Vacherot, 26, had only won one ATP Tour-level match before his extraordinary week, sealing the title with a comeback 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory in the final in front of Roger Federer.
That made him the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion in tennis history, 52 places lower than the previous record, and the first man from Monaco to win an ATP crown in the Open Era.
The cousins hugged at the net and Vacherot wrote on the TV camera lens: “Grandpa and Grandma would be proud.”
They both then paid tearful tributes to one another during the presentation speeches.
But as Vacherot – whose ranking will soar a whopping 164 places to 40th – spoke on the microphone, crouching Rinderknech, 30, took a tumble off the back of the stage.
He had been struggling physically during the match and there was a dramatic thud.
Commentators thought he may have cramped up – but laughing Vacherot saw the funny side of his cousin’s discomfort.
He joked: “I think we need some help please!”
Novak Djokovic loses to world no204 Valentin Vacherot in emotional scenes at Shanghai Masters
Tennis stars following in parents’ footsteps
TALK about pressure…
These rising stars are all making their way in tennis.
But they have got something in common – they’ve got a famous parent who also made their name in the sport.
So who are the players hoping to follow in the footsteps of their tennis mums and dads?
And a physio quickly arrived on the scene with a seat and started massaging Rinderknech’s leg.
A stunned Vacherot – cheered on by his girlfriend Emily Snyder in the crowd – said: “I mean, just all like crying, it’s just unreal.
“What just happened? I have no idea what’s happening right now.
“I’m not in a dream, it’s just crazy.
“I’m just so happy with my performance these last two weeks i just want to thank everyone that has put a brick in my career since the beginning.
“Sharing this final was really tough, there has to be one, but I think there’s just two winners today, one family that won and I think for the sport of tennis, this story is just unreal.
“I wish there could be two winners but unfortunately there’s only one and, for myself, I’m happy it could be me.”
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Rinderknech needed treatment during the defeatCredit: EPA
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The relatives hugged at the netCredit: EPA
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Rinderknech got treatment after his cousin called for helpCredit: EPA
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It was thought he may have cramped up during the presentationCredit: AFP
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Vacherot could barely believe what happenedCredit: EPA
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He was in floods of tears after becoming the lowest-ranked Masters champion everCredit: Getty
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Rinderknech also struggled to hold back the waterworksCredit: EPA
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Vacherot had only won one ATP Tour-level match before his memorable run in ShanghaiCredit: EPA
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Roger Federer was in the house to watch the dramaCredit: AFP
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine — Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the country’s longest-standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction.
GOP leaders believe they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers and other marine industries.
A Republican-led bill in the works has support from fishermen in Maine who say the law makes lobster fishing more difficult, lobbyists for big-money species such as tuna in Hawaii and crab in Alaska, and marine manufacturers who see the law as antiquated.
Conservation groups adamantly oppose the changes and say weakening the law will erase years of hard-won gains for jeopardized species such as the vanishing North Atlantic right whale, which is vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. There are fewer than 400 right whales remaining.
Here’s what to know about the protection act and the proposed changes.
Why the 1972 law still matters
“The Marine Mammal Protection Act is important because it’s one of our bedrock laws that help us to base conservation measures on the best available science,” said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager with International Fund for Animal Welfare. “Species on the brink of extinction have been brought back.”
It was enacted the year before the Endangered Species Act, at a time when the movement to save whales from extinction was growing. Scientist Roger Payne had discovered that whales could sing in the late 1960s, and their voices soon appeared on record albums and throughout popular culture.
The law protects all marine mammals and prohibits capturing or killing them in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It allowed for preventative measures to stop commercial fishing ships and other businesses from accidentally harming animals such as whales and seals. The animals can be harmed by entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and other hazards at sea.
The law also prevents the hunting of marine mammals, including polar bears, with exceptions for Indigenous groups. Some of those animals can be legally hunted in other countries.
Changes to oil and gas operations
Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska, a state with a large fishing industry, submitted a draft this summer that would roll back aspects of the law. The bill says the act has “unduly and unnecessarily constrained government, tribes and the regulated community” since its inception.
The proposal states that it would make changes such as lowering population goals for marine mammals from “maximum productivity” to the level needed to “support continued survival.” It would also ease rules on what constitutes harm to marine mammals.
For example, the law prevents harassment of sea mammals such as whales and defines harassment as activities that have “the potential to injure a marine mammal.” The proposed changes would limit the definition to activities that actually injure the animals. That change could have major implications for industries such as oil and gas exploration where rare whales live.
That poses an existential threat to the Rice’s whale, which numbers only in the dozens and lives in the Gulf of Mexico, conservationists said. And the proposal takes specific aim at the North Atlantic right whale protections with a clause that would delay rules designed to protect that declining whale population until 2035.
Begich and his staff did not return calls for comment on the bill, and his staff declined to provide an update about where it stands in Congress. Begich has said he wants “a bill that protects marine mammals and also works for the people who live and work alongside them, especially in Alaska.”
Fishing groups want restrictions loosened
A coalition of fishing groups from both coasts has come out in support of the proposed changes. Some of the same groups lauded a previous effort by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory burdens on commercial fishing.
The groups said in a July letter to House members that they believe Begich’s changes reflect “a positive and necessary step” for American fisheries’ success.
Restrictions imposed on lobster fishermen of Maine are designed to protect the right whale, but they often provide little protection for the animals while limiting one of America’s signature fisheries, said Virginia Olsen, political director of the Maine Lobstering Union. The restrictions stipulate where lobstermen can fish and what kinds of gear they can use. The whales are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in heavy fishing rope.
Gathering more accurate data about right whales while revising the original law would help protect the animals, Olsen said.
“We do not want to see marine mammals harmed; we need a healthy, vibrant ocean and a plentiful marine habitat to continue Maine’s heritage fishery,” Olsen said.
Some members of other maritime industries have also called on Congress to update the law. The National Marine Manufacturers Assn. said in a statement that the rules have not kept pace with advancements in the marine industry, making innovation in the business difficult.
Environmentalists fight back
Numerous environmental groups have vowed to fight to save the protection act. They characterized the proposed changes as part of the Trump administration’s assault on environmental protections.
The act was instrumental in protecting the humpback whale, one of the species most beloved by whale watchers, said Gib Brogan, senior campaign director with Oceana. Along with other sea mammals, humpbacks would be in jeopardy without it, he said.
“The Marine Mammal Protection Act is flexible. It works. It’s effective. We don’t need to overhaul this law at this point,” Brogan said.
What does this mean for seafood imports
The original law makes it illegal to import marine mammal products without a permit and allows the U.S. to impose import prohibitions on seafood products from foreign fisheries that don’t meet U.S. standards.
The import embargoes are a major sticking point because they punish American businesses, said Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer of the National Fisheries Institute, a Virginia-based seafood industry trade group. It’s critical to source seafood globally to be able to meet American demand for seafood, he said.
The National Fisheries Institute and a coalition of industry groups sued the federal government Thursday over what they described as unlawful implementation of the protection act. Gibbons said the groups don’t oppose the act but want to see it responsibly implemented.
“Our fisheries are well regulated and appropriately fished to their maximum sustainable yield,” Gibbons said. “The men and women who work our waters are iconic and responsible. They can’t be expected to just fish more here to make up a deficit while jeopardizing the sustainability they’ve worked so hard to maintain.”
Some environmental groups said the Republican lawmakers’ proposed changes could weaken American seafood competitiveness by allowing imports from poorly regulated foreign fisheries.
Prop Joe Ofahengaue scored both Leigh Leopards tries as his side pulled off their first victory at St Helens since 1982 and kept up the pressure on Super League’s top two.
Ofahengaue crossed midway through the second half to provide the Leopards with some breathing space after two Gareth O’Brien penalties had put them 4-0 up at the break.
Saints, who went into the game on the back of five straight victories, enjoyed plenty of possession but could not break down Leigh’s gritty defence.
Ofahengaue capitalised to grab a second try after Kyle Feldt spilled Lachlan Lam’s kick and, although Harry Robertson belatedly put Saints on the scoresheet, it was too late to prevent the Leopards moving to within a point of second-placed Wigan.
The two sides traded blows during a lively, yet scoreless opening 20 minutes – although video referee Jack Smith was called to adjudicate three times in quick succession on possible tries.
Saints’ Owen Dagnall, stretching to reach Tristan Sailor’s kick, was unable to make a clean connection and Leopards full-back Bailey Hodgson’s quick thinking to ground the ball denied the home side again, sandwiching a disallowed score for Ofahengaue.
Leigh – who had overcome league leaders Hull KR and Wigan in their two most recent outings – soaked up pressure well but errors going forward, from O’Brien and Edwin Ipape, slowed their progress.
Eventually, it was O’Brien who broke the deadlock, landing a successful kick from 35 yards after Saints scrum-half Moses Mbye had been penalised for interference.
O’Brien put another penalty attempt wide following a foul by Feldt, but his next – a routine kick just before the interval – was successful after St Helens had been rattled by Tesi Niu’s barnstorming tackle to drag Sailor out of touch.
Saints looked the sharper side after the turnaround, working the ball from left to right and Alex Walmsley’s charge down the middle carried them close to the try-line, only for Leigh’s tenacious defence to hold firm again.
Having unsuccessfully challenged a knock-on against Jonny Lomax, the home side conceded a penalty and Leigh broke clear, with O’Brien’s short-range pass setting up Ofahengaue to wriggle over between the posts.
Ipape might have wrapped up the victory, racing away on the counter-attack but failing to find Lam – and instead it was Ofahengaue who made the points safe, pouncing on Feldt’s fumble and bursting over the line.
Saints at least averted the indignity of a blank scoresheet on their own turf, with Robertson going over in the corner in the final minute, but it was not enough to deny rampant Leigh their sixth win in seven games.
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“It was a tough night. Opportunities were quite limited out there – what I can’t fault is the players’ effort, that was there in abundance and has been for a number of weeks.
“But it’s probably a timely reminder that we need to handle certain moments better on both sides of the ball because they are crucial in big games like that.
“We’ve got to take our lessons from this. It’s been great winning in the last few weeks but when you get beat in a game like that and there hasn’t been a lack of effort, there’s been a lack of something else.
“Maybe we were a little bit conservative at times. In big games you’re going to need to nail opportunities and it took us until the 79th minute to do that.”
Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:
“That’s three in a row for us against some really big clubs. We didn’t play the style we wanted to tonight but we adjusted – it was very physical and defence-orientated, but we got through it. That’s a real positive sign that we can adjust on the run.
“There were times when we made a few simple, basic errors but the way we rallied defensively was awesome. I didn’t think Saints were going to score tonight until that last play.
“We hadn’t won here for 43 years and we had to come here and defend and be physical and we did all of that. We’re in control of how it ends for us this season and we’re still striving to climb that ladder.
“He (Joe Ofahengaue)’s a try-scorer, his effort areas are as good as any in the game and he’s there or thereabouts all the time. He’s massive for us, he’s been a great leader and certainly helped the group.”
The seal population has increased from about 4,000, considered nearly extinct, in the late 1980s to about 50,000.
Lithuania will make a concerted effort to save its grey seal population, which has managed to stabilise though continues to remain vulnerable, in the Baltic Sea as it contends with shrinking fish stocks, pollution and the negative effect of climate change.
Over the years, Lithuania has introduced several bans, including on toxic pesticide usage and commercial cod fishing, in an effort to fortify its grey seal population.
The effects of climate change on the seals’ habitat are severe, as the Baltic Sea, which is shared by the European Union and Russia, rarely freezes over now, depriving the seals of sanctuaries to rear their cubs.
“Mothers are forced to breed on land in high concentration with other seals,” said Vaida Surviliene, a scientist at Lithuania’s Vilnius University told the AFP news agency. “They are unable to recognise their cubs and often leave them because of it,” she said.
Survival rates for cubs in the wild can be as low as 5 percent, according to local scientists.
Rearing cubs ashore also leaves mother seals exposed to humans, other wild animals, rowdy males, as well as a higher risk of diseases, according to Arunas Grusas, a biologist at the Baltic Sea Animal Rehabilitation Centre in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda.
Employees carry a grey seal pup for transport by boat to the release site of the Baltic Sea Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Klaipeda, Lithuania on July 2, 2025. [Petras Malukas/AFP]
Grusas first began caring for seals in 1987, when he brought back a pup to his office at the Klaipeda Sea Museum, which now oversees the new rehabilitation centre built in 2022.
“We taught them how to feed themselves, got them used to the water – they had to get comfortable with the sea, which spat them out ashore practically dying,” Grusas said.
The very first cubs were placed into makeshift baths set up in an office. The scientists then nursed them back to health, first with liquid formula before moving on to solid food.
In the late 1980s, the seals were nearly extinct – there were just about 4,000 to 5,000 left in the sea, from a population of about 100,000 before World War II.
Recently, a growing number of adult seals have been washing up on Lithuanian beaches.
Scientists like Grusas point the finger at near-shore fishing nets, where seals desperate for food end up entangled and ultimately drown.
Once the seals are ready to re-enter the wild, scientists release them into the sea with GPS trackers, which show the seals generally favour a route north towards the Swedish Gotland island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, where fish are more plentiful.
Some, however, are scared to venture off alone and return to the boat from which they were released. Eventually, they all find their way back to the wild.
The annual maximum ice extent in the Baltic Sea has been decreasing rapidly since the 1980s, with the lowest extent on record in the winter of 2019-2020.
Instead, it devolved into a sudden, unstoppable nightmare.
In the shortest start of his MLB career, and in an outing that somehow rivaled his disastrous debut in the majors last March in South Korea, Yamamoto missed one chance after the next to escape the bottom of the first against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field — an inning which poor defense, questionable pitch calling and bad batted ball luck all also contributed to his 41-pitch collapse.
By the time it was all over, the Brewers were leading by five runs, manager Dave Roberts was summoning a reliever just two outs into the game, and the Dodgers were well on their way to a fourth consecutive defeat, never coming close to a comeback in a 9-1 loss to open a six-game road trip.
“This is a time,” Roberts said afterward, as the Dodgers matched their longest losing streak of the season, “for us to kind of look at ourselves and be better.”
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DODGER STADIUM
Janet Marie Smith, the Dodgers’ executive vice president of planning and development, was part of a team that conceived and executed the redesign of the hallway leading to the Dodgers clubhouse. It’s an ode to the iconic LAX mosaic murals installed in 1961.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
From Bill Shaikin: What would a baseball team in Los Angeles want from a retired artist and designer in New York?
Janet Bennett wasn’t sure.
Generations of Angelenos are familiar with her signature project. You probably have walked right past it. Those colorful tile mosaics that decorate the long corridors toward baggage claim in five terminals at Los Angeles International Airport? She designed them.
You might have memorized the trivia: When you passed the red tiles, you were halfway down the corridor. “Red means halfway” was shorthand for locals in the know, just like “E Ticket” or “the #19 sandwich.”
“It just says L.A. in so many ways,” said Janet Marie Smith, the Dodgers’ executive vice president of planning and development.
The Dodgers wanted to get in touch with Bennett because they were about to install a similar tile wall at Dodger Stadium. Smith could not find Bennett, but she reached out to someone who had liked an article about Bennett that had been posted on LinkedIn. Same last name, same spelling. Smith crossed her fingers.
The Angels’ Nolan Schanuel celebrates with teammates after a walk-off walk during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers on Monday in Anaheim.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
From Benjamin Royer: Travis d’Arnaud knows Jacob deGrom better than any other catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 times when they played together with the New York Mets, the most frequent backstop the former Cy Young Award winner has thrown to in his career.
That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels well en route to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday night, in which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes in the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI walk.
The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom in the second inning for a two-run home run, just hitting the ball hard enough — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.
D’Arnaud’s home run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive starts with two or fewer runs given up — and provided the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.
“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” said d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Clippers guard Norman Powell averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game last season, second-best on the team.
(David Dermer / Associated Press)
From Broderick Turner: The Clippers got size and youth when they acquired John Collins from the Utah Jazz on Monday, but the team lost quality shooting and veteran leadership when it sent Norman Powell to the Miami Heat as part of a three-team, four-player trade.
The Clippers also will send a 2027 second-round pick to the Jazz and the Heat will send Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love to the Jazz as part of the deal for L.A. to get Collins.
“Sad to trade Norm and extremely excited to add John,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said during a videoconference with reporters. “Norm has been a huge part of our basketball team for the past three-and-a-half years. … But this was an opportunity for us to address a different position, different skill set where we felt we needed reinforcement. John is someone we targeted the past couple of years and we feel really, really fortunate that we were able to obtain him at this time.”
1889 — John L. Sullivan defeats Jake Kilrain in the 75th round in Richburg, Miss., for the U.S. heavyweight championship. It’s the last bare-knuckle boxing match before the Marquis of Queensbury rules are introduced.
1922 — Suzanne Lenglen beats Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, 6-2, 6-0 for her fourth straight singles title at Wimbledon.
1939 — Bobby Riggs beats Elwood Cooke in five sets to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon.
1941 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hits a three-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning to give the American League a dramatic 7-5 victory in the All-Star game at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium.
1955 — Peter Thomson wins his second consecutive British Open finishing two strokes ahead of John Fallon. Thomson shoots a 7-under 281 at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland.
1967 — Billie Jean King sweeps three titles at Wimbledon. King beats Ann Hayden Jones 6-3, 6-4, for the singles title; teams with Rosie Casals for the women’s doubles title, and pairs with Owen Davidson for the mixed doubles title.
1978 — Bjorn Borg beats Jimmy Connors, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to win his third straight men’s title at Wimbledon.
1984 — John McEnroe whips Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in 100-degree temperatures to take the men’s singles title at Wimbledon.
1990 — West Germany wins the World Cup as Andreas Brehme scores with 6 minutes to go for a 1-0 victory over defending champion Argentina in a foul-marred final.
1991 — Michael Stich upsets three-time champion Boris Becker to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
1994 — Preliminary trial rules there is enough evidence to try O.J. Simpson.
1995 — NHL Draft: Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) defenceman Bryan Berard first pick by Ottawa Senators.
1996 — Switzerland’s Martina Hingis becomes the youngest champion in Wimbledon history at 15 years, 282 days, teaming with Helena Sukova to beat Meredith McGrath and Larisa Neiland 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 in women’s doubles.
2000 — Venus Williams beats Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 (3) for her first Grand Slam title. Williams is the first black women’s champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957-58.
2007 — Roger Federer wins his fifth straight Wimbledon championship, beating Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2. I’s also Federer’s 11th Grand Slam title overall.
2010 — Paul Goydos becomes the fourth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59. Goydos puts together his 12-under, bogey-free round on the opening day of the John Deere Classic. Goydos makes the turn at 4-under, then birdies all but one hole on the back nine at the 7,257-yard TPC Deere Run course.
2012 — Roger Federer equals Pete Sampras’ record of seven men’s singles titles at the All England Club, and wins his 17th Grand Slam title overall, by beating Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
2014 — Germany hands Brazil its heaviest World Cup loss ever with an astounding 7-1 rout in the semifinals that stuns the host nation. Miroslav Klose scores a record-setting 16th career World Cup goal in a five-goal spurt in the first half and Germany goes on to score the most goals in a World Cup semifinal.
2016 — Roger Federer loses in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in his career, falling to Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Centre Court. The 34-year-old Federer had been 10-0 in Wimbledon semifinals, winning seven of his finals.
2018 — South Korean golfer Sei Young Ki breaks the LPGA 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under par 257 in winning the Thornberry Creek Classic.
2021 — San Diego Padres relief pitcher Daniel Camarena records his first MLB hit, a Grand Slam, in his second at bat against the Washington Nationals’ Max Sherzer.
2022 — Gymnast Simone Biles aged 25, becomes the youngest person to receive the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Houston Mitchell at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
TORONTO — Myles Straw scored the winning run on a throwing error by pitcher Sam Bachman in the 10th inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays extended their winning streak to six games by beating the Angels 4-3 on Friday night.
Straw, the automatic runner, scored from second when Bachman fielded Ernie Clement’s sacrifice bunt and overthrew first base.
Bachman (1-2) entered in the 10th and walked leadoff hitter Nathan Lukes, putting runners on first and second with nobody out for Clement.
Chad Green (3-2) worked a scoreless inning for the win.
Jo Adell tied it for the Angels with a three-run homer in the seventh.
Andrés Giménez drove in the first run with a single for Toronto in the sixth. Giménez advanced to third on George Springer’s single before leaving with an ankle injury.
Giménez tweaked his left ankle covering second base on a steal Wednesday and did not play Thursday. He was scheduled for an MRI.
Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer set down his first 12 batters before Adell doubled to begin the fifth. Adell was initially called out trying to advance but the Angels challenged and the call was overturned following a replay review.
Giménez hit Adell in the face trying to tag him out at second. Adell was treated on the field and remained in the game.
Toronto’s Will Wagner doubled to open the sixth and advanced on a sacrifice before scoring on Giménez’s hit.
José Fermin replaced Angels starter Kyle Hendricks after Springer’s single. Bo Bichette hit an RBI single and another run scored when shortstop Zach Neto bobbled Addison Barger’s grounder for an error.
Mike Trout and Taylor Ward chased Lauer with back-to-back singles to begin the seventh, and the Angels tied it when Adell greeted reliever Nick Sandlin with his 19th homer.
Key moment
Bachman’s high throw sparked a celebration at home plate as Toronto improved to 30-16 at home.
Key stat
The Angels faced the Blue Jays on Independence Day for the eighth time, going 4-4 in those meetings.
Up next
Blue Jays RHP Max Scherzer (0-0, 4.85 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday against Angels RHP Jack Kochanowicz (3-8, 5.44).
Alfie Moon is currently hiding a big secret from his wife Kat in EastEnders, but next week his lie is set to be exposed – leading up to a return for Zoe Slater
It’s set to be another huge week in EastEnders next week, as Alfie’s huge lie is exposed. Just days after his third marriage to Kat, Alfie revealed he was off to Australia to see Spencer – starting their marriage off on a huge lie.
Viewers however, know he’s headed off to Barcelona to try and find Zoe Slater, after she left Stacey’s London flat following a close run in with her mother, Kat. We know Zoe will be back to reprise her role full-time, but with recent events – it looks like we could be seeing her on screen soon.
Kat seems to be catching on to the lie, as she this week, she revealed she hadn’t spoken to Alfie, and Spencer was acting shifty when she called.
Stacey tells Kat she hasn’t heard from Alfie – despite speaking to him on the phone(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Now, spoilers for next week reveal his lie is set to be rumbled. Stacey Slater returns when Kat expresses her upset about recent events. Stacey covers that she hasn’t heard from Alfie – but Jean later accidentally exposes her when she reveals Stacey took a call from Alfie in the morning.
A furious Kat once again rings her brother-in-law Spencer to demand answers, and it then becomes apparent that Alfie isn’t in Australia after all.
Of course, Kat heads off to confront Stacey about the huge lie – but will she find out the truth?
Earlier this month, Michelle Ryan left EastEnders fans stunned when she made her shock return as Zoe Slater after two decades away from Albert Square. Michelle featured in two episodes in Stacey’s flat before heading off to Barcelona – but it’s been confirmed it’s not the last we’ll see of her.
It’s been released that Zoe will be making a permanent return back to the soap, in scenes airing later in the summer. Those who have been keeping an eye on Michelle’s Instagram story will know the star has already started filming.
Kat will soon find out that Alfie is lying about his whereabouts (Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
We know the soaps film around 6-8 weeks in advance, which means we can expect to see Zoe onscreen around that time frame, in late summer.
Not much has been given away about how Zoe’s return will go down, but it’s safe to say she’ll be bumping into her mother Kat Slater at some point.
Zoe’s return marked new executive producer Ben Wadey’s first episode in charge, as he teased exciting things to come for the character.
Speaking on the huge moment, he said: “Before I even stepped into the role, Zoe Slater was on my wish-list of returnees as although we haven’t seen her on screen for twenty years, her character has transcended time due to her popular storylines.
“I was absolutely delighted when Michelle agreed to return, and I’m thrilled to welcome her back to Walford. Whilst I can’t say too much at this stage, Zoe’s return is just one of the many exciting storylines we have planned.”
Nathan Aspinall took the Premier League nightly win in Aberdeen to close on a play-off place while Luke Littler sealed top spot.
Aspinall is on the brink of qualifying after beating Chris Dobey 6-1 in the final on a dramatic evening which saw Gerwyn Price hit a nine-darter.
Dobey claimed a decider to win his semi-final 6-5 against world champion Littler, who earlier won a classic against world number one Luke Humphries that featured 14 180s.
Despite averaging 110.01, Humphries could not halt Littler, who averaged 115.96 to guarantee he would finish top of the league phase.
Defending champion Littler had already qualified for the four-man play-offs in London on 29 May alongside Humphries and Price.
Price hit his second nine-darter of the campaign but ended a 6-4 quarter-final loser to Stephen Bunting.
Aspinall moved above seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen into fourth spot with a 6-3 victory over the Dutchman before dispatching Bunting 6-1 and going four points clear after his final triumph.
If Van Gerwen does not claim the night win in Sheffield next week, Aspinall – who finished fifth in 2023 and 2024 – will claim the last play-off spot.
“All I have said to my family, I don’t want to come fifth again. I’ve put one foot in the finals. I play Michael [van Gerwen] again next week and the pressure is on him,” said the English player.
“It’s a do or die game. I save myself three hours of misery if I can beat him at 8pm, I’m going to the O2 which is a dream of mine. It’s in my hands.”
