for TV-am and cracked down on the union business, was one. Janet Street-Porter was another. 'I did a year at the BBC with Janet as my boss and she was fantastic. Best boss ever. She was wonderful, so foul-mouthed.' Either Tarrant doesn't hold a grudge, or he didn't read the newspaper column in which Street-Porter delivered a characteristically straight-talking assessment of Tarrant after he confessed to cheating on his second wife, Ingrid, in 2006: 'He's a self-deluded bloke who shagged another woman and was surprised when his wife hired a private detective to find the evidence.' The divorce from Ingrid after a 15-year marriage played out in the tabloids. Tarrant's other bout of bad press occurred in 1999 when a former Capital colleague, Kara Noble, sold a picture to The Sun of Tarrant pulling up the top of the station's PR girl, Sophie Rhys-Jones, to reveal her breasts. It was weeks before Sophie's wedding to Prince Edward. But most of the opprobrium was heaped on The Sun, which was forced to make an apology for printing it, and on Noble for going so low. The public accepted that Tarrant was messing around, and Buckingham Palace never briefed against him. He has said previously that it was a 'pretty stupid' thing to do but that he and the Duchess were simply 'having a giggle'. It's all ancient news now, but left Tarrant with a wariness around journalists. 'I've met Phil Collins a few times and he hates all journalists with a passion. I said to him once, 'Do you remember the names of all the journalists that have stitched you up?' And he said, 'Every single one.' I said, 'I do that. Not every one, but the real bastards.' Enjoying retirement Tarrant doesn't do many interviews now because he retired from TV last year. During the pandemic, 'I thought, I'm actually quite enjoying this life. And now I love it. I still do the odd corporate earner but I wouldn't go back to telly. I spent 50 years of my life in radio or television studios. I've just done so much, I'm sick of the sight of myself. 'Do you know, my dad retired after a long time working hard [Basil Tarrant was a decorated war hero who became a senior executive for the Huntley & Palmer biscuit company] and his mate said to me: 'Keep an eye on your dad because he's always been so busy, he might have a hard time.' Well, Dad lived for another 21 years and he loved it.' Tarrant keeps busy with projects, such as this book, but also goes on lots of holidays, such as taking his two youngest granddaughters on safari. There is a glorious freedom in being able to travel without planning around work schedules, he says. 'I'll tell you the sort of thing. This winter, after Christmas, we went on holiday to the Caribbean for five or six weeks. We got home about mid-February and it was b----y freezing. It went on and on, so I was like, 'F--- this, let's go back again.'' And they did. 'That's called enjoying retirement.' He has six children, including two step-children (his son, Toby, is a DJ for Radio X, while his daughter, Fia, hosts a breakfast show on Heart), and six grandchildren aged three to 13. He is also godfather to a little Ukrainian girl, aged nearly four, whom he took in as a refugee with her mother and grandmother at the start of the war. They lived at his property for a year before he found them a flat in nearby Newbury where they could be nearer to amenities. 'They've enhanced our life. We love them,' he says. The husband is fighting in the Donbas. The family were initially fearful of everything. 'Where I live, there's a little local airport so you get a lot of small planes going over. And they were running indoors – 'It's the Russians!' – and I was saying, 'It's not the Russians, it's just some bloke with a Tiger Moth.' But they were terrified. They just want to go home, but they want to go home and find everything like it was. They won't.' Twelve years ago, he had a mini-stroke during a flight from Bangkok to Heathrow. 'When I'd finally done my physio and all that, I went back to see the specialist and he said, 'You're very lucky, you could have been in a wheelchair.' I asked him what he thought had caused it, and he said, 'Excess.' I said, 'How do you mean?' And he said, 'Excess, excess, excess.' Ah, that'll be the excess then, will it?' He stopped drinking whisky. 'I used to drink a lot of whisky. I haven't had a single drop since I keeled over. And Jane's quite good at keeping me eating healthily. But I can't be vegetarian and all that stuff.' I enquire whether he now has an exercise regime. 'This is it now, talking to you, with a car outside to take me home,' he laughs. 'I'll walk from the car to my front door, and then I shall probably open the bar and turn on Netflix. And, obviously, open my copy of The Telegraph and do the crossword.' Sounds perfect, I say. 'Yeah,' he grins, and never has a man looked so content with the lifestyle he's earned.
Rhyl Journal
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Chris Tarrant's heartbreaking reason he quit TV career
The retired presenter had a 52-year-long career on TV and is best known for his role in Tiswas from 1974 to 1981, as well as hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1998 until 2014. In the late 2010s, Tarrant began to step away from regular TV and no longer hosted shows. After the coronavirus pandemic, he was rarely seen on screens. Now, in a new interview with the MailOnline, Tarrant has shared the real reason he decided to retire from TV. Speaking to the MailOnline, Tarrant said: '52 years is a long time on air. I loved what I did. 'I had a really good time. "But I went to the funerals of five really good mates, who were about the same age as me, and I thought, 'I don't know how long I've got left in life, but I don't want to spend it locked away in a studio'." The TV star added that he did consider leaving TV in 2014 after he suffered a mini-stroke that resulted in him needing speech therapy. Telling MailOnline: 'I had a lucky escape. I can chat to you now, [my body] is working. But I did have to have speech therapy. It took a while to get everything back. It was scary." In 2020, Tarrant spoke to the Mirror on why he wanted to step down from TV, sharing that he didn't need the money and wanted more time with his family. Recommended Reading Rod Stewart branded 'grotesque' amid support for Reform UK EastEnders legend returning to role after 27 years and teases 'awful surprises' Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Lidl product recall warning Sharing: 'I've stopped working. Lockdown started to get everything in a bit perspective and I thought, 'I've done this thing for 50 years. I don't need the money'. "Without sounding silly, why am I still doing this? I've done lots of things that I've been putting off instead that have been great. "I went on safari with my two eldest grandkids. [Wife] Jane and I have just come back from Borneo. I've just come back from photographing bears in Alaska. Why the hell would I go for work for?"
Daily Mirror
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Chris Tarrant shares tragic realisation that saw him quit TV after 50 years
TV presenter Chris Tarrant, who has been on television for 52 years, opened up about why he no longer wants to be on TV Chris Tarrant revealed the real reason he left his 52-year-long television career. In a new interview, the 78-year-old presenter, who is best known for being part of Tiswas between 1974 and 1981, said he "loved what I did" as he reflected on all the iconic shows he was part of. He presented Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from its inception in 1998 all the way until 2014 before Jeremy Clarkson took over. In the 2010s, he started moving away from regular TV work and was a contestant in The Magicians and team captain for Show Me the Telly. He was also narrator for World's Busiest Train Station and Intercity 125: The Train That Changed Britain. Since the coronavirus pandemic, Chris has rarely been seen on television and he's finally explained why. In a chat with MailOnline, he reflected on his lengthy career and said: "52 years is a long time on air. I loved what I did. I had a really good time. "But I went to the funerals of five really good mates, who were about the same age as me, and I thought, 'I don't know how long I've got left in life, but I don't want to spend it locked away in a studio'." One of the funerals was the Sir Terry Wogan's, the Irish TV and radio broadcaster who passed away in 2016 at the aged of 77. Chris briefly considered leaving the industry in 2014 after he had a mini-stroke. The stroke resulted in him needing speech therapy. "I had a lucky escape. I can chat to you now, [my body] is working. But I did have to have speech therapy. It took a while to get everything back. It was scary." Back in 2020, Chris spoke to The Mirror about stepping down and revealed he didn't need the money and wanted to focus on spending time with his family. He told us: "I've stopped working. Lockdown started to get everything in a bit perspective and I thought, 'I've done this thing for 50 years. I don't need the money'. "Without sounding silly, why am I still doing this? I've done lots of things that I've been putting off instead that have been great. "I went on safari with my two eldest grandkids. [Wife] Jane and I have just come back from Borneo. I've just come back from photographing bears in Alaska. Why the hell would I go for work for?" He also said he "actually doesn't miss it" before revealing: "I had a great time. I've had a brilliant life.'
