Chris

Driving Home For Christmas singer Chris Rea was making festive posts on social media hours before he died ‘peacefully in hospital’ at the age of 74 following a short illness

Chris Rea made reference to his famous Christmas song in his final social media post which he shared just hours before his sudden death. A spokesperson for the music legend announced on Monday that he had died following a short illness, at the age of 74.

The musician, who was from Middlesbrough, is arguably best known for his 1988 song, Driving Home For Christmas. And amid the 2025 festive season, he had been sharing social media posts about the countdown to Christmas.

On Sunday, the star uploaded a photo of a car driving through snow along a busy motorway. A Variable Message Sign was also in shot which had the message: “Driving home for Christmas with a thousand memories. Adding a caption of his own, Chris wrote: “Top to toe in tailbacks … If it’s a white Christmas, let’s hope the journey’s a smooth one.”

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The singer added the hashtages #DrivingHomeForChristmas, #ChristmasSongs, #ChristmasMusic and #ChrisRea to the post – as well as a snowflake and a car emoji. Just hours later, family members of the singer were around the star as he died.

A spokesperson confirmed on Monday: “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris. He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.”

Chris had suffered from a number of health conditions in recent years, including peritonitis, pancreatic cancer and diabetes – while it has been reported that he would inject insulin up to seven times per day as he battled his conditions. Following the news of his death, fans have flooded social media with tributes and memories of the star.

One wrote on X: “Genuinely gutted to hear this. A proper Teesside legend. Safe drive home Chris… Damn… he lived for his cars, wonderful guitarist, and made so many great albums. RIP Chris Rea… Aah no! Bad news…”

Another typed: “Chris Rea has died. Shocked. Talented, he was also a really nice guy. I’m freaked because I mentioned him in a pre-Yule newsletter from my website. Chris had loads of friends in Ireland. He’ll be missed. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam…”

Chris had previously discussed his health issues – revealing: “I’ve had nine major operations in ten years. A lot of it is to do with something called retroperitoneal fibrosis, where the internal tissues attack each other. No one knew it existed 20 years ago, and it’s completely unpredictable.. It’s affected the colon, the pancreas, the gall bladder, the liver – and then I get a stroke.”

The singer went on to explain that his health was something that could not be taken for granted, despite the chart and commercial success he enjoyed over the years. He said: “I made a lot of money, but you can dangerously let it lead you on…

“It depends what company you keep. I once said to Michael Winner, ‘I’m the poorest man on this Barbados beach.’ On days like today, the richest man in the world is the one who hasn’t got a bad shoulder.”

Chris is survived by his wife Joan Lesley, who he was together with since they were teenagers, and their two daughters; Josephine, born 16 September 1983, and Julia Christina, born 18 March 1989. As well as Driving Home For Christmas, he penned tracks including On the Beach, Let’s Dance, and The Road To Hell.

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Facing the biggest challenge of his life, Sir Chris Hoy opens up about his journey with terminal cancer and how the mental strength he honed as a six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist is now helping him to inspire others.

Watch Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage & Me on Thursday, 18 December at 21:00 GMT on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app.

This is another big game at the bottom of the table.

I am so pleased for Leeds boss Daniel Farke because I was fed up with the rubbish being talked about how he cannot manage in the Premier League.

Leeds have had a tough run of games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool and it felt like there were people out there who were waiting and even wishing for Farke to fail, so he would be sacked.

I am delighted that it has turned out very differently. The performances, the guts, and the quality that Leeds have shown has been brilliant, even in defeat at City, and against Chelsea and Liverpool they have picked up points too.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goals have made the difference, and they will go into this game full of belief, and thinking they have got a real chance.

Brentford are still favourites, though, because their home form is so good – with five wins, a draw and just one defeat under Keith Andrews so far.

The Bees were pretty limp when they went to Spurs last week but on their own patch it is a different story. They have won their past three games there, against Liverpool, Newcastle and Burnley so, like Leeds, they will be full of confidence.

I remember Farke’s last game as Norwich manager in November 2021, when his team beat Brentford but he was sacked a few hours later. This time, I am backing Brentford to win, but Farke’s future should not be in doubt.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-0

Stingray’s prediction: Both teams score quite a lot of goals. 2-2

AI’s prediction: 2-2

Former Clippers point guard Chris Paul says he’s “at peace with everything” after being abruptly dismissed by the team last week.

“Stuff’s been a little crazy in the past few days — to say the least,” Paul told People magazine in an interview published Tuesday. “But honestly, I’m home. My daughter had tryouts yesterday. My nephew had a basketball game. My son has a game coming up on the 12th.”

Paul’s son, Chris Paul II, is a sophomore guard for the Campbell Hall varsity basketball team, which plays Newbury Park on Friday.

“I have never seen my son play a game in person,” the elder Paul said. “Not a middle school game, not a high school game. So I’m excited about seeing him play.”

Also on Tuesday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue denied an ESPN report from last week that he and Paul hadn’t been on speaking terms in the weeks leading up to the team’s decision to part ways with one of its most iconic players.

“That ain’t true. We were talking,” Lue told reporters at practice. “I mean, he played. How he gonna play [if] I’m not talking to him?

“I mean, there was a stretch when we said he wasn’t gonna play, he’s gonna be out of the rotation. That was tough for him because he’s a competitor and what the game means to him and what he brings every single day. But after that it wasn’t really much.”

Paul is a 12-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist who ranks second in NBA history with 12,552 assists. He was the first player with at least 20,000 points and more than 10,000 assists.

Playing for the Clippers from 2011-17 — the team’s “Lob City” era — Paul and fellow superstar Blake Griffin led the team to six winning seasons, its first two Pacific Division titles and three playoff series victories. As a 40-year-old free agent in July, Paul signed a $3.6 million deal to return to the Clippers for his 21st, and very possibly final, NBA season.

This season, Paul averaged career lows in points (2.6), assists (3.3.) and minutes (14.3). He didn’t play at all in five consecutive games in mid-November. The Clippers, off to a disastrous 5-16 start to the season, were in Atlanta for a game against the Hawks when Paul made a surprise announcement on social media.

“Just Found Out I’m Being Sent Home,” Paul posted Dec. 3 on social media at around 3 a.m. Eastern time.

Later that morning, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank confirmed the move.

“We are parting ways with Chris, and he will no longer be a part of the team,” Frank said in a statement. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.”

Frank indicated that the team will attempt to trade Paul, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday.

A league source not authorized to discuss the issue publicly told The Times last week that Paul had called out teammates, coaches and Frank this season. Paul apologized, but “everyone was fed up,” the source said.

Lue insisted Tuesday that his relationship with Paul wasn’t an issue.

“I had no problem with Chris,” Lue said. “The guy’s a competitor, he wants to play. You can understand that. So, you know, he was a little frustrated at first, but we got over that. … That’s my guy, my friend before he got here. So you don’t want to see that happen to anybody no matter what the circumstances are.”

Asked why the team ultimately decided the situation with Paul couldn’t be fixed, Lue responded, “You gotta ask Lawrence.”

In his interview with People, Paul didn’t offer any insight on what happened between him and the Clippers. Instead, he seems to be focused on the present — “I’m excited to be back here with my family,” Paul said — and the future.

“More than anything, I’m excited about being around,” he said, “and getting a chance to play a small role in whatever anything looks like next.”

Staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

Chris Sutton and Conor Coady discuss Aston Villa’s title credentials and their admiration for manager Unai Emery on the Monday Night Club.

You can watch the full show on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport YouTube, or listen on BBC Sounds.

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