clothes

SCARLETT Moffatt has wowed fans after showing off her incredible weight loss – revealing she’s ditched her size 18 clothes for good.

The former Gogglebox star, 31, left viewers stunned as she unveiled her slimmer figure on Big Brother Late and Live on Sunday.

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Scarlett looked happier than ever as she wowed viewers in a dark green co-ord top and mini skirt with feather deatiling at the trims.

She oozed confidence wearing a pair of leopard print block high heels and styled her dark hair in classy loose curls.

The reality star posted her look on Instagram, with the caption: “Always been a huge fan of big brother, in fact my guilty pleasure will forever be a chicken kebab and watching reality tv!

“So glad I got to do a major tick off my bucket list and be at a launch night at @bbuk“.

Fans flooded the comments gushing over her transformation, with one saying: “You look amazing.”

Another added: “Stunning!!🔥 😍😍 need outfit drop pls!”

A third penned: “Looking beautiful gal.”

This comes after Scarlett revealed she finally feels “happier” than ever after years of yo-yo dieting, brutal bootcamps and body battles.

She admitted she once dropped to a size 8 after punishing herself with 700-calorie days and a gruelling Swiss bootcamp involving six hours of exercise – all in a bid to stay slim after releasing her controversial fitness DVD in 2016.

But despite shedding three stone, Scarlett confessed she was still miserable and wracked with body image issues.

Now, she says she’s proud to embrace her curves – and is finally comfortable in her own skin.

“The thing with being body positive and having body confidence is just celebrating everybody’s body,” Scarlett previously told The Sun.

“As long as you are healthy, being yourself and you’re being nice to people, you do you.”

The I’m A Celeb star said she regrets the years she “missed out” on life because of low self-esteem, but now urges fans to stop being so hard on themselves.

Scarlett even revealed her own trick – imagining she’s speaking to her younger self whenever negative thoughts creep in.

“Would you ever say horrible things to a six-year-old?” she said. “Of course not. So don’t say it to yourself either.”

Now proudly flying the flag as a plus-size TV presenter, Scarlett says she’s thrilled kids today get to see more diverse faces and body types on screen.

Since bursting onto Gogglebox in 2014 aged just 23, Scarlett has carved out a successful career in telly.

And now she’s moving into hard-hitting documentaries, with her latest, Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates, airing soon on Channel 4.

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I go away a lot, and one thing that’s hard to avoid when you’re often packing and unpacking, is creased clothes.

My clothes steamer comes in handy all the time – it’s not fancy or branded, and costs just £21 on Amazon.

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BEAUTURAL Clothes Steamer, £21.99

Working in an office means needing my clothes to be crease-free, and with plenty of linen and cotton in my summer wardrobe, this can feel like a neverending cycle.

I got fed up of ironing years ago, and decided to replace my most hated chore with an easier solution.

I bought the BEAUTURAL Clothes Steamer from Amazon, in the hope that it would save me time and effort.

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The handheld steamer couldn’t be easier to use – all you have to do is pull out the water tank and fill it with tap water.

Then, you just press the power button at the back and wait a few seconds for the steam to start up.

I find the easiest way to steam an item of clothing is by hanging it up on a doorway, and then I can run the steamer down it in lines, until all the creases have gone.

You don’t get the exact same finish as with an iron (clothes aren’t as crisp), however it does get the majority of wrinkles out, in more than half the time.

Not only does it do the job, but it also avoids having to lug an ironing board out of the cupboard.

Plus, my main two issues with ironing are solved – it’s near-on impossible to burn something with the steamer, and I don’t have to worry about creasing one side.

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BEAUTURAL Clothes Steamer, £21.99

For best results, I’d recommend leaving the clothes hanging up for a while after steaming, just to let any leftover creases drop out – but I do sometimes use it in a hurry too.

The steamer can also be used horizontally on flat surfaces like tablecloths and even soft furnishings.

If, like me, you’re often packing a suitcase for a staycation or holiday, the steamer is fairly compact, so you could take it with you to use when you arrive.

I’ve never encountered any leaking when using the steamer, but it is best to switch it off as soon as you stop using it, to avoid damp surfaces.

It also works better on some fabrics than others – I would avoid using it for woollen or wool-effect clothes, as they can soak up the moisture.

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BEAUTURAL Clothes Steamer, £21.99

Speaking of handy household gadgets, there are some great deals out there at the moment, including the Ninja Summer Sale, which cuts 20% off almost everything online.

Or, if you’re kitting out your kitchen, I did a Ninja Crispi review, and found the air fryer to be a great household addition for getting crispy skin on chicken and cooking up snacks.

Martin Frizell, the husband of former TV presenter Fiona Phillips, has been sharing heartbreaking updates about her battle with Alzheimer’s

The husband of Fiona Phillips has revealed that the former TV presenter has not cooked in years and has no time for her dressing room of designer clothes as she battles Alzheimer’s.

Martin Frizell said all his wife’s favourite hobbies and interests are now gone – she has not cooked in two years and wears the same T-shirt and trousers every day.

He asked The Telegraph: “What do I do with all these clothes?” And of her previously beloved cookery books, which now lay piled in the basement: “Do I take them to the dump?… She’s never going to open one again.”

But he’s determined not to let her favourite interests – of looking glamorous and eating delicious food – to completely disappear and he regularly helps her to get her hair coloured and nails done.

And he said the best thing his friends could do is to cook for them, leaving something on the doorstep, reports MailOnline.

The ex-GMTV host, 64, was diagnosed with the brain disorder in 2022, aged just 61. It came after she left the former ITV breakfast show in 2008 to care for her father, who suffered from it too, and died in 2012. Her mother also passed away from the disease in 2006.

Martin, 66, left his job as Editor of ITV’s This Morning after 10 years in February to care for Fiona. She has now written a memoir, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, with the help of her husband and journalist friend Alison Phillips, about her diagnosis.

Ahead of its release on July 17, Martin has now spoken out about some of the most heartbreaking impacts of the disease, which is the most common cause of dementia. There is currently no cure but there are medicines which can somewhat alleviate symptoms.

Martin, who married Fiona in 1997 and shares two children, Nathaniel, 26, and Mackenzie, 23, with her, started by contributing a few paragraphs to his wife’s memoir but ended up generating more than 24,000 words.

He recalled when she was diagnosed and given a leaflet on living with the disease that had a old couple with a Zimmer frame on it. It completely jarred with how young she was, having only just turned 61, Martin said: “She was wearing skinny jeans and high-heeled boots. This was a degenerative disease for old people like the ones on the leaflet,” he said.

The couple first put her symptoms – brain fog, social withdrawal, mood swings, depression and anxiety – down to the menopause.

His wife has always been active – so Martin wondered if her diagnosis could have been caused by stress.

At one point, during her turn on GMTV from 1993 to 2008, she was starting work at 3am, taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, bringing up her young sons, and caring for her parents, who lived far away in Wales.

But he also thought it could be their lifestyle in their younger years – which saw them regularly drink a bottle of wine each every night.

Martin, who has also edited GMTV and Loose Women, now cares for her full-time at their home in London. He revealed she has declined considerably over the last 12 months, needing help with basic tasks like brushing her teeth, developing more confusion, pain, delirium and psychosis and mostly staying inside

Martin appeared on This Morning on Friday, July 11 to tell hosts Alison Hammond, 50, and Dermot O’Leary, 52, about his wife’s progress.

He shared how challenging family life has been since Fiona’s diagnosis three years ago.

He said: “In the book, there’s a picture of her at the end of our road, the most recent picture I took, only a few weeks ago.

“And she’s looking great and she’s smiling and she’s got her coat on. And what you don’t know is she thought I’d kidnapped her. This was us going out.

“Because you get delusions because you get so worked up. She keeps saying, ‘I want to go home’.”

Asked by Alison if she still recognises him, he said: “She does recognise me most of the times. Doesn’t quite know that I’m her husband but she knows who I am.”

This Morning is on ITV1 weekdays at 10am and ITVX

The trail hugs every curve of the cliffside. On my left, the Mediterranean Sea swirls beside craggy rocks, while flowering plants unfurl on my right. A quarter of France’s coast is lined with similar sentiers des douaniers (customs officers’ paths), which were once used to patrol the sea. The difference on this trail is that I’m wearing nothing but my backpack.

Off the coast of the southern French resort town of Hyères, Île du Levant is home to the only naturist community of its kind, the Domaine Naturiste d’Héliopolis. For 93 years, this rustic Eden has lured free-spirited lovers of nature and authenticity, as unabashedly naked as Adam and Eve before they ate the forbidden fruit. On every visit, I’ve found that when people shed their clothes, they shed their pretence. Unlike traditional naturist retreats where nudity is de rigueur, Héliopolis is peppered with clothing-optional spots. This makes it the ideal place for travellers to dip their toes into the naturist way of life.

A TikTok user has shared a genius packing hack to help you fit more clothes in your case – and it doesn’t involve using packing cubes, which she said “don’t save any space”

For those nipping off on quick holidays this summer, paying extra for a large suitcase in the plane’s hold just doesn’t make sense.

Here’s where a bit of packing savvy comes in handy, be it with a compact wheely case, a rucksack or a holdall that you can take into the cabin with you.

All the rage amongst holidaymakers on social media right now are packing cubes, praised for their ability to keep suitcases neat and make more room. But now, people are discovering an old-school packing tactic does the job equally well – and it’s said to squeeze ‘months’ worth of clothes in.

READ MORE: Little-known plane rule means Brits risk being hit with £53 fines onboard

This smart technique was shown off on TikTok by @joanna. pirog, who ditched her organising cubes for a better, cheaper approach when preparing for a getaway.

She demonstrated with an unfilled suitcase surrounded by clothes she intended to take; she rolled each item tightly and methodically popped them into the bag, reports the Liverpool Echo.

She managed to fit a selection of dresses, tops, t-shirts, skirts and shorts with room to spare and, despite appearing full, Joanna found space for even more by wedging them into small crevices.

According to her, rolling clothes meant she could get three months’ worth of belongings into just one small suitcase.

In her caption, she said: “Packing cubes don’t save space, roll your clothes and you’ll fit so much more!”.

In the video’s comments, people agreed that packing cubes were pretty useless unless you’re carrying a massive suitcase.

“I’m with you on the packing cubes. I just find they make it so much worse,” one viewer said. Another chimed in: “I’m so impressed.”

Joanna pointed out that while she travelled across Europe with her luggage, most airlines didn’t bother to check its weight – but if you do get caught out and it’s too heavy, you could be slapped with a fee to chuck it in the hold.

If you’re looking for another packing trick to try this summer and you don’t want to resort to packing cubes, influencer Chantel Mila has just the thing.

She has recommended standing your suitcase upright, rather than laying it flat on the floor, and packing your belongings vertically in columns.

Not only will this help to maximise space, but you’ll be able to see everything in your case much more clearly, which will make unpacking so much easier when you reach your destination.

If you want ideas and inspiration to plan your next UK adventure plus selected offers and competitions, sign up for our 2Chill weekly newsletter here

A FLASHY crime lord was snared for a murder plot and major cocaine smuggling racket by his clothes and tattoos featured in selfies he posted from Dubai.

Drug baron James Harding, 34, masterminded a drug empire which made £5 million in profits during a 10-week period.

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But the vain villain took selfies of himself posing shirtless in front of the mirror flexing his muscles and sitting in supercars while living a life of luxury in the desert kingdom.

Harding sent the photos and messages about his opulent lifestyle to criminal cronies on the EncroChat encrypted mobile phone system believing it was totally secure.

But the swaggering poser’s boasts rebounded on him when the communication network was infiltrated by cyber cops in 2020.

Messages uncovered Harding’s cocaine empire – and his plan to rob and kill a rival drug courier.

Harding was yesterday convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and of conspiracy to murder following a heavily-guarded eight-week trial.

His right hand man Jayes Kharouti, 39, earlier admitted the same drug offence and was also found guilty of the murder plot.

Jurors heard how Harding used the EncroChat handle ‘thetopsking,’ while Kharouti went under the tags ‘besttops’ and ‘topsybricks.’

They sent 9,136 messages to each other via EncroChat between March and June 2020, detailing their vast shipments of cocaine from the Netherlands into the UK, where it was distributed across the country.

The pair spelled out how they were laundering their money – as every message was read by Scotland Yard detectives following the penetration of the EncroChat platform by French law enforcement.

Harding, originally from Alton, Hampshire, and his lieutenant Kharouti were making £70,000 every day during the period their phones were being hacked by cops, jurors heard.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson, KC, said the pair were responsible for “approximately 50 importations of cocaine into the UK with a total weight of approximately 1,000 kilograms.”

He went on: “The messages also show that once the cocaine was in the UK, it was broken into smaller parcels, of between 5kg and 10kg, and distributed across the UK to wholesale purchasers, who would then sell to end users.

“An analysis of the messages that discuss money and financial gain suggests that the conspirators made £60-70,000 per importation, and about £5m in profit overall in just 10 weeks.”

The messages also revealed how Harding and Kharouti tried to hire a hitman for £100,000 to rob and kill a drug mule.

They arranged a gun and ammunition for a hitman to carry out the “full M” – murder, jurors heard.

Cops moved in and arrested the alleged hitman before the contract murder could be carried out.

Harding claimed in court he was not the EncroChat user known as ‘thetopsking’ – and claimed the handle belonged to a mystery gay lover he identified in court only as ‘TK.’

But cops were able to prove Harding was the ‘thetopsking’  because of his love for selfies and boasts about his luxury lifestyle.

A phone seized from an associate had a video showing Harding in the driver’s seat of a £2.5 million Bugatti Chiron car with a tattoo on his leg clearly visible.

There were pictures of him living it up in his lavish villa at The Nest development in Dubai, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a swimming pool and rooms for maids and drivers.

Harding lived there with Liverpudlian girlfriend Charli Wylde, 33, and her daughter Milly-Mai, 15, who he treated as his own.

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The court heard that on May 6, 2020, EncroChat user ‘thetopsking’ boasted to pals how he was taking his “Mrs” out that evening to Zuma, an award-winning Japanese restaurant in Dubai.

Investigations found that two days earlier Harding made the booking from a personal email account.

And eight days later ‘thetopsking’  boasted in messages how he was staying at the five-star Waldorf hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, and sent an image of the hotel pool area via EncroChat.

Mr Atkinson said: “Enquiries with the Hilton Hotel Group showed that Harding stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in the United Arab Emirates and gave (his) mobile telephone number and produced a UAE identification card.

“During the stay, thetopsking had sent an image of James Harding relaxing on a sun lounger at, of all places, the Waldorf.”

One March 26 2020, thetopsking also wrote a message about how he had got back a Lamborghini Urus and sent an image of the dashboard.

Mr Atkinson said: “The person who took the image caught their leg in the photograph, and on that leg is a tattoo which matches the tattoo on James Harding’s leg.”

Kharouti’s home in Epsom, Surrey, was searched in 2020 after he was linked to the messages.

Police found a handset with the same number he gave to Harding.

He fled the country before being found in Turkey and extradited back to the UK.

Harding was arrested on 27 December 2021 at Geneva Airport, Switzerland, and from there Switzerland to the UK the following May.

The pair will be sentenced on Thursday.

Met Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey,  said: “This conviction sends a clear message – no matter how sophisticated the methods, criminals cannot hide behind encrypted software.

“This operation dismantled a major supply chain and is a testament to the relentless work of our officers.

“We monitored their drug-dealing activity but then we saw the group discussing the contract killing of a rival.

“We moved fast to protect those in danger.”

“Harding and Kharouti planned to kill, we stopped that and put them before the courts.”

Harding was previously jailed for nine years when he was aged 21 for running a drug racket.

Previously, Calvin Crump, 29, of Redhill, Surrey, was jailed for 13 years and six months while Khuram Ahmed, 38, of Slough, Berkshire, got 15-and-half-years after admitting conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Peter Thompson, 61, of South-West London, received 21 years after he  pleaded guilty to the  same drug charge and  possessing a pistol.

A man alleged to have been the gang’s proposed hitman was cleared.

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A family of four claimed their holiday to Cape Verde was ‘ruined’ after they allegedly found bedbugs in their hotel room. They said they got ‘itchy bites’ and were left ‘absolutely horrified’

A family of four suffered the ultimate holiday from hell after allegedly finding bedbugs in their hotel room.

The ordeal was such a nightmare that the family said they had to abandon £800 worth of their clothes because of the alleged infestation.

Natalie Slater and her husband, Steven, both 45, were excited for their trip of a lifetime to Cape Verde, Africa, with their two children, Alfie, 13, and Amelia, seven. But on the second day of their family getaway in a five-star hotel, beauty business owner Natalie claimed she and Steven woke up covered in itchy sores.

As with many hot climate locations, they initially thought they had been bitten by pesky mosquitoes. It wasn’t until their children found bites five days later that their concerns grew.

“I could feel biting at night time,” Natalie, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said. “I sprayed mosquito spray on the bed and had plug-ins.”

READ MORE: Brits call out ‘horrendous’ hotel behaviour but admit ‘we find it funny’

She added: “Amelia started getting bitten on her face, then my son got bitten. My husband said I looked like a pepperoni pizza because I was covered in that many bites.

“They were shockingly painful, itchy and had pus in them. There were more and more every day, so we looked under the mattress and behind the bed.”

Natalie then claimed: “The mattresses were covered in brown blood stains, and there were bed bug shells on the floor. I was absolutely horrified.”

“I stormed to see the rep who was amazing and couldn’t do enough to help. She told the hotel to do an investigation but they never came so me, my husband and two children sat up all night on the settee.

“Amelia was crying, sat up on the settee. She had 25 bites on her face. I didn’t know what to do. I got my torch out in the pitch black and took photos of the bugs on the bed at 2am.”

The couple claim that they checked underneath the mattresses and were left disgusted when they discovered bloody patches and bed bug shells.

Natalie said she reported the suspected bedbugs to staff and was told that someone would have a look. But she claims that no one arrived at their room, and the family were forced to sleep on a sofa.

TUI maintains that a third-party contractor inspected the room on the same day Natalie lodged the complaint, finding no signs of bed bugs, only mosquitoes.

The company further stated that they relocated the family to a new room and proposed to wash their clothes, insisting there was no proof of bed bugs in the room, and that no other holidaymakers had reported any.

“If they weren’t bedbugs, why did they offer to wash our clothes?” Natalie said.

Despite being moved into a new room, Natalie said that the ordeal had ruined their holiday, which they had been saving for all year. “We couldn’t settle but we had two children and had to try and make the most of it,” she said.

“I cried every day. I wanted to go home but it would have been £400 each and we didn’t have that money.”

With concerns that their clothes could have bedbugs on them, Natalie said she opted to leave £800 worth of clothes behind. However, she made sure to take home £2,000 worth of designer labels, but said she’ll have to replace them.

She said: “We had thousands of pounds of designer clothes that are in a suitcase in the garage. There were Casablanca shirts that are £350 a pop, pairs of crocs for £40, sandals, FCUK tops, Stone Island clothes, Amelia had a Burberry dress and £25 rucksacks. We can’t afford to replace all that.”

Natalie demanded: “I want a full refund for my holiday being ruined, and what about my clothes?” She claimed that she’s “covered in scars” and her daughter can’t “sleep properly”.

She added: “It’s awful. I don’t want it to happen again. We saved all year and go to work. I’m fed up and I don’t want other people to go through it.”

The Mirror has contacted TUI and the hotel for comment.

WHEN you are a parent it can be expensive buying clothes for your ever-growing kids.

Thankfully shoppers have been raving about spotting George at Asda currently has a bumper sale on with numerous items down to just £1.50.

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One mum took to the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK and showed how she filled her basket on the George app with discount clothes.

She wrote: “Lots of clothes reduced on the George app.”

Including in her shopping haul were some gamer-themed boys pjs for £1.50, which were for aged seven to eight.

The woman also bought a five-pack of cotton socks for £2 and some Pokemon-themed socks for £2.50.

Other shoppers commented saying they had also stocked up for their kids’ summer wardrobes.

One mum got a £1.50 girls T-shirt, a two-pack of long-sleeve tops for £3 and some £4 swim shorts.

She also got a £2 tennis-themed pink sweatshirt, and a £2 mint green sweatshirt which said ‘Happy Moments.’

Meanwhile, a third Asda fan wrote: “Just got grandkids some bits too.”

One bargain hunter also pointed out that you can save on delivery by getting it sent to an Asda store, which waivers the usual £4 shipping fee.

George store launch

We recently shared how Asda has launched its first-ever stand-alone George store, and it could be rolled out across the UK if it’s a hit.

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The debut site opened on Saturday, May 10 in Leeds, taking over the old Asda Living at Crown Point Retail Park.

The slick new store is packed with head-turning fashion, stylish homeware, must-have toys and baby bits – plus a fresh café to fuel your spree.

There are 30 Asda Living stores across the UK, and bosses will decide later this year whether to roll out more George stores after another trial run.

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Fashionistas can bag the Spring/Summer 2025 collection fronted by supermodel Yasmin Le Bon, plus new celeb collabs – including a chic kidswear range by Erica Davies and a sunshine-filled drop from Billie Faiers.

And it’s not just the clothes getting a makeover – the whole experience is sleeker, quicker and easier, with speedy self-checkouts, faster queues and slick Click & Collect.

Shoppers will also be able to pop into the brand-new Kitchen café, where staffers are dishing up hot meals, cold bites and stone-baked pizzas.

Liz Evans, Asda’s Chief Commercial Officer for George and Retail, said: “Our Asda Living stores have been a huge success – but as shopping habits change, we want to make it even easier for customers to enjoy quality, style and value with George at the heart of it.”

The George label launched in 1989 when fashion guru George Davies teamed up with Asda to make the UK’s first-ever supermarket clothing brand.

By 2004, it was the nation’s biggest clothing retailer, and Asda launched its first Living store to expand into homeware.

Today, George is still going strong in 560 stores and pulling in 260 million visits a year to George.com.