Jeff and Matt have opened up about the big problem they faced during the show.
Appearing on Wednesday’s episode of BBC’s Morning Live, Matt said: “I was so misguided, to be honest; it’s so different from just going backpacking where you could take everything at your own pace, and if something went wrong, well, you could just go book into a hostel and go again the next day.
“We didn’t have that luxury at all whilst we were racing, and we’re constantly thinking on the race, ‘where are we going next and how are we going to get there.'”
Jeff added: “When you’re backpacking with someone like me, one big problem is that a lot of hostels will not let you in if you’re over 35. We were turned away from hostels because I was over 35- well, only just.”
EXCLUSIVE Strictly judge Anton Du Beke says a big name is ready to leave the hit BBC One Dance show saying, ‘It’s getting a bit much.’
The Strictly judges scoring another dance.(Image: PA Wire)
Anton Du Beke has shocked Strictly Come Dancing fans by revealing a big name star is looking to waltz away from the BBC series for good.
The former pro dancer who is now an established judge on the series, revealed that one famous face on the show has already spoken to him about potentially leaving at the end of the 2026 series. His comments, as he promoted his new memoir Steps In Time, are sure to start a guessing game amongst fans.
Speaking on stage in Bath, Anton, 60, said: “I spoke to somebody the other day and they were like ‘It’s getting a bit much’.
“It’s somebody who’s been on it not that long, a little while, and I understood that. I thought about it for a while and I wondered if they will be on it or whether they will decide to step away or carry on.”
The comments could refer to a number of the new pro dancers or the new show hosts, Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, who only joined this year.
There have also been reports than judge Shirley Ballas may consider walking away from the UK version of the show if she landed a full time role on US series Dancing With The Stars. She was recently a guest judge on the series but insisted in an interview last month she was “100 percent not leaving Strictly”.
Anton is not seemingly referring fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood, as the pair still love being on the show and are veterans having been on the series since it began in 2004. On his love for Strictly, Anton said: “I was there from Day One. Craig and I, we are the only ones left. I am so proud of that. It is one of my greatest things.
“I am so proud to have been on the show since the beginning and still loving it as well. I love it as much now as I always have. It is the most brilliant show. I love being a judge. I loved being a professional.
Referring to the late great former host Bruce Forsyth, he added: “I loved working with Brucie. He was my hero growing up. Brucie would come out and do his own warm up and I used to stand in the wings and watch him before the show began. I watched him every week for about 15 years. He was a genius.”
Anton was speaking at the Bath Forum to promote his book Steps In Time, his first memoir. The book, which is released tomorrow, is described by publishers as a “coming-of-age story” which reflects on Anton’s youth, and his rise as a pro dancer before then joining Strictly and becoming a TV star.
He left school as a teenager with no qualifications and took on a variety of jobs to pay for dance classes. after competing as a pro he then hit the bigtime when he landed a spot on Strictly. Once there he danced with celebrities including Kate Garraway, Ruth Langsford, Jerry Hall, Judy Murray and the late Ann Widdecombe.
* Steps In Time by Anton Du Beke is out on November 5 from Blink Publishing.
Chris and Becky Yates., originally from near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire and later based in Gloucestershire, faced not only money troubles but chronic illness, too
Chris and Becky Yates travelled by ferry to their new home in Spain (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
For many people, years of hard work and saving are meant to lead to a dream retirement – so bankruptcy in your 50s can seem unthinkable. But that’s what happened to Chris and Becky Yates. The couple, originally from near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire and later based in Gloucestershire, faced not only money troubles but chronic illness, too.
Chris’s surveying and construction business was rocked by the turbulence in the sector during the 2010s, while Becky was forced to give up her civilian role with the police as she battled fibromyalgia – a condition of the central nervous system that can cause widespread pain.
With their “comfortable, privileged lifestyle” under threat, they decided on drastic action: relocating to rural Spain after becoming enchanted with an area west of Valencia.
Chris told the i Paper: “It is an area of small, traditional towns surrounded by mountains, farmland and orange groves. It feels very different from the busy resorts and heavily developed parts of the Spanish coast.
“It was the old-fashioned Spain we had hoped to find, with independent shops and bars where people remember your name and their faces light up when you walk through the door. We quickly fell in love with the area.”
Chris and Becky, now 60, began laying the groundwork for their expat life, sorting through what to keep, sell or ship to Spain. They put their house on the market too, intending to use the money raised to finance their move.
Chris and Becky made the ferry crossing to their new home with their Newfoundland dogs. These days they rely mainly on Becky’s pension, worth £1,700 a month, while Chris does “odd jobs” to supplement their earnings.
The couple say they spend about €100 (£83) a week on food and have adapted to life in Spain, picking up conversational Spanish and enjoying a “very good life”.
Chris added: “A decade ago, we were sitting in an empty house in Gloucestershire after bankruptcy and illness had dismantled the life we thought we would have. Today, we feel we have the best of both worlds. We have no intention of returning.”
According to Chris, the couple are now in an off-grid three-bed, two-bath property with a swimming pool for €1,100 (£917) a month.
Solar panels provide their electricity, meaning they pay nothing for power and believe they’re saving about €150 (£125) every month.
They also maintain that the warmer weather has had a beneficial effect on Becky’s health. While she still lives with the condition, Becky is said to be more “active and thriving”.
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Influencer and reality TV star Princess Andre shares all about her famous family, dating and making a name for herself
11:55, 31 Oct 2026Updated 13:02, 31 Oct 2026
Princess Andre is launching a new beauty brand after her hugely successful TV show (Image: Chelsea White)
Her reality show, The Princess Diaries , is one of ITVX’s biggest hits, with the third series clocking up a staggering four million streams since its July release. Now, having conquered TV, Princess Andre has her sights on beauty with the launch of her own make-up range, By Princess, out this month.
Despite being the daughter of two of the UK’s best-known stars, Peter Andre and Katie Price, the 19-year-old says she is determined to carve out a career in her own right. And it looks like she’s succeeding.
“It used to be, ‘Oh my God, you’re Peter Andre and Katie Price’s child,’” says the star, who has more than a million Instagram followers. “Now it’s like, ‘Oh my God, you’re Princess.’ It’s really nice. Obviously, my parents brought me up in the industry, but now I’m building my own lovely fanbase and I’m getting my own community.”
Living her life in the glare of the spotlight is nothing out of the ordinary for the ambitious teen. Since she was a baby, Princess has grown up being photographed and filmed.
She was born on 29 June 2007, just over three years after her parents met in the Australian I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! jungle. During the couple’s turbulent four-year marriage, the pair were rarely out of the spotlight, starring in a succession of reality shows and appearing on countless magazine covers.
So for Princess it’s very much a case of “been there, done that”, and when we ask about recent snaps of her and Love Island hunk Harrison Solomon at a Halloween event – and the whispers that they’re dating – she doesn’t flinch.
“It’s not true… the rumours are really funny,” she laughs. “Me and Harrison are part of the same management, so we were at an event together with lots of other people. We get on really well, but there’s no romance there.” So is she dating anyone?
“No, and do you know what? I’m really busy working so I don’t have time for a boyfriend at the moment,” she says. “In the future, I’d love to have a partner, but it’s not my main interest right now.”
This will be music to the ears of her notoriously protective dad Peter, who once joked that he’d like her to become “a nun”.
Princess says, “My dad is protective, but at the same time he knows I’m an adult. We have a great relationship and so much fun together.”
She is close to both her parents and, as she tells us, “They have very different personalities, but I love them both.”
Princess and her brother Junior, 21, recently moved viewers when they shared their upset over their mum’s past when appearing on her Sky docuseries, Katie Price: Nothing To Hide . Blinking back tears, Princess told how she would hug a scented blanket, sobbing, when her mum wasn’t there, while Junior said Katie simply “wasn’t being a mum” during that time.
Thankfully, things have since changed for the better.
“Me and Mum get on so well – she’s a different person now,” Princess assures us. “I think people hold on to the past quite a lot and I’m really proud of how she is trying to turn her life around. I genuinely have a good relationship with both my parents.”
Princess and Katie share a love of horses and enjoy spending quality time together at the stables.
“I’ve ridden since I was three years old,” Princess says. “Some of my earliest memories are of my mum putting me on a horse, and in the summer we love to ride. We’ll spend a few hours together at the stables.”
Princess also has a close relationship with Junior, with whom she’s currently starring in the hit BBC travel challenge show, Celebrity Race Across The World.
Touchingly, she describes him as her “best friend”, but chatting to her today, it sounds like shared past trauma may be partly responsible for helping strengthen their bond.
In 2018, the siblings were caught up in a terrifying carjacking incident in South Africa while filming their mum’s reality show, My Crazy Life . The attackers were never caught, and local police said they were lucky to escape. Unsurprisingly, the incident had a lasting effect on them both.
“I did have some counselling around that time,” says Princess. “Even now there are certain things I avoid. I don’t like being alone anywhere, ever, and I don’t like driving at night, or getting out of my car at night. And there’s something that you’ll see on Race Across The World . I had a moment of panic.”
She adds, “I feel like counselling has helped, but I’m a person who likes to keep things to myself, so I don’t like talking to people about how I feel. I also feel like, growing up, you learn to deal with things and how to cope.”
One of the things that makes Princess feel safe is being surrounded by her brothers and sisters – and the noise and familiar chaos that comes with that. She lives with dad Peter, 53, stepmum Emily, 37, and three of her seven siblings – Amelia, 12, Theo, nine, and Arabella, two.
“Because I’ve always grown up in a busy household where there’s constantly people around, it makes me feel safer when it’s not just silence,” she explains. Coming from such a big family, Princess also has her sights set on a large brood. “I either want two or four kids,” she says. “And lots of animals. I like good chaos. I sleep better when there’s noise going on.”
Of her siblings, she’s particularly taken with Peter and Emily’s youngest daughter, Arabella.
“I adore her so much,” she beams. “She is the cutest little thing, like a doll. It’s weird for me, because the age gap is like 18 years. It’s like having my own child, but I don’t actually have to help with changing nappies.”
With Princess’s profile soaring, the brand deals are flooding in. She’s already worked with some big names and now she’s gearing up to launch her very own beauty brand, By Princess.
So now she’s earning her own income, how does she spend her money?
“Quite a lot of Louis Vuitton, that I save up for,” she laughs. “But I also wear high street – I like mixing it up. But I think Junior and my dad have knocked some sense into me, as my main focus now is saving up for a house, rather than splurging on things I don’t actually need. I have looked at flats in London, but to be honest, I don’t see myself living in the UK permanently when I’m older. I picture my life abroad – somewhere hot.”
Her beauty venture is already generating a buzz on social media and Princess is understandably proud to have created her own independent brand.
“It has taken over two years to build,” she reveals. “When it first came around, I was quite unsure, because I thought, ‘This is scary, to have my own products.’ I was only 17 when I made the decision, but I was also really excited because it’s always been my dream to have my own make-up brand. I designed the products with an amazing team behind me and we made sure they are suitable for all skin tones and colours.
“It was also so important to me that the range is affordable – which is why every product is £12 – not tested on animals, and makes people feel good about enhancing their natural features through make-up, rather than changing themselves.To have a lovely community of fans, and my own make-up brand launching in Boots stores across the country, is a dream come true. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. I’m also excited to do some signings too when it’s launched, so I can meet my fans face to face.”
With her own TV show and now a beauty brand set to launch, what’s next?
“I want to properly get into brand ambassadorship,” Princes says. “I like fashion and make-up and I really want to go travelling, too.”
How about a pop career, like her dad?
“Weirdly, I do see myself in the music industry, but I just don’t have time right now,” she shrugs. It seems whatever she decides to do, Princess is doing a great job of shaking off the “nepo baby” tag and is now being seen by the public as a talent in her own right.
She says, “There are a lot of comparisons, always, but now I’m standing on my own two feet.” By Princess is launching onboots.comand in selectedstores from 17 November.byprincess.co.uk
Katy Phenix, 33, her partner Josh Moore, 35, children, Hetty, 6, and Teddy, 11, moved to Fair Isle, Scotland, along with three dogs, and four cats(Image: Katy Phenix/SWNS)
A family who moved to Britain’s most remote inhabited island, where just 50 people live, say it takes seven hours to get a takeaway curry delivered.
Katy Phenix, 33, partner Josh Moore, 35, and their kids have relocated to Fair Isle for a quieter life after quitting the rat race of working long 12-hour days. She saw an Instagram ad to live and work on the Scottish island near Sheltand and registered ”on a whim”.
They applied to move to the isle – where there are more birds than people – despite never visiting before. Numbers are strictly controlled and new residents are only allowed in when others leave.
Interview process
They had to go through a rigorous interview process with its inhabitants and the National Trust for Scotland to ensure they were a “good fit”. Four months later, Katy and Josh moved to the UK’s most geographically remote inhabited island.
They were accompanied by their children, Hetty, six, and Teddy, 11, three dogs and four cats. Despite the huge lifestyle change, they said they are now living the “absolute dream” – and all the children miss from the mainland is a trip to McDonald’s.
But they say they’ve learned to be resourceful, getting an Indian takeaway on the Island ferry, which took seven hours from Shetland to their croft, in what they describe as a “military operation”. Katy revealed they can place the order with the Indian at midday, order a taxi to pick it up and take it to the island ferry.
It is then picked up from the ferry and heated up for dinner when it arrives. Apart from missing easy access to their favourite takeaway, Katy, an early years practitioner, and Josh, an electrician, said the move has been a dream.
No work-life balance before
They had almost no work-life balance and “lived to work” when they applied from North Yorkshire in March 2026. They sold their three-bed new build home in Redcar and are now renting a five-bedroom house with 17 acres of land and five outbuildings from the National Trust.
She said: “We had a really large mortgage in England, but now pay peanuts in comparison to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the UK. It feels like we’ve won the lottery. I don’t think you could get a bigger change of lifestyle – but as a family we are all loving it.
“We were kind of like passing ships in the night before. Neither of us thought there was any chance at all we would hear back from our application, but the more we researched into it the more we were totally hooked.”
Fair Isle sits about 24 miles south of the Shetland Mainland in the North Sea. After their interview in May 2026, they received their offer to move to the island.
Massive gamble
Katy, who now works around four hours a day Monday to Friday, said: “It was a massive gamble and a long journey. It cost us £8,000 for the move in July.
“The only thing we knew is that there was a five-bedroom house, and it had 17 acres of land and five outbuildings. We saw a floor plan, but that was out of date.”
Outgoing tenants Deryk and Hollie and their four children have been a great help to Katy and Josh, passing on all of their crofting knowledge with a yearly planner and selling their sheep to help them start their own croft. There are seven children living on the island, five in school, one in nursery and an infant with two teenagers in high school on the mainland.
Hetty and Teddy were able to have calls with the school to help get them settled before the move. Luckily for them, there was a six-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy already on the island, giving them “an immediate best friend”.
Katy said: “The little boy and Teddy are off all the time mushrooming, fishing, they’re in our outbuildings making weird contraptions out of wood. Hetty is such a little animal lover, she’s been out with the sheep and we’ve got hens she’s with all the time. We’ve not had many challenges at all.”
With no high school, teenagers go to a school on the mainland with free accommodation and frequent trips home. Every half term the Fair Isle children will go to visit to meet their future classmates and ensure a smooth transition when they begin school.
The island has a pub in their bird observatory in the summer season, shop open four days a week, a Post Office and even has Amazon Prime. There is also a nurse on the island and when any situation begins to raise concerns, it takes a helicopter 15 minutes from Shetland and patients are airlifted off the island. Josh has found a lot of work as resident handyman.
Katy said: “He’s been out today fixing someone’s washing machine. He’s re-plumbed our house, he’s done everything.”
Slower pace of life
The significantly slower pace in life and family time has been the ultimate highlight for Katy.
She said: “We’re not stressed and overworked, we’re so much more present for the children. I remember Teddy once said ‘oh mum you’re so much nicer in the school holidays’. It was a throwaway comment, he didn’t mean anything by it.
“It stuck with me. I never wanted to be that mum, but it was kind of the way life pans out and you accidentally get there.
“This has just given us that time to breathe and be as a family. We do everything together and that’s made it totally worth it.”
What would typically look like a five-minute job can take residents three weeks to do, as they need to plan ahead for deliveries. They are also bound by the weather as the small plane or ferry may not be able to get to them as planned.
Learning how to shear and herd 30 sheep and a ram has not been the easiest at times, but it’s “all hands on deck”, and the children love it. Teddy uses his shepherd’s hook and chases the sheep as the family doesn’t have a sheep dog.
Katy said: “I think the massive misconception is that it’s lonely and there’s nothing to do. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Our lives haven’t actually changed that much. We’ve got something on every day.
“Everybody is here to help you out. I have a really good group of mum friends here. I do pilates and yoga. This is the most social I’ve ever been and Josh is quite an introvert, so he’s really come out of his shell now.”
Full calendar
Their calendar is always full with dress-up parties or harvest festivals. Katy is even learning the tradition of Fair Isle knitting from another resident to help keep the culture alive, a craft skill welcomed by the National Trust to maintain tradition.
Crofting and fishing were the other traditional occupations, but today the island’s economy is far more diverse. There are significantly more species of bird on the island than people, with over 350 different kinds.
To move to the island you have to wait for a current family to move away. National Trust for Scotland then reviews all applications to check for appropriate skills and applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed. Other desirable skills include direct experience in crofting and land management, trade skills such as plumbing expertise, joinery, or maritime skills.
Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley is reportedly set to leave The Good Ship Murder in the Christmas special after taking time out of her soap role to film her exit scenes
22:47, 27 Oct 2026Updated 22:48, 27 Oct 2026
Catherine Tyldesley is reportedly set to leave The Good Ship Murder in the upcoming Christmas special(Image: Getty Images)
The actress, 43, is best known for playing Rovers Return landlady Eva Price on Coronation Street but, since 2023, she has also played the part of First Officer Kate Woods on the hit Channel 5 drama series.
She stars alongside X Factor winner Shayne Ward, who previously played her partner Aidan Connor on Coronation Street and now plays cruise ship singer Jack Grayling on The Good Ship Murder.
A source said: “When Cath decided to leave it was a huge blow to The Good Ship Murder. Bosses had brought Cath and Shayne back together following their time together on Corrie.”
Within the story of The Good Ship Murder, Kate has had an on-off romance with Jack over the course of its three series so far and whilst writers are thought to have considered killing her off, it has now been claimed that she will in fact exit the series alive in case of a potential return.
Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “Initially they thought about killing her off but decided that it would be better to leave the door open for a possible return in the future.
“She filmed the Christmas special back in May and it will see her say a tearful goodbye to Jack ahead of the new series starting next year.”
Channel 5 commissioning editor Greg Barnett previously said: “Audiences have truly embraced the show’s unique combination of mystery, music and escapism, and we are excited to continue Jack’s journey with even more surprises and new faces in store
Executive producer Andy Morgan added: “It’s a bittersweet moment as we bid a fond farewell to a beloved character and friend, but we’re very excited about the next voyage for The Good Ship Murder.”
Shortly before joining Coronation Street as Eva in 2011, Catherine had appeared in Emmerdale and prior to that starred as Iris Moss in the BBC drama Lilies.
She left Coronation Street in 2018 and went on appear on Strictly Come Dancing and in the short-lived BBC sitcom
EXCLUSIVE: Luke Tweddle returned to Surrey four months ago after enjoying three years living in different parts of Australia and he has now spoken about the biggest differences he discovered
Luke Tweddle is back in the UK (Image: Luke Tweddle)
A young man who is back the UK after three unforgettable years in Australia has revealed the one reason he would not return Down Under on a permanent basis. Luke Tweddle, who is from Surrey, spent time in Adelaide and Sydney before house-sharing in Perth with his girlfriend where he enjoyed considerably higher wages than in the UK — while also being within walking distance to sandy beaches.
However, the 26-year-old moved back home to England four months ago. Asked whether he would ever consider living in Australia permanently, he replied with one understandable reason for remaining in his home country. He explained: “The benefit for me of living in the UK is being back around friends and family. If you were asking me, which country do you prefer? Australia actually wins hands down, but being there long-term can start to feel isolating.” He added: “We don’t currently plan to move back to Australia, but would definitely love to visit again to see anywhere we missed off.”
Luke said he had been enjoying the UK again and that despite describing Australia as “amazing”, it had become “very normal” to him, and therefore being here has felt like a fresh start.
Being closer to friends and family has also been invaluable and although he could have become sponsored to stay in Australia when his visa expired after three years, he and his girlfriend were “fairly happy” to call time on a remarkable adventure.
What Luke’s noticed after three years away
And questioned whether anything surprised him about being back in the UK, he said there were “multiple things”. He explained: “Firstly the fact that literally nothing had changed. The fact that I could be away for so long and do and see so much, yet you return and people are still going to the exact same job as the day you left, was definitely a strange feeling. Also the UK felt very busy, and town centres felt noticeably run down compared to Australia.
“Transport prices as well have been another thing that’s surprised me. They’re so expensive. And being away, I missed being around friends and family and I especially missed out on big events [which] could be difficult.”
Luke used to spend just £5 a day to use trains in Perth, but he previously revealed on his YouTube channel that he would “genuinely never get over” how expensive pints of beer were. However, as for rent, food shops and coffee outings, he said prices were similar to what he was used to at home.
Three things he misses from Australia
Laughing, he said he missed Australian wages, which he said were much better than in the UK and in New Zealand where he briefly lived too during his travels. He previously calculated that an average worker in Australia could save around £12,000 more annually compared to here where the average monthly take-home salary is £2,500.
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Luke said he missed being surrounded by nature constantly and the beach on his doorstep was also something that now feels a long way away.
However, as for the comparisons that now stand out the most, he concluded: “Australia is very modern, clean and well kept whereas the UK feels a lot more rundown and neglected.
“Also the culture, I found Australian culture very positive and Aussies have tremendous love for their country. Whereas the UK typically has a much more negative, complaining type culture with not much positivity towards the country.”
