Gary

TAKE That’s Gary Barlow has bid goodbye to the Circus tour in an emotional statement to fans.

The 55-year-old and his band mates Mark Owen and Howard Donald have been travelling the UK with their returning Circus tour this year that they first performed to audiences back in 2009.

But in a candid new statement, Gary revealed ‘with a heavy heart’ that it’s unlikely the Circus tour will ever return again as he opened up on the physical toll of the tour.

“Best tour ever – to say that 35 years into our career is saying something #circuslive,” he began. “And another tour comes to a close.

“Somehow, this one feels a little different. With the other tours, it’s always comforting to know there will almost definitely be a next time. But I’m pretty sure this tour won’t return.

“I was 38 when we originally did this show, and I have to say it’s been a whole other challenge doing it as a 55-year-old,” he admitted. “I just can’t see a way I could physically do this show again.

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“So, it’s with an extremely heavy heart that I leave The Circus in my past. I got to run away with The Circus twice. Now I’m running towards our next exciting, brand new show.”

The boy band concluded their tour in Dublin on Saturday night, having performed a number of sold-out shows in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Southampton and Coventry throughout the year.

Fans were quick to congratulate Gary on another brilliant tour reacting to his statement online.

“We came to the circus with you & you were phenomenal, one of the most magical days of my life, last Saturday in London,” wrote one user on X. “You boys did yourselves & the Circus proud.”

While another penned: “Thank you for bringing this amazing show again. Watched it back in 2009 and 16 yrs later you guys did not disappoint.”

Others agreed, calling it a ‘magical experience’ seeing it live again, with one fan thrilled at having seen it in 2026 having missed out on the 2009 experience.

“Utterly amazing,” they tweeted. “I didn’t get to the first Circus tour and vowed to try and get to every tour after watching on DVD. So glad you did a second Circus tour. Box ticked.”

Despite just finishing up the Circus tour, Gary, Mark and Howard have no plans to slow down as they begin promo on a new single.

Sweet July dropped on Friday and is available to stream now.

The trader-turned-campaigner argues that drastic steps need to be taken to close the UK’s huge wealth gap

Millionaire trader-turned-inequality campaigner Gary Stevenson is proposing a 2% annual tax on all those who have wealth above £10million in the UK.

The TV presenter will set out his argument in a Channel 4 programme in which he explores the growing concentration of wealth in Britain. He says that the UK’s poorest billionaire, with a wealth of just £1billion, makes £50 million a year in passive income at a rate of just 5%. That is nearly £1million every week, without getting out of bed.

And Gary, 40, argues that if nothing changes, the concentration of wealth at the top will only accelerate. “If this continues, it is inevitable that the billionaires and the super-rich will own a larger and larger share of the real wealth of this country, meaning other groups in society, the working class, the middle class, and the government will progressively own less and less.

“If we do not do anything about this system then very, very quickly the billionaires will own everything, and you will own nothing.”

In the UK, the richest 56 people have equal wealth to 27million people. In 2025 alone, the average billionaire grew their wealth by £231million. Meanwhile wages, in real terms, are lower than they were almost 20 years ago and the average student debt in England has soared from £3,200 in 2000 to £53,000 today.

Taxing wealth rather than income is not a new idea – Norway, Switzerland and Spain already have wealth taxes. Under his proposal, a person worth £11 million would pay £20,000 in tax a year, while some one worth one billion would pay £20 million.

Some estimates suggest that this system could raise £24billion annually, enough to fund the NHS, build affordable housing or cut taxes for workers who are on lower incomes.

A poll of 4,142 British adults found that 75% of the public support a wealth tax along with many experts. Gabriel Zucman, Professor of Economics, tells Gary: “There is a problem in our tax systems which is that the very rich have lower effective tax rates than the rest of the population.”

But there are plenty of billionaires, aristocrats, tax experts and finance influencers who argue against it. In the programme Reform party donor and billionaire entrepreneur Bassim Haidar – whose wealth is growing at around 12% a year, says that if it happened, he’d sell his businesses and quit Britain. “I would exit completely. Yeah, even if I sell them at a loss, I don’t care, cause it becomes a matter of principle. Wealth is mobile, so I’ll walk away. And listen, I’ll take a hit for one year, that’s fine. But then I’ll go, and I’ll never come back.”

Gary, who grew up in Ilford, east London, the son of a postman, thinks Haidar is scaremongering. “Rich people generate the majority of their income from owning assets. Your house, your supermarket, the farms that grow your food, the power plants that create your energy,” he argues. “Many wealthy people own assets which are fundamentally fixed to this country.”

He also discovers wealthy people who are quite happy to give a bit more. Julia Davies, who made her fortune building an accessories business and is a member of a group called Patriotic Millionaires, is one of them: “We’ve got to stop normalising this idea that it is normal to try and avoid contributing to public services and infrastructure, if you can massively afford to do that. I’m a millionaire, I’m not going anywhere. Why would I uproot myself and my family just to avoid contributing a bit more?”

– How to Get Filthy Rich with Gary Stevenson, Wednesday 8 July, 9pm, Channel 4

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NEW wave icon Gary Numan has opened up about getting together with his superfan wife – and how it might be ‘illegal’ now.

The Cars singer, 68 – who has been married to Gemma O’Neill, 58, for nearly three decades – met his future spouse in an unconventional way.

The singer first ran into superfan Gemma at an event when he was a 22-year-old artist and she was a young admirer.

Six years later, he posed for a picture with the then 18-year-old and knew to pen it straight to “Gemma”.

Following the sudden loss of O’Neill’s mum, the familiar fan vanished from the crowd at his gigs.

Worried about her, Numan managed to get her number through his fan club to ring her up and make sure she was ok.

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“I used the fan club to get her phone number.

“That’s how I attracted her, which I think is illegal now,” he told The Times.

The star continued: “I rang her up and said, ‘Hello, it’s me,’ and she put the phone down – she thought it was somebody playing a cruel trick.”

He called again and was made to prove his identity.

Numan invited her along for a drive for a radio interview – where they had their first date.

He said: “I took her to a Little Chef because I’m very down to earth.

“I don’t do all that flash, rich man, pop star stuff.”

Gary and Gemma didn’t start their relationship until she was in her twenties.

In 1997, Gary married superfan Gemma from Sidcup and they share three daughters; Raven, 23, Persia, 21, and 19-year-old Echo.

His daughter Persia also added vocals to his song My Name Is Ruin.

Numan revealed that Gemma once told a career advisor: “I won’t need a job. I’m going to marry Gary Numan.”

Gary previously said of their relationship: “This is going to sound corny, given that it’s 30 years and four days since our first date, but I miss her even when she’s in a different part of the house.

“She’s everything I am not – which is most things, really.”

The singer, songwriter – who has an estimated net worth of around £5.5 million – toured last year to celebrate the 45th anniversary of his seminal album Telekon.

Sadly, he suffered the traumatic loss of his beloved younger brother John just after his show in Leeds – which he called the ‘worst news of my life’.

Ipswich are close to appointing Gary O’Neil as their new head coach.

The 43-year-old is poised to replace Kieran McKenna, who stepped down from the Portman Road post earlier this month.

Compensation with O’Neil’s current club Strasbourg is still to be agreed, but is not expected to be an issue for the Tractor Boys.

Tim Jenkins and Neil Critchley are also expected to move to Suffolk with ex-Bournemouth and Wolves boss O’Neil, having worked with him in France.

Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also in the running for the job this week.

BBC Sport reported Ipswich’s interest in O’Neil earlier this month and the Strasbourg boss has long been admired by the club’s hierarchy.

His French club finished eighth in Ligue 1 last season and reached the Europa Conference League semi-finals, losing to Rayo Vallacano. It was the first time Strasbourg had reached the last four of a European competition.

O’Neil played at Bristol City when current Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton held the same role at Ashton Gate.

Strasbourg had initially been confident of keeping him following his January arrival, but O’Neil will return to the Premier League for the first time since leaving Wolves in December 2024.

Ipswich are looking for a new head coach after McKenna stepped down last week, despite leading them back to the top flight by finishing second in the Championship last season.

The 40-year-old took charge of the Tractor Boys in 2021 and led them to three promotions in the past four seasons, two of which have taken the club into the Premier League.

McKenna was linked with the Fulham job after Marco Silva’s departure, but quit Town to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family.

“I feel this is the right time for me to step aside,” he said. “I do so with great pride at the incredible progress we have made and with huge hope and optimism for the future of the club.”

Ipswich open their Premier League campaign at home to Sunderland on 22 August.

Maybe you can use a laugh this morning. Maybe you’re still deep in your feelings, thinking about the “Hacks” series finale and that shot of Hannah Einbinder looking at Jean Smart on the dance floor, grief seeping into her eyes. Maybe you’re lamenting the chaos at our treasured national parks. Hell … maybe you took out a loan to buy a tomato over the weekend.

If you’re feeling down, Gary Oldman would like a word. And that word is: Hufflepuff.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter, back in your inbox for the next few weeks as we navigate our way through Emmy season.

Digital cover story: The world according to Gary

(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)

Gary Oldman is a Hufflepuff.

Never mind that the 68-year-old actor, who played the rebellious, impulsive wizard Sirius Black in the Harry Potter film franchise, couldn’t tell you the difference between a Hufflepuff and, say, a Gryffindor.

When journalist Josh Horowitz reads a list of core personality qualities — loyalty, hard work, patience, fairness, dedication — and asks Oldman if that describes him, he nods his head.

You’re a Hufflepuff.

“I’m a Hufflepuff?” Oldman says, trying the word on for size. He likes it. “I’m a Hufflepuff!”

This video clip is a favorite of mine, one I could watch on a loop for the sheer delight Oldman takes in pronouncing the word Hufflepuff.

It’s easy to see why Oldman takes such pleasure in being a granddad these days, one of the things we talked about at length not long ago for an Envelope digital cover story. He can access his silly side with ease.

I asked Oldman about the upcoming HBO “Harry Potter” television series, a decade-spanning endeavor that will spend a season adapting each of J.K. Rowling’s seven fantasy books.

“I’ve seen a trailer for it, and I think it’s a great idea,” Oldman says. “They’re doing the whole book, which I love, because there were a lot of wonderful things, fabric and character detail, we had to lose for the sake of telling the story in two hours.”

Would Oldman be keen to don a distressed velvet overcoat again and participate in the reboot?

“I don’t think they want any of us from the movies contaminating or muddying the waters,” Oldman says, pleasantly. “Besides, I’m too old.”

But with AI, is anyone too old now? Oldman could drop into “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and look like he hasn’t aged a day since the movie was released 22 years ago.

“I don’t know where we’re going with it because it seems to advance every week,” Oldman says. He ponders the advances made since Martin Scorsese used digital deaging in his 2019 film “The Irishman.”

“I think that was the least successful thing about it,” Oldman says of the technology, “and I’ve been a huge Martin Scorsese fan forever. Ultimately, I don’t know why they wanted to make [Robert] De Niro’s eyes blue.” He pauses, considering the change and why it bothered him. “I guess it’s a blue-eyed Irishman. If I had one negative takeaway, it would be that.”

Oldman prefers directors like Christopher Nolan, whom he worked with on the “Dark Knight” movies and “Oppenheimer,” who think technology should be used sparingly to enhance the storytelling.

“Otherwise it leaves me a bit cold,” he says. “You’re just looking at ones and zeroes.”

“I don’t want to be replaced entirely,” Oldman continues, shaking his head. “I don’t think anyone does.”

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Former captain Gary Mabbutt hopes Ben Davies will have a future at Tottenham Hotspur after the club avoided relegation to the Championship.

Wales skipper Davies, who turned 33 last month, sees his Tottenham contract expire next month.

The defender has not played since suffering a serious ankle injury in January, but Mabbutt believes he should be offered the chance to stay at a club he has represented for 12 years.

“Ben’s a great lad,” said Spurs great Mabbutt.

“What he has given to the club so far… it was just so unfortunate the injury he received. It was devastating for him and or us because Ben’s a player you can always rely on.

“Certainly I hope something will be done with his contract, whether it be still on the playing side or maybe looking a bit more to the future, but hopefully still with Tottenham Hotspur.”