Scott

“Pressure,” the new World War II movie from director Anthony Maras and writer David Haig, is a hyperfocused look at the days leading up to D-day with a special focus on the weather. It’s a one-setting thriller that unspools in the pressure-cooker environment of General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s war room at an English country estate. The movie works backward from a famous 1961 Eisenhower quip to JFK that attributed his success in Normandy, France, to the Allies having “better meteorologists than the Germans.”

If you’re skeptical about how exciting a movie about the weather on D-day might be, “Pressure” takes that as a creative challenge, an argumentative stance from which to start. For the next hour and 40 minutes, Maras and co-writer Haig, who also wrote the 2014 play from which the film is adapted, explain to us exactly how important the meteorologists of D-day were, beginning with the disastrous D-day rehearsal Exercise Tiger.

With the weather app at our fingertips these days, it can be hard to imagine just how difficult it was to forecast the weather in the 1940s, especially in Northern Europe. That was the predicament facing Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) just 72 hours before the planned D-day launch of June 5, 1944. But we know that D-day happened on June 6, so the arrival at that date is part of the film’s narrative intrigue.

After a devastating glimpse of Exercise Tiger, red blood mixing with blue ocean waves and white sandy beaches, we’re quickly introduced to our protagonist, Group Capt. Chief Meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott), in his cozy home with his pregnant wife before he’s swept into critical war planning.

He’s stern, terse and no-nonsense. Stagg is the kind of person who wants to be correct more than he wants to be liked and he insists on a careful collection of live data, using weather balloons, phone calls and mathematical charting. His foil is Col. Irving Krick (Chris Messina), a charming American meteorologist and Eisenhower’s chosen weather guru, a yes man who relies on selective historical data and a persuasive speaker whose approach rankles the fastidious Stagg. Eisenhower instructs the two men to come to an agreement and “Pressure” follows the ups and downs of their working relationship over the course of several days.

The movie becomes a two-hander between Scott’s Stagg and Fraser’s Eisenhower, the former convinced that a storm on June 5 will make conditions less than ideal, the latter raging at the uncertainty while simultaneously attempting to placate a phalanx of military personnel. The troops are requisitioned, the destroyers in place, the full moon just right, the secrecy of the invasion delicate. Fraser’s explosive performance underlines the immensity of the stakes, balancing every precarious element of this enormous mission.

Maras, who is known for another terrific one-setting thriller based on a true story, 2018’s “Hotel Mumbai,” both directs and edits and his films are put together like precision clockwork: propulsive and relentless, the pace italicized by Volker Bertelmann’s scores. “Pressure” is skillfully directed, sweeping us into this world with a kind of addictive immediacy, and is also beautifully lensed by cinematographer Jamie Ramsay. Maras and Ramsay make the wise choice to shoot the film with richly saturated color instead of the usual grayish, desaturated look often assigned to period pieces set in this era. It’s not gritty and harsh, but rather stunning and lovely — an eerie contrast to the terror and bloodshed of the day itself.

While Fraser delivers an external performance as the tough American general, Scott offers a restrained, mostly tamped-down depiction of the repressed and methodical Stagg. But when he finally bursts with a cathartic eleventh-hour speech about the inaccuracy of Krick’s historical forecast, Eisenhower listens. Scott, as seen in “All of Us Strangers” and “Blue Moon,” is so good at this kind of acting, processing every emotion internally but allowing just enough to show to let the audience into his character’s emotional state. It’s wildly compelling to watch.

In a quiet conversation with Eisenhower’s close confidant and aide, Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon), she jokes that weathermen are boring. Stagg reminds her that the weather itself isn’t. Weather feeds us, it can destroy us — it rules our existence, he says. “People ask, ‘When will the wind stop blowing?’ No one ever asks, ‘Why does the wind blow? What is the wind?,’ ” revealing himself as a sort of philosophical poet of the weather. His forecast was the crucial edge in D-day and the volatility of the weather is increasingly relevant in our lives, especially with our changing climate.

Boring? Never. Thrilling and history-making? Indeed.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

Barcelona weigh up move for Piero Hincapie, Ruben Dias instructs agents to explore move away from Manchester City and Liverpool pushing for quick agreement with Yan Diomande.

Barcelona are weighing up an approach for 24-year-old Arsenal and Ecuador defender Piero Hincapie. (Mail) , external

Manchester City and Portugal defender Ruben Dias, 29, has instructed his agent to explore options for a move away, with Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all monitoring his situation. (Caught Offside), external

Liverpool are pushing for a quick agreement with RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, while Paris St-Germain and Manchester City are closely monitoring the situation and have already held talks with the 19-year-old Ivory Coast international. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Crystal Palace want to convince England midfielder Adam Wharton, 22, and Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada, 29, to stay following their Conference League final win. (Sky Sports) , external

Bournemouth are determined to resist any summer offers for French forward Eli Junior Kroupi, 19, Brazil winger Rayan, 19, and England midfielder Alex Scott, 22, with mounting interest in the trio. (Guardian), external

Manchester United and Chelsea are among the clubs considering a move for Scott in the summer transfer window. (Teamtalk), external

West Ham and Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug wants to leave after their relegation with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen among those interested in the 33-year-old. (Sky, in German), external

Portuguese side Sporting want to re-sign 30-year-old Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha when his season-long loan at Tottenham from Bayern Munich ends. (A Bola, in Portuguese), external

Leeds United are lining up a move for 24-year-old Lyon and United States midfielder Tanner Tessmann as part of a busy summer of transfer business. (Football Insider) , external

Manchester City are considering their options if Brazil winger Savinho, 22, who is a target for Tottenham, ends up leaving the club. (Fabrizio Romano) , external

HELEN Flanagan has been enjoying a holiday in Newquay with her kids as she put the bitter rows with her ex Scott behind her after moving out of her ex’s home.

Helen parted ways from her long-term fiancé in 2022 after 13 years together – and she’s been open about how it wasn’t always plain sailing.

Helen was spotted with her kids in Newquay after having dinner at the Harbour Side Fish & Grill Restaurant overlooking the harbour.

The former Coronation Street star looked as stunning as ever in a pair of black shorts, low cut vest and sliders as she enjoyed the sunshine with her young children.

Helen is mum to daughters Delilah, seven, and Matilda, ten, as well as five-year-old son Charlie, who she shares with ex-partner Scott Sinclair.

In the snaps, she can also be seen with her lovely mother Julia, who Helen recently revealed still does all her washing – and even organises her kids’ schedules too.

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Helen is down in Newquay, Cornwall to be interviewed for the Lewis Nicholls Life Stories Show.

Earlier this year, Helen was forced out of her £1million family home by Scott as they never married and the house near Bolton is solely in his name.

The house looked bare, ready for the family to move out, just days after Helen and Scott were snapped moving their belongings into a van.

Back in January, a friend of Helen’s said: “Scott pays for the house and all the bills and he’s decided a six-bedroom place is way too big for Helen on her own with the kids.

“But Helen doesn’t want to move and is digging her heels in.

“She loves the place, the kids are settled at the local school and her mum and dad live around the corner.”

“Scott wants to buy Helen a four-bedroom home. He’s even offered to put it in her name but wants to stop the maintenance payments.

“The relationship has completely broken down. They no longer communicate — everything goes through her parents.”

Last year we reported the house was put on sale for £1.5million before being reduced to £995,000.

FORMER Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan has shared an emotional post with fans saying she’s returned to a “special place” after moving out of her ex Scott Sinclair’s home.

Helen parted ways from her long-term fiancé in 2022 after 13 years together – and she’s been open about how it isn’t always plain sailing.

The model shares three children with footballer Scott – Matilda, 10, and Delilah, seven, and five-year-old son Charlie.

Earlier this year, Helen was forced out of her £1million family home by Scott as they never married and the house near Bolton is solely in his name.

But now, Helen has taken to Instagram to share with fans the behind-the-scenes of her “special place.”

The telly star is currently visiting Scotland with her kids.

Read more on Helen Flanagan

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HITTING HOME

Helen Flanagan takes swipe at ex Scott as she says goodbye to £1m home

She posted a slew of selfies with her little loves at the lake and clips of the peaceful mountainous views.

Helen captioned the post: “No weapon used against me shall prosper.

“Love wins.

“I found this spot at Loch Lomond in lockdown and it’s just special to me, I don’t know why but I suppose we all take comfort in things and if it makes sense to us then that’s enough and every time I go to Scotland I go there.”

It seemed Helen was taking a swipe at Scott over the house drama as she recounted her trip away.

Back in January, a friend of Helen’s said: “Scott pays for the house and all the bills and he’s decided a six-bedroom place is way too big for Helen on her own with the kids.

“But Helen doesn’t want to move and is digging her heels in.

“She loves the place, the kids are settled at the local school and her mum and dad live around the corner.”

“Scott wants to buy Helen a four-bedroom home. He’s even offered to put it in her name but wants to stop the maintenance payments.

“The relationship has completely broken down. They no longer communicate — everything goes through her parents.”

Her celeb pals and fans rushed to the comments to share their support.

Christine McGuiness wrote: “Love you angel. The best mummy.”

One fan said: “Nothing like nature to make you feel better.”

Another fan added: “Scot gal here… Hope you had a nice time. Stay strong you are enough.”

SACRAMENTO — Dana Williamson, one of the political heavyweights at the center of a financial scandal involving gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, looked shell-shocked Thursday morning in a federal courtroom in downtown Sacramento, as most folks do when bad choices collide with the hard realities of the justice system.

A thousand-yard stare in her eyes, Williamson responded “guilty” three times in a voice that required a microphone to be heard as the judge walked her through a plea deal reached days before with the U.S. Department of Justice. She likely won’t be sentenced until fall (possibly close to the general election) but will — again, just a likely here — at best face home confinement and at worst upward of three years in prison.

It’s a colossal fall for a woman who wasn’t so much a consultant as a political operative to Becerra, Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Gov. Jerry Brown and a slew of companies including Meta and PG&E. She was known at the Capitol as a woman who got things done, sometimes with finesse, sometimes not.

It was her savvy and ability to deliver whatever was needed through her deep connections and knowledge of the complicated structures — official and cultural — that govern the California halls of power that make her predicament all the more confounding. Especially because, far from stealing money for self-enrichment, she actually paid money to be part of this scheme.

That alone, to me, raises questions.

Though Williamson’s guilty plea may seem like an ending to the saga, it shouldn’t be, because there’s still a lot lurking in the dark corners of this deal.

If Becerra makes it past the primary, which seems (I’ll use that word again) likely, voters have a right to know.

Here’s the simple backstory, according to court documents. Becerra’s close aide, Sean McCluskie, took a pay cut to remain with his boss when he moved to Washington to become President Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services.

Strapped for cash, McCluskie asked Williamson to receive money from Becerra’s dormant campaign account — which Becerra was legally not allowed to manage while holding federal office — and pass it through a bunch of other accounts before giving it to McCluskie’s wife as payment for a nonexistent job.

Williamson’s attorney, McGregor Scott, said Thursday that Williamson received $7,500 each month from the Becerra account and added $2,500 from her own funds before sending it on to ultimately reach McCluskie — for a total of $10,000 a month.

McCluskie was “living on a government salary,” Scott said Thursday after court. “Wife is home with the kids. They didn’t have enough money, and that’s where this all originated. [Williamson] was simply trying to help a friend in a pinch as best she could.”

Scott, a former Bush and Trump United States attorney, managed to get Williamson’s original 23-count indictment knocked down to the Becerra account issue, along with lying to the FBI and filing a false tax return.

McCluskie entered his own guilty plea in the case last November and is scheduled to be sentenced, along with the third lobbyist, in June.

Becerra, who is a slim-margin front-runner for governor, was the victim in this case — or more precisely, his state campaign bank account was, according to court documents.

There has never been any indication that Becerra was investigated as a participant, and he has forcefully denied wrongdoing, calling it a “gut punch” that his advisers allegedly betrayed him.

That, of course, hasn’t stopped the other candidates from using the case against him.

“My opponents have spent millions spreading lies to purposefully mislead voters,” he wrote Thursday on social media. “Today confirms what I have said from day one: I did nothing wrong. Case closed.”

Meanwhile, Scott, the attorney, also said Thursday that Williamson assumed, based on her conversations with McCluskie, that McCluskie had spoken to Becerra about the concept of the money transfer. Text messages in court records show a brief and ambiguous exchange between McCluskie and Williamson that backs that up.

Scott said that Williamson never spoke directly with Becerra about the scheme.

That leaves the distinct possibility that Williamson believed Becerra knew what was happening — but never asked him. Dumb? Maybe. But Williamson isn’t usually dumb.

“The understanding that McCluskie conveyed to my client was it was OK to proceed,” Scott said.

Becerra has repeatedly said he believed the $10,000 a month was a legitimate fee being paid to manage the funds in the dormant account while he could not — though that is an amount above what is usual for such work, as my colleague Dakota Smith has reported.

Becerra has also repeatedly used some variation of the “case closed” line, seemingly hoping to move past this scandal without further answers.

But at the very least, it deserves some kind of mea culpa from Becerra or lessons learned, a more robust conversation than the brush-off it’s been getting. Because either McCluskie is one heck of a con man who rolled both Becerra and Williamson, making both believe what was happening was kosher with entirely different tales, or someone isn’t being entirely honest.

Did Becerra never question why an account with almost no activity was costing so much to manage? Did he never wonder what Williamson was doing to earn all that money? Should he, with his decades of legal and political experience, have seen red flags, even with a trusted adviser? Or is Williamson, facing sentencing, just trying to paint herself in a sympathetic light?

“I’m not trying to paint my client as a victim,” McGregor said. “She’s accepted responsibility today for what she did by pleading guilty. She’s now a felon. So you know, we’re not trying to do anything to dance away from that.”

Williamson may be done dancing, but the music’s still playing, and the fancy footwork of politics continues.

WASHINGTON — President Bush left many viewers mystified last week when, answering a question in his debate with Democratic challenger John F. Kerry, he invoked the 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery.

The answer seemed to be reaching far back in history to answer the question about what kind of Supreme Court justice Bush would appoint. But to Christian conservatives who have long viewed the Scott decision as a parallel to the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling legalizing abortion, the president’s historical reference was perfectly logical — and his message was clear.

Bush, some felt, was giving a subtle nod to the belief of abortion foes, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, that just as the high court denied rights to blacks in the Scott case it also shirked the rights of the unborn in Roe, which many conservatives call the Dred Scott case of the modern era.

“It was a poignant moment, a very special gourmet, filet mignon dinner,” said the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, a prominent conservative advocacy group based in Washington. “Everyone knows the Dred Scott decision and you don’t have to stretch your mind at all. When he said that, it made it very clear that the ’73 decision was faulty because what it said was that unborn persons in a legal sense have no civil rights.”

Sheldon, who said he confers frequently with Bush and his senior campaign advisors on outreach to religious conservatives, though not in this instance, credited the use of Dred Scott with raising the abortion issue to “a very high level” and “back to the front burner.”

“It didn’t just slip out by accident,” Sheldon said.

Douglas Kmiec, a Pepperdine University constitutional law professor who served as a lawyer in the Reagan and first Bush administrations, said the reference instantly struck him for its appeal to abortion opponents, advocates for judicial restraint and even civil rights advocates who regard the Scott case as the court’s all-time worst moment.

“I thought it had so many constituencies that could applaud that comment; it was one of the most intelligent things that I heard in the debate,” he said.

Bush’s remark Friday came after a questioner in the St. Louis debate — which occurred just miles from the courthouse where Scott filed his lawsuit seeking his freedom — asked whom he might appoint to the court should there be a vacancy.

Kerry and other Democrats, looking to mobilize their base, have warned that Bush would fill vacancies with judges who would overturn Roe. Bush has often said that he believes in appointing justices who would not legislate from the bench.

He repeated that refrain Friday night but did not mention abortion in his answer. Instead, he pointed to Dred Scott as an example of a court action he found objectionable, along with another favorite citation of religious conservatives: the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling that the reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional.

“Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges years ago said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights,” Bush said. “That’s a personal opinion. That’s not what the Constitution says. The Constitution of the United States says we’re all — you know, it doesn’t say that. It doesn’t speak to the equality of America.”

That answer left many wondering what he meant.

Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said Tuesday that the president did not intend to draw a parallel between the slavery and abortion cases, but that he was merely giving voters an example of a case in which he felt the court erred.

But Bush has a history of using language with special meaning to religious conservatives, a critical portion of his base that senior strategists have said will assure his reelection only if they turn out in larger numbers than in 2000.

Bush himself is an evangelical Christian, and his speeches are frequently sprinkled with phrases that sound merely poetic to many, but to others sound a more spiritual theme.

His reference in many campaign speeches to his belief in a “culture of life” often draws the loudest applause from his largely conservative audiences.

In his State of the Union this year, he spoke of the nation’s “grace to go on” despite its grief over terrorist attacks, and in a subtle reference to religious texts that refer to divine service as a time “set apart,” he said: “Having come this far, we sense that we live in a time set apart.”

Activists and legal scholars on both sides of the abortion debate said Tuesday they believed the president was sending a signal to that base.

Bush, who opposes abortion, has walked a careful line on the issue in a campaign in which women make up a large portion of undecided voters. Abortion has been overshadowed this year in the culture wars by gay marriage, but activists say it remains a motivating force for many.

Polls show a majority favor abortion rights. Critics say the Dred Scott reference was an attempt by Bush to make his point without alienating moderates who might decide the election.

“The minute he said it, I said to myself, ‘Here he goes,’ ” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. “He’s not going to say to anybody that he would pick a Supreme Court justice that’s opposed to Roe vs. Wade because he’s afraid that would cost him. So he’s trying to keep his base riled up in a way that won’t offend moderate women.”

Harvard University law professor Laurence Tribe, a Bush critic who has written extensively about the abortion debate, said Bush was signaling that he believed there was a direct parallel between women who would abort a fetus and slave masters of the 19th century.

Tribe pointed to Scalia’s dissent to a 1992 ruling that upheld Roe, in which the justice drew the parallel. Scalia wrote that both cases focused on issues of “life and death, freedom and subjugation.”

“He’s talking in code, but it’s not obscure code,” Tribe said of Bush. “This has been a fixture in the talking points of the religious right for years.”

Parker took charge of Burnley in July 2024 – signing a three-year contract – and led them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking with a second-place finish in the Championship.

“It has been an immense privilege to lead this great club over the past two years,” said Parker.

“I have enjoyed every moment of our journey together, but feel that now is the right time for both parties to move in a different direction.

“I reflect back with great pride on what we achieved during my time at the club, especially our unforgettable promotion season in 2024-25, and it was a true honour to lead this team into the Premier League.”

Saving pools from closure has long been a passion project for Scott, an erudite advocate for the importance of people learning to swim as well as the role such centres play as community hubs.

But while a refreshed Tollcross will contribute to that, it is the week or so when the pool will be unavailable for public use that are the key dates in Scott’s summer.

The Alloa swimmer clanked back up the road from the Birmingham Games four years ago with six medals around his neck – 200m free and 200m medley gold adding to four bronzes.

It took his tally to 13 across three Games and propelled his past the record held by shooter Alister Allan. And few would bet against him butressing it further this year.

Scott has yet to decide which events to enter in Glasgow, but concedes he is likely to take on a slightly less frantic schedule than in 2022 given he has “four more years in the legs and arms”.

“There’s a few individual ones I’d like to swim and I’m always willing to put my hand up for the relays, because that’s a big thing in Team Scotland,” he adds.

“But the records are not something that I ever get too caught up in, and it’s not something that really motivates me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve won the medals I have but it’s just about getting better all the time for me.”

SCOTT Mills has been dealt with a fresh blow after his sacking from the BBC as his M3 bridge tribute has been permanently removed.

It was officially unveiled as The Scott Mills Bridge back in 2016 and a plaque was installed at Fleet Services on the M3.

His then BBC Radio 1 co-host Chris Stark and Welcome Break staff led a campaign to rename it after him.

However, after his dismissal from the BBC, the plaque has now been removed.

In official pictures obtained by The Sun, the plaque which was previously on a wall next to a set of stairs, has been taken down.

The black and silver frame previously said “The Scott Mills Bridge” alongside the Welcome Break logo and his signature.

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The Sun previously revealed that the bridge would be renamed as Welcome Break, who own the service station, want to disassociate themselves from Scott, 53, following the scandal.

A source explained last month: “It’s highly likely Welcome Break will rename the bridge in light of Scott being fired, especially given the nature of the allegations.

“It’s not a great look for them to be associated with any scandals.”

Scott was suddenly axed by the BBC with news of his sacking being made public last month.

He was last on-air as host of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Tuesday, March 24, before a complaint arose.

BBC chiefs are understood to have taken swift action in sacking him thereafter.

The complaint is believed to relate to “serious sexual offences” against a teenage boy.

He was questioned by police under caution in 2018 – when he was in his 40s, the Mirror reports.

The interview was related to alleged offences which took place between 1997 and 2000.

The case was dropped in full due to a lack of evidence.

A source close to Mills — the BBC’s 11th highest-paid star — told The Sun: “Scott was told about the allegation in a meeting with senior staff present. He was tense.

“He has completely shut down now and no one can get hold of him. No calls, no messages — nothing.

“The people who know him are blindsided by all of this and they can’t get hold of him.”

An internal message was sent around Radio 2 after Mills’ exit was made public.

It was revealed last week that Sara Cox will take over as host of BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show.

She expressed: “There are not enough adjectives to really sum up how I’m feeling about being trusted with such an iconic show but let’s start with ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed.

“It’s been a dream to host the Breakfast Show since I joined Radio 2 and it feels like a bit of a full circle for me.

“I’ve had the most glorious seven years of my career on Teatime so thank you to my brilliant Teatime listeners who hopefully will join me at Breakfast for excellent music and all my usual nonsense plus some superstar guests.

“I honestly can’t wait to wake the nation up with the biggest most fun breakfast show ever.”

Head coach Scott Bemand says Ireland are “ready” for the pressure of facing France in Clermont on Saturday after learning from a string of big-game experiences.

Ireland began their Women’s Six Nations campaign with a 33-12 loss to England in front of a record 77,120 at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

Bemand’s side also faced New Zealand and France in front of near-capacity crowds at the World Cup last year – and the coach feels those days will stand to his squad as they bid for a first win on French soil.

“We’ve got the benefit now with our group having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise and a lot of expectation, internal expectation,” said Bemand.

“Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago so we’ve had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.

“I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space, so as we continue to evolve, continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we’re ready for this one.”

Bemand, who has made one change from last week’s nine-try win over Italy, added the team feel “excitement and anticipation rather than nerves”.

“We’re ready for this, we’ve trained well this week,” he added.

“We’re now recovering, we’ll travel, we’re going to enjoy it. The weather looks good over there and we’ll be absolutely gunning to start and get out of the blocks when the whistle goes on Saturday night.”

BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox, who has just landed the biggest job on the station, has been married to husband Ben Cyzer, with whom she shares two children, since 2013

Newly announced BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show presenter Sara Cox has always been open about her home life, previously sharing a “depressing” revelation about her marriage to husband Ben Cyzer.

The broadcaster, who is set to replace Scott Mills on the nation’s biggest radio show, struck up a relationship with advertising boss Ben back in 2006, a year following the breakdown of her first marriage.

The BBC Radio 2 host tied the knot with Ben in 2013, and together they’re parents to daughter Renee and son Isaac. She’s also mum to Lola from her earlier marriage to DJ Jon Carter.

Yet Sara, aged 51, has disclosed a nightly struggle she endures with Ben. Speaking on her Teen Commandments podcast, which she co-hosts with Clare Hamilton, Sara revealed that Ben’s snoring regularly drives her to escape to another bedroom.

She explained: “This is my issue that I’ve got with Ben in the night if I wake up, just him breathing is annoying. Not during the day, I just mean any slight noises.”

“You know on a wildlife documentary when they have a shot of an animal that’s on high alert for a predator? I feel like I’ve got that heaving in the middle of the night, I can just hear the tiniest [noise]…it’s just so magnified in the middle of the night.

“I think there’s a bit of anxiety in there. I remember in my twenties if I woke up at like half one, I probably wouldn’t have been in bed at half one, but if I woke up in the middle of the night and it was like 3am, in my twenties I’d be like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got loads of time to sleep, amazing’. Now I’m 50 I go, ‘F**k, it’s three, I’m not going to sleep, I’m never going to get back to sleep again’.

“So I need to tap into that twenties energy of thinking, ‘I’ve got loads of time to sleep’.”

When questioned about managing her partner Ben’s nocturnal disturbances, Sara Cox revealed: “I nudge him, he’s really patient, he’s great about it, and then we just keep sleeping in separate rooms, which is a bit depressing.”

Sara has just revealed how “ecstatic” she feels to take the reins of the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, after its former host, Scott Mills, was axed from the role last month.

“There are not enough adjectives to really sum up how I’m feeling about being trusted with such an iconic show but let’s start with ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed,” she shared.

The star, who currently hosts Radio 2’s weekday Teatime show and will begin fronting the Breakfast Show in the summer, added: “It’s been a dream to host the Breakfast Show since I joined Radio 2 and it feels like a bit of a full circle for me.

“I’ve had the most glorious seven years of my career on teatime so thank you to my brilliant Teatime listeners who hopefully will join me at Breakfast for excellent music and all my usual nonsense plus some superstar guests. I honestly can’t wait to wake the nation up with the biggest most fun breakfast show ever.”

The Saturday soccer show, which looks ahead to the day’s games, is to end following a drop in ratings

Alex Scott has issued a statement after BBC bosses blew the final whistle on Football Focus after a run of 52 years. The presenter, 41, said: “I always knew this would be my last season on the show, which the BBC were aware of too. My intention was to move quietly into the next chapter, but sometimes things change.”

The show, hosted by Alex Scott, was first broadcast in 1974. The decision is said to be based on “changing audience behaviours”, with fans increasingly consuming football content in different ways.

She said: “To have been part of it has been incredibly special, and I’m so grateful and proud of the eight years I’ve been involved , including the five years I’ve had the honour of presenting it.

“It has been such an important part of my life, working with some of the very best people in the business, both on screen and behind the scenes. I’ve loved so much of it, the conversations, the laughter, and sharing so many big moments with you, the audience. Thank you for being part of it.”

It comes as the Corporation battles with its finances, with the BBC saying “it is appropriate to respond to this as difficult decisions are made around how the licence fee is spent”.

In an age of content creators and social media, many football fans are no longer tuning in to the BBC1 show.

But BBC Sport chiefs insisted the decision to end the show at the end of the current season was not a reflection on the performance of Scott, who took over in 2021 after Dan Walker’s 12-year stint.

Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport said: “Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men and women’s game and is a big part of our present and future.

“She will remain at the heart of our sports output across both the Men’s World Cup this year and the Women’s World Cup in 2027, as well as continuing her lead role on the Women’s Super League and BBC Sport Personality of the Year. We are also working on a very exciting new project with her – more to come on that soon.”

He added: “Football Focus has been a hugely important programme in the history of BBC Sport and has played a key role in telling the stories of the game for generations of viewers. This decision was made before last week’s wider BBC savings announcement, reflecting the continued shift in how audiences engage with football and our commitment to evolving how we deliver content to reach fans wherever they are.”

But Alex, who will be the last presenter of the long-running BBC stalwart, is said to have been left feeling “bruised” over the BBC’s inquests into its declining performance. The BBC has not published viewing figures but the audience had dropped off significantly from 849,000 in 2019 to 564,000 by 2023.

Walker predicted the end of the show back in 2023, when he said: “It’s hard to see Football Focus struggling… I hope it stays part of the TV landscape.”

ATLANTA — U.S. Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat and the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has died. He was 80.

Scott, who was seeking his 13th term in Congress despite challenges from within his party, was once a leading voice for Democrats on issues related to farm aid policy and food aid for consumers and a prominent Black member of the party’s moderate Blue Dog caucus. But he faced criticism and concerns in recent years because of declining health, enduring a primary challenge in 2024 and facing another one at the time of his death.

Democrats on Capitol Hill praised the longtime lawmaker.

“The news of Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday.

“David Scott was a trailblazer who served district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House Ag Committee,” Jeffries said. “He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed.”

News of Scott’s death came during the Congressional Black Caucus’ weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill. The Black Caucus’ chair, Rep. Yvette Clarke, told lawmakers at the outset of the meeting, according to a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Many lawmakers in the room, some of whom had served with Scott for decades, were shocked and saddened by the news.

Scott’s death slightly widens Republicans’ narrow House majority going into the thick of this midterm election year.

The congressman was not especially active on the campaign trail in 2026. But he had been dismissive of pressure to retire.

“Thank God I’m in good health, moving and doing the people’s work,” Scott said in 2024.

David Albert Scott was born in rural Aynor, South Carolina, on June 27, 1945, in the era of Jim Crow segregation. He graduated from Florida A&M University, one of the nation’s largest historically Black college campuses — and in office he was an outspoken advocate for federal support of HBCUs. Scott also earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

He was already a veteran state lawmaker in Georgia before being elected to Congress in 2002.

Barrow, Brown and Amy write for the Associated Press. Brown reported from Washington.

The BBC has seemingly pulled episodes of Top of the Pops that featured Scott Mills from iPlayer after the corporation made the decision to dismiss the radio star last month

The BBC has seemingly pulled episodes of Top of the Pops that featured Scott Mills from iPlayer. In yet another scandal for the public broadcaster, Scott Mills, a BBC radio favourite for decades, was axed from his role in March.

The Mirror revealed that the former BBC Radio 1 and 2 DJ was questioned in 2018 over the historical allegations of serious sexual offences, but the investigation – which began in 2016 – was closed in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

The allegations are reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000. The Metropolitan Police told the Mirror that the teenage boy at the centre of the investigation was under 16.

For more than 40 years, Top of the Pops was the BBC’s major music programme that showcased the acts who were in the charts that week and gave a platform to some of the biggest names in the industry, with the likes of The Beatles, Spice Girls and Madonna amongst countless others all having performed on it over the years.

READ MORE: BBC bosses poised to offer Scott Mills Radio 2 replacement to rightful ‘heir’READ MORE: Scott Mills replacement hopefuls battling it out for his Radio 2 job

The programme, which ended in 2006, is still repeated regularly but now the The Sun has reported that the three episodes in which Scott, 53, served as host, have now been wiped from the corporation’s streaming service.

The episodes in question originally aired in 1999 and around that time, he welcomed the likes of Billie Piper, Mariah Carey and Westlife onto the show to perform their latest singles. The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment.

On Wednesday April 1, The Mirror revealed that the BBC was forced to terminate Mills’ contract after receiving compelling new information. The BBC then confirmed the Mirror’s report a day after it emerged that they knew of information relating to the police investigation. They pledged that they were “doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

The Metropolitan Police said a man, who was in his 40s at the time of the interview in 2016, was investigated over allegations reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000. Today, BBC News reported that director general at the time, Tony Hall, was not aware of the allegations.

The investigation was dropped in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. As first reported by the Mirror, Mills was sacked over allegations relating to his ‘personal conduct’ after the final edition of his breakfast programme aired.

Following his dismissal, Mills issued a statement via lawyers thanking his well-wishers. He said: “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”

On the police probe, he said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.

“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence, which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully co-operated and responded to in 2018.”

He added: “Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.”

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BBC bosses are poised to offer Sara Cox the Radio 2 Breakfast Show job after Scott Mills’s sacking, insiders told The Sun. 

Sources said veteran broadcaster Sara, 51, was seen as the “heir apparent” for the role — which is widely regarded as the best job in radio. 

Mills, who had hosted the show since January 2025, was dismissed last month. 

It came after new information about a police investigation over alleged sex offences with a boy aged under 16 in 2018 came to light at the BBC. OJ Borg and Gary Davies have filled in since Mills left the station. 

Insiders said they expected Sara, who joined the BBC in 1999 as a Radio 1 DJ, to be offered the job this summer. 

A source said: “Sara is the heir apparent for the Breakfast Show job. 

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“Since Scott left, she has been the name which has been discussed as the best candidate and everyone at Radio 2 is saying she will be offered it. 

“Sara has made a huge success of her drivetime slot and is hugely popular at the station, plus she’s hosted the Breakfast Show as a stand-in before. 

“The BBC won’t be rushing this through as they want the dust to settle. But Sara is the one in line and, as far as her colleagues are concerned, she is the best person for the job.” 

Sara, who began a TV career in the 90s, featured on Radio 2 as a cover host for various shows in 2012 while still working for Radio 1.

The mum-of-three landed her first permanent Radio 2 show, hosting Sounds of the 80s on Saturday nights, the following year. 

She went on to replace Simon Mayo as the drivetime presenter in 2019 and stood in on the Breakfast Show in 2025. 

That year, she was chosen to complete a Children in Need challenge and raised over £11.5million after walking and running 135 miles in five days. 

She said of working for Radio 2: “It’s sort of my dream job.” 

SCOTT SPOTTED

By Emily-Jane Heap 

SCOTT Mills is seen for the first time since being sacked by the BBC. 

The star, who was axed as Radio 2 Breakfast Show host, was out walking walked his dog with his husband Sam Vaughan. 

Mills, 53, confirmed he was quizzed by police in 2018 following an allegation of a historical sexual offence against a boy under 16. 

The case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. 

But Mills was sacked last month after new information came to light, the BBC said. 

He was allowed to keep his job for almost a decade despite the BBC being made aware in 2017 of an ongoing probe.