In the latest episode of the Daily Mail's Tales From The Celebrity Trenches podcast, host Jamie East is joined by comedian Alice Brine to discuss the week's biggest showbusiness stories. The episode covers Jamie's night at the BAFTAs and speculation over the next host of Strictly Come Dancing, alongside tales of their strangest celebrity encounters.
Robbie Williams Studio Encounter
Jamie, who ran the celebrity gossip website Holy Moly from 2002 to 2012, revealed a memorable encounter with Robbie Williams, Britain's best-selling solo artist, which became a personal claim to fame. 'I was in the room when Robbie Williams recorded Angels,' he recalled.
It was 1996 at Maison Rouge, a studio in Fulham that no longer exists. Jamie's band, The Beekeepers, was recording their first album there while Robbie was working on Life Through A Lens. 'I was in the studio pretty star-struck. Robbie was mega famous at the time. Anna Friel walked in, she was dating him back then. She told him she was going to work and left the room. Robbie waits all of five seconds, then goes through the back door and walks in all of his mates carrying loads of beer, alongside a bevvy of beauties. It derailed very, very quickly. Then he wrote Angels and Let Me Entertain You. What a time to be alive.'
Before podcasting, Jamie sought musical fame with The Beekeepers, a rock group from Derby who released only one studio album. Alice joked, 'That's like something out of Mad Men.'
Strictly Come Dancing Replacement
Jamie also offered his 'dark horse' pick for who could replace Tess Daly on Strictly Come Dancing. Daly has hosted the show for 21 years and, alongside co-host Claudia Winkleman, announced she would step down at the end of the 2025 series. Rumoured replacements for the 2026 season include Rylan Clark, Holly Willoughby, Alan Carr, and Zoe Ball.
Jamie put forward Angela Scanlon, an Irish television presenter known for BBC's The One Show and for competing on Strictly in 2023. 'Angela's been in Strictly. They like people to already be part of the family, people who can talk with some authority about what it's like. She's the one name I think is missing.'
Listen to the full episode of Celebrity Trenches: The Weekly Dispatch, wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
