News Talk

BELOVED children’s series The Dumping Ground is returning for its 13th season, promising a fresh new line-up and exciting changes.

The show is a continuation of award winning dramas The Story of Tracy Beaker and Tracy Beaker Returns.

BBC

The Dumping Ground has been commissioned for another season[/caption]

BBC

The series follows the lives of kids who are in the care system[/caption]

BBC

It is a Tracy Beaker spin-off[/caption]

It was inspired by the works of acclaimed author Jacqueline Wilson, and continues to captivate viewers with its heartfelt stories set in a fictional children’s home.

The Dumping Ground provides an insight into the lives of young people navigating living in foster care.

It tackles social issues such as children’s mental health, racism, and issues related to the care system.

Season 13 is set to introduce four brand new characters, who will switch things up among the care home’s diverse group of residents.

BBC bosses have also hinted that a familiar face from the past will be making an appearance in Elm Tree House – and there has been some online speculation that it will be Tracy Beaker herself.

Actress Dani Harmer has played Tracy ever since her introduction in CBBC series The Story of Tracy Beaker, which started airing in 2002.

Former stars from The Dumping Ground have gone on to nab roles in much bigger productions in recent years.

Connor Lawson made his television acting debut as Alex Walker during series 5 of the children’s show.

Now he is part of a comedy-sketch series called Metroland.

The show was shown live at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and even made it onto Rolling Stones Magazine for the top 12 stand-out shows at the event.

Kasey McKellar also joined the cast of The Dumping Ground, and went on to appear in gritty drama Top Boy: Summerhouse.

He played R-Marnie, a young drug dealer who lived on the iconic Summerhouse Estate.

The actor has also tried his hand in soaps joining the cast of EastEnders in 2018.

He played resident bad boy Stix Redman, causing chaos on screen, and leaving the show just a year later.

ITALY legend Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillachi’s daughter revealed he apologised to her on his death bed.

The Italia ’90 World Cup hero passed away aged 59 on Wednesday following a battle with colon cancer.

EPA

Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillachi apologised to his daughter on his deathbed[/caption]

AFP

The Italy legend passed away on Wednesday[/caption]

Thousands of fans gathered in Palermo for his funeral and his coffin was draped in scarves and football shirts.

Schillachi’s daughter Jessica described him as a “hero” and recalled the last few months they spent together, with the former striker diagnosed in 2022.

Jessica also revealed her father apologised to her and her brother Mattia on his deathbed.

She told Tuttosport: “Three days ago, as my brother Mattia and I were at his bedside, we told him that TV operators were already outside of the hospital”, she said.

“He told us: ‘I only care about you’. And he said he was sorry for not being present all the times he would’ve wished, and we would’ve wished.”

Jessica also discussed the best memories she shared with her father and a trip she took with him in the summer.

She continued: “We talked, we also joked until it was possible. We recalled the best moments in our lives, the ones you’ll never forget, that even death won’t be able to take away from me.

“He was a hero in his own way, but he was just a father to me.

“I took some days off in July to stay with my dad. We went to Isola delle Femmine; he would’ve wanted to take me on a boat trip, but he was already very tired.

“We settled for a bath in the sea and a fish lunch; it was wonderful. You could see he was struggling when he took me back to the airport.

“The situation got worse in the last days: my dad started to play a game he knew he would lose.

“But he played it until the end, not thinking about him but about all the people he loved, and he’ll keep loving wherever he is now.”

Schillaci represented Italian giants Juventus and Inter Milan throughout his career, but saw his most memorable moments happen in the famous blue of the Italian national team.

The Palermo-born striker was the World Cup Golden Boot winner during the Italia 90 tournament.

His six goals saw him beat footballing legend Diego Maradona to the trophy as Italy finished third in their home tournament.

Schillaci, who was virtually unknown outside of Italy prior to the tournament, soon became a household name after netting against Austria, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, the Republic of Ireland and Argentina.

While he also denied England a third-place finish after helping Italy beat the Three Lions in the tournament’s third-place playoff match in Bari.

Schillaci retired in 1997, hanging up his boots at Japanese club Jubilo Iwata.

David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton might be a beloved cult classic now, but audiences didn’t have the same reaction to the movie upon its release. In fact, the movie flopped at the box office and it was booed by viewers at early screenings.  However, looking back at the […]

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire

Experts are revealing some of their bizarre yet best-kept beauty secrets, from using ketchup as hair toner to nipple cream for chapped lip relief.

Keber Martinez, 25, was sentenced Thursday over the Jan. 25, 2022, shooting spree that injured one man and sent dozens of staff and patients running for cover.

Бредлі Купер по-справжньому насолоджується батьківством. Актор раніше говорив, що завдяки народженню доньки його життя набуло більшого сенсу. Зірка багато часу проводить з Леєю. Напередодні Купера знову зняли з дитиною під час прогулянки, повідомляє Daily Mail. news24.in.ua

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Вони народились у простих родинах, але стали відомими та багатими. Комусь пощастило вийти заміж, а хтось власноруч побудував кар’єру. Але є в них дещо спільне. Відомі українські зірки заробляли власну славу по-різному. Хтось вдало вийшов заміж, комусь допомогли знайомства, а хтось витратив на це багато сил і часу. Втім, у героїнь цієї статті є дещо […]

BOMBSHELL allegations surrounding Mohamed Al Fayed gripped the nation this week as the former Harrods boss was accused of being a “serial rapist”.

The Egyptian billionaire, who died last year, is facing accusations he raped and sexually assaulted more than 20 female employees.

AFP

Mohamed Al Fayed has been accused of raping five women and sexually assaulting others[/caption]

Reuters

The Egyptian billionaire passed away last year aged 94[/caption]

BBC

Gemma, who worked as one of Fayed’s personal assistants, spoke out in the investigation[/caption]

The women, who worked at Harrods from the late 1980s to 2000s, claim assaults were carried out at the company’s offices, in Fayed’s London apartment, or on foreign trips often in Paris at the Ritz hotel.

The new documentary – called Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods – hears claims that the store not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up allegations against Al Fayed.

Here we take a look at the seven biggest bombshells….

Royal warning

Getty

The Queen was reportedly warned about Al Fayed[/caption]

The late Queen was warned Mohamed Al Fayed was a “dirty old man” with a reputation as a “salacious attacker of women”, a former royal protection head has claimed.

Her Majesty was reportedly told about Al Fayed by Scotland Yard’s Dai Davies, before the majority of his allegations surfaced this week.

Davies said he had warned Queen Elizabeth about Mr Al Fayed’s reputation in the 1990s, due to his association with the late Princess Diana.

He told the Daily Mail: “He had a salacious reputation. There were concerns about his persona as a dirty old man.

“There were allegations I was aware of that Al Fayed had sexually assaulted women then paid them off. I had no compunction in warning the Queen about this individual.

“I advised the Queen, through Lord Fellowes [her private secretary], not to let the boys [Prince William and Prince Harry] go away on holiday with him because of the allegations I was aware of – that he was a salacious attacker of women. 

“[Fellowes] said to me: ‘The Palace is aware, Mr Davies.’”

Cops ‘wiped evidence’

More than 20 former workers have accused Al Fayed, whose son Dodi was killed in a car crash alongside girlfriend Princess Diana, of sex abuse.

The new BBC documentary claims Al Fayed deployed an army of aides to silence his alleged victims and used his power and wealth to evade justice.

He allegedly deployed Harrods staff, a former senior Met Police officer, lawyers and PR agents to threaten his victims who he spied on using hidden cameras and bugging equipment.

One woman named Ellie was 15 when she told police in 2008 Al Fayed groped and tried to kiss her in Harrods.

She claims the case was dropped after details were leaked by the Met Police who allegedly wiped evidence from her phone.

Al Fayed allegedly used head of security John Macnamara to threaten women who made sex claims.

The former Met Police chief superintendent was described as a “nasty piece of work” by an ex-Harrods colleague who said “He would use his power as an ex-copper. I know Macnamara knocked on someone’s door and ­threatened a girl.”

It is understood three women came forward to the Met in 2018, 2021 and 2023, but the CPS was never asked to consider charges.

Paris ‘sex abuse’ mansion

Getty

Al Fayed was a former resident of the Villa Windsor in Bois de Boulogne near Paris, France[/caption]

Al Fayed has also been accused of using a royal mansion featured in The Crown to rape and sexually assault victims.

Multiple women have even claimed that the billionaire raped or sexually assaulted them at “Villa Windsor” in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne.

The lavish 14-room mansion was the home of post-abdication King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson and recently featured on The Crown’s third season.

One woman named Gemma – who worked as one of his personal assistants between 2007 and 2009 – has claimed Al Fayed raped her at the historic Parisian villa.

Gemma described waking up to find him attempting to get into bed with her, adding: “I told him, ‘No, I don’t want you to'”. 

She added: “I was kind of face down on the bed and he just pressed himself on me.”

Speaking to the BBC, Sophia, who worked as his personal assistant from 1988 to 1991, said “vile” Al Fayed tried to rape her more than once with one of those attempts taking place at the Villa Windsor.

‘Forced’ health checks

Enterprise News and Pictures

Sophia also worked as Al Fayed’s assistant and claims he tried to rape her more than once[/caption]

Al Fayed also allegedly forced staff to take sexual health tests before he sexually assaulted them.

Women recruited in their teens and early twenties to work as personal assistants in Al Fayed’s private office claimed that they were required by Wendy Snell, Harrods’s corporate GP, to undertake medicals that included intimate examinations.

Former staff claimed that the medical checkups were advertised as “an extra perk of the job” and because Al Fayed’s son Dodi “had a low immune system”.

However, they later made the harrowing discovery that it was preparing them for sexual abuse by Al Fayed, who was obsessed with hygiene.

One woman claimed she had a smear test and a doctor checked her ovaries.

“My results were sent directly to the chairman so quickly that by the time I had got back to my desk, he knew the results,” she alleged.

Harrods ‘cover up’

AFP

The Harrods department store in central London[/caption]

The new BBC documentary heard claims that the store not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up allegations against the Egyptian billionaire.

Bruce Drummond, a barrister from a legal team representing a number of the women, said: “The spider’s web of corruption and abuse in this company was unbelievable and very dark.” 

However, Harrods’ current owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations, stressing the company today is “very different”.

A Harrods human resources manager between 1990 and 1994 said she was ordered by Al Fayed’s senior assistant to find attractive young sales assistants he had seen in the store and send them to his office.

Tony Leeming, a department manager, admitted: “It was well known and everyone knew about it and it was a joke.”

Of the 13 women the BBC spoke to, four say Al Fayed raped them, and all said they felt intimidated by a culture of fear at Harrods.

Over 100 victims

Mohamed Al Fayed’s alleged abuse of women “combined the worst of Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein“, a lawyer has said.

But there are fears the total number of victims could exceed more than 100 as Dean Armstrong KC, representing the alleged victims, encouraged other potential victims to come forward today.

Speaking at a press conference, the lawyer described the former Harrods chairman as a “monster”.

Mr Drummond KC added: “This is one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation that certainly I, and perhaps the world has ever seen.

“It was absolutely horrific and I can’t stress that word enough.”

Forced to wash with Dettol

Enterprise

Gemma worked for Al Fayed as a PA between 2007-2009[/caption]

Gemma, who worked for Al Fayed as a personal assistant between 2007 and 2009, recounted the scary moment Al Fayed allegedly raped her.

She said: “He proceeded to just keep trying to get in the bed, at which point he was kind of on top of me and [I] really couldn’t move anywhere.”

She says after the Harrods tycoon raped her she cried, while he got up and told her aggressively to wash herself with Dettol.

“Obviously he wanted me to erase any trace of him being anywhere near me,” she explains.

Another woman described being raped at the Mayfair address as a teenager, describing staff at Harrods as being treated as his “playthings”.

She said: “Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a sexual predator with no moral compass whatsoever.”

She added: “I think Mohamed Al Fayed is a rapist – he is a serial rapist.”

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