Pop Culture

X Factor star Lucy Spraggan is calling for an “industry shift” over the treatment of contestants on reality TV, labelling the resulting fame from appearing on such programmes “a huge trauma”. The singer – who is now 31 – was just 20 years old when she appeared on the Simon Cowell talent show, and was

The owner of an art gallery says she’s “mortified” after The Last Of Us and Narcos star Pedro Pascal turned up to see an exhibition about himself – and couldn’t get in. The show – ADHD Hyper Fixation And Why It Looks Like I Love Pedro Pascal – is on display at the Rhodes Gallery

A 14-year-old rapper and social media star who was reported to have died has said she is in fact safe and alive. A statement on Lil Tay’s Instagram account on Wednesday, purportedly from her family, said she and her brother had both died. But the TMZ website quoted her as saying her account had been

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, has died aged 80. Robertson was behind such classics as The Weight, Up On Cripple Creek, and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. He died surrounded by his family, a statement from his manager said. The Band initially served as Bob Dylan’s backing group –

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has signed on as a lead producer of the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of The Outsiders, the producing team announced today. Based on the 1967 novel by S.E. Hinton and the 1983 film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola, The Outsiders musical had its world premiere engagement at La Jolla Playhouse earlier this

A “large number” of ITV’s This Morning employees have told Parliament they faced “further bullying and discrimination” after raising concerns of toxicity and harassment with the broadcaster.  In June, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall faced questions from MPs about former host Phillip Schofield‘s exit from the daytime show amid allegations it was fostering a

Casting for Broadway’s upcoming Spamalot revival is well underway, with James Monroe Iglehart, Michael Urie, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Jimmy Smagula and Nik Walker set to reprise their roles from the popular Kennedy Center production and Ethan Slater and Christopher Fitzgerald joining as newcomers. Performances of the Monty Python musical comedy begin Tuesday, October 31, at

Seth Rogen says the film studios and streaming giants are unable to get on the same page because they “hate each other” as the Hollywood writers’ strike enters its 100th day with no hint of an agreement. Both actors and writers are on strike for the first time since 1960, bringing the film and TV

DJ Casper – the musician behind dance hit the Cha Cha Slide – has died at the age of 58. His wife told ABC7 Chicago the musician, who was diagnosed with kidney and liver cancer in 2016, had passed away. She said: “Casper was a fun-loving, giving person. “He was a genuine, family-oriented man. “He

Sinead O’Connor has been remembered as a singer and activist whose “voice moved a generation of young people”, as stars including U2’s Bono and Bob Geldof attended her funeral and thousands of mourners lined the streets to pay their respects. The music star’s life was celebrated at a private ceremony before the funeral cortege travelled

Broadway Across America, a leading presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, has announced a new executive team, with current co-CEO Rich Jaffe named sole CEO. Also as part of the changes, Susie Krajsa, who has served as BAA’s President since 2018, will lead BAA’s regional teams and take on additional responsibilities in that role.  Joining Jaffe

The mother of Euphoria star Angus Cloud, who died last week, has shared details about the day before his death and said she believes the 25-year-old “did not intend to end his life”. Cloud played drug dealer Fezco in 17 episodes of the hit HBO drama, alongside Zendaya and Hunter Schafer, and was found unresponsive

EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Fiennes has scored a winner with playwright James Graham’s knockout stage play Dear England, which will transfer from London’s National Theatre to the West End in the fall. The play is an uplifting dramatization of Gareth Southgate’s inspirational leadership of the England’s men’s soccer team and has garnered strong reviews. Dear England will run

Barbie might be synonymous with pink – but her film is now firmly in the green, with more than $1bn (£784m) in box office sales worldwide. The smash hit, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, reached the “Barbillion” on Sunday after pulling in a further $127m (£99m) in sales over the weekend. It

It’s the great comedy debate. With performers at Edinburgh’s Fringe feeling the pinch from rising accommodation, food and fuel costs, has the festival become elitist? “There’s a definite economic barrier,” comedian Paul Chowdhry told Sky News. “Most of the people I speak to, throughout the years, say it’s a very middle-class white industry. You very

Disgraced Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins has been stabbed in prison, according to reports. The 46-year-old is serving a 29-year jail term for multiple sexual offences, including serious crimes against young children and babies. According to the Mirror, the paedophile is in a “life-threatening condition” following the incident at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire. The newspaper

Body positivity is Lizzo’s brand. No stranger to the subject of fat shaming, the singer – whose real name is real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson – has been credited with changing the narrative around plus-size women, calling out sizeist behaviour and refusing to conform to industry stereotypes as she cranks out the hits in a

Breaking Bad actor Mark Margolis has died at the age of 83, his family has announced. The performer “passed away following a short illness” at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on Thursday, relatives said in a statement. His son Morgan and wife Jacqueline were at his bedside when he died. Margolis appeared in

Michael Boyd, who revived the fortunes of the Royal Shakespeare Company as its artistic director, died today of cancer, his family announced. He was 68. Boyd replaced RSC predecessor Adrian Noble in 2003, departing nine years later. In 2012, he was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honors for services to drama. Many felt that he

Andrew Tate has won his appeal in a Romanian court to be released from house arrest pending trial. The controversial influencer has been held in Romania charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. The Bucharest Court of Appeals said in a written ruling that it “replaces the house arrest measure with