FORMER Emmerdale star Alexander Lincoln’s film debut is set to emerge, as his co-stars rave about their on-screen partnership.

Most viewers will recognise Alexander Lincoln for his time in Emmerdale, but he’s now enjoying the bright lights of Hollywood with his movie debut.

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The ITV actor has taken on a role in The Groomsmen: First look, as he stars as Zack alongside Jonathan Bennett, B.J. Britt and Owen Davis.

Co-star Jonathan Bennett has shared a gushing post dedicated to Andrew on Instagram as he told fans: “Get ready for the epic love story set in the most beautiful gay destination of all, Greece. My love for @alexander_lincoln is off the charts.

“He’s the biggest idiot you will ever meet and I mean that whole heartedly. Thank you Alex for bringing Zack and Danny’s story to life in ways I didn’t imagine.”

Co-star James Vaughan also commented on the post as he wrote: “I wanna say something smart like usual but this love story is so dang cute and well done I’m just gonna tell everybody to watch it tomorrow.”

Alexander also shared it to his story, as he urged fans to watch the film once it airs.

Alexander is best known for playing Jamie Tate in Emmerdale from 2019 to 2021, with his last appearance being in November of that year, with villagers believing the character to be dead after his car crashed into a lake.

But soap fans know Jamie survived and is alive and well away from the village, leaving the door open for a potential return.

Yet fans may be waiting a while as Alexander is now firmly in Hollywood, with his latest role.

With Alexander’s career taking off, it seems a return to Emmerdale is not on the cards at the moment, but he hasn’t ruled it out in the future. 

He previously told Attitude magazine that talks had taken place.

He said: “I loved the show. I lived in Leeds for two-and-a-half-years. I miss everyone from the show deeply. No one knew who I was before it — I’d done some very tiny things. It was my initiation into the acting world.

“I can never thank them enough for that experience. But I don’t know, to be honest. There have been talks. But for now, I really want to focus on this year: I want to produce, start my own scripts.

“There are other parts I want to play. There are time constraints. Being on the show, it’s such hard work — you don’t have time to do anything else. Booking a holiday is hard enough.”

Alexander has also notably appeared in Dolly Alderton’s BBC series Everything I Know About Love and the Netflix comedy-drama Geek Girl. 

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Veteran foreign correspondent Michael Buerk has expressed his disapproval of the BBC’s extensive coverage of Liam Payne’s death.

The BBC journalist, 78, known for his landmark 1984 Six O’Clock News bulletin about the famine in Ethiopia that triggered the release of the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, and Bob Geldof’s 16-hour music marathon Live Aid, described Payne as a “drugged up, faded, boy band singer”.

Payne’s death at the age of 31 dominated news headlines after the One Direction star fell from a third story hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 16 October. Multiple substances, including pink cocaine, were allegedly found in toxicology reports, though the Public Prosecutors Office say the analysis is not yet completed.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Buerk claimed Payne’s death should not have been of such interest to any of the BBC news programmes, including Today and the 10 O’Clock News.

When asked how foreign reporting has changed since his Ethiopia report, the broadcaster said there was “more of an appetite for seriousness” at the height of his career and slammed the channel’s interest in Payne’s death.

“Last week, this programme decided that the most important thing that had happened in the world was that a drugged up faded boy band singer had fallen off a balcony,” he said.

“Even the 10 O’clock News, which is normally good on these things, thought it was the second most important thing that happened in the world.”

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Buerk continued: “If you look at the news these days, they seem to be hammering away at the same half dozen stories while a whole continent goes unmentioned month after month.”

Listeners were shocked by the broadcaster’s comments. “Blimey,” one person wrote on X/Twitter. “He seemed so… disdainful.

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“There was no need for him to be so dismissive, it just felt sneery,” they added.

Payne rose to fame as a member of One Direction, one of the most popular boy bands in history. The group was formed on reality competition series The X Factor in 2010, where Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson each auditioned as solo acts before joining the five-piece group.

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The singer was pronounced dead on October 16, after emergency services responded to a hotel manager’s call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

The 911 call was made at 5:01pm local time, shortly before Payne’s death around 10 minutes later. The hotel employee told the operator that emergency services were needed “urgently,” noting that the hotel room had a balcony.

“We need you to send us someone urgently because, well, we don’t know if the guest’s life is at risk,” they said. “He is in a room that has a balcony. And well, we’re a bit afraid that he does something that could put his life at risk.”

Alberto Crescenti, head of the local emergency services, told Buenos Aires Times that “there was no possibility” for first responders to save Payne’s life as he had “very serious injuries.”

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Buenos Aires police later found Payne’s hotel room “in complete disarray,” with packs of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, as well as energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs strewn about and “various items broken.”

They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter, and cell phone were retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.

In a statement issued by Payne’s spokeswoman, his family said: “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”

STRICTLY fans were overjoyed to spot a former show star in the audience during last weekend’s show.

The ex-Strictly Come Dancing pro left the BBC show in 2018 but that didn’t stop him going down to show support for his former colleagues.

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Viewers rushed to social media after spotting Brendan Cole in the studio audience – and many insisted he needs to make a comeback.

One wrote: “Good to see Brendan Cole in the audience at Strictly tonight.

“I really miss him from the show. I don’t suppose he could come back on the show?”

And there was even more nostalgia for fans as Sophie Ellis-Bextor – who danced with Brendan in 2013 – was also in the building.

Someone else said: “sophie ellis-bextor and brendan cole in the building on the same night… what a throwback.”

And a third added: “that is Brendan Cole, right? We’re not just hallucinating Ghosts of Strictly’s Past?”

Following the news Brendan would not be returning for the 2019 series, he confessed he’d been axed.

Appearing on Lorraine he said: “They’ve made an editorial decision to not have me back on the show. I’m a little bit in shock. I’m quite emotional, and a bit raw about it.

“It’s done via a process of a phone call and stuff. I have had 15 incredible series on the show. I’m very proud of the whole show. It’s a great team.”

It came after Brendan had a shock on-air spat with head judge Shirley Ballas – which was said to the the “final straw” for bosses.

A source told The Sun at the time: “It was the final nail in his coffin. That was the moment when they decided they’d had enough.

“The judges felt he was putting her down publicly and he thought he knew better than the head judge.”

ONE former Love Island star has pulled out all the stops and turned herself into Baywatch pin-up Pamela Anderson.

Scouse bombshell Samantha made her mark in the villa when she hooked up with Joey Essex – but was later pied for a fellow blonde.

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The Love Island 2024 contestant has transformed into Pammy and aptly called herself ‘Sammy Anderson’.

The 26-year-old posted the provocative pictures on Instagram posing in a series of shots emulating the Barb Wire star.

Wearing a black latex bodysuit, the star shocked fans with her similarity to the actress in the 1996 superhero movie.

The outfit was topped off with on-point accessories including long black leather gloves and of course the barb wire arm tattoo.

With heavy make-up, dark lip liner and skinny brows, the Love Island contestant nailed the iconic 90’s look.

Her long blonde hair was curled and appeared big and bouncy, with a classic Pam-inspired fringe.

Fans commented: “The brows, the dedication.” A second added: “Just passed out.” Others simply commented: “Wow!”.

Former make-up artist Sam made an impression on fans during her short time in the villa.

Viewers were devastated when the Liverpool lass got cruelly dumped from the island in favour of Joey Essex’s old flame, Grace Jackson.

Samantha had spent two weeks with the ex Towie star and thought the pair had formed a strong connection.

But Joey immediately had his head turned when ex Grace entered the villa and quickly ditched her Samantha, leaving her single.

Speaking about her time being cut short, she said on her exit: “Obviously I am devastated to leave all of the girls behind.

“But I am very excited now to see what my future holds and look forward to seeing what is next.

“I was true to myself and didn’t feel like it was a waste of my time because I followed what I felt was right for me.

She went on: “When it comes to Joey, I think if I knew what I know now, I perhaps would have done things differently.”

The fiery star re-entered the villa along with former islanders to cast their votes as the final approached.

Samantha returned and was ready to settle an old score with Joey.

As drama ensued around the fire pit, Samantha clawed: “It is a really hard decision, I haven’t met half of you because I was only here for two weeks.”

Samantha continued: “I do think he has a lot of opinions on everyone else’s relationship but as soon as it comes to his own he bites the bullet a bit doesn’t he.

“Personally, I don’t think that this person deserves to be in the final so I’m picking Jess and Joey.”

Maya then asked if Joey wanted to respond and he said: “It was nothing ever personal on my end, there’s no hard feelings.

“I was sad when she left, she might feel different about me.”

But a furious Samantha hit back: “You were lying to my face for two weeks,” leaving Joey confused.

She went on: “You saying to me we were one of the strongest couples in here and saying that you liked me as much as I liked you but then saying to Grace it was a friendship couple.”

Since the show, Sam has been getting close to a fellow 2024 Love Islander months after leaving the show.

According to insiders, she’s been enjoying dates in London with Hugo Godfroy, who joined the show during Casa Amor and had a short-lived romance with Sam’s in-villa love rival, Jess White.

She has recently come back from Ibiza, where she posted a string of sizzling pics from her trip.

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Gladiators star, Bernadette Hunt better known as Falcon, left a huge sum of money to her family in her will after dying from cancer in 2023, aged 59.

Hunt took on the persona of Falcon in the hit 1990s ITV series, which was recently revamped by the BBC, first appearing on the programme in season two in 1993, and was a regular cast member until her departure in 1999.

Hunt battled cancer for several years before her death, with her passing being confirmed by her sister’s partner, Rick Jango, in a Facebook post, paying tribute to the star.

It has now been revealed that her son Adam and daughter Angel received £300,000 in her will.

Left to her estate was £444,000, which was reduced to £293,000 after debts and costs were removed, according to probate documents seen by The Sun.

Falcon was a major feature of Gladiators during her time on the show, alongside the likes of Jet, Lightning, Amazon, Saracen, Rhino, Cobra and Wolf.

Hunt quickly became a fan favourite after specialising in events such as “Joust”, “Powerball” and “Tilt” and making her entrance to the Queen song “Breakthru”.

After leaving the show in 1999, Hunt became a personal trainer in her hometown of Basingstoke and reportedly turned down the opportunity to return as Falcon when Sky rebooted Gladiators in 2008.

She also became a fundraiser for charities such as Help the Aged and Children with Leukaemia.

In his tribute, Jango wrote: “It is with great sadness that I have to tell you of my partner’s younger sister, Bernadette Hunt.

“Most people will remember her as ‘Falcon’ from the hit TV Show Gladiators.

“I had the privilege to be in her company a few times and I have to say she was one of the most loveliest people I have ever met.”

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“She never had a bad word to say about anyone, indeed she was always known as the nicest ‘Gladiator’, always stopping to speak and sign autographs for anyone.

“She had been battling cancer for a number of years until sadly she lost her fight. RIP Bernie.”

In response to the post, fans shared their condolences as well as memories of Hunt in the local Basingstoke community.

“Sorry to hear Bernie’s passed on, was always lovely when I saw her at the gym,” reads one comment.

Another person shared her sadness about the news and added: “Bernie was just the loveliest person. So warm and friendly.”

A third offered: “Always took the time to stop and chat in the gym. She got the whole family tickets for Gladiators too.”

MARRIED At First Sight’s Kieran Chapman makes a shock move and kisses another bride in the first look at tonight’s episode.

During the dinner party, the cheeky mechanic positioned himself between pal Adam and his wife Polly, before leaning forward and giving her a peck on the lips.

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The surprise smooch appeared to be in jest, with both barber Adam and Kieran laughing it off.

But Kieran’s wife Kristina didn’t appear to be in on the joke and watched on with a bemused expression on her face.

As Kieran made his way back to her, she said: “Did you just kiss another wife?”

Then away from her co-stars, she broke down in tears and told the camera: “I’m gutted.”

The drama came thick and fast last night, culminating in another couple’s shock exit from the show.

Ryan Livesey and Sionainn Carmichael had appeared to be getting on well, but the heartbroken bride revealed that she felt uncomfortable in the relationship and claimed her husband had told her he was ‘faking it all’.

Breaking down in tears, she felt Ryan was a different person behind closed doors, which reminded her of an unhealthy past relationship.

The Sun told last week how Ryan had left the experiment and that viewers would be shocked when they found out why.

But the pair both appeared to tell rather different stories about what had gone on between them – leaving viewers baffled and concerned.

Ryan said: “I’m leaving boys. We’ve had a proper argument and I was trying to do my laces. I was trying to retie my laces and it was getting on my nerves. So Shannon was trying to help me. So I said, ‘oh, just leave him, just leave them now’.

 “And she said, ‘oh, don’t speak to me like that’.

“She said to me she doesn’t feel comfortable in the relationship and she doesn’t know if I’m here for a genuine reason. “

While Sionainn told the girls: “We had like a little fall out yesterday. And it was like, honestly over shoelaces, he just spoke to me really, really poorly.

“And I said, ‘Ryan don’t speak to me like that. You’re not going to speak to me like s**t’.

“And it just flipped. He decided to tell me that none of his feelings had ever been real. He’d been faking it all. It was all a holiday romance for him.”

Speaking on camera, the devastated bride added: “I developed real feelings for Ryan and when he told me all his feelings were fake and he didn’t mean anything that he said.

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“I feel like I’d been hit in the chest with something. It was a horrible feeling.  And I think now I’ve seen the real side to him. I don’t even think I’ve known the real Ryan ever.”

Earlier in the process, viewers were convinced that Sionainn couldn’t stop shaking and feared it could be due to some unseen issue with her husband.

The couple told the experts of a misunderstanding they’d had, with Sionainn revealing something Ryan did reminded her of an ex-boyfriend, prompting her to “panic” and flee.

Both decided to stay in the experiment, with Ryan gushing about his bride and Sionainn saying he’d turned her into a “soppy mess”.