John

March 30 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1842, Dr. Crawford Long became the first physician to use anesthetic (ether) in surgery.

In 1858, a U.S. patent was granted to Hymen Lipman for a pencil with an attached eraser.

In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward reached an agreement with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million in gold.

File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI

In 1870, the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, was adopted into the U.S. Constitution.

In 1923, the Cunard liner Laconia arrived in New York City, the first passenger ship to circumnavigate the world. The cruise lasted 130 days.

In 1975, the South Vietnamese city of Da Nang fell to North Vietnamese forces. UPI correspondent Paul Vogle described “the flight out of hell” as refugees attempted to flee the city.

In 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot and injured U.S. President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington hotel. White House Press Secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and a Washington police officer also sustained injuries. Hinckley was released from a psychiatric hospital in September 2016.

In 1999, a jury in Oregon awarded $81 million in damages to the family of a smoker who died from lung cancer. A state judge reduced the punitive portion to $32 million.

In 2006, Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, was freed in Baghdad after being held for 82 days by kidnappers.

In 2018, at least a dozen Palestinians died in the first week of the so-called Great March of Return protests in Gaza. More than 180 people died in the nearly weekly protests through the end of 2019.

In 2023, a Manhattan grand jury took the unprecedented step of voting to indict a former president, formally charging Donald Trump in an investigation into hush-money payments made to adult film actor Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels.

File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI

MEL Schilling’s “heartbroken” MAFS co-star John Aiken has admitted he is “struggling to breathe”, as he broke his silence on her death.

The Australian relationship expert, 55, revealed his immense grief after Mel tragically died aged 54 following a brave battle with colon cancer.

The much-loved dating coach was known for her work on both the Married At First Sight Australia and UK versions of the show.

Today her MAFS Aus co-star John shared a picture of him with his pal from 2016 and one from the recent series, and penned an emotional message which read: “It’s with great sadness and heavy heart that today I lost my dear friend and fellow MAFS expert Mel Schilling.

“I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe.

“It was a privilege and an honour to sit beside her on the MAFS couch and watch her shine. She was warm, supportive and honest, and she deeply cared about all our participants. I had a front row seat to her remarkable skills and she truly believed in the experiment. At her core she loved love.”

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John also talked about their relationship off screen, and the “fun” they would have when the cameras weren’t rolling.

“And when her illness struck she never complained. She kept her challenges to herself and continued to deliver time and time again. She was an inspiration, a fighter, a leader,” the grief stricken star said.

“It’s not fair that my partner in crime is gone. She was one of the good ones. I am unravelling just thinking about it. I wanted to sit on our couch together forever. She knew my rhythms and I knew hers. But it’s simply not to be.

John admitted he was “distraught” that he had to accept she was now gone, and ended the heartfelt message with: “I love you and I miss you gorgeous.. xx”.

Mel and John were incredibly close having worked on MAFS Australia together for ten years, including the latest series which is airing right now on E4.

Mel’s MAFS UK co-star Charlene Douglas also paid an emotional tribute, where she reflected on their close bond.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “I’m both devastated and heartbroken to hear of the passing of my MAFS queen and friend Mel.

“I had the pleasure of spending time with Mel in her last days and will forever treasure the laughter, the memories and love we had for each other.

“Mel’s love for life, jokes and of course dancing will forever stay in my heart. What I wouldn’t give to be dancing to Beyoncé with you right now.

“Sleep in perfect peace Mel. Love you ♥️”

Mel was previously diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023, which later spread to her lungs and brain.

Her husband Gareth Brisbane announced the heartbreaking news today in an emotional Instagram post.

Alongside touching pictures of Mel, he said: “Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love.

“In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life.

“It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me.”

He continued: “This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42 — and nailed both.

“This is a woman who, through two years of chemotherapy, when she could barely lift her head from the pillow, never complained and never stopped showing courage, grace, compassion and empathy, and never missed a day of filming.

“To most of you, she was Mel Schilling — matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.”

Channel 4 hailed Mel as a friend who “radiated joy, warmth and optimism”.

Issuing a statement, it said: “Our thoughts and condolences are, first and foremost, with her family and loved ones.

“We’re privileged to be the channel that is home to Mel’s work, which was at the heart of Married At First Sight‘s phenomenal success, both in the UK and Australia.

“It reflected so much about her – her fierce advocacy for other women, her passion for healthy relationships and her mission to unite people in love.

“For many who work for Channel 4, Mel was not just a colleague but a friend, someone who radiated joy, warmth and optimism, who energized every room she walked into, with humour and positivity.

“Everyone who knew her will miss all this about her and much more. We share in the sorrow that we’re sure many viewers will now feel at this terrible loss.”

When UCLA baseball coach John Savage scouts prospects, he looks at their projections and skill upside. Most important, he wants players dedicated to the culture he’s developed during his 22 years as a coach.

“We want people that fit into our program, that want to be a part of a winning culture,” he said.

Most of his current roster consists of players who came up short in last year’s College World Series. This year, the No. 1 team in the country has its eyes set on winning a national title in Omaha. The Bruins (21-2 overall, 9-0 in the Big Ten) are coming off a three-game weekend home sweep of Maryland.

The Times spoke to Savage about the expectations the Bruins set for themselves and his longevity with UCLA. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Your team entered the year ranked No. 1 nationally and has gotten off to a strong start. How have you managed expectations?

Savage: It’s really about the people you have in the clubhouse. They’ve been born and raised through our program. Now it’s their junior years. They went to Omaha their sophomore year. They had a difficult year their freshman year. It’s been a work in progress, and I think the expectations are probably the heaviest inside our room. Everybody’s held to a very high standard and they believe in one another, they believe in the program. It’s refreshing to coach people that want to be coached, and to have people that love UCLA, and want to stay at UCLA.

After returning a large percentage of last year’s production, what differences have you noticed in this roster compared to previous teams?

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Savage: I think the leadership is fantastic. Roch Cholowsky, Cashel Dugger, Michael Barnett, Jack O’Connor — our captains, they do a wonderful job of making sure guys are accountable. Everybody’s a year older. Everybody’s a little stronger. Everybody’s a little faster. A lot of guys that work extremely hard to upgrade their physicality, and then certainly it’s a mental game. We’ve worked really hard on the mental side of things to make sure that we’re combining both phases.

What has allowed your program to retain so much of its core talent year to year?

Savage: I would say loyalty, personal relationships, wanting to be at UCLA, to get a degree from UCLA, coaching staff, facilities, location. But, I would say most importantly, relationships. We didn’t win a national championship last year and these guys seem to be on that sort of mission.

Last season’s run to Omaha ended just short of the championship series. How much has that experience motivated this year’s group early in the season?

Savage: You see where you’re going. People always talk about Omaha, but if you never go, it’s hard to really envision what it looks like. It’s something that if you experience, you want to go back. It’s the mecca of college baseball and the city of Omaha has done a wonderful job of developing this tournament over 75 years. It’s an experience that you go and you definitely want to go back as a player and certainly as a coach.

How has recruiting or roster construction changed, if at all, now that UCLA is competing in the Big Ten instead of the Pac-12?

Savage: It’s still UCLA. I’ve been here 22 years, we’ve produced 30 major leaguers. It’s a place that you certainly could go and enjoy your college life and go play in the major leagues. The Big Ten is getting better in baseball, with the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington. Obviously, it has helped the baseball side of things quite a bit. But there’s a lot of programs that are investing throughout the Big Ten in baseball and it’s only going to get better. Baseball is baseball. You gotta go play any time, anywhere.

With the travel demands that come with a conference like the Big Ten, what adjustments have you made to keep players fresh and focused?

Savage: We don’t charter. We’re all commercial. We fly out of LAX on Wednesday morning and we get back late Sunday night. It’s a challenge and it’s certainly one that it’s a daily and weekly operation. In terms of managing school, they all go to class. Not a lot of remote classes, really, so we love the challenge and the opportunity to grow as a young player and a young person.

You’re now in your 22nd season leading the Bruins. What has kept you motivated to continue evolving as a coach after more than two decades in Westwood?

Savage: I love being at UCLA. I love what it stands for. It’s a combination that I’m really looking for in terms of baseball, schedule, league, school — it’s just an elite combination. You have to make sure you’re grounded. You have to make sure you’re very consistent. You have to make sure that you have true values that are consistent with the university and that equates to winning. Winning is really, really difficult, especially now at the Power 4 level.

When players leave UCLA after their careers — whether they go to pro baseball or move on to other careers — what do you hope they carry with them from their time in your program?

Savage: That they understand how to be a contributor to an organization, to a business, how to lead a family, how to lead a group in work. Just be a person that people like to be around and a person that has a vision, that they want to get better and they want to do well in their lives and they want to have impact on other lives. That’s ultimately what we’re looking for, that they can handle themselves in any phase of life.

UCLA men are out, UCLA women stay strong

UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. tries to get through UCLA’s Trent Perry, from left, Donovan Dent and Eric Dailey Jr. in the first half Monday.

(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

UCLA coach Mick Cronin never wavered.

If senior forward Tyler Bilodeau felt any pain, he was not playing the NCAA tournament.

The No. 7 seed Bruins could not overcome No. 2 seed UConn’s interior game and suffered a 73-57 loss. The Bruins kept it close early, trailing by just five at halftime.

Cronin will help UCLA cope with the sudden end to its season and then immediately work on sorting out next season’s roster.

While fans questioned Cronin’s aggressive coaching style, the Bruins did play significantly improved defense through the final four weeks of their season and his players never wavered in their support of him.

Now Cronin will start over, working to forge comparable buy-in from the next wave of players.

The UCLA women walk to the bench during a time out against Cal Baptist.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It’s rare for a No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA tournament to miss the Sweet 16, but the Bruins (32-1) say they expect a big test when they face No. 8 seed Oklahoma State (24-9) at 7 p.m. Monday night at Pauley Pavilion.

It will be the final game the Bruins’ celebrated senior class will play at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA coach Cori Close provided the following scouting report on Oklahoma State.

“I think that what stands out is their ability to shoot the three, their versatility, their work down the tunnel with the high ball screen,” Close said. “They’re extremely good in transition. It’s going to be so important for us to make them play later into the shot clock, which is going to be easier said than done. But I guess with the exception they don’t have like a really tall big, but they actually remind me in terms of their style and some of the actions that they run of Oklahoma. Their guard play.

“And one of the big things that we talk a lot about is trying to make them play later in the clock than they’re comfortable with. Now we go through all the analytics, and the later you have them play in the shot clock, the less efficient they become. They’re 13th in the country in offensive efficiency. They’re really, really good.

“Defensively I think that we obviously need to really hunt the paint. We’ve got some advantages with our size there. But they’re a really good team.”

Survey says

We asked “How far will the UCLA men advance in the NCAA men’s tournament. After 648 votes, the results:

They lose in the second round, 36.5%
They lose in the Sweet 16, 27.5%
They lose in the Elite Eight, 17.3%
They win it all, 12.6%
They lose in the first round, 3.2%
They lose in the Final Four, 2.5%
They lose in the championship game, 0.4%

In case you missed it

UCLA overcomes slow start to open NCAA tournament title bid with a blowout win

Jordan Chiles goes perfect again as UCLA sweeps Big Ten gymnastics titles

UCLA freshmen draw on their elite gymnastics roots to help Bruins push for championships

Without Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA edges Central Florida to advance at NCAA tournament

How UCLA guard Kiki Rice became the Bruins’ ace and top WNBA draft prospect

UCLA men’s basketball eager to mount deep tournament run

March Madness women’s tournament analysis: Teams and players to watch

UCLA was snubbed by women’s NCAA tournament selection committee

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

The actor portrays John Worboys – dubbed the “black cab rapist” – in the upcoming series

Daniel Mays has admitted he was “absolutely terrified” when he read the script of his new ITV drama Believe Me.

The actor plays convicted offender John Worboys – who was dubbed the ‘black cab rapist’ after preying on women under the cover of being a licensed taxi-cab driver.

He was convicted in 2009 for crimes including sexual assault and drugging with intent against 12 women.

“I actually underestimated how much it was going to affect me,” Daniel said as a first look image of him as Worboys was released.

“I’ve been a professional actor for 26 years, so I’ve done a lot of true crime and played a lot of wrong ‘uns. When I got these scripts, it absolutely terrified me, because I’m a father myself.

“My head immediately went to my 13-year-old daughter Dixie. She’s venturing out, going on trains, and before long, no doubt she’ll be in the back of a taxi. So as a father, I found it an incredibly disturbing and terrifying read.”

He continued: “It was a difficult thing to have rolling around in my head before filming.

“It was a very isolating character to play, by its very nature. When I was announced to play him, I got this tirade from family and friends and work colleagues who can’t quite believe it, going, ‘Why would you want to play something like that?’ So, the challenge was to humanise him, really, and that was a very difficult and unsettling thing to take on.”

The four-part series, filmed in Cardiff, focuses on the ordeal of Sarah (played by Peaky Blinders’ Aimée-Ffion Edwards) and Laila (played by Raised By Wolves’ Aasiya Shah), who reported sexual assaults by Worboys, and how their allegations were not thoroughly investigated.

ITV said it “tells the story of how the victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history were failed by the system”.

Danny, known for Des and A Thousand Blows, said there’s “always a huge responsibility” playing a real person on screen, but that this was “a whole other level”.

He explained: “This is told from the perspective of the victims, and for them to tell their truth, have their stories told – the ordeals that they went through and the fight they took on against the Metropolitan Police and the court systems.

“So, when you’re dealing with that, the onus was on me to get it absolutely 110% right. That was paramount to me.”

Believe Me is coming soon to ITV1

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, http://www.victimsupport.org.uk.

No. 1-ranked St. John Bosco began Trinity League baseball play on Tuesday the same way it has done early in the season — with more good pitching.

Julian Garcia struck out seven, walked one and gave up three hits in five innings of a 6-0 win over JSerra. It was the fourth shutout in five games this season for the Braves (5-0). Jhett Ohira had three hits and Jaden Jackson and Noah Everly added two hits apiece.

Bishop Alemany 6, Harvard-Westlake 5: The Warriors handed Harvard-Westlake its first Mission League loss. Alex Noble had two hits for Alemany (8-2, 3-0).

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 13, Chaminade 2: Unbeaten Notre Dame (7-0) was led by Benett Pace, who hit two home runs and finished with four RBIs. Jacob Madrid added two hits and two RBIs. Beckett Berg struck out six and gave up one hit in five innings.

St. Francis 6, Loyola 2: Lucas Becerra contributed three hits in the Mission League win. Donovan Udell threw two scoreless innings of relief.

Sierra Canyon 3, Crespi 1: Armando Solorio threw a complete game with six strikeouts and no walks.

Florida Stoneman Douglas 7, Santa Margarita 6: The Eagles couldn’t hold on after opening a 6-1 lead. Warren Gravely III had a home run.

Servite 6, Aliso Niguel 2: The Friars received scoreless innings of relief from Wyatt Karges, Eli Rubel and Isaiah Camacho.

Los Alamitos 5, Edison 3: Will McCullough had three hits for Los Alamitos.

Arcadia 18, Hoover 2: Matt Manzo had four RBIs and Jordan Vogel had three hits.

La Mirada 4, Etiwanda 2: Ian Nunez had a three-run home run for La Mirada.

Huntington Beach 6, Marina 1: Jared Grindlinger struck out four with no walks in four innings. Ely Mason had a double and single.

Cypress 5, Villa Park 3: Tate Belfanti struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings for Cypress.

Newport Harbor 5, Corona del Mar 1: Ryan Williams homered and Gavin Guy picked up the win.

Softball

Murrieta Mesa 12, Temecula Valley 0: Macy Clark hit two home runs in the five-inning win for No. 1-ranked Murrieta Mesa.

JSerra 8, Aliso Niguel 2: Zena Edwards hit a two-run home run and Margenta De Arte had a two-run double for JSerra.

Garden Grove Pacifica 6, Eastvale Roosevelt 5: The Mariners got a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh from Jenna Valladares.

Harvard-Westlake 11, Louisville 7: Izzy Whelan drove in three runs in the loss.

Downey 21, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 6: The Vikings (10-2) routed Notre Dame behind Hazel Renteria. Delilah Navarro and Kayla Gutierrez each had four hits.

The hit firefighter TV show, London’s Burning, kept us glued to the safety of our sofas for an incredible 14 years, but where are the beloved cast now? Read on to find out

The cast of beloved ITV drama London Burning have endured various fortunes since the popular show came to a demise in 2002. This month, actor John Alford made headlines after it was reported he had been found dead in his prison cell just weeks after being convicted of sex offence charges.

he actor who played Billy Ray in the series between 1993 and 1998 was jailed in January for eight years and six months for crimes against children.

The ITV show had viewers fixed on their sofas during its 14-year run on the network. With emotionally charged storylines and action-packed drama, many wished for more. But the show’s success was down to how much the audience warmed to the Blue Watch team.

London’s Burning began life as a two-hour film in 1986 before becoming the television series we all know and love in 1988. There were a total of 172 blazing episodes before the show was extinguished back in 2002. The firefighter drama was originally shot at Bermondsey’s Dockhead Fire Station, with filming in the first three series taking place in the actual watchroom, mess and bay area – where real-life firefighters leapt at the chance to work shifts as extras. Here, we take a look at the cast now.

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John Alford

Alford, who appeared on the show for five years, was best known as Billy Ray died this month, aged 54. Earlier this year, following a trial at St Albans Crown Court in September 2025, he was jailed.

The actor, who also appeared in Grange Hill, was convicted of six individual counts. There were two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child, one count of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.

A Prison Service spokesman told The Mirror: “John Shannon died in prison on 13 March 2026. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”

After his arrest, he told police: “This stinks. This is a set-up.” He denied all charges and previously told a trial that he “never touched either of the girls.”

Glen Murphy – George Green

George Green was the show’s longest-serving character and the only one to have appeared in every single series of London’s Burning. This hot-tempered former boxer joined Blue Watch at the start of series one, and enjoyed a steady stream of romances throughout his tenure.

Actor Glen is most well-known as the London’s Burning character, but he has also appeared in British thriller flick Tank Malling and The Bill. Back in 2007, he was awarded an MBE for his charity work after raising more than £1m for good causes. Now 68, Glen got to star with his childhood buddy Ray Winstone in the 2014 thriller Lords of London.

Sean Blowers – John Hallam

Did the immensely likeable but rather uptight John ever get that promotion he was chasing? He never did, did he? The character was left severely traumatised after being buried alive when a wall collapsed on a job in series four.

Five years later, John was brutally killed after falling 80 feet when a gantry gave way amid a warehouse inferno. Actor Sean, now 65, also appeared in EastEnders, Crossroads, Heartbeat and Doctor Who. You may also recognise him for playing Wyman Manderly in the finale of season six of the hugely popular Game of Thrones.

Richard Walsh – Bert ‘Sicknote’ Quigley

Blackwall’s resident hypochondriac, the aptly named ‘Sicknote’ was forever complaining about some malady or another. A wannabe star of the stage, he often made theatre appearances alongside his wife Jean, which his colleagues would begrudgingly go to show their support.

Sicknote bowed out in series 12, when he sadly perished in an explosion at a fireworks factory. Since leaving the series, actor Richard has appeared in daytime TV’s Doctors, the movie Daddy’s Girl, Midsomer Murders and Heartbeat. The now 27-year-old also made a cameo appearance in Netflix series The Crown as Joe Gormley in 2019.

Jerome Flynn – Kenny ‘Rambo’ Baines

“But he wasn’t in London’s Burning!” we hear you cry. Well, he did only feature in the initial TV movie, but we felt actor Jerome was worth a mention as he was just so phenomenally successful post Blackwall.

Jerome of course starred as Paddy Garvey of the King’s Fusiliers alongside Robson Green in hit drama Soldier Soldier. The pals even enjoyed multiple Number Ones in the music charts with their versions of Unchained Melody, I Believe and What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?

Jerome, now 63, appeared in chilling 19th-century drama Ripper Street and an episode of Charlie Brooker’s disturbing Black Mirror in 2016. Game of Thrones fans will instantly recognise him as loveable rogue Bronn, who featured in countless episodes from 2011 to 2019.

In 2019, he also appeared as Berrada opposite Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. In 2022, he starred alongside Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in Taylor Sheridan’s ‘1923’ – a spin-off from the hit series Yellowstone.

James Hazeldine – Mike ‘Bayleaf’ Wilson

A hugely popular member of the team, Bayleaf was mess manager until he departed the show in series 8. The character was involved in many gripping storylines, such as being knocked unconscious when a wall collapsed and also being buried alive.

Very much a star of stage and screen, actor James was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in children’s TV series Chocky as well as Heartbeat. James took on the role of Sigmund Freud in the play The Talking Cure in December 2002, but was shortly taken ill and sadly died a week later. He was 55.

Trevor Nunn, director of the Royal National Theatre, described him as “a leading actor of minutely observed truthfulness, comic brio and emotional daring” who “was also a man of infectious enthusiasm, great warmth and humanity who was universally popular among his colleagues”.

Ben Onwukwe – Stuart ‘Recall’ MacKenzie

Dubbed ‘Recall’ thanks to his unbelievable photographic memory, Stuart joined the team midway through series 4. The firefighter was almost dismissed from the crew when he refused to shave off his beard – something the team rectified by tying him down and shaving it off for him!

Since the show ended, actor Ben, now 68, has been keeping himself busy appearing in Coronation Street, as Clyde Johnson in Holby City and as Dessie Dunn in EastEnders. Back in 2018 he starred as Eric Pratchett in drama Safe, and the following year took on the role of W.E.B Dubois in Hero, inspired by the life and times of the Caribbean war hero, judge and diplomat Ulric Cross.

Ross Boatman – Kevin Medhurst

Renowned as Blue Watch’s resident troublemaker, this wayward firefighter would often scrap with colleagues and question the authority of those above him. The character Kevin came from a broken home and had suffered much sadness in his life before he joined the boys at the station.

Actor Ross is a top poker player and member of the professional playing quartet The Hendon Mob. Now 62, the actor has also enjoyed success in the European Poker Tour and proudly has several poker titles under his belt. He joined the cast of EastEnders in 2021 as Harvey Monroe, for which he won the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer.

Michael Garner – Geoffrey ‘Poison’ Pearce

It wasn’t until series 6 that old Poison joined the watch. He received his unpleasant nickname as he had a penchant for gossip and would overly pander to his seniors. The character wasn’t all bad, however, and could at times be very sensitive.

Post-Blackwall, actor Michael joined many of his co-stars by appearing in Doctors, Holby City and Casualty. Rather unexpectedly, he appeared in pop starlet Ellie Goulding’s music video for How Long Will I Love You in 2013.

Michael, now 72, is perhaps best known for treading the boards, with far-reaching roles in countless Shakespeare plays, Educating Rita and the less high-brow An Evening With Gary Lineker.

Samantha Beckinsale – Kate Stevens

Kate joined the crew in 1990 and quickly became a much-loved member of the team during her two-year stint. Actress Samantha had previously starred as WPC Martin in an episode of Thames Television’s Never The Twain.

Later in 1994, she landed the role of Gillian in the sitcom Time After Time. Three years later she starred as Jilly Howell in the short-lived sitcom Get Well Soon and in 1998 became Gillian Monroe in the short-lived sitcom Duck Patrol with One Foot in The Grave’s Richard Wilson. Samantha, now 59, has also appeared in Doctors, Holby City and Heartbeat.

Connor Byrne – Rob ‘Hyper’ Sharpe

Emotional scenes ensued in series 12 and 13 when Hyper came out as gay to his colleagues. He was later promoted to Leading Firefighter but never got a proper exit as he left for unknown reasons by the start of the final series.

Actor Connor is perhaps best known for playing Mike Milligan in all three of the Tracy Beaker shows, becoming the programme’s longest-serving cast member. Now 61, he also played Geoff in three episodes of Emmerdale back in 2019 and is appearing on our screens this year as Dale Roberts in Doctors.

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BROOKLYN Beckham was offered a public show of support by Sir Elton John — who made him a VIP guest at his Oscars party.

The 27-year-old, locked in a family feud, was seen at the bash alongside wife Nicola Peltz deep in conversation with the singer, 78.

We revealed last year that the I’m Still Standing singer has been acting as a peacemaker between Brooklyn and estranged parents David and Victoria.

And the VIP invitation to Sir Elton’s Academy Awards viewing party in West Hollywood on Sunday night showed his continued love and support for his godson.

A source said: “Elton has seen Brooklyn all adrift without his biological family and he’s stepped up for Brooklyn.

“Inviting him and Nicola to the party was a public show of support for him.

READ MORE ON BROOKLYN BECKHAM

BUILDING BRIDGES?

Brooklyn Beckham reunites with godfather Elton John amid family feud

MOTHER OF INSULTS

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“Elton doesn’t want to get involved in the row — as far as he’s concerned that’s between Brooklyn, David and Victoria.

“But he has been watching everything that has unfolded over the past ten months.

“Brooklyn lives in Los Angeles and when Elton is in town, he’ll often touch base with him.

“Brooklyn knows he has Elton’s ear and support.”

Brooklyn and US actress Nicola, 31, were among a string of celebs at the Elton John Aids Foundation bash, co-hosted by the singer and his husband, David Furnish.

They were photographed with Sharon Osbourne and her I’m a Celebrity star son Jack, while singer Dua Lipa and her actor fiancé Callum Turner were also there.

A source added: “Brooklyn and Nicola had a fantastic time with Elton and David.

“He just wants to move on with his life and is happy to have the support of Elton and David, who have always looked out for him.”

Sir Elton, who has two sons Zachary and Elijah with his hubby, has been very close friends with Posh and Becks for several years.

They asked the singer to be godfather to their first-born son Brooklyn in 1999, and they did the same with Romeo three years later.

Former Spice Girl Victoria was also a guest at Sir Elton’s Oscars party in 2009.

But they have not been pictured together in public since August 2019, when the Beckhams joined Sir Elton and David on a yacht during a holiday in the South of France.

Victoria posted pictures of their trip on Instagram with the caption: “Happy Summer with friends. Kisses @davidfurnish @eltonjohn. We love u both and your boys so much.”

In May 2023, David and Victoria supported Elton on the final night of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour and shared videos and photographs from a box at London’s O2 Arena.

Last summer The Sun revealed that Sir Elton had reached out to Brooklyn and Nicola amid their family feud — and invited them to lunch to talk in the South of France.

A source said at the time: “Elton wants everyone to be happy.

“There is no side-taking as such; he simply adores his godson, and really has a laugh with Nicola who he thinks has a great sense of humour.

“He wants to look after them in his role as ‘spiritual adviser’ as a godfather.

“It’s a role he takes seriously.”

We revealed yesterday that Brooklyn snubbed Victoria on Mother’s Day — while posting a birthday message to “the best mother-in-law”.

He told Nicola’s mum, Claudia, “Love u so much”, as she turned 71.

Who won on Hollywood’s biggest night?

One Battle After Another ran away with the night with six Oscars, while Sinners, which was nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, came away with four. See the full winners list below:

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Directing: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson

Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson

Original Screenplay: Sinners, Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms

Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters

Animated Short: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Cinematography: Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Costume Design: Frankenstein, Kate Hawley

Film Editing: One Battle After Another, Andy Jurgensen

International Feature: Sentimental Value – Norway

Life Action Short: 

The Singers (TIED)

Two People Exchanging Saliva (TIED)

Makeup and Hairstyling: Frankenstein, Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Original Score: Sinners, Ludwig Goransson

Original Song: Golden, KPop Demon Hunters

Production Design: Frankenstein, Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau

Sound: F1, Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Casting: One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis

LORNA Luxe has been seen out for the first time since her husband John’s death – joining race-goers at Cheltenham Festival this week.

The fashion influencer, 43, was seen out on Friday for the Gold Cup and was quids in after backing a horse in John’s memory.

John, 64, died in February following a lengthy illness, but sent a “sign” to Lorna who won £250 after backing a horse with long odds.

Johnny’s Jury was priced between 25/1 to 33/1 with bookmakers like Betfair before jockey Gavin Sheehan took him from last to first to win the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.

Lorna said in a video message to fans: “It’s been raining all week, but the weather was perfect with blue skies.

“I started betting on the horses but didn’t get any winners at all.

LORNA’S PAIN

Lorna Luxe speaks after husband’s death & reveals his funeral has taken place

social comeback

Lorna Luxe returns to social media after husband’s death with new message

“I bumped into Amanda Wakely, whose dress I wore for my wedding to John, and we went to the betting box.

“She said ‘look, one of the horses is called Johnny’s Jury, shall we have a go?’

“It was a bit of an outsider but I put £20 each way – and it won.

“It flipping won. I’m absolutely buzzing. I had all this cash.

“It was just, so John.”

Lorna’s voice cracked as her eyes filled with tears.

She added: “It really made me smile. It was just a brilliant moment.

“I was really teary to be honest. I’m teary now just thinking about it.

“Even though he wasn’t there with me, it felt like he was there in spirit.”

Lorna was dressed in Holland Cooper, the official luxury fashion partner of The Jockey Club, to enjoy a day at the races.

The brand’s founder – Jade Holland Cooper – described Lorna as “the strongest woman I know”.

Lorna’s late husband John was initially diagnosed with stage three cancer, but it developed to stage four while he was undergoing treatment.

Lorna kept her followers updated throughout his journey, and they supported her when he went into remission in November 2023.

But his cancer returned in May 2024, spreading to his brain.

Tragically, just before Christmas, he was rushed back to hospital with organ failure, following a complication with his chemotherapy treatment.

Lorna was advised to prepare for the worst but John defied the odds and was able to recover and spend Christmas at home, before passing away two months later.

By my count, Philip Glass has written 28 operas, the same number as Verdi. The count is iffy because Glass pushes the boundaries between what we tend to call opera and the fuzzier idea of music theater. His first, “Einstein on the Beach” in 1976 — a collaboration between the composer and the late, innovative theater maker Robert Wilson — is a non-narrative effusion of imagery, movement, music and text, each a brilliantly independent entity that somehow excites a hard-to-pin-down purpose.

His latest (and probably his last, Glass turns 90 this year) is “Circus Days and Nights” — a touching and thrilling opera for a circus and staged at a circus in Mälmo, Sweden, in 2021 — caps a wondrous 45 years of operatic advancement. You would have to go back to Handel’s 42 operas, Mozart’s 22 or Verdi’s oeuvre for operatic equivalence.

Glass’ subject matter varies widely in epochs and ethoses, from ancient Egypt to Walt Disney’s Hollywood. Taken as a whole, these 28 operas reveal how we got to be who we are historically, artistically, spiritually, politically and fancifully, often including more than one of those categories, as in his third opera, “Akhnaten,” which Los Angeles Opera has now remounted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The instantly recognizable musical style has remained, over the years, consistently abstract and refreshing. It doesn’t tell you how to think, how to feel, even how to understand. It simply grabs your attention; you do the interpreting.

Still, America knows little of Glass’ operatic enormity. The early “portrait” operas — “Einstein,” “Satyagraha” (about Gandhi) and “Akhnaten” (the 14th century BC Egyptian pharaoh) — appear in repertory here and there (meaning mostly in Europe) as do a trio of operas based on Jean Cocteau films. The rest remain little mounted, while several but not all have been recorded. The Metropolitan Opera, for instance, commissioned “The Voyage” in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, but the epic opera is nowhere to be found in our semisesquicentennial year. It is sadly no longer even thinkable that “Appomattox,” Glass’ revelatory reminder of an America that once honored goodwill negotiation over political self-interest, return to the Kennedy Center, where its final version had its premiere 11 years ago.

L.A. Opera has been better than most American companies in its attention to Glass. It has excellently presented the three portrait operas on its main stage, beginning with “Einstein” in the final and most brilliant revival of the original Wilson staging. The “Satyagraha” and “Akhnaten” revivals have been the designed-to-dazzle inventions of quirky director Phelim McDermott, a co-founder of Impossible, an eccentric British theater company. When new in the last decade, they felt the most arresting productions of these operas since Achim Freyer’s in Stuttgart, Germany, in the early 1980s. Almost every performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion has sold out.

John Holiday as the titular ruler in Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

McDermott’s “Akhnaten” got the most attention thanks to breathtaking jugglers and lavish costumes, along with a touch of full-frontal novelty as Akhnaten gets clothed in his kitschy, glittery getup for his inauguration. Glass had chosen the pharaoh because he is thought to have been the first monotheistic ruler.

Akhnaten is revealed in episodes of his life that are not fleshed out but presented as ritual, including the ravishing love duet with his wife, Nefertiti. The revolutionary pharoah builds a great city and reduces spiritual chaos by focusing on a single-minded form of worship. He looks androgenous in portraits, which led Glass to create the role for countertenor.

The sung texts are in ancient languages, and there are no projected song titles. Instead, a narrator gives a somewhat notion of what’s what in the language of the audience, as is Akhnaten’s great aria, a hymn to Aten (god of the sun).

Ultimately, the pharaoh’s prescient spiritual optimism comes in conflict with the all-powerful establishment priests, who kill Akhnaten and Nefertiti. The opera ends with Akhnaten’s son, presumably Tutankhamun, restoring polytheism, and then, once the staging jumps millennia into the future, it’s rediscovered by modern-day tourists. The currency couldn’t be missed Saturday, the Shia cleric and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei having just been assassinated along with his wife at the start of America’s and Israel’s Iran war.

Sun-Ly Pierce as Nefertiti and John Holiday as Akhnaten in Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

In the opera, it so happens, the ghosts of Akhnaten, his wife and mother, have the last word in a glorious trio.

When first performed at L.A. Opera a decade ago, the lavish production, co-produced with English National Opera, helped recover a neglected opera. In the meantime, “Akhnaten” has gone practically mainstream. The Metropolitan Opera, which also mounted McDermott’s production, released it on CD and DVD, winning a Grammy for best opera recording.

Since then, the choreographer Lucinda Childs, veteran of “Einstein on the Beach,” has staged a stunningly chic “Akhnaten” in Nice, France, that is available on YouTube. Last year, director Barrie Kosky created a sensation with his staging at Komische Oper Berlin, which starred American countertenor John Holiday.

Holiday happens to be the Akhnaten in the L.A. Opera revival, and he is magnificent. McDermott had built his production around the gracefully emotive Anthony Roth Costanzo, slight and luminous in voice and build and game for nudity. If Costanzo’s disarming enthusiasm for the role has been significant in mainstreaming “Akhnaten,” Holiday, who is a very different presence, may be the next step.

Although he can be a popularly gregarious crossover performer, here he suggests a ruler of profound, unflappable dignity, rather than vulnerability. His hymn to Aten is an exercise in majesty, an ode not just to the sun but to the expanses in which our solar system circulates.

In general, the singers class up the production. Sun-Ly Pierce as Nefertiti and So Young Park as Queen Tye add allure. The large cast of smaller roles and chorus is excellent. Zachary James returns as both Amenhotep III, Akhnaten’s father, and the engaging narrator who occasionally threatens to get carried away. McDermott had perfectly employed James as the droll animatronic Disneyland Lincoln in his animation-friendly, slightly goofy production of “Perfect American” in Madrid, where the opera premiered. Here McDermott’s inspired staging demonstrated that Glass’ forgiving personal portrait of Walt Disney makes it the quintessential Hollywood opera that no one dares bring to squeamish Hollywood.

Zachary James as Amenhotep III in Philip Glass’ “Akhnaten” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Hollywood, however, is hardly squeamish when it comes to synchronized jugglers. For McDermott, they suggest somber ritual and were, in fact, known in Akhnaten’s Egypt. For the audience, they are a thrill a minute. For Glass, they may take on deeper meaning now that the circus is where he landed 26 operas later.

As for Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska, making her L.A. opera debut, she keenly keeps score and bounding balls together with cinematic flair. Glass removed violins from the orchestra to achieve a dark, primordial orchestral sound along with pounding percussion. Stasevska finds light, color and action. She conducts for the moment. Picturesque wind instruments suddenly burst forth as if a flock of birds were flying over the pyramids. Solo brass can sound momentous. The percussion pounds like nobody’s business, opening the score up to all the implied emotion and glitter on an over-stuffed stage.

Childs’ exalted use of dance and Kosky’s dazzling theatrical imagination may have moved us into a sleeker, more sophisticated and paradisal Glassian realm, but the sheer passion McDermott and Stasevska bring continues its own attraction.

In the meantime, McDermott has worked with Glass on a theatrical show, “The Tao of Glass,” that has been seen in New York and will run throughout much of the summer in London. In a better world of Glass, it would be running alongside “Akhnaten” at the Ahmanson. But the Labèque sisters will be at Walt Disney Concert Hall at the end of the month with a two-piano program based on Glass’ operatic Cocteau trilogy. Also check out L.A. Opera’s several excellent podcasts on “Ahkhnaten” — the company has quietly become a leader in the medium.

The Ducks bolstered their blueline Thursday night in anticipation of ending their long playoff drought, acquiring veteran defenseman John Carlson in a trade with the Washington Capitals.

In exchange for Carlson, the Ducks will send a conditional first-round pick (2026 or 2027 draft) and a third-round pick (2027) to Washington.

Carlson, who played an integral part of the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup win and is a former Norris Trophy runner-up for the NHL’s top defenseman, should bring a veteran presence to a young Ducks team that is on pace to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

“John Carlson brings leadership, character, a high hockey IQ and a presence to our lineup,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “We are very excited to add a Stanley Cup winner to complement our group and make a big push down the stretch.”

Set to become a free agent this offseason, Carlson had 10 goals and 46 points in 55 games with the Capitals this season. He led all Washington skaters in ice time, averaging more than 23 minutes per game.

Carlson, however, has not played since Feb. 5 because of a lower-body injury. It’s unclear when he might make his Ducks debut, but was practicing with the Capitals before the trade. When he does get into the lineup, he’ll join Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas as part of a formidable right-side defensive trio for the Ducks.

In 1,143 career games over 17 seasons entirely with Washington, Carlson recorded 771 points (166 goals, 605 assists) — ranking him 24th all-time among NHL defensemen. He also had 78 points in 137 playoff games. A two-time All-Star, Carlson played for the U.S. at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games and in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He also scored the winning goal for the U.S. in the 2010 World Junior Championship.

The Ducks are second in the Pacific Division and have won 13 of their last 16 games. They face the Montreal Canadiens on Friday and the St. Louis Blues on Sunday before embarking on a four-game Canadian road trip.

The Carlson deal was finalized roughly 14 hours before Friday’s NHL trade deadline at noon PST.

Four siblings who were part of Michael Jackson’s secret “second family” have filed a lawsuit revealing the depths of the alleged sexual abuse they suffered as children, including claims that the singer molested one of the boys at the homes of Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor.

The lawsuit, filed against Jackson’s estate in California’s Central District Court on Friday, accuses the late singer of grooming, drugging, raping and sexually assaulting four of the Cascio children — Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo — over the course of more than a decade, beginning when some of them were as young as 7. A fifth sibling, Frank Cascio, is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The pop icon used code phrases such as “Can I have a meeting,” “Yogi Tea,” “Neverland,” and “Go to Disneyland” to encourage the children to engage in “extreme sex acts” with him, the suit alleges. He plied them with wine — “Jesus Juice” — and hard liquor — “Disney Juice “ — and used drugs to make them more compliant, according to the lawsuit.

The “Thriller” singer’s connection to the Cascio family began in the 1980s when he met their father, Dominic Cascio Sr., at a luxury hotel in New York where the father worked.

The lawsuit accuses Jackson of “insinuating himself” into the Cascio family by using “obsessive attention, lavish gifts, access to his celebrity lifestyle, and declarations that he loved and needed each of them.” He invited them to travel around the world with him and celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and his own birthday with them. He often spent long periods of time at their New Jersey home, where he also brought his own children, according to the complaint.

The chart-topping artist is accused of raping and molesting Edward “Eddie” Cascio at Elizabeth Taylor’s house in Switzerland as well as at Elton John’s home in the United Kingdom. Representatives for Jackson’s estate, Taylor’s estate and John did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The complaint alleges that the late singer abused the four siblings at international and national tour stops as well as at his Santa Barbara County estate, Neverland Ranch. That property became a central focus of the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland,” in which two of Jackson’s accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, detail the abuse they suffered as children.

The complaint states that Jackson’s staff would help conceal and normalize his abuse of the Cascios; employees would deliberately book the parents hotel rooms away from their children, the suit says, so they could not tell how much time Jackson was spending with them.

The entertainer showed the siblings pornography and photos of naked children to desensitize them, the complaint alleges. He told them that his life, their lives and that of their family members would be destroyed if people knew what was going on.

“He told them to stay away from therapists and to avoid women, who he told them were ‘evil,’ ‘sneaky,’ ‘liars,’ and could ‘smell’ if something sexual had happened,” the complaint states.

For decades after the initial 1993 sexual assault claim against Jackson surfaced, the Cascio family did not speak up against the singer.

The performer convinced the parents to withdraw Aldo Cascio and Marie-Nicole Cascio from school on two occasions to “prevent disclosure of the abuse and gain more access to them,” the complaint alleges. The second time was shortly after authorities raided Neverland Ranch in 2003.

The Cascios’ longtime relationship with the superstar became known to the public when they appeared on Oprah in 2010.

During the appearance, they were billed as Jackson’s secret “second family” and said that they were reluctant to come forward but wanted to “show the world who Michael really was.” At the time, the family said that the siblings were never abused and that they didn’t believe the accusations against Jackson.

As the four siblings aged and exposés such as “Leaving Neverland” came out, their statements about their childhood relationship with the pop star shifted. In 2019, several members of the Cascio family entered a confidential settlement agreement with Jackson’s estate agreeing to remain silent about their relationship to the singer.

That agreement provided for Jackson’s estate to pay each sibling five annual payments of about $690,000 as compensation “for the many years that Jackson abused each of them and that the Jackson Organization enabled and covered up the abuse,” according to the complaint. The Cascios say that this amount is “wholly inadequate,” noting that the singer reportedly paid $25 million in 1994 to settle the abuse allegations made against him in 1993.

Now, the four siblings are challenging the agreement as part of their recently filed lawsuit, alleging that they were coerced into signing it without understanding their rights.

“Buried within the Document’s legalese was a purported release of the Estate from liability for Jackson’s crimes, and language that prohibited Plaintiffs from reporting Jackson’s crimes to law enforcement or anyone saying anything negative about Jackson, or holding the Estate accountable in court for its and Jackson’s wrongdoing,” the complaint alleges.

Marty Singer, an attorney for Jackson’s estate, decried the lawsuit as “a desperate money grab” in a statement to People. A representative for Singer did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

“The family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct,” Singer told People. “This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies.”

The four Cascio siblings are asking a jury to award them financial damages — including some potentially tripled damages because they were abused as children — over their allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up. They are also asking the court to throw out the 2019 agreement they say was used to silence them and are also seeking a ruling that the estate cannot force their claims into private arbitration.