Tamzin Merchant, the Original Daenerys in 'Game of Thrones,' Talks About Being Recast by Emilia Clarke

Developers behind rejected plans to build a luxury golf resort in Bolton have claimed that the town has "missed out on the biggest investment in its history".

Stalker Lydia's creepy hate campaign against Adam steps up a gear on next week's Coronation Street as Abi hits rock bottom again.

The Apprentice viewers found themselves flocking to social media after spotting a 'rotten' detail during the latest epsiode.

Marnie Simpson has revealed she doesn't feel in control of her hormones and feels as though she's going "through waves" in her second pregnancy. The Geordie Shore star, 30, who admitted to feeling "depressed" after being bed-bound with a virus, added that she has noticed she is now covered in new moles and skin tags, as well as her gums and lips, feeling really sensitive. Here, in her exclusive OK! column - only available for OK! VIPs - Marnie addresses why it frustrates her when people touch her baby bump as she reveals she would be "terrified" if she fell pregnant with twins...

Motsi Mabuse has been left feeling heartbroken as her family is stranded in war-torn Ukraine.The 40 year old, who is married to Ukranian dancer Evgenij Voznyuk, took to Twitter to share how her mother-in-law is has been in floods of tears over the phone to them since Russia invaded her country on Thursday 24 February.The Strictly Come Dancing judge explained that she felt helpless as there's "absolutely nothing we can do" in the situation.Taking to her Twitter page to share a number of distressing messages to her 72,200 followers, she first wrote: "This cannot be happening!!!!!!!!!!!" Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter Motsi followed this up by explaining: "It’s heartbreaking hearing my mother in law crying this morning , afraid and there absolutely nothing we can do [crying emoji]! Just Sad honestly," alongside a red heart emoji. She continued: "There is not but in this situation !!!!" The TV personality went on to share: "Our parents have been told to go outside and to switch off water &gas ! They have no possibility to get to the polish border #Ukraine". Worried fans flocked to the comments as one person wrote: "Thinking of you and your parents [red heart emoji] I’ll never understand why the human race cannot live together in peace and harmony".

football team travelling to a game leaving multiple players injured and one in hospital.Bahia had just arrived at their home ground Arena Fonte Nova to take on Sampaio Correa in the Copa do Nordeste on Thursday (February 24) evening when the explosive device detonated.Images uploaded to social media showed a window at the rear end of their vehicle had been smashed and the nearby seats were splattered with blood, while a car close by was also damaged.Bahia goalkeeper Danilo Fernandes was taken to hospital with injuries to his face from the shrapnel blast.Updating fans, the club wrote on Twitter: "Esporte Clube Bahia reports that a bomb exploded inside the team's bus on arrival at Fonte Nova and athletes were injured."The most worrying case is that of goalkeeper Danilo Fernandes, who was hit by shrapnel in the face and already taken to a hospital.

Benenden Health, shared her top 10 foods with great health benefits to include in your diet this year. Check them out below... Live yoghurt has an excellent source of so-called friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics.

Katy Perry put on a sizzling display as she slipped into a skintight leather outfit for her latest television appearance.The 37-year-old singer gave fans a glimpse of her toned torso in a trendy top and trousers two-piece.She dressed to impress for her stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live! alongside her fellow American Idol judges Lionel Riche and Luke Bryan.The trip appeared on the US talk show to promote the upcoming 20th season of the singing competition.Katy's leather top featured a plunging neckline and she tied up her dark locks into a messy bun with a few strands of hair left down.She extended her model pins as she donned a pair of black leather heels.The mother of one gave herself enhanced her beauty by adding a smokey winged eyeliner look and painted her lips a peachy nude shade.As for accessories, Katy had a pair of unique silver coiled hoops in her ears.Unsurprisingly Katy's latest smoking hot social media display caught the attention of her 153million followers, with some rushing to leave a message for the star in the comment section.One fan gushed: "Literally breathtaking.:"Another added: "A true goddess."A third person posted: "Gorgeous as always."While a fourth social media user simply left four flame emojis under the post.Katy has been adapting to life as a new mum after welcoming her first child with Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom.The Grammy Award nominee welcomed her daughter Daisy Dove, one, in August 2020.

Hellbound and D.P, are set to helm a brand-new show.Yesterday (February 24), the studio gave the green light for a television adaptation of the critically-acclaimed 2015 short film Bargain, originally directed by Lee Chung-hyun, according to a report by The Korea Times.Bargain is said to be a disaster thriller K-drama that chronicles the aftermath of a massive earthquake. It’ll follow a survivors trapped in a building, who have to negotiate for black market goods in order to continue surviving.

North Lanarkshire residents are being urged to use their vote and make sure they’re registered for the upcoming council elections.

NFL legend Tom Brady has confirmed that he will produce and star in an upcoming comedy football movie titled 80 for Brady. Brady will star alongside Hollywood A-Listers Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field in the project that is being made by Paramount Pictures, per the Hollywood Reporter.Inspired by a true story, the film will tell the story of four best friends and New England Patriots supporters who take a life-changing trip to Super Bowl LI to see Brady play and the chaos that ensues.

Tesco is bumping up the price of their nationally renowned meal deal.The three piece offer from the supermarket giant is a sure favourite amongst those looking to fulfil their lunchtime hunger.And, with its bargain price of £3 it is obvious why it is such a popular go-to.However, meal deal lovers will now have to fork out an extra 50p to secure the snack, main and drink combo.At the end of the month, the new price of £3.50 will come into action which may worry some who are already concerned about the rising cost of living.But, there is a way around it where you don’t have to put a 50p shaped dent in your bank account.To save the day, if you own a Tesco clubcard you will dodge the price increase and will still only pay the £3 – whilst racking up your points at the same time.Phew, not all is lost!Tesco chief customer officer Alessandra Bellini said: "Adding our ever-popular lunchtime meal deal to Clubcard Prices is the latest way we’re rewarding our 20 million Clubcard members with exclusive deals on thousands of products."Clubcard Prices have already given millions of customers the power to lower the cost of their weekly shop – and all while earning points for money off their shopping or rewards like family days out at Alton Towers or a Disney+ subscription."However, this hasn’t stopped meal deal devotees from expressing their heartbreak at the price increase, so took to Twitter to blast the supermarket.One user commented: “As if the world wasn’t already going t*** up, Tesco are raising their meal deal prices to £3.50 from next week onwards.”Another user feared: “Tesco meal deal inflation…we’re officially heading towards the end.”Whilst a third person voiced: “I don’t know what’s more heart breaking, petrol going up to

Roy Keane has laughed off the speculation surrounding a return to Sunderland as manager, joking the breakdown in talks came down to money.

OnlyFans account.But before her switch to a jet-setting lifestyle of posing for bikini pictures, the model had been pursuing a career in the medical field.And, speaking on the Inside OnlyFans podcast, Lauren opened up about how her flight attendant and doctor mum and dad had taken the news of her career change badly at first.“They lost it, they were not that supportive because they didn’t understand it,” she said.“I went to study biochem. So I was on the pre-med track, I wanted to be a dermatologist, I was like, ‘I’m going to be a doctor’.“I’m working the nightclub at night, doing the bottle service, prancing around.

Most big Game of Thrones fans know the story of the show that almost was. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff‘s original pilot was by all accounts an unwatchable mess that had no chance of becoming an international megahit. But HBO gave the creators another chance, and they were able to save the show — by reshooting about 90% of it and recasting several major roles. The biggest part that had to be redone? Daenerys Targaryen.

The Mother of Dragons was very nearly played by a different actress.

Years before Emilia Clarke assumed the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the "Game of Thrones," the part was played by Tamzin Merchant. Merchant, who starred in "The Tudors," was the first actress to take on the now-iconic character in the HBO series for a 2009 taping of its original pilot.

Game of Thrones, has opened up on filming the show’s scrapped pilot episode.Merchant filmed one episode of the hit HBO show before she was replaced by Emilia Clarke, admitting “it wasn’t in my heart” to continue with the role.“Shooting that pilot was a really great lesson,” Merchant told Entertainment Weekly of the experience. “It was an affirmation about listening to my instincts and following them, because I tried to back out of that situation and, during the contract process, I did back out.“I was talked back into it by some persuasive people.

Did you know that Emilia Clarke wasn’t the first actress to play Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones?

Dracarys! The mother of dragons was almost a different person entirely. “Game of Thrones” notoriously threw out its first pilot that was rumored to be “a disaster.” The hit show then recast many of its key roles for a new version of the Season 1 premiere, “Winter Is Coming,” that aired on HBO in 2011. Among those recast roles was the franchise’s most recognizable character, the silver-haired Daenerys Targaryen. As the show became a global phenomenon, Daenerys became the role of a lifetime for Emilia Clarke — but it almost wasn’t.

Nobody’s perfect! A lot goes into the making of major Hollywood productions, so it’s understandable when mishaps go unnoticed from time to time.