Whether it’s falling over, making gaffes on social media, wardrobe malfunctions or misjudged ancedotes, celebrities are far from perfect - something we learned many, many times in 2016.
Here are just 26 of such showbiz fails we’re still cringing at, even months after they happened...
1. Chris Evans’ ‘Top Gear’ reboot
Chris Evans made a number of bold claims when he took over the reins of ‘Top Gear’ - most notably that he’d be disappointed if the rebooted version failed to pull in at least five million viewers
Cut to a few weeks later, and the show’s audience was dwindling week-on-week, while critics absolutely savaged the show. Chris later stepping down as the main host after just one series.
2. BBC newsreader forgets she’s on the telly
Presenter Joanna Gosling was seen slumped in her chair scrolling through her mobile, as the camera cut to her in the newsroom live on the BBC News channel.
We’ve all been caught on our phone when we shouldn’t have been, right?
3. Ed Balls nearly drops his ‘Strictly’ partner, Katya Jones
There was much to enjoy about Ed Balls’ stint on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, but we watched this precarious moment, which saw him nearly drop partner Katya Jones as he tried to pull off a complicated lift, with our hands over our eyes.
4. Channel 4 buys ‘Great British Bake Off’
C4 bosses must have been feeling really smug when they nabbed the rights to air the nation’s biggest show from right under the BBC’s nose.
However, when three quarters of the on-screen team quit within a week of the announcement, they were left with just Paul Hollywood and a tent. What a waste of £75 million.
5. Stephen Fry’s comments on sexual abuse
Stephen Fry sparked a huge backlash, after he compared opponents of free speech on university campuses to “self-pitying” sexual abuse victims during a US TV interview.
He later bowed to pressure for him to publicly apologise, telling The New Day: “I of course apologise unreservedly for hurting feelings the way I did. That was never my purpose.”
6. Lady Gaga’s comeback
While Lady Gaga may not be as popular as she once was, anticipation for her fifth studio album was still high prior to its release earlier this year.
However, its lead single ‘Perfect Illusion’ failed to crack the top 10 in either the US or UK, and critical reception to album ‘Joanne’ was mixed to say the least. Not what was expected from the artist who gave us such pop gems as ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Poker Face’.
7. John Barrowman falls off his chair on ‘Loose Women’
That’ll teach him to be so cocky in those heels.
8. Louis Smith’s video mocking Islam
The Olympian was forced to apologise when a video surfaced online showing him and his friends at a wedding, imitating Muslim prayers using a rug that had been taken down from the hotel wall.
He was later suspended from his sport, and even though he’d teased an appearance on this year’s ‘I’m A Celebrity’, he was not among the 12 contestants who entered the jungle in November.
9. Big Brother’s two houses twist
‘Big Brother’ bosses had promised “the game was changing” for the latest series of the reality show, and fans were delighted when a two houses twist was unveiled, complete with two sets of housemates. The whole thing ended up being fudged when the housemates in the main house discovered the existence of ‘The Others’.
Within two weeks, they were all living in the same house and the twist had seemingly been forgotten about.
10. Togni Brother takes a tumble in ‘BGT’ semi-final
The acrobats had an unfortunate mishap after reaching the semi-finals of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. The pair were trying to pull off an impressive somersault trick when one of them came a cropper and went crashing to the floor. We know we shouldn’t laugh, but…
11. #OscarsSoWhite
The Academy came under intense fire from a number of Hollywood stars and the film-viewing public over the lack of diversity in this year’s nominations, after only white stars were nominated in the four big acting categories.
Oscars bosses have said they are taking steps to ensure this is not repeated again in the future.
12. Holly Willoughby awkwardly references Fred The Weatherman
The ‘This Morning’ presenter made an awkward gaffe live on the show when reading out a number of viewers’ memories of the past 28 years.
She referenced the show’s former weather forecaster Fred Talbot, who is now a convicted paedophile, prompting stunned sniggering from co-host Phillip Schofield.
13. Vicky Pattison gets the name of her ‘I’m A Celeb’ spin-off show wrong
The ex-‘Geordie Shore’ star was making her presenting debut as one of the co-hosts of new ‘I’m A Celebrity’ spin-off show, ‘Extra Camp’, when she accidentally called it ‘The Xtra Factor’. Way to impress your new bosses, Vic!
14. Michelle Keegan discusses football on ‘BBC Breakfast’
The former ‘Corrie’ star made a bit of an embarrassing gaffe on ‘BBC Breakfast’ while talking about landing a role in a new drama about footballer Bobby Moore.
She claimed “people didn’t really know anything about football” back in the 60s - the decade when England literally won the World Cup.
15. Jess Glynne tweets ‘All Lives Matter’
The singer faced a backlash when she tweeted ‘#AllLivesMatter’ in the aftermath of the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, where people had been tweeting their support to the Black Lives Matter movement.
16. Lateysha Grace has a wardrobe malfunction on ‘Big Brother’s Bit On The Side’
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.
17. Sam Smith is NOT the first gay man to win an Oscar
The singer made an almighty gaffe when he picked up the Academy Award for his Bond theme. ‘The Writing’s On The Wall’. He told the crowd: “I read an article a few months ago by Sir Ian McKellen... and he said no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar… I stand here tonight as a proud gay man.”
What Sam had forgotten was that Dustin Lance Black had previously won an Oscar for Best Director on ‘Milk’ - something which he wasted no time in calling Sam out on via Twitter.
18. Meghan Trainor takes an EPIC tumble
The poor pop star PROPERLY hit the deck like a sack of spuds during a performance on ‘The Tonight Show’, and months later it’s still making us howl.
19. Jennifer Lawrence’s sacred rocks story
Jennifer Lawrence had to apologise over an anecdote she told on ‘The Graham Norton Show’ about sacred rocks in Hawaii that were “so good for butt itching”.
After one critic called it the “whitest story ever told”, she posted a statement on Facebook, writing: “I meant absolutely no disrespect to the Hawaiian people. I really thought that I was being self-deprecating about the fact that I was ‘the curse’.”
20. Spice Girls GEM’s comeback video
The video announcing the reformation of (three of) the world’s most iconic girl band was a real expense-spared affair. We’ll just leave this one here.
21. Idris Elba’s film flops at the box office
Not even Idris’ naked butt could save his film ‘100 Streets’ from bombing at the box office, with it taking just £245 at the box office during its opening weekend. Ouch.
22. Gigi Hadid proclaims she has a “Middle Eastern boyfriend”
The model was called out for not knowing her boyfriend’s ethnicity, when she referred to Zayn Malik as part-Middle-Eastern during an interview.
The former One Directioner is actually half-Pakistani, which is part of Asia. Someone clearly skipped Geography at school.
23. ‘The Jump’ injures nearly all of its contestants
Channel 4’s winter sports series proved why it is the most dangerous show on telly when no less than seven of this year’s participants were forced to pull out due to injury.
Olympian Beth Tweddle had to undergo emergency surgery to her neck after fracturing two vertebrae, while former ‘Holby City’ actress Tina Hobley has considered legal action against the show, after seriously injuring her knee and arm.
24. Lena Dunham makes a dramatic misstep
The ‘Girls’ creator landed herself in hot water when she claimed Odell Beckham Jr. refused to speak to her at the Met Gala, believing he thought she “was not the shape of a woman by his standards”, adding he wouldn’t want to “fuck” her as she was wearing a bow tie.
Many took issue with her assumption his behavior had anything to do with her, describing her as arrogant and self-absorbed, while some even accused her of sexualising black men and perpetuating racial stereotypes. She later apologised.
25. ‘EastEnders’ camera angle leaves viewers tittering
‘EastEnders’ viewers were left practically choking on their tea when a dodgy camera angle left them thinking they’d seen awful lot of Danny Dyer. Luckily, it was just a kids’ toy
26. John Barrowman’s husband reveals a bit too much
The ‘Torchwood’ star’s other half ended up flashing his bits and bobs to the world wide web when he accidentally strolled into shot while completely naked, as John streamed a live video to fans.