Tag: tvshowbiz

The Block ‘quitters’ have been accused of slamming the phone down during a radio interview with Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa this week.

According to Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, the controversial couple picked up the phone for a radio interview about their controversial exit from The Block, only to hang up moments later.

Fitzy and Wippa recalled the incident on Thursday during an interview with The Block host Scott Cam, who claims he was left blindsided by Elle and Joel’s departure just two days into filming.

‘We rang them yesterday, Scotty we can’t even play the audio because there isn’t anything to play,’ Wippa told Scott.

‘Elle picked up the phone and said, “This is Joel’s phone.” And I said, “Hi Elle we’re looking for Joel, it’s Fitzy & Wippa here,” Fitzy explained.

He continued: ‘And then Joel comes in and goes “Hi, how are you guys?” And we introduced ourselves again and then bang, he was gone. I have hung up. He’s not a fan of the show.’

Fashion blogger Elle, 36, and retired AFL player Joel, 37, were meant to star on The Block’s upcoming ‘Tree Change’ season, but quit just two days into filming.

The pair decided to leave after Joel’s mum suffered a nasty fall, reportedly breaking her coccyx and fracturing her wrist in the process.

According to reports at the time, they initially tried to stay on the show but left after they ‘couldn’t get a definitive answer’ from producers as to whether Joel could ‘come and go’ from the construction site in Gisborne to visit his ailing mother in Adelaide.

However, The Block’s executive producer Julian Cress has since disputed this, telling the Herald Sun that Joel and Elle ‘never’ made such a request.

Scott has never been shy to publicly criticize the couple for leaving, telling Fizy and Wippa that their decision caused ‘chaos’ on set.

‘We had a promo day [the day Elle and Joel left]. It was a Saturday morning, we had 50 or 60 people coming from Sydney, you know, a whole crew with trucks and everything,’ the Nine personality recalled.

‘You guys will be aware how big a promo day is. It’s huge and it goes every day. And we’ve got two contestants missing. So we had to reshoot a lot of stuff. And it was really chaos.’

Earlier on Thursday, Scott told The Kyle and Jackie O show the couple didn’t tell producers about the AFL star’s sick mother before fleeing the set of the series.

He said The Block would have been prepared to temporarily shut down production to accommodate the couple’s visit to see Joel’s mother, who had injured herself in a nasty fall at her home in Adelaide, if they had been made aware of the situation.

‘They didn’t mention the sick mum to us. If they had said to us we need to go see my mum, of course family comes first. We would have flown them back to Adelaide and flown them back,’ the long-time host said.

‘They spoke to our producer and said they had decided The Block isn’t on brand for them. It was chaos.’

Scott went on to say Elle also insisted on bringing ‘a lot of designer outfits’ for filming, despite a strict dress code.

‘You have got to wear the hi-vis [workwear] and the boots but [Elle] did have a lot of outfits there ready to go,’ he said.

Their exit from The Block will be a major storyline in the first few episodes of the new season, which premieres Sunday, August 7, on Channel Nine and 9Now.

Anime trolls target Bluey to make the beloved Australian children’s show plunge in the ratings

By A. James For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 11:42 PM EDT, August 3, 2022 | Updated: 01:58 EDT, August 4, 2022

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Neighbors star Olympia Valance showed off her incredible figure in a skimpy baby blue bikini in Mykonos on Monday.

The former soap actress, 29, looked stunning as she enjoyed some fun in the sun on the popular Greek island.

Olympia appeared to be having the time of her life with her former AFL star husband Tom Bellchambers, 33, who donned matching blue swim shorts.

Olympia appeared delighted as she waded into the water for a refreshing dip.

At one point, the brunette bombshell appeared to flick her hair back and squeeze the salty sea from her famous locks.

She then tied her tresses into a chic ponytail, as she continued to frolic in the Aegean Sea.

Olympia’s sensational curves were on full display as she paddled in her sizzling swimwear.

It wasn’t long before Tom joined his beautiful wife for a dip.

The couple waded in the shallows and lovingly looked at each other, as holidaymakers buzzed round them.

Olympia soon draped her arms around Tom as the couple shared a laugh.

The Playing for Keeps star’s skin started to show signs of being sun-kissed as she paddled in the crystal clear waters.

After their paddle, the newlyweds relaxed beneath the shade of a beach umbrella and took in the sights and sounds around them.

Olympia donned sunglasses for the occasion, as she surveyed the beach with a refreshing drink.

Olympia and Tom’s beachside frolic comes after she and sister Holly celebrated the highly anticipated finale of Neighbours.

The pair were pictured drinking Champagne at sunset after the soap bid farewell.

‘WOW. So that’s it, the last episode ever of Neighbours. What an end of an era for us all.’

She added in reference to their characters on the show: ‘Big love from Greece, Flick and Paige.’

Holly began her career on Neighbors as Felicity ‘Flick’ Scully back in 1999.

Holly left the soap in 2002 to begin her music career, producing hits including Kiss Kiss and Down Boy.

However, she’s mostly retreated from the spotlight since marrying billionaire Nick Candy.

Olympia meanwhile played Paige Smith on Neighbors from 2014 to 2017, but reprized her role in 2020 for the 35th anniversary of the show.

Both sisters returned to the show for the finale this week, which also saw the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce return.

Olympia recently told Greek publication Neos Kosmos: ‘Neighbours have always felt like home to me. There is a reason why everyone refers to Neighbors as the best training ground in the world.’

She said news of the show’s cancellation in March, following the loss of its main UK broadcast partner Channel 5, left her extremely sad.

Australia’s longest running soap Neighbors ended last week after 37 years.

And Alan Fletcher, who played Dr Karl Kennedy in the show for almost three decades, revealed on Monday he was considering following his character into the world of medicine.

Speaking on Magic Radio’s Breakfast Show the actor said: ‘Now that I’ve finished Neighbours, I’m thinking about actually going into medicine’.

Alan, 65, told hosts Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott that up until now he had done everything to keep his on-screen person separate from his personal life.

He joked: ‘While I’ve been on Neighbours, I religiously don’t give medical advice, because I’m really worried about the authorities tracking me down’.

Speaking about the show’s finale which was watched by over 3M viewers in the UK he said: ‘Well, all I can say to you is that we’ve already had a celebration of a show that people have loved for 37 years’.

‘We want to see tears in the eyes in lounge rooms all over the UK. That’s our objective. … As we’re saying thank you to the audience for being on the journey with us. It’s a great way to finish, I think it’s a beautifully crafted finish. Hopefully people will be happy with it’.

Speaking about his fellow cast mate Margot Robbie, who played Donna Freedman in the show before hitting big in Hollywood, he said: ‘The treat to me is the pinnacle of what Neighbors can achieve in terms of training people and guiding them’.

Before adding: ‘Mind you, when she walked into the studio very early on, both Jackie Woodburne, who plays Susan, literally turned and went okay, she’s the bees knees’.

I gushed: ‘She’s got everything. She can do comedy; she she can do wonderful high drama. Ella Margot is a natural talent that was always destined to go to the top… Ella she’s just marvelous, absolutely marvelous.’

Alan then went on to say that all his fellow actors who returned to the show came back with the feeling of giving back to the show changed their lives in a big way.

‘My greatest experience over the last few weeks was I walked into the canteen and Guy Pearce [who played Mike Young] is sitting there and that guys a big wheel in Hollywood these days. I worked with him about 20 years ago’.

‘And to walk up and just say good day mate, how are you? It’s like it was yesterday. All he had to say was I wanted to come back and do this because I know how many Neighbors have given me, and it’s time to pay it back. And I think that’s the attitude that everybody bought to it. Let’s just honor the show that gave us our start.’

Alan went on to say he would soon be touring the UK in a one man show: ‘I created the Dr. Karl Kennedy in conversation show three years ago. It has been canceled year after year, but finally in September, I am actually touring all over the UK doing that show’.

Before adding: ‘And then again next March we’re doing the Neighbors farewell tour. Which is massive and going to be in every major city, in the biggest venues.

‘I think we’ve got three shows at The London Palladium, and it’s gonna be huge. So yeah, I’ve still got plenty of Dr. Karl’s activities.

Hours before the finale Australian Alan surprised EastEnders fans as he swapped Ramsay Street for Albert Square in a special farewell clip posted to social media.

As well as clever interaction which saw Alan playing himself in a scene with some cast members of the BBC soap, stars sent heartwarming messages to the cast and crew of the Aussie show.

In the short video, Linda Carter, played by actress Kellie Bright, is sat expressing her sadness over Neighbors coming to an end.

When actor Alan – who recently revealed he has been diagnosed with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss – unexpectedly pops into Bridge Street Cafe looking for a taxi in order to make a ‘swift exit,’ Linda is stunned.

She leaps to her feet and, after confirming that it’s ‘Dr Karl Kennedy’, swiftly asks Whitney Dean, played by Shona McGarty, to take a photograph of her with the Australian soap star.