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Category: TV

  • TV REVIEW | London Spy

    Ben Whishaw in a gay spy thriller? What’s not to like?

    CREDIT: (C) WTTV Limited - Photographer: Joss Barratt

    CREDIT: (C) WTTV Limited – Photographer: Joss Barratt

    The cute and slightly broody looking Q from the Bond franchise in a new 5 part programme, in part inspired by the Gareth Williams case of the body in the bag, and in part by a 1960’s CIA handbook about covering up a murder by using an accident?

    Right up my street and no mistaking! We are less than 1/2 way into this programme, and am firmly gripped. I love programmes that throw up more questions than they initially answer, that keep you guessing, that offer false scents, false trails and you end up with no idea how it will all end – bit like life really. It starts with Danny, played by Whishaw, a 20-something in dead-end jobs who parties, flat shares and doesn’t have a steady boyfriend – a bit of an every-gay, nothing special, just living his life.

    A chance meeting early one morning with the enigmatic Joe/Alex/Alistair (Edward Holcroft) and suddenly love creeps into his life. Joe is secretive with no family, a job he doesn’t want to talk about and Danny laps it up – even when Joe fronts up and becomes Alex. Danny has a close friend in Scottie (Jim Broadbent playing an older gay in quite a respectable way) and confides in him about Alex and then after 8 months, the two finally meet. Fast forward to a possible romantic weekend away, and suddenly Alex disappears. Danny and Scottie have a heart to heart and Scottie’s past as a spy comes out, along with his suspicions about Alex and his area of work.

    Danny then receives a mysterious package at work, and so begins a game of cat and mouse.

    A key to Alex’s exclusive apartment complex leads Danny to discover a decaying body, a sex dungeon (but in the attic) and his boyfriend’s possible secret life. After questioning by the police and the assumption the body is that of his boyfriend, yet another identity comes out and Alex becomes Alistair, together with a whole other life and a family.

    Episode 2 introduces the iconic Charlotte Rampling in a role made for her – queen of her very own castle, a model of decorum and a woman of few words, but all packaged with a tinge of menace.

    Enter Alistair’s family. Where is this going? Who was Alex? Is he really dead? Why is Danny being watched, and by whom?

    The next 3 episodes promise more unanswered questions before the finale, but I intend to savour the acting skills of Ben, and the flashbacks to his handsome and taciturn boyfriend Joe/Alex/Alistair – along with Jim Broadbent’s superior character, who for me, reminds everyone that gay life doesn’t end at 40.

    If you like your spy thrillers with a realistic edge, watch this!

    London Spy is on Monday nights at 9PM on BBC 2

  • Sex Box Is Back On Channel 4

    Channel 4 has commissioned another mini series of Sex Box, a show that explores the intimate world of sex being couples in front of an audience.

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  • Anton Stephans Eliminated From X Factor

    Anton Stephans has been booted from X FACTOR, but don’t worry you’ll see him again… on the tour.

    The soul diva has been eliminated from X Factor after a sing-off against Che Chesterman in last night’s show on ITV.

    The star, who recently backed a campaign to allow gay men to give blood, thanked Cheryl and Rita for their support as well as his mentor Simon Cowell.

    As he bowed out Anton joked that you would see him again… because he made the X FACTOR tour.

  • Gorgeous George Set For The Jungle

    Union J’s George Shelley is set to enter the Celebrity Jungle so we’ve been taking a look (read stalking) his social media.

    The former X Factor star turned full-time boy bander George, 22, is the youngest member of the group and originally auditioned for the show as a solo act. He sang Britney’s Toxic but didn’t get survive Bootcamp. He was then called – and asked if he wanted to join Union J.

    George is set to enter the jungle with a raft other celebrities this Sunday including X Factor’s former Creative Director Brian Freidman.

    He recently showed off his body and a new hair style in a super hot photoshoot which he shared on Instagram.

    I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here begins on 15th November 2015 on ITV 1

  • Seann Miley Booted From X FACTOR

    X Factor’s Seann Miley Moore has been booted from the X FACTOR despite being the second favourite to win the entire season

    In a sing-off with Mason Noise, Seann was eliminated from the show after the judges brought the vote to deadlock meaning the act with the least number of public votes would be axed from the show.

    Mason Noise delivered a less-than-perfect version of the Boyz 2 Men hit, End Of The Road, in which his voice cracked and was out of time. Seann delivered a flawless, goosebump version of A Song For You.

    Simon and Cheryl both chose to send Mason home, while Rita chose Seann to go home. Nick Grimshaw had the deciding vote and decided to bring the vote to deadlock by choosing Seann, saying that the audience should decide on who should go home.

    Presenter Caroline Flack issued the verdict like a guillotine strike, quick, sharp and without warning.

    The two singers were both in Nick’s category. Seann Miley Moore came out as gay in a recent interview with Now Magazine saying that he was a “proud gay man.”

  • Who Is Going To Win X Factor 2015 Can Twitter Predict Again?

    At this stage of the competition we like to bring back TWATS. Twitter Winning And Theoretical Service.

     

    In previous years we used Twitter to see if we could predict who the season’s winners would be. What we can tell you is that 2015’s contestants are vastly unpopular when compared to previous seasons of X Factor.

    In 2014 after two live shows the contestants with the most Twitter fans was Jack Walton with 148K followers.In 2013 Union J had 288K followers on Twitter, this year Louisa is by far the most popular on but lags fair behind both on 82.4K.

     

    Louisa 82.4K

    4th Impact 52.2K

    Mason Noise 41.5K

    Lauren Murray 39.1K

    Seann Miley Moore 35.4K (eliminated)

    Che Chesterman 34.7K

    Monica Michael 28.1K

    Kiera Weathers 21.1K (eliminated)

    Anton Stephans 20.4K

    Reggie N Bollie 19.9K

    Alien Uncovered 17.9K (eliminated)

    Max Stone 16.3K

    Bupsi Brown 8.9K (eliminated)

     

    Two of last year’s top three were already in triple digits by this point. Andrea Faustini had 147K followers and eventual winner Ben Haenow was at 122K followers. Runner up Fleur East was at 68.8K followers.

  • Seann Miley Moore X Factor Make Over Revealed

    The X FACTOR make overs are revealed and fan favourite Seann Miley Moore looks amazing.

    Seann Miley Moore looks incredible after his X FACTOR makeover which will be revealed in tonight’s episode as it moves into the Live Shows. The show’s theme is This Is Me, where contestants will perform a song that reflects the artist they want to be.

    Returning to the show is 2014 winner Ben Haenow, who will be performing his debut single Second Hand Heart.

     

  • Inside The Lush £7 MILLION X FACTOR House

    Here’s the the first look at the X FACTOR finalists house.
    We’ve managed to get a sneak peak inside the X FACTOR finalists’ house, thanks to Zoopla. The 7 bedroom £7 Million house features a swimming pool, cinema room and car lift. So the lucky 12 finalists will be living in the lap of luxury.

    Located in one of Barnet’s most sought-after streets, Zoopla can reveal that the property was previously put on the market for £7million when it was last up for sale in 2013.

  • 12 Campest Moments Of X FACTOR

    Here they are… the 12 campest moments from X Factor

    Another chance for the weird and wonderful to grace our TV screens with glittery performances and outrageous outfits. There has been many a camp moment over the years and this year will no different. Now we take a look back at some of the great, and not so great contestants and their camp moments during the last 12 years.

     

    Chico (Series 2, 2005)

     

    It’s Chico time…You can’t have a camp list without Chico and his time. So naturally his campest moment is Chico Time from week 6. But it comes to something when you can’t even beat the dull as dishwater Andy Abraham who finished second eventually.

    Same Difference (Series 4, 2007)

     

    Well what can one say about the eternally smiling, incredibly close, brother and sister duo Same Difference, who every week the viewers had to be reminded were brother and sister. Their constantly upbeat and sparkly performances really puts them in the camp category, but I would have to say their campest moment would be the performance of “Blame it on the Boogie”.

    Rhydian Roberts (Series 4, 2007)

     

    Rhydian with his jawline that could carve a steak, how do I best describe him? Well his shock of white blond hair made him stand out every week and his operatic style voice propelled him into second place that year to eventually lose to Leon Jackson. He was larger than life and put on quite the show every week. However his campest moment came in week 5 of the live shows when dressed as a sailor he sang The Pet Shop boys classic “Go West”.

    Alexandra Burke & Beyonce (Series 5, 2008)

     

    Not exactly a camp moment in itself, but it got all the gays moist with excitement when Alexandra Burke started singing “Listen” by Beyonce, and low & behold the lady herself glided effortlessly on stage and completely stole the show with her powerful vocals that helped Alexandra win the whole series.

    John & Edward Grimes AKA Jedward (Series 6, 2009)

     

    Oh Jedward, you distressingly annoying pair of idiots. From the word go with their hybrid American/Irish accent I knew I would hate them and every week I willed them to not make it any further. Jedward started the trend of having at least one “entertaining” contestant rather than actual talent. Their vocals harmed TV speakers over the whole country and while it’s difficult to pick a best camp moment out of the many they decided to inflict us with, I’m going to have to go with their dreadful, red PVC suit wearing rendition of “Oops I Did it Again”.

    Diva Fever (Series 7, 2010)

     

    If gay was personified, it would be Diva Fever, who didn’t exactly sing a whole lot. The public were never entirely sure if they were watching a singing act or a dressage performance. They only managed to survive 2 weeks in the live shows but they certainly left an impression with their high camp moments from the auditions through to the live shows.

     

    Katie Waissel (Series 7, 2010)

     

    Song destroying Katie Waissel, who many people think didn’t deserve her place because she rarely made it through a full song during the auditions, managed to outdo herself in the camp factor during week 4 of the live shows. Dressed in a birds nest on her head and bright white eyelashes, along with dancers with inflatable pumpkins she mutilated the theme song to “Bewitched”.

    Wagner (Series 7, 2010)

    I can’t pick one camp moment from Wagner because he did so many hilarious mash-ups of various camp classics. Trouble was, he took himself seriously and thought he was amazing while the rest of the country didn’t. He managed to cause controversy when he described Cheryl as “A girl from a council estate who got lucky” and not long after he was booted from the competition after a series of rants about the show

    Johnny Robinson (Series 8, 2011)

     

    A Kylie Minogue classic, a kimono and a fan that threatened to upstage him, made for the campest moment of this series with Johnny Robinson singing “Can’t Get You Out of my Head”. No other contestant could’ve pulled this off quite like Johnny did, so it made quite the interesting performance.

    Rylan Clark (Series 9, 2012)

     

    Nicole, Nicole, Nicole, why did you do this to us and inflict Rylan upon the world. The perma-tanned, TOWIE wannabe who cried in a very scary way was forced upon us, despite his obvious absence of talent. And most weeks he was there, he murdered camp classics but managed to survive to come 5th. But the controversial deadlock decision by Louis Walsh in week one against the slightly boring yet more talented Carolynne Poole made people start to openly question the validity of the show.

    Stevi Ritchie (Series 11, 2014)

    This time it’s Simon Cowell’s fault. Stevi Ritchie was the one who looked like the creepy, friend of the family who you were forced to call “uncle”. He certainly tried his best each week despite his lack of vocal ability, and his campest moment had to be the strangely Egyptian themed version of “I’m Still Standing”.

    Seann Miley Moore (Series 12, 2015)

     

    Anyone who comes on stage in high heeled boots, a fur jacket and a see-through top has to be a camp moment. Singing The Show Must Go On, he does have a good singing voice, and might actually break the curse of being the irritating “entertaining” one and actually be talented instead. We’ll just have to see if he makes it through to the live shows.

  • TV REVIEW: Scream, TV Series

    All you Slasher movie/Wes Craven fans out there Netflix has come up trumps with a new TV series called Scream.

    A Lone girl at home with phone communications coming from within the house… Check.

    Lone girl in a garage with the lights off… Check.

    Geeky virgin guy talking about how the murderers stalk their victims… Check.
    A small town high school is rocked, twice, first time after a video of the non-plastic, emo-y, dark haired girl kissing passionately with another girl goes viral on YouTube, the second time, after one of their prom queen contenders is brutally slashed from ear to ear and left dead in her swimming pool.

    But don’t mistake this for a TV version of the astronomic hit Scream series of films that wowed and scared teens in equal measures across the world in the late 90s and early noughties, the offering is different, think Scream meets Halloween.

    The story, just like the films, is very tongue in cheek, served with the same knowing and revealing gags thatScream (the film) became famous for and spawned the even more popular Scary Movie franchise, however it does feel incredibly dated, very last century. The fact that the creators have chosen a mostly white, blonde, thin, toned, rich-kid cast feels too conceited than a tongue in cheek nod at casting choices of the last century– and the idea that a lesbian – (read bi-curious) kiss could cause such controversy in 2015, in a high school, is a little unbelievable, unlike the uproar it would have caused in the mid/late 90s.

    Although Wes Craven, who sadly passed away in August this year, did not write or direct this series, he is credited as an exec producer.
    Purists of the genre, however, will love the jumps, the gore and the suspense as Lakewood’s series slasher dispenses with rich kid after rich kid, however perhaps a more mature audience looking for a more grown up Slasher proposal might need to look further.

     

  • Everything You Need To Know About The Boys From Apprentice

    We like a man in a suit. With the new series of The Apprentice starting tonight we thought we’d look over the boys’ CVs…

    We’re just like Lord Sugar, we’ve got saying you’re wired, or hired, or something. We’ll be looking over the lads’ CVs to just they’re up for the job.
    Brett Butler-Smythe

    Age: 28

    Occupation: Builder

    Lives: Plymouth

    Brett went straight to the Royal Navy after leaving school, where he worked as a marine engineer. He says starting his own property business from scratch is his biggest business achievement to date. He says his biggest strengths are being hard working, committed and trustworthy, and that he has no weaknesses. His attitude to business is ‘work hard, play hard, work harder’.

    He says: “I pride myself on not having any negative or bad traits about myself, they’re all good, they’re all positive.”

    Dan Callaghan

    Age: 23

    Occupation: Director, Fragrance Retailer

    Lives: Manchester

    Dan’s first job after university was working for an MEP at the European Parliament in Belgium, where he lived for a year. He describes himself as bright, optimistic and cheerful. He cites turning his fragrance company around after a difficult few years as the business achievement he is most proud of. He names Jeff Bezos of Amazon as one of his inspirations, because he feels the company has redefined the way consumers see online shopping.

    He says: ‘’I’m just a generally all round quite entertaining person, I think. A lot of people laugh at me.’’
    David Stevenson

    Age: 25Occupation: Owner, Sports Marketing Company

    Lives: Nottingham

    David’s background is in sports marketing and his company specialises in increasing crowd attendances at sporting events. He says his greatest achievement so far was promoting a high profile football match between two women’s national teams at Wembley to sold-out capacity. He cites Elon Musk as his business inspiration because of the amount he achieved early on in his career.
    He says: “Me and Lord Sugar will work together because you’ve got age and beauty and those two go hand in hand all the time. Sugar’s got the age and I certainly am beautiful.”

    Gary Poulton

    Age: 34

    Occupation: Programme Manager

    Lives: Birmingham

    Gary spent seven years at a leading supermarket chain as a Programme Manager, developing new store sites. He describes himself as someone who likes to succeed in all he does, and his biggest achievement in business to date was delivering the largest property development programme in the history of the supermarket he worked at in 2010-11.
    He says: “I look like the nice, easy going, laidback Brummie but once I start doing my business, people know I’m the real deal.”

    Joseph Valente

    Age: 25

    Occupation: Owner, Plumbing Business

    Lives: Peterborough

    Joseph describes himself as successful, passionate and driven. He says he applied for the show because he feels it is his destiny to be Lord Sugar’s business partner. He currently runs his own plumbing company and feels having a business is like being a parent, as it needs undivided attention and nurturing, and that Hugh Hefner is one of his role models.
    He says: “I am the definition of success, I’m a godfather of business and I’m here to make Lord Sugar a lot of money.
    Mergim Butaja

    Age: 23

    Occupation: Sales Account Manager

    Lives: Coventry

    Kosovan-born Mergim fled from the war-torn country to the UK with his parents and siblings when he was seven years old. Since the age of 18, he has been supporting his family by working in a range of jobs from sales to waiting tables. He names CEO of leisure retail chain The Range, Chris Dawson, as his business inspiration because of their similar backgrounds. Mergim says his determined attitude is his biggest strength and hopes he will inspire people who have lived through similar circumstances to succeed
    He says: ‘’Why am I a worthy business partner for Lord Sugar? I’d be a challenge to him. Everyone he’s metprobably sucks up to him. I won’t, I’ll tell him like it is.’’

    Richard Woods

    Age: 31

    Occupation: Director, Digital Marketing Agency

    Lives: London

    Richard is a director of a digital marketing company. He describes himself as self-assured and ambitious, and says his only regret is not being a millionaire before turning 30. He says building up four profit-making companies is the business achievement he is most proud of to date and cites Richard Branson as one of his inspirations because of the business empire he has created.
    He says: “I’m a Swiss army knife of bouncy skills, business skills, enthusiasm, I’ve got everything highly tuned and highly chiselled.”

    Sam Curry

    Age: 23

    Occupation: Private Tutor

    Lives: London

    Sam has been working as a tutor since leaving university, he has a passion for the arts and has taken part in numerous films and stage productions. He cites the fact that he’s always worked for himself as his biggest business achievement to date, and describes himself as loyal, honest and adventurous. Richard Branson is one of his main business inspirations because he agrees with the Virgin founder that you don’t need to be ruthless or cruel in business to succeed.
    He says: “I’m an interesting mix between happy go lucky and adventurous and then quite logical and sensible. It’s a strange combination.’’

    Scott Saunders

    Age: 27

    Occupation: Senior Account Manager, Sales

    Lives: Hertfordshire

    Scott’s business background is in sales, and he describes himself as sharp, motivated and obsessed with

    making his first million. He likes simple but effective brands such as confused.com and cites Richard Kiyosaki, founder of Rich Dad Company, as one of his business inspirations because he admires the way he does business.
    He says: “People do say to me they’ve never met anyone like me.’’