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The Penguin might be one of HBO’s biggest hit of the year – but an actor who appeared in The Batman isn’t a fan.

In the crime drama, an unrecognisable Colin Farrell reprises the role of Oz Cobb, which he originally played in Matt Reeves’s 2022 film The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz and Paul Dano.

It’s a new take on the comic book character played by Danny Devito in Tim Burton’s 1992 sequel Batman Returns.

The successful series, which was developed by Lauren LeFranc and produced by Reeves, is set two weeks after the end of The Batman, in which Cobb plays the Falcone and Maroni families off against each other in a power grab following the death of mob leader Carmine Falcone.

Carmine was played by John Turturro in The Batman, and the character shows up in flashback form in The Penguin – however, Turturro has been replaced by Mark Strong,

It was previously unknown why the character was recast, but Turturro has now said he turned down the chance to return in the spin-off series as “there was a lot of violence towards women, and that’s not my thing”.

Turturro told Variety he found it acceptable to play Carmine in The Batman as his violent actions “happen off-screen”, which he said is “scarier”.

The actor added: “I did what I wanted to with the role.”

Turturro also suggested his role in the second season of Severance, which starts in January, might be coming to an end.

Severance follows employees of a shady biotech company called Lumon that “severs” its employees’ memories using a medical procedure, dividing their work and home lives completely in a daring experiment to find a work-life balance.

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While praising showrunner Ben Stiller, the actor said: “I didn’t like being in that office – the light there drove me insane. I did my second go round, but I feel like I’ve had a full meal.”

Severance is available on Apple TV+ while The Batman, which also stars Cristin Milioti, Michael Kelly, Clancy Brown and Rhenzy Feliz, is on NOW in the UK.

AN age discrimination lawsuit has claimed that a Hallmark exec made a comment about casting “old talent.”

According to the lawsuit, Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert were given as examples.

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Hallmark’s former casting director Penny Perry, 79, who worked with them for nearly a decade, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on the 9^th of October.

She accused Hallmark executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly, Senior Vice President of Programming and Development Randy Pope and Vice President of Human Resources Paul Hodgkinson of age and disability discrimination, as well as wrongful termination, retaliation, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In a goal to find “new talent” Perry has alleged that Lisa Hamilton Daly decided she was “too old to work her position,” and “manoeuvred to push her out of the company.”

Perry, who has been a casting director on movies and television shows since the 1970s, alleges that she said: “We need to bring in someone who knows more young talent. Our leading ladies are aging out.”

Allegedly, Lisa Hamilton Daly specifically referred to Teri Hatcher, 59, Holly Robinson Peete, 60, and Chabert, 42, as “old talent” as well as several more.

She also allegedly said: “Lacey’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older,” and that “no one wants” Robinson Peete.

Adding: “She’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”

In a statement to Variety and Deadline, Hallmark has denied the allegations.

The statement read: “Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark. We do not generally comment on pending litigation. And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we are not going to discuss an employment relationship in the media.

Perry claims she was abruptly fired in April after receiving strong annual performance evaluations.

She alleges that she was replaced with a younger man after being fired, after being told she was “too long in the tooth.”

Perry also alleges “vile and ageist conduct,” and says it’s “straight from Hallmark’s playbook when they sought to push out other employees in their 60’s and 70’s because of their age.”

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James May has provided an update after being injured in a bike accident.

The former Grand Tour and Top Gear host, who recently cut professional ties with his long-time business partners Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, said he had bust his wrist in the incident.

The 61-year-old was training for a charity bicycle run with his friend and Oz and James Drink to Britain co-star Oz Clarke, when he fell off his bike on Hammersmith Bridge in London.

“I’m taking part in a charity bicycle ride today, with the Armonico Consort and me old mate Oz Clarke (OBE),” he wrote in a post on X/Twitter last week.

“But I’m going in the car, because I bust my wrist in a bicycle accident.”

May provided an update on his attendance at the charity event as he wrote, “Charity cycle ride update: Drove car into bollard. Sang very badly. Got a bit syncopated in the Black Horse, Moreton Morrell.”

The injury has affected filming for his new show, The Great Explorers, which is a three-part series following the epic journeys of Christopher Columbus, Walter Raleigh, and James Cook, according to the Daily Express.

However, eyewitnesses in Yorkshire claim that they saw May filming for the programme in Whitby, just two days ago, according to the Yorkshire Post.

May confirmed this in an update on X/Twitter earlier this week as he wrote, “I’ve just completed two very enjoyable days of filming in Whitby. As excellent as ever.”

The Independent has contacted representatives for May for comment.

Fans sent their well-wishes and support to the TV presenter on social media as one person wrote, “As long as you raise or donate the money for charity, that is all that matters. Hope your wrist gets better.”

Another added with a reference to his Top Gear days, “The guy on the bike will still get to the end of the journey before Captain Slow does.”

Reflecting on the decision to end his working relationship with Clarkson and Hammond, May told BBC Radio 4 last month: “We are getting on a bit and everything does have to end. To be honest, we wanted to end it on our own terms. As we always used to say, ‘We want to land it safely, not fly it into a cliff.’”

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.”

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Big Brother has sparked controversy for pulling an episode from ITVX and re-uploading it after a contestant was seen wearing a pro-Palestine T-shirt.

Contestant Ali Bromley, 38, who is a forensic psychologist, wore a top depicting a map of Israel as a watermelon on the show’s Tuesday, 22 October episode.

The symbol, which is in the colours of the Palestinian flag, has become associated with the pro-Palestine movement amid the ongoing Gaza conflict, which has killed more than 42,000 people since 7 October.

Bromley’s T-shirt has been reported to be a “Freedom Melon Tee” from Wear The Peace, which donates all of its proceeds to the charity Pious Projects of America, who use the funds to supply medical aid, food, water and other necessities to people in Gaza.

The Big Brother contestant’s outfit choice quickly caused outrage, with The Campaign Against Antisemitism complaining to Ofcom, saying: “How is this becoming the norm?”

It continued: “This graphic has caused significant distress among the British Jewish community, who regard it as a genocidal message similar to the slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’, which calls for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state.

“How did the show’s staff allow this shirt to be worn, let alone broadcast it on national television? This incident represents a serious violation of broadcasting standards.”

The Big Brother episode was removed from ITVX on Tuesday night and re-uploaded to the streaming service on Wednesday with Bromley’s T-shirt edited to be plain black.

A spokesperson for Big Brother told The Independent: “All Housemate items are checked by our production team before they go into the Big Brother House to ensure they comply with the Rules and compliance requirements.

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“Big Brother does not allow any personal items into the House that could be deemed harmful. We regret that the implications of this particular item of clothing were not fully understood in our bag checks or prior to the broadcast of last night’s show.

“We apologise to any viewers who have been offended by the broadcast and assure viewers that Big Brother was unaware of the implications of the image. The item of clothing has been removed from the House.

They continued: “The Housemate has been spoken to and they have expressed that they are unaware of the implications and did not wish to cause any harm or offence.

“Any offensive messaging associated with the image does not reflect the values or beliefs of Big Brother.”

ITVX also took to X/Twitter on Wednesday (23 October) to address Tuesday’s episode disappearing online, saying: “Regarding your question about last night’s Big Brother show, we have some news, it will be available to view later this evening.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this but the wait will be worth it.”