OTI Mabuse has a secret weapon in her bid to become a top TV host – Dermot O’Leary.
I can reveal the former X Factor presenter has been giving Oti tips as she prepares to front her first ever show, ITV dating and talent contest Romeo and Duet.
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Given Dermot’s pedigree in the industry, she couldn’t have picked a better mentor.
A TV source said: “Oti and Dermot have struck up a great friendship.
“He’s always keen to help out aspiring presenters and has been given Oti some vital pointers. All of which have been greatly received.
“It’s given her the perfect boost ahead of her debut hosting gig.”
Strictly star Oti hopes to make a smooth transition into presenting following her stints as a talent show judge on ITV shows The Masked Singer and Dancing On Ice, as well as BBC1’s The Greatest Dancer.
Romeo and Duet, which started filming last month, sees Oti play matchmaker to singletons attempting to serenade potential love matches.
The singers have just one song to entice a singleton down from a balcony to meet them face-to-face.
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The twist is they can only hear their singing voices – not see what they look like.
The new couples then head off for a “duet date” to learn a song, before returning to perform against other loved-up pairs.
Nort a list
BBC1’s Graham Norton Show on February 18 will feature the usual stellar line up of guests.
They include Oscar-nominated Brit Andrew Garfield, Dawn French, Magic Mike hunk Channing Tatum, and top comic Rob Beckett.
There will be music courtesy of Natalie Imbruglia.
Thrilling Eve
FANS of Killing Eve have been given a particularly tantalising peek at what they can expect when the fourth and final series of the show airs in the UK this spring.
The images show the usual shots of gruesome murders as you’d expect from assassin Villanelle – but also quite a lot of kissing.
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Our anti-hero, played by Jodie Comer, is seen getting up close and personal with a beautiful woman, while Sandra Oh as Eve locks lips with a handsome man.
The full series will air in the US first, as it is made by BBC America, before the BBC shows it here.
There’s talk of spin-off shows in the future. That’s if any of the characters are left alive to star in them.
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Back in Ton
EX-BLACKADDER star Tony Robinson is back for another series of his History of Britain on Channel 5.
From February 12 he’ll uncover stories of unsung people including the Roman gladiator and the show girl, the stoker who survived the Titanic and a rebellious nurse from the Fifties.
‘Blacked up’ fury drags 3 down
THE relaunch of TV channel BBC Three got off to an awkward start after being accused of showing blackface on the first ever international series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race.
In Tuesday’s episode of the cult show, one of the acts, Jimbo, appeared on stage dressed as a chess piece.
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Furious viewers didn’t hold back on social media, making comparisons to blacked-up characters from the BBC’s The Black and White Minstrel Show from the 1950s.
However, some fans disagreed, one hitting back: “Stupidest thing I’ve heard tonight is that Jimbo was blackfacing.”
BBC Three was revived after six years away as an online platform in a bid to reach younger TV audiences, having impressed the key demographic during its digital-only era.
A BBC spokeswoman said: “As stated within the programme, Jimbo’s look was inspired by a monochromatic chess piece and no offence was intended.”
Live semi finals in Eur line of vision
POSITIVE news for BBC Three has arrived in the form of Eurovision.
The live semi-finals of the showpiece will be moving to the channel from May this year.
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They were last screened on BBC Three in 2016, and this time Scott Mills and Rylan Clark will be on commentary duty from the PalaOlimpico Arena in Turin.
Rylan says: “I’m so excited to be back for Eurovision 2022 and even more excited to be heading to BBC Three.
“Myself and Scott love the show, and after a few years away from the physical Eurovision bubble we both can’t wait to bring you ALL the semi-final action live.”
The May 10 and May 12 semis determine who joins France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK in the Grand Final, which is on BBC One on May 14.
Jamie in Oprah pile up
JAMIE Oliver has revealed he nearly ran over chat show queen Oprah Winfrey on his moped while appearing as a guest on her daytime series in the mid-noughties.
He told the Jimmy’s Farm podcast: “I did my walk through for the recipe and they wanted me to drive in on the scooter – then you’d rehearse it.
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“The next time I did it was in front of a full audience of 600 people.
“There was a family that I was cooking with for the week and then there was Oprah.
“What no one told anyone was that the cleaners came through after the test and polished the floor.
“I burst in, put my foot on the brakes and nothing happened. I was going towards Oprah and I wasn’t stopping. I flew off the bike.
“Her security thought I was trying to take her out. He got quite feisty.
“The lawyers were obsessed that I was going to try and sue them and I was like ‘I don’t care, I’m fine’.”
No label for Andi
GREAT British Menu host Andi Oliver doesn’t understand why the younger generation are so keen to label themselves.
She claims gender was already fluid when she was growing up.
Andi said on the How To Fail podcast: “We spent most of our lives trying to divest ourselves of labels – men, women, boys, girls.
“My brother used to wear all my skirts.
“Now people are quite keen on a label – and I find it a little tiring, I have to say.”
Dancing On Ice’s new judge Oti Mabuse makes huge error as she dishes out celeb’s scores
