Happy Mondays’ legendary Bolton-born percussionist and maraca-shaking dance extraordinaire Bez is competing in this year’s Celebrity MasterChef.
Twenty famous faces form part of the full lineup set to take part in the celebrity version of the ever-popular BBC One cooking competition, with judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace back to cast their eye over dishes.
The series will be shown over six weeks, with the celebrities tackling a new series of cookery challenges each week.
Bez – real name Mark Berry – will be representing Manchester.
He will be joined by Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe, actress Su Pollardare, actor turned presenter Joe Swash, Blue singer Duncan James, Britain’s Got Talent finalist and comedian Nabil Abdulrashid, and The Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant.
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This year’s crop of celebrities also includes comedian Munya Chawawa, Melanie Sykes, former EastEnders actress Rita Simons, singer and reality TV star Megan McKenna and Penny Lancaster.
The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk is also among the contestants, along with TV star Katie Price, ex-England footballer Dion Dublin and journalist, author Gavin Esler, Paralympic champion Kadeena Cox, Love Island star Kem Cetinay, and actresses Melissa Johns and Michelle Collins.
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Alongside resident MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, a number of renowned chefs will also appear as guest judges, including Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona, Nieves Barragan Mohacho and more.
Speaking on the announcement of the full lineup, series editor Katie Attwood said: “This year’s line-up promises a huge amount of humour and entertainment.
“Lockdown has proved productive for our famous faces’ culinary skills and we are set to see some exceptional talent and astonishing dishes as the celebrities swap their day jobs for a spot in the MasterChef kitchen”.
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BBC One / MasterChef
Sarah Clay – Commissioning Editor for the BBC – said: “Celebrity MasterChef is one the highlights of the British summertime schedule and this series is as entertaining and charming as ever.
“The 20 brave celebrities are joined by a host of chefs at the top of their game in brand new tasks which makes this year feel extra special.
“The standard of cooking is like nothing we have seen before”.
Celebrity MasterChef will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this summer.
Featured Image – BBC One / MasterChef
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The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
22nd April 2021 
