The star-studded lineup for the new Stand Up To Cancer celebrity edition of the Great British Bake Off has been announced.
And it’s a wild ride.
Bolton-born comedic actor and presenter Paddy McGuinness, radio and TV presenter AJ Odudu, Radio 1’s Adele Roberts, and actor David Morrissey are some of the North West names joining famous faces like Olympic diver Tom Daley, reality star Gemma Collins, former Little Mix member Jesy Nelson, Loose Women star Colleen Nolan, and Dragon’s Den’s Deborah Meaden on the upcoming The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off.
But while comics, reality stars, TV presenters, and British actors of varying fame levels are all who you’d expect to see a lineup like this, one famous face has really thrown people off – David Schwimmer.
Yes, that’s right. Whether you can believe it or not, the star of the most famous sitcom of all time, and everyone’s favourite wrongly-accused Blackpool corner shop cans thief, David Schwimmer, has laced up his apron and headed into the Bake Off tent.
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Say hello to our baking friends. Meet the stars hitting the Bake Off Tent to raise some dough for a very special cause!
What’s even more surprising is that the US actor, who is of course best-known for playing Ross Geller in Friends, was already supposed to have appeared in celebrity special of the hit Channel 4 baking reality TV show a few years back, but he had to pull out right of filming right at the last minute.
It comes after Schwimmer said in an interview that he’s a huge Bake Off fan.
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He told Radio Times back in 2020: “It’s competitive, but everyone’s so lovely with each other. It’s so not American!”
Finding out the now 56-year-old actor was a fan was what lead judge Paul Hollywood to naming Schwimmer as the celebrity he’d most like to see take part in the show after he had to back out of competing at the 11th hour.
David Schwimmer is on The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off 2023 lineup / Credit: Channel 4 & Love Productions
After the lineup was unveiled yesterday, fans have been taking to social media to share their shock at Schwimmer’s unexpected inclusion.
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“You managed to get actual David Schwimmer? Ridiculous!!!” one fan wrote on Twitter.
Other people were more literal in their shocked reactions, with another fan simply tweeting: “DAVID SCHWIMMER!!!!!” and a third person commenting: “… and David Schwimmer!! Wait! What???”
Plenty of Friends jokes and references were also made, of course.
The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off sees celebrity bakers enter Britain’s most famous tent and put their baking skills to the test as they tackle signature, technical, and showstopper challenges in a bid to be named Star Baker, while raising awareness and funds for cancer research and inspiring viewers to do the same.
The new series is set to air on Channel 4 later this year.
Featured Image – Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Stockport actress Aimee Lou Wood set to star in new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre
Emily Sergeant
Stockport-born actress Aimee Lou Wood is set to lead a new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, it has been reported.
It was announced earlier this year that Working Title are producing a new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, Jane Eyre – which will be led by The White Lotus and Sex Education star in the titular role – and Deadline has now exclusively revealed that the BBC has joined the production as the broadcaster.
The new TV adaptation has been penned for the screen by Miriam Battye – an award-winning writer best known for her work on HBO’s Succession.
Published all the way back in 1847 and set across a number of fictional Northern England settings, the classic novel explores the moral and emotional development of orphan Jane Eyre as she searches for love, independence, and social equality in the 19th century.
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline hears that 'The White Lotus' and 'Sex Education' star Aimee Lou Wood is attached to star in a new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre.
Emmy nominee Wood will play the indomitable heroine in the buzzy adaptation which we understand is… pic.twitter.com/ETBRaPJanN
Throughout the novel, Jane overcomes a harsh and unloving childhood and goes on to find work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, before falling in love with her moody master, Mr Rochester, and discovering a dark secret in his attic.
The novel is widely considered to be ahead of its time due to how it approaches topics of class, sexuality, religion, and feminism.
Jane Eyre has been the subject of a number of adaptations of the years – most notably the last major TV version being in 2006, also for the BBC, and a 2011 film starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender – but there hasn’t been any in 15 years now, and 2027 marks the 180th anniversary for the iconic story.
Aimee Lou Wood is also riding high at the moment after her Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe nominations for Season 3 of The White Lotus, and after having also been cast as George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd, in Sam Mendes’ four Beatles biopic movies, all set to be released in 2028.
As of yet, further information on when and where the new adaptation will be being filmed is yet to be released, and there is no indication of air dates either.
The BBC is expected to reveal more details in due course, so stay tuned.
Featured Image – HBO
TV & Showbiz
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
8th February 2023 
