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GOING SOLO
This Morning host set for solo travel show after missing out on top job to Ben Shephard
The host will be also showing off his cooking skills on Sunday night for Channel 4’s Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up 2 Cancer
WE’RE now used to seeing him as part of a This Morning double act, but Dermot O’Leary could soon be hitting the road without co-host Alison Hammond.
I can reveal the radio and TV presenter is in the early stages of developing a food-and-drink-themed travelogue for ITV where he flies solo to explore Ireland.
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Though he was born and raised in Essex, the country is the homeland of his parents, Maria and Sean, who moved to England in 1968.
The couple returned to Ireland three years ago.
A TV insider said: “Dermot has always been incredibly close to his parents and very proud of his Irish heritage, having spent many a summer holiday back in the Emerald Isle.
"The show would also see him explore another of his great loves — food and drink. And modern Ireland has plenty of both.
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“It’s also a cheeky chance to drop in on his parents while he’s over there.”
The programme is likely to be made by Rock Oyster Media, who are currently filming Gary Barlow’s road trip in South Africa where he’s exploring his love of wine.
The company has also given us culinary shows on ITV fronted by Raymond Blanc, Ainsley Harriott and Jimmy Doherty.
Dermot used to own the Fishy Fishy seafood restaurants in Brighton and Poole.
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And he will be showing off his cooking skills on Sunday for Channel 4’s Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up 2 Cancer.
Speaking before the episode, where he will appear alongside radio DJ Greg James, singer Mel B and comedienne Fern Brady, he said: “I love cooking. I cook all the time as it relaxes me.
“I’d love to do more on TV about food.”
Well, now’s your chance Dermot.
It's hall about to kick off
MARK RYLANCE and Damian Lewis are on a collision course in these first-look images from the new series of Wolf Hall.
A showdown is on the cards for the pair who return as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in the hit BBC drama, based on Hilary Mantel’s novels.
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Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light begins in May 1536, with the king married to Jane Seymour – played by Peaky Blinders’ Kate Phillips – following his beheading of second wife Anne Boleyn.
Cromwell has continued his climb to power in the wake of Henry VIII’s executions but risks being axed himself while Henry faces a rebellion at home and a threat of invasion from abroad.
The series will also welcome back Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary and Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsley, while welcoming new cast member Harriet Walter as Lady Margaret Pole.
The Queen’s Gambit star Harry Melling plays Thomas Wriothesley and The Sixth Commandment’s Timothy Spall is the Duke of Norfolk, while Love Actually’s Thomas Brodie-Sangster is Rafe Sadler.
The six-part series will air on BBC One later this year.
Richard can't jet enough
RICHARD ARMITAGE would still be on the set of new thriller Red Eye if it was up to him.
The actor – who plays a doctor accused of murder in the ITV series – spends much of the series inside a working plane.
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And he confessed that he became so comfortable on board that coming out to film in London’s Stansted Airport alongside Jing Lusi and Lesley Sharp felt quite daunting.
Richard said: “We filmed for three weeks on the plane and I was kind of nervous when we got out into the real world.
“I didn’t want to leave the set or Jing.”
In one scene, Richard is strip searched in the airport.
But instead of hitting the gym to get in tiptop shape for the naked shoot, he went the other way.
He said: “I started eating loads of pies, because I wanted him to look like a doctor and not an actor.
“That’s my excuse.”
THE double life of paedophile pop star Gary Glitter will be explored in a new ITV documentary.
The feature-length special, airing later this year, will weave victim testimonies with archive interviews to look at how the glam rock star, currently in jail, covered up his dark behaviour.
Dump ’n’ run at Glenn’s
CHECK your cupboards if Rafe Spall ever pops round.
The actor was left red-faced after a number two failed to flush while he was staying at Hollywood star Glenn Close's home.
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But instead of throwing it in the bin, he put it in a towel and left it in the bathroom cupboard.
On the latest episode of Mel Giedroyc's Unforgivable, which airs on Tuesdays at 10pm on Dave, Rafe said: “ I did a poo in the en suite bathroom and the toilet got blocked. Poo and toilet paper was everywhere – then (Glenn) knocked on the door saying the car to pick me up was here.
“In the cupboard there was a beautiful set of towels, so I cleaned the best I could, wrapped them all up and left them . . . Sorry, Glenn.”
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LOVE Island fans haven’t got long to wait for the next series of the hit ITV2 dating show. Hot on the heels of the first
All Stars series, which ended in February, insiders have revealed host Maya Jama will return to Mallorca on Monday, June 3, with a bunch of new singletons looking for love.
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