Dead Pool 26th October 2025

A very quiet week, you will be forgiven for not knowing this week’s dead celebrities. I’m afraid we will have to release a few extra Flying Monkeys to harvest a few famous souls so we can score a few points!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

Sam Rivers, 48, American bassist (Limp Bizkit), cardiac arrest.
Daniel Naroditsky, 29, American chess grandmaster, writer and commentator.
David Ball, 66, English musician (Soft Cell, The Grid).
Sirikit, 93, Thai queen consort, blood infection.

In Other News

Martin Kemp has given a health update after he was taken to hospital following a horror chainsaw accident. The musician and actor, 64, injured his hand after picking up the tool by the blade to cut a piece of wood. He took to Instagram on Friday, sharing a video update to let fans know how he’s doing after receiving a wave of messages from concerned fans. In the clip, he said: ‘Hey guys, just a little message. You might have seen in the papers that I had a terrible accident with a chainsaw, which I did, but it was last week. I’m a lot better now. And just to let you know, if you were worried and you are going to Lincoln Cathedral tonight for the DJ gig, it is still on. But I appreciate your concerns. And listen, it’s getting better by the minute. I will explain how it happened another time, but just to reassure you, I am alright.’ Martin concluded his message with: ‘Lots of love, bye.’ It comes after his son Roman revealed the accident took place on his You About podcast. He said his father had sent his family a photograph of his bandaged hand alongside a message saying ‘Yep…Chainsaw!!!’. His podcast co-host Tom Grennan asked Roman: ‘What the hell has happened to your dad’s fingers? Because that looks like a horror film.’ Roman revealed he received the text from his father on Friday night. He said: ‘I have just finished work, I look at my phone and my dad has sent a picture of his hand. All his fingers are heavily strapped up and all he writes underneath in the family WhatsApp group is “Yep…Chainsaw!!!”.’ Roman and his sister Harley texted his father back asking for more information and received no replies from their father. Eventually his father said: ‘Oh there was a bit of a branch that we wanted chopping down, so I went and got a chainsaw. So that is my first issue. Why are you handling a chainsaw? He is 65. He has got more than enough dough, get a professional in.’ According to Roman, his dad said: ‘I picked it up from the blade.’ Roman said his father is lucky he is ‘not fingerless and handless,’ adding: ‘I know a mate who lost a finger through that.’ Singer Tom Grennan then joked: ‘Your mum would be fuming.’ ‘Yes because then he couldn’t play guitar,’ Roman joked. Roman went on to say Martin ‘screamed’ and ran to wife Shirlie with blood pouring everywhere. He also revealed Martin then had to get a Tetanus shot after the injury.

Ever since King Charles announced he had cancer, it has felt like the deadline for succession has been moved up. And considering he was the oldest person to ascend the throne in the first place, it was always clear he would not be King nearly as long as his mother was Queen. But what does that mean for Prince William, and what preparations have taken place? According to the Flying Monkeys the King is “dying” and his health has forced Prince William to take on more royal duties. Charles is “seriously unwell but determined to carry on.” Not just that, the source added, “He’s exhausted, but he won’t stop. “Every morning he insists on reading his red boxes. He believes his service to the country is his calling — and he’ll keep going as long as he can.” But William’s influence is reportedly already being felt, as he was instrumental in getting Prince Andrew to renounce his royal titles amid renewed scandals about his connections to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Reportedly, Charles and William were in full agreement in demanding the move from William. And Andrew’s statement leaves no doubt that this was not fully his decision. In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday, October 17th Prince Andrew said, “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life. With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” he added. King Charles was allegedly reluctant to take this step for a long time. The King, who has been receiving treatment for his cancer since the announcement he was sick in February of last year, has allegedly had several setbacks. “They’re quietly preparing William to step up — fast,” one courtier revealed. “The illusion of perfect health is collapsing. What we’re seeing is the reality behind the crown — a monarch in decline.” Prince William has recently talked about how hard the past year has been, especially as he talked with actor Eugene Levy on his Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler. “I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” he revealed, referring not just to his father’s cancer diagnosis but that of his wife, Kate Middleton. Unlike King Charles, Middleton is now in remission and has taken the slow and steady approach to returning to public life. “You know, life is sent to test us, as well. And being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.”

French film star Brigitte Bardot has become the latest celebrity to declare that rumours of her demise have been greatly exaggerated. A terse post on the 91-year-old’s Twitter account last week shut down claims made by an influencer on social media that she had died. “I don’t know which idiot started this ‘fake news’ about my disappearance this evening but know that I’m fine and I have no intention of bowing out. A word to the wise,” said the post, written in French. The “idiot” was a 27-year-old influencer named Aqababe, whose since-deleted post claimed they had “exclusive information” that Bardot had died. “Her coffin was ordered in Saint-Paul-de-Jarrat in the 09 (Ariège) department,” stated Aqababe (real name Aniss Zitouni). “An icon has passed away, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy and an internal imprint on the hearts of the French.” Bardot reportedly returned to her home in the French Riviera town of Saint-Tropez last week after a three-week stay in a private hospital after undergoing minor surgery for an unspecified condition. While French media has suggested the star had suffered a “serious illness”, the Flying Monkeys reported a spokesperson as saying: “Madame Bardot has returned home and is now resting. She’s fine.” Bardot is the latest of several celebrities who have taken to social media recently to downplay concerns about their health. “Ain’t dead yet”, 79-year-old country music star Dolly Parton said in a video posted on Instagram earlier this month after her younger sister Freida sparked alarm by asking fans to pray for her as she dealt with a number of health challenges. While Dolly had been forced to postpone upcoming live performances at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, she reassured fans: “I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me. And I ain’t done working.” Last month, Star Trek star William Shatner similarly scotched suggestions he was seriously unwell after photos of a Los Angeles City Fire Department ambulance outside his home with the headline: “Medical scare sends Captain Kirk to hospital”. The report said he had experienced issues with his blood sugar levels. Shatner, best known for commanding the USS Enterprise as Captain Kirk in the original series of Star Trek, downplayed the concerns with a post on Twitter featuring a photograph of himself playing Mark Twain in the television drama Murdoch Mysteries and the caption: “Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated”. “I over indulged,” the 94-year-old wrote. “I thank you all for caring but I’m perfectly fine. I keep telling you all: don’t trust tabloids or AI!” Bardot’s post declaring she is fine hasn’t completely silenced the influencer who this week claimed she was dead, with Aqababe suggesting it is not the former actress who runs her account. “I deleted my exclusive tweet about Brigitte Bardot’s death,” they wrote. “It’s not her who manages her Twitter, you’ll see when AFP officially announces the death.”

On This Day

1881 – Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday participate in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
1977 – Ali Maow Maalin, the last natural case of smallpox, develops a rash in Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date to be the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.
2002 – Approximately 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages die when Russian special forces troops storm a theatre building in Moscow, which had been occupied by the terrorists during a musical performance three days before.

Deaths