Rhod Gilbert prepares his ‘darkest ever’ live tour following cancer treatment, as Morocco Trek put on hold
Rhod Gilbert says his new show, which he’s planning to tour next year, will be “the darkest” he’s ever done, following treatment for cancer.
The 54-year-old Welsh stand up was diagnosed with stage four head and neck cancer last year, and has since undergone surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Now back on our screens for season five of Growing Pains, he tells Sky News: “I’m feeling pretty good. I’m bouncing back and very happy to be working again.”
Gilbert would have been heading out to Morocco any day now, to trek up Mount Toubka – the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains – as part of a charity hike he’s led since 2013 and the first since his cancer diagnosis, raising money for Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, Wales.
Now earthquakes in the country – estimated to have killed nearly 3,000 – have clearly altered plans, but Gilbert says if it’s possible to go, he will still go: “We’ve got people on the ground assessing the situation. And I guess if we can go, we probably should because we’ll be employing local people and putting money into our local economy and we may be able to help. The primary concern is obviously for the for the people there.”
The star has already completed five previous treks for the cancer centre, raising over £1.8m, and had been their patron for a decade before joining them as a patient – a situation he describes as “odd”.
Clearly, with a tour, a trek and new TV show all on the go, Gilbert’s a busy man.
Opening up about next year’s tour, he says: “It’s going to be pretty dark, but from what I’ve done so far – I’ve done a few little works in progress in Edinburgh and things – I’m really happy with the way it’s coming along.
“While it’s the darkest stuff I’ve ever done, clearly, after what I’ve been through, I think for me it’s up there with the funniest. It’s certainly making me laugh. And it seems so far to be working.”
Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff. Pic: Rhod Gilbert/Facebook
As to whether the funny man ever fears being cancelled, as culture wars rage and some claim fear of causing offence is killing comedy, Gilbert says he isn’t worried.
‘I’m just laughing at my own life’
“In the past, I was talking about things like electric toothbrushes, duvets, lost luggage, mince pies. If anybody’s ever cancelled about those things, I’d be interested to hear. But I doubt it.
“Now, in my last show the Book of John and this next one, I’m talking about me and my experiences and you know, my mum’s Alzheimer’s, my stroke, my infertility, my struggle to have kids, my cancer. So, I’m talking about my stuff, my experiences, so, no I don’t give it any thought whatsoever.
“While I’m talking about stuff that is big controversial subjects, I guess I’m talking about my experiences, and I think people are fine with that.”
He adds: “I never seek to try and get headlines with it or be especially edgy with it, I’m just laughing at my own life.”
Having used his platform to help break the silence around health issues in the past, he admits it’s not always easy joking about cancer.
“[My show’s] on a whole new topic that is a really tricky thing to navigate, you know, And that’s a real challenge and really exciting…
“It has the potential to move people more, it has as a potential to have a bigger impact on people, I think, than toothbrushes, duvets and stuff.”
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Away from the tricky topics his next live show, Gilbert has some more light-hearted fare in his latest TV show, Growing Pains, featuring a host of fellow celebrities opening up about their cringingly embarrassing teenage years.
The ex-girlfriend he owes everything to
Gilbert himself had suffered crippling shyness throughout his childhood and teens, lasting into adulthood – despite his attention-grabbing choice of career.
He explains: “I was terribly shy, you know, I’d never been on stage, until I was in my thirties. I did one school play where the only reason the drama person made me do it was to try and get me out of my shell, to try and push me to be less shy and less self-conscious. It didn’t really work, and I didn’t enjoy it.”
So, what happened between his unsuccessful performance of Oh What A Lovely War and becoming one of the country’s best loved stand ups?
It turns out it was an ex-girlfriend who changed his life.
“I had a girlfriend who just thought I could do it and just kept on at me and just kept encouraging, kept nagging, whatever way you want to say it for about eight years, she kept on at me and in the end, I went, ‘Alright, I’ll give it a go’.
“But by that point I suppose I’d been a director of a market research company. I was used to standing up in front of people and presenting. I was probably a bit less shy than I had been in my teens and twenties, certainly. But university was a write-off, you know, an absolute social anxiety, shyness right-off. I barely left my room.”
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The ex in question was Bryony Katherine Worthington – now Baroness Worthington – a British environmental campaigner and life peer in the House of Lords.
“I owe her everything… without her, I would never, ever, ever in a million years entertain the idea of doing this. It wasn’t in my head one jot.”
Made a peer for her lead role in drafting the UK’s 2008 Climate Change Act, Baroness Worthington is clearly a woman with many strings to her bow – she was also the first woman to breastfeed in the House of Lords.
Gilbert jokingly adds: “I think she makes a significant difference to my life, but then in their work on the environment has probably made a significant difference to more.”
Dermot O’Leary
On Dermot O’Leary’s potty mouth: ‘I nearly fell off my chair’
Guest appearances on Growing Pains include comedian Greg Davies (Gilbert says the Taskmaster star “used to chase [his sister] around a field on a on a moped with a cricket bat”); Presenter Dermot O’Leary (Gilbert says: “He swore in the studio, and I almost fell off my chair. I was like, ‘Dermot O’Leary, what!'”); and pop star Sophie Ellis Bextor (Gilbert admits to being jealous of her teen years: “The reason her life’s embarrassing is because it’s so bloody cool”).
As for what lies in store for Gilbert – who seems to be somewhat of a workaholic – he says: “I don’t have a goal, I don’t have a five-year plan. I don’t have a bucket list of professional things I want to do. But I’m still really enjoying what I do and evolving, I think, and, you know, pushing it into different areas, which is nice.”
And looking back, he’s pretty happy with what he’s achieved so far: “There’s nothing that I think, ‘Well I must correct that record and go back and, and successfully do that thing I didn’t successfully do’. What I’m really enjoying about my career at the moment is that it’s always changing.
“I guess [I need to] keep evolving, keep it changing, and keep surprising myself and keep enjoying what I do.”
And despite being unable to stop working for long, he’s hoping to take brief break in the sun – after he’s attended an obligatory end-of-summer wedding.
Still in touch with all his old schoolfriends, Gilbert is travelling back to Wales from his holiday in the South of France just to go to a pal’s wedding. Admitting they’ve been together “a long time,” but are only now tying the knot he jokes: “They’ve waited 30 years until I was on holiday, I do begrudge them a bit!”
Growing Pains is on Mondays at 9pm on Comedy Central.
Entertainment
Mandalorian actor Gina Carano settles lawsuit with Disney – and thanks Elon Musk for funding it
Actor Gina Carano has settled her lawsuit with Disney and Lucasfilm after claiming she was wrongfully dismissed from The Mandalorian for expressing her political opinions.
Carano was fired in February 2021 after starring as Rebel ranger Cara Dune in two series of the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian.
According to court documents, it came after the 41-year-old referenced the Nazis’ treatment of Jewish people while discussing current political differences in the US.
At the time, production company Lucasfilm said in a statement that her “social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable”.
But late on Thursday, she posted on X: “I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved.”
She added that she “hopes this brings some healing to the force”.
The details of the financial settlement have not been disclosed.
When filing her lawsuit at the Californian District Court last year, she had sought $75,000 (£59,000) in damages.
She also thanked Elon Musk for financing the lawsuit, despite the two having never met.
“I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit,” she wrote in her post. “Thank you Mr. Musk and X for backing my case and asking for nothing in return.”
The X owner is an ardent advocate of free speech and has funded similar legal battles previously.
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Carano as Cara Dune.’The Mandalorian’. Pic: Lucasfilm/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
Carano signed off: “I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter.
“My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me. Yes, I’m smiling. From my heart to yours, Gina.”
In response to the settlement, Lucasfilm said in a statement: “Ms Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect.
“With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
In legal documents, Carano’s team claimed both Disney and Lucasfilm had “targeted, harassed, publicly humiliated, defamed, and went to great lengths to destroy Carano’s career”.
She also alleged she was treated differently to her male colleagues. Neither company commented on these claims.
Pic: Lucasfilm/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
Lawyer Gene Schaerr, managing partner at Schaerr Jaffe, said at the time: “Disney bullied Ms Carano, trying to force her to conform to their views about cultural and political issues, and when that bullying failed, they fired her.
“Punishing employees for their speech on political or social issues is illegal under California law.”
Carano, who began her career as a mixed martial arts fighter, has starred in other Hollywood franchises, including Fast & Furious 6 as Riley Hicks, and Deadpool, in which she played Angel Dust.
Eddie Murphy has told Sky News he doesn’t ever expect to win awards – but will happily accept an honorary Oscar when he’s 90.
Murphy is one of the biggest stars in comedy after starting out on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1980 and starring in a number of big franchises from Beverly Hills Cop to Shrek.
His latest project is heist comedy The Pickup, centred on two security van drivers. Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson star alongside him.
Pete Davidson, Eddie Murphy and Keke Palmer in The Pickup. Pic: Amazon MGM Studios
Murphy says award recognition was never something that shaped the projects he chose.
“The movies are timeless, and they’re special, so for years and years those movies play and the movies have commercial success.
“So you make a lot of money and people love it, so you don’t even think about ‘I didn’t win a trophy!’ The response from the people and that the movie has legs, that’s the trophy.
“You know what I’ve earned over these years? One day, they’ll give me one of those honorary Oscars. When I’m really old. And I’ll say thank you so much for this wonderful honour. I’ll be old like that and I’ll have no teeth. I’m cool with getting my honorary Oscar when I’m 90.”
Murphy, 64, has only been nominated once – for Dreamgirls in 2007, when Alan Arkin won the best supporting actor Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine.
Murphy’s co-star Palmer says she considers Murphy an icon in the industry, and The Nutty Professor was a true display of his artistry.
Eddie Murphy as Sherman Klump in The Nutty Professor. Pic: Reuters
“I feel like recognition and [being] underrated and all this stuff, it annoys me a little bit because I think impact is really the greatest thing, like how people were moved by your work, which can’t really be measured by an award or really anything,” Palmer says.
“It’s very hard to make people laugh, and so when I think about it like The Nutty Professor, Eddie was doing everything, and I swear that the family members were real people.
“He didn’t camp it to the point where they weren’t realistic. His roles had integrity, even when he was in full costume. And I do think that’s something that should change in our industry. Comedy, it should be looked at just as prestigious as when you see somebody cry, because it’s that hard to make somebody laugh.”
Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson in The Pickup. Pic: Amazon MGM Studios
Recalling his time on the 90s comedy, Murphy says he’s still in disbelief of what they achieved in making the film with him playing seven characters – Professor Sherman Klump, Buddy Love, Lance Perkins, Young Papa Klump, Granny Klump, Ernie Klump and Mama Klump.
“You can only shoot one character a day. And the rest of the time you’re shooting, I’m talking to tennis balls where the people were sitting.
“So to this day when I watch it, I’m like, wow, that’s a trip. But we were able to mix all that stuff up and different voices and make it feel so that you don’t even feel like when you’re watching it, someone have to tell you, hey, you know, those are all one person.”
The film won best makeup at the 1997 Academy Awards.
Security guards buddy comedy
Palmer says their new project, The Pickup, is responsible for one of the most memorable moments of her life when she mistook Murphy’s acting for real praise.
“First of all, Eddie gives me this big speech before I do the monologue, where he’s like, ‘this is not playing around. This is a pivotal point in the movie’.
“I’m crying in the scene, and then it comes to the end, and Eddie’s [clapping] like, and I’m literally like, ‘oh my gosh, thank you so much’. And he’s like, ‘I’m acting’. When I tell you, it was so crazy, yeah. That’s like one of my most memorable moments in life.”
Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson star in The Pickup
Davidson is excited to see how the UK puts its own stamp on SNL, the show where both he and Murphy got their start on-screen.
“It’s a smart idea to have SNL over there because it’s not that it’s a different brand of comedy, but it is a little bit. A lot of the biggest stuff that’s in the States is stuff that we stole from you guys, like The Office or literally anything Ricky Gervais does.
“This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything American going to the UK, so I think it’s great. I think it’s great to have two opposite sorts of takes on things, but both be funny. That just shows you how broad comedy can be, you know?
The Pickup is out on Prime Video now.
Dean Cain has been branded the “worst superman ever” as he announced he will join the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “ASAP”.
The 59-year-old, who was cast as Superman in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, announced he had joined the team amid the federal agency’s unprecedented immigration raids.
He told Fox News on Wednesday his recruitment video on Instagram had gone viral and since then, “I have spoken with some of the officials over at ICE and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP”.
“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits,” he said in the Instagram post where he appealed for his followers to join ICE.
Speaking with the Superman theme song in the background, he said “hundreds of thousands of criminals” had been arrested since US President Donald Trump took office.
He then told his followers they would get a series of benefits if they joined ICE, including a $50,000 (£37,407) signing bonus and student loan repayment.
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“If you want to help save America ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets,” he said, before adding: “I voted for that.”
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Mr Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
Cain’s post on Instagram received some backlash, with one user commenting: “Worst superman ever”.
Another said: “Shame on you Dean – that’s the most un-Superman thing you could possibly advocate.”
One fan turned against him and said: “Until I saw this I was such a fan. What a sad human being you must be.”
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