First Dates star Merlin Griffiths on filming, Fred and battling bowel cancer

Published

2 years ago

September 28, 2022

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He’s known as the sparkling mixologist, knocking up cocktails at moment’s notice and putting nervous singletons at their ease as they embark on a first date in front of the TV cameras.

But few viewers of Channel 4’s First Dates would have been aware when watching Merlin Griffiths in the latest series of the show, that he was undergoing chemotherapy while filming.

Diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer last year, Griffiths, who had an operation to remove a tumour in April, told Sky News: “The last time we were we were working in the First Dates restaurant, I was undergoing chemotherapy and the team were fantastically accommodating.

“Tiredness was one of the really big side effects, I was getting a lot of fatigue. So, there was an allowance made so I could step away from the bar at regular points and have a small bite and get some rest in between seeing our beautiful daters.

“Likewise, as soon as we finished, I was straight off into the intravenous part of chemo … And that would really hammer me around. But that was ok because we had a break in running the restaurant at that point and then a few days later it was back in, and you’re ready to go again.”

Despite the demanding nature of TV schedules, Griffiths insists he’s nothing special in working through his illness, saying: “People manage full family lives, you know, several children, childcare and work and still go for chemo and everything else. You find ways of making it work because what else are you going to do? You’re trying to live.”

The fourth most common cancer in the UK, one in 15 men and one in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime.

But, while bowel cancer is the nation’s second biggest cancer killer, it’s very treatable when it is caught early.

Stars like Griffiths and the late Dame Deborah James have played a large part in bringing bowel cancer into the public consciousness.

But keeping the illness under wraps is an instinct Griffiths understands: “Initially I wanted to just keep it completely to myself and my immediate family… just to get my head around it… But then it was a case of, huge bits of my life are going to change and somebody might notice. Friends are going to go, ‘Why aren’t you coming out?’

“So, I just thought, you know what? After a conversation with my family, I might as well do something constructive with all this… I think it’s important to use this for good.”

Now in its nineteenth series, Griffiths has been part of the First Dates since it first aired in 2013.

Using his TV familiarity as a platform, he’s been frank about both his illness its treatments, the reality of which he’s described in social media posts as “long, and often painful and ugly”.

Unstoppably upbeat, he can’t resist joking about some of the less dignified treatments, saying: “My first thoughts on colonoscopy was that if I’d been kidnapped by aliens, at least they’d have the good manners to wipe my memory! But no, in reality it wasn’t actually that bad. And that’s why we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it.”

He knows it’s not an easy subject to broach: “The tendency is to shy away from a lot of these things, especially because they’re sort of like embarrassing and stuff we don’t genuinely talk about”.

He even admits he initially put off seeking treatment himself: “It’s very easy for us to push stuff to the side, isn’t it? You can rationalise it and you justify it. I rationalised it myself.

“I was late to get checked in all fairness, and I should have made investigations sooner. I’m under 50, so I don’t come into the routine screening. So, the onus is on me as the patient to look after myself.”

His symptoms started with pain in his abdomen and radical changes to his bowel movements.

Other symptoms can include bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo, unexplained weight loss and extreme tiredness for no obvious reason.

The NHS offers bowel cancer screenings to all adults aged 50 and over in Scotland, and that will soon be rolled out across England and Wales too (currently in parts of England and Wales people are not offered screenings until they are 60). Those in Northern Ireland are offered screenings from 60. Screenings are then offered every two years until the age of 75.

But Griffiths says searching symptoms randomly online can be unhelpful, labelling “medical Google” as “an absolute hellhole”. He says websites including the main charity pages including Bowel Cancer UK and the NHS have been invaluable to him on his cancer journey.

And he says he couldn’t have got through it all without the help of his family – his wife and daughter – and of course his First Dates family too.

“They’ve been absolutely awesome. I speak to Fred regularly and I chat with Cici [Coleman] regularly. They’ve both been really good and it’s been lovely to have their support. I chat with people that work behind the scenes on the show on a regular basis as well.”

Plus, he says the French maître d’hôtel Fred Sirieix who leads the team is as nice as he seems on camera.

“Fred’s Hilarious. He’s a live one… What you see is what you get with Fred. And it’s a wonderfully refreshing thing to find in someone. He’s cheery, he’s happy, he’s honest and he’s overwhelmingly positive about just about everything.”

Away from his gruelling treatments, Griffiths has at least had a little luxury travel to enjoy, albeit on a work trip for yet more filming.

Testament to the success of First Dates, its spinoff series – First Dates Hotel – is filmed in the four-star Aquapetra Resort and Spa in Campania southern Italy. The show is currently in its seventh series.

As Channel 4’s longest running dating show, First Dates has been matching singletons for nearly 10 years and has at least five weddings and three babies to its name. So, what’s the secret of its success?

Griffiths says it’s all down human nature – and a bit of forward planning: “Love is eternal, isn’t it? It’s not going anywhere. And people have infinite variety… When you put those two things together – a timeless emotion and a timeless base need – with the wonderful variety of people, it’s a recipe for success, especially when you actively look to make it happen.

“A lot of work goes into to matchmaking our daters as well, and that for me is one of the key things behind it. There’s a genuine desire from everyone who works at the restaurant to make it work, and that’s important.”

First Dates Hotel airs on Tuesday evenings on Channel 4.

Stay on Track is a campaign with Merlin Griffiths and Matt Dawson, in partnership with Norgine and Bowel Cancer UK, which aims to raise awareness of bowel cancer and the importance of screening, testing and early diagnosis. For more information: www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk

Entertainment

Christmas adverts – the 10 most-anticipated ads as the festive battle for customers commences

Published

6 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Christmas adverts - the 10 most-anticipated ads as the festive battle for customers commences

With just under six weeks to go to Christmas Day, the countdown has officially begun, with all the big brands rolling out their seasonal adverts.

Becoming something of an institution over recent years, many see the festive ads as the starting pistol for their Christmas preparation/panic, despite us only being halfway through November.

And with an estimated £10.5bn spent on this year’s Xmas ads, it’s not just about inducing a fuzzy warm feeling in viewers, but also about encouraging them to put their hand in their pocket.

As we brace ourselves for festive fun, we take a swift look at this year’s bevvy of commercial offerings, as the annual battle of the Christmas adverts begins.

John Lewis

A girl called Sally falls into a clothes rack reminiscent of CS Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, but instead of finding Narnia, she ends up in John Lewis.

Through family flashbacks we lean how much she loves her older sister, whose gift she has carelessly left it to the last minute to buy. Spoiler alert – as one would expect in an advert for a retailer, she finds a pressie.

With the retailer famous for its use of cover versions in their Christmas ads, this one is the origin story for a new cover, with a concurrent competition on TikTok to find an aspiring artist to rerecord a version, which will be featured on the Christmas Day airing and released by record label BMG too.

Waitrose

Marketed as a whodunnit – this big-budget production has a host of celebrity cameos, an intricate storyline and not one but two parts.

Comedian Joe Wilkinson, Fleabag star Sian Clifford and Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen all have a role in the ensemble, revolving around hunting down the thief of a “chilled desert”.

Being Christmas, when tensions are traditionally high, everyone has reason to have scoffed it. The culprit won’t be revealed until the second part of the ad is released, but in the meantime, activity at Kings Cross Station, in stores and on social media is set to keep the investigation very much alive.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s goes big for its advert, calling on a beloved Roald Dahl character – the BFG, or Big Friendly Giant – to travel the country with a supermarket worker called Sophie (who pleasingly is a real store employee) in the search for the perfect festive treats.

A CGI BFG procures salmon, sprouts and cheese before a bit of magic helps him whip it all up into a feast, which he then gifts to an unsuspecting family through the window.

The first ones to release their ad earlier this month, the dulcet tones of national treasure Stephen Fry wrap the action, with a call to arms to stock up in readiness for Christmas.

M&S

Another national treasure – Dawn French – is back for this one, playing both herself and a festive fairy, who gives both French and her home a make-over ready for a Christmas soiree.

French, whose multi-Christmas-dinner eating antics on The Vicar Of Dibley put her into the Xmas annals, is transformed into “the quintessential hostess” with a bit of help from her little friend.

Banking on the idea that you can never have enough of a good thing, there are six instalments of the advert running between now and the New Year. Who doesn’t like a second – or sixth – helping.

Lidl

This one pulls on the heartstrings, with a little girl inspired to give a gift to a boy who appears not to have any, after an old lady gives her some magic bells.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper (he directed The King’s Speech), a CGI racoon and giant gingerbread man add a little action to events around the dinner table.

But the take home message is to think about giving as well as receiving, with the return of the retailer’s toy banks scheme set up at supermarkets with the aim of donating over 100,000 toys, to ensure no child experiences a giftless Christmas.

Aldi

Kevin the Carrot is back for a ninth year running, this time trying to save the Christmas spirit from a bunch of hard-boiled humbug villains.

With the ad narrated by actor Jim Broadbent, our plucky hero braves an oven, a Mission Impossible-inspired ventilation system and Bond-esque snow jet-ski dash across the mountains, all to save Christmas.

Helped by his wife Katie, he of course pulls it off. A fan favourite, soft toys of the root vegetable are sold in stores, and this year cuddly humbugs are on sale too.

Morrisons

It’s a song and dance number from Morrisons, courtesy of their singing oven gloves performing Bugsy Malone’s You Give A Little Love.

A choir of 26 Morrisons employees gave voice to the gloves, recording their rendition of the song at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London.

Like Lidl, the retailer pulled out the directing big guns, hiring The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey to oversee proceedings.

Asda

Bagging the prize for the most gnome puns in one advert, Asda sees a flash mob of gnomes preparing the store for Christmas.

The resulting advert isn’t as irritating as it sounds on paper, thanks to nice performances by the two human characters in the ad – Maggie and Bill.

And as we know, Christmas is all about the merchandise, so the supermarkets are of course selling special Xmas versions of their garden gnomes to accompany their already 50-strong gnome range. Who knew?

Tesco

Tesco reminds us of those members of the family who are no longer here to join us on the big day, with a man carrying on his late grandmother’s festive tradition of baking gingerbread.

He becomes obsessed with the spicy treat, as it infiltrates every part of his day from his haircut to a trip to see the Christmas lights.

He eventually gets together with his grandad to bake a gingerbread house, revealing it to the family at lunch, thus keeping the tradition alive.

Greggs

And in the most unlikely festive cameo of the year, Greggs has enlisted Nigella Lawson to star in its first Christmas ad.

Rapturously endorsing their festive bakes, Lawson has her hands full of pasties, and her table full of take-away coffees, as she promotes the bakery’s festive-themed fare.

Whether or not you believe the 64-year-old TV chef really tucks into their sausage rolls in real life – the attention-grabbing collaboration looks like a wise move for the chain, whose sales have jumped in recent weeks as it continues its UK expansion.

Entertainment

Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is ‘absolutely, wildly overwhelming’

Published

1 day ago

November 13, 2024

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Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is 'absolutely, wildly overwhelming'

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has said bringing Sir Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel to the big screen has been a “wildly… overwhelming” experience.

The star was speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at the film’s royal premiere which was attended by His Majesty the King, who had earlier hosted members of the film and TV industry at a Buckingham Palace reception.

When asked about making the move from indie films, like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, into one of the most eagerly anticipated films this year, Mescal said: “I’m excited to play with what the audience is expecting of me.”

“The royal audience is one thing… I think we’ve seen how an audience responded to the film, royal or not, and I think we’re excited for people to see it.”

A whole 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman blockbuster starring Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius who, much like the original, finds himself trying to win back his freedom after powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.

With an actual-scale model of the Colosseum built for the production, the film comes with high costs and a lot of hype.

“I’m struggling with words at the moment,” Mescal admitted, taking in the occasion, having come from the champagne reception at Buckingham Palace.

“This has been an absolutely, wildly – I keep using the word overwhelming – but I think if this isn’t slightly overwhelming then I don’t know what the hell is. I’m having a great time.”

Sir Ridley explained his reason for casting Mescal was that he saw aspects of “a young Albert Finney” in him.

While the pressure is on for the sequel to do well at the box office, the director said he’s learnt how to deal with the weight of expectations over the years.

“Any film of [this] scale, it doesn’t matter how we play it down, it’s colossally stressful. You better embrace stress or don’t do the job.”

Before heading to the premiere, the King welcomed directors, actors, TV presenters, stunt performers and costume designers at the palace to mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles has become patron.

Sir Ridley, actor Joseph Fiennes, actress India Amarteifio from the hit Netflix show Queen Charlotte, and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended the event.

Gladiator II is in cinemas on 15 November.

Entertainment

Actor Timothy West has died, aged 90

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2024

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Actor Timothy West has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90, “with his friends and family at the end”.

He was known for many roles in television and the theatre, including popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.

Husband to 92-year-old Prunella Scales – who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.

His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West, said in a statement issued by his agent: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.

“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.

“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”

He was the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com.

In his career, he played Winston Churchill three times, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).

West was also nominated for best actor in the 1976 BAFTAs for his part as Edward VII in the historical drama.

Four years later, he was nominated in the same category for a number of roles, including as best actor in Crime And Punishment.

After a small part as Eric Babbage in Coronation Street in 2013, West appeared in 2014 for the first time as Stan Carter in EastEnders.

He also held other popular TV roles, such as in BBC comedy-drama Last Tango In Halifax.

In the long-running BBC comedy, Not Going Out, he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.

In comedy-drama Brass, he was the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre, playing the role from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990.

In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army.

He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.