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    Dark past of late Black Lace star Colin Gibb – from bankruptcy to child sex conviction & recording ‘worst pop song ever’

    HE will be fondly remembered by many as the man who recorded The Worst Pop Song of All Time.Yet Black Lace star Colin Gibb — who has died “unexpectedly” aged 70 — would much rather have been a serious rock star than release the 1984 novelty hit Agadoo.Black Lace star Colin Gibb has died at 70, above with his trademark feather cut in band’s heydayCredit: FacebookGibb is most known for Black Lace’s 1984 novelty hit Agadoo, Colin in Black Lace on Top Of The Pops in 1984Credit: BBCBut with his trademark bleached feather-cut hair and Hawaiian shirts — known as “wally wear” — he eventually embraced the wacky image to go with the infuriatingly catchy tune.Instantly recognisable, he would be serenaded with Agadoo’s bizarre lyrics wherever he went.Those lines, while hardly Shakespearian, have been belted out across dancefloors on the Costas for generations: “Agadoo, doo, doo/Push pineapple, shake a tree“Agadoo, doo, doo/Push pineapple, grind coffee/To the left, to the right/Jump up and down and to the knees/Come and dance every night/Sing with hula melodies.”READ MORE MUSIC NEWSIt may be nonsense, but the song has sold more than a million copies and was only kept off the No1 spot by George Michael’s debut solo hit Careless Whisper.However, in 2003 a panel of music experts in Q magazine named it The Worst Song of All Time, labelling it “magnificently dreadful”.Lift engineerThe panel added: “It sounded like the school disco you were forced to attend, your middle-aged relatives forming a conga at a wedding party, a travelling DJ act based in Wolverhampton.”At the time Colin said Black Lace had played the song live so many times “you go numb”, adding: “But at least we get paid for it.”Most read in MusicThe Leeds-born guitarist died suddenly on Sunday, just days after announcing his retirement.On May 13, he had posted on Facebook: “Well, all good things must come to an end.”What happened to Dream?He played a final show at Hotel Villa de Adeje Beach in Tenerife shortly afterwards.His wife Sue posted: “I love you Colin, spent 22 years living your Agadoo dream, we were due to retire to Spain on Thursday.“You were so happy, so looking forward to our new life, now you’re gone.”Real name Colin Routh, he joined the four-piece Black Lace while working as a lift engineer in 1976.The band toured the UK, playing the summer season at Butlins holiday camps in Skegness and Filey.In 1979 they were chosen to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song Mary Ann.They finished seventh, the single peaking at No42.Widow Sue says Colin had spoken of wanting mourners at his funeral to wear Agadoo-style ‘s**t shirts’Credit: FacebookRock music is what I loveColinWith the band’s fortunes not improving, two members quit, leaving just Colin and fellow guitarist Alan Barton.Then in 1983 their record label suggested they record a novelty song called Superman.Colin recalled: “I said ‘No’, but they insisted. We just did it and handed over the recording.“It wasn’t something we wanted to do but then we saw what Superman was doing — filling the space on dance floors.”It was a hit, reaching No9. Then the following year the label came up with an even cheesier song — Agadoo.It was hardly Colin’s idea of a banging hit. Years later he said: “Rock music is what I love. At one point I used to be in an Eagles tribute band.”But Agadoo became a worldwide sensation, with Black Lace making ten Top Of The Pops appearances.More novelty hits followed and success brought Colin a fleet of cars including a Porsche and a Jaguar.’S**t shirts’Then his showbiz world came crashing down, first when the record label’s distribution company went bust, taking some £70,000 worth of royalties from Agadoo.A hefty tax bill was followed a decade later by bankruptcy, and his relationship with Alan Barton had also become seriously strained.Colin left Black Lace but when Alan also quit in 1987, Colin rejoined the live band, who were still a draw for Costa holidaymakers until the final show last month.READ MORE SUN STORIESWidow Sue says Colin had spoken of wanting mourners at his funeral to wear Agadoo-style “s**t shirts”.A fitting send-off for a man who made a career from cheesiness.Despite being synonymous with a novelty record, Colin always wanted to be a serious musicianCredit: FacebookColin on Top of the Pops with Alan BartonCredit: BBC More

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    Paloma Faith’s brutally honest new book details breakdown of marriage and having ‘painful’ sex after pregnancy

    For more than a decade it looked as though pop star Paloma Faith had it all.But with her brutally raw honesty I’ve become accustomed to over the years, the singer has given her fans a warts-and-all insight into her life with her new book Milf: Motherhood, Identity Love and F***ery.Paloma Faith has opened up on the breakdown of her 13-year relationship with artist Leyman LehcineCredit: RexThe autobiography, Paloma’s first, reveals how she coped with the breakdown of her 13-year relationship with artist Leyman Lehcine and built herself back up again.And without the usual sugar-coating PR spin you’d expect from most big stars, Paloma opened up about how difficult their relationship became following the birth of their first daughter in 2016.Sharing an exclusive extract from the book, which is out on Thursday, with me, Paloma wrote: “Nothing for me has been as painful as the first time I had sex postpartum.“I felt guilty because it was by now seven months since I had given birth so thought I should have an obligatory try.READ MORE ON PALOMA FAITH“I would say it took nearly two years for me not to feel any pain during sex. That’s a hell of a long time. It wasn’t erotic at all.“In the end I decided to wince through it. I wanted to reconnect with my partner again. If I am honest I resigned myself to living a life of painful sex for the rest of my days.” In February 2021, Paloma had her second daughter, and the same symptoms came back.Paloma added: “It was not enjoyable or fun or pretty. I felt s***. I also felt like a woman who had been cut off from herself.“No wonder I was off sex. I resigned myself to a sex life of not the most painless sex I had ever had once a fortnight.”Most read in BizarreFollowing the couple’s break-up in 2022, Paloma went on to write her candid new record The Glorification of Sadness.The album was based on the breakdown and in her book, as well as going into detail about her heartbreak, Paloma also writes about her struggles with fame and her hatred of celebrity parties.Inside Paloma Faith’s incredible home with tiger print sofa and huge chandelier as she shows off her ripped six packShe writes: “Some of those events actually fill me with self doubt and anxiety.“I might be dressed up and away from the kids for a night but quite often I’m hiding in the toilets texting my real friends about how I really feel.”But rather than being a sob story, Paloma’s autobiography is more about how she has learned to love herself than wanting to tear down any man who has wronged her.Paloma writes: “I have never been alone. I had my first relationship at age 13 and that lasted three years. The longest I have spent single was nine months, and even then I had people I was flirting with.“Now I am single and the mother of two children with a failed relationship with their father and two subsequent failed attempts at relationships after that.“I have realised something about myself. I was convinced I was terrified of loneliness. I was convinced I would not feel whole unless I attached myself to a couple, a team, a unit.“But I realise today that I am too tired to do that at this moment in my life.“My children are still so small and require so much. I may change my mind of course but for the first time in my life I relish the silences alone after the children go to bed, the prospect of eating in bed, of sleeping without another body waking me,“For the first time in my life I enjoy my own company. I don’t fear the future, however, it may turn out”.I have huge respect for Paloma for her honesty. Not many stars are this candid.Jared’s surprise Piccadilly gigJared Leto stunned fans in Piccadilly Circus by performing a handful of tracks by the statue of ErosCredit: BackGridAhead of 30 Seconds to Mars’ opening night of their UK tour Jared Leto staged an impromptu set in London.The American rocker stunned fans in Piccadilly Circus by performing a handful of tracks by the statue of Eros.Jared announced he would be doing the surprise gig on X, telling fans: “We’re going to come, say hello, maybe play a couple of songs.”Followers turned up in their hundreds to watch.The band started their Seasons tour in Nottingham last night and are back in the capital tonight at the O2 arena.Jared is known for his wacky stunts. He announced this tour by climbing up the outside of the Empire State Building.At least his feet were firmly on the ground for this surprise.James Arthur – who triumphed on The X Factor in 2012 – will be in good company when he headlines A Perfect Day Festival.Britain’s Got Talent choir Northants Sings Out will be doing a homecoming gig at the event at Delapré Park, Northants, on June 16. They narrowly lost out to singer Sydnie Christmas in Sunday night’s final despite being loved by the judging panel. Tickets are available now from aperfectdayfestival.com.No excuse now, NoelNoel Gallagher said he has been busy working on the band’s follow-up to their album Council SkiesCredit: GettyNoel Gallagher is keeping his 2025 diary nice and free . . . just in case that much-hoped-for Oasis reunion does come about.The High Flying Birds frontman said he has been busy working on the band’s follow-up to their album of last year, Council Skies.But after finishing his tour he wants to take some time out before releasing the next LP.Noel, below, said: “This year is earmarked for demos, next year will be, ‘Right, what kind of record are we going to do?’.“Then 2026, it’ll probably be out, but that’s all very tentative.“I want to take a bit of time off.“If I make one album every five years I’m alright.“I like to amass a load of songs first. I work every day.“The tours are so long now I definitely wouldn’t want anything out next year.” Speak- ing on the Paul Weller Fan podcast, Noel went on to gell about the success of Council Skies: “I’m wise enough now to know that with that record I reached a certain level of perfection with it, with the sound and the way that it is and the songs and all that.“The mistake that I made when I did that with Morning Glory was to go back into the studio and just carry on. I need to let that record land, for me. Once it stops selling, whatever, but for me I need to let it land.“I don’t give a f*** what anyone else thinks about it. For me, personally, it’s like, ‘How do I do something that’s different to that but better than that?’“What I’m not going to do is rush into mak- ing an-other record go out on the, road and see what happens.”This will no doubt be music to Liam’s ears.Kylie Minogue revealed her yet-to-be-released Song Midnight Ride at the Outloud Music Festival in Nashville, in the USCredit: The Mega AgencyWe’ve had country records from Miley Cyrus and Beyonce – now Kylie Minogue fancies a turn in a cowboy hat.The Aussie, above, revealed her yet-to-be-released country-inspired song Midnight Ride at the Outloud Music Festival in Nashville, in the US, with her collaborators Diplo and Orville Peck.READ MORE SUN STORIESKylie has been working with producer Lostboy, the mastermind behind her 2023 mega hit Padam Padam.Her 2018 album Golden was dedicated to her love of country music, so we can’t wait for Midnight Ride. More

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    I started drinking during day in middle of Covid… I take no s**t & don’t care what people may think, says Halle Berry

    SHE is renowned for her strict diet and exercise regime but Oscar winner Halle Berry admits she has now started to embrace daytime drinking too.Aged 57, she says she has started to put herself first and admits her boozing is a gift to “herself”.At 57, Halle Berry says she has ‘no f***s to give on what people think’ anymoreCredit: GettyHalle looks just as good now as when she played Jinx Johnson in Bond movie Die Another DayCredit: AlamyFans were stunned when her musician boyfriend of four years, 54-year-old Van Hunt, posted a ­picture on Instagram last month of her drinking naked on a balcony, to celebrate mother’s day in the US.She says: “Copious amounts of red wine. “That’s my guilty pleasure and my gift to myself because we all need those.”The Monster’s Ball star says that she started day drinking during ­lockdown and doesn’t care what ­people may think, admitting: “I am a person today who takes no s**t and has no f***s to give.read more on halle berry“That’s a hard person to become because most people don’t want to deal with that person. “They want to deal with the person that was more cordial and dealt with all their crap and didn’t say what they meant because you were taking care of all their egos. “You play that role, but it’s more me now. I realise I have earned the right to evolve into someone ­different.­ “I no longer have to be that ­dancing bear. I don’t have to make people feel comfortable. Most read in Celebrity“I always know my intention and it’s never to hurt anyone, but I have a right to be who I am and not allow myself to be hurt. “I have a right to call bulls*t when I see it.Golden ratio – what is it and who has the most perfect boobs and bum?“When you get to be 57 years old, you are often the oldest person in any room you find yourself in. “And that’s a very comforting feeling, a very good feeling, because you have the experience to back it up.”       Halle’s approach to life has clearly changed, but her youthful good looks appear frozen in time.She is marking 20 years since she played comic book superhero Catwoman in 2004, and 30 years since her breakout part as Miss Stone in The Flintstones.Her other film roles include playing Bond girl Jinx Johnson in 2002’s Die Another Day and prisoner’s wife ­Leticia Musgrove in 2001 film Monster’s Ball, for which she became the first black woman to win an Oscar and saw her filming a graphic sex scene.Halle credits a keto diet, which involves high protein and low carbohydrate, for keeping her in top shape.She embraced the regime after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 22.The mum of two said: “I am keto. It’s basically protein and vegetables, no processed sugar, no pasta or rice, nothing white.I can honestly say that I come before my kids, because if I am not my best self, then I cannot be anything for themHalle Berry”It’s just fish, lean meats and healthy fats — nuts and seeds. “I can’t have dairy because I have an allergic reaction to it, but with keto for most people you can have dairy. “I eat to live, I’m not a foodie. I feel bad that I’m not. I see food as my fuel.”The star, mum to 16-year-old daughter Nahla Ariela from her relationship with model Gabriel Aubry, and who has ten-year-old son Maceo-Robert with her ex-husband, French actor, Olivier Martinez, admits she often forgets to eat.She says: “If you don’t remind me to eat, I will probably forget.“Sometimes on a weekend, when there is no one here but them and me, my kids will say, at 3.30pm, ‘Mum, hello, are we going to eat today?’ “I will be like, ‘OK yeah!’” As for her tipple of choice, Halle — speaking with Gwyneth Paltrow on the fellow A-lister’s The Goop ­podcast — discussed her favourite wines.She opts for organic, sugar-free varieties made in small, family-run vineyards and buys them from the website Dry Farm Wines, which says all its bottles come under 12.5 per cent alcohol ­levels for “conscious” consumption.Halle says: “I have this special wine I drink, Dry Farms. “I’m a Dry Farmer. It’s low in sugar and it’s low in alcohol and sulphites. Halle’s boyfriend Van Hunt shared a naked photo of the star on Mother’s DayCredit: InstagramHalle started drinking during the day in middle of CovidCredit: Eroteme”It’s all those things. I started day drinking during Covid, which I never did before.”She also says she embraced social media viral trends to cope with lockdown, which was particularly hard on Halle as she was dealing with a long-running ­custody and child support ­payment battles with Olivier, to whom she was married from 2013-2015, which were finally resolved last year.A few years ago Halle discovered she was in perimenopause, the transitional phase toward menopause when the ovaries gradually begin to make less oestrogen.She says she found it a shock that she had not managed to “skip” this stage, as she assumed her fitness and diet regime would make her “immune to these challenges”.Now, middle age has made her realise she has to put herself first.She explains: “As women, we get taught that everyone has to come before us.“As mothers, our kids have to come before us. “And I can honestly say that I come before my kids, because if I am not my best self, then I cannot be anything for them.”Her inspiration for how to do her best for her kids came from deciding to do things differently to her own upbringing in Ohio, where her dad, who had alcohol issues, left the family home when she was three.Speaking about her Liverpool-born mum Judith, who met her African American dad Jerome Berry in the US, she said: “I realised, I have to do better than my mother.“I thought I had a great relationship with my mother but now, looking at the relationship I have with my children, I don’t think we did.I realised, I have to do better than my motherHalle Berry“We have a relationship but it’s nowhere near what I have with my children today.“Children were seen and not heard back then.“Now all I do is want to hear what they have to say and understand how they are feeling.”Of her daughter, Halle added: “She is only giving me trouble because she is going through puberty and I am going through menopause, so there are sometimes a lot of feelings flying around here.“But I wouldn’t say she is real trouble.”She has a very good head on her shoulders. She is still very innocent.“She goes to performing arts school and she’s a singer and songwriter and musician and that takes up a lot of her time and energy and focus.READ MORE SUN STORIES“So I’m lucky in that way. But even me, who runs hot all the time, she runs hotter than me. “But she’s a really good kid.”Halle played comic book superhero Catwoman in 2004Credit: Warner BrosHalle has been dating singer Van Hunt for four yearsCredit: Getty More

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    I was on Skins before working in a strip club to pay the rent – now I’m selling nude snaps to fund x-rated new show

    AS a teenager, Megan Prescott broke out on the racy – and often controversial – cult drama Skins.Sixteen years on, the actress, who played Katie Fitch on the Channel 4 show from 2008 to 2010, is pushing boundaries even further.Megan Prescott starred in Skins as Katie Finch when she was 16 years oldCredit: SuppliedMegan joined OnlyFans during the pandemic in 2020Credit: SuppliedMegan was 16 years old when she filmed sex scenes with Luke Pasqualino on SkinsCredit: Channel 4Having been an OnlyFans star since 2020, Megan, 32, is now fully stripping off on the site for the first time to fund her upcoming one-woman play for the Edinburgh Fringe – in which she’ll be onstage completely naked for a scene, too.“Taking a show to Edinburgh is very expensive,” she explains in an exclusive interview ahead of her debut production, Really Good Exposure.“And although OnlyFans has been helping me, it hasn’t been entirely funding me to go to Edinburgh.“And I’m going to be naked in the show, and I would really like the first time that I’m publicly naked not to be when I’m investing thousands of pounds.READ MORE SKINS“So I have been selling nude photos to a select few subscribers because I think you shouldn’t be ashamed of being naked.”It was in 2020, when the pandemic hit, that Megan joined OnlyFans.She’d been working at a distillery in London at the time, on a zero-hours contract.“Our manager refused to furlough us for a while, and we were all a bit… miffed,” Megan recalls. “I needed a way to have some income because I had about £300 in the bank and I had to pay my rent in a week.”Most read in CelebrityIt was Megan’s close friend Heaven, who co-hosts the podcast Strippers In The Attic, who recommended OnlyFans to her – due to her already having a fanbase, thanks to Skins.The same friend who first recommended Megan start dancing at strip clubs, which she previously told us she loved.Twin Megan Prescott from skins on Body Fixers for a body builder mahogony tanShe continues: “She said to me, ‘Trust me, there are already men that are looking at your Instagram and thinking those kinds of thoughts. You’re leaving money on the table,’ and she was right.“It changed my entire life and I’m very angry at myself for not doing it sooner.“It was the best decision I ever made.“I am earning much more than I ever did in acting, but I’m not earning hundreds of thousands of pounds.“With, maybe, two days’ work a week on OnlyFans, I’m earning what I was working six days a week in minimum-wage jobs.”’SKINS CHANGED MY LIFE’Megan says stripping off online is the best decision she ever madeShe is earning more in two days than she did in six as a stripperMegan last appeared on Skins – famed for its wild storylines about partying, drugs, sexual exploration and alcohol abuse – back in 2010, alongside her twin sister Kathryn Prescott.Afterwards, she landed parts in Silent Witness, Holby City and several short films, alongside working on her own plays.But Megan says it is her role in Skins – which is now gaining new fans as it’s streaming on Netflix – that still draws in the most fans.Where the Skins cast are now
    Dev Patel – Played Anwar Kharral. Went on to steal the show in Slumdog Millionaire and is now an Oscar-nominated star most recently seen in the film Monkey Man.
    Nicholas Hoult – Played Tony Stonem and went on to star in blockbusters including Mad Max and X-Men.
    Mike Bailey – Played Sid Jenkins and is now working as a teacher.
    Joe Dempsie – Played Chris Miles and has since been in huge films and TV shows including Game of Thrones.
    April Pearson – Her character Michelle Richardson was nicknamed “Nips” in Skins, and that carried through to real life. April tried to get an acting agent after Skins ended but “no one was really interested” so she moved to the countryside for a more sheltered life.
    Mitch Hewer – Played Maxxie Oliver, who was gay, and received homophobic abuse in the street due to this. He developed crippling OCD that meant he couldn’t be touched by anyone without needing to shower but has since overcome that and become a dad.
    Kathryn Prescott – Megan’s twin played Emily Fitch. In 2021, she was hit by a cement truck, breaking her pelvis in two places, both of her legs, her foot, and left hand.
    Hannah Murray – She played kooky Cassie Ainsworth, who suffered from an eating disorder and has since starred in films and TV shows, including Game of Thrones.
    Daniel Kaluuya – He only had a small part of ‘Posh Kenneth’ in Skins, but he’s now one of the biggest stars of the show. He won an Oscar for biopic Judas And The Black Messiah, and he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine in 2021.
    Kaya Scodelario – She played Tony’s younger sister Effy and has continued acting. Most recently, she was seen in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix hit The Gentlemen.

    The teenage drama was the second show Megan and Kathryn had auditioned for when they bagged their roles.“I think, because we were twins, we were hot property,” Megan says. “We got asked to do an improv scene in the audition, and it just so happened that it was a very similar situation to something that had just happened to us.“So obviously, we nailed the improv because we’d done the real-life version of it!“I couldn’t believe my luck when I got the part in Skins, and it changed my life, but shooting some of those scenes was quite cringe.”HALF-NAKED SCENESThe scenes in particular Megan remembers feeling very insecure about were with The Musketeers star Luke Pasqualino, who played heartthrob Freddie McClair.The pair had to be half-naked, imitating sex. Megan was 16 and Luke was two years older.“I didn’t have to be naked then, as it would have been illegal,” Megan recalls. “But I was in implied nude scenes and imitating sex, so  I’ve been in underwear countless times. “It wasn’t the most fun thing to do.“When you’re that age, you’re very insecure about your body. I couldn’t believe my luck when I got the part in Skins, and it changed my life, but shooting some of those scenes was quite cringe“I think a lot of women struggle with body image because we’ve been force-fed ideal beauty standards since we were foetuses, and I think it was more about the fact that I was going to be, essentially, wearing almost nothing on a set, imitating sex with a boy I’d only just met who was a couple of years older than me, and my whole body would be on display.”Megan and her former co-star Lily Loveless, who played Naomi, recently decided to watch an episode of Skins together, with Lily even appearing on Megan’s new podcast Really Good Exposure.However, it was too much for them both.She laughs: “We started and we were like, ‘I just can’t, it’s too cringe.’“I can’t watch my acting. I can’t watch myself.”HOLLYWOOD PALMegan with Lily Loveless in SkinsCredit: Channel 4Megan’s friend and former co-star Kaya Scodelario was recently in The GentlemenCredit: PAMegan and Lily lived together in London for three years until recently, and Megan also lives very close to her former co-star Kaya Scodelario, who played Effy.And she gushes about how “incredibly proud” she is of Kaya – who recently starred in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix drama The Gentlemen.“They’re some of my closest friends,” says Megan. “We do always say Skins was kind of like our university because none of us actually went to uni.“It was that close bonding experience where we all go through the same thing and it’s just something where, even though a lot of us have kids or are married, it’s just a bond you make.”MEG’S TWIN NOWMegan’s twin Kathryn is very supportive of her sister and doing well in New YorkCredit: E4Meanwhile, Megan’s sister Kathryn now lives in New York and is also acting, directing and writing.In September 2021, she was hit by a cement truck while walking across the street, breaking her pelvis in two places, as well as her legs, a foot and her left hand.“Her accident was a crazy, horrific thing, but she’s doing OK given the circumstances,” Megan says.And when it comes to what she thinks of Megan’s life?“Kathryn has always been nothing but supportive,” she finishes. “I know it’s quite a weird thing for a sister or any family member to think about, but she’s like, ‘You do you, as long as you’re comfortable, that’s all that matters.’”READ MORE SUN STORIESMegan will star in her one-woman-play, Really Good Exposure, which will be performed at the Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival, from 1st – 25th August.For more info and tickets to Really Good Exposure, head to the Underbelly website. More

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    Ashley Madison made me do horrible things – Insider reveals sordid secrets of life at adultery website

    A FORMER worker at Ashley Madison today exposed the sordid secrets of life at the infidelity website.In an exclusive chat with The Sun, insider Sarah Symonds shared damning details from behind the scenes at the scandalous firm.Ashley Madison insider Sarah Symonds speaks exclusively to The Sun about life working for the infidelity websiteAshley Madison boasted 37million users across 40 countries at its peak before the hack (file photo)Credit: ShutterstockAshley Madison CEO Noel Biderman claimed the site ‘saved marriages’ but has been accused of asking Sarah Symonds to go on dates with married menCredit: Getty Images – GettyShe spoke out as viewers are gripped by a new Netflix series ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ examining the 2015 leak which exposed millions of illicit relationships.The firm’s former publicist claims then chief executive Noel Biderman demanded she go on dates with married men, adding: “It made me feel horrible.”She said: “I was confused because I was meant to be spokeswoman for the company, not in this murky area.“He wanted me to set up bogus profiles. It was being talked about a lot, although I refused to help.Read more on Ashley Madison“Noel asked me to go on dates, under fake names. I found the whole thing sleazy and tawdry.“I felt his attitude towards women was terrible.”Sarah claims she was reduced to tears on several occasions while working at the firm and was told that if she didn’t like the work she “was replaceable.”Sarah, who now lives in Newport, Wales, looking after her elderly parents, told The Sun: “The Netflix show has opened old sores.Most read in Showbiz“Noel asked me to go on dates, under fake names. I found the whole thing sleazy and tawdrySarah Symonds“The company was a contradiction: they told me they came up with the name ‘Ashley Madison’ because they were the two most popular children’s names at the time.“Biderman’s whole mantra was to get men to sign up and get them to cheat, without thought for the consequences to families and kids.“He always had an answer as to how his site was ‘providing a service.’“It was a horrible experience I am trying to forget.”She was approached in 2007 to represent the Canadian company as they spread across the US and UK, becoming the mega global site where clandestine cheats could arrange sex outside marriage.Ashley Madison, Sex, Lies & ScandalIn 2015, before the damaging hacking scandal, it boasted 37 million users across 40 countries.Sarah was approached by Biderman after appearing on Oprah Winfrey and other US talk shows to promote her racy book, ‘Having An Affair? A handbook for the Other Woman’.Ashley Madison sparked a furore with its shocking message that affairs could save marriages.Ashley Madison insider Sarah Symonds said it was a ‘horrible experience I’m trying to forget’Credit: Alpha PressAshley Madison were putting up billboards at $10,000 a pop across AmericaCredit: Getty – ContributorSarah said: “They were putting up billboards at $10k a pop on Sunset Boulevard and across America.“The advertising slogan was ‘Life Is Short, Have an Affair’, and came with a sexy woman pictured making a ‘shh!’ sign.“It was exciting, sleek and daring. A new daredevil company for a new century.“But when I went to their hub in Toronto I was so disappointed. Noel had a grubby little office with no windows. It was underwhelming. “Behind the scenes the set up was sparse and cheap, and very male orientated.“It was a vivid contrast with the adverts suggesting attractive, open-minded, beautiful women were signed up to the company.”Sarah moved back to the UK early in 2008 as part of the firm’s expansion.And she was sent by the company to meet now disgraced PR guru Max Clifford – leading to a traumatic episode in her life.Ashley Madison hacking scandal explained
    Netflix smash ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ tells how hackers told the firm to take down its site or its user base would be leaked to the public.
    When they didn’t back down, celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile figures were exposed having accounts – sparking devastating consequences for thousands of relationships and leaving some members suicidal.
    In 2015, at the centre of the hacking storm, The Sun reported claims by analysts that the site was not what it seemed.
    Figures showed that 31 million men registered to the online hook-up service were men and just 5.5 million were women.
    The Sun also revealed that 700,000 British men seeking a fling on the Ashley Madison affair site were chasing just 31 UK-based women.

    She said: “It took guts to do what I was doing because I was promoting an infidelity website, off my own back.“Noel wanted me to find a UK PR company and so I met Max.“Max wanted £15,000 a month from Ashley Madison to support them – and manipulated me by saying he would also help me promote my book.”The negotiations led to Sarah visiting the PR man’s London offices for several business meetings. At the end of one, she was “persuaded to be intimate” with him in a toilet .In 2014 Clifford was jailed for eight years after being convicted of a string of sex offences.Sarah said of disgraced Max, who died in 2017: “After being propositioned the thing that would shock – and sicken – me the most, was when I found out Max’s casting couch would turn out to be his toilet cubicle. That is something I can’t ever forget.”But the turmoil was only just beginning for Sarah, now 53. Later in 2008, her affair with chef Gordon Ramsay was exposed.Sarah went on: “It was chaotic and unpleasant. Noel announced I had been fired for being ‘indiscreet’. It was a farce.”Netflix smash ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ tells how hackers told the firm to take down its site or its user base would be leaked to the public. When they didn’t back down, celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile figures were exposed having accounts – sparking devastating consequences for thousands of relationships and leaving some members suicidal.In 2015, at the centre of the hacking storm, The Sun reported claims by analysts that the site was not what it seemed.Figures showed that 31 million men registered to the online hook-up service were men and just 5.5 million were women.The Sun also revealed that 700,000 British men seeking a fling on the Ashley Madison affair site were chasing just 31 UK-based women.A former employee of Ashley Madison – not Sarah Symonds – sued the company in Canada over her terrible work conditions.She claimed that she suffered repetitive stress injuries in her hands after the company hired her to create 1,000 fake Portuguese profiles of women over three months in an effort to attract Brazilian clients. The case was settled out of court, although Ashley Madison rejected claims she made any fake profiles.Following the leak, father-of-two Biderman stepped down.Last year, following another TV show on Ashley Madison, his lawyer said: “Mr Biderman was also the victim of a crime, like the customers of Ashley Madison whose public information was hacked and publicised.“While Mr Biderman understands the differences between himself and those customers, he – like many of them – have, in the intervening years, attempted to move on and repair the damage to his life and relationships. “He feels fortunate that his wife, Amanda, has stood by him throughout.”The Ashley Madison website remains operational today and has even experienced a resurgence in popularity.Christoph Kraemer, managing director Europe, Ashley Madison told The Sun last night: “The recent documentaries on our business have been a great moment to reflect on how far our business has progressed.READ MORE SUN STORIES“Regardless of our past, with more than 50 million members joining since 2015 it is clear we’ve matured as a business and are delivering on a need in society.”Noel Biderman was also contacted for comment.John Gibson, pictured with his wife Christie, took his own life after his name was one of the 32million leaked from Ashley Madison during a cyber attack in 2015Noel Biderman with presenter Lorraine Kelly on Lorraine Live in September 2011Credit: Rex More

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    From THAT Liz Hurley scene in son’s film to A-lister’s ‘sex surrogate’ role… stars stripping & getting racier with age

    DEMI Moore is no stranger to getting naked in public.How could we forget the Vanity Fair cover of pregnant Demi totally naked whilst cradling her baby bump?Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore celebrate The Substance in CanneCredit: APThen there were her star turns in movies Striptease and Indecent Proposal. Now at the age of  61 she has stripped off again for her new feminist horror movie The Substance.The film has become the talk of Cannes where it received an 11 minute standing ovation after its premiere.There are several nude scenes with her co-star Margaret Qualley – the 29-year-old daughter of Four Weddings and a Funeral star Andie McDowell.Moore plays a fading celebrity who uses a black market cell-replicating device to create a younger, better version of herself, played by Qualley.READ MORE IN FEATURESDemi seems unfazed by the nude scenes saying:  “I had someone who was a great partner who I felt very safe with. “We obviously were quite close  — naked — and we also got a lot of levity in those moments at how absurd those certain situations were when laying on the tile floor.“But ultimately. it’s just about really directing your communication and mutual trust.”And she isn’t the only actress of a certain age still prepared to bare all in the name of their art.Most read in CelebrityKate Winslet’s steamiest movie sex scenes Liz HurleyEyebrows were raised when 58-year-old Liz stripped off for steamy sex scenes- directed by her son Damian.The raunchy scenes featuring Liz and 28-year-old co-star Pear Chiravara appear in 22-year-old Damian’s directorial debut movie Strictly Confidential.But Liz, who exudes body confidence by regularly posting bikini snaps of herself on social media, says people were making a lot of fuss about nothing.Liz shared steamy scenes with Pear Chiravara in the movieCredit: Lionsgate MoviesShe was directed by son DamianCredit: Getty“Yes, of course, people have got their knickers in a twist about it a bit,” she said.“But actually for us it wasn’t a big deal at all, just one of the seven scenes we were shooting on that day. We didn’t have a lot of time. It was a night scene… and the minute it gets dark the mosquitoes start dive-bombing you. There was a bit of exposed flesh for the mosquitoes to get.”Kate WinsletKate starred in the hit HBO series Mare of EasttownCredit: AlamyKate wanted to show every ‘bulgy bit of belly’Credit: HBOOscar winner Kate is no stranger to on-screen nudity, famously stripping off as Rose in Titanic.But after giving birth to three children, Kate, now 48, vowed never to get naked on film again.However she changed her mind to normalise the idea of a middle-aged gran having sex and one night stands in Mare of Easttown.Not only did she strip off for a sex scene with Guy Pearce, she told the New York Times she refused to let director Craig Zobel edit out “a bulgy bit of belly,” saying: “Don’t you dare!”She said: “Listen, I hope that in playing Mare as a middle-aged woman, I guess that’s why people have connected with this character in the way that they have done because there are clearly no filters,” Winslet added. “She’s a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that moves in a way that is synonymous with her age and her life and where she comes from.”Julianne MooreJulianne has steamy scenes with Amanda SeyfriedCredit: AlamyOscar winner Julianne was 49 when she got naked in the movie Chloe about a married woman who embarks on a steamy lesbian affair.Amanda Seyfried, then aged 24, starred opposite as call-girl Chloe, and both women had to shed their inhibitions for the intimate scenes, which Julianne admitted made her nervous. “It’s tricky stuff to do,” she said, adding:  “Obviously there’s something inherently dangerous about doing a scene like that, but it was all very deliberately staged, we watched playback, we were able to adjust things.”But in 2019, Julianne stripped off again aged 58 to star in Gloria Bell, about a free-spirited divorced mum-of-two who falls in love.Despite first getting naked on screen in 1993’s Body of Evidence she says she never gets used to it. “Somebody asked me, ‘How do you become comfortable?’ And I’m like, ‘You don’t. Nobody’s comfortable,’ she said.Helen HuntHelen Hunt played a ‘sex surrogate’Credit: HandoutHunt was Oscar-nominated for her part as sex surrogate Cheryl in the 2012 film The Sessions.The film was based on the story of Mark O’Brien, a poet who was paralysed from the neck down due to polio and hired a sex surrogate to lose his virginity.The role required full frontal nudity from the then 48-year-old Hunt who said she embraced the sex scenes.”I think I thought a couple of times before we shot the movie. I said to my boyfriend: ‘I’m about to do this’. Should you be stopping me from doing this? Because this is about to happen,” she recalled.”I said to another friend of mine, it’s getting late… who cares? Maybe one of the great things about getting older is, who cares?”To get a chance to embody a woman, particularly a woman who’s not 20 years old, and celebrate that we all have bodies and everybody has a god-given right to feel pleasure. I liked being part of bringing that to life.”Emma ThompsonEmma starred with Daryl McCormack in the movieCredit: AlamyStripping off at the age of 62 was “a challenge” admitted Dame Emma, who tackled full frontal nudity for her role in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.Emma played Nancy, a sexually frustrated widow, who hires a sex worker in the hope of experiencing her very first orgasm.In order to break the ice, she and her co-star, 29-year-old Irish actor Daryl McCormack, went for a walk together on Hampstead Heath to get to know each other.But she says the demands society places on women to look a certain way meant she was still apprehensive about getting naked.”Oh, God. Well, it’s very challenging to be nude at 62,” she told the Daily Mail.“Especially in a world where nothing has changed in the dreadful demands made on women to look a certain way. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about writing on since I was in my 20s, and the young female actors I speak to now still suggest there’s the same thing going on, a sort of tyranny to make women lose their self-confidence. I said to a friend of mine, it’s getting late… who cares? Maybe one of the great things about getting older is, who cares?Helen Hunt“It was very interesting to me, because I realised that if I’m not near any mirrors and I look down at my body, it looks fine. I can see my toes and it doesn’t look horrible. “But as soon as I look in a mirror, I see nothing but flaws. It was definitely an interesting thing to experiment with.”Helen MirrenDame Helen was in the buff for her Calendar Girls roleThe star had to be told to put her clothes back onCredit: AF ArchiveDame Helen has been naked countless times during her career since her very first on-screen nude scenes in the 1969 film Age of Consent aged just 22.But she was 58 when she confidently stripped off in the 2003 British comedy Calendar Girls about a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who decide to produce a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research with the support of the Women’s Institutes.Calendar Girls director Nigel Cole previously joked that Helen was almost too comfortable on set during her nude scenes.He said: “After one nude shoot, I recall having to tell Helen Mirren to put her robe back on three or four times”.Helen decided to undress one more time in 2011 in a nude photoshoot for New York Magazine, but the actress later declared that this would be her last time going naked in front of the camera.In a CBS interview, the actress said: “I was doing nude scenes [from] the first moment I started doing movies, it was the era. It seemed to be nothing to get your knickers in a twist over.”That’s the good thing about getting older, you don’t have to do that sort of thing any more.”Anne ReidAnne was 68 when she stripped off for a film with the Bond starCredit: BBCThe Brit actress was 68 when she stripped off for sex scenes with the then 35-year-old Daniel Craig in the film The Mother.Anne played a widow who initiated an affair with her daughter’s boyfriend, played by Craig.READ MORE SUN STORIESShe later revealed she was so anxious about filming the raunchy scenes that the night before she got drunk and burst into tears.Anne, who also starred as Valerie Barlow in Coronation Street,  said: ”I rang my son and I was weeping and he said, ‘Look Mum, it’s a great part, if you’re inhibited it’s not going to work so just go for it’”. More

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    I’m a Hollyoaks legend – on my first day on the show, I was handed cocaine as a welcome present

    FORMER Hollyoaks star Paul Danan has told how he was offered a bag of cocaine as a welcome present on his first day on the Channel 4 soap.In a candid interview, the 45-year-old who played Sol Patrick also revealed that he bedded up to a 1000 women at the height of his fame and how, his attempt to break America led him to spiral into drug addiction.Paul Danan looks very different from his early noughties heydayCredit: The Dozen With Liam TuffsThe good looking star was popular on the showbiz circuit after finding fame on HollyoaksSporting curly hair and a knitted jumper, the actor looked almost unrecognisable from his soap heartthrob heyday.Speaking on The Dozen with Liam Tuffs podcast he said: “The day I started there, someone and I am not going to say who, handed me an eighth of cocaine and I didn’t really know much about coke and he was like, “welcome.” It was the first day, the first read through, I hadn’t even filmed anything.”The dad-of-one also spoke about his love life, admitting that he’d lost count of the number of women he’d slept with.He said: “I don’t know I think we’re defintitely n the higher range, more than a thousand yeah” read more aboutAnd the former TV star confessed to missing his carefree younger days where meeting women felt relaxed and easy. He said “ I really miss it. It don’t happen like it used you, you have to be careful if you’re looking at someone who is 25, is that wrong, is that right? Are you alright to fancy someone whose 25, ,30. Theyre not on your level at 45. I am looking more at the 30 range, I need to be attracted.”Paul’s battle with drug addiction first began after he left Hollyoaks in 2001 after four years playing Sol.He moved to Los Angeles in an attempt to make it in Hollywood, but Paul struggled to cope with the rejection and felt isolated from friends and family. Most read in ShowbizHe said: ‘They were selling me as this young Jude Law type guy. You can’t party and do well in Hollywood. You’ve got to be healthy. It was cool but I ended up getting into the wrong type of routine of using drugs. ‘I can’t handle rejection but I choose the one job that gives you more rejection than any other job. I’m auditioning for big, big movies.’A lot of the time my life revolved around getting stoned, going to a gig, doing a pill or coke. There was always drugs involved. ‘America is very drug orientated if you’re young. I was in my twenties. The one thing I needed was family or friends around me and I didn’t. It was like the drugs filled that void, they were my friend.’ In the interview he also estimated that he must have spent £1 million on rehab and recovery. Fortunately now, Paul has turned his life around and now lives in Bristol, running drama workshops for children.After starring on Hollyoaks for five years, Paul went on to appear on ITV2 Celebrity Love Island in 2005. Since then he’s had appearances on various reality shows including E4’s Celebrity Coach trip. The star spoke candidly about his issues with drugs and fameCredit: The Dozen With Liam TuffsPaul starred on the original series of Celebrity Love Island back in 2005Credit: Rex Features More

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    Successful careers and sizzling sex lives show the celebs turning 50 this year definitely won’t be slowing down

    THEY’RE the nifty 50s – the women with the wow factor who have reached their half century and are definitely not out.There was a time when turning 50 meant you were past it, but the fabulous females who are celebrating the milestone birthday in 2024 seem like they are only just getting started.Denise van Outen dazzled as she stepped out just days before her 50th to record the video for her new single, DiscolisciousCredit: SplashKate Moss, who turned 50 in January, has gone from all-night clubbing and rumours of substance abuse to yoga and health retreatsCredit: TWITTER/KIM KARDASHIANVictoria Beckham — who admits her microphone used to be turned off — is 50 and flourishingCredit: InstagramAnd there must have been something in the water when they were born back in nineteen seventy phwoar, because Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Louise Redknapp and Penelope Cruz, to name just a few, look as if they’ve been drinking from the fountain of youth. With glowing skin, impressive six-packs, sizzling sex lives and successful careers, this year’s new 50-year-olds prove it’s no time to be slowing down.This week TV’s Denise van Outen dazzled as she stepped out just days before her 50th to record the video for her new single, Discoliscious.Spice Girl Mel C, DJ Sara Cox and actresses Eva Mendes, Amy Adams, Elizabeth Banks and Hannah Waddingham all turn 50 this year too.READ MORE ON SHOWBIZPsychologist Emma Kenny says: “Fifty is a time for women to finally reclaim their life.“They’ve spent their 20s on their career, and if they have a family, their late 20s, 30s and 40s would likely have been dedicated to raising the kids and working to pay the bills.“Then perimenopause and menopause sneaks up on you around 40. But into your 50s — finally — you are the star of your own show again.”Dubbed the Spice Girl who couldn’t really sing, Victoria Beckham — who admits her microphone used to be turned off — is 50 and flourishing.Most read in CelebrityKate Moss, 50, wows with lookalike daughter Lila Grace, 21, as they pose for designer bag ad campaignHaving long since ditched her solo pop career, she is now a fashion and beauty mogul. Last month she launched her first high street collection for her fashion label, Victoria by Victoria Beckham, with a collaboration with Mango. Meanwhile, her Victoria Beckham Beauty business reports a tripling of customers and has won 28 industry awards, with one £30 Satin Kajal Liner reportedly sold every 30 seconds.Now the rumour mill suggests she may reprise her Posh Spice role in a reunion with the Spice Girls.Not only that, mum-of-four Victoria is also in the shape of her life, with up to six gym sessions a week.Louise Redknapp relaunched her pop career, become a fashion influencer and found loveCredit: RexHannah Waddingham is the epitome of a late bloomer, with her TV acting career only starting at the age of 45Credit: GettyPenelope Cruz joined the club on April 28 after huge accolades for her latest role in hit film FerrariCredit: GettyOn turning 50 last month she said on Instagram: “I feel so incredibly blessed to have reached this milestone . . .  blessed, but also accomplished and deeply content.”Kate Moss, who turned 50 in January, has gone from all-night clubbing and rumours of substance abuse to yoga, ice baths and health retreats. And now she is looking better than ever as she sits in pride of place on every catwalk’s front row.She also has her own skincare range, Cosmoss, and a beauty range believed to be launching this year.She has also banked millions in profits through her modelling agency Kate Moss Agency, which looks after her daughter Lila, 21, and Rita Ora.LATE BLOOMERActress, singer and presenter Hannah Waddingham, who turns 50 on July 28, is the epitome of a late bloomer, with her TV acting career only starting at the age of 45.The single mum only became an A-lister in 2020, when she landed a leading role in TV comedy drama Ted Lasso, winning an Emmy for her portrayal of Rebecca Welton in 2021.Last year she hosted Eurovision and had her own one-woman Christmas show for Netflix. Not afraid to speak her mind, last month she scolded a photographer for asking her to show him some leg.Louise Redknapp shot to fame in Nineties band Eternal, then took a rest from the limelight to raise her two kids with footballer hubby Jamie.After they split in 2017 she said: “I have spent most of my life pleasing everyone else, worrying about being judged and thinking I should always do the right thing by staying home, looking after my kids and husband.“I became a sort of Stepford Wife, wanting to be perfect at it.”RELAUNCHED CAREERBut in the past few years she has relaunched her pop career, become a fashion influencer and has found new love with former military officer Drew Michael. Oscar-winner Olivia Colman turned 50 in January, and with her dyed blonde hair and Prada gowns, many are calling this her fashion era, while Olivia proudly confesses to tweakments such as Botox.Once a lager-swilling ladette, Radio 2’s Sara Cox will be 50 in December and is in her best shape ever, from cycling, riding and the gym — which is how she now has a six-pack.READ MORE SUN STORIESIt’s not just our stars who look fab at 50 — Penelope Cruz joined the club on April 28 after huge accolades for her latest role in hit film Ferrari.Similarly, Amy Adams and Elizabeth Banks are flourishing in their careers, while Eva Mendes has stepped back from acting to raise her family with Ryan Gosling, and has become a children’s author.Spice Girl Mel C will turn 50 this year tooCredit: GettyElizabeth Banks is flourishing in her careerCredit: Getty More