Jessica

JESSICA Alba shared some cheeky snaps from her latest holiday after debuting her new beau.

The actress, 44, is currently soaking up the sun in Australia, enjoying an envy-worthy vacay including trips to the beach.

Jessica shared some photos to her Instagram from the trip, looking as gorgeous as ever.

In the first pic the beauty is smiling laying on her front on a beach towel.

The ocean laps in the background, as others share the sand with the star and enjoy some time in the water.

Her skimpy leopard print and red floral bikini hugs her body, as sand clings to her thighs and booty.

girls’ night

Jessica Alba, 44, looks like her teen daughter’s sister in a leather dress

She finished off the look with a simple black sun cap and shades.

Jessica also posted a photo of her legs and bikini bottoms while laying down.

It perfectly shows off her flat stomach and sun-kissed skin.

Dispersed between her beach pics, Jessica posted a series of quotes expressing gratitude for every moment in life – including those that seem more mundane to experience.

“One day I will be near the end,” read a poignant text post.

“And realize that all of it was the point.

“The ordinary and the exxtraordinary.

“Trips across the world.

“And trips to the grocery store.

“Sitting on boats applying sunscreen.

“And laying in bed putting lotion on my legs.

“Before I go to sleep.

“Dancing in the rain and singing in the shower.

“Staying out late to waste the next day hungover.

“And staying in and feeling rested.

“Sunday morning at the farmer’s market.

“Long road trips with people you love.

“And crying at a red light in your car alone.

“All of it is the point.”

Fans of the star flocked to the post’s comment’s sections to praise her outlook on life, as well as let her know she looks amazing.

“Talented and beautiful, inside and out,” said one user.

“She’s been working on her [peach emoji],” and “you are the creator of your reality, and life can show up no other way for you than that way in which you think it will,” replied others.

Alba’s positive attitude comes just after her and her new beau Danny Ramirez made their relationship official to the public.

The pair were first spotted sharing a kiss back in May of this year in London’s Regent Park.

CRASH TRAGEDY

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‘GUT-WRENCHING’

My little girl is slowly fading before my eyes and will die before she’s 10

In February, Jessica filed for a divorce from her husband Cash Warren.

They were together for 16 years before the split.

Jessica Chastain has publicly challenged Apple TV+ following the streamer’s decision to hold her upcoming series “The Savant.”

Apple TV+ on Tuesday said it would be delaying the release of the show about domestic terrorism, which follows an investigator who infiltrates online hate groups.

Chastain voiced her opposition to the postponement Wednesday on Instagram, writing that she and Apple were “not aligned on the decision to pause the release of The Savant.”

Representatives for Apple TV+ did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

In her Instagram post, Chastain said, “In the last five years since we’ve been making the show, we’ve seen an unfortunate amount of violence in the United States,” going on to cite the Jan. 6 insurrection and the Sept. 10 shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk among instances of political violence in recent years.

“I’ve never shied away from difficult subjects, and while I wish this show wasn’t so relevant, unfortunately it is,” Chastain said.

“The Savant is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honoring their courage feels more urgent than ever,” she said.

Chastain said she hopes audiences will be able to see the show soon. Apple has not yet announced a new release date for the series.

It has been a disappointing season in terms of Grand Slam success for Sabalenka, considering she reached the final at the Australian and French Opens.

She also made it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon, but on all three occasions emotions got the better of the 27-year-old.

She cut an anguished figure throughout January’s Australian Open final, where she was out-hit by Madison Keys.

An unforced error count of 70 was her undoing against Coco Gauff at Roland Garros, while she was unable to match Anisimova’s bravery at the All England Club.

The collapses in composure were reminiscent of her early career – and something she seemed to have put behind her when she claimed three Grand Slam titles in the space of 20 months.

But more heartbreak appeared to be on the cards for Sabalenka as Pegula – buoyed by a raucous crowd – came out on top in the first set.

Sabalenka struck the first blow in the opener, swatting away a booming forehand winner to break early, but a poor service game allowed Pegula straight back in.

The top seed’s irritation grew as more unforced errors crept into her game and the crowd loudly put their backing behind Pegula, who broke again and wrapped up the opener in style with a confident love hold.

After taking an off-court break before the start of the second set, Sabalenka returned with a renewed determination and quickly went 3-0 up thanks to a more clinical approach to her shot-making.

That gap was enough to see her through the remainder of the set and force a decider, which Sabalenka took control of from the off with an immediate break.

The 27-year-old furiously fought off Pegula’s attempts to break back and let out a huge roar after wrapping up the victory on her third match point.

Pegula arrived in New York in poor form, winning just two matches in her previous four tournaments and losing in the first week of a major four times in six appearances.

While she brushed away the cobwebs with routine wins over Mayar Sharif, Anna Blinkova, Victoria Azarenka and Ann Li, the quarter-finals presented a different challenge.

Pegula has previously struggled at this stage – last year’s run to the US Open final was her first success in the last eight of a Grand Slam singles draw after six defeats.

But Pegula was unruffled by her 1-6 record, capitalising on a slow start from Krejcikova to race into a 3-0 lead, including breaking to love in the second game.

She dominated the baseline exchanges, hitting deep groundstrokes to trap her opponent at the back of the court and regularly attacked the net to keep her opponent off balance.

Although Krejcikova pulled it back to 4-3, she was left to rue a poor serving performance, with a double fault at 40-30 opening the door for Pegula to break again in the eighth game and then close out the set.

Krejcikova’s serving struggles – winning just 28% of points on her second serve in the opener – continued and a pair of double faults at the start of the second set gifted Pegula an early break.

Pegula was not without her own service wobbles, throwing away a double break lead in the sixth game as Krejcikova sniffed another unlikely comeback.

But she maintained her composure and, a seventh double fault of the afternoon from Krejcikova brought up match point – which Pegula seized at the first attempt.

“I think I’ve been playing some really good tennis. I’ve been playing really solid and having good starts,” Pegula said.

“She had a couple of really good returns when I was serving at 4-1 and we all saw what she did against Taylor, so I’m happy that we’re done.”

American Jessica Pegula says completing an escape room with friends helped her rediscover her form and embark on a run to the US Open quarter-finals.

Fourth seed Pegula needed just 54 minutes to beat a nervous Ann Li 6-1 6-2 on Sunday and keep alive her hopes of winning a career-first Grand Slam.

In the last eight she will face 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who saved eight match points on her way to beating home hopeful Taylor Townsend 1-6 7-6 (15-13) 6-3 in a thrilling match.

Pegula, 31, has endured a difficult summer, with a humbling first-round exit at Wimbledon followed by early round exits at WTA events in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati.

“I felt terrible coming into this tournament, honestly,” Pegula said after beating compatriot Li.

After quitting midway through a practice session with world number one Aryna Sabalenka days before the US Open, Pegula’s mood improved after a night out with friends.

“[We] went and did an escape room with my friends and had, like, two drinks and [realised] I need to just chill and stop getting so frustrated and overthinking all these practices,” she said.

Pegula – who enjoyed a superb run to the final at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago – looked much closer to her best on Sunday as she broke Li six times on her way to victory.

“I know when she’s serving well and has confidence she’s really dangerous,” Pegula said of Li, who she beat in a much tighter match at the French Open back in May.

“I felt like she came out a little slow and nervous and I wanted to jump on that and not let her feel comfortable for a second, that was my motivation all match.”

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka set the platform for a US Open second-round victory over Polina Kudermetova by continuing her formidable tie-break record.

Sabalenka, 27, claimed her 17th consecutive tie-break in a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win in Wednesday’s night session in New York.

Being able to lock in when it mattered proved crucial once again for the world number one, who has won 10 of her past 11 matches when winning a first-set tie-break.

Taking the opener dampened her Russian opponent’s spirits and led to Sabalenka going on to break early in the second set.

Sabalenka’s service game was still a little scratchy – digging deep to save two break points before holding for 3-1 – but her level improved as she raced towards victory.

On the reason why she has been so dominant in tie-breaks this season, the three-time Grand Slam champion said: “I’m just trying to stay aggressive and fight for every point.

“I know every point can be a key moment of the set so I’m just trying to stay strong and play aggressive.”

Sabalenka is aiming to become the first player to defend the women’s singles title since Serena Williams in 2014.

Next she will face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who was a beaten finalist in 2021 when she lost to Britain’s Emma Raducanu.

An excitable atmosphere continued as the fans – who paid between $25 (£18.50) and $145 (£107) for what British doubles player Jamie Murray described as a “glorified exhibition” – danced to tunes played by an on-court DJ and acted up when appearing on the big screen.

Both sets of players smiled and laughed throughout, further illustrating how the stars are using the event to tune up for their greater priority of the singles.

For some, it underlined the view of the doubles specialists sidelined that a Grand Slam tournament had lost value.

Pegula, who has been ranked world number one in the women’s doubles, and Draper were also a scratch pairing but had too much quality against a pair who are less experienced in tour-level doubles.

For Draper, it was third time lucky – having seen previous planned partners Zheng Qinwen and Paula Badosa withdraw through injury.

Pegula and Draper’s mutual will-to-win was more evident than some of the pairings, looking focused as they later beat Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev to reach the last four.

The Russian pair earlier knocked out 24-time major singles champion Novak Djokovic and his fellow Serb Olga Danilovic in the first round,

There was the loss of another star name before Tuesday’s play started, when men’s world number one Jannik Sinner withdrew through illness.

Columnist Jessica Boulton brings you her brutally-honest and wry rundown of Showbiz’s latest shenanigans: from Ibiza Final Boss to MasterChef muppets, she’s not holding back

Jessica Boulton works on the Mirror’s features desk, specialising in celebrity features and interviews. She also writes a weekly observational comedy column Jess Saying, which runs each Saturday. In addition, she oversees the entertainment pages, helps co-ordinate the Pride of Britain coverage and newsletter and guest edits The Diary. Jessica joined The Mirror’s sister paper The People in 2006, and has since worked on the Sunday Mirror and Now magazine. Most likely to be found raving about The Oscars, BAFTAs, Netflix, Friends or Star Wars.

It’s a strange, strange world when I’m feeling sorry for a bunch of Love Island contestants. But in this social media age, it is sadly what it’s come to. For the poor lovelorn bedhoppers at the Mallorca villa have been putting in weeks of seriously hard graft – flashing their abs and parading around in thong bikinis – to get the one precious thing, (I suspect) their hearts truly desired. No, not love. Fame. Glorious, generous, glittering FAME.

But in the days after Monday’s final, the Islanders soon found themselves getting a cold hard lesson in the pitfalls of success: There’s always someone waiting in the wings – ready to cut short your 15 minutes….

For it wasn’t the winning Islanders “Breaking The Internet” this week. It wasn’t the winning Islanders batting off the biggest brand deals or most enticing DMs from Blue Tick TikTok. And it wasn’t the winning Islanders getting excitable TV companies all in a lather, begging for interviews. It was….a HAIRCUT.

Yes, the biggest celebrity getting buzz online this week wasn’t even a celeb when the week began. He was Jack Kay, a literal normal down-to-earth 26-year-old Jack-the-lad, from Newcastle on holiday in Ibiza.

One SEVEN-second viral video clip later, however…. And he’s now “Ibiza Final Boss” – the internet’s newest celebrity (aka Ibiza Bob), with 70,000 followers on Instagram, 30,000 on TikTok and hundreds of memes in his honour.

READ MORE: Ibiza Final Boss takes private jet to party island with mates who ‘all have same haircut’

He’s been offered free holidays, brand endorsement deals, flights on a £5million private jet, and a whole list of big-money nightclub appearances. He’s signed with Joey Essex’s agent and has landed his own tour and – according to media experts – he could be well-placed to launch his own merchandise range and even bag a possible spot on a reality show. All in all, it’s predicted he could rake in a whopping SIX figures by the end of the year.

It’s not bad for seven seconds of dodgy dancing, dodgier fashion sense and The Dodgiest Bowl Haircut (Not On A Lego Figure)TM.

For nowadays you don’t need to work summer seasons in Blackpool or win a talent show to become a star. You can become ‘famous’ just by making the right people laugh, at the right moment in time, as they absent-mindedly scroll through their phone while listening to podcasts. Yep, Fame has reached Peak Fickledom.

So, when the stars and algorithms do align to make you a viral hit, you need to make the most of it. And while Jack’s ‘success’ is all thanks to what is ON his head, it’s what’s inside it which will prove his biggest asset. For in 2025, turning your viral moment in the sun into a longer-term earner is all about savvy strategy, clear thinking and mindset:

(*Okay, okay, PhotoShop may have lent a hand). As for the rest of the week? Well, Celebland was throwing us all sorts of surprises…..

Monday mayhem

Be afraid, be very afraid! For the stars of an upcoming new theatre tour have been doing the press rounds this week. And from the sounds of it, there will be no one safe this Halloween and autumn. Indeed, it’s expected to have many a celeb not just quaking but SHAKING, QUAKING, ­QUIVERING, TREMBLING AND OUTRIGHT ­SHUDDERING in their boots.

No, it’s not a new take on Phantom of the Opera (albeit some may be haunted by what’s said). Nor is it Saw: The Musical (although that is a multi-million pound idea). It’s the terrifying new two-hander: An Evening With… Katie Price and Kerry Katona. The pair’s tell-all 33-date UK tour was feared to have been cancelled earlier in the summer due to… well, whatever Katie’s snoresome crisis-du-jour was at the time.

But the pair are back and have now been hitting the interview circuit to give fans a little taste of what to expect. Target one? “Snobby” Strictly – which they publicly dissed this week for having never asked them to take part. (One suspects they’ve now said “Foxtrot Oscar” to any future possibilities too).

Of course, we all know the real dirt will be saved for the show itself. Yet however juicy the eww -some twosome’s tete-a-tete promises to be, I can’t help but wonder if the panto frenemies could have come up with a slightly more, er… spicy format… A WWE-style grudge match with lookalikes of their many nemeses, perhaps? Imagine the commentator yelling to the roaring crowd: “Get Ready to say mi-OWWW! It’s our very own….. Nuclear Cheetah aka Kerry Katona! – from Atomic Kitten to a one-woman weapon of mass destruction…”

Or maybe… they could make it a dramatic retelling of Four Weddings And A Funeral, where Katie’s the bride each time and the funeral’s for her tragic lack of taste? Or finally, what about a musical? After all, KP’s been Defying Gravity for years (with the help of her plastic surgeon).

What a royal twit Tuesday

It’s not been a good week for Royal affairs – of any kind. But a new bombshell biography has cemented one unassailable truth: Young kids fed on fairy tales and Disney movies are far more likely to find themselves a talking warthog or a flying elephant than a real-life Prince Charming.

Yes, a new book by historian Andrew Lownie has claimed Prince Andrew allegedly strayed “more than a dozen” times before his first – yes, first – anniversary with Fergie. Clearly their wedding certificate was not worth the paper it was printed on.

Fergie did have a little something in common with Cinderella however. She was sporting some rather fetching slippers this week. They weren’t glass ones though – they were fluffy numbers emblazoned with the unofficial Royal motto “Never Complain, Never Explain”. It warms the heart, it really does.

Wok you gonna do? Wednesday

The BBC took a leap with its MasterChef dilemma by airing the first episode of the pre-recorded series on Wednesday. Surprisingly they went for primetime BBC1 instead of hiding it on iPlayer only. Presumably they figured they were in for a roasting whatever they did – so they might as well fill a hole in the schedule.

The real stars of the series are the editors who faced the unenviable task of trying to cut out as much of the under-fire Gregg Wallace and John Torode as possible – which from the looks of the results is a bit like trying to remove excess garlic from a pasta dish. You can’t. Everything’s already tainted.

What I don’t understand is why the Beeb didn’t go with my previous suggestion: just do some deep fake trickery. So what could they replace them with? Let’s see: Option 1: A literal toxic trigger warning; Option 2: Bradley Walsh and Rylan Clark (they’re on everything else anyway); Option 3 (and perhaps most apt): Statler and Waldorf. A couple of muppets… who are completely stuffed.

No relief for kangaroo testicles Thursday

Talking of show formats (see Monday), there was one news story this week that left me feeling a little… well, antsy . What was it? This: “ITV bosses are planning the next five years of I’m A Celebrity…” (really? another FIVE?); “With talks under way to film in the jungle until 2030….” (Wait, 2030 is only five years away??); “When it’ll reach its ­landmark 30th season”. (30 years? 30? 3-0?)

You mean to say we’ve been watching the same show with the same hosts, same sort of trials, same prize, same location, same set and same set of scandals just with different faces… for nearly 30 YEARS? They say doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is the very ­definition of insanity. So either, we can all relate to Peter Andre’s infamous jungle-penned hit Insania – written while a campmate in 2004 – or we really don’t mind the deja vu.

So what can we expect over the next few years? Well, I have two predictions:

1. Princess and/or Junior Andre will follow in their parents’ footsteps, going back to the scene of the crime special place where the Katie and Peter’s “love” story first began.

2. Following the “success” of political hires Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage, bosses will make a “bigly” play for President Trump at the end of his term. (If he doesn’t rewrite the US Constitution, that is.) After all, there’s been quite a few (thousand) of his type involved in the show before. Fatima Whitbread even got one stuck up her nose… Much to the chagrin of her and the cockroach, I suspect.

Foolish Friday

It was a mixed day for Richard Osman. On the plus side, Netflix released the first trailer for the movie adaptation of his bestselling crime novel The Thursday Murder Club (starring Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren).

On the downside… Osman – who has produced a number of game shows including Pointless, Total Wipeout, Prize Island, and my absolute FAVOURITE Only Connect – inexplicably decided to tell podcast listeners that quiz shows often use “an algorithm” to stop contestants winning too much money.

It’s obvious to be fair, and while not quite a Gerald Ratner-level own goal, it wasn’t terribly clever. I wouldn’t want to overtly criticise him in a family newspaper, so here’s my verdict – in the style of Only Connect’s Missing Vowels Round. Enjoy! WH TTT LPLNK R*

Picture of the Week

Being a 30-something in today’s world must be tough. There you are, juggling career, love life, social life and saving for an inexplicably-expensive “micro-loft” – and somehow you also have to make time for what’s really important: taking impossibly perfect pics for the ‘Gram.

But it looks like a certain 35-year-old Oscar-winner has got this careful balancing act all figured out. For, Avengers star Brie Larson posted THIS video on Instagram this week.

And while she might be steady as a rock, I – as Gen Z would say – “am shook” . In fact I’m more impressed by this feat than by any of her big screen Captain Marvel antics.

Brie, who is promoting her new tome, Party People, accompanied this video with a quip: “My social media manager said this will sell 1,000 books. So here I am.” The book in question is a “cookbook for creative celebrations” with “endless ideas for weird and wacky parties” – which goes some way to explaining this impressive-yet-leftfield marketing campaign.

Personally, I’m most amazed by her superhuman pain threshold. For, anyone who has experienced the inherent cruelty of the modern-day torture device known as a stiletto heel, will appreciate that this is not just a demonstration of core strength, stability and precision… but of sheer, sheer, sheer ENDURANCE.

So how did she do it? The way I see it, there’s only one explanation: she’s in the wrong franchise… the girl’s a Wonder Woman for sure.

What do you think? Have you seen some funny celeb moments this week? Let me know in comment or on X/Instagram via @JessicaBoulton

*Answer To Missing Vowels Round: “What a plonker”

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Forget MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace and John Torode, Jessica Boulton’s ruthless rundown of the showbiz week reveals the EIGHT stories you should be talking about instead….. including the only cancelled BBC star who actually deserves our tears

Jessica Boulton works on the Mirror’s features desk, specialising in celebrity features and interviews. She also writes a weekly observational comedy column Jess Saying, which runs each Saturday. In addition, she oversees the entertainment pages, helps co-ordinate the Pride of Britain coverage and newsletter and guest edits The Diary. Jessica joined The Mirror’s sister paper The People in 2006, and has since worked on the Sunday Mirror and Now magazine. Most likely to be found raving about The Oscars, BAFTAs, Netflix, Friends or Star Wars.

Daily Mirror Columnist Jessica Boulton brings you Jess Saying, her wry, witty and slightly whimsical take on the heroes and villains, winners and losers and the outright outrageous showbiz shenanigans keeping us amused this week. So….where better to start than….

JUSTICE FOR BBC ICON MONDAY

I’ve always considered myself to be woke. I’m left-wing, open-minded and look good in red (in the UK, definitely not in the US). I’d fully support trigger warnings on Bambi and The Lion King. And I’d argue there should be one on Titanic (for “scenes of disturbing door hoggery”). But this week I’m afraid to say, even I think the woke world has gone too far. For a true BBC icon has ­outrageously and undeservedly been cancelled. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs after 30 years of excellence. But it’s a sign of the times: one day everyone loves you and the next…you’re persona non grata, written off as a bad fit for the Gen Zs of today (who don’t watch TV anyway, so why are we pandering?). So which iconic BBC veteran has been tragically stripped of work this week? Clue: they first appeared in 1995 – and won millions of fans overnight. Yes, you’ve guessed it. There’s only one BBC star I’m weeping for: Mr Darcy. Well, his Wet White Shirt, to be precise.

For three decades, the sterling performance of Colin Firth’s infamous Pride and Prejudice shirt has never been equalled. But its outstanding contribution to entertainment has now been called into question – over fears it’s been objectifying men. Yup. It’s true. Some buttoned-up bores at Netflix are currently debating what’ll make the cut and what won’t in their upcoming P&P remake.

READ MORE: MasterChef bosses decide BBC show fate for coming years after show scandal

Considering Slow Horses’ Jack Lowden is the new Darcy (alongside The Crown’s Emma Corrin as Lizzie Bennet), I was FERVENTLY in support of the decision to completely remove the Wet White Shirt, at first.

But then I realised I’d got the wrong end of the stick…I’m only teasing of course. But I do have two little points I’d like to flag to people’s attention:

POINT 1. What else would Netflix need to change to fit a more ‘2025-friendly’ adaptation? Jane’s famous first line definitely loses a certain something after my woke rewrite:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged – but not necessarily accepted as we each have our ‘own truth’ – that a single man, sorry, dependent-free gender-neutral individual, in possession of a ‘good fortune’ (aka, a disproportionate amount of wealth thanks to genetic privilege and the unjust dominance of patriarchy), must be – although is under no obligation to be and will face no ­judgment if they are not – in want of a wife…..or a loving relationship that equally fulfils the needs of both you and your consenting partner/partners, but does not necessarily adhere to any ­societal expectations.”

And POINT 2: ……Season 2, Episode 5 of NETFLIX’S Bridgerton. Look familiar, guys?

NAKED AMBITION TUESDAY

The Primetime Emmy nominations are finally in! Adolescence was the UK’s biggest contender this year – with nods including Best Actor for Stephen Graham and Best Supporting for 15-year-old Owen Cooper (I’d argue it should be reversed).

Meanwhile, leading the way with a mindblowing 27 noms was Apple’s truly genius Severance – a drama in which people clock off at 5pm and all memory of work from that day is completely wiped. (You can decide for yourselves if that’s a good thing or not.)

The most delightful Emmy news of all? Nobody Wants This, with my all-time celeb faves Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, landed nods for best comedy series, actor and actress. It was an achievement ­Kristen’s hubby Dax Shepard immediately celebrated with this pic – of Kristen’s naked yoga workout.

I’m not married, so maybe I’m wrong… But should Dax really have gone so very public with his congratulations? A great big bear bare hug may have been the better choice.

END OF TORODE WEDNESDAY

Talking of draaaaaama and cancellations… it was all going off the boil at MasterChef this week. Just days after Gregg Wallace was given the heave-ho after vowing to fight the dozens of allegations against him, his co-star John Torode was ALSO left with egg on his face. Torode was accused of making a racial slur – said to be “the worst word possible” – in a social setting some years ago. Torode denied it. But it left Auntie with a sour taste, so he was sent packing with a P45 as well.

The poor BBC now has an entire as-yet-unreleased pre-recorded series of MasterChef with not one but TWO disgraced hosts. That’s got to be tough to swallow. It also explains the reasoning behind one of its latest new hires. For even wholesome Blue Peter has had its share of scandalous stars…

So when faced with finding its latest prestigious presenter, the Beeb hired someone who’s been nothing but a safe pair of hands their whole career. Some might even go as far to say he’s the perfect ­corporate puppet.….(see below).

FISHING FOR INSULTS? THURSDAY

Gregg and John might be in for a grilling over their alleged behaviour, but another under-fire celeb, Sacha Baron Cohen, was probably feeling a little, um, roasted this week. Yes, his actress ex-wife Isla Fisher has not had the most amicable of splits with Da Ali G and Borat actor. So some social media users took her quip on Instagram to be a tiny dig at his expense (literally). The Confessions Of A Shopaholic star wrote: “For all the men who say ‘Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?’, here’s an update for you. “Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why?

“Because women realise it’s not worth buying an entire pig… just to get a little sausage.” No porkies there! I’d rather bring home the bacon alone than be stuck with a man who’s the literal wurst. So, bravo, Isla! That took proper chops.

FACING FACTS FRIDAY

You can’t make this one up. And to be fair, whatever you say about Katie Price, at least she can take the mickey out of herself. Which is why she’s made a startling admission this week. Apparently Katie was ­travelling and got pulled over by ­security at passport control – because she’s had so many trips under the knife, the scanners couldn’t recognise her passport photo. Yes, Katie might have been accused of being two-faced in the past, but, as she’ll admit herself, she’s been through at least 10 of them now. On the upside, it’s something to add to her CV next time she’s bankrupt. After all, everyone wants their staff to multi-faceted nowadays.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

She’s always been a woman with Klass. So it’s good to see Myleene hasn’t let her newly-award MBE go to her head. Ahem.

Yes, Myleene was presented the honour this week after her tireless charity work, including raising the awareness of the emotional toll of miscarriage. But it looks like the Hear’Say singer might be taking the honour a little too literally.

For the morning after receiving the medal – alongside fellow honouree Leona Lewis OBE – Myleene posted this bathtime snap.

Umm….It looks like you’ve got a little something in your hair, Myleene. To be fair, it could have been worse. She could have posted a snap of her in her tiara….sitting on the throne.

JESS A QUICKIE:

Myleene’s not the only one having some bathroom fun. Charlotte Crosby decided to promote her new fiction tome by sitting in a bath of books. It makes sense: she’s always swimming with novel ideas.* *Sorry I couldn’t help myself

What do you think? Let me know in the comments or via IG/X @JessicaBoulton

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CHANTELLE CAMERON takes on Jessica Camara in a HUGE clash at Madison Square Garden.

Cameron and Camara come to blows on the undercard of the hotly anticipated Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 card in New York.

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34-year-old British boxer Cameron comes into the clash with a record of 20-1-0, having won her last two fights.

Cameron has recently had two fights against Katie Taylor, beating her in 2023 to hand her a first and only loss in her career, before Taylor came back and won the rematch later in 2023.

Camara comes into the fight with a record of 14-4-1, most recently drawing with Caroline Dubois in January of 2025, but had won four consecutive bouts prior to the draw.

SunSport has everything you need to know ahead of the pair clashing at MSG.

When is Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara?

• Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara will take place THIS Friday, June 11.
• The clash is one of the earlier fights on the card, so ringwalks are expected around 12am BST.

How can I watch Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara and is there a live stream?

• Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara will be broadcast LIVE on Netflix as part of the Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 card.
• The huge trilogy bout will come at no additional cost to Netflix subscription holders.
• If you don’t hold a Netflix subscription, packages start from £5.99 per month, with the most expensive membership priced at £18.99.
• Alternatively, SunSport will live blog the action as it happens.

How to get tickets for Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara

Limited tickets for Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 card, including the Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara clash, are still available via Ticketmaster.

Secondary tickets are also available on StubHub.

**Please note that StubHub and similar secondary ticket resale sites may list tickets above face value.

Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara full card

• Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano; undisputed women’s junior welterweight championship
• Alycia Baumgardner vs Jennifer Miranda; WBO, WBC & WBA super-featherweight titles
• Savannah Marshall vs Shadasia Green; IBF & WBO super-middleweight titles
• Ellie Scotney vs Yamileth Mercado; IBF, WBO & WBC super-bantamweight titles
• Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara; Interim WBC World female super lightweight title
• Cherneka Johnson vs Shuretta Metcalf; IBF, WBC & WBO bantamweight world titles
• Tamm Thibeault vs Mary Casamassa
• Ramla Ali vs Lita Furtado

Lena Dunham, of “Girls” fame, with her husband Luis Felber, has created a romantic comedy, “Too Much,” premiering Thursday on Netflix. It’s lighter in tone than that previous show but still comes with plenty of dysfunction, self-sabotage and sex. (Drugs too, though it doesn’t make a case for them.) The titles of the episodes establish a negative relation to the genre: “Terms of Resentment,” “Enough, Actually,” “Notting Kill,” “Nonsense and Sensibility,” “Pity Woman,” “Ignore Sunrise,” “To Doubt a Boy.” But in the end, it wants what they’re having.

Dunham, who wrote or co-wrote all 10 episodes and directed several, has elected not to star, but has brought in Megan Stalter, from “Hacks” as her stand-in, Jessica. (Dunham plays Nora, Jessica’s depressed older sister, mostly from a bed.) Like Jessica, Dunham is an American living in England, in a relationship with a musician, so we may credit at least some details to the authority of their shared experience.

Jessica once wanted to direct films, to “say something about the female experience,” but she has been working for 15 years as a line producer for an ad agency, a job at which she is evidently good, but which means little to her. When her New York firm merges with a British company, she’s sent to London for three months to help make a Christmas commercial, starring Rita Ora. Having been left six months before by her longtime boyfriend, Zev (Michael Zegen) for willowy knitting influencer Wendy Jones (Emily Ratajkowski), to whom he’s become engaged, she is ready to go — all the more so because her happy place is “love stories set in pastoral England.”

On her first night in town, Jessica discovers that the “estate” she thought she was renting is not Pemberley but public housing; she takes a taxi to a random pub, where Felix (Will Sharpe), the boy in this 30-something love story, is performing a sad song to a few patrons. They meet-cute in the bathroom. He walks her home. They talk. He lends her his coat. (There is, interestingly, no attempt to convince us that Felix is a major talent; indeed, the suggestion is that such career as he had is on a downward slope.)

People fall out of love on television almost as often as they fall into it, sometimes as a prelude to falling back into it, or falling for someone else, and less often deciding that they are in fact happier on their own. From the wealth of self-help books, advice columns, therapists, country songs and, yes, romantic comedies that fill our culture, I reckon the messier elements of “Too Much” will feel familiar to many. There is plenty of chaos in this comedy, but its best moments come in passages of relative calm. (They are something of a relief from the dominant emotional mishigas.) A long, wordless scene consisting of a single overhead shot of Felix and Jess on a bed, as she listens to a mix he made her, is remarkably moving, not least because the actors are doing so much while doing so little.

“Too Much” on Netflix first look.

(Netflix)

Even as she becomes involved with Felix, Jessica continues her practice of recording private videos on her phone, on TikTok, as a sort of therapeutic diary, ranting about Zev; many are addressed directly to Wendy Jones. Meanwhile, she deals with Andrew Scott as a pretentious director (“We’ve got to make this feel like it’s Ken Loach doing a Christmas film”) and mucks in with new boss Jonno (Richard E. Grant) and colleagues Josie (Daisy Bevan), Kim (Janicza Bravo), who is interested in Josie, and chatterbox Boss (Leo Reich), who has published an “experimental PDF novel, to much acclaim” and broke up with someone because “he did not have the emotional intelligence necessary to deal with someone whose love language is being a b— in a fun way.” She confounds them with her loud, childlike American energy, filling empty spaces with words, making jokes that don’t come off. (“Just kidding” is a thing she says a lot.)

Recently sober, Felix has his own complement of bandmates, friends and friendly ex-girlfriends, including three women named Polly — Adèle Exarchopoulos plays the important one — whose history with Felix makes Jess nervous. (Jennifer Saunders is a bit of a surprise.) Sharpe, last seen on TV in the second season of “The White Lotus,” plays him quietly, a little melancholy, perhaps, but not unduly moody; even in a difficult situation — he’s carrying just as much baggage as Jessica — his energy remains low-key and relatively grounded, though he will be called upon to do some panicked running.

If the series has a fault, it’s that there’s possibly too much “Too Much.” In the movies, the business of “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl” (substitute your preferred genders), has traditionally been settled in under two hours. The streaming economy, however, has stretched the narrative timeline, elongated the arc, padding out a predetermined number of episodes with extraneous digressions, giving minor characters things to do that don’t necessarily contribute to the story, while not developing into much on their own. There are brief cutaways to Jonno’s home life, which at least has the benefit of giving us more Grant, plus Naomi Watts as his wife, Ann; scenes back in New York likewise give us unrelated time with Rita Wilson as Jessica’s mother, Lois; Rhea Perlman her mouthy grandmother, Dottie; Dunham’s Nora and Andrew Rannells as her ex-husband, Jameson, who left her in favor of “exploring non-monogamy with a couple both named Cody.”

More problematic, an exasperating character like Jessica, lived with at such length, can become exhausting, and she does. Dunham mitigates this, and the roller coaster of Jessica and Felix’s relationship, by employing an episodic structure, setting whole or nearly whole episodes against different backdrops: a wedding, a work trip, a dinner party, Felix at home with his parents (Stephen Fry and Kaori Momoi), Jess and Felix up all night (having sex, watching “Paddington”) when she has to be fresh for work in the morning, and a flashback to Jess’ history with Zev (he’s been made a “writer,” shorthand for pathetic). Taken individually, as discrete stories, they’re easier to digest. The writing is sharp, the performances spot-on.

Stalter, who is in her fourth season stealing scenes on “Hacks,” plays a character halfway around the world from her character there. Where her Kayla is brash, entitled and self-confident to a fault, Jess is needy, full of second thoughts and self-doubts, even as she projects a kind of frantic cheerfulness. (“I’m a chill girl, I’m normal,” she tells herself, doubtfully.) Dunham often shoots Stalter straight on, filling the screen with her face, which pays benefits; she has great presence. (And sings very sweetly too, better than her boyfriend.)

The endgame, when we get to it, could not be any more conventional — which, I imagine, is the idea. One might think it parodic if it hadn’t been established that this is the dream in which Jessica lives; anything less would be unkind.

I see I’ve neglected to mention the dog. There is a little dog too, who plays an important part.

Things got heated between Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel last summer. Sweat was poured. Scores were settled. Justin Timberlake even got involved.

The intense showdowns occurred on a New York City padel court when the women had days off from filming their new Prime Video limited series, “The Better Sister,” now streaming. Squaring off in the increasingly popular racquet sport, the actors, along with Biel’s husband, Timberlake, and Banks’ husband, Max Handelman, “had a blast kicking each other’s asses,” Biel said.

Back on “The Better Sister” set, Banks and Biel were happy to play on the same team. There, they both served as stars and executive producers, and they praised the collaborative, ego-free environment overseen by showrunners Olivia Milch and Regina Corrado. (Though their competitive streak did continue with between-takes Bananagrams.)

“This was a group of, frankly, a lot of moms, who were like, ‘We don’t have time for nonsense. We want our crew home to have dinner with their families,’ ” Banks said. “There was a lot of mutual respect going on, but then we all demanded the best from each other.”

The eight-episode whodunit, adapted from the 2019 novel by Alafair Burke, is a twisty, Shakespearean tale: Two estranged sisters, the glamorous, successful Chloe (Biel) and the recovering addict Nicky (Banks), are thrust back together when Chloe’s husband, Adam (Corey Stoll) — who used to be Nicky’s husband — is murdered. When Nicky and Adam’s son, Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan) — who was raised by Chloe and Adam — is arrested for the crime, the sisters must untangle a web of family secrets and betrayal. Yeah, it’s complicated.

Elizabeth Banks, top, and Jessica Biel in a scene from “The Better Sister.”

(Jojo Whilden / Prime Video)

“So many shows I’ve written on are about muscular, macho men doing violent things to each other,” said Corrado, whose past work includes “Sons of Anarchy” and “Deadwood.” “But I think the scariest thing is women in this space and the intimate damage we can do to each other, particularly as sisters.”

While Biel, 43, and Banks, 51, both rose to prominence as actors, they’ve been increasingly expanding their resumes behind the camera. Over the past decade, Banks has directed films, including “Cocaine Bear,” “Pitch Perfect 2” and the 2019 “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, and produced numerous projects under her and Handelman’s Brownstone Productions banner.

Biel has likewise segued into producing with her company, Iron Ocean, which backed the psychological thriller series “Cruel Summer,” “The Sinner” and “Candy,” the latter two in which she also starred. (Biel is also in early development on a reboot of “7th Heaven,” the ‘90s series on which she got her start as the rebellious Mary Camden, though she won’t reprise her role.)

For Biel, those recent thriller projects, along with “The Better Sister,” speak to what she finds “endlessly interesting.” “Why do humans do the things that they do?” she said. “When you’re pressed up against the wall and you’re fighting for your life or to keep your kids safe, what would you do? How far would you go?”

In a joint video interview, Banks and Biel discussed making “The Better Sister” and their decades of experience that led them here. These are edited excerpts from the conversation, which includes a few spoilers.

What initially attracted you to “The Better Sister” and your specific roles?

Biel: I first read for the Nicky part, and I was definitely interested in it. Then, a couple days later, I got the call saying, “They want you for Chloe.” When I heard that Elizabeth was talking to them about Nicky, I was like, oh, yes. This makes more sense to me now. I’ve also heard for a million years that we look like sisters.

Banks: I had never heard a bad word about Jessica Biel in the industry. She was known as kind, generous, talented, a great collaborator, easy to be around. And I thought, well, that sounds easy and fun. Craig Gillespie, who directed our pilot, got on with me and said, “I want you to be a mess, Banks. It needs more humor, and you’ll be funny.” He sold me on this messy Nicky, in contrast to Jessica, and I thought that sounded like a great idea all across the board.

“I love that I got to reset my career, and I’ve been able to do it multiple times,” said Elizabeth Banks, who has starred in comedies and dramas onscreen.

(Annie Noelker / For The Times)

Elizabeth, as an actor, you’ve received the most recognition for your comedic roles, but you’ve been focused lately on quieter, dramatic parts. Is that a direction you’d always hoped to go in?

Banks: It’s interesting. I started my career in a lot of dramas. Man, I remember making “Seabiscuit.” It was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It was very serious fare, and I was put in that [dramatic] box early on. It honestly took making “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” to even clue people in that I was funny. Like, I knew I was. I thought I was going to come in and do rom-coms, but when I started making films, it wasn’t a skill that was asked of me. I love that I got to reset my career, and I’ve been able to do it multiple times.

The very title of this series, “The Better Sister,” pits these two women against each other. How have you seen that comparison game play out in your own experiences in this industry?

Biel: You’re constantly compared. At least back in the day, it felt like people were trying to keep women away from each other. You’d sit in an audition room, and there would be this energy because your agents and managers would have made you feel like these women are your competition. There really was a feeling of ”you are against everybody, and everybody is against you.” I feel like that’s changed so much, but this industry is cutthroat. I have a lot of real experience in feeling less than, feeling judged, feeling like the industry has been putting their thumb on top of you, and you have to fight, fight, fight for every opportunity.

Banks: I had a similar experience coming up as an ingénue. There’s a scarcity mentality, like there’s only so many roles. Now we have all of this incredible data, like what the Geena Davis Institute has collected, about women’s roles in Hollywood. At some point, I just looked around and thought, the numbers are against me. The very first film I ever made [“Wet Hot American Summer”] was with Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper, and they went on to play superheroes. I’m never going to get that, especially once I got over a certain age. You start to understand that it’s systemic, and it is a numbers game. You can keep playing that game, or you can do what so many incredible women have done before me, which is create your own opportunities.

I know that we are encouraging the next generation because I made a movie with them called “Bottoms.” Emma Seligman, Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, they’re doing it now. They’re going to make their own stuff, and it’s incredible. I think the industry has changed because women changed it. I just want to make sure that we have actually learned the lessons, and we are creating the opportunities.

Biel: I really do hope it is different and better and more fair and more loving because, man, it was hard.

One of the big themes in this show is trust. This idea of, can we trust our family? Can we trust our partners? Can we trust the police? Can we trust our memories? Did working on this show make you question anything about your own realities?

Banks: My father served in Vietnam, and we never talked about it when I was a kid. Vietnam vets suffered when they came back. America was not interested in them. What does that do to people’s psyches that had served their country and now they’re being spit at? This brought up a lot of those notions for me about how little you actually know your parents when you’re a child and how the layers come out the older you get.

I was the older sister, and I was able to protect my younger sister from the version of my father that I knew. He didn’t give that version to her because he and my mom had learned a lesson about what was going on with him. I’m 11 years older than my brother. He did not get the same version of my parents that I did.

“Where I parallel a little bit in Chloe’s world is this weird, naive trust of police,” Jessica Biel said about her character. “It’s interesting watching Elizabeth in the scenes where she’s expressing Nicky’s feelings about, ‘Don’t trust these people. Don’t give them anything.’ ”

(Annie Noelker / For The Times)

Biel: Where I parallel a little bit in Chloe’s world is this weird, naive trust of police. It’s interesting watching Elizabeth in the scenes where she’s expressing Nicky’s feelings about, “Don’t trust these people. Don’t give them anything.” I was wondering if I have those same thoughts that Chloe does, where I would just offer up information that I shouldn’t because I trust that they’re here to protect me. Would I be in a situation where I would not be taking care of myself or my family members because I felt obligated to almost please this police department who is supposed to help me?

So, [I was] trying to understand that system a little bit better, alongside all the questions you have about your parents and what version you got as a child. My brother and I are three years apart, but I was working when I was really young, and he wasn’t. He was at home. I basically abandoned him. But I was so self-absorbed, I didn’t think about it in that way. I just was doing what was my passion. I know he had a very different experience in our family than I did. I feel nervous to talk to him about it sometimes because I have guilt around that. He was in my shadow, and I left him.

Spoilers for the final episodes — we ultimately learn that Nicky killed Adam, and that reveal puts everything we’ve seen her do thus far in a different light. Elizabeth, what went into playing a character who’s keeping a huge secret from everyone, including the audience, for so long?

Banks: Look, I literally say right after he gets arrested, “Tell them it was me. I’ll say I did it.” But nobody’s going to believe her. I was actually always thinking about “Presumed Innocent,” the original [film], where she knows all along that she can make him free. Ethan’s not going to jail. Nicky was willing and ready every minute of this entire series to offer herself up and say, “I’m going to jail for this. I did it.” I think she almost expects that it’s where her life is supposed to go — but she also can’t let Adam win. So, there is a lot of strategy going on for Nicky. She’s playing chess, and she’s playing the long game, and poor Chloe is not in on any of it.

Chloe then ends up framing Adam’s boss for the murder in the finale. Jessica, how did you feel about that decision and the motivations around it?

Biel: It felt to me that it was what had to happen. Because once it’s revealed that Adam set Nicky up and pushed those drugs on her, and she’s not this horrific mom, her son was not in danger — that realization for Chloe is just like — oh, my God — everything that she has done has been in vain. She ruined her sister’s life. She’s taken over being the mother of this child. For what? It’s all a lie. So, when all of that comes out, that is the moment where she is 100% loyal to Nicky. They are officially in it together. Now she has to protect Nicky in order to protect Ethan, and to do that, we need somebody to take the blame for this because we are all culpable. Everybody is playing their part, and nobody is innocent.

Elizabeth Banks and Maxwell Acee Donovan, who plays her son Ethan in the series.

(Jojo Whilden / Prime Video)

There’s a line in the show to the effect of, “Nothing ever really disappears,” whether that’s because of the stories that people tell about us or the permanence of the internet. Is there a story or project that’s followed you around that you wish would go away?

Biel: I’m sure you could dig up some stuff about me, and I would probably be like, “Oh, yeah, that wasn’t the best choice.” But you have to fall on your face, look like an idiot, sound like an idiot and get back up and go, “All right, won’t do that again.” I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t stumble around a little bit. I don’t want to be stumbling around too much anymore at this age.

On the flip side, what past chapter of your life are you the most proud of?

Banks: I really am proud that I was able to use the opportunity that came during “The Hunger Games,” where I had this guaranteed work with these big movies. I started my family then, and I started my directing career then, and it was because I wasn’t out there shaking it trying to make a living. It was a real gift to have some security for a hot minute because it allowed me to look around and go, is this what I really want? What are my priorities? What opportunities can I pursue while I have this security? I’m proud that I took advantage of it.

Biel: I think back in my early 20s, taking the opportunity to start my little [production] company [with co-founder Michelle Purple], which was dumb and small and lame for like 10 years. We didn’t make anything, and it was a disaster. But we hustled, I took control and said I’m going to start making headway to make things for me. I’m not going to just sit and wait for a phone call from my agents, which is what I had been told to do. I started procuring material and working with writers and learning how to develop them. Now, my little company is making some stuff, which is cool.

Neither of you come from industry families. Did you feel like outsiders stepping into that world?

Banks: I still feel like an outsider.

Biel: I was going to say the same thing!

Banks: I know my worth, and I know what I’ve earned, so I don’t have impostor syndrome anymore. But I do feel like there’s a party in Hollywood that I’m not necessarily on the inside of. It keeps me scrappy, to be honest.

Biel: It also keeps you from getting lost in the sauce. You’re not paying so much attention to everybody else or what you’re not getting. It’s a good mindset to be in because you just focus on what you’re doing. When I’m outputting creatively, that’s what fuels me. The joy is in doing it.