Latest news with #X-Factor
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Rylan Clark shares sad emotional struggle after heartbreaking Dan Neal divorce
Rylan Clark has opened up about his personal struggles following his divorce from ex-husband Dan Neal three years ago, admitting that he "felt like a failure" at the time Former X-Factor star Rylan Clark has opened up about the devastating period he went through after his divorce three years ago, revealing he "felt like a failure." The presenter shot to stardom after defying expectations to reach the X Factor quarter-finals in 2012, before cementing his celebrity status on Celebrity Big Brother. More recently, his television venture Rob and Rylan's Grand Tour became an instant hit when it launched in 2024, with Rylan becoming visibly emotional after the programme scooped the 2025 British Academy Television Award for Best Factual Entertainment earlier this year. Despite his ongoing professional triumphs - which include regular appearances co-hosting ITV's This Morning and presenting BBC Radio 2's Rylan on Saturday - the star revealed his personal battles during his podcast How to Be in Love whilst speaking with guest Tasha Ghouri about her break up with Andrew Le Page. He reflected particularly on the difficult period following his split from former husband Dan Neal in 2021 during the candid conversation. In a raw moment of honesty, Rylan revealed the emotional devastation he experienced when news of their divorce became public: "When I went through my divorce, I had a full-on breakdown because it wasn't just us. It felt like it wasn't just us, even though it was just me and my ex. I felt that everyone's going to think this of me." He admitted: "Everyone's going to think, 'Oh look, his life isn't perfect. Oh look, he's failed like that.' I just felt like a failure." Despite sharing his sentiments on the tough split, he conceded that parting ways was the "right thing to happen." The love story between Rylan and Dan began quite unexpectedly in 2013 when they crossed paths on Big Brother's Bit on the Side; Rylan was the host while Dan was competing in the main show. They got engaged in 2014 and tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Braxted Park Estate in Essex, with a guest list that read like a who's who of celebrities, including Katie Price, Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Langsford, and Matt and Emma Willis. Sadly, after almost six years of marriage, the couple announced their separation in June 2021. Rylan has been open about the trauma of the divorce, including the emotional pain and physical toll it took on him. He has discussed the period of breakdown in his memoir "TEN: The Decade That Changed My Future". Rylan has also addressed speculation about a romantic relationship with Rob Rinder, his co-presenter on the show "Strictly: It Takes Two". He clarified that they are close friends but not romantically involved, likening their relationship to that of a married couple.
Metro
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
X-Factor star Simon Cowell and the Pope are both secret Pokémon fans
It's been a bizarre month for pokémon trading card fans thanks to both Simon Cowell and the Pope becoming involved with the hobby. Even though Pokémon is a globally popular multimedia franchise, it always feels like a surprise when famous celebrities express any genuine interest in something that's primarily meant for kids. Off the top of our head, musicians Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry have shown fondness for the franchise, through their music collaborations, and actor Bill Nighy got hooked on the series while filming the live action Detective Pikachu movie. Now, we can potentially add X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell to the list, as word has spread that he was spotted in London searching for Pokémon cards. Recently, a trading card show was held at the Boxpark food court in Croydon, where people could gather to buy, sell, and trade all kinds of trading cards. One such trader, known as Onfire Trading Cards on Instagram, met with Cowell during the event, snapping a photo of the two together as proof. According to the trader, Cowell 'was picking up all sorts' while he was there, including a very rare Rayquaza VMAX card. While Onfire Trading Cards hasn't disclosed how much Cowell spent on it, IGN reports that the card's value is upwards of a$2,700 (about £2,000). Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Cowell's net worth, as of this year, is reportedly $600 million (about £444.5 million), which is honestly a lot less than we expected, but still enough to comfortably spend thousands on Pokémon cards. Judging by the comments, people are shocked to learn that Cowell is a Pokémon fan or likes collectingtrading cards, though it's possible he's actually buying the cards for a young relative, such as his 11-year-old son Eric. Some fans on the Pokémon TCG subreddit have expressed envy at Cowell having the money to spend on rare cards, since it has become an increasingly expensive hobby. Not to mention, Pokémon cards have become a popular target for scalpers, with particularly rare and unique cards, like the limited-edition ones made for the Van Gogh Museum from 2023, which were hoarded and sold to desperate collectors for upwards of £1,500. More Trending This isn't the only odd celebrity story involving Pokémon cards to make headlines lately. Just last week, a Redditor by the name of ReptileCake took one of his cards to the Vatican to be signed by Pope Leo XIV. The reason for this? Purely for the sake of a pun, since the signed card featured the pokémon Popplio; a gag the Pope apparently found at least a little funny. 'He laughed, probably as a courtesy, but he did know about Pokémon cards, he even showed it around to the guards around him. Then I asked him to sign a copy for me and he was happy to oblige,' said ReptileCake. They added that they have no intention of ever selling it: 'It's a personal artefact that I will cherish for eternity.' Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Pokémon cards saved this fan's life by blocking a gunshot MORE: Man opened £1,500 mystery container to uncover a Pokémon treasure trove MORE: Pokemon voice actor James Carter Cathcart dies aged 71
The Review Geek
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Building the Band Review – Love is Blind meets X-Factor and The Voice
Season 1 Episode Guide Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 *Review based on the first 4 episodes and sneak-peeks at what's coming up* It's been a while since we've had a proper singing competition show on screens. Between X-Factor, The Voice, and the Got Talent series in its many global guises, the genre's seen its fair share of amazing singers. Not one to miss a trick, Netflix are back with their latest summer reality show, tapping into the best and worst parts of singing competitions. Don't expect off-key auditions or ordinary folks plucked from obscurity though, as Building the Band cuts straight to the good stuff. The singers are hand-picked off-screen, and they're all competent from the get-go. The twist? These guys and gals have to form their own bands and judge each other's talent. 50 singers are introduced inside individual glass cubes (think Love is Blind), with limited windows to talk and a finite number of 'likes' (5 in total) they can give after performances. Those likes are used to signal interest in forming a group. Performers are judged by their peers, with reactions shown in classic X-Factor style. Expect clapping, gasps, and plenty of thumbnail fodder for reaction YouTubers! Overseeing all this sonic chaos is host AJ McLean, who serves on narration duty. Some singers arrive with a clear goal here, wanting to be the next big boyband or girl group. Others though, are far more flexible. While the self-curation process is quite intriguing, it's also deeply flawed. Early performers benefit from a full pool of likes and no eliminations, allowing their fellow singers to be much more lenient. Conversely, those later in the queue are judged more harshly with fewer likes left in play and bands starting to be formed together. Episodes 3 and 4 make this imbalance painfully clear. The looming pressure comes from the fact that only six bands can move forward to the next stage. Groups can be made up of between three and five members, so if six trios form early on, everyone else is out. This is an interesting little mechanic that could have injected strategy and mind games like Beast Games did earlier this year, but never fully delivers on that potential. Having said that, when the bands do click, they really click. A standout cover of Bruno Mars' Finesse is particularly strong, and several groups show real chemistry. The middle chunk of episodes appear to move into the rehearsal phase, with Nicole Scherzinger lending her coaching skills, honed through her time on The X-Factor. These guys and gals are likely to then head onto the main stage, where judges Liam Payne and Kelly Rowland lend their expertise to look at the quality on offer, with the winning band taking home a cool $500,000 prize. There are a few missed opportunities here to tighten up the process though. Allowing singers to chat freely before hearing each other sing could have added an emotional dimension missing from the rehearsals. Letting everyone perform first with unlimited likes and a tight band-forming deadline could have also solved the fairness issues entirely too. As it stands, Building the Band is flawed but watchable. There are a few eye-rolling moments (including Scherzinger's awkward comment about how 'a label would never have put them together' – someone please remind her how One Direction was formed?), but it still scratches that music reality show itch. If you've missed the genre, this one's worth a look but don't expect it to reinvent the wheel.
Metro
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Is this the new 'Circle of Shame' in 2025?
There's a clip that often circulates on social media, of Chris Evans urging Victoria Beckham to step on the scales on live TV, to see if she's lost her 'baby weight'. It was 1999, and the world was a very different place. It was an age when lads mags reigned supreme, where X-Factor contestants were told to diet — and when The Circle of Shame was a recurring feature in magazines and newspapers. For those who aren't familiar, The Circle of Shame involved images of celebrities (usually female) with their perceived faults (cellulite, armpit sweat, belly rolls) highlighted in a circle. In 2025 this type of overt bullying is obviously, thankfully, no longer okay – but you might have spotted a new flavour of body scrutiny on your FYP lately. In clips uploaded to TikTok and Instagram, plastic surgeons talk through the particular nips, tucks and treatments they believe a celebrity has had. Images of an A-lister's face or body, taken years apart, are placed next to each other and compared. 'I think she's had Botox, an upper blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, cheek filler, lip enhancement, a chin implant and a face and neck lift', says one London-based surgeon, as a photo of Angelina Jolie's face becomes annotated with surgical treatments. There's also a before and after of Angelina's ears, with a circle (yes, a circle) around where her face lift scars are apparently visible. Another surgeon in the US offers similar content. 'I personally think she might have had a rhinoplasty…' he says, discussing Kristen Davis' face. 'I think it's possible she has a bit of weight gain… it could be a little bit of cheek volumisation.' These videos are not meant to be offensive. Often, said expert will point out the high quality of the work that's been done, commenting when a woman is beautiful or 'ageing gracefully'. These medics also make a living by performing the very treatments they're discussing. It's not about being salacious, but making people — and potential customers — aware of the surgeries available. Simply put, celebrities faces are used as adverts. The reality though is that we can't know for certain what a celebrity has, or has not, done to their face or body. And, you have to wonder how a woman might feel coming across a video where every inch of her own face is scrutinised publicly by a professional. @ Khloe Kardashian turned 41 yesterday, and she was easily the standout face for me at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding. That feathery pink dress was pure glamour, and she wore it with total confidence. Khloe has changed a lot over the past few years. While she's spoken about her weight loss and fitness routine, it seems likely that her transformation also includes several cosmetic procedures. #khloekardashian #khloekardashianedit #kardashians ♬ original sound – Dr Jonny After Dr Jonny Betteridge, of JB Aesthetics in London, posted videos in which he speculated on the amount and type of surgeries Khloe Kardashian had undergone, she responded. 'I take this as a great compliment,' she wrote. 'First off I think these photos are about 15 years apart, but here's a list of things that I have done.' The reality star then detailed her treatments, which included a nose job, laser hair removal, Botox, filler and collagen threads. And in a later comment, she added: 'Those photos are actually OVER 15 years ago.' While influencers have been taking us with them on trips to Harley Street for years, for Hollywood A-listers, so publicly disclosing this information is a relatively new trend. Ashley Stobart, who hosts the podcast Nip, Tuck, Not Giving A…, feels she'd be 'irresponsible' if she didn't share the procedures she's had, and is glad A-listers are finally sharing. 'I was actually one of the first people to start opening up about my procedures on social media,' she tells Metro. 'I think if you're in the public eye and you're having surgery or treatments that change the way you look, there's a responsibility to be transparent.' For Ashley, who founded her own skincare range, The Cosmetic Consult, it's about being honest about what it takes to look a certain way. 'A lot of people are watching and looking up to you, and it's important not to set unrealistic beauty standards,' she says. 'If you're having work done that completely transforms your appearance, saying an ice bath and hot lemon water reversed 15 years of partying and alcohol abuse is just insulting people's intelligence.' Others though question just how 'authentic' stars are being. It's been pointed out that Khloe Kardashian may have left some procedures out. Taking to TikTok, TV personality Olivia Atwood said: 'If we're going to talk about it, talk about it. 'Talk about the BBLs, talk about the body contouring,' she added. 'I feel like that is missing.' But for nurse prescriber and aesthetic trainer, Natalja Andrejeva, it's understandable why some opt to give a more curated version of the truth. 'Yes, many celebrities likely admit to what they can't easily hide, and stay quiet about the more discreet enhancements,' she tells Metro. 'But it's less about deception and more about navigating a very judgmental culture that pressures people to look perfect, while pretending it's all natural.' Natalja, founder of Face Code Aesthetic, continues: 'For example, admitting to Botox to some might feel like admitting to insecurity or ageing. 'There's a societal double standard where people are expected to look flawless, but also be 'natural' — as if achieving both is somehow realistic without help. 'There's a layer of stigma and image management at play.' The overwhelming majority of cosmetic surgery patients are female. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), there was a total of 27,462 surgical procedures performed in the UK 2024, of these, just 1,799 were for men. And why are cosmetic treatments so common? Behind every scrutinised woman, there's a beauty standard rooted in a male-ideal, that's only achievable through surgery. Speaking to Metro, Beth Holliday, professor of gender and culture at the University of Leeds explains: 'Because men mostly own the means of image production — the media, film, fashion, and pornography, industries — they construct images of women that they find desirable, and these are then the images women are confronted with when they look for inspiration.' So why then are women scrutinised when they do chose to amend their appearance to fit this perfect image? Professor Meredith Jones, director of Brunel University's Institute of Communities and Society, tells Metro that it's all to do with The Masque of Femininity, a theory coined by 1920s psychoanalyst, Joan Riviere. 'The theory states that women put on a feminine 'mask', whether that's in the way they speak, dress or act,' says Meredith. 'The purpose is to appease men and say 'I'm not a threat, I'm just a silly little girl'. 'Research at the time showed the more powerful or ambitious a woman was, the more exaggerated this mask was. It's a way to protect against the threat of male violence, actual or symbolic. More Trending 'But if this mask slips — if we tell the world that actually, we've had surgery to look a certain way — this feminine fantasy is shattered and the patriarchy is at threat.' Breaking down the stigma of plastic surgery, and acknowledging that no, nobody really looks this good, is a positive when it's so easy to compare ourselves to the glitterati of Hollywood. But there's something dark about a man annotating a woman's face for followers on TikTok, or for their own financial gain. The Circle of Shame isn't getting a like-for-like renaissance, but this plastic surgery guessing game is full of flaws. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ View More » MORE: These 6 traits make you cool — but one mistake cancels them all out MORE: Spitting in one another's mouths is normal now MORE: I'm a cancer counsellor — here are the first questions patients ask me after diagnosis Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
Daily Mirror
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Zayn Malik recalls the racism he experienced at height of One Direction fame
Zayn Malik has addressed the racism he experienced during his time in One Direction in a teaser for his new single labelled Fuchsia Sea, as he shared a few lyrics on Instagram In a preview of his upcoming song, Fuchsia Sea, Zayn Malik has addressed the racism he experienced during his time in One Direction. The 32-year-old British singer gave fans a first listen to the new track on Saturday along with a short video. Zayn shot to fame as a member of One Direction, performing alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and the late Liam Payne. They skyrocketed into fame after appearing on X-Factor in 2010 before he parted ways in 2015. In the new song, Zayn raps: 'Got my back against the wall so much they think I got a brick fascination. Do you remember every conversation? 'Cause I have been conscious of every connotation. And while they concentrate on their elevation, I've got a round trip to the constellation. I'm a convert to the concert, and I did that for inflation, 'cause I worked hard in a White band, and they still laughed at the Asian.' The singer shared a snippet of the song on Instagram, along with a video where he has his back to the camera as he is walking down a corridor. He also typed the lyrics in an Instagram story. The father-of-one, who shares four-year-old daughter Khai with ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid, has also addressed racism in music in the past. In a leaked song called Yellow Metal (Cathartic), Zayn wrote the lyrics: 'Said I had a problem with hittin' the kids that would call me paki, still sittin' in classroom chillin', I'm angry now that I'm older 'cause I see they treat us different, Got me thinking I'm the problem 'cause they never dealt with these issues'. The singer also wrote: 'Twenty years later, I'm still in the same boat, tryna treat me like my grandpa, say I came up off the boat.' 5 years after One Direction was formed via The X Factor in 2010, Zayn decided to go his separate ways and said he wanted to be a 'normal' 22-year-old' and take some time away from the spotlight. He announced the news via the group's Facebook page and wrote: 'I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band,' he said in a statement. Zayn added: 'I'd like to apologize to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall.' Elsewhere in Zayn's life, he previously opened up about his daughter Khai and said that she 'brought him back to life'. Speaking on the Zach Sang Show, he said: 'I feel like my daughter brought that colour back in my life. She just makes me happy. I have so much love in me that I didn't have before she was born. "She laughs all day. She wants to do the silliest things and she gains so much excitement from it. She just has a whole fresh perspective on life that had somewhat become grey for me." Zayn continued: "She's a force of nature. She's given me maturity. She's forced my sensibility to become this mature father for her, this good responsible role model that takes accountability for their actions and sticks to their work and proves that my word is bond."
