Fans of hit Channel 4 show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings will no doubt be pleased to hear that the broadcaster is airing a Valentine’s special edition entitled, My Big Fat Valentine.

Airing on Monday 11 February, 9pm on Channel 4, the special will introduce 16 year old Traveller brides Ina Casey – who’s marrying her first boyfriend – and Danielle, who was 15 when she made the decision to get married.

Of her wedding, Danielle said, “People think that I’m 15 and I don’t know what love is, but he’s perfect for me and hopefully I’m perfect for him.”

In the last series, we saw Danielle on her hen night, but in the new show, we’ll see groom Brendan’s stag do which features Brendan and his friends singing and drinking around a campfire. He chose not to go to pubs or clubs, fearing he’d get into a fight… Read more & comment »

Fans of Channel 4’s hit documentary series Big Fat Gypsy Weddings will no doubt be familiar with Danielle Mason – who is EastEnders star Jessie Wallace’s sister – and cage fighter Tony Giles, whose relationship has been followed by the media for months…

And of course, they’ve been followed by a Channel 4 camera crew as they prepared for what was billed to be the most lavish gypsy wedding to date.

However, a rather large spanner has been thrown into the works as the couple have reportedly split up following several rows.

The Mirror reports, “Cage fighter Tony promised his fiancee a lavish, ¬traditional gypsy wedding with hundreds of guests but it is all off after the couple, who are expecting a second baby in the summer, rowed over Christmas.” Read more & comment »

With the 18th National Television Awards only two weeks away all the votes in the public choice categories have been counted and a short list has now been released for you to vote for your favourites!

The National Television Awards is a celebration of the last year on our television sets from soap’s to comedy, drama to factual, and whilst many of the awards are decide by an independent panel, the following 14 awards are left for you, the voting public to decide.
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As fans of Channel 4’s hit reality TV show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings may be aware, TV watchdog Ofcom announced some months ago that it was investigating complaints that the show’s makers had “stereotyped” gypsies and therefore caused offence to the Traveller community.

The row was further fuelled when posters and hoardings appeared for a new series of the show which bore the tagline, “Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier.”

The Mirror states of the investigation, “Channel 4 has been accused of showing traveller men as ‘feckless and violent’ and children as ¬‘foul-mouthed and uneducated’.”

The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain – who lodged complaints – also claims that the sexual assault of women featured in the show in the form of “grabbing” was portrayed as being normal behavior among gypsies… Read more & comment »

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings star Paddy Doherty – who also of course won Celebrity Big Brother last year – has reportedly landed a role in a Hollywood movie in which he’ll star alongside screen veteran, Nick Nolte.

The film will focus on the tale of a gypsy girl who falls for an Irish-American fighter. Paddy’s role is as the girl’s father, who ends up fighting with Nick’s character. The Daily Star reports that former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan will direct the flick.

Paddy was apparently supposed to meet with Brosnan last week to discuss the movie, however he had to cancel when his mother fell ill and he wanted to be at her side.

Of the film, which will be shot in New York, Paddy said, “I’m going to Hollywood. Can you believe it?

“I’m getting paid a few bucks. I’m not going to be a millionaire, but I’d do it for nothing… Read more & comment »

As we reported earlier this year, when a new ad campaign began for Channel 4 show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, the images and strap-lines used in the campaign infuriated some, prompting complaints to Channel 4 and the Advertising Standards Authority.

The adverts – which were posted on billboards and hoardings as well as in papers and magazines – featured images of stars of the show along with the words, “Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier.”

At the time, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that although the adverts “might not be to everyone’s taste,” they were “unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence” as they reflected the content of the programme accurately.

However, The Sun reports that the Irish Traveller Movement In Britain were unhappy with that ruling, so they took their concerns to an independent watchdog and asked that they reopen the investigation… Read more & comment »

As we reported recently, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings star Josie and Swanley Smith split up after Josie accused Swanley of treating her “like a slave” and of frittering away thousands of pounds.

And in today’s Sun, Josie – who’s gone back to her maiden name of McFadyen – threw a big fat gypsy divorce party to celebrate the end of her marriage, complete with a cake bearing a bleeding – red food colouring – groom whose head she chopped off.

Having received the decree nisi, Josie hastily organised the bash, and the £700 cake, as she told the paper, “This party is a celebration of a new chapter. I am only 19 and have my life ahead of me.”

She added, “The break-up has been tough. I loved Swanley but he was a let-down. He didn’t deliver what he promised and I want more for myself and my little girl.

“It’s too soon to say if I’ll marry again but I am dating…” Read more & comment »

As fans of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings will of course know, Liverpudlian dressmaker Thelma Madine is the go to gal for travellers wishing to make a statement with their wedding or occasion frocks…

And she is set to star in her own spin-off show, entitled Thelma’s Gypsy Girls, which will see her tutoring ten traveller girls in the art of dressmaking.

However, in an interview with the Daily Mirror about the show – which debuts on Channel 4 next Sunday – 8th July – at 9pm, Thelma revealed that the project turned out to be far more difficult than she could have imagined.

Here’s what C4 say of the show…

Thelma begins the search for her ten new trainees. All of them are gypsies or travellers, some left school at 11 and some are unable to read, write or even tell the time… Read more & comment »

We reported yesterday that three of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings star Paddy Doherty’s sons had recently appeared in court to answer charges related to a brawl that took place outside Manchester Crown Court last year…

All three were handed non-custodial sentences, however, Paddy’s son David, who’s 27 years old, was imprisoned yesterday after being found guilty – in an unrelated case – of causing death by careless driving.

The court heard David plead guilty to the charge which arose after he was arrested at the scene of a car crash. It transpired that he had been driving a 4×4 Mitsubishi Shogun which hit a parked car. David’s passenger, James Loveridge, who was his cousin, died as a result of injuries he sustained in the crash.

The fatal incident happened in March of this year on the A55 near Talybont, North Wales. Three other people were hurt in the crash, and required hospital treatment for their injuries… Read more & comment »

The traveller community is of course a close knit one, and families within that community are even closer…

So when the man who beat Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and Celebrity Big Brother star Paddy Doherty appeared in court charged with assaulting him, Paddy’s sons were there to show solidarity towards their dad.

Simon, David and John Doherty were in the public gallery for the hearing earlier this year, in which Johnny Joyce – who is actually Paddy’s cousin – was accused of assault, during the course of which he nearly severed Paddy’s ear after biting it.

Joyce was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 15 months after being found guilty of affray. Read more & comment »

As fans of hit Channel 4 show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings – and also Gypsy Brides US, which airs on the Discovery Channel – will know, travellers often encounter prejudice when, for instance, they try to book venues for parties or wedding receptions.

In both shows, members of the travelling community frequently bemoan this state of affairs, claiming that it’s unfair and is out and out discrimination. Unwarranted discrimination at that.

However, again in both shows, we’ve seen time and again that while some travellers are entirely peaceable people, many others are not, and unfortunately, the cliché about travellers equating to trouble is all to often true…

Which is of course how clichés come about in the first place; empirical evidence and recidivist behaviours which perpetuate the cliché.

This weekend has sadly proven to be no exception, as the annual Appleby horse fair in Cumbria descended into “chaos” after what’s described as a “mass brawl” broke out, and police were called to deal with not only that, but also an incident involving a firearm… Read more & comment »

Swanley Smith and his teen bride Josie shot to fame after featuring on hit Channel 4 show, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings…

However, the couple have recently split – something which is still a taboo among the traveller community – with Josie telling the press that Swanley lied to her, treated her like a “maid” and frittered away their savings on items for himself and his family.

But in today’s Sun, in an exclusive interview, Swanley has refuted Josie’s claims, and has even promised to hand over all the items he bought for himself, if she comes back to him.

Of the split, and of being separated from his toddler daughter, who’s also called Josie, Swanley said, “I’ve had my heart broken twice — I’ve lost my wife and my child.

“I love them dearly and I’d take them back in a thunderbolt.”

And while discussing Josie’s claims that Swanley treated her like a “maid”, he said, “That was her job!” Read more & comment »

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and Celebrity Big Brother star Paddy Doherty has been arrested over allegations that he threatened to kill a rival traveller.

According to the Daily Star, he was nicked at Manchester airport last Friday as he stepped off a plane, having returned to the UK from Hungary, where he’d been filming.

The paper adds, “It is understood the allegations relate to one of his neighbours in Flintshire, north Wales.”

Last night, Paddy’s solicitor, Aziz Rahman, said of the incident – which saw Paddy being released some hours after his arrest – “The interview concerns allegations of public order offences, namely threats to kill and affray.

“Mr Doherty vehemently denies any involvement…” Read more & comment »

The wedding of travellers Josie McFadyen and Swanley Smith became one of the most watched TV show in the history of Channel 4 when it was shown as part of the channel’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings series.

However, breaking with traveller tradition, 18 year old Josie and 21 year old Swanley – who have daughter, also named Josie – have parted ways, and according to Josie, Swanley’s deceptions during their short marriage, which ended when she found out he’d secretly given half of their savings to his family, and spent the rest on himself, have left her “in shock.”

She told The Sun, “I am in shock. I’m 18, with a baby and getting divorced. I feel I can never trust another man with anything.”

Last September, the couple were awarded compensation amounting to £105,000 by Surrey County Council after the site they were living on was declared contaminated.

Of that, Josie said, “We were offered compensation, either a new plot or the money.

“Swanley decided to take the money and it was a curse from day one… Read more & comment »

It’s virtually unheard of in the travelling community, but Big Fat Gypsy Weddings stars, Josie and Swanley have split up and are filling for divorce!

The young couple,who wed on the show in a flamboyant ceremony watched by 6.5million viewers on the hit Channel4 dispatch spin-off show, have reportedly separated due to a string of heated rows.
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