Dave Grohl’s lovechild, Molly-Mae’s shock split, an Olympic disaster & THAT Willy Wonka experience… 2024’s top scandals
IT wouldn’t be a year in showbiz and sport without scandal - and 2024 did not disappoint.
From shock celebrity splits, love triangles and secret children to cancelled concerts and a TV drama that forced a political intervention, this year has had it all.
Even the jewel in the BBC’s primetime telly crown, Strictly Come Dancing, could not escape unscathed with allegations of bullying, harassment and ‘grope-gate’.
We take a look back at the scandals that got us all talking in 2024.
Kyle Walker's love triangle returns
Kyle must have known 2024 wasn’t going to be his year when his long-suffering wife Annie received a text from Lauryn Goodman last Boxing Day to reveal the Man City star had fathered a second love child with her.
Annie - who was pregnant with the couple’s fourth child - promptly kicked Kyle out... again.
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Lauryn had given birth to her first child with Kyle, Kairo, in 2020.
The little lad was conceived during Kyle's split from Annie, after he had allegedly cheated on her with another reality TV star.
But loyal Annie married Kyle in a secret ceremony the following year and had hoped to put the Lauryn scandal behind them.
Then - for reasons which remain a mystery to everyone on the planet - Kyle decided to go back for more and Lauryn fell pregnant again.
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Lauryn isn’t one to shy away from the limelight and insisted on taking little Kairo to France to watch his dad play for England in the Euros.
This was despite the fact that Annie would also be there with her children.
And then a family court hearing heard the incredible details of Lauryn’s financial demands to Kyle for their children.
It included a hydro-pool, a £28-per-hour gardener, a car worth up to £70,000 every three years and air conditioning costing around £33,000.
She also wanted an astroturf football pitch in the garden to help their new one-year-old daughter, Kinara Storm, potentially become a future Lioness.
It’s no wonder Annie, 31, has apparently had enough and has issued Kyle with divorce papers.
Strictly in crisis
With its sequins, glitz and glam, Strictly is the wholesome Saturday night show perfect for all the family.
Or at least it was until it was hit by allegations of bullying, harassment and physical assault that made the “curse” of ballroom romances look positively tame.
Three days into the rehearsals of 2023’s Strictly, actress Amanda Abbington complained about her dancer partner Giovanni Pernice.
Despite being tipped to lift the Glitterball trophy, Amanda, 50, soon quit the show citing health reasons.
The full story exploded this year as Amanda claimed she had been diagnosed with PTSD since participating in the show, describing her experience with Pernice as "tough" and “horrible."
BBC bosses launched an investigation, and later apologised to Abbington and upheld verbal bullying and harassment claims, but cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical aggression.
But it was too late for Giovanni, 34, who left the show.
Then over the summer, other former stars also made complaints, with Zara McDermott reporting that her partner, Graziano Di Prima, kicked her in rehearsals. Graziano was sacked.
Willy Wonka Experience
Willy’s Chocolate Experience was supposed to be a world of pure imagination, Glasgow’s very own version of Wonka’s factory.
Stunning AI images were used to lure in customers, who were expecting to be wowed by a Golden Ticket Wonka experience with a delectable chocolate fountain and enthusiastic Oompa Loompas.
Instead they were met with a sparsely-decorated warehouse, cheap props, a few bored-looking actors who were barely committing to the part and refreshments of two jelly babies and quarter of a can of lemonade.
, furious parents demanded refunds for the £35 tickets and the police were even called. Photos of the event quickly went viral thanks to the sheer insanity of it all.
The scandal even prompted a Channel Five documentary with the embarrassed actors involved saying they were only handed the script the day before and had little rehearsal time.
Organisers House of Illuminati apologised and promised full refunds to everyone.
Raygun
Breakdancing was new to the Olympics this year… so sports fans tuned in in their millions to find out what it was all about.
Despite most of us not having a clue about breakdancing, you didn’t have to be an expert to work out that Australian breakdancer Raygun could not actually dance.
The 37-year-old lecturer lost all three of her battles, with signature moves including The Sprinkler and The Kangaroo Hop.
But Raygun may have the last laugh. There is cash in going viral - even if it was for writhing around on the floor like a snake in a bid for Olympic glory.
She is now tipped to be heading into the Aussie version of I’m A Celeb.
Jermaine Jenas sacking
Jermaine Jenas was the BBC’s golden boy, tipped to be Gary Lineker’s successor on Match of the Day.
But all that was snatched away when The One Show host and football pundit was sacked in August following allegations about his behaviour towards female colleagues.
Jenas, 41, admitted to sending inappropriate messages during his time at the BBC and apologised if he had made the women he messaged feel uncomfortable and said he considered it to be "cheating" on his wife, even though "nothing physical ever happened.”
He has been absent from our screens since the scandal broke, but has been back presenting for an overseas broadcaster as he tries to rebuild his career.
The Post Office scandal
For years hundreds of postmasters had been protesting their innocence after being convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting.
But this year the scandal took a new twist when ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office highlighting the issue turned it into a major news story and political issue.
The financial shortfalls had actually been caused by the Horizon accounting software system, meaning the postmasters had been wrongly convicted.
In May 2024 Parliament passed a law overturning the convictions of subpostmasters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland passed a similar law the same month.
Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae split
They were the ultimate reality TV influencer love story.
Boxer Tommy and girl-next-door Molly-Mae’s romance blossomed in the Love Island villa and they became the show’s biggest success story, with millions of social media followers building them a multi-million pound fortune.
Fans lapped up every social media post detailing their loved-up lives in their Cheshire mansion, the birth of baby Bambi and their plans for the showbiz wedding of the decade.
That was until August when out of nowhere Molly-Mae, 25, announced they had split.
Rumours spiralled with claims Tommy, also 25, had cheated. But the pair of them have remained tight-lipped about their heartbreaking split for the sake of baby Bambi.
Wagatha Christie - the sequel
Four little words that were going to change the WAG world forever - ……it’s Rebekah Vardy’s account.
It is five - yes FIVE - years since Coleen Rooney’s infamous Instagram post that claimed fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy was leaking stories about her to the press.
But this story is the gift that keeps on giving. In 2022 Vardy sued Rooney for libel, but her claims were dismissed and she was left to foot Coleen’s hefty legal bill of around £1.5million.
Not one to go away quietly, this October Vardy challenged Rooney’s legal costs saying they were ‘disproportionate’.
But senior costs judge Andrew Gordon-Saker dismissed a number of Vardy’s claims and ruled that Coleen's team had not committed any misconduct, and therefore it was "not an appropriate case" to reduce the amount Vardy had to pay.
Fresh off her latest victory, Coleen headed off into the I’m A Celeb jungle, to celebrate.
Dave Grohl’s love child
The Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is widely regarded as the nicest man in rock n roll.
That was until September this year, when he announced he had had a fourth child - but not with his wife.
While the news shocked the world, Grohl expressed deep regret and commitment to his family.
He said: "I love my wife and children, and I’m doing everything I can to earn their trust and forgiveness.”
Strictly ‘grope-gate’
After a scandal-hit year with allegations of bullying and harassment, Strictly was determined to be back to its light-hearted squeaky-clean self for 2024.
The stars’ VTs were full of pro-dancers declaring how they wanted their celebs to have the best experience and feel totally comfortable.
But it all got a bit too touchy-feely for one couple. Go Compare opera singer Wynne Evans placed his hand on his partner Katya Jones' waist - which she immediately removed while on the live show.
Fans were quick to spot the awkward moment and it went viral.
Shortly afterwards, the duo took to social media to insist the moment was simply an "inside" joke and wasn't to be taken seriously.
But the damage was done and the pair were voted off the show in Blackpool.
Co-op ‘Not’ Live Arena
It was billed as the greatest indoor arena for music, sport and comedy ever to be built outside America.
Costing an eye-watering £365million, the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester is the most expensive and largest ever purpose-built concert venue in Britain.
But despite huge fanfare its opening was hit by delays and last-minute gig cancellations, infuriating thousands of music and comedy fans, earning it the nickname ‘Co-Flop’.
The 23,500 capacity arena - which boasts Harry Styles as one of its major investors - was due to open in April with sold-out shows by comedian Peter Kay.
But these were postponed with 48 hours notice. Next US rockband Black Keys were forced to postpone their gigs to May.
Then as fans queued to see US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on May 1, his gig was cancelled just an hour before he was set to perform, with the venue saying that there was a problem during the soundcheck.
This then prompted the cancellation of Olivia Rodrigo’s gigs just days later, while boyband icons Take That opted to move their five dates to the city’s rival AO Arena.
The venue finally opened on May 14 with local heroes Elbow as the first act.
Eamonn and Ruth split
They were the mum and dad of daytime TV - comforting to watch as they bickered away like any other married couple.
So fans of the pair were devastated when Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford announced their shock divorce earlier this year.
The telly icons had presented This Morning together for 15 years before quitting in 2021, with Eamonn joining GB News and Ruth maintaining her regular slot on Loose Women.
A spokesperson for the couple said they had "confirmed their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing”.
Eamonn and Ruth, both aged 64, had been together for 25 years, were married in 2010 and have a son Jack who was born in 2002.
Reports suggested the pair had drifted apart, and Eamonn has quickly moved on with his new girlfriend, 42-year-old Katie Alexander.
Conkers ‘Cheat’
One of the oldest and most innocent games on the planet was rocked by a cheating scandal that threatened its world championship.
Veteran competitor David Jakins, 82 - known as ‘King Conker’ to his fans - was accused of cheating after a steel chestnut was found in his pocket.
His opponent in the final, Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, raised concerns after his conker "disintegrated in one hit, and that just doesn't happen”.
It was then that the fake steel conker, painted brown, was discovered.
Jakins, who helped prepare other players' conkers which are selected randomly from a sack, denied using the steel nut during the competition, saying he only had it with him for "humour value”.
He was cleared of any wrong-doing and was crowned Men’s World Champion.
Jakins spoke of his relief at the outcome after a "stressful week", telling the Daily Star: "We are gentlemen at the World Conker Championships and we don't cheat. I've been playing and practising for decades. That's how I won.
"I admit I had the steel conker in my pocket, but I didn't play with it. I show it to people as a joke, but I won't be bringing it again.”
Oasis ticket scandal
It was the news every 90s rock fan had been waiting for - Liam and Noel Gallagher finally buried the hatchet to bring us an Oasis reunion.
In August, the previously warring Gallagher brothers announced the band was reforming for a reunion tour next year.
But when tickets went on sale, websites crashed. Fans queued online for hours only to be disappointed - or discover that the price of a standing ticket had surged from £135 to £355.
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The band blamed ‘dynamic pricing’ from Ticketmaster for the price increase - where the cost of tickets rises to reflect high demand.
Oasis then tried to placate angry fans accusing them of daylight robbery by announcing further dates that would be sold via an invitation-only ballot.
