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Legendary broadcaster dies at age 87

<p>Legendary broadcaster and journalist Colin Chapman has passed away at the age of 87. </p> <p>After years of suffering from poor health, Chapman - who was known for his work in the media and as an author - died over the weekend. </p> <p>Chapman’s career spanned three continents and saw him as a print reporter as well a TV presenter, working for <span id="U842243185388XfE">BBC TV</span>, as well as having stints at the <span id="U842243185388uG"><em>Sunday Times</em>, <em>Financial Times</em> </span>and <span id="U842243185388pRF"><em>Observer</em>.</span></p> <p>He said previously, “There will not be many journalists who have been both writers and executives in the print media, and also on-camera performers and senior managers in radio and television.”</p> <p>He also enjoyed stints at the <em>New York Times</em>, <em>Washington Post</em> and <em>ABC</em>, where he was a founding producer of the network’s <em>The World Today</em>.</p> <p>Most recently, Chapman was the editor-at-large for the <em>Australian Outlook</em>, where his work included columns on elections around the world this year.</p> <p>During his renowned career, Chapman was not only an expert political analyst but also a revered foreign correspondent, including covering terror attacks in Hong Kong in the 1960s and international conflicts in Africa and the Suez region.</p> <p>He spent three periods in Australia - the last in 2004 - and was granted citizenship.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook</em></p> <p> </p>

Caring

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"This guy hates my guts and I hate his": Manu Feildel spills on his feud with Colin Fassnidge

<p>Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge have opened up about their long-running feud that began when the pair started working together on <em>My Kitchen Rules</em>.</p> <p>On Wednesday night's episode of the popular cooking show, Manu revealed to the contestants how the judges "hated" each other's "guts" when they started filming the show together in 2014. </p> <p>Their feud began when Colin accused Manu of "selling out" by joining the TV show. </p> <p>Manu opened up about their previous dislike for one another, after contestants Amber and Mel explained that the name of their restaurant, Salty Secrets, was meant to encourage their fellow <em>MKR</em> contestants to share little-known facts about themselves.</p> <p>“Do you want to hear about salty secrets from us?” Manu asked the table.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxaP02IBB8q/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxaP02IBB8q/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by MKR (@mykitchenrules)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“The salty secret is Colin and I started on the wrong foot. Because when I started TV, most chefs in the industry thought I’d sold my soul.”</p> <p>Colin added, “I said he’s sold out.”</p> <p>Explaining the criticism, Manu said, “They said I was no longer a chef, I was a TV celebrity.”</p> <p>They went on to say that their feud made working together very difficult in the early years when Colin joined the <em>MKR</em> team, </p> <p>“I got told, ‘Oh we’re going to bring in a new chef - Colin Fassnidge.’ And I went, ‘What?! The guy hates my guts and I hate his guts’,” Manu said.</p> <p>Colin added. “So day one of <em>MKR</em>, I turn up and they’re like ‘Have you met Manu?’ And I was like, ‘S***’."</p> <p>“We did the season. It was a tough learning curve for me.”</p> <p>Manu explained that it wasn't until the end of the first episode that they resolved their differences and became friends. </p> <p>“So we finished the show, I went into my room, he went into his,” he said.</p> <p>“And suddenly I heard [knocks on table], open my room and he went ‘I would like to apologise for being an a***hole.’</p> <p>“And we’ve been good friends ever since!”</p> <p><em>Image credits: My Kitchen Rules</em></p>

TV

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“So elated”: Kathleen Folbigg’s reunion with lifelong friend following pardon

<p dir="ltr">After spending 20 years behind bars Kathleen Folbigg is starting a new chapter as a <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/kathleen-folbigg-pardoned-after-20-years-behind-bars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free woman</a>, and the first person who welcomed her back was her lifelong friend, Tracy Chapman.</p> <p dir="ltr">Folbigg, 55, who was convicted of killing her three children Patrick, Sarah and Laura and the manslaughter of her firstborn Caleb between 1989 to 1999, was <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/kathleen-folbigg-pardoned-after-20-years-behind-bars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pardoned</a> on Monday and released immediately.</p> <p dir="ltr">Just hours after she walked out a free woman, Folbigg was reunited with her lifelong friend in a warm embrace on Chapman’s farm in northern NSW.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I am so elated it's not funny. I am nervous and I am everything," Folbigg told <em>9News</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">With her newfound freedom, Folbigg couldn’t say what would come next.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I don't know. I need a drink of water. I don't know about anything else," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Chapman, who was an advocate for Folbigg since her conviction 20 years ago, created a “sanctuary” on the farm in case her best friend was pardoned, so she could have somewhere "peaceful, quiet,” to return to where “she's surrounded by animals".</p> <p dir="ltr">Folbigg has always maintained her innocence, and said that her children all died of natural causes.</p> <p dir="ltr">Former NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst KC, has submitted the new scientific evidence in an inquiry into the death of her babies, and is currently writing up a final report, which could be finished this month.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Nine News</em></p>

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Royal biographer hints at Queen's cause of death

<p dir="ltr">A royal expert claims Queen Elizabeth II was suffering from a “relatively painless” but “invariably fatal” condition before announcing her death 90 minutes before Buckingham Palace.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a video uploaded to YouTube at 5pm local time (2am AEST), controversial royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell claimed the Queen had passed away at 2.37pm (11.37pm AEST).</p> <p dir="ltr">Buckingham Palace announced the monarch’s passing 90 minutes later, at around 6.30pm UK time.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her announcement came at the end of a lengthy clip where the royal expert spoke about a condition the Queen was allegedly suffering from.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lady Campbell, who is most well-known for her books about Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, claimed that Her Majesty was suffering from a serious bone condition, though she wouldn’t reveal “the word that accurately conveys her diagnosis” out of respect for her “dignity and privacy”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“If she wants to reveal that word, or her advisors wish to reveal it, that is up to them. I don’t think one needs to use the word to get across the point that I think most people will be able to pick up, that this is a really serious situation,” Lady Campbell said in the video, prior to announcing the monarch’s passing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The condition has been induced, in part, according to people who know her well, has been created by the tremendous stress to which she has been subjected over the last three years.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Palace has not confirmed the Queen’s cause of death.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Can you imagine an older woman, as her life is winding down, and she is hoping to enjoy the last few years of her life in good health being bombarded by the tremendous abuse to which she and the monarchy have been subjected,” Lady Campbell said.</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to say she had tried to warn people that the Queen was “far more ill than they thought she was” over the past few months.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have on several occasions in the last few weeks, if not months, made the point that she had been affected to her bones. I used that repeatedly to get across the point that what she was suffering from was a malady of the bones,” she continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There are two maladies of the bones, one is more painful than the other. Fortunately the Queen’s malady, although it falls in the same category and condition of the more painful one, has been the less painful one.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It has been restrictive, and I will not go into the medical treatments she has been receiving. I have previously indicated that her bruising was due to cannulas and I have left it at that.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After the video cuts away, Lady Campell continued filming, claiming she had found out about the Queen’s passing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Having just made this video it is with great sadness that I have to inform you that events have yet again overtaken one’s plans, and I am reliably informed that the Queen died at 14.37pm this afternoon,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And that the reason why the announcement has not been made so far is that they are waiting for Harry and Meghan to arrive at Balmoral, after which the announcement will be made.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Buckingham Palace went on to announce the news of Her Majesty’s passing before Harry arrived at Balmoral, while Meghan remained in London.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think we should be very grateful for having had such a wonderful monarch,” Lady Campbell continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And I think we can be also grateful for the fact that her death was relatively painless. Bone cancer is not fun.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But she was fortunate enough to have the lesser of the forms of bone cancer, and she kept her spirits and her vitality to practically the end.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And now, I would say, my sympathies to all her loved ones, all her family, and really, all her subjects many of whom love her.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, the <em><a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/world/queen-elizabeths-cause-of-death-may-never-be-released/news-story/47ceca6491d9ef44b1d9112061674cdb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Courier Mail</a></em> reported that medical experts said frailty and “geriatric syndrome” - a term describing a group of common health conditions older people experience that don’t fit in distinct disease categories - could have been contributors to her passing.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her symptoms reportedly met five of seven criteria used by Britain’s NHS to classify people as frail, including being over 85, having ongoing health conditions, requiring regular help, being forced to cancel activities and using a walking stick.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1630db36-7fff-3f8c-cae6-c2b858607b4b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">In the hours before her death, a statement from Buckingham Palace said doctors were “concerned” for the Queen’s health and that she was “comfortable” at Balmoral.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images / Lady Colin Campbell (YouTube)</em></p>

Caring

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Man who helped his father die finds out his fate

<p><strong><em>Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide which may be distressing to some readers</em></strong>.</p> <p>After a lengthy battle against aggressive bowel cancer, in May 2021, Colin Stratton decided he'd had enough.</p> <p>Just a few days shy of his 81st birthday, the loving man asked his family to do something for him.</p> <p>Colin, along with his late wife, had been long term supporters of the voluntary euthanasia bill and members of Dying with Dignity.</p> <p>On May 24th, Colin visited his GP and asked for a suicide pill in order to die on his own terms.</p> <p>When the doctor hold him the paperwork would take up to two weeks, he informed his GP he would simply take matters into his own hands.</p> <p>Impaired from extensive chemotherapy, Colin was unable to complete the task of ending his life by himself.</p> <p>Instead, he asked his 54-year-old son Glenn to help him. Glenn initially refused.</p> <p>“Don’t make me make a bloody mess of it, I can’t do it by myself,” Colin told the middle of his three children.</p> <p>Glenn and his father exchanged "I love yous", and Glenn completed one last task for his father.</p> <p>“The psychological pressure on you must have been enormous,” Victorian Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said in a renewed hearing on Wednesday.</p> <p>“You finally pulled the trigger spontaneously out of love and respect for his wishes,” she said.</p> <p>Glenn explained to the court that his father had always done everything he could for his family, and in return they would've done anything for him.</p> <p>His family are all supportive of his actions, as they saw the impact Colin's illness had on the last years of his life.</p> <p>“They also understand how important it was for him to be able to end his life on his own terms when the pain and burden of illness became too great for him,” Justice Hollingworth said.</p> <p>“They describe your actions in helping your father achieve his wish as loving, courageous and selfless.”</p> <p>Glenn Stratton was initially charged with murder after confessing his actions to police, and he spent 46 days behind bars, causing him to miss his father's funeral.</p> <p>Glenn pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his father's suicide, and Justice Hollingworth declared there would be no benefit to keeping him in jail.</p> <p>He was instead ordered to undergo mandatory counselling.</p> <p>Mr Stratton's family have said they hope voluntary euthanasia will become more widely available so other families don't have to go through the same thing.</p> <p><strong><em>If you or a member of your family need help in a crisis, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></strong></p> <p><em>Image credit: 7News</em></p>

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Colin Firth takes on Hitler in new spy movie

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After appearing as the fictional spy Galahd in the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kingsman</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> trilogy, Colin Firth </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/colin-firth-plots-to-trick-hitler-operation-mincemeat-trailer/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">is portraying</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a real-life spy in the new trailer for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Operation Mincemeat</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the grisly name, the movie is named after the real operation run by British intelligence officers during World War 2, where they attempted to thwart the Nazis by planting a dead body in enemy waters with a briefcase full of fake documents.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See the trailer here:</span></p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YQ7ZXOXHZ20" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Firth is set to play Ewen Montagu, the British naval intelligence officer who came up with the idea for Operation Mincemeat along with Matthew Macfadyen’s Charles Cholmondeley.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844679/mincemeat1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/2c9d93e8b1b5492c9927d09c869a96d5" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">British musician Johnny Flynn portrays author and intelligence officer Ian Fleming.</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alongside the scheming duo, the cast includes Penelope Wilton as Hester Leggest, Johnny Flynn as <em>James </em></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Bond</em> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">author and intelligence officer Ian Fleming, and Kelly Macdonald’s Jean Leslie.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844680/mincemeat2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/54cdfbaa95fb4ef7a57d71c0714e4eea" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kelly Macdonald as Jean Leslie, the MI5 clerk whose image was used in the operation.</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jason Isaac is set to play skeptical John Godfrey, while Winston Churchill will be portrayed by Simon Russell Beale.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">John Madden - the director behind </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shakespeare in Love</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> - is directing the all-star cast.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Operation Mincemeat </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">is </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.flicks.co.nz/movie/operation-mincemeat/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">due to be released</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in cinemas in early April of next year.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: @netflixfilm / Instagram</span></em></p>

Movies

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“They were here”: Dog the Bounty Hunter confirms new Laundrie lead

<p><span>Bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman has reportedly closed in Gabby Petito's missing fiancé Brian Laundrie, after </span>receiving a "confirmed" tip. </p> <p>After following the anonymous tip, Chapman believes he has discovered where Brian stayed with this parents after returning solo from the 'van life' trip. </p> <p><span>Chapman claims Laundrie’s parents stayed at a Florida campsite in a nature park twice in early September, which coincides with when Brian returned on September 1. </span></p> <p><span>Brian's parents told investigators they last saw him on September 14, three days after Gabby was reported missing.</span></p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“We had a very good lead come up today that he was down here in this park, not far away,” the <em>Dog the Bounty Hunter</em> star told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/brian-laundrie-manhunt-dog-bounty-hunter-tipster-laundries-park-september" target="_blank">Fox News</a>.</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“We checked our lead out. It is confirmed. The parents were down here two times."</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“It was September 1-3 and September 6-8. They registered to stay at this park."</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">Chapman continued his investigation at the park, and was able to "confirm" the tip-off. </p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“Allegedly, what we’re hearing, is ... three people came in on the 6th and two people left on the 8th," he said.</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“I think he’s been here, for sure."</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">“He was here, for sure. Not over in the swamp.”</p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">The "swamp" is in reference to Carlton Reserve, where police and FBI officials have spent 10 days looking for Brian. </p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">Chapman joined the search for Brian after the <a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/new-witnesses-in-gabby-petito-homicide-as-fbi-issue-warrant" target="_blank">FBI issued a warrant for his arrest</a> in association with Gabby Petito's disappearance. </p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020">Despite Chapman's findings, Brian's parents have denied any involvement in their son's disappearance. </p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><span>“The speculation by the public and some in the press that the parents assisted Brian in leaving the family home or in avoiding arrest on a warrant that was issued after Brian had already been missing for several days is just wrong,” Steven Bertolino, the family's lawyer, reportedly said in a statement.</span></p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><span>After ruling Gabby's cause of a death as homicide, police are on the lookout for Brian as he remains the number one person of interest, in correlation with a range of evidence from their 'van life' road trip. </span></p> <p class="css-1316j2p-StyledParagraph e4e0a020"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Instagram @gabspetito</em></p>

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Colin Fassnidge addresses his feud with Manu Feildel

<p>Colin Fassnidge has spilled on his past feuds with fellow celebrity chefs Manu Feildel and Miguel Maestre.</p> <p>On I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!, Fassnidge said he used to "fight everybody" as he tried to make a name for himself as a chef.</p> <p>“Me and Miguel didn’t get on, me and Manu didn’t get on,” he told camp mate Grant Denyer.</p> <p>“I don’t know. We just never stopped fighting.”</p> <p>Fassnidge revealed his feud with Feildel came to a head when he joined My Kitchen Rules in 2015.</p> <p>“When I did<span> </span><em>MKR</em>, they knew me and Manu didn’t get on because we’d had Twitter wars and all this sh*t,” he explained. “First day on set I was like, ‘oh f**k,’ it’s his baby, he’s the Daddy of the show.’ I walk on and they’re like, ‘This is the new guy,’ and he’s like, ‘f**k this.’”</p> <p>Fassnidge claimed Feildel immediately pulled an "alpha" move and said to him: “Well buddy, welcome to my home. If there’s anything you need, I’ll tell you how to do it.”</p> <p>But as the end of the season approached, Fassnidge decided to end the feud once and for all.</p> <p>“I just went into his dressing room and said, ‘Mate, I apologise for whatever.’ And he’s like, that’s it, buried it,” Fassnidge said. “Same with Miguel.”</p> <p>The three chefs have since become good friends.</p> <p>“All the wives hang out, the kids hang out … we’re like, ‘Why did we waste so long getting to know each other?’” Fassnidge said.</p>

News

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Why Colin Firth and wife Livia Giuggi have separated now

<p>Colin Firth and his estranged wife Livia Giuggioli have made the decision to separate after attempts to rebuild their marriage failed, according to a report from<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/movies/why-colin-firth-and-wife-split-2-years-after-her-affair-nothing-could-erase-her-betrayal/" target="_blank">People</a>.</em></p> <p>On December 13th, the pair revealed that they are separating after 22 years.</p> <p> “They maintain a close friendship and remain united in their love for their children,” a rep said in a statement.</p> <p>Those who were close to the couple weren’t surprised by this development when it came out that Livia, 50, had an extramarital relationship with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia when Firth and her were separated between 2015 and 2016.</p> <p>“Things never really came around for them [after that],” a film industry source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “No matter what was decided when they stayed together after her affair, nothing could erase that betrayal. It was time to move on, even though they had a solid family relationship and really wanted to save it.”</p> <p>The pair met on the 1996 BBC drama Nostromo, were married in 1997 and have two sons, Luca, 18 and Matteo, 16.</p> <p>“They love their sons and respect and care for each other, but it was just time,” says the source. “They want to protect their privacy and just move on.”</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see the couple in happier times.</p>

Relationships

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John Lennon murder: Killer’s strange act after shooting Beatles star

<p><span>Sunday marks the 39<sup>th</sup> anniversary of John Lennon’s death. </span></p> <p><span>The late Beatles legend was shot outside his Manhattan apartment in 1980 and died at the age of 40. His killer, Mark David Chapman was a 25-year-old former security guard with no prior criminal convictions.</span></p> <p><span>After planning the murder for months, Chapman came to the Dakota apartment building where Lennon and wife Yoko Ono lived on December 8, 1980 and waited. Chapman met the couple at 5pm as they were leaving for a studio session, and Lennon signed Chapman’s <em>Double Fantasy </em>album.</span></p> <p><span>Chapman then waited for Lennon to return from the studio. Lennon and Ono returned at 10.50pm, and as they passed by to enter the building, Chapman fired five shots at the Beatles singer, four of which hit him in the back and shoulder. Lennon was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital but later pronounced dead on arrival.</span></p> <p><span>When police came to arrest Chapman, he was still at the scene reading a copy of JD Salinger’s 1951 novel <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em>. “This is my statement”, Chapman’s handwriting in the book read.</span></p> <p><span>The novel tells the story of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield, who rallied against the “phoniness” of the adult world.</span></p> <p><span>“I’m sure the big part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil,” Chapman told the police.</span></p> <p><span>Two months later, Chapman sent a statement to the <em>New York Times</em>. He wrote in all caps: “It is my sincere belief that presenting this written statement will not only stimulate the reading of JD Salinger’s <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em> but will also help many to understand what has happened.</span></p> <p><span>“All of my efforts will now be devoted toward this goal, for this extraordinary book holds many answers. My true hope is that in wanting to find these answers you will read <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em>. Thank you.”</span></p> <p><span>The novel was also carried by killer Robert John Bardo on the night he murdered actress Rebecca Schaeffer.</span></p> <p><span>Apart from the book, Chapman’s crime was also said to be motivated by his displeasure with Lennon’s blasphemous public statements.</span></p> <p><span>Chapman said listening to <em>Imagine </em>weeks before the murder <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070927000251/http:/www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAsset&amp;id=73">enraged him</a>. “I would listen to this music and I would get angry at him, for saying that he didn’t believe in God,” he said. </span></p> <p><span>“I just wanted to scream out loud, 'Who does he think he is, saying these things about God and heaven and the Beatles?' Saying that he doesn’t believe in Jesus and things like that. At that point, my mind was going through a total blackness of anger and rage… So I brought the Lennon book home, into this <em>Catcher in the Rye</em> milieu where my mind set is Holden Caulfield and antiphony-ness. While contemplating this new Lennon, I really delved into the ink of Holden Caulfield.”</span></p>

Music

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A life in pictures: Colin Firth turns 59!

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">British actor Colin Firth is celebrating 59 laps around the sun today. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Firth is widely known for starring in blockbuster hits including </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Love Actually, The King’s Speech</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mamma Mia. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The charming Hollywood veteran reached a new high in his career in 2010 when he was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars. He didn’t take out the win then, but it wasn’t long before he deservedly claimed the trophy as his own in 2011 for </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The King’s Speech. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The film also went on to earn a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I have a feeling my career just peaked," he joked, as he accepted his incredible award back in 2011 and dedicated it to his mother, Shirley. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He thanked "all the people who have been rooting for me back home" and his wife Livia for "putting up with my fleeting delusions of royalty". </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I think I'm feeling not joy – but relief that it's over. That seems to be the default position. You could say I'm grateful – and relieved," he said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Colin Firth has been married to Livia Giuggioli since 1997 and he has three songs, Will, 28, Luca, 18, and Matteo, 16. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll through the gallery above to see Colin Firth's life in pictures. </span></p>

Art

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“She winds me up!” The unlikely feud between Delta Goodrem and this My Kitchen Rules judge

<p>When the words “celeb feud” come to mind, the names Colin Fassnidge and Delta Goodrem usually don’t.</p> <p>But in the most unlikely of scenarios, the<span> </span><em>My Kitchen Rules</em><span> </span>star has taken a dig at the singer.</p> <p>The Irish chef says while he’s a fan of<span> </span><em>The Voice</em>, Delta Goodrem “winds” him up.</p> <p>Sitting down with Jana Hocking on her podcast<span> </span><em>Sex Love Magic</em>, Colin recounted an incident that occurred at the Logies in 2018, when he had to pose with Delta.</p> <p>“They put me sitting in front of her at the Logies the last time and she’s behind me, and the photo of me with Delta … I was making a face,” he revealed.</p> <p>“My Missus said to me, ‘You realise you’re representing your company [sic]?’</p> <p>“I have no interest in Delta Goodrem!” he said, while adding: “I like<span> </span><em>The Voice,</em><span> </span>I think it’s a good show.”</p> <p>Delta has always attracted unwanted attention, especially after criticism surfaced over how she chooses to support her team on the show.</p> <p>The<span> </span><em>Born to Try</em><span> </span>singer told<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">The Daily Telegraph</a></em><span> </span>in 2017 about the backlash, saying it’s “all just water off a duck’s back, because the reality of what I get to live with is very different.”</p> <p>“I have only the intention of making people’s day better, and if someone has an intention that’s the opposite of that, then that’s their problem,” he said.</p>

News

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Why MKR judge Colin Fassnidge is outraged

<p><em>MKR</em> judge Colin Fassnidge is outraged with the closure of a Sydney pub that was once famed for the award-winning kitchen he operated, labelling the incident a “disgrace”.</p> <p>Fassnidge spend 10 years behind the grill plate at the Four In Hand at Paddington, but left the venue after it was purchased by Public House Management Group in 2015.</p> <p><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The Daily Telegraph reports</strong></em></span></a> the venue is back on the market for $6 million, and early indication suggest it will be redeveloped into residential property.</p> <p>The famously opinionated <em>My Kitchen Rules</em> judge said it took taken 10 years of his own “blood, sweat and tears” to turn the Four In Hand into the success.</p> <p>“I had a full restaurant and a full bar,” he said.</p> <p>“It took 10 years to build and they destroyed it in a year.”</p> <p>Fassnidge, who has opened other restaurants in the Harbour City including Surry Hill’s acclaimed 4 Fourteen, blamed poor management decisions for the closure.</p> <p>“I’m very passionate about it. I think a lot of people think it is a disgrace,” he said. “It was a Sydney icon before I got there and we had a duty to look after it. It was one of the last remaining real pubs for locals.</p> <p>“It wasn’t my choice to leave, I didn’t own the building.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The Daily Telegraph reports</strong></em></span></a> Fassnidge believes Public House Management Group turned the Four In Hand into a “generic pub with no soul and no love”.</p> <p>“Most of the publicans in Sydney are having a quiet little laugh, they’ve taken a Ferrari and turned it into a Morris Minor,” he said.</p> <p>What are your thoughts? Do you think more must be done to preserve historic venues? Or are we better off turning them into residential properties?</p>

News

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Colin Firth’s wife admits to affair with her alleged stalker

<p>Colin Firth’s wife Livia Giuggioli has admitted she had an affair with the man she is now accusing of stalking her.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/colin-firth-s-wife-livia-giuggioli-admits-affair-with-stalker-journalist-marco-brancaccia-0zh5cc566" target="_blank">Livia Giuggioli has accused an Italian journalist of harassing her</a></strong></span> with a campaign of “frightening” messages, The Times reports.</p> <p>The 48-year-old film producer, who married Firth, 57, in 1997, claims journalist Marco Brancaccia, 55, was stalking her.</p> <p>He denied the accusation telling the publication that she was lying to cover up their relationship which occurred between 2015 and 2016.</p> <p>In a statement, the couple confirmed Giuggioli’s past relationship with Brancaccia, explaining, “A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited.”</p> <p>The statement continued, “Subsequently, Mr. Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented. For obvious reasons, the Firths have never had any desire to make this matter public.”</p> <p>“The reporting this week on this case is understood to be the consequence of a leaked court document. This is greatly to be regretted,” the statement concluded.</p> <p>Brancaccia has denied the harassment claims, saying they were “romantically involved.”</p> <p>“She wanted to leave Colin for me,” he said, adding that the marriage had “been over for years.”</p> <p>“My ‘stalking’ consisted of two messages via WhatsApp after she ended our relationship in June 2016, and an email. I wrote an email to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage and work,” he said.</p> <p>Brancaccia said, “In a year she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos and videos, even a diary.”</p>

Movies

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“Mamma Mia!” sequel confirmed

<p> A <em>Mamma Mia!</em> sequel has been announced and it will hit cinemas next year in July.</p> <p>The 2008 original film followed the story of a struggling hotelier in the Greek islands who was planning her daughter Sophie’s wedding.</p> <p>Without her mother knowing, Sophie was preparing for wedding but inviting three men from her mother’s past in the hope of discovering who her father was so he could walk her down the aisle.</p> <p>The musical combined humour, emotion and ABBA for a film that was enjoyed by mothers and daughters around the world.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">IT'S OFFICIAL MAMMA MIA: HERE WE GO AGAIN in cinemas JULY 2018<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HereWeGoAgain?src=hash">#HereWeGoAgain</a></p> — MAMMA MIA! (@MammaMiaMusical) <a href="https://twitter.com/MammaMiaMusical/status/865840812432777217">May 20, 2017</a></blockquote> <p><em>Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again</em> will have Meryl Streep, Julie Walter, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Copper all returning to star in the film.</p> <p>The film will be set in the same location as the original, the Greek island of Kalokairi.</p> <p>The sequel will feature ABBA songs that didn’t feature in the original musical.</p> <p>English film director, Oliver Parker, is writing and directing this anticipated sequel. Parker was in charge of the screenplay for the 2011 film <em>The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel</em> and its 2015 sequel.</p> <p><em>Mamma Mia!</em> was released in cinemas in July 2008 and it made more than $600 million (USD) at the box office.</p> <p>Until this year’s <em>Beauty and The Beast</em> was released, it held the record for the biggest musical ever made.</p>

Movies

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What REALLY happens on board cruise ships

<p>Cathryn Chapman new novel <em>Sex, Lies and Cruising</em> reveals a very different side to cruising. Although the book is fictional, Chapman, who had two stints working on cruise ships, says that at least 50 per cent of the work is based on what she saw when working on cruise ships in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and on the Mexican Riviera.</p><p>“I borrowed from real life here and there and made the rest up,” she told Traveller.</p><p>“Maybe half of it was inspired by things that I actually witnessed or experienced. Then again the things that are made up aren't beyond the realms of possibility. I also interviewed a few ex-colleagues and got them to tell me their crazy stories, so some of them made it in there as well.”</p><p>So what scandalous secrets has Chapman’s book uncovered?</p><p>Well, Chapman herself was shocked to find out the officer she was seeing on board the ship was also seeing nine other women at the same time.</p><p>“He had 10 women on board,” she said. “And he used to page them to fit into his schedule. When I found out he had 10, I said now you have nine.”</p><p>She added, “Although I naively got into those situations without realising up front, as soon as I found out, I was out. But other people didn't feel that way because they accept they have a ship wife or ship husband.”</p><p>Chapman revealed that the level of cheating on the boat is rife.</p><p>"People cheat on their partners at home," she said. "People cheat on their partners on the ship. People cheat when their partner on the ship has gone home for vacation. I was surprised at the level people would stoop too."</p><p>And the officers were often the first offenders.</p><p>"Some of the higher ranked officers who have long contracts, and earn the big bucks, they'd have their shipboard girlfriend and she would live in his cabin and then the night before his wife comes onboard to visit she moves all her stuff out. The night the wife goes home the girlfriend moves back into the cabin again. I used to think what is wrong with you. Why can't you find someone who doesn't have a wife,” she said.</p>

Cruising

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