TikTok Slapped With Fine by Britain’s Data Watchdog for Failing to Enforce Age Limits on Kids

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Luca Guadagnino will next direct the William S. Burroughs adaptation “Queer” with Daniel Craig playing the renowned counterculture author’s alter ego, an outcast American expat who lives in Mexico, and “Outer Banks” star Drew Starkey starring as a younger man with whom he becomes madly infatuated. “Queer” will also topline Lesley Manville (“The Crown”), frequent Wes Anderson collaborator Jason Schwartzman; and Henry Zaga (“The New Mutants”), according to inside sources. The boldly ambitious indie film is set to start shooting this month at Rome’s refurbished Cinecittà Studios where the Mexico City-set movie will be filmed in its entirety.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Netflix’s upcoming docudrama “Queen Cleopatra” in which Britain’s Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, plays the first-century Egyptian ruler as a queen with African roots is sparking an uproar in Egypt. Egyptian academics are claiming that Cleopatra, who was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC and belonged to a Greek-speaking dynasty, was of European descent and not Black. An Egyptian lawyer has reportedly filed a complaint demanding that legal measures are taken to block Netflix outright in Egypt, to prevent the show from airing. They claim the docudrama, which drops May 10, violates the country’s media laws. Netflix did not immediately comment.

Britain's Got Talent has faced the wrath of some viewers following its return to screens. The hit ITV talent show returned for its 16th series on Saturday night (April 15) before a second helping of auditions aired on Sunday night in a bumper series premiere weekend.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Veteran Fremantle executive Amelia Brown has been appointed the new CEO of Fremantle U.K., replacing Simon Andreae who abruptly stepped down from the role earlier this week citing health reasons. Brown, who has been with Fremantle for 20 years, is the former managing director of its U.K. label Thames and has been a key creative on trademark Fremantle hit shows as “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor.” Fremantle in a statement noted that Brown has also been instrumental in strengthening Thames’ slate of programming and expanding the scripted production outfit into the world of reality television with shows like “Too Hot To Handle” for Netflix and upcoming entertainment show “Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream” for ITV. Her successor as MD of Thames will be announced soon.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rakuten TV has announced the launch of two new owned and operated FAST channels, bolstering its role as a curated channel programmer in the free ad-supported streaming TV services space. The channels, announced during MipTV’s FAST Summit, will see the growing pan-European video-on-demand streaming service enter the TV series landscape by launching a reality/factual entertainment channel in the U.K. and crime series channels across German speaking territories and in France, Italy and Spain. Rakuten’s Real channel which was launched in the U.K. on April 12, will feature shows such as culinary bootcamp series “Worst Cooks in America”; reality show “My New BFF”, with Paris Hilton; and “Undercover Boss.”

Joshua Jackson is opening up about his marriage to his wife, Jodie Turner-Smith. In an interview with , the  star shared that it was meeting Turner-Smith that changed his mind about getting married and having children.«Partially, it's age,» Jackson tells the British publication.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – has now changed historical sides.  Wright is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios shooting high-end TV drama “M. Son of the Century” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. A timely tale because, as he puts it: “Populist leaders are sprouting up all over the world.”  Aesthetically, the show will be “quite outlandish” with deeply saturated colors, punctuated by a “kind of techno score,” the director said during a recent set visit. Though “It’s not told in a vérité style,” Wright pointed out that “All the facts of what happened, they’re all there.” 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent BBC and NBCUniversal have co-commissioned travel reality competition show “Destination X” from a format that originated in Belgium where it’s become a hit. The format created by Antwerp-based production company Geronimo and distributed globally by Be-Entertainment mixes fantasy and reality within a road trip setting. In “Destination X” 10 contestants board a Destination X Bus with blacked-out blinds. Throughout the trip reality is regularly tweaked to mislead the contestants as well as the viewers at home. At the end of each episode, the contestant who places their X on a map furthest away from the bus’s actual location has to leave the game and loses their shot at winning a cash prize. 

A driver who was slapped with a fine after driving in a bus lane has escaped without charge after challenging the council.

Elliot Page will be hitting the road to promote his upcoming memoir, Pageboy.

ITV Coronation Street star, who shot to fame as Rosie Webster in the soap, will be back in I'm A Celebrity later this month as part of the All Stars series. Ahead of the show in South Africa, Helen posted a snap of herself looking stylish in a suit - with her legs out. But fans took issue with the photo and accused it of being edited.

As expected, a Max Original Harry Potter series was made official today at the Warner Bros. Discovery presser with author J.K. Rowling executive producing. The series, which will stream worldwide on Max, will be a faithful take on her classic Harry Potter books with a new cast.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Fremantle has appointed British producer Katy Tallon in the newly created role of global sustainability manager. A a clear sign that the company is doubling down on eco-friendly production practices. The super indie owned by German giant RTL has hired Tallon with a mandate to reach Fremantle’s climate objectives by working with production teams across the 27 territories in which Fremantle operates to implement and create a culture of sustainability, the company said in a statement. Fremantle’s stated environmental goal is to become climate neutral by 2030, a target that includes a 50% reduction on absolute emissions from a 2018 baseline, the statement specified.

A dad was slapped with a £100 fine after parking outside a B&Q store for 21 minutes.

Gone With the Wind will now come with a trigger warning for those affected by descriptions of 19th century slavery in the Deep South. 

Katy Perry has been staying away from alcohol.

Committed! Katy Perry revealed why she isn’t currently drinking — and how her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, factored into her decision.

Starting fresh? Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth announced they were ending their 12-year marriage two days after the actress celebrated her 47th birthday.

Ellise Shafer Reese Witherspoon and former CAA agent Jim Toth announced on Friday that they will be divorcing after nearly 12 years of marriage. In a joint statement posted to Instagram, Witherspoon and Toth wrote: “It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce. We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together. Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter. These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyone’s respect for our family’s privacy at this time.”

Andy Burnham has been hit with a bill of almost £2,000 after he was caught doing 78mph on a section of motorway where the limit had been reduced to 40.