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ABBEY Clancy and Peter Crouch have shown off the renovations at their new house as they revealed the project’s strain on their marriage.

The couple, who co-present The Therapy Crouch podcast, regularly delve into the ups and downs of married life.

The pair sold their Surrey home and temporarily moved to their house in Portugal while looking for their new home in the UK.

However they admitted during this week’s episode of their podcast, that the undertaking has caused tension in their marriage.

The makeover has been hit by frustrating delays as their builder waits for materials — and Abbey revealed Peter accused her of throwing a ‘hissy fit’ over the delays.

Abbey said: “You just got a bit p****d off at me then when you thought I was throwing a hissy fit for it not being done.

‘SO UPSET’

Abbey Clancy went through hubby Peter’s phone & felt ‘ill’ at what she found

HOUSE PROUD

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Peter replied: “No, I wasn’t really, babe. I could see you were upset.”

“No, no, you left me. You walked out,” argued Abbey.

Peter said: “No, because you I could see you know when things stressed you out sometimes you you it creeps into every how you speak to people I think and it was creeping in so I left, because you were angry about the situation you I could see you potentially taking out on me.”

Abbey also said she was “brokenhearted” that the family won’t be in their new home for Christmas due to the setbacks but that mice had already moved in.

She exclaimed: “I don’t want a mouse in my house and also they’re in there and not me! I have house envy of these mice.”

However, the couple are delighted with their new home and explained it just “feels like home, even though it’s still a building site.”

Peter explained: “I’m blown away every time I go there, I just think Oh My God it will be beautiful and we’re very blessed.”

Abbey has posted a sneak preview of the renovations being done on her Instagram.

It includes a luxurious master bedroom which is neutrally toned and features huge sash windows.

The ensuite has a fireplace and a marble floor installed and looks out onto a huge landscaped garden at the back of the house.

The renovation project will feature heavily in their new documentary called The Crouches which is set to feature on Prime Video.

The couple will also be seen navigating birthdays, weddings and their kids beginning to fly the nest.

The couple have said it will be a “warts and all” look at their lives and will contain moments they may “regret letting the cameras see.”

Édouard Manet’s “Execution of Maximilian” will go on view at Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum next week, marking the first time the painting has been exhibited on the West Coast. The historic canvas, on loan from London’s National Gallery, has a fascinating backstory and represents a key moment in French political history, making its arrival shortly after this country’s stunning midterm election particularly auspicious.

The painting is the second of five versions Manet created (circa 1867-68) shortly after the shocking execution of Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who briefly served as the emperor of Mexico after being encouraged to do so by the French emperor Napoleon III. In 1867, Maximilian — along with his generals Tomás Mejía and Miguel Miramón — faced a firing squad made up of soldiers loyal to former Mexican President Benito Juárez, who had been forced out of Mexico City in 1863 when French forces descended on the capital. Maximilian’s ouster and death stunned many Europeans, who blamed Napoleon III for the bloodshed.

Manet’s monumental canvas is cold and unyielding in its impersonal depiction of the violent episode, and in many ways helped birth the modern historical political painting. Through Manet’s eyes, political violence is not heroic, but pedestrian, benign even. It contains echoes of another famous political painting: Francisco de Goya’s “The Third of May, 1808,” which also depicts death by firing squad — this time the execution of civilians by French troops during Napoleon’s notorious occupation of Spain.

The canvas coming to the Norton Simon was long neglected and is thought to have been discarded by Manet when he became dissatisfied by discrepancies in the size of the figures he painted. His family cut the canvas into four pieces after his death and sold them separately. It was saved from oblivion by Manet’s friend Edgar Degas, who managed to get a hold of all the fragments. The painting was acquired by the National Gallery in 1918 at Degas’ studio sale, and the painting was pieced together again in the late 1970s.

“Manet’s Execution of Maximilian is not only an icon within the history of nineteenth-century art, but also a profound reflection on the ways in which images shape our understanding of political events and collective memory,” said Emily Talbot, vice president of collections and chief curator at the Norton Simon in a news release. “By bringing this extraordinary painting together with historical materials that document the French intervention in Mexico, we invite visitors to consider how history is constructed in visual form.”

The painting will be on view at the Norton Simon from Nov. 14 to March 1, 2027.

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt ready for a jubilant walk through a museum on the heels of a roller coaster of an election. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

[Update: A previous version of this story said Manet’s “Execution of Maximilian” had not been shown in the U.S. for 20 years. It has not been shown on the West Coast before, but was shown in New York in 2024.]

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

LA Phil’s incoming music director Daniel Harding conducting at the Hollywood Bowl in 2025.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Daniel Harding Leads Bernstein & Brahms
The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s incoming music director leads the orchestra for Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphony No. 1,” with mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau, and is joined by Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes for Johannes Brahms’ “Second Piano Concerto.”
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Idina Menzel
The Broadway star joins with the Pacific Symphony, led by conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez, for a night of hits.
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

NOW 2026
REDCAT’s New Original Works Festival features a different program each week over three weekends. First up, Alfonso Abraham Cervera and Irvin Manuel Gonzalez’s “las cosas que enter(r)amos,” a mix of Latinx American social and folk dance, storytelling, and contemporary dance; Scottie Harvey’s “Hole Gazers,” a comedic satire about fantasy, surveillance and life online; and Jeonghyeon Joo’s “how to bathe properly,” a solo work for haegeum, a two-string instrument, performed in a staged Korean sauna.
8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, through Nov. 21. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org

Radio Galaxy
Joey McIntyre, Lesli Margherita, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Meera Simhan, Rishi Golani and Jordyn Rahman star in a new play by Michèle Aldin Kushner about a New Jersey teen who dreams of becoming an astronomer. Directed by Kimberly Senior.
Through Nov. 22. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Sable Elyse Smith
“Sky Fence Ground” features new woven works on paper, a recent video work and a monumental kinetic sculpture by the multimedia artist.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday, exhibit runs through Dec. 19. Regen Projects, 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. regenprojects.com

SATURDAY

Angela Anh Nguyen
Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) presents the artist’s “Entropy,” a site-specific installation that addresses the collective experience of the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires through social media, monitoring apps, and other forms of digital communication.
Opening reception, 1-4 p.m., exhibit runs through Dec. 13. Old Fire Station No. 6, 534 E. Edgeware Road, Angelino Heights. nomadicdivision.org

Takes Care of Them
Four large-scale prints by artist Dyani White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota) each depict a dress adorned differently to reflect on the roles of Lakota women in four areas: Wówahokuŋkiya (Lead); Wókaǧe (Create); Nakíčižiŋ (Protect); and Wačháŋtognaka (Nurture).
Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. theautry.org

SUNDAY

Billie Holiday and The Blues
L.A.’s Marlonius Jazz Orchestra, led by virtuoso bassist and composer Marlon Martinez, is joined by Brooklyn vocalist Mara Kaye for this tribute to Holiday and deep blues cuts.
8 p.m. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org

Camerata Pacifica
The November program includes a world premiere by Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Mozart’s “Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major,” alongside contemporary chamber works by Michael Daugherty, Missy Mazzoli and the late Sarah Gibson.
3 p.m. Sunday. Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Janet & Ray Scherr Forum Theatre, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Huntington, Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 8 p.m. Thursday. The Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; and 7 p.m. Friday. Music Academy of the West, Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara. cameratapacifica.org

Romeo and Juliet: Time Enough for Love
Open Fist Theatre Company presents a new age-reversed adaptation conceived and directed by Christian Lebano.
Previews, 7:30 Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, play runs Nov. 13-Dec. 19. Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. openfist.org

Sage Ni’Ja Whitson: Revival_ _Revival
A free processional performance across the once predominantly Black community of Santa Monica, visiting sacred historic sites lost to time and gentrification, with a live score of gospel, house, hip hop, and voice. Audience members are invited to wear white clothing and white masks, and the procession closes with a fellowship meal at Ocean Bay Beach.
2 p.m. First AME Church, 1823 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica. 18thstreet.org

WEDNESDAY

Destiny of Desire
Karen Zacarías’ smart and fearless homage to telenovelas yields an epic, twisting yarn, full of coincidences and cliff-hangers, mistaken identities and gobsmacking revelations. It’s invigorating fun but also radiant with insight into the age-old debate between nature and nurture. When I first saw the play at South Coast Repertory in 2016, I was seduced by the production’s Brechtian energy. And I’m eager to see what fresh light director Marcela Lorca sheds on a play that my students at CalArts one year claimed as their favorite of the semester — and they have excellent taste. (Charles McNulty)
Through Dec. 20. Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org

LaTanya Richardson Jackson, from left, Kara Young, Glenn Davis and Jon Michael Hill in the Broadway/Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of “Purpose.”

(Marc J. Franklin)

Purpose
The original Steppenwolf Theatre Company cast of the Broadway production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning drama reassembles at the Geffen Playhouse for the most anticipated dramatic event of the season. The play, about a prominent Black Chicago family headed by a civil rights icon with skeletons in his closet, has the scope, heft and flamboyant idiosyncrasy of the landmark American domestic dramas of the past. Under the assured direction of Phylicia Rashad, the actors brought the characters so richly to life in New York that I can’t wait to experience their ensemble alchemy in L.A. (Charles McNulty)
Through Dec. 13. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org

THURSDAY
The Heiress
Theater 40 presents the classic American romantic drama, adapted by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz from Henry James’ novel “Washington Square.” Directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky.
Through Dec. 13. Beverly Hills High School, Mary Levin Cutler Theatre, 241 S. Moreno Drive. theatre40.org

Kafka’s Letter to His Father
Keeping things in weird perspective, CAP UCLA, in collaboration with Brightwork Ensemble, presents a production of Czech composer Jiri Trtik’s opera “Letter to His Father.” About Kafka’s artistic liberation from paternal authority, it is produced by and stars the most transformative tenor of our time, Timur. (Mark Swed)
8 p.m. Thursday-Nov. 14. UCLA Nimoy 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Las Migas
The Spanish Latin Grammy-winning all-women quartet melds traditional flamenco with contemporary stylings to reimagine the classic art form.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Isata Kanneh-Mason
The New York-based classical ensemble is joined by the British pianist for a program featuring Mozart, Handel, Haydn and Welsh composer (and New York transplant) Katie Jenkins.
7:30 p.m. Broad Stage at Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica. broadstage.org

Dispatch: A harrowing exhibition of Iranian art in Chinatown

“Lunch,” by BSisters (Behnaz and Baharak Khaleghi), on view at the Fellows of Contemporary Art gallery in Chinatown.

(Fellows of Contemporary Art)

“Lunch,” a centerpiece installation at Fellows of Contemporary Art’s new exhibition centered on the works of Iranian-born women artists in California, is an upsetting sculpture that’s as soft and intimate as a pillow.

The piece, by the Bay Area duo BSisters (Behnaz and Baharak Khaleghi), riffs on the myth of Zahāk — a vain tyrant with snakes around his head that eat human brains to keep him alive. It’s a tale from the Shahnameh, a 1,000-year-old Persian epic poem. BSisters have rendered it here in cozy pastel fabrics and gauzy spilled cotton, materials that speak to how women activists in Iran have been brutalized and consumed by the fundamentalist regime there. The sculpture — very funny and unnerving at once — also evokes the strange mix of distance and intimacy of Iranian immigrants to the U.S., watching the current conflict curdle their hopes for change into deeper worry.

It’s one of several affecting pieces on display at FOCA’s Chinatown gallery as part of “I Saw a Woman, Pounding Light into Mortar,” an exhibition in which six California-based Iranian women artists grapple with distance and helplessness, amid a conflict where both governments seem driven by an almost cannibalistic consumption of people and resources.

“Growing up in Iran, political repression was never something distant from our everyday lives. It shaped our childhood, our experiences as women, and the ways we learned to express ourselves,” said Katayoun Bahrami, the exhibit’s curator. “Living in the United States now, I feel a constant tension between building a life here and remaining deeply connected to what is happening back home. This past year has been especially painful. After the deadly crackdown on protesters in January and the war that followed, hope and anger have been hard to separate. Watching from thousands of miles away, unable to do much, has brought a sense of helplessness that is difficult to describe.”

Much of the work here is quietly devastating in evoking absence, fear and exile. Shaghayegh Cyrous’s video installation “Reenacting the Future” is a mirror image of a mother and daughter, filmed over 12 years in the U.S. and Iran, a visual echo cleaved by exile. Narges Poursadeqi’s sculpture “Between Dots of Blindness” could fit in a desk drawer, but the braille poem it spools through a music box feels like the last thing you would shove in a suitcase, fleeing for a new country.

“This exhibition was born during the internet and phone shutdowns in Iran, when we had no way to reach our families or know whether they were safe. That silence was terrifying,” Bahrami said. “Bringing these artists together became deeply personal for me. I recognize parts of my own fears, memories, and longing in their work. Through their art and our conversations, I’ve found ways to process feelings that are difficult to carry alone. Curating this exhibition has helped me turn some of that helplessness into something meaningful. It has also reminded me how much we need one another, especially when we feel powerless to change what is happening.”

“I Saw a Woman, Pounding Light into Mortar” at FOCA-LA through Nov. 28; 970 N. Broadway, Suite 208, Los Angeles 90012.

— August Brown

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Director Zhailon Levingston sits outside before the rehersal of “Passing Strange” at the Pasadena Playhouse.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

“Passing Strange,” a 20-year-old musical that takes place in downtown L.A. and went to Broadway, has never been performed here — until now. Pasadena Playhouse hosts its SoCal premiere.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is shaking things up. This week it announced a slew of new leadership positions that will go into effect alongside incoming music director Daniel Harding. The orchestra’s post-Dudamel future is shaping up to be quite interesting.

Times contributor Shana Nys Dambrot immersed herself in the world of L.A. galleries to prove that although many high-profile galleries have closed, plenty of new ones are also opening. Here is a handy guide for your next art adventure.

On election day we ran a piece about the possibility of patriotic orchestral music in deeply divided times. Martin Sheen told us why hope is more important than ever.

Former Times classical music critic Mark Swed returned for the first in an ongoing series of monthly columns. Up first: A look at orchestral democracy session across the globe, including one in Boston aided by AI.

The most anticipated play of the season is about to open as “Oh Mary!” heads for the Ahmanson. Ticket sales have been so brisk that Center Theatre Group has already booked the show again for next season.

“Richard Avedon: Hollywood” opens at Gagosian featuring more than 120 iconic photos of of celebrities and other cultural power brokers.

A “Do Not Enter” sign hangs on the fence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 25 in Washington.

(Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP photo)

The Kennedy Center may be closed indefinitely for renovations, but that did not stop its Trump-anointed leaders from announcing who would be recognized at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors — to be held by necessity at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7. Honorees include singer-songwriter Paul Anka, music producer David Foster, actor Andy Garcia, playwright David Mamet and country singer Barbara Mandrell.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

It’s always fun with Times columnist Mary McNamara writes about Holland Taylor.

A CLIP of Katherine Ryan discussing outing an industry “predator” on a show has resurfaced after Russell Brand’s conviction.

Ryan shared the screen with disgraced Brand on the Comedy Central series Roast Battle in 2018, before he was axed.

After he was yesterday found guilty of rape and sex attacks on a string of women, a video of Ryan discussing an abuser thought to be Brand has blown up.

In a 2018 podcast with Louis Theroux, she claimed to have confronted the unnamed man “again and again” while they worked together and referred to him as a “predator”.

When Theroux asked her what she meant by that term, the 43-year-old said: “I mean perpetrator of sexual assault.”

Ryan added: “But it is very dangerous for us to have this conversation. I’m happy to have it, but it is a litigious minefield.

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“Lots of people have tried to nail this person down for their alleged crimes and this person has very good lawyers.”

Ryan added word of the notorious abuser was an “open secret” in the industry as she told the shameful star to his face he was a “predator”.

When she was pressed for more details, she said simply that it was “not her story to tell” but that she had heard the allegations from “very credible” sources.

It is widely speculated the Canadian comic was referring to Brand, but she has not confirmed said predator or named the show she was working on.

However, following Brand’s conviction she has publicly said she feels “grief and relief”.

The stand-up star added there are “a lot of women speaking privately and quietly” following the verdict, who feel “a very nuanced mix of emotions”.

On her podcast Telling Everybody Everything, Ryan said: “It really made me feel just quite dysregulated again, caught off-guard, emotional, in awe of the survivors who also had nothing to gain.

“They came forward despite Russell Brand having fame, power, money, and a legion of fans ready to attack them.”

She added: “I will never be someone who like, dances on graves. There has been some justice done today. There’s a level of relief, but there’s grief alongside relief.

“Everything’s nuanced, and it was proved in court that a terrible thing happened, and that means that a terrible thing happened.

“I just think again and again about people who have been hurt, and who have to carry that, who’ve carried that around long enough, and will continue to carry that in some way, regardless of what justice is done.

“This verdict came because women were hurt, and I worry as well about what happens next.

“Because he’s obviously spent a long time cultivating this idea that the establishment have invented these claims against him, and he’s martyred himself to a growing audience who really still think that it is the courageous survivors who are the villains in this story.

“I just… I don’t know if you can podcast from jail. I hope not.”

Ryan also slammed Brand’s barrister Ian Winter KC who launched a foul-mouthed tirade at Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin as he was leaving the courtroom.

He said to her: “I hope you are pleased with yourself”, and she was heard replying: “I’m pleased justice has been done”.

 Mr Winter said during the clash: “Well, it wasn’t. You f***** it.” “Congratulations,” he added.

Ryan said: “That was so unprofessional, so inappropriate, so aggressive. Really sickening.”

The “ruthless, calculated and manipulative” predator Brand is facing years in jail after he preyed on women between 1999 and 2009.

NEW pictures have been released of the huge new UK water resort featuring three themed areas, promising Brits a tropical escape closer to home.

Set to open in 2029, Therme Manchester is set to cost £500million and will boast 10 pools, 18 waterslides and 20 saunas and steam rooms.

Spread across a 28- acre site in TraffordCity, there will also be outdoor green spaces surrounding the glas-s domed building.

Newly released images show the indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as the wellbeing garden.

There will also be a new public plaza that will connect the resort to the Bridgewater Canal, where visitors can sit by the canal just metres from the resort.

Another image shows the front of the complex, where the tram will run past.

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And a third image shows a central walkway through part of the complex with pools and lounge areas.

As for the green spaces, images show lots of different gardens with raised areas and hundreds of palm trees.

Previous plans included two multi-storey car parks, but these have now been scrapped with parking spread across the entire site to retain views across the resort.

The attraction will be split into three areas – Play, Restore and Relax.

The Play zone will be ideal for families with lots of fun water features, a pool, a beach, lounging areas and family dining experiences.

Then in the Relax zone, which will be adults-only, there’s a focus on “premium wellbeing experiences” with indoor and outdoor pools, waterfall showers, mineral baths, steam rooms and saunas and casual dining.

And then in the Restore zone – the second adults-only area – there will be “industry leading health, nutrition and wellbeing therapies”, “sauna rituals”, experience showers, wellbeing consultations and dining.

Construction on the first pool is due to start next week and once the resort is open, it is expected to attract two million visitors each year.

The resort also recently announced that it was partnering with Marriott International with Marriott Bonvoy members being offered exclusive travel and stay packages linked directly to Therme destinations – which will include Manchester.

This Morning returned to screens today after it was pulled from air

This Morning returned to screens today after it was suddenly pulled off air yesterday.

Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley addressed the chaos that took place on Wednesday, which resulted in This Morning being removed from the schedule altogether.

Cat said: “Hello there and welcome to your Thursday’s This Morning. Back up and running, someone’s stuck 50p in the meter, we are all good to go.”

Ben added: “There was a power cut across the whole of Covent Garden apparently, which meant that we weren’t on air. But despite that, your hair is looking rather lovely this week.”

He added: “Even when there’s a power cut, you still get our hair done”, as Cat replied: “There was one lamp working so we did it by lamp light, the water was still working at that point.”

Ben later commented: “Thank you to the team that managed to get everything back up and running again because it was a lot of hard work. But fingers crossed we are fully charged and ready to go.”

It comes after ITV was plunged into chaos yesterday (Wednesday, November 4) following an unexpected event which led to a last-minute scheduling change.

Three popular daytime programmes, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women, were pulled off air shortly before they were due to begin as ITV viewers were left confused.

Due to a power outage at ITV’s central London studio, Lorraine was the first show to be pulled off air, with Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls confirming the news on their live show.

As a result, GMB was extended until 10am. However, in further disruption, This Morning was then pulled from TV schedules, instead airing a pre-recorded best bits programme, followed by Loose Women also being pulled.

At the time, ITV issued a statement on social media, with the programmes expected to be back to their normal scheduling today (Thursday, November 5).

They wrote: “Following a power cut overnight in the wider area where our Covent Garden studio is based, we are unable to broadcast Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women live today. We will return to our normal schedule as soon as possible.”

This is a breaking showbiz story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly to get the latest news, pictures and videos. You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.

This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV

EXCLUSIVE Strictly judge Anton Du Beke says a big name is ready to leave the hit BBC One Dance show saying, ‘It’s getting a bit much.’

Anton Du Beke has shocked Strictly Come Dancing fans by revealing a big name star is looking to waltz away from the BBC series for good.

The former pro dancer who is now an established judge on the series, revealed that one famous face on the show has already spoken to him about potentially leaving at the end of the 2026 series. His comments, as he promoted his new memoir Steps In Time, are sure to start a guessing game amongst fans.

Speaking on stage in Bath, Anton, 60, said: “I spoke to somebody the other day and they were like ‘It’s getting a bit much’.

“It’s somebody who’s been on it not that long, a little while, and I understood that. I thought about it for a while and I wondered if they will be on it or whether they will decide to step away or carry on.”

The comments could refer to a number of the new pro dancers or the new show hosts, Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, who only joined this year.

There have also been reports than judge Shirley Ballas may consider walking away from the UK version of the show if she landed a full time role on US series Dancing With The Stars. She was recently a guest judge on the series but insisted in an interview last month she was “100 percent not leaving Strictly”.

Anton is not seemingly referring fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood, as the pair still love being on the show and are veterans having been on the series since it began in 2004. On his love for Strictly, Anton said: “I was there from Day One. Craig and I, we are the only ones left. I am so proud of that. It is one of my greatest things.

“I am so proud to have been on the show since the beginning and still loving it as well. I love it as much now as I always have. It is the most brilliant show. I love being a judge. I loved being a professional.

Referring to the late great former host Bruce Forsyth, he added: “I loved working with Brucie. He was my hero growing up. Brucie would come out and do his own warm up and I used to stand in the wings and watch him before the show began. I watched him every week for about 15 years. He was a genius.”

Anton was speaking at the Bath Forum to promote his book Steps In Time, his first memoir. The book, which is released tomorrow, is described by publishers as a “coming-of-age story” which reflects on Anton’s youth, and his rise as a pro dancer before then joining Strictly and becoming a TV star.

He left school as a teenager with no qualifications and took on a variety of jobs to pay for dance classes. after competing as a pro he then hit the bigtime when he landed a spot on Strictly. Once there he danced with celebrities including Kate Garraway, Ruth Langsford, Jerry Hall, Judy Murray and the late Ann Widdecombe.

* Steps In Time by Anton Du Beke is out on November 5 from Blink Publishing.

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Bake Off fans were ‘gutted’ as one star had to leave the tent for good

It was an agonising moment for one Great British Bake Off star.

The line-up for the quarter finals was confirmed during the latest episode on Tuesday, November 3 following a decision by the judges. Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson were once again on hand to provide comments and criticism as they chose who should make it as part of the final five contestants.

The competition entered its seventh week as the pressure mounted on the remaining contenders. Hosted by Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, the bakers were first challenged in the signature to serve up gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan delicacies in what was dubbed ‘party week’.

This task aimed to prove that different foods can still be full of flavour, despite any special dietary requirements. The first challenge saw them make “delicious gluten free laminated pastries, perfect for a children’s party”.

One effort, Mo’s toastie parcels, even received a handshake from Paul Hollywood. Nigella added: “I salute Paul saluting you.” While for the technical challenge was set by Nigella.

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They were made to use some ingredients they may not have expected as Alison explained the judges wanted them to create an “adorable animal cake”. Essentially a plant-based chocolate cake, Noel added it had to include ganache and butter cream, while they had to go for a lucky dip to decide which design they would have to create.

Tom, who was star baker last week, came out on top again. Nigella commented: “Oh, it’s getting quite boring.” All that was left was the showstopper, which saw the bakers make a “spectacular children’s birthday cake”.

It had to be either dairy free, gluten free, or plant based and also have an interactive element. Although they could choose their type of sponge and flavours.

While Gabe was named star baker for his bug party cake, Paul and Nigella ultimately chose to send home Gary. The 67-year-old from Nottinghamshire said an emotional goodbye before leaving the tent as they responded: “No worries.”

The retired garment technologist added: “I’m very proud. It was my time to go. This was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.” That means, the quarter-final line-up includes: Connie Lewis, Gabe Capes, Mo Mahirr, Moyin Odeniran and Tom Whittaker.

Channel 4 viewers watching along at home wasted no time before sharing their own view on the results and latest elimination. One posted on social media: “Gutted for Gary going to miss him but i’m glad Connie got through.”

Another added: “Much as I love Connie, Gary’s showstopper was much better. Totally unfair.” While someone else replied:”So happy for Gabe!! I did think it was Gary’s time but he was a lovely guy.”

Meanwhile, some dedicated fans had similar complaints as previous weeks as they were unconvinced with the nature of some challenges. One person said: “Hate to say it but some of the themes for bake off this series have been questionable.” Someone agreed: “Nahhh two cakes in a non cake week is boring.”

The Great British Bake Off continues next Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4 and streaming online.

There are many metrics by which to measure the success of “Oh, Mary!,” the Tony Award-winning play that has taken the stage by storm. And here’s a new one: Effusive hype and high ticket demand has resulted in Center Theatre Group booking the show for its 2028 60th anniversary season even before its national touring production hits the Ahmanson Theatre on Nov. 10.

As evidenced by Tuesday’s announcement, the current tour, starring drag queen Alaska Thunderf— is set to arrive in L.A. next week with sky-high expectations. Ironically, director Sam Pinkleton originally resisted the idea of a tour, feeling the show might lose some of its charm on the road.

“I was convinced it was a bad idea,” Pinkleton said with a laugh during a recent interview. “But when we went to Broadway, I also thought that was a terrible idea, and I was absolutely wrong.” The director was originally concerned the scrappy little show with a cast of five wouldn’t play as well in larger houses. “But seeing how well it works on Broadway, I think it’s actually better than in the small room. It’s not a play I would call subtle; it really fills a room. So that gave me a lot of confidence about a national tour.”

Written by and originally starring Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!” is a revisionist take on former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s life in the days leading to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Historical accuracy be damned, the show presents Mary as a wannabe star repressed by her closeted husband. Premiering off-Broadway in February 2024 and set to run six weeks, the show was given multiple extensions before transferring to Broadway, where it won Tony Awards for Escola’s performance and Pinkleton’s directing. Escola was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama that same year.

Cole Escola and James Scully in “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway. Many actors have since taken on the role of Mary Todd Lincoln.

(Emilio Madrid)

But “Oh, Mary!” has achieved much more than gold statues and box office receipts — it’s a genuine pop-culture phenomenon, a familiar meme and a show beloved by seemingly all demographics.

“I think a turning point was early in the run when Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner and Sally Field all came together,” Pinkleton said. “We were all like, ‘What is happening?’”

Other notable audience members, including Madonna and Michelle Obama, followed, while actors such as Maya Rudolph, Bowen Yang and Tituss Burgess signed up to don Mary’s ringlet wig as the Broadway run stretched on. “It’s wild to think that tonight, you can see it in three different places,” says Pinkleton, referring to the productions in New York, London and the national tour.

If the tour’s leading lady is feeling any pressure, she’s not showing it. Alaska admits that even she was skeptical of the show’s advance hype. “I kept hearing, ‘Oh, you have to see this play, this play is so good,’” she recalled during a Zoom interview from the show’s San Francisco stop. “And I thought, ‘How good can a play be? What is everyone talking about?’”

But the moment she saw it, she understood. “I was immediately enamored, I was hooked.”

“Oh, Mary!” star Alaska says the show feels written for her, even thought she knows it’s not.

(Gabriela Hasbun / For The Times)

When it came time to cast the tour, Pinkleton immediately thought of Alaska, known to most audiences as the winner of the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.” Pinkleton had worked with her before, most notably in the 2021 production of the Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels” at the Pasadena Playhouse. “I knew for a fact that Alaska could do this in her sleep,” he said. “As the kids say, I have receipts. She’s the real thing and she was made for this.”

Following an early Zoom work session, Alaska was on board. “I feel like it was written for me, but I know it wasn’t,” she said. “And that’s a testament to Cole writing something very true and anchored in real emotion. I think anyone who has ever felt underestimated or misunderstood or overlooked can really identify with this role.”

In many ways, the joy of playing Mary is that different actors bring different aspects and personality nuances to the role. “It’s a big, juicy part that works in the hands of radically different people,” Pinkleton said.

Asked what she feels she brings to the role, Alaska said she didn’t go in thinking about how to make it her own. “I really just approached it truthfully,” she said, noting that while the show is a comedy, the circumstances Mary finds herself in are genuinely tragic, and she wanted to be true to that. “This isn’t jokey to me — it’s really serious, intense and high-stakes. I wanted to do it like an Ibsen play or Shakespeare.”

The show doesn’t play like a tragedy, however. It’s a roller coaster ride from the start, and Pinkleton said he always wants the audience to have a great time.

“Oh, Mary!” star Alaska puts on makeup backstage at the Curran Theatre during the San Francisco stop of the show’s national tour.

(Gabriela Hasbun / For The Times)

“I know there’s a lot of amazing theater being made about various traumas, but I can only control my corner of things and I just feel that most of us have had a bad day in one way or another,” he said. “And it would be awesome if our time at the theater was joyous. And I take that really, really seriously.”

Both director and star are well aware of the expectations that come with a show so beloved and discussed. “I try not to think about it,” said Alaska. “I just trust in the show being so beautifully constructed and it truly has something for everyone, whoever you are.”

For his part, Pinkleton said with a laugh, “There’s definitely some element for me of, ‘Like, it’s just a play, calm down.’” But part of maintaining its heart and charm is remembering that at its core, “it’s kind of a small operation.”

“It was made with a really hands-on approach by a very small group of people who cared a lot and that spirit has remained even as we’ve scaled it up,” Pinkleton said. It hasn’t been easy work; Pinkleton credits several people for their contributions, particularly the tour’s associate director Sunny Min-Sook Hitt, who occupied the same role during the original production. “It’s taken a lot of worthwhile work to keep it what it is. There’s just not a world where ‘Oh, Mary!’ can turn into ‘Jersey Boys,’” Pinkleton said. The national tour is already selling out houses across the country and receiving a rapturous response. “Every night has a different energy and the audience is definitely a part of the show,” Alaska said. “In San Diego, we were in a 3,000-person theater, we’ve never played one that size. It felt like the stadium version of ‘Oh, Mary!’”

Pinkleton said he makes “a lot of big, gay shows” and people have asked him how he thinks “Oh, Mary!” will play in smaller cities. “Honestly, I was a weird, loud, gay kid in Richmond, Virginia, and I’m excited to bring it to places that might not get this kind of thing,” he noted. And sometimes silly comedies can be the most meaningful, particularly to marginalized communities. “It’s meaningful that there will be some people for whom ‘Oh, Mary!’ is also a kind of a life raft.”

Angel City and “Ted Lasso” both came to life in the summer of 2020 when the rest of the world was preoccupied with something far more serious, the global COVID-19 pandemic.

In those dark times, the series about kindness, grace, optimism — and soccer — became the show we didn’t know we needed, but suddenly couldn’t do without.

Angel City, meanwhile, would play its first NWSL game two years later, by which time “Lasso” and Jason Sudeikis, the title character of the Apple TV series about a fictional Premier League team and its manager, had already won multiple Emmys.

Hollywood is a small town, so it wasn’t long before Sudeikis reached out to Kara Nortman, a venture capitalist who co-founded Angel City in 2020, and asked to talk about women’s soccer.

Angel City co-founders Natalie Portman, left, Kara Nortman and Julie Uhrman speak during the team’s equity summit in Australia during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

(Hanna Lassen / Getty Images)

“And I was like, ‘You had me at hello,’” Nortman said.

What was supposed to be an hour-long phone call turned into four-hour meeting in person, Nortman said.

“The most fun conversation I’ve had in a long time,” she remembered last month. “It really started as a shared passion and interest in women’s sports and building communities and new leadership models and all the things that ‘Ted Lasso’ is about that are far beyond football.”

What the conversation led to was the foundation for the just-completed fourth season of “Ted Lasso,” which focused on the unique challenges faced by women’s soccer teams and players — challenges Nortman knows only too well as the co-owner of a team. That’s why she was credited as a consultant on the series.

And the collaboration comes at a time when the soccer team and the soccer TV series are both at the top of their game, with “Lasso” drawing record audience numbers this summer and Angel City advancing to this weekend’s NWSL playoff quarterfinals after the most successful season in its history.

“They could have continued writing about the men’s team,” Nortman said. “They chose to write about women’s football.

“I’m super proud that we were part of what helped them really understand how to write a beautiful script that was really representative of a lot of challenges we went through.”

The challenges go beyond just salaries, media attention and funding to things as serious as child care and the rash of ACL injuries in the women’s game and as frustrating as hand-me-down uniforms and locker rooms. In “Ted Lasso,” the women’s team Sudeikis coaches — a man coaching women? That topic is addressed, too — uses a dressing room abandoned by a men’s team, one with urinals but without enough working showers.

Angel City captain Sarah Gorden dribbles the ball in front of Boston Legacy’s Sarah Schupansky at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

One player nearly misses a game because she can’t find a babysitter, something that really happened to Angel City captain Sarah Gorden. Another player is recognized by a fan while working for a food-delivery company to supplement her tiny soccer salary, something that really happened to English star Lucy Bronze in her early playing days.

For many viewers, the “Ted Lasso” plot lines were their introduction to those real-life issues.

“The vibe of authenticity,” Nortman calls it.

“They got right the ACLs, they got right the locker-room dynamic, they got right the training facility,” she said. “I think they got all those things right.”

Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, the creative geniuses behind “Ted Lasso,” declined to be interviewed for this story, as did everyone involved with the series. But Sudeikis has long denied the show is about soccer.

“This show is as much about soccer as ‘Rocky’ is about boxing,” said Sudeikis, who described the eponymous title character as a cross between John Wooden and Mister Rogers.

Actors Jason Sudeikis, center, and Tanya Reynolds, right, lead a professional women’s soccer team through authentic challenges during the fourth season of “Ted Lasso.”

(Colin Hutton / Apple TV)

But the series has always had soccer in it. So it was natural that Sudeikis and Hunt, who both have long supported women’s sports, would turn their massive spotlight on women’s soccer and bring attention to the glaring inequalities that had slowed the development of the game.

And Nortman wasn’t the only one from NWSL to join that cause. The “Lasso” season opener, shot largely in Kansas City, Mo., was a paean to that city’s women’s soccer team, the Current, and its stadium, where the team has sold out every game over the last three seasons and is unbeaten in its last 32 matches there. (Angel City opens the playoffs in Kansas City on Saturday.)

The synergy helped both sides, with “Lasso” shattering viewership records, trailing only Amazon Prime Video’s “Reacher” as the most-streamed series overall in September, while NWSL’s viewership numbers through the first half of the season jumped 61% on ABC and ESPN. The average season attendance of 11,032 was the second-highest in history.

“Once we knew that Jason and the cast were going to feature a season about women’s soccer and start that season at one of our stadiums with one of our teams, the authenticity with that just lent itself to doing an integration,” said Jennifer Levine, the league’s vice president for public relations and communications.

Kansas City Current fans cheer during the team’s first match at CPKC Stadium in 2024. It is the first stadium built solely for a pro women’s soccer team and was featured in the latest season of “Ted Lasso.”

(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

“There was a lot of crossover between what they were doing and what we’re doing. So it kind of created a perfect storm for us. Being a part of the cultural conversation as part of ‘Ted Lasso’ will only add to the excitement around the NWSL.”

But will it solve the problems and level the inequities that continue to plague women’s soccer?

“I like to hope it helps,” Levine said. “They have been honest. … I think the writing team and the cast did an incredible job portraying what it’s like to be a women’s footballer.

“Everything that we’re doing at the league with investing in infrastructure and building more purpose-built stadiums and building training facilities, it’s all to improve the experience that viewers are seeing in ‘Ted Lasso.’”

Or as Sudeikis’ character once put it, “doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.”

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! is soon back on our screens and many fans of the ITV show all had the same remark after claims that the ‘full 2026 line-up has been revealed’

Fans of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! will be delighted to learn the show returns to ITV on Monday, 16 November 2026, with Ant & Dec reprising their roles as presenters. The I’m A Celebrity line-up is typically kept tightly under wraps until launch, but according to The Sun, this year’s cast has now been disclosed.

The publication claims the 12 celebrities taking part this year are Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu, former footballer and pundit Wayne Rooney, model Leomie Anderson, actress Claire Sweeney, comedian Leigh Francis, Love Island star Chloe Burrows, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page, TV presenter Ade Adepitan, YouTuber Sharky, journalist Mariella Frostrop and comedian Jack Skipper.

Despite The Sun’s claims, show bosses say the line-up is “just speculation” and that the official announcement about this year’s I’m A Celebrity campmates will come closer to the show’s launch.

As the line-up claims circulated on X, numerous fans of the show has the same remark – suggesting that producers had ‘blown the budget’ on Rooney, 41, as they were unfamiliar with many of the other celebrities.

One wrote: “Just say it, they blew the budget on Rooney.”

While another added: “So in other words they’ve spent the full budget on Wayne Rooney and had to skimp out on the rest.”

A third chimed in: “Couldn’t name a single person other than Rooney.”

While another added: “Wayne Rooney and a bunch of Z-listers.”

Despite such remarks, AJ Odudu, Claire Sweeney, Leigh Francis, Ricky Wilson and Joanna Page are all familiar faces who have worked in the entertainment sector for years and have featured on some of Britain’s leading TV programmes.

Many fans said that they were backing Rooney to claim victory following his wife Coleen’s near-miss in 2024, when the 40-year-old finished as runner-up to McFly’s Danny Jones.

This year, Ade Adepitan will make history as the first campmate to use a wheelchair. Producers have adapted the jungle layout and camp walkways to ensure accessibility while maintaining the core rustic environment.

After gaming YouTuber Angry Ginge’s triumph in 2025, producers have recruited Beta Squad creator Sharky and stand-up comedian Jack Skipper to maintain appeal with digitally-native viewers.

The initial 12-strong lineup leaves space for the show’s traditional mid-series surprise arrivals. Speculation has already linked names including retired cricketer Ben Stokes and Mis-Teeq singer Su-Elise Nash.

Who has won I’m A Celebrity in the past?

• Series 1 (2002) – Tony Blackburn
• Series 2 (2003) – Phil Tufnell
• Series 3 (2004 – early) – Kerry Katona
• Series 4 (2004 – late) – Joe Pasquale
• Series 5 (2005) – Carol Thatcher
• Series 6 (2006) – Matt Willis
• Series 7 (2007) – Christopher Biggins
• Series 8 (2008) – Joe Swash
• Series 9 (2009) – Gino D’Acampo
• Series 10 (2010) – Stacey Solomon
• Series 11 (2011) – Dougie Poynter
• Series 12 (2012) – Charlie Brooks
• Series 13 (2013) – Kian Egan
• Series 14 (2014) – Carl ‘Foggy’ Fogarty
• Series 15 (2015) – Vicky Pattison
• Series 16 (2016) – Scarlett Moffatt
• Series 17 (2017) – Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo
• Series 18 (2018) – Harry Redknapp
• Series 19 (2019) – Jacqueline Jossa
• Series 20 (2020) – Giovanna Fletcher
• Series 21 (2021) – Danny Miller
• Series 22 (2022) – Jill Scott MBE
• Series 23 (2023) – Sam Thompson
• Series 24 (2024) – Danny Jones
• Series 25 (2025) – Angry Ginge (Morgan Burtwistle)

I’m A Celebrity will begin on Monday 16th November at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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With nine new players on the roster still working on maximizing their on-court chemistry, the Lakers are taking a patient approach to the start of the NBA season.

For now, it looks as if they’re fine with following Luka Doncic‘s lead.

The Lakers’ star had another sensational performance, finishing with 45 points in a 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

Doncic was key in helping the Lakers build a 26-point lead in the third quarter. He shot 12 for 23 on the night, going eight for 12 from three-point range. He made all of his 13 free throws and also had 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Not bad for 35 minutes of work on Doncic bobblehead giveaway night.

And his teammates did follow his lead, with Austin Reaves collecting 19 points and Walker Kessler producing a double-double with 16 points on six-for-six shooting and 15 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Collin Sexton came off the bench to score 14 points. Rookie Cameron Carr played his first game of the season, but he didn’t score.

The Lakers were sloppy with the basketball, turning it over 22 times. Scottie Barnes finished with 29 points and six rebounds for Toronto (3-3).

In the eyes of Lakers coach JJ Redick, each game the Lakers (5-2) play is a step in a process aimed at becoming a championship-contending team.

“Frankly, this entire season is about becoming a great team,” Redick said. “Like, we believe we can become a great team and I think as coaches, players, we all have to participate in patience with that. Doesn’t mean you allow things to happen and say, ‘Oh, that’s fine. That’s OK.’ No. No. No. You address those things. I think the guys are very, very open to that dialogue, both with each other and with the coaching staff.”

Lakers star Luka Doncic prevents the ball from going out of bounds in front of Toronto forward Scottie Barnes during the first half Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Scott Strazzante / Associated Press)

Doncic is certainly doing his part to bring a championship mood to L.A. He made a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left before halftime to give the Lakers a 66-54 lead. He blew a kiss to the fans and waved his hand toward them, prompting cheers from the crowd.

The Lakers play the Miami Heat at home Monday night.

Injury update

Ziaire Williams missed his third consecutive game, but Redick said a scan on the forward’s ailing left foot was “clean.”

“I would describe it [as] soreness that just pops up in the morning and he’s feeling a lot better,” Redick said. “I think just being, again, cautious with the back to back.”

FOLLOWING his dramatic eviction from the Big Brother house on Friday, Philip Regan was a no-show on spin-off The Group Chat.

The sister series, hosted by Kate Lawler and GK Barry, welcomes freshly-evicted housemates to dissect their time in the house.

But Philip was not featured on the latest instalment, having last been seen during the brutal double eviction on Friday, which descended into chaos as he furiously turned on the heckling crowd during his exit interview.

Fellow evictee Rhianna Collins appeared solo, as did house guest Tiffany Pollard; yet Philip was absent, with the hosts saying he “is needed at home with his family.”

On Friday night, the Liverpudlian housemate was met with a barrage of boos after being booted out of the ITV2 house ahead of Rhianna.

When Philip sat down with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best for his exit chat, things got spicier, with audience members continuing to shout and jeer throughout the interview.

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The evicted star was left fuming after discovering that fellow housemate Rochelle had nominated him, before hitting back at the audience, declaring: “It’s a game, we signed up for it and you know what, I bet every one of you wish you could have been in there. I lived it.”

As the crowd erupted into boos, Philip shouted “Hang on!” and attempted to quieten the hecklers.

The drama continued when he was questioned about his explosive bust-ups with Celebrity Big Brother legend Tiffany, snapping: “She came for me, she’s been paid to come for me.”

He added: “I’m proud, no matter what anyone thinks, it was hard work.”

Philip then turned his attention to fellow housemate Twinks, admitting he initially disliked her because he felt she expected everyone to approach her when she first entered the house.

Defending his attitude, he insisted “it’s our house”, prompting the audience to chant back: “It’s Big Brother’s house!”

Clearly irritated, Philip fired back “oh alright love, you’ve had your five minutes,” sparking yet more boos.

He then declared: “It is what it is, I can’t be arsed talking about it. It’s all about me.”

Viewers watching at home were stunned by the scenes, with one writing on X: “Philip crashing out is the best TV.”

Another posted: “This interview is chaotic.”

Another fan wrote “LMAOOOO everyone going for Phil”, while someone else declared: “Phil getting berated im OBSESSED!”

Another defended him, writing: “That crowd need to stfu!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To many predator hunters Hansen is a hero.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But when they arrived Conradt shot himself dead.

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

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

To Catch a Predator was scrapped.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That, though, is not the perspective of Primetime.

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

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

Just in time for next week’s midterms, Brooklyn-based artist Phil Buehler has unveiled another one of his series of public art installations critiquing modern politics on a stretch of chain link fence between a coffee shop and a bar in Bushwick. The 50-foot-long, 10-foot-high piece, “Wall of Crazy,” features 1,516 of President Trump’s social media posts — selected from more than 70,000 — and arranged chronologically, with color-coded statement categories aligning with the American Psychiatric Assn.‘s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition.

These include: social-emotional incongruity (“Happy Thanksgiving to all including the racist and incompetent Attorney General of New York State”); divine favor/ magical thinking (an AI photo of Trump seated beside Jesus Christ in court); catastrophizing (“This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision”); contradictions and reversals (a 2019 post calling Atty. Gen. Bill Barr “fair and reasonable” vs. a 2023 post calling him “dumb, weak, slow moving, lethargic, gutless and lazy”); hostility, humiliation and threats (calling Tucker Carlson a “very low IQ individual. He could barely get out of college and maybe he didn’t.”); grandiosity (“I am far healthier than Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, but especially, Kamala”); extraordinary and implausible claims (“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran at levels of military strength and power not seen since World War II”); persecution and victimhood (“Only 25 percent want the president impeached, which is pretty low considering the volume of fake news coverage, but pretty high considering the fact that I did nothing wrong”); and conspiracy thinking (“Wayne County (Detroit) Michigan is one of the most corrupt voting areas in the United States, if not the world”).

In a recent phone interview, Buehler said he made the wall over a period of months beginning in July, using his day-job background in market research and data analysis and statistics to search for patterns in large amounts of data in order to distill it down to something simple. Buehler’s first foray into making a wall of public art came in 2020 with the “Wall of Lies,” which documented more than 20,000 false or misleading claims made by Trump.

A detail shot of the “Wall of Crazy” by Brooklyn-based artist Phil Buehler, featuring 1,516 of Donald Trump’s social media posts.

(Photo from Phil Buehler)

At that time, he said, he was struck by the massive volume of falsehoods. “I wanted to dramatize that in a way that brought the sheer scale of it to life,” he said, noting that the same objective holds true for the “Wall of Crazy.” People have known that Trump tells lies since the 2020 presidential election, Buehler said, adding that it’s a story that is continuously told and has simply become part of the daily news cycle that people move on from.

“Making something into a public artwork brings it back into that cycle because I think it comes into people’s heads in a different way,” Buehler said. Plus, because it’s sandwiched between a coffee shop and a bar, it gets both the thinking morning crowd and the more raucous and celebratory evening crowd. The piece, which is being presented by the independent community radio station Radio Free Brooklyn, has been up for about two days, but will be officially unveiled during a modest neighborhood ceremony today at noon EDT.

“The scale of it is important,” Buehler said. “By attracting your eye and attention and then allowing you to walk up to it and read … Trump’s posts.”

In photos Buehler shared, people are doing just that. Some pass by quickly, others stay immersed for quite some time.

The “Wall of Crazy” is the fifth such collaboration between Buehler and Radio Free Brooklyn. After the “Wall of Lies” came the “Wall of Liars and Deniers” (2022), “featuring 381 Republican election-denying candidates”; then the “Wall of Shame” (2025), “documenting 1,575 January 6 defendants pardoned by Trump”; and “Wall of Tears” (2026), “memorializing 18,457 children documented killed in Gaza.”

The “Wall of Lies” was extensively vandalized by Proud Boy protesters, but the others have been mostly left alone, Buehler said.

“The Wall of Crazy shows how Buehler and Radio Free Brooklyn use public art to spotlight our political climate. Calling out the inflammatory, incoherent, divisive and obscene rhetoric under this administration is critical to democracy,” said Orie Givens, president of the Radio Free Brooklyn Board, in a news release. “Like earlier walls, it captures our political culture and urges action before Election Day: voters can change the country’s direction. And it shows why we must support free media — especially independent outlets — that expose this administration’s actions and impact nationwide.”

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt, wishing us all a peaceful and sane midterm election and a Happy Halloween. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Singer Lila Downs.

(Berenice Bautista / AP Photo)

Lila Downs
The singer blends Mexican tradition with jazz, cumbia, folk and contemporary rhythms in a celebration of Día de Muertos, featuring Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles and songs from Downs’ new album “Cambias mi Mundo.”
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Hercules vs. Vampires
LA Opera presents a musical reimagining of Mario Bava’s 1961 cult film “Hercules in the Haunted World,” starring Reg Park and Christopher Lee, with an original score by Patrick Morganelli, conducted by Blair Salter.
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. United Theater on Broadway, 929 S Broadway, downtown L.A. laopera.org

Kiki Smith
“Untethered Journey,” the artist’s first solo show in L.A. in 30 years, includes historical and recent works.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday; exhibit continues through Jan. 23. Jeffrey Deitch, 925 N. Orange Drive. deitch.com

SATURDAY

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Organist Brett Valliant performs the score live with John S. Robertson’s 1920 silent horror film starring John Barrymore.
3 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Día de los Muertos
Forest Lawn celebrates the Mexican holiday at four of its locations, with marigolds, handcrafted Catrina and alebrijes (spirit guide) artworks and brightly colored community ofrendas (altars), plus folklorico dance and mariachi music performances, arts & crafts, face painting, food and refreshments. A free family-friendly event.
Noon-3 p.m. Sunday. Forest Lawn Covina Hills, 21300 Via Verde Drive, Covina, Forest Lawn Cypress, 4471 Lincoln Ave., and Forest Lawn Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Ave.; 5-8 p.m. Monday. Forest Lawn Cathedral City, 69855 E. Ramon Road. forestlawn.com

Harriet Sansom Harris in “Werewolf by Night.”

(Marvel Studios)

Werewolf by Night & Headless
Michael Giacchino hosts an evening featuring the premiere of “Headless,” a musical by the Academy Award-winning composer and collaborators Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” followed by a live-to-picture screening of his 2022 film “Werewolf by Night,” with Sarah Hicks conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

SUNDAY

Building Bridges: The Master Chorale in Concert With the National Chorus of Korea
Two world-class choral organizations team up for a cross-cultural program uniting more than 100 singers.
7 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org

Family Fest: Día de los Muertos
A free event featuring activities, festive music, dance and foods.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

TUESDAY

Singer Lyle Lovett.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Lyle Lovett and His Small Large Band
The four-time Grammy-winning Texan performs his greatest hits.
8 p.m. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive. ccpa.cerritos.gov

WEDNESDAY

Daniel Passer direct “The Farce Awakens: Ferdeau x 2” at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

(Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)

The Farce Awakens: Feydeau x 2
Cirque du Soleil clown Daniel Passer directs “Going to Pot” and “Stark Naked,” two one-acts by Georges Feydeau.
Through Jan. 17, 2027. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 South Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

The Laugh Track
Playwright Wendy MacLeod’s comedy goes behind the scenes of “I Love Lucy,” the groundbreaking 1950s sitcom starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Directed by Brian Shnipper.
Through Nov. 22. International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach. ictlongbeach.org

The SoCal scene

The Endeavour shuttle is on display in launch position at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Exposition Park.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

ICYMI: The best of this week’s L.A. Times arts coverage.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center opens next month, and the Arts team put together a great package including an architecture review of the new $450-million addition to the California Science Center; an Endeavour shuttle walk-through with an astronaut; a list of noteworthy artifacts in the museum; a list of exciting interactive experiences; and a fun fast-facts sheet.

In theater news, critic Charles McNulty gave a mixed review to the Latino Theatre Company production of playwright Luis Alfaro’s “Speaking in Tongues,” at the Los Angeles Theatre Center; and issued an indictment of Center Theatre Group’s decision to stage a non-Equity touring production of “The Music Man.” McNulty reserved words of praise for an Antaeus Theatre Company revival of George Bernard Shaw’s “Heartbreak House.”

Artist Barry McGee poses for a portrait at Jeffrey Deitch gallery.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

San Francisco artist Barry McGee is back in L.A. after February’s wild takeover of a 99 Cents Only Store. This time he’s staging a show called “Another Round” at Jeffrey Deitch gallery on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Times’ Features section ran a piece of commentary about the lack of a true native plant habitat at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, calling it a “missed opportunity.”

Culture news

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins poses in the press room with the award for best revival of a play for “Appropriate” during the 77th Tony Awards.

(Evan Agostini / Invision / AP)

London’s Royal Court Theatre announced that playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ 2025 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Purpose,” directed by Phylicia Rashad, will launch its new season in January, marking the hugely successful Broadway show’s first staging outside of the U.S. (“Purpose” opens at Geffen Playhouse next month.)

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

The desert just keeps on giving — including an upcoming “sandlocked yacht club” in Joshua Tree.

Good Morning Britain hosts Ranvir Singh and Paul Brand paid tribute to an acting legend on Friday

The hosts of Good Morning Britain shared some heartbreaking news on Friday.

During the latest edition of the ITV morning programme (October 30), Ranvir Singh and Paul Brand announced the death of Sir Patrick Stewart. The legendary Star Trek and stage actor died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday (October 28) at the age of 86, following a “brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Just moments into GMB, Ranvir said: “Sir Patrick Stewart, the star of everything from Star Trek to Shakespeare, has died at the age of 86. Born in Yorkshire, he conquered the world of acting.”

Ranvir went on: “I think there was a whole nation going, ‘Oh no,’ about Sir Patrick Stewart, what a giant of stage and screen. [He has] sadly died at the age of 86, following a short battle with dementia. Friends have paid tribute to the actor, calling him a titan of his craft.”

Paul added: “Sir Patrick’s talent saw him move effortlessly from performing Shakespeare, to delivering epic Hollywood performances, becoming one of the most loved performers of his generation.”

Philip Sime then looked back on Sir Patrick’s career in a pre-recorded segment. He began: “To millions around the world, he is Jean-Luc Picard, the calm and courageous commander of the USS Enterprise.”

Sir Patrick was born in Yorkshire, into a home marred by poverty and domestic abuse. Acting first on stage, then on screen, was his escape. He would go on to play Professor Charles Xavier in the blockbuster X-Men films, securing his position as one of Hollywood’s brightest stars.

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William Shatner said: “He brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did.” Hugh Jackman simply called the star “one of the greats of stage and screen”.

Philip went on: “Sir Patrick’s swansong, though, will be the upcoming Avengers film. One last appearance alongside a lifelong friend.”

Back in the studio, Ranvir said: “A remarkable man, an absolute hero… He was an ambassador for Women’s Refuge, because, of course, his mother suffered domestic abuse at the hands of watching his father attack his mother when he was young. He spoke about it so openly, and it definitely changed lives, especially for young boys growing up in those environments. So many people want to thank him this morning.”

GMB viewers were quick to pay tribute across social media, with one X user writing: “A Yorkshire legend who will be forever immortalised in Sci-fi, Shakespeare, and comics.” Another added: “Not just a sci-fi actor but brilliant comedy actor and his classical work would leave you breathless. I was SO affected by his role of Macbeth at Gielgud Theatre. I still have the framed poster on my living room wall.”

A third said: “I don’t think I realised just how much Patrick Stewart meant to me until I saw this news tonight. Been sitting here watching old clips with tears in my eyes. My childhood, my heroes, my Captain. Thank you for everything, Sir Patrick.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am

More information about dementia is available via organisations including the NHS and Dementia UK

James on his exit

“The idea of doing that got me through the whole experience because you feel as a Traitor sometimes, when you see people have real life reactions that are bigger than the game, you feel bad, and I would have to remind myself they don’t have a game without you, literally, if no one’s doing this stuff, they can’t play, and they all want to play,” he said.
“So you are doing an important job here, so they all have something to do, and when they catch you, they’ll be really happy and they’ll like it, and it will feel good to just tell them and see that reaction.”

Halloween costume inspiration can arise from anywhere but one spectacular, often-overlooked source is right here in our trusty home of Los Angeles. This city is a hotbed of festive ideas, as witnessed in the IYKYK costumes of yore: the Sweet James billboard, the Oceanwide Plaza graffiti tower, Bob’s Big Boy, Angelyne and Stuart the Minion over Universal Studios.

And no Angeleno with an L.A.-centric social media algorithm could forget Jason Radovan and Hannah Webb, who reigned as “The Mother & Father of the 110” on Halloween 2023. Radovan, an artist and actor, said the idea came to him after driving past the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra mural countless times on his commute, and then Webb, also an artist, suggested adding a freeway and cars, which “really cemented the concept.” Finding inspiration while in traffic? Now that feels like L.A.

This Halloween, if you’ll be debuting a costume inspired by weird and wonderful Los Angeles, we’d love to see it. Upload a photo below, along with a few words about it, and we may feature it in an upcoming story.

U2 have announced their The Greatest Show On Earth World Tour for 2027 – including the band’s first UK stadium gigs in a decade.

The tour is named after the third advance single on U2’s much anticipated 16th studio album Carnaval De Luz, scheduled to drop on November 13.

So far 12 dates have been announced as part of the European leg of the global tour including a 2 night run of UK stadium gigs in June 2027.

The Irish rockers will be supported on The Greatest Show On Earth tour by 2018 Mercury Prize winners Wolf Alice.

U2 have promised a historic setlist for their 2027 UK gigs, with celebrated career-spanning anthems so fans won’t be disappointed.

The band hasn’t played a UK stadium since their 30th anniversary Joshua Tree tour in 2017. So expect competition for UK tickets to be fierce.

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Here’s everything to know about the UK dates and how you can get tickets.

When are U2’s 2027 UK concerts?

So far the group has announced two UK stadium gigs:

18 June – London, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

19 June – London, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

U2’s full European dates

April 26      STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Strawberry Arena
April 28      STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Strawberry Arena
May 05       PARIS, France – Stade de France
May 08       PARIS, France – Stade de France
May 27        LISBON, Portugal – Estadio da Luz
June 05      AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
June 06      AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
June 18       LONDON, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 19       LONDON, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium                   
June 30      BERLIN, Germany – Olympiastadion         
July 05       MILAN, Italy – Stadio San Siro
July 06       MILAN, Italy – Stadio San Siro

How to get tickets for the U2’s UK dates?

The Ticketmaster presale is taking place on Thursday, November 5 from 10am till 10pm. During the presale, you’ll be able to purchase up to 4 tickets per show.

In order to be part of the presale you must sign up via the Ticketmaster U2 presale page before 22.59 on Sunday, November 1.

CHRISTINA Aguilera was branded a “smokeshow” as she stripped completely naked for a sizzling bath selfie showing off her rock hard abs.

The popstar flaunted her recent weight loss as she perched in her cream standalone tub, with her blonde hair brushed over her eyes.

American hitmaker Christina, who has undergone a huge transformation in recent years and shed almost three stone in weight, gave a nod to spooky season with her upload.

She covered her modesty with two ghost icons on her boobs and added the words: “Last looks before xtinaween”.

One fan was quick to reply: “She’s the moment she’s an icon she’s a star”.

A second put: “Smokeshow”.

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RUB-A-DUB

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A third then wrote: “OMG!!!”

The 45-year-old singer, who had her first hit with Genie in the Bottle in 1999, is no stranger to posing starkers in the suds.

Earlier this month she stripped for a bubble bath to promote a new lube brand.

Christina launched her sexual wellness brand Playground back in 2022.

It initially debuted with a line of four water-based, plant-infused lubricants.

Christina lost more than 40 pounds before her Las Vegas residency in 2024, with fans still in awe of her more slender look.

At the time, an insider told Life & Style that the singer had restricted her calorie intake to 1,600 calories per day.

The source added that Christina had been working out “rigorously” every day of the week.

“Christina didn’t feel as energetic with extra weight,” they said.

“Some are concerned she’ll gain the weight back but she loves all the attention she’s getting.”

Although looking smaller than ever, Christina previously claimed she didn’t want to be as thin as she was when she was younger.

The story of “Small Prophets” — the gentle, magical, nostalgic British comedy streaming on Apple TV — begins and ends in a garden shed. The show’s creator, writer and director, Mackenzie Crook, and the animator Ainslie Henderson have been friends for at least 20 years. One day, Henderson went to visit Crook in the shed at the end of his garden.

It’s “a big mess of a creative little place,” Henderson said, where Crook makes things. He writes in there, but it’s a workshop too: he illustrates and he crafts. He made many of the props in the show by hand. Both the shed and his house are peppered with his “beautiful little objects.” “If I’ve got a whole day with no other interruptions, that’s where I am,” Crook said.

When Henderson walked into the shed that day, a weird, white, papier-mâché creature on the shelf caught his eye. It was, as Crook told Henderson, a homunculus: one of a set of tiny prophets, or magical spirits, who lived in glass jars full of water. They could answer any question, and they had to answer truthfully.

“Small Prophets” follows Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley), who works in a DIY store (a British term for a home improvement store), visits his dad Brian (Michael Palin) in a retirement home, and yearns for his girlfriend Clea to come home. Clea vanished seven years ago, and Michael’s dad suggests that the homunculi — which he learned about from an Italian alchemist in Egypt — might be able to tell him what happened to her.

The show premiered on BBC Two in February, when it quickly became the BBC’s biggest new scripted launch of the year. (It was renewed for a second season in September, this time on BBC One.) In the U.K., Crook is well-known for playing Gareth Keenan in the original British version of “The Office” (Gareth’s an analogue to Dwight Schrute in the U.S. version) — and for writing, directing and starring in “Detectorists,” which won the 2015 BAFTA for television scripted comedy.

“Detectorists” and “Small Prophets” share a singular comedic sensibility, which arose from Crook’s realization that some shows at that time, like “The Office” or “The Inbetweeners,” were drawing humor from cruelty, embarrassment and awkwardness. This is how he stumbled upon his genre: gentle comedy.

“I didn’t like the word ‘gentle’ at first,” Crook said on a video call earlier this month from Leeds, Yorkshire, where he’s directing his first feature film. “It’s taken me a while to make my peace with that. But now I realize that it’s something to do with being uncynical, being optimistic, but hopefully that doesn’t mean bland or unfunny. … It’s sort of a surprise to find that this is what I do, and this is what I’ve become known for. But I’m thankful for it, as well, because I think this world does need more optimism and hope than it presently has.”

He worries that “gentle” might suggest something not particularly funny or challenging, and would like to clarify that was not his intent. It wasn’t the outcome, either: “Small Prophets” is about some of the most challenging subject matter — grief and loss — while remaining genuinely funny and rather extraordinary.

Mackenzie Crook, who created “Small Prophets,” plays Gordon, Michael’s boss at the DIY store. (Apple)

Michael (Pearce Quigley) befriends Kacey (Lauren Patel), his co-worker at the store. (Apple)

Michael has the epitome of an ordinary life, living a mundane existence in a suburban cul-de-sac, dutifully eating his Malted Squares cereal each morning, and evading his boss at the DIY store (played by a ponytailed, bespectacled Crook). He befriends Kacey (Lauren Patel) at work, a May-December friendship somewhat based on Patel and Quigley’s own (they met working on a radio play). But somehow, Michael is simultaneously “a magnet for beautiful, crazy things,” Crook said.

When oil spills from his dusty, beat-up blue car, it pools into the shape of a big, black rabbit. A shooting star, or rather a meteor, may or may not have landed somewhere inside his house. A room inside is frozen in time, forever decorated for an ‘80s-themed Christmas — a surprise that Clea never got to see. And then there are the homunculi.

The inspiration came from a short passage in “Clea,” the fourth book in Lawrence Durrell’s “Alexandria Quartet,” which references the creatures. “It just fascinated me that he put it in this novel apropos of nothing else,” Crook said. “It didn’t add to the plot.” He squirreled the idea away until he knew what to do with it. Crook is a big fan of David Lynch, and referenced an old trick of his: To make a movie, first come up with 70 ideas.

The homunculi were one of those seed ideas for “Small Prophets.” Crook knew he wanted to set the show in modern-day suburbia, in a cul-de-sac. He knew he wanted to work with Quigley, who plays Michael. And he knew he wanted to work with Henderson, his animator friend, on those homunculi. (In the early stages of design, Crook made illustrations of what the prophets might look like. “They’re like Francis Bacon paintings,” Henderson said. “They’re mad-looking things.”)

Henderson worked on the show with Will Anderson, the former as a stop-motion animator, the latter on digital animation, 2-D animation, compositing and finishing shots. (Glen Southern designed and sculpted the creatures themselves, and they collaborated with Mackinnon & Saunders, a puppet fabricator that has worked on Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride.” There were seven total puppets for three homunculi.)

As much as possible, Crook wanted this world to feel tangible; to achieve it, the team used in-camera effects and props as much as possible, rather than CGI. “It feels a bit more authentic … when it’s stop-motion. You can see the mark of the maker in every movement,” said Anderson in a video call with Henderson. The prophet puppets float “behind this warped glass, which is slightly abstracted and a bit more magical, and separates you from them in a really interesting way with reflections and inks.”

It’s almost as if the flesh-colored prophet puppets were actors, and Henderson directed them, Anderson said, manipulating their silicon bodies into position over and over again. In this analogy, Anderson would be ironing out logistics like camera angles or lighting. He made their garments, like the queen’s billowing cape (“ethereal clothes,” Henderson called them), digitally after the fact.

Crook knew that he wanted the homunculi to be almost still, as if someone had fallen into icy water, their cold, wet clothes clinging to them, barely wanting to move. Near-stillness is one of the hardest things to animate, Anderson pointed out. But “when it’s done well, it really binds, because they are thinking, alive things; they are. That’s our job to animate.”

For many, stop-motion holds a real nostalgia, Henderson said — another theme of the show, dovetailing with Michael’s yearning. Production designer Lucy Spink wove nostalgia into “Small Prophets,” especially in the Christmas room. She texted her sisters pictures of wallpaper options. “Which one makes you cry more?” she asked. “Or makes you feel like you remember being there?”

From a production angle, creating gentle comedy is “a tonal thing,” Spink said on a video call from the Yorkshire Dales. “You know how far to take it. That it isn’t extreme fantasy, but you’re pulling somewhere back from that. And it was a visual serendipity, is what I felt was what we tried to do, which was like the world was saying there’s a little something strange going on.”

If someone described this show as magical realism, Crook would “find that a compliment.” The first time he heard the phrase was about the 1992 Mexican romantic drama “Like Water for Chocolate,” which really struck him. “I just thought, wow, OK, you can do stuff like that, impossible stuff” — like a crocheted bedspread flying in a swirl of colors for a kilometer behind a carriage — “and ask people to believe it.”

“Like Water for Chocolate” is based on Laura Esquivel’s 1989 novel by the same name, which folds recipes into its story. One is for quail in rose petal sauce, which Crook made for his girlfriend at the time, whose name was Clea. She cried because she found the tiny bird so sad.

Kacey (Lauren Patel) gazes at one of the homunculi in a scene from the series.

(Apple)

There’s a quote from “Justine,” the first novel in the “Alexandria Quartet,” that I shared with Crook. It reminded me of how he had spoken about wanting to believe in the unexplained: “We are all hunting for rational reasons for believing in the absurd.”

“I’d not even picked up on that, but that’s it,” Crook said. “I’ve never believed in ghosts, but I would love to see one. And if I did, it would flip my world upside down. I’d have to reevaluate everything, and that would be an exciting thing. And I think ‘Small Prophets’ is a lot about that.”

The “Small Prophets” finale, dropping on Apple TV Nov. 4, channels that essence of storytelling — inexplicable but undeniably real — back into a garden shed. This time it’s Michael’s, engulfed by his wild garden, built with the exact same footprint as Crook’s own.

“That spirit that’s in the show: that gentle, warm funniness — that’s what he’s like to be with,” Henderson said. “Will and I went and stayed in his house, and he made us dinner, and we sat ‘round and drank wine and had a fun time storyboarding. That’s cool. That’s how life should be when you’re making stuff with people.”

PRINCESS Andre has been given another major career boost after landing a FOURTH series of her hit show in less than two years.

The TV star is quickly becoming an ITV fan-favourite thanks to her reality TV show, The Princess Diaries.

Now, The Sun can exclusively reveal that the programme is coming back for a fourth series.

Our insiders revealed that filming for the next edition is already underway with Princess and everyone around her delighted that the show will be coming back again.

A source told us: “Everyone’s thrilled Princess is doing another series, it’s been so successful for ITV.”

With filming already underway, it is expected that new episodes could land early next year.

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So far, three series of The Princess Diaries have aired since the programme launched in summer 2025.

It originally followed Princess as she turned 18 and entered into adulthood and stepped outside of the shadows of her parents, Peter Andre and Katie Price.

Mum Katie was originally banned from appearing in the show in series one but dad Peter made several appearances.

Both her parents were then absent for the second series before Katie’s ban was overturned for the third series where she began filming for the first time.

Peter also made a return to the series around this time as well.

Her own show isn’t the only TV appearance the young influencer has going on with the star currently appearing in Celebrity Race Across The World with her brother Junior.

Ernie Johnson, the bow-tie-wearing, peace-keeping host of “Inside the NBA,” is leaving the show after 37 years.

“It’s just time,” the 70-year-old broadcaster said in a video posted Wednesday on social media.

“So why now? Total honesty here. I’ve always prided myself on my preparation, the hours I put in every day getting ready for the next show. I’ve always loved that part of my job, but I’ve always vowed that if that ever became more of a challenge than it is a joy, then I’ll know it’s time to step away. And now, after 37 seasons, it’s time.”

“Inside the NBA” started on TNT in 1989, and Johnson became host the following season. Over the years, he was joined by analysts Kenny Smith (1998), Charles Barkley (2000) and Shaquille O’Neal (2011) in a lineup that has become beloved to generations of basketball fans — so much so that the show switched over to ESPN when TNT lost its NBA rights.

“Few people have shaped the way fans experience the NBA as profoundly as Ernie Johnson,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “His brilliance as a broadcaster is matched by his character, compassion and generosity, which have been evident throughout his 37 years as host of ‘Inside the NBA.’ We are grateful for Ernie’s extraordinary impact on our league and look forward to celebrating him during his final season.”

Johnson repeated his announcement to open the crew’s appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Tip-Off” on Wednesday, then asked a clearly emotional Barkley how he was doing.

“That was tough,” Barkley said. “We knew the day was coming — still tough. Been here for 26, 27 years, and it’s been an honor and a privilege to work with you all this time, and Kenny and Shaq and the amazing people behind the scenes. …

“It’s been an amazing journey. You’ve been our leader. Our unquestionable leader. The question I’m asked the most … is, is Ernie Johnson as good a person as he seems? And I say, man, he’s better than that. So I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being our leader for all these years. … All I can say, Ernie, is thank you.”

Smith gave Johnson a standing ovation, and O’Neal said Johnson was the reason he joined the crew.

“You are the controller of this thing people call the circus — the best circus in town, but without you, it’s going to be very, very difficult,” O’Neal said. “Chuck made a great point. All we can say is thank you, and we appreciate you. We’re gonna miss you, and we will see you around, but thanks for the great run.”

In a video posted on X, Golden State Warriors forward and frequent “Inside the NBA” guest Draymond Green perfectly summed up Johnson’s role on the show.

“He is the best point guard I’ve ever played with — that’s no disrespect to the great Steph Curry,” Green said in a video posted Wednesday on X. “Ernie Johnson on a set is as incredible as they come. He sees everything. He’s like, ‘Man, this guy hasn’t spoke for a while. Let me toss it to him. Man, this conversation is going off the rails a little bit’ — as it can on that show — ‘let me rein it back in.’ … This guy is amazing.”

Johnson also shared that he’s been dealing with “heart issues” for almost two years, including undergoing bypass surgery two months ago, and that it was a “contributing factor” in his decision.

“Still trying to get this thing to beat exactly the way it should, and we’re getting it,” Johnson said. “I mean, I feel great. So this isn’t a case where my doctor said you need to stop working. It’s nothing like that. But here’s the deal: Going through that has made me treasure even more every second with my amazing wife of 44 years, Cheryl Ann, and being Poppy to our five grandchildren. So I just want to slow down a bit, spend more time enjoying that.

“Just to be clear, I’m not retiring; just cutting back. I’ll still do March Madness and other projects for TNT and CBS, and I’ve just started a new production company called 32 Bowties, geared toward telling feel-good stories in sports. So this is by no means the end. It’s just a turning of the page.”