Sky UK & Ireland’s CEO and Group CCO, Stephen van Rooyen, will step down at the end of next month.
03.01.2024 - 14:48 / deadline.com
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.
Deborah Williams, who runs the Creative Diversity Network, said she did not endorse messages posted over the festive period by former Channel 4 commissioner Tamara Abood.
Williams’ denial comes amid other questions about her social media activity, including re-posting a petition, shared by controversial politician Chris Williamson, calling on Israel’s ambassador to the UK to be expelled.
Abood was accused of antisemitism by high-profile Jewish producers after she wrote that Fry’s rallying cry against rising discrimination was “disingenuous” and demonstrated “where the power lies” in UK media. Fry’s six-minute speech was produced by Fulwell 73 for Channel 4.
Screenshots seen by Deadline show that Williams apparently ‘liked’ a message from Abood in which she said: “Unlike the disingenuous Fulwell Fry version, this is a Christmas Message I can get behind.”
Abood linked to an Alexei Sayle Google search. Sayle, a Jewish comedian who has been vocal in his support of Palestine, recorded his own Christmas speech, in which he accused other Jews of “bloviating” over the Gaza conflict and parroting the narrative of the “ruling class establishment.” He also accused Israel of “genocide.”
Williams denied liking Abood’s message. In a statement, Williams said that she did not follow Abood on LinkedIn and, instead, endorsed a post from an industry contact that was related to Abood’s original message about Sayle.
Williams also made clear that she did not like other messages from Abood in which she made claims about “where the power lies” in British television and argued
Sky UK & Ireland’s CEO and Group CCO, Stephen van Rooyen, will step down at the end of next month.
80s pop legend Sam Fox spent a night in jail after being arrested for an alleged drunken bust-up on a plane.The model and pop star, 56, was on a British Airways flight to Munich when she allegedly got into a dispute with another passenger.The plane was on the runway ready for takeoff but was turned around at London Heathrow after Fox “kicked off”, sources said.Its passengers had to get off and were put up in a hotel. They subsequently made the journey the next day.Police said a woman in her 50s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk on board an aircraft and bailed until March.Fox said she is helping with the investigation and is “deeply sorry for any disruption caused”.The star was hit by tragedy in March last year after her sister Vanessa died suddenly following a heart attack, aged 50.The sisters were very close; ahead of her 2017 autobiography, Forever, Sam told how Vanessa saved her when their alcoholic dad Pat attacked her.Fox, 56, recalled: “I thought he was going to kill me and begged him to stop.
opposite Tom Cruise in the 1988 movie “Cocktail” as a charismatic barkeep, says its success meant drinks were on the house.“I got a lot of free drinks all over the world from that movie,” he told the Post in a recent interview, adding that the scenes of him and Cruise, 61, juggling glasses and cocktail mixers “completely changed the nature of bartending for probably the next 12 years.”The Australian actor, 76, can currently be seen in the Netflix mini-series, “Boy Swallows Universe” based on the Trent Dalton book of the same name.In it, he plays Arthur ‘Slim’ Halliday, which is based on a real-life charismatic criminal with a long rap sheet, who for a time was a babysitter and friend for a young boy.Brown says he was immediately drawn in when he read the script and loved that his character was presented with “no judgment.”“We live in a world where we judge everything,” he explained. “And instead of just taking it on and going, ‘Well, that’s life,’ (instead) we tend to judge, other lives all the time.
“I’m just so grateful on what I got to infuse in the franchise, and that’s something I’ll be proud of forever,” Melissa Barrera told Deadline at Sundance tonight, indicating no bad blood after being severed from the Scream series by Spyglass Media last month.
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.
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.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have slammed Stephen Flynn for having a go at the "Westminster establishment" over the Horizon scandal.
And she’s out… again!
Coronation Street’s Joseph Brown will be diagnosed with Lyme Disease after he collapses at home.
21 Savage has unveiled a new trailer for his upcoming biopic – starring appearances from Donald Glover and Caleb McLaughlin. Check it out below.The forthcoming project is titled American Dream: The 21 Savage Story and is set to follow the life and career of the rapper, as well as the struggles he has faced along the way.In the new trailer, three generations of 21 Savage are depicted, each “in the heat of a personal crisis” at that stage in his life.
Locals have been left stunned after the remains of a giant sea creature were found washed up on a beach.
According to one royal author, Prince Harry’s wife is ‘desperate to have her say’ following the fireworks that were caused by Omid Scobie’s controversial book, Endgame. Tom Bower has claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, based in Montecito, California, would like nothing more than to wipe the slate clean this year, and that Meghan has been left “bruised” by the backlash received by the book, described as a “gratuitous attack” on Kate Middleton.
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II is abdicating the throne.
Married At First Sight UK couple Adam Aveling and Tayah Victoria have been called the 'best couple ever' after they officially got married.The pair met on Married at First Sight UK in 2021, as they first laid eyes on each other at the altar - and it seems it really was love at first sight. Fast-forward two years, and Adam and Tayah are now proud parents of a 13 month old daughter named Beau, and they officially legally married on December 28.
Prominent Jewish TV executives in the UK have expressed their horror at a social media post by a former Channel 4 commissioner, who attacked a Stephen Fry rallying call against antisemitism.
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.
Pep Guardiola has advised his players to be careful with their use of social media to avoid making themselves the target of thieves after Jack Grealish became the latest footballer living in the northwest to have his home broken into.
Holly Willoughby is ready to make her comeback on ITV‘s Dancing On Ice after enduring a difficult 2023.
Former Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan has revealed he has been blocked on social media by Jeremy Vine after he took a swipe at the BBC Radio 2 host for posting another cycling video. Last week, Jeremy, 58, shared a clip to X, formally known as Twitter, of his bike being run over by a van and explained he had sent the footage to the police. He also shared the outcome which included the van driver attending a “Safe and Considerate Driving Course”.