A BELOVED children’s cartoon gave fans a sneak peak at its 25th anniversary special before revealing that a spin off show will continue for at least two more series.

Spongebob SquarePantsis an iconic cartoon that has captured the hearts of kids and adults alike with his adventures in Bikini Bottom with their friends Patrick Star, Mr Krabs and Gary the Snail among others.

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At a SpongeBob SquarePants panel at New York Comic Con 2024, Nickelodeon revealed that The Patrick Star Show, the second SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff, has now been renewed for seasons four and five.

At the convention they also showed a half-hour 25th anniversary special, SpongeBob SquarePants, Snow Yellow.

In addition, they offered a sneak peak at the 25th anniversary special SpongeBob SquarePants, SpongeBob & Sandy’s Country Christmas.

The treats kept on coming as fans were also given a first look at The Patrick Star Show, Thanks But No Thanksgiving.

The series follows the starfish and his family and is currently in its third season, also airing on Nickelodeon.

The show’s stars Tom Kenny – who plays SpongeBob – and Bill Fagerbakke – who plays Patrick Star – appeared on stage to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.

Carolyn Lawrence, who plays Sandy Cheeks, was also there, as well as Rodger Bumpass (Squidward) and Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs).

They actors were joined by executive producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller.

Snow Yellow sees evil Queen Karen seek to try and claim the title ‘The squarest of them all’ for herself using cunning tactics.

The episode is due to air on Nickelodeon in November, along with The Patrick Star Show’s Thanks But No Thanksgiving.

In that episode, the Stars spend a happy holidays with Bunny’s family in Klopnod.

Meanwhile, in SpongeBob SquarePants – SpongeBob & Sandy’s Country Christmas, one of Sandy’s experiments ends in disaster, so it is up to the Cheeks family to team up to save Christmas.

It stars Craig Robinson as Pa Cheeks, Johnny Knoxville as Randy Cheeks, and Grey Delisle as Ma Cheeks.

Granny Cheeks, Rosie and Rowdy return to their roles as Sandy Cheek’s family. They also appeared in Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. 

The Spongebob Christmas special premieres in December on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.

Catch episodes of Spongebob and The Patrick Star show on Nickleodeon.

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Mrs Brown’s Boys star Brendan O’Carroll has defended implying highly offensive racial slurs in his comedy.

O’Carroll, the 69-year-old Irish actor who plays the title character in the long-running BBC comedy, recently apologised for making a “clumsy” joke where a “racial term was implied” during rehearsals for the forthcoming Christmas specials.

It has since been reported that O’Carroll was in character as Mrs Brown when he began to utter the N-word before he was stopped by his on-screen daughter, who was also in character.

The BBC halted filming to launch an investigation after the remark was flagged to bosses. O’Carroll then said he “deeply regrets the clumsy line”.

It has now been reported that in an interview, O’Carroll argued in defence of such jokes and said it could only work when he was in character as the Mrs Browns Boys titular star Agnes Brown.

The Daily Mail reports that during a recent interview, O’Carroll cited a sketch that he did with American actor Tyler Perry in Netflix’s A Madea Homecoming, which contains the use of racial terms. As Madea, Perry – who is Black – plays an older woman who meets Mrs Brown.

The sketch sees the two characters with differing Irish and American accents misunderstand each other so that the word “knickers” is misinterpreted as a racial slur.

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The actor reportedly recalled that this sketch was a success, saying: “I did the movie with Tyler Perry and we were about four years in the planning of it.

“But we’d have Facetimes, and the scene that we do, the knicker/n***** piece, we howled laughing at it.

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“And we agreed that we wouldn’t get away with it – but [our characters] Madea and Mrs Brown would.”

“So we did it, and it became one of the highlights of the f***ing movie.”

Recalling the scene, O’Carroll explained, “In the movie Agnes says, ‘Now hold on, don’t be getting your knickers in a twist.”

Perry’s character Madea replies: “Did you call me a n*****?”

Mrs Brown then responds,”No, no, I said knicker.”

O’Carroll said the scene was “f***ing hilarious” and “the place fell apart laughing”.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Mr O’Carroll for comment.

At the time of the release of A Madea Homecoming in 2022, O’Carroll came under fire for his remarks about race while appearing on The One Show to promote the film alongside Perry. During the interview, O’Carroll said that Mrs Brown’s Boys had never had anyone of Perry’s “colour” feature on the show before.

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When asked if he thought his fellow guest could feature on Mrs Brown’s Boys, O’Carroll responded: “He’s very expensive and so far we haven’t had anybody his colour in there,” the Irish actor continued, pointing at his face on the word “colour”.

O’Carroll said that he would love the actor to appear on the show or for the pair to make another film together, while Perry laughed at the comment while repeating the words: “Nobody my colour.”

“Times have changed, change the world,” Perry. “Diversity rules, here we go.”

The One Show viewers were shocked by O’Carroll’s comment, which was described by one viewer as “offensive” and “racist”.

The remarks are in line with the tone of the Perry-directed comedy, which features several jokes about race and ethnicity.

In one scene, Mrs Brown greets Madea by crossing her arms and saying “Wakanda forever”, in reference to the Black Panther motto from the Marvel films.

Another clip shows the actor at dinner with Perry’s character, where she says “I’m Mrs Brown”, with one of the co-stars replying: “I’m a brown too.”

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During filming for the recent Christmas special, the BBC investigated the incident and halted rehearsals, which have since resumed at the corporation’s Pacific Quay studios in Glasgow. It is understood that the specials are still scheduled to air on BBC One this festive season in their usual Christmas Day and New Year’s Day slots.

A BBC spokesperson said: “While we don’t comment on individuals, the BBC is against all forms of racism, and we have robust processes in place should issues ever arise.”

A representative for O’Carroll told The Daily Mail: “We would also like to clarify that the ‘n’ word was absolutely not spoken, it was implied. Agnes (Mrs Brown) began the word but was stopped from finishing it by her daughter Cathy, as she (Mrs Brown) knew she would be.”

O’Carroll said in a statement: “At a read-through of the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied. It backfired and caused offence which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.”

ITV NEWS anchor Ralph Blunsom has died aged 66.

The broadcasting legend’s passing was shared last night by Granada Reports, the channel’s northern division.

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His death was confirmed on air by colleague Rob Smith.

Blunsom’s career had seen him also work for BBC North West.

Co-star Victoria Grimes was among those to post a heartfelt message on X.

She shared a photo taken in Granada’s newsroom at MediaCity UK and a snap of Blunsom with 1958-2024 written across it.

She wrote: “A candle burning in @GranadaReports newsroom tonight for our Ralphy.

“A first class journalist, hilarious good company and a loyal friend. We will miss you more than you can ever know.”

BBC Breakfast editor Richard Frediani said: “All my thoughts with the family and friends of Ralph Blunsom, the former BBC North West Tonight and Granada Reports reporter who has died.

“He was always a lovely, friendly, fun colleague and he will be missed by many.”

ITV news reporter Jam Williams-Thomas shared several photos with and wrote: “Ralph. I had the absolute privilege of being your colleague, but more importantly your friend.

“We shared so many funny times and I can still hear your laugh now.

“You were always a champion of me and others coming up in the industry. Love you lots mate and will miss you greatly.”

WALFORD residents face a crisis as the market and Square Gardens are potentially being abolished.

Martin Fowler, Honey Mitchell and Billy Mitchell hold a crisis meeting in The Vic pub next week in EastEnders.

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They gather all the market traders and they discuss the possibility of the abolishment of the market and the Square Gardens.

Ian is summoned, and reveals the councils plans to transform the land.

Things soon escalate when the punters learn that Junior Knight has been given the prospective contract for the job.

Meanwhile, Nish starts to grow suspicious of The Six after he overhears a clandestine chat between Kathy and Suki.

He later rumbles the women’s group meet at No.41 where  they try to remember their statements from Christmas. 

Nish is adamant something is awry, but the women insist they have nothing to hide.

Nish insists on travelling with the group to the police station where he and the women are re-interviewed by DCI Arthurs on the events of Christmas.

Later, Nish heads to No.41, convinced Suki is hiding something.

Suki reels as Nish confronts her about the truth.

Suki invites the rest of The Six to No.41 on false pretences on Nish’s orders.

And it’s not long before things escalate as the women learn their secret is no longer safe.

Suki decides to take matters in her own hands and sends the rest of the women home.

But, it soon becomes clear that Nish will not be easily bought.

At No.41, Suki rejects Stacey’s calls as she prepares for the worst – Nish is moving back into No.41.

Most complained about soap storylines

Over the years, all three of the main soaps have featured plots that have had even die-hard fans reaching for their phones and laptops so they can get in touch with Ofcom and complain. Here are just some of the most scandalous…

EastEnders baby theft: 13,400 Ofcom complaints – Back in 2011, EastEnders was flooded with complaints when Ronnie Branning (RIP) swapped her baby for the dead son of Kat Moon. The storyline drew the most number of objections in the soap’s long history and saw it roundly criticised by campaigners – with 13,400 flying in over the course of the storyline. Some viewers called it “distressing” and “horrific” but Ofcom ruled the scenes were not “unduly disturbing”.

Emmerdale dog-napping: 550 Ofcom complaints – Back in 2016, Ross Barton and Charity Dingle came up with a plan to steal a dog and hold it ransom – but viewers didn’t like it one bit. The nation’s pet owners rose up, insisting the storyline would encourage copycats (not to mention copydogs). Complaints over two episodes totalled a staggering 550 and soap writers quickly learnt you don’t mess with animal-lovers.

Coronation Street double murder: 546 Ofcom complaints – Marginally less people complained about a gruesome double murder than objected to a dog-napping plot when Pat Phelan was at the centre of a spate of killings. First he forced Andy Carver to shoot dead Vinny Ashford – and then Pat killed Andy. All the bloodshed back in 2017 proved to be too much for some viewers, who lodged complaints in vast numbers about the “violent scenes”.

Avani has some difficult questions for Nish.

Then Nish summons The Six to meet him in The Vic pub.

But what has he got planned for them?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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I was expecting to like Rivals, Disney+’s new steamy eight-episode adaptation of the classic Jilly Cooper novel. With Eighties hairstyles and soundtrack, an all-star cast and more bonking than you can shake a stick (or, should I say, “rock-hard member”) at, what’s not to like? What I definitely wasn’t expecting, however, was to find myself swooning over Danny Dyer. But swoon I did.

In a completely unprecedented turn of events, it was the ex-EastEnders actor – amid an ensemble cast stuffed full of thinking women’s crumpets – who set pulses racing in the role of straight-talking, salt-of-the-earth, boy-dun-good tech magnate Freddie Jones.

Forget David Tennant (the dastardly Lord Baddingham), Aidan Turner (the tenacious rottweiler of a journalist Declan O’Hara) and Alex Hassell (cartoonishly sexy rake Rupert Campbell-Black) – Dyer’s gruff brand of charm sparked a thousand WhatsApp chats as the nation succumbed to what can only be described as “Freddie Fever”.

“It’s all I’m talking to people about,” one friend messaged me frantically over the weekend. “The quiet love and respect of Danny Dyer and how wholesome that is. We don’t want bad boys; we just want Danny Dyer! (Also DD is everyone’s w*** fantasy now).” I never thought I’d be reading these words, let alone agreeing with them. But credit where credit’s due.

“I love a ladder – stairway to heaven and all that,” he mutters at one point to sexually frustrated romance novelist Lizzie Vereker, played by Katherine Parkinson, in reference to the ladder in her tights. “Have you got any idea how f***ing beautiful you are?” he says at another. Her vapid fop of a husband, James Vereker (Oliver Chris), is too busy preening and presenting a daytime TV show to perform his marital duties. At Freddie’s words, she melts; we all melt with her.

Dyer and Parkinson are an unlikely pairing – one whose languid, simmering journey towards infidelity sounds, on paper, like the least sexy thing about a show bursting at the seams with adultery, betrayal and naked tennis matches. Why would anyone be on the edge of their seat to find out whether a man frequently typecast as hooligans and criminals and a character actor best known for her role as Jen Barber in The IT Crowd are going to finally rip each other’s clothes off? Yet their understated subplot (well, understated for a show in which the opening scene consists of Campbell-Black renewing his mile-high club membership) is the heart of the entire series. It’s the believable backbone, providing a much-needed injection of emotional investment that grounds the rest of this hugely entertaining shag-fest in something approaching reality.

Their slow-burn romance is perhaps so beguiling because it is slow, set in a fictional Cotswolds world where people need do no more than glance at each other before dropping trow and getting down and dirty. If desire is all about wanting and not having, then Freddie and Lizzie are its epitome; they find themselves first thrown and then drawn together at shoots and dinners and garden parties, creating a two-person bubble of warmth and intimacy whenever they meet before it’s abruptly popped by one of their deeply unlikeable spouses.

In spite – or perhaps because – of being rooted in simplicity, this dynamic is several hundred degrees hotter than Lord Baddingham’s torrid affair or Campbell-Black’s fast-paced bed-hopping. Freddie and Lizzie bond over their shared love of sweet treats, secretly snaffling a bar of Cadbury’s or a piece of fruitcake in defiance of their partners’ enforced diets; they giggle like school children while hiding in a train toilet to avoid paying for a first-class ticket. No innuendos or cheesy chat-up lines necessary – their admiration for one another is straightforward and no-frills, the Ryanair equivalent of saucy dialogue. Yet the sexiest line of the whole show comes courtesy of Freddie after he gallantly rescues some pages from Lizzie’s work-in-progress novel that she accidentally leaves on the train.

“I hope you don’t mind, I read your chapters,” he says upon dropping them back to her. “They were brilliant… And sexy. Like you.” Like I said: swoon.

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Hats off to whoever was responsible for casting. It takes real vision to see the potential of Dyer, in particular, to become the romantic hero we never knew we needed (though past viral clips airing his political views and an unlikely friendship with the late, great playwright Harold Pinter have long been testament to the fact that there’s much more to him than the hardman, cockney wide-boy image). There’s a beautiful stillness in both performances, with Dyer and Parkinson playing the gentle build-up just right, the very ordinariness of their longing making it all the hornier. While other characters flirt so brazenly that they should, by rights, burst into flames on the spot, Freddie and Lizzie convey overwhelming tenderness with just a look or a smile; their pauses say as much as the words they frame. We knew Parkinson had this in her locker, but Dyer? The master of nuance? It’s as shocking as it is tantalising.

Both actors are in their forties; both have refreshingly normal-looking bodies to match. And perhaps that’s the lesson in all of this: that underneath the gloss and the glamour, six-packs and DD cleavages, caricature baddies and virginal innocents, the hottest thing in the world is genuinely liking someone who likes you back; someone who sees and accepts you, flaws and all; someone who wants nothing more than to share a bar of Cadbury’s, rip open your hideously garish floral dress (with shoulder pads) and pour champagne over your heaving bosom.

“I’ve never done this before – adultery,” Lizzie says nervously when things finally get steamy between them.

“I’ve never met anyone I wanted to do it with before,” replies Freddie. Lock up your wives: after watching Rivals, I’m pretty sure there’s an army of women who wouldn’t mind, ahem, doing it with him…

ROCHELLE Humes has revealed she would never take part in Strictly Come Dancing after being left in a ‘bad way’ doing the Christmas special.

The This Morning presenter, 35, appeared in the festive episode alongside pro Ian Waite in 2013, and while her close friend JB Gill is currently taking part, she has ruled out a return.

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She said: “I basically got dragged around the dance floor by the lovely Ian Waite, and I was the most nervous I could be. I was in a bad way, I don’t know how anybody does that, week in, week out.”

Rochelle added to Closer: “I could never… and the respect that I have for the people that do Strictly, it’s just beyond!”

JB, who is in JLS with Rochelle’s husband Marvin, is currently competing with Amy Dowden.

Speaking about how he is getting on, Rochelle said: “We went to watch JB last week, and he was so brilliant – he didn’t look nervous at all!”

Unfortunately, JB found himself in the bottom two over the weekend despite getting an impressive score of 30.

Following the public vote they found themselves at risk, but fortunately the judges opted to save the duo over former footballer Paul Merson and his dance partner Karen Hauer.

Speaking on Strictly spin-off series It Takes Two about it, JB said: “I mean, we got 30.

“So it wasn’t like we had a shabby score, so, of course, it’s always disappointing I think when you put so much work into training and obviously you work hard throughout the week, as everybody does, to kind of not have the result that you want – which is obviously to go through to the next week.

“And to find yourself in a dance-off is always a little bit disheartening, because it’s not what you’re looking for.

“But you know, the level of competition this year is very, very high.

“You can see that the standard is is right up there. And so, it’s one of those things – part of the show.”

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