This year, the most viral moment from the Oscars, the world’s most star-studded event, came from England’s very own Hugh Grant.
In an interview that’s simultaneously been labelled ‘painful’ and ‘brilliant’, 62-year-old Hugh made it very clear – through a series of eye-rolls, desperate looks off-camera, and one-word answers – that he’d quite like to be anywhere else in the world.
He was being interviewed by model and presenter Ashley Graham, who to her credit, manages to keep up a professional pretence of having a nice time in the face of sheer grumpiness.
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The pair discussed everything from his role in Glass Onion (‘I’m in it for about three seconds’) to who he expected to see win an award (‘No one in particular’).
Some think the interview was doomed from the moment Ashley, 35, referred to Hugh as a ‘veteran’, others say it fell off a cliff when she mistook his reference to Vanity Fair for a mention of the magazine, rather than the novel (at which point you see Hugh’s jaw literally drop).
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And it really reached new levels of bum-clenchingly-awkward when Ashley asked him about his outfit (‘Just my suit’, he responded. Aaaggghhhh).
The car crash, perfect TV moment has completely divided opinion, with most Brits thinking it’s hilarious and most Americans thinking Hugh was just plain rude.
Ashley Graham at the Oscars. Credit: ABCHugh Grant on the Oscars red carpet. Credit: ABC
One person tweeted: “Interesting divide on Hugh Grant’s behaviour at the Oscars last night. I’ve carefully collated the discourse and offer the following analysis. Americans: he was impolite, ungrateful, dismissive, rude, belligerent, cantankerous, unhelpful. British people: lol lmao.”
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Another said: “Hugh Grant doesn’t mean to be rude here, but this is how it feels like to be British and confronted by absurdly enthusiastic American extroverts.”
Someone else wrote: “Alexa show me British understatement vs American enthusiasm and make it Hugh Grant.”
The Hugh Grant vs Ashley Graham showdown has drawn comparisons to a similar interview with The Cure’s Robert Smith after he was confronted by an extremely energetic interviewer back in 2019.
Almost as good as Robert Smith of The Cure being interviewed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/T578ew0A1r
Comedian Dom Joly simply said: “God I love Hugh Grant.”
Rolling Stone magazine tweeted: “And the Oscar for Best Actress goes to Ashley Graham telling Hugh Grant ‘it was nice to talk to you’.”
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One person said: “Hugh Grant’s utter contempt for the Oscars circus is a thing of beauty (esp ‘What are you wearing’).”
And then there’s this fun take: “This is just Hugh playing his Notting Hill role, Mr. Thacker, a couple of decades down the track. After marrying Hollywood star Anna Scott all those years ago, it’s become clear he never took to celebrity life.”
Ashley has since addressed the interview to TMZ, saying: “You know what, my mama told me to kill people with kindness, so there you go.”
Mancs wanted to test their willpower in the wilderness for ‘life-changing’ cash prize in new TV show
Emily Sergeant
Mancs who are willing to put their willpower to the test in a bid to win a ‘life-changing’ cash prize are wanted for a new TV show.
Are you prepared to take on the ultimate test of willpower? Channel 4 is currently casting for the potential next series of the smash-hit show, Tempting Fortune, and is calling on brave people from across Greater Manchester to apply to take part.
Tempting Fortune is described as being a ‘groundbreaking social experiment’.
Filmed in a distant paradise, this epic series full of twists and turns – which ended its gripping second season last Sunday (6 April) – gives a group of regular people the chance to take part in an adventure ‘with a twist’ and earn a ‘substantial cash reward’ at the end of it.
Mancs willing to test their willpower in the wilderness are wanted for a new TV show / Credit: Channel 4
But what stands in the way of that cash prize is the wilderness, and contestants will be tasked with grappling with the elements, the terrain, and their own willpower along the way.
A casting call for the potential upcoming next series of the show on the Channel 4 website reads: “We are casting for fun, diverse individuals from all different backgrounds.
“We are looking for applicants who are excited by the challenge of embarking on a new adventure that will test them both physically and mentally.”
Find out more and apply on the Channel 4 website here.
Featured Image – Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Fans are literally FLYING to Holmes Chapel to walk in the footsteps of Harry Styles
Daisy Jackson
Now I think we can all agree that Harry Styles is one of the North West’s finest musical exports (even if he has disappeared off the face of the planet since his Love on Tour tour) – but taking a flight just to visit his teenage haunts? It’s a lot.
But that is how dedicated the former One Direction star’s fans are, flocking across oceans to visit his first place of work, his old school, and even the house he used to live in.
Earlier this year, the village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire released a self-guided Harry Styles tour, highlighting the village’s ‘many connections to Harry’.
They said that already, fans have flocked from all over the world to take on the tour.
The Holmes Chapel Partnership said: “Over the past year Holmes Chapel has seen an increase in visitors coming to pay homage to pop superstar Harry Styles who grew up in the village.
“We created this map as part of our ‘Safe Walking Routes’ project which shows the safest walking route from Holmes Chapel train station to the Viaduct, then continues through the village.”
Landmarks along the route include the Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of Harry’s first kiss; the Mandeville’s Bakery where he worked on Saturdays before joining The X Factor; and the Fortune City Restaurant, a local Chinese where he once took Taylor Swift. Which is a sentence and a half…
The bakery in Holmes Chapel where Harry Styles used to work. Credit: Flickr, VagueonthehowThe Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of his first kiss. Credit: Unsplash, David GriffithsHighlights of the Harry Styles tour in Holmes Chapel
Most tour journeys start at Holmes Chapel train station – now complete with a new mural of Harry Styles himself – before heading on into the village itself.
One fan recently shared their own journey to Harry’s hometown, which started with a flight (yes, actual air miles went into this day out) to get to Manchester before hopping on a train to Cheshire.
Documenting their tour on TikTok, the fan said they were ‘genuinely shaking’ as their train pulled into the village.
They then visited attractions like the small shop on the platform that sells merch, and has a visitor’s book where you can leave a message for Harry Styles – apparently, his dad comes to collect the books when they’re full.
Once reaching the bakery, they discovered a framed photograph of the One Direction band members – including the late Liam Payne – together eating pies, and wrote: “Nearly sobbed seeing this picture alone.”
Then it was a 25 minute walk across fields to the aforementioned viaduct, where countless fans have doodled messages on the brick in a colourful display.
“Having to say bye was so hard,” they wrote.
Of course, for those of us who live a few minutes from Holmes Chapel, calling this tour a tourist attraction seems a little bizarre.
One person said in the comments: “As someone from manchester, this is crazy. You flew to Holmes Chapel?”
Another asked: “Girl why did you go on a pilgrimage to his home town.”
All I hope is that someone scribbled in the visitor’s book ‘Where TF is new music, Harry!?’