boss

THE Ibiza Final boss has confirmed he’s SPLIT from his girlfriend amid reunion rumours as his viral fame ends the romance.

Newcastle lad Jack Kay’s life changed forever after he became an overnight viral sensation.

The 26-year-old was spotted boozing and grooving while holidaying on the Spanish island of Ibiza.

A clip of the former builder was viewed over 20 million times last August and fans became obsessed as they felt his distinctive look perfectly encapsulated the party isle’s clientele.

Jack became known for his bowel haircut, oversized chain, vest top and square shades and it wasn’t long before his girlfriend, Alisha Cook, decided to stake her claim.

But it has now been confirmed the pair have gone their separate ways.

Read more on Ibiza Final Boss

BOSS MOVES

Ibiza Final Boss ditches booze for boxing but owes who filmed viral clip a pint

LIKE A BOSS

Massive sum Ibiza Final Boss made in just six weeks after going viral

Jack told The Sun he was single and doesn’t see a Mrs Final Boss on the horizon for quite some time.

Although the Misfits boxer did hint that he could find the one over on the party isle.

He said: “I might do.

“But I haven’t found Mrs Ibiza Final Boss yet, but probably a couple of years for that.”

It seems Jack’s partying days are not yet behind him as he admitted he’ll be making his way back to Ibiza this summer.

His pals told us last year that his stunning ex Alisha drew a line under their relationship after she became sick of him living it up with the lads.

The debt collector, from Durham, was furious and pulled the plug before he jetted off.

However, it was then rumoured they’d reconciled but he was “skating on thin ice.”

When Alisha was approached for comment, she confessed she “loved him” and they were “back together.”

Jack spent weeks enjoying his sudden fame in Ibiza and it seems the pair couldn’t navigate him being in the spotlight.

Ahead of his Misfits boxing match on Saturday he admitted he won’t be returning to his day job as a builder.

Jack said there’s “definitely not” anything to miss from working in construction.

He added: “This life’s the easy life.”

The Ibiza Final Boss will face off against Manchester rapper Jordan McCann in the ring after two months of being sober.

Some people are still processing “Euphoria’s” evolution away from its roots as a gritty drama that explored highly mature and dark teenage experiences to, in its final season, a fever dream-esque look at adulthood that played like a full-blown neo-noir crime thriller. But another show’s creative transformation has taken the stage now.

The third season of AMC’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s “Interview With the Vampire” brings a reset to the captivating world of bloodsuckers. While the first two seasons adapt the original 1976 novel, relying heavily on the recollection of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) as he recounts his centuries-long life and romance with Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) to a journalist, the new season shifts narrative focus and perspective over to Lestat, who transforms into a charismatic frontman of a glam-rock band to publicly set the record straight. As such, the series has been retitled “The Vampire Lestat,” which is the name of Rice’s second novel. For this week’s Guest Spot, I spoke with showrunner Rolin Jones about the show’s rebranding and Reid’s commitment to the musical challenge.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, TV critic Robert Lloyd steers us away from the usual streaming options to recommend a man’s video journal that documents his quest to travel the world by foot, while culture critic Mary McNamara suggests a new British comedy about codependent BFFs navigating the sort of tricky development that would end most friendships.

Speaking of endings to relationships, it was announced this week that “Doctor Who” showrunner Russell T Davies is exiting the series (again) seven months after Disney+ decided not to continue its partnership with the BBC to distribute the long-running sci-fi series. BBC also announced it will not air the show’s previously announced Christmas special this year. Lloyd, a longtime Whoverse follower, is a voice of calm through it all. He shares his thoughts on why the new questions swirling around the franchise don’t necessarily have to be cause for alarm — evolution is part of the show’s essence, he reminds us. Elsewhere in current events, if you’ve been curious (… sure, that’s the right word!) about the UFC Freedom 250 live event that will unfold in an oversize cage on the White House South Lawn in celebration of Trump’s 80th birthday and the country’s 250th anniversary — and will be streamed live on Paramount+ — check out our explainer about the controversy — and lawsuit — it has sparked.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have another Matthew Rhys story to read so I can maintain my executive membership in the fan club. See you next week!

— Yvonne Villarreal

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

@AlexanderCampbellOfficial (YouTube)

In February 2023, Alexander Campbell, then 27, set out from Sydney to walk west around the world. Currently he is somewhere around Albania, having traversed, among other places, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Bulgaria. He’s been documenting his progress on camera all along the way, but it wasn’t until Day 938, in Georgia, that he began posting the longer, “uneventful” videos that make his channel such a singular, meditative, even hypnotic, form of vicarious travel. Walking alone to the sound of his own footsteps, through sun, rain, sleet, snow and dark of night, over mountains and deserts, through forests and fields, he becomes a character in a peripatetic, nearly one-man show. The occasionally encountered friendly local will warn him about wolves or bears or the hunters who might mistake him for one, though he meets more dogs than people. (He calls them all “Buddy,” warily.) Titles include “I Slept in a Barn Full of Stray Dogs,” “I Got Caught in a Snowstorm With Nowhere to Sleep” and “Something Was Out There in the Forest.”) — Robert Lloyd

Jemaine Clement, left, and Nicola Walker in “Alice and Steve.”

(Lara Cornell / Hulu)

“Alice and Steve” (Hulu, Disney+)

What would you do if your ex-turned-longtime bestie slept with your 26-year-old daughter? Well, Alice (“The Split’s” Nicola Walker) 100% loses her mind. Sure, during a drunken convo at a bar, she did tell Steve (“Flight of the Conchords’” Jemaine Clement) that he could have any woman he wanted, but she most certainly wasn’t talking about Izzy (Yali Topol Margalith). Having just returned home after breaking up with her boyfriend, Izzy decides that Steve, now bunking down on the sofa, is “strangely hot” enough for a little rebound sex and then a romantic relationship. And Steve, though initially regretful and more than a little shell-shocked, decides this is what he wants too. “I really like her,” he says by way of sheepish explanation. It leaves Alice no choice but to hilariously alternate between screaming and scheming as she tries to put a stop to the proceedings even at the expense of her marriage, her career, her friendship with Steve and her self-respect.

Clement’s sad-sack charm successfully boosts the leap of faith required to keep Steve from becoming an oblivious creep, but the show belongs to Walker. Her Alice becomes a blazing embodiment of the emotional maelstrom inside every woman who is expected to somehow put on a supportive, understanding face no matter how outrageous or impossible the situation. The laughs she elicits are exhalations of shock, recognition and relief. We can’t all ditch the high road for pure, luxurious fury, but it’s mighty fun to watch someone who does. — Mary McNamara

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Sam Reid as Lestat De Lioncourt in “The Vampire Lestat.”

(Sophie Giraud / AMC)

If you thought posting cryptic digs about an ex on your social media accounts as a way to cope with unresolved emotions was petty, this TV vampire may have you beat. The wild new, music-infused season of “The Vampire Lestat” (formerly “Interview With the Vampire”) revolves around Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid) on an elaborate mission to tell his side of the story after his ex-lover, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) published a scandalous memoir — with the help of journalist — that detailed their turbulent romance. In his bid to control the narrative, Lestat becomes an immortal glam rocker who launches a music tour and enlists the same journalist — newly turned into a vampire — to direct and film a music documentary about his life. The result is a flamboyant seven-episode season that blends rock-opera style performances (the season will feature 20 original songs) with personal reflections from its flashy frontman. As it enters its second week of release on AMC and AMC+, creator and showrunner Rolin Jones spoke over video call recently to discuss the show’s creative pivot and more. — Y.V.

To kick off the new season, there was an immersive premiere concert event at the historic Beacon Theatre in New York City earlier this month. Was that a surreal experience? Did you feel like a music manager?

I have a hard time talking about the work — the selling of the work, all that kind of stuff. I want to finish my edit, and then I want to like disappear at the Arctic. I knew we were doing this and I knew that there were like fans from all over the world flying in for it — some who didn’t have tickets. I knew there were people who had worked on the show from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 who got on a plane, asked for a ticket, and made a pilgrimage there. I was really moved by it. It was about as good as these things can ever be. It felt really beautiful. It felt like Vampire Church. It was pretty cool. And Sam — “surprising” is not the word because I’ve worked with him for a long time — was way better than he should have been. It’s incredible.

In this TV landscape, taking a show and giving it a new title as it enters its third season is a daring move. The series moves focus to the second book in Rice’s oeuvre. And while it continues the story of these characters, at the same time, it feels like a new show. What made you nervous about carrying out that kind of creative transformation? And what was thrilling about it?

We could start with a thrilling part because the idea to be able to go to the people who worked really hard and say, “Hey, let’s rebuild it” — that’s exciting. That part’s cool. The executing part about it is where the terror begins because most worthwhile art — you can call TV art — invariably has to have risk and danger involved in it, otherwise you’re probably performing a magic trick. No offense to magicians. But you want something that when you turn off the TV, you’re not immediately forgetting. The more risk you do, in terms of form, in terms of all that, you want to be able to feel like you can pull it off because, otherwise, they [the audience] have nothing to grasp onto. [And they say,] “You just destroyed this thing we love, how dare you!” But generally speaking, everybody — from the top of the network down to the actors who are doing it — was down for it. Mostly because, if you listen to our fandom, I think they demand it. They’re out there on a limb telling everybody “it’s the greatest TV show, and blah blah blah” and you have to deliver that for them so that they can continually confidently bombard all their friends and neighbors and say, “Watch the show.” There’s nobody who didn’t give everything [to this season]. It was a real collective leap together.

Sam undergoes quite the transformation to make this rock star vampire persona believable. What struck you about how he approached embodying Lestat this season?

I gained 20 pounds in Toronto, and that’s because I kept stuffing my face with bread, and about every three or four times I would have this big sloth of butter on bread, I’d go, “Poor Sam” because I know Sam had not touched a piece of bread. Let’s start there — 0% body fat, the dimensions on the waist. The level of dedication. He was living and breathing every second about the role and about the demands of it — sing songs, and not only sing songs, but go learn to be a musician, and go train with people who have been doing it their whole life so you can fake it. I feel very confident saying this: Anybody who watches this season and Sam’s performance will feel like, at the end, they saw one of the 10 greatest performances in the history of our medium. I think he absolutely disappeared. James Gandolfini did not sing songs, Swearengen [the “Deadwood” character played by Ian McShane] did not sing songs. Mr. White [the “Breaking Bad character played by Bryan Cranston] did not sing songs. I’ll put him [Sam] up against all of them. He’s incredible.

What if he wants to go off and be a rock star now?

He could do it.

Jacob Anderson as Louis De Pointe Du Lac in Season 3 of “The Vampire Lestat.”

(Sophie Giraud / AMC)

You have a rock band posing as vampires fronted by an actual vampire who is the focus of a documentary being directed by a vampire passing as a human. And for all this to work, the band has to be good. What was the challenge of making this fictional band’s stardom believable — the charisma, the presence on stage, the discography? It’s a tall order, in addition to making a compelling TV show.

Anytime you have seen these things, following a band, there’s so many ways it can fall flat. You can do three or four of the things you need to do, and if one of them falls apart, you’re still stuck there, going, “Eh.” We all, who are working on it, love music. We’ve all been in clubs. The first thing we did was remove the stardom for budget reasons, but also for singular storytelling — he decided to do rock ’n’ roll in the year 2025. Some basic building blocks, we need songs. So with [composer and songwriter] Daniel Hart, we bring him into the [writers’] room because it’s not only writing songs, but writing the context about when and where he’s [Reid] singing them. He has to be aware of what we’re doing in the room. We also have to be able to pivot when he has pure inspiration; he can come in with something we’ve never talked about, and go “Boom!” And it’s OK, now what do we do with this song? And quite often this year we restructured episodes because the song was beating our episode. [We had to] hire actors who can play or musicians that can act — and that’s not everybody, so that shrinks that down. Make sure when you’re in the club, or whether you’re singing the song in rehearsal, let us uglify it, embrace the mistake, make it a little dirty. We have a song this year that has some of the most beautiful orchestrations, but because of where it landed in the season and what it talked about, we ended up going with the most stripped down, bare version of it. Don’t worry, you’ll get to hear these beautiful orchestrations [at some point]. [It’s also thinking about] how do you carve out the time you need to shoot it and the playback elements of it, and what sacrifices you have to make on other set pieces that you would normally put in is a lot. But everything from the beginning was with one thing in mind: Do not suck. How can we suck less? Let’s not suck. And we just kept going over and over again with that.

At the end of the first episode we see Lestat reunited with his undead mom, Gabriella, who he has, I think it’s fair to say, an oddly intimate relationship with —

Multifaceted.

And obviously the Louis-Lestat romance is far from being over. What are you interested in exploring within those two dynamics, in particular, moving forward since they’re so central to Lestat?

It becomes immediately about him going, “Let me try to explain this … I might have just repelled 80% of you.” I’m really interested in the viewers who are really off-put by it. I want to see where they’re at by the end of Episode 7, if they trust us. And see what they’re feeling. I guess [some people feel], “Oh, you’re not allowed to do this in the TV world unless you got f— dragons and s—, but all the things that you would have thought [that the network might say], “Don’t do this,” we didn’t really have a lot of those obstacles. There was a lot of trust. The thing with the Lestat character is like it’s probably harder to cuddle up to him like you could Louis. Louis is a Faustian tale; here it’s like a Faustian tale but Elton John’s at the center of it. There’s a series of questions like “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Why do you keep get trapped into these things?” It’s like going on odyssey, or as Jacob called it, an idiocy, with a character that is exotic and eccentric and contradictory. For us going forward, as we wrote it, every time we fell into the something that felt well-made or cool on a twist or turn level, we found we were very suspicious of it, and we were trying to make alien TV as best we could. So, what do I want? It’s less about exploring those two dynamics, although they’re richly part of this fabric. It was, how can you take them on a magic carpet ride, a very difficult one? The idea is to actually have, by the end, every single person recognize that part of themselves in him. And how can you normalize him over seven episodes? How can you deliver that to an audience?

I know you’ve been super–busy, but what’s the last thing you watched that you found yourself recommending to everyone or something that you were obsessed with right now?

A TV show I’m watching, one that I’m enjoying right now, is “Widow’s Bay” [Apple TV]— that has been very enjoyable. It’s so much fun.

Matthew Rhys’ facial expressions are so good.

Oh, he’s great, and that show just really knows what it is, and is joyfully silly, and has a great atmosphere. It’s one of the most beautifully shot things I’ve seen in a while. I’m not finished yet.

OK, before I let you go, I hope we get a concert out in L.A. at some point.

Wouldn’t that be nice? Where would you put it up? Echoplex?

Maybe the Troubadour.

What about the Greek? That would be nice.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

THE Ibiza Final Boss piqued the interest of the masses after he was spotted boozing it up on the party isle last August.

While most Ibiza goers like to indulge in the lifestyle Jack Kay found viral fame for his trancelike dance moves and good old-fashioned bowl haircut.

He was spotted vibing in multiple clubs on the island last summer and fans became obsessed with how well summed up the clientele.

Jack, 26, who was seen donning a vest, shades, and a blingy chain, was famed for perfectly round trim, which became the subject of thousands of comments.

The former builder has now opened up on the hefty amount he’s insured his hair for – and it’s seven figures.

He claimed: “Obviously it’s my USP so I have been looking to get it insured and I’ve insured it for a million pound.”

Read more on Ibiza Final Boss

BOSS MOVES

Ibiza Final Boss ditches booze for boxing but owes who filmed viral clip a pint

LIKE A BOSS

Massive sum Ibiza Final Boss made in just six weeks after going viral

Celebs often get parts of their bodies insured if it’s a huge money maker for them.

While the Ibiza Final Boss’ life turned on its head over night, he told The Sun he’s not worried about “staying relevant.”

For influencers and viral internet stars overnight fame doesn’t usually last long with some desperate to stay in the spotlight.

But Jack, from Newcastle, would be “happy,” if it all ended tomorrow.

Jack said: “I’m not worried about staying relevant.

“I’ve signed a multi-fight deal, my agents got big things happening for us like end of this year starting next year as well. So I’m not worried about that.

“Even if it all ends tomorrow, which it won’t but if it was I’m happy with that I’ve made a killing do you know what I mean I’ve smashed it.”

He acknowledged that his time in the public eye won’t last forever but he’ll certainly be making the most of it two stepping across Ibiza this summer.

Jack added: “Listen nothing lasts forever does it so you’ve just gotta strike while the iron’s hot and make the most of it.”

Ahead of his first Misfits boxing match on Saturday he told us he’s spent two months clean and sober in preparation.

He said: “It’s been what, seven, eight weeks now. I’m itching for one [a drink]!”

Jack will return to the Spanish island – where it all began – later this year and he’s insisted he will be “well looked after,” by club owners.

“Places will offer free drinks, free tables, they offer me free hotels and stuff, yeah. That’s a bit of a privilege, being me now,” he admitted.

His stardom is not over yet as it was revealed earlier this year that he’ll be part of the cast for the upcoming season of Celebrity SAS.

Marco Silva has agreed to become Benfica’s new head coach as the Portuguese club formalised Jose Mourinho’s departure for Real Madrid.

Silva, 48, ended his five-year stint as Fulham boss a week ago when his contract at Craven Cottage expired.

Benfica said they had “reached an agreement” with Silva who is set to sign a contract until the end of the 2027-28 season which can be extended to 2028-29.

Fulham were Silva’s fourth English club after spells in charge of Hull City, Watford and Everton.

Mourinho’s exit from Estadio da Luz was also announced, with Benfica saying Real Madrid will pay them £13m (15m euros) in compensation to bring the 63-year-old back to the Bernabeu.

“The coach [Mourinho] has given his agreement to this hiring,” added a Benfica statement.

“Thus ended Jose Mourinho’s second spell as manager of Benfica’s professional football team.”

Mourinho took charge of Benfica in September and led them to third place in the Primeira Liga this season as they went through the league campaign unbeaten.

In his previous spell in charge of Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, the Portuguese won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

Born in Rosario, Argentina, Bielsa hails from a family of educated minds, with his brother having worked in politics and his sister a renowned architect.

Both of those professions require analytical thinking – a gift Bielsa also possessed from childhood. However, he was drawn to football, not necessarily playing it but absorbing the tactics.

Every day he would send his mother to the local newsagent to buy football magazines and newspapers, spending hours reading up as much as he could about how teams played and how different managers worked.

Bielsa was still a capable but limited footballer. A defender but lacking in pace, he came through the youth system at his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys before frustrating spells in the lower leagues of Argentinian football meant he decided to call time on his playing career at the age of 25 to focus on coaching.

His post-playing career started with the Buenos Aires university football team and, after two years there, he secured a position back at Newell’s as a coach of the reserve team.

Bielsa’s frustration with his limitations as a player played a significant part in his coaching philosophy, as he focused on ensuring that any player he coached was able to get the maximum out of their ability.

His training sessions were intense, with lots of focus on repetition – if a player did not have the talent to make something happen naturally then he would be sure to drill the processes into their minds.

Bielsa was appointed Newell’s manager in 1990 and his methods brought instant success as they won the Argentinian championship.

A spell in Mexico followed before Bielsa returned to Argentina in 1997 to manage Velez Sarsfield. There he would be labelled ‘loco’ (crazy) as he insisted on fielding two teenage centre-backs. He would have the last laugh, however, as he immediately helped them to win the league title.

Bielsa, who has said his nickname of ‘El Loco’ actually predates his time at Velez Sarsfield, very briefly became manager of Spanish side Espanyol but left them when he was offered his first international post in 1998 – as Argentina boss.

At the AI on the Lot media conference last week in Culver City, speakers laid out a view of artificial intelligence that was very much complementary to human workers.

Artificial intelligence is a tool that must be wielded by humans, several said. The idea was to help skilled artists and production specialists do their jobs and experiment, others said.

Of course, to many in Hollywood, AI is not that simple.

Guardrails on its usage emerged as a central issue in the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, and additional rules were added in the recent Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Writers Guild of America contracts. There are still big questions about AI’s effect on jobs in the entertainment business, as well as copyright and ethical concerns.

Whether it’s good or bad or some combination of both, AI, in some form, is probably here to stay.

So, eight months ago Amazon MGM Studios opened an AI Studios division to start work on Project Nara, an AI production toolkit built on Amazon’s AWS cloud computing platform that could be used by teams of filmmakers. Project Nara is still in beta mode, and the company set up a GenAI Creators’ Fund to give filmmakers interested in using the toolkit financial support, while also giving the studio feedback.

The beta testers got eight weeks to produce an animated short and, out of those, the company greenlighted three animated series.

Shortly after the conference, filmmaker Jorge Gutierrez, whose stop-motion-style “Punky Duck” was chosen as one of the greenlighted series, pulled out after an online backlash over his use of AI.

“We respect Jorge’s decision, as well as his incredible talent, his voice and the world he created with ‘Punky Duck,’” an Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson said in a statement. “We continue to be excited about the innovative work moving forward at our studio and the GenAI Creators’ Fund.”

Before the flap over “Punky Duck,” I spoke with Albert Cheng, head of Amazon MGM Studios’ AI Studios, about the goal of the division, what’s next for AI and his belief that humans are at the center of creativity. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Why was AI Studios formed?

AI Studios was started last fall because we wanted to learn how to leverage AI technology to build tools that would help enhance or redefine the workflows for film and TV production.

When you look at the horizon of what it takes to drive continued engagement of a global streaming service like Prime Video, we need more original programs. So if you can figure out how we take the same amount of money that we spend and be able to make more shows, that’s ultimately what we want, and we think AI is going to be a help to drive that.

With AI, now we’re looking at how does technology change the way we actually create our cinematic storytelling? It could mean that with AI, we will hear from a lot more voices. If we can actually get the biggest costs down, we will be able to have more voices, be able to take more risks and creative risks most of all.

There’s always concern about what does AI mean for jobs. We believe that it actually creates more jobs and different types of jobs. In fact, people with experience, plus the tools, become even more valuable in terms of their ability to produce excellent quality work. So it’s always about the human behind it.

You mentioned that some of these production crews had more than 100 people, but crews in the past would have been much larger. How do you respond to concerns about that?

You may have smaller crews, but we’ll do more of them [productions], and more in a short period of time. When you actually have smaller productions and you do more of them, you’re increasing your throughput. Your turnover rate of the available jobs is much faster, so your job totals are actually going to be bigger.

You spoke about the idea of AI filmmaking bringing jobs back to L.A. and expanding California’s production incentive eligibility to include AI-assisted filmmaking. Can you elaborate on that?

When you look at AI production, it can be done on a soundstage. We don’t need to go to London, we don’t need to go to other places.

We do have technology companies in California that are driving this, we have people here in the city that have experience, if given the AI tools, can produce great work. So, how can we not incentivize more companies to use our soundstages and finally make productions and make more of them?

Have you or anyone else at Amazon spoken with government officials about this idea of expanding the incentive criteria?

We’ve been talking to a number of bodies about whether it’s possible. The question is, who’s going to take the ball?

How much can you decrease a show’s production budget by using AI?

I think we can get a show to half the cost, [or] to almost a fifth of the cost.

What was the thinking behind the GenAI Creators’ Fund?

We wanted to provide a support and invest in creators who wanted to try it, and then also give us feedback.

We also wanted to show that storytelling is the thing that drives the content. It’s not the technology; the technology just enabled them to make it.

What is the biggest misconception of AI use in production?

There’s a narrative that AI can do so many things by itself, that you don’t need people. That’s absolutely not true. It’s just a technology, it can’t make decisions.

In order for something actually quality to be made, a person actually needs to be behind that, and that’s been proven over and over again. People are still responsible for the output.

Stuff We Wrote

Film shoots

Number of the week

Internet culture drove the box office over weekend, with A24’s “Backrooms” hauling in $81.4 million in the U.S. and Canada.

The $10-million horror flick, which stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a furniture store owner who finds a mysterious portal in his basement, was directed by 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons and is based on his online series of the same name. Worldwide, the film made nearly $118 million in its debut weekend.

Focus Features’ “Obsession” also had a big weekend with a 10% jump in domestic box-office revenue in its third outing. The horror movie, which had a production budget of less than $1 million, was directed by Curry Barker, who also built his reputation on YouTube.

Together, the two films highlight the growing power of YouTube — and online culture as a whole — on the big screen. They beat out franchise film “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which dropped 69% from its debut last weekend to rank third at the box office.

What I’m watching

I’m just one episode away from finishing this season of “Bridgerton” on Netflix. While I liked that the show dived into the social class dynamics behind Benedict and Sophie’s romance, I have to say that I loved the secondary focus on Violet Bridgerton and Lord Anderson finding a second chance at love.

Bristol City are close to appointing Lincoln boss Michael Skubala as their new manager.

The Robins have moved quickly for the 43-year-old after failing to convince Bournemouth assistant Tommy Elphick to join.

Nothing has been signed yet but it is now expected Skubala will move to the Championship side.

It will cost Bristol City over £1m in compensation with Skubala understood to have signed a new contract at Sincil Bank after initially missing out on the job to Elphick.

Skubala won the League Managers’ Association League One manager of the season after taking the club to the second tier for the first time in 65 years by winning the title.

He is close with Bristol City sporting director James Ellis, only formally appointed at the Robins this month, with the pair having worked together in the Great Britain Universities setup.

The former Leeds Under-21 boss was one of the leading contenders before the Robins initially chose Elphick, 38.

The former Brighton and Aston Villa defender had positive talks and was impressed with the club and its personnel but decided against making the move on Wednesday.

With Marco Rose replacing Andoni Iraola at the club, sources have told BBC Sport Elphick wants to assess his options further.

Bristol City, who finished 12th in the Championship, are looking for a permanent manager after appointing former England boss Roy Hodgson as an interim replacement following Gerhard Struber’s sacking in March.

Mauricio Pochettino has held initial talks with AC Milan to become their next manager following Massimiliano Allegri’s sacking.

The 54-year-old Argentine is currently preparing for the World Cup with the United States, but his contract expires after the tournament.

Pochettino’s immediate focus is on this summer’s finals, which begin on 11 June and are being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, but an eventual return to club football may interest the former Tottenham and Chelsea head coach.

However, speaking after training on Thursday, Pochettino replied “no” when asked if he had met with AC Milan’s management before being opaque about his representatives’ dealings with the Serie A side.

When asked if his representatives had had a meeting, he replied: “Maybe, possible, because they need to do their job.”

He added: “If I met someone, what happened? What is going to change if I met someone?

“We have friends everywhere and my representative works for me into trying to find the best possibility for the future. That is normal.”

Pochettino said he and US Soccer Federation chief executive JT Batson had discussed the possibility of him staying.

“He asked if we are open to listen [to] the project of the federation for the next four years,” said Pochettino.

“And we said of course we are open. Do you think that if we have a commitment with another people, we are going to waste time to listen?”

Batson said Pochettino has been “incredibly transparent” about approaches from other clubs, right from when they first met a couple of years ago, and that “there were lots of people interested in Mauricio and his team”.

Batson added: “He had standing offers from other places and he wanted to be here. He’s a big believer in what we’re doing at US Soccer. He’s a big believer in soccer in America, and he’s a big believer in this men’s team.”

Pochettino’s last club spell was as Chelsea boss for the 2023-24 season, with the Blues finishing sixth in the Premier League and losing the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool.

Before that he was at Paris St-Germain for a season and a half, winning the Ligue 1 title and French Cup.

He also had a five-and-a-half-year spell at Tottenham and reached the 2019 Champions League final, only for Spurs to lose 2-0 to Liverpool.

Pochettino, who has also managed Espanyol in Spain and Southampton, was a defender during his playing career and made 20 appearances for Argentina.

AC Milan sacked Allegri earlier this week after failing to qualify for the Champions League, in a season the club’s hierarchy described as an “unequivocal failure”.

Milan dropped from third place to fifth in Serie A after a 2-1 home defeat by Cagliari on the final day to miss out on the elite European competition for the second year in a row, although they did secure a Europa League spot.

A FRENCH actor with a role in Netflix series Emily in Paris has died after a brave battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Pierre Deny, a dearly beloved face on French television for decades, died on Monday at the age of 69 from complications with the disease that causes progressive muscle paralysis.

“It is with deep emotion that we announce the passing of Pierre Deny, which occurred this Monday following a sudden and severe case of ALS,” his daughters said in a statement.

Also known as Charcot’s disease, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

It leads to muscle weakness, atrophy, and paralysis, eventually affecting the ability to speak, eat, and breathe.

Tributes have been paid to the star by other celebrities, hailing him as a “generous actor”.

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Sylvie Vartan, Bulgarian-French singer and actress, wrote on Instagram: “It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Pierre Deny.

“I shared many wonderful moments with him on stage in Isabelle Mergault’s play.

“He was a generous actor and a sensitive and funny man. In these painful moments, my thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

Raphael Benoliel, someone who said was a friend of Deny’s, described him as a “great artist” and a “magnificent person.”

“I shared with him a passion for soccer that he loved above all else … he was a true enthusiast, and we were still playing together just a year ago like a couple of kids,” the post on X read.

“He had the joy of the game, the joy of being together, the love of effort, of life … That goddamn Charcot’s disease took him away far too soon … it’s so unfair.”

The actor began his career in theatre in the 1980s before moving into film and television.

He was particularly known for his roles in the police series such as “Julie Lescaut” or “Une femme d’honneu”, where he played Captain Philippe Kremen.

He also played the role of Renaud in the soap opera “Demain nous appartien” in which he appeared in 500 episodes. 

Most recently, Deny appeared in seasons three and four of Emily in Paris, in which he played Louis de Léon, CEO of fashion giant JVMA.

The sun shone and the tears flowed on an emotional day at Anfield as Liverpool said goodbye to two of their greats in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.

With Champions League qualification never really in doubt, the focus throughout the draw against Brentford was on the pair, who went off in the second half and were given a guard of honour.

Nine years on, their chapter at Liverpool is over. As for Arne Slot, the next chapter may well define his own Liverpool future.

In his first interview as Liverpool head coach in June 2024, Slot was asked about the “few similarities”, external between his style of play and that of his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

Slot spoke about how the Reds hierarchy did not want the exact same style but were looking for a similar approach, which was was one of the reasons why sporting director Richard Hughes opted to appoint him.

“We were all inspired by [Pep] Guardiola and Klopp and I think at a big club, which I worked in at Feyenoord as well, it is probably the only style you can play – to have the ball a lot, to have a lot of energy… there are comparisons between the club I left behind and the club I am going to work for now,” Slot said at the time.

“Both fans love to see a team that wants to do everything to win a game and if things are tough they try to do everything to turn the game around.”

In a stunning debut season, Slot’s Liverpool romped to the Premier League title, losing just two games before the trophy was sealed in April 2025.

In their first 34 league games, Liverpool averaged 2.4 points per game. The style was certainly not ‘heavy metal’, but they were measured in possession and experts in game management – winning 21 of the 23 games when they scored first.

By contrast, Liverpool have lost 12 league matches this season and 19 across all competitions in what has been a feeble title defence.

They may have secured Champions League qualification for next season, but fan discontent over the course of the campaign has been clear and it is a worrying direction of travel under the Dutchman. Across their 38 league fixtures, Liverpool averaged 1.6 points per game to finish with 60 – the joint-lowest total for any English side to qualify for the Champions League via their league position.

“I mentioned it many times, this has been the most challenging year in my career,” Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports. “It’s tough to take, and tough to go through that as a team but we are Liverpool and we come out of it stronger. That’s the main focus now.”

Slot insisted earlier this month that he has “every reason to believe” he will be the Liverpool boss next season, with his current deal expiring next summer. Liverpool are also closing in on appointing Slot’s former assistant Etienne Reijnen to their coaching staff – a move that would further underline their commitment to Slot.

There is of course credit in the bank and Liverpool are not traditionally a sacking club – but there is no disguising the fact that Slot’s relationship with the fanbase appears increasingly fragile.

On a number of occasions this season, Liverpool have been booed off at Anfield. Salah’s statement last week calling for a change in the style of play only added fuel to the fire – Slot did his best to downplay the situation but it certainly did not look great for him and the club. Sunday’s display was again mediocre.

“In my opinion, it should not always be judged on the amount of trophies you win, it should also be judged on the fact of how you let your team play,” Slot said in January.

He will know that is an area in which his side must improve. Right now, there is none of the energy he mentioned in his first interview but at least Slot is aware, admitting he hasn’t liked a lot of what Liverpool have played this season.

And he insists that his side must find a way to evolve and a way to compete while also delivering a brand of football that Anfield can get behind.

Liverpool‘s average possession in the Premier League (59.4%) is second only to Manchester City over the season – but their football has been stale and without risk.

Against Chelsea earlier this month, supporters were heading for the exits well before full-time even though it was a Saturday lunchtime fixture.

Fundamentally, Liverpool fans want to see a team that does everything to try to win a game – as Slot alluded to in his first interview – and far too often this season, it has not seemed that way.

Slot often points to teams setting up in low blocks against his side and there are mitigating factors with the amount of injuries Liverpool have had and the emotional challenges they have had this season after the passing of Diogo Jota.

Come August, with the players at his disposal, Slot must get fans excited to watch Liverpool again and turn Anfield back into a place that the opposition fear. That alone is the bare minimum.

York: Dagger; Galeano, Wood, Mata’afa, Nofoaluma; Roberts, Hunter, Martin, Inman, Vuniyayawa, Buchanan, Field, McShane.

Interchanges: Balmforth, Va’a, Hudson, Hingano.

Catalans: Staines; Russell, Laguerre, Faataape, Cotric; Sexton, Aispuro-Bichet; Allen, Tison, Navarrete, Lipowicz, Maria, Garcia.

Interchanges: Satae, Condon, Wilson, Lis.

Referee: Matty Lynn

Coronation Street boss Kate Brooks has revealed when viewers will find out the identity of Theo Silverton’s killer after the scaffolder was killed off in the soap’s latest whodunnit

Coronation Street boss Kate Brooks has revealed when viewers will find out the identity of Theo Silverton’s killer.

The scaffolder, who was played by former Tracy Beaker star James Cartwright, was killed off at the end of the soap’s much-hyped Murder Week after almost a year of abusing partner Todd Grimshaw, and along with Todd himself, George Shuttleworth, Gary Windass, Summer Spellman, Christina Boyd and Danielle Silverton were named as official suspects.

It all came about following a flashforward, which aired earlier this year, and five potential victims were named in the incredibly dramatic storyline. In the end, it was Theo who was revealed as the victim after viewers had to sit through the same day played out over and over again, all played out from various points of view.

Now Kate, who took over as producer of the ITV soap in November 2024 and previously held the top job on Emmerdale, has told viewers that they will have to wait just a bit longer to find out who was responsible for the murder.

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She said: “It’s later in the summer. We reveal to the audience who it is during late June, July. There’s lots of people you definitely think it could be. It’s a massive story, there’s so many different twists, and there’s so many different offshoots to the story as well. You think you’re watching one thing, and then it diverts into a completely new kind of story territory. It’ll definitely keep people guessing. “

In the coming weeks the investigation shifts, and pulled in for questioning are Summer, Christina and Danielle. As lies are exposed, and arrests are made, it’s yet to be revealed if any of the six are actually the murderer.

They all have motives, and upcoming scenes will reveal why they are a suspect. Todd was being abused by Theo, and the night Theo died he was trying to hunt Todd down – so did he find him?

For Summer, the last time we saw Theo alive was when he trapped her in the flat alone. So did Summer kill Theo? Gary has also been seen acting weirdly – even though wife Maria Connor has givne him an alibi.

We know Gary had threatened him and the pair had clashed, and he’s also killed before. Did Gary take revenge? George also stood up to Theo, and on the night of the murder he was alone at home.

Finally there’s Theo’s ex-wife Danielle. She was also acting suspiciously on Monday and upcoming scenes tease her marriage faced it’s troubles. So might she have killed her violent ex?

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

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The U.S. Navy’s near-total abandonment of surface combatants with nuclear propulsion after the end of the Cold War is “one of the largest mistakes” it’s ever made, according to the service’s top officer. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle made this remark today while voicing support for the recently announced decision that the future Trump class battleships will be nuclear-powered. He also explicitly highlighted challenges the Navy has faced when it comes to fueling conventionally-powered ships taking part in operations against Iran, something TWZ recently reported on in detail.

Adm. Caudle, as well as Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith, testified before members of the House Armed Services Committee today. The focus of the hearing was on the Department of the Navy’s 2027 Fiscal Year budget request. The Navy disclosed that it had decided the Trump class warships will feature nuclear propulsion in its latest long-term shipbuilding plan, which was released on Monday.

“I know there have been many conversations and questions over the past few days regarding the news that the Trump class battleship will be nuclear powered. And, as you know, Virginia has a long history of nuclear shipbuilding. What specific design plans can you share at this point and can [you] speak to how nuclear power would enable this system to be successful?” Rep. John McGuire, a Virginia Republican and former U.S. Navy SEAL, asked Adm. Caudle directly.

“Sir, we walked away from surface nuclear power decades ago, and that was one of the largest mistakes the Navy ever did, and we’re bringing it back,” the Chief of Naval Operations said in response. “We need nuclear-powered surface ships to sustain combat operations with our nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.”

Though a major operator of nuclear-powered submarines, the Navy’s aircraft carriers are currently its only nuclear-powered surface ships. The service previously had a mixture of nuclear-powered surface combatants. This included three one-of-a-kind ships, the cruiser USS Long Beach, the destroyer USS Truxtun (later recategorized as a cruiser), and the frigate USS Bainbridge. There were also two California class and four Virginia class cruisers, the latter not to be confused with the subsequent Virginia class of attack submarines. All of these ships entered service in the 1960s and 1970s. Expensive and complex to operate compared to similar conventionally-powered ships, they were all retired in the 1990s as part of post-Cold War drawdowns across the U.S. military.

As Caudle highlighted, the central benefit of nuclear propulsion is functionally unlimited range since naval reactors can operate for decades without needing to be refueled. In the context of modern ships packed with ever-more advanced weapons and other systems, it can also offer an important boost in onboard power generation. As noted, this does come at a cost. Today, Russia is the only country anywhere in the world with a nuclear-powered surface combatant, the Kirov class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov. In terms of nuclear-powered surface naval ships of any kind, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is the only other example. Russia also has several nuclear-powered icebreakers, but these are operated by the state-run nuclear company Rosatom.

“Imagine what that would have looked like in the Arabian Gulf if I’d had a nuclear-powered battleship there to give the air and defense and fires [sic] power that it could sustain – rotate ships that roll, that need gasoline around it,” Caudle continued today in his response to Rep. McGuire’s question. “So the imperative for this is crucial to develop that level of payload capacity.”

Navy officials have already acknowledged that Iranian attacks on friendly countries in the Middle East in the course of recent operations significantly disrupted established logistics chains. In particular, this impacted how the service delivered fuel to conventionally-powered warships in the region, as you can read more about here.

Threats to fuel supplies would be something the Navy would have to take into account in any future conflict, especially a high-end fight against China across the broad expanses of the Pacific. There are other logistics requirements that nuclear ships do still have in common with their conventionally-powered counterparts, as well, such as food for the crew and fuel for any embarked aircraft. Even with nuclear propulsion, maintenance and other requirements mean that ships cannot stay at sea indefinitely.

“We intend to, with all we can do, use pull-through technologies, [including] things from that we’ve worked on with DDG(X),” the Navy’s top officer added, speaking about the plans for the Trump class specifically. “It will have the SPY-6 radar. It will have the Baseline 10 Aegis combat system. It will pull through, of course, the A1B Ford class reactor plant and all the design that goes with that. The only thing inherently new to it will be the actual hull itself, and so most of the fixtures in it. And I would say the directed energy [weapons] and up gunning, that will also be new.”

Caudle had first shared the A1B reactor detail at another budget-related hearing earlier this week. It was previously known that the Trump class battleship program would leverage prior work done in relation to the now-defunct DDG(X) next-generation destroyer.

Multiple types of laser-directed energy weapons, as well as an electromagnetic railgun, are core elements of the planned armament package on the future Trump class warships. They are also set to be loaded with a mix of nuclear and conventional missiles, including hypersonic types, in several large vertical launch system (VLS) arrays, and have a pair of traditional 5-inch naval guns.

The Navy has previously stated that the battleships, now also referred to as BBGNs, will displace approximately 35,000 tons. This is very roughly three times that of the newest Flight III subvariant of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer. The Trump class vessels are expected to be between 840 and 880 feet long, have a beam (the widest point in the hull) between 105 and 115 feet, and be able to reach a top speed greater than 30 knots, as well.

It is worth noting here that Caudle’s comments today represent a huge change in tone from how he had previously talked about the prospect of nuclear propulsion for the Trump class. Speaking to the press at the Surface Navy Association’s (SNA) main annual symposium back in January, he had notably appeared to downplay the possibility.

“I think it’s a logical question to think, hey, here’s a big capital ship. It’s going to be carrying a lot of load, you know, in places that we don’t necessarily need a strike enforcement air wing as a large ship there that’s in command of a flotilla,” he said at that time. “Wouldn’t it be logical to be nuclear powered? And that brings a tail to the construction of that that [sic] just really fell outside the scope of what we want to do on the speed to get this thing in the water. And so what you trade off with, with persistency that only nuclear power can do, is you end up having, you know, the ability to go produce that — it pushes the battleship into a timeframe that just didn’t meet the operational need of the ship.”

Just last month, former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan had also said making the Trump class ships nuclear-powered was unlikely, citing the need to balance cost and complexity against aggressive schedule demands. Phelan was fired unexpectedly just two days after making those comments. There have been reports that disagreements over plans for the battleships, specifically, as well as other friction within the Trump administration, factored into his dismissal.

“He’s a very good man. I really liked him, but he had some conflict with, not necessarily with [Secretary] Pete [Hegseth], but with some other[s],” President Trump said about Phelan while speaking to the press on April 23. “He’s a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other people, mostly as to building and buying new ships. I’m very aggressive in the new shipbuilding.”

As it stands now, the Navy still does not expect to order the first Trump class battleship until Fiscal Year 2028 and or see that ship enter service before Fiscal Year 2036. The first example, at least, currently has an estimated unit cost of around $17 billion, which is considerably more than the projected price tag of any of the next four Ford class aircraft carriers.

Even before the nuclear propulsion decision was announced, TWZ had raised numerous questions about the plans for these warships, including their exact operational utility, as well as the costs and risks involved. Caudle’s comments today about leveraging pull-through notwithstanding, nuclear-powered ships are inherently complex and expensive, which are the tradeoffs for the aforementioned boost in capability. A specialized workforce and supply chains are required to build such vessels. Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the only yard in the United States currently building surface ships with nuclear propulsion, in the form of new Ford class carriers, all of which have suffered delays.

Enterprise (CVN 80) Construction Update

There are two more yards in the country that make nuclear-powered submarines, both of which are already under strain to meet Navy demands. There is a particular need to keep on schedule with the new Columbia class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines to avoid any gap in capacity when it comes to the sea leg of America’s nuclear deterrent triad. Additional plans now to supply Virginia class submarines to the Royal Australian Navy, which Adm. Caudle said today he vehemently supports, can only further add to that workload.

The U.S. naval shipbuilding industry, collectively, has other demands to keep churning out conventionally-powered warships like Arleigh Burke class destroyers, as well. This is an industry that has contracted to a worrisome degree, overall, since the end of the Cold War, especially when compared to the completely opposite trend that has been observed in China. Efforts to reinvigorate America’s shipyards, and the continued challenges the Navy is facing in doing so, were key points of discussion at today’s House Armed Services Committee hearing.

Adm. Caudle’s broad statement of support today for a nuclear-powered surface Navy raises the additional question now of whether the service might be interested in expanding this capability beyond the Trump class. Some of the Navy’s prior nuclear-powered surface combatants were derived from conventionally-powered designs. At the same time, any such decision would run up against the same shipbuilding capacity and other questions facing the new battleships.

Just when it comes to the Trump class, the plans for the ships could easily still evolve further, or even come to an end entirely. The timeline laid out now has the battleship program continuing well into the next presidential administration, where the fortunes of a new nuclear-powered surface navy could change dramatically.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

THE GREAT British break might not be so great very soon after it was announced that the overnight ‘holiday tax’ is set to be pushed forward.

Included in the King’s Speech was the dreaded new levy on staycations and one Butlin’s boss has hit back saying it will have big ‘consequences’ for families.

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Plans to introduce the ‘Overnight Visitor Levy‘ for staycations in England was first announced late last year, and was spelled out again in the King’s Speech two days ago.

Essentially, the government’s plan is introduce levy overnight accommodation like hotels, B&Bs, campsites or holiday homes.

It would allow local authorities in England to charge visitors an additional fee on overnight stays which is similar to systems already used in parts of Europe.

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According to UK Hospitality, the new tax could add £100 to a two-week family stay based on £2 per person per night.  

Unsurprisingly, the plans have not been met with positivity.

Matt Rake who is a resort director at Butlin’s in Bognor Regis – said the tax would have “consequences”, especially for working families.

He said: “It’s disappointing that the government is pressing ahead with the holiday tax despite how clear businesses, consumers and the hospitality sector have been about the potential consequences.

“In the Spring, the government said families being able to pay for a holiday should never be too much to ask, yet today they’ve confirmed the introduction of a measure that will hurt working families hard.

“We know how important domestic tourism is for Bognor Regis and the local businesses here. Holidays and short breaks support jobs and investment across our community throughout the year.”

He added that in a recent poll, 73 per cent of people would reduce or cut back on holidays in England if extra costs were introduced.

The ‘holiday tax’ was formally announced in the Autumn Budget in November 2025.

And two hundred bosses from firms including Butlin’s, Haven and Parkdean Resorts have written to the Chancellor hitting out at the plans.

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler says he “is not sure yet” if Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma will be fit to play in the 2026 World Cup.

Mitoma suffered a hamstring injury in a win against Wolves and will miss his side’s final two Premier League games of the season.

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu is set to name his squad for the World Cup, which starts on 11 June, on Friday.

“Regarding the World Cup, I’m not sure yet,” said Hurzeler before the Seagulls play at Leeds United on Sunday (15:00 BST).

“We’ll be in touch with the Japan federation.

“We really have to be patient with this injury, we cannot give a clear schedule.

“He will miss our two games. That is sad for Kaoru. He was in good form and had a big impact on our performances.”

Walsall have appointed former Huddersfield Town boss Lee Grant as the club’s new head coach.

Grant, 43, has signed a three-year contract at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium.

He replaces former Saddlers striker Darren Byfield, who had been given the interim job until the end of the season following the sacking of Mat Sadler in March.

Walsall finished the League Two season in 13th place, 13 points outside the play-offs, having been top of the table at Christmas.

“I’m super delighted and proud to be the new head coach,” said Grant, who was sacked by the Terriers in January after eight months in charge.

“The teams I’ve been involved in have scored lots of goals and there’s been a good development of players and my ideas around that are strong – it’s going to be a busy period for myself and the club but I’m really excited to get going, help the football club progress and I very much look forward to getting to work.”

After three years on the coaching staff at Ipswich Town, former goalkeeper Grant was appointed Huddersfield boss in May 2025, his first senior management job.

But he left just eight months into a three-year deal, despite the club sitting sixth in League One at the time.

Industry leaders have not ruled out fuel shortages this summer

Airlines will not be able to continue “absorbing the cost” of disruption caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the long term, according to the director general of the International Air Transport Association. Willie Walsh told the BBC there was no need to panic over potential jet fuel shortages, but warned rising fuel prices would inevitably feed through into higher ticket prices.

He said: “There’s just no way airlines can absorb the additional costs they’re experiencing. There may be some instances where airlines will discount to stimulate some traffic flow… but over time it’s inevitable that the high price of oil will be reflected in higher ticket prices.”

While Mr Walsh did not think there would be widespread cancellations, he added: “I think the concern will be that if sufficient alternative supply isn’t sourced, there may be some shortages when we get into the peak summer period.”

Last week, British Airways’ parent company IAG warned its profits will be hit as it expects to spend about two billion euro (£1.72 billion) more than planned on fuel this year. Chief executive Luis Gallego said IAG does not believe there will be “any interruption for the summer” in terms of jet fuel supplies.

Earlier this month, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said summer holiday plans will not face major disruption because of shortages. She revealed that more fuel has been imported from America, and UK refineries have upped their production.

The Government has also introduced a temporary rule change allowing airlines to group passengers from different flights together onto fewer planes to save fuel. It comes amid data that showed airlines have increased the number of flight cancellations for May.

Aviation analytics company Cirium said that as of Tuesday, airlines have axed 296 departures from UK airports this month, equivalent to 0.75% of the total. That is up from 120 cancellations six days ago.

Figures for the peak summer months show week-on-week schedule reductions are currently limited. The number of outbound flights planned for June is 48 lower than a week ago, after 0.2% of flights were cancelled.

For July the week-on-week reduction is 31, while the figure for August is just four. Airlines avoid being liable for compensation if they axe a flight with at least two weeks’ notice, meaning they can delay decisions on summer cancellations and still avoid payouts.

The price of jet fuel has more than doubled since the start of the war in the Middle East, as Iran continues to have a stranglehold on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. A Government spokesperson said: “UK airlines are clear that they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel.

“Aviation fuel is typically bought in advance and airports and suppliers keep stocks of bunkered fuel to support their resilience. We continue to work with fuel suppliers, airports, airlines and international counterparts to keep flights operating.

“We are also consulting on measures to help airlines plan realistic flight schedules which will avoid last-minute disruption and protect holidays.”

But Guardiola says it is up to the players to take VAR out of the equation.

“When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR,” he continued.

“I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago. Always I learned you have to do it better, do it better, be in a position to do it better because you blame yourself with what you have to do, because (VAR) is a flip of a coin.”

Guardiola was speaking before Wednesday’s meeting with Palace, which they need to win to cut Arsenal‘s lead at the top of the table to two points.

That would still leave Arsenal needing to drop points in their remaining two games – against relegated Burnley and Palace – for City to have any chance of winning the Premier League title.

“Of course it is not in our hands in the Premier League. Always I say to the players, ‘Do it, do it, do it better’,” Guardiola added.

“The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control.”

Guardiola’s side will play in their third FA Cup final in three seasons when they meet Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.

Dick Advocaat could make a surprise return as head coach of the Curacao national team after his successor Fred Rutten resigned just a month out from their World Cup debut.

Advocaat made history last November when he led the Caribbean island to the finals but stepped down three months later because of his daughter’s health.

Throughout Rutten’s short tenure, which included defeats to China and Australia in March, Curacao’s football federation (FFK) has been under pressure from players and sponsors to reinstate Advocaat.

On Friday, the FFK put its full support behind 63-year-old Rutten, stating he “will represent Curacao as national head coach during the World Cup”.

However, just three days later, following “open and constructive” talks, Rutten has departed, saying: “A climate that damages professional relationships among players and staff must not be allowed to emerge. It is prudent to step back. Time is pressing and Curacao must move forward.”

Reports in the Dutch media suggest Advocaat, 78, is open to returning to his former role following improvements in his daughter’s health.

Should he return, he will become the oldest coach in World Cup history.

Curacao, the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup, face Germany on 14 June in their Group E opener, with further matches against Ecuador and Ivory Coast.

Huddersfield Town boss Liam Manning has left the club by mutual consent, two months after taking compassionate leave.

Manning stepped back from his role in March, with the League One side saying in a statement at the time that the decision was made after he “made the club aware of ongoing personal matters relating to the tragic passing of his newborn son Theo in October 2024”.

“I want to pay huge tribute to Liam today,” chairman Kevin Nagle told the club website.

“Stepping away from this role is the correct decision for him and his family, and that comes before absolutely everything else.”