Jewish TV Executives Voice Dismay After Ex-Channel 4 Commissioner Attacks Stephen Fry’s National Rallying Cry Against Antisemitism

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back with you. So much news to get through this week — here’s a pick of the biggest and best stories. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Sophie Turner has reportedly requested to withdraw a complaint of child abduction against her estranged husband Joe Jonas.The Game of Thrones star, 27, and Joe, 34, were involved in a custody battle over where their children will live following their split, with Sophie wanting to return home to the UK. Sophie had previously accused her ex of violating international law by preventing their two daughters from joining her.

Following the success of the official opening season of Aviva Studios, Factory International has announced a captivating line up for its 2024 spring programme at the city's landmark venue.

Vue International, Europe’s largest independent movie theater operator, is in discussions with its shareholders and lenders on a fresh debt-for-equity restructuring. This comes after last year’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes caused production delays and pushed a number of titles off of the 2023 and 2024 release calendars. Overall, the industry is facing a severe downturn in ticket sales across the coming year.

EXCLUSIVE: DDA has set a series of promotions in an expansion of the senior leadership team in its UK Consumer Publicity Division and International Publicity Department. 

Holly Willoughby's welcome return to our screens over the weekend has been berated by Katie Hopkins on social media. Sunday's premiere episode of Dancing on Ice marked the 42-year-old presenter's first TV appearance since walking away from This Morning in October. She was also joined by Stephen Mulhern, who'd bagged Phillip Schofield's old job.

Gorka Marquez left fans distracted by the same thing in his latest family video after returning back to UK following a huge career move. The Strictly Come Dancing star excitedly revealed he'd landed a new job that is seeing him take his dancing shoes off for the time being.

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Heyday Films’ Wonka continues its sweet run, crossing the $500M mark globally this weekend. The worldwide cume through Sunday is $505.3M including $329.1M from the international box office and with Korea, which has a fondness for Hollywood musicals, still to release at the end of the month.

Stephen Mulhern is set to host the Dancing on Ice alongside his long term pal Holly Willoughby as the new series kicks off this weekend.

As awards season switches up a gear, with the handing out of the Golden Globes and the publication of the Bafta shortlists, one major title stands out in the International categories of both: Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. It would be a reasonable bet for the Oscar win in any year — if it were actually eligible. In lieu of Triet’s film, which fell well within Academy rules in terms of the amount of English spoken, the French selection panel opted instead for period gourmet drama The Taste of Things to do battle for the country’s honor, a move that is sure to cause a lot of confusion in the coming weeks.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have slammed Stephen Flynn for having a go at the "Westminster establishment" over the Horizon scandal.

Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq will present their BBC 6 Music Shows from a different grassroots venue every day of Independent Venue Week.Lamacq was joined by Stephens on the first instalment of his new weekly Teatime Session, which airs on Mondays from 4-7pm, to announce the initiative in celebration of the UK’s weeklong event to recognise the importance of independent music venues.Between January 29 and February 2, the presenters will be hitting the road to broadcast their shows from grassroots venues across the country and will also host performances from different artists each day.Lamacq will host from Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast on January 29 ahead of an Independent Venue Week performance from Ash.Stephens will be presenting his show from Edinburgh’s Whistle Binkies on January 30, where 86TVs will perform later that night; The Fulford Arms in York on January 31 ahead of a gig from NewDad; Polar Bear Music Club in Hull on February 1 where English Teacher will be playing; The Rockin’ Chair in Wrexham (Friday 2nd February) before a live set from Antony Szmierek.Those artists will join Lamacq and Stephens for intimate live performances and interviews across the week.Listeners can attend two exclusive intimate live performances with Ash in Belfast on January 29 and Antony Szmierek in Wrexham on February 2. You can apply to attend via a free ballot here, which will be open till January 15.

Audiences didn’t have a lot of new choices, nor a mega late-December blockbuster to ring in the first weekend of the new year at the movies, but the studio titles on offer are still drawing crowds and seeing strong holds, particularly with ongoing holidays in many international box office markets. Milestones are also being set as Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Heyday Films’ Wonka topped $300M overseas while Disney’s Wish crossed $200M worldwide and AMC touted a new benchmark for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. 

TV presenter Kate Garraway reportedly made a desperate 12-hour flight to the UK from Mexico with her late husband Derek Draper, in a bid to save his life after he suffered a cardiac arrest. Devoted Kate, 56, reportedly took Derek to Mexico for specialist treatment and was told in early December that he had suffered a cardiac arrest while she was getting a connecting flight inside Mexico. It's thought that Derek was then stabilised and placed on a medical-evacuation plane for the 12 hour trip back to the UK.

Locals have been left stunned after the remains of a giant sea creature were found washed up on a beach.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Want to know which international features vying for Oscar gold are worth watching? Variety‘s team of critics has been on the ground at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and other major film festivals, on the hunt for the best of the best. In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences unveiled its shortlist of 15 films eligible for the second round of voting in the Best International Feature Film category.

EXCLUSIVE: Meta, parent company of Facebook, is closing its Frank Gehry-designed London base, Deadline has learned. It will further reduce the number of offices it occupies in London, where the tech giant has its largest staff presence outside of the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: The chief executive of one of the UK’s top diversity bodies has denied ‘liking’ allegedly antisemitic LinkedIn posts about Stephen Fry‘s Christmas speech.

TV presenter Susanna Reid has opened up about a 'scary' dash to the hospital she had where she admitted to drinking eight coffees in one day to cope with the early 3:45 am start, while working on Good Morning Britain.The 53 year old revealed that she was admitted to the hospital earlier this year after losing her voice and shocked medical professionals when she revealed her high amount of caffeine consumption. Speaking about the incident with woman&home, the GMB host admitted that she has now "tried to cut down a bit". Recalling the incident she said: “Losing my voice earlier this year was a bit of a scare.

Holly Willoughby is ready to make her comeback on ITV‘s Dancing On Ice after enduring a difficult 2023.