Exclusive
LEGEND'S EXIT
Soap legend to quit show after 25 years and string of memorable storylines
CORRIE had Bet Lynch, EastEnders Peggy Mitchell – and over on Emmerdale it’s been Bernice Blackstock as the big pull behind the bar.
But I can reveal Samantha Giles is calling time on playing the feisty queen of the Woolpack, 25 years after joining the show.
4
4
She will leave the ITV soap later this year — the fourth time the actress has quit the Dales since her 1998 debut.
Samantha’s first Emmerdale stint from 1998 to 2002, during which she won a TV Quick Award for Best Actress, was followed by a brief return in 2004.
She then hopped over to Chester and joined Channel 4’s Hollyoaks as Valerie Holden from 2008 to 2010.
Drunken rampage
Samantha then boomeranged back to Emmerdale in 2012 for a seven-year stretch before leaving to write a book.
READ MORE EMMERDALE NEWS
In May 2021 she headed back to the Dales for the final time.
A source said: “Bernice Blackstock has been in and out of Emmerdale village more than they change the barrels at The Woolpack.
“She’s always welcomed back with open arms by ITV and fans alike, but it’s now becoming a bit of a running joke.
“It wouldn’t pay to bet on whether Samantha will one day be back, but for now she will leave the soap later this year.”
Most read in Soaps
Bernice has been at the centre of some of its most memorable stories, including hilarious food fights, eating Katie’s engagement ring, plotting to steal a wedding dress and a drunken rampage in a JCB.
And who could forget her 50th birthday meltdown?
You’ll be missed, Samantha.
Prison strike
CAST members of Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black claim they were not paid fairly, amid US actors’ strikes.
Beth Dover, who was prison staffer Linda Ferguson, said: “It actually cost me money to be in season three and four since I was cast local hire and had to fly myself out.
“They’re telling us, ‘Oh, we can’t pay you this much, we’re pinching pennies’. But then Netflix is telling shareholders they’re making more than they’ve ever made.”
Matt is smashed by S.A.S
MATT Hancock felt the full force of the instructors when he tried to complete Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The former Health Secretary filmed the Channel 4 show in September last year, and it is expected to air this autumn.
4
Chief Instructor Billy Billingham said: “We treat everybody the same and we really went at him.
“You might think that he’d be a c**k but for most of the time he wasn’t. But if anyone shows any attitude, they get it and when he tried it, he got f*ing smashed.
“In the interrogation bit, he gets destroyed, absolutely destroyed.
"At the time I thought, ‘Oh, hang on, maybe this is a bit much’. But no, he deserved it.
“The idea is every single contestant will either leave on day one or will leave as a better version of themselves and with Matt Hancock, he’s still got a long way to go.”
The Dr is in
FILMING for the latest series of Doctor Who, which will be the first with Ncuti Gatwa as the Time Lord, has wrapped.
It was shot around South Wales and Bristol for several months but showrunner Russell T Davies has confirmed completion, ready for BBC next year.
Hunter: I'm glad it's Brad
GLADIATORS veteran Hunter reckons Bradley Walsh was the perfect choice to host the rebooted series – due to a secret link with the original.
The muscleman from the Nineties version, whose real name is James Crossley, told Betway: “Bradley was married to the head cheerleader. He was there all the time.
“He has a massive backstory to the show, which people wouldn’t really know about. He spent a lot of time there.
"You couldn’t have anyone with better insight than him.
"He spent years around that show, so he’s been there and he got really into it, he loved it.”
Bradley will co-host the gruelling challenge show with his son Barney when it reappears on BBC One later this year for an 11-episode run.
The care Bear
SURVIVAL guru Bear Grylls has pushed plenty of men to their breaking point – but is now showing his caring side.
The adventurer has been appointed director of men’s mental health app HeadShed, which is still in production.
It is described as a “toolkit” for “happier, mentally stronger, more successful men” and says male mental health is suffering as the wellness industry focuses on women.
Meanwhile, Bear is busy putting celebrities including Bradley Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch through hell on his new Running Wild series for National Geographic. I wonder if they’re loading up the app while they camp under the stars?
Moll on a roll
HAMZA Yassin might have lifted the Glitterball Trophy but Molly Rainford also came out of Strictly 2022 a real winner.
Appearing on the BBC One dance contest, where she reached the final, has changed her life.
4
The former CBBC presenter and actress has got a role on EastEnders, is loved-up with fellow Strictly contestant Tyler West and has got a string of celebrity pals.
Molly, who is releasing a single called My Heart Is A Broken Record, had some support from one of them at the weekend, when she performed at G-A-Y Heaven Nightclub in London.
Strictly mate and new It Takes Two presenter Fleur East went backstage to give her some encouragement at the gig.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Earlier this year the besties took their friendship from the ballroom to Barbados for a sunshine break.
Molly’s on top of the world.
Jo's big no-no
IT sounds as if celebs are getting wary of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show pranks.
Peter Crouch, Abbey Clancy and Gino D'Acampo are among those stung by the comic as part of his Midnight Gameshow, where they were surprised in bed and made to do silly tasks.
Dame Joanna Lumley said: “I love Michael and his Saturday night show but not so much the part where people get woken up in the dead of night.”
But Michael said with a laugh: “Joanna can rest easy that we won’t be bursting into her bedroom.”
It has been confirmed the seventh series will return to BBC One early next year.
Topics