Collectors are starting to fight back in the war against Pokemon card scalpers, and one viral incident shows how fans are getting even with resellers.
Read More »
Pokemon card collectors are fighting back against “dirtbag” scalpers
Mizkif opens up about his future in OTK as company restructures after Asmongold drama
Mizkif spoke on his future with OTK as the organization undergoes big changes as some of its top members distance themselves.
Read More »
Watch the moment MAFS Australia bride breaks down in tears just seconds after marrying her husband
A MARRIED At First Sight Australia bride was reduced to tears just seconds after marrying her husband.
The hit Australian version continued tonight as the final two couples walked down the aisle.
Fans saw Tony and Morena say ‘I do’, while Ryan and Jacqui also made their marriage official.
However, just seconds after her vows, consultant Jacqui was reduced to tears on camera.
Before her photoshoot as the weather changed and it became cold, her emotions got the better of her.
MAFS fans then watched as she verbalised how cold she was to her husband Ryan, but it seemed to full on deaf ears – despite her making clear during their vows he would be required to give her his jacket anytime she was cold.
Shivering, Ryan then eventually gave Jacqui his cream suit jacket on the third hint she dropped.
Reacting to the scenes at home, one viewer said: “Omg the fake tears, I cannot take Jacqui seriously.”
A second wrote: “That over zealous shivering from Jacqui and the second time she has broken tears has got me like.”
“Oh yay …. Fake drama tears just what we were missing,” posted a third fan.
While a fourth commented: “Really? Tears I didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
However, that wasn’t the worst part of the day as Ryan accidentally dropped Jacqui in shocking scenes.
Surrounded by loved ones, the couple could be seen dancing with one another as their friends and family watched on in delight.
“I’m going to dip you, ready,” said Ryan to Jacqui as the pair danced on the dancefloor.
As Ryan dipped his new bride backwards, she was leaned too far back and dramatically fell over.
Ryan ended up dropping Jacqui instead of dipping her, with him then taking a tumble too.
Married At First Sight Australia Couples 2025
Lauren, 37, Business Owner, and Clint, 43, Pro Golfer
Eliot, 35, Business Owner, and Veronica, 32, Personal Trainer/Actor
Beth, 28, Salon Manager, and Teejay, 28, Business Development Manager
Jacqui, 29, Consultant, and Ryan, 36, Project Manager
Morena, 57, DJ/Fitness Instructor, and Tony, 53, Charter Captain
Rhi, 34, Account Manager, and Jeff, 39, Electrician
Ashleigh, 34, Dance Studio Owner, and Jake, 30, Teacher
Awhina, 30, Aged Care Worker, and Adrian, 30, E-Commerce Business Owner
Sierah, 31, Financial Associate Advisor, and Billy, 31, Plasterer
Jamie, 28, Account Manager, and Dave, 36, Builder
Katie, 37, CEO and Tim, 38, Primary School Teacher
Carina, 31, Digital Marketing Manager and Paul, 30, Wellness Advisor
Moment jockey bundled into cop car still in his jodhpurs after pub brawl left OAP fighting for life
A JOCKEY still in his riding gear is bundled into a police car after a pub brawl left a pensioner fighting for life.
The horseman was taken away after a fight broke out between four men in the middle of the day.
A 70-year-old who reportedly tried to break up the brawl was last night in a critical but stable condition.
The punch-up near the Waggon and Horses pub in Newmarket, Suffolk, on Saturday prompted a response from five police cars, three ambulances and an air ambulance — ahead of Cheltenham Festival which starts today.
A source said: “People were drinking in the pub when a fight started.
“An old chap out celebrating his birthday with his two sons went to break it up.
“It ended up outside and he hit his head on the kerb — everyone thought he was dead. He’s still in hospital.”
Suffolk Police said its officers were called to reports of a brawl at about 3.40pm, when they found two men with injuries sustained in the fight.
Two men, both said to be jockeys, aged 25 and 23, were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.
The suspects, from Newmarket, were released on bail until June 5 pending further enquiries.
A third, aged 45, was arrested on suspicion of affray after being discharged from hospital.
At least one of the jockeys is back at work.
His training yard said: “He rode out this morning.
“Like with any employee when they finish work what they do in their spare time is their business. I don’t keep tabs on them.”
Suffolk Police have appealed for witnesses.
The British Horseracing Authority declined to comment.
![TWO jockeys have been arrested after beating up a pensioner and leaving him for dead in a pub fight. , , The men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are said to have turned on the OAP as he tried to break up a brawl at The Golden Lion Wetherspoons in Newmarket, Suffolk., , […]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/crop-33782704.jpg?strip=all&w=738)
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
Major Stuart Pearce health update after England legend’s terrifying health scare at 30,000 feet
THREE Lions great Stuart Pearce left hospital yesterday following his transatlantic health scare at 30,000ft.
The former England ace turned pundit was discharged by doctors in Canada after an eight-day stay and is planning his homecoming.
Fans had been rooting for the hardman defender, nicknamed Psycho, since we told how he became ill during a Virgin Atlantic flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow.
The father-of-two, 62, was hooked up to a monitor as he began sweating profusely and struggling with acute pain on Flight VS156.
First aiders treated Pearce whose partner watched helplessly as the drama unfolded.
The decision was made to divert the flight to St John’s on Newfoundland where the star was helped off the plane.
The former full-back, who played for Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Man City, received 24/7 care.
During Saturday’s Premier League game between Forest and City, supporters stood for a round of applause in the third minute. Pearce wore the number ‘3’.
Sam Matterface, a talkSPORT colleague, told listeners: “I spoke to him yesterday and he was in great spirits.
“He isn’t 100 per cent — that is definitely the case.
“But he’s in the right place in the hospital.”
Pearce, who won 78 England caps, had been flying home after watching Warrington Wolves play Wigan Warriors in Vegas in the first rugby league Super league match in the US.
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
Staggering sum BBC has paid out probing Huw Edwards and Tim Westwood scandals revealed – sparking fury from victim
THE BBC has spent almost £5million looking into the Huw Edwards and Tim Westwood scandals.
Its investigations into paedophile newsreader Edwards have cost the corporation more than £1.3million.
Meanwhile, it has spent £3.3million looking into allegations of bullying and misogyny against DJ Westwood, who denies the claims.
Its total bill for the Edwards inquiry emerged in a Freedom of Information response yesterday.
The money was spent on external legal fees of £340,843 plus £958,133 on a resulting review of complaints policies by consultants Deloitte.
Another £70,000 was paid for “additional resources” from the BBC corporate investigations team.
The bill is the equivalent of 8,076 licence fees at £169.50 each.
But a victim of disgraced 63-year-old Edwards accused the BBC of failing to respond to him.
The young TV producer was contacted by Edwards in early 2021.
Edwards later sent inappropriate messages, including an invitation to a Windsor hotel while he was fronting Prince Philip’s funeral coverage.
The victim contacted the BBC and was interviewed as part of its internal investigation into the Edwards scandal in August 2023.
He said: “How can they spend all that money and not have any answers for people like me?
“I have not heard anything further about the findings of the BBC investigation and not even had a check-up call or anything.
“Whenever I hear any updates, it is usually from The Sun and other papers but not the BBC.
“I followed the correct procedure but have just been left hanging in the wind with no conclusion.
“It is totally wrong they have managed to splash so much public money but apparently achieve nothing.
The money they have spent could have paid a lot of salaries of young producers and researchers — or a lot of licence fees.
“There’s been no result for the public and they have been more interested in protecting brand BBC than actually listening to victims.”
The Edwards costs were revealed after the BBC released its £3.3million report last month into the investigation into ex-DJ Westwood’s alleged predatory behaviour.
In 2013 the BBC spent more than £5million on three inquiries linked to the Jimmy Savile scandal.
The BBC said: “Wherever possible we aim to resolve matters without external support, and the decision to commission any review or work by a third party is taken with careful consideration, based on the specific circumstances in each case.
“We only incur external legal costs when absolutely necessary.”
If Keir Starmer has any sense of decency, he must back away from Labour’s latest cruel and shameful broken promise
FIRST they came for Jewish people. Then women. Then the elderly.
Now Labour, the new Nasty Party, is threatening our animals.
The planned Brexit reset could force the UK to U-turn on animal welfare protections as the Prime Minister scrabbles to bolster food trade with the EU.
Experts have suggested the Government could be forced to reverse its live-animal exports ban as well as scrap plans to outlaw the import of foie gras.
Labour — who last year pledged to “introduce the biggest boost in animal welfare for a generation in a bid to end the horrific levels of cruelty animals suffer” — breaking a manifesto promise?
Who’d have thought it.
A vote for Labour, we were told, was a “vote to end animal suffering”.
And yet here we are. Britain, for all its foibles, is a nation of animal lovers.
We should be leading the way in animal rights, not careering backwards.
If Keir Starmer reneges on animal welfare, it’s a betrayal too far.
This is a party that has broken promise after promise; a wolf clad in Lord Alli-sponsored sheep’s clothing.
The PM has expressed his desire to bring the country closer to Europe, making the veterinary deal his top priority.
Such a deal would reduce the red tape associated with food, including meat and dairy, passing in and out of the EU.
While the production of foie gras has been banned in the UK for ten years, a legal loophole means restaurants and businesses can import it from countries where barbaric force-feeding is permissible.
A reminder: Foie gras is made by a process known as gavage.
Millions of poor ducks and geese are killed in the most horrific manner, force-fed grain using a funnel to shovel it down their little, constricted throats to unnaturally swell their livers to many times normal size.
If only we could export Labour as easily as we can seemingly import this cruel practice . . .
The UK’s ban on the export of live animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs for fattening and slaughter — another abhorrent exercise in cruelty — was introduced by the Tories and came into force in January.
It has been touted as a key benefit of Brexit because EU rules prevented such a ban between member states.
Rebuild trust
Sir Keir, if he has any decency, will draw a red line in negotiations and not renege on his promise to these beautiful, innocent creatures — ones who do not deserve to be treated the way they are just to fill burgers.
If I had it my way, all battery farming would be banned.
Sure, animals don’t have a voice. They can’t vote. But we can
Sure, it might add another 45p to the price of eggs at a time when many families don’t have anything left to spare.
But money taken from industrial livestock farming and ploughed back into ethical British farming communities would be a win-win.
Let’s not forget the gazillions of your money Labour blew the last time it was in office — including £50MILLION to promote ballet, £38.4MILLION for gypsy encampments and £1.3BILLION on “reducing poverty in Asia”.
Labour, a party which struggles to identify what a woman is and encouraged the elderly to wear an extra jumper in winter, urgently needs to rebuild trust.
Sure, animals don’t have a voice. They can’t vote.
But we can.
Sir Keir, a man who promises to be a man of principle, must show us that he really is.
TROLLS’ SMALL LIVES
FROM some of the reviews of Meghan Markle – sorry, Sussex’s – new Netflix show, you’d think she’d murdered children and puppies.
She hadn’t – she’d just fronted a mind-numbingly dull, pointless and saccharine series.
Although, doubtless, had she killed anyone, she’d have been sure to sprinkle a few flowers over the corpse.
Anyway. Her latest perceived crime is to have taken a cute snap of daughter Lilibet on a boat with Prince Harry, minus a lifejacket, and posted it on Instagram.
The three-year-old is wrapped up safe in the arms of her dad who, for his many faults, is unquestionably a loyal, devoted and very fun dad. Clearly, little Lili isn’t sinking any time soon.
But that didn’t stop the trolls from coming out in force.“Irresponsible!”, “Cringe!”, “Insane!”, “Honestly, horrible!”, “The law doesn’t apply to them!” etc etc, they blasted from behind their keyboards.
And where are the kids of these village idiots?
Are they enjoying sunshine holidays and unique experiences on beautiful coastlines, surrounded by two (multi-millionaire, loving, Californian-dwelling) parents?
Or, are they, like their parents, behind a screen living a very small life?
ANNIE’S DAY TO FORGET
IT was good to see the permanently cheated-on Annie Kilner doing her bit for the sisterhood during International Women’s Day.
Kyle Walker’s much put-upon other half, who keeps threatening to leave the AC Milan philanderer, left, but never quite seems to manage it, reverted to her married name to promote her new jewellery collection on Instagram.
Taking to her Stories, she modelled a diamond bracelet, with a caption reading: “Demure. Founded by Annie Walker & Sophie Haynes.”
FOREIGN CHAMP TAKES THE BISCUIT
BLOODY foreigners. They’re invading our game shows . . . and our dog shows.
With recent seasons of Britain’s (Not) Got Talent featuring endless contestants from overseas, now Crufts has been won by an Italian.
A whippet from Venice called Miuccia was named Best In Show, beating 18,000 other furry contestants at Birmingham’s NEC, and scooping £200 prize money in the process.
Where’s the EDL – English Dog League – when you need it?
TERROR OF TATE
ANDREW TATE is a vile, misogynistic man.
Beyond that, he’s a dangerous one.
Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford committed his triple murder after downloading Tate’s hate-spreading podcast the previous day.
Tate’s influence, particularly on impressionable young men, is on a par with terror and must be treated as such.
ALL SO POSH
I’M honestly bemused as to why more people aren’t commenting on the fact young Cruz Beckham is basically dating his mother circa 2002, if she’d had a fringe.
Stunning 29-year-old Jackie Apostel, even wore a Victoria Beckham silk dress to attend her doppelganger’s show at Paris Fashion Week on Friday. Uncanny.
Kym Marsh reveals her phone was stolen in terrifying mugging & lost ’emotional’ texts she’ll ‘never get back’
TV STAR Kym Marsh told yesterday how she had her phone swiped from her hand seconds after taking it from her bag to reply to a text.
The BBC Morning Live host told the show: “I felt vulnerable, really shaken.
“I immediately wanted to get help but, of course, it’s not so easy when you don’t have your phone.”
She was mugged two weeks ago in Buckingham Palace Road, London, at 9.30pm.
Kym, whose dad David died last year, added: “I’ve now lost messages that my dad sent me and things I can never get back.
“It’s that emotional side of it.”
Experts recommend that victims track their device’s location, contact their service provider to cancel usage, and report it to police.
The TV star has spoken out to warn others about the huge surge in phone thefts, particularly involving bicycles and e-bikes.
Around 200 devices are stolen each day in the UK – one every six minutes.
In the 12 months up to September last year, 78,000 cases were reported, an increase of 150 per cent on the year before.
Experts say that thieves are predominantly from organised crime groups and are looking to profit from a booming second hand market, as well as attempting to steal data, such as bank details, stored on devices.
Two weeks ago, the Government announced plans to give cops stronger powers if they believe a stolen phone is inside.
Officers will no longer need a warrant to search properties where stolen items have been electronically geolocated.
- Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
My teen’s school referred me to the POLICE because of a few sick days – I’m fuming but people ask why I’m kicking off
A MUM has revealed she’s been referred to the police after her teenage daughter missed a few days of school due to being ill.
Mum Sara Louise took to TikTok to rant after being notified that the authorities would be coming to do a welfare check on her child, who is in Year 10.
The furious mum explained that her daughter has ”some additional needs” – which Sara felt like were ”not met by the school”.
In the video, Sara said that before the incident, her daughter had been off for three weeks ”because she was unwell” – and during this time, the school allegedly never phoned the parent for a welfare check.
”I only had phone calls to check in and see if she was okay. Some of them I didn’t even answer,” Sara said in a recent clip on TikTok.
The outraged mum went on: ”This term, she’s been off for 11 days and they’ve rung me twice in the 11 days.
”And today, when I answered the phone call, she asked me if she could come out and do a welfare check – and I kindly declined.
”I said ‘No, I don’t want you to come to my house’,” Sara said, adding that her teenager was ”absolutely fine” and didn’t ”want any interaction with the school”.
Under the Education (Penalty Notices) Regulations, schools usually consider a welfare check when a child has missed 10 school sessions (equivalent to 5 days) of unauthorised absences within a rolling 10-week period.
Schools may conduct a welfare check sooner if they have concerns about a child’s wellbeing, even if the absence is shorter.
Before a home visit, schools will usually try to contact the parents first to understand the reason for the absence.
”I’m fuming. Because I have now declined, they’re telling me that they have a duty of care – which is fine – and safeguarding and all the rest of it, to come out and do this check.”
Sara, who is in the process of moving her daughter to another school, noted that getting the police involved felt as if she was ”hiding” and ”abusing” the child.
”I know they haven’t said that – but the way that comes across is, like, sinister.”
Despite the school notifying Sara, the mum said there was no chance she was going to the child’s school to let them know the daughter was fine ”when she’s fine”.
”And there’s not a cat in hell’s chance that they’re coming to my house to see that she’s fine.”
The furious mother, who insisted the school had never given ”a s**t” about her daughter, knew there’d be backlash after posting the clip – but said she didn’t ”give a crap”.
If the authorities do show up, Sara said she’d be having the conversation with the police from her camera.
”This is what you get for doing what’s right for your kid.”
Is my child too ill for school? NHS advice
All schools have set rules and guidelines when it comes to a pupil’s illness. But the NHS shares the following advice…
High temperature – If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.
Coughs and colds – It’s fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes.
Chickenpox – If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over. This is usually about five days after the spots first appeared.
Cold sores – There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have a cold sore.
Conjunctivitis – You don’t need to keep your child away from school if they have conjunctivitis, unless they are feeling very unwell.
COVID-19 – If your child has mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school. Read more on what to do if your child has Covid here.
Ear infection – If your child has an ear infection and a high temperature or severe earache, keep them off school until they’re feeling better or their high temperature goes away.
Head lice and nits – There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice. You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.
Measles – If your child has measles, they’ll need to see a GP. Call the GP surgery before you go in, as measles can spread to others easily.
Keep your child off school for at least four days from when the rash first appears.
Sore throat – You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away. A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.
Vomiting and diarrhoea – Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least two days (48 hours).
There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about health protection and managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn’t.
‘At least they ARE checking’
Despite Sara’s fury, many social media users didn’t agree with her, with one viewer writing: ”A welfare check is VITAL to ensure the safety of the child. This should be applauded, not frowned upon.”
Someone else commented: ”As a social worker I really wish people would understand why this is SO necessary.
”You probably are a very loving caring mother but that is not the case for every child, and god forbid something was.”
”At least they ARE checking. So many children slip through the net and we moan, we can’t moan when they do check. Can’t have it both ways,” wrote a third.
”11 days is two weeks and one day so that plus the three weeks is a lot of missed schooling. Good on them for caring,” chimed in another.
Hitting back at those criticising her, the mother said: ”It’s frowned upon simply because they’ve only done this cos they know they’ve failed her.
”It’s just ridiculous and there’s bigger crimes been committed where police are actually needed.”
How ITV are losing grip on ‘golden girl’ Holly Willoughby as she eyes £10m TV megadeal and plans to follow telly legend
HOLLY Willoughby could become the new Cilla Black as she eyes up a series of telly deals worth £10million after distancing herself from ITV.
As ailing skating show Dancing On Ice ended on Sunday, with little hope of it returning, its presenter also confirmed she wasn’t coming back to host You Bet! for the channel.
With her time on ITV’s This Morning now a distant memory, Holly is poised to start a new chapter in her career, featuring lucrative deals with the streamers — including a second series of her Netflix reality competition, Celebrity Bear Hunt.
And there’s still the option of taking on prestigious projects with the BBC, including a potential reboot of Cilla Black’s best-known show, Blind Date.
The dating programme has already been mooted by Holly’s husband, producer Dan Baldwin, as a potential big-budget revival.
A TV insider said: “There might not sound like obvious parallels between Holly and Cilla, but they’re both two of the biggest stars of modern telly.
“It’s not pure coincidence either, that when ITV decided to reboot Surprise, Surprise — another show made famous by Cilla — it was girl-next-door Holly they turned to.
“So the prospect of her fronting a reboot of Blind Date is a very real one, and a pairing that many viewers could see as a natural fit.
“Emulating Cilla isn’t just about taking on her shows, it’s as much about carving out a niche as a solo presenter with serious clout in the world of telly.
“But together with her husband Dan, they form the ultimate power couple in TV. She has the public appeal that gets viewers tuning in, while he has a track record of making hugely successful TV shows.”
‘Cilla’s an icon to me’
Dan’s production company Hungry Bear, is behind huge programmes including The Wheel and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.
Last year it also brought back Gladiators, which jumped from ITV to BBC One and was an instant hit.
When discussing the success of the challenge contest, Dan said he would look at other favourites to revive, and instantly brought up Blind Date, which Cilla fronted from 1985 to 2003.
Dan said: “Another one you’d like to see back, Blind Date, are we ready for that? What a Saturday night that was. I’m thinking Blind Date with Claudia Winkleman on BBC1.”
Although Claudia probably isn’t a viable choice due to her commitments hosting The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing, reviving Blind Date on the Beeb seems feasible given Dan performed the feat with Gladiators.
Coincidentally Cilla was also married to a powerful figure in the entertainment industry who drove her career forward.
Known as “Our Bobby”, Robert Willis took over after her manager Brian Epstein died in 1967, and helped turn her from a singer in the Sixties and Seventies into a TV star in the Eighties and Nineties.
He negotiated her contract with London Weekend Television, part of ITV, every two years and made her one of the highest paid and best known presenters on telly.
When Bobby bought the gameshow, Moment Of Truth, for his own production company, he brokered an arrangement by which she charged £50,000 an episode to present it on ITV. There were 36 episodes, in total, running from 1998 to 2001.
By 2003, the Liverpudlian singer, was said to be earning £17,000 a week — equivalent to £884,000 a year. Today, that figure would be almost £2million annually.
Holly has previously praised Cilla for blazing a trail with her TV career in the Eighties and Nineties.
There might not sound like obvious parallels between Holly and Cilla, but they’re both two of the biggest stars of modern telly
TV Insider
Cilla — who died aged 72 in 2015 — had fronted Surprise Surprise from 1984 to 2001.
Talking around the 2012 reboot of Surprise, Surprise, Holly said: “It was one of my biggest fears that Cilla wouldn’t like it as she’s a bit of an icon for me . . . you can only aspire to have a career like that.
“She is an incredible lady. Cilla was like the female anchor, she was the first. I have a lot of respect for her.”
Blind Date would be the perfect vehicle for Holly to move away from ITV and draw a line under a difficult 18 months for her career.
A TV insider said: “When Holly quit This Morning in 2023 she had just got over the tumult of Phillip Schofield’s controversial departure from the show, combined with a plot to kidnap, rape and murder her.
“Then she returned to Dancing On Ice, which she had previously hosted with friend-turned-foe Schofield, when its ratings were sliding and its cancellation was fast approaching.
“The only new project she got at ITV was You Bet! which was another reboot of an old show which didn’t quite get the ratings execs hoped for.”
Bosses at ITV were said to be shocked when they were told Holly wouldn’t be able to return to film a second batch of episodes this year, with co-host Stephen Mulhern.
A full series of You Bet! was one of a trio of projects the channel is believed to have offered her to stay with ITV. Holly had started her career at the broadcaster with kids’ show Ministry of Mayhem in 2004 and was viewed as its “golden girl”.
On Sunday — the same night that Dancing On Ice’s 17th season ended — ITV had to issue a statement.
Unfortunately Holly couldn’t commit to the dates to host the new series of You Bet!, but will hopefully appear as a guest panellist on one of the shows
ITV
It said: “Unfortunately Holly couldn’t commit to the dates to host the new series of You Bet!, but will hopefully appear as a guest panellist on one of the shows.”
The suggestion was she couldn’t do the ITV show because she might have to do another project, believed to be the second season of Celebrity Bear Hunt.
Widely considered Netflix’s bid to rival I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, it sees 12 famous people taken into a tropical wilderness where they have to try to survive.
Its popularity is hard to measure as it appeared on a streaming service whose viewing figures are often shrouded in mystery.
Fantastic asset
But insiders say the show, which featured Bear Grylls challenging the celebrities, created enough buzz to warrant a second outing. It is already being planned, with filming pencilled in for this year.
Holly’s appearance on the Netflix series opened executives’ minds to the idea that someone so closely associated with a single terrestrial channel could make the leap to working with a streamer.
And with the likes of Netflix and Prime now trying to encroach on the territory of traditional broadcasters like the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, she’s a fantastic asset.
The online platforms are also willing to offer her huge sums, with the first series of Celebrity Bear Hunt said to have bagged her almost seven figures.
ITV would struggle to compete with that, in an age where advertising revenues are being squeezed.
The channel has yet to officially state that Dancing On Ice has been axed, insisting after the most recent series ended “no decision has been made”. But the confirmation is expected within days.
As she promoted Celebrity Bear hunt last month, Holly seemed to relish the prospect of hosting a show solo and, tellingly, referenced the fact she had already done so on Surprise, Surprise years ago.
Of her decision to sign up for the survival show, she said: “I’d just got to that stage in my life where I thought, ‘I want to try something new.’ I was nervous about it, because it was a real departure from what I normally do.
“Everything you do and everything that feels new always feels like a new chapter.”
MY VIEW
By Rod McPhee, TV Editor
SHE’S a wide-eyed innocent, a naive fawn, the girl next door – or at least that’s what Holly Willoughby’s team would like you to think.
Don’t believe a word of it.
That might be the warm, fuzzy, familiar face who greets us when we turn on our TVs but, make no mistake, you’re dealing with a very calculated operator.
And nothing could illustrate that more than the past 48 hours.
In that time Holly – who’s already consigned This Morning to her distant past – has passively watched as Dancing on Ice rolled under a bus and then simultaneously had it confirmed that she wouldn’t be returning to her last remaining show with ITV, You Bet!
Which means that after more than two decades with ITV she’s free. Free to finally conquer the BBC. Free to milk the streamers for £10million (at least) and free to become one of the most powerful women on TV, if she chooses. And she will, just you watch.
Because Holly has always shown a quiet, simmering ambition ever since she took her first steps in children’s telly.
Between then and now she’s quit her management agency, YMU, and hired an elite PR team to help boost her image.
The speed at which she distanced herself from fellow This Morning host Phillip Schofield in early 2023 was also palpable.
Then six months later she quit the show entirely as a result of a murder and kidnap plot, just before signing up to front Netflix’s Celebrity Bear Hunt….in one of the murder and kidnap capitals of South America.
And don’t forget that after launching the rebooted You Bet! in 2024, to mediocre ratings, she is now walking away from her own show, claiming that she “couldn’t commit.”
In other words she’s got a better offer…well, good for her.
Because she’s a woman she’ll be perceived as scheming, savage and selfish. But if it were anyone else the descriptions would veer more towards: single-minded, shrewd and selective.
Whatever you think of her, Holly is on the move and on the up – and I wouldn’t advise getting in her way.