CORONATION Street actor Bruce Jones has admitted that ITV have said sorry for telling him that his character was being killed off by email.

The Sun exclusively revealed that the show would be killing off the iconic Les Battersby in the next few weeks but the death would be happening off-screen.

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It determined Bruce’s future on the show with the death meaning there is now a highly unlikely chance he will ever be able to return to the show that he loved.

Speaking out after his exit was revealed, Bruce admitted that he had been informed of his departure by an email but has since confessed that the show have reached out once again to apologise for telling him in such a way without warning.

Bruce told GB News: “I’ve had an apology from the press office for [telling me by email] which I’m grateful for.”

He also admitted to the publication that he was left “annoyed” by the wording of the original email, stating: “I got an email from the casting office saying, Dear Mr Jones, I am sorry to inform you Les Battersby will die in the next few months.

“I read the email and thought, why send me an email like that? Why call me Mr. Jones? Why not call me Bruce? 

“That annoyed me a little bit, but then I felt relieved. Maybe it’s time for me to go now.”

He further confessed that reaction to the news has apparently not gone down well with fans he has seen out and about since The Sun broke the story.

Bruce said: “I went to watch Manchester City on Sunday and people come up to say, ‘This is ridiculous. They should keep you in.’

“But it’s their decision. It’s not mine. I’ve got no problems with Coronation Street.

“I had ten great years with them, but they (the viewers) are pretty annoyed about it. I say, ‘There’s no point having a go at me, it’s not my fault.’”

Actor Bruce, 71, played Les in Coronation Street for 10 years until he was suspended for allegedly getting drunk in a restaurant, insulting fans and revealing plots.

Les was written out as a consequence, but die-hard fans have always hoped the character would return one day, especially as his daughter Leanne and step-daughter Toyah are still in Weatherfield.

Next month Les’s daughter Leanne, played by Jane Danson, receives a call telling her that her dad is dead. She then breaks the news to her sister Toyah (Georgia Taylor).

A source said: “It’s a huge snub to kill off a popular character like this.

“Bruce created one of the Street’s most iconic characters in Les and always hoped one day he might return.

“A lot of the cast and crew have said it’s a bit mean.

“It’s also bound to infuriate long-term fans who remember Les with great fondness.”

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Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, has said that he didn’t want to fire Shane Gillis from the show but was ordered to by executives at NBC.

In 2019, Gillis was fired shortly after it was announced he was joining the cast following a public outcry about the comedian’s history of making racist and homophobic comments.

Gillis was removed from the SNL cast before he even appeared in an episode but was welcomed back in February 2024 as a host and used his opening monologue to joke about his abrupt dismissal.

Michaels, who created SNL in 1975 and has worked on the show consistently since 1985, has now said that the decision to fire Gillis did not come from him.

“That was very strong from the people in charge. And obviously I was not on that side, but I understood it,” the 79-year-old told the Wall Street Journal admitting that he kept in touch with the comedian after the firing.

Recalling the controversy, Michaels said: “He said something stupid, but it got blown up into the end of the world. I was angry. I thought, ‘You haven’t seen what we’re going to do, and what I’m going to try to bring out in him’ because I thought he was the real thing.”

After his firing, an SNL spokesperson issued a statement reading: After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL.

“We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL.

“We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard.”

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Gillis responded to the news of his sacking on his Twitter account, writing: “I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can’t get taken away.”

He added: “Of course, I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction.

“I respect the decision they made. I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity.

“I was always a Mad TV guy anyway.”

Gillis has since become one of the biggest names in stand-up comedy releasing a comedy special, Beautiful Dogs, on Netflix in 2023 as well as a sitcom, Tires, on the platform.

NAKED and Afraid star Sarah Danser has died at the age of 34 after being involved in a tragic car crash.

The reality star is said to have been a passenger in a parked car when a man driving at speed hurtled into it in Kahala, Hawaii, on Sunday.

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The 59-year-old driver allegedly lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the parked car, according to a Honolulu police statement shared with KSLA.

Danser, who was a passenger in the car, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but could not be saved.

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She died of her injuries on Tuesday.

“Magical is the way to describe her,” her brother, Jake Danser, shared with KSLA.

“Sarah had this positive energy about her that just really filled the environment that she was in.”

Her dad meanwhile, said, “I actually saw how much of a difference she made in the lives of others.

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“I think she saved my life once, diving in Indonesia.”

The avid adventurer appeared on the survival series in 2017 before returning the following year for the all-stars spin-off Naked and Afraid XL.

Last year she starred in Fight to Survive.

Her Naked and Afraid costar Melissa Lauren described Sarah as “one of the most adventurous souls I’ve ever met”.

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“She wasn’t only a fierce survivalist on Naked and Afraid (she completed XL in South Africa with me), but a breast cancer survivor who kept an inspiring and positive attitude through her treatment,” the fellow TV star said.

The driver of the car was hospitalized in serious condition on Sunday.

A woman who was in the parked car at the time of the crash was hospitalized in serious condition.

A man who was also in the parked car refused treatment, police said.

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Police said speed appeared to be a factor, but not drugs or alcohol.

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Actor Jack Merrill, who has appeared in Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order, has spoken out about being abducted and raped by serial killerJohn Wayne Gacy 46 years ago.

Gacy, a contractor who also performed as Pogo the Clown, was convicted of raping, torturing and murdering at least 33 young men and boys in Chicago, Illinois in the 1970s. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994.

Writing in People, Merrill – now 65 – says the horrific incident happened one night when he finished swimming at his YMCA. He was walking home in Evanston, Illinois when a man pulled over and said: “Do you want to go for a ride?” It was Gacy.

The then-19-year-old said yes. He thought they’d go around the block a few times but Gacy began driving quickly and turned into a dangerous neighborhood.

Gacy told him: “Lock your door. It’s dangerous.” The actor had never gotten into a stranger’s car before. The killer pulled over near a highway entrance ramp and asked Merrill if he’d ever done “poppers” or amyl nitrate. Gacy then pulled out a rag, splashed a liquid on it and shoved it into the young man’s face, making him unconscious.

When Merrill woke up, he was in handcuffs. He saw the highway exit and later stood outside Gacy’s home.

Gacy told him to be quiet. Merrill then realized how dangerous the man was.

“I knew I couldn’t anger him,” Merrill wrote. “I just had to diffuse the situation and act like everything was okay.”

Merrill thought the dark home was a trap.

Gacy asked if the actor trusted him, he wrote. He responded that he did. Gacy then took off his handcuffs. The two then had a beer before Merrill was dragged down the hall.

“He put this homemade contraption around my neck. It had ropes and pulleys, and it went around my back and through my handcuffed hands in a way that if I struggled, I would choke,” he wrote.

“He stuck a gun in my mouth. Then he raped me in the bedroom. I knew if I fought him, I didn’t have much of a chance. I never freaked out or yelled. I also felt sorry for him in a way, like he didn’t necessarily want to be doing what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop.”

The men had been in the home for hours. Eventually, Gacy got tired and said he’d take Merrill home.

Merrill got out of the car not far from where Gacy had picked him up hours earlier.

“He gave me his phone number and said, ‘Maybe we’ll get together again sometime,’” Merrill continued.

“When I got home, I flushed the number down the toilet, then took a shower. I didn’t call the police—I didn’t know he was a killer at the time.”

It wasn’t until several months later when Gacy was arrested in December 1978 that Merrill understood the potential gravity of what he had narrowly escaped.

He read a headline in the Chicago Sun-Times, reading: “Bodies Found at Suburban Site.” He noticed the same freeway exit on a map the newspaper printed. He called the paper and told a staff member: “That guy raped me.”

The employee responded: “What did you say your name was?” Merrill hung up.

The actor said he’s forgiven Gacy. Until now, he’s only told his close friends about what happened. Merrill has written a one-man show about his life called The Save. It’s running at the Electric Lodge in Los Angeles from October 24 to November 3.

He told the magazine performing the show is “cathartic” and he is “proud of my journey.”

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Kim Kardashian has said Erik and Lyle Menendez have been “granted a second chance at life” after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón called for them to be resentenced.

The Menendez brothers, who are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty, have been back in the public eye following the release of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

In a statement posted to her Instagram Stories, Kardashian, 44, said: “The Menendez brothers were granted a second chance at life and will wake up tomorrow finally eligible for a parole hearing. They could be released in as early as six months.

“Thank you, George Gascón, for revisiting the Menendez brothers’ case and righting a significant wrong. Your commitment to truth and fairness is commendable.

“To the brothers’ family, friends, and the millions who have been vocal supporters – your voices were heard. The media’s foucs, especially on the heels of Ryan Murphy’s TV show, helped expose the abuse and injustices in their case.

“Society’s understanding of child abuse has evolved, and social media empowers us to question the systems in place. This case highlights the importance on challenging decisions and seeking truth, even when guilt is not in question.

“I believe in the justice system’s ability to evolve, and I am grateful for a society where we can challenge decisions and seek justice,” she wrote, concluding her statement: “Never stop questioning.”

In a follow-up post, Kardashian added: “Erik and Lyle are immediately eligible for parole now that their sentence has been reduced to 50 years to life. In 2015, a bill was passed in California allowing individuals sentenced to life in prison before the age of 25 to seek parole after serving 25 years. Since Erik and Lyle have been in prison for 35 years, they qualify as ‘youthful offenders’ and are immediately eligible for parole.”

Earlier this month, Kardashian wrote an essay calling for the brothers to be released.

“We are all products of our experiences,” Kardashian wrote at the time. “They shape who we were, who we are, and who we will be. Physiologically and psychologically, time changes us, and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18. I know I’m not!”

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Monsters stars Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as José and Kitty, with Cooper Koch and Nicholas Chavez as Eric and Lyle. Since the series arrived on Netflix in September, viewers have been cautioning others on social media about the graphic nature of the violence depicted in the show.

The nine-episode series also depicts the sexual abuse that Lyle and Erik alleged to have been perpetrated by their father. However, Erik has claimed Murphy’s series does not accurately portray their crime, and accused the creator of releasing “disheartening slander.”

Murphy later defended the Netflix series, telling Entertainment Tonight: “I think it’s interesting that he’s issued a statement without having seen the show. I know he hasn’t seen the show in prison. I hope he does see the show.”

He added that “if you watch the show, I would say 60 to 65 percent” of the scripted narrative centers “around the abuse and what they claim happened to them. And we do it very carefully and we give them their day in court and they talk openly about it.”

“We present the facts from their point of view,” the Glee creator said. “We spent three years researching it – all of that is true.”

A CULT classic movie from the 90s is being adapted for television on Prime Video – with the first trailer released.

The original film featured an all-star cast including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon.

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The streaming giant have unveiled the first trailer for its new Cruel Intentions series.

Eight episodes will be dropping worldwide on November 21.

The show follows elite students at Manchester College, a Washington, D.C.-adjacent university.

In particular, two step-siblings, Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess).

The ruthless duo are determined to stay on top of their college’s cutthroat social hierarchy.

However, Caroline and Lucien find themselves in hot water after a hazing incident goes horribly wrong.

The ever resourceful pair are willing to do whatever’s necessary to preserve their power.

Whether that entails playing games, manipulation or seduction.

Savannah Lee Smith, Sara Silver, John Harlan Kim, Khobe Clarke, Sean Patrick Thomas and Brooke Lena Johnson are also set to star.

Thomas, who played Ronald Clifford in the film, takes on the new role of Professor Chadwick.

Meanwhile, the movie itself was a retelling of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s 1782 novel Dangerous Liasions.

Its writer-director Roger Kumble serves as an executive producer on the series.

Although this time around, the showrunners, writers and executive producers are Phoebe Fisher and Sara Goodman.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the pair discussed their vision for bringing Cruel Intentions to television.

“Part of the conversation was: How do we stay true to everything we loved about the movie but put it in a world that we haven’t necessarily seen before?”, Goodman told the outlet.

Fisher added: “We talked a lot about what the peek behind the curtain of a rarefied world that we hadn’t seen before could be, where it felt like it had its own social hierarchy.”

The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, and Original Film.

Cruel Intentions will launch on November 21 on Prime Video.

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