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Ricky Gervais is celebrating 26 years since being made redundant and taking a chance on becoming a comedian aged 37.

The now 63-year-old actor, writer, producer, and director, is the mastermind behind some of the 21st century’s biggest TV and comedy moments, including The Office.

In December, it was announced that his most recent project, After Life, had become the most-watched British comedy in the world for the fourth year in a row, with a total global viewership of 140 million people.

But before he shot to fame with his dark and irreverent humour, he was an assistant events manager at the University of London Union (ULU), and then head of speech at alternative radio station Xfm.

In 1998, he was made redundant from his job at the age of 37, when he found himself at a crossroads.

Writing on X/Twitter, Gervais marked the occasion on Thursday night (24 October).

“Twenty-six years ago, I was made redundant and given a few grand,” he began.

“I decided that if I was careful, I could live off the money for 6 months trying to become a comedian before I had to get another job. I was 37. Worth a punt.”

One fan asked the comedian the secrets behind his success, “In hindsight what would you put it down to? A combination of talent and being at the right place at the right time?”

Gervais added, “And hard work.”

Hailing from a working-class background in Reading, Gervais previously told The Guardian that he’d always been creative, but lazy.

“I suppose I was always creative. I did start 20 novels, and then went, ‘Ah, too hard,’ and went to the bar.”

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Working on The Office with Stephen Merchant, a colleague he recruited at Xfm after he was the first CV he came across, the pair went on to international fame and success.

“I think you should know something about me first. I never tried hard at anything. I was born smart on a very working-class estate,” he said in the 2009 interview.

“A couple of people I knew went to university apart from me, but all the way through I was the smartest kid in the school. That’s luck, but I was proud of it. And I was also proud of doing well without trying.

“As you get older, and it took me a long time to realise it, that’s a disgusting attitude, revolting. It’s ignorant and it’s a tragic waste, and I realised that the work itself is the reward. The struggle itself is the reward.”

FERN Britton has lifted the lid on her Strictly Come Dancing stint and claims she was ‘in tears everyday’.

The telly icon, 67, took part in the BBC show in 2012 but still has strong memories about her time in the ballroom.

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Fern, who was partnered with Russian dancer Artem Chigvintsev, has revealed she would cry before rehearsals.

In a serialisation of her book Fern Britton The Older I Get in the Daily Mail, the former This Morning star also said her partner made a cutting comment when they were first put together.

She penned: “I asked him if he was OK with having me as a partner and he said, ‘Well, I am used to someone with some dance ability, and younger.’

“My confidence took a hit at that, but I laughed and told him I didn’t feel 55, and that, when I had a drink in me, I was a sensational dancer. He did not laugh.”

Describing the rehearsals as “challenging”, Fern added: “As the weeks went on, I found it increasingly hard to gather up my self-confidence and there were days I was crying before I even got into the rehearsal room.”

Fern even says: “Late one evening, when I simply couldn’t get the steps in my head and we were both tired, he looked at me and said: ‘Go home before I kill you.’ It was a joke. I laughed. ‘Kill me, please.”

This not the first time Fern has hit out at her time on Strictly.

She previously told The Times: “He would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me.”

Fern and Artem finished Strictly Come Dancing in 10th place. It ended up being Chigvintsev’s worst performance on the BBC show.

In 2017, Artem moved to Dancing With The Stars in the US where he was partnered with his future wife Nikki Garcia – also known as Nikki Bella in the WWE world.

The pair married in 2022 and share a son, who was born in 2020.

Earlier this year, Artem denied Fern’s claims of him ‘kicking or shoving her’ during tense rehearsals.

He told the Daily Express: “I believe I treated Fern with respect and genuine care and these claims about me are the opposite of everything I believe in and the person I am.

“I cannot imagine what has prompted such statements which come as a shock to me.”

The Sun has contacted Artem’s reps following Fern’s most recent claims.

Strictly has been rocked by a huge crisis this year and Fern’s new allegation that she would ‘cry before rehearsals’ only adds to the pressure.

The BBC recently released its findings following an investigation into Amanda Abbington‘s claims about Italian pro Giovanni Pernice.

Strictly 2024 pairings

Here’s who is matched with who this series…

The investigation upheld six of Amanda’s complaints, with sources saying those six related to verbal bullying and harassment.

He was cleared of a further 10 allegations.

Sherlock star Amanda, 50, quit Strictly Come Dancing last year and later made a formal complaint about Giovanni, along with three of his former dance partners.

He quit Strictly in May and is now working on the Italian version of the show.

Speaking on ITV1’s Lorraine this week, Giovanni said: “The investigation didn’t find me a bully.

“Bully is a big word, there’s a big difference between bullying and caring about what you do.”

Meanwhile, fellow Italian professional Graziano Di Prima was axed this year for kicking celebrity dance partner Zara McDermott in rehearsals.

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Charlene White has hit out at media commentator Dan Wootton after he made comments about “diversity” on a picture of four Black hosts presenting Loose Women.

The 44-year-old veteran broadcaster shared a picture of herself alongside her fellow presenters, which included regular hosts Brenda Edwards, comedian Judi Love, and Kéllé Bryan.

She captioned the image, “See you in ten mins” along with a peace gesture emoji.

However, she was soon subjected to an onslaught of criticism, including by former GMB presenter Wootton who wrote “How Woke ITV does diversity” on Thursday (24 October).

“Bitterness is a very lonely colour Dan,” White hit back shortly after.

“Black women face some of the worst abuse on social media,” she continued.

“That is a fact. So this man – with a following of almost half a million – decides to target four black women for … having successful careers.”

Many rallied to her support as they wrote, “I notice how he never mentions the lack of diversity when it’s an all white panel, as has been the case numerous times.”

Another said, “Well done for calling him out.”

It is not the first time that White and her Black co-hosts have faced social media attacks.

In February last year, she presented the show with the same panel of Black women. She responded to criticism saying “We’re still award-winning so…”

In 2020, ITV presented the show with the same panel which was praised for its diversity at the time.

Many fans pointed out that the moment was particularly poignant as it happened during Black History Month that year.

“So refreshing to turn my telly on and see four beautiful black women running the show,” one viewer tweeted. “Things have a long way to go but this is a great start, never in my life have I seen this happen on a major network.”

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White made history as the first Black newsreader for ITV in 2014.

“Sometimes your face just doesn’t fit in terms of what someone views as being acceptable for journalism,” White told The Independent last year.

“That’s twofold. As a woman and also as a Black woman. Or my accent.” She referenced a “pivotal moment” in her time at the BBC where she was asked to change the way she spoke.

“I fought against that and refused to change. I made a conscious decision not to change the way I spoke. I drop my Ts sometimes, and use colloquial language, but who cares? I may not speak in RP, but people can understand me so why should I change who I am?”

BIG Brother’s Izaaz has become the third person to be evicted from the famous house.

The news came as a huge shock to viewers as they expected Marcello to get the boot – after his controversial time in the house.

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Izaaz, Khaled, Marcello and Nathan were all up for eviction.

But it has been Marcello who has caused a series of issues throughout his stay – not Izaaz.

And things reached boiling this point week after Marcello was seen grabbing Lily by the neck in shock scenes.

Those watching at home are convinced the wrong person has gone home.

One person raged: “This has gotta be a fix there is no way people voted izzaz over marchello.”

A second said: “Ain’t no way people were voting to evict Izaaz. This is a blatant fix.”

While a third commented: “You left the misogynist in the house. I bet you any money this is a fix.”

Marcello’s shock moment

In scenes that aired on the compound’s live feed on Wednesday night, Lily was seen sticking her fingers up at Marcello as she walked by him.

In response, Marcello grabbed her by the wrist with one hand and put his other briefly around her neck.

Lily quickly pulls her head away from him, and he then throws his arm around her in a half-hug before she shrugs him off and walks away. 

Insiders say Marcello was later given a talking to by Big Brother bosses.

A source told us: “The moment was spotted by fans during the live stream but didn’t make the next day’s 60-minute episode.

“However, Marcello was reminded of Big Brother’s expectation for appropriate behaviour and language while in the house.”

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Anti-Semitism row

That wasn’t the only drama the house saw this week – an episode was edited following concerns raised about a Ali’s T-shirt containing an alleged “symbol widely associated with anti-Israel sentiment”.

Ali wore a watermelon T-shirt on the ITV2 show that appeared to resemble the colours of the Palestinian flag in red, green, white and black, and what seemed like the shape of the disputed Israel and Palestine territories.

Meanwhile, Marcello has repeatedly come under fire by viewers for his behaviour in the house, with him being accused of ‘misogynistic’ remarks towards female housemates.

During one moment, Marcello was seen telling Sarah she “smelled like period” and asked her if she was menstruating when she was in a bad mood.

He was also asked by Ali to stop making sexually graphic remarks with the members of the house when they didn’t ask for it.

The youth worker had previously falsely claimed he and Ali had kissed – prompting a wave of Ofcom complaints.

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Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang has spoken about his initial resistance to performing as Ohio Senator JD Vance on the season 50 premiere of the NBC late-night sketch comedy.

On the September 28th episode, Yang, 33, made his debut as the mustachioed Vance.

However, in a recent interview with them, Yang revealed that up until the live show, he was positive he was the wrong choice to impersonate the Republican Vice Presidential nominee.

“Up until the show, I tapped [creator Lorne Michaels] on the shoulder and I was in the full beard and the full geish and I was like, ‘You can do a buyback if you want,’” he recalled, explaining that he found it difficult to relate to Vance.

That was until he watched Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, an adaptation of Vance’s best-selling 2016 memoir, which features a scene of the young Vance (portrayed by Owen Asztalos) questioning his sexuality only to be shut down by his “mamaw” (Glenn Close).

“I was just like, Oh, this guy doesn’t have a personality because he’s never had the spine to claim it,” said Yang, who is gay himself.

The next week, Yang returned to SNL as Vance alongside Jim Gaffigan’s Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to parody the first Vice Presidential debate.

During the sketch with Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman as CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, Yang’s Vance was asked to give his opening statement.

“Thank you for having me. I want to begin with something that will appeal to women voters. I understand that both moderators are mothers, and I like that,” he said, in reference to Vance’s controversial “childless cat lady” comments.

Fineman’s Brennan then turned her attention to Gaffigan’s Walz, asking: “Governor Walz, it looks like you’re already scribbling down notes. Are you preparing your answers?”

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“No, I got to grade these papers. Got a stack of midterms,” Gaffigan responded as Walz, who was famously a high school social studies teacher and football coach before he entered politics.

“Ok we begin tonight with the topic of Israel,” Fineman’s Brennan continued. “Senator Vance, how would you solve the ongoing crisis in the Middle East?”

“You know that is such an important question, Margaret. One that deserves and answer because it’s important and it’s a question that you asked of me tonight,” Yang’s Vance replied.

“You’re not going to answer, are you?” Fineman’s Brennan questioned, with Yang’s Vance cheekily confirming: “No I’m not.”

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays on NBC at 11:30pm.

MARRIED At First Sight star Hannah Norborn has hit out at her co-stars’ ‘double standards’.

Hannah quickly became of this series’ most controversial contestants with her flirty antics and husband swapping – but she thinks she’s been unfairly treated.

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The bride made her feelings clear as she shared a video of herself, with the words: “When  you get ambushed for asking someone if their shoe has fluff in but others can actually WRAP their legs around each other. Make I make sense.”

She accompanied the TikTok video with the audio of Gemma Collins on Towie, saying: “It’s tongue in cheek Danielle, it’s funny.”

Despite her antics, Hannah believes others have behaved just as badly and is comparing herself to Adam and Lacey in the TikTok post.

Adam sparked upset with wife Polly when she danced with Lacey, lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

And Hannah caused an uproar on the show when she was accused of massaging another groom’s feet.

A huge row erupted when Polly mentioned that she found some of Hannah’s behaviour towards other grooms on the experiment inappropriate.

She told her friends: “Last night after the commitment ceremony she’s gone up to Shannon and Ryan’s room and she was rubbing Ryan’s feet in front of Shannon and going ‘ain’t you got nice blue eyes, your feet are so soft, isn’t it nice and warm in there?’”

Hannah, who was then excluded by the group, later claimed she was just picking some lint off his shoe.

But despite her pleas of innocence, Hannah does end up with Ryan and in a shock move the pair ended up returning to the show together last night.

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