BGT star to lead ITV’s Christmas Day TV schedule as bosses aim to make her ‘channel’s Mariah Carey’
ITV’s big festive offering is beginning to look a lot like singer Sydnie Christmas.
I can reveal bosses are lining up the aptly named Britain’s Got Talent winner to be at the forefront of their Christmas Day schedule.
The singer is set to have her own dedicated show where she will perform a number of festive classics, as well as her own Christmas single.
A TV insider said: “Sydnie could become ITV’s very own Mariah Carey.
“Her team have been in talks with top execs about making a show for Christmas Day, like an old school variety special. Her name obviously lends itself to Christmas so it would be a blockbuster festive spectacular.”
Last year, ITV aired festive specials of The Masked Singer and The 1% Club on Christmas Day, as well as soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, but lost out to the BBC in the ratings battle, who featured Strictly and Doctor Who specials.
Christmas came early for Sydnie in June when she banked £250,000 after winning the ITV talent show.
The Kent performer became the hot favourite after judge Amanda Holden had earlier pressed her Golden Buzzer to book the singer a place in the live shows.
ITV will be showcasing her talents once again on the Royal Variety Performance, which will air later this year, and was part part of the former gym worker’s prize for being crowned BGT champion.
Sydnie is likely to be introduced on stage by Amanda, who is co-hosting the showpiece with close pal Alan Carr.
She released her first single Starlight Express last month and her debut album, My Way, is set for release in late September.
The singer is also preparing to embark on her very first tour, where she will perform 15 dates across the country in October. She kicks off in Gateshead and concludes in Liverpool.
After her tour, Sydnie will be able to focus on her Christmas special.
She’ll never be short of work in December, that’s for sure.
A DOG'S LIFE FOR HARRY
ONE of HARRY Hill’s pooches is in the dog house – because she is on telly more than him.
Former TV Burp host Harry, who hasn’t featured much on our screens of late, owns two jackapoos.
Snowy has become something of a celebrity after Harry’s dog trainer in London put the 12-year-old up for TV advertising work.
Harry told the Oh My Dog podcast: “Snowy did appear in an advert. Then sometime later she appeared in another ad, and I think it might have actually been for a dogs’ home which is ironic because my wife bought her from one.
“And I thought to myself, ‘I am glad someone in the house is working, someone in the house is on TV’.”
CHAR BEGS TO DIFFER
AND Just Like That, Sarah Jessica Parker and the cast of Sex And The City are back on set.
Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda Hobbes, was snapped on the streets of New York as Kristin Davis’s character Charlotte York had words with a beggar.
In the scene, which saw the pair head to an after-hours club, Cynthia was dressed down while Kristin was chic in an all-black ensemble and heels.
The third series of And Just Like That is expected to hit screens in 2025, with Sarita Choudhury and Nicole Ari Parker also reprising their roles.
And while Kim Cattrall confirmed she would not be back as Samantha Jones, that didn’t stop SJP suggesting that the character’s story is not over following Kim’s cameo appearance last year.
She told chat show Watch What Happens Live: “Samantha is not gone. The actress that played the role is no longer playing that role.
“But people are absent from your life when you don’t want them to be.”
MARY'S IN FULL FLOW
THE kitchen in Mary Berry’s new series is going to look more like a chat show set.
That’s because the telly chef will be joined by celebrity guests for the return of Foolproof Dinners, previously titled Foolproof Cooking.
Each episode of the BBC Two show sees Mary whip up meals alongside a showbiz pal, starting with Alan Carr.
Other guests include Claudia Winkleman, Dragons’ Den’s Sara Davies, presenters Hamza Yassin and Sue Perkins, as well as The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk.
Mary said: “I’m delighted we’re returning with six more fabulous friends to change their thoughts about cooking.”
The series will air later this year with a book of the same name released on October 10.
VICKY’S ON THE POP-UP
REPEATS aren’t usually a good thing on TV, but Vicky Pattinson begs to differ.
She is giving old clothes a second chance at life in her new E4 show.
The former Geordie Shore star meets guests eager for a brand new look as they head into her hand-me-downs pop-up shop.
She will be joined by stylists Sabrina Grant and Joey Bevan, who face the challenge of coming up with the best outfits for contestants using shopping site Vinted.
The winning wardrobe of the series, which is titled Second-Hand Showdown, will be revealed in a finale episode.
Vicky said: “I am a big fan of pre-loved fashion, and the way it allows me to express myself, so this is right up my street.”
The series will debut on E4 from August 12, with short versions of each episode uploaded to Channel 4’s social media accounts and YouTube.