Welcome to The Spotlight. I’m Olivia Kemp, Showbusiness Reporter at the Daily Mail, bringing you the latest in the world of showbiz while my colleague Katie Hind is on holiday.
If you thought being the daughter of two Hollywood megastars would bring in an audience of thousands, think again.
Last week, Suri Noelle, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, made her British acting debut at the Edinburgh Fringe with just 33 people watching. Our Showbiz Correspondent Dolly Busby was in the audience to see how she got on.
Meanwhile, our photographers struck gold in London, with the first pictures of Saoirse Ronan transformed into Linda McCartney for Sir Sam Mendes’s Beatles project.
We also spotted Colin Firth filming for his raciest role yet: Dr Alex Comfort, author of the 1972 sex manual, The Joy of Sex. The upcoming comedy-drama of the same name tells the story of the doctor’s open marriage. Mr Darcy in a film about a throuple? Obviously, we’ll be watching.
YouTubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester had tongues wagging this week. After years of keeping fans guessing, the pair finally went public with their relationship last year and have since turned their romance into a podcast, merch and a whopping 65-date world tour. Influencer Editor Molly Clayton has been told there may be another side to the story. Scroll down to find out more.
Here’s what else you can’t miss this week:
Consultant Editor of Showbusiness Katie Hind reveals why the news about Strictly stars Ola and James Jordan’s split didn’t come as a surprise – and what she’d been hearing about James’s ‘close friendship’ with a VERY high-profile female celebrity.
Paddy McGuinness appears to be back on the dating scene after being spotted out with Radio 2 publicist Emma Carey.
There’s trouble at EastEnders, as actor Shane Richie has avoided being suspended by BBC bosses after his drink-driving charge – a decision that hasn’t gone down well with some of his younger co-stars.
I’ll always tell you the unvarnished truth about celebs and the world of showbiz. So, what do you want to know? Email your questions to spotlight@dailymail.co.uk and I’ll report back in a future newsletter.
The Tea: Which A-lister ‘put off’ K-Pop Demon Hunter star Ejae during their BAFTAs performance?
There was no red carpet, no entourage and certainly no sign of her $12billion (£9billion) box office superstar father when Suri Noelle quietly made her British acting debut at the Edinburgh Fringe last week.
Showbiz Correspondent Dolly Busby was on the ground in the Scottish capital to see exactly how the 20-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes fared as she swapped Hollywood royalty for one of the Fringe’s more modest stages.
And modest it certainly was. Just 33 people turned up to watch Suri and eight of her fellow Carnegie Mellon University drama students perform Midsummer!, their queer adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at a pop-up venue in St Andrew Square.
If Suri was hoping to prove she could make it without trading on her famous surname, she appears to have succeeded.
Taking on no fewer than four roles – Helena, fairy Mustardseed, Flute and a seed – she sang, danced and even shared a kiss with co-star Logan Yao. One audience member told Dolly that Suri ‘completely stole the show’, while another admitted that, for a nepo baby, ‘she proved us all wrong’.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was no mention of Suri’s famous family in the programme – in fact, her name wasn’t listed at all.
It came just days after it emerged that she has legally changed her surname from Cruise to Noelle, adopting her mother Katie’s middle name, after being estranged from her Mission: Impossible star father for more than a decade.
There was, however, one rather unfortunate reminder of Dad nearby: less than a 20-minute walk away, comedian Olga Koch was performing her own Fringe show. Its title? Fat Tom Cruise.
Lights, camera, Brits! It has been quite the week for British stars on set, with the Daily Mail exclusively revealing the first pictures of two very different trips back in time.
Saoirse Ronan, 32, stepped into the role of Linda McCartney while filming Sir Sam Mendes’s hugely anticipated Beatles project in London.
Our exclusive pictures showed the four-time Oscar nominee channelling the late photographer in a pale pink blouse, navy floral mini skirt and low-heeled black shoes, with her blonde hair styled just like Linda’s.
In suitably down-to-earth fashion, Saoirse was seen arriving by black cab with a young actress playing Stella McCartney for scenes set in the Seventies, before being greeted at the door of Sir Paul McCartney’s three-storey Regency townhouse in St John’s Wood by Paul Mescal, who is playing Macca.
Across town, Colin Firth was transporting us back to the Seventies for a rather racier reason.
The 65-year-old was spotted filming The Joy of Sex, based on the 1972 lovemaking manual of the same name by Dr Alex Comfort, who Colin will portray.
Mr Darcy has certainly come a long way from that wet shirt at Pemberley. Comfort enjoyed an open marriage with his wife Ruth while also having an intimate relationship with his best friend Jane Henderson – the rather unconventional arrangement is now being brought to the big screen.
From Macca to ménage à trois, the Seventies are well and truly back!
Last week I revealed that YouTube stars Dan Howell and Phil Lester are preparing to embark on a huge 65-date world tour built around the love story they revealed to millions of fans last year, writes Influencer Editor Molly Clayton.
But while the sold-out shows are being marketed as a celebration of their 16-year romance, I revealed that those close to the pair believe there is more to the story.
Multiple sources have told me that Dan has formed a close friendship with another man who is due to join the tour, albeit behind the scenes. I’m told people who have worked with Dan and Phil have been aware of the friendship for several years and have questioned why the man has never featured in their content.
There is growing speculation from fans about Dan and Phil’s relationship, with some suggesting the pair’s decision to ‘hard launch’ their romance last October coincided with a need to reinvigorate their brand.
Their emotional 46-minute confession generated millions of views, followed by their Hard Launch podcast, couple merchandise and now a global tour. With tickets sold out across the UK, Singapore, America and Australia, it seems the Dan and Phil love story is big business - but I guarantee more is going on behind the scenes.
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s youngest daughter Tallulah Willis, 32, married her musician boyfriend of three years, Justin Acee, in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Saturday – and naturally, the guest list wasn’t short on famous faces.
Demi’s Charlie’s Angels co-star Lucy Liu joined Andrew Garfield and designer Zac Posen for the woodland ceremony, while Tallulah’s sisters Rumer, 37, and Scout, 35, were bridesmaids in matching strapless mint green gowns.
But all eyes were, of course, on the bride, who walked down the aisle in a custom strapless Balenciaga gown by the fashion house’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli - quite the turnaround considering that, just six months earlier, Tallulah had been sending her sisters potential wedding dresses from Etsy.
‘This was like six months ago. She was like, “What about this one?” and it was on Etsy,’ Scout revealed during Tallulah’s final fitting at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont.
‘From Etsy to Balenciaga couture – that’s a moment. Who would have thought?’
The celebrations were suitably dreamy: gilded mirrors, towering floral displays and topiary decorated the outdoor venue, while guests dined at long tables scattered with dusty pink roses before DJ Samantha Ronson took to the decks as the sun went down.
For the record
On this day in 1999, Irish pop star Ronan Keating shot to No. 1 in the charts with his debut single When You Say Nothing At All, officially launching his solo career away from Boyzone. The ballad served as a track in romcom Notting Hill, which starred Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.
What’s your take? Email us at spotlight@dailymail.co.uk and you might be featured in a future newsletter.
The Tea answer: Global superstar Ejae said seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in the audience made her ‘so nervous’ about performing in front of Hollywood A-listers at the BAFTAs that her voice ‘cracked’ on a high note.
See you next week!
Do you have a story for us? Email Spotlight@DailyMail.co.uk
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.