EastEnders Tracy-Ann Oberman’s six word blast at soap revealed as she returns to Walford after 19 years
Tracy-Ann Oberman faces some tricky reunions when she returns to EastEnders.
The actress might be regretting blasting the BBC One soap after her 2005 exit.
She laid into the demanding schedules and storylines and joked: “Writers must have been on crack.”
Tracy-Ann will resume her role as Chrissie Watts, ex-wife and killer of Dirty Den.
In 2012, shortly after giving birth to her first child, she said: “You could say I’ve left EastEnders and I’ve got my life back.
“I don’t think it would’ve been possible to have a baby when I was doing that show.
“In my first year I was in 139 out of 146 episodes, so I was on this massive wave.
“A coterie of others were working just as hard – Jessie Wallace, Shane Richie, Nigel Harman – and we all walked around looking ashen-faced.”
Master blaster
Golden girl Christine McGuinness is ready to put the pedal to the metal for a new TV challenge in the kitchen.
The model and reality star, who was a glamorous track girl at Make-A-Wish’s Grand Prix Ball this week, will swap the pit lane for pots and pans on Celebrity MasterChef.
She lines up alongside other contestants including Craig Doyle, Danielle Harold, Charlotte Crosby and The Traitors’ Diane Carson on the new BBC One series later this summer.
Glam Christine, who posed in a shining dress next to a racing car at the London ball, admitted: “I’ve done The Real Full Monty, where I had to take my clothes off on stage, and I’ve done The Games, where I had to do sport.
“But Celebrity MasterChef is definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I was out of my comfort zone more than ever.
“I’m a mum and I cook every day for my children.
“But even though I do that, I’m still not a confident cook.”
Wonganathan
The numbers are working out for former maths teacher Romesh Ranganathan after the comedian’s business earned £17,700 a week last year.
I can reveal the TV funnyman has seen the value of his two TV companies rise by almost £1million, up to £3.2million.
Romesh’s profile has rocketed since he rebooted The Weakest Link for the BBC in 2021, going on to take on Claudia Winkleman’s Saturday morning slot on Radio 2 in March.
And he’s well-in at Sky too, with a sixth series of his sketch show with Rob Beckett, Rob vs Romesh, now in production.
Together their high jinks have included trying their hand at Formula 1 racing, sumo wrestling and performing in drag.
His firm Vetty Limited rose in value from £2m to £2.7m and his other company, Ranga Bee Productions, went up from £300k to £520k.
It is expected next year’s accounts will boom further as he commences a sell-out global tour, travelling to Australia and Dubai.
But he’s got some way to go to catch reigning funnyman Bradley Walsh, who is laughing all the way to the bank.
Figures last week revealed The Chase host remains comedy’s biggest earner, banking £2m for his TV work with his Wingit Productions firm worth £19.9m. A source said: “Romesh’s earnings have come a long way since he left work as a maths teacher behind to make it as a comedian. The vast majority of his wealth comes from his TV work but the new gig on Radio 2 will help.
“Having previously covered the channel’s graveyard shift, Romesh didn’t feature on the BBC’s earnings list last year as the threshold for publication was £178,000 but he’s expected to have exceeded that this year.”
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke.
Russell Howard is returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time since 2019. The comic will host three live versions of his Wonderbox podcast show on August 1, 2 and 4. Since launching the show in September, guests have included Jimmy Carr and Greg Davies.
A magic moment for Josie
Josie Gibson has followed Dermot O’Leary’s lead by booking a job away from This Morning.
The daytime TV host has joined Magic Radio and will present a Saturday afternoon show over the summer.
It comes after I revealed yesterday that Dermot, who has been with ITV for 17 years, would present a new quiz show for UKTV’s Dave.
A source said: “The fact Dermot and now Josie have both secured other work away from ITV says a lot. Ratings are dwindling and it appears everyone is worried the show might never recover from the Phillip Schofield saga.”
Josie will go on air with Magic in August. The station is also welcoming guest hosts Nile Rodgers, Harry Judd and Giovanna Fletcher.
French fiend’s fallout
The BBC has a new crime series lined up based on shocking real-life attacks that rocked northern France.
Sambre – Anatomy of a Crime, recounts the extraordinary legal case of a serial rapist who targeted women in the same location over three decades.
The police failed to connect the cases after victims were attacked along the same road near the Sambre river. It took 30 years to finally catch the man, who was responsible for at least 54 cases of rape and sexual assault. The six-parter stars The Walking Dead’s Clemence Poesy and Soldiers’ Jonathan Turnbull.
Sue Deeks, head of BBC programme acquisition, said: “Each episode is told from the perspective of a different character involved – a victim, the judge, the mayor, the scientist, the police officer and finally, the perpetrator, and is a gripping examination of the flaws of a society and its institutions.”
Casting for a second series of The Fortune Hotel has begun. I revealed ITV had renewed the show before its debut run had even ended, after viewers embraced it. Players stay in a hotel and swap cases in a bid to win £250k. See shortaudition.com/thefortunehotel for details on how to apply.
Davina: My Disney hug help
Davina McCall has revealed the unlikely inspiration behind her warm presenting style – Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Goofy.
The Long Lost Family host often offers emotional support to searchers on the ITV1 show, which returns on Monday, as they delve into their histories.
She tells The Sun’s TV mag, free in tomorrow’s paper: “I know this is quite a weird thing to reference, but at the Disney parks, all the characters give very, very, very long hugs.
“That’s because they’re told not to let go first because you don’t know how much somebody needs that hug. I’ve slightly taken that with me to Long Lost Family.
“I just thought, ‘OK, I’m in for the long haul. I’m here for as long as you need me’.”