Strictly Come Dancing winner Ore Oduba has been posting revealing fitness photographs on social media as his estranged wife, Portia Oduba, spoke candidly about the pressures of parenting and her use of alcohol during a livestream to tens of thousands of followers.
Portia, 35, said she has felt overwhelmed by the "daily grind" of looking after the couple's two children and being present for them, telling viewers she sometimes feels she "can't do this any more". She spoke while drinking from a bottle of supermarket champagne and said she is trying to cut down after turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism. "My tolerance of alcohol has gone up in the past few years," she said. "My tolerance is very high now, so three glasses doesn't touch the sides. I once had a diet of pure alcohol, but I'm through those trenches now." The couple announced their separation last October. They share a seven-year-old son, Roman, and a three-year-old daughter, Genie.
Oduba, 39, a former children's television presenter who won Strictly in 2016, has recently posted short fitness videos in which he has worn swim trunks bearing LGBTQ symbolism and the word "Pride." He has written publicly about how the death of his sister Lola influenced his decision to live more authentically. He is also due to appear in a touring production of the Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein.
In other entertainment updates, veteran actor Sir Ian McKellen, 86, withdrew from an international premiere of his latest film, The Christophers, after his medical advisers advised against flying. McKellen made a pre-recorded appearance at the Toronto Film Festival, saying he had been told "he shouldn't fly" and that he preferred to be "better safe than sorry." The actor suffered injuries last year after a fall at London's Noel Coward Theatre, including a snapped wrist and a chipped vertebra.
Actress Jaime Winstone marked her 40th birthday with a rock festival–style celebration at her Hertfordshire home, dubbing the event "Winstock." Winstone, known for roles including a young Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders and portraying Dame Barbara Windsor in the biopic Babs, wore a blonde wig and a netted dress and reportedly staged party features including a themed party bus.
Historian Lady Antonia Fraser, 93, reflected on her marriage to the late playwright Harold Pinter on The Oldie podcast, recounting a disagreement over his play Betrayal. Fraser said she once told Pinter a scene was missing; he left to pace Holland Park and returned to write a different scene that became a celebrated part of the play, which has since enjoyed productions including a Broadway staging featuring Daniel Craig.
On the sports and finance front, British tennis player Jack Draper, 23, whose on-court prize money is approaching £6 million, filed accounts for his company JDBN Ltd showing £1 million in profits. Draper, an ambassador for Burberry, reportedly held £1.3 million in assets before bills in the year to last November.
Ralph Fiennes, who plays choirmaster Dr. Guthrie in Alan Bennett's film The Choral, said he had to work around his own musical limitations while preparing for the role. Fiennes said he does not read music and found it difficult to master baton technique; he credited Australian conductor Natalie Murray Beale with helping him and acknowledged that cinematography and camera angles also aided his performance.
The developments offer a mix of personal revelations, professional updates and behind-the-scenes anecdotes across the U.K. entertainment world, from celebrity relationships and stage commitments to festival appearances and film set preparations.