TV star Keeley Hawes has appeared in everything from Line of Duty to The Durrells and is currently starring in Prime Video’s The Assasin

Keeley Hawes has made a candid admission.

The star of a host of TV dramas from Spooks and Ashes to Ashes to The Durrells and Line of Duty is back for series 2 of Prime Video’s comic thriller The Assassin.

Keeley plays Julie, a contract killer forced out of retirement when ghosts from the past threaten her and her estranged son Edward, played by Freddie Highmore.

But it seems the 50-year-old was left a little scarred by her experience of filming. In a new interview she admitted that she has been left with “quite dark thoughts”.

“I do have really quite dark thoughts about people that perhaps I didn’t have before – like if someone’s on a video call on the train. That could also be my age. But I’m blaming Julie as well,” she said in a new interview with the Radio Times.

Keeley, who turned 50 earlier this year, admitted it was empowering to be playing “a perimenopausal James Bond”, as her character is described by her on-screen son.

She said: “It’s written by two middle-aged men [Harry and Jack Williams], and they get it. In terms of the big set pieces, I’m having a ball. Julie’s a bit fitter this series, so there’s less groaning when I get up off the ground. But she’s no gym bunny. I’m still a woman in my 50s.”

Ahead of series one of The Assasin, which was primarily was shot in Greece, specifically Athens, the cast had discussed the harsh filming conditions as they battled against sweltering temperatures.

And Keeley, who is married to Succession star Matthew Macfadyen, confessed she had to handle some enormous stunts, but relished the challenge. “This is some of the biggest stunt work that I’ve ever done,” she revealed.

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In season one, Edward discovered that Julie, who he was raised by, wasn’t actually his birth mother, and in actual fact took him in after killing his father on a job.

The synopsis for season 2 says: “Hitwoman Julie and Edward reluctantly team up once again, when Edward’s dream honeymoon with Kayla is hijacked by the arrival of a mysterious new threat.

“Plunged back into a world of international crime, kidnapping and high-speed car chases, to survive the job and mend an already fragile relationship, they’ll have to take down Spain’s corrupt underworld… and hopefully not each other first.”

The Assasin season 2 will release on Prime Video on Friday, November 6. Read the full interview with Keeley and Freddie in this week’s Radio Times

WASHINGTON — Americans are heading to the polls Tuesday in a historic set of midterm elections that will determine which party controls the chambers of Congress for the remainder of President Trump’s time in office.

Democrats appear poised to make significant gains, with polling showing the party up between 7 and 11 points on the generic ballot. Republicans are braced for losses but hoping to hang on to Senate control.

The night’s big question is whether a true wave will materialize for Democrats and how sizable it might be — how many U.S. House seats the party can flip, whether it can secure a Senate majority and whether Democrats take control of a majority of governorships.

The first polls close at 3 p.m. PST in parts of Kentucky and Indiana, and more Eastern states follow at 4 p.m. Here’s a rundown of the possible outcomes and what to watch as Tuesday unfolds.

Who could control Congress?

• Blue House, red Senate: Democrats could win a House majority — either substantial or modest — while Republicans retain the Senate.

  Split control of Congress would give House Democrats the ability to launch investigations into the Trump administration and block Republican legislative priorities. Senate Republicans would be able to scuttle legislation coming out of the House and continue approving Cabinet and judicial appointments, including to any openings on the Supreme Court. Legislative gridlock — and possible government shutdowns — would be likely.

• Total Democratic control: A larger “blue wave” could occur, sweeping up House seats for Democrats and tipping key Senate races in their favor to hand Democrats a majority in both chambers. The Senate majority would likely be very narrow and could come down to a single race.

  Democrats would be able to block Senate confirmation of Cabinet and judicial appointments. They would be able to pass legislation, but Trump would hold veto power and the Democrats would be unlikely to secure veto-proof majorities on partisan priorities.

• Wild cards: Most analysts agree there is very little chance that Republicans will keep House control.

  The potential for civic unrest looms over the election. If results in one or more races are contested by a losing party — as Trump and his allies have suggested is possible — the potential exists for prolonged uncertainty or a constitutional crisis.

When will we know the outcome?

The House majority could become clear before the night is over. The Senate majority could require a longer wait, particularly if it comes down to Alaska, which along with Hawaii is the last state to close polls, at 9 p.m. PST.

If the Democrats take the House, their full margin of victory likely won’t be clear Tuesday night. Some key swing races are in states that have slower ballot counts, including California and Pennsylvania.

If a blue wave does not materialize and the race for the House majority narrows, how each party makes out could take longer to ascertain.

Which races will provide early clues?

More than four dozen House races are competitive, including 18 that are considered tossups by election forecaster Cook Political Report. The additional 35 races are considered competitive but leaning towards one party. Whether additional, less competitive seats flip unexpectedly will be one indication of how much of a “wave” election this is.

Seven Senate seats are tossups: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. Three more are potentially competitive: South Carolina, which leans Republican, and Minnesota and New Hampshire, which lean Democratic under Cook’s ratings.

North Carolina and Georgia, originally viewed as competitive seats, are now both seen by forecasters as fairly safe bets for Democrats.

The swing states could largely tip for Republicans or for Democrats, or the majority could come down to just a single race.

Experts say they’re watching a handful of races that could provide early indicators for how the night may go, though predictions are always dicey and outliers are possible. Among the races to keep an eye on:

• Kentucky’s 6th: This Lexington-area U.S. House district has become an unexpected tossup, and with the nation’s earliest poll-closing time, it could be a bellwether. “If Democrats win that district, then it’s a Democratic tsunami,” said Christopher Warshaw, a Georgetown University public policy professor. “Even if it’s close, that would be pretty telling.”
• Iowa’s 2nd: Forecasters have shifted this race to a tossup amid a difficult environment for state Republicans. If Republicans lose this seat — which belonged to Rep. Ashley Hinson, the party’s Senate nominee — it could signal a blue wave on the bigger side.
• New York’s 17th: One of just three districts with a Republican incumbent that went blue in the 2024 presidential election, the outcome of this close race could “tell us a lot,” said Todd Belt, a George Washington University political science professor.
• Texas’ 15th: This district offers a bellwether for Latino voters who moved right in 2024 but, signs indicate, may be shifting back to the left. The 34th and 35th districts in Texas could also be indicative.
• Michigan Senate: If the Democrats lose Michigan, their path to Senate control becomes difficult. A win in Michigan is a best-case scenario for Republicans seeking to retain Senate control. Without Michigan, Democrats would have to flip five out of six swing seats in Alaska, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina.
• Maine Senate: If Democrat Troy Jackson wins in Maine, that will likely be a good sign for his party’s chances at the Senate majority and their races in Michigan, Ohio and Iowa. Without it, Democrats could still take the majority, but Republicans’ path will become easier.
• Other states: If Democrats pull off wins in purple or red districts in Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania, those could also signal a blue-leaning night.

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where, no, we did not get a Luka Doncic bobblehead.

Fans and even some Lakers players walked away with the coveted statuettes after the Lakers’ win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Sandro Mamukelashvili said he would display his in his office next to bobbleheads of former teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli.

With Doncic eavesdropping on his postgame interview Sunday, Jarred Vanderbilt said he didn’t need a bobblehead.

“I don’t want to see no more Luka,” Vanderbilt said minutes after Doncic walked out of the locker room.

If the beginning of the season is any indication, we’ll all be seeing more Luka.

Luka’s scoring magic

When half-court isn’t hard enough, Luka Doncic goes for the full-court heave. When a traditional three-pointer is a bore, he’ll try a one-handed, underhand three instead. Doncic keeps pushing the ball higher and higher on trick shots that are approaching the rafters before they ultimately drop softly through the net. And with Doncic, they almost always do.

“He’s done it so many times now,” Lakers forward Matisse Thybulle said of Doncic’s array of trick shots, “that [you] just kind of chalk it up to that’s just Luka.”

Doncic is not only just up to his old scoring tricks, he’s made them even better. After leading the league in scoring last year, Doncic is averaging 38.3 points per game through the first two weeks. And that’s despite what he deemed a “terrible” start while he was still trying to find his offensive rhythm.

“We live on a spaceship and we’re going at the speed of light at all times when he’s on the court,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said Sunday after Doncic scored 45 points with six assists in a “supernova” performance that still felt “normal” enough to get overshadowed by his 15 defensive rebounds and five steals.

In his last five games, Doncic is averaging 43.4 points and 8.6 assists on 53.2% shooting from the field and 44.7% from three. His five consecutive games with 35 or more points matches the longest such streak for a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant averaged 53.6 points across a five-game heater in March 2007.

The Lakers (6-2) celebrated the Slovenian superstar’s scoring prowess Sunday with a bobblehead giveaway. The miniature statue showed Doncic shooting a one-legged fadeaway jumper, one of his classic shots.

Doncic’s jump shot has become his calling card while turning into one of the league’s most dangerous scorers. Beginning in the 2023-24 season when Doncic won his first scoring title, at least 35.3% of his field-goal attempts each year have been from three. He never attempted more than 33.2% of his shots from beyond the arc during an NBA season prior to that year. The uptick in attempts has closed the gap between how many points he’s scoring from two compared to points off three-pointers, and this season, the hot-shooting Doncic is scoring more on threes than twos. Through his first six games, Doncic scored 66 points on twos and 105 on threes. His 5.8 made threes and 13.5 three-point attempts per game both lead the league. In the small sample size, he’s shooting a career-best 43.2% from three.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

For those who have known Doncic through different phases of his career, watching this dominant scorer emerge feels like watching a Pokémon evolve.

“He just polished a lot of his offensive weapons, let’s say,” Doncic’s longtime Spanish agent Quique Villalobos said. “If you ask me what is different from Luka in Europe than Luka in the NBA, Luka in the NBA is scoring much more.”

The 18-year-old Doncic won EuroLeague MVP averaging 16 points, 4.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Even considering that EuroLeague games are 40 minutes compared to the NBA’s 48, Doncic’s 22.2 points per 36 minutes during his final EuroLeague season is still less than his NBA rookie rate of 23.7 points per 36 minutes.

Different rules also help NBA players stuff box scores. The NBA court is bigger (94 feet by 50 feet compared to 91.86 feet by 49.21 feet in Europe) allowing more space to move. Doncic knows he can take advantage of the NBA’s defensive three-seconds violation by timing his attacks when the center leaves the paint. Doncic’s pacing remains one of his sharpest scoring weapons.

“I would say his patience,” Lakers guard Collin Sexton said of what makes Doncic such a prolific scorer. “And really not be able to be sped up at times. When you’re not able to be sped up, you’re able to control the game at your speed and do what you want to, no matter what the defense is doing.”

Doncic moves at a slow pace, but is creating loud moments. He is becoming ubiquitous around Crypto.com Arena. The full-page ad he bought in The Times for the season opener was blown up to more than six feet tall and displayed on the concourse at a recent game. Lakers girls wore his No. 77 jersey during a performance on his bobblehead night. And the sight of him hitting a contested step-back jumper will live in the nightmares of defenders all season.

New rules are a flop

As gracefully as a 40-year-old can manage, Al Horford attempted to spin across the lane. The Golden State Warriors’ center stepped on Vanderbilt’s foot and the Lakers’ forward fell backward. Vanderbilt looked at referees in disbelief when he was called for a flop.

The NBA’s new flopping emphasis has been a headache for players and coaches as they struggle to understand how referees will interpret the rules. While offensive players are often chastised for flopping in an attempt to get free throws, every clip in the NBA’s four-minute video about flopping focused on defensive players. During the video shown to players and coaches, the NBA’s head of referee development and training Monty McCutchen emphasizes moments where the defenders’ reactions are “theatrical and excessive” and are “in a manner inconsistent with the contact.”

When asked about the new emphasis from referees, Redick echoed sentiments shared by Minnesota coach Chris Finch last week, saying the NBA’s focus on defensive flopping doesn’t align with what the goal should be.

“We all recognized the fans want the offensive players to stop flopping, and all of our flopping fouls have been defensive,” Redick told reporters in San Francisco. “The reality for the officials [is] each crew is so different and what they interpret is so different.”

Flopping is one of the NBA’s four points of emphasis this season. It may conflict with another area of focus, which involves cracking down on offensive players forcefully using their off-arm to create separation. Offensive players get a win with the emphasis on defensive flopping while the defense is supposed to get the advantage if referees are legislating off-arm push-offs out of the game.

The two sides are then left asking for different things on the same play such as the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski pleading for the foul while Austin Reaves motioned for a flop with his arms extended and palms up after the two collided on an in-bounds play last Friday.

Neither player got what they asked for.

On tap

Wednesday at Kings (1-6), 7 p.m. PST

The Kings finally won a game, taking down Dallas for their first win of the year Monday. Rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. isn’t shy in his first NBA games: he is second in the NBA in field goal attempts per game with 23.6. He is averaging 26.1 points per game.

Friday vs. Trail Blazers (5-1), 7 p.m. PST

The Lakers lost to the Trail Blazers last week but Portland is already a different team. Ja Morant will be out for at least most of November after he suffered a grade 2 hamstring injury on Oct. 29. The dynamic guard will be out for four to six weeks.

Sunday at Pistons (6-1), 3 p.m. PST

The Pistons have impressive early season wins over Boston and Philadelphia despite an injury to center Jalen Duren. The center who was at the center of an offseason contract feud was sidelined for at least two weeks with a hamstring injury, the team announced Oct. 25.

Monday at Atlanta (4-4), 4 p.m. PST

Forward Jalen Johnson is backing up his first career All-Star selection and a third-team All-NBA honor by leading the Hawks with 18.1 points, nine rebounds and 7.9 assists this season.

Favorite thing I ate this week

Lime and cilantro marinated bean salad.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

I somehow got into the bean evangelist corner of the internet and now I’m a believer. I’ve been on the fibermaxxing routine with meal-prepped bean salads, including this cilantro lime find from Pinterest. The dressing is sweet, savory (from a tablespoon of miso paste), tangy and herby and it all came together in 20 minutes. It would have been even faster if I didn’t accidentally spill an entire bowl of marinated red onions on the floor during assembly.

In case you missed it

‘Like a supernova.’ Luka Doncic’s 45 points only eclipsed by his defense in Lakers’ win

Lakers blow 25-point lead in double-digit loss to Warriors

Mark Walter, Josh Kushner agree on outstanding terms linked to $12.5-billion Lakers sale

‘A true professional’: Jarred Vanderbilt leads Lakers’ bench unit against Clippers

Plaschke: LeBron who? Lakers happily shed the burden of departed star

Former Laker Malik Beasley agrees to plead guilty in federal court over gambling ring involvement

High-scoring Lakers stress they need to play championship defense

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Americans head to the polls on Tuesday in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress and determine how much pressure President Donald Trump faces for the rest of his term.

After two years of unified Republican control, Democrats are fighting to reclaim both the House of Representatives and the Senate, while Republicans work to defend their narrow majorities and protect Trump’s agenda on immigration, the economy and the courts.

These 20 photos capture the pulse of this deeply polarised contest – from crowded polling stations and get-out-the-vote drives to last-minute campaign stops – offering a glimpse of voters at the booths and parents with children in tow across the country, all playing their part in a race set to shape the direction of American politics for years to come.

Hezbollah denies the Syrian accusations, reiterating that it does not have any presence on Syrian territory.

Syrian security forces have said they foiled a plot to target the Homs oil refinery in central Syria, arresting a cell affiliated with Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group.

Syria’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) said on X that “the preemptive security operation” was carried out in cooperation with the country’s Internal Security Forces.

It identified two arrested individuals with their initials – M S and B Sh – but did not elaborate on the time or the location of the operation, “which resulted in the seizure of explosive devices in their possession that had been prepared to execute the plot”.

Hezbollah denied the Syrian accusations in a statement, reiterating that it does not have any presence on Syrian territory and is not ⁠involved in “any activity that undermines the ⁠security and stability of Syria”.

Hezbollah ⁠fought alongside former President Bashar al-Assad’s forces during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, but relations with Damascus have deteriorated sharply since his overthrow in 2024.

Syrian authorities have accused ⁠Hezbollah of involvement in a series of alleged plots, including planned assassinations, ⁠rocket attacks and arms smuggling.

The Homs refinery is one of Syria’s two oil refineries, along with the Baniyas refinery, and plays a key role in securing petroleum products.

ISIL cell

In a similar operation, the GIS said on Sunday that they arrested two members of a suspected ISIL (ISIS) cell in the governorate of Deir Az Zor.

Sunday’s statement added that investigations “showed the detainees’ involvement in carrying out a series of assassinations in the province, the latest of which targeted defence ministry member Ibrahim al-Jassem with a gunshot near the al-Rashid mosque in the city of Mayadin”.

The operation led to the seizure of weapons and ammunition found in the cell’s hideout, the security forces said, adding that authorities were continuing investigations of “the terrorists to uncover their links in preparation for bringing them to justice”.

On September 27, the security forces said they had arrested four members of an ISIL cell involved in planning and carrying out several attacks in different parts of the country.

On September 30, the Syrian Electricity Company said the Deir Ali, Nasiriya and Tishreen power stations had gone out of service after an explosion on a gas line at the Tishreen station in the Damascus countryside, which cut off the gas supply needed to run them.

On October 15, the Syrian Petroleum Company said the pipeline carrying petroleum products from Baniyas to Homs was damaged near the village of Hadida in western Homs countryside, causing a fuel leak, state media reported, in the latest in a series of attacks on Syria’s energy infrastructure.

Last month, Syria’s security forces foiled a plot to target a police patrol in Damascus countryside, saying that an ISIL cell was preparing to carry out the attack, Syrian state television reported. They said the group was responsible for explosions and assassinations in Raqqa, Aleppo, Idlib and Homs.

Damascus joined the US-led international coalition against ISIL last November, which was formed in 2014 and has carried out operations against the group in Syria and Iraq.

KIM Kardashian’s nipples stole the spotlight as she rocked a see-through silver gown at the All’s Fair premiere in New York last night.

The Skims mogul, who just turned 46 last month, looked sensational as she rocked a figure-hugging gray strapless dress on the red carpet.

With her curves on full display, Kim’s hourglass frame was accentuated as she posed for the cameras before her.

The plunging neckline of the strapless dress highlighted Kim’s famous boobs, with the sheer fabric of the garment giving fans a glimpse at her nipples.

Reacting to the look, one person on X penned: “This is one of my favourite looks… just wow.”

“Wow, absolutely beautiful,” said a second.

“At this point, why does she even bother with clothes?” asked a third, clearly noticing the sheer fabric which displayed her nipples.

“I’m so tired of seeing her boobs on display. We get it. You have big knockers,” penned a fourth.

While a fifth said: “I like the dress.”

And a sixth added: “Can she even breathe omg?”

This comes after Kim showed off her figure at the All’s Fair screening Mexico.

For this occasion, she wore a very unique white dress with a gaping neckline that reached down to her stomach.

But before the Mexican screening, she looked sensational at the premiere in Rome – though fans were quick to critique her body.

She wore a daring cut-out gown by designer Galia Lahav and styled by Zendaya’s BFF Law Roach.

In one shot where Kim faced away from the camera, fans spotted a strange and deep dent in her back.

One follower cheekily called the mark a “backgina,” seemingly in response to her infamous “pitgina” in 2025.

“What am I looking at?!” one Reddit follower marvelled.

“I’m so confused,” another chimed in.

Last summer, Kim shocked fans with what they called a “pitgina” in a very tiny bandeau top.

As she waved to onlookers in Venice, a deep indentation in her armpit could be seen.

Election day is here, which means it’s the final chance to cast your ballot for the midterm election.

Early voting options have allowed more than 5.5 million Californians to cast their ballot ahead of election day, according to Political Data Intelligence, voter data analysis software.

However, with more than 23 million registered voters in the state, there are still nearly 18 million people who potentially could head to the polls, which could translate to long lines at polling places and voting centers.

You can avoid long wait times. Here’s how to do that, plus a few other helpful tips on election day.

How to avoid long lines at the polls

On election day, voting and polling centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk’s website has a vote center locator online.

By entering your address, the locator will create a list of voting centers that are less than a mile away or as far as 10 miles.

Included with the vote center address is how long the current wait time is at that specific location.

The wait times are color coded as follows:

• Dark green: 15 minutes or less
• Light green: 16 to 30 minutes
• Yellow: 31 to 45 minutes
• Orange: 46 to 60 minutes
• Red: More than 1 hour
• Blue: Wait time unavailable

I’m at a vote center but left my ballot at home

You can request a provisional ballot at any polling place in the county in which you are registered to vote.

A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope prior to being put in the ballot box.

It’s counted once election officials verify that you are a registered voter in that county and haven’t already voted in the election.

How to participate in ‘curbside voting’ for registered voters with disabilities

All polling places and voting centers are required to be accessible to voters with disabilities and will have accessible voting machines.

Any voter who cannot reach the voting area at the center because of architectural barriers or physical limitations may request to vote curbside — whether the voter is physically on the curb or in their car.

There is a sign posted outside of every vote center with a phone number to call an election worker who will bring a ballot to the voter, according to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk.

I forgot my check-in code for in-person voting

Los Angeles County election officials say you can check in at a voting center by scanning your “quick check-in code” — a number that verifies your voter registration.

Your unique code can be found on your mailed sample ballot and vote center postcard. Take either of those hard copies to the vote center.

If you forgot the hard copies, you can find the code online. You retrieve it by verifying your voter registration here. You’ll need to input your last name, birth date, the house number of your residential address and your ZIP Code.

For assistance call, (800) 815-2666, Option 2.

How late is too late to vote at the polls on election night?

In California, any voter who is in line at 8 p.m. when the polls are scheduled to close is allowed to vote, according to the secretary of state.

If there is a line when the polls close, a poll worker stands at the back of the line to let people who arrive after 8 p.m. know that the polls have closed.

Any voter who arrives after the polls have closed may not be allowed to vote, even if voters who were in line to vote before the polls closed are in the process of voting.

More election news

Nov. 3, 2026 6:46 AM PT

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS

THURSDAY

At Rio Mesa

DIVISION 8

San Gabriel Academy (21-7) vs. Rio Mesa (16-16), 6 p.m.

At Tarbut V’Torah

DIVISION 11

Arroyo (12-11) vs. Tarbut V’Torah (10-7), 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 5

El Toro (22-10) vs. Westridge (21-7-5), 7 p.m.

DIVISION 6

Villa Park (16-12) vs. Lakewood (21-12), 4 p.m.

SATURDAY

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 1

Sierra Canyon (32-1) vs. Mater Dei (38-1), 6:30 p.m.

DIVISION 2

Redondo Union (21-11) vs. Long Beach Poly (28-7), 3 p.m.

DIVISION 3

Newbury Park (32-9) vs. Corona del Mar (25-9), 12 p.m.

At Vista Murrieta

DIVISION 4

Glendora (19-12) vs. Vista Murrieta (17-16), 2 p.m.

At Fullerton

DIVISION 7

Placentia Valencia (17-13) vs. Fullerton (20-14), 6 p.m.

At Rancho Mirage

DIVISION 9

Desert Christian Academy (16-7) vs. Rancho Mirage (21-9), 6 p.m.

At Orange

DIVISION 10

La Quinta (15-16) vs. Orange (18-16), 6 p.m.

Supermarket refrigerators and freezers across Europe have been targeted by a cyberattack that raised the temperature of internet-linked units, destroying and damaging large quantities of food.

On Monday, fridges and freezers at more than 100 shops in several European countries ran hot. Cyberattacks on supermarkets began last month, when hundreds of French supermarkets were left with spoiled food and damage to units which had overheated, costing millions of euros.

So far, it remains unclear why hackers targeted the supermarkets, but attacks have spread across the continent and even to the United States.

Here’s what we know:

Which countries in Europe have been targeted?

On Monday, several supermarkets in Europe were affected, including the following:

• Dutch supermarket operator Delhaize said dozens of its shops in Belgium and Luxembourg were hit by an “IT incident”.
• French retailer Carrefour said about 15 of its 700 Belgian locations were hit by refrigeration problems.
• The Colruyt group, which runs Spar stores in Belgium as franchises, said five of its shops were affected.
• Swedish Coop said cooling systems at seven of its 800 stores were affected, with disruptions ranging from complete shutdowns to partial operation.
• Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, which also operates restaurants at its stores, said one site in Mons, Belgium, had been affected by a cyberattack.
• De Laet & Van Haver, the Belgian butchery chain, said the temperature in its fridges at its store in Hove, south of Antwerp, was raised as high as 18 degrees Celsius, ruining meat worth about 15,000 euros ($16,764).
• The food wholesaler Musgrave said a cyber-incident affected refrigeration systems in 13 of its SuperValu stores in Ireland.
• In October, hundreds of French supermarkets suffered cyberattacks, spoiling tonnes of food, causing fires and melting parts of refrigeration units.

What has happened in the US?

In August, freezers at a market in Fort Huachuca, an Army base in Arizona, went into defrost mode, spoiling all the frozen food they contained, according to a post on Facebook by the base.

The same month, the naval station in Newport, Rhode Island, reported on Facebook that its refrigeration system was affected, leaving only dry goods were available for purchase.

The Pentagon considered the freezer malfunctions on the military bases to be a suspected hack, the Reuters news agency reported late last month, citing four officials close to the matter.

One official said Pentagon investigators were communicating with the French authorities about the issue.

How are cyberattackers targeting fridges and freezers?

Hackers can access the controls of fridges and freezers which use internet software and raise their temperature in order to spoil frozen food.

In some cases, hackers have increased the temperature of appliances to as high as 50C (122F) in European supermarkets, causing them to melt or even catch fire.

Awais Rashid, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Bristol in the UK, explained that many supermarket refrigeration systems which are remotely managed and, often by third parties, have not been given necessary software updates to prevent hackers.

“In line with established cyber security practices, these systems should be managed via secure networks. However, this is not the case in these incidents and they are accessible on the Internet,” Rashid told Al Jazeera.

“A remote managing party can access a web server on the controller to configure the system including temperature changes and maintenance. There are known vulnerabilities in several controllers (many of which are past their end of life),” he said.

Rashid added that vulnerabilities include “easily guessable” passwords, which would mean anyone could gain access.

Why are hackers doing this?

The motive behind the attacks is unclear, but authorities believe it may be a deliberate attempt to disrupt food supplies.

On Monday, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, said the attacks on fridges were a “deliberate attempt to disrupt” the bloc’s food supply and to undermine consumer confidence.

He added that while “food security is not currently at risk … the food waste and impact on businesses are real”.

Rashid said that while there are few details about who may be behind the attacks or what their motives are, it is likely that these are “the motive here is likely disruption”.

“This has financial impacts on the supermarkets but also societal impacts in terms of security of the food supply chain. Critically, this risks undermining trust in infrastructures on which people rely daily,” he said.

Who is behind the attacks?

On Monday, Belgium’s prosecutor’s office announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into the latest fridge cyberattacks. But so far, no one has taken responsibility.

Theories have emerged linking state actors to cyberattacks generally, with North Korea most recently accused of being behind last week’s $6.3bn Binance cryptocurrency heist, which forced the crypto group to freeze accounts.

European intelligence officials have also warned that Russia is escalating its shadow war on the continent amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, with cyberattacks among the methods it uses.

On Tuesday, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre warned that Britain needs to be prepared for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cyberattack on its critical national infrastructure within the next two years.

“By 2028, it is highly likely that Russia, China and other nation states will routinely use AI-cyber to achieve their geopolitical goals, with the UK facing an increase in scale and speed of sophisticated cyberattacks,” the NCSC said in a report.

The report comes shortly after the UK launched its “Be Ready” campaign, calling on citizens to stockpile enough tinned food, bottled water and cash to last three days in the event of a cyberattack or national emergency.

Rashid said that as our infrastructure becomes increasingly digitised, the risk of disruption from cyberattacks, especially “cyber-physical infrastructures such as refrigeration systems”, has risen.

“However, we should also note that a lot of our digital infrastructures operate safely everyday because good security practices enable that. The world works because cyber security works effectively. So it is important that all businesses follow good cyber security practices,” he said.

There are many metrics by which to measure the success of “Oh, Mary!,” the Tony Award-winning play that has taken the stage by storm. And here’s a new one: Effusive hype and high ticket demand has resulted in Center Theatre Group booking the show for its 2028 60th anniversary season even before its national touring production hits the Ahmanson Theatre on Nov. 10.

As evidenced by Tuesday’s announcement, the current tour, starring drag queen Alaska Thunderf— is set to arrive in L.A. next week with sky-high expectations. Ironically, director Sam Pinkleton originally resisted the idea of a tour, feeling the show might lose some of its charm on the road.

“I was convinced it was a bad idea,” Pinkleton said with a laugh during a recent interview. “But when we went to Broadway, I also thought that was a terrible idea, and I was absolutely wrong.” The director was originally concerned the scrappy little show with a cast of five wouldn’t play as well in larger houses. “But seeing how well it works on Broadway, I think it’s actually better than in the small room. It’s not a play I would call subtle; it really fills a room. So that gave me a lot of confidence about a national tour.”

Written by and originally starring Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!” is a revisionist take on former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s life in the days leading to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Historical accuracy be damned, the show presents Mary as a wannabe star repressed by her closeted husband. Premiering off-Broadway in February 2024 and set to run six weeks, the show was given multiple extensions before transferring to Broadway, where it won Tony Awards for Escola’s performance and Pinkleton’s directing. Escola was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama that same year.

Cole Escola and James Scully in “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway. Many actors have since taken on the role of Mary Todd Lincoln.

(Emilio Madrid)

But “Oh, Mary!” has achieved much more than gold statues and box office receipts — it’s a genuine pop-culture phenomenon, a familiar meme and a show beloved by seemingly all demographics.

“I think a turning point was early in the run when Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner and Sally Field all came together,” Pinkleton said. “We were all like, ‘What is happening?’”

Other notable audience members, including Madonna and Michelle Obama, followed, while actors such as Maya Rudolph, Bowen Yang and Tituss Burgess signed up to don Mary’s ringlet wig as the Broadway run stretched on. “It’s wild to think that tonight, you can see it in three different places,” says Pinkleton, referring to the productions in New York, London and the national tour.

If the tour’s leading lady is feeling any pressure, she’s not showing it. Alaska admits that even she was skeptical of the show’s advance hype. “I kept hearing, ‘Oh, you have to see this play, this play is so good,’” she recalled during a Zoom interview from the show’s San Francisco stop. “And I thought, ‘How good can a play be? What is everyone talking about?’”

But the moment she saw it, she understood. “I was immediately enamored, I was hooked.”

“Oh, Mary!” star Alaska says the show feels written for her, even thought she knows it’s not.

(Gabriela Hasbun / For The Times)

When it came time to cast the tour, Pinkleton immediately thought of Alaska, known to most audiences as the winner of the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.” Pinkleton had worked with her before, most notably in the 2021 production of the Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels” at the Pasadena Playhouse. “I knew for a fact that Alaska could do this in her sleep,” he said. “As the kids say, I have receipts. She’s the real thing and she was made for this.”

Following an early Zoom work session, Alaska was on board. “I feel like it was written for me, but I know it wasn’t,” she said. “And that’s a testament to Cole writing something very true and anchored in real emotion. I think anyone who has ever felt underestimated or misunderstood or overlooked can really identify with this role.”

In many ways, the joy of playing Mary is that different actors bring different aspects and personality nuances to the role. “It’s a big, juicy part that works in the hands of radically different people,” Pinkleton said.

Asked what she feels she brings to the role, Alaska said she didn’t go in thinking about how to make it her own. “I really just approached it truthfully,” she said, noting that while the show is a comedy, the circumstances Mary finds herself in are genuinely tragic, and she wanted to be true to that. “This isn’t jokey to me — it’s really serious, intense and high-stakes. I wanted to do it like an Ibsen play or Shakespeare.”

The show doesn’t play like a tragedy, however. It’s a roller coaster ride from the start, and Pinkleton said he always wants the audience to have a great time.

“Oh, Mary!” star Alaska puts on makeup backstage at the Curran Theatre during the San Francisco stop of the show’s national tour.

(Gabriela Hasbun / For The Times)

“I know there’s a lot of amazing theater being made about various traumas, but I can only control my corner of things and I just feel that most of us have had a bad day in one way or another,” he said. “And it would be awesome if our time at the theater was joyous. And I take that really, really seriously.”

Both director and star are well aware of the expectations that come with a show so beloved and discussed. “I try not to think about it,” said Alaska. “I just trust in the show being so beautifully constructed and it truly has something for everyone, whoever you are.”

For his part, Pinkleton said with a laugh, “There’s definitely some element for me of, ‘Like, it’s just a play, calm down.’” But part of maintaining its heart and charm is remembering that at its core, “it’s kind of a small operation.”

“It was made with a really hands-on approach by a very small group of people who cared a lot and that spirit has remained even as we’ve scaled it up,” Pinkleton said. It hasn’t been easy work; Pinkleton credits several people for their contributions, particularly the tour’s associate director Sunny Min-Sook Hitt, who occupied the same role during the original production. “It’s taken a lot of worthwhile work to keep it what it is. There’s just not a world where ‘Oh, Mary!’ can turn into ‘Jersey Boys,’” Pinkleton said. The national tour is already selling out houses across the country and receiving a rapturous response. “Every night has a different energy and the audience is definitely a part of the show,” Alaska said. “In San Diego, we were in a 3,000-person theater, we’ve never played one that size. It felt like the stadium version of ‘Oh, Mary!’”

Pinkleton said he makes “a lot of big, gay shows” and people have asked him how he thinks “Oh, Mary!” will play in smaller cities. “Honestly, I was a weird, loud, gay kid in Richmond, Virginia, and I’m excited to bring it to places that might not get this kind of thing,” he noted. And sometimes silly comedies can be the most meaningful, particularly to marginalized communities. “It’s meaningful that there will be some people for whom ‘Oh, Mary!’ is also a kind of a life raft.”

As Election Day arrives, Seeking Alpha analysts looking at the political landscape largely agree that the bigger market drivers are likely to remain interest rates, inflation, AI spending and geopolitics.

A specific post-midterms trade remains predictably elusive.

But beneath that

As a criminal investigation into Southern California Edison’s actions before last year’s deadly Eaton fire continues, the state’s for-profit utilities are lobbying for legislation that would protect their shareholders from paying for future catastrophic fires they cause.

According to slides recently presented by a Pacific Gas & Electric executive to a group of state senators, the utilities are asking for a permanent cap to limit their corporate liability for a fire where they are found to have acted negligently or imprudently. The slides were reviewed by The Times.

“If ratepayers are forced to pay the lion share for fires utilities cause, there is no imperative for the for-profit utilities to take safety and fire mitigation seriously,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.

The utilities say their shareholders must be shielded from wildfire costs because the risk of future fires has damaged their credit ratings. Lower credit ratings mean the companies must pay higher interest rates on borrowing, an increased cost that gets passed on to electricity customers.

“It is in our customers’ interest to have action in 2026,” Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, told Wall Street analysts last week when asked about the utilities’ push in Sacramento for a liability cap.

Caroline Choi, Edison’s executive vice president of public policy and corporate affairs, told The Times that the proposal would not change the utilities’ focus on preventing fires. “Safety is our number one priority,” she said.

Executives at Edison and PG&E also recently told their investors that without the liability protection they may cut what they are spending on capital improvements, including to connect new housing developments and green energy projects.

PG&E recently sent letters to thousands of its customers, saying their projects could be delayed next year as it defers $2 billion in spending.

Those comments and PG&E’s letter have angered consumer advocates, wildfire survivors and some lawmakers.

On Sunday, state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena), whose district includes Altadena, sent a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission, pointing out that both companies continue to pay millions of dollars in dividends to their shareholders, while complaining that the wildfire risk had financially weakened them.

“Their decisions to delay or reduce investments in critical projects are particularly troubling given the billions of dollars in profits reported by their parent companies in recent years,” Perez wrote. “The Legislature must not be pressured to roll back utilities’ financial accountability for wildfires through threats to withhold the investments needed to serve our communities.”

The state’s three biggest for-profit utilities, which also include San Diego Gas & Electric, have been lobbying for protection from wildfire costs since early 2025. That’s when videos emerged showing two bright flashes coming from Edison’s transmission lines, just before the Eaton fire ignited.

A government investigation released in August concluded that the devastating fire ignited when an out-of-service transmission line that Edison had not used since 1971 was briefly reenergized in the high winds, causing sparks that landed in dried brush below.

The fire killed 19 people and destroyed a wide swath of Altadena, leaving thousands of families homeless.

Last week, Pizarro told investors that executives believed the utility acted prudently before the fire. If the utilities commission agrees that the company acted prudently, Edison’s liabilities for the fire would be fully covered by a $21-billion state wildfire fund.

If the commission instead determines that Edison acted imprudently — a California regulatory standard that is similar to negligence — the company’s shareholders would still pay no more than $4.3 billion for the Eaton fire under a 2019 law known as Assembly Bill 1054.

The law was passed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers to protect utilities from bankruptcy if their power lines spark a catastrophic fire. Since then, utility equipment has continued to spark major wildfires, even though the companies have charged customers tens of billions of dollars to prevent them.

The slides presented to state senators propose that the cap on damages — when a utility is found to have acted imprudently — be made permanent. Under current law, the cap will end when the state wildfire fund, as well as an additional $18-billion reserve created last year, are depleted, leaving shareholders exposed to greater costs of future fires.

The proposed limit on shareholder liability would be equal to 20% of each utility’s transmission and distribution equity rate base, which differs based on the size of the grid maintained by each company. This number for Edison is now $4.3 billion. For PG&E, it is $5.1 billion, according to the slides, while it is $1.5 billion for SDG&E.

The companies’ customers would have to shoulder the rest of a fire’s costs, which would be added to monthly electricity bills.

Mark Toney, executive director of the Utilities Reform Network, called the idea of permanently capping shareholders’ liabilities for fires “completely unacceptable.”

“There needs to be a cap on ratepayers’ liability,” he said.

Earlier this year, the utilities’ stock prices began to rise as executives told investors that Newsom was working on legislation to reduce the companies’ financial risks from fires.

But wildfire survivors were angered when details emerged that Newsom’s proposal would limit payments to victims for pain and suffering and cap attorney fees. Another proposed measure would have increased property insurance premiums across the state by reducing the amounts that insurers could collect after a utility-caused fire.

The utilities’ stock prices then fell when legislators agreed to a much smaller legislative package that did not have the protections the companies wanted. That bill died after the Assembly declined to vote on it.

The utilities are now asking Newsom to call a special session in which lawmakers would debate how to reduce the utilities’ fire risks, including the possible limit on what shareholders would pay.

“A predictable limitation would enable utilities to maintain investment grade credit ratings to better access capital at lower borrowing costs for customers,” Lynsey Paulo, a PG&E spokesperson, said in an e-mail.

In February, Edison disclosed that the Los Angeles County district attorney was investigating whether Edison should be criminally charged for its actions leading to the Eaton fire. And last month, an investment firm published a report claiming that there was evidence that Edison “acted with conscious and willful disregard for the rights and safety of others,” which would make its shareholders liable for all Eaton fire costs. The costs have been estimated to be tens of billions of dollars.

Pizarro told investors last week that he believed there was no evidence that Edison acted criminally before the fire. And he similarly dismissed the investment firm’s report.

“Just to be very crystal clear on this, not only do we not see any basis for felony liability, we certainly don’t see any basis for allegations of conscious or willful disregard,” Pizarro said on the conference call. “I think I said this to all of you before — that is not something I lose sleep over.”

The new head of English rugby league has backed a call for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to approve a £30m five-year community funding plan for the sport.

Former England international Jon Wilkin has appealed directly to Burnham and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, both rugby league fans, to pledge government money to a rugby league-based social impact project.

Ian Nolan, the new chief executive of the Rugby Football League, has supported Wilkin’s plea, issued on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby League show on Monday.

Wilkin wants Burnham and Nandy to follow the lead of Australia’s government, which in July announced it was committing A$250m (£130m), external over 10 years to the Pacific Rugby League Partnership.

That initiative is designed to help create sporting, educational and employment opportunities in Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, and is being led by the Australian Rugby League Commission – the country’s rugby league governing body.

Wilkin has argued that a similar plan for the north of England would benefit deprived communities.

He said: “Australia has recognised rugby league’s potential as a vehicle for social change, committing hundreds of millions to developing communities, especially across the Pacific. Why shouldn’t Britain show the same ambition for the north?

“The infrastructure already exists, the clubs, the foundations, the school and community relationships are already well established. What’s missing is a coordinated strategy and meaningful government investment.

“The ask would be simple: For the government to establish a £30m five-year Northern Rugby League social impact partnership, bringing together the RFL, professional clubs, community foundations, local authorities and government departments.

“The programme would target disadvantaged northern communities.”

Nolan, a former Manchester United executive who took up his role with the RFL on 1 October, suggested the social benefits of such an initiative would be felt more quickly because rugby league clubs are already established in their communities.

“When the government normally invest in community hubs and new things to generate something, they tend to be brand new,” he said. “And it’s really difficult then to attract people to go there because it’s a new habit, it’s a new place.

“But rugby clubs are already established in the most deprived towns in the UK. And that’s the difference. People already go there. Families already rely on them for even just moving around.”

BBC Sport has contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for comment.

The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces has laid out five conditions for what he calls a roadmap to lasting security, as Qatar said it was “hopeful” that Tehran and Washington could reach a deal paving the way for future negotiations, despite overnight US strikes on Qeshm Island.

Major-General Ali Abdollahi’s plan calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the complete lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of Iranian assets and war reparations, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

The plan also calls for recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and a guarantee against future aggression under a regional security framework for West Asia.

The plan comes as Qatar steps up mediation efforts amid fears the US-Israel war on Iran, launched in late February, could escalate after the midterm elections in the United States on Tuesday.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in his weekly briefing in Doha on Tuesday that a Qatari delegation held a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran for more than three hours on Monday, before returning to Doha that evening. Both sides are now reviewing Qatar’s proposal, he said, with mediators exchanging proposals between them in real time.

“If there were no glimmer of hope, there would be no negotiations,” al-Ansari said, adding that Qatar would not speculate on whether an agreement or a military escalation was more likely.

He warned that any escalation, whether attacks on Iranian territory or on shipping, “will have an impact on the negotiations”, and said continuing the Qatari-Pakistani mediation remained a priority. He reiterated that freedom of navigation in Hormuz was nonnegotiable, referring to Doha’s condemnation of the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al-Mayda.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said mediators were aiming to avert a new round of fighting.

He said a Qatari delegation visited Iran on Friday in response to a letter to Iran from US Vice President JD Vance, and an Iranian delegation travelled to Qatar the following day.

“The Qataris are trying to mediate with Iran, not on a peace deal, but on a framework to restart the negotiations,” he said. Of Monday’s brief visit, he added: “The reading is that the Qataris carried a message to Tehran and immediately left after that.”

“The main issue is the mistrust between the two parties,” Atas said. “The Iranians say that twice previously the US attacked them when they were engaged in diplomacy. That’s why they’re asking for concrete steps, such as lifting sanctions, removing the naval blockade, returning frozen Iranian assets and letting Iran sell oil on the global market.”

US officials reportedly said the military carried out limited strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday that did not amount to a resumption of major combat operations, saying Iran had tried to target a US aircraft and the attack took out the launcher.

One official called it “a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets”. IRNA reported five explosions on the island, with more blasts heard in Bandar Lengeh. President Donald Trump had said on October 8 that the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it downed two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the strait.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, said, “The ball is in America’s court to prevent war.”

Tehran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported that Iran had updated its target bank to include US bases and infrastructure in Europe.

Zeidon Alkinani, the founding director of the Arab Perceptions Institute, said both sides remained open to diplomacy.

“Diplomacy and force are running in parallel,” Alkinani told Al Jazeera. “The diplomatic channel is alive – it has always been since March, but there hasn’t unfortunately been a fundamental breakthrough.”

Vance had said on Monday he was optimistic about reaching a negotiated settlement.

However, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday Iran was neither waiting for the outcome of US midterm elections nor shaping its policies around them.

US President ⁠Donald ⁠Trump says he made a deal with ⁠Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that ⁠Washington would no longer be providing funding to Israel after the end of this ‌year.

“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4bn ⁠a year, and ⁠we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump told ⁠Fox News’ Fox and Friends after voting in the midterm elections began.

“We’ve ⁠already agreed that ⁠by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. ‌Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”

It was not immediately clear what form of aid Trump was discussing.

Military aid to Israel, and US political campaign contributions from Israel’s backers to candidates, have been a flashpoint for both Democrats and Republicans this year.

Harsh public criticism of Israel by US political leaders in recent years marks a dramatic shift from decades of staunch bipartisan backing.

The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel in July, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza.

The House voted 314 to ‌104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by outgoing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken Republican critic of US policy in the Middle East.

EMMERDALE star Matthew Wolfenden has marked his third anniversary with rarely-seen girlfriend Heather Scott-Martin as he moves from the collapse of his marriage to former co-star Charley Webb.

The actor confirmed his relationship with Heather after meeting the trained choreographer and dance teacher while starring in a West End production of Elf: The Musical in December 2023.

Just weeks earlier, Matthew, 46, announced the end of his five-year marriage to Charley in a joint statement – and later claimed he’d been dumped by his wife while she was touring UK theatres in playwright James Graham’s Quiz.

But he appeared to be back on his feet while celebrating his third anniversary with Heather in a new social media post on Sunday.

Sharing a handful of photos – among them a backstage shot of the pair at London’s Dominion Theatre as they prepared for Elf – he wrote: “Three years of you.”

Speaking exclusively to The Sun shortly after announcing their relationship, Matthew said they bonded over their respective splits.

READ MORE ABOUT MATTHEW HERE

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Matthew Wolfenden on ex Charley after split which saw her move in with Sheridan

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He said: “I met Heather doing Elf. Me and Charley had been separated for a few months and then Heather was the dance captain on Elf, she’s a choreographer and a dancer.

“She’d also recently separated from her long-term partner roughly the same time me and Charley had separated so we kind of had this common bond.

“All the cast used to go out for drinks and stuff and we’d end up sitting together and chatting about relationships and things that had happened, and that’s how we started chatting.

“We’d be the last ones in the pub still chatting, it was almost like it was meant to be, that we found each other.”

The actor – best known for his former role as David Metcalfe in Emmerdale – shares sons Buster, 14, Bowie, nine and five-year-old Ace, five, with ex-wife Charley.

Addressing their painful split during an appearance on the Lewis Nicholls Podcast in May 2025, Matthew claimed his former wife left him as he prepared for a new role on the West End stage.

He said: “It was Charley’s decision. Charley decided she wanted to separate. 

“It was hard, it was a hard time for me. By this point I’d decided to leave Emmerdale. Charley was on tour with a play called Quiz so I was leaving a job I’d been in for 18 years, I’d just been offered a job in the West End, so it was a big change for me. 

“I had the kids full time at that time because Charley was out on tour and then out of the blue I got this news that she wanted to separate. 

“It was a tough time for me, it was a time of big changes and then this on top of things wasn’t the best news in the world. But things happen for a reason.  

“It was the fact that the kids were quite young and it wasn’t only a couple of years ago. That was a concern to me. We had to move onwards.”

He added: “I didn’t expect it at all, it was a big shock. Separation is very difficult when you’ve spent 15 years together, your lives together and everything you own is together – just sorting out. 

“Especially when the separation happened when Charley was on tour and I was moving to London after leaving Emmerdale.”

Despite the abrupt split, Matthew claimed the former couple put their differences aside and found a way forward.

He added: “Everything was a bit up in the air for the first few months but we’re very very amicable, we’re still friends and we’ve got kids together so you have to be.

“We’re always going to have a relationship.”

Nearly two-thirds of California voters are worried that the Trump administration may try to halt the vote count early, stoking disquieting levels of election anxiety on the eve of the midterms, a new poll shows.

Those fears arise as the Justice Department continues its aggressive efforts to challenge or wrest control over state voting processes, including threatening to prosecute uncooperative elections officials in California, after years of baseless claims of widespread election fraud by the Republican president.

Among California voters, 63% worry that the federal government may attempt to stop the counting of votes in California and other states in the days following Tuesday’s election, according to the poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times. Around half of voters — 49% — are not confident that the state’s election will be free of federal interference, the survey found.

“Both of the items, together, I think should raise alarms for threats against democracy in California,” said Matt Barreto, director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.

California voters also have grievances with the state’s ballot propositions, a slate of 14 measures that include new taxes on billionaires and funding for cancer research. More than 8 in 10 of the state’s likely voters said that this year’s propositions were worded in a way that made them hard to understand and that special interests groups have too much influence over which propositions appear on the ballot.

Those concerns were shared across partisan lines, unlike how Californians felt about the threats posed to integrity of elections by the Trump administration. The high level of fear in the state reflects the fact that registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2 to 1 in California.

While 58% of Democrats are not confident the election will be free of federal interference, 27% of Republicans feel the same way, according to the poll. Similarly, 85% of Democrats are worried about the vote count being halted, compared with 22% of Republicans. A majority of California voters not affiliated with either party also expressed fears of interference by the Trump administration.

“I think voters are reflecting the reality,” Barreto said. “For the past month, the president and the Department of Justice have been attempting to directly interfere and take over California elections and voters are aware of that.”

The Department of Justice has sued California requesting the state set aside some 20,000 ballots the federal government has flagged as being potentially from noncitizens. Federal prosecutors have threatened criminal actions against election officials who refuse to comply. On Monday, the Trump administration escalated its effort to discount the flagged California ballots to the Supreme Court, which rejected its request to set aside the ballots.

Over the weekend, Newsom sent a letter to U.S. District Court judges across California sharing his “grave concerns federal agents will seek search warrants to seize ballots and ballot materials before the election results are certified” and urging judges not to comply.

Newsom wrote that President Trump’s history of weaponizing the Department of Justice to carry out his partisan agenda supports “legitimate concerns about further attempts to disenfranchise voters and undermine election integrity.” Newsom said this could include an attempt to prevent the certification of California’s election.

Concerns have also been raised about the presence of immigration agents around voting centers and performing door knocks and street stops to try to identify voter fraud.

Court rulings have recently dealt a series of blows to the Trump administrations efforts to intervene in the state’s voting process. Nonetheless, distress over election integrity remains extremely high, according to the poll.

Fears of federal meddling in the election are slightly higher among voters of color; 64% of Black voters and 54% of Latino voters said they are not confident the election will be free of interference, compared with 44% of white non-Hispanic voters, according to the poll.

Voters of color tend to lean more liberal, but the historic and ongoing efforts to disenfranchise minorities probably also contribute to this disparity, Barreto said.

Black voters have been a target of voter suppression efforts from the post-Civil War Reconstruction era through the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he said. More recently, the Trump administration has singled out Latino Californians, accusing them of being noncitizens and voting illegally.

Professor Eric Schickler, co-director of the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, described the level of alarm over election integrity in California and across the nation as without precedent.

He noted that both parties are distrustful about different things, with Republicans focused on allegations of fraudulent voting and Democrats fearful that the federal government may attempt to overturn results.

The last time America saw extreme political polarization paired with widespread claims of illegitimacy over election outcomes was during the Reconstruction era in the late 19th century, when there were widespread accusations of voter suppression in the South and of people voting illegally in the North, he said.

“That hasn’t happened really in the United States for well over a century now,” Schickler said, “so what we’re seeing now is really unusual, especially for a modern and long-lived democracy.”

Schickler said his highest level of concern with possible federal efforts to halt California’s vote count would be with congressional races. A handful of California races could play a pivotal role in deciding which party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, he said current polling data do not indicate that a Democratic path to victory in the lower house will rely on Golden State voters.

Trump in the past has criticized California for being one of the slowest states in the nation to finish tabulating its election results due to its large population and high number of voters who mail in their ballots. He’s also complained about late arriving ballots. Votes processed after election day in California typically contain a higher proportion of Democratic ballots than those processed on election night.

In addition, to highlight the unprecedented anxiety many California voters are feeling, the poll also shines a light on frustrations voters have with the state’s ballot propositions. Among likely voters, 82% agree that the wording of this year’s propositions made them hard to understand and 82% also agree that special interest groups have largely taken over which initiatives qualify.

In addition, 62% of likely voters feel that there are too many propositions on this year’s ballot. There are 14 statewide propositions, with many voters also seeing additional initiatives at a county and city level.

“The initiative is meant to be an outlet for voters when special interest groups lead legislators to fail to respond to their concerns,” Schickler said. “But now most voters believe the initiative process is itself too beholden to special interests.”

In the last 20 years, California’s ballot initiative campaigns have become increasingly controlled by large corporations or union groups. Part of this is due to the fact that it takes at least $50 million to run an effective campaign capable of reaching the state’s 23 million registered voters, making it challenging, but not impossible, to run a grassroots campaign, Barreto said.

The poll surveyed 2,787 registered voters in California from Oct. 19 to 25 in English and Spanish and has an overall estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Among likely voters, the estimated margin of error is about 3 percentage points in either direction.

Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

DREAMING of a white Christmas?

With grotto visits selling out fast, it’s time to get your yuletide crackers in a row.

You don’t want to be left with the crumbs from the mince pie tray.

From train rides to cosy cottage stays, we’ve rounded up our pick of festive experiences and staycations to lock in right now.

BLENHEIM PALACE

This grand Oxfordshire country pile puts on a magical sparkling light show.

This year’s highlights include a 10metre ‘butterfly tree’ to mark the start of the light trail, hot air balloons that release bursts of fire and a cheery festive choir.

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GO ON

All the little-known websites for cheap or FREE tickets to gigs, theatre & festivals

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20 ultra cheap girly hols – UK trips, city breaks & all inclusive stays from £59

The gardens will light up from November 13 to January 3. Tickets cost from £25 per adult, £19 per child and £1 for under twos – book here.

SANTA EXPRESS TRAIN

The Santa Steam Express is a really charming Christmas experience for all ages.

The 90-minute journey on a steam locomotive departs on a loop from London Victoria, with vintage carriages covered in decorations and a snack and activity box for each family and a very cute mock-version of a Lapland newspaper.

These days, it’s really exciting to see an old-fashioned steam train on Britain’s railways – even the jaded London commuters stop to take pictures as it waits to board passengers.

Once everyone is seated, Santa and his cheeky elves make their way through the train, handing out gifts, engaging in conversation and roping guests into games and songs.

What’s particularly lovely about this festive experience is that it’s not hard work on the legs, so there were plenty of grandparents who came along with their families.

Tickets from £45pp for Saturday journeys in December.

POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN

If you haven’t seen the film that inspired this heart-warming night-time railway experience, make sure you watch before you visit.

This spectacularly recreates scenes from the film on a moving train.

Pyjama-clad visitors hand over their golden tickets to board (at stations around the UK).

On board there will be dancing chefs delivering hot chocolate and cookies, story time and visits from Santa and his entourage of elves.

Tickets from £35.95. Click the ‘other locations’ tab to book at londonthepolarexpressride.com.

KEW GARDENS

A highly popular London lights trail so expect tickets to sell like hot cakes.

Details are yet to be revealed but visitors can expect glittering installations and sparkling tunnels that make great photo backdrops.

There will also be a traditional fairground, festive street food and mulled wine and hot chocolate.

Tickets cost from £25.50pp and the experience runs from November 13 to January 3 – book here.

SKATING AT SOMERSET HOUSE

Tickets go on sale this Friday and popular slots will likely be gone by Monday. For good reason, too.

The experience is not only in one of London’s grandest locations, but it is jam-packed with the finest seasonal fun.

A giant Christmas tree stands at the centre, while wooden chalets serving themed street food line the outside of the rink.

There’s an Aperol spritz van plus a cosy clubhouse with live music sponsored by Virgin Atlantic.

It opens on November 11 and runs until January 10, with tickets from £11 – book here.

AWAY STAYS ‘THE HOLIDAY’ COTTAGE, DEVON

This dainty, thatched-roofed cottage is the spitting image of the one in The Holiday although don’t expect Jude Law to come knocking on your door.

Set in rural Hartland, Devon, Philham Water Cottage sleeps up to four and is dog-friendly.

Hunker down in front of the roaring fire and work through the collection of board games.

Seven nights’ self-catering is from £595 (or £1,225 over Christmas). See coolstays.com.

TEATIME AT TYLNEY, HAMPSHIRE

If Christmas for you is all about the sweet treats, you’ll love Tylney Hall Hotel near Hook, where the festive afternoon tea will ensure you’re as stuffed as a turkey.

Finger sandwiches have Crimbo-inspired fillings plus classics.

After the scones, come gingerbread choux buns, mince pies and a mousse reindeer.

The afternoon tea costs from £45pp (Mon-Thurs) and £58pp (Friday-Sat). Bookable from Nov 30.

A pre-Christmas overnight stay costs from £380 for a family of four sharing a Junior Suite and including breakfast – book here.

A CAMP CHRISTMAS

The Caravan and Motorhome Club says sites are already filling up for Christmas.

The three-day Thursford & Sandringham Festive Delight Tour gives travellers access to the Thursford Christmas Spectacular plus tickets to the Sandringham Estate Christmas Craft, Food & Gift Fair.

Included in the tour price is three nights at The Sandringham Estate Club Campsite and entry to Sandringham’s glittering light trail.

Tour is from £399pp departing on November 24 – book here.

Thursford Christmas Spectacular

Known for being the largest Christmas show in Europe, Thursford Christmas Spectacular in Norfolk features a cast of 130 performers backed by a 30 piece live orchestra.

The three-hour show mixes carols, show tunes, comedy and variety acts.

Visitors can also separately book Santa’s Magical Journey, which is an interactive world for visitors to explore and the Enchanted Journey of Light with an illuminated outdoor light trail.

Tickets cost from £46 per person – book here.

Carols at the Royal Albert Hall

Christmas isn’t complete without Christmas carols and could they be even more special when performed at the Royal Albert Hall?

Across six days there are 15 carol performances in the Hall with festive favourites and more modern tunes.

Tickets cost as little as £22 per person and you can book here, but many of the favourable dates and times already have tickets for this price sold out.

You will also have to opt for a more expensive ticket if you wish to have a seat and not stand.

Tulleys Christmas Santa Experience

Tulleys Farm in Surrey is known for its ‘all out’ Halloween and Christmas events and this year there will be an outdoor ice rink, gingerbread decorating, circus performances and of course, a Santa’s Grotto.

Visitors can head on the North Pole Adventure as well, where they can step into Elf Town and meet the townsfolk before carrying out festive tasks.

Several dates already have low availability so you will need to book quick.

Kids tickets cost between £46.95 to £69.95 and adults tickets (age 14+) cost £29.95 to £39.95 – book here.

Chatsworth House at Christmas

Christmas at Chatsworth is an annual festive celebration at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire and this year takes place between November 7 and January 3, 2027.

Inside the house, the theme this year will be The 12 Days of Christmas with sculptures, large installations and a garden light and sound trail.

Admission also includes access to the Farmyard and Adventure Playground, where there will be decorated animal areas and festive kids’ craft sessions.

Adult tickets cost from £36.36 each and children’s tickets cost from £10.90 each – book here.

Train of Lights

What happens when you mix a light trail with a festive train journey? You get a steam train entirely covered in neon Christmas lights.

And that is exactly what the Train of Lights is in Dartmouth, Devon – where you go on a railway journey in the dark, with cosy interiors and the exterior completely covered in lights.

You can also add on a visit to Santa, but this comes at an extra cost.

Tickets cost from £31.50 per adult and £24 per child – book here.

NOTHING screams Christmas like the smell of roasted chestnuts, sizzling sausages, and hot mulled wine floating through the air.

Europe’s legendary Christmas markets are preparing for the festive season – and now is the best time to lock in a cheap getaway.

Whether you want to eat gooey Raclette cheese under the Eiffel Tower, gorge on cheap chimney cakes in Prague, or visit a quiet, snowy Venice, we’ve found the very best package deals to get you there for less.

Here is our ultimate guide to Europe’s best festive city breaks, with flights and hotels from just £84pp.

Paris – from £124

Paris is magical enough in winter, with the Eiffel Tower twinkling, cosy bakeries with warm bread and pastries, and plenty of chic cafes for a tasty hot chocolate.

But if you visit from November 12, you can go rooftop skating at Galeries Lafayette, or browse the near-350 Swiss-style chalet stalls at La Defense Christmas Market.

This is the largest Christmas market in the region, offering massive food tents packed with oozing Raclette cheese, mulled wine and chocolatey crepes, plus plenty of handmade souvenirs and even regular DJ sets.

This £124pp Wowcher offer puts you up in a stylish Parisian hotel for two nights, just a 15-minute walk from La Defense, and bundles in return flights from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester or Edinburgh.

Budapest – from £84

If you want a fairytale festive break, book in a trip to Budapest from mid-November onwards.

The Hungarian capital doesn’t just do one Christmas market – it practically turns the entire downtown area into a glowing winter wonderland.

The two heavy hitters you have to visit are Vorosmarty Square market, packed with around 100 stalls selling handmade Hungarian gifts, and the Advent Bazilika market, with a skating rink, 3D lights show and more right beneath the basilica.

This £84 Wowcher deal includes a stay at your pick of two four-star hotels (the Carlton Hotel Buda Castle or Gold Hotel Budapest) plus return flights from London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester or Edinburgh.

Brussels – from £140

On the Beach doesn’t only offer fly and flop hols – you can actually get cheap Christmas Market deals on there too, like this Brussels break.

The popular Winter Wonders event takes place in the city centre, with over 200 glowing wooden chalets serving melted chocolate and mulled wine, plus a massive Ferris wheel and ice rink.

Wrap up the chilly nights by thawing out in a cosy local tavern with a Trappist beer, local beers brewed under the supervision of monks.

On the Beach offer a two-night break at the Jam Hotel, a swanky spot that blends industrial decor with warm rugs and cosy fires, from £140pp with return flights.

Riga – from £129

Underrated Riga in Latvia sees a maze of cobbled Old Town streets light up at Christmas, overlooked by towering Gothic churches and pastel-coloured buildings that look magical under a thick blanket of snow.

The main event, Riga Christmas Market, takes place in the Dome Square under Riga Cathedral. To warm up, chow down on hot smoked sausages or sip on a steaming cup of hot cranberry juice.

Unlike the mass-produced, samey bits you find at some popular markets, the stalls here are packed with genuine Latvian crafts, like thick woollen mittens, carved wooden sculptures and beeswax candles.

This £129pp Loveholidays offer includes your return flights plus a two-night stay at the gorgeous Rixwell Old Riga Palace Hotel, a homely spot with cosy sloping ceilings, exposed brick and wooden beams.

Prague – from £114

With its towering, needle-like spires and busy market squares, the Czech capital is breathtaking in the winter.

Under the Prague Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square, you’ll find wooden huts selling pretty glass ornaments, handmade wooden toys and more, all surrounding a gigantic Christmas tree.

With food famously cheaper than spots in Western Europe, you can fill up on spit-roasted meats, sugary chimney cakes and dirt-cheap mugs of hot honey wine.

This £114pp Wowcher offer includes a two-night stay at the four-star Deminka Palace, plus return flights from London, Bristol, Manchester or Edinburgh.

Krakow – from £110

Krakow is a popular winter city break for good reason, with magical horse-drawn carriages, medieval architecture and an epic Christmas market.

Browse stalls with amber jewellery and hand-painted ornaments, and enjoy mulled wine poured straight from giant wooden barrels.

As for food, go for some sizzling-hot dumplings and some crispy oscypek, which is smoked cheese with cranberry formed into a diamond that looks more like a pretty bauble than something you can eat.

This £110 On the Beach deal includes your flights plus a two-night stay at modern hotel and bar Metropolo By Golden Tulip.

Venice – from £84

Christmas may just be one of the best times to visit Venice, with peaceful gondola rides and smaller Christmas markets where you won’t get caught up in crowds.

St Mark’s Square glows with twinkling lights, while the main Christmas market in Campo Santo Stefano sells unique Carnival masks, jewellery, ceramics and more.

Of course, you cant’ leave without gorging on a tall slice of fluffy Panettone – make sure to wash it down with a rich Italian hot chocolate.

This £84pp Wowcher deal includes a two-night stay at Hotel Al Vivit, plus return flights from London, Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh.

Christmas Market Mystery Holiday – from £94

If you just can’t pick where to go, try a Christmas Market Mystery Holiday. For £94, you could land anywhere from Vienna all the way to New York.

Some stays even come with special experiences, like Santa Village visits in Lapland, glass igloo stays in Finland and a Northern Lights-themed stay in Iceland.

Other destinations you could land include Helsinki, Toronto, Nice, Amsterdam and Chicago.

The Christmas Market Mystery Holiday ticket currently costs £94, saving £5 on full price.

Prices correct at the time of publication.