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Adam Scott is a familiar face on our screens nowadays.

He has an ever-growing filmography but is perhaps best known on this side of the Atlantic for his role as Ben Wyatt in sitcom Parks And Recreation, Derek Huff in smutty comedy Step Brothers and more recently, Mark S in the Apple TV+ thriller Severance.

But in the US it is cult sitcom Party Down where he made his debut as a comedic lead back in the late noughties – a show about struggling actors trying to make ends meet by working at a Hollywood catering agency, with a cast boasting the likes of his Parks And Rec co-star Megan Mullally, Glee’s Jane Lynch, and Spider-Man’s Martin Starr.

It ran for just two seasons in 2009 and 2010, and was ultimately cancelled by US network Starz for low viewership (only 13,000 people watched the season finale, Scott pointed out) – with some speculating the loss of Scott to Parks And Rec on NBC was also a key driver for the decision.

But the show has been resurrected 13 years after its cancellation, with almost the full cast returning – despite their incredibly busy schedules.

“We couldn’t believe we were actually there,” Scott told Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News, in his only UK interview.

“We would look at each other every day and just marvel at the fact that we were actually finally doing it.

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“One thing that I realised when we’re making the first episode, when I looked at the group, the entire Party Down cast, was how much I had missed them, obviously, but also how much I had missed these characters.

“I’d been around the people, but not them playing these characters for 13 years, and I just really missed them, and it was so much fun to see them back in action.”

The cast of Party Down. Pic: Lionsgate+
Image:
The cast of Party Down. Pic: Lionsgate+

Scott’s career took off – unlike that of his character

Scott plays Henry Pollard, who in the original series was a failed actor, only largely known for a beer commercial he had done in the years prior, and was working for Party Down to make a living.

Now, Henry is a teacher – but still working at Party Down for some extra cash, despite his stable job.

Scott admitted to Backstage he was facing similar fortunes to his character back in 2009.

“Most of us just had nothing but time on our hands and related directly to these characters, a group of people who are trying to make it in Hollywood, and success has kind of always been just a little out of reach.

“Any life in show business is tough and we were all in the middle of it.”

Fortunately for Scott, his real-life luck did turn, and he works on some of the biggest shows and films in the world – but he said despite being booked and busy now, the character still felt comfortable.

“Henry still isn’t the most settled person in the world – but he’s also older, wiser and more comfortable with himself, which I think is something that comes with age and being in your forties.”

Megan Mullaly and Jane Lynch in Party Down. Pic: Lionsgate+
Image:
Megan Mullally and Jane Lynch in Party Down. Pic: Lionsgate+

But what would Scott be doing if his luck didn’t change?

“Man, I don’t know. I just don’t have any backup skills,” he admitted.

“Occupations I’ve had romantic notions about over the years are like a political journalist or a music journalist.

“Writing about music I would love to do – when I was a teenager, I thought I could do that.

“But being a political journalist and like being on the road with a campaign, it was something that I always wanted to do. But I’m not saying I have any skill in that area.”

Sky political correspondent Adam Scott has a ring to it don’t you think?

Party Down is streaming on Lionsgate+ – hear our review on this week’s Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News.

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Lauren Laverne given ‘all clear’ following cancer diagnosis

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Lauren Laverne given 'all clear' following cancer diagnosis

BBC presenter Lauren Laverne has said she has been given the “all clear” after being diagnosed with cancer.

The 46-year-old said in a post on social media that she will return to work next week on The One Show and has been working on new episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

She said she is set to also return to her 6 Music show in the new year.

Laverne announced she was undergoing cancer treatment back in August after a screening test caught the disease “early and unexpectedly”.

She has not specified what type of cancer she had.

Thanking medical staff, friends and all those who sent her get well wishes, Laverne said on Sunday she would most like to thank her husband Graeme and her two children, who she said have been “absolutely extraordinary throughout”.

“It’s been a difficult time but one that has taught me so much about what really matters,” she wrote.

“I can’t say I suddenly regretted never having hiked the Inca Trail, more that I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really.”

A new episode of Desert Island Discs is due to air on 1 December, and will be a pre-recorded interview with comedian Mark Steel that is believed to have been done by Laverne before she went on leave.

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She will return to record more episodes as well as Christmas editions of the series over the next few weeks.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lauren back to the studio this month for The One Show and Desert Island Discs, with new episodes airing on Radio 4 from 1 December, and we look forward to welcoming Lauren back to BBC Radio 6 Music in the new year.”

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‘Love you bro’: Zayn Malik’s tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate’s death

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'Love you bro': Zayn Malik's tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate's death

Zayn Malik paid tribute to former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne as he kicked off his solo tour.

Payne died last month of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, according to a post-mortem.

Images from Leeds’s O2 Academy on Saturday showed Malik – who delayed his Stairway To The Sky tour due to Payne’s funeral on Wednesday – shared a tribute.

A message was displayed with a heart on a large blue screen behind the singer reading: “Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro.”

The 31-year-old also previously postponed the US leg of the tour after the “heartbreaking loss”.

He later rescheduled the Edinburgh shows, which had been planned for 20 and 21 November, to December due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Following Payne’s death, Malik said he “never got to thank” him for his support during some of the “most difficult” times.

“I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever,” he said in a post on Instagram.

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Malik rose to fame in 2010 when Simon Cowell teamed him up with Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan on talent show The X Factor.

Malik left the band in 2015 and all members went on to pursue their own solo careers.

An investigation has been launched into Payne’s death by prosecutors and three people have been charged in connection with the incident.

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Kanye West accused of sexual assault on set of music video in new lawsuit

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Kanye West accused of sexual assault on set of music video in new lawsuit

Rapper Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that alleges he strangled a model on the set of a music video.

Warning: This story contains details that readers may find distressing

The lawsuit alleges the musician shoved his fingers in the claimant’s mouth at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in 2010, in what it refers to as “pornographic gagging”, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.

The model who brought the case – which was filed on Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York – was a background actor for another musician’s music video that Ye was guest-starring in, NBC said, citing the lawsuit.

She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the 47-year-old.

A representative for Ye was approached for comment by NBC News on Saturday.

The New York City Police Department said it took “sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors”.

The lawsuit alleges that a few hours into the shoot, the rapper arrived on set, took over control and ordered “female background actors/models, including the claimant, to line up in the hallway”.

The rapper is then believed to have “evaluated their appearances, pointed to two of the women, and then commanded them to follow him”.

The lawsuit adds the claimant, who was said to be wearing “revealing lingerie”, was uncomfortable but went with Ye to a suite which had a sofa and a camera.

When in the room, Ye is said to have ordered the production team to start playing the music, to which he did not know his lyrics and instead rambled, “rawr, rawr, rawr”.

The lawsuit claims: “Defendant West then pulled two chairs near the camera, positioned them across from each other, and instructed the claimant to sit in the chair in front of the camera.”

While stood over the model, the lawsuit clams Ye strangled her with both hands, according to NBC.

It claims he went on to “emulate forced oral sex” with his hands, with the rapper allegedly screaming: “This is art. This is f****** art. I am like Picasso.”

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Universal Music Group is also named in the lawsuit as a defendant and is accused of failing to investigate the incident.

The corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment by NBC.

Jesse S Weinstein, a lawyer representing the claimant, said the woman “displayed great courage to speak out against some of the most powerful men and entities within the entertainment industry”.

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