SHOW BIZ

THE ODYSSEY

(15) 173mins

★★★★★

NO need for theme parks this summer, this is a film that will leave you feeling as though you have ­ridden the highest rollercoaster.

Sir Christopher Nolan’s epic is an all-action, mythical nightmare to behold.

It’s a monumental piece of work, which rarely even feels like a film — more a spectacle to be watched in awe and amazement.

The Ancient Greek poem of the same title, written thousands of years ago, has been retold countless times over the centuries. But never to this scale.

The story is of Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his quest to return to his homeland.

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He is the King of Ithaca and the mastermind behind the Trojan Horse trick that ended the war.

His long journey back to his kingdom is to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).

They have been waiting for his return for 20 years, and Penelope has many more than 100 suitors ready to take up residency in the royal palace.

They spend their evenings eating the food and drinking the wine of their hostess, while plotting what they will do when she marries them.

One is Antinous (Robert Pattinson), a snarly, devious man who can barely hide his contempt for the family but longs for their power.

Stories run alongside this one, showing Odysseus lost on the island of Ogygia, eating lotus flowers with only the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron) for company.

She tries to get his memories from him, and he retells the journey he took to get washed up there.

It includes battles, terrifying gods, curses, hauntings, a witch (Samantha Morton) who loves to feed her prey and Zendaya as Athena.

Each tale feels like a film in itself and alongside adrenalin-spiking action, there is a lot of heart.

The basis of the story is love, protection and the attempt to right wrongs.

Damon is spectacular in a role that must have pushed him to his limits physically. While being part of huge battle sequences, he is able to show a range of emotions on his face.

The standout performance has to be Pattinson, who as the hateful Antinous, ­manages to curl his lip to perfection.

Don’t let the nearly three-hour run time put you off.

Like any great ride, the moment it is over, you want it to start all over again.

A CLOSE SHAVE

(U) 30mins

★★★★★

IT’S been more than three decades since Nick Park made us all fall for a cheese-loving bachelor and his silent inventor dog.

And to mark the 50th anniversary of Aardman, the world-famous Bristol-based stop-motion and clay animation studios behind Wallace and Gromit, the films have been given national cinema release for a whole new generation to enjoy.

In this tale, from 1995, Wallace (Peter Sallis) and Gromit are running a high-tech window-cleaning service, which introduces them to wool shop owner Wendolene Ramsbottom (Anne Reid) and her evil-genius dog, Preston.

Thanks to his new canine enemy, Gromit is jailed for crimes he didn’t commit. With the help of his clumsy buddy – who is infatuated with Wendolene – he works to clear his name. Film fans will love the parody of prison movies, and there’s an impressive, climactic cheese scene.

Having won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film and introducing the character of Shaun the Sheep – who went on to have his own TV spin-off series – this really is a delight to watch again. Brilliantly funny, with enough jeopardy and action to keep you hooked.

HEARTSTOPPER FOREVER

(15) 114mins

★★☆☆☆

AFTER three series of the incredibly successful coming-of-age Netflix drama, the story of the much-loved schoolboy couple, Nick and Charlie, is coming to an end.

This feature-film finale shows Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) are still very much in love.

In fact, they’re obsessively infatuated. At every party they stare at each other across the dance floor. They take selfies every few minutes and all their friends fawn over how they’re the best couple ever.

But Charlie is off to university soon and newly crowned head boy Nick has another year at school. So this throws their relationship into a very mediocre level of disarray.

They go back and forth over what they’re going to do, with high levels of self-inflicted angst and many moments that feel excruciatingly cringey.

Meanwhile, their tight-knit friendship group seem to chat exclusively about their own complicated sexualities.

Written by Alice Oseman and produced by Brett Thomas, the fondness for this couple feels like it can’t forgive the incredibly lame storyline that offers little to no jeopardy.

One for the superfans.

On Netflix.

Netflix viewers meet grown-up versions of Charlie and Nick in Heartstopper Forever

Heartstopper fans should prepare for more steamy scenes in the new Netflix film.

The young adult show returns with one final chapter called Heartstopper Forever tomorrow (July 17), which sees Joe Locke and Kit Connor reprising their roles as Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson.

Based on Alice Oseman’s popular graphic novels, the film picks up as Charlie and Nick face the prospect of a long-distance relationship ahead of going to university.

We’ve watched their romance blossom over three seasons, during which they were completely inseparable. So this new milestone poses a new hurdle they haven’t faced before.

As well as a new challenge, though, fans will notice that Charlie and Nick are more intimate in the new film than in previous seasons.

When asked about the final chapter featuring “a lot more sex,” Connor told The Guardian: “It’s a line that you have to walk: ‘How far are we going to take this?'”

He went on to explain that the inclusion reflected a natural progression in the characters’ romance.

“But at the end of the day, it did feel like these two guys are really attracted to each other at the age where they probably would have been doing it,” Connor added.

Locke agreed, explaining: “It would be weird if we hadn’t shown it. Just because our show is a more earnest version of a queer representation doesn’t mean that sex [shouldn’t be shown]. It’s still a big thing for anyone in the world.”

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The new coming-of-age drama includes traditional sex scenes as well as segments depicting masturbation, which is pretty standard for the genre.

However, Heartstopper has previously centred on the less-explicit elements of young queer relationships.

The actors were actually eager to push the envelope even further with their characters, Connor revealed.

He said: “If I’d had my way, I would have had Nick and Charlie cheating on each other and doing all those stupid things.

“Because young people do that and don’t necessarily need to be villainised for it. Heartstopper Forever takes a step in that direction of not being so rose-tinted about being human.”

Heartstopper Forever premieres on Netflix this Friday, July 17.

IT nurtured some of our broadcasting greats, from Terry Wogan and Tony Blackburn to Chris Moyles and Zoe Ball.

But now staff at BBC Radio 1 fear the station is crumbling beyond recognition.

This week it was announced that long-standing duo Melvin Odoom and Rickie Haywood-Williams will be departing, while DJs Dean McCullough, Nat O’Leary, James Cusack and Swarzy are also on their way out.

Meanwhile, social media stars GK Barry and Charley Marlowe are set to come in as part of a shake-up.

And lesser-known DJs Mylo & Rosie, as well as Emil Franchi, have landed bigger slots.

Insiders say tensions at the flagship youth station reached fever pitch after the comings and goings were announced on Wednesday, with some staffers claiming they only learnt of the changes when the BBC press office made them public.

“To say the handling of this feels like an absolute mess is an understatement,” one told The Sun.

“Some producers had no idea their talent was leaving. One of Melvin and Rickie’s team wasn’t told about the changes until they saw the email.

“They’d been on the station for seven years. So to see them suddenly off out of the back door was really upsetting. The atmosphere was chaotic and some staff were absolutely shellshocked.”

The changes have been met with hostility from listeners, many of whom took to social media to vent their anger.

One Radio 1 listener wrote on Instagram: “This is so disappointing.

“Both GK Barry and Charley Marlowe are incredibly talented at their craft but it’s so discouraging to see BBC Radio 1 providing these opportunities to host to already established presenters when there are so many people looking to break into the industry.”

Another was not happy with “clearing out DJs for social media ‘stars’,” while a third added: “Why is R1 on a self-sabotage mission by bringing in a load of social media ‘stars’ and godawful local radio DJs?”

An emotional staffer told us that a meeting, which was said to have included long-standing radio producers, was called to discuss the changes after the announcements were made.

They explained: “There is a weekly meeting on a Wednesday at Radio 1, but this week they called a second meeting where people were invited to speak up.

“A fair few people put their hands up to raise concerns.

“The main bone of contention was why Radio 1 appeared keen to say goodbye to established broadcasters and replace them with YouTubers and TikTokers.

“Much of the blame is being laid at the door of the big boss, Aled Haydn Jones. Some of the staff are so unhappy.”

Aled was a DJ on Radio 1 between 2009 and 2015 before he succeeded Ben Cooper as head of the station in 2020.

Insiders say he prides himself on championing new talent and is behind the raft of influencers joining the line-up, including GK, who came fifth in 2024’s I’m A Celeb.

Her arrival, alongside social media sensation Charley, has allegedly more than ruffled feathers.

“These influencers are lovely but they’re not radio geeks like most of the DJs who work at Radio 1,” one staffer explained.

“Working at Radio 1 is the dream job for any budding broadcaster who has put in the hard yards on student radio or local stations.

“It was held up as the pinnacle by so many people.

“But now it’s being eroded by this desperation to bring in ‘new’ talent that they think will bring in a new audience.

“The producers who work on these shows are so upset at what is happening.

“A couple have already decided to walk away. And it won’t be long before others start jumping ship.”

Another staffer added: “Aled seems to think social media is going to save Radio 1, but where’s the proof?

“Audience figures are down and they think the way to save it is by plugging the gap with people who are popular on the internet.

“That’s all well and good, but will their millions of followers start tuning into Radio 1 just to listen to them? It’s doubtful.

“Their fans already have access to their content at the touch of a button and that is a daily habit.

“Making them carve out a new habit of listening to them every day is incredibly difficult.”

Launched in 1967, Radio 1 was born out of the need to compete with the rise of pirate radio stations which had become hugely popular.

Legendary broadcaster Tony Blackburn was the first DJ to broadcast on the new station.

It grew into a juggernaut of the airwaves, commanding audiences of ten million for some shows and making huge stars out of presenters including Chris Evans, Simon Mayo and Sara Cox.

But as listening habits change, audiences across the BBC and commercial stations are decreasing.

Figures at the start of this year confirmed that the weekly audience reach across BBC radio stations is in steady decline.

In the final quarter of 2025, Radio 1’s weekly audience reach dropped by six per cent compared to the same period last year.

But bosses were keen to stress that their target market of 15 to 29-year-olds was consuming Radio 1 in different ways.

In that same final quarter, the station boasted more than 329million views on social media and Radio 1’s YouTube videos have had more than 6.1billion views.

But one BBC employee said: “It’s not just young people that listen to Radio 1.

“There is a decent percentage of listeners that are older.

“They have stuck with the station since they were young and they tune in to listen to DJs they have known and loved for years. Putting some influencers in their places, regardless of how well known they are, won’t translate as well.

“Many people working at Radio 1 think Aled is making a mistake if he carries on in this vein.”

The remaining jewel in the Radio 1 crown is Breakfast Show host Greg James.

Greg, 40, took over the coveted role from Nick Grimshaw in 2018 and pulls in more than four million listeners, making it the No1 Breakfast Show for young people across the country. But a well-placed insider revealed that BBC Radio 2 — the nation’s biggest station — was keen to bring him on board.

“Greg had meetings with Radio 2 and they were testing the water in a bid to poach him,” a source claimed.

“When Scott Mills left Radio 2’s Breakfast Show and Sara Cox took over, there was a lot of talk at Broadcasting House about whether Greg would make the move. But he’s definitely staying on board at Radio 1 for now.

“To lose Greg would have been horrendous because he is such a figurehead at Radio 1.

“Thankfully, he’s remaining in place.”

The Sun understands some staffers are now considering jumping ship with the departing talent.

And the blame is being solely laid at Aled’s door.

“Aled has been massacring the schedules and the method isn’t working,” one staffer said.

“The feeling is that he is ruining Radio 1 and it is heartbreaking.

“It feels like the craft of making radio isn’t being respected and the people behind the scenes who craft this magic for the audience aren’t being treated with the respect they deserve. Radio 1 used to be the best station to work at, with the most talented pool of people and the most incredible presenters.

“It’s like a shadow of what it once was.”

A BBC spokesman said: “Radio 1 is proud to be the number one station for young audiences and has a strong track record of supporting and developing young and emerging radio talent, with a huge majority of presenters having come through the station’s own initiatives and opportunities.

“Alongside Radio 1’s commitment to nurturing new voices, there will always be a home for DJs with specialist music knowledge and talent from a diverse range of backgrounds who we know resonate with our young audience.”

JESY Nelson says she “can’t stop crying” over her “bittersweet” victory to test all babies in England with SMA – knowing it came too late for her twin daughters.

The groundbreaking rule change comes as the former Little Mix star faces fresh heartache over her one-year-old kids, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, whose latest test results sparked concern following treatment for the muscle-wasting disease.

It’s feared the girls will never be able to walk after a late diagnosis of the life-threatening condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1.

In her new Prime Video show, Jesy Nelson: Life Changing, the singer breaks down in tears over the guilt she carries and worries her children will blame her, when they’re older, for not spotting the signs sooner.

Jesy told The Sun: “I know it’s not my fault, but when I watch back videos of when I brought them home and they were kicking their legs, I realise now that over the course of a month, they just stopped.

“That’s the part where the guilt kicks in because I don’t understand how I didn’t see that. Why didn’t I spot that?

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“But when I left the neonatal ward, I was constantly told to check their temperature, make sure you’re monitoring their breathing and there was so much other stuff that I was looking out for because they were premature babies.

“I just honestly didn’t focus on the movement of their legs.

“Thank God for my mum, because God knows what position I would have been in if she hadn’t spotted it.

“That will probably never leave me. I’ll be honest, I don’t think it ever will. But I really hope as they get older, they understand how flipping amazing they are because they are the most resilient little girls I’ve ever known.

“I’m literally in awe of them. Even with what they have to endure every day, they are the happiest babies.”

At Ocean and Story’s most recent three-month review at St Ormond Street’s Children’s Hospital, doctors warned Jesy the girls were not responding to treatment the way they had hoped.

She said: “Unfortunately, some of the numbers have gone down. We had a long discussion and there’s a possibility they may have to go back on treatment, which is just heartbreaking.

“I constantly battle between manifesting they’re going to defy the odds and trying to come to accept that that may not happen.

“It’s a really weird position to be in because you you think ‘well, if that doesn’t happen, am I just going to feel heartbroken for the rest of my life?’

“Then you worry, if I accept it, am I also manifesting that?”

She added: “I don’t ever want them to feel any less than or feel like it defines them. I really want them to know how special they are.

“I want this to be their little superpower.”

Speaking candidly, Jesy admits the success of her campaign for a breakthrough rule change – adding screening for spinal muscular atrophy to the NHS‘s newborn blood spot test – was a tough pill to swallow.

Every year 50 babies born with the condition will now find out they carry the genetic condition at birth. It means they can be given treatment before nerves and muscles are damaged beyond repair.

Jesy said: “I’ve not stopped crying, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just keep going through waves of emotions. I’ve had an outpouring of messages from families within the SMA community.

“It’s just a real weird one because obviously there’s a lot of mixed emotions. I think for people dealing with children that have got SMA, who got diagnosed too late, feel it’s almost a bit bittersweet.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow to know that, yes, this change is amazing and I really don’t want to take anything away from it, but if only this had been here for our children.

“It’s just sad because so many families have campaigned about this for years.

“So yeah I’ve going through a real mix of emotions, but ultimately I am super proud. I’m ridiculously proud and cannot wait until our children are old enough to tell them they’ve played a massive part in change.”

Her new Prime Video doc is released on Friday, July 17.

The 60-minute episode shows the moment Jesy finds out her daughters’ diagnosis and her grit and determination to launch her campaign.

While a phased rollout will begin in October 2026, Jesy’s fight continues to raise awareness of the condition because the screening won’t be available in other parts of the UK.

“I hope as many people as possible see the documentary because I wanted to raise as much awareness as I could about it and the signs to look out for.

“As amazing as the rollout is, Northern Ireland and Wales are still not part of the heel-prick test, meaning many babies will still be undiagnosed and not treated in time.

“I’m just praying that if they watch this documentary, they will spot the signs early enough, take them to the doctor and get them treatment.”

• Jesy Nelson: Life Changing will be available exclusively on Prime Video on July 17.

“Remake” has a tragic tale to tell and director Ross McElwee wastes no time revealing its grieving heart. Near the start of this funereal documentary, the filmmaker addresses his subject directly: “It’s been seven years since you died,” he says to his late son Adrian through voice-over, “and I still miss you every day.”

Across McElwee’s 50-year career, he has worked intimately without a crew to make sense of his own life by diligently recording it. In the process, he turned his friends and loved ones into the unlikely stars of his acclaimed independent documentaries.

With “Remake,” he looks back at that footage, concentrating on the images he shot of Adrian since his birth in 1989. Adrian died on Christmas Eve 2016 of a drug overdose and McElwee clearly remains shattered. For a documentarian who specializes in personal movies, “Remake” feels especially revealing — both in terms of the glimpses we get of this father-son relationship and of unsolved mysteries that linger just outside the frame.

The film’s title ostensibly refers to a surprising phone call McElwee received about 20 years ago, when he was approached by Steve Carr, the director of broad comedies like “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” who was eager to adapt McElwee’s 1986 documentary “Sherman’s March” into a movie. That landmark picture features McElwee, then in his mid-30s, as he tries to chronicle the exploits of Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, who laid siege to the South during the Civil War. Except, in the midst of that project, McElwee’s focus shifts, delightfully, to his disastrous love life and the fascinating women he meets in his travels, becoming a deeply humane examination of modern courtship.

Carr doesn’t seem like an obvious choice to oversee a narrative remake, but McElwee decides to sell him the rights anyway. Soon in “Remake,” though, it becomes apparent that this is just one chapter of the story — and hardly the most essential. McElwee’s last film, 2011’s “Photographic Memory,” dealt with his increasingly frayed connection to Adrian, who was already fighting substance-abuse issues. “Remake” retraces Adrian’s childhood while filling in the details of the director’s life after “Photographic Memory,” including brain surgery and the dissolution of his 24-year marriage.

But Adrian is never far from his thoughts or absent from the screen: this smiling, happy boy slowly transforming into an edgy, troubled young man whose sweetness still occasionally shines through.

The passage of time is central to McElwee’s work, but he’s rarely scrutinized the topic as aggressively as he does here. It’s not simply that we watch Adrian age or revisit some of McElwee’s “Sherman’s March” subjects. (“Sherman’s March” is now screening in a new 4K restoration at the Laemmle Royal with “Remake.”) It’s also in the way that McElwee’s formerly wry narration now sounds far more resigned, his voice grown froggy and hushed as he nears 80. McElwee has often pondered the downside of essentially treating himself like a human camera, observing the world rather than fully engaging in it. But in “Remake,” he openly questions his artistic approach and, fittingly, he lets his son be his loudest critic.

As a boy, Adrian is enchanted by McElwee’s filming. In childhood, he paints an abstract picture of God in which the Almighty eerily resembles a movie camera. But although Adrian soon picks up a camera as well, increasingly interested in being a filmmaker himself, he resents how his father intrudes on their time together by constantly shooting their conversations. McElwee’s scenes of them at the Venice Film Festival for the “Photographic Memory” premiere are especially fraught, Adrian’s prickly reaction to a movie about his drug abuse creating tension between the two men at the subsequent press conference.

In “Remake,” McElwee laments that he didn’t do enough to help him navigate addiction and the mental-health issues that exacerbated it. (Adrian was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.) Was McElwee too consumed with his own career to be there for his son? The question haunts “Remake” — he includes an indelible sequence from “Sherman’s March” in which his longtime friend Charleen upbraids him for always having the camera out. “This isn’t art,” she hollers. “This is life!” Did McElwee never come to appreciate the difference?

A eulogy that also serves as an apology, a reckoning and a confession, “Remake” is filled with moments that are crushing because of how understated they are, none more brutal than when McElwee visits Adrian near the end of his life, when he’d moved to Colorado to get a fresh start. “He seemed to be doing OK,” McElwee recalls thinking. “But I always leave knowing I’m probably not seeing the whole picture.”

Even now, poring through his footage, desperately looking for clues, McElwee pines for that larger view — the one that might somehow bring the boy back to his inconsolable father.

Betsy in Coronation Street learned more about her recovery during Thursday’s episode of the ITV soap after a stroke as a result of non-fatal strangulation

Spoilers have shared a glimpse of what happens to Betsy in Coronation Street after her stroke ordeal this week.

Initially, no one knew what happened after Betsy, played by actress Sydney Martin, was was rushed to hospital after being found unconscious at home. As doctors confirmed she appeared to have suffered a stroke, there was horror for her family as she had a second stroke.

Doctors explained in the fallout that Betsy had suffered aphasia, a language disorder, as well as paralysis on her right side. Betsy was shown struggling to speak, while also struggling to find the right words to explain what had happened to her.

Eventually, Betsy’s family and the doctor uncovered that Betsy’s strokes were the result of artery damage in her neck and a temporary loss of circulation, as a result of strangulation during sex. Betsy explained that she had consented, and both she and her partner Dylan Wilson believed only minimal pressure was applied.

The storyline is exploring the dangers of non-fatal strangulation, while also raising awareness of the effects of a stroke. In the latest episode we saw Betsy continuing to struggle with her life-changing diagnosis.

The doctor visited her and told her that in terms of her muscle weakness, on the right side of her body, there’s a good chance she will recover. The doctor said that with language and speech therapy, she could make a “good” recovery.

Lisa was on the warpath, especially when she heard Dylan and his dad Sean joking around in the café. She’d vowed to go to the police and report Dylan, for strangling Betsy during sex.

Betsy had begged her mum not to report Dylan, not blaming him for what had happened to her. Lisa then exposed Dylan to everyone in the café, claiming he had assaulted Betsy during sex, causing her to have a stroke.

She fumed at the teen, saying he could have killed Betsy, and Dylan ran off. Sean wanted answers, and Dylan told his dad how he and Betsy had both consented to choking during sex, and that they had tried it before after seeing it online.

At the end of the episode, Lisa went to the police station to report Dylan, so will Dylan be sent to prison for what has happened to Betsy? That’s unclear, but new spoilers for this week and next week have shared more about what happens next with Betsy.

Dylan suggests Brody could be responsible for what happened to Betsy, suggesting she may have cheated on him. Next week, Brody confronts Dylan over his lies, and tells him that if he was Betsy, he’d press charges.

Ryan also gives Dylan some home truths which make him question his part in what happened to Betsy, and how much he was to blame. This leads to Dylan visiting Betsy at the hospital, where he admits he now accepts that he’s responsible for her condition.

Apologetic, Dylan is terrified and flees when the police arrive to take Betsy’s statement – but what will she tell them? Later, Betsy struggles as she begins physio exercises.

When she’s unable to get to the toilet by herself, she’s embarrassed to ask pal Lauren for help. Betsy has a long road to recovery ahead of her, and she will struggle with the life-changing impact on her daily life that the stroke has caused.

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

CHRIS Hughes was left devastated watching England’s defeat in the World Cup on Wednesday night – with the Love Island star shouting at the TV before storming off.

The reality star joined the rest of the country in mourning as hopes of the Three Lions taking home the winning title were dashed by Argentina.

However, Chris was extra animated during the game.

His girlfriend JoJo Siwa filmed as Chris stood in front of the TV watching intently.

And when Argentina‘s Lautaro Martínez scored in the 92nd minute, Chris furiously shouted: “Oh My God, England!” while storming off.

Angrily walking away, he continued to shout: “What are you doing?!”

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Chris then completely stormed out of the room, and could be heard shouting: “Oh my good God”.

It’s a far cry from Chris’ usually soft-spoken demeanour, with girlfriend JoJo even admitting in the caption: “Didn’t know his vocals could reach that octave” with laughing faces.

Chris was watching the game over in the US, where he is currently visiting JoJo.

As the match came to a disappointing close, she filmed him with his head against the wall in dispair.

The couple have been together since meeting on Big Brother last year, and do long distance between London and L.A.

Chris wasn’t the only famous face to be left feeing down over the result, with Sam Thompson also taking to his Instagram Stories to rant about the loss.

While die-hard football fan Ross Kemp was all smiles as he got behind England before the game – shouting and kissing his England shirt in a topless video before the semi-final kicked off.

He then couldn’t contain his excitement when England scored the first goal of the game in the 55th minute, sharing a second video.

But the energy was much less on the other side of the game, with Ross radio-silent since the loss.

David Beckham – who was at the game and got booed by Argentina fans when he popped up on the big screen – described the loss as a ‘heartbreak’ in a social media post.


Love Island fans think they have figured out exactly why Ellie Chadwick left the show before the latest dramatic scenes on the hit ITV2 dating show have even aired

Love Island fans think they have figured out exactly why Ellie Chadwick left the show. The real estate videographer, 24, had been taking part in the hit ITV2 reality dating series and was enjoying a blossoming romance with Finley Maddock but it all started to go wrong when he fell for a bombshell who entered the villa.

It recently emerged that her decision to quit the programme all together reportedly stemmed from hearing the results of a viewer poll for favourite boy and favourite girl, and, in dramatic scenes set to air tonight, viewers will find out exactly what happened – but bosses have already teased the action with a clip posted to YouTube and Instagram.

In the preview clip, host Maya Jama tells the contestants: “The public have been voting for their favourite girl and favourite boy. The Islanders with the fewest votes will be at risk of being dumped from the villa tonight,” as the stars all look on in shock and horror as they await their fate.

Maya adds: “The girl and boy with the fewest votes are…” before the trailer cuts off, creating suspense for it all to play out in Thursday night’s episode. Now, fans are sure that Finely was the one who got dumped by the public and Ellie chose to walk out shortly after.

In the comments section on social media, one fan said: “Marta, Jordan Elicia and Finley get voted off. Ellie walks,” whilst another said: “Ellie would’ve won if she just binned Finely!”

A third wrote: “Finley likely is gone to the vote so Ellie left walked out of the villa, the rest is up to guesswork but we can make educated guesses as to who is at risk.

Last night, the contestants had to play a brand-new game called If You Know, You Know, in which they all adorned blindfolds and headphones. When their phone vibrated, each couple had to make their way to a podium to read out a controversial statement and then guess who it was who said it in the first place.

One couple read out the claim that “One half of this couple is secretly bored but too polite to admit it” and it was then that Finley said he was “a bit bored.”

The dramatic scenes aired shortly after it was reported that Ellie had walked out of the villa for good, and shocked fans instantly took to social media to predict it was the catalyst. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said: “Finley has said he is bored of Ellie ??” and another said: “I don’t want to believe Ellie self-evicted for a man who literally said he got bored of her.”

Another said: “Omg Finley said that and they were all in ears to take Ellie back woow see how they are all in each other’s business but will be coming for Julia!”

Another wrote: “Oh was that boring comment to do with why Ellie left?” and a fifth said: “Finley said he’s bored with Ellie! That boy just keeps humiliating her!” On Facebook, one fan explained: “The received a statement that said this couple is one sided and one person is bored, which Finley had said to Kav in private apparently and it never came out, Ellie was clearly upset.”

Another replied: “OMG that heartbreaking for Ellie” and left a sad face emoji to emphasise how they felt. Just before the episode aired, it was reported that Ellie chose to quit the programme altogether, reportedly stemming from hearing the results of a viewer poll for favourite boy and favourite girl, even though she was not dumped by the public.

A source previousky said: “Viewers have seen Ellie threatening to leave across recent episodes, so the news of her now quitting won’t feel like a surprise.

“But in real time, her and Fin reconnected at the recoupling a few days ago so her decision to now leave is a shock. Viewers will see the dramatic action play out in an episode soon.”

The reality star had threatened to quit before, when it looked like Finley had begun to take an interest in Elicia Bailey. In Tuesday night’s episode, she was apparently back together with him, but that was all filmed days ago, and now Ellie has actually left.

Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “The whole fallout of the vote was electric and is going to make for amazing TV. Everyone was devastated that Ellie left, and viewers will definitely be left scratching their heads.”

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Only a few days ago, Paramount Skydance’s planned $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery appeared to be on the glide path to completion.

The deal, which would be the largest merger in Hollywood history, had won approval from several foreign governments and, on June 12, Justice Department antitrust regulators.

The Justice Department’s assent looked to be a major step toward fulfilling the ambitions of David Ellison, the son of multibillionaire tech tycoon Larry Ellison, to bring together Paramount and Warners, which owns CNN and CBS among other properties, under one roof.

The Justice Department’s action ignited suspicions that the Ellisons had profited from their support of President Trump. But it has turned out not to be the last word on the deal. The very next day, California and 11 other states filed a motion to block the merger, stepping in where the Justice Department chose not to tread.

“I will not let Warner Bros. and Paramount merge without a fight,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in announcing the states’ action. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Friday in San Francisco federal court.

There’s more to this development than an effort to block Ellison’s attempt to repave the entertainment landscape for his own benefit, even though, as my colleague Meg James reports, the states’ motion “poses a major headache” for Ellison. It’s also a pointer toward a major restructuring of antitrust enforcement in the United States.

Customarily, state regulators have piggybacked on antitrust cases brought and managed by the federal government. The feds generally have greater resources than most individual states to conduct the investigations that can lead to antitrust lawsuits. States often have relied on the government to craft consistent and coherent theories of antitrust law to undergird their lawsuits.

But the Trump administration’s apparent pullback from aggressive legal pursuit of allegedly anti-competitive mergers has left a vacuum that states have moved to fill. That’s what’s driving their motion to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal.

Dating back to the first Trump term, California and other states have enacted new laws resembling federal statutes requiring merger proponents to provide detailed information about planned deals.

States also have filed their own lawsuits to challenge anticompetitive conduct by pharmacy benefit managers and algorithmic pricing that has driven up housing rents via alleged collusion.

States may have an advantage over the federal government in that their regulators can move faster on complex cases than the feds. That’s what happened in the fight against the proposed 2023 merger of supermarket companies Kroger and Albertsons, something that was widely feared to presage higher prices at the shelf.

Although the Federal Trade Commission moved to block the merger, so too did Oregon, Washington and nine other states in court. The companies called off the merger after a state court in Washington and a federal court in Oregon, ruling on that state’s lawsuit, simultaneously enjoined the merger on Dec. 10, 2024. One day later, Albertsons dropped the proposal.

Some supporters of effective antitrust enforcement suggest that the states’ involvement in these cases could be an effective counterweight to the mercurial approach taken toward enforcement under Trump, which seems to be driven by personal pique, as Paul Glastris, editor of the Washington Monthly, has written.

In 2017, Trump’s Justice Department sued to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, driven by Trump’s irritation over the coverage he received from CNN, which was owned by Time Warner. (I described the lawsuit as Trump’s doing the right thing for the wrong reason.) The merger eventually went through.

The best example of the states’ willingness to supplant the feds as antitrust enforcers in chief is the antitrust case against Live Nation Entertainment. The federal government and 30 states originally filed the case in 2024 in federal court in Manhattan. The lawsuit sought to break up Live Nation, which has controlled scores of top concert venues, in part by forcing it to divest Ticketmaster, the leading entertainment ticketing firm.

A few days after the trial began this spring, the Justice Department reached a settlement with Live Nation. The settlement led to accusations that the White House interfered in the Justice Department’s work on the case, including that Trump himself personally pushed for a settlement and that the deal was reached without the participation or even the knowledge of the Justice Department lawyers handling the case or of the state attorneys general who were participating. The White House referred my request for comment on these accusations to the Justice Department, which didn’t respond.

The states, asserting that the settlement wouldn’t cure Live Nation’s alleged violations of antitrust law, took over the lawsuit — and won. In mid-April, a federal jury found that Live Nation had maintained a monopoly over the live events business, exposing the company to the states’ claims of as much as $700 million in damages and a possible order that it sell Ticketmaster. The company says it will appeal.

The history of antitrust enforcement in the U.S. generally resembles the complaisant stance taken under Trump. Since the enactment of America’s first antitrust statute, the 1890 Sherman Act, industry has generally benefited from lax enforcement, in part because antitrust theory has been ever-changing. During the New Deal, President Franklin Roosevelt suspended antitrust enforcement so his National Recovery Administration could pursue its mandate to suppress industrial competition, which was thought to drive up prices and thereby foster the Great Depression.

The Supreme Court overturned the National Recovery Administration in 1935, though it had already lost credibility. Roosevelt responded in 1938 by appointing Thurman Arnold, a critic of existing antitrust theory, as the Justice Department’s antitrust chief. In his writings, Arnold implied that antitrust law as then interpreted was a fraud aimed at acclimating consumers to ever-larger business combinations through the pretense that “unfair” or “immoral” deals would be barred.

Arnold’s appointment marked what may have been the most productive period in antitrust enforcement. By the time he departed for a federal judgeship in 1943, he had brought more than 50% of all the cases brought under the Sherman Act in its half-century of existence. He broke the auto industry’s stranglehold on consumer auto lending, and started a case that concluded with the Hollywood studios’ forced divestment of their theater chains.

Since then, there have been a few notable antitrust successes, including the 1982 breakup of AT&T. That resulted from a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit launched in 1974. But the consolidation of major industries into fewer and fewer participants, especially in entertainment, has continued with very few roadblocks.

Occasionally, an aggressive enforcer comes into office. That happened under Lina Khan, whom President Biden appointed as chair of the Federal Trade Commission. (The FTC shares antitrust oversight with the Justice Department.)

Khan’s published academic work had taken aim at what she called the lax antitrust treatment of companies such as Amazon. Her argument was that antitrust enforcers’ focus on whether a monopolizing company brought consumers lower prices overlooked the longer-term consequences of giving companies the unfettered right to build market share at the expense of competitors and the free market.

Amazon “has evaded government scrutiny in part through fervently devoting its business strategy and rhetoric to reducing prices for consumers,” Khan wrote in a key article. Once it reached a critical mass, she argued, nothing would stop Amazon from extracting monopoly rents from consumers.

Khan’s aggressive stance on antitrust law earned her the enmity of targets such as Amazon and Facebook, which tried to force her to recuse herself from FTC cases against them. She refused, but due to corporate distaste for her policies, Trump replaced her as FTC chairman on his inauguration day last year.

The Paramount-Warner Bros. deal could be a key test of states’ authority and willingness to take over antitrust enforcement from the federal government. That’s because they’ll be fighting not only resistance from the merger partners, but the government’s conclusion that the deal poses no threat to consumers.

On the other hand, their case at least will be free of the suspicion that the government’s approval owed more to Trump’s friendship with the Ellison family than to sober, painstaking analysis of how reducing the number of big entertainment companies from five to four would be good for the rest of us.

London — It’s a scorching day and the city feels blanketed by the heat. Even the unusually strong air conditioning in a suite at the Raffles hotel is no match for the temperature. Octavia Spencer immediately peels off her jacket after entering the room and realizing there are no cameras present for our interview. Hannah Waddingham, her co-star in “Ride or Die,” kicks off her heels as they settle onto a plush sofa.

“You’ve seen that we look nice,” Spencer says. “So now we can do this.”

There’s a relaxed, familiar vibe between the actors. They didn’t know each other prior to filming the series, now streaming on Prime Video, but they did develop a real-life friendship during production in Prague last year. It was perhaps inevitable considering that “Ride or Die,” created by Tessa Coates, is about two best friends whose relationship is upended when one of them is revealed to be a professional assassin.

Spencer, 56, plays Debbie Claybourne, a lawyer whose career has been put on hold due to her British husband David’s political aspirations. The actor was approached by Skydance, now part of Paramount, as part of a development deal with the studio. She said yes almost immediately, and by happenstance both she and the producers imagined Waddingham, 51, in the role of Judith Burton, a skilled assassin who works for a shady organization run by the Director (Bill Nighy).

“It was always just the two of us for these roles,” says Spencer, who won an Oscar in 2012 for “The Help.” “We did a Zoom and I was sitting there thinking, ‘I hope she says yes.’”

In “Ride or Die,” Spencer plays Debbie, a lawyer and wife of a British politician, who is best friends with secret assassin Judith, played by Waddingham. (Dusan Martincek / Prime)

“It’s Octavia Spencer and I’m thinking, ‘Be cool, be cool,’” Waddingham chimes in. “Octavia and Tessa start telling me the plot and at the end I said, ‘Who the hell are you going to get to play Judith?’ Octavia’s face filled the whole screen and she said, ‘We want to make you Judith, dummy.’”

Each professes to be a fan of the other, but Spencer is particularly effusive. She admits to initially having to remind herself that Waddingham is, in fact, an actual person and not Rebecca Welton, her character on “Ted Lasso.” She turns to her co-star. “We know you’re a brilliant comedian, but you also showed us in ‘Game of Thrones’ this depth,” Spencer tells Waddingham, adding, “With her beauty and that statuesque presence she has, this role was literally written with a woman of her caliber in mind.”

Waddingham turns red. “I’m not good when she does this,” she admits.

“Well, it’s very true,” Spencer responds. “I think it was kismet. I knew it was meant to be when we were at the upfronts for Amazon and we were in the wings with Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, just chatting it up. I’ve always had severe stage fright. They walked out and I got really quiet, centered myself, and then I felt these arms around me. She wrapped me up from behind, and it was like, ‘OK, I’m good.’ That’s what it has felt like this entire process.”

Waddingham’s memory of that day, her second time meeting Spencer after their first call, is slightly different. “Octavia is so established in Hollywood,” she says. “I’m still a newcomer in this town. So I was having the worst impostor syndrome that day. I was thinking, ‘I look like a competition winner.’”

Nerves settled by the time the production started in January 2025. Before joining forces in Prague, Waddingham flew to Ischgl, an Austrian ski town known for its party vibe, to shoot the show’s opening sequence. The James Bond-style scene introduces Judith as talented, serious and a bit of a loner. That perception is quickly upended when the character arrives at Debbie’s home in London for their book club meeting and the duo begin singing along to Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop.”

“Octavia is so established in Hollywood,” Waddingham says of meeting her co-star. “I’m still a newcomer in this town.”

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

“That was our first scene together and we didn’t plan anything or talk about it,” Waddingham says. “But we had an unspoken, organic process.”

“We had a lot of trust,” Spencer adds. “I knew she was going to come in with 1000% and that I was going to too. Some of those things you figure out when you’re on the set and some of those things just happen in the moment.”

Showrunner Matt Miller points to the scene as evidence of the actors’ “instant chemistry.”

“It really feels like this is a friendship that has endured 25 years from the moment they get on screen,” Miller says, speaking with Coates over video call later. “From the second you see them dancing around, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, these two are best friends.’”

Coates and Miller wanted to ensure that the characters’ history was baked into the scripts. They’ve been friends for decades, so there had to be a shorthand between them that was immediately apparent and they had to be on equal footing. The duo are forced on the run across Europe, dogged by their past, and successfully get themselves out of danger.

“These characters came from a great desire to see women like this on screen,” Coates says. “So many stories suggest aging is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you. But what if getting older seemed really cool and you got wiser and better at your job and gave less of a s— about things?”

Coates adds they wanted both characters to be competent and clever women who happen to be thrown into difficult circumstances.

“Women in their 50s are just as capable, just as beautiful, just as sexy,” Spencer says. “We’re just aging.”

Spencer and Waddingham, both executive producers on the series, never sought top billing over the other. Although the show is ostensibly an action comedy, they wanted to ground it in real emotions. Everything is tethered to this friendship.

“Women in their 50s are just as capable, just as beautiful, just as sexy,” Octavia Spencer says. “We’re just aging.”

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

“There couldn’t be one more important than the other,” Waddingham says. “The thing they say about relationships is that when one is at 90 and the other is at 10, or one is at 80 and the other is at 20. That’s what this had to be straight away. If you have that pendulum back and forth, you can create magic.”

Although both characters find small romances throughout the story, men are sidelined for the far more important relationship: their own. And it’s not always an easy partnership between them.

“There is a love story at the center of this,” Spencer says. “It’s not a romantic love story, but it is a familial relationship. It’s contentious, and the relationship is fractious at points.”

Waddingham adds, “You have to be able to call each other out, and then get through that storm and let the water settle.”

Still, there is a lot of action in “Ride or Die.” Judith frequently kicks ass, often taking on groups of imposing men. It’s deeply satisfying to watch Waddingham, who did most of her own stunt work, take these men down.

“In theater, I never had an alternate,” she explains. “I’m not usually Method, but with this I thought my exhaustion from fighting and the stunt training would lend itself to Judith’s exhaustion and her frailty. It wasn’t particularly healthy, if I’m honest, but that fractured tiredness really helped play the role.”

She adds, “It’s a real art form. The first stunt work I did was on ‘The Fall Guy’ and learning to stop before you punch someone in the face is hard.”

“That’s why I was terrified for you,” Spencer interjects. “Because I did punch somebody in the face. The only other time that I actually had to do stunts was on ‘Snowpiercer.’ It was so exciting watching you, but then I was like, ‘Somebody could hit her for real.’”

Waddingham felt added pressure knowing Judith’s background. “She’s not just an assassin, she’s a notorious assassin of 30 years,” she says. “If you see her punching someone, like when we’re running out of the gala, that punch can’t be some girly thing. You have to believe she can do it perfectly and effortlessly.”

Waddingham did much of her own stunt work in “Ride or Die.” “It’s a real art form. The first stunt work I did was on ‘The Fall Guy’ and learning to stop before you punch someone in the face is hard.”

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

Both actors approached the show with complete dedication. Waddingham and Spencer appear in almost every scene, which vacillate between action, comedy and drama. Debbie, named after Coates’ mother, feels betrayed by Judith and her husband, who is involved in shady dealings with an Albanian gang. “There were the rigors of it physically, but there was also the emotional rigor of it,” Waddingham says.

“It might have been the most challenging job that I’ve ever done,” Spencer agrees. “The most challenging, but also the most gratifying. I knew I would not be called upon to do any stunt sequences, but I did have physical stuff I needed to do. And then dealing with the emotional weight of Debbie discovering that two very important relationships are not at all what she thought they were was a lot.”

She pauses. “But you know what, why not?” she continues. “We don’t want to be in a comfortable place all the time. You want to know you completed something that was very difficult to do. I feel very proud now, looking back.”

“We couldn’t have left our hearts and our bodies and our brains on it any more than we did,” Waddingham agrees. “It is splattered with us. I’ve been very privileged to go from ‘Ted Lasso’ to this, because ‘Ted’ is a very hard act to follow in terms of that constant and emotional push and pull. This has that as well.”

While filming “Ride or Die,” Waddingham found out Apple TV had greenlit a fourth season of “Ted Lasso,” which premieres Aug. 5. She wasn’t expecting to be pulled back to her Emmy-winning role of Rebecca after the series ostensibly concluded in 2023. “I didn’t know anything about it,” she says. “No clue.”

“We found that out together,” Spencer says.

Waddingham had only two weeks off after wrapping “Ride or Die” before flying to Kansas to film the first episode of Season 4, which sees Rebecca attempting to lure Jason Sudeikis’ Ted back to London to coach Richmond’s women’s soccer team. The rest of the series then shot in England. The new episodes keep Rebecca as one of the emotional cores of the show.

“I haven’t really stopped since then,” Waddingham says. “When I’m older, I’m going to have a little sleep. But this is what you wait for in your life.”

For Spencer, “Ride or Die” has raised the bar on what type of project she wants to do as a producer and as an actor.

“It is hard to get things made,” Spencer says. “I don’t have time to do things just for a paycheck. It has to resonate with me because your time and health are your most valuable commodities, and time is something that you have no control over. As an artist, I want to be fulfilled and when you get a project like this now everything has to compare. I’ve learned to be very discerning.”

She gestures to Waddingham. “Don’t you want to be excited about things?” she asks.

“Yes,” Waddingham agrees. “And it just doesn’t happen very often. But this was remarkable from the beginning. To be able to spend a couple of days together right now and regroup, it’s almost like a therapy session. We’ve had distance to reflect on all the good and all the exhausting, and on what we have created together. I know that neither of us will ever forget this.”

Spencer nods. “It is a dream. I feel very fortunate that we get to look for projects like this for ourselves and have an active voice in procuring those things for ourselves and for other people. But you dream it, and then you get something like this, and it surpasses everything you ever thought you could want.”

Fearne Cotton has revealed she was shouted at by a “burly” Vatican security guard after she broke one of the Sistine Chapel’s strict rules during a freebie trip to Rome.

The telly presenter was caught snapping pics of Michelangelo’s famous ceiling, despite their being a photography ban.

Fearne confessed her first reaction was to tell the guard to “f**K off,” after he caught her in the act.

The 44-year-old claimed she’s “not very good at rules” and only follows them when they “make sense.”

Speaking on her Happy Place podcast, Fearne attempted to defend the rule break, claiming she completely missed the announcement warning visitors that cameras and phones were off-limits inside the chapel.

Fearne’s faux pas unfolded during her recent European getaway, which was a paid partnership with British Airways Holidays.

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The mum-of-two said: “When I was in Rome. I went on a short city break, and obviously, when you go to Rome, what do you do? You go to the Vatican, because it’s famed for the Vatican, and it’s a beautiful place to walk around.”

She explained that she was excited to see the ornate ceilings up close, specifically the Michelangelo one.

“I was desperate to see that in real life – and obviously take a photo of it. I got in there, I didn’t realise you’re not allowed to take photos. I’d missed that tannoy announcement, and I went to take a picture,” said Fearne.

“I got massively reprimanded, shouted at by a very burly Italian security guard, which should have freaked me out and made me go, ‘Oh god, I’m so sorry,’ but instead, I wanted to go, ‘F***k off!’”

The podcast host added: “I would never do that in the Sistine Chapel, obvs.”

But, Fearne was left furious after the incident and said it was because she “doesn’t like people telling me what to do.”

She said: “I was so riled. Like, I want to take a picture of it, I’ve got my flash on, why is it a problem?

“I also understand and respect that there are religious reasons, potentially, as to why I shouldn’t be taking the picture – I’m assuming, because I’m not quite sure why else.”

The Vatican Museums rule book states that while visitors may take snaps for personal use in most of the complex, it’s forbidden in the Sistine Chapel.

Photography, flash photography and filming using any electronic equipment is strictly not allowed throughout the museums, and guards have the power to demand visitors delete images taken in breach of the rules.

Phones are also banned inside the chapel, where visitors are asked to remain silent out of respect for the sacred setting.

Exploiting racism has been a profitable strategy in Hollywood since the dawn of filmmaking: 111 years ago, D.W. Griffith’s film “The Birth of a Nation” was incredibly popular and influential, while also being so racist that it was considered controversial even in its own day.

The industry saw immediately just how lucrative fear could be. More than a century later, there is always someone in the entertainment media willing to trade in racist tropes for money, as well as an audience ready to receive them.

Two new films, “Citizen Vigilante” and “Run, Fight, Hide: Infidels,” demonstrate that streaming platforms and social media no longer simply distribute controversial content but in fact thrive on content that provokes, polarizes and sustains attention, regardless of the social cost.

Both of these xenophobic and Islamophobic films are being pushed as “anti-woke” vehicles, deliberately engineered to bypass traditional critical reception and capitalize on a fractured media ecosystem. “Citizen Vigilante,” which features an American protagonist killing dark-skinned immigrants and Muslims in an unnamed European setting, was denied a rating certificate by the German government for inciting violence. Yet despite that determination, the film secured global reach through decentralized digital distribution and high-profile promotion from Elon Musk.

Similarly, “Run, Fight, Hide: Infidels” — a campus siege narrative evoking 1980s action film nostalgia that leans heavily into outdated, post-9/11 anxieties — relies on a built-in conservative media apparatus to guarantee financial returns. The film is produced by the conservative media figure Ben Shapiro and the Daily Wire, which he co-founded. It is a sequel to a 2020 film that was their film company’s premiere.

But while promoters of such films frame their work as a brave rebellion, the reality is much more sinister: rehashing 40-year-old tropes while invoking conspiracy theories of Muslims bringing sharia law to America, because outrage is cheap to produce and easy to monetize.

Stories matter. Stories shape how we see one another. They influence what we love, what we celebrate, whom we trust, whom we understand and whom we fear.

Since January, the Muslim Public Affairs Council has documented a sharp escalation in threats and attacks targeting Muslims and Islamic institutions across the United States, including vandalism, shootings, bomb threats, attempted assassinations and physical assaults. These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a broader climate in which dehumanizing representation increasingly manifests as real-world violence.

Entertainment and politics increasingly employ the same tactic as one another, recycling narratives of fear and “otherness” to mobilize audiences, voters and consumers. When political leaders encourage those narratives, as President Trump recently did by amplifying and commenting on a photo of young Muslim American students in hijab, they further normalize the same stereotypes that entertainment companies have learned to monetize.

Yet while the social costs continue to mount, the economic incentives remain firmly intact. “Citizen Vigilante” earned a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes despite receiving just a 6% critics’ score. More tellingly, it quickly climbed to the top of Amazon’s and Apple TV’s paid video-on-demand charts.

And this isn’t just a Muslim and immigrant issue — and it’s not only about who is portrayed on screens, but also who is not. Representation has been backsliding, and audiences are left with fewer opportunities to see the reality and humanity of diverse communities, making them more vulnerable to fear-based narratives.

According to a 2026 report from the nonprofit Define American, which tracks representation across television and film, Latinos account for only 23% of immigrant characters represented on screen, even though they make up more than 40% of the immigrant population in the United States. In 2020, 50% of immigrants on screen were Latino.

The industry’s defense is that whitewashed and xenophobic films reflect audience demand. But the recent research by Define American challenges this assumption. Data show that nuanced, multidimensional storytelling, in which immigrants and minority characters are woven into the fabric of everyday narratives rather than tokenized or villainized, actually leads to greater audience engagement and deeper systemic understanding.

Entertainment doesn’t simply reflect culture; it teaches us who belongs within it. Studios, distributors, streaming platforms and filmmakers all have a responsibility to reject narratives that portray immigrants as enemies and instead embrace stories that reflect the diversity and complexity of our world. At the same time — as with voters — the power ultimately rests with consumers. The choice to demand storytelling that challenges prejudice rather than profits from it belongs to all of us.

Sue Obeidi is the senior vice president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council Hollywood Bureau. Jose Antonio Vargas is the founder of Define American.

Two new stars will be joining the latest Celebrity Gogglebox line-up as they showcase their TV opinions on the popular Channel 4 show

Rock stars and longtime friends are joining the Celebrity Gogglebox sofa this week.

Making their debut on the show, Jake Shears and Josh Homme will give their opinions on the week’s biggest TV moments, combining their close friendship with their signature wit.

Best known for fronting Scissor Sisters and Queens of the Stone Age, Jake and Josh have spent years performing to huge crowds around the world and building careers that have sold millions of records.

This time, they’ll be watching from the comfort of the sofa, sharing their candid, entertaining reactions to the programmes that have everyone talking.

Talking about his appearance, Jake said: “Josh and I have spent years making noise for a living, so sitting on a sofa and talking over the television felt surprisingly natural. We laughed far more than we probably should have and somehow got away with calling it work. It was a longtime dream to be part of Celebrity Gogglebox.”

Meanwhile, Josh said: “You’ve never watched anyone watch TV until you’ve watched Josh and Jake watching TV. And then you know you’ve watched it. So set your watch for 9pm on Friday. We are breaking ground that should largely have gone unbroken.”

It’s a busy week for Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh, as the band has unveiled plans for their new album, Everything Under The Sun.

The upcoming release marks the American rock group’s first studio album in three years. They also dropped the lead single, Easy Street, on Tuesday, featuring guest vocals from Nikki Lane.

Fans may already recognise the song after it made its live debut during the band’s Catacombs tour last year.

Elsewhere in the new series of Celebrity Gogglebox, singer Mollie King will be joined on the sofa by her partner, former England cricketer Stuart Broad.

Olivia Attwood has been taking part in the latest series alongside her mum, while her partner Pete Wicks has been appearing separately with his close friend Vicky Pattison.

The new season has also welcomed back a host of familiar faces, including Vernon Kay and Paddy McGuinness, Bez and Shaun, Roman and Martin Kemp, Ashley Banjo and Perri Kiely, Nick Grimshaw with his niece Liv, the Mangans, and Rylan, who once again joins his mum Linda on the sofa.

Celebrity Gogglebox airs this Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.

ABBEY Clancy and Peter Crouch have been accused of boasting about their wealth as they revealed they’ve moved to Portugal while their £3m UK mansion is renovated.

The Sun exclusively revealed last month, that the football legend, 45, is set to feature alongside his model wife, 40, and their four children, in a new fly-on-the-wall documentary.

The couple, who co-present The Therapy Crouch podcast, regularly delve into the ups and downs of married life.

Peter read out a question from a listener which asked: “Have you completely relocated to Portugal or are you there while renovating your home?”

Abbey replied: “Obviously we sold our house, we were looking for a new house, we thought we would try living in Portugal for a bit.

“We’ve absolutely loved it and you know it works perfectly for us because you know we can renovate our new place and all come back and it’ll be done.”

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Abbey explained that it had been a nice change and that she didn’t regret it at all.

She added: “The kids have loved it and you know it’s just been a great experience.”

However, some fans thought they were boasting about their wealth and one commented bluntly: “Yeah when you have bagfulls of money, yeah try another country.”

“Bet they’re in Quinta do Lago as it’s very fancy,” added another.

The couple were previously criticised by fans for ‘flaunting’ their enviable £3 million mansion while hosting a lavish Asian-inspired banquet.

The pair were giving a tour of their luxury estate prior to hosting an extravagant dinner party with lavish catering provided by London’s Nobu.

The multi-million pound property featured its own luxury cinema room and a spacious home office for Peter and his trophies.

Fashion-savvy Abbey had her own walk-in wardrobe, while the outside area boasted a ‘magical’ and ‘peaceful’ garden complete with a high-tech BBQ and swimming pool.

One fan commented: “We get it, you’re loaded. Well done.”

A second added: “How they live, we don’t need to know.”

“Once upon a time I might have thought this was amazing – now I’d rather cook a meal myself in my little house and listen to some music with my children,” mused a third.

Another user agreed: “I take it the ‘normal’ person can also get this or what’s the point in posting this other than to show off?”

PIERCE Brosnan, 73, has been spotted with his rarely seen wife Keely, 63, as they went out to lunch at celebrity hotspot E. Baldi in Beverly Hills.

The former James Bond actor, was all smiles as he left the restaurant with a bag and a cold drink.

Keely, looked stunning in a white summer dress and lemon cardigan which she paired with Chanel sandals and sunglasses.

The pair looked as loved up as ever as they drove back home after their lunch date.

Pierce and Keely have been married for 25 years and met at a beach party in 1994 – she was a journalist and had flown out to interview Cheers actor Ted Danson, who had attended the same party.

When Ted left, Keely found herself talking to Pierce, and the two hit it off.

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They shared their first date a few days later in Mexico, sitting under the stars as they held hands and talked until 3am.

The couple married at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland, in 2001, just six months after welcoming son Paris.

“He was captivating. Tall, dark, and handsome. Everything that everybody would immediately be attracted to,” she said.

“He had a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.”

Pierce has said that when he first laid eyes on sultry brunette Keely at the beach party, he fell head over heels.

But in January this year, Pierce, who says he still fancies the pants off his “passionate” wife who makes him “weak at the knees”, was left blindsided by a cruel post targeting Keely online, which ended up going viral. 

Shared on X, it featured two snaps: one from the 1996 Governors Ball for the Academy Awards and another of the couple at the 2008 Mamma Mia! premiere.

The vile troll captioned it: “Dear men, this is why marriage should be avoided.”

The cutting words, which took a cruel swipe at Keely’s weight, sparked outrage. She was inundated with comments of support.

But insiders told us that Pierce, who shares sons Dylan, 29, and Paris, 25, with Keely,  has reached his limit with it all.

A pal of the star told me “He was really furious about it and finds it incredibly sad that their whole marriage is reduced to talk about Keely’s weight. 

“It is truly devastating for him that her body is all anyone talks about. For him, Keely is everything.”

Pierce has described his wife, who he tenderly calls “my girl”, as “a strength I wouldn’t be able to live without”.

He gushed in the past: “I love her vitality, her passion. When Keely looks at me, I go weak at the knees.”

Last week teaser images were released of Pierce in MobLand alongside telly hardman Tom Hardy and Dame Helen Mirren in what is gearing up to be the most explosive season yet.

The new series will see a beloved TV star explore the world’s most luxurious hotels

Channel 4 have confirmed a brand new travel series with a TV favourite as host.

Fronted by First Dates star Fred Sirieix, the travel show titled Fred’s Ultimate Hotels will see the star explore the world’s most luxurious hotels.

The hospitality expert is swapping the restaurant floor for the open road to spotlight some of the most breathtaking places to stay.

From the regal splendour of The Royal Mansour in Marrakech and the stunning Royal Madikwe safari lodge in South Africa, to the timeless grandeur of Raffles Singapore, Fred will travel the globe checking into the world’s most spectacular hotels.

He will take viewers behind the scenes to reveal the people, precision and passion that create world-class service. During his stay, he uses own Five Fs: First Impressions, Facilities, Flawless Service, Fine Details and Feeling.

But this is far more than a luxury travel series. In every episode, Fred experiences each hotel from both sides of the reception desk.

First checking in as a guest to enjoy everything the property and destination have to offer, he then swaps five-star luxury for staff uniform, working alongside the teams responsible for creating seamless guest experiences.

Speaking about the new show, Fred said: “People often think the secret to a great hotel is the building, the food or the luxury.” Of course, those things matter but for me, it’s always about the people.

“The welcome, the attention to detail and the passion of the staff are what turn a wonderful hotel into an unforgettable experience.”

Every episode ends with Fred presenting his Hospitality Hero Award to one exceptional member of staff. Fred remarked: “It was an incredible privilege to work alongside some of the world’s best hospitality teams and to see first-hand the pride they take in what they do.

“I hope viewers will discover some extraordinary places, but more importantly meet the remarkable people who make them so special.”

Jannine Waddell, Executive Producer at Waddell Media, said: “Fred is the perfect host for this series. As one of the world’s leading hospitality experts, he knows exactly what it takes to deliver truly exceptional five-star service.

“But what makes Fred so special is that he’s never afraid to roll up his sleeves and get back to the job he loves. Whether he’s checking in guests, working front of house or supporting the team behind the scenes.

“He has enormous respect for the people whose passion and dedication create unforgettable experiences.”

Fred’s Ultimate Hotels is due to air on Channel 4 later this year.

An England fan has opened up to BBC Breakfast about the devastating moment he witnessed England’s loss against Argentina.

An England fan has revealed what the atmosphere in the stadium was like on Wednesday evening.

The nation has been left heartbroken after World Cup dreams were shattered in a dramatic semi-final game.

Despite Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal, Argentina fought back with two goals in the final minutes, taking Lionel Messi to his third World Cup final.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Thursday, July 16, an England fan spoke to presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt about witnessing the devastating loss in the stadium.

Andy Payne travelled across the United States to watch every match with his wife Kirsty, and admitted she was left “destroyed”.

He said: “This is my third World Cup semi-final, and Kirsty’s second, and to say the least, we’re used to this disappointment. We came so close today, I thought we were going to do it.

“We’ve had a fantastic trip, England have played brilliantly well. Thomas Tuchel might get a lot of criticism for today but everything done so far has been great.

“We just couldn’t do it today, every single time England just don’t quite get there but that’s life.”

He went on: “As always with England, there’s tension. Frankly, what Tuchel has done is put his best team out, the best players he had who weren’t injured of the 11 went out. And this is the first time he didn’t change things early, it was late, it was getting on.

“When we saw the goal, my view and other people in the ground were the same, was this is a goal that is decided on one goal. We thought we’ve got one goal, we might get two, we’ve got them, we’ve done this.

“And unfortunately, I think Tuchel looked at his team and went, ‘well how am I going to improve this team?’ because the players that weren’t on the field either weren’t the best players or were injured.”

Talking about the atmosphere in Atlanta Stadium, Andy agreed it was “the most extraordinary place to be”.

He went on: “For me, it was the best atmosphere bar one. The Azteca where we beat Mexico, but listen, I’ve seen England play Argentina now in 1986… I was there, we were outnumbered that day. 1998, I was there, we were hugely outnumbered by Argentinians.

“Today we were hugely outnumbered, the atmosphere was unbelievable. Every single England fan who was there was behind the team.

“None of the England fans who were in that ground boo’ed the players. We were disappointed, of course, we lost the game from 1-nil up with six, seven minutes to play.

“We fell short, and that’s England really, isn’t it? But all the people around me were as disappointed as I was, but we’ve had a good tournament and the team spirit was unbelievable.

“And we gave those boys a good send-off at the end. They came to us and they saluted us and we saluted them.

“It’s not a matter of life or death, it’s a game of football.”

BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.

The Prime Video action comedy follows an international assassin whose colleague looks very familiar.

Ride or Die viewers may recognise a familiar face from a major Netflix series.

Ride or Die has just dropped on Prime Video and the action comedy series, which has already gone down a huge hit with fans, stars Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer as two unlikely friends on the run.

Ted Lasso star Waddingham’s character is a secret assassin called Judith, who is forced to reveal her identity to her best friend, Debbie (Octavia Spencer).

Also working in Judith’s organisation is Sam, who is in charge of assigning her tasks and tracking her whereabouts, which is easier said than done.

Sam faces many challenges throughout the series as he also has a close bond with Queenie (Savannah Steyn) – the daughter of one of Judith’s oldest acquaintances.

Here is all you need to know about the star behind Sam and where you would have seen him before.

Who plays Sam in Ride or Die?

Sam is played by Calam Lynch, a 31-year-old British actor with a very famous Irish family.

He was born in Warwickshire to Irish actors Niamh Cusack and Finbar Lynch and studied classics at Oxford University, graduating in 2017.

Initially interested in football, he did not discover a passion for acting until speaking to his cousin, the actor Max Irons.

He went on to star in stage productions during his time at university and landed a role in the war film Dunkirk during his final year.

What else has Calam Lynch been in?

Fans will kick themselves when they realise where they have seen Lynch before, as he starred in one of Netflix’s biggest shows.

He played Eloise Bridgerton’s (Claudia Jessie) love interest, Theo Sharpe, in the second season of Bridgerton.

Theo was working at the print shop when Eloise came looking for information about Lady Whistledown, as she’d figured out his shop was where her pamphlets were being printed.

He denied knowing anything, but the pair shared some sweet moments as Eloise kept returning to the shop.

Sadly, Eloise put an end to it all when she said she did not want Theo to face consequences for her actions.

Away from Bridgerton, the star has also had main roles in Sweetpea, Miss Austen and Outrageous.

Ride or Die is on Prime Video

England’s football team were playing Argentina on Wednesday night in the World Cup semi-finals.

World Cup viewers were quick to spot the familiar face in the crowd during the latest match.

Tensions were at an all-time high on Wednesday night (July 15) as BBC viewers saw the England football team try to earn a spot in the World Cup final as they went head-to-head with Argentina.

As the game began, the camera panned to the live audience who were watching the match unfold in Atlanta. However, BBC viewers were quick to notice a famous face in the crowd who was there to support the England squad.

Taking to X, one person said: “WAS THAT LOUIS TOMLINSON IN THE AUDIENCE. IT WAAASSSSS AAAAA.” Another wrote: “Louis Tomlinson is there. Oh my god.” Someone else commented: “LOUIS TOMLINSON SPOTTED AT THE #WorldCup”

A third shared: “Louis Tomlinson blessing our screens at the England game tonight was everything I needed.” While a fourth person wrote: “I’m already satisfied with the match cause I saw Louis Tomlinson in the crowd #WorldCup #England.”

The former One Direction star wasn’t the only famous face who was spotted in the crowd, either, as Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger was also there to support the team.

Elsewhere during the game, Argentina fans have caused outrage with viewers as they were heard booing during England’s national anthem before kick-off began, although the Three Lions supporters retaliated with boos of their own.

Recently, Thomas Tuchel came under fire for his comments made after the 2-1 match against Norway, as he made critiques on the technical side of England’s performance.

When an interviewer asked Jude Bellingham what he thought of his manager’s remarks, he replied: “Yeah, well… whatever. Whatever. It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift.”

Discussing the comments, Thomas Tuchel told The Guardian there is no issues between them as he said: “Our comments come from the same place – from being competitive and having the edge when competition is on.

“He [Bellingham] was just confronted with a critique of my side. I [also] called him a world-class player. I said he had world-class actions again to decide the match. I said the mentality is outstanding of this team. All of that was not part of the question.

“I would maybe also bite back when I come from 120 minutes, score two goals and give literally everything that is in my body. It’s just a very normal reaction for a player of his mindset. So no problem.”

The World Cup final airs on Sunday, July 19, on BBC One from 8pm

Hold the Bat Signal — “The Batman Part II” has been delayed yet again.

The DC Studios film is now set to hit theaters Feb. 18, 2028. The sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2022 reboot “The Batman” was previously slated to bow Oct. 1, 2027 after it was pushed back from its original release date of Oct. 3, 2025.

Reeves took to social media Wednesday to share the new date along with camera test footage from the film. The video, the first proper look at Robert Pattinson’s return as the Caped Crusader, shows him in a new Batsuit, turning toward the camera as what appears to be snow falls around him. There are also some flashing lights in the background.

The filmmaker has previously shared “The Batman Part II” casting news as well as a glimpse of the Batmobile in social media posts.

Many details about “The Batman Part II” have been kept under wraps, but here is everything we know about the upcoming sequel.

Which characters are returning?

In addition to Pattinson’s return as Bruce Wayne, “The Batman” alumni Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell will reprise their roles as James Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth and Oz Cobb (a.k.a. the Penguin), respectively. Zoë Kravitz is not expected to return as Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

Other actors confirmed to come back include Jayme Lawson as Gotham’s mayor, Bella Reál, and Gil Perez-Abraham as Gotham City Police Dept. officer Martinez.

Barry Keoghan, whose character was briefly teased at the end of “The Batman,” is also reportedly likely to return as the Joker.

Who are the new cast members?

The newcomers venturing into Gotham for this next installment include Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Charles Dance, Sebastian Koch and Brian Tyree Henry.

While their roles have yet to be confirmed, a number of outlets have reported that Stan is expected to portray Harvey Dent, a Gotham district attorney who is perhaps better known as the villain Two-Face, while other rumors say the Marvel star will play the sadistic killer Victor Zsasz. According to other rumors, fellow Marvel alum Johansson could be playing Gilda Dent — Harvey’s wife — or Poison Ivy.

What is ‘The Batman Part II’ about?

Details around the sequel’s plot have yet to be revealed, but the movie is expected to take place after the events of the HBO series “The Penguin,” which was set after “The Batman.” A number of Reeves’ social media teases have included glimpses of snow.

Over the years, the director has mentioned that the sequel will see the young Dark Knight struggling with his understanding that the world is more morally gray than his previous worldview, and that the film’s big villain will be someone who hasn’t appeared on the big screen before.

From being homeless to becoming one of Emmerdale’s most adored stars, one cast member has an incredible backstory

An Emmerdale icon has an off-screen story even more remarkable than some of the soap’s biggest storylines.

Over the years, viewers have been introduced to several stars who have joined the long-running programme. And while plenty have left, several have remained in the Dales, including Bob Hope actor Tony Audenshaw.

Tony shot to fame playing Bob Hope on the ITV soap back in 2000. Since then, he’s become a firm favourite and has been involved in a ton of memorable soap moments.

And in Wednesday’s episode (July 15) episode, the Woolpack Batman was seen spilling the beans to newcomer Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) about her newfound family.

However, for actor Tony, life hasn’t always been plain sailing as he has endured tough times trying to make ends meet while chasing his dream of acting.

Tony’s real-life homeless experience

In 2019, Tony opened up about being homeless back in the day, before having his big break in the TV world. The actor revealed he could not afford to stay in a BnB when he worked in Thorpe Park back in the 1980s, so was forced to sleep in his car in order to make ends meet.

“There were occasions where I didn’t have enough for a B&B, so I just parked up and tried to get some kip. It wasn’t easy, but you do what you have to do,” he said on Loose Women.

“I used to work at Thorpe Park, the theme park, I used to be the Thorpe Park rangers and do the voices. Up North things are much cheaper. I came down here in the 80s, and it was £70 for a BNB.

“If I was down for five nights I would sleep in the car, because I didn’t have much money coming in. I’d never do it two nights on the trot because you couldn’t really function well. It was Monday in a B&B, Tuesday in the car – the things you saw in those car parks, torches in the window.”

Tony’s reported soap earnings

Bob’s perseverance paid off as after an early stint in Brookside in the mid-90s, he was first seen on Emmerdale in 1996 in a minor role before landing the part of Bob Hope four years later.

Since then, he has clocked up more than 2,500 episodes, making him one of the soap’s longest-serving cast members.

Due to his status on the show, it’s believed Tony. could be earning thousands. Cast members earn between £400 and £2,000 per episode, which translates to annual salaries ranging from roughly £12,000 for newer cast members to over £200,000 for top, long-standing stars, like Tony.

Tony’s world record

Away from the Yorkshire set, Tony is renowned for his love of running; a hobby that has taken him all around the world, from London to Amsterdam and New York.

In 2010, he entered the London Marathon in a giant baby outfit — and crossed the line in just 3 hours and 13 minutes. The remarkable time earned him a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a baby, but the record has since been broken.

Running was also a hobby he shared with his late wife Ruth, who died from cancer in April 2017, when she was 43 years old, after a 16-month battle with the disease. Tony and Ruth had been married since 1996 and had two children together, a son George and a daughter Emily.

Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX

Coronation Street fans have been left shocked as a controversial sex storyline has kicked off on the ITV soap but fans have praised both cast and bosses for their latest efforts in raising awareness

Coronation Street has kicked off a controversial new storyline surrounding consensual choking during sex. The world’s longest-running TV soap, which has favoured the use of issue-based plots along with an onslaught of crime and medical stories in recent years, began its Wednesday night double bill with a dramatic shot of an ambulance whizzing away from the Manchester backstreet.

In it was Betsy Swain, the daughter of incompetent police officer Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) and the stepdaughter of no-nonsense factory boss Carla Conor (Alison King), but viewers were at a loss as to what was actually going on throughout the episode’s opening scenes.

It was supposed to be a happy time for Betsy, who had just struck up a relationship with fellow teenager Dylan Wilson, and they were just figuring out how they were going to manage a long-distance relationship as she prepared to go off to study in London. But something awful had clearly happened as Carla rushed to the bedside in the hospital, and found Lisa there trying to comfort her daughter as she struggled to speak.

A doctor then called Lisa and Carla outside, with the results of an MRI scan confirming that Betsy (Sydney Martin) had suffered a stroke. Lisa struggled to take in the news and could barely hold back the tears as she learned that more tests would be needed to determine the cause. Trying to be a dutiful boyfriend, Dylan had put together a care package of essentials and was set on taking it round to the hospital to show her how much he cared.

As Betsy struggled to recall the events of the night before, her slurred speech made it hard to follow, but she spoke of all she remembered as stylistic flashback scenes aired, featuring her and Dylan dancing and making dinner. It was then that she explained that Dylan had put his hands round her neck whilst they danced, and claimed that it was something “everyone does” but it soon transpired she meant that he had done this while they were having sex.

As she stuttered: “Bed, upstairs,” the penny finally dropped for Lisa and she burst into tears. Betsy was determined to protest that it was all fine and consensual, but the doctor said: “It it really doesn’t take a huge amount of pressure to do a significant amount of damage.

“You may have felt fine at the time. Strokes don’t always happen immediately afterwards.” When Dylan finally arrived at the hospital, Lisa let rip as she yelled: ” You had sex with her and you choked her. Why? Why would you do that? How about I choke you, eh? No! See how you like it?!” and Ryan and Carla had to hold back as she lunged at him.

Viewers were quick to react to the intense scenes, with one fan writing on X: “Good God! I didn’t think it was possible for #corrie to get any darker. How mistaken was I! remember when this used to be the light hearted comedic addition of the soaps. Now it’s just depressing, dull and dark!”

But many were quick to praise the programme for taking on such a controversial issue, and praised the acting throughout. One fan wrote on Reddit: “I never expected a soap to tackle that issue though – I think this is really brave of Corrie and I hope they handle it with sensitivity and care.”

Another said: “I agree, it is worrying. It’s a good thing at least that Corrie are tackling this storyline, especially for people of a similar age who are adventurous and active in the bedroom like Betsy and Dylan.”

A third wrote: “The acting was absolutely incredible from all the cast in this story, poor Betsy made this 59year old man weep for her.

“Well done to Corrie (the weird memory flashbacks were understandable conveying Betsy’s anguish perfectly imo) I just hope they don’t eff up this very real and important storyline.” Another said: “It’s such an unexpected way to have a stroke, definitely something that wouldn’t have crossed my mind otherwise.

“Imo neither of them are to blame. Yes it wasn’t a good thing to do, but neither of them realised the true ramifications of what was going to happen, and if they did they wouldn’t have done it.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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