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The organiser of the infamous Willy Wonka-inspired experience in Glasgow has told of how he has lost the “love of his life” and his life has been “ruined” because of the event.

Billy Coull said his life has been turned upside down due to the controversy surrounding the event and claimed he was made out to be the “face of all evil”.

Speaking in the Channel 5 documentary Wonka: The Scandal That Rocked Britain, Mr Coull said: “My life has been turned (upside down). My life is ruined.”

He added: “Because of everything that had happened, it ran into my personal life.

“I have lost my friends. I’ve lost the love of my life. I was made out to be the face of all evil. And genuinely, that’s really not the case.”

Willy's Chocolate Experience. Pic: Janine Yardley
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Seven-year-old Elliot dressed up as an Oompa Loompa. Pic: Janine Yardley

Willy’s Chocolate Experience gained viral notoriety after images and videos of the event were shared online.

The £35-a-ticket experience at the city’s Box Hub venue was sold as a “chocolate fantasy like never before” where “dreams become reality”.

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Instead, families were met with a near-empty venue decorated with a handful of Wonka-themed props and a small bouncy castle.

Willy's Chocolate Experience. Pic: Stuart Sinclair
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Pic: Stuart Sinclair

Willy's Chocolate Experience. Pic: Jack Proctor
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The quarter cups of juice. Pic: Jack Proctor

Parents also told of how their children only received a couple of sweets and a quarter of a can of limeade.

Mr Coull claimed key visual equipment for the event wasn’t delivered.

He said: “I was gutted, but I believed that we could push on.”

The event was brought to a halt on its opening day as parents demanded their money back from Mr Coull’s company, House of Illuminati.

Felicia, The Unknown. Pic: London Dungeon/Felicia
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The Unknown. Pic: London Dungeon/Felicia

Mr Coull said it turned into “absolute chaos”, adding: “It was absolute carnage.”

Mr Coull told the documentary he received hundreds of nasty messages branding him a “villain or devil”, adding: “Saying that I’m a horrific dad, I’m better off dead, I should kill myself.”

He said he was left “devastated” over the response to the event and felt “sick to the pit” of his stomach.

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Glasgow mum Maryanne McCormack, whose video of The Unknown scaring children went viral, told Sky News she still hasn’t received her £75 refund.

Ms McCormack said Mr Coull should find a different way to boost his income.

She added: “He just isn’t cut out for what he’s trying to do. (He should stop this) for his own good and his own mental health.”

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Glaswegian teenager Felicia took to TikTok to reveal her identity after her role in the experience went viral

Performers at the event described it as a place “where dreams went to die” and said the scripts had been AI-generated.

Mr Coull claimed he wrote the scripts, but he ran them through AI to check the spelling, grammar, and continuity due to his dyslexia.

The performers themselves have since become internet sensations.

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Wonka actor reveals behind-the-scenes ‘bonkers’ experience

Glasgow teenager Felicia, 16, who played The Unknown, has been booked to scare children at London Dungeon this Easter.

Announcing her upcoming guest appearance, she said: “Who would have thought my wild Wonka experience would have led me to this.”

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The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

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The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

The Wanted star Max George has told of the moment he wrote his will from a hospital bed, as he was convinced he “was going to die”.

In December, George revealed he had to undergo urgent heart surgery after being diagnosed with a block.

In an interview with The Sun, his first since he underwent the lifesaving surgery, the 36-year-old described the moment when he thought he would die.

He said: “If I could go from being absolutely on top of the world to being told ‘the bottom part of your heart isn’t working’, I kept thinking in my head, ‘Well, what if the top half stops working overnight?'”

“That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die,” the 36-year-old musician added.

On the night of 13 December, George said his heart rate and blood pressure dropped, “I felt like I was dying,” he said.

He had a pacemaker fitted by doctors during the surgery, but the former Strictly Come Dancing star said he made a will on his phone fearing the worst.

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Before the surgery, George said his thoughts turned to his partner, British actress Maisie Smith, and his family who he feared he’d leave behind.

He shared updates on social media throughout the process.

While the procedure was complicated by collapsed veins caused by the condition, the surgery was successful and he returned home before Christmas.

He described his pacemaker as “the best Christmas present”.

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Tom Parker, who also rose to fame in the 2010s with the boy band along with George, died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

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Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy – and it’s twins

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Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy - and it's twins

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has announced she is pregnant with twins.

The singer, 33, said she was “eating for three now” on her Instagram alongside a polaroid picture of her with Zion Foster, with whom she was reported to have split up last year.

Nelson shared the touching post on Sunday, letting the world know she is set to become a mum for the first time – including two baby emojis next to her message.

The cosy picture shows the pair smiling in a kitchen.

Nelson rose to fame with the girl band Little Mix, which formed on The X Factor in 2011 and earned a string of UK number-one singles.

However, she left in December 2020 after nine years, saying the pressures of being in the group had taken a toll on her mental health.

Read more:
Little Mix ‘went to therapy’ after star’s ‘traumatic’ exit

Nelson has since performed as a solo artist but still had praise for her former bandmates, telling The Graham Norton Show in 2021: “To me they are still the sickest girl band in the world.”

Little Mix continued as a trio after Nelson’s departure in December 2020 before going on hiatus in 2022.

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Duchess of Sussex delays release of Netflix series due to LA fires

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Duchess of Sussex delays release of Netflix series due to LA fires

The Duchess of Sussex has delayed the release of her new Netflix series due to the devastation caused by the wildfires in LA, the streaming platform has announced.

Meghan’s eight-part series, With Love, will premiere on 4 March instead of 15 January.

“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” Meghan said in a statement to Tudum, the official companion site to Netflix.

Harry and Meghan comforted volunteers and handed out food to evacuees during a visit to Pasadena on Friday, where they met with the city’s mayor Victor Gordo and emergency workers tackling the Eaton Fire.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Volunteering in Pasadena on 11/01/25
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Prince Harry and Meghan were seen comforting residents on Friday

Footage showed the duchess, wearing a blue “LA” baseball cap, and the prince hugging and consoling people who had fled to the Pasadena Convention Center.

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They were also seen speaking Doug Goodwin, whose home was destroyed in the wildfires, and also to Jose Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) which has been helping feed the public and emergency crews.

Prince Harry and Meghan speak to Pasadena mayor Victor Gordo in Altadena, California. Pic: AP
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Prince Harry and Meghan spoke to Doug Goodwin (centre right), whose home was destroyed and Pasadena mayor Victor Gordo (right) in Altadena, California. Pic: AP

A description of the Netflix series on Tudum’s website said: “Produced by Meghan, ‘With Love, Meghan’ blends practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.

“Meghan shares personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection, and highlights how easy it can be to create beauty, even in the unexpected.

“She and her guests roll up their sleeves in the kitchen, the garden, and beyond, and invite you to do the same.”

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The royals live in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, around 90 miles from Los Angeles.

They are understood to have donated supplies, including clothing and children’s items, to people affected by the disaster.

They released a statement on Thursday urging people to help those affected by the wildfires and to open their homes to those evacuated.

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