The All New Monty

A new lineup of celebrities will strip off to raise awareness of cancer in intimate areas in The All New Monty, this May on ITV.

Led as before by Ashley Banjo and Alexander Armstrong, the male participants this year include Love Island winner Jack Fincham, Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher, King of the Jungle Joe Pasquale, snooker legend Willie Thorne, Crimewatch’s Rav Wilding, Dancing on Ice star Matt Evers, and footballer Jason Cundy.

The men's show is on Monday 9th May, at 9pm on ITV, and the women's at the same time the following night.

Taking part in Ladies' Night, led by Victoria Derbyshire and Coleen Nolan, are legendary tennis icon Martina Navratilova, EastEnders star Laurie Brett, Love Island’s Megan Barton-Hanson, So Solid Crew’s Lisa Maffia, TOWIE’s Danielle Armstrong, and Benidorm’s Crissy Rock.

All the participants in both men's and women's shows have a personal link to cancer: they have or had it, or someone close to them has.

Xander said:

I am absolutely delighted this series will be returning following last year’s successful show in raising awareness of male cancer. I am proud to be a part of such a great cause alongside Ashley and I am looking forward to being involved in another fantastic show. With this year’s group of lads we will be looking to raise the bar and ensure it’s a night no one will forget!

Previous Monty programmes have been extremely successful in raising awareness of testing for testicular and prostate cancer in men, and breast and cervical cancer in women, and I'm sure this will continue with this year's show.

So that's Monday and Tuesday 6th and 7th May for the men's and women's shows, both at 9pm, on ITV.

Kilimanjaro: The Bigger Red Nose Climb

In 2009 a group of celebrities climbed Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, to raise funds for Comic Relief. This year a new set of climbers took on the challenge.

 

Alexander Armstrong teamed up with Strictly Come Dancing Head Judge Shirley Ballas, former MP Ed Balls, broadcaster Anita Rani, Love Island’s Dani Dyer, Dan Walker from BBC Breakfast, NFL pundit Osi Umenyioram and Little Mix members Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock to scale the 5895m peak. Almost all members of the group were affected by altitude sickness, some severely, but they battled on, aiming to reach the summit in the morning of 1st March.

A one-hour documentary on the climb will be broadcast on Wednesday 13th March at 9pm on BBC1, in the run-up to the main Comic Relief show that Friday. Were they successful? Well...

Please donate what you can to help Comic Relief's vital work supporting vulnerable people and communities, in the UK and overseas. The information you'll need is here.

Tickets for The All New Monty available now!

As in the last two years, Alexander Armstrong and Ashley Banjo will be presenting (and performing!) a strip routine with a group of other male celebrities to raise awareness of men's cancers. Coleen Nolan and Victoria Derbyshire will lead a women's performance to raise awareness of women's cancers.

With Ashley and Xander in the men's performance will be former snooker professional turned commentator Willie Thorne, King of the Jungle Joe Pasquale, Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez, Love Island winner Jack Fincham, Emmerdale star Kevin Fletcher, comedian Joe Pasquale, Crimewatch host Rav Wilding, Dancing On Ice skater Matt Evers and footballer Jason Cundy.

Xander said:

I am absolutely delighted this series will be returing following last year’s successful show in raising awareness of male cancer. I am proud to be a part of such a great cause alongside Ashley and I am looking forward to being involved in another fantastic show. With this year’s group of lads we will be looking to raise the bar and ensure it’s a night no one will forget!

This year's live performance will be recorded on Tuesday February 19th, at Alexandra Palace Theatre in Wood Green, north London, for broadcast in March. You can get tickets here.

Alexander Armstrong to climb Kilimanjaro!

Alexander Armstrong is one of the celebrities set to climb Kilimanjaro later this year, to raise funds for Comic Relief.

Also due to take part are Strictly judge Shirley Ballas, Little Mix stars Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, Dan Walker from BBC Breakfast, Countryfile's Anita Rani, Dani Dyer from Love Island, and former MP Ed Balls.

The climb takes place in late February, and there will be updates on BBC1's The One Show. Red Nose Day is on Friday 15th March, and a one-hour programme showing the climb will be shown in the run up to that date. More details when I have them.

Monty the Third

ITV have announced that there will be another pair of The Real Full Monty programmes this year, aimed at raising awareness of men's and women's cancers. As with last year, there will be a men's show, recreating the iconic strip sequence from The Real Full Monty, and a Ladies Night. Both will be choreographed by Ashley Banjo.

In both years so far, Alexander Armstrong has co-presented with Ashley as well as taking part in the dance. So far only a couple of celebrities have been announced for this year's men's show (Kelvin Fletcher of Emmerdale and Love Island's Jack Fincham) plus of course Xander as Ashley's co-host! More on dates once I have them.

Broadcast date confirmed for Royal Variety Performance

The Royal Variety Performance, which was recorded last month, will be broadcast on ITV at 7.30pm on Tuesday 11th December.

Hosted by Greg Davies and in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, this year's Royal Variety Performance includes the casts of Hamilton and Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, Take That, George Ezra, Andrea and Matteo Bocelli, Cirque de Soleil, Lost Voice Guy, Rhod Gilbert, Rick Astley, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Also taking part are Alexander Armstrong and the cast of The Imitation Game playing a round of the panel show. According to The Stage's review, it "provided one of the biggest laughs of the evening". Should be good!

The Imitation Game at the Royal Variety Performance

The Royal Variety Performance 2018 took place on the evening of Monday 19th November, and was recorded for broadcast by ITV some time in December. As always a huge spread of entertainment styles took part, including the casts of Hamilton and Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, Take That, Clean Bandit, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and last year's Britain's Got Talent winner, Lost Voice Guy.

Alexander Armstrong hosted a round of ITV panel show The Imitation Game which, according to The Stage's review, "provided one of the biggest laughs of the evening".

The performance was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. More on transmission dates once I have them.

We Are Most Amused And Amazed

We Are Most Amused And Amazed is a spectacular night of comedy and magic from The London Palladium, to celebrate the 70th birthday of HRH The Prince of Wales and raise funds for youth charity The Prince’s Trust.

Reuniting comedians Armstrong & Miller as hosts, the show also features the very best comedians and magicians from Britain and beyond: from the world of comedy, Bill Bailey, Rowan Atkinson, Sandi Toksvig, Omid Djalili, Mischief Theatre, and Alistair McGowan, as well as magicians Penn & Teller, Dynamo, and The Ehrlich Brothers.There are also special appearances from Kylie Minogue, Cheryl, Jim Carter and Wallace & Gromit.

We Are Most Amused And Amazed airs on Tuesday 13th November at 8pm, on ITV.

Witney Festival of Food and Drink

This year's Witney Food Festival will be on Saturday 20th May. Alexander Armstrong is patron of the Festival, now in its 5th year, and will be attending (work commitments permitting).

The venue is the magnificent mediaeval St Mary's Church, in the lovely Oxfordshire town of Witney. The wide variety of producers are all from within a 35 mile radius of Witney. There will also be a Children's Tent, cookery demonstrations, dancing, and snack stalls.

Xander says:

Witney Festival of Food and Drink has gone from strength to strength. It proved so popular – and grew so rapidly – that within two years of the first festival every available inch of St Mary’s and the surrounding area was filled. So, being the foodie’s West Oxfordshire Glastonbury, the onus is now on us to ensure that we focus each festival on exciting new culinary innovations in the area, as well as celebrating the continued success of our many old friends.

Check here for visitor information to this really good event!

Comic Relief 2017

Alexander Armstrong made a video for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2017, thanking British Airways' customers and staff for their fundraising efforts since 2010. It's one of a series shown over that evening's telethon with celebrities cut in with shots from classic movies.

To date, Comic Relief 2017 has raised £71,308,475 this year to support projects in the UK and Africa. BA, their customers and staff have raised over £14 million since 2010.

The Real Full Monty Lineup Revealed

The full lineup of celebrities who'll be stripping off for The Real Full Monty has been revealed. They are McFly drummer Harry Judd, TOWIE's Elliot Wright, ballet dancer Wayne Sleep, former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster, Matthew Wolfenden from Emmerdale, TV presenter Dom Littlewood, and Danny John Jules from Red Dwarf and Death In Paradise.

The group were photographed onstage for the first time today, along with host Alexander Armstrong and under the watchful eye of dance coach Ashley Banjo, at Shiregreen Working Men's Club in Sheffield - as featured in the original film.

The Real Full Monty will follow Xander and Ashley as they teach their subjects to expose their flesh to maximum effect. The group is learning how to strip before boldly doing the Full Monty, stripping completely nude in front of a 2000-strong audience, which will feature in an episode of Tonight At The London Palladium.

Xander said:

We are using this film to raise awareness of men's cancers (prostate and testicular), encouraging guys to check themselves and look out for their friends and act on symptoms if they have them. If caught early enough, prostate cancer is nearly 100 per cent curable, but if men are not aware of the problem or ignore symptoms, the story is not such a good one, as prostate cancer kills one man an hour.

I hope that by showing these men have the balls to strip off in front of thousands of people, it might encourage otherwise reluctant men to overcome their embarrassment and get themselves checked.

More on dates etc once I have them.

Alexander Armstrong makes promotional video for the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust

Alexander Armstrong has made a promotional video for the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust. He is a patron of the charity, set up by the family and friends of Charlie Waller, who very sadly killed himself aged 28 in 1998.The Trust aims to increase awareness of the symptoms and dangers of depression and remove the stigma that is attached to mental illness. It has, among other things, produced this excellent Parents' Guide To Depression.

The short video describes the work of the Trust with school and university students, teachers, and healthcare professionals to help them recognise the signs of depression. I urge you to watch it, visit the CWMT's website, and support them if you are able to.

Alexander Armstrong and The Real Full Monty

Alexander Armstrong has had a live testicular cancer check on ITV's This Morning, as part of a new project to raise awareness of male cancers. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged up to 49, but can be cured with early detection.

Xander, along with Ashley Banjo, will be making a documentary marking the 20th anniversary of The Full Monty as part of the awareness project. A group of male celebrities will learn to recreate some of the iconic dances from the film, culminating in a live performance at the London Palladium later in the year.

More of that once I have it!

Third album to come from Alexander Armstrong

Following the success of 2015's A Year Of Songs, which reached number 6 in the album charts and topped the classical charts for some months, and Upon A Different Shore, which was released in 2016 and peaked at number 8 in the charts, Alexander Armstrong will begin work on his third album this week.

Xander made the announcement in an interview with the Chronicle while in Newcastle cutting the ceremonial ribbon on a new wheelchair lift at the entrance of the Lit and Phil, the largest independent library outside London, where he chairs the fundraising committee.

Alexander Armstrong to appear in Dame Vera Lynn's 100th Birthday Concert

Renowned wartime singer Dame Vera Lynn will reach her 100th birthday in March this year. To celebrate this milestone for Dame Vera, known as the Forces' Sweetheart during World War 2 for her uplifting performances of songs like We'll Meet Again, she will be holding a charity concert showcasing some of the best in British talent.

The concert, on the 18th of March at the London Palladium, is in aid of The Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity and will feature over 25 of the country’s most beloved singers, dancers, actors, West End stars and TV personalities. Accompaniment will be provided by the revered Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra, The Squadronaires, a very fitting tribute to Mr Harry Lewis, Dame Vera Lynn’s husband, who was a founding member.

Among those performing are Alexander Armstrong, Blake, and Hayley Westenra. Other acts will be announced over the weeks to come, but a once in a lifetime experience is promised. Tickets are available online.

Walking In The Air for refugees

The Hands Up Foundation raises funds and awareness for those affected by the crisis in Syria. One of the ways it raises money is through singing, and they have recently launched the Singing For Syrians campaign.

The first event of the campaign is a carol concert at St Margaret's Church in Westminster on 13th December, led by a choir of MPs including Victoria Prentis, Will Quince, Nicola Blackwood and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, and with readings from Simon Callow, Michael Morpurgo and Robert Peston. In addition, Alexander Armstrong and Tom Hollander will sing and whistle Walking In The Air.

A similar event last year raised £45,000, and it's hoped that this year's concert will double that. Tickets are available from the Singing For Syrians site.

Alexander Armstrong to perform at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance

Alexander Armstrong will be among the performers in the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, which will be broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall on BBC1 at 9pm on Saturday 12th November, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen, members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and leaders of the opposition together with senior members of the military.

The line-up also includes Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, Laura Mvula, Birdy, the Royal Air Force Squadronaires, and the Band of HM Royal Marines. It will mark the centenaries of the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Jutland, the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War and the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire.

A Midsomerly Murders Night’s Dream is out on Friday

The first part of A Midsomerly Murders Night's Dream, Classic FM's main event for this year's Make Some Noise Day, will be released on Friday 4th October.

Make Some Noise is the charity of Global, the parent company of Classic FM. It supports small projects working with disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. Events go on all year round, but this year's main Make Some Noise Day is October 4th: Classic FM's chief contribution is a murder mystery radio play involving all their presenters.

A Midsomerly Murd’rous, the only village in the county of Midsomerly never to have been scandalised by murder, is abuzz with the big event being organised by Phil Hall (played by Alexander Armstrong) for the former Lord Theo Rhys (played by Alan Titchmarsh) for his marriage to his love Polly (played by Charlotte Green).

The story unfolds surrounding the suspicious death of Punk, the pantomime horse. Several people are in the frame including Mr Trunchbull, the estate agent (played by Bill Turnbull), Eggerton, the new lord of the Manor (Aled Jones) even Cotswold Manchebo, or the cheese shop owner (played by Alex James).

Detective Inspector Baxter Carter (John Suchet) and his sidekick Sergeant Brock Fugue (Nicholas Owen) traipse this formerly sleepy village from house to house in their quest to discover the truth, with the help of the new coroner….

A Midsomerly Murders Night's Dream will be issued in two instalments.  You can register to be alerted when it is released. Instalments cost £5 each for Make Some Noise.

Alexander Armstrong among stars to pay tribute to Terry Wogan on Children in Need Rocks

Xander will join a star-studded line-up including Take That, Ellie Goulding, Rick Astley, Olly Murs, Gregory Porter, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe,and the Vamps at this year's BBC Children in Need Rocks, which will honour Sir Terry Wogan.

Sir Terry, who died in January 2016 aged 77, was life president of Children in Need, with which he had been involved for more than 30 years.

The concert will feature archive material such as one of the popular Radio 2 Janet and John stories which Sir Terry frequently read on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show. accompanied by drawings by Horrid Henry illustrator Tony Ross.

BBC Children In Need vice chairman and controller of Radio 2 Bob Shennan said:

Sir Terry was one of the nation's best-loved broadcasters and it's a privilege to be celebrating his life with BBC Children In Need Rocks. The night promises to be full of fun for music fans around the country.

 The concert is on 1st November. Tickets are available from the Royal Albert Hall and agencies.

A Midsomerly Murders Night’s Dream

Make Some Noise is the charity of Global, which is the parent company of Classic FM. It works to help small projects supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

It raises money all year long, but its big fundraising day this year is on 4th October. All Global's radio stations will be putting on special events: Classic FM's is 'a hilarious murder-mystery radio play' called A Midsomerly Murders Night’s Dream.

The plot:

A Midsomerly Murd’rous, the only village in the county of Midsomerly never to have been scandalised by murder, is abuzz with the big event being organised by Phil Hall (played by Alexander Armstrong) for the former Lord Theo Rhys (played by Alan Titchmarsh) for his marriage to his love Polly (played by Charlotte Green).

The story unfolds surrounding the suspicious death of Punk, the pantomime horse. Several people are in the frame including Mr Trunchbull, the estate agent (played by Bill Turnbull), Eggerton, the new lord of the Manor (Aled Jones) even Cotswold Manchebo, or the cheese shop owner (played by Alex James).

Detective Inspector Baxter Carter (John Suchet) and his sidekick Sergeant Brock Fugue (Nicholas Owen) traipse this formerly sleepy village from house to house in their quest to discover the truth, with the help of the new coroner….

 A Midsomer's Murders Night's Dream will be issued in two instalments in the first week of October.  You can register to be alerted when it is released. Instalments cost £5 each for Make Some Noise.