NEWS
Ariana Grande and Elizabeth Gillies have been besties since co-starring on Victorious together more than a decade ago — but their new joint Halloween costumes are a long way from Nickelodeon.
The pair shared a dozen photos of their detailed costumes to Instagram on Monday night (Oct. 30), with Grande dressed up as Nomi Malone, Elizabeth Berkley’s rookie stripper in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven-directed erotic thriller, and Gillies dressed up as Cristal Connors, Gina Gershon’s jaded showgirl desperate to cling to her position as the top dancer.
“You and me…we’re exactly alike,” Gillies captioned one photo of the pair side-by-side, wearing coordinated black ensembles that look like they’re borrowed directly from the movie set. In a joint post, Gillies quotes another of Gershon’s famous lines from the film: “You are a whore, Darlin’!” And in a final quotable caption: “There’s always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you.”
In Grande’s final post, she gives one of Berkley’s famous lines some shine: When asked where she’s from on the East Coast, Nomi angrily responds, “different places !!!!!” (You can almost see Elizabeth Berkley throwing her basket of french fries in frustration when you hear those two simple words.)
Last year, Grande and Gillies put together equally elaborate Halloween costumes, re-creating a series of scenes from the Christopher Guest mockumentary Best in Show. Gillies portrays Jane Lynch’s character Christy Cummings while Grande takes on her partner, Jennifer Coolidge’s Sherri Ann Cabot. Later on in the scenes, Grande transforms into Eugene Levy’s Gerry Fleck — eyebrows and all — while Gillies plays Catherine O’Hara’s curly-haired Cookie Fleck.
See all the Showgirls magic below:
Sharleen Spiteri joined BBC Radio 2’s The Sara Cox Breakfast Show ahead of Texas taking the stage to launch the main live music programme at Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling.
Checking in from rehearsals, the Texas frontwoman spoke about getting ready for the band’s opening performance at City Park. Radio 2’s annual flagship festival takes place there from 11 to 13 September 2026. "I’m match fit because I’ve had a couple of days’ rehearsals," Spiteri said. "We’re kicking the whole weekend off, which we’re very much looking forward to, so everybody’s got to get ready to party."
Before the live acts take over, Friday’s DJ Pre-Party gets the weekend started with Radio 2 favourites Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage, and Rylan behind the decks.
Jo Whiley helped set the mood with a special programme from Stirling’s Tolbooth venue. Working with BBC Introducing Scotland, the broadcast put the spotlight on Scotland’s emerging music scene through performances and conversations with Fright Years, Alice Faye, and James Emmanuel.
Fright Years, a four member band from Edinburgh, played "Never Been Wrong" and offered their take on Simple Minds’ "Waterfront." Glasgow singer and songwriter Alice Faye, the BBC Introducing in Scotland 2026 winner, paired "Some Brief Encounter" with a rendition of Lulu’s arrangement of "I Started a Joke." James Emmanuel, who was born in Nigeria and now lives in Edinburgh, sang "Brothers & Sisters" before taking on Chaka Khan’s "I’m Every Woman."
"We’re all about celebrating BBC Introducing and all the music that’s come out of Scotland," Whiley told listeners. "It's about celebrating the local music scene and the incredibly important work that BBC Introducing does to support independent, up-and-coming artists."
Joining the conversation were Stephanie Cheape, presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland, Tara McLoughlin, venue manager for Stirling Council, and student radio presenters representing the University of Stirling’s Air3 Radio.
Listeners can catch the complete interviews and live performances from the weekend’s programmes on BBC Sounds.
