SHOW BIZ

HAILEY Bieber revealed her bare bum in a tiny thong bikini before making out with husband Justin in steamy pictures.

The couple are holidaying on a private island but Hailey, 28, gave fans a glimpse of what they had been up to in a new Instagram post.

Hailey posted a montage of pictures and simply captioned them: “Hell yeah!”

The first picture saw the model posing in a green thong bikini with a lilac headscarf around her hair.

Turned to the side, Hailey showed off her peachy derriere as she stood close to the beach.

Another picture in the montage offered an even closer up view of her bum as she posed in a black thong bikini.

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With her back to the camera, she glanced over her shoulder with her wet hair hanging around her shoulders.

Husband Justin, 31, clearly couldn’t get enough of his hot wife, and in one black and white snap, the couple were seen kissing.

Justin had his back to the camera and had hold of his wife’s waist, while Hailey cupped his face with one hand, and placed the other around the back of his head.

The singer showed his appreciation for his wife’s pictures by commenting: “Oh my f***in god”.

Hailey was also seen posing with her friend Kendall Jenner – who was celebrating her 30th birthday on the island – and looked stunning in a backless animal print mini dress.

Hailey and Justin have been married since 2018 and share son Jack, one, together.

Their trip for Kendall’s birthday comes just a few days after The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed how the couple were taunted by fans at a baseball game.

The stars were in the stands watching the LA Dodgers play the Toronto Blue Jays in Los Angeles.

Canadian Justin proudly rocked a Blue Jays jersey for his favorite team as he and Hailey, watched the game – which was not well received by the die-hard Dodgers fans in their home city.

Justin first irked Dodgers fans by loudly booing player Shohei Ohtani after he hit a home run, giving the home team a 2-0 lead.

Soon, Justin started being “heckled by fans,” an onlooker exclusively told The U.S. Sun.

“He was really heavily taunted for wearing a Blue Jays jersey,” the eyewitness said, adding that his vocal disapproval of the home run didn’t help matters.

It’s the one-two punch of an earthquake and a piece of scrumptious white chocolate from Belgium, a country famous for its sweet confections, that awakens 2½-year-old Amélie (voiced by Loïse Charpentier) to the wondrous and perilous world around her.

Rambunctious and astute, the toddler heroine of the sublimely beautiful animated film “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” first communicates in voiceover from the void of nothingness before birth. She declares herself a powerful deity and explains that God is essentially a “tube” that constantly ingests and secretes experiences and things. That description could also apply to human existence in a general sense if you take away the philosophical complications that give us meaning. (We are, thankfully, more than all-consuming vessels.)

But until she’s stirred by the earthquake and chocolate, Amélie refuses to engage with reality, observing without making any effort to move or talk, as if displeased with having been born. Her absolutist views of what it means to be alive slowly peel away in the life-affirming first feature from co-directors Liane-Cho Han and Maïlys Vallade, a screen adaptation of Amélie Nothomb’s autobiographical 2000 novel “The Character of Rain,” popular in French-speaking countries.

Akin to impressionistic paintings, the animation here decidedly lacks intricate designs and opts for flat hues coloring figures without visible outlines. The stylistic choices result in a striking, distinctly pictorial aesthetic in line with earlier projects that Han and Vallade worked on, such as “Long Way North” and “Calamity,” both directed by Rémi Chayé.

The third child of a Belgian family living in 1960s Japan, young Amélie develops an endearing relationship with housekeeper Nishio-san (Victoria Grobois). While her parents have their hands full with her older siblings, Amélie explores nature and becomes enamored with Japanese culture. That the affectionate Nishio-san doesn’t impose her perspective on the girl, but quite literally tries to perceive each moment from her height, signals a bond that’s closer to one between mutuals.

It’s through Amélie’s gaze — or, more precisely, how these filmmakers interpret it visually — that we begin to understand her invigorating whimsy. Early on, it seems like her rapidly changing moods affect the weather; later, Amélie steps into the ocean and it parts as it did for Moses (if only in her restless imagination). A person her age is inherently self-centered, unaware that she is part of a bigger whole.

To illustrate Nishio-san’s account of how she lost her family during World War II, animators Han and Vallade zero in on the dish she is cooking: Chopped vegetables fall into a pot like missiles, a gust of pot steam represents a fiery aftermath, rice under water shows how Nishio-san had to dig her way out of being buried alive. The gruesome subject matter is translated into immediate household imagery that someone Amélie’s age could grasp.

When Nishio-san shares with Amélie that the Japanese word “ame” means rain (so close to her own name), the girl takes this as confirmation that her kinetic, unbridled and visceral impulses are natural. Her feelings of kinship with precipitation are transmuted into a delightfully conceived scene in which little versions of Amélie appear inside every falling raindrop. These fanciful instances benefit from Mari Fukuhara’s score, a drizzle of aural luminosity.

Amélie’s rowdy approach becomes more nuanced when she is confronted with a loved one’s death, as well as her own mortality in the aftermath of two accidents. Han and Vallade also make room for her realizations about life’s unfairness and the inevitability of sorrow — all communicated via flights of fancy that only animation can materialize.

In turn, it comes as a shock for Amélie to learn that she is not Japanese, even if that’s the country she considers home. Her future may be determined by Kashima-san (Yumi Fujimori), the landlady who owns the house Amélie’s family is renting and who brought Nishio-san on to help them. Kashima-san distrusts westerners — her wounds of wartime haven’t healed — and to see Nishio-san smitten with Amélie feels like a betrayal.

The larger implications of her presence escape the little one, but the fact that Amélie, even at her age, is able to empathize with Kashima-san’s despair speaks to the thematic richness and emotional maturity that Han and Vallade channel in their brisk, arresting feature. The gently transcendent, tear-inducing conclusion that “Little Amélie” reaches suggests that memory serves as our only remedy for loss. As long as we don’t forget, what we cherish won’t become ephemeral.

James Martin has presented on Saturday morning television for over two decades but says his mum has one blunt criticism whenever he appears on screens

James Martin is often on the end of blunt criticism from his mum. The 53-year-old has been a regular face on television screens since the 1990s.

His Saturday Morning show is even set for a new slot on ITV One next year as viewing figures continue to grow. The show, which began in 2017, will be extended until midday from January, reports the Mirror.

And while James has seen his audience share increase by around 8%, it seems his mum is often critical about one part of the programme. The Yorkshireman says his mum Sue often slams his outfit choices.

Speaking to IrelandLive, he said: “Usually my mum phones me up and says, ‘That shirt looks s*** – you can’t wear that again’. That’s usually the comment I get on Saturday Morning – ‘What the bloody hell are you wearing that shirt for?’ That’ll be the one, after all these years.”

James says his mum often sends him critiques of his look on screen. He explained she often says his hair “looks a mess” and asks if he had a night on the town before recording.

The chef however jokes that it “keeps him grounded”. James has now been on Saturday morning television for over two decades, first on Saturday Kitchen on the BBC before making the jump to ITV in 2017.

James has previously revealed that the desire to pursue his own projects was part of the reason for the switch.

Speaking at the Love Food show, James explained that ITV bosses ask what type of shows he wants to front.

Discussing his TV career, James said: “Television, I got dragged into it with the Hotel du Vin and I got dragged into it even more with the BBC and I think, having a reset, and by leaving that and resetting and going to ITV.

“ITV were the first people in 30 years who said, ‘What do you want to do?’ And that’s when I sat in a meeting and said, ‘Look, I’d love to go back to where I used to work in France’.”

James launched his illustrious career at Hotel Du Vin, where he became head chef at just 22 years old, a role that paved the way for his television debut on Ready Steady Cook and The Big Breakfast.

Before joining the Winchester establishment, he refined his culinary skills at Hostellerie De Plaisance in Saint-Émilion, France.

James Martin’s Saturday Morning will be back on screens from 9.30am today (November 8). This week Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page, master mixologist Merlin Griffiths, and chefs Francesco Mazzei and Jude Kereama will join James at his Hampshire property.

PETE Davidson and Colin Jost’s Staten Island Ferry wreaked havoc on the New York City Marathon and caused major delays for runners, a source has said.

The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal that the massive ship’s trip through the waters between Staten Island and Brooklyn to display a Nike ad during the New York Marathon created issues for anxious racers on Sunday, November 2.

“Pete and Colin’s ferry caused a delay for runners taking the ferry to Staten Island for the start of the marathon,” a source claimed.

Despite the ferry being owned by a couple of comedians, no one was laughing. 

“Some people thought it was a joke but it wasn’t,” the insider continued.

Runners waiting at Pier 79 in Manhattan to get to Colin and Pete’s native Staten Island for the start of the marathon grew irritated as workers told them they were delayed due to the JFK Staten Island Ferry’s troubles in the harbor.

The Saturday Night Live co-stars ferry, which had been painted bright pink for the Nike advertisement, was tugged from its dock in Staten Island.

“The runners’ ferries were leaving about 20 minutes later than they should’ve, and they were told there were issues with Staten Island helping the guys out with the ferry. It was causing a backup on the river.

“Everyone was already anxious so it was a bit frustrating.”

The U.S. Sun reached out to a rep for the JFK Ferry for comment. 

ROUGH RIDE 

In photos exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun last month, the ferry was seen painted bright pink with a hint of the Nike logo in its dock in Staten Island.

The massive vessel looked rusted and rotted in its slip, appearing far from the upscale entertainment venue the Saturday Night Live stars had envisioned.

From one vantage point, the famous ferry’s orange paint had faded to a faint pink after being left unattended on the salty water under the hot sun. 

The ship’s sides showed extensive rusting and what seem to be saltwater stains beneath the windows.

The opposite side of the decommissioned New York City Department of Transportation vessel showed the bright pink paint job with the Nike logo peeking out from behind giant tarps.

The comedians have been racking up huge docking fees for the boat they hoped to transform, but they also have unpaid legal bills, according to a lawsuit filed in New York against their company, Titanic 2. 

The suit claims an outstanding bill of $13,000 is owed to the law firm Nicoletti, Hornig, Namazi, Eckert & Sheehan.

The ship’s last public sighting before the marathon was when it was used for the Tommy Hilfiger show during New York Fashion Week in September 2024.

A video posted to the fashion house’s Instagram showed the ferry wrapped in their signature red, white, and blue logo, docked in New York’s harbor with the Statue of Liberty in the background, before it was docked for the event. 

PETE & COLIN’S GRAND VISION AND SETBACKS

In a December 2024 interview, Pete laid out his ambitious plans for the vessel.

“We do have, believe it or not, an in-depth plan,” Pete told the Wall Street Journal at the time. “Every day I get asked about this f***ing boat, and we’re raising the funds.

“We’re going to do a floor at a time. There’s a full plan in motion, and meanwhile, people are renting it out.”

The ferry was indeed rented for the Tommy Hilfiger show (which Colin Jost attended, though Pete did not) and also served as the set for a horror film, Steamboat Willie.

The ship’s planned renovation has faced numerous delays over the last three years.

FRIENDSHIP ON THE ROCKS

Once close friends and SNL castmates, Pete and Colin’s relationship soured in 2024 amid Pete’s personal struggles.

“Something big happened and Colin is now refusing to be in the same building, let alone the same room as Pete,” an insider exclusively told The U.S. Sun at the time. 

“Colin doesn’t want to be associated with Pete.”

The pair were seen shaking hands when Pete made a cameo on SNL in November 2024, but the interaction was visibly tense.

Pete seemed to hint at his rumored rift with Colin when discussing his friend and fellow comedian, John Mulaney, and the few friends who have remained loyal.

“I watched him as he took it on the chin a couple of years ago and had to completely revamp his life,” Pete said in the WSJ interview. 

“I’m kind of in the midst of that now, and he’s been helping me so much. It was so inspiring to watch him beat his addiction, become an even bigger comedian, go on an arena tour, start a family.

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“He’s so happy now and it looks effortless, but it’s not.”

He concluded by naming his closest confidants: “And I’ve got to say, he’s always had my back and he’s always there, and not a lot of people are for me. I would say it’s just him, Lorne [Michaels] and Machine Gun Kelly.”

Denise Richards’ estranged husband Aaron Phypers must continue to keep his distance from the actor and reality TV star as they move forward in their acrimonious divorce.

A Los Angeles judge on Friday granted the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star’s request to make her temporary restraining order against Phypers permanent. Richards was granted a five-year restraining order that restricts Phypers from buying or owning guns, contacting her or abusing her, among other restrictions, according to People. The order will expire Nov. 7, 2030.

Legal representatives for Richards and Phypers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

The judgment comes after months of contentious hearings that uncovered scathing allegations about their relationship including accusations of infidelity, drug addiction and abuse.

Businessman Phypers, 53, filed to divorce Richards, 54, in July after six years of marriage. He cited irreconcilable differences and requested spousal support. According to court documents, Phypers said he has earned no money since closing down a business last year and estimates “Starship Troopers” actor Richards makes more than $250,000 a month from several business ventures including brand deals, TV and OnlyFans content. Phypers has asked to keep their assets and debts as separate property, including his power tools, motorcycle and sports car, legal documents showed.

Richards and Phypers began dating in 2017 and married in September 2018 in a private ceremony in Malibu. They share no children, though Richards has three: two daughters she shares with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and a teenage daughter she adopted as an infant. Phypers was previously married to “Desperate Housewives” star Nicollette Sheridan from 2015 to 2018.

Weeks after Phypers filed for divorce, Richards fired back and offered a damning account of their marriage. She accused her estranged spouse of abuse, death threats and possession of unregistered weapons in a request for a temporary restraining order that was granted by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in July. Phypers, who denied the allegations, at the time was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Richards and her car, workplace and home, and was told he could not possess firearms or body armor.

“Wild Things” actor Richards referred to abuse that allegedly occurred during their marriage, including between July 4 and July 14, after she had moved out of the family home and into three townhouses that she uses separately as a studio, an office and her residence.

Since July, the pair have fiercely traded barbs in public statements and legal documents. Phypers accused Richards of cheating on him with another man and of scaring his parents when she arrived at their Calabasas home in early August to retrieve her dogs, among other allegations. In court documents, Richards accused Phypers and his family of refusing to vacate that Calabasas abode after allegedly failing repeatedly to pay rent for the property. She also accused the Canadian and his family of trashing the home.

Amid their legal battle, Phypers was arrested in October after a heated courthouse hearing. Law enforcement took Phypers into custody and charged him with two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat, according to TMZ. He was swiftly released after posting $200,000 bond.

Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amber Davies has revealed how she is blocking out the noise as she continues to face harsh backlash over her past dance experience

Amber Davies has hit back at her critics as she opened up on struggling to win over the public on Strictly Come Dancing. The Love Island star, 29, has been heaped with praise for her dance skills on the BBC show alongside pro Nikita Kuzmin after being drafted in at the last minute.

Strictly’s judges have backed her throughout the competition as she has consistently placed high on the leaderboard since stepping in after Dani Dyer’s exit. However, in a shock twist of fate, Amber ended up in the bottom two last month alongside footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink following the public vote.

She has faced strong criticism over her previous dance experience, with some viewers declaring she has an unfair advantage. Since Love Island, Amber has gone on to make a name for herself on the West End having appeared in Legally Blonde and 9 to 5.

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Her past has appeared to haunt her experience on Strictly as she faces harsh comments from fans of the show. However, Amber has now admitted that it has been that way for a while in the competition.

She is pals with 2023 runner-up Layton Williams, who was also paired with Nikita and faced backlash over his dance past. “It comes up every single year — there’s someone who is a performer or in that realm,” Amber said.

“So I am doing my very best not to look and listen to anything,” she told the Sun. “I’m blocking out that noise and just being present in the moment.”

To help battle the outside noise, Amber said she is putting her and Nikita “in a bubble”. She revealed her motto has been to “just zone in and be present”.

Layton has also thrown his support behind her as he urged his fans to back Amber. She said her pages have now been flooded with much more positive comments, which she says is the “nicest thing”.

Amber ended up in the dance off last month, but judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke all decided to keep her in the competition. After Jimmy’s shock exit, Amber took to social media, where she said she felt like “absolute garbage”.

The reality TV star held onto a photo of her and Nikita performing while standing in her pyjamas. She lip synched a clip that admitted: “I woke up this morning and I felt like absolute garbage, for anyone who wants to know what garbage is, that is French for trash.”

Amber added: “A gut-wrenching evening in the dance off, especially dancing against two of the most amazing people I’ve met on this experience, @official_jfhasselbaink & @laurenmayoakley.

“I feel extremely lucky & thankful to be able to experience Halloween week on Strictly, but there will be two very special people missed.

“If you voted for us, really really thank you, I guess this week we aim for a comeback week?! @nikita_kuzmin Thank you for holding my extremely shaky hands extra tight.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

DAVID Tennant’s wife has been left horrified and has appealed to the police following a series of vile death threats. 

Actress Georgia has been targeted by trolls online through social media with one even branding her ‘a w****’.

Georgia took to her Instagram stories to share a screenshot of messages she’s received from users online. 

One troll branded her ‘w****’ and told her to go back to the street she came from, referencing her as the ‘ex-wife of David Tennant’.

Georgia and David have been happily married since 2011. 

The couple also have four children together and each have one child from previous relationships.

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Another sent her a barrage of vile death threats.

The actress tagged social media platform Instagram and The Metropolitan Police in a plea for them to take action against the users. 

Georgia is also an actress like her husband and is the daughter of Doctor Who actor Peter Davison and his ex-wife Sandra Dickinson.

Following in her parents footsteps, she made her on-screen debut at the tender age of just 15 in Peak Practice in 1999, playing Nicki Davey.

The actress is perhaps best known for a recurring role as Abigail Nixon in The Bill from 2007 to 2009.

In May 2008, Georgia appeared in an episode of Doctor Who as Jenny, as the artificially-created daughter of the tenth doctor David, who is now her husband.

In 2020, along with David, Georgia co-starred and produced the comedy Staged, which was filmed during the Covid-19 lockdown.

As of this year Georgia has been the executive producer in a short film titled The Birds and the Bees.

Hubbie David has been facing his own predicaments this past year after his ITV game show The Genius Game was axed in the channel’s biggest, most expensive flop in years.

ITV spent months denying it had scrapped the programme, whose finale earlier this year attracted a paltry average of 661,000 in a prime time slot.

Earlier this year, Managing Director, Media and Entertainment, Kevin Lygo earlier revealed the truth  about the show when he was asked whether they would bring it back and whether he considered it a success.

He said: “Not really. I think it was a good try, but if were honest the audience didn’t come, it was a bit complicated.

“But I do know people who were obsessed with it. You know, especially young people were obsessed with and couldn’t believe we were not going to bring it back.

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“But, you know, I think in entertainment we all know how difficult it is to launch a big new show.”

Discussing expenditure he added: “Every show is a risk that’s new. Every show costs millions of pounds, practically, to put on. Certainly great big entertainment shows.”

Opera has housed a long and curious fetish for the convent. Around a century ago, composers couldn’t get enough of lustful, visionary nuns. Although relatively tame next to what was to follow, Puccini’s 1918 “Suor Angelica” revealed a convent where worldly and spiritual desires collide.

But Hindemith’s “Sancta Susanna,” with its startling love affair between a nun and her maid servant, titillated German audiences at the start of the roaring twenties, and still can. A sexually and violently explicit production in Stuttgart last year led to 18 freaked-out audience members requiring medical attention — and sold-out houses.

Los Angeles Opera got in the act early on. A daring production of Prokofiev’s 1927 “The Fiery Angel,” one of the operas that opened the company’s second season in 1967, saw, wrote Times music critic Martin Bernheimer, “hysterical nuns tear off their sacred habits as they writhe climactically in topless demonic frenzy.”

Now we have, as a counterbalance to a lurid male gaze as the season’s new opera for L.A. Opera’s 40th anniversary season, Sarah Kirkland Snider’s sincere and compelling “Hildegard,” based on a real-life 12th century abbess and present-day cult figure, St. Hildegard von Bingen. The opera, which had its premiere at the Wallis on Wednesday night, is the latest in L.A. Opera’s ongoing collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects, which commissioned the work.

Elkhanah Pulitzer’s production is decorous and spare. Snider’s slow, elegantly understated and, within bounds, reverential opera operates as much as a passion play as an opera. Its concerns and desires are our 21st century concerns and desires, with Hildegard beheld as a proto-feminist icon. Its characters and music so easily traverse a millennium’s distance that the High Middle Ages might be the day before yesterday.

Hildegard is best known for the music she produced in her Rhineland German monastery and for the transcriptions of her luminous visions. But she has also attracted a cult-like following as healer with an extensive knowledge of herbal remedies some still apply as alternative medicine to this day, as she has for her remarkable success challenging the patriarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.

She has further reached broad audiences through Oliver Sacks’ book, “Migraine,” in which the widely read neurologist proposed that Hildegard’s visions were a result of her headaches. Those visions, themselves, have attained classic status. Recordings of her music are plentiful. “Lux Vivens,” produced by David Lynch and featuring Scottish fiddle player Jocelyn Montgomery, must be the first to put a saint’s songs on the popular culture map.

Margarethe von Trotta made an effective biopic of Hildegard, staring the intense singer Barbara Sukowa. An essential biography, “The Woman of Her Age” by Fiona Maddocks, followed Hildegard’s canonization by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

Snider, who also wrote the libretto, focuses her two-and-a-half-hour opera, however, on but a crucial year in Hildegard’s long life (she is thought to have lived to 82 or 83). A mother superior in her 40s, she has found a young acolyte, Richardis, deeply devoted to her and who paints representations of Hildegard’s visions. Those visions, as unheard-of divine communion with a woman, draw her into conflict with priests who find them false. But she goes over the head of her adversarial abbot, Cuno, and convinces the Pope that her visions are the voice of God.

Mikaela Bennett, left, as Richardis von Stade and Nola Richardson as Hildegard von Bingen during a dress rehearsal of “Hildegard.”

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Hildegard, as some musicologists have proposed, may have developed a romantic attachment to the young Richardis, and Kirkland turns this into a spiritual crisis for both women. A co-crisis presents itself in Hildegard’s battles with Cuno, who punishes her by forbidding her to make music, which she ignores.

What of music? Along with being convent opera, “Hildegard” joins a lesser-known peculiar genre of operas about composers that include Todd Machover’s “Schoenberg in Hollywood,” given by UCLA earlier this year, and Louis Andriessen’s perverse masterpiece about a fictional composer, “Rosa.” In these, one composer’s music somehow conveys the presence and character of another composer.

Snider follows that intriguing path. “Hildegard” is scored for a nine-member chamber ensemble — string quartet, bass, harp, flute, clarinet and bassoon — which are members of the L.A. Opera Orchestra. Gabriel Crouch, who serves as music director, is a longtime member of the early music community as singer and conductor. But the allusions to Hildegard’s music remain modest.

Instead, each short scene (there are nine in the first act and five — along with entr’acte and epilogue — in the second), is set with a short instrumental opening. That may be a rhythmic, Steve Reich-like rhythmic pattern or a short melodic motif that is varied throughout the scene. Each creates a sense of movement.

Hildegard’s vocal writing was characterized by effusive melodic lines, a style out-of-character with the more restrained chant of the time. Snider’s vocal lines can feel, however, more conversational and more suited to narrative outline. Characters are introduced and only gradually given personality (we don’t get much of a sense of Richardis until the second act). Even Hildegard’s visions are more implied than revealed.

Under it all, though, is an alluring intricacy in the instrumental ensemble. Still with the help of a couple angels in short choral passages, a lushness creeps in.

The second act is where the relationship between Hildegard and Richardis blossoms and with it, musically, the arrival of rapture and onset of an ecstasy more overpowering than Godly visions. In the end, the opera, like the saint, requires patience. The arresting arrival of spiritual transformation arrives in the epilogue.

Snider has assembled a fine cast. Outwardly, soprano Nola Richardson can seem a coolly proficient Hildegard, the efficient manager of a convent and her sisters. Yet once divulged, her radiant inner life colors every utterance. Mikaela Bennett’s Richardis contrasts with her darker, powerful, dramatic soprano. Their duets are spine-tingling.

Tenor Roy Hage is the amiable Volmar, Hildegard’s confidant in the monastery and baritone David Adam Moore her tormentor abbot. The small roles of monks, angels and the like are thrilling voices all.

Set design (Marsha Ginsberg), light-show projection design (Deborah Johnson), scenic design, which includes small churchly models (Marsha Ginsberg), and various other designers all function to create a concentrated space for music and movement.

All but one. Beth Morrison Projects, L.A. Opera’s invaluable source for progressive and unexpected new work, tends to go in for blatant amplification. The Herculean task of singing five performances and a dress rehearsal of this demanding opera over six days could easily result in mass vocal destruction without the aid of microphones.

But the intensity of the sound adds a crudeness to the instrumental ensemble, which can be all harp or ear-shatter clarinet, and reduces the individuality of singers’ voices. There is little quiet in what is supposed to be a quiet place, where silence is practiced.

Maybe that’s the point. We amplify 21st century worldly and spiritual conflict, not going gentle into that, or any, good night.

‘Hildegard’

Where: The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills

When: Through Nov. 9

Tickets: Performances sold out, but check for returns

Info: (213) 972-8001, laopera.org

Running time: About 2 hours and 50 minutes (one intermission)

Emmerdale’s Bear Wolf actor Joshua Richards spoke to the Mirror about his devastating standalone episode, as we finally find out where Bear is and what’s happened to him

It’s been almost four months since Emmerdale‘s Bear Wolf was last on screen, with Paddy Kirk’s father vanishing as part of a top-secret storyline.

As the troubled character finally returns next week in a harrowing special episode, actor Joshua Richards says fans will be “furious” when they finally find out what has been going on. The last time Bear was in the village he was suffering from mood swings, forgetfulness and appeared depressed, before a bust-up with his son led to him taking some time away.

As Paddy realises his father never made it to Ireland back in July, it dawns on him that something horrifying may have happened. Joshua, 66, has revealed that the standalone episode will flash back to the moment he fled in his car, with fans finally finding out what’s gone on in the days since.

With that, it’s explained that Bear is at the centre of a modern slavery storyline, and Joshua says that anyone can be exploited, even a “strong” character like his own. “I found it a bit disconcerting, really. I found it a bit frightening,” Joshua told us.

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“What experience do I have to bring to the table? It was a bit discombobulating at first. Of course Bear has been experiencing this depression and confusion. It’s a great thing to find him so vulnerable – a big strong man being vulnerable and exploited.”

Joshua has been working with the Salvation Army for the harrowing storyline, speaking with men who have found themselves in similar situations to Bear. He shared: “It’s something that you can slip into and if you’ve been manipulated a certain way, and being a certain age as well, where maybe you do think that you’re useless and redundant, if someone convinces you that no, you are worth something, that you do have some kind of currency.

“You can be somehow manipulated into a situation that you didn’t envisage seeing yourself in, in the first place. So it’s quite fascinating how these things actually do happen.” Joshua said the topic isn’t new to him, having appeared in a play in 2007 called Sold which focussed on modern slavery.

He now hopes the storyline has a similar impact to ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which shone an international light on the British Post Office scandal. “I think that soaps do have a responsibility to educate and maybe show things that go under the radar and you may not necessarily see on the main news,” Joshua said.

“I think it’s our job to do that and I’m very proud to be part of what ITV is doing with these wonderful writers and the great research which has gone on. Maybe it will prompt something and there will be action. But then again, we don’t hold hope for any government in light of the other scandals which have gone by and very little has been done.”

Joshua feared his time was up on the soap when Producer Laura Shaw warned him he’d be offscreen for a while. The actor was told he couldn’t cut his hair or shave his beard during his absence as part of the storyline, which went on for around three months.

“I became a raggedy old man while I was off,” he joked. Joshua said it adds to the confusion viewers will experience when they first see Bear onscreen again. “He’s at the real bottom, looking really filthy and scraggly and unkempt.

“Bit by bit we took it away. I’m almost back to where I was before now, but it’s been a very complicated way of portraying various stages in Bear’s journey and very confusing for all of us, because each day I’m in a different time zone or a different part of the story.

“So it’s been quite exciting and quite weird.” Joshua now hopes viewers will spot the signs of modern slavery, which he says “is going on under our noses”. He shared: “Be aware. We all have our cars cleaned and say: ‘Ooh, that’s cheap’. But who are the people cleaning your car? I mean, that’s just a very tiny part of it.

“It’s other things, it’s people who are picking your spuds, it’s people who are fixing your driveway, maybe there’s somebody doing work on your roof. You really don’t know. I mean, there are bona fide proper people – builders, farmers, other people – out there.

“But some are in the dark web of life, there are people who are gangs, who are criminals, who are ready to exploit people. Because the biggest bill you’ll ever get for anything you have done, for example your house extension, the biggest part of your bill is the labour.

“If criminal gangs can take that essence out, that you don’t have to pay for that labour, then that’s where big profits are made, people are exploited and misery begins.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

SPICE Girl Mel C has cranked up the heat and put her rock hard abs on display during a shoot for her new music video – Sweat.

The toned 51-year-old star gave fans a glimpse at work behind-the-scenes of her latest musical offering.

She told followers alongside the footage: “Little SWEAT shoot BTS clip now live on YouTube.”

Jumping around on an exercise bike, the sports-lover showed off her enviable muscles in a variety of show-stopping outfits and shades.

She looked pumped in a selection of wardrobe changes including a string-tied bra top and cut-out bikini-style cover up with black trousers.

Proving she still lives up to her Sporty Spice persona, the singer looked incredibly toned, while exuding girl power in her ab-flashing workout gear.

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The mum-of-one’s new track Sweat is an electro-house single that samples Diana Ross’s iconic hit Work That Body.

It’s set to feature on Mel’s upcoming ninth studio album due to drop on May 1, 2026.

Speaking of her dance single Sweat, she wrote: “I’m so happy this track is finally all yours. Dance to it. Run to it. Lift to it. SWEAT to it.”

Although the singer missed her fellow bandmate’s wedding in July, Mel C issued a sweet message to her friend Mel B.

The popstar was absent from Mel’s happy day at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, which saw Emma Bunton, 49, the sole other girl group member in attendance.

The Sun revealed earlier in the year how the Spice Girls are planning a massive tour in 2026 to celebrate 30 years since debut single Wannabe was released.

Sporty Spice had her say, revealing certain members needed more “convincing” than others, with Victoria Beckham currently not set to take part.

She is expected to keep out of it just like she did with their sell-out 2019 reunion tour, while Geri Halliwell-Horner may also need some persuading.

The Liverpudlian previously appeared on the No Filter with Kate Langbroek podcast and Mel said: “Next year is a big year for us and we have to acknowledge it in some way.

“So we are talking about what that’s going to look like and for me, Melanie, I know for sure, and Emma [Bunton], we’d be back on stage. But sometimes other people need a little bit more convincing.”

On the prospect of all five members being back on stage together for the first time since 2012, she said: “It would be the best thing ever, ever, ever. And sometimes it feels like a duty to the world.

“When we did the shows in 2019, it brought so much joy to so many people. Not everybody likes the Spice Girls but loads of people do.

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“We’re living in this weird world right now. There’s so much negativity and mad s**t going on. Let’s all spice up our lives.”

And talking about Mel B, she added, ironically: “We’ve decided now we’re not going to tell Mel anything because she can’t keep her mouth shut.

Celebrity real estate agent Chrishell Stause is moving on from Netflix’s “Selling Sunset” after nine seasons on the hit reality TV series.

Stause revealed to Bustle in a story published Friday that she is quitting the popular show, telling the outlet that not even “Jesus Christ himself” or the show’s producing team could persuade her to return. “I’ve gotten to a place where I don’t need the show financially,” the 44-year-old reality star and former “All My Children” actor told Bustle.

“I’m lucky to have other forms of employment, because it’s no longer good for my mental health,” she said.

“Selling Sunset” debuted on Netflix in 2019 and stars the female agents, including Stause, at the Sunset Strip office of the Oppenheim Group, a luxury real estate agency. Over the years, with Stause part of the main cast, the series has documented some of her professional wins and losses as well as her personal struggles, notably her divorce from “This Is Us” actor Justin Hartley in 2019. That divorce was finalized in 2021 and Stause has since remarried to Australian musician G Flip.

As Stause announced her exit to Bustle, she discussed her issues with other members of the “Selling Sunset” circle, namely co-star Emma Hernan and her boyfriend, Blake Davis. She also expressed disapproval with the series’ editing. Netflix did not comment to Bustle about Stause’s comments, but she wished the “Selling” franchise well in its future installments.

“I have no ill will toward the show. The show has given me so many opportunities, and I don’t want to be bitter about it, even though I’m leaving not in the way that I would’ve loved,” she said.

Stause, who appeared earlier this year in NBC’s celebrity competition show “The Traitors,” also talked about growing her family with G Flip and diversifying her friend groups: “I just really love being around accepting, beautiful-hearted people.”

The actor-reality star closes her “Selling Sunset” chapter two days after Netflix aired its Season 9 reunion episode. On Instagram, Stause acknowledged that “the season ended on a bit of a sour note,” but expressed gratitude to the Netflix series and its fans.

“It introduced me to you guys — and I am deeply thankful for your support. There were lots of fun memories I am going to focus on from here on out and you will see me again so it’s not goodbye,” she said Friday in an Instagram story. “Just goodbye for now.”

On Friday night, Channel 4 viewers tuned in to watch another episode of Gogglebox as the stars caught up with the latest shows on TV.

During the latest episode of Gogglebox, Channel 4 viewers saw one beloved member of the cast make a confession to his sister.

On Friday night, the armchair critics watched the series finale of The Celebrity Traitors, which saw Alan Carr win the huge cash prize for his charity, along with the latest series of Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.

However, inbetween their reactions to what’s been happening in the world of TV this week, Simon Minty told his sister Jane that he’s reached a somewhat unusual milestone.

He commented, “I reached a milestone this week, Jane and I don’t know if I’m proud or embarrassed. I have completed every episode of NCIS.

“There are 22 series available, of which each series has about 20 episodes. I’ve found there are 490 episodes. I have watched them all from start to finish, in order.”

She replied: “Is that what you call binge watching?” He added: “I didn’t do it in one go!”

The two siblings have been part of the Channel 4 show since 2021 and quickly became fan-favourites. Usually, the pair share their antics outside of the programme with their followers on social media.

Earlier this year, Jane detailed a ‘boo boo’ she had whilst at work in her commercial kitchen as a chef. She told Simon in a clip: “Mistook twenty egg whites, instead of twenty grams of egg whites. I was preparing a demonstration tray.”

Confused, Simon asked whether or not that meant she had too many or too few, as she confessed it was ‘far too many’.

She added: “But, they will be used. Not wasted.” He jokingly replied: “See it’s a bit over my head, it’s all a bit in the biz, the chefing business. It’s obviously a yoke for chefs that one.”

However, it wasn’t Simon’s revelation that had viewers talking on Friday night as people were sent into a frenzy after spotting the infamous Coca-Cola Christmas advert during the first break.

It wasn’t long before people took to social media to comment on the festive clip, with many noticing one thing in particular.

One person said: “I’m watching #Gogglebox and at the advert break was the Coca Cola #HolidaysAreComing advert!!!! It is officially Christmas!!”

Someone else wrote: “Is the Christmas Coke Cola advert now AI generated?” Another person added: “Good news: The Coca-Cola Christmas Advert has appeared during the Gogglebox ad break. Bad news: It’s AI.”

Another shared: “Holidays are coming and it’s only November.” One person said: “Feels like Christmas now! Coca-Cola ad!!!!!!”

Gogglebox is available to watch on Channel 4.

RAPPER Chris Brown footed a £160,240 booze bill during a wild night out in London.

The US star — on bail for assault — partied with his entourage in the capital ahead of his trial next year.

One session involved at least four bottles of £2,900-a-time Louis Roederer Cristal Magnum Champagne at the Selene nightclub, which promises “the epitome of ultimate pleasure”.

Days later, the West End club posted the anonymous megabucks receipt on social media.

Some of those who partied with him — including models and other rappers — have revealed Chris footed the bill.

His entourage also posted the receipt alongside shots of a private jet and luxury hotel suites from his ten-day visit, after he flew in on October 18.

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One insider told The Sun: “Chris lives life in the fast lane and thinks nothing of splashing out on the best there is.”

Brown is set to stand trial in London next October, accused of attacking music producer Abraham Diaw at the Tape club in Mayfair in 2023.

He denies ABH, attempted GBH and having an offensive weapon — a tequila bottle.

The rapper’s agents were approached for comment.

Drew Brees is in at Fox Sports.

Mark Sanchez is out.

The network announced Friday that Brees, the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV, has been hired as an NFL game analyst. He will join play-by-play announcer Adam Amin in the booth starting Nov. 16.

Amin had previously been paired with Sanchez, who is facing a felony battery charge after a physical altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver in Indianapolis last month. Sanchez, who was stabbed in the abdomen during the incident, has not been on the air since then, and a Fox Sports spokesperson told The Times on Friday that he “is no longer with the network.”

“There will be no further comment at this time,” the spokesperson added.

Sanchez has been charged with a level five felony of battery involving serious bodily injury as well as two misdemeanors — unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication — after an Oct. 4 scuffle with Indiana resident Perry Tole.

Sanchez was in Indianapolis that weekend to cover the Colts’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders. According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Sanchez threw Tole toward a wall and also onto the ground during the altercation, while Tole sprayed Sanchez with pepper spray and eventually stabbed him.

Tole spent two days in the hospital after suffering a deep laceration on his left cheek that his attorney said affected his ability to speak. On Oct. 6, Tole filed a civil lawsuit against Sanchez, alleging he had suffered “severe permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress, and other damages” as a result of the 38-year-old former NFL player’s actions.

Fox Corp. was named as a co-defendant in the case.

Sanchez remained in the hospital for a week after the incident. He was excused from attending an Oct. 22 pre-trial conference for his criminal case, as his attorney said he was still recovering from his injuries. The trial is set to begin Dec. 11.

With Brees, Fox has replaced Sanchez with one of the NFL’s all-time greats at quarterback. Brees played for the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints during his 20 years in the NFL and is second behind Tom Brady in many of the league’s passing records, including touchdowns and yards. In his first year of eligibility, he is among the 52 modern-era players under consideration for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

“Drew is one of the best to ever play the game, and we couldn’t be more excited to have his prolific credentials and unique insights as part of our coverage on Sundays,” Brad Zager, president of Production and Operations at Fox Sports, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to welcome him to the Fox Sports family.”

Upon retiring in 2020, Brees called games on NBC for one season. More recently, he has appeared on in-studio shows on various networks and is slated to be part of Netflix’s coverage of Christmas Day games for the second year.

“I appreciate the opportunity Fox has given me in the booth and with their team,” Brees said in a statement. “I hope my passion for this game is reflected in the knowledge and insights I provide to the fans each Sunday.”

The BBC has confirmed the start date for the second series of The Night Manager, as a new trailer has been released for the upcoming series.

After nearly ten years of anticipation, BBC viewers were delighted to discover that a fresh instalment of The Night Manager was being developed.

In 2016, the gripping thriller proved hugely successful as it chronicled former soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) working as a hotel night manager who becomes enlisted by British intelligence operative Angela Burr (Olivia Coleman).

The eagerly-awaited second instalment will resume years following the dramatic conclusion, with audiences witnessing Jonathan as a junior MI6 operative managing a discreet surveillance team in London dubbed ‘The Night Owls’.

This week, the BBC unveiled a thrilling trailer for the upcoming series, confirming it will broadcast on January 1.

The preview reveals Jonathan in his fresh position, whilst a narrator directs him to ‘watch, listen and report’. Yet the voice then sternly warns: “You do not hunt down.”

Cutting to Colombia, the MI6 operative must investigate Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva), suspected of trafficking weapons into the nation with British Intelligence assistance, reports the Express.

Adopting a fresh identity, Jonathan becomes deeply entangled in a deadly conspiracy. Betrayal appears imminent as he challenges Agent Burr, declaring she ‘lied’ to him, prompting her reply: “I had no choice!”

A montage of rapid-fire sequences follows, featuring heart-stopping pursuit scenes and Jonathan fleeing through a structure as explosions erupt around him.

In a chilling moment, Jonathan is seen being restrained by Teddy as he questions, ‘Who are you, Matthew?Why are you really here?” While a woman’s voice accuses him of ‘playing her’.

The trailer, shared on social media, sparked an immediate reaction from fans, with many expressing their excitement for the show’s return. One fan exclaimed: “Wow wow wow wow.” Another chimed in: “FINALLY!!!!”

Speaking about the series, Tom Hiddleston told the BBC: “The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on. “”The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.

I’m so looking forward to reuniting with Simon and Stephen Cornwell, David Farr and Stephen Garrett, and to working with Georgi Banks-Davies to tell the next chapter of our story. I can’t wait.”

The BBC has also confirmed that The Night Manager will be returning for another series following this upcoming one.

Tune into the new series of The Night Manager from 1 January on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and from 11 January on Prime Video where available.

GEMMA Collins has raked in a seven-figure sum ahead of her I’m A Celebrity comeback.

The reality star, 44, has gone from strength to strength since rising to fame on The Only Way Is Essex.

According to new accounts from her company, Gemma Collins Limited, she has brought in a near £1 million profit in the year to September 30, 2024.

Meanwhile, earnings show £230,134 in corporation tax is due within a year.

This reveals Gemma has pocketed a £950,000 profit – based on the 2023/24 corporation tax rate -working out at £2,600 per day.

The firm was set up in 2012 and is run by Gemma’s dad Alan, although she is reported in accounts as the “ultimate controlling party”.

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She channels her earnings from TV, various branding and business endeavours into the company.

As well as her performing arts firm, Gemma has also run four other companies.

These were Gemma Collins Boutique, Gemma Collins Clothing, Gems by Gemma and GemmaCollagen.

However, they would ultimately all have mixed fortunes.

Gemma Collins Boutique went into liquidation owing £76,215.

As for Gemma Collins Clothing, it was in the red as per its last accounts.

Elsewhere, Gems By Gemma held £41,505 at its last accounts and GemmaCollagen was set up in 2020 but closed in 2021 without filing accounts.

Other ventures

After over a decade, Gemma is set to make a return to the I’m A Celebrity jungle for the second All Stars series.

In April, The Sun first exclusively revealed bosses were in talks with her for a jungle comeback.

She originally competed in the 2014 series, only to memorably quit after just three days.

A source said at the time: “She hated it first time round but knows it would be TV gold for her fans if she gave it another go.

“The discussions could go either way but signing her would be a huge win for execs.”

The Sun later revealed her in the full line-up – which also includes Gemma’s 2014 campmate Craig Charles.

Continuing in her reality TV roots, she is set to front her own upcoming Sky series titled Gemma Collins: Four Weddings and a Baby.

The Sun revealed this eight-part series will follow Gemma’s life over the course of a year – including domestic moments, glamourous events and her IVF journey.

In September 2024, Gemma revealed the secret side hustle that has made her a millionaire.

PROPERTY QUEEN

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Gemma revealed she has been quietly investing in property for the past few years.

This means snapping up properties before flipping them – then renovating and reselling them within a year.

Gemma told The Sun: “I’ve put money into property.

“I don’t worry about my future because I’ve put everything in place -but I’ve done it late in life.

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“I had normal jobs and I’m not sure there were pension schemes then, I am self-employed, so I did it late in life.

“I was 40 when I started to [invest], I wish I had the knowledge that I have now in my 20s.”

YouTube TV customers are bracing for another frustrating weekend.

For the last week, YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers have been denied access to ESPN, ABC and other Walt Disney Co. channels in a dispute that has swelled into one of the largest TV blackouts in a decade. Instead of turning on “College GameDay,” “Monday Night Football” or “Dancing With the Stars,” customers have been greeted with a grim message: “Disney channels are unavailable.”

The standoff began Oct. 30 when the two behemoths hit an impasse in their negotiations over a new distribution contract covering Disney’s channels and ABC stations.

Google, which owns YouTube, has rebuffed Disney’s demands for fee increases for ESPN, ABC and other channels. The Burbank entertainment giant has been seeking a revenue boost to support its content production and streaming ambitions, and help pay for ESPN’s gargantuan sports rights deals.

Talks are ongoing, but the two sides remain apart on major issues — prolonging the stalemate.

“Everyone is kind of sick of these big-time companies trying to get the best of one another,” said Nick Newton, 30, who lives near San Francisco and subscribes to YouTube TV. “The people who are suffering are the middle-class and lower-class people that just love sports … because it’s our escape from the real world.”

Both companies declined to comment for this article.

The skirmish is just the latest between YouTube and programming companies. Since August, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp., Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Spanish-language broadcaster TelevisaUnivision have all complained that YouTube TV was trying to use its market muscle to squeeze them for concessions.

Here’s a look at what’s driving the escalating tensions:

Google’s growing clout in television

The struggle between Disney and YouTube reflects television’s fast-shifting dynamics.

Disney has long entered carriage negotiations with tremendous leverage, in large part because it owns ESPN, which is a must-have channel for legions of sports fans.

Programmers, including Disney, structured their distribution contracts to expire near a pivotal programming event, such as a new season of NFL football. The timing motivated both sides to quickly reach a deal rather than risk alienating customers.

But for Google’s parent, Alphabet, YouTube TV is just a sliver of their business. The tech company generated $350 billion in revenue last year, the vast majority coming from Google search and advertising. That gives YouTube a longer leash to hold out for contract terms it finds acceptable.

“This dispute is not that painful for Google,” said analyst Richard Greenfield of LightShed Partners, noting that YouTube TV could probably withstand “two weekends without college football, and two weeks without ‘Monday Night Football’ — as long as their consumers stay with them.”

Disney, however, depends on TV advertising and pay-TV distribution fees. The week-long blackout has already dampened TV ratings, which means less revenue for the company.

Consumers like YouTube TV

For decades, throngs of consumers loathed their cable company — a sentiment that Disney and other programmers were able to use in their favor in past battles. Customer defections prompted several pay-TV companies to find a compromise to restore the darkened TV channels and stanch the subscriber bleeding.

But YouTube is banking on a more loyal user base, including millions of customers who switched to the service from higher-priced legacy providers.

“I’ll stick this thing out with YouTube TV,” Newton said, adding that he hoped the dispute didn’t drag on for weeks.

“This is one of the problems facing Disney,” Greenfield said. “It’s been a noticeable change in tone from past carriage fee battles. If customer losses stay at a minimum, then Disney is going to be in a tough place.”

It boils down to power and money

YouTube TV is the fastest-growing television service in the U.S. Analysts expect that, within a couple of years, YouTube TV will have more pay-TV customers than industry leaders Spectrum and Comcast.

In the current negotiations, Google has asked Disney to agree to lower its rates when YouTube TV surpasses Comcast’s and Spectrum’s subscriber counts. Disney maintains that YouTube already pays preferred rates, in recognition of its competitive standing, and that Google is trying to drive down the value of Disney’s networks.

“YouTube TV and its owner, Google … want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service,” top Disney executives wrote last Friday in an email to their staff.

People close to YouTube TV reject the characterization, saying the service has been a valuable partner by providing a strong service that brings Disney billions of dollars a year in distribution revenue.

“The bottom line is that our channels are extremely valuable, and we can only continue to program them with the sports and entertainment viewers love most if we stand our ground,” the Disney executives wrote in last week’s email. “We are asking nothing more of YouTube TV than what we have gotten from every other distributor — fair rates for our channels.”

Higher sports rights fees

A major reason Disney is asking for higher fees is because it’s grappling with a huge escalation in sports costs.

Disney is on the hook to pay $2.6 billion a year to the NBA, another $2.7 billion annually to the NFL, and $325 million a year for the rights to stream World Wrestling Entertainment. Such sports rights contracts have nearly doubled in the last decade, leading to the strain on TV broadcasters.

In addition, deep-pocketed streaming services, including Amazon, Apple and Netflix, have jumped into sports broadcasting, driving up the cost for the legacy broadcasters.

The crowded field also strains the wallets of sports fans, and appears to be adding to the fatigue over the YouTube TV-Disney fight.

Newton wrote in a recent Twitter post that he was spending $400 a month for his various internet, phone and TV services, including Disney+ and NFL Sunday Ticket, which is distributed by YouTube TV.

“I’m already on all the major subscriptions to watch football these days,” Newton, a third-generation San Francisco 49ers fan, said. “You need Netflix. You need Peacock, you need Amazon Prime and the list goes on and on. I’m at the point where I’m not paying for anything else.”

White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood will no longer front the Marks & Spencer Christmas advert despite being involved in the promotional clip in August

Aimee Lou Wood has been ‘dropped by M&S’, according to reports. The White Lotus star was set to be the face of the new Marks and Spencer Christmas advert, but appears to have been cut from the production.

The claim comes after the retail giants are said to have initially wooed the 31-year-old actress with a huge fee. Any appearance would have seen her follow the likes of Hannah Waddingham and Sophie Ellis-Bextor in featuring in the festive fun.

However, despite appearing in the promo clip in August, Aimee is thought to have been removed by the brand who have reportedly chosen to go in a different direction.

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A spokesperson for M&S told Mail Online: “We really enjoyed working with Aimee Lou Wood during the early stages of this year’s Christmas campaign – she brought great energy and creativity to the process.

“As the campaign evolved, we started to embed a new product-focused strategy under new leadership. So, rather than a single-hero advert, the campaign was reshaped around a series of festive films and influencer content-drops aligned to key seasonal shopping moments – from gifting and hosting to partywear – delivered through a social-first, multi-channel approach across social media, digital, out-of-home and print.”

It could be seen as a blow for the Stockport-born actress. However, after finding fame in Netflix’s comedy drama Sex Education, she has continued to go from strength to strength before the M&S dropping.

She also portrayed Chelsea in the third series of the Sky Atlantic drama last year. It’s thought she had signed a deal to lead the M&S ad in the summer. But with a change in direction, comes new faces.

It comes as the eagerly anticipated John Lewis advert received a mixed response. It was attempting to pull at the heartstrings with its latest offering that focuses on a father and son struggling to find the words to say how much they care about each other.

That all changes when Dad finds a present addressed to him while packing away the wrapping paper for another year on Christmas morning. This year the famous advert is soundtracked by 90s dance icon Alison Limerick’s hit Where Love Lives, with a newly reimagined version by globally acclaimed artist and producer Labrinth also featuring.

However, while some shed a tear, others blasted the production as “Depressing, boring and not very Christmassy!”

“Just seen the John Lewis Christmas advert,” one user wrote on Twitter/X. “Thought it was dull, depressing, boring and not very Christmassy,”

Another posted on the platform: “The John Lewis Christmas Advert is TERRIBLE!!! What a bunch of nonsense. Unimaginative, unfestive, rubbish. Bring back Moz the Monster or Edgar the Dragon!! #JohnLewisChristmasAdvert #JohnLewis #Rubbish.”

A third was left conflicted, writing: “John Lewis ad 2025 – I’m not sure, it’s underlying message of father son communication is great, but it’s portrayed in such a dark way, you don’t know what’s happening, it’s very vague, and not very festive at all, bordering on depressing even!”

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CHERYL Tweedy and Jade Thirlwall looked sensational at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards this week.

The iconic singers, 42 and 32, arrived at the glamorous event last night alongside an A-list lineup of women.

Girls Aloud icon Cheryl stole the spotlight in a chic black satin dress with a boxy neckline.

It flowed effortlessly to the floor, covering her shoes, and featured lace detailing on the chest.

She finished the look by simply tying her hair up out of her face and accessorised with a pair of small silver studs and a glossy natural pink lip.

The star posed for a series of snaps next to Little Mix‘s Jade in the “winner’s room”, as Jade smiled ear to ear holding up a glass trophy for the “Musician Award”.

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She wore an asymmetrical off the shoulder red dress with an embossed pattern and a draping on the right-hand side.

It fell to the floor in its formal beauty, hugging her waist and hips.

Jade finished off her outfit with dramatic winged eyeliner and a bold brown lip combo.

Her hair flowed down her back in natural loose waves.

Also in attendance on the night was England footballer Chloe Kelly, who wowed in a sheer chain-mail hooded gown.

The unique ensemble featured cut-outs at the side of the bust as well as silver floral detailing that scattered down the right-hand side of her body.

The sporty star enjoyed the night in a pair of silver heeled sandals, comfier on her feet than a higher heeled counterpart.

Melanie C, aka Sporty Spice, posed alongside Chloe in the winners room after she took home the award for Sportswoman of The Year.

In a sweet snap together the duo are throwing up peace signs as Chloe holds the award in her free hand.

Melanie’s smiling in an off the shoulder black dress featuring red piping and a floor-length ruffle detail.

Her red nail polish peeks out of her open-toed shoes, matching the piping to perfection.

Everyone appeared to be having an amazing night.

Cheryl made her first red carpet appearance since the funeral of her former flame, Liam Payne, just last month.

The Girls Aloud legend has since been gradually returning to the spotlight, teasing new TV appearances and brand collaborations on her social media.

Meanwhile Jade has been incredibly active promoting new music and working on her career.

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Earlier this year she took home a BRIT Award for Best Pop Act.

She also received the Trailblazer Award at the Rolling Stone UK 2024 awards.