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The film has landed on streaming, with fans comparing the sci-fi thriller to E.T. and The Sixth Sense.

An epic science fiction thriller has arrived on streaming platforms, and enthusiasts are already drawing comparisons between the film and classics such as E. T. and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense.

The “suspenseful” film brimming with nail-biting action and “insane” twists dropped on Paramount Plus today, February 15.

The film, helmed by Jess Varley, features Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Luna.

“This movie kept me on the edge of my seat- it’s thrilling and tense but also heartwarming at the same time” one fan posted on Rotten Tomatoes.

Another concurred: “I found the suspense of the story gripping from start to finish. It truly kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The twist at the end was both surprising and a fresh take on the sci-fi genre.”

The Astronaut was released last year in 2025 and, despite securing just a 42% critics score and 59% audience score, has been passionately championed by supporters on the review aggregator site, reports the Express.

Numerous viewers lauded the film for its ‘thrilling’ and ‘captivating’ narrative, with one posting: “Great storyline that kept me engaged. Awesome cinematography. Very well written and directed!”

“Genuinely one of the most captivating movies I’ve seen in years,” a second concurred, whilst a third posted: “Am I missing something? This was hands down my favorite movie of the year. Thrilling and unexpectedly heartfelt.”

The synopsis states: “After returning from her first space mission, astronaut Sam Walker is placed under NASA’s care at a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing.

“However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.”

Viewers claim they were “hooked almost immediately” by the film, with many specifically lauding the unexpected plot twists. One fan shared: “I was impressed and surprised by the twist and turns of the movie, especially the ending.”

“Sixth Sense level twist that I did not see coming at all,” another viewer confessed, whilst someone else penned: “One of the most original twists of the past decade with a slightly short run time but packed with crazy visuals and strong performances.”

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Some viewers also remarked that the film had left them “sobbing”, with one admitting: “I was not prepared to cry my eyes out at the end! ! ! This made me feel all the feels.”

Another enthused: “I LOVED THIS MOVIE! ! ! ! ! ! I don’t like horror movies but this wasn’t really one in a lot of ways. It was scary at times, but the family drama pulled on my heart strings. I actually cried at the end!”

However, not everyone was enamoured, with one critic stating: “It had potential, but ultimately ended up really flat and very rushed towards a conclusion. A lil more effort would have actually made it watchable.”

“After what was a promising start, unfortunately this film descends into utter nonsense, climaxing into comedy,” one viewer wrote, whilst another remarked: “This movie went from being really boring in the first two acts to really stupid in the last act. I was expecting it to be better.”

However, the feedback from fans was predominantly positive, with some even likening The Astronaut to iconic sci-fi films such as E. T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

“E.T. vibes for sure,” one simply put it, whilst another observed: “Suspenseful from beginning to end! Reminiscent of the classic SciFi series, Close Encounters, but with a unique twist at the end that I did not expect! Fantastic cinematography and a soundtrack that magnifies the suspense.”

Another person added: “I liked this a lot more than I expected to! It reminded me of old movies like Signs and ET and thankfully wasn’t 2.5 hrs long. Felt like maybe it got trimmed down a touch too much but it was short enough that it kept me engaged the whole time. The twist was insane and in a world of spoilers I’m glad I didn’t know what was coming.”

The Astronaut is available to stream now on Paramount Plus.

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**.

SHE’S got her showbiz career nailed, but will it be boom or bust for Sydney Sweeney as she takes on Kim Kardashian in the lingerie business?

It is the big question in Hollywood following Syd’s very ambitious move to rival Kim’s Skims brand with her own label, Syrn.

Last month, Sydney finally launched her highly anticipated range of undies with $1billion of support from a fund backed by Amazon ­billionaire Jeff Bezos.

And this week, she upped the ante with a cheeky promo video, which sees her raiding a local store with a gang of pals flashing their bras.

It is a ballsy scheme for a relative rookie who, despite cementing herself as a leading lady in the acting world, has yet to prove she has the business acumen to “do a Kim” and turn her sex symbol status into a corporate, billion-dollar brand.

Since co-launching her shapewear company Skims in 2019, Kim, 45, has defied the odds, making it a global lifestyle behemoth worth $5billion.

read more on Sydney Sweeney

MIDNIGHT SNACK

Sydney Sweeney shimmies and shakes in just a bra and underwear for Syrn ad

SMASHER SYD

Sydney Sweeney shows off curves in figure-hugging dress as she receives gong

She’s also launched a new partnership with sportswear giant Nike to create the NikeSkims label.

From where we are sitting, Kim’s a tough act to beat.

‘CALCULATED PLOT’

But evidently, Sydney, 28, isn’t one to be deterred — and why should she be when she’s got the world’s fourth-richest man on her side, injecting big bucks into her new venture?

Syrn, pronounced “siren”, is a ­lingerie line that promises to offer inclusive sizing, up to a 42DDD.

So far, the inventory is limited, with a handful of sexy bras, corsets, thongs and knickers offered on its online store, mostly priced at around $100 (£73) or under.

But sales have already been sky- high, with the “Seductress” collection going out of stock almost immediately.

Like Kim, Sydney has chosen a platform to stand on.

While Skims’ remit focuses on inclusivity — with shapewear sold in nine skin colours and in a large range of sizes — Syrn includes bigger-breasted women, who might not otherwise be catered for by traditional retailers.

It is a clever move, positioning the actress and her own famously ample chest front and centre, with the underlying message that she has something innovative to offer.

According to sources close to Sydney, the Euphoria star’s new business isn’t a half-baked move.It is a ­calculated plot to elevate her to the big leagues and prove she can more than keep up with the Kardashians.

Sydney wants to dethrone Kim — she knows she has the potential to make enormous money and turn Syrn into a multi- billion-dollar company, like Skims

Sweeney insider

“Sydney is extremely competitive and knows she has the potential to reach the very top of the fashion industry,” an insider exclusively tells The Sun.

“That’s exactly why she launched her lingerie brand.

“Syrn is one of her biggest dreams, and she is fully committed to doing whatever it takes to turn it into a major success and compete with top brands like Skims.

“She isn’t afraid of anything.

“She’s aware that Kim Kardashian and her team aren’t happy about her entering the lingerie space, and she was warned by several people not to do it, including friends close to Kim.

“But she never cared about Kim’s opinion, and she never lets others influence her business ideas.”

The insider adds: “Sydney wants to dethrone Kim — she knows she has the potential to make enormous money and turn Syrn into a multi- billion-dollar company, like Skims.

“She sees this as a competition and she loves that challenge.”

Sydney showed her rebellious streak — and got her brand some extra publicity — with a video in which she and her production crew scaled the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, before hanging Syrn bras across the famous letters.

Some hailed her a cheeky rabble-rouser.

Others dismissed it as a PR stunt.

Either way, it got Sydney noticed and made her brand a ­talking point — especially after the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns and licenses the sign, slammed the actress, saying she did not have prior authority.

So could Sydney go to jail thanks to her zest and zeal for selling big-sized bras to the world?

No. But for an actress who knows the power of a good performance, she put on one hell of a show.

According to brand and culture expert Nick Ede, the stunt was in keeping with Sydney’s bold approach, which hinges on her unapologetically selling her biggest asset: herself.

She is not afraid to stick two ­fingers up to propriety to make her mark — and money.

‘STUNT MAVERICK’

Nick says: “While Kim is all about being wanted and admired, and always making sure everyone loves her, Sydney doesn’t care.

“She knows that people want to buy into the brand, and she is being maverick with her stunts.

“We didn’t know much about the lingerie line until a few weeks ago, but she’s stepped it up in a strategic way to cut through other celebs with huge brands and endorsement deals.

“Look at Meghan Markle — she had so much around her when she launched her brand.

“She had her TV show and her status, but Sydney has cut through all that in a punky way.

“In Euphoria, she’s a little bit messy as her character Cassie, and she’s a little bit messy as an actual celebrity.

“She’s sticking with her persona, which works well as a brand.”

Fans and critics will remember the chaos last year over Sydney‘s American Eagle ads, which boasted that she “has great jeans”.

Critics suggested the line was racist, claiming it ­promoted white supremacy.

But ­Sydney proved that sex plus controversy sells.

The clothing brand duly reported a massive spike in sales, plus a stock surge of 25 per cent.

Initially, Sydney refused to discuss the controversy.

However, in December, she said: “I’m against hate and divisiveness.

“In the past, my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press, but I have come to realise that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it.”

That said, she didn’t regret the ads, nor the impact they made.

And she’s not about to moderate her behaviour . . . not when she’s got her own brand to promote.

As Nick explains, the actress knows what her assets are, with curves that match her confidence, and she’s putting both on display.

“Sydney’s selling and creating a fantasy,” he explains.

‘SULTRY SELFIE’

It’s very ‘old Hollywood’ in many ways, but it’s gritty, too, and that’s why there is such huge appeal.

“She will become a mega-brand in the future.”

As for Kim, it is no surprise her nose has apparently been put out of joint over the Sydney uprising.

While she often gets models and celeb brand ambassadors to model her Skims wear, the week of the Syrn launch in January saw Kim post her own sultry selfie to Instagram, posing in her brand’s lacy lingerie.

Fans could not help but notice the timing of her decision to model a sexy Skims set, hot on the heels of Sydney’s own saucy ­campaign, also on social media.

As one follower said: “Kim said, not today, Sydney Sweeney,” while another weighed in: “Is this the Sweeney fight back?”

Ramping it up, Kim this week called in little sister Kylie Jenner to model a bra and knicker set from her “Everyday Cotton” Skims range in a bid to reel in younger fans.

Obviously, when it comes to the Hollywood pool of superficial friendships, Kim and Sydney are on decent terms, having rubbed ­shoulders last year at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s wedding.

Needless to say, having a mutual pal like Jeff will keep them civil — on the surface at least — as they have too much to lose if they fall out and put him in the middle.

But, according to insiders, Kim feels particularly irked by Sydney’s apparent bid to claim some of her global spotlight.

The Kardashian beauty is used to being the most talked-about woman in any room, but — since Sydney became a pop culture phenomenon — she’s been pulling eyes away.

The fact that she is now launching this lingerie line feels a little too close to home for Kim, especially since it has been reported that Sydney has also filed to trademark the Syrn name for cosmetics and beauty care products.

Coincidentally — or maybe not so — Kim has also spoken about expanding into the beauty space with Skims.

Now, she has ­reportedly been complaining to friends that Sydney is nothing more than a “copycat”.

Still, as Nick tells us, the pair actually have more to gain from this rivalry than meets the eye, as “it’s all about the amount of column inches and publicity they can get”.

‘REBELLIOUS STREAK’

Kim is hardly naive when it comes to the art of publicity.

This is the woman who “broke the internet” in 2014 after exposing her very famous bum to the world on the cover of Paper magazine.

She is hardly going to blush at the thought of engaging now in some performative bra wars with Sydney, as she knows full well that the oxygen for any successful brand is attention and visibility.

So who will ultimately triumph?

Well, Kim’s obviously got a tremendous head start.

She steered her brand to global domination, proving that — despite her internet-breaking derriere — she does nothing half-arsed.

But, like Kim, Sydney understands the power of harnessing one’s sex symbol status to achieve fame and fortune, combining that with business-minded savvy and sizeable investments to create a brand with real selling power.

Add to that her rebellious streak and she could be on to a winner with Syrn.

Whether she overshadows Kim remains to be seen, but one thing remains clear.

In the big, bad world of bra- selling celebs, this storm in a D cup will run and run.

SYD’S GEAR

SYDNEY SWEENEY

AGE: 28.

WEALTH: £30million.

FAMOUS FOR: Starring in The White Lotus, Euphoria and 2025 film The Housemaid.

CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS: Her American Eagle clothing ad, with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”, which saw her accused of promoting genetic supremacy.

Plus having her bath water used to make a soap range in 2025.

RELATIONSHIPS: Dated businessman Jonathan Davino from 2018 to 2025.

Began dating controversial music executive Scooter Braun in 2025.

BRANDS: As well as Syrn, ­Sydney has her own production company, Fifty-Fifty Films.

She has also collaborated with Armani Beauty, Kerastase haircare, Laneige skincare, Ford motors and Miu Miu fashion.

KIM’S GEAR

KIM KARDASHIAN

AGE: 45.

WEALTH: £1.4billion.

FAMOUS FOR: Reality shows including Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS: Leaking of a sex tape starring Kim and Ray J in 2007, “breaking the internet” with her 2014 cover of Paper magazine, and a 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries.

RELATIONSHIPS: Married music producer Damon Thomas at 19 and split after three years; Kris Humphries, married and split after 72 days, 2011; Kanye West, married 2014, split 2021.

She is now dating Lewis Hamilton.

BRANDS: KKW Beauty (2017-2021), SKKN By Kim – skincare brand from 2022, Kardashian Kloset – resale site for TV family’s clothes.

Skims has also launched collaborations with Nike, Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi.

It looks as though BBC viewers will be saying farewell to one beloved character on Call the Midwife.

Emotions were at an all-time high on Sunday night as BBC viewers learnt the fate of Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt).

Recently, Call the Midwife viewers learnt that the beloved character had kidney failure, as Dr. Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) noted that additional tests would provide further information.

Tragically, those results were revealed during the latest instalment of the show.

As Dr Turner, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Nurse Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) sat down to go over the results, Dr Turner said: “I was hoping it was something that could be treated, but chronic kidney disease is just-“

Cutting in, Sister Julienne commented: “Something that takes old people gently, but kindly.”

As Dr Turner emphasised that regardless of the matter, the disease still ‘takes’ people, Nurse Phyllis questioned how long Sister Monica Joan had been ill with the disease.

He replied: “I suspect not long.”

When asked how long she has left to live, he confessed: “The same, unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is, she’ll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly.”

Although all seemed heartbroken by the severity of her illness, nurse Phyllis replied: “Till that day comes, we’ll just have to love her as we always have, but a bit more carefully.”

It wasn’t long before people took to X to share their thoughts on the imminent death of Sister Monica Joan as one person said: “Are they actually going to kill of sister Monica Joan? Just end Call The Midwife there!”

Someone else commented: “No, Sister Monica Joan is immortal…she can’t die.” While another added: “SISTER MONICA JOAN. Sobbing.”

Another viewer wrote: “Absolutely devastated hearing the news that Sister Monica Joan has kidney failure and may not have long left, if we lose her, it will be like losing a much-loved family member. I’d be completely heartbroken.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website ‘.

One person shared: “Don’t you dare let anything happen to Sister Monica Joan.” While another said: “#callthemidwife Oh no, surely it can’t be the demise,of Sister Monica Joan? On the other hand could it be the end on Nonnatus? What a fantastic drama this is @CallTheMidwife1 #SundayMood.”

Sister Monica Joan has been part of the beloved period drama since it began back in 2012. However, as the show marks its 15th series, it’s been reported that the final will see birth, a wedding and a funeral.

Call the Midwife continues Sundays on BBC One from 8pm

Disney has struck a multiyear deal with the United Kingdom’s leading entertainment aggregator, Sky.

The agreement announced Wednesday will fully incorporate Disney+ streaming content into Sky’s platform. Disney+ Standard with Ads will be included in eligible Sky TV packages starting next month. The deal also introduces a new linear movie channel for Sky’s paid-TV network called Disney Cinema.

It’s the first time U.K. subscribers will have access to Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix and Hayu (a reality TV streaming service) all in one subscription under the Sky brand. The subscription costs around £24 a month (roughly $33).

“We’ve grown Disney+ in the U.K. into our largest market across Europe over the past six years, and Sky is the perfect partner for our next wave of growth in the U.K. and Ireland,” said Karl Holmes, Disney+ general manager. “This agreement gives millions of Sky customers a simple, seamless way to enjoy all the great stories that Disney+ offers, and opens up a substantial new audience for content creators and advertisers.”

As part of Disney’s move to expand its reach in the U.K., Sky customers will be able to access the studio’s classic films like “Lilo & Stitch,” Marvel movies and well-loved TV shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Simpsons.”

The partnership is the latest in Disney’s effort to further globalize its streaming service. The company previously reached deals with Germany’s ZDF, Spain’s Atresmedia and Saudi media conglomerate MBC Group and UAE firm Anghami, so its content will be available in countries across the Middle East.

Disney+ isn’t the only streamer attempting to expand its global reach. In recent months, Netflix inked a deal with French broadcaster TF1, which will launch this summer. HBO Max also planted a flag in Germany and Italy — a move previously blocked by Sky.

Under the new leadership of recently appointed chief executive Josh D’Amaro, it’s expected that Disney will continue to invest in local language content and increase international subscriptions. After recording billions of dollars in losses, Disney’s streaming services, which include Hulu and ESPN+, reached profitability in 2024. The company said it hopes to reach 10% operating margins in its entertainment streaming business.

Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.

In this episode of The Envelope video podcast, Teyana Taylor describes the “slingshot” of success that’s come with “One Battle After Another” and shares her insights as to why fictional revolutionary Perfidia Beverly Hills does what she does in the film.

Kelvin Washington: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to The Envelope. Kelvin Washington, Yvonne Villarreal, we have Mark Olsen as well. Hopefully you all have been great since the last time I saw you. Everybody been good?

Mark Olsen: Of course.

Washington: Well, I tell you what, there’s a list of folks who’ve been very good because they’ve been nominated for an Oscar. And obviously, you kind of get the usual suspects, if you will. And then you get some surprises out there. Some folks you go, “Whoa!” So I want to start with you. Either of you can jump in on this. Is there someone that maybe surprised you, a film or something that you were just excited about or maybe someone said, “Them again?” or “That film again?”

Olsen: I think it was very exciting that “Sinners” got the most nominations of any film ever with 16 nominations. It was nominated in every category that it was eligible for. To see a movie that has had commercial success and felt like a cultural moment now being recognized somewhere like the Academy Awards, it’s just exciting to see that all coming together and rolling along for that film, regardless of how it turns out at the show.

Villarreal: I was very excited to see Rose Byrne get acknowledged for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” Because I was worried about that movie losing steam after all the raves it got at Sundance [in 2025] and it’s a smaller movie. I wasn’t sure, “Are people going to remember it?” But I just think she’s so great in that film.

I was sort of surprised that Chase Infiniti didn’t get nominated.

Olsen: Because of the nature of the movie, the whole lead/supporting business was tough, and also it being her first movie, it’s a little harder to get that nomination — especially in lead actress, faced with, say, Kate Hudson, someone who’s been in the business for a long time, is much beloved in the industry, has obviously family historical ties to Hollywood. It’s interesting to see even in the nominations this sort of alchemy of like, “a little of this, a little bit of that” as far as who the academy was choosing to recognize.

Washington: You know, I go back to something you said, Mark, when you go to “Sinners.” You mentioned the blockbuster feel of it, getting people’s butts to the theaters, spending money. And also kind of original. We’ve had vampire movies before, but, you know, you get the “Transformer 12’s” and “Expendable 32’s.” I think a lot of folks were excited to see something original that also had commercial success as well.

Another film that had a bunch of success is “One Battle After Another.” You had a chance to speak with a star from that film, who’s been a star in her own right musically, but now into the film world, with Teyana Taylor.

Olsen: That’s right. It’s so exciting. She’s nominated for best supporting actress. This is a long movie, it’s over two and a half hours long. She more or less exits the picture about 30 minutes in. So I think it says something about the strength of her performance that her character kind of hovers over the rest of that movie. You feel her in the movie, even though she’s actually not onscreen. So at the Oscar nominees luncheon recently, we had a chance to sit down with Teyana and she was just so vibrant, so full of energy, really has a great attitude about this moment for herself. I mean, she just recently won a Golden Globe, she hosted “Saturday Night Live.” So much is like happening for her, seemingly right now and she’s just got this real like, taking it all in, very open to it [attitude]. It was really an exciting conversation.

Washington: A culmination of all her hard work. Here is Mark’s conversation with Teyana Taylor.

Teyana Taylor.

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

Mark Olsen: You were just at the Super Bowl. About a week before that, you were a nominee at the Grammys. About a week before that you hosted “Saturday Night Live.” About a week before that you won a Golden Globe. And you’re here today as an Academy Award nominee. I’m sure I’m leaving some things out. I would say what’s the last year been like for you, but I feel like, what’s the last month or two been like for you? It feels like the rocket ship has really taken off.

Teyana Taylor: Yeah, it’s really taken off. I’m so blessed and I’m so honored and I’m filled with so much gratitude to just see so many prayers get answered all at once, where I’m also OK with one at a time. But it’s all happening, you know? And I’m just beyond blessed. And like we were talking about earlier, just how much fun I’m having with it. I’m really having a good time and I’m taking it all in because life is short and life is so fragile. So I just try and take time to enjoy life and enjoy my blessings and enjoy just being alive and well.

Olsen: Has there been a moment that felt the most surreal, like a “What is happening to me right now” moment?

Taylor: Honestly, all of it, because it reminds me of a slingshot, you know what I’m saying? It’s just like, here’s the way, here’s the way, here’s the way, here’s the way, here’s the work, here’s the prayers, here’s the tears, just here, here, here, here, here. And then whoosh — whatever the ball hit, it knocked down everything at once. And that’s what this feels like. It feels really good because literally everything is happening at the same time. So it’s not like only one moment or only two moments that’s making me feel this way. It’s everything. The small wins, the big wins, the medium wins. Every single win and every single blessing is a big deal to me. You know what I’m saying? Even my Ls. I’m not gonna win everything and I’m not gonna get everything, and some things are not even meant for me. But even those are blessings. It’s preparation for something that is in store for me and something that is meant for me, because all of this is already written. What’s for you is for you and will be for you, because that’s just what’s written. So I have that mindset.

Olsen: You’ve been doing this since you were a teenager, at first as a choreographer and a dancer, a singer, an actor, you’re going to direct your first feature soon. What keeps you moving through all of this, through these different disciplines and pursuits?

Taylor: My babies. My support system. My village. My community. I love to make my people proud. I love to make my peers proud, my family. I just love to make everybody proud and that’s what keeps me going. Even right now, I’m also in culinary school. So it’s just juggling that, but taking out the little moments to just be quiet and cook and feed my people. So it’s a push. It’s understanding it’s a marathon and that it’s not a sprint. It’s a part of the faith walk. And I think that’s what keeps me going, to wake up and feel so blessed, how could I ever complain? How could I ever be like, “Oh, this is too much”? It is everything I’ve ever asked for. I’m never going to complain about answered prayers. What pushes me is just the reassurance from my support system, the reassurance from Father God himself, the reassurance for my babies. They keep me going. That’s who I do it for. I want to create generational wealth. So them babies are my reason. They are my why.

Olsen: To start asking you about “One Battle After Another,” your character, Perfidia Beverly Hills, she’s inspired a lot of conversation and some controversy. For you, was there something about that character that you felt you hadn’t seen on screen before?

Taylor: Yes. Perfidia is complex and she is also misunderstood. This is a woman who has been in survival mode, who has been fetishized, who has been ignored, not seen. We’re seeing this woman deal with that, where in movies we’re used to seeing us women have to be in capes all day and you see this woman rip this cape away and it’s just unapologetically herself — even in her weakness. And even like you said, with the controversy of her sexuality, I think her sexuality is her armor. It is also her power. She’ll give somebody what they want to get what she wants. And literally in the movie, she’s made selfish decisions. But if you think about her spirit and mentally and emotionally as a woman, it felt good to see a woman actually be selfish and put her[self] first, which we never really get to do because we have to be super this, super this, super this. Super mom, super wife, super woman, super chef; everything is always with a super in front of it. And you see this woman not really caring about what people think. Nobody can quiet her. And in this space of, “OK, you’re too loud, quiet down; you stand too tall, have a seat,” Perfidia is all of the things that they can’t make her do. She’s like, “I’m gonna stand tall, I’m gonna use my voice, I’m gonna use whatever I need to use to get what I want.” And she makes decisions that we don’t agree with, but I think one thing we all can agree on is that she’s a badass. And I can always respect anybody that’s unapologetically themselves.

Another thing that I feel like the controversy is proof of is how much of a nonfactor postpartum depression is. Half of the mistakes we see Perfidia make is her dealing with postpartum depression. You see the moment where they say, “Perfida, she’s a runner. She comes from a long line of revolutionaries.” That in itself is a pressure on her to feel like she gotta keep that going. The revolution is instilled in her. It’s a part of her identity. So imagine getting pregnant and you’re feeling like, “Oh, my God, does this slow down the revolution? Am I gonna play house with a person that’s ignoring me?” Nobody is really taking the time to think about what’s happening in her mind. We can’t control how a person handles postpartum depression. We hear her, through the door, cry, and then we see Bob put his ear to the door — and instead of him walking in, he walked away. And then what was the result of that? Her walking away. Even if it had to be walking away from Baby Willa, it’s something that she felt like she needed to do, and that’s what postpartum make you do sometime. And every mother handles postpartrum depression differently. But I think that’s what I love about her character, because you get to see a harsh reality that I know is hard to take in. But when you watch it a few times you understand exactly what’s happening. … I think that’s what makes the letter at the end so important. Because you hear the pain, you hear the hurt, you hear the regret, you hear the accountability, “Do you have love? Are you happy? Will you try and change the world like we did? We failed, but maybe you will not.”

And that’s another thing. This is a story that Paul Thomas Anderson wanted to tell. It was Perfidia’s job to go and anchor this boat and stay there and create the path for Willa to take on these battles, because her past haunted Willa and Bob. That’s a part of Perfidia being supporting — supporting the next steps of what is for Willa. It’s for Willa to go on and to rise. So you see Perfidia in the beginning of the movie, you see her drive this boat, you see her get to the middle of the sea and you see her anchor herself. And from there, we have to continue the story. So I’m happy that the controversy around her can create dialogue like this, can create healthy dialogue or even uncomfortable dialogue. As long as it’s dialogue and we’re conversing and we are speaking and people are speaking from their point of views, I can absolutely respect that.

Olsen: Is that a conversation you expected to have? When you were making the film, were you and Paul, or you and your co-stars talking about the depiction of Black women in the movie? Or have you been surprised that’s been such a talking point now that the movie’s out in the world?

Taylor: Honestly, I’m not surprised of any of the talking. I think one thing that I said before the movie even dropped and we were doing our press junkets, I was always very boisterous about the fact that this movie, period, not just the character, would definitely shake the table, and it would definitely spark, whether it was great debates or — I love conversation and I like when we can converse. Get it off your chest, tell me how you feel. And I’m open to receive that. So I knew that it would shake the table. I also knew that it needed to be done. Postpartum depression is a big thing for me that I feel like it needs more light. It needs light around it. We need more solutions for it. And like I said, you see this person, this woman in survival mode. You see this woman be ignored. You see this woman be fetishized. And is that not the truth? Is that not what happens, especially in this place of a Black woman feeling the least protected? So I’m really happy that Paul put wings on that to be able to spread and fly with that. And like I said, I know it’s probably tough to take in, but that’s what we got to see because everybody is not wearing capes. Everybody is not handling things the way you may handle things, I may handle the things, the way that person or this person may handle things. So we all just got to give grace and take in the film. It’s a story that’s being told.

Olsen: To me, one of the biggest surprises about the movie is considering how cohesive and complete it feels, to learn how improvisatory and collaborative the process of making the movie was. Were you surprised by that? What was it like for you entering into the process of making this movie with Paul?

Taylor: I was shocked at how collaborative it was. And I loved every bit of it because one thing about it is, again, when you are telling a story that someone wrote — he’s been working on this project for 20 years. This is something that I consider to be his baby. And when you’re trusting me to take on a job like this, I don’t ever wanna walk into any set and feel like I’m doing what I want to do. I just want to be of good support. If you tell me, “Hey, let’s find this together,” I’m gonna find it together. If you say, “This is my vision of what that is and this is how I want it to be,” it’s my job to give you that vision of what you want it be, and then add my little sauce on top of it. But to be fully collaborative, I thought it was really dope. We found Perfidia’s layers and we color-coordinated those layers. And I’m really happy that he let me be a part of that.

Olsen: What do you feel you brought to Perfidia or you were able to add to the character?

Taylor: I was able to add a lot. Paul was very, very collaborative. And again, we found her layers, which was the most important, especially with such a complex character. And you know, I just came from “A Thousand and One.” So I came from being another complex character, but this one was complex to a whole other level, where we almost didn’t understand why we never see Perfidia cry. But you see these little moments, like little details, in her face that’s just like, it’s this strength, but the strength — because I also don’t really love the term “strong Black woman” — it’s this strength that you feel like she has to have because the strength is really survival mode. And again, like I said, you hear her crack down and you hear her vulnerable, and nobody stepped through that door. So when you see a strong Black woman, there is no grace, it’s, “Oh, she’s OK, she fine, she got it all figured out.” And then you hear her vulnerable and you still feel like even at her most vulnerable, she got this, she’s strong. And it’s just like, “Step through the door. Step in early. Step in the first time. Hear me the first time, see me [this] time, wipe the first tear away. Would she have walked out that door on Baby Willa and Bob, had he walked through that door when he heard her cry?

Olsen: I’ve heard you a number of times when you’re talking about Paul, you always call him Paul “Let Him Cook” Thomas Anderson. What does that mean?

Taylor: Let him cook! Listen, because he to me is a master chef. And honestly, I’m very, very big on leadership. I respect the person that is a leader. What makes it so dope is because, with being in culinary school, I originally signed up for culinary school, of course, to learn the art of culinary, but to just cook, I love to cook and I wanted to learn the art of that. With being enrolled in culinary school, it’s a lot of writing work and a lot of discussion forums and a lot of quizzes and stuff like that. So you’re not only learning to cook, but you’re learning how to run a business. You’re learning how to navigate your staff, front of house, back of house, in the kitchen. You have to understand it’s a whole system in how you handle people in general. In the kitchen they call it like a “servant leader,” where your leader is in the kitchen with you, they’re cooking with you. They’re your mentor, they are your guidance, but they’re cooking with you. They’re not just pointing, “Do this, do that, boom, boom, boom.” And it’s just, like, his gentle servant leadership is something that I respect so much and something that inspires me as an upcoming movie director on how to handle and navigate my staff.

So it’s like the best of both worlds because I have PTA and then I have culinary school who’s teaching me how to be the best leader. Even in how we handle people, it’s bigger than just the people that work for us or with us. It’s also the people that come into this restaurant. It’s your customers. It’s just the hospitality of it all and the hospitality that he gives, it’s really amazing to see. I’m also a big sports girl. So even in regards to him being our quarterback, you know, he’s not on the side, pointing at what to do. He’s on the field with you. But he has an even bigger job because now he’s trusting that he’s going to throw this ball to you and you’re going to receive that ball. So we’re his receivers, we’re his wide receivers to take it to the touchdown. It’s all about being present. And that’s what I learned in culinary, it’s what I learned in sports, it’s just everything about being a leader as I prepare to lead my village and lead my community. That’s just so important to me. So I always respect people that are in the field with you. I become a warrior for you. You see Paul, you’re running in the battlefield, you look to your left, he’s with you. He’s not on a horse, he’s not on his high horse. He’s in the field with you. Let’s go, we got this! And it just makes you want to you want to go so hard for him. And that’s how I look at it. So I am a student. I am a teammate. I am a soldier. I am a warrior. That’s what I am with people that are great leaders.

Olsen: When you won the Golden Globe, your speech was so moving and you specifically spoke to your “brown sisters and little brown girls” and said that their light does not need permission to shine. Can you talk more about that? What was it that made you want to say that in that moment, specifically talking about this movie?

Taylor: I thought it was a very important moment on a very important stage. I wanted to use my voice and I wanted to use my platform. And in that moment, I had the voice and the platform to say just that. It’s nothing less than that. There’s nothing beyond that. Exactly what I said. We deserve space. What that night showed was that here’s the space. And I appreciated that. I was filled with so much gratitude. That moment hit hard for me because I was that little girl that sat on the floor on a TV watching the other queens onstage accept their awards. Like, “You can do it too, you can do it too.” And I knew that one day when it was my turn, I would tell my little queens, “You can do it too — all the little queens that look like me, you can do it too, you deserve space.” To know that also my daughters were watching as well, it’s everything to me. It’s everything for me to know that they embrace that as well. It’s so important. I’ve gotten so many women come up to me like, “Wow, that speech was just everything.” And that’s what it’s all about. That’s what is all about: to inspire, uplift and remind us that there is space.

Olsen: Before I let you go, you just bring it on red carpets time and time again. And the one thing I like is that you wear these really bold outfits, and it never looks like the clothes are wearing you. Do you have tips for people? What do you do for confident personal style?

Taylor: Honestly, follow your heart. Follow your heart. If you see it and you like it, put it together. You might put it together and be like, “That didn’t work the way I [intended].” Practice. Play in clothes. I love to play in clothes — but also will walk in the store and redress a whole mannequin. I’ll also be like, “I like that tie, I think it should be a little bit tighter.” I dream about certain outfits. I dream of certain moments where I’m like, “Oooh. I already know what I feel like I want my Oscar dress to look like. I already know what I want my Golden Globes dress to look like.” It’s always a vision. Or sometimes you might have a base. You might see something and be like, “I like this, but I feel it could use this.” Add it. If you feel like something can use something, add it. Because before you know it, now you done created your own thing. So don’t hesitate. When I was younger, I used to hesitate and be like, “This looked pretty cool, but now I’m not gonna do it.” And then later on, I see somebody try it, and I’m like, “Oh, I should have just…” Always follow your gut and always follow you heart.

Pasadena Playhouse’s take on Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” may be the Tony Award-winning regional theater’s most lavish production to date.

The show, which opens Sunday, features a scrim that has been hand-painted with the notes of Mozart’s “Phantasie für eine Orgelwalze.” The entire process, done by a team of three, took eight days from start to finish. When the scrim is illuminated, the golden notes appear to be suspended like stars in the sky.

Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna “Nannerl,” handwrote many of the genius composer’s compositions, and Playhouse head painter Johnny LeBlanc said the group worked to create an exact replica of her strokes. That attention to detail at every level is emblematic of this elaborate show.

Director Darko Tresnjak (center) during “Amadeus” rehearsal at Pasadena Playhouse. Tresnjak is known for exploring the intellectual and emotional foibles of each character in a play.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

The play is as rich in talent as it is in design. It stars Broadway veteran and Tony winner Jefferson Mays as Salieri, Sam Clemmett as Mozart and Lauren Worsham as Constanze, and is directed by Darko Tresnjak, who won a Tony in 2014 for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

The red-and-gold, Baroque and Rococo aesthetics of the show, including the forced perspective of scenic designer Alexander Dodge’s set, which makes a royal room seem to disappear into the distance, were meticulously constructed to reflect the twisted interiority of Salieri as he grapples with his seething hatred for the scatological young upstart as it crashes against his cascading awe of Mozart’s divine music.

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“The entire play really takes place in a mental space,” Tresnjak said during a recent rehearsal. “That location is Salieri’s increasingly addled brain and what happens within that brain strikes me as eminently contemporary.”

Mays called “Amadeus” a “memory play,” noting that “every aspect of this production is exploring that — it’s all filtered through the warped, distorted memories and imaginings of its unreliable narrator.”

The Pasadena Playhouse has one of the few remaining on-site scene shops in the industry, and its staff of designers, carpenters and painters created elaborate wall sconces and candle holders that become smaller and smaller as they move to the back of the stage, toward two tiny doors in the center. At one point in the show, actor Matthew Patrick Davis, who plays Emperor Joseph II, steps through the doors.

“Amadeus” director Tresnjak says the key to his lavish productions is a strong community of artists, rather than a big budget. “It’s all smoke and mirrors,” he said.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times )

Mays describes the moment as “delicious” because Davis is quite tall and thin — even more so in his 2-inch, 18th century heels — and when he unfurls his body into the room and proceeds down the stage, the audience realizes what a gigantic figure he is in Salieri’s mind.

“It’s all shot through with these ‘Alice in Wonderland’ moments of surrealism,” Mays said. “It feels like a fever dream.”

Music is key to Salieri’s world, and the sound design by Jane Shaw strives to access the otherworldly power of Mozart’s music through layered backing tracks. An electric keyboard programmed to sound like a fortepiano is also embedded in a handcrafted instrument, which actors with musical training can play.

A fortepiano is being built for “Amadeus” at Pasadena Playhouse. A small electronic keyboard will be embedded within so actors with musical training can actually play it.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Tresnjak has a long history directing with L.A. Opera and its departing music director, James Conlon, worked with Clemmett on conducting. He also gave the actor a history lesson about what the art form would have been like in Mozart’s time. Jeffrey Bernstein, the founding artistic and executive director of the Pasadena Chorale, drilled the cast on their chorale passages.

The key to creating such a richly textured theatrical environment is not a bloated budget, said Tresnjak, it’s engaging a whole community of artists — onstage and backstage — and giving them free reign to set their creativity loose. Pasadena Playhouse, which is known for being a resourceful company, made that easy, he added.

The show is buoyed by its classic stagecraft, with flats, escape stairs and rolling platforms. There is no computer automation and anything that moves is moved manually, said associate artistic director Jenny Slattery, pointing out the theater’s antiquated hand winches that control a mobile throne.

“There is something magical that comes from a resonance between the subject matter and the aesthetic and the behind-the-scenes techniques,” said Slattery.

A sketch and fabric swatch for Venticelli’s costume in “Amadeus” at Pasadena Playhouse. The costume is the same red as the set walls, so the character will seem to fade in and out of Salieri’s consciousness.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Linda Cho designed the costumes and L.A. Opera fabricated the extravagant 18th century garments, which Slattery said have become a “staff tourist attraction.” The fabric was sourced in New York and shipped to L.A.; the ribbons were made by hand. Mays said he got giddy and breathless when he first stepped into his costume.

L.A. Opera fabricated the costumes for “Amadeus” with fabric sourced from New York.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

“It makes all the difference when you know that your sleeves are cut in a bias and your arms have to do certain things,” he explained. “I find a costume, particularly the costumes of this late 18th century period, to be so informative about physicality and how you move.”

In rehearsal, Mays fully inhabits his role — and his costume — moving with a lithe formality as he strives to eavesdrop on Mozart and Constanze. His revulsion and deep attraction are on full display. The actor said it is not his intention to play Salieri as a mustache-twirling villain, but rather as human, recognizable and understandable.

Details on the sleeve of a jacket made by L.A. Opera.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

“We are all Salieri to varying degrees,” Mays said. “What interests me are everyman aspects of him. The banality of his evil and the way that evil actions seem to always rise out of fear and insecurity.”

The lighting design by Pablo Santiago helps manifest Salieri’s uncomfortable emotions onstage.

“Darko is someone who likes to work in more of the intellectual, emotional space rather than realism. So a lot of it is about using the set in a more abstract way,” said Santiago. “It’s about shapes and color and creating full stage pictures that are interesting.”

The story of Salieri and Amadeus, said Mays, is one of twisted love. Salieri gets up every morning and tries to destroy that which he loves most. Playing the troubled antihero is “not altogether pleasant,” Mays said, “because you’re marinating in this cesspool of thwarted ambitions and inadequacy, but then you’re surrounded by this beauty that is a constant reminder of your own failings.”

When the curtain finally rises, the cast and crew hope the stage will be its own thing of beauty — its ambition fully realized.

AN iconic American actress looks completely unrecognizable after a string of legendary roles and an Oscar nomination.

The star first shot to fame in 1983 as she appeared in Scarface playing Al Pacino’s character’s sister, Gina Montana.

She starred in many huge movies back in the 80s and 90s – can you guess who?

The actress in question is none other than brunette bombshell Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who has enjoyed an incredible career as a movie star.

Mary has recently been spotted out and about and she looks completely different to back in the day.

The 67-year-old has obviously moved on from her famous 80s curls and has opted for a more natural look often going to events makeup free.

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Mary’s style is incredibly chic, with the actress often donning shirt’s and over sized blazers.

Years ago, glamourous Mary was often seen on red carpets wearing floor length gowns and posing with her A-lister pals.

Many of Mary’s fans may recognise her from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, where she played Maid Marion – a spy.

While Mary is probably best known for her role in Scarface she also appeared in the 1986 movie The Colour of Money, playing Carmen, which landed her the coveted Oscars Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Paul Newman and Tom Cruise appeared alongside the star in the movie, which also saw her nominated for a Golden Globe.

Her other movie roles include James Cameron’s science fiction, The Abyss with Ed Harris, she played the attorney daughter of Gene Hackman‘s character in Class Action, co-starred in the 1992 thriller Consenting Adults and played a fishing boat captain in The Perfect Storm.

The singer was also nominated for a Tony award for Best Actress in a musical back in 2003 for her work in Man of La Mancha.

As well as her impressive career as a movie star, Mary also appeared in many TV shows, the most notable being Without A Trace and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Mary was born in Lombard, Illinois and studied drama at the university. She worked summers at a local theme park to get her through college.

The Broadway star lived in England for over 20 years with her husband Pat O’Connor, who directed The January Man.

Mary and Pat have two sons and they all moved back to the US in the 2010s.

The movie star now works as a professional coach using her years of experience in theatre, film and prime time television.

LISA Armstrong has seemingly confirmed she’s back on the market with a savage Instagram rhyme.

The Strictly Come Dancing make-up artist, and ex-wife of Ant McPartlin, hinted she’s single again with a post celebrating those “on their own”.

The 49-year-old is reported to have ended her romance with Grant Kilburn, 34, earlier this month.

In wake of the alleged split, Lisa’s pointed Valentine’s Day post included a rhyme that appeared to take aim at her former flame. 

It read: “Roses are flowers, pebbles are stones. Here’s a big shout out to those on their own.

“Count yourself lucky and try not to snob. Look on the bright side, you’re not with a nob!”

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Reports last month claimed she was “happier than ever” with actor Grant who had been touring in the play 2:22 A Ghost Story. 

But friends say they have since quietly gone their separate ways after deciding it wasn’t working.

A source told The Mirror: “It’s very sad but it wasn’t to be.”

Lisa is believed to have met Grant through her friends, former Strictly professional Kevin Clifton and his partner Stacey Dooley.

The break-up follows her divorce from TV presenter Ant in January 2018 after 11 years of marriage.

The split happened just two months before he ploughed into two other cars while more than twice the legal drink-drive limit.

He later admitted drink-driving, was fined £86,000 and handed a 20-month ban.

After the crash, he entered rehab and stepped away from TV presenting for 10 months.

The presenter later tied the knot with his former personal assistant, Anne-Marie Corbett, in 2021.

The couple went on to welcome their first child Wilder Patrick McPartlin last year.

Meanwhile, Lisa dated Sky electrician James Green in 2020, but they split in August 2023.

Pals said the break-up was “unexpected” and had “come out of nowhere”, though it was believed to be on friendly terms.

Despite their divorce, Lisa and Ant continued to share custody of their much-loved dog Hurley until his sad passing last week.

The couple were forced to make the agonising decision to have Hurley put to sleep after vets explained the 12-year-old pet was too ill to recover.

Ant, 50, and Lisa were both able to spend time with him beforehand, and Ant was by Hurley’s side as he peacefully slipped away.

Lisa posted an image on Instagram of a girl releasing hearts into the sky to mark the heart breaking news.

As Sister Veronica questions her purpose in life on the BBC drama, we take a look inside the life of actress Rebecca Gethings

Sister Veronica’s anguish has left Call the Midwife fans in tears as she longs for a child to call her own.

When the BBC period drama commenced its 15th series this January, set in 1971, viewers were immediately met with an unexpected revelation as Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings) opened up about her innermost feelings, and her tale is heartwrenching.

In a candid exchange with Geoffrey Franklin (Christopher Harper), the nun disclosed her desire to become a mother herself, despite having devoted her life to the Church.

Sister Veronica had also developed a particularly close relationship with baby Christopher, providing invaluable assistance and support to the Turner family in caring for the little one.

The family decided Christopher should travel back to Hong Kong to continue receiving medical care at the British Army Hospital, and Sister Veronica accompanied the tot on his journey.

On Sunday (February 8), Sister Veronica arrived back from Hong Kong and insisted on speaking privately with Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) at Nonnatus House. During an emotional discussion, Sister Veronica revealed her intention to relinquish both her position as a nun and her duties as a midwife within the order.

She said: “I came back to Poplar via the Mother House. I needed to confer with Mother Mildred because I have been feeling increasingly unhappy.”

Sister Julienne responded: “I wasn’t unaware of it but our work is not about our happiness, it is about seeking no reward other than knowing that we do his will.”

The remark caught Sister Veronica off guard, prompting her to declare: “If you are quoting Ignatius of Loyola, then you are admitting the bit about giving and not counting the cost. And I can’t keep on giving and not counting the cost any longer.”

“I hoped I could bear it, but I can’t”, Sister Veronica confessed, before removing her wimple and exposing her hair for the first time.

“I have been given permission to go away for six weeks while I decide if I want to give up my vows and leave the order.”

Sister Veronica, now going by Beryl, later received consolation from Shelagh Turner (Laura Main), who had herself left the order years earlier to build a family with Doctor Turner (Stephen McGann). Beryl subsequently gathered her belongings and departed Nonnatus House. Will she return to Nonnatus House?

Who plays Sister Veronica in Call the Midwife?

Sister Veronica joined Call the Midwife in Series 12 (2023) as a new nun at Nonnatus House, replacing Sister Hilda.

She had previously worked as a midwife in Hong Kong and initially joined Nonnatus House as a health visitor. She certainly has her quirks, though she has become a much-loved member of the team and the community.

Sister Veronica is played by Rebecca Gethings, a 50-year-old English actress who was born in Canada.

Raised in Berkshire, UK, she studied drama at the Webber Douglas Academy. Starting off her career in theatre, she appeared in the West End production of Vassa.

She has gone on to star in a long list of television shows, including Queen Eleanor in The Serpent Queen, Helen Hatley in The Thick of It, Dawn in Not Going Out, Lizzie in Extras, and a guest role in EastEnders in 2001.

Rebecca has also starred in movies, including Casino Royale and The Critic. In 2015, she played PR manager, Miriam Clark, in Ricky Gervais’ film David Brent: Life on the Road.

Who is Rebecca Gethings’ husband?

In June 2025, Rebecca tied the knot with long time partner Tom Brass, opting for a pink dress after a disaster with her original wedding dress.

Rebecca and her animation director husband, also parents to two children, celebrated their union with an intimate East London ceremony.

The actress took to Instagram to share her joy, posting a stunning snapshot of her and Tom walking hand in hand as newlyweds.

Underneath the photo, she brimmed with enthusiasm, captioning: “I do, he do, and we very much did! All our thanks to @davidjonesphotography @iconoclast_london @justineluxton_costumedesigner.”

Speaking about her wedding dress disaster, Rebecca shared on the Call the Midwife Instagram page: “I wanted to keep our wedding very low-key – just Tom, the kids and myself. So I bought myself a wedding dress online in the sales. Just a white summer dress – nothing too fancy. It was then that disaster struck!

“Unfortunately, the dress arrived by post in a rainstorm whilst I was at work! I asked our babysitter to rescue it from behind the bin where the postman had left it. But when she turned up, she found that the rain-soaked parcel box had disintegrated completely!”

Justine Luxton, the show’s costume designer, and her assistant Anna Laflin, saved the day by making a new dress from beautiful coral fabric from Joel & Sons, which Rebecca had selected.

Call the Midwife airs Sunday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website**

SAVANNAH Guthrie is reportedly looking to quit The Today Show for good as she fears her fame made her mother a vulnerable target.

It comes just months after she filmed a segment for the show with her mother Nancy, 84, who has now been missing for two weeks.

Sources have said that the co-host is considering a permanent exit from the hit show after her mother was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, at around 2am on February 1.

“This absolutely came out of the blue, and I think she’s really concerned that it was because of her job,” NewsNation’s Paula Froelich reported, citing sources. 

She added that Savannah, who is said to be a “mess” as the search for her mother enters its third week, fears her fame made her mother more of a target “with bad characters”.

Just months before she was taken, The Today Show filmed a segment with Savannah near Nancy’s $1 million home, which is now a major crime scene.

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In the NBC clip from November 2025, the mother-and-daughter duo paired up for a piece called “Savannah’s Arizona Homecoming” which also featured her sister Annie.

It documented the television star going back to her roots including her alma mater and El Charro, the oldest family-owned Mexican restaurant in America where she shared a meal with her family for the show.

“I have to come here every time I come home to Tucson,” Savannah said.

Her mother has featured in several segments for the show over the years since Savannah joined in 2012.

Despite admitting they are ‘exhausted’ by the search for Nancy, who is in poor health and in need of daily medication, cops have vowed they will find her and those responsible for her disappearance.

Investigators have now reportedly turned to high-tech scanners that can detect Bluetooth signals in an attempt to connect to Nancy’s pacemaker as they run out of leads and have no suspects.

A series of ransom notes sent to the family, law enforcement, and several news outlets are further muddying the waters, with a number of them turning out to be fake.

Fox News Digital reported that the Bluetooth devices have been attached to the bottom of police helicopters that are flying in low and slow, in grid-like patterns to try to locate her heart monitor device.

But, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the search for Nancy could now go on for years as hopes seemingly begin to fade.

Earlier this week, investigators were seen combing through the grounds of her property, and searching inside a septic tank.

On Friday night, a number of people were reportedly detained in a SWAT raid at a nearby home after mystery DNA was recovered in the case, but cops later confirmed no arrests were made.

Meanwhile, investigators are still searching for the masked man captured in chilling doorbell footage taken from Nancy’s home on the night she vanished.

Federal agents have released new details about the suspect as they hope to cut down the number of public tips that have been called in with over 13,000 reported since February 1.

Officials are looking for a man who is around five-foot-nine-inches to five-foot-ten-inches with an average build.

He was seen in the footage wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Hiker Pack backpack.

The reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case has been increased from $50,000 to $100,000.

Timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home on February 1, 2026.

Timeline:

• January 31: Nancy is last seen by her family
  • 5:32pm: Nancy travels to her daughter’s home for dinner, about 11 minutes from her own house.
  • 9:48pm: Family members drop off Nancy Guthrie at her home in Tucson. Her garage door closes two minutes later.
• February 1: Nancy is reported missing and a search begins
  • 1:47am: Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnects
  • 2:12am: Camera software detects a person moving in range of the camera. There is no video, and Nancy does not have a storage description.
  • 2:28am: Nancy’s pacemaker app disconnects from her phone, which is later found still at her house.
  • Around 11am: A parishioner at Nancy’s church calls the mom’s children and says she failed to show up for service.
  • 11:56am: Family members arrive at Nancy’s house to check on her.
  • 12:03pm: The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
  • 8:55pm: The Pima County Sheriff’s Office gives its first press conference and reveals some clues found at Nancy’s home caused “grave concern.” Sheriff Chris Nanos says helicopters, drones, and infrared cameras are all being utilized in the search.
• February 2: Search crews pull back. Nancy’s home is considered a crime scene. Savannah releases a statement thanking supporters for their prayers, which her co-hosts read on Today.
• February 3: A trail of blood is pictured outside Nancy’s home, where there were reportedly signs of forced entry. Nanos admits they have no suspects, no leads, and no videos that could lead to Nancy’s recovery. He and the FBI beg for more tips and accounts.
• February 4, 8pm: Savannah and her siblings release a heartbreaking video directed at their mother’s abductors asking for proof she is alive and saying they’re willing to work with them to get her back.
• February 5: FBI offers $50,000 reward for information on the case.
  • 5pm: First ransom demand deadline for millions in Bitcoin passes. Guthrie family releases demand to speak “directly” to the kidnappers, saying, “We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”
• February 9, 5pm: Second ransom demand deadline, reportedly with “much more serious” conditions.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is a dark comedy thriller series topping Netflix charts, and here’s everything you need to know about the actor who plays Liam

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast fans are only just realising where they have seen Darragh Hand before.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is already making waves on Netflix, with the dark comedy thriller featuring an impressive cast.

The brainchild of Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee, the series follows three friends as they delve into the mysterious death of a former classmate.

Their own tumultuous personal lives prove to be obstacles as they encounter a host of intriguing characters during their journey across Ireland. Fans are just now recognising one of the stars from previous roles.

Emerging star Darragh Hand portrays Liam, a Garda police officer who comes to the trio’s aid when they find themselves stranded on a road.

Liam plays a pivotal role in the investigation that forms the crux of the plot, and here’s everything you need to know about the actor’s past roles.

Darragh Hand is an Irish-Jamaican actor who has featured in big-name shows like Netflix’s Heartstopper and ITV’s detective series, Grace.

His television debut was as Kai Davis in the BBC’s long-standing drama, Silent Witness. He then landed the role of Leo in the third season of Grace.

Viewers might recognise him as Michael Holden from the third season of Netflix’s romantic drama, Heartstopper.

In his cameo in Radio Silence, Michael came across as geeky and awkward for an athlete, owing to his height and his thick-framed glasses.

The actor has also made his mark in theatre, with acclaimed performances in Dear England, Richard III, and The Land of Lost Content.

In conversation with Bustle, the 27 year old Olivier-nominated performer from Croydon discussed his Heartstopper role and what viewers can anticipate from the forthcoming film.

He revealed: “The fans of that show are some of the most loyal, dedicated fans I’ve ever experienced. It means so much to them as an audience, so I don’t know if there’s much I can give away.

“But it is the final instalment, so we will be saying goodbye to these characters, which is sad and beautiful – especially for a lot of the other cast [members who have] grown up with this show.”

He continued: “I will always be so grateful for Heartstopper because it introduced me into the TV/film realm in the best way possible. Even down to the comics – my character, Michael Holden, looks a bit different from how I look.

“And I would see people online absolutely crushing any narrative of, like, Oh, this is not how he looked in the comics. This is not how his hair was in the comics. They really vouched for me.

“They genuinely had my back, which was a bizarre but lovely thing. For that to be my introduction was beautiful.”

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is on Netflix

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website**

The Apprentice star has explained his absence from last week’s episode that left him isolated from the other contestants.

Levi Hague, a contestant on The Apprentice, has shed light on his conspicuous absence from the latest episode of the show.

The BBC’s business competition, helmed by Lord Sugar, is in full swing, with a surprise double elimination in the opening episode and two more hopefuls shown the door since. The remaining contestants are vying for a hefty £250,000 investment into their business ventures.

This year’s line-up includes a star from Geordie Shore and an actress, but viewers noticed that former RAF Gunner Levi was missing from the recent episode.

Taking to social media, Levi clarified his absence, attributing it to a bout of severe food poisoning that led him to “lose more weight than an Ozempic user”.

He admitted he missed parts of the second episode and was still feeling under the weather during the third task, leaving him feeling “gutted”, reports Wales Online.

In a TikTok video, he recounted: “The night before the task, we got in pretty late, about 10 o’clock at night, couldn’t be bothered to cook, I was being lazy, and I had some spaghetti Bolognese, either that or some chicken, whatever.

“I got food poisoning, really bad. Diarrhoea and vomiting. The place where we went to do the boardroom, you have a little chill out room before, and I spewed up getting out the car.

“More or less spewed up when we got into the chill out room, so they isolated me straight away, so I wouldn’t spread it to any other contestants. So, yeah, that’s reason why I were down, it was diarrhoea and sickness.”

The contestant revealed he was taken out of the house and placed in hotel accommodation to recover separately from his fellow housemates, with production staff regularly monitoring his condition.

He continued: “I went down for about four or five days. Had to go on some hardcore antibiotics. Put it this way…. I lost more weight than an Ozempic user, and after I went toilet after 21 times in a day, I stopped counting after that.”

In an accompanying caption, he explained: “Right… let’s clear this up before the conspiracy theories start If you’re wondering why I wasn’t there for Task 3 – I was still man down with food poisoning.

“Given it was a food task, it probably wasn’t the best idea to have me anywhere near the public or a kitchen or away from a toilet So that’s the reason! Not to worry though… these extremely rosy cheeks and this northern accent will be back on your screens next week. P.S. Thank you for all the messages of support and concern genuinely appreciated.”

Levi has faced controversy over his inclusion in the programme, after his historic offensive social media posts were uncovered.

It was claimed he made discriminatory remarks towards Muslims and sexist comments about women. He later apologised for the posts, which have been deleted.

Production company Naked also admitted social media checks had “failed to flag the offensive posts” and that the process would be reviewed, adding: “Levi’s historical posts contain language which is unacceptable and Levi has been spoken to about this behaviour. He has apologised and insists that these posts do not reflect the man he is now.”

A BBC spokesperson said the views presented in the posts were “totally unacceptable” and the organisation was taking it “extremely seriously”.

“We were completely unaware that this contestant had made such abhorrent comments,” the BBC spokesperson said.

“We have asked the independent production company to fully review the social media checks undertaken given the process has clearly failed in this instance.”

The Apprentice continues on Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

WUTHERING Heights star Margot Robbie would soak up views of the Yorkshire Dales from a bath while there for filming, a hotel owner has revealed.

Staff said the 35-year-old Aussie became a real “Yorkshire lass”, wearing wellies and a wax jacket — and pulling pints.

Margot, who plays Cathy Earnshaw in the tragedy, spent three weeks at 17th-century Simonstone Hall Hotel in Hawes, North Yorks, last year.

Other cast members also stayed including Jacob Elordi, 28, who plays brooding Heathcliff.

Barbie actress Margot was given the hotel’s best room, the luxury £300-a-night Langtry Suite.

Staff said she was obsessed with having a daily bath in its free-standing tub by a large window so she could enjoy the view.

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Meanwhile, Australian Jacob requested a “dog-friendly” room for his golden retriever Layla.

Margot is effortlessly beautiful and even looked good in wellies and a wax jacket.

Hotel owner Jake Dinsdale on Margot

Hotel owner Jake Dinsdale told The Sun on Sunday: “Margot was absolutely lovely.

“She was very down-to-earth — a real Yorkshire lass at heart.

“Margot is effortlessly beautiful and even looked good in wellies and a wax jacket.”

He added: “I’ve got an old school Land Rover and she asked me to drive her to the set in it a couple of times.”

Jake said Margot had a go at pulling a pint of Simonstone Ale.

He added: “There were a few wild nights, drinking negronis and martinis, or hanging out in the hot tub or by the fire.

“But on weekends it was always very relaxed.

“Margot had a Sunday roast in the restaurant and enjoyed our afternoon tea.”

Filming took place in the Yorkshire Dales National Park 30 miles from Haworth, West Yorks, where Wuthering Heights author Emily Bronte grew up.

Margot returned in the summer for a break with producer husband Tom Ackerley and their baby son.

They visited Hardraw Force, England’s highest single drop waterfall — where Tom, 35, had a dip to recreate a scene in 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Custodian of the falls Mark Thompson said: “I remember Margot saying how much she enjoyed Yorkshire and they bought a photo of the falls from the gift shop.”

Wuthering Heights was released in cinemas on Friday.

For Ant McPartlin, beloved dog Hurley was never just a pet.

The chocolate Labrador became his rock through addiction battles, rehab and a painfully public divorce.

Earlier this week, Ant and ex-wife Lisa Armstrong faced the heart-breaking decision to say goodbye.

After vets told them their 12-year-old dog was too poorly to recover, they made the agonising call to put him to sleep.

Ant, 50, and Strictly Come Dancing make-up boss Lisa, 49, were both able to see him beforehand, with the TV star staying by Hurley’s side in his final moments.

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The couple adopted Hurley in 2013 after struggling to have children and had doted on him ever since.

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When their marriage broke down in 2018, custody of the dog became one of the most emotional flash points of their split.

During their £30million break-up, Ant was said to have told Lisa she could take “anything but Hurley”.

At the time, the TV star said: “Hurley’s welfare comes first and we both love him very much. That’s the way it is really.”

They eventually agreed to share care of the pup, with Hurley dividing his time between their homes.

Hurley also enjoyed regular trips to the groomers and spent a holiday with Ant and his family last summer.

The Labrador even became a celebrity in his own right.

Speaking in 2019, Ant said: “I came out of a shop the other day and there was a woman on the floor cuddling Hurley.

“She said to me, ‘It’s the dog from the papers!’ Hurley’s a celebrity.”

Ant even named one of his companies Hurley Promotions Ltd – a nod to his ‘surrogate son’.

SUPPORT HOUND

Friends have long said Hurley was a lifeline during Ant’s darkest days of drink and drug addiction, visiting him in rehab and helping him rebuild routine once he returned home.

Speaking about their bond, Ant said: “There’s a loyalty and a love and a companionship with Hurley that you can’t describe. He never tells me off and is always pleased to see me.”

Even after finding happiness again with wife Anne-Marie Corbett, Hurley remained firmly part of the family.

In May 2024, when Ant and Anne-Marie welcomed their son Wilder, fans noticed his new “family tree” tattoo and questioned why Hurley wasn’t included.

Ant quickly reassured them on X, writing: “For all you dog lovers who asked why my beloved Hurley wasn’t on the family tree… he was!! He was just covered by our newborn.”

The photo had simply obscured Hurley’s name beneath the baby’s proof that the Labrador would always be family.

BROOKLYN Beckham has sent a clear message to Gordon Ramsay after the chef publicly urged him to “remember where he came from” amid his ongoing family row with mum and dad, David and Victoria. 

In an exclusive interview with The Sun this week, Gordon revealed that, despite being close mates with David Beckham, he had maintained contact with Brooklyn after his family fallout alongside wife, Nicola Peltz.

Having taken aspiring chef Brooklyn under his wing for a while, Gordon praised his “incredible heart” but warned that his eagerness to “forge his own path” had him in danger of forgetting “where he came from”. 

Now, within hours of the interview being published, Brooklyn has added his former mentor to the list of people he’s now unfollowed on Instagram. 

At the time of writing, Gordon is still following Brooklyn, meaning that he’s not been blocked by the 26-year-old. 

A source told MailOnline: “Brooklyn and Nicola clearly don’t want any criticism at all, they just don’t want to hear any negativity about themselves. 

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“They must hate being talked about unless it’s gushing. Maybe they don’t like the truth.” 

The Beckhams and the Ramsays have had a long-standing relationship and close bond, with Brooklyn growing up alongside Gordon’s son, Jack, who’s also 26. 

It’s believed that Gordon is even godparent to 14-year-old Harper Seven, the youngest of the Beckham children. At the least, he was one point in the running. 

During our interview with Gordon – who was promoting his upcoming Netflix series Being Gordon Ramsay – he opened up about what was going on inside the Beckham household, and his belief that things at some point will smooth over. 

“It’s a very difficult situation,” he explained. “Victoria is upset, and I know 24/7, seven days a week, just how much David loves Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn and I have messaged a little bit, our relationship is solid. I love him – his heart is incredible – but it’s hard, isn’t it, when you’re infatuated? 

“Love is blind. It’s easy to get up on that rollercoaster, and get carried away. But it will come back.” 

“He’s desperate to forge his own way, and I respect that from him. It’s such a good thing to do,” he added. “But remember where you came from. 

“And honestly, one day you’re not going to have your mum and dad, and you need to understand that. That penny will drop.

“I just want Brooklyn to take a moment to himself. And remember: you’re half mum, half dad. And you’re an amazing young man.

“But, boy, they’ve done more for you than anyone did in your entire life.”

“Time’s going to be the best healer, and David will absolutely get that relationship back on track,” he added.

The Beckham family have continued to make small gestures in a bid to reach out to Brooklyn – despite his public six-page statement cutting all ties from the family.

Today, little sister Harper made a post sending a “Happy Valentines to the best big brothers in the world”, sharing a throwback snap of her as a young child with Brooklyn, as well as brothers Romeo and Cruz.

Victoria later reposted the photograph on her own Instagram Stories, but Brooklyn has not publicly responded.

Earlier this week Cruz also reached out to Brooklyn, with a throwback of the three brothers as children, something he also ignored.

Walt Disney Co. will pay $2.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the California Consumer Privacy Act by not fully complying with consumers’ requests to opt out of data sharing on its streaming services, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

The Burbank media and entertainment company allegedly restricted the extent of opt-out requests, including complying with users’ petitions only on the device or streaming services they processed it from, or stopping the sharing of consumers’ personal data through Disney’s advertising platform but not those of specific ad-tech companies whose code was embedded on Disney websites and apps, the attorney general’s office said.

In addition to the fine, the settlement, which is subject to court approval, will require Disney to enact a “consumer-friendly, easy to execute” process that allows users to opt-out of the sale or sharing of their data with as few steps as possible, according to court documents.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to go to infinity and beyond to assert their privacy rights,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement. “In California, asking a business to stop selling your data should not be complicated or cumbersome.”

A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that the company “continues to invest significant resources to set the standard for responsible and transparent data practices across our streaming services.”

“As technology and media continue to evolve, protecting the privacy and preserving the experience of Californians and fans everywhere remains a longstanding priority for Disney,” the spokesperson said.

The settlement with Disney stemmed from a 2024 investigation by the attorney general’s office into streaming devices and apps for alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act, which governs the collection of consumers’ personal data by businesses.

Under the law, businesses that sell or share personal data for targeted advertising must give users the right to opt-out.

Disney’s $2.75-million payment is the largest such settlement under the state privacy act, Bonta’s office said.

The attorney general has also reached settlements with companies such as beauty retailer Sephora, food delivery app DoorDash and SlingTV for alleged violations of the privacy act.

“A generation ago, midlife might have been a bit of a snore, right? You have your job you’re going to be in for your whole career. You have your house in the suburbs … I don’t think established adulthood is that established anymore,” author Emily Nemens told me from her home in Princeton, N.J., before heading out on a cross-country book tour. “It’s much more pressurized and uncertain.”

This is the foundation of the former Paris Review editor’s sweeping and exquisite sophomore novel, “Clutch,” which features an ensemble cast of five women — all 40, give or take, and longtime friends — who reunite in Palm Springs, each at their own trying crossroads.

Nemens is no stranger to writing group dynamics; her critically acclaimed debut novel, “The Cactus League,” is structured in interlinked stories. She wrote it while juggling a distinguished career at literary quarterlies and making a name for herself as an artist. In the 2010s, her watercolor portraits of U.S. congresswomen went viral for their commentary on political portraiture and the “power suit.” At the time, women made up only 17% of Congress. Her new work also draws on politics — “Clutch” is set in an era shaped by the Dobbs decision and the state of women’s health in America.

The Times talked to Nemens about favoring friendship on the page, bodily autonomy and her influences including California artist Wayne Thiebaud — whose painting “Supine Woman” is featured on the cover of her novel.

This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.

When did the idea for “Clutch” first come to you?

I went to Palm Springs with my girlfriends. The dynamics, the friction of getting people together who love each other a lot but haven’t seen each other for quite a long time was eventful and felt like something to write about.

On your inspiration for the novel: You’ve previously mentioned Mary McCarthy’s novel “The Group,” which has also been cited as a precursor to “Sex and the City.” How far have we come since “The Group” was published in 1963? How about “Sex and the City” in the late ‘90s? “

McCarthy was writing in the ‘50s and ‘60s about the ‘30s and “The Group” was meant to highlight all the progress women had (and hadn’t) made in this new society, new economy, new technologies, birth controls coming on. There’s a certain amount of new liberation that came purportedly in the ‘30s, purportedly in the ‘60s, purportedly in the ‘90s. I mean, progress is certainly being made. You and I can get birth control and have our own credit cards, but there’s also a lot of things that don’t feel great. A reigning plotline in “Clutch” is about reproductive freedom in Texas in the 2020s and just how devastating that was for so many people who care about bodily autonomy, and that doesn’t feel very different than it did in the 1930s.

“Clutch” puts a cast of millennial girlfriends front and center.

Yeah, I’ve read a lot of books I admire about singular protagonists. A woman rebelling from a marriage or striking out from the role of motherhood or otherwise trying to find meaning. These novels about a singular quest. And I just kept coming up against that and thought: What happens when you try to build the infrastructure of friendships on the page?

We get intimate access to each of these five women — a writer, litigator, ENT physician, an actor turned politician and a consultant turned caretaker. All of them live in various parts of the country, including California, Texas and New York. It must have been hard to balance so many perspectives, plotlines and an omniscient narrator on top of it all.

I broke a lot of rules with that third ping-ponging perspective. Sometimes perspectives shift within a page, within a scene, moving rapidly and gleefully between points of view, and using that omniscient voice to steer us around — that was fun. I was cognizant of balance and understanding the lazy-Susan of it. Making sure I was spinning all the way around the table and touching each piece in each storyline.

Why midlife?

I love a bildungsroman as a novel conceit and as a framing device. But, sometimes, moving beyond that realization of the adult you want to be and actually being that adult is harder and more complicated and maybe more interesting, at least as I am and perceive it right now.

You’ve worked as an editor in some of the literary world’s most prestigious posts, notably at the Paris Review. Do you miss it since pivoting toward your own writing and teaching?

Making magazines was a thrill and a gift and exhausting. In that order. Not every editor is quite as catholic with a little c, as ecumenical, as excited about such a range of writing as I am. I wanted to see not one style of writing, but a broad range of writing that I felt had both ambition and execution.

One of the things that’s hard about being an editor, particularly an acquiring editor, is how often you have to say no. As a teacher now, I never say no. I say “yes.” Instead, I ask: What else can this be doing? That attitude adjustment is glorious.

Back to “Clutch,” what does female friendship mean to you? Do you see your friends’ qualities in these five women?

Female friendship has been such a gift. I don’t have children, I have a really supportive partner and I have this wonderful, creative professional life, but I can’t imagine it without my friends. There are certainly flints of autobiography and different friends in different characters — they’ve read it and liked it, and if they saw themselves, they were pleasant about it.

Tell me about the painting on the cover of the book. It really speaks to what these women are going through.

Getting the rights to the painting was a real coup! It’s called “Supine Woman” by Wayne Thiebaud. It was painted in 1963 — its own little Easter egg is that it came out the same year as “The Group.”

It depicts a woman dressed all in white who is lying on the floor. You’d assume from the pose that she’s sleeping, except her eyes are wide open, and in this frightened or startled expression. To me, it’s indicative of what the women in “Clutch” are going through. This is that moment right after you get knocked down, right before you get up again and that emotional tenor proceeds for a lot of the novel.

Lancaster is a London-based writer of fiction, fashion editorial and screenplays.

In its opening credits, Oscar-winning director Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” self-identifies as “based on the novel by Emily Brontë.”

Yet as Fennell has proved in a slew of interviews about the already polemical film, released Friday, the relationship between Brontë’s Gothic epic and its latest adaptation is more complicated than that.

Penned by a young female author perpetually adrift in the dark world of fantasy, “Wuthering Heights” is a transgressive novel today and was exponentially more so at the time of its publication in 1847. Its protagonists are vengeful, and its romances — including Catherine Earnshaw (Cathy) and Heathcliff’s — are ridden with violence, both psychological and physical. While Fennell’s film anchors itself in Brontë’s narrative landscape, it also takes creative liberties in service of approximating the director’s personal experience reading it as a teen.

Whereas Brontë’s novel contains “mere glimmers of physical intimacy,” Fennell’s picture is erotic, laden with steamy scenes inserted from the director’s imagination.

“They’re part of the book of my head,” Fennell recently told The Times. “I think they’re part of the book of all of our heads.”

Some book purists beg to differ with Fennell’s interpretation. Well in advance of the film’s release, the director was criticized for casting her former “Saltburn” collaborator Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, who is repeatedly described throughout Brontë’s novel as non-white. Brontë fans have also accused the director of reducing a complex work rife with social critique into a popcorn romance.

Perhaps anticipating such backlash, Fennell in a recent interview with Fandango explained her decision to enclose the film’s title in quotation marks, saying, “You can’t adapt a book as dense and complicated and difficult as this book.”

“I can’t say I’m making ‘Wuthering Heights.’ It’s not possible,” the director said. “What I can say is I’m making a version of it.”

Here are seven ways Fennell’s interpretation of “Wuthering Heights” differs from its source material.

Fennell’s Heathcliff is white

Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” leaves Heathcliff’s racial identity ambiguous, with characters referring to him as a “gipsy brat,” “lascar” and “Spanish castaway” at different points throughout the novel. But one thing is clear: He is not white.

As the Lousiana State Unversity professor Elsie Michie writes in the academic journal article, “From Simianized Irish to Oriental Despots: Heathcliff, Rochester and Racial Difference,” Heathcliff’s racial othering is how “he becomes, for others, a locus of both fear and desire.” In other words, Heathcliff’s role in the novel, and thus his fraught romance with Cathy, is predicated upon his non-white identity.

Fennell’s film instead relies on class differences — and a meddling Nelly (to be discussed later) — to form the rift between its love interests.

Cathy’s brother dies young

When Mr. Earnshaw presents a young Cathy with her companion-to-be early in the film, she declares that she will name him Heathcliff, “after my dead brother.”

For the remainder of the film, Brontë’s character Hindley Earnshaw is subsumed into Mr. Earnshaw. Rather than Hindley, it is Mr. Earnshaw who devolves into the drunk gambling addict whose vices force him to cede Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff. Mr. Earnshaw’s abuse of young Heathcliff in the film makes the latter’s revenge plot more personal than his book counterpart’s against Hindley.

Cathy meets Edgar Linton as an adult

In Brontë’s novel, Cathy and Heathcliff first encounter their neighbors, the Lintons, after an outdoor escapade gone awry. Cathy gets bitten in the ankle by an aggressive dog and stays at the Lintons’ for a few weeks to heal.

Cathy sustains a similar injury in the film, but this time, she’s an adult woman, who falls from the Thrushcross Grange garden wall after attempting to spy on its grown residents Edgar and Isabella. (In the book, the two are siblings. Here, Isabella is referred to as Edgar’s “ward.”)

Aside from providing some comic relief, Fennell’s revision also fast-tracks the marriage plot that severs Cathy and Heathcliff.

Nelly is a meddler, and a spiteful one

Whereas Brontë writes Nelly as a largely passive narrator, Fennell abandons the frame narrative structure altogether and instead fashions the housekeeper into a complex character with significant control over Cathy’s life.

It is she who ensures Heathcliff overhears Cathy as she laments how marrying him would degrade her, causing him to flee Wuthering Heights and leave Cathy to marry Edgar. Nelly’s ploy comes shortly after Cathy demeans the housekeeper, claiming that she wouldn’t understand Cathy’s predicament given she’s never loved anyone, and no one has ever loved her. Thus, Nelly is characterized as vengeful toward Cathy — although, as the latter lies in her death bed, the two share a brief moment that complicates their relationship to each other.

Regardless, Fennell gives Nelly and Cathy’s relationship psychological depth that Brontë’s novel doesn’t seem to afford them.

Cathy and Heathcliff have sex (and a lot of it)

Brontë’s Cathy and Heathcliff never explicitly (in the text) consummate their professed undying love, save for a few kisses just before Cathy breathes her last.

Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights,” on the other hand, grants them an entire Bridgerton-style sex montage — they even get hot and heavy in a carriage. It’s nearly impossible to keep count of the “I love you”s exchanged during the pair’s rendezvous.

These smutty sequences certainly validate the Valentine’s Eve release.

Isabella is a willing submissive

One particular still of Alison Oliver’s Isabella is already making the rounds online, and for good reason. The shot, which depicts the young woman engaging in BDSM-style puppy play, is a stark contrast to Brontë’s characterization of Isabella as a victim of domestic violence.

In Brontë’s book, Isabella marries Heathcliff naively believing he might shape up into a gentleman and flees with their son when she realizes that is out of the question. In the film, Heathcliff is clear from their first romantic encounter that he does not love Isabella, will never love her and pursues her only to torture Cathy — and the young woman still chooses to be with him.

There is no second generation

Perhaps Fennell’s most glaring diversion from her source material is her complete omission of the second half of Brontë’s novel, which centers on a second generation comprised of Cathy and Edgar’s daughter Catherine Linton, Heathcliff and Isabella’s son Linton Heathcliff and Hindley and his wife Frances’ son Hareton Earnshaw.

In her introduction to the Penguin Classics edition of “Wuthering Heights,” Brontë scholar Pauline Nestor writes that many literary critics interpret the novel’s latter half as “signifying the restoration of order and balance in the second generation after the excesses and disruption of the first generation,” while others contend the violence that stains Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship is bound to be replicated by their children. Either way, the structure of Brontë’s novel encourages readers to interpret each half through the lens of the other.

Fennell’s film instead ends where Brontë’s first act closes, hyper-focused on Cathy and Heathcliff. In the same way the doomed lovers see each other, Fennell figures them as the center of the world.

KATE Cassidy has posted a Valentine’s Day tribute to the late Liam Payne – declaring him her “best friend from afar”.

The social media star had been dating Liam for two years before his sudden death in October 2024 – and despite his passing, she makes sure to remember him on key dates.

This Valentine’s Day, Kate shared a never-before seen photograph of the pair in happier times.

The polaroid snap shows Kate sitting on Liam’s lap as they pose for the picture in somebody’s garden.

She simply noted: “Happy Valentine’s Day to my best friend from afar.”

Kate and Liam dated for from October 2022, through to the time of his death in October 2024. He was 31 years old.

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The One Direction star died after a horror fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, where he was due to attend his old bandmate Niall Horan’s show.

Kate had been holidaying with him in the country, but had returned to their home in Florida alone to look after their dog, Nala, just two days before the tragedy.

Kate has been left heartbroken by the loss, and continues to remember him by sharing photos, videos and memories on special occasions, including his birthday.

In February this year, Kate was seen in tears as she visited the UK home she once shared with the singer.

“I’ve been sitting outside of the house that I used to live in with Liam for the past 45 minutes just in my car and it’s just really hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’m not pulling in the driveway and going home to him being there,” she said.

“You really just never know what life is going to bring. Life can bring you plenty of happiness and plenty of joy, I’ve experienced it all.

“But I’ve never felt this much pain.”

When facing criticism for her public heartache, Kate hit back by reminding fans that he was a “real person in her life” and she can grieve how she wants.

In December last year, in retaliation to another fan who said they “wanted her to move on and stop talking about him”, she declared she will always love him.

Posting a video in tears, Kate said: “I want to make something clear. Whoever I end up with in my future will have to accept the fact I will always love Liam, I will always talk about Liam I will always laugh about Liam, I will always cry about Liam.”

She said she normally pays no mind to critical comments but this topic really riled her.

“Let me tell you something, Liam Payne was my boyfriend,” she continued. “He wasn’t just this famous figure to me. It hurts so bad because I am just criticized all the time for speaking about my boyfriend that passed away, the person that I loved and still do love.

“I would never settle for anyone in this lifetime who did not feel comfortable enough with me speaking about Liam.”

TELLY’S Olivia Attwood ticks off life goals posing in a full-length netting outfit.

The Loose Women star, 34, is about to host a new cooking reality show on ITV and modelled for arty Fault magazine.

She split from footballer husband of two years Bradley Dack, 32, last month.

We told yesterday how Olivia was spotted leaving a party in a taxi with pal Pete Wicks at 3am as her downcast ex Bradley Dack keeps his wedding ring on.

Olivia and Bradley split following a “breach of trust” on his part, with her moving out of the marital home and into her own apartment.

Attempting to move on from her relationship woes, the presenter, 34, was out celebrating her new Garnier brand deal at The Newman Hotel in Central London on Thursday before heading out to Soho with Pete and some other pals.

Read more on Olivia Attwood

TAXI FOR TWO

Olivia Attwood leaves party with Pete Wicks – as downcast Brad keeps ring ON

moving on

Olivia Attwood flashes wedding-ring free left hand at glam event

The longtime friends were seen standing on the streets at 3am as they indulged in conversation before heading into a car for a short trip to a central London hotel.

Olivia, 34, was pictured wearing a skimpy yellow satin playsuit with lace detailing which she paired with black tights and a high-neck red jacket.

She had her hair down before tying it up into a ponytail as she clutched onto her phone.

Meanwhile, Pete, 37, wore a beige blazer with a white shirt and denim jeans as he was spotted smoking a cigarette.

Despite their split, Bradley has been spotted still wearing his wedding ring at his team, Gillingham FC’s training ground.

The midfielder was pictured arriving for training with the gold band still firmly on his finger.

LOVE Island host Maya Jama uses all the experience under her belt to ensure that the show’s contestants stay happy.

The 31-year-old was pictured in a revealing black dress with a belt for Love Island All Stars Games Night episode.

Contestant Lucinda Strafford, 26, stormed off the set in tears following a row.

In an unusual move, Maya paused the game to comfort her.

Love Island fans are convinced that Maya secretly hates one girl after they spotted a huge clue during last night’s challenge.

The drama got so bad that host Maya was forced to step in and comfort Lucinda after she stormed off and broke down in tears.

TIMES UP

Love Island’s axed couple revealed as Maya returns for most brutal dumping yet

SHE’S BACK

Love Island villa in chaos as Maya Jama arrives and new row explodes

Maya made a return to the villa for the Honesty game, where islanders were asked to answer brutal questions in front of all of the other couples.

With the Islanders in their couples, they had to decide between themselves which other couple fits the bill. 

But eager eyed viewers noted that Maya seemed to secretly dislike Belle after spotting how she pulled up Belle.

Maya asked: “Which couple has the least sexual chemistry?”

Belle said it was Leanne and Scott due to him previously being in a love triangle with her.

This led to Belle shouting at Scott for saying that she was the one doing the chasing.

A stern Maya interrupted and said: “Belle, if it wasn’t 70-30 what was it?”

Belle replied that Scott was fully invested and that he had a good way of dancing around things to make things look right.

Fans took to social media and one wrote: “MAYA CALLING BELLE OUT FOR TALKING BS.”

Another said: “The fact Maya could’ve stayed where she was but went after Lucinda shows that even Maya knew Jessy, Belle and Samie were doing too much.”

A third added: “Maya having to step in to comfort Lucinda bc of the bullying. Belle, Jessy & Samie COUNT YOUR DAYS.”

KATIE Price has hit out at “snakes” and “bitter people” as she furiously hits back at claims about her new husband Lee.

The former glamour model, 47, tied the knot with the businessman in a secret ceremony last month and they’re currently on honeymoon in Dubai, where he lives full time.

Katie took to Instagram to post a furious message in defence of her new husband Lee.

In the video clip, Lee and Katie were seen shopping in a pet store together, with Katie completely besotted with what appeared to be a Pomeranian or Spitz puppy.

A loved up Katie added text to the clip which read: “@wesleeeandrews has given me more love more security more respect.

“And proven that everything that’s been said about him is absolute BS by bitter people and snakes in all areas.”

ON THE BOX

Katie Price’s new husband teases reality show after she left TV execs ‘fuming’

PLUS ONE

Katie Price teases new family addition with husband Lee Andrews after baby hint

She also added three emojis: a dog, a house and a pregnant woman – with the latter continuing to fuel pregnancy rumours.

Lee recently shared a snap on his social media profile of an AI generated man kissing a woman’s stomach.

He captioned it: “Good things come to those who have waited,” alongside a pregnant woman emoji.

This isn’t the first time Lee has hinted at children being on the horizon for the new couple.

Prior to her flying out for their honeymoon, he shared another suggestive photo on his stories for the world to see.

He posted a picture of a silhouette of a pregnant woman with her baby bump on display and a bright crescent moon on the stomach.

The baby hints come amid family fears that Katie is looking to uproot her life and relocate to Dubai to be with Lee.

A source previously told The Sun that Katie has been talking about the move and is already thinking about places to live.

Pals fear she is planning to relocate to Dubai for good, and it looks like they have cause for concern.

A source has told The Sun that Katie has been talking about moving there and is already thinking about places to live.

The onlooker said: “She was in a restaurant and I recognised her immediately – she was talking about a property she’s buying out here [Dubai] so they could move here for good, and her husband was laying it on thick – telling her exactly what she wanted to hear, how great he’d make it.

“She was lapping it up. He was selling her a dream but I got a bad vibe from him.”

Katie shocked fans when she revealed that she had married Lee in a quickie wedding almost three weeks ago.

But despite Katie saying her latest trip would be a short one, there doesn’t look like any sign she will be heading back to the UK soon.

This latest news will no doubt cause more upset for her family who are already “deeply concerned” for her, following her wedding.

The Sun revealed how self-proclaimed businessman Lee lives a ‘Walter Mitty’ style existence in Dubai.

Lee was accused of using artificial intelligence to fake images of himself with tech billionaire Elon Musk and reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

He also claimed on his LinkedIn profile to have been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015.

But a Labour source said: “We don’t have a board of advisors and he doesn’t work with us.”

Katie’s pals have told The Sun she has put down a deposit on a property in Dubai.

And they worry she is planning to relocate to the country for good.

Meanwhile, ex Crystal echoed a similar sentiment and warned Katie not to give Lee money, after allegedly being duped out of £123,000 by him.