Sean

Unless he dies in the next 100 hours or so he is almost certain to be number 1 on the DDP Drop 40 2024.

It is impressive however the fact that when the show came out the cast were older and were established character actors meant they were less likely to let fame and the showbiz lifestyle go to their head.Still impressive though.

Thought he had his own thread years ago.

Seeing as New Years Eve is gone will go with 30th December.

Carter on New Years Eve just to muck up everyone's lists.

My first thought when I heard the news.

One of the names on my long list (not that long this year) she was one of the easiest to remove from it.

His lack of comment in recent weeks is leading to a fair bit of speculation as can be seen by the comments on this video. No recent interviews about the Palestinian crisis and no reported reaction to Kissengers death.Very suspicious. Looks like my friend who knows him may well be right.

He was a serious consideration for my soap theme team last year and was until today for next year.I decided last year against him purely as I didn't want a team too bare on the big soap names. He was in Emmerdale and Crossroads but neither for very long.

Dementia is a very variable condition.Especially vascular dementia as it is caused by Transient ischaemic attacks the frequency of which can greatly vary over time.Long term memory is the last to go so having acted and played chess throughout her life that remains but the fact she has a live in carer means that her short to medium term memory and judgement is unsurprisingly dangerously poor at this point. A man I looked after years ago used to be doubly incontinent and wander around aimlessly when he wasn't asleep and could barely speak.He was a brilliant piano player and he would play a piano perfectly when he came across one then as soon as he finished he was again wandering around aimlessly.

The statement given on his facebook page reads to me like he might have euthanised himself.

Christ that is a shock.It has been quite a while since I heard Roy on the Archers though.

If a beloved figure says they are doing well against cancer usually they are fucked.If a despot says they are dying they will make 3 digits.

I still reckon he is a gonermI remember Robin Gibb saying he was winning against cancer.

Thought I would predict the Drop 40 layout for next year`s DDP as well as predictions about who on it will die and when.Feel free to post your own guesses. 1)Zsa Zsa Gabor -9th February 2)Billy Graham-15th January 3)Sam Simon-1st March 4)Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh 5) Kirk Douglas -18th December 6)Muhammad Ali -25th December 7)Clive James 8)Vera Lynn -25th May 9)Bhumibol Aduladej -1st January 10)George H.W Bush 11)Fidel Castro 12)Denis Healey -23rd October 13)Nancy Reagan-August 19th 14)Dr Kate Granger-March 17th 15)Joao Havelange-June 15th 16)Paul Gascoigne-29th December 17)Joost Van Der Westhuizen 18)Kristin Hallenga 19)Olivia De Havilland 20)Valerie Harper 21)Helen Fawkes -1st July 22)Robert Mugabe 23)Rob Ford 24)Peter Sallis -30th March 25)Amanda Bynes 26)Hosni Mubarak 27)Mary Tyler Moore-January 26th 28)Caroline Aherne 29)Liz Dawn 30)Jimmy Hill 31)Peter Sutcliffe -14th November 32)Daisy Berkowitz--6th May 33)Leonard Nimoy 34)Terry Pratchett 35)Ian Brady 36)Morrissey 37)Shane Macgowan 38)Glen Campbell 39)Christopher Lee 40)Bruce Forsyth 17/40 Total

My Prediction: 1) Jimmy Carter 2)Esther Rantzen 3) Jonnie Irwin 4)James Whale 5)Linda Nolan 6)Rob Burrow 7) Dick Van Dyke 8)Nigel Starmer-Smith 9) Shannen Doherty 10)Steve McMichael 11)Roberta Flack 12) Simon Cowell (Wildlife SOS) 13) Prunella Scales 14) Mel Brooks 15)David Attenborough 16) Toby Keith 17) Ryan Minor 18)Joanne Woodward 19) Yoko Ono 20)Willie Nelson 21)Theo Burrell 22) Tim Bilton 23) Glynis Johns 24)Frank Field 25)Stanley Baxter 26) Buzz Aldrin 27) Eva Marie Saint 28) Patrick Murray 29)Janey Godley 30) Andy Taylor 31) Clint Eastwood 32) Francoise Hardy 33)Vladimir Putin 34)Rupert Murdoch 35) Billy Connolly 36)Bruce Willis 37)Julie Goodyear 38)Denis Law 39)Bill Cosby 40)Ozzy Osbourne 40 (Joint) Phil Collins 40 (Joint) Dave Myers

Apologies not reading properly.

ooh trying to think who that is. Eastwood?

I think sadly he has too.

Seems pretty likely.Would be surprised though is Donald Trump was on instead of Patrick Murray. I also reckon Bruce Willis will sneak on as well as Julie Goodyear and Denis Law.

I wonder if he somehow makes 2024 if the committee would pick him.He was an influential well known lobbyist years ago and was involved in a scandal which I remember dominating the news around 15 years ago.Although more famous for being Kate's husband he was notable in his own right. Not to mention the lobby gate scandal ( bit before my time)

There's no talk of improvement though or even a mention of any procedures being performed to try and save his life.Following a massive heart attack you would expected him to have a bypass or pacemaker.Instead it is just said Kate is holding a 24/7 bedside vigil and that he is critical and those around him are praying for a miracle. He also has had a lot of infections resulting in sepsis his heart is most likely further damaged.Even before the heart attack I think he had holes in it along with damage to all his other organs. In such a state certainly his recent cardiac emergency could lead to multiple organ failure.

This time she isn't.He had the heart attack a week ago and she kept quiet.The news was leaked to the press by someone else on Saturday. Sounds like he really is a goner this time.

Bullshit theory.You can't fake the steroid use the frequent documented hospitalisations with photo evidence plus on his podcast he goes into levels of detail you simply couldn't fabricate.Plus James lost his first wife to cancer and his wife lost her first husband to cancer and talks in vivid detail how traumatic that was for herself and her young daughter making me near damn certain its not a scam.In his podcast he has also called out the media for taking his statements out of context.For example last year he said he was told last year he may have twelve months or less to live but broadsheets went with "James Whale in his final months".

Speaks to the Guardian wading into the Layton Williams controversy.Nothing about her health but shows she is still on the ball and able to speak with journalists at least by email. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/15/esther-rantzen-layton-williams-strictly-come-dancing/?utm_content=entertainment&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2YEttGojHi7mLYKk54uYX6Vh0p2xJPoxgrjN69rBdNTm2_DNV0_hAakng#Echobox=1702667868-2