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LOVE Island’s Ty Isherwood has revealed he has undergone a hair transplant.

The reality star, 24, who rose to fame on the show last year, took to Instagram following the surgery to show his bandaged head.

Filming himself the day after undergoing the procedure, Ty admitted that despite covering it well, hair loss is something that has impacted his confidence for years.

Dressed in a grey hoodie and bandaged up, Ty told the camera: “For me, this has been something that has played in the back of my mind for a long time now.

“I’ve managed to keep it under wraps pretty well, I’ve always had a fringe since I was younger and It has always hidden it.

“I noticed it started slowly receding when I was about 19/20 and it has slowly gone back ever since.”

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Ty, who is in a relationship with Love Island co-star Angel Swift after meeting on the show, said he had been taking hair growth medication such as Minoxidil for the last three years.

But in search of a long term solution, he opted to undergo the transplant for his hairline.

Admitting it all went fairly smooth, Ty continued: “The transplant itself took about 6 and a half hours, it was completely pain free.

“The only thing I didn’t like was the local anesthetic in the donor at the back. I’m not gonna sugarcoat that, it wasn’t very nice. But, once you’re over that, the rest of it was fine.

“For men, I think that losing your hair is a tough pill to swallow. For me, it was, I think it has affected my confidence for a couple of years. I’ve not been able to go about my day without actually thinking what my hair looks like.”

Urging his male followers to take the plunge if they are considering a transplant, Ty then said: “I wish I’d had it done sooner, I think it’d have put my mind at ease. I just feel so much more relieved now it’s done.”

Posting the clip to his 159K followers, Ty thanked Manchester-based clinic KSL for carrying out the transplant on him.

His girlfriend and Love Island co-star Angel took to the comment section to show her support as she wrote: “Proud of you my handsome boy”.

Other show alumni such as Wil Anderson, Giorgio Russo and Harry Cooksley also supported Ty in the comments.

Angel went along with Ty for the procedure, with the reality star revealing the couple were up at 6AM to drive to the clinic together.

The roar erupting from the capacity audience inside the Ed Sullivan Theater when Stephen Colbert stepped on the stage of his “Late Show” for the last time made it clear that they did not want him to say goodbye.

Colbert took his final bow as his beloved late-night show came to an end Thursday. The episode was so crammed with top celebrities who showed up to share a last moment with the comedian that it extended several minutes beyond its usual one-hour run time.

Before the official start, Colbert addressed the audience as he thanked the staff, calling the show “The Joy Machine”: “We call it the Joy Machine because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine. But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears, and I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other, and how much we mean to each other.”

In his opening monologue, Colbert downplayed the event‘s status, rolling a series of jokes about news stories in New York and New Jersey. But he was repeatedly interrupted by audience members Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd and Tim Meadows who all became irritated when Colbert informed each of them that they would not be his last guest.

When the show’s supposed scheduled last guest, Pope Leo XIV, refused to leave his dressing room, Paul McCartney popped on stage to a rapturous ovation. The legendary musician presented Colbert with a framed photo of The Beatles when they appeared on Sullivan’s show in 1964.

The only subtle reference to President Trump came when McCartney relayed a story how the Beatles, before their Sullivan appearance, got their faces covered with bright orange makeup. “That’s pretty popular in certain circles these days,” Colbert quipped.

The episode marked the finale of Colbert’s 11-year run on CBS’ late-night show, which he has been counting down since July of last year, when CBS said it was canceling the show because of financial difficulties. “The Late Show” franchise, which Colbert inherited in 2015 from David Letterman, was the top-ranked late-night show, but it faced challenges due to dramatic declines in viewership and a drop in advertising revenue.

However, industry observers also contended the move was tied to Colbert’s relentless criticism of Trump. The decision was announced after Paramount, the parent company of CBS, had settled a lawsuit filed by Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The company agreed to pay $16 million to settle the suit, which came as Paramount was attempting to get regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance Media, which Colbert called “a big fat bribe.” Trump made no secret of his disdain for Colbert and other late-night hosts who have skewered him and his administration over the years.

Colbert, his guests and others continued to blast Trump in this final week. In his introduction Wednesday of his performance of “Streets of Minneapolis,” Bruce Springsteen said: “I’m here in support tonight for Stephen, because you’re the first guy in America who has lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke.”

And Jimmy Kimmel on his ABC late-night series said Wednesday, “I will be watching tomorrow night. I hope that those of you who watch will also tune in to CBS for the last time. Don’t ever watch it again.”

In a tribute to Colbert, Kimmel, another target of Trump, and NBC‘s “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon said their respective shows would not air new episodes during Colbert’s finale.

But the overall vibe on “The Late Show” this week has centered on celebration and spotlighting the show’s comedic formula. Several celebrities who have a special connection with the show made appearances, including Jon Stewart from “The Daily Show” and filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

In one of the more arguably iconic sequences, David Byrne and his band — all attired in bright blue uniforms — appeared Tuesday to perform the Talking Heads anthem “Burning Down the House.” Colbert joined in at the end, dancing in his matching blue outfit.

The “Late Show” time slot will be occupied starting Friday by Byron Allen and his “Comics Unleashed” syndicated show. CBS executives have said they hope to develop a new original late-night series in the future.

“Survivor 50” castaway Joe Hunter has made it to the final tribal council of the grueling competition show twice, but walked away with slim to none when it came to jury votes.

On Wednesday night, four-time “Survivor” player Aubry Bracco was crowned sole survivor and won the not $1-million but $2-million prize (thanks to a twist that involved a coin toss and MrBeast), and Jonathan Young came in second. Hunter, a firefighter and fan favorite, lost on an 8-3-0 vote.

According to Hunter, jury members had made up their minds before the remaining three castaways even had a shot to sweeten their chances at the final tribal council.

“I sit down in that chair for final Tribal, right? I’m thinking alright, here we go,” Hunter told “Entertainment Weekly.” “Right away, the second before any word was said, I went, ‘Oh, that one hates me, this one hates me, hate me, hate me, hate me.’ And I thought, ‘There’s zero chance.’”

Hunter was somewhat optimistic leading up to the tribal council and said that he thought some of the jury members had come with an open mind. “I’ll give credit to Emily, Rick Devens, Christian, Dee,” he said.

“I just felt it was very transparent based on the questions and responses that, before this thing started, I think it was a wrap.”

During the series finale, “Survivor” legend Cirie Fields put Hunter on blast, saying that castaways felt like they had to babysit him and jokingly calling it the “Joetation” when it was a player’s turn to sway Hunter to vote alongside them.

Hunter chalked up the babysitting remark to his own naivete when it came to being vulnerable with other players he thought were his friends on the island. “I just put that vulnerability in the wrong hands,” he told the outlet. “That’s really what it is. And that’s part of the game.”

Hunter also spoke with “Entertainment Tonight” and admitted that yes, he’d blocked a select few “Survivor” players on social media. “So, 751 players,” Hunter said, “yeah, there’s two.

“I’ll tell you this, each one of them is not random,” he said. “Actually, there’s three. It is not random. … All of which I would love to talk to and solve it, and have tried.”

Last week, former “Survivor” players Kelley Wentworth, who’s been a castaway three times, Savannah Louie, who won Season 49 and was on the same tribe as Hunter in Season 50, and Tiffany Ervin, who competed on Seasons 46 and 50, all said they’d been blocked by Hunter.

JASON ISBELL is a song writer’s song writer. You can tell by the company he keeps.

He’ll never forget the moment some years ago when he heard a certain person singing one of his choruses back to him in unmistakeable tones.

“I’ve grown tired of travelling alone. Won’t you ride with me? Won’t you ride? Won’t you ride? ”

Isbell recalls: “At first, I thought it was somebody doing a Bruce Springsteen impersonation of singing my song. And then I realised, ‘No, that’s actually him!’

“It was a huge deal for me to meet Bruce, and for him to know who I was.”

Turned out that one of Springsteen’s sons had brought to his dad’s attention Isbell’s breakthrough 2013 solo album Southeastern, complete with the track Traveling Alone.

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To the 47-year-old born in northern Alabama, two miles from the Tennessee state line, it was validation — just like his six Grammys and the fact that Southeastern appears in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of greatest albums of all time.

“I’m a punk but I’m not that big of a punk to pretend something’s not an honour,” the one-time member of Drive-By Truckers decides in his Southern drawl.

“I met Randy Newman and it was the same kind of thing,” he continues, casting his mind back to the 2021 Newport Folk Festival when both artists were on the same bill.

“I was so nervous to talk to Randy but I said to him, ‘Man, your songs are very important to me as a musician, as a human being’ — and he leaned in and said, ‘I like your songs, too’.

“I knew Randy was probably not the sort of person to bulls**t you.”

I’m speaking to Isbell as he prepares to hit these shores with his ace band, The 400 Unit, for a tour of the UK and Ireland which culminates with a night at London’s hallowed Royal Albert Hall on June 11.

But on this day, the hard- working singer is in Dallas for a solo acoustic show, showcasing last year’s captivating, intimate Foxes In The Snow album, when we’re connected via video call.

“My flight was cancelled last night because of bad weather so I drove here — took me nine and a half hours,” he reports from his hotel.

It’s 10am US Central Time and 4pm UK time and, despite the previous day’s exertions, Isbell seems fresh and focused for a deep dive into his life in music — and the songs that define him.

It’s clear from talking to this thoughtful soul that his career can be divided into two distinct categories — before and after he got sober — which he describes in depth later.

But first, we go back to his early life as the son of teenage parents, the subject of his song Children Of Children, and his early introduction to music.

Mom Angela was 17 and dad Mike was 19 when he was born so “I got to spend a lot of time with my grandad, who preached in a Pentecostal church in Alabama, and played guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo.

“And my uncle, my dad’s little brother, played guitar in a rock band.

“When I was around four, my parents would take me to band practice in his friend’s garage, and I would fall asleep, usually when they did Neil Young’s Like A ­Hurricane.

“Though my dad and mom didn’t play music, pretty much everybody else in my family did, at least as a hobby. It was seen as a birthright thing.

“I know this sounds like down-home Southern horses**t, but my grandad would make me play gospel music with him for a ­couple of hours a day.

“Then if I could get through it without getting lazy, I could play rhythm guitar. The guitar was huge, and I was small, and it would take a lot of work.”

Isbell became “obsessed” with blues after hearing Robert Johnson’s recordings and “this little white kid from a hillbilly town” would bombard his music teacher with questions about the Mississippi Delta pioneers.

“My teacher was a big rock and roll guy who had a different Rolling Stones T-shirt for every day of the week,” he says.

“He would call me out of class on the loudspeaker in a really gruff voice, so it sounded like I was in trouble. But I knew that he had made me a mixtape.

“There were a lot of people who took an interest in me early on. I got very lucky that way.”

As a teenager in the Eighties, “radio was huge” for Isbell, who singles out Crowded House and Elvis Costello in particular.

“As my parents were not much older than me, we listened to a lot of the same music,” he says.

“In those days, it was big arena bands like Journey and Foreigner, My dad liked country music, too, so he had Merle Haggard and Hank Williams records.”

At this time, Isbell started playing bars in the Southern music mecca of Florence and Muscle Shoals, which, “because of the liquor laws”, also had to sell food.

He says: “They would check the receipts to make sure you sold more food than alcohol, which was terrible for any kind of music scene — but really good for a 15-year-old kid because they couldn’t kick me out!”

In these places, he got to see legendary session men like Spooner Oldham, Donnie Fritts and, crucially, bass player and trombonist David Hood, father of Drive-By Truckers frontman Patterson Hood.

In 2001, Isbell joined the Truckers and hit the ground running by contributing two outstanding songs to their 2003 album Decoration Day, the title track and Outfit.

He says: “I liked playing guitar and singing background vocals, but I had a lot to prove.”

He describes how his dark, Southern gothic magnum opus about a multi-generational family feud came into being: “I wrote Decoration Day on the road, in Carbondale, Illinois, I think.

“We were staying at a friend’s and everybody else was asleep in the house.

“One person always had to sleep in the van to stop people stealing our gear. That night, it was me.

“I woke up early — around eight o’clock in the morning. So I had a couple of hours before everybody else started moving and I came up with Decoration Day.”

Another memorable Drive-By Truckers effort by Isbell is Danko/Manuel, his tribute to roots rock icons The Band, which appeared on the 2004 album The Dirty South.

He says: “At the time, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel were the only two not still alive. Now, none of them are.

“I was reading [drummer] Levon Helm’s book, This Wheel’s On Fire. He talked about having to siphon gas out of cars in parking lots while the rest of them were on stage. They were a bunch of feral kids in the early days.”

In 2007, largely thanks to heavy drinking and unreliable behaviour, Isbell left the Truckers and went solo.

It’s good to report that he’s on friendly terms with his old bandmates these days and joined them on stage last year for Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show.

He says: “We were very close at one point. It’s not easy to make friends in general so I try to keep the ones that I can.

“Even after I got sober, I didn’t quite know why I’d had drinking problems to start with.

“At first, you’re just hanging on for dear life and trying to stay sober. Eventually, if you do it right, you do repair the parts of yourself that you were ignoring.

“Once that happened for me, I was able to reconnect with those guys. We were able to be friends again and they’ve continued to make really valuable music.”

When it came to Isbell making his first solo album, Sirens Of The Ditch in 2007, highlighted by a couple of fan favourites, Dress Blues and The Magician, he had a lot to learn — and fast.

“I didn’t know what the hell I was doing,” he sighs. “I know I had to argue a lot, which actually turned out to be a good thing.”

A big moment for him arrived with a yearning composition on his third album, Here We Rest (2011), his second with his band The 400 Unit and the last before he went into rehab for ­alcohol addiction.

To this day, Alabama Pines is one of his most performed live songs.

“When I wrote it, everything else in my life sucked,” he says. “It was a very dark time. I was in physical and psychological pain. Working on it was the most relief I got.”

He adds: “The complication in that song adds a lot of value to it — the fact that you’re yearning for a place that isn’t perfect.

“It’s a dynamic that finds its way into a lot of Drive-By Truckers’ work and a lot of my own. It’s very possible to miss a place that wasn’t necessarily all that good to you.

“That song doesn’t have a chorus, it never gets huge so it’s not an anthem. But it stands out in my solo work and I still like it. It has never let me down.”

Everything changed for Isbell after rehab and first notice of his sober approach is 2013’s breathtaking Southeastern with its enduring keepers, Cover Me Up, Stockholm, Elephant and the aforementioned Traveling Alone.

“I wasn’t in the same type of pain,” he says. “Recovering from addiction heavily involved dealing with myself — my life, my emotions, my situation — not postponing it.

“When I was drinking, I would write until the sun went down and then I’d think, ‘I need a drink’.

“With Southeastern, I would stay working for hours and hours at a time because I didn’t have anything else to do. It’s not like I was going to the bar.”

The record proved a big commercial success even if a song like Cover Me Up, recently covered by Morgan Wallen, is about recovering from addiction and the healing power of love, while Elephant is an unflinching study of mortality and the impact of cancer.

Today, Isbell performs such tracks from a slightly different perspective.

“With a room full of people cheering for these songs, we get to celebrate the fact that these horribly sad songs exist,” he smiles.

Next, we rattle through a few more Isbell staples like 24 Frames from 2015’s Something More Than Free with its sparkling electric ­guitar passages.

“I may have doubled up two exact same slide-guitar parts on that. It’s the old George Harrison trick from My Sweet Lord and it works every f***ing time.”

He sees guitar playing as his “hobby”. “My girlfriend paints very seriously and that’s her work,” he says by way of example.

“Lately she started working with miniatures and building doll houses, and that’s her hobby. It’s very close to painting but it’s not a commercialised part of her life.

“That’s how I look at guitar playing. Singing, songwriting, touring — that’s my job. If left alone for a couple of hours, I just sit and play guitar — that’s my hobby.”

There’s a profound Isbell song on 2017’s The Nashville Sound, If We Were Vampires, a big favourite of his friend, the late, great singer John Prine, who he describes as “thoughtful, witty, highly intelligent and emotionally open”.

“There’s some magic in that song,” he says. “Everything else on the album was written when I thought, ‘There’s so many f***ing love songs, why would I bother to do another one?’

“By the time I got to the chorus of If We Were Vampires, something hit me — the reason you love somebody, go through all that effort and pain, is because you’re going to die.

“Without death, we wouldn’t be motivated to live. It was one of those moments where I was like, ‘Wow! Thank God I weaved my way to that path’.”

A telling Isbell insight is revealed by It Gets Easier with its line, “it gets easier, but it never gets easy”, from the 2020 album Reunions.

It addresses his sobriety and brings this reflection: “I don’t think about drinking as much as I used to, but I do sometimes, not necessarily when things are bad.

“When it is going badly, the first thing you do is you make a plan – talk to friends, talk to a therapist, go to a meeting.

“For quite a few years, the hardest times have been to not think about drinking when things are going really well.”

Isbell’s consistently fine recorded output includes 2023’s Weathervanes, with standouts like reflective acoustic ballad Cast Iron Skillet and gritty rocker King Of Oklahoma, about the downward spiral of a blue-collar worker who turns to prescription meds.

Mention of them is cue for him to offer a warning to those attending his upcoming shows.

“When I’m writing a record, I think, ‘How am I going to make these people hold their pee for four more minutes?’

“Because when the new material comes out, that’s usually when everybody heads to the bar!”

• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit play Belfast June 2, Dublin June 3, Bristol June 5, Gateshead June 6, Glasgow June 7, Manchester June 8, Birmingham June 10 and London’s Royal Albert Hall June 11

Netflix subscribers will wake up to a video livestream of “The Breakfast Club” starting next month, marking the platform’s first daily live podcast.

The deal is part of the streaming platform’s ongoing focus on live programming, and the latest video podcast offering through its partnership with iHeartRadio, the company said on Thursday. The nearly three-hour show will include a live video feed exclusive to Netflix and will air every weekday morning.

“Taking this show live every day to a global audience on Netflix is a powerful example of how we’re expanding the reach of our biggest brands while giving audiences entirely new ways to experience them,” Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “Whether it’s morning in NYC or the afternoon in London, the conversation is live and reaching the world in real time.”

“The Breakfast Club” will air simultaneously on Netflix, the iHeartRadio app and it will continue to be syndicated by Premiere Networks on more than 100 broadcast radio stations nationwide. Netflix’s video feed is meant to provide more behind-the-scenes content, as radio formats will still need to include commercial breaks. Instead of pausing the program, Netflix watchers will get an uninterrupted stream, where those traditional breaks will be filled with exclusive segments and extended discussions.

“The media landscape will always evolve, but one thing consistently cuts through: live programming,” Charlamagne tha God said in a statement. “That’s a big reason ‘The Breakfast Club’ has sustained its reign for so long. We’re building something powerful — real‑time conversation, real community, on a global scale. The future belongs to those who can see what’s possible — and trust me, the vision for ‘The Breakfast Club’ and Netflix is crystal clear.”

The radio program first got its start in 2010 on WWPR-FM in New York. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular morning shows, rooted in Hip-Hop and R&B culture and known for its lively interviews and entertaining commentary from hosts Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy and Jess Hilarious. The show has welcomed guests like former President Barack Obama, and artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B. In 2020, the talk show was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Netflix has heavily invested in its live programming in the worlds of sports, comedy and podcasting in recent years. In the past month, the Los Gatos-based company livestreamed “The Roast of Kevin Hart” and its latest fight between MMA fighters Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. This weekend, the F1 Canadian Grand Prix is also set to air on Netflix. These tentpole events are in addition to some of the weekly live programming Netflix offers, including “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” which airs every Sunday.

EastEnders fans have been left gutted after Karen Henthorn, who plays Julie Bates, appeared in her final sceens of the BBC soap last night – 29 years after her debut

An EastEnders legend has bid a sad farewell to the BBC soap – 29 years after her debut.

Last night’s episode marked the end of actress Karen Henthorn’s time on EastEnders, almost 30 years after she made her debut in Walford. She had returned as part of Nigel’s dementia storyline in July last year, having previously appeared on the soap between September 1997 and April 1998.

Thursday’s episode saw Karen Henthorn, who plays Julie Bates, leave Walford for India, just weeks after the death of her husband Nigel. Julie finally read Nigel’s letter, which revealed he had left her his pension, meaning she could take the trip of a lifetime.

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Following her final scene Karen appeared in a farewell video on EastEnders’ official social pages. Stood on the BBC set she said: “It’s my last day and I’ve had the best time. The best 10 and a half months.” She went on to pay tribute to the cast and crew and said: “Whatever you do in life, it’s always about people and kindness.”

Karen then thanked the EastEnders fans, saying: “thanks for your love, your support and your commitment and dedication to the programme, which you love as much as I love. And I’m going to really miss you. So thanks everyone, take care of each other, loads and loads of love.”

The video then showed a snippet from Karen’s final scene before she was presented with flowers and applauded by the crew and co-star Steve McFadden.

Executive Producer Ben Wadey gave a speech, he said: “Your constant waterworks, your endless tears, but your performance has really been amazing. Thank you for everything, you’ve been amazing.”

The video posted on Facebook was captioned: “Tonight we say goodbye to the outstanding Karen Henthorn and Julie Bates. You’ve been an absolute delight and we will miss you dearly!”

Loyal viewers took to the comments to share their thoughts on Karen’s departure. One wrote: “Great actress and amazing portrayal of such an awful disease. I hoped you might end up with Phil, it’s the most he’s smiled since you arrived.”

Another commented: “Have absolutely loved her. Please get her back, it won’t be the same without her. Maybe Karen (Julie) could come back after a period of time and slowly become Phil’s love interest? They could be the equivalent of Corrie’s Vera and Jack!”

A third wrote: “So gutted she’s left. Her performance has been absolutely phenomenal throughout Nigel’s dementia storyline. Best wishes for the future Karen.”

EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

Married At First Sight USA Season 19 is back with brand new episodes on E4, but things are already getting tense

A Married At First Sight bride has walked out following an uncomfortable encounter with her husband.

The US edition of the popular reality series has kicked off Season 19 with new episodes broadcasting weekdays on E4 at 8pm. Earlier this week, audiences watched five new couples tie the knot with complete strangers they’d never met before.

Thus far, viewers have remained sceptical about the revised format, particularly following an explosive Australian series, though the programme is still finding its feet as the newlyweds embark on their honeymoons.

In tonight’s episode (May 21), several couples faced significant challenges just days into their marriages. Brittany and Will have discussed their communication difficulties, with Brittany voicing worries about her husband’s failure to ask her questions.

Yet Will also highlighted concerns about their contrasting communication approaches, leading to Brittany walking off by herself, reports OK!.

She said: “I want to dive deep I want to have those conversations”, however Will interrupted her stating: “No, you haven’t asked me any questions.”

Acknowledging she has “been trying”, Will described her questions as “vague and conspicuous” as Brittany replied: “I didn’t realise I needed to be super specific.”

Following further exchanges, the couple failed to reach common ground and Will said: “I don’t need you to hold my hand all the time.” Exasperated, Brittany continued: “It’s bothering me… like really. Sorry, I’m going to calm down”, to which Will responded: “Do whatever you need, it’s okay.”

His reply only wound Brittany up more as she snapped: “I’m frustrated because we’re on two separate, I won’t even say two separate pages, we’re like in different books. I need someone who can communicate.”

Storming off, Brittany told producers it was like talking to someone who does not talk back, while Will made no attempt to follow his wife, telling cameras: “She left for a reason, I’ll let her leave.”

The row followed an uncomfortable moment on their wedding night. But will the pair manage to bridge their differences? Fans will have to keep watching weekdays to discover what happens next.

Plenty of viewers took to social media to share their views, with one person commenting: “This is what happens when couples have completely different communication styles.”

Another posted: “It looks like Will and Brittany need counselling already”, while a third added: “Omg the chats they’re having are not interesting enough for prime time TV.”

Meanwhile, Pat and Rhonda are also grappling with communication issues, with Rhonda revealing she wished her husband would show more interest in her life.

Despite this hurdle, the couple have already declared their feelings for each other, with Rhonda saying: “I love the person that you are, I love your kindness and generosity, I love everything about you.”

One viewer took to X to write: “I love yous already!” while another responded: “‘I love you.’ Already?”

Married At First Sight USA airs weekdays at 8pm on E4.

Rylan Clark made a candid admission about his divorce from Dan Neal on ITV’s The Assembly

Rylan Clark has candidly opened up about his split from ex-husband Dan Neal.

The 37-year-old TV personality is the latest famous face to take on ITV’s The Assembly, as the candid interview series wraps up its second run.

This extended series has also welcomed beloved figures including Sir Stephen Fry, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, comedy icon Sir Lenny Henry, actor Anna Maxwell Martin, and rapper Aitch.

The famous faces have to answer an unflinching series of questions that go beyond anything typically asked on traditional chat shows, press tours or even political interrogations. Rylan’s episode airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 10pm on Sunday (May 24), where he confronts difficult questions about his divorce.

The presenter parted ways with his husband Dan in 2021 following six years of marriage. Rylan has been open about what led to the separation, acknowledging his infidelity during the early stages of their relationship, reports the Express.

In the upcoming episode of The Assembly, a man named Cameron asks Rylan: “When you told your husband you cheated on him, he divorced you. Is honesty always the best policy?”

The question clearly catches Rylan off guard, prompting him to respond: “Oh wow,” before continuing: “Yeah, I think it is. I’m okay admitting I’m in the wrong, because actually I don’t deal well with guilt and I don’t deal well with secrets. It made me so ill, like so ill. It sounds a terrible thing to say, but I’m glad it happened.”

Cameron follows up with: “What do you miss about Dan, if anything?”

Rylan pauses to collect his thoughts before responding: “Do you know, I never think about him. So, this is like, my whole body just went [tense]. I miss feeling like I’ve got it all. I thought I had life done – I’ve got the job, I’ve got the family, I’ve got the marriage, I’ve got the car, I’ve got the house.

“I thought I had it sussed. I didn’t have anything sussed. I didn’t know what was a real relationship, and I can look back now and know that I don’t regret anything. I don’t regret anything, so I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

During a break from filming, Rylan is seen getting his make-up done. He says to the make-up artist: “I’m so glad I did this. But yeah, [the] Dan questions, I was like [surprised] – I don’t even say his name.”

The television personality goes on to openly reflect on the collapse of his marriage and the subsequent breakdown he went through.

“When my marriage ended, you know that term when someone says, ‘To pull the rug from under you?’ That’s the only way I can describe it. It’s like someone went like that and I fell over, and I couldn’t get back up. [It was] like I broke both my arms and legs,” he reveals.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get out of it. I went back to live with my mum because I didn’t want to be in my house, because there were too many memories of things in there.”

Rylan is currently in a relationship with Kennedy Bates, who works in the fairground industry. The couple went public with their relationship after Rylan posted snaps of their sun-soaked Maldives holiday back in January.

Speaking on The Assembly, he reveals: “When I first started dating Kennedy, and I told [my mum] about him, she was like, ‘He’s handsome,’ and he is handsome. And then she was like, ‘So, has anything happened?’ And I’m like, ‘Shut up! Shut up!'”

Rylan’s episode of The Assembly will air at 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, May 24

HER last tour in 2020 was cut short thanks to the Covid pandemic but now Louise is gearing up to go back on the road.

The Borderline singer will play five live shows as part of her Naked/Confessions tour next April, taking in cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester, with tickets on sale today.

And in an exclusive interview to celebrate the announcement, ex-Eternal star Louise says she’s never felt so inspired after her last album Confessions became her fourth top ten record.

“I’m so proud of that album,” Louise tells me.

“That’s really what spurred me on to carry on writing.

“It taught me that it’s OK not to please everybody.

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“I’m enjoying the creative process of not worrying about if people might hate on it.

“Knowing that you just can’t please everyone.

“It’s all about the mindset and the confidence.

“I do think that comes with age as well.”

After saying yes to going back on the road, Louise reveals she’s learned the power of saying no — and was inspired by pop royalty Madonna.

“I am a big fan, I loved the show she did with Sabrina Carpenter. As a woman, for me, it’s about celebrating people and their achievements,” Louise says.

“I hated reading anything negative about that because for me, she is a genius. I’m at that stage where I’m trying to embrace everything and go with it, but I am also saying no.

“I just wrote a song about saying no and I love it.

“The basis of the song is when you finally learn to say, ‘That’s not for me.’

“We all live in a world where we don’t want to say no to anything for a multitude of reasons.”

The tour, which kids off in Sunderland on April 8 next year, will see Louise picking her favourite tracks from her debut album Naked — which turns 30 in 2027 — and from Confessions for the set list.

And Louise — who will play The Mighty Hoopla festival in London next weekend — has promised to throw in some brand new tunes too.

Louise, who has scored nine Top Ten solo singles including 2 Faced and Pandora’s Kiss, adds: “I get that people will want the hits. It’s about celebrating Naked and Confessions — but I definitely will do new stuff on the tour.

“I don’t want to play it particularly safe.

“The one thing I have learned in this industry is that you have to keep changing.

“You have to keep finding new ways to motivate yourself. Whether that be music, what you’re wearing, the lyrics you’re writing.

“Now I know the lane that I’m in and I know what I want to do.”

Girls single minded

THEY have been together for over a decade, represented the UK at Eurovision and performed at Wembley Stadium.

Now, British girl group Remember Monday have given Bizarre’s Howell the exclusive that they’ve just completed work on their debut album in Prague – and have today dropped the first single, Delusional.

The trio, made up of Lauren Byrne, Charlotte Steele and Holly-Anne Hull first started work on the track two years ago, but only finished it last summer with the help of McFly’s Danny Jones and Dougie Poynter, after being introduced to them at the Capital Summertime Ball.

Lauren, who posed with her bandmates for the single artwork, said: “It feels like it was the first song that started the whole new era.

“After that session, it was like, this is the kind of music that we want to be working on now.”

Holly continued: “We just wanted to kind of hone in on our sound, really solidify what we want to say moving forward.

“I don’t know if we can say, but . . . well, we’re releasing an album.

“The sound that we’re going down is quite nostalgic. Like, we really love the Nineties rom-com energy of music.”

The group will support McFly on tour this summer.

They admit their path is not always easy given that they are independent artists without the financial backing of a major record label.

Referencing the title of their single, Charlotte said: “Our whole band is run and fuelled by delusion.”

Lauren added: “It’s weird to be around. But we do just talk about things as if they are happening regardless of whether we have the funds or contacts. We just speak it into existence.

“And it actually has worked. I don’t even know how we’ve got to this stage.”

It’s working so far ladies.

Good for you.

Too pretty for this ditty

SONGWRITER Linda Perry has revealed she almost turned down Christina Aguilera’s request for her song Beautiful after admitting she thought she was too pretty to sing it.

Linda wrote the track which ended up being one of Christina’s most enduring songs from her 2002 album Stripped.

Appearing on the Zach Sang Show, Linda said she played American star Christina, pictured at the Abbey’s 35th anniversary party in Hollywood, the track and explained: “She was like, ‘ I want that.’

“And I’m thinking, ‘No, you’re like, a hot chick. I’m not giving you this song. No way. Are you kidding me?”

It was only after Christina sang the track for Linda that she changed her mind, adding: “It broke the ice between the both of us when I saw that.

“That’s when I discovered beautiful people are actually insecure and just as damaged as I am.”

Sphere come all the Girls?

THE SPICE GIRLS might fancy zig-a-zig-ah-ing their way into a Las Vegas residency, but I’m told bosses at the Sphere aren’t interested in a quick nostalgia cash-in.

Insiders have confirmed bosses will only give the green light if Victoria Beckham, Melanie C, Melanie B, Geri Horner and Emma Bunton are all on board.

My Sphere insider said: “The Spice Girls would be a massive draw, but this couldn’t be done as a one-off or a short residency.

“The costs involved in creating a Sphere show are enormous. There’s special cameras, bespoke visuals and millions of dollars in production costs before a ticket is sold.

“They’d need all five on board and would want 40 to 60 shows.”

Last month Posh Spice teased that she was keen for the shows to go ahead, saying: “How good would the Spice Girls be at the Sphere? I love the idea of it.”

The venue, which has mind-blowing wraparound screens, has already hosted U2, The Eagles and No Doubt.

TREVOR NELSON was handed a top gong at last night’s Audio Academy Arias.

Rylan Clark hosted the bash at The Roundhouse in North London, which saw Radio 2 legend Trevor honoured with a Special Recognition Award.

He was handed the gong by my pal Craig David, who spoke about Trevor’s impact on the British music scene.

It was a great night for Radio 1 DJ Greg James too, with his Breakfast show landing the top prize in its category, while BBC Radio 6 Music’s Beth Ditto was handed Best New Presenter.

LOUIS TOMLINSON reckons there’s one man who could tempt him into a collaboration – fellow Doncaster star Yungblud.

Ex-One Direction singer Louis admitted he’s not keen on teaming up with artists for the sake of it, but working with the rock wild man would feel different.

Louis explained: “I really like his music and he’s from Doncaster, my hometown, I think that would make it even more interesting.”

But he joked that their might be a slight age gap issue.

Louis laughed: “I’d be the senior one in that conversation.”

Doncaster might be running the UK music scene soon . . . 

MY fellow Spurs fan AJ Tracey has joined talkSPORT as a World Cup pundit.

The Thiago Silva rapper will join footballer-turned-Strictly star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Burnley ace Kyle Walker on the station’s line-up for the big event this summer.

CRUZ BECKHAM And The Breakers lead the new music releases today with their catchy new single, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

DJ Sonny Fodera also drops his new tune, Let Me Be In Your Arms, ahead of his performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend tonight.

LEGENDARY recording studio Abbey Road has announced its fifth annual Music Photography Awards.

This year’s judging panel is packed with music industry royalty, including Raye and Nile Rodgers.

Photographer to the stars, Rankin, is also on the panel ahead of the VIP ceremony on September 24.

Rankin said: “With another stellar judging panel joining us, I can’t wait to get stuck in and review the 2026 submissions. What are you waiting for?”
Submissions are open now.

At this year’s festival to unveil our inaugural Cannes issue, I had to opportunity to sit down with Sony Pictures Classics co-founders and co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and EVP of Acquisitions, Production and Business Affairs Dylan Leiner on the Main Stage at the Marché du Film to discuss the company’s festival strategy, bidding wars, artificial intelligence and more. Watch the full conversation and read edited excerpts below.

How much does the festival reception of a movie, the reviews coming out of a festival, the buzz around it, shape decisions that you’re making? Or is it just confirming what your gut already knows?

Leiner: I want to tell one story that speaks to that, which was at the first Berlin Film Festival we attended after COVID. I remember, in the same day, I ran into three international distributors who all asked if we had seen “The Teacher’s Lounge.” And I didn’t even know what the film was. It wasn’t on our radar, it wasn’t in competition. So we quickly saw “Teacher’s Lounge” and we acquired the film [which went on to be nominated for the 2024 international feature Oscar]. And that was one of the great values of an in-person festival, the ability very quickly to communicate with distributors, with tastemakers, with critics from around the world and get that kind of information. Gut, personal taste… It plays into it a lot, but then we need reassurance. And being at a festival and being in this fishbowl environment is really helpful for that.

For a lot of people, myself included, the mystique of a festival is often around the bidding war narratives: Who’s going to pick up what and what are they going to pay? I’m curious for your take on the first big acquisition of this year’s Cannes, A24 buying “Club Kid” for a reported $17 million.

Bernard: Throughout the years, there were companies [that would] maybe overpay, or they were going to bid to get this movie no matter what, because they were the headline in all the newspapers covering this festival. So in terms of a company that’s branding — which, A24 is one of the best in branding — I think that that had to do with a little bit of the cash that went up. … There’s a branding aspect in a lot of festivals for a movie that’s a hot movie that the press has decided to seize on.

Barker: Here’s a key to how we have survived. It’s different from the way you talk about it. When we acquire a movie, whether anyone else has offers, we try to block it out. And we have trained ourselves to not let that noise bother us. What is it worth to us? What do we think it’s going to do? Dylan runs these incredible models of what it’ll do on the low end, what it will do on the high end. And then you decide where you want to be.

Bernard: Or we think we can make it work.

Barker: But at no point do we sit around and worry about who else has a higher offer for the movie. Because I have to say, in very few instances, on the movies we buy, are we the higher offer. We just do the best we can, and if we lose it, we lose it.

Bernard: [French film producer] Serge Silberman, a sage of the past, he always said, “You never lose money on a movie you didn’t buy.”

That brings up a question that I had about “Nuremberg,” which was a real success. What you’re saying is, it performed in alignment with your expectations. Were there any lessons that you took away from that in terms of future projects that might come along?

Leiner: Yes, it performed in accordance with our expectations. What’s interesting about that film, we acquired it here last year. Nobody else was really interested in the movie. … So our challenge basically was to figure out how to convince the filmmaking team that, because it was a very expensive film, that we were the right company to acquire the film on the terms that we could afford and that we could make it work. And it was a very intense series of phone conversations, in-person meetings.

Bernard: We felt like we were auditioning to get married to somebody. We were never going to be able to pay to make their money back. It was a $40-million movie, and they were really sort of out there without anybody really looking at it. And we said, “Listen, sell it to us. We think it’s going to be a great success. We’ll make your movie way more valuable over the test of time.”

Barker: There are two types of movies that are being made and distributed. One are the big tentpole studio movies. It’s about winning the weekend theatrically. These are the theatrical-driven movies. And it’s all about making that huge budget back very quickly. But the other kind of film, which is why we are in business, is the evergreen. Every one of our films, we open it with the best marketing push we can. Yes, we try to get the highest box office. But what we know will happen, even if the box office ends up being less, we believe in these films as long-term players. And these films have really long tails. You look at movies like “Run Lola Run” or “Call Me By Your Name” or even “Living” … They have generated revenues to the filmmakers and to us that’s way beyond what the box office would have portended when it opened.

I would be curious, what areas of the filmmaking process or the film distribution process do you think AI is appropriate for use, that you’ve experimented with it, that you’re excited about its prospects? And where are your red lines, if you have any?

Barker: One of the people on our staff — we really love our young staff. One of them was writing a screenplay with AI, and told me they got certain rules on AI. And I’m listening to all these rules. You can’t have your main character die in a first scene. You can’t have your romantic female lead be totally unlikable, people aren’t going to go. I’m listening to this, and I said, “Have you ever seen ‘Sunset Boulevard?’” And she goes, “No, what is that?” I said, “Go watch that movie.” She came back and she was like, “Holy cow.” I said, “Billy Wilder sat down and made that up based on what he observed.” AI is not going to be able to do that.

COMEDIAN Katherine Ryan has come up with a theory as to why Katie Price has fallen for the charms of estranged husband Lee Andrews – and it’s due to past ‘trauma’.

Podcaster and mum-of-four Katherine explained on her social media her thoughts behind the Katie and Lee drama.

“So much unkindness around this story like so many of us haven’t also been bewitched by some bullsh*t,” the presenter wrote alongside the video featuring the former glamour model.

Within the footage, she told followers: “He’s been missing for five days. Katie doesn’t know where he is. She was a guest on Good Morning Britain.

“She was supposed to appear with him to address all these rumours that he’s a scammer and she appeared by herself, obviously, and she’s like, Lee’s stuck in Dubai, he can’t get out yet.

“People are being so unkind about it, they’re like, Katie is involved in this, there’s no possible way that someone can look past this amount of evidence into thinking that someone is this virtuous kind human being that she says he is.”

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She continued: “I think what’s happened is this: she has a rescuer syndrome, for whatever reason. 

“Being the firstborn, she’s very different to her brother and sister.

“She’s had trauma that mixes things up, but I think she’s also made so many romantic mistakes publicly that this one is so big, she’s fearing, oh, if this all comes out and he’s exposed as this scammer then I look stupider than ever, everyone’s gonna say I’m foolish. 

“She cannot let that be true. So it’s a mix of like shame and loyalty. She just wants it to be true so badly that she’s constructed this reality where she’s hopeful. 

“I think it’s a really sweet thing, like, yeah, it looks dumb to the rest of us. Yeah, she did not practice due diligence as she rarely does, because she married him after a week. 

“All of that is bad. There are children involved in her life, she should potentially try to unravel herself from these romantic calamities and focus on her family, but she has said he makes her happy. 

“She’s just so hopeful that it’s true. In the past, I’ve been in relationships not as bad as any of Katie’s, I don’t think, but some dodgy ones where when your friends and family start to express their horror that you are with this obvious loser.”

She admitted: “You just dig your heels in harder. You’re like, no, I can’t have this be untrue. I am going to show my loyalty. I’m going to sit here next to this man. 

“I’m going to fix whatever problem he has. I’m going to show him enough love that all of these things that he says are true are magically going to be true.”

Concluding her opinion on Katie’s estranged husband’s whereabouts, she said: “Right now, he’s been missing for, I think, this is the sixth day, and she truly believes he’s maybe been kidnapped and hopefully this is the final straw for her.”

Fans commented: “Call me delusional, but I just feel sorry for Katie. It just seems like she just wants to be loved, and don’t we all.”

A second supported: “The amount of sh*t I have believed over the years from an attractive man is incredible.”

A third agreed: “I think you have hit the nail on the head. She has been treated so bad in relationships (we have all seen the documentaries). Someone has shown her love and she has gone with it.”

“I’ve always felt desperately sorry for her… She just wants to be loved,” echoed another.

Singer Paloma Faith interjected: “I don’t know that it’s dumb I think I wanna give her a big cuddle and say it’s ok. Let’s get back to therapy (as I always have!) No one will rescue her until she rescues herself.”

The self-proclaimed multi-millionaire, 43, has disappeared and has left his new-wife with “sky high anxiety”.

A missing persons’ report has been filed with the British Embassy in Dubai and Katie believes he could have been kidnapped.

On a Tuesday evening in Eagle Rock, used-bookstore owners Jeremy and Debbie Kaplan were closing up for the day when a stranger rushed through the entrance. He tossed an envelope onto the counter, said something like: “Building’s been sold,” and slipped out.

Inside the envelope, the Kaplans found a 30-day notice: The shop’s $1,200 monthly rent would be increasing to $2,805 on April 1, they were required to decide whether they would accept the more than 133% price hike a month in advance, and they’d need to agree to a three- to five-year lease if so. The letter arrived Feb. 17, which meant the Kaplans had 11 days to accept the new landlord’s terms or leave.

“We couldn’t even consider it,” Jeremy Kaplan said. “It would be suicide.” The couple looked around the 680-square-foot shop. From the floor to ceiling, more than 20,000 books were crammed every which way into shelves they’d built and stained themselves nearly 20 years before. “My first reaction was panic,” he said. “How are we going to move out of this place?”

Their children had grown up at Read Books (pronounced like the color, as in: “These aren’t new books, they’re previously read books.”) The realization began to set in, Jeremy said, that they were being pushed out with intimidation tactics. “We started getting angry. So the next day, we started looking into our legal rights.”

After searching the internet, the Kaplans found California’s Senate Bill 1103, the Commercial Tenant Protection Act that passed last year. The law offers protections for “qualified commercial tenants” and requires landlords to give a 90-day notice for rent increases surpassing 10%.

When the Kaplans tried to contact the new property management company, Jeremy said, Systems Real Estate was evasive.

“It’s the one bill that protects commercial tenants, and it’s a fairly toothless bill because they don’t have to acknowledge it, unless you make them acknowledge it,” he said. The Kaplans, along with Sharon Kroner, whose neighboring vintage boutique Owl Talk is facing the same fate, wrote to Systems Real Estate, citing SB 1103. They had the letter certified and attached their rent checks for the next month.

In response, the 30-day notice was amended to 90 days. Systems Real Estate did not respond to a request from The Times for comment.

The Kaplans had more time to search for a new location, but Jeremy quickly saw a trend in Northeast Los Angeles. “Vacant spaces all over the place,” he said. “When we inquired, they were ludicrously expensive, most over $5 per square foot. The second thing we started noticing was small stores like ours going out of business or being priced out in the exact same way we were.”

Jeremy Kaplan stands inside his bookstore on the last day Read Books is open for business.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Building a coalition

When Jeremy started posting about Read Books’ plight, the response was immediate and overwhelming. Many customers who reached out said they wanted to help — the bookstore had been in Eagle Rock for as long as they had.

“Not mere condolences but calls to action from people I barely knew,” he said. “Lawyers, journalists, activists, parents, children.”

Two days after the rent-increase notice was delivered, the Kaplans and their supporters were devising a plan to fight back — if not to save Read Books, then to save other small businesses.

Save North East Los Angeles Shops was born.

Chris Newman, an immigrant rights lawyer whose son learned to read with books bought at the Eagle Rock shop, told The Times he showed up to the group’s first official meeting with the intention of trying to save the bookstore.

“I was surprised to see so many people talking not just about the situation that Jeremy’s in, but an epidemic that small businesses are facing,” Newman said.

At one coalition meeting in April, Jeremy rushed in late.

He’d just come from an event where he’d been able to talk with Mayor Karen Bass about the plight small businesses are facing and asked about the possibility of imposing a commercial vacancy tax on property owners who leave storefronts vacant for extended periods.

Although sympathetic, the mayor shot him down pretty swiftly, Jeremy said, saying nobody in L.A. wants more taxes.

A representative for Bass told The Times that under her leadership, “the City is focused on cutting red tape, expanding support for local businesses, and advancing solutions that address the broader affordability crisis.”

Signs against rent increases are posted outside Read Books.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The precedent

In March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down, small businesses in San Francisco had been grappling with rising rents that increasingly led to empty storefronts. Then North Beach’s beloved corner gem, Caffe Sapore, got its notice. Like Eagle Rockers, San Franciscans were done merely lamenting the community’s loss. They started organizing.

Aaron Peskin, who at the time served on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, said that while there are a variety of factors contributing to the vacancy issue, impractical property owners were the most common thread.

“Commercial landlords had unbelievably unrealistic expectations of rent, and a small business can only sell a T-shirt or a hamburger or a service for what the market will bear, and none of them could swing the rent,” Peskin said.

That year he authored Proposition D, a commercial vacancy tax ordinance that applies to street-facing, ground-floor properties that sit vacant for more than 182 days a year. It passed with nearly 70% of the vote.

“I served on that Board of Supervisors for 17 years, and it’s one of my proudest pieces of public policy,” Peskin said. “In the years since it passed, it has been working and has really helped in the post-pandemic recovery in our neighborhood commercial corridors. It’s been a rare instant success story.”

Demonstrators march toward Eagle Rock City Hall carrying protest signs against rent hikes for small businesses.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The landlords

The question as to why someone would purchase a commercial property, raise the rent so current tenants are displaced and prospective tenants look elsewhere, only to have a onetime community hub collecting cobwebs, has inspired myriad theories.

Peskin pointed to an impractical landlord mentality; an L.A. council member suspected landlords were after tax breaks; a professor of economics said that his sense is that there’s more going on and tax benefits are likely not the driving factor; and a commercial real estate expert said landlords are likely pricing tenants out so they can tear the buildings down.

The Times reached out to Dr. Ari Ucar, the new owner of the Eagle Rock Boulevard building, who did not respond.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, a former tenant rights attorney, told The Times that landlords can benefit by claiming the vacancy as a loss on their taxes. “For landlords who own multiple commercial properties in a wide portfolio, a vacancy can be marked as a loss. In essence, when you file taxes and mark this as a loss, it reduces the total income generated. That’s the perverse incentive of having a vacancy.”

But a tax attorney in Los Angeles, Andrew Gradman, wasn’t convinced the tax incentive was enough to curb a landlord’s appetite for the passive income of steady rent payments. “You have to consider the most reasonable premise, which is that these landlords think they can get a better tenant, or they think that the lease would stand in the way of their getting some other better deal, in the form of, say, selling the whole building.”

A commercial real estate broker, Nick Quackenbos, said the likely motive for such a price hike is plans to scrape the building and build apartments in its place. He pointed to a recent landmark bill, State Senate Bill 79, which overrides local zoning laws to allow for taller, denser buildings near major transit stops. The bill will take effect statewide July 1, but L.A. plans to delay citywide upzoning until 2030 by carving out bespoke plans that target 55 single-family and low-density areas, allowing for 4-16 unit buildings up to four stories tall.

The 55 areas are mostly in Central L.A., West L.A., the Eastside and the San Fernando Valley. While Eagle Rock isn’t what L.A. city planners are designating an “opportunity hub” right now, Read Books is located a stone’s throw from the upcoming Colorado/Eagle Rock station, a stop on the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line slated to launch ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“The bill is allowing things to take place which could disfigure a city like Eagle Rock,” said Quackenbos. “I bet that’s what you’re going to find down the road: These places will become vacant, and suddenly there’s groundbreaking for a new apartment building going up.”

Jeremy Kaplan speaks to community members outside his store, Read Books, about the issues small business owners face.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The rally

Read Books was set to close last weekend, and the Kaplans wanted to go out with a bang. In the shop’s front window was a single book: “The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto” by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, surrounded by signs that read “Forced Out!,” “Shame on Greedy Landlords,” and “Our Family Loves Read Books.”

As Debbie sat at the register inside, helping a steady flow of the shop’s final patrons, protesters gathered behind the building, clutching homemade posters and waiting for Jeremy to speak. Choking up, he addressed the crowd.

Debbie Kaplan, who co-owns Read Books, hands a customer books.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

“Three months ago, when this all began, my initial action was to fight back, because fighting is my default setting. But I also felt … fear of insignificance, of disappearing, as if everything we built in the last 19 years, often working seven days a week, might soon be dismantled and forgotten. The support you’ve gifted us with these last few months has been a constant reminder that we’re all in this together.

“The real estate lobby is rich and powerful. They have more lobbyists than our representatives have staff, but we are building a coalition to fight them.

“What’s at stake? The soul of Los Angeles.”

For a guy who has become known for his monstrous output of clips, comedy specials and content, it’s a wonder Josh Johnson has time to stop to think about what makes his comedy timeless. As a former writer and now one of the hosts of “The Daily Show,” much of Johnson’s humor outside of specials relies on his ability to deliver jokes on the dumpster fire du jour when it comes to pop culture and politics. But for his latest one-hour special, “Symphony,” premiering Friday on HBO, he wanted to orchestrate something different that would still be funny 40 years from now, regardless of what’s fashionable or who is running the country.

Using music as a canvas to paint a funny, layered portrait of the human experience, Johnson creates a set that comes alive with the sound of more than the laughter at the Wiltern, where the special was filmed earlier this year. With stories focused on surviving rowdy family, moments of loneliness, struggles with faith, and navigating our deepest human relationships, Johnson’s abilities as a pensive storyteller are conducted masterfully. The result is an hour that helps showcase his refined comedic voice, surprise the audience and sound the trumpets for his next round of touring.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Why was it important for you to veer so strongly into music as a theme of your new special, “Symphony”?

I think music, in a way that nothing else does, brought the central points and themes of the special home. In the beginning [scene] with the title card and the busker who has a [music-related] quote in front of him, that’s sort of the mission statement of the special and everything I’m trying to do. The thing to me is including the music to help bring about these ideas and bring each section home and bring it all the together in a way that obviously I’m also attempting to do through the comedy. I think thematically there’s nothing stronger to make the overall point than music.

What inspired you to shoot it at the Wiltern?

The Wiltern is so beautiful and it also lends itself to that sort of art aspect I’m talking about in the very beginning of the special. Things that have that look of the Wiltern help not just create a spectacle, but give you something really beautiful to look at. You get something really beautiful to listen to in the music, and then the comedy helps decorate the hour that we’re spending together.

“If you speak to a lot of people’s timelessness around family and culture and some of the bigger topics, but without naming names, I think that you create something that really stands the test of time,” Johnson says about his new special, “Symphony,” premiering Friday on HBO.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

You definitely play around with the format of a typical special in this new hour. As somebody who has mastered the ability to release a crazy amount of comedy in recent years on YouTube and social media, what aspect of a traditional one-hour special do you still find important?

I think that everything that I’ve been doing so far is pretty topical and very of the moment, even when I’m not talking about a specific pop culture or political topic. I think that there’s a time for comedy of the moment, but then I also think there’s an aspect that you want to be timeless, and that’s what the specials are for me. You want the piece to be something that people watch 40 years from now, and I don’t always expect every single set that I put out to have that level of longevity. Because no matter how it feels right now, there’s going to come a time where we look at the people who take up so much of our bandwidth and our thoughts throughout the day as just a sort of passing political fashion or the things that we see as like huge indicators of where society is right now will eventually become forgotten crazes. But I think that if you speak to the human condition, if you speak to a lot of people’s timelessness around family and culture and some of the bigger topics, but without naming names, you create something that really stands the test of time.

There’s a duality between your timely comedy on “The Daily Show” and the timelessness you’re aiming for in specials. Was it important for you to separate the two ways that people might see you as a comedian?

People are going to have their takeaways from whatever you do. I try bringing the same amount of intention to everything, but as far as the way people see me, it’s something that’s kind of out of my control.

Religion comes up a lot in the special, the Bible specifically. I’d read somewhere that you had taken a break from practicing Christianity in recent years. If so, what was your reason for including the topic in your special?

I wouldn’t even necessarily call it a break, I just think that there’s moments you’ll find yourself in, where whether you grew up on a text or a certain few tenants that you live by, there’s always going to come a time where it’s really important to revisit those things… It’s not necessarily that I bring religion up in the special because I stopped practicing. It’s actually because I think that if I’m breaking life down into these sort of pillars that make up a person — I’m not saying religion has to be one of them — but I do find it to be an aspect for a lot of people. So if I’m once again trying to speak to things from a universal perspective as best I can, I think it’s something that that definitely comes up.

Comic Josh Johnson turns his new hour into a concertlike experience, using live music, a busker’s credo and L.A.’s ornate Wiltern Theatre to tie jokes into a single, sweeping theme.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

Considering how well you use music as a backdrop for the special, how long did it take to come up with a concept for the hour? Did you write the jokes before coming up with the structure or vice versa?

I basically had a structure before I had a set, and I went to the director Jacob Menache about the idea for this thing like three years ago and we were talking about how best to make it work. That was long before I knew what jokes were going to go where, or how many things, how many aspects we were going to add to it, or anything. So I think that it’s been a long time coming, as far as like the actual structure of what you end up seeing.

Watching your special was the first time I paid real attention to who the musical director was in the credits. What was it like working with respected bassist and producer Derrick Hodge on creating the concept for the music in “Symphony”?

I look at Derrick as someone who was doing a lot of interesting things, and so I thought it was going to be a fantastic opportunity to get to work with him. I don’t know that much about music, to be honest. I try to dabble with producing here and there because I have ideas, but it’s the real musicians, the real artists that take the ideas that I might pitch out and create something with it. So I really leaned on Derrick as much as possible to like bring us home. I feel like so much of what I was trying to do was in bringing an overall idea of the structure of a set and asking Derek, “Hey, what do you think about this?” I don’t know if I could have ever thought up a way to create what I was trying to build without him.

Was there something about you that you felt like you wanted to get across in this special that maybe you haven’t gotten to in your previous specials?

It can be tough to show new shades of yourself when you put out a lot of stuff, and you are always kind of coming with stories about your life and your childhood or anything like that when I think of putting a set together, especially something that is attempting to be timeless. Overall, I think every new story is a new story to [the audience]. But I think that if you can express how you used to think versus how you think now, that can be revealing. Towards the beginning [of “Symphony”] I talk about how there are things I didn’t understand until pretty close to the special in theory, things I didn’t understand until like a week ago, or I’ve always held this belief, or something like that, and I think that if you can give people insight to your evolution as a person, I think that’s a really powerful thing.

“I think music, in a way that nothing else does, brought the central points and themes of the special home,” Johnson says.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

Were there any things that occurred during the rehearsal process that genuinely surprised you?

Watching it come together was a huge surprise, because you know, [the director] Jacob’s out here in L.A., I’m in New York, and so I make the flight down and everything, but the Thursday rehearsal with the musicians [before the taping] was the first time I was seeing everything come together. It was first time I was hearing everything, and so I think watching something finally come to life after such a long period of time is always going to throw you for a loop.

Now that the special will finally be out, what plans do you have next about how to showcase your comedy?

I’m really excited for people to see what’s coming. I start the tour Comedy Band Camp in June. I have some surprises for people there as well, and I’m looking forward to showcasing lots of artists. I’m looking forward to showcasing as much as I can that helps me elevate the level of craft and what I bring to people. And so I’m doing that through even more collaborations. I’m going to be hyping up some people that maybe you’ve heard of, or maybe you haven’t heard of. The special is kind a beautiful kick off for the tour that I’m going to be doing because we are going to be on the road for quite a while, and I chose Comedy Band Camp as a theme, because camp is this thing that people are nostalgic for, it’s a place to go that is safe, where you make friends. Band is about people coming together for a shared goal, it’s about everyone having a singular purpose towards creating art. So I think mixing those two things together will be a unique experience that no one can get anywhere else, and it’ll be a challenge to present it as best as possible. But I have a lot of plans for how I’m going to do that.

The race is dominated by just-under-the-wire releases, with three of the seven projected nominees dropping this month (the end of the eligibility window is May 31).

Matt Roush says, “Star-powered late arrivals ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ (with Sally Field, Lewis Pullman and the voice of Alfred Molina — as an octopus!) and ‘Miss You, Love You’ (with Allison Janney and Andrew Rannells) suddenly make this category a bit more interesting than usual.”

Trey Mangum says of the runaway No. 1 pick, “Dropping just in time is Netflix’s ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures,’ anchored by Sally Field and an absolute shoo-in.”

While several panelists continue to plead ignorance as to what, exactly, makes a movie debuting on television a TV movie or not a TV movie, some find titles to champion.

“This category continually confounds me, but I have to admit I still love a good, weird, chaotic stoner comedy despite having aged out of that demo,” says a somewhat responsible-sounding Tracy Brown, definitely not typing her comment at a Taco Bell. “All that is to say, I was charmed by ‘Pizza Movie,’ my dark horse pick.”

More predictions: Limited / TV movie actor | Limited / TV movie actress

1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
2. “Deep Cover”
3. “Swiped”
4. “Miss You, Love You”
T5. “Heads of State”
T5. “Jack Ryan Ghost War”
T5. “Straw”

Los Angeles Times

Lorraine Ali

1. ““Remarkably Bright Creatures”
2. “Swiped”
T3. “Deep Cover”
T3. “Miss You, Love You”
T3. “Straw”

“Expect to see ‘Deep Cover,’ ‘Miss You, Love You,’ ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures,’ ‘Straw’ and ‘Swiped’ in the running. And what qualifies as a TV movie in 2026, when TV and film mediums are beyond fluid? No idea. I’m just here to blurb.”

Freelance Critic

Kristen Baldwin

1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
2. “Swiped”
3. “Straw”
4. “Deep Cover”
5. “Miss You, Love You”

“Vince Vaughn’s lightweight culinary comedy, ‘Nonnas,’ managed to earn a nomination for Netflix in 2025. Does that mean voters will be twice as likely to put Hulu’s ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’ — in which the actor plays two versions of the titular Nick — on their ballot?”

Los Angeles Times

Tracy Brown

1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
2. “Miss You, Love You”
3. “Deep Cover”
4. “Jack Ryan Ghost War”
5. “Pizza Movie”

“This category continually confounds me, but I have to admit I still love a good, weird, chaotic stoner comedy despite having aged out of that demo. All that is to say, I was charmed by ‘Pizza Movie,’ my dark horse pick. ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ is the likely front–runner but I wouldn’t count ‘Deep Cover’ out.”

Blavity

Trey Mangum

1. “Heads of State”
2. “Deep Cover”
3. “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
4. “Swiped”
5. “People We Meet on Vacation”

“Dropping just in time is Netflix’s ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures,’ anchored by Sally Field and an absolute shoo-in. Then there’s last year’s ‘Deep Cover,’ which is buoyed by the likes of Orlando Bloom and Bryce Dallas Howard.”

TV Insider

Matt Roush

1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
2. “Miss You, Love You”
3. “Jack Ryan Ghost War”
4. “Deep Cover”
5. “The Best You Can”

“Star-powered late arrivals ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ (with Sally Field, Lewis Pullman and the voice of Alfred Molina — as an octopus!) and ‘Miss You, Love You’ (with Allison Janney and Andrew Rannells) suddenly make this category a bit more interesting than usual. A ‘Jack Ryan’ movie gets in by name recognition.”

Los Angeles Times

Glenn Whipp

1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
2. “Swiped”
3. “Deep Cover”
4. “Miss You, Love You”
5. “People We Meet on Vacation”

“Six years after ‘My Octopus Teacher,’ we find there’s still much to learn from eight-limbed marine mollusks in ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures.’ Shameless, yes, but also sweet.”

Noah Wyle is a consensus pick, with a sizable lead over Mark Ruffalo. Glenn Whipp sums up the Buzz: “There’s little chance that Noah Wyle doesn’t repeat.”

The panel, though, says it would like to see the academy sidestep its usual voting habits and honor some genre work as well. Walton Goggins of the video game-spawned “Fallout,” Antony Starr of the super-powered satire “The Boys” and Peter Claffey of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” all get votes, while Alfred Molina and Karl Urban get shout-outs.

Matt Roush says, “While fantasy seems a long shot, ‘Fallout’s’ Walton Goggins and ‘The Boys’ adversaries Antony Starr and Karl Urban are all worthy.”

“You can’t help but root for ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ ’ Ser Duncan the Tall — a naive underdog chasing his dreams while trying to do the right thing,” says Tracy Brown of Claffey.

Even No. 3 pick Sterling K. Brown is in a sci-fi/postapocalyptic entry, “Paradise.” If he can survive the end of civilization, surely he can withstand a stressed-out ER doc? “It may seem inevitable for Noah Wyle to take the trophy again,” writes Trey Mangum. “But I wouldn’t count Brown out just yet.”

More predictions: drama series | drama actress | drama supp. actor | drama supp. actress

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
3. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
4. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
5. Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”
6. Walton Goggins, “Fallout”
7. Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman”
8. Antony Starr, “The Boys”

Los Angeles Times

Lorraine Ali

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
T3. Walton Goggins, “Fallout”
T3. Antony Starr, “The Boys”
T5. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
T5. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
T5. Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”

“It’s hard to look at Walter Goggins’ noseless ‘Fallout’ character, the Ghoul, without retching, but his compelling performance also makes it hard to turn away. Antony Starr brings to life another type of monster: an egomaniacal, king-of-the-world superhero in ‘The Boys.’ Then there’s Noah Wyle. He plays a doctor.”

Freelance Critic

Kristen Baldwin

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
3. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
4. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
5. Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”
6. Walton Goggins, “Fallout”

“There’s not a lot of wiggle room in this category, but don’t count out Alfred Molina, who stars in Netflix’s ‘The Boroughs,’ a sort of ‘senior citizens battle stranger things’ drama from the Duffer Brothers. (Of course, Molina will have to get through Jon Hamm, Peter Claffey and Billy Bob Thornton first.)”

Los Angeles Times

Tracy Brown

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
3. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
4. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
5. Walton Goggins, “Fallout”
6. Peter Claffey, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”

“This might be a long shot for Peter Claffey, but you can’t help but root for ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’’ Ser Duncan the Tall — a naive underdog chasing his dreams while trying to do the right thing. Last year’s winner Noah Wyle is the strong front–runner, though.”

Blavity

Trey Mangum

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
3. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
4. Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman”
5. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
6. Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”

“If ‘Paradise’s’ drama series buzz is big enough, I think Sterling K. Brown could really be a force here, though it seems as if it may seem inevitable for Noah Wyle to take the trophy again. But I wouldn’t count Brown out just yet.”

TV Insider

Matt Roush

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
3. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
4. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
5. Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”
6. Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman”

“Noah Wyle and Sterling K. Brown are locks to repeat, and Mark Ruffalo’s mournful ‘Task’ hero is another potential winner. Billy Bob Thornton carries ‘Landman’ on his weary shoulders. While fantasy seems a long shot, ‘Fallout’s’ Walton Goggins and ‘The Boys’ adversaries Antony Starr and Karl Urban are all worthy.”

Los Angeles Times

Glenn Whipp

1. Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
2. Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
3. Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
4. Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
5. Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”
6. Jon Hamm, “Your Friends & Neighbors”

“ ‘Slow Horses’ has been breaking through at the Emmys the last couple of years, winning for writing and direction. Might it be Gary Oldman’s time? It’s a nice thought … but there’s little chance that Noah Wyle doesn’t repeat for ‘The Pitt.’ ”

Susanna Reid was joined by Richard Madeley during the latest edition of Good Morning Britain

Good Morning Britain star Susanna Reid will be taking a short break from the programme.

Susanna returned to the ITV studio on Thursday (May 21), alongside Richard Madeley, to deliver the day’s biggest headlines from across the UK and around the world.

At the end of the show, Susanna and Richard interviewed a woman who had saved up to £800 a month as part of a new ITV programme called Rising Bills: How Can You Save Money?.

Wrapping up the interview, Susanna said: “I love it. Thank you both for coming in. You can catch Rising Bills: How Can You Save Money? tonight [at] 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.”

The 55-year-old presenter then confirmed that she wouldn’t be on screen next week, which happens to be the May half term.

“Now, I am off next week, but Good Morning Britain is back tomorrow from 6am. Now, it’s time to join Lorraine. Have a great day,” she said.

It’s not yet known which presenter will stand in for Susanna while she’s away, but it usually tends to be either Kate Garraway, Ranvir Singh, or Charlotte Hawkins. Susanna’s announcement comes over a month after her last break from the show, which took place during the Easter holidays.

Elsewhere during today’s GMB, Susanna and Richard discussed the topical headlines with regular commentators Kwasi Kwarteng and Nels Abbey.

Ranvir also announced breaking news after EasyJet confirmed that summer flight bookings are lower than this time last year due to uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict.

“However, last minute bookings made in the month that you want to travel have increased compared with a year ago,” Ranvir said.

“The airline also reported a pretax loss of £552 million for the six months ending in March.”

Susanna and Richard also interviewed Race Across the World stars Mark Blythen and Margo Oakley, who are competing in tonight’s grand final.

After racing over 11,000km, the final four teams will face one final test of endurance as they embark on the last leg of their journey. To finish the race, the teams must head north from Kharkhorin to reach the shores of the “Blue Pearl of Mongolia”, Lake Khövsgöl.

As they leave the checkpoint, they will face a crucial decision. They could head directly north, a shorter route but one which requires them to go off-road, or add 500km to their journey with a detour via the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Who will reach the finish line first? We’ll have to wait and see.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am

Quinta Brunson is taking a bet on Betty Boop.

The two-time Emmy winner is developing a film about the animated icon and will star as the doe-eyed flapper, The Times confirmed on Wednesday. The “Abbott Elementary” star and creator’s production company Fifth Chance Productions will team with cartoonist Max Fleischer’s grandson Mark Fleischer and their Fleischer Studios for the film. Variety first reported the news.

Brunson, in a news release shared with The Times, praised Betty Boop as one of the nation’s “most beloved cartoon characters” and said she realized “there was a much deeper story to tell” after she and Fifth Chance head of creative affairs Erin Wehrenberg met with the younger Fleischer. According to the release, the movie will chronicle the cartoon character’s origin and evolution through Max Fleischer’s perspective and will examine the “relationship between the artist and his creation as he navigates the creative and commercial pressures of building one of the world’s first animated icons, particularly as that icon begins to take on a life of its own.”

Betty Boop, designed by late cartoonist Myron (Grim) Natwick, first appeared in Max and Dave Fleischer‘s 1930 cartoon “Dizzy Dishes” as part of Fleischer Studio’s “Talkartoons” series. The Fleischer brothers asked Natwick to draft up a woman character for the popular song by Helen Kane, “Boop-Boop-A-Doop.” Natwick initially designed Betty as a dog’s head on the curvaceous figure of a woman and modeled her flapper hairdo on Kane’s own coif. As Betty Boop became more popular, Natwick revised his design to swap the character’s floppy dog’s ears for bangle earrings and shrinking her nose. Her curvaceous figure, flapper ‘do and large eyes remained.

Mae Questel, who provided the loopy, child-like voice of cartoon characters Betty Boop and Olive Oyl, poses in 1978 with a poster of Betty Boop.

(Associated Press)

Kane unsuccessfully sued Fleischer Studios and Paramount in 1932, alleging Betty Boop ripped off her voice, likeness and scat-singing. The performing community challenged that notion, tracing the scat-singing and gesticulations to earlier artists including Black jazz performer Baby Esther Jones and cabaret entertainer Florence Mills. The judge who oversaw the legal battle ruled against Kane.

Betty Boop was primarily featured in theatrical cartoons from 1930 to 1939 — voiced by Mae Questel — but her sex symbol status and general fabulousness made her an intergenerational icon. Earlier this year, the preliminary design of Betty Boop featured in “Dizzy Dishes” entered public domain.

“Quinta so embodies Betty’s love of life, intelligence, humor, sassiness and compassion that the relationship between her as Betty and Max burst into life at its mere mention,” Mark Fleischer said in a news release.

Brunson, though best known for the ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary,” first gained popularity in the 2010s for her viral social media comedy clips and her work on Buzzfeed. She appeared on TV series “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and “iZombie” before “Abbott Elementary,” about a group of educators at an underfunded Philadelphia elementary school, became a breakout hit in 2021.

“Abbott Elementary” has collected four Emmy Awards and was renewed in March for its sixth season at ABC.

Netflix is dropping a three-part docuseries that revisits Michael Jackson’s 2005 trial in which he was acquitted on charges of child molestation.

“Michael Jackson: The Verdict” drops June 3 and features archival footage and interviews with key players involved in the trial including jurors, figures from both the defense and the prosecution, journalists who were inside the courtroom and other eyewitnesses who saw the events unfold firsthand.

“It has been 20 years since the trial of Michael Jackson in which he was found not guilty. Yet, to this day, controversy still rages,” the filmmakers said. “No cameras were allowed in court, and so the public’s view of the facts at the time were filtered by commentators and presented piecemeal. It was time to take a forensic look at the trial as a whole.

“Anyone interested in the Michael Jackson story should feel this documentary gives them a window into what was largely a closed event and a chance to feel closer to what happened.”

The Santa Barbara Superior Court trial lasted 14 weeks, and the jury, which included eight women and four men, deliberated for more than 30 hours across seven days.

Jackson was acquitted on 10 felony charges: four counts of child molestation, four counts of plying a minor with alcohol in order to molest him, one count of attempted child molestation and one count of conspiracy to hold the boy and his family captive at the Neverland Ranch. He faced more than 20 years in prison.

Produced by Candle True Stories, the production company behind Netflix’s “Untold: The Liver King,” and directed by Nick Green, “Michael Jackson: The Verdict,” comes at a time of renewed interest in the “King of Pop.”

The Jackson-estate-approved biopic “Michael” hit theaters last month, and depicts the origin story of the hitmaker from childhood through his upward trajectory to superstar status in the 1980s. Notably, the movie omitted the slew of allegations that followed Jackson from the ’90s until his death in 2009.

OLIVIA Attwood has shared a slew of snaps from a luxury countryside break, with several fans spotting a very clear sign Pete Wicks was with her.

Last week the lovebirds were spotted at Heathrow airport after Pete picked up his podcast co-host and rumoured love interest.

And lastmonth, Pete and ITV star Olivia flew to St Tropez on a secret holiday after they were spotted publicly snogging in a Soho bar.

The pair have now added fuel to the fire… literally, by sharing near-identical snaps from near-identical getaways.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday night, Olivia shared a photo dump of a very plush stay at Estelle Manor – the same place Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton headed on a secret date weekend.

Among the photos Liv shared were snaps of her rescue dogs, stunning selfies, gym workout pics, and a close up snap of a rustic fireplace.

LIV’S CHAUFFEUR

Pete Wicks breaks silence on Olivia Attwood romance and holiday

loose lips

Awkward moment Pete Wicks shuts down pal Sam after he brings up Olivia Attwood

Fans were quick to spot how not long before Liv’s dump, Pete had shared a slew of snaps himself, with one of the photos being of the exact same fireplace.

Fans rushed to the comments section to speculate that Olivia and Pete had spent time together at the stunning manor house.

“I love the subtle you & Pete posting pics of the same fire. I love you two xxx,” penned one person.

“Interesting why you would lie on your stories about being there by yourself when it looks like the same fireplace on pete’s post,” added a second.

“@p_wicks01 has @olivia_attwood stolen your dog and your pad and pen??” asked a third.

“We need more @p_wicks01 content on here @olivia_attwood . I live and breathe for this shit on the daily! please give the people what they want,” pleaded a fourth.

“Ahhh Estelle Manor!!! What a place,” offered a fifth, while a sixth said: “If it’s good enough for Kim & Lewis….”

Meanwhile, on Pete’s post, one person wrote: “Waiting for your and livs pictures together………”

The talked-about pair reportedly begun their relationship at the Brit Awards on February 28.

A source close to the pair told us at the time that they were “dating and enjoying their time together.”

Their apparent romance heated up last month as they jetted off to St Tropez for a cosy holiday.

He was also spotted at her intimate birthday dinner earlier this month as they soft launched their relationship.

In a blink and you’ll miss it moment from one of Liv’s vlogs, Pete could be seen in the reflection in a mirror, smiling as Olivia celebrated her big day with her nearest and dearest.

She split from husband Bradley Dack back in January following a “breach of trust” on his part.

Olivia moved out of the marital home and into her own apartment in London.

Laura Bayston has revealed a certain scene felt like a ‘punch in the gut’ as she portrays Kate McCann in a new drama surrounding the case of missing girl, Madeleine McCann

A brand new drama following the interrogation of Kate McCann over her missing daughter, Madeleine, in 2007 is to air on 5, and actress Laura Bayston has revealed the toughness of a particular scene.

The star portrays Kate in factual drama, Under Suspicion. The story begins three months into the search to find Madeleine. With Portuguese police showing no substantial leads, no real evidence, and having made no arrests in the hunt for the missing tot, Madeleine’s mother, Kate, is summoned for a meeting. And it’s soon apparent that she is now the one being accused.

And Laura admits that a certain scene was tough to digest. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Laura said it left her with a feeling like a “punch in the guts”.

READ MORE: Susanna Reid ‘didn’t sleep for two weeks’ after Madeleine McCann disappearanceREAD MORE: ‘I thought about Madeleine every day’ – actress speaks out on playing Kate McCann in new TV drama

She explained: “It’s the scene when Kate is presented with an offer by the police, which is to confess. As an actor having to respond to the dialog, it was very affecting, you know? In the way that it was a very claustrophobic environment.”

Laura said that while it felt very safe for her as an actor, it was “a very claustrophobic environment in terms of where we were at in the story and what was actually happening”. “And the enormity of it,” she went on.

“It was just a real, absolute, I can’t describe it any other way, it just felt like a massive punch in the guts when that was offered to Kate. It really even today it gets to me It was really shocking.”

While Laura says she was just doing a job and has taken on challenging roles previously, she admits this part will stick with her. “It’s been hard to switch off from this one,” she confessed.

“I will be honest with you, I think it sits just below the surface of my skin, and it always will. And yeah, leaves me with goose bumps thinking about it, you know. I just I think, because I was so invested in the case when it happened, because of my children.”

But she admits her decision to take on the role was not one she took lightly. She says she only did so after knowing the production was being made for the “right reasons”. “I mean it’s a big role…,” she said.

“It was emotionally challenging, but I’ve played emotionally challenging roles before.” She went on: “I think, as an actor, physicality and emotions, it all kind of becomes one thing, but to play a role like this, you have to remember that at the heart of it this is a real life case.

“This is a real woman who is still alive, who’s still with us. It’s still a story, and [you have] to be mindful of that throughout. The entirety was really important to me, and to be as respectful as possible.”

And in an emotional message to viewers, Laura wants those watching to remember “there’s always another side to the story”. She added: “You don’t always react and respond how you think you’re going to react and respond, and it seems to me there’s been a lot of knee-jerk reactions to this from day one, and people will make their opinions public, and whether we want them or not, but no one truly knows, and ultimately, you know, Madeline is still missing, and, and that’s it.

“This happened, and this is based on evidence and it’s based on the transcripts, and it was thoroughly researched, so people can take from it what they like, really, because what we’ve done is present a script as honestly as possible, as truthfully as possible.”

The drama looks at official statements and recorded testimony and depicts Kate’s interrogation, as Portuguese investigators face mounting pressure to deliver answers.

Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal in May 2007. Kate and husband Gerry McCann were cleared of any wrongdoing in 2008 after they found themselves wrongly accused of a cover up.

Kate found herself trapped between co-operation and self-preservation as she was confronted by detectives facing hours and hours of questioning.

Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, airs Wednesday 20th May, 9pm on 5