Full line-up for new series of Celebrity Hunted revealed after Strictly Come Dancing stars complete cast
The team at Celebrity Hunted seem to love dipping into the Strictly Come Dancing talent pool for contestants.
Channel 4’s latest selection is JJ Chalmers, who did a turn on the BBC One dance contest in 2020 when he was partnered with pro Amy Dowden.
But on this show he is competing against Welsh wonder Amy, as she is also taking part alongside her Strictly pal, Carlos Xu.
It comes after the last series featured Kai Widdrington and Giovanni Pernice going on the run — and eventually getting caught.
Former Royal Marine and Paralympian JJ will be partnered with Sophie Morgan, which will be a Celebrity Hunted first as the presenter is a wheelchair user.
A TV insider said: “JJ and Sophie will prove an interesting pairing because when they’re forced to move around the country using various forms of transport it’s going to highlight lots of accessibility issues.”
Comedians Laura Smyth and Jen Brister complete this year’s line-up.
I exclusively revealed yesterday how Amy and Carlos were taking part in the upcoming series, which is set to air early next year.
They are up against former EastEnders star Brian Conley and his daughter Lucy as well as Love Island hunks Chris Taylor and Toby Aromolaran.
At the weekend Scarlette Douglas and her brother Stuart — hosts of Channel 4’s Worst House On The Street — were also announced as contestants via Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.
There is no hiding the fact that filming is already underway.
Chris and Toby have been snapped on the run by a fan, who took a selfie and posted it on Instagram.
But as anyone who watches the show will know, it is probably a red herring to throw the hunters off their scent…
David makes mums Swet
The CBeebies Bedtime Story sofa has hosted some great guest stars over the years – but this week it gets its very first Superman.
Hollywood hunk David Corenswet, the latest actor to wear the iconic blue-and-red-caped suit for the big screen, will deliver a tale to help us all get off to sleep this week.
He will be delivering words from the book What Does Daddy Do? by Rachel Bright, which sees little girl Daisy wonder what her father does all day while she is at nursery.
Of course, David, who makes his debut as Superman in cinemas on Friday, isn’t the first superhero actor to deliver a bedtime story.
Others have included Chris Hemsworth who is famous for playing Thor, as well as Chris Evans who was Captain America and Jason Momoa who has portrayed Aquaman.
CBeebies Bedtime Story is on weekdays at 6.50pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer. David’s story airs on Friday at 6.50pm.
But I’ve a feeling this will be another one of those where more mummies tune in than kids…
Big trio in team Gareth
The BBC has revealed three more big names for its adaptation of the stage play Dear England, which chronicles the career of Gareth Southgate.
Former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker, The Crown actor Jason Watkins and Passenger’s Daniel Ryan have been added to the cast of the four-part drama.
They join Shakespeare In Love’s Joseph Fiennes who has already been announced as playing the former England manager.
Filming has started and it will air next year on BBC One.
Jodie plays the England men’s team psychologist, Jason is FA chairman Greg Dyke and Daniel is former assistant manager for the team, Steve Holland.
Writer and exec producer James Graham said: “I’m so grateful to the world-class cast and creative team we’ve assembled.”
Madge ignores Sir Bob
If you caught the first two episodes of Live Aid At 40 on Sunday, you’ll know the documentary is a fantastic celebration of this landmark event.
There’s a third and final episode to come on Sunday night on BBC Two – or you can watch them all on iPlayer now.
But the one thing you won’t see on there is an interview with Madonna, even though she appeared at both Live Aid in 1985 and Live 8 in 2005.
Other megastars who took part did agree to interviews and they include the likes of Bono and Sting.
But even Sir Bob Geldof, who organised the original extravaganza four decades ago, couldn’t get the veteran singer to come on the documentary.
Producer Tanya Shaw told Broadcast magazine this week: “His email to ‘Madge’ sadly went unanswered.”
Perhaps he made the mistake of calling her Madge in the request?
Jared’s Lunar lapse
He’s very much a child of the 20th century space age, yet Jared Harris says he can’t remember much about the landmark moment man first landed on the moon in 1969.
The actor, who is about to hit screens in the third outing of sci-fi epic Foundation, told the Radio Times: “My older brother had discovered a bottle of cider and persuaded eight-year-old me to drink some.
“Only it wasn’t cider, it was paraffin.
“So we were having our stomachs pumped when Neil Armstrong was walking on the Moon.”
I think he can be reasonably excused from missing the historic feat.
Jared, son of the late hellraising actor Richard Harris, resumes his role as mathematician Dr Hari Seldon in the latest instalment of Foundation, which drops on Apple TV+ on Friday.
The show, which first aired in 2021, is based on Isaac Asimov’s novels.
GREAT British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant has revealed the BBC One show, which is back next Tuesday at 9pm, has a celebrity fan in the form artist Grayson Perry.
Patrick said: “I know he’s watched it – I’ve spoken to him about it and Philippa, his wife, certainly is a fan.”
Rachel adds up plunge
Rachel Riley admitted she questioned her decision to take part in Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters.
The Countdown maths whizz said: “These creatures can swallow suits of armour… and a whole chicken coop complete with chickens.
“They’re the queens of the ocean, so do what they want. On one of my dives, I did think, ‘My God, what am I doing?’ but I knew it was a chance of a lifetime, so I made the most of it. In the back of my mind, I knew my husband and kids would be screaming at me to get out of the water.”
The ITV show starts on July 14 and also stars Helen George, Sir Lenny Henry, Lucy Punch, Ade Adepitan, Dougie Poynter and Ross Noble.
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
