A GRINCH has been tinkering with the naughty list at BBC HQ this Christmas.
The Sun can reveal that the Beeb seems to have put their final two fingers up to Gary Lineker and axed him from The Celebrity Apprentice.
The footballer legend filmed a cameo for Lord Alan Sugar’s charity specials back in March, two months before he left his £1.35m post on Match of the Day over a row about a Tweet.
Gary is one of several huge names who chipped in to help the teams flog gingerbread biscuits for Children in Need on the festive special.
But since then, his inclusion has been cut.
Launching the show last month, Lord Sugar’s assistant Baroness Karren Brady revealed: “There are so many people that are coming to help us, and they’re coming because they love the show, they love the charity, and clearly they have a connection with the celebrities.
“So Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robbie Williams.
“Piers Morgan – I don’t think we should forget that one.
“And Rylan Clark and Gary Lineker.”
But now bosses have said they were forced to make cuts due to time limitations and that only a small number of celebrity helpers could be included.
It’ll be a blow for Gary, after the Beeb previously pulled the plug on a big chat he had planned with Mo Salah.
Regardless, the star cast of The Celebrity Apprentice, which airs on December 29 on BBC One, have roped in some big names.
Rob Rinder managed to get Oscar winners Olivia and Benedict on board.
The specials see the cast travel to Finnish Lapland to create festive treats with the aim of finding buyers to stock the biscuits for Children in Need.
Lord Sugar said: “I was very impressed that they managed to call these people in, they are top names.
“The main thing is that these celebrities, and I have a lot of respect for them, is they give up three days of their busy time for this great cause, it’s the money that’s raised for Children in Need.”
GLADIATORS PLAY JINGLE BALL ROCK
GLADIATORS, ready! Celebrities, ready? Judging by these pictures they are.
The next crop of famous faces to take on the ultimate test of strength are I’m A Celeb’s Vogue Williams, former Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson, Olympic boxer Nicola Adams and fitness coach Joe Wicks – and here’s a first look at them in action.
They go up against the mighty Gladiators on the BBC One show, hosted by Bradley Walsh and son Barney, and attempt challenges such as Collision, Joust, and The Wall.
But Sam’s supporters didn’t have high hopes for his efforts.
He said: “All my friends and my family thought I was going to get crushed!”
Meanwhile, gym-honed Vogue played down her chances, saying: “I love working out and going for runs and I enjoy getting out, but I would not say I am ‘Gladiator fit’.”
With the name Vogue taken by a former Gladiator, the podcaster, who was third to be booted out of the I’m A Celeb jungle last week, came up with an alternative.
She said: “I would be The Snail because I am not fast, but I’m resilient.”
Well, they do say slow and steady wins the race.
Watch Gladiators Celebrity Special on Christmas Day at 3.35pm on BBC One plus iPlayer.
FANS of The Handmaid’s Tale won’t have to wait much longer for a sequel to the dystopian drama.
The Testaments, based on Margaret Atwood’s award-winning novel, will go out in April on Hulu and takes viewers back to Gilead.
Ann Dowd returns as Aunt Lydia.
A FESTIVE PARADISE AWAITS
THE Christmas special of Beyond Paradise promises a bucket-load of twists – not that Kris Marshall is letting any secrets slip.
“I’m excellent at keeping secrets,” he teased.
“Whether they’re good, bad, big, small, I cover all secret bases.”
That’s certainly unlike his character, DI Humphrey Goodman, in the BBC’s Death In Paradise spin-off.
“There’s an irony in that Humphrey can see the smallest detail, then end up walking into a lamppost soon after,” Kris admits.
In the festive episode, a man with no memory turns up at the police station holding a photo of Humphrey.
Meanwhile, Kelby (Dylan Llewellyn) tries to help someone trapped inside their snowman costume.
Bottom legend Adrian Edmonson and One Day actor Jonny Weldon also make guest appearances.
What a bumper gift.
DAN WALKER’s fan mail makes for interesting reading. The Channel 5 news anchor joked about some of the letters he has received at the TRIC Awards in London this week.
He said: “Someone once wrote in and said they’d named their dog after me. They called him Idiot.”
