shock

WHEN crusading journalist Chris Hansen told his guests to “have a seat” they really did need to sit down – because they were men who’d been caught discussing having sex with children.

His hit US TV show To Catch a Predator spawned hundreds of copycats across the globe, where online vigilante groups snare alleged paedophiles in similar stings.

Now Hansen is considering suing Robert Pattinson for the way the British actor has portrayed him in a controversial new movie called Primetime.

That’s because the Batman star’s Oscar-tipped film makes the reporter, who confronted potential child sex offenders in front of the cameras, the bad guy rather than the abusers his ground-breaking program exposed.

In the mid-2000s Hansen’s show To Catch a Predator worked with law enforcement and an online vigilante group to reveal the depraved men thinking of having sex with under 16s.

Nearly 200 men were arrested, including an agent for the Department of Homeland Security, a teacher and a firefighter.

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The NBC show ended in 2007 after a district attorney with an interest in teenage boys shot himself before Hansen could quiz him.

To many predator hunters Hansen is a hero.

But Batman star Pattinson depicts the 67-year-old journalist as an ego driven prima donna chiefly interested in ratings and getting To Catch a Predator onto prime time telly.

Emmy award winner Hansen, who is still bringing alleged child abusers to book on a different show, is angry about Primetime, which is in UK cinemas now.

He raged: “I think it’s an insult to the thousands of men and women who work hard every day to protect children from predators. 

“They turn something that is very positive, very challenging and not without risk into what is essentially a horror film.

“I guess it’s not surprising that a Hollywood studio would act in such an exploitative or predatory manner. 

“We’re talking about an industry that was led by perhaps one of the biggest predators to walk the planet, Harvey Weinstein.”

In 2004 when To Catch a Predator set its first trap, Hansen didn’t even know if any child abusers would fall into it.

Back then social media was still in its infancy, with Facebook only available to university students.

But an US online vigilante group called Perverted Justice realised that depraved men were using chat rooms on sites such as AOL and Yahoo to contact minors.

Hansen decided to link up with them to expose this danger. 

Perverted Justice used adult males and females who looked like children to set up profiles as under 15s in the chat rooms.

They then waited for the men to make the first move, with many of the digital deviants quickly sending explicit questions.

Perverted Justice’s decoys strung them along, hoping they would ask to visit them.

Rather than going to the ‘children’s’ homes, though, they were turning up at a suburban house filled with hidden cameras.

The decoy greeted them at the door, led them to the kitchen and made an excuse to leave the room.

At that point Hansen would walk in and ask them to “have a seat.”

He recalled: “In the first investigation, we didn’t know what was going to happen. We had partnered with Perverted Justice and I didn’t know if we were going to get anybody showing up. 

“Yet, there we were over two and a half days in Long Island and 17 guys surfaced, including a New York City firefighter.”

Even more potential sex offenders turned up for the next sting in the capital Washington DC.

One of them was rabbi David Kaye, who was later jailed for six and a half years for trying to solicit sex from a 13-year-old boy over the internet.

Wishing to make sure more of these men were brought to book, the NBC show teamed up with the police.

Cops in Harris County, Texas were waiting to arrest the men after Hansen confronted them in 2006.

This was dangerous work for all involved, because two of the alleged offenders were serving soldiers.

When one of the men did a runner he was tasered.

Hansen was praised in Congress for his work, with the show leading the House of Representatives to investigate the threat of online predators.

As To Catch a Predator’s ratings climbed and climbed, human rights lawyers started to question its ethics.

In many parts of the US it was an offence to attempt to entice a minor to have sex, but there were suggestions of entrapment. 

There were calls for catching criminals to be left to the professionals.

That’s exactly what Hansen’s show appeared to do when Perverted Justice realised that Texan prosecutor Bill Conradt was the man messaging someone pretending to be aged 13.

When Conradt wouldn’t go to the To Catch a Predator house in Murphy, Texas in November 2006 the police chief decided to go to him.

With Hansen’s TV crew following them, the armed officers smashed their way into his home.

But when they arrived Conradt shot himself dead.

The prosecutor’s relatives sued NBC, winning a £75million out of court settlement.

Charges against 23 other men in Murphy, Texas were dropped because the online chats had not taken place in the county.

To Catch a Predator was scrapped.

It is the build up to Conradt’s death that forms the tense finale to Primetime, which has been a hit at the US box office.

It depicts Hansen as desperate to snare the powerful district attorney at all costs.

Pattinson’s version of the veteran journalist sneers, snarls and shouts at his team.

Variety magazine described the actor’s portrait of Hansen “as a horror villain” and Hansen thinks it is “unhinged.”

Primetime shows little interest in the sex offenders and focuses more on the journalist’s alleged affair with a younger woman.

In 2011 the paparazzi caught the married father-of-two meeting TV news reporter Kristyn Caddell, who was 21 years his junior.

Hansen denied cheating on his wife Mary Joan, who divorced him seven years later.

He has talked about suing the film’s producers, which include Pattinson, but isn’t keen to get caught up in a legal case.

The actor defended his movie, commenting: “The fact that people are still discussing the ethics of it, of a 20-year-old TV show, it’s absolutely insane.” 

The reason the ethics of To Catch a Predator are being discussed so keenly is that predator hunting is even more relevant today than it was two decades ago.

According to the children’s charity the NSPCC over 9,000 child sex abuse offences in the UK a year “involved an online element.” 

Hansen continues to name and shame such offenders on an online TV channel called TruBlu.

It is estimated that 140 vigilante groups in the UK are also trying to snare paedophiles online.

Cambridge University academic Mark de Rond, who last year appeared in a documentary titled Predators about the impact of Hansen’s show, spent time working with these secretive organisations.

He questions the way that To Catch a Predator “commercialised” the “public humiliation” of the men the show caught.

But he defends the groups which are trying to expose online sexual offenders, telling The Sun: “Paedophilia is a crime, it’s kind of the lowest of the low and it’s the kind of crime that really almost any means can justify when you are trying to stop it.

”Because what can be more important to keep a kid safe?”

That, though, is not the perspective of Primetime.

Near the end of the film, Pattinson says to one of his doubters “your definition of bad and my definition of bad are vastly different.”

Many cinemagoers watching the movie are likely to think the same thing, but for different reasons.

Arsenal joined Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table after a 2-0 ⁠victory over Everton in torrential rain at ⁠the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, capitalising on City’s first defeat of the season earlier in the day.

City had left the door open when they fell to a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, where Nicolas Jackson struck twice to end the visitors’ perfect start to the league campaign.

Tottenham ⁠Hotspur stunned fourth-placed Chelsea 2-0 in only their second league victory at Stamford Bridge in 36 years, while Fulham beat Coventry City 1-0 for their second league victory of the season.

With the leaders beaten in Birmingham, Arsenal seized their chance to erase the three-point gap as goals from Ezri Konsa and Gabriel secured a comfortable win over Everton in ⁠soaking north London conditions.

The result moved Mikel Arteta’s side level on 21 points with City in what is already shaping up to be a closely fought title race after eight games, but one played under a cloud amid City’s off-field financial case.

Arsenal made their strong start count when Martin Odegaard’s corner caused chaos in the Everton box.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford kept out the initial danger after the ball was flicked on at the near post but, with Everton unable to clear, Konsa bundled home his first goal for the club from ‌a yard out in the seventh minute.

The set-piece goal was Arsenal’s first since May, ending a run of 13 games across all competitions without one.

“I’ve come to this stadium for many seasons; I know how tough it is to play against us,” Konsa said. “It’s not surprising to me.

“We are champions and to be champions you’ve got to win games consistently. This is our home, and we want to win as many games here as possible.”

Arsenal’s two milestone men combined to give the Gunners a two-goal cushion in the 68th minute, with Ben White marking his 200th appearance for the club by clipping a cross to the far post, where Gabriel headed home on his 200th Premier League appearance.

Everton are ninth in the table.

Jackson braces downs City

At Villa Park, Unai Emery’s team climbed to sixth on 11 points with their first home league victory ⁠this season and third successive league win over City, who are playing under the shadow of an independent commission’s findings that they ⁠committed 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules.

City have always denied any wrongdoing, and have appealed.

Jackson took advantage of two City blunders, opening the scoring in the sixth minute when defender Marc Guehi’s heavy touch allowed Villa captain John McGinn to pounce and feed the striker, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

Erling Haaland equalised soon after the break when he headed home Iliman Ndiaye’s clipped cross from a ⁠free kick.

But Jackson struck the winner on the hour when Ibrahim Mbaye surged down the right before cutting the ball back for his Senegal international teammate, whose shot sneaked under the diving body of keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

“It was incredible; we got the win, which is ⁠the most important thing. Man City are a strong team, the league leaders,” Jackson told TNT Sports. “It’s just ⁠the beginning; we’re trying to work game by game.”

Tottenham get rare win at Stamford Bridge

At Stamford Bridge, Spurs got on the scoresheet in the 77th minute when Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders punched a corner into his own net in his first league start.

Chelsea were reduced to 10 men when Cole Palmer was shown a second yellow card in the 80th minute for a late challenge on Conor Gallagher.

Mathys Tel sealed the victory for Spurs in the 87th when he gained ‌possession inside his own half before embarking on a surging run down the left, gliding past two defenders and firing a low shot from outside the box into the bottom corner.

“It’s very special, because we came here a lot of times and didn’t get a win,” said Tel. “And today, we made it together, all together, we showed great ‌mentality, ‌and I’m very happy about it.”

Spurs climbed to 12th with the win.

At Coventry, Fulham appeared ready to substitute Oscar Bobb before the winger produced a moment of quality in the 80th minute, driving into the box and curling a superb finish into the far corner.

Fulham are 13th in the table, while Coventry are 19th.

Prince WIlliam once dreamed about being a policeman before he turned his hand to DJing – but The Prince of Wales has been brutally honest about his talents during a surprise TV interview

Prince WIlliam has revealed his childhood dreams of becoming a DJ live on TV.

He joined Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham on The Graham Norton Show last night. During the episode William was asked whether he had wanted a different career growing up, other than becoming the future King, to which he surprised the audience by saying he had.

His dream role was once to be a policeman, and he even said he wanted to be a DJ. He said: “I did want to be a policeman when I was younger; I thought I could make a good policeman.” Graham interjected saying: “Well, you’re tall.” Then Robert chipped in: “There’s a bit more to it than that mate.”

Graham continued: “Well, you’d look good in the uniform and the hat.” Prince WIlliam added: “I wasn’t on the catwalk. Yeah, being a policeman I thought was quite cool and then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ – which didn’t go very well and I came up with a name, I was called DJ Xara with an ‘X’, it wasn’t good.”

Graham asked: “Did you DJ at school parties?” To which Prince William said: “No, I didn’t, I never got that good.”

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The audience is heard laughing along, prompting many royal fans to take to X to comment on the prince’s sense of humour, with many referring to William as “funny”.

One fan commented: “Prince William is articulate, funny and an intelligent decent man,” another added: “Prince William is pretty funny and bet he would look good in a police uniform.”

Another added: “I [red-heart emoji] seeing people realise just how charismatic and funny Prince William is, and that he has absolutely no problem laughing at himself. This clip of him on The Graham Norton Show is the perfect example of that. The poor man was absolutely red in the face from laughing so much.”

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EastEnders fans are pretty sure they know the real reason Jack Branning isn’t on speaking terms with brother Max at New Year, after a shocking twist concerning his daughter Amy

No one seems to fight more than the Branning brothers, but EastEnders have set Jack and Max Branning up for a major clash by New Year’s Day.

The flashforward that aired at the start of the year showed that Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) no longer talks to his brother Max (Jake Wood) and fans think they know why after a shocking twist in tonight’s episode. Over the past few weeks, Jack’s daughter Amy (Ellie Dadd) has been groomed by Craig Ingram (Matthew James-Bailey).

Craig has been pushing Amy for money and she was determined to empty her trust fund, which held £100,000 in it. Needing the signature of one of the trustees, she turned to Uncle Max.

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Max, who has money troubles of his own, seemed keen to help Amy – for a cut. Though he didn’t know why Amy wanted the money, he later saw her getting into Craig’s car. Max clearly sensed something was up and rushed to tell Jack… only to change his mind.

The slimy businessman chose not to say anything about his niece getting into the car of an older man because he still wanted money. He told Amy that he would help her get the money, but it had to be a secret.

Fans are now sure this is the reason Jack hates Max at New Year – if something happens to Amy and Jack finds out what Max did, he will blame his brother, who could have said something and didn’t.

One fan said: “So Jack and Max aren’t on speaking terms on NYD because he’s gonna help Amy get the money to run off with Craig, isn’t he?”

Another said: “I could also see max and jack not being on speaking terms due to the fact max uses her trust fund money. Either or is possible.”

A third slammed Max for his actions saying they weren’t surprised no one seemed to like Max on New Year’s Day: “It’s never about anyone else it’s always me me me with that guy then he makes himself look good by helping Jack break into Craig’s flat . No wonder everyone is gunning for him at New Years .”

On 1 January 2027, it isn’t just Jack who seems to hate Max. Peter Beale (Thomas Law) also isn’t speaking to his father-in-law and refuses to attend his wedding.

Likewise, Max is arrested for soliciting a murder and claims he’s being set up, implying someone else hates him enough to want him in prison. Finally, a mystery gunman takes Max’s children Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and Oscar (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) hostage and forces him to pick one to save.

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At the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles late Monday, several green card holders arrested in a crackdown on alleged California voter fraud expressed confusion over the charges — with some saying they had no recollection of registering to vote, as Trump administration officials accuse them of doing.

Among them was Ana Domínguez, 60, a native of El Salvador living in Long Beach as a lawful permanent resident. Federal authorities accused her Monday of fraudulently registering to vote in July 2006 and then lying about it in her naturalization paperwork in March 2026.

Domínguez said she did not have any memory of registering to vote.

Another man accused of the same crimes as Domínguez said the same: He wasn’t aware of ever registering to vote, as federal prosecutors claimed he had.

Both were among the 28 people charged with federal election-related crimes Monday, including fraudulent voter registration and making false statements in a naturalization application. Federal prosecutors and high-ranking Justice Department officials had touted the arrests during a news conference hours before as proof that California elections are corrupted by noncitizen voters — as President Trump has long alleged.

State officials said the isolated instances of noncitizens voting, if accurate, are not evidence of widespread voter fraud. They also raised questions as to whether the charges could be trusted to be accurate — citing similar accusations being disproved elsewhere in the country.

Election experts have said many instances of noncitizens registering to vote are a result of administrative error or confusion on the part of the immigrant — not intentional criminality.

“We know from past experience that sometimes people register to vote accidentally, as when there is a mistake at the DMV,” Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, wrote Monday in a blog post. “There is only a crime if the government can prove willful violations of federal law.”

Four of the defendants charged Monday had initial court appearances later that afternoon. Beforehand, more than a dozen of their loved ones milled around the federal courthouse in downtown L.A., antsy and clearly worried.

One woman, her baby and young daughter in tow, struggled to find the right courtroom. Another woman — Domínguez’s daughter — cried in the hallway as she waited for her mother’s case to get called up. When Domínguez moved to stand before the judge, she blew a kiss to her husband and daughter in the second row. She wore a black back brace and her legs were cuffed.

A third defendant — Omar Muñoz, 72, a lawful permanent resident from Belize whose arrest at his home in Commerce was captured by photographers in images transmitted around the world — shuffled into a court room shackled at the waist, his feet cuffed, still wearing the red and black pajama pants he’d been arrested in.

Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote to a processing facility at Federal Building in Los Angeles on Monday.

(Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Muñoz was charged with fraudulently registering to vote in September 2019, and then voting in 2020, twice in 2022 and again in 2024. He is also accused of lying on his application to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, when he claimed to have never falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen in the past.

In the court room, Muñoz held a hand over his heart as he waved to his family in the first row of the gallery.

Hasen, the UCLA expert, wrote that the government’s blasting out images of Muñoz being arrested was clearly “meant to convey that the problem of noncitizen voting in California is both pervasive and serious, crimes that are undetected by willfully ignorant California election officials.”

But the reality, he wrote, “is likely far different,” with voter fraud limited to isolated cases, some with less nefarious intent.

First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said Monday that the cases represent strong federal work to ensure that noncitizens aren’t negating the votes of eligible U.S. voters — a problem he said California officials have refused to recognize despite federal authorities providing the proof.

Essayli dismissed the idea that those charged may have been unaware of what they were doing. “You have to go out of your way to register to vote, it’s not something that just happens to you,” Essayli said.

José Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz, 42, a Mexican national and West Adams resident, appeared in court wearing a reflective vest with the name of a landscaping company, blue jeans and boots with the American flag on them. He’d been on his way to work when he was arrested.

During the hearings, the defendants only spoke to acknowledge that they reviewed and understood the charges against them. In every case, the federal prosecutor said the government was not seeking detention.

The magistrate judge ordered the four released on personal recognizance and said they were not required to be under supervision. They are all set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on November 9. Their deputy federal public defenders did not respond to a request for comment.

Lliani Orantes, Muñoz’s daughter and a nurse who was born in the U.S., said her father had been hauled out of the family home by federal authorities after they swarmed and cordoned off the block. She said the family was rushing to figure out what happened, including whether Muñoz could have been confused with younger relatives of the same name, including a U.S.-born son who is a registered voter.

Orantes also expressed frustration with the handling of her father’s arrest — to which federal authorities had clearly alerted some media, who were brought along for the raid.

She said her father is recovering from cervical surgery, rotator cuff repair on a shoulder and a double knee replacement, and that he was pulled out of the family’s home “like he was a dog” as part of what she described as a “political ploy, an example used for the operation” — which federal authorities dubbed “Operation Protect the Vote.”

“They’re trying to instill fear in society,” she said.

“We have so much more in the world to be dealing with, do we really need to focus on these little things that could be taken care of in a different fashion? In a different way? Like, hey, somebody from immigration visit the home,” she said.

Acting United States Deputy Atty. Gen. Trent McCotter speaks at a news conference Monday to announce charges against 28 people in California accused of illegally registering to vote as noncitizens.

(David Butow/For The Times)

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta — who is defending the state and top election officials for the state and Los Angeles County against a lawsuit from the Justice Department alleging they are not treating alleged voter fraud by noncitizens seriously enough — said Monday that voting illegally is wrong and “one off, isolated incidents” of it should be prosecuted.

But Bonta denied that there is widespread voter fraud in the state, called 28 cases brought out of the 23 million registered voters in California a “drop in the bucket,” and said he’d be watching how those cases play out in court.

“We’ll see what the facts show, and whether they’ll have to drop charges or whether they’ll be able to prosecute,” he said.

About 3 p.m. Monday, the four defendants at the downtown courthouse were released and exited the court room, some to family members waiting in the hallway to hug them.

Domínguez wiped away tears as she recounted her arrest, showing bruises on her wrists from the handcuffs.

“They were accusing me of voter fraud since 2006,” she said. Domínguez said the accusations don’t even make sense considering she has never voted.

“If I would have committed all those frauds about voting registration and whatever they’re saying, since 2006, wouldn’t you imagine that I would have been voting all these other years?” she asked.

In a visual presentation at their news conference, federal authorities alleged that 21 of the 28 people charged had actually voted. Domínguez was not one of them.

Domínguez said she’s been a lawful permanent resident since the late 1980s, and that she applied for U.S. citizenship earlier this year. As part of the application process, she said she told an immigration agent that the only people registered to vote in her household were her husband, who previously became a U.S. citizen, and her daughter, who was born in the country.

Since then, Domínguez said she has just been waiting on the citizenship ceremony, “but it never came through.”

Instead, she was arrested Monday when she was about to leave for work as an administrative assistant.

“I never, ever in my entire life … thought this would ever happen to me,” she said.

Acting U.S. Deputy Atty. Gen. Trent McCotter stands next to a display showing photos of people charged with illegally registering to vote during a news conference on Monday.

(Jae C. Hong/AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Muñoz and his family gathered outside the courthouse. Muñoz, who declined to comment on the charges against him, said he’d been up to have coffee early that morning when he heard the commotion outside. Agents said if he didn’t open the door, they’d break it down.

He described seeing helicopters, at least eight cars and several agents from different agencies descending on his home, and recalled thinking, “What movie am I in?”

“That’s a lot of money. Taxpayers paying for that,” he said. “They could have sent me a letter saying report to the court.”

Muñoz — who said he came to the U.S. legally in 1975 and has “paid all my taxes” since — said he explained to the arresting agents that he’d had six surgeries recently and they “didn’t care.” He said he didn’t learn about the charges against him until four hours later.

Muñoz’s son, Omar Muñoz Jr., questioned why federal agents didn’t take his father’s age and ailments into consideration.

“We understand that there’s a procedure that has to be addressed at court. But 5 in the morning, handcuffed? It’s just the way everything was done, and what my mom had to go through. It’s not just an impact on my father’s health, but also on my mom,” he said. “There is a law, we understand that. But innocent until proven guilty.”

Muñoz’s wife, Esmeralda, echoed her son’s questions about why so many agents were deployed to their home.

“Seriously? All these people just to come for an elderly person,” she said she told a federal agent. “It’s unbelievable.”

Miranda Hart broke down in tears on the latest episode of Celebrity Traitors following the exit of Joe Lycett and spoke candidly of the connection they had struck up following her illness

Miranda Hart broke down in tears on the latest episode of Celebrity Traitors following the exit of Joe Lycett.

The comedienne, 53, had a hugely successful career in the 2010s with her eponymous sitcom but had to take time out of the spotlight after struggling with chronic fatigue. She had struck up such a close bond with fellow Faithful Joe that when he was banished from the castle, she was visibly moved.

She said: “I can’t believe how emotional I’m getting. Wow. Connection and laughter and joy are bigger than this game and to meet someone and just play and laugh – it’s all us humans need.

“I’ve had times in my life when I haven’t had that through illness and it’s brought up that in a silly sensitive soul.”

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Speaking to Traitor James Acaster, who comforted her with a hug, she said: “I haven’t played like that in so long. The floodgates just opened i guess, it suddenly wasn’t about a silly Faithful or Traitor.”

The TV star previously told how she had suffered a “tick-borne illness” while living in the USA as a teenager. At one point, she was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, before eventually being diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2020.

The Celebrity Traitors will mark Miranda’s first mainstream television appearance in six years, and she has now explained that she jumped at the chance to take part.

She said: “My decision making in life generally, and certainly work, is follow the joy. I haven’t done much TV work for a long time, having only recently come out of long-term ill health issues and when I was offered this, my whole body sort of relaxed, I smiled, and I just wanted to jump about like a schoolgirl with joy.

“It’s just fun. It’s outdoors, it’s games. All the stuff I love. It’s play basically. And I’m passionate about encouraging people to play more generally, and this game is that in spades.

“It’s a brilliant television show – the only flaw in taking part is that as a fan of the show it will be less fun to watch it with myself in it!”

Despite her new lease of life, the former Call the Midwife star, who secretly got married in late 2024, is still living with elements of her illness and is struggling to a point but has been able to manage her symptoms and insisted she felt well enough to join Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC game show.

She added: “I’m still living with elements of ME, and that brings fatigue and pain to manage, but I have come to a point where I feel well enough to step out, and that’s also partly why I’m doing this.

“The joy of mucking about on television again will hopefully outweigh some of the challenges. And I think it will be challenging on my body, so it’ll be interesting, and it’ll take some courage as this is a big next step.

“When you live with a chronic illness, it’s invisible, so people don’t know that you’re sitting there in pain. But then it reminds you that everybody’s got their thing. So, I’m also really looking forward to making friends and looking after each other and hopefully they can carry me up a hill or whatever we’re going to have to do!”

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MICHELLE Keegan may have gripped the nation with her new ITV drama The Blame, but there’s one surprising TV appearance that has been doing the rounds on social media again.

It’s not the actress fronting a Netflix mini-series or portraying a soldier in Our Girl, but a forgotten stint on The Jeremy Kyle Show.

Michelle was technically on the now-axed chat show – but as her Coronation Street character, Tina McIntyre.

The soap hilariously did a crossover with Jeremy Kyle’s eponymous show for a special episode back in 2010.

The show tackled family and relationship issues and saw members of the British public work out their drama on air.

And who has more drama than the Platt family?

OH HELLE

Michelle Keegan enjoys public romp with hunky police officer in ITV’s The Blame

show switch

This Morning duo revealed as new Masked Singer panellists ahead of rival twist

During the crossover episode, Michelle’s character Tina appears on the show as her boyfriend, David (Jack P. Shepherd) is accusing her of having a relationship with his brother Nick (Ben Price).

In a clip from the episode, which has been unearthed by TikTok users and is now being circulated around the app, the trio are seen at loggerheads.

“Shut up David,” Tina is seen shouting over the stage as the pair go back and forth, with Jeremy getting involved.

Later, Nick and David are seen fighting over Tina as Nick slams: “She doesn’t like him. She doesn’t fancy you, she doesn’t, it’s over!”

“You think you can fly in, Nick, and take a piece of her,” hits back David, as Tina breaks down into tears and he slams her “waterworks”.

A crying Tina then tells Jeremy: “I’m sick of him, he ruins everything. Even the thought of accusing me of sleeping with Nick, it’s not important to me right now.

“And he’s got a cheek to actually question it – you’ve got a cheek David.”

The hilarious crossover, which was to celebrate the 1000th episode of the Jeremy Kyle Show, came in the middle of Michelle’s time on Coronation Street, which she joined in 2008.

As the clip has been circulating around Tiktok, many users on the video streaming app were confused as to whether it was real or for a skit.

One user said: “If I didn’t know this was a special episode with actors, I would’ve thought this was real, it’s well good 👏😂”

“I would not have recognised her…what year is this???,” said a second of Michelle.

A third praised: “Corrie was on another level creating this with JK, it makes it look so more real.”

Michelle was just 23 at the time of filming the scenes.

She eventually left the soap in 2014, as Tina was killed off.

CELEBRITY Big Brother’s Chloe Khan has revealed that her designer clothes have been stolen.

The reality star, 35, is now begging fans for help to find her stolen possessions and has even offered a £10k reward.

Sharing snaps of the items that are now missing, Chloe made a plea to her fans and friends.

In the photos there were designer shoes from Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel jeans, Gucci miniskirts, Fendi outfits, Louis Vuitton bikinis and a selection of high end designer bags.

Over the top of the snaps, Chloe penned: “STOLEN. PLEASE SHARE. £10,000 reward for discreet valuable information.”

In the caption of her post she added: “EVERYTHING I OWN HAS BEEN STOLEN . PLEASE SHARE AND MAKE THEM TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

TUBE ATTACK

Chloe Khan claims gang tried to steal her dog and jewellery in Tube mugging

FUR REAL

Chloe Khan ‘traumatised’ after finding an animal’s HEAD attached to her coat

“In the early hours of 2nd of October. In Tring, Hertfordshire. I really didn’t want to post this and have been trying to deal with this for a week privately but I need the internets help.

“Will explain everything in a separate post. But someone must have been offered them by now. My boyfriend kindly put a £10,000.00 reward for someone who can give us valuable information/ been offered them / knows who did it.”

She continued: “And the information you give me will be discreet and undisclosed. If you see anyone in my stuff online please tag me / forward to me . It’s possible they bought and did not know it’s stolen.

“There is so so much more stuff then the photos but basically every designer item I have ever posted with has been taken.”

Fans flocked to the comment section to support Chloe in her hour of need.

One person wrote: “This is just absolutely awful and terrifying! I’m so sorry you’re going through this beautiful girl, sending you love and I hope you get your possessions back!”

“So awful you can’t have anything nice these days sad world we live in I hope you find out who did it and get your things back. Sending lots of love,” said a second.

“Posting expensive clothes and bags etc unfortunately makes people a target, I would be looking at your inner circle to be honest,” wrote a third.

Back in March, Chloe claimed a gang attempted to steal her dog and jewellery in a terrifying tube mugging as she said “I thought I’d get stabbed.”

Taking to social media in the spring, she told fans she was travelling back from Manchester to London.

When she arrived at Euston, she decided to jump on the tube instead of sitting in the back of an Uber for half an hour.

She explained in a TikTok video that a “gang” of men got on the tube a few stops after her.

The star told how the men were trying to touch her dog, Dior, and attempted to talk to her.

Chloe said: “I was trying to turn away from them [the men]even though they were sitting right opposite me.

“I’ve got her [the dog] in my arms, my LV case and LV bag and stuff because I’ve been travelling. I clung onto them because I felt like something weird was gonna happen.

“I felt like I was gonna get stabbed or something weird was gonna happen.”

Away from the TV sets and shows, Stephen Mulhern’s had his fair share of drama and heartbreak over the years

He’s one of the country’s beloved presenters, but Stephen Mulhern has faced his fair share of drama and heartbreak in real life.

The TV star and magician has become a staple on screens since shooting to fame. His big break came at 20, when he appeared on The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross in the late 90s.

Since then, he has remained booked and busy: from hosting Dancing on Ice and the reboot of Deal or No Deal, to performing magic shows up and down the country.

Away from the TV sets and stages, though, what do we know about Stephen’s life? Who is his famous ex-partner? What was the ‘worrying’ illness he had to endure? Here’s everything we know about Stephen Mulhern.

Stephen’s shock suspension

Before becoming a national treasure, Stephen Mulhern started out as a keen magician and was the youngest member of the Magic Circle. The iconic magic organisation broke with tradition and allowed a 17-year-old Stephen at the time into their ranks

However, Stephen ended up getting suspended from the organisation after he broke one of their rules – never reveal your tricks. The presenter taught viewers a card trick on the TV show ‘Finger Tips.’ His membership was later reinstated.

“The trick was to put a box on your head and turn this ratchet so it looks like your head is spinning, so I did it on Fearne, and then showed them how to make it,” he told Heat Magazine in 2015.

Stephen added, “Well, the Magic Circle deemed it too good to reveal, so they suspended me.”

Stephen’s father’s death

Stephen was left devastated in November 2024 when his father, Christopher, died at the age of 76. Stephen developed an interest in comedy and magic from his father, who taught him tricks as a child.

“Magic was my dad’s hobby — and he was great at it,” he told The Sun in 2025 before adding: “Rather than a bedtime story, he would do a magic trick. He’d make a handkerchief vanish and appear under the pillow.”

And during an appearance on his ITV show, The Accidental Tourist in 2025, Stephen opened up about his father. Before setting off on his adventure, Stephen confided in the cameras: “If I were to tell my dad this, my dad passed away at the start of the year.”

Overcome with emotion, he had to pause the interview, apologising with a simple: “Sorry.” He then added, “[My dad] wouldn’t believe it. I hope he would be proud.”

Stephen’s health crisis

In November 2024, just weeks after his dad’s death, Stephen found himself in a health scare after reportedly collapsing at a Pizza Express and was subsequently rushed to the hospital.

Stephen was suspected of having had an adverse reaction to medication, which was exacerbated after consuming alcohol with his meal. He had also undergone a procedure earlier that day, which required anesthesia.

A source told The Mirror at the time: “Stephen has had an incredibly tough time over the past few weeks. His beloved father recently passed away, which has hit him hard and has been understandably very stressful.

“In addition, he had a procedure which took place yesterday (Wednesday). Following the anaesthetic that was administered, he had a few drinks, which made him unwell, and he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. He is now back home recovering.”

Furthermore, a similar medical emergency in March 2022 saw him hospitalised again and needing several weeks to recover under ‘doctor’s orders’. This sparked concern among fans who noticed his absence from episodes of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

After missing three consecutive weeks of TV, Stephen took to X, previously known as Twitter, to provide an update to his followers: “Hello all, Sorry I’ve been quiet on here recently, and thank you for all your lovely messages. I’ve had some time off and been resting up on doctor’s orders.”

Stephen’s famous ex

Stephen previously dated EastEnders star Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell. The pair reportedly met during a 2008 pantomime production of Snow White, where Barton starred as the titular character and Mulhern played Muddles.

Despite keeping their romance under wraps, they parted ways amicably in 2011. Stephen also spoke about the relationship reaching a “natural end” in a candid chat with Celebs Now back in 2018.

He shared, “Last time I went on a date was about four years ago. That makes me sound really sad! I need a life. I need to stop working so much.”

Meanwhile, in 2024, Stephen was romantically linked to This Morning’s Josie Gibson after they were seen hand in hand outside a studio during the finale taping of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

The duo, Stephen and Josie, appeared rather close, igniting rumours of a secret romance. However, Josie addressed the rumours and told OK! Magazine that she and Stephen are nothing more than “best friends”.

Deal or No Deal airs Monday to Friday at 4pm on ITV1.

The Belarusian’s exit follows top seed Rybakina losing to unseeded Charaeva in her first match as world number one.

Aryna Sabalenka was swatted aside in straight sets by 34th-ranked Nikola Bartunkova in the third round of the China Open, leaving the event without its top two seeds as world number one Elena Rybakina was ousted in the second round.

Czech player Bartunkova, 20, sent down four aces to beat the former world number one 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 35 minutes on Sunday.

“I focused on myself, to be calm,” Bartunkova said.

“She’s a legend … so I’m really happy that I won the match,” she said of the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Bartunkova next faces Austria’s Sinja Kraus in the round of 16.

Second-seeded Sabalenka squandered five chances to break serve in the sixth game of the first set, with Bartunkova strong on defence and firing deep.

The 28-year-old from Belarus threw on a cap for the eighth game of the first set as the women switched between playing in the shade and the sun, but it did not turn the tide in her favour.

A frustrated Sabalenka tossed her racquet at a break down in the fourth game of the second set, and lost on the first match point when she returned into the net.

Earlier on Saturday, Elena Rybakina – who replaced Sabalenka as the world number one last month – was ousted by Alina Charaeva in the second round.

Top seed Alexander Zverev was scheduled to play Novak Djokovic later on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the men’s 500-level event also taking place.

The 39-year-old Serbian great enters the match with an extraordinary unbeaten streak in Beijing, but Zverev — last month’s US Open champion — is in the running for the top men’s ranking.