Queens… get ready, RuPaul’s Drag Race is coming to the UK…
This is the news that we’ve all been waiting for. No more rumours. It has been confirmed.
BBC 3 is set to be the broadcaster for a UK version of the epic drag queen reality TV show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. BBC three tweeted and confirmed the news this morning (5th December).
RuPaultold The Sun: “I am beyond excited to celebrate the massive charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent of the Queen’s queens. And before anyone asks, yes, we would be thrilled to have Meghan Markle join us, as we are already preparing a ‘Royal-Mother-To-Be’ runway challenge.”
Michelle Visage took to Twitter to say, “HERE WE GO! SEE YOU ON THE MAIN STAGE, UK QUEENS…. Audition deets coming soon! Hey super queens, who’s got what it takes to be part of our royal family?”
HERE WE GO! SEE YOU ON THE MAIN STAGE, UK QUEENS…. Audition deets coming soon
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Hey super queens, who’s got what it takes to be part of our royal family? ? RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is… https://t.co/VrlarvFOtB
The X Factor final is looking to be the lowest rated to date, according to bookmakers.
The X Factor is odds-on at 8/11 with Betway to pull in its lowest ever final viewership this weekend.
The long-running singing competition has seen its ratings drop in recent years and 8/11 says this 2018 edition could also be responsible for the lowest ever series viewership, which currently stands at 6.52million.
Worryingly the X Factor has produced more winners who have been revealed to have been homophobic or tweeted anti-gay comments than actual LGBT winners.
The leading online bookmaker is not ruling out the possibility of this being the last ever series, going 10/1 for 2018 to be curtains for the long-running show, with Dalton Harris the 1/4 favourite to triumph on Saturday.
Betway’s Alan Alger said, “Having been on our screens for 15 years, X Factor’s popularity has dwindled and we are 8/11 for this weekend to see the show’s lowest ever final viewership.
“Dalton Harris is 1/4 to win the series but then it could be curtains for the show altogether, as we go 10/1 for this edition to be the last ever one, though it’s never over until the fat lady sings.”
Emily Atack has climbed to the top of Betway’s I’m A Celebrity outright winner market after just her first night in the jungle.
Immediately the centre of attention after sky-diving into camp before being named as this year’s first to face a Bushtucker Trial, Atack is now the leading online bookmaker’s 11/4 favourite having been as big as 11/2 before Sunday night.
Pre-show fancy James McVey has gone cold in the betting and is out to 8/1 from 9/2, while X Factor finalist Fleur East has impressed early on and has been cut to 13/2 from 12/1.
Betway’s Alan Alger said, “After the first night in the jungle, punters are beginning to strongly side with Emily Atack and she’s now our new 11/4 favourite to go all the way. She featured heavily in the opening show and faces the first Bushtucker Trial, so on entertainment value alone she’s made a fast start.
“Fleur East has been backed into 13/2 from 12/1 after a busy opening show, while James McVey, a big early fancy at 9/2, failed to get much air-time and has been pushed out to 8/1.”
James McVey is in the jungle, but is he dating anyone and what is he most famous for?
Twenty-four-year-old James McVey is the guitarist for the band, The Vamps. The band has been together since 2011, when he met his fellow bandmates on YouTube and Facebook.
Together the band has amassed five top 10 singles and their last album, Night and Day reached number one in the charts. James himself is the third most popular member of the group on social media with nearly 1.8 million followers on Twitter. His bandmate Connor Ball is the most popular with over 2 million followers.
Nope, James McVey has never identified as gay or bisexual and is currently in a relationship with his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kirstie Brittain, who is a model. The pair started dating at the end of 2014. They split but later reunited. Prior to Kirstie, James was romantically linked to Game of Thrones actor, Sophie Turner. However, the pair had an acrimonious split on Twitter in July 2014.
No, not yet at least. James is currently dating his model girlfriend, 22-year-old Kirstie Brittain. They’ve been together since late 2014, but there’s been no talk of marriage or engagement, yet.
“Fabuuuulous” John swoons as he reveals that he’s in the brand new series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here
CREDIT: KathClick
The film, TV and West End star, John Barrowman, is joining nine other campmates down under for the latest series of the popular jungle show, which starts on the 18th November.
John Barrowman, who is married to his husband Scott, will be embarking on a journey of a lifetime as he battles in the Aussie wilderness to be crowned king of the Jungle.
John is probably most famous for his starring roles in Doctor Who and Torchwood.
In 2014 Barrowman surprised audiences across the commonwealth when he grabbed a guy and gave a full-on lip smacker during his song in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. It is thought the kiss was done as a political statement as homosexuality is illegal in the majority of the 53 countries of the Commonwealth.
John will be joining, EastEnders’ actress Rita Simons, football manager Harry Redknapp, Vamps singer James McEvey, Inbetweeners star Emily Atack and Hollyoaks‘ Malique Thompson-Dwyer, Coronation Street‘s Sair Khan, DIY SOS’ Nick Knowles, X Factor‘s Fleur East, and The Chase‘s Anne Hegerty.
The X Factor has become a mainstay of British weekend television and has given us fourteen winning acts. But have any of them identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender?
First off, there has never been an openly transgender winner of X Factor, there also has never been an openly lesbian or bisexual winner. There has been just one openly gay man to win the biggest talent competition in the UK – and he wasn’t even out when he took part in the competition.
Joe McElderry is the only gay person to win the show. He won the competition in 2009 – however, he wasn’t openly gay during the competition and denied rumours surrounding his sexuality. He came out after the show in an exclusive interview with The Mirror newspaper – which called his decision to come out as “brave”.
More worryingly the X Factor has produced more winners who have been revealed to have been homophobic or tweeted anti-gay comments than actual LGBT winners.
Cameron Cole has been crowned king of Big Brother 2018, he is also the fourth LGBT person to win the reality show.
Cameron Cole.
Cameron Cole, who, came out during his time in the house said that he was “utterly shell-shocked” when he found out that he was crowned the winner, revealing that he actually thought he’d be out in the first week.
Speaking to the show’s host, Emma Willis, Cameron said, “I am completely and utterly shell-shocked. I can’t even put into words…I just can’t describe it. I never in a billion years did I expect that. I thought I’d be out the first week…I just didn’t think I’d be liked, I thought I was going to be irritating, annoying. I moan a lot….So I just didn’t think I was going to fit in. The Housemates have been incredible. They have been so incredibly supportive. It’s been the most incredible house.”
Cameron Cole looked tearful as he learned he was crowned king of the final ever series of Big Brother.
He added: “It was a dream to get in…I don’t know what to say…I got what I expected and a hundred times more in an unbelievably positive way…It was the most life-changing, incredible experience.”
Cameron Cole became the first male Big Brother UK contestant to come out as gay on the programme. The 18-year-old vlogger opened up about his sexuality with his coming out broadcast on TV on the 5th October.
He came out during a discussion with fellow housemate Lewis Flanagan. The reveal came after openly gay housemate Cian explained to other housemates, the previous night, that he had a crush on Cameron and would “eat him alive”.
Cameron Cole looking shocked as Emma Willis walked him through his time of the final series of Big Brother in the UK.
He follows in the footsteps of Brian Dowling, Nadia Almada and Luke Anderson, all who identify as part of the LGBT+ community. Brian Dowling became the first gay man to win (during the second season) while Nadia was the first transgender winner. There have been no Lesbian or openly bisexual winners of the show in its 18-year run.
Arguably one of Kevin Spacey’s most famous roles, Frank Underwood has been effectively killed off on the Netflix hit, House Of Cards, but how did they write him out?
House Of Cards
Disgraced actor, Kevin Spacey has left House Of Cards and along his department goes the ultimate anti-hero, Frank Underwood. It’s impossible to think that the show could continue without the conniving, backstabbing, pure genius evil that was President Underwood, but the writers of one Netflix’s most important shows, House Of Cards have come up with a story.
Now the production team at House Of Cards have remained tight-lipped about the demise of Frank Underwood, so we won’t be able to reveal how they managed to write out the character, but come the 2nd of November all will be revealed.
However, at the end of Season 5, Frank Underwood suddenly resigns with Claire Underwood being sworn in as the new President, and she is extremely peed with Frank for not running his resignation through her. What’s more, Frank needs to be pardoned by the new President for crimes committed during his premiership, but Claire is not answering her phone.
The last scene focusing on Claire Underwood who has become the new President, saying rather chillingly, “My turn”.
So what happens to Frank? Is he killed off, is he written out, what’s the cause of his demise? We’ll have to wait until the 2nd November 2018, when the new series lands on Netflix.
ITV is about to screen a brand new drama, Butterfly which focuses on issues surrounding a transgender child and their family.
ITV
Butterfly is a heartfelt and sensitive drama about a complex family situation, a child who feels that their gender identity is different from the one chosen at birth.
When their 11-year-old, Max (Callum Booth-Ford), experiences increasingly distressing feelings around gender, separated parents, Vicky (Anna Friel) and Stephen (Emmett J. Scanlan) attempt to work together. But with both parents divided, will Max find the courage to identify as a girl and express herself as Maxine?
Will Maxine’s family be able to accept her for who she really is?
How many episodes of Butterfly are there?
There are three episodes of Butterfly. The first is showing on ITV 1 on Sunday 14th October 2018. The drama will be aired between 9:00 PM and 10.00 PM.
The next two episodes are to be shown at the same time and same day of the week for the following two weeks.
Episode 2 of Butterfly will be shown on the 21st October 2018
Episode 3 of Butterfly will be shown on the 28th October 2018 (not yet confirmed)
Who stars in Butterfly on ITV?
International Emmy award-winning actress Anna Friel (Marcella, Broken), is joined by Emmett J. Scanlan (Harlan Coben’s Safe, The Fall), Alison Steadman (Orphan Black, Gavin and Stacey), Sean McGinley (Paula, On a Clear Day) and child actor Callum Booth-Ford.
There’s a brand new dating show launching and the focus is bisexual people.
(C) Magnus Hastings
How about this for representation?
E! Entertainment Television UK & Ireland, NBCUniversal International Networks’ pop culture channel, has commissioned a ten-part reality dating series entitled The Bi Life, for the UK and Ireland markets. The original concept, produced by NBCUniversal International Studios’ Monkey, is the first UK broadcast series to focus exclusively on bisexual dating. It will see a group of bisexual+ (bi, pansexual, fluid, etc.) or questioning British singletons sent on an adventure to find love abroad.
Fronted by entertainer, advocate and Celebrity Big Brother 2018 winner, Shane Jenek (also known as Courtney Act), The Bi Life will premiere in October 2018 and will be set against the cosmopolitan backdrop of Barcelona. The cast will live together, party together and help each other navigate the rocky road of bisexual+ dating as they observe and feedback on each other’s experiences. For some, this will mean exploring who they are, for the very first time.
Throughout the experience, the cast will provide each other with support and encouragement as they share their stories, form new friendships and go looking for love. The series will chart their highs and lows as they embark on a life of dating and romance in Barcelona.
Shane Jenek says: “As if this summer hasn’t been hot enough, we decided to crank it up another notch with The Bi Life on E! It’s high time there was a dating show for the large number of young people today, like me, who are attracted to more than one gender. In 2018 we know that sexuality is fluid and sharing the stories and experiences, the laughter and the love making, of young bi people is so important. So get ready to see the true stories of bisexual singles, who are the largest part of the LGBTQ+ community, but the least known.”
“This new commission is a pivotal point for E! Entertainment Television in the UK as we bring a fresh take on the full diversity of modern British relationships,” commented Lee Raftery, Managing Director UK & Emerging Markets and Chief Marketing & Content Officer, NBCUniversal International. “With the number of British people identifying themselves as bisexual rising by 73% in four years*, we are incredibly excited to be introducing this pioneering series to our audiences in the UK and Ireland.
Ros Coward, Monkey, Executive Producer comments: “A TV show that better reflects diversity within society’s dating pool has been long overdue. The Bi Life is a modern dating show for a modern generation of daters and E! is the perfect home for it.”
The Bi Life was commissioned for NBCU International for E! Entertainment Television UK. It will be produced by Monkey, the award-winning makers of Made in Chelsea and The Real Housewives of Cheshire.
Further details on the series format and cast members are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Big Brother is 18-years-old. Hard to believe but this year marks the 18th series of Big Brother and the 22nd of Celebrity Big Brother. It was widely reported that this season of the British version would be the last, on Channel 5 at least, but Rylan, who currently hosts Bit On The Side has hinted that it could go on for at least another two years.
The show has been on Channel 5 since 2011, when it moved from Channel 4, the show’s original home.
In a Q&A, speaking about how great BB is he said, “It’s amazing, and it’s amazing to be a part of TV history like that….LET’S MAKE IT 20!”
He recently took a break from hosting, but he said, “I’m over the moon after our extended break to be back where I belong. Looking after my baby. Not a series goes by that I don’t get excited about a new launch”.
Well indeed. Are you a fan, would you like to see another two series?
