» Celebcity with Jo Brooks
Birdman drama for Holly Walsh, Olly Murs films in Brighton, and Ricky Gervais makes a hasty getaway
Pier Plunge for TV Comedian
Sussex was big news nationwide last week as the Worthing Birdman competition catapulted the county to the number one spot on BBC news online. The festival (in which ‘fun flyers’ dress in elaborate costumes and leap off the Art Deco pier) supplied two of the top ten most watched clips on the news website, with the seaside antics getting more hits than stories on Barack Obama and new The One Show anchor, Alex Jones.
Sadly, though, the story that actually took Birdman into the number one slot involved comedian and TV presenter Holly Walsh getting a nasty injury in her leap from the award-winning pier in a homemade helicopter. Holly, who was raising money for Rainbows Children’s Hospice, had to be rescued from the water by the Shoreham inshore lifeboat crew after dislocating her shoulder and breaking her arm. In dramatic scenes, the comic failed to emerge after plunging into the sea and was pulled to the surface by support staff before being rushed to hospital.
This wasn’t the first time that Ms Walsh has visited the town or had her exploits there uploaded to a news website. Three years ago she was filmed on a rainy Worthing Pier delivering an acerbic assault on British coastal towns from Brighton to Blackpool. The film, entitled I Hate the Seaside, was shown on news website Current.com.
Also taking part in the Birdman festival in front of 10,000 spectators was brave Juice 107.2 breakfast show presenter Guy Lloyd, who jumped off the pier with a lot less drama but a lot of style in a superhero costume complete with a huge set of wings. The superstar DJ was raising money for Sussex’s only children’s hospice, Chestnut Tree House.
Ricky Slip(pers) Away
Gervais told radio listeners that he wouldn’t be hitting the town after the Brighton Centre dates on his Science tour gigs, saying instead that he’d be in the car before the audience stopped applauding! He’s not another seaside hater – oh no, he just loves his sleep and his slippers.
Olly’s Crew
Reality star and singer Olly Murs was in town with a TV crew, who are following him for a documentary on his career post The X Factor. The doc will be shown on ITV2 later this year, and his new single ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’ is out on 30 August. Olly is pictured here with the lovely Guy and Andrea from Juice 107.2.
Spotted!
Super cool electro rocker Gary Numan out and about in the North Laine last Wednesday.
Gary, who now lives in Sussex, was shopping for replacement wedding rings at trendy Brighton jeweller Jeremy Hoye.
