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Frankie Muniz had a vulnerable moment on social media Friday, revealing he’s hit rock bottom following the announcement of his split from wife Paige Price.

The “Malcolm in the Middle” star announced he and Price were calling it quits after seven years of marriage in July, and now the actor is revealing he’s experienced some painful introspection in recent weeks.

“The last 6 weeks of my life have been a nightmare I’m praying to wake up from,” he wrote on Instagram. “Everything felt heavy, unclear, and like it was falling apart at the same time. I wouldn’t wish this season on anyone.”

He continued that despite the painful experience, “the unexpected gift in the middle of it is that I’ve had nowhere to hide.”

The actor-turned-race car driver said he’s spent the last several weeks reflecting and can now see the areas of his life where he thinks he can improve.

“I want to become a better version of me. Not the polished version I show the world … the actual one,” he wrote.

“I read that sometimes hitting rock bottom is the thing that wakes you up. It forces the changes you needed to make all along so you can live the best life possible. That idea has been sitting with me. In five years I believe I’ll look back at this exact low point and feel grateful for it, because the high I’ll be standing on then only exists because I went through this.”

He told his followers that this period isn’t the end of the story, but the catalyst for change.

“It’s the part where I start doing the work … the uncomfortable, unglamorous, necessary work. I’m choosing to treat this season as the foundation, not the finish line.”

Shortly after Muniz’s post, Price posted an Instagram story with a message that some followers speculated may be a response to the actor’s admission.

“Life is all about perspective. If you ask the grass, the zebra is the monster and the lion is the protector,” Price wrote.

Muniz is best known for his titular starring role in the beloved Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” which ran for seven seasons in the early aughts. In April, the series returned for a four-episode reunion arc on Hulu starring returning fan favorites Bryan Cranston as Hal, Jane Kaczmarek as Lois and a couple of Malcolm’s TV siblings.

In 2006, when “Malcolm in the Middle” wrapped, Muniz transitioned away from acting and pursued race car driving.

President Trump announced Friday he intends to ban CNN, MS NOW, Politico and other news outlets from covering the White House, his strongest threat yet against a free press.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump attacked the the reporting of the three outlets which he described as “FAKE NEWS!”

“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States of America,” Trump said.

How a ban would be enacted remains to be seen. In 2018, the White House tried to ban journalist Jim Acosta, then working for CNN, but a court ordered that his press credential be restored.

Trump has stepped up his attacks on the press during his second term. Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr has threatened the broadcast licenses of outlets Trump dislikes. Carr has called for a review of ABC’s TV licenses, which the Walt Disney Co.-owned network is challenging in court.

After the post circulated, Trump held a press briefing from the Oval Office to discuss drug pricing. According to the pool reporter, no journalist was removed from the press room.

Trump was asked about the Truth Social post. He responded by further attacking the three outlets. He did not cite any specific report that led to his call for a ban.

“I dislike dishonest press,” he said.

Trump’s remarks generated an an immediate outcry from press freedom groups.

“It’s difficult to imagine a more blatant violation of the First Amendment than Trump banning news outlets from the People’s House for criticizing the government,” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement.

“It’s also hard to imagine a dumber move. The historically unpopular president has been retaliating against the press for years, but it hasn’t helped him.”

Stephen McGann has opened-up about his character, Dr. Turner, being played by a new actor for the drama’s prequel

Call the Midwife legend Stephen McGann has claimed he “cannot see” the resemblance as a new actor steps into the role of Dr. Turner.

The 12th season of the much-loved BBC period drama, based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, concluded earlier this year with a heartbreaking finale. The death of Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) left viewers devastated, while the future of Nonnatus House remained uncertain due to advances in the NHS.

Before the show returns with season 16, a prequel titled Sisters in Arms is set to air this festive season. The three-part mini-series will be set during the London Blitz and follow familiar characters in the early stages of their careers, including Dr. Patrick Turner.

The adored GP first arrived in Poplar during the debut episode of Call the Midwife, which aired in 2012, and has since remained a favourite among fans. The character will appear in the prequel, with This Town actor Ben Rose portraying a young Patrick Turner.

Speaking about Sisters in Arms, Stephen, 63, has offered a playful glimpse into his marriage with the show’s creator, Heidi Thomas, who thinks Ben Rose is the spitting image of her husband. “I think he’s the image of Steve,” Heidi told Radio Times. “Steve can’t see any resemblance, so the audience are going to have to draw their own conclusions.”

Stephen was quick to chime in: “Do you know what happened? I’m in my house, and when the final casting was confirmed, my good lady wife and my son were conferring, going, ‘Oh, he looks like Dad, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he look like Dad?'”

Heidi laughed: “He does, he does, but you can’t see it, can you, love?” Stephen then confirmed: “I can’t see it at all.”

Stephen and Heidi first crossed paths in 1988 and exchanged vows two years later, when they were both 27. They spent their honeymoon in Tuscany before settling down in a quaint cottage in rural Essex, before moving to Cambridge. The couple share one son, Dominic. As per Stephen’s memoir, A History of My Family in Seven Maladies, he first encountered Heidi when he auditioned for her new play at the Liverpool Playhouse.

What is Sisters in Arms about?

Call the Midwife will turn back the clock to World War II as bombs rain down in Poplar, East London, at a time when the National Health Service was non-existent. Set in 1939, it will see three familiar nuns in the early stages of their careers.

According to the BBC’s synopsis: “In September 1939, Sister Monica Joan is in her prime, Sister Julienne and Sister Evangelina are young and zealous, and Nonnatus House is the beating heart of Poplar.

“Together with Sister Alice, and local GP Dr Kit, the nuns dedicate their lives to mothers, babies and those in need. But there is no gas and air, no penicillin, no cure for TB, and no welfare state. Then war is declared – and life gets even harder.”

It adds: “While bombs rain from the sky, women give birth underground, families are shattered, children run wild, and whole streets are reduced to rubble. But courage, compassion and resilience triumph as the community unites in its efforts to survive.”

Created, written, and executive produced by Heidi Thomas, Sisters in Arms welcomes a new cast, including Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper star Julie Hesmondhalgh as Sister Alice.

Theatre star Helena Wilson is taking on the role of a young Sister Julienne, though the original actress, Jenny Agutter, will be narrating the miniseries. Ami Metcalf, who played Lynette in the first Christmas special, is returning as Betty Buckle, the first wife of Fred Buckle, now played by Ciaran Bowling. Ben Rose also takes on the role of Dr. Turner.

The BBC has confirmed that Sisters in Arms will air on BBC One and iPlayer this Christmas, though the exact days and times are yet to be confirmed.

Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

MEXICO CITY — He’s been called the “MAGA man” of Latin America, a brash political provocateur whose social media assaults boosted right-wing campaigns from his native Argentina to Central America.

His career as political consultant and co-founder of an ultra-right online outlet made him a rich man and helped elect Trump-aligned politicians across the region. The Economist gave him the “MAGA Man” label, while political commentators gave him another nickname — the “Steve Bannon of Latin America” — a nod to the longtime Trump ally and advisor.

Now, however, Fernando Cerimedo, 45, sits in a maximum-security prison in Bolivia, accused of masterminding a murder-for-hire plot: The attempted femicide of his pregnant mistress, Nadia Beller, 33, a Bolivian lawyer and activist.

It’s a stunning collapse for a onetime ad man with a dodgy reputation who rose to become the go-to digital campaign guru for Latin America’s ascendant right wing. Cerimedo’s signature boasts, exaggerations and peddling of false election-fraud narratives reflected those of his political model, President Trump.

Cerimedo also is another example of how right-wing political operatives outside the United States — as recently in Colombia and Germany — have adopted Trumpian tactics and messaging.

The fall of the “King Midas of the Latin American right,” said Daniel Matamala, a prominent Chilean journalist, stunned “the ecosystem of fake news, bots, trolls and disinformation that has taken this region by storm in recent years.” Speaking on his podcast, Matamala added, “The name of Cerimedo looms like a ghost over the summit of the radical right.”

The Aug. 17 attack on Beller was a seemingly well-planned ambush that was captured by security cameras, the grainy images widely disseminated on social media.

One of two would-be assassins dressed as fast-food deliverymen pulled out a pistol and shot Beller point blank outside a hotel in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. She fell to the ground and, according to her account, feigned death. The next day, at dawn, Cerimedo was arrested as he was about to board a plane to Buenos Aires.

Cerimedo set up the hit, prosecutors charge, in a nefarious attempt at damage control. Beller had threatened to expose his alleged criminal behavior and physically abusive behavior toward her while revealing Cerimedo, a married man with two children, as the father of her unborn child.

Cerimedo is also under investigation for alleged illegal enrichment and potential links to cocaine trafficking.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

Even before Cerimedo’s arrest, Latin American journalists had begun unmasking Cerimedo as a prodigious purveyor of fake news — about himself. New reports revealed that his frequent boasts about U.S. connections — that he attended Harvard, trained with U.S. Navy SEALs, worked in the Obama White House — were fanciful.

“He certainly exaggerated things,” said Damian Merlo, a Miami-based consultant who worked with Cerimedo on the 2023 campaign of Argentine President Javier Milei, a Trump favorite. “I never really got the impression that Cerimedo was ‘MAGA’s man in Latin America.’ The guy could hardly speak English! But that’s how he sold himself.”

Many times, the sales pitch worked. It was Cerimedo who helped broker then-candidate Milei’s celebrated 2023 interview with Tucker Carlson, at the time a Trump confidant, an appearance that thrust Milei into the international spotlight.

Like Milei, Cerimedo seemed to relish any proximity to Trump-land.

In February, at the inaugural “Hispanic Prosperity Gala” — a right-wing pep rally held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — Cerimedo was honored as “Hispanic Political Consultant of the Year.’” From the podium, he spoke of Latin America’s “culture war” and the need to ensure that “the left never again returns” to governments that have elected conservative leaders.

Switching to heavily accented English, Cerimedo gave a shout-out to Brad Parscale, Trump’s former campaign manager, whom Cerimedo thanked for “believing [in] me all the time and giving me your technology.”

Parscale declined to comment.

Fernando Cerimedo, an advisor to the National Party, points at a map of Honduras on Dec. 1, 2025, one day after voters went to the polls to elect Nasry Asfura president.

(Moises Castillo / Associated Press)

Both Cerimedo and Parscale were involved in last year’s campaign that resulted in the election of Honduran President Nasry Asfura, whom Trump backed publicly.

Last year, Cerimedo was a key player in the election of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, the center-right, U.S.-educated son of a former president who transitioned from Marxist firebrand to moderate. The ascension of Paz broke almost two decades of leftist rule by the Movement for Socialism party of ex-President Evo Morales.

Cerimedo had no official capacity in Paz’s government, but he enjoyed insider status. He accompanied Paz in March to Trump’s anti-narco “Shield of the Americas” summit, a confab of mostly conservative leaders at Trump’s Doral resort in south Florida.

Among the items found in searches of Cerimedo-linked properties, authorities say, was a business card listing him as Paz’s “chief adviser” — a nonexistent post.

“Mr. Cerimedo never had the authorization to represent … the presidency, the government or my family,” a deeply discomfited Paz said in Facebook message last month.

How exactly Cerimedo got into politics — and how he became a right-wing rabble-rouser — remains somewhat opaque. According to media accounts, he worked a series of uninspiring jobs — including stints as a taxi driver, a schoolteacher and an employee of insurance and computer firms — before veering into advertising. In 2019, he assisted the campaigns of several leftist Peronist candidates in provincial races in Argentina, and later founded his own consultancy, Numen.

Cerimedo first gained prominence in neighboring Brazil. That’s where he championed false election-fraud narratives following the narrow reelection defeat in 2022 of President Jair Bolsonaro — a MAGA stalwart — in his reelection bid against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist. Cerimedo’s “Brazil Was Stolen” livestream exacerbated the sense of outrage among Bolsonaro loyalists, who took to the streets in mass protests.

The Brazil exposure helped catapult Cerimedo into successful presidential campaigns in Argentina (Milei), Honduras (Asfura) and Bolivia (Paz). His arrest prompted Chilean lawmakers to create a commission to investigate Cerimedo’s possible role in that nation’s recent electoral shift to the right.

With Cerimedo’s name now toxic, Paz, Milei and other former allies have distanced themselves.

Also ditching Cerimedo was his close partner, Javier Negre, a right-wing Spanish media entrepreneur who, in 2024, purchased 50% ownership of Cerimedo’s La Derecha Diario (The Daily Right), an online, Spanish-language MAGA megaphone. The site strongly backed Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella — who had Trump’s support — during his tight campaign this summer.

Following Cerimedo’s arrest, Negre announced that he had bought out his former partner in La Derecha Diario.

In Bolivia, the Cerimedo scandal has taken on the character of a Latin American telenovela.

A recovering Beller, shot three times in her upper body, granted interviews from her hospital bed, dishing on her lover’s alleged brutality and criminality.

According to Beller’s testimony to authorities, Cerimedo tricked her into the near-fatal rendezvous outside the hotel. He told her that a source was waiting to share details about the purported rape of a 13-year-old, she said. The supposed rapist? Bolivian ex-President Morales — a despised figure on the Latin American right.

The case has seen the once high-flying Cerimedo reduced to a slumping presence in a hoodie as authorities have shuffled the baldish, heavyset figure to hearings and lockups. Last week, he was transferred while awaiting trial to Bolivia’s maximum-security Chonchocoro prison, infamous for its high-altitude, ill-heated confines.

“I want to see my children!” a sobbing Cerimedo declared at one point in earshot of the media.

His legal team has pushed back. A defense lawyer, Margarita Arce, questioned whether Cerimedo had impregnated Beller and asserted to reporters that Beller staged a “self-inflicted attack” to smear Cerimedo and undermine the Bolivian government.

But prosecutors have sided with Beller, who told the Argentine daily Clarín: “Fernando Cerimedo wanted to kill me because I can tell everything that I know.”

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos in Washington and special correspondents Andrés D’Alessandro in Buenos Aires and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City contributed to this report.

COMEDIAN Jim Davidson has called off his sixth wedding to his fiancée Natasha after secretly separating – and exclusively revealed to The Sun the reasons behind the split.

The Celebrity Big Brother star, 72, was set to wed at Hampton Court Palace last year – and ending it all has come at quite a cost.

The palatial venue, where all six of King Henry VIII’s wives lived during their marriages, was an amusing nod to Jim’s string of failed marriages – but Davidson and Natasha, 49, have now lost their £10k deposit.

Despite plans to marry six times like the former King of England, funnyman Jim confirmed the engagement is off.

He told The Sun: “There’s no bad blood. Natasha is the most caring and dutiful person. 

“It’s not like we’re splitting up because we don’t love each other anymore.

“It’s a sort of a grown-up separation. The timing’s not right because she has so much time for everybody and how can you knock that?”

Dad-of-five Jim met Natasha, who is 23 years his junior, at the Southampton Boat Show in 2023 soon after the breakdown of his fifth marriage.

The smitten comic later introduced her to pals at Reform leader Nigel Farage’s birthday party saying he was going to make her his sixth wife – despite previously admitting his divorces had cost him around £60million.

He even renamed his £350,000 yacht – previously called Princess Mitchie after his ex-wife Michelle Cotton – Lady Natasha in honour of his new love.

However, the former Big Break and Generation Game host says the couple are no longer in a relationship ahead of their third anniversary.

He told us: “We still speak every other day, but whether we’ll ever find room to see one another again, I don’t know.

“She is very dutiful. She puts family first. And of course she has three children and now a grandson as well. 

“She is just so busy and so I’m very busy as well. I’ve just finished a tour and my a*** is shaped like my car seat after travelling around the country. I get out of the car and I walk like I’m still in it. 

“Our busy lives mean we’ve not been seeing one another. I previously fitted into her life because I’m hardly ever around myself.

“But there’s no bad feelings. I do love her. She’s fantastic.

“She’s the best friend you could ever have. She’s the best mother you could ever have.

“She’s the best daughter you could ever have. And I’m so proud that she was my girlfriend up until now.”

Jim – who was awarded an OBE in the 2001 New Year Honours – launched the Ustreme streaming channel after a successful stint recording short videos during Covid when he was unable to perform live and had no idea how audiences would respond.

The content includes exclusive stand-up shows and in-depth interviews with the aim of “making people laugh like they used to”.

Natasha’s new series is set to air on Jim’s website, where she jokingly refers to herself as the ‘future ex Mrs Davidson’.

Jim continued: “We planned to get married last year and even booked Hampton Court Palace, which we thought was great because Natasha would be the sixth wife and she thought that was hysterical.

“But these days we just don’t have the time to see each other and split up every month.

“So going forward, we might end up seeing each other again, or we might draw a line under it because it’s not practical for the pair of us.

“I said to her, ‘Are you going to give me my jewellery back? and she told me, ‘If you want it back, I’ll just get it from someone else’,” Jim laughed.

“She’s a beautiful girl. How she found time for me, I’ve no idea. She does everything for everybody and asks nothing for herself.”

Ruling out there being another potential wife-to-be on the cards, Jim joked: “The only thing that’s in my life now is a Hyundai Santa Fe and a dressing room.”

Natasha’s new eight-part series launches in October, interviewing an array of celebrity guests.

Meanwhile Jim Davidson – The Christmas Cracker Tour – launches on December 2. 

24 Hours in Police Custody fans have been left gutted as fan favourite Tom Hamm revealed he’s left the show.

Detective Sergeant Tom Hamm has announced he’s officially retired after more than 22 years of police service and seven years on the show.

He shared the news with his fans on social media this week, writing: “So tonight is likely to be my last appearance on #24hoursinpolicecustody.

“I hope that the episodes I have appeared in have somehow influenced people by showing the difficulties that police face when investigating crime. Thanks for the support.”

Tom’s followers were devastated by the news.

One wrote: “Happy retirement Tom, I bet all the free time you get will be a breath of fresh air.”

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A second said: “Happy retirement Tom! Love the series, its great to see what goes on behind the scenes. Time to relax now.”

“The series won’t be the same without you working on the team. Well done to your team and everyone else who was involved,” this person posted.

The last episode featured a 17-year-old boy was left for dead under a railway bridge, suffering traumatic brain injuries.

Police originally thought he was a victim of a hit-and-run in Luton in June 2022.

They boy survived but had life-changing injuries.

Tom, who worked for Bedfordshire Police, said: “This case, for me was quite emotional because the victim was a twin and I have twin boys of similar ages to him and the parallel of how my children’s lives and the difficulties and circumstances of his life was something that played on my mind.”

“I could put myself in the position of his parents and how I would feel if I got that knock on the door from a police officer saying one of them had been hurt.

“This, by the grace of God, could be me.

“And I understand how it would affect the other twin.

“They do share a different bond than other siblings I think.

“Knowing how close mine are, if one of them is suddenly not there, it does affect them deeply.”

He had another reason to feel personally attached because of an enduring regret over the loss in quick succession of first his father and then his mother.

Tom’s personal feelings are evident in the two-part documentary, 24 Hours in Police Custody, in which he and his team investigate the mystery of why a 17-year-old boy was left critically injured on the roadside after suffering catastrophic head injuries.

“Initially, we didn’t know who the victim was, and we were working hard to establish his identity,” says Tom, who has now retired from Luton CID after 22 years of service.

At first, it looked like a hit and run but as all the injuries were to his head, medics believed they were inconsistent with a car collision.

When the victim’s twin brother arrived at the police station, he told them that he believed his brother had come to Luton from London to meet a girl.

But then he learnt on social media that he had been involved in some sort of altercation,

With the victim lying in hospital in a life-threatening coma, Tom told his team their priority was to get his family by his bedside as soon as possible.

He discovered that the case was linked to a county line drugs trade, where drugs are moved between different part of the country.

Hamid was found guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to 10 years and nine months in jail.

Jasmine Aldrich was also charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm but was found not guilty.

TELLURIDE, Colo. — Do you believe in ghosts?

Andrew Scott considers the question and looks at me with a mischievous grin, retreating to a corner of the restaurant booth where we’re catching up a few hours before his new movie, “Elsinore,” the most personal film he has ever made, premieres at the Telluride Film Festival.

Scott turns over the question again. “Do I believe in ghosts?”

It feels like a reasonable thing to ask. Three years ago at Telluride, the yearning romantic fantasy “All of Us Strangers” memorably premiered, featuring Scott playing a character who worked through unresolved trauma by talking to the dead. Ghosts are elsewhere in his work, metaphorical (“Vanya”) and literal (“Hamlet”).

“If I had a gun put to my head — which you don’t have to — I would say that I don’t believe in them,” Scott says. “But the idea of the afterlife and where we will go is still really fascinating to me. Dreams and the subconscious, too. I don’t know what went on consciously in the world outside my hotel room here last night. I was perfectly content to be asleep. And I like the idea of thinking about death that way. I’ll just be asleep. It’ll be OK. It’s the undiscovered country.”

“The movie for me is about time,” says Andrew Scott. “What are you going to do with your time? Ian decided to to live and to be a light and to be around people for the glory of the theater.”

(Anthony Dickenson / Focus Features)

Dropping a line from Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy in this context feels unavoidable. In the powerfully moving “Elsinore,” Scott plays the real-life actor Ian Charleson, who, as he was secretly dying from AIDS, played Hamlet in a 1989 Royal National Theatre production, still considered one of the great performances in London theater history. Charleson was 40 at the time, known for playing Scottish Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in “Chariots of Fire.” He died eight weeks after leaving the National Theatre stage. “Elsinore” captures that journey in all of its glories and taxing challenges.

“That he would go for treatment in the morning and then play this Olympian role is just endlessly moving,” Scott says. “I don’t know how he did it.”

With our pint glasses filled with water as we adjust to Telluride’s altitude, we try to figure it out.

Charleson playing Hamlet, scaling the Everest for actors, reminded me of David Bowie making “Blackstar” as he was dying. As an artist, you’re not often given the chance to shape the narrative of your own end.

Being offered Hamlet doesn’t happen to every actor. To take it and turn it into something generous and useful — useful is a word I love about acting, that it’s useful to people.

When people are feeling down, they can watch a movie they love.

And see themselves. That can’t be underestimated.

What’s your go-to movie?

I will always watch “Bridesmaids” when it comes on TV. Comedy is precious to me. Laughing is precious to me. I don’t see it as the antithesis of tragedy. I think they’re one and the same.

The last time we talked, around the time of “Ripley,” you wanted to put out into the universe the idea of starring in a musical or a comedy. That hasn’t happened by the strictest definition. But you seem to be saying that genre labels don’t matter.

The reason, hopefully, that “Elsinore” is moving is that we approach some of the stuff with quite a bit of lightness. The effect is tragic and there are some heavy things in it. But my job, what I prioritized, is keeping it light.

You are seen dancing to Ethel Merman’s disco album. It doesn’t get much lighter than that.

My favorite actors are the ones that are funny. I worked with Lisa Kudrow last year on “The Comeback,” and yes, of course, she’s very funny. But if you look at that performance she gives toward the end, it’s so moving. People come away from things that are labeled comedies and go, “I just laughed at that.” Or people come away from things that maybe were really sad and say, “I was just devastated by that.” I think the job is to get rid of categorizing and make it more fluid.

Like life. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes, the bear, he eats you.

Exactly! I don’t love things that are overly serious. One of my big dreams for this film — and I do wish so much for this film because it’s so personal — is that people don’t feel like that they’re going to see something that’s depressing. I didn’t want to fetishize Ian’s death.

What do you hope audiences take away from watching it?

That they see themselves in it. You know, it doesn’t end well for any of us. The movie for me is about time. What are you going to do with your time? Ian decided to to live and to be a light and to be around people for the glory of the theater.

Speaking of time, next month you’re going to be celebrating a milestone, turning 50. Or not celebrating. I don’t know how you feel about birthdays.

I don’t love my birthday.

Any year?

My friends have said to me, “You gotta make some plans.” I love a party. Which is to say, I love other people’s parties. What I usually do is I leave it to the last minute and send texts around, saying, “I understand if you don’t want to come, but I might do this.” And then you do something small. I read something yesterday where you should go to your own parties like you’re a guest. I think that’s a very good way to to do it.

What about just being around for half a century? Is that in your head? You’re the one who just said it doesn’t end well for any of us.

I’ve definitely thought about it more. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I’ve thought, “Jesus, what?” I’m sure that’s because of my mom dying and that I’m approaching my mortality. Again, how am I going to use my time? One of the reasons I was so ferocious about getting “Elsinore” made was that I would put all of myself into this and then maybe I can chill out a bit more.

Andrew Scott in the movie “Elsinore.”

(Anthony Dickenson / Focus Features)

The personal aspects of this movie are striking. In addition to producing “Elsinore,” you yourself have played Hamlet on stage. You’re also a gay actor portraying someone who, at the time, would have torpedoed his career by coming out.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the movies and would read Premiere and Empire magazine. Around 16 or 17, I started to realize that maybe if you’re gay, you wouldn’t be invited to movies. And I wasn’t wrong in thinking that, because there weren’t many examples. So I would omit things in interviews. I wouldn’t lie, but I really understood that about Ian’s generation.

There’s a melancholy moment in the movie where he says, “I wanted to be in the movies. I didn’t scale the heights.”

What a gorgeous little dream. A young boy goes, “I want to be in the movies.” And then to have that knocked out of you bit by bit. You’re not even going to be seen for the audition. Or, “Are you being a little fruity there?”

Did people tell you not to talk about being gay?

Very well-meaning people said to me, “Just keep that [private] because you’re not obviously gay,” which I often think is such an insult to say to people. “So maybe you can get away with it.” And I was like, OK. And I did that for awhile. But it was so insidious. When audiences think of acting, they think of actors pretending, like you’re putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes. So the fact that there was this whole section of gay actors who weren’t allowed to do that is awful. I’m so grateful that I get to do that.

What do you remember about the late ’80s and early ’90s in terms of navigating the AIDS epidemic?

It makes me emotional. It was extraordinary just to to have lived through that time and to be completely abandoned by your government, who wouldn’t even say the name of the illness. When I was a young adult, that’s what I was scared of. If you go for a sexual health screening, you go, “My God, am I going to die?” I remember going into those situations, and with no cause for such concern, feeling like I’m going to be punished for expressing myself in that way, because that’s the way the world was set up.

Let’s get back to Ethel Merman.

Please! [Laughs]

There’s that stanza in “There’s No Business Like Show Business” that goes: “There’s no people like show people / They smile when they are low.” Would you say that sums up the spirit of “Elsinore” about as well as any couplet could?

Yes, it’s so much about the power of community and show people. It’s about show people and smiling and getting on with the show.

When did you first feel that power of community?

Putting on “The Wizard of Oz” in a school play when I was about 10.

What part did you play?

Guess.

Dorothy?

[Laughs] No, a friend of Dorothy. Oh, come on. One more guess.

The Cowardly Lion?

No. The Tin Man. My mom sprayed me silver, in my hair and everything. We had a probably bit of aluminum foil and I had a funnel. I loved it so much. And I remember having a really extraordinary feeling of surprise, knowing the audience was there. For such a shy boy, when I had to do the big number, “If I Only Had a Heart,” it went to another level, better than rehearsal. I suppose the little showman, the little 10-year-old silver showman, came out.

TIKTOK star Max Balegde broke down in tears as he confirmed he has split from his boyfriend of five years.

The Sun revealed this week that the influencer, 27, and his boyfriend Andrew Spann have now called time on their relationship.

And things appeared to have not ended amicably as they both unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Max has now broken his silence on the shock split and admitted he’s “losing the plot” and feels “devastated”.

An emotional Max took to social media with a new video as he explained his side of the story.

With tears in his eyes, the content creator started: “Hello everyone, I’m just making this video to let you know that sadly it is true that me and Andrew have broken up after five and a half years of being together.

it’s over

Tiktok star Max Balegde splits from boyfriend after five years together

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“We broke up around two weeks ago and obviously it’s been a really sad and tough time.

“There’s been so much love between the two of us, between our family and friends over those years.

“When you’re with someone for that long, your life becomes so intrinsically bonded together and you can’t imagine not having them in your life to be honest with you. That’s kind of how it gets.

“So I’ve been struggling a lot. I am in Ibiza right now, I’ve been here for a week.

“But the narrative online that I’m just partying and don’t give one and he’s all sad, could not be further from the truth.”

Max explained that he had this holiday booked months ago and when the break-up happened, he decided to go to Ibiza with his friends instead of “sobbing alone in his room”.

He shared that he’s been looking after himself and going to the gym and has avoided going out and boozing much.

“I’ve just been spending time with lovely supportive friends who have just been a godsend,” he continued.

Max then addressed the reason behind the split and admitted it was him who decided to end it.

“I know everyone will want an explanation because we shared so much of our relationship with you lot,” he said.

“All I’ll say is I chose to end the relationship for personal reasons that I don’t really want to discuss on the internet and out of respect for Andrew.

“There is so much love there, it’s not hate. It’s just you can’t get everything you need from someone, you have to sometimes face reality and it’s sad and devastating.”

Max admitted he was “losing the plot” as he copes with the new adjustment.

“I’ve never had a break-up like this before, I’ve never experienced anything like this, I don’t know how to navigate it, all I know is I’ve spent a lot of time focusing and looking after a lot of people but now it’s time to focus and look after myself.

“As scary as this is, I’m excited for the future, even though I can’t feel that excitement right now.

“I just feel sad, scared, anxious and depressed.

“But I have a lot of exciting work stuff I want to delve into, time with my friends and family and value the time with myself. I’ve been around people for five and a half years non-stop, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be by myself.

“That’s terrifying, I’m genuinely terrified.”

Max said he was going to focus on his career and himself going forward.

He added: “If it looks like I’m losing the plot, then it’s because I am, I f***ing am.

“I’m terrified to go home tomorrow but I have to face reality at some point.

“I’ve got to find out where I’m going to end up living, what’s going to happen to our dog.

He then hid his face and said: “I’m going to cry again.”

The media star then thanked his fans for their support and said he was heartbroken as he felt he had “failed” his fans, especially those in the LGBT community.

Max captioned the post: “Please respect both of us, I still have so much love for Andrew and this is a really hard time for us both. thank you for the love.”

His followers raced to show their support for the star.

One wrote: “Sending you so much love… the end of a relationship when you still care for the person is so hard however put all that love into yourself now and everything will fall into place.”

A second said: “This is a very mature way to handle it. You should hold your head up & remember you are so loved.”

Earlier this week, The Sun announced news of the split.

A source told The Sun: “Max and Andrew broke up a few weeks ago and it’s been incredibly tough for both given how long they were together.

“Max is enjoying some time in Ibiza and will be ploughing ahead with work as he navigates the situation.”

Max, who has been on Gogglebox alongside his podcast co-host George Clarke, has been sharing what he’s been up to in Ibiza on his Instagram.

He shared a video of him miming to Ingrid Michaelson’s song Be OK while standing out on his balcony with a huge bottle of water.

The star can be seen wearing a T-shirt with the words ‘Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Ibiza’.

The two started dating back in 2021 after they matched on dating app Hinge.

Max and Andrew celebrated their five year anniversary back in April.

Andrew shared a selection of snaps from throughout their relationship with the caption: “Half a decade of us, no biggie.”

WASHINGTON — President Trump has frequently suggested he wants to seek a third term, posting about mounting another campaign, donning 2028 caps and discussing ways to make it happen — even as he’s acknowledged the Constitution prohibits it.

But lately, Trump has begun showing signs that even he doesn’t really believe another run will happen.

During recent speeches, the Republican president has begun describing life after the White House when his term ends in January 2029, predicting he’ll be at home and agonizing as his successor claims credit for his accomplishments.

“Your next president is going to say, ‘What a great job I did,’ ” Trump told an event on Long Island, N.Y., this month. “He’ll be sitting around, watching television. A real stiff. Unless you vote Republican, of course.”

A sitting president talking about becoming a former one is always politically fraught. But with midterm elections now just nine weeks away, Trump is approaching the point of his presidency where there will be more and more reminders that his power will soon wane.

Being willing to say he’s contemplating a White House without him marks a notable shift for Trump. Going back to his first term and from virtually the moment he won a second, he’s left the door open to staying put for more than eight years.

“He is all over the place,” said Brian Kalt, a Michigan State University constitutional law professor. “And what that does is, it allows him to point to his own words to support any number of mutually exclusive things.”

Trump can say, “ ’Oh, yeah, I made it clear that I wasn’t gonna run,’ ” Kalt said. “Or, if he decides that he will, he could say, ’Well, you know, I never said I wouldn’t.’ ”

Trump suggests his post-presidency may make him cry

The White House dismissed suggestions that Trump’s thoughts are increasingly turning to the clock running out on his presidency — and the legacy he’ll leave behind. Spokesperson Olivia Wales said he “is fighting every day” to deliver on promises to reduce violent crime, crack down on the U.S.-Mexico border and lower prescription drug prices.

“The only legacy President Trump is concerned with is making America greater than ever before,” Wales said.

Still, hinting at how he’ll be remembered is something Trump is suddenly talking about a lot.

During a recent Pennsylvania rally, he said, “Whoever the next president is, he’s going to be talking about what a brilliant president he is. And I’ll be home. And I’ll be saying, ’That son of a gun,’ because we did the job.”

A week later in Georgia, Trump was predicting that once his presidency was over, “I’ll be sitting home.”

“I may be crying,” the president added, arguing that Democrats could retake the Senate and scrap filibuster rules, making it easier to move their key legislation.

Then, in Michigan, Trump injected some doubt into whether he was ready to hand over the Oval Office and move back to Florida.

“In two and a half years, you may have a different president — may,” he said, emphasizing the “may.”

“I’ll be sitting home. I’ll be reading the papers. I’ll be watching television,” Trump said, before swiping at his predecessor, President Biden. “And I’ll be having some guy — like last time, a real idiot — stand up and say, ‘We are doing record business.’ ”

Mixed Trump signals are still most common

But even as he’s begun to suggest he’ll be leaving the presidency, Trump has also continued to tease a 2028 reelection run.

Addressing the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner last month, Trump joked, “Just like my presidency, the second time is always better” and that “the third time will be better yet. I’m only kidding.” He later wore a 2028 campaign cap to finish the speech.

The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment says no one can be elected president more than twice. It was ratified in 1951, six years after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died, months into his fourth term. Until Roosevelt, no other president had defied the tradition of stepping down after two terms that George Washington started.

Still, Trump had only been back in the White House for a couple of months when he told NBC News, “There are methods which you could” use to seek a third term.

He acknowledged that one method was to be the running mate to Vice President JD Vance in 2028 — then have Vance step aside if the pair won.

“There are others, too,” Trump said then, alluding to more options. He later told Time magazine, “There are some loopholes,” while also saying he didn’t believe in using them.

The president has since often used his social media posts to promote “Trump 2028” logos featuring his slogan “Make America Great Again.”

But Trump has also at times seemed definitive about the ban on him making another run, acknowledging recently to reporters: “I’d love to run, but the law is very strong.”

Kalt wrote about a two-term president possibly getting back to office by running for vice president in “constitutional Cliffhangers: A Legal Guide for Presidents and Their Enemies.”

“People do tend to find, in Trump’s words, whatever it is that they want to hear,” he said.

Trump may be fighting the ‘lame duck’ factor

Second-term presidents typically see their power and influence wane during their last two years, particularly if their party suffers big midterm defeats. But Trump’s comments could also be a sign he’s thinking about cementing his legacy, a stage that many of his predecessors also reached.

“They all, particularly as they cross the midpoint of their second term, start thinking about legacy,” said Paul Begala, a former adviser to President Clinton.

“They all banish the word. I know Clinton and Bush, they said, ’Can’t use the L-word.’ But they do,” Begala said, referring to his old boss Clinton and to President George W. Bush. “They all think about it. And the staff thinks about it and the Cabinet thinks about it.”

In his last two years of office, Clinton threw himself into trying to broker a Middle East peace agreement. Bush used the slogan “sprint to the finish” during his presidency’s final year in 2008, and Biden adopted a “run through the tape” ethos after abandoning his reelection bid.

Trump has leaned into molding the White House and Greater Washington in his own image, harkening back to his days as a real estate developer in 1970s and 1980s New York.

He’s ordered up a towering arch near the Lincoln Memorial and restored city fountains, while constructing a Rose Garden patio area and helipad on the White House lawn and adding scores of gilded touches to the building’s stately interior and exterior.

And then, there’s the massive ballroom that Trump has crews rushing to finish in the face of legal challenges — a project the president says will only be completed late in 2028, shortly before he leaves office.

“It’s not for me, ‘cause I’m going to be here a very short period of time” when the work is finished, Trump recently told reporters in the Oval Office. “I’ll be there for four, five, six months. This is for future presidents.”

Weissert writes for the Associated Press.

LOUISE Redknapp has shown her toyboy ex what he’s missing as she posed in a green bikini on the beach after the split.

The Eternal star, 51, took to Instagram to share a sneak peek into her holiday as she posed up a storm in the green number.

Louise looked beach ready in the bikini which she paired with a cream and brown monogrammed skirt as she gave a peek of her midriff.

She wore a chocolate brown long-sleeved top which she left unbuttoned to reveal her two-piece.

The singer accessorised with some chic sandals and a black bag with tassels.

She went make-up free for the beach day as she popped a pair of sunglasses on her head as well as several necklaces around her neck.

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The Strictly Come Dancing star appeared to be moving on from her break-up as she flashed her pearly whites for a sweet snap.

She captioned the post: “Making the most of the last days of Summer, happy bank holiday.”

Her loyal fans flocked to the comments section to compliment her as one gushed: “Beautiful as always Louise.”

Another person enthused: “You’re literally sunshine personified!”

Somebody else wrote: “Oh jeez, you look phenomenal.”

While a fourth social media user added: “Stunningly beautiful.”

The Sun exclusively revealed earlier this month that she had split from boyfriend Drew Michael earlier this year after two years together.

They had been dating since autumn 2023 but called time on the relationship and he is believed to have left the UK.

It was her first serious romance since the breakdown of her 19-year marriage to football pundit Jamie Redknapp, 53, almost a decade ago.

A source said: “Louise and Drew decided to end things a little while ago.

“Things had been really good between them but it felt like their relationship had run its course and they both thought it was best to move on.

“It was all very amicable and although it’s never fun when a relationship ends, Louise has thrown herself back into her social life and her busy work schedule.

Drew’s thought to have moved abroad for work so it’s been a clean break.

“She’s in no rush to jump back into another relationship because she feels very fulfilled with her life right now, but she’ll see what happens.”

US rapper J.Cole has cancelled his show in northern California after one of his crew members tragically died in a major highway crash.

The No Role Modelz rapper was due to hit the stage at Sacramento’s Golden 1 centre but fans learned just hours before the show it would be cancelled due to the fatal accident.

“Following the tragic passing of a member of the touring crew in a trucking accident this morning, J. Cole’s performance at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento tonight, August 27, has been canceled,” J.Cole and tour operator Live Nation posted on their respective social media accounts.

“Our thoughts are with the crew member’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”

The crew member was driving a semi-truck on the Interstate 5 highway in Yolo County, about a 41 minute drive north-east of Sacramento, when the vehicle veered off the road and overturned, per the Sacramento Bee.

He died at scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.

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The man was later identified as Jarlath Parkinson, 66, of Jackson, South Carolina by the Yolo County Coroner’s Office which said it did not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident.

Parkinson had been driving the truck full of concert gear from J.Cole’s previous show in Seattle down to Sacramento.

J.Cole is currently on the road with his The Fall-Off tour which was scheduled to include 73 shows across the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Live Nation said that those with tickets to the Sacramento show should contact Ticketmaster for refunds.

Jermaine Lamarr Cole, better known as J. Cole, is a a German-born American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

He is thought to be one of the most influential rappers of his generation.

Cole released his debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in 2011 which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.

He has won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, a Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Album, three Soul Train Music Awards, and eight BET Hip Hop Awards.

Emmerdale star Nick Miles, who played Jimmy King on the ITV soap for more than two decades, has addressed final scenes which saw the beloved character killed off in a crash

Nick Miles has addressed his exit from Emmerdale – just hours after his character was killed off in explosive scenes. The actor, 63, has played Jimmy King on the long-running soap since 2004, but departed the Yorkshire-based serial in scenes that aired on Thursday evening.

Viewers will know that, in recent times, Jimmy and wife Nicola had been looking to the future, and had even planned to renew their wedding vows. Jimmy had not disclosed to Nicola about his financial troubles though, but tragedy struck when he crashed crashed into the wedding marquee where Joe Tate and Dawn Taylor were having a heart-to-heart.

No explanation has been offered yet as to what caused the fatal crash but actor Nick, who previously starred in The Bill, has spoken out about the sudden departure.

Asked by co-star Nicola Wheeler, who plays his on-screen wife, in a video that appeared on Emmerdale’s official Instagram why his character had to go, he simply reasoned: “Everybody I know who read that script, the first thing they said was that it made me cry.”

Nicola was with him in his final moments, telling Jimmy she loved him and holding his hand, as he imagined their vow renewal. With Jimmy gone, Nicola wept before fleeing the marquee just as it exploded.

Just moments before, everything played out as Nicola raced into the marquee to find her husband, was in a bad way and suggested he might not be making it out.

In heart-wrenching scenes, Jimmy shared his love for his wife, but sadly he succumbed to his injuries and died in the car. Moments later the marquee looked as though it was about to be engulfed in flames.

Fans were certainly not impressed with the shock death, with one writing: “He deserved better.” Another said: “I’m still in bits what an episode. Bravo to the cast,” as a third added: “I can’t get over the episode. I was in tears.”

Another fan commented: “I hate that they are getting rid of [name].” A further post read: “He deserved something more epic,” as a final fan said: “You’ve done [name] dirty!”

Other fans confessed they couldn’t believe the show was getting rid of the character. Another fan said they were “fuming” given the character had been a apart of the show for so long.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. *

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