Tom Hanks appeared to get pretty heated over the “nepo baby” controversy during an interview with Reuters published earlier this week.

A “nepo baby,” short for “nepotism baby,” is a buzzy, albeit condescending term that refers to children of celebrities who are now famous due partly to their parents’ fame.

The topic hit its boiling point in late December when New York Magazine declared 2022 was The Year of The Nepo Baby.

Tom was speaking to Reuters (as seen in The Sun’s video below) about his new film A Man Called Otto, which employed a few of his family members.

He co-produced the film with his wife Rita Wilson, who also co-wrote the script and performed an original song in the movie, per The Hollywood Reporter.

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New Christmas Songs For 2022: Our Verdict

Posted on 19/12/2022 by Boris Clair

Pop fans – the time has come to start updating your Christmas playlists.

This year, we’ve really been spoilt, with some of the biggest names in music unveiling brand new festive offerings, including seasonal tunes from the likes of Lizzo, Sam Smith and Alicia Keys.

Fortunately for those who don’t feel like sifting through every single new song to sort out the “naughty” from the “nice”, we’ve done all the hard work for you.

Here’s our take on some of the biggest new Christmas releases for this year, starting with something very special indeed…

Lindsay Lohan – Jingle Bell Rock, feat. Ali Tomineek

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Oh, Santa has been good to us this year. Not only is 2022 the year we finally got a Lindsay Lohan comeback in the wonderfully cheesy Netflix original Falling For Christmas, it also came with a bonus stocking filler in the form of a new musical offering from the criminally-underrated artiste.

What’s more, the track is a cover of the festive staple Jingle Bell Rock, in a nod to one of the most iconic scenes of Lindsay’s signature film, Mean Girls.

All in all, we’re very much here for her take on Jingle Bell Rock, and we enjoy what the musical team did in terms of bringing the song up to date without taking it too far away from the original. Still, we have had to deduct marks for the completely unnecessary addition of a rap verse (a bit of digging reveals Ali Tomineek originally rose to prominence on the Netflix talent search Rhythm + Flow, which may well explain how he came to be on the track in the first place).

Sample lyric: What a bright time, it’s the right time to rock the night away.

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Alicia Keys – December Back 2 June

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It can be the case that when a big-name singer releases a holiday album they spend the afternoon recording a few covers, slap some sleigh bells on it, pose in some fake snow for the artwork and call it a day.

Well, we’re happy to see that’s not the approach Alicia Keys has taken, with her new festive release featuring four original tracks (including a co-write with Emeli Sandé!) alongside covers of Santa Baby, Happy Xmas (War Is Over) and The Christmas song.

The stand-out is lead single December Back 2 June which mixes a retro R&B vibe with a modern sound in that way Alica does so well. It’s also a bit of a bop, with lyrics referencing how the festive season makes her feel nostalgic for the past year with a loved one. Ask us next year whether it’s made our permanent playlist, but we’ll definitely be giving it a spin this December at the very least.

Sample lyric: “For this Christmas, don’t need wishes, not since I met you, every season, you’ll give reason to love you from December back to June”

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Lizzo – Someday At Christmas

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And speaking of throwbacks…

As part of Amazon Music’s Christmas celebrations, Lizzo has chosen to delve deep into the festive vaults and cover Stevie Wonder’s classic Someday At Christmas, a full 55 years after it was first released.

While “peace on earth” is a pretty popular Yuletide lyrical theme, Someday At Christmas takes a more specific approach in its lyrics right from the opening line: “Someday at Christmas, men won’t be boys, playing with bombs like kids play with toys.”

The lyrics certainly pack a punch, and as you’d expect from a good Stevie Wonder cover, the production is definitely a 60s throwback. And there’s certainly no arguing with Lizzo’s vocal abilities here.

Sample lyric: “Someday all our dreams will come to be, someday in a world where we are free, maybe not in time for you and me, but someday at Christmas time.”

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Sam Smith – Night Before Christmas

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Anyone looking for something new to cosy up to in front of the fire while slurping down mulled wine and looking out of the window at where snow would no doubt be cascading if climate change hadn’t stopped us from ever having a white Christmas again is in luck.

Sam Smith’s new slow jam is very much in their usual wheelhouse (it’s certainly more Stay With Me than Unholy, in case anyone is worried about a festive jump-scare), and there’s no denying it’s a pretty song that would be the perfect soundtrack to an under-the-mistletoe moment.

Still, it’s not exactly imaginative, which is a shame as just a couple of years ago Sam gave us the brilliantly unique Christmas tune The Lighthouse Keeper, which is definitely the superior of their two festive originals.

Sample lyric: “Come rest your weary head on my chest, the year is behind us, we’re still at our best, the magic of Christmas is what’s coming next, so lean in and kiss me and all of the rest.”

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Cliff Richard – Heart Of Christmas

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You might be surprised to see Sir Cliff on our round-up of contemporary festive tunes, but with three Christmas number ones to his name, and a new album out for 2022, we’d be remiss not to include him.

This track is the lead single from the crooner’s new album Christmas With Cliff, beginning with some pretty standard lyrics about how “the streets are glistening with lights”, “the air is getting cold outside” and “the snow is falling from above”, but by the time we get to the chorus it becomes apparent that the “Heart Of Christmas” Sir Cliff is singing about is, Jesus. To be fair, his most recent number one was a reimagined version of The Lord’s Prayer so we could probably have seen this coming.

“Hear the angels singing out, unto us a child is born,” he sings on the chorus. “Jesus, the heart of Christmas.”

So, yeah – this one probably isn’t for everybody. But at the same time, we can’t pretend this isn’t among the catchier Christmas tunes on the list…

Sample lyric: “Listen and you hear the sound, the song they sang in Bethlehem is forever.”

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Jinkx Monsoon And BenDeLaCreme – Looking At The Lights

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Fans of drag duo Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme might already know this original festive tune, as it was featured in their 2021 holiday special. This year, it’s been given a proper single release, which we’re over the moon about, as it hopefully means even more people will now discover it.

Written by BenDeLaCreme and performed by the recently-crowned “Queen of All Queens” Jinkx, Looking At The Lights is a sorrowful, musical theatre-inspired torch song that will certainly speak to anyone who finds this particular time of year difficult.

Still, don’t go thinking it’s all doom and gloom. Yes, Looking At The Lights does highlight the many reasons a lot of us struggle in the winter, but also highlights how having even just one person in your corner, whether that be a partner, friend or family member, can often be enough to get you through it.

Sample lyric: “You may see a tree wonder what’s the use… maybe there’s no use, just a nice excuse for me to sit beside you on these cold and lonely nights.”

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens – We Should Be Together

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","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Rosie Thomas","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ONVTsnuzEk5De8kKL55lQ","cache_age":86400,"description":"Ltd Ed \"We Should Be Together\" Necklace Sets at https://rosiethomas.bandcamp.com/merch \nGet em while you can!\nCredits:\nWritten by Jeffrey Shoop, Rosanne Thomas\nProduced by Jeff Shoop\nPerformed by Jeff Shoop, Rosie Thomas\nGuest Vocals, Drums, and Additional Engineering by Sufjan Stevens\nSleigh bells by James McAlister\nEngineered by Jeff Shoop\nMixed by Yuuki Matthews\nMastered by Ed Brooks\nVideo by Jeff Shoop\n\nLyrics:\nMan why did I let you leave me alone in summer\nI should have known by fall Id finally finish your sweater\nAnd now it’s lying here on my bed\nAt night I wrap the arms around my waist\nPretend it’s you instead\nAnd cry into the shoulder\n\nWe’ve pulled this thread for so long\nTo let it come undone now\nI still believe \nWe still belong\nSomeway somehow so\n\nI’ll be home for Christmas time\n(Whatever the weather)\nYou be home for Christmas too\n(We should be together)\n\nMan why did I let my feet get cold and bitter\nToo scared\nInsecure\nUnsure if you were unsure \nThe pieces wouldn’t fit\nNot a tight enough knit \nFor us \nTo make it through the winter \n\nWe’ve pulled this thread for so long\nTo let it come undone now\nI still believe \nWe still belong\nSomeway somehow so\n\nI’ll be home for Christmas time\n(Whatever the weather)\nYou be home for Christmas too\n(We should be together)\n\nWe should be together\n\n\n\n#christmas #christianmusic #lovesong #breakupsong #rosiethomas #sufjanstevens","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":480,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xRxdaa0GBbE/sddefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"Rosie Thomas – We Should Be Together (feat. 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The second we heard that Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens had teamed up to record a Christmas tune, we knew we were in for something truly devastating. And yet, there was still no preparing for quite how much of an emotional listen this would be.

On We Should Be Together, Rosie sings from the perspective of someone who’s hoping for a Yuletide reconciliation, after a pivotal relationship came to an end in the summer, with some truly heartbreaking lyrics comparing the relationship to a Christmas jumper the protagonist has spent the last year working on.

Between the lyrics and the beautiful way Rosie and Sufjan’s voices complement one another, We Should Be Together is an extremely effective festive effort. Admittedly, it’s probably a little too sad to stick on between Slade and Wizzard (unless you fancy crying into your turkey on Christmas day), but it’s the perfect soundtrack to a moody walk in the snow.

Sample lyric: “The pieces wouldn’t fit, not enough fit to make it through a winter, we’ve pulled this thread too long to let it come undone now, I still believe we still belong someway, somehow, so I’ll be home for Christmas time…”

Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Home Alone: 21 Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Probably Never Knew

Posted on 17/12/2022 by Boris Clair

Somewhat incredibly, it is now 32 years since the release of one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time – Home Alone.

Starring Macaulay Culkin, it might not have been an immediate critical success, but the slapstick festive comedy stormed the box office, spawned various spin-off films and a recent TV series, and still holds a special place in the hearts of millions across the globe.

However, no matter how many times you’ve seen it in the ensuing years, there’s plenty we bet you still don’t know about it, so have these 21 behind-the-scenes secrets from the set, ya filthy animal…

1. Home Alone was written in just over a week

Screenwriter John Hughes knocked out the first draft of the script in just nine days after a family holiday to Europe.

He was inspired by his own worries whilst traveling, telling Time magazine in 1990: “I was going away on vacation and making a list of everything I didn’t want to forget. I thought, ‘Well, I’d better not forget my kids.’ Then I thought, ‘What if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do?’”

2. But it took much longer to find the right Home Alone house

Director Chris Columbus said the team “drove around for several weeks” in the Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest areas of North Shore.

Eventually, the right house was found in 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois, which funnily enough had previously been scouted as a potential location for 1989’s Uncle Buck, but was never used.

The house itself – which was sold for $1.585 million in 2012 – has since become a major tourist attraction.

3. Some interior scenes were filmed in the real house, while others were shot on sets

The hallway and staircase were all real, while the kitchen and dining room and other first-floor rooms were built and shot in a studio. The attic bedroom was also a real feature.

4. The family who lived in the house remained there during filming

It took about five months to setup, shoot and derig for scenes in the house, during which time the then-owners, the Abendshien family, continued living there, despite having access to an apartment that had been paid for as part of the deal.

Cynthia Abendshien explained to Chicago Magazine that the location manager had told them “that, under the contract, if they needed to knock down a wall when we weren’t home, they could do it. So she told us it was best if we remained on the premises”.

John Abendshien added: “In that house, there’s a master bedroom suite with four rooms. Basically, we just moved into that. We put a hot plate up there to cook. We didn’t have to cook that much, because we had full access to the food truck that the crew used.”

5. Kevin’s treehouse was specially built in the house’s garden for the film

The owners reportedly turned down a chance to keep Kevin’s treehouse in the backyard once filming was over.

6. The flooded basement scene was filmed in a school swimming pool

The production made use of the pool at New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois, to film the scene where Kevin runs through a flooded basement, director Chris Columbus told Entertainment Weekly.

The school’s basketball hall was also used to construct the plane set, on which the Macallister family were seen traveling to Paris, while the kitchen set was also built on site there, too.

Scenes for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Uncle Buck had previously been shot in the same school.

7. The Macallister family never actually made it to Paris

John Heard and Catherine O'Hara in Home Alone — John Heard and Catherine O’Hara in Home Alone

While the plot of the film sees the Macallister family leaving Kevin behind as they head to Paris for Christmas, all scenes were shot in the US.

Scenes where the family are seen at Paris Orly Airport were actually shot at O’Hare International Airport.

8. The airport scenes were particularly “nail biting” for the director

“We had to move fast. We only had two or three takes of the entire family running down the terminal,” Chris told Chicago Magazine.

9. The adult actors didn’t always act opposite Macaulay Culkin

A lot of the film was shot at night, but due to Macaulay’s age at the time, he wasn’t able to be on set after 10pm.

This meant that Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern – aka Harry and Marv – acted opposite director Chris Columbus standing in as Kevin behind the camera.

“I was Kevin McCallister from about 10 at night to 6 in the morning,” Chris told Entertainment Weekly.

Catherine O’Hara also recalled having to act opposite a tennis ball for some scenes.

She told Chicago Magazine: “We’d shoot a scene with one of the kids; then, as late as one in the morning, we’d shoot my close-ups.

They’d have a tennis ball on a stand, the height of the kid’s head, and the script supervisor would read the children’s lines.”

10. Joe Pesci even did his best not to interact with Macaulay when the cameras weren’t rolling

Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern as Kevin, Harry and Marv

The actor went quite method in his approach to the character of Harry, as he avoided Macaulay on set so that the child star would be afraid of him.

He told People he “intentionally limited my interactions with him to preserve the dynamic” between the characters.

Joe explained he did not want “it to come across on the screen that we were in any way friendly”.

“I wanted to maintain the integrity of the adversarial relationship,” he added.

11. The film was written with Macaulay in mind to play Kevin

Screenwriter John Hughes imagined Macaulay in the leading role when creating the film due to his performance in 1989’s Uncle Buck, but director Chris Columbus told Entertainment Weekly he still met with “hundreds” of other young actors out of “directorial responsibility” to ensure they had the right person.

In the end, Chris was charmed by Macaualy, who he said was “really funny” and had “a great voice that was not annoying”.

Macaulay Culkin was just 10 years old when he filmed Home Alone

12. Robert De Niro was considered for the role of Harry

While some outlets have reported the screen legend “turned down’ the chance to appear in the film, Chris told Insider that Robert never seriously considered it.

“It was talked about a little internally, but when [Joe] Pesci said yes, I was stunned,” he said.

It has also been claimed Jon Lovitz was considered for the part.

13. Filming the stunt sequences was not as funny as it looks on screen

Chris said the team had a constant fear the stunt performers had injured themselves while acting out some of the slapstick sequences.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “I really thought Troy, our stunt man, had broken his back on that first take [of walking up the stairs of the front of the house and doing a back flip]. Until we knew those guys were alive and okay, none of that stuff was funny, so I was surprised once we put the film together how well it actually worked for an audience.”

Stunt doubles stood in for Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci

14. However, the stunts were not the hardest part of the shoot

Chris said that was actually making the gangster movie Angels With Filthy Souls – the one Kevin plays in the film and uses to scare off Harry and Marv – which you might not even have realised isn’t a real film.

“It’s not easy to recreate the look and the feel and the sound of those movies,” he told EW. “It was kind of a painstaking task to get it right. And we had to find actors that felt like they lived in that particular time period, as well, which was an interesting thing.”

15. One actor was unhappy with the amount he was paid for the film

John Candy, who was a huge comedy personality in the US when Home Alone came out, made a brief appearance as Gus Polinski, but reportedly received just $414 for a day’s work of shooting.

Director Chris Columbus said there was “certainly a little resentment on John’s part” about the amount he was paid.

He told Insider: “It was a deal between him and John Hughes at the time. I never met John Candy before he came on the movie. I don’t know if John ever got any kind of compensation from Fox.”

16. When there was a snowstorm early on into filming, the schedule was readjusted to capitalise on it

According to an episode of The Movies That Made Us, a snowstorm happened on the second day on set, so the team quickly seized the moment to shoot the scene where Kevin is reunited with his family on Christmas morning.

The flurries were enhanced with potato flakes to make it look like it was snowing more than it was at that moment in time.

Kevin was reunited with his mum Kate on Christmas morning

17. They had to bring in snow machines for the rest of the film, which proved expensive

After the snow storm, the team had to bring in snow machines to match it for the rest of the movie. However, associate producer Mark Radcliffe told Chicago magazine that whenever the snow melted, “we were spraying ice, and then they had problems with ice. The next thing, they were literally laying bags of ice to try and create snow.”

18. This caused some problems for the location team

James Giovannetti Jr, second assistant director, added: “We had refrigerated semitrucks of shaved ice coming to the set. There must’ve been about 15 guys dumping tons of ice in the yard every day. We may have even got water in the house, because when it started melting, it started seeping into the basement.”

19. Some of the film was improvised – including one iconic moment

Kevin’s reaction after putting on the aftershave gave the film an instantly iconic moment that has been used on promotional material ever since.

However, Macaulay didn’t act the moment out as originally intended by the director.

The famous Home Alone scream was never intended to turn out the way it did

Chris Columbus told Insider: “If you put something on your face that burns, most people move their hands right away. So my direction to him was when you pat your face, move your hands and scream. And I think it was the first take, he kept his hands on his cheeks.

“It’s funny, the iconic moment from Home Alone was an accident.”

John Candy, who played Gus Polinski, also loved to improvise and Chris said he took his cameo appearance “and ran” with the scenes.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “We’d do a couple scripted takes and then we would improvise about four or five other takes, and a lot of the improvisation ended up in the film.”

Such examples included the moment where Gus is seen talking to Kate about being left in the funeral home alone with the corpse all night.

20. The tarantula on Marv’s face was actually real

Actor Daniel Stern recalled how the crew initially told him they had a rubber tarantula that they could use, but they also had a real one that “was real nice and showed it walking across the trainer’s arm”.

He asked if the crew could remove the spider’s “stinger,” to which he was told it would die.

“And I said yeah, but if you don’t take it out, I’ll die,’” he recalled to The Hollywood Reporter. “But everyone seemed cool with it, so I just had them put the friggin‘ tarantula on my face.”

21. However, his scream wasn’t dubbed, as many people believe

Many reports over the years have claimed Daniel was asked to mime the scream that Marv lets out upon seeing the spider so as to not scare the creature, with it then later dubbed into the film in the edit.

However, Daniel revealed that actually wasn’t the case, as he did the scream there and then, take after take.

“I asked if that would spook the spider, but I guess tarantulas can’t hear,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Again, I was committed fully to that movie … I wanted to hit a home run in every scene.”

The complete Home Alone collection is available to stream on Disney+. HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.

I’m Strictly’s Makeup Designer – Working There Is Unlike Any Other Show On TV

Posted on 10/12/2022 by Boris Clair

“As makeup artists, and people who want to be creative and push boundaries and go to the next level, what other show on TV at the moment is there a chance to do that on?” Lisa Armstrong says of her role as Strictly Come Dancing’s makeup designer. “That’s why we feel so lucky.”

Lisa is now in her 14th year heading up the makeup department on the hit BBC ballroom show, and when HuffPost UK catches up with her, it’s clear she loves working on it as much now as when she first joined.

Her glittering career in TV makeup artistry started after a chance meeting with Ozzy Osbourne during her days working on photo-shoots as a jobbing MUA, which eventually led to Lisa being recruited by his wife Sharon to be her personal makeup artist for the first series of The X Factor in 2004.

Having climbed the ranks of the ITV talent show during its early years, Lisa – who originally found fame as part of 90s girlgroup Deuce – was called into a secret meeting with BBC bosses about joining the show’s Saturday night rival and heading up its hair and makeup team.

“It was beyond my wildest dreams,” she says. “It was just incredible from a makeup artist’s point of view to be going from the biggest show on ITV to the biggest show on the BBC, and to be heading up the team and be in charge, it was literally, OMG!”

Having built her team of professional MUAs, the makeup department on Strictly has gone from strength to strength with their incredible looks, even being recognised by the industry when Lisa won both a Bafta Craft and Royal Television Society awards.

Lisa Armstrong attends the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2019

As our behind-the-scenes look at Strictly continues in our Backstage At The Ballroom series, Lisa reveals the astonishing pace at which her team works, the inventive ways she brings the show’s famous themed weeks to life, and names her favourite looks of all time…

I wanted makeup and hair to push boundaries when I joined Strictly..

I wanted it to look and feel very much like modern day, bringing all those aspects of Latin and ballroom up to date, and making them relatable to the public.

I wanted us to be the leaders, not the followers, so I wanted people to watch our show and go, ‘OMG, did you see her hair? I want that hair for my wedding or my prom’. I wanted us to be up there and pushing boundaries.

The technique of doing makeup on a show like Strictly is completely different to other shows…

You have to take into consideration that these dancers will be pinging around the dance floor at 100mph, turning themselves upside down and inside out, sweating and being out of breath. Makeup smudging and hair falling out is just something I could not have. So attention to detail is an absolute must, and to be the best of the best.

Lisa in the Strictly makeup room with Aljaz Skorjanec and Giovanni Pernice

At the start of a series, it’s me, seven makeup artists and two assistants…

When [the cast gets] smaller, there are six, and it goes down as the series goes on. It’s the same for hair. We have Lisa Davey who is the designer of the hair now, who has seven artists and two assistants.

There’s quite a team of us, but we’re working with so many people, including all the dancers, and we now have 20 pros. With all the extra numbers it’s a very busy show, with lots of looks in one night.

Makeup can come on and off the dancers as many as four times on filming days…

For example, in Blackpool this year, we put that orange graphic eye makeup and blue liner on Nancy four times during the day. We had to dress-run her concept look with Will, then we had to take that off to do the celeb reveal in the opening number, then we had to put that back on to go into the live show for her and Will’s dance, then take that off again to go into the opening number of the results show, and then put it back on to do the rest of the results show – and that’s just one person!

Will Mellor and Nancy Xu performing at Blackpool

It’s a lot of skill and a lot of technique to be able to do that whilst the pressure is mounting the minutes are ticking down, and the floor manager is saying, “Five minutes ’til live!”

A typical week on Strictly for me looks like…

On the Saturday evening, we get a confirmed concept document about midnight on how the next week’s show is going to look. It gives us a style of dance and staging, how the lighting is, if there are any props, the era it’s in and potentially what colours are on the screens or what colour the costume is.

Through the week, it’s a process where it builds and builds with every department pulling together to make decisions. On Friday, it’s confirmed with the execs the exact hair and makeup looks you’re going to do, so that’s then handed out to the team members who are actually executing them.

And then it’s fingers crossed for Saturday morning and that it runs like clockwork – and sometimes it doesn’t!

We don’t actually know what the makeup is going to look like on everyone’s face until each Saturday morning…

What I don’t think people really understand is how complicated, stressful and creative it is, because those looks are all there down on paper, but it’s completely different seeing it on paper to on someone’s face. The only chance we get to do that is on the show day.

We come in early in the morning and then the couples will be coming into hair and makeup when the schedule allows. We have them all pretty much tip-top perfect for the dress run, then we have two hours to fix any things that didn’t quite work.

It’s meticulously planned, but you can’t execute it until the day. All my ducks are in a row and ready to go, but where they waddle off to is anybody’s guess, because we are live!

We really have to think outside of the box for some looks, especially on theme weeks…

People don’t realise that we have to get really creative. They think it’s all professional makeup – and predominantly it is – but stuck around Tyler West’s face when he was Beetlejuice on Halloween Week was porridge oats, which were glued with eyelash glue and painted green to give him that grubbiness of the character.

It’s about thinking out of the box when we don’t have a million pound film budget or 100 hours to do something.

Tyler West dressed as Beetlejuice in Halloween Week this year

Every makeup artist will bring their own kit to work, and then I have the main Strictly kit there with all the extra bits…

Everyone is different because everyone likes and uses different things and everyone uses different things in our main kits.

You go to different places for different things – so, at the moment, I am sourcing a Santa beard for one of the couples on the Christmas show, but I can’t go and get that from Boots, so I have to get that from a specialist makeup shop. There are quite a few of them around, like ScreenFace or PAM, the professional makeup artistry shop. We go to them and then we can get all the adhesives, glues and if you needed things like bald caps.

It’s like a mass shopping list – preplanning and going over and over it to make sure that we’ve got that wig or those devil horns, or if we’ve remembered the paint for that.

After we film the results show straight after the live show, we have to bring everyone back into makeup and do a ‘de-rig’…

It’s taking off all the wigs, cutting out hair pieces, removing glue, taking eyelashes off, washing paint off faces if they’ve been characters, and then placing bits and bobs back in their boxes, clean down all the sides, pack all the make up away, clean the brushes, clear the room, and then go again the next week!

It’s gone midnight, sometimes 1am, by the time we get out. It’s a long day.

My favourite looks I’ve created on Strictly are…

I did think [Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton’s] Minions were genius – who knew that a metal coat hanger would come in so handy?

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Then I loved Halloween Week with Faye and Giovanni. That hair never stayed put until the live show – every time we did it, it dropped and collapsed. Her hair was quite short, so to have it scraped up and that big, thick plait stitched on there and then using in the choreography swinging it, we were like, ‘How is this going to stay up?!’

One of the girls just pinned it, gaffer taped it, sewed it, and then we all watched it on the screen through an open hand, and thankfully it worked on the night. It does get a bit hairy sometimes!

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[embedded content]

I also loved the creative journey I had with Sophie Ellis Bextor…

Her face is just insane and so beautiful, and she is so up for anything. I’d do big blue eye makeup and then stick orange crystals over the top, and she’d be like, ‘OK!’. It’s very on trend now, like when I did Ola Jordan for a spooky Alice In Wonderland group number and I couldn’t decide whether to do a pink or orange lip, so I did both – orange on the outer corner and then pink in the middle.

Then what happened a couple of months later on the pages of Vogue? The ombre lip! I’m claiming that!

Sophie Ellis Bextor with partner Brendan Cole on the show in 2013

It feels overwhelming to have won a Bafta and RTS award for my work…

It’s amazing and incredible and really overwhelming. You think, ‘Wow, my work is being looked at and is being noticed and being recognised by the industry.’

I’m not blowing up own trumpet, but Strictly is one of the biggest and best and most-watched shows on telly, so I feel it does deserve [awards for the show]. But when it comes to personal ones, I find it very emotional.

My top tips for getting the Strictly look this party season are…

You need a good eye shadow base, some loose glitter you can pop all over the lid and then a fabulous big lash.

On the market at the moment, there are so many things that don’t have to be for professional use – those glitter pen sticks from Collection 2000 in Superdrug or Boots. Just whack on a glittery eye, whack on a lash and off you go – party!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Sunday at 7.15pm on BBC One.