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THE EE Bafta Film Awards are already shaping up to be one of the biggest nights of the year.
Ariana Grande, Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet and Ralph Fiennes are all attending the ceremony later this month.
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But if you thought the line-up couldn’t get any better, think again, as I can exclusively reveal Take That have been booked to perform.
I’ve been told that Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen will sing their 2008 hit Greatest Day after it featured in comedy/drama film Anora, which is nominated in seven categories including Best Film and Leading Actress for Mikey Madison.
My Bafta mole also let slip that Hollywood favourite Jeff Goldblum will give a special performance for the In Memoriam section of the ceremony.
Jeff, who plays The Wizard in Wicked, will take to the piano to perform a number. It comes ahead of the release of Jeff’s fourth album Still Blooming, which is due out on April 25.
Wicked is expected to have a bumper night too, after landing seven nominations including Leading Actress for Cynthia Erivo. Ariana, who plays Glinda opposite Cynthia as Elphaba, is up for Best Supporting Actress.
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The ceremony will be hosted by David Tennant on February 16 at London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 16. Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis will receive the Bafta Fellowship award.
While the ceremony is still two weeks away, the Baftas are getting the fun started early tonight, with EE hosting a Rising Star party in association with Vanity Fair.
Jack and I will both be putting our glad rags on to rinse the free champers and snaffle the canapes, and we’ll let you know all the gossip later in the week.
As well as events hosted by the big studios, the official after-party will include cocktails by Don Julio Tequila and The Savoy, the official hotel of the awards.
How Gary Barlow's tall son Daniel became a very big internet sensation after family photo went viral
It's Mary J Bling
MARY J BLIGE had more sparkle than a glitterball as she hit the stage in the US.
The R&B star wore this silver-tiled bodysuit in Atlanta on Monday night, where she performed more than 30 songs as part of her For My Fans Tour.
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Mary, who will perform at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 3, has spent weeks gearing up for the jaunt across North America.
But she admitted she was left furious last month after part of her setlist was leaked online.
Now she has revealed she sacked the person who did it. The Family Affair singer said: “I was p****d, and I fired someone because of it.
“We worked too hard, and the setlist is the most private thing.
“It was unprofessional. Obviously, it was somebody within the camp, and they risked their whole life just to get a couple of likes.”
That’s a reminder not to get on Mary’s bad side.
Sporty: I Wannabe reunited
MELANIE C has insisted the Spice Girls are “getting together” to plan a comeback next year.
It has been a relentless will-they-won’t-they conversation ever since their lucrative 2019 reunion tour.
Sporty has said they are eager to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut single Wannabe’s release, and are already putting the wheels in motion to make sure it pleases fans.
Melanie said on The Rebecca Judd Show on Apple Music 1: “It’s got to be, there has to be something befitting of 30 years since Wannabe. Once a Spice Girl, always a Spice Girl.
“We all feel like that, but we now are getting together because we know if we’re going to do anything, we have to start planning things to get things right. We have to start making the plans right now and putting them into action. So fingers crossed.
“I think me and Mel B are probably going to be going in there all guns blazing, ‘Come on. It’s time!’.”
From what I’ve heard, Geri Horner and Victoria Beckham aren’t quite as keen. So I’ll wait and see whether they really do return to the stage.
Mover Marisa
IT’S gearing up to be quite a year to remember for Marisa Abela.
As well as planning her wedding to actor Jamie Bogyo and getting a Bafta Rising Star nomination, I’m told she’s just relocated to a £1million house.
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My moles spotted Marisa and Jamie, seen in my exclusive snaps on a day out in the capital, moving into the area after she left her flat.
A source said: “Marisa and Jamie are living in a really swanky house in North London.
“They’ve been seen in the area a lot in recent weeks and seem really settled.
“It’s definitely the place to be because Saoirse Ronan, James Norton and Anya Taylor-Joy all live in the area too.”
I can imagine the curtain twitchers will be loving all the latest celebrity-spotting action.
We revealed last month that Marisa had been nominated for the EE Bafta Rising Star gong for her role as Amy Winehouse in the biopic about her life, Back To Black.
Marisa was told about her nomination at a cool party in London and said: “Once I got the role I researched so much, I felt like I connected with Amy’s lifeblood, her breath and her tenacity and what I felt she wanted from the world. I felt there was a deep longing to belong, and to prove, and to be loved.”
I think Marisa has the award in the bag and I’ll be at the Bafta Film Awards on February 16 to watch her collect it.
But she has stiff competition, including from co-stars of her BBC drama Industry, Nabhaan Rizwan and David Jonsson.
Jharrel Jerome and Mikey Madison are also nominated in the category, which is the only one open to the public, so you can have your say online now.
A lotta love for Zep film
BECOMING Led Zeppelin hits cinemas on Friday – and it’s not to be missed.
The film features new interviews and unseen footage of the Whole Lotta Love rock group during their formative years.
Everyone I know who has seen it already has loved it. Rockers all over are raving about it, with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello saying: “That was amazing. Awesome to be in the room with Led Zeppelin again. This will reintroduce a younger generation to the majesty of the band.”
Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson called it “the greatest music documentary I’ve ever seen”.
The NFW vision
A GIRL band have been chosen to represent the UK at Eurovision.
Bizarre can reveal that Remember Monday will be flying the flag for us come May.
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Moving away from the popular Eurodance music of recent years, Remember Monday are a country trio.
It is a stark contrast to last time when Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander represented the UK with pop song Dizzy. He finished 18th out of 25
A source said: “As ever, behind-the-scenes competition has been fierce to represent the UK. This year, bosses have opted to shake things up and send female trio Remember Monday.
“The song is a change from Olly Alexander last year but the girls are sure to get the nation behind them.” The British country pop trio are made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele.
It’s not the first time the group have found themselves in a televised singing competition.
In 2019 they took part in The Voice, where they caught the attention of vocal powerhouse Jennifer Hudson.
They have also performed at a string of major UK events including Country to Country, The Long Road and Buckle and Boots.
Remember Monday have also amassed a following of 524,000 followers on TikTok alone.
PIXIE LOTT is back with a new video for her song Show You Love.
She used footage from fans – of their favourite moments from Pixie performing on stage – and she shared these exclusive pics from behind the scenes at the shoot.
Also out today is a single from Chesney Hawkes called Loud, about his experience of grief.
He said: “This song is very close to my heart and has given me comfort with my own experiences. I really hope these lyrics can help others.”
He will start a UK tour next month before releasing comeback album Living Arrows on April 4.
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NELLY FURTADO and Faithless are confirmed as headliners for The Big Feastival, where Travis, The Wombats and Sophie Ellis-Bextor will also play from August 22 to 24 in the Cotswolds.
Before that, Tom Walker, who has just dropped the song You’ll Get There In The End, has announced an intimate three-day acoustic tour kicking off in Birmingham on March 24, followed by performances in Manchester and London, for which tickets go on sale this Friday.
ARIANA GRANDE gets out and about without anyone realising – wearing a Covid mask or cap and hood to go under the radar.
The singer told the SmartLess podcast: “ I literally walk around for hours and hours and hours whenever I’m off. I meander and I shop and I walk and I see movies and I wear a little hood and a cap. I have to be able to explore, otherwise I’ll fall apart.”
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