Let me tell you there's much more to my story than glitz and glamour! I will introduce you to a fabulous cast of my friends, family and teachers - from Nanny Downer, who I used to go to Londis with to swipe cans of Special Brew (she was in a wheelchair, I was 9, she was the Fagin to my Oliver Twist), to Pat my glamorous mum who spent my school fees on a boob job. People say I am the real life Billy Elliot and who am I to disagree?! I have spent my whole life dancing and I'm proof that if you really want something and work hard enough, you too can share the back of a tour bus with the Spice Girls! Not to mention receiving a brand new sofa bed from Gary Barlow. I kid you not. So kick off the spandex, put the kettle on and enjoy. I've Still Got It, Never Lost It, have you? Louie
As the ever smiling and very lovable tour guide on Channel 4's hit teatime show Coach Trip, Brendan Sheerin, share his wonderfully funny and evocative life story. Part nostalgic memoir, part travelogue from behind-the-scenes on Coach Trip, is a great treat for his many fans.
When Tina met Chandi, she was a frightened, abandoned puppy in a local pound. Under Tina's care she soon blossomed into an amazingly intuitive dog and Pepper, Tina's first rescue dog, she gave Tina a reason to live after losing both her parents to cancer. Tina and Chandi developed a very special bond that allowed them to communicate at an extraordinary level and provided the magic element in their Freestyle dog dancing routines. This book has 302 pages and is 19.7cm x 12.9cm x 2cm
This hilarious, intriguing and utterly compelling story of how the Stephen the nation knows (or thinks it knows) began to make his presence felt as he took his first tentative steps in the worlds of television, journalism, radio, theatre and film. For all its trademark wit and verbal brilliance, this is a book that is not afraid to confront the aching chasm that separates public image from private feeling. Welcome to the Fry Chronicles, one of the bravest, boldest and heartfelt accounts of a man's formative years that you will ever have the exquisite pleasure of reading.
Work! Consume! Die! Is the collected wisdom of an idiot. Interwoven with this numb hymn to show business are chapters detailing Boyle's worldwide view, an incessant fusillade of laughter and despair, the hollow clanging scream of a dying mechanical God and an honest attempt to describe the world by refusing to take it seriously.
He's outspoken, he's blunt, and he's not always popular - but he is always honest. And finally he's ready to tell the full story of his life, revealing how the boy from a Clapton council estate became Lord Sugar of Clapton, a life peer, multi-millionaire and television star. As he puts it: 'a journey from Clapton to Clapton'. Alan Sugar was brought up in London's East End. As a kid he watched his dad struggle to support the family, never knowing from one week to the next if he'd have a job. It had a huge impact on him, fuelling a drive to succeed that was to earn him a sizeable personal fortune. Now he describes his amazing journey, from schoolboy enterprises like brewing and selling his own ginger beer to setting up his own company at nineteen; from Amstrad's groundbreaking ventures in hi-fi and computers, which made him the darling of the stock exchange, to the dark days when the company almost went under. He talks about his battles as chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC - and the terrible toll they took on him. He also shares the story of how he met his wife of over forty years and how he has drawn strength from his family. He takes us into the world of The Apprentice, and describes his appointment as advisor to the Labour government and elevation to the peerage in 2009. What You See Is What You Get is the forthright, funny and sometimes controversial life of one of our greatest entrepreneurs.
This is a book full of hope and jokes. A novella tells the story of a newly retired Frankie Boyle, lured back onto the panel-show circuit. Frankie pitches increasingly desperate ideas for new shows as he slides down the showbiz rankings and his arse drops ever closer to an obscure sodomising. Interwoven with this numb hymn to show business are chapters detailing Boyle's worldview, an incessant fusillade of laughter and despair, the hollow clanging scream of a dying mechanical God and an honest attempt to describe the world by refusing to take it seriously.
At the age of twenty-three, Bear Grylls became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest. At extreme altitude youth holds no advantage over experience, and it is generally acknowledged that younger climbers have more difficulty coping with the adverse effects of mountaineering. Nevertheless, only two years after breaking his back in a freefall parachuting accident, Bear Grylls overcame severe weather conditions, fatigue, dehydration and a last-minute illness to stand on top of the world's highest mountain. Facing Up is the story of his adventure, his courage and humour, his friendship and faith. This book has 288 pages and is 19.7cm x 13cm x 2cm
With his infectious energy and charisma, Gok Wan has an incredible gift of making women feel more confident within themselves - but it's not until you read his own inspirational story that you find out where he got that gift from.
Gok grew up on a Leicester housing estate, with a loving family who ran a Chinese restaurant. For his parents, food meant love - and Gok was so well loved that by the time he was a teenager he weighed 21 stone. Being Asian and gay as well, Gok felt lonely and out of place. He was an easy target for bullies and suffered terribly at their hands.
In a moment of inspiration, he decided to reinvent himself with his first style makeover and a larger-than-life personality to go with it. But his next move was to lose a devastating ten stone in nine months. In Through Thick and Thin, for the first time, Gok reveals all about that life changing period.
The lessons Gok learnt during this time helped him bounce back to become a stylist to the stars, every woman's best friend and a national treasure. In this intimate memoir Gok tells his full story in his own words. Whether he's recounting the horrors of childhood bullying or riotous anecdotes about his loving family, behind the scenes in the fashion world or TV shows, Gok's voice jumps off the page with all the honesty, wit and warmth we've come to know and love him for.
A national symbol of romance since the 1970s, Redford's stardom has often eclipsed the life and trials of the man himself. In this biography -- written with Redford's personal papers, journals, script notes, correspondence, and hundreds of hours of taped interviews -- Michael Feeney Callan strips away the Hollywood facade, exposing the complicated, surprising man beneath. The life of Robert Redford is a series of contradictions: descended from impoverished East Coast barbers on his father's side and once-wealthy Texans on his mother's side, the young Redford suffered from aimlessness and semi-poverty, dropping out of college and briefly spending time in jail before launching a career in theatre. Redford has contributed more -- and more widely -- to entertainment than most stars of his calibre. As an actor, he's appeared on Broadway and film, with an Oscar-nominated performance in 1973's The Sting. As a director, he's earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director and has received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1980 for Ordinary People. And as a producer of independent films -- including the patronage of his Sundance Institute -- he's worked on films including All the President's Men and 2004's The Motorcycle Diaries. This is a fascinating exploration of one of our most celebrated and least understood public figures, and an essential read for anyone interested in the rocky road to Hollywood.
Sherrie Hewson is one of Britain's best-loved TV stars. She has dazzled audiences for decades with unforgettable roles in Coronation Street and Emmerdale, while her quick wit and cheeky sense of fun have made her a favourite panellist on the award-winning Loose Women. Sherrie finally takes us behind the scenes of her remarkable life. Delivered with the genuine warmth and generous sense of humour she is loved for, this is Sherrie's incredible untold story.
In confessions of a conjuror, Derren Brown invites you on a whimsical journey through his unusual mind. Structured around the various stages of a conjuring trick, performed by his younger self in a crowded restaurant, Derrens endlessly engaging narrative takes you from the history of magic, to speculation on the manufacturing of monster munch and the correct way to poach an egg, via discussions about psychology, what he hums while cleaning his teeth and the social niceties surrounding parmesan cheese.
As the stand-out comic actor of his generation, Kenneth Williams was beloved by many as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles. Much controversy has surrounded William's personal and professional life after the publication of edited extracts from his diaries. With access to his complete archive - the 43 volumes of William's diaries and hundreds of unseen letters to and from the star - Christopher Stevens also draws on dozens of exclusive and in-depth interviews with William's closest friends such as Barbara Windsor, Stanley Baxter, Michael Parkinson, Nicholas Parsons and many more. This book has 438 pages and is 24cm x 15.7cm x 3.6cm
Anthony Reynolds' fascinating and detailed biography draws on scores of new interviews conducted with Cohen's band members past and present, his business associates, editors, friends, fans, producers, colleagues, enemies and peers.
As well as their revealing accounts, the author has gained access to hours of previously unpublished interviews with Cohen as well as archive recordings from several decades. The book also includes an authoritative summary of every Cohen album, with insights and recollections supplied from the musicians who appeared on the recordings.
Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life is a surprisingly frank portrait of the legendary figure. From the distant days of his penniless beginnings as a poet in Montreal, through the travels, affairs, religious crisis and drama of his latest tours. Cohen's extraordinary life and body of work is examined as never before.
The book includes many previously unpublished photographs, 24cm x 16.2cm x 3.3cm, pages 321.
Robert Peter Williams was only 16 and selling double glazing when he decided to audition for a new boy band which became Take That. Twenty years later they got back together which was the most exciting reunion in the history of pop. In this biography Sean Smith describes Robbie's remarkable journey from the unpromising streets of Stoke-on-Trent to the millionaire's playground of Beverly Hills. Inside it reveals the love affairs and the constant battles with drugs and alcohol that have blighted the superstar's life. The size of this book is 19.7cm in height and 13.1cm wide with 297 pages.
In this inspiring and intimate autobiography, Lisa speaks openly for the first time about her rocky road to fame. Both entertaining and heart-warming, Lisa reveals how she was by age 11 she picked up her first onscreen role and entered the world of musicals, presenting Children's TV and appearing on primetime sketch shows. But behind the laughter, fun and early success, was a south London girl hiding a personal life packed full of drama.
From doing the Twist in front of a room full of adults when she was a toddler, to cracking silly jokes at school to make all the other kids laugh, Lisa was a born entertainer. From cockney teen dabbling in petty crime, to young misguided love and troublesome forays in LA, Lisa experienced a lot before finally finding popularity as the fiercely intelligent and resilient DI Samantha Nixon in The Bill. In this inspiring and intimate biography, she speaks openly for the first time about her rocky road to fame. Told with Lisa's natural spark, candid approach and effortless humour, it is as entertaining, revealing and heart-warming as the little lady herself.
Amy Winehouse s recent death has made the news the world over, and despite her much publicised battle with drink and drugs her passing has left the music world in a true state of shock. At just 27 years of age she sadly joins a list of greats who have died before their time, including Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison. As fans gathered outside her Camden house to pay tribute to the singer her iconic music soared back to the top of the charts not only in the UK but in the USA and around the world. Never far from the headlines, stories about her tumultuous personal life, wild parties and controversial drug abuse regularly featured in the press. But 2011 was supposed to be her comeback year and she looked to be on her way when appeared alongside her God daughter Dionne Bromfield at The Roundhouse. An award-winning singer, Amy Winehouse, had won a host of accolades including two prestigious Ivor Novellos, and an outstanding 5 Grammys in 2008. Blending different music styles including jazz, pop and soul Amy had an army of fans committed to her unique approach to life. With original interviews and revealing anecdotes this remarkably well-researched biography traces the turbulent life of the tattooed wonder from her childhood pranks, through stage school and her early music to the global legend she will be always remembered as.