Danny

THE ex-wife of rugby star Danny Cipriani has revealed she was sexually assaulted by two men when she was just 12.

Victoria Rose has spoken out about her devastating experience and explained why she believes the justice system must be fair to everyone.

She said she believed Russell Brand’s sentence was too long, but insisted her comments are not about defending the comedian, but about the dangers of a potential miscarriage of justice.

In a passionate statement shared on her Instagram account, Victoria revealed that she knows first-hand what it feels like to be failed by the legal system, despite what she says was CCTV footage capturing the assault.

She said: “When I was 12 years old, I was assaulted by two men. There was actual CCTV footage of the assault.

“The case went to court, and both men were acquitted.

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“So believe me, I know firsthand what it’s like to be failed by the justice system, even when there is factual, recorded evidence of what happened.

“So please don’t mistake my opinion for a lack of understanding or compassion for victims. I’ve been one.”

Victoria went on to explain that her concerns about the Brand case centre on the difficulties of testing evidence many years after alleged incidents took place.

She questioned how investigators could expect to piece together events from nearly two decades ago, arguing that memories fade and defendants can face enormous difficulties defending themselves after so much time has passed.

In a strongly worded post, she pointed to the scale of the police investigation, claiming officers interviewed more than 100 witnesses, took over 400 statements and examined more than 1,400 documents.

She questioned why similar resources were not available to ordinary people reporting more recent crimes.

Victoria stressed: “I’m NOT saying he’s innocent. I’m NOT saying these women are lying.

“I’m saying someone’s freedom shouldn’t rest this heavily on what people remember from two decades ago.”

She also sparked debate by sharing a deeply personal reflection on sexual regret, admitting there were experiences in her own past that she now looks back on differently.

She said: “There are things I’ve done sexually that I look back on and think, FLIPPPPPP, I wish I hadn’t. I said yes, I went along with it, and I regret it now.

“That doesn’t give me the right to turn a consensual experience into a crime. I own my choices. REGRET ISN’T ASSAULT.”

Victoria argued that men who have had what she described as wild or questionable nights in their past could be left worrying about how they might defend themselves against allegations made many years later.

She even suggested the country should consider introducing a 12-month reporting limit for sexual offences – a controversial proposal likely to provoke fierce debate.

She said: “This isn’t about defending Russell Brand. It’s about wanting a system that works for everyone, where nobody loses their freedom without the evidence – REAL EVIDENCE – being properly tested.”

Returning to her own traumatic experience, Victoria insisted she had every right to question how the justice system assesses evidence.

She added: “I’m questioning how our justice system operates, how evidence is assessed and how it can arrive at such vastly different outcomes.

“Because I’ve personally experienced a system where even video evidence wasn’t enough to secure a conviction.

“I think I’ve earned the right to question that.”

Concluding her statement, Victoria said she hoped Brand would receive a fair appeal, adding: “What the f** is this world coming to?”

BBC Sport’s Kelly Cates and Micah Richards discuss how rounded Declan Rice has become in Arsenal’s midfield, while Danny Murphy argues that if he was more selfish he would score more goals.

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Peer inside the open hatch of the space shuttle Endeavour, and you’ll see a few things: a ladder from the mid-deck to the flight deck (horizontal, since the orbiter is in vertical launch position); pads used to crawl into the hatch and prevent damage to its seal; and small patches of blue Velcro to secure pens, clipboards or procedural notes, so they don’t float away.

Astronaut John Daniel “Danny” Olivas remembers his crews storing tortillas near the blue Velcro. There’s a cold plate there to keep the avionics system cool, and they’d stash the tortillas nearby so they’d stay fresher for longer (“We didn’t have a refrigerator on the space shuttle”). Tortillas, as it turns out, have a long and storied history in space, first brought there in 1985 by payload specialist Rodolfo Neri Vela, the first Mexican astronaut. (Neri Vela requested that they be included in his food supply, and they solved the serious problem of floating crumbs.)

A close-up view of the crew hatch, mid-deck and flight deck of the space shuttle Endeavour. The hatch provided astronauts with access to the crew compartment before launch and after landing, while serving as a sealed barrier during spaceflight. The cockpit contains the flight instruments, displays and controls used to operate the spacecraft during missions in Earth‘s orbit.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There’s something fitting about the tortilla anecdote in multicultural L.A., home to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center — the $450-million, 200,000-square-foot expansion to the California Science Center — which now houses Endeavour. On Nov. 13, when the center opens to the public, it will become the only place in the world to see a complete space shuttle system with an orbiter that has actually seen flight (25 missions). That space shuttle system, or “shuttle stack,” includes the orbiter (the part of the shuttle that holds the crew and cargo); a solid rocket booster on either side; and an orange external fuel tank. The entire crew from the Endeavour’s last mission in 2011 plans to attend the center’s opening.

Space shuttles (there have only been five in the U.S., plus one prototype) stand apart for myriad reasons, chief among them are the sheer number of their astronauts, 355, as well as their diversity.

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Astronaut Danny Olivas explains the space shuttle program’s significance and what it means for Endeavour to return to launch position in Southern California.

“Because the space shuttle program came forth, we started seeing people: the first female astronaut, the first African American astronaut, first African American female astronaut, the first Hispanic astronaut,” Olivas said on a recent tour of the new gallery. “So the space shuttle program, to me, is near and dear because it ushered in a level of diversity that represented what America was all about. And what makes her [Endeavour] special, being here in Southern California, is that this is the place she was born. All the space shuttles were born here. This is the heart of the aerospace industry.”

Olivas didn’t fly on the Endeavour, but he did fly two missions, one on the shuttle Atlantis and one on Discovery, for a total of almost 28 days. He ventured into outer space itself (“extravehicular activity”) on both missions, for a total of more than 34 hours. Plus, he and Endeavour go way back.

The Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery built a nearly 200-foot-tall space to display Endeavour’s orbiter in a vertical launch configuration, flanked by its external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

NASA selected Olivas as an astronaut candidate in 1998, and invited him and the other candidates to Edwards Air Force Base, in the Mojave Desert’s Antelope Valley about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The Endeavour was being refurbished there, and he had the opportunity to go inside the crew module — the flight deck, the mid-deck and the airlock — all now visible in the new gallery.

The Endeavour was Olivas’ first encounter with any space shuttle, and he studied the spacecraft closely in the wake of the 2003 space shuttle Columbia accident. In many ways, he’s been inside the Endeavour much more personally than if he had flown on it. All of this is to say that he’s the perfect guide for today’s mission — getting to know this particular spacecraft.

“As an astronaut, you don’t get to share with the public all that space is,” Olivas said. “During the space shuttle program, the closest you could get to the space shuttle was three miles away,” as a civilian. “But this is an opportunity for space enthusiasts to get an up-close-and-personal look at the things that we had the privilege and honor to fly. … It’s nice to share this with the American people, because, ultimately, this is their ship.”

Jeff Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, left, and astronaut Danny Olivas on the 115-foot Shuttle Descent Slide, designed to simulate the descent of a shuttle returning to Earth. “It was no more than a flying brick,” Olivas said. “You had no engines, you had no motors to come home. Unlike the jet engines that you have when you land at LAX, you got nothing.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been a long journey through time and space for the Endeavour to reach Exposition Park. The Times’ visit to the new gallery in early October happened to mark 15 years to the day since NASA transferred the title and ownership of the shuttle (yes, like a car) to the California Science Center, to the tune of a $1,980,674,785 valuation. (This was largely a donation, although the Science Center did pay for its transportation.)

“The most rewarding thing is watching the people that come through, of all ages, from little kids to senior citizens,” said Jeffrey N. Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center. “Everybody is absolutely thrilled, and I think the sense of awe and wonder that we wanted to create really works.”

A worker inspects the base of one of the solid rocket boosters beneath the space shuttle. During launch, two explosives embedded in the “hold-down nuts” here would detonate, splitting them in half and releasing the shuttle stack from the bolts that held it to the launchpad.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

You may remember the orbiter itself or the 154-foot orange fuel tank parading slowly through L.A.’s streets to reach their new home, in 2012 and 2016, respectively. Their voyages were iconic: The former piggybacked atop a Boeing 747, past the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, before landing at LAX. The latter traversed the Panama Canal on a tugboat named the Shannon Dann, which rescued four fishermen off the coast of Baja California, tangerine behemoth and all.

That external tank, also known as an ET, was like a gas tank for the Endeavour. This one, ET-94, is the last flight-qualified external tank in existence. When full, it contains 1,629,577 pounds of propellants, as well as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, both of which are extremely cold materials.

In the heat and humidity of Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, that meant the shuttle stack would start to drip like a water bottle on a muggy day. “I equate it to the way a thoroughbred would be when you loaded them into a starting gate,” Olivas said. “The cryogenic material would cause the metal to creak and moan due to thermal contraction and thermal expansion. You hear all the hissing of the vent lines, and you hear all the support equipment essentially running to get ready for the launch, and it really came to life. That’s the one thing that you’re missing here.”

Astronaut Danny Olivas shows off the wide-open payload bay of the space shuttle Endeavour. The shuttle’s large cargo bay carried satellites, scientific instruments and other payloads into orbit and helped support missions to construct the International Space Station.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

That visceral hissing is basically the only thing not present at the Oschin Center. This shuttle stack sits in flight configuration, almost exactly as it would look on the cusp of liftoff, besides the yellow torque tubes lining the orbiter’s white shell like external ribs. Inside the Science Center, Endeavour’s payload bay doors are cracked wide open, like a car’s lifted hood — but they were built for space, not Earth’s gravity. Here, without the support of those yellow bars, the doors could warp or crumple.

You could get lost in the grandeur of the rocket boosters, full of solid rocket propellant like a firework, or the steampunk bell curve of the main engines, which shoot the spacecraft to more than 17,000 miles per hour in orbit. But each and every piece is incredibly important, as are the teams of people who made them. “There’s no insignificant or small part about space exploration,” Olivas said. “Every single thing has a role to play.”

The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry because of a piece of foam that the astronaut estimates might have weighed about as much as a Styrofoam container. In 1986, the Challenger exploded during launch because of a tiny rubber O-ring. Olivas himself hung off the end of Atlantis’ robotic arm (the Endeavour has one too) to close a 4-inch hole in the heat-shielding thermal blanket with a medical stapler (the flight surgeon’s idea).

Astronaut Danny Olivas watches a historical montage about the space shuttle program. Unlike previous spacecraft, “the space shuttle was essentially built to be a work platform,” he said, “so not only did it get astronauts into space, but once it got into space, it was reconfigured from a rocket ship or spaceship into an on-orbit work platform.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Nothing like that had ever happened before; there was no planned repair — so they innovated. Building a space shuttle (or fixing one) is a testament to what humanity can do when we put our minds to it, Olivas said. We can achieve that which has never even been imagined.

“You take this beautiful bird, and you dock to the space station, a colony that’s been formed in space, and was built since the first element was launched in 1998,” Olivas said. “Human beings have lived in space since the year 2000. It’s an oasis that we, as human beings, built.”

Eight and a half minutes after liftoff, when the spacecraft reaches orbital speed, the main engines cut off (this is called MECO). Just like that, everything’s floating. This particular astronaut turned to look at the bright blue planet below and thought: “When we work together, we can accomplish phenomenal things.” But we choose to focus on the things that make us different, he said. And in doing so, we find conflict.

“But yet, the 99.9999% of you, me, all of us here, we’re all the same,” Olivas said. “We all want the same thing: a happy, healthy life. From space, you look down at the Earth — the only border that you see is between the ocean and the land.”

Imprisoned “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson on Tuesday suffered a legal blow that ensures he will remain behind bars for at least another decade.

Three California appeals court judges rejected Masterson’s efforts to overturn his 2023 rape convictions and allegations that he did not receive a fair trial, deciding in an opinion filed in the state’s 2nd District Court of Appeals that “judgment is affirmed.”

The decision “ignores the extraordinary new evidence that has been before them for more than a year,” Masterson attorney Cliff Gardner said, referencing statements from “both complaining witnesses that their sexual experiences” with the actor were “both consensual and positive.”

“Danny is serving a life sentence for crimes he did not commit,” Gardner added in his statement. “No one in California — not defendants and not victims who have actually been the victim of a sex crime — is safer by virtue of today’s unfortunate decision.”

Masterson’s legal team is seeking further review in California Supreme Court and exploring additional legal action regarding evidence presented to the jury.

Attorneys for Masterson first filed their notice to appeal the actor’s conviction in November 2023, then filed a 242-page opening brief in December 2024. Key witness testimonies changed over time, the court excluded significant exculpatory evidence and judicial rulings skewed the jury’s view of the evidence against Masterson, his lawyers alleged at the time. The attorneys also argued that “jurors had significant reservations.”

A mix of errors by another defense attorney and a law enforcement investigation heavily biased against Masterson’s faith led to a wrongful conviction, the actor’s attorney Eric Multhaup alleged in another motion filed November 2025. Multhaup said Tuesday in a statement that the appeals court judges’ recent decision “are fundamentally wrong.”

“The Court of Appeal did not address any of the exculpatory evidence that was contained in the habeas corpus petition, and instead justified the denial with a one-paragraph summary of the one-sided evidence presented by the prosecution,” Multhaup alleged. “This cursory treatment reflects poorly on the administration of justice in the Court of Appeal, and will be rectified by a petition to the California Supreme Court.”

Los Angeles prosecutors charged Masterson in 2020 for three counts of rape involving three different women in the early 2000s. He denied all wrongdoing and maintained all sexual encounters were consensual. He also framed the accusations as an attack of the Church of Scientology. The women said they took years to report the rapes to police out of fear of retaliation from the church.

Masterson first went to trial in 2022, but jurors failed to reach a verdict on any of the three counts, leading the case to end in a mistrial. He was tried a second time in 2023 and found guilty of raping two women, both former members of the Church of Scientology. The jury was deadlocked on a third woman’s accusations. His attorneys argued in December 2024 that there was “no physical evidence supporting the state’s theory [of rape]” and the case was a “a pure credibility contest.”

The actor is currently carrying out his sentence at the California Men’s Colony prison in San Luis Obispo. According to a state database, he will be eligible for parole in June 2042, but is scheduled for a consultation in May 2038.

Times staff writers Clara Harter and James Queally contributed to this report.

IT’S officially cosy season and who better to have a girls’ night in with than Cheryl Tweedy?

So it’s fitting that she’s bagged a whopper of a campaign deal with takeaway service Deliveroo.

I can reveal the former Girls Aloud singer has netted around £500,000 to front the new ad, which will be unveiled later this month.

A source said: “Deliveroo bigwigs are delighted to have Cheryl on board, she is a dream to work with and has a huge fanbase.”

The star is the latest in a long line of celebs to have fronted the brand’s campaigns, including Luke Littler, Danny Dyer, Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy.

Cheryl who is also the face of Nivea skincare, recently returned to TV as a mentor on The Voice.

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Despite her sleek physique, Cheryl loves a cheeky takeaway.

She previously said: “I have a really lovely local Thai — I love pad Thai. And coconut rice. My mouth’s watering.

“I also like Chinese food — I think that’s a childhood thing. Ooh, and Indian. I love all the bad stuff. Once a week or once every two weeks I get a takeaway.”

Geordie Cheryl put her childhood Chinese takeaway, Kwok Pao in Newcastle, on the map in 2014, when she was a judge on The X Factor.

She brought Simon Cowell along to pick up some of her favourite dishes, including salt and chilli ribs, when they were filming nearby.
I’m hungry now . . . 

KAM ON CAM: I’D LOVE TO BE X FACTOR JUDGE

SINGER-SONGWRITER Kamille has revealed that she would love to be a judge on The X Factor.

She has previously worked on the ITV show as a coach. And following Little Mix’s win in 2011, she wrote songs for them including Black Magic and Shout Out To My Ex.

Kamille told me: “I was a coach on the show, so it would be such a full circle moment.

“I’ve always loved it. I love the way you are literally creating a new life for someone, every week.

“Simon Cowell knows how much I want to be a part of it, so we’ll see. I love Simon and everything he does.

“I’m always there to support him. He is such a good friend of mine.”

Meanwhile, Kamille is venturing beyond music with the launch of BBC podcast The Girls Are Talking.

On it, she stars alongside Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan, content creator Tara Thorpe, presenter Issra Wiheba and comedian Sharifa Butterfly.

Kam added: “Girl therapy is the best therapy you can have.
“You’re basically getting an unpaid therapist to help people with their problems.

“Every single issue I might have had, they’ve all been through.”

SAM: MY GIGS TOO PRICEY

SAM FENDER has hit out at the sharp prices for his OWN tour tickets, insisting that he’s going to change them.

The Geordie singer is off around the country next year for his Proper Massive Stadium Tour, with tickets ranging from £64 to £130, leaving fans disgruntled.

Commenting underneath a post detailing the prices, Sam, left, wrote: “I’m not happy with these prices, they’re getting changed. It got inflated well more than I’d had in mind, it should only be inflated in relation to the cost of putting the show on.

“The standing will not be split as well, I had no idea about it.

“I have no idea how this was normalised in gigs. It’s b*****ks and it won’t be happening on this tour.”

Sam was referring to the fact that, in some venues, there are separate prices for regular standing tickets and “front standing” tickets.

Now that’s a man of the people . . . 

IN THE FAMILY RAYE

RAYE may sing “Where Is My Husband?” but at least she found her grandad on a stage in London.

The star performed a show-stopping gig at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday night where she was joined by her songwriter grandad, Michael.

The pair performed their track Fields, from her hit album This Music May Contain Hope.

She arrived at the venue fresh from scooping the prestigious Mercury Prize for the record. Congrats, Raye.

DIAS’S NO DATES FOR 2027

MANCHESTER City fans have been left confused over why hunk Ruben Dias has been axed from the club’s official 2027 calendar.

Maya Jama’s ex is one of the squad’s highest profile members, one of the team captains in fact. So it’s a bizarre move by the club.

Ruben has always featured prominently on the calendar in previous years.

This year he was one of the main stars and was pictured for the month of March.

But next year’s edition has no sign of him.

And that’s sure to come as a blow to the footballing heart-throb, who rightly regards himself as one of the leaders.

At least the calendar will now be a safe stocking-filler for Maya.

CHLOE FERRY has sparked engagement rumours after sharing Instagram snaps.

The Geordie Shore star was seen cuddling up to property developer Alex Swinney on a romantic boat trip before heading out to dinner.

But eagle-eyed fans noticed her ring finger was hidden, obscured by her sleeve.

COUNTRY music duo The Shires are parting ways after 13 years together.

But Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle hinted there could be a comeback, saying: “Maybe one day we’ll be making music and touring again.”

A longer statement on the split said Crissie will be “taking a break” for family life.

CELEBRITIES in fancy dress is always one of my favourite things – and here we have two doing it in style.

Doja Cat became Doja Bunny for the night when she threw a toy-themed 31st birthday party in Los Angeles on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Paris Hilton channelled Britney Spears’ I’m A Slave 4 U era with her Halloween costume.

The pair have been buddies for decades – and I’d love to see Brit return the favour by dressing up as Paris . . . 

DANNY Jones shared an affectionate moment with his wife Georgia Horsley at the Pride of Britain Awards after she stood by him through their marriage woes.

The married McFly singer, 40, was caught snogging Love Island star and TV presenter Maura Higgins at the BRIT Awards afterparty in 2025.

This led to Danny publicly apologising to Georgia after the drunken kiss – with his wife of 10 years agreeing to stand by him.

Showing they’re united, Georgia and Danny shared a clip of them posing together on the red carpet.

The pair shared a get ready with me clip with Georgia stunning in a burgundy dress and Danny opting for an all black suit.

Danny captioned the post: “Last night at Pride of Britain Awards we celebrated the courageous & extraordinary.

fam first

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GK Barry pokes fun at Maura Higgins & Danny Jones after kiss scandal

“In what can be a very scary world sometimes it’s so important to acknowledge the kindness & selflessness of these individuals.

“Truly inspiring stories and even more incredible & inspiring humans.

“Be kind, always.”

Meanwhile, Maura – who is currently competing on Dancing With the Stars in the US – was thousands of miles away.

On Sunday, Maura sizzled in a white PVC skintight bodysuit and corset as she attended the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Los Angeles.

The Sun revealed how Danny and Maura, who appeared together in I’m A Celeb last year, shared a brief kiss during Universal Music’s Brit Awards.

The duo then travelled separately to the five-star Nobu Hotel for more drinks.

Last March, Danny made his emotional statement on Instagram, and showed his regret for putting his loved ones “in this situation.”

The dad-of-one, who shares son Cooper with Georgia, 38, wrote: “Hello everyone.

“Sorry it’s taken me a while to post this but I’ve taken some time out to be with those closest to me.

“I want to deeply apologise to my wife and family for putting them in this situation.

“I love them so much and we’ll continue to deal with this privately.”

Danny continued: “I love you guys, thank you for your patience, understanding and support.

“See you all soon, Danny.”

At the time, pals previously said that Danny was keen to draw a line under the scandal, which saw him holding crisis talks with Georgia, his wife of ten years.

A friend said: “Danny wants to draw a line in the sand and move on.

“He has talked with Georgia, and they just want to carry on with their lives.

“His actions were incredibly embarrassing, and he has expressed how much he regrets it.

“Now is the time to move past it and try and get back to normal.”

It came after it was claimed Georgia had issued The Voice panelist with a “final warning.”