BEING cancelled is the fear du jour of countless famous people on the planet right now.
And Rylan Clark says he is steeling himself for that fate after admitting a posh series he filmed in Italy for BBC Arts with pal Rob Rinder descended into chaos.
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And I have to admit, it sounds rather stupendous.
“We’ll either get a Bafta or we’re going to get cancelled,” Rylan says with a laugh in an exclusive chat.
“One scene in Florence I am really worried about. I am getting off with a French rugby player and Rob is dancing on a bar. It is just awful.
“I have got his number, of course. But I am worried about what French I was saying. We will find out.
“It is making me cringe. You never see yourself kiss someone — I might have to quit public life!”
The show, which airs next year, sees Rylan and Rob following in the footsteps of countless 18th Century English aristocrats who enjoyed the “grand tour” around Italy — taking in Venice, Florence and Rome.
And while there was plenty of culture, Rylan reveals he was more into amaretto liqueur than the arts. He says: “From a travelogue point of view it’s beautiful.
“From an art point of view, I’m sitting in the Uffizi gallery when it’s shut, just seated in front of Venus.
“We were in Michelangelo’s house and a painting from the 1600s was brought down from near the ceiling.
“This isn’t out there yet but while they were doing restoration on it, they X-rayed it and found the woman in it is naked and that the dress she is wearing was painted on at a later date.
“It was unreal. But Rob is into art. He goes to galleries and walks around for hours. I go to bars.”
Alongside their boozy antics, Rylan admitted their adventure took a more serious turn when he confronted a homophobe who threatened them during a scene in Florence.
He explains: “We were set up on dates in Venice. Mine was a drag queen called Boris — you couldn’t write it — and Rob’s date was a drag queen.
‘20 drag queens on speed boats’
“They said we’d like to invite you in drag and meet our drag queen collective and do a big photoshoot in St Marco Square.
“The end scene in Venice is us with 20 drag queens on speed boats on the Grand Canal. It was just amazing.
“But as fun as it sounds, this young guy walks past and I can speak some Spanish and a little bit of Italian and in Italian he said, ‘Kill the gays’.
“I am 7ft tall in heels and I turned around and I said, ‘You f***ing what?’
“Then we walked down the street into a group of old women and they applauded us.
“There is this misconception that it’s the older generation who have the problem, but it’s not.”
Following the breakdown of his marriage two years ago, Rylan took a step back from showbiz life to focus on his mental health.
And when he left his starring role on Strictly’s It Takes Two in April, fans worried that he might be bowing out of public life for good.
But it’s clear to me that Rylan’s break has done him the world of good — and he’s back and funnier than ever.
As well as his BBC Arts programme, he has new reality show Hot Mess Summer coming out next year on Amazon as well as holding down his hilarious weekly BBC Radio 2 slot.
And who could forget Sex Rated on E4, where Rylan has been seen reuniting exes on screen for a frank conversation about their skills in the bedroom.
Rylan, who has teamed up with Homesense to be its first scent sommelier following the huge success of his own fragrance company, adds: “I am like an agony aunt.
“People stop me in the street and tell me their problems.
“I’m like, ‘Babe, I’ve got enough going on!’
“The reason I did Sex Rated is because I’m a single bloke and — shock horror — I am sexually active.
“There should be no shame in having sex.
“I am great in bed, I’m an 11 out of ten.”
I’ll take your word for it, Rylan.
Taylor sets record for album and lands ‘top three singles’
TAYLOR Swift has achieved the fastest-selling album of the year just three days after its release.
I can reveal that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has already racked up sales of 139,351, which is almost double what the Rolling Stones’ new album Hackney Diamonds sold in its first seven days.
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The impressive total means she has smashed the previous fastest seller of 2023, Lewis Capaldi’s Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, which shifted 95,000 copies in its first week.
And in more good news for Taylor, she is on course to top the singles chart on Friday, too.
The Shake It Off singer is occupying the three top spots, with her track Sl*t currently in the lead.
Only 200 sales separate it from Style, which is at No2, and Is It Over Now? at No3.
She re-recorded the album after the rights to her back catalogue were acquired by talent manager Scooter Braun in 2020, against her wishes.
On this new version she has included five previously unheard tracks, which were written at the same time as the 2014 collection.
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The album was hugely successful first time around, helping to propel Taylor into the world of pop and confirming her status as a superstar.
Now it is proving to be even more popular.
Gino: My meals for George
Gino D’Acampo has revealed he helped fuel George Michael to the top when he was writing No1 album Older.
The celebrity chef says he was hired by the singer to cook for him at his London home after dishing him up plates of pasta while working at The Orchard in London.
Gino recalled: “Every single lunchtime he used to eat the same thing, tagliolini – like tagliatelle but very, very thin – with fried courgettes and Parmesan cheese.
“He asked the restaurant if he could have me for two or three weeks while he finished the album so he didn’t have to come out to the restaurant.
“I think I remember he once said he didn’t want to break the habit, because he believed in a lucky charm.”
Speaking on The Travel Diaries podcast, Gino added: “He wanted me to cook the same plate of pasta.
“I said, ‘Come on man, let me do something different’.”
“What I remember was the charm. He had something that nobody had. He was a true gentleman.”
And a well-fed one at that.
Degree of ambition for Geri
GERI Horner could be packing her study books on the Spice Girls tour, as she has revealed she wants to go to university.
In a new twist on the band’s long-established message of girl power, she told the Headliners podcast: “Education is like your superpower in your back pocket. I am so grateful that I have had one.
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“I was thinking about maybe going back to education. I think so at some point – English or history.”
And Geri – who has just released historical fiction novel Rosie Frost And The Falcon Queen – told how she is desperate to learn more about Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn.
She said: “I’d probably study the Tudors and Anne Boleyn because I feel she was shamed for being smart.
“If you really unpack that narrative, she was completely thrown under the bus.”
ADDELE’S FAMILY
ADELE got into the Halloween spirit on Saturday, dressing up in a spooky Morticia Addams-style costume for her Las Vegas residency.
The concerts have been keeping the singer – who wore a black frock, wig and dark make-up on stage – especially busy but she has devised a novel trick to ensure she gets a good night’s kip.
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Adele has taken to giving her make-up artist a house key so they can get going on her face before she has even woken up, according to DJ Scott Mills.
He dropped the story on his Radio 2 show and claims to have been told by someone in the know.
Scott explained: “Adele loves her sleep and wants to get eight hours every night.
“So I’m told that if she had a big day, so she can get a few extra hours in, the make-up person would have a key to the door and would apply full make-up to Adele while she was asleep, so she could get her eight hours, then wake up and be all fresh and fully made up.
“Then she can just leave out the door.”
She kicked off her Weekends With Adele concerts last November and recently announced she was extending the residency into mid-June next year, by which time she will have performed 100 shows.
Her make-up artist will be ready for their own snooze by then.
Britney says ex Sam’s next
HER autobiography The Woman In Me caused shockwaves – with former love Justin Timberlake forced to shut down the comments section of his Instagram because of a backlash from her fans.
And now Britney Spears’ ex-husband Sam Asghari should be the one preparing to take cover, after the star confirmed she had a second book in the works.
In The Woman In Me, Britney only touches on the positives of her romance with Sam and does not go into detail about their shock split in August.
But she has now all but confirmed those gems are being saved for her second tell-all.
Britney teased on Insta: “Volume 2 released next year . . . get ready.”
LEIGH-ANNE LOOKS A REAL TREASURE
LEIGH-ANNE Pinnock gave her fellow performers a run for their money in the fancy dress department after coming as a pirate for Kiss FM’s Haunted House party.
She wore a corset top and a skirt with fishnet tights for the bash in Liverpool.
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It was the first time Leigh-Anne had performed in an arena since Little Mix announced they were going on a break, and she raised the roof with her solo slot.
Meanwhile, Becky Hill made fans do a double take as she put on a wig to transform herself into Lara Croft.
Leigh-Anne is preparing to drop her debut solo album but fans could be waiting until next year to hear it in full.
She said of the record, which follows the singles Don’t Say Love and My Love: “It’s definitely in the works. It’s coming together quicker than I think anyone thought, which is good.
“I reckon next year for sure. Because I want to tour like I want to perform, I belong on stage.”
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