Kate Winslet has revealed the ‘awful, awful’ moment she was convinced she had defecated on stage at a leading Manchester theatre.
The Oscar-winning actress appeared on The Graham Norton Show and spilled all the details of the hilarious near-miss incident.
Kate explained that she was in a production of What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton at the Royal Exchange Theatre, which is right here in the heart of Manchester.
She told the audience, as well as enraptured fellow guests Sir Lenny Henry, Nadiya Hussain and Jack Whitehall, that she was ‘convinced I’ve totally sh*t myself’ live on stage.
Speaking on the show on Friday night, the Titanic star said: “Well I nearly did a poo on stage once.
“I’m just sitting here realising that you’re now going to make me tell that story.”
Kate Winslet. Credit: BBC, The Graham Norton ShowCredit: Royal Exchange Theatre
Of course, the entire audience and her fellow celebrity guests immediately start to egg her on.
Kate explains a part of the play where her character is asked to strip for a physical examination in a medical setting – and the logistics of the theatre’s stage that made the whole scenario so much worse.
“This theatre was in the round,” she said. “So little me, I go behind the curtain and I do what I’ve done for nights on end and I take everything off, and I’m behind this curtain sort of shaped like [a semi-circle] so all the people above me are looking straight down at poor little Kate.
“I have to lie on this bed and I would lie there really kind of uncomfortably and awkwardly, and I’m lying there and suddenly… “
At this point, she grips the couch and starts writhing, saying: “‘It’s happening, it’s happening, it’s happening. Oh my god I’m gonna sh*t myself.’
“And I’m lying on a white sheet, naked on a stage!
“I’m convinced I’ve totally sh*t myself. So I think ‘Well what am I gonna do, because in a minute I have to stand up, come out from behind the curtain, and look for all my clothes that he’s hidden in the plant pots, and I’ve done a f***ing poo! This is horrific!’
“So I start to sort of runkel the sheet, I try and skrunkle up this sheet as best I can, I do this kind of ninja flip move and I twist myself and I bind this sheet all around myself, and I’m still thinking ‘Ah, happening, happening, behind the curtain’ standing in front of an audience who can see me from every f***ing angle, and I’m absolutely just convinced that if I move my body, there’s going to be poo on the floor.
Kate Winslet on the Graham Norton Show. Credit: BBC
“This is the most awful, awful thing.
“Honestly, I practically slither off the stage, and I hide in a corner thinking ‘I’ve gotta check this sheet’.
“Ladies and gentleman, I had not actually done a poo. But the second I got into my dressing room and I ran into that bathroom – gunfire.”
You can watch the full clip here:
On YouTube, one person said: “Kate should get an award for that story. That’s why she so beloved.”
Another commented: “I knew Kate was talented but this is beyond hysterical.”
Someone else wrote: “Ladies and gentleman, witness the creation in real time of an all time classic Graham Norton Show story.”
Classic gameshow Wheel of Fortune is looking for Mancs to take part in next reboot series
Emily Sergeant
Classic gameshow Wheel of Fortune is looking for Mancs to take part in the next series of the popular reboot.
In case you missed it, Wheel of Fortune returned to ITV for eight hour-long episodes – which included two celebrity specials – back in 2024, with beloved and seasoned BAFTA-winning TV host Graham Norton fronting the revival, and just like the original run, the reboot proved to be very popular with audiences.
Not familiar with the show?
Based on the successful global brand, and modelled on the still-ongoing American show of the same name, the original British version of Wheel of Fortune first aired all the way back 1988, and went on to run for a whopping 14 series and 746 episodes before ending 2001.
Classic gameshow Wheel of Fortune is looking for Mancs to take part in the next reboot series / Credit: ITV / ITVX
The show’s premise is basically based around a giant carnival wheel that the contestants have to spin to win themselves a life-changing cash prize.
Just like the original, the reboot is also a ‘thrilling game of skill and luck’.
In each episode, the turn of the wheel secures contestants a cash value before they pick a letter to help them solve the puzzle, where, for every correct letter they reveal in the puzzle, they win multiples of that amount.
A casting call for the upcoming series on the ITV website reads: “We’re looking for contestants to take part in this brand-new series of the classic gameshow, Wheel of Fortune. If you love solving word puzzles and would like a chance to spin the wheel and win big cash prizes, then please apply now.”
Fancy it then? You’ll just need to be over 18 years old and a legal resident of the UK to apply, so if you reckon you’ve got what it takes, then you can find out more and stick an application in before the closing date of 19 September 2025.
Police issue response and update after ‘shocking’ BBC documentary on The Moors Murders airs
Emily Sergeant
A response and update has been issued by the police after a new documentary on The Moors Murders aired on the BBC this week.
The Moors Murders: A Search for Justice is a two-part documentary series that takes a look back at what is, undoubtedly, one of the most heinous crimes in British history more than 60 years after it happened in the hopes of discovering new evidence and finding answers to the questions that are still left open.
The show aims to document the six decades of suffering that the victims’ families endured in the case that shook the nation.
A synopsis for the two-part documentary series on the BBC website reads: “The Moors murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, were sentenced to life in 1966 for killing three children. In fact, they had killed five children, and 12-year-old Keith Bennett has never been found.
Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett / Credit: GMP
“But now a team, including author and film-maker Duncan Staff, former murder detective Martin Slevin and forensic archaeologist Professor John Hunter, has examined past investigations, rediscovered files and delved into Ian Brady’s archive.
“They reveal possible grave sites, uncover critical material and perhaps help to solve a case that’s remained open for nearly 60 years.”
The first episode of the documentary aired on BBC Two on Wednesday night (30 July), and the next episode is due to hit TV screens next Wednesday 6 August at 9pm – with more ‘revelations’ and ‘newly uncovered evidence’ expected to be presented.
Public interest in the case has hardly been lost over the past six decades, but given the recent attention the documentary has brought, this has led Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to issuing a statement and update on their ongoing investigations, and assuring that the case is still very much open and and being looked into.
Myra Hindley and Ian Brady – the serial killers behind the Moors Murders, including Keith Bennett / Credit: GMP
“Greater Manchester Police’s investigation into Keith’s disappearance has remained open since 1964,” the statement begins.
“While visible searches have paused over time, with the most recent taking place in 2022, an investigation team within our Major Crime Review Unit, continues our work to find the answers Keith family deserves.”
GMP confirmed that most of the case’s investigative activity continues ‘outside of public view’, revealing that this is done in the hopes that further evidence relating to this case can be uncovered.
The Moors Murders: A Search for Justice is currently airing on the BBC / Credit: BBC
The update continues: “We are in regular contact with Keith’s family, who are central to any action we take. They are kept updated on the ongoing lines of enquiry – some of which, could be jeopardised by public disclosure, and no further comment on these matters will be given.”
Police say they remain ‘very interested’ in any information that could lead to the discovery of Keith.
“We will be seeking to obtain, review, and establish the relevance of all the information held by the documentary team,” GMP’s statement concludes.
Daisy Jackson -
13th December 2022 
