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15.04.2022 - 13:17 / deadline.com
When the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson used a speech at a business conference to wax lyrical about a weekend trip to Peppa Pig World back in November 2021, he was slammed as “rambling” and “embarrassing”.
However, it seems he – as the father of two young children, we should add – is not alone in enjoying the visitor attraction, with its owner Merlin Entertainment reporting an encouraging post-pandemic recovery of 35.2million visitors across its global operations in 2021, an increase of over 13million on the previous year.
Its revenues also doubled in the last year to £1.26bn ($1.65bn) and significantly reduced losses, although remaining far short of its 2019 reported pre-tax profit of £234m. Underlying earnings and operating figures were also much healthier than during 2020. Merlin is the world’s second-biggest visitor attractions operator, and most of the 24 countries in which it operates have now lifted Covid restrictions, which brought the industry to a standstill the year before last. However, the company’s chief executive Nick Varney told the Times that its sites in China remained closed, and the company faces continued challenges and uneven global recovery.
As well as Peppa Pigg, Merlin hosts attractions starring Bear Grylls, Gangsta Granny and Mythica and owns brands including Madame Tussauds, Sea Life and Legoland. Founded in 1999, it was bought out for £6billion in 2019 by Kirkbi, working with Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
The Bear Grylls attraction, based at Merlin’s site in Birmingham in the UK’s Midlands, was working particularly well, according to Varney, with the company building on the adventurer’s international appeal and looking to develop the Grylls concept in other sites
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Lorraine was forced to hit back at a troll who insulated her loyal viewers and called them "unemployed and feckless".The 62 year old took to Twitter to criticise the keyboard warrior following Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid's interview with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Attempting to wrap up the interview, 51 year old Susanna stated that "Lorraine was waiting", prompting Boris to query, "Who's Lorraine?" Daily Mirror's Political Editor, Pippa Crerar, tweeted of the moment: "Boris Johnson ends excellent Susanna Reid interview by asking: 'Who is Lorraine?' and there goes another 1.5 million votes." One person commented on the post, writing: "The only people who watch Lorraine are the unemployed and the feckless." Lorraine immediately hit back, tweeting: "You can say what you like about me, but don't [you] dare have a go at my fantastic viewers.This is beyond patronising." Fans also defended themselves in the comments, with one writing: "Agree Lorraine.
Good Morning Britain viewers said they were 'heartbroken' as Susanna Reid told the Prime Minister of a pensioner who uses her free bus pass to sit on buses all day in order to keep warm amid the cost of living crisis. The presenter sat down with Boris Johnson for his first interview on the ITV news programme in nearly five years on Tuesday (May 3). She headed to Downing Street to have the chat live from No.10 but viewers were initially left confused when the PM was late.
refusing to ban the practice of conversion therapy on transgender individuals, the government of Wales plans institute a ban of its own.By signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NHS Wales — the country’s publicly funded healthcare system — Welsh government Deputy Minister for Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn stated that the practice will be “prohibited” in Wales. Any organization, group, or company that works in “mental or psychological health” and sign onto the MOU makes a “commitment” to not offer conversion therapy in the country, though this agreement does not extend to other parts of the United Kingdom.Based on further statements made Blythyn, this move only appears to be a temporary solution to the question of a conversion therapy ban as the Welsh governmnet “seeks legal advice” to find out how it can “unilaterally” ban the practice.
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Boris Johnson has issued a 'wholehearted apology' to MPs over his Partygate fine - but insisted he did not know he was breaking his own coronavirus rules. The Prime Minister repeated an apology in the House of Commons on Tuesday, after Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle approved a vote on whether he lied to MPs with his earlier denials.
Andrew Roy, who has overseen international coverage for the BBC, is joining CBS News as vice president and London bureau chief.
Gene Simmons has boldly claimed that artists like Beyoncé, Bono, Mick Jagger and Bruno Mars wouldn’t be able to perform in his famously over-the-top costumes, due to their excessive weight and unwieldiness.In an extensive new interview with Entertainment Tonight, the KISS frontman explained that, especially at age 72 – more than 50 years since he first debuted with the band – fitness is crucial to maintaining his prowess as a performer. “We work hard at it,” Simmons assured journalist Kevin Frazier, telling him the band currently enjoy “no drugs, no booze, no smoking.
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A sixth coronavirus vaccine has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The independent medicines regulator is the first in the world to approve the jab, developed by Valneva.