Latest news with #NoelEdmonds
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I am Jesus!': the TV brilliance of Noel Edmonds
He is risen. He is risen indeed. Six years after he huffed off to New Zealand in a hail of tuts, tsks and never-liked-you-anyways, Noel Edmonds has returned to our screens with a message for humanity. 'We're not trees,' he proclaims. 'We can move.' Noel Edmonds – and there can be no doubt that this is very much Noel Edmonds – is referring to his decision to leave the UK with his wife (Liz, 55) in order to establish an 800-acre hospitality business in the sobbingly beautiful South Island idyll of Ngatimoti. He doesn't like Britain any more, he says. It has 'changed'. But Noel – as his new programme, Kiwi Adventure, makes blisteringly clear – has not changed. He looks like a child's sand drawing of Aslan. He believes in 'the universal energy system', wears combatively tight linen T-shirts and has baths so cold he fears openly for the future of his scrotum. He is a deeply odd man. And yet. From the depths of the oddness re-emerges an imperishable truth: Noel Edmonds, for better or worse, is clinically incapable of making uninteresting TV. Here, then, are seven of the most notable emissions from the man's party cannon. 'Swap Shopppp,' bugled the theme tune, heralding the all-too-brief golden age of Saturday morning TV, an inflatable neon wonderland in which a jubilantly youthful Noel Edmonds could ask Kate Bush how she got her hair to go like that. Ferociously watchable studio quiz in which square-eyed families went cardigan-to-cardigan over questions about Blue Peter and Keith Chegwin. The winner? Knitwear. The runner-up? Telly. Noel's stewardship – aggressively serviceable action-slacks, smirk like the judgment of Zeus – would lend much-needed tension to the soft furnishings, thus plunging the McPerms of Perth and the Vauxhall-Cavaliers of Nantwich into a perpetual Scooby Doo-based deathmatch. Bring it back! Welcome ye to 'Crinkley Bottom,' an illusory fiefdom in which unsuspecting celebrity visitors (Dave Lee Travis, Edwina Currie etc) were greeted with mockery, gunge and often startlingly physical 'gotchas'. Pivotal to the chaos were Noel (presentational style: giggling necromancer) and bubonic familiar Mr Blobby, whose monosyllabic distress and sudden bouts of confused violence would attract audiences of 15 million. The House Party manifesto was as simple as the era in which it was conceived: hysterical conviviality for all, unless you're Dave Lee Travis, in which case we'll break your legs. Noël, Noël, Noël, Noël / Born is the King of Bra-aa-aaacknell. And Hove. And Ipswich, Canada, Finland and Crewe. The premise whispered of doom and seasonal biliousness but in reality the annual sight of Edmonds guffawing around the world to deliver festive reunions and white goods to the sickly and deserving was … not great, precisely, but also, crucially, not cack. The reason? Our host's unique ability to sidestep mawkishness while dressed as, variously, Santa, a Victorian dignitary and a garden gnome. He's called Noel for a reason, you know. The concept? Simple. The Noel? Guarded; tightly bearded; visibly uncomfortable around pensioners. The subsequent, sweltering tension – will Doris from Thanet attempt to engage him in a conversation about her dead husband for longer than her allotted 30 seconds? – would turn a daytime gameshow about cardboard boxes into a potentially lethal game of chance. Emboldened by the success of Deal or No Deal?, Edmonds' (brief) return to Saturday night TV found our subject very much in 'Noel's narked off' mode, sprinting through the obligatory 'members of the public rewarded for charitable deeds' bits in order to address the vexed issue of 'Broken Britain'. And lo, Noel didst upbraid bungling councils, bellow about bylaws and deliver sudden, snarling exhortations to know thy consumer rights lest the heavens split asunder and ye be cast into the eternal fire of implied warranty (Hotpoint 3:11-13). The subtext? I (Noel Edmonds) am angry, thus you (the viewer/Broken Britain/God) must pay. It was, in a very real sense, Brexit's patient zero. 'I am rocking,' intones Noel, emerging from his hyperbaric chamber like a blow-dried Christ. 'I. AM. ROCKING.' Broadcast this sort of stuff from a regional news studio and viewers would be lunging for the nearest mallet. But here, buttressed by a gasp-inducing mountain range and a preternaturally tolerant wife, Edmonds takes on an air of … vulnerability? Likability? Besides, the man's 76. If he wants to say 'I am Jesus' while wearing utility shorts in an outdoor shower, who are we to object? After six decades of televisual brilliance, awfulness, jumpers, Alan Partridge-esque hubris and comb-through hair colour, Noel Edmonds, perhaps more than anyone, has earned the right to be Noel Edmonds. Let us give thanks. Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure is on ITV1 at 9pm.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Noel Edmonds shows off his unusual new life in New Zealand
9pm, ITV1Noel Edmonds is an unusual man. On the face of it, this series simply documents his attempts to open a bar-restaurant in New Zealand with his wife, Liz. But the fun is in the journey not the arrival. Edmonds is obsessed with new-age woo, spending time on his 'crystal bed' and practising a workout regime he calls 'tranquil power'. He's also startlingly excited about his nail gun, calling it 'a sex toy', and regards Liz as 'an earth angel' believing she was 'a gift from the cosmos'. An eccentric cult classic in the making. Phil Harrison From 7pm, Sky ArtsWith Glastonbury a week away, warm up with a trip to Seaclose Park, home of the Isle of Wight festival. The Lottery Winners kick off the TV coverage followed by the Corrs. Other highlights include Justin Timberlake, Jess Glynne, Sting, Stereophonics and more. PH 8.30pm, BBC One'You all right bab?!' This series has accelerated Hammond's unstoppable trajectory towards national treasure status. It ends in a weekend with former boxer Tony Bellew. Hammond bonds with his wife, Rachael, almost instantly but Tony is a cagier sort. He's powerless to resist the Hammond charm offensive in the end, though. PH 9.30pm, BBC One This very funny comedy's clod-hopping central trio are under more stress than ever: they've killed a man! As Martin (Conleth Hill) pleads for calm and Diane (Rosie Cavaliero) tries to get through a sexually charged salsa-dancing date without arousing suspicion, Kath (co-creator Sian Gibson) goes and does the worst possible thing: engages with the police. Jack Seale 10pm, BBC TwoThis fascinating series in which Dr Orna Guralnik explores struggling relationships continues. This week, Alison and Rod try to unpack their constant bickering, while Jessica confronts her suspicion that she has made sacrifices her partner Boris doesn't understand. PH 10pm, Channel 4This swinger show stretches the definition of the word documentary. Sharmayne and Jamie are typical Open House residents: shy, nervous and on national TV for reasons that feel unclear. Gay couple Simon and Chris – who are opening up their relationship with women – prove more unconventional. Hannah J Davies Joker: Folie à Deux (Todd Phillips, 2024), 12.05pm, 8pm, Sky Cinema PremiereThe box office success of his supervillain origin story, Joker, was probably a surprise to its creator Todd Phillips. So a sequel is clearly a free hit for him, which explains why he's gone Broadway or bust with a full-blown musical. It helps that Lady Gaga is on board, carrying the vocal weight as Lee Quinzel, who falls for Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck while both are incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital. Their amour fou is realised in a series of fantastical numbers that are very entertaining, though the mental illness storyline is less effective. Simon Wardell The Entity (Sidney J Furie, 1982), 12.45am, Film4At first glance, Sidney J Furie's 1982 film is just an exploitation flick riding on the coattails of The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror. But between the lines of the woman-in-peril plot, in which Barbara Hershey's single mother Carla is sexually assaulted by an unseen supernatural assailant, is a story of controlling men. From Ron Silver's dismissive therapist to the university parapsychologists giddy over a big new case study – and even the invisible creature itself – attempts to force Carla into a corner founder as she fashions her own responses to her trauma. SW Test cricket: England v India, 10am, Sky Sports Main Event Day one of the first Test in a five-match series, from Headingley. International Rugby Union: British and Irish Lions v Argentina, 7pm, Sky Sports Action The warm-up match in Dublin.
Spectator
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
The triumph of Noel Edmonds
When Deal or No Deal hit our TV screens in 2005, it soon became a national obsession. I remember hotfooting it from the train station to my house, desperate to make sure I didn't miss it. This was the most infatuated I'd been with a TV show since I was child. Noel Edmonds, the show's presenter, was a big reason why: his witty banter with contestants and the show's fictional 'banker' had me – and Britain – captivated. Deal or No Deal was basically just people opening boxes. In most presenter's hands it would have been a bit of a yawn. But Edmonds made it appointment viewing. Edmonds is one of the great figures of British television Now, thank goodness, Edmonds is back: after a seven-year hiatus, he's returning with a new series exploring his life in New Zealand, where he runs an 800-acre estate. ITV's Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure, which starts tonight, is full of quirk: he refers to his third wife, whom he met when she was his make-up artist on Deal or No Deal, as his 'earth angel' and explains that all the clocks in their house are fixed at 11.06, the time the couple first met. Edmonds looks amazing for 76 and puts this down to a wellness routine that includes crystal healing, tranquil power, infrared saunas and oxygen chambers. TV hosts are often a bit weird and if you measure Edmonds against more bland presenters like Dermot O'Leary and Ben Shephard, he seems very weird. But perhaps the side of us that now sniggers at Edmonds is uncomfortable with the Edmonds in ourselves. We'd love to be chasing our dreams as enthusiastically as he is. We probably wish we too could be so open about our own idiosyncrasies, so we laugh at his instead. But there's another side of us that can't help but cheer him on. It's this side he appeals to in his new show. 'Maybe people who have had negative thoughts about me personally will see this and see an honesty, a sincerity, a commitment, a positivity,' he says. 'Maybe a few of them will change their views'. Let's hope so. Around the time that his stint on Deal or No Deal came to an end in 2016, people stopped laughing with Edmonds and laughed at him instead. It's not hard to see why: Edmonds cuts a curious figure. There's something of the Lassie dog about his appearance, and the way he's embraced so many unserious TV shows while often taking himself painfully seriously doesn't sit well. Alan Partridge and David Brent both poked fun at him, perhaps an indirect tribute from their creators, who surely took some inspiration from Edmonds. But his kooky personality shouldn't mean that we ignore something that isn't often said about him: he is one of the great figures of British television. Born in Essex, Edmonds started off on radio before moving to TV in the 1980s, where he presented Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, my first favourite programme. The madcap entertainment show was broadcast live for three hours on Saturday mornings, and allowed kids to phone-in and swap unwanted belongings with other children. He also presented Top of the Pops, Top Gear and Telly Addicts, and became the toast of television during the 1980s thanks to his impish energy, which chimed with a more optimistic nation. He was the first British broadcaster to brand himself distinctly from his shows, and he began to sometimes refer to himself in the third person. In the 1990s, he presented Noel's House Party, which was regularly watched by 18 million viewers and was described by a senior corporation executive as 'the most important show on the BBC'. The stunning success of the series, and its bulbous hero Mr Blobby, showed how Edmonds could tap into our sense of silliness, but it was dropped in 1999, when viewing figures started to fall. Edmonds, who'd been omnipresent on the airwaves for nearly three decades, suddenly disappeared. But when he came back six years later it was with something special. In the dark, moody Bristol warehouse where Deal or No Deal was filmed, he raised the tension by increasingly injecting a spiritual edge. He encouraged talk of telepathy, of box numbers having different energies and of a mystical force being at work in the game. You don't get that on Countdown. Wearing tight floral shirts, with his trademark bouffant still going strong, he was as charismatic as ever. As the atmosphere became ever more esoteric, he seemed a bit like an aspiring cult leader who hoped he'd finally found his flock. Where The Weakest Link had a bitchy host in Anne Robinson, Deal or No Deal had one who preached positive thinking to the contestants. A producer said later that the role was 'God given' for Edmonds. The columnist AA Gill wrote that watching Deal or No Deal was 'like putting heroin in your remote control'. That was a ridiculous thing to say: it was far more addictive than that. But the show's success didn't last, so Edmonds took his spiritual message beyond the studio. He claimed that he'd found an electromagnetic pulse machine that 'tackles cancer' and suggested that the disease may be caused by a 'negative attitude', a remark he later apologised for. Edmonds also offered to phone up people's sick pets and give them a motivational talk, even counselling a cat live on air on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2. He told the Guardian that the UK's population was at least ten million higher than official figures, saying that he worked this out using a formula he devised called 'the three 'F's' – food, faeces and farewells'. Edmonds went from national treasure to something of a joke. He upped sticks to New Zealand in 2018, settling in Ngatimoti, a small town at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Many of his fans thought that was it. But now – thank goodness – Edmonds is back. I can't wait to watch him on TV again.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Noel Edmonds, 76, reveals the weird and wacky secrets to his surprisingly ripped physique - from 'tranquil power training' to an alkaline diet and using a 'cancer-tackling' yoga mat
Noel Edmonds has sent fans into a frenzy after showcasing his surprisingly ripped physique. The Deal Or No Deal presenter, 76, looked incredible as he showcased his muscular torso in a pair of blue patterned swimming trunks after being named Torso Of The Week by Heat magazine. And the TV star has revealed the key to his secret health regime which he calls 'Tranquil Power'. Taking to Instagram after receiving Torso Of The Week, Noel joked with followers: 'So many of you have asked how do I get the body of a 76 year old? 'Step 1: Turn 76. Step 2: Tranquil Power (see my Positivity Formula on Noel Edmonds Kiwi Adventure)' He then teased: 'If that fails bribe the lighting guy!' before falling into his outdoor pool. The TV star revealed the key to his secret health regime which he calls 'Tranquil Power' where you hold the weight and feel the muscle burn then let go (pictured on I'm A Celeb in 2018) Speaking to The Sun, Noel explained: 'The exercise I do, I call tranquil power. It's about quiet and slow. You hold it [the weight], you feel the muscle burn and then let go.' Later discussing his morning routine he added: 'I normally have a warm shower in the morning and wash it off with a cold shower. 'And then a sauna, infra red. It's proven science and very good for you.' Fans went wild for Noel's impressive physique as they exclaimed: 'Great physique, and fabulous hair. Could easily pass for 55'; 'Looking strong'; 'Looking really good, fit and healthy'; 'You've not aged in all these years, infact if anything your looking absolutely amazingly fit!!'; 'You do look incredible for your age just goes to show lifting weights does make a huge difference to your life'. Noel is also enjoying more of an outdoor lifestyle after he and his wife Liz quit the UK in 2018 to build a new life in New Zealand. The couple have now opened a hospitality business in the small rural, riverside town of Ngatimoti, which includes a vineyard, coffee cart, general store, restaurant and pub. Taking to Instagram after receiving Torso Of The Week, Noel joked with followers: 'So many of you have asked how do I get the body of a 76 year old? Fans went wild for Noel's impressive physique as they exclaimed: 'Great physique, and fabulous hair. Could easily pass for 55' And in his upcoming reality show Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure, set to launch on June 20, follows the couple as they start their life from scratch 11,500 miles away. In the past Noel has revealed he also practises meditation, exercising slowly in darkness while listening to electronic pulses for an hour a week. He also explained he lies on a £2,300 electro-magnetic mat for 15 minutes a day, which he claims helped cure his cancer. Back in 2016 Noel sparked controversy after he revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that he had 'tackled' it with his the very upmarket yoga mat. The star alleged that he had used the EMPpad, a machine which aims to stimulate 'cellular resonance' in the body, as part of a regime to cure himself from cancer that he said was caused by stress. Speaking about his experience in an interview on This Morning, Noel infuriated host Phillip Schofield, and the show's doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, who said that there is no evidence that a machine can harness the effects of positive energy. Other experts have also disputed his claims. Noel said: 'The point here is that when I found out I had prostate cancer, I went out there and started to ask as many questions as possible. 'I changed my diet, I exercised in a different way... I then had my tumour destroyed by sound waves, proving yet again energy is at the heart of this issue.' He continued: 'I was, I thought, very, very healthy. I know why I got my cancer: because I had gone through a very stressful, very negative period in my life.' Phillip asked: 'The stress in your life gave you prostate cancer?' He replied: 'Yes, because the definition of stress is negative energy. It didn't just decide to manifest itself, there was cause. 'You have cancer in you, we all have it. Something triggers it, I don't believe what you say or think triggers it, but outside forces trigger it... All I want to encourage is get the information.' Phillip gave a statement from the makers of the EMPpad, which said they did 'not agree with it (Mr Edmonds' statement) in any way, shape or form'. He replied: 'Fine, all I'm saying is, by using pulsed electromagnetism and a series of other things, I am now free of prostate cancer.' Noel added that after using the mat: 'I could see my hair was thicker, my nails were stronger, the exercise I was doing in the gym was easier and less painful.' In terms of diet, Noel is believed to avoid red meat and maintains an alkaline diet which aims to balance the pH of your body. Alkaline foods include fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and non-starchy vegetables, rather than more acidic foods like meat, cheese, eggs, grains, and processed foods. Noel has also struggled with his mental health in the past after he confessed he tried to kill himself in January 2005. The presenter was discovered in woodland on his estate in Devon after taking handfuls of prescription pills washed down by a bottle of vodka. The TV host even recorded heartbreaking goodbye messages for his four daughters and in an interview with ITV in 2017 he confessed: 'My world imploded. And I lost my home. I went to a very dark space. 'The only way I can describe it is it is the darkest space that the human mind ever occupies. 'I wrote a letter to my now ex-wife explaining as best I could why I'd reached the end, and I recorded little dictaphone messages to my daughters, basically saying goodbye.' He said: 'The fact that I did not become another suicide statistic is solely due to the swift response of a Devon ambulance crew and the compassionate support of the Priory in Bristol.' Noel also believes in cosmic ordering after he was given a book about it by his reflexologist. He said that four of six wishes he wrote down and offered to the cosmos then came true, including his wish to front another hit show – which was Deal Or No Deal. 'You'll think I've gone away with the fairies, but its fantastic!' he said. He wrote a book, Positively Happy: Cosmic Ways To Change Your Life, in 2006. He explained: 'To me cosmic order is all about being a positive person who takes charge of your own life. 'You have to make conscious decisions to go out and make things happen for you.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure review: Noel is the greatest tragicomic character of our time and this dark horse has as much charm as Clarkson's Farm
Noel Edmonds ' Kiwi Adventure Rating: The pitch for Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure must have been: let's do Clarkson's Farm, but with Noel Edmonds. Yes, let's. And it does not disappoint. It's as if one of Alan Partridge's most desperate pitches finally got made. I had, in fact, stopped holding out for 'youth hostelling with Chris Eubank ' or 'arm wrestling with Chas and Dave' but now feel hopeful again. This is top-quality entertainment, possibly not for the right reasons, but I watched two episodes (of the six) and was transfixed. Edmonds may be the greatest tragi- comic character of our time. Noel Edmonds moved to New Zealand in 2018. Ah, so that's where he's been for the past seven years, you probably hadn't been wondering. He was no longer a fan of Britain. He says: 'All the things I miss about Britain are the reasons I left. It changed so much, so fast, so fundamentally, that I found myself missing a quieter country.' He then adds perceptively: 'We are not trees so we can move.' His estate, River Haven, is a monumentally stunning 800 acres. Here he is attempting to run a restaurant, a pub, a vineyard, a wellness centre, a general store and a coffee shack. He wants to be clear: this is not about him. He and his 'earth angel' wife, Liz, 'could sit in a big house somewhere but we feel we need to make a difference'. He met Liz when she was his make-up artist on Deal or No Deal. She first walked into the make-up room at 11.06 on October 6 in 2006, so now all the clocks in their house are set to 11.06. 'I knew she was in the room before I turned round,' he remembers. 'You will never pull us apart… we are one.' They are happy together. They have warrior statues in their private garden 'because Liz believes I was an emperor or leader of men in my past'. (He also has a giant praying knight statue to counter 'dark forces'.) It's one fascinatingly bizarre moment after another. They look through a box of old photos and he finds one fromLive Aid. 'My company organised the air transport,' he says, 'at no cost to them.' He later says, randomly, 'I pay my tax.' It feels as if he's pleading with us: how could you not love me? How? That's the 'tragi' part, I guess. He is 76, with hair that still defies gravity and, you could say, fashion. He looks remarkably unchanged. He has, it turns out, quite the wellness regime. It involves lying on a bed under suspended crystals, pulse electromagnetism therapy, 'tranquil power' – using a multigym slowly, from the looks of it – saunas, ice-baths, a hyperbaric chamber ('it shoots pure oxygen into your body; I'm rocking!') and also 'VIBE'. This he explains, is his acronym for 'visualisation of body energy'. (Let's all pretend we haven't noticed it should be 'VOBE'.) He and Liz only drink 'structured water', which they make themselves. (Look it up.) Wikipedia describes it as a 'scam' but he says it is better absorbed than regular water. He likes to round off his sentences with: '…and that's a scientific fact'. Later it is: 'Your body is lighter after death because your soul weighs something… scientific fact.' No one has yet identified the scientific universe Edmonds gets his facts from. Remember when he said bad vibes could give you cancer? Or did he mean vobes? All this, and we haven't even got to his business yet! So, his pub is not called The Farmer's Dog and he doesn't sell a beer called Hawkstone. Instead, it is called 'The Bugger Inn' and his beers include Tits Up, Boring Bastard and Old Git. There is also a Dickens Cider 'that is very popular with the ladies.' No one has yet identified the humour universe he gets his jokes from either. He doesn't draw Clarkson-style crowds. On the day his restaurant opens for the season only a couple of people turn up. (It is pouring with rain, to be fair.) The pub stages a Halloween party that seems to have all the atmosphere of an underpopulated Saga event. He worries that the local community won't accept him but, lest we forget, 'there are people who have lived here all their lives who are saying thank you, thank you'. No, thank you, Noel. This is a blast.
