Ellen DeGeneres makes acting return with first role in five years

The former US talk show host and her partner, Portia De Rossi, bought Kitesbridge Farm near Burford for £15m in 2024.

They spent a reported £7.5m on external and internal renovations, but moved out after less than a month to find somewhere more suitable to indulge in Portia’s passion for horses.

It was thought they would sell the home when it was listed last July, but it failed to attract a buyer and was plagued by flooding from the River Windrush, which ran through the 43-acre site.

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There had been reports that a sale was ‘close’ after she had ‘secretly’ slashed £4.5m off the £22m asking price, and the house was taken off the market as a condition of sale.

But planning documents published revealed they now have ambitions to make it their ‘long term home’ if their bid for new stables is successful.

While this is ongoing, Ms DeGeneres has announced she is returning to acting with her first role in five years.

The 68-year-old will once again voice Dory in a new Pixar project, appearing in a short film set in the Finding Nemo universe.

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This is according to a report published by Deadline, with details including its storyline and release date not yet revealed.

The star later confirmed the development by posting a screenshot of the Deadline article on her Instagram account.

“Excited about this,” she wrote in the caption.

This new role is DeGeneres’s first acting work in five years; she last appeared in the 2021 Pixar Popcorn mini‑series, where she also lent her voice to Dory.