heartbreaking

Former newsreader and Strictly Come Dancing star Katie Derham is hosting the BBC Proms

BBC host Katie Derham received a marriage proposal on a first date.

The former Strictly Come Dancing star is a former ITV news presenter but in 2010 she announced she was returning to the BBC where she started her career as a researcher.

Since then she’s worked extensively across radio and she was one of the contestants on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 when she was partnered with Anton Du Beke and impressed both the judges and viewers, topping the leaderboard and making it through to the final. She returned for the Christmas special two years later which she won with Brendan Cole.

As she teams up with Celebrity Traitors star Nick Mohammed to present the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms on Saturday, September 12, which will feature a Dolly Parton tribute, we take a look at her life offscreen.

Katie Derham’s heartbreak

Katie, who was born in Kent, is now 56 and she admits that her last birthday was a poignant moment for her because her mother Margaret was the same age when she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.

Margaret died aged just 61, from complications of pancreatitis. Opening up to HELLO! magazine’s Second Act podcast Katie said: “I’ve stopped being quite so angry (over her death) as I was for many years. She never met my second daughter, and she had such a bright and interesting mind.”

She added: “It seems particularly cruel. She was 61 when she died – that’s nothing is it?” Katie also spoke about how she felt she had to “step up” and be the “mother of the family” after Margaret died.

The mother-of-two continued: “I don’t know how she (Margaret) responded to the menopause, I don’t know what she was like as a young grandma – I don’t know what she was like as an older grandma.”

Marriage proposal

Katie met her husband, John Vincent, now the chief executive and co-founder of fast food chain Leon Restaurants, when he caught her gatecrashing the Cambridge University May Ball – and proposed to her.

“It sounds so bad now, in retrospect. But with a big smile and a big twinkle, he said “Well, you know, give me a snog and I won’t throw you out,” she revealed to HELLO!

“It did make me laugh. And we spent the night dancing around, but I thought (proposing) was a joke, I genuinely never thought I’d see him again. But he told his mum and dad ‘I met this girl at this ball and I’m pretty sure I’m going to marry her.’”

They met up again when John took the plunge and called the BBC switchboard during her shift as a financial news researcher in 1992. They went on to marry seven years later and they are the proud parents of two daughters.

Last Night of the Proms: The Finale is on BBC One on Saturday, September 12 from 9pm

The truth about the last words uttered by Australia’s famed ‘Crocodile Hunter’ have now been laid bare, two decades after the Wildlife Warrior’s untimely death

A close confidant of legendary eco-warrior Steve Irwin has detailed the Aussie icon’s final moments, just as he realised death was moments away.

September 4 marks the anniversarry of Irwin’s untimely death. The passionate animal lover was known around the world for his infectious approach to conservation, capturing hearts with his zoo, TV show, and adoration for all creatures great, small, and even scaly.

It’s been two decades since Irwin’s shock death, and family and friends have paid tribute to a man considered an icon and animal-loving legend Down Under.

ICYMI: Irwin died while doing what he loved; he was out on Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, filming a nature documentary about stingrays when he copped a barb to the heart from the very creature he was there to film.

Cameraman Justin had been filming the crocodile hunter at sea when disaster struck. Speaking on 60 Minutes’ Steve Irwin: A Wild Life, Justin revealed the devastating moment Steve realised he was dying, and his final moments.

Justin told the programme: “We zipped around for 10-15 minutes before we found the stingray. And then, it was like, okay, game on. I mean, we’d only filmed with stingrays a hundred times before. They were awesome to film with. So we both slipped over the side of the rubber ducky and, yeah, started filming this amazing massive — it was massive — bull ray.

“Anyway, we chatted about the final shot, which would be the opening shot, because by now, the stingray was calm. It had buried itself in the sand. I said, ‘We’ll start this thing. I’ll just be close in front of this stingray. I’ll be a couple of metres from it. You go round behind it and swim up behind it.'”

Justin went on: “He swims up, swims over the top of it. It doesn’t move. But as he’s directly over the top of it, of course, it thought he was a tiger shark and started stabbing madly towards him with its tail. The water just boiled. I couldn’t see anything that was going on. Bubbles and thrashing.

“And then, all of a sudden, it stopped. The stingray swam away, the water calmed, so I just panned with the stingray. And as I let it go out of shot, as I panned back to Steve, he came jumping up out of the water, screaming, and the water around him is now full of blood.

“And he screamed out, ‘It’s punctured my lung!’ I threw the camera into one of the rubber duckies, dragged Steve into the boat. His khaki shirt is open, and he’s just got blood pouring out of a gash like that in his chest, right over his heart. But he’s conscious, and he says to me, looks me right in the eye, and he says, ‘I’m dying’.”

Bindi was just eight years old when her father died, and she shared a video of him as he recounted “the most incredible wildlife encounter of my life” – the birth of his daughter. Bindi said: “Twenty years ago, today, the world lost the most passionate and dedicated wildlife conservationist. Our family lost our superhero. My mum lost the love of her life; my brother and I lost the greatest dad.

“Grief never truly leaves us; we walk alongside it every day. Where there is enormous grief, there is even greater love.I always thought that my dad’s legacy is wildlife conservation; it turns out, his legacy is love. For our planet and for each other.”

Bindi added that her five-year-old daughter watches her grandfather’s documentaries every morning and feels “utterly loved by her ‘grandpa crocodile’, despite never meeting him. She went on “My dad left a lasting impact so poignant that it will ripple out for generations to come. I believe with my whole heart that his love will live on forever.

“Dad, I love you with my whole heart. Thank you for being our guardian angel. And most of all, thank you for watching over my daughter now, too. She loves you so much. We all do.”

Robert also shared a snap of him and his father with the caption: “Your legacy is forever.” Terri, also remembered her final few weeks with her husband, saying “grief still walks with me like my shadow”. She said: “With the passing of time I have gained more perspective and understanding. We were together as a family, on our crocodile research expedition, for what was to be our final six weeks together.

“Ours was to be a long and sweet goodbye. Steve spent time with Bindi and Robert building swings and climbing trees. We all slowed down. Time slowed down. I believe that all of us, every one of us, gets to say goodbye.

“We just may not know that we’re saying it. Hold every moment dear with the ones you love. Until we meet again.”

A guest on The Repair Shop: Beyond The Barn opened up about the tragic death of their son.

A guest on The Repair Shop has opened up about their heartbreak after the tragic death of their son. The BBC programme returned to screens on Wednesday, September 2, with the first episode of Beyond the Barn.

The series follows experts restoring precious items from guests across the country, while also discovering what happened after the special items were restored.

The items included in tonight’s episode were a replica of Doctor Who’s robot dog K-9, a cowboy hat worn by musician John Cambridge, who played alongside David Bowie, and a leather case used by a cook who catered for Winston Churchill during World War II.

Luthier Julyan Wallis, who repairs instruments and guitars, also set to work on restoring a ukulele, after the owner’s parents brought it in following his tragic death in a motorcycle accident.

Couple Colin and Trish were looking for Julyan’s expertise to return the music to their precious instrument. Showing the broken ukulele, with its strings torn out of place, Trish explained: “This is our son’s ukulele. He was killed in November 2022 in a motorcycle accident.”

“Awful, I’m really sorry to hear that,” host Will Kirk replied. Trish went on: “Cameron had lots of musical instruments, he loved music.” Colin continued: “He grew up in a very musical house, his brother played guitar and Cameron wanted to play guitar too.”

They shared how their son played guitar, bass guitar, double bass, banjo and accordion. “He was a teacher in Thailand,” Trish went on. “When he went off to Thailand he took the ukulele and a chess set, and nothing else.”

Paying tribute, Colin called Cameron “outstanding”, as Trish shared: “He loved people, he was a caring person. He hated to see anybody sad, down, music was part of the way he tried to make people happy.”

Will replied: “This must have meant quite something to him.” Trish and Colin wanted to restore Cameron’s most-prized possession so that she could one day play it herself.

Cameron’s ukulele had been broken after a friend sat on it, with Colin sharing: “We heard a crunch. But Cameron, being the type of person he was, he didn’t want the friend to be upset so he threw it over his shoulder and denied that it was there. It landed in some bushes near the house, I think he knew it was beyond repair so he left it there. And I think it rested there for about six months.”

When Trish and Colin travelled to Thailand to bring Cameron’s body home, they couldn’t find the ukulele at first. “There were lots of tears,” they recalled. Trish explained how they found the ukulele when her sunglasses “flew off”, with Colin saying: “It was almost as if Cameron was saying, don’t forget my ukulele.”

Trish broke down in tears as she reflected on the moment she saw the broken instrument. She said: “For me it was, Cameron’s gone and that’s gone too, because it’s smashed.” She added: “Cameron touched this, he touched the strings, he held it close to him, almost hugging it. I’ll be able to do the same, it will feel like I’ve got a little bit of Cameron back.”

The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn is available to watch in BBC iPlayer.

KATE Beckinsale has revealed her PTSD diagnosis and admitted she’s in a ‘lonely place’ in a heartbreaking Instagram video.

The actress said that there’s loads of information around military PTSD but not Civilian PTSD and that people find that harder to understand.

Kate, 53, explained that people who “have seen or experienced levels of horror, terror or violence” see it every time they blink or any time they close their eyes for a second.

She said: “Those people aren’t recognised as heroes.”

She went on to explain that although people with PTSD go about their everyday lives that “they don’t sleep for more than an hour because when they do, it’s full of nightmares.”

She said: “Anything, smells, sounds, thoughts, feelings. Can trigger them into a place that is actually like hell.”

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She shared that since battling PTSD is “invisible,” people should be “kinder and gentler” to others.

She continued: “It really is true that if you haven’t walked a mile in someone’s shoes — however fancy you think the shoes are — you have absolutely no idea what they might be carrying, masking, dealing with day and night.

“And if in doubt, especially to a little child. And I am someone who had a little child who was treated extremely cruelly by grown adults, who forgave themselves immediately.

“So if in doubt be kind. Always be kind.”

The star ended her video by explaining that PTSD victims “are the loneliest people because they are alone with a level of horror that’s incompatible with life.

“Yet a lot of the time these people continue to try and put one foot in front of the other.”

Fans flocked to comment and one wrote: “Thank you for sharing this, I appreciate you being so open n giving some insight, I don’t know if it helps but I hope you know it’s appreciated.”

Kate replied: “I’m really glad that makes me happy. I just hope at least one person can feel seen and appreciated and understood. It can be such a lonely place.”

Another added: “Sending love and hugs.”

A third wrote: “The truest words I’ve heard all f***ing year! Hope you’re ok xx.”

While a fourth said: “You’re right… there’s not enough awareness of complex PTSD at all!”

Kate lost her beloved mum Judy Loe, 73, in 2025 after a battle with cancer.

Kate first revealed her mother’s cancer diagnosis last year, shortly after the death of her famous stepfather Roy Battersby, who tragically passed away following a massive stroke.

The Serendipity star also lost her father Richard Beckinsale at the age of five after he suffered a huge heart attack.

EastEnders fans believe they’ve worked out Ravi Gulati’s exit storyline, and it’s fair to say that the Walford bad boy could be set to bring more drama than ever as he bows out

Ravi Gulati could be set to cause major disruption with his EastEnders storyline. It was revealed last month that Ravi, played by Aaron Thiara, would be leaving Walford after four years of instilling fear in his neighbours.

Over the course of his time in Albert Square, Ravi has been at the centre of action-packed storylines, but his latest could be the most heartbreaking for the former gang leader. After being sectioned, Ravi was noticeably absent from the Square and ended his relationship with Priya (Sophie Khan Levy), which led Priya to sleep with Max Branning.

Priya previously revealed that she had been seeing another man, but this week, Ravi was dealt a crushing blow when he saw her acting cosy with Max Branning (Jake Wood). In tonight’s episode, Ravi headed over to Max and Cindy’s flat, silently snooping around the place to discover if a picture Priya had taken was in fact at Max’s home, which it was.

When he confronted Priya about whether Max was her mystery man, she was shocked by the question and later confirmed what Ravi already knew. But she clarified that it was simply a “fling” and the relationship was over.

But with the news that Ravi is leaving Walford, fans believe that this could be a key part of the upcoming 2027 New Year episode, which viewers saw on New Year’s Day this year, kicking off the biggest storylines for next year.

During the episode, viewers saw Max being arrested by armed police before his wedding for solicitation to murder. He’s also been spotted with a woman despite getting married, though his bride’s identity remains a mystery. Although he’s engaged to Cindy, some believe that she won’t be tying the knot with Max, who is set to marry her this week.

A male figure was also spotted lingering over the Brannings ‘ and Beales’ in Lauren’s house – and some believe that this could be Ravi, as part of his storyline. Now, it wouldn’t be surprising, given Ravi’s history with criminal activity and weaoponary.

We also know that Priya is pregnant with Max’s baby, as a result of their fling, but Ravi, her fiancé, doesn’t know about the pregnancy. One fan said: “Priya is pregnant, it’s Max’s, but she tells everyone it’s Ravis. Max’s bride is Linda at new year. Which makes more sense to have Ian as his best man.

“Priya is in Max’s bed. In the flash-forward, we see Cindy looking at a wedding dress, but it is her reflecting on what could have been. Also, in the flash forward, a police officer comes out of the flats saying there is a problem; I think that Priya’s waters have broken or labour has started- she locked herself in the bathroom. Ravi or Cindy is holding the gun to Oscar and Lauren.

“Ravi’s reason – he finds out about the affair and the baby is not his, and goes crazy, wanting to take away Max’s children for ruining his family. Cindy’s reason – payback for leaving her and finally getting revenge for Max being involved in her son’s death. We know that Linda, Oscar, Zoe and Ravi are leaving.”

Another fan said: “I think Cindy and Ravi find out about Max and Priya, Ravi is the gunman, and Cindy has set Max up for solicitation to murder.” While a third added: “I think the solicitation to murder is Ravi – he faked his own death and framed Max for it.”

“Maybe Ravi shoots Oscar, that’s his exit and Ravi for murder?” said a fourth. A fifth added: “If Priya goes into labour LYD, it’ll be another baby born prematurely, I think it’ll be Ravi with the gun.”

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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Abigail Cruttenden played the unhappily married Kate Weedon on ITV’s Benidorm

Benidorm’s Kate Weedon actress has a rather famous ex in real life.

Abigail Cruttenden joined the ITV sitcom in its first series in 2007 as short-tempered and unhappily married Kate. Kate rocked up at the iconic all-inclusive Solana resort with husband Martin (Nicholas Burns) and she was not at all impressed.

It didn’t take long for Kate to become a firm favourite with Benidorm viewers before her exit in 2009. As well as Benidorm, actress Abigail has appeared in the likes of Jane Eyre, Fresh Meat, Casualty, Citizen Khan and Midsomer Murders.

She also played Anna in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out from 2014 to 2023. And it turns out Abigail was once married to a fellow famous face: actor Sean Bean.

Abigail and Sean – who has starred in the likes of The Lord of the Rings, Games of Thrones and the James Bond series – met when they worked together on ITV’s Sharpe in 1996. On the show, she played Jane Gibbons, the on-screen wife of Sean’s character Richard Sharpe.

Talking about Sean at the time, Abigail previously said: “When I told people I was going to be working with Sean, they said: ‘My God, you’re so lucky’.”

As Free Library reports, she added: “He has such a huge appeal to women. And I think he is lovely – a very attractive bloke. We are in bed together a few times – even before we get married. Disgraceful, I know. Because you wouldn’t expect that from Sharpe.”

Although the pair didn’t strike up a romance straight away, Abigail and Sean ended up dating and got married in 1997. A year later they welcomed a daughter, Evie.

“I was there when Evie was born. It was a very moving experience, stunning,” Sean previously shared. However, in 2000 Abigail and Sean got divorced.

In 2003, Abigail married Jonathan R. Fraser and they have a daughter. As for Sean, the award-winning actor went on to marry Georgina Sutcliffe from 2008 to 2010, and Ashley Moore, whom he’s been married to since 2017.

Meanwhile rumours of a Benidorm return have been swirling for several years now. Discussing a potential return, Sherrie Hewson – who played Joyce Temple-Savage – acknowledged that the series would need to “move on” if it came back to television.

“I think Derren Litten (writer and creator) would bring in other people, different acts in the Neptune’s bar, different singers, and different families. It would be the same kind of thing, but you have to move on, don’t you?” she said.

She added: “There are people who couldn’t be in it because we’ve lost people. You’d have to move on and bring in new characters, which is actually quite exciting. Joyce would actually have to vet them all – that would be brilliant.”

Watch Benidorm on ITVX.

Kelvin and Liz Fletcher share the highs and lows of farming on Fletcher’s Family Farm

Kelvin and Liz Fletcher shared fears for their Cheshire farm following a heartbreaking loss.

The couple shares the highs and lows of farming in their ITV series, Fletcher’s Family Farm. However, in the latest repeat episode, Kelvin and Liz faced a setback. They also bid a bittersweet farewell to their beloved alpacas as they needed to make space on the farm.

Kelvin Fletcher and Liz welcomed vet Angelica to the farm for a health check on their flock following the death of their beloved pet lamb, Aga.

“It kind of looks a bit chaotic, but this is the smoothest it’s ever happened,” Liz shared when referring to them rounding up the sheep.

Kelvin noted, “We’re improving. It just shows we are improving. With the ewes and lambs separated, it’s time for a not-so-pleasant job of the season.”

“Put your hand up if you want a poo bag,” Kelvin shouted to his kids, who seemed more than enthusiastic about picking up sheep poo.

The former soap star went on to share his fears, “To try to prevent losing any lambs, vet Angelica will take the poo samples collected today for testing so we can treat any early signs of infection.”

She explained to Kelvin, “As they grow up, they build some kind of immunity, but lambs are naive to them, and worms are everywhere at pasture, so we need to make sure that they have a good level of exposure when they’re young, which means that they will build up their immune response, but at the same time, the burden is not too high and make them sick. “

Sharing their previous loss, he continued, “We’re taking a belt and braces approach this year, as through the winter worms were a real problem and proved to be fatal for a couple of our lambs, including our beloved Aga. Aga was an orphan lamb, whom we fell in love with, but later lost to a worm infection.”

With all the samples collected, vet Angelica went back to the lab to test the sheep poo.

Luckily for the Fletcher family, the results came back all clear, as he informed viewers, “Angelica has been back in touch with the good news that the worm count isn’t dangerous, but as advised, we still treat them.

“It’s not the easiest job to do, but such an important one, and this time it was such a great team effort. Right, so now it’s that simple chase and getting them back out, back out in the pasture. “

Fletcher’s Family Farm is available to watch on ITVX.

Former footballer Michael Owen has thrown the doors open in his new reality series

Viewers tuning in to Michael Owen’s new reality show have been left curious about his son James Owen’s eye condition.

Six-part series Meet the Owens landed on Prime Video today (August 28) and gives audiences a candid insight into the life and family of former footballer-turned-racehorse owner Michael, his wife Louise and their four children Jessica, Emily, James and Gemma. Episode three shines a spotlight on 20-year-old James as it’s revealed that Michael’s son is clinically blind and suffers from a rare, degenerative eye condition.

During the episode, James and his parents all separately open up about their thoughts and feelings about the condition. Many people are curious to know more about the condition – here’s what James has said about it as well as the condition itself.

Michael Owen’s son James’ eye condition explained

James suffers from Stargardt disease, which is a hereditary eye disorder that progressively gets worse. The condition means that he has limited vision, restricted to his peripheral vision.

According to the NHS ’ Moorfields Eye Hospital states: “Stargardt disease is a rare inherited condition affecting one in 8,000 to 10,000 people.” The site goes on to state: “In Stargardt’s the light-sensitive layer of cells in the macular region of the eye degenerate.

“The macular is the area at the back of the eye which is responsible for the fine detailed vision necessary for activities such as watching TV and reading.” The symptoms of Stargardt disease typically develop before the age of 20.

James, who was born with Stargardt disease, only discovered he had the condition when he was just eight after a teacher called his parents into school and told them that their child might be struggling to see at school. It later took the family a while to get the diagnosis.

James said: “Obviously, as you can imagine, it’s been tough growing up. It’s not good in the centre of the view and it makes it hard for me to look straight.” He went on to say: “Quite often people think I’m rude for not keeping eye contact. I’m actually looking at them in the clearest way I possibly can.”

In a heartbreaking admission, James said he’d always wanted to be a professional footballer like his father but his dreams were shattered by the diagnosis. James explained: “That was my dream, to follow my dad’s footsteps: to be a footballer and make a great career.”

He went on to say: “To have a realisation that it’s not possible, it kills you. It used to break my heart.” James added: “Every day coming back from school and I just used to cry and I used to think life was unfair.”

He now works as a trader online, buying and selling gold by himself. However, James said he wanted to put back into his father’s horse racing business Manor House Stables at some point in the future.

Ex-England and Liverpool player Michael, 46, also admitted he felt guilty about his son’s condition because it was genetic. Michael said: “We made James and I don’t think I’d be normal if I didn’t put myself in the mirror and think, ‘You know, it’s down to us that he’s got this eye condition.’”

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The footballing legend continued: “So I did feel guilty for a little while and could say I still feel guilty now.” Nonetheless, Michael said he was looking at the “positives with him” and then the “guilty sort of evaporates”.

Meet the Owens also sees his daughter and Love Island star Gemma taking on her first race after coming from a background in dressage. Gemma had to undergo rigorous training to become a jockey as she planned to take part in the charity race. Moreover, the series sees Michael trying to make a success of Manor House Stables and trying to turn a profit by finding investors to put their money into his business.

Meet the Owens is streaming on Prime Video now