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Rhian Sugden has admitted that her and husband Oliver Mellor are spending more time apart after welcoming their miracle IVF baby.

The former glamour model, 40, told how becoming parents has put more strain on their marriage than their heartbreaking six-year battle to have a child.

Rhian and ex Coronation Street actor Oliver, 45, spent around £150,000 on eight rounds of IVF before welcoming their son George, now two, in 2024.

But while their gruelling fertility struggle brought them closer together at the time, Rhian says life as parents has left them struggling to find time for each other.

“The IVF itself made us stronger because we’d had to back each other up,” said Rhian.

“I felt guilty that I wasn’t gonna make him a dad because he’s like the best dad.

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“So I had all that guilt of, oh god, I’m not gonna be able to fulfill his dream, my dream. So, he was very good in that respect.”

However, Rhian admitted things have dramatically changed between them since George arrived.

Speaking on the Private Parts podcast this week, Rhian explained: “The thing that’s changed our marriage is having the actual child.

“Like, we’re like strangers at the minute. It’s hard. Even when we go on holiday, we’re not really getting much time alone.”

The Celebrity Big Brother alum also revealed she now sleeps in George’s bedroom because of his sleep struggles.

She said: “George just didn’t sleep as a baby, and I was like, I can’t do this. Just get him in bed. So we’ve just bought him a double bed and now I’m in George’s bedroom.”

Rhian and Oliver began dating in 2013 and tied the knot in Turkey in 2018.

Last year, Rhian publicly criticised Oliver after claiming he had gone drinking with friends while she and George were unwell – although she later insisted their marriage was fine.

The couple have spoken openly about their struggle to become parents, with Rhian undergoing eight rounds of IVF after discovering she had a very low egg count.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Rhian recalled breaking down in tears when a doctor warned her that the egg being used in her final IVF attempt was very low grade.

“I was crying on the table,” she said. “I was like, so why are we putting it in?”

But the treatment worked, leaving Rhian stunned when she discovered she was pregnant.

She recalled: “I couldn’t believe it. I still had lots of pregnancy tests even when I was like six months pregnant because I was just like every day thinking, surely not.

“You kind of set yourself up for a fail so that when it actually becomes reality, you’re like, oh no, like what happens now?”

Rhian was asked if her OnlyFans earnings had helped fund IVF and she replied: “I do more things than OnlyFans, but it definitely helped.”

Despite the challenges of parenthood, Rhian said: “I love it. I mean, [George]’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But it’s so full on.”

The one consensus about Method acting is that it’s controversial. Other than that, everything’s up for debate: What is Method acting, exactly? Do actors and audiences love it or hate it? And, perhaps most importantly, who can afford to practice the technique?

Method acting is a technique in which an actor embodies a character absolutely, usually both on- and off-camera, for months at a time (and sometimes, as in the curious case of Austin Butler’s Elvis accent, beyond the project itself).

Some actors, like those in the list below — including Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale and Robert De Niro — swear by it. But others — like Brian Cox, Toni Collette and Robert Pattinson — eschew the practice. (Collette called it “total bulls—” and “utter wankery,” and Jennifer Lawrence said that working with a Method actor would make her nervous.)

Female actors — like Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Natalie Portman, Anya Taylor-Joy and Ellen Burstyn — have pointed out that it’s a luxury they can’t afford. (“I don’t think that children or partners would be very understanding of, you know, me making everyone call me ‘Jackie Kennedy’ all the time,” Portman said about portraying the first lady.) And Black actors — like Brian Tyree Henry and Omari Hardwick — have said they wouldn’t be able to do it safely. (“I’ve never gone full Method,” Hardwick said. “I don’t want to be pulled over while ‘driving while Method.’ … I’ll get in trouble for that. That’s scarier.”)

Jeremy Strong — who plays Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Reckoning” — recently defended his commitment to Method acting. Here are some of the most extreme Method acting performances of all time.

Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy in “Succession.”

(Macall Polay / HBO)

Jeremy Strong (again)

Strong is known for his unrelenting adherence to Method acting, especially on the set of “Succession.” (“The result that Jeremy gets is always pretty tremendous,” his TV dad Cox told the New Yorker in 2021. “I just worry about what he does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through in order to prepare. … It’s a particularly American disease, I think, this inability to separate yourself off while you’re doing the job.”)

This tendency held true on the set of “The Social Reckoning” too. “He showed up walking like Mark, talking like Mark,” director Aaron Sorkin told Entertainment Weekly. “I heard crew members on set call him Mark. I never heard him use his own voice until after I called ‘cut’ on his last shot.”

“I’ll be honest, I think this isn’t just the way he likes to do it,” Sorkin added. “I think it’s the only way he knows how to do it.”

Andrew Garfield as Father Sebastião Rodrigues in “Silence.”

(Kerry Brown / Paramount Pictures)

Andrew Garfield

Then there are those who argue that the Method is misunderstood — first by actors, and subsequently by public perception.

“I’m kind of bothered by this idea that ‘Method acting is f— bulls—,’” Andrew Garfield said on the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast in 2022. “No, I don’t think you know what Method acting is if you’re calling it bulls—, or you just worked with someone who claims to be a Method actor who isn’t actually acting the Method at all. It’s also very private. I don’t want people to see the f— pipes of my toilet. I don’t want them to see how I’m making the sausage.”

Garfield employed the Method in Martin Scorsese’s 2016 historical drama “Silence,” in which he played a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit missionary who goes to Japan. He studied Catholicism with Jesuit priest James Martin, partook in the 31-day Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and denied himself food and sex.

Al Pacino as Tony Montana in “Scarface.”

(Universal Studios / Universal Pictures)

Al Pacino

On that same podcast, Garfield praised two actors known for applying the Method well and seemingly with respect — to the craft and those around them: Al Pacino, especially in “Dog Day Afternoon,” and Robert De Niro, most notably in “The Mission.”

In “Dog Day Afternoon,” Pacino played Sonny Wortzik (based on John Wojtowicz), a first-time crook whose attempt to rob First Brooklyn Savings Bank goes awry and devolves into a hostage situation. Pacino backed out of the role three times before committing (though he later won a BAFTA Award for the performance).

Producer Martin Bregman attributed this hesitancy to Pacino’s Method acting, saying this might have been a world the actor didn’t want to explore, as “no major star had ever played a gay.”

“Scarface” drug kingpin Tony Montana is also considered the pinnacle of Pacino’s Method acting. “I’ve never been that committed to a role,” he said, also on “WTF With Marc Maron.” “I mean, I was there. I said, ‘I am this guy.’”

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver.”

(Columbia Pictures)

Robert De Niro

In “The Mission,” De Niro stars as Captain Rodrigo Mendoza, a mercenary, slave trader and guest of the Spanish governor of 18th-century Paraguay. Jeremy Irons co-stars as Jesuit priest Father Gabriel, who challenges Mendoza to undergo penance.

De Niro channeled real-life tension with Irons — who he didn’t want cast for the role — into on-screen animosity between the two characters.

And then there’s “Taxi Driver” — for which he got a real New York City cab license and drove 15 hours a day for a month — and “Raging Bull” — when he trained with the boxer he portrays, Jake LaMotta, for over 1,000 rounds — making him a quintessential Method actor.

Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani in “House of Gucci.”

(Metro Goldwyn Mayer)

Lady Gaga

There are also counterexamples of the limitations Method acting often places on women and actors of color. (Theron told The Times in 2020 that, “I can’t do the Method thing. I did it once, for ‘Devil’s Advocate,’ and I was just exhausted. It was really hard to go to those deep, dark places because I was so tired.”)

Lady Gaga, though, lived as Italian socialite Patrizia Reggiani for a year and a half while working on “House of Gucci.” She spoke with a thick Italian accent for nine months, both on- and off-camera.

“I was either in my hotel room, living and speaking as Reggiani, or I was on set, living and speaking as her,” Gaga told British Vogue. “I remember I went out into Italy one day with a hat on to take a walk. I hadn’t taken a walk in about two months and I panicked. I thought I was on a movie set.”

Jared Leto as the Joker in “Suicide Squad.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Jared Leto

Jared Leto also starred in “House of Gucci,” as Paolo Gucci, who aspires to be a designer, despite his apparent lack of talent.

“He works in a very similar fashion,” director Ridley Scott told Vulture. “Once he goes in, it’s like he’s immersed, and he doesn’t come out and breathe for air until he’s finished.”

Leto is infamous for his extreme and controversial approach to the Method. As the Joker in “Suicide Squad,” he sent bizarre “gifts” — a live rat, a dead pig, bullets, anal beads and used condoms — to co-stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie to create a dynamic of “surprise and spontaneity.”

“Leto’s Joker is the latest evidence that the prestige of method acting has dimmed,” essayist Angelica Jade Bastién wrote in the Atlantic, “thanks to the technique’s overuse by those seeking award-season glory or a reputation boost, as well as its history of being shaped by destructive ideas of masculinity.”

Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker in “Joker.”

(Niko Tavernise / Warner Bros. Pictures)

Joaquin Phoenix

The Joker seems to elicit intense psychological commitment like moths to a ghastly green flame. Joaquin Phoenix didn’t quite go Method to play him in “Joker” and “Joker: Folie à Deux,” but he did shed 52 pounds for the role.

“And, as it turns out, that then affects your psychology,” Phoenix told the Daily Beast. “You start to go mad when you lose that amount of weight in that amount of time.” (Heath Ledger walked that same fine line for “The Dark Knight.”)

For his role in “The Master,” as Freddie Quell, a World War II Navy veteran struggling to adjust to a postwar society, Phoenix forced himself to talk out of one side of his mouth by asking the dentist to fasten metal brackets to his teeth.

Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in “Ray.”

(Nicola Goode / Universal Pictures)

Jamie Foxx

Taylor Hackford, the director of “Ray” — a biopic about Ray Charles — asked Jamie Foxx, who starred as the blind soul musician, to have his eyes glued shut. This was not Foxx’s idea (perhaps a key tenet of the Method), but he agreed to it.

“Imagine having your eyes glued shut for 14 hours a day,” Foxx told the New York Times. “That’s your jail sentence.” For the first two weeks of filming, the actor suffered panic attacks, until he eventually got used to the claustrophobic sensation.

Years later, on the set of “Django Unchained,” Foxx and co-star Leonardo DiCaprio discussed embracing Method acting to help both of them better handle the disturbing material. (DiCaprio plays the ruthless owner of a plantation where Foxx’s character’s wife is enslaved.)

Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass in “The Revenant.”

(Kimberley French / 20th Century Fox)

Leonardo DiCaprio

The film for which DiCaprio finally won an Oscar (after four previous lead actor nominations, plus one for supporting actor) was also his most Method approach. As fur trapper Hugh Glass in “The Revenant,” DiCaprio crawled inside of a prop horse carcass, ate raw bison liver (despite being a vegetarian) and endured freezing temperatures, his icy breath fogging up the camera lens.

Like Phoenix, DiCaprio might not be a traditional Method actor, but he comes quite close. In 2016, after his “Revenant” nom, director Agnieszka Holland — who directed DiCaprio in “Total Eclipse,” before he filmed “Romeo + Juliet” — reflected on this.

She said he has never been a classic American Method actor, instead relying on personal experience. “But he’s doing some trick which is pretty mysterious to everyone watching — frankly even for the director,” she told the BBC. “Look at him on screen and, for the moment of the shot, he really becomes the character.”

Montgomery Clift as George Eastman and Elizabeth Taylor as Angela Vickers in “A Place in the Sun.”

(Getty Images)

Montgomery Clift

And then there are the true, original Hollywood Method actors. Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando and James Dean are considered to have christened the technique in the 1950s. Even Clift, though, expressed reservations about the term when asked about it — “Method acting,” as it turns out, is a contentious phrase.

Method acting began with Russian/Soviet theatermaker Konstantin Stanislavski in the 1930s. From there, acting coach and actor Lee Strasberg — who co-founded the Group Theater — largely coined “the Method” in America. Group members Stella Adler and Sanford Meisner eventually left and rejected parts of Strasberg’s technique. All three of them approached the Method slightly differently, and became prominent acting teachers.

Clift was among the first actors invited to study in the Actors Studio with Strasberg and Elia Kazan. His role as George Eastman, the poor nephew of a rich industrialist, in “A Place in the Sun” is considered a landmark Method acting performance.

Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

(Cineclassico / Alamy / Warner Bros. Pictures)

Marlon Brando

Clift and Brando were both contemporaries and, at times, acting rivals. But Brando was so moved by Clift’s performance in “A Place in the Sun” that he voted for him to win the 1952 Academy Award for lead actor — Clift, meanwhile, voted for Brando to win for his role as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” the same year. (Humphrey Bogart ended up victorious for his role as Charlie Allnut in “The African Queen.”)

“A Streetcar Named Desire” — both the original 1947 Broadway production and the 1951 film adaptation — was directed by Actors Studio co-founder Kazan. Brando also starred in both versions, and, though his performance was temperamental, Kazan said: “Marlon was living on stage. … A performance miracle was in the making. What was there to do but be grateful?”

James Dean as Cal Trask and Julie Harris as Abra Bacon in “East of Eden.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

James Dean

James Dean only got the chance to star in three films — “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” — before he died at 24, and the latter two were released after his death. Prior to all three, though, he also studied at the Actors Studio under Strasberg.

In “East of Eden,” also directed by Kazan, Dean played the wayward young man Cal Trask, who competes against his (favored) twin brother (played by Richard Davalos) for the affection of their pious father. Dean had a turbulent relationship with his own father, and his mother died when he was 9. (The Trask brothers’ mother is ostensibly dead too.)

“One of the things that made [Dean] noticed,” actor Martin Landau told PBS, “was his vulnerability. He understood a mother he didn’t have. … ‘East of Eden’ was like a chance to meet his mother again, if one accepts that.”

Ruth McCabe as Mary and Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown in “My Left Foot.”

(Miramax)

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis is perhaps the closest contemporary follower in Clift, Brando and Dean‘s footsteps. He has won a record three Academy Awards for lead actor, including in 1990 for his iconic performance as Irish writer and painter Christy Brown in “My Left Foot.” (Day-Lewis beat out Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July,” Morgan Freeman in “Driving Miss Daisy” and Robin Williams in “Dead Poets Society.”)

Brown, who was born with severe cerebral palsy, could not walk or talk, was wheelchair-bound and only had control of his left foot, which he used to paint and write. Day-Lewis refused to stand between takes, remaining in his wheelchair, and made production assistants feed him by hand. He is now renowned for his Method acting, grueling process and devotion to his roles.

Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik in “The Machinist.”

(Paramount Classics)

Christian Bale

Another Method actor who rejects the label, Christian Bale is oft-associated with extreme physical transformations and intense focus onset, including in “American Psycho” as serial killer Patrick Bateman and in “The Machinist” as sleepless industrial worker Trevor Reznik.

Bale lost more than 50 pounds in four months to play the machinist, paranoid and deluded after being unable to sleep for a year. Bale’s daily diet consisted of black coffee, an apple and a tin of tuna.

But in 2011, Bale told the Mirror: “At the end of the day, I’m faking it. Pure imagination. I never took any classes, I just go, ‘I better wing this one and make it up!’ Everybody talks about the process too much. The interesting thing about a movie is the movie.”

Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in “Elvis.”

(Warner Bros. Picture / Warner Bros. Pictures / AP)

Austin Butler

Eight months after “Elvis” hit theaters in June 2022, Austin Butler — who starred as the King of Rock and Roll — said he would finally drop Presley’s deep Southern twang. (That came after fans noticed the Elvis accent creeping in during his Golden Globes acceptance speech, “Saturday Night Live” monologue and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” guest spot.)

“It’s funny to me because I don’t even think about it,” Butler told The Times after his Oscar nomination for the role. “I guess after three years of doing everything that I could to focus on this one goal of trying to bring life to Elvis in this film, I think that there’s certain muscular habits that must pop up.”

Once again, though, Butler wouldn’t use the term to describe himself. “I never have used the word ‘Method,’” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “I think that word gets thrown around a lot. It’s a very misunderstood thing that isn’t really what I do. … It’s more that I just like to immerse myself.”

The minuscule yet distinctly humanoid figure of a fairy flaps its wings as it flies into the ancient ruins of a bygone kingdom. Guiding a young heroine to meet a mysterious faun, for a moment, the fantastical creature looks as though it might cross the threshold of the screen.

It is in that instant that Guillermo del Toro — wearing 3D glasses while sitting at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ imposing David Geffen Theater for a tech check — chuckles with pride as if to say, “Look at that.” Later that night, almost 1,000 fans were transported into his entrancing 2006 masterwork, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” (a.k.a. “El Laberinto del Fauno”) at the premiere of the new 3D version.

Back in theaters across the country on Friday (which is also Del Toro’s 62nd birthday), “Pan’s Labyrinth” is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new 4K restoration, available in both 2D and in the aforementioned 3D transfer that Del Toro himself oversaw.

Doug Jones, left, plays the faun that beckons to Ofelia, right, played by Ivana Baquero in “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

(Scott A. Garfitt / Andreea Alexandru / Invision / AP)

As brutal as it is spellbinding, the Mexican filmmaker’s modern classic unfolds during the Spanish Civil War — more precisely, in 1944 — as young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her pregnant mother move into the camp run by the ruthless Capt. Vidal (Sergi López).

Amid the bloodshed, Ofelia discovers an underworld of magical entities, including the alluring faun (Doug Jones), who convinces her that she is a princess who must reclaim her royal status.

By winning three Academy Awards and being nominated for two more — one for Del Toro’s screenplay, the other for foreign language film, representing Mexico — “Pan’s Labyrinth” signified an artistic watershed moment in Del Toro’s career. These accolades came after he directed two comic-book adaptations for Hollywood studios: “Blade II” and “Hellboy.”

Beyond the recognition, the experience felt spiritually transformative for the Guadalajara native; not the least because of the hurdles he overcame to bring it to fruition.

“‘Pan’s’ marks a big divide in what I did before and what I did after. I became invested in a different way in filmmaking,” Del Toro tells me. “I don’t know how to describe it, but filmmaking became a religion, as opposed to something that I could do. It fused with me.”

Though the film is now regarded as one of the greatest works of the 21st century, when Del Toro set out to make it, the industry was not receptive to his ideas.

“Everything I thought I wanted to say about war in ‘Devil’s Backbone’ seemed obsolete, because we had gone through 9/11 and the world had changed,” Del Toro recalls. “I didn’t want to do an American movie. I was being offered a lot of comic- book movies and said, ‘I got to do a companion piece for “Devil’s Backbone” no matter what.’ But nobody wanted to do the movie.”

One key objection was the mature tone of the narrative, in which the child protagonist is directly confronted and endangered by the evils derived from fascist ideologies.

“They said, ‘If it’s a fairy tale then it should be a family movie,’ because I’d been offered ‘Narnia’ a year before by [former Walden Media chief executive] Cary Granat,” Del Toro tells me.

“He said, ‘Why don’t you do ‘Narnia’?’ And I said, ‘Because I want to do my own version of a fairy tale where the lion doesn’t resurrect and it’s about a pitiless world against a boundless imagination.’”

Del Toro’s interest in stories where the woes of children are taken seriously was spurred by ‘Los Olvidados,’ Luis Buñuel’s classic from 1950, about a group of neglected children surviving a harsh reality in the streets of Mexico City.

“When I saw ‘Los Olvidados,’ I was in my early teens,” says Del Toro. “I thought every time somebody told a story about a child that was unsentimental and that was a little brutal — it could be ‘The Spirit of the Beehive’ or ‘Los Olvidados’ or ‘The Red Balloon’ or even Bobby Driscoll in ‘The Window’ — whenever you saw a child in real danger, a child in jeopardy, a child in moral dilemma, like ‘The Fallen Idol,’ I really was transported.”

Children, Del Toro believes, are often invisible to adults. They are “cartoons” in the eyes of “regular adults.” Thus, when his mother started reading child psychology books to better understand a young Del Toro, he read them as well, so that he could try to manipulate her.

Del Toro laughs mischievously as he remembers his antics. “I would do exactly what the book said, and I realized I could work within that preconception and make my grandma buy me horror comic books or make my mom allow me to miss school,” Del Tor recalls. “Ofelia is very strong. That was the point of the movie for me. I wanted to see the clash of wills between a young kid and a fascist captain, and I wanted to see the kid win.”

(Teresa Isasi / Picturehouse)

Del Toro’s mother, Guadalupe, died in 2022. But she lives on in cinema, thanks to the 1985 landmark queer Mexican film “Doña Herlinda and Her Son,” by director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, where she played the titular Doña Herlinda.

And if you look closely, you’ll also find Del Toro in the movie, which was filmed in Guadalajara.

“I have a cameo with my ex-wife in it. Lorenza. She’s the receptionist and I appear dancing in Chapala, but I’m super thin, so you can never recognize me,” he says. “I’m dancing with a girl that I liked, but I was already in the throes of dating the one who became my wife, Lorenza.”

Then there was the question of the picture’s language. Del Toro wouldn’t waver on making “Pan’s Labyrinth” in Spanish.

“Many of them said, ‘We’ll do it if you do it in English — set in Spain, same ending, the girl dies, no problem, but in English.’ And I said, ‘I can’t. It’s not true to the movie.’ I’m not saying you can never do that, but it’s always this ‘Zorro’ thing like, ‘Are you in a hurry, señor?’ or ‘Come to the hacienda,’” he says, doing a funny, exaggerated accent on the Spanish words.

“If you’re trying to contrast reality versus fantasy, the reality has to be in its language, in its location,” Del Toro adds, emphasizing his resolve to make the movie in his native tongue. “I thought, ‘This is about the reality clashing with the fantasy. I have to make the reality stylized, but I don’t want to do it in English, because then everything is a construct. Everything is just an idea.’”

In 2026, the film’s bilingual appeal is a major component of the marketing strategy that Cineverse — the entertainment company that Del Toro approached to handle the restoration and rerelease of “Pan’s Labyrinth” — is implementing to reach audiences across the country.

“A lot of our messages are in English and in Spanish. The messaging around the making of the 3D — Guillermo likes to say ‘F— AI,’ but we positioned it as ‘Made for humans, for humans. Hecho por humanos, para humanos,’” says Yolanda Macias, chief motion pictures officer at Cineverse. “That’s a really strong message that has resonated with our fans.”

A Mexican American woman whose parents emigrated from Jalisco, Macias sees “Pan’s Labyrinth” as a timeless movie that’s as relevant today as it was two decades ago.

“We are not ignoring a very important segment of the audience, which is the Latino population who have always, in my experience, shown an interest in creators from Mexico or from Latin America,” Macias says. “And we are so proud of Guillermo for being that person for this audience.”

When first envisioning “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Del Toro found himself grappling with existential concerns related to the meaning and relevance of what each person leaves behind when they are gone. Can anything we mortals create stand the test of time? Does it matter?

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“One of the things I was going through was I thought, ‘Is making movies worth it? You give them years and years and years, and then they just move down the current into the oblivion of the culture,’” Del Toro says. “A central theme in the film is, ‘Can we give our lives to something that doesn’t change the world?’ That’s why the movie ends with a little flower blooming in a dried tree. That’s all that is left of her story in the real world.”

His films will one day too become flowers left not only as proof of his time on earth, but perhaps as messages for those to come who have the sensibility to appreciate them.

“You can say, ‘Ofelia lived in the other kingdom,’ but in the real world, there’s only one tiny flower. And that’s why it says, ‘For those that know where to look.’ Because that’s what we do as filmmakers. When you ‘discover’ a filmmaker, you say, ‘I discovered this guy Fellini.’ Well, he’s been there for a while, but sure. Or you discover Miyazaki or Mamoru Oshii … They’re continents, but they are only in maps that are very secret. I like that image.”

So long as they are found, Del Toro doesn’t worry that much about how people encounter them.

“[Films] live on to a certain degree. Like when we were shooting ‘Frankenstein,’ I said, ‘We will live forever in the Netflix queue,’” he recalls, trying not to laugh. “Theatrical is the best. There’s no comparison. But I remember my childhood, I saw all the Universal monster movies on TV, and they were monumentally important for me. There’s something to be said about accessibility that is also important.”

I agree with him — and mention that some of the most revelatory movie-watching experiences for me as a young cinephile happened thanks to bootleg DVDs, which I would buy as a teen in Mexico City.

“I love the pirate DVDs in Mexico,” says Del Toro with a laugh. “I’ll tell you a little story: We went to promote ‘Hellboy’ in Mexico City, and we were having coffee. A guy came in and said, ‘You want to buy movies?’ And he had ‘Hellboy’ already, opening week … and it didn’t have a cover either!”

Another distinction that “Pan’s Labyrinth” holds is that it was the last film in Spanish that Del Toro directed. But that could change, he says; he still has another project he’d like to make in Mexico.

“I actually have an idea that I would love to shoot, but I want to make it a drama. I don’t want to make it a fantasy movie,” he explains. “I have a great story that I want to shoot one day. It’s a kidnapping scene from three points of view. The victim, the people doing the pickup, and another component that I will not reveal.” (Del Toro’s late father, Federico, was famously kidnapped in Guadalajara in the late 1990s.)

The thought of Del Toro making another Mexican film in the future, reminded me that the original screenplay for his period ghost story, “The Devil’s Backbone,” was set in Mexico, but a lack of funding forced him to shift the production to Spain, with the help of Pedro Almodóvar’s company El Deseo.

“It was about a traveling circus during the [Mexican] revolution with a mother, a father and a boy. It was full of jarred fetuses. The boy was a clown, and the father was a magician. I was trying to do Bergman’s ‘Hour of the Wolf’ or ‘The Magician’ — modest but creepy,” he explains. “But it was very different. I had the orphanage, I had the legend of the fetuses and a ghost; and I had the devil live in the monastery.”

In any language, Del Toro is a fierce advocate against the use of generative AI in artistic creation. He believes that anything touched by humans has a better chance to endure. The love audiences still hold for “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a testament to this sentiment.

“[Pan’s Labyrinth”] is very truthful to who I was. And whenever you are able to be truthful, people feel that it matters to you,” Del Toro says. “And when you think it matters to someone, you cherish it.”

Like many buff-bodied Traitors hunks before him… Tom Daley… Freddie Fraser… James Blunt stepped up to take on the pensive shower cutaway scene in this year’s series.

Viewers were left in hysterics by James’ take – nipples out, thoughtfully scrubbing himself in a very awkward manner and donning a shower cap – all while puzzling over whether he’d be next for murder.

Fans took to X to share their excitement at the scenes.

“Not James Blunt in the shower!!!” cried one.

Others soon chimed in:

“James Blunt with a shower cap and huge brush was just not on my 2026 bingo card.”

“Can only assume that James Blunt is taking his first ever shower and is more of a bath man.”

“All of these shower scenes from previous seasons have nothing on James Blunt and his haircap and scrubber.”

Fans are hoping it doesn’t mean the end for the British Army Captain. In last year’s Celebrity edition, poor Tom Daley was murdered hours after he stripped off.

If we’ve learned anything it’s that you can be too squeaky clean when it comes to the Traitors.

KATHERINE Ryan couldn’t resist taking a cheeky pop at David Beckham as she joked about being “cancelled” by the BBC after her rude slur about his wife Victoria.

Last month it was revealed that the broadcaster had upheld complaints after she made the offensive joke about Posh Spice while hosting an episode of Have I Got News For You last year.

Two weeks ago, Katherine issued an online apology to Victoria, 52, after the ruling by the BBC‘s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU).

Raising the controversy during a stand-up gig in Chelsea, London, last night, the 43-year-old declared her love for Victoria Beckham while making a sly joke about her famous footballer hubby.

“I have been cancelled by the BBC for allegedly calling Victoria Beckham the C word,” she said.

“Or as David Beckham knows it – the K word, because bless him the alphabet is hard,” prompting laughter from the audience.

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Katherine Ryan apologises to Victoria Beckham after slur pulled off iPlayer

“But I actually did not do that, I actually love Victoria Beckham.”

Speaking in an episode that aired on November 7 in 2025, Katherine made reference to a 2013 private email sent by David Beckham, where he allegedly used the word ‘c***’.

She said on the show: “I don’t know that we are allowed to broadcast the C-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier and we’ll allow that.”

The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit said “there was no such justification” for the comment which two viewers had complained was “gratuitously offensive”.

They added that the word was justified in relation to David’s alleged use of it, but not in reference to his wife.

Now an edited version of the episode has replaced the original on the BBC’s streaming service.

Katherine Ryan publicly apologised to Victoria in an Instagram reel where she shared a screenshot of her message to the fashion designer.

“Hi I’m comedian Katherine Ryan and today the BBC announced their decision to uphold a complaint made by two very influential viewers about a joke that I tried to make on an episode of Have I Got News For You eleven months ago,” she began.

“At that time, though there is no defence, I was suffering from a condition called matrescence.

“I was in that building with a 10-day old baby. Should I have left the house?

“This is gonna be a tough one for the feminists because I was a woman going to work but I did call another woman a c***.

“Sometimes I forget that celebrities are not my friends. If I had called Jimmy Carr a c***, he wouldn’t have minded.

“Joanne McNally, c***, she wouldn’t have minded but this was described by the BBC as a slur.

“As though c**** are part of a protected group,” Katherine said in her trademark sarcastic way.

“The trouble is now that section’s been taken off iPlayer so the incident only exists in printed media, online media and then you lost the context because on the day, if you watched it, it was clearly a joke and the whole audience went ‘huhhhh’ and I said ‘whoaaaa’.”

She then plugged her new book before adding: “I love Victoria Beckham so much that I actually included her in one of my celebrity firstborn daughter chapters.

“I’d like to read you that now whilst remaining very sorry.”

In her apologise message to Victoria shown on screen, Katherine told her it was a “throwaway” comment and that she immediately expressed her love for her after, making it clear it was a “stupid joke”.

AMERICAN actress Jessica Chastain looked sensational on the red carpet for “the scariest of the year” horror movie that gave fans “panic attacks in the cinema.”

The 49-year-old posed for the cameras at the Los Angeles premiere of Other Mommy yesterday.

Jessica looked incredible as she flashed her long legs in a green silk mini dress.

She exuded effortless Hollywood glamour; looking world’s away from her terrifying character.

The film star had her blonde locks styled in a curly bob and accessorised her dress with a pair of strappy silver Louboutin heels.

Jessica was snapped beaming as she waved at her fans.

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In Other Mommy, Jessica stars in a dual role as normal mother Ursula and the sinister supernatural force using her appearance as a disguise.

The villainous entity is targeting Bela, played by Arabella Olivia Clark, Ursula’s young daughter.

Fans were left traumatised by the trailer of the film and took to social media to discuss their reactions.

One fan remarked: “Whoever decided to air this trailer right before The Odyssey started is a f*****g d******d.

“Thought it was an ice cream commercial. Next thing you know I’m having a panic attack in my seat.”

“That scene when she’s under table made my entire theater jump,” wrote another fan.

A third commented: “The theater played a trailer for this movie Other Mommy before the odyssey and there’s a jump scare it in that I’m still thinking about and it should be illegal.”

Other Mommy comes out in cinemas across the UK today.

80s rock legends rushed Deen Castronovo offstage mid-set after he suffered a medical emergency during gig on Thursday night.

The 62-year-old, who is the drummer for rock band Journey, had performed just two songs before he was rushed off stage at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

According to Tulsa World, keyboardist Jonathan Cain made the crowd aware of the situation after performing their tunes Be Good To Yourself and Stone in Love.

He said to fans: “We’re going to see what happens as this progresses.

“It’s an unfortunate situation. We’re very sorry. We’re hoping it’s only a delay, but please — I’m sorry. Don’t worry.

“Have your prayers ready. Have your prayers ready for Deen Castronovo, everybody. Thank you.”

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Guitarist Neal Schon later returned and told the crowd that their band mate had been taken to hospital.

And according to Rolling Stone, when the group got back to performing, he told fans: “This concert is for Deen.

“I think he’s going to be fine.”

Journey has not addressed what has happened on social media.

The Sun has contacted the band’s representative for comment.

The band were performing as part of their Final Frontier Tour across North America when it happened.

Journey are set to return to the stage in San Antonio tomorrow night for one of their remaining shows.

Their tour is set to wrap up at the beginning of November.

The group currently consists of Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Deen Castronovo, Arnel Pineda, Jason Derlatka and Todd Jensen.

Journey was formed back in 1973 until 1987.

They reunited in 1995 and have been together ever since.

Some of the their best songs include Don’t Stop Believin’, Separate Ways, Faithfully and Open Arms.

CELEBRITY Big Brother’s Chloe Khan has revealed that her designer clothes have been stolen.

The reality star, 35, is now begging fans for help to find her stolen possessions and has even offered a £10k reward.

Sharing snaps of the items that are now missing, Chloe made a plea to her fans and friends.

In the photos there were designer shoes from Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel jeans, Gucci miniskirts, Fendi outfits, Louis Vuitton bikinis and a selection of high end designer bags.

Over the top of the snaps, Chloe penned: “STOLEN. PLEASE SHARE. £10,000 reward for discreet valuable information.”

In the caption of her post she added: “EVERYTHING I OWN HAS BEEN STOLEN . PLEASE SHARE AND MAKE THEM TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

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“In the early hours of 2nd of October. In Tring, Hertfordshire. I really didn’t want to post this and have been trying to deal with this for a week privately but I need the internets help.

“Will explain everything in a separate post. But someone must have been offered them by now. My boyfriend kindly put a £10,000.00 reward for someone who can give us valuable information/ been offered them / knows who did it.”

She continued: “And the information you give me will be discreet and undisclosed. If you see anyone in my stuff online please tag me / forward to me . It’s possible they bought and did not know it’s stolen.

“There is so so much more stuff then the photos but basically every designer item I have ever posted with has been taken.”

Fans flocked to the comment section to support Chloe in her hour of need.

One person wrote: “This is just absolutely awful and terrifying! I’m so sorry you’re going through this beautiful girl, sending you love and I hope you get your possessions back!”

“So awful you can’t have anything nice these days sad world we live in I hope you find out who did it and get your things back. Sending lots of love,” said a second.

“Posting expensive clothes and bags etc unfortunately makes people a target, I would be looking at your inner circle to be honest,” wrote a third.

Back in March, Chloe claimed a gang attempted to steal her dog and jewellery in a terrifying tube mugging as she said “I thought I’d get stabbed.”

Taking to social media in the spring, she told fans she was travelling back from Manchester to London.

When she arrived at Euston, she decided to jump on the tube instead of sitting in the back of an Uber for half an hour.

She explained in a TikTok video that a “gang” of men got on the tube a few stops after her.

The star told how the men were trying to touch her dog, Dior, and attempted to talk to her.

Chloe said: “I was trying to turn away from them [the men]even though they were sitting right opposite me.

“I’ve got her [the dog] in my arms, my LV case and LV bag and stuff because I’ve been travelling. I clung onto them because I felt like something weird was gonna happen.

“I felt like I was gonna get stabbed or something weird was gonna happen.”

NEW DELHI — Nana Patekar, an acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker, died Thursday at his home in the western state of Goa. He was 75.

Patekar died of a suspected cardiac arrest, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing a doctor at the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Born in 1951 in India’s western state of Maharashtra, Patekar built a career spanning nearly five decades in Hindi- and Marathi-language cinema. He was known for intense performances and roles that often portrayed complex or unconventional characters.

Patekar made his film debut in the 1978 Hindi film “Gaman” and later earned acclaim for “Parinda” and “Krantiveer.” Patekar became popular in mainstream Bollywood films, while also working in India’s “parallel cinema” movement, known for its focus on realism and social issues. He gained wider international recognition with filmmaker Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated “Salaam Bombay!”

He won three National Film Awards, India’s highest film honors, and received the Padma Shri, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

In 2018, during India’s #MeToo movement, a Bollywood actress accused Patekar of sexual harassment on a film set. Patekar denied the allegation. The case was among several that drew attention as women publicly spoke about sexual misconduct in India’s film industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned Patekar’s death, praising his “intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence” as an actor.

“He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations,” Modi wrote on X.

Patekar is survived by his wife and son.

Michael Kearns, a trailblazing AIDS activist and author credited as the first out gay actor, has died. He was 76.

Filmmaker and professor Roland Palencia confirmed the actor’s death on social media, writing that Kearns had died Monday evening after feeling unwell and calling the paramedics on Sunday. Palencia said that the actor had been in and out of emergency rooms more than five times in the last few months.

“Michael Kearns was a friend, mentor, neighbor, and my movie buddy,” Palencia wrote. “For the past year, we watched an average of a movie a month. Our favorite theater was the Vista Theater in Los Feliz, with a larger-than-life screen and within walking distance of where we both lived. Our favorite film this year was ‘The History of Sound.’

“It is a strange feeling to know we will not see the living Michael again, who spoke in hyperbolic, superlative tones. For him, nothing in life was small enough; everything had magnified significance. He himself and his legacy are larger than life,” he continued. “I will miss him deeply. Our next movie was going to be ‘La Bola Negra,’ a film based on Federico García Lorca’s first openly gay play, the Spanish playwright [was] killed in 1936 by the fascist Francisco Franco army. Michael was our Los Angeles García Lorca.”

Born Jan. 8, 1950, and raised in St. Louis, Kearns felt odd from an early age.

“I couldn’t throw a ball particularly well. I didn’t excel in sports,” he told talk show host Sheila Kuehl during a 1998 appearance on “Get Used to It.”

“But one day I was put in the school play, and I excelled. Suddenly I realized I could entertain, and from that moment on it was just like this realization, ‘Oh my God, here is something that I can do, I have found it,’ and I was only 8 years old. From that moment on, to this very moment, I’ve never ever veered from that path.”

Kearns realized along the way that his path to stardom wouldn’t be so simple. He had initially been drawn to the theater as a means to escape his home life, and himself, but he ultimately found the craft inspired the opposite: “As I got into my 20s, coinciding with an awakening of other areas of my life — spiritual, sexuality — I found that the theater and being an actor was more of a way to truly connect with who I was as a person,” he told Kuehl.

Around this time, Kearns made his way to Chicago, where he studied acting at the original Goodman School of Drama, which became the Theatre School at DePaul University, and graduated in 1972. It was here that Kearns got his first taste of casting bias, and realized that he was facing a real dilemma: Did he want to be gay or did he want to become a commercially successful actor?

“In spite of the fact that most of the teachers were gay or lesbian, they had that Hollywood philosophy that if they knew you to be a homosexual, you were not as eligible to play heterosexuals,” he continued. “By that point I was out, out, out. I mean, there was no way I was going to alter my offstage behavior to please anyone.”

Kearns acted across film and television from the 1970s through the aughts, including roles in “Body Double,” “Nine Lives,” “Street Asylum” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” During an era when it could be dangerous to be queer, the actor was out, and in 1991, he made television history when he shared that he was HIV positive on NBC’s “A Closer Look,” and the next day, “Entertainment Tonight.” The following year, he appeared on a segment of ABC’s dramedy series “Life Goes On” and played a character with HIV.

In 1975, Kearns used his acting chops to pull off a literary stunt in which he posed, both in nude photographs and in extensive interviews, as author Grant Tracy Saxon, a pen name for TV writer Thom Racina who penned “The Happy Hustler,” a faux memoir (it was actually fictionalized erotica) about a high-priced male sex worker. Years later, Kearns became an author himself and published five theater books including “T-Cells & Sympathy” and “Acting = Life,” which were nominated for Lambda Literary Awards.

The actor’s first major theater role in Los Angeles was in Tom Eyen’s comedy “The Dirtiest Show in Town” in 1972. Perhaps his most celebrated performance was playing the title role in Charles Ludlam’s “Camille” at Highways Performance Space in 1993. He also acted in James Carroll Pickett’s “Dream Man,” in 1985 and toured with the production internationally.

Kearns, who considered himself “a political creature as well as an actor,” also garnered acclaim for his solo theater works, which were inspired by the AIDS epidemic and his grief surrounding the too-frequent death of his friends. “Intimacies” and “More Intimacies,” in which he played a dozen diverse characters with AIDS, as well as solo pieces “Rock” and “Going In: Once Upon a Time in South Africa,” made Kearns feel that he had found new purpose and depth in his work.

“Somewhere in that time, I became an artist,” Kearns told The Times in 1994. “Whatever that pain, that loss, that tragedy was, I managed to spin it like an alchemist into something passionate. And it’s been increasingly so since.”

In 1992, he married his husband, Philip Juwig, who died the same year. Bereft, Kearns spent three years thinking, “What now?” and kept coming back to the same thing: He wanted to be a dad. In 1995 he adopted a baby girl, Tia Katherine Kearns, whom he named after his grandmother.

In 2017, he interviewed his daughter for the summer issue of Honeysuckle Magazine about her identity as a Black woman, her work as an artist and her unique upbringing. She said that she attended a progressive school and didn’t feel judged, noting, “they doted on my dad because he had a skill set that other dads didn’t; for school fundraisers; he could climb a ladder and decorate with panache.”

Later in the interview, she revealed that she had her dad’s passion for political activism.

“I think my political consciousness was formed early on,” she said. “I think it would have been impossible for me not to have an awareness of the world and political climate with a dad who is an openly gay actor and activist. Your openness and courage forced me to be honest with myself and the world I live in.”

Kearns gushed in a 2015 interview that his dream creative collaboration would be directing a project written by his daughter that explored race.

In the last couple of decades, the social justice crusader worked with Angelenos to develop their own voices through writing workshops. He also served as an artistic associate at the Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles, artist-in-residence at Housing Works, and artistic director of QueerWise, a Spoken Word collective he founded in 2012.

Kearns was widely recognized for his work, including the Robert Chesley Playwrighting Award (2005), honoring lifetime achievement in LGBTQ+ theater, and a COLA Fellowship (2005) from the city of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department to fund major new creative works. His acting career was highlighted by a Drama-Logue Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award nomination for his lead role in “Camille.” Additionally, his national advocacy earned him the Victory Award (1999) from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, alongside honors from the ACLU of Southern California (1987).

Kearns is survived by his daughter.

Anne Carson, the Canadian poet, essayist, professor of classics and translator, has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in literature.

The prize, announced at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday, awarded Carson “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.” Carson is the 19th woman to win.

Among Carson’s myriad acclaimed works are her novel in verse “Autobiography of Red” and its sequel, “Red Doc>”; her seminal book of literary criticism, “Eros the Bittersweet”; poetry collections such as “Glass, Irony, and God” — which contains “The Glass Essay” — and the T.S. Eliot Prize-winning collection of narrative poetry “The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos”; her haunting accordion-fold elegy, “Nox”; and her widely praised translation of Sappho’s surviving fragments, “If Not, Winter.”

“In 1981, she published her doctoral thesis in classics, and has throughout her entire career, combined poetry writing with translation work and teaching at various universities,” said Anders Olsson, who serves as the chair of the Nobel Committee for Literature at the Swedish Academy, and presented the laureate. “Almost all her literary production has centered upon the intersection between the philologist’s obsession with words and the poet’s desire for new meaning.

“Throughout her entire authorship, Carson, with a light touch, explores the possibilities of writing, a process by which the literary sketch has become of particular value for her. In her collaborations with visual artists and choreographers, and with opera and theater directors, she has crossed over into various artistic fields, which has lent her writing a strongly performative aspect,” Olsson continued. “This demonstrates the freedom with which she relates to literary expectations and rule systems, which in turn lies behind the outstanding importance her work since the 1990s has had for the international art and literature scene.”

Nobel committee member Steve Sem-Sandberg said Carson is “an author for our time,” unique in her skill at connecting contemporary ways of living through antiquity. Sem-Sandberg marveled at Carson’s use of the myths, characters, stories and fables from that time, and the way she puts them into a modern context. “The mixture between those two gives an enormous energy to her writing,” he said. “Nobody writes like her, and nobody would even, I think, dare to do this in this way.”

Carson was sipping tea and eating crackers at her seaside home in Iceland — she also resides in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she teaches — after she got the big news. She said she was thinking of ways to give the 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million) award away. “We have a friend who needs a house, and we always give a lot to Doctors Without Borders,” she said. She also planned to celebrate by taking a walk through the woods and turning off the phone.

Carson’s initial reaction was surprise. “Who would expect it? For heaven’s sake!”

The latest episode of the ITV2 programme featured an error that viewers couldn’t ignore

Big Brother viewers have spotted the same error just minutes into the latest episode of the ITV2 programme.

The reality competition returned to screens on Thursday night (October 8), with the housemates still residing in the House of Revelations. The twist is all about exposing secrets in the house, including housemates’ true feelings about each other.

Viewers were ready to tune into the next revealing challenge in tonight’s episode, but they were left distracted by Rochelle’s comment just minutes in. During a conversation with newcomer Twinks, the housewife earnestly asked: “Who was the feminist that ran in the streets, Betty Boop, or something?”

Rochelle went on to add: “She ran on the race course, didn’t she? And got run over.” The other housemates within earshot quickly jumped in to correct her but their replies weren’t especially helpful.

Twinks responded: “Betty Boop’s a cartoon with the big head,” before adding that “Emily Pankhurst” was the feminist who tragically died after being hit by King George V’s horse in 1913.

While Emmeline Pankhurst was the woman who fronted the British suffragette movement, she wasn’t the person who walked onto the race course. That was actually fellow suffragette Emily Davison.

Viewers quickly spotted Twinks’ error and gathered on social media correct her. One X user posted: “for the record, neither Betty Boop nor Emeline Pankhurst ran in front of the horse, it was Emily Davison #bbuk.” A second rightfully questioned: “Wasn’t it Emily Davidson, not Pankhurst who threw herself under the horse? #bbuk.”

Someone else said: “Eye is twitching at Emily Davison being referred to as both Betty Boop and Emmeline Pankhurst. Bless Twinks for incorrectly correcting Rochelle, Pankhurst was closer but they are different people my love #BBUK

While a third eagle-eyed fan chimed in with: “Slight ding for Twinks there. It was Emily Davison who ran in front of the race track horse at the Derby. Emmeline Pankhurst was the leader of the suffragettes. Know your history if you plan to educate! #BBUK”

But this small mishap is unlikely to sway public opinion on Twinks, who is currently the frontrunner to win the show according to recent odds.

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It comes just hours before the house is set to face its next live eviction following brutal face-to-face nominations earlier this week.

Pauline is up for elimination after receiving five nominations from Lynx, Philip, Rhianna, Rochelle and Catrin. And Rob will join her, having received six nominations from Frankie, Lynx, Omar, Philip, Rhianna and Yasmin.

Viewers are being asked to vote for the housemate they wish to evict. Friday night (October 9) will see the next eviction and the evictee’s first live interview with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best.

Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX

KATIE Price told social services she feared her then husband Kieran Hayler had groomed and sexually abused his alleged child rape victim, a court has heard.

The 39-year-old is accused of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against the girl between June and October 2016, when she was 13.

Katie told a social worker in 2018 that Hayler, 39, had been grooming the girl since she was 13 in a list of agreed facts read in Lewes Crown Court yesterday.

She alleged that Hayler had been grabbing the teen’s bottom, trying to kiss her and said he was falling in love with the girl, jurors heard.

The social worker then informed Sussex Police about the allegations.

Authorities contacted the mother soon after but she told police her daughter did not want to talk about it or take the allegations any further.

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Defence barrister Arlette Piercy asked the mother if she had betrayed her daughter’s trust by going to Katie Price with her allegations in 2017 – nearly a year before she reported them to social services.

She asked: “You said you felt you had to tell Katie Price. “You went behind your daughter’s back?

The mum – who cannot be named for legal reasons – responded: “Yes, she probably didn’t want anyone to ever know.

“It probably did cause arguments. We did have a big fall out.”

Asked if the girl was “OK” about her telling Ms Price, the mum said: “No, she wasn’t OK about it.

“But I said to (the girl) because the marriage situation (with Kieran) had broken down, it was only fair that I let Katie know.”

The child told her mum that Hayler had “done everything” to her during a conversation in 2017 – almost a year after his last alleged attack, jurors were told.

The woman then informed former glamour model and mum-of-five Ms Price, 48, weeks after she was told.

Speaking about when she told Ms Price, the woman said she told her: “I think Kieran has done something to (the girl).”

She told the court: “She was shocked and probably swore.”

The mum said she felt “like I have to” tell Ms Price, who was having marriage problems with Hayler at the time.

She added: “She was quite angry and I didn’t feel that she was particularly upset for (the girl).

“I just felt that she was angry and feeling revengeful towards Kieran for the situation they were in.

“And she said, ‘Well, you could get him into trouble if you told somebody’.”

The woman – who said her daughter did not want to tell authorities about the allegations – continued: “I said we have to respect her wishes, she doesn’t want anybody to know, we have to just look after (the girl).”

The girl – now aged in her 20s – denied making up the claims and became emotional, leaving the courtroom at one point as she faced questions from Hayler’s legal team.

The court was shown a video of her police interview from 2021 where she recalled the alleged abuse, sobbing as she said “I thought it was my fault for ages”.

Jurors previously heard Hayler allegedly begged the girl to not tell anyone and told her to “take it to the grave”.

The court also heard previously that before the first alleged rape, Hayler told the schoolgirl he really liked her and began speaking to her about sex – he is accused of raping the girl again on two further occasions.

The girl, who is not a member of Hayler or Katie’s family, contacted the NSPCC in December 2021 when she was aged 18, which prompted an investigation, it was said.

Former stripper Hayler denies all the allegations, which are said to have happened at an address in West Sussex.

The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.

Dearest gentle “Bridgerton” viewers — rejoice, for a new prequel series about Lady Violet is headed to Netflix.

The streamer and Shondaland announced Thursday that an untitled spinoff about the early life of the future matriarch of the Bridgerton clan is in the works. Shonda Rhimes and Nicholas Nardini will write and serve as showrunners on the limited series, which will tell the story of young Lady Violet’s romance with her future husband, Viscount Edmund Bridgerton.

The show will be the second spinoff set in the expanding world of the popular Regency romance following the 2023 prequel series “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” which explored the early days of the eponymous queen’s marriage to King George III.

Portrayed by Ruth Gemmell in the flagship series, Lady Violet is the mother of the eight Bridgerton siblings whose individual adventures in (and around) the marriage mart are the focus of the show. A younger version of the character, played by Connie Jenkins-Greig, also appeared in the “Queen Charlotte” prequel. The cast of the untitled Lady Violet prequel has not yet been announced.

Based on the popular book series by Julia Quinn, “Bridgerton” has been a hit with audiences since premiering in 2020. The first four seasons have chronicled the steamy happily-ever-afters of the eldest Bridgerton siblings, Daphne, Anthony, Colin and Benedict. The fifth season of the series, which will follow the love story of Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), is currently in production in London.

In addition to Rhimes and Nardini, who was also a writer on “Scandal,” “Queen Charlotte” and “Inventing Anna,” frequent Rhimes collaborator Tom Verica will direct and executive produce on the upcoming limited series. Shondaland’s Betsy Beers is also an executive producer.

“Crazy Rich Asians” will officially be back on screen, with some familiar faces joining for the ride.

HBO announced on Thursday that it had ordered an original drama series of the same name based on author Kevin Kwan’s book series eight years after director Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians” film adaptation marked a watershed moment for Asian representation in Hollywood. The series will see stars Constance Wu and Henry Golding reprise their roles as lovebirds Rachel Chu and Nick Young; Ronny Chieng as Nick’s cousin Eddie Cheng and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as the hard-to-please Young family matriarch, Eleanor.

Although not exactly the movie sequel some fans were hoping for, the series will pick up after the events of the 2018 film and will be based on Kwan’s books, HBO announced. Adele Lim, who co-wrote Chu’s 2018 film, will serve as showrunner and will executive produce the series alongside Kwan, Chu and “Crazy Rich Asians” movie producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.

HBO announced its series order just days after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery closed its $111-billion deal with Paramount Skydance.

The official series order comes more than a year after Golding shared that he and some of his “Crazy Rich Asians” collaborators had reunited to discuss the future of the franchise, including a meeting with Lim. The Times confirmed last year that the series was in early development.

The “Crazy Rich Asians” series could fill the void left by the onetime promise of a “Crazy Rich Asians” sequel. Prospects of a sequel crumbled in 2019 when the Hollywood Reporter broke news that Lim left the sequel over pay disparity.

FANS of Michael Jackson will be looking at the competition and hoping to beat it when his latest memorabilia goes under the hammer. 

The late King of Pop’s original Thriller jacket and Motown 25 glove are being put up for Auction in Abu Dhabi.

On December 7, the iconic garments will headline Julien’s Auctions’ Fashion Legacy Evening Sale.

Created by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, the red leather jacket was one of two created for Michael’s 1983 video – with the other shredded for the zombie scenes and now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Estimates for the jacket up for auction are only available upon request by interested bidders. It last sold in 2011 for almost £1.4million.

Michael wore the white rhinestone glove, tipped to fetch £700,000, the same year at the taping of Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.

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In 2022, a massive collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia was being auctioned with an estimated value of £2.5million.

The 32,000 items linked with the King of Pop were being sold as a single lot in a private online auction on behalf of an anonymous owner.

The collection was originally intended for a museum in Los Angeles, but plans fell through and it was auctioned through House of Consultants.

The owner said: “This is a rare opportunity to buy cultural heritage from the most influential artist of the century.”

Minka Kelly and Dan Reynolds have ended their four-year relationship.

A source close to the couple confirmed the breakup, People first reported on Wednesday.

The “Friday Night Lights” actor and Imagine Dragons frontman first met in 2022 through a mutual friend — although their first month interacting was over phone calls as Kelly, 46, was in the U.K. for work and finishing her memoir, “Tell Me Everything,” which delved into her complex relationship with her mother.

Reynolds, 39, asked to read the book.

“You’ll either be terrified and run for the hills or you’ll see the beauty in all of it,” Kelly shared on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in November 2025. “He fortunately was the latter.”

The pair was first publicly spotted in November 2022 leaving Cafe Stella in Silver Lake; a month earlier, Reynolds announced his split from his wife, indie singer Aja Volkman, whom he married in 2011. His divorce from the Nico Vega vocalist was finalized in March 2024.

Although the “Euphoria” star and “Believer” singer kept details of their personal life under wraps, they were often photographed cozying up at sports events including the 2024 Super Bowl, the Inter Miami soccer match against the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2024, and the UFC 303 event in 2024.

In July, Kelly shared an Instagram post of Reynolds featuring his four children (whom he shares with Volkman) at Disneyland, with the caption, “No place I’d rather be.”

In a 2024 interview with People, Reynolds shared that his kids had grown fond of Kelly.

“We view it as kind of bonuses to the family: more people to love, more people to help. We’ve just been really careful with that and slow with navigating how to bring Minka into that conversation,” he said. “She’s done a really incredible job of being sensitive and careful on her end as well.”

In 2025, Reynolds made a guest appearance on the first season of Netflix’s “Ransom Canyon,” which starred Kelly as Quinn O’Grady, a former concert pianist, opposite Josh Duhamel, who played rancher Staten Kirkland.

The show was canceled after two seasons this September.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ release date has been pushed back following allegations of a plush prison lifestyle.

The disgraced music mogul is currently serving a 50-month sentence after he was convicted of transporting prostitutes across state lines for drug-fueled sex performances known as “freak-offs.”

While earlier October reports indicated that the artist and producer would be released on Jan. 21, 2028 — which shaved months off his original June 2028 discharge — an updated search on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database reveals his new revised date as March 2, 2028.

News of his release date comes as the “Bad Boy for Life” singer was reportedly placed and remained in solitary confinement at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison in New Jersey, following allegations of a pampered prison lifestyle.

On Sept. 29, an NBC report detailed the accounts of four anonymous inmates who claim that the 56-year-old had been paying men for special services.

Sources told NBC News that Combs paid inmates to clean and cook special meals for him, including curry chicken, pizza and empanadas, and that the hip-hop and R&B music producer also receives Chinese-style massages.

To pay for the labor, inmates allege that individuals outside of the prison are depositing thousands of dollars into the commissary accounts of those waiting on the “Satisfy You” singer.

The news outlet also published an image of Combs using a contraband phone, a prohibited item across state and federal prisons; multiple inmates said that he uses it to scroll Instagram and view explicit nude content shared by an old girlfriend.

Two sources also shared that Diddy has access to a “jailbroken” tablet where he watches movies and documentaries, including “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” the Netflix docuseries produced by his adversary Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

Sources also allege that Combs is smuggling an illegal stash of alcohol and purchasing an antidepressant drug known as Remeron, or “rem-roms,” from other inmates.

“This is not some normal s— you see in jail. This is some rich s—. It looks crazy, but again, it’s Diddy,” one source told NBC.

The Times reached out to Combs’ representatives, but did not hear back.

A representative from the Federal Bureau of Prisons said they “do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individuals, including quarters assignment, release plans, or whether a particular individual is the subject of allegations, investigations, or sanctions.”

Legal troubles hit a high note last year for Combs when he was involved in a lengthy and public trial involving allegations of sexual assault and other violence. His former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones lodged civil complaints against the music tycoon.

In July 2025, Combs was found guilty on two counts of a prostitution-related charge, but not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, which carried heavier penalties, including a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Halle Berry has several loved ones in her corner amid her contentious custody case with ex-husband Olivier Martinez, who accused the Oscar winner of physically abusing their 12-year-old son. Among the actor’s supporters is Nahla Aubry, the 18-year-old daughter Berry has kept largely out of the public eye.

Aubry, whom Berry shares with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, spoke against her former stepfather Martinez and in support of her mother in a declaration filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In his request for a restraining order filed last week, Martinez accused Berry of physically abusing their son, Maceo, “putting her hands around his neck, and choking him” during a Sept. 26 incident. Martinez was granted the restraining order and is seeking sole legal and physical custody. Nahla Aubry said in her declaration, obtained by The Times, that Martinez’s allegations left her “shocked, very sad, and very upset.”

“The statements Olivier claims my mom made are wholly inconsistent with the values she has taught me my entire life,” Aubry said. She added elsewhere in her declaration: “I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone.”

A legal representative for Martinez did not immediately respond on Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.

In her declaration, Aubry spoke about her experiences splitting time between her mother and father’s homes amid their separation and and said her mother “consistently provided me with stability, support, guidance” and that she “never heard” the actor speak negatively about her family or her ex-boyfriend. Aubry said she lived with her brother for most of her life and has “never heard my mom say anything about Olivier” to her brother, contradicting claims Martinez raised in his request for a protective order.

Martinez pointed to an alleged 2023 incident when Berry is accused of telling their son, then 9, that his father is “ ‘a white b— trying to rob a Black woman’ due to child support issues,” according to court documents. She added that Berry has “always” encouraged her children to keep “loving relationships with our fathers.” Aubry also said in her declaration that while Berry can be strict, she is also “warm, supportive and deeply involved in our lives.”

“I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone, however, I do remember Olivier beating up my father in our driveway when I was little,” she said, referring to a 2012 brawl between Gabriel Aubry and Martinez.

In addition to denying the claims of abuse against her mother, Aubry spoke about her stepbrother’s behavior, writing in his declaration he can be “very impulsive” and “often acts without thinking and then refuses to take responsibility for his actions.” Aubry noted she last spoke to her brother a day after the alleged September incident and that he did not seem upset, and that the current restraining order prohibits her from contacting her brother.

Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, and her attorneys also filed declarations in favor of the “Monster’s Ball” actor. Attorney Marina Z. Beck in her declaration accused Martinez of refusing to provide information to Berry about their son and his education, of interfering with their son’s therapy and of refusing to follow therapist recommendations. The court documents also include screenshots of text message exchanges between Berry and Martinez and an email from their son’s school about his disruptive behavior days after the alleged incident.

Berry and Martinez were married from 2013 from 2015. Their divorce finally ended in August 2023, when they agreed to joint custody of their son and Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support.

In his request for a restraining order, Martinez also asked that Berry refrain from drinking or partaking in other substances during her visitation time and asked that she complete sobriety testing “before, during and after” her visitation, according to court documents. The judge denied those sobriety testing requests until a further hearing for the order on Oct. 16.

Patrick Baghdaserians, an attorney for Martinez, told The Times last week the welfare and safety of Berry and Martinez’s child remains paramount.

Nimesh Patel’s stock in comedy has been on an upswing lately. From sold-out shows to a skyrocketing social media following and the release of his first Netflix special, “Buy the Dip,” last month, it’s been amazing the difference a year makes. The new hour filmed in Washington, D.C., delivers surgically precise, dryly delivered jokes and personal stories about America falling apart from the heart of our nation’s capital.

Despite the dire circumstances, it’s in our country’s DNA to believe in the power of the rebound. So does Patel, who’s seen one play out with his own career after taking an unexpected hit. Last fall, the comedian faced public backlash for his decision to accept — and then reject — a spot on the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival, for which he’d been offered $125,000 to perform along with major names like Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Sebastian Maniscalco, Whitney Cummings and many more. The rollout of a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia, a nation whose government has been accused of human rights abuses and, according to U.S. intelligence, the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its consulate in Turkey, lead to a war of words on the internet aimed at the comedians on the lineup. Hearing the scrutiny loud and clear and ultimately deciding the money wasn’t worth it, Patel decided to pull out and tell the world via Instagram that he wasn’t going, opting instead (and somewhat grudgingly) to make up for the lost bag with 40 extra shows added to his nationwide theater tour. The response to his video announcement drew even more ire from comedy fans. Looking back on it now, he admits his delivery at the time, looking tired and somewhat annoyed by his own decision, wasn’t the greatest.

“People read that as sarcasm and like woe is me,” Patel said in a recent conversation with The Times over Zoom. “I can see why they thought that I was a poor actor in the video that I posted. But everyone acts better than the person they see on the screen until it becomes their life and then they’re like, ‘Oh s—, yeah, I probably would have done the same thing.’ So, f— them!”

Despite the roasting he received, Patel stuck to his word and did the shows. Stepping on stage night after night to earn the money he had planned on making last year from one canceled gig in Saudi Arabia gave him the reps he says he needed to perfect the new hour of material. The title “Buy the Dip” is a nod to the remnants of his former career in finance — it’s stock market terminology about buying a failing asset with the hope that it will go up in value again. But it also describes the optimism from which he now makes his decisions as a parent and as someone who still believes that things can get better, even at their lowest.

“I have to be an optimist, I have to believe the world is getting better, because otherwise, what the f— did I do by having a kid?” he said.

In his Netflix debut special, “Buy the Dip,” comedian Nimesh Patel turns personal setbacks and a troubled America into sharply observed jokes grounded in unexpected optimism.

(Courtesy of Netflix)

His belief in positivity followed him to D.C. to record the special, the town where he says he got his first big breaks as a comedian opening for major acts like Maz Jobrani at the Warner Theatre, headlining the Bier Baron and the DC Improv and even the Kennedy Center — “or the now-defunct Trump whatever you’re supposed to call it,” he joked. When it comes to his comedy trajectory, taking the long view is essential to realizing that Patel’s path to this special started over a decade ago when Chris Rock discovered him while on stage in Brooklyn and helped him get writing gigs on “Saturday Night Live” and the 2016 Oscars ceremony, two opportunities that solidified his resolve to go into comedy full-time after he lost his job in finance.

As an Indian American comedian, he knows there is a spotlight of cultural representation on him, which he notes in the special and even makes fun of. That kind of attention isn’t on just him but also on Indian Americans in even higher-profile jobs, such as, say, the first Indian American director of the FBI, the chronically embattled Kash Patel.

“Let me be clear, it’s really difficult to both be proud of Kash and despise him at the same time,” Patel says. On the one hand, there’s the astonishing feat of going from being one of the few Indian kids in Virginia amid post-9/11 racism to becoming head of the nation’s domestic intelligence agency. On the other there’s a career riddled with gaffes and allegedly immoral conduct that makes him an easy punching bag for the writers at “SNL” with the help of his late-night TV doppelganger Aziz Ansari.

“For him to go from that to then be serving the country at this level, that is an incredible achievement, and it’s just so sad that that is who our representative is at the moment,” Patel said. “Just like when an Uber driver says to me, ‘Your last name is Patel? Like Kash?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, just like that, but not like that at all, you know?’”

Patel revisits the backlash he faced after accepting, then withdrawing from, Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival, and how dozens of extra tour dates helped shape his new material.

(Courtesy of Netflix)

While trying to distance himself from one person who shares his family name, when it comes to his actual family, Patel has plenty of jokes of being too close to them. Like many millennials, he’s squeezed tight between caring for aging parents and raising a child. At 40, he says in the special that people in his age bracket have become the “Sandwich Generation.” Though, to be fair to his toddler, keeping track of his parents is a much harder task at times.

“They won’t take help. They’re very independent, and I imagine I was the same way when I was growing up,” Patel said. “So it’s that in itself is just like the Progressive commercial that we’re all becoming our parents, but in real life and not driven by a corporate marketing team. It’s just funny to see that play out.”

Whether the obstacles he faces in life are laugh-out-loud funny or career hurdles that threaten to topple him into the abyss, the idea that he can always bounce back is the key to staying unfazed during the highs and the lows of life. And to the extent that anyone can take a lesson from Patel in the art of staying even-keeled, he hopes the special will make people feel a little less bad about the country being on the brink of destruction.

“Everyone knows that we’re not in a good spot right now,” he said. “The dip is here now. I fully believe that we can recover, I hope that we can. It’s going to be a lot of pain. I don’t know if we’re at the bottom just yet, but I’m optimistic, and I have to be. Otherwise, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

As viewers tuned into tonight’s episode of The Celebrity Traitors, the Mirror takes a look at some of the strong ties that bind this year’s batch of stars, which could take them all the way to the end

The Celebrity Traitors is well underway and it’s already brimming with wild twists and turns – including a self-confessing traitor and a weird adversion to physical touch.

We’re only two episodes in, but fans will have already spotted that a number of stars seem chummy even before getting themselves settled in the iconic Scottish Highlands castle.

Friendliness isn’t always a superpower on the show – the sneakiest often prevail once it really gets going – but loyalty can go a long, long way.

As we’ve seen in previous seasons (Hello Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby), forging an alliance can make all the difference when all eyes are on you at the Round Table. And it sometimes takes just one strong ally to sway the opinion of the group.

Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the strongest bonds in Celebrity Traitors this year, and how they might shake things up…

Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan

Starting off with possibly the best-known connection in the show, comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan already feel like a package deal, with their friendship dating back to their early days on the 2010 comedy circuit.

Rob first learned of Romesh’s comedic talents through a friend and headed out to see his set at his dad’s pub. His initial feeling was that of annoyance, having “wanted to be the only good one at comedy”. But this irritation quickly blossomed into a friendship that would see them right to the top of their profession.

Both feeling like “outsiders” in a middle-class industry, Rob and Romesh secured a solid bond before hitting the big time. Reminiscing in a 2021 address to the Royal Television Society, Rob, now 40, shared: “Coming up through comedy and telly, which is quite a middle-class world, we bonded because we both felt we didn’t belong. We really did get on…Having a mate that you can share the madness with was great.”

Having built impressive careers independently, becoming familiar faces on the likes of A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, and Taskmaster, it soon became clear that viewers loved the pair’s natural on-screen dynamic.

In 2019, Rob and Romesh were snapped up by Sky Television for Rob and Romesh Vs…, a series which sees the two funnymen plunged into unfamiliar territory together.

One episode saw the pals perform a country song in Nashville after meeting Shania Twain, while another followed them as they performed Hollywood-style stunts for Hollyoaks.

Summing up their relationship as the Traitors’ games began, Rob quipped: “I know Rob very, very well. I mean, I’ve sat next to him as he’s had a colonic.”

It’s clear nothing much fazes the duo, who are able to adapt to pretty much any situation imaginable – from dancing in Swan Lake to training with the NFL. Will their bond and shared chameleon abilities prove to be one of this season’s greatest weapons? We’ll have to wait and see.

Richard E. Grant and Jerry Hall

Another friendship that has also come under the spotlight is that of Richard E. Grant and Jerry Hall. Neighbours over in swanky Richmond and friends for 30 years, Richard was a guest at Jerry’s 2016 wedding to media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, whom she divorced in 2022.

Jerry has spoken fondly of the fun she shared with the Withnail & I thespian on the set of the 2004 kids’ fantasy film, Tooth, which delves into the lives of tooth fairies living in ‘Fairytopia’.

Describing the critically reviled movie as “ridiculous” ahead of their Traitors reunion, Jerry chuckled: “We had such a laugh, and I went on holiday with him earlier this year, just after Christmas, to Africa with some friends. And we danced all night. We had so much fun! Little did we know back then that we’d both be here!”

Richard, 69, had viewers’ jaws firmly on their living room floors after proudly outing himself as a traitor in the very first episode, followed by plenty of backtracking. While many faithfuls were less than convinced by the Academy Award winner’s subsequent performance, supermodel Jerry stood firmly by her pal.

Jerry, 70, insisted: “I just don’t believe Richard’s a Traitor. I know Richard, I’ve known him 30 years and he’s my neighbour. He says and does eccentric things. He’s an amazing guy, but I think he’s acting out because he’s not been chosen.”

While en route to their shipwreck challenge, Jerry was quick to agree with Industry actress Myha’la, who said, “I really, really genuinely do not think he’s a traitor,” declaring, “I don’t either.”

This show of loyalty may prove very useful to Richard when it comes to quashing some very understandable doubts over his faithfulness.

Of course, fans of a more cynical bent could also argue that Richard and Jerry could have discussed tactics beforehand in one of their neighbourly chats, and that a long game could well be afoot to see them both splitting the prize…

Bella Ramsey and Sebastian Croft

Having braved the tangled feudal webs of Westeros together, Bella Ramsey and Sebastian Croft will likely feel prepared for the cloak-and-dagger world of the Traitor’s Castle. And their established friendship could prove to be a powerful alliance.

Bella, now 23, was just 11 years old when they astonished Game of Thrones fans with their portrayal of the pint-sized yet formidable head of House Mormont, Lyanna Mormont.

Sebastatian, known as ‘Bash’ to pals, made his Thrones debut in 2016 – the same year as Bella – giving a brief but memorable performance as a young Ned Stark.

While the pair never got to share a scene, Sebastian, 24, could barely contain his excitement as he pictured the two of them plotting together. The star, who is known to be a huge Traitors buff, enthused: “I love Bella! Imagine us in the turret together. That would be the dream.”

Being well-used to sticky endings in their former shared set, you can guarantee that these two won’t be too horrified by increasingly frequent dispatches of their castlemates. But they also know that sometimes it’s the ones you care for the most who can leave you with a Valyrian steel sword in the back.

In a private castle exchange in episode two, Bella admitted, “I go back and forth on you, Bash”, making their suspicions clear. Bash was quick to refute this, signalling their closeness as he argued, “I genuinely think you’d know if I was.” Bella considered this and noted that they thought Sebastian would know too, if it were the other way around.

Both actors pledged to have each other’s backs, but it was evident that neither one of them left the conversation feeling 100 per cent at ease. During a piece to camera segment, Bella shared: “I know Sebastian, who I know as Bash. We met quite a few years ago, I think at an awards thing we were both at. I mostly trust Bash, but there’s something just a little bit unsettling that I just have to keep in the back of my [mind].” They added, “I can’t trust everybody. This is a game. Nothing is personal”

Sebastian, too, is erring on the side of caution, telling the camera: “I love Bella, and I’ve tried to make myself as little of a threat to them, but as much of an asset, because Bella is a formidable player. That’s someone I’m definitely keeping an eye on.”

Joe Lycett and James Acaster

Joe Lycett and James Acaster are also good pals, with their friendship dating back to their days on the pub circuit nearly 20 years ago. The comedic pair, who have appeared on numerous panel shows together, have a running joke about people frequently getting them mixed up.

Back in 2021, Joe, 38, cheekily riffed on this by putting James’ face on posters for his tour, causing some confusion amongst comedy fans. Clarifying that this wasn’t an awkward error on the part of the printers, Joe issued the following statement via X: “I would like to publicly apologise to Mr Acaster and his team for this.

“The posters were an experiment to see if my face was a deterrent to the British public and if his face would sell more tickets for my show.”

He proceeded to jest: “It is with great disappointment that I have discovered sales have shot up. Mr Acaster’s legal team contacted my representatives, and after talks we have agreed on an out-of-court settlement.”

Will the similarities between the duo prove to be a help or a hindrance this season? We shall certainly see.

Maya Jama and… half the castle

A natural leader, fans were no doubt thrilled to see Maya Jama don that infamous green cloak and make it look like a fashion moment. And it’s likely the presenter’s natural people skills will prove to be a real asset here.

Maya, 32, has crossed paths with a number of fellow Traitors celebs in the course of her work. In 2020, she competed against James Acaster on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Memorably, James dislodged a safety partition screen in an humorously chaotic attempt to stop Maya’s team from seeing his written answer. It’s likely she won’t have forgotten the comedian’s competitive streak.

In March 2021, Maya appeared on Romesh’s podcast Hip Hop Saved My Life, where she discussed developing her early love of hip hop through her mum’s Eminem CDs. She also offered Romesh some tips on his makeup techniques.

Then, in February 2024, Maya was seated in the front row at Italy’s Milan Fashion Week, right next to Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock. More recently, Maya co-presented the Artist of the Year award at the BRIT Awards 2026 with none other than You’re Beautiful singer, James Blunt.

While there will be few unfamiliar faces here for Maya, she has played down any significant connections, asserting: “I’ve met a few people in the cast, but nobody really knows me, so we’re all starting from scratch.”

Nevertheless, these various brushes over the years will surely come in useful when it comes to keeping a careful eye out at the round table.

The Celebrity Traitors returns tonight at 8 pm on BBC One.

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com.

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SYDNEY Sweeney has discovered she is related to fellow blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe.  

The Housemaid and Euphoria actress’s family tree reveals she is a ninth cousin once removed of the ­Hollywood icon. 

Researchers found the stars’ fathers were both descendants of a Massachusetts settler called Ezra Perry who died in 1689. 

Sydney, 29 — who starred in a controversial advert for American Eagle with the tagline Sydney Sweeney has great jeans — has often been compared to Marilyn, born Norma Jeane Mortenson. 

She had huge hits with movies such as Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Seven Year Itch.

Marilyn died aged 36 in 1962. 

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The research was carried out by MyHeritage.

Spokesman Roi Mandel said: “People have always drawn parallels between Sydney and Marilyn Monroe.

“Uncovering their shared branch was incredible.” 

The startling discovery is bound to excite Sydney, who has worn several outfits similar to ones sported by Marilyn. 

In February she wore a vintage dress inspired by the late Hollywood icon to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

The slinky Ceil Chapman design was startlingly similar to one which Marilyn wore on the cover of Life magazine in 1952.