Covid-19 Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Matt Hancock has said his physical and mental resilience was tested “to its limits almost every minute of every day” during his time on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. The West Suffolk MP, 44, said the closest he came to quitting the gruelling programme was after “having my rib broken” during the jungle phase of SAS selection in Thung Ui, north Vietnam.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Canadian investment group Letko Brousseau & Associates and Imax Corporation have clashed over July’s proposed move to take private Imax China, which currently has a separate share listing in Hong Kong. Letko, which owns some 1.7% of Imax China shares, on Friday announced that it will vote against the proposal. It argues that the offer “significantly undervalues Imax China” and “unjustifiably benefits Imax Corporation at the expense of minority investors.” Imax currently owns nearly 72% of Imax China stock and is offering HK$10 per outstanding share valuing the unit at $124 million. “The timing of the offer is opportunistic and comes as [Imax China] is beginning to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic that has kept a significant portion of its theatres closed over extended periods of time from 2020 to 2022, said Letko.

Travis Barker has shared an important health update with fans to explain why he’s currently off the road.

A teaser image has been released ahead of a brand new factual series dropping next month on BBC Scotland and iPlayer which has been described as a "real-life version of US legal drama suits" swapping Hollywood for the streets of Glasgow.

The “Strike Force Three” live event has struck out. The hotly anticipated show — which was announced last week by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert — has been cancelled due to illness.

Jack Whitehall and Roxy Horner have announced their daughter’s name!

There’s no murders in the building. Only sick people.

Sherri Shepherd is postponing her show.

Janet Street-Porter has dubbed herself a "diva" as she reveals her numerous on-set demands.The Loose Women panellist, 76, has shared that she likes having special treatment behind-the-scenes, including joining meetings remotely and having a long list of riders. She told The Daily Star: "They call me a diva. I’ve got my own list of requirements in my dressing room.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Rachel Bloom remembers the exact moment that she decided her latest stage project, “Death, Let Me Do My Show,” couldn’t be the lightweight standup show she was hoping it would be. It was when she stood in front of a white board looking at an outline of the jokes she intended to tell, reading phrases like “pregnancy tests” and “my butthole is like the hurricane.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “There’s nothing dumber than seeing standup bits or comedy songs bullet-pointed out,” Bloom says on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast.

Margot Robbie put safety first during a night out with husband Tom Ackerley on Monday (September 18) in Los Angeles.

Russell Brand offered to take one of his assistants naked to disgraced presenter Jimmy Savile, in a clip that has resurfaced this weekend.An audio of Brand speaking to Savile was played in a new Channel 4 Dispatches documentary last night (September 16) which has seen Brand accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse. The documentary is part of a joint investigation with The Times and The Sunday Times which was published yesterday (September 16).

Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse following an investigation by Channel 4, The Times and The Sunday Times.The actor, comedian and presenter had already denied what he termed “very serious criminal allegations” in a video that was released yesterday evening (September 15). In the video, Brand insisted that his relationships have always been consensual.The allegations against Brand relate to a seven year period “at the height of his fame” between 2006 and 2013 according to The Sunday Times and come from four women, one of whom was 16 at the time.

Hours after Russell Brand issued a blanket denial of “very, very serious criminal allegations” that he claimed were about to surface, the Sunday Times is reporting that several women are accusing the British comedian of “rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse.”

Russell Brand has shared a video online saying he “absolutely” denies unspecified criminal allegations relating to his personal life, which were outlined in two “extremely disturbing letters”.Brand said he received the letters from a “mainstream media TV company” and a newspaper which he said included a “litany of extremely egregious and aggressive attacks”.“Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said.“These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies, and as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”He continued: “Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual. I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent, and I am being transparent about it now as well.“To see that transparency metastasised into something criminal, that I absolutely deny, makes me question – is there another agenda at play?”Brand added that he believed he was a part of a “coordinated attack”, likening it to the controversy in the media around Joe Rogan promoting ivermectin as a cure for COVID-19 (despite it not being endorsed as an effective treatment).This is happening pic.twitter.com/N8zIKLbJN2— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) September 15, 2023“I don’t mind them using my books and my stand-up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past.

Russell Brand is vehemently denying what he’s describing as “very, very serious criminal allegations” against him — that haven’t yet been made public.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve become accustomed to new variants of the virus emerging as it mutates and spreads. But last month, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that the BA.2.86 – since been named Pirola – has made its way to the UK and NHS officials have labelled it the “most concerning variant” since Omicron. It appears, say scientists, to carry a high number of 'mutations' in its spike protein so they're watching it carefully to see if it manages to evade the immune system.

Kate Garraway made an emotional and searingly honest appearance on This Morning on Thursday, September 14, as she opened up on 'feeling like a failure' amid husband Derek's health battle. The 56 year old Good Morning Britain host and her family have endured an unthinkable few years since her husband, Derek Draper, contracted Covid-19 in 2020. The virus caused brain inflammation, kidney failure, and damage to his liver and pancreas, and Derek now receives round-the-clock care.

Jaden Thompson More than a year after her daytime show went off the air, Ellen DeGeneres is returning to television — in a much different capacity. DeGeneres is bringing a passion project, showing her love for animals, to Discovery Channel with a two-hour documentary special, “Saving the Gorillas: Ellen’s Next Adventure.” The special will air on Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.

A spike in 'excess deaths' in Stockport could be down to the government's handling of NHS strikes, a councillor has suggested.

The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise across the UK - largely due to the emergence of the new Eris variant, which experts say could be worse than previous mutations. There were 8,961 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in England in the week to September 3, according to the latest government data.

K.J. Yossman The U.K. TV industry delivered a total sector revenue of almost £4 billion ($5 billion) in 2022.

Novak Djokovic just won the 2023 U.S. Open.

Hindsight is 20/20. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who took considerable heat from constituents and a recall attempt over the state’s tough Covid-19 restrictions and vaccine rollout, acknowledges the criticism was valid.

Naman Ramachandran Anand Patwardhan, the doyen of Indian documentary filmmaking, will premiere his new film, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (“The World Is Family”) at the Toronto Film Festival. The film focuses on Patwardhan’s parents and close family members and juxtaposes Mahatma Gandhi and the history of India’s independence movement with contemporary times. “As my parents began to age, I began filming to preserve their memory for myself but had no intention to make a film as such.

EastEnders star Lacey Turner has teased that a soap legend could be making a return to Albert Square later on this year. Lacey, who is known for playing Stacey Slater on the hit BBC One soap, is currently at the centre of a dramatic flash-forward storyline which has seen six characters in The Queen Vic left dealing with a dead body on Christmas Day 2023. With the murder mystery plot gradually unfolding having kicked off back in February, viewers at home have been busy speculating what they think could’ve happened as well as who the unknown victim and perpetrator could be.

“The Nun II” has already raked in $3.1 million in box office previews, ahead of the horror/thriller’s debut this weekend.

A mum diagnosed with terminal cancer said she is “determined” to push forward research into the disease and help with advances in treatment to give herself and others like her some “hope”.

Plans to build a brand new theatre at Wrightington Hospital have been tabled in the hope they reduce waiting lists.

In an unexpected turn of events, a California pup has become the toast of the metal world after slyly infiltrating a Metallica concert.