SHOW BIZ

The players are having fun getting to know each other but are proving spectacularly bad at spotting Jonathan Ross, Cat Burns or Alan Carr as The Traitors on the BBC series

Two more of the Faithful bit the dust last night in The Celebrity Traitors with Clare Balding the latest big name to exit, along with Irish actress Ruth Codd. The players have remained collectively useless at rooting out the Traitors and getting rid of them.

And Stephen Fry pointed out that if one more of the Faithful exits – leaving 12 players – the Traitors will make up a quarter of their numbers.

After being voted out at the Round Table, with seven votes, a startled Clare relished her moment of telling them that she was, in fact, a Faithful. Actor Mark Bonnar was so furious he punched the table and said “for F***’s sake” – immediately drawing attention to himself for what others perceived to be over-acting.

READ MORE: Celia Imrie’s Celebrity Traitors fart hailed as a memorable TV moment worthy of a BaftaREAD MORE: Celebrity Traitors LIVE: Faithfuls turn on one another as show favourite banished in huge blunder

Speaking after her banishment, Clare said she’d loved the digital detox while in the castle. “I think my personal highlight was being able to spend quality time with no distractions of phones or anything,” she explained.

The sports TV star, 54, was completely happy to have been a Faithful and, asked what she’d learned about herself, laughed. “I had confirmed what I already knew, which is I am a rather pathetic people pleaser. I’m not suspicious enough – but I’m quite happy being that way. I’d rather live in a world where I trust everyone, where I see good in everyone, and where the world is always bright, shiny and positive. And if that was my downfall, I’m fine with that.”

Ruth, 29, was murdered by the Traitors as part of Jonathan Ross’s audacious double bluff strategy. While rugby ace Joe Marler saw through the Traitor tactic, the chat show host received just the one vote at the round table. But afterwards Celia Imrie, 73, was kicking herself for not voting for him, saying that she’d been distracted by his “deliciousness”. Speaking afterwards Wossy, 64, admitted he had no idea how he was still in the game having had so much suspicion on him. And in the turret, he laughed to the other Traitors Alan Carr and Cat Burns: “It’s like playing chess, but with five-year-olds!”

Ruth, who became a fan favourite for her outspoken style, said that she and Clare had become friends. Admitting they made an “unlikely duo”, she joked: “I kind of look like her goth child that should be a disappointment, but she’s incredibly proud of.” Last night it emerged that the BBC1 opener last week has now been watched by 11.7million after seven days of viewing. The fourth episode will air on Wednesday (22 October) with the ninth and final instalment now scheduled for Thursday 6th November.

Meanwhile Celia Imrie’s funny fart from Wednesday has been hailed as TV gold by fans, as it helped The Celebrity Traitors to a series high of 6.9 million on Wednesday night.

The players howled with laughter when the actress, 73, let rip as host Claudia Winkleman was welcoming them to their latest mission, which she described as the “worst team-building away day experience in history”.

As the other players guffawed and Claudia asked what had happened, The Thursday Murder Club actress piped up: “I just farted Claudia. It’s nerves, but I always own up.”

Afterwards some TV experts suggesting the scene-stealer from Bridget Jones star Celia could be a contender for the next Bafta Memorable Moment award. Fans agreed, with one saying: “Her comic timing was impeccable.

I watched this over and over again and am still laughing. TV moment of the year.” Another called it “the most taboo-breaking moment in TV history”.

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

ROOFMAN 

(15) 126mins

★★★☆☆

A NICE guy doing bad things isn’t an original premise for a comedy drama. 

But base it on the true story of an escaped felon hiding out in a toy shop and things get more interesting. 

Channing Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, the charismatic convict from North Carolina with the “you couldn’t make it up” life story. 

An ex-military man, Manchester has been struggling financially since being decommissioned. 

So to support his family he turns to a professional life of crime. 

DULCIE PEARCE

Dwayne Johnson proves he can flex his acting muscles in The Smashing Machine

DULCIE PEARCE

Black comedy One Battle After Another is cinematic dynamite with huge stars

His first attempt at dropping through the ceiling of a McDonald’s and emptying their tills is such a success he repeats this style of heist 45 more times. 

As a non-violent robber who offers people his coat while holding them up at gunpoint, he soon earns himself the local moniker of “Roofman”. 

As police put it, he’s a genius, but also an idiot. 

When eventually caught and sentenced to four decades behind bars, Manchester swiftly escapes jail and goes on the run. 

Looking for a place to take cover he lands on a Toys R Us store and sets up home in a crate under the eaves. 

For six months he sleeps undetected, surviving on stolen M&M’s, while watching jobsworth boss Mitch (Peter Dinklage) on CCTV for entertainment and ultimately falling for employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mum. 

The tale of how their romance blossoms — as Manchester increasingly risks his chances outside the store’s four walls — would seem utterly far-fetched, if it wasn’t for the fact that in 2004 it all actually happened. The chemistry between the leads is convincing. 

Dunst as Leigh, the church-going single mum falling in love while being unknowingly duped, reminds you that no matter how outwardly likeable Manchester seems, he continually hurt people with his odd mix of arrogance, immaturity and intelligence.

He wants it all to be real, while knowing that it can’t be. 

Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) periodically lightens things up with various meme-worthy set pieces involving Tatum barely clad in feather boas, or wearing roller blades or completely starkers with only a fan to protect his modesty. 

But it is the pondering over how decent a person, or not, Manchester really was that will keep you gripped. 

GOOD FORTUNE 

(15) 97mins       

★★★☆☆

KEANU Reeves is at his Bill and Ted-esque best in this silly, but very funny, light-hearted bromance about a guardian angel who can’t quite get a grip on his ­heavenly duties. 

Written by Aziz Ansari (Master Of None) Reeves is Gabriel, a rookie winged protector limited to saving people from “texting while driving” catastrophes. 

He’d like to rescue lost souls too but his boss Martha (Sandra Oh) thinks he’s not ready to be promoted. 

One of his celestial charges is Arj (Ansari) who despite being well qualified, can’t catch a break and is sleeping in his car while doing gig economy work in LA for an odd-jobs app. 

A stint as assistant for billionaire Jeff (Seth Rogen) – who spends his days shopping for Rolexes and sitting in his sauna – only makes him feel more of a failure. So Gabriel steps in to help by facilitating a life swap between the two, which he hopes will make Arj appreciates what he already has. 

The script lacks the ­substance it was probably aiming for, and there’s far too much chatting about chicken nuggets, but this comedy does deliver lots of laughs. 

AFTER THE HUNT 

(15) 139mins  

★★☆☆☆

SET in the academic enclaves of a rarefied American Ivy League University, this affected campus tale from director Luca Guadagnino could do with a tutorial to discuss what its own discourse is. 

Julia Roberts plays Alma Imhoff, a Yale philosophy professor and feminist who is idolised by her students. 

Imhoff and husband Frederick (Michael Stuhlbarg) host bourgeois soirees in their art-filled pad where favourite students including Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), and Hank (Andrew Garfield) gather to muse and debate. 

But when Maggie accuses Hank of sexual assault and turns to her tutor for guidance, beliefs, boundaries and loyalties blur for both women. 

Roberts is exceptional as Imhoff but the pace is so laboured and the ostentatious dialogue so pleased with itself it feels like a dull self-congratulatory lecture. 

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

A repetitive ticking pendulum only emphasises the plodding pace and a subplot about stomach ulcers adds little. Some valid social commentary around generational divides is quickly drowned out by more droning. The many lingering close-ups are stylistically credible yet still dull. 

• Laura Stott         

Ace Frehley, who played lead guitar as a founding member of the face-painted, blood-spitting, fire-breathing hard-rock band Kiss, died Thursday in Morristown, N.J. He was 74.

His death was announced by his family, which said he’d recently suffered a fall. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth,” the family said in a statement.

In his alter ego as the Spaceman, Frehley played with the original incarnation of Kiss for less than a decade, from 1973 — when he formed the group in New York with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss — until 1982, when he quit not long after Criss left. Yet he was instrumental to the creation of the band’s stomping and glittery sound as heard in songs like “Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Strutter” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.” In the late ’70s, those hits — along with Kiss’ over-the-top live show — made the group an inescapable pop-cultural presence seen in comic books and on lunch boxes; today the group is widely viewed as an early pioneer of rock ’n’ roll merchandising.

A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Frehley rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion, then left again in 2002 to return to the solo career he’d started in the early ’80s. In 2023, Kiss completed what Simmons and Stanley called a farewell tour with a hometown show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

This obituary will be updated.

Music mogul Simon Cowell has finally explained his recent Britain’s Got Talent absence, revealing he suffered a fall that left him with a head injury

Simon Cowell has revealed that his recent no-show at Britain’s Got Talent auditions came after he fell down another set of steps – the latest in a series of mishaps for the long-time judge.

The 66-year-old music mogul missed the first two days of filming in Birmingham after the incident, leaving producers to call in Stacey Solomon to temporarily fill his place on the panel.

Cowell then later reappeared on the third day of auditions with a visible graze on his forehead, explaining only that he’d had “an accident.”

His absence was finally addressed during the show’s Blackpool auditions, when a choir made up of ambulance staff took to the stage. Amanda Holden joked: “I thought they might be here in case anything went wrong with you again because you were poorly last week.”

READ MORE: Piers Morgan reveals Paul O’Grady was BGT’s original host but lost role for sour reasonREAD MORE: Amanda Holden reveals ‘horrific’ pain while filming new BBC quiz show The Inner Circle

Laughing off the comment, Cowell clarified what actually had happened as he finally shared the truth.

Speaking to the audience at the Winter Gardens, he said: “I fell down some steps, that wasn’t poorly, and I bumped my head, but I’m fine now.

“I wish you had been around a couple of weeks ago when I actually bashed my head. Seriously, no one sang for me then,” he added.

A show insider said the fall was a minor accident. They told The Sun: “Simon bumped his head when he stumbled on some steps. It’s the sort of thing that can happen to anyone. And, thankfully, he’s absolutely fine now.”

The timing of the incident, which occurred on October 1 and just a day before Birmingham auditions were due to begin, forced the show to cancel the opening session.

Rather than pause production entirely, Stacey Solomon was drafted in to maintain the four-judge panel, with Amanda Holden briefly stepping up as head judge.

Cowell later reassured fans via a short video, showing off the mark on his forehead and saying: “It’s Simon, I’m alive and I’m in Birmingham, I just want to say thank you for all your get well messages.”

It’s not the first time Cowell has been injured in a fall. In 2017, he was taken from his London home on a stretcher wearing a neck brace after tumbling down stairs just before The X Factor live shows.

Three years later, he broke his back testing an electric bike in Los Angeles, requiring major surgery and months of recovery.

Despite his latest setback, Cowell appeared in good spirits this week as he joined judges Amanda Holden, KSI, and Alesha Dixon on the red carpet for the Blackpool auditions.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

READ MORE: Fears for Britney Spears as she ‘snaps her legs’ and is covered in bruisesREAD MORE: Maura Higgins says affordable £10 root spray ‘saves her life’ and covers grey hairs

SAM Fender has won the 2025 Mercury Prize for his album People Watching.

The singer-songwriter nabbed the prestigious award at the ceremony in his native Newcastle – the first time it has been held outside London.

He won with his third album ahead of a star-studded pack of 12 nominees, including Pulp, Wolf Alice, FKA Twigs, PinkPantheress and Pa Salieu.

Sam was not fancied by the bookies, so his victory is something of a shock.

The Geordie name checked fellow nominees during his acceptance speech to an ecstatic crowd.

He said: “I just I really didn’t – we did not expect this at all. I want to say thank you – I cannot think.”

Sam then grabbed his guitar and launched into a rendition of his album’s titular track, People Watching.

Sam also thanked Annie Orwin, the inspiration behind the song, for being like a “surrogate mother”.

Judges said they loved People Watching’s “character and ambition”, adding: “It felt like a classic.”

Wolf Alice and Pulp have both won the award in the past.

If either of them had taken it home, they have become just the second act to win it twice, joining PJ Harvey.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…

It’s clear from the existence and execution of “Black Phone 2” that Universal and Blumhouse never expected 2021’s “The Black Phone” to be a hit. If there was ever an inkling that the first film might have been more than a quick and dirty ’70s-style riff on a boogeyman tale, there’s no way those in charge would have let their big baddie, the Grabber, be killed off at the end of the movie.

But a hit it was and so, for a sequel, supernatural elements must be spun out and ’80s slasher classics consulted, especially since it’s now four years later, in 1982. Masked serial killer the Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke (we never really see his face, though we do hear his voice), continues to haunt, torment and maim children, despite the inconvenience of death.

Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill co-wrote both films, with Derrickson behind the camera as director. The first was based on a short story by Joe Hill (the son of Stephen King) and is set in 1978 Denver, where plucky Finney Blake (Mason Thames) had to escape the clutches of kidnapper the Grabber while fielding phone calls from the ghosts of his previous victims, offering tips and tricks. What distinguished “The Black Phone” was its shocking approach to violence with its young characters, who all sported entertainingly profane potty mouths. While it was daring in its hard-R riskiness and played on our basest fears, it didn’t reinvent the wheel, or even try to. However, the film’s phone conceit played well enough and young star Thames was outstanding.

In “Black Phone 2,” Finney’s now a high school student, drowning his trauma in weed and schoolyard fights, sometimes the bully himself. He’s protective of his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), who has the gift of psychic sight, but mostly he just wants to check out from his own brain. The sequel is primarily Gwen’s movie. She starts lucid dreaming and sleepwalking, receiving phone calls from beyond — like from their dead mother when she was a teenager beyond.

The messages bring Gwen, Finney and her crush, Ernesto (Miguel Mora), to a winter retreat for Christian youth, Camp Alpine, now run by Mando (Demián Bichir) and his niece, Mustang (Arianna Rivas). As it turns out, this camp is rife with the ghosts of young dead boys — the phone keeps ringing and it won’t stop until Finney picks it up.

If “The Black Phone” dabbles in crimes that are taboo and is even unforgivable in its depiction of brutality against innocent children, “Black Phone 2” commits its own unforgivable crime of being dreadfully boring. This movie is a snooze, not just because all of the action takes place entirely during Gwen’s dreams.

The film can’t shake its lingering scent of “Stranger Things,” but the filmmakers have also turned for inspiration to another iconic ’80s-set property: The whole movie is a “Nightmare on Elm Street” ripoff, with a disfigured killer stalking his prey through their subconscious. Those sequences are fine, action-packed if not entirely scary, but at least it’s something more rousing than the awake scenes, where the characters stand in one place and make speeches to each other about their trauma and backstories. The entire affair is monotonously one-note and dour, with only a few pops of unintentional humor.

You realize almost immediately what the deal is with these ghost boys, but the film takes its sweet time explaining it all. It’s a fairly simple story, so you do understand why Derrickson gussies it up with grainy dream sequences and shaky 8mm flashbacks, and a pretty terrific electronic score composed by his son, Atticus Derrickson.

It’s also a bit surprising that “Black Phone 2” turns out to be so pious and deeply Christian, which is a bit of an odd mix. For a film about Jesus and the power of prayer, it also features a scene in which a kid’s face gets sliced in half by a windowpane. Then again, horror’s trend toward the faith-based isn’t a surprise when you take a look at the success of the Bible-thumping “Conjuring” franchise.

However, it seems like this might be the Grabber’s last hurrah. You’ll root for the characters to vanquish him only because then the drudgery might finally end. Who knows, maybe it’ll be a hit and they’ll figure out another way to reanimate this utterly uninspiring horror villain. Personally, I’ve had my fill of the Grabber’s grabbing.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

BRITNEY Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline claimed the singer drank alcohol during her pregnancy and did cocaine while breastfeeding.

Britney, 43, was married to dancer and actor Kevin, 47, from 2004 until 2007.

The former couple welcomed two sons together during their three-year marriage.

On October 21, Kevin is set to release a tell-all memoir titled You Thought You Knew.

In addition to his former wife, the book also covers Kevin’s journey to Hollywood and his big break.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it features allegations including that Britney had drank wine during pregnancy.

Read more on Britney Spears

brit blasts back

Furious Britney Spears hits back at ‘gaslighting’ ex Kevin Federline

As well as this, Kevin claims that Britney did cocaine while their boys were young – leaving him concerned about their breastfeeding.

The Sun has contacted Britney’s reps for comment.

Kevin told The Hollywood Reporter: “Of course this concerned me.

“Anything that could possibly harm the child is concerning. So yeah, it was a bit shocking for me through some of those moments.

“But yes, that night at the record release party was really what set everything off. I realized that I needed to get into “protect my children” mode, is what happened.

“Like I said in the book, it’s not necessarily the extracurricular activities (i.e., drug use). I was concerned for my children.

“And eventually she filed for divorce. That was the actual breaking point in the marriage.”

Meanwhile, Britney has since clapped back at her ex-husband’s claims in a passionate social media post.

She shared to Instagram: “The constant gaslighting from my ex husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting.

“Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.

“Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by their own father for me.

“They need to take responsibility for themselves.

“With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years. I have pride too.

“From now on I will let them know when I am available.

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

“Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here.”

Britney was seen reuniting with her rarely-seen son Jayden back in June, with a picture showing the teen towering over her.

“Frankenstein” has haunted Guillermo del Toro since he was a kid who barely reached the Creature’s knees. Back in 2011, the writer-director was already tinkering with a version of the monster that resembled a blend of Iggy Pop and Boris Karloff with jagged sutures, gaunt wrinkles and a crushed nose. Since then, Del Toro has made changes. The 2025 model is played by Jacob Elordi, a 6-foot-5 actor often cast as the ideal human specimen in movies like “Saltburn” and who here howls to life with handsome features and rock star swagger. But your eyes keep staring at his pale, smooth seams. He doesn’t look hand-stitched — he looks a little like a modern android.

Of course he does. The decades have given Del Toro time to think about what truly scares him. It’s not monsters. He loves all disfigured nasties, be they swamp creatures, eyeball-less ogres or bolt-headed Hellboys. It’s tech bros, like the ones weaseling into Hollywood, who give their every innovation a sterile sheen.

“Frankenstein” is the director’s lifelong passion project: He doesn’t just want to make a “Frankenstein” but the “Frankenstein,” so he’s faithfully set his adaptation in the past. But he’s adjusted the wiring so that 1850s Europe reminds us of Silicon Valley. The result is the best movie of his career.

This Baron Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is a short-sighted egomaniac who barks over his critics while jabbing the air with his fingers. “I fail to see why modesty is considered a virtue,” he says with a snort.

And Del Toro has written Victor an enabler: a deep-pocketed investor named Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) who struts into Victor’s science lecture hunting for a whizkid to crack the code to immortality. With his gold-heeled shoes and a confidence that he’s too rich to die, Waltz’s wealthy arms dealer is a 19th century take on venture capitalists like Bryan Johnson and Peter Thiel who’ve been poking into the feasibility of pumping their veins with young blood.

“Don’t be a reasonable man,” Henrich advises Victor. The assumption is — and remains — that tycoons and geniuses deserve to run rampant. Great success demands an indifference to the rules. And if you’re wondering whether money or brains has more power, there’s a scene in which Henrich uses a chamber pot and smugly orders Victor to “flush that for me.”

Del Toro is wired into the outrage in Mary Shelley’s sly 1818 novel, a nightmarish satire about men who care only about yelling “first!” without asking what horrors come next. Centuries ago, she warned of man’s ill-considered rush to create artificial intelligence. Today, Dr. Frankenstein’s descendants keep promising that AI won’t destroy civilization while ignoring Shelley’s point, that the inventor is more dangerous than his monster.

Victor, a stunted man-child who drinks milk served by a sommelier, is frozen in the I’ll-show-him stage of growing up with an abusive father (Charles Dance) who whipped him when he got a wrong answer on his schoolwork. Victor’s name, we’re reminded, means “winner,” a symbol of the pressure he’s under to excel.

Isaac plays him with a pitchman’s exuberance that sags as the corners of his mouth wrench down in disappointment. He’s hacked how to make a disembodied head moan in agony. But having rarely felt affection, Victor doesn’t know how to generate that emotion at all. Worse, it hasn’t occurred to him to think past the triumph of his product launch, that his Creature can’t be readily unplugged. The only kind characters in the movie are a rural blind man (David Bradley) and the moth-like Mia Goth, double-cast as Victor’s mother, Claire, and his brother’s fiancee, Elizabeth. A convent girl with a creepy streak, Elizabeth sees beauty in biology, leaning over a corpse’s flayed back to appreciate the intricacy of its ventricles. But the more she studies Victor, the less impressed she gets.

Because Shelley came up with “Frankenstein” as an 18-year-old newlywed who’d just lost a baby, her message gets boiled down to gender: Women birth life, men mimic it. Really, the feminine strength of the book lies in its foxy, shifting narration that opens with a prologue from an Arctic explorer who’s gotten his sailors trapped in the ice, before transitioning to Victor’s story and then the Creature’s. Like a hostess who secretly loathes her guests, Shelley encourages her characters to flatter themselves and expose their braggadocio.

Del Toro has kept that tactic and he’s kept the book’s structure. But within that framework, he’s changed nearly everything else to make Victor more culpable. Unlike the 1931 film, there’s no Igor and no excuse of accidentally using the wrong brain. This Victor does his own dirty work and what goes wrong is his fault. Meanwhile, Del Toro amps up the action, starting the film off with a ghastly great sequence in which Elordi’s Creature punches a sailor so hard his spine snaps into a backward somersault.

“What manner of devil made him?” the Captain (Lars Mikkelsen) exclaims. Victor guiltily explains why he played God.

Being a futurist isn’t bad. Henrich, an early adopter of daguerreotype cameras, shoots photographs of women posing with skulls like he’s paving the way for Del Toro’s whole filmography. But pompous Henrich and Victor don’t appreciate that their accomplishments are built on other’s sacrifices. When the cinematographer Dan Laustsen pans across a battlefield of dead soldiers, it feels like a silent scream. Henrich made his fortune killing these men; now, Victor will salvage their body parts.

Del Toro delights in the kinetic gusto of the tale, the grotesquerie of cracking limbs and blood sloshing about Victor’s shoes. In the laboratory, dead leaves and buzzing flies whirl through the air as if to keep up with the inventor’s wild ambitions and Alexandre Desplat’s swirling orchestral score. The production design by Tamara Deverell is superb as are the costumes by Kate Hawley, who shrouds Goth in dramatic chiffon layers and dresses laced to highlight her vertebrae. (This movie loves bones as much as Sir Mix-A-Lot loved backs.)

As Victor rudely flings around torsos and limbs, it’s clear that he only values life if it’s branded with his name. So yes, of course, Elordi’s Creature looks good. He’s been assembled from the choicest bits of man flesh to show off the talent of his creator, not so different from Steve Jobs caressing samples of brushed aluminum. When Elordi’s Creature pleads for a companion, a sliver of sculpted abs peeking out from under five hulking layers of wool and fur, you expect half the audience’s hands to shoot up and volunteer.

Elordi has adopted one or two of Karloff’s mannerisms: the arms outstretched in search of warmth, the lurching walk. You can see that he’s a tad lopsided on the left side, presumably because Victor couldn’t find matching femurs. Mostly, he’s his own monster, neither the calculating serial murderer of the book nor Karloff’s reactive, animalistic killer, but a scapegoat who finally starts leveling his foes with bone-breaking efficiency.

Towering over Victor by almost a foot, Elordi’s Creature dwarfs his creator physically, morally and emotionally. There’s anguish in his eyes, and when Del Toro shows us the world through his perspective, humanity itself appears anti-life, a pestilence that destroys without hesitation.

There’s a pack of digital wolves that just looks silly. Otherwise, you trust how intensely Del Toro has doted upon every detail. I was flummoxed by a row of servants flanking young Victor (Christian Convery) who appeared to be wearing gauzy bags over their heads. What are those for? My theory is it’s a tribute to the veil Karloff sported during lunch breaks, so as not to frighten any pregnant secretaries on the Universal lot.

Eschewing mobs of pitchfork-wielding villagers, Del Toro focuses on Victor’s inability to parent his unholy son. And while the end stretch gets a bit too stiff and speechy, particularly with a line that Victor is the “true monster,” I loved the moment when the Creature, venting on behalf of all frustrated children however big they‘ve grown, growls, “The miracle is not that I should speak but that you would listen.”

This deservedly anticipated “Frankenstein” transforms that loneliness into stunning tableaux of Victor and his immortal Creature tethered together by their mutual self-loathing. One man’s heart never turned on. One can’t get his heart to turn off. Ours breaks.

Brenda Blethyn stars in the upcoming drama film Dragonfly, which has been described as “shocking” and “violent” by critics

The latest trailer for Brenda Blethyn‘s “shocking” drama Dragonfly has just dropped and it’s already proving a massive hit with audiences after scoring 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film also features Andrea Riseborough and Jason Watkins, with the storyline centring around Coleen (Riseborough) who becomes horrified by the treatment her elderly neighbour Elsie (Blethyn) is enduring, prompting her to volunteer her assistance without charge.

Nevertheless, the synopsis suggests that Colleen’s motives might not be quite what they seem. As suspicions mount, a devastating incident triggers a brutal chain of events that could irreversibly transform both women’s existence.

The trailer opens with Elsie recognising that looking after someone is “a lot of hard work” after Colleen volunteers her assistance. Colleen insists that it’s what neighbours are “supposed to do”, but the trailer swiftly shifts into darker territory as Elsie looks petrified by a telephone ringing in her house, and Colleen’s true intentions come under scrutiny from Elsie’s son (Watkins).

“I’ve been hurting all my life, Elsie, to be honest,” Colleen confesses, as we witness her menacingly observing Elsie through a glass panel in her front door, reports Chronicle Live.

Following its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, Dragonfly currently boasts a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. In our critique, we called the film “a powerful and compelling drama that explores those that society shuns, building to an ending you won’t forget”.

The Hollywood Reporter penned: “Is this tonal swerve a little gimmicky? Probably, and the film will not be to everyone’s taste. But it is a skillfully rendered exercise in terror.”

ScreenAnarchy remarked: “While cinema in general still tends to romanticise loneliness, Dragonfly shows it for what it is: a routine series of everyday, excruciating experiences that always build up to something that tends to be horrific, more often than not.”

The Guardian lauded it as “a stark, fierce, wonderfully acted film”, while Culture Mix observed: “Dragonfly isn’t just a ‘slow burn’ psychological drama.

“This well-acted movie about two lonely people and home caregiving takes an extreme turn in the last 20 minutes to a shocking ending that’s sure to be divisive.”

Last year, Blethyn spoke candidly about securing the role in the film after wrapping up Vera, reminiscing at the British Film Institute: “I was home, I hadn’t even unpacked my bag, and my agent called me and said, ‘Oh, you’ve been offered a film.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do a film. I haven’t unpacked yet.'”.

“She said, ‘Oh, it is with Andrea Riseborough.’ I said, ‘Oh, is it?’ And she said, ‘And it starts next week because somebody had dropped out and it’s written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams.'”.

“I said, ‘Oh, well, I better have a little read of it just to… but no, I’m not doing it, but I’ll have a read of it.’ And I liked it, so I did it.”

Dragonfly premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in June 2025. A cinema release date is yet to be announced

EMINEM’S reclusive ex-wife Kim Mathers showcased a new look after dying her hair pink as she stepped out near her home in Michigan.

Kim, 50, who had long blonde locks in the past, is seen in The U.S Sun’s exclusive photos with a cropped ‘do.

The rap superstar’s former wife, who has four children, is now heavily tattooed with sleeve designs down both of her arms after adopting a rocker look in recent years.

Her elaborate inkings include the word Artemis down her right arm, referencing the Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, and wilderness scenes.

Kim also has other dark inkings on her left arm and on her neck, many of which have an Alice in Wonderland theme, as she previously revealed she is a fan of the Lewis Carroll story.

She appeared in good health after a previous addiction battle and was seen smiling while wearing a black t-shirt with a colorful Nirvana design emblazoned on the front.

‘THANK YOU GOD!’

Eminem’s rarely-seen daughter reveals she’s pregnant with first child

my name is

Eminem’s daughter gives birth to first baby and reveals name with tribute to dad

Kim matched her cut-up tee with a pair of light jogging bottoms and a pair of black shades.

In 2023, she revealed to The U.S. Sun that she was clean and sober after undergoing a 45-day rehab stint after she was left heartbroken by the death of her beloved mom, Kathy Sluck.

Audio from a 911 call in July 2022 revealed one of Kim’s children found her “surrounded by blood and pills on her bathroom floor,” as she struggled to cope with her grief.

They broke the handle on the door and called for help, as desperate Kim begged them not to call the police after reportedly leaving notes for her family.

The mom-of-four was rushed to the hospital before being discharged, and later sought treatment for addiction at a center in Detroit, Michigan.

HEALTH BATTLE

A year later, she told The U.S. Sun: “It’s been hard, I lost my mom, my dad, and my sister [over the past 10 years].

“[But] I’m good. I’ve been clean since about October. I went to Jefferson House … for 45 days.”

Kim revealed she had previously been taking pills to try and sleep as she struggled with the loss, and her children had been “very supportive,” amid her mental health scare.

Despite her past drama with ex Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, she added that he had also been checking in with her to make sure she was getting better.

Asked how often she sees the rapper, she joked: “Not often, but often enough.”

The two wed in 1999 but divorced in 2001.

Despite reconciling and marrying a second time in 2006, the union did not work out.

The pair have a daughter, Hailie Jade, 29, along with an adopted daughter, Alaina, 32, with Eminem.

Alaina’s mother, Dawn, who was Kim’s sister, died of a drug overdose in 2016 after years of addiction problems.

Kim is also mom to Stevie Laine, 22, who identifies as non-binary, and was also raised by the rapper, 52.

In recent years, she has been living with her rarely-seen son, Parker, who is believed to be in his teens.

Both Stevie and Parker are from different relationships since her divorce from the superstar.

BABY JOY

Following her health issues, Kim and Marshall reunited for Hailie’s wedding to her long-term partner, Evan McClintock.

Hailie and Evan then welcomed a baby, Kim and Marshall’s first grandchild, Elliot, in March this year.

Kim’s upbeat appearance this month comes as her adopted daughter, Alaina Scott, announced she is pregnant with her first child with her husband, Matt Moeller, whom she married in 2023.

Alaina shared the news on Instagram, as she attached a photograph of her surprising her spouse.

“THE BEST OF YOU + ME,” she wrote in October. “For months, I’ve carried a tiny heartbeat inside me, one that has already changed mine in every possible way.“

She continued, “There’s something indescribable about knowing there’s a little life growing, dreaming, and becoming, all while you go about your day, whispering prayers and hopes only they can hear.”

Alaina added, “I’ve never felt more grateful for this gift and to grow our family, something we’ve wanted for so long.

“Thank you God for this blessing. Baby M, we can’t wait to meet you, little one.”

Alaina shared a slew of photos of her surprising Matt with the news.

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

She can be seen leading him blindfolded into a room with gold balloons spelling out the words “BABY M”.

Matt then took the blindfold off and was presented with a shoebox with a pair of baby Nike sneakers inside and a positive pregnancy test.

Authors, readers and publishing industry experts lament the underrepresentation of Hispanic stories in the mainstream world of books, but have found new ways to elevate the literature and resolve misunderstandings.

“The stories now are more diverse than they were ten years ago,” said Carmen Alvarez, a book influencer on Instagram and TikTok.

Some publishers, independent bookstores and book influencers are pushing past the perception of monolithic experience by making Hispanic stories more visible and discoverable for book lovers.

The rise of online book retailers and limited marketing budgets for stories about people of color have been major hurdles for increasing that representation, despite annual celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the U.S. There’s been a push for ethnically authentic stories about Latinos, beyond the immigrant experience.

“I feel like we are getting away from the immigration story, the struggle story,” said Alvarez, who is best known as “tomesandtextiles” on bookstagram and booktok, the Instagram and TikTok social media communities. “I feel like my content is to push back against the lack of representation.”

Latinos in the publishing industry

Latinos currently make up roughly 20% of the U.S. population, according to Census data.

However, the National Hispanic Media Coalition estimates Latinos only represent 8% of employees in publishing, according to its Latino Representation in Publishing Coalition created in 2023.

Brenda Castillo, NHMC president and CEO, said the coalition works directly with publishing houses to highlight Latino voices and promote their existing Latino employees.

The publishing houses “are the ones that have the power to make the changes,” Castillo said.

Some Hispanic authors are creating spaces for their work to find interested readers. Award-winning children authors Mayra Cuevas and Alex Villasante co-founded a book festival and storytellers conference in 2024 to showcase writers and illustrators from their communities.

“We were very intentional in creating programming around upleveling craft and professional development,” Cuevas said. “And giving attendees access to the publishing industry, and most importantly, creating a space for community connection and belonging.”

Villasante said the festival and conference allowed them to sustain themselves within the publishing industry, while giving others a road map for success in an industry that isn’t always looking to mass produce their work.

“We are not getting the representation of ourselves,” Villasante said. “I believe that is changing, but it is a slow change so we have to continue to push for that change.”

Breaking into the mainstream

New York Times bestselling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a Mexican-Canadian novelist known for the novels “Mexican Gothic” and “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau,” is one of few Hispanic authors that has been able to break to mainstream. But she said it wasn’t easy.

Moreno-Garcia recalled one of her first publisher rejections: The editor complimented the quality of the story but said it would not sell because it was set in Mexico.

“There are systems built within publishing that make it very difficult to achieve the regular distributions that other books naturally have built into them,” Moreno-Garcia said. “There is sometimes resistance to sharing some of these books.”

Cynthia Pelayo, an award-winning author and poet, said the marketing campaign is often the difference maker in terms of a book’s success. Authors of color are often left wanting more promotional support from their publishers, she said.

“I’ve seen exceptional Latino novels that have not received nearly the amount of marketing, publicity that some of their white colleagues have received,” Pelayo said. “What happens in that situation (is) their books get put somewhere else in the bookstore when these white colleagues, their books will get put in the front.”

Hispanic Heritage Month, however, helps bring some attention to Hispanic authors, she added.

Independent bookstores

Independent bookstores remain persistent in elevating Hispanic stories. A 2024 report by the American Booksellers Association found that 60 of the 323 new independent bookstores were owned by people of color. According to Latinx in Publishing, a network of publishing industry professionals, there are 46 Hispanic-owned bookstores in the U.S.

Online book retailer Bookshop.org has highlighted Hispanic books and provided discounts for readers during Hispanic Heritage Month. A representative for the site, Ellington McKenzie, said the site has been able to provide financial support for about 70 Latino bookstores.

“People are always looking to support those minority owned bookstores which we are happy to be the liaison between them,” McKenzie said.

Chawa Magaña, the owner of Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix, said she was inspired to open the store because of what she felt was a lack of diversity and representation in the books that are taught in Arizona schools.

“Growing up, I didn’t experience a lot of diversity in literature in schools.” Magaña said. “I wasn’t seeing myself in the stories that I was reading.”

Of the books for sale at Palabras Bilingual, between 30% to 40% of the books are Latino stories, she said.

Magaña said having heard people say they have never seen that much representation in a bookstore has made her cry.

“What has been the most fulfilling to me is able to see how it impacts other people’s lives,” she said. “What motivates me is seeing other people get inspired to do things, seeing people moved when they see the store itself having diverse books.”

Figueroa writes for the Associated Press.

Keri Russell has been a recognisable face on TV screens since the 90s – and she has a famous partner

Netflix’s The Diplomat is back with a third season, featuring Kate Wyler (portrayed by Keri Russell) in an unexpected new role.

Keri Russell, a 49 year old American actress, has been celebrated for her television roles since the 90s.

Born and raised in California, she has an older brother and a younger sister, and due to her father’s job as a Nissan Motors executive, the family moved around frequently.

In 1999, she bagged a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the drama Felicity, and has received four additional nominations for her roles in The Americans and The Diplomat.

In recognition of her contributions to television, she was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.

READ MORE: The Diplomat season 4 explored as fans keen for more after finale bombshellREAD MORE: The Diplomat season 3 release date, cast and trailer as new stars join series

One of her earliest roles was at the tender age of 15, when she featured in the Disney Channel’s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club.

Her dancing skills, honed during her middle school and high school years, helped her secure a spot on the show.

She was a regular cast member from 1991 to 1994, and during this period, she made her film debut in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.

From 2013 to 2018, she starred opposite Matthew Rhys in the series The Americans, where he played her character’s husband.

The on-screen couple became real-life partners during this period.

Who is Keri Russell’s famous partner?

The Diplomat star was previously married to Shane Deary, a Brooklyn-based contractor whom she met through mutual friends.

They tied the knot in 2007 and have two children – a son and a daughter.

The pair parted ways in 2014 and since then, she’s been romantically linked with Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, famed for his roles in Brothers and Sisters and Perry Mason.

They share a son and despite affectionately referring to each other as husband and wife, they haven’t tied the knot.

The duo have voiced their eagerness to collaborate professionally once more, with Russell suggesting to People that her partner could “totally” join the cast of The Diplomat.

“I think that would probably be more in his court,” she added, indicating their mutual desire to work together again.

“But he’s pretty busy doing a million other things. He’s got, like, five other jobs or something,” she quipped.

The Diplomat airs on Netflix

AN EMOTIONAL JoJo Siwa was seen breaking down in tears live on stage after paying tribute to her boyfriend Chris Hughes.

The Celebrity Big Brother star, 22, has been on the road hitting venues across Britain, with her last show last night.

At her last gig of the tour, JoJo appeared to become overwhelmed.

The Dance Moms star broke down in tears as she took to the stage for the final show of her Infinity Heart Tour.

In a video shared by a fan on TikTok, JoJo was seen welling up during her performance of Back To That Girl.

She then told the audience at the Klub Proxima in Warsaw, that she doesn’t usually get “so emotional”.

ON THE ROAD

JoJo Siwa told me all about intimate moments with Chris Hughes on tour bus

ON THE ROAD

JoJo Siwa opens up about life on the road – & one thing she can’t tour without

Continuing, JoJo said: “It’s been a while since I’ve done what I love which is being on stage being in front of you.

“And, most of you won’t really care, but today’s the last day of this tour.

“You don’t have to pretend you care, you came here because I’m in your city, you didn’t come here because it’s the last one.

“We’re all sobbing right now. But, it just, just to anybody who A, is in this building, B, came to any of these shows, or C, whether it be a good comment or a bad comment, left a comment, hit a like, watched a video, anyone who supported anything just a big massive thank you.”

An emotional JoJo then added: “I finally had myself pulled together and then I saw all these hearts in here.

“That caught me off guard that was good!’

The star’s emotional moment on stage followed a heartfelt Instagram post where JoJo paid a tribute to everyone on her tour who had supported her, which included Chris who has been cheering her on at the side of the stage.

She wrote: “I’ll definitely have a lot more to say once I’ve gathered some thoughts, but tonight is the final show on the Infinity Heart Tour and I am incredibly emotional.

“The amount of work that has gone into creating the show from choreographing it myself to all the creative direction to actually executing it on stage, the show represents who I want to be as a person and the artist that I wanna be in this lifetime, and it’s translated so well to the crowd and hearing your reviews that have been so positive, it just makes me flood with happiness and gratitude.

“Thank you so much for all the love on this tour, to everyone who showed up to the concerts, and to everyone who supported from the distance online.

“Means so very much.”

Chris then thrilled fans when he wrote in the comments: “Smashed it my love.”

The pair met on Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year and have been smitten ever since.

JoJo recently insisted she is not straight amid her romance with Chris and questions surrounding her sexuality.

The YouTuber has refused to put a label on her identity after falling for the former Love Island star inside the CBB house.

Prior to entering the house, JoJo was loved up with non-binary influencer Kath Ebbs but ended their romance to pursue things with Chris.

Now, she has given a candid insight into the negative reactions and “extreme amount of hate” for being currently “in a hetero relationship”.

The dancer and singer opened up in a radio interview on Sirius XM’s Smith Sisters Live.

JoJo said: “From the very, very, very beginning of our relationship. He said, ‘So you can be anything you want. I just love you. I don’t want you to change. I just love you.’

“And I don’t know, I think we got to see on episode two of Big Brother, he was the only person in fact that stood up for me right away.

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

“That shows who he is as a straight white male that shows the kind of person he is to stand up for the young 22-year-old queer person in the house.”

JoJo appeared to be referring to when Chris defended her amid a homophobic remark from actor Mickey Rourke inside the house.

A curse befell Jacob Elordi when he was a child. It happened in the aisle of a Blockbuster Video. The culprit for the incantation was the image of the now emblematic Pale Man from “Pan’s Labyrinth,” flaunting eyes on his palms on the back cover of the DVD.

“My mother remembers this,” an energetic Elordi tells me in a Hollywood conference room. “I came running through the corridor and I was like, ‘I need this DVD.’ And she was like, ‘That’s so much blood and gore. You can’t watch it.’”

“She told you, ‘I’ll get it if you promise never to work with that director,’” Guillermo del Toro, the filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning dark fantasy, chimes in, sitting next to Elordi.

His wish granted, Elordi watched “Pan’s Labyrinth” at a young age. The fable set against the Spanish Civil War forever changed him. “From that moment, because of the way that Guillermo wills magic into the world and into his life, I feel like there was some kind of curse set upon me,” the actor says. “I do genuinely believe that, as out there as it sounds.”

Now, Elordi, 28, has become one of the Mexican director’s monsters in his long-gestating adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (in theaters Friday, then on Netflix Nov. 7). Under intricate prosthetics and makeup, Elordi plays the Creature that arrogant scientist Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) breathes life into — an assemblage of dead limbs and organs imbued with a new consciousness.

Elordi with writer-director Guillermo del Toro on the set of “Frankenstein.”

(Ken Woroner / Netflix)

Receptive to tenderness but prone to violence, the nameless Creature now has, in Elordi, a performer suited for all its unruly emotions. “It was the innocence in Jacob’s portrayal that kept getting me,” says makeup artist and prosthetics designer Mike Hill. “The Creature could snap on a dime like an animal.”

Capable of complex thought, Del Toro’s version of the monster ponders the punishment of existence and the cruelty of its maker. “They’re almost like John Milton questions to the creator,” the director says of the Creature’s dialogue. “You have to give it a physicality that is heartbreakingly uncanny but also hypnotically human.”

The imposingly lanky, gracefully handsome Elordi, born in Australia, has risen in profile over the last few years, thanks to roles in the hit series “Euphoria” and the psychosexual class-climbing thriller “Saltburn.”

“It came from some other place,” Elordi says about the pull to the role of the Creature. “It felt like a growth, like a cancer in my stomach that told me that I had to play this thing.”

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

“Frankenstein,” however, seems to have been calling his name for a long time.

“Early in my career, I had been reading what folks on the internet would say about me and someone had written after my first film, ‘The only thing this plank of wood could play is Frankenstein’s Creature. Get him off my screen!’” Elordi recalls. “I went, ‘That’s an absolutely fantastic idea.’”

The thought reentered Elordi’s mind while making Sofia Coppola’s 2023 “Priscilla,” in which he played a moody, internal Elvis Presley to Cailee Spaeny’s title character. Long before he was offered the part, the hair and makeup team on “Priscilla” shared with him their next job was, in fact, Del Toro’s “Frankenstein.”

“I looked at [hair designer] Cliona [Furey] and I said, ‘I’m supposed to be in that movie.’ And she said, ‘Did you audition?’ And I was like, ‘No, but I’m meant to be in that movie.’”

“It came from some other place,” Elordi further explains. “It felt like a growth, like a cancer in my stomach that told me that I had to play this thing. I’ve heard stories about this from actors, and when you hear them, you kind of go, ‘Sure, you were meant to play this thing.’ But I really feel like I was.”

Due to scheduling conflicts, Andrew Garfield, originally cast as the Creature, dropped out in late 2023. With production set to start in early 2024, Del Toro had limited time to find a new actor. When Elordi finally heard he was being considered, he had to read the screenplay within hours of receiving it, and be willing to dive into the darkness.

“I had a few weeks to prepare, but I was lucky to have also had my whole life — and I mean that sincerely,” he says, a grin crossing his face. “Playing this was an exploration into a cave of the self, into every experience with my father, with my mother, my experience with cinema, my scraped knees when I was 7.”

Del Toro says he knew Elordi would make the perfect Creature from speaking with him over Zoom. He remembers immediately messaging Isaac, his Victor, convinced that Elordi could play both “Adam and Jesus,” which are the two facets that the creature represents for the director.

Jacob Elordi as the Creature in the movie “Frankenstein.”

(Ken Woroner / Netflix)

“I don’t think I’ve experienced miracles many times in my life,” Del Toro says. “And when somebody comes to your life in any capacity that transforms it, that happened here. This man is a miracle for this film.”

As he typically does for all the actors in his films, Del Toro sent Elordi several books ahead of working together. Elordi’s deep-dive reading list included the bedrock Taoist guide “Tao Te Ching,” Stephen Mitchell’s well-regarded translation of the Book of Job and a text on the developmental stages of a baby.

The most complex element of the performance, Del Toro believes, is playing “nothing,” meaning the blank, pure state of mind of a living being in infancy. “A baby is everything at once,” Elordi says. “It’s deep pain, deep joy, curiosity. And you don’t have chambers for your thoughts yet.”

Right before “Frankenstein,” Elordi had been shooting Prime’s World War II miniseries “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” in Australia, an experience he describes as “grueling,” one that involved losing substantial weight. He repurposed his body’s subsequent fragility as a dramatic tool.

“My brain was kind of all over the place,” he remembers. “I had these moments of great anguish at around 3 a.m. in the morning. I’d wake and my body was in such pain. And I just realized that it was a blessing with ‘Frankenstein’ coming up, because I could articulate these feelings, this suffering.”

Aside from being an outlet for his exhaustion, the transformation also helped Elordi to recalibrate. “Frankenstein” arrived at a time where he found himself wrestling with a crisis of purpose.

“At that time in my life I really wanted to hide,” Elordi says. “I really wanted to go away for a while. I was desperate to find some kind of normalcy and rebuild the way that I acted and how I approached making movies,” Elordi says. “And when the film came along, I remember being like, ‘Ugh, I really wanted to go away right now.’ And I realized immediately the Creature was where I was supposed to go away to. I was supposed to go into that mask of freedom.”

Was he trying to escape the pressures of dawning fame? Elordi says it was much more philosophical than that.

“Who do I think I am? Who do I present myself as? What do I like? What don’t I like? Do I love? Can I love? What is love? Every single thing of being alive,” he says with a radiant smile. “The unbearable weight of being.”

“At that time in my life I really wanted to hide,” Elordi says of the moment just before taking on Del Toro’s version of the classic. “I really wanted to go away for a while. I was desperate to find some kind of normalcy and rebuild the way that I acted and how I approached making movies.”

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

The part entailed physically burying himself in another body. It allowed Elordi to renounce any hang-ups, surrendering to a fugue state of mind. Every moment felt like a discovery.

“I was liberated in this makeup,” he adds. “I didn’t have to be this version of myself anymore. In those six months, I completely rebuilt myself. And I came out of this film with a whole new skin.”

Elordi sat for 10 hours in the makeup chair on days that required full body makeup — only four if they were only shooting the Creature’s face. “Jacob wanted to wear the makeup and he knew it would be grueling,” Hill says.

“It was nothing short of a religious experience,” Elordi says. “The excitement I had even just getting my body cast — I was buzzing.”

Hill believes that the decision to make the Creature bald for the scenes where he is a “baby” is what makes Del Toro’s take unique within the “Frankenstein” mythos.

“Instead of what happens in cloning where a baby grows, Victor literally did make a baby, just a big one,” says Hill. “The Creature learns quickly because its brain and its bodies have already lived once. God knows what this Creature knew before he forgot and needed to be reminded.”

As for the skin, Del Toro envisioned a marble-statue look that he had been pursuing in earlier movies like “Cronos,” “Blade II” and “The Devil’s Backbone.”

“Mike took it and made it incredibly subtle: flesh with the violets and the purples and the pearlescence,” Del Toro says. “He bested every concept I’ve ever imagined by making it look like parts of exsanguine bodies. That was so brilliant.”

“It was the innocence in Jacob’s portrayal that kept getting me,” says makeup artist and creature designer Mike Hill, here seen working on a model for “Frankenstein.”

(John P. Johnson / Netflix)

A Frankenstein’s monster with rainbow-colored flesh, Hill says, could only exist in the context of a Del Toro picture.

“He had to look beautiful, like a phrenology head or an anatomical manual,” Del Toro adds. “We agreed — no scars. No sutures. No vulgarity.”

Del Toro’s casting of Elordi was fully validated when the actor walked on set for the first time in full makeup. “The whole process was anticipation,” Elordi says. “And then I opened my eyes and he was looking back at me, and it was exactly what I thought it would be when I first read the screenplay.”

For Hill, it was watching Elordi doing an interview, where his limbs seemed loose and relaxed, that convinced him he was the right actor to sculpt the Creature on. “I was like, ‘Look at those wrists.’ And then he turns, and he has these lashes,” Hill says. “Big eyes are beautiful for makeup. And structurally, Jacob has an unassuming nose, so you can build on that.”

“And he has a big chin,” Hill continues amid Del Toro’s boisterous laughter. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to glue one on.’”

Amused at his anatomy being dissected in front of him, Elordi claps back, mock-defensively: “He was grotesque to look at, but he was somewhat gifted. A deformed skinny freak.”

By the time Elordi got out of the makeup chair, he says, the electricity in his body had shifted. He stepped on set physically depleted but in the ideal headspace to embody the creature as it navigates an inhospitable reality.

“He’ll forever be fused into my chemistry,” Elordi says. “He was always there and now I have a little place for him. But I can’t rationalize him.”

Whether by curse or by miracle, Elordi’s Creature lives. And the actor feels reborn.

Hollyoaks is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month after first airing on October 23, 1995

Hollyoaks is marking a special occasion this month as it celebrates 30 years on air.

The popular Channel 4 soap first graced our screens on 23 October 1995 and will soon be marking its 30th anniversary.

Over the decades, Hollyoaks has seen a plethora of actors and characters come and go in the fictional village. Some stars, like Nick Pickard, who portrays Tony Hutchinson, have been with the soap since its inception.

However, other actors have traded the fictional village for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. From Oscar triumphs to hit HBO series, let’s take a look at the stars who’ve made the leap to Los Angeles…, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Rachel Shenton

Rachel Shenton portrayed Mitzeee Minniver on Hollyoaks from 2010 to 2013. After her departure, Rachel, 37, bagged a role in US series Switched at Birth, where she played Lily Summers.

The actress, who is fluent in both British Sign Language and American Sign Language, had her big moment in 2018 when she clinched an Academy Award for her short film The Silent Child, which she wrote, produced and starred in.

The short film tells the story of Libby, a profoundly deaf four year old girl, who lives a silent life until a social worker, played by Rachel, teaches her how to communicate through sign language.

Following her Oscar triumph, Rachel has portrayed Helen Alderson in All Creatures Great and Small since 2020. Other roles include The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Rumour and The Strangers: Chapter 2.

Nathalie Emmanuel

Nathalie Emmanuel, who portrayed Sasha Valentine on Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2010, has since enjoyed a successful career. After leaving the soap, Nathalie, 36, secured the role of Missandei in the HBO hit series Game of Thrones from 2013 to 2019, catapulting her to stardom.

Since then, she’s been playing Jordan King in Die Hart since 2020 and has taken on numerous film roles.

Her filmography includes Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, The Titan, F9, Fast X, Arthur the King, Megalopolis and The Killer.

Emmett J Scanlan

Emmett J Scanlan, who played Brendan Brady from 2010 to 2013, has also had a successful career post-Hollyoaks. After his departure, Emmett, 46, bagged the role of D. C. Glenn Martin in The Fall.

He’s also starred as Josh in Harlan Coben’s Safe in 2018, Billy Grade in Peaky Blinders, and has appeared in Derry Girls, The Teacher and MobLand, among others.

Emmett achieved international recognition with Netflix’s hit Harlan Coben drama Fool Me Once in 2024, where he played Shane Tessier. His film credits include Guardians of the Galaxy, Argylle and A Working Man.

Guy Burnet

Guy Burnet played Craig Dean in the popular Channel 4 soap from 2002 until 2008.

Guy, 42, has since gone on to have a successful Hollywood career with appearances in films such as Pitch Perfect 3, where he played Theo in the 2017 movie. The actor has also appeared in hit TV series Ray Donovan, The Affair and Counterpart.

However, it was one of his latest projects that left fans stunned as he was part of the star-studded cast of Oppenheimer, which was released in cinemas on 21 July 2023 in the UK.

He has recently appeared in FUBAR alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger as Theodore Chips and American Horror Stories.

Ricky Whittle

Ricky Whittle, who portrayed Calvin Valentine on Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2011, has also made a name for himself in Hollywood. After leaving the soap, Ricky, 45, relocated to Los Angeles and quickly landed a number of roles.

From 2014 to 2016, he starred in the sci-fi drama The 100 and US soap Mistresses. Following this, he secured the lead role in American Gods in 2017, with the series running until 2021.

Roxanne McKee

Roxanne McKee, who portrayed Louise Summers from 2005 to 2008, went on to secure the role of Doreah in Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2012 after her departure.

The 45 year old actress then bagged roles in Dominion as Claire Riesen and Pandora as Eve in 2020, among others. Her film credits include Inside Man: Most Wanted and Bambi: The Reckoning.

Wallis Day

Wallis Day played Holly Cunningham in Hollyoaks from 2012 to 2013.

Since then, the 31 year old actress has taken on roles such as Angie on The Royals from 2016 to 2018, Nyssa-Vex in Krypton from 2018 to 2019, Kate Kane / Circe Sionis in Batwoman in 2021, and Gigi in Netflix’s 2023 series of Sex/Life.

BRITNEY Spears has furiously clapped back at her “gaslighting” ex husband Kevin Federline in a brutal takedown of his jaw-dropping allegations over her conduct.

The mom-of-two issued a passionate statement on her Instagram page after her baby-daddy told how he feared the pop star would die without help – and said “it’s impossible to pretend everything is OK.”

Kevin – who is set to release book You Thought You Knew on October 21 – has already teased many shocking revelations about his relationship with the Toxic singer and life raising their sons, Sean Preston, now 20, and Jayden James, 19.

The former professional dancer, 47, has used his tome to open up about his struggles co-parenting with Britney, 43, throughout her downward spiral from pop princess to troubled artist.

As well as claiming she watched her sons sleep with knives in her hand, he has suggested she snogged a female dancer while he refused a throuple.

Now, clearly having “had enough” of the stream of stories about her the book has leaked, Britney has taken action.

BRIT CHEAT?

Kevin Federline claims Britney cheated with female dancer & he refused throuple

In a text post written in black font on a white background, she wrote: “The constant gaslighting from my ex husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting.

“Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.

“Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own father for me.

“They need to take responsibility for themselves.

“With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years. I have pride too.

“From now on I will let them know when I am available.

“Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here.”

Britney was seen reuniting with her rarely-seen son Jayden back in June, with a picture showing the teen towering over her.

The Hit Me Baby One More Time hitmaker also revealed she had bought Jayden a brand new Mercedes AMG SL 63 roadster valued at $187K.

The US chart star then wrapped her emotive message with the words: “I will always love them [her boys] and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids of my mental health and drinking.

“I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years.

“I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.”

MOM LOWDOWN

Britney lost full-time custody of her sons in 2007 after an infamous breakdown during which she shaved her head.

The US star was allowed only supervised visits to see her boys, then aged two and one, who went to live with her former husband Kevin.

She now has 30 per cent custody but her relations with her sons hit a rough patch after they chose not to attend their mum’s 2022 wedding to US model Sam Asghari, her now ex.

The teens were also said to be embarrassed by her semi-naked pictures and overtly sexual dance videos posted on Instagram.

MARRIAGE BREAKDOWN

Kevin and Britney got married on September 18, 2004, just five months after they met but they split in 2006.

In an interview with The New York Times, Kevin previously revealed he’s kept his distance from his ex-wife and they “haven’t spoken in years,” following their divorce nearly two decades ago.

However, in the book, the DJ also revealed some of Britney’s alarming behavior, which he learned mainly from their kids.

“They would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep — ‘Oh, you’re awake?’ — with a knife in her hand,” Kevin wrote.

“Then she’d turn around and pad off without explanation.”

In a statement provided to Us Weekly, Britney’s representative said, ‘Once again [Federline] and others are profiting off her, and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin.

‘All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and their well-being during this sensationalism,’ they added.

In 2023, Jayden and Sean moved to Hawaii with their dad and his new wife, Victoria Prince, and the their two half-sisters. 

There were rife reports of a rift between the two sons and their famous mother, which was sparked after her conservatorship was terminated in November 2021.

Previously, the bubblegum pop queen apologized for “not being perfect.”

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

Meanwhile, we exclusively revealed the secret Mother’s Day phone call which saw her attempt to rebuild her connection with her sons.

We told how Britney is now at pains to rebuild a loving relationship with her sons — who were once by her side for everything, from Smurf movie premieres to Dodgers baseball games and trips to Disneyland.

“South Park” is bidding adieu to its short-lived but buzzy Season 27.

The sixth episode of the year, which airs Wednesday on Comedy Central, marks the first episode of Season 28, a spokesperson from the network confirmed to The Times. (The episode will stream on Paramount+ Thursday.)

The reason behind the decision to end Season 27, which was originally expected to have 10 episodes, is unclear. But fans of the long-running satire will still get four additional episodes this year, if “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone and Trey Parker stick to the schedule they outlined. Fans had been speculating about the start of a new season after seeing television listings that coded Wednesday’s episode as the first of Season 28.

The new episode, titled “Twisted Christian,” follows a possessed Cartman, who “may be the key to stopping the Antichrist,” according its brief description. A short teaser also shows the students of South Park Elementary engaging with the viral “67” slang, an essentially meaningless phrase that has taken over Generation Alpha.

The recent episodes have been drawing strong viewership and have, as always, poked fun at topical issues and political figures including President Trump, immigration raids, tariffs and the FCC. Even Paramount, which bought the global streaming rights to “South Park” this summer in a $1.5-billion deal, has been the butt of several jokes.

Season 27 had an unusual cadence of episodes, with the first two arriving on a weekly schedule, then biweekly before the arrival of the most recent episode (and the apparent finale of the season), which aired three weeks later on Sept. 25.

The second episode drew criticism for its parody of Charlie Kirk, the slain political influencer, despite the episode airing weeks before his death. Comedy Central, which is owned by Paramount, announced it will not air reruns of the second episode of the latest season after Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10 in Utah. The episode can still be found on Paramount+.

The final episode of Season 27 was the first to air after Kirk’s death, but Parker and Stone told the Denver Post the delay was unrelated to its content: “No one pulled the episode, no one censored us, and you know we’d say so if true.” The pair issued a statement on Sept. 17 saying the episode wasn’t finished in time.

Future episodes of “South Park” will air every two weeks through Dec. 10.

Times TV editor Maira Garcia contributed to this report.

Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley was joined by Kate Garraway on Thursday’s edition of the ITV show

Good Morning Britain was interrupted on Thursday (October 16) as Richard Madeley said, “I’m going to make a confession”.

During today’s instalment of the popular ITV show, Richard and his co-presenter Kate Garraway brought viewers up to speed on the latest developments from Britain and beyond.

Laura Tobin joined them in the studio to deliver regular weather forecasts, whilst Charlotte Hawkins took care of the day’s remaining headlines.

Richard and Kate discussed former government advisor Dominic Cummings‘ claims regarding China, alongside a fresh police initiative involving GPS ankle tags to tackle shoplifting.

Later, Charlotte revealed that the number of drivers being handed penalty points has surged in the last year, with speed cameras catching record numbers of motorists breaking legal limits, reports Wales Online.

Almost ten million points were added to licences in 2024.

Whilst discussing the matter with pundits Kwasi Kwarteng and Ayesha Hazarika, Richard announced, “I’m going to make a confession now, it’s not a big deal, but whatever.”

The host then admitted he carried six points on his driving licence, explaining: “Both because of speed cameras. One for doing 34 mph on a dual carriageway at four thirty in the morning when it was a 30 mph [zone], I didn’t realise that.

“And one for doing 24 mph in a 20 mph zone at four thirty in the morning. And I have to say, I don’t mind being fined because, yes, I have broken the limit inadvertently, but to get three points on a licence, as well, seemed a bit harsh.

“I only say this because Co-op Insurance has done a survey and they’ve announced the results this morning. A surge in drivers has been caught by speed cameras, a huge, huge rise.”

He went on: “A 12% increase in the number of penalty points added to licences last year. Of course, if you get to 12, it means you lose your licence.

“Of course, speeding has to be controlled. Are we over-penalising drivers for relatively minor infractions? I’m not sure.”

Kwasi chimed in, “My view on this is that those 20 mph speed limits are almost impossible. You’ve got to be very, very careful.”

Richard then revealed that he uses cruise control, which Ayesha quipped was “such a Richard Madeley thing to say”.

“It may be a Richard Madeley thing to say, but actually it protects me from getting more points,” Richard concluded.

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

DIANE Keaton’s family have shared the acting legend’s cause of death in a touching tribute to her after the Oscar winner died on Sunday.

The Godfather and Annie Hall star tragically died aged 79 after her health had quickly declined, her family have confirmed.

They have now released a statement to People revealing the cause of her passing as pneumonia.

They said: “The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane, who passed away from pneumonia on October 11.

“She loved her animals and she was steadfast in her support of the unhoused community, so any donations in her memory to a local food bank or an animal shelter would be a wonderful and much appreciated tribute to her.”

A source told the outlet that Keaton’s health had “declined very suddenly, which was heartbreaking for everyone who loved her.”

Read more on Diane Keaton

‘DELIGHTFUL LADY’

Tributes to ‘icon of style & comedy’ as Diane Keaton dies age 79

GOODBYE DIANE

Oscar winner and Godfather star Diane Keaton dies at 79

“In her final months, she was surrounded only by her closest family, who chose to keep things very private. Even longtime friends weren’t fully aware of what was happening.”

When the news of her death broke on Sunday her family had only released a short statement asking for privacy in “this great moment of sadness”.

She is survived by her two children Dexter, 29, and Duke Keaton, 25.

Keaton won the Best Actress Oscar in 1978 for her role in Annie Hall starring alongside the film’s director Woody Allen.

Many speculated that the movie was in fact based on the pair’s real-life relationship.

Keaton told The New York Times in 1977: “It’s not true, but there are elements of truth to it.”

The emergency call to first responders has been released, with medics dispatched to a “person down” in the early hours of the morning, according to audio obtained by TMZ.

“Rescue 19, person down,” a dispatcher said before Keaton was transported to a local hospital by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Touching tributes poured in for Keaton after news of her death broke.

Acting giant Ben Stiller said of the late actress: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever.

“An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”

The First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler said: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died.

“I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.”

She added: “She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star.

“What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”

Hollywood legend Al Pacino – who starred alongside Keaton in the Godfather – is said to regret not marrying the star after their on-and-off relationship.

An insider told the Daily Mail: “For years after he and Diane split, Al used to say, ‘if it’s meant to be, it’s never too late for a do-over.’ But sadly, now it is.”

Keaton left an estimated £75million estate following her death.

On top of her acting earnings, she had invested in real estate, to build a large fortune of over $100million.

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

In California, she sold a home at Laguna Beach for £9.5million, and her home in Pacific Palisades for £5million.

She also reportedly had property in Tucson, Arizona, which she sold for £1.9million four years ago.

Diane’s final post

By Hana Carter

Diane Keaton’s devastated fans flocked to her final Instagram post hours after news of the star’s death.

The actress had shared a selection of heartwarming photos of her beloved dog Reggie.

In the collaborative post with Hudson Grace, she celebrated National Pet Day back in April this year.

In one of the photos, she knelt on the floor beside her pup and pointed at a bag of dog biscuits.

Shaken by the passing of the Hollywood icon, Diane’s followers paid tribute.

“A true legend. Thank you for your talent, your animal advocacy, your immeasurable charm. You will be missed,” one wrote.

“Lost one of the greatest actors and lights of this world today,” another said.

A third wrote: “I wasn’t ready for this forever lively legend to be gone so soon.”