EastEnders star Shane Richie admits he was forced into this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! after having to borrow money from friends when work dried up.
The 56-year-old, best known for playing Alfie Moon in the BBC soap, has also seen his credit card debts increase since the arts were hit by Covid-19.
Dad-of-five Shane, who is officially unveiled for the ITV show today, said: ‘I was going on tour, doing a TV series and panto but that all got cancelled in March. Now I am literally skint! You save money for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last six months.
‘Thankfully, I’ve been able to borrow money from mates, my family and the bank… and my wife is now very happy we can finally pay off the credit card!’
ITV reportedly splurged £1million on this year’s contestants after the pandemic forced producers to move the reality show from Australia to Gwrych Castle in Abergele, north Wales.
However, the series is already in jeopardy following claims that former Strictly dancer AJ Pritchard has tested positive for coronavirus. ITV said: ‘We can confirm that a member of the cast has received a positive Covid result and that individual is self-isolating, where we are giving them all the support they need.’
An I’m A Celebrity source told GP: ‘Celebrities have been in isolation for over 10 days now and we aren’t due to start filming with them until the end of this week.
‘This is why we put these strict Covid management protocols in place.’ AJ, 26, is hoping to be ‘king of the castle’ from his appearance and launch a TV career. ‘My push is to do more TV presenting with my brother Curtis,’ he said. ‘We’ve done things on Lorraine, but we would love to have our own TV show together.’
Fellow contestant Victoria Derbyshire says beating cancer spurred her to take part. ‘Because of cancer, I know more than lots of people that life is short,’ said the BBC presenter, 52.
‘I am now saying “yes” to stuff I wouldn’t have done previously.’
Fellow presenter Vernon Kay, 46, says he is doing it for Phoebe and Amber, his daughters with Tess Daly. Contestants also off to Wales include Radio 1’s Jordan North, Corrie’s Beverley Callard and Sir Mo Farah.
The show starts on Sunday at 9pm on ITV.
Eiffel in love… so didn’t see digs about my show criticism over show
Lily Collins is hoping to film a second series of Emily In Paris, saying her burgeoning love life has been a distraction from the hoo-ha surrounding her show.
The 31-year-old is shielding herself from the Marmite reception to her Netflix comedy drama by spending time with filmmaker Charlie McDowell, who proposed in September.
The sugar-candy show, from the Sex And The City team, faced a backlash for stereotyping Parisian culture, but Lily told Rollacoaster magazine: ‘I am just keeping fingers crossed for a season two for Emily. I am enjoying being a fiancée.
‘I am taking some time to really read and think about what is next for me. In the meantime, I’m embracing the exciting experience of being a fiancée and what all that means and just kind of sitting within that excitement.’
She says going on nature walks with Charlie, 37 — who split from GoT’s Emilia Clarke last year — helped her cope, adding: ‘I’ve had moments that are completely up and down.’
The full interview is in Rollacoaster, out now.
James: Wins made me the gambling apps’ bet noir
James Arthur has been banned from football betting apps after scoring ‘crazy money’.
The Train Wreck singer says his gambling on the beautiful game was ended for him after a lucrative hot streak.
James told GP: ‘Last year I got a couple of massive wins on football accumulators on a couple of different apps — crazy money I won.
‘I predicted five results or something like that. I didn’t have a gambling problem — a lot of football fans will bet on the football on Saturday whether they are into gambling or not.
‘I got banned because I won so much money, they were like, “We basically don’t want you on this app”. I got kicked off.’
Explaining that it was one of the larger apps, which acts as an umbrella to others, James added: ‘So I can’t go on any of the apps any more because I won so much money. It was kind of a blessing, it forced me not to gamble. I deleted all the apps.’
Meanwhile, James is on another lucky streak after his four-year-old album track Train Wreck started trending on TikTok and is storming towards the top 20, having notched up more than 100million streams.
He reckons Train Wreck, written during a career low, resonates with those who are finding 2020 a challenging year.
The 32-year-old reasoned: ‘It was before Say You Won’t Let Go. I’d lost the faith of the public, I’d gone off the rails, lost record deals, scandals and all that — I was making that album for a desperate attempt to stay in the game.
‘Lyrically Train Wreck was a true reflection of where I was at in my life. It’s connecting with people and where we are all at. The cream will rise to the top if it’s a good song.’
Sam blings a message of defiance to the EMAs
Sam Smith was loud and queer with a sparkling performance at last night’s MTV EMAs — punctuated by a defiant LGBTQ message for TV audiences.
Sam, 28, didn’t hold back after a year of headlines surrounding coming out as gender non-binary.
During a performance of latest hit Diamonds at the socially distanced, star-studded music bash, they told the audience: ‘Don’t f*** with the queer kids.’
The show was hosted by Little Mix, who sang their new record, Sweet Melody.
They were one woman down after Jesy Nelson pulled out, saying she was poorly.
The night belonged to K-pop as South Korean superstars BTS swooped to a leading four gongs, including best group.
Lady Gaga, crowned best artist and honoured for her chart-topping album Chromatica, blubbed online as she also celebrated Joe Biden’s presidential win over Donald Trump.
Wap rapper Cardi B claimed the best hip hop crown while best video went to DJ Khaled for his and Drake’s track Popstar.
Coldplay clinched the best rock prize while Doja Cat, David Guetta and Alicia Keys streamed in from locations around the globe to perform. Sweden’s Zara Larsson said she jumped at performing via livestream because ‘people still need entertainment’. Other guests included Rita Ora, Anne-Marie and Bebe Rexha.
Catch up on the MTV EMAs tonight at 11pm.
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