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Jan 15, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
Light the flaming torches. Strike up the baroque pop soundtrack. Set Claudia Winkleman’s wardrobe to “goth yeti” mode. Nine million viewers are expected to tune in tonight as The Traitors reaches its midway mark. Fans can look forward to the lethal result of that midnight death match and more tense castle confrontations. The BBC smash hit has been the most talked about TV of 2025 so far.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
Out of the mouth of babes. Aged 20, Freddie Fraser might be the youngest player in The Traitors but he spoke an awkward truth about the hit BBC gameshow on the latest mission. Rowing a Viking longboat across a loch, Freddie sacrificed himself because he couldn’t get the knack. “I was struggling with the oar movement,” he admitted. “Like, I’m not that posh. I ain’t done rowing.”Freddie made a fair point.
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Dec 20, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
For Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, making the K-drama’s mega-hit debut season was like pulling teeth. Literally. The stress of single-handedly writing and directing the global phenomenon caused him to lose six gnashers. With the feverishly awaited follow-up about to drop, how is his dental health this time? “I haven’t lost any teeth yet, look!” laughs Hwang over video call from Seoul, baring a full set to prove it. “Although I do feel the odd toothache, so I might visit the dentist soon.
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Nov 30, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
It’s only fitting that the pirate of pastry should plunder fans from across the ocean. Dylan Bachelet, the breakout star of this year’s Great British Bake Off, has found fame on both sides of the Atlantic, and went viral when the New York Times dubbed him “the Captain Jack Sparrow of baking”. “I wasn’t expecting that,” the 20-year-old from Buckinghamshire said.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
Knot your aprons. Stand by your workbenches. And for one last time this series, bake! Yes, Tuesday evening sees the grand final of The Great British Bake Off. They’ve even put a fairground in the grounds of Welford Park to celebrate. Cue well-endowed squirrels riding on the waltzer. This might be the 15th series, but the hit calorific contest is still one of TV’s tastiest propositions.
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Nov 16, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureBlackpool leaderboard is rarely an omenA quirk of the seaside stats: Strictly history tells us that whoever tops the Blackpool scoring usually doesn’t go on to lift the glitterball. Kelvin Fletcher and Ellie Leach both finished joint top and went on to win but they’re the only ones in the last 11 years. With the scoreboard beginning to bunch up and a split judges’ decision last week, the contest is starting to get serious.
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Nov 14, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
Any chance of a second opinion? Afraid not: it’s terminal. At 2pm on Thursday 14 November, BBC medical soap Doctors airs its last ever episode. After 24 years of aches, pains and plot twists, Mill Health Centre in the invented West Midlands town of Letherbridge will close its surgery doors for the last time. At least fans – it averages 1.6 million viewers a day – can console themselves with Doctors: A Celebration, which airs directly afterwards. A medical marvel … Doctors.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
For 10 interminable seconds on Saturday night TV, the lights went out. Thankfully, it was deliberate. The Couple’s Choice routine performed on Strictly Come Dancing by blind comedian Chris McCausland included a “blackout moment”, where he danced in the dark to immerse viewers in his sightless world. It was a powerful and poignant interlude which was hailed by the judges as “absolutely spectacular”.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
When Paddington returned to cinemas on Friday, audiences may have noticed something unusual about the Brown family. Mrs Brown has had a full body transplant. Sally Hawkins, who played matriarch Mary Brown in the first two films, announced last year that she was stepping down from the furry franchise. In the new “threequel”, Paddington in Peru, she has been replaced by Emily Mortimer. Happily her ursine adoptee doesn’t seem to have noticed, or he might have choked on his marmalade sandwiches.
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Oct 26, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Michael Hogan
Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureFifth elimination loomsMedia medic Dr Punam Krishan is the bookies’ strong favourite for elimination this weekend, having languished near the bottom of the scoreboard every week but one. She also has the lowest average score of any surviving celebrity. But will tonight’s scoring paddles and the public vote go according to form? Sam Quek and Pete Wicks are the next most widely tipped for the exit door.
