Pop Culture

Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has revealed she contracted sepsis after her first round of chemotherapy earlier this month.  The 33-year-old was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May and underwent a mastectomy. In July, the dancer from Caerphilly, South Wales, told fans she had received a second diagnosis of “another type of

Police were called to a “disturbance” at a West End performance of Grease, as officers had to escort four theatregoers from the theatre. Officers were called to the Dominion Theatre in central London at 8.40pm on Saturday. Audience member Ryan Redmond told Sky News that two men and two women were being “rude and abusive”

Welcome to Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News. On this week’s Backstage podcast, hosts Claire Gregory and Katie Spencer are live from Edinburgh TV Festival – an event that showcases upcoming shows and programmes coming to TV screens and streaming platforms in the near future. Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you

The annual gathering of the people behind the shows that we see on TV has been taking place in Scotland this week. The Edinburgh TV Festival has seen commissioners, press and some famous faces heading to Edinburgh to discuss the current television landscape and promote some of the new shows they have coming out in

From Luther and The Affair, through to His Dark Materials, actress Ruth Wilson has become the go-to actress when it comes to playing some of modern TV and film’s most complex characters. Rather than play it safe, the actress says she likes the idea that viewers who watch her work will be “triggered”. “It wouldn’t

Former One Direction star Liam Payne has revealed he has been in hospital with a “serious kidney infection” and has been forced to cancel gigs. The 29-year-old singer said he had “no choice” but to postpone his upcoming tour of South America “with a heavy heart”. “Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with

Sir Michael Parkinson’s son says the chat show king – who interviewed stars including John Lennon, Muhammad Ali and Madonna – would never have achieved such onscreen success without the love and support of his wife, Mary. Mike Parkinson told Sky News: “She inspired him. She gave him confidence. She was his mentor. “But also,

A teenager with a machete threatened to cut off singer Aled Jones’s arm during a robbery, a court has been told. The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be legally identified, robbed the singer of his £17,000 Rolex watch while he was out walking with his son. The 52-year-old who is originally from Bangor, North Wales, was

EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Lloyd Webber and his The Really Useful Group have signed with CAA. The signing of the mega-successful theater composer, whose scores include The Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Boulevard, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and, most recently, the short-lived Bad Cinderella, was announced to Deadline today. Prior

A world-renowned British conductor who featured in the King’s coronation has pulled out of the Proms after being accused of assaulting a singer. Sir John Eliot Gardiner, 80, allegedly punched bass singer William Thomas following a performance at the Festival Berlioz in France, after the performer left the podium in the wrong direction. The incident

TV journalist Louis Theroux has interviewed everyone from porn stars to prisoners, known for deftly encouraging even the most combative or private interviewees to open up. Theroux, who rose to fame with his Weird Weekends series 25 years ago, was asked to deliver this year’s James MacTaggart Memorial lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, covering

Producers of the struggling A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical are hoping for better attendance by breaking with a long-held Broadway tradition: Beginning next month, the musical will play four weekly matinees rather than the usual three while cutting the number of evening performances to four from the traditional five. Beginning Sept. 6, the

The Rolling Stones appear to have teased a new album – by placing an advert in a local newspaper. Fans are convinced an innocuous-looking promotion for a new glass repair store, featured in the Hackney Gazette, is actually a hint of new work from the rock legends. Representatives for The Rolling Stones – now featuring

Guy Pearce has celebrated his mother as a “sharp, fierce and witty” woman before her Alzheimer’s diagnosis as he announced her death. The British-born actor, best known for his role in 2000 psychological film Memento, first came to public attention when he appeared in Neighbours. The 55-year-old reflected how he will “miss” his mother, Anne,

Rihanna has welcomed her second child with rapper A$AP Rocky. She gave birth to a boy earlier this month, according to US entertainment website TMZ. Image: Rihanna revealed her second pregnancy at the Super Bowl Rihanna and rapper A$AP Rocky already have a one-year-old son together called RZA – which is pronounced “Rizza”. While the

More than 100 actors are backing calls for a Green Rider – an environmentally friendly contract between performers and film and TV production companies. Stars including Bella Ramsey, Stephen Fry and Natalie Dormer all signed a statement created by Equity For A Green New Deal setting out proposals to improve sustainability in the UK’s film

Once Upon a One More Time, the Broadway musical that uses Britney Spears hits to re-tell and revise various fairy tales and opened in June to mixed reviews, has announced an early closing. In an Instagram post today, the production notes that the final performance will be Sept. 3 at the Marquis Theatre. “The fairy-tale

Chris Evans has revealed he has been diagnosed with skin cancer. Announcing the news on his Virgin Radio show, he said it was discovered in the early stages, adding he was told it is treatable. He said: “We need to discuss what’s going on with this issue. “It is a melanoma. There’s this phrase called

TV presenter Phil Spencer has spoken out following the death of his parents in a car crash at their home, calling it “horrendous” but taking strength from the fact they were together when they died Spencer’s father Richard, 89, and mother Anne, 82, both died following the accident at their farm in Kent on Saturday.

Children’s TV channel CITV – loved for kids’ classics including Danger Mouse and Rainbow – will close next month. It is making way for ITVX Kids, the children’s service on ITV‘s new streaming service ITVX, which launched earlier this summer. ITV told Sky News: “As a consequence of this new streaming approach and responding to