With only a few hours left of the year, it looks like Nickie might have it in the bag. This years winner will be declared tomorrow, along with the yearly roundup covering some of the most notable deaths of 2023. Remember to get your list in before midnight! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Richard Romanus, 80, American actor (Mean Streets, Strike Force, Wizards).  
• David Leland, 82, British film director (Wish You Were Here, Virgin Territory) and screenwriter (Mona Lisa). 
• Richard Franklin, 87, English actor (Doctor Who, Crossroads, Emmerdale), writer and director.  
• Bill Granger, 54, Australian chef and food writer (The Independent), cancer. 
• Henry Sandon, 95, English antique expert (Antiques Roadshow).  
• David Kernan, 85, British actor (Mix Me a Person, Zulu, Carry On Abroad). 
• Jacques Delors, 98, French economist and politician, former minister of finance, MEP and president of the European Commission.  
• Gaston Glock, 94, Austrian engineer and weapons industry executive, founder of Glock. 
• Maurice Hines, 80, American dancer, singer and actor (The Cotton Club).  
• Killer Khan, 76, Japanese professional wrestler (Mid-South, Stampede, WWF), aortic dissection.
• Tom Wilkinson, 75, British actor (The Full Monty, In the Bedroom, Michael Clayton). 

In Other News

Shannen Doherty says she is committed to battling stage four breast cancer, which has now spread to her bones. Speaking to the Flying Monkeys, the Beverly Hills 90210 actress says she is determined to keep going with treatment. “I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating,” the 52-year-old said. Doherty has been sharing her health battles for several years, having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. In 2016 she underwent a mastectomy, but surgery showed the cancer cells could have spread beyond the lymph nodes. She then underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, announcing in 2017 that she was in remission. But in February 2020, Doherty revealed her breast cancer had returned at stage 4 after several years of remission. Earlier this year she posted a video of herself on Instagram receiving chemotherapy, revealing that it had spread from her chest to her brain and is now terminal. With new cancer treatments and clinical trials being offered, she hopes to get better and says “her greatest memory is yet to come”. “People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age – ‘you’re done, you’re retired’, and we’re not,” she said in the interview. “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.” She is about to release her new podcast Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, which will look back on her life so far and discuss her cancer story.  

James Whale has celebrated being made an MBE in the New Year Honours list for his services to broadcasting and to charity, as he described his stage four kidney cancer being “a bit bad at the moment”. The broadcaster and talk show host has been a popular voice on radio and TV for five decades, and still hosts a regular Saturday slot on TalkTV and TalkRadio. “Nobody could have been more surprised than me, thank you to all the guys who made it possible over the years, everybody at TalkRadio and TV and everywhere,” Whale said on Twitter. “I’ve worked since the 70’s and the guys that run the charity Kidney Cancer UK, thank you, all this is for us.” Whale began his career with Metro Radio in 1974 where he pioneered the late-night radio phone-in. The 72-year-old rose to fame in the 1980’s with his frank style, dry wit and no-nonsense approach on late-night programme The James Whale Radio Show, gaining a legion of loyal listeners. Whale then spent 13 years at TalkSport before hosting the drive-time show on LBC and the breakfast show on BBC Essex. Whale was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and had to have one of his kidneys removed. In 2018, his wife Melinda died after being diagnosed with lung cancer and in August 2020, Whale revealed cancer had returned in his kidney, spine, brain and lungs. The radio DJ’s past experience with cancer led him to form the James Whale Kidney Fund in 2006, which merged with Kidney Cancer UK in 2015. Whale now hosts a weekly podcast with his second wife Nadine Talbot-Brown talking about their journey together with his stage four kidney cancer. Appearing on TalkTV for A Lifetime Of Night-Time: The James Whale Story, which will air on Saturday at 10pm, Whale said his cancer “is a bit bad at the moment” but spoke of his desire to continue hosting his Saturday night show. His wife described the show as his “reason for being” at the moment. Whale said: “If I have a few more months that would be great, if I have until next Christmas or this coming Christmas would be nice wouldn’t it, but if I die tomorrow I’ve had an amazing time and I married an amazing lady. And I’ve had a lifetime of not having to have a job, I don’t work.”  

Slade icon Noddy Holder provided a positive update on his health amid his cancer battle. When he was first diagnosed five years ago, the 77-year-old musician was told he only had six months to live. He was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and doctors told him his only option was to take part in a clinical trial for a new form of chemotherapy, which had never been tried on someone over the age of 60. He kept his diagnosis a secret until a few months ago and fans were shocked to find out the news. And now, he opened up about how he reacted to the new drugs he’s been on as part of a trial he signed up for. Speaking to Radio 2, he said: “It was touch and go. I lost all my hair. My weight was down to about eight stone. So every cloud. I’ve just had a scan last week and everything’s on an even keel at the moment, so I hope it carries on that way. I’m fit, fit, fit… but I’m fit for nothing.” His wife, Suzan, previously said that his initial prognosis was far from good but he agreed, along with staff from The Christie Hospital in Manchester to take part in an experimental treatment. But this had no guarantees of working. Thankfully, the star reacted positively to the treatment. Noddy said: “I went to the Christie hospital in Manchester, and I said ‘Is it six months? Is that the end of the line?’” The doctor he was speaking to told him the only other option was the new intense chemotherapy. Noddy said they told him his “positive outlook” could help him if he was to try it. After a brief moment of indecision – one that frightened Suzan “to death” – he agreed to go ahead with the trial. Noddy explained he didn’t want to be ill for his last six months, but after the doctors told him more about it, he wanted to “give it a go”. 

On This Day

• 1759 – Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness. 
• 1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time. 
• 1999 – The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor. 
• 2019 – The World Health Organization is informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan. This later turned out to be COVID-19.

Deaths

• 2013 – James Avery, American actor (b. 1945). 
• 2015 – Natalie Cole, American singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1950). 
• 2015 – Wayne Rogers, American actor (b. 1933). 
• 2016 – William Christopher, American actor (b. 1932). 
• 2021 – Betty White, American actress, comedian and producer (b. 1922). 
• 2022 – Pope Benedict XVI, German Roman Catholic cardinal and theologian (b. 1927). 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Anthony Hopkins (86), Val Kilmer (64), Ben Kingsley (80), Eliza Dushku (43), Russ Tamblyn (89), Caity Lotz (37), Tracey Ullman (64), Jude Law (51), Jon Voight (85), Ted Danson (76), Danny McBride (47), Michael Cudlitz (59), Lilly Wachowski (56), Marianne Faithfull (77), Denzel Washington (69), Maggie Smith (89), Noomi Rapace (44), Sienna Miller (42), Joe Manganiello (47), John Legend (45), Timothée Chalamet (28), Olivia Cooke (30), Gérard Depardieu (75), John Amos (84), Jared Leto (52), Kit Harington (37), Temuera Morrison (63), Sissy Spacek (74), Helena Christensen (55), and Annie Lennox (69). 

With just one week to go, I hope you’re all busy working on your list for 2024! Remember to  tell your friends, the more that join the more fun it will be! The 2023 trophy is waiting to be won, although Nickie is currently in the lead, as we know, anything can happen in the next seven days! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Bobbie Jean Carter, 41, American television personality (House of Carters). 
• Mike Nussbaum, 99, American actor (Fatal Attraction, Field of Dreams, Men in Black). 
• Laura Lynch, 65, American musician (Dixie Chicks), traffic collision. 
• Ian Pepperell, 53, British actor (The Archers, EastEnders). 
• Carl Webb, 42, Australian rugby league player (Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys, national team), complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 
• Brian Price, 86, Welsh rugby union player (Newport, British Lions, national team).

In Other News

The broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen says she has joined the Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland. The 83-year-old told the Flying Monkeys she is currently undergoing a “miracle” treatment for stage four lung cancer. If it does not work, “I might buzz off to Zurich”, where assisted dying is legal. But she said she was looking forward to this “precious” Christmas, which she hadn’t thought she would live to see. Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. While there is no specific offence of assisted suicide in Scotland, euthanasia is illegal and can be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter. Speaking about her decision to join Dignitas, Dame Esther said it was driven in part by her wish that her family’s “last memories of me” are not “painful because if you watch someone you love having a bad death, that memory obliterates all the happy times”. The broadcaster said if she did decide to have an assisted death at Dignitas that would put “my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me, and that means that the police might prosecute them”. Dame Esther, who is best known for presenting the BBC Show That’s Life! for over twenty years said she believed people should be given the choice about “how you want to go and when you want to go”. “I get all the arguments about… not wanting to be a burden and pressure being applied and all that. But… you can come to the wrong conclusion. If you just base everything on the worst case scenario, you’ve got to have a look at the advantages as well.”  Dame Esther’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, told the Flying Monkeys that there was a “legal murkiness surrounding assisting dying”. “I support mum’s decision,” she said, but added: “I’m not legally allowed to say I’d go with her, that I would hold her hand – and that is absolutely ridiculous. I should be able to sit with my mother in her last moments. I can’t go to prison, I can’t go through a court case at the worst point of my life, when I’ve lost my person and I’m suddenly being prosecuted with her death. It’s unfathomable. I can’t believe this is the situation we’re in.” Almost a year on from her diagnosis, Dame Esther said she had not expected to live with cancer for so long. “I thought I’d fall off my perch within a couple of months, if not weeks. I certainly didn’t think I’d make my birthday in June, which I did, and I definitely didn’t think I’d make this Christmas, which I am. It appears, although anything can happen,” she said.  

Madonna has opened up about the details of her latest health scare, revealing that she was put “in an induced coma for 48 hours”. In June, the “Like a Virgin” singer, 65, was due to embark on her Celebration Tour in Canada when she developed a “serious bacterial infection”, prompting her to pause all commitments. She was admitted to hospital, where she stayed several days in the intensive care unit. She later resumed her global tour in October in Europe. During her most recent stop in Brooklyn, Madonna took a moment to thank “some very important people” who were by her side in the hospital. “I passed out on my bathroom floor; I woke up in the ICU – thank you, Siobahn, she saved my life,” the Queen of Pop can be heard telling the crowd in a video posted on Twitter. She explained that she was put into “an induced coma for 48 hours”, adding that the only voice she heard was that of her Kabbalah teacher. “I heard him say, ‘Squeeze my hand’, that’s it,” Madonna said before joking that she “had to almost die to get all my kids in one room”. In previous updates, the “Material Girl” artist recalled her first hospital thoughts being about her children and not wanting to “disappoint anyone who bought tickets for my tour”. “I also didn’t want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show. I hate to disappoint anyone,” she said on Instagram in July.  

One time Dead Pool favourite, Charlie Sheen has been assaulted by a woman at his Malibu home, police in Los Angeles have said. The attack occurred on Wednesday afternoon. Police have arrested Electra Schrock, 47, for assault with a deadly weapon and residential burglary. Paramedics were reportedly called to Mr Sheen’s home in the aftermath, but he was not taken to hospital. Police did not share a possible motive. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department confirmed the mid-day attack on the former Two and a Half Men star in a statement to the Flying Monkeys. Ms Schrock, who is reportedly a neighbour of Mr Sheen, was also arrested for using force likely to create great bodily injury. Police did not say what weapon was used in the alleged attack. The Flying Monkeys report that Ms Schrock attempted to strangle Mr Sheen and ripped his shirt after he opened his front door. Ms Schrock had earlier this year pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanour elder abuse. Sheen, 58, starred for eight seasons on CBS hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, before a spectacular falling out with the show’s creator. He went on to court tabloid headlines with a series of bizarre interviews. He later said that he regretted his actions during that time and blamed his behaviour on drug and alcohol abuse. In an interview with People magazine earlier this month, Mr Sheen said that “next month I’ll be six years sober. I have a very consistent lifestyle now. It’s all about single dad stuff, and raising my 14-year-old twin boys,” the actor said.

On This Day

• 1818 – The first performance of “Silent Night” takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria.
• 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.
• 1968 – The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so.

Deaths

• 1992 – Peyo, Belgian cartoonist, created The Smurfs (b. 1928).
• 2008 – Harold Pinter, English playwright, screenwriter, director (b. 1930).
• 2012 – Charles Durning, American actor (b. 1923).
• 2012 – Jack Klugman, American actor (b. 1922).
• 2016 – Rick Parfitt, British musician (b. 1948).
• 2016 – Liz Smith, English actress (b. 1921).
• 2016 – Richard Adams, English author (b. 1920).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Finn Wolfhard (21), Harry Shearer (80), Ralph Fiennes (61), Vanessa Paradis (51), Samuel L. Jackson (75), Kiefer Sutherland (57), Jane Fonda (86), Jonah Hill (40), Jenny Agutter (71), Nicole de Boer (53), Jake Gyllenhaal (43), Alyssa Milano (51), Kristy Swanson (54), Jennifer Beals (60), Brad Pitt (60), Steven Spielberg (77), Katie Holmes (45), Christina Aguilera (43), Casper Van Dien (55), Billie Eilish (22), Steve Austin (59), Robson Green (59), Keith Richards (80), and Sia (48). 

With just two weeks to go I hope you’re all working on your lists for 2024! Tell all your morbid friends to have a go!  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Shirley Anne Field, 87, English actress (The Entertainer, The Damned, Alfie). 
• Andre Braugher, 61, American actor (Homicide: Life on the Street, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Glory), lung cancer. 
• Jeffrey Foskett, 67, American singer, songwriter, and producer (The Beach Boys), thyroid cancer. 
• Ian Gibson, 77, British comic book artist (2000 AD, Judge Dredd, The Ballad of Halo Jones), cancer.  
• Richard Kerr, 78, English singer, songwriter (“Mandy“, “I’ll Never Love This Way Again“, “Looks Like We Made It“) and composer. 
• Camden Toy, 68, American actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) pancreatic cancer. 
• Fusa Tatsumi, 116, Japanese supercentenarian. 
• Steve Halliwell, 77, English actor (Emmerdale, Coronation Street) and singer (The Woolpackers). 
• Colin Burgess, 77, Australian rock drummer (The Masters Apprentices, AC/DC). 
• Kenpachiro Satsuma, 76, Japanese actor (Godzilla vs. Hedorah, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) and stuntman, pneumonia. 

In Other News

Punk icon Patti Smith is reportedly “in good health” after being rushed to hospital following a “sudden illness”. The 76-year-old – who recently spoke of her long-term bronchial battle –had been due to perform at the Duse Theater in Bologna, Italy, on Tuesday, but the show was cancelled at short notice Smith was taken to the Maggiore hospital in Bologna and put under observation after falling ill. A notice was shared to the Instagram page of the Teatro Duse Bologna venue that had been due to host Smith, announcing her show had been cancelled “due to a sudden illness that struck the artist”. “We are all sorry for the inconvenience caused by this news. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to the artist,” the statement said. On Wednesday evening, the Local Health Authority of Bologna told the Flying Monkeys that the singer was discharged from the hospital after “a short period of observation in emergency”. Smith spoke about her health in an interview with The Flying Monkeys in 2020, where she revealed that she had struggled during the pandemic because she suffers from a lifelong bronchial condition. “To be in limbo almost 10 months, for a person like me who doesn’t like sitting in the same place, it’s been very challenging. I feel like I’m part-wolf, roaming from room to room,” she said. Known as the punk poet laureate or “Godmother of Punk”, Smith has remained active since she first rose to prominence in the early Seventies, when she released her critically adored debut album, Horses, in 1975. Her best known song, “Because the Night” written with Bruce Springsteen and hit No 13 on the US charts in 1978.  

Matthew Perry’s cause of death has been revealed in an autopsy report released on Friday. The 54-year-old Friend’s actor was found dead seven weeks ago in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home, after a live-in assistant found him floating lifeless and face down in the pool. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office has concluded his death “an accident” and a result of the “acute effects of ketamine”. Contributing factors included “drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine” the report said. For those of us who don’t know, Ketamine is a general anaesthetic and reduces sensations in the body making users feel dream-like, detached, chilled, relaxed, happy but also confused and nauseated. It can be used for both humans and animals. Perry had been having ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety at the time of his death, an experience he had written about in his memoir. His most recent official intake had been a week and half before he was found unresponsive at his home. But the medical examiner concluded that the ketamine found in his stomach couldn’t have been from his last infusion as it lasted only 3-4 hours in the system. The report couldn’t specify the “exact method of intake” and no needle marks were found. The levels of ketamine found are suspected to have caused “lethal effects” including overstimulation of his heart and depression of his breath which led to a “lapse into unconsciousness” and submerging in the pool where he is thought to have drowned. His coronary artery disease contributed to an “exacerbation of ketamine induced myocardial effects on the heart”- meaning it reduced his heart’s ability to pump blood around his body after the ketamine took effect.  

Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper is fighting for his life after suffering a heart attack.  Derek, 56, has been plagued with health woes after contracting Covid in 2020 and is now said to be in critical condition after being taken dangerously ill last Monday. Good Morning Britain presenter Kate, 56, is reportedly holding a 24/7 vigil by his bedside and has cancelled all work commitments while his family ‘pray for a miracle’. ‘It was sudden and a shock as he had been doing so well and was in great spirits, looking forward to Christmas at home with the family. This setback has been a huge blow for his family and all the people caring for him. Kate is by his side 24 hours a day and is willing him on to win this latest battle for his life. Derek has fought so many times, and always, against all odds, come out the other side.’ Derek has been in and out of hospital after he fell seriously ill with coronavirus at the very start of the pandemic in March 2020, and was left with lasting damage to his organs. Doctors put him in a medically induced coma and he became the longest-suffering coronavirus patient in the UK after spending 13 months in hospital. However, he has readmitted several times with numerous health issues, including kidney failure, brain inflammation and liver damage.

On This Day

• 1903 – The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
• 1961 – Fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in Rio de Janeiro killing more than 500.
• 1969 – Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFO’s.
• 1989 – The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.
• 2003 – The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Deaths

• 1833 – Kaspar Hauser, German feral child (b. 1812?).
• 2008 – Gregoire, Congolese chimpanzee, oldest recorded (65-66 years old) (b. 1942).
• 2010 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941).
• 2011 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean dictator, second Supreme Leader of North Korea (b. 1941).
• 2016 – Henry Heimlich, American doctor (b. 1920).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Katheryn Winnick (46), Milla Jovovich (48), Bill Pullman (70), Giovanni Ribisi (49), Laurie Holden (54), Ernie Hudson (78), Eugene Levy (77), Bernard Hill (79), Krysten Ritter (41), Miranda Otto (56), Charlie Cox (41), Don Johnson (74), Helen Slater (60), Paul Kaye (58), Garrett Wang (55), Natascha McElhone (54), Miranda Hart (51), Ted Raimi (58), Vicki Michelle (73), Emma Corrin (28), Taylor Swift (34), Steve Buscemi (66), Jamie Foxx (56), Dick Van Dyke (98), Robert Lindsay (74), Jennifer Connelly (53), Bill Nighy (74), Mädchen Amick (53), Mayim Bialik (48), Sarah Douglas (71), and Kenneth Cranham (79).

Let’s begin by doling out the points!! With the death of Norman Lear, our Trish scores 49 points! Well done her! I’ve also opened up the submissions page if any of you want to get your list for 2024 in early.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Shaun Davis, 57, British bodybuilder, Mr. Universe winner (1996).  
• Sophie Anderson, 36, British pornographic actress, recording artist, and Internet personality. 
• Denny Laine, 79, English musician (Wings, The Moody Blues) and songwriter (“Mull of Kintyre“), interstitial lung disease. 
• Norman Lear, 101, American television writer and producer (All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons). 
• Benjamin Zephaniah, 65, British poet, writer (Face, Refugee Boy) and actor (Peaky Blinders), brain tumour. 
• Ryan O’Neal, 82, American actor (Love Story, Barry Lyndon, Paper Moon). 

In Other News

Chris Evert has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. The tennis legend, 68, revealed that her cancer has returned “in the same pelvic region” in a health update on Friday, two years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and announcing that she was in remission from the disease earlier this year. “Since I was first diagnosed with cancer two years ago, I’ve been very open about my experience. I wanted to give all of you an update. My cancer is back,” Evert said in a statement released through the Flying Monkeys. “While this is a diagnosis I never wanted to hear, I once again feel fortunate that it was caught early,” she continued. “Based on a PET CT scan, I underwent another robotic surgery this past week. Doctors found cancer cells in the same pelvic region. All cells were removed, and I have begun another round of chemotherapy. I will be unable to join my colleagues when we return to Melbourne for the Australian Open next month. But I’ll be ready for the rest of the Grand Slam season!” the sports star said. Evert added, “I encourage everyone to know your family history and advocate for yourself. Early detection saves lives. Be thankful for your health this holiday season.” Evert had previously announced that she was free from cancer in January. The International Tennis Hall-of-Famer urged the importance of genetic testing as she also spoke about her sister Jeanne who died from the same disease in February 2020.   

Mark Sheppard, best known as “Crowley” on Supernatural, revealed on Instagram that he somehow survived six heart attacks. “You’re not going to believe this! Was on my way to an appointment yesterday when I collapsed in my kitchen,” Sheppard began. The 59-year-old actor wrote that he had “six massive heart attacks” and was “brought back from the dead four times,” before learning that he “had a 100% blockage in my LAD” (left anterior descending artery.)” Sheppard called the event “The Widowmaker,” and expressed his thanks to his medics. “If not for my wife, the @losangelesfiredepartment at Mullholland and the incredible staff @providencecalifornia St Joseph’s – I wouldn’t be writing this,” he said. “My chances of survival were virtually nil. I feel great. Humbled once more,” Sheppard added. “Home tomorrow! #spnfamily.” Sheppard’s cast-mate Misha Collins, who portrayed Castiel on the series, shared a message in the comments section of his post. “Mark! You don’t need to do the most and biggest every time! 6 heart attacks? 2 or 3 would have been impressive enough,” Collins wrote. “You’ve impressed us, okay. Now stop with this heal up and get back on the road with us,” he continued. “Love you, pal.” 

Former Celebrity Big Brother star Lauren Harries is home in time for Christmas after being in hospital for seven months. The Cardiff-born television personality had been in hospital since April and at one point was put into an induced coma after undergoing brain surgery. She was admitted to hospital after falling ill with a mystery illness and had to have the emergency surgery, but experienced a number of seizures. The good news that she has now been allowed home as Lauren described how it was good to see her family stop worrying so much. A statement said: “Lauren’s out of hospital. It’s been the most stressful seven months of our families lives. But she’s home in time for Christmas. Note from Lauren: ‘It’s wonderful not seeing the worry on my family’s faces anymore, Merry Christmas thank you to all of my stars for your love’.” Lauren, from Rumney, found fame as a child antiques expert, who appeared on the Antiques Roadshow and Wogan. After a gap from the spotlight she re-emerged to star on Channel 5 series Trust Me – I’m A Beauty Therapist and then, in 2013, starred on Celebrity Big Brother on the same channel. She finished third in the competition, with Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby winning the series. Her fans were quick to welcome the good news. One said: “Brilliant news for you all. Hope you have a relaxing and lovely Christmas.” Another said: “That’s great Lauren, have a brilliant Xmas” and “Good news. Best wishes for Lauren and the family this Christmas holiday season.”  

Britney Spears’ estranged father, Jamie Spears, had his leg amputated last month, a source in the pop star’s hometown told the Flying Monkeys. “He had a knee replacement and got a terrible infection from it,” our insider shares. We hear Jamie underwent multiple unsuccessful surgeries prior to the amputation, which was “a last resort.” His lawyer had no comment. The news comes two months after the Flying Monkeys heard rumours that the 71-year-old was “seriously ill” and had been in and out of hospitals, including a facility for infectious disease patients. Sources said at the time that Jamie had “lost more than 25 pounds” while dealing with his health issues, which stemmed from a knee replacement in the mid-2000s. Britney, 42, was not considering reaching out to her dad to repair their scarred relationship before it was too late. “Britney is on a healing journey, but a reconciliation with Jamie is not in the cards,” one source told us. The “Toxic” singer became estranged from the Spears family patriarch while fighting to end the conservatorship he had placed her under in 2008. After Britney described her father as “abusive” in open court in 2021, a Los Angeles judge suspended Jamie as conservator before terminating the guardianship altogether. 

On This Day

• 1907 – The worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London, when 1,000 medical students, protesting against the existence of a memorial for animals that have been vivisected, clash with 400 police officers.
• 1993 – The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.
• 2021 – A widespread, deadly, and violent tornado outbreak slams the Central, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States. Eighty-nine people are killed by the tornadoes, with most of the fatalities occurring in Kentucky, where a single tornado kills 57 people, and injures hundreds of others.

Deaths

• 1896 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist & engineer, invented Dynamite & founded the Nobel Prize (b. 1833).
• 1928 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect and painter (b. 1868).
• 1967 – Otis Redding, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1941).
• 1978 – Ed Wood, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924).
• 2005 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940).
• 2006 – Augusto Pinochet, Chilean general and dictator, 30th President of Chile (b. 1915).
• 2017 – Max Clifford, British publicist (b. 1943).
• 2020 – Barbara Windsor, English actress (b. 1937).
• 2021 – Michael Nesmith, American musician (The Monkees), songwriter, actor, producer, and novelist (b. 1942).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kenneth Branagh (63), Clive Anderson (71), Judi Dench (89), John Malkovich (70), Beau Bridges (82), Michael Dorn (71), Donny Osmond (66), Teri Hatcher (59), Kim Basinger (70), Dominic Monaghan (47), David Harewood (58), Nicki Minaj (41), C. Thomas Howell (57), Nicholas Hoult (34), Jeffrey Wright (58), Ellen Burstyn (91), Jennifer Carpenter (44), Kristofer Hivju (50), Colin Salmon (61), Noel Clarke (48), Catherine Tate (54), Frankie Muniz (38), Marisa Tomei (59), Jeff Bridges (74), Tony Todd (69), Pamela Stephenson (74), Tyra Banks (50), and Jay-Z (54).