SHOW BIZ

Leave it to Leslie Jones and menopause to turn “The View” into a more entertaining program.

The “Saturday Night Live” veteran was halfway through a chat Tuesday with Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and the rest of the “View” crew when she suddenly began to sweat — visibly. She coped by dabbing at her face with a small navy blue towel that magically appeared from under the table.

“You’re — you’re hot,” Behar stammered, breaking up a conversation in which she had opined that comics are truth-tellers who undermine propaganda.

“I’m always hot, babe,” Jones replied, continuing her blotting adventure before explaining — perhaps unnecessarily — “I’m having that menopause. That pause, that pause.”

The performer continued. “I am in it,” she said. “I am ‘pause.’ The heat that comes off of me can light a small city in Guadalajara.”

Forget that Guadalajara itself is a city, and not a small one. Jones’ deadpan demeanor at that moment prompted Sunny Hostin to begin fanning her with a large notecard. Behar joined in with her own card.

“Let’s talk about your latest comedy show because it is funny and it’s called ‘Leslie Jones: Life Part 2,’” Hostin said, attempting to get the segment back on track.

She did not completely succeed.

“I’m spritzing!” Jones said as she once again dabbed her moist face with the magical towel.

The show played a clip from her special where she talked about everyone needing to go to therapy, after which Hostin steered “The View” conversation toward dating.

Then Goldberg stole the spotlight, having left her seat to take over dabbing duties from their guest. “I could die now,” Jones said, holding her hands out, palms up, and looking to the heavens with a peaceful smile as she basked in Whoopi’s careful attention. “This is a little — this is a dream. This is a dream come true.”

At that point, Hostin seemed to give up on talking about guys with Jones and started once again fanning her with the notecard.

“Whoopi Goldberg wiping my sweat,” Jones declared, relaxing into the experience.

“Yes, it’s a beautiful moment,” Behar snarked.

Oh, but wait. Hostin was not to be denied. Or perhaps whatever producer was hollering into her earpiece wouldn’t be denied.

“You talk a lot about the men you’ve encountered … so tell us, how’s the pool out there?” she asked, not clocking that the audience was far more interested in Whoopi now fanning Jones by waving the magical towel. “Have you found any men,” Hostin wondered, “who would do that for you?” Fan you? Wipe your sweat?

“Unfortunately, no,” Jones replied. “Listen, I’m 58 now, so I’m past the BS.”

“You’re also post-menopausal at 58,” Dr. Behar interjected, revealing herself to be an armchair expert in female endocrinology. “It should be over by now.”

Jones turned from her reverie and looked at Behar as if the latter were a bag of dog poop burning on her doorstep. But she did not stomp on the bag to put it out. “It’s different for everyone,” Alyssa Farah Griffin chimed in cheerfully.

“Have we got a beef?” Jones asked Behar, looking at her with that stone-faced gaze only Leslie Jones can deliver.

“Not that I know of?” Behar said. “You know what, we respectfully disagree.”

Good to know that Behar thinks Jones isn’t capable of experiencing menopausal symptoms despite Jones experiencing menopausal symptoms right in front of her face.

Meanwhile, Whoopi stepped up the blotting, offering comforting words to Jones while Behar babbled on in her own defense.

“You comin’ at me,” Jones told Behar.

“Let me get your face,” Whoopi said.

“Thank you, baby,” Jones told her personal sweat-swabber.

And the conversation turned back to the dating scene, which Jones correctly told Hostin “is not bleak. It’s diabolical.” As she spoke, Whoopi folded the magical towel, laid it down in a magical resting place and backed away, blowing on Jones as she took slow steps toward her abandoned chair.

“Just blow yourself all over me, babe,” Jones said, and Whoopi stepped back and obliged. Behar, looking uncomfortable, asked someone to grab a hand towel.

“It’s so sad,” Jones said, “that my whole spot is going to be about me sweating.”

After a commercial break, Behar had in hand a small electric fan, which she promptly aimed at Jones. “This one will take care of all your issues.”

“Thank you, darling. I’m good,” Jones said. “Now I’m freezing.”

Nah girl. When it came to Joy Behar in that moment, you were just cold.

Emmerdale fans are convinced they know who will take down Celia Daniels and Ray Walters in a shocking turn of events – and it’s not Cain Dingle

Emmerdale fans have rumbled who will take down villainous Celia Daniels and Ray Walters in a surprise twist. Many had been hopeful that Cain Dingle might finally be the one to see to the end of the two village villains.

Celia and son Ray have been running a huge drugs and human trafficking ring from the farm near Moira’s including keeping Bear and others as modern slaves.. As well as this, the pair have been getting April to run drugs for them.

Marlon and Rhona, desperate to get Rhona out of the ‘game’, have insisted they can pay Ray money to make sure she’s relieved of the job, but things went from bad to worse when Ray made more demands.

In tonight’s episode, Marlon got some surprise news from Paddy about young Dylan’s future. Fans will remember Dylan was deliberately run over by Ray in shocking scenes last week.

“I’ve just seen a doctor and you’re not going to believe this. After being told to prepare for the worst, they’re now saying he’s turned a corner and he’s doing really well,” Paddy told Marlon.

“In fact, he’s doing that well, they reckon that if he keeps improving they might be able to wake him up in the next day or two. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”

It’s clear Marlon thinks Dylan waking up is the end of their problems and they can finally get Ray caught for all that he’s done so far, ending the shocking drugs ring he and Celia are running.

“When Dylan wakes up, we can persuade him to tell the police what happened – what Ray did,” Marlon told Rhona, who replied: “He will realise that the only way out of this is to go to the police and tell the truth.”

However, is Dylan the one to bring down Ray finally, or will the family still be under his clutches? The storyline comes amid an exit for Celia Daniels star Jaye Griffiths, who confirmed she’d be leaving the ITV soap.

Speaking to The Mirror, she said: “I knew it was finite from the start, which I am very sad about. I would like to stay forever, but it’s such a strong arc … The reason Celia works is because she has no little voice in her head. You know that little voice that tells women, particularly, that you’re not enough, you’re too tall, you’re too short, you’re too fat, you’re too thin, you’re too old, you’re too young.

“That self-critical, nasty voice that stops us doing many things. Celia doesn’t have one of those. That is very freeing. If there are no consequences internally, if there’s no conscience, you can do anything you want.”

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SHE’s the ultimate Queen of Christmas, best known for her soulful pop tunes, but I can reveal Mariah Carey’s next record will surprise fans.

After years of speculation, I’m told the Hero singer will release her long lost GRUNGE album next year.

While the exact date is still being worked out by the label, I hear it will drop in the second half of 2026.

The record, which is called Someone’s Ugly Daughter, was secretly recorded by Mariah back in the Nineties.

A source said: “Ever since she let slip about the existence of the record, fans have been desperate for it to be officially released and put on streaming.

“After years of casual talks about what to do, everyone has now agreed the album will be released in the second half of 2026.

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“It’s been a long time coming, but hopefully fans think it’s worth the wait.

“It’s certainly Mariah as you’ve never heard her before.”

The first anyone knew of the record was when Mariah let slip about it in 2020 memoir, The Meaning Of Mariah Carey.

She said: “I think this unearthed version will become, yes, something we should hear. I’m working on a version of something where there’ll be another artist working on this with me as well.”

‘So carefree’

Mariah says the reason she made the album was to push back at being over-controlled by her record label, adding: “I had no freedom during that time. That was my freedom, making that record.”

In the book, she said: “I was playing with the style of the breezy-grunge, punk-light white female singers who were popular at the time. You know, the ones who seemed to be so carefree with their feelings and their image.

“I honestly wanted to put the record out back then under, you know, the same pseudonym, just put it out and be like, you know whatever, let them discover that it’s me.

“But that idea was kind of stomped and squashed.”

I wait with bated breath . . . 

Hardworking Rita worth even m-Ora

EVEN if you’re not a fan of her music, it’s impossible to deny that Rita Ora is a hustler.

The I Will Never Let You Down singer is busy landing jobs doing everything from acting and presenting to modelling and working as a charity ambassador.

Which is why it comes as no surprise to us that the latest accounts for Ora Live and Ora Multi Services reveal she’s topped up her fortune with £4.8 million in profits.

It’s a sure sign Rita is going nowhere anytime soon as the figure is more than double the £2.3 million she made the year before.

Her companies manage her various income streams and reflect her broad career beyond singing.

Multi-talented Rita has also served as a judge on The X Factor and The Masked Singer and even had a film role in the Fifty Shades movie series.

Rita’s takings – which work out at £13,000 per day over the year to April – has helped to increase her net worth to £31 million.

It’s not a bad life, eh?

Kath: LA life not for me

CANADIAN comedian Katherine Ryan has ruled out moving to Hollywood after admitting she hates everything about Tinsel Town.

Letting rip, she said: “I would love some opportunities to do some comedy acting but I will never move to Hollywood because people seem quite sick there . . . in the head.

“I like England. I like people who aren’t positive all the time.

“I like the British way of telling the truth. I like a bit of taking the mick out of one another without getting offended.”

Not stopping there, Kath added: “Hollywood to me seems too sanitised. I would not be welcome.

“I’ve already not been welcome. I had a glass of vino in the morning when my daughter was swimming, they were like, ‘Maam, orange juice?’.

“I was like, ‘No, alcohol’. They nearly called the police.”

Taylor in her stride

TAYLOR SWIFT has hit back at critics who say she should take time out from the industry to give other artists space to shine.

The superstar seemingly breaks every possible record with each new track, causing some music fans to get Taylor-fatigue.

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Taylor said: “There are corners that are like, ‘Give someone else a turn! Can’t you just go away so we can talk about how good you were?’.

“And like . . . ‘I don’t want to’.”

This morning, the first two episodes dropped of The End Of An Era – a six- part Disney+ docuseries that goes behind the scenes of her record-breaking Eras Tour.

You can bet come next week the show will have broken a few more records.

Tate: Why I can be a pop girl

TATE McRAE has opened up about her on-stage alter-ego Tatiana.

The Canadian star explained: “I started to black out onstage and become this person that I couldn’t explain, nor could my family or my friends, and I needed a reason for it.

“And I think it helps me grasp the strange theory of why I’m not nervous in front of 15,000 people, and why I can be nervous at a dinner party with four people.”

She added to Rolling Stone magazine: “Tate is this very introspective, very sensitive, very introverted, awkward Canadian.

“Maybe more on the shy side. I’m observant, and I feel very internal, all the time.

“And then, this persona that I’ve created is my way of being this confident pop girl.”

Sam: Stay with me, Ed

SAM SMITH made sure the final of their To Be Free: New York City residency went off with a bang.

The Stay With Me singer was joined on stage at Warsaw in Brooklyn by Ed Sheeran and Brandi Carlile.

Brandi and Sam duetted on her song Party Of One, while Sam and Ed gave a rendition of Who We Love – a track on Sam’s 2023 album Gloria.

The show was watched by American Vogue’s ice-queen former editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

In February, Sam’s residency will move to San Francisco and will play at the historic Castro Theatre for eight nights.

While nothing has even been hinted at, I wouldn’t be surprised if a run of shows in London is announced in the New Year.

Liam’s trackie record

HIS dress sense is similar to my own, so I was shocked to see Liam Gallagher named in Vogue’s inaugural 50 best dressed list.

The Oasis rocker was mentioned in the Dedicated Dressers category alongside Iris Law, Miquita Oliver and Amal Clooney.

Meanwhile, my favourite pop star Dua Lipa was in the Music Makers category alongside a line-up of stellar talent including Skepta, Central Cee, Lily Allen and Charli XCX.

Even those with a slightly eclectic taste were catered for, with The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman, and actors Cynthia Erivo, Richard E Grant and Emma Corrin all getting a nod.

I never knew my Adidas tracksuit and tatty old Parka were so cool.

Xmas hit battle

THE official race for Christmas No1 kicks off today – with a new single from Kylie Minogue and WHAM!’s Last Christmas tipped as the front-runners.

Kylie’s song Xmas, which is on track to become her highest entry in the UK charts since 2010’s All The Lovers, leads the pack, while Denise Welch’s Slayyy Bells and Tom Fletcher’s One Of Us, from Paddington The Musical, are also in the running.

Classics including Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone, The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York, and Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath The Tree are also expected to climb the chart.

There are a load of non-festive tunes vying for a shot too, with Raye’s Where Is My Husband, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s For Good and Labrinth’s Where Love Lives.

Once again Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You is tipped to finish in the top five.

The winner of the Christmas No1 will be revealed live on Radio 1 next Friday.

Change may be the only constant, but blazing infernos tearing through Pacific Palisades, Kaskade’s home for the last 15 years, was a new kind of change for him.

After 24 days of burning, his entire life looked different. Between tours, the famed DJ and dance music producer, born Ryan Raddon, spent the majority of his time at Palisades hot spots like the Village. Now he frequents Santa Monica and Brentwood by force. Of the 30 families in his church, only four of their houses remain standing, including his. Unfortunately, his brother’s house was lost to the fires.

“The community is destroyed. It doesn’t exist anymore. It’s hard not to be angry,” Raddon says, remarking that he’s been wondering if he should stay in the Palisades. His three daughters grew up there. Does he take away their childhood home?

When asked how this sudden and unprecedented shift affected the music he made for “undux,” his first album since 2015’s “Automatic,” Raddon takes several moments to collect his thoughts.

“I’ve done quite a bit of press for this record, and you’re the first person to bring that up,” he admits. He made two attempts to write a new album in the last three years, but he was already going through personal struggles before the fires. Divorcing his wife of nearly three decades and watching two of his daughters leave home led to melancholy songs that didn’t feel right to release. Eventually, he decided to finish the body of work, no matter what.

“I need to just make this, see what it is and get through it,” Raddon says. He was able to complete it with the help of songwriters he’s known for years, such as Cayson Renshaw, Finn Bjarnson and Nate Pyfer. “It is therapeutic to sit down and work with another songwriter. [Telling them] I have a lot going on I want to write about.”

The title of the album is “undux,” pronounced “undo,” because everything going on left him feeling undone. The result is a collection of tracks that skews deeper and less euphoric than previous Kaskade albums.

Raddon ventures away from his standard four-on-the-floor house music and into broken beats on “Started Over.” Warm orchestral strings and Renshaw’s ghostly vocals serve as vehicles for big emotional builds over the scattered drums, painting a sonic picture of how messy the heavy moments can feel.

“If Only” is a clean, guitar-driven indie dance tune that directly recounts Raddon’s experience in the aftermath of the blaze: “It’s all ashes / What the hell just happened? / Somehow I’m still standing / But I’m asking what for?”

The title of Raddon’s album is “undux,” pronounced “undo,” because everything going on left him feeling undone.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There is still music on the album befitting of Raddon’s dozens of main-stage sets he plays every year. The lead single, “DNCR,” coasts on banging piano chords and an energetic kick. But he wrote the upbeat songs after working through the taxing emotions he brought into the process.

“Any time you’re being honest, and you’re going into the studio, you can’t avoid that stuff,” Raddon says. “This was a hard record for me to make.”

When Raddon’s manager heard “undux,” he was glad Raddon was feeling better, but he also delivered a stern warning: Only die-hards would appreciate the softer approach. Labels echoed this impression before the Vancouver-based electronic powerhouse, Monstercat, signed the album.

“When I sent the record out, people generally weren’t having it,” Raddon says. “Labels that I had worked with in the past, and some other people that are making noise in the space right now, said, ‘Call us back when you’re doing dance music.’”

“Undux” includes dance music. But it’s not all peak-time bangers like his biggest hits, such as “I Remember” and “Atmosphere.” In the years following “Automatic,” most of Raddon’s output was that kind of music. Streaming shifted listening habits away from long players and toward playlists and algorithms, both of which favor singles. Singles in the dance realm historically do the best numbers-wise when they’re primed for live.

Raddon’s most extensive releases in this period were his five “Redux” EPs. The Redux project channels his earliest years of DJing, when he was focused on keeping the dance floor moving. Kaskade releases get people moving, too, but songwriting defines that music. Using lyrics and melodies to tell the type of stories he needed to share after the fires.

“Making a single’s neat, but when you sit down in the studio, there’s so much pressure. I need to be able to play this at 2 a.m. in my set. That’s a weird box to work in,” Raddon shares. “When I’m making an album, there’s no thought of that. Let me just write and create.”

“The coolest thing for me is seeing dance music get a little bit of respect. [There’s been] so much success in bringing the music to a wider audience. It’s been a long road,” Raddon says.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It makes sense that Raddon spent so many years producing for the live space. Right around the release of “Automatic,” he started a historic run on stage. In 2015, he brought the largest audience to an EDM act in the history of Coachella. In 2021, he was the first artist to play for a public audience at SoFi Stadium. In 2022, he broke the record for the biggest electronic music headlining concert in North America at the L.A. Coliseum with Kx5, his collaborative project with deadmau5.

Raddon has also been called upon to bring his art form to professional sports. In 2024, he became the first Super Bowl in-game DJ, and that May, he was the first-ever starting grid DJ at a Formula 1 race during Miami’s grand prix.

Despite so many individual wins, Raddon is most thrilled about the positive change this “decade of triumph” represents for the entire scene. He became one of the first figures of dance music legitimacy when he broke through with his 2004 hit “Steppin’ Out.” Now dance music has three Grammy categories.

“The coolest thing for me is seeing dance music get a little bit of respect. [There’s been] so much success in bringing the music to a wider audience. It’s been a long road,” Raddon says.

Raddon has been on top of the genre throughout that long road, making him one of dance music’s only consistent superstars.

Raddon especially emphasizes the ability to adapt. He started DJing when vinyl was the only option, and he recalls when certain DJs refused to play CDs when that technology developed. Now everyone uses digital files. The same principle applies to making music. He is rather calm in the wake of AI tools (though he admits he feels at ease about it because he’s already found established success with his music).

“This train is moving. You’re getting on, or you’re not. There’s no fighting it,” Raddon says.

The loss of his community in the Palisades and the shifts in his family life may be the most difficult changes he has ever faced. But he’s still on the train moving forward with the help of the music.

As David Walliams looks ahead to a lonely Christmas, a PR expert has shed light on the transitional period he faces, against a backdrop of lost friendships and shifting tastes in comedy

Once the toast of talent show television, David Walliams is now looking ahead to a lonely Christmas, and a PR expert warns he could be in for a “brutal reset”.

While discussing his new children’s book, Santa & Son, the former Little Britain star spoke about spending Christmas Day away from his 12-year-old son, Alfred, whom he co-parents with ex-wife Lara Stone.

David, 58, shared: “I don’t have him for Christmas. I was thinking a bit about sometimes the pain you feel as a parent when you don’t have your child at Christmas.”

This comes at a transitional time for David, three years on after disparaging off-camera comments he made about Britain’s Got Talent contestants were leaked. This included one incident where he referred to a pensioner as a ‘c***’ while filming the 2020 series.

READ MORE: David Walliams’ lonely life after being ‘cancelled’ as he spends Christmas without son

Comedian and writer David apologised for the “disrespectful comments”, which were made during filming breaks, and subsequently announced his departure from the long-running ITV show, where he’d been a fixture for ten years.

Remarking upon this relatively quiet new chapter in David’s career, PR to the stars Mayah Riaz told the Mirror: “When it comes to David Walliams, this is a classic case of a public figure going through a period of reset. Fame can be incredibly loud, then suddenly very quiet, and that shift can feel brutal.”

With the dust from the initial controversy somewhat settled, David is reportedly still rather distant from his old showbiz pals, including his once-close friend, Simon Cowell, whom a source claims he no longer speaks to “at all”. But what effect will this distancing have on his future prospects in the limelight?

On this note, personal branding expert Mayah reflected: “The distance from Simon Cowell is interesting because that relationship once acted as a powerful engine for David and his visibility.

“When a star steps away from a partnership like that, it is not just a personal shift. It has a ripple effect on their public momentum, too. Losing that sort of alliance will have the industry wondering what the next chapter for him will look like.”

Of course, audience tastes have changed dramatically since the first episode of Little Britain first aired back in 2003, and jokes, particularly those which feel as though they might be punching down or otherwise insensitive, are viewed through a much different lens.

Indeed, back in 2020, the BBC removed Little Britain from iPlayer altogether after citing that “times have changed” since it was first broadcast. Both David and his co-star Matt Lucas expressed regret at the time for portraying people from other races, including sketches which saw them using Blackface.

According to Mayah: “The comedy world has changed so fast, and I’m not sure many performers were ready for that. What audiences once brushed off as cheeky or edgy now lands very differently. I think David was hit hard by that shift.

“He came from an era where the boundaries were looser, but now the cultural temperature is very different. Comedy has moved towards compassion and awareness, and he was caught in the middle of that evolution.”

However, Mayah believes there is still an opportunity for David to “write a new chapter for himself”, highlighting his talent for storytelling which audiences have long since admired.

Predicting a potential “redemption arc” ahead, Mayah considered: “I think there is always room for a comeback. The public can and do forgive, but they will want to see growth first. If David shows that he understands why the landscape has changed, he could easily write a new chapter for himself. People love a redemption arc.

“There is something very British about rooting for someone to get back up after a fall. Right now, though, he feels like a man in transition. It is a lonely place when the spotlight moves on, especially for someone who has lived inside it for so long. But isolation can also refocus a career.”

She continued: “Plenty of big names have stepped back, rebuilt quietly and then we see them return stronger. David is still a talented storyteller, and audiences have not forgotten that.

“If he uses this quieter period to reintroduce himself in a more grounded and contemporary way, then a comeback is absolutely on the table. The door is never truly closed in this industry. It just depends on how he chooses to walk back through it.”

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

READ MORE: Taylor Swift’s new Eras Tour film and documentary release date, time and where to watch

CHARLOTTE Church has confessed she ‘stinks’ after shunning deodorant and even admitted she no longer shaves. 

The frank confession from Charlotte, 39, came during an appearance on the Walking The Dog podcast. 

When host Emily Dean commented on how “lovely” she smelt, Celebrity Traitors star Charlotte was caught off guard. 

She candidly said: “Do I? That’s surprising. I never smell nice.

“I don’t wear any deodorant or anything, so I generally stink. I don’t shave anymore. I don’t shave anything.”

The former classical music singer went on to explain her reasons for shunning the product and revealed she loves showing off her hairy legs. 

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She said: “I stopped shaving probably about 18 months ago, maybe even longer than that, maybe two years. 

“And I stopped wearing deodorant… I just started thinking, do you know what? This underarm area, there’s so many receptors there, lymph and all sorts of stuff going on there.

“I’m just not sure about sticking all of this chemical stuff in these pores, because your skin is so… you know, it’s the largest organ in the body.

On the subject of shaving, Charlotte continued: “Each to their own. 

“Do you know what I mean? Crack on and have a lovely time and do whatever feels good – dye it, shave it, whatever – but for me I’m just like ‘Nah!’

“I sort of love it, I love the contradiction of it. So I love wearing dresses, beautiful dresses, with my really hairy legs and heels and nails. It’s so confusing for people.”

It’s Charlotte’s latest very honest confession, after she said Alison Hammond “p***** her off” during an appearance on This Morning.

She spoke about the moment on Elizabeth Day’s podcast after clips from her appearance went viral on social media.

During the segment, Charlotte was invited on to This Morning to lead a five-minute sound bath session.

However, unfortunately for Charlotte, Alison found it all a bit too much and found herself laughing and cringing through the entire segment as Charlotte did her best to carry on.

When asked by Elizabeth if she was left “bothered” by Alison’s reaction to her doing a sound bath, Charlotte said: “Oh, that p****d me right off.

“That p****d me right off.”

Elizabeth then added: “Yeah. I felt for you.”

Charlotte continued: “I’ve met Alison Hammond a number of times and she’s a wonderful woman.”

In a further candid confession, Charlotte added: “That really did actually touch quite a deep wound for me.

“I was like, ‘ugh I really like you, Alison, but f*** you’.”

Walt Disney Co. agreed to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and license iconic characters like Mickey Mouse and Cinderella to Sora, OpenAI’s short-form, artificial intelligence video platform.

As part of the three-year licensing pact, Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that can be viewed and shared by fans, drawing from a library of more than 200 animated and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, according to a statement from Disney on Thursday. The deal doesn’t cover any talent likenesses or voices.

At the same time, Disney will become a major customer of OpenAI, using its tools to build new products and experiences and deploying ChatGPT for its employees.

“The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,” Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said in the statement.

Hollywood studios have been reluctant to get into business with an AI company, wary of how it might use their data and of angering the labor unions with which they work every day. But OpenAI has been talking to the industry’s largest studios, including Disney, Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., about the creative and commercial potential of Sora, Bloomberg News has previously reported.

The AI developer unveiled a new version of Sora in September as a standalone social app, available by invitation. As with the original Sora, released last December, users can generate short clips in response to text prompts, but the new app allows people to see videos created by others. Beyond that, users can create a realistic-looking AI avatar and voice of themselves, which can be inserted into videos made with the app by the user or their friends, with the avatar owner’s permission.

Schuetz writes for Bloomberg.

Outgoing Celebrity MasterChef presenter John Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner have issued a career update

Celebrity chefs John Torode and Lisa Faulkner have revealed exciting news for their devoted followers, announcing the launch of their very own YouTube channel straight from their home kitchen.

In an introduction filmed at their residence, John – who can currently be seen in his final-ever series of Celebrity MasterChef – welcomed viewers: “Welcome to our new YouTube channel, and to our home kitchen.”

Lisa added: “This is in our home, we are cooking all our recipes from home, in our kitchen – which is great, because we know where everything is – and we really hope you’re going to join us to see our family favourites.”

He teased a diverse menu, promising “celebratory food, food from all round the world, whether it be spaghetti with a tomato sauce, Korean fried chicken and a sticky sauce to go with it, all the way through to scones and jam and cream.”

His ITV presenter wife continued: “Yes, lovely puddings. You will get proper family favourites, old-fashioned things that just remind us of our childhood, and new and exciting food.”

Offering reassurance to aspiring home cooks, the couple guaranteed: “We promise you that every single recipe we make, if you follow it, it will work every single time.”

John clarified: “You know that because we test them, we try them and we cook them at home. If they don’t work, they don’t make the channel,” reports the Express.

Lisa confirmed their commitment, revealing: “We’ll be dropping new recipes every single week and we’ll be cooking them here so you can see that they work.”

In a heartwarming moment between the couple, John celebrated Lisa’s contribution to their culinary venture “as a mum cook”, whilst she returned the compliment with equal enthusiasm.

Lisa beamed: “We’ve got the old monsieur chef here who’s so brilliant at what he does.

“You’ve been a chef for years and years, you’ve had restaurants, there is nothing you don’t know about food and nothing you don’t like about food. All of your knowledge is coming to this channel.”

The duo wrapped up their message with an appeal to viewers, urging them: “Please subscribe and don’t forget to hit the bell icon – that’s it!”

Celebrity MasterChef is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

KATIE Price has vowed to give up vaping, despite previously admitting she was addicted to the handheld smoking devices.

The former glamour model, 47, promised to make it her New Year’s resolution after the health scare.

Katie made the revelation on her eponymous podcast after she had shared an x-ray image of damaged lungs to her Instagram stories and the caption, “I have to stop.”

The x-ray of the diseased lungs was accompanied by research findings that showed, “vaping has officially been linked to rare and irreversible lung disease.”

“I saw it [the x-ray]. It’s so bad the vaping, it’s so bad for people,” Katie said on Thursday’s edition of her podcast.

She also revealed she’d made the promise to her mum, Amy, 73, who has terminal Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and underwent a lung transplant in 2022.

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“I had a word with mum and Paul and said my new year’s resolution is to give up vapes,” Katie said.

“I’m lucky I’ve had my lungs checked so there’s no damage to my lungs.”

Katie’s family, including boyfriend JJ Slater, have reportedly voiced their concerns over her vaping.

“Katie needs to stop for health reasons and, obviously, her family members have been very worried,” an unnamed source told The Mirror.

Katie came under fire last year for vaping on a train, despite e-cigs being banned on transport, and also risked being fined after using her vape backstage at panto before Christmas the year before.

In 2023, Katie revealed she was addicted to vaping – claiming it made one of her teeth fall out.

At the time, Katie had also said she was determined to stop and claimed she only does it because vapes “smell nice”.

Katie’s vow to drop the vapes comes after she was put on medication following concerning weight loss.

The star previously said she didn’t know why she was losing weight and doctors had began tests to investigate.

Katie has drastically lost weight over the past 12 months amid ongoing fears for her frail frame.

She’s now revealed she’s been placed on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) – the traditional treatment for perimenopause.

W. David Marx’s doomscroll through 21st century pop culture, “Blank Space,” is largely a catalog of cringe.

Kardashians keep barging in, joined by Paris Hilton, Milo Yiannopoulos, MAGA-hatted trolls, latter-day Hitler enthusiast Kanye West and more. The collection of Z-listers in the book runs so deep that there’s no room for even some of the most infamous Kevin Federline-level hacks to fit into its pages. In Marx’s reckoning, we’ve lived with 25 years of mediocrity, with no end in sight. Couture is now fast fashion. Art is IP, AI, the MCU and NFTs. Patronage has become grift.

“Where society once encouraged and provided an abundance of cultural invention, there is now a blank space,” Marx writes. Yes, he’s side-eyeing Taylor Swift, or at least her savvy-bordering-on-cynical approach to fandom. The title of the book, after all, is a nod to one of her hits. This might seem like get-off-my-lawn grousing from a critic who misses the good old days. But Marx’s critique isn’t rooted in pop culture preferences so much as concern with the ruthless ways that capitalism and the internet have manipulated the way we consume, discuss and make use of the arts. Algorithms engineered for sameness and profit have effectively sidelined provocation. Revanchist conservatism, he suggests, has rushed to fill the vacuum.

Weren’t we doing OK not so long ago? The Obama era might have been a high point of inclusivity on the surface, but the past decade has demonstrated just how thin that cultural veneer was. As Marx writes, in a brutal deadpan: “Trump won the election. Not even Lena Dunham’s pro Hillary rap video as MC Pantsuit for Funny or Die could convince America to elect its first female president.” MAGA, Marx argues, wasn’t simply a product of Donald Trump’s cult of personality; it was the culmination of years of ever-intensifying hotspots for macho preening like Vice magazine (cofounded by Gavin McInnes, who’d later found the Proud Boys) and manosphere podcasters like Joe Rogan. Trump — regressive, abusive, reactionary — wasn’t special, just electable.

“Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century” by W. David Marx

(Viking)

Marx’s background is in fashion journalism, and “Blank Space” can feel unduly cantilevered toward that world, detailing the history of hip lines like A Bathing Ape and luxury brands’ uncomfortable embrace of streetwear. But fashion writing is good training to make the point that the cultural flattening, across all disciplines, is rooted in matters of class and money. A certain degree of exclusivity matters when it comes to culture, especially for high-end brands, and it starts with street-level changes. But the street, now, is built on ideas of instant fame — “selling out,” once a pejorative, is now an ambition.

That shift, combined with the algorithm’s demand for attention, has made culture more beige and craven. Memes, #fyp, and Hawk Tuah Girl are our common currency now. Artists from Beyonce on down are dragged “into unambiguous business roles, and pushing fans to spend their money, not just on media, but across a wide range of premium, mediocre commodities,” Marx writes. “In this new paradigm, the ‘culture industry’ could no longer sustain itself on culture alone. Personal fame was a loss leader to sell stuff.”

There’s plenty of room to disagree with all this: You and I can reel off any number of novels, art films and TV shows that demonstrate the kind of boundary-pushing Marx says he seeks. (It makes a certain sense that highbrow books and movies would get short shrift in “Blank Space,” being relatively niche pursuits, but his relative neglect of prestige TV feels like a curious lapse.) Still, for every “Children of Men” there are a dozen “Minions” knockoffs, for every “To Pimp a Butterfly” a tidal wave of brain rot. The early-aughts “poptimism” that judged the judgey for demonstrating judgment opened the door to an everything-is pretty-OK lack of discernment.

Whether that’s what put us on a slippery slope to Kanye West peddling T-shirts with swastikas on them is open to debate. But there’s no question that artists are fighting uphill like never before. “How did advocating for timeless artistry at the expense of shallow commercial reality become an ‘elitist’ position?” Marx asks toward the end, pressing creators and consumers alike to sidestep poptimism’s guilt-tripping and operate outside the boundaries of the algorithm.

What would that look like? It may help to set the time machine to a century ago. In “A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls,” critic Adam Morgan considers the case of Margaret C. Anderson, who founded the literary magazine the Little Review in 1914. Though its circulation was as minuscule as its name suggests, it wielded outsize influence on Modernist writing. Recruiting firebrand poet Ezra Pound as her European talent scout, Anderson began publishing works by T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein and others, most famously serializing James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” a decision that made her a target of censors and conservatives.

“A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature” by Adam Morgan

(Atria/One Signal Publishers)

The woman at the center of what Morgan calls “America’s first modern culture war” was a poor fit for her times. Headstrong, queer and disinterested in Victorian pieties, she escaped her smothering Indianapolis family and headed to Chicago, where she hustled work as a bookseller and book reviewer. But her approval of then-risque fare like Theodore Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie” got her tut-tutted by editors. “What they wanted of me was moral rather than literary judgments,” she said.

She struck out on her own, launching the Little Review with her lover, Jane Heap. Anderson was enchanted by outsiders — not just avant-garde writers but radicals like Emma Goldman. She fired back at haters in the letters section. When money was tight, she relocated to a tent north of Chicago to keep the magazine afloat. And when moral scolds seized on excerpts of “Ulysses” — citing the Comstock Act’s ban on sending “obscene” material via U.S. mail — she protested. Copies of the magazine were seized and burned, and her lawyer’s argument that Joyce’s language was too complex to serve as pornography fell on deaf ears.

Even that lawyer, John Quinn, knew the effort was likely futile: “You’re damned fools trying to get away with publishing ‘Ulysses’ in this puritan-ridden country,” he wrote to Anderson and Heap. (The two were sentenced to pay a fine of $50 each, around $900 today.) Through the sepia filter of today, it can be easy to romanticize this tale — a lesbian champion of the arts making the world safe for Modernism. But one valuable thing Morgan’s history does is scrub the sheen off of Anderson’s accomplishment. Anderson had to play a long game, with no guarantee of success. She was forever pleading with patrons for support from month to month. She had to cloak her sexuality, make frustrating compromises in what she published, and absorb attacks and mockery from masses that treated her like a curiosity piece.

Yet it wasn’t wasted effort: Her advocacy for “Ulysses” paved the way for its eventual U.S. publication, with the controversy helping its cause. (James Joyce, like Kim Kardashian, understood a sex scandal could be good for business.) In her later years she lived largely as she pleased, collecting lovers and becoming a follower of weirdo mystic G.I. Gurdjieff. Anderson didn’t have an algorithm to battle, but she did have a censorious moral atmosphere to navigate around, and her story is an object lesson in the one virtue the algorithm has little tolerance for — patience. If we want more works like “Ulysses” in our world (and far less cringe), the financial and critical path is no easier now than it was then. But it will demand a stubbornness from creators and dedication from consumers that the current moment is designed to strip from us.

Athitakis is a writer in Phoenix and author of “The New Midwest.”

Stranger Things season 5 showed the return of Kali after she was last in the series back in the second outing

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from Stranger Things season 5, volume 1

Stranger Things recently returned for its fifth and final outing. The season has been split into three volumes to make the story last a little bit longer as fans are eagerly champing at the bit for episode five and volume two to land with fans promised feature-length episodes, reports the Express.

Season five, volume one of Stranger Things featured a big reveal with Eight/Kali Prasad (Linnea Berthelsen) being held captive by the USA military and the nefarious Doctor Kay (Linda Hamilton), who was exploiting her powers. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was left shocked and fans will have to see what happens with Kali.

However, some fans have been wondering about one big plot point from season four, which showed the origins of One/Vecna/Henry Creel/Mr Whatsit (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Dr Martin Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) experiments. During the fourth series, One finally broke free of Brenner’s Soteria chip with the help of an unwitting Eleven and went on the rampage, killing almost everyone at Hawkins Lab in the process.

How did Kali survive the Hawkins Lab massacre?

During the massacre scene, it seemed that all of Dr Brenner’s child experiments fell victim to Vecna.

Graphic scenes depicted lifeless bodies left in Vecna’s aftermath, with the villain then turning his focus to Eleven for a showdown.

Eleven astonishingly overpowered Vecna and banished him to the Upside Down after inadvertently tearing a hole in time and space.

Interestingly, Eight/Kali wasn’t seen among the casualties of the Hawkins Massacre, but how could she have evaded Vecna’s onslaught?

This appears to create a bit of a plot hole, as the implication from the massacre was that Eleven was the sole survivor.

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However, as viewers will recall, Eleven discovered her sister Kali following a row with Jim Hopper (David Harbour).

Kali and Eleven formed a bond whilst the younger girl spent time with her sister’s motley crew of companions.

Audiences witnessed how Kali possessed different abilities to Eleven, enabling her to conjure illusions that appeared incredibly realistic.

To Eleven’s dismay, Kali summoned a vision of Dr Brenner to torment her, and at one stage even manifested spiders to terrorise one of her mates.

This creates a massive plot hole that the programme’s writers will need to tackle eventually, and it appears peculiar to leave it hanging.

Kali reportedly escaped from the facility after she managed to develop her abilities and used them to break free.

Might Kali have fled Hawkins Laboratory before Vecna began manipulating Eleven?

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If that’s the case, this could explain her absence during his murderous rampage.

Numerous Stranger Things fans at the time flocked to X (formerly Twitter) to discuss this apparent continuity error, with user @_yoboistan writing: “I could not be the only one who expected Kali/Eight, the sister of Eleven from previous season, to appear on Season 4. It seems a major plot hole to me. #StrangerThings.”

While @ayoodole penned: “Expecting to see more of Kali in season 4 of stranger things. She can’t just go like that.”

Viewer @itsaaudraw tweeted: “Where is Kali, Netflix? Where are you hiding her? ? ! ? ! ? ! #strangerthings.”

Another audience member, @jespertalent, quipped: “remember Kali from stranger things season 2? neither do the writers.”

An irate fan, @calmheedattea_, posted: “stranger things s4 spoiler. WHY IS KALI NOT SEEN IN THESE SUPPOSED MEMORIES OF EL THIS IS P***ING ME OFF LIKE ARE WE JUST FORGETTING KALI EVER HAPPENED WHAT [sic].”

Another viewer, @legocereal, added: “#StrangerThings spoiler why was kali the only one with different abilities tho :/ the concept of all of the kids powers developing differently was so cool whyd they just completely ignore it this season [sic].”

Given that Kali featured in the crucial flashback scene when Terry Ives (Aimee Mullins) infiltrated the rainbow room in the lab and attempted to rescue her daughter, it seems a significant oversight if she has now been forgotten.

The writers are now likely to address this plot hole either in the second volume of season four or even in the fifth and final season when the story will be wrapping up.

Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 is released on Netflix UK & Ireland on December 26

CAMRYN Magness, the singer who toured with One Direction, has died aged 26 after being struck while riding an electric scooter.

Her death was confirmed this week in a statement on her official social media pages, describing her as a “radiant force”.

It read: “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our beloved Camryn, a radiant force whose voice, coy, and bright spirit touched so many.

“Whether beneath the waves or on stage, she met life with fearless energy and boundless kindness.

“In the quiet between waves, her memory will surface—bright, bold, unforgotten.

“Rest in endless blue, our sweet girl. You are deeply loved and forever cherished.

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“Please keep her family and friends in prayer as they navigate this difficult time. Camryn will live on in our hearts forever.”

Camryn died last Friday after being struck in Fort Myers, Florida, according to multiple reports.

Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1999, she began her career at eight, posting YouTube videos that led to a record deal and a move to Los Angeles.

Her debut single Wait and See featured in the 2011 film Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer.

She toured with Cody Simpson and Greyson Chance in 2011 before joining One Direction as a support act for seven US dates on their 2012 Up All Night Tour.

The band then brought her back for 63 shows on their 2013 Take Me Home Tour.

Reflecting on that breakthrough, she previously told Teen Vogue: “Going into the tour, I was an unknown artist.

“It’s a great feeling to be walking around and someone coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, you did so well!’. It was really exciting for me when that happened for the first time.”

Camryn later supported Fifth Harmony and released a run of singles, along with her 2017 album Glow.

Her official obituary described her as “beloved” as a “daughter, sister, fiancée, granddaughter, and friend” who died “far too young, and long before her light was ever meant to leave this world”.

It remembered her as a “vibrant, fearless, and deeply loved young woman whose compassion, humour, and bright spirit touched every person blessed to know her.”

It added: “A gifted performer, Camryn’s voice and music were extensions of her soul.

“Whether she was on a stage, at a family gathering, or sharing a song with someone who needed it, Camryn’s music was a reflection of her heart, her courage, and her endless creativity.”

Camryn Magness is survived by her parents, Sarah and Gary; siblings Chelsea and Cable; and her fiancée, Christian.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online

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Jennifer Shah, a former star on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” has been moved from a federal prison into a community confinement program after serving less than half of her sentence for defrauding thousands of people.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed that Shah was transferred Wednesday morning from the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, to the program overseen by the Phoenix Residential Reentry Management Office. The transfer means that Shah is either being held in home confinement or in a halfway house. Her projected release date is Aug. 30.

“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any individual, including reasons for transfers or release plans, nor do we specify an individual’s specific location while in community confinement,” BOP spokesperson Emery Nelson wrote in an email to the Associated Press.

Shah, 52, was sentenced in 2023 to six and a half years in prison for defrauding people in a telemarketing scam that stretched nearly a decade. At the time, Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert Sobelman said she was the most culpable of more than 30 defendants accused of participating in the nationwide fraud targeting people who were often vulnerable, older or unsophisticated electronically. The fraud involved bogus services that were promoted as enabling people to make substantial amounts of money through online businesses.

Shah pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in July 2022, and during her sentencing she apologized to the “innocent people” she said she’d hurt and pledged to pay $6.5 million in restitution and forfeiture once she is released from prison.

Prosecutors said she used profits from the fraud on luxuries that included living in a nearly 10,000-square-foot mansion in Utah dubbed “Shah Ski Chalet,” an apartment in midtown Manhattan and leasing a Porsche Panamera. The government said she also seemed to mock the charges against her by claiming that the “only thing I’m guilty of is being Shah-mazing” and then she profited from it by marketing “Justice for Jen” merchandise after her arrest.

At the sentencing, Shah apologized and said the proceeds from the merchandise would go toward victims.

“I alone am responsible for my terrible decisions. It was all my fault and all my wrongdoing,” Shah said, later continuing, “I wish I could have stood outside myself and seen the harm I was causing and changed course. I am profoundly and deeply sorry.”

It’s going to be a tough one to call after so many sporting highlights across the year, in so many different sports

The six sports stars who are contenders to win this year’s Sports Personality of the Year from the BBC have been announced following a sensational year of sporting drama in 2025.

Golfer Rory McIlroy is the bookies’ favourite to lift the trophy, and knows he’s in with a good shout, as he announced weeks ago that he would be attending the ceremony – for the first time in a decade. The full list of the contenders is split 50:50 between men and women:

Hannah Hampton (Football, 25)

Hampton’s spectacular 2025 culminated in her winning the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best female goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards. Her heroics in saving two spot-kicks in a penalty shootout helped England win the European Championship final and she was named Player of the Match. She was included in the Team of the Tournament following a string of commanding performances that included another two shootout saves in their quarter-final. At club level she played a key role in Chelsea’s domestic treble and was the joint winner of the WSL’s Golden Glove award with 13 clean sheets in 22 games.

Chloe Kelly (Football, 27)

In January, Kelly was unsure of her place for club and country. Fast forward to the summer and she was a European Championship and Champions League winner. The hero of the Euro 2022 final showed she’s still England’s player for the big moments by scoring the decisive penalty as the Lionesses retained the trophy. Despite not starting a match, her contributions were immense with another successful penalty in the quarter-final shootout and a last-gasp semi-final winner. Named in the Team of the Tournament, she was fifth in the Women’s Ballon d’Or voting, and was integral to Arsenal’s Champions League success.

Ellie Kildunne (Rugby Union, 26)

Superstar Kildunne scored five tries and played a crucial role as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup on home soil. After missing the quarter-final due to a concussion, the full-back returned with gusto for the semi-final and scored twice for the Red Roses against France. In the final against Canada, she had a world-record crowd on their feet as she scored a trademark dazzling solo try. Earlier in the year, she scored four tries as England once again recorded a Grand Slam as they retained their Six Nations title. At club level, she scored 14 tries for Harlequins.

Luke Littler (Darts, 18)

Littler’s 2025 began in sensational style as he became the youngest world champion in darts history aged just 17 with a dominant victory in the final. His subsequent victory at the Matchplay made him only the fifth player to complete the PDC Triple Crown of World Championship, Premier League and Matchplay titles. And he wasn’t finished there – his triumph in November’s Grand Slam of Darts saw him rise to world number one for the first time. At 18, he is the youngest man to do so, smashing the previous record set by a then 24-year-old Michael van Gerwen.

Rory McIlroy (Golf, 36)

After years of frustration and near misses, McIlroy’s victory at the Masters made him only the sixth man in history to complete a Grand Slam of golf’s four major championships. His dramatic play-off triumph at Augusta was his first victory at a major since 2014. At the Ryder Cup, he shrugged off a hostile crowd to contribute three-and-a-half points as Europe won in America for the first time since 2012. Further wins came at the Players Championship, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Irish Open, before he topped off a stellar year with his seventh Race to Dubai title.

Lando Norris (Formula 1, 26)

Norris became the 11th Briton to win a Formula 1 drivers’ championship after emerging victorious from the closest finish to a season for 15 years. The McLaren driver was 34 points behind Oscar Piastri in the standings after 15 races, but a brilliant run of results, including back-to-back wins in Mexico and Brazil, propelled him into the lead. The season came down to a dramatic finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Norris, Piastri and four-time defending champion Max Verstappen all capable of winning the title. Norris held his nerve to secure McLaren’s first drivers’ championship since 2008.

The SPOTY ceremony, filmed at MediaCity in Salford, airs on Thursday 18 December, from 7pm, and will again be hosted by an all-female team in the form of Gabby Logan, Clare Balding and Alex Scott, who will guide the nation through the highs of the sporting year.

And it may well be two women’s teams fighting it out for Team of the Year, which is being decided by a live public vote – just like the main award – for the first time in the show’s history.

Director of BBC Sport Alex Kay-Jelski said: “This year has been once again packed full of amazing sporting moments and stories. I’m glad it’s not me having to pick who to vote for!

The top three contenders for the BBC Young SPOTY 2025 award have already been unveiled live on BBC Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James.

They are:

• Michelle Agyemang (Football)
• Luke Littler (Darts)
• Davina Perrin (Cricket)

And voting is already underway for the World Sport Star of the Year award. Announced on December 9, the shortlisted athletes are: Mariona Caldentey (Football, Spain) Terence Crawford (Boxing, USA) Armand Duplantis (Athletics, Sweden) Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Athletics, USA) Shohei Ohtani (Baseball, Japan) and Mohamed Salah (Football, Egypt).

PERRIE Edwards’ fiance Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has broken his silence on their devastating miscarriage and ‘difficult’ loss.

The couple have been together since 2017 and became engaged in June 2022, almost a year after they welcomed son Axel.

However, Little Mix star Perrie, 32, recently revealed they had suffered a devastating miscarriage before they had Axel, and lost another baby at 24 weeks in 2022.

Now footballer Alex, also 32, has broken his silence on their devastating losses.

He said: “When you start a family, that’s when you start to learn it’s not easy to have a child, that things can go wrong.

“It’s so difficult — especially for women when they are literally growing another human being inside them, the connection they feel to that, and then can things go wrong and they can lose the baby.

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“And it’s so difficult, especially losing the baby so late into the pregnancy.”

Alex admitted he felt that as a man, he had to “put on a brave face and try to hold the fort”, but found it difficult to do so.

He added during his interview with The Athletic: “It definitely helped that we had Axel to focus on, but it was obviously difficult.

“It took a while for us to get to the place where we felt, ‘OK, should we try this again?’

“And it’s been nice to be at home with Perrie for the past few months and to have this time with Axel as well.

“He’s excited (about his new brother or sister). We all are.”

Perrie confirmed she was pregnant again in September, just weeks after opening up about her two miscarriages.

Speaking on the We Need To Talk podcast with Paul C Brunson, she said: “It’s weird, because the first time it happened, I think because it was so early, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s hard’.

“But I think when you’re 24 weeks and you’ve planned out that room and all these things, it’s really hard. And nobody knows other than immediate friends and family.

“I remember shortly after, friends would message and be like, ‘How’s the bump?’ And I’d be like, ‘There is no bump’.”

Perrie was also full of praise for Alex during the interview, saying: “He’s very mature. He’s very laid back. He’s very level-headed.

“He’s not the type to get mad or get angry or get funny about things. It might sound boring to some, but it’s so unproblematic.”

According to Humbe, it doesn’t matter how bad his day is going — a pink sunset can change everything.

As a kid growing up in the Mexican metropolis of Monterrey, the singer-songwriter would seek out the sky’s strangest shapes and study the way light broke through the cloud formations — it would comfort his anxieties and provide creative inspiration. So, when he set out to finish his most recent LP, “Dueño del Cielo,” released on Saturday, he found himself in one of the few places where the sun never truly sets: Iceland in the summertime.

“I envision this album as this planet of ashes. So, I wanted to go into that state, be lonely and create the inner dialogue heard on the album,” said the singer of his sixth album.

Humbe has been playing music from a young age, but he first rose to fame during the pandemic, sharing snippets of his music-making process online. Following the release of his breakout debut album in 2021, “Entropía,” the alternative pop singer earned a Latin Grammy for new artist and has since become well-known for his 2023 single “Fantasmas.” The track honors his late grandpa for Día de los Muertos and tends to go viral each year around the holiday.

“Dueño del Cielo” is the final installment of a trilogy, following 2023’s “Esencia” and 2024’s “Armagedón.” Nearly every track on the latest release signals transformation, in both its lyricism and its sonics. On the opening song, “Luz de Luna,” he gushes about not wanting to miss someone over a heartfelt piano ballad that slips between punky guitar rifts and unpredictable 808 drums. While on tracks like “Harry Stamper” and “Sábanas,” he embraces whimsical synthesizers and staccato vocal patterns to create a mystical soundscape.

On a recent promo trip to Los Angeles, De Los caught up with the 25-year-old Latin alternative pop singer in the days before the release of “Dueño del Cielo.” Humbe will be embarking on his first-ever U.S. tour next year, and will play at the Wiltern on April 9.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

“Dueño del Cielo” is out in a few days. How are you feeling about its release?
It’s surreal. I’ve been working on it for five years, so I can’t believe it. I started writing it at the beginning of the pandemic. The first song was the title track, and it was a song that embodied so much in me. It’s a rebirth and a moment of growth. “Dueño del Cielo” generally represents resurrection. I’ve always been so attached to my current version. I always think, if I like who I am right now, I will want to stick to it and never change. That’s when frustration comes.

This album taught me that change is part of life in the best way possible.

This album is also the final installment in a series, following “Esencia” and “Armagedón.” When did you realize you had a trilogy on your hands?
It feels like the universe spoke it [into existence] in a way. Sometimes things can’t only be coincidences. I realized all three albums were meant to be a trilogy, because they are all albums that essentially celebrate life.

“Esencia” is an album that celebrates the essence of one’s self. “Armagedón” represents how someone or something like a relationship or an addiction can change your whole essence. At first, it can seem just like a shooting star, but then you realize it’s a f— asteroid that’s gonna kill you. Then “Dueño del Cielo” is me finding and regaining that essence. It’s about realizing that from the ashes you can still be born.

What was going on in your life when figuring out how to end this series?
I’ve been searching for inner happiness. I can’t even think about a specific situation, because it’s honestly just a whole bunch of things that just make one’s glass full. I was just sick of everything. I was falling in a depression state without seeking out motivation.

But I realized that everything was due to me trying to find something that maybe wasn’t lost. I realized that life is about reinvention. It’s about deconstruction and reconstruction. That’s what I’ve been doing, and I will keep doing.

A portion of this upcoming album was made in a remote Icelandic town. When did Iceland come into the picture?
My brother, his girlfriend and I were in a sushi bar in Mexico City. We came to the realization that we are young and that we have free will. We figured I’ve been working on this album for five years, and haven’t finished it because we’ve been so distracted with everything else. So, why not take advantage of the fact that we are young, that none of us have kids, that we can travel and that it’s about to be summer in Iceland?

We bought the tickets at the sushi bar and left. It was crazy. We went for a month and a half. It was summer, so there was no darkness — only pure daylight. The darkest it got was blue hours. Living there was so poetic and beautiful.

I envision this album as this planet of ashes. So, I wanted to go into that state, be lonely and create the inner dialogue heard on the album. The album’s perspective changed so much there. It became so versatile.

How do you feel you changed as a musician in Iceland?
I got so much more sensitive towards everything. I gained so much perspective on how live instruments change a song. I used to work a lot with plug-ins and sound libraries. But this time, everything was recorded live.

After Iceland, we recorded everything in Miami. We were able to do the album in 10 days. Then, for the next three months, I kept finding small details to fix, even though I knew I was done. I had such a hard time letting it go that my mom had to tell me to stop.

At what point in the process did your mom have to step in?
I uploaded the album on my way to the sound check. Even on the day of my listening party in Mexico, I was still making changes to the album. That’s when my mom and the mixing engineer told me that it was time to let it go.

She didn’t say it before, so I guess it wasn’t done up until that very moment.

There are 22 tracks on this album, making it your longest project to date. Did you always know this was going to be a lengthy record?
I always wanted to do a long project. I’ve had it on my mind since I was a kid. I wanted to do something like Aerosmith or Queen when they would release those long a— projects that belonged to a concept, back when artists used to create concepts and create universes. That’s what I admired about artists, their ability to invite me somewhere in their fictional world.

What kind of world do you think you’re inviting people into?
I’m inviting them to the sky. Since I was a kid, that’s been a constant in my life. I’ve always been hypnotized by the sky, by the light and how light works with the clouds. Now I am actually in awe every time I see a pink sky or see a nice pair of clouds. It sounds stupid, but you really could have a s— day and end it with a beautiful sunset. It could all change the way you feel.

Were there any sunsets you witnessed while making the album that influenced its sonic direction?
There was this time in Iceland, when I was writing “Murallas.” It was so weird, because the weather was so foggy and it felt like we were in a cloud all day, but mid-session, it cleared up out of nowhere. It eventually became a beautiful sunset that lasted four hours. “Murallas” is such a sad song, and I couldn’t keep writing about something so sad when it was so beautiful outside. So, we stopped working on it and went outside to enjoy.

You started this three-album journey years ago. Now, after finishing its last installment, how do you think making this music has changed you?
I’m a more excited person about everything. I’ve refound a child in me that I thought I’d lost in a way. I really thought he was gone, and I found him again. I feel much more at peace today. It’s so clear to me now that everything changes all the time. That is something this album taught me: I’m ready for anything.

Jimmy McKenna who has played Jack Osborne in Hollyoaks since 1996, admitted his co-stars have stepped up to ensure he is not spending the festive season alone this year

A soap legend has revealed his wife has died as he opens up about his secret grief for the first time.

Jimmy McKenna who has played Jack Osborne in Hollyoaks since 1996, admitted his co-stars have stepped up to ensure he is not alone during the festive season following his tragic loss. While he did not divulge details of her cause of death but admitted the festive season “has been a wee bit melancholy”.

While speaking to Inside Soap Magazine about his plans for Christmas, the 72-year-old revealed his wife Bev, who he shares four children with, had passed away.

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His revealed co-star Nick Pickard, who plays Tony Hutchinson, has stepped up to ensure he won’t be alone at Christmas inviting Jimmy into his home along with members of Bev’s family. “I’ll be with Nick and his partner Sarah for Christmas Day. Nick’s mum, my mum-in-law and sister-in-law are coming. Nick’s daughter Ellie and her boyfriend will be there too, there’s nine of us in total,” he said.

He continued: “Since my wife Bev passed, Christmas has been a wee bit melancholy for me. So it’s good to just be surrounded by friends, having a laugh and a wee drink!”

Jimmy has been a familiar face on screens since the 1980s when he landed a small part in Coronation Street playing Jim Lomax in 1985. He returned to the cobbles just over a decade later in 1994 playing an Immigration Officer in two episodes.

For 14 years from 1996 he juggled his soap role with a role in the David Jason police procedurial A Touch Of Frost in which he played Sgt. Don Brady. He has also had roles in Taggart, Rumpole of the Bailey, Soldier Soldier and Heartbeat.

Hollyoaks airs on Mondays through to Wednesdays at 7am on Channel 4 before airing on E4 at 7pm.

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ACTRESS Camila Morrone looks up for a golden globe or two at the premiere of series two of The Night Manager.

The 28-year-old, who plays Roxana Bolaños, wore a sheer maxi dress with a low-cut golden top.

Actor Tom Hiddleston, who returns for the second series, was also at the premiere in London’s Southbank with actress fiancée Zawe Ashton.

Standing next to her suited-and-booted partner, the 41-year-old British actress stunned in a full length bright red dress.

The first run of the award-winning spy thriller, based on a John le Carré novel, was shown on BBC One in 2016.

It quickly became one of BBC iPlayer’s most watched shows that year, with nearly 10million views.

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Series two will begin on New Year’s Day.

Camila first rose to fame after starring in James Franco’s film Bukowski.

Since then, Camila has starred in Never Goin’ Back, Death Wish, Mickey and the Bear, and Valley Girl.

She also stars as Camila Dunne in the 2022 Amazon Prime mini-series, Daisy Jones & The Six.

Camila also has a successful modelling career, appearing on the cover of the Turkish edition of Vogue in 2016.

A San Francisco supervisor has proposed increasing the city’s film and television tax credit to lure more productions to the Bay Area.

Board President Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation Tuesday that would create a tiered rebate system based on local spending on items like San Francisco resident wages, services or goods.

To qualify, most productions must spend a minimum of $500,000 in the city and shoot at least five days of principal photography there. Those productions also get a 100% rebate on city agency fees, including permits and police services.

Then, under the new proposal, those projects could get 10% back on the first million dollars spent in San Francisco, then 20% on any qualified local spending beyond that, said Manijeh Fata, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission.

“As localities across the state compete to attract more film production, San Francisco must stay in the game,” Mandelman said in a statement. “Strengthening our film incentive program will keep jobs in San Francisco and help ensure this important economic activity doesn’t bypass us.”

The legislation is expected to go to a committee hearing next month, with a final vote potentially at the end of January or early February, Fata said.

Though San Francisco’s production incentive was established in 2006, the program has been “underutilized,” said Supervisor Connie Chan, who is co-sponsoring the legislation.

“I support this legislative update so we can ensure the original intent and benefits of the program can be fully materialized,” she said in a statement. “I expect the film rebate program to deliver robust job opportunities for workers, creative promotion of our City through films that will boost tourism and increase sales tax revenue with film industry spending.”

San Francisco’s incentive proposal comes five months after California increased the cap on the state’s film and television tax credit program in an attempt to curb runaway production to other states and countries.

California now allocates $750 million annually to the program, up from $330 million. Legislators also broadened the type of productions eligible to apply for the credit.

Since then, more than three dozen TV shows, including a “Baywatch” reboot, and 52 films have been awarded tax credits.

New data has shed light on the positive and life-saving effects of using the correct pronouns for trans and non-binary youth.

On 10 December, The Trevor Project shared their new study, ‘Pronoun Usage and Mental Health Impacts of Pronoun Respect in TGNB Young People.’

As the title suggests, the report explores why it’s essential to respect and use the pronouns requested by trans and non-binary youth.

According to the informative data, which was collected through The Trevor Project’s 2024 US National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, trans and non-binary youth whose pronouns were respected had lower rates of past-year suicide attempts (11%) compared to those whose pronouns were not respected (17%).

Less than half of trans and non-binary young people (46%) reported that a lot, most, or all of the people in their lives respected their pronouns.

At the same time, trans and non-binary youth who use binary pronouns (she/her, he/him) reported higher levels of pronoun respect (62%) than those who use a combination of binary and non-binary terms, solely non-binary pronouns, or other pronouns (38%).

When examining pronoun respect across demographics, researchers found that older trans and non-binary individuals aged 18 to 24 were more likely to report pronoun respect (51%) than those aged 13 to 17 (41%).

Amongst the different racial and ethnic groups, Middle Eastern/North African (57%) and White (48%) trans and non-binary young people reported higher rates of pronoun respect.

52% of Trans boys/men and 48% of trans girls/women said their pronouns were respected compared to individuals questioning their gender (40%) and non-binary individuals (37%).

Lastly, 32% of trans and non-binary young people reported exclusive use of he/him, she/her pronouns, while 68% said they used they/them, a combination of binary and non-binary terms or other gender expressing pronouns.

In an interview with The Advocate, the study’s lead researcher, Steven Hobaica, offered further insight into the data and why respecting trans and non-binary youth’s pronouns is crucial to their thriving.

“When we don’t respect someone’s request to call them by the name that they go by or the pronouns that they use, that is actively disrespecting their sense of self, their dignity, and the fact that the vast majority of people in the world do not have a problem respecting someone’s nickname or respecting a cisgender person who does change their name like that,” he explained.

“There’s this idea that people think that youth can’t know themselves, and that’s just not true. All data that we have on this topic, as well as our own lived experiences with identity, where many of us have firm understandings of our identity at very young ages.”

You can read The Trevor Project’s ‘Pronoun Usage and Mental Health Impacts of Pronoun Respect in TGNB Young People’ report here.

Married At First Sight UK contestants Leigh and Davide have discussed behind-the-scenes secrets about phone use and restrictions

A star from Married At First Sight UK has opened up on a little-known secret about the show that might leave fans gobsmacked.

The tenth series of the popular E4 dating programme was full of drama and chaos, with a fresh batch of singletons hoping to meet their soulmate at the altar. For some, it was smooth sailing with immediate sparks flying, but for others, there were numerous hurdles to overcome.

This series had everything from shocking revelations to accusations of cheating. Despite several couples making it to the final vows and continuing their relationships outside the show, only one pair – Abi and John – are still together weeks after the series ended.

Post-show, a string of breakups were announced, including Rebecca and Bailey and Davide and Keye, as cast members continue to share their experiences from the show.

Now, one participant has unveiled a behind-the-scenes secret that could astonish some viewers, reports OK!

During an appearance on the Private Parts Podcast, a snippet of which was posted on Instagram, members Leigh and Davide were asked if they were allowed to use their personal mobile phones during filming. The answer, unsurprisingly, is no – they were given production phones.

But what fans might not know is that the production teams allegedly monitor their phones and don’t permit them to form groups of four outside of filming.

On the podcast, Leigh – who was paired with Leah on the programme, confessed it was “f***** chaos” behind the scenes when the cast went out for drinks, with Davide comparing it to “like being at uni again”.

Davide, who was coupled with Keye on the series before they announced their separation, revealed: “We’re not supposed to be in more than groups of four, because they track your phones, the production phones they gave us, they track them.”

After confirming they weren’t permitted to use their personal mobiles, presenter Olivia questioned how participant Steven managed to access dating platform Hinge – following revelations he’d been active on the app.

Davide explained: “He got his phone back when he went home.”

Leigh chimed in: “This is the thing about this story right, I don’t think that this has ever been explained. So Nelly and Steven had got to a point where I think they both knew it wasn’t going to work.”

Taking to Instagram to respond, Steven posted: “We both had the conversation the day we came back together after partner swap about it being done. We were asked to leave it open so we could do the Dinner Party & Commitment ceremony & between partner swap and the last CC it was about 10 days wait… so we both knew it was done.”

Married At First Sight UK can be viewed on Channel 4

AN A-list star’s sibling has revealed her incredible nine stone weight loss, which she has achieved using injection Ozempic.

The star is the sister of a very famous British comedian, who is known both at home and across the pond. Can you guess who it is?

Ruth Corden, the younger sister of Gavin & Stacey legend James Corden, is the one who has shared her staggering weight loss.

Sharing a side-by-side comparison of her weight loss, Ruth, 43, took to Instagram to share that she not only looks different physically, but has had a mental shift.

She wrote: “The girl on the left learned to walk into every room like she had to be dazzling, loud, magnetic, unforgettable, because being fat taught her that if she didn’t take control of the space, the space would take control of her.

“She believed that if all eyes were on her for anything other than her body, the judgement wouldn’t land as hard.

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“She believed being larger than life could quieten the voices in her head. So she smiled. She entertained. She insisted she was “fine.” All the while, she was exhausted from performing just to feel safe.”

Ruth continued: “The girl on the right walks in as she is, softer, quieter, more herself.

“And this kind of truth is the bravest thing I’ve ever worn, terrifying in its exposure, freeing in its weightlessness.”

Friends, fans and celebrities took to the comment section of the post, including Jamie Oliver’s wife Jools.

“Smashing it you look wonderful,” wrote Jools.

While Ruth has been documenting her journey using Ozempic, which is a medication for diabetes that can be used for weight loss, her brother had the opposite experience.

Last year, James revealed that he turned to weight loss jabs in an attempt to shed some pounds before the hotly-anticipated Gavin & Stacey reboot.

James, who admitted he has previously been bullied over his weight, said: “I tried Ozempic, and it won’t be surprising to you when you look at me now, that it didn’t really work.

“I tried it for a bit and then what I realised was I was like, ‘Oh no, nothing about my eating has anything to do with being hungry.’

“All it does is make you feel not hungry. But I am very rarely eating [just because I’m hungry].”

He added: “You are looking at someone who’s eaten a king size, and when I say king size Dairy Mil – one you give someone for Christmas – in a carwash.

“None of that was like, oh, I’m so hungry. It is not that, it’s something else.”

 NHS doctors have also warned of “dangerous” complications that come when the drug is “abused”.