BREAKING NEWS: Famous ITV Presenter Returns to the BBC Five Years After Her ‘Remarkable’ Strictly Appearance.
AJ Odudu is set to flaunt her physical prowess on the upcoming Celebrity Gladiators special.
AJ Odudu is set to flaunt her physical prowess on the upcoming Celebrity Gladiators specialCredit: Getty
AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington on StrictlyCredit: BBC
It comes after the presenter faced a double blow from ITV.
M&S: Dress The Nation, which she fronted with Vernon Kay, got the chop — and another of her major hosting gigs, Celebrity Big Brother, was left hanging in the balance after being pushed back to next year.
A TV insider said: “The timing of this is particularly interesting because since she did spectacularly well on Strictly in 2021, she hasn’t done any big shows for the Beeb. Instead, she seems to have focused her energies on ITV — but now a couple of her shows are facing the chop and Gladiators has come along.
“It will leave some people in TV Land wondering whether she might be considering making a long-term move back to where things really took off for her.”
AJ is still expected to host the main series of Big Brother when it returns later on this year.
But a massive question mark hangs over the celeb version after it was twice delayed and now may not happen at all.
Meanwhile, ITV last week confirmed they weren’t brining back M&S: Dress the Nation, which AJ and Vernon hosted for two seasons.
And her fellow Big Brother presenter Will Best has just signed up to compete on the new series of Strictly, which means they will both be on the Beeb later this year.
Celebrity Gladiators, now on its third outing, features four stars competing with the likes of Nitro, Legend and Viper.
The other three contestants for this year’s spin-off are yet to be confirmed but will need to up their game to compete with superfit AJ.
Tom Stoltman, a three-time World’s Strongest Man champion, has become the newest member of the super-fit cast of GladiatorsCredit: Rich Storry/World’s Strongest Man
THE latest Gladiator signing is sure to leave contenders quivering in their Lycra.
Tom Stoltman, a three-time World’s Strongest Man champion, has become the newest member of the super-fit cast.
The 6ft 8in Scottish man mountain is one of the UK’s most celebrated strength athletes.
He will join the BBC One show for its fourth series, which starts filming in Sheffield later this month.
Tom, whose nickname is the Albatross, said: “This is a dream opportunity and I’m incredibly proud to become a Gladiator.
“I’ve spent my whole life pushing myself to see what I can achieve, and joining this incredible show is the next challenge.
“I’m excited to bring my strength, determination and personality to the arena but, most importantly, I want people watching to feel inspired to believe in themselves and take on their own challenges.”
Gladiators won’t be Tom’s first telly appearance, as he was one of the masked henchman who lifted Claudia Winkleman on last year’s The Traitors.
His Gladiator moniker has yet to be announced, but I imagine it will be a bit more rugged than the Albatross.
Gladiators will return for season four and a fresh celebrity special next year.
Father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh are set to return as show hosts, and fans can expect favourites Nitro and Fire to be flexing their muscles once again.
KATE ‘TO EXPOSE CONMEN’
Kate Garraway is in talks to front a documentary about scams after narrowly avoiding becoming a victim herselfCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
KATE GARRAWAY is in talks to front a documentary about scams after narrowly avoiding becoming a victim herself.
The Good Morning Britain presenter revealed how she was targeted last month – and not for the first time.
Last year, she almost fell foul of a £8,000 banking scam while dealing with the mounting care debts for her late husband, Derek Draper.
Kate, who was filming The Celebrity Traitors at the time, said: “Someone rang up and said, had I paid £600 for something on eBay?
“They said, ‘We need you to call this number’, and I said, ‘Can I have the number and I’ll call you back?’ Because that’s what we’ve been taught now.
“It wasn’t a real number so it was obviously a scam.”
Kate, who was speaking at broadcasting’s Tric Awards, added: “I’m interested in financial crime and scams. I’d like to follow the trail of it.”
ITV shines a spotlight on luxury London hotel The Langham for a new six-part series.
Inside The Langham: Britain’s First Grand Hotel gives exclusive access to the staff and guests as they prepare for its 160th anniversary.
John Hannah says his new comedy crime drama is a ‘love letter’ to BenidormCredit: Getty
JOHN HANNAH says his new comedy crime drama is a “love letter” to Benidorm.
The Spanish city loved by Brits is the setting for Channel 5’s Benidorm Is Murder.
And in the “eccentric” but “believable” show – which launches on July 30 – John plays a washed-up bar owner turned detective.
“It’s very much a love letter to Benidorm,” he told the Radio Times.
“Ian [Jarvis] wanted to write about working-class people who have retired or may just be there for the week, or maybe just on a stag do. It’s surprisingly diverse, and more realistic that Brits would be hot-footing it there rather than the Caribbean.”
But the actor admits that it isn’t “where I’d necessarily choose to go” on holiday.
Each to their own!
Since launching last week, the show – about a serial killer attacking teen boys – has become the second most watched programme on ITVX.
It is based on the gritty books by G.R. Halliday – and Laura Donnelly, who plays dogged DI Monica Kennedy, says she would love to reprise her role.
Laura said: “I read the second book in the series and if we get the opportunity to go into that world, it will be fascinating to explore.
“Each book is set in the same area of Scotland, with Monica and [DC Connor] Crawford, but takes place in a different world, with its own genre.
“It’s the equivalent of moving the same characters from a thriller to a Western.
“I love the idea of dropping in to a different world and finding out more about Monica along the way.”
BBC Four will air a landmark season of post-war British and Irish theatre, starting with Samuel Beckett’s Not I on July 26 at 10pm.
The season will bring together 16 adaptations, and accompanying documentaries, spanning seven decades of playwriting.
All will be available on iPlayer
Ruth Madeley says it’s ‘exciting’ to have a disabled character at the forefront of BBC One psychological thriller The RaptureCredit: Getty
RUTH MADELEY says it’s “exciting” to have a disabled character at the forefront of BBC One psychological thriller The Rapture.
She plays psychologist Dr Gabs Fox, who was paralysed in a car accident and now works in a high-security psychiatric hospital where she is assigned to 17-year-old patient Bethany (India Amarteifio).
Ruth, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, said: “Seeing a disabled lead is always really exciting and knowing I can play that well is even more exciting.”
She added that acting opposite Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones, who plays a therapist, “was a beautiful moment.”
The Rapture starts Sunday.
