IT looks like The Gadget Show has a big new problem to fix – finding itself a new host.
Craig Charles has revealed that he will not be returning to front the Channel 5 consumer programme after five years.
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The Red Dwarf actor is quietly leaving the Guinness World Record-setting series which he currently hosts alongside Ortis Deley, Jon Bentley and Georgie Barrat.
Craig — who also played Lloyd Mullaney in Coronation Street from 2005 to 2015 — explained that he’s hungry for fresh projects instead after the death of his brother in 2014 changed his attitude to his career.
He said: “I don’t think I’ll co-present any more Gadget Shows, so that’s gone.”
And he added: “I like new adventures — I’m always looking forward rather than back.
“When I was in the jungle (in I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!) my brother died and it prompted me to leave Coronation Street because it made me realise there were things I wanted to do — which I didn’t have time for while I was in Corrie — before it was too late.”
It comes as Radio 2 recently axed his Saturday night show after eight years.
But Craig added that he was more than ready to “move on to new challenges,” with “several projects at the moment”.
In fact, he’s more excited than ever about his hosting gig on Channel 4’s Moneybags.
Craig said recently: “People have come to me with quizzes and game shows for so many years but none of them suited my personality.
“Moneybags is exciting — £1million comes down the conveyor belt every week.
“It’s a cliché but that’s a life-changing amount of money.”
Speaking about his hectic schedule, he added: “Last summer I was doing a show about UFOs for Sky History, The Gadget Show, the first series of Moneybags, my radio Monday to Friday and then gigging all weekend.
“I should slow down.”
It sounds as though he’s finally taking his own advice.
A Seoul mate for Phoebe
WE know Phoebe Dynevor best as the glamorous Duchess of Hastings in Bridgerton.
But fans have now tipped her for a role in a totally different Netflix hit – Squid Game.
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They spotted that the actress had flown to Seoul in South Korea for meetings.
Phoebe then uploaded a snap posing alongside a star of the dystopian thriller, Jung Ho-Yeon.
She even teased fans with a cheeky picture of the Dalgona Candy sugar cookies which featured in Squid Game.
Now this would be a star signing.
Stars up for big reboot
LAZY summer Saturdays are made for a Big Breakfast.
So it’s no surprise that celebs are flocking to appear on the reboot of the legendary Channel 4 fave, which returned last Saturday.
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This week’s guests on the show, hosted by AJ Odudu and Mo Gilligan, include pop superstar Ellie Goulding and Strictly pro Johannes Radebe, who will be joining Judi Love in the On The Bed interview.
And if that’s not enough, Eurovision hero Sam Ryder, comics Chris McCausland, chef Poppy O’Toole and rapper Fuse ODG will be dropping in.
I’m feeling full just thinking about it.
Now C4 has shut its trap
TV execs seem to be falling out of love with dating shows.
After I revealed that Davina McCall’s Channel 4 show Language Of Love was being quietly shelved, another in the genre, Joel Dommett’s The Love Trap, has also been axed.
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The eight-parter, also on Channel 4, saw 12 women graft to win the affection of one single man, but only six were actually single.
The man, David Birtwhistle – a star of Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle – rejected one woman each show by ejecting them through a trap door.
But it was a wacky twist too far for viewers, who slated the programme online when it aired in October last year
A TV source said: “Channel 4 really thought The Love Trap could work, especially with Joel at the helm.
“But unfortunately the premise didn’t seem to strike a chord with the public so there are no current plans for another series.
“Joel had enjoyed a real run of luck with hit after hit, but even his Midas touch failed to sparkle with The Love Trap.”
HAWKEYE star Florence Pugh has revealed that she secretly split with her Scrubs actor fella Zach Braff earlier this year.
The actress, who first found fame as Cara in ITV series Marcella, admitted: “I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it.”
Wetsuit and wild for Alan
ALAN CARR was more chilly man than Chatty Man recently.
The comedian got a shock when producers on his Adventures With Agatha Christie show told him to get into the sea for a spot of wild swimming near the legendary crime writer’s old home in Devon.
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The comic admits he had no idea fronting the new Channel 4 series would require him to pull on a wetsuit to show viewers Agatha’s hobby.
He told Graham Norton: “It’s so funny, obviously, because I’ve never done a documentary before, so I thought it would be like ‘Ooh, Agatha loved swimming wild in the sea . . . ’”
Sounds like Alan might have had cold feet about that scene.
