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Al Pacino on becoming Al Pacino

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Al Pacino on becoming Al Pacino

On a bright day overlooking Beverly Hills, Al Pacino recalls a warning from years ago, from his therapist: “He said, ‘Don’t go to L.A., Al!’”

But here is, and even now, at 84, he’s still adjusting to that Hollywood life.

“You have to learn how famous you are,” he said.

Has he? “What, now? I’m trying!” he laughed. “What do you want from me? I actually put a tie on to see you. That’s what famous guys do!”

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Academy Award-winning actor Al Pacino with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz.

CBS News


He’s more than “famous.” He’s Al Pacino, with nine Oscar nominations, seven straight without a win, until “Scent of a Woman.” Plus, two Emmys, two Tonys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a life achievement award from the American Film Institute. He’s been a leading man in the movies, and a character actor, for nearly 55 years.

“I’m an old fella, you know?” he laughed. “When I have my hair now and I go out and someone takes a picture of me, all you see is, like, a white hydrant! A white fire hydrant! I don’t feel I’m gray yet. I don’t want to be gray. I’m that guy in the book cover.”

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That guy on the book cover is finally telling his own story. It’s in his new memoir, “Sonny Boy.” That’s what his mom, Rose, called him.

sonny-boy-penguin-press-cover.jpg

Penguin Press


They lived with Al’s grandparents in a three-room walk-up in the South Bronx. Rose kept her Sonny Boy in when his friends tempted him with the streets.

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Pacino recalled that when his buddies would call for him to go out, on a school night, “She said, ‘No, no.’ And I was so upset. So angry at her. I think she was part of what saved my life, and kept me off drugs. I couldn’t go out. I went to school.”

If his mother saved his life, another woman changed it. “Blanche Rothstein, who was my eighth grade teacher, actually came to my apartment, and she sat down and talked to my grandmother,” he said. “What she said, I don’t know, but I think it finally came down to, ‘You should encourage this boy to do what he’s doing, the acting. You have to. He is made to do this.’”

Good reviews came very early – at 13, after a school show, a stranger came up to him and said, ‘You’re the next Marlon Brando.” Al’s response? “Who’s Marlon Brando?”

At 16, Pacino dropped out of school to immerse himself in the New York theater scene. To survive, he took any job: messenger, janitor, switchboard operator, twice an usher, twice fired.

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Pacino said, “I was in this Carnegie Hall place …”

“This ‘Carnegie Hall place’?” asked Mankiewicz. “It’s Carnegie Hall!”

“It’s … Carnegie Hall. I had this tuxedo on and they liked – you know, I was relatively good-looking. So, there were these people coming in, and I’m supposed to seat them.”

“It’s the job of an usher, Al.”

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“It is the job an usher!” Pacino laughed. “Finally. But I didn’t last doing that. I just didn’t have the heart to do it. I said, ‘Sit anywhere you want.’ I mean, you got a better seat if you’re up further than when you’re down. And then there was a fist fight. And on the spot, I was gone.”

Thankfully, Pacino had the stage, where he made a name for himself, and got the attention of a young director, Francis Ford Coppola, who saw him as Michael Corleone in “The Godfather.”

Though Coppola wanted him, Pacino pointed out, “Nobody else did!”

He got the part, but studio execs pushed to fire him. We watched a scene that Pacino thought, even hoped, would be his last on the film – Michael’s escape from Louis’ Restaurant after fatally shooting Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey. Running outside, he jumps onto the getaway car but misses and falls.

Pacino believed he’d busted his ankle. His thought? “Thank you, God. I’m gonna get out of this film!”

That’s right: Al Pacino was relieved. He thought he was so badly injured, he could get out of “The Godfather.” Thankfully, his ankle healed, and the kid stayed in the picture.

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A string of hits followed, including “Serpico” and “Dog Day Afternoon,” where an ad lib became a classic cinematic moment:

“This great AD, assistant director, comes running up to me as I’m about to go out and says, ‘Say Attica.’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Say Attica. Say Attica.’ And the crowd just went into spasm and they all – they knew it. They were right in it.”

All the attention, all the success didn’t sit well with Pacino. He coped by drinking. “Alcohol is a depressant – like, literally it brings you down,” he said.

Mankiewicz asked, “And how’d your life change when you stopped?”

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“Well, it got a little worse for a while,” Pacino laughed. “It really was terrible. But then, eventually, thank God, it got there.”

In his memoir, he’s candid about his struggles with alcoholism. He also reveals that he nearly died from COVID. “Out of this world,” he said. “I mean, I was here and then I wasn’t. The nurse said my pulse stopped. Now, I don’t think my pulse stopped.”

“But it doesn’t really matter whether technically you were close to death or not. You felt it,” said Mankiewicz.

“I did. I really did,” Pacino said. “It was so real. And I didn’t see any light. I didn’t see anything at all. There’s a speech in ‘Hamlet’ where he says, ‘To be or not to be.’ You know? And then when he talks about leaving the Earth when you die, and he says, ‘No more. No more.’ How about that?”

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These days, there’s plenty more for Al Pacino. He’s as busy as ever. “I like sitting on the couch. But I keep working,” he said. “I’ve got six films. Smaller roles, of course. And they haven’t come out yet.”

And, despite that advice from his therapist, he’s living in L.A. But he is not, he assures us, an “L.A. guy.”

“No. I don’t think so,” he laughed. “I still speak English. In L.A., they speak Hollywood!”

Truth is, this is where they make movies. A fitting place for a guy who remains what he’s always been: an actor, still experiencing the same buzz he felt 60 years ago on an Off-Broadway stage in New York, which he described as a recognition that “I’m never gonna do anything else but this. I have found it. I don’t care what happens to me, whether I succeed, not succeed, didn’t matter. I had this.”

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Mankiewicz said, “You write that, like, ‘Maybe I’ll be able to eat or I won’t eat. Maybe I’ll have money or I won’t have money. Maybe I’ll become famous. Maybe I won’t. Doesn’t matter.’”

“Didn’t matter,” said Pacino. “That’s the freedom. This was where I belonged.”

     
WEB EXTRA: Watch an extended interview with Al Pacino

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Extended interview: Al Pacino

01:06:11

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Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Steven Tyler.

      
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Watch as Celeb SAS: Who Dares Wins star Bianca Gascoigne WITHDRAWS from show at the very end of the series

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Watch as Celeb SAS: Who Dares Wins star Bianca Gascoigne WITHDRAWS from show at the very end of the series


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.

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

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A Celeb SAS Who Dares Wins contestant withdrew right at the final hurdle in Monday night’s gruelling finale.Credit: Channel 4
Bianca Gascoigne couldn't take anymore

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Bianca Gascoigne couldn’t take anymoreCredit: Channel 4
The contestant was showered in cold water

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The contestant was showered in cold waterCredit: Channel 4
Bianca said she'd voluntarily withdraw

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Bianca said she’d voluntarily withdrawCredit: Channel 4

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

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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.

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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.

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Celeb SAS Who Dares Wins winners revealed

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

Series 2 (2020) – Locksmith and Lauren Steadman

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.

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“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.

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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.

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

The buckets of water tipped Bianca over the edge

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The buckets of water tipped Bianca over the edgeCredit: Channel 4
Bianca admitted to finding the show tough

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Bianca admitted to finding the show toughCredit: Pete Dadds



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Mr Loverman review: A moving testament to the enduring power of self-acceptance

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Mr Loverman review: A moving testament to the enduring power of self-acceptance


“Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds,” wrote William Shakespeare, in the schoolboy favourite Sonnet 116. These lines, quoted in interminable derivative wedding speeches, refer to a common desire (if not a common reality): that love should be immutable and accepting. But for the Bard-loving hero of BBC One’s new eight-part series Mr Loverman, love is an altogether more vexing thing that will take him to “the edge of doom” and back again.

Barrington “Barry” Walker (Lennie James) has done well in Britain since arriving from Antigua, many decades earlier. A self-described “man of property, man of style”, he has been successful in business and now lives in a big house with his pious wife Carmel (Sharon D Clarke). He is still providing for his grown-up daughters, feckless Maxine (Tamara Lawrance) and Donna (Sharlene Whyte), whose teenage son is being put through expensive private school by his grandpa. There’s just one problem: Barry has been in a secret homosexual relationship, since adolescence, with his best friend Morris (Ariyon Bakare). But as time begins to run out for these star-crossed lovers, their moments together become more precious. “C’mon Barry,” he implores himself, “you know the truth will set you free.”

But the truth is complex. Standing in the way of Barry and Morris’s happiness is the – justifiable – unhappiness of his fire and brimstone wife. “I’ll have plenty of time to sleep when the good Lord comes for me,” she tells her husband when he comes stumbling in, drunk, in the wee hours. “And that won’t be long now.” And then there’s the wider attitudes of the community: both men have experienced first and second-hand homophobic violence. And, finally, there are the precarious family dynamics: Morris has already lost his, Barry’s is hanging by a thread. The opportunity to “have it all” has already passed, but both men know that the point of “now or never” is rapidly approaching.

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Based on the novel by Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Booker Prize for Girl, Woman, Other, this is not a story with simple answers. Unfolding over eight short episodes (refreshingly sized at just 30 minutes), the show’s writer, Nathaniel Price, embraces the complexity of the premise. Barry is not let off lightly for his deceptions, though neither is the misery of his living conditions understated. And, while this is a tale of accepting yourself, whatever your age, it also reinforces a message so true in real life but so absent from fiction: you are only the protagonist of your own story.

Embracing this nuance allows James the opportunity to shine. A reliable presence in British and international TV, he is as good as he’s ever been as the dapper, mercurial Barry. Bakare, too, is entirely convincing as his quieter, more dependable foil. At times, their scenes together have an almost theatrical quality, as the cascading lines of quasi-Shakespearean, dialect-infused speech fill kitchens and cafes. It’s a relationship that works better on screen than the intergenerational ones, where the show takes a gearshift. “Watch out folks,” Barry’s internal monologue muses, “soap opera just come to Dalston!” Plotlines involving Barry’s daughter Maxine and grandson Daniel (Tahj Miles) feel more BBC Three, where the rest of the show is pure BBC One.

But when so many depictions of repressed homosexuality – especially within ethnic minority communities – are marked by relentless suffering, it is refreshing to see a show embrace its characters’ own autonomy. Autonomy to make decisions – good and bad – and forge their own path. Mr Loverman is a slim but moving testament to the enduring power of self-acceptance.



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‘She’s doing it for the cameras’ rages MAFS UK groom after leaving bride in tears

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'She's doing it for the cameras' rages MAFS UK groom after leaving bride in tears


THE LATEST episode of Married at First Sight saw tensions flare yet again between one of the most combative couples on the show.

In a heated confrontation aired tonight, a groom accused his wife of playing up to the cameras when an argument between them left her in tears.

Holly has been left in tears multiple times after rows with her partner

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Holly has been left in tears multiple times after rows with her partnerCredit: Eroteme
Alex has accused her of playing up her emotions for the camera

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Alex has accused her of playing up her emotions for the cameraCredit: Channel 4
Their latest row took part at a dinner party

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Their latest row took part at a dinner partyCredit: Channel 4

Alex and Holly have had a rocky relationship ever since they were paired up by the reality show’s experts.

In previous episodes of MAFS UK, Holly burst into tears after Alex told her in the real world he would have ghosted her.

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Another dinner party saw her storming out after she tried to ask him about a comment he made to other grooms at the stag do.

When she asked why he said he would swap brides if he didn’t like his, Alex refused to respond on camera.

At the most recent dinner party, another row erupted between Holly and Alex when he spoke more to the new bride sitting beside him than to his wife.

Holly left the room in a huff and complained about the situation to one of her friends, but Alex got riled up about it and complained that she was overreacting.

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When she tried to pull him aside to a private room for a conversation, he again said he would not discuss their problems on camera, insisting on doing it behind closed doors.

Ahead of tonight’s commitment ceremony, Alex complained that he feels Holly only brings up issues between them when they are being filmed.

As she cried over their most recent conflict, he groaned: “She’s doing it for the cameras”.

However, audience members have rushed to her defence, pointing out that Alex was inundated with abuse allegations when he signed up for the E4 show.

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MAFS viewers brand groom ‘heartless’ as he slams bride for ‘acting up to cameras’ and to ‘stop speaking’

One person boldly stated: “I totally understand Holly not wanting to confront Alex without cameras there. He is intimidating. He is abusive.”

Another added: “‘Doing for the cameras’ or Holly is too intimidated to confront you privately Alex. He is dangerous.”

A third raged: “BRB Googling how to file an Ofcom complaint against Alex on MAFS.”

Someone else suggested the couple should have been split up by the production team.

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Apprentice star and ex-Trump aide Omarosa backs Harris for president

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Apprentice star and ex-Trump aide Omarosa backs Harris for president


Omarosa Manigault Newman, who rose to fame as a candidate on the Donald Trump-fronted reality show The Apprentice and later held a staff position in his administration, has endorsed his rival Kamala Harris for president.

Manigault Newman appeared in the first season of The Apprentice in 2004 and was well-liked by Trump. She had previously worked in the office of Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration in the 1990s, and in 2017 took the position of director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison under President Trump.

Speaking to Variety, she said: “I have no reservation in — I guess I’m saying this for the first time — completely, 100 percent endorsing Kamala Harris for President.”

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Manigault Newman’s 2018 memoir Unhinged drew on her experiences in the Trump White House to paint a picture of the former president as racist and cognitively impaired.

In the new interview, she told Variety that she believes Trump will be particularly concerned about losing to Harris in November’s presidential election.

“Donald Trump has been defeated before, and I think what’s grating on his nerves the most is that this [next] defeat may come at the hands of a woman of color,” she said.

Kamala Harris (left), Omarosa Manigault Newman and Donald Trump

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Kamala Harris (left), Omarosa Manigault Newman and Donald Trump (Getty)

“He reserves his most vitriolic attacks for women of color. To lose to a woman of color would be devastating to his ego.”

She went on to outline her fears that a second Trump administration would be less constrained and more “extreme” than the first.

“One of the reasons that Mike Pence was selected [as Trump’s 2016 running mate] is that there was a belief that Pence would be a calming factor,” she said.

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“I remember a lot of the discussion was that the establishment would be able to get Donald Trump in line, have him embrace the theology of conservatives.

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“Instead, Donald Trump hijacked the party and pushed out individuals who would be able to modulate his behavior. He has made it explicit that if he wins again, he would empower the most extreme individuals in his circle.”

In 2022, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was ordered to pay Manigault Newman nearly $1.3m in legal fees.

The former president’s campaign had sued Manigault Newman over the publication of Unhinged, which the campaign said violated a non-disclosure agreement.

Trump lost the case in September 2021, but in the aftermath, both sides disputed the size of the settlement.

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Strictly star Katya Jones’ hand gestures give away how she really feels about ‘grope’ scandal, body language expert says

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Strictly star Katya Jones' hand gestures give away how she really feels about 'grope' scandal, body language expert says


STRICTLY’S Katya Jones’ hand gestures have given away how she really feels about the ‘grope’ scandal, a body language expert has said.

Reuniting publicly for the first time since speculation kicked off, Russian dancer Katya, 35, furiously defended the opera singer on It Takes Two on Monday evening.

Strictly's Katya Jones' hand gestures have given away how she really feels about the 'grope' scandal, a body language expert has said

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Strictly’s Katya Jones’ hand gestures have given away how she really feels about the ‘grope’ scandal, a body language expert has saidCredit: BBC
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones reunited on Monday evening on It Takes Two

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Wynne Evans and Katya Jones reunited on Monday evening on It Takes TwoCredit: BBC
Katya and Wynne have been plagued by scandal over the last few days

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Katya and Wynne have been plagued by scandal over the last few daysCredit: BBC

It was just hours ago that Wynne, 52, revealed his “heartbreak” over the row on his BBC Radio Wales show.

The GoCompare face, who was seen with his hand around Katya‘s waist over the weekend, said it was “a stupid joke that had gone wrong”.

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Now, a body language expert has shared her thoughts as Katya spoke out on the Strictly spin-off this evening, and verified his account, telling host Fleur East she “can’t bear” the fan frenzy that’s followed.

Expert Judi James told The Sun that Katya was ‘in denial,’ and revealed the ‘emphatic gestures’ that confirmed it for her.

She said: “Poor Katya has been on the Strictly sofa hot seat before, only this time the ‘denial’ demands were different as she tried to persuade us that she and current partner Wynne actually are close buddies despite their very curious body language displays on the weekend.

“With a rather awkward, chastened-looking, apologetic video tucked under their belt it would all be down to the visual proof of their claims that a shared love of playful fun made their odd body language rituals just some kind of standing joke between them.

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“Katya led this ‘denial’ performance firmly and emphatically, interrupting the normal interview to address the problem head-on and dramatically.”

Judi explained what led her to this observation, as she claimed Katya’s ‘pale-lipped facial expression and tone made her look and sound close to tears.’

She continued: “Her fingers spiked with emotion and her head shook from side to side in what looked like denial and disbelief.

‘I can’t bear it’ says Katya Jones as she confirms ‘grope’ was a joke and reunites with Wynne Evans for first time

“She performed a double point to ‘this man’ beside her before holding onto his arm. She raised both hands in the air and crossed them more than once in an emphatic denial gesture and added a double-handed precision pinch in case anyone hadn’t got the message.”

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On Wynne, Judi added: “Wynne watched her closely with an anxious, vulnerable eye expression. As Katya described what they did as a ‘bad joke’ she looked at him to take over. Wynne’s steepled thumbs suggested a desire to register status but his fingers seemed to pick nervously.

“Katya clung to his arm like a limpet, gazing at him and he patted her had in an endorsement gesture for her speech.

“And then it was all about moving on to their next routine with Katya doing some uproarious, open-mouthed laughter with her head thrown back at most things Wynne said, holding his arm and shouting about the ‘Fun fun fun!’ they were going to put into their performance this week.”

Strictly Specials

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  • Movies Week – Each year the cast of dancers on the show perform spellbinding routines to an iconic movie soundtrack or hit song associated with the big-screen blockbusters. Previous films to have been featured include The Sound of Music, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Clueless.
  • Musicals Week – In a similar vein to Movies, the cast perform routines inspired by hit stage musicals each year on the show.
  • Halloween Week – Things take a seriously spooky turn as the show transforms into a haven for Halloween towards the end of October. With some bone-chilling costumes and sometimes terrifying routines, it proves to be a fan favourite week year-on-year.
  • Blackpool Week – As the show hits Blackpool Tower, things get even more over-the-top. Huge props, backing dancers and extra special effects flood the ballroom for the extra special week.

After being asked how she found their routine on Saturday, ballroom pro Katya replied: “Sorry Fleur, sorry. I will get on to dancing I promise, but can you at least let us get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason.”

She then went on to fight Wynne’s corner, telling the X Factor alum that the wanted to set the record straight for viewers.

Katya said: “Quite frankly, I actually can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he’s not and in fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth.

“I have to make this absolutely clear that this whole incident with the hand and the high five on Saturday night, it was an inside joke between Wynne and I. Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes.”

Wynne added: “Yeah, I watched it back and I can see how people may have misinterpreted it.”

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Katya continued: “However it was a joke and even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense.

“And those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. So, hopefully this will be the end of it and can you just keep making me smile please because my Sunday was pretty boring without you making me belly laugh.”

BBC viewers thought they’d seen Katya refusing to high-five Wynne on Saturday night – sparking rumours of a fallout.

After Strictly’s Week Four wrapped, the duo – who had performed a Tango earlier in the night – were quick to issue a video apology and insisted it was all an innocent “inside joke”.

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Today, Wynne told his listeners: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.

“It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close and we’re really good friends, and on Saturday night we made a stupid joke.

“It was a stupid joke that went wrong, OK?

“We thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny.

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“It was been totally misinterpreted.”

The broadcaster then gushed over his “brilliant friendship” with the Russian and added: “Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it.”

Despite fans demanding the pair clarify exactly what “the joke” was, Wynne didn’t explain any further.

He said: “She’s explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

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“We’ve got a brilliant friendship, an absolutely tight friendship, and I’m sorry if anybody was offended by it, but it was a joke.

“And that’s all there is. There is no real story, really.”

PURE BANTS

Wynne was referring to the video Katya had uploaded to her social media pages this weekend.

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The clip – posted shortly after the online chaos ensued – saw Katya tell fans: “Hi everyone, it’s Wynne and Katya here, we just wanted to say we were messing around in the clauditorium on Saturday night and we just want to say sorry.”

She added: “It was a silly joke.”

While Wynne echoed: “Yeah, sorry.”

Katya then hit back a second time in a another video upload.

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On Sunday afternoon, Katya returned to Instagram with another message for her fans.

She said: “Happy Sunday everyone. Now, I need to make something crystal clear.

“The hand incident that happened on Sunday night was indeed a very silly inside joke.

“So even the idea that he made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in anyway is complete nonsense.

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“It’s quite absurd actually.

“Now can we just focus on how brilliant he is doing and what an amazing dancer that he’s becoming.”

BAD TASTE?

The pair’s banter came after the BBC series was engulfed in a string of scandals – though there is no suggestion Katya and Wynne’s joke was inappropriate.

The findings of a probe into former Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour were published earlier this month.

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The report upheld six out of 17 allegations against pro dancer Gio.

The BBC has now apologised to his former show partner, actress Amanda Abbington, over the programme’s bullying scandal.

It was claimed the corporation spent an eye-watering six-figure sum on the investigation.

Meanwhile, the same investigation also saw Giovanni’s fellow Italian pro Graziano Di Prima axed after allegations of “physical incidents” towards show partner Zara McDermott, 27.

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Judi said Katya looked in disbelief

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Judi said Katya looked in disbeliefCredit: BBC
Wynne said he's 'absolutely heartbroken'

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Wynne said he’s ‘absolutely heartbroken’Credit: BBC
The dance duo achieved impressive scores recently

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The dance duo achieved impressive scores recentlyCredit: PA



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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of sexual assault of 6 people, including a minor, in new lawsuits

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of sexual assault of 6 people, including a minor, in new lawsuits

Judge sets Sean “Diddy” Combs trial for May 2025

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Judge sets Sean “Diddy” Combs trial for May 2025

02:19

NEW YORK – A new wave of lawsuits filed Monday accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy.

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At least six lawsuits were filed against the hip-hop mogul in federal court in Manhattan. They were filed anonymously, two by women identified as Jane Does and four by men identified as John Does.

The accusers are part of what their lawyers say is a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action against Combs in the wake of his sex trafficking arrest last month.

Man claims Diddy molested him when he was 16

One of the John Does, a man living in North Carolina, alleges that Combs fondled his genitals when he was 16 at one of the rapper’s famous white parties in Long Island’s Hamptons in 1998.

The man alleges that during a conversation about possibly breaking into the music industry, Combs abruptly ordered the then-teen to drop his pants.

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According to the man’s lawsuit, Combs explained to him that it was a rite of passage to becoming a music star, at one point asking the then-teen: “Don’t you want to break into the business?”

The man said he complied out of fear, anxiety and power imbalance he felt with Combs, only realizing later that what had happened was sexual assault.

Until Monday’s lawsuit, Combs had only been accused in civil cases and his criminal indictment of sexual activity with adults.

Combs’ lawyers and other representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. When the planned lawsuits were announced Oct. 1, a lawyer said Combs “cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.”

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Combs has pleaded not guilty

Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

Combs’ lawyers have been trying unsuccessfully to get the Bad Boy Records founder freed on bail. He has been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his Sept. 16 arrest.

Two judges have concluded that Combs would be a danger to the community if he is released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility that has been plagued by violence and dysfunction for years. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a $50 million bail package, including home detention and electronic monitoring, after concluding that Combs was a threat to tamper with witnesses and obstruct a continuing investigation.

On Friday, an appeals court judge denied Combs’ immediate release from jail while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request.

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“You better not tell anyone about this”

The other lawsuits filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan include allegations of rape, forced oral sex and drugging to incapacitate victims.

One of the Jane Does suing Combs alleges he raped her in a locked hotel room in 2004 after he invited her and a friend there for a party, gave them drinks and told them to snort cocaine.

The woman, a college freshman at the time, alleges Combs also forced her friend to perform oral sex on him and said he would have them both killed if they didn’t comply with his demands.

The other Jane Doe alleges Combs violently attacked and raped her in a bathroom in 2005 at a party for the late rapper Biggie Smalls’ music video, “One More Chance.”

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According to the woman, Combs brought her into the bathroom to talk privately and then started kissing her unexpectedly. When she tried to pull away, she alleges, he slammed her head against the wall, causing her to fall to the floor. The woman said she tried to escape, but Combs hit her again and raped her.

Afterward, according to the woman, Combs nonchalantly adjusted his clothing and told her: “You better not tell anyone about this, or you will disappear.”

In another John Doe lawsuit, a man working as a security guard at Combs’ Hamptons white party in 2006 alleges the star gave him an alcoholic beverage that he came to believe was laced with a drug that made him feel extremely ill. The man alleges that Combs then pushed him into a van, held him down and sexually assaulted him.

In the other lawsuits filed Monday, Combs is accused of forcing a man to perform oral sex on him in the stockroom of Macy’s flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square in 2008 and sexually assaulting a man at a party in October 2021. The latter man, who suspects a drugged beverage left him unable to fight back, recalls multiple men assaulting him and distinctly recalls seeing Combs above him, naked, at one point during the assault, his lawsuit said.

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