babies

Known for being ‘The GC’ on screen and larger than life, viewers will see a different side to Gemma Collins in her new Sky documentary series.

Gemma Collins admits she has had “the worst year of her life” which corresponded with a time she had cameras following her every move.

The former TOWIE star, also known by her celebrity persona ‘GC’, and was due to get married to partner Rami and start a family during filming for Sky documentary series called ‘Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once’. The series was originally called Four Weddings and a Baby, but as Gemma admits “things didn’t go to plan”.

Her relationship with Rami has had issues, the pair have also been sadly unable to conceive, and worst of all Gemma’s beloved mum Joan died at the end of July after several years of health issues. Admitting her life and TV series hasn’t been going to plan, 45-year-old Gemma said: “Mum’s been unwell for sixteen years and I’ve been dealing with that on the side, but her health started going downhill during filming and she passed away last month[actually July 2026].

“My fiancé Rami has also been struggling with his mental health and using alcohol to cope, and on top of that we had fertility issues. It was like drowning. It was the worst year of my life. I couldn’t keep hiding it.

“Being The GC was escapism. I could put the make-up on, get the hair big, and forget what was going on in the real world. But there’s been a real turn in media where people want to see the real me again. They’re sick of the bluff. I’m not afraid and I know I don’t need to deal with all this on my own.”

In the eight part series viewers will see Gemma embark on her fertility journey, and she questions whether she has left things too late, putting her career before having a family. On trying for a baby Gemma says: “Rami and I went to the Portland, and I started thinking maybe there could be a miracle. We could get an egg donor and make it work. But, as you’ll see on the show, it got increasingly difficult.

“I still have Tristan, and my nephews. I’ve known Tristan since he was three: I did his nappies, I gave him his bottles. I love that boy. With my mum gone, I’m going to be the mum of the family now, the matriarch, and I’m really happy and excited for that. If it’s meant to happen, my mum will send it to me, and a miracle will happen. If it doesn’t, I’m at peace with that.”

Gemma admitted she found filming on some days very hard but insisted she had to continue. The other deeply personal issue in the series is the loss of her mum Joan, and Gemma allows the cameras into moments like when she deals like this and when the bravado she usually uses on screen drops.

She said: “The camera crews are at your house and you’re thinking, ‘This is my life, it’s so s**t. How can I let people see it?’. But unless you go through hard times, I don’t think you grow as a person. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s also the thing I’m most proud of.”

On her mum Gemma added: “My mum passed away peacefully, and we were all in the room. She’s come back to me in so many ways already, which gives me great comfort. She comes back to me in spiritual ways and sends me signs. There was this butterfly in the house towards the last few days of my mum living, and it wouldn’t go away. When she passed, Tristan went to me, ‘There’s Nanny’. He went, ‘Nanny, if that’s you, flap your wings ten times,’ and it did.”

* Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once launches 15 September on Sky and streaming service NOW.

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Emmerdale star Olivia Bromley shed real tears when she filmed the tragic death of her character, Dawn Fletcher, tonight. Due to marry bad boy Joe Tate, their plans were scuppered when Jimmy King crashed into the wedding marquee, causing a big explosion, and pregnant Dawn was rushed to hospital.

Sent into premature labour, while Dawn gave birth safely to a baby boy with Joe at her side, she had a serious internal bleed. Suddenly, without warning, she crashed and, despite medics’ best efforts to resuscitate her, she died.

In her first interview since the explosive scenes, Olivia, 30, who was originally signed by Emmerdale for just 12 episodes in 2018, tells The Mirror: “It was the toughest storyline I’ve done during my time in the soap.

“I was surprised by how emotional I found it and it was way more emotional than I was expecting. I did cry. It is very strange to kill off your character as an actor and in front of your colleagues. But that said, what a gift to be given. Often people leave and just slip off.”

The actress was told earlier this year her character would be at the heart of a huge exit storyline during the soap’s biggest week of the year. Having reached a crossroads playing Dawn, she says it was almost a relief to have the decision over what to do with the role made for her.

She says: “This is a good time for me to go on a personal level. I had felt ready for the character to go. This character felt like she had done so much and I didn’t know what direction she could go in next. I had played her for a long time, and it felt like I needed to do other things. I am proud this was such a big finale to my time in the soap.”

But news that Dawn was being killed off came as a bolt from the blue and she confesses she would have liked to have left the door open to one day return.

Despite the initial shock, she says: “Psychologically, now I have had time to reflect, I know it’s good for me, because I can say bye to my Emmerdale chapter. It’s been brilliant. I was originally only signed up for 12 episodes and I’ve stayed eight years!”

And if viewers found her final scenes surprisingly realistic, she can now share the secret – that real life paramedics, rather than actors, were used to make the medical scenes convincing. She says: “They had real life paramedics and intensive care workers who came in to play those parts. Emmerdale is a fast-paced soap and we often don’t have time to train actors up, so they bring supporting people in with a lot of experience.”

Likening it to an “out of body” experience, she adds of her character’s death scenes: “They had rehearsed the crash response with Ned [who plays Joe Tate] and the supporting artists first and, right at the last minute, they put me in the scene. I had no idea what was going on.

“They went into the crash response, and it felt like an out of body experience lying there. They were all so professional and brilliant at what they did.”

But Olivia is sad that Dawn’s life ended so tragically. She says: “Even though she was able to cradle the baby with her children and Joe by her side, nobody had picked up on her bleeding internally. Finally, she had got what she wanted and so it was a sad end for her.”

Dawn originally arrived in the village as a drug addicted sex worker. Her big storylines included finding her long lost son and her on-off romance with her big love, ex-husband Billy. But she fell for Joe Tate in January 2025, after embarking on an affair behind Billy’s back.

They got engaged in December 2025 and by February 2026 discovered they were expecting a baby. But in recent months, Dawn, who had two other children and an adopted daughter, had been troubled by her lingering feelings for Billy.

And when he was attacked last month, she believed Joe was responsible and had planned to escape with Billy, rather than marrying the bad boy. However, in a massive plot twist, it became apparent Billy had actually been attacked by Kev – making Dawn want to marry Joe after all.

Olivia says: “Only a few weeks ago, she was talking about escaping with Billy, but in the end chose Joe. If Dawn hadn’t returned to Joe at the end, she would still be alive now. Billy is her true love but ultimately, she is an addict and she was drawn to Joe.”

She continues: “I’ve loved playing Dawn and I’ve enjoyed watching her develop and change. I’ve made many friends too and I am going to miss them a lot – especially everyone at Home Farm and Jay, who plays Billy. We are like brother and sister; we get on so well.”

Away from Emmerdale, Olivia lives happily in Leeds with her partner, who she keeps out of the public eye. She says: “My life has changed since joining the show. It has given me stability and, alongside the character, I’ve grown and changed. It’s made me ambitious in different ways and taken my life in a different way.”

After graduating from Oxford School of Drama, Olivia moved to London to work in theatre, before the call from Emmerdale came. She says: “This did change things for me and to be a working actor for eight years has been very special.”

And she would love to continue working in TV drama. She says: “I want to try some new things. It’s an exciting time and I would love to do a period drama or a gritty 9pm drama like Line of Duty.”

Now awaiting auditions, she has her leaving party to look forward to next weekend. She says: “It’s themed and I think we all deserve a drink after such a chaotic, complex end for Dawn. I’m also looking forward to just being me and not Dawn!”

As for Emmerdale without her? Olivia says: “The audience will go on a rollercoaster I am sure! I will always be so grateful to Emmerdale for giving me this role and to have been able to play Dawn fully until the end has been so much fun.”

*Emmerdale airs every weekday on ITV1 and STV1 at 8pm. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.

The ITV show followed Natasha Carr and her sister Lee-Ann four years after their initial reunion

Two siblings were given tragic news about their biological father during the latest episode of ITV’s Long Lost Family: Born Without a Trace.

Natasha Carr was just one week old when she was abandoned in a toilet at St Thomas’s Hospital, Lambeth, in 1989. She turned to the ITV show for assistance in tracing her biological family in 2018, having no knowledge of her life prior to being fostered and ultimately adopted at the age of two.

While the show was unable to locate her biological parents, it uncovered, after three years of searching, that Natasha has a full sister named Lee-Ann, who is just 18 months older than she is.

Sharing 51 percent of Natasha’s DNA, Lee-Ann was also a foundling, having been left in the staff toilets at St James’s Hospital in Balham when she was just a few days old.

At the time of their reunion in 2022, Natasha told host Davina McCall: “It’s so lovely to have someone who has the same experience. No one will ever understand unless you’re in the exact same situation, and she literally was in the same situation,” reports MyLondon.

On Monday evening (August 24), the ITV show broadcast an update to Natasha and Lee-Ann’s story in Long Lost Family: What Happened Next, eight years after their initial search began.

While the team searched for further relatives of the sisters, they learned that their father had passed away only a few years earlier, following a battle with cancer. Natasha and Lee-Ann received the heartbreaking news away from the cameras.

“I’m on my way to give Natasha and Lee-Ann major information; sadly, their birth father has died, which we’ve told them away from the cameras,” Davina revealed.

Yet the sisters faced another stunning development as Davina confirmed their birth mother had been traced. “She’s still alive, and she would really like the chance to meet them and to start building a relationship,” she added.

Throughout Davina’s conversation with Natasha and Lee-Ann, she disclosed that their father was born and brought up in Jamaica until he was 14 years old.

“It’s really interesting to know our background and where we come from and who we are”, Lee-Ann shared, “That’s what started my journey, I wanted to know what flag.”

The siblings also learned their biological mother was alive and had additional children, leaving them both astounded.

Lee-Ann became visibly emotional and received support from Natasha as Davina confirmed their mum’s desire to reconnect with her two daughters.

Subsequently, in the episode, Natasha confirmed she had encountered her birth mum while Lee-Ann was still coming to terms with the revelation.

Long Lost Family: What Happened Next is available to stream on ITVX

The Mirror’s Stephen Jones and his wife Charlotte have a lot of tips to pass on to other news parents after taking their newborn babies on holiday for the first time to the TUI Blue Orquidea in Gran Canaria

‘That’s it,’ my friends said, when I told them we were expecting twins. ‘Wave goodbye to your nice holidays, you’ll never have another,’ they warned.

Could it be true, that I would never relax in sunshine again? Never have I been determined to prove anyone so wrong. And never have I wanted a holiday more after the exhausting first few months of keeping two newborns alive, we needed a break.

A week-long trip with our TWO four month old babies to the fabulous all inclusive TUI Blue Orquidea in Gran Canaria (flying time: four-and-a-half hours) seemed an apt test. Whether you think we were brave, foolhardy or naive, I am pleased to say we not only survived, but we enjoyed it! Here’s what we learned.

1. It pays to prepare

We did our research and bought a lot of decent equipment in advance. Our rule was to pack half a suitcase each for ourselves while each baby had the other half. Pushing a suitcase and a pram each at the same time proved an acquired skill but was made easier with the two Bugaboo Butterfly 2 which can stow in overhead lockers. And we sensibly booked a night at a London Gatwick hotel to ease the stress of our 5am check-in time.

Having two babies sat on your laps for the whole flight once you have factored in feeding and sleeps isn’t too bad; having bottles prepped for both take off and landing is essential. We bought Alpine Muffy ear defender-style headphones to protect their precious ears, and Jellycat cloth books to keep them entertained. Changing a nappy in the cramped toilet is a challenge but doable. As the wheels touched down I breathed a sigh of relief the flight hadn’t been as bad as I expected and I felt buoyed by the sense of achievement.

Booking a private transfer from the airport to the hotel 20 minutes away in Bahia Feliz with two baby car seats was a luxurious extra which proved worth every penny and we will do again.

It meant we avoided queues at check-in and after our warm welcome, we were pleased to discover our room was spacious enough to accommodate two travel cots and the balcony provided a quiet post-bedtime drink spot.

We can highly recommend following travel journalist mums like Emma Cooke (@petite.blondine) on TikTok and Instagram for useful tips like bringing an inflatable chair for bathtime and collapsible bucket for sterilising bottles.

2. It doesn’t matter how much noise your children make

The one thing I really feared before our holiday was the embarrassment of our babies crying. I soon discovered the truth is most people are too busy worrying about their own children to care what yours are up to. The reassuring sight of so many other families trying to do exactly what we were trying to do spurred us on.

Even when our kids did cry in the restaurant, it was too noisy for anyone more than five metres away to really hear, and not once did anyone look bothered. The hotel’s buffet-style set up had a huge variety of choice but importantly meant we could take it in turns to get food while one of us stayed with the babies. A highlight of our stay was an evening out at the Orquidea’s scrummy a-la-carte restaurant La Taverna where they thankfully behaved.

The one time one of our babies did have a meltdown (in a queue on a day trip), people were sympathetic not judgmental. We soon realised the joy our babies bring others far outweighs any panic.

3. Plan, plan, plan

When you have babies you have to slow down your itinerary. Aim to only do one or two significant things a day. We soon learned to always make up bottles for the next feed straight after the current one; the next comes around pretty quick!

When you have fed them, you have a gap of max three hours to do an activity before they get grouchy, so try to already have something planned or booked in advance. Before our trip ,we hadn’t really appreciated how well set up for kids aged under three years old this family friendly resort was. One of the best things we did all week was a visit to the baby spa put on by the TUI baby and tots club staff, a sensory led experience where both babies delighted in being pampered.

Most days followed a pleasantly simple rhythm: breakfast, play time, lunch, naps, swimming, dinner and sleep. And repeat. When I have since been asked what the best thing about our holiday was, I’ve replied: ‘Being able to take the kids swimming every day’. Getting them used to being in water daily in the calm surroundings of the toddler pool, kicking their little legs and grinning while we held them, is a precious memory. We planned a lot of our feeds around these dips.

4. Hotel staff will help you out and people are kinder than you imagine

We were overwhelmed by the generosity of people who on seeing we had twin babies were only too happy to allow us to push in front of a queue or be served before them.

That said, travelling with babies is never completely stress-free. There were often moments when one twin decided nap time was optional or both babies demanded attention simultaneously. And we never left our room without extra nappies and wipes (having restocked at the nearby Spar) ready for any unexpected drama.

But somehow everything felt manageable. There was a godsend of Baby Lounge with aircon next to the pools we used every day to change nappies or just quiet time (the staff organise playdates for kids and their parents here too).

There’s tonnes for kids of all ages to do on a TUI holiday but it’s worth stressing they have trained staff who will take your babies off your hands for a couple of hours while you go and enjoy a peaceful lie by the pool or trip to the luxurious spa or gym (I pleased to say I made it to both more than once).

Indeed, the TUI staff couldn’t do enough to ensure we enjoyed the best possible trip – while we were staying at the busy Grupotel Orquidea, they recommended we check out their more sedate sister hotel, the Playa Feliz next door. This was a tip that made our trip as that’s where we ended up spending most of our time (the staff hold Little Splashers sessions for babies here as well).

5. Once you’ve done it once you will want to do it again

Now we have done it – and survived – I almost can’t remember what we were worrying about in the first place.

One of the other highlights of our trip was a day out to the village of Mogan – a picturesque fishing village on the coast known affectionally as ‘Little Venice – which you access via ferry.

I was 50/50 about booking a boat trip with babies but there was nothing remotely difficult about ditching our prams for slings. Our Ergobaby Omni baby carriers’ mesh design coped well in the heat as we explored the village’s quaint streets and waterways by foot.

Mogan has a pretty, sandy beach where we were able to dip the kids’ toes in the sea for the first time, a memory I will never forget. It was at that point I realised that’s the point of holidays, a chance to make those kind of long lasting memories. And when I started to think where we could go next.

Book the holiday

• TUI offers seven-night holidays to Gran Canaria, Spain staying at the 4T TUI BLUE Orquídea on an all-inclusive basis from £900pp, based on 2 adults and 1 child sharing a twin room, flying from London Luton in August, and 23kg luggage per person and transfers included. tui.co.uk
• TUI Musement offers a Gran Canaria’s ‘Little Venice’ – visit Puerto de Mogan by boat from £45 per adult, £28 per child (3-12 years old) and children (0-2) go free. tuimusement.com/uk

The Mirror’s Stephen Jones and his wife Charlotte braved taking their five-month-old twins on holiday for the first time – and were blown away by the resort

A few months after our twins were born we were badly in need of a holiday… somewhere distant enough to guarantee sunshine but not so far as to become a nightmare journey with two five-month-olds in tow.

With a flight time of four and a half hours, Gran Canaria seemed ideal. What we didn’t appreciate at the time we booked is how brilliantly accommodating the TUI Blue Orquidea would prove to be for young families. I’m pleased to say that a week there completely reinvigorated us but also changed our expectations of what a family holiday could be.

Like many new parents, we were worried about flying abroad with babies whose very existence is based on a routine of feeding, changing, entertaining and sleeping on repeat. Packing alone felt like preparing for a military expedition but by the time we reached the boarding gate at Gatwick – each pulling a big suitcase and pushing a travel buggy simultaneously – we felt like accomplished war veterans able to deal with any situation.

And after arriving at the hotel in a prebooked taxi transfer of just 20 mins from the airport, all our other worries soon melted away.

Set right on the seafront in Bahia Feliz on Gran Canaria’s sunny south coast, the all-inclusive TUI Blue Gran Canaria immediately radiates a relaxed atmosphere. Instead of loud entertainment and crowded spaces, the resort feels spacious, clean and remarkably calm, something any sleep-deprived parent will appreciate.

Our room was bright, modern and comfortably large enough to accommodate two cots without making us feel as though we were navigating an obstacle course every time we walked across it. Having a balcony overlooking the sea quickly became one of our favourite places to relax after putting the babies to bed each evening. Early mornings with bottles in hand somehow felt a little more manageable while watching the sunrise.

Travelling with babies means your holiday revolves around their schedule rather than your own, but this hotel made that surprisingly easy. Staff couldn’t have been more welcoming, always greeting the twins with smiles and happily offering helpful tips whenever we needed.

Meal times were relaxed and there were wide enough spaces between the tables to manoeuvre the buggies. The buffet restaurant deserves particular praise for its generous choices, meaning nobody should ever struggle to find something they like – from fresh salads and grilled meats to fish, pasta and pizza cooked to order.

Although our twins were far too young to sample the menu themselves, we were able to easily grab things we liked to keep ourselves nourished while we fed them, and families travelling with slightly older babies and toddlers seemed pleased with extensive options.

Of course, five-month-old babies with priorities of bottles, naps and cuddles don’t care so much for infinity pools or cocktail bars, but the hotel’s peaceful surroundings ticked every box.

The swimming pools were spotless, with plenty of comfortable sun loungers available throughout most of the day. We quickly settled into a rhythm that revolved around popping to the air conditioned baby lounge with changing facilities a stone’s throw from the main pool after breakfast for nappy changes, feeds and a play before hitting the loungers. Its sister hotel next door the Playa Feliz, where your wristbands are equally welcome, has a bigger splash pool for toddlers with a huge shade screen and that’s where we spent many of our afternoons.

While you are essentially doing exactly the same as you would be back home looking after newborn twins with the endless cycle of washing bottles, laundry and trying to get them to sleep, those same routines somehow became more enjoyable against a backdrop of palm trees, warm blue skies and the gentle sound of waves.

The childcare offering at a TUI Blue is arguably beyond generous if you choose to get involved. There’s baby and tots club sessions which run twice daily for children aged 0-35 months with gentle play, songs and stories and there’s more lively 45-minute playdate sessions available. The organised Little Splashers or Little Ravers sessions are self-explanatory, but our twins especially enjoyed their visit to a Baby Spa for a sensory-led pampering session with soft music and calming lights they seemed to enjoy as much as the TUI reps holding the session.

Speaking of the TUI reps, you also have the option of leaving your babies with them for a couple of hours while you enjoy some me time on a sun lounger or even pop to the gym or Club Spa, which we both managed to escape to on occasion. The open-air spa pool is actually something of a hidden gem squirreled away at the back of this hotel, but boasting a fantastic array of hydrotherapy jets where you can relax while you gaze out at the Atlantic ocean. There’s a Finnish sauna, Hammam steam room and a sanarium – or you can just pull up a lounger and relax in the sun away from the kids.

A highlight of our week was a meal out at La Taverna a la carte restaurant which is included in the all inclusive package, where they serve a variety of vibrant tapas as you watch the sun go down; in many ways a kind of special evening out we would love but find hard to achieve at home.

We weren’t racing to tick off tourist attractions or planning packed itineraries, if anything we wanted to slow down and enjoy some relative peace in the sunshine, which we achieved in batches daily. We did day trips but we were more than happy to just recline on a lounger by the side of the pool with the babies and switch off.

For any parent wondering if their first overseas holiday with young babies is worth attempting, this hotel provides a reassuring answer. Its combination of comfortable accommodation, welcoming staff, quality food and peaceful atmosphere creates an environment where families genuinely feel supported rather than merely accommodated.

Our first holiday abroad with two five-month-old twins could easily have been unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. Thanks to the TUI Blue Gran Canaria, it became unforgettable for exactly the right ones – a sun-soaked reminder that life doesn’t stop when you become parents. It simply changes. We knew that having holidays after having children would be different, what we realised at the TUI Blue Gran Canaria was that it didn’t mean that they shouldn’t be relaxing.

• TUI offers seven-night holidays to Gran Canaria, Spain staying at the 4T TUI BLUE Orquídea on an all-inclusive basis from £900pp, based on 2 adults and 1 child sharing a twin room, flying from London Luton in August, and 23kg luggage per person and transfers included. tui.co.uk
• TUI Musement offers a Gran Canaria’s ‘Little Venice’ – visit Puerto de Mogan by boat from £45 per adult, £28 per child (3-12 years old) and children (0-2) go free. tuimusement.com/uk