Angela Scanlon Poised for Strictlys Biggest Win

has foxtrotted to the front of the running to host Strictly Come Dancing, after top-secret tryouts throughout last week as the seeks to replace departing presenters and .

Scanlon, 42, impressed producers at the filmed auditions for the Saturday night TV show, which is the Beeb's crown jewel.

Celebs on the shortlist to replace Winkleman and Daly include Tom Allen, , , Alex Jones, Emma Willis, and .

My man lurking behind the velvet curtain says that after a number of days, four clear front-runners emerged: Angela, Rylan, Emma and Zoe.

That's bad luck for in-demand Bradley Walsh, who up to now seems to have scooped every showbiz job going (The Chase, Gladiators, Blankety Blank).

No sign, by the way, of , formerly of and A Question Of Sport, who has been linked with the vacant presenting spots, but who was not spotted by my mole.

The celebrities all tried out in various combinations; and Rylan worked well with all three of the front-running girls.

The Zoe and Angela duo was felt to be a bit of a dud. But Ball played well with Emma Willis.

The BBC must make a decision fairly soon, because rehearsals for the next series start at the end of August; with filming from September to December.

A spokesman for the Corporation said: 'Plans for Come Dancing 2026 will be confirmed in due course.'

It's all change for the show, which is seeking a fresh look (and a clean slate) after two years of damaging scandals. There has been a major shake-up among the pros, with Nadiya Bychkova and Gorka Marquez among those departing.

For now, all I hear for sure is that Shirley Ballas, the head judge, will definitely return.

Naomi: Playing Fonteyn is my ballerina dream

Trained dancer Naomi Watts is to face a serious challenge: she will play Margot Fonteyn, regarded as the greatest ballerina of all time, in a just-announced film called Margot & Rudi.

The movie, which will be sold at the Cannes film festival later this month and go into production in October, is to depict the intriguing bond between the prima ballerina and Rudolf Nureyev, the defecting Russian superstar, as a full-on love affair.

That will surprise – and probably outrage – some ballet historians, who have long believed their bond was balletic rather than physical. Nureyev was famously gay; and Fonteyn was 19 years his senior – and married.

But the teaming of the Royal Ballet star, then 42 and nearing retirement, with the electrifying young Russian made both into global superstars in the 1960s.

Watts will be partnered by Alexandr Trusch, 36, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian who is the principal dancer with the Hamburg ballet. The actress, 57, said: 'Dance was my first love, and I've long dreamed of making a dance film. I feel deeply honoured and excited to be playing Margot Fonteyn, one of the greatest dancers of all time.

'Her relationship with Rudolf Nureyev was extraordinary – both artistically and emotionally – and I'm thrilled to be exploring it with such sensitivity and imagination, under the direction of Anthony Fabian.'

Film-maker Fabian described the relationship as 'a love story like no other'.

'Sanitised' Jacko biopic cleans up at box office 

The drinks are on British film producer Graham King, who has hit the jackpot with the Jacko biopic Michael.

The picture, starring Jackson's nephew Jaafar, has taken $237 million (£175million) globally since it opened – smashing records for musicals and biopics.

The previous biggest musical was Bohemian Rhapsody – another King production – which launched with $124 million (£91million) in 2018.

Michael also surpassed the $180 million (£133million) taken by 2024's Oscar-winning biopic Oppenheimer – despite a pasting from critics, who described it as presenting a 'sanitised' version of the radioactive pop star. King was paid $10million (£7.4million) to produce the movie by the Jacko estate – and then extracted the same again to oversee 22 days of reshoots, which were necessary to remove all references to the Jordy Chandler child abuse allegations.

The estate only realised after the script was written and filmed that there was a non-disclosure agreement with Chandler and his family which meant it could not be mentioned.

King now stands to make more money from a sequel; although it's not known how (or if) that might deal with the allegations which dogged Jackson's final years and have also erupted posthumously.

Director Antoine Fuqua also got rich from Michael – but he's not going back. Apparently Fuqua didn't care for the atmosphere on set, where Jackson family members and lawyers for the estate were in evidence.

One report suggests he spent time directing from his van – and was known as 'Vantoine' as a result. He also got $6million (£4.4million) to do reshoots, although it's not clear whether he had anything further to do with the picture.

I still love my stalker, says Reindeer's Richard Gadd

The wild success of the 2024 Netflix drama Baby Reindeer made actor, writer and director Richard Gadd's career.

But it's still something of a surprise to hear him say that Martha, the character he based on his real-life alleged stalker Fiona Harvey, is one of his favourite creations.

Publicising his new BBC show Half Man, in which he plays angry alpha male Ruben, Gadd said he had a special place in his heart for Ruben's mum Lori... alongside Martha.

'I think out of all the characters I've written, Lori's probably one of my favourites,' he said, before adding: 'Maybe second only to Martha.'