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Strictly Come Dancing contestant Chris McCausland has hit back at Alan Sugar after The Apprentice boss appeared to call his recent dance performance a “gimmick”.

The 47-year-old comedian is the show’s first blind contestant, and performed a Salsa to “Down Under” by Men at Work with his professional partner Dianne Buswell on Saturday night (12 October).

McCausland’s routine included a series of impressive lifts, which were praised by the Strictly judges and fans at home alike.

Head judge Shirley Ballas was lost for words at the end of the comedian’s performance. “I can’t even imagine how you managed to do that so flawlessly when you can’t see,” she said.

However, Sugar appeared less than impressed as he posted a scathing critique of Saturday’s performances on X/Twitter.

“I don’t know when Strictly Come Dancing are going to run out of contestant gimmicks,” he wrote. “I would not be surprised if they had a AI mechanical robot next year.”

Fans interpreted the attack to be aimed at McCausland, as one wrote, “Gimmicks? Says the man who literally just points a finger. I hope Chris wins.”

But McCausland waded into the conversation to defend himself as he hit back, “I am sorry my gimmick offends you oh mighty Lord. #YoureTired.”

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“There’s nothing gimmicky about you Chris. You are the real deal” commented one person as people flocked to support the comedian.

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Many called the comment “ugly” and “awful”. Others took issue with the apparent targeting of McCausland’s disability as one person wrote, “Good for you Chris. I love seeing Strictly show that ANYONE can learn to dance and enjoy dancing, no matter your size, sexuality, disability, etc.”

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Another commented, “If I’d realised my deafness was a gimmick, I’d have monetized that s*** years ago.”

“There’s nothing gimmicky about you Chris. You are the real deal,” wrote another supporter.

After the judges’ scores, McCausland flew straight to the top half of the leaderboard with a total of 30 points after receiving six from Craig Revel Horwood and eight points each from the remaining three judges.

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It comes shortly after McCausland addressed the backlash surrounding comments made by eliminated Strictly Come Dancing star Toyah Willcox last week when she advised the celebrities still on the show: “If you don’t wanna do a dance off, get rid of Chris!”

However, McCausland has since defended Willcox online, saying that the singer has been “nothing but beautiful and supportive” during their few weeks together on the dancing competition.

“What she said on It Takes Two was funny and an incredible bloody compliment,” he said.

PHILLIP Schofield’s eldest daughter, Molly, has shared a heartfelt tribute to her late grandmother following the news of her passing.

The emotional statement comes after her father announced the sad news of his mother’s death on social media.

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Phillip took to Instagram tonight to inform his 2.7 million followers of the devastating loss.

Sharing several touching photos of his beloved mum, the former This Morning presenter expressed his heartbreak.

He revealed that Pat Schofield passed away earlier that day after what he described as a “heartbreaking weekend”.

In his emotional post, Phillip wrote: “Today, at 3pm and after a heartbreaking weekend, my magnificent mum decided it was time to go to her beloved Brian.

“Over three days, we held her, loved her, hugged her, and said everything that needed to be said.

“She was calm, peaceful, beautiful, and dignified. I will forever be proud and privileged that she was my mum. I love you mum, forever.”

The TV star also expressed his gratitude to the medical staff who had cared for his mother, praising the paramedics and the critical care team for their support.

He also shared more personal moments, including a video of his adventurous mother wing walking on a plane.

Shortly after Phillip’s announcement, his daughter Molly shared her own tribute on Instagram.

Reposting her father’s message, she added a broken-heart emoji, before sharing a nostalgic photo of herself and her sister Ruby posing with their grandmother.

“Love you so much, Bo” Molly wrote over the image, affectionately referring to her grandmother by her family nickname.

She added a final emotional request referencing Pat’s late husband Brian, saying: “Give a huge kiss to Bri when you see him.”

Molly’s tribute comes after she appeared in Cast Away last month.

She appeared on the Channel 5 show alongside her father and sister Ruby as Phillip made his return to TV over a year after his departure from This Morning.

His exit in May 2023 followed his admission of an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a junior colleague during his time on the ITV show.

Despite the challenges of the past year, Phillip has received unwavering support from his family, with Molly, Ruby, and their mother Stephanie Lowe remaining by his side throughout.

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Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard is hoping to take home a few souvenirs from the show when the new season has finished filming.

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things has been eagerly anticipated by fans, some of whom expressed exasperation that it will not arrive on screens until 2025. The fourth season was released two years ago.

Wolfhard, now 21, has played Mike Wheeler since the show began on Netflix in 2016 and hopes that when the final season has concluded he can take home a “meaningful” object from the first ever episode.

“It’s a little thing, but I think it would be very meaningful – the first Dungeons and Dragons Demogorgon piece that I slam on the table. I think would be really cool to keep,” the actor told People.

“And then obviously the bikes. The bikes are amazing,” added Wolfhard. The bicycles in the series are the primary mode of transport for the main characters as they roam around Hawkins, Indiana solving various mysteries.

Wolfhard also reveald that filming on the “very special” season has almost finished. “I mean, being able to just be with everyone knowing it is the last season has been really great, but it’s pretty surreal,” added the Ghostbusters star.

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The new season, which still does not have an official release date, will see The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont come out of retirement to direct two episodes.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, Darabont expressed his love for the hit Netflix series and said: “What really dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show.

“Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but Stranger Things has so much heart. That positivity is something I really responded to.”

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No details about the new season have been officially confirmed, but Terminator star Linda Hamilton is confirmed to be in the show alongside original cast members Wolfhard, David Harbour, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery and Millie Bobby Brown

Wolfhard will next be seen in the Jason Reitman movie Saturday Night, which tells the story of the 90 minutes before the first ever episode of the sketch show, which aired in 1975.

Wolfhard will play NBC Page in the comedy, which also stars Rachel Sennott, Gabriel LaBelle, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt and Dylan O’Brien as various SNL alumni from the original cast including Chevy Chase, Rosie Shuster, Dan Aykroyd, Lorne Michaels and John Belushi.

I’M A Celeb fans are buzzing after former contestant Jordan North seemingly ‘confirmed’ live on air that a former Strictly Come Dancing star has signed up for the hit jungle show.

Jordan dropped the bomb during an appearance on Capital Breakfast today while discussing his predictions for the upcoming series.

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During a candid moment on the radio show, Jordan was asked who he thought would be heading into the jungle this year.

Without hesitation, he confidently listed his top picks, causing quite a stir among fans.

Jordan shared: “I don’t have any official intel, but I’ve just looked at the list, and I reckon there’s a good few names on there that I can guarantee are going in.

“Oti Mabuse I’m pretty sure of because I haven’t seen her for over a year but I just…

“I was working with her on Big Brother last year and I’m pretty sure.”

Jordan’s radio co-star Sian Welby chipped in: “Oti was originally one of the professional dancers on Strictly, wasn’t she?

“So she’s not busy this year – so potentially she could do it.”

Oti Mabuse won Strictly twice, and later became a judge for Dancing on Ice.

Jordan North himself is no stranger to the jungle experience, as he actually finished as a runner up on I’m A Celeb in 2020.

He shared an emotional video days after his time on the reality show ended, sounding tearful as he said he missed his campmates.

The radio presenter later admitted he threatened to quit the series after he had a panic attack before his first trial.

He told The Sun on Sunday: “I’ve not talked about this to anyone, I just had a complete meltdown. And I know what people mean now by sheer panic.

“I delayed it by loads. None of this got shown on TV.

“I just said, ‘I cannot do this. And I’m not going to do this. And in fact, I am gonna go. I don’t need to do this’.

“I nearly said, ‘I’m just not going to do the trial’. I nearly walked.”

A CELEB SAS Who Dares Wins contestant withdrew right at the final hurdle in Monday night’s gruelling finale.

Bianca Gascoigne, 37, may have made it to tonight’s final but it was buckets of water being thrown over her, that ended up tipping her over the edge.

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The 37-year-old could be seen having cold water poured over her head from a bucket above her.

Initially she said she wanted to take part in the challenge but as the water was poured over her head, Bianca looked uncomfortable and tried to dodge it.

“No, no, you can’t move, get f****** back,” said one of the instructors.

But Bianca was adamant that she couldn’t do it o she said: “VW, I can’t, I can’t, VW.”

VW, which stands for voluntarily withdrawn, shook her head as she went through with her decision to withdraw.

The instructors had their heads in their hands as they said: “No, no, no, not a VW now, that shouldn’t have got rid of her.”

Two celebrities triumphantly passed the tough course in the concluding episode, after Bianca’s exit.

Monday night’s series final saw Georgia Harrison, Lani Daniels, Anthony Ogogo and Bianca attempt to prove their mettle one last time and pass the course.

And doing just that was former Love Island star Georgia Harrison, 29, and pro boxer Lani Daniels, 25, who both passed.

The two women looked delighted as it was revealed that they’d passed.

The instructors gathered together, and told the girls the good news, after they were led out to stand in front of them and removed their hoods.

Meanwhile, Bianca has revealed just how tough she found the show in an exclusive chat with The Sun.

Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins winners

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Many celebrities have attempted the infamous Channel 4 quasi military training course – but only a select few have successfully passed.

Series 1 (2019) – Wayne Bridge

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Series 3 (2021) – Alexandra Burke, Aled Davies and Wes Nelson

Series 4 (2022) – AJ Pritchard, Calum Best, Ferne McCann and Maisie Smith

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Series 5 (2023) – Gareth Gates

She had only recently given birth to her daughter, Blake Sunshine, and was battling physical and emotional challenges in the gruelling competition.

Bianca said: “I had just had a C-Section, I had antenatal depression, was the most unfit I had ever been and my hormones were all over the place but I am proud of myself because I still did it.

“I had such a bad pregnancy. My hormones were horrific. I was missing my daughter so much because she was only four-months old.

“At the time it was one of the worst experiences of my life but looking back now it was one of the best experiences of my life apart from having my baby daughter. 

“I would love to do it all again now I don’t have all the pregnancy hormones rushing through my body.

“I am a big tomboy so it’s something I’ve always wanted to do it.”

It’s been a difficult time for Gazza‘s daughter as, only last month, it was revealed she had split from her fiancé of three years.

The Celebrity Big Brother alum moved out of the family home she shared with Arron Wright and Blake, who she had started dating in 2021.

The former couple welcomed their daughter into the world in February last year and got engaged in December 2023.

Bianca posted a video to Instagram of her and little Sunshine arriving at their new home, adding in the caption that the pair had spent the last 12 weeks “squashed in” at her mum Sheryl’s.

She wrote: “To finally have our own space is the best feeling in the world! I wanted to say a huge thank you to my amazing Mum.

“Here’s to our new chapter baby girl.”

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