Ben Miles has landed a part in ITV’s upcoming six-part space thriller First Woman
Ben Miles is to star in a new ITV series(Image: BBC screengrab)
The Crown’s Ben Miles is set to appear in ITV‘s “suspenseful” new space thriller centred on a woman who goes missing during a lunar mission.
The actor, known for portraying British Royal Air Force officer Peter Townsend in the royal drama, joins Adolescence star Ashley Walters in six-part series First Woman, reports Wales Online.
Ashley takes on the role of Ben Reith, who awakens one morning to find his wife Claire (Andrea Riseborough) has vanished. This sparks a global media sensation “because Claire is an astronaut crewing the UK’s first moonbase and she’s disappeared into the long lunar night”, the broadcaster’s synopsis reveals.
It continues: “Claire is the first woman to set foot on the moon.
“A biologist taking part in a groundbreaking research project, her disappearance throws suspicion on her fellow astronauts and China’s rival base.
“With hundreds of thousands of miles between them, can Ben uncover the truth behind his wife’s disappearance?”
The ensemble also features Pride and Prejudice star Jennifer Ehle and Alex Hassell, who will shortly return as Rupert Campbell-Black in the second series of racy Disney+ sensation Rivals.
Ben, who also starred in conspiracy thriller The Capture, joins First Woman’s cast alongside The Tower’s Jimmy Akingbola, Fra Fee from Unchosen, You’s Kathryn Gallagher, Nautilus’ Shazad Latif and Neuromancer’s Christian Ochoa Lavernia.
Teasing the casting news on Instagram, ITV revealed: “A groundbreaking project. A missing biologist. A mystery that reaches across the stars.”
Polly Hill, ITV’s director of drama, promised the series would transport audiences on “an incredible journey”, saying: “I wanted ITV to make this the moment I read it.
“The team that has come on board on and off screen is incredible, and a testament to the wonderful and original scripts.”
When the project was first unveiled, creator Lydia Yeoman explained: “Set in the exciting (and as-yet-unexplored) world of private space travel, First Woman is a thriller unlike anything else we’ve seen.
“This is the story of a marriage put through the ultimate test. It’s rare that you get given the opportunity to tell a story with such ambition and scope, and we’re eternally grateful to Polly at ITV and Alcon for allowing us to do that.”
The much-revered broadcaster and natural historian has been sent hundreds of items in the post
17:01, 07 May 2026Updated 17:08, 07 May 2026
Sir David Attenborough thanks fans for 100th birthday wishes
As birthdays go, they don’t come much bigger than Sir David Attenborough turning 100 – as the postmen of Richmond-upon-Thames have discovered.
In the run up to the big day today (FRI) the BBC natural history star has been inundated with hundreds of cards, packages and gifts from across the UK – with some even coming from abroad.
Yesterday Sir David issued a statement of gratitude. In it, he admitted that he’d been hoping for his milestone anniversary to slip by unnoticed, but added that he’d been “completely overwhelmed” by the messages he’d received.
In a message recorded for social media he is shown holding a harvest mouse, from the Wild Isles series about British wildlife. He said: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly – but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.
“I’ve been completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings, from preschool groups to care home residents and countless individuals and families of all ages.
“I simply can’t reply to each of you all separately, but I would like to thank you all most sincerely for your kind messages and wish those of you who have planned your own local events tomorrow, have a very happy day.”
As the posties have arrived carrying armfuls and boxes of letters in recent days, Sir David has been seen answering the door to his home in Richmond, south west London, looking surprised and delighted by the scores of thoughtful messages people have sent for his birthday.
He will mark the day itself with close family in the daytime and then attend a live event staged in his honour at the Royal Albert Hall, to be shown on BBC1.
Called David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth it aims to showcase his groundbreaking career at the forefront of natural history storytelling and will feature the BBC Concert Orchestra plus special guests expected to include Prince William.
The event will take audiences on “a journey through a century of exploration and discovery in the natural world, seen through the prism of David’s extraordinary life”. It will feature wildlife stories accompanied by live music from his programmes, plus reflections from leading advocates for the natural world and those he has collaborated with over the decades.
Accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra, it will feature original compositions from some of David’s best-known landmark series. Alongside the music, guests will include some of those he has collaborated with from the world of conservation and wildlife filmmaking.
It was commissioned by BBC specialist factual boss Jack Bootle who said at the time: “It’s impossible to overstate what Sir David Attenborough has given us. His programmes have changed how we see our planet and our place within it.”
He added: “It’s also a moment for all of us at the BBC to say thank you to David — for his generosity, for his brilliance, and for a lifetime spent bringing the wonders of nature into our homes.”
Towie star Jake Hall revealed the ‘only one reason’ he was still alive in an emotional last interviewCredit: InstagramThe 35-year-old said his daughter River brought him back from the brink in 2023Credit: Instagram
“If I’m honest, River is the reason I’m here today. She’s amazing and we’ve got an incredible relationship. She’s very creative, is always dancing and loves clothes.
“It was that part that hurt most when I lost Prévu. I lost something that was for her, everything I do is for her and her future.”
Jake shot to fame on The Only Way Is Essex in 2015 and had an explosive on-off relationship with Chloe Lewis, with millions of viewers following every moment of their doomed romance.
He left the show in 2016 and later revealed he had not kept in touch with any of his co-stars.
“I was very young,” he said.
Jake Hall with his ex wife Missé Beqiri and their daughter RiverCredit: Instagram/JakeHallJake Hall’s first fashion label Prévu collapsed in 2023Credit: Getty
“And it was an experience. I’m in a very different place in life now and want different things. There has been a lot of good and bad.”
Jake also opened about finding early success hard, and that he had struggled with self-belief when he was younger which had a major impact on his life.
He was desperate to be a role model for children who had faced similar problems and could not see themselves succeeding.
He said: “School was tough for me.
“I had dyslexia and quite a lot of problems growing up, and I want to show guys who might be similar to me that they can do it too. If I can, so can they.”
At the time of the interview in May last year, Jake was celebrating the launch of his second clothing brand By Jake Hall.
It had already been worn by major stars including David Beckham, former Vogue editor Edward Enninful and Manchester City star Erling Haaland.
Enninful, one of the most respected names in fashion, had worn one of Jake’s suits during the Monaco Grand Prix and had ordered two more.
Cops found Jake with fatal head wounds at a rented villa in MajorcaCredit: Solarpix
Beckham chose a jacket and trousers for a DB eyewear campaign.
Jake said he had plans to expand into womenswear and fragrance and as he talked about the brand’s success, his face lit up.
“The last few months have been pretty amazing,” he said.
“It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and rebuilding a business is never easy.
“I’m in a really good place at the moment and excited about the future. I can feel the energy and the spark, and I just want to keep that momentum going. The comeback is on. I know I can do it.”
Jake shared his daughter with Misse Beqiri, star of The Real Housewives of Cheshire. The pair welcomed River in 2017 but split in 2021.
Cops found Jake with fatal head wounds at a rented villa in Majorca in the early hours of Wednesday.
The star had smashed his head against a glass door during a booze-fuelled rampage, police sources claim.
The star reportedly smashed his head against a glass doorCredit: ShutterstockJake Hall holding a painting outside the property in SpainCredit: Instagram
Neighbours reported hearing “loud noises” that were strong enough to make walls vibrate just hours before police arrived at the property.
An investigation has been launched by the Spanish Civil Guard.
Police have quizzed four men and two women staying at the house.
They reportedly told officers that they had been out in the evening and continued partying after returning to the property in the early hours.
Authorities have not released the nationalities of the others who were at the property.
British crime drama fans won’t want to miss this gripping murder mystery series set in Scotland
Shetland is streaming on BBC iPlayer(Image: BBC)
Crime drama fans will be hooked on this “addictive” series packed with twists and turns.
Shetland is a cherished British programme adapted from Ann Cleeves’ novels by David Kane. The show centres on police detectives investigating murders across the remote, tight-knit Shetland islands.
Douglas Henshall portrayed DI Jimmy Perez throughout the first seven series, before Ashley Jensen assumed the lead role as DI Ruth Calder from series eight onwards.
The murder mysteries unfold primarily on the eponymous archipelago, though certain scenes are filmed on mainland Scotland. Last month, the BBC announced that production has commenced on Shetland’s 11th series, with Ashley reprising her role as DI Calder alongside Alison O’Donnell as DI Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh.
The upcoming instalment will shoot at various Scottish locations and across the Shetland Isles throughout the coming months, with fresh episodes scheduled to debut on BBC One and iPlayer later this year. This comes just months after series 10 wrapped up, reports the Express.
The new six-part series welcomes Christine Bottomley, Kevin Harvey, Stella Gonet, Gregor Fisher, Gavin Mitchell, John Wark, Jude Bain, Robin Weaver, Beth Marshall, Daniel Boyd, Charlene Boyd, and Helen Mackay to the cast.
Returning favourites include Steven Robertson, Lewis Howden, Samuel Anderson, Steven Miller, Anne Kidd, Angus Miller, Connor McCarry, and Eubha Akilade.
The forthcoming series will focus on a historical killing destined to “forever change the lives of all those connected in the present day”.
The official synopsis reveals: “When a car is pulled from the water, a grim discovery is made – crammed in the boot are the decomposed, skeletal remains of an unknown male. The team’s search to uncover the victim’s identity begins with a hunt for the vehicle’s owner – a respected, local GP who left the Isles under a cloud of troubled rumours nine years ago.
“As Calder and Tosh dig deeper into the enigmatic GP’s state-of-mind and the lives of the loved ones he left behind, the investigation takes them to dark and dangerous places in their quest for the truth.”
Before the fresh episodes arrive, viewers can delve into numerous Scottish murder cases as the first ten series of Shetland are currently available on BBC iPlayer.
Shetland has won over millions of devoted followers, ranking amongst the top five most-watched BBC drama programmes of 2025. Furthermore, it held its position as Scotland’s leading BBC drama, with numerous fans drawing comparisons to other BBC favourites including Line of Duty and Blue Lights.
When a Reddit user sought recommendations similar to Line of Duty, one fan responded: “Shetland is a fantastic show. Was a bit slow at first but really gets going quickly and is addictive.”
An IMDb reviewer commented: “Stunning, gripping, dynamic noir series. Beautiful scenery, laid back pace but still a gripping series with great characters.” Another viewer chimed in: “We just started this series and absolutely love it. It gets better as you go, we’re just now on Season 3 and can’t wait to see what’s next. Incredible actors, strong storyline. Worth the watch, just be patient as you start!”
A third enthusiast declared: “This is a superb series that never disappoints. The writing is great and well thought-out, something that is missing in most shows today. The pace is excellent. This series could go on for dozens of seasons and would still hold my interest. Add this to your must-have watch list,” while another echoed the sentiment: “Outstanding mystery series. Absolutely perfect. The characters are likeable, the stories are compelling, the cinematography is stunning.”
KATIE Price has revealed she’s back in hospital for more surgery after sharing a topless snap and asking fans to guess what procedure she’s having.
The former glamour model, 47, recently travelled to Belgium for more work on her ‘biggest ever boobs’.
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Katie revealed she’s back in hospital for more surgery and asked fans to guess what she’s havingCredit: Facebook/BackgridIt comes just weeks after the former glamour model travelled to Belgium for more work on her ‘biggest ever’ boobsCredit: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
And it seems Katie’s not done yet as she shared a new snap showing her topless in a hospital bed while medical staff worked on her.
She wrote: “Quick Little Procedure, Any Guesses?”
Katie underwent her 17th boob job in 2024 in Belgium where she had work done to refine the biggest chest she has ever had.
Legends only dropped today (May 7) on Netflix, but audiences are already watching the six-part series, based on an incredible true story.
The show follows a group of customs officers, who become agents and adopt ‘legends’ or alter-egos as they go undercover to infiltrate Britain’s most notorious drug gangs as part of Margaret Thatcher’s war on drugs.
Coogan plays Don, the head of a top-secret group, which has been sent out into the field with minimal training and no budget or official recognition for their dangerous but vital work.
Many audience members are keen to know more about Coogan’s life away from the cameras, here’s the lowdown including his famous ex-girlfriends and a “truly terrifying” experience.
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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.
This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.
Steve Coogan’s famous ex-girlfriends
The star has dated some very famous faces in the past, most notably Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s ex-wife, Courtney Love.
The pair had a fleeting fling with the Hole star – and both parties had some choice words about the romance.
Love described the fling in a 2021 social media post as “one of my life’s great shames” and went on to compare it to her solo musical endeavour America’s Sweetheart: “Like Steve Coogan, or crack, it’s one of my life’s great shames.”
Meanwhile, Coogan told GQ of their brief time together: “Some of it was true, most of it was b******s. To borrow the title of the film [2005’s A Cock and Bull Story], it was 20 per cent cock and 80 per cent bull.”
Along with Love, Coogan was also linked to model and restaurant heiress China Chow between 2008 to 2011, model Elle Basey from 2011 to 2014, and former TV presenter Melanie Sykes between 2018 and 2019.
He is father to Clare Coogan Cole, whom he shares with TV producer Anna Cole.
Coogan is now thought to be dating model and actress Caitlin Walsh since 2021.
Steve Coogan’s real accent
The star grew up in Middleton, Lancashire and studied in Manchester however, he recently admitted how he rarely gets to use his real accent as part of his work until he starred in Legends.
He explained in a recent interview: “I’ve played a lot of different people in my career, and it was quite nice to play someone who is from the North of England, which is where I’m from.
“It’s the first time I’ve been able to do my unfiltered, native accent, and that’s also quite enjoyable.”
Going on to speak about his character Don in Legends, Coogan said: “He’s no-nonsense and plain speaking, and people who meet him for the first time might consider him to be rude, unfiltered and direct.
“But they soon learn that he does care very deeply about the welfare of the people who work for him.
“He’s quite a moral man, despite his bluff, forthright nature, and that’s always an interesting character to play.”
Steve Coogan’s ‘terrifying’ ordeal
Coogan spoke candidly in his 2015 book Easily Distracted as per The Guardian about his former drug use and mental health, saying that he had a “truly terrifying cocaine-induced panic attack” in 1992 while living in Edinburgh.
He went on to describe how he had “been up all night doing drugs” when he started to feel dizzy and he was on the “verge of blacking out”.
A distraught Coogan was taken to hospital by a friend and thought he was going to die.
However, he was reassured by the doctor that it was a panic attack and he would be kept in overnight.
Instead of staying at the hospital, Coogan left and explained: “I was scared of what might be written about me in the papers.”
He continued to have panic attacks which led to depression.
Coogan sought out a therapist, who explained he was having panic attacks and taught him breathing exercises to manage any feelings of “impending catastrophe”.
As his panic attacks lessened, the Philomena star admitted he started doing cocaine again.
He reflected: “I spent tens of thousands of pounds on everyone else’s addiction, but it took me a long time to face up to my own.”
In the 2020 book Don’t Look Back In Anger, which featured interviews from numerous other Britpop era stars, Coogan said: “Some of the live shows I did I was still intoxicated from the night before. I didn’t care. I had a feeling of indestructibility.”
He added: “But the bottom line is the drugs don’t work.”
Although the star has now given up drugs, he still considers himself an addict.
BBC RADIO 2 legend Bob Harris has shared a new health update with fans, after revealing that his cancer has spread.
The radio star, who previously revealed he was forced to take a break from broadcasting as a result of his health issues, posted a new image of himself with a big grin and a thumbs up.
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Bob Harris shared a new health update with fans, after revealing that his cancer has spreadCredit: Instagram/whisperingbobBBC Radio 2 legend Bob has experience recent setbacks in his cancer battleCredit: Instagram/whisperingbob
Bob, 80, could be seen sitting at home in a gown and appeared in good spirits, while writing to fans: “Hiya Folks! I hope you’re all ok. Sending you all my love.”
The star, who is resting up at home and out of hospital, was flooded with sweet messages from fans.
One person wrote: “Sending all the love your way,” while another added: “Fab photo Looking great. Keep up the good work.”
Last month, he shared how his cancer has spread from his prostate to his upper spineCredit: Instagram/whisperingbobBob shared a photo of himself walking with a stickCredit: Instagram
Last month, he shared how his cancer has spread from his prostate to his upper spine.
Taking to Instagram to update his fans at the time, Bob shared a photo of himself walking with a stick.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last posted but the past few weeks have proved to be an extremely testing time,” he penned in the caption.
Bob went on: “When I posted last time from hospital, we were trying to find the reason for the excruciating pain I was feeling in my back.
“Several scans later, we discovered that my prostate cancer has got into my upper spine…really frightening news.
“So, I immediately began a course of radiotherapy – two weeks in hospital in total – to bring things back under control. Thankfully I’m back at home now, on the pathway to recovery and feeling stronger every day.”
He added: “I have started a programme of rehab and today I got out into this glorious weather for the first time with my son @expiredfilmclub who took the photograph.
“Just want to send so much love to Zoe and to everyone who have been in touch.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
Worst Ex Ever season two has already soared into Netflix’s top 10 most-watched list.
Hayley Anderson Screen Time TV Reporter
11:08, 07 May 2026
Geoffrey Paschel in TLC’s 90 Day Fiance. (Image: TLC)
Worst Ex Ever has returned to Netflix after a two-year hiatus to tell more horrifying relationship stories.
The series is back with a new four-part season delving into survivors’ true accounts of “romance gone wrong”.
Despite just being released on Wednesday, May 6, the true crime docu-series has already catapulted into Netflix’s top 10, landing the number two most-watched spot.
Episode two, Primetime Predator, revolves around someone 90 Day Fiance fans may recognise as Geoffrey Paschel starred in the fourth season of the TLC reality show.
Viewers may remember that during the show, he was discovered to have had prior drug-related convictions and to have faced allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wives.
While he was in a relationship with Varya Malina during filming, TLC eventually banned him from appearing in the show’s reunion special.
Worst Ex Ever season two recalls events prior to him appearing on 90 Day Fiance when he met Tennessee teacher Kristen Wilson on a dating app in 2017.
She went on to find out that he had a criminal record and allegedly, a violent past with several of his exes.
In June 2019, just months before he was to start filming 90 Day Fiance, Paschel attacked Wilson and was later convicted.
According to the Knox County District Attorney’s office, he “grabbed the victim by the neck and slammed her head against the wall several times”.
Cosmopolitan reported that he also took Wilson’s phone so she wouldn’t be able to call for help.
Where is Geoffrey Paschel now?
Geoffrey Paschel is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole.
A jury found him guilty of aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault and interference with emergency calls following a two-day trial in October 2021.
The judge cited him as a “multiple offender” and is now incarcerated at a state prison in Tennessee.
Two years ago, Paschel tried to appeal his conviction but this was rejected at the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
While Paschel is behind bars, his 90 Day Fiance co-star Varya Malina has continued to stay by his side and shared updates regarding his imprisonment.
She last posted in September 2025 on Instagram a few pictures of the pair hiking together, along with the caption: “Happy birthday. Even though we can’t celebrate together today, my heart is with you every moment.”
The next episode of The Testaments will dive into Agnes’ wedding plans, but when will it be available to stream on Disney Plus?
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The Testaments fans can start the countdown for Episode 8.
With seven episodes available to stream on Disney+, The Handmaid’s Tale sequel already has viewers hooked. It follows June Osborne’s (played by Elisabeth Moss) teenage daughter Agnes (Chase Infiniti), as she climbs the ranks at Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) prep school for wives.
Agnes spends her childhood believing in Gilead’s oppressive system, but everything changes when new student Daisy (Lucy Halliday) joins the school. The pair’s bond changes their lives.
The last two episodes have explored Lydia’s dark past, as well as how Daisy was recruited by Mayday to spy on Gilead. The girls have also found their matches, and Agnes is set to start wedding planning in the next instalment. But when can viewers tune in?
When does The Testaments Episode 8 come out?
Episode 8 of The Testaments will be released on Wednesday, May 13. As always, it will be available to stream on Disney+ for UK and international viewers, while U.S. fans can watch the show on Hulu.
A synopsis for the episode teases: “As Agnes is swept up in wedding plans, Daisy hides a life-altering secret and Hulda faces backlash after speaking out.”
A Disney+ subscription now starts at £5.99 and includes hit series like The Testaments, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Bear, plus countless titles from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and more.
While the Margaret Atwood adaptation had a relatively slow start, it has ramped up the action over the last few episodes.
Episode 6 featured a particularly chilling scene where Aunt Lydia and Vidala (Mabel Li) were forced to watch Gilead soldiers execute dozens of women.
It turns out producers cut an even more harrowing scene from that episode.
“There was a scene where the women shoot other women,” director Jet Wilkinson told CBR. “There was a whole scene when [the soldiers] bring out the women, they give them guns, and then they hold guns to the women’s heads.
“It was very confronting. We ended up cutting that scene, but there is someone at the end of the line, a woman shooting as well as Aunt Lydia at that time. [They’re] forced to do these brutal acts.”
Good Morning Britain star Richard Madeley is to head inside one of the world’s most controversial prison’s for an eye-opening Channel 5 documentary
08:08, 07 May 2026Updated 08:08, 07 May 2026
Richard Madeley will present a new documentary(Image: Channel 5)
Richard Madeley is switching the comfort of the Good Morning Britain sofa for the grey walls of prison for a new documentary. The presenter will also head over to Channel 5 for the documentary as he takes on a huge new project.
The feature-length documentary titled Richard Madeley On Murder Row has been commissioned and is set to air later this year. The programme will offer up a rare peek inside one of the world’s most controversial prisons.
The 69-year-old star will head to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The vast maximum security prison has become the cornerstone of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s war on gangs.
Richard will be given access to the full site. It’s said the rare offer “took months to negotiate”, with the presenter also taking in how life really is inside the detention centre.
The GMB presenter will speak to inmates at the facility as they live under the strict regime. And he will also chat with guards who set the harsh rules to try to keep the felons under control.
Away from the institute, Richard will visit the tough urban areas that surround it and are home o a number of violent gangs. He will find out exactly what the effects of the CECOT being on their doorstep has had.
Speaking of the opportunity, Richard said: “‘I was genuinely thrilled to be asked to front this film for 5. It’s not every day you’re given the chance to step inside a place as extraordinary and talked about as CECOT.”
He went on: “What struck me straight away was the sheer scale of it, and the stories behind it. In meeting the people who run the prison and those living inside it, what unfolds is a fascinating and often surprising look at justice, security, and the human realities behind the headlines. It’s been a remarkable experience.”
Guy Davies, Consultant Editor for Commissioning 5, said: “This access to CECOT was a tantalising prospect. Richard is, at heart, a first-class popular journalist and we were thrilled to get the chance for him to serve some time there. I think viewers will be very surprised by the results.”
And Andy Dunn, Senior Executive Producer, ITN Productions, added: “Gaining access to CECOT, the most secretive and notorious prison in the world, took months of negotiation. It was really important for Richard to experience the extreme conditions there first hand, and he takes us on a compelling and unique journey as he considers the effectiveness and ethics of such a harsh regime.”
Tens of thousands of prisoners have been locked up on bare metal bunks in the prison. They often don’t have a mattress and conditions have been described as inhumane. Cells have two toilets and a basin which are open with no privacy while there are no windows and they are watched by guards from holes in the mesh ceiling.
The conditions are unlike anything seen in the UK system as the inmates take their cramped space on the metal bunks.
Harper Beckham has been refused naming rights for her beauty brand in the USCredit: InstagramHarper is the youngest daughter of David and Victoria BeckhamCredit: Shutterstock
But the US Patent and Trademark Office issued an “initial refusal” against the name because of the “likelihood of confusion” with existing companies.
It said “Harper” was already trademarked for the sale of brooms and scrubbing brushes, while “Haiku” is registered for fragrance and toiletry products.
Harper has been working on the project for more than a year and hopes to sell products for spot-prone teens.
The US application covers make-up and acne medications, as well as footwear and clothing, keyrings, stickers, hair decorations and brushes.
The entrepreneur has been working on the project for more than a year and hopes to sell products for spot-prone teensCredit: InstagramVictoria has described her daughter as ‘very ambitious’ and ‘a little entrepreneur’Credit: Instagram/@emmagrede
She and her parents have six months to respond, after applying for the trademark in November.
Fashion designer Victoria, 52, this week spoke about her daughter’s plans, describing her as “very ambitious” and “a little entrepreneur”.
She said Harper came to her “two or three years ago and she was really struggling with her skin”.
She added: “I suffered with child acne, teenage acne, adult acne, every acne under the sun, I’ve been there. So I could really relate to her.
“And she said, ‘I want to create a brand because I don’t want other people to have to go through what I’ve been through’.”
Sam Smith is engaged to Christian Cowan, according to a “hotel lobby spy” who spilled the tea to Page Six.
“From what I understand, it was a private engagement,” the hotel lobby spy told the outlet after allegedly overhearing the couple discussing their betrothal. “They are over the moon, and from what I hear, so in love!”
We will not pause to consider whether the spy was a publicist, an assistant, a second assistant, a hotel employee or perhaps even a stray NYPD officer employed that night as a security guard, but Page Six says a second person confirmed the news.
The Times has reached out to Smith’s record label for independent confirmation, but has not heard back.
The two Brits were first spotted together in late 2022, when Smith sang at the White House to mark then-President Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act guaranteeing federal protection for same-sex and interracial marriages. After numerous sightings of the couple out together and sharing kisses in 2023, they confirmed to the New York Times at the 2024 Met Gala that they were dating.
Back in May 2024, the couple made a small splash on the red carpet with Cowan in an ivory suit and Smith in a black one with a sheer suggestion of skirt laying over the pants. But on Monday night, with Cowan in an evocative-of-the-1920s black suit and tie flecked with beads, Smith pulled out the stops, donning a black Cowan-designed gown that weighed more than a fully loaded checked bag on the airline of your choice.
“This is the heaviest thing I’ve ever worn in my life. It’s a massive workout,” Smith told Vogue on the Met Gala red carpet.
“It’s 52 pounds,” Cowan chimed in quietly. “Fifty-two pounds. Sorry.”
Once the smiling designer was prompted to explain the collaboration, he said, “Sam was like, ‘Babe, please make something that’s lighter weight.’ And I didn’t do that. Sorry.” Smith noted that the outfit was “like a corset” on the shoulders.
“There’s no one who knows my body more than this man,” Smith said, which made it easy for them, sitting at home with their Pekingese pups Haggis and Pudding, to dream up what the singer would wear to the couple’s third Met Gala together.
With its mermaid-style skirt, full sleeves, furry collar and panache of tall black feathers on a crowning headpiece, the ensemble was a callback to the opulence of the 1920s, Cowan said, finished off with 255,000 crystals and beads. Two thousand hours of “artisanal hand sewing” got the job done, he said in a quote posted on Smith’s Instagram.
“I feel very lucky to be here and to wear your incredible talent like this, it’s amazing,” the 33-year-old “Stay With Me” vocalist told Cowan.
Can’t wait to see what Smith wears on the big day — hopefully it will be a tad less weighty. Here’s hoping a wedding reception spy is on the guest list.
Here’s where you’ve seen the cast of British spy thriller Legends on Netflix before.
Legends official Netflix trailer
Netflix’s Legends will be dropping this week – and the show has some very familiar faces in its star-studded cast.
Six-part series Legends arrives on Netflix today (May 7) and is based on the remarkable true story of a group of ordinary men and women who risked everything for their country.
The show follows several customs employees, who go undercover and adopt ‘legends’ to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs as they take on the war against drugs in the 1990s.
The British crime drama has an impressive cast list, who have been in some big projects previously.
Who is in the cast of Netflix’s Legends?
Guy – Tom Burke
Tom Burke stars as real-life legend Guy, who trades in his mundane job in customs to become a legend.
Burke has appeared in The Musketeers, War & Peace, Blade Runner 2099, BBC’s Strike, and The Lazarus Project.
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Don – Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan is Don, who oversees the legends. The actor, writer and producer is best known for his comedic alter-ego Alan Partridge, Philomena, The Sandman, and 24 Hour Party People.
Kate – Hayley Squires
The Night Manager, Great Expectations and Adult Material star Hayley Squires plays legend Kate.
Carter – Tom Hughes
Tom Hughes, best known for ITV’s Victoria, The Gold and Malpractice, takes on the role of drug kingpin Carter.
Bailey – Aml Ameen
Actor, director and producer Aml Ameen from The Porter, Rustin and Kidulthood, plays legend Bailey.
Erin – Jasmine Blackborow
Jasmine Blackborow, who has appeared in Netflix’s The Gentlemen, Marie Antoinette and Shadow and Bone, plays legends’ secretary Erin.
Blake – Douglas Hodge
Acclaimed actor, composer, director and writer Douglas Hodge from The Night Manager, The Great and Black Mirror stars as senior civil servant Blake, who oversees Don.
Eddie – Johnny Harris
Johnny Harris plays drug dealer Eddie after starring in This Is England ’86, Great Expectations, and A Gentleman in Moscow.
Mylonas – Gerald Kyd
Gerald Kyd, who has appeared in Casualty, Malory Towers, and The Assassin on Prime Video, plays Guy’s fixer Mylonas.
Hakan – Numan Acar
Numan Acar of Homeland, Jack Ryan and Young Sherlock fame plays Turkish drug dealer Hakan.
Sophie – Charlotte Ritchie
Ghosts, Call the Midwife and Netflix’s You star Charlotte Ritchie portrays Guy’s wife and fellow customs officer Sophie.
Zeki – Joshua Samuels
Joshua Samuels from The Gold, Saltburn and Nate & Jamie plays Kurdish drug dealer Zeki, who is working with Hakan.
Aziz – Kem Hassan
Actor and writer Kem Hassan stars as Hakan’s son Aziz. Legends marks his biggest role to date after appearing in The Sandman, Beyond Paradise and Grace.
Shaun – Thomas Coombes
Thomas Coombes stars as Shaun, who helps the Legends, and has featured in ITV crime drama Grace, Sky’s Save Me, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Miss Austen and Baby Reindeer.
Legends will be released on Netflix on Thursday, May 7
On one of her previous visits to Los Angeles, Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel found herself having a smoke on Hollywood Boulevard.
There, while she stepped over the famous concrete-embedded stars, an unhoused man struck up a conversation with her.
“He kept explaining to me that he was poorly dressed because he was currently living on the street after someone robbed him, but he had written a screenplay,” Martel, 59, recalls in Spanish over coffee on a morning in April at a West Hollywood hotel.
“He told me they had stolen a watch from him — not a Rolex but a known brand,” she continues. “The whole time he was trying to convince me he was a millionaire who just so happened to be on the street because of random circumstances.”
One of Latin America’s most indispensable storytellers, Martel is fascinated by how prevalent that dream still is in L.A. — that movies can change your life overnight.
“That particular fantasy is par for the course in this city,” she says, though she’s not above it. It’s the reason she’s back to promote her first documentary, “Our Land,” out Friday.
Unhurried when it comes to her output, Martel has only made four fiction features, among them 2001’s “La Cienaga” and 2008’s “The Headless Woman” (returning to theaters this month in a new 4K restoration). Her biting and formally audacious narratives examine class, politics and — a speciality — the interiority of women through enigmatic portraits of psychologically complex individuals.
“Our Land,” a piercing indictment of the enduring wounds of colonialism, chronicles the murder of Indigenous Argentine activist Javier Chocobar in 2009 and the prolonged trial of the perpetrators in 2018.
Chocobar was shot during a confrontation with armed men over land in the Tucumán province of Argentina where the Chuschagasta Indigenous community has lived for many generations. Martel explores the killing not as an isolated event in her country’s recent past but as part of a long history of dispossession.
“Racism is a foundational element,” she says of her homeland. “The only consistent thing in Argentina, from the country’s birth to the present day, is the rejection of Indigenous people.”
In Argentina, Martel explains, public education has indoctrinated the population into believing Indigenous people no longer exist. Yet many Argentines proudly claim a connection to the Europeans, Italians in particular, who arrived in the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
“When giving speeches, our presidents always say, ‘We are a country of immigrants,’ or ‘We came from the boats,’” says Martel. “They use metaphors like these because deep down Argentines feel much more indebted to European immigration than to our Indigenous population. But more than half of the people in Argentina have Indigenous ancestors.”
In 2020, Chocobar’s three convicted murderers appealed their guilty verdicts and were set free. “Our Land” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2025, which brought renewed attention to the case. A month later, the sentence was upheld and two of the men returned to prison (one died in the interim).
Martel believes that outcome was a response to her film. “Communities wage the fight but cinema helps,” she says.
“I believe that we must use cinema for its enormous power to alter perception and not soothe the rich,” Martel says. “It’s not about delivering a message but rather about showing how an idea functions.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
For over 14 years, Martel worked on “Our Land” on and off. This time included periods when she focused on 2017’s “Zama,” her masterful period piece following a Spanish official in 18th century Argentina “who doesn’t want to be American,” she says, referring to the continent. In her mind, both “Zama” and “Our Land” come from the same impulse to dissect colonialism.
As part of her research process, Martel and her team created a detailed archive of documents related to the case that the Chuschagasta community now has at its disposal. Over the years, Delfín Cata, one of the Indigenous men present during the attack, would call Martel. He never asked about how her film was going, but the director sensed he was tacitly checking in on her progress, hoping that she was not losing faith.
“That was a confirmation that, beyond my own interest, there were people who needed this film,” she says. “I felt the immense satisfaction of knowing I was doing something that would be concretely useful.”
For Martel, the question of whether she was the right person to make this film (one she got in Venice) seems unfair. “It’s wrong to prevent a human being from speaking about their own history because they are not a woman, because they are not Black, or because they are not Indigenous,” she says. “It’s better to make mistakes trying to understand something than not to try at all. The chances of making a mistake are enormous in a film, no matter how good your intentions are.”
A key piece of evidence in the Chocobar case, prominent in the film, is a video that one of the attackers filmed, presumably expecting the Indigenous community to react violently, to justify firing his gun at them. The Chuschagasta men that faced them weren’t armed. As used by their aggressors, the camera functioned as a weapon.
Hollywood feels incompatible with Martel’s sophisticated, confrontational movies rooted in her country’s troubles. By Martel’s own admission, it doesn’t feel like a fit for her.
“I would have to force myself to create something outside my own country, outside my own language,” she says. “And that doesn’t really appeal to me.”
Still, Marvel Studios famously asked to meet with her when seeking a director for 2021’s “Black Widow.” Martel says she was among many directors they contacted, but she was curious to take the meeting even if she knew nothing would come of it.
“They wanted to do it over Zoom and I happened to be here in Los Angeles,” she remembers. “I told them I could come in, because I wanted to see what the whole process was like.”
Martel describes the month she spent in L.A. — an eye injury prevented her from flying home sooner — as a “lot of fun in the end,” even if no blockbuster emerged from it. More recently, another Hollywood offer did tempt her, but she ultimately passed.
“It was a good book suggested to me by an actress of undoubted talent,” Martel shares, careful to avoid names. “I considered it, but you very quickly have to picture yourself spending three years or at least a year and a half living in the United States making a movie. I have a thousand things in Argentina to worry about.”
Still, Hollywood, and its significance to moviemaking, has a singular, unnerving allure on her. Two of Martel’s favorite movies set in L.A. are David Lynch’s nightmarish “Mulholland Drive” and Robert Aldrich’s psychodrama “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
“There is something ruthless and utterly devoid of sanity at the heart of this film industry, and I’ve never felt that darkness as clear as in ‘Mulholland Drive,’” she says. “How can an industry that handles so many millions [of dollars] and such impeccably dressed famous people be so full of lunatics? That film captures that perfectly.”
And occasionally, she thinks, a big production breaks the mold, such as Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2019 when Martel served as jury president — a controversial choice.
“It certainly had an impact on me,” says Martel. “I didn’t vote for it, though. I had another favorite, a Chinese film that stood no chance of winning.”
Phillips, she thinks, created a premonition for what was to come. “For me, the real killer clowns are Trump, Milei or Orbán,” Martel says, referring to polarizing leaders. “They expose themselves to ridicule and spout all sorts of nonsense. Those are clowns. And I think that movie captured that.”
Not one to mince words, Martel elaborates on the relation of Joaquin Phoenix’s social outcast turned supervillain and President Trump.
“The origin of the Joker is social resentment,” she says. “Trump holds no resentment toward society because the system gave him everything. But he has exploited the people who do harbor resentment. That is where you see the kind of clown he is, one who knows how to use people.”
Artificial intelligence, far-right ideologies, voracious capitalism — all of it makes Martel alarmed, seeing it as pushing us collectively to the brink of collapse. But there is hope, she thinks.
“What we have invented is very dangerous but we can dismantle it,” she says. “That is the only thing I’m betting on, that, at some point, a consensus will emerge and we’ll go, ‘Let’s not do this.’”
“I believe that we must use cinema for its enormous power to alter perception and not soothe the rich,” she says. “It’s not about delivering a message but rather about showing how an idea functions.”
She points to one of her subjects in “Our Land,” an Indigenous man who told her he loves the 1959 Charlton Heston epic “Ben-Hur,” a passion she does not share but understands.
“That’s a blow for all of us who make auteur cinema,” Martel says with a laugh. “That feeling that ‘Ben-Hur’ evoked gave him the strength to continue fighting for his community’s territory.”
The night before our interview, Martel rode around L.A. on a scooter holding onto a friend. These days she uses a cane to help her with mobility. “The city has great light,” she says, still open to being surprised by it.
EMMY award-winning actor William H. Macy has revealed the most difficult Hollywood stars, according to him.
The star, 76, has been acting for four and a half decades and has worked with the who’s who of Hollywood in his time.
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William H. Macy has revealed the most difficult Hollywood stars in his opinionCredit: SXSW Conference & Festivals viaHe shared his thoughts on the We Might Be Drunk podcastCredit: WE MIGHT BE DRUNK POD
He appeared on the We Might Be Drunk podcast with hosts Mark Normand and Sam Morril as they attempted to get some gossip out of him.
Mark asked: “We gotta ask, which actors do you really hate?,” before listing off some big names, including Tommy Lee Jones, who he acted in the 1994 film, The Client with.
William responded: “He was rough,” before adding: “I’m not letting out any secrets.”
The hosts then asked him what he thought about Jim Carrey, to which he replied: “I did not act with him, but I’ve just heard he can be really tough.
“You know, there are a lot of actors out there, it p****s me off, who make life miserable for a lot of people and they don’t get busted for it and it p****s me off.”
William began his career on stage in theatre, before building his career by starring in small, independent films.
His breakthrough role was in black comedycrime film Fargo in 1996 which got him critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He went on to star in big Hollywood films in his career, including Psycho, Jurassic Park 3, Spartan and The Lincoln Lawyer.
He claimed Tommy Lee Jones was “rough”Credit: Getty – ContributorWilliam was asked what Jim Carrey is likeCredit: Getty
William’s television work includes playing Dr. David Morgenstern in ER for 15 years and as Frank Gallagher on the US Shameless for 10 years.
He is a two-timeEmmy Awardand four-timeScreen Actors Guild Awardwinner, and has been nominated for anAcademy Award, aDrama Critics’ Circle Award, and fiveGolden Globe Awards.
The Hollywood star married actress Felicity Huffman in 1997 after dating on and off for 15 years.
The pair went on to have two children together – daughters Sophia Grace and Georgia Grace.
The internet’s most controversial looksmaxxer is in hot water again.
Clavicular, born Braden Eric Peters, has been charged in Florida’s Miami-Dade County in connection with a video that circulated on social media showing an alligator, which appeared to be dead already, being shot repeatedly in the Everglades. Two others are also facing charges in connection with the incident: Andrew Morales, 22, known online by the moniker “Cuban Tarzan,” and Yabdiel Anibal Cotto Torres, 26, who goes by “Baby Alien.”
Peters is facing a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place, according to court records obtained by The Times. The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office filed the charges April 29.
Steven Kramer and Jeffrey Neiman, attorneys for Peters, told The Times in a text message, “Our client has been summoned to appear for a misdemeanor charge that stems from following the instructions of a licensed airboat guide. He relied on that guidance. No animals or people were harmed. We are confident that once the full picture is understood, people will see this for what it is.”
The shooting took place at the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area boat ramp dock on or about March 26, court records said. The video shows the men aboard an airboat firing at the alligator more than a dozen times.
“Yeah, it’s definitely dead,” Peters is heard saying after firing.
Shortly after the video went live on social media, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced it had launched an investigation into the incident.
“Florida’s wildlife and waterways deserve respect, not content farming,” Lt. Gov. Jay Collins said March 26 on X. “Under my watch, anyone who abuses wildlife in Florida will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Morales’ attorney Richard Cooper emailed The Times a statement Wednesday. “We urge the public not to rush to judgment. Importantly, there is no allegation that any animal was injured, and the available evidence does not support the sensationalized narrative that has circulated online,” the statement read. “My client relied on information and guidance provided by those in authority and had no criminal intent.”
The same week Peters’ alligator video caught the authorities’ attention, the manosphere influencer was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. He was taken into custody on a warrant issued by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and released soon after on bond. Police allege that in February the 20-year-old internet celebrity instigated a fight between his girlfriend, Violet Lentz, 24, and a 19-year-old influencer at a Kissimmee, Fla., short-term rental. That incident was also live streamed to his hundreds of thousands of followers.
Then in April, Peters was live streaming from a Miami nightclub when he appeared to overdose on camera. In the video, Peters is seen taking a swig of an unknown substance and then subsequently starting to mumble, sway and close his eyes as the camera panned away.
TMZ obtained the audio from a 911 call alerting emergency services to the possible overdose of a 20-year-old man. Additional videos, taken by bystanders, showed Peters being carried out of the nightclub.
A source close to Peters told The Times that he was hospitalized for the overdose and checked himself out the following morning. Within hours of his release from the hospital, he was back on streaming platform Kick and telling his followers he would be out at a nightclub that night to promote its grand opening.
JUNIOR Andre has revealed he’s working on new music after talks to sign a huge new six-figure deal to team up with sister Princess for an exciting new project.
Junior has revealed he’s working on new music after spending the day in the studioCredit: InstagramHe released his debut single Slide in 2022 and enjoyed huge success with the trackCredit: Instagram
Now Junior, who released debut single Slide in 2022, has told fans he’s working on new tracks.
He took to Instagram to share a clip of him in the car and said: “Just finished the gym, on my way to the studio now.
It comes after The Sun revealed he and sister Junior are have sparked a bidding war to host their own podcastCredit: ShutterstockJunior and Princess with their dad Peter AndreCredit: ABACA/Shutterstock
“I’m excited to make another banger, you lot just wait. I feel good.”
Junior enjoyed huge success with his debut after Slide hit number one on the UK iTunes pop chart in 2022.
We told how Junior and Princess, the children of Katie Price and Peter Andre, are still deciding to who sign with after the huge interest in them.
A source exclusively told The Sun: “Princess and Junior are set to host their own podcast together.
“There was a huge bidding war and they’re still deciding who to sign with.
“It’s worth six figures and everyone is really excited about it.
“They really impressed a lot of podcast bosses on Princess’s TV show and during TV appearances, it’ll actually be their first time hosting together.”
Fans were obsessed with Princess and Junior’s dynamic on her reality show The Princess Diaries and it appears bosses are keen to replicate this on the podcast.
ITV2‘s The Princess Diaries follows Princess as she navigates social media influence, her personal branding and the challenges of being raised in the public eye while trying to trying to maintain a normal teenage life.
Jedward star John Grimes has revealed that the Celebrity Ex On the Beach was put under security lockdown after the building was stormed by curious fans wondering what was going on
John was reunited with his ex on the series (Image: Paramount Global)
Jedward star John Grimes has revealed that the Celebrity Ex On the Beach villa was put under security lockdown. The former X Factor contestant, who shot to fame alongside his twin brother Edward on the ITV talent show in 2009, can currently be seen taking part in the fourth series of the Paramount+ hit, which began airing in March.
The former Celebrity Big Brother star, 34, filmed the show alongside Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan as well Toby Aromolaran and Curtis Pritchard, both of Love Island fame, and Towie’s Dani Imbert amongst a host of others, but this is one of the very rare times he has appeared on-screen alongside his twin.
The programme, which sees famous faces staying abroad and beginning relationships only for their former flames to get involved, is all filmed in Tenerife and John has now explained all about the fan intrusion that all took place in the sunny location. He said: “People knew the location of the villa.
Speaking to The Sun, he continued: “Fans and people in the local area were trying to come into the grounds. Things kept happening. It was the only lit up place in a desolate area, so people were like, ‘What’s that? Let’s try to get in…’ Producers were like, ‘We’re trying to film a show.’ Security stopped anyone from getting in!”
John, who alongside his twin, enjoyed hits with tracks like Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) and Lipstick after finding fame on The X Factor, recently explained what it was like going solo for the reality show.
He said: “Every now and again there are some pre-judged opinions about me out there, but I think going on this show marks a new chapter because I did it on my own, away from Edward. It’s a different situation.
“I was just talking to [Edward] there on the phone. He was a huge supporter of me doing the show, as was Gemma [Collins]. She was very excited. At first, I was a bit kind of touch-and-go. I thought, “Oh, will I do this?”
The star, who was greeted by his ex-girlfriend Sarah Carragher during his time filming the series, also spoke of how he asked his brother for advice when he was approached to to the show.
“But obviously, I always confide in Edward and he was like, “Oh yeah, you should do it,” because you always end things on a neutral note with your exes. If they wash up on the beach, you possibly rekindle something, maybe start cleaning slates,” he added.
“I think it’s like, obviously, you take that risk going on the show. You don’t know who’s going to pull up, but the one that does pull up may say, “You know what, maybe I’ll give them another chance.” John recently revealed via social media that he and Sarah are back together, but the move was said to have angered bosses behind the scenes.
A source said: “John posting that he’s back with his ex was terrible timing as it makes his whole storyline on the show pointless. Cast were asked to keep a bit of mystery around who got back with their ex and who hooked up with who so people tuned in, but clearly John was so thrilled he just went ahead and posted without thinking.
“Bosses are fuming but it’s not like he did it on purpose. Sarah has been quietly telling her pals, as well as John, that she’s really nervous to be thrust into the spotlight and so John wanted to throw his support behind her all the way.”
Matthew Perry’s collection of “Friends” memorabilia, fine art and other prized possessions is going up for auction next month, nearly three years after the actor died at age 54.
Auction house Heritage Auctions announced Tuesday that it will partner with the Matthew Perry Foundation to sell the late actor’s collection. The proceeds will go toward the nonprofit, which seeks to support people living with addiction and move past the stigma that surrounds substance use abuse disorder.
The auction for items from Perry’s estate officially begins June 5, but interested buyers can preview the items from May 18 to May 29 at Heritage Auction’s showroom in Beverly Hills. They can also start placing proxy bids. The listed items notably include plenty of “Friends” memorabilia, ranging from art pieces depicting the TV cast to magazines featuring the “Friends” crew and Perry to episode scripts signed by the cast. Currently, the bid for the signed script of the “Friends” pilot is set at $3,600.
Perry’s painted portraits are up for sale as are his Screen Actors Guild Award from 1995 (he and his co-stars won the prize for performance by an ensemble in a television comedy) and trio of nomination certificates. Perry famously portrayed the wisecracking Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom, which aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004. He starred alongside Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston.
Before his death, Perry shared his love for Batman via social media, often calling himself “Mattman.” His Batman fandom is also abundantly clear in the more than two dozen items of Batman-inspired art, furniture and trinkets that are also up for sale.
The actor and author’s personal art and vintage movie posters collection — including a pair of Banksy works, a piece by Pablo Picasso and a framed “It’s a Wonderful Life” movie poster signed by its star James “Jimmy” Stewart— are among the listings. A handful of miscellaneous items — sports gear and equipment, a Nintendo GameCube, accessories and fine jewelry and a black bi-fold wallet — are also up for auction. The full catalog of listed items can be found on the website for Heritage Auctions.
“Matthew believed addiction should be met with compassion and science, not stigma and silence,” Lisa Kasteler Calio, chief executive of the Matthew Perry Foundation, said in Tuesday’s announcement. “This auction fuels the Foundation’s work to expand access to evidence-based care and confront stigma. It is one more way we ensure that no one has to fight this disease alone.”
Perry, who had been open about his struggles with addiction, died Oct. 28, 2023, from acute effects of ketamine, a drug sometimes used to treat depression, officials said. The woman known as the “ketamine queen” who provided the drugs that killed Perry was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison. Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty in September to one count of maintaining drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
MODEL Irina Shayk is in hot pursuit of the perfect picture on a baking day at the beach.
In her latest bikini photoshoot, she also wore a butter yellow two-piece from El Corte Inglés in the Canary Islands.
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Supermodel Irina Shayk sizzled in vibrant swimwear on the sunshine isle of La PalmaCredit: El Corte Inglés/Txema YesteIrina wore a butter yellow two-piece from El Corte Inglés against a Mediterranean backdropCredit: El Corte Inglés/Txema Yeste
The Russian, 40, is the face of the brand’s new swimwear campaign.
She said: “This collection invites you to enjoy every ray of sunshine and every sea breeze.”
Irina, who posed for the pics in La Palma, was engaged to footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
She also has a daughter with Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper.
Russian model Irina previously dated football sensation Cristiano RonaldoCredit: Instagram @irinashaykIrina has a daughter with her ex, Hollywood actor Bradley CooperCredit: Instagram/IrinaShayk
She has become one of the modern modeling industry’s greats after being discovered in her small Russian hometown of Yemanzhelinsk.
Irina, whose full name is Irina Valeryevna Irinahlislamova, received international recognition when she became the first Russian model to appear on the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Kim Kardashian’s hair stylist Chris Appleton has revealed the staggering amount he charges for a cutCredit: InstagramChris has been a key part of Kim’s glam squad for more than a decade and is responsible for some of her most iconic looksCredit: Hulu
The stylist sat down with Jamie Laing for an episode of his Great Company podcast and the Made in Chelsea star wasted no time in putting him on the spot.
Jamie, 37, asked: “Is it true you charge £100,000 for a haircut?”
Superstar Kim previously insisted Chris is more than a stylist to her and is one of her closest confidantsCredit: InstagramShe was on hand to honour him at the Fashion Los Angeles Awards in 2023Credit: Unknown
Chris replied: “Oh god, I should never have said that. I got dragged for that.
Recalling being asked about his fee in a previous interview, Chris said: “It’s more. It’s £200,000. I said £100,000 because I was afraid of what… I was scared.”
Attempting to justify the eye-watering amount, he continued: “There’s so much that goes into it and there are plenty of times where I work for free or I don’t get paid that amount of money.
“Also, fifty percent tax, in America, and then your agent takes half and then your business manager takes five [percent]. So, the answer is yes and no.”
After the clip was shared on social media, fans in the comments were divided.
One wrote: “I don’t get how much goes into it, that’s disgraceful.”
Another said: “That is just a ridiculous amount of money for a haircut.”
But others praised Chris, with someone saying: “He seems humble, grounded and a wonderful person. He’s done incredibly well.”
Kim previously told how Chris is more than a stylist to her and is one of her closest confidants.
Presenting him with the Hair Artist of the Year award at the Fashion Los Angeles Awards in 2023, she said: “I can tell him all of my personal business and it will never get out.
“We can party in Vegas all night long until three in the morning and get tattoos – not me – like we did last night.”
Ted Turner, the brash media mogul who created CNN and revolutionized how Americans watched television, and who wielded his media empire and wealth to pursue liberal global causes and land conservation, has died. He was 87.
In 2018, he revealed he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease, which had been progressing in recent years.
Turner’s outsized public persona — some called him the “Mouth from the South” for his free-wheeling trash talk — matched the Georgian’s influence on news, politics, sports and entertainment in the late 20th century. Turner repeatedly shook up established industries by invading quickly and expanding options for consumers, while railing against monolithic competitors who were less daring or nimble than his maverick Turner Broadcasting System.
Turner created the cable stations TBS and Turner Classic Movies; he owned the Atlanta Braves baseball team, the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and revitalized professional wrestling with World Championship Wrestling.
Turner was one of the first adopters of cable and satellite broadcasting technology, and for many rural Americans living beyond the tower signals of major cities, he was the first person to bring them interesting TV.
The media baron constantly generated headlines. He had a Clark Gable pencil mustache, raced sailboats, cavorted with the late communist leader Fidel Castro in Cuba, and at one point married Academy Award-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda. His wealth enabled him to become one of the largest private landowners and wealthiest philanthropists in the U.S.
July 1990 image of Ted Turner with Jane Fonda.
(Tony Duffy/Getty Images)
His crowning cultural achievement was the creation of the Cable News Network in 1980, which created the model for today’s cable news titans. The 24-hour news channel was not widely expected to be a success. All-night broadcasting had not been proven as a business model in an industry dominated nationally by corporate monoliths like ABC, NBC and CBS, where news programming was something that happened on a set schedule. And CNN’s headquarters weren’t in media centers like New York or Los Angeles, but Atlanta.
But Turner believed that “over-the-air networks would decline as audiences turned to videos and other outlets for entertainment on demand,” wrote the late journalist Daniel Schorr in a 2001 memoir.
“The network future belonged to whoever would deliver what was happening now — live news and live sports. That was why he wanted to be the first to deliver all news, all sports, all the time,” wrote Schorr, whom Turner courted to join CNN.
Within two years, CNN had more than 9 million subscribers. By the 2000s, Turner’s once far-flung idea for an around-the-clock news service had become so successful that it had attracted imitators like MSNBC (now called MS NOW) and Fox News.
“We not only became profitable, but also changed the nature of news — from watching something that happened to watching it as it happened,” Turner said of CNN in 2004. “If we needed more money for [broadcasting from] Kosovo or Baghdad, we’d find it. If we had to bust the budget, we busted the budget. We put journalism first, and that’s how we built CNN into something the world wanted to watch.”
Fox Corp. Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch, who was both a rival and friend of Turner, said his “vision for 24-hour cable news transformed the media industry and gave viewers everywhere a front seat to witness history unfold. His impact as a trailblazer has left an indelible mark on our cultural landscape.”
Turner recognized the value of global distribution long before his rivals, launching CNN’s international business in the mid-1980s. He bought his first western property, The Bar-None Ranch in Montana, and would eventually become one of the nation’s largest individual landowners with nearly 2 million acres, which provide habitat for threatened species and his beloved American bison.
“Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit, creative ambition and willingness to take risks changed the media industry forever,” David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN, said Wednesday in a note to employees. “He believed deeply in the power of ideas, in doing things differently and in building platforms that could inform, inspire and connect people around the world.”
Robert Edward Turner III was born in Cincinnati on Nov. 19, 1938, and raised in Georgia. A mischievous child — who later became a mischievous adult despite attending the Georgia Military Academy — he had a tough childhood at the hands of his alcoholic father, Ed.
“Ninety percent of the arguments I had with Ed were over his beating Ted too hard,” Ted’s mother, Florence Turner, recalled later.
“My dad ran an old-fashioned household and he insisted that pretty much everything had to be his way,” Ted Turner said in a 2008 memoir. “My father and I had a complex relationship but I loved him.”
The younger Turner attended Brown University but dropped out before graduating. His savings had run out, his father had stopped financially supporting his tuition, and in his final days on campus, he was suspended for bringing a woman to his dorm room, according to his memoir.
He soon joined his father’s expanding billboard advertising company, Turner Advertising, where he had been working off and on for years since childhood.
He inherited the business at the age of 24 after his father died by suicide. By then, Turner had already had years of experience , and he worked furiously to reverse his father’s recent sale of part of the company to a competitor and paid down its daunting debt, an act that presaged the empire-building to come.
While growing the business, Turner also pursued his passion for competitive sailing, which is how he met his first wife, Judy Nye, in college. It’s also how their marriage ended. Turner intentionally hit his wife’s boat during a 1963 race to keep her from passing him, and the pair, who had two children, split immediately afterward.
It was to be the first of three divorces. . “My problem is I love every woman I meet,” Turner has said. He would go on to win the America’s Cup in 1977 while expanding his father’s company into a modern multimedia conglomerate.
Leveraging the billboard business, Turner started buying local radio stations across the South in the late 1960s. In 1970, he bought the Channel 17 television station in Atlanta, competing with local network affiliates by airing old movies whose rights were affordable and picking up programming dropped by the less nimble competition. He didn’t like putting news on prime time back then — too negative — and soon picked up broadcast rights for the Braves, Hawks and other local sports.
Oct. 1998 photo of former President Jimmy Carter, right, and Atlanta Braves team owner Ted Turner, during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in Atlanta.
(PAT SULLIVAN/AP)
The Braves were a ratings hit, and when the team flailed and went up for sale, Turner’s company became its owner in 1976. The team continued to flail but Turner boosted its profile with gimmicks such as sewing “Channel 17” on the back of a pitcher’s jersey and dressing up as the team’s batboy and manager, to the league’s disdain. Turner bought the Hawks shortly after.
Facing entrenched local network affiliates, Turner expanded his independent station’s reach across the South and then the U.S. by embracing the new technologies of cable and satellite broadcasting. Channel 17 became nationally known as the “SuperStation,” with call letters WTBS, later shortened to TBS.
The quirky Atlanta station’s local broadcasts of old movies and sports games had become national broadcasts.
Still hungry for more, Turner finally turned his attention to news programming. He launched CNN in 1980 in a desperate bid to create a national 24-hour news channel before the broadcast titans ABC, NBC and CBS — and their gargantuan budgets — could beat him to it.
“The 24/7 genre started with Ted Turner,” veteran CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour said Wednesday on CNN. “He was the original, and he made us all proud, and he made us all hopeful, and he made us all strive for his vision of a better world.”
There were some lean early years. But the nascent channel fended off an attempt by ABC to create a competitor, and critics could see the value of an ever-present news channel, even if quality was a little thin at times.
“Non-viewers of CNN are missing a lot. There are so many reasons to watch,” Los Angeles Times critic Howard Rosenberg wrote in 1986, hailing the 6-year-old channel as an “institution.” “It’s not always good, but it’s always there.”
In 1986, CNN was the only broadcaster running live coverage when the Challenger shuttle liftoff ended in disaster. In 1991, the network gave Americans a live and uninterrupted look at the invasion of Iraq. American officials held news conferences knowing that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was watching them on CNN.
Americans had seen images of war before, but not broadcast nonstop into their homes.
“CNN seeks to be a stethoscope attached to the hypothetical heart of the war, and to present us with its hypothetical pulse,” the French theorist Jean Baudrillard wrote, critiquing the conflict as a media spectacle. Media scholars began to wonder whether a “CNN effect” was influencing government policy. Officials found that they now had to respond much more quickly to crises unfolding on live television.
Turner was not adversarial to communist countries of the era and even tried his own version of the Olympics, called the Goodwill Games, a bit of private-sector peace-craft that brought the Soviet Union and the U.S. out of their respective Olympic boycotts and back into direct competition in the 1989s. All on television, of course.
Turner also saw professional wrestling as part of his sports portfolio, at one point trying to pit his World Championship Wrestling program against competitor Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire, then called the World Wrestling Federation. Turner similarly tried to take a bite out of MTV with the Cable Music Channel, with a promise “to stay away from the excessive, violent or degrading clips to women that MTV is so fond of putting on.”
Moralism was a Turner hallmark. Turner had started his life as a conservative — Turner had met his second wife, Jane Smith, at a 1964 fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater — and turned toward more liberal-leaning causes, such as world peace, nuclear nonproliferation and fighting climate change, later in life.
At the 1990 American Humanist Assn.’s annual convention, Turner presented his “Ten Voluntary Initiatives” — his atheistic version of the Ten Commandments — which included pledges to world peace, environmentalism, nonviolence and “to have no more than two children, or no more than my nation suggests.” He would become a major private donor to the United Nations, pledging $1 billion and launching the United Nations Foundation nonprofit.
In 1991, a year marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first U.S. war against Iraq and the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Time magazine named Turner its “Man of the Year” for his “visionary” creation of CNN, which covered those events live. He also married Fonda that year (the ceremony was reported by CNN) and his Braves narrowly lost the World Series.
Time’s honorific was also a nice bit of corporate synergy. The magazine’s parent company, Time Warner, owned about 20% of Turner Broadcasting System stock.
Turner launched the Cartoon Network in 1992, which helped introduce his then-newly acquired Hanna-Barbera characters — including Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo — to a new generation of viewers.
Adversaries thought that Turner’s ventures could be reckless and impulsive. Far-seeing accomplishments in national broadcasting and the creation of CNN were also paired with several expensive misadventures, including a failed attempt to buy CBS.
Turner had to unwind a purchase of the MGM film studio less than a year after buying it, though he held onto one valuable asset: The studio’s film library, which became the foundation of the Turner Classic Movies channel and, later, jewels in the Burbank-based Warner Bros. studio vault.
In 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner to form the world’s largest media company, marking the beginning of the end of Turner’s apex in corporate media. Time Warner’s 2000 merger with budding internet giant AOL, then the largest-ever corporate merger, ended in disaster. Turner, who had not been a key player in the negotiations and had made no secret of his disdain for that deal, was fired as an executive.
“Ted Turner was one of the rare leaders who truly changed the trajectory of an industry,” Versant Media Chief Executive Mark Lazarus, a former Turner underling, said in a statement. “I saw firsthand his willingness to take risks and his belief that media could be something bigger and more impactful.”
CNN Worldwide Chairman Mark Thompson added: “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand.”
Turner resigned from the AOL Time Warner board in 2003, and in 2007, announced he had sold his company shares. In his later days, one of his best-known ventures was his Ted’s Montana Grill restaurant chain. His philanthropy and land conservation efforts and protection of the American bison became guide posts during his retirement years.
While CNN maintains influence in the U.S. and abroad, its TV ratings have declined in recent years — a casualty of changing consumer behavior, the rise of social media, derision from President Trump — and several ownership changes.
During the past decade, CNN has had three different corporate owners. The company is poised to be sold again, this time to billionaire David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance. That proposed merger would bring CNN under the same roof as CBS News.
“I’ve often considered and joked about what I might want written on my tombstone,” Turner said in a 2008 memoir. “At one point, when I felt like I could get out of the way of the press, ‘You Can’t Interview Me Here’ was a leading candidate. … These days, I’m leaning toward, ‘I Have Nothing More to Say.’”
Turner is survived by his five children — Laura Turner Seydel (Rutherford), Robert Edward “Teddy” Turner IV (Blair), Rhett Turner, Beau Turner, Jennie Turner Garlington (Peek) — 14 grandchildren and a great granddaughter. The family plans a private and public service at a later date.
Pearce is a former Times reporter. Times Staff Writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
