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hosting

Reese Witherspoon
TV & Streaming

Reese Witherspoon Recalls Hosting the First SNL Episode Post 9/11

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Reese Witherspoon is opening up about the difficult decision to host the first Saturday Night Live episode after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Oscar winner recently chatted with Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast about her debut SNL hosting experience more than two decades ago, saying, “I would give that zero stars. Do not recommend.”

Witherspoon, who was coming off the box office success of Legally Blonde that summer, admitted it was “just too much responsibility for a 24-year-old girl.” However, her “Southern and military ethics” prevented her from turning down SNL creator Lorne Michaels when he asked.

“Lorne Michaels called me and he said, ‘I really need you to show up. I really, really need this. Rudy Giuliani’s gonna be here. All the firefighters are gonna be here. Paul Simon is gonna sing. I just need you to come out and do something a little light and tell America, ‘You can’t feel sad. We gotta laugh again. We’ve got to get back the national spirit,’” Witherspoon recalled. The actress-producer noted that she was scheduled to host the second episode of season 27, but that the first episode ended up being canceled following the attacks.

“I was 24. I also had a baby. I had a one-year-old. I was a new mom. I had the biggest movie come out that summer,” The Morning Show star added. “But if you know me, if I tell you I’m going to do something, I mean there has to be a real disaster. … We did it and it was good.”

The post-9/11 show also included a speech from then-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, while being surrounded by NYC firefighters and police officers. Paul Simon also had a surprise performance, while Alicia Keys was the scheduled musical guest.

In addition to that episode being Witherspoon’s hosting debut, it was also the first episode for longtime castmembers Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler.

When Witherspoon thinks back to that 2001 episode, she remembers how she “completely left my body” during the entire episode and “did not go again for 15 years,” referring to the long-running sketch comedy show.

She finally returned in 2015 to host SNL during season 40, with musical guest Florence and the Machine.

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Tia and Tamera On Twitches & Who's Hosting Thanksgiving
Fashion

Tia and Tamera On Twitches & Who’s Hosting Thanksgiving

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Tamera: I can speak for Hallmark. When I started at Hallmark — it’s been about seven years —  I remember not seeing women like me at all on that network, and I got to give it to Michelle Vicary, who is there now, she gave me my chance. She was like, “listen, we want you to tell your stories. I’m going to give you three films to produce.” And I was like, Oh my gosh, the pressure! But also, like Tia was saying, I felt very honored. I did a movie called Girlfriendship, an all-Black woman cast on Hallmark and literally, the producers came back and said, “we’ve had the most black audience we’ve ever had on Hallmark, thank you.” That felt beautiful and amazing. And I’m happy that I’m still there. I still get to tell all kinds of stories of what Black families look like. We’re biracial, I get to tell those stories. And to be honest, the response as the new person, the trailblazer going in there, telling these stories, it wasn’t always positive. 

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Wanda Sykes Says Her 2022 Oscars Hosting Gig Was "Overshadowed" by Will Smith's Slap: "It's Like I Was Watching From Home"
Celebrity News

Wanda Sykes Says Her 2022 Oscars Hosting Gig Was “Overshadowed” by Will Smith’s Slap: “It’s Like I Was Watching From Home”

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Wanda Sykes Says Her 2022 Oscars Hosting Gig Was “Overshadowed” by Will Smith’s Slap: “It’s Like I Was Watching From Home”

Wanda Sykes is reflecting on her experience hosting the 2022 Oscars — the same year Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live on stage — and says the infamous moment completely “overshadowed” what should have been a career highlight.

In a new interview w/ Variety, the comedian admitted that when people bring up that night, they rarely remember she was one of the evening’s hosts.

“It got overshadowed,” Sykes said. “People talk to me about that night without even mentioning, ‘Oh yeah, you hosted, right?’ Like I was in the audience or at home, watching TV. But I was there.”

Sykes, who co-hosted alongside Regina Hall and Amy Schumer, said that despite the chaos, Will Smith did reach out to her following his public apology to Chris Rock. However, she explained their conversation didn’t go far because she wasn’t feeling well.

“He reached out,” she shared, adding that she had “a bad cold” at the time and only replied via text.

The 2022 Oscars made global headlines when Smith walked onstage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith later won Best Actor that same night for King Richard and has since apologized multiple times.

Sykes, known for her sharp wit and decades-long comedy career, has previously said the incident left her “traumatized” — and now, she’s making it clear that the night she should’ve been celebrated as a host still feels like it wasn’t fully hers.


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Joel Dommett admits NTAs 30th anniversary hosting pressure and reveals his standout TV show
TV & Streaming

Joel Dommett admits NTAs 30th anniversary hosting pressure and reveals his standout TV show

by jummy84
written by jummy84

The likes of the critically-acclaimed Adolescence will be going head-to-head with Rivals, MobLand, Code of Silence and Ludwig in the New Drama category. Meanwhile, Alison Hammond, Claudia Winkleman, Stacey Solomon, Gary Lineker and Ant & Dec are all nominated in the TV presenter category.

One presenter missing from that list is Joel Dommett, and for good reason. The comedian steps back into his hosting role for a fifth year, which he admitted was rather daunting prospect as the ceremony heads into its 30th year.

“It does add to the pressure a little bit because it makes everyone sort of go back and look at how it’s been in the past,” Dommett told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview ahead of the NTAs.

He continued: “This show has been hosted by Trevor McDonald, by Dermot [O’Lear], obviously, and David Walliams, like these really great, huge people. And it feels really, really cool to be a part of whatever that history is.

“Obviously everyone’s looking back and looking at all those amazing moments that have happened over the over the years, and it just feels really mad to be the 30th, but it’s really exciting to put the show together, because [it] means you’ve got a context for the whole show. So it feels like there’s something that we can hang everything on a little bit, making it more intriguing to the viewer.”

Joel Dommett for The National Television Awards 2025. Indigo Television/ITV

As for what Dommett and the NTA team have planned, the presenter was careful not to reveal too much. He did admit it would be “fantastic” if Giant Joel made an appearance.

However, fans of The Masked Singer shouldn’t get their hopes up too quickly, as the host told RadioTimes.com: “The trouble is to get Giant Joel out of storage and then you don’t win, would be quite a big expense.”

Taking place at London’s O2 arena, the awards will be broadcast live on ITV on Wednesday 10th September, with a host of famous faces in attendance to see if the public has voted in their favour.

Additional nominees include Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham for their powerful performances in Adolescence, as well as Tom Hardy for MobLand, Rose Ayling-Ellis for Code of Silence and Brenda Blethyn for her emotional final turn in Vera.

Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham as Jamie and Eddie Miller in Adolescence. They are in a prison cell, looking ahead.

Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham as Jamie and Eddie Miller in Adolescence. Ben Blackall/Netflix

But it’s not just drama leading the crusade, with the likes of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, Richard Osman’s House of Games, The 1% Club and The Chase all nominated in the Quiz Show category, as well as The Traitors, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Love Island and Race Across the World nominated for Reality Competition.

When asked which of the many programmes aired throughout the year across major broadcasters and streamers was his favourite, Dommett picked two TV shows that aired in the time period he’s been hosting the event.

He told RadioTimes.com: “You look at something like Mr Bates vs The Post Office, [that was] so important. Adolescence this year, which is really important for [getting] us all talking and conversation and politicians talking about all that stuff. I think it’s really interesting. Those are some huge shows.”

If you want to know who else is up for an NTA this year, you can find a full list below – vote free online.

The National Television Awards 2025 will be broadcast live on ITV on Wednesday 10th September from 8pm.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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