Linehan acquitted of trans activist harassment charges but found guilty of phone damage.

Billy Linehan, who co-created Father Ted, was found not guilty of cyberstalking a transgender adolescent but found guilty of destroying her phone. According to the testimony given at his trial, Linehan “deliberately whacked” Sophia Brooks’ phone before tossing it into the road outside of a conference in October of last year. The Irish comic writer … Read more

‘Nobody expected it’: Tess and Claudia’s exit took Strictly stars by surprise

Just last month, while George Clarke and a few of his fellow Strictly Come Dancing stars were mindlessly browsing social media, something abruptly halted their progress. After 21 and 11 years, respectively, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman revealed in an Instagram video that they were leaving their positions as presenters of the popular BBC One … Read more

La Voix leaves Strictly due to an injury

Strictly Come Dancing contestant La Voix has been forced to leave the competition after sustaining an injury. The drag queen’s departure was announced by presenter Tess Daly at the start of Saturday’s episode from Blackpool, saying she had had to withdraw on medical advice. It had been reported earlier that she could not perform on … Read more

Shirley from Strictly tells “terrifying” choking drama

Before Saturday’s live performance in Blackpool, Shirley Ballas, a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, choked on a fish bone and “couldn’t breathe” for twenty minutes. The chief judge of the show wrote on Instagram about the “terrifying” experience, saying, “I really thought that was it.” She commended Jane Green, her hair and makeup artist, for … Read more

Among the joyous guest editors on BBC Radio 4 is Cate Blanchett.

Blanchett will guest edit BBC Radio 4’s Today show over the Christmas season. Between December 24 and December 31, broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, historian and podcaster Tom Holland, inventor Sir James Dyson, and Mustafa Suleyman, head of artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft, will all be guest editors. During the holiday season, the news show has delegated … Read more