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A football-loving comedian has said the last few days have been a “rollercoaster ride” after a video of him performing a slow-motion goal celebration went viral.

Karl Porter shared a clip of the celebration, which came complete with an imaginary knee-slide, on his Instagram page earlier this week.

The video has attracted nearly 3.7 million likes in four days, with the official account for the Premier League replying to say the performance was “superb!”.

The celebration also went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, with hundreds of thousands of users liking various posts which shared the clip.

Some said it was “genius” while others called it “perfection”.

Speaking about the reaction to the video, Mr Porter told Sky News: “It’s just been overwhelming, just in terms of the reaction.

“I just didn’t expect it to blow up as much as it did. It’s really hard to get my head around. Hard to take in.”

The 30-year-old, who has been a lifelong fan of Liverpool FC, said he would often mimic goal celebrations when he was a boy.

He grew up watching the likes of Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.

However, his viral celebration is not based on any particular player.

Porter, who lives in Manchester, continued: “It’s something I have been doing since I was kid, just watching goal celebrations and trying to perfect them.

“I wanted to try it out on stage because it’s something different. I see humour in celebrations, with it being so physical, the facial expressions and everything that goes with it.

“It just felt right to do it on stage.”

Porter has also posted a message on his Instagram account thanking those who liked the video.

He said the reaction has been “truly overwhelming” and the last four days have been a “rollercoaster ride”.

Mr Porter has been doing the routine for around six months – with his performance that went viral taking place at the Up The Creek comedy club in Greenwich, London.

In the footage, the stand-up comedian tells the audience he can “do a goal celebration in slow-motion” before asking: “Do you want to see that?”

The crowd replies “yes!”

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Porter then composes himself before pretending to fix his gaze on an incoming football as he jumps into the air to head it into an imaginary goal.

The audience is already in hysterics with one heard saying: “That’s f****** class.”

Mr Porter then smiles like a striker who has just scored the winning goal before running towards imaginary fans.

His slows nods of head as he mouthed an expletive were a familiar site for the millions of football fans who tune in to watch the Premier League every weekend.

Porter ends the celebration by doing the sign of the cross on his chest before looking up to God.

Professional footballer Mats Hummels, who plays for the German national team and Borussia Dortmund, tweeted: “That is just perfection. Incredible performance.”

Another X user wrote: “I’ve watched this 400 times.”

Damascus, another use of the social media platform, posted: “I swear I’ve seen this a thousand times already and it keeps getting funnier. How is he so good at this?”

Another user wrote: “Take a bow, son. This is genius.”

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Paul Gallagher, older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, is charged with offences including rape

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Paul Gallagher, older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, is charged with offences including rape

Paul Gallagher, the older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, has been charged with multiple offences including rape.

The Metropolitan Police said Gallagher, 59, of East Finchley, north London, has been charged with rape, coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of making a threat to kill and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The offences are reported to have taken place between 2022 and 2024. The charges follow an investigation which began last year, the force added in a statement.

A woman is being supported by specially-trained officers, the statement continued.

Paul Gallagher, who is about one year older than Noel and seven years older than Liam, has never been involved in Oasis.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 August.

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Gregg Wallace speaks out after MasterChef sacking

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Gregg Wallace speaks out after MasterChef sacking

Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.

Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated.

In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.

“I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I am a wrong ‘un.”

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BBC reputation damaged by ‘serious errors’

MasterChef co-host John Torode also had an allegation that he used an “extremely offensive racist term” upheld, as part of the same investigation.

Torode, who insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident, has not had his contract for the show renewed.

Wallace has now defended Torode, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.

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“There is no way that man is a ­racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”

Former MasterChef presenters John Torode and Gregg Wallace. File pic: PA
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Gregg Wallace has defended his former MasterChef co-host John Torode (left). File pic: PA

At one point, Wallace became tearful during the interview when describing the impact of the investigation on his family.

“I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.”

In respect to the specific allegation of unwanted touching, Wallace denied groping a woman and said that, while he was attempting to flirt with her, he did believe the contact it was consensual.

“She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl’s bum,” he said.

He also accepted he had briefly appeared with a sock on his private parts in front of four colleagues in MasterChef studio. But he said his is not a flasher, and people were either “amused or bemused” but not distressed.

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On the broader allegations about using inappropriate language, Wallace accepted the criticism and suggested that some of his conduct could be explained by his autism and his background.

“I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a… registered disability. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

He also blamed his former career: “I’m a greengrocer from Peckham. I thrived in Covent Garden’s fruit and veg market. In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour.”

Wallace told the newspaper he is now scared to appear in public: “I go out now in a disguise – a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don’t want people to see me. I’m scared.”

On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed a series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will still be broadcast.

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Company at heart of Coldplay viral video releases tongue-in-cheek clip – with a big twist

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Company at heart of Coldplay viral video releases tongue-in-cheek clip - with a big twist

The company at the centre of a viral video at a Coldplay concert has released a tongue-in-cheek clip on social media – featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson”.

Astronomer was thrust into the spotlight after two of the tech firm’s senior executives were filmed embracing on a kiss cam during a gig in Boston.

Andy Byron subsequently resigned as chief executive officer – while the woman in the video, Kristin Cabot, stepped down as chief people officer a few days later.

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Tech boss resigns after viral Coldplay concert video

Paltrow, who used to be married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, is seen sitting at a desk in the new video uploaded to X – and begins by thanking the public for their interest in Astronomer.

She adds: “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.

“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days – and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.”

A question is then typed out on the screen that reads: “OMG, what the actual…”

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Before the final word appears, the video cuts back to Paltrow, who goes on to promote some of the services Astronomer offers.

In a subtle nod to the countless column inches the company has attracted, Paltrow adds: “We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.”

Another question then pops up on screen, which begins to type out: “How is your social media team holding up?”

But before the sentence fully appears, Paltrow abruptly interrupts by declaring that Astronomer has spaces at an upcoming conference in September.

Astronomer

“We’ll now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,” she adds at the end of the video.

The marketing stunt is a sign that Astronomer is trying to put a positive spin on the scandal, which sparked feverish speculation online.

After Mr Byron resigned, the company had said in a statement: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.

“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

Woman hides her face

Pete DeJoy, who has taken over as interim CEO, admitted on Monday that the company has faced an “unusual and surreal” amount of attention in recent days.

On LinkedIn, he wrote: “While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.”

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