Kim Kardashian, long at the center of a few conspiracy theories herself, has cosigned one that’s a fan favorite — and also thoroughly debunked.
During the most recent episode of Hulu’s “The Kardashians,” the fashion and beauty mogul professed her belief that the 1969 moon landing, a watershed moment of great American pride, never really happened. She also tried to get her “All’s Fair” co-star Sarah Paulson to drink the Kool-Aid.
“I’m sending you, like, so far a million interviews with both Buzz Aldrin and the other one [Neil Armstrong],” Kardashian told Paulson on the show.
“Yes, do it,” Paulson told the Skims founder, promising to go on her own “massive deep dive.”
Kardashian then went on to cite an interview that’s made the rounds on TikTok wherein she alleged that Buzz Aldrin — who completed the Apollo 11 mission alongside Armstrong and capsule communicator Michael Collins — gave the hoax away. (The going theory, of course, is that famous footage of the mission was actually filmed on a sound stage.)
“So I think it didn’t happen,” Kardashian concluded, adding that Aldrin, 95, has “gotten old and now he, like, slurs.”
Hours after the episode dropped, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy fact-checked the socialite.
“Yes, @KimKardashian, we’ve been to the Moon before… 6 times!” Duffy wrote Thursday on X. “And even better: @NASAArtemis is going back under the leadership of @POTUS.”
“We won the last space race and we will win this one too,” Duffy wrote.
As for Aldrin’s takes on the matter, a 2022 Reuters article debunked one of the most popular clips used to implicate the former astronaut, which was was taken out of very critical context.
In a shortened version of the clip, Conan O’Brien recounts to Aldrin a childhood memory of his family watching the astronauts walk on the moon.
“No, you didn’t,” Aldrin responds, seemingly contradicting O’Brien’s account. Later in the interview, however, Aldrin clarified that the moon landing itself was authentic, but the animated footage broadcast by TV stations at the time was not.
The National Air and Space Museum has explained that there was a $2.3-million camera on board to capture the real-life images that were sent back to Earth.
Nonetheless, Kardashian doubled down on her opinion when a producer on “The Kardashians” probed further.
“For the record, you think that we didn’t walk on the moon?” the producer asked.
“I don’t think we did. I think it was fake,” Kardashian said, adding that she’s seen several videos of Aldrin allegedly disputing the event.
“Why does Buzz Aldrin say it didn’t happen?” she said. “There’s no gravity on the moon. Why is the flag blowing? The shoes that they have in the museum that they wore on the moon is a different print in the photos. Why are there no stars?”
For what it’s worth, there is gravity on the moon, albeit about a sixth of what it is on Earth, give or take. Hence the footage of astronauts bouncing across the lunar surface but not flying off into space. As far as there being no breeze, NASA planned for the lack of one — a rod can be seen holding up the top of flag, because scientists knew the stars and stripes wouldn’t fly without one. And did we mention that Aldrin did not say it didn’t happen? Yes, we did. We did mention that.
To her credit, Kardashian was self-aware enough to add that people were “gonna say I’m crazy no matter what.”
She also encouraged viewers to look for themselves on Tiktok. Keep in mind, though, the accounts that regularly promote the moon-landing conspiracy theory are also fond of other mistaken notions, like saying the Earth is flat and aliens built the pyramids.
OLIVIA Attwood appears to have sent a stark warning to fellow Loose Women panelist GK Barry after she hit out at “fake friends.”
The Love Island alum, 34, didn’t hold back as she went on a comment ‘liking’ spree on Instagram.
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Olivia Attwood appears to have sent a stark warning to fellow Loose Women panelist GK Barry over ‘fake friends’Credit: InstagramIt came after podcast anchor GK Barry was styled by Ryan Kay for her appearance on the ITV daytime seriesCredit: InstagramIt came after Olivia opened up on her fallout with former buddy Ryan Kay last monthCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
It came just hours after Olivia took a swipe at an “attention seeking” pal and admitted it had been “awful.”
While the TV star didn’t specify who she was talking about in a new clip uploaded toTikTok, but referred to them as a “tick.“
And she dropped another huge hint when she began to like fan comments warning podcast host and Loose Women panelist Grace about him, after he styled her for the ITV daytime series.
Olivia liked comments about him moving on to Grace and how he needs to be warned, as well as how Grace should be worried.
One said: “Ryan … Grace should be worried.”
Another wrote: “He’s moved onto Grace now she needs to be warned.”
The Bad Boyfriends anchor also liked a message which read: “Never liked the guy, he did the same with Ester from Cheshire housewives. Used her for personal gain then moved on to the next.”
She then commented: “So small. Literally they lived in my house, I paid for holidays, dinners, nights out, more gifts than I can even count.”
We previously told how reality TV star Oliviahad fallen outwith her former assistant and stylist Ryan – who both share matchingtattoosand were once inseparable.
LIV’S RANT
Over the weekend, Liv’s fans told how she looked “proper hurt” in her video rant.
She captioned her clip: “I feel like so many people will have gone through this experience.”
Olivia then said: “We all know this person who can’t keep a job, they can’t keep a friend, they have no long-term friends that they can keep for more than a year.
“But it’s never their fault. They’re always the victim. This is a professional victim. You watch the cycle play out and you can now see the people who were before you and see your part in the cycle.
“And then you can see who they’ve now moved onto next.”
The star went on: “I always think that with these kinds of people, they don’t move on to new friends, but instead they move on to new hosts.
“They’re like a tick – a tick has to be attached to you and drink your blood – and it has to have a host body. So, once it leaves your body it’s going to go and host on another body.”
In a TikTok video posted over the weekend, she classed a former pal as a ‘tick’Credit: tiktokOlivia wrote about her painful friendship break-up on InstagramCredit: Instagram / @olivia_attwoodNow GK’s fans have said she should be ‘warned’ about her new professional connectionsCredit: YouTube
Those were among the visceral reactions this week from Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Lyonne and many other actors and filmmakers over the sudden fame of Tilly Norwood.
Norwood isn’t real — the brunette who appears in a comedy sketch on her Instagram page is in fact a computer-generated composite.
“I may be AI, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now,” states a message on Norwood’s Instagram page. “I am so excited for what’s coming next!”
The sentiment was not widely shared, at least in Hollywood, where anxieties about the use and abuse of artificial intelligence replacing actors runs deep.
Norwood’s creator ignited a furor after she announced that the digital actress would soon be signed by a talent agency.
This week, SAG-AFTRA weighed in with a withering response. Two years ago, the union’s members engaged in a 118-day strike to fight for more AI protections in their contracts with major studios.
“To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation,” the guild said. “It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
Norwood was created by AI through Xicoia, a London-based AI talent studio launched by Dutch actor Eline Van der Velden. Xicoia is working with estates and Hollywood stars who want to appear as their younger selves on screen, according to Deadline, which first reported talent agency interest in Norwood.
Van der Velden, who is also the founder of AI production company Particle6, was not available for comment on Wednesday. But in a statement posted on Instagram following the backlash, Van der Velden stressed that Norwood is “a creative work — a piece of art.”
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool — a new paintbrush,” Van der Velden said. “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”
SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin disputed the claim.
He said in an interview with The Times that the material used to create Norwood was “improperly obtained” from SAG-AFTRA members’ work without permission, compensation or acknowledgment.
“It manipulates something that already exists, so the conceit that it isn’t harming actors — because it is its own new thing — ignores the fundamental truth that it is taking something that doesn’t belong to them,” Astin said.
“We want to allow our members to benefit from new technologies. … They need to give permission for it, and they need to be bargained with.”
Norwood has 44,000 followers on Instagram and is portrayed as an aspiring young actor based in London who enjoys shopping and iced coffee.
The social media page depicts Norwood in various scenes. In one, she’s armed and ready to battle a monster; in another, she’s running away from a collapsing building in a futuristic city.
At an industry panel in Zurich on Saturday, Van der Velden touted her creation.
“With Tilly, you know, when we first launched her, people were like, ‘That’s not going to happen,’” Van der Velden said. “And now, we’re going to announce which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months. It’s all changing and everyone is starting to see the light, fortunately.”
Talent agencies have represented digital characters used in ad campaigns. And seeing such avatars in the mainstream has become increasingly common — in 2024, Japanese digital character Hatsune Miku performed at Coachella and an AI model was featured in the August issue of Vogue magazine for L.A. brand Guess.
And some studios, including Lionsgate, have partnerships with AI startups to explore using the technology in areas such as storyboarding. Others, such as Netflix and Amazon MGM Studios, have series that use AI in visual effects.
Tech companies have argued that they should be able to train their AI models on content available online and bring up relevant information under the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for the limited reproduction of content without permission from the copyright holder.
But the proliferation of AI has also fueled concerns that AI companies are using copyrighted material to train their models without compensation or permission. Earlier this year, Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery sued AI companies over copyright infringement.
Some actors called for a boycott of any agents who decide to represent Norwood. “Read the room, how gross,” “In the Heights” actor Melissa Barrera wrote on Instagram.
“Our members reserve the right to not be in business with representatives who are operating in an unfair conflict of interest, who are operating in bad faith,” Astin said.
The Los Angeles Film School is at the center of a whistleblower lawsuit from two former executives who allege the institution unlawfully collected government funds in an elaborate accreditation scheme.
Dave Phillips and Ben Chaib, the school’s former VP of career development and VP of admissions, respectively, allege in a federal lawsuit that the L.A. Film School violated federal employment requirements and accrediting standards. The lawsuit also names LAFS’ Florida counterpart Full Sail University, its main owner James Heavener and two other business partners as defendants.
The lawsuit, originally filed in L.A. federal court in June 2024, was recently unsealed after the Department of Justice opted to not investigate.
Representatives of LAFS could not be immediately reached for comment but have previously denied the claims.
In statement to Variety last week the school’s attorneys said that Phillips and Chaib are attempting “to resuscitate time-barred and erroneous allegations, which were already thoroughly investigated and settled by the Department of Education.”
For a university to be accredited and receive federal funding, the accreditation criteria state that a school must successfully instruct 70% of its students to land and hold jobs for which they are trained. The plaintiffs argue that graduates from the film school are unable to receive entry-level positions, citing an internal report which shows that most graduates earn $5,000 or less in their field of study. Only 20% of students were able to find work, the suit alleges.
LAFS receives over $85 million a year in federal financial assistance, including about $60 million in federal student loans, and more than $19 million in veterans’ financial aid funds. The Winter Park, Fla.-located Full Sail University, which teaches curriculum in entertainment-adjacent fields, also gets over $377 million per year in federal financial assistance, according to the complaint.
“For at least the last ten years, nearly all federal funds bestowed upon and taken in resulted from fraud with the institution using taxpayer funds to finance and facilitate multiple, temporary employment positions for LAFS graduates,” the lawsuit states.
Seeking to continue collecting government funds, the university is alleged to have spent nearly $1 million (between 2010 and 2017) to provide temporary employment from nonprofits and paid-off vendors. These jobs would usually last two days; LAFS would determine who would be hired, their schedule and wage. Students were led to believe these opportunities were “in-house production opportunities” and “post-graduate apprenticeships,” but instead, they were schemes planned and paid for by the school to remain an accredited university, according to the lawsuit.
Federal law prohibits higher education from “provid[ing] any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments.” When LAFS was audited in 2017, the plaintiffs further allege that the school misled the Department of Education auditors, denied the existence of the incentive compensation system and failed to disclose their connection to vendors.
Beyond collecting these federal funds, the former executives argue that the school misled students and potential enrollees by overstating the availability of jobs and making untrue or misleading statements related to employment.
LAFS was created in 1999 and is located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. It offers a variety of bachelor’s and associate degrees in areas including film, film production and animation, with tuition ranging between $40,000 and $80,000.
Both plaintiffs, Phillips and Chaib, worked at the film school for 12 years and were members of the senior executive team. Phillips’ contract was not renewed in 2022.
The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges recently renewed the school’s accreditation in 2023 for a five-year period.
SALFORD’S owners are today facing questions over trying to buy their stadium using a FAKE bank statement.
Isiosaia Kailahi and Curtiz Brown have dragged the club through the mire — and High Court — since taking charge in February.
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Isiosaia Kailahi (right) and Curtiz Brown (not pictured) are at the centre of financial legal accusationsCredit: Alamy
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The ownership’s running of the club has led to fan protestsCredit: Gary Carter
Now SunSport can reveal how they tried to convince the city’s council they had the money to purchase the Salford Community Stadium — valued at £14million — by using contested documents.
The bank that received the statement as proof of funds has claimed the documents are not genuine.
Concerns were raised after the discovery that the transactions on it are dated months in the future.
Kailahi and Brown’s deal was originally meant to be one for the club and the ground combined — with a plan to develop the land around it later on.
Yet the financial state of the club — which would have gone under in February had this not happened — meant the club purchase had to be brought forward.
An email from Kailahi to Salford City Council dated January 21, on which the statement was attached, raised questions as he criticised the authority for ‘going ghost’.
Kailahi wrote: “We understand there is scepticism by members about us and how this deal is being handled, which may not meet with council’s standards.
“I would remind those in doubt, we started discussions about the potential acquisition of AJ Bell Stadium in early 2023 with the council going ghost on us without any correspondence after a few weeks.
“I ask members to note the time I have spent in Manchester — which is months on end — working on this acquisition and the Red Devils deal, away from my family, this should at least give me some benefit towards our intentions.”
But a statement from Emirates NBD bank, in the name of Brown’s Built UAE company, raises more questions than answers.
Legendary BBC commentator Ray French known as the ‘Voice of Rugby League’ dies aged 85 as tributes pour in
Claims of a closing balance worth almost £22.3m could convince many they are the real deal.
Yet transactions dated December 2-11 2025 raised red flags — and, when SunSport contacted Emirates NBD, it confirmed our suspicions.
They said: “The Bank is prohibited by federal UAE law from disclosing any information about customers.
“But, the Bank can confirm none of the documents enclosed with your email, which purport to originate from the Bank, are genuine.”
When SunSport approached the businessmen for comment, Brown insisted: “Every document we have supplied has been true and accurate when provided, including any financial statement.
“If a statement you have been shown is false, we know nothing about this and have not been nor cannot be responsible for any document provided outside of our oversight.”
Salford City Council walked away from talks over the stadium in May — three months after they requested names, addresses and bank details of all consortium members.
Seven months on, they are still waiting.
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Kailahi (right) was part of a consortium that took over in FebruaryCredit: Alamy
Brown told SunSport: “We have yet to reach this point in the negotiations.
“As soon as we reach the point involving the transaction that requires the supply of this information, it will be duly and fully provided in the usual way.”
When the takeover that ‘saved’ the club first went through, a statement quoting Swiss financier Dario Berta was issued on February 7.
It said: “The new owners have cleared all club debt and will deliver significant investment for the club’s future growth. This is the start of a very bright future.”
Yet debts have grown, including the £626,000 that forced HMRC to bring the winding-up petition that is now adjourned until October 29.
A £5m bridging loan, first mentioned in June — believed to be coming from Ben Doweck and Eli Cohen — secured the second delay but it is understood there will be no more.
Some 18 players, the kitman and even the man under the mascot’s costume have all walked away.
So did the man meant to coach Salford next season, assistant Kurt Haggerty.
Wage issues, when they have come, have been largely sourced from firm WeDo Finance, and concerns over pension payments forced their hand.
Chris Irwin, employed by them as chief exec, was sacked — after it was first claimed he resigned.
This casts even more doubt on the duo, working under the Sydney-based Jacobsen Venture Group title.
Fans protested at their home match with Catalans last Thursday.
It followed marches to the stadium after they forfeited a Super League fixture against Wakefield, and to their game at Warrington, which many feared would be their last.
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Salford fans protested en masse on ThursdayCredit: Gary Carter
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The club have found themselves on uncertain ground in recent monthsCredit: Gary Carter
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Issues behind the scenes have caused many club figures to walk awayCredit: Gary Carter
And the mess raises questions of the Rugby Football League, chiefly: how did they even get the club?
SunSport was handed a certified bank statement of an account at Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, checked and signed by an independent accountant.
Because of the need to save Salford, that was considered enough to get the club.
Yet their wider aims stalled after the production of the Emirates NBD statement.
And it is believed Salford City Council did not get as far as checking its validity as it had not received the information regarding the consortium it had asked for.
Kailahi, also known as Sire, and Brown faced controversy before.
In April, SunSport reported on a California court case in which Kailahi was involved after ticket firm Eventbrite claimed it paid him £500,000 for a contract his Stadium Salford Group had not entered into properly.
In response, Brown fired a message.
It said: “You made everyone at the club unemployed with your article. Sire is shutting the club down and will name you as the reason.”
According to documents, Kailahi lost the case but is appealing. Brown spoke to SunSport again in February, as fathers sent their young children to hug him and thank him for saving the club.
He said, with words that may now appear hollow: “We just love rugby league and Salford fans are passionate about rugby league.
“We’ve seen the trouble they’ve been in, and we’ve always lightly followed Salford because of the connections we’ve had here.
“You’ve seen what we plan going forward. It’s not about rugby league, it’s about the community.
“It’s about getting the fans involved.
“It’s basically just for the fans of Salford. We’re in it to win it now.
“We’re coming here to include ourselves in what could be a better Salford.”
LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges Tuesday against a group of people who were accused of attempting to falsely certifying President Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the battleground state, a major blow to prosecutors as similar cases in four other states have been muddied with setbacks.
District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons said in a court hearing that the 15 Republicans accused will not face trial. The case has dragged through the courts since Michigan Atty. Gen. Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced the charges over two years ago.
Simmons said she saw no intent to commit fraud in the defendants’ actions. Whether they were “right, wrong or indifferent,” they “seriously believed” there were problems with the election, the judge said.
“I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress,” Simmons said.
Each member of the group, which included a few high profile members of the Republican Party in Michigan, faced eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top felony charges carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
Supporters, friends and family crowded in the hallway outside the courtroom cheered when the judge said the cases would be dismissed. Defendants leaving the courtroom cried and hugged friends and family. One woman wept as she hugged another and said, “We did it.”
Investigators said the group met at the Michigan GOP headquarters in December of 2020 and signed a document falsely stating they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors.” President Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.
Electors are part of the 538-member Electoral College that officially elects the president of the United States. In 48 states, electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. In Nebraska and Maine, elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.
One man accused in the Michigan case had the charges against him dropped after he agreed to cooperate with the state attorney general’s office in October 2023. The other 15 defendants pleaded not guilty and have maintained that their actions were not illegal.
Judge Simmons took nearly a year to say whether there was sufficient evidence to bring the cases to trial following a series of lengthy preliminary hearings.
Prosecutors in Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme. None of the cases have neared the trial stage and many have been bogged down by procedural and appellate delays.
In Nevada, the state attorney general revived a case against a group of allegedly fake electors last year, while a judge in Arizona ordered a similar case back to a grand jury in May. In Wisconsin last month, a judge declined to dismiss felony charges against three Trump allies connected to a plan to falsely cast electoral ballots for Trump even though Biden won the state in 2020.
The Georgia prosecution is essentially on hold while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta, who brought the charges against President Trump and others appeals her removal from the case. Technically, Trump is still a defendant in the case, but as the sitting president, it is highly unlikely that any prosecution against him could proceed while he’s in office.
The effort to secure fake electors was central to the federal indictment against Trump that was abandoned earlier this year shortly before Trump took office for his second term.
A CRUEL carer splurged £10,000 she stole from a patient’s dementia-stricken wife on fake tan, KFC and cigarettes.
Danielle Houghton helped herself to the 91-year-old’s bank card while she was meant to be looking after her bed-bound husband.
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Danielle Houghton stole money from a dementia-stricken pensionerCredit: MEN Media
Houghton, 32, blew the cash on trips to tanning shops, gambling sites and Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions.
She also spent it at Sports Direct and KFC, and used it to buy petrol, cigarettes and alcohol over a three-month period.
Her scheming was only exposed three months later when the victim’s children noticed the transactions and alerted police.
Houghton has now been jailed for two years and nine months after pleading guilty to theft and fraud by false representation.
Sadly, the victim and her husband passed away before they could see Houghton brought to justice.
Preston Crown Court heard the heartless thief was meant to be caring for the 92-year-old man when she targeted his wife.
Footage showed Houghton at various stores and cash machines spending the stolen money.
The woman’s son said in a victim impact statement: “‘Something bad has been done to me, but I cannot remember what it is…’
“That heartbreaking phrase was my frail, vulnerable, and deeply upset Mum’s constant refrain.
“‘Something bad has been done to me’. She carried that desolate anxiety to her grave, unable to quietly enjoy the tranquillity of her home and garden in her final months, haunted by a distress she couldn’t resolve.
“Danielle Houghton’s criminal actions have also regrettably tarnished the reputation of care providers in a sector already facing immense challenges.”
Houghton stole a total of £9,773 with much of it withdrawn from cash machines, and tried to take a further £800.
DC Peter Bennett of Lancaster Criminal Investigation Department said “Houghton’s selfish actions against a vulnerable lady are despicable.
“I welcome the prison sentence handed down to her which not only punishes her actions, but sends out a clear message to others who might be tempted to offended in a similar manner.
“Their mother died not knowing that the person responsible for taking half her life savings had faced justice, and their father also died during the course of the investigation, which increases the suffering of the family.”
Aug. 20 (UPI) — Hundreds of staff from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Congress that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sharing false health info with the public and called on him to step up protection of public health professionals.
They accused Kennedy of complicity in “dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health.”
More than 750 current and former HHS employees on Wednesday called on Kennedy to stop “spreading inaccurate health information” and prioritize the safety of public servants in the health sector in the wake of this month’s fatal shooting at the Atlanta headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization,” the letter to members of Congress read in part.
“And now, violence,” it added.
The “Save HHS” crew accused Kennedy, 71, of endangering the lives of his HHS employees with his own words and rhetoric, and pointed to multiple specific accusations in the letter of Kennedy doing so in the public square.
According to law enforcement, the alleged shooter was skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine and assumed he was harmed by it. He fired hundreds of rounds with about 200 striking six different CDC facilities across its Atlanta campus.
CDC Director Susan Monarez told HHS staffers during a 10,000-person virtual call the danger of misinformation had “now led to deadly consequences.”
Kennedy met with Monarez two days after the shooting.
The HHS crew noted the recent CDC attack on Aug. 8, where DeKalb County police officer David Rosewas fatally shot was “not random.”
“If the very people that are supposed to be protecting Americans are not safe, then no American is safe,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, former principal deputy director of the CDC, said in a statement.
The letter also noted the HHS workforce wanted to honor Rose and his memory.
But it also pointed to fears of “retaliation” and issues of “personal safety.”
“We sign this declaration in our own personal capacities, on our personal time, and without the use of government equipment, as protected by our First Amendment rights,” they stated.
Health experts and other officials have rung alarm bells over Kennedy’s deployment of health data universally known as false for years, even before U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Kennedy to be the nation’s health chief.
Wednesday’s letter follows a similar letter to Congress in January signed by more than 17,000 U.S. doctors via the Chicago-based Committee to Protect Health Care, which stated Kennedy was a danger to America’s national healthcare system.
Destination X fans were left unimpressed by a challenge in the latest instalment of the BBC gameshow with many branding it ‘boring’ and spotting a glaring ‘fake’ detail
Destination X viewers slammed a “boring” challenge on the BBC gameshow, after spotting a “fake” detail.
In tonight’s instalment (Wednesday, 13 August), the participants were challenged with carrying wine glasses across a vineyard on a tray held by one hand, whilst answering questions about one another in an attempt to eliminate their rivals.
The more responses they got wrong, the more glasses they had to balance, resulting in several being knocked out when their trays tumbled, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Viewers picked up on a “fake” sound effect(Image: BBC)
Yet viewers were swift to spot that whilst the BBC episode featured sounds of glass shattering, the contestants seemed to be using plastic.
“The smashing glass sound effects for them dropping plastic champagne flutes is sending me,” one penned.
Another questioned: “Why have they put a shattering glass sound on when the glasses are clearly plastic? Haha.”
Others branded the challenge as “boring”, as one posted: “Not liking this part… it’s very boring.”
Viewers slammed the task and threatened to “switch off”(Image: BBC)
Another raged: “Well this is riveting tv.. Not!”
Someone else fumed: “Sorry that wine task was total c***. I’d rather watch paint dry. switching off.”
Prior to the new series launching, host Rob confessed he nearly wrecked the entire game by almost spilling a secret.
The high-stakes programme only functions if the contestants are genuinely able to participate without receiving any hints about the outside world during their journey.
Despite numerous production safeguards being implemented to guarantee this, Rob nearly sabotaged everything.
Viewers were not impressed by a challenge on Destination X(Image: BBC)
Speaking before the show’s debut, the star confessed that although he was “very careful”, he did encounter one close call.
He revealed: “I won’t say where we were, but we were on a hillside, that’s all I’ll say, and we were about to visit a lovely location, and I was looking forward to where we were going next.
“I was chatting to some of the crew and I said out loud, ‘I can’t wait to get to [the place]’ and then I realised that just over there was one of the players and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.”
He continued: “Luckily they didn’t hear, and I can be sure of that because of what happened next which told me that they’d not heard. That was the only one but it was a constant fear.”
Destination X continues tomorrow night at 9pm on BBC One and is available to watch on iPlayer.
The kidnapping of Shannon Matthews rocked the UK in 2008, and now a new documentary following the fake abduction plot will arrive on one of the world’s biggest streaming services
15:43, 12 Aug 2025Updated 15:44, 12 Aug 2025
The Hunt for Shannon Matthews will be released on Amazon Prime Video from Sunday 17 August
The kidnapping of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews dominated the headlines in February 2008 and created mass panic across the country. On a Tuesday evening, stay-at-home mum Karen Matthews reported her nine-year-old daughter missing to Dewsbury police, and West Yorkshire officials launched what became the biggest investigation in that area since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
After three weeks and three days, the search, which was also spearheaded by residents of the Dewsbury Moor estate, came to an end when Shannon was found alive in a flat in Batley Carr, just mere miles from her home. She was found at the home of Michael Donovan, the uncle of her mother’s then-partner Craig Meehan, who was convicted of possessing 49 indecent images of children in 2008 but was not involved in the kidnapping of Shannon and was never charged with any offences relating to the incident.
Karen Matthews had plotted the entire thing in an attempt to raise reward money whilst she made emotional pleas on television for her daughter’s safe return (Image: PA)
Karen, who had seven children by five different fathers, was found guilty of found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice sentenced to eight years in prison along with her accomplice, although by the time she was released early in 2012, he was already out.
Shannon, who had been drugged and tied up in the small flat, was immediately placed under police protection once she had been found and was given lifelong anonymity with a new High Court ruling. Now, the events of the entire plot have been re-explored in the The Hunt for Shannon Matthews, which viewers can watch on Amazon Prime Video from Sunday 17th August.
In the years since the bizarre case shocked Britain, the story has been told through several books and documentaries. In 2017, it was adapted into the BBC series The Moorside, starring Game of Thrones actress Gemma Whelan as the woman who was dubbed the nation’s worst mum, and Sheridan Smith as Julie Bushy, the kindly neighbour who headed up the communal efforts to find Shannon, completely unaware that it was all a hoax.
Julie Bushby, a former friend of Shannon Matthews who was played by Sheridan Smith in a BBC drama, will appear The Hunt for Shannon Matthews when it arrives on Prime Video on August 17(Image: DAILY MIRROR)
But TV insiders have insisted that this time round, the new documentary, which features new interviews with former friends and neighbours of Karen Matthews, will offer up a fresh perspective on the whole story, especially because such time has passed since the events took place. A source told The Sun: “The original case dumbfounded the nation when it happened and it took years before many could truly grasp what had happened.
“Shows like 2017, The Moorside which starred Sheridan Smith , tried to shed some light on the events but it continues to be a subject that stirs up an array of emotions. The creators of the new documentary hope that the passing of time and the benefit of distance might help lend some perspective on the story.”
It is the third in a series of recent true crime documentaries released by the streaming giant, the first of which was The Wimbledon Killer, which looked back on the murder of mum Rachel Nickell in the early 1990s, and the second was Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack, which examined the shooting of 38 holidaymakers, more than a decade on from when the atrocity took place.
PEOPLE smugglers who advertise Channel Crossings or try to flog fake passports online face up to five years in prison, under a new crackdown.
The Home Office is scrambling to beef up their laws after a record 25,000 illegal migrants landed on Britain’s beaches so far this year.
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Yvette Cooper said: ‘We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs’Credit: PA
The grim milestone piles massive pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper – who has vowed to “smash the gangs” and stop the boats.
But the Government has been accused of woefully failing to restore control to UK borders.
Ministers will introduce a new criminal offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament.
This will make it a crime to publish material which promotes breaking immigration laws – like flogging small boat crossings, dodgy passports and visas or promising black market work.
These things are already illegal, but ministers say the new law will help beef up the power of the cops and prosecutors.
Anyone caught flouting the law faces five years behind bars or a massive fine.
Ms Cooper said: “Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral.
“These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.
“We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs.”
A staggering 80 per cent of migrants arriving on small boats used social media sites like TikTok to plan their journey, according to the Home Office.
Small boat migrant found dead riddled with bullets on French coast after being gunned down ‘by people smugglers’
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People smugglers who advertise Channel Crossings or try to flog fake passports online face up to five years in prisonCredit: PA
On Sunday, our thoughtful and reserved president reposted on his Truth Social site a video generated by artificial intelligence that falsely showed former President Obama being arrested and imprisoned.
There are those among you who think this is high humor; those among you who who find it as tiresome as it is offensive; and those among you blissfully unaware of the mental morass that is Truth Social.
Whatever camp you fall into, the video crosses all demographics by being expected — just another crazy Trump stunt in a repetitive cycle of division and diversion so frequent it makes Groundhog Day seem fresh. Epstein who?
But there are three reasons why this particular video — not made by the president but amplified to thousands — is worth noting, and maybe even worth fearing.
First, it is flat-out racist. In it, Obama is ripped out of a chair in the Oval Office and forced onto his knees, almost bowing, to a laughing Trump. That imagery isn’t hard to interpret: America’s most esteemed Black man — who recently warned we are on the brink of losing democracy — forced into submission before our leader.
If you are inclined to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, right before this scene of Obama forced to kneel, a meme of Pepe the Frog — an iconic image of the far-right and white supremacy — flashes on the screen.
Not subtle. But also, not the first time racism has come straight from the White House. On Monday, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church and a student of Martin Luther King Jr., reminded me that not too long ago, then-President Woodrow Wilson screened the pro-KKK film “The Birth of a Nation” at the executive mansion. It was the first film screening ever held there, and its anti-Black viewpoint sparked controversy and protests.
That was due in no small part to a truth that Hollywood knows well — fiction has great power to sway minds. Brown sees direct similarities in how Wilson amplified fictional anti-Blackness then, and how Trump is doing so now, both for political gain.
“Mr. Trump should realize that Obama hasn’t done anything to him. But just the idea, the thought of a Black person being human, is a threat to him and his supporters,” Brown told me.
Brown said he’s praying for the president to “stop this bigotry” and see the error of his ways. I’ll pray the great gods give the reverend good luck on that.
But, on the earthly plane, Brown said that “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”
Trump courted the Black vote and has his supporters among people of all colors and ethnicities, but he’s also played on racist tropes for political success, from stoking fear around the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five, decades ago to stoking fear around Black immigrants eating cats and dogs in Ohio during the recent election. It’s an old playbook, because it works.
Reposting the image of Obama on his knees is scary because it’s a harsh reminder that racism is no longer an undercurrent in our society, if it ever was. It’s a motivator and a power to be openly wielded — just the way Wilson did back in 1915.
But the differences in media from back in the day to now are what should raise our second fear around this video. A fictional film is one thing. An AI-generated video that for many people seems to depict reality is a whole new level of, well, reality.
The fear of deepfakes in politics is not new. It’s a global problem, and in fairness, this isn’t the first time (by far) Trump or other politicians have used deepfakes.
Of course it did, and millions of people looked at these fake pictures, at least some assuming they were real.
The list of deepfake political examples is long and ominous. Which brings us to the third reason Trump’s latest use of one is unsettling.
He clearly sees the effectiveness of manipulating race and reality to increase his own power and further his own agenda.
Obama on his knees strikes a chord all too close to the image of Latino Sen. Alex Padilla being taken to the floor by federal authorities a few weeks ago during a news conference. It bears chilling resemblance to the thousands of images flooding us daily of immigrants being taken down and detained by immigration officers in often violent fashion.
Videos like this one of Obama are the normalizing, the mockery, the celebration of the erosion of civil rights and violence we are currently seeing being aimed at Black, brown and vulnerable Americans.
There is nothing innocent or unplanned about these kinds of videos. They are a political weapon being used for a purpose.
Because when repetition dulls our shock of them, how long before we are no longer shocked by real images of real arrests?
A man who paid a fraction of that could make a life-changing amount if the picture of Clemintine Churchill is proved to have been painted by the revered wartime Prime Minister
Amateur collector Barry James can’t believe he might have unearthed a genuine painting by Winston Churchill(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios)
An amateur art collector who claims he has found a lost painting by Sir Winston Churchill is told it could be worth more than £600,000.
Barry James appears on the BBC1 show Fake Or Fortune tonight (MON) with his intriguing picture. He tells presenter Fiona Bruce and international art dealer Phil Mould that he picked it up for just £140 in an antiques market in Ardingly near Gatwick, three years ago because he liked ‘the colours and composition’.
But it was only later when it took it out of the frame that he found a mysterious inscription on the back which read: “This painting of Mrs Winston Churchill on wall of sunken garden at Hurstmonceux (CORR) Castle, Sussex, by The Right Hon. Winston S Churchill. June 1916.”
Angelina Jolie sold her genuine picture by Sir Winston for an eye-watering £7million(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios)
It shows what is thought to be Sir Winston’s wife Clementine perched on a wall reading a book in the pink flowered gardens of the castle. Barry, from West Sussex, hopes the BBC series, returning for its 13th run, can validate it.
In the BBC show, shocked Barry is told that paintings by Churchill – who was British PM from 1940-45 and 1951-55 – can fetch millions of pounds. In 2021 Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie sold one – The Tower Of The Koutoubia Mosque, painted in Marrakesh during WWII – for a record £7million.
And Barry is informed that if his picture is found to be an original then at auction it could make more than £600,000. The TV duo embark on a search to find out if the artist really was war leader Churchill. Records show how he took up painting in 1915 – in water colours to begin with and later in oils – after he had completed his military service during WW1 and narrowly escaped death.
Barry James said he bought the painting simply because he liked it, and only discovered who might have painted it when he took the back off afterwards(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios)
He looked on his new hobby as something that took him away from the stress of his high powered life and it became a source of relaxation. Fiona, 61, delves into a book written by his friend Violet Bonham Carter called Winston Churchill As I Knew Him, in which she mentions that the politician stayed at the castle with his paints and brushes.
The author even writes that he was there as a guest in 1916 – but she mentions August rather than June. Undeterred, Fiona visits the castle to locate the exact spot where Clementine would have sat on the wall in the garden to be painted.
Meanwhile art dealer Phil does some digging to check that it is not stolen – and gets the all clear. A further mystery is uncovered when the artwork is x-rayed and another painting is discovered underneath. Experts believe it looks like a painting of a castle – possibly the very one where Winston and his wife stayed.
This news is not unwelcome as the statesman was well-known for re-using canvases. But some doubt is thrown into the mix when it is discovered that the handwriting on the back is not Churchill’s but that of Conservative politician Colonel Claude Lowther, who bought Herstmonceux and restored it – and invited his friend to stay there in 1916.
Barry chats with expert Philip Mould at Ardingly Antiques Fair about the chances of the painting being real – and worth a fortune(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios)
Barry, who is married and is a carer with a disabled son, admits: “If the painting is real, I’d probably end up reluctantly selling it, obviously for the family. We have always wanted to go to Niagara Falls. Our son is disabled and I think he’d enjoy something like that.” Viewers can find out if the painting is real on the new series of Fake Or Fortune, tonight at 9pm.
Kaylie Bailey contracted botulism after being given illegal Botox
An aesthetic beautician left one woman fighting for her life and several others seriously ill in hospital after injecting them with Toxpia, an illegal Botox-type anti-wrinkle treatment. As the BBC names the woman behind the jabs, two of her victims share their stories.
The patch over Kaylie Bailey’s left eye is a daily reminder of when her beauty treatment nearly killed her.
The 36-year-old mum-of-three from Peterlee, County Durham, had paid Gemma Gray £75 for three “Botox” injections, half of what it had cost on a previous visit – the bargain turned out to be too good to be true.
Within days, Ms Bailey was struggling to see.
Doctors at Sunderland Royal Hospital were initially baffled and diagnosed her with ptosis, an eye condition characterised by the drooping of the upper eyelid, and told her to go home to rest.
The hospital trust said that when Ms Bailey was discharged she had been advised to visit her GP if her condition worsened, and it had been explained to her that her symptoms were probably related to the treatment she had had.
It added that botulinum toxicity was a very rare condition “not seen by the majority of doctors during their careers”.
Family handout
Kaylie Bailey spent three days in intensive care
But when her condition deteriorated over the following days, Ms Bailey rushed back to hospital where this time she was told she had botulism, a rare but life-threatening condition caused by a bacterium.
By that point, she was one of 28 people to have been diagnosed with the toxic poisoning in north-east England after having anti-wrinkle jabs.
Ms Bailey stopped breathing and required resuscitation.
She spent three days on the Intensive Care Unit and was treated with an anti-toxin.
“I remember lying on the bed thinking ‘I’m dying here and I don’t want to’,” Ms Bailey says, crying as she recalls her experience.
Upon her release, and being required now to wear an eye patch until her eye heals, she contacted Mrs Gray and was told by her it was a “nationwide problem with the product”.
“When I went in [to her appointment for the anti-wrinkle jabs], I felt like she was rushing that much it stung, my eyes were watering that much off it,” Ms Bailey says.
“I cannot believe she’s even dared to do that to people.
“She didn’t even know what was in it and we’re having to live with what she’s done to us.
“I’ve nearly died because of it.”
Paula Harrison contracted botulism after being given illegal Botox
Paula Harrison suffered a similar fate when she visited Mrs Gray at a salon in Blackhall, Co Durham, in late May.
The 54-year-old mother-of-three had previously been to the practitioner for a lip-filler procedure but this time decided to have what she thought was Botox and under-eye filler.
After a few days, she too became unwell and also went to Sunderland Royal Hospital where she was admitted and spent four days, receiving an anti-toxin as part of her treatment.
Mrs Harrison said her throat was closing up and she was unable to eat.
“[Mrs Gray is] playing with people’s lives,” Mrs Harrison says. “Luckily, I’m all right, but I could have been dead.”
Gemma Gray
Gemma Gray is the owner of Belissimo Aesthetics
Mrs Gray, formerly known as Gemma Brown, operates her business Belissimo Aesthetics, which is not linked to any other business of the same name, from her home near Bishop Auckland and at a salon in Blackhall.
She administered an illegal type of botulinum toxin, the ingredient used in legal Botox-type products, to a number of patients.
There are seven such products licensed for use in the UK, including the brand Botox which is the most commonly known.
Mrs Gray used Toxpia, a product from South Korea which the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency says is not licensed for use in the UK and which is an offence to sell or supply.
She told clients it was a “new type of Botox” and charged between £75 and £100 for three areas of treatment.
The BBC tried to contact her to ask her about her involvement but she said she was not interested in speaking.
The BBC is naming Mrs Gray after speaking to a number of her clients.
It is understood another aesthetic practitioner, who is a business associate of Mrs Gray’s, bought the Toxpia from her and administered it to her own clients, many of whom also became ill.
‘Consider the health impacts’
Mrs Gray has told clients how sorry she is for what happened and described how bad she feels that they became ill. She told Mrs Harrison that it was a “new treatment on trial” and that she was devastated.
She also indicated it was a “nationwide” problem with the product and said people everywhere had become ill after using it.
The BBC has seen no evidence to support this claim.
Mrs Gray advertised her business as being “fully trained and insured”.
An investigation, led by the UK Health Security Agency, is ongoing.
The agency has issued guidance to anyone who wishes to have this type of treatment, advising them to research their practitioner and make sure the product they are given is a legal medicine and licensed for use in the UK.
The Department of Health and Social Care said people’s lives were being put at risk by “inadequately trained operators in the cosmetic sector” and the government was looking into new regulations.
“We urge anyone considering cosmetic procedures to consider the possible health impacts and find a reputable, insured and qualified practitioner,” a spokesperson said.
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Counterfeit goods accounted for an estimated $467 billion in global trade in 2021, the latest year with available comprehensive data, says a joint study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), an EU agency based in Alicante, Spain.
The authors of “Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025: Global Trends and Enforcement Challenges” note that clothing, footwear, and leather goods remain atop the list, accounting for 62% of seized counterfeit goods. The report also underlined the emergence of new and sometimes hazardous segments, such as automotive parts, medicines, cosmetics, toys, and food.
“Illicit trade threatens public safety, undermines intellectual property rights, and hampers economic growth, and the risks could increase as counterfeiters leverage new technologies and techniques to avoid detection,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
More recent national data for the US confirms the trend. According to US Customs and Border Protection, the total number of goods seized at the US borders for intellectual property rights violations more than doubled from 2020 to 2024, and the total manufacturer’s suggested retail price of these goods increased by 415%.
The OECD/EUIPO report describes increasingly sophisticated assembly, logistics, and distribution methods. Counterfeiters are adopting “localization” strategies to place final assembly closer to target markets, using international waterways such as the Danube River. With their reduced oversight, free trade zones “play a pivotal role in this trend,” the authors added.
Product diversification runs hand-in-hand with greater reliance on e-commerce for distribution. Designed to combat the illicit trade in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medical devices, and everyday consumer products that pose risks to health and safety, the World Customs Organization’s Operation Stop III, conducted last December by 111 customs administrations, found that 71% of cases involved parcels ordered over the internet, “confirming how easily unsafe goods bypass normal import checks,” said David Gammill, founder of Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, a California-based law firm.
China leads the production rankings, accounting for 45% of all reported seizures in 2021. Additional major players hail from elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
The latest strategy consists of inventing names of “secret” coves that do not actually exist, so that tourists flock to urban areas that have nothing to do with the coast
Tourists may find themselves sent to non coastal areas (Image: Getty Images)
Fed-up locals in a Spanish holiday resort are trying to fool holidaymakers into going to fake beaches.
The protesters are waging a “dirty tricks” campaign to try and fool holidaymakers in the midst of the row over tourism congestion. They are inventing fake beaches on the Balearic island of Majorca, which has been targeted by a string of protests and demonstrations since last summer.
The latest strategy consists of inventing names of “secret” coves that do not actually exist, so that tourists flock to urban areas that have nothing to do with the coast. These false names are usually the same as those in popular areas in the capital of Palma.
In a video explaining the ploy, a young local woman said: “These are not beaches, they are dangerous places that you should avoid. If you want to avoid getting scammed, look up the location online before you go. If you find a lot of information, it’s a real beach. If not, avoid going.”
The protesters want hoards of holidaymakers to be directed away from the busier beaches(Image: Getty Images)
The practice, which some justify as a way to protect the island’s natural areas, is fuelling an intense debate about the impact of tourism. Some of the beaches being promoted but which don’t exist include Son Gotleu, Son Roca and Son Banya Korea.
The scam is the latest in a series of tricks organised by mass tourism protesters who have previously resorted to putting up fake signs saying a particular beach or access road has been closed or is for locals only.
Last week, the platform “Majorca Platja Tour” announced the first “symbolic occupation” of a beach this summer amid calls for residents-only beaches. “Prepare your towels, umbrellas and banners because we will be making a new symbolic occupation on a beach in Mallorca,” the campaigners announced in a statement.
The protests will echo those of last summer carried out at Platja de Palma, one of the best beaches in the capital, and Caló des Moro, a stunning beach located in the south-east of Mallorca featuring 40 metres of fine-grained sand surrounded by cliffs.
The protestors say beaches in Mallorca are so packed with tourists that locals avoid going in the summer. They want holidaymakers either banned from certain beaches or for areas to be designated for local residents only and not tourists.
“What used to be a corner of peace becomes a theme park,” they claim. They say the beach at Platja de Palma is a prime example: “There is no area that better represents the overcrowded Mallorca than this one.”
For this reason, they are demanding that parts of the beach are kept just for residents, or that residents are given preferential access to them.
The group highlighted the Municipality of Ameglia in North East Italy, where 60% of the beaches are kept for local residents.
Road routes to many beaches in Majorca are frequently clogged with traffic during the high season, with hundreds of cars parked on sandbanks.
June 27 (UPI) — Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged architect behind the fake electors scheme to keep Donald Trump in the White House following his 2020 election loss, has been disbarred in New York.
A New York State appellate court issued its ruling Thursday. In support of its decision to disbar him, the court pointed to Chesebro’s guilty plea in Georgia to a single count of conspiracy to file false documents in the bogus Trump elector scheme.
“On that basis alone, respondent’s conduct brings into question his integrity and fitness to continue engaging in the practice of law in New York,” the court said in its seven-page opinion.
It continued that his conduct “undercuts the very notion of our constitutional democracy that he, as an attorney, swore an oath to uphold. Moreover, his cavalier attitude regarding his actions, particularly in the face of his extensive background in the areas of constitutional and election law, largely aggravates his conduct, notwithstanding his lack of disciplinary history.”
Chesebro was charged in an August 2023 multi-count indictment along with Donald Trump and 17 others for their involvement in a scheme to overturn the state’s 2020 election results that showed the New York real state mogul had lost to Joe Biden.
The 64-year-old is widely considered the architect of what would become known as the fake electors scheme, which was a strategy to create false slates of pro-Trump electors in seven battleground states that he lost to Biden, including Georgia.
In October 2024, Chesebro struck a plea deal with prosecutors in the case, agreeing to plead guilty to a single conspiracy count and a sentence of five years of probation, 100 hours of community service, restitution of $5,000 and a requirement to write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia.
Chesebro was suspended from practicing law in New York State in October.
Love Island fans hit out at Megan and Conor’s actions as the Irish duo left their current partners to share a night together in the Hideaway following their kiss on the Terrace
21:31, 26 Jun 2025Updated 21:32, 26 Jun 2025
Love Island fans rage at ‘fake’ Megan as things get hot in hideaway with Conor(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
Love Island fans were left unimpressed as Irish duo Megan and Conor went for a cosy getaway in the hideaway. Despite not being coupled up, the duo are growing closer following a sneaky kiss on the terrace while Conor’s partner Emily was away from the villa.
After returning, Emily wanted clear the air talks with her man and headed to the Snug for a chat. There, however, he told her about his kiss with Megan.
Speaking of his actions, Emily said: “That’s quite intense… I thought Megan was more into Tommy to the point where she wouldn’t have done that…”
And in an honest confession, Conor told her: “My head has been with her [Megan].” Emily replied: “I wouldn’t have cared about the kiss…the words ‘while you were away my head was with her’ pushes me out of the equation.”
Emily was left in tears (Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
And later that evening, Conor told Emily that he and Megan will be spending the night together in the Hideaway. Megan and Conor then shared a kiss in and Conor went as far as giving Megan his bracelet.
His actions upset fans online, with one user on Twitter /X saying: “Conor didn’t care one bit about dumping Emily. She basically did it without him asking.” Another fumed: “OMG not Megan and Conor going to the hideaway MINUTES after dumping Emily and Tommy.”
While speaking to Tommy and Harry and the bathroom, Emily said: “I don’t expect anything from him, but from her [Megan], I would’ve expected more.”
The next day, Tommy and Emily caught up by the mini Firepit, as he told her: “I don’t know why I’ve been moving so closed off,” before Emily told him: “Now is your time to shine darling.”
Elsewhere, tensions in the villa have reached an all-time high as not one but two couples split after the fallout from unexpected Sleepover. Yasmin found herself hit with a difficult truth when Ben finally admits that his feelings have cooled.
After pulling his partner for a chat, Ben said directly: “I feel like we went from 0 to 100 real quick and I’m going to be taking a step back.”
The timing of Ben’s confession is particularly brutal, coming just one night after fans were left speculating about what may have happened between the two under the covers. Yasmin, unaware of his growing doubts, could be blindsided by the sudden change in tone.
Love Island continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX
In the final episode of ITV’s DNA Journey, best friends Marvin Humes and Sam Thompson make some revealing discoveries…
Sam Thompson and Marvin Humes on ITV’s DNA Journey(Image: ITV)
Marvin Humes discovers his ancestor had a secret second family while his best mate Sam Thompson finds out that his ‘posh’ background is completely fake, in a revelatory episode of DNA Journey.
Close friends since meeting in the jungle on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! two years ago, the loveable pair of presenters are shocked by the discoveries on the ITV hit ancestry show, airing on Thursday. They begin in Jamaica, where Marvin also finds out that he owes his life to a strong woman who made a massive sacrifice. Marvin says: “I’ve got a rich heritage of culture from Jamaica in my family. My grandparents were both born here. My Grandma Ruby and Grandpa Randall moved to the UK when they had just got married. We would eat fish and dumplings and Saturday soup.”
In Jamaica, Marvin finds out that his Great Grandma Blanche was not actually married to his Great Grandfather David James. They had four children, but immediately after the fourth, Marvin’s Grandma Ruby, was born in 1930, David James left. Historian Diane tells Marvin: “A soon as Ruby was born, David James left for a family he had concurrently along with Blanche.” Marvin says: “I know that on my Grandfather Randall’s side, his father did the same thing. His mum ended up in a mental hospital in Jamaica, called Bellevue, where she died.”
Marvin and Sam begin their journey in Jamaica(Image: ITV)
Blanche, however, was not broken. She went into domestic service and worked hard, then stood at the pier at Kingston Harbour in 1958 and waved off Ruby and her husband Randall so they could find a new life in the UK as part of the Windrush generation. Ruby and Randall couldn’t afford the fare for their three children, so Blanche stepped up to care for them, and went back to work to save up the money to send them to Britain. She knew when she waved goodbye to her daughter in 1958, as she set sail to join Randall who left first, that she’d never see her again.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Marvin says: “I can only think of myself as a parent, it’s heartbreaking to think she’d never see her again. Without this happening in 1958, I wouldn’t be standing here today. She’s the reason. All my family back home in England, we all owe everything to her, for that sacrifice she made on this pier.”
Meanwhile, Sam flies into a panic when he is told he has an ancestor who spent time in Jamaica. “It doesn’t sounds good, don’t say it..” he says. However, he is relieved to learn there is no slavery connection. Charles Thompson, his four times Great Grandfather, a Lieutenant Colonel, was posted in Jamaica before being called to Europe where he played a vital role in the downfall of Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo. “Oh my God, I’m so happy, you really scared me, we were all thinking it,” says Sam.
Marvin and Sam have been best mates since meeting on I’m A Celebrity(Image: ITV)
Sam is told that Charles, who was in the 27th (Inniskilling) Foot Regiment, an Irish regiment in the British Army, also took a collection from his regiment of soldiers, donating the equivalent of £5,000 to help starving people. “He was a philanthropist, I’m so proud,” says Sam. “He was a total hero.” Sam also discovers a cousin match in Limavady, Northern Ireland, who happens to live in a massive stately home. “This is mental,” says Marvin. “I feel like we’ve turned up at Buckingham Palace, the Irish version.”
Sam’s long lost cousin, Connolly Patrick McCausland, explains their common ancestor was land agent Robert McCausland, who owned the stately home and also once owned 110 acres of Woolwich, London, where Marvin grew up. “We’re so connected!” says the Made In Chelsea star, adding: “If I ever get married, I’m getting married here.”
Meanwhile, with a castle up the road in Northern Ireland built by a John De Courcy, Sam is wondering if this is also his ancestor – since his surname is actually De Courcy Thompson. Sam explains: “I dropped ‘De Courcy’. One, hard to spell. And two, you sound like a bit of a douche.” But it turns out that Sam is not remotely connected to the famous John De Courcy.
Charles’s son Lesley made up the name De Courcy, giving it to his third son Sydney to improve their social standing. Sam laughs: “We faked it and I’m over the moon. I’ve got a signet ring and it doesn’t mean anything. We just gave it to ourselves. It’s like those people who buy a knighthood just to call themselves sir or lady. That’s us!”
*DNA Journey concludes on Thursday 26 June, ITV at 9pm.
ITV’s quiz show, The 1% Club, which is hosted by Lee Mack, pits contestants against each other to try and win £100,000 by answering questions only 1% of the UK get right
ITV’s game show The 1% Club has become a huge hit since it first hit our screens in 2022(Image: ITV)
ITV’s game show The 1% Club has become a huge success since it first hit our screens in 2022. Hosted by Not Going Out star, Lee Mack, the primetime programme features IQ-style questions based on logic and common sense, as opposed to general knowledge. A total of 100 contestants are slowly whittled down as they attempt to make it to the end and successfully answer a question in 30 seconds, that only 1% of the population can get right in a bid to bag £100,000.
However, what viewers don’t know about the show is that some of the scenes are actually fake – according to a former contestant, who has lifted the lid on the smash-hit series, which she filmed in October last year. Spilling the beans on the programme, Heidi Phillips, 49, said she bagged a place on the show after seeing an advert on Facebook and then having a mock 1%-style quiz on Zoom.
ITV’s quiz show, The 1% Club, which is hosted by Lee Mack, pits contestants against each other to try and win £100,000(Image: ITV)
Revealing what really goes on behind the scenes of the series, which is one of ITV’s most popular offerings, she claimed some of the scenes were fake, revealing that Lee’s jokes are not filmed at the same time as the contestants are answering the questions.
Heidi explained, while talking to Fruity Slots: “While contestants are answering questions on the tablet, Lee usually takes the time to make a joke to the audience at home. But all his comical parts are filmed later.
“When we’re answering the question, he remains silent. Then he has to be filmed asking the question again and we have to pretend to put our answers in. That was a bit weird!”
Heidi also said the contestants had to abide by a very strict rule on the show, which, if flouted would mean they would be forced to hand back any prize money – immediately.
The contestant, who bowed out of the programme at the 35% question, said: “When we got put in our seats in the studio, they gave us the tablets and told us it was important to keep our eyes firmly locked on the screens and not look at each other.
“There were actually invigilators who go back through the show episode to make sure every contestant plays the game fairly.
“You could have won the cash prize but if they go back through filming and see you glanced over at another contestant’s screen before answering, you’ll forfeit the prize.”
Heidi added: “That’s not happened yet – but it was a stern warning!”
Despite the strict warning from producers, Heidi said host, Lee, is very charming and “naturally funny”, sharing: “He’s honestly really funny. Very naturally funny. He also has banter with the warm-up comedian and creates a nice atmosphere.”
She also said she’d jump at the chance to go back on the show again and praised the programme’s staff for “going back over the funny anecdotes I’d shared with them and make sure I’d be happy to discuss it on the show if Lee (Mack) wanted to”.
Heidi, who also said contestants had to make sure they were dressed appropriately for the show, wearing “nothing low cut”, added: “They seemed really concerned about our welfare and us being happy to share things on TV. They really took the time to check in with us.”
And her advice for anyone wanting to go on the show, who has made it to the audition round? “When they ask you how you’ll spend the winnings, don’t say something boring like paying off the mortgage. Give a really wild question,” said Heidi, adding: “I made silly jokes that if I won the prize, I’d spend it on opening a trifle sandwich shop.”
