[align=center]Jill Halfpenny on her Edinburgh return 12 years after big break
SUNDAY MAIL
Aug 17 2008
By Steve Hendry[/align]
FRINGE star Jill Halfpenny is loving being back in Edinburgh after 12 years with a new leading man - her baby son Harvey. The former Corrie and Eastenders actress has seen her career take off since getting her big break in the capital in 1996 when she spent her time off-stage enjoying late-night Festival fun.
Jill, 33, is finding out about life as a working mum as she combines looking after her first child and starring in the hit Fringe play Surviving Spike. The show is about the relationship between lauded comic genius Spike Milligan, played by Michael Barrymore, and his long-serving secretary and manager, Norma Farnes. And it's all very, very different from her last trip to the festival.
She said: "When I was here 12 years ago it was, 'What are we going to see, where's the bar and what can I have to drink?' It was my first job out of drama school, I was 21, very excited and you have that lovely, fresh-faced, world-is-youroyster feel. This is my first job since becoming a mum and it's all about Harvey, as it should be. It's very early mornings, feeding, playing, walking round, then going to work. Once I walk on stage I'm focused and my mind doesn't wander, wondering if Harvey is all right or what he's doing. I know he's in safe hands with my husband Craig. But the minute I walk off stage I check my phone and I'm calling home.
"By the time I finish he's ready for a feed and it's all about getting him settled down for the night. It really couldn't be a more different Edinburgh and it's bizarre to be back when so much has happened in between. But both experiences are as enjoyable as the other."
Surviving Spike is on at one of the festival's hubs, the Assembly Rooms on George Street, the same venue where Jill took her bow in Edinburgh in 1996. She starred in a production called Like A Virgin - alongside Vicky Entwistle, another future Corrie star - about two besotted Madonna fans. It was a huge risk at the time.
She said: "I got a job when I was in my final term at drama school and I had to leave to take it up. It was a cracking role and I knew I was right for it but the final term of drama school is when agents come to see you so it was a real gamble. I decided to do the job and thankfully I got an agent from it, so it worked out. It was very much the start of things for me. In fact, the casting director for Coronation Street at the time saw me in the play in Edinburgh and cast me a few years later because of it. I feel very, very lucky. I won't lie and say I'm constantly in work but I haven't had many long periods out of work.
"I have friends who are fantastic actors who haven't been so fortunate. There's a lot of right face, right time about this business and I was lucky things happened for me when I was young. I was getting my face about and a momentum builds up."
That is an understatement. As well as playing Corrie nurse Rebecca Hopkins, who had an affair with Martin Platt, and Phil Mitchell's wife Kate in East-Enders, Jill has starred in Peak Practice and Waterloo Road and guested in everything from Shameless to the Catherine Tate Show. And she made a huge impression as herself on Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, winning the show and being snapped up to play leading lady Roxy Hart in West End musical Chicago. But she admits she still wants more.
She said: "If someone had asked me when I was 21 and in Edinburgh first time round how I would feel if I got a role in EastEnders or Coronation Street or a lead role in the West End, I would have said, 'Wow, I've made it'. But then you do those things and your aspirations just get bigger and bigger. It sounds ungrateful but it's just ambition."
Surviving Spike has had good reviews and the odd, inevitable headline which follows troubled comic Michael Barrymore. Straight-talking Geordie Jill refuses to get involved in the controversy which dogs her co-star. She said: "I'm just an actor on a show with him. We work well on stage together and that's it. He's been great. I enjoy working with him."
She is more forthcoming about their play which covers a period of 36 years, from 1966 until Spike's death in 2002. Jill's character narrates the one-hour-45-minute show. It is a tough gig but one she felt she could not turn down, especially when she heard it would be coming to Edinburgh.
She said: "I was about five months pregnant and looking forward to sitting down and putting my feet up when the script came through. I didn't know Spike Milligan's work but you don't have to be a fan to enjoy the play. It's more about relationships and I was hooked about 10 pages in. It was really interesting for me because I'm usually the girlfriend or wife or mother-of-two, rather than ageing through 30 odd years. It was hard when I was pregnant because you do get tired. Learning lines with a mushy head was quite terrifying. When they said it was going to Edinburgh I was so happy because I have such fond memories of the place. It was a real launch pad for me. Harvey has lived through the whole thing - he's lucky he's not called Spike."
Surviving Spike is at the Assembly Rooms until August 25. Telephone 0131 226 2428.
EE: What happens to stars after they leave....
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eefanincan
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[align=center]
Then & Now diet DVD workout star Natalie Cassidy reverts to her 'then' look
19th August 2008[/align]
Just eight months ago, former EastEnder Natalie Cassidy was inspiring dieters up and down the country when she showed off her new slimline figure in her fitness DVD Then & Now. But it seems Natalie's hard work has all been undone as it looks like the actress has regained some of the four stone she lost.
The 25-year-old star was back to the previous curvy shape she was known for having while playing Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap opera as she enjoyed a night out in London last night. Natalie joined former Coronation Street star Angela Lonsdale - wife of current EastEnders star Perry Fenwick (Billy Mitchell) - at the London production of In My Name, starring her former on-screen husband James Alexandrou (Martin Fowler).
Despite wowing the crowds in a tiny black mini-dress at the London premiere of The Other Boleyn Girl in February, Natalie covered up her heavier frame in an all-black ensemble of dress, jacket and tights last night. Natalie, whose fitness DVD was a Christmas best-seller, has previously admitted that keeping her once trim physique was a nightmare, requiring daily two-hour workout sessions.
A friend told Closer magazine last month: 'Natalie says the weight loss was too good to be true. She had a dream body she couldn't maintain. She spent last weekend in tears about putting on weight. All that hard work has gone. It took months to lose it and weeks to put it back on. She feels embarrassed. She didn't want to be one of those celebs who made a DVD and then stopped practising what they preached.'
Natalie, who is 5ft 4, got down to 8 stone 1lb after tipping the scales at 12 stone by radically altering her eating habits
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I guess she's just human after all............
Then & Now diet DVD workout star Natalie Cassidy reverts to her 'then' look
19th August 2008[/align]
Just eight months ago, former EastEnder Natalie Cassidy was inspiring dieters up and down the country when she showed off her new slimline figure in her fitness DVD Then & Now. But it seems Natalie's hard work has all been undone as it looks like the actress has regained some of the four stone she lost.
The 25-year-old star was back to the previous curvy shape she was known for having while playing Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap opera as she enjoyed a night out in London last night. Natalie joined former Coronation Street star Angela Lonsdale - wife of current EastEnders star Perry Fenwick (Billy Mitchell) - at the London production of In My Name, starring her former on-screen husband James Alexandrou (Martin Fowler).
Despite wowing the crowds in a tiny black mini-dress at the London premiere of The Other Boleyn Girl in February, Natalie covered up her heavier frame in an all-black ensemble of dress, jacket and tights last night. Natalie, whose fitness DVD was a Christmas best-seller, has previously admitted that keeping her once trim physique was a nightmare, requiring daily two-hour workout sessions.
A friend told Closer magazine last month: 'Natalie says the weight loss was too good to be true. She had a dream body she couldn't maintain. She spent last weekend in tears about putting on weight. All that hard work has gone. It took months to lose it and weeks to put it back on. She feels embarrassed. She didn't want to be one of those celebs who made a DVD and then stopped practising what they preached.'
Natalie, who is 5ft 4, got down to 8 stone 1lb after tipping the scales at 12 stone by radically altering her eating habits
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I guess she's just human after all............
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SpursFan1902
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[align=center]<object height="400" width="600"> <param name="movie" value="https://www.humyo.com/E/56153-181156493"> <param name="flashvars" value="usefullscreen=true&"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <embed src="https://www.humyo.com/E/56153-181156493" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="usefullscreen=true&" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed> </object>[/align]
Here's a clip of 'Barry Off Eastenders' on tonight's edition of 'The Bill'.
Here's a clip of 'Barry Off Eastenders' on tonight's edition of 'The Bill'.
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eefanincan
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I expected him to start yelling "Janine!" any minute [align=center]
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'Racist' Wendy hits back[/align]
EX-EASTENDERS star Wendy Richard has today hit back at claims she made racist comments about Big Brother housemate Kathreya Kasisopa. White-haired Wendy – who left the soap as battleaxe Pauline Fowler in 2006 - made the remark when she appeared on Monday’s Big Brother’s Little Brother on E4, when she was asked her opinion on Thai-born Kat, who was voted off the show last night.
She said: "I was a big fan of Kat, and we would discuss it amongst our friends and they said she is not right. I looked at her through different eyes and I have to admit they were right and I was wrong. She is fake, and she is very cute. What is it they say about these inscrutable Chinese? And she is Thai, but it is all Oriental isn’t it? Well it is to me anyway.”
Her comments provoked gasps from the studio audience and shocked presenter George Host tried to bring back some normality, quickly stepping in to say: "I don't think that is unique to Asian people, more to Kat." But that didn’t stop Wendy, who added: "They don't betray their emotions on their face, that is what I meant."
Her remarks caused hundreds of viewers to complain to Ofcom, who are now investigating. But today the 65-year-old told a LBC radio show she had not meant to cause offence. Wendy said: “I’m so upset I’m so close to tears. I feel ill. I can’t believe that such a brouhaha has started up. I did not want to get BBLB in trouble because I have been lying at home with a broken foot and it’s all I’ve been watching because I couldn’t leave the house. What I was trying to convey is that Kat did not betray her thoughts about what was going on in the house all of the time. I have just been told by an American friend that in the US that Oriental is considered offensive and I did not know that. I did not mean to cause offence to anyone.”
She added: “It’s a long time since I was a school but I was thinking of those Arthur Conan Doyle books with Sherlock Holmes when it was the inscrutable Chinese. I’m terribly sorry and I certainly would not want to offend anyone, I’m not that sort of person. I just wanted to point out that at times it was very difficult. She (Kat) would sit up in bed and watch everything that was going on. She was very aware of where the cameras were. She was in there playing the game like the rest of them. My agent rang to say there was a small problem. With live television you have to get your words out and you only have a certain amount of time. It has upset me a lot.”
This is the third time the show has been hit by race rows. In Celebrity Big Brother last year Jade Goody made racist comments to Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. And 19-year-old Emily Parr was booted off last year’s Big Brother after telling black housemate Charley Uchea to “push it out n*gger” when they danced.
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How could she say that's not a racist attitude? I've no sympathy for people who've been on the planet as long as she has who still maintain these old idiotic attitudes. By her token she's no different from a Bulgarian or Spaniard because 'Europeans are all the same'...
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'Racist' Wendy hits back[/align]
EX-EASTENDERS star Wendy Richard has today hit back at claims she made racist comments about Big Brother housemate Kathreya Kasisopa. White-haired Wendy – who left the soap as battleaxe Pauline Fowler in 2006 - made the remark when she appeared on Monday’s Big Brother’s Little Brother on E4, when she was asked her opinion on Thai-born Kat, who was voted off the show last night.
She said: "I was a big fan of Kat, and we would discuss it amongst our friends and they said she is not right. I looked at her through different eyes and I have to admit they were right and I was wrong. She is fake, and she is very cute. What is it they say about these inscrutable Chinese? And she is Thai, but it is all Oriental isn’t it? Well it is to me anyway.”
Her comments provoked gasps from the studio audience and shocked presenter George Host tried to bring back some normality, quickly stepping in to say: "I don't think that is unique to Asian people, more to Kat." But that didn’t stop Wendy, who added: "They don't betray their emotions on their face, that is what I meant."
Her remarks caused hundreds of viewers to complain to Ofcom, who are now investigating. But today the 65-year-old told a LBC radio show she had not meant to cause offence. Wendy said: “I’m so upset I’m so close to tears. I feel ill. I can’t believe that such a brouhaha has started up. I did not want to get BBLB in trouble because I have been lying at home with a broken foot and it’s all I’ve been watching because I couldn’t leave the house. What I was trying to convey is that Kat did not betray her thoughts about what was going on in the house all of the time. I have just been told by an American friend that in the US that Oriental is considered offensive and I did not know that. I did not mean to cause offence to anyone.”
She added: “It’s a long time since I was a school but I was thinking of those Arthur Conan Doyle books with Sherlock Holmes when it was the inscrutable Chinese. I’m terribly sorry and I certainly would not want to offend anyone, I’m not that sort of person. I just wanted to point out that at times it was very difficult. She (Kat) would sit up in bed and watch everything that was going on. She was very aware of where the cameras were. She was in there playing the game like the rest of them. My agent rang to say there was a small problem. With live television you have to get your words out and you only have a certain amount of time. It has upset me a lot.”
This is the third time the show has been hit by race rows. In Celebrity Big Brother last year Jade Goody made racist comments to Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. And 19-year-old Emily Parr was booted off last year’s Big Brother after telling black housemate Charley Uchea to “push it out n*gger” when they danced.
-------------------
How could she say that's not a racist attitude? I've no sympathy for people who've been on the planet as long as she has who still maintain these old idiotic attitudes. By her token she's no different from a Bulgarian or Spaniard because 'Europeans are all the same'...
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SpursFan1902
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eefanincan
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pirtybirdy
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The same 'nutso' political correctness that drove people to complain about her making sweeping generalisations is the same kind of awareness that made sweeping generalisations about African people and, on a smaller scale, the Irish, unacceptable.
If she didn't like her, fair enough, but to put it down to a racial stereotype is just idiotic.
If she didn't like her, fair enough, but to put it down to a racial stereotype is just idiotic.
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SpursFan1902
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[align=center]
EastEnders star in city
September 04, 2008
www.thisisnottingham.co.uk
[/align]
AROUND 1,000 people turned out to see EastEnders heartthrob and Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp open a shop today. The former pop star was opening the Co-op store in Trowell Road, Wollaton, after its £1.5m revamp. Fans waited patiently in the drizzle for a chance to be pictured with the star who played villain Steve Owen in EastEnders from 1998 to 2002.
He told the Post: "I've been to Nottingham a few times before and remembered that I liked the place. The band played here several times back in those days, and we probably had some nights out but I wouldn't expect to remember them! More recently I came back when I was in EastEnders and we filmed some scenes up the road at Nottingham Castle."
See Friday's Evening Post for more pictures.
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Nice to see that he's still out there in the public eye!
EastEnders star in city
September 04, 2008
www.thisisnottingham.co.uk
[/align]
AROUND 1,000 people turned out to see EastEnders heartthrob and Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp open a shop today. The former pop star was opening the Co-op store in Trowell Road, Wollaton, after its £1.5m revamp. Fans waited patiently in the drizzle for a chance to be pictured with the star who played villain Steve Owen in EastEnders from 1998 to 2002.
He told the Post: "I've been to Nottingham a few times before and remembered that I liked the place. The band played here several times back in those days, and we probably had some nights out but I wouldn't expect to remember them! More recently I came back when I was in EastEnders and we filmed some scenes up the road at Nottingham Castle."
See Friday's Evening Post for more pictures.
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Nice to see that he's still out there in the public eye!
[align=center]
Jack Ryder joins The Archers
Lizzie Smith
13th September 2008[/align]
When Jack Ryder and Kym Marsh got together he was the successful soap actor, while she was a popstar. Then Ryder gave up EastEnders role of Jamie Mitchell after four years to spend more time with his new wife Kym and seek success in Hollywood. But the fame never came and while Ryder's career stagnated Kym joined the cast of Coronation Street and became a major star.
Now, after announcing the end of their marriage in March, Ryder is to return to the world of soaps with a role in The Archers. He will join the Radio 4 soap at the end of the month and is expected to remain until at least the end of this year. His character will be called Ryan and will arrive in Ambridge through a connection to resident veterinarian Alistair Lloyd.
The controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer, said the link between the two characters was 'not about cows'. 'He is coming to join The Archers for a while, for about three months, and will start later this month,' said Damazer.
The country world occupied by The Archers could not be further removed from the sensational and often violent storylines of EastEnders. But the soap has dealt with some controversial storylines in recent years, including a gay love affair and some steamy scenes in a shower.
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I wonder why they didn't mention his complete failure to become a Conservative mp?
Jack Ryder joins The Archers
Lizzie Smith
13th September 2008[/align]
When Jack Ryder and Kym Marsh got together he was the successful soap actor, while she was a popstar. Then Ryder gave up EastEnders role of Jamie Mitchell after four years to spend more time with his new wife Kym and seek success in Hollywood. But the fame never came and while Ryder's career stagnated Kym joined the cast of Coronation Street and became a major star.
Now, after announcing the end of their marriage in March, Ryder is to return to the world of soaps with a role in The Archers. He will join the Radio 4 soap at the end of the month and is expected to remain until at least the end of this year. His character will be called Ryan and will arrive in Ambridge through a connection to resident veterinarian Alistair Lloyd.
The controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer, said the link between the two characters was 'not about cows'. 'He is coming to join The Archers for a while, for about three months, and will start later this month,' said Damazer.
The country world occupied by The Archers could not be further removed from the sensational and often violent storylines of EastEnders. But the soap has dealt with some controversial storylines in recent years, including a gay love affair and some steamy scenes in a shower.
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I wonder why they didn't mention his complete failure to become a Conservative mp?
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eefanincan
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