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To celebrate her last show with Strictly Come Dancing, the cast surprised host Claudia Winkleman with a touching tribute that left her screaming as she struggled to open the final vote

Claudia Winkleman was left screaming after she was surprised with a touching tribute from the Strictly Come Dancing cast. As she informed audiences that the final vote of the season was open, she was shocked to see several dancers had donned replicas of the blazer she was wearing and wigs that looked exactly like her hair.

The host, who announced in September that she would be leaving the show after over a decade, screamed “No way!” when she noticed that not only had the dancers dressed up like her, but notoriously grumpy judge Craig Revel Horwood had as well. He remained stony faced as he stared at the camera from behind the fringe, but Claudia still reacted with utter joy.

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Claudia kept covering her mouth, laughing and screaming as she realised what was going on. It was the most emotional she had been about her exit so far, as Claudia and Tess Daly, who is also leaving the show, both seemed to choose not to address their exit at the start of the show and instead focus on the dancers.

But this did not stop Claudia from making a statement with her final show. She herself had made a tribute to prior host of the show during the series by wearing a blazer with the words “Keep dancing” written on the back.

The words were the catchphrase of original host Bruce Forsyth. Claudia took over as a primary host for Bruce in 2014, co-hosting with Tess when he stepped down.

Elsewhere in the show, Claudia pretended she and Tess had decided to do a showdance. Though this was not an explicit joke about them leaving, when Tess turned down the opportunity to dance, Claudia jokingly said to the male dancers that had accompanied her to the dancefloor: “Apparently tonight is all about the finalists.”

It came as a surprise to many when Tess and Claudia announced that they would be stepping down from the show after over ten years on it. The pair made the announcement via Instagram.

In a joint statement, they said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.

“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.”

Taking to Instagram again, Tess and Claudia made a low-key goodbye to the show via another post. In this one, they shared a series of images from backstage, including one that showed off Claudia’s blazer. They captioned the post: “You better believe we’re gonna keep dancing.”

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ZOE Ball has bid her final farewells to her BBC Radio 2 show today.

The radio presenter, 55, announced she would be leaving her beloved Saturday show earlier this month, with today being her final time on air.

She was greeted by fans outside Broadcasting house before taking to the airwaves.

It comes just a year after Zoe stepped down from her breakfast programme on the same station, after hosting it for six year.

Though Zoe won’t be completely absent from the airwaves – continuing to host specials on the station less frequently.

Presenter Romesh Ranganathan today handed over to Zoe before her show kicked off at 1pm.

EYE ON THE BALL

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Romesh compared Zoe leaving to a “death in the family” and shared heartfelt messages from fans, before adding: “It’s your last show! I’m gonna miss seeing you every Saturday.

“How are you feeling?”

Zoe replied: “It’s my last Saturday show … I’m feeling like everybody else is feeling at this time of year …

“Don’t worry I won’t be a stranger.”

Romesh also teased the rumours that Zoe is taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as the host of Strictly Come Dancing next year.

He said: “Is it true you’re leaving your Saturday show because of …”

He then quipped: “Sally on traffic, it’s that, let’s put that down now.”

Zoe played along and said: “Sally and I have been in love with each other for a long time and we’ve decided we can’t possibly work in the same building anymore because the magnetism is too much.”

Zoe’s announcement comes after she was included in the BBC’s “Golden Ten” shortlist of presenters tested for the perfect on-screen partnership to replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.

The Sun revealed that Zoe Ball was one of the ten stars put through their paces in order to find the perfect on screen partnership in a top-secret chemistry test.

The news has sparked excitement that Ball could be in the running to replace Tess and Claudia as Strictly Come Dancing host.

Netflix’s American Primeval launched in January 2025, but BBC’s 2022 western series The English starring Emily Blunt is being hailed as the superior show

Three recent TV western series tower above the rest. The latest arrival is American Primeval, which landed on Netflix at the start of this year. The series delivers an unflinchingly realistic and brutal portrayal of existence on Utah’s lawless frontier, following a mother and child fighting for survival.

Their trek brings them face-to-face with settlers living by their own code, indigenous peoples protecting their territories, and Brigham Young’s Mormon militia. The unrelenting brutality stands in sharp opposition to the sanitised portrayals of the Wild West seen in 1990s pictures such as Tombstone and Dances With Wolves.

Yet it isn’t simply violence for its own sake. It features outstanding performances and centres its narrative on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, a grotesque and shameful chapter in American history that was probably unfamiliar to most viewers before this series.

Audiences have hailed the programme as “absolutely phenomenal” and “raw and unflinching”, whilst Empire magazine characterised it as “a raw, bloody odyssey that will pierce your skull like a hatchet flung face-first”, noting: “Nostalgia has been stripped away completely, scalped in favour of a grimy, far more authentic journey that takes us back to how the so-called land of the free really came to be.”

The Guardian offered a more critical view, branding it a “samey western that’s far less clever than it thinks it is”. I dispute that verdict.

Godless

If you were gripped by American Primeval, there’s another Western miniseries that many reckon is even better. Godless, a Netflix original released in 2017, shares the Old West setting and intense violence of American Primeval, but offers a unique twist. Godless spins a classic tale of revenge. Jeff Daniels portrays crime boss Frank Griffin, who, along with his band of outlaws, is on the hunt for Roy Goode, a former member who betrayed them.

As Roy flees from his past, he ends up in a secluded New Mexico mining town predominantly inhabited by women. His arrival lures Griffin’s deadly gang to the town, forcing the residents to stand their ground.

The series was lauded as a “work of confident artistry”, an “unrelentingly brilliant” and “clandestinely old-fashioned mash-up of all the great Westerns you ever knew and loved”. It also bagged three Primetime Emmy Awards.

The English

But there’s another modern western TV series that trumps them both. The English, a BBC production that flew somewhat under the radar upon its 2022 release, stars Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer, and Rafe Spall. Set in 1890, it follows Lady Cornelia Locke (Blunt) who journeys from England to the American west seeking vengeance against the man she holds responsible for her son’s death.

Whilst it rivals both American Primeval and Godless in terms of its grim portrayal of the Old West, the series also shines a light on another disturbing element of 19th-century existence that seldom appears on our screens: syphilis and the devastating toll it takes on the body. The show also presents one of the most chilling figures in recent memory: Black-Eyed Mog, a bonnet-clad, spectacle-wearing Welsh matriarch who presides over a brutal clan controlling the plains from their fortified stronghold.

Critics awarded it five stars, praising a script “as gorgeous as the landscape”, which “evokes the pitilessness of the old west” and poses the question of “how many of us would remain sane, and morally sound, in a lawless land where – for hundreds of miles at a time – no one could hear you, or anyone who got in your way, scream”.

The final of 2025 Celebrity MasterChef marked the final show for outgoing judge John Torode

Celebrity MasterChef fans have pleaded with BBC bosses to retain John Torode on the programme as his final episode aired.

Following five weeks of intense culinary competition, the 20th series of the celebrity spin-off reached its conclusion tonight (Friday, December 19), with this year’s champion finally announced.

The finale saw RuPaul’s Drag Race star Ginger Johnson, rugby legend Alun Wyn Jones, and author-broadcaster Dawn O’Porter face their toughest challenge yet, as they were tasked with presenting their most impressive dishes.

Each competitor prepared a three-course menu aimed at demonstrating their culinary journey and winning over judges John and Grace Dent, who stepped in to replace Gregg Wallace on the current series following his departure amid an investigation into his conduct.

Ultimately, Ginger was named Celebrity MasterChef Champion 2025. Speaking about her victory, Ginger said: “I cannot believe this, I’m so shocked. I really thought I was going to come here and have a laugh. I can’t believe this is the end result of the competition. It’s absolutely crazy! I can’t wait to tell my mum and dad. I’ve actually learned a real-life skill!”, reports Wales Online.

John added: “With all the presentation, all the fun, the laughs, her food tastes delicious and she’s an extraordinary cook. For me, that’s why she is our champion.”

This series of the BBC hit competition marks the final appearance of John in his hosting role after he was removed following the outcome of an investigation into his conduct on the programme. At the time, John was accused of using a racist term off-camera during the programme’s production, prompting the BBC to intervene. The chef has consistently denied the allegation.

Grace is set to return in the next series, expected to air next winter, alongside Anna Haugh who will be filling John’s role.

As the current series concluded, viewers were quick to voice their opinions on the presenter reshuffle, with many insisting that the BBC should retain John on the show.

One viewer expressed: “John Torode’s eyes welled up with tears when tasting a great main Finals dish. Who can replace Torode? No one I can think off. Get him back, don’t let him go.”

Another commented: “Brilliant series of #CelebrityMasterchef Grace Dent fits very well but will be sad to no longer see John Torode at the helm.”

A third shared: “I think that’s been one of the best #celebritymasterchef series ever. All the chefs that got to finals week were great cooks and personalities. I didn’t mind who won. But more importantly Grace Dent has been a breath of fresh air. I thought she and John worked well together.”

Another stated: “Can I just say I thought Grace and John were a dream team as hosts and I don’t care if he did use a derogatory word whilst singing the lyrics of a rap song, he shouldn’t have been made to leave #CelebrityMasterchef.”

Meanwhile, one fan added: “Very wrong to get rid of John. Him and #GraceDent make a great pair on #celebritymasterchef . What a fantastic series this has been.”

You can catch up on Celebrity MasterChef on BBC iPlayer

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Rita Simons has admitted she would happily sit down with EastEnders bosses to discuss a return even though her soap character was killed off almost a decade ago

Rita Simons has admitted that she would consider a return to EastEnders. The actress, 48, became an instant fan-favourite on the BBC soap when she arrived to play Roxy Mitchell in 2007, turning up alongside Samatha Womack as her on-screen sister Ronnie.

The pair were involved in multiple dramas over their decade-long stay in Albert Square, but it all came to a fatal head on New Year’s Day 2007 when Roxy drunkenly jumped into a swimming pool, and Ronnie jumped in to save her, only to be weighed down by her wedding dress as they both drowned.

Despite being killed off, there have been rumours of a return in one way or another, and Rita initially made a brief reappearance as Roxy in the form of a hallucination in 2023, where she comforted her on-screen daughter Amy. But almost a decade since being axed, Rita, who recently enjoyed a stint in Hollyoaks as Marie Fielding, has admitted she is always asked about a comeback and would happily discuss the idea with soap bosses.

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She said: “It just doesn’t, it doesn’t stop! Someone, I won’t name them, said to me the other day ‘the resilience of your fans is impressive. And it is. Listen, if it was a meeting, we’d be there. But no, I’ve been having lots of very sort of, I’m looking at the gritty dramas, the comedies, the gangster stuff.

“Of course, if EastEnders came knocking, we’d definitely have a conversation.” After leaving EastEnders, Rita starred in a UK tour of the musical Legally Blonde and then competed in the I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! jungle.

Speaking to The Sun, she added: “I think that’s kind of another reason I knew it was time to leave Hollyoaks because I knew that I always wanted to do more drama. And I think it’s easier to transcend when you don’t hang around too long,” before noting that she’d “hung around long enough” in the BBC soap that a comeback might be possible.

Rita’s on-screen sibling Samantha has also enjoyed a successful career on screen and stage since leaving EastEnders, and recently admitted during an appearance on Loose Women that she had been through “all sorts” personally amid her time on the soap and was “terrified” at the thought off leaving, but it altered her outlook on life, especially after facing a battle with cancer.

She said: “When you’re in a place for nine years and you’re playing that character every day, and you’re embedded in that family structure, so you believe that the people who are your sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins, whatever, then you believe that they really are because you see them every day.

“You go through all sorts of emotional things together, the birth of your children, funerals, and this is with the crew as well. You get to know such this wonderful group of people for such a long time and then Ronnie drowned in a pool.

“I thought it was shot beautifully. In retrospect, it’s very easy to hold onto safety, isn’t it? Particularly in our game, being self-employed is terrifying. I don’t know if it was a favour [killing me off], but my whole outlook on life has changed.”

“I got diagnosed with breast cancer and survived it for no,w but the beauty of everything that happens to you, the ups, the downs, is the beautiful chaos of it all and what you’d miss if you weren’t here.”

Earlier this year, the former Mount Pleasant star admitted that she started saying no to a lot of opportunities after her treatment, but knew she needed to do something to get back to earning a sustainable income. She told The Mirror: “After my year-and-a-half of treatment, I started turning down a lot of stuff – and I didn’t have the bank balance to match that confidence, trust me.

“It was me saying the word ‘no’ and my bank account creaking. But there was empowerment in that because I thought, ‘OK, I need to go through this, spend time with myself and figure out stuff that I’ve never figured out – maybe stuff I’ve buried under a rug.’”

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Thomas Skinner is reportedly suing the BBC as it’s claimed he has proof the organisation rigged Strictly Come Dancing voting to ensure he left the competition early

Former Strictly star Thomas Skinner appears to be the latest to stick the boot in to the BBC. The reality TV star is reportedly suing the organisation with claims suggesting he believes the dance show’s voting was rigged.

It’s said he believes he has proof that there was foul play in order to eliminate him as soon as possible. The star of The Apprentice and his professional dance partner Amy Dowden were given their marching orders at the start of the series.

The show saw scores from the judges from the first two weeks added together, along with results of a public poll. While the BBC never revealed exactly how many public votes each star got, Thomas is said to think he has proof they deliberately downplayed his total.

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A source claims he is now following in Donald Trump’s footsteps and suing the organisation. Speaking to The Sun, an insider said: “Thomas is adamant he got a larger share of the public vote and believes he has the evidence to prove it. He is determined to see it through, but there’s no way the BBC will take this sensational claim lying down.”

They went on: “They’ll robustly defend any kinds of claims that the voting was rigged or fixed.”

Asked to comment on the allegations, a BBC spokesperson told the Mirror: “Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is robust and independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy.”

Sources at the corporation also told the Mirror it hasn’t received any legal complaint or paperwork in relation to this matter. .

The Sun’s source also added that while Thomas was supposedly asked to return for the final this weekend, there was no chance he’d accept the invitation.

They claimed he has been “locked in rows with bosses ever since he was sent home”. “He’s convinced the BBC was hell-bent on getting him out as soon as possible — no matter how many of his fans got behind him,” they said.

Despite the source’s allegations, it’s reported Thomas’s no-show this weekend is simply down to a prior commitment. Amy will be back to dance with her fellow ballroom stars, though.

Other stars who appeared on the series this year included Geordie Shore legend Vicky Pattison, Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope and Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston.

And it’s expected that they will all make a return to the dancefloor, alongside other former contestants like drag queen La Voix, showbiz guru Ross King and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey amongst a host of others.

There has been speculation following Thomas since his initial inclusion in the series. He stirred up a storm over his behaviour off the dancefloor before the show started.

He faced backlash over his social media posts, notably a selfie with Vice US President JD Vance and later stormed out of the press launch for Strictly and snatched a journalist’s phone. Then, an affair was uncovered as Thomas admitted to cheating on his wife just weeks after their wedding.

The Mirror also revealed one of his firms hasn’t paid back a £50,000 Covid bounce back loan.

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Wiegman replaced Phil Neville as England manager in September 2021, guiding the Lionesses to their first piece of major silverware at Euro 2022 when they beat Germany 2-1 in the final at Wembley.

England then reached the World Cup final in Australia in 2023, only to lose 1-0 to Spain.

At this year’s Euros, England showed incredible battling qualities to remain in the tournament and became the only country in the competition’s history to have three different matches go to extra time.

By reaching the final Wiegman became the first women’s or men’s manager to reach five consecutive major international finals after leading the Netherlands to the Euro 2017 title and 2019 World Cup final.

The Lionesses beat Spain 3-1 on penalties in July after the final finished 1-1 after extra time in Switzerland, with Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saving two of Spain’s efforts in the shootout.

The victory meant Wiegman became just the second manager after Germany’s Christina Theune to win three successive European Championships.

England’s success led to Wiegman being named women’s coach of the year at the 2025 Ballon d’Or awards, while she also won the women’s coach prize at the Fifa Best Awards for a record fifth time.

Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows shared the BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year award in 2024 after guiding Keely Hodgkinson to 800m Olympic gold at the Paris Games.

Sir Alex Ferguson won the inaugural Coach of the Year award in 1999, the year Manchester United won the Treble.

Previous winners include Sir Clive Woodward, Colin Montgomerie and Claudio Ranieri.

Wiegman joins Arsene Wenger, Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Gareth Southgate in winning the award more than once.

The once-celebrated star fell out of favour with Tinseltown after he was hit with multiple accusations of sexual assault. After being off screens since leaving Netflix in 2017, he is now set to in a 10-part comedy series.

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey has shared that he is returning to television screens after he was acquitted of sexual assault in 2023.

The Oscar winner, who was fired from Netflix in 2017 following multiple accusations of sexual assault, has landed a role in an Italian comedy series playing himself. It marks his first television performance since his removal from House of Cards.

The comedy show is called Minimarket and follows shop worker Manlio Viganò who dreams of becoming an actor. Starring Filippo Laganà as the lead, Kevin appears as his imaginary friend, offering guidance and advice.

According to Variety, Spacey is Viganò’s “artistic conscience and unpredictable mentor,” and the comedy comes from their relationship of “bickering, misunderstandings and mutual teasing.” The 10-episode series will be available to watch on RAI’s RaiPlay on 26th December.

In the lead-up to the show airing, Laganà has been sharing multiple posts featuring Kevin. Next to a black and white snap of the two actors, the 31-year-old wrote: “Thank you, Mr Spacey, it’s been a true honor.”

In another post, Laganà capitalised on Kevin’s recent comments about having nowhere to live, joking: “He’s not homeless. He’s living in MiniMarket! Minimarket is coming.”

In November, Kevin said in an interview with The Telegraph that he was homeless after being frozen out of Hollywood in the wake of sexual assault allegations first made against him seven years ago.

The 66-year-old actor, once one of the most powerful figures in the film industry, said he has been forced to give up his house and place all of his belongings in storage as a result of what he described as “astronomical” legal bills. He said the financial strain of defending himself in multiple cases dating back to 2017 has wiped out his savings and ended his ability to maintain a permanent home.

Instead, the actor explained that his work requires him to move around constantly, saying he stays in hotels and Airbnbs and travels wherever jobs take him. He said he doesn’t currently have a permanent base, but later addressed the comments in a video shared on Instagram to clarify that he was not homeless in the traditional sense.

He stressed that he was not comparing himself to people experiencing genuine housing or financial hardship, including those forced to live on the streets or in their vehicles.

Spacey, who was found not guilty on nine sexual assault charges at London’s Southwark Crown Court, won Academy Awards for American Beauty and The Usual Suspects and was widely regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation.

His career imploded after he was accused in 2017 of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in 1986. He denied the allegation and fought the case in civil court in New York, where he was cleared in 2022.

Following his interview, it was revealed by the BBC that the 66-year-old has been hit with three more claims of sexual assault that will go to court next year. According to the broadcaster, Spacey has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has formally denied two of the claims and is yet to file a defence with the court in the third.

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Here’s what you need to know about potential changes to the BBC TV Licence

An annual fee in the UK could be replaced by “sliding scale” payment rates going forward. The BBC TV Licence could be due for some major changes.

The UK Government will examine reforms to the TV licence fee and explore additional commercial revenue streams for the BBC as part of proposals set out in its Royal charter review. The BBC’s existing charter, which spans a decade, concludes in December 2027.

The yearly licence fee has endured extensive examination under the previous Conservative administration, remaining static at £159 for two years before rising in April 2024 and again in April 2025 to £174.50, aligned with inflation rates.

As reported by the Daily Record, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has previously indicated she might be receptive to substituting the fixed licence fee with a graduated payment system. A fresh public consultation regarding these reforms has been initiated alongside the Green Paper and remains accessible until March 10, 2026.

The charter establishes the BBC’s public mission and serves as the constitutional foundation for the corporation, which is primarily financed through the licence fee, collected from UK households that watch television.

The Green Paper, outlining prospective BBC reforms was released on Tuesday and “consults on a wide range of options being considered for the future of the BBC”.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stated the UK Government will examine whether licence-fee reductions require updating, possibilities for the BBC to create additional commercial income, and funding alternatives for the World Service to ensure sustainable financing for minority-language broadcasting. Lisa Nandy expressed: “We want the BBC to continue to enrich people’s lives, tell Britain’s story and showcase our values and culture at home and overseas, long into the future.

“My aims for the charter review are clear. The BBC must remain fiercely independent, accountable and be able to command public trust. It must reflect the whole of the UK, remain an engine for economic growth and be funded in a way that is sustainable and fair for audiences.

“As a Government, we will ensure that this charter review is the catalyst that helps the BBC adapt to a rapidly changing media landscape and secures its role at the heart of national life.”

Options in the Green Paper the government is considering and seeking views on in this area include:

• Strengthening the BBC’s independence so the public continues to have trust in the organisation and its programmes and content, including considering the government’s role in board appointments
• Updating the BBC’s Mission and Public Purposes to give accuracy equal importance alongside impartiality and improving transparency of editorial decision-making to ensure the BBC explains journalistic processes and how its coverage evolves, especially during high profile events
• Giving the BBC new responsibilities to counter mis/disinformation, potentially alongside additional requirements on media literacy to help the public navigate technological change and develop digital skills, including around AI
• Introducing specific duties around workplace conduct to ensure BBC staff are protected and the organisation sets the standard for the rest of the sector to follow – including new responsibilities for the BBC Board to ensure action is taken against workplace misconduct

The DCMS said: “A BBC that is sustainably funded for decades to come to support its vital public service role.”

Options the UK Government is considering and seeking views on in this area include:

• Reform of the licence fee, whether licence fee concessions should be updated, and options for the BBC to generate more commercial revenue
• Options for funding the World Service and supporting sustainable funding for minority language broadcasting, including S4C
• Options the government is considering and seeking views on in this area include:
• Placing a new obligation on the BBC to drive economic growth, build skills and support the creative economy across the UK
• Ways in which the BBC can further support the production sector across the nations and regions, including by ensuring budgets and decision-making power for commissioners are spread across the UK, and by supporting minority language broadcasting
• Empowering the BBC to be an ethical and economic leader in adapting to new digital technologies, and enabling it to invest in Research and Development to support growth and drive public service benefits
• Encouraging the BBC to deliver more through collaborations and partnerships for growth and public value outcomes, including with organisations across the creative economy, and with local news outlets

Public consultation

People across the UK are being encouraged to give their views on the UK Government’s Green Paper public consultation and answer a set of questions.

Responses will be used to help inform policy changes which will be set out in a White Paper expected to be published in 2026.

You can view the consultation on GOV.UK.

The Jane Austen period drama starring Keeley Hawes will explore more of the Austen family story in the confirmed second season

The fate of an “exceptional” period drama, which fans have dubbed as “the best of the BBC“, has finally been revealed. Following its debut in February this year, Miss Austen has received a significant update.

The mini-series offers a reimagined glimpse into the life of Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra, portrayed by Keeley Hawes.

It narrates her journey to safeguard her sister’s legacy while grappling with her past through a series of flashbacks.

Viewers were captivated by the drama, praising it as “engaging, heartfelt,” and “absolutely superb” in glowing reviews.

It’s now been confirmed that Miss Austen will be returning for a second season. The first season, based on Gill Hornby’s novel, spanned four episodes, and the upcoming one will be “largely based” on her latest work, The Elopement, reports the Express.

The sequel is set in 1820 and follows the life of Mary Dorothea Knatchbull, the daughter of Jane Austen’s niece, Fanny Knight. Andrea Gibb, who penned the first season, will also be writing the second, according to Deadline.

Masterpiece executive producer Susanne Simpson expressed her excitement about the return of the series, stating: “After the success of Miss Austen, I am thrilled to be working again with the incredible author Gill Hornby, and the impressive team of Andrea Gibb and Christine Langan, who created the first series that was such a moving experience and a joy to watch. I am pleased to be able to announce the return of the series just as we are about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth,”.

Executive producer Christine Langan commented: “Fueled by another wonderful Gill Hornby novel, the journey of Miss Austen continues, going deeper into the intimate life of the Austen family. Love, loss and laughter mingle irresistibly in this fresh take on Jane Austen’s world brought to life by a dazzling array of characters both familiar and brand new.”

Miss Austen was set in 1830, and began with Cassandra visiting the Fowle family, as patriarch Reverend Fowle is dying. Vowing to help his daughter Isabella find a new home, she also looks for letters Jane, who died in 1817, had written as a younger woman to Fowle’s wife Elizabeth, in the hope to destroy them.

Meanwhile, Mary Austen, the widow of Cassandra and Jane’s brother James, also hunts for the letters, to write a biography about her late husband.

Discovering them, Cassandra is confronted by her past, with the letters covering her engagement to the late Tom Fowle, James’ marriage to Mary, other relatives they lost and chances at love, and Jane’s literary journey to become the novelist she’s known today.

Flashbacks from the early 1800s show Jane and Cassandra’s lives together, and the societal challenges of the era they grew up in.

The series stars Patsy Ferran as Jane and Jessica Hynes as Mary, as well as Rose Leslie, Max Irons and Phyllis Logan.

Fans fell in love with the four-part drama when it aired earlier this year, with one saying: “Fantastic series, we loved every minute. What a brilliant script and storytelling- so clever and so well done. We are Jane Austen fans and watched one episode each night this week. For us that’s a binge. The very best of the BBC at its best. Totally engaging, heartfelt, emotional and humorous. The actors were superbly cast and they all shone. I’ll give it a month then watch it again.”

Another said: “This 4 part series is absolutely superb, telling the story in a manner that I think Jane herself would have been proud of. The acting from all the cast is exceptional. I found Jane’s deathbed scene, being comforted by her beloved sister Cassandra, heartbreaking. This series will stay with me for a long time.”

Someone else wrote: “This show is absolutely superb. In excels in every possible way as a piece of entertainment. The ladies who play young Cassandra and Jane are perfection and the story is thoroughly intriguing. Loved it more than I can say.”

Another said: “A wonderful series -brilliantly portrayed by first class acting. I found this so moving and emotional- yet had many humorous scenes. Very rarely do we now find such a masterpiece on our screens. Well done BBC!”

Miss Austen is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

SIR Humphrey Burton, an award winning classical music broadcaster and BBC Radio 3 presenter, has died at age 94.

The prolific broadcaster, author and director died peacefully at home today with his family by his side.

Sir Humphrey had a celebrated career in the arts including as head of the BBC’S music and arts in the 1970s and 80s where he hosted the BBC‘s Omnibus and In Performance arts programmes.

He went onto found the BBC‘s Young Musician of the Year award in 1978 which helped to spotlight young talent, including famed violinist Nicola Benedetti.

In a statement, his family said: “He was deeply loved by his children and grandchildren, and his commitment to spreading the joy of classical music was so inspiring.”

It continued: “He will be missed beyond words. We take comfort in knowing he is now at peace.”

TRAGIC LOSS

BBC radio presenter dies aged 72 after cancer battle as colleagues pay tribute

BRAVE FACE

Kaye Adams puts on a brave face after she’s suspended from BBC radio show

Sir Humphrey was knighted in 2020 for services to classical music and the arts.

His daughter, Clare Dibble, announced the news on X: “It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my father, Sir Humphrey Burton 25.3.31-17.12.25, at 05.15 this morning at home with family by his side. A huge influence on several generations of arts programme makers, he will be missed beyond word.”

BBC Radio 3 then said in a tribute on social media: “He was a much-loved classical music broadcaster and had a huge influence on generations or arts programme-makers.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Classic FM, where he worked as a presenter on multiple programmes, said he “helped shape a golden age of classical music on television and radio“.

Sir Humphrey helped with programmes on Leonard Bernstein and Yehudi Menuheim, both influential figures he had personal and professional relationships with.

These programmes “introduced multiple generations to classical music with the trademark enthusiasm that made his name synonymous with arts broadcasting,” said Classic FM in a tribute.

His programme, Burnstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna won an Emmy Award in 1972 and he went onto win again in 1988 for the Great Performances episode Celebrating Gershwain.

This was part of a 20 year friendship with the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein which saw the broadcaster direct 170 documentaries and filmed concerts.

Sir Humphrey was born in Towbridge Wiltshire in 1931 and became one the broadcasting industry’s most influential presenters.

He studied music and history at Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge before joining BBC Radio as a trainee studio manager in 1955.

Sam Jackson, the controller of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms said he was fortunate to work with Sir Humphrey and described him as a “a man so full of grace, warmth, and brilliant anecdotes.”

Suzy Klein, Head of Arts and Classical Music TV at the BBC, told The Sun: “In the history of arts and classical music broadcasting, there are few figures as influential as Sir Humphrey Burton.

“His vision, ambition and ability to forge partnerships across borders brought world-class opera, classical music and arts programming into the homes of many millions. Humphrey leaves an enormous legacy at the BBC and beyond, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

The Royal Philharmonic Society said Sir Humphrey’s renowned work set a “gold-standard” which engaged millions with music.

“Few have done so much to proclaim classical music’s wonders” it added.

Alongside radio, Burton helped the launch of BBC Two in April 1964 before he became the BBC’s first Head of Music and Arts a year later. He later founded London Weekend Television.

He won a BAFTA (then SFTA) for creativity in music programming in 1965.

Until 1988 Sir Humphrey was editor of performance programmes and director of Proms. He also directed opera relays from the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Glyndebourne and Scottish Opera.

Sir Humphrey married Gretel Davis in 1957 but the couple later divorced and he married Swedish radio and television presenter Christina Hansegård in 1970.

He is survived by his six children: Chris Hockey, Clare Dibble, Matthew Burton, Helena Burton, Lukas Burton and Clemency Burton-Hill.

Industry is about to return, so now is the perfect time to binge all episodes of the BBC and HBO banking drama

A series once called “TV’s wildest drama” is set to return for a fourth season, and its previous episodes are all available to binge.

Industry first aired on BBC Two and HBO back in 2020, and three seasons down the line, it has garnered a cult following.

The brainchild of former investment bankers Konrad Kay and Mickey Down, it charts the journey of a group of graduates at the fictitious bank Pierpoint. It drew drawing parallels with Skins and Succession, and with just eight episodes per season, it’s ideal for a binge-watch.

With captivating performances from the entire cast, edge-of-your-seat tension and a brutally honest glimpse into their inner struggles, it’s no surprise that Industry has been commissioned for a fourth season, due to premiere on January 11 on HBO and HBO Max, and later in the month on iPlayer.

The narrative kicks off in a pre-Covid world at Pierpoint, a high pressure investment banking setting about to welcome a new batch of graduates.

Among them is Harper Stern, portrayed by Myha’la – an extraordinarily bright yet troubled young woman who will stop at nothing to reach the pinnacle, reports the Express.

Marisa Abela, also known for her portrayal of Amy Winehouse in the 2024 film Back To Black, takes on the role of fellow graduate Yasmin Kara Hanani. She’s fully aware of her privileged status as a ‘nepo baby’ in the professional world, but as the series unfolds, we discover that her life isn’t as straightforward as it appears.

Other key characters include Robert Spearing, brought to life by Harry Lawty, another graduate hailing from a more working class background who is desperate to leave his past behind.

Ken Leung plays Eric Tao, Harper’s unpredictable boss who recognises Harper’s potential and mentors her – a decision that would irrevocably alter his life.

Viewers follow as the employees clinch deals, celebrate at wild parties when things go well, and forge connections with influential figures.

However, each character has their own shortcomings. The show is rife with pain, weaving themes of sexism, abuse, discrimination, and death throughout its narrative.

When the third series hit screens last year, The Guardian hailed it as “TV’s wildest drama”, likening it to the cult favourite Succession. The Independent lauded it as “millennial Mad Men with plenty of swagger” and a “thrillingly fresh” series that only graces our screens every so often.

Industry airs on the BBC

The UK is set to rejoin the Erasmus scheme, the BBC understands, five years after announcing that it would end its participation as part of the Brexit deal with the European Union.

The EU provides funding through the scheme for people to study, train or volunteer in other European countries for up to a year.

The UK replaced it with its own Turing scheme in 2021, which funds similar placements worldwide.

The government said it would not comment on ongoing talks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had suggested in May that a youth mobility scheme could be part of a new deal with the EU.

The BBC understands that UK students will be able to participate in the Erasmus scheme from 2027.

Alex Stanley, from the National Union of Students (NUS), said it was “fantastic that another generation of students will be able to be part of the Erasmus programme”, adding that it would represent “a huge win for the student movement”.

“Students have been campaigning to rejoin Erasmus from the day we left,” he said.

The Erasmus scheme was scrapped in the UK in December 2020, when the government announced its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

Boris Johnson, prime minister at the time, said it was a “tough decision”, but the scheme had become “extremely expensive”.

He said it would be replaced by the Turing scheme, which has operated since then.

Both schemes are open not just to university students, but also to people doing vocational courses, as well as apprentices and people training at college or school.

In 2020, the last year in which the UK participated in Erasmus, the scheme received 144m euros (£126m) of EU funding for 55,700 people to take part in Erasmus projects overall.

The UK sent out 9,900 students and trainees to other countries as part of the scheme that year, while 16,100 came the other way.

Glasgow, Bristol and Edinburgh were the three universities to send the most students, and Spain, France and Germany were the most popular countries which UK students went to.

In the 2024/25 academic year, the Turing scheme had £105m of funding, which paid for 43,200 placements, with 24,000 of those being in higher education, 12,100 in further education and 7,000 in schools.

The majority (38,000) were from England, with 2,900 from Scotland, 1,000 from Wales and 1,200 from Northern Ireland.

Ministers who introduced the Turing scheme in 2021 said it was designed to benefit more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and provide greater support for travel costs than the Erasmus scheme did.

It is not yet clear what will happen to the Turing scheme once Erasmus is reintroduced for UK students.

WOKE BBC bosses could thwart a fresh bid to finally get Fairytale of New York to the Christmas number one spot – 38 years after it was released.

The corporation’s radio stations refusing to play a newly released ‘live’ version of The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York because it contains the “cheap, lousy f****t” lyric.

The track by the Irish rockers, originally released in 1987, is one of several vintage festive tracks that only reached number two in the charts, despite becoming classic anthems

Another example is White Christmas by Wham! which was kept off the number one spot by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas in 1984.

But fans finally got that to the top spot in 2023.

Fairytale has long been surrounded by controversy because it contains a perceived homophobic slur which has either been removed in some versions or not played at all.

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A music industry insider said: “It feels unfair that this live version which shouldn’t be edited has now been barred from the Beeb’s playlist.

“It’s an authentic performance of a much loved track by a much loved band and this move might be the measure that prevents it from getting to number one at Christmas, which is where it has always deserved to be.”

The original single was only kept from the top spot by Pet shop Boys classic Always On My Mind, which was a high-energy cover version of the Elvis Presley ballad.

Despite always making it into the top ten every Christmas, and featuring in the 2019 festive special of Gavin & Stacey, it’s never made it to number one.

The BBC were approached for comment.

WASHINGTON — President Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.

The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”

The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices.

The BBC said it would defend the case.

“We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” it said in a statement.

The broadcaster apologized last month to Trump over the edit of the Jan. 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejected claims it had defamed him, after Trump threatened legal action.

BBC chairman Samir Shah had called it an “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC’s top executive and its head of news.

The speech took place before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.

The BBC had broadcast the hourlong documentary — titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Trump said earlier Monday that he was suing the BBC “for putting words in my mouth.”

“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn’t say, and they’re beautiful words, that I said, right?” the president said unprompted during an appearance in the Oval Office. “They’re beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn’t say that, but they put terrible words.”

The president’s lawsuit was filed in Florida. Deadlines to bring the case in British courts expired more than a year ago.

Legal experts have brought up potential challenges to a case in the U.S. given that the documentary was not shown in the country.

The lawsuit alleges that people in the U.S. can watch the BBC’s original content, including the “Panorama” series, which included the documentary, by using the subscription streaming platform BritBox or a virtual private network service.

The 103-year-old BBC is a national institution funded through an annual license fee of 174.50 pounds ($230) paid by every household that watches live TV or BBC content. Bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial, it typically faces especially intense scrutiny and criticism from both conservatives and liberals.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — President Donald Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion, alleging it intentionally misrepresented a speech he gave before the Jan. 6 storming of Capitol Hill in order to influence the result of the 2024 presidential election.

The lawsuit was filed in a Florida court on Monday, more than a month after Trump threatened to bring litigation against Britain’s public broadcaster over the editing of a speech he gave to supporters in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance.

Trump’s lawyers described the documentary’s depiction of him as “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory and malicious,” alleging it was aired “in a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence the election’s outcome to President Trump’s detriment.”

The suit is for $5 billion in damages, plus interest, costs, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief the court finds appropriate.

The BBC declined to comment Tuesday but vowed it would fight the case.

“As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” said a spokesman.

The Panorama documentary aired in Britain on Oct. 28, 2024, just days ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The BBC stresses it was not broadcast in the United States and that it did not make it available to view there.

In the documentary, video of Trump’s speech was edited to piece together two comments the president made about 50 minutes apart, while omitting other parts of his speech.

“[T]he BBC “intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers around the world by splicing together two entirely separate parts of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021,” his lawyers state in the lawsuit.

“The Panorama Documentary deliberately omitted another critical part of the Speech in such a manner as to intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”

The claim refers to the splicing together of excerpts lifted from the video that made it sound as if Trump was inciting his supporters to march on the Capitol and fight:

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell,” was what viewers of the program saw, when Trump’s actual words were, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

It wasn’t until 50 minutes later in the speech that Trump made the comments about fighting.

The infraction went unnoticed until early November when The Telegraph published an exclusive on a leaked internal BBC memo in which a former external ethics adviser allegedly suggested that the documentary edited Trump’s speech to make it appear he directed the Jan. 6 attack on Congress.

Following the report, the BBC’s director-general, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned.

BBC chairman Samir Shah immediately apologized for what he called an unintentional “error of judgment.”

After Trump wrote the BBC demanding a correction, compensation and threatening a $1 billion lawsuit, the corporation formally apologized and issued a retraction that was the lead story across all of its news platforms on television, radio and online — but said it strongly disagreed “there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

To win the case, Trump’s legal team would need to convince the court the program had caused Trump “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”

The BBC has said that since the program was not broadcast in the United States or available to view there, Trump was not harmed by it and the choices voters made in the election were not affected as he was re-elected days after.

However, Trump’s legal team alleges the BBC had a deal with a third-party media company that had rights to air the documentary outside of the United Kingdom.

The blunder has reignited a furious national debate about the BBC’s editorial impartiality and the institution itself, which is funded by a $229 annual license that households with a TV must pay.

It also comes as the future of the BBC is under review, with the renewal date of its royal charter approaching on the centenary of its founding in 2027.

Trump has won out-of-court settlements in a series of disputes with U.S. broadcasters, although largely at significantly reduced sums than those sought in the original lawsuit.

In July, CBS settled a $20 billion claim out of court for $16 million over an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris that aired four weeks before the election on Nov. 5.

ABC News paid Trump $15 million and apologized to settle a defamation suit over comments by presenter George Stephanopoulos that incorrectly stated Trump was “liable for rape.”

In 2022, CNN fought and successfully defended a $475 million suit alleging it had defamed Trump by dubbing his claim the 2020 election was stolen from him as the “Big Lie.” The judge ruled it did not meet the legal standard of defamation.

He has live cases pending cases against the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

As Donald Trump threatens legal action against the Beeb, the Mirror takes a look at the broadcaster’s most recent list of top earners, which includes some surprises

US President Donald Trump is suing the BBC to the tune of $5 billion, yesterday claiming, “they put words in my mouth”.

POTUS is here referring to an episode of Panorama which aired a week before the 2024 US election, which showed comments he made to supporters ahead of the deadly 2021 Capitol riots. The episode appears to show Trump telling crowds: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”

However, these words were created from different segments of the 79-year-old’s speech, delivered nearly one hour apart. The BBC has since issued an apology over the edit, admitting to an “error of judgment” while clarifying there was no legal basis for Trump’s claim. As the row continues, the Mirror takes a look at the Beeb’s list of top earners.

READ MORE: Donald Trump sues BBC $5 billion for Panorama speech edit: ‘They put words in my mouth’

Back in July, the BBC published the salaries of its highest-paid stars as part of its annual report, and a number of significant changes amongst the top earners. Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who this year left the corporation was once again the top earner with a take home salary of £1.35million. This was followed by former Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball, who took home £515,000 despite being replaced on the Breakfast Show by Scott Mills.

Match of the Day Host Alan Shearer emerged as the third highest paid BBC star of the year, increasing his salary from the year before after covering the Euros last year. The former Newcastle star boosted his paycheck to almost half a million pounds with his punditry at the tournament.

Radio host and political expert Nick Robinson also had a pay rise last year, while Radio 2 host Vernon Kay joined the top 10 for the first time. Perhaps surprisingly, BBC North America Editor Justin Webb also made the top 10, with a very impressive salary of £365,000.

The BBC’s top earners:

1. Gary Lineker £1,350,000-£1,354,999 (no change)
2. Zoe Ball £515,000-£519,999 (down from £950,000-£954,999)
3. Alan Shearer £440,000-445,000 (up from £380,000-£384,999)
4. Greg James £425,000-£429,999 (up from £415,000-£419,999)
5. Fiona Bruce £410,000-£414,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999) and Nick Robinson £410,000-£414,999 (Up from £345,000 and £349,000)
6. Stephen Nolan £405,000-£409,999 (up from £400,000-£404,999)
7. Laura Kuenssberg £395,000-£399,999 (up from £325,000-£329,999)
8. Vernon Kay £390,000 – £394,999 (joined Radio 2 in May 2023)
9. Justin Webb £365,000-£369,999 (up from £320,000-£324,999)
10. Naga Munchetty £355,000-£359,999 (up from £345,000-£349,999)
11. Scott Mills £355,000-£359,999 (up from £315,000 – £319,999)

Last year, Vernon Kay made the list for the very first time after joining BBC Radio 2. The Bolton born presenter replaced Ken Bruce and took home a whopping £320,000 from the corporation in his first year. Despite this staggering sum, his take-home pay was almost 20 per cent less than what Ken earned in the previous year in the slot.

Meanwhile, disgraced BBC News host Huw Edwards also remained on the list last year, coming in at third place with a wage of £475,000-£479,999 (up from £435,000-£439,999). Edwards, who had been off-air since July 2023, left the BBC after being named as the presenter at the centre of days of allegations and speculation regarding his private life.

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Lacock village in Wiltshire is steeped in history and has been used as a filming location for Harry Potter, Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and Wolf Hall, making visitors feel like they’re living in a period drama

A key filming spot for the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation, Lacock’s charming cottages and stunning countryside make visitors feel as though they’ve stepped into a period drama.

Its Wiltshire timber-framed buildings and magnificent cloisters have drawn numerous productions beyond Austen’s tale to its grounds. Lacock’s famous medieval Cloister, dating back to around 1450, also houses a verdant Cloister Garth. This striking architectural feature appeared in countless Downton Abbey scenes, and doubled as sections of the castle in the original Harry Potter films. It also featured in the BBC’s Wolf Hall adaptation. One TripAdvisor reviewer awarded the destination five stars, saying: “An absolute must if you are in the area! A beautiful village, which you can visit by parking just across the road in the National Trust car park.

“The village is a pleasure to walk around, totally untouched throughout history and is quintessentially English! From the rows of tiny cottages, the church, the tiny bakery, the village pub and a hotel, it has everything and all these are open and running. We stayed for a couple of hours and then had a wander around the Abbey which is also impressive.”, reports Gloucestershire Live. Another reviewer described the village as “frozen in time”, with Explore the Cotswolds concurring that the location “looks a lot like it would have done 200 years ago.”

Lacock’s magnificent abbey began life as an Augustinian nunnery, shuttered during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. Subsequently, John Ivory Talbot constructed the mock-Gothic hall – both are now in the care of the National Trust and available for afternoon exploration. A stone’s throw away stands St Cyriac’s Church. Initially believed to be a Saxon worship site, it later became Norman-controlled. The Church was erected near the close of the 11th century by Edward of Salisbury and William of Eu. The dedication to St Cyriac honours a beloved Norman saint.

The church houses numerous later memorials to the Baynards, Bonhams, Crokes, Sharingtons, Talbots and Awdreys. Yet for Harry Potter enthusiasts, the cloisters steal the show. For one devotee, exploring the cloisters topped her agenda upon arriving in Britain. She wrote: “Harry Potter fans NEED to do this! We’re from Canada. As soon as we landed in London, this was the very first thing we did. We did the Harry Potter Tour of London for Private Groups by Black Taxi. “Our guide was Richard and we can’t say enough good things about him! He was absolutely incredible! Ask him how he knows so much about this…such an interesting person, so knowledgeable and passionate about it all.”

US President Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit against the BBC over an edit of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.

Trump accused the broadcaster of defamation and of violating a trade practices law, according to court documents filed in Florida.

The BBC apologised to Trump last month, but rejected his demands for compensation and disagreed there was any “basis for a defamation claim”.

Trump’s legal team accused the BBC of defaming him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech”. The BBC has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Trump said last month that he planned to sue the BBC for the documentary, which aired in the UK ahead of the 2024 US election.

“I think I have to do it,” Trump told reporters of his plans. “They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”

In his speech on 6 January 2021, before a riot at the US Capitol, Trump told a crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

More than 50 minutes later in the speech, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”

In the Panorama programme, a clip showed him as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The BBC acknowledged that the edit had given “the mistaken impression” he had “made a direct call for violent action”, but disagreed that there was basis for a defamation claim.

In November, a leaked internal BBC memo criticised how the speech was edited, and led to the resignations of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness.

Before Trump filed the lawsuit, lawyers for the BBC had given a lengthy response to the president’s claims.

They said there was no malice in the edit and that Trump was not harmed by the programme, as he was re-elected shortly after it aired.

They also said the BBC did not have the rights to, and did not, distribute the Panorama programme on its US channels. While the documentary was available on BBC iPlayer, it was restricted to viewers in the UK.

In his lawsuit, Trump cites agreements the BBC had with other distributors to show content, specifically one with a third-party media corporation that allegedly had licensing rights to the documentary outside the UK. The BBC has not yet responded to these claims, nor has the company with the alleged distribution agreement.

The suit also claims that people in Florida may have accessed the programme using a VPN or by using streaming service BritBox.

“The Panorama Documentary’s publicity, coupled with significant increases in VPN usage in Florida since its debut, establishes the immense likelihood that citizens of Florida accessed the Documentary before the BBC had it removed,” the lawsuit said.

Lawyers for US President Donald Trump say the BBC caused him overwhelming reputational and financial harm.

United States President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking at least $10bn from the BBC over a documentary that edited his speech to supporters before the US Capitol riot in 2021.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami on Monday, seeks “damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000” for each of two counts against the United Kingdom broadcaster for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Earlier in the day, Trump confirmed his plans to file the lawsuit.

“I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally… I guess they used AI or something,” he told reporters at the White House.

“That’s called fake news .”

President Trump: “I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally…I guess they used AI or something…they actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I didn’t say.” pic.twitter.com/cUwXqBq3Zd

— CSPAN (@cspan) December 15, 2025

Trump has accused the UK publicly-owned broadcaster of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech, including one section where he told supporters to march on the Capitol, and another where he said, “Fight like hell”.

The edited sections of his speech omitted words in which Trump also called for peaceful protest.

Trump’s lawsuit alleges that the BBC defamed him, and his lawyers say the documentary caused him overwhelming reputational and financial harm.

The BBC has already apologised to Trump, admitted an error of judgement and acknowledged that the edit gave the mistaken impression that he had made a direct call for violent action.

The broadcaster also said that there was no legal basis for the lawsuit, and that to overcome the US Constitution’s strong legal protections for free speech and the press, Trump will need to prove in court not only that the edit was false and defamatory, but also that the BBC knowingly misled viewers or acted recklessly.

The broadcaster could argue that the documentary was substantially true and its editing decisions did not create a false impression, legal experts said. It could also claim the programme did not damage Trump’s reputation.

Trump, in his lawsuit, said that the BBC, despite its apology, “has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses”.

A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said in a statement that the BBC had “a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda”.

The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the lawsuit was filed on Monday.

The dispute over the edited speech, featured on the BBC’s Panorama documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, prompted a public relations crisis for the broadcaster, leading to the resignations of its two most senior officials.

Other media organisations have settled with Trump, including CBS and ABC, when Trump sued them following his comeback win in the November 2024 election.

Trump has also filed lawsuits against The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and a newspaper in Iowa, all of which have denied wrongdoing.