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THE NIECE of Hollywood star Rob Lowe has penned a heartbreaking tribute to her sister following the teenager’s tragic death.

Fiona Lowe, 13, the daughter of director Chad Lowe, 58, and his wife Kim Painter, 52, died by suicide in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Her family confirmed the tragedy in a social media post with her grief-stricken parents paying tribute to “the light of our lives.”

Now, Fiona’s elder sister Mabel, 17, has penned her own heartbreaking tribute and made a touching vow to her.

Taking to Instagram, Mabel shared a series of childhood photographs of the pair of them, including playing on the beach, dancing together at home, and happy family picnics and outings.

“I love you so much Fiona,” she wrote in the caption.

“I wish your short time here was easier and I hope your mind is at ease now.

“I will honor you forever and keep your memory alive. I love you, I hope you knew just how much.”

Her mother Kim commented below saying, “Oh Mabel. I love you so much.”

Meanwhile, fellow celebrities sent their love and well wishes to the family that has been shattered by Fiona’s loss just weeks before her 14th birthday.

“Bless you dear Mabel. My deepest condolences to you and the family,” actor Jeremy Renner wrote.

Meanwhile, Grey’s Anatomy’s Jessica Capshaw said, “What a beautiful tribute to your sister.

“I have had you and your family in my thoughts and prayers and I’m sending you all so much love.”

Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson, who starred in the show alongside Mabel’s father Chad, simply commented with dove and prayer emojis.

Meanwhile, her Emmy-nominated uncle is said to have “dropped everything” to race to his brother’s side as the family was plunged into grief and shock.

A source told journalist Rob Shuter that “Chad is his little brother, and the second he heard, Hollywood stopped mattering.”

“There was nowhere else Rob was going to be except Chad’s side.

“Rob knows there are no words that can fix this,” another source said.

“He can’t take away Chad’s grief. What he can do is be present, protect his brother and make absolutely certain he never has to face this alone.”

Chad and Kim also share their youngest daughter, ten-year-old Nixie.

“We are deeply heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Fiona,” the Lowe family wrote in a statement on September 29.

“She was a loving young girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance.

“She was adored by her sisters, and she was deeply loved by her parents.

“In fact, she was the light of our lives. Her passing is devastating for our entire family and we ask for prayers and privacy at this time.”

The family ended the statement with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and her cause of death was confirmed by a medical examiner on Thursday.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.

AN international megastar is being lined up to headline Brighton and Hove Pride.

The Sun can exclusively reveal how Jennifer Lopez is deep in discussions to take to the stage for her first full-length UK gig in 15 years.

The Jenny From The Block hitmaker, 57,  has been approached by organisers to perform at the event, which takes place next summer.

It comes after the high profile bash, which raises funds for LGBTQ+ charities, has previously welcomed a series of superstars onto its stage, including Diana Ross, Paris Hilton, Raye, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears.

A source said: “The event gets bigger and bigger every year and organisers are in the planning stages of booking talent and have reached out to JLo’s team, everyone is really excited to pull it off.

“She’d be a perfect headliner, they’re just working out schedules.”

YES SIR

Jennifer Lopez takes inspiration from Maya Jama in The Gentleman with new look

GOING FOR GOLD

J-Lo & Jennifer Lawrence stun in sheer gowns as they lead Golden Globes glam

After headlining World Pride in Washington, D.C. in 2025, Lopez revealed her priorities in her life changed.

She said: “I played Pride last year and I felt like it was the beginning of the new chapter of my life.

“The LGBTQ+ community, for me, has always been a loyal and big part of my fanbase.”

J.Lo last headlined a gig in the country on her Dance Again World Tour when she played London’s O2 Arena in 2012.

This year, Raye and superstar Diana Ross headlined the festivities which are held every year at Preston Park in Brighton in August.

The year before, Girls Aloud played their only UK festival appearance as part of their 2024 reunion at the event.

The anonymous arts group known as Secret Handshake has gone international with its piquant form of satirical anti-Trump artwork, this time placing a playable video game console called “Nuuk ‘Em All” in, yes, Nuuk, Greenland. The group sent a picture of the console to The Times. It sits alone on a barren cliff above the sea, with a smallish iceberg visible in the water below. The peaked roofs of a nearby town can be seen in the distance.

Secret Handshake has created more than a dozen pieces of guerrilla art mocking Trump since last year — all of which appeared on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., until July when a golden, 10-foot tall “Iran War Participation Trophy,” cropped up in New York City. That piece arrived at the Minnesota State Capitol in early August.

Greenland is ambitious though, even for a collective that revels in creating outsize splashes with its work (see the Trump-Epstein “Best Friends Forever” sculpture). Asked via email how the group transported the full-size video game console to the country — which has weathered a series of unwelcome overtures from Trump to become part of the U.S. since he retook office early last year — a representative wrote, “You have no idea — it was honestly very difficult. A true ‘planes, trains, and automo … ships’ situation. Did you know that the arctic is actually quite far? And they’re not used to whipping over arcade games.”

“Nuuk ‘Em All” is the second satirical video game Secret Handshake has released since July when it first introduced the world to “Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell,” which finds Trump waging a futile war with Iran while making all kinds of bumbling choices including whether to order a Diet Coke or bomb the country.

The game arrives in Greenland shortly after the Trump administration signed an agreement with the country and Denmark to expand the U.S. military presence in the Arctic while seemingly dropping threats to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Three additional cabinets of the game were simultaneously placed at the D.C. War Memorial on the National Mall, and can be played online on any old computer. The game begins with an animation of the White House, its lawn covered with cranes and backhoes. “The year is 2026,” the scrolling text reads. “The White House is under constant construction, reconstruction and construction of the reconstruction.”

The action moves to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago headquarters where Trump is approached by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who apologizes for waking Trump from his “tactical nap” to tell him about some “issues with Iran.” Trump asks if the Strait of Hormuz is 100% open and Hegseth replies, “Yes, sir. It’s so open that we’ve used up all our missiles, and gas now costs more than bourbon.”

I haven’t had the chance to play the game for long, but Secret Handshake’s email details what to expect, “In this game, Iran is going great (spoiler — it’s not), so Trump heads north to check on his new frozen frontier. Along the way, he battles unthinkable evils like Fully Vaccinated Children, Woke Yetis, and the happiest people on Earth, the Danish. All the while, the player’s greatest challenge is trying to keep President Trump from falling back asleep.”

Secret Handshake didn’t have any information about how Greenland has responded to the game, with the rep noting, “I think there is a lot of hope and relief over there right now that this agreement is the end of the barrage of bullying and threats from the US. But our feeling—and I truly hope we’re wrong— is that it’s just the beginning. Especially with Trump refusing to answer if an invasion is completely off the table now.”

Regardless of what happens in Greenland, the rep continued, “the thing I really like the most about this new game is that between all the satire, and jokes, and silliness, it actually ends up back in reality — the character is still stuck in an endless loop of war in Iran. And that, sadly, is still just as true as when we released the Iran game almost half a year ago.”

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt screaming into the void. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Boston Marriage
David Mamet’s 1999 epigram-filled comedy about two women sorting out their affairs while maintaining their standard of living at the turn of the 20th century. Directed by Bernardo Cubría. With Nicole Pacent, Heather Wake and Dulce Valencia.
8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays (and one Thursday, Oct. 22): 2 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 24. European House LA, 12355 Rye Street, Studio City. ticketsource.com

Yvette Janine Jackson With Radio Opera Workshop
The ensemble integrates electronics, acoustic instruments, voice and images to produce new music by the award-winning composer and sound artist. Presented by CAP UCLA in collaboration with the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities.
8 p.m. The Nimoy, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

The Little Women Ballet in action.

(Edie Tyebkhan-Melissa O’Gara)

Little Women Ballet
The dance troupe’s Autumn Immersive Experience brings audiences into the world of Louisa May Alcott through movement amid Victorian Era architecture.
6:30 p.m. Friday, 3 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Heritage Square Museum, 800 Homer St., Montecito Heights. littlewomenballet.org

Outside Mullingar
An Irish romance written by Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley that premiered on Broadway in 2014 finds a middle-age man and woman, longtime neighbors, circling an uneasy relationship in uncertain times. Michael Kirby, Liza Seneca, Armin Shimerman and Kitty Swink star. Directed by Matthew Leavitt.
8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 25. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org

Gretchen Parlato
The jazz singer-songwriter performs music from her new album, “The Wise Ones,” joined by her band Alan Hampton on bass and guitar, Mark Guiliana on drums and percussion and Gerald Clayton on piano and keyboards.
8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

SATURDAY

Isaiah Collier performs Saturday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

(Johanna Brinckman)

Isaiah Collier Plays Coltrane
The rising jazz musician and composer pays tribute to the saxophone legend by applying his own sound and reaffirming the music’s ability to evolve. 
7:30 p.m. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

Democracy Sessions 2026
Music collective Wild Up expands upon its successful election-themed 2024 event examining how art can function as a democratic practice in this time of censorship, polarization and shifting public trust. The new month-long festival was developed in partnership with MOCA, REDCAT and CalArts, with related programming independently conceived and presented by Clockshop, 2220 Arts + Archives, Human Resources, Performance Art Museum and Living Earth, for the run-up to the Nov. 3 midterms.
Saturday through Nov. 3, various locations. wildup.org

A calavera mask designed by artist Leo Limon and a paper marigold for Self Help Graphics & Art’s Dia de los Muertos Community Art Workshop Series in October 2026.

(Self Help Graphics & Art)

Día de los Muertos Community Art Workshop Series
Self-Help Graphics & Art launches the holiday season with five free Saturday community art workshops. Participants of all ages will learn crafts to honor ancestors and loved ones. Each week features papel picado (tissue paper with cutout shapes) and a paper marigold craft activity, plus a special project: Stamp collages with SHG Lead Printer Dewey Tafoya (Oct. 3); Calavera (skull) masks featuring a design by artist Leo Limon (Oct. 10); Recuerdo (memory) posters with Victoria Delgadillo (Oct. 17); “Living candle” mini paintings with Ivan Zuno (Oct. 24); and Candle decorating with Nupur Behera (Oct. 31).
Noon-3 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31. East Los Angeles County Library, Community Room, 4837 E. 3rd St. selfhelpgraphics.com

Woof
A revised version of “Go Play,” written and directed by Barra Grant, featuring the same loquacious dogs with new insights into their clueless owners.
Previews, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 10; opens 7 p.m. Oct. 10; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 8. Odyssey Theater, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

SUNDAY

Come From Away
The award-winning Broadway hit musical, written by the husband-and-wife team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein, tells the true story of a Canadian town that sheltered thousands of airline passengers whose flights had been diverted on Sept. 11, 2001. Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, with music direction by Rod Bagheri.
Previews, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Oct. 9; opens Oct. 10 through Nov. 8. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. Pasadena. anoisewithin.org

WEDNESDAY

The Best Medicine
Caroline Aaron stars in the West Coast premiere of this solo comedy by playwright Robin Gerber and directed by Jane E. Unger.
Previews, 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; Opening, 8 p.m. Saturday; 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 15. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

B+ Mom (An Enthusiastic Guide to Imperfect Parenting)
Melissa Greenspan wrote and performs this solo comedy directed by Guy Picot.
7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through Oct. 28. Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, upstairs on the Henry Murray Stage, 7657 Melrose Ave. roguemachinetheatre.org

Charlemagne Palestine
The Brick and Piano Spheres presents the visual artist and musician performing “Strumming Music,” which he describes as “an evolutionary liquid sound continuum process” and performed hundreds of versions over the last 50+ years.
8 p.m. The Brick, 518 N. Western Ave. the-brick.org

THURSDAY

Ronald K. Brown / Evidence
The landmark African diasporic dance company led by choreographer Brown recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. West Coast fans will have the chance to experience the New York-based company’s unique blend of contemporary, African and African American dance traditions with this program of four pieces that includes tributes to some of Brown’s most enduring collaborators. (Eloise Rollins-Fife)
7:30 p.m. Thursday-Oct. 10. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Wives
East West Players presents the Southern California premiere of Jaclyn Backhaus’ feminist comedy examining a selection of “great men” in 16th century France, 1920s India and 1960s Idaho. A primarily South Asian and South Asian American cast, under the direction of Hypokrit Live Arts NYC co-founder and artistic director Arpita Mukherjee, brings this redress of women’s erasure in history to astringent comic life. (Charles McNulty)
Through Nov. 1, check website for specific dates. East West Players, Union Center for the Arts, David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 Judge John Aiso St. eastwestplayers.org/wives

Yamel Cucuy
Austin’s Glass Half Full Theatre returns with this production, last seen in L.A. at the Latino Theater Company’s 2024 Encuentro theater festival. The tale of a girl on the verge of adulthood facing the threat of immigration agents and haunted by specters from Mexican folklore is told through live actors, sophisticated puppetry and an original score of Indigenous percussion. Written by Gricelda Silva, Indigo Rael and Caroline Reck, with additional writing by Jesus I. Valles and Connor Hopkins. Directed by Reck.
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 1. Los Angeles Theatre Center 514 S Spring St. latinotheaterco.org

The SoCal scene

Wendy Raigosa, 27, Long Beach, uses repurposed materials in her art project at Kate Ingold’s bi-monthly Samizdat Sundays workshop at the Wende Museum.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Times contributor Miranda Huang wrote about bi-monthly classes at the Wende Museum called “Samizdat Sundays” in which teacher Kate Ingold teaches participants samizdat, “a practice in which Soviet dissidents hand-typed literature, criticism and poetry to bypass state censorship. Each week, Ingold opens the workshop with a new prompt related to speech suppression — an issue with renewed currency today.”

Vincent Price Art Museum is currently staging a unique exhibit featuring the work of Anida Yoeu Ali, a Cambodian-born artist who lives in Tacoma, Wash. It’s called “The Buddhist Bug” and features a 328-foot-long orange insect, which Ali will occupy on opening day, and again on closing day. “Ali’s numerous performance-based exhibits explore her Cambodian American identity and Buddhist and Muslim religions. The bug is her ‘totally humorous take on hybridity’,” writes contributor Siran Babayan.

Ed Ruscha’s new poster for Alejandro Iñárritu’s “Digger,” featuring the Boy Scout Utility Modern font, which Ruscha designed himself and has used exclusively since around 1980.

(Ed Ruscha)

Times staff writer Laura Zornosa headed to LACMA over the weekend to attend a private lunch featuring filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, Tom Cruise and Ed Ruscha, for the unveiling of a poster Ruscha made for Iñárritu’s new film, “Digger,” starring Cruise.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts turned 40 last month and Times contributor Jenelle Riley made the drive to interview the organization’s leaders, including President and Chief Executive Casey Reitz, about how the campus grew out of windswept lima bean fields to become the epicenter of art and culture in Orange County.

Contributor Leah Ollman had such a hard time narrowing down her list of must-see shows for our Fall Arts preview, that we asked her to create another list of 14 off the beaten path shows that art lovers should be sure to see.

RM, leader of the K-pop group BTS, speaks at SFMOMA in advance of an art show he curated featuring many pieces from his personal collection.

(Mags Ng)

RM, the leader of K-pop supergroup, BTS, is also a serious art lover with a collection of more than 400 pieces. This month he is co-curating a show at SFMOMA featuring more than 100 pieces from his private stash paired with art from the museum meant to compliment its themes.

Architecture critic Sam Lubell went to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art last weekend and was sorry to see that the museum has erected gates around its main courtyard. Lubell, like many, had been under the impression that the courtyard was meant to function as a grand civic plaza, so he penned a piece of commentary questioning the founders’ motives for cordoning off the area. “It’s hard not to wonder whether these barriers represent something more than security: the extension into public space of the gated, closely guarded world inhabited by co-founders George Lucas, Mellody Hobson and those in their orbit,” Lubell writes.

A rendering of the Las Vegas Museum of Art, designed by architect Francis Kéré.

(Kéré Architecture / Las Vegas Museum of Art)

Culture News

Earlier this week the long-gestating Las Vegas Museum of Art hosted a preview of its Grand Central Galleries — a multipurpose media lab and exhibition space located in Symphony Park down the street from the museum’s future main building. Scheduled to open in April 2027, the 15,000-square-foot space will act as an entry point to the museum and is slated to host a variety of exhibitions and programs while the museum’s Francis Kéré-designed building remains under construction through 2029.

The Grand Central Galleries exhibition program was organized by the LVMA in collaboration with LACMA, and will open with “A Shared Light: Monet, Impressionism, and the American Landscape,” organized by Shannon Vittoria, LACMA’s associate curator of American art, along with David Bardeen, LACMA’s assistant curator of European painting and sculpture. It features nearly 60 works by artists including Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, John Singer Sargent, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and James McNeill Whistler.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Yes, they did that. The Food staff compiled a list of 20 of its favorite sundaes and banana splits in L.A. Since summer is never going away, this seems like the perfect time.

The Fletcher family are back on Sunday with a new instalment of Fletcher’s Family Farm

Kelvin and Liz Fletcher reflected on what the future holds for their Cheshire Farm on Sunday’s Fletcher’s Family Farm.

The episode, airing today, sees the couple, who share the highs and lows of farming in their ITV series, Liz floated the idea of a maize maze with a cafe, while leaving room for Kelvin to grow oats.

Before the couple sat down to discuss their options for the farm, Kelvin had a bone to pick with Liz over the dishes. He said, “Liz made tea last night, and then she just leaves everything as it was last night. When I make tea, as soon as I finish making it, I tidy up. “

Liz chimed in sarcastically, “And on today’s lesson of how to clean, Kelvin is going to talk you through it,” to which the former soap star replied, “What can I say? I like a tidy ship. And before we talk through our plans for the farm, we’ve got a couple of domestic issues to clean up.”

Turning to his wife, he asked, “Tell me why you keep buying eggs and why you’re buying that many eggs when we’ve got chickens?”

As Liz retorted back that they were the farm’s eggs, Kelvin pointed out, ” They’ve got stamps on them though, darling. I can’t get my head around it. Why’d you buy eggs?”

“Because I can’t keep wasting time looking for eggs,” Liz explained. “So I just think if I’ve bought them, I’ve definitely got them. It’s a bonus.”

“Sometimes I just don’t want to be the parent or the wife. I just want to be like 18 again. I’ve got no responsibilities,” Liz added before turning her attention to the future of the farm. “Should we just discuss the front fields with the crop? Got my notebook, which will also make Kelvin annoyed.”

“Are we sitting next to each other or not?” Kelvin asked, prompting Liz to joke: “No, I’m not your friend.” Kelvin added, “Living and working together can sometimes be a challenge, but we always kiss and make up. Eventually.”

Despite the teasing, Liz had a clear idea of how they could divide the field between their two ambitions. She told Kelvin, “Let’s split it. So I’d like to do the maize in this bottom bit, and then you can have your oats in this top bit. Because I’d like to do a maze with something happening in the middle, a cafe.”

Explaining why she wanted to try something different, she added: “Because I don’t want to waste the whole field on oats again, just in case it doesn’t work, and at least we can lift this, and maybe make some money out of it as an event and as a crop.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Kelvin nodded in agreement, to which a surprised Liz asked, “Is that just a straight yes?”

Kelvin added, “Yeah, that’s a good plan.”

Fletcher’s Family Farm airs on Sunday at 11.25am on ITV.

The official cause of death for Fiona Lowe, the 13-year-old daughter of actor Chad Lowe and niece of Rob Lowe, has been revealed.

The database for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that Fiona Lowe died Tuesday by suicide and died in a hospital. Chad Lowe, the Emmy-winning star of “Life Goes On,” and his family announced Fiona’s death in a statement shared with People on Tuesday. The actor shares Fiona and two other daughters with wife Kim Painter.

Before the medical examiner’s report became public, Lowe’s family did not reveal a cause of death but in its statement mentioned contact information for a mental health lifeline. The family in its statement said it was “heartbroken by the loss” and remembered Fiona as a “loving girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance.”

“She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents. In fact, she was the light of our lives,” the family added. Lowe and his loved ones also said Fiona’s death is “devastating for our entire family” and asked for prayers and privacy.

Fiona’s death comes after the “Pretty Little Liars” actor’s family lost their home in the Palisades fire, which killed 12 peopleand consumed more than 6,500 structures. He shared videos and photos of the destruction to his Instagram page.

Lowe, 58, is the younger brother of actor Rob Lowe. He and Painter married in 2010 and welcomed Fiona in 2012. Fiona celebrated her 13th birthday in November and was the second of the couple’s three daughters. Lowe and Painter first welcomed daughter Mabel in 2009 and their youngest daughter, Nixie, in 2016.

These protest-laden times couldn’t be more receptive to the stirring “Everybody to Kenmure Street,” which speaks to a moment when the machinery of institutional cruelty was ground to a halt by righteous neighborliness. Felipe Bustos Sierra’s immersive documentary about a consequential block party — one that happened in Glasgow, Scotland, in May 2021 — is not simply one of the year’s best films, but a potent reminder of where meaningful change begins.

On the morning in question, a dawn immigration raid initiated by the U.K. Home Office snatched two men from the diverse, tight-knit community of Kenmure Street, and the timing couldn’t have been more hostile: in front of a mosque on the first day of Eid. And yet, what reaction is more gratifying than residents of all stripes stepping outside to do something about it?

Word spread quickly, and soon a throng of smartphone-wielding citizens had surrounded the immigration enforcement van, which couldn’t move because one enterprising, early-arriving activist had slid underneath it. Soon, the police were there in force, but the dedication of the outraged, chanting crowd demanding the men’s release ensured this would be no ordinary standoff.

Sierra, a Scotland-based filmmaker born to Chilean exiles, whose previous film recounted the solidarity of Scottish factory workers against Chile’s dictatorship, primes us over the credits with an archival montage of his adopted country’s disputatious lineage, from suffragists and trade unionists to independence campaigners and Glaswegian schoolgirls advocating for their asylum-seeking classmates, all set to the serenading lilt of Lee Hazlewood’s classic 1966 ache “Your Sweet Love.”

But the tale of that Thursday’s spontaneous, viral resistance is narrated by its proud participants. Each is interviewed separately, looking directly at us to burnish the intimacy. We aren’t told their names — save human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, a key public figure that day — because it isn’t the point. Everyone’s observant, humor-filled testimony both individuates and connects them to each other. Over those hours, the many became one. They became witnesses unsatisfied with mere witnessing.

The interviewees who didn’t want to be filmed are played by actors, including executive producer Emma Thompson wedged between an undercarriage and pavement as the unidentified van protester. That this doesn’t play like jokey stunt casting speaks to the spirit of communal, all-hands-on-deck engagement. Who got under the van wasn’t important. That someone did was.

Sierra also contextualizes Kenmure Street within the long shadow of slavery, industry, imperialism and grassroots opposition. It’s a valuable history lesson in echoes and dignity, one of the film’s more moving illustrations of the legacy of demonstrating for what’s right.

As it happens, Sierra himself wasn’t there that day. He chose to stay at home, watch on the news, and — as someone here might, post-Minnesota — assume the worst. “Everybody to Kenmure Street” is the ultimate what-did-I-miss movie, a life-affirming corrective, his respectful curiosity and everyone’s cherished memories in singular harmony. Like Sierra, you’ll wish you’d been there, to experience the world made better by those who show up. This is the next best thing.

THEY rose to fame in the Noughties with No1 hit Pure And Simple.

Now, 25 years on, I can reveal that Hear’Say are reuniting for a huge reunion tour to celebrate the milestone.

The group formed on ITV reality television show Popstars and debuted in 2001.

Band members Kym Marsh, Myleene Klass, Suzanne Shaw, Noel Sullivan and Danny Foster split two years later after a couple of No1 singles and a chart-topping album.

But my sources tell me that I’m A Celebrity star Myleene will not be joining the reunion due to a schedule clash with her other commitments.

A source said: “The group have been asked multiple times over the years about a reunion but it was never the right time.

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“The 25th anniversary feels like a special moment to celebrate the success of the band and give something back to their fans. Myleene was invited but their diaries did not align.”

The band set tongues wagging this week as they reignited an Instagram page to tease their tour.

They posted a screen recording of a WhatsApp conversation between them, with Danny writing: “Wow . . . can you believe the response to that tour clip we posted?!”, referencing a video they had shared of an old performance. Suzanne replied: “I know right, amazing! Ahhh the memories . . . can you believe it was 25 years ago?!”

Noel said: “OK, so hear me out . . . ” Kym urged: “Go on,” before Noel added: “Fancy getting the band back together?”

Fans spotted how Myleene was included as a member of the group chat but her Instagram was not tagged and she did not send a message.

Myleene previously ruled out reuniting, saying: “If I go backwards, I won’t know who I am.

“I hope it works. I will be cheering the loudest.”

BIZ on Sunday is giving away two tickets to see Westlife in Birmingham this month.

The prize is for Westlife 25: The Anniversary World Tour on Saturday, October 17, at the Utilita Arena.

For your chance to win, email sundayfeatures@the-sun.co.uk and quote “Westlife” with your name, telephone number, email address and postal address.

Entries close at 11.59pm on Monday, October 5. T&Cs apply and can be found at thesun.co.uk.

GOLDEN CURL SABRINA

SABRINA CARPENTER shows off her golden locks in a new 1960s-themed haircare advert.

The Manchild hitmaker posed in a butter yellow mini dress to match her lush curls for the clip.

Sabrina, who is a global ambassador for Redken, said it is a “dream” to work with the brand.

She added: “Beauty, and especially my hair, is a big part of my identity.”

SHARON’S M25 ‘IRELAND’

Catastrophe star Sharon Horgan has landed a £250,000 payday to become the face of an airline.

The Irish actress filmed an ad for Ireland’s Aer Lingus to show off the beauty of the Emerald Isle – but eagle-eyed fans may notice it was set just a stone’s throw from the M25 in London.

I can reveal filming took place in Surrey’s Virginia Water, which boasts a lake, 30-foot waterfall and tree-lined pathways.

A source said: “Virginia Water is the backdrop, which gives the illusion of Ireland’s stunning scenery. It is an odd decision given how close Virginia Water is to London Heathrow.

“They could have jetted over to Ireland in less than an hour to film the advert there.”

Virginia Water is at the edge of Windsor Great Park, which is managed by The Crown Estate.

Sounds like a right royal mix up.

CHRIS’S BIG STORY ENDING

HIT drama Small Town, Big Story will not be back for a second series.

The show, which featured Mad Men actress Christina Hendricks, was a big success for Sky Atlantic when it aired last year.

But Irish actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd who created the show, says he’s too busy to make more.

At the opening night of play Hay Fever in the West End, he told me: “Getting everybody together is tricky with such a strong cast.”

He is now focusing on other projects, adding: “I’m going to be writing something else.

“I want to do more stuff in Ireland. All will be revealed.”

MICAH & GINGE LINING UP

ANGRY GINGE and Micah Richards are set to become the new Ant and Dec after filming a pilot for a Netflix gameshow called The Line.

The hilarious programme focuses on our love of queuing and sees contestants compete to win a cash prize of £250,000.

It’s set to be one of Angry Ginge’s biggest TV gigs since he won I’m A Celeb last year.

A source said: “The duo had so much fun filming and are hoping the show gets greenlit for a series.”

I hope content creators the Bov Boys don’t mind Micah nicking their head honcho.

LOUIS MANE ATTRACTION AFTER SPLIT

FORMER Olympic gymnast Louis Smith has signed up for dating app Hinge.

It comes after I revealed that the 2012 Strictly champion had split from jazz dancer Charlie Bruce.

On the app, Louis has revealed that he is Christian and is looking for monogamy.

He has also included a snap of him in his Carwash costume on ITV show The Masked Dancer, which he won in 2021.

A source said: “Louis and Charlie are focused on co-parenting their young daughters.

“Louis signed up for the app when he felt the time was right and is hoping to find new connections.”

Louis also made a flirty reference on Hinge to his skills on the pommel horse, which earned him three Olympic medals during his sporting career.

A note on his profile says: “Dating me is like . . . Riding a wild horse but on the world’s most comfortable saddle.”

Sounds like Louis is cantering into the dating pool.

DEJA VU have been given the seal of approval from The Pussycat Dolls.

Nicole Scherzinger has invited the girls to join her group on the European dates of their PCD Forever tour.

Deja Vu reached the semi-finals of The Voice in 2023.

Carolina said: “It still feels like a dream.”

ROCHELLE IS PERFECT MATCHA

ROCHELLE HUMES looked like the cat who got the cream as she launched her new venture.

Holding what appears to be an iced matcha, the ex-Saturdays singer wore a trench coat and matching top to promote beauty brand Eulah.

The “cashmere coconut lip blanket” is my fave.

Tony Romo and CBS Sports have “mutually agreed to part ways” two months after he was placed on indefinite leave following his July arrest on suspicion of operating while intoxicated (OWI), the network announced Friday morning.

“We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward,” CBS Sports said in a statement.

J.J. Watt, who has been filling in for Romo as the color commentator on CBS Sports’ lead NFL broadcast team, will continue in the role for the remainder of the season. Romo, a former four-time Pro Bowl quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, has been booth partners with play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz since 2017.

“I’m proud of what I accomplished at CBS Sports over the last nine years,” Romo said in a statement released soon after CBS announced the move. “I approached my role as a game analyst the way I’ve approached everything in my life — with a desire to win and be the best that I can be.

“I’m going to use this time to take a break,” he added, “something I’ve never done before, and focus on my health and my family before moving on to my next opportunity.”

On Sept. 1, Romo entered a a no-contest plea to the OWI charge from his July 23 arrest in Wisconsin. A Milwaukee County judge found Romo guilty of the charge and took away his driving privileges for six months. Romo also was ordered to pay $834, and have an ignition interlock device installed on his vehicles for a minimum of one year.

Citations against Romo for having an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a moving vehicle and unsafe passing were dismissed.

Afterward, Romo said in a statement that multiple back injuries from his playing career led to “a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.”

“None of this is an excuse,” he wrote. “These are my failures, and I take responsibility for them.”

EXCLUSIVE: The star opens up in new book A Magical Life, saying: ‘Even though I was losing him, I just kept telling myself – I still do – how lucky I was.’

Debbie McGee had been in bed for barely half an hour when the nurse woke her to say her wonderful, magical husband was nearing the end. After almost four decades together, there was nowhere else Debbie wanted to be than with Paul Daniels.

She says: “I got up and went to him, laying alongside him on the hospital bed, just cuddling him. Paul always used to tell people that I was the best thing that happened to him. I wanted him to know that he was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Ten years after Paul’s death at 77, Debbie, 67, has laid bare the agony and the profound tenderness of his final weeks in her new autobiography, titled A Magical Life.

She says: “Even though I was losing him, I just kept telling myself – I still do – how lucky I was.”

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The pair had met during a summer season in Great Yarmouth in 1979, the year The Paul Daniels Magic Show began its 15-year run on BBC1.

They married in 1988 and, although they had no children together, she became stepmother to his three sons, Paul Jr, Martin and Gary.

Their professional partnership continued long after his television heyday, with the couple still touring together in 2015. By the autumn, however, Debbie had begun to notice Paul seemed unusually tired, not least when he struggled to learn his lines for a pantomime.

Soon he began missing parties, leaving her to go alone, and when she returned he was often in bed. Even wrapping the Christmas presents, something they usually enjoyed together, no longer interested him.

Debbie writes: “Paul would usually have six projects on the go at any one time. He would get up in the morning and be straight on his laptop. He couldn’t sit still.

“But now he didn’t seem interested in anything. He would just sit in front of the TV until he fell asleep.

“When he was up and about, his balance seemed to have gone. He kept falling over.” Blood tests led to a suspicion of pernicious anaemia and a course of injections was prescribed.

But Paul continued to weaken, and Debbie rang the surgery desperate for answers. She told the doctor: “I can’t describe what’s happening but this isn’t my husband.”

Eventually, Paul was referred to a neurologist. However on the morning of the appointment he was sick after breakfast, and so Debbie called an ambulance. A CT scan later revealed a glioblastoma that had spread across much of the left side of his brain and was extending towards the right.

The consultant asked Paul: “Do you want me to tell you what’s wrong?” He replied: “No. Tell Deb.” Paul waited in the hospital corridor while Debbie stayed to hear the results, expecting an explanation of how doctors would treat him.

But though radiotherapy was discussed, the consultant could not promise it would improve his condition. Paul’s severe claustrophobia also made the prospect of wearing a treatment mask daunting.

Debbie says: “In desperation, I asked, ‘Is there any treatment he could have in America?

“‘If this was your spouse, what would you be doing?’” The consultant promised to discuss the case with oncologists, but told Debbie quite frankly: “In all honesty, if this were my spouse, I would be taking them home and making them as comfortable as possible.”

In the end Debbie was told Paul might have two months, and went home to prepare for his return.

When she came back to the hospital, she found him in his Crombie coat and favourite trilby, dancing with a nurse. Debbie recalls: “In that moment it was hard to believe there was anything wrong with him at all.

“He seemed like himself again. The man I loved. My Paul.”

After they announced his diagnosis publicly, around 800 emails and letters arrived in a single day. His sons and grandchildren visited.

With Paul prone to falling because of the tumour, Debbie’s sister Donna also moved in to help watch over him, finally allowing Debbie to get some much-needed sleep. Debbie says: “Paul didn’t ever want to know what was wrong with him.

“I think he knew that he was dying but he couldn’t discuss it. I didn’t try to press him. There was no benefit to distressing him.”

Days were spent watching Only Fools and Horses and taking short walks when the weather allowed. Paul had a Magnum ice cream every afternoon. Debbie remembers: “It was a very loving, peaceful month. I couldn’t deny what was happening, but I really forced myself to stay in the moment and not look forward and not look back.

“I would wake up, put my make-up on and smile, although it was sort of fake. Each new day I told myself, he’s still alive today so we’ll make the best of it.”

One film they watched together during those weeks has become impossible for her to watch again.

She explains: “I only cried in front of Paul once and I only saw him cry once in front of me. It was when we were watching one of the films in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel series.

“At the end of it, there’s a wedding. The young couple at the centre of the film get married. I turned to Paul to see that he had tears streaming down his face.

“I can’t watch that movie any more.” As his condition deteriorated, nurses began sitting with Paul overnight. On March 14, Debbie’s mother visited for her birthday and went to say goodbye.

“Paul couldn’t speak very well by then but he sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Mum in a whisper,” Debbie says.

That was the last day Debbie remembers her husband being conscious. Afterwards, she just sat with him and talked, though she found it difficult to say much without crying.

Debbie adds: “Paul and I had a fairy tale life. Through the good times and the bad, we had faced every challenge together. We really were a team.

“I hope he knew that I was with him, loving him until the very end.”

A Magical Life by Debbie McGee is out on October 8 (Mirror Books).

The Celebrity Traitors got under way in dramatic fashion this week and traitor Richard E Grant admitted he ‘just went mad’ with one of his decisions.

Celebrity Traitors star Amol Rajan has said Richard E Grant told him that he “just went mad” when he decided to remove him from the game.

Writing in his newsletter Amol said he asked Richard why he chose to eliminate him and the actor replied: “To protect myself. And that’s a compliment!”

Amol replied: “But if you really wanted protection, you should have recruited me. That would have been a compliment!” He says Richard told him: “Ah yes, that makes sense. But I think I just went mad.”

Traitor Richard gave away the game almost immediately in the show’s second series when the actor admitted he was a traitor, despite the aim of the game being to hide the fact.

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Richard was picked by Claudia Winkleman to be one of two contestants picked to be a traitor – a player who attempts to “murder” others on the show while pretending to be an ordinary participant.

But rather than go under the radar, Richard announced his role as a traitor. And he has now admitted to Amol Rajan that he doesn’t know what came over him.

Richard and fellow traitor, Love Island host Maya Jama, chose to murder the former BBC presenter in episode two.

Amol explained: “He said: “I was so thrilled to be chosen as a traitor that, in my unguarded excitement, I said, ‘Of course I’m a traitor.’ I clearly need to diffuse all the heat that’s coming in my direction.”

Richard added: ““Well, the game had actually started, I was so relieved that it started because I had been so blatant about saying I came into this thing and it’s called Traitors, because I wanted to be a traitor.

“So when I walked into the bar, somebody said, ‘so you’re a faithful or a traitor?’, and I said, ‘I’m a traitor’, of course.”

While Amol admitted he would have liked to have been recruited to be a traitor, that accolade fell to comedian James Acaster.

The decision left Amol being murdered from the game and speaking on The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked on Friday, he said: “It’s hard not to watch it and think I, obviously, with 20/20 hindsight, I played the wrong game. That was a crazy, crazy once-in-a-lifetime [opportunity].”

He went on: “I think I would have been quite a good traitor because I’d actually known what it was like to be a faithful.”

And in advice to Richard he said maybe the star should have tried to stay off the radar a bit more rather than confess so blatantly. Amol said: “I think the one tactic that you should try to abide by is to keep a little bit, you know, fly under the radar a little bit for the first few days. Just shut up for the first few shows.”

After the second episode left fans wondering what was to come in a tense cliffhanger, viewers have to wait until Thursday to find out. Celebrity Traitors isn’t on again until Thursday (October 8, at 8pm), with the show once again doing a Thursday-Friday double.

The Celebrity Traitors airs on Thursdays and Fridays on BBC1 at 8pm.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

JAKE Quickenden has showed off the kitchen in his new home after splitting from wife Sophie and moving out.

Back in May, The Sun revealed the former X Factor and I’m a Celebrity star had split from his wife after four years of marriage.

Last month, it was revealed Jake, 38, had moved out of the marital home and now he has shown his followers a glimpse of his new property.

Standing in the kitchen near a set of double patio doors leading out into the garden, Jake said he wanted to “have a bit of colour.”

He added: “I didn’t want to go boring grey.”

To highlight his point, he showed off green, leather high stools that he had at one end of the kitchen around a table and in front of a large statement clock and funky gold lighting.

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At the other end of the kitchen are white units with a gold Quooker tap over the sink which he was impressed with.

He said: “So yeah, this is the kitchen, I hope you like it, I love it.”

In the caption he added: “Kitchen reveal…. I forgot to mention some bits so any info you want just ask in comments.. seriously @quookeruk is a game changer and @babyeleganceire high chair is so cool.

“But yeah been here a week and I feel like I’ve really made it nice for me and the boys…. It’s been stressful and I’ve had ups and downs, esp falling down the stairs and putting a hole in the wall this morning, but this is home now.

“Thanks for being cool everyone have a nice weekend.“

When Jake first shared a post about his new home, he admitted fearing his two sons with Sophie – Leo, five and Kit, one – wouldn’t feel like it’s home when they come to stay.

He added: “I’m not good on my own, never have been but maybe that’s part of the journey to get comfortable alone for a while!

“It’s a strange feeling of excitement and anxiety, looking forward to making it my own but terrified to not be with the boys everyday.”

A researcher falls down a rabbit hole of academia in “Chronovisor,” a singular indie that sneaks up on you. Filmmakers Jack Auen and Kevin Walker — who operate under the name Cosmic Salon — make movies in the belief that intellectual pursuits can be both exciting and cinematic. “Chronovisor,” a pleasurably hand-crafted curio, firmly asserts that the sensorial possibilities of film can seem infinite.

That said, the movie opens deceptively: Béatrice (Anne-Laure Sellier), a professor of philosophy at Columbia in New York, is clearly boring her two unseen colleagues over drinks with a monologue about her theories of memory and brain function. Alone afterward, however, with the camera following her as if she were a secret agent and the orchestral swell of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” lending Hitchcockian tension, the real story begins to unfold in large, ornate libraries.

What draws Béatrice’s attention is a fantastical claim made by a Benedictine monk in an Italian magazine article from the 1970s. He insists he discovered an instrument with the power to pull images and sound from the whole of human history, presenting them on a television screen. With this time-shaping device called the Chronovisor, Father Pellegrino Ernetti professed to have seen footage of the crucified Christ and even enjoyed a lost play staged by an ancient Roman dramatist. At the end of a slow zoom shot, we see the article’s title in Italian until it’s translated for us in English: “A Machine Has Been Invented That Photographs the Past.”

With that, “Chronovisor” and its obsessed protagonist enter a trancelike, analog-heavy state in which obscure texts in myriad languages tease a concealed parascientific history of potentially great importance. In other words, get ready to read a lot and yet, surprisingly, to enjoy the immersion, as one might the hushed thrill of a surveillance sequence. As Béatrice’s amateur detective work pulls her in deeper, the strands begin to suggest a conspiracy, one marked by mysterious disappearances and the clandestine sway of the Vatican.

The question of what’s real and not isn’t only Béatrice’s to unpack — you may wonder yourself whether Auen and Walker have fabricated their esoteric source materials and invented the strange saga of Ernetti. They haven’t. Not entirely, that is, which is part of the woozy enjoyment. Enhanced by cinematographer Leo Zhang’s atmospheric 16mm grain and a natural onscreen performance from first-time actor Sellier (a real-life French scholar in behavioral science), “Chronovisor” hums with deep appreciation for research and evidence. We get both a tantalizing armchair mystery steeped in occult-ish authenticity, but also a sly commentary on our own relationship to the pursuit of curiosity.

If your own interpretation of Béatrice’s quest leads to the realization that this supposedly long-lost technology may already be with us, so be it. The filmmakers surely won’t disabuse you of that notion. They save their most disorienting trick for last: a reality-bending sequence that could qualify as video art. Whether it proves anything is, of course, up for grabs, but it surely helps “Chronovisor” remain wonderfully unclassifiable.

On a sweltering Saturday, around 100 people gathered in Culver City for a rally and march to deliver a message to several major media companies: Help us protect our democracy.

Spotlighting Sony Pictures Studios, Apple, Pinterest and Amazon MGM Studios, all with local offices, protesters demanded that the companies sign on to the “Business for Democracy Pledge” ahead of the elections in November.

After hearing from a few speakers outside Culver City’s City Hall, the band of demonstrators marched a few blocks to the offices of Sony Pictures Studios. From there — walking by posters for the upcoming Sony release “The Social Reckoning” — they made their way back across downtown Culver City to stop outside the historic Culver Studios, now owned by Amazon MGM.

Local groups Culver City and Friends Rising and Keep Showing Up led the protests. This week, they sent letters to the chief executives of all four corporations asking them to sign the pledge. No response has been received. (Messages from The Times to spokespeople for all four companies also were not returned.)

“Businesses and particularly large corporations like Sony, Apple, Pinterest and Amazon, who are our focus today, have a particular role to play in defending democracy,” Phil Ansell, leader of Culver City and Friends Rising, said before the rally. “They have weight, and this administration cares what business says.”

He added, “We’ve seen internationally that in situations where democracy has been under threat, that when the business community stands up for democracy, it can make a huge difference in preventing a full-on shift to authoritarianism.”

Bryan “Bubba” Fish, Vice-Mayor of Culver City, was on hand as a featured speaker and noted how Culver City, a relatively small community that is home to offices for multiple international media companies, is uniquely positioned to help ensure residents’ voices are heard.

“The message of this event is that these major corporations, that are the largest and richest corporations in the history of the planet, benefit from our civilized society,” Fish said before the rally. “…The only reason they’ve been able to grow to the size that they are is because we have stable, legitimate governance, and the bare minimum should be that they commit to defending and speaking out when our elections and our democracy is at risk. That should be the floor.”

Fish added, “We’re here saying you’re a part of our community, stand for free and fair elections and defend democracy alongside us.”

Demonstrators march to the offices of Sony Pictures Studios and past posters for the upcoming Sony release “The Social Reckoning.”

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Reverend Dr. Frances Wattman Rosenau, pastor at Culver City Presbyterian Church, spoke outside of both Sony and Amazon MGM.

“Democracy is one of our core values as a country, and me as a person of faith, I care deeply about giving voice to the voiceless and making sure that no one is marginalized,” Rosenau said while walking from one location to the other. “And calling our business partners to come alongside us is an act of partnership. It’s time for everybody to be in the boat and rowing, affirming what we stand for as a people for the common good.”

The Culver City event is one of a series around the country this week in collaboration with the group May Day Strong. Representatives of other local activist groups, including PowerSwitch Action, National Nurses United and Singing Resistance Santa Monica, were also in attendance on Saturday.

Amy Schur, campaign director with Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), is involved with coordinating the national campaign for the “Business for Democracy” pledge.

“We’re in a unique moment where people are rising up all across the country of their own accord,” Schur said. “People are seeing what’s at stake. So they’re ready to march, they’re ready to speak out.”

Schur noted that much work remains to harness that energy and turn it into real change.

“The critical question is, can we do it in ways that are strategic and have the impact that we need in this moment?” she said. “Just marches are not enough because it’s kind of easy to ignore those. But when it’s a march with a purpose and calling out big corporations, it has more impact.”

The march in Culver City was one of several nationwide actions this week.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Ansell noted that companies such as Apple and Amazon spoke out after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021 and hopes they will continue in that same spirit.

“We’re here today to say don’t wait for the equivalent of January 6 to happen again,” Ansell said. “Commit yourself now publicly to opposing any efforts to undermine this election. And our view is that to the extent that many large corporations across this country take that public stance, it will significantly reduce the risk of a major effort to subvert this election.”

Organizers see Saturday’s protest as part of an ongoing effort and hope more people will feel empowered to participate.

“People are not alone,” Ansell said. “No one should feel like they have to stay home alone and despair. There are many opportunities for action, and we have to be prepared. Today’s action is one of many to defend this election.”

CALUM Best shared a sweet tribute to his ‘fighter’ mum Angie as she returned to the UK after treatment amid her colon cancer battle.

Angie, 74, announced that she was diagnosed with the disease in January and in July was told that she was cancer free.

Over the past year she has kept fans up to date while undergoing traditional medicine, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, as well as an alternative mistletoe therapy in Switzerland.

Now Angie is back in the UK with her son.

Calum shared a snap of their pair cuddled up together in the airport car park, as well as one of her approaching him in arrivals.

He captioned the post: “Right then, she’s back on UK soil, let’s get you healed, fed healthy and fighting fit!

“From me to you mother, I’m so proud of what a strong fighter you are, this last year has been hell and u have managed it with such grace, a year or treatments.

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“Surgerys and all the rest are not easy and you have powered through it so well and we will continue to.

“What I also want to say is a huge thank you to everyone so far on this journey, so many people asking and involved both in person and through social media, thank you for caring about Angie.”

Many rushed the comments section to share the love.

One said: “Oh wow.. so pleased to see this, right where you belong.. no place like home!”

Another wrote: “Such a beautiful Mother and Son relationship. Rest up now Angie, you’re incredible.”

A third chimed in: “Sending you both love and hugs.”

A fourth commented: “How incredible to go through such a journey and looks so beautiful and be an inspiration to us all!!!!!”

“Wonderful news ,you mum is definitely a true fighter 💪❤️wishing her well,” a fifth added.

Last month Angie revealed that she’s back in hospital after suffering a ‘setback’ following battle with cancer.

Taking to her page earlier today, Angie said: “Update my homies. I find myself back in the hospital.

“I have an infection. They think it’s bacterial. Bt I have to stay here a few days for results and to make it better.

“See you on the other side.”

After major surgery to remove a tumour from her colon in July, Angie revealed that she was cancer free.

Angie and footballer ex George Best are Calum’s parents.

Calum is a reality star who has been on Celebrity Love Island, Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity SAS.

In 2011, Joe Kay debuted Soulection as a college radio show at Cal State Long Beach, spinning rare B-sides, progressive beats, inventive flips of classic records and soulful underground tracks.

Fifteen years later, the niche local broadcast on K-Beach Radio has ballooned into a cultural movement that extends far behind his alma mater’s campus. Beyond its flagship on Apple Music with nearly 750 episodes (Grammy-winning producer Swizz Beatz was a recent guest DJ), Soulection is also an independent record label, live event and clothing brand. Operating under the banner “the Sound of Tomorrow,” the collective championed artists like Kaytranada, Brent Faiyaz, Bryson Tiller and Snoh Aalegra before they were household names.

Still, Kay remains hungry for more. “There’s so much more to do,” says Kay, who released his first project “If Not Now, Then When?” last year.

“We’re at this breaking point of not just being underground,” he adds. “It’s like we’ve been D-1. We’ve been to the playoffs. Now we’re like how do we get to the championship and not just show up to the championship, how do we win?”

On Saturday, Kay and his tight-knit crew are celebrating Soulection’s 15th anniversary with a festival at Reframe Studios Outdoors in Atwater Village. The lineup includes DJ sets from Kay, Grammy-winning producer and artist Kaytranada, Sango, Esta, DJ Miss Milan (who DJs for Doechii), Ayanna Heaven and surprise guests. (Kay doesn’t even know who all will show up.)

Ahead of the hallmark event, Kay spoke about how he continues to find emerging talent when everyone’s an artist or DJ these days, building long-term staying power, his new dance music concept and why he’s nowhere near done pushing the limits of what Soulection can do.

Joe Kay and his team are celebrating 15 years of Soulection on Saturday at Reframe Studios Outdoors in Atwater Village.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

This weekend, you are celebrating the 15th anniversary of Soulection with several guests, including Kaytranda, who has been connected to the brand for years but has yet to be on an official Soulection lineup until now. What does this homecoming mean for you?

It’s special. Just having Kaytranada, it’s been long overdue but right on time, and to me that’s all that matters. About four years ago, we did a private party in L.A. in between Coachella, and it was him, Peggy Gou and myself, and it was a really cool party. So we played together, but in terms of a public, front-facing event, this is the first time he’s been on one of our lineups. What I appreciate about him is his work ethic. That man just doesn’t love to DJ, but this man works so hard. I work really hard, and then I see him and it makes me just want to go harder. This man is constantly on tour and he just finds a way to keep putting out music that people care about so much. I think that alignment between him, Esta and Sango is special. Even having Miss Milan, it’s one thing to be a DJ for someone like Doechii, but to also see what she does independently, I really admire that. There’s not a lot of women in the space who are moving like that and are recognized. She’s a boss on stage. Then, Ayanna Heaven is from New York, but she’s Jamaican and we’re lucky to have her.

What else can we expect at the show?

We’ll have a sunset set of Soulection and Friends, so special guests will pop out to do a couple songs. We’re not even sure who’s going to be popping out completely, but we have a handful of names and there’s some good people who I feel like have been part of the Soulection sound and Soulection radio. In London, people were like :We wanted a party. There were a lot of performances.” So now we’re giving people the party and we’re trying to move, but there will be a portion where everyone does a couple of songs. I love how we listen to feedback from one event and we make adjustments. I think that’s part of why we’re still around.

Soulection was pivotal in giving early platforms to artists like Brent Faiyaz, Bryson Tiller and Anderson .Paak before they became global superstars. What is your internal filter for spotting rising talent and has this changed over the years?

It’s a loaded question because talent and gifted people are everywhere. I find those people everyday. But in terms of who has the “it factor,” that one takes more layers. It’s not about “Does this person have to have that ‘factor’ for me to give them an opportunity or to be excited about them?” It’s more so an internal feeling. Nowadays, content is important so it’s the music and it’s mainly how they message themselves. How are they communicating their work, their vision and is it resonating with me? Then I scan their socials. I have no problem following anyone. I’m not one of those guys like “I have to have my following ratio at a certain amount and I’m too cool to follow you.” If I’m interested, I’m interested. I think today it takes a lot more to stand out. It’s a saturated [market], but I feel if you can break off and stand out now, it says a lot more than ever because everyone’s an artist and a DJ. Whereas 10 to 30-plus years ago, it was so much more of a rarity. It was a lot harder to be an artist so now that’s what makes it a bit more complicated.

It’s been over a year since you released your debut project “If Not Now, Then When?” You’ve talked about overcoming impostor syndrome to make it. What did you learn about yourself throughout the process?

It went by really quick. I’m really glad we dropped that project. It taught me a lot. When people ask, “So what do you do? Or can I find you on Apple or Spotify?” It’s nice to have something to direct people to outside of the radio show, there’s a body of work. I get emails every week of how many people are still discovering the music even though it might be old to us. Working on this project taught me a lot about accountability. I realized putting out a project as a label head and allowing artists to share their vision versus how I would do things are two different worlds even under Soulection. I’m so used to being on the executive or A&R side and letting people cook like “We’re here to help market it, but this is your work.” I honestly was proud of it because in my opinion “This is how I think you should do a rollout” and it was nice to show proof of concept. Also, working with all these great artists. I’m still in awe when I think about D-Mile being on two records. Bruno Mars is on tour right now, selling out SoFi Stadium. He’s doing like 8-10 times what we’re doing and D-Mile is a big part of his sound. To know we had him be a part of my project was a blessing and says a lot about the work that has been done.

Last year, you talked about potentially releasing an album this year. Are you still planning to do that?

It truly is extremely difficult to get a project done when you’re on tour and that’s why it didn’t get done. I did about 30 cities and when you’re going city to city, country to country, there’s really no time. When you’re putting together these projects, I feel like you have to literally be stationary for weeks at a time when you wake up and that’s all you think about. It’s very difficult when you’re stopping and going and nowadays. There’s a lot of chasing with the artists. Even if they are down, artists have their own projects, their own rollouts, their own tours. We’ve also been working on this 15-year celebration for the last year and a half, so I would say the album is the next focus.

You’ve been cooking up a new concept called Tempo. Can you tell us about that?

I’m very passionate about Tempo. If I could launch it today, I would. I’ve been using that word so much because I keep trying to tell people we’re trying to make people dance. If the women move and are having a good time, everyone’s moving. That’s why we love dancehall, Afrobeats, amapiano and now as we’ve seen in the last years, Afro House, and these other genres. It’s essentially dance music. I’m also very close to South Africa, specifically Cape Town and Johannesburg. That’s a place I’ve been going since 2015 and I’ve built a really good connection with people out there. As these new subgenres started to come out in like 2018, I’ve been very passionate and researching that music. A couple years ago, I was there and I curated these shows with some really great local artists and producers. I’m just very passionate about trying to push those artists to a higher scale. Imagine Brent [Faiyaz], Leon [Thomas], SiR or Snoh Aalegra or Kwn, hearing their vocals on an Afro House record or just the right tune that has that tempo. Now all of a sudden, you have Shimza, Keinemusik or Francis Mercier playing the records in front of 30,000 to 50,000 people. I feel like we have those relationships with the artists. They need to be told like, “This is who you need to work with. Trust me.” Then bringing them together and not feeling like we have to make it pop or saturate the music or make the drums lighter and more radio-friendly. I think we do it in an organic Soulection style. To me, that’s really the goal of Tempo. It’s not just an event, but it’s also like a sub label of Soulection that focuses on electronic music, a lot of Afro electronic music but not just that — just house music in general. There’s no boxes or boundaries to it. If it moves you, we’re going to put it out.

Joe Kay will be DJing alongside Kaytranda, Sango, Esta, DJ Miss Milan and Ayanna Heaven at the Soulection anniversary show on Saturday.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Looking back on the last 15 years, what are you most proud of what you’ve built with Soulection?

There’s a couple things. One, it’s nice to have my team who have been with us for over a decade. It’s a testament to what we’ve built, that people still want to be here. It makes me feel good that I have a loyal group of people who are my friends, who I’m grateful to call my family and who go up to bat for me and the team everyday. It’s not easy. Now that we’re older, I feel like, we choose to be here. Secondly, to think about all the artists and collectives that have been motivated by Soulection and have gone on to create their own businesses or have gone on to sign to agencies or get a manager. To know they were listening to Soulection at one point, that’s all it was meant to be — to inspire. It’s not about being on Soulection, it’s more of how do you take this motivation and create your own. It’s nice to be a part of that, but also they did the work.

That’s cool because it makes me think of how you were heavily inspired by labels like Stones Throw. You wanted to intern for them, but ended up creating your own thing and now Soulection is a blueprint for others.

I’m still inspired by Stones Throw. They literally just hit 30 years, so they’re literally two times what we’re doing. That had me thinking like, “Damn, what are we at year 30?” To see them still doing it, it’s very admirable. To be [a blueprint] is still great, but I don’t feel complacent. We just feel like there’s so much more to do. You asked, “How do I stay excited to show up to work everyday amongst all the craziness” and I think it’s my curiosity. I’m just grateful to provide for my family and for so many others for just doing something that I love everyday. Being about music, arts and highlighting people, that’s a blessing. I think we can take that for granted, but I don’t and I really do wake up everyday like, “How are we going to change someone’s life?” That’s the best part about it.

GEMMA Collins could be on years to come and could take inspiration from Holly Willoughby.

That’s the opinion of our showbiz expert, who has reported on Gemma since she first broke through on Towie in 2011. 

From a car saleswoman to a media millionaire, Gemma, 45, has become a cultural icon and has now diversified with a documentary on her fertility and relationships struggles for Sky.

But speaking on Showbiz Fix Uncut, our weekly showbiz podcast, our Showbiz Features Editor Fay Leyfield thinks The GC has a lot more to give. 

Fay said: “Gemma is very selective about her work and she’s made some really savvy choices and not just put her name to anything.

“She is not going anywhere and will on TV for years to come. 

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“Do you know what would be really good for Gemma is her own YouTube style chat show like Holly Willoughby.

“You know, like, those magazine style shows, she does a bit of cooking. She loves cooking as we’ve seen in her programme.

“Fashion, she’s always loved fashion.

“Hair and makeup, celebrity pals. She’s got loads of them. Like Fat Tony in the documentary, that’s been lovely to see that friendship. 

“Her future maybe won’t be traditional telly, but I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”

We discuss Gemma’s amazing career on this week’s show, which you can find on The Sun’s video hub Showbiz Fix: Uncut | The Sun  or The Sun Showbiz YouTube.

A FAMOUS TikTok couple has officially welcomed their first child and revealed the babe’s sweet name. 

Rosie Daniels and her partner Harry Wilde, who boast over five million followers on the app, recently quit the UK to move to Australia before having the tot. 

The couple have taken to Instagram to announce the birth of their baby boy in a heartwarming post. 

Alongside several pics of Rosie and Harry at the hospital bed with their bundle of joy, the first time parents gushed over how their ‘entire world’ has been changed. 

Rosie penned: “There truly are no words for the feeling and love we have for you. 

“Our sweet boy, you have changed our entire world and given us a kind of purpose we never knew existed. We love you more than words could ever say.”

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The couple also revealed the name of their newborn son as Beau Blu Wilde, adding he had been born on September 29.

The family were met with a flood of comments and well wishes from fans on their social media.

It’s been a year full of joy for the content creators, who tied the knot earlier this year, following seven years of dating. 

Sweet clips posted by the couple show them exchanging their vows in a stunning outdoor ceremony and sealing them with a kiss. 

“Mr & Mrs Wilde,” they wrote alongside the video. 

The pair have been candid about their life achievements, including their move from the UK to Australia. 

They made the move due to Rosie’s skin condition psoriasis with the immune-mediated disease causing red, flaky, crusty patches of skin.  

The internet personality revealed that it was the British weather that prompted her to relocate, finding that the cold damp conditions seemed to worsen her skin with the Aussie sunshine providing relief. 

Rosie didn’t want her condition to set her back, so she launched a career on social media – and now has millions of fans across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

She publicly documents her condition in a bid to normalise it – and is proud to say that she doesn’t receive much backlash from trolls.

Speaking previously about her lifestyle, she said: “My skin condition never has and never will affect our love life in the slightest, it has only made us both stronger.

“Sharing my journey online is so special to me. I live by the quote ‘be real, not perfect’ and my mission is to show others that it’s important to love and embrace the way you look.”

Country music star Zach Bryan signaled his support for Palestinians at the same stadium that recently banned rapper Macklemore over his efforts to do the same.

Grammy winner Bryan donned a black T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Free Palestine” and “Appeal to Heaven” during his Friday concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., according to photos and videos shared on social media.

Members of his backing band also wore similar shirts, including drummer Nate Head, whose jersey paid homage to Hind Rajab, the 5-year-old girl killed alongside five members of her family in a 2024 attack by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Bryan’s Friday concert marked the first of two at Gillette Stadium, owned by billionaire Robert Kraft. The musician’s public display of support for Palestinians comes weeks after Kraft urged pop star Ed Sheeran to remove Macklemore from his tour, citing concerns over his pro-Palestinian messaging.

Last month, Sheeran and his touring team faced pressure to remove former opening act Macklemore from the rest of the tour. The Grammy-winning “Same Love” musician faced backlash from a number of Jewish advocacy groups over his performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Days after the New Jersey shows, Messina Touring dismissed the rapper, who has been a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause. “Shape of You” singer Sheeran denied playing a part in Macklemore’s departure, but confirmed in a statement that he spoke with Kraft, who was among the stadium owners expressing concern about Macklemore’s further involvement.

The remaining supporting acts for Sheeran’s tour, including Grammy winner Finneas (and brother of Billie Eilish) and folk band Beoga (Sheeran’s backing band), quit Sheeran’s Loop tour in solidarity. Sheeran carried on with his tour, but it hit another snag when his shows at Gillette Stadium last weekend were canceled “due to severe weather warnings” in the region.

Following the fallout, Macklemore announced his Free Palestine tour, which begins later this month with three shows in Dublin, Paris and London. Macklemore said he will be joined by artists “who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

The rapper announced on Wednesday that “all three shows sold out immediately.” He also said the full concert lineups and U.S. tour stops will come in a later announcement.

Macklemore, in his announcement, said all proceeds from the tour will go to a handful of charities supporting the Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza. Macklemore previously said he would donate all $1 million of his earnings from his time on Sheeran’s tour to numerous pro-Palestinian charities.

Bryan’s With Heaven on Tour will return Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The “I Remember Everything” and “Pink Skies” singer will conclude his tour Oct. 10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.

The country star and U.S. Navy veteran, 30, is no stranger to channeling his political views in his music and performances. In 2025, Bryan released “Bad News,” a song critical of nationwide federal immigration enforcement operations.

Bryan’s pro-Palestinian stage gesture adds to a noticeable shift among mainstream artists speaking openly about their support for Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing strikes on Gaza. Melissa Barrera, Rachel Zegler, Irish rap trio Kneecap and rap-punk group Bob Vylan have been among the entertainers who faced professional backlash for their criticism of Israel.

In April 2025, Cornell University also dismissed Kehlani from her headlining performance at the school after President Michael Kotlikoff accused the singer of espousing “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media.”

In recent months, however, artists and entertainers, including Mark Ruffalo and the Israeli “NAZA” filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (co-directors of Oscar winner “No Other Land”), continue to face backlash for criticizing Israel.

IT was the row that erupted all over TikTok a year ago – with insiders insisting there was no way back for Charly Anne and the Welsh 5.

But for the first time in more than a year, The Sun can reveal how Charly is attempting to make a ‘return’ to the social media stars for a very savvy reason – and the real reason she’s still secretly fuming with Becki Jones.

The Sun were the first to lay bare the feud between Charly and the other four members of the Welsh 5 – Cory, Lea, Kane and Ieuan – last year and told how it had even led to a devastating fallout between Charly and her own mother, Trudi Anne.

The rift originally began with a row over Charly’s relationship with girlfriend Emily Woodfin, with the other four members claiming she was controlling – an accusation which both Charly and Emily deny.

But bridges were left officially burned when Trudi sided against her own daughter by uploading a series of dance videos she made with Cory and Lea as well as Becki Jones, who also fell out with Charly amid the feud.

Now it seems that Charly may finally be having something of a change of heart – but is it all for the right reasons?

Sources close to Charly have told The Sun how the Welsh influencer is secretly considering publicly reuniting with her sworn enemies as part of a savvy business decision.

Our insider told us: “Things have all gone quiet on the Welsh 5 feud front in recent months.

“Everything exploded last year and it seemed there was zero chance of reconciliation when Charly’s own mother snubbed her in favour of the others.

“But amid the silence in the months that have followed it seems that some very interesting conversations have been going on.”

One of Charly’s pals has conceded that, since separating herself from the group, potential work opportunities have begun to slowly dry up.

Industry experts suggest that, for brands, the appeal of the Welsh 5 as a group is what drew them in – with Charly now no longer having a piece of that pie.

Our source told us: “Charly views her life as a business – like many influencers do.

“She was at the top of her game amid the Welsh 5 hype but things have certainly been slower since then.

“After the split, it is almost like she has ended up becoming the ‘problem child’ – and it has put people in the industry off wanting to work with her.

“For the first time, she has quietly been considering if now could be a good time to publicly reunite with her former pals but not necessarily because she wants to build relations but in order to continue building her career.

“Charly knows deep down that if everyone is seen to be on friendly and amicable terms, the interest in her could ramp up again.

“Her followers would have a field day if she started sharing content with Cory and Lea again!”

Moreover, Charly is still feeling annoyed that her greatest rival Becki is continuing to get bigger and bigger.

Her pals admit it is a sting every time she sees Becki’s success as she always felt she was destined for the same fate.

They told us: “Charly is determined to become as well-known as Becki – even all these months on.

“If a reunion with the Welsh 5 is what it takes – she thinks she’d be ready to do it.

“But, ultimately, this is all just private talks at the moment.

“It is very much speculative thoughts that Charly is having – no one knows if it is something she will actually go through with.

“Plus, the others in the Welsh 5 might also not be ready to make amends.

“The channels for a reunion are definitely there though. They still have the same team around them, it wouldn’t take much for a few strings to be pulled behind-the-scenes.

“It has all been a bit of a mess but for the first time it seems that the mess may be ready to come to an end.

“Only time will tell but it is certainly closer than ever to happening.”

The Sun has reached out to the Welsh 5 and Charly’s reps for comment.

KIM Kardashian was single for five years as she needed time to “heal” following her traumatic divorce from Kanye West.

Apart from a brief fling with comedian Pete Davidson, the reality superstar shunned dating until falling for F1 ace Lewis Hamilton earlier this year.

Kim, 45, said: “I was really single for five years. And that felt great.
“I felt like I needed my time. I wanted to completely heal and just work on myself.

“I wasn’t ready to open up. I really wasn’t even thinking about it. The universe works in your favour when you just allow it to.”

The mogul filed for divorce from Ye, 49, in February 2021 following a turbulent period driven by his erratic behavior and public breakdown.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the Skims founder admits she worries about exposing her four children with the rapper – North, 13, Saint, 10, Chicago, 8, and Psalm, 7 – to her stratospheric fame.

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Describing herself as an “intermediate-strict parent,” Kim bans her kids from taking part in any storyline drama on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

She said: “I do worry about it. Each kid does what they’re comfortable with.

“So, my little ones come around when I’m filming but they don’t really do storylines.

“North loves it a little bit more than the rest. I hold her back. All she wants to do is forward-facing projects.

“And with her, since it’s more music-related, that is something that her dad and I have better communication about. We make sure that we’re aligned and that she’s in projects that we both approve.”

The star, worth £1.9 billion, recently branched out into acting with a role in the popular but critically panned Hulu drama All’s Fair.

Addressing the backlash, she added: “I am so used to it, I have a really thick skin.

“I mean, at the beginning, to the girls, my cast, I was like, ‘Wait, are we OK? Did I ruin everything?’

“And they were like, ‘Listen, we are OK.’

“I didn’t realise that in the film business as well you get so much criticism. But we had so much fun.”

As Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the Unraveled Tour in support of her third album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” the internet had plenty to talk about—from her dissolving dress and flower-covered stage design to her custom-made, pink heart-shaped guitar.

The guitar was built by Luis Muñoz, a Mexican American guitar technician and luthier who operates out of a tiny repair shop in East L.A.

Originally from El Paso, Muñoz moved to Los Angeles in 2009 and took guitar repair classes in Hollywood, hoping to find his way into the music industry.

Music was always around Muñoz. He remembers discovering Slash after his family got cable television. Mesmerized by the Guns N’ Roses guitarist, who stole the spotlight with his top hat and searing guitar solos in videos for “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on MTV’s Hot 100 music video countdown, Muñoz knew that was what he wanted to do.

He picked up his father’s old guitar and began learning to play, experimenting with the strings and teaching himself along the way.

His first opportunity came with singer-songwriter LP as a guitar technician. Muñoz admits he exaggerated his skill set to get his foot in the door, but he was determined to make the opportunity count.

“Once you’re in, you’re in,” he said.

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Over the years, Muñoz has toured with artists including Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, Bush, Anthrax, Fall Out Boy and his most recent touring job was with Rodrigo, after his wife, the pop star’s former bassist, told him she was looking for a new guitar tech.

Rodrigo’s heart-shaped guitar was another opportunity to put his craftsmanship on display.

“I’m sure Olivia has every guitar company in the world in her DMs, and she still trusted a small shop in East L.A.,” Muñoz wrote on Instagram, alongside photos of Rodrigo with the guitar.

“Five prototypes before I got the body right. It had to look cool, play easy, feel comfortable, and most of all, sound good. Built completely by hand, late nights after shop hours.”

Muñoz recalled the moment Rodrigo’s team reached out to request a custom-made guitar. He knew he had one shot to get it right: “In the back of my mind, I’m like, I only got one shot and it has to be made with love.”

The guitar took several months to complete and was built entirely by hand. He later hinted that it is currently one-of-one for now. After Rodrigo shared the guitar with her fans, Muñoz’s one-of-a-kind creation quickly became part of the visual identity of the tour — but for him, the significance went beyond the instrument itself.

Now retired from touring to spend more time with his family, including his 18-month-old daughter, Rosie, Muñoz says moments like seeing young fans in the crowd are what stay with him.

“One of my favorite things being on tour was seeing all the little girls lose their minds. The power of seeing that. Immediately in their head it’s like, ‘I can do that too.’ Imagine if I’m playing a tiny little role in that, yeah … all day.”

Maria Astorini, a retired character actress and a minor star, is 37 years late delivering her memoir. But the project, which she has tried her best to forget, has been pulled out from under the rug by her publisher. Forced to deliver a manuscript, Maria writes an autobiography clocking in at a shade over 200 pages.

The result is Elizabeth Castellano’s second novel “Proof of Progress,” a wry, poignant and very funny twirl through a life that swerves past triumph and failure, boredom and joy, public life and private sorrow. I recently spoke with her about Bloomingdale’s, Calvin Trillin, and how cellphones are the enemy of good fiction.

✍️ Author Chat

”Proof of Progress” traces the life of your protagonist, Maria Astorini, from childhood to her mid-60s. It reminded me of something Bob Dylan wrote recently about growing older, which is that you finally get rid of the illusion that life is under your control.

For Maria, there is a lot of serendipity that feels like fate, of being in the right place at the right moment, or meeting the right person, which sends her off in a different direction. I like that in a novel. It was also helpful to be writing primarily about an era without phones, so that she’s able to meet a lot of people.

We’re seeing this a lot in contemporary narratives: writers setting their stories in pre-phone eras, so their characters can actually interact with each other.

She’s talking to people, she’s meeting people, so she’s able to be sent on different paths. Even meeting her husband probably wouldn’t have happened with the phone.

“Proof of Progress” is Elizabeth Castellano’s second novel.

(Harper Collins / Carl Timpone)

You have written a very funny book, and funny books don’t get the respect they deserve.

Anytime you have humor in a book, you’re not taken quite as seriously. Even in Barnes & Noble, when you look for humor, it’s on the back wall or on the floor. And that’s where you find the David Sedaris books, which is crazy. My last book was about a beach town, so I got lumped in with the beach read group. I had people who were looking for a fun beach read and then they picked up my book, and it’s about zoning code violations. I’m happy that this book is being marketed as literary and humorous. I’m in better shape in that sense.

It’s really hard to write funny. Or is it?

The best way I can describe it is like a stand-up comedian having a notebook full of jokes and anecdotes and she has to put together an HBO special. Sometimes I just had one line of something funny. I had all these ideas and thoughts and different things from old books that I was writing. I tried to put all of it together and find a character that could tell this story, and the through line that I could create from all of this material. So I wrote it backwards and out of order.

Who do you think is funny? Who do you like to read?

J.D. Salinger, David Sedaris, Maria Semple. I love Calvin Trillin. I think he’s a great writer.

Your protagonist is very late on a contract and has to rush to get the book written, which gives the narrative propulsion and momentum.

I had a two-book deal, so while I was working on the publicity for my first book, I raced to finish this book. And when I was finished, I realized it didn’t work and had to throw out the whole manuscript. I saved maybe six or seven little anecdotes from that original book. So it took another year to write. That was the inspiration for “Proof of Progress.”

Your writing career is a bit like Maria’s acting career, in that you chanced upon it.

I was a theater major. I don’t think I took one English course. Then I graduated right into the Recession of 2008. There were no jobs. Eventually, I applied to be an apprentice buyer at Bloomingdale’s, even though I hate shopping. That was the last resort. Then I decided, maybe I’ll be a writer, because it felt like something that I could do. I wrote a lot of things that were rejected before I wrote my first book, “Save What’s Left” [2023]. And that’s probably why I wrote Maria the way I did. We zig, we zag, we endure.

This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.

📰 The Week(s) in Books

Kyle MacLachlan’s new memoir is a funny, candid and self-aware reflection on his 40-year career in Hollywood.

(Christopher Patey / For The Times)

We loved him as Special Agent Cooper in “Twin Peaks” and as Jeffrey Beaumont in “Blue Velvet,” but according to Kyle Maclachlan’s new memoir, “Fictional Selves,” there is another unknown character: “Other Kyle,” the actor’s ever-present shadow figure. “There’s definitely another entity, an observer, the ego, the harder self,” MacLachlan tells Rachel Brodksy.

After a nine-year absence from fiction, John Green has returned with “Hollywood, Ending,” a darkly humorous show business cautionary tale that Green couldn’t have written “without spending a lot of time on film sets,” he tells Emily St. Martin. “I hope the book is a love letter to movies. But I also wanted to be honest about how difficult it is to make a work of art that, in order to be commercially successful, has to be loved by millions of people.”

Katya Suvorova’s memoir, “Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter,” is a “heart-wrenching tale of immigration” that “pulls back the velvety red curtain to reveal one story behind the oversexualized stereotypical post-Soviet mail-order bride narrative so ingrained in post-Cold War U.S. culture,” writes Diana Ruzova.

Finally, Vroman’s and Book Soup, two of L.A.’s most beloved bookstores, have been sold by longtime owner Joel Sheldon to tech executive Robert Hoffman, reports Suhauna Hussain.

📖 Bookstore Faves

Outpost Books is a new bookstore in South Pasadena.

(Simran Malik)

Walking into Outpost Books is like stepping into a smart book lover’s cozy den. With its southwestern-themed design and a well-curated selection of new and used books, the indie book store in South Pasadena already feels like home to this community of rabid book lovers. I spoke with owner Nicole Novembrino about her new store.

Why a bookstore?

I was a sales rep for a publisher of art books, but I looked at my life, wondering what I could do for a living that would give me real meaning and purpose. I love books, and so I decided to open a bookstore. It’s not easy, and you can second-guess yourself a million times along the way, or get a normal job. But I’m so glad I did it. Everyone in the neighborhood is so happy!

Why did you choose to open in South Pasadena?

I live in El Sereno nearby, and South Pasadena is such a great community. When we first opened, people were coming in and thanking us for opening in the neighborhood. There aren’t any other bookstores in this particular South Pasadena neighborhood. I definitely didn’t want to take any business away from other stores.

Pasadena loves its bookstores.

This is a very bookish community. The donations I’m getting from people are really smart volumes. I think I’ve had just one Nora Roberts book! The landlords are great, as well. They came to our opening and told me the store is all they could have dreamed of for the space, which is so sweet.

The kids section is really fun, with the tent and the fake tree stumps.

We have a lot of kids books with a southwestern theme. I’ve been collecting them over the years from my trips to the desert. You might find a book called “Armadillo Rodeo” in there.

How did you land on the western theme?

My mom is from New Mexico, so every family vacation was a trip to the Southwest, and I loved stopping and collecting things at the trading posts along the way. I wanted to give the store that kind of feel. I chose the name Outpost for that reason. It is a lived-in place where you can just hang out and find cool things and read.

Outpost Books, 1010 ½ Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena, (626) 399-0595