Holly Willoughby in show U-turn as its confirmed she WILL return to ITV programme for another series – but with a twist
A U-TURN will see Holly Willoughby return to an ITV programme for another series - but with a twist.
Holly, 44, has presented several hit shows for ITV during her career.
4
4
4
Last year, she and Stephen Mulhern co-hosted the revived version of You Bet!
Although the show is coming back for a second series, Holly will not be returning as co-host.
You Bet! viewers will see the star again nonetheless - as she's appearing as a guest panelist this time around.
Renamed You Bet! On Tour, Stephen will take over solo hosting duties for the second outing.
Also confirmed for guest appearances are Rob Beckett, Josh Widdicombe, Zoe Ball, Rylan Clark and Babatunde Aleshe.
Each instalment of the seven-episode series - including a Christmas special - will take place a different location across the country.
Once again, the celebrity panel must decide whether or not challengers will complete their task.
Last month, Stephen opened up about continuing on as host without Holly.
Chatting to TV Biz, he said: 'I'm gutted she's not doing You Bet! with me, but I've had time to think about it and Bruce Forsyth was the first person to do You Bet! and he did it on his own.
'Matthew Kelly made it the best show on the telly.
You Bet fans complain as iconic show fronted by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern returns with missing feature
'And every time I've been interviewed and they say, 'What show would you bring back?', I've always said 'You Bet!'.
'So maybe it happened for a reason. We've filmed one episode already without Holly, and it felt very comfortable. Maybe it is just a one-presenter show.
"I don't know what happened. She just said, 'Look, sorry, I can't do it'. She told me face to face. She said, 'Look, I'm gutted but it's all over'."
The pair's other show, Dancing on Ice was shelved earlier this year with no plans for a new series, as revealed by The Sun.
Stephen Mulhern's career so far
The presenter is a mainstay on various ITV shows, but how did he become one of Britain's most well-known faces?
Stephen first gained an interest in magic and tricks from his father who taught him as a kid.
After performing at Butlins, he became the youngest member of the Magic Circle and even made an appearance on Blue Peter in a piece about Harry Houdini.
His career started in Children's TV when he presenter the show Finger Tips in 2001.
After four years, he launched Tricky TV on CITV in 2005, which he presented until 2010.
During this time, he was handpicked by bosses to front the ITV2 spin-off for Britain's Got Talent.
He presented Britain's Got More Talent until the cancelation of the companion in 2019.
But it's not all bad news for Stephen who is known for his duties on a number of quiz shows.
In for a Penny, a format originally launched on Ant & Dec 's Saturday Night Takeaway was launched the same year.
Before, he was chosen by bosses to host Catchphrase in 2013 and has been fronting the show ever since.
Other huge shows he presented for ITV included Big Star's Little Star, Rolling In It and the reboot of Deal Or No Deal.
He also made regular appearances on This Morning in 'The Hub' segment between 2011 and 2014.
After the Philip Schofield scandal rocked ITV, he was chosen to reunite with his former CITV co-star Holly Willoughby as the host of Dancing on Ice.
An ITV Spokesperson said: "Following another successful series earlier this year, Dancing On Ice will be rested in 2026 with no current plans for another series.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the cast and crew who have worked on the show since 2006, and over the previous 17 series, for all of their hard work both on and off the ice."
You Bet! airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
From niche to a billion pound industry: How immersive events have taken over
While cinemas are struggling and London's West End has witnessed a significant escalation in ticket prices, creatives behind immersive experiences say their sector is experiencing "a gold rush moment". From shows built around obvious fan bases - such as Mamma Mia! The Party - to those working with established intellectual property, including Squid Game: The Experience, the UK has proven to be a world leader when it comes shows that make audiences feel part of the action, rather than just observers. Little Lion Entertainment are the team behind two shows currently running in the UK: Pac-Man Live in Manchester and the Crystal Maze Live in London. Its CEO Tom Lionetti told Sky News: "There has been a real boom in the experience economy… It kind of feels like a bit of a gold rush moment in this industry. "It's not nascent anymore, it really is a big industry and it's getting bigger. "West End theatre is incredibly expensive at the moment and even cinema can be expensive for what it is, so I think it's about caring about the experience … you've got to consider value for money these days." Their Crystal Maze show challenges ticketholders to climb through tunnels and collect crystals just like contestants on the '90s programme. And it's one of the longest-running immersive shows in the world, still going strong in London 15 years after the concept was first staged. "The genesis really was this idea of breaking the fourth wall," Lionetti says. "I was an actor and I come from a theatre background, but what we were really intrigued with was giving people agency so you become the star of the show." Last year, according to the Gensler Research Institute's 2025 Immersive Entertainment & Culture Industry Report, the global market for immersive entertainment was valued at £98bn - and it's projected to reach £351bn by 2030. Despite times being financially tough post-pandemic, while cinemas have been struggling to put bums on seats, the continued popularity of experience events could indicate consumers are being a little more choosy about what they spend their hard-earned wages on. Our eagerness to show off on social media could also account for some of what's driving the boom, as well as the isolating nature of how technology-dependant we've become. As Secret Cinema's senior creative director, Matt Costain, explains: "Whether it's competitive socialising or immersive experiences, people are look for something that offers them more… and this is an example of an activity where people can come together and have a sense of community." Secret Cinema - which combines live performance and film screenings - has been staging events for 15 years now. In that time, they've partnered with major studios from Marvel to Netflix. Their latest offering will run from August see them bring Grease's Rydell High to life. Costain says: "When we first started this was niche, film fans who wanted to dress up and keep a secret… but immersive has moved mainstream and we've found ourselves one of two or three companies who've been in it since the beginning. "Part of our job as artists is to help people remember that they really love to play." He jokes that those "who find it the most difficult to get started" are invariably the ones "at 11pm with their tie tied around their head and dancing on a table". While there are many shows working with established intellectual property (IP), there are also some hugely creative original works also being produced - Storehouse being one of those. For 16 weeks, attendees at Staged in Deptford, which was once the archival store for Rupert Murdoch's News International, will be guided through a story that takes place inside a 'digital memory palace' that supposedly houses every story, message, memory, and meme since the dawn of the internet. Produced by Sage & Jester, its lead producer Rosalyn Newbery explains: "You're not moving into a theatre with infrastructure, put it this way, we literally had to bring electricity to the venue, bring power to the venue, bring water to the venue, none of that was there for us… it's a big old job and there's a lot of detail that you can't take for granted." Over 7,000 crew worked more than 57,000 hours to build the set. Getting a show of this size and scale off the ground is a feat in itself. As creative director Sophie Larsmon says: "There are a lot of people trying to get these projects off the ground and there are a lot of projects that never see the light of day…because of the hoops that have to be jumped through for licensing and financing. "It takes huge amounts of creative effort, I've seen a lot of projects where quite late in the process the green light is taken away." While some creators might struggle to access support because the work doesn't fit into traditional cultural boxes, it is certainly an industry that's worth shining a spotlight on. As Larsom says: "The UK has always led the way in developing this form… I think people are cottoning on to the fact that this is a sector [that's] going to be a big revenue earner for the UK."
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Country diary: A bumper year for orchids – the meadow is brimming with them
Last month, we made a choice on the farm in the midst of the spring drought. The grass was going to seed, risking the quality and amount of hay we could produce. We decided to 'top' the meadows early and hope for rain rather than settling for a poor crop. So far, it's paying off. There has been rain, and the grass, stimulated by mowing, is at last swaying in the breeze. A late hay harvest now looks possible. The drought, paradoxically, has brought a benefit. The grasses, so often dominant, have been suppressed, giving wildflowers a head start. The grazing pastures are no longer monocultures. This year, as horses swish flies, the fields are full of oxeye daisies, creating a landscape as bucolic as an Alfred Munnings painting. Also paying off is my prediction of a bumper orchid year. Wading through the wildflower meadows, I find bee orchid after bee orchid. Each has a pale pink, three-petalled flower with what looks like a fuzzy brown and yellow bee resting on it. If this were southern Europe, a species called the long-horn bee would think this was a female, misled not just by appearance but by the mimicry of pheromones. He'd have a go at mating. Whether the male ever realises he's been tricked into 'pseudo-copulation' with a fake bee I don't know, but either way, he has pollinated the plant. In the UK, the long-horn is so rare that the bee orchids self-pollinate. Then I start finding pyramidal orchids everywhere in the meadow. On top of each long stem is a flower spike, packed full of tiny, delicate individual flowers. Each has that distinctive orchid shape, varying in colour from light pink to strong purple. These ones are such bright magenta they almost glow, and will be pollinated by long-tongued butterflies, and hawk moths, whose proboscis can reach 25mm long. I pick a handful of the sainfoin fronds – loved by horses, naturally anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic – and return to the stables where the leaves are gratefully munched. In the eaves, the baby swallows are also open mouthed, gaping and calling as the parent swoops in with food. I found a chick dead on the ground this morning, but three remain, looking more ready to fledge each day. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
I'm surviving the UK heatwave with this lifesaver handheld fan – on sale now for £14
THIS little Amazon fan has seriously saved me in the heat. I picked up the Jsdoin handheld fan a couple of weeks ago, and at just £13.99 on sale, it's been one of my best summer buys. Jsdoin Handheld Fan, £15.99 £13.99 Amazon's full of hidden gems, and this little fan showed up just in time for the heatwave. It's on sale for £13.99, and honestly, I don't know how I'd be getting through this heat without it. I grabbed it on a bit of a whim, but with an amber heat health alert for England in place, it's been a lifesaver. If you're like me, your sweaty, slightly desperate future self will be very grateful you got one while it's on offer. But, for something so small, the Jsdoin fan is shockingly powerful. It has five speed settings and throws out some serious airflow, but even on the lowest, it takes the edge off. When I'm on the train and the air feels thick and still, this thing is a lifesaver. It's quiet too, so I don't feel awkward using it in public, and it doesn't rattle like cheaper fans I've tried before. *If you a click a link in this article, we may earn affiliate revenue. Our team of shopping experts are constantly on the lookout for the best deals on household essentials — whether that's pantry staples, laundry pods or necessities like kitchen and loo rolls. Here are the best deals we've spotted at Amazon this week: Blu Tack, £2.45 £0.95 - buy here Dr Beckmann Washing Machine Cleaner, £3.49 £1.79 - buy here Allevia Hayfever Tablets, £11.89 £7.58 - buy here Brita Maxtra Filter x 6, £37.49 £24.66 - buy here Pritt Glue Stick, £4.99 £3 - buy here High5 Zero Electrolyte Tablets, £7.99 £4.04 - buy here Grenade Salted Caramel Bars x 12, £30.99 £20.95 - buy here Heinz Beanz x12, £16.80 £9.97 - buy here Plymouth Original Dry Gin, £28.50 £20.46 - buy here Bulldog Age Defence Moisturiser, £8.99 £4.49 - buy here Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, £9.99 £6.48 - buy here NIVEA Q10 60+ Mature Skin Body Lotion, £12.09 £5.38 - buy here At my desk, it sits neatly in the little stand it comes with, so I angle it towards me and just get on with things without slowly melting into my chair. There's even a slot for aromatherapy tablets if you're into that (one's included, though I haven't used it yet). It charges via USB-C and lasts way longer than I expected, up to 15 hours depending on the speed setting. There's no annoying slow fade-out either; it holds its strength until the battery's actually done. I really like the LCD display, which shows exactly how much battery I've got left. I always know when it needs a charge and don't get caught out when I need it most. It also folds up, weighs basically nothing, and comes with a lanyard if you want to wear it around your neck. This fan isn't the only solution; we've also put together some cheap tricks to stay cool during a heatwave. But if you want something simple that actually works and doesn't cost a fortune, this one's hard to beat. I'm not the only fan (pardon the pun) it's had thousands of 5-star reviews and over 10,000 sold in the past month. One shopper praised, 'I first got one last year when in the hospital and the windows were rubbish, and this fan worked wonders. 'So when we had that short week of heat, I bought my children one each. Worth every penny.' Another agreed, adding, 'Pretty powerful for a small fan, plus loved the stand and the way it folds.' If you're roasting on the go or just need something to make the heatwave feel a bit more bearable, this fan is absolutely worth £14.
