Laura

PRESENTER Laura Hamilton has stunned fans with sun-soaked bikini pics on the beach.

The TV star, 44, captioned the enviable pictures: “Golden hour understood the assignment.”

Sat on a swing, wearing a khaki green two-piece bikini, the travel guru wore her hair in a messy bun with oversized black sunglasses.

Barefoot, the blonde beauty looked relaxed and at home on the sand as she flashed her toned torso and abs.

Posing in front of the sunset, the star flashed a smile as she soaked up the remaining rays on the beach.

Fans commented: “What an amazing photo. Love the light, the composition. You look phenomenal.”

GETTING HEATED

Why Laura Hamilton ex hubby’s new relationship has ‘opened old wounds’

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Laura Hamilton’s ex husband finds love with PR girl – and she’s the spit of star

A second added: “Stunning as always Laura.”

A third applauded: “Beautiful. Best hour of the day.”

The former Dancing on Ice 2011 star has previously been trolled for her swimwear choices – and was told ‘not to wear a bikini’ because of her age.

She defied haters and hit back that ‘life’s way too short to worry about what other people think’.

Laura split from husband Alex Goward, 45, back in 2022 after 13 years together.

He has since found love with PR Becky Knowles – who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife and is also a regular on the celeb circuit.

Insiders told The Sun that Laura is said to be ‘worried’ about coming face-to-face with her ex’s new girlfriend.

Our source said: “Laura wants her ex to be happy, but she can’t help feeling a bit irked by Becky and all this.

“The last thing she wants to see is him draped all over his beautiful new girlfriend in the press. That’s her world!”

In 2023, Laura opened up about her “tough” divorce from Alex, saying she had to stay strong for their children.

Laura married insurance broker Alex in 2012 – three years after they started dating.

They share two children together, 12-year-old Rocco and a daughter Tahlia, 11.

The TV star has since revealed she has been dating.

Two years ago was linked to married businessman James Pettigrew who was said to be going through a divorce.

The star found fame after working behind the camera for four years on shows including Top Of The Pops and Big Brother.

Following years between jobs, she made her debut as a presenter on A Place In The Sun in 2012.

“Little House on the Prairie” is the third television adaptation to bear the name of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 1935 autobiographical novel of life on the Kansas plains in 1869 to 1870. The first, the Michael Landon television series that debuted in 1974, set in Walnut Grove, Minn., is really based on Wilder’s subsequent volume, “On the Banks of Plum Creek,” while a 2005 miniseries, shown as part of “The Wonderful World of Disney,” was generally faithful to the letter and spirit of the text. The record shows that I liked it.

The new “Little House,” created by Rebecca Sonnenshine and streaming on Netflix, is fairly faithful to its spirit, and less so to its letter. At its center is the Ingalls family: father Charles (Luke Bracey), or Pa; mother Caroline (Crosby Fitzgerald), or Ma; serious older sister Mary (Skywalker Hughes), and adventurous Laura (Alice Halsey), whose story this is. They are heading out to Kansas to what they imagine is free land, though they will have a thing or two coming on that account. “This will be our new forever,” says Laura, who doesn’t yet know that her future will be in Minnesota.

To be sure, the character relations remain essentially the same. Pa will play his fiddle. Laura and Mary will dance, when not getting in one another’s hair, or sulking. There will be singing, frequently. Major episodes from the book — when Jack got lost, (Jack is the dog, and he will be found), the incident of Mr. Scott (Maclean Fish) down the well, Christmas, the one about malaria, and all the business of building the eponymous log house — are accounted for, if in some cases expanded upon or altered. So extensive are its innovations that, although I am going to point out certain departures from or additions to the text, because I am that sort of pedant, it may be best just to regard this “Little House” as an original thing, a variation on a theme by Laura Ingalls Wilder, or a reboot of the television show.

Some touches are drawn from Wilder’s own history. Her mother was a teacher before she married Charles Ingalls; her maternal grandfather died from drowning. The black cowboy hat Laura sports is straight from a photograph of Wilder as a girl. Laura is made a sort of mini-Scheherazade to foreshadow the writer she’ll become (though she’ll also ask, “What am I ever going to need in a book?”). Baby Carrie, in the novel from the start, is born, as she really was, in Kansas, meaning that Ma is pregnant through much of the season — a condition that may have seemed too complicated for a 1935 children’s book, but which adds new strains of drama to the miniseries. It also introduces a theme in which Ma, who has lost “so many” babies, is trying to give Pa a boy, though he is not the sort to be disappointed in another girl.

Also new to the story is Independence, Kan., itself, which in the book is an offstage place to which Pa will sometimes go to fetch necessities, disappearing from the story until he returns. Here it’s nearby — a nicely realized little movie town to which the whole family will sometimes repair, to shop, raise a church or join in a Founders Day celebration. It’s dominated by a less than transparent booster, Eli James (Michael Hough), who comes with a self-important wife, Jemma (Mary Holland), and a pair of teenage twin girls who might be described as all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Notably, the series’ treatment of Native Americans feels intended to rectify, or at least deepen, their portrayal in the book — naive or romantic, maybe, though not, I’d argue, negative — with added native characters and discussions regarding the land and treaties and such. While Ma frets about the natives in the neighborhood, for no reason she can articulate — one juvenile delinquent steals her cherished china figurine, but we understand that there are social causes for his behavior — Pa, who has built his house unwittingly on an Osage trail, has sympathy and perspective. (Ma will soften considerably, because this is that kind of show.)

It’s not an issue for guileless, outgoing Laura, who acquires an Indigenous best friend, Good Eagle (Wren Zhawenim Gotts). Her father, Mitchell (Meegwun Fairbrother) will be a friend to Pa and her mother, White Sun (Alyssa Wapanatâhk), will provide a skeptical counterpoint to Ma. Mission-educated, they live in a nice house with a crucifix on the wall and shelves full of literature.

Most every character gets some backstory, some traumatic. The Ingalls left Wisconsin under a cloud. (“Why didn’t anyone come to say goodbye?” wonders Laura.) (Still, it’s good to see Martin Donovan as Pa’s angry father in a fever-induced flashback.) Ma married Pa, her social inferior, against her mother’s wishes. Caleb (Kowen Cadorath), a new character who works for another new character, Emily Henderson (Barrett Doss), at the general store, was abandoned as a small child. Echoing the character played by Victor French in the TV show, Mr. Edwards (Warren Christie) has a drinking problem, brought on by a family tragedy. (In the book he describes himself as a “wildcat from Tennessee”; here he has wild … cats.) Much of the time, someone is sad. Halsey and Hughes, who are very watchable throughout, are especially good with worried looks, and Fitzgerald, perhaps the series’ MVP, is an artist when it comes to expressing concern.

Sonnenshine also invents tentative romances between Edwards and Lacey Aubert (Rebecca Amzallag), who is French, independent, runs the saloon, I guess you’d call it, dresses in black and wears trousers; between Emily and Dr. Tann (Jocko Sims), who is in the book, but much more established here; and between Mary and Caleb. All these storylines sacrifice the centrality of Laura as a character and observer and makes this “Little House” less a story of a family out on its own than a family in the context of community. (That’s for later volumes in Wilder’s nine-book saga.)

It’s very sentimental — which the novel, with its matter-of-fact, if sensually evocative prose, and its child’s-eye view, is not. The dialogue here is ripe with sampler sentiments and weighted with meaning (“Hope is everything,” “What if this is where we finally become who we’re meant to be,” “Life can get away from you if you don’t speak your heart.”) Much of the added material would have easily fit the TV series — temperamentally, it’s very much a case of late 20th century broadcast television — which to some may be a recommendation.

It’s pretty, often very pretty, to look at. The flat expanse of Winnipeg, Canada, where it was filmed, makes a good topographical match for east Kansas. Prairies are prairies.

IT’S everybody’s worst nightmare bumping into their ex-partner, let alone when they are with their new girlfriend – But we can reveal that Laura Hamilton is said to be bracing herself for just that.

Yesterday, The Sun told how her former husband had moved on with a stunning PR girl and now, insiders tell us how the A Place in the Sun presenter really feels about it  – and why their two worlds could collide. 

Laura, who split from Alex Goward in 2022 after 13 years together, is understood to be unhappy about his new romance with stunning PR guru Becky Knowles – a relationship we can reveal has actually been quietly underway for more than a year.

Alex, 45, and Becky, who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife, went public with their relationship this week.

However, Alex does in fact appear on Becky’s social media as far back as June last year, with the couple also enjoying a romantic holiday together last September.

The pair are said to have kept things low-key out of respect for Laura and the children she shares with Alex – Rocco, 12, and 11-year-old Tahlia – but felt that after a year together, it was the right time to make things public.

However, Laura is said to be worried about coming face-to-face with her ex’s new girlfriend as they move in similar showbiz circles.

She is also said to be uncomfortable with Becky’s high-profile friendship group, which includes Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, Louise Redknapp and singer Cheryl.

“Becky has always moved in fabulous circles – even more so than Laura!” a source said.

“She has lots of showbiz friends and her sister Emma Lucy is a famous crystal healer who regularly appears on This Morning and is best friends with Holly Willoughby. Becky was also very close to Caroline Flack.

“One person not so happy about it all is Laura. She’s had a while to come to terms with it all privately, but now it’s out in the open; it’s opened old wounds – nobody wants to see their ex with someone younger and more beautiful, let alone so successful.

“Laura is also very worried about bumping into them because Becky moves in the same showbiz circles. She attends the premieres, celebrity launches and has lots of A-list friends, so she’s dreading bumping into her ex and Becky in public. It will be incredibly difficult and awkward for her.”

Becky and Alex went Instagram official this week, sharing snaps of the pair enjoying a date night together.

In one photo, he rested his hand on Becky’s leg as she, dressed in a short black skirt and heels, posed alongside him at a bar. A second image showed the couple holding drinks, with Becky kissing him on the cheek.

Stunning Becky uploaded the snaps with the caption: “Us” and a love heart emoji, before Alex reposted them to his story.

Friends say she is “smitten” and that it’s the happiest they’ve ever seen her.

One said: “We all knew this was very serious as soon as she posted him on her Instagram – everyone was like ‘omg who’s this guy’? Because Becky has been single for years and years and years!

“She’s very confident, outgoing, smart and has got extremely high standards. She’s also so incredibly beautiful. She has always had admirers, but she is far too driven and busy with work and her friends to be tied down to just anyone – so we knew that he must be the one.

“They’ve actually been together for over a year now, but kept things low-key out of respect for Laura and his children. It felt like the right time to go Instagram official this week – they are so in love and the happiest they’ve ever been.”

Laura has also been trying to move on following her split – but has found Alex’s news hard to take.

Our source said: “Laura wants her ex to be happy, but she can’t help feeling a bit irked by Becky and all this. The last thing she wants to see is him draped all over his beautiful new girlfriend in the press. That’s her world!”

In 2023, Laura opened up about her “tough” divorce from Alex, saying she had to stay strong for their children.

She said: “You say content, but I have moments when I feel this is tough, this is hard, this is not what I expected my life to be. But I’m a glass-half-full person, and I have to be positive. I have to be strong. Am I making the best of the situation as I can right now? Yes, 100 per cent.

“But I do get sad because things went the way they did. I might look like everything is fine all the time, and that’s how things come across on social media, but no, I’d be a robot if I didn’t have those emotions.

‘Do I let myself cry? Yes, all the time. And I encourage Rocco and Tahlia to always share their feelings. It is better to talk and let the emotions out than bottle up.”

Two years after their divorce, Laura was linked to married businessman James Pettigrew, who was said to also be going through a divorce at the time, and the pair were seen kissing in her car.

But she later refused to be drawn on the relationship.

She said at the time: “I’m dating. I’m having fun. No, I don’t have the apps. I’ve tried those in the past three years. I went on Raya and thought: ‘This is not for me.’ I like to meet people organically.

“People do look at me and say: ‘I know you from somewhere…’ and that starts a conversation.

“I did go out on a date with somebody, and the only thing he wanted to talk about was buying a property in the sun. I’m not here to be your property consultant!

“But it’s quite difficult for me to date when you look at my life and how busy I am. I’ve got two children and I’m abroad every other week.” 

But while dating has been difficult for Laura, it seems it’s not been quite so much of a struggle for her ex.

Laura Bayston has revealed a certain scene felt like a ‘punch in the gut’ as she portrays Kate McCann in a new drama surrounding the case of missing girl, Madeleine McCann

A brand new drama following the interrogation of Kate McCann over her missing daughter, Madeleine, in 2007 is to air on 5, and actress Laura Bayston has revealed the toughness of a particular scene.

The star portrays Kate in factual drama, Under Suspicion. The story begins three months into the search to find Madeleine. With Portuguese police showing no substantial leads, no real evidence, and having made no arrests in the hunt for the missing tot, Madeleine’s mother, Kate, is summoned for a meeting. And it’s soon apparent that she is now the one being accused.

And Laura admits that a certain scene was tough to digest. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Laura said it left her with a feeling like a “punch in the guts”.

READ MORE: Susanna Reid ‘didn’t sleep for two weeks’ after Madeleine McCann disappearanceREAD MORE: ‘I thought about Madeleine every day’ – actress speaks out on playing Kate McCann in new TV drama

She explained: “It’s the scene when Kate is presented with an offer by the police, which is to confess. As an actor having to respond to the dialog, it was very affecting, you know? In the way that it was a very claustrophobic environment.”

Laura said that while it felt very safe for her as an actor, it was “a very claustrophobic environment in terms of where we were at in the story and what was actually happening”. “And the enormity of it,” she went on.

“It was just a real, absolute, I can’t describe it any other way, it just felt like a massive punch in the guts when that was offered to Kate. It really even today it gets to me It was really shocking.”

While Laura says she was just doing a job and has taken on challenging roles previously, she admits this part will stick with her. “It’s been hard to switch off from this one,” she confessed.

“I will be honest with you, I think it sits just below the surface of my skin, and it always will. And yeah, leaves me with goose bumps thinking about it, you know. I just I think, because I was so invested in the case when it happened, because of my children.”

But she admits her decision to take on the role was not one she took lightly. She says she only did so after knowing the production was being made for the “right reasons”. “I mean it’s a big role…,” she said.

“It was emotionally challenging, but I’ve played emotionally challenging roles before.” She went on: “I think, as an actor, physicality and emotions, it all kind of becomes one thing, but to play a role like this, you have to remember that at the heart of it this is a real life case.

“This is a real woman who is still alive, who’s still with us. It’s still a story, and [you have] to be mindful of that throughout. The entirety was really important to me, and to be as respectful as possible.”

And in an emotional message to viewers, Laura wants those watching to remember “there’s always another side to the story”. She added: “You don’t always react and respond how you think you’re going to react and respond, and it seems to me there’s been a lot of knee-jerk reactions to this from day one, and people will make their opinions public, and whether we want them or not, but no one truly knows, and ultimately, you know, Madeline is still missing, and, and that’s it.

“This happened, and this is based on evidence and it’s based on the transcripts, and it was thoroughly researched, so people can take from it what they like, really, because what we’ve done is present a script as honestly as possible, as truthfully as possible.”

The drama looks at official statements and recorded testimony and depicts Kate’s interrogation, as Portuguese investigators face mounting pressure to deliver answers.

Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal in May 2007. Kate and husband Gerry McCann were cleared of any wrongdoing in 2008 after they found themselves wrongly accused of a cover up.

Kate found herself trapped between co-operation and self-preservation as she was confronted by detectives facing hours and hours of questioning.

Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, airs Wednesday 20th May, 9pm on 5