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Mel C, 51, shows off impressive abs in revealing workout gear as she films sexy new music video

SPICE Girl Mel C has cranked up the heat and put her rock hard abs on display during a shoot for her new music video – Sweat.

The toned 51-year-old star gave fans a glimpse at work behind-the-scenes of her latest musical offering.

Still proving she’s every inch Sporty, Mel C gave a glimpse inside her shootCredit: YouTube / Mel C
Sporty Spice showed off her gym-honed figure in the videoCredit: YouTube / Mel C

She told followers alongside the footage: “Little SWEAT shoot BTS clip now live on YouTube.”

Jumping around on an exercise bike, the sports-lover showed off her enviable muscles in a variety of show-stopping outfits and shades.

She looked pumped in a selection of wardrobe changes including a string-tied bra top and cut-out bikini-style cover up with black trousers.

Proving she still lives up to her Sporty Spice persona, the singer looked incredibly toned, while exuding girl power in her ab-flashing workout gear.

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The mum-of-one’s new track Sweat is an electro-house single that samples Diana Ross’s iconic hit Work That Body.

It’s set to feature on Mel’s upcoming ninth studio album due to drop on May 1, 2026.

Speaking of her dance single Sweat, she wrote: “I’m so happy this track is finally all yours. Dance to it. Run to it. Lift to it. SWEAT to it.”

Although the singer missed her fellow bandmate’s wedding in July, Mel C issued a sweet message to her friend Mel B.

The popstar was absent from Mel’s happy day at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, which saw Emma Bunton, 49, the sole other girl group member in attendance.

The Sun revealed earlier in the year how the Spice Girls are planning a massive tour in 2026 to celebrate 30 years since debut single Wannabe was released.

Sporty Spice had her say, revealing certain members needed more “convincing” than others, with Victoria Beckham currently not set to take part.

She is expected to keep out of it just like she did with their sell-out 2019 reunion tour, while Geri Halliwell-Horner may also need some persuading.

The Liverpudlian previously appeared on the No Filter with Kate Langbroek podcast and Mel said: “Next year is a big year for us and we have to acknowledge it in some way.

“So we are talking about what that’s going to look like and for me, Melanie, I know for sure, and Emma [Bunton], we’d be back on stage. But sometimes other people need a little bit more convincing.”

On the prospect of all five members being back on stage together for the first time since 2012, she said: “It would be the best thing ever, ever, ever. And sometimes it feels like a duty to the world.

“When we did the shows in 2019, it brought so much joy to so many people. Not everybody likes the Spice Girls but loads of people do.

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“We’re living in this weird world right now. There’s so much negativity and mad s**t going on. Let’s all spice up our lives.”

And talking about Mel B, she added, ironically: “We’ve decided now we’re not going to tell Mel anything because she can’t keep her mouth shut.

The singer has showcased her impressive absCredit: YouTube / Mel C
The toned Spice Girl wore a cut-out bra top to help launch her new musicCredit: YouTube / Mel C
Mel C is set to release her album in 2026Credit: Refer to source
The Spice Girls could be making a return for their 30th anniversaryCredit: Getty

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Freddie Flintoff’s son, 2, wouldn’t go near him after horror Top Gear crash

Freddie Flintoff was injured in the crash which happened at Dunsfold Aerodrome near Cranleigh in Surrey, where the former cricketer had been filming for BBC One’s Top Gear

Freddie Flintoff has told how his two-year-old son wouldn’t go near him after his horror Top Gear crash.

The former professional cricketer, 47, said he became “a snappy mess” following the smash which happened during filming for the BBC One programme at Dunsfold Aerodrome near Cranleigh, Surrey. The three-wheeled Morgan supercar overturned on the track and Freddie, who played cricket for England for 11 years, dragged his face along the ground, cutting open the side of his nose, cheek and lips, and shattering his jawbone and teeth.

But he has spoken this week of how traumatic the mental injuries were, revealing for the first time how the ordeal impacted his children. Freddie, who had PTSD following the accident, said: “(After the crash) I would get snappy and angry.

“The kids were incredible… It was the younger one, Preston, because he would have been about two, two and a half, at the time and he wouldn’t come near me to begin with because I was a mess.”

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Top Gear was shelved following the crash, and Freddie reportedly received £9m in compensation from BBC Studios, who make the show. Yet, the star has spoken since at how the experience changed his life, including how he wouldn’t leave his home – except for medical appointments – for six to eight months in the wake of it.

But the former fast bowler, a Lancashire Cricket Club legend, has now said he is on the road to recovery, to a great extent thanks to wife Rachael Wools, whom he wed in March 2005.

Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Freddie said: “I have flashbacks and nightmares, but I’ve probably got more of an acceptance of them now.

“I suppose that the biggest thing it did do, was brought me back to cricket. Family and friends and cricket have been things that now, have probably helped me more than anything. It’s all good now. But Rachael was strong. I suppose she had to be for both of us.”

Freddie, originally from Preston, Lancashire, has returned to TV work in recent months too. A second series of Freddie’s Field of Dreams – in which he creates a brand-new cricket team with a group of promising teens and inspires a fresh generation – aired on the BBC in 2024. The BBC has given the green light for a third series, it is understood.

And the dad was chosen to front the revival of game show Bullseye, which returned as a trial on Christmas Day last year on ITV. It became so popular ITV commissioned Bullseye for a full series, which is set to broadcast before the year is out.

Watch Freddie’s full interview on Thursday on Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube.

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‘A twist on it’: New mural puts Kobe Bryant in Dodger gear

The image is iconic — Kobe Bryant letting out a roar while tugging on his gold Lakers jersey after scoring 49 points during a playoff win over the Denver Nuggets on April 23, 2008.

It has been used in numerous murals around Southern California, including one that is being painted in larger-than-life form on the side of a future Eat Fantastic restaurant on the 700 block of North Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach.

This particular painting, however, is a little different from the others, and from the original image itself. Bryant’s intensity is still there. His pose is exactly the same. He is still wearing a No. 24 jersey.

But in this version, that jersey is not gold with “Lakers” spelled across the chest in purple letters.

It’s white, with “Dodgers” across the chest in blue letters.

A man in a Dodgers cap and faded black T-shirt stands with his hands in his pockets in front of a Kobe Bryant mural

Gustavo Zermeño Jr. altered an iconic image of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant for a Dodgers mural he is painting in Redondo Beach.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

The altered version of the iconic image is just one portion of a sprawling mural paying tribute to the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship. It’s on the north-facing side of a former Carl’s Jr. building that will open later this year as part of the growing Eat Fantastic chain in the Los Angeles area.

The mural was conceived by artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr. and Eat Fantastic owner Efthemios Alexander Tsiboukas. It features some of the key figures from the Dodgers’ title run — players Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani (with his beloved dog Decoy) and rapper Ice Cube, who is shown riding in a classic Dodger blue convertible as he did when he performed before Game 3 of the World Series.

And then there’s the late Lakers legend Bryant, whose inclusion in the piece was a must, Zermeño said.

“Each [Eat Fantastic] location has a Kobe mural, at least the ones that have a good wall,” said Zermeño, who is a huge fan of both the Dodgers and Bryant. “And for this location, [Tsiboukas] wanted to create something for the Dodgers’ championship team. That’s why Kobe has the Dodger jersey on, you know, staying on theme with the locations having a Kobe mural.”

Zermeño said the original idea was to paint Bryant wearing a Dodgers baseball jersey, as he did while attending the team’s games over the years before his shocking death in January 2020.

Lakers Kobe Bryant celebrates his three–pointer against the Nuggets

Lakers’ Kobe Bryant celebrates a three–pointer against the Denver Nuggets on April 23, 2008, at Staples Center.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

“So we looked up a bunch of images,” Zermeño said. “A lot of them are obviously cool images, but either they were very pixelated, or just didn’t have what we wanted, that really aggressive Mamba-mentality feel.

“So we found this image. And you know, this image has been done before in several murals. But with the Dodger jersey, we wanted to throw a twist on it.”

Tsiboukas said: “That’s my favorite picture of him. I have the exact same one [painted at the restaurant location] in Arcadia. He’s wearing the real jersey, though, the yellow one. So I wanted a replica of that same one I did in Arcadia, and do it in a Dodger jersey, because of the Dodger dynasty right now.”

The purple and gold may have been removed from the jersey, but Zermeño said he purposefully incorporated them into the sunset depicted behind Bryant as a nod to the Lakers.

Zermeño started working on the mural Aug. 7 and expects to have it completed next week, ahead of Bryant’s Aug. 23 birthday. The portion featuring Bryant is already done — and it has garnered mixed reactions.

“For the most part, I’ve gotten a pretty positive reaction over it,” Zermeño said. “You know, a lot of Laker fans are also Dodger fans, so I think that overlap is pretty consistent throughout L.A. But yeah, man, you’re always going to have some haters. I think a lot of it is more like playful taunting. …

“A couple of people driving by — I think they’re just trying to be funny, making a joke, like yelling ‘He didn’t play for the Dodgers!’ or like, ‘He was a Laker!’ And then some people are just curious why I made that change. I think the people that are curious are older, some of the older crowd that, I guess, doesn’t understand why I would switch it, you know?”

Tsiboukas said he has seen a lot of online discussion about it, including on the popular kobemural Instagram page.

“Maybe 70% love it, and 30% are like, ‘That looks like a Clipper jersey,’” Tsiboukas said. “It’s causing a lot of friction back and forth, but it’s good topic. It’s raising awareness. It’s keeping Kobe’s legacy alive.”

A man in a baseball cap and faded T-shirt holds a palette in one hand and a brush in the other while painting part of a mural

Gustavo Zermeño Jr. hand paints part of Mookie Betts’ mouth onto his Dodgers mural outside the future Eat Fantastic restaurant in Redondo Beach.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

 Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy are painted on a wall with a tree slightly blocking the view

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy, holding a Dodger Dog toy in his mouth, are depicted in a new mural by Gustavo Zermeño Jr.

(Chuck Schilken / Los Angeles Times)

Zermeño said he doesn’t mind the discourse over his artwork.

“It just, it sparks that conversation,” he said. “So regardless of whether people like it or not, I think it kind of breaks the ice for people to come up and ask questions and learn more about why we created it, and the process of putting it together. …

“It’s art, you know, and art’s meant to kind of create some type of conversation. And if we were to put him with a regular jersey, people would have been like, ‘Oh, that’s cool, but it’s been done X amount of times,’ you know? I’ve seen that photo in at least five different murals. So, yeah, I think switching it up definitely — I don’t want to say it elevated the piece, but it definitely created more conversation than there would be if we just kept the original jersey.”



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Shops close down and streets patrolled by cops as thousands of travellers gear up for 2nd day of Appleby Horse Fair

THE historic Appleby Horse Fair has left shops and roads closed as a second day of rowdy celebrations continues.

The Gypsy King, Tyson Fury, joined thousands of revellers yesterday for the first day of the fair.

Police officers stopping a horse rider at the Appleby Horse Fair.

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The small town has been left effectively shut down as the festival continuesCredit: NNP
Shop closure notice: Closed Thursday, June 5th until Monday, June 9th.

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Shops and businesses across the town have closed until the fair endsCredit: NNP

The celebrations have seen thousands of travellers descend on the town, riding horses through the small streets.

Cops have been spotted patrolling the streets and roads have been closed to traffic.

Pictures from yesterday’s celebrations show horses being ridden in the River Eden as part of a longstanding tradition.

Tens of thousands of travellers have arrived in the small town for the event, lining the roads nearby.

Campsites have been set up, quickly filling with hundreds of caravans.

The six day event features traditional music, dancing, horse riding, market stalls and horses for sale.

Carts and wagons have been pulled through the town by horse as the event continues to unfold.

Residents in nearby villages have complained of anti-social behaviour during the event.

Girl riding horse through water at Appleby Horse Fair.

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Horses are exercised in the nearby River EdenCredit: NNP
Horses and a police van at the Appleby Horse Fair.

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Horses are also ridden through the streets, bought and soldCredit: NNP

The roads of the small town and surrounding area have been lined with travellers arriving to join the festivities.

Today as the celebrations continued locals have shut their shops and roads are being patrolled by cops.

Signs have been left on doors up and down the busy high street reading “closed” with the town effectively shut down for the event.

A huge police presence is in the area for the second day in a row with officers on standby ahead of potential chaos and violence.

RSPCA officers and Blue Cross volunteers are also present, keeping an eye on the welfare of the horses being exercised, bought and sold.

During the 2021 event seven people were arrested.

Travellers and their families have been descending on the town for the fair for 340 years.

The event falls on the first weekend of June and is recognised as the largest of its kind in Europe.

Huge queues have formed along the busy country lanes and town life has ground to a standstill as the fair continues.

Aerial view of travellers queuing to enter a campsite.

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Police and RSPCA officers are patrolling the streetsCredit: NNP
Aerial view of travelers queuing for a campsite.

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Massive campsites have been set up to accommodate the visitorsCredit: NNP

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