Spirit Awards to Implement Gender Neutral Acting Categories

ITV's Good Morning Britain has aired this morning with a special programme dedicated to The Queen, who passed away last week aged 96. During this morning's programme (September 12), TV presenter Ben Shephard talked about the moment news teams across the world had to break the sad story of Her Majesty's death and revealed that, at Good Morning Britain, he and his co-stars had been preparing to announce the news for years.The ITV broadcaster made the admission as he appeared alongside his co-host Susanna Reid, both dressed in black as they presented a special edition of the ITV breakfast show.

Spirit Halloween: The Movie is nearly here, just in time for the spooky season.

Thania Garcia Universal Music Group has been awarded the Ukraine Peace Prize, a recognition bestowed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for the music company’s wartime support and humanitarian relief efforts in the region. At a ceremony at UMG’s Belgium headquarters in Brussels, Olha Stefanishyna (pictured at left), Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, presented the award to Frank Briegmann, UMG’s chairman and CEO of Central Europe (pictured at right). “[UMG] was one of the first to support Ukraine and join the sanctions against Russia,” said Stefanishyna. “UMG is the first music company in the world to receive such an award. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Universal Music has proven that they are true friends of Ukraine and entertainment/culture sphere shouldn’t stand aside the war.”

Billie Shepherd was left in hysterics as husband Greg Shepherd "sparkled" in a fake pregnancy bump.The stars of Billie & Greg: The Family Diaries took part in The Sparkle Walk fundraiser for Haven House Children's Hospice in east London on Friday 2 September.The pregnant former The Only Way Is Essex star, 32, took to social media to share a clip of broker Greg, 37, and stepdad Dave Chatwood apparently on their way to the charity event.The men were dressed up as Billie and her mum Suzie Wells, respectively, complete with wigs, sunglasses – and in Greg's case, a fake baby bump and handbag. Billie posted to the clip to her Instagram stories, with a caption filled with crying laughing emojis. She told her 2.6 million followers: "Don't ask.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Two more awards shows went gender neutral last week, fueling further speculation about the day when major awards shows — think Oscars, Emmys and (yes) Golden Globes — might follow suit and drop the distinction between “actor” and “actress” in their respective competitions. Organizers behind the Spirit Awards and the Canadian Screen Awards are following the examples set by the Recording Academy, MTV and the Gotham Film & Media Institute. The announcements by Film Independent on Aug. 23 and the Canadian Academy on Aug. 25 follow the July decision by backers of the British Independent Film Awards to eliminate gendered categories with this year’s competition.

The estranged dad of Sam Faiers and Billie Shepherd is said to be "lucky to be alive" after reportedly suffering a heart attack. The sisters, best known as former stars of the ITVBe show The Only Way Is Essex and their own reality series The Mummy Diaries, have had a strained relationship with their father, Lee, over the years. Lee, 60, was recently rushed to intensive care after a near-fatal cardiac arrest, a source close to the family has claimed.

Women scored only 33% of Emmy nominations in non-acting categories this year, a slight uptick from the 32% last year but far short of gender parity goals that Hollywood has touted, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Women’s Media Center. Nominations in the four top non-acting Emmy fields — producing, directing, writing and editing — also fell short of gender balance, although women saw some modest gains, from 32% to 33% of all nominees.

Ben Shephard often keeps his family out of the spotlight, but during the week, he shared a photo of his beloved wife Annie as she marked her birthday.PHOTOS: Good Morning Britain's Ben Shephard's family home is idyllic – insideThe Good Morning Britain presenter posted the snap which saw the couple on a stunning beach together, with a cove stretching out behind them. Ben looked very dapper in a blue jumper, while Annie rocked a white and blue jumper and a stunning drop necklace.

As Sherri Shepherd gears up for the launch of her daytime talk show, she got some advice from a bona fide professional -- Oprah Winfrey! In an interview with , the  host revealed that Winfrey reached out and offered her a wealth of wisdom. «I took 15 pages of notes until my fingers cramped up,» Shepherd said of the informative phone call.«I took a potassium pill because my fingers were cramped, and I couldn't write anymore,» she jokingly added. «I said, hold on, I have to commit this to memory because nobody will believe that I'm talking to and laughing with Oprah.»Shepherd revealed that Winfrey preached important lessons on maintaining a positive energy with her audience and not being too focused on the show's numbers. «One thing I took from Oprah is, she said, 'Sherri, the show is not about the ratings, it's about the energy.

Coronation Street star Jack P Shephard recently opened up about an 'awful' celebrity encounter he had - and now there's evidence. The actor, who is best known for playing David Platt in the ITV soap, suffered an awkward moment when he attended a festival at Knutsford's Tatton Park.

Five-and-a-half months pregnant Billie and husband Greg Shepherd began to renovate their house in January 2021 but it has been delayed for some time for several reasons.The couple - who are parents to Nelly, eight, and five year old Arthur - are currently living in their first-family home until their construction masterpiece is complete, and Billie reveals that when they move out, her mum Suzie will move in. While the family wait to move into their mansion after a long wait, Billie - who is expecting her third child with Greg - gives OK! an update on how it's going as she hints she can't wait any longer. “It’s been a much longer process than we ever could have imagined,” admits Billie.

MTV Video Music Awards. Since MTV launched in 1981, the silver trophy – originally named the “Moonman” – has depicted an astronaut planting a flag with the MTV logo on the moon’s surface. While the iconic statue has received few makeovers over the years, it was recently given a more gender neutral name.

Family Diaries star Billie Shepherd delighted fans when she announced she was expecting her third child back in June with a beautiful Instagram post from her family holiday in Abu Dhabi. And in a new interview with OK! the pregnant star told us the moment, two months before her social media announcement, she found out she will be adding another child to her brood. “I just had a feeling I was pregnant,” recalled Billie, who says she and husband Greg Shepherd hadn’t been trying but weren’t exactly being careful either.

Coronation Street star Tina O'Brien has been flooded with compliments from her fans after posting a selfie - but her co-star Jack P Shephard was quick to make fun of her. The actress joined the ITV soap as Sarah Barlow back in 1999 when she was just 16, and after a seven-year break, she returned to the role in 2015.

Canada’s top film and television awards are going gender-neutral.

Naman Ramachandran The Canadian Screen Awards will transition to gender neutral performance categories for lead and supporting performers in the film and television awards streams from 2023. The move will see an increase in the number of nominations per category from five to eight. The change follows a large-scale five-year consultation effort, which included 40 key industry organizations. The Canadian Screen Awards have awarded gender neutral performance categories in the digital media awards stream since 2019. The performance categories in film and television for the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards will be presented as follows:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large It wasn’t that long ago that live telecasts like major league sporting events and star-studded awards shows were considered the savior of networks struggling to maintain relevancy in a streaming age. And while streamers have taken their lumps lately — and sports is indeed keeping the lights on in linear — the age of blockbuster awards shows appears to be over. Which would mean it’s perhaps an inopportune time for the ceremonies out there looking for a new home or, in the case of the Golden Globes, looking to return, period. Late last month, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. agreed to let Eldridge Industries, run by Todd Boehly, purchase the Golden Globes and make that part of the HFPA a for-profit enterprise. Eldridge has also taken control of Dick Clark Prods., the company that produces the Globes, which means Boehly has a vested interest in getting the show back on NBC.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards will now feature gender-neutral film and television acting categories ahead of its 2023 show. In addition to the new terms, and "in response to rising costs of production," the nonprofit also raised its budget cap by nearly $8 million to $30 million, the organization said Tuesday.

Darren Barnet says the new Victoria’s Secret Pink gender neutral line reflected his “own style”. The ‘Never Have I Ever’ star wears the garments “all the time” after being named an ambassador for the brand, which recently attempted to overhaul its image after a series of sexual assault and harassment allegations The 31-year-old actor told WWD: “Honestly, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the line itself. It really is stuff that I wear all the time; it’s stuff that’s very comparable to stuff that I’ve worn in my own style and my own collection.

In a surprise move, Film Independent shook up their annual Independent Spirit Awards this morning. The hipper sibling of the Oscars became yet another awards show to make the change to gender-neutral for its awards categories.